Thursday . . .

It's official. The Brandon Wheat Kings want to play host to the 2010
Memorial Cup tournament. . . . Brandon, if you weren't aware, is the only
city to have had teams reach the finals of the Stanley Cup, Allan Cup and
Memorial Cup -- and not win one of them! . . . The Wheat Kings announced
Thursday that they will bid to play host to the 2010 MC. That news came on
the heels of an announcement by Brandon city council, saying it will spend
$2.5 million to upgrade the Keystone Centre and toss in $400,000 to cover
half of the bid's profit guarantee. The province of Manitoba had already
agreed to match the city's effort. . . . According to the Brandon Sun, "The
Keystone Centre will need to install a JumboTron, build seven luxury suites,
and upgrade dressing rooms and press boxes in Westman Communications Group
Place, the facility's main arena." . . . WHL commissioner Ron Robison
appeared in front of Brandon city council Thursday to help pitch the bid
idea. . . . He later told The Sun that two other unnamed WHL teams have
expressed an interest in playing host to the 2010 Memorial Cup. . . .
According to the newspaper, Robison "told city council that he believed
Brandon would be the 'leading candidate' if Westman Place were to be brought
up to standards." . . . The WHL's deadline for bidders is today (Aug. 15),
with the finalists to be revealed on Aug. 28. . . . Bidders will make
presentations to the WHL board of governors on Oct. 15 and the successful
bid will be revealed that same day.
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David Crompton of the Penticton Herald reports that F Curtis McKenzie, 17,
has decided to stay with the BCHL¹s Penticton Vees, rather than report to
the WHL's Red Deer Rebels. McKenzie, who had 13 points and 81 penalty
minutes in 49 games last season, was selected by Red Deer with the 90th pick
of the 2006 bantam draft. . . . At the same time, the Vees acquired the
rights to F David Andreassen, 20, from the AJHL's Camrose Kodiaks in
exchange for the playing rights to a pair of WHLers -- F Matt Schmermund, 20,
of the Porltand Winter Hawks and F Dustin Donaghy, 19, of the Spokane
Chiefs. . . . Also, D James Bettauer, 17, has chosen to join the WHL¹s
Chilliwack Bruins. He spent last season with the Vees, earning three assists
in 42 games.
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The Tri-City Americans have named F Taylor Procyshen, 20, as the 20th team
captain in the franchise's 21-year history. Procyshen, who is going into his
fourth season in Kennewick, Wash., is perhaps the most under-rated player in
all of the WHL. He has 131 points in 187 career regular-season games and has
had back-to-back 30-goal seasons. "Unselfishness, co-operation, positive
attitude and hustle -- these are attributes you look for in a captain,"
Americans GM Bob Tory said in a press release. "Taylor exemplifies
everything a team would want in a captain. He has earned this honor." . . .
The Americans open their rookie camp on Wednesday, the annual Todd Klassen
Memorial Classic goes Aug. 23 and main camp opens Aug. 24.
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THE MacBETH REPORT: F Ryan Keller (Saskatoon) re-signed for two years with
Espoo Blues (Finland SM-Liiga). He had 22 goals and 22 assists in 47 games
for Espoo last season. . . . G Wade Flaherty (Seattle/Spokane/Victoria) and
F Adam Taylor (Kootenay) signed with the China Sharks, who are based in
Shanghai (Asian Hockey League). Flaherty was with Rockford (AHL) and Taylor
with Rochester (AHL) last season. Flaherty also will serve as the Sharks¹
goaltending coach. Former Seattle T-Birds play-by-play announcer Chris
Collins is the general manager of the Sharks.
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F Zack Smith of the Swift Current Broncos has signed a three-year contract
with the NHL's Ottawa Senators. Smith, 20, captained the Broncos last season
and was a third-round pick by Ottawa in the NHL's 2008 entry draft. He spent
four seasons with the Broncos -- he led the team with 69 points in 72 games
last season -- and is eligible to return for another go-round.
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Bill Wilms of Delta finished at 16-over 232 and won the Super Senior¹s
division by retrogression at the B.C. senior men's golf championship at
Summerland Golf and Country Club. Wilms has served as the analyst on
Vancouver Giants games and on Shaw Cable telecasts of WHL games. No word on
whether Joey Kenward was caddying for him.
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F Jon (Nasty) Mirasty is going to camp with the NHL's Columbus Blue Jackets.
The former WHL enforcer has his own website -- www.jonmirasty.com. With Nasty
in camp, Columbus head coach Ken Hitchcock ought to be good for a decent
quote or two more than usual.
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The Kamloops Blazers have signed F Ryan Hanes, a local product who played
last season with the Kamloops-based Thompson Blazers, a major midget team.
He was the 99th selection in the WHL's 2007 bantam draft.
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Jason Vondersmith of the Portland Tribune has an update on a few players as
the Winter Hawks prepare for camp. That includes veteran D Bo Montgomery who
won't be returning and who GM Ken Hodge has been attempting to deal to the Regina Pats . . . You can find that story right here.
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Former Kamloops C Jarret Lukin was involved in an ECHL deal Thursday, going
from the Florida Everblades to the Dayton Bombers. Lukin, D Steve Czech, LW
Mike McLean and G Future Considerations went to Dayton for C Yannick Tifu.
"A request was made from Tifu's agent to be traded and we obliged," Dayton
head coach Bill McDonald explained in a press release. "Tifu will be going
to a great organization in Florida and hopefully the move will benefit his
career. In return, we targeted quality players that are young with good
character, and that's exactly what we got with Czech, Lukin and McLean. They
will be a great addition to the nucleus of our team." . . . Lukin had 30
points in 72 games last season. He joined Florida late in 2006-07 after a
positive test for cocaine resulted in his leaving the U of Calgary
Dinosaurs.