The new Sandman2.
Enjoy.
Sandman
An insider's view of the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees
Van Hoof, Garbutt off to Europe
June 30th, 2008, 6:15 pm by Brian SandalowThe CHL exodus to Europe has hit the Bees, with defensemen Jeremy Van Hoof and Josh Garbutt heading across the pond. Van Hoof, 26, is heading to HC Fassa (Italy), where he spent the 2006-2007 season. Garbutt, 23, will play for Manchester Phoenix (England).
Van Hoof, while being one of the nicest and most forthcoming players on last year’s team, was a disappointment for the Bees. Garbutt, after being acquired from Tulsa in January for Adam Blanchette, was one of the Bees’ best defensemen.
For your reading pleasure, here’s an article about Garbutt from the Manchester Evening News. This is also a telling quote about how Garbutt sees himself:
Garbutt, who started out as a forward, said: “I guess I am an offensive defenceman. I like to break up the opposition play. But I also like the physical side of things in our own end.”
UPDATE
Nerts, I forgot to link where I got this. Thank you, EuroHockey.
IceRays are back
June 25th, 2008, 2:46 pm by Brian SandalowAs You Know Who strongly hinted yesterday, the Corpus Christi Rayz are once again the Corpus Christi IceRays. Here is the new logo, which is a re-colored version of their old one:
I’m not sold on the font or the colors (you can’t go wrong with their old red, white and blue) but I’m not sure that matters as much as the idea behind the switch. This, along with the dismissal of Ken McRae, signals a clean break for the franchise.
(And one fewer team with a name ending in “Z” is always a good thing.)
With this, I think I can resign from my job as The Monitor’s IceRays beat writer.
Bees announce charity initiative
June 24th, 2008, 12:22 pm by Brian SandalowRGV lends helping hand to Borsheim
I’m sure you all know that Colorado Eagles defenseman Les Borsheim was injured in a motorcycle accident on May 31. I can imagine that his medical bills are piling up, and this certainly will help.
- You Know Who is strongly hinting that the Rayz will go back to being known as the “IceRays.” An announcement is coming tomorrow.
Voltera returns
June 23rd, 2008, 4:29 pm by Brian SandalowIn the “No Duh” category, forward Rob Voltera is officially returning to the Bees. He’s told me as much twice, but it was only a matter of working out some small contractual details.
Voltera also alluded to his future after the Bees, which doesn’t sound like it will include hockey.
“I think this will be my last spot that I play,” Voltera said. “When it’s time to retire or whatever, this will be my last team that I play for.”
Something Voltera also stressed was that the Bees must build a core. He was surprisingly blunt about how they’ve lacked that in the past.
“We’re not like other teams where they have a core group,” Voltera said. “We have to start absolutely from the bare-minimum and we have to make our own core group again, hopefully a core group that will work together and start winning some games.”
Are Voltera and Travis Banga starting to become that core?
“I think so. That’s two,” Voltera said with a laugh. “We need about, probably for a good core group, we need around eight-to-10 different guys and just keep adding different guys you need to get better.”
- The Bees are also set to announce a new charity initiative tomorrow afternoon at the Dodge. Voltera will be there as well.
- I think the curse, or jinx if you will, could be over people. They socked the heck out of ‘em.
McRae out in Corpus
June 19th, 2008, 12:18 pm by Brian SandalowYou Know Who is reporting that the Rayz’ new owners have decided not to retain Ken McRae.
When Terry Ruskowski told me he thought McRae was going to build a winner, that quote raised a few eyebrows. I guess certain people thought this might happen.
Those people were right.
- There have been a couple other CHL news stories from the last few days. Miguel Beaudry is now with the Rapid City Rush, Duane Lewis is the CHL commissioner, and CHL officiating supervisor Ray Scapinello was inducted into the Hall of Fame.
I’ve had the privilege of meeting Ray and watching a couple Bees games with him. And I’m not just being polite, it was a privilege in every sense of the word.
UPDATE
- Wichita has a new coach, and his wife once played in the WNBA.
- Here’s Joy Lindsay’s take on the CHL Summer Conference. She goes into detail about the CBA and how it impacts potential rule changes.
I wonder what Marvin Miller thinks about this.
- Welcome to the real world, Columbia Missourian.
Honorable mention
June 16th, 2008, 2:33 pm by Brian SandalowThe Bees didn’t do much winning last season, but they did take home some awards at the CHL Summer Conference.
(C’mon, gimme a break. Not everything can be Pulitzer worthy. I’m on vacation. Remember?)
The Bees won four awards, tied with Colorado (which won Franchise of the Year) for the most in the CHL. Owner Troy Nelson won the CHL Leadership Award, for I presume, his leadership of the Bees.
All jokes aside, I can imagine Nelson is what the league would want in an owner. He’s patient, accessible (just read his posts at Killerbeefans), is a fan but also runs the team like a business. He’s also a nice guy, which doesn’t hurt.
Along with Troy’s winnings, RGV won the following:
Game Operations Franchise of the Year
Group Ticket Sales Franchise of the Year
Community Relations Franchise of the Year.
This, my friends, proves how a team that plays two miles from the border, has never won a playoff series and won only 16 games last season draws the way it does.
- There should be an addition to the blogroll in the near future.
It’s official, or something
June 16th, 2008, 10:18 am by Brian SandalowThe CHL revealed its divisional alignment, and to nobody’s surprise, the Texas Brahmas are now a member of the Southeast Division. Other than that, no real change. The Rapid City Rush are a member of the Northwest, btw.
The league also announced the 2008-2009 playoff format, which is the same as last year’s. Ten of the league’s 16 teams will qualify for the postseason, with the first round a 2-of-3 mini-series between the 4 and 5 clubs in each conference.
There will also be two new franchises in Allen and Independence, MO. starting play in 2009-2010.
Now, back to vacation.
Bees add goalie
June 13th, 2008, 1:45 pm by Brian Sandalow(So much for vacation.)
The Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees have acquired the rights to former New Mexico goalie Mike Minard from the expansion Rapid City Rush for future considerations.
Minard, 31, will fill one of the Bees’ four veterans spots next season.
Since turning pro in 1996, Minard has played in six leagues, including one game for the Edmonton Oilers during the 1999-2000 season. Last season, Minard went 15-12 for the Scorpions with a 3.74 goals-against average.
Minard was selected by the Rush during Friday’s CHL expansion draft before they dealt his rights to the Bees.
- The CHL is also expected to announce the addition of the Texas Brahmas to the Bees’ Southeast Division. Last season, the Brahmas advanced to the Northern Conference finals, losing in seven games to Colorado.
Also, the league is going to crack down on obstruction. Let’s see how long that lasts.
- Why did I choose to go on vacation during the meetings? Oh, yeah, that’s right…
On vacation
June 11th, 2008, 4:00 pm by Brian Sandalow
I’ll be back June 18.
For now, I’ll just say that, yes, when Duane Lewis said the league was waiting on “something,” it was indeed the Corpus ownership. And most everybody was indeed surprised (and thrilled) at the news.
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