How Gulutzan spent his summer vacation

Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2006 | 7:27 a.m.

Glen Gulutzan spent his offseason in Saskatchewan. He played several positions on the softball diamond and built an enclosed patio on the rear deck of his Fishing Lake cabin.

That versatility and diligence should help Gulutzan, the coach and general manager of the Las Vegas Wranglers, reconstruct his ECHL hockey organization.

Within a 2 1/2-week stretch during his annual down time at Fishing Lake, Gulutzan learned that seven players - most of them key figures from the team's sterling 2005-06 season - won't return.

The exodus might grow, as center Derek Edwardson and left wing Sean O'Connor could be headed for the American Hockey League, the Triple-A level of minor league hockey. The 25-team ECHL is considered Double-A level.

"You're always prepared for it," Gulutzan said, with a slight laugh, in detailing those departures.

Was that a nervous laugh?

"Yeah, it is a little bit," he said. "But, you know, that's built in. We know how we have to go about it here. We have to recruit. We'll see."

Center Matt Dzieduszycki, who had team highs with 34 goals and 78 points last season, signed with a club in Germany, as did center Chris Stanley. Left wing Dan Tudin inked a deal in Italy. That trio accounted for 91 goals and 110 assists last season, when the Wranglers went 53-13-6. Other key departures: Defenseman Christian Chartier is headed for Norway, and left wing Todd Alexander is starting a contracting business in British Columbia.

Gulutzan, 35, said he was fortunate to have players like Dzieduszycki and Chartier, who formed the core of the squad, around for most of last season.

"The elite players," Gulutzan said, "just kind of decided to spend most of their time here."

It paid off. The team's 112 points were the third-highest in the 18 years of the ECHL. But Las Vegas lost a second-round playoff series to Alaska, which won the West Division regular season by a point over the Wranglers to secure the home-ice edge in the postseason.

Wranglers will report to Las Vegas for physicals Oct. 5, and preseason camp starts the following day. Fans have already queried Gulutzan about the team's chances for improving this season, which he addressed in a summer video.

"Take a look at that season," Gulutzan said. "The third-best record in the history of the league. I don't know how much better you can be, as a team, without winning a championship.

"Obviously, we'd like to win a championship here. That's always our goal. But I definitely think (the division) will be a lot tighter this season."

He said preseason depth charts show Phoenix and Stockton, which struggled last season, improving. In fact, Gulutzan doesn't foresee any divisional foe getting weaker; so he predicted tight playoff races until the end of March.

Fortunately for Gulutzan, many young players on his recruiting radar live within driving distance of his cabin in the middle of Canada.

The only time he spent more time dining with prospects or talking with them on his cell phone was 2003, when he was organizing his roster for the Wranglers' inaugural season.

Building that screened enclosure, cutting roof tin, and playing second and third base for the Foam Lake Merchants in fast-pitch tournaments all around Saskatchewan occupied his down time at Fishing Lake.

The deck project ended in better fashion than Gulutzan's softball season started for the Merchants.

"I struck out in my first three at-bats in that first game," Gulutzan said. The deck "was a good learning experience for me. It was pretty complex, but it all turned out pretty good."

That's what Wranglers fans hope to say about their team's face lift this season.