New Wranglers coach brings experience

Former Wranglers coach Glen Gulutzan was only 31 years old and a season removed from playing professional hockey when he was named coach and general manager of Las Vegas' ECHL franchise six years ago.

In fact, Gulutzan had little coaching experience of any kind before grabbing the reins of the Wranglers, acting as a player-coach for the now-defunct Fresno Falcons for only a couple of seasons.

So in Gulutzan's view, his successor in Las Vegas, 33-year-old Ryan Mougenel, is better prepared for his first head coaching job than he was.

Mougenel, who like Gulutzan retired from playing in 2003, was officially introduced as the second coach and GM in Wranglers history on Tuesday at the Orleans after serving four years as an assistant to Stockton Thunder coach Matt Thomas.

"He's probably ahead of me in the fact that when I first got there I had very little experience and he's worked under a very good coach for four years," said Gulutzan, who recently left Las Vegas to become coach of the American Hockey League's Texas Stars. "I would like to think I came into Las Vegas and tried to do things the right way, and I think Ryan has those qualities, too.

"He wants to promote his players, he's got integrity, and a lot of the agents like him and have got a good rapport with him. He's got a good reputation, and that's going to help him tremendously."

Like Gulutzan, Mougenel considers himself a player's coach, but he realizes he must also command their respect.

"I'm going to be firm to get the most out of everybody," Mougenel said. "That's basically who I am. I'm a guy who wants guys to play and have fun, but I also have a ton of teaching to do because everybody at this level has deficiencies in their game and my job is to recognize that and get these guys better."

While coaching under Thomas at Fresno from 2005 to 2008 and the second half of last season with the Thunder, Mougenel's teams played the same, defensive-minded style as Gulutzan's, and he also plans to build the Wranglers in much the same way as his predecessor.

"We had a chance to sit down and talk about some guys we think will be the right fit here -- not necessarily the best players, but the right fit," Mougenel said. "We recruit the same type of people ... . That's real important to me, getting great character guys who are going to implement my vision."

Mougenel hopes his youth can help him "identify with the players," but he also expressed concern about the potential problems playing in Sin City could pose for some of them.

"It's definitely a concern, but it goes back to recruiting the right people," he said. "I want guys who are going to work and commit themselves for one year to the game to get to the next level and to win."

Helping to promote players is one sure way to earn their respect.

"Everyone I've talked to has a real positive attitude about him, so that's good," said former Wranglers center Chris Neiszner, who is leaning toward returning to the team. "Everything I hear about Ryan is he's going to try to push players up to the AHL and create the best atmosphere in Las Vegas for a winning team, and those are the situations you want to be in."

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0354.