Of course, if you check out this piece by Neate Sager over at Yahoo! Sports, it would seem that hockey fans are about to meet the Victoria Royals. . . . Royals? . . . Hmmm! Wonder if the news conference will be held over tea at the Empress?
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The Enmax Centrium is in for some renovations that will hae 1,000 seats and 14 luxury boxes installed. All the better to play host to the Memorial Cup and other such events, you understand. Interestingly, the Centrium now features 18 luxury boxes and the waiting list is 50 parties long.
Paul Cowley of the Red Deer Advocate has more right here.
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Meanwhile, in Medicine Hat, there is concern that the proposed Reginal Event Centre may not get the necessary funding with a vote scheduled for Monday’s city councial meeting.
Amanda Stephenson of the Medicine Hat News has more right here.
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Dain Phillips, who played with the Medicine Hat Tigers and Lethbridge Broncos (1978-80), has died. Phillips, 51, was killed after being hit by a baseball bat during what the Kelowna Daily Courier reports was a “rumble between rival groups.” There’s more right here.
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Hockey Canada has invited 46 players, 13 of them from the WHL, to its national junior team summer development camp that is to run Aug. 3-7 in Edmonton and Fort McMurray.
The 2012 World Junior Championship is scheduled for Dec. 26 through Jan 5 in Calgary and Edmonton. Team Canada’s selection camp will be held in December, with a roster off 22 players selected.
The WHLers invited to the summer camp are G Tyler Bunz, Medicine Hat; D Joe Morrow, Portland; D Ryan Murray, Everett; D Mark Pysyk, Edmonton; D Duncan Siemens, Saskatoon; F Brett Connolly, Prince George; F Brendan Gallagher, Vancouver; F Patrick Holland, Tri-City; F Quinton Howden, Moose Jaw; F Ryan Johansen, Portland; F Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Red Deer; F Ty Rattie, Portland; and, F Mark Stone, Brandon.
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Meanwhile, USA Hockey added goaltenders to its summer evaluation camp, with Mac Carruth of the Portland Winterhawks getting an invitation.
He’ll join two other WHLers — F Emerson Etem of Medicine Hat and F Shane McColgan of Kelowna — at the camp in Lake Placid, N.Y., Aug. 6-13. That camp will includes practices, intrasquad scrimmages and international games featuring Finland, Sweden, and the U.S.
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The U of Manitoba Bisons have added six players with WHL experience. . . . F Neal Prokop (Moose Jaw, Regina, Tri-City), F Matt Lowry (Medicine Hat, Brandon), D Darren Bestland (Brandon, Vancouver), D Travis Bobbee (Lethbridge, Portland, Swift Current, Seattle), D Tyler Schmidt (Tri-City) and F Brendan Rowinski (Calgary, Moose Jaw, Vancouver) all have agreed to join the Bisons. All, with the exception of Lowry, played in the WHL last season. Lowry had been the professional ranks before red-shirting last season in order to be eligible to play in 2011-12.
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A tweet from the Vancouver Giants on Friday:
“Happy Birthday to Giants former player/ current equipment manager Chad Scharff!”
Scharff also did a turn as an assistant coach under head coach Don Hay.
The Giants are in the market for an assistant coach and it’ll be a key hire because Hay will miss a month or so as he takes up his duties in December as head coach of Canada’s national junior team. . . . The Giants are believed to be down to a three-man shortlist as they search for that assistant.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
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