Oil Kings closing in on playoff records: Updated

Ask an Edmonton Oil King player, coach, manager, trainer, broadcaster or booster and they'll all respond the same way, the streak doesn't matter, only the next win does.  It has to be that way for the team or else they start drifting off and setting up their opponents for 5 alarm chances.

Warriors Get Rielly Back

It's taken a couple of weeks longer than we were told it would but Morgan Rielly has finally been given clearance by his doctor to return to action, just in time for round 3 of the WHL playoffs. The timing couldn't be any better for Moose Jaw as they prepare for what most expect will be a lengthy series against the Edmonton Oil Kings.

Rielly not ready yet

Tonight was supposed to be the game Morgan Rielly returned to the Moose Jaw Warriors line up, but TPS has learned it won't happen.

Word is there hasn't been a set back, but that the doctor wouldn't clear him to play, so now he's back to week to week.

The Warriors can wrap up their first round playoff series with Regina tonight, which would give Rielly more time to heal.

Barely 16 year old really makes his Point for Moose Jaw

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The Regina Pats opened their playoff series with bitter rival Moose Jaw with a 3-2 win, but since then it's been all Warriors including a 5-4 double overtime victory in game 4 Wednesday night. They now lead the series 3-1 and predictably are led in scoring by veteran Quinton Howden. But it's a rookie who's starting to turn heads.

Check that, an ultra rookie; Brayden Point just turned 16 - 16 days ago.

Morgan Rielly To Return in First Round

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This is a good news, bad news story depending on which side of the Regina/Moose Jaw rivalry you sit on. TPS has learned that the Warriors will have a rising star back in their line up at some point in the opening round.

Morgan Rielly last played for the Tribe November 6th when he chipped in with 2 helpers against Calgary. But an injury against the Hitmen led to Rielly tearing his ACL and requiring surgery. Some thought it would be season ending, the doctors said mid April with the most optimistic time frame being mid to late March. Well they nailed it.

Campese no longer coaching Raiders: Who's next to go?

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The Prince Albert Raiders have taken the coaching duties away from Bruno Campese. He will stay on as G.M.

Steve Young has been promoted from Assistant. The Raiders are off to a terrible start at 4-11-1-1, they've lost 4 straight and if weren't for the Calgary Hitmen and Lethbridge Hurricanes would be last in the Eastern Conference.

Rielly Vs. Reinhart at Rexall Place

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The Edmonton Oil Kings pulled out a 2-1 victory over the Moose Jaw Warriors tonight, dominating the tribe 42-18 on the shot clock and jumping into a 3 way tie for first in the central division.

It was a battle of 2012 first round draft prospects, and former D partners as Morgan Rielly went head to head with Griffin Reinhart in front of a ton of scouts. A number of teams sent their head scouts to watch the 2 rear guards.

Warriors helping to Stick It To Cancer Tonight

If you're in the Moose Jaw area tonight then you should check out the Warriors-Swift Current Broncos tilt. Not only will you watch a talented Warriors club play in one of the nicest facilities in the league, but you can also help 'Stick it to Cancer' by snapping up some Stylish head gear.

TPS is happy to spread the word about the fund raiser that will leave you looking cool at the rink this year. All the details can be found here.

You'll be able to pick up your Stickhead lid at the Warriors home tilt with Speedy Creek tonight.

Saturday Morning Special - Sept 10

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It's not every show that we have a member of the NHL Hall of Fame on the program but that was the case today. Plus we spoke with another CHL General Manager, a WHL assistant coach who was in Europe this summer spreading the gospel of hockey, we heard from a writer from USCHO.com who has been outspoken against the CHL scholastic program and we chatted with the head coach from one of the top CIS hockey programs in Canada.

New Man in Moose Jaw

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Regina based media mogul Rod Pedersen is reporting that the Moose Jaw Warriors are expected to name Mike Stothers as their new head coach. He has a NHL background as both a player (30 games) and as a coach (2 years). Stothers was behind the bench of the OHL's Owen Sound Attack for 5 seasons so obviously is well known by Warriors Director of Hockey Operations Alan Millar.

It's also expected that assistant coach Mike Vandenberghe will return in the same capacity for the 2011-12 season.

Other recent WHL vacancies have been filled by new head scout Dan Bonar (Calgary) and head coach Mark Ferner (Everett).

Barr to coach in Moose Jaw...if he wants it.

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Arrived this morning in Minneapolis for the NHL draft and it's always great to be surrounded by scouts, GM's and agents because you pick up some great information.

A very reliable source has told TPS that Dave Barr has accepted the head coaching job in Moose Jaw, but has the opportunity to explore NHL options before making it official.

Regina To Chilliwack Rumours Very Premature

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A report surfaced this weekend - citing an anonymous source - that the Regina Pats could be on the move to Chilliwack and replacing the Bruins who will end up in Victoria next year. The tale gets even wilder when it says the Manitoba Moose would take up shop in Regina when the NHL returns to Winnipeg.

We spoke to a credible source on this today and here's what Regina Pats President Brent Parker told us...

Warriors Looking For New Head Coach

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The Moose Jaw Warriors as we speculated a few weeks ago are looking for a new Head Coach after G.M. Alan Millar elected not to renew the contract of Dave Hunchak.

Hunchak's time with Moose Jaw was interesting. He was behind the bench for 4 years and was passed over for the GM job when the tribe brought in Millar from the OHL. Despite winning 40 games this year, just the 3rd coach in Moose Jaw history to do it, he wasn't the GM's choice so it's not shocking. Not winning a playoff round in 4 years is the stock answer you will likely get about why the decision was made.

As for the future of Assistant Coach Trevor Weisgerber, TPS was told a while ago that he has an option for next year, but it's a team option. Mike Vandenberghe joined the team midway through the season after a stint in Brandon, is likely a free agent, but we have been told that the Warriors really liked what he brought to the team. Is it enough to earn him a shot a the head job? Or will he and Weisgerber resurface on another WHL bench? Their fate is being decided as I write this in meeting with the GM.

One other note from the Warriors, start forward Quentin Howden signed with the Florida Panthers. The forward who suited up for Canada at the WJC scored 40 goals this year and put up 79 points.

Glover walks out on Warriors

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Just days after the Moose Jaw Warriors sent 20 year goaltender Jeff Bosch to the Kamloops Blazers, the Tribe is on the look out for another pipeman as 18 year old Brandon Glover has gone home to Victoria. Glover has reportedly asked for a trade as he didn't think the Warriors were going to give him the opportunity to be a number one goalie.

After trading away Bosch, director of hockey operations Alan Millar brought in 20 year goaltender Thomas Heemskerk from Everett, which one would have to think set Glover off.

Moose Jaw also has 17 year old Brandon Stone as an option, but he played less then 25 games in midget last year.

Ripplinger Turns Down Warriors G.M. Job

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Things must be amazing within the Vancouver Giants organization, as for the 3rd time this off season the Giants have been able to hold onto a key part of their hockey operations.

Coaching & Broadcasting Dominoes Keep Falling

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In case you missed it in our update that appeared below yesterday, it appears that Terry Virtue leaving Tri City for personal reasons, meant he wanted to join Owen Sound. He is now an assistant coach with the Attack of the OHL. Hockeydb.com shows Virtue as being born in Scarborough so maybe going back east was his reason. Tri City also looks like they have someone in mind for the vacant gig, word is it's Scott Beattie who was an assistant coach with Kootenay last year.

Speaking of vacant gigs, who is getting the Warriors open G.M. job?

More Coaching Moves

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The off season coaching changes just keep on coming. Last week TPS first told you about Willy Desjardins landing a gig with the Dallas Stars, which didn't surprise us as Guy and I talked about it last Tuesday. Desjardins was very close to getting the head coaching job with San Antonio of the AHL last year.

Now we are hearing Brad McEwen will take over the G.M. duties that Desjardins has left vacant, while Shaun Clouston will be the next head coach in Medicine Hat. McEwen had been the director of scouting for Tigers, and was largely responsible for attracting high level American players recently. He's also worked with the Lethbridge Hurricanes in a similar role and was the head coach in Swift Current earlier in the new Millennium.

Clouston meanwhile had held the post of assistant or associate coach with Medicine Hat for the past 7 years.

Also from around the dub, TPS has been told that Jeff Truitt will be joining the San Antonino Rampage of the AHL as an assistant coach. Ray Edwards and Mike Pelino are currently listed as interim head coach and assistant coach on the Coyotes farm team web site.

We had reported a while back that Truitt was thinking of inserting himself as head coach replacing Dave Hunchack with the Tribe, but that move is obviously not happening now.

Is Brent Parker Stepping Down?

The Regina Pats have called a news conference for today, and speculation is that G.M. Brent Parker will step down and former Moose Jaw Warrior G.M. Chad Lang will be his replacement.

Oil Kings & the WHL Bantam Draft

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The Edmonton Oil Kings managed to do something today that their parent NHL club has repeatedly failed to do - they traded up in the draft and took how one of the truly elite players available.

More on that in a second.

The Portland Winter Hawks had the first decision to make on the day and opted to take Derrick Pouliot, a defenceman who played in Weyburn Saskatchewan. International Scouting Services had Pouliot slotted 9th on their list and had this to say about him in their WHL Draft Guide:

"A tremendously intelligent puck moving defenseman, Pouliot is often on the ice at the same time as Balog and shows incredible poise and control in finding his, often well covered but extremely gifted, teammate in open ice. Pouliot has great two way speed and great control of his angles and gap against puck carriers. He controls the lanes well in his own zone and once he gains control of the puck he has the hands and poise with the puck to get out of pressure and move down ice. He will carry the puck end to end and has a very strong shot from speed. Any team looking to add offence from the back side without sacrificing too much defensively will have Pouliot high on their list."

After the draft I had a chance to chat with Winter Hawks GM and Head Coach Mike Johnston and you can hear his comments on why Pouliot was the right guy for Portland... HERE.

The next team to the podium was the Moose Jaw Warriors. I spotted Chad Lang in active discussions with several GMs during the course of the day and in fact his club did make a few draft pick swaps. However, the Warriors were only too happy to have the #2 pick in the draft and wasted no time in choosing Morgan Reilly. The blueliner played Notre Dame this past season but hails from West Vancouver originally. ISS had Reilly ranked 4th and earlier in the week I offered up their comments about him. HERE, Chad Lang expalins why Rielly was the right man for the Warriors.

The Chilliwack Bruins were slated to pick 3rd but the host team decided to make a splash instead.

GM Bob Green pulled the trigger on a the day's biggest deal as he packaged Edmonton's own 1st round pick (9th overall), Prince George's 3rd round pick (acquired last year for Cameron Cepek), veteran forward Shayne Neigum as well their 2009 Import Draft pick to Chilliwack in exchange for the 3rd overall selection and the Bruins' Import pick in 2010.

With the 3rd pick of the draft Edmonton continued the parade of defencemen by selecting Griffin Reinhart. The son of former NHL defenceman Paul Reinhart (CGY & VAN) spent this past season with the Hollyburn Midget A1 Huskies in B.C. Here is the write up of the deal from the Oil Kings site. According to his dad/coach, Reinhart is 6'4 and 190 lbs... as a 14 year old! This guy could easily grow a couple more inches and end up Colten Teubert or Alex Plante sized which is exactly what the Oil Kings have really been missing from their blueline.

Not to be overlooked in this deal is the swap of Import Draft picks. With Tomas Vincour and Robin Soudek coming back, the Oil Kings really have no use for their 2009 pick but could conceivably need 2 this time next summer and the Bruins one is likely going to be much earlier than Edmonton's.

There was a 15-minute break after the first round during which time I had a chance to talk to Assistant GM Randy Hansch about the trade and the selection of Reinhart. Listen HERE.

Instead of me describing all the picks of the day I will suggest you read Alan Caldwell's blog called Small Thoughts At Large as he did a bang up job during the course of the day and lists stats for each player too.

I will get into some description of the rest of Edmonton's picks though starting with the round 2 selection of Left Winger Mitchell Moroz. Moroz, a power forward from Calgary, was ranked 18th overall by ISS and the Oil Kings were able to land him with the 30th pick. ISS:

"Few players in this draft are as competitive as Mitch Moroz. The heart and soul of the Northstars this season, Moroz is an energic animal who loves to battle. His great size and strength help him push his way through the boards with the puck. Moroz attacks with great speed and loves to shoot, in fact it’s not often
that he looks to set up a play or pass, he loves to get the puck on net and drive in hard. Moroz is not afraid to mix it up after the play either, if he doesn’t like something, he’ll be sure to react to it. Moroz protects the puck very well and will
punish anyone who tries to keep it away from him. A solid checker, Moroz can change a game with his stick, his effort or a big bone crunching hit.

WHL Potential: Excellent secondary scoring option and energetic role player

Round 3 saw Edmonton taking Center Morgan Zulinick of Kamloops. At 5'8, Zulinick is definitely small but he's quick and talented. ISS had him ranked 40th overall so Edmonton does well here to get him 52nd overall. Here is what ISS had to say about him:

"Plays like a big man, similar in mold to a Joe Thornton type player. Zulinick is an excellent passer who loves to set up the play, but can also score when called upon. Zulinick is very smooth with the puck and can dazzle with his quick hands and great body control. Turned many scouts heads when he was selected to the KIBIHT all star game last season as a first year bantam player, a feat that isn’t very common."

Matthew Miller became Oil King property in Round 4 when the home team called his name in the 74th spot. Miller did not appear in the top 100 for ISS blueliner of the Winnipeg Monarchs has decent size and can play at both ends of the rink.

The first local boy Edmonton took this year was forward Tristan Sieben who ISS had ranked 17th overall. They also had him 2nd in the "best hands" category and 5th for "Pure Scorer". Here are the comments from ISS:

"A tremendously gifted offensive talent, Sieben can dominate players with his extremely high skill level. A tremendous puck handler, Sieben dances his way through players and has the skating ability to get free and into dangerous scoring areas all
on his own. The biggest knock on Sieben is that he can be a bit selfish at times and will try to do it all on his own.

WHL Potential: Great goal scorer"

Edmonton's 6th round choice was Cody Pettapeace, another defenceman. The blueliner is in line for a jump to Midget AAA next year after his last season in Saskatoon.

In Round 7 the Oil Kings did something I didn't expect - they drafted a goalie. Wade Moyls is a 6'3 14-year-old playing in Kamloops. I was surprised because of Edmonton's depth at the position but as GM Bob Green told me afterwards... you can never have enough goalie depth.

Ashton Saunter was Edmonton's 8th round pick, a defenceman from small town Saskatchewan. He's of average size but he had more than a point per game for Weyburn this past season.

In Round 9 the Oil Kings added Bowen Croft to their organization. He's a 5'10 forward that had 40 points in 32 games this past year with Sherwood Park. I happened to be out of the room when this pick was made and neglected to ask Bob Green about the player... as you'll notice when you listen to his post-draft comments.

Edmonton ended their participation in the days events with back-to-back picks in round 10. The first pick was thier own and they chose Anthony Borri of the Coquitlam Chiefs. Interestingly enough, the Prince Albert Raiders offered their 10th pick to Edmonton "for a Heineken". The Raiders were done for the day and in the end the Oil Kings took the pick with an agreement to swap their 10th rounders in 2010.

With P.A.'s 10th round bullet Edmonton grabbed AJHL forward Darren Kramer, a tough guy who racked up 221 PIM in 38 regular season games with the Grande Prairie Storm. This sounds like a player that fans are going to get to see next year and are going to get to like. He's going to be riding shot gun protecting the small skilled guys like Michael St. Croix and Dylan Wruck.

As I mentioned, I spoke with GM Bob Green after the draft and got a breakdown of each player they selected (except Croft). You can hear those Bob Green comments HERE.

Maineiacs On The Move and Trouble in Moose Jaw???

The Pipeline Show has learned that the Lewiston Maineiacs have asked the QMJHL for permission to bolt Maine.

The club which finished 4th in the 2007 Memorial Cup sent a letter to the league today, hoping to move for next season.

The word is team Owner Mark Just would like to land in Boisbriand which is just outside of Montreal.

If the Maineiacs do leave Lewiston it would mean the Quebec league would be without an American squad. 6 Years ago the franchise relocated to Lewiston from Sherbrooke.

Another junior hockey note but out west now, Guy Flaming heard tonight at the Regina Pats/Oil Kings game that word is the city has turned down the request of the Moose Jaw Warriors to build a new arena, meaning the only thing the club can do is recycle the crushed can...again. Will it meet the WHL's standards or will it mean the Warriors are on the move. Can you say the Victoria Warriors?