Wednesday, May 15, 2013

THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Michal Psurny (Medicine Hat, Kootenay, 2005-06) signed a one-year contract extension with Manchester Phoenix (England, Premier). He had 43 goals and 46 assists in 52 games to lead the Phoenix in scoring this season. Psurny was fifth in league scoring and was named to the
Premier League's second all-star team. . . .
F Vitali Karamnov (Everett, 2007-08) signed a two-year contract with Sibir Novosibirsk (Russia, KHL). He had two goals and two assists in 37 games with Lev Prague (Czech Republic, KHL) this season. . . .
F Zdenek Blatny (Seattle, Kootenay, 1998-2001) signed a one-year contract with Orli Znojmo (Czech Republic, Austria Erste Bank Liga). He had eight goals and eight assists in 33 games for Vienna Capitals (Austria, Erste Bank Liga) this season.
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"If you are reading this, I am dead." . . . Peter Worthington, one of the greats of Canadian journalism, wrote his own obituary. It’s right here and it’s worth a read.
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There was a shakeup in the office of the Regina Pats on Tuesday as owner Russ Parker announced that his son, Brent, is stepping down as governor and president. . . . General manager Chad Lang, who joined the Pats over the summer of 2010, has had the titles of governor and senior vice-president added to his portfolio. . . . Cliff Mapes remains as vice-president of business operations. . . . Brent Parker had been in the Pats' front office for 18 years, ever since Russ and Diane Parker purchased the franchise in 1995. According to a Pats news release: "(Brent) Parker will assist in the transition with respect to organizational structure over the next few weeks with an anticipated full departure from the organization being early in June."
Why is Parker leaving?
"It has been an accumulation of many, many things," he told a news conference. "The last five years have been the hardest for me personally, from my diagnosis of cancer five years ago to illnesses, accidents and deaths of some of our former players and close friends. That was on top of the daily - and yes I do mean daily - battles that we have with our building partner." The building partner? That would be Evraz Place, which runs the Brandt Centre, the facility the Pats call home."
Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post has more right here.
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Russ Parker says he and his wife, Diane, aren't yet ready to sell the Regina Pats. However, he admits that the day will come when that will happen. Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post has that story right here.
When that day does arrive, you have to wonder if the CFL's Saskatchewan Roughriders might be a potential buyer? Hey, why not? NHL teams already own WHL franchises in Edmonton and Calgary, and one day the Winnipeg Jets' owners are likely to own one, too. So why not have the country's most-popular CFL team involved in the WHL at the ownership level? And just think of the outdoor games they could play host to once the new football stadium has been built.
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The Prince Albert Raiders have re-signed general manager Bruno Campese and Dale Derkatch, the director of player personnel, to new contracts, each one calling for two years plus an option. . . . Campese has been with the Raiders since 2007, first as head coach, then as general manager and head coach, then as general manager. . . . Derkatch, a former WHL star with the Regina Pats, has been with the Raiders through three bantam drafts.
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The Prince George Cougars have signed F Kody McDonald, the 24th overall selection in the 2013 bantam draft, to a WHL contract. Playing for the bantam AAA team at the Pursuit Of Excellence in Kelowna, he had 124 points, including 45 goals, in 47 games. McDonald, from Lethbridge, is the third player from Turning Point Sports Management’s stable to sign since the draft.
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So much for the Wenatchee Wild moving to the BCHL. The Wild, which has been embroiled in a battle for a new lease in Wenatchee, is on the move, but not to the BCHL. Instead, the NAHL franchise is relocating to Hidalgo, Texas, where it will operate as the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees starting next season. . . . In a news release, team president Bill Stewart said he expects head coach Bliss Littler and his staff to be part of the relocation. . . . The Wild will play out of State Farm Arena, a facility that seats 5,500 for hockey. . . . According to the Wild news release, "A presentation to and final approval by the USA Hockey junior council is expected in June."
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The Vancouver Giants announced Tuesday that Bruce Allen, a well-known manager in the entertainment business, has bought into the ownership group. As well, the Giants announced that they have signed three 2013 bantam draft picks – F Tyler Benson, F Matt Barberis and D Ryley McKinstry. . . . Benson was the first overall pick in the draft after putting up 146 points, including 57 goals, in 33 games with the Alberta Major Bantam League’s Edmonton South Side Athletic Club Southgate Lions. . . . Barberis, from Surrey, B.C., was another first-round pick, taken 20th overall. He had 48 points in 58 games with the Burnaby Winter Club Bruins. . . . McKinstry, from Calgary, was selected with the 23rd pick. He had 36 points in 29 games with the bantam AAA Calgary Bisons. . . . Elliott Pap of the Vancouver Sun has more on all of this right here. He also touches on how the Giants aren't interested in having Benson apply for exceptional status, but majority owner Ron Toigo wants to see the five-game rule bumped to 10 games. As things now stand, a 15-year-olds is only allowed to play five games before his club team has its season end.
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Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province starts a dispatch on Bruce Allen joining the Vancouver Giants ownership group with:
Bruce Allen is a minority owner with the Vancouver Giants now. He’s certainly not a silent partner, though.
"I just think there’s been an alienation for a lot of hockey fans from that organization up the street," Allen said at the official announcement Tuesday.
There’s more right here.
It’s interesting that Allen talks about team owners being in the entertainment business and how he feels he can make a difference from that angle. It will be interesting to see how this plays out in terms of the Giants as an entertainment vehicle.
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The Tri-City Americans have dealt D Clint Filbrandt, 18, to the Kootenay Ice for a fifth-round selection in the 2015 bantam draft. From Calgary, Filbrandt was a 10th-round pick in the 2010 bantam draft. The 5-foot-11, 175-pounder had three points and 17 penalty minutes in 31 games as a freshman this season. . . . "With an abundance of defencemen signed for the upcoming season, I wanted to give Clint an opportunity to continue to play in the WHL," Tri-City general manager Bob Tory said in a news release. . . . "With the uncertain future of Tanner Muth and whether he will able to return to our club next year we felt it was important to add another defenceman with WHL experience," Ice GM Jeff Chynoweth said in a news release. "Defencemen are tough to come by at all levels and this trade will give Clint an opportunity to be an everyday player with our club."
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The Augusta RiverHawks of the Southern Professional Hockey League have ceased operations. "We, as an organization, have not received any positive information concerning the replacement of the ice system at the James Brown Arena," the team said in a news released. "A May 12th deadline was communicated to the building manager back at the end of March or the beginning of April. We also have not received any information concerning monetary compensation for the loss of the Arena for the eight games that were to be played in the James Brown Arena in March of this year. We are taking a leave from League play with the approval from the League's governors for one season. Hopefully, something can be done in the greater CSRA to bring hockey back the following year. We will retain our franchise."
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The OHL’s London Knights have been selected as the host team for the 2014 Memorial Cup. The OHL’s selection committee chose London over the Barrie Colts and Windsor Spitfires. . . . The 2014 tournament will run May 16-25 at Budweiser Gardens. . . . The Knights won the Memorial Cup as the host team in 2005. . . . The decision means that the Knights will appear in three straight Memorial Cup tournaments. They lost in the final of the 2012 tournament, will compete in the 2013 affair in Saskatoon and now will be the host team in 2014.
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THE COACHING GAME:
The MJHL's Swan Valley Stampeders have signed Erik Peterson as their new general manager and head coach. Peterson, who is from Dauphin, Man., has spent the past 10 seasons coaching in Denmark. As a player, he won MJHL titles with the Dauphin Kings and Winnipeg South Blues. He replaces Dwayne Kirkup, who left the Stampeders to take over as GM and head coach of the MJHL's Neepawa Natives. . . .
Chad Kletzel is leaving the Kootenay Ice after one season as an assistant coach under head coach Ryan McGill. . . . "With the impending birth of their first child, Chad has decided to return to Lethbridge to resume his teaching career," Jeff Chynoweth, the Ice’s president, governor and general manager, said in a news release.

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