John Anderson to be new Thrashers Coach

Well, sitting in Europe having a cup of tea in Dublin and discovering on-line that John Anderson has been named the next coach of the Atlanta Thrashers my first thought is, all my material on JA is back home. The next thoughts involve the new GM for the Thrashers and then of course how this all effects the Chicago Wolves.

John's record was recorded several posts below on the win of the Calder Cup by the Wolves. Clearly this was a great team to work with and it was clear, early in the season that the Wolves were headed for the playoffs. The wild card was that what was probably the next best team was sitting on their heals throughout the season and also just 70 miles away: The Rockford IceHogs.

The victory in the West Division finals almost promised that one of the teams was going to end up in the finals. It didn't promise a cup, but merely that either the Wolves or the IceHogs were going to the finals. The North division was irrelevant, perhaps even an annoyance, between the games between the Wolves and Hogs and the finals.

Anderson's naming to coach was threatened, I think, by the wins of two straight games by the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in the finals. If the Wolves were unable to win the sixth game NHL level owners, the Atlanta Spirit does not have a General Manager at the moment, would have been correct in reconsidering whether to offer Anderson the job.

But, to his credit, Anderson pulled it off.

The GM position still appears to be open. But news of someone being named GM may not yet be reaching our ears here.

Kevin Cheveldayoff would be a great choice. He has the minor league chops, building a powerhouse in Chicago. In fact, it is difficult to see why the Atlanta Spirit would hire any other GM, having already named Anderson.

Anyway, it is a sweet moment of vindication and victory for John Anderson. It is his moment in the lights.