THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Chad Bassen (Regina, Vancouver, Medicine Hat, Everett, 2000-04) signed a one-year contract with the Augsburger Panther (Germany DEL). He had five goals and four assists in 52 games for the Hamburg Freezers (Germany DEL) this season.
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The WHL has six players on the Canadian team that will play at the under-18 IIHF World Championship in Germany later this month.
Those WHLers are defencemen Morgan Reilly (Moose Jaw Warriors), Ryan Murray (Everett

The head coach is Mike Williamson of the Calgary Hitmen, while the assistants are Mark Lamb of Swift Current and Dale Hawerchuk of the OHL’s Barrie Colts.
The Canadian team leaves today for Germany.
Canada will play three exhibition games, against the U.S. on Saturday in Dresden, against Sweden on Monday in Crimmitschau and against Germany on Tuesday in Dresden.
The tournament runs April 14-24 in Dresden and Crimmitschau. Canada is in a Dresden-based pool with Czech Republic, Finland, Norway and Sweden, and will play its first round-robin game on April 15 against Czech Republic.
The other pool features Germany, Russia, Slovakia, Switzerland and the U.S.
The round-robin concludes on April 19, with the playoff round to start on April 21 and end on April 24.
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There was interesting news out of B.C. on Wednesday when a former hockey player who at 13 years of age had been sexually assaulted by his coach was awarded $605,000 by a B.C. Supreme Court Judge Dev Dley.
The Victoria Times Colonist has the story right here.
There is reaction from Theo Fleury in this Canadian Press story right here.
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The Tri-City Americans will announce today that they have signed G Eric Comrie, who was the 15th overall selection in the 2010 bantam draft. Comrie, the son of Bill

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Matt Coxford of the Cranbrook Daily Townsman reports that the Kootenay Ice should get two injured players back at some point during a second-round series with the

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Three Robservations from longtime WHL (R)observer Rob Vanstone of the Regina Leader-Post . . .
1. The future of Moose Jaw Warriors head coach Dave Hunchak is certain after the team's first-round ouster from the WHL playoffs. Although the playoffs were disappointing, it should be remembered that Hunchak is only the third head coach to extract 40 wins from the Warriors since the team moved from Winnipeg to Moose Jaw in 1984.
2. It could be said that a 40-win season in Moose Jaw is surprisingly unexpected. With that in mind, Hunchak should receive a contract extension -- a move which would be a welcome departure from tradition. Over the years, the Warriors have allowed too many first-rate coaches to get away (see: Lorne Molleken, Curtis Hunt, Mike Babcock). All three of those gentlemen coached in the NHL after leaving Moose Jaw.
3. Defenceman Ryan Murray, who is from White City, was named captain of the WHL's Everett Silvertips earlier this week. Thanks to the WHL's ridiculous partial interlocking schedule, Murray won't have an opportunity to play near his hometown until the 2012-13 season. Next season's only matchup between the Silvertips and Regina Pats will be in Everett, Wash. What kind of league is this? Every team should play in every arena every season. This should be fundamental. The players deserve this. The fans deserve this. Alas, it'll never happen.
(What Vanstone doesn’t mention is that Murray could be playing in the NHL come the 2012-13 season, which would mean he wouldn’t get to play in Regina. He has a late-1993 birth date (Sept. 27), already has played two WHL seasons and is being projected as an early selection in the NHL’s 2012 draft. He very well might be the WHL’s top defenceman next season. That being the case, it very well might depend on which NHL team selects him as to whether he is back in the WHL or moves on to the NHL in the fall of 2012. . . . By the way, White City is on the eastern outskirts of Regina.)
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
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