Thursday . . .

THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Curtis Brown (Moose Jaw, Prince Albert, 1992-96) signed a one-year contract extension with Biel (Switzerland NL A). He had nine goals and 17 assists in 49 games last season.
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If you were wondering, the contract extensions the Lethbridge Hurricanes have agreed to with associate coach Matt Kabayama and Brad Robson, the assistant GM, run through 2011-12.
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When the Calgary Flames whacked some scouts this week, they also got Fred Devereaux, who worked the New England area for them. So why the firings? "Because it's a different approach to amateur scouting — that's basically the bottom line," Tod Button, the Flames' director of scouting, told the Calgary Herald. "You know what? We're going to try to cover different areas in a different way. It's hard for me to tell you till you see the whole picture of how it comes out at the end. "It's an ongoing process. There are different ways to do it."
There’s more from the Herald’s Scott Cruickshank right here. And the Calgary Sun’s Randy Sportak writes about it right here.
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The Flames, after dumping the three scouts, announced that they have hired Jay Feaster as their assistant GM. Feaster was the GM of the Tampa Bay Lightning when the won the 2004 Stanley Cup. He resigned in 2008 following an ownership. . . . Feaster will work under GM Darryl Sutter in Calgary. . . . Following last season, there was much speculation that Calgary Hitmen GM Kelly Kisio would be joining the Flames as the assistant GM. The Feaster hiring should take care of that. . . . So now we'll start the speculation that Kisio will be the Flames' next GM. After the Jokinen-Tanguay repeat exercise in futility doesn't work out, that is.
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As expected, John Torchetti has left the Chicago Blackhawks’ coaching staff to join the Atlanta Thrashers as associate coach under Craig Ramsey. . . . Torchetti spent the last three seasons with Chicago. . . . With an opening on the Blackhawks’ staff, you can bet there will be speculation that former Spokane Chiefs head coach Bill Peters may be promoted. He has spent the last two seasons as head coach Chicago’s AHL affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs.
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The ECHL’s Ontario Reign has signed D Chad Starling and F C.J. Stretch, both of whom played with the Kamloops Blazers. . . . Starling, 29, was with the Blazers for two seasons (1998-2000). He is going into his third season with the California-based Reign. . . . Stretch used up his WHL eligibility last season, his fifth with the Blazers. He set a franchise record by playing in 341 regular-season games. He finished with 248 points, including 85 goals. Stretch joined the Reign for the final game of the 2009-10 regular season and scored his first professional goal.
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There will be heavy WHL representation, past and present, at the Minnesota Wild’s development camp. Included on the roster are F Cody Almond (Kelowna), F J.T. Barnett (Vancouver), F Joel Broda (Calgary), F Brett Bulmer (Kelowna), F Darian Dziurzynski (Saskatoon), F Kris Foucault (Calgary), F Colton Gillies (Saskatoon), F Tyler Johnson (Spokane), F Petr Kalus (Regina), F Dylan McKinlay (Chilliwack), F Carson McMillan (Calgary), D Josh Caron (Kamloops), D Justin Falk (Spokane), D Jared Spurgeon (Spokane) and G Darcy Kuemper (Red Deer). . . . The camp begins Tuesday and runs through July 18 at the Xcel Energy Center.
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A.J. Jakubec, who was the radio voice of the Edmonton Oil Kings until he was dropped by Astral Media, the owner of TEAM 1260AM in Edmonton, has a note on his Facebook page:
“Thanks for all the messages of support. I have amazing family and friends. Oilers/Oil Kings have been first class and had nothing to do with this. I feel lucky to have my health and this is not the end of the World. I'm confident things will work out for the best.”
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Jerry Brewer of the Seattle Times wrote a column that appeared in Thursday’s paper that pretty much sums up the Courting of LeBron. Give it a read right here.