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[October 8, 1999] -- Minnesota Wild Executive Vice President/General Manager Doug Risebrough (pronounced Rise-brow) announced today the National Hockey League (NHL) club has named Glen Sonmor, Glen Giovanucci (pronounced Gee-o-va-nu-chi) and Matti Vaisanen (pronounced Vees-a-nen) as Amateur Scouts, and Terry Simpson, and Rich Sutter as Pro Scouts. All five scouts will report directly to Risebrough.
Sonmor, Giovanucci and Vaisanen will be responsible for scouting amateur talent for the Minnesota Wild in preparation for the NHL Entry Draft on June 24-25, 2000. All three will work closely with Chief Amateur Scout Tom Thompson and Coordinator of Amateur Scouting Guy Lapointe. Simpson and Sutter will be responsible for scouting professional talent in preparation for the NHL Expansion Draft on June 23, 2000 and work closely with Risebrough.
"I am very excited to hire these five scouts who all share a strong passion and commitment to building the Minnesota Wild hockey club," said Risebrough. "These individuals bring a wealth of scouting knowledge and expertise to the Wild's hockey operations department."
Sonmor's Minnesota hockey experience includes serving as Head Coach for the University of Minnesota from 1965-71, serving as Head Coach and General Manager for the Minnesota Fighting Saints from 1972-76 and serving as Head Coach for the Minnesota North Stars in three different stints 1978-83, 1984-85 and 1986-87. He compiled a coaching record of 174-161-82 (.516) in 417 games for the North Stars and led the club to their first Stanley Cup Appearance in 1981. Sonmor, 70, a native of Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan most recently served as a Scout for the Phoenix Coyotes. He currently resides in Bloomington, Minnesota and is a radio analyst for Minnesota Golden Gopher hockey games on KSTP (AM 1500) radio.
Giovanucci played collegiate hockey at Army from 1978-79 and at Northeastern University from 1980-83. While pursuing a business career after graduating from Northeastern, he served as an Assistant Coach at Army from 1985-88 and at Northeastern from 1988-91. Giovanucci was hired as a Scout by the Calgary Flames in 1991 and served in that capacity until being hired by the Wild. He, 39, and his wife, Mary Beth, have three daughters, Lauren, Rachael and Jackie, and one son, Mike and live in Boston, Massachusetts.
Vaisanen, 53, will be responsible for scouting amateur talent in Europe. He is entering his 21st season as an NHL Scout. After spending his first NHL season with the Washington Capitals (1979-80), he joined the Edmonton Oilers for the next 11 seasons (1980-91), becoming the first full-time NHL Scout based in Europe. Vaisanen was with the Oilers for their five Stanley Cup championships between 1984 and 1990. After spending the next three seasons with the Minnesota North Stars (1991-94), Vaisanen joined the Florida Panthers prior to the 1993-94 season. For the last six seasons, he has directed the Panthers European Scouting Operations. Vaisanen and his wife, Hannele, have two sons, Samu and Jonne and live in Helsinki, Finland.
Simpson, 56, will be responsible for scouting professional talent in the western region. He began his coaching career at Prince Albert (SJHL and WHL) compiling a record of 433-120-10 in 14 seasons (1972-86). He led the New York Islanders to the Patrick Division title in 1987-88 while serving as the club's Head Coach from 1986-89. After three seasons as an Assistant Coach for the Winnipeg Jets, Simpson served as Head Coach for the Philadelphia Flyers in 1993-94. He rejoined Winnipeg as an Assistant Coach for the 1994-95 season before taking over as the Jet's Head Coach for the final 15 games of the 1994-95 campaign and the entire 1995-96 season. Simpson was most recently an Assistant Coach for the Toronto Maple Leafs. He and his wife, Red, have two daughters, Tracie and Kelly and live in Red Deer, Alberta.
Sutter will be responsible for scouting professional talent in the eastern region. During his 14-year NHL playing career, he played for the Pittsburgh Penguins (1982-83), the Philadelphia Flyers (1983-86), the Vancouver Canucks (1986-90), the St. Louis Blues (1990-93), the Chicago Blackhawks (1993-95), the Tampa Bay Lightning (1995) and the Toronto Maple Leafs (1995). In 874 career NHL games, Sutter compiled 315 points on 149 goals and 166 assists. He is one of six brothers to have played in the NHL, others are: Brent, Brian, Darryl, Duane and Ron. Sutter, 35, spent the past two seasons as a Professional Scout with Team Canada and served as an Assistant Coach at the 1999 World Championships. He and his wife, Rhonda, have two daughters, Sabra and Kendra, and one son, Lukas and live in Lethbridge, Alberta.
Sonmor, Giovanucci, Vaisanen, Simpson and Sutter and will begin their new roles with the Minnesota Wild immediately.