F Andrej Stastny (Vancouver, 2010-11) signed a two-year contract with Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia, KHL) after a successful try-out. He had 11 goals and 18 assists in 50 games with Dukla Trencin (Slovakia, Extraliga) last season. Stastny has one goal and one assist in the three exhibition games Slovan has played so far this pre-season. . . .
F Bruno Mraz (Brandon, 2011-12) signed a three-year contract with Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia, KHL). He had two goals and 16 assists in 63 games with the Brandon Wheat Kings last season. . . .
D David Hajek (Spokane, 1998-99) signed a try-out contract with Pirati Chomutov (Czech Republic, Extraliga). He had one goal and 10 assists in 44 goes with Orli Znojmo (Czech Republic, Austria Erste Bank Liga) last season.
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By the way, it would appear that F Dominik Volek won’t be back with the Regina Pats this season. He signed over the summer with Färjestad and is in camp with that organization now. Teams began working out Wednesday and if you click on right here you will find a couple of photos of Volek with the J20 team.
Volek, now 18, had 32 points, including 14 goals, in 70 games with the Pats as a freshman last season.
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Nine WHLers are on the 22-player roster of the Canadian team that will play at the Memorial for Ivan Hlinka tournament.
Making the grade were G Eric Comrie, Tri-City Americans; D Madison Bowey, Kelowna Rockets; D Kayle Doetzel, Red Deer Rebels; D Josh Morrissey, Prince Albert Raiders; D Shea Theodore, Seattle Thunderbirds, F Morgan Klimchuk, Regina Pats; F Curtis Lazar, Edmonton Oil Kings; F Nic Petan, Portland Winterhawks; and F Sam Reinhart, Kootenay Ice.
Those WHLers who attended the camp but aren’t on the final roster are G Tristan Jarry, Edmonton Oil Kings; D Dillon Heatherington, Swift Current Broncos; F Carter Hansen, Moose Jaw Warriors; and F Matt Needham, Kamloops Blazers.
The tournament opens Monday in Breclav, Czech Republic, and Piestany, Slovakia, and runs through Aug. 18. There is no TV or radio coverage.
Canada and Czech Republic will play an exhibition game in Piestany on Saturday. Canada then opens tournament play against Switzerland on Aug. 13.
Canada, Slovakia, Sweden and Switzerland will play out of Piestany, with Finland, Russia, Czech Republic and the U.S. in Breclav.
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Shane Pilling has signed with the AJHL’s Brooks Bandits. Pilling, 19, played the last two seasons with the Prince George Cougars. He was a fourth-round selection by the Cougars in the 2008 bantam draft. Last season, he had one assist and 14 penalty minutes in 24 games with Prince George. He had eight points, including one goal, in 56 games in 2010-11.
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If you watched that women’s soccer game from the London Olympics on Monday, you may be interested in some good reading.
Bruce Arthur of the National Post has his take right here.
George Johnson of the Calgary Herald was there, too, and his piece is right here.
Cathal Kelly of the Toronto Star writes that this may have been “the best game of women’s football ever played.” But . . . yes, there was a but. Kelly’s piece is right here.
Kevin Baxter of the Los Angeles Times has his take on proceedings right here.
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Grant Wahl of Sports Illustrated, who is perhaps the U.S.’s top soccer writer, waves the Stars and Stripes right here, and even takes a moment to criticize Canadian captain Christine Sinclair. “Sinclair had a terrific game,” Wahl writes. “It was unfortunate that she decided to lash out afterward.”
To which I say, oh but for the shoe to have been on the other foot in this one. Gee, had the game gone the other way in this fashion I wonder if Hope Solo, for one, may have “decided to lash out” if it had gone the other way.
Consider that Wahl also writes:
“Sinclair's third goal, in the 73rd minute, gave Canada a 3-2 lead and set the stage for the most controversial moment U.S. Soccer has seen in a long time. Seven minutes later, Canadian goalkeeper McLeod leaped to make a save and came to the ground with the ball. She carried the ball around her box, waved her teammates downfield and . . . waited. The whistle blew. Norwegian referee Christiana Pedersen ruled that McLeod had violated Law 12, which awards an indirect free kick if the goalkeeper ‘takes more than six seconds while controlling the ball with her hands before releasing it from her possession.’
“It's exceedingly rare for the violation to be called at the elite level. The only previous incident I could track down took place in the Premier League in 2002, when referee David Elleray blew his whistle on Bolton's Jussi Jasskelainen against Newcastle United. (Alan Shearer tied the game on the ensuing free kick sequence.)”
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A great tweet from Neate Sager of Yahoo! Sports (@neatebuzzthenet):
“Canadians sent 7400 cans of maple syrup to Norway in 2006 to thank a coach who helped our skier. We’d like them back, please. #olympics #ref”
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Then there’s this from Ed Willes (@willeson sports) of the Vancouver Province:
“The Americans have also turned the ‘72 basketball final into a five-decade epic so YOU’LL PARDON US IF WE’RE PISSED. #olympics”
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And, finally, if you haven’t seen this Vin Scully clip from Monday’s game between the host Los Angeles Dodgers and the Colorado Rockies, take a couple of minutes and give it a look. . . . This is Scully at his best.
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