Seattle general manager Ron Francis announced the hiring of the team's first round of pro scouts on Wednesday, including two former Penguins players.
Ulf Samuelsson is among the new hires. He was most recently an assistant coach for the Blackhawks until he was fired in November. He has also worked as the head coach of the AHL's Charlotte Checkers, an assistant coach for the Rangers, head coach of MODO Hockey of the SHL, assistant and associate coach of the Coyotes, and assistant coach of the AHL's Hartford Wolf Pack.
Seattle also hired former Penguins forward Stu Barnes, who played with the Penguins in parts of three seasons from 1996-99. The Penguins acquired Barnes, along with Jason Woolley, in November 1996 from the Panthers in exchange for Chris Wells. Barnes was then sent to the Sabres in March 1999 in a one-for-one deal that brought Matthew Barnaby to Pittsburgh. In Barnes' only full season in Pittsburgh in 1997-98, he finished third on the team in scoring with 30 goals and 35 assists in 78 games, trailing only Jaromir Jagr and his new boss, Francis.
Barnes was an assistant coach with the Stars the last two seasons, and he's owned the WHL's Tri-City Americans since the 2004-05 season.
Seattle also hired OHL coach John Goodwin, former Hurricanes scout Dave Hunter, and most notably, Olympic gold medalist Cammi Granato.
Granato, the former captain of the U.S. women's Olympic team, won gold with Team USA in Nagano in 1998. She also won silver at the Olympics with Team USA in 2002, and is a nine-time World Championship medalist. She is the NHL's first female professional scout.
To continue reading, log into your account:
