Beneath the commotion around Ron Francis' promotion to general manager, junior league dynasty coach Mike Vellucci may slip in quietly to the Carolina Hurricanes' new assistant GM position.
Vellucci, 47, has dominated the Canadian junior leagues for the past 14 years, coaching the OHL's Plymouth Whalers (also owned by Carolina owner Peter Karmanos) to six West Division titles and nine second-round postseason appearances in 13 seasons (he took most of 2007-08 off).
He's produced five NHL first-round selections the past four years, including 2010 No. 2 pick Tyler Seguin.
He's worked with a number of current Hurricanes players and prospects including Brett Bellemore, Justin Peters, Chris Terry, Michal Jordan, Beau Schmitz and Austin Levi.
And Monday, he was handed a massive new job with the NHL franchise he has long maintained ties with, taking over one of two assistant GM openings—along with more experienced NHL front office man Brian Tatum—as well as the Director of Hockey Operations position.
Vellucci is taking over the same roles held by Francis the past three ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Mark Jones
Mike Vellucci to Bring New Perspective to Carolina Hurricanes’ Front Office
April 29th, 2014 by Mark Jones Leave a reply »
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