Another chapter in hockey's ugly summer

THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Bernhard Keil (Kamloops, 2010-11) has been assigned on loan by the Straubing Tigers (Germany, DEL) to Regensburg (Germany, Oberliga). Keil had five goals and three assists in 46 games with the Blazers last season. The DEL starts its regular season on Sept. 16; the Oberliga starts Sept. 23.
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D Yuri Urychev and F Daniil Sobchenko, who died in Wednesday’s crash of the plane carrying the KHL’s Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, played for Team Russia in last season’s Subway Super Series.
They also played for the Russian team that won the 2011 World Junior Championship in Buffalo.
In the Super Series, Urychev had three assists in the six games, including two helpers in a 7-6 shootout victory over the WHL in Kamloops.
Sobchenko finished the six games with a goal and three assists. He scored once in the game in Kamloops and added another in the shootout.
Sobchenko was a sixth-round selection by the San Jose Sharks in the 2011 NHL draft and later attended their development camp.
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For a look at the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl roster, you can click right here.
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For a pictorial look at the roster, you can click right here.
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Jesse Wallin, the GM and head coach of the Red Deer Rebels, talking to Red Deer Advocate sports editor Greg Meachem:
“This hits pretty close to home. Brad was a tremendous human being, a mentor for me when I was growing up. He and Kelly had a cabin at Jackfish Lake near North Battleford and he used to come by and pick up some of us young guys and take us down to the track to train (for the next hockey season). . . .
“Brad was from the Kindersley (Sask.) area where my mom and dad grew up so we kind of had some family connections. My family had known the McCrimmons for some time.
“I spent a lot of time with him as a teen and I know he was a great resource for a lot of young guys coming through Brandon. Kelly (McCrimmon) had him at (Wheat Kings) training camp for a lot of years. He liked working with the young guys. Here was a guy 15 years into his career and he’d walk into a room, see a young guy sitting in the corner and walk over and start a conversation. That’s just the kind of person he was.”
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A tweet from former NHL/WHL/Team Canada goaltender Corey Hirsch: “I’m at a loss for words about this plane crash. Played with or against most of them. Beast, your giant smile will never be forgotten.”
Beast, of course, was Brad McCrimmon's nickname throughout hockey's world.
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Ron Hextall is the Los Angeles Kings’ assistant GM. He is a former Brandon Wheat Kings goaltender who was a teammate of McCrimmon’s in Philadelphia. Here’s Hextall, to Helene Elliott of the Los Angeles Times: “When I think of the teammates I had over the years and great teammates, Brad McCrimmon is at the top of the list. Any athlete wants to be remembered as a great teammate. He truly was.”
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Eric Duhatschek of The Globe and Mail, who knew McCrimmon perhaps better than any other journalist, offers up his thoughts right here.
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Allan Maki of The Globe and Mail, who like Duhatschek is based in Calgary, says goodbye to McCrimmon right here.
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Craig Custance of Sporting News has a solid read right here.
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Mark Spector of sportsnet.ca takes a look at NHL players and something that goes unspoken as they prepare for yet another in a season’s worth of plane flights. That piece is right here.
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Finally, for a completely different angle on Wednesday’s tragedy check out this entry from a blog named ACHICKSPERSPECTIVE.

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
     
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
     
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