WHL: Weekly Magazine vol.3 Number 1 Here it is guys. The first paper of the season. The WHL is now in its third season. After a long summer, punctuated by rerates, the first WHL live IRC draft, lots of trades and new general managers, the season is under way. At the beginning of a season, every team is even. Every team out there stands a chance to win. Some teams look better than others but 74 games is a long season, who knows what can happen! Enough of this, let's gets this started. Contents: 1- Welcome Aboard 2- Overall team stats 3- Forward of the Week 4- Defenseman of the Week 5- Goaltender of the Week 6- Rookie Report 7- PLATINUM 3 Stars Cup Leaders 8- 1st/2nd/3rd Stars Leaders 9- Hat Tricks Leaders 10- 5+ pts Game Leaders 11- 10+ Shots Games Leaders 12- Roster Moves 13- Brother Love Interview 14- General Managers Profiles 15- League News 16- Commish Notes 1- WELCOME ABOARD: Since the end of last season, there has been a lot of franchises that changed hands, and eventually were relocated and renamed. We are still getting to know the new owners and the GM profiles I've been bothering you all with for a few weeks now will help in that idea. But first, here's a somewhat official Welcome to the new owners. In a move that happened last week, Sohyung Kang sold his team the Edmonton Eagles to Denny McEwen. Kang had only been in the league for less than half a season. The team was immediately relocated to Seattle and renamed the Saints. Last season's regular season champs previously owned by Lori Steward were sold to Fred Holland. The former Struer Norsemen were first renamed the Lehigh Vally Loons, then the Harlem Heat, and finally, and if I might say hopefully :) the Georgetown N.O.D. The Bridge City Huskies previously owned by former commish Shaun Driver were sold to Bob Fulton. Fulton moved the team to Montpelier and renamed them the Golden Republicans. Kevin Williams was also introduced as the teams' assistant GM. Carson Pierce, owner of the Halifax Flaming Fish also had to let go of his team, which was bought by Eric VT. Eric moved the team to Oakland and renamed them the Roses. Miguel Medina has been appointed as the team's assistant GM. Original GM Jeff Macdonald also sold his team to Jeff Tetz. Mr. Tetz moved the team to Penticton and renamed them the Venom. Another original GM, David Jensen of the Whitehorse Rapids had to quit the WHL. He was replaced by Kris Pongratz who, after buying the team, moved them to Surrey and renamed them the Strangers. Well, welcome to the Web Hockey League to all of you and good luck with your teams. 2- OVERALL TEAM STATS: The teams are ranked primarily by the percentage, and then, in case of a tie, by the number of wins. And finally, in case of another tie, by the difference between goals for and goals against. The Strangers and N.O.D., both led by a new management and coaching staff are off to a very good start, being unbeaten after the first week of competition. Last season's conference finalists the the Stallions are also starting the new season well, as well as the two Cybercup finalists the Corinthians and the Dominators. The Republicans, Enforcers and Fury are having trouble right at the beginning of the season, all three of them being winless after the first week of competition. GP W L T GF GA PTS PCT LAST WEEK 1- STRANGERS 5 5 0 0 24 9 10 1.000 2- N.O.D. 5 4 0 1 27 16 9 .900 3- STALLIONS 5 4 1 0 23 12 8 .800 4- CORINTHS 5 4 1 0 23 13 8 .800 5- DOMINATRS 6 4 1 1 29 18 9 .750 6- MONARCHS 5 3 1 1 19 16 7 .700 7- QUAKERS 5 3 1 1 19 17 7 .700 8- LUNATICS 5 3 1 1 17 16 7 .700 9- VENOM 5 3 2 0 20 17 6 .600 10- KRUSHERS 5 3 2 0 15 15 6 .600 11- VOODOO 6 3 2 1 36 29 7 .583 12- SPARROWS 4 2 2 0 9 9 4 .500 13- GRUNTS 5 1 2 2 19 15 4 .400 14- STEELCATS 5 2 3 0 22 21 4 .400 15- MALLRATS 5 2 3 0 16 17 4 .400 16- VIKINGS 5 2 3 0 16 18 4 .400 17- EAGLES 6 2 4 0 14 24 4 .333 18- ROSES 6 2 4 0 13 28 4 .333 19- AGENTS 5 1 3 1 25 32 3 .300 20- FREEZE 5 1 3 1 19 28 3 .300 21- WOLVES 4 1 3 0 11 17 2 .250 22- REPUBS 5 0 5 0 10 18 0 .000 23- ENFORCERS 4 0 4 0 9 17 0 .000 24- FURY 4 0 4 0 10 23 0 .000 3- PLAYER OF THE WEEK AWARD: I received 13 teams' nominations which is good compared to last seasons' standarts. Keep it up guys, participation is good so far this season and I believe it will be a very interesting season, with a lot of involved general managers. I remind you that only players that are nominated stand a chance to be awarded the player, goaltender or defenseman of the week award. It isn't a vote, just that you tell me who you feel should be looked at as a potentiel player of the week. I'm asking you to tell me for your team, but you can also tell for other teams, which some of you did and that's why some players from teams from which I didn't receive nominations (like the Voodoo and Strangers) still are player of the week or runners up. Now to the interesting stuff. Our first player of the week for the WHL3 season is Alexei Yashin of the Pittsburg Quakers. Last week, Yashin scored 9 goals and added 1 assist in 5 games. The runners up were Mikael Renberg of the Minneapolis Monarchs, Adam Oates of the N.O.D. and Joe Nieuwendyk of the Des Moines Dominators. GP G A PTS +/- SH PIM PCT Alexei Yashin QUAKERS 5 9 1 10 2 28 0 32.1 Joe Nieuwendyk DOMINATORS 6 6 5 11 8 28 19 21.4 Adam Oates N.O.D. 5 1 8 9 8 17 11 5.9 Mikael Renberg MONARCHS 5 4 4 8 6 21 2 19.0 4- DEFENSEMAN OF THE WEEK AWARD: Our first defenseman of the week award for the WHL3 season goes to the Vancouver Voodoo's Sandis Ozolinsh. Last week, Ozolinsh collected 7 assists, adding 2 goals and keeping a plus/minus of +5. Also considered were Sergei Gonchar of the Kingston Corinthians and Glen Wesley of the Pittsburg Quakers. GP G A PTS +/- SH PIM PCT Sandis Ozolinsh VOODOO 6 2 7 9 5 15 11 13.3 Glenn Wesley QUAKERS 5 1 7 8 2 5 4 20.0 Sergei Gonchar CORINTHIANS 5 0 8 8 3 9 2 0.0 5- GOALTENDER OF THE WEEK AWARD: Many goaltenders hadf very good weeks last week and it was very hard to choose 1 between them. For our first goaltender of the week award, the palm goes to Eddie Belfour of the Surrey Strangers. Last week, Belfour was between the pipes for 3 of the Strangers games and he allowed only 5 goals for a 1.67 save percentage and a .946 save percentage. Also considered were Felix Potvin of the Chicoutimi Sparrows, and John Vanbiesbrouck of the Toronto Stallions. GOALTENDER GP MIN AVG W L T GA SA PCT Ed Belfour STRANGERS 3 180 1.67 3 0 0 5 93 .946 Felix Potvin SPARROWS 4 240 2.25 2 2 0 9 126 .929 John Vanbiesbrouck STALLIONS 5 300 2.40 4 1 0 12 145 .917 6- ROOKIE REPORT: Will be featured in the next edition. 7- PLATINUM 3 STARS CUP LEADERS: Here are the Over-All Awardings for games 1-5... The points are scored like this: 1st Star: 5 Points 2nd Star: 3 Points 3rd Star: 1 Point Player Team 1st 2nd 3rd Total ----------------------------------------------------- Sean Burke DOMINATRS 2 1 1 14 Felix Potvin SPARROWS 1 2 1 12 Joe Nieuwendyk DOMINATRS 2 0 1 11 Alexei Yashin QUAKERS 2 0 1 11 Zdenek Nedved KRUSHERS 2 0 0 10 Mikael Renberg MONARCHS 2 0 0 10 John Vanbiesbrouck STALLIONS 2 0 0 10 Mark Messier STRANGERS 2 0 0 10 Jaromir Jagr QUAKERS 0 3 0 9 Alexander Mogilny STALLIONS 0 3 0 9 Wayne Gretzky STRANGERS 1 1 1 9 Sergei Gonchar CORINTHS 1 1 0 8 Doug Weight VOODOO 1 1 0 8 Sergei Krivokrasov KRUSHERS 1 1 0 8 Mario Lemieux MALLRATS 1 1 0 8 ----------------------------------------------------- 8- 1ST/2ND/3RD STARS LEADERS: First Star Leaders Player Team 1st ------------------------------------ Sean Burke DOMINATRS 2 Joe Nieuwendyk DOMINATRS 2 Zdenek Nedved KRUSHERS 2 Mikael Renberg MONARCHS 2 Alexei Yashin QUAKERS 2 John Vanbiesbrouck STALLIONS 2 Mark Messier STRANGERS 2 Olaf Kolzig AGENTS 1 Sergei Gonchar CORINTHS 1 Trevor Linden VENOM 1 ------------------------------------ Second Star Leaders Player Team 2nd ------------------------------------ Jaromir Jagr QUAKERS 3 Alexander Mogilny STALLIONS 3 Blaine Lacher VENOM 2 Chris Rogles KRUSHERS 2 Aki-Petteri Berg N.O.D. 2 Felix Potvin SPARROWS 2 Alexei Kovalev STRANGERS 2 Sergei Gonchar CORINTHS 1 John MacLean VENOM 1 Niklas Sundstrom VIKINGS 1 ------------------------------------ Third Star Leaders Player Team 3rd ------------------------------------ Neal Broten FREEZE 2 Trevor Kidd MALLRATS 2 Mike Gartner N.O.D. 2 Stephane Fiset CORINTHS 2 Kirk Muller VENOM 1 Steve Chiasson VIKINGS 1 Radek Dvorak VIKINGS 1 Jamie Storr VIKINGS 1 Martin Gelinas VOODOO 1 Mike Grier VOODOO 1 ------------------------------------ 9- HAT TRICKS LEADERS: Player Team HT ------------------------------------ Alexei Yashin QUAKERS 2 Bryan McCabe VOODOO 1 Joe Nieuwendyk DOMINATRS 1 Iain Fraser AGENTS 1 Mike Keane STALLIONS 1 ------------------------------------ 10-5+ POINT GAME LEADERS: Player Team 5+ ------------------------------------ Mike Peca VOODOO 1 Mike Modano VOODOO 1 Derek Mayer ROSES 1 Mark Messier STRANGERS 1 ------------------------------------ 11-10+ SHOT GAME LEADERS: Player Team 10+ ------------------------------------ Alexei Zhamnov VIKINGS 1 Doug Weight VOODOO 1 Mike Modano VOODOO 1 Joe Nieuwendyk DOMINATRS 1 Derek Plante DOMINATRS 1 Randy Cunneyworth FREEZE 1 Iain Fraser AGENTS 1 Sergei Samsonov KRUSHERS 1 Alexei Yashin QUAKERS 1 Valeri Kamensky VENOM 1 ------------------------------------ 12-ROSTER MOVES: After Day 1 -Steelcats trade Scott Mellanby and Aki-Petteri berg to N.O.D. for their 1st, 3rd and 4th picks in the next draft -N.O.D. demote Ed Patterson and Kevin Wortman -N.O.D. promote Scott Mellanby and Aki-Petteri Berg -Voodoo promote Greg Adams -Steelcats demote Dan Focht and Cory Sarich -Steelcats promote David Ling, Joel Bouchard, Janne Laukkanen and Nick Kypreos -Stallions demote Darby Hendrickson -Lunatics demote Claude Lemieux, Pat Jablonski and Denis Savard -Corinthians promote Pavel Kriz -Fury promote Marco Sturm After Day 2 -Krushers trade Jason Ward and their 3rd round draft pick to Steelcats for Zdenek Nedved and the N.O.D.'s 1st pick -Republicans trade Jeff Norton to Krushers for prospect Jonathan Aitken -Krushers demote Randy Moller -Krushers promote Zdenek Nedved After Day 3 -Freeze demote Tim Cheveldae, Jocelyn Lemieux, Phil VonStefenelli, Luciano Borsato, Chris Lipuma, Jim Cummins, Troy Crowder, Tony Horacek, Gord Kruppke and Scott Daniels -Freeze promote Mark Tinordi, Gary Suter, Steve Konowalchuk, Brian Wesenberg, Kirk McLean, Eric Lacroix, Sergei Petrenko, Scott Walker, Manny Legace, Vaclav Prospal and Pat Falloon -Krushers trade Todd Simon, Mark Wotton and their 2nd round draft pick to the Strangers for Gord Murphy and Yanic Perreault -Krushers demote Bob Beers and Kelly Hrudey -Krushers promote Jeff Norton and Gord Murphy -Fury promote Denis Gauthier After Day 4 -Republicans promote Dave Karpa After Day 5 -Corinthians promote Jose Theodore -Quakers promote Brad Brown 13-BROTHER LOVE INTERVIEW: BROTHERS AND SISTERS, WELCOME TO THE FIRST INSTALLMENT OF THE BROTHER LOVE SHOW. Today we have BROTHER Brian from the Stallions here with us... BROTHER BRIAN, I am wondering if you would have a few minutes to talk to BROTHER LOVE for a bit.... 1.) Your team, the STALLIONS was one of the best teams during Preseason action and now after 5 games, your team is 4-1-0 showing that the preseason success has paid off and carried into the start of season. Is this just a few lucky bounces going your way, or is it showing the league that the Stallions will be on top of the league all season long? Well, we won two of those games by 4 and 5 goals respectively, I think that goes beyond lucky bounces. We may not lead the league, but we should be within the top 5-8 teams, I hope. We appear to be solid everywhere, offence is looking great (23 goals in 5 games average 4.6/Game), and the defence is tough (only 12 goals against, average 2.4/Game). And as usual 'Biezer is playing great hockey. Barring major injuries we should do alright. 2.) Your team right now is the least penalized team in the league, is this because the style of game you are trying to play, a run and gun offense that is very discaplined and lead by Alexander Mogilny? I don't know about this "run-and-gun". Darryl has them playing an open-concept game. The forwards have some freedom to make their own plays, but must play with his defensive strategy. Everyone is committed to their positions and are not out to kill the other guys. Guys like Joe (Sakic) and Alex (Mogilny) are extremely disciplined and that tends to rub off on the other guys. Although toughness IS present, Todd (Warriner), Mike (Keane) and "Madman" Matthew (Barnaby) are playing aggressive and patrolling the opposition. :) But overall, the veterans are leading the team and showing that you can play tough and smart together. 3.) About Alex, he was one of the leading scorers during the preseason action and so far this season he is leading your team with 8 points through 5 games. I know he was a big disappiontment last season and it was rumored that he may have been traded over the offseason. But it seems that the two of you were able to come up with a new contract and it has seemed to make a new man out of him, ready for a new season. Do you think he can play the full season successfully? He came over injured from Kingston. We were more interested in getting rid of an underacheiving Koivu at the time, so we overlooked his injury. I take the blame for pushing him to return too quickly, and I think that aggrevated his injuries. He was coming around just as we were eliminated from last season's playoffs. Darryl seems to get along with Alex, Joe and Alex are dynamite together, and Glen Sather was able to put together a good deal for us and for Alex. I think Alex will be one of the powerhouse forwards this season in offence. He wants to show that he belongs here, and he truly believes that Toronto is a strong contender. 4.) Finally, I am just wondering what you think about your team so far this season. Do you think you will need to make any deals to fill any spots, Center, defence or left wing at all or do you think your squad now is capable of bring home the cup? I'll be honest with you, I talked this out with Jason (Lafreniere) last week and he understands what I was trying to do; I like this team! I tried to move Jason during the pre-season, no-one wanted him. I tried to move him for a guy 3 years older. I tried to move him for guys who were rated lower by our scouts. I tried to give him away in package deals. NOONE was interested. The common answer was, "...he doesn't fit...he isn't that interesting to me...". He went on to lead our team in PP goals, and was up there in points. He is currently 7th in scoring on our team, 3rd in shots, is a +5 which is tops on this club right now, and he is one of only three guys with NO penalty minutes. If that isn't what you look for in a 2nd line centre I don't know what is. I have personally appologized to him for doubting his ability, and dedication. He seems happy with us, and is playing great. Do I think this squad is capable of bringing home the cup? Sure. We were one win away from the finals last year, and I believe we are a stronger club with additions like Rory Fitzpatrick(1-0) and Boris Mironov(3-4) on defence and the improvements of Alex Mogilny (RW), Todd Warriner (LW), Roman Hamrlik (D), and Corey Schwab in goal, we have the makings of a real competative team and should be able to make a decent run for the cup. Well, I would just like to thank BROTHER BRIAN for his time and remember... I LOVE YOU!!!! 14-GENERAL MANAGERS PROFILES: BOSTON AGENT ORANGE Name:David Sprowl Nicknames:Rocker,Flopper,Ditman Age:32 Married,3 kids ages 9(girl),3(Girl),4months(boy) Wife:Paige Kids:Mary,Gabriella and D.Quinn Employment:Nurse at a school for brain injured kids Hobbies-Hockey(street,roller and ice)I am the netminder hence the nick of flopper, Football and computers(any sports simm will do,I even like tennis simms) I also like to sail CHICOUTIMI SPARROWS Michael Hebert (anyone doesn't know who I am?) I live in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan but I am from Chicoutimi, Quebec. I moved here in December 1996 after completing my degree in Math and Computers, with hopes to find a job in Saskatoon. I finally got a job in April, for a small multimedia and design company called D.Black & Associates. I am 22 years old. In June my girlfriend of more than 3 years left me, but I survived and now I feel better than ever. I am invloved in 4 leagues on the web, 3 hockey and 1 baseball. I have been in the WHL since its very beginning, when Kevin Nash started the league. I like hockey, baseball and computers (duh!), also travelling, reading, and wildlife. I also love music and my favorite bands are Our Lady Peace, Bush, Live, Moist, Silverchair, Smashing Pumpkins, Nirvana... I have met 6 guys from the league so far in real life and would like to meet more sometime: Marc (no kidding!), Larry Berteotti, Shaun Driver (who left the league since then...), Darren Kinnaird, Lee McEwen and Kevin Beilner. I think this is very kewl. CHI-TOWN KRUSHERS Name: Jes Golbez Height: 6'5" Weight: 300 pounds. Hobbies: Fantasy Hockey Leagues, Trapfighting, Floor Hockey, Fantasy Baseball Leagues, WWF Wrestling (why not..heh), and Hockey Card Collecting. City: Vancouver B.C. Age: 18 Favorite Player: John Vanbiesbrouck Hobbies: Weightlifting, Computers and Favorite NHL Team: Florida PAnthers.. DES MOINES DOMINATORS My name is Jason Kolsrud and I am the GM of the Des Moines Dominators. I am 25 years old and have been married for four years to Mardi. I have a step-son, David, who is 8 and a son, Jay, who is 3. I work at International Paper Folding Carton Company which is the largest folding carton plant in the world. I have worked there for seven years. My main hobbies are, of course, playing on my computer, watching hockey and Nascar Racing. I also like going to Late Model Dirt Track races at my local tracks, going fishing, playing softball and watching my local UHL hockey team, the Quad City Mallards. Besides being in the WHL I am also in seven other hockey leagues, one baseball league, two offline racing series and two fantasy wrestling leagues which my best friend Dan Sager helps me with. EDMONTON VIKINGS Name: Lee McEwen Hometown: Edmonton, Alberta Occupation: Student School: University of Alberta, Political Science Major Age: 20 Hobbies: Ball Hockey, Watching Sports, Playing Sports, Going to Wing Night and Consuming Beverages of an Alcoholic Variety. Note of Interest: Oiler season ticket holder for 3 years. FORT SASKATCHEWAN FURY I am Kevin Beilner GM of the futile Fort Saskatchewan Fury. I'm 21 years old, living with my girlfriend and selling knives. Actually I go to school full time. I'm in my third year of Finance at the University of Alberta, I only sell knives as a part time job. My favourite hockey team is the Phoenix Coyotes as I'm originally from Winnipeg. HAMILTON STEELCATS My Name is Larry Berteotti i live in Lethbridge Alberta. I am 26 yrs old and have been married for 4 years. No little rugrats yet but keep your fingers crossed. I am attending the University of Lethbridge to get my B.A. in History, and with any sort of luck will be going to grad school....somewhere next fall. My interests are: Reading science fiction book, of which Robert Jordan and Orson Scott Card are probably my favorites. I am also a pretty decent golfer, as well i played Basketball and Volleyball and was on my highschool track team. I played two years of Ice hockey when i was younger but keep my skills confined to the road or floor hockey these day. I don't have much time for sports now between School and family and i am kind of a shy person so i don't have lots of friends so i am really thankful for the ppl i have met in this league, especially Mike and Marc Hebert, as well as Darren Kinnaird and Lee McEwen. I also belong to a fantasy baseball league as well. I am a Jays fan of course...:) being from western Canada. In hockey i am a Calgary Flames fan, and in Basketball i go with the Lakers, Football (CFL) B.C. Lions and in (NFL) Oakland Raiders. KINGSTON CORINTHIANS My name is Marc, I'm GM of the Corinthians. I took over the Newfoundland Gangstaz during the WHL's first season. I moved them to Kingston and renamed them the Corinthians just before WHL2. I'm 21 and I live in Montreal to study, but I'm originally from Chicoutimi, you know, this small city in Quebec where all those great tenders played their junior (Felix Potvin, Marc Denis, Jimmy Waite, Eric Fichaud, they say you become a better tender as soon as you wear a Chicoutimi QJMHL jersey). I plan to work someday, but for now, I'm involved in a lot of projects, but most of them don't pay unfortunately. Lots of my projects revolve around showbusiness, but I work backstage since I don't have the talent it takes to work on stage. I'm technical director for a play that will be on stage in april. I also have my own importations business with a buddy of mine. We import percussions from Africa, as well as some other things. I also play percussions, with a group named Barulio (noise in portugese). Besides all of this, I'm involved in 3 fantasy leagues, and still manage to have a beer or two with friends as often as possible. MONTPELIER GOLDEN REPUBLICANS Hey my name is Bob Fulton I'm 20 years old an reside in Montpelier, VT in the US. (THE BEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD) I like Hockey but my true love is Baseball which I played in College until one day I threw it out and got surgery similiar to that of Tommy John. I was going to the University of Vermont (Division 1) but lost my scholarship after the injury. I work as an Anit-Virus maker and so I am always on the computer. However I still have little knowledge of the internet. I was engaged for about a week when the women broke it off with me, but I'll move on. Besides 20 Years Old is to young to settle down. I was born in Walpole, MA and plan ot move back there soon. I work out of my home and sometimes will go to offices to fix computer or install Anti-Viruses. I just got back after two weeks at one such company. Anyway I'm happy to be in the league, I have never met anyone personally in this league, (probably never will) but all the guys seem nice except for the Commisioner who is always putting me down as losing regular season games WHAT A JERK :-) OAKLAND ROSES Hello...I own the Oakland Roses and this is my only current hockey league. The Roses exist in 4 baseball leagues though also. My name is Eric VT and am a major sports fan...although football seems to be getting boring. Baseball is my first love and hockey I am still learning quite a bit about but I know enough to get by I think :) I'm currently looking to open up my own CD/Comic book store and am very active on the net and still going for an AA at the local college. I'm 24 and looking forward to having some fun in this great league...although my team is 0-3 right now...hehe... PENTICTON VENOM Jeff Tetz- Ummm, I finished my 3rd year in Business at U of A last year. I'm currently taking the year off to work. I play hockey for a junior B club in Fort Saskatchewan. I'm 21, 6'2, 185 pounds. I love hockey, internet hockey, Gretzky. I'm in 3 leagues and have built some good teams thus far. I'm new in the WHL and it looks like a great league with great gm's and it will be a great challenge to become one of the elite teams in the league. PITTSBURG QUAKERS My name is Todd Henry and I am an initial GM in the WHL, as the owner of the Pittsburgh Quakers. I am 21 years old and a senior at the University of Pennsylvania. I am origianlly from Pittsburgh as you can tell from my team name. I participate in baseball and hockey leagues and am a fan of all sports. SASKATOON ENFORCERS I'm Patrick Stroem of the Saskatoon Enforcers. I'm 21 yo and am studying to become a civil engineer. " that is why I've been busy lately, the first months are tough". I love sport like soccer and ice hockey. I'm very interested in keeping track of the NHL season, and here in Sweden we start to get more NHL games on tv which is fun. Well I've got at least four years left on my education and I live with my girlfriend in Koping a small town from where I travel to the university every day. Hmmmmm anything else ? Yes I do want to have Yzerman on my team.......... Go Red Wings...! SEATTLE SAINTS Denny McEwen - I'm 18 years old and in my first year of Engineering at the University of Alberta. I currently am a season ticket holder with the Edmonton Oilers. This is my first winter since I was 12 where I will not be alpine ski racing at a high level of competition. I think my school work load just maybe a little to much to handle. I also play ball hockey in the summer and that's about it. ST-JOHN'S GRUNTS CAPN DAVE (Dave Moore) A veteran of the WHL and owner of The GRUNTS. Head office is aboard the yacht "THE BUXOM LASS" and he is rumored to be the head of an international processed cheese spread cartel, that made a fortune selling something similar to Cheese Whiz *TM* behind the Iron Curtain just after the barriers dropped and the Berlin Wall fell. In appearance he resembles a pirate ( or a biker) with a beard and fairly long hair. He likes his players to practice while loaded, it builds character and stamina he says. Quote: " If you can play this game full speed with a quart or rum in ya, then playing sober should be easy!" His team has always been noted for the character players...guys like Cam Neely, Wendel Clark, Adam Graves, etc... and if you want to talk trade with him, your best bet is to offer fast aggressive players with good stamina ( high Fa) or great checkers. His assembled entourage features: Mr. Spit - First Mate and Assistant GM ( an eye patch, two wooden legs and an MBA from South Seas U. in Bora Bora.) The Amazing Kreskin: Chief Scout. Anna Nicole Smith: Personal Therapist Christina Applegate: Personal Assistant to Capn Dave Dave "Tiger" Williams: Coach and drinking buddy. SURREY STRANGERS Name: Kristofer Ryan Pongratz Born: November 7th, 1981 Jasper Alberta Home: Surrey, British Columbia Height: 5'10 Weight: 166 lbs. General Manager Experince ---------------------------------- GM/Coach of the Surrey Slapshot of the TSMHL (league folded) GM/Coach of the Surrey Snipers of the QHL (league folded) GM/Coach of the Toronto Touniquet of the EFHL2 (team sold) GM of the Oakland Fury of the CHL (team sold) GM of the Surrey RinkRats of the ICHL (stepped down) Assistant GM of the Etobicoke Thunder (resigned) GM of the Surrey Slapshot of the POFL (May '97 to present) GM of the Surrey Strangers of the WHL (July '97 to present) Hockey Experince ---------------------- Played a year of Jasper Minor Hockey in 1988 Played two years of Surrey Minor Hockey 1995-97 Played seven seasons of Surrey Roller Hockey 1995 to present* Played three seasons of NARch Rep Hockey 1996 to present** A player in the POFL for the Surrey Slapshot... *Won championship with Surrey Terminators '96 Winter season. **Won chamionships with the Rep Team to take trips to Las Vegas NV, and Los Angeles, CA. Also have coached at the Surrey Roller Hockey league for two seasons. Fantasy Hockey Championships: none BIO ------------- Kris is a dedicated GM with real experince. Not many GM's can actually boast that they coach and still play hockey. At the age of 15, he's been called the "baby" of the WHL but he has Coached and GM'ed seven previous teams, Kris bought out the Strangers from Whitehorse where they were known as the Rapids, and moved them to the city of Surrey where they play in the 21,000 seat Stardust Centre in the heart of downtown Surrey. Kris named his new team the Strangers be cause they had a real un-expected move to Surrey and are new to this area, he doesn't wan't people and players to forget the tradition they had in Whitehorse. TORONTO STALLIONS GM-Brian Howe-Stallions Brian's a working man. And a hard one at that. He works about 70 hours a week at two jobs. He works for Stelwire Inc. Division of Stelco Inc. and he has his own business; PLATINUM Computing Systems. At Stelco he is a general labourer and involved in his Union as a Shop Steward and a Senior Health & Safety Represenative. PLATINUM Computing is involved in programming, and upgrading. He is 31 years old. His favorite team is the Toronto Maple Leafs. He enjoys watching Soccer and the CFL. He enjoys playing Soccer and Ball Hockey. He presently resides in Milton, Ontario. VANCOUVER VOODOO Darren Kinnaird Edmonton Alberta Canada Like to watch: Hockey, CFL, skiing Like to play, Skiing, ball hockey, basketball, volleyball, working out hobbies: drinking!!! I am 21 I work at a ski shop I am studying Marketing at U of A in my 4rth year WATERLOO LUNATICS Jason Stumpf- Currently in 2nd year at University of Waterloo taking a Political Science Major and a Business Management minor, when I graduate I will become Priminster of Canada!!! I am a hockey nut and play hockey every weekend, love golfing, football and auto racing, especially NASCAR. Favorite team is the Montreal Canadiens and my favorite players are Patrick Roy, Mathieu Schneider and John LeClair. I hate the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Los Angles Kings... Oh yeah, I LOVE WWF WRESTLING TOO!!! LEGION OF DOOM AND THE UNDERTAKER RULE!!! Lunatics have been in the league since it's creation and I am also in 4 other HLS2 based leagues and 1 APBA league. I also run my own HLS2 league, the WLUHL which has been around for 6 full seasons now. That's it that's all folks from the Waterloo Lunatics camp 15-LEAGUE NEWS: Saints News ----------- (Seattle)- Well after six games into the new WHL season people could tell the Edmonton Eagles where in trouble, not only on the ice but with the team up for sale all summer, everyone including the players, were wondering when the deal would be done. Late Thursday the league informed the media that a deal was indeed done and the that the team would be relocated before the weekend. And now yesterday afternoon during the scheduled press conference, at the Seattle Kingdome of all places, the mystery ownership of the new Seattle Saints revealed themselves for the first time. "Introducing the principal partner of the ownership consortium, Ken Griffey Jr. along with partners Jay Buhner, Alex Rodriguez, Edgar Martinez, and Randy Johnson." Everyone's questions had been answered and few people weren't surprised at the new ownership. Griffey then took the stand and introduced the new management of the Saints. "Welcome to Seattle and I'd like to introduce everyone to our new President and GM Denny McEwen. Our coaching staff will be headed by Ted Nolan, with assistance from former head coach Larry Robinson, and Brian Sutter. Our farm team coach will remain the same with Bryan Trottier, and our new Director of Player and Personnel will be Jason Welter. And now the reason why we weren't able to get the deal done before the start of the season is our new state of the art facility, the Mariner Bay Centre overlooking Puget Sound. We definitely looked at keeping the team in Edmonton when we first became interested in the Eagles but it wasn't financially viable with the success of the Vikings despite there limited playoff success. Then our Arena deal fell through and we had to rehash that out. Then I became involved in the Maris chase. Then the Arena actually wasn't ready, but finally and importantly we are here now. It's a new beginning for the organization, and we have the proper people in control and the only direction we can go now is up." With that Griffey took a seat to limited applause and gave the stand to new GM Denny McEwen. "Well I'd just like to say that there will be a lot changes with this organization. Ted and I have already gone over many things and changes have already occurred. I'm not guaranteeing a Cyber Cup by the end of the, what I am guaranteeing is that this team will be better suited at the end of this year, to go after the Cyber Cup next year. Thank you." So with another pro sports team Seattle fans get another chance to see the world's best athletes. Why do I get the feeling that they won't be here every night? I think the owners themselves will enjoy much more success at their game than at their new game. Only time will tell. Vikings News and Notes ---------------------- The Vikings have come out of the gate with their typical slow start, sitting at 4-3-0 after 7 games. The offense hasn't been up to snuff yet, scoring just 24 goals after 7 games. "It's always a small concern when you're not putting the puck in the net but we had two very close games with the defending champs where goals are hard to come by," right-winger Owen Nolan commented, "there's still 67 games to go and I'm betting we still end up scoring more than we did last year." The Vikings scored 293 goals last season which ranked them 10th in the league. The two victories over the Kingston Corinthians were by the scores of 4-3 and 2-1. "Huge victories," defenceman Darryl Sydor said, "but at the same time they've come so early in the year we can't dwell on them. It's important though to beat the big guns in this league if we want to accomplish anything this season." One bright spot early in the year has been the penalty-kiling which was dismal last season and through this year's training camp. It's currently operating at a 91.4% clip which is best in the league. Rookie Mats Lindgren, who was selected 44th overall in the WHL3 entry draft, stepped into the line-up for the 3rd game after free-agent aquisition Paul Ysebaert went down with a pulled groin, and has scored twice in his 4 games. Sergei Berezin, the only other rookie to see any action thus far, has one assist in the first seven games. Jim Matheson for the WHL Weekly 16-COMMISH NOTES: -Make sure you know how the waivers work this year. The injury replacement rule doesn't exist anymore, and at anytime it's the 20%/10% (player/goalie) rule that applies. Refer to the rulebook for more details. That's all for for this week. Thanks for reading! Thanks to all those who contributed to this edition of the WHL Weekly Magazine. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Send comments, suggestions, NOMINATIONS... to: MARC HEBERT Official WHL newsman fj491599@er.uqam.ca CAUTION! Involvement in a fantasy hockey league can cause headaches, loss of sleep, and is very addictive. GO READ A BOOK IF YOU DON'T WANT TO BECOME AN IDIOT!