A Wild Birthday Milestone For Dumba

Courtesy:  Minnesota Star Tribune

Time to dust off the keyboard and do a bit of blogging for the first time in what seems like way too much time off.

As Mathew Dumba today celebrates his 18th birthday, I figured it would be a good idea to catch up with the star Red Deer Rebels defenceman. 

From playing at the World U-18's (becoming the first blueliner to lead the tournament in scoring), to being selected 7th overall by Minnesota at the NHL Entry Draft, to skating at the Wild's summer development camp and signing his entry level contract... "off-season" hasn't been a part of Dumba's vocabulary.

'REBELS THIS WEEK' Returns for Season 2

REBELS THIS WEEK & SOUTHSIDE DODGE RE-NEW SPONSORSHIP AGREEMENT

For Immediate Release
Monday, July 23, 2012

RED DEER, AB – Following a successful first season, Rebels This Week (RTW) has announced a renewed sponsorship agreement with Southside Dodge Chrysler Jeep for the upcoming 2012-2013 season.

The agreement will showcase Southside Dodge as the exclusive title sponsor for a second consecutive year, which also marks the return of Rebels This Week for another season of the television and internet based program.

Long Weekend Look Back

Good Tuesday, everyone.  Hope you all had a fun and safe Canada Day long weekend!

The personal highlight for me was being able to watch all four CFL games from start to finish (two of which I watched on TV, the other two I attended in person).  Sadly, I was 1/4 with my predictions (BC was my only correct pick).  Here's how my initial power rankings look...

1.  BC (1-0)
2.  Saskatchewan (1-0)
3.  Calgary (1-0)
4.  Edmonton (1-0)
5.  Toronto (0-1)
6.  Winnipeg (0-1)
7.  Montreal (0-1)
8.  Hamilton (0-1)

CFL Chalk Talk

nationalpost.com

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.