Jim Nill could have picked anyone from an extensive list of experienced out-of-work NHL coaches to fill the Dallas Stars’ vacancy. Outside of now-San Jose’s Peter DeBoer and ex-Pittsburgh coach Mike Johnston, junior hockey hasn’t funneled many straight to the NHL, and there have only been two European-born head coaches: Ivan Hlinka and Alpo Suhonen in the early 2000s. It’s far more common for teams to mine the American Hockey League and NHL staffs for head jobs, and that’s usually a necessary step. Buffalo’s Phil Housley got some experience as the U.S. world junior coach but went right from high school hockey to being an assistant in Nashville. ——Follow Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno on Twitter at https://twitter.com/SWhyno——More NHL hockey: https://apnews.com/tag/NHLhockey

Source: National Post May 09, 2018 06:45 UTC