Metropolitan Division? Really?

THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Shawn Limpright (Moose Jaw, 1998-2002) signed a one-year contract with Esbjerg (Denmark, AL-Bank Liga). He had 21 goals and 37 assists in 58 games with the Sheffield Steelers (England, UK Elite) last season. . . .
F Ian McDonald (Tri-City, 2000-06) signed a one-year contract with Beibarys Atyrau (Kazakhstan, Premier). He had 24 goals and 26 assists in 33 games with Rosenborg Trondheim (Norway, GET Ligaen) last season. . . .
F Riley Armstrong (Kootenay, Everett, 2002-04) signed a one-year contract with Landshut (Germany, DEL2). He had 16 goals and 21 assists in 38 games with the Utah Grizzlies (ECHL) and was pointless in two games on loan to the Hamilton Bulldogs (AHL) last season. DEL2 is the new name for Germany’s 2. Bundesliga. . . .
F Ryan Keller (Saskatoon, 2001-05) signed a two-year contract with ZSC Zurich (Switzerland, NL A). He had 12 goals and 13 assists in 46 games with Genève-Servette (Switzerland, NL A) last season.
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There is news on the brain injury front.
Michael Tarm of The Associated Press writes: “Attorneys suing the NCAA over its handling of head injuries asked a federal judge Friday to let them expand the lawsuit nationwide to include thousands of plaintiffs in a case they contend could change college sports forever.”
That complete story is right here.
As Tarm points out: “The NFL is mired in a lawsuit involving more than 4,000 former players seeking millions of dollars for problems they blame on head injuries during their careers. The NCAA could wind up in a similar situation.”
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F Kirklan Lycar, 16, has signed with the WHL’s Brandon Wheat Kings. Lycar, from Gillam, Man., was a fourth-round selection by Brandon in the 2012 bantam draft. Last season, he played for the midget AAA Eastman Selects. . . . Lycar is represented by Turning Point Sports Management.
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If you are going to attend the third annual Hockey Coaches Conference in Burnaby, B.C., next month, please note that it will be held at the Delta Burnaby Hotel and Conference Centre. . . . According to a news release, “Delegates attending the conference are offered an exclusive discounted rate when staying at the hotel during the conference.” . . . To get a room there, call 604-453-0755 or 1-888-890-3222, and ask for The Coaches Site block of rooms for discounted room rates. You should book by Aug. 5 as the rooms have sold out in the past. . . . If you’re thinking about attending the conference, please note that it is 80 per cent sold out.
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Yes, NHL players will get to perform in the Winter Olympics once again. This time, the Games are scheduled for Sochia, Russia, and, according to columnist Dave Feschuk of the Toronto Star, the 2014 Winter Games could prove to be a fiasco of Olympian proportions. . . . That piece is right here.
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It would seem that a mother in a small town in Romania has burned seven paintings valued at hundreds of millions of dollars in an attempt to protect her son who has been accused of being involved in their theft. This is intriguing stuff right here.
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The Metropolitan Division? Really, NHL? . . . There's more right here.


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THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Gal Koren (Kelowna, 2010-11) signed a one-year contract extension with Medvescak Zagreb (Croatia, Austria Erste Bank Liga). He had two goals and two assists in 39 games for Medvescak last season. He also played for the Slovenian National Junior Team at the Division 1 World Junior Championships, getting four goals and three assists in five games. . . .
F Ryan Keller (Saskatoon, 2001-05) signed a two-year contract with Genève-Servette (Switzerland, NL A). He had 21 goals and 28 assists in 71 games with the Oklahoma City Barons (AHL) last season. You can read the press release in Canada's other official language right here.
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Josh Brown, who covers the Kitchener Rangers for the Waterloo Region Record, reported Tuesday afternoon that the OHL team is “seeking $1 million in damages over a story published in a Michigan student newspaper that claimed the club offered to pay a player to suit up for the team.”
More from Brown: “The defamation suit against The Michigan Daily seeks $500,000 in general damages and $500,000 in punitive damages and was expected to be filed in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Kitchener Tuesday, according to a team lawyer.”
Brown’s blog report is right here.
Sunaya Sapurji of Yahoo! Sports has even more right here.
Yes, this is one can of worms!
And this story, it seems, will have some legs. Gee, even Bob McCown and Damien Cox were kicking it around on Prime Time Sports on Tuesday.
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This will be a hot weekend in Cranbrook, no matter what happens with the weather.
That’s because it’s the Kootenay Ice’s Alumni Weekend.
Jeff Chynoweth, the Ice’s present and GM, reports that “23 players and all the staff from the 2000 WHL championship team and 2002 Memorial Cup team” will be in attendance.
If you’re in the area, there’s a Hot Stove Dinner on Thursday and a golf tournament on Friday.
Oh, and if you’re there perhaps you’ll be able to meet Chad Kletzel, the Ice’s new assistant coach. That’s Chad, not Derek. Apologies to all for my writing Derek in yesterday’s post. And thanks to those of you who pointed out that I wrote Chad, rather than Derek. (Be forewarned that it just may happen again before I get it our of my system. Just ask Matt Needham of the Kamloops Blazers how many times I referred to him as Mike in the early going.)
Anyway, Chad, good luck . . . on the golf course and behind the bench.
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G Alexandre Sirard, who played one game with the Swift Current Broncos in 2008-09 and eight in 2009-10, will attend Selkirk College in Castlegar, B.C., and play for the Saints. They play in the B.C. Intercollegiate Hockey League. Last season, he played with the U of Regina Cougars and the junior B Pilot Butte Storm.
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And if you haven't yet heard about the family that stumbled upon a treasure trove of baseball cards, well, you should read this story right here. I know. I know. If only your mother hadn't thrown out that box . . .

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Tuesday . . .

THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Tomas Karpov (Moose Jaw, Calgary, 2007-09) has been loaned to Dukla Jihlava (Czech Republic 1.Liga) by Sparta Prague (Czech Republic, Extraliga) for the 2011-12 season. He had two goals and five assists in 41 games for Sparta and one goal in 10 games on loan to Berounsti Medevedi (Czech Republic, 1.Liga) this season. . . .
D Jame Pollock (Seattle, 1995-99) signed a one-year contract with the Nuremburg Ice Tigers (Germany, DEL). He had five goals and 10 assists in 44 games with Adler Mannheim (Germany, DEL) this season. . . .
F Dale Hunt (Prince George, Everett, 2005-10) signed a one-year contract with Red Bull Salzburg II (Austria, Nationalliga). He had 14 goals and five assists in 26 games for the Surrey Eagles (BCHL) this season. . . .
D Kevin Young (Medicine Hat, Portland, Kelowna, 1998-2002) signed a one-year contract with Strasbourg (France, Ligue Magnus). He had 17 goals and 48 assists in 40 games for Eindhoven Kemphanen (Netherlands, Eredivisie) and six assists in eight games with the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs (Central Hockey League) this season. Young was named Best Defenceman in the Netherlands this season. . . .
F Mario Bliznak (Vancouver, 2005-08) signed a two-year contract with Sparta Prague (Czech Republic, Extraliga). He had 11 goals and 16 assists in 74 games with the Manitoba Moose (AHL) and one goal in four games with the Vancouver Canucks (NHL) this season.
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Two former WHL coaches are unemployed after the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets opted not to renew their contracts. Don Boyd, the Blue Jackets’ assistant GM, had been with Columbus since 1999, as had Bob Strumm, the director of pro scouting. "We believe it was time to make changes in key areas of our organization as we strive to build a championship-caliber team," said Scott Howson, the vice-president of hockey operations and general manager, in a news release. . . . .Strumm, once the WHL’s statistician, is a former GM and head coach of the Regina Pats and Spokane Chiefs. Boyd once was the Pats’ head coach, with Strumm as GM.
Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch has that story right here.
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The Edmonton Oil Kings have signed D Aaron Irving, the ninth overall selection in the 2011 bantam draft. Irving, who is from Edmonton, played last season with the South Side Athletic Club's bantam AAA team, the Southgate Lions, who won the provincial championship. In regular-season play, he had 18 points in 33 games. . . . The Medicine Hat Tigers have signed F Blake Penner, who was the 18th overall selection in the 2011 bantam draft. A native of Medicine Hat, Penner had 68 points in 24 games with the Notre Dame Hounds last season. . . .
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The AHL season ended Tuesday in Houston as the Binghamton Senators beat the Aeros 3-2 to win the Calder Cup final in six games. . . . F Ryan Keller (Saskatoon, 2001-05) broke a 2-2 tie with a PP goal at 9:09 of the third period. It was his 10th goal of these playoffs. . . . Attendance was 10,125. . . . Binghamton is the AHL affiliate of the Ottawa Senators; the Aeros are hooked up with the Minnesota Wild. . . . Bingham G Robin Lehner was named playoff MVP.
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JUST NOTES: The QMJHL’s governors, owners and head coaches are holding their annual session and agreed Tuesday, according to a news release, “that certain measures must be taken in order to eliminate hits to the head and other dangerous hits.” While the league will up its emphasis on education, it also said in the news release that “the severity of suspensions in terms of number of games resulting from a hit to the head would be increased.” . . .
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THE COACHING GAME: The ECHL’s Stockton Thunder has exercised its option on head coach Matt Thomas and signed him to a two-year extension that runs through 2013-14. The Thunder was 37-23-12 this season. . . . Chad McLeod has signed on as assistant GM/assistant coach with the SJHL’s Nipawin Hawks. He will work under GM/head coach Doug Johnson. The two were together with the NAHL’s Billings Bulls.

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