Thursday . . .

THE MacBETH REPORT: D A.J. Thelan (Prince Albert/Vancouver) has been released by Red Bull Salzburg (Austria Erste Bank Liga) after his tryout ended. From head coach Pierre Page: "A.J. Thelan played very well and went from strength to strength over the last few weeks. But he still needs time to develop and would like to perhaps join us again next summer."
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Garth MacBeth, who keeps an eye on the European scene for us, noted an “interesting story on the BBC website on how the collapse of Zoom Airlines hurt the UK Elite League team Basingstoke Bisons. Zoom was their major sponsor and the collapse left the Bisons looking to replace the 30,000 GBP in two weeks. . . . As it turned out, the Cardiff Wales came to the rescue a week later and gave Basingstoke a ‘five figure’ sum to keep the Bisons going.” . . . You may read about that here and here.
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D Matt McCue, 20, has been returned to the Brandon Wheat Kings by the NHL’s St. Louis Blues. That leaves Brandon with four 20-year-olds, the others being D Chad Erb and forwards Andrew Clark and Matt Lowry. That, of course, is one over the limit. Brandon, like all WHL teams, has to get down to three by Oct. 16. . . . Brandon is at home to the Regina Pats on Friday. . . . The Vancouver Canucks have returned G Morgan Clark, 18, to the Red Deer Rebels and F Prab Rai, 19, to the Seattle Thunderbirds. Clark is the son of Canucks’ goaltending coach Ian Clark.
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There’s a new link – Luber’s Lounge – over there on the left. Bruce Luebke, the long-time radio voice of the Brandon Wheat Kings on CKLQ, keeps tabs on the Wheat Kings and more. Check it out.
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Doug McLeod, a former employee of the Kamloops Blazers, died on Monday at the age of 59. McLeod, who was fighting cancer, was in the Marjorie Willoughby Snowden Memorial Hospice Home in Kamloops at the time of his death. McLeod was a long-time volunteer with the Blazers before being hired on July 1, 1995. He originally was in charge of souvenir inventory, but later ended up doing a little bit of everything, including on-line scoring. He was laid off on April 15, 2004, was never recalled and, on Nov. 22, 2004, filed a wrongful dismissal lawsuit against the Blazers. According to McLeod’s statement, he was told he would be recalled to work in mid-August 2004; instead, he was fired on Aug. 24. The suit was settled out of court in May of 2005. Financial details of the settlement never were released. At the time, McLeod said he "decided to take the settlement and run ... that's about it." Asked then if he was disappointed in the Blazers, McLeod replied: "I don't think I want to comment on that. I have my feelings, but I just don't want to . . ." . . . At McLeod’s request, there won’t be a funeral service. . . . Donations in his memory may be sent to the Marjorie Willoughby Snowden Memorial Hospice Home, 72 Whiteshield Crescent South, Kamloops BC, V2E 2S9.
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From James Mirtle, over at A Hockey Journalist’s Blog:
“I'm sitting here eating dinner just now and the phone rings with a strange area code on the call display. On the other end, a familiar voice says ‘Hi, this is Ken Hitchcock.’
”Which is funny because I didn't call him.
”He wants to let me know the season's starting soon and that it's going to be an exciting year for hockey in Columbus. Hitch also tells me all about season's ticket packages, even though my home is a seven-hour drive from Nationwide Arena.
”He rattles off the dates of some upcoming games.
”Then I remember buying tickets online last season for a Blue Jackets game against the Predators, and I realize Hitch isn't pausing to chat. He keeps going and going.
”I hang up the phone.”
It’s worth noting that Mirtle, who works at The Globe and Mail, is from Kamloops, where you may have heard that Hitchcock once coached. . . . As for the line: “He keeps going and going.” . . . Hitch? Talking and talking and talking? . . . Get outta here!