Thursday . . .

THE MacBETH REPORT: D Matt Kinch (Calgary) signed a one-year contract with Ravensburg (Germany 2.Bundesliga). He had two assists in three games with Worcester (AHL) and three goals and four assists in 23 games with Wolfsburg (Germany DEL) last season.
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When last season ended, the Vancouver Giants were looking at a rather depleted defence before another season arrived. But, all of a sudden, the Giants’ blue-line brigade is looking rather stellar. Gone from the Giants’ season-ending roster are Mike Berube and Craig Schira, both of whom were 20-year-olds, Jonathan Blum, who will play in the Nashville Predators’ organization, Nick Ross, who is ticketed for the Phoenix Coyotes’ organization, and Brent Regner, who will be in the Columbus Blue Jackets’ organization. . . . But the season wasn’t long over before Vancouver GM Scott Bonner acquired a couple of WHL veterans, getting D Matt Strong, 19, from the Chilliwack Bruins for a 2010 eight-round bantam pick and D Ryan Funk, 20, from the Saskatoon Blades for a 2009 fifth-rounder. . . . Then the Giants landed David Musil, 16, in a swap with the Kootenay Ice, giving up first- and fifth-round picks in exchange. . . . And now D Kevin Connauton has told the Vancouver Province’s Steve Ewen that, yes, he is leaving Western Michigan U to play for the Giants. Connauton, 19, was a third-round pick by the Vancouver Canucks in the NHL’s 2009 draft. Ewen writes that Connauton “said that the Canucks agreed that he would progress better in the WHL than in college.” . . . Connauton is said to be a strong skater with terrific offensive skills. . . . And, just like that, the Giants’ defence looks like it may not miss a beat. . . .
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Brad Lauer has been reunited with Cory Clouston. They worked together with the Kootenay Ice, with Clouston as head coach and Lauer as the assistant coach. And now the NHL’s Ottawa Senators, who moved Clouston in as head coach during 2008-09, have added Lauer to their coaching staff. . . . Lauer was an assistant under Clouston for five seasons in Cranbrook. . . . Lauer has spent the last two seasons as an assistant coach with the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals. The Admirals’ head coach is Lane Lambert, who also is a former WHL coach. . . .
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F Matt Lowry, who played out his WHL eligibility with the Brandon Wheat Kings last season, has signed with the AHL’s Binghamton Senators. Lowry had 77 points in 71 games last season in Brandon. . . . Brandon F Jay Fehr, 20, has accepted a free-agent tryout deal with the NHL’s Minnesota Wild, while D Brodie Melnychuk, 18, will attend a San Jose Sharks’ prospects camp. . . .
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F Craig Valette (Saskatoon and Portland, 1999-2003) has signed a one-year contract to return to the ECHL’s Stockton Thunder. Valette played 43 games with the Thunder last season, but also saw time with the AHL’s Houston Aeros and Syracuse Crunch. . . .
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Former WHL D Brent Thompson (Medicine Hat, 1988-91) is the new head coach of the ECHL’s Alaska Aces. He replaces another former WHL defenceman, Keith McCambridge, who left to join the AHL’s Manitoba Moose as an assistant coach. Thompson, 38, is coming off four seasons as an assistant coach with the AHL’s Peoria Rivermen, who have an affiliation with the Aces. . . . Thompson was a draft pick of the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings in 1989. He scored his first NHL goal off assists by Wayne Gretzky and Luc Robitaille. . . .
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Interesting times in the Lower Mainland of B.C.
The Chilliwack Progress reports that there is concern in the camp of the Chilliwack Bruins because of lagging ticket sales. That story is right here.
And to make matters even more interesting, Dave Sheldon has been named director of communications and broadcasting by the AHL’s Abbotsford Heat. Sheldon has spent the last six seasons with WHL teams, including two with the Bruins. Last season, he was with the Vancouver Giants, but his contract wasn’t renewed. . . .
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The Cranbrook Daily Townsman reports that thieves broke into the locker room of the junior B Kimberley Dynamiters over the weekend “and stole thousands of dollars worth of hockey equipment.” Something like this is a severe blow to the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League team. “The team is financially trying to get by," Dynamiters' president Rick Prasad told the newspaper. "We are here for the kids, we're here for the public and then for someone to do that is just horrible. It makes it difficult for us, because we run a very strict budget, a very tight budget. This year, we're starting out in the hole obviously, so we're going to have a really tough year financially. With the economy the way it is, it's (already) tough. It's been difficult getting sponsorship and we were hoping this year it would be easier. We came up with a better schedule that would save us some money, and then something like this happens; it's disgusting. The kind of person that would do this is -- I don't even know." Prasad also said that the team doesn’t have insurance to cover such a loss. "It just gets too expensive," he said. "There's no insurance for this. We're hoping the public will come up with something for us and contact the police and let them know that they know who did this or know where some of these goods are now. If that's the case, we can track these guys down. . . . If the public came up with something for us, there'd be a couple of season tickets in it for them."
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Former Kootenay Ice F Adam Cracknell, 24, has signed with the NHL’s St. Louis Blues. He played last season with the AHL’s Quad City Flames, who now are the Abbotsford Heat. He had 26 points in 79 games with the Flames.
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The Central league’s Texas Brahmas have re-signed F Jordan Cameron, who played in the WHL with the Vancouver Giants and Tri-City Americans (2000-03). He had 60 points in 55 games last season with the Brahmas and set a franchise record with seven shorthanded goals. . . .
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And now for something really funny . . .
Check out this piece by columnist Greg Douglas that appeared in Wednesday’s Vancouver Sun.
And there's more on that story right here, with Bruce Dowbiggin of The Globe and Mail.