Blog
Skilled McManus blazing a trail in the Midwest
January 23rd, 2016Several hockey coaches should send thank you cards to Ryan and James Anderson if they haven’t already. They’re the ones who inspired younger brother Brannon McManus to play hockey, and 1999 birth year from Newport Beach has spent the past several years blazing a trail through the sport. “My brothers got me into it, and…
Californians thriving in new women’s pro league
January 23rd, 2016When Rachel Llanes first began playing hockey with the San Jose Jr. Sharks at the age of 12, she never dreamed of playing professionally. The possibility didn’t exist then, but last fall, when Llanes pulled on a Boston Pride jersey for the first time, she became part of the first North American women’s hockey league…
Gauthier making his presence felt with Storm, LVIC
January 21st, 2016Gabe Gauthier had a presence at Las Vegas Ice Center long before Kirk and John Brooks interviewed him for the rink’s hockey director job nearly two years ago. It’s just that the brothers who own and operate the rink didn’t realize it. “It’s one of those things that shows you how small the hockey world…
Chalk Talk: Larger goal nets not the answer
January 21st, 2016With scoring down in the NHL, there’s actually a movement afoot these days to enlarge the goal nets. When you initially start to think about it, such a consideration seems pretty dramatic, but it is worth giving the idea some merit. Certainly there’s an extreme difference in the average size of today’s NHL goalies versus…
Jr. Ducks’ Herrman embraces NTDP opportunity
January 21st, 2016For the second season in a row, the Anaheim Jr. Ducks’ Midget 16U AAA team has had a player called up to the U.S. National Team Development Program (NTDP). Forward Rory Herrman played three games for the NTDP’s Under-17 team during the holiday break – against the Muskegon Lumberjacks of the United States Hockey League…
NHL Central Scouting tabs Jr. Kings grad Sarthou
January 20th, 2016NHL Central Scouting recognized former Los Angeles Jr. Kings goaltender Evan Sarthou on its midterm rankings of 2016 draft-eligibles, which were released today. Sarthou, who’s in his third season stopping pucks for the Western Hockey League’s Tri-City (Wash.) Americans, is ranked No. 9 among North American goaltenders. In 39 appearances this year, the Washington native…
California State Cup aims to expand participation
January 19th, 2016Any club representing a California high school or junior high school – public or private – is eligible to enter a team in this year’s California State Cup inline hockey championship tournament. The event is scheduled for March 12-13 at The Rinks-Irvine Inline and not only provides a convenient central meeting place for scholastic teams…
WSHL hosts another successful Shootout in Vegas
January 19th, 2016The 15th annual Western States Hockey League (WSHL) Shootout is in the books, and you can count league president and commissioner Ron White as one who’s happy with both the event and the state of the 29-team league. Held from Dec. 15-19 in Las Vegas, the Shootout gives college and university scouts the opportunity to…
Barnes shines for U.S. at Women’s Worlds
January 19th, 2016Corona’s Cayla Barnes was named the Best Defenseman at this year’s IIHF Under-18 Women’s World Championship, which was showcased from Jan. 8-15 in St. Catharines, Ontario. A member of the U.S. team, Barnes tied for the tournament lead in assists (six) as the Americans skated to a gold-medal performance at the event, which culminated in…
Industry Profile: Chris Phillips, Compete Sports Performance
January 17th, 2016Chris Phillips cut his teeth working in hockey, but after a decade and a half living a somewhat nomadic lifestyle, he was ready for a change. The head athletic trainer for the Anaheim Ducks from 1999-2005, Phillips spent a total of 15 years in the game between stints in the American Hockey League (AHL),…