It turned into a busy week for the Spruce Kings this week with an AGM, contract signings, the acquisition of three players and the release of the 2009-10 schedule. The AGM on Wednesday night was a chance for the community owned team to put a wrap on the 2008-09 season and start looking ahead to 2009-10 with the usual reports from the president, treasurer and a few other committees. I was unable to attend in person, but heard afterwards that it was a fairly constructive and positive AGM with yours truly getting recognized for putting out all those game day reports and other email newsletters.
Thank you is all I can say as it is important in this day of instant access to information to make sure the information is actually out there for everyone to access. Perhaps now is a good time for a shameless plug, if you are interested in receiving these newsletters just drop me an email with your name and email address so that I can add you to my distribution list.
The team also announced the signing of two year contracts for both Ed Dempsey and Mike Hawes. Over the past few seasons I have had the opportunity to see both of these guys work and can honestly tell you that they are driven by a desire to be competitive and a deep passion for the Spruce Kings as a whole. One thing that sometimes gets lost in the win loss column is the human side of it all.
The players that put on the crown and go out there to compete are equally passionate of winning as a team, but also of achieving their own personal goals of furthering their hockey careers. Ed and Mike have enlisted the help of some highly respected hockey minds as their scouts all over the western half of North American for the benefit of the team and the players. The list of scouts for Prince George isn't limited to just those listed on the Spruce Kings website either, they include scouts from NCAA, CIS and NHL teams all over North America.
In all the games I have attended on the road as a broadcaster, I have come to learn that when I need Ed for an interview I can find him in one corner of the rink or another talking about this player or that one to more scouts than I will ever be able to keep track of. They all know Ed and Ed knows each and every one of them and the teams that they scout for. He learns what they are looking for and is able to give them information on the Spruce Kings that would fill that order.
Allan Bristowe of CKPG television had an opportunity to speak with both Darcy Bury and Ed Dempsey about the contract signings and filed this story on the CKPG News that aired on Thursday June 25, 2009.
At the end of that story was the mention of the Spruce Kings acquiring three twenty year olds with Evan Smith and Matt Betker coming by way of the Nanaimo Clippers and Neil Chambers from the Powell River Kings. I haven't had a chance to speak directly with any of the players but am looking forward to doing so in the coming days.
The 2009-10 schedule was also released this week and I'm sure everybody will have their thoughts on the makeup of the regular season. A breakdown of the games can be found on the Spruce Kings main website with the article titled 2009-10 Schedule Highlights. I'm sure others will have their thoughts on the schedule and I encourage you to leave them with me here ... just click on the comments link on the next line.
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