Kamloops: Mucha in, Leclerc out

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
In an attempt to add some veteran leadership to their lineup and to create a stir in their dressing room, the Kamloops Blazers decided Sunday to make a goaltending change.
Enter . . . Kurtis Mucha.
Exit . . . Justin Leclerc.
Mucha, a 20-year-old from Sherwood Park, Alta., was acquired from the Portland Winterhawks for a 2010 fourth-round bantam draft pick. Mucha, the 25th pick in the 2004 bantam draft, was in his fifth season with the Winterhawks.
Leclerc, also 20, has been placed on waivers. That process began this morning, with teams having 48 hours in which to file a claim. If he goes unclaimed, Leclerc will become a free agent.
Leclerc, from Saskatoon, was taken by the Lethbridge Hurricanes with the 46th selection in that same 2004 draft. Prior to the opening of their 2007 training camp, the Blazers acquired Leclerc from Lethbridge for a second-round pick in the 2008 draft.
While Leclerc couldn’t be reached for comment, Mucha admitted to being shaken by the trade.
“It’s tough,” he said. “I was pretty much a (target) here for three years. I put in my time and waited for the good times, and when the good times came they sent me out of here. It definitely leaves a little bit of bad taste in your mouth . . . no question about that.”
Mucha was Portland’s No. 1 goaltender each of the last three seasons, during which the Winterhawks totalled 47 victories and each season finished last in the 10-team Western Conference. The franchise changed hands prior to last season, sweeping changes were made and the Winterhawks now are 16-10-0-0 and third in the conference.
Mucha said that he felt better after speaking with Kamloops general manager Craig Bonner.
“I’m glad to be on a team that wants me and it seems like Craig Bonner is pretty happy to have me,” said Mucha, who is an NHL free agent but had a pretty good camp with the Edmonton Oilers in September. “It’s good to be where someone is going to play me and want me.”
Bonner said it was a matter of improving one area of his team.
“I’m always looking to improve our team and I think we’ve improved our goaltending position,” he stated. “If we can improve our club for a fourth-round pick, why wouldn’t we?
“Everything I know about Kurtis Mucha is that he is a real good person who will add a lot of character to our dressing room. Our leadership group could be strengthened.
“He’s a hungry goalie. He’s a motivated guy to try and get a professional contract.”
Mucha said he would visit the Winterhawks’ dressing room this morning, pick up his gear and head north. He likely will practise with his new team Tuesday and could start Friday against the visiting Kootenay Ice.
Asked whether Mucha or Jon Groenheyde, 18, might start Friday, Blazers interim head coach Scott Ferguson, who replaced the fired Barry Smith on Oct. 26, said: “We’ll have to wait and see. We want (Mucha) to feel comfortable coming in. I’m sure he’s anxious to get playing and we’re happy to have him here. We’ll wait and see how things go this week in practice.”
As for his take on the goaltending switch, Ferguson added: “I think it’s more that (management) wants to get a response from the team. When we took over we all weren’t really happy with the way the guys responded right way. So this was an area they wanted to address.”
Mucha holds many of Portland’s franchise goaltending records, including games played (213, which is sixth in WHL history), minutes played (11,964, ninth) and saves (6,045, sixth). He has eight career shutouts, sharing the Portland record with Lanny Ramage.
This season, Mucha has a 9-6-0-0 record, with a 3.13 GAA and a .905 save percentage.
Leclerc, who was the game’s first star Saturday as the Blazers beat the host Chilliwack Bruins 4-3 in a shootout, was 8-8-1-0 with a 4.37 GAA and a .893 save percentage.
While Mucha has played 900 minutes over 16 games and averaged 33 shots, Leclerc has played 1,044 minutes over 18 games and has faced an average of 41 shots.
In Chilliwack, Leclerc made 40 saves through overtime and then stopped five of six Bruins shooters to run his shootout record this season to 3-0. He has stopped 11 of 13 shootout attempts this season.
The Blazers (11-13-2-1) got shootout goals from centre C.J. Stretch and left-winger Shayne Wiebe.
In regulation time, the Blazers got goals from right-winger Tyler Shattock, Stretch and defenceman Tyler Hansen, who gave his side a 3-2 lead with his first WHL goal on a breakaway at 7:40 of the third period.
Horak forced overtime when he beat Leclerc at 15:29.
Defenceman Brandon Manning and forward Jamie Crooks also scored for the Bruins (11-12-1-4), who got 22 saves from Mark Friesen.
“I was happy with the effort,” Ferguson said. “I thought our guys did a really good job of coming out and sticking with the game plan.
“It was nice to get the two points off a team that is playing really well right now.”
The Blazers went into the game having lost five in a row (0-4-0-1). They also had dropped eight straight (0-7-0-1) on the road.
Shattock was in the Blazers’ lineup despite having picked up a boarding major and game misconduct one night earlier during a 3-1 loss to the Seattle Thunderbirds in Kent, Wash. The Blazers disagreed vehemently with the call and appealed to the WHL not to suspend Shattock.
“We talked to the league,” Bonner said, “and the league disagreed with the call.”

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
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