#Baie-ComeauDrakkar

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QMJHL DRAFT HAS CONNECTICUT CONNECTIONS

By: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings HARTFORD, CT - The last of the Canadian major junior draft for the year, the QMJHL (Quebec Major Junior Hockey League), was held on Saturday. In the primary portion of the draft, the first US-based draftee was taken 14th overall in the first round. With their second selection, the Rimouski Oceanic selected Tyson Goguen of Moncton, New Brunswick, of the Selects Academy program's U-16 team at South Kent Prep. Then from their U15 team, another South Kent prep player, Jabez Seymour of North River, Newfoundland, was also taken in the first round with a team's second pick, 18th overall, by the Baie-Comeau Drakkar. South Kent then had a third selection taken as Drew Allison, of Fall River, Nova Scotia, went in the fourth round (62nd overall) to Baie-Comeau with a pick initially held by the Saint John Sea Dogs. In the seventh round (129th overall), the Halifax Mooseheads took Michael Munro of the Avon Old Farms Winged Beavers. In the 11th round, Mike Mardula, from Weston, Connecticut, was selected from the Mid-Fairfield Rangers U-15 by the newly crowned Memorial Cup champion Quebec Remparts. Ex-Hartford Wolf Pack goaltender and AHL Hall-of-Famer, Jean-Francois JFF.) Labbé saw his 15-year-old son, Kayan Labbé, of Magog (QMAAA), taken by the Saint John Sea Dogs in the fourth round (72nd overall). The younger Labbé played in the net in the Wolf Pack alumni game instead of his father. In the Draft portion on Sunday, 11 of the 36 players selected had a Connecticut connection. Darien's Alexander Donavan, who played with Shattuck's St. Mary's (MNPREP), was taken first in the American portion. Liam Joyce of Meriden, who went to Loomis Chaffe (Windsor), was taken Blaineville-Boisbrand. Trumbull's Corbin Carkner, who attends Selects Academy program at South Kent Prep, was taken by the Charlottetown (PEI) Islanders, Mid-Fairfield's U-15 team then saw two of their players selected as Steven Luciano of New Canaan was chosen by Chicoutimi and Anthony Bongo of Ridgefield was taken by Victoriaville, and another teammate, Matt Damdrowski, from Shelton, was selected by the Halifax Mooseheads. Another Selects Academy Prep player, Kolin Sisson, was taken by Gatineau. Greenwich native Tucker Spiess, who attends Brunswick School, was selected by Cape Breton Eagles. Baie-Comeau took Cheshire's Breckin Siefker of the CT Chiefs U-16 (AYHL). The last two were Redding's Niko Tournas, from the NJ Rockets U-16 team was taken by Sherbrooke, and Luke Dow, from Orange and Halifax took the Mid-Fairfield U-15 team. The last junior draft is the NAHL-North American Hockey League on Wednesday, June 14. QMJHL HOME Read the full article

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CANTLON: WOLF PACK UPEND UTICA, 3-1

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings HARTFORD, CT - In what could have been a preview of a possible playoff game, the Hartford Wolf Pack continued their home ice winning ways beating the Utica Comets 3-1 in a spirited, well-played contest between two of this season's most-improved AHL teams. “Both games this weekend were like playoff games. Last night in Providence, a big divisional game, usually there can be a let down the next game. There wasn’t tonight," said Pack head coach, Kris Knoblauch. "The first period tonight was probably our best period of the year and our goaltender (Adam Huska) played so well when they had a big push in the second period.” The Wolf Pack record improves to 21-8-2-5 (49 points). They move four points ahead of the second place, Hershey Bears, who were 2-1 winners over the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. The Wolf Pack will visit Hershey on Wednesday. “Both teams played well. We both wanted the points and we got it,” Huska, who picked up his sixth win of the season, said. The third period, like the two that proceeded it, was a back-and-forth affair as each team sought an important goal. For Hartford, they were looking to add some cushion, while for the Comets, the goal was to tie the game. The Pack used a five-minute major power play to their advantage and got their cushion goal. However, a four-on-four situation developed during the major and the Wolf Pack used the open space to their advantage as well. A great passing sequence began with Darren Raddysh making a superb outlet pass to Matt Beleskey. The former Boston Bruin then put a perfect tape-to-tape pass to Phil Di Giuseppe who split then Utica defense like the Red Sea and deposited his 11th of the season into the net at 11:25. “I was actually yelling at Raddzy to pass it to me,” Di Giuseppe said. He was ribbing his teammates with mock surprise about his “poor” passing skills. “It was a pretty bad pass to Beleskey, who luckily got a bouncer from the whole length of the ice.” As he continued to laugh with Raddysh nattily-attired in a fisherman’s knit cap and bow-tie waiting for him to finish in the locker room. The whole advantage came out of a wild sequence of events. The shift before, behind the play, Di Giuseppe made an outlet pass. After releasing the puck, Di Giuseppe got steamrolled by the Comets' Vincent Arseneau and then left in a heap at the Pack blue line on the right wing. Pack defenseman Mason Geersten was in the neighborhood and wasted little time in challenging him. The two had a spirited bout that Geersten got the better of. In the meantime, while the action went on behind him, Danny O’Regan still sought out the cushion goal and was initially stopped by a sensational Michael DiPietro (37 saves) at 9:21. The play is emblematic of how this group of players have become a team. “We really understand each other on-and-off the ice. We all know our jobs on the team, and it's always fun in the locker room,” remarked Huska. The Comets tested the Wolf Pack in the second period. “We were flying in the first, and they woke up in the second and they started pushing us, but our defense played well,” said Huska (26 saves). Huska had little work in the first period but got plenty after as the Comets flew all around him. They out-shot the Pack 16-14. Huska stopped 15 of Utica’s attempts. Wacey Hamilton, Reid Boucher and Dylan Bljus were all denied by Huska on excellent opportunities. “They were pushing from the side and coming right to the front of the net. My defense helped out on the rebounds, It's all a goalie can ask for,” said Huska. The Wolf Pack had their chances to get the third goal. Geersten left point drive was stopped, Tim Gettinger at 8:30 was open, but the full effect of his chance was stopped because of slash called on Guillaume Brisebois. Nick Jones and Patrick Newell were stopped on a two-on-one. and Vinni Lettieri and defenseman, Nick Ebert, had solid chances. DiPietro kept them out of the net for Utica. The Comets finally were able to get one past Huska. It came off a rebound from a hard shot by Kole Lind. Huska stopped a shot with his right arm, but it came right back to the wrong guy, Boucher, who quickly put it past the Pack netminder at 16:04. It was his 21st goal to narrow the Wolf Pack lead to 2-1. The Wolf Pack grabbed the first lead on a seemingly simple play. Boo Nieves won the initial offensive zone draw and the Wolf Pack maintained possession of the biscuit. Raddysh came up the left-wing boards and sent a short pass to Nieves who curled to the top of the left wing face-off circle. He saw two Wolf Pack players converging in the slot and launched a shot toward the net. “Those were two solid plays on that goal. Boo made a real nice move, and Vinni, great skill to finish on that play,” said Knoblauch Lettieri made a mid-chest (legal) re-direct with his stick that DiPietro had zero chance on at 4:08. For Lettieri, it was his 13th goal of the season and second in two games. The Wolf Pack would extend their lead to 2-0. O’Regan was behind the net and found Vincent LoVerde coming off the left point into the face-off circle. The right-handed shooter wired a perfect wrist shot to the short-side high over DiPietro’s right shoulder at 7:41. Two small plays made this goal happen. First Raddysh, who was at the right point, kept the puck in. He fed Di Giuseppe who perfectly reversed along the right wing boards. He went around the back the net and up the left wing boards and gave it O’Regan. “I was just able to squeeze some space and get it to Danny and he made the pass and Vinny made a great shot there and this is something we could build on in the game,” remarked Di Giuseppe. LINES: Nieves - Gettinger - Lettieri O’Regan - Kravtsov - Di Giuseppe Jones - Beleskey - Gropp Zerter-Gossage - Newell - McBride Raddysh - LoVerde Keane - Geersten Rykov - Ebert SCRATCHES: Ryan Dmowski (Healthy) Jeff Taylor (Healthy) Lias Andersson (Suspension) Gabriel Fontaine (Season-ending shoulder surgery) NOTES: The three A’s were worn by LoVerde, Nieves and Beleskey. Lettieri registered his first goal in six games against Providence the night before. His last one came on December 17th in Charlotte against the Checkers. It was his first multi-point effort in eleven games and ironically that was against Providence on December 8th. Two AHL All-Star selections will come from Hartford. Rookie Joey Keane made the the starting lineup. Goalie Igor Shesterkin, who is playing in his first year as a goalie in North America, is also heading to the All Star Game Classic in Ontario, CA at the end of the month. Shesterkin joins Wolf Pack history as the third first-year goalie to earn the honor. The others were Kazakhstan native, Vitali Yeremeyev, in 2000-01 in his one only year in Hartford. He is now a goalie coach with Dynamo Moscow (Russia - KHL). The other is Robb Stauber, who in 1997-98, the Pack’s first season, who was recently selected to be an Honorary Captain at the All-Star Classic in Ontario, CA. The two parent clubs met late last night as Vancouver beat the Rangers 2-1 scoring a goal in the first minute of the game and the last minute of the game. The Rangers finished 1-3 on their Canadian road trip. Steven Fogarty’s ice time during his four games in New York have been 3:25 in Toronto, 8:46 in Edmonton, 5:40 in Calgary, and 3:16 in Vancouver. He has just one shot on goal and one hit in those four games. Boucher saw his league best 16-game point scoring streak end last night at home in a 3-2 loss to Springfield. Boucher is now tied for the AHL scoring lead with Drake Batherson of Belleville, each has 41 points. Boucher’s 21 goals are second. Gerald Mayhew of Iowa has 23. The WJC medal games tomorrow are a Scandinavian final battle for Bronze between Sweden and Finland. Then another chapter in the Gold medal game between Canada and Russia. Former Utica Comet, Cole Cassels, the son of former Hartford Whaler, Andrew Cassels, was released by Belleville earlier in the week signs an AHL deal with Wilkes Barre/Scranton for the rest of the year. WOLF PACK FAN JERSEY OF THE NIGHT: A #39 Dan Cloutier and a real blast from the past. #34 Mike Martin, who played just the first year of the Wolf Pack. A #44, Whalers Dave Babych jersey and two QMJHL jerseys. #8 Samuel Thibault of the Baie-Comeau Drakkar who's now with Norfolk (ECHL) and the very classy unique red and gold of the Acadie-Bathurst Titan jersey. #55 of Guillaume Brisebois who plays for Utica. A third jersey of the Maine Mariners, the Wolf Pack Double AA affiliate, a gorgeous powder blue Maine Blueberries #27 of captain Zach Tolkinen, the ex-QU Bobcat who played nine games in Hartford last year. Read the full article

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CANTLON: WOLF PACK OFF-SEASON - VOL. 8

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings HARTFORD, CT - The final trophy in professional hockey for the 2018-2019 has been awarded when the Stanley Cup was presented to the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday night. But now the real work begins as every team will start to make their plans to fill their rosters with the best possible talent in search of a championship in 2019-20. STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS It was a classic Game 7, and the AHL played had a big role in directing Lord Stanley to St. Louis. It's been 49 years since the Blues last appeared in a Stanley Cup final (1970) and it was their first win in the franchise's 52 years in existence. The Blues' 4-1 victory was aided by a spectacular performance from goaltender Jordan Binnington. He made 32 saves including 12 superlative stops in the first period. Remember, the Blues were dead last in the NHL on January 3rd. They were 31st out of 31 teams when they fired head coach Mike Yeo and named Craig Berube their interim head coach. But that wasn't the only move that turned their franchise around. The first move was to relegate their then-starter, Jake Allen, to his being their backup goalie. They traded away ex-Pack Chad Johnson to the Anaheim Ducks and elevated Binnington from the AHL's San Antonio Rampage. The Rampage started off just as bad as their parent club. They went 2-8 in October but were able to get back to near .500 with a 16-7-1-0 run that included a seven-game winning streak. Binnington, who was nicknamed Winnington by his Rampage teammates, was summoned to calm the icy waters between the team's 4 x 6 cage. What's truly ironic is that a year ago Binnington was playing for the Bruins AHL affiliate in Providence, just 50 miles south of where he hoisted hockey’s Holy Grail on Wednesday. He was assigned there because St. Louis out of Chicago for an affiliate had to assign prospects throughout the AHL before getting their affiliation in San Antonio this year. Binnington becomes just the fourth rookie goalie to win a Stanley Cup Game 7. The other names on that list are pretty good goalies. They include Ken Dryden (Montreal 1971), Cam Ward (Carolina 2006) and Frank McCool (Toronto 1935). The AHL is an NHL development league. It would be fitting for the cover of the 2019-20 AHL Media Guide to feature Binnington. CALDER CUP PLAYOFFS The Checkers pulled off checkmate in five games and captured their first AHL Calder Cup in team history. The Checkers were the AHL’s best team in the regular season and now post season as well. The Checkers on the road in Chicago captured the top prize of the AHL with a 5-3 win over the Chicago Wolves. Andrew Poturlarski scored two goals including the game’s first goal just 1:31 in and the eventual game-winner. He was awarded the Jack Butterfield Playoff MVP trophy registering 12 goals and 23 points in 18 games. Morgan Geekie also chipped in a goal and assist in the championship-clinching win. Ex-Pack goalie, Dustin Tokarski, was amazing and earned his second Calder Cup ring. Since his loan reassignment to Charlotte on February 28th, Tokarski didn’t lose a game. While with the Checkers during the regular season he went 7-0-0 with a 1.14 GAA and a .935 save percentage. In the regular season with the Pack, he was 10-6-2-1 with a 3.10 GAA and a .901 save percentage. Following a 9-1-1-0 hot streak, Tokarski finished by going 1-5-1-1 and was pulled in his last game with the Wolf Pack on February 17th against the Wilkes Barre/Scranton Penguins. It was the second time he was pulled from a game in two weeks. In the postseason for Charlotte, Tokarski went 5-0 and posted a 1.74 GAA and a .935 save percentage. He will likely head next year to play in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) after having received four offers. Ex-Whaler Mike Vellucci, who was voted the Louis A. Pieri AHL Coach of the Year, as well as ex-Nighthawk Don Waddell, the team GM, will get Calder Cup rings. Ex-Pack Bobby Sanguinetti played in ten playoff games leading up to the finals, added a goal and five assists, However, Sanguinetti didn’t play in any of the game's Calder Cup Finals. Neither did Zach Stortini, who's one of the toughest guys in AHL history and who's likely to retire this summer that’s the only blemish on one of the best AHL teams along with Manchester to capture the tile in the last ten years. The team should send a ring to former Hurricanes GM and Whaler great Ron Francis. The players on that roster are his draft picks and helped fuel this championship run. Next stop Saturday, October 5th, the Wolf Pack home opener. PLAYERS & COACHING MOVEMENT The first of JD’s roving development coaches to work with younger prospects has been hired. Ex-Pack, Tanner Glass, 35, hung up the player skates after playing for GHC Bordeau (France-FREL) last year. He played 527 NHL games and 186 in the AHL. The Dartmouth grad was a superb blend of hard work, skill, toughness, and brains. It's a good first choice by JD. Head coach Jay Woodcroft of the Bakersfield Condors has been given a two-year extension by Edmonton. The Ontario Reign's assistant coach, and one-time Springfield Falcon player and assistant coach, David Bell, has left the team. He's bounced around the last few years between the OHL and AHL. John Madden, the former NJ Devil, not the Oakland Raider Coach, was let go by the Cleveland Monsters after two seasons. Officially, it was mutually agreed, but it is rumored that Madden and his players didn’t mesh well. AHL TO EUROPE LIST GROWS The fourth player lost by The Bridgeport Sound Tigers to heading across the pond is goalie Jeremy Smith. He signed with Kunlun (China-KHL). Joining him in China is Spencer Foo (Stockton), an Asian-Canadian kid who could potentially play for the Chinese Olympic Team at the 2022 Beijing Winter Games. Ex-CT Whale Tim Erixon finally heads back to Sweden. He signed with Vaxjo (Sweden-SHL), Goalie, Eddie Pasquale, goes from Syracuse to Barys Nur-Sultan (Kazakhstan-KHL), Emil Petterson Tucson/Milwaukee joins Erixon at Vaxjo HC (Sweden-SHL) and Sam Carrick leaves San Diego to EV Zug (Switzerland-LNA). Leaving the AHL to Euro number at 43. Ex-Pack and former captain, Mat Bodie, moves from Torpedo Novgorod (Russia-KHL) to Vaxjo HC (Sweden-SHL) on a one year deal. Ex-Pack Simon Denis leaves the Daemyung Killer Whale (South Korea-ALIH) and signs with Tokohu Free Blades (Japan-ALIH) next season. Mike Little (Enfield) leaves EC Kassel Huskies (Germany DEL-2) for SonderyskE (Denmark-DHL). Goalie, Patrick Spano (Yale/Westminster Prep), goes from HC Chambery (France Division-2) to Liege (Belgium-Netherlands BEL-NED) next season. Chad Staley of the University Alaska-Fairbanks (WCHA) heads to Hamburg (Germany- Division-3). That makes 34 collegians to sign Euro deals and 219 total US collegians Division I and III to sign pro deals. Ex-Pack, Garth Murray was named the full-time head coach for Aalborg Pirates (Denmark-DHL). He was the assistant coach for a year-and-a-half and was elevated on February 5th, 2018 to the head spot. Former Whaler, Robert Petrovicky, was named the coach of Slovakia’s U-20 team that will play in the 2020 World Junior Championship (WJC). The Championships will be held in the Czech Republic in Ostrava and Trinec, which is near the Czech Republic-Slovak Republic border from December 26th to January 5th. In his playing days, Petrovicky played for the last Czechoslovakia WJC team in 1993 before the country split into two separate republics. Missed this one from the NAHL Draft. Will Dineen, the son of former Hartford Whaler great, Kevin Dineen, was drafted by the Odessa Jackalopes in the seventh round (162nd overall) and he was also selected in the April USHL Draft by the Omaha Lancers in the seventh round (98th overall). The younger Dineen played for the prestigious Chicago Mission U-18 program that plays in the HPHL U-18 Division. Hockey is in this family tree. His daughter, Hannah, finished her college hockey career at Colby (Maine) and his niece, Ashley, finished her D-III career as well at St. Michael’s, VT. Kevin's brother, Gord is the assistant coach with Rochester. His brother Shawn is an ex-Nighthawk is a pro scour for Nashville, brother Peter is an assistant coach with Adirondack (ECHL) after 19 years as a scout with Columbus and brother and Jerry has been the Rangers video coach for the last 16 years. Their late father Bill started the hockey lineage as he played on two Stanley Cup championships back to back with the Detroit Red Wings 1953-1955 with Gordie Howe. He coached the WHA Houston Aeros all seven years of their existence in the league with his old linemate, Gordie Howe, still playing, winning two Avco Cups. He coached the last WHA New England Whalers team. He was a scout for the Hartford Whalers their first two NHL seasons. From the “They-Grow-Up-Up-Quickly" department, after receiving a text from ex-Wolf Pack great, Derek Armstrong, his oldest son, Dawson, now 18, and who was born in Hartford will be trying out in the fall for the Buffalo Jr. Sabres (OJHL). The Jr. Sabres assistant coach is one of Army’s old Wolf Pack teammates, Tony Tuzzolino, whose older brother, Nick is the Head Coach). The other assistant is former CT Whale, Tim Kennedy. Army's second son, Easton Armstrong, just finished his second junior camp with Regina (WHL), but he will play for the LA Kings AAA U-18 (TIEHL) squad this year. KEVIN DINEEN Click HERE for a great article on Kevin Dineen In addition, a companion video of Dineen’s discussing his favorite hockey memorabilia is HERE. Dineen would make the perfect next coach for the Hartford Wolf Pack. Dineen fits what the team so badly needs right now, a strong leader. No offense is not meant in a disparaging way the last two head coaches in Keith McCambridge, and Ken Gernander. A coach with a strong playing background in the NHL 1,188 games with 355 goals, 405 assists for 760 points and 2,229 PIM. He played two stints with the Whalers 1984-1991 and from 1995-1997. He played in that fateful last game in Whalers history and was the captain for the last Whalers team and the Carolina Hurricanes first team. He played for Philadelphia where he wore the A twice, skated for Ottawa and closed out his playing days the last three years with Columbus. Dineen has a solid NHL coaching resume. He spent three years as Head Coach of the Florida Panthers. He then spent a little over four years in Chicago with the Blackhawks earning a Stanley Cup ring as the assistant coach with his close friend and former Whaler teammate, Joel Quenneville. Ironically, he just took the head coaching job at Florida last month. Dineen, Quenneville, and Ulf Samuelsson, the three Whalers amigo’s, were let go by Chicago last November 6th, but their Whaler jersey numbers 5, 10, and 11 remain “retired” in the rafters of the XL Center. Between his Florida and Chicago gigs, Dineen helped guide the Canadian women to the Gold medal at the Olympics. He was also the Head Coach of the Canadian U-18 team at their WJC tournament. Dineen is a former Whaler who was highly popular here is second in all the top player categories with 587 games, 235 goals 268 assists and 503 points tops is, of course, Ron Francis (714-264-557-821) and he is second in PIM at 1,237 to Torrie Robertson’s 1,368. and met his wife here and their kids were born here. When he was in Portland, where he spent six years as the team's head coach, the players there spoke highly of his motivational value and willingness to work with younger players and incorporate new ideas. Give him some good new younger assistant coaches seeking to patch the holes in the Wolf Pack ship, and get some energy in the locker room, and maybe jump start the non-existent marketing of this team with that big smile and love of Hartford from Dineen. It’s worth a shot. QMHL DRAFT From a CT point of view Selects Academy of South Kent Prep school was the big winner with eight players selected at the QMJHL Draft last Saturday in Quebec City. The first part is an open-ended draft and there is a second American only draft where three of the eight were taken. Oscar Plandowski was the first taken in the 1st round (18th overall) by the Chicoutimi Sagueneens. He is a Quinnipiac University (ECACHL) commit for 2020-21. Cam MacDonald was taken in the 3rd round (51st overall) by the Saint John Sea Dogs. He is scheduled to play for the Sioux City Stampede (USHL) next season but has no current college commit. Ryan Greene was taken in the 4th round (59th overall) by the Charlottetown Islanders. Greene is a Boston University (HE) commit for 2021-22. Eli Barnett went in the 11th round (188th overall) by the Quebec Remparts and is a University Vermont (HE) 2021-22 commit. Cam Miranda went in the 12th round (200th overall) by Saint John and has no college commit. There had to be some silence when in the 5th round (74th overall) selection was announced…Robert Orr by Saint John. No relation to the great Robert Gordon Orr #4 in Boston. The second overall pick of the draft, Justin Robidas, by the Val d'Or Foreurs, is the son of former NHL’er, Stephane Robidas. The only other NHL/AHL father/son combo was Zack Morrissette, the son of Dave “Moose” Morrissette was taken in the 3rd round (53rd overall) by his hometown team, Baie Comeau. In the American-only portion of the draft, a familiar name was a high selection in Ryan St. Louis (Riverside/Brunswick Prep) was taken in the first round (5th overall) by the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada. He is the eldest son of former Rangers and recent NHL Hall of Fame inductee, Martin St. Louis, and is a Northeastern (HE) 2021-22 commit. Jack Kurrie, another Selects Academy at South Kent Prep product was taken in the 1st round (9th overall) by the Sherbrooke Phoenix. Kurrie a Vermont native is a commit to University Vermont (HE) for 2022-23. Two picks later he saw his teammate Jake Bongo (Ridgefield) selected by the Chicoutimi Sagueneens. Then 1st round (13th overall) pick was John P. Turner (Westport/Avon Old Farms) by the Charlottetown (PEI) Islanders. He was also taken by Sioux City (USHL) 6th round (89th overall) in April and is a University New Hampshire (HE) commit for 2021-22 Goalie, Jake Fillion from the Connecticut Chiefs (Newington) U-16 team in the AYHL (Atlantic Youth Hockey League) was taken in the 1st round (15th overall) by the Baie-Comeau Drakkar who just hired a new head coach. Then in the 1st round (16th overall) Paul Davey (Greenwich/Brunswick Prep) was taken by the Memorial Cup finalist Halifax Mooseheads. He is a Boston College (HE) 2021-22 commit. The next pick saw Oliver Flynn (Wolcott) of the Connecticut Chiefs U-16 team taken by the Drummondville Voltigeurs. He was also taken by Waterloo Black Hawks (USHL) 6th round (89th overall) in April. Then in the 2nd round (23rd overall) Matt McGroarty (Westport/Brunswick Prep) was taken by Blaineville-Boisbrand and was selected by Madison (USHL) in their draft two months ago. He is a Quinnipiac University (ECACHL) 2021-22 commit. Then in the 2nd round (26th overall) Casey Raffone (Guilford) the last of the Selects Academy at South Kent Prep players was taken by the Quebec Remparts. Then in the 2nd round (34th overall), Luke Holyfield (Cromwell) of the Connecticut Chiefs U-16 squad was taken by Cape Breton Screaming Eagles. The last players taken went in the 2nd round (36th overall) in Matt Samokevich (Newtown) by the newly-crowned Memorial Cup champion, Rouyn Noranda Huskies. He played this year for nationally-renowned Shattuck’s St. Mary’s program (MNPREP) and few games for the Chicago Steel (USHL) who drafted him in 2018 in the 4th round (63rd overall) and is a University Michigan (Big 10) commit in 2020-21. POOLSIDE CHATTER With hockey playing in North America and Europe completed everybody is undefeated and now the business of hockey 2019-20 takes center stage with first the NHL Awards in Las Vegas on the 19th, then the NHL Draft in Vancouver June 21-22, free agent frenzy on July 1st for the NHL and AHL. Rumblings from the West Coast say that Calgary is likely to move their AHL farm from Stockton after next season and a possible location will be Fresno, a onetime ECHL market. The issue isn’t the building or the fans they like both very much, but the gang violence in Stockton is considered a bad environment for the players and team staff alike. Any possible changes however will wait until Seattle makes its selection for its AHL team. The same Western source says that Palm Springs is a possible location for an AHL team for expansion Seattle. It's not a fantasy and that there is plenty of serious talk going on. The potential team would be centrally located for the Pacific Division for Ontario and San Diego. Easy short, inexpensive flights to the Northern California teams and direct flights to Tucson and Colorado, two other Pacific Division teams. Keeping the rink viable in the desert in the heat will be an issue, but Arizona and Las Vegas are not Edmonton both in desert climates have rinks and there is an ice rink in Abu Dhabi, and it gets crazy hot there and Palm Springs, maybe it can work. Rejected the first team suggested name - The Palm Beach Conquistadors. Yes, resurrecting the old ABA name from the San Diego franchise would be great and make a superb logo for merch sales… The AHL could see that team in two years, a truly universal homogenized schedule of 70 or 72 games than the present 76-68 East-West split which everyone agrees is not very professional for the second best league in the world. The key is whether the teams in the East particularly teams like Hershey, Cleveland and Grand Rapids would give up two lucrative home dates will likely have to be compensated in some other manner and the West wants no three in three-game structure a deal. This could allow for a compromise and a deal to be struck and once the new Seattle team is finalized. Staying out West, some early word is that an initial sketch of an NCAA Division I Western conference is taking shape with Arizona State currently, and, independent D-I program being the first school. The Sun Devils are starting to break ground on their brand new on-campus arena that is expected to be ready by the 2021. Some of the schools being bandied about for such a conference are; USC, UCLA, University of Oregon, University of Washington, Boise State and Stanford. There could be some wild cards in that mix, possibly UNLV, Portland State, or Montana. Players are not the issue, it’s the lack of a conference. Once all the details are worked out, like rinks and leases, travel, NCAA compliance issues and regulations for a conference this is going to be another shot in the arm for hockey out West on the heels of Seattle being awarded an NHL expansion franchise. Speaking of Seattle, the price tag for the renovations for the KeyArena (which will be renamed with a new title sponsor upon reopening) have seen their costs ballooned already to $930 million (take note CT residents) from its original $600 million initial price tag back in October. The completion date has moved to the summer of 2021, four months before their first NHL season is slated to start in 2021-22. The work has also begun on its brand new training facility that is said to be state of the art and will hopefully meet any new requirements in the next NHL CBA agreement as well as the current one. Here is an update from KING-TV Channel 5 in Seattle; Watch it HERE. The name Sockeyes might be one of the finalists for a team name as a logo with salmon colors (thank God no black) is circulating. I’m still partial to Sea Lions and I think a great mascot name, Sammy the Sea Lion could emerge. Seattle has trademarked 13 possible names and Sockeyes and Sea Lions are among them. Closer to home the Islander new arena at Belmont Park is awaiting three final approvals before putting the shovels in the ground. The Empire State Development, the Franchise Oversight Board and Public Authority Central Board are slated to sign off on the deal in the next 60 days so the 18,000 seat arena can be built by the 2022 season. Read the full article

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CANTLON: HOCKEY OFF-SEASON NEWS & NOTES VOLUME 21

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings HARTFORD, CT - With the first round of the NHL playoffs on the verge of completion, there is news from all over the globe with the sport still making news. AHL ALL-STAR GAME The AHL has moved the All-Star Classic out of 2021 and ahead to 2022. They kept the game in Laval at the Place Bell just outside of Montreal. “The All-Star Classic is a signature event of the American Hockey League, and although the decision to postpone it was difficult, it was unfortunately unavoidable given the exceptional circumstances we are currently going through. However, the organization is very excited to know that this is only a postponement and that Laval will still welcome the best players in the AHL during the 2021-22 season. "Place Bell remains the perfect place to host an event of this magnitude. We are very grateful to our fans for their loyalty during this difficult time. We also want to thank the American Hockey League for their trust throughout this process,” said Groupe CH Executive Vice-President and Chief Commercial Officer, France-Margaret Bélanger. "While we are disappointed that we will not be able to hold our All-Star Classic festivities in 2021, we look forward to continuing the work that is already underway with the Rocket organization and are excited to have the city of Laval and Place Bell host the AHL’s annual showcase event in 2022," said American Hockey League President and CEO Scott Howson in a joint public statement. Read the full article