Small Thoughts At Large: June 2009

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Friday, June 19, 2009

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Monday, June 15, 2009

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Saturday, June 13, 2009

Friday, June 12, 2009

Coach news

Well, that was painful

Chynoweth leaving Speedy Creek?

Habscheid on the move

Wednesday notes

Rating the bantam drafts: 2006

2009-10 overage picks

Clarification

Pens win

2009-10 prospects: Edmonton

You've probably heard this elsewhere already, but Everett is going to name their new head coach this afternoon and it has been confirmed by a couple media outlets that the new man is former NHLer and NHL head coach Craig Hartsburg.

The Tips certainly landed a guy with an impressive resume for the junior level. He has coached Chicago, Anaheim, and Ottawa at the NHL level, as well as the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds in the OHL and two gold medals with Canada at the World Juniors.

In another coaching note, Detroit Red Wings head coach Mike Babcock - also a former WHL coach with Moose Jaw and Spokane - has been named the head coach of the 2010 Canadian mens Olympic hockey team.

And a third coaching note, the Calgary Flames have a press conference this afternoon at which they are expected to name Brent Sutter their new head coach. Obviously this will mean Sutter won't be spending as much time with the Rebels this season as we might have thought after he quit his job with the Devils. He'll surely see more of the Rebels this year than he did the last two years, but he's still going to have that NHL workload and travel schedule which will keep him away from the Rebels a fair bit too.

One other possible WHL coaching implication of the Sutter hiring is that current Hitmen head coach Dave Lowry has been mentioned as a likely candidate to become one of Sutter's assistant coaches with the Flames. It is already known that former Kootenay Ice coach Ryan McGill will be an assistant with the Flames next year after spending the last few seasons coaching the Flames' AHL club.

And, with all that coaching news out of the way, a quick blog note here; I will be on holidays for ten days starting on Friday, so there will very likely be no blog posts in that time. That includes the NHL draft and the CHL import draft.

The NFL gets Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson. The NHL gets Chaka Khan and Robin Thicke.

The NHL awards have been an unwatchable mess for years, and last night was no exception despite their attempts to glitz the thing up by holding it in Las Vegas. Of all the big name entertainers who would love to play a gig in Vegas, the NHL hires Chaka Khan, fresh off her big performance at the 2008 Aflac Christmas party.

Only the NHL could hold a boring party in Vegas. Bah.

Looks like Jon Keen's blog is the place to be today....first he broke the Zach Habscheid trade this morning and now he has an even bigger scoop:

Dean Chynoweth is apparently resigning as coach & GM of the Broncos. Press conference tomorrow in Swift Current.

This comes out of left field a bit, but Chynoweth is entering the option year of his contract in Swift Current. I'm just speculating now, but if the team has declined to discuss an extension with him, Chynoweth may have chosen to resign now rather than go into the season as a "lame duck" coach/GM. Just thinkin' here.

UPDATE: TSN is reporting that Chynoweth is leaving the Broncos to join the NHL's New York Islanders as an assistant coach.

No, not that Habscheid....his son. Broncos p-b-p guy Jon Keen reports on his blog (link on the right) that the Broncos have traded the rights to 17 year old defenceman Zach Habscheid to the Chilliwack Bruins for a 2010 4th round bantam pick.

So basically, Marc Habscheid's first move as Bruins G.M. is to trade for his son.

The kid's a good prospect though (6'4" and a hard-nosed type) so it's actually a pretty decent deal if you ask me. No funny business here.

Bunch of random stuff here today....you've probably seen most of it elsewhere already....

It looks like they are finally (FINALLY!!!!) about to break ground on the new Moose Jaw Multiplex arena. Moose Jaw city council voted to approve the final design of the building, and construction is now expected to start in July, after demolition of the existing buildings on the site is completed this month. Completion is set for 2011, so presumably the team will be able to play the 2011-12 season in the new building. So, two more years in the Crushed Can. It would only have to be one more year if they had gotten this far last summer like the league told them to, but oh well. More on the story, along with an artist's rendition of the new rink, at this link.

Hockey Canada wrapped up their summer goalie camp last weekend as well. As a result of that camp, four goalies have been named to the World Junior summer camp in August. The only WHLer in the foursome is the Hitmen's Martin Jones. Jake Allen and Olivier Bellavance-Roy of the QMJHL and Matt Hackett from the OHL are the other three. Adam Brown of the Rockets and Jamie Tucker of the Giants were among the goalies who attended but who were not invited to the WJC camp.

The WHL wrapped up their summer meetings today. The only notable rule change for next year is that they're going to use video replay full-time in the regular season starting with next season. I guess they were happy with the results of replay from the playoffs last season. I think this is one of those no-brainer decisions myself. It works very well in the NHL, and the technology required is now so reasonable in price that even the poor WHL franchises can afford to do this properly now.

Dale Derkatch has a new job after being fired as coach of the Pats last month. He has been hired as the new Director of Player Personnel for the Prince Albert Raiders, replacing head scout Dave O'Brien, who was not retained after last season.

And lastly, I got a tidbit passed my way about the Everett-Medicine Hat trade last year which saw Shayne Brown swapped for Tyler Kieffer. As we all know, Kieffer never reported to the Hat and so this is a pretty lopsided trade right now. It turns out that if Kieffer does not report to the Tigers in 2009-10, the Tigers get Everett's 2010 4th round bantam pick as compensation for Brown.

Going to try something here that I have been meaning to do for a while: rate how each team did in the last few bantam drafts.

What I have done is taken the bantam draft lists and figured out how many games each player picked in the draft eventually played in the WHL. Then broken that down by team into some categories, so we can see how each team did.

I'm starting with the 2006 draft, which was the draft of '91s - the players who were 17 last season. Generally speaking, I think most players who have not made the WHL by 17 probably won't make it at all. There's a few exceptions every year of course, but in general I think that's true.

I'll do a new draft every couple days here and I'll probably go back at least to 2002, which would be the last five drafts. Let me know if you find this stuff interesting, and/or any additional things you'd like me to examine. If I can, I will.

So here we go....the 2006 bantam draft....

	Total Picks	0 - 25	25 - 75	75 - 125	Over 125	Total GP

Brandon	13	0	3	1	2	480
Calgary	10	0	1	2	0	241
Chilliwack	9	1	0	2	0	214
Everett	12	0	3	1	0	281
Kamloops	11	3	2	0	1	282
Kelowna	10	1	2	2	2	595
Kootenay	12	1	4	1	1	496
Lethbridge	10	0	2	2	1	503
Medicine Hat	11	1	2	2	0	355
Moose Jaw	9	0	5	2	0	494
Portland	11	2	2	0	1	289
Prince Albert	10	2	1	0	2	349
Prince George	13	0	0	2	2	475
Red Deer	10	0	1	1	1	236
Regina	11	2	4	1	1	436
Saskatoon	11	2	2	0	1	241
Seattle	11	1	1	2	0	246
Spokane	10	0	2	2	0	295
Swift Current	12	1	3	3	0	541
Tri-City	11	1	2	1	1	315
Vancouver	13	1	1	2	1	452

Basically this chart shows the number of picks each team made, with a breakdown of how many of those players they picked have played 0 to 25, 25 to 75, 75 to 125, or more than 125 games in the WHL since the draft.

Keep in mind that these players have only had two full WHL seasons since being drafted, so that's a possible maximum of 144 games, plus anything they might have played as 15 year olds. Basically anything over 100-125 games would be pretty good at this point, I'd think.

Now some numbers....like the number of WHL games played by the average draft pick of each team:

Kelowna: 59.5

Moose Jaw: 54.9

Lethbridge: 50.3

Swift Current: 45.1

Kootenay: 41.3

Regina: 39.6

Brandon: 36.9

Prince George: 36.5

Prince Albert: 34.9

Vancouver: 34.8

Medicine Hat: 32.3

Spokane: 29.5

Tri-City: 28.6

Portland: 26.3

Kamloops: 25.4

Calgary: 24.1

Chilliwack: 23.8

Red Deer: 23.6

Everett: 23.4

Seattle: 22.4

Saskatoon: 21.9

How about the percentage of players a team drafted who have played at least a game in the league so far:

Moose Jaw: 77.8%

Regina: 72.7%

Kelowna: 70%

Kootenay: 58.3%

Swift Current: 58.3%

Kamloops: 54.5%

Lethbridge: 50%

Prince Albert: 50%

Brandon: 46.2%

Medicine Hat: 45.5%

Portland: 45.5%

Saskatoon: 45.5%

Tri-City: 45.5%

Spokane: 40%

Vancouver: 38.5%

Seattle: 36.4%

Chilliwack: 33.3%

Everett: 33.3%

Prince George: 30.8%

Calgary: 30%

Red Deer: 30%

I'd say that's pretty good drafting by Moose Jaw, Kelowna, and Regina that year. Teams at the bottom, like Red Deer, Calgary, and Prince George, they may be a little weak in the '91 age group due to a poor draft.

How about a step up from that....how many kids that each team drafted are still on a WHL protected list somewhere?

Moose Jaw: 8 (88.9%)

Regina: 8 (72.7%)

Kelowna: 7 (70%)

Kootenay: 8 (66.7%)

Swift Current: 8 (66.7%)

Medicine Hat: 7 (63.6%)

Spokane: 6 (60%)

Calgary: 6 (60%)

Brandon: 7 (53.8%)

Lethbridge: 5 (50%)

Red Deer: 5 (50%)

Vancouver: 6 (46.2%)

Kamloops: 5 (45.5%)

Portland: 5 (45.5%)

Everett: 5 (41.7%)

Prince Albert: 4 (40%)

Tri-City: 4 (36.4%)

Seattle: 4 (36.4%)

Chilliwack: 3 (33.3%)

Prince George: 4 (30.8%)

Saskatoon: 3 (27.3%)

Moose Jaw's draft looks even better now - they picked nine kids and eight of them are either in the WHL or still considered good enough prospects that somebody has them on their list. This stat kind of makes the draft of a team like Calgary look a little better too; they've only put three of their ten picks into the WHL so far but three more of them are still listed somewhere, meaning there's still a chance they could make the league at some point.

This also makes Saskatoon's 2006 draft look really bad. They picked 11 kids, and three years later 8 of them are no longer in anyone's WHL plans. Ditto for Prince George - 13 picks, and only four of them are still listed. And you see Chilliwack down there too, near the bottom like they are on all these charts for 2006. This was the Bruins' first-ever draft and it's clear that it wasn't a good one. Which I'm sure is no small part of the explanation for why the team regressed last year instead of continuously improving like you'd expect from an expansion team. They just didn't get the talent they needed in the '91 age group out of that draft. That will continue to hurt them for the next couple years too, when the '91 kids are playing their 18 & 19 year old seasons.

Now a little fun stuff....

Worst picks from the 2006 draft:

Cole Penner (PA, 4th overall - 17 GP so far)

Drew Shore (CHI, 22nd overall - first pick of the 2nd round, highest-drafted player not to play in the WHL yet)

Zac Ashdown (SEA, 32nd overall - 0 games played. With Shore, the only two picks of the top two rounds not to play in the league)

Best late pick:

James Henry (VAN, 9th rd, 186th overall. 119 GP so far)

UPDATE: A reader asked for a list of which players we're talking about here. Here's the list of all 2006 draft picks of each team who have played in the WHL so far, with their games-played numbers. I'll include this list in all future years.

I know some of the players are not with the team that drafted them anymore....we're not tracking that though, we're only tracking which team identified them as possible WHL prospects in the first place, and drafted them.

Brandon: Brayden Schenn (136), Scott Glennie (116), Brodie Melnychuk (129), Jesse Hall (29),

Deven Dubyk (35), Stephane Robidoux (35)

Calgary: Chase Schaber (102), Matt MacKenzie (88), Erik Bonsor (51)

Chilliwack: Ryan Howse (120), Scott Ramsay (91), Ryan Hankin (3)

Everett: Kellan Tochkin (75), Jeff Regier (109), Paul Sohor (49), Ryan White (48)

Kamloops: Jimmy Bubnick (138), James Priestner (48), Josh Caron (21), Jake Trask (66), Richard Vanderhoek (6), Matt Riley (3)

Kelowna: Tyson Barrie (139), Collin Bowman (141), Jesse Paradis (104), Dylan Tait (1), Aaron Borejko (50), Kyle Verdino (96), Curt Gogol (64)

Kootenay: Nathan Lieuwen (41), Brayden McNabb (135), Simon Skrudland (5), Joe Antilla (125), Hayden Rintoul (67), Michael Cassivi (56), Jesse Ismond (67)

Lethbridge: Carter Ashton (112), Austin Fyten (73), Cam Braes (136), Brennan Yadlowski (122), Brock Sutherland (60)

Medicine Hat: Cody Carlson (102), Linden Vey (121), Killian Hutt (57), Sam Dezman (3), Logan Proulx (72)

Moose Jaw: Justin Maylan (121), Kevin Smith (99), Michael Burns (64), Clinton Atkinson (48), Paul Bonar (44), Riley Reinbolt (64), Corey Scott (54)

Portland: Riley Boychuk (67), Brett Ponich (138), Cole Grbavac (65), Jesse Hilton (2), David Watt (17)

Prince Albert: Cole Penner (17), Ryan Button (128), Brandon Herrod (133), Jorden Iron (3), Jordan Kochan (68)

Prince George: Stefan Elliott (139), Ryan Kowalski (120), Art Bidlevskii (130), Matt Cumming (86)

Red Deer: Landon Ferraro (126), Justin Weller (81), Dominic Perrault (29)

Regina: Brett Miller (37), Garrett Mitchell (137), Alex Pym (103), Koltyn Miller (39), Travis Sparrow (6), Kenton Miller (47), Kyle Mulder (47), Damien Ketlo (20)

Saskatoon: Mitch Berg (44), Curtis Hamilton (128), Adam Morrison (13), Tanner Sohn (4), Kyle Klym (52)

Seattle: Steve Chaffin (100), Steve Oursov (32), Josh Lazowski (13), Charles Wells (101)

Spokane: Jared Cowen (122), Burke Gallimore (76), David Conrad (55), Cory Baldwin (42)

Swift Current: Cody Eakin (112), James Martin (58), Brad Hoban (113), Joel Rogers (103), David Greyeyes (11), Taylor Vause (74), Dillon Wagner (70)

Tri-City: Jason Gardiner (51), Adam Hughesman (135), Adam Wihak (2), Brock Zimak (27), Lane Werbowski (100)

Vancouver: Evander Kane (134), Neil Manning (107), Jamie Tucker (22), Linden Saip (70), James Henry (119)

Just something to while away the summertime....a team-by-team look at who might be the overagers in the league next year.

Under "eligible" I have listed every '89 player that the team owns the rights to, if they have played previously in the WHL. I ignored the NCAA players every team has on their list because the chances of those guys coming to the WHL just aren't ever that good.

Agree/disagree? Comments/thoughts/notes welcome....

One thing that sticks out to me as I do these is the number of good overagers who could/should be available next year. It looks like a deep year for overagers next year, unlike some recent years where the crop has been pretty lean. So for teams who are short overagers, that's good news because it means there should be some good ones available at a reasonably cheap price.

Brandon:

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Eligible: Keith Aulie (D), Matt Calvert (F), Del Cowan (F), Jay Fehr (F), Nathan Green (F), Cale Jefferies (F), Aaron Lewadniuk (F)

Thoughts: scratch Aulie (pro) and Jeffries (headed to university) from the list. That leaves the other five as likely to return. Calvert is drafted but his NHL club has another year to sign him yet so a return to junior, especially to a team hosting the Memorial Cup, seems likely for him. All five are forwards, and all five were in double-digits in goals last year, so all five should probably be in the WHL somewhere next year. But the Wheaties gotta move two of them at least. I say "at least" because the Brandon blueline is a little unspectacular, so perhaps they'd like to acquire a top O/A d-man to give things a lift back there. Even if it costs them a guy like Green....they have the depth up front to spare.

Projected: Calvert, Fehr, and Green are the most likely to stay if they keep three forwards. Lewadniuk and Cowan will land on other teams.

Calgary:

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Eligible: Joel Broda (F), Bostjan Golicic (F), Tomas Karpov (F), Jason MacDonald (F), Alex Plante (D), Paul Postma (D), Brett Sonne (F)

Thoughts: scratch Plante, Postma, and Sonne (all signed and going pro) from the list. Karpov is probably gone too, I think he has pro options in the Czech Republic. Broda has another year before his NHL team (Washington) has to sign him, but he just scored 53 goals, he has nothing left to do in the WHL and doesn't belong here, so I think the Caps will get a deal done with him and he'll go pro also. Golicic and his 26 goals is a decent option for a two-spot player if he wants to come back. Otherwise, it's only Jason MacDonald left and he's a 3rd line checker/grinder type player, not your traditional overage option.

Projected: MacDonald....and maybe Golicic. But the Hitmen will definitely be looking for some O/As to acquire elsewhere, quite likely at least one defenceman for sure.

Chilliwack:

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Eligible: Jesse Craige (D), Mitch McColm (D), Matt Meropoulis (F), Jadon Potter (F), Andy Smith (F)

Thoughts: Craige, Meropoulis, Potter, and Smith were probably all coming back, and the team traded for McColm so you know he's going to be in the plans too. Potter might still be a bit of a question mark after his 08-09 season ended in November with a broken neck - will he come back and play again? If he does, he's a lock for the team. I would think skilled guys like Craige and Andy Smith would be very good bets for spots too, which means things don't look so good for Meropoulis. But they traded for McColm, so surely he's going to be in there too....

Projected: Potter, Craige, and McColm....which means Smith probably gets traded. Unless Potter doesn't come back of course, in which case Smith would stay a Bruin. I think Meropoulis is probably headed for Jr A.

Edmonton:

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Eligible: Brett Breitkreuz (F), Torrie Jung (G), Craig McCallum (F), Drew Nichol (D), Garrett Thiessen (D)

Thoughts: The Oil Kings picked up Thiessen on waivers from Prince Albert last week, which is probably bad news for Drew Nichol since they're similar players. Probably only one of those guys at best makes the team so....let the training camp battle begin. Breitkreuz is a lock for a spot and I would think they would like McCallum back too, but you have to make room for Jung too they want to go with two 17 & 16 year old goalies (Lanigan & Brossoit) next year, which I'm sure they don't. So does McCallum get squeezed out? Or does McCallum stay which means neither of Nichol/Thiessen make the team?

Projected: Breitkreuz, Jung, and McCallum are the three. I think both Nichol and Thiessen end up in Jr A.

Everett:

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Eligible: Mike Alexander (D), Shayne Barrie (G), Shayne Brown (D), Jesse Burt (F), Zack Dailey (F), Shane Harper (F)

Thoughts: probably scratch Barrie since he was sent to Jr A midseason last year. He's on their list but probably not in their plans. Also scratch Burt since the club already said he's not in their plans for next year. That leaves Alexander, Brown, Dailey, and Harper, but the team also already said Alexander is being brought back only to shop him around to other teams, so the overage situation is pretty much set in Everett already.

Projected: Brown, Dailey, and Harper are Silvertips. Alexander gets traded somewhere. Burt probably goes to Jr A.

Kamloops:

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Eligible: Justin Leclerc (G), Giffen Nyren (D), C.J Stretch (F)

Thoughts: Well, there really aren't any choices to be made here, are there....not unless they decide to swap one of these guys for someone else. This is a pretty good trio talent-wise and they'll all be in the league as overagers next year for sure though.

Projected: Leclerc, Nyren, and Stretch.

Kelowna:

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Eligible: Cody Almond (F), Mikael Backlund (F), Jamie Benn (F), Lucas Bloodoff (F), Mark Guggenberger (G), Colin Long (F), Luke Schenn (D)

Thoughts: scratch Almond, Backlund, and Benn (pro) and Schenn (pro last season already). That leaves Bloodoff, Guggenberger, and Long; Long is ready to go pro but he's not signed and Phoemilton has another year to sign him yet, so he could very well be back. I do have a bit of a question about whether Guggenberger has a place here since Adam Brown showed last year that he may be ready to be the #1 guy next year at 18. So if there's a good backup in the system, maybe Guggenberger is tradeable. If they lose Myers to the pros next year, the blueline in Kelowna will be looking thin, and moving Guggenberger for a good overage defenceman might help. We'll see.

Projected: Bloodoff, Guggenberger, and Long.

Kootenay:

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Eligible: Scott Orth (G), Tylan Stephens (F), Dustin Sylvester (F)

Thoughts: I don't think Orth is going to be in the plans, since he was only an emergency fill-in last year when Lieuwen was hurt. I also hear that Stephens is considering leaving the WHL to concentrate on school next year. If that ends up being true, the Ice would only have Sylvester for 20 year olds next year. I'm sure the Ice would love to have Stephens and his 27 goals back next year though if he can be persuaded.

Projected: Sylvester, and Stephens if he comes back.

Lethbridge:

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Eligible: Lucas Alexiuk (D), Carter Bancks (F), Zach Boychuk (F), Dwight King (F), Juha Metsola (G), Colton Sceviour (F), Cam Stevens (D)

Thoughts: scratch Boychuk, King, Sceviour (pro), Metsola (pro in Finland), and Alexiuk (cut in midseason last year). That leaves Bancks and Stevens and I wouldn't count on Stevens being back since they traded him to Tri-City last year. He's back on Lethbridge's list now but he spent half of last year in Jr A and I suspect he'll stay there as an overage.

Projected: Bancks for sure. Look for them to add two others, one possibly being a goalie since they don't really have anyone ready to replace Metsola as the starter?

Medicine Hat:

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Eligible: Bretton Cameron (F), Travis Dunstall (F), Tyler Ennis (F), Colton Grant (F), Ryan Holfeld (G), Mark Isherwood (D), Tyler Kieffer (D), Tomas Kundratek (D)

Thoughts: Ennis and Kundratek are gone to the pros. Yeah, I know the Sabres have another year to sign Ennis yet, but he's a first round pick and he scored 40-some goals last year, so what are the chances that deal doesn't get done by October? Kieffer is a big question mark since he never reported after being acquired from Everett last year. Assuming he doesn't report, that leaves five guys - Cameron, Dunstall, Grant, Holfeld, and Isherwood - fighting for three spots. Do they keep Holfeld, or is Tyler Bunz ready to be a starter at 17? They have five other 18/19 year old d-men; do they need Isherwood's veteran presence back there or can they spare him? Is Dunstall - the most talented of the three forwards - going to stick around despite rumoured clashes with Willie Desjardins last year over Dunstall's effort level?

Projected: Holfeld, Isherwood, and Grant. Just guessing....I think they let Bunz backup Holfeld for one more year yet. Isherwood isn't perfect but he's a good two-way guy on the blueline, they can move one of the 19 year olds if they need to make room for young guys. And I think they let Dunstall get a fresh start somewhere else via trade, and keep Grant instead.

Moose Jaw:

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Eligible: Jason Bast (F), Martin Filo (F), Cody Smuk (F), Ryan Stanton (D)

Thoughts: I don't think Filo is coming back to the WHL as a two-spot player. That leaves the other three.

Projected: Bast, Smuk, and Stanton....Smuk might be a candidate for an upgrade?

Portland:

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Eligible: Brock Cornish (D), Travis Erhardt (D), Chris Francis (F), Ryan Kerr (D), Jonathon Milhouse (F), Kurtis Mucha (G), Stefan Schneider (F), Radim Valchar (F)

Thoughts: Valchar (pro in Europe) won't be back and I don't think Milhouse would be welcome back after the way he ditched the team in midseason to play Jr A. The other five guys are all very to somewhat likely to be in the WHL somewhere this season. I think Erhardt and Francis are pretty sure things to be in Portland; the third spot is probably Mucha although if the team is confident in Ian Curtis and Keith Hamilton, that could change. But I'd bet on Mucha being one of those very rare WHL goalies who is a five-year starter for the same team. Cornish and Kerr I think will find jobs elsewhere in the league via trade. Cornish has had injury problems the last couple years but he's a decent player when he's healthy. Kerr will never justify having been the #1 overall bantam pick at one point but he's a useful depth player for a team that could use someone like that. Schneider might have some value to somebody as well, due to his size and ability to play both forward and defence.

Projected: Erhardt, Francis, Mucha.

Prince Albert:

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Eligible: Dustin Cameron (F), Patrick Kozyra (D), Bryce Lamb (F), Garrett Zemlak (G)

Thoughts: scratch Lamb, because he has agreed to play Jr A next year in Dauphin (MJHL). That leaves the other three. I have my doubts about Zemlak's spot though, since starter Steven Stanford is 19 and the Raiders need to break in a younger goalie who can take over as starter in 2010-11. So I think they'll part ways with Zemlak, who'll drop to Jr A.

Projected: Cameron and Kozyra, with a 3rd one to be acquired.

Prince George:

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Eligible: Joe Caligiuri (G), Tyler Halliday (F), Cody Hobbs (D), Dallas Jackson (D), Alex Poulter (F), Brad Reige (F), Colin Scherger (D), Dana Tyrell (F), Marcus Watson (F)

Thoughts: scratch Tyrell (pro) and Reige (retired last summer). And Poulter, Scherger, and Watson have already been told their services won't be required by next year's Cougars. That leaves Caligiuri, Halliday, Hobbs, and Jackson to battle for three spots. I think Caligiuri is safe because without him, the Cougars would be throwing their goalie of the future, Michael Salmon, into the fire. A Caligiuri/Salmon combo next year would help ease Salmon into the WHL. Jackson is safe since he's the Cougars' best defenceman. That leaves Halliday vs Hobbs; I think they take Halliday for some leadership and toughness, but Hobbs would not surprise me either since that defence is truly bad and needs all the veteran help it can get.

Projected: Caligiuri, Halliday, Jackson.

Red Deer:

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Eligible: Jordie Deagle (F), Cody Esposito (F), Cody Gross (F), Cullen Morin (D), Travis Rolheiser (G), Brandon Sutter (F)

Thoughts: scratch Sutter (pro last year already) from the list. Rolheiser was an injury fill-in so he's not likely in the team's plans either. That leaves Deagle, Esposito, Gross, and Morin for three spots. Given how many times Esposito's consistency and effort level were criticized last year, I think he might be the odd man out since you don't want slackers for overagers. But honestly, if the Rebels had better candidates available, I don't think Deagle or Gross would make the cut either. But the talent pool is what it is.

Projected: Deagle, Gross, and Morin.

Regina:

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Eligible: Rudolf Cerveny (F), Mitchell Czibere (F), Matt Delahey (D), Brett Leffler (F), Linden Rowat (G), Matt Strueby (F)

Thoughts: don't think the unspectacular Cerveny is going to be back as a two-spotter, but all the rest of these guys should be back in the WHL somewhere next year unless Delahey signs with the Devils. But they have another year to sign him yet and I expect they'll use it, which puts him back in Regina. I think Delahey and Leffler are shoo-ins for spots. The third spot goes to one of the forwards, probably Strueby....the coaches had some issues with Strueby last year but it's a new coaching staff this year so he gets a clean slate again. Czibere will be traded, as will Rowat. The Pats have a glut of goalies and I expect they'll make Ketlo the starter and bring in Tendler or Guhle as the backup. A team like Lethbridge might be interested in Rowat?

Projected: Delahey, Leffler, Strueby.

Saskatoon:

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Eligible: Colton Gillies (F), Braden Holtby (G), Derek Hulak (F), Sam Klassen (D), Milan Kytnar (F), Chris Langkow (F), Walker Wintoneak (F)

Thoughts: scratch Gillies (pro last year already) and Holtby (pro), and I think the other five are likely back, which means some tough decisions here. Kytnar is signed by the Oilers but the Oilers have indicated he is likely ticketed back to the WHL, which means he'd be a two-spotter. If the Blades have another option for a new younger import to go with Niemi, then Kytnar might be trade bait, since there's lots of offensive forward options (Hulak, Langkow, Wintoneak) to replace Kytnar's contributions. For now though, I assume Kytnar will be back. I think they need Klassen on the blueline too, which means they can also probably only keep captain Hulak and will have to trade Langkow and Wintoneak. There will be takers out there for them....

Projected: Hulak, Klassen, and Kytnar.

Seattle:

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Eligible: Colin Haas (F), Thomas Hickey (D), Oscar Moller (F), Lindsay Nielson (F), Jim O'Brien (F), Prab Rai (F), David Richard (F), Jeremy Schappert (D)

Thoughts: Hickey, Moller (although he never played for Seattle anyway), and O'Brien are gone to the pros. Moller was already pro last year of course. Haas won't be in the plans, since he hasn't been in the Birds' plans since last Christmas. That leaves the other four, who should all be back. I think Rai is safe, assuming he isn't signed a year early by the Vancouver Canucks, and Schappert's a good guy to have around. That leaves one of Nielson or Richard up front....probably Richard.

Projected: Rai, Richard, Schappert. Nielson should find a job in the WHL somewhere?

Spokane:

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Eligible: Brett Bartman (D), Drayson Bowman (F), Dustin Donaghy (D), Ryan Letts (F), Ondrej Roman (F), Jared Spurgeon (D), Dustin Tokarski (G)

Thoughts: scratch outgoing pros Bowman, Roman, and Tokarski. That leaves Bartman, Donaghy, Letts, and Spurgeon for three spots. Outside shot Spurgeon could sign with the Islanders and leave, but I think he'll be back for another year. And if so, he's a lock for a spot. Bartman's a dependable choice on the blueline too, which leaves Donaghy vs Letts for the last spot. They're similar players and wouldn't both be kept anyway even if Spurgeon was gone. I suspect Donaghy gets the spot since he's probably tougher and also looks like he might have a bit more offensive upside.

Projected: Bartman, Donaghy, Spurgeon. Letts might find a spot elsewhere in the league or he might finish his career in Jr A.

Swift Current:

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Eligible: Derek Claffey (D), Eric Doyle (D), Ryan Molle (D), John Negrin (D), Michael Stickland (F), Matt Tassone (F)

Thoughts: Negrin is long gone to the pros, he already played some NHL games last year after the Broncos were eliminated. Tassone really should move on to the pros after his great season last year but he is coming off surgery and Dallas has another year to sign him yet so he will probably be back. Molle is probably headed to the Jr A ranks. Claffey, Doyle, and Stickland should all join Tassone in fighting for three spots then. I think Tassone and Stickland are safe, which means it comes down to whether you want Doyle's offence from the blueline, or Claffey's more rounded game back there. Whichever one they don't keep will make good trade bait.

Projected: Claffey, Stickland, Tassone. Doyle should fetch a nice return on the trade market.

Tri-City:

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Eligible: Johnny Lazo (F), Chet Pickard (G), Brett Plouffe (D), Petr Stoklasa (F), Jarrett Toll (D)

Thoughts: Pickard is gone to the pros, and I wouldn't count on Stoklasa being back as a two-spot guy, he's not the elite import you need to be to pull that off. That leaves the other three, which really isn't a bad trio at all.

Projected: Lazo, Plouffe, Toll. Don't rule out a trade of one of the defencemen though, to acquire a forward instead.

Vancouver:

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Eligible: Adam Basford (F), John Blum (D), Ryan Funk (D), Garry Nunn (F), Brent Regner (D), Alex Rodgers (F), Nick Ross (D), Tyson Sexsmith (G), Nolan Toigo (D)

Thoughts: Scratch Blum, Regner, Ross, and Sexsmith, who are all bound for the pros. Actually, I'm not sure that Regner has signed yet, but after the year he had, I'm sure Columbus will get something done. He doesn't belong back in the WHL any more than somebody like Joel Broda does. That leaves Basford, Funk, Nunn, Rodgers, and Toigo to fight over three spots. They traded for Funk so he's probably safe and I think Nunn is a good bet too. I believe Toigo was waffling on whether he wants to come back or whether he wants to go back to Jr A; he doesn't have a secure spot on the team either way so I figure he'll be gone. That leaves Basford vs. Rodgers for one spot. I think I'd rather have Basford, which means Rodgers is trade bait.

Projected: Basford, Funk, Nunn.

OK....I've gotten four emails and three comment posts now about what I said about Jordan Staal in the last post. None of those seven bits of correspondence were very complimentary, so allow me to elaborate on my position for the reading impaired.

I DON'T CARE THAT STAAL WAS DRINKING. I said as much. Read it again if that part confused you the first time. I don't care if he drank a case of it and then got carried to his hotel at 6am by a dozen strippers. Heck, I hope he did.....he won the Stanley Cup, he should be celebrating.

What I meant was, for a guy who already has an underage drinking rap against him, I was surprised that neither he, the team, or the (sometimes) image-conscious NHL, was very conscientious about him doing his celebrating while the cameras were rolling. And that's all I meant.

Not a classic game seven but it wasn't a bad game....I didn't think it was the most chock-full-of-excitement games ever, it was a somewhat cautiously played game, but at least it was close throughout and it had exciting finish when Detroit made it a one goal game and then hit the crossbar with three minutes left. Coupled with the usual game-seven excitement level, it made for an entertaining game I guess. Going in, I was sure the Wings were going to win this one but the Penguins did a great job of shutting down the Detroit attack and getting a couple timely goals themselves. Pens played the entire third period without Crosby too, and still hung on.

Lots of people don't like Crosby or the Penguins and I do understand why that is....I'm not the guy's biggest fan myself either. But he and Malkin and the rest of his teammates are a very, very good team with some very, very good players. They deserved the win tonight.

Lots of young guys on the Penguins too, which was made more obvious by the number of them who were holding 2, 3, 4 year old kids during their post-game interviews. If it were the veteran Wings who had won, we'd be seeing teenagers mugging for the cameras and trying to act cool by pretending they didn't know their dads and were embarrassed to be seen with them.

OK, I kid.

One other age-related note though, anyone see Jordan Staal swigging champagne on TV? Well, Staal is not yet legal drinking age in Michigan - he doesn't turn 21 until September. This is a guy who already got in trouble for underage drinking two years ago at his brother Eric's bachelor party in Minnesota.

Don't get me wrong, I personally don't give a crap since he's only 3 months from being 21 and he IS legal everywhere in his native Canada and almost everywhere else in the world too. But for a guy who got in legal trouble over this already, you'd think he would be wary of the cameras catching him in the act again.

Devin Balness -- Acquired: 2007 4th round bantam pick

Center, 5'10", 173lb, 09-10 age: 17

Eastman Selects (MMHL AAA midget)

Eastman Selects (MMHL AAA midget - plf)

Edmonton Oil Kings (WHL)

Last team this year - the Oil Kings.

Laurent Brossoit -- Acquired: 2008 2nd round bantam pick
Goaltender, 6'1", 172lb, 09-10 age: 16
	GP	GAA	W	L	T/OTL	SV%
Valley West Hawks (BCMMHL AAA midget)	20	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
Valley West Hawks (Macs midget tourn.)	2	3.52	1	1	0	0.923
Edmonton Oil Kings (WHL)	1	8.20	0	0	0	0.773

Bowen Croft -- Acquired: 2009 9th round bantam pick
Right Wing, 5'11", 160lb, 09-10 age: 15
	GP	G	A	PTS	PIM
Sherwood Park Flyers (AMBHL AAA bantam)	32	19	21	40	60
Sherwood Park Flyers (AMBHL AAA bantam - PLF)	2	3	0	3	0
Sherwood Park Flyers (Edmonton AAA tourn.)	5	3	2	5	0
Sherwood Park Flyers (KIBIHT)	6	2	4	6	4
Northeast Flyers (Alberta Cup)	5	4	0	4	6

Ryan Dech -- Acquired: 2008 3rd round bantam pick
Defense, 5'10", 156lb, 09-10 age: 16
	GP	G	A	PTS	PIM
Winnipeg Thrashers (MMHL AAA midget)	43	3	11	14	40
Winnipeg Thrashers (MMHL AAA midget - plf)	11	1	0	1	10
Winnipeg Thrashers (Telus Cup)	7	0	0	0	8
Edmonton Oil Kings (WHL)	1	0	0	0	0

Wade Epp -- Acquired: listed player
Defense, 6'5", 215lb, 09-10 age: 20
	GP	G	A	PTS	PIM
Victoria Grizzlies (BCHL Jr A)	28	0	5	5	37
Victoria Grizzlies (BCHL Jr A - PLF)	14	0	4	4	10
Victoria Grizzlies (Royal Bank Cup)	4	0	0	0	6

Epp is headed to Northern Michigan in 2009-10

Travis Ewanyk -- Acquired: 2008 3rd round bantam pick
Center, 5'11", 155lb, 09-10 age: 16
	GP	G	A	PTS	PIM
St. Albert Raiders (AMHL AAA midget)	33	7	12	19	14
St. Albert Raiders (AMHL AAA midget - PLF)	2	0	0	0	4
St. Albert Raiders (Macs midget tourn.)	4	0	1	1	2
Edmonton Oil Kings (WHL)	2	0	0	0	0
Edmonton Oil Kings (WHL - PLF)	3	0	0	0	0

Braeden Laroque -- Acquired: 2007 5th round bantam pick
Defense, 6'0", 170lb, 09-10 age: 17
	GP	G	A	PTS	PIM
Beardy’s Blackhawks (SMHL AAA midget)	44	4	4	8	46
Beardy’s Blackhawks (SMHL AAA midget PLF)	13	0	2	2	8
Beardy’s Blackhawks (Macs midget tourn.)	4	0	0	0	24
Edmonton Oil Kings (WHL)	3	0	0	0	4

Matthew Miller -- Acquired: 2009 4th round bantam pick
Defense, 6'0", 180lb, 09-10 age: 15
	GP	G	A	PTS	PIM
Winnipeg Monarchs (WMHA AAA bantam)	30	6	12	18	14
Winnipeg Monarchs (St. Albert AAA tourn.)	5	0	1	1	4
Winnipeg Monarchs (Western Bantam Champ.)	4	1	3	4	0
Winnipeg Monarchs (WMHA AA midget)	2	0	0	0	0

Mitchell Moroz -- Acquired: 2009 2nd round bantam pick
Left Wing, 6'1", 170lb, 09-10 age: 15
	GP	G	A	PTS	PIM
Calgary Northstar Sabres (AMBHL AAA bantam)	31	20	16	36	50
Calgary Northstar Sabres (AMBHL AAA bantam - PLF)	1	1	0	1	2
Calgary Northstar Sabres (Edmonton AAA tourn.)	4	4	4	8	8
Calgary Northstar Sabres (PoCo AAA bantam tourn.)	6	3	6	9	0
Calgary North Stars (Alberta Cup)	5	4	2	6	8
Calgary Canucks (SAML - midget 15 y.o.)	1	2	0	2	4

Wade Moyls -- Acquired: 2009 7th round bantam pick
Goaltender, 6'3", 170lb, 09-10 age: 15
	GP	GAA	W	L	T/OTL	SV%
Kamloops Jardine Blazers (BCAHA AAA bantam)	5	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
Kamloops Jardine Blazers (KIBIHT)	3	6.33	0	3	0	n/a
Kamloops Jardine Blazers (PoCo AAA bantam tourn.)	1	5.00	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a

Cam Reid -- Acquired: listed player
Center, 6'2", 183lb, 09-10 age: 18
	GP	G	A	PTS	PIM
Westside Warriors (BCHL Jr A)	58	12	28	40	42
Westside Warriors (BCHL Jr A - PLF)	8	4	3	7	0

Reid is headed to New Hampshire in 2009-10

Griffin Reinhart -- Acquired: 2009 1st round bantam pick
Defense, 6'3", 190lb, 09-10 age: 15
	GP	G	A	PTS	PIM
Hollyburn Huskies (BCAHA AA midget)	16	5	15	20	n/a
Vancouver NW Giants (BCMMHL AAA midget)	3	1	3	4	0
Vancouver NW Giants (BCMMHL AAA midget - PLF)	2	0	0	0	0

Reinhart is the son of former NHLer Paul Reinhart and brother of Kootenay's Max Reinhart.

Henrik Samuelsson -- Acquired: listed player
Center, 6'1", no wt, 09-10 age: 15
	GP	G	A	PTS	PIM
P.F. Chang's (Nike/Bauer AAA bantam tourn.)	4	2	5	7	0
P.F. Chang's (USA AA midget)	stats not available

Henrik Samuelsson is the son of former NHLer Ulf Samuelsson

Philip Samuelsson -- Acquired: 2007 10th round bantam pick
Defense, 6'2", 195lb, 09-10 age: 18
	GP	G	A	PTS	PIM
Chicago Steel (USHL Jr A)	54	0	22	22	60
USA (World U-18 Champ.)	7	0	3	3	4

Samuelsson is headed to Boston College in 2009-10

Philip Samuelsson is the son of former NHLer Ulf Samuelsson

Tristan Sieben -- Acquired: 2009 5th round bantam pick
Center, 5'9", 155lb, 09-10 age: 15
	GP	G	A	PTS	PIM
Edmonton MLAC (AMBHL AAA bantam)	33	34	17	51	60
Edmonton MLAC (AMBHL AAA bantam - PLF)	2	1	1	2	2
Edmonton MLAC (Edmonton AAA tourn.)	5	9	6	15	10
Edmonton North Oilers (Alberta Cup)	5	3	5	8	18
Edmonton MLAC (AMMHL AAA midget 15 y.o.)	1	1	2	3	0

Michael St. Croix -- Acquired: 2008 1st round bantam pick
Center, 5'11", 163lb, 09-10 age: 16
	GP	G	A	PTS	PIM
Winnipeg Wild (MMHL AAA midget)	41	56	47	103	10
Winnipeg Wild (MMHL AAA midget - plf)	10	8	12	20	12
Western (World U-17 Challenge)	6	2	5	7	4
Edmonton Oil Kings (WHL)	2	1	1	2	0

St. Croix is the son of former NHLer Rick St. Croix

David Stephens -- Acquired: listed player
Center, no ht/wt, 09-10 age: 16
	GP	G	A	PTS	PIM
NEBC & Yukon Flyers (RAMMHL AAA midget)	17	5	7	12	16
Cariboo Cougars (BCMMHL AAA midget)	15	2	5	7	8
Cariboo Cougars (BCMMHL AAA midget - PLF)	5	0	0	0	2
Cariboo Cougars (Macs midget tourn.)	4	0	1	1	2

Dylan Wruck -- Acquired: listed player
Center, 5'8", 145lb, 09-10 age: 17
	GP	G	A	PTS	PIM
Beardy’s Blackhawks (SMHL AAA midget)	44	31	63	94	42
Beardy’s Blackhawks (SMHL AAA midget PLF)	13	11	10	21	28
Western (World U-17 Challenge)	6	2	2	4	0
Edmonton Oil Kings (WHL)	1	1	0	1	0

Morgan Zulnick -- Acquired: 2009 3rd round bantam pick
Center, 5'10", 155lb, 09-10 age: 15
	GP	G	A	PTS	PIM
Kelowna Pursuit of Excellence (KIBIHT)	7	3	6	9	12
Kelowna Pursuit Of Excellence (Nike/Bauer AAA bantam tourn.)	4	2	1	3	0
Kelowna Pursuit of Excellence (St. Albert AAA tourn.)	5	1	3	4	2
Kelowna Pursuit of Excellence (Victoria AAA tourn.)	5	3	3	6	0