FROM THE CREASE with Bruce Berlet 

By Bruce Berlet

John Paddock, who guided the Wolf Pack to their only Calder Cup in 2000, got an unexpected request Monday night to become the new interim coach of the Adirondack Phantoms, the top affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers.

Paddock, the Flyers assistant general manager who was inducted into the AHL Hall of Fame on Jan. 19, wasn’t prepared to replace the fired Greg Gilbert, who lasted only 13 games as the Phantoms got off to the AHL’s worst start (2-10-1-0). The Phantoms have lost nine in a row since a 3-2 victory over Syracuse on Oct. 15.

But taking over for Gilbert, who was 32-41-3-4 last season after going 123-89-10-18 in the previous three seasons as Marlies coach, was the best option for the Flyers.

“The change isn’t something we expected, but it wasn’t a surprise as the losses mounted,” Paddock said Tuesday morning before leaving Philadelphia for Adirondack. “It made me refocus my thinking. I had to get back to a different mode and mindset. It’s not the plan to be there at the end of the season, but it’s hard to find someone in the middle of the season.”

Flyers GM and former Whalers GM Paul Holmgren made the change, saying in a press release “the lack of success for the team of late is not acceptable. I believe this move became necessary under the circumstances.”

Paddock, 56, a former coach and general manager of the Winnipeg Jets and Phoenix Coyotes, coached the Phantoms to a 43-30-2-5 record in the 2008-09 season, the last they were based in Philadelphia. The Phantoms qualified for the playoffs but lost to the Hershey Bears in the first round in four games. He was promoted to Flyers assistant GM the following season.

“We’ve got 10 or 11 rookies, but we think (the Phantoms) are not as bad as they’ve been,” Paddock said. “We don’t have a star, but we’ve got some solid veterans like (former Wolf Pack captain) Greg Moore, Dan Jancevski, David Laliberte and Patrick Maroon, so we should be better than we are.”

Paddock has won five Calder Cups – two as player (Maine Mariners, 1978 and 1979) and three as a coach (Maine, 1984; Hershey Bears, 1988; Wolf Pack, 2000). He’s the only coach to lead three teams to the league title and had a 130-74-25-11 record in three seasons coaching the Wolf Pack.

Paddock has a career record of 585-424-98 over 15 seasons as a head coach in the AHL, with the 585 wins and 1,107 games coached both ranking third in league history. He also had a 142-161-43 record in 346 NHL games with the Jets (1991-92 to 1994-95) and Ottawa Senators (2007-08).

Paddock’s assistant could be former New Haven Nighthawks player and Beast of New Haven assistant coach Joe Paterson.

“That’s a possibility, but it hasn’t been finalized,” Paddock said.

The Phantoms play their first game under Paddock on Thursday night at 7 at home against the Toronto Marlies. Paddock’s first trip back to Hartford will be Nov. 28, when the rebranded Wolf Pack plays its second game as the Connecticut Whale at 5 p.m.

Paddock’s return was scheduled to be for the Wolf Pack’s final home game Saturday night, when the All-Wolf Pack Team will be announced. But that changed when he had to go back behind the bench. Instead of being in Hartford, Paddock will be coaching the Phantoms at home against Abbottsford. He’ll be at the XL Center 15 days later.

“That’s the end of a bad trip for us,” Paddock said, referring to four games in five nights, capped by road games at Hershey and Hartford.

Rangers’ Heritage Week Starts Friday

This season is the New York Rangers’ 85^th anniversary season, and in honor of that milestone, the team is unveiling Heritage Week, a weeklong schedule of activities and programming from Friday through Nov. 17 that will provide fans with many opportunities to help celebrate the team’s history.

The celebration begins Friday, when the Rangers unveil a new third jersey that the team will wear during select regular-season games. The jersey is a contemporized throwback that will pay homage to Rangers’ rich history and iconic alumni. A special version of the jersey featuring unique embellishments will be available only at Madison Square Garden.

Also on Friday, there will two grand launch events at the Rink at Rockefeller Center and the NHL Powered by Reebok store on Sixth Avenue. Both events will feature top current Rangers players and alumni, including Hockey Hall of Famer and Cheshire native Brian Leetch, former Whalers enforcer Nick Fotiu, Eddie Giacomin, Adam Graves, Ron Duguay, Vic Hadfield, Brian Mullen, Gilles Villemure and Pete Stemkowski.

The event at Rockefeller Center will feature the unveiling of the third jersey at 7 p.m., followed by a free public skate for fans from 8 p.m. to midnight. At the same time, the NHL Store will offer Rangers fans the opportunity to be the first to don the new jersey from 6 to 10 p.m. The lucky customer who makes the first purchase of the anniversary jersey will win a package that includes tickets to the home game against the Boston Bruins on Nov. 17, when the Rangers will skate in their heritage jerseys for the first time. Rangers past and present will visit the NHL Store throughout the night, stepping into the radio booth for interviews for Sirius/XM’s NHL Live! show. Fans will have the opportunity to submit questions for the radio interviews and win raffle prizes and giveaways.

On Saturday, Rangers partner community rinks will host free public skating sessions to celebrate the anniversary. The sessions will feature appearances by Rangers alumni, raffles and fan giveaways at Floyd Hall Arena, 1:15-3:15 p.m. with Duguay; Danbury Arena, 1:30-2:30 p.m. with Hadfield; Brewster Arena, 3:30-4:30 p.m. with Hadfield; World Ice Arena, noon-1:30 p.m. with Giacomin; Staten Island Skating Pavilion, 2:30-4:30 p.m. with Fotiu; and Stergiopoulos Rink, 2:30-4:30 p.m. with Giacomin.

Throughout the week, Rangers fans will be treated to a special Hockey Hall of Fame exhibit located at the mall area in front of MSG. Featured items will include Conn Smyth, Norris, Calder and Vezina Trophies, game-used equipment from Rangers greats, as well as a one-of-a-kind display area highlighting the evolution of the Rangers jersey ranging from the original 1926 jersey to the 85^th anniversary heritage jersey.

The weeklong celebration will end Feb. 17 with a special Heritage Night when the Rangers play the Bruins wearing the jersey for the first time.All-Wolf Pack Team To Be Announced Saturday

The All-Time Wolf Pack Team, selected by a vote of the fans, will be announced Saturday night before a game against the Springfield Falcons, the last for the Wolf Pack at the XL Center. The first 3,000 fans will receive a free Wolf Pack commemorative poster, and there will be video highlights of the 13-plus years of the team, which will be re-branded as the Connecticut Whale on Nov. 27 against the Sound Tigers.

Fans voted for one goalie, two defensemen and three forwards. The candidates were goaltenders Jason LaBarbera, J.F. Labbe and Steve Valiquette, defensemen Dan Girardi, Mike Mottau, Thomas Pock, Corey Potter, Dale Purinton and Terry Virtue and forwards Ken Gernander, Dane Byers, Derek Armstrong, Nigel Dawes, Alex Giroux, Todd Hall, Greg Moore, P.A. Parenteau, Richard Scott, Brad Smyth, P.J. Stock and Craig Weller.

Wolf Pack Bowl-a-Thon on Sunday

The Wolf Pack will host their annual Bowl-a-Thon on Sunday at the AMF Silver Lanes, 748 Silver Lane, East Hartford. There will be sessions at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.

All Wolf Pack players will be bowling with teams of four bowlers, who have collected pledges to benefit Special Olympics Connecticut Eastern Region. A minimum pledge of $200 is required for a team to enter, and the top fund-raising teams will win prizes, including the use of luxury suites at Wolf Pack home games.

Register online at www.soct.org. For more information, call 877-660-6667.