Random thoughts on things important to somebody...

With just over 24 hours left until the WHL's trade deadline, the flurry has started. Or will it? Whether or not the annual parade of deals happens and when, not if, Brandon Wheat King forward Brayden Schenn is dealt to a contender, most WHL fans - at least the ones in markets who are vying for the junior superstar's services - wait like a kid on Christmas Eve.

Will he head to the Kootenays? Tough to say. The delay in Ice GM Jeff Chynoweth obtaining the sorely needed help up front tells me there's a target (Schenn) in sight and it's a matter of whether Brandon owner/GM Kelly McCrimmon takes his offer or one from the likes of Saskatoon or maybe Kelowna. Portland was in the running but after the Cunningham deal I think they're done for the most part.

Last night's effort and result has to be cast aside as a gauge of where the Ice are. They're close, real close IMO and two players - either an older depth D-man and an impact forward or two forwards could push them over the edge.

As for Brandon, the fact that Schenn is still there (well, he's at home in Saskatoon actually, nursing a shoulder injury that will keep him out of action for the next two weeks) tells me that McCrimmon is waiting until the 11th hour to flush out the best deal possible. I think the same goes for Calgary and their best players - Foucault (20), Bubnick (19) and MacKenzie (19). Kelly Kisio must be feeling the heat to rebuild given the status of his team And after last night's rumour-fest around the rink, the price is astronomical. But you already know most of this....

I still think that the Ice is in the best position to offer the best deal. Not many teams are as deep in draft picks and prospects to try and obtain high-end help. The Ice have two 1st round picks and two picks in rounds 4-7 for the 2011 Draft. Two of their 15-year-old prospects are leading their league in scoring (Luke Philp - Alberta Midget - 39 points; 24 games) or second (Sam Reinhart - BC Major Midget 54 points; 24 games) Two other prospects - list player Sam Johnson, 16, (UFA Bisons - Alberta Midget) is tied with Jaedon Descheneau (Leduc - Alberta Midget) for 16th in league scoring - both with 28 points. In Saskatchewan list player Levi Cable, 16, is 8th in league scoring with 36 points in 30 games while Jared Iron, 16, is 12th on the list with 33pts in 30 games including 18 goals. Former first rounder Colby Cave, 16, is a ways back with 10g and 10a in 30 games.

In goal? Wyatt Hoflin, 15, is a blue-chipper as is MacKenzie Skapski, 16, who was lights-out for Team Pacific at the U-17 with the second-best stats of any goaltender of the tourny. Steven Myland and Kevin Jacyna round out the goaltending depth.

On the blueline 15-year-old Tanner Faith, Mike Simpson, 16, and Jeff Hubic, 16 are all expected to challenge for spots next season.

The point? Kootenay is deep in the prospect pool to get an impact player at the deadline today or tomorrow. It's just a matter of how much the team is willing to stomach giving up...

Kootenay's on the tube twice next week; On Shaw Cable Wednesday for the day game in Edmonton at 11:30 and again Saturday in the outdoor game in Spokane at 2PM Cranbrook time...

The Weather for the outdoor game? About -5C but there's supposed to be a swak of snow coming later in the week... And how happy must the WHL be for their Feb 21st outdoor game at McMahon Stadium in Calgary where the league's two worst teams will face-off? Okay, the Pats are playing better but after the deadline, things could be ugly for these two clubs finishing off the season ready to rebuild.

I haven't publicly weighed-in on the Gregg Drinnan/Kamloops Blazer war that has the dean of WHL Writers and best coverage both in print (over 12,000 readers for the News) and on the net (over 2000 hits a day) by a country mile of both the Blazers; the WHL and former players banned from talking to the players or anyone from the organization, but you could probably guess which side I'm going to come down on.

The WHL and the Blazers look bush in what could only be described as a fiasco. If you have issues with the local beat writer then discussion between the two parties, airing their concerns in-camera before a knee-jerk reaction like the Blazers did is the first-step approach. In my experience parties that have grievances that don't attempt to resolve them in a respectable manner tend not to have much of a case. From my vantage point it looks more to be an ego issue or a classic case of shoot the messenger. And if you look through the public offerings of Mr. Drinnan that are all available to anyone who wants to look on his blog (over there, on the right) or on the Kamloops Daily News Website, trying to find anything that's off-base in terms of 'negative coverage' - as was the reasoning by Blazer GM Craig Bonner in their letter to KDN - might prove problematic because there isn't any.

Is there questions and criticisms? Sure, that comes with the territory of being part of a league that wants fans dearly to believe that they are a mini-version of the NHL. There's drafts, trades, hold-outs, ticket prices - some high, some not - attendance issues and big-time coverage, sound familiar? Thing is, if you want to be like a big-time league then you'll be treated as such, in good times and in bad. As players are so fond of saying - even rookies - it's a business and it's not personal. And nowhere is there any evidence to suggest otherwise, that Gregg Drinnan was anything but business-like and professional in his journalistic approach. And I compel the Blazers and the WHL - whose own media policy is currently not being enforced - to display evidence to the contrary.

Truth is, this is a disaster in terms of coverage from the get-go. It's garnered national media attention, talk of a boycott (when league-wide attendance is down significantly) by print press, you have NHL player owners of the club (Mark Recchi and Shane Doan) commenting on a situation they know nothing about. And from Recchi, the NHL's elder statesmen who will likely be in the Hall of Fame one day, he throws one of his biggest hometown supporters under the bus. In the past year along I would guess that there have been over ten articles or mention by Drinnan on Recchi in a positive light. Guess he must have not read those.

There's also now a bit of media war starting between mediums - mostly Radio in Kamloops (6th one down) - and the print media. I'm waiting for Shaw to wade into the debate on their broadcast this week. Some are coming down on the side of the team, however most aren't, at least the ones in print.

I wonder if the NHL or one of it's teams would try such a stunt. I can't imagine anyone from the media horde in Toronto, Vancouver or Montreal or New York. Did Drinnan do anything like this? Not at all. Did the Rangers ban Larry Brooks? No, and he's the extreme.

I wonder if places like Phoenix, Atlanta, Florida or Columbus would ban a reporter? With their attendance, I doubt it.

I've had my spats with the Ice brass on occasion or two in the past 13 seasons of covering the team but I never made them public and when they weren't happy with me, they never made it public. They were just resolved one way or the other. Nobody wins in scraps like this but I'll guarantee you this; it's the WHL and Kamloops Blazers who stand the most to lose.