Leaving Town

It seems the rumors about Steve Simoes are rumors no more.

From EuroHockey.net:





LNAH, which translates into North American Hockey League, is a low-level professional league that just so happens to be based in Quebec, which is where Simoes was born and raised. It was rumored that his recent engagement to his girlfriend Amanda would be bringing him back up to Canada, and now it looks like that will definitely be the case.

Other 2007-08 Bucks rumored to be leaving the States for the upcoming season include Rookie of the Year finalist Andrew Desjardins, forward Chris Korchinski and goaltender Dustin Traylen, who are all expected to look for work in Europe.

"Left wing"/enforcer Alex Penner has also left Laredo, but will still be in the States next season, playing for the Johnstown (Pennsylvania) Chiefs of the East Coast Hockey League. He signed with the team earlier this month, as stated on the website of his management agency, Uptown Sports.

Some More Signings

The Rapid City Rush added another forward today by signing veteran Chris Lipsett.

In other signing news, the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs have revealed their first official player for the 2008-09 season by announcing the re-signing of left wing Joe Ori.

You can find a full list of off-season signings and transactions here.

I'm sure everyone is wondering when the Bucks will start announcing some signings of their own, but you will have to wait a little bit longer for that.

Media relations/broadcasting director Bryan Benway is home in upstate New York until Monday, then some of the obvious re-signings should start coming through.

Coach/general manager Terry Ruskowski has been sending out contracts to some new guys, but those transactions will probably not be revealed until later in the summer.

Return of the IceRays

It was a long time coming, and something I think the fans were hoping to see, but the Corpus Christi franchise revealed today that the team will be re-adopting its IceRays moniker of years past. The logo is basically the same as the previous Ice Rays' logo, but with a very different color combination. It can be seen here.

Tuesday's Happenings

Melrose was in fact introduced as the Lightning's new head coach on Tuesday. I know it was a very expected event, but it was still nice to see. Was it just me, or did he look 10 years younger at that press conference than he has in all his time at ESPN? Maybe it's that studio lighting...

Greg Rajan has word that the Corpus Christi Rayz will be holding a press conference tomorrow (okay, later today) to announce some news about the team's name and logo. Everyone is expecting a return to the "Ice Rays" moniker the team went by from its inception in 1997 until the change to "Rayz" in 2003.

The Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees are pitching in to help raise money for injured Colorado Eagles defenseman Les Borsheim's family to help pay medical bills by holding an online auction, which can be found here. The team announced these efforts in a letter to fans from recently re-signed left wing Rob Voltera. I'm a sap for sure, but I think he had some great things to say.

NYTimes.com has been my home page ever since I was instructed to make it so in my freshman communications class, and today there were two stories of interest to make the front page, albeit for very brief periods.

The first, a piece about the Austin Ice Bats, is probably more relevant to this blog...but I think most people reading it can also relate to the second, which details the rise in border crossings due to Mexico's lower gas prices.

Melrose Appears Bolt-Bound

It's been known for a while that ESPN hockey analyst Barry Melrose (a former NHL player and coach) was the top candidate for the Tampa Bay Lightning's head coaching position, and now ESPN.com is reporting that his hiring is official. A press conference to make the announcement public is expected tomorrow.

News and Notes

The new ownership of the Corpus Christi Rayz is apparently going to be proactive in trying to keep the team afloat. Greg Rajan has news of reduced ticket prices for the upcoming season.

Meanwhile, back in Laredo, the Bucks players who stuck around for the summer have been out and about keeping up with the community. Last week, they visited J.C. Martin Elementary to speak to an assembly of students about the importance of a good education. This Thursday, Igor Agarunov, Jeff Bes and Adam Rivet will be at the Jack in the Box at 5002 Saunders Road signing autographs to help the branch celebrate a national promotional giveaway.

Bees Re-Sign Voltera

The Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees announced earlier today that they have re-signed left wing Rob Voltera for the upcoming season, which will be his third with the team.

Brian Sandalow has the story for The Monitor.

Rage Re-Sign Butler

The Rocky Mountain Rage re-signed All-Star defenseman Tyler Butler yesterday. Butler broke all three Rocky Mountain defensive scoring records last season and was the fifth-leading scorer among defenseman in the league. He is the first official signing for the Rage for the upcoming 2008-09 campaign.

Today's Story

My story about Ruskowski's recruiting plans for this summer is in today's Times.

Coach made it very clear that he will be focusing a bit more on goaltending and speed this season than he may have in previous years. He commented on Miguel Beaudry going to the Rush (apparently, Laredo was very interested) and the fact that he doesn't want to see these new interference rules ruin the toughness of the game.

You can read the story here, and I'll post some stuff that didn't make it to print later on, including his thoughts on the Bucks' new divisional rival and a few of the announcements the league made earlier this week.

Yesterday's Trades

In following the draft yesterday, I forgot to mention the trades that accompanied it. As can be expected, there were quite a few. Here's the rundown of yesterday's big ones:

Calgary Flames - Acquired center Mike Cammalleri from the Los Angeles Kings for their 2008 first-round draft pick.

Columbus Blue Jackets - Acquired forward R.J. Umberger and a 2008 fourth-round draft pick from Philadelphia for their 2008 first-round and third-round draft picks.

Montreal Canadiens - Acquired forward Alex Tanguay and a 2008 fifth-round draft pick from the Calgary Flames for their 2008 first-round draft pick and a 2009 second-round draft pick.

Phoenix Coyotes - Traded defensemen Keith Ballard and Nick Boynton and a 2008 second-round draft pick to Florida for C Olli Jokinen.

St. Louis Blues - Acquired goaltender Chris Mason from the Nashville Stars for a 2008 fourth-round draft pick.

Toronto Maple Leafs - Acquired forward Jamal Mayers from the St. Louis Blues for a 2008 third-round draft pick.

Here is a more comprehensive list.

Obviously I won't be able to keep up with the NHL so much once everything with the Bucks takes off. But for now, why not?

NHL Draft, Etc...

In a not-so-shocking move, the Tampa Bay Lightning selected 18-year-old center Steven Samkos with the first pick in this year's NHL draft. I'm feeling older and older every day...

Pittsburgh Penguins center Evgeni Malkin stole a bit of the draft's thunder when it was announced earlier today that the new Continental League in Russia (Malkin's home country) would make him the highest-paid hockey player in the world if he became a part of its inaugural season. Some reports have said he's not interested in a return to Russia, but $12.5 million of tax-free income per year might be hard to resist...

Anyway, here are the rest of the first-round picks:

No. 2 - Los Angeles Kings - defenseman Drew Doughty
No. 3 - Atlanta Thrashers - defenseman Zach Bogosian
No. 4 - St. Louis Blues - defenseman Alex Pietrangelo
No. 5 - Toronto Maple Leafs (from New York Islanders) - defenseman Luke Schenn
No. 6 - Columbus Blue Jackets - forward Nikita Filatov
No. 7 - Nashville Predators - (from Toronto Maple Leafs) - forward Colin Wilson (a fellow Terrier, though he only stuck around for a year)
No. 8 - Phoenix Coyotes - right wing Mikkel Boedker
No. 9 - New York Islanders (from Florida Panthers) - center Joshua Bailey
No. 10 - Vancouver Canucks - center Cody Hodgson
No. 11 - Chicago Blackhawks - center Kyle Beach
No. 12 - Buffalo Sabres (from Edmonton Oilers) - defenseman Tyler Myers (born in Houston)
No. 13 - Los Angeles Kings (from Buffalo Sabres) - defenseman Colten Teubert
No. 14 - Carolina Panthers - center Zach Boychuk
No. 15 - Ottawa Senators (from Nashville Predators) - defenseman Erik Karlsson
No. 16 - Boston Bruins - center Joe Colborne
No. 17 - Anaheim Ducks (from Calgary Flames) - defenseman Jake Gardiner
No. 18 - Nashville Predators (from Ottawa Senators) - goaltender Chet Pickard (first goalie)
No. 19 - Philadelphia Flyers (from Colorado Avalanche) - defenseman Luca Sbisa
No. 20 - New York Rangers - defenseman Michael Del Zotto
No. 21 - Washington Capitals (from New Jersey Devils) - center Anton Gustafsson
No. 22 - Edmonton Oilers (from Anaheim Ducks) - center Jordan Eberle
No. 23 - Minnesota Wild (from Washington Capitals) - defenseman Tyler Cuma
No. 24 - New Jersey Devils (from Minnesota Wild) - left wing Mattias Tedenby
No. 25 - Calgary Flames (from Montreal Canadiens) - center Greg Nemisz
No. 26 - Buffalo Sabres (from San Jose Sharks) - center Tyler Ennis
No. 27 - Washington Capitals (from Philadelphia Flyers) - defenseman John Carlson
No. 28 - Phoenix Coyotes (from Dallas Stars) - winger Viktor Tikhonov
No. 29 - Atlanta Thrashers (from Pittsburgh Penguins) - center Daultan Leveille
No. 30 - Detroit Red Wings - goaltender Thomas McCollum

All in all, there were 12 centers, 12 defensemen, four wingers and two goalies to go in the first round. Seventeen picks were born in Canada, six in America, three in Sweden, two in Russia and one apiece in Denmark and Switzerland. The oldest was Tikhonov at 20 years, one month and eight days, while Leveille is the youngest and won't be 18 until August 10.

The draft will pick up again tomorrow, starting with the second round. You can find the full results here.

New Assistant for Arizona

Arizona Sundogs defenseman Dan Laperriere, who served as the team's player/assistant coach for its 2007-08 championship season, has retired from playing hockey but will stick around behind the bench for Arizona's title defense campaign.

Laperriere joins head coach/general manager Marco Pietroniro, whose contract was extended through the 2010-11 season after he led the Sundogs to their President's Cup Finals victory in his second season with the team, on Arizona's coaching staff.

Sundogs' co-owner Eric Lacroix, a former NHL left wing, had previously served in the assistant coach position, but if the team's coach listing on its official website is any indication, those days are done.

Catching Up With Coach

I've been trying to keep up with everything related to the Bucks by talking to Coach Ruskowski on a weekly basis, and Wednesday was that day this week. We chatted about everything from fantasy baseball, to recruiting to the effects he expects from the changes the league has made to interference rules.

There will be a story in tomorrow's Times about the hockey-related comments and his plans for the summer.

Lots of League News

The CHL has unveiled a new "brand slogan," dubbing itself the "Center of Hockey." The logo can be seen here.


Brent Bilodeau has been introduced as the head coach of the Wichita Thunder for the upcoming season. In 2007-08, the Wichita finished with the second-worst record in the league (20-42-2, 42 points), leaving the team in last place in the Northern Conference. The Thunder fired head coach Mark French after the team's 4-13 start start to the season, leaving assistant Rob Weingartner as Wichita's interim leader. Weingartner was one of the candidates for this season's head coaching job, but the Thunder have opted to put their fate in the hands of Bilodeau, a retired defenseman who spent the last three seasons as an assistant coach for the ECHL's Las Vegas Wranglers.

In player signings news, the New Mexico Scorpions are bringing back forward Chris Robertson for his third season with the team, while the Oklahoma City Blazers have re-signed defensemen Stacey Bauman and Justin Sawyer. Each will be in his second season with OKC.

No McRae for Lange's Rayz

It seems Tim Lange, the new owner of the Corpus Christi Rayz, and his GM Pat Dunn have decided not to keep Coach Ken McRae around for the 2008-09 season.

Greg Rajan has the story.

McRae had been the coach of the Rayz for four seasons, leading them to a 106-116-28 record and one playoff appearance.

Lewis named commissioner

Duane Lewis, who has been the CHL's Vice President of Operations since May 2001 and served as an interim leader for the 2007-08 season, has officially been named commissioner of the league.

You can read more about that decision and Lewis's background here.

Officiating Supervisor Headed to the Hall

Former NHL linesman and current CHL Officiating Supervisor Ray Scapinello will be among the 2008 inductees into the Hockey Hall of Fame. The induction ceremony will be held November 10 in Toronto.

You can read the fully story on Scapinello's induction here.

The other inductees for 2008 are center Igor Larionov (one of the first players to come to the NHL from the former Soviet Union, one of the greatest passers of all time and winner of three Stanley Cup titles), Edmonton Oilers great Glenn Anderson (a right wing who won six Stanley Cups - five with Edmonton and one with the New York Rangers) and the recently deceased Ed Chynoweth (former president of the Western Hockey League from 1972-1996 and Canadian Hockey League from 1975-1996 for whom the trophy awarded to the leading scorer at the Memorial Cup is named).

In other league news, the Rapid City Rush has made another signing, getting a man between the pipes in All-Star goaltender Miguel Beaudry, who had played with the Austin Ice Bats from the 2005-06 season until their recent suspension of operations. More on that here.

Conference Recap Story

Sorry this is a bit late, but here's the link to my story in today's paper about the 2008 CHL conference.

The most interesting things to me are the new interference rules and the way the need for a collective bargaining agreement is going to affect the upcoming season.

When I spoke to Bucks owner Glenn Hart, he said it's "anybody's guess" how long it will take for the CBA to be reached, which could mean trouble if an agreement isn't made before the start of the 2008-09 season.

Veteran limit, roster size and changes to some of the league's current trading policies are some of the issues that cannot be discussed until the CBA is agreed upon. For a little bit more information about the Professional Hockey Player's Association, visit their site or read the press release published when the CHL first voted to become a part of the union.

Three owners have been chosen to represent their peers in these negotiations: Former NHL defenseman Dave Ellett (New Mexico Scorpions), Jeff Lund (Tulsa Oilers) and Randy Sanders (Amarillo Gorillas and Austin Ice Bats).

As far as interference goes, both Hart and Bucks director of broadcasting/media relations Bryan Benway said the impression they got is that the league is trying to be more on par with the NHL. Hart said that the 2008 NHL playoffs made people realize "prettier hockey" can be good, too.

It should be interesting to see how this affects the more aggressive clubs in the league for the upcoming season. I'll be talking to Coach Terry Ruskowski tomorrow to find out his take on the situation.

I've been told each team was given a DVD to help everyone get familiarized with the new rules, and I'd love to see it if that's in any way possible. Guess we'll find out.

Les Borsheim

As many of you know, Colorado Eagles forward/defenseman Les Borsheim was severely injured in a motorcycle accident on June 1 just outside of Greeley, Colo.

Borsheim is not expected to play professional hockey ever again, but has been recovering at a steady pace and is no longer in critical condition as he was immediately following the accident.

Loveland Reporter-Herald Eagles beat writer Adam Dunivan has made a few updates about Borsheim's recovery on his blog.

A recovery fund has been started to help Borsheim and his family deal with the costs of his treatment and recovery. For more information or to make a donation, visit the official site of the Les Borsheim Recovery Fund.

2007-08 League Awards

The front office awards for the 2007-08 CHL season were announced at a banquet on Saturday, with the Bucks being named Corporate Sales Franchise of the Year. The Colorado Eagles took the top honor as Franchise of the Year.

Here is the full list of awards announced this weekend:

Ralph Backstrom Soul of Service Award – Kevin McClelland, Mississippi RiverKings
Merchandising Franchise of the Year – Oklahoma City Blazers
Marketing Franchise of the Year – Oklahoma City Blazers
Game Operations Franchise of the Year – Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees
Ticket Sales Executive of the Year - Chris Augusto, Colorado Eagles
Group Ticket Sales Franchise of the Year – Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees
Ticket Sales Franchise of the Year – Colorado Eagles
Community Relations Franchise of the Year – Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees
Broadcaster of the Year – Brian Clark, Rocky Mountain Rage
Communications Executive of the Year – Shane Ferraro, Arizona Sundogs
Corporate Sales Executive of the Year – Gavin Riches, Colorado Eagles
Corporate Sales Franchise of the Year – Laredo Bucks
CHL Leadership Award – Troy Nelson, Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees
CHL Brad Treliving Executive of the Year – Brent Thiessen, Arizona Sundogs
CHL Franchise of the Year – Colorado Eagles

2008-09 CHL News

The league has officially announced that the Texas Brahmas will be the fourth team in the Southeast Division for the upcoming season. There will still be two conferences with two divisions apiece, with the alignment as follows:


NORTHERN CONFERENCE

Northeast Division
Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs
Mississippi RiverKings
Oklahoma City Blazers
Tulsa Oilers

Northwest Division
Colorado Eagles
Rapid City Rush (expansion franchise)
Rocky Mountain Rage
Wichita Thunder

SOUTHERN CONFERENCE

Southeast Division
Corpus Christi Bucks
Laredo Bucks
Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees
Texas Brahmas (from Northeast)

Southwest Division
Amarillo Gorillas
Arizona Sundogs
New Mexico Scorpions
Odessa Jackalopes


Also announced was the fact that the playoff format will remain the same for the upcoming 2008-09 season, with 10 of the league's 16 teams advancing to the postseason.

Additionally, the CHL has two franchises that will be added for the 2009-10 season, one in Allen (not far from North Richland Hills, the home of the Brahmas) and one in Independence, Mo.

For more information, you can read the CHL press release and a story with reaction from Bucks owner Glenn Hart in tomorrow's Times.

Summer Meeting Update

There has not yet been an official announcement, but it is widely expected that the Texas Brahmas will indeed become the fourth member of the Southeast Division for the upcoming season. More on that whenever the decision is made public.

Draft Happenings

The biggest thing to come out of Friday's expansion draft for the Rapid City Rush was the selection of goaltender Mike Minard, who spent last season with the New Mexico Scorpions, and subsequent trade of Minard to the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees for future considerations.

Minard was the fifth pick for the Rush, who selected forward Garrett Prosofsky first, followed by center Derek LeBlanc, defenseman Cody Blanshan, forward Mike Lukajic and, of course, Minard.

The Bees now have two confirmed players for the upcoming season in Minard and center Travis Banga, who will serve as the team's player/assistant coach.

Rapid City already had forward Brady Olsen, center Stephen Cooke and goaltender Lanny Ramage on its 2008-09 roster.

As was expected by the organization, the Bucks were not affected by the draft. For a full synopsis, you can read the CHL's press release in the Saturday edition of the Times.

CHL Summer Meetings

The CHL's summer meetings began Thursday in Phoenix, with a variety of hot topics on the agenda. Bucks owner Glenn Hart was nice enough to take some time to talk me on Wednesday for this story, which details some of the league's plans for the conference and his take on the way things will affect the Bucks.

Today's events will be highlighted by the expansion draft for the Rapid City Rush, and I'll be sure to update you if any 2007-08 Bucks are drafted. If not, I will post the full results of the draft late tonight.

Whenever anything is decided regarding division realignment and the news players' association, I will post the news here. I'll be following up with Mr. Hart on Monday and talking to Coach Ruskowski, who is not attending the meetings this year, on Tuesday to find out their thoughts on any decisions made this weekend.

Catching Up

The Bucks haven't undergone any drastic changes this summer, but a few notable events have occurred for the team.

In mid-May, the Bucks' long-awaited team-owned sleeper bus arrived, and coach/general manager Terry Ruskowski is already using that fact to his advantage.

"I'm using it as a recruiting tool, actually," he said. "We won't have to try to scrounge around to try to find a sleeper to take us places. It's our own bus, and we'll be familiar with it. It'll be much better just to take that every time. It'll be a huge advantage for us."

Later last month, Ruskowski announced that only eight players from the 2007-08 team would be invited to return for the upcoming 2008-09 season. Earlier this week, he shared with me that these players don't yet know who they are, and he believes some will be surprised to find they are not on his list.

"I'm trying to do the best that I can for the team to be successful," Ruskowski said. "I don't want to have to babysit anymore; I just want the guys to play hard, be disciplined on and off the ice, be involved in the community and win games."

Last season's captain, defenseman Serge Dube, has made it very well-known that he has retirement ideas brewing in his mind, but he has not yet made an official announcement and would definitely be welcomed back with open arms should he choose to continue his hockey career.

I'm not sure I could guess who the eight return invites will go to, but center Jeff Bes, defenseman Adam Rivet and forward/defenseman Igor Agarunov are three very safe guesses.

Rumor has it forward Chris Korchinski will be joining an ever-growing list of 2007-08 CHL players who are heading to Europe for their next seasons, while left wing Steve Simoes is purportedly contemplating a return to Canada spurred by his recent engagement to his girlfriend of seven years Amanda.

League Happenings

It has been a fairly eventful offseason to date. Before the Arizona Sundogs swept the Colorado Eagles to win their first President's Cup, the Austin Ice Bats announced they would be suspending operations for the 2008-09 season. A similar announcement was made by the Corpus Christi Rayz soon after, leaving the Bucks and Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees alone in the Southeast Division. Coach Terry Ruskowski shared his thoughts on those changes with me for this story.

Luckily for everyone in the league, the Rayz were purchased by Corpus Christi businessman Tim Lange just in the nick of time and will in fact participate in the upcoming season. Greg Rajan had the big story from Corpus. Ruskowski and Bucks president John Beckelhymer spoke to me the next day about the importance of this announcement to Laredo. Brian Sandalow had reaction from the Killer Bees.

While the Rayz are back in the league, the Youngstown Steelhounds are out, and not without some controversy. Their departure is offset by the addition of the Rapid City Rush, a new franchise in South Dakota.

An Introduction

I am very excited to say that the Laredo Morning Times is officially part of the Central Hockey League blogging community.

The main purposes of this blog will be to share breaking news, give live updates during games and publish information that doesn't make it into the paper. I will do my best to update on a daily basis during the season and as often as necessary throughout the summer.

For now, here's a link that should consistently take you to the most recent LMT Bucks stories and some links to other CHL blogs:


LMT Bucks Archive


Corpus Christi Caller-Times Rayz Blog by Greg Rajan


The Monitor's Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees Blog by Brian Sandalow


Bees Blog by RGV Broadcaster/Media Relations Director Rich Bocchini


Loveland Reporter-Herald Colorado Eagles Blog by Adam Dunivan


We hope to add photo galleries and other multimedia features through our website soon, and I look forward to keeping you posted on the Bucks' 2008-09 season through this blog. Please feel free to comment or contact me at lmtbucks@gmail.com or through my LMT contact information, which can be found at the end of my stories in the newspaper or by visiting this site.