I'm a fan of Peter Loubardias. The person and the play by play man. That's why I was sad to hear that he wouldn't be returning to the broadcast booth as voice of the Calgary Flames on Rogers Sportsnet this year. However, that is management's right to make changes where they see fit.
What a fantastic way to start your day - not only did we have terrific guests today but we had major breaking news occur during our broadcast and our listener auction produced almost $3000 for charity!
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins did a lot of damage to the Edmonton Oil Kings with his hands, and vision. But it was the Red Deer Rebels leg/knee that did the Kings in for good Thursday night in Edmonton.
Game one between Edmonton and Red Deer started off where the last two games left off. Just seconds in It was captain on captain when Red Deer's Colin Archer tried to cream Oil King blueliner Mark Pysyk. The Buffalo Sabre draft pick just got out of the way and avoided most of the hit. Things continued at the other end when Darcy Kuemper gave TJ Foster a face full of leather, drawing a scrum and giving Edmonton their first power play.
The Red Deer Rebels announced today they will make a bid for the 2013 Mastercard Memorial Cup.If five or more cities bid for the 2013 Mastercard Memorial Cup, then the WHL will review preliminary bid information and shortlist the bids to a maximum of four by June 15, 2011.
The presentations to the WHL Board of Governors will be made October 15, 2011. The final decision will also be made that day.
More details about the Red Deer bid, and its committee, will be released at a later date.
Brent Sutter, President/Owner of The Red Deer Rebels Hockey Club – “We’re in a position now with our hockey club that we believe that we can compete at this level. We also know our community can support an event of this magnitude. The Mastercard Memorial Cup is one of biggest hockey events in our country, and we think Central Alberta would be the perfect place to host such a prestigious event.”
Can you manufacture a rivalry? We’ll find out next Friday. The media in both Edmonton and Red Deer are hoping that facing each other in the post season creates a provincial grudge between the two clubs. It won’t hurt that the two clubs faced each other twice to close out the season and the 2 tilts featured 4 scraps (3 in the first period of Friday night) and both games were essentially one goal games. (RD scored an ENG Saturday night)
Saturday on The Pipeline Show Dean and I spoke with an assortment of guests that cover a wide spectrum of the hockey world. We talked Major Junior, NCAA, AHL, NHL, the NHL Draft and more. In other words, more of what you've come to expect when you tune in to The Pipeline Show.
Red Deer Rebels forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is bringing it right now. The WHL POW has March Madness with 15 points in 6 games this month. He's racked up 2 hat tricks, a 5 and 4 point game, and he reached the century mark over the weekend. The highest ranked WHL player for the NHL draft has 102 points and sits tied for 3rd in league scoring. RNH has more assists (74) this year than he had points (65) last season.
If you were listening Tuesday night you might have heard Guy and I talking about a possible trade taking place in the WHL. It wasn't a major block buster but an interesting one.
Red Deer and Everett have swapped forwards, and for the Rebels they rid themselves of a potentially ugly training camp situation. In exchange they get a guy who has played internationally for Canada before and was taken at the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.
As usual, segment 1 was dedicated to current events. The big controversy over the Michael Liambas hit on Ben Fanelli was front and center. We asked out loud if Ryan O'Marra (above) might be the guy to recall from Springfield if Shawn Horcoff is out long-term. Plus we talked about some AJHL news as well. Hear the opening segment HERE.
Dean Millard recently had a chance to head south on Highway 2 and take in some WHL action in Red Deer. While he was at the Centrium he caught up with star 16-year-old Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Detroit's free agent signee Willie Coetzee and head coach Jesse Wallin. Hear that Rebel-ious feature by clicking HERE.
At the top of hour #2 we spoke with Chris Vande Velde of the University of North Dakota. The senior talked to us about returning to play for a 4th and final year, how wearing a letter on his sweater this year has changed his mindset, about the make up of his team, the reasons behind their fast start and obviously about his potential future with the Oilers. Here that interview HERE.
From the college ranks we shifted to the 2010 draft with our weekly segment featuring a player eligible next June. This week we spoke with Austin Watson, just one of the notable scout targets this year with the Windsor Spitfires. Austin talked to us about playing on the same team as Cam Fowler and Taylor Hall. He also discussed how he went from a commitment to Maine, the US National Development program and finally decided that playing Major Junior was the right choice for him. We also asked him if he thought that was a growing trend for American players and we were intrigued by his answer. You can hear what Austin Watson had to say by clicking HERE.
We ended the show with a conversation we had with San Jose Sharks prospect Tyson Sexsmith. The former Vancouver Giants netminder had interesting comments in regards to making the jump from the WHL to the AHL including whether or not he felt the Western League was too defensive orientated to properly prepare goalies for the next level. Sexsmith also discussed what makes the AHL so challenging especially considering the always changing roster that plays in front of him. Definitely an interesting interview which you can hear for yourself by clicking HERE.
The CHL import draft is underway, and while the Edmonton Oil Kings aren't overly concerned without a pick in the first round, their parent club the Oilers were watching closely.
When the number 14 selection rolled around the Red Deer Rebels decided not to use it, but rather wrap it in a paper airplane and sent it across the prairies to the Brandon Wheat Kings. 
So with the 14th pick, the Wheat Kings grabbed Finish scoring sensation Tony Rajala. If that sounds familiar, it's because the Oilers just selected him in the NHL draft over the weekend. To read a complete review of Rajala and others click here. While it would have been nice to see him quite often here with the Rebels or down highway two in Red Deer, it should mean - barring a trade or injury - that he'll get to suit up in The Memorial Cup this May as the Wheat Kings are hosting it. However it will depend on the contract status of Rajala in Finland. To me though getting a chance to get used to North American hockey and play on a big stage should be enough to bring him across the pond. If it happens It will mark the second straight year an Oilers prospect has played in one of The Pipeline Show's four majors, with Phillipe Cornet skating with Rimouski last year.
Things really got interesting early in the third period just after Edmonton failed to convert on a power play. Red Deer drew a penalty and had a man advantage opportunity of their own and sure enough, capitalized to even the score.
