D Mike Card (Kelowna, 2002-06) signed a one-year contract with Tingsryd (Sweden, Allsvenskan). He had four goals and 18 assists in 46 games with Alleghe (Italy, Serie A) last season. Card is scheduled to arrive in Tingsryd on Sunday and is expected to play in Tingsryd's exhibition game on Wednesday against Troja/Ljungby.
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The Medicine Hat Tigers shuffled the deck a bit on Friday, with head coach Shaun Clouston also assuming the general manager’s duties and former GM Brad McEwen dropping down to assistant GM.
McEwen had been the Tigers’ GM since July 16, 2010. He took over from Willie Desjardins, who had been the GM and head coach before moving to the NHL’s Dallas Stars as associate coach. Desjardins now is head coach of the AHL’s Texas Stars.
Before moving up to GM, McEwen had been the Tigers’ director of scouting for three years.
McEwen, 51, and his family live at Round Lake, in Saskatchewan’s Qu’Appelle Valley. Their home suffered flood damage in the spring of 2011 and I am told that it bothered McEwen that he had to leave for training camp before everything was looked after. That, combined with having children in school, helped McEwen decide that he wasn’t going to relocate to Medicine Hat and that perhaps a change was needed.
He also loves scouting more than anything else.
“Honestly, that is what I enjoy doing,” McEwen told Darren Steinke of the Medicine Hat News. “For me, I knew what I had to do.
“Personally and family-wise, you go and streamline your job (and) you have a little more ability and a little more flexibility. It works much better for me personally and my family.
“I think it is going to be real good.”
Clouston, 44, is preparing for his 10th season with the Tigers. An assistant coach under Desjardins, Clouston took over as head coach upon Desjardins’ departure.
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Well, that takes care of that!
The Michigan Daily has published a clarification involving its story of June 28 in which it claimed that D Jacob Trouba wouldn’t play for the U of Michigan Wolverines, choosing instead to join the OHL’s Kitchener Rangers. The OHL team, according to a Daily source, had offered Trouba $200,000 to change his mind.
The Rangers later filed a lawsuit against the paper and writer Matt Slovin.
With the clarification and the Daily’s having removed the original story from its website, the Rangers had dropped their lawsuit.
That clarification is right here.
Sunaya Sapurji of Yahoo! Sports has more on that story right here. Her story includes news that the Rangers continue to proceed with part of their lawsuit. That would be the part against the Daily’s source, named in the statement of claim as John Doe.
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If you haven’t already, visit Small Thoughts at Large over there on the right. Alan Caldwell has put up his annual mileage chart that shows how far each of the WHL teams will travel this season.
He also has a team-by-team look at the 20-year-old situations across the league.
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The Prince George Cougars have released F Greg Fraser, 20, who was a 15th-round pick in the 2007 bantam draft. From Nanaimo, B.C., Fraser played 252 regular-season games with the Cougars, picking up 73 points, including 46 goals. . . . Fraser has decided to get on with his education. . . . His departure leaves the Cougars with four 20s on their roster — D Dallas Ehrhardt, F Campbell Elynuik, D Dan Gibb and F Brock Hirsche. . . . Meanwhile, F Brad Morrison, the seventh overall selection in the 2012 bantam draft, has moved back to Prince George and is expected to play for the major midget Cariboo Cougars this season. Morrison played last season with the Okanagan Hockey Academy in Penticton, putting up 141 points, including 83 goals.
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D Dylan Kuczek, 18, has told the Brandon Wheat Kings that he won’t be returning. Kuczek, from Winnipeg, was a second-round pick in the 2009 bantam draft. He had two points and 27 penalty minutes in 33 games before a shoulder injury ended his season . . . . What happened? . . . “He just wanted to move on and do other things,” Brandon owner/GM Kelly McCrimmon told Rob Henderson of the Brandon Sun. “He had a tough time with injuries and just decided that he wanted to pursue other interests.”
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The Lethbridge Hurricanes are down to four 20-year-olds with the news that D Tyler Kizuik won’t be returning; instead, he is off to the U of Lethbridge where he will play for the Pronghorns. Kizuik was acquired by the Hurricanes early in 2010-11 from the Saskatoon Blades. He also played with the Prince George Cougars. Last season, he had four goals and 43 penalty minutes in 58 games with the Hurricanes. . . . Lethbridge’s roster now features F Nick Buonassisi, F Graham Hood, D Daniel Johnston and G Ty Rimmer as the 20s.
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Pour yourself a cup of coffee and make sure there’s more at hand. Because right here is today’s good read and it’s terrific.
Jane Leavy, who is a terrific writer, profiles Dr. Ann McKee, the woman who would save football. This piece is from grantland.com and it is amazing.
Leavy, by the way, is the author of two great baseball books — Sandy Koufax: A Lefty's Legacy and The Last Boy, Mickey Mantle and the End of America's Childhood. If you haven’t already read them, you should.
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