Pats select Dominik Volek in 2011 Import Draft

With the 9th pick in the 2011 Import Draft the Pats have selected Dominik Volek from HC Sparta Praha.

Dominik Volek
Jan. 12, 1994
HC Sparta Praha
Czech Republic
LW
6.01
185
Eligible 2012
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I found an interview done with Dominik on Dan Sallows website (www.dansallows.com). I'm not sure when the interview was done but you can find the link here.
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Elite Prospects (www.eliteprospects.com) has his recent stats and a profile, you can find that information here.
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Pats Press release can be found here.
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You can follow the draft here.

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Huge News

From ReginaPats.com

Pats Part with Hunt and Ripplinger

Regina, Saskatchewan –Regina Pats General Manager, Chad Lang announced today that they have released Head Coach Curtis Hunt of his duties and will not renew the contract of Director of Scouting Todd Ripplinger for the 2011-12 season.

“These decisions are always tough to make, especially when you are deal with two quality people like Curtis and Todd, however after a lengthy evaluation process we felt strongly that it was the right time to make a change." Regina Pats General Manager Chad Lang continues, "We need to go in a new direction with a fresh approach and philosophy as it relates to our head coach and the head scout positions. The entire Pats organization would like to thank Curtis and Todd for their hard work and service to this franchise and wish them all the best in the future.”

Curtis finished his sixth season as Head Coach of the Regina Pats with a combined record of 185-201-46 leading the Pats to a division title in 2007-08.

Todd took over the role as Director of Scouting prior to the 1997-98 season and over 13 seasons he drafted the likes of Josh Harding, Logan Pyett, Jordan Eberle and Jordan Weal.

General Manager Chad Land and President Brent Parker will be made available for comment at 2:30 at the Sandman located at 1800 Victoria Avenue East.

The search for a new Head Coach and Director of Scouting will begin immediately.

-30-

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Stephenson off to U-18 Camp

http://reginapats.com/article/stephenson-to-u-18-camp

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Will you be there July 4th?

Where: Scarth Street Mall aka F.W. Hill Mall
When: Monday July 4th, 2011
Time: 12:00 PM – 18:00 PM CST
Food Bank Beneficiary: Regina and District Food Bank
Special Guests: TBA
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I will be there!

This is something definitely worth checking out. It's called Five Hole For Food.

From their website: Five Hole for Food is an annual coast to coast tour playing hockey to support food banks across Canada.

We set up a rink in the heart of each city and invite anyone and everyone to come out to play hockey to fight hunger. Bring your stick, bring a can of food, and have fun. 100% of the proceeds go to the local food bank in each city.

We work with local hockey bloggers in each city to organize the local game and get the community involved.

Five Hole for Food partners with professional and amateur hockey teams throughout its 17-day tour to raise awareness about hunger in Canada.

Uniting fans of all loyalties, FHFF is visiting St. John’s, Halifax, Charlottetown, Saint John, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Winnipeg, Regina, Calgary, Edmonton, Victoria, and Vancouver in 2011.

Information about Regina's leg of the voyage can be found here: http://www.fiveholeforfood.com/regina/. Please check it out. It looks like it will be fun!

If you would like more information about Five Hole For Food you can check out their website at: http://www.fiveholeforfood.com

Or their Facebook page or you can follow them on Twitter.

I think this is a great cause and I plan on following the journey from the East coast back to the West coast. I think I will add a sidebar that will follow the journey to my blog. I honestly wish I would have known about this earlier as I think this is a great idea for a great cause.

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Late Friday/Early Saturday Update

I'm not going to sit here and poach everyone's articles and pictures..... I'm going to make sure they get the hits on their sites. I know I don't get much site traffic as I'm not keeping up my updates but I have some big plans for The Blueliner.... please stay tuned.

On to the update:
I guess some of my questions have been answered regarding Greg Mayer and Todd Ripplinger as well as an update on the status of the coaching staff (or lack thereof).

Thanks to Greg Harder of the Leader-Post who gives us an update in Wednesday's edition. You can check that out here: http://www.leaderpost.com/sports/hockey/pats-hockey/Pats+negotiating+several+staff+positions/4909513/story.html

Greg also has a bit more information reagarding the staff, lease and the AHL in Regina. You can read his Slap Shots blog with the link on the left or you can click here to go directly to his blog post: http://communities.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/blogs/slapshots/archive/2011/06/08/pats-staff-taking-shape.aspx

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The WHL Ride For The Kids was held this week and you can find numerous photo galleries, updates and stories here: http://www.whl.ca/whlrideforthekids

Rod Pedersen has some pictures on his blog from the Red, Blue & Bling Gala as well as some from the  WHL Ride For The Kids. You can find them here: http://rodpedersen.blogspot.com/2011/06/busy-day.html

ReginaPats.com have some photos on their site as well. You can find them here: http://reginapats.com/article/whl-ride-for-the-kids-finale-in-pictures

That's all for now.

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I had planned on an update earlier....

....but life got in the way a bit.

A few thoughts (Rookie Camp):

• I took in much of the Saturday session of the Pats spring camp and I must say I was really impressed with the overall skill level of most of the kids that were there.
• I would have to say that Klimchuk and Burroughs were the best of the bunch and seemed to really battle each other on a few one-on-one drills and I don't think I can give either one of them the upper hand.
• It's so hard to evaluate these guys as I don't know when the last time they played competitively or when the last time they skated was and all that kind of stuff.... I'll wait to see them at main camp in August (September) to really see what they are made of.
• I was hoping to see Brooks, Schioler and Churchill as they all sound like they will be impressive prospects.
• Seeing that we don't have any assistant coaches..... I was really curious to see who was around to help Curtis out. I had expected a couple of Pats alumni and I was right. Jamie Heward and Garth Murray were there helping out.
• Here's an article that was posted on the Regina Pats website by Greg Harder of the Leader-Post: http://reginapats.com/article/prospects-eager-to-shine

Randoms:

• Congrats to the Pats on their award from the Canadian Cancer Society! I've been impressed with the amount of time and effort that the Pats staff put into the "Breast Cancer Awareness Nights". In case you missed it here is the article: http://reginapats.com/article/national-award-for-regina-pats
• Brandon Davidson seems to be fitting in really well in the Pros. That story can be found here: http://okcbarons.com/index.cfm?fa=thepipeline&ra=showarticle&guid=6952bf13-7733-4458-aec8-2c0ae74c9db3
• Good Luck to Mark Schneider who has committed to the U of R Cougars! Hopefully it doesn't get as cold for you as it was here last year.... I'm sorry but I had to add that.
• Is there going to be an announcement regarding Todd Ripplinger any time soon? I understand that his contract has expired.... I'm still seeing his name on the Pats website and there hasn't been any mention anywhere about his status with the club. I'm guessing that it goes ditto for Greg Mayer as I heard that his contract was up as well.
• I don't know if this is true or not.... I haven't seen any verification about it but I hear that Leigh Fitzpatrick is no longer with the Pats. It's my understanding that his wife and him have moved back out east. If it is true.... Good luck Leigh!

That's about it for now.... Take care out there.

Edit: Chuck.... you know who you are.... shoot me an email. Thanks.

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