Quick Strikes: The Jeff & Penny Vinik Family Club at Winston Park opens

The Bolts

The Boys & Girls Clubs of Tampa Bay got a treat yesterday: Helping to open the Jeff & Penny Vinik Family Club at Winston Park. Vinik, who owns the Tampa Bay Lightning, continues to do all he and his family can to support growth in the area. [Tampa Bay Lightning]

The Vinik Family Club will serve youth ages 5-18, primarily from surrounding Clair-Mel Elementary and Dowdell Middle School. The Club has a capacity to serve 200 young people and its proximity to area schools will make transitioning those young people from the end of the school day to the Club very convenient for area families.

We had an awesome time today opening the brand new Jeff & Penny Vinik Family Boys & Girls Club at Winston Park and continuing to help support the health and growth of our incredible community. 😍 pic.twitter.com/2daYz4JPCC

— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) August 21, 2018

Mr. Vinik: “We are not the Tampa Lightning. We are the Tampa Bay Lightning… Our arena might be downtown, but our mission is far broader than that. We just want to make a difference and help people’s lives across the community as best we can.”

— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) August 21, 2018

Q: What does Alan want to see more of next season? A: Mikhail Sergachev! [Raw Charge]

The first question heading into camp will be whether the coaches are willing to let Sergachev move up the lineup. And if they are, the second question will be whether the twenty year old is ready to seize that opportunity.

The Prospects

Work keeps humming along at the Onondaga County War Memorial, home of the Lighting’s AHL affiliate. The area that the Syracuse Crunch plays in will look rather different come this October.

This view is suite! pic.twitter.com/Mj7jpk3Z7X

— Jim Sarosy (@JimSarosy) August 21, 2018

Demo work on the signs and ribbon lights has begun. #GettingCloser pic.twitter.com/T8hRCxpwW6

— Jim Sarosy (@JimSarosy) August 21, 2018

He isn’t in the system yet, but he could be! The Orlando Solar Bears, ECHL affiliate of the Lightning and the Crunch, have signed forward Trevor Olson. Although Olson couldn’t be called up to Syracuse unless he had a PTO or an AHL contract, being with the Solar Bears means the organization can have a nice good look at him.  [Raw Charge]

Olson is a 24 year old native of Duluth, Minnesota. Having come up through the USHL and NCAA hockey, Olson made his professional debut last spring with the South Carolina Stingrays of the ECHL.

The Game

Randy Lee resigned his position as assistant general manager of the Ottawa Senators and general manager of the Belleville Senators yesterday. Lee is on trial for harassment and was suspended by the organization in June. [Ottawa Senators]

(Normally you’d see something from the press release here, but the release was understandably short, so…)

The New Jersey Devils have a new heritage jersey for 2018-2019:

A Jersey classic returns. https://t.co/Agvli8EdZJ pic.twitter.com/59cm9JsVZR

— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) August 21, 2018

The Columbus Blue Jackets added staff to their organization yesterday with the hiring of Jim Corsi as the organization’s goaltending development coach and Carey Krug as an assistant coach for the Cleveland Monsters. [Blue Jackets]

(And, yes, it is THAT Corsi)

Corsi established the “Corsi Rating,” an advanced statistic that measures shot attempt differential during even-strength. It’s figured by calculating the number of shots directed toward the offensive goal versus the number of shots directed toward the defensive goal during five-on-five situations, excluding empty net shots)

The Toronto Maple Leafs had a rather large training camp in 1968:

Toronto Maple Leafs will open training camp in Peterborough on Sept. 11. 23 players will report at that time, while the other 65 slated to attend arrive on September 16. GM Punch Imlach wouldn’t say why the bulk of players are arriving 5 days later: pic.twitter.com/EfyNtWHA5W

— 1968 Hockey Tweets (@1968NHLtweets) August 21, 2018

Could – should? – the ECHL add more Western teams? C.C. Hawkley explores some potential cities the league might look to if it wished to add more teams out west. [The SinBin]

In 2014, the ECHL had seven teams in its Pacific Division: the Alaska Aces, Bakersfield Condors, Colorado Eagles, Idaho Steelheads, Ontario Reign, Stockton Thunder, and Utah Grizzlies. Of those seven teams, only two markets still consist of an ECHL squad. The AHL commenced a westward expansion in 2015, giving the three ex-ECHL California markets franchises in the American League. And, with Alaska suspending operations in 2017 and Colorado moving to the AHL in 2018, Idaho and Utah are geographically stranded as the two westernmost ECHL teams for the 2018-19 season.

Speaking of the ECHL, the Fort Wayne Komets have entered into a one-year affiliation agreement with the Vegas Golden Knights of the NHL for 2018-19. [Komets]

“We are proud to add the ECHL’s Fort Wayne Komets as an affiliate,” said Vegas Golden Knights General Manager George McPhee. “ECHL clubs play an important role in player development. Our young players and prospects will have the opportunity to grow and improve in both Fort Wayne at the ECHL level and then in Chicago at the American Hockey League level.”