THE COACHING GAME: You will recall frequent mention here a few weeks ago of veteran coach Wayne Fleming, who is under contract to the NHL’s Calgary Flames. At the time, he was negotiating with Dinamo Minsk of the Continental Hockey League and seemed likely to end up as that club’s head coach. But negotiations fell apart at the last minute and Fleming chose not to sign there. Instead, the job went to Paul Gardner. Well, guess what? Garth MacBeth, who keeps an eye on all things across the pond on our behalf, informs us today that Gardner has resigned “for personal reasons.” . . . Vince Malette, whose contract as head coach of the OHL’s Peterborough Petes wasn’t renewed after last season, has signed on as head coach of the Central junior league’s Gloucester Rangers. The CJHL is a junior A league in Ontario. Malette spent two seasons as the Petes’ head coach after being an assistant to Ottawa 67’s head coach Brian Kilrea for nine years.
--------
THE MacBETH REPORT: D Reagan Rome (Moose Jaw/Saskatoon) signed with Lausiter Weisswasser (Germany 2. Bundesliga). He was with Phoenix Roadrunners (ECHL) last season.
--------
Mickey Renaud, the captain of the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires who died on Feb. 18, died of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a condition that results in a thickening of the heart muscle. According to his family, toxicological tests all came back negative.
--------
BRUINS’ BANTER: In what may be the neatest news of the summer, the Chilliwack Bruins have partnered with the Fraser Valley Health Centre Foundation on a project that will result in the building of a pediatric centre that will be named the Bruins Pediatric Centre. While a news conference is scheduled for Wednesday, the story in the Chilliwack Progress is right here. . . . At the same time, the Bruins are involved in quite a scrap with the BCHL’s Victoria Grizzlies over F Evan Pighin, 20. The latest from the Progress is right here. . . . The Progress also reports that Bruins F Matt Meropoulis will attend camp with the NHL’s New York Rangers in September. A free agent, Meropoulis will be in camp on a tryout deal. He has four goals in 113 WHL games. Rangers president/GM Glen Sather is a part-owner of the Bruins.
