Blazers signings

From The Daily News of Friday, Aug. 31, 2007 . . .

The Kamloops Blazers struck another blow for their future Thursday by
announcing the signings of seven players to WHL contracts.
Six of the signees are 15 or 16 years of age, meaning they were born in 1991
or 1992. Those born in 1992 are eligible to play only five games in 2007-08
before their regular teams have their seasons end.
“We hadn’t signed a lot of 1991s other than (centre) Jimmy Bubnick and
(goaltender) James Priestner,” Dean Clark, the Blazers’ general manager and
head coach, said, referring to the club’s top two picks in the 2006 bantam
draft. “We wanted to see the kids in camp and see who worked hard and who
deserved a contract.”
The results are in and the players who signed are:
l D Josh Caron, 16, of Campbell River, the 52nd pick in the 2006 bantam
draft;
l RW Matt Riley, 16, of Coquitlam, the 67th pick in the 2006 draft;
l C Jake Trask of Saskatoon, who turns 16 today and was the 61st pick in the
2006 draft;
l C Richard Vanderhoek, 16, the 122nd pick in the 2006 draft;
l D Daniel Medland-Marchen, 15, of Kelowna, the 37th pick in the 2007 draft
who will play for the major midget Okanagan Rockets once a broken collarbone
heals;
l G Jon Groenheyde, 16, of Surrey, a list player who wasn’t drafted; and,
l D Darcy Huisman, 18, of Smithers, who spent last season with the BCHL’s
Prince George Spruce Kings, the host team for the Royal Bank Cup.
Clark said Groenheyde has been the “most consistent” goaltender in camp and
“he has earned” a chance to make the roster. The 6-foot-3, 170-pound
Groenheyde is pushing Priestner for the backup spot behind either Dustin
Butler, 20, or Justin Leclerc, 18.
Huisman, a cousin to former Prince George Cougars star Dan Hamhuis, was
listed by the Blazers last winter. He hasn’t disappointed in training camp.
In fact, Clark said, Huisman “is going to play here this season.”
Of the seven, only Medland-Marchen isn’t on the roster for this weekend’s
exhibition tournament in Edmonton.
It’s worth noting that 31 of the 33 players selected by the Blazers in the
2004, ’05 and ’06 drafts have attended at least one training camp and 21
signed WHL contracts.
All 10 of the players taken in the 2007 draft were in this year’s camp and
two of those — centre Brendan Ranford, the 15th pick, and Medland-Marchen —
have signed.
“People like to say we are having a hard time getting commitments,” Clark
said, “but we are not having a hard time convincing people to play for us.
They like our education policy and what we do with post-secondary education.
They like our whole package.
“It is inviting not only to the kids but to the parents.”
Of the 43 players selected in the last four drafts, only two — Minnesotan
Jim O’Brien and defenceman Alex McKinnon of Deloraine, Man., both 2004
selections — have never attended a Blazers’ training camp.
O’Brien, who is coming off shoulder surgery, joined the U.S. National Team
Development Program, then spent last season at the U of Minnesota and was
dropped by the Blazers. He was listed by the Seattle Thunderbirds and
selected by the Ottawa Senators in the first round of June’s NHL draft. He
is expected to play for Seattle when he is healthy, likely by November.
McKinnon, who no longer is on the Blazers’ list, is in camp with the MJHL’s
Dauphin Kings.
The only other Blazers’ draft pick to choose the NCAA route is Kamloops
native Colin Lidster. Taken with the 94th pick in 2004, Lidster was in camp
that fall but chose to go the NCAA route after moving to Michigan with his
family. His father, Doug, who played in the NHL, attended Colorado College.