Wednesday notes

A little under 36 hours to the start of the season now....

On the eve of the WHL's return to Edmonton, hear Ice founder Ed Chynoweth's take on the WHL's second attempt to revive major junior in Edmonton. Also in that article is a player-by-player look at the Oil Kings' inaugural roster.

Still with Edmonton, a look at the WHL education system as it pertains to the Oil Kings.

The Everett Silvertips' opening night starter will be Leland Irving......no, scratch that. OK, David Reekie.....oops, not him either? Well, then it must be Shayne Barrie. With Irving still camping out with the NHL Flames and Reekie now sidelined for several weeks with mono, the Silvertips are looking at starting the season with the 18 year Barrie - who has a total of 4 minutes of WHL experience to his credit - as their starting goaltender. The team would bring in 15 year old Kent Simpson to be the backup, meaning the Silvertips would (until Irving returned anyway) have probably the least-experienced goaltending tandem the league has seen in quite a while.

Cody Smuk has won the battle to replace Josh Aspenlind on the Chilliwack Bruins' top line with Oscar Moller and Mark Santorelli. Also in the article is a bit of a look at the entire roster.

Pats G.M. Brent Parker explains the thinking behind the team's decision to cut import rookie Marco Insam and instead go with one of those rare WHL beasts: the overage import. Meanwhile, Jeff Bosch is relieved to have won the Pats' backup goalie job, even though he acknowledges that he was outplayed by Damien Ketlo. The Pats are going to have some tough decisions to make next year when they have all three of Rowat, Bosch, and Ketlo again. Methinks this is the last (or only) year in Regina for one of Rowat/Bosch.

Cougars coach Drew Schoneck doesn't feel his team is a last-place team this year. What a surprise, eh. He's about the only one that feels that way though.

Some WHL alumni news here; former Blazer Jared Aulin will become the first ex-NHLer in over 20 years to play Canadian university hockey this year when he suits up for the University of Calgary Dinosaurs. (Drew Schoneck's alma mater - I love being able to connect these stories to each other). He is only eligible to play one year in the CIS because he played four years of pro and each year pro costs a player one year of CIS eligibility. But a player with his skills and experience should light up the CIS which is a big boost to the Dinos.

The last ex-NHLer to move on to the CIS ranks? Current Blazers coach/GM Dean Clark.

Just like the Silvertips with Irving, the Giants expect to be without the league's top power forward, Milan Lucic, when the season starts. Lucic is still in camp with the Boston Bruins and is expected to get a long look from the B's. Of all the players who played in the WHL last season, Lucic may be the most physically ready to play in the NHL this season. It may ultimately be doubtful that he will stick there, but it could happen.

The Tri-City Americans also expect to open the season without Colton Yellow Horn, who is still in camp with the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Lightning have assigned Yellow Horn to their AHL camp, and since he is eligible to play in the AHL this season, that news might make some Americans fans nervous. It's easy to make a case that Yellow Horn has nothing more to accomplish in the WHL and is ready to move on to the pros. We'll see. Also in the article is the news of two cuts from the Ams roster - defencemen Brayden Nargang and Colin Frederickson. Frederickson is the player they obtained from Lethbridge for the unfortunate Chris Inglis, so it looks like neither half of that trade will play in the WHL this year.

More news later as it happens. Should be some more cuts, etc today. Also coming later today will be the Central division preview, and perhaps one of the B.C. or U.S. divisions too, if time permits here.