I had the opportunity to formally announce Dean Evason as our new head coach at a press conference yesterday. It was a pleasure to hear his enthusiasm, intensity and drive in his comments about his new job. He reminds me of Lane Lambert in that way.

Dean’s pedigree as a coach in Juniors and as an assistant with the Washington Capitals gives him a fantastic breadth of experiences heading into this opportunity.

I spoke at the press conference about the tradition of excellence that exists here in Milwaukee. My hope is that will continue with Dean at the helm and a strong roster coming our way from Nashville that will allow us to compete for an 11th straight playoff berth and strong run for the Calder Cup. Getting Chris Mueller re-signed certainly is a big step toward that goal although I suspect that he will have a great chance to make the Predators roster out of training camp. His 30-goal All-Star season was tremendous and he deserves a shot at making their team.

I am heading off to Hilton Head next week for the American Hockey League Annual Meeting. It will be a busy few days of meetings followed by some great bonding time with my peers on the golf course. I look forward to coming home with some new ideas as well as lots of information about the AHL heading into the 77th season of play.

Go Admirals!