Tuesday . . .

Hearty congratulations to Wayne Meier, who has been hanging out in WHL arenas for a long, long time. Besides being a regular visitor here, he is an amateur scout for the Pittsburgh Penguins, which means he is in line for a Stanley Cup ring. . . .
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F Craig Cuthbert, who made WHL stops in Kelowna and Saskatoon, has committed to attend the U of Regina and play for the Cougars. Cuthbert, who played last season as a 20-year-old with the AJHL’s Bonnyville Pontiacs, is the younger brother of former Kelowna captain Ryan Cuthbert, who now is on the Rockets’ coaching staff. . . .
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F Ian Duval, who completed his WHL eligibility with the champion Kelowna Rockets last season, has decided to attend the U of Manitoba and play for the Bisons. Duval, a Winnipeg native, had 18 points in 22 playoff games, after a 61-point regular season split between the Rockets and Moose Jaw Warriors. He also played for the Regina Pats and Calgary Hitmen. . . .
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The Vancouver Giants have given Jason Ripplinger, the director of player personnel, a multi-year contract extension. Ripplinger has been with the Giants since their inaugural season (2001-02). . . .
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The Chilliwack Bruins have released F Matt Meropoulis, who is eligible to play in 2009-10 as a 20-year-old. Meropoulis was the last player left on the Bruins’ roster from their original season (2006-07). “Going through the summer, I was running a few scenarios through my head about what could happen, and being released was not one of them,” Meropoulis told Eric Welsh of the Chilliwack Progress. “So it definitely did catch me off-guard.” . . . The move leaves the Bruins with four 20-year-olds on their roster — C Andy Smith, F Jadon Potter, D Jesse Craige and D Mitch McColm. . . . Meropoulis said he has heard from former Bruins assistant coach Dan Price, now the GM and head coach of the AJHL’s Drumheller Dragons, but said he wants to stay in the WHL. . . . In 179 games with the Bruins, he had 30 points, including six goals. . . .
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There are a couple of interesting pieces available on the Abbotsford Times’ website. Here’s the start of one of them, as written by Rafe Arnott:
“It appears having an American Hockey League franchise in Abbotsford is going to cost taxpayers after all. But just how much remains unknown.
“Construction crews were busy at the Abbotsford Entertainment and Sports Centre this past week with jackhammers tearing out the new concrete floors in the exercise areas of the team dressing rooms.
The work is being done to accommodate new drain systems as per a league requirement that the arena includes a therapeutic hydro-pools for players, a consideration that planners of the facility never took into account.”
The rest of that story is right here, with a column by Gord Kurenoff, that is a good read, right here.