In the last few days the Thrashers put the finishing touches on the suits sitting behind the bench for the 2008-09 season. New head coach John Anderson added former Rochester Americans head coach Randy Cunneyworth and former Anderson assistant Todd Nelson as assistant coaches on Thursday.
Cunneyworth, 47, just completed his eighth season with Rochester before being hired to join Anderson’s staff. He played 20 seasons in professional hockey, spending 16 of those 20 at the NHL level. He earned a reputation as a tough and gritty player, a characteristic represented by his 1,341 career penalty minutes. In his final year as a player, Cunneyworth served as a player/assistant coach before being given the reigns as the head coach during the offseason. From that day until his most recent hiring, Cunneyworth spent his entire coaching career as the head coach of the Americans, compiling a 306-267-67 record in eight full seasons. During his time in Rochester, he ranked second among franchise coaches in victories and games coached. In the 2004-05 season, Rochester earned the league’s regular-season point title, while Cunneyworth won the Louis A.R Pieri Memorial Award as the league’s most outstanding coach.
A LITTLE LIKE HOME
Anderson made another hire in hopes of making Atlanta feel akin to “The Second City.” Along with Cunneyworth, Anderson hired his assistant of two years with the Chicago Wolves in Nelson. Nelson played 12 seasons of professional hockey, which included a combined three games in the NHL for the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals. Nelson began his coaching career on a similar road to Cunneyworth’s, starting as a player/assistant coach for the Muskegon Fury of what is now the United Hockey League. After one season as an assistant coach in the AHL, everything came full circle for Nelson who earned a head coaching position with the Fury in 2003. After leading the team to back-to-back league championships, Anderson hired Nelson to join his staff in Chicago.
The rest of the coaching staff was made official with the announcement that both Steve Weeks and Tony Borgford would remain with the team in their current positions. Weeks will begin his seventh season with Atlanta, serving as both an assistant coach and goaltending specialist, while Borgford will enter his second decade of work with the team and his third as the video coach for the Thrashers.
THORBURN GIVES BACK
On Monday Chris Thorburn made an appearance at Philips Arena, but it wasn’t to prepare for the upcoming season or to pick out the location of his new season tickets. Instead, Thorburn was on hand for the Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta “Rehab Summer Games.” The “Rehab Summer Games” allow more than 350 area children to compete in various athletic events as a part of their therapy to recover from various ailments. Thorburn was on hand to speak with the children and their families, and took part in some of the games and signed autographs.
Boral can be reached at jboral@scoreatl.com.
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