I’m sad to report that UMass Hall of Famer Jack Canniff passed away over the weekend.  Coach Canniff ranks second all time in wins and led UMass to the 1972 Division II National Championship.  Prior to his time at UMass Canniff played hockey for Boston College.

 Besides his playing and coaching accolades he was just an all around good guy and was highly thought of by his former players and those currently in the UMass program.   He has been a fixture at UMass games and his presence at the Mullins will surely be missed.

 Here’s the full press release from UMass.

Justin Braun has been pegged as the 17th best prospect for the San Jose Sharks in Hockey’s Future’s latest organizational rankings.  I’m still trying to find out whether Braun attended the Sharks Prospect Camp in July.  Unlike nearly every other NHL team the Sharks seem to want nothing to do with publicizing their prospect camp.  While we got to see some nice stories about Rocco Carzo with the Flyers and Casey Wellman with the Predators this is what we get from the Sharks:

The development camp is not the place to showcase one’s talents, but rather to work on a player’s weaknesses, which explains why the team conducts these sessions in a controlled, closed environment.

Gee thanks.  They didn’t even bother releasing a roster. 

 In some other Sharks news they and the Flyers have agreed to have the Kalamazoo Wings as their ECHL affiliate.  Though the K-Wings have been around for decades this will be their first year in the ECHL.  I’m glad to see hockey going strong in Kalamazoo.  I always keep an eye on the K-Wings since I spent some time in Michigan and have seen a game a Wings Stadium.   Plus, there is a UMass connection with the K-Wings to as the Turner brothers, Tim and Jeff, both had success playing with them after college.