Tuesday . . .

So here’s how the game works . . .
The idea is to take advantage of situations as they present themselves with the goal of maintaining interest in your franchise and keeping it in the news.
On Aug. 6, I received a tip from a highly credible source that the Tri-City Americans were about to sign Jim Hiller as their head coach, replacing Don Nachbaur, who had left after six seasons to take over as head coach of the AHL’s Binghamton Senators.
Annie Fowler, who covers the Americans for the Tri-City Herald, contacted general manager Bob Tory the following day.
Tory, who plays the game as well as anyone, expressed surprise at the report that you and he read right here.
In fact, Tory told Fowler that he had yet to offer the job to anyone.
“It’s a little premature,” Tory said at the time. “Jim is a finalist. He’s certainly a candidate I have a lot of interest in, but there are others as well.”
Fowler also contacted Hiller, who, like Tory, played the game, too.
According to Fowler, “Hiller said he’s been interviewed (he's one of five I know of who have talked with Tory), had a follow-up conversation, but has not been offered the job.”
As Tory, continuing to play the game, told Fowler: “There are coaches from other leagues who are available. A couple of them piqued my interest and I’ve had some good conversations with them. I hope to have a decision in a week or so.”
That “decision” was announced Tuesday when — surprise! — Hiller was introduced as the Americans’ head coach.
By playing the game, Tory was able to garner his franchise considerable offseason ink.
The Americans will get more media attention next week when Hiller is presented to fans at a meet-and-greet event.
And then it will be time for training camp.
In the end, then, you’ve got to admit that Tory played the game pretty well.
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F Matej Bene, 17, was to skate in Kamloops for the first time on Tuesday morning. Bene was the Blazers’ lone selection in the CHL’s 2009 import draft. He played for Slovakia in the Ivan Hlinka Memorial tournament that concluded Sunday. He and sophomore F Dalibor Bortnak, 18, a fellow Slovak, will be the Blazers’ imports. Bortnak, who wasn’t taken in the NHL draft, will go to camp with the Edmonton Oilers‚ rookies. Bene, meanwhile, is on NHL Central Scouting’s watch list. . . . Unfortunately, neither Bene nor Bortnak was on the ice Tuesday. Why not? You guessed it. Their equipment went missing during the trip. . . . Both are expected to take a twirl on Wednesday.
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Former WHL F Mike Reich has joined the St. Thomas University Tommies. He played five seasons in the WHL with Spokane, Calgary, Regina, Vancouver and Saskatoon, finishing up his eligibility last season. . . . St. Thomas U is located in Fredericton, N.B.
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Former Tri-City Americans C Scott Gomez was traded by the New York Rangers to the Montreal Canadiens during the summer. And now Sports Illustrated reports that Gomez will start learning how to speak French this week.
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The Regina Pats will open camp in Lumsden, a community just north of the Queen City, later this week. Many of the players and coaches boarded a bus Monday and headed for Camp Lutherland on the Qu’Appelle Lakes. Many teams hold retreats such as this on the weekend before the regular season opens; the Pats, with head coach Curtis Hunt back in the fold after a one-season stint in the pro game, are trying something different.
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The Pats will have five American-born players on hand when camp opens. LW Max Faulkner, 16, from Coon Rapids, Minn., who was in camp last year, too; RW A.J. Fossen, 16, from Maple Grove, Minn.; and, G Darren Robinson, 16, a 2009 10th-round bantam pick, will start at rookie camp. . . . D Brian Cochrane, 17, and G Jesse Rogers, 17, both from San Ramon, Calif., and out of the San Jose Jr. Sharks program, will start out at main camp.
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Former WHL D A.J. Thelen has signed with the ECHL’s Florida Everblades. Thelen (Prince Albert, Vancouver, 2005-07) had 17 points in 34 games with the Everblades last season during which he suffered two concussions. Before joining the Everblades, Thelen will go to camp with the AHL’s San Antonio Rampage. . . . The Minnesota Wild selected him 12th overall in the 2004 NHL draft. . . . One of these days the Everblades will get around to announcing the signing of F Jason Reese, who had 81 points in 69 games as a 20-year-old with the Tri-City Americans last season. Reese, from Gresham, Ore., played five seasons in the WHL, seeing playing time with the Vancouver Giants, Moose Warriors and Tri-City.
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Jeff Bromley reports in the Kootenay NewsAdvertiser that the Ice will have a pair of notable absentees when camp opens. D Michael King, 16, of Prince George, a 2008 third-round bantam pick, and D Jagger Dirk, 16, of Kelowna, an 11th-rounder in 2008, will stay home to protect their NCAA eligibility. Dirk is the son of former WHL/NHL D Robert Dirk (Regina, 1982-88). . . . Bromley also reports that F Elgin Pierce, the the 42nd pick in the 2007 bantam draft, is expected in camp. He didn’t report last season and played for the BCHL’s Langley Chiefs.
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The Detroit Red Wings have added two WHLers to their team of prospects that will play in the annual tournament in Traverse City, Mich. . . . F Willie Coetzee, 19, of the Red Deer Rebels and F Austin Fyten, 18, of the Lethbridge Hurricanes weren’t taken in the 2009 NHL draft and will get a look-see from the Red Wings.