Tuesday's notes . . .

Brent Sutter now is 17-0 as Team Canada’s coach in world junior competitions and the Super Series that is anything but super. And TSN’s Pierre McGuire already has the hype machine in high gear, stating that Sutter -- and Sutter alone -- should be considered as the head coach of the Canadian team at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver and Whistler, B.C. Uhh, perhaps we should let Sutter get in a season as head coach of the NHL’s New Jersey Devils before making that kind of decision. You can’t argue with his success with Canada’s national junior program. But the program in Red Deer has struggled of late, at least it has by the standard the Rebels set early in the Sutter regime. And only time will tell how the Red Deer fans will react to once again having one of the youngest teams in the WHL playing its home games in their building. . . . Sutter, by the way, will go to 20-0 when Team Canada completes an eight-game sweep of what has become a junior hockey embarrassment in Vancouver on Sunday. . . . Next time Hockey Canada puts together something like this, here’s hoping they also include a mercy rule. . . . How much did some of you folks pay for tickets? . . . It’s also hard not to feel some sympathy for the Russian kids who clearly would much rather be in a lot of other places than where they are these days. . . .

Just watched David Ferrer beat Rafael Nadal at the U.S. Open. This is the best time of year for a sports fan, what with the NFL starting up, the major leagues into the stretch drive and the U.S. Open into its last week. Nothing better than spending an evening/night/early morning watching the U.S. Open with John McEnroe telling it like it is. . . . Nadal actually was physically beaten in this four-set match. He’s awfully young to have his body falling apart on him like it appears to be. He went into the match with a sore knee and had problems with a cramping hand, a quad and a foot. Love him or hate him, tennis can’t afford to have him on the limp or, worse yet, breaking down. . . .

The Calgary Hitmen outshot Red Deer 42-17 and beat the Rebels 2-0 in Airdrie, Alta., in Tuesday’s only WHL exhibition game. Referee Chris Savage gave the Rebels seven of eight minors in the second period -- Calgary enjoyed two lengthy 5-on-3s -- and the Hitmen enjoyed a 23-4 edge in shots. Still, Calgary was 0-for-12 on the PP; the Rebels were 0-for-7. . . . Calgary got its goals from Slovakian rookie Martin Stepan in the first period and F Adam Ross, 20, in the second. . . . G Morgan Clark went the distance for Red Deer. The Hitmen split their goaltending between Chase Komistek and Martin Jones. . . .

The Spokane Chiefs have trimmed three players off their roster, with LW Mike Betz, 15, joining the major midget Okanagan Rockets in Kelowna and RW Blake Gal, 15, heading to camp with the midget AAA team in Lethbridge. Betz and Gal were the Chiefs’ first two picks in the 2007 bantam draft. C Steven Kuhn, 16, is on his way to the midget AAA camp in Medicine Hat. . . . Also leaving the Chiefs, at least for now, are three veterans headed to NHL camps -- D Justin Falk (Minnesota Wild), LW Ondrej Roman (Dallas Stars) and C Chris Bruton (St. Louis Blues). . . .

The Swift Current Broncos’ roster is at 26, including two goaltenders and eight defencemen, with the reassigning of G Chad Ketting, 16, likely to the major midget Northwest Giants, who play out of Vancouver, and C Chris Magnus, 15, to the midget AAA Saskatoon Blazers. . . .

When the Kelowna Rockets returned home from Edmonton on Monday, they left F Milan Kytnar behind. The Slovakian will attend the Edmonton Oilers’ rookie camp. . . . Also off to NHL camps are C Cody Almond (Minnesota), G Torrie Jung (Tampa Bay) and D Tysen Dowzak (Philadelhia). . . . Kelowna head coach Ryan Huska has told the media in that city that D Tyson Barrie, 16, was his team’s best player in three exhibition games in Edmonton. That could be interpreted as good news for Barrie but bad news for the Rockets. Barrie’s father, Len, was a prolific WHL sniper in his day. . . .

The Edmonton Oil Kings got down to 28 players by reassigning three players and releasing three others. LW Devin Balness, 15, is off to Eastman (midget AAA), with D Mark Pysyk, 15, to play midget AAA in his hometown of Sherwood Park and D Ryan Wilkinson, 16, joining the midget AAA K of C Pats in Edmonton. . . . Released were G Brian Kaval, D Adam Geric and RW Eli Grossman. . . .

The immediate future of the Everett Silvertips very well may be decided by pro teams. Eight players who are eligible to play for Everett are, or will be, in pro camps -- D Dane Crowley (Tampa Bay), D Taylor Ellington (Vancouver), LW Ondrej Fiala (Minnesota), RW Dan Gendur (Vancouver), C Zach Hamill (Boston), G Leland Irving (Calgary), C Vitali Karamnov (Edmonton) and C Peter Mueller (Phoenix). . . . Of that bunch, Mueller is the likeliest candidate to make an NHL team’s roster. If/when Irving is returned, it will make for an interesting scenario as David Reekie also is a capable WHL goaltender but he is 20 and you’ve got to think he wouldn’t want to play second-fiddle. So a goaltending move could be in Everett’s future. . . .