A Break for the Badgers

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After the past couple of years most people just assumed that Nic Kerdiles was going to jump ship and join the Kelowna Rockets instead of serving his 10 game suspension at the University of Wisconsin for an NCAA violation.

Those folks might have been stunned today then when the freshman forward decided to stay with the Badgers.

Sorting things out in the Nic of time

Tuesday night we welcomed one of our favourite guests to the show as Chris Peters from United States of Hockey joined Guy and I to talk NCAA eligibility.

Yes it's a fascinating subject and it never seems to get old.  While it would have been great to discuss Northeastern's great start or Penn States first 2 games of division 1, the big story is whether or not Nic Kerdiles will win his appeal and be allowed to play at Wisconsin this year or not.

One To Watch: Anaheim Ducks

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The Ducks are in a weird spot right now. They have superstars on their roster but fired their coach last year and still ended up missing the playoffs. They took a kick in the junk when prize prospect Justin Schultz left school, refused to sign and eventually went the UFA route. 

The team is in some sort of transition but I don't know which direction they'll be headed this year, up or down.

Prospect wise they still have some valuable commodities in place. Certainly Emerson Etem will be expected to challenge for a roster spot after a stellar 61-goal campaign in Medicine Hat last season. 

My "One to Watch" could have been Kevin Roy as he begins a new challenge at Northeastern but I've already done that story a few times lately on Twitter and on the radio. 

Personally I think that one of the best prospects in the Ducks' system is also one of the newest. The fact that he's got storylines around him heading into the new year is what has him on my watch list. 

Flames/Habs deal from a prospect point of view

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Montreal and Calgary made quite a stir Thursday night. I'm not sure why they couldn't have done the deal before or after the game instead of yanking Mike Cammalleri out of the game after the 2nd period. But it was a big deal for January. Cammalleri, who spent 3 years with the Michigan Wolverines, goes back to Calgary where he nearly potted 40 and Rene Bourque, a one time St. Albert Saint and 4-year forward with the Wisconsin Badgers, is much needed size for the Habs with a potential for goal scoring.

More Bad News For Hesketh

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This one got by me earlier this week but 'Sixty Minutes. No Alibis, No Regrets.' reported on Monday that Oilers prospect Troy Hesketh has been dropped by Wisconsin. The recruit was expecting to join the badgers next fall but appears to now be in limbo in terms of his plans for his hockey future.

He does have options though.

TPS Weekend Recap

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Saturday's show featured the debut of one of our new weekly insiders, we also pointed the spotlight on the NCAA's Ice Breaker tournament in St. Louis, we spoke with one of the 2011 players from the Saint John Sea Dogs and we were updated on the situation for the Oklahoma City Barons as the AHL season began.

Top 5 Tuesday: NCAA Stories This Year

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The NCAA season begins this weekend, highlighted by the IceBreaker in St. Louis featuring Boston University, Wisconsin, Holy Cross and Notre Dame. With a new season come new questions, especially considering how much rosters have changed for many teams since last year. That happens every summer but it seems to have really impacted some teams more than normal this year.

With that said, here are 5 stories I'm watching for this year in the NCAA...

TPS Special: In Studio Q&A

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Every year the Oilers hold a summer orientation camp for their prospects. It's not the most fan friendly event, in fact unless they change things drastically this year most of you who attend will be bored beyond belief. The purpose of the week is to help young players get accustomed to the organization, receive their summer training programs and basically get to know each other.

Each year at this time we borrow a couple of players and bring them in the studio with us for an hour so that fans can get to know them a bit better. In the past we've had duos of Theo Peckham & Ryan O'Marra, Taylor Chorney & Riley Nash, Geoff Paukovich & David Rohlfs.

The Pipeline Show is pleased to announce that Tuesday night we will continue the tradition by welcoming two more Oilers prospects into the TEAM 1260 studios for a full hour taking your calls and emails.

Troy Hesketh Out 4-5 Months?

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According to a couple of different sources, Edmonton Oilers 2009 3rd round pick (71st overall) Troy Hesketh has a torn labrum in his shoulder and could miss the next 4-5 months with surgery and rehab.

Both "Fargo Force Blog" and "Sixty Minutes. No Alibis. No Regrets" are reporting that the promising defenceman may opt for surgery and if so, he'll be out until about November.

Hesketh is expected to join the USHL's Fargo Force but he'll miss the first 10 games or so if he has surgery in the near future.

The Edmonton Oilers are holding their annual summer prospect camp from July 5-9th and Hesketh was expected to be there. This may change that or just provide the Oilers with an opportunity to evaluate the shoulder with their own medical staff.

(Photo: David Brewster / Star Tribune)

Blowouts the Order of the Day

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The Frozen Four is down to the two finalists after a pair of lopsided semi-finals kicked off NCAA hockey's marquee event. The Wisconsin Badgers laid a 8-1 beating on the RIT Tigers and a couple hours later the Boston College Eagles stunned the Miami RedHawks to the tune of 7-1.

While most expected RIT to be outmatched, and they were, the late game was supposed to be a much closer affair. In the end we'll get to see a rematch of the 2006 National Championship game as the Badgers will tackle the Eagles.

2010 Frozen Four Coach's Show

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We do it every year as we call it one of our 4 Majors. Every April we are proud to offer up all four bench bosses from the NCAA programs that have reached the pinnacle event on the college hockey calendar. Last night on The Pipeline Show it was the 2010 Frozen Four Coach's Show.

The first year we ventured to put together the special show we were only able to secure one of the four coaches. Ironically, Michigan State and coach Rick Comley would go on to win the 2007 National Title.

Perhaps it was seen as an omen because in 2008, Jeff Jackson (Notre Dame), Dave Hakstol (North Dakota), Red Berenson (Michigan) and Jerry York (Boston College) all found time in their busy schedules to join us. The Eagles would eventually go on the become champs that year.

The 2009 Frozen Four Coach's Show was another full house with Enrico Blasi (Miami), Tom Serratore (Bemidji State), Jack Parker (Boston University) and Kevin Sneddon (Vermont) all on board. The Terriers claimed the 2009 crown after an amazing late game comeback that forced overtime.

This year... only 3 programs were represented. Which school has decided to test Karma? We'll tell you in a click of the mouse...

Oil Kings list Oilers prospect

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TPS has learned that back in October the Edmonton Oil Kings added 2009 Oilers draft pick Troy Hesketh to their protected list, meaning should Hesketh decide to play in the WHL, he'll skate in Edmonton.