Friday Hits : Sanfred King Commits To McGill and NHL Draft

Friday Hits

The Kindersley Klippers are proud to announce that outgoing 20 year old forward Sanfred King has committed to play for the University of McGill Redmen beginning in the 2011/2012 season. Sanfred spent two years with the Klippers amassing 77 points in 85 regular season games.

The Klippers would like to thank Sanfred for his time spent in Kindersley and wish him the best of luck as he continues his hockey career with the Redmen.

Great news for Sanfred and the Klippers

King is the 4th member of the 2010-2011 Klippers to continue their hockey career while getting an education. He joins Johnathan Sonntag (University of Regina), Sean Cahill (Alaska-Fairbanks) and Andrew Dommett (Lake Superior State) as players who have moved on to a new challenge.

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Sticking with the Klippers, It has been a fairly busy offseason so far and it will only get busier with the naming of an assistant coach, a new captain and much more on the way in the near future. Rockie Zinger had mentioned to me that the next few weeks could get a little bit crazy. I anticipate some big news coming Monday morning.

The Klippers schedule is also likely to come down the pine some time next week.


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I am very excited tonight for the NHL draft. The Oilers hold the first overall pick and I do expect them to take RNH. The Oilers clearly could use a franchise dman but I don't think they should pass up on Hopkins to get one. I would much rather have the Oilers somehow get into the top eight to snag Dougie Hamilton. This guy is a stud and exactly what the Oilers need. If the Oil end up with Hopkins and Hamilton I will be ecstatic. With that being said it wont come easy in terms of moving into the top ten, but it certainly is possible. The Oilers hold the 19th overall pick and the 31st overall pick as bargaining tools and have alot they could package with either to move up.

If Edmonton does however take Larsson at first overall I wont be disappointed. Stu MacGregor has proven he knows what he is doing in the past few years and as Oilers fan I am very confident in what he decides to be the best fit for the Oil. Watching the head scout in action during Oil Change give me full confidence in his abilities.

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Yesterday I was having my usual afternoon nap, and woke up to all hell breaking loose. At first I was shocked to see Philly trade Carter and Mike Richards when they could of dumped someone else like Versteeg or Carle to save salary.


At first it seemed like Flyer fans were irate and I can somewhat see why as Carter and Richards were very popular players, but you have to look and at the same time love what they are getting back.

The Carter deal in my mind is a huge win for both hockey clubs. Columbus gets someone to play with Rick Nash without having to give up Ryan Johansen and Philly shed caps but also gets a very good return. The 8th overall pick will land them a very solid prospect which could be Hamilton, Murphy or Zibanejad. They also add Jakub Voracek who is a very underrated player in my mind, has everyone forgot that this guy is only 21 years old and was the 7th overall pick in 2007? He has yet to get big numbers in the NHL but with all the offense Philly has his size and speed will fit right in.


In terms of the Richards deal this one was certainly a shock. In my mind it could either work for Philly or blow up. The Flyers still have Giroux and Briere up the middle and can now slot Schenn as the third line center. I think Schenn is going to be a very solid player that could one day be in the Richards mold. This is a risk though because of course he may not pan out. They also get Simmonds who is already a solid player and getting better and better and will fit right into the Flyer mold. He will be a fan favorite very early into the season for Philly fans.

You have to like what LA has done here to, they are clearly in a win now mode, and now have Kopitar and Richards 1 - 2 down the middle. That is very solid and arguably the best 1-2 punch in the Western Conference. Putting Dustin Brown on the wing with Richards is going to be scary for any team. These guys of course can score but can also hit just as well. It could be a demolition derby when they guys hit the ice together.

This deal could be huge for Philly or blow up, only time will tell.


The big win though out of these deals of course is it gives them the chance to sign Iyla Bryzgalov. I am stunned at how many people have a hate on for this goaltender. Sure he had a tough playoffs this past year against the Wings, but after getting peppered game in and out all season long in Phoenix I am sure he must of been run down by playoff time. This guy really was the only reason the Coyotes made the playoffs the past two seasons. He makes Philly much better as they now wont have to score 4 or 5 goals every game to win.

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I actually watched most of the NBA draft last night. Sounds like most of these players won't be to relevant in the NBA but it was still exciting to watch. I was very happy with what my Blazers did acquiring Raymond Felton at the draft. I really think this year the Blazers could put together a solid playoff run with Roy, Aldrige, Gerald Wallace, and maybe even Greg Oden if he finally stays healthy.

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It's an exciting night in sports, the NHL draft, Winnipeg likely to unveil their team name, and all kinds of trade speculation. I will likely be tweeting during the draft so check out the twitter feed on the blog or better yet follow me on twitter.

One more thing, please let Ryan Smyth be an Oiler and not a Calgary Flame. Would be horrifying to see that mullet flowing in a Flames jersey but would be a thing of beauty seeing the mullet back in an Oiler jersey.