LOOKING IN ON: LAS VEGAS WRANGLERS

Saturday, June 30, 2007 | 7:32 a.m.

For the second consecutive offseason, Las Vegas Wranglers coach and general manager Glen Gulutzan has lost his top two scorers to Europe.

Soon after the team's ECHL season ended in the playoffs to Idaho, center Derek Edwardson, who had 27 goals and 41 assists for 68 points, signed a contract with a team in Germany.

Steve Crampton, a left wing who had 62 points (23 goals, 39 assists) in 2006-07, also inked a deal in the German league. Defenseman Ryan Bonni has been lured to Switzerland.

Last summer, Gulutzan lost Matt Dzieduszycki and Dan Tudin to Europe.

"We are what we are in the ECHL," Gulutzan said. "We're a developmental league. A lot of these players are very, very good Double-A players. For whatever reasons, they haven't gotten a foot in the door in Triple-A.

"And they're a commodity in Europe."

The bottom line, according to Gulutzan, is too good to pass up in Europe, where they play about 30 fewer games on a bigger rink. Fighting is all but extinct on the continent, so players have less wear and tear on their bodies.

The ECHL has a salary cap of $11,500 per player, but the teams take care of accommodations . In Europe, they earn about $55,000 in tax-free salary, and the club pays for their accommodations and a car. Elite players can make $130,000, taking six figures home after the season.

"It's a pretty good way to play the game and make a lot of money," Gulutzan said. "It's very tough to pass up . "

New faces

Gulutzan said he also doesn't expect defenseman Scott Schoneck to return, and veteran defenseman and team captain Mike McBain is seriously considering retiring.

"If last offseason we lost half our core, this year we've lost the rest of our backbone," Gulutzan said. "Next season, we'll really be in a rebuilding stage."

The Calgary Flames, the Wranglers' parent club, have signed nine draftees. That's a high figure, but some, Gulutzan said, have junior eligibility remaining.

In addition, Gulutzan sees a few holes for the Flames to fill on their Quad Cities team in the American Hockey League, so he's expecting the same number of Flames prospects - three, maybe four - to be sent to Las Vegas.

One will likely be a goaltender to back up Mike McKenna.

An intriguing prospect is Brett Sutter, starting a new generation of Sutters in professional hockey. Sutter's father, Darryl, is the general manager of the Flames. He and five brothers played in the NHL. Name his brothers (answer below in Slap shots).

Just missed

The Wranglers have advanced to the postseason in three of their four seasons, and they've lost to the eventual Kelly Cup champion in each of those playoffs.

In their first season and this past May, they lost to Idaho. In 2005-06, they lost to Alaska.

The past two seasons have been particularly tough, because Las Vegas went 53-13-6 (for 112 points) and 46-12-14 (for a league-best 106 points), respectively.

"Hopefully, one year it's your year," Gulutzan said. "For three years ... we were a team that could have won it all. As long as we keep putting ourselves in position to win, eventually things will roll our way."

Slap shots

Driving his wife, Nicole, and their four children to his parents' cabin in Hudson Bay, from Calgary, Gulutzan said he was forced to make an audible to his summer plans when the lake he retreats to every summer in Saskatchewan flooded the family's cabin ... En route to Hudson Bay, he planned to meet with two prospects in Saskatoon ... The Flames hired controversial Mike Keenan as their coach June 14. Known as "Iron Mike" for his feisty attitude with past players and team administrators, Keenan led the New York Rangers to a Stanley Cup championship in 1993 ... Las Vegas plays host to Bakersfield in a preseason game Oct. 11 at the Orleans Arena and will play its first home game of the 2007-08 season on Oct. 21. For ticket information, call 471-7825 ... Trivia answer: Brent, Brian, Duane, Rich and Ron Sutter, like brother Darryl, all played in the NHL.