Click here to subscribe today or Login.
By STEVE SEMBRAT steves@leader.net
Thursday, March 20, 2003 Page: 1B
WILKES-BARRE TWP. – Pittsburgh General Manager Craig Patrick has heard the
suggestions that his brother, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton head coach Glenn Patrick,
should be fired.
It isn’t the only one that has caught his attention regarding the
betterment of the organization’s minor league system, which has come under
intense media scrutiny in Pittsburgh.
“They say the same things about the Pittsburgh coach,” Craig Patrick
said, referring to Rick Kehoe, coach of the NHL Penguins. “They say the same
things about Pittsburgh’s general manager. Hopefully nobody takes any of that
to heart.”
Craig Patrick was in attendance on Wednesday as Wilkes-Barre/Scranton,
Pittsburgh’s top minor league affiliate, took on Syracuse in an American
Hockey League game at First Union Arena.
His visit came one day after there was a major organizational shake-up in
Pittsburgh. Tom Rooney, who headed the business operations there, was fired in
a cost-reducing move that made it obvious nobody’s job is safe aside from team
owner Mario Lemieux as the team turns its focus to the future.
Craig Patrick’s visit came as Wilkes-Barre/Scranton entered the game mired
in a terrible offensive slump. The local Penguins had been shut out in their
previous three home games, and had lost four of their last five, but snapped
out of the swoon with a victory over Syracuse.
However, neither event had an impact on the timing of the visit, Craig
Patrick said. “This has been planned for a while. I’ve been trying to get
here, but it seems one thing after another kept happening up in Pittsburgh.”
Craig Patrick was especially busy during the days leading up to the NHL
trading deadline, as Pittsburgh made a series of moves that lowered its
payroll and average age. The NHL Penguins are 0-12-1 in their last 13 games,
and are looking toward younger players, many currently on
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s roster, as the nucleus to build upon for a brighter
future.
“Yeah, that’s going to be very important for this franchise, to get the
young guys to learn as a group,” Lemieux was quoted as saying in Wednesday’s
edition of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “We’ve made a lot of changes lately
to bring in some young players that are 21, 22, and they have to grow
together. And development’s got to be a big part of this franchise.”
Even before the latest series of trades, development within the
organization has been criticized, and Lemieux has mandated a review of not
only players, but also NHL coaches, minor-league coaches and scouts.
“We’re always looking to make things better,” Craig Patrick said. While
he said his trip wasn’t prompted by Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s recent slump, he
did talk to players prior to the contest.
“He told us we have to go out and show we want to play in the NHL next
year,” goalie Jean-Sebastien Aubin said of the pre-game talk. “It wasn’t a
big talk.”
It tended to have a settling effect, as Craig Patrick made it clear through
word and demeanor he wasn’t going to panic over the recent drought. “Those
things happen. It’s odd when you get shut out three out of four games, but
that happens to the best of teams.”