Choices have been made on two of the head coaching vacancies in the NHL and former Admirals head coach Claude Noel didn’t get the jobs.

I’m a little surprised. It was reported that Hamilton head coach Guy Boucher had refused the offer from Columbus to take the job in Tampa Bay. That moved Manitoba head coach Scott Arniel, the apparent backup plan to Boucher, into the job.

Both men are tremendous coaches, all one needs to do is look at their resumes. I am dumbfounded that Noel’s late-season turn as the boss didn’t net him the gig, however.

I’ve already gone over the comparisons of the candidates in an earlier blog and won’t rehash them in this space. Noel will come out of this fine. He will be a head coach again, somewhere. The question now is where.

Hamilton, Houston and Manitoba have openings. Springfield? Norfolk? What if Don Lever isn’t back in Chicago? Could you fathom such a situation?

Best wishes to Arniel and Boucher; even better wishes to Noel.

Moving on…

Robert Dietrich has signed a three-year deal to play in Germany for Adler Mannheim.

Tony Hrkac told us on the latest episode of Milwaukee Admirals Center Ice that he was interested in three schools when he chose a college. North Dakota, as you know, was the choice. The others: Minnesota-Duluth and Wisconsin.

Hobey Baker winner Blake Geoffrion threw out the first pitch at the Brewers game June 8th.

Here’s an interesting note to pass along. We may be seeing an old friend return. 

In closing, you should check out the music of Ted Hawkins.  Hawkins was a very tragic figure in the music world, but unbelievably talented and unique. If you think you like music, you’ll dig this.