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The NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Auto Club Speedway on Oct. 10 will be named the Copart 300, the result of an agreement between the track, Camping World, and Copart.
The race was previously the Camping World RV Service 300 presented by Coleman.
Copart sells damaged cars for the insurance industry and non-damaged cars from banks and finance companies, fleet operators, dealers, and the public.
When Chris Curran's 2008-09 season ended before that of his teammates, it merely meant that the Reign forward got to make his plans for 2009-10 that much earlier.
"Right after the injury, (head coach Karl Taylor) said he wanted me to come back," Curran said from his home in Mississauga, Ontario. "Injury or not, I was coming back no matter what. The season, the fans, the organization was amazing. It'd be crazy not to want to go back to Ontario, it's such a good spot."
Here's what else Curran had to say about the injury, his rehab, and the upcoming season...
What's your rehab schedule been like?
"For the last five months, I've been doing physio three times a week for two, two and a half hours. Massage therapy, working out the scar tissue on my leg. Probably the last two weeks I've started light weight training and riding bikes. Last week I got on the ice once, testing it out. It went really well. I didn't do anything too quick, just seeing how my leg reacted to different motions of skating. It requires diffrent muscles than working out."
What does your timetable to resume playing look like?
"The thing that worried me was after my surgery. The guy who did my surgery was saying it would be about 9 months before I'd be able to play again, but the way things have been going, they've cleared me to do a lot more working out to get back on the ice. The way things look I'm going to be ahead of schedule. After the whole incident I was told it's going to be a lot worse."
Will you be ready to practice when training camp starts in October?
"I'll start easing myself in depending on how the skates go. It all depends on how much my leg can take. It's easing it in and gaining that muscle back that I've lost. I'm thinking late November, early December I should be going good. I'm sure I'll be skating after all the guys are done, by myself afterward, just to work on things. I want to ease my way into it and do a lot of workouts."
What exactly was the injury you sustained (in the final regular season game in Bakersfield?
"It was an upper femur break, broken right in half. They put a titanium rod into my leg. We've taken a couple x-rays since and everything looks good now. The bone is completely healing. The rod will stay in my leg, just to reinforce the break."
What's it going to be like going through metal detectors?
"I flew somewhere about a month ago and had no trouble. It didn't turn off the sensor."
What do you think about the team Taylor is putting together for this season?
"From what i've seen, he's bringing back some key guys. He's kept all the core guys. With the new guys, they're character guys from what I've heard. They seem like really good guys. I'm expecting quite a bit from our team. Karl brings in character hockey players, and that's what we need to take the next level."
How do you envision your role within the new group?
"My role is a PKer, playing the body. I just want to maintain my role, keep doing what I do. I want to be that guy -- that core guy with the PK. I love to block shots, play that body. I can't wait to lay the first hit. I'm just really excited to get back on the ice, play my role."
Here it is:
The logo was unveiled this morning at The Bank to unanimous applause. Karl Taylor and Geoff Walker were on hand, as were Ontario Mayor Paul Leon and four City Councilmembers.
More details in tomorrow's editions. Here's the read from the official ECHL press release:
The Ontario Reign, the City of Ontario and Citizens Business Bank Arena will host the 18th Annual ECHL All-Star Game on Jan. 20, 2010 and the 13th Annual All-Star Skills Competition on Jan. 19, 2010. In their first season in 2008-09, the Reign finished second in the ECHL in attendance with 5,856 fans in the regular season and drew more than 27,000 for their final three home games, including back-to-back sellouts at the 9,644-seat Citizens Business Bank Arena.The logo features a front view of ECHL and the Citizens Business Bank Arena and utilizes the Reign colors of navy, grey and burnt orange. The teams familiar shield is in the background with Ontario, California below Citizens Business Bank Arena while 2010 ECHL All-Star and an artists rendition of the San Bernardino Mountains are featured above it.
The All-Star festivities will also include the official induction ceremony for the third class into the ECHL Hall of Fame. The inductees will be announced later this year.
For the seventh year in a row the ECHL All-Star Game logo was designed by Joe Bosack, who is the president and founder of The Joe Bosack Graphic Design Company. Bosack also designed the ECHL logo, the Kelly Cup Playoffs logo, the ECHL 15th Anniversary logo, the ECHL 20th Anniversary logo and the ECHL Hall of Fame logo.
Ryan Bowness, who appeared in 12 games for the Reign last season before sustaining a season-ending injury in November, said he has retired from professional hockey.
Bowness was part of the Reign's inaugural roster and scored one goal while recording 21 penalty minutes. He broke his hand during a fight against the Utah Grizzlies on November 5, underwent surgery a month later, and remained on injured reserve the rest of the season.
"After missing the majority of this past season, obviously it is tough for someone to have seen me play and give me a chance," he said. "With an injury like that to my hand, you just never know how long it will take to fully heal. As for what's next, I am waiting to hear back on a couple of jobs in hockey, so I'm hopeful to stay in the game."
Bowness' father, Rick, is an assistant coach with the Vancouver Canucks and has served as the head coach for five different NHL teams in his career.
In case you weren't there, here's a few Reign-related tidbits from coach Karl Taylor's Q&A with fans at Dickey's BBQ in Rancho Cucamonga Tuesday night:
-- Taylor said that "12 or 13" players are coming back from last year's team. That's more players retained off any ECHL roster Taylor has coached. Forward Ryan MacGregor will not be one.
-- The goalie situation is an interesting one: One as-yet-unidentified fellow has been signed out of college, another is likely to be signed by the Reign, and another is likely to be signed by the Kings and possibly assigned to the Reign.
-- The Kings signed Geoff Walker to a Pro Tryout Agreement after his recent performance at the Kings' development camp. He's been training under the tutelage of the Kings' training staff since August 1, Taylor said.
-- The Reign are getting their own weight room next year inside The Bank. The team worked an arrangement with a local gym last season, but only one player (to my knowledge) took full advantage of it throughout the regular season. "Our team wasn't in good shape last year," Taylor said. "This year, we will be."
-- There will be two exhibition games this season, both against the Las Vegas Wranglers. One is tentatively scheduled for 7 p.m. on October 9 at Center Ice Arena (not Riverside Ice Town, as previously reported here). The other will be in Las Vegas. Preseason practices will begin Oct. 1 and will run seven days a week, from 9 a.m. to noon, at Center Ice Arena in Ontario. They'll be open to the public.
It appears that forward Jason Tejchma, whom the Reign acquired from the Mississippi Sea Wolves in June, will play overseas in 2009-10. Tejchma was expected to bring some offense after notching 19 goals and 49 points in 70 games last season.
According to a recent report out of England, he'll instead be suiting up for the Newcastle Vipers of the Elite Ice Hockey League:
Also American forward Jason Tejchma, who comes to the UK from Mississippi Sea Wolves of the ECHL and is taking advantage of the Vipers' links with north east Universities to study for a Masters degree.
Tejchma was selected as the player to be named later in the trade that sent goaltender John Murray to Mississippi, and the Reign would still hold his ECHL playing rights.
Two Reign alumni are already playing in Europe. Goaltender Kellen Briggs (Dresdner Eislöwen) defenseman P.J. Atherton (Bietigheim Bissigen) are both playing in the German 2nd Bundesliga.
Chris Curran, who won over fans with his hustle and grit before seeing his season end early in a grisly end-board collision, has re-signed with the Reign.
The 5-foot-11, 188-pound winger had eight goals and 17 points in 60 games during the Reign's inaugural season. Among the team's best fighters and penalty killers, Curran led the team with 121 penalty minutes and was second with a plus-5 rating.
Curran's absence was felt during the playoffs after he broke his right leg in the final game of the regular season. Chasing down a puck 1-on-1 against a Bakersfield Condors forward, Curran crashed into an end board leg-first, and left Rabobank Arena on a stretcher. The injury required surgery and Curran has spent most of this summer rehabilitating. He hopes to return "sometime around late November or December."
Coach Karl Taylor said that Curran will not count against the team's salary cap until he's healthy to play. In spite of the injury, there was no hesitation re-signing Curran, whom Taylor called a "secret weapon."
"He'll be here as long as I'm here," Taylor said Tuesday night during a Q&A with fans in Rancho Cucamonga.
The announcement of Curran's signing comes on the same day the Reign released Denny Johnston, another of the team's best defensive forwards last season. Johnston has elected to attend medical school at the University of Saskatchewan.
Curran joins nine others who are confirmed to be re-joining the Reign: forwards Jon Rheault, Doug Spooner, Todd Jackson, Tim Kraus, Jon Francisco, Geoff Walker, and defensemen Chad Starling, David Walker and Shawn Germain. The team has also added forwards Dan Leslie, Robert Pearce, Brian Matte, Tyler Mugford, Peter Lenes and defenseman Brian Kilburg.
The Sports Business Journal lists San Bernardino County seventh in its annual ranking of the nation's top minor-league sports markets. From bizjournals.com:
It's the home of three class-A minor league baseball teams: the Inland Empire 66ers (1987), the High Desert Mavericks (1991) and the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (1993); and a minor league hockey team: the Ontario Reign of the ECHL."Attendance for the area's three Class A teams is on pace to top 600,000 for the first time since 2005, and the clubs have combined for a 7 percent increase in attendance to date compared with last season," the report said, drawing a comparison to the area's high unemployment rate and poor housing statistics.
Hershey-Harrisburg, Pa., topped the new list, followed by Fort Wayne, Ind., and Tulsa, Okla.
More than anything I wrote in my recent post about Shawn Germain, who is returning to the Reign defense in 2009-10, I'll remember him as a gym rat. Specifically, he was the only player who I saw take advantage of the team-issued pass to a Rancho Cucamonga gym during the season, and he would be there at least twice a week on average. It was the surest sign of his intensity and work ethic off the ice, and it set quite an example for the team's rookies.
So it came as no surprise today to learn that Germain has spent his off-season working at an Edmonton conditioning camp with hockey players from various pro and amateur levels, from the Western Hockey League on up to the NHL. Our conversation on that topic went so well that I'm going to save it for a future story. In the meantime, here's what Germain had to say about coming back to the Reign...
How does it feel to be coming back to the Reign?
I was super excited to be part of that first year, the expansion year. It was something pretty special. When you step into something like that, you want to see it flourish a little more. We accomplished a lot, but there's a lot we left on the table. I'm just looking forward to coming back and making a run at that Kelly Cup we wanted last year and didn't get.
Were there any other options for you this season?
Guys always have options, but right from the next day after I walked in, I don't think there was any doubt in my mind or (coach Karl Taylor's) mind what I would do for this year. Me and Karl have a pretty awesome relationship. We've been together a long time, can read each other pretty well. There was no doubt in my mind where I wanted to go.
What can the team improve on, and how can you help?
I think we definitely need to score more goals 5-on-5. That's something we strugleed with last year, something we're looking at addressing. For myself, just contribute a little more on the offensive side like I did in the playoffs. Just keep playing my game, being that guy the young guys can look up to and take examples from -- that sums up my job.
How much do you make of the fact that you had the lowest plus/minus (-25) on the team?
The two years before (with the Reading Royals), I had the top plus-minus on the team both years and was defensive player of the year. I feel like I played better last year. If you're not scoring goals 5-on-5, no one's going to be plus-very much if anything. It's a weird stat. It's probably a reflection of the amount I played, and the lack of 5-on-5 goals. I feel I played just as well in years previous, if not better. We finished first in our division. The respect in the room is more important in the room than a stat. By no means did I lose any sleep over that.
Is there anything you can do better this season?
I think just if I can contribute in an offensive way a little more like I did in the playoffs, that would help the team more. Other than that, just sticking to what I've been doing. My D-zone play was solid. It's keeping the room together. Our leaders did a pretty good job of that; I thought we had a really tight-knit group. Leadership, D-zone play, penalty kill -- I thought those all were pretty solid last year.
What do you think about the team Karl's putting together?
From what I've seen and heard, we got a few forwards and quite a bit of our D-core coming back, which is awesome. I thought we did a pretty good job last year. We're only going to get better, I believe. I have no idea about goaltending. Jeff zatkoff played phenomenal for us all year long. He deserved a lot of credit for what we did last year. We've just got to keep building on what we started. The end result wasn't what we wanted. The only thing we wanted was win the Kelly Cup.
Shawn Germain, among the Reign's steadiest defensemen on the back end, and an alternate captain in the team's inaugural season, is coming back.
The 26-year-old Alberta native joins David Walker and Chad Starling -- both alternate captains, too -- as well as newcomer Brian Kilburg on the Reign blue line. In 68 regular-season games last season, Germain had two goals and 12 points. He also added three goals -- tied for third on the team -- in seven playoff games.
Germain's reputation is that of an intense competitor in games and practices, and a good citizen off the ice. His team-low minus-25 rating was deceiving. The 6-foot-1 defenseman was often matched up against the opposing team's best forwards, and the entire team's plus-minus rating was brought down by a deep even-strength goal disparity.
Still, he probably wishes it wasn't a team low ... we'll try to update with comments from Germain soon.
The Hockey News is back at it, giving Reign fans a mulligan to get their team back into the running for "best jersey in pro hockey." You might recall that the Reign shocked the world (of unofficial online polling) by making the Final Four in their inaugural season a year ago.
This year's voting starts against other ECHL jerseys. The Hockey News staff is already seeding Bakersfield and Stockton ahead of the Reign, so let the voting begin: http://www.thehockeynews.com/pages/puck_poll.html
From the Associated Press:
Landon Donovan, who was born in Ontario and raised in Redlands, has tested positive for swine flu, although the Galaxy is optimistic he can play Saturday night.Donovan will be evaluated by a doctor Friday and Saturday, the team said. Donovan, David Beckham and Chris Birchall were all given the day off from training Friday after returning from games with their national teams.
The Galaxy are home Saturday night against the Seattle Sounders.
"We're still hoping he'll be available and ready to go," team spokesman Justin Pearson said. "Even Landon said it hasn't hit him as hard as the normal flus have hit him."
Donovan is not infectious, coach and general manager Bruce Arena told the Los Angeles Times. Arena said Donovan is believed to have contracted the virus from two Galaxy staff members who came down with it during last weekend's game at New England.
The team's chiropractor and administrator have both returned to work, Pearson said.
I had a chance to catch up with Doug Spooner recently. The forward, who appeared in seven games for the Reign last season after concluding his college career at the University of Waterloo, "has a lot to learn but he's willing to be patient and wait for his opportunities," according to coach Karl Taylor.
Here's what Spooner had to say ...
What made you want to come back?
The coaching staff, and all the staff from Justin Kemp (Vice President of Business Operations) on down, I thought the whole organization had the right idea, with everyone working hard and pulling together. Ontario, and the Inland Empire, isn't a bad place to live. I liked how it was new, to be in Southern California.
Did you have any other options?
Yes and no. As soon as Karl said this would be an opportunity, I stopped looking and committed. I asked questions of our coaching staff in Waterloo, but I thought Ontario was the best option for me.
You didn't get too much playing time here last season; did that affect your decision at all?
Coming into the end of the season with a first-place team, it's tough to crack the lineup. But I felt that in my time there, the guys got a good opportunity to learn who I was as a person and a hockey player.
Did you feel like you had some unfinished business following the first-round loss to Stockton?
I was probably the only guy to have two first-round playoff exits this year (against Stockton and with the University of Waterloo). Any time that happens, you feel you underachieved.
On his summer activities:
I'm in Waterloo, just wrapping up my school stuff, then moving down south. I'll be all wrapped up on August 25, getting my master's in political science. I'm in the gym in the morning, running in the morning, spend a little time at school in the day, get a little yoga in in the afternoon, then on the ice in the evening.
I've been on the Kings' workout program (a paper outline of the team's recommended workouts). A couple hockey schools on the side.
Wait a minute, yoga?
It's Bikram yoga. The thicker one. It's been great for my core strength, my lower back, and the flexibility that wasn't an issue for me before. But the season in Ontario is going to be longer than the season in Waterloo. I started it in California. A buddy of mine runs a personal fitness company around here; he mentioned he was going and I jumped on with him one day and I really liked it. I'm about 6 weeks in now. I'm taking 25 classes, 90 minutes each.
The Reign announced the signing of their 12th forward for the upcoming season, former University of Vermont standout Peter Lenes.
Lenes is a relatively small 5-foot-6 and 160 pounds, but offers some of the skill and speed that Reign coach Karl Taylor believes was lacking at times last season.
"He's a smaller player but his skill level is obviously at an elite level," Taylor said.
Lenes was the Catamounts' second-leading scorer last season, tallying 15 goals and 31 points in 39 games, both high marks in a four-year college career. He was a key contributer shuffling between the top two lines, and on the power play, as Vermont advanced to the Frozen Four -- NCAA hockey's equivalent of basketball's Final Four. The Shelburn, Vt. native doesn't want for toughness, according to one report. This is what he looks and sounds like in person.
For Lenes, who has known Reign forward Jon Rheault since the two were 12, the opportunity represents the culmination of a dream long deferred.
"We go back to New England hockey camps and then we were supposed to play juniors together, but that didn't work out," Lenes said. "We were supposed to play college together. That didn't work out. We always wanted to play together. We're really good friends and we always talk."
The 23-year-old has a unique lineage. His father was born in Austria and, as a consequence, Lenes has dual citizenship. He was considering some offers to play in Europe next season, and had placed some calls into the American Hockey League, but in the end considered the Reign his best option off Rheault's recommendation.
"Jon said if you're playing good, (Taylor) will tell you that. If you're playing bad, he's not going to hide that from you. It's straightforward," Lenes said. "It's how you perform. You've got to be accountable. There's no games in that scenario. If you play bad, you don't play. If you play well, who knows what will happen. I like the honesty. Jon really liked him."
Lenes is hoping to beat the odds and work his way up to the NHL someday. According to the ECHL Web site, 407 former ECHL players have appeared in an NHL game. The site doesn't record the height of each, but it's fair to say the odds are doubly stacked against a 5-foot-6 player trying to play in a league full of 6-footers.
That's sure to be a motivating factor in Lenes' first pro season.
"I'm trying to grow as a player to make it to the next level," he said. "I'm going to be a sponge, make some sacrifices here and there."
In Ontario, Lenes joins a forward corps that includes Rheault as well as Denny Johnston, Doug Spooner, Todd Jackson, Dan Leslie, Robert Pearce, Brian Matte, Tyler Mugford, Tim Kraus, Jon Francisco and Geoff Walker at forward; as well as defensemen Chad Starling, David Walker and Brian Kilburg.
According to Taylor, Johnston has been accepted to the University of Saskatchewan's medical school and is currently deciding between attending school and playing for the Reign.
From the Associated Press:
Authorities say a drag racer was killed when his custom car smashed into a trailer at more than 100 miles an hour at the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana.California Highway Patrol Officer Jeff Briggs says the crash occurred Saturday in the pit area while 53-year-old Ronald F. Marcum was conducting a transmission-brake test on his dragster. Briggs says the vehicle's transmission suddenly engaged and Marcum was propelled into the parked trailer and killed.
No one else was hurt.
Briggs says National Hot Rod Association rules require transmission-brake tests to be conducted with a vehicle's tires off the ground, but Marcum failed to follow these procedures.
Mark your calendars and sharpen your blades: The Reign have announced the dates for their 2009 open free-agent tryouts: Saturday, September 26 and Sunday, September 27 at Riverside Ice Town at 10540 Magnolia Ave in Riverside.
More from the official press release:
Tryout spots are limited to 6 goaltenders with a total of 40 participants, and players must be at least 18 years old. Registration is $75 and includes two on-ice practice sessions and a practice jersey. Registration will begin Saturday at 10 a.m., with the on-ice session running from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Sunday check-in will begin at 11 a.m., with the on-ice session running from 11:55 a.m. and concluding at 1:55 p.m. All practice sessions are open to the public for viewing. Tryouts are on a first-come first-serve basis.The open tryout camp offers players the opportunity to show the Reign coaching staff their skills for a chance at receiving an invitation to the 2009-10 Ontario Reign training camp.
To register for the Reign Free Agent Camp contact Lauren Gesselman in the Reign front office at (909) 941-PUCK (7825).
Center Denny Johnston and left wing Doug Spooner are returning to the Reign in 2009-10.
Johnston split last season between the Reign and the Kings' AHL affiliate in Manchester, N.H. He notched five goals and nine points in 20 regular-season games in Ontario, where he was used as a shut-down center and penalty-kill specialist. He also appeared in all seven postseason games, posting one assist.
Spooner had one goal in seven games after joining the Reign straight from the University of Waterloo at midseason. He joined first on an amateur tryout contract, then was re-signed and occasionally flashed the power forward-type game that was his trademark in college. The Scarborough, Ontario native spent five seasons with the Warriors, appearing in 129 regular season games and registering 62 goals, 118 points and 154 penalty minutes.
The Reign have announced 14 players under contract for next season: Johnston, Spooner, Todd Jackson, Dan Leslie, Jon Rheault, Robert Pearce, Brian Matte, Tyler Mugford, Tim Kraus, Jon Francisco and Geoff Walker at forward; and defensemen Chad Starling, David Walker and Brian Kilburg.