That sounds kind of funny, right?
Anyway, the Bucks announced today that they have signed 22-year-old rookie defenseman Tomas Sample.
Sample played four seasons of junior hockey then took two years off to complete his education, so he hasn't played since the 2006-07 season.
He played for four teams in two different junior leagues, the Ontario Hockey League and the Ontario Provincial Junior Hockey League.
I'm guessing that Coach Ruskowski and/or his scouts saw something in this kid they really liked if he's bringing him in after a couple seasons off, so I'll be sure to ask him about that.
For more on Sample, you can check out his OHL profile, his hockeyfights.com profile or this YouTube video:
I honestly have no idea which of the players he is because they're wearing the same number, but both kids throw some pretty big punches in there.
Oh, wait, here's another one:
UPDATE: Ruskowski does indeed seem to like this kid a lot; you can read my story in tomorrow's Times to hear what he had to say. Just a heads up, the numbers on Hockey DB conflict greatly with the ones in the press release and slightly with the ones on the OHL and OPJHL sites. So, in my story, I'm going with the ones from the leagues themselves. That adds up to 38 total points, one more than Hockey DB has given him, and quite a few less than what the press release states. His OPJHL numbers from 2006-07 can be found here, but the only discrepency is with his OHL time, as Hockey DB has him pointless with the Sudbury Wolves in 2003-04 and the OHL site says he had an assist. Sorry if that's confusing; just wanted to explain.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Monday, June 29, 2009
Ruskowski's Thoughts
I had planned to blog a bit today but got caught up doing desk work all afternoon/evening, so I'm just going to link to my story that ran in today's Times for now.
As those of you have seen it know, I talked to Coach Ruskowski about a wide variety of topics, including his time in the NHL, this season's playoffs, the players he's signing and the ones he's let go.
I talked to him for quite a while, so I have leftover quotes I'll be sure to post sometime soon.
As those of you have seen it know, I talked to Coach Ruskowski about a wide variety of topics, including his time in the NHL, this season's playoffs, the players he's signing and the ones he's let go.
I talked to him for quite a while, so I have leftover quotes I'll be sure to post sometime soon.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Bees Bring Back Rycroft
Sorry for not posting this yesterday, but the Rio Grande Vally Killer Bees took advantage of the hiatus being taken by the Rocky Mountain Rage to sign forward Daymen Rycroft, who spent the 2004-05 and 2005-06 seasons in Hidalgo.
Brian Sandalow has more on the acquisition via his story and a blog entry.
Obviously, any time the Killer Bees sign anyone, it's going to have at least a slight effect on the Bucks because this is the team they face more than any other, and this signing also takes a pretty big free agent off the market.
Too bad this had to be announced after I spoke to Coach Ruskowski for a Bucks update that will run in Monday's Times.
In other league news, the expansion team in Independence, Mo., has a name, and that name is the Missouri Mavericks.
Brian Sandalow has more on the acquisition via his story and a blog entry.
Obviously, any time the Killer Bees sign anyone, it's going to have at least a slight effect on the Bucks because this is the team they face more than any other, and this signing also takes a pretty big free agent off the market.
Too bad this had to be announced after I spoke to Coach Ruskowski for a Bucks update that will run in Monday's Times.
In other league news, the expansion team in Independence, Mo., has a name, and that name is the Missouri Mavericks.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Another Signing
Is it just me, or does it seem like the Bucks are starting the signings a little earlier this year than last year?
Whatever the case, they announced today that they have signed rookie Drew Kivell for the upcoming season.
Kivell is a 6-foot-2, 200-pound defenseman from Lakeside, Ontario, who played five seasons of junior hockey then spent four years at Lakehead University, but his biggest claim to fame is being one of the eight finalists on the CBC reality show "Making the Cut."
The 26-year old is apparently someone Coach Ruskowski has been trying to sign for a while, so I'm guessing his scouts saw something special there.
The Bucks also announced that they have signed defenseman Cody Hamilton, one of the players acquired from the Tulsa Oilers in the Rick Kozak trade last week, to a contract today.
I'll be trying to get in touch with Ruskowski for a story to run in tomorrow's Times, but my desk is literally covered in Little League photos that wonderful people decided could not be turned in until the last day possible, so I've got my hands pretty full for the rest of the day and might not be able to blog again until tomorrow.
Until then, those of you interested can read a bit more about Kivell in the graduate profile that Lakehead published on April 29.
Whatever the case, they announced today that they have signed rookie Drew Kivell for the upcoming season.
Kivell is a 6-foot-2, 200-pound defenseman from Lakeside, Ontario, who played five seasons of junior hockey then spent four years at Lakehead University, but his biggest claim to fame is being one of the eight finalists on the CBC reality show "Making the Cut."
The 26-year old is apparently someone Coach Ruskowski has been trying to sign for a while, so I'm guessing his scouts saw something special there.
The Bucks also announced that they have signed defenseman Cody Hamilton, one of the players acquired from the Tulsa Oilers in the Rick Kozak trade last week, to a contract today.
I'll be trying to get in touch with Ruskowski for a story to run in tomorrow's Times, but my desk is literally covered in Little League photos that wonderful people decided could not be turned in until the last day possible, so I've got my hands pretty full for the rest of the day and might not be able to blog again until tomorrow.
Until then, those of you interested can read a bit more about Kivell in the graduate profile that Lakehead published on April 29.
Friday, June 19, 2009
Bucks' players for WINGS
As a lot of you have hopefully seen on the Bucks' Web site and in the newspaper, several Bucks players and front office staffers participated in the fifth annual Alamo Classic in San Antonio last weekend.
Player/assistant coach Jeff Bes, captain Serge Dube, assistant captain Adam Rivet, defenseman Steve Weidlich, former Buck Paul Elliott, equipment manager Matt Brayfield and "Vice President of Bench Operations" Jorge Lopez (Sorry!) represented the Bucks at the tournament.
Their team, the Keggers, also consisted of Corpus Christi IceRays forward Justin Quenneville and defenseman Chris Mei and John Forbes of Springfield, Ill.
Here's the team photo:
The Bucks' players involved held a press conference at Doctors Hospital on June 10 to reveal the details of their plan, which will culminate with a jersey auction at Reina's Ultra Lounge tomorrow night.
All proceeds will benefit WINGS (Women Involved in Nurturing, Giving, Sharing) of Laredo.
You can read more about that in my story from the presser.
The Keggers won the open division of the tournament, which you can read more about here.
Obviously, though, the big part of all this is the jersey auction, so don't forget about that if you're interested.
As mentioned, it is tomorrow night at Reina's Ultra Lounge (8602 Mcpherson Road) and begins at 7 p.m.
You can read more about the actual event in the story published in our ?Que Pasa? section today.
This is obviously a great cause, and I'm guessing these jerseys will go for a little less than the game-worn Bucks jerseys do during the season, so hopefully some of you will be able to head out there tomorrow night.
Last, but not least, here's the flyer for the event:
Player/assistant coach Jeff Bes, captain Serge Dube, assistant captain Adam Rivet, defenseman Steve Weidlich, former Buck Paul Elliott, equipment manager Matt Brayfield and "Vice President of Bench Operations" Jorge Lopez (Sorry!) represented the Bucks at the tournament.
Their team, the Keggers, also consisted of Corpus Christi IceRays forward Justin Quenneville and defenseman Chris Mei and John Forbes of Springfield, Ill.
Here's the team photo:
The Bucks' players involved held a press conference at Doctors Hospital on June 10 to reveal the details of their plan, which will culminate with a jersey auction at Reina's Ultra Lounge tomorrow night.
All proceeds will benefit WINGS (Women Involved in Nurturing, Giving, Sharing) of Laredo.
You can read more about that in my story from the presser.
The Keggers won the open division of the tournament, which you can read more about here.
Obviously, though, the big part of all this is the jersey auction, so don't forget about that if you're interested.
As mentioned, it is tomorrow night at Reina's Ultra Lounge (8602 Mcpherson Road) and begins at 7 p.m.
You can read more about the actual event in the story published in our ?Que Pasa? section today.
This is obviously a great cause, and I'm guessing these jerseys will go for a little less than the game-worn Bucks jerseys do during the season, so hopefully some of you will be able to head out there tomorrow night.
Last, but not least, here's the flyer for the event:
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