vees:blog

Centennials Sale Goes ‘THUD’

Lots of news surrounding the Merritt Centennials and the latest failed sale.

John Grisdale doesn’t seem too worried (Shawn Mullin spoke with him).

Cents Governor and Director of Hockey Operations Brian Barrett sounds much more concerned about the future of the Cents in the Nicola Valley (he spoke with Cents Blogger Brian Weibe).

Vipers Are All Stars

The BCHL finally tweaked the All-Star Game, though I don’t know it will increase the profile of the event among fans or scouts.

Fans in Nanaimo will serve as a the guinea pigs for the new format that pits the defending champions against the best of the rest of the league. While this format was used for decades in the NHL, the intent of putting the best team in the BCHL against the rest will likely be off the mark as teams traditionally lose loads of talent following Championship years.

To illustrate the point, the Vipers will be without #1 Goalie Andrew Hammond, at least four of their top 6 Defenders (Bigos, Leidl, Brodie, Ikkala), Captain Chris Crowell, and top line winger Sahir Gill… not quite the same team that won the National Championship.

I don’t like the odds of a Vernon win, although the Game certainly will be more palatable that the mockery of the sport witnessed in Vernon last January.

Trail Preseason Tournament Update

The BCHL finally got around to announcing the Trail Smoke Eaters preseason tournament.

As mentioned weeks ago around the BCHL Blogosphere - the tournament will feature the home town Smokies, the Vees, the Powell River Kings and the Brooks Bandits of the AJHL.

Sounds like this may become a preseason staple in the Kootenays as it allows NCAA programs to scout players before the collegiate season gets going.

Dan Marshall updates us on the opening three days of the National Championships from Victoria where the Kingston Voyageurs and the Summerside Western Capitals have struggled against their Western counter-parts.

You can catch the aformentioned voice of the Nanaimo Clippers calling the non-BCHL games here.

Here’s how the action has played out thus far. We could have an all BCHL final on tap.

The staff at the Times-Colonist (Victoria fish-wrap) are all over the RBC including fashion trends, love of the snakes, and of course the home team’s rebound.

Listen Now:

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Shawn Mullin over at the Smoke Eaters Blog just broke the story on Merritt’s possible move wide open.

Mullin spoke with Kamloops Storm Owner and GM Barry Dewar, who sheds some light on the Merritt to Kamloops relocation rumours, which we learn have been going on for some time now!

Dewar doesn’t seem interested in moving his club to Merritt, though it seems he’ll sell his franchise for a price he likes.

The soap opera continues…

BCHL Commissioner John Grisdale, Power Rankings, Weekend Highlights, Vees Part Owner Eric Sorensen on the All Star Game, News and Notes, and more!

Listen Now:

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Lots on the Centennials around the blogosphere today.

Gregg Drinnan got the ball rolling Sunday with this piece done by Mark Hunter of the Kamloops Daily News.

Brian Weibe over at Making Cents (Centennials Blog) has a different take on the situation.

Shawn Mullin’s got some good thoughts on Merritt and the aforementioned reports.

Al Glendenning wasn’t providing a rosey outlook when I talked with him in November.

After speaking with John Grisdale today it appears nothing is near official, but there seems to be some tire kicking going on in Kamloops.

Have a listen. (For the rest of this interview tune into Boston Pizza Vees This Week Tonight)

Listen Now:

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The Commissioner of the BCHL is set to join Boston Pizza Vees This Week as our feature interview.

If you have any burning questions for the BCHL Boss, let me know (VEESVOICE(AT)GMAIL(DOT)COM). We’ll be talking All-Star Game tweaking, Williams Lake update, Playoff formats and more.

Boston Pizza Vees This Week runs Mondays from 6-7 on EZ ROCK AM 800, and on the web at MYEZROCK.COM