The Phoenix Coyotes agreed to contract extensions with Portland Pirates Coach Ray Edwards and assistant coaches John Slaney and Mike Minard.

“We are very pleased to have Ray continue to lead our AHL team in Portland,” Coyotes vice president of hockey operations and assistant general manager Brad Treliving said. “Ray, along with John and Mike, have formed an excellent staff and they have done a terrific job in the continued development of our prospects.”

Portland finished with a 41-30-3-2 record this season to earn a spot in the Calder Cup playoffs, and had 11 players called up to the parent Coyotes.

“We are thrilled that the contracts of the Pirates’ coaching staff have been extended by Coyotes management,” Portland Pirates CEO/managing owner Brian Petrovek said. “This provides continuity going forward, picking up on the successes experienced this past season as we begin our third decade of Portland Pirates hockey.”

Edwards, 43, is entering his seventh season with the Coyotes’ organization and his fifth as head coach of the Coyotes’ AHL affiliate.

Slaney, a two-time recipient of the Eddie Shore Award given to the AHL’s top defenseman, enters his third season with the Pirates.

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Minard, 36, enters a third season as the Pirates’ goaltending/video coach. He is a two-time recipient of the AHL’s Yanick Dupre Memorial Award for outstanding community service.

Also, Pirates’ athletic trainer Mike Booi and equipment manager John Krouse signed contract extensions.

Booi, a Michigan State graduate, enters his third season as the Pirates’ athletic trainer, while Krouse, who served as an equipment manager of the old Iowa Stars for three seasons, enters his fifth season with the Phoenix organization.

 

Paul Betit can be contacted at 791-6424 or at pbetit@pressherald.com

Twitter: PaulBetitPPH

 


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