Monday . . .

THE MacBETH REPORT: D Paul Albers (Calgary/Regina/Vancouver) signed a one-year contract with Nuremberg (Germany DEL). He had four goals and seven assists in 73 games for Houston (AHL) last season.
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The Vancouver Canucks made official what has been kicking around the Internet for a few days now. They have signed F Kellan Tochkin of the Everett Silvertips to a three-year NHL contract. Tochkin, 18, had 74 points last season but wasn’t selected in the NHL draft. He attended the Canucks’ prospects camp and showed well enough that he ended up with an NHL deal. . . . With numbers like that, why wasn’t he drafted? Two things — he isn’t an excellent skater for someone his size (5-foot-9 and 160 pounds). . . . But he certainly knows his way around the offensive zone. . . . And the Canucks have shown a recent penchant for giving opportunities to smaller players, witness the likes of Jordan Schroeder and Kyle Wellwood . . . .
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Former WHL/NHL goaltender Pete Peeters has signed on as the Anaheim Ducks’ goaltending coach. He had been with the Edmonton Oilers for eight years before being dumped after last season. With Anaheim, he replaces Francois Allaire, who now is with the Toronto Maple Leafs. . . .
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D Sam Klassen of the Saskatoon Blades, who like Tochkin went undrafted, has signed a three-year deal with the New York Rangers. Klassen, 20, likely is ticketed for the Rangers’ AHL affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack, after playing 182 regular-season games with the Blades. Klassen earned the deal with a good showing at the Rangers’ prospects camp. . . . Not only did Klassen go undrafted by NHL teams, he never was selected in the WHL’s bantam draft. . . . Without Klassen on their roster, the Blades right now are looking at F Derek Hulak, F Chris Langkow and F Walker Wintoneak as their 20-year-olds. They also have F Milan Kytnar on their roster, but as an import he would be a two-spotter. . . .
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I was at the Winnipeg Tribune in the summer of 1978 and was assigned to write the story when Terry Ruskowski moved from the Houston Aeros to the Winnipeg Jets of the WHA. And I was at the Regina Leader-Post when he was the head coach of the Saskatoon Blades (1989-91). He is one of my favourites because he was/is a terrific conversationalist and story-teller. . . . Which is why I wish I had been at the Latrobe Country Club in Latrobe, Penn., last week when Ruskowski, who now runs the Central league’s Laredo Bucks, got to play a round of golf with the legendary Arnold Palmer. Ruskowski’s wife, Carol, won the 18-hole prize through her employer. “To be on the course at the same time as Arnold Palmer was an absolute thrill for me,” Ruskowski said in a press release. "I have always admired Arnold and what he has done, not only for the game of golf, but for charities, the military, and school kids. He's truly one of a kind, and I'm honored to have had this experience.”
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Mike Chambers of the Denver Post reports that RW Nick Shore, who is from Cherry Hills, Colo., has “committed to the University of Denver . . . ending an intense recruiting battle with reigning NCAA champion Boston University and the Kelowna Rockets of the Western Hockey League.” . . . The Rockets selected Shore in the seventh round of the 2007 bantam draft. . . . Shore will play for the U.S. National Team Development Program this season and join the Pioneers for the 2010-11 season. . . . Shore’s brother, Drew, will be a freshman at Denver this season. Drew’s WHL rights are held by the Chilliwack Bruins, who selected him in the second round (22nd overall) of their first bantam draft, in 2006. The Florida Panthers took him in the second round of the NHL’s 2009 draft.
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Someone out there is wondering why the CHL hasn’t made any noise about the David Musil draft. You may check that out right here.