Monthly Archives: June 2010

Ducks give Chipchura another year.

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The Ducks have signed center Kyle Chipchura to a 1-year, $650,000 contract. Chipchura, who was due to become a restricted free agent on July 1, became the everday fourth-line center soon after he was acquired in a midseason trade from Montreal.

The 24-year-old set career highs in 2009-10 for games (55), goals (six) and points (12) after three disappointing seasons with the Canadiens, who made him the 18th overall draft pick in 2004. Chipchura also won 47.9 percent of his faceoffs, the fifth-best percentage on the team.

Along with Todd Marchant and Ryan Carter, Chipchura gives the Ducks three experienced candidates for the third- and fourth-line center positions in 2010-11.

Ducks announce rookie tournament schedule.

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The Ducks are among five teams set to participate
in a five-team rookie tournament from Sept. 12-16 in Penticton, British
Columbia. The eight-game round-robin
tournament will also include
the host Vancouver Canucks, San Jose Sharks, Calgary Flames and Edmonton
Oilers. Anaheim prospects will play three games at the South Okanagan
Events
Centre, including Sept. 12 vs. San Jose (7:30 p.m. PDT), Sept. 13 vs.
Calgary
(4 p.m. PDT) and Sept. 15 vs. Vancouver (4 p.m. PDT). 


Anaheim’s 2010
Rookie
Camp roster and schedule will be released at a later date; the 2010-11 season schedule is due to be released next Tuesday. Below is a
complete
look at the 2010 rookie tournament schedule.


GAME      TEAMS                                
DATE              TIME
(PDT)
Game 1      Vancouver vs. Edmonton       Sept. 12           4:00 p.m.
Game 2      San Jose vs. Anaheim            Sept. 12           7:30 p.m.

Game 3      Anaheim
vs.
Calgary              Sept. 13           4:00 p.m.
Game 4      San Jose vs. Vancouver         Sept. 13           7:30 p.m.
Game 5      Calgary vs. Edmonton            Sept. 14           7:30 p.m.

Game 6      Anaheim
vs.
Vancouver         Sept. 15           4:00 p.m.
Game 7      Edmonton vs. San Jose          Sept. 15           7:30 p.m.

Game 8      Calgary
vs.
Vancouver           Sept. 16           12:00 p.m.

If Ducks rebuild, count Selanne out: Report.

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From Helsingin Sanomat‘s International Edition:

The 2007 Stanley Cup winner and the all-time points leader in men’s
Olympic ice hockey, who has played in the NHL since the 1992-93 season,
told the Finnish daily Turun Sanomat that
he will quit if the team announces plans to perform a rejuvenation
operation and start building a new squad.

Selnne, who turns 40
early next month, said that his continuing with the team is likely “if
Anaheim decides that is still wants to win next season and if it wants
to keep the team more or less the same.”

Selnne believes that the situation is very similar to that of his
fellow countryman Saku Koivu, 35, who is
still without a contract. The ball – or the puck – is in the team’s
court so to speak.

“Saku, too, is in a situation where he wants to continue to play in a
winning team”, Selnne commented about his teammate to the Turku-based
newspaper.

This is roughly the same approach Selanne took two seasons ago, when he signed a two-year contract that expires July 1. It would also seem that Selanne is again willing to take a “hometown discount” similar to the $2.6 million he earned last season.

West Coast prospects camp this weekend.

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The fourth annual Anaheim Ducks West Coast Prospects Camp is set for this Friday through Sunday at Anaheim ICE.

The invitation-only camp will be attended by more than 120 youth hockey players (ages 13-17), who will showcase their skills before coaches from more than 20 college and major junior programs. Among several Southern Californians ranked in the upcoming 2010 NHL Entry Draft, two attended the 2008 camp: RW Beau Bennett, a native of Gardena and ranked 32nd heading into the 2010 draft, and D Taylor Aronson, a native of Placentia and ranked 88th.

All participants are Southern California natives, stretching as far south as San Diego and as far north as Santa Barbara. Games begin at Anaheim ICE on Friday at 3 p.m. and are free of charge to the general public. A total of 16 games will be played throughout the weekend, concluding on Sunday at 10:30 a.m.

Crunch tab Stapleton as assistant coach.

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Mike Stapleton, a 14-year NHL veteran and an assistant coach in the Ontario Hockey League since 2006, has been named assistant coach of the Syracuse Crunch, the Ducks’ AHL affiliate.

Stapleton spent four seasons as an assistant and associate coach in the OHL with Sault Ste. Marie (2008-10) and Erie (2006-08).The 44-year-old began his professional coaching career as an assistant coach for Traverse City of the North American Hockey League (NAHL) in 2005-06.

Stapleton played in 697 regular-season NHL games with the Blackhawks, Penguins, Oilers, Jets/Coyotes, Thrashers, Islanders and Canucks, collecting 71 goals, 182 points and 342 penalty minutes.

Traditionally AHL teams keep only one assistant coach.

Ducks will wear a third jersey next season.

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The Ducks will wear a third jersey next season, writes Adam Brady on the Ducks’ Web site. It sounds as if the jerseys won’t resemble the Mighty Ducks jerseys of the 1990s and early 2000s. The team’s current color scheme and logo was introduced in 2006.

Ducks VP of Sales and Marketing Bob Wagner said the team waited this
long to create a third jersey so as to not dilute the new look that was
unveiled four summers ago. “We wanted to establish that new logo and
colors first, “Wagner said, “before we started making plans for an
alternate jersey.” 

No word yet on when we can expect a jersey unveiling.

Warg signs in Sweden, but he’s still on Ducks’ radar.

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Defenseman Stefan Warg, a fifth-round draft pick by the Ducks in 2008, has signed with the rebro Vipers of HockeyAllsvenskan, the second-highest league in Sweden. Warg is a native of Stockholm.

Warg split the 2009-10 season between the Seattle Thunderbirds and the Prince Albert Raiders of the Western Hockey League, scoring 20 points, all assists, in 64 games. The 20-year-old was not tendered an entry-level contract by the Ducks, and only could have returned to the WHL as an overage player.

“We talked to his agent two weeks ago, and he asked us to give our blessing on
where we wanted (Warg) to play,” Ducks assistant general manager David McNab said. “We thought going back (to Sweden) would be good for
him. We know he’ll play more. We own his rights until June 1, then we’ll make a decision.”