We now have three bids for our two Kan Man sculptures we're auctioning off for the Rob Guinn memorial fund. They were built by long-time Komets fan Jerry Long of Grand Prairie, Texas, and stand about two feet tall. The two leading bids are for $50 and $65.
The Komets announced Thursday that veteran defenseman Jason Beckett has been added to the preseason roster.
Beckett, 28, played last season in Austria where he posted 16 goals and 39 points in 40 games with EC Salzburg while leading the team with 130 penalty minutes.
Prior to his 2007-08 European stint Beckett skated six seasons in the American Hockey League. The Fort Macleod, Alberta native has appeared in stints with Trenton, Philadelphia, Milwaukee, Houston, Syracuse and Grand Rapids accumulating 11 goals, 42 points and 480 penalty minutes in 238 AHL games.
Open Hockey (formerly Stick and Puck) has begun once again in earnest:
Tuesdays and Fridays and 9-11am.
Barrel Hockey is now year round: Friday Night 915-11pm.
The only difference between BH and OH is structure BH games are played to five. Guys do not chase pucks when offsides or it is iced. Otherwise, it is pick up hockey.
Please come out and have fun. I look forward to seeing you around the rink soon. Thanks.
The Down Syndrome of Northeast Indiana's 10th annual Buddy Walk will be held Saturday, Oct. 4 at Foster Park. Registration starts at 9:30 a.m. for the two-mile walk (which leaves me out).
Here's another reason why you should care: fans can get autographs from Komet players, including captain Guy Dupuis and get their pictures taken with the Turner Cup.
Is starting today! We're auctioning off a pair of "Kan Man" tin men as built by long-time Komets fan Jerry Long of Grand Prairie, Texas.
The Komets announced Wednesday that center Mathieu Curadeau and rookie defenseman Alexandre Dulac-Lemelin have been added to the roster for 2008-09.
Curadeau, 23, skated his rookie season last year with the Komets ranking second with 34 goals and adding 25 assists for 59 points in 70 games. Curadeau earned the IHL rookie of the Week honors twice during the season and collected the IHL Rookie of the Month award for February, 2008. He was also named to the IHL 2007-08 All-Rookie Team.
Ran into Michael and David Franke while covering the Bishop Luers-Northrop football game Friday night and David Franke said the Komets will have three players attending AHL camps this fall. I said, "Legault, Curadeau and Henley?" He said no. "There's one other player that you don't know about yet," and then he wouldn't say anything else to confirm or deny the other two spots, either.
Hmm. I've heard rumors of an AHL defensemen the Komets are going after. I'm also guessing that Legault to the LA Kings rookie camp doesn't count, either, so that means there might be two out there.
Bob Chase is home from his knee replacement surgery and he's just beginning his rehabilitation so I have a captive audience as we try to finish his book, "Live from Radiorinkside: The Bob Chase Story." Besides talking about the Olympics, which we both are addicted to, we spent this afternoon talking about interesting categories such as best talkers, best fighters, best slap shots, quickest releases, fastest skaters, funniest players, best Russians, best rivalries.... this a whole list of things that Bob is going to list his favorite 5-to-10 players in each category.
The Komets announced Monday that they have re-signed defenseman Jake Pence and forward Olivier Legault for 2008-09. The Komets also added rookie defenseman Vince Tarantino to the camp roster.
The Northern Indiana Convertible Club will be presenting its 6th annual benefit car show on September 7 at the Penguin Point from 12 PM to 5 PM. The money raised will benefit the Fort Wayne Rescue Ministries. This is the organization that operates the Fort Wayne Rescue Mission and the Charis House.
The Northern Indiana Convertible Club is a small group that was founded by Dan Thompson, who is our Show Chairman and long-time Komets fan and blogger Bob Brown is serving as the Club President.
Bob had knee replacement surgery today and everything went fine. He's hoping to be home in a few days to start preparing for the season and to finish off his book which we hope to have out around Christmas. He was already doing some rehab stuff a couple of hours after he got to his room, and now he's watching the Olympics.
I talked to Hodgie yesterday. He's in town visiting some friends this week.
He has signed a tryout contract with the Minnesota Wild, and they have until Oct. 1 to sign him. If they choose not to, he is committed to returning to his junior team in Erie, Penn. The next step for him is to play in the rookie tournament in Traverse City, Mich., in September. Before that, he's returning to training camp in Erie to get ready.
I asked Komets General Manager David Franke about the status of other negotiations and this is what he had to say:
Luciano Aquino: There's nothing new. I think there's a good chance he's going to get an opportunity to make Norfolk of the AHL.
Mathieu Curadeau: We're working on a possible two-way with a couple of AHL teams for him.
Jake Pence: We expect to hear from Jake soon. He was looking at possibly going to Europe. If he's available, we'll probably try to re-sign him.
The Komets announced Wednesday that two rookies have been added to the preseason roster. Freshmen defensemen Matthew Chromy and Brian Boulay along with forward Dominic Osman have all agreed to terms and will join the Komet camp when it opens Oct. 6.
I just wanted to say thanks to all of you who donated things to be sent to Rob Guinn's family for a scrap book. It seems like I've had to send five or six packages over the past couple of weeks. There were some great pictures and some really nice notes that people included. I'm sure they are much-appreciated and will be for a long time.
Komets coach Al Sims said he's very happy for goaltender Kevin Reiter that he got the chance to sign in England.
“I figured we wouldn't get both guys back,” Sims said. “After winning a championship, the whole idea is to give people the opportunities to play in places they've always wanted to play or in higher leagues. This is what we wanted them to do. (Matt) Reynolds put that into a trip to Europe and so has Kevin. I told them both you can always come back here and play.”
I signed last night with Bouch's old team the Basingstoke Bisons in the Elite league. I've always wanted to play in Europe and when this option became available I had to take it. I've been talking with Ryan Aldridge, coach, a lot lately and I liked what he had to say about the opportunity with his team. I am very excited for the opportunity, but now the summer just got shorter by more than a month. Talking with Bouch, he had good things to say about the Elite league, the town of Basingstoke, and the Bison fans.
This came from to me today from a long-time Komets fan.
Hi Blake,
I thought I'd share this story with you as a way of brightening this sad day when I must attend a viewing for one of my friends in Ft. Wayne's amateur hockey family.
If you'd like to check him out in person, you can see him there. We're going to hold off on the auction until after the Olympics. The winning bid will go to Rob Guinn's family. Kanman was designed by long-time Komets fan Jerry Long of Texas. 
We'll have more details later.
