THE MacBETH REPORT: Garth MacBeth, our man on the European scene, reports one signing of interest, although it isn’t WHL related. F Hayley Wickenheiser is going to Europe again. She has signed to play with Linden Hockey, a Swedish Division 1 club based in Eskilstuna (about an hour west of Stockholm). According to the club website, she will report to the team around Aug. 25, after doing softball commentary for CBC in Beijing. Linden’s regular season starts Sept. 21. . . . And, on the subject of CBC, Mike Milbury has left TSN and signed on as an analyst and Hot Stove participant on Hockey Night in Canada. I wonder if they will allow Milbury and Don Cherry to be in the same room at the same time?
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THE COACHING GAME: Former Brandon Wheat Kings D Brad McCrimmon has signed on with the Detroit Red Wings as an assistant coach. McCrimmon had been the associate head coach with the Atlanta Thrashers — all told, he spent five seasons there — but he was passed over twice for the head-coaching job, once when GM Don Waddell took the position himself after firing Bob Hartley early last season and again this summer when John Anderson was hired as head coach. . . . “I spent five years here (in Atlanta) and I tried to do everything I could and was asked to do and I felt good about that,” the 49-year-old McCrimmon told the Brandon Sun’s James Shewaga. “And at the end of the day decisions are made and sometimes they don’t include you . . . So I will move forward and make the best of new opportunities.” . . . With the Red Wings, McCrimmon, the older brother of Brandon owner/GM/head coach Kelly McCrimmon, replaces Todd McLellan, who left to become head coach of the San Jose Sharks. . . . One of these days, McLellan will get around to naming his coaching staff. It will include former Saskatoon Blades D Trent Yawney. . . . Regina Pats GM Brent Parker formally interviewed Marc Habscheid on Monday. The Pats are looking for a head coach to replace Curtis Hunt, now an assistant coach with the NHL’s Ottawa Senators. Earlier, Parker interviewed Dale Derkatch and is to meet with an unidentified candidate on Tuesday. For a complete update, check out Rob Vanstone’s story in the Regina Leader-Post. It’s right here. . . .
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JUNIOR JOTTINGS: The Tri-City Americans have signed D Zach Yuen, their first pick in the 2008 bantam draft. Yuen, who played for the bantam AAA North Shore Winterhawks in the Lower Mainland, was the 22nd overall selection. He had 46 points and 108 penalty minutes in 52 games. The Americans plan to take a long look at him, including in two preseason tournaments. . . . D Collin Bowman of the Kelowna Rockets has been named to the U.S. under-18 team that will play in the Ivan Hlinka Memorial tournament, Aug. 12-16 in Breclav, Czech Republic, and Piestany, Slovakia. The U.S. team was chosen after a July 7-13 camp at St. Cloud, Minn., State. Bowman, from Littleton, Colo., is the younger brother of Spokane Chiefs LW Drayson Bowman. . . . Canada’s entry in that tournament will be selected following an Aug. 1-5 camp in Calgary.
