CFL Chalk Talk

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Today is a big day for me as it marks the start of the 2012 CFL season.

As a lifelong fan of the league, it’s pretty darn easy to get excited about this. But the subplots heading into this brand new campaign make for more intrigue than an Agatha Christie novel…

Rebels Schedule Breakdown

Right on the heels of the CHL Import Draft (in which they selected Czech defenceman Jan Bittner) the Red Deer Rebels released their schedule for the 2012-2013 Western Hockey League season.

Training camp will commence on Sunday, August 26th at the Enmax Centrium with the annual McDonald's Black / White intrasquad game taking place Wednesday the 29th at 7pm.

Rebels Report - Dumba, Bartosak, and Bittner (the new guy)

Got a quick pic with 
Evgeni Malkin while in Vegas.

I'm Baaaack!

What a lovely change it was for this guy to go from sunny and 40+ degrees Celsius in Las Vegas to rainy and 15 degrees back here in Red Deer .  But I suppose a guy has to put up with that kind of thing after having a great time over five days in Sin City.  I'll survive.

There was some hockey flavour to my trip as my buddy and I dropped in on an NHL Awards 'after party' last Wednesday night.  It was pretty cool to be 'just a fan' for a night and meet current NHLers like Evgeni Malkin, Daniel Alfredsson, and Twitter legend Paul Bissonnette (@BizNasty2point0).  And, even as a life long Flames fan, it was quite a thrill to meet Mark Messier.  There were plenty more NHLers in the building, unfortunately my knack for recognizing faces isn't what it should be for a guy in my position (though I did manage to shake hands with Henrik Lundqvist).  Regardless, it was a great way to start a holiday.

Draft Talk With Dumba And Bartosak

Two months ago when I booked my trip to Vegas I apparently overlooked the fact that I would be in 'Sin City' while the NHL Entry Draft takes place in Pittsburgh.

But that didn't stop me from putting in a couple of phone calls late last week to the two Red Deer Rebels who are likely to be selected this weekend.

It's a foregone conclusion that Mathew Dumba will have his name called in the first round of the draft on Friday night.  Depending on who's draft board you are looking at,  Dumba is ranked as high as 6th (Bob McKenzie, TSN) to 18th (Shane Malloy, The Art of Scouting) and everywhere in between.  NHL Central Scouting has him ranked 11th among North American skaters.

Red Deer's Cup Connections

By now you've seen and heard plenty about the Los Angeles Kings 6-1 win last night over the New Jersey Devils to clinch their first ever Stanley Cup title.

So let's take a bit of a different angle and look at how the Kings' cup win ties into Red Deer and Central Alberta... that is the point of this particular blog after all.

Rebels Prospects Camp Review

The 2012 edition of Red Deer Rebels Prospects Camp is in the books.

There were no big surprises at this particular camp, which is really a good thing.  As mentioned in my previous blog, prospects camp is all about welcoming the new kids to the Rebels program and evaluating the progress of those who were welcomed last year.