A Little R & R For Regan's Rant

Unlike the thousands of blogs that are abandoned, 'Regan's Rant' will not end up as one of those statistics.
I took a week off, spending time in Calgary/Banff with my family. The time away included no blogging, no computer, and little to do with hockey. I managed to make it through the week without all three, only to find out many things in the junior hockey world changed over the week.

• Congrats to A.J Jakubec for being named the new play-by-play voice of the Edmonton Oil Kings. I am especially pleased to see A.J back in the Western Hockey League, simply because he was my color analyst the first year I was in Kelowna, calling Rockets games during the 2000-2001 season. Jakubec eventually moved to Ottawa where he was involved in calling games for the O-H-L's Ottawa 67's. A.J will do a great job in Edmonton, and should make a smooth transition back out West, considering he was born and raised in the Alberta city. Don't let the innocent picture of A.J fool ya!!!
  
• A colleague of mine just down the road in Penticton is on the move. Vee's play-by-play man Dan Marshall is now the new radio voice of the Naniamo Clippers. Marshall and I have had a rather close relationship over the years, and my goal was to get him to the WHL level. While I haven't yet succeeded, Marshall, in my opinion is one of the best callers of the game at the BCHL level, and will hopefully make the jump in the next couple of years. Marshall joined our broadcaster crew as radio host for the 2004 Memorial Cup and did an unbelievable job. He is a pro, and I wish Dan and his wife Tammy all the best on the island.
• Keith Gerhart is no longer the play-by-play man for the Everett Silvertips. What is going on here? First it was Danny Larochelle with the Chilliwack Bruins pulling the pin, then Dean Vrooman from Portland and now Gerhart calls it quits. Once again I am sad to see someone like Gerhart go, because of his passion for the game and the team that he followed. As I have stated on this blog before, Gerhart likely took the losses harder than many of the Tips players during his time in the broadcast booth. Yet Gerhart was fortunate to call some pretty spectacular games, with a team that quickly became one of the most entertaining to watch. He'll also have the bragging rights of calling each and every game that Peter Mueller played in the Western Hockey League. Gerhart was always a great host to me and my color analysts, Roger Snow and David Michaud. Gerhart should also get props for hanging in there while traveling with former Tips head coach Kevin Constantine. When Constantine's team lost, I am sure everyone including the radio guy, paid the price in defeat in one form or the other.
  
• During my week in Cowtown, both the Portland Winter Hawks and Kootenay Ice were busy making coaching announcements. In Portland, a familiar face resurfaces in the coaching ranks with Richard Kromm, while the Kootenay Ice pluck the Vernon Vipers GM and head coach, Mark Holick, to guide the team this season. Once again I don't know all the details, but failing to consider assistant coach Brad Lauer at the time was a shock from this outsider. Lauer got passed up for what he believes was a lack of head coaching experience. If that indeed was the case, would Lauer have used GM Jeff Chynoweth as a reference on his resume?
• The Canadian Under 18 team was selected this week, and two Kelowna Rockets failed to make the grade. Brandon McMillan and Kyle St. Denis may not have made the 22 man roster, but just being selected to tryout for the team has to give both players an added boost of confidence heading into this season. Don't forget that one member of the Rockets will be attending the Under 18's. D-man Tyler Myers has been named to the U.S Under 18 squad.