Barthel Getting Invite/Bernie Busting His Butt

• Former Kelowna Rockets d-man Clayton Barthel is venturing out into pro hockey.
  The 21 year-old has received word of a free-agent tryout with the NHL's New York Rangers. Barthel will be headed to the Rangers rookie camp in Traverse City next month. Barthel is no stranger to pro hockey, after hooking up with the Phoenix Roadrunners at the end of last season. Barthel played in four regular season, and four playoff games with the Roadrunners registering one assist.


• Mike Carman won't be coming to the Kelowna Rockets after all. I spoke to Rockets GM Bruce Hamilton today, and he says the deal to bring Carman to Kelowna fell through yesterday. Carman is a 19 year-old forward, who played last season at the University of Minnesota. Carman is a 3rd round draft pick of the Colorado Avalanche. Carman has elected to stay at the U of M, and appears to be on the verge of signing a pro deal. You may remember a couple of weeks ago on this blog, I stated that Hamilton was looking at potentially bringing a NCAA player up to Kelowna. Mike Carman was that player. It appeared that Carman was a good bet to be at Rockets training camp this fall after struggling in the classroom. Carman will sit out the first half of next season after becoming academically ineligible, and will rejoin the Gophers after Christmas.
• Clearly Justin Bernhardt is taking his hockey career a little more seriously. The 19 year-old forward has spent the entire summer in Kelowna, which has meant a date with Rockets Athletic Therapist Jeff Thorburn. Five days a week, Bernhardt is in the gym under the watchful eye of Thorburn, who is trying to whip the Yorkton, Saskatchewan resident into shape. I remember clearly when the Rockets acquired Bernhardt from Regina last season, the greatest discrepancy in his games was conditioning. Even 'Bernie' realized it, meaning a concerted effort was needed in the gym for his game to improve to the standards that saw him score over 20 goals as a 17 year-old.


• Congrats to Andy Kemper, who officially has taken on the radio play-by-play duties with the Portland Winter Hawks. Kemper has most recently been the sidekick of Dean Vrooman on Hawk broadcasts. I'll be honest, I have never heard Andy call a game, but believe his outgoing personality and knowledge of the Hawks and the league will be a real asset to the airwaves this season. While I haven't known Andy for a long period of time, he's one of those individuals who you meet and say to yourself, 'he seems like a long time friend'. Welcome aboard Andy! I take it before he committed to the job, he wasn't told about the bus ride from Portland to Prince George? Gulp.
• Great story from my bud Jon Keen in Swift Current on former Rocket Travis Moen's acting career. Acting career? Ya check it out at www.jonkeen.blogspot.com. Just scroll down a bit.
• Non hockey related but...it was 4 years ago today (Aug 16, 2003) that lightening started the Okanagan Mountain Park Fire that damaged or destroyed over 230 homes.
  The fire maxed out at 25-thousand-6-hundred hectares, and also burned 12 trestles in the Historic Myra Canyon.