Oilers in Mucha's future?

By MARK HUNTER
Daily News Sports Reporter
The illness to one former Kamloops Blazers goaltender may turn into an opportunity for another former Kamloops Blazers goaltender.
Kurtis Mucha, who finished his WHL career Wednesday when the Blazers lost to the visiting Vancouver Giants, says he is looking at a number of different professional options right now.
One of them, he says, is with the Edmonton Oilers organization, which is in need of a healthy goaltender due to a recent illness to Devan Dubnyk, who played for the Blazers from 2001-05.
“I talked to Edmonton, and they said they’re going to look through their system,” said Mucha, whom the Blazers acquired from the Portland Winterhawks in November. “With (Dubnyk) being sick, they’re going to have to shuffle some goalies around.”
When Dubnyk got sick before the Oilers’ home game against the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday, Edmonton was forced to call up Nathan Deobald, a third-string goaltender for the U of Calgary Dinos, to back up Jeff Deslauriers. Dubnyk told reporters Thursday that he is starting to feel better, but isn’t yet ready to play.
Mucha said if he does go to the Oilers’ organization, it likely wouldn’t be with the big club, but rather the AHL’s Springfield Falcons or the ECHL’s Stockton Thunder.
“I might be able to slide on to one of their three teams,” said Mucha, who went to camp with the Oilers in September. “It won’t be the NHL team, but that would be nice.”
Mucha, a Sherwood Park, Alta., native, finished his junior career having appeared in more games (245) and played more minutes (13,708) than any other goaltender in CHL history.
mhunter@kamloopsnews.ca