First up is Dylan McIlrath will find out who his new coach in Moose Jaw will be on Wednesday as the Warriors have scheduled a press conference.
Stick Tap to Taking Note as it appears Mike Strothers will be named as the new coach. Strothers is a former NHLer who last season was an assistant coach for the Atlanta Thrashers.
Call it a good move for Dylan to have someone with current NHL coaching experience help with his development.
The same blog post reported that former Hartford Wolfpack coach Ryan McGill will be taking over as the head coach of the Regina Pats. McGill is returning to the WHL after working for the Wolfpack and Calgary Flames.
It was McGill who coached the Kootenay Ice and developed a then 16 year old Danny Blackburn into a Top 10 pick for the Rangers. Good move by Regina who has struggled in recent years.
Speaking of the Calgary Flames; they could not sign Tim Erixon in the 2 years they held his rights and the Rangers came away 1 top flight defensive prospect richer. The Flames made sure that they got their 2011 first round pick Sven Bartschi sgned in just 15 days.
Got to toss a plug in here for Bruce Berlet who handles the CT Whale coverage for the Whale website as well as the Blueshirt Bulletin. Nothing against anyone else who covers the Whale but Berlet was covering the Wolfpack/Whale when they actually used typewriters.
Seriously Berlet is as close to the Whale franchise as you can get so make sure you check his information first on what is happening with the Whale.
Kelly Friesen of the Buzzing The Net crew previews the top WHL prospects for the 2012 NHL Draft. The reason why we want to mention it is because of Portland Winterhawk Brendan Leipsic
Leipsic grabbed the attention of scouts at the under-17 championship in Manitoba, scoring two goals and five points in five games. The 5-foot-8, 155 pound centre has continued to impress as a speedster with outstanding hockey sense. This style of play has received comparisons to Oil Kings' Michael St. Croix ( Rangers 106 pick in 2011) and Ice's Cody Eakin (Capitals 85 pick in 2009).
Using St. Croix as a comparison is a good one but we prefer Ryan Callahan for ours. Leipsic is 100% heart and soul who if he was 6'2 would looked at as a first round pick.
He was only 16 last season so if he grows a could of inches more then write his name down for next year's draft.
He gave the local paper an interview which we have translated for you. In case you forgot the Petes are coached by former Ranger Assistant Mike Pelino.
The Rangers may have a found themselves a very nice steal of a pick as remember they traded next year's 6th rounder in order to be able to select Ceresnak. We have been told the main reason the Rangers picked him was because Ceresnak wanted to come to North America.
The Petes in turn used the 4th overall pick in the CHL Import Draft on Ceresnak and this move is win-win for the Rangers, Petes and Ceresnak. Cannot wait to see the 6'3 200 lb defender play as the skinny on him is that he is a suspect in skating.
I can name a dozen prospects who needed help with their skating when they were drafted and improved enough to become NHL players. The Rangers might as well make Barb Underwood a full time member of the Ranger staff with as much work as they have sent her way.
In case anyone wonders, every Ranger who has worked with Underwood sings her praises as a teacher.
(Ceresnak courtesy of the Peterborough Petes)
No comments:
Post a Comment