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Head coach Dallas Ferguson won’t be the only new face this season on the Alaska Nanooks coaching staff.

The Central Collegiate Hockey Association program is scheduled to have two new full-time assistant coaches, as the University of Alaska Fairbanks athletic administration began nationally advertising the positions last Friday, Ferguson said in an interview in his office on Tuesday.

The application deadline is this Friday and Ferguson estimates that 25 people have either formally applied or called or e-mailed him about the openings.

“It’s been a good mix,” he said. “I’ve

been very impressed

with the people who have contacted me and just the levels they’re at. Some have been in college and went back to junior hockey and then back to college. There’s also guys who have been in college hockey and guys who have been in pro hockey who have shown interest.”

Ferguson was named on May 15 as the eighth head coach in Nanooks history. When he was a finalist to replace Doc DelCastillo as head coach, he had alluded to possible changes among the team’s assistant coaches.

Ferguson and John Rose were Alaska’s full-time assistant coaches under DelCastillo, who coached only last season and resigned April 10. Rose, who was with the Nanooks for only last season, came to UAF following three seasons as an assistant coach for Mercyhurst College in Erie, Pa., and Ferguson had been a Nanooks assistant coach since 2004-05.

Lance West served last season as a volunteer assistant coach and the Nanooks’ video coordinator.

Ferguson said that Rose isn’t scheduled to be back with the Nanooks this season.

“John is looking elsewhere,” Ferguson said. “We had a mutual conversation and the decision was made to open the jobs up. We left on good terms and he is still technically an employee here.”

Rose’s contract expires at the end of June.

Ferguson said that West, a fomer longtime assistant coach for Alabama-Huntsville, has expressed interest in becoming a full-time Alaska assistant.

“Lance has expressed interest in staying on as part of the program,” Ferguson said.

Ferguson said that former Alaska players have shown interest in becoming assistant coaches this season.

“I’ve had conversations with guys who’ve had a relationship with the program, and some are guys I met during my playing days,” said Ferguson, who was a Nanooks defenseman from 1992-96. “Obviously, you want to think about what might be a good fit for the program, what’s best for the Nanooks. But it’s been a real good feeling knowing that I’ll be surrounded by quality coaches.”

Character and work ethic are among the factors that Ferguson is considering in seeking assistant coaches for his first season as his alma mater’s bench boss.

“We (coaches) spend more time together in the winter than we do with our families. So, you want to have someone who’s enjoyable to be around,” Ferguson said.

Coaching skills are critical, too.

“You don’t want the staff to have the same type of skills; you’d like to add a little bit of diversity as far as what people’s strengths are,” he said. “What are the things that they can get better on, that we can develop as coaches and grow together?”

Ferguson is considering well-rounded applicants, especially those with experience in recruiting in junior leagues in western Canada, the United States Hockey League and the North American Hockey League.

“With our staff, we don’t have three or four people who are going to be able to do a lot of things, like some other programs have,” he said. “So it’s important that if things need to be done, they get done. Guys have to be willing to get things done and they can’t sit around and wait for someone to do the job. They have to take the bull by the horns and work.”

Ferguson said he hopes to announce the new assistant coaches by the first week of July.

“Obviously, everybody wants to win a championship, and you want to work the process so you’re developing the team and going about it the right way,” he said. “At the same time, you want to have someone here who can be a positive influence to our athletes, our university and our community. You want to have a coach who will be a role model and a leader for all the right reasons.”

Ice chips

• Goaltender Erik Largen isn’t scheduled to return this fall for his junior season, Ferguson said.

The Fairbanks native backed up senior Wylie Rogers and junior Chad Johnson last season. He appeared in four games for the Nanooks and compiled a career record of 0-1-0 with a 5.01 goals against average and .846 saves percentage.

• The Las Vegas Wranglers, with former Nanooks forwards Kelly Czuy and Curtis Fraser, trail the Cincinnati Cyclones three games to two in the ECHL’s Kelly Cup championship series.

The Cyclones won 4-0 in Game 5 on Monday night in Las Vegas. Czuy, a right wing, had three shots and Fraser, a center, had a shot and a plus-minus rating of -1.

Czuy has three points in the best-of-seven series, including a goal in a 2-0 victory last Friday in Las Vegas. Fraser has no points in the series, but he accumulated eight minutes worth of penalties last Friday with three roughing and one goaltender interference minor.

Game 6 takes place Thursday in Cincinnati, and a Las Vegas victory forces a seventh and deciding game in Cincinnati on Saturday.