Tuesday . . .

THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Joel Broda (Tri-City, Moose Jaw, Calgary, 2004-10) signed a one-year contract with Red Bull Salzburg (Austria Erste Bank Liga). He had 39 goals and 35 assists in 66 games for the Calgary Hitmen (WHL) last season. . . .
The Frankfurt Lions (Germany DEL) have lost their licence to play in the league and have folded. The club was facing a financial shortfall of around one million euros for the coming season and efforts to close the gap failed. The team now is looking at being liquidated. As a result, former WHL players F Tyler Beechey (Kootenay, Calgary, 1997-2002) and G Ian Gordon (Swift Current, Saskatoon, 1992-95) now are free agents. . . .
F Jakub Klepis (Portland, 2001-02) signed a two-year contract with Salavat Yulaev Ufa (Russia KHL). He had 10 goals and 12 assists in 56 games for Avangard Omsk (Russia KHL) last season.
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So it would seem that F Joel Broda, who led the WHL in goals in 2008-09, has made his decision. After being selected by the Washington Capitals in the fifth round of the NHL’s 2008 draft, Broda was never signed to an NHL contract. He went back into the draft, for 2010, but wasn’t selected. . . . Late last month, he told John MacNeil of the Prince Albert Herald that he was exploring all of his options, including school and Europe. Obviously, the exploring is over.
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The headline accompanying the letter to the editor in the Prince George Citizen read: Draftee showed little class.
The letter writer, Milne Harder, put it this way:
“Brett Connolly showed little class in his chewing of his gum.
“He looked like a redneck from the North. No other player selected was chewing gum.
“He was front and center with some big names and looked like a fool. A little bit of class should have come from him but didn't.
“I kinda think Yzerman made a mistake with this guy.”
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OK. We will assume that the letter writer was referring to Connolly, the Prince George Cougars’ starry winger, and his appearance on stage at the NHL draft after he was selected sixth overall by the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Yes, Connolly was chewing gum.
But you know what?
He’s 18 years of age and coming off a season from hell. Hip injuries -- the first one flared up in August -- robbed him of virtually the entire season. But such is Connolly’s talent that Yzerman, in his first draft as Tampa Bay’s general manager, used the sixth overall selection on the young man.
The sense of relief that must have flowed through Connolly’s entire body upon hearing his name called must have felt like a cold shower. Only he knows what he went through through with all the medical-related poking and prodding. And only he knows how many times he must have wondered if he would ever be healthy enough to play again.
So if the kid wanted to chew tobacco and spit on Gary Bettman's left foot, hey, good for him. Geez, cut the kid some slack. He earned it.
By the way . . . Connolly is from Prince George.
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T.D. Forss has left the CFL’s Edmonton Eskimos for the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers. Forss, an athletic therapist, had spent the last seven years with the Eskimos and replaces Ken Lowe, who was swept out the door after seven seasons. Coincidentally, Lowe also moved to the Oilers from the Eskimos. . . . Before joining the Eskimos, Forss spent two seasons with the Calgary Flames. Prior to that, he was the athletic therapist and strength coach with the Spokane Chiefs (1994-2001).
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Congratulations to Maria and Dale Derkatch on the birth of their third son, who was born on Sunday, which just happened to be July 4. They’ll be able to turn to the American TV channels and have fireworks on the young fellow’s birthday. . . . As one of Derkatch’s friends said: “I told him that it would know doubt be his last hat trick.” . . . Derkatch, one of the greatest players the WHL has seen, starred for the Regina Pats (1981-85). He now is the Prince Albert Raiders’ director of player personnel.
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The Boston Bruins’ summer development camp opens Tuesday with fitness testing and some team building. The players will be on the ice Wednesday,1 p.m., at the Ristuccia Center in Wilmington, Mass. The camp runs through Saturday. . . . Among the players in attendance are F Craig Cunningham (Vancouver Giants) and D Ryan Button (Prince Albert Raiders). And, yes, F Tyler Seguin, the second overall pick in the 2010 NHL draft, will take part. He played for the OHL’s Plymouth Whalers. . . . Cunningham was a 2010 draft pick, while the Bruins picked Button in 2009.
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THE COACHING GAME:
Jason Tatarnic has returned to the Woodstock Slammers of the Maritime Junior league, meaning the SJHL’s Notre Dame Hounds are in the market for a head coach again. . . . Tatarnic, the Slammers’ head coach for the last five seasons, accepted the head coach’s job with the Hounds last month. However, he has reconsidered and is back with the Slammers. . . . With a wife and three daughters, the oldest of whom is five, Tatarnic told Bill Hunt of the Fredericton Daily Gleaner that it "wasn't the right time to relocate." Tatarnic added: "Getting the proper housing in place was a little bit of an obstacle for us. It's a bit unfortunate because I'm an alumnus of Notre Dame and I think it's a great place. But it just didn't work out for my family at this time." . . . Hunt’s complete story is right here.
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The Edmonton Oilers’ development camp opens Tuesday and runs through Friday. There will be 28 players reporting to Rexall Place. Included in that bunch will be F Taylor Hall, the first pick in the NHL’s 2010 draft and F Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson, the 10th overall pick in the 2009 draft. . . . Players who were in the WHL last season and who are scheduled to be there are: F Jordan Eberle (Regina), F Cameron Abney (Edmonton), F Drew Czerwonka (Kootenay), F Curtis Hamilton (Saskatoon), F Milan Kytnar (Vancouver), F Toni Rajala (Brandon), D Brandon Davidson (Regina) and G Tyler Bunz (Edmonton). . . . Slovakian D Martin Marincin, a second-round pick in the 2010 NHL draft, also will be there. The Prince George Cougars selected him with the first pick of the 2010 CHL import draft. . . . Two members of the BCHL’s Vernon Vipers will be there. F Kellen Jones, a seventh-round pick in the 2010 NHL draft, and his twin brother, Connor, who wasn’t selected, have played on two straight RBC championship teams. . . . F Tyler Pitlick, who has left Minnesota State-Mankato to join the Tigers, also is on the camp roster. He will play for the Medicine Hat Tigers in 2010-11.