Slow News Week

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Courtesy Alan Caldwell:

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Slow news week
Been almost a week since my last post here.....times are slow right now it seems, not just in the WHL and hockey world but in the sports world in general. No NHL, no NFL, no NBA.....only baseball and CFL football are playing their seasons right now and nothing much going on there to generate news....

Anyways, Marc Weber has an update on the Evan Pighin/Chilliwack situation in his blog. It seems the Bruins met with Pighin last week and laid out the facts of his situation - ie, he can't simply walk away from the Bruins and join the BCHL.

As I see it though, Pighin has the biggest card still in his hand although who knows if he wants to play it: he can simply not show up for Bruins camp and try to force the issue. Surely the Bruins will not make him sit out his last season of junior just because he wants to play Junior A instead of in the WHL. But on the other hand, I see the Bruins' position too: in order to let Pighin play Junior A, they have to first waive him through the WHL. What's stopping a contending or big market team from picking him up off the WHL waiver wire and having Pighin then agree to play for that contending or big market team since it could offer the kind of NHL/pro exposure he's looking for. Then the Bruins are left with nothing. Tough situation all around.

In other WHL news, it sounds like the Pats may have narrowed their head coach search down to two names: Marc Habscheid and Dale Derkatch.

At first glance, that contest is a no-contest: Habscheid is infinitely more qualified at the WHL level than Derkatch is. Habscheid has been a head coach in two WHL cities already, won a Memorial Cup, and also has NHL coaching experience. Derkatch, well, he was a pretty good player in the WHL in the 80's but that's all the WHL experience he has.

But, the devil is always in the details.....Habscheid is obviously going to command a heckuva lot more money than Derkatch will, and Habscheid may want other things as well. Things like G.M. Brent Parker's job. So Parker might have to decide whether he wants to continue to be the Pats G.M. or whether this is a good opportunity to step aside and hire an extremely qualified replacement. Another report suggested that Habscheid may also want first right of refusal to buy the Pats, should the Parkers ever decide to sell the team. So, some tough decisions to be made by the Parkers in the coming days/weeks.

If it's just the coaching job, then it's a no-brainer that you take Habscheid and pay him whatever the price is. But if all these other factors are in the mix too....maybe Derkatch becomes more appealing as the issue-free candidate?

Another note, Rockets fans can probably forget about seeing Mikael Backlund in their lineup this season after reading this article. He's going back to Sweden this year if he doesn't crack the NHL. So, a wasted import pick by the Rockets.

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Courtesy Marc Weber

Bruins await Pighin Round 2

Chilliwack Bruins GM Darrell May had a face-to-face with suddenly-bolting forward Evan Pighin last Tuesday but nothing has been resolved with the talented, gritty 20-year-old.

"We just sat down and spelled it out for him," said May. "He didn't argue too much. He just said he'd take a few days to get his head around that."

May said there's been no contact since then and that he's awaiting Pighin's call.

Quick summary of the situation/timeline:

July 3: Victoria Grizzlies staff let Bruins head coach Jim Hiller know that they are going to trade for Pighin's BCHL rights with Salmon Arm. Bruins don't think much of it.


July 8: Pighin is trotted out by the RBC Cup host Grizzlies as one of three big acquisitions. Basically it's presented that he's going to be a key cog in their Cup run. GM happy. Coach happy. Pighin happy.

July 9: Bruins GM Darrell May reminds all that Pighin is under contract and says no way is he going to release him. There's a conference call with May, Hiller, Grizzlies management and reps from the WHL and BCHL.


Let the waiting begin.

July 15: Pighin and May have face-to-face. Both share in person what has already been stated in the media. No progress really.


It's hard to say what's going through Pighin's head now that May has taken a stand.

Pighin sounded somewhat confused about the rules when asked about them a couple of weeks ago, saying he though they were two different leagues. How did a) he not understand his own situation, and b) the Grizzlies not explain the situation fully to him.

He didn't consult his agent or the Bruins before showing up in Victoria, so that perhaps explains part of the above.

The Grizzlies, I guess, had nothing to lose. Trade for his rights, convince him to come and let him deal with the Bruins. If either the Grizzlies or Pighin were counting on the Bruins simply releasing him, obviously they've misjudged May.


Both sides have a ton to lose. The Bruins really need his scoring and grit, and Pighin really needs to play if he hopes to land a pro deal.

May said league rules prevent him from accepting any compensation for Pighin, so it's not like Victoria and Chilliwack have anything to negotiate. I previously stated that perhaps cash could come Chilliwack's way.

Pighin has stated that the guarantee of playing in the RBC Cup and the chance to put up big numbers in a lesser league are appealing — that the exposure will be better for him and will give him a better shot at a pro deal.


May said that playing another year in Chilliwack would be his best bet.

"He had a strong season last year and if he can do that again there's no reason his situation won't be like Nick [Holden]'s."

Holden blossomed as a 20-year-old in Chilliwack and was signed as a free agent by Columbus.

Another question is what happened before July 3? Did Pighin approach Victoria or they him? At this point, though, it doesn't really matter, other than to determine if this was truly his idea or an idea planted strongly in his head.


Pighin said his dad approached the Grizzlies but didn't get into too much detail. Others think the Grizzlies made a push for him.

Grizzlies GM Jackson Penney said after they traded for Pighin's rights that this was now between Pighin and the Bruins, and Penney and May haven't talked since the conference call.

Pighin didn't talk to any of the Bruins' players before showing up in Victoria and hasn't had contact with them since.

One said today he was still confused by it all, but that Pighin was an important part of the team and they would welcome him back once he explained the situation.


Pighin scored 22 goals and 48 points in 53 regular-season games for Chilliwack last season after making the jump from Salmon Arm of the BCHL. He featured often on the top line with Mark Santorelli and Oscar Moller.

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