Tracking Players

I have to say that Beans and I have been pretty lucky with some of the great guests that we've been able to feature on The Hockey Show. Personally, it's always interesting to hear where some of the players played, where they will be playing next season, and what the future holds for them in their views. We've been lucky enough to speak to a few former NHL stars, and we'll be tracking their progress all season as they play in Europe and Russia. We also want to track the progress of former Jets that left to play in other leagues across the globe. We'll highlight a few of these players today as we prepare for their seasons abroad!

JARED AULIN - HC Örebro 90

Beans and I spoke with Jared Aulin on the May 30 episode of The Hockey Show, and he gave us some great insight into his career. He will be playing in the Swedish Elite League this season with HC Örebro 90 who qualified to move up to the elite division after last season. Jared was a fantastic scoring and play-making centerman in his WHL and AHL careers, but never really got much of a shot with either Calgary or Los Angeles. He is one of the leaders on HC Örebro 90, and helped them to a First Divsion championship last season, resulting in their elevation to the Elite League. We'll be tracking Jared's progress this season as he looks to help HC Örebro 90 conquer the Swedish Elite League!

BRANDON REID - CSKA Moscow

Beans and I were lucky enough to have Brandon and Jessica Reid in the studio with us on June 13, and it was there that Brandon and Jessica spoke about their new adventure as Brandon signed with CSKA Moscow. Like Jared, Brandon was an elite scorer in junior hockey and a solid player in the AHL, but never really got much of a chance with the Vancouver Canucks. He played over in Sweden and Germany on a number of teams where he was a solid scoring threat each and every season. Brandon will be re-uniting with former Manitoba Moose teammate Fedor Fedorov and will play alongside former NHLers Viktor Kozlov, Alexei Morozov, Alexander Radulov, and Oleg Saprykin. Former Moose Sergei Shirokov is also a member of CSKA, so there will be a solid Manitoba contingent in Moscow this season. We'll be tracking Brandon's progress all season as CSKA looks to capture the Gagarin Cup!

DEREK MEECH - Dinamo Minsk

Derek Meech's time in Winnipeg was short due to injuries and underwhelming play, but he was a solid player with the AHL's St. John's IceCaps this season. Meech previously played with the Detroit Red Wings, earning a Stanley Cup ring, but the Winnipegger's play with the Jets couldn't crack the roster. As such, Meech took a pay raise to head over to Belarus where he'll suit up for Dinamo Minsk in the KHL this season. He and fellow Manitoban Jacob Micflikier make up the Manitoba contingent on that squad. They'll be joined by former Penguin Tomas Surovy and another former Moose player in Lukas Krajicek as the top guns in Minsk this season on their push for the Gagarin Cup. We'll track Meech's progress all season to see if his play warrants a second look from NHL squads.

ALEXANDER BURMISTROV - Ak Bars Kazan

The drama surrounding Alexander Burmistrov came to an end when the enigmatic Russian signed a deal with his hometown KHL club in Ak Bars Kazan. I'm almost entirely sure that Burmistrov won't return to the Jets in the next few years, so we'll track his progress for this season at least. Personally, I think his leaving the Jets will be good in the short-term, but he won't be much better in the long-term. However, we'll let his play speak volumes this season as we track how he's doing over in the KHL.

Quick Updates

One former Jet who left after the Jets' first season back in Winnipeg was Mark Flood. Flood signed to play with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, and competed well for the rebuilt Lokomotiv team. However, he returned to North America after the KHL season ended and signed a two-way deal with the Carolina Hurricanes for the upcoming season. We won't be tracking Flood due to his playing in North America this season.

Goaltender Steve Christie was one of the first guests we had on The Hockey Show on October 18. Steve was playing for the SPHL's Pensacola Ice Pilots, but was unceremoniously cut from the team mid-season. I can report that Steve has returned to Manitoba where he is working through the summer, and will focus on using his education degree to try to earn a teaching position somewhere in the province. I wish Steve well, and we'll try to bring him in later this summer to find out what went wrong in Pensacola last season!

We had several updates on former University of Manitoba goaltender Jesse Deckert as he signed with the ECHL's Florida Everblades. Jesse helped the Everblades to the conference finals of the Kelly Cup where they eventually bowed out. I have yet to see any information about Jesse signing with a team, but there's a good chance he'll return with the Everblades after his outstanding numbers last season. Once we confirm where he has signed, we'll add him to the list above as well!

If and when former Jets Kyle Wellwood and Nik Antropov sign, we'll track their seasons as well if they happen to sign overseas. If they remain on North American soil, they're easier to track, so we won't bring those updates to you. In any case, we'll report on where ever they happen to sign, and we'll look at the impact on those teams that these two could have.

Tune in on Thursday nights from 5:30pm to 6:30pm on 101.5 UMFM or via the web on www.umfm.com for all of the latest and greatest news from our point of view on The Hockey Show!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!