Curtis Hunt returns to Prince Albert, and other WHL news and notes

The Prince Albert Raiders have found their man after parting ways with longtime general manager Bruno Campese about a month ago. They named Curtis Hunt the 10^th architect of the storied organization’s history today.

“It is exciting to be able to come to the Raiders,” Hunt said in the release. “There has been a lot of good work done already and there is a solid foundation both in hockey and the business operations. I am eager to get to know the people and sink my teeth into the task at hand.”

In a sense, Hunt is returning to Prince Albert as he spent three seasons with the club as a player in the ‘80s. He began making headway in coaching when he became the bench boss of the Moose Jaw Warriors in 2002. He went on to spend six seasons as the head coach of the Regina Pats (2004-2008, 2009-2011) and split time between the Ottawa Senators and their AHL affiliate, the Binghamton Senators, in 2008-09. He was the GM and head coach of AJHL’s Fort McMurray Oil Barons this past season.

Albeit the title is general manager, Hunt is more or less the team’s head of hockey operations because of how the club gave head coach Marc Habscheid a four-year extension in late April. It seems unlikely that Prince Albert’s board of directors would let him make a big coaching change within the next two years unless he builds an overwhelming case on why it’s needed. In saying that, it’s tough to blame the Raiders for their unorthodox order of moves, as there likely was a timetable to resign Habscheid with other teams sniffing around.

With the Raiders winning two playoff games in the past eight years, Hunt has a lot of work to do in Hockey Town North. The organization needs to raise its on-ice expectations and find a way to build a complete team, something Campese failed to do. They do have some bluechip prospects in their system such as top 2015 bantam picks Cole Fonstad and Carson Miller and highly regarded goalie prospect Ian Scott. They are lacking, however, in 1998 talent after trading top 2013 pick Jake Kryski to the Kamloops Blazers for then-overage netminder Cole Cheveldave in 2013.

Other news and notes

The countdown is on for Brandon Wheat Kings GM-head coach Kelly McCrimmon and the Toronto Maple Leafs. Wheat Kings play-by-play announcer Bruce Luebke reports McCrimmon will make a decision by June 11 on whether he will accept the management position that the team offered him.

Even though it is Toronto, leaving Brandon will be by no means an easy decision for McCrimmon. He’s not only the architect and coach of the Wheat Kings, but he also owns the organization. On top of that, his WHL club is about to hit its peak. The Wheaties are easily the early favourites to win the 2016 Ed Chynoweth Cup after falling to the Kelowna Rockets in the league final this past season.

If McCrimmon does leave, the pressure is on Brandon’s next coach and/or GM to get the job done. The Wheaties owner keeps his coaches on a short leash as he fired his last two bench bosses (Cory Clouston in 2012 and Dwayne Gylywoychuk in 2013) after just one season each.

The Vancouver Giants remain on the lookout for their next head coach. They’ve interviewed everyone and their dog for the position, including former Buffalo Sabres coach Ted Nolan, ex-Saskatoon Blades GM-coach Lorne Molleken, ex-Lethbridge Hurricanes coach Mike Dyck, former Edmonton Oilers coach Dallas Eakins, previous Kootenay Ice bench boss Ryan McGill and ex-Toronto Marlies coach Steve Spott.

Vancouver Province writer Steve Ewen believes McGill and Molleken are two of the favourites. It will be “interesting” to see how everything plays out if the Giants hire Molleken. He left the Blades following trading away five straight first-round picks, two of which turned out to be first overall selections, and was swept in his last three playoff series.

It appears the 2015-16 season could be a make-or-break year for Kootenay. Cranbrook Daily Townsman reporter Taylor Rocca wrote a column that claims the league may be forced to relocate the organization the following year if their financial struggles continue. The news shouldn’t take too many off guard based on the Ice reportedly having a six-digit deficit this past year.

“It’s reached a very critical stage,” WHL commissioner Ron Robison said on the Ice in the piece. “I think it’s something we’re going to have to determine this year. If things aren’t improving, I don’t believe ownership or the league will be in a position to continue to support the franchise remaining in Cranbrook. It’s a very critical season coming up. We need to see more support in order to get us to a position where we have confidence in the market moving forward, but at this stage, we’re very concerned about the future of the franchise.”

Kootenay has been rumoured to be on the move for quite some time now. In 2013, BTN learned that Ice majority owner Jeff Chynoweth spoke with True North Sports & Entertainment, the Winnipeg Jets’ ownership group, about a possible sale. The talks didn’t go far because Chynoweth was asking for a lot more than what the Jets were willing to pay at that time.

Kelly Friesen is a Buzzing the Net columnist for Yahoo! Sports. Follow him on Twitter @KellyFriesen