Hello y'all . . . we're back . . . at least for now

We’re back, at least on a temporary basis. I’m on a laptop while hunting for a computer. . . . Will try to post regularly but no promises right now. . . . So tell your friends and neighbours, and thanks to all for the kind notes. . . . And you should know that Regan was wrong; it'll be $100 a year. Which still won't bring this old newspaper guy's income anywhere near what a radio guy like Regan hauls into his bank.
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Let’s get caught up with a bunch of odds and ends, some new but mostly old . . .
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THE MacBETH REPORT: From Oct. 17 — D Matthew Spiller (Seattle, 1999-2003) signed a one-month tryout contract with Liberec (Czech Extraliga). The club has the option to extend the contract for the rest of the season. Spiller had two goals and 11 assists in 71 games for Lowell (AHL) last season. . . . F Justin Cox (Prince George, 1997-2001) signed a contract with Oskarshamn (Sweden Allsvenskan) for the rest of this season. He had 10 goals and eight assists in 52 games for Duisburg (Germany DEL)
last season.
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The Regina Pats reassigned D Justin Slobozian to the MJHL’s Dauphin Kings. Slobozian, a sophomore, was pointless in four games with the Pats this season.
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The Pats also released freshman Czech F Michal Poletin and replaced him with Swedish F Hampus Gustafsson, who had been released earlier by the Saskatoon Blades. Gustafsson actually had gone home to Sweden. The Blades released Gustafsson after they unexpectedly got back F Milan Kytnar from the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers. The Blades later got caught up in a 20-year-old situation and dealt Kytnar to the Vancouver Giants. . . . Poletin had two points in eight games with the Pats, although he saw only limited ice time.
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The Pats also acquired D Cody Carlson, 18, from the Medicine Hat Tigers and are hoping he is capable of running their power play. Carlson was caught behind two such players with the Tigers — 20-year-olds Mark Isherwood and Tomas Kundratek. Regina gave up D Mason Logan, a fifth-round pick in the 2009 bantam draft, in the trade. He is with the midget AAA Swift Current Legionnaires. . . . Carlson had 16 points in each of his two previous seasons with the Tigers, and had four points in seven games this season. He was the 21st pick in the 2001st bantam draft. . . . Loved this from the Medicine Hat News story on the Carlson trade: “An interview request made for Tigers coach and general manager Willie Desjardins through Tigers assistant coach Darren Kruger went unanswered on Monday night. Kruger said he didn’t feel comfortable talking about the specifics of the deal.”
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F Andy Smith, 20, who was released by the Chilliwack Bruins in mid-October, has landed with the BCHL’s Nanaimo Clippers. The Bruins acquired Smith last season from the Prince Albert Raiders.
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The AHL’s Chicago Wolves fired head coach Don Granato and assistant coach Jason Christie on Oct. 19. The Wolves were 1-5-0-0 at the time. GM Wendell Young and Gene Ubriaco, the club’s senior advisor and director of hockey operations, were to share the coaching duties in the immediate aftermath of the firings.
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The Brandon Wheat Kings assigned D Stephane Robidoux, 18, to the MJHL’s Waywayseecappo Wolverines. Robidoux had gotten into only two games this season, after playing in 35 last season. He was an 11th-round pick in the 2006 bantam draft.
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The BCHL’s Cowichan Valley Capitals fired head coach Scott Robinson on Oct. 17 and replaced him with the legendary Dale Purinton, one of the last of the real bad boys in pro hockey. Purinton was a WHL defenceman (Moose Jaw, Tacoma, Kelowna, Lethbridge, 1992-97) before going on to a penalty-filled pro career. The Capitals won in Purinton’s debut, beating the visiting Trail Smoke Eaters, 4-2. Purinton had been coaching the midget AAA team in Cowichan Valley.
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The ISS issued its mid-October top 30 rankings for the 2010 NHL draft and there are only four WHL players on the list — 7. LW Brett Connolly, Prince George Cougars; 12. D Mark Pysyk, Edmonton Oil Kings; 14. Quinton Howden, Moose Jaw Warriors; 29. C Emerson Etem, Medic ine Hat Tigers. . . . The top five are: 1. LW Taylor Hall, Windsor (OHL); 2. D Cam Fowler, Windsor (OHL); 3. C Tayler Seguin, Plymouth (OHL); 4. LW Kirill Kabanov, Moncton (QMJHL); 5. D Brandon Gormley, Moncton (QMJHL).
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While some leagues work to cut down on the number of fights in their games, the IHL has gone the other way. Check this out right here.
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According to Sudbury radio station CJMX, the OHL’s Sudbury Wolves are changing coaches, with GM Mike Foligno going back behind the bench and replacing Bryan Verreault. Verreault apparently was offered his previous position of associate coach but turned it down. The Wolves were 4-8-1 with Verreault running the show, and that included a seven-game losing streak. . . . Foligno had stepped down as coach in August after his wife, Janis, died of breast cancer.
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A former OHLer is being credited with saving his father’s life. That story is right here.
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In the AJHL, the Brooks Bandits dumped GM/head coach Brian Curran, a former Portland Winterhawks defenceman, on Friday. Assistant GM/assistant coach Ryan Papaioannou is the interim GM/head coach. . . . Who knows what happened here? After all, the Bandits won the South Division title last season and were tied for first place when Curran was canned. And no one is talking right now. . . . It’s worth noting, too, that vice-president Brian Kopec handed in his resignation after Curran was fired.
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F Cody Eakin of the Swift Current Broncos has signed a three-year deal with the NHL’s Washington Capitals. He was a third-round selection in the 2009 NHL draft, and has 12 points in 12 games this season. . . . James Shewaga, the Brandon Sun’s sports editor, reports that Eakin got a US$205,000 signing bonus, with NHL salaries of $550,000, $550,000 and $600,000. His AHL salary would be $65,000.
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The Prince George Cougars have added a third goaltender to their roster. Alex Wright, 19, who is from Prince George, moved over from the BCHL’s Prince George Spruce Kings to take another crack at the Cougars. He has played two WHL games in his career, one each with the Medicine Hat Tigers (2006-07) and Spokane Chiefs (2008-09). The Cougars added him to their list after he was dropped by the Chiefs. He was 5-7 with a 3.17 GAA and a .893 save percentage. . . . Wright joins starter James Priestner, 18, and backup Michael Salmon, 17, on the Cougars’ roster. Priestner has a 4.95 GAA and Salmon is at 6.95, so it would seem that head coach Dean Clark is hoping that competition among goaltenders will lead to some improvement.
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F Cole Grbavac, who left the Kamloops Blazers a couple of weeks ago and was ultimately dealt to the Medicine Hat Tigers, is back at home in Calgary. Grbavac, 18, expressed concern over his role and the amount of ice time he was receiving in Kamloops. He was dealt to the Tigers for F John Stampohar, 19. . . . Grbavac joined the Tigers and had one assist — he originally was credited with a goal — in two games before going home again. . . . Before leaving Kamloops, Grbavac admitted that there were times when he wondered whether he even wanted to continue playing the game. Then he said that, yes, he had decided he wanted to try and play at the highest possible level. Obviously, something happened and he again has changed his mind.
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The Prince Albert Raiders have added F Garrett Taylor, 18, to their roster. Taylor, from San Diego, had 10 points in 45 games with the Lethbridge Hurricanes last season. He was pointless in two games this season and was released. Taylor had been playing for the AJHL’s Canmore Eagles; he had four points in six games but hadn’t played for the Andrew Milne-coached Eagles since Oct. 12. . . . Taylor saw fourth-line duty in the Raiders’ 3-2 OT victory over the visiting Regina Pats on Tuesday.
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The Everett Silvertips will be without freshman D Ryan Murray, 16, for up to six weeks. He has undergone surgery to replair a broken thumb suffered Saturday during Everett’s 5-4 victory over the Rockets in Kelowna. He was a first-round pick in the 2008 bantam draft. . . . Murray, who is from White City, Sask., which once was home to former Regina Pats star and head coach Dennis Sobchuk and his weathercasting wife, Julia, was off to a terrific start, with nine assists in eight games. He also was plus-14.
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ESPN has OK’d production of a segment of its newsmagazine show E:60 that will focus on Sheldon Kennedy and Theo Fleury. A production crew may already have been in Calgary to interview both former WHL players about their relationships with former coach Graham James. The crew also has been working to track down James and any of his friends and/or associates. . . . The segment has been fast-tracked and is scheduled to be shown on Oct. 27.