According to the St. Paul Pioneer Press, the Minnesota Wild has dealt G Manny Fernandez to the Boston Bruins for winger Petr Kalus and a fourth-round draft pick. Kalus had 58 points, including 36 goals, in 60 games with the Regina Pats in 2005-06. Will be interesting to see if he gets a chance to dangle with the trapping Wild. Fernandez, who happens to be a nephew of Wild head coach Jacques Lemaire, was as good as gone the day G Niklas Backstrom signed.
The NHL free-agency circus begins Sunday. Message to GMs: Be wary, be very wary.
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Happy Canada Day
It doesn't get any better than this . . . I actually live 20km (that's about 12 miles) east of Kamloops on the north shore of the South Thompson River . . . Just finished grilling two racks of ribs and now am sitting on my deck that faces east down the river valley, having a glass of red while I listen to the Blue Jays and Mariners; yes, wireless Internet is wonderful. The setting sun is shining on the hills to the east -- which, to be truthful, only serves to highlight the rust-coloured trees that have been so ravaged by pine beetles.
Hope to spend part of Canada Day with Ajay Baines. The former Kamloops Blazers captain helped the Hamilton Bulldogs to the AHL championship and he has brought home the Calder Cup. He called earlier tonight while he (and the Cup) were visiting Blair and Randy Rota. Randy won the Calder Cup with the Nova Scotia Voyageurs — remember them? — in 1973. As I checked out the Voyageurs' roster, I actually found a player against whom I played when I was growing up in Lynn Lake, Man. Murray Anderson, who spent some time in Montreal's organization, played for the Voyageurs. He is from The Pas, Man., and played for his hometown Huskies.
Hope to spend part of Canada Day with Ajay Baines. The former Kamloops Blazers captain helped the Hamilton Bulldogs to the AHL championship and he has brought home the Calder Cup. He called earlier tonight while he (and the Cup) were visiting Blair and Randy Rota. Randy won the Calder Cup with the Nova Scotia Voyageurs — remember them? — in 1973. As I checked out the Voyageurs' roster, I actually found a player against whom I played when I was growing up in Lynn Lake, Man. Murray Anderson, who spent some time in Montreal's organization, played for the Voyageurs. He is from The Pas, Man., and played for his hometown Huskies.
Last day of June
The day starts with an e-mail from long-time friend Bob Strumm. Now a pro scout with the Columbus Blue Jackets, Strummer writes to correct something I mentioned earlier in the week. It seems that former WHL coach John Chapman has not retired from scouting. Rather, he has moved over to the other side. Long an amateur scout, most recently with the Philadelphia Flyers, Chappy has moved to the pro scouting side. He remains with the Flyers . . . Oh, to have a digital recorder handy when Strummer and Chappy meet up on the road.
Had the misfortune of having to drive to Kelowna (and back) today. Not a good day to be on the highways, at least not on 97 through Vernon. Too many people on that road today who are in a hurry to go nowhere.
Had the misfortune of having to drive to Kelowna (and back) today. Not a good day to be on the highways, at least not on 97 through Vernon. Too many people on that road today who are in a hurry to go nowhere.
Friday, June 29, 2007
Problems in B.C. major midget league
The B.C. Major Midget Hockey League’s Okanagan Rockets are looking for a home; the Kamloops-based Thompson Blazers may not be far behind.
The Kelowna Daily Courier revealed Friday that the Kelowna Minor Hockey Association has eliminated the Rockets’ ice time.
Stan Burton, president of the Kamloops Minor Hockey Association, told The Daily News on Friday that his association “isn’t going to do anything this year, but we have some issues.”
The BCMMHL is preparing for its fourth season. It is operated by B.C. Hockey, which asks minor associations to find ice time, something Burton said can run to as much as 170 hours per season.
Kelowna Minor, faced with an increase in registrations, has chosen to withdraw as the Rockets’ host association. Registration in Kelowna has gone from 1,100 players in 2004 to an anticipated 1,300 in 2007-08.
“Basically, we don’t have enough ice time,” Kelowna Minor president Luis Diaz told The Daily Courier. “It comes down to decisions of whether you put 50 or 60 or 70 kids on the ice, or you put (on) a team of 20 players, of which only eight to 10 are from Kelowna.
“With those 100-plus hours, we can put another four or five teams on the ice, with rosters between 14 and 17 players. We told (B.C. Hockey) because of the lack of ice, we weren’t prepared to see more kids suffer.
“Our mandate is to promote the game of hockey within Kelowna, within our community. We’re here first and foremost for kids who play in (Kelowna Minor).”
Diaz has denied that the decision to cut loose the Rockets had anything to do with the BCMMHL’s decision last season to prohibit the Rockets from playing in a Kelowna tournament.
Ken Andrusiak, the Rockets’ head coach for three seasons, spoke out against the ruling. He has since been replaced as the head coach.
“We don’t make decisions out of rancour or emotions; we make decisions on what’s best for Kelowna minor hockey,” Diaz said. “And the best interest, in my mind, is having as (many) kids play hockey as possible.”
Burton, who said he is in regular contact with Diaz, said Kamloops Minor “can say those same things.”
Burton added that Kamloops Minor also is concerned about the impact the addition of the major midget team is having on the midget AAA North Kamloops Lions. He pointed out that the Lions have lost to Penticton and Vernon, with much smaller registration numbers, in first-round playoff series the last two seasons.
“I don’t know how long it’s going to last but we have to look after our midget AAA program,” Burton said. “Our board will really look at it. We’re getting pretty frustrated.”
A lot of the frustration, Burton said, is borne from the fact that the minor associations don’t have input into such things as staff selection for the major midget teams.
“(The league) is run by a small board in a very autocratic style,” Burton said. “We provide (th
“I don’t know how long it’s going to last but we have to look after our midget AAA program,” Burton said. “Our board will really look at it. We’re getting pretty frustrated.”
A lot of the frustration, Burton said, is borne from the fact that the minor associations don’t have input into such things as staff selection for the major midget teams.
“(The league) is run by a small board in a very autocratic style,” Burton said. “We provide (the Blazers) with ice. We book the ice. We consult with the City. We do all of that. But there is no consultation about a coaching staff.”
Burton pointed out that the league recently made a coaching change on the Blazers, with Bob Dever replacing Chris Hans. Burton said the switch was made without Hans being interviewed.
“We want to have some kind of say in the whole process,” Burton said. “We don’t get any co-operation . . . it’s frustrating.”
Burton said he was quite vocal about all of this at B.C. Hockey’s annual general meeting in Whistler last week. In the end, he said, he made two recommendations, suggesting that the league “should have a commissioner . . . an independent commissioner” and that “there should be a board with representation from minor associations so that minor hockey has some say in the process.”
All Burton can do now is wait and see if his pleas were heard, or if they fell on deaf ears.
In Kelowna, however, they have decided not to wait.
The Kelowna Daily Courier revealed Friday that the Kelowna Minor Hockey Association has eliminated the Rockets’ ice time.
Stan Burton, president of the Kamloops Minor Hockey Association, told The Daily News on Friday that his association “isn’t going to do anything this year, but we have some issues.”
The BCMMHL is preparing for its fourth season. It is operated by B.C. Hockey, which asks minor associations to find ice time, something Burton said can run to as much as 170 hours per season.
Kelowna Minor, faced with an increase in registrations, has chosen to withdraw as the Rockets’ host association. Registration in Kelowna has gone from 1,100 players in 2004 to an anticipated 1,300 in 2007-08.
“Basically, we don’t have enough ice time,” Kelowna Minor president Luis Diaz told The Daily Courier. “It comes down to decisions of whether you put 50 or 60 or 70 kids on the ice, or you put (on) a team of 20 players, of which only eight to 10 are from Kelowna.
“With those 100-plus hours, we can put another four or five teams on the ice, with rosters between 14 and 17 players. We told (B.C. Hockey) because of the lack of ice, we weren’t prepared to see more kids suffer.
“Our mandate is to promote the game of hockey within Kelowna, within our community. We’re here first and foremost for kids who play in (Kelowna Minor).”
Diaz has denied that the decision to cut loose the Rockets had anything to do with the BCMMHL’s decision last season to prohibit the Rockets from playing in a Kelowna tournament.
Ken Andrusiak, the Rockets’ head coach for three seasons, spoke out against the ruling. He has since been replaced as the head coach.
“We don’t make decisions out of rancour or emotions; we make decisions on what’s best for Kelowna minor hockey,” Diaz said. “And the best interest, in my mind, is having as (many) kids play hockey as possible.”
Burton, who said he is in regular contact with Diaz, said Kamloops Minor “can say those same things.”
Burton added that Kamloops Minor also is concerned about the impact the addition of the major midget team is having on the midget AAA North Kamloops Lions. He pointed out that the Lions have lost to Penticton and Vernon, with much smaller registration numbers, in first-round playoff series the last two seasons.
“I don’t know how long it’s going to last but we have to look after our midget AAA program,” Burton said. “Our board will really look at it. We’re getting pretty frustrated.”
A lot of the frustration, Burton said, is borne from the fact that the minor associations don’t have input into such things as staff selection for the major midget teams.
“(The league) is run by a small board in a very autocratic style,” Burton said. “We provide (th
“I don’t know how long it’s going to last but we have to look after our midget AAA program,” Burton said. “Our board will really look at it. We’re getting pretty frustrated.”
A lot of the frustration, Burton said, is borne from the fact that the minor associations don’t have input into such things as staff selection for the major midget teams.
“(The league) is run by a small board in a very autocratic style,” Burton said. “We provide (the Blazers) with ice. We book the ice. We consult with the City. We do all of that. But there is no consultation about a coaching staff.”
Burton pointed out that the league recently made a coaching change on the Blazers, with Bob Dever replacing Chris Hans. Burton said the switch was made without Hans being interviewed.
“We want to have some kind of say in the whole process,” Burton said. “We don’t get any co-operation . . . it’s frustrating.”
Burton said he was quite vocal about all of this at B.C. Hockey’s annual general meeting in Whistler last week. In the end, he said, he made two recommendations, suggesting that the league “should have a commissioner . . . an independent commissioner” and that “there should be a board with representation from minor associations so that minor hockey has some say in the process.”
All Burton can do now is wait and see if his pleas were heard, or if they fell on deaf ears.
In Kelowna, however, they have decided not to wait.
Keeping Score
There is bad news today. Takeru (The Tsunami) Kobayashi has an injury and
may not be able to take part in Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July Hot Dog
Eating Contest at Coney Island, N.Y. As you may have heard, The Tsunami’s
world record recently was broken by Joey (Jaws) Chestnut and the world has
been agog as it awaits what was to have been Wednesday’s matchup. . . . Ahh,
you’re wondering about The Tsunami’s injury. “Occupational hazard,” blogged
Kobayashi, who won the last six Nathan’s titles. “My jaw refused to fight
any more.” . . . Linebacker Neil Ternovatsky, a product of the U of Alberta,
is on the Calgary Stampeders’ season-opening roster. He wears No. 99, which
must be a salute to boyhood idol Wayne Gretzky. Right? “No,” he says, “I
actually grew up in Winnipeg, never played hockey and that’s just the number
they gave me. It has nothing to do with Gretzky.”
The Orlando Sentinel’s Mike Bianchi can’t wait until Sam Woods flunks
algebra and then tries to explain it to her father, Tiger. Bianchi sees
Sam’s explanation going something like this: “Conditions weren’t conducive
to scoring well. The room was too drafty, the desks were too hard, and Sally
Mickelson said I was using an inferior pencil.” . . . Greg Cote, in the
Miami Herald: “Still can’t get over pudgy, chain-smoking Angel Cabrera
edging fitness freak Tiger Woods for the U.S. Open title. It was like
watching a movie starring Danny DeVito and Denzel Washington, and DeVito
gets the girl.”
Dan Shaughnessy, in the Boston Globe, after a certain Red Sox pitcher put in
an appearance a week ago: “Curt Schilling was in the clubhouse before the
game. He filled out his All-Star ballot and was busy with various other
tasks when the media asked if he’d speak about his shoulder. Schilling
declined, saying he had a ‘million things to do.’ Never saw a guy so busy
while spending time on the disabled list. Perhaps he’ll share on his blog or
his radio show.” . . . Dan Daly, in the Washington Times: “Curt Schilling
has been placed on the 15-day disabled list. All that blogging, team doctors
say, was putting too much strain on his right shoulder.” . . . Defensive end
Anthony Gargiulo of the Stampeders is a graduate of Dartmouth and has a rare
skill — he is capable of instantly alphabetizing any word upon hearing it.
Eric Francis of the Calgary Sun notes, however, that “the Stamps have his
last name spelled two different ways in their press kit, and both are
wrong.” . . . Welcome to the CFL, big guy.
Jeff Schultz, in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “Kobe Bryant asked to be
traded. Then he recanted. Now he has asked to be traded again. Is there any
way that clause in Billy Donovan’s contract banning him from the NBA for
five years can be imposed on this guy?” . . . And here’s Los Angeles Times
columnist Bill Plaschke on Kobe: “At this moment, Bryant is not Magic
Johnson, he is Paris Hilton. He’s not Jerry West, he is Lindsay Lohan. He’s
not the old showtime Hollywood, he is the new spoiled Hollywood.” . . . And
here’s T.J. Simers, in the L.A. Times: “The way things are going, I wouldn’t
put it past the Kobester to also ask to be encircled by bigger stars at
courtside, replacing Jack Nicholson with someone who at least has won an
Oscar this decade.” . . . Scott Ostler, in the San Francisco Chronicle: “I
keep hearing that the Lakers can’t trade Kobe because their Hollywood
$2,000-per-seat courtside clientele demands a glamour player. Those
Hollywood fans understand that if you have a great actor in a lousy movie,
it’s still a lousy movie, i.e.: last season’s Lakers.”
“Sammy Sosa became the fifth member of the 600 Home Run Club on (June 20),”
Jim Armstrong writes in the Denver Post. “Or was that the second member of
the 600 Home Run Club*?” . . . You may have seen photos of Delta Air Lines’
tribute to home-run king Hank Aaron — a Boeing 757 that has Aaron’s photo on
it. Ian Hamilton of the Regina Leader-Post claims that “Air France,
meanwhile, plans to unretire a needle-nosed Concorde to honour Barry Bonds.”
. . . Our country’s federal Conservative party is sponsoring a stock car on
the Canadian Tire racing series. As such, the No. 29 car also carries a big
blue ‘C’ on its hood and side panels. “The Tories,” Hamilton notes, “thus
became a political party willing to be judged on their track record.”
What is wrong with this picture? Jeremy Jacobs is the new chairman of the
NHL’s board of governors and Tim Leiweke is on the NHL’s expansion
committee. Jacobs owns the Boston Bruins and we all know how well that’s
gone since the days of Bobby Orr, while Leiweke’s organization — he is the
Los Angeles Kings’ governor — owns the arena in Kansas City which seems to
have been targeted by NHL commish Gary Bettman for an expansion franchise or
the relocated Nashville Predators. . . . By the way, how do you like
Bettman’s NHL in which one team (St. Louis Blues) is allowed to loan a
player (Keith Tkachuk) to another team (Atlanta Thrashers) for the stretch
drive and then get him back dirt cheap? . . . Credibility? What’s that? . .
. If you are interested in an hilarious take on last weekend’s NHL draft,
check out Bill Simmons at ESPN.com. He takes a chronological look at the
draft and, at one point, he writes: “Minnesota takes centre Colton Gillies
at No. 16. I’m digging some of these names. Colton Gillies. Keaton Ellerby.
Logan Couture. I swear, Steven Seagal played a character with one of those
names.” . . . Ryne Sandberg, a Hall of Fame second baseman, played 16 major
league seasons and was ejected twice. Now in his first season as the manager
of the Class A Peoria Chiefs, he already has been tossed four times and
suspended once. “I don’t understand it,” former teammate Rick Sutcliffe told
ESPN.com. “I rode with him for seven straight years to the ballpark and
couldn’t get him to say a word. Now he’s getting thrown out of games? Maybe
it has something to do with his hair turning gray or falling out.”
Gregg Drinnan is sports editor of The Daily News. He is at
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca. Keeping Score appears Saturdays.
may not be able to take part in Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July Hot Dog
Eating Contest at Coney Island, N.Y. As you may have heard, The Tsunami’s
world record recently was broken by Joey (Jaws) Chestnut and the world has
been agog as it awaits what was to have been Wednesday’s matchup. . . . Ahh,
you’re wondering about The Tsunami’s injury. “Occupational hazard,” blogged
Kobayashi, who won the last six Nathan’s titles. “My jaw refused to fight
any more.” . . . Linebacker Neil Ternovatsky, a product of the U of Alberta,
is on the Calgary Stampeders’ season-opening roster. He wears No. 99, which
must be a salute to boyhood idol Wayne Gretzky. Right? “No,” he says, “I
actually grew up in Winnipeg, never played hockey and that’s just the number
they gave me. It has nothing to do with Gretzky.”
The Orlando Sentinel’s Mike Bianchi can’t wait until Sam Woods flunks
algebra and then tries to explain it to her father, Tiger. Bianchi sees
Sam’s explanation going something like this: “Conditions weren’t conducive
to scoring well. The room was too drafty, the desks were too hard, and Sally
Mickelson said I was using an inferior pencil.” . . . Greg Cote, in the
Miami Herald: “Still can’t get over pudgy, chain-smoking Angel Cabrera
edging fitness freak Tiger Woods for the U.S. Open title. It was like
watching a movie starring Danny DeVito and Denzel Washington, and DeVito
gets the girl.”
Dan Shaughnessy, in the Boston Globe, after a certain Red Sox pitcher put in
an appearance a week ago: “Curt Schilling was in the clubhouse before the
game. He filled out his All-Star ballot and was busy with various other
tasks when the media asked if he’d speak about his shoulder. Schilling
declined, saying he had a ‘million things to do.’ Never saw a guy so busy
while spending time on the disabled list. Perhaps he’ll share on his blog or
his radio show.” . . . Dan Daly, in the Washington Times: “Curt Schilling
has been placed on the 15-day disabled list. All that blogging, team doctors
say, was putting too much strain on his right shoulder.” . . . Defensive end
Anthony Gargiulo of the Stampeders is a graduate of Dartmouth and has a rare
skill — he is capable of instantly alphabetizing any word upon hearing it.
Eric Francis of the Calgary Sun notes, however, that “the Stamps have his
last name spelled two different ways in their press kit, and both are
wrong.” . . . Welcome to the CFL, big guy.
Jeff Schultz, in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “Kobe Bryant asked to be
traded. Then he recanted. Now he has asked to be traded again. Is there any
way that clause in Billy Donovan’s contract banning him from the NBA for
five years can be imposed on this guy?” . . . And here’s Los Angeles Times
columnist Bill Plaschke on Kobe: “At this moment, Bryant is not Magic
Johnson, he is Paris Hilton. He’s not Jerry West, he is Lindsay Lohan. He’s
not the old showtime Hollywood, he is the new spoiled Hollywood.” . . . And
here’s T.J. Simers, in the L.A. Times: “The way things are going, I wouldn’t
put it past the Kobester to also ask to be encircled by bigger stars at
courtside, replacing Jack Nicholson with someone who at least has won an
Oscar this decade.” . . . Scott Ostler, in the San Francisco Chronicle: “I
keep hearing that the Lakers can’t trade Kobe because their Hollywood
$2,000-per-seat courtside clientele demands a glamour player. Those
Hollywood fans understand that if you have a great actor in a lousy movie,
it’s still a lousy movie, i.e.: last season’s Lakers.”
“Sammy Sosa became the fifth member of the 600 Home Run Club on (June 20),”
Jim Armstrong writes in the Denver Post. “Or was that the second member of
the 600 Home Run Club*?” . . . You may have seen photos of Delta Air Lines’
tribute to home-run king Hank Aaron — a Boeing 757 that has Aaron’s photo on
it. Ian Hamilton of the Regina Leader-Post claims that “Air France,
meanwhile, plans to unretire a needle-nosed Concorde to honour Barry Bonds.”
. . . Our country’s federal Conservative party is sponsoring a stock car on
the Canadian Tire racing series. As such, the No. 29 car also carries a big
blue ‘C’ on its hood and side panels. “The Tories,” Hamilton notes, “thus
became a political party willing to be judged on their track record.”
What is wrong with this picture? Jeremy Jacobs is the new chairman of the
NHL’s board of governors and Tim Leiweke is on the NHL’s expansion
committee. Jacobs owns the Boston Bruins and we all know how well that’s
gone since the days of Bobby Orr, while Leiweke’s organization — he is the
Los Angeles Kings’ governor — owns the arena in Kansas City which seems to
have been targeted by NHL commish Gary Bettman for an expansion franchise or
the relocated Nashville Predators. . . . By the way, how do you like
Bettman’s NHL in which one team (St. Louis Blues) is allowed to loan a
player (Keith Tkachuk) to another team (Atlanta Thrashers) for the stretch
drive and then get him back dirt cheap? . . . Credibility? What’s that? . .
. If you are interested in an hilarious take on last weekend’s NHL draft,
check out Bill Simmons at ESPN.com. He takes a chronological look at the
draft and, at one point, he writes: “Minnesota takes centre Colton Gillies
at No. 16. I’m digging some of these names. Colton Gillies. Keaton Ellerby.
Logan Couture. I swear, Steven Seagal played a character with one of those
names.” . . . Ryne Sandberg, a Hall of Fame second baseman, played 16 major
league seasons and was ejected twice. Now in his first season as the manager
of the Class A Peoria Chiefs, he already has been tossed four times and
suspended once. “I don’t understand it,” former teammate Rick Sutcliffe told
ESPN.com. “I rode with him for seven straight years to the ballpark and
couldn’t get him to say a word. Now he’s getting thrown out of games? Maybe
it has something to do with his hair turning gray or falling out.”
Gregg Drinnan is sports editor of The Daily News. He is at
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca. Keeping Score appears Saturdays.
More from Friday
As noted earlier today, the Chilliwack Bruins made a move with their scouting staff, moving Garry Pochipinski from scouting co-ordinator to director of scouting. Pochipinski, from Prince Albert, had been one of the team’s three scouting co-ordinators, along with Rob Morphy of Kamloops and Jim Nadon Sr., of Regina. . . . The Bruins have gone from having three heads running their scouting staff to just one. . . . And talking to one of their scouts today left the definite impression that there will be more changes to come.
The Everett Silvertips have filled the vacancy on their coaching staff by hiring Mark LeRose as assistant coach. He will work under head coach John Becanic and with associate head coach Jay Varady. LeRose was involved in setting up the testing protocol that is used at the NHL scouting combine and has coaching experience with the USHL’s Sioux Falls Stampede and the U of Wisconsin Badgers. The vacancy was created when head coach Kevin Constantine left for the AHL’s Houston Aeros and Becanic and Varady were promoted.
The Everett Silvertips have filled the vacancy on their coaching staff by hiring Mark LeRose as assistant coach. He will work under head coach John Becanic and with associate head coach Jay Varady. LeRose was involved in setting up the testing protocol that is used at the NHL scouting combine and has coaching experience with the USHL’s Sioux Falls Stampede and the U of Wisconsin Badgers. The vacancy was created when head coach Kevin Constantine left for the AHL’s Houston Aeros and Becanic and Varady were promoted.
Friday's first news
The Chilliwack Bruins have signed top prospects C Kevin Sundher and D Carter Berg to WHL contracts.
Sundher, the Bruins’ first pick, seventh overall, in the 2007 bantam draft recently was honoured as Hockey B.C.’s minor hockey player of the year. That came after he captained the Burnaby Winter Club bantam AAA team to the western Canadian championship. In 68 games, the 5-foot-11, 170-pounder had 173 points, including 77 goals, and 196 penalty minutes.
Berg was the Bruins’ second pick, 26th overall, in the 2007 draft. The 6-foot-1, 170-pounder was captain of the bantam AA Saskatoon Generals. In 48 games, he totalled 46 points and -- get this! -- 244 penalty minutes.
The Bruins also named Garry Pochipinski as their director of scouting. Pochipinski, who has been with the Bruins pretty much since their inception, had been one of the team’s three scouting co-ordinators.
Interesting speculation out of Regina today, courtesy of the Regina Leader-Post’s Greg Harder. With the Pats having lost Garrett Festerling and Kyle Ross to graduation, Harder reports that his sources tell him Regina GM Brent Parker has talked with the Vancouver Giants about the possibility of acquiring C Tim Kraus, 20.
When last we saw Kraus, he was so deep in head coach Don Hay’s doghouse that he couldn’t see the ice during the latter stages of the Memorial Cup. Kraus didn’t even dress for the tournament’s final two games, this despite a 66-point regular season.
This is an interesting scenario because the Giants need defencemen -- they’ll lose Brett Festerling, Cody Franson, Brendan Mikkelson and A.J. Thelen -- and the Pats could help them out in that department.
But wait! There are whispers from the Left Coast that perhaps Kraus isn’t as well ensconced in the doghouse as he used to be.
Now you don’t suppose those whispers would coincide with the fact that a team or two suddenly has expressed an interest in acquiring the Californian, do you?
Sundher, the Bruins’ first pick, seventh overall, in the 2007 bantam draft recently was honoured as Hockey B.C.’s minor hockey player of the year. That came after he captained the Burnaby Winter Club bantam AAA team to the western Canadian championship. In 68 games, the 5-foot-11, 170-pounder had 173 points, including 77 goals, and 196 penalty minutes.
Berg was the Bruins’ second pick, 26th overall, in the 2007 draft. The 6-foot-1, 170-pounder was captain of the bantam AA Saskatoon Generals. In 48 games, he totalled 46 points and -- get this! -- 244 penalty minutes.
The Bruins also named Garry Pochipinski as their director of scouting. Pochipinski, who has been with the Bruins pretty much since their inception, had been one of the team’s three scouting co-ordinators.
Interesting speculation out of Regina today, courtesy of the Regina Leader-Post’s Greg Harder. With the Pats having lost Garrett Festerling and Kyle Ross to graduation, Harder reports that his sources tell him Regina GM Brent Parker has talked with the Vancouver Giants about the possibility of acquiring C Tim Kraus, 20.
When last we saw Kraus, he was so deep in head coach Don Hay’s doghouse that he couldn’t see the ice during the latter stages of the Memorial Cup. Kraus didn’t even dress for the tournament’s final two games, this despite a 66-point regular season.
This is an interesting scenario because the Giants need defencemen -- they’ll lose Brett Festerling, Cody Franson, Brendan Mikkelson and A.J. Thelen -- and the Pats could help them out in that department.
But wait! There are whispers from the Left Coast that perhaps Kraus isn’t as well ensconced in the doghouse as he used to be.
Now you don’t suppose those whispers would coincide with the fact that a team or two suddenly has expressed an interest in acquiring the Californian, do you?
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Blazers ink Loiselle
Back in the day, when Dean Clark was a lineman for the county and Gord Loiselle was in the wholesale business, primarily selling potato chips, they were opponents on the fastball diamonds in and around St. Albert, Alta.
“We didn’t even like each other,” a chuckling Clark said Thursday after introducing Loiselle as the Kamloops Blazers’ director of player personnel.
Clark, the Blazers’ general manager and head coach, signed Loiselle to a two-year deal, replacing Randy Hansch, who now is the assistant general manager and director of player personnel with the WHL’s newest team, the Edmonton Oil Kings.
Hansch, 41, spent 15 years on the Blazers’ staff, including 13 in a fulltime capacity. A former goaltender, he also played with the Blazers and, in fact, posted the first playoff shutout in franchise history, beating the Medicine Hat Tigers 4-0 on May 2, 1986.
Loiselle, a 56-year-old divorced father of two, joins the Blazers after 10 years as the Portland Winter Hawks’ director of player personnel. Prior to that, he spent three seasons scouting for the Calgary Hitmen, which is where he and Clark first worked together. Loiselle will continue to live in Calgary while working for the Blazers.
Prior to Hansch resigning, Clark’s game plan called for him to begin spending more time on the coaching side. Clark feels he has neglected that to a degree as he has worked to rebuild the organization from the morass in which it found itself a few years ago.
When Hansch announced his resignation, Clark’s biggest concern was finding someone who would allow him to spend more time coaching and maintain “peace of mind.” He feels he has found that person in Loiselle.
“I wanted to focus a lot more energy and time (in the dressing room),” Clark said. “That really played into knowing that I needed to get a guy who has some experience being in player personnel, working with scouts and directing them to where he wanted them to go . . .
“It gives me peace of mind knowing that I can go (to the dressing room) and do what I have to do and what I really want to do . . . knowing that Gord is out there doing the job.”
Loiselle said the biggest part of that job is ensuring the Blazers have “coverage in all areas.”
“I know most of the scouts that work for the Blazers,” he added. “Most of them have been here for a long time and I feel quite comfortable with the guys we have in place.”
Which doesn’t mean there won’t be any changes to the scouting staff.
“Some guys might go with Randy,” Clark said. “He brought a lot of those guys on. . . . I’d be surprised if someone didn’t go with Randy. But the good thing is that they’re pretty loyal Blazers, too.”
Loiselle doesn’t expect much change in his life because of his new position.
“It’s pretty similar,” Loiselle said of his job description here as opposed to Portland. “I don’t see a whole lot of change. . . . It’s the same tournaments looking at the same age group of kids.”
In an average season, Loiselle said he will watch between 400 and 500 games and drive as much as 75,000 kilometres. He doesn’t expect that to change.
One of the first things he will do — something that will carry on through training camp — is familiarize himself with the players on the Blazers’ list.
“It’s a good list,” he said. “I feel pretty fortunate to come into this situation.”
p p p
This is at least the third time Clark and Loiselle will have worked together.
They both were with the Hitmen in the late-1990s, Clark as the head coach and Loiselle as the No. 2 man on the scouting staff.
Prior to that, there was this peewee AAA team in St. Albert. Clark was on the coaching staff and “we needed a manager to deal with the parents.”
Enter Loiselle.
The feeling then was that the team was OK but wasn’t that good. Still, it ended up in the provincial final playing against a team from Sherwood Park.
“We were up 2-0 and it was 2-2 after the second,” Loiselle said. “We lost 4-3.”
Sherwood Park’s best player, Clark recalled, was future Blazers ball of hate Tyson Nash.
p p p
Loiselle has two grown children — Brett lives in St. Albert; Michelle resides in Calgary.
“She’s a good ball player, too,” Clark said.
Pause.
“She didn’t get that from her dad.”
Obviously, those old fastball rivalries are hard to kill.
JUNIOR JOTTINGS: The Spokane Chiefs have rounded out their coaching staff with the hiring of Hardy Sauter as an assistant under head coach Bill Peters. Sauter spent three seasons as a WHL defenceman, including one season (1991-92) with the Chiefs. Sauter, a nephew of former WHL coach Doug Sauter, spent the last two seasons as GM/head coach of the SJHL’s Nipawin Hawks. With the Chiefs, he fills the vacancy created by the departure of Steve Pleau, who now is the Oil Kings’ head coach. . . .
EUROPEAN UPDATE: D Trevor Johnson, formerly of the Moose Jaw Warriors, has left Val Pusteria of Italy’s Serie A and signed with the Belfast Giants of the British Elite league. Former WHLers with the Giants include Jason Ruff and Mark Dutiaume. The Giants also were Theo Fleury’s last pro team. . . . Ex-Portland G Scott Langkow will take a six-week tryout deal into camp with Jokerit Helsinki of Finland’s SM-Liiga, that country’s top league. Former NHLer Doug Shedden is the head coach, and camp opens July 23. Langkow already has played four seasons in Finland, splitting last season between HV-71, the club team of former Blazers’ LW Jonas Johansson, and SC Rapperswill-Jona of the Swiss National League A. . . . Former Swift Current Broncos F Layne Ulmer, who spent last season with TPS Turku of the Finnish SM-Liiga, has signed with Frankfurt of the DEL, Germany’s top league. Last season, Frankfurt’s roster included ex-WHLers Chris Armstrong, Chad Bassen, Shane Peacock, Jay Henderson, Steve Kelly and Ian Gordon. Head coach Rich Chernomaz also played in the WHL. . . . Former Prince Albert Raiders F Paul Heale, who split last season between Linköping of the Swedish Elitserien and Ässät Pori of the Finnish SM-Liiga, has signed with HK Acroni in Jesenice, Slovenia.
“We didn’t even like each other,” a chuckling Clark said Thursday after introducing Loiselle as the Kamloops Blazers’ director of player personnel.
Clark, the Blazers’ general manager and head coach, signed Loiselle to a two-year deal, replacing Randy Hansch, who now is the assistant general manager and director of player personnel with the WHL’s newest team, the Edmonton Oil Kings.
Hansch, 41, spent 15 years on the Blazers’ staff, including 13 in a fulltime capacity. A former goaltender, he also played with the Blazers and, in fact, posted the first playoff shutout in franchise history, beating the Medicine Hat Tigers 4-0 on May 2, 1986.
Loiselle, a 56-year-old divorced father of two, joins the Blazers after 10 years as the Portland Winter Hawks’ director of player personnel. Prior to that, he spent three seasons scouting for the Calgary Hitmen, which is where he and Clark first worked together. Loiselle will continue to live in Calgary while working for the Blazers.
Prior to Hansch resigning, Clark’s game plan called for him to begin spending more time on the coaching side. Clark feels he has neglected that to a degree as he has worked to rebuild the organization from the morass in which it found itself a few years ago.
When Hansch announced his resignation, Clark’s biggest concern was finding someone who would allow him to spend more time coaching and maintain “peace of mind.” He feels he has found that person in Loiselle.
“I wanted to focus a lot more energy and time (in the dressing room),” Clark said. “That really played into knowing that I needed to get a guy who has some experience being in player personnel, working with scouts and directing them to where he wanted them to go . . .
“It gives me peace of mind knowing that I can go (to the dressing room) and do what I have to do and what I really want to do . . . knowing that Gord is out there doing the job.”
Loiselle said the biggest part of that job is ensuring the Blazers have “coverage in all areas.”
“I know most of the scouts that work for the Blazers,” he added. “Most of them have been here for a long time and I feel quite comfortable with the guys we have in place.”
Which doesn’t mean there won’t be any changes to the scouting staff.
“Some guys might go with Randy,” Clark said. “He brought a lot of those guys on. . . . I’d be surprised if someone didn’t go with Randy. But the good thing is that they’re pretty loyal Blazers, too.”
Loiselle doesn’t expect much change in his life because of his new position.
“It’s pretty similar,” Loiselle said of his job description here as opposed to Portland. “I don’t see a whole lot of change. . . . It’s the same tournaments looking at the same age group of kids.”
In an average season, Loiselle said he will watch between 400 and 500 games and drive as much as 75,000 kilometres. He doesn’t expect that to change.
One of the first things he will do — something that will carry on through training camp — is familiarize himself with the players on the Blazers’ list.
“It’s a good list,” he said. “I feel pretty fortunate to come into this situation.”
p p p
This is at least the third time Clark and Loiselle will have worked together.
They both were with the Hitmen in the late-1990s, Clark as the head coach and Loiselle as the No. 2 man on the scouting staff.
Prior to that, there was this peewee AAA team in St. Albert. Clark was on the coaching staff and “we needed a manager to deal with the parents.”
Enter Loiselle.
The feeling then was that the team was OK but wasn’t that good. Still, it ended up in the provincial final playing against a team from Sherwood Park.
“We were up 2-0 and it was 2-2 after the second,” Loiselle said. “We lost 4-3.”
Sherwood Park’s best player, Clark recalled, was future Blazers ball of hate Tyson Nash.
p p p
Loiselle has two grown children — Brett lives in St. Albert; Michelle resides in Calgary.
“She’s a good ball player, too,” Clark said.
Pause.
“She didn’t get that from her dad.”
Obviously, those old fastball rivalries are hard to kill.
JUNIOR JOTTINGS: The Spokane Chiefs have rounded out their coaching staff with the hiring of Hardy Sauter as an assistant under head coach Bill Peters. Sauter spent three seasons as a WHL defenceman, including one season (1991-92) with the Chiefs. Sauter, a nephew of former WHL coach Doug Sauter, spent the last two seasons as GM/head coach of the SJHL’s Nipawin Hawks. With the Chiefs, he fills the vacancy created by the departure of Steve Pleau, who now is the Oil Kings’ head coach. . . .
EUROPEAN UPDATE: D Trevor Johnson, formerly of the Moose Jaw Warriors, has left Val Pusteria of Italy’s Serie A and signed with the Belfast Giants of the British Elite league. Former WHLers with the Giants include Jason Ruff and Mark Dutiaume. The Giants also were Theo Fleury’s last pro team. . . . Ex-Portland G Scott Langkow will take a six-week tryout deal into camp with Jokerit Helsinki of Finland’s SM-Liiga, that country’s top league. Former NHLer Doug Shedden is the head coach, and camp opens July 23. Langkow already has played four seasons in Finland, splitting last season between HV-71, the club team of former Blazers’ LW Jonas Johansson, and SC Rapperswill-Jona of the Swiss National League A. . . . Former Swift Current Broncos F Layne Ulmer, who spent last season with TPS Turku of the Finnish SM-Liiga, has signed with Frankfurt of the DEL, Germany’s top league. Last season, Frankfurt’s roster included ex-WHLers Chris Armstrong, Chad Bassen, Shane Peacock, Jay Henderson, Steve Kelly and Ian Gordon. Head coach Rich Chernomaz also played in the WHL. . . . Former Prince Albert Raiders F Paul Heale, who split last season between Linköping of the Swedish Elitserien and Ässät Pori of the Finnish SM-Liiga, has signed with HK Acroni in Jesenice, Slovenia.
Goodbye Columbus
When the Vancouver Giants ended the major junior season by winning the Memorial Cup, there was speculation that head coach Don Hay would be leaving. To go where? To join Ken Hitchcock's coaching staff with the Columbus Blue Jackets. Hitchcock and Hay, of course, go back to their days on the coaching staff of the Kamloops Blazers.
Well there is news out of Columbus that Claude Noel has been signed as an assistant coach and that the contracts of assistant coaches Gary Agnew, Gord Murphy and Clint Malarchuk have been extended.
The Don Hay-to-Columbus rumours, then, can be put to rest. At least for now . . .
Well there is news out of Columbus that Claude Noel has been signed as an assistant coach and that the contracts of assistant coaches Gary Agnew, Gord Murphy and Clint Malarchuk have been extended.
The Don Hay-to-Columbus rumours, then, can be put to rest. At least for now . . .
Quote of the week?
From a release on the WHL website, referring to the Tri-City Americans having selected C Petr Stoklasa in the import draft . . .
“(Stoklasa) has excellent food speed and likes to battle in front of the net,” said Americans general manager Bob Tory. “His speed allows him to be effective at center or on the wing and he works hard every shift.”
Gotta wonder if the Americans' food budget is big enough to handle Stoklasa's arrival?
“(Stoklasa) has excellent food speed and likes to battle in front of the net,” said Americans general manager Bob Tory. “His speed allows him to be effective at center or on the wing and he works hard every shift.”
Gotta wonder if the Americans' food budget is big enough to handle Stoklasa's arrival?
Chiefs sign assistant coach
The Spokane Chiefs have added Hardy Sauter to their staff as an assistant coach under head coach Bill Peters. Sauter fills the vacancy created when Steve Pleau left after one season. Pleau now is head coach of the expansion Edmonton Oil Kings. Sauter, a nephew of the legendary Doug Sauter, the moustachioed former WHL coach now in Oklahoma City, was a defenceman with the Chiefs in 1991-92. Sauter spent the last two seasons as GM/head coach of the SJHL's Nipawin Hawks.
Blazers sign Loiselle
As expected, the Kamloops Blazers have signed Gord Loiselle as their director of player personnel. He replaces Randy Hansch, who resigned May 31 to join the expansion Edmonton Oil Kings as assistant general manager and director of player personnel. Loiselle had been director of player personnel for the Portland Winter Hawks for 10 years before resigning June 1. Loiselle signed a two-year deal with the Blazers.
More later . . .
More later . . .
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Import draft add
The Everett Silvertips used the 59th pick of the CHL import draft on Russian C Vitali Karamnov. His father, also Vitali, played some in the NHL with the St. Louis Blues. . . . The junior Karamnov (why do I feel his name should be spelled Karmanov?) was Russia's captain at the u-18 worlds in Finland in April.
Pet peeve: A lot of places will show Karamnov as being the 60th selection. He wasn't; he was the 59th pick (and the last selection in the first round). . . . The Moncton Wildcats passed with the 45th selection but the CHL website doesn't show an adjustment; instead, the selections continued to be numbered as though no one passed.
This was a strange import draft, what with 10 goaltenders taken among the 71 players. The WHL, if you hadn't noticed, hasn't exactly been teeming with import goaltenders over the years. There was Alexandre Fomitchev and . . . .
The Seattle Thunderbirds landed Riku Helenius, whom the Tampa Bay Lightning took in the first round of the NHL's 2006 draft. Helenius apparently signed with the Lightning after the 2006-07 season. The connection between the Lightning and the Thunderbirds? Jake Goertzen, Tampa Bay's chief scout, used to work for the Thunderbirds. . . . Adding Helenius cost the T-Birds LW Radek Meidl. He was a 16-goal scorer last season and has a late 1988 birthdate so you've got to think someone will take a look at him.
There also were just seven players taken whose rights are held by NHL teams. As well, 23 of the players selected were 1990s. Bruce Hamilton of Kelowna was looking at taking a 1990-born player with the 43rd selection but chose to take Mikael Backlund, the Calgary Flames' first-rounder (24th overall) in last weekend's NHL draft, instead. Hamilton knows that chances are he won't get Backlund this season — the kid has signed a contract to play in Sweden — but didn't think there was a 1990-born player available who is better than the 1990s on his roster now.
And how about D Juraj Valach blaming the Tri-City Americans for his not being selected in the NHL draft and telling them to trade him or he was taking his puck and going home? His billet, Teri Einan, told Annie Fowler of the Tri-City Herald: "He told us before he went home in April that if he wasn't drafted he wouldn't come back. He did not like having to make public
appearances with the team. He didn't have the community spirit; he came to
play hockey. I hope he's happy in Vancouver, but I don't think he will be
happy unless he's playing at home (Slovakia)." . . . Had to love (Trader) Bob Tory's response, too. "It was surprising and a little shocking," Tory, the Americans' GM, told Fowler. "We spent a lot of time developing him. He said he did not enjoy his time in Tri-Cities and blamed the team for him not being drafted last week (in the NHL entry draft). If he doesn't want to be here, I don't want him in the dressing room. He's not our worry any more."
Tory shipped the 6-foot-6 Valach, 18, to Vancouver for a pick with which he took 6-foot-6 Czech D Josef Tichy, 19, on the recommendation of formers Tri-City players Vladimir Vujtek and Yogi Svejkovsky. It will be interesting to see Tichy in action if only because he had 157 penalty minutes last season.
Pet peeve: A lot of places will show Karamnov as being the 60th selection. He wasn't; he was the 59th pick (and the last selection in the first round). . . . The Moncton Wildcats passed with the 45th selection but the CHL website doesn't show an adjustment; instead, the selections continued to be numbered as though no one passed.
This was a strange import draft, what with 10 goaltenders taken among the 71 players. The WHL, if you hadn't noticed, hasn't exactly been teeming with import goaltenders over the years. There was Alexandre Fomitchev and . . . .
The Seattle Thunderbirds landed Riku Helenius, whom the Tampa Bay Lightning took in the first round of the NHL's 2006 draft. Helenius apparently signed with the Lightning after the 2006-07 season. The connection between the Lightning and the Thunderbirds? Jake Goertzen, Tampa Bay's chief scout, used to work for the Thunderbirds. . . . Adding Helenius cost the T-Birds LW Radek Meidl. He was a 16-goal scorer last season and has a late 1988 birthdate so you've got to think someone will take a look at him.
There also were just seven players taken whose rights are held by NHL teams. As well, 23 of the players selected were 1990s. Bruce Hamilton of Kelowna was looking at taking a 1990-born player with the 43rd selection but chose to take Mikael Backlund, the Calgary Flames' first-rounder (24th overall) in last weekend's NHL draft, instead. Hamilton knows that chances are he won't get Backlund this season — the kid has signed a contract to play in Sweden — but didn't think there was a 1990-born player available who is better than the 1990s on his roster now.
And how about D Juraj Valach blaming the Tri-City Americans for his not being selected in the NHL draft and telling them to trade him or he was taking his puck and going home? His billet, Teri Einan, told Annie Fowler of the Tri-City Herald: "He told us before he went home in April that if he wasn't drafted he wouldn't come back. He did not like having to make public
appearances with the team. He didn't have the community spirit; he came to
play hockey. I hope he's happy in Vancouver, but I don't think he will be
happy unless he's playing at home (Slovakia)." . . . Had to love (Trader) Bob Tory's response, too. "It was surprising and a little shocking," Tory, the Americans' GM, told Fowler. "We spent a lot of time developing him. He said he did not enjoy his time in Tri-Cities and blamed the team for him not being drafted last week (in the NHL entry draft). If he doesn't want to be here, I don't want him in the dressing room. He's not our worry any more."
Tory shipped the 6-foot-6 Valach, 18, to Vancouver for a pick with which he took 6-foot-6 Czech D Josef Tichy, 19, on the recommendation of formers Tri-City players Vladimir Vujtek and Yogi Svejkovsky. It will be interesting to see Tichy in action if only because he had 157 penalty minutes last season.
WHL and import draft
For the most part, teams involved in Wednesday’s CHL import draft stayed away from players who already had been NHL draft picks.
Not the Kelowna Rockets.
Bruce Hamilton, the Rockets’ president and general manager, used his two selections, both in the first round, on players who already belong to NHL teams.
With the seventh selection, Hamilton took Slovakian C Milan Kytnar, 18. It had been speculated that the Edmonton Oil Kings would use the first overall pick on Kytnar, who had been selected by their owners, the Edmonton Oilers, in the fifth round, 127th overall, of last weekend’s NHL draft.
The Oil Kings, however, took Czech C Tomas Vincour. Vincour, 6-foot-2 and 198 pounds, won’t turn 17 until Nov. 19, meaning he isn’t eligible for the NHL draft until 2009 — only players who turn 18 by Sept. 15 are eligible for that year’s draft. Vincour had 39 points, including 15 goals, and 58 penalty minutes in 41 games with Kometa Brno of the Czech under-20 league.
Kytnar, 6-foot-0 and 183 pounds, had 91 points, including 37 goals, in 53 games in the Slovakian under-18 league, and added 11 points in 22 games in the second division men’s league last season. He also captained his country’s team at the world under-18 championship in Finland, where he had seven points in six games.
“I really like him. He’s the guy I wanted,” said Hamilton, who watched Kytnar in Finland. “He reminded me of (ex-Rockets C) Tyler Spurgeon. He plays hard, works down low very well. He’s probably a better skater than Spurgeon.
“And he’s competitive. They didn’t have a great team and he played the same whether they were playing the Canadians or the Americans or whoever.”
Kytnar is represented by Newport Sports Management and will be at the Rockets’ training camp in August.
“I spoke to him today,” Hamilton said. “He speaks pretty good Enlish and he’s excited about coming here.”
With his second pick, the 43rd selection, which he had acquired from the Kamloops Blazers for a first-round pick in the 2008 import draft, Hamilton grabbed Swedish C Mikael Backlund, 18, who went to the Calgary Flames with the 24th pick of last weekend’s NHL draft. Backlund, 6-foot-0 and 180 pounds, had three points with Vasteras IK of the second division last season.
Hamilton said that he felt a lot of teams were taking 1990-born players and that the Rockets are deep in that age group, so . . .
“I felt we could take a chance on this guy and if we don’t get him this year there’s a good chance we could get him next year,” Hamilton said.
Darryl Sutter is the Flames’ general manager; his brother, Brent, is the owner, general manager and head coach of the WHL’s Red Deer Rebels. It was thought that if Backlund was headed this way, the Rebels would have taken him with the 31st pick.
“That probably lends to the belief he wouldn’t be coming over right now,” Hamilton said, adding that he has spoken with Backlund’s agent, J.P. Barry, “and explained why we were interested in doing it.”
“Today’s draft is good for us,” Hamilton continued. “I’d be happy walking away with the first guy and if we fall into something . . . it’s more about next year than anything with Backlund.”
The Rockets, who are coming off a season in which they didn’t make the playoffs, are also in hot pursuit of two highly touted NHL draft picks — C Michael Carman, 19, and LW Jamie Benn, who turns 18 on Aug. 18.
Carman, a third-round pick, 81st overall, of the Colorado Avalanche in 2006, is from Augusta, Ga. He had 20 points and 55 penalty minutes in 41 games at the U of Minnesota last season but, according to Hamilton, isn’t returning to the Gophers. Carman also played for the U.S. national junior team.
Benn, from Victoria, had 65 points, including 42 goals, in 53 games with the BCHL’s Victoria Grizzlies. He was taken by the Dallas Stars in the fifth round, 129th overall, of the NHL draft on Saturday. He has committed to attend the U of Alaska-Fairbanks and play for the Nanooks.
Of the 71 players taken in the import draft, only seven were NHL draft picks.
Here is how the other B.C. Division teams fared in the import draft:
l With the 10th selection, the Chilliwack Bruins took Czech D David Hoda, who turns 18 on Oct. 16. Hoda had 22 points and 76 penalty minutes in the Czech under-20 league. Chilliwack dropped Finnish C Aki Kangasmaki, who played there as a 17-year-old last season. The Bruins’ other import is star Swedish RW Oscar Moller, 18.
l Picking 28th, the Prince George Cougars took Patrik Magnusson, a 6-foot-7, 245-pound Swedish defenceman. Magnusson, 19, had 19 points and 91 penalty minutes with HV-71 in the Swedish junior league. The Cougars’ history includes two other rather large import defencemen — 6-foot-7 Vladimir Mihalik, who player there last season, and 6-foot-8 Zdeno Chara, now with the Boston Bruins.
The Cougars followed up by using the 69th pick on Czech C Jan Kupec.
l The Vancouver Giants, amid rumours that RW Michal Repik, who turns 19 on Dec. 31, is being courted by Sparta Prague, his club team in Czech Republic, didn’t take part. They did acquire Slovakian D Juraj Valach, 18, from the Tri-City Americans for the 54th pick in the import draft; Tri-City used it to take 6-foot-6, 230-pound Czech D Josef Tichy, 19.
Valach informed the Americans earlier this week that the only way he would play in the WHL again is if he were traded.
"He said he did not enjoy his time in Tri-City and blamed the team for him not being drafted last week (in the NHL draft),” Tri-City GM Bob Tory told the Tri-City Herald. “If he doesn't want to be here, I don't want him in the dressing room. He's not our worry any more."
The Giants’ roster now includes three imports — Repik, Valach and C Mario Bliznak, 20. Bliznak has signed with the Vancouver Canucks and is expected to play in their organization.
The complete draft is in Scoreboard.
DRAFT NOTES: Kamloops, with wingers Juusu Puustinen and Ivan Rohac returning, didn’t take part. . . . CHL teams are permitted to have two imports on their rosters, unless one is a 20-year-old. In that case, teams can carry three until Oct. 10. . . . Edmonton, which selected Swedish C Robin Figren from the Calgary Hitmen in the expansion draft earlier this month, dealt its second-round pick to the Medicine Hat Tigers for a 2008 sixth-round bantam draft, while Kelowna dealt its second-round pick to the Prince Albert Raiders for a seventh-round 2009 bantam pick. . . . The Portland Winter Hawks dealt their second-round pick to the Moose Jaw Warriors and Calgary acquired Chilliwack’s second import selection, but terms of those deals weren’t released by either club or the WHL office.
Teams combined to take 10 goaltenders, with three of them heading for the WHL. Lethbridge, Seattle and Medicine Hat selected goaltenders. The Hurricanes took Juha Metsola, 18, of Finland to compete in camp with veterans Justin Leclerc, 18, and Mike Maniago, 19. The Thunderbirds used the 45th pick on Riku Helenius, 19, of Finland. He was a first-round pick, 15th overall, by Tampa Bay in the NHL’s 2006 draft and has signed with the Lightning. The Thunderbirds released Czech winger Radek Meidl, 19, to make room for Helenius. They also have Czech LW Jan Eberle, 18, on their roster. . . . Medicine Hat grabbed Czech G Tomas Vosvrda, who turns 18 on Sept. 12, with the first pick of the second round, 60th overall. The WHL champions lose veteran Matt Keetley, who has used up his eligibility. Backup Ryan Holfeld, 18, got into 16 regular-season games and played only four minutes in 23 playoff games.
Not the Kelowna Rockets.
Bruce Hamilton, the Rockets’ president and general manager, used his two selections, both in the first round, on players who already belong to NHL teams.
With the seventh selection, Hamilton took Slovakian C Milan Kytnar, 18. It had been speculated that the Edmonton Oil Kings would use the first overall pick on Kytnar, who had been selected by their owners, the Edmonton Oilers, in the fifth round, 127th overall, of last weekend’s NHL draft.
The Oil Kings, however, took Czech C Tomas Vincour. Vincour, 6-foot-2 and 198 pounds, won’t turn 17 until Nov. 19, meaning he isn’t eligible for the NHL draft until 2009 — only players who turn 18 by Sept. 15 are eligible for that year’s draft. Vincour had 39 points, including 15 goals, and 58 penalty minutes in 41 games with Kometa Brno of the Czech under-20 league.
Kytnar, 6-foot-0 and 183 pounds, had 91 points, including 37 goals, in 53 games in the Slovakian under-18 league, and added 11 points in 22 games in the second division men’s league last season. He also captained his country’s team at the world under-18 championship in Finland, where he had seven points in six games.
“I really like him. He’s the guy I wanted,” said Hamilton, who watched Kytnar in Finland. “He reminded me of (ex-Rockets C) Tyler Spurgeon. He plays hard, works down low very well. He’s probably a better skater than Spurgeon.
“And he’s competitive. They didn’t have a great team and he played the same whether they were playing the Canadians or the Americans or whoever.”
Kytnar is represented by Newport Sports Management and will be at the Rockets’ training camp in August.
“I spoke to him today,” Hamilton said. “He speaks pretty good Enlish and he’s excited about coming here.”
With his second pick, the 43rd selection, which he had acquired from the Kamloops Blazers for a first-round pick in the 2008 import draft, Hamilton grabbed Swedish C Mikael Backlund, 18, who went to the Calgary Flames with the 24th pick of last weekend’s NHL draft. Backlund, 6-foot-0 and 180 pounds, had three points with Vasteras IK of the second division last season.
Hamilton said that he felt a lot of teams were taking 1990-born players and that the Rockets are deep in that age group, so . . .
“I felt we could take a chance on this guy and if we don’t get him this year there’s a good chance we could get him next year,” Hamilton said.
Darryl Sutter is the Flames’ general manager; his brother, Brent, is the owner, general manager and head coach of the WHL’s Red Deer Rebels. It was thought that if Backlund was headed this way, the Rebels would have taken him with the 31st pick.
“That probably lends to the belief he wouldn’t be coming over right now,” Hamilton said, adding that he has spoken with Backlund’s agent, J.P. Barry, “and explained why we were interested in doing it.”
“Today’s draft is good for us,” Hamilton continued. “I’d be happy walking away with the first guy and if we fall into something . . . it’s more about next year than anything with Backlund.”
The Rockets, who are coming off a season in which they didn’t make the playoffs, are also in hot pursuit of two highly touted NHL draft picks — C Michael Carman, 19, and LW Jamie Benn, who turns 18 on Aug. 18.
Carman, a third-round pick, 81st overall, of the Colorado Avalanche in 2006, is from Augusta, Ga. He had 20 points and 55 penalty minutes in 41 games at the U of Minnesota last season but, according to Hamilton, isn’t returning to the Gophers. Carman also played for the U.S. national junior team.
Benn, from Victoria, had 65 points, including 42 goals, in 53 games with the BCHL’s Victoria Grizzlies. He was taken by the Dallas Stars in the fifth round, 129th overall, of the NHL draft on Saturday. He has committed to attend the U of Alaska-Fairbanks and play for the Nanooks.
Of the 71 players taken in the import draft, only seven were NHL draft picks.
Here is how the other B.C. Division teams fared in the import draft:
l With the 10th selection, the Chilliwack Bruins took Czech D David Hoda, who turns 18 on Oct. 16. Hoda had 22 points and 76 penalty minutes in the Czech under-20 league. Chilliwack dropped Finnish C Aki Kangasmaki, who played there as a 17-year-old last season. The Bruins’ other import is star Swedish RW Oscar Moller, 18.
l Picking 28th, the Prince George Cougars took Patrik Magnusson, a 6-foot-7, 245-pound Swedish defenceman. Magnusson, 19, had 19 points and 91 penalty minutes with HV-71 in the Swedish junior league. The Cougars’ history includes two other rather large import defencemen — 6-foot-7 Vladimir Mihalik, who player there last season, and 6-foot-8 Zdeno Chara, now with the Boston Bruins.
The Cougars followed up by using the 69th pick on Czech C Jan Kupec.
l The Vancouver Giants, amid rumours that RW Michal Repik, who turns 19 on Dec. 31, is being courted by Sparta Prague, his club team in Czech Republic, didn’t take part. They did acquire Slovakian D Juraj Valach, 18, from the Tri-City Americans for the 54th pick in the import draft; Tri-City used it to take 6-foot-6, 230-pound Czech D Josef Tichy, 19.
Valach informed the Americans earlier this week that the only way he would play in the WHL again is if he were traded.
"He said he did not enjoy his time in Tri-City and blamed the team for him not being drafted last week (in the NHL draft),” Tri-City GM Bob Tory told the Tri-City Herald. “If he doesn't want to be here, I don't want him in the dressing room. He's not our worry any more."
The Giants’ roster now includes three imports — Repik, Valach and C Mario Bliznak, 20. Bliznak has signed with the Vancouver Canucks and is expected to play in their organization.
The complete draft is in Scoreboard.
DRAFT NOTES: Kamloops, with wingers Juusu Puustinen and Ivan Rohac returning, didn’t take part. . . . CHL teams are permitted to have two imports on their rosters, unless one is a 20-year-old. In that case, teams can carry three until Oct. 10. . . . Edmonton, which selected Swedish C Robin Figren from the Calgary Hitmen in the expansion draft earlier this month, dealt its second-round pick to the Medicine Hat Tigers for a 2008 sixth-round bantam draft, while Kelowna dealt its second-round pick to the Prince Albert Raiders for a seventh-round 2009 bantam pick. . . . The Portland Winter Hawks dealt their second-round pick to the Moose Jaw Warriors and Calgary acquired Chilliwack’s second import selection, but terms of those deals weren’t released by either club or the WHL office.
Teams combined to take 10 goaltenders, with three of them heading for the WHL. Lethbridge, Seattle and Medicine Hat selected goaltenders. The Hurricanes took Juha Metsola, 18, of Finland to compete in camp with veterans Justin Leclerc, 18, and Mike Maniago, 19. The Thunderbirds used the 45th pick on Riku Helenius, 19, of Finland. He was a first-round pick, 15th overall, by Tampa Bay in the NHL’s 2006 draft and has signed with the Lightning. The Thunderbirds released Czech winger Radek Meidl, 19, to make room for Helenius. They also have Czech LW Jan Eberle, 18, on their roster. . . . Medicine Hat grabbed Czech G Tomas Vosvrda, who turns 18 on Sept. 12, with the first pick of the second round, 60th overall. The WHL champions lose veteran Matt Keetley, who has used up his eligibility. Backup Ryan Holfeld, 18, got into 16 regular-season games and played only four minutes in 23 playoff games.
Blazers get their man
By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
The Kamloops Blazers are expected to introduce their new director of player personnel to the city this afternoon.
While no one in the Blazers organization was talking Tuesday, WHL sources have told The Daily News that the WHL team has hired veteran scout Gord Loiselle to fill the position.
Loiselle, who is from St. Albert, Alta., fills the void created when Randy Hansch resigned to join the expansion Edmonton Oil Kings as assistant general manager and director of player personnel.
Hansch left the Blazers on May 31. The next day, Loiselle resigned as the Portland Winter Hawks’ director of player personnel, a position he had filled since 1997-98.
Loiselle told the Portland Tribune that he wasn’t comfortable with the Winter Hawks’ new owners — the team changed hands last summer — and changes that were being made.
“Gord is a very, very good guy,” Winter Hawks head coach Mike Williamson said last night. “He’s hard working. He’ll do very well there.
“I have a lot of respect for him. He knows the players in the league, and he works very, very hard.”
Dean Clark, the Blazers’ general manager and head coach, and Loiselle worked together with the Calgary Hitmen in the mid-1990s. Clark was the head coach; Loiselle was second in command on the scouting side of things.
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The Blazers have dealt LW Terrance Delaronde to the Moose Jaw Warriors for a fourth-round pick in the 2009 bantam draft. Delaronde, whose family lives in Winnipeg, had 45 points and 359 penalty minutes in 169 games with the Blazers.
The move leaves the Blazers with five 20-year-olds — centres Brady Mason and Brock Nixon, defencemen Ryan Bender and Ryan White, and goaltender Dustin Butler.
The deal also leaves the Warriors with five 20-year-olds — Delaronde, defenceman Martin Grundling, goaltenders Joey Perricone and Kurt Jory, and LW Keith Voytechek. Grundling, however, is expected to play professionally in the Czech Republic.
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The Prince George Cougars have dealt C Chris Durand, 20, to the Saskatoon Blades for a third-round pick in the 2008 bantam draft. Durand is from Saskatoon so the deal allows him to finish his WHL career in his hometown.
Durand, who was acquired last season from the Seattle Thunderbirds, totaled 27 points and 97 penalty minutes in 71 games. He followed up that with 14 points in 15 playoff games.
The fourth overall pick in the 2004 bantam draft, Durand was taken 52nd overall by the Colorado Avalanche in the NHL’s 2005 draft. However, the Avs didn’t sign him and he now is a free agent.
The Cougars also have acquired C Alex Poulter, 18, and LW Evan Pighin, 19, from the Red Deer Rebels for a conditional sixth-round pick in the 2008 bantam draft. (According to the Red Deer Advocate, the Rebels get a fourth-round pick if both players are in the league Oct. 10, a fifth-rounder if one still is around and a sixth-rounder if they’re both gone.)
Poulter, 6-foot-0 and 185 pounds, had 12 points and 24 penalty minutes in 67 games with Red Deer last season. From Broomfield, Colo., he won’t turn 18 until Nov. 7. Pighin, a 5-foot-10, 190-pounder from Vancouver, had 11 points in 62 games with Red Deer last season.
When last season ended, the Cougars had three 20-year-olds, nine 19-year-olds and four 18-year-olds on their roster. Acquiring Poulter and Pighin adds some depth.
Both players asked out of Red Deer, feeling they might not be among the Rebels’ top 12 forwards.
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JUST NOTES: Former Blazers captain Ajay Baines of Kamloops will be celebrating with friends and family this weekend. Baines and the Hamilton Bulldogs won the AHL championship earlier this month, and he will be bringing home the Calder Cup on Saturday. . . . Former Blazers RW Paul Brown was chosen by the Flint Generals in the fifth round of the IHL’s dispersal draft yesterday. Brown, 22, had 16 points and 114 penalty minutes in 26 games with the Rockford IceHogs last season. The IHL, which changed its name from the United Hockey League last week, dispersed players from the Chicago Hounds, Elmira Jackals, Quad City Mallards and Rockford.
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JUNIOR JOTTINGS: Veteran WHL coach Peter Anholt, whose contract as head coach of the Prince Albert Raiders wasn’t renewed after last season, is the new general manager of Candle Lake Golf Resort. The resort is about 90 kilometres northeast of Prince Albert. Mike Jenkins, who resigned as the Saskatoon Blades’ director of business operations during last season, is the resort’s director of marketing. . . . Former Hull Olympiques owner Charlie Henry was one of five scouts fired this week by the NHL’s Phoenix Coyotes. Also dumped were Gus Badali, Willy Lindstrom, Blair Reid and Evzen Slansky. . . . Former WHL coach John Chapman, who has spent the last number of seasons as an NHL scout, most recently with the Philadelphia Flyers, has retired.
Daily News Sports Editor
The Kamloops Blazers are expected to introduce their new director of player personnel to the city this afternoon.
While no one in the Blazers organization was talking Tuesday, WHL sources have told The Daily News that the WHL team has hired veteran scout Gord Loiselle to fill the position.
Loiselle, who is from St. Albert, Alta., fills the void created when Randy Hansch resigned to join the expansion Edmonton Oil Kings as assistant general manager and director of player personnel.
Hansch left the Blazers on May 31. The next day, Loiselle resigned as the Portland Winter Hawks’ director of player personnel, a position he had filled since 1997-98.
Loiselle told the Portland Tribune that he wasn’t comfortable with the Winter Hawks’ new owners — the team changed hands last summer — and changes that were being made.
“Gord is a very, very good guy,” Winter Hawks head coach Mike Williamson said last night. “He’s hard working. He’ll do very well there.
“I have a lot of respect for him. He knows the players in the league, and he works very, very hard.”
Dean Clark, the Blazers’ general manager and head coach, and Loiselle worked together with the Calgary Hitmen in the mid-1990s. Clark was the head coach; Loiselle was second in command on the scouting side of things.
p p p
The Blazers have dealt LW Terrance Delaronde to the Moose Jaw Warriors for a fourth-round pick in the 2009 bantam draft. Delaronde, whose family lives in Winnipeg, had 45 points and 359 penalty minutes in 169 games with the Blazers.
The move leaves the Blazers with five 20-year-olds — centres Brady Mason and Brock Nixon, defencemen Ryan Bender and Ryan White, and goaltender Dustin Butler.
The deal also leaves the Warriors with five 20-year-olds — Delaronde, defenceman Martin Grundling, goaltenders Joey Perricone and Kurt Jory, and LW Keith Voytechek. Grundling, however, is expected to play professionally in the Czech Republic.
p p p
The Prince George Cougars have dealt C Chris Durand, 20, to the Saskatoon Blades for a third-round pick in the 2008 bantam draft. Durand is from Saskatoon so the deal allows him to finish his WHL career in his hometown.
Durand, who was acquired last season from the Seattle Thunderbirds, totaled 27 points and 97 penalty minutes in 71 games. He followed up that with 14 points in 15 playoff games.
The fourth overall pick in the 2004 bantam draft, Durand was taken 52nd overall by the Colorado Avalanche in the NHL’s 2005 draft. However, the Avs didn’t sign him and he now is a free agent.
The Cougars also have acquired C Alex Poulter, 18, and LW Evan Pighin, 19, from the Red Deer Rebels for a conditional sixth-round pick in the 2008 bantam draft. (According to the Red Deer Advocate, the Rebels get a fourth-round pick if both players are in the league Oct. 10, a fifth-rounder if one still is around and a sixth-rounder if they’re both gone.)
Poulter, 6-foot-0 and 185 pounds, had 12 points and 24 penalty minutes in 67 games with Red Deer last season. From Broomfield, Colo., he won’t turn 18 until Nov. 7. Pighin, a 5-foot-10, 190-pounder from Vancouver, had 11 points in 62 games with Red Deer last season.
When last season ended, the Cougars had three 20-year-olds, nine 19-year-olds and four 18-year-olds on their roster. Acquiring Poulter and Pighin adds some depth.
Both players asked out of Red Deer, feeling they might not be among the Rebels’ top 12 forwards.
p p p
JUST NOTES: Former Blazers captain Ajay Baines of Kamloops will be celebrating with friends and family this weekend. Baines and the Hamilton Bulldogs won the AHL championship earlier this month, and he will be bringing home the Calder Cup on Saturday. . . . Former Blazers RW Paul Brown was chosen by the Flint Generals in the fifth round of the IHL’s dispersal draft yesterday. Brown, 22, had 16 points and 114 penalty minutes in 26 games with the Rockford IceHogs last season. The IHL, which changed its name from the United Hockey League last week, dispersed players from the Chicago Hounds, Elmira Jackals, Quad City Mallards and Rockford.
p p p
JUNIOR JOTTINGS: Veteran WHL coach Peter Anholt, whose contract as head coach of the Prince Albert Raiders wasn’t renewed after last season, is the new general manager of Candle Lake Golf Resort. The resort is about 90 kilometres northeast of Prince Albert. Mike Jenkins, who resigned as the Saskatoon Blades’ director of business operations during last season, is the resort’s director of marketing. . . . Former Hull Olympiques owner Charlie Henry was one of five scouts fired this week by the NHL’s Phoenix Coyotes. Also dumped were Gus Badali, Willy Lindstrom, Blair Reid and Evzen Slansky. . . . Former WHL coach John Chapman, who has spent the last number of seasons as an NHL scout, most recently with the Philadelphia Flyers, has retired.
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