Disgraced hockey coach Graham James eligible to apply for full parole

Graham James walks into a building connected to the Law Courts for his sentencing hearing in Winnipeg, Tuesday, March 20, 2012.

WINNIPEG - Disgraced junior hockey coach Graham James is eligible to apply for full parole, but has not yet made a request.

Last March, James was sentenced to two years in jail after pleading guilty to sexually abusing retired NHL star Theo Fleury and his cousin, Todd Holt, when they were teenage players in the Western Hockey League.

James became eligible for day parole in September and for full parole this week, but the National Parole Board says it has not received any applications from him.

The Crown is appealing the two-year sentence in a hearing set for Dec. 3.

The Crown had asked for a six-year term and, in its appeal, says the judge erred by placing too much emphasis on James's previous time behind bars.

James was sentenced to 3 1/2 years in 1997 for molesting former NHLer Sheldon Kennedy and two other players.