Buskas awaits word on future

Tim Graham

Thursday, June 11, 1998 | 10:52 a.m.

When Rod Buskas decided to quit playing hockey three years ago, he appeared all set.

His hobbies were conducive to retirement. He loved to golf, fish and fly airplanes. And once he opened Precision Flight -- a training school in Henderson -- Buskas never seemed wont for work.

But Buskas, as a favor to an old friend, got back into the game in 1997-98. When Clint Malarchuk took over as head coach of the Las Vegas Thunder in March, he asked Buskas to be his assistant.

Now the former Thunder defenseman finds himself eagerly awaiting word on whether he'll work behind the bench again next season.

The Thunder still is without a head coach after Malarchuk took the job with Idaho of the West Coast Hockey League. Until that void is filled, Buskas' hockey future hangs in the balance.

"You always want to know as soon as possible, but I'm prepared to wait it out," Buskas said. "But if I am coming back on a definite basis, I'd like to know fairly soon."

Buskas assisted Malarchuk for 19 regular season and four playoff games. It was his first taste of coaching, and now he is hungry for more.

One thing he is not ready for, however, is being the main man. He claims his coaching experience is too limited.

"I played a long time, but how much coaching experience do I really have?" asked Buskas, who played 11 NHL seasons with four teams before joining the Thunder in its inaugural campaign of 1993-94.

"Right now, I'm comfortable to fill the role as an assistant. Maybe a year or two down the road I'll be prepared to fill a head coaching position somewhere.

"From the Thunder's standpoint, there's a lot of good, quality guys out there. I know (general manager) Bob Strumm's getting calls all the time from guys with a lot of experience. He has some guys to pick from."

Original Thunder assistant Bob Bourne interviewed for the head coaching vacancy last week and appears to be a frontrunner. Buskas, knowing full well the eventual head coach will have final say on his assistant, is confident he can work with Bourne.

"When he played for the New York Islanders, I was with Pittsburgh," Buskas said. "We rubbed shoulders on the ice a little you might say. We know each other.

"I think I'd feel quite comfortable working with him. I got along great with him when we were with the Thunder."

Roster additions

The Thunder added a pair of players to its limited roster on Wednesday by re-signing goaltender Konstantin Simchuk and welcoming defenseman Alexander Alexeev. Both are 24 and hail from Kiev, Ukraine.

Simchuk, the WCHL's goaltender of the year with Tacoma, played in 16 games with Las Vegas, going 6-6-1 with a 3.19 goals-against average and a .897 save percentage. He was 33-11-1 with a 3.08 GAA and a .890 percentage with Tacoma.

"Even in the short period of time he was exposed here, the fans know who Simchuk is," Strumm said. "At some times, with other people in the nets, the fans were chanting his name."

Simchuk posted two shutouts for the Thunder. Both came in his first seven starts.

He is a candidate to be taken in the upcoming NHL draft, but if that were to happen, the Thunder would retain his minor-league rights.

"Whenever a goalie can put a goose egg on the board," Strumm said, "you know he has tremendous upside. This guy is a National League prospect. Eventually, he could play there."

Alexeev played with Hampton of the East Coast Hockey League last season. He recorded six goals, 36 assists and 115 penalty minutes in 57 games. The 6-foot, 216-pounder also registered four goals, 12 assists and 36 penalty minutes in 20 playoff outings.

"He's always been a prospect, but for some reason this year he's taken his game to another level," Strumm said. "He's a steady, reliable defensive guy who can put some offensive points on the board."