Monday's musings . . .

Some news of note from Garth MacBeth, who keeps both eyes on the European — and Asian — scene for us. . . . G Kelly Guard (Kelowna) has left the China Sharks (Asia Hockey League) and signed with the Vienna Capitals of the Austrian Erste Bank Liga as an injury replacement for G Sebastian Charpentier, who is expected to be out four weeks. Vienna had already lost its No. 1 goalie, Jean-Francois Labbe, to hip surgery last month. Guard’s teammates on Vienna include Sean Selmser (Moose Jaw/Red Deer) and Darcy Werenka (Lethbridge/Brandon). . . . Guard played two games for the Sharks and had a GAA of 3.00 and a save percentage of .893. He is expected to arrive in Vienna on Tuesday and start Friday in Ljubljana. . . .

The Portland Winter Hawks have named Matt Bardsley as their director of player personnel. He fills the spot vacated when Gord Loiselle resigned over the summer. Loiselle later signed with the Kamloops Blazers as their director of player personnel. Bardsley is a Portland-area coach and has scouted for the Winter Hawks for eight years. . . .

Hockey Canada has announced the names of the 37 players invited to its national junior team selection camp, starting Dec. 10 in Calgary. There may be no tougher job in hockey than deciding which players will be invited to this camp and I’m not about to start firing criticism as though from a shotgun. All I will say is this: If you are taking 37 players to camp, 21 of whom are forwards, there has to be room for C Mark Santorelli of the Chilliwack Bruins. . . . He has 54 points in 31 games, so it goes without saying that his on-ice vision is terrific. And he’s a better skater and has more grit than what he is given credit for. . . . Santorelli is the Boston Pizza
WHL player of the week after picking up nine points, seven of them goals, in three games. . . . No, LW Kyle Beach of the Everett Silvertips didn’t get an invitation from Canada, either. He’s a 17-year-old — he’ll turn 18 on Jan. 13 — and the WJC is traditionally an 18- and 19-year-old tournament. But the experience of attending a national junior team selection camp would have done Beach a lot of good, even if he didn’t make the team this time. . . . But having said that I would not want to be the one charged with the responsibility of putting together that 37-player list. . . .

Mikki Lanuk, the Medicine Hat Tigers’ athletic therapist, will work with Team Canada through the 2008 WJC. Lanuk learned over the summer that he would be with the team. While he’s away, his father, Morris, will serve as the Tigers’ equipment manager, while Terrill Lobo, from the Edmonton Eskimos’ training staff, will serve as the therapist. . . .

LW Dana Tyrell of the Prince George Cougars was one of the players invited to Team Canada’s selection camp and it now appears that he will be there. Tyrell left the Cougars’ 6-2 loss to the Hitmen in Calgary on Sunday with a knee injury and it originally was feared it might be serious. But he saw a doctor in Calgary on Monday and expects to be just fine. “The doctor said with some rest and some ice, I should be 100 per cent,” Tyrell told the Prince George Citizen. “It happened on the power play, I drove to the net and I just fell. I must’ve tripped over my own feet or something, because I didn’t make contact with anyone.” . . . The Citizen reports that it seems Tyrell’s kneecap “moved out of place . . . but is back in position with no ligament damage.” . . . Tyrell, one of the fun players to watch in the Western Conference, has 33 points in 29 games with the Cougars. . . .

LW Ivan Rohac and RW Juuso Puustinen of the Kamloops Blazers will have opportunities to play in the World Junior Championship. Rohac, from Slovkia, and Puustinen, from Finland, will leave the Blazers on Dec. 10 to attend national team selection camps. This will be Rohac’s first appearance with the Slovakian team; Puustinen was a late cut by Finland a year ago. . . .

The Prince George Cougars will meet the Bruins in Chilliwack on Tuesday after playing in Calgary on Sunday. Tonight’s game, notes Citizen sports editor Jim Swanson, “closes out a hellish stretch of schedule that has seen them play 18 of 25 games away from home.” . . . The Cougars left Calgary on Sunday and headed for Salmon Arm, where they were to spend the night. First, though, they had to spend three hours stopped east of Golden due to weather conditions. . . . D Jesse Dudas, who didn’t play in Calgary after blocking a shot the previous night in Red Deer, is probable for the game in Chilliwack. . . .

The Vancouver Giants received a double dose of bad news Monday as they learned that RW Michal Repik (concussion) and D Neil Manning (thumb) will be out indefinitely. . . . Repik was discharged from a Vancouver hospital on Monday, after being injured Saturday on a hit by Everett Silvertips D Dane Crowley. The injury means that Repik, the Giants’ leading scorer, is unlikely to play for Czech Republic in the 2008 World Junior Championship. . . . Nick Patterson of the Everett Herald is reporting that the league reviewed the hit and chose not to suspend Crowley. . . . Manning, who had just returned after missing 20 games with a broken wrist, underwent surgery Monday and now has two pins in the thumb. Manning was injured on a hit by Portland F Viktor Sjodin on Sunday. The injury means Manning isn’t likely to play for Team Pacific in the under-17 World Hockey Challenge later this month in London, Ont. . . .

The Silvertips lost LW Kyle Beach and RW Dan Gendur in that 7-0 loss to the Giants in Vancouver on Saturday. The team hasn’t released any information on their injuries. . . .

Don Nachbaur, the head coach of the Tri-City Americans, remains in Prince George due to an illness in his family. General manager Bob Tory and assistant coach Terry Virtue ran the bench Saturday in a 5-2 victory over the visiting Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . It’s expected that Tory and Virtue will be behind the bench for the Americans’ next three games. The Ams are in Seattle Tuesday and play a doubleheader in Everett on Wednesday and Friday. . . . Terry Bangen, the director of player personnel, also may get some bench time. . . .

The Spokane Chiefs picked up 17 of 18 first-place votes in the Western Major Junior Hockey Writers Association’s weekly poll of WHL teams. The Chiefs, who have won eight of their last 10 games, are 1-1 on a Central Division tour that continues Tuesday night in Edmonton against the Oil Kings. Here are the rankings, showing position, last week, team, first-place votes and total points (22 for a first-place vote, 21 for second, etc.):
1. (1) Spokane Chiefs (17) 395
2. (3) Vancouver Giants 368
3. (2) Tri-City Americans 358
4. (4) Calgary Hitmen (1) 355
5. (5) Lethbridge Hurricanes 314
6. (6) Brandon Wheat Kings 311
7. (9) Kootenay Ice 282
8. (7) Regina Pats 281
9. (10) Kelowna Rockets 244
10. (11) Medicine Hat Tigers 225
11. (8) Swift Current Broncos 216
12. (15) Chilliwack Bruins 204
13. (14) Moose Jaw Warriors 172
14. (12) Everett Silvertips 154
T15. (16) Seattle Thunderbirds 146
T15. (13) Kamloops Blazers 146
17. (T17) Edmonton Oil Kings 106
18. (T17) Prince Albert Raiders 86
19. (19) Saskatoon Blades 72
20. (20) Prince George Cougars 62
21. (21) Red Deer Rebels 39
22. (22) Portland Winter Hawks 18