Saturday Morning Special - March 12

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This was another one of those shows that kind of came together late in the week as a player we had lined up had to cancel yesterday and a couple other guests were tough to track down and get confirmations from. In the end, we did what we always do; we talked CHL with one of the best play-by-play guys in the game, looked more at the 2011 NHL Draft, checked in on the NCAA playoffs, talked Calder Trophy and also updated listeners on the CIS playoffs.


As always, segment one had Dean and I recapping the night that was in the 3 CHL leagues as well as the NCAA playoffs. Dean also added in the CIS playoffs picture too.

Kirk Leudeke from the New England Hockey Journal and Bruins Draft Watch (link on the right) came in for segment #2. We chatted about NCAA players who are eligible for the 2011 NHL Draft like Northeastern's Jamie Oleksiak and BU Terriers Matt Nieto, Sahir Gill and Adam Clendening. Somehow we also got talking about the fictitious plot scenario of Youngblood 2 that has a soundtrack by Iron Maiden.

Behind the Mic this week took us to Kelowna and a conversation with Regan Bartel. The Rockets have been witness to a couple of weird incidents recently including last night's ejection of Kamloops forward Brendan Ranford for crosschecking an official. Regan gave us his eyewitness account of that as well as a recap of Lethbridge coach Rich Preston's protest last weekend. We also talked about the Rockets and specific players like Shane McColgan, Tyson Barrie, Adam Brown and Geordie Wudrick.

The NCAA led off the second hour with Dave Starman from CBS College Hockey giving us some thoughts on the Conference playoffs. We also talked about the contenders for the Hobey Baker Award; is it really just a race between two RedHawks? Plus which Edmonton native does he think makes great sense to be the new bench boss of the Michigan State Spartans?

Sportsnet's Daren Millard made his weekly appearance and told us about his trip to Afghanistan. Then we asked him who he'd use as his starting netminder in the playoffs if he were Washington head coach Bruce Boudreau - Varlamov, Neuvirth or Holtby? Plus, is Michal Grabner now in contention for the Calder trophy as the NHL's top rookie?

Finally, Alberta Golden Bears head coach Eric Thurston was on to update us on the CIS playoffs in Canada West. Can the Bears get back on top and if so, who are the players that are leading the charge to get there?

If you missed it live, you can click the archive... HERE.

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