NMU Invite Looks to Impress Oilers

34 players are expected to take part in Edmonton's summer development camp including 8 free agents. The lone goaltender in that group isn't hard to miss, he's the giant goaltender in "olive green and old gold" named Jared Coreau. 

The Canadian born pipeman will be a junior at Northern Michigan in 2012-13 but if he has his way, there may be another option on his table before too long. 

Answering the Bigos Question

The Edmonton Oilers are set to begin their 2012 Development Camp having added another wave of prospects to the system after last weekend's draft. Back for his fourth go around at the summer sessions is Merrimack blueliner Kyle Bigos, a 4th round selection back in 2009. 

The question is, with a senior season of college hockey ahead of him and an enticing August 15th, 2013 line in the sand, will this be the last visit to Edmonton for Bigos?

Leagues Enjoy Draft Success

211 players were selected at the 2012 NHL Draft and they come from all over North America and Europe. Some have been playing professionally in place like Sweden or the Czech Republic, others are headed to or already are collegians. Nearly half played in the Canadian Hockey League while a good number were found in American high schools or in the USHL. 

This is not a post meant to compare the numbers by league in order to pronounce one superior to others. What follows is simply a celebration of the diverse paths players can take on their way to achieving their dream of perhaps one day playing in the NHL. 

Class of 2012 on TPS Part 6

Today is the final piece of the puzzle. We've been recapping the year that was on TPS in regard to guests and interviews that pertain especially for the 2012 NHL Draft. Today is the summary for the current month with all of the guests and discussion on the draft that has taken place in June. 

If you missed the other parts of this recap you can find them here: (Part 1), (Part 2), (Part 3), (Part 4) and (Part 5). 

2012 Draft Blog: Mike Matheson Pt. 5

We have been very fortunate to have Dubuque Fighting Saints defenceman Mike Matheson blogging with us over the course of the entire 2011-12 season. 

If you missed Mike's previous contributions to Coming Down the Pipe you can catch up: Part 1 from October, Part 2 in late November, Part 3 from mid-February and Part 4 in early May.

On a personal note I just wanted to make a comment on what it's been like interacting with Mike this season. We've had a lot of players blog with us over the last few years but few as dedicated as Mike has been. He's always quick to respond to a text or email and always conducts himself with maturity and class. 

Example: I asked Mike a while ago if he thought he might be able to write another chapter between the combine and the draft and he said: 

"Hey Mr. Flaming - I'm pretty busy with individual teams' combines these days but I'll have time to write an entry before the draft."

 Obviously this is a pretty hectic time for a guy in his shoes so if he'd said "No" or "I'll try but..." I would have understood. Instead, what I received a few days ago from Mike was:

"Hi Mr. Flaming. Sorry again for being so busy! Here is my fifth entry. Will you be attending the Draft by any chance?"

Sorry you've been busy?! If that doesn't tell you what kind of character this guy has I'm not sure what would. Somebody is getting a quality person when they draft this guy.

Here now is the final entry to the season-long blog series of Dubuque defenceman Michael Matheson...

Some surprising names in Hockey Canada U20 list

For years other countries have been taking what Hockey Canada has done and used it to their advantage.  There was a time when USA hockey would ignore CHL players with American passports, while Canada welcomed NCAA players from Canada and a few of them were key cogs in gold medal efforts.  Now it's Hockey Canada who is borrowing a concept and it's one that Guy Flaming has been talking about for a while.  Instead of a regular summer camp this year, Canada will take on Russia in a 4 game series.  2 in Halifax and 2 in Yaroslavl to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the 1972 Summit Series, as well as raising money for the horrific plane crash last year that claimed an entire KHL team.  Today Hockey Canada released it's list of 28 players named to it's team and I wonder why a few of them are there? You can find the complete roster here. 

Class of 2012 on TPS Part 5

The last two weeks I've been recapping the season that was on TPS as a draft primer for those who like to cram for information right before the big event. Today's entry in the series looks back at May.

If you missed the other parts of this recap you can find them here: (Part 1), (Part 2), (Part 3) and (Part 4).

Class of 2012 on TPS Part 4

This is the fourth part of the year in review series of discussions we have had on The Pipeline Show about the 2012 NHL Draft. Below are the topical interviews from the months of February and March, taken from our convenient and publicly accessible media archive.

If you missed the first three installments in this series, you can get find them here: (Part 1), (Part 2) and (Part 3).

Don't forget, the 2-hour ISS Draft Special is slated for Tuesday June 19th. Head scout Ross MacLean will join us in studio for the entire show and we'll be taking your questions via email, Twitter and text. Don't miss your chance to get caught up on the draft and maybe have your questions answered on during the big show. 

Big Changes for the Champs

Just a couple of weeks after winning the Memorial Cup, the Shawinigan Cataractes have blown up the roster having dealt 5 players including overtime hero Anton Zlobin.

Three separate deals on QMJHL draft day saw Shawinigan move Zlobin, goalie Alex Dubeau, defencemen Justin Haché and Jonathan Racine plus forward Yannick Veilleux. 

Tarasov's AHL Deal is Good for the USHL

The USHL announced yesterday that Indiana Ice forward Daniil Tarasov has signed an AHL contract with the Worcester Sharks (SJ) for next season. This is great news for him and it's also a banner moment for the United states Hockey League as well.

Why? Read On.