Early Thursday notes

The news conference in Red Deer is scheduled to start at 2 p.m. Pacific time. Haven't seen anyone say Brent Sutter isn't going to New Jersey, so . . .

The Stanley Cup will make an appearance in the Chilliwack area on July 28. Brian Burke, the general manager of the Stanley Cup-champion Anaheim Ducks and a co-owner of the WHL’s Chilliwack Bruins, is bringing the old mug to the area from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Burke and the mug will be at the Rogers Wireless kiosk at the Cottonwood Mall in Chilliwack from noon to 3 p.m.

More on Brian Burke and the Stanley Cup . . . The Anaheim Ducks’ GM is to be inducted into the B.C. Hockey Hall of Fame in Penticton on July 27 and he will have the Stanley Cup with him there. Hockey fans will be able to get their photo taken with the cup for a fee, which is to be donated to charity. Also being inducted that evening will be players Brett Hull and Dennis Kearns and referee Bob Hall. If you’re looking for tickets you are out of luck as the event is sold out. . . . On July 28, Burke will take the Stanley Cup into the Chilliwack area.

C Peter Mueller, who spent the last two seasons with the Everett Silvertips, has signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Phoenix Coyotes, who selected him with the eighth pick of the 2006 NHL draft. Under terms of the CBA, players taken in the 2006 draft are eligible to receive a maximum of US$850,000 per season in compensation. Mueller, 19, had 78 points, including 57 assists, and 45 penalty minutes in 51 games last season. The 6-foot-2, 205-pound native of Bloomington, Minn., added 16 points in 12 playoff games.

RW Dillon Johnstone, a 6-foot-5, 205-pounder from Frobisher, Sask., has committed to the U of Regina where he will play for the Cougars. Johnstone played out his WHL eligibility last season as a 20-year-old with Chilliwack. He had 20 points in 53 games with the Bruins. He actually began his career with the Tri-City Americans but was sidelined by a serious eye injury. Johnstone came back from that last season and proved that he could again compete at a high level.