Monday, November 17, 2014

A look at Lorne Frey . . . Still hope for WolfPack . . . Constantine pays for early exit



Lorne Frey of the Kelowna Rockets may have the longest title in the WHL -- assistant general manager, head scout and director of player personnel. Besides being one of the good guys, he has an eagle eye for talent. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet has a video look at Frey right here. It’s good, and it’s 5:34 in length.
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F Tyler Nanne, an 18-year-old from Edina, Minn., has signed a national letter of intent with the Ohio State Buckeyes. Nanne, whose WHL rights belong to the Vancouver Giants, is expected to begin playing there next season. This season, he is with the USHL’s Sioux Falls Stampede. A fifth-round selection by the New York Rangers in the NHL’s 2014 draft, he is a grandson to former NHL executive and player Lou Nanne.
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F Colt Conrad, whose WHL rights belong to the Brandon Wheat Kings, has signed a national letter of intent with the Western Michigan University Broncos. . . . Conrad, 17, is attending Shattuck-St. Mary’s in Faribault, Minn. He is from St. Alphonse, Man. . . . Conrad was selected by the Lethbridge Hurricanes in the third round of the WHL’s 2012 bantam draft. On Nov. 16, his rights were dealt to Brandon. The Hurricanes sent D Ryan Pilon and Conrad to the Wheat Kings for D Nick Walters, F Taylor Cooper and D Tanner Browne. Should Conrad end up with Brandon, the Hurricanes would get a fifth-round pick in the 2016 bantam draft.
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Mario Forgione, a former owner of the OHL’s Mississauga IceDogs, says CHL teams are making money on the backs of teenagers, who aren’t getting back nearly what they should. . . . “Fortunately,” offers CHL commissioner David Branch, he’s no longer an owner in our league. . . .” Rick Westhead of tsn.ca has that story right here.
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Trevor Bast, who heads up a group hoping to revive hockey at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, and Cam Weir, a WolfPack player, met with athletic director Ken Olynyk on Monday.
According to Bast, “The meeting . . . went great.”
While Bast didn’t get approval to restart the program that was axed prior to the start of this season, it seems that his proposal will move on to the next level.
That means waiting until after Dec. 2 when “the other decision-maker,” as he put it, returns from a business trip to China.
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JUST NOTES:

Kevin Constantine, the head coach of the Everett Silvertips, has been fined $500 for talking his way out of Sunday’s 7-1 loss to the Winterhawks in Portland during the first period. . . . He is the second WHL head coach to be fined this season. Steve Konowalchuk of the Seattle Thunderbirds paid $750 for post-game comments concerning the officiating after a 2-1 loss in Everett on Oct. 25. . . .
F Sam Reinhart of the Kootenay Ice has 160 career regular-season assists, two shy of the franchise record held by F Jarret Stoll (1998-2002). . . . The Ice is at home to the Medicine Hat Tigers on Wednesday.
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THE COACHING GAME:

The MJHL’s OCN Blizzard has made a coaching change, with Jason Smith having replaced Clay Debray. . . . According to a news release, Debray resigned effective Nov. 13, with Smith, who had been the assistant coach, taking over for the remainder of this season. . . . The Blizzard, which plays out of The Pas, has a 10-13-1 record, good for seventh place in the 11-team league. . . .
The AJHL's Calgary Mustangs hired Chad Allen as their head coach earlier this month, replacing Derek Stuart, who was fired and has since returned to the Okotoks Oilers as an assistant coach. . . . The Mustangs are 7-18-1 and last in the eight-team South Division. . . . Stuart was in his second season as their head coach. He spent three seasons with Okotoks before signing with the Mustangs.

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