McMullin in Regina

Dale McMullin recently was named the Regina Pats director of scouting.
McMullin played for the Cranbrook Royals and sons Cody and Brady played minor hockey in the city.
Brady was drafted but never played for the ICE.
Cody played with Tri City, Calgary, Red Deer and Prince George.
The radio stations will have interview clips today with Dale.

Saskatchewan U-16

The Top 40 - 1995 and Top 40 - 1996 have been finalized for Sask First Summer Camp in Wilcox July 18-22.

Shane Blomquist Goalie
Grant Naherniak Goalie Red Deer
Rylan Parenteau Goalie Prince Albert
Brendan Plant Goalie
Thomas Spence Goalie Kelowna
Evan Weninger Goalie

Haydn Fleury Defense Red Deer
Carter Forsyth Defense Kootenay 6th round pick
Kendall Fransoo Defense
Reid Fritzke Defense Seattle
Jordan Harris Defense Prince George
Ross Hnidy Defense Saskatoon
Vukie Mpofu Defense Red Deer
Nelson Nogier Defense Saskatoon
Ryan Pilon Defense Lethbridge
Brayden Park Defense Victoria
Samuel Ruopp Defense Prince George
Bryton Sayers Defense Lethbridge

Carter Amson Forward Lethbridge
Joshua Bly Forward
Jacob Cardiff Forward Spokane
Rourke Chartier Forward Kelowna
Benjamin Duperreault Forward
Ryan Duret Forward Calgary
Rylan Freed Forward Kamloops
Reid Gardiner Forward Prince Albert
Rhett Gardner Forward Spokane
Austin Glover Forward Kelowna
Wyatt Hinson Forward Saskatoon
Dawson Leedahl Forward Everett
Mitchell Lipon Forward Prince George
Braden Oleksyn Forward Calgary
Kolten Olynek Forward Lethbridge
Nicholas Pouliot Forward Everett
Brodie Schuette Forward Vancouver
Collin Shirley Forward Kootenay 1st round
Trey Tendler Forward
Josh Uhrich Forward Moose Jaw
Timothy Vanstone Forward Prince Albert
Miles Warkentine Forward Moose Jaw
Jordan Wittman Forward Swift Current
Lance Yaremchuk Forward Prince Albert

BC U-16

BC Hockey announced July 22, 2011 the 34 Male Under 16 players shortlisted for potential participation on Team BC at the 2011 Western Branch Challenge being held October 27 – 30, 2011 in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan.

Nicolas Bruyere Goal
Alec Dillon Goal Swift Current
Payton Lee Goal Vancouver
Liam McLeod Goal Kamloops

Viktor Dombrovskiy Defense Swift Current
Shaun Dosanjh Defense Vancouver
Matthew Doyle Defense
Ryan Gagnon Defense Victoria
Joseph Hicketts Defense Victoria
Justin Lange Defense
Jake MacLachlan Defense Red Deer
Dysin Mayo Defense
Mitchell Meek Defense Edmonton
Riley Stadel Defense Kelowna
Josh Thrower Defense Calgary

Francis Bamford Forward Prince George
Sebastien Barrette Forward Saskatoon
Michael Bell Forward Victoria
Carson Bolduc Forward Prince George
Chad Butcher Forward Medicine Hat
Mitch Foyle Forward
Mitchell Friesen Forward Kamloops
Ryan Gropp Forward Seattle
Landyn Hickmott Forward Saskatoon
Chase Lang Forward Calgary
Justin Marreck Forward Tri City
Spencer Meyer Forward
Matthew Painchaud Forward
Tyler Povelofskie Forward
Matthew Revel Forward
Tyler Sandhu Forward Portland
Mitchell Skapski Forward Portland
Jacob Virtanen Forward Calgary
Mitchell Walter Forward Edmonton

Alberta U-16

The Team Alberta U16 Provincial Development Camp that will take place July 18-24 in Camrose, AB. The Team Alberta U16 Provincial Development Camp is the second stage of development/evaluation for athletes to earn a spot on Team Alberta which will compete in the 2011 Western Canada U16 Challenge Cup.

DYLAN FRANCE GOAL Everett
JORDAN PAPIRNY GOAL Brandon
PATRICK GORA GOAL Regina
ADIN HILL GOAL
JONNY HOGUE GOAL Lethbridge
DEREK MAZIL GOAL Edmonton
JT BARTLETT GOAL
KEELAN WILLIAMS GOAL Medicine Hat

COREY DAMBRAUSKAS DEFENSE Spokane
AARON IRVING DEFENSE Edmonton
JAKE KOHLHAUSER DEFENSE Vancouver
GRIFFIN MUMBY DEFENSE Regina
GRAYDON SMITH DEFENSE
RILEY VAN HORNE DEFENSE Brandon
JAKE DUBE DEFENSE Kootenay 5th round pick
CLAYTON KIRICHENKO DEFENSE Saskatoon
BRYCEN MARTIN DEFENSE Swift Current
NATHYN MORTLOCK DEFENSE Medicine Hat
EVAN REID DEFENSE
BEN THOMAS DEFENSE Calgary
MICHEAL BRUNI DEFENSE
ERIK DONALD DEFENSE Regina
BRANDON HICKEY DEFENSE Tri City
NIKOLAS KOBERSTEIN DEFENSE Regina
ZACK PATTERSON DEFENSE
MICHEAL ZIPP DEFENSE Everett
CONNOR CLOUSTON DEFENSE Kamloops
ZACHARY GONEK DEFENSE Swift Current
LOGAN HERMUS DEFENSE Moose Jaw
GREYDON ROBINSON DEFENSE
JORDAN STEENBERGEN DEFENSE Kootenay 3rd round pick
JOSEPH TAMBASCO DEFENSE

TYLER BUSCH FORWARD Prince George
MICHEAL CARDINAL FORWARD
REID DUKE FORWARD Lethbridge
RYAN GRAHAM FORWARD Saskatoon
TARO HIROSE FORWARD
CAMERON HUGHES FORWARD Swift Current
BRADEN JAKUBOWSKI FORWARD Kootenay 10th round pick
JOSH MCCULLOCH FORWARD Medicine Hat
BRETT POLLOCK FORWARD Edmonton
JOHN QUENNEVILLE FORWARD Brandon
ALEX RUEL-GARVEY FORWARD
KEVIN YASINSKI FORWARD Prince Albert
MACKENZIE BAUER FORWARD Brandon
COLBY CHARTIER FORWARD Lethbridge
SHAUN COOKE FORWARD
THOMAS FOSTER FORWARD Vancouver
LIAM GREGOR FORWARD Brandon
TY MAPPIN FORWARD Everett
TARAN MATHIESON FORWARD
REID NEMETH FORWARD Lethbridge
TYLER OLTHUIZEN FORWARD
TYLER WONG FORWARD Lethbridge
SAM YOUNG FORWARD
CONNOR BLEAKLEY FORWARD
CAVIN LETH FORWARD Swift Current
PAUL LOVSIN FORWARD
TANNER MACMASTER FORWARD Spokane
RILEY MCGONIGAL FORWARD
TYLER MRKONJIC FORWARD Tri City
KYLE O’CONNOR FORWARD Kootenay 4th round pick
BRYAR ORTYNSKI FORWARD Regina
RILEY SIMPSON FORWARD Edmonton
JAYDEN SVEINSON FORWARD Moose Jaw
EVAN TORDIFF FORWARD Kamloops
RYLEY WOZNIAK FORWARD
MARKSON BECHTOLD FORWARD Spokane
LOGAN FRANZ FORWARD Calgary
NICHOLAS JONES FORWARD Vancouver
JUSTIN KIRKLAND FORWARD Kelowna
JASON MILLER FORWARD Brandon
ALEXANDER MOWBRAY FORWARD Medicine Hat
KORD PANKEWICZ FORWARD Brandon
JUSTIN PEERS FORWARD
BLAKE PENNER FORWARD Medicine Hat
BRAYDON POINT FORWARD Moose Jaw
EVAN POLEI FORWARD Saskatoon
DARCY ZAHARICHUK FORWARD

Manitoba U-16

Hockey Manitoba is pleased to announce the final twenty-eight players who will be moving onto the final phase of the U-16 Program of Excellence (POE) in selecting the 2011 U-16 Team Manitoba roster. The selected players will now take part in the U-16 Skills & Conditioning Camp, August 11-14, in Winnipeg which is being held in conjunction with the 2011 High Performance 1 Coach Seminar and 2011 Coach Camp. The twenty-eight players were selected from the POE TOP-40 Camp held at the end of May also in Winnipeg.

Following the U-16 Skills & Conditioning Camp the final roster will be announced in early October by Hockey Manitoba. Team Manitoba will not assemble together until days prior to the Western U-16 Challenge Cup making the Skills & Conditioning Camp an integral piece in developing team systems and concepts. The Western U-16 Challenge Cup will be held October 27-30, 2011 in Moose Jaw, SK.

Ammeter, Bronson Goalie Kootenay 9th round pick
Davies, Derek Goalie Everett
Edmonds, Ty Goalie Prince George

Baudry, Justin Defense
Douglas, Austin Defense
Finnson, Kristjon Defense Prince Albert
Fisher, Taylor Defense Prince Albert
Houston, Sam Defense Prince George
Hoydalo, Nigel Defense
Normandeau, Patrick Defense Medicine Hat
Thomson, Jordan Defense Kamloops
Zalitach, Reid Defense Vancouver

Bochinski, Jordan Forward
Brooks, Adam Forward Regina
Campbell, Duncan Forward
Fortin, Michael Forward Portland
Hawryluk, Jayce Forward Brandon
Kitt, Brett Forward Brandon
Lindgren, Ryley Forward Brandon
Martens, Nolan Forward Medicine Hat
Mathews, Nick Forward
Pruden, Ryan Forward Saskatoon
Rafter, Maverick Forward Everett
Sackett, Zachary Forward
Schioler, Dane Forward Regina
Starodub, Dallas Forward Brandon
Tait, Clayton Forward
Welsh, Riley Forward Swift Current

Season Tickets Update

2085 seasons tickets sold and 328 are new.

Dawes to Russia

Former ICE Captain Nigel Dawes has signed to play for Barys Astana of the Kontinental Hockey League.

Jaffray To Jets

Former ICE Captain Jason Jaffray has signed with the Winnipeg Jets. He played 5+ seasons with the Manitoba Moose.

Stoll At Dodger Stadium

Video at NHL.com of former ICE Captain Jarret Stoll who spends some time with the Dodgers before throwing out the first pitch.

http://video.nhl.com/videocenter/console?id=120963

Kevin King Signs With AHL Team

The Syracuse Crunch announced that they have signed Kevin King to a one-year, American Hockey League contract.
King, 21, appeared in 68 games with the Kootenay Ice of the Western Hockey League (WHL) last season, notching 76 points (33g, 43a) and 88 penalty minutes. In addition, he tallied 16 points (5g, 11a) in 19 playoff contests, helping his club capture the WHL Championship and a berth in the Memorial Cup Tournament. A native of Calgary, Alberta, King appeared in 335 career WHL games with Kootenay in five seasons from 2006-11, registering 227 points (95g, 132a) and 348 penalty minutes.

Ben Maxwell To Winnipeg

Former ICE forward Ben Maxwell has tweeted that he has signed with the Jets.

http://twitter.com/#!/benmaxwell61

Reinhart Signs

CALGARY, AB – The Calgary Flames announced today the signing of centre Max Reinhart.

http://flames.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=569362&navid=DL|CGY|home

"Max is the prototypical player we want in our organization,” said Flames General Manager Jay Feaster. “He has good size, skates very well, has excellent hockey sense on both sides of the puck, works extremely hard, competes and leads, and is an outstanding teammate. He not only posted a solid regular season campaign in Kootenay but he managed to elevate his play in the post-season in helping lead his team to the WHL title. He then took his game to the CHL’s largest stage in the Memorial Cup and played solid two-way hockey there as well. We are very pleased with his development and we are thrilled to have him under contract. We believe Max has a very bright future ahead of him with the Flames.”

Reinhart was Calgary’s first player drafted in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft. The Flames did not have selections in the first two rounds and were able to secure Reinhart with their 3rd round pick, 64th overall. A native of Vancouver, Reinhart played in 71 games with the Kootenay Ice (WHL) last season registering career highs with 34 goals and 45 assists for 79 points. He finished second in playoff scoring netting 15 goals and adding 12 assists for 27 points in 19 games in guiding Kootenay to a WHL Championship and a berth at the Memorial Cup.

Max is the son of former Calgary Flames All-Star defencemen Paul Reinhart.

Contract terms: Three year entry level contract with an average annual value of $900,000.

ICE Season Ticket Update

Season Ticket Total- 2063, 328 are new.

Kuvaev Dropped

One week after claiming Russian forward Alex Kuvaev on waivers, the Kootenay ICE have dropped him from their protected list. Kuvaev, who played in Lethbridge last year has signed a 3-year deal with a team in his home country.

Brad Lauer Joins Mark Holick

Anaheim Ducks named Brad Lauer as an assistant coach for the Syracuse Crunch.

http://blog.syracuse.com/crunch/2011/07/post_34.html

Dan Blackburn

From The Hockey News ...

http://www.thehockeynews.com/articles/41255-Backchecking-Dan-Blackburn.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=thn_daily_20110711

By Patrick Cwiklinski

At 22, most goaltenders have yet to brush the surface of their NHL careers, but for Dan Blackburn, a career-ending injury forced the New York Rangers budding netminder to leave the game and never look back.

Blackburn was a sought-after prospect at the 2001 NHL draft after two strong seasons with the Kootenay Ice of the Western League that included a league championship and Memorial Cup appearance in 2000. He was named Canadian League Goaltender of the Year the following season - his last in junior hockey - by earning 33 wins in 50 games and posting a 2.77 goals-against average.

“It meant a lot considering it was right before the draft,” said Blackburn of the honor. “I figured that would mean a lot in terms of my draft status, but it’s always a big honor anytime you get to win goalie of the year award in any league.”

The recognition Blackburn received from his outstanding year with the Ice helped the Montreal native get selected 10th overall in the first round of the 2001 draft by the New York Rangers who were seeking a new backup for Mike Richter after Kirk McLean retired.

“I knew there was an opportunity right away in terms of a backup position, which doesn’t happen very often in the NHL,” he said. “The Rangers had nobody who was sort of the next guy in line in their American League system so there was an opportunity for me to compete for a position right out of the draft and that’s really what I ultimately wanted.”

Blackburn was successful in his attempt to secure an NHL job and moved to the pros from major junior as Richter’s backup for the 2001-02 season and appeared in 31 games for the team. He was also named to the NHL All-Rookie team and established himself as the Rangers’ goaltender of the future.

“I know people like to slap tags out like that, but it’s not something that ever crossed my mind really,” he said. “I was just enjoying the time I spent there and you learn a lot from an older guy like Mike (Richter).”

Unfazed under the bright lights of Madison Square Garden, Blackburn maintained a calm demeanor when dealing with the pressures of playing in a massive hockey market, but his will was tested after the 2002-03 season when a weightlifting accident in the summer resulted in a nerve injury to his catching hand.



Related Links

All 'Backchecking' articles
Backchecking: Dennis Maruk
Backchecking: Joe Juneau
“When it first happened I didn’t think anything of it because it just seemed very very minor,” he said. “It didn’t even seem like an injury at first and then it kind of got progressively more painful over the course of a few weeks.”

The pain never passed.

After some time, Blackburn managed to make a short return to the ice, but suffered another setback when he separated his shoulder.

During the 2004-05 season, he attempted a comeback with the Victoria Salmon Kings of the ECHL and sported two blockers because of his immobile hand, but he struggled and even after being offered to play another year for the Rangers he knew things would never be the same.

In September of 2005, Blackburn announced his retirement from the NHL.

But instead of living in the past, he decided to reinvent himself and attended Arizona State University where he did work for the Goaltending Development Institute before settling in Dallas where he currently works in real estate.

“I think there’s a little bit of a learning curve that you need to pick up on especially when it comes to business issues and a lot of stuff that deals with business and being able to get involved in that certainly has laid a good foundation for the different business opportunities that I’m working on now,” he said.

And even though it was a difficult decision to leave hockey behind for good, Blackburn knew it was one he had to make so he could move on and live his life.

“I wasn’t going to be getting better,” he said. “For me it was closure just to be able to move on and it was just mentally incredibly taxing sitting around and not being part of the team and sort of being on your own all the time so I was happy to be able to move on finally.”

ICE Trade

ICE have traded 20-year defenseman Hayden Rintoul and a conditional Bantam pick to Victoria for 19-year-old forward Dylen McKinlay.
ICE now have 4 over-agers … Jesse Ismond, Joe Antilla, James Martin and Nathan Lieuwen.
With the ICE losing forwards Kevin King, Steele Boomer, Matt Fraser, Cody Eakin and possibly Antilla or Ismond, the ICE have added to the forward depth with McKinlay and Alex Kuvaev (waiver claim from Lethbridge).

Rintoul played 188 games with the ICE and 29 in the playoffs and 5 at the Memorial Cup.
He was a 4th round pick in the 2006 Bantam Draft.
He is one of 2 ICE defensemen to score a hat-trick (Steve McCarthy), and also tied a team record with 5 points in a game by a defenseman.

McKinlay is a native of Langley. He has played 182 games with 29 goals, 43 assists and 72 points. Last year he had a knee injury and finished with 6 goals and 20 points. 2 years ago he had a 20-goal season and was selected in the 7th round of the 2010 NHL Draft by Minnesota.
Chilliwack selected him in the 3rd round of the 2007 Bantam Draft.


ICE Press Release ...

Cranbrook, BC – Jeff Chynoweth, General Manager of the Kootenay ICE Hockey Club, today announced the club has traded 20-year-old Defenseman Hayden Rintoul and future considerations to the Victoria Royals in exchange for 19-year-old forward Dylen McKinlay. The ICE still have six 20-year-old players eligible to return in 2011-2012, but don’t expect Brayden McNabb or Cody Eakin to return for their overage season (Nathan Lieuwen, James Martin, Joe Antilla, Jesse Ismond are the other 1991 born players).

“With us losing a minimum of four forwards from last year’s team this transaction has allowed us to get a veteran forward who will have every opportunity to play in our top six this season. Two years ago Dylen scored 20 goals as a 17-year-old and we are hoping he can stay healthy and regain his scoring touch. Hayden Rintoul was a big part of our Championship team and he will be missed on and off the ice. We would like to thank Hayden for his three years with our Hockey Club and wish him all the best in Victoria,” added Chynoweth

Dylen McKinlay was drafted by the Minnesota Wild in the 2010 NHL Draft (7th round – 189th overall), but was not made a qualifying offer and is now a free agent.

DYLEN MCKINLAY
April 20, 1992 * Hometown: Langley, BC
Right Wing * Shoots: Right * 6’0”, 162 lbs
YEAR TEAM GP G A TP PIM
2008-09 Chilliwack Bruins 55 3 7 10 47
2009-10 Chilliwack Bruins 72 20 23 43 57
2010-11 Chilliwack Bruins 55 6 14 20 60

ICE Add Russian

ICE have added 18-year-old Russian forward Alex Kuvaev to their their protected list. Kuvaev scored 11 goals and 13 assists with Lethbridge last season.

Bancks

From Flames website ...
http://flames.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=568113

Calgary, AB – The Calgary Flames announced today the signing of forwards Carter Bancks, Quintin Laing and defenseman Joe Piskula.

“When we signed Carter to an AHL deal last season, we told him if he went to Abbotsford and did everything that was asked of him, we would look to convert his AHL deal to an NHL contract,” said Flames General Manager Jay Feaster. “Carter did everything we asked and then some, and he really has earned this new deal. We really like his work ethic and versatility and we consider him one of our bright young prospects who will play for us in Calgary one day.”
Bancks, 21, is a product of Marysville, BC and is entering his second season in the Flames organization. Playing in just 29 games last season due to injury, Bancks scored five goals and 14 assists for 19 points. At the time of his injury, this rookie Heat forward was leading the team in points, shorthanded points and plus/minus. Bancks is known as a tenacious checker and effective penalty killer.

Local Hockey Update

Rob Niedermayer has signed a one-year deal to play for Lugano of the Swiss Elite League.
Not released if there is an out clause in case Niedermayer gets a better deal to play in the NHL.

Look for Marysville product Carter Bancks to sign with a pro team this week. Last year he was with AHL Abbotsford.

ST. LOUIS BLUES — Re-signed former ICE Captain Adam Cracknell.