Congratulations to Kelowna Rockets forward Colin Long.
Despite failing to hear his name called last month at the NHL draft, the 'Kid from California' is getting a taste of the NHL after all.
Long has been invited to the LA Kings summer evaluation camp this week. Long will be joining the likes of Jack Johnson, the Kings number one pick from the 2006 draft, along with Oscar Moller (Chilliwack) and Thomas Hickey (Seattle). Does Long have pressure to perform? In a sense he has nothing to lose, but sure he has some weight on his shoulders. If he can leave a positive impression, return to Kelowna, put up some solid numbers, anything can happen.
Let's don't get to far ahead of ourselves, but a former Rocket by the name of Josh Gorges was never drafted, was a bit on the smallish side as a junior, but the San Jose Sharks liked him enough to sign the d-man to a NHL contract.
This experience will only help Long , as he returns for his 3rd season with the Rockets this season. While it's technically his third in K-Town, I consider it his second or sophomore season. Long's rookie campaign saw him play in less than 21 games, because of mono.
My gut tells me Colin Long is a late bloomer, and we will really see what he's made of this season.
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It looks like Kristofer Westblom's affiliation with the Minnesota Wild is officially over.
The Wild informed 'Westy' last week they will not invited him to training camp this fall on a tryout. Earlier on this blog I spoke to Tommy Thompson (Director of Player Personnel) of the Wild, who said the team was genuinely interested in having him at camp, despite failing to sign the Meadow Lake product to a contract by June 1st.
The Wild signed Josh Harding today, which gives you the feeling he is indeed the goaltender of the future for that organization.
Westblom is now open to offers for a free-agent tryout. Stay tuned!
I spoke to Westblom today, as he arrived back in Kelowna after spending time back home celebrating his grandpa's 96th birthday. It's an event Westblom wouldn't miss, because he's just that kind of a guy.
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I failed to mention in this blog that Clayton Barthel also participated in Sunday's Rockets alumni hockey game.
Even Darren Deschamps was on the ice. The likable Calgarian is playing senior hockey in Cow-Town with of all people, Liam Couture's dad. Remember though, Liam's dad is a former WHL alumni who can still wheel and deal.
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I found it interesting that this blog even made it on the Nashville Predators message board. It was relating to news about Vernon Fiddler's baby. No word on the former Rockets status on whether he can be called 'Daddy' yet? Fiddler recently held the "Fiddler Fights Cancer'' golf tournament in Edmonton and raised between $30,000 and $40,000 for cancer research. Joining Fiddler as tournament sponsors were Nashville's Jordin Tootoo, Philadelphia's Scottie Upshall and Joffrey Lupul, and Jason Chimera of Columbus.
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Gregg Drinnan is reporting on his blog www.gdrinnan.blogspot.com that Jeff Finley may be the new assistant coach of the Rockets, if Ryan Huska gets the top job.
Finley is a former NHL defenseman, and has a link to the Okanagan. Finley is an instructor this summer at the Okanagan Hockey School.
So if we are throwing around names of potential assistant coaches, why not Ryan Cuthbert? Cuthbert is arguably the best leader the organization has ever had, was a coach with the Kelowna midgets until the program folded, and has the respect of everyone he meets. Cuthbert may be young, but so are many assistant coaches in the WHL. Look down the road in Kamloops, where good friend Andy Milne is sharing the bench with Dean Clark and the Kamloops Blazers.
Cuthbert just turned 25 in April and makes Kelowna his home year-round.
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Remember Lane Lambert? The former coach of the Prince George Cougars is moving up the ranks.
Lambert today was named the new head coach of the American Hockey League's Milwaukee Admirals. Milwaukee is the farm team of the Nashville Predators.
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I found this interesting from a radio broadcasting perspective. It is from the Tennessean in Nashville:
Nashville Predators fans will once again listen to Pete Weber and Terry Crisp on both radio and television broadcasts this coming season.
Last season the franchise had separate broadcast teams for radio and television for the first time. Veteran sportscaster Eli Gold handled play-by-play duties on radio, joined most often by former Predators player Jim McKenzie. But Predators spokesman Gerry Helper said having separate broadcast teams didn't generate enough additional revenue to offset the cost of two additional broadcasters.
"When we made the decision to go with two teams last year, we wanted to see if it made a big ratings difference or if we were able to generate additional revenue that way,'' Helper said.
"We viewed it as two properties, where we could maximize selling on both radio and television. But at the end of the season, I don't think we found that we were able to generate the additional revenue that went along with the extra costs (of a second team).''
Helper praised the work of Gold and said it's possible the franchise could revisit the idea of using separate radio and television teams in the future.
"This is clearly not any reflection on Eli,'' Helper said. "He was a great addition for the organization and the feedback we got was that people really enjoyed his broadcasts.''
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