Strumm confident Thunder can come back

With six players under contract, the Las Vegas Thunder isn't ready to set sail by any means.

But general manager Bob Strumm insists his ship has been righted, and the Thunder will rebound from its worst season in history.

"For the first week in July, we're as on stream as we've ever been," said Strumm, who re-signed a pair of players Tuesday.

Back in the fold are wingers Russ Romaniuk and Trent McCleary.

Romaniuk played 22 games for the Thunder while on loan from the Long Beach Ice Dogs last season. He recorded six goals, four assists and 10 penalty minutes. McCleary tallied seven goals, six assists and 120 minutes in 54 games with the Thunder.

"Things are coming together," Strumm said.

Two weeks after naming Bob Bourne head coach, Strumm is working on compiling a roster he claims could rival the Thunder's first edition. That 1993-94 team went 52-18-11 to win the Huber Trophy as the IHL's regular-season champion.

Captain Joe Day was pleased with the hiring of Bourne, who was the assistant for the Thunder's inaugural campaign. Although he was upset to see Clint Malarchuk leave, Day is confident in Bourne's marketability to prospective future Thunder players.

"They definitely could have done a lot worse," Day said.

"Bob Bourne comes from a good pedigree. He's been on winners and can bring a winning perspective to the Thunder, something that we definitely need at this point."

Now all the Thunder needs are bodies.

Strumm said the talent pool from which he choose his lineup is not as deep as in recent years. But he noted the top few players are just as talented.

"The group that's out there, if we can put them together, reminds me of the first year," Strumm said. "If we can put that chemistry together we can be a dangerous bunch.

"There aren't a lot of guys out there, and it'll be a dogfight for the good players who are. But if we can put some things down here, we'll have an exciting team."

Previously under contract were reigning league MVP Patrice Lefebvre, defenseman Alexander Alexeev, goaltender Konstantin Simchuk and Day.

Strumm also is looking into the prospect of bringing back center Bill Bowler, a fan favorite when he played for the Thunder in 1995-96.

But the No. 1 priority is shoring up the defense. Bourne stated that area will be the key to the Thunder's success.

"We're working real hard on the defense right now," Strumm said. "We're really trying to build the blue line."

Thunderbolts

* A SAD DAY: Thunder captain Joe Day wasn't too pleased to hear former head coach Clint Malarchuk was leaving for Idaho of the West Coast Hockey League. "He's a guy that I was very surprised to learn he left, with what he meant to the community," Day said from his off-season home in Chicago. "Guys really have tremendous respect for Clint." Day was dismayed by what he perceived to be a lack of effort on the Thunder's part to convince Malarchuk to stay. "I know Las Vegas wouldn't have done themselves any harm to bring Clint back," Day said. "He's a guy we'd go through a wall for, which is important."

* RULE CHANGES: The IHL's board of governors approved several rule changes for the 1998-99 season. Among the many game play alterations, these six are the most influential: the goal line will be moved from 11 to 13 feet away from the end boards; the neutral zone will decrease from 58 to 54 feet; the semicircle of the goal crease will be reduced two feet on either side of the posts; if a goalie leaves his crease on a potential icing and does not play the puck, icing will be waived off; a kneeing major now is an automatic game misconduct. ... In regard to playoff formatting, the general managers withdrew their recommendation to switch the best-of-5 first round to best-of-7. But the board passed a motion that all best-of-7 series between teams located within 300 miles of each other be played in a 2-2-1-1-1 format. Beyond the 300-mile limit, the team with the better record can opt for the previous format if it agrees to pay the difference in travel expenses. Otherwise, the format will be 2-3-2. ... Teams also will be re-seeded in the Eastern and Western Conference playoffs after each round, based on regular-season records.

archive