Wednesday Re-Set

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On yesterday's edition of The Pipeline Show we wrapped up the Memorial Cup, interviewed another top prospect for the 2009 NHL Draft, covered the AHL playoffs in Manitoba, spoke with a player who has suited up for new Oiler head coach Pat Quinn twice in the last year and we also raised $900 for charity.

We got things started with some discussion on the topics of the day including the news that Edmonton double dipped into the free agent coach pool signing both Quinn and Tom Renney. We announced the charity auction for the last two spots in the annual TEAM 1260 golf tournament and immediately bids went from $150 to $200 t0 $500!

Interesting question posed by Dean last night: If Jordan Eberle doesn't scored with 4 seconds left in the WJC game against Russia and Canada goes on to lose that game (and doesn't win gold)... does Pat Quinn still get hired yesterday? If he fails to win gold with Canada at the WJC in Ottawa, does he get saddled as a guy who is too old and couldn't lead a favorite to a gold medal? Definitely an interesting question.

We also talked a bit about the possibility of Medicine Hat Tigers head coach Willie Desjardins as being the final piece to Edmonton's coaching puzzle. Pat Quinn mentioned yesterday that they might still be adding someone but he would have to be someone who has less experience and maybe comes from a lower level of hockey. Certainly the fact that Desjardins ran the defence for Quinn at the WJC lends credibility to the theory.

We also mentioned that TPS Guest Player blogger Mike Lee of the Fargo Force was named as the top junior goalie in the United States. Congrats to Mike from The Pipeline Show... I'm sure we'll hear about his thoughts on the award in his next blog entry here at Coming Down the Pipe!


In Segment #2 we spoke with Peter Loubardias of Rogers Sportsnet who called the Memorial Cup. Peter is a regular on our show and his passion for junior hockey is obvious to anyone who ever listens to him call a CHL game. Peter explained why he felt this past tournament was his favorite in memory. We also talked about individual performances of note, we disagreed about the quality of goaltending in the event but agreed on the disappointing performances of Mikael Backlund and Keven Veilleux in particular. Always a great time speaking with Peter about the CHL.

We played some Bad Ass Trivia to end hour #1.

The second hour of the show began with Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Sun guiding us through the AHL playoffs from the perspective of the Manitoba Moose. We talked about who was helping the Moose get it done including goalie Cory Schneider. The city of Winnipeg breathed a sigh of relief when the Oilers announced their new coaches because they left Scott Arniel alone - for now. We suspect Arniel will be snapped up by someone this summer. A lot of people are watching the scenario play out in Phoenix with great interest as well and Mr. Wiebe commented on all of that as well.

Every week we interview a prospect available for the 2009 NHL Draft and this week it was Drew Shore's turn. The center has committed to Denver next year but we had an emailer want to know if he'd consider going to Chilliwack, the WHL team that owns his CHL rights. Shore talked about his season, looked ahead to the combine and to next season as well.

Finally, Jordan Eberle joined us to talk about his experience playing for Pat Quinn at the Ivan Hlinka U18 tournament and also at the 2009 WJC in Ottawa. It was interesting to hear a player's perspective on what it was like to play for a veteran NHL coach at such a young age. Eberle also commented on the current situation in Regina with Dale Derkatch being replaced by the same coach that he had stepped in for a year ago... Curtis Hunt.

The show wrapped up with a back-and-forth bidding war that saw the golf tournament bid jump from $500 to $600, then to $650 and up to $800 before finally settling at $900! We were thrilled to bring in that much cash for the charity tournament.

Notes: The month of June will be pretty much 100% dedicated to the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. Our projected guest list is rapidly coming together and will, quite frankly, blow your socks off... Follow us of Facebook and on Twitter... our daily team-by-team draft previews started coming out last Sunday so keep checking back here first thing every morning to see who we think your favorite team will select on June 26th...