Tuesday stuff

I'm back after taking the long weekend off for Canadian Thanksgiving.....apparently the WHL didn't take any time off though because there was a boatload of player moves and news while I was gone. None of this will be news to you though unless, like me, you've been in a cave for the last three days.

Bunch of players released or reassigned: overage goalie Jordan White (Portland), goalie Kyle Birch (Moose Jaw), defenceman Chris Vanduynhoven (Chilliwack), overage forward Jared Jagow (Seattle), and defenceman Brendan Stephen (Everett). Vanduynhoven might find another home in the WHL before too long....the others, I think they are done at this level and probably headed to Junior A.

Three more players gone home to await trades too - Brandon sent goalie Joe Caligiuri home, while Prince George sent home forward Dale Hunt, both to await trades. In Portland, defenceman Brock Cornish left the team by his choice, also requesting a trade. Caliguiri is just the odd man out in Brandon, with the Wheaties choosing to go with Andrew Hayes and James Priestner as their goalies. I think Caliguiri can play in this league but he might be in the same boat as ex-Rockets goalie Torrie Jung - there's not much of a market for 19 year olds who are not proven everyday #1 goalies. Hunt was the #3 overall pick in the 2005 bantam draft and has put up decent numbers, he just isn't seeing eye-to-eye with the Cougars coaching staff. Somebody will deal for him and give him another chance. Cornish wants a trade to a B.C. team....I wonder if Bruce Hamilton is listening. The Rockets need veteran defencemen badly, by their own admission.

One trade that was made over the weekend saw the Calgary Hitmen cut their overage number down to four, by sending forward Ian Duval to Moose Jaw for the rights to BCHL forward Derek Grant and a conditional 2010 3rd round draft pick. I would imagine the pick becomes Calgary's only if Grant has not reported to the Hitmen by a specific date, such as trade deadline 2010 or something like that. Grant is 18, a 6'3" forward who was Ottawa's 4th round pick in the 2008 NHL draft and is committed to Michigan State for 09-10. He's averaging about two and a half points a game in the BCHL so far this year and with that size, you would think he would be a star in the WHL as well if he came here, so this is a home run swing by the Hitmen. They do get the 3rd round pick if it doesn't work out with Grant, so overall it's a pretty decent return for Duval.

Moose Jaw still has one more overage slot open since forward Jordan Knackstedt has signed a contract with the Boston Bruins and will not be returning from the AHL.

The sale of the Portland Winter Hawks will (presumably) be approved tomorrow when the WHL's Board of Governors meet in Calgary to vote on it. The WHL is recommending that the governors approve the sale, and the league has apparently already scheduled a press conference for tomorrow afternoon to discuss the vote (read: announce the sale and introduce the new owner).

Amidst all this, you have to feel for guys like coach Rich Kromm and G.M. Ken Hodge, who are probably going to be unemployed by the end of the week, if not right away after the sale is finalized tomorrow. They are "good people" who are simply going to get the short end of the stick when the new owner exercises his right to hire his own staff. You might argue about whether the game has passed Ken Hodge by, but he has put several decades into that team and this league, and it looks like it might be about to end. A good article with he and Kromm and their assistants pondering their fates is here, and another one featuring some players discussing the effects of the ownership uncertainty on them is here. (I love the quote from Hodge, calling some other G.M.'s in the league "piranhas" who will look to fleece the new Hawks staff as soon as they take office)

And a final note today, very sad to hear about the passing of Rangers prospect Alexei Cherepanov during a Russian league game yesterday. No word on what caused his death but like a few other incidents we've seen lately, Cherepanov collapsed and died on the bench after a shift. Seems like we've had a run of these lately, starting with Jiri Fischer of the Red Wings (although fortunately Fischer didn't die!)....Sergei Zholtok, ex-WHLer Darcy Robinson, Mickey Renaud, former WHLer Darren Lefebvre (which happened during a WHL game, although Lefebvre did not die, fortunately) even former NHLer Stephane Morin if you want to go back a few more years. All heart-related, and all except Renaud happened on the ice or on the bench during a game. Why are we seeing more of this these days? Are players' hearts being stressed more than they used to, by year-round training, etc - in some players, exposing heart conditions or defects that previously might have gone unnoticed?