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  Annie Fowler was born and raised in Eastern Oregon and graduated from Southern Oregon University in 1988 with degrees in communication and journalism. She has been at the Herald since March of 2000 and began covering the Tri-City Americans in 2002. She still enjoys a good game of football, but these days she gets her fill by watching her son play for Southridge High School. |
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The great thing about being a part of a writer's group is getting updates and stories from around the WHL. Coming through my e-mail Thursday were the following:
From the Chiefs camp
The Spokane Chiefs have announced that Leigh Mendelson's contract as assistant coach will not be renewed for the 2009-10 season. Mendelson served one season as the Chiefs assistant coach.
"We appreciate Leigh's commitment and contribution to our organization and wish him the best moving forward," said Chiefs general manager Tim Speltz.
The search for a replacement will begin immediately.
"This will be an important hire for our organization. For us to be successful moving forward we will need to find the right fit for Hardy," Speltz said.
Dyck out in Lethbridge
Throw another log on the fire.
The race to become the next head coach of the Regina Pats is heating up, with Michael Dyck about to join the fray, the Leader-Post has learned. Sources say the Lethbridge Hurricanes will announce today that Dyck won't be returning to the WHL club next season, freeing him up to apply for the vacancy in Regina.
The Pats' search for a new head coach began Tuesday after they fired rookie bench boss Dale Derkatch.
The early front-runner is ex-Pats head coach Curtis Hunt, but Dyck might have something to say about that. Not only does the former Pats' defenceman have ties to the organization as a player, but he is a respected veteran head coach with a proven track record. Perhaps most importantly from Regina's perspective, he has had success in the playoffs, guiding Lethbridge to the WHL final in 2007-08 before losing to the eventual Memorial Cup-champion Spokane Chiefs.
Dyck spent three-plus seasons as the 'Canes bench boss, compiling a regular-season record of 134-120-19.
This past season, Lethbridge was expected to be one of the elite teams in the WHL, but struggled with consistency while super sniper Zach Boychuk missed considerable time due to injuries, plus world junior commitments with Team Canada. The team also didn't get star defenceman Luca Sbisa back from the Philadelphia Flyers until late in the campaign.
In the end, Lethbridge finished with a 35-32-3-2 mark before upsetting the Saskatoon Blades, a 49-win team, in the first round. The 'Canes were eventually swept in the second round by the powerhouse Calgary Hitmen.
The Pats have only been past the first round three times in 14 years under the current regime.
It has been speculated for some time that the Hurricanes would release Dyck, who reportedly didn't see eye-to-eye with GM Roy Stasiuk. The team's board of directors finally made its decision Thursday. Former Kelowna Rockets bench boss Jeff Truitt is rumoured to be a leading candidate.
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