A few weeks after announcing the participating teams for the 2010-11 season, the Central and International Hockey Leagues revealed yesterday that the Evansville IceMen will also be a part of their merger.
The IceMen are the 18th team announced for the 2010-11 campaign.
With that bit of CHL news, I leave you in the hands of the league's other beat writers, whose blogs you can follow at the following locations:
Adam Dunivan on the Colorado Eagles
Brian Sandalow on the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees
Justin Cohn on the Fort Wayne Komets
Sorry for any the list is missing; I need to get home and finish packing.
Thanks for your kind words about my departure, and thanks to all of you who have read my blog, whether it was a regular thing for you or not.
I don't know if this blog will stay alive, as most other LMT blogs moved to Word Press recently, but hopefully there will be a blog about the Bucks for the upcoming campaign.
And if I get back into hockey writing, I'll be sure to let you know.
Thanks again!
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Monday, June 21, 2010
Bucks Players Win S.A. Tournament
Bucks players and staff members competed in the Alamo City Classic in San Antonio this week, winning the tournament for the second straight year.
This year, the team went by the name of "Laredo Spicy Peppers" and competed to help raise money for Real Life Therapeutic Center.
Jerseys from the tournament will be auctioned on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Bucket's Bar & Grill on McPherson, and proceeds will benefit that charity.
This year's team consisted of "current" Bucks Igor Agarunov, Jeff Bes, Paul Elliott and Adam Rivet; former Bucks players Serge Dube, James Hiebert and Steve Weidlich; majority owner Glenn Hart and equipment manager Matt Brayfield.
Bryan Benway and Beto Olivares coached the team, and Bobby Moore was the team trainer.
The Bucks organization has not announced the re-signing of any of the players who competed in the tournament, but has made public the returns of goaltender Pier-Olivier Pelletier and defenseman Ryan Lehr, whose re-signing I mentioned on here last Friday.
My story in Saturday's paper had more information on Lehr's return, including Coach Ruskowski's thoughts on his play in Laredo during the 2009-10 season, and also a few updates on the general recruiting situation.
Three signings have been announced thus far, and only one - rookie defenseman Mike Scanlon - is a player coming to Laredo from outside of the organization, so I was wondering if Ruskowski plans to bring back more players for the 2010-11 campaign than he did last time around.
He said he is still not entirely sure what the number of re-signing players will be, but gave "four, five, six, or maybe seven" as a rough estimate.
Ruskowski also opened up a bit more about his pursuit of former Corpus Christi IceRays, as the Central Hockey League is no longer asking coaches/general managers to keep quiet about those who became free agents when Corpus left for the North American Hockey League.
Ruskowski said he was talking to former IceRays captain Justin Quenneville prior to the forward's decision to retire and become assistant coach for the NAHL team, and that he was also in talks with another player who he said has chosen to go to the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees instead.
Only one former IceRay is still on his radar, and though he didn't name names, he did say this player is an "All-Star defenseman" who would be going back to Corpus after visiting his family in Canada.
Back to Lehr, though, here is some of what Ruskowski had to say about him:
"I liked his size and his skating, he has a good shot, and he passes well. Once he gets into the rhythym of being a pro rather than in college, he’s really going to be a strong player. He hits, he has that toughness, he can shoot, and he’s going to get nothing but better.
"If he wants to be successful, he’s going to have to play that tough, aggressive, physical game and take shots on net when he gets them. I liked what I saw, and with more ice time, he’s going to become even better."
Obviously, Ruskowski sees a lot of potential in the young blueliner, and he also noted Lehr's willingness to shoot from the point - and the fact that he has a right-handed shot - as great assets in a defenseman.
"If you saw the NHL playoffs, you know that 85-90 percent of their scoring chances were started by shots from the point that led to rebounds or deflections," he said. "Those chances are very important. With teams playing so well down low, you have to create things from the point."
On a completely unrelated note, I guess it's about time to mention that Wednesday is my last day at the Laredo Morning Times.
I have really enjoyed covering the Bucks for the past three seasons, and my blog has been one of my favorite parts of this job, so I hope that all of you have enjoyed it, as well.
The paper is currently in the process of hiring my replacement, and either that person or former Bucks beat writer Nino Cardenas will cover the team next season.
I don't think there will be much more news in the next couple days, but I will blog at least once more before I leave.
This year, the team went by the name of "Laredo Spicy Peppers" and competed to help raise money for Real Life Therapeutic Center.
Jerseys from the tournament will be auctioned on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Bucket's Bar & Grill on McPherson, and proceeds will benefit that charity.
This year's team consisted of "current" Bucks Igor Agarunov, Jeff Bes, Paul Elliott and Adam Rivet; former Bucks players Serge Dube, James Hiebert and Steve Weidlich; majority owner Glenn Hart and equipment manager Matt Brayfield.
Bryan Benway and Beto Olivares coached the team, and Bobby Moore was the team trainer.
The Bucks organization has not announced the re-signing of any of the players who competed in the tournament, but has made public the returns of goaltender Pier-Olivier Pelletier and defenseman Ryan Lehr, whose re-signing I mentioned on here last Friday.
My story in Saturday's paper had more information on Lehr's return, including Coach Ruskowski's thoughts on his play in Laredo during the 2009-10 season, and also a few updates on the general recruiting situation.
Three signings have been announced thus far, and only one - rookie defenseman Mike Scanlon - is a player coming to Laredo from outside of the organization, so I was wondering if Ruskowski plans to bring back more players for the 2010-11 campaign than he did last time around.
He said he is still not entirely sure what the number of re-signing players will be, but gave "four, five, six, or maybe seven" as a rough estimate.
Ruskowski also opened up a bit more about his pursuit of former Corpus Christi IceRays, as the Central Hockey League is no longer asking coaches/general managers to keep quiet about those who became free agents when Corpus left for the North American Hockey League.
Ruskowski said he was talking to former IceRays captain Justin Quenneville prior to the forward's decision to retire and become assistant coach for the NAHL team, and that he was also in talks with another player who he said has chosen to go to the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees instead.
Only one former IceRay is still on his radar, and though he didn't name names, he did say this player is an "All-Star defenseman" who would be going back to Corpus after visiting his family in Canada.
Back to Lehr, though, here is some of what Ruskowski had to say about him:
"I liked his size and his skating, he has a good shot, and he passes well. Once he gets into the rhythym of being a pro rather than in college, he’s really going to be a strong player. He hits, he has that toughness, he can shoot, and he’s going to get nothing but better.
"If he wants to be successful, he’s going to have to play that tough, aggressive, physical game and take shots on net when he gets them. I liked what I saw, and with more ice time, he’s going to become even better."
Obviously, Ruskowski sees a lot of potential in the young blueliner, and he also noted Lehr's willingness to shoot from the point - and the fact that he has a right-handed shot - as great assets in a defenseman.
"If you saw the NHL playoffs, you know that 85-90 percent of their scoring chances were started by shots from the point that led to rebounds or deflections," he said. "Those chances are very important. With teams playing so well down low, you have to create things from the point."
On a completely unrelated note, I guess it's about time to mention that Wednesday is my last day at the Laredo Morning Times.
I have really enjoyed covering the Bucks for the past three seasons, and my blog has been one of my favorite parts of this job, so I hope that all of you have enjoyed it, as well.
The paper is currently in the process of hiring my replacement, and either that person or former Bucks beat writer Nino Cardenas will cover the team next season.
I don't think there will be much more news in the next couple days, but I will blog at least once more before I leave.
Friday, June 18, 2010
Bucks Re-Sign Lehr
Sorry I'm so late to post this, but the re-signing announced this morning was defenseman Ryan Lehr, who will return for his second season in Laredo this fall.
Lehr only played 10 regular season games with the Bucks but picked up six points on two goals and four assists in those games. In seven playoff games, he handed out two more helpers.
At 6-foot-2 and over 200 pounds, Lehr brought some of the size and toughness Coach Ruskowski had wanted to the Bucks' defense and proved willing to block shots while also taking quite a few from the point, and not bad ones at that.
Lehr, who just turned 24, did a lot of things Ruskowski hoped his older defensemen would do this season and didn't get from them, so it's not much of a surprise to see him return.
I still haven't gotten to call Ruskowski today, but I will as soon as possible, so you can read his thoughts about Lehr and the group he is putting together to play next season in my story in tomorrow's paper.
Lehr only played 10 regular season games with the Bucks but picked up six points on two goals and four assists in those games. In seven playoff games, he handed out two more helpers.
At 6-foot-2 and over 200 pounds, Lehr brought some of the size and toughness Coach Ruskowski had wanted to the Bucks' defense and proved willing to block shots while also taking quite a few from the point, and not bad ones at that.
Lehr, who just turned 24, did a lot of things Ruskowski hoped his older defensemen would do this season and didn't get from them, so it's not much of a surprise to see him return.
I still haven't gotten to call Ruskowski today, but I will as soon as possible, so you can read his thoughts about Lehr and the group he is putting together to play next season in my story in tomorrow's paper.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Scanlon Signing
I just spoke to Coach Ruskowski about the signing of rookie defenseman Derek Scanlon, and, as expected, the fact that the kid was coached by former Bucks captain Brent Cullaton last season definitely didn't hurt his chances of signing with the team.
Ruskowski says he likes what he's heard about Scanlon, likes what he saw from him when he got to see him skate and likes his attitude and what he's pushed himself to accomplish over the summer.
Scanlon was an all-star in the Western States Hockey League last season and put up some impressive stats while serving as an alternate captain for the Boulder Jr. Bison.
As we know because of Cullaton's delay in reporting to the Bucks for the playoffs, the Jr. Bison did very well in their inaugural season, and Scanlon was a big part of that success.
Scanlon scored 18 goals - not bad for a defenseman - and had a team-leading 38 assists for 56 points on the season while accruing 132 penalty minutes.
The WSHL posted a little brief about Scanlon's signing, and though it has yet to be mentioned on the Jr. Bison website, I imagine it will be eventually.
You'll be able to read more about Scanlon, and Ruskowski's thoughts on him, in my story in tomorrow's paper.
On another note, I asked Ruskowski if he could talk about whether or not he had been after Justin Quenneville now that the forward has retired to become the assistant coach of the Northern American Hockey League's Corpus Christi IceRays, and he said that question will have to be answered at a later date because the Central Hockey League had asked coaches and general managers not to talk to former CHL IceRays players until everything about their free agency was finalized.
Speaking of the Quenneville retirement, sorry I didn't mention it sooner, but you can read more about that in several posts on Greg Rajan's blog and in his story for the Corpus Christi Caller-Times.
Ruskowski says he likes what he's heard about Scanlon, likes what he saw from him when he got to see him skate and likes his attitude and what he's pushed himself to accomplish over the summer.
Scanlon was an all-star in the Western States Hockey League last season and put up some impressive stats while serving as an alternate captain for the Boulder Jr. Bison.
As we know because of Cullaton's delay in reporting to the Bucks for the playoffs, the Jr. Bison did very well in their inaugural season, and Scanlon was a big part of that success.
Scanlon scored 18 goals - not bad for a defenseman - and had a team-leading 38 assists for 56 points on the season while accruing 132 penalty minutes.
The WSHL posted a little brief about Scanlon's signing, and though it has yet to be mentioned on the Jr. Bison website, I imagine it will be eventually.
You'll be able to read more about Scanlon, and Ruskowski's thoughts on him, in my story in tomorrow's paper.
On another note, I asked Ruskowski if he could talk about whether or not he had been after Justin Quenneville now that the forward has retired to become the assistant coach of the Northern American Hockey League's Corpus Christi IceRays, and he said that question will have to be answered at a later date because the Central Hockey League had asked coaches and general managers not to talk to former CHL IceRays players until everything about their free agency was finalized.
Speaking of the Quenneville retirement, sorry I didn't mention it sooner, but you can read more about that in several posts on Greg Rajan's blog and in his story for the Corpus Christi Caller-Times.
CHL Announces 2010-11 Teams
After a lot of speculation, the Central Hockey League has finally officially officially announced the teams who will compete during the 2010-11 season.
Here are the key paragraphs from that press release:
Although some material matters still remain to be worked out with the International Hockey League (IHL), the CHL will welcome four teams from the IHL who will join 13 returning CHL teams for the 2010-11 season. The participating teams will compete in two conferences during the season. The four existing IHL markets will be the three-time defending Turner Cup Champion Fort Wayne Komets, the Bloomington PrairieThunder, the Dayton Gems and the Quad City Mallards.
The returning CHL teams for the 2010-11 season are the Allen Americans, Arizona Sundogs, Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs, Colorado Eagles, Laredo Bucks, Mississippi RiverKings, Missouri Mavericks, Odessa Jackalopes, Rapid City Rush, Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees, Texas Brahmas, Tulsa Oilers and Wichita Thunder.
Announcements regarding playoff format, conference alignment, additional cities for the 2010-11 season and other team related issues will be made in the very near future and the 2010-11 CHL regular season schedule is slated to be released in July.
I'm a bit perplexed by the "additional cities for the 2010-11 season" when the press release says this is the full list of teams who will participate, but, as with all of this, I'll guess we'll see what happens.
Here are the key paragraphs from that press release:
Although some material matters still remain to be worked out with the International Hockey League (IHL), the CHL will welcome four teams from the IHL who will join 13 returning CHL teams for the 2010-11 season. The participating teams will compete in two conferences during the season. The four existing IHL markets will be the three-time defending Turner Cup Champion Fort Wayne Komets, the Bloomington PrairieThunder, the Dayton Gems and the Quad City Mallards.
The returning CHL teams for the 2010-11 season are the Allen Americans, Arizona Sundogs, Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs, Colorado Eagles, Laredo Bucks, Mississippi RiverKings, Missouri Mavericks, Odessa Jackalopes, Rapid City Rush, Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees, Texas Brahmas, Tulsa Oilers and Wichita Thunder.
Announcements regarding playoff format, conference alignment, additional cities for the 2010-11 season and other team related issues will be made in the very near future and the 2010-11 CHL regular season schedule is slated to be released in July.
I'm a bit perplexed by the "additional cities for the 2010-11 season" when the press release says this is the full list of teams who will participate, but, as with all of this, I'll guess we'll see what happens.
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