The Calgary Mustangs are pleased to announce that Jeff Collett has committed to Colorado College for the 2010-2011 season. The 19 year-old forward from Calgary, Alberta has compiled 120 career points with the Calgary Royals.

Jeff Collett joins a group of eight players which have chosen to accept scholarships that will enable them to continue their education while playing the game of hockey.

• Jeff Collett – Colorado College
• Matt Brown – Marian University
• Brandon Nowakowski – College of St. Scholastica
• Evan Smith – Utica College
• John Lidgett – Colgate University
• Adam Stuart – York University
• Cameron Lamoureux – University of Lethbridge
• Brad Drobot – SAIT Polytechnic

The Calgary Junior A Mustangs will continue to strive to assist all players with their future educational aspirations, and have proven in previous seasons that education is still a top priority.

Brooks, Alberta, July 26, 2010 – The Brooks Bandits are proud to announce the hiring of Arthur Murray as the team’s Head Trainer.
Arthur or maybe better known as “Kahuna” is very well known around the junior hockey ranks. The Brooks community is familiar with Arthur as he spent 5 seasons with the organization from 2003 – 2008 making him the longest serving Trainer in team history. He spent the last two seasons with the OCN Blizzard of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League. During his first stint in Brooks Arthur became a fan favorite and was renowned in the community for his upbeat personality.
Head Trainer Arthur Murray – “I’m excited to be back in Brooks and to be part of the Bandits family again. I had a great 5 years with the team and would like to continue the success we had during that time.”
GM/Head Coach Ryan Papaioannou – “We couldn’t have found a better person for the position. Arthur has 15 years experience in Junior A hockey and is an asset anyone would like to have. His ability to interact with people will make him such a valuable part of our organization. With Arthur’s return to Brooks are players will now have a first class experience when it comes to their medical and equipment needs.”

The Old Grizzlys today announced that for personal reasons Doug Hedley has resigned from the position of Head Coach/Director of Hockey Operations.

The Grizzlys will announce a replacement as soon as possible.

Oil Kings Add Hamilton To Coaching Staff
Edmonton, AB – Steve Hamilton was born with the Edmonton Oilers and Oil Kings in his blood, so it’s only fitting he is now an official member of the hockey club.
Hamilton has been hired as an assistant coach for the Oil Kings major junior hockey team that competes in the Western Hockey League (WHL). The Oil Kings made the official announcement on Tuesday at Rexall Place.
“Steve has a great coaching background and is ready to take his career forward, and we’re really glad it’s happening with us,” Oil Kings General Manager Bob Green said of the hiring. “He’s had a lot of success in the past and really proven himself to be a winner. We want to bring that winning attitude to the Oil Kings.”
Hamilton has deep ties to the Oilers and Oil Kings organization, as his father Al played in three consecutive Memorial Cups with the Oil Kings during the 1960s, leading the club to the national championship as team captain in 1966.
He went on to play for the Oilers from 1972 to 1980, mostly in the World Hockey Association (WHA) before the Oilers joined the National Hockey League (NHL) for his final season of professional hockey in 1979-1980. He was the first-ever captain of the Oilers, wearing the ‘C’ from 1972 to 1976.
“My dad had a long career with the Oil Kings and Oilers organization, and I hope I have even a fraction of the success he had,” Hamilton said of continuing his family’s legacy with the club. “That would be quite remarkable.”
For the last four years, Hamilton has been the Head Coach and General Manager of the Spruce Grove Saints in the Alberta Junior Hockey League. During his tenure, the Saints had a phenomenal 164-47-6-27 regular season record, and they captured the AJHL’s Enerflex Cup championship this past spring.
Hamilton joins Head Coach Derek Laxdal on the revamped Oil Kings coaching staff. Laxdal was hired as head coach on June 18, 2010, coming to Edmonton from the Idaho Steelheads of the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL), where he was the Head Coach and Director of Hockey Operations.
“It’s an exciting new chapter in my coaching career,” said Hamilton, who is an instructor at The Hockey Program at Vimy Ridge Academy in Edmonton. “I’m really looking forward to working with Bob and Derek and being part of the organization.”
“Steve is very good, technically, and he’s got a good relationship with the players, which will be very important for us with this particular role,” Green added. “With head coaching experience, I think he’ll be able to bring a lot of additional knowledge to Derek. They have the same approach to the game, and I think they’ll work well together.”

Another Storm player from the 2009-2010 team will be continuing his education and hockey career at the university level. Matt Pasztor has joined the University of Ontario Institute of Technology Ridgebacks and is the seventh Storm player from last year to receive a university scholarship.

“We are excited about adding Matt to our blue-line,” said Ridgebacks coach Marlin Muylaert. “He is a defenceman that can bring a physical presence to our lineup while having also shown the ability to contribute to a power play. Everyone we have talked to about Matt feels he has a great upside and we are confident he will prove to be an excellent university hockey player.”
Pasztor was a workhorse for the Storm last season playing in 60 regular season games, where he had six goals and 16 assists and 119 penalty minutes.

A native of Langton, Ont., Pasztor played one season with the Aurora Tigers of the Ontario Provincial Junior Hockey League (OPJH) and two seasons with the St. Thomas Stars in the Western Ontario Hockey League (WOHL), prior to joining the Storm, last season.

The Ridgebacks play in the Ontario University Athletics conference in the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) national university league.

The Brooks Bandits are pleased to announce the addition of Brett Goulet to the team’s staff. Brett will assume the role of Head Recruiter and will also spend time with the team as an Assistant Coach.

Brett has a deep experience within both coaching and scouting. Most recently he was the Head Coach of the UFA Bison Midget AAA program based out of Strathmore, AB. Prior to that Brett was the Head Coach of the Airdrie Xtreme and led the team to a Western Canadian Bantam AAA Championship. He was also involved with the Prince George Cougars of the WHL as a Scout in the Calgary Area.

Head Coach/GM Ryan Papaioannou – “I’m very happy to have Brett join our staff. I think anytime we can add quality people to our program it will translate into success for our organization. Brett will play a major role off the ice working with our Director of Scouting – Irv Heide to identify young talent and begin the recruiting process. He is also going to be an asset behind the bench working with our players from a skill and tactics point of view”

Torris off to Southern Maine.

Braely Torris has commited to the University of Southern Maine for the coming season. Braely came back to the Thunder organization for his third stint with the team before the start of the 2009-2010 season. Torris put up a respectable 3.70 GAA and an 89.62 save percentage on a very young Thunder team. Braely also faced nearly 1600 shots in the 49 games he made appearances in during the season.

Fran Gow had this to say about the commitment “Braely came in and did what we needed him to do for us this season. Playing on a young team can sometimes be trying for a goaltender, but Braely came in shut the door on teams most nights and that did not go unnoticed as he was named to the North All Star team this past season. Again the Thunder organization would like to thank Braely for his time spent in Drayton Valley and would like to congratulate him and his family for this accomplishment.”

Braely will be joining the Huskies who play out of the ECAC East. Braely is the fifth Thunder player from last season roster to commit to a school for the coming year.

The Calgary Canucks take great pride in announcing that graduating defenseman Marc Zanoni has committed to attend Manhattanville College in Purchase, New York starting this coming semester. Marc will be playing for the Manhattanville Valiant competing in the ECAC.
During his time with our team Marc was our captain and he epitomized what is required to be a leader of the Canucks. At our recent award banquet he received the Players Player Award as chosen by his teammates, which further indicates his leadership abilities.
The coaching staff and the entire Board of Directors congratulate Marc and his family and wish him every success in his future scholastic and hockey endeavours.

The Drayton Valley Thunder is very pleased to announce the commitment of forward Benji Rubin to York University. Benji will be joining the Lions for the upcoming 2010-2011 season.
Benji came to the Thunder organization at the start of the 2009-2010 season where he put up an impressive 57 points in 58 games along with 78 penalty minutes for the Thunder. The 21 year old is a native of Montreal, Quebec.
“Benji was a huge acquisition for us before the start of the 09-10 season. Benji played a lot of minutes for our club over the last year and I look for Benji to do big things at York this fall. The Drayton Valley Thunder would like to congratulate Benji and his family on this opportunity” stated Thunder General Manager and head Coach Fran Gow.
Rubin is the fourth Thunder player off the 2009-2010 Thunder roster to commit to an NCAA, CIS or ACAC program.

The Fort McMurray Oil Barons are pleased to announce that 20 year old defenceman Mason Conway (Foremost, AB) has committed to attend and play for the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns in the Canada West Division of the C.I.S. (Canadian Interuniversity Sports) for the upcoming 2010-2011 season.
Mason just completed his junior career posting 7 goals and 22 assists in 57 games during the 2009-2010 season. His offensive play, strong physical presence and his ability to contribute in all situations were very important in the Oil Barons' long playoff run this year. Mason was recognized for his play by being a part of the North Division in last year's All-Star game.
The Oil Barons organization would like to congratulate Mason and his family and wish him all the best in his future endeavours both academically and athletically.
Mason becomes the 5th Oil Baron from last year to secure a commitment from a post-secondary institution.
For more information call the Oil Barons office at (780) 743-5509