WHERE DOES THE TERM “HAT TRICK” COME FROM

If a member of the home team scores a hat-trick, fans acknowledge it by throwing their own hats from the stands onto the ice, often causing a delay in play. This custom was started in Guelph, Ontario with the Guelph Biltmore Mad Hatters of the Junior Ontario Hockey League, which was sponsored by the Biltmore Hats.

THE GUELPH BILTMORE MAD HATTERS – WERE SPONSORED BY THE GUELPH BILTMORE HAT COMPANY.

Mr. Biltmore would throw his top hat onto the ice for the player that scored 3 goals. Fans soon followed his lead and offered their hats to the player as well.

REGINA PATS - IN OUT DOOR HOCKEY - WHL

Taken from - Rod Pedersen.blog

FRIDAY RODSERVATIONS

- Speaking of hockey, I hear the Regina Pats will take on the Calgary Hitmen this winter at McMahon Stadium in the WHL's first-ever outdoor game.

Is this for real Rod.

New Voice of the Pats

2010-07-22

From Regina Pats WebSite - www.reginapats.com -

Regina, Saskatchewan – After 15 seasons the Regina Pats, will have a new voice across the airwaves of Southern Saskatchewan. Rod Pedersen has decided to step aside to continue his work as the voice of the Saskatchewan Roughriders and build his daily all-sports talk show, “The Sportscage” from 4-6pm on 620 CKRM “The Source”.

620 CKRM “The Source” Sports Director, Rod Pedersen, “Thank you to CKRM and the Parkers for the opportunity to fulfill a lifelong goal of being the voice of the Pats for 15 seasons, and thanks to Pats fans for the wonderful support. Good luck to Dan Plaster as the next voice of the Regina Pats.”

Regina Pats President Brent Parker, “There is no doubt that it will be different not hearing Rod’s silky smooth voice on Pats Broadcasts. When we brought Rod to Regina from Prince Albert you could tell he was a tremendous talent after a few years with the Pats he received an opportunity to try his hand at football, and we all know how well that has turned out for him! When we were informed by the station that Rod had made the decision to relinquish his role as the Pats broadcaster we were shocked and disappointed but also we are understanding of his reasons to be with his family more and to concentrate on his new show. The Pats Broadcasting Job is a high profile position and the job was Rod’s for as long as he wanted it. I would like to thank Rod for his commitment his dedication and his friendship and wish him all the best.”

A familiar voice to Pats fans will take over the play by play duties. Pats Director of Communications, Dan Plaster, has been providing colour analysis on the road and filled in for Rod for the past two seasons as well as being the host of PatsTV. Prior to joining the blue and white, he has been a part of both the Lethbridge Hurricanes and Red Deer Rebels broadcasts and covered the Regina Pats for 5 seasons with Global television in Regina.

Harvard Broadcasting Regina - General Manager, Michael Olstrom, “After 15 years as the voice of the Regina Pats, Rod Pedersen is hanging up the hockey play by play microphone. Rod is one of the best hockey play by play announcers in the country and exemplified true professionalism in his approach to the game over the years, he will be missed. However we are very excited to have another great talent join the Regina Pats play by play for the future on 620 CKRM “The Source”…Dan Plaster is a familiar voice that has been involved with our hockey broadcasts in the past and we know that he will step in with a flawless transition”.

“We believe that Dan is up to the challenge of this position and with a year under his belt working with Rod he is ready to take on this role”, Brent Parker comments. “We are excited to have Dan as the new Voice of the Pats and with his extensive knowledge of the WHL from his years in Lethbridge and Red Deer we are sure that our listeners will receive comprehensive WHL and Pats news in our broadcasts.”

New voice of the Regina Pats Dan Plaster, “It’s an honour that Brent has given me this opportunity to follow in a legend’s shoes. To join a fraternity of broadcasters like Rod Pedersen, Peter Loubardias, Kevin Gallant, John Wells and all the other voices that have called Pats games is an opportunity like no other in the Western Hockey League. I can’t wait for the season to get started.”

The season is set to begin on the road in Brandon on Friday, September 24th against the Wheat Kings. To see the Regina Pats for the upcoming 2010-11 season, purchase your season tickets now. Adult prices begin at just $199, which averages out to just over $5 per game! For more information, call 522-PATS, click on www.reginapats.com, or head to the Pats office located in the west entrance of the Brandt Centre.

Pats and CKRM together again -

Regina, Saskatchewan – The relationship between Harvard Broadcasting and the Regina Pats will continue for another three more years. They have agreed on a three year contract that will see the Pats remain on 620 CKRM – The Source, until and including, the 2012-13 season. 620 CKRM has been the home for Regina Pats hockey since the 1995-96 season.

Regina Pats President, “We are excited to be renewing our agreement with 620 CKRM -The Source and we are working hard on a new package for our listeners. We have enjoyed a tremendous fifteen year partnership and we are looking forward many more years ahead on Saskatchewan’s Sport Super Station.”

GDI-Prairies - TRAINING CAMPS -

LOCATIONS

OUR 1 ON 1 TRAINING

GDI-Prairies Satellite Training Center is Located in Winnipeg

While GDI's cutting edge curriculums
and development progressions form
the anchor for our development process,
one-on-one instruction allows netminders
to receive added and targeted instruction
to minimize weakness and maximize
performance.

SUMMER TRAINING TIMES (July - August)

12:30pm to 8:30pm (Tuesday to Friday July)

12:30pm to 8:30pm (Monday to Friday August)
10:00am to 6:00pm (Saturday July/August)

Fall/Winter Training Times (September - June)

4:30pm to 9:30pm (Tuesday to Friday)
10:00am to 6:00pm (Saturday)

For bookings click on The Rink logo below

1 ON 1 TRAINING PRICES

Single lesson $70 +gst
5 pack 332.50 +gst 5% discount
10 Pack 630+gst 10% discount

24 week curriculum sold in 6 week sessions

Winnipeg, Manitoba - (River Heights Arena)

Camp Age Group Dates Spots Left Price # 474 ADV2 00 or older August 23-27, 2010 0 Sold Out # 475 HP3 97,98 and 99 August 23-27, 2010 0 Sold Out #476 HP3 96 or older August 23-27, 2010 0 Sold Out Regina, Saskatchewan (White City Arena)

Camp #	Age Group	Dates	Spots Left	Price
#477 ADV2	00 or older	August 2-6, 2010	12	$599.00+GST
#478 HP3	97,98 and 99	August 2-6, 2010	4	$799.00+GST
#479 HP3	96 or older	August 2-6, 2010	5	$799.00+GST

Yorkton, Sask.

Camp	Age Group	Dates	Spots Left	Price
Coming Soon	9-12 years	Coming Soon
Coming Soon	13 years +	Coming Soon

Saskatoon, Sask. Schroh Arena

Camp	Age Group	Dates	Spots Left	Price
# 471 ADV2	00 or older	Coming Soon
# 472 HP3	97,98 and 99	Coming Soon
#473 HP3	96 or older	Coming Soon

Kenora, Ontario

Camp #	Age Group	Dates	Spots Left	Price
#487 ADV2	9-12 years	Coming Soon

If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to
contact me directly at rcyr@gdihockey.com or

204-330-5462

REGINA PATS - 13th. ANNUAL DOUG WICKENHEISER GOLF CLASSIC - MONDAY, AUGUST 13th.

This years’ Wickenheiser Classic is being held on Monday, August 16^th at the Wascana Golf and Country Club. All proceeds raised will go towards the Palliative Care Caring Hearts Camp.

Forward applications to the following:

Kim Flaman

Executive Assistant/Community Relations Coordinator

Regina Pats Hockey Club

Ph: (306)337-1531 Fax: (306)569-1021

kflaman@reginapats.com

www.reginapats.com

REGINA PATS - 2010-2011 - EXHIBITION and LEAGGUE SCHEDULE

The Regina Pats are now set to embark on another season with the release of the tentative 2010-11 schedule.

The breakdown of the home schedule will see the Pats play:

3 Sunday Games
1 Monday night Game
5 Tuesday night games
6 Wednesday night games
12 Friday night games
9 Saturday night games

To see the full schedule -go to the following:

- www.reginapats.com/SCHEDULE/Game_Schedule -

The Exhibition Schedule is as follows:

MONTH	DATE	VISITOR TEAM	vs.	HOME TEAM	TIME of GAME
September	03	Moose Jaw Warrior	vs.	Regina Pats	7:00 P.M.
September	04	Regina Pats	vs.	Moose Jaw Warriors	7:00 P.M.
September	10	Brandon Wheat Kings	vs.	Regina Pats	7:00 P.M.
September	11	Regina Pats	vs.	Brandon Wheat Kings	7:00 P.M.
September	15	Saskatoon Blades	vs.	Regina Pats	7:00 P.M.

WILD RE-SIGN BACK-UP GOALTENDER - JOSH HARDING - TO ONE-YEAR DEAL

St. Paul, MN (TSN Sports Network) -

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Wild re-sign back-up goaltender Harding to one-year deal

The Minnesota Wild re-signed goaltender Josh Harding to a one-year contract on Wednesday.

Harding will return to serve as the backup to starter Niklas Backstrom. The 26-year-old went 9-12-0 with a 3.05 goals-against average and .905 save percentage in 25 games last season.

Originally a second round selection (38th overall) of Minnesota in the 2002 draft, Harding is 28-39-4 with a 2.66 GAA and .915 save percentage in 58 career games. He also has four shutouts to his name.

DISAPPOINTMENT PROVIDED JORDAN EBERLE EXTRA MOTIVATION

By Joanne Ireland, Canwest News Service

EDMONTON, Alberta — It turns out the first cut wasn’t the deepest; it was the second cut that left Jordan Eberle the most frustrated.

So he used that disappointment for motivation, and a stronger, hungrier prospect has shown up at the Edmonton Oilers development camp.

“I see more strength, even better balance. He’s half-a-step quicker,” said head coach Tom Renney after his 28 charges wrapped up another on-ice session Wednesday.

“I see a stronger-looking player. That bodes well for a smaller player. As long as you have the thickness, the balance and the strength, you’re in pretty good shape.

“He was pretty close (to making the cut last year),” Renney continued. “At the same time, we needed to do the right thing. . . . It could have been a tough situation for a young player to be in. In retrospect, we made the right choice because he certainly looks ready now.”

Eberle hasn’t been handed a roster spot yet, but he will be. He capped a stellar junior career with a season where he rounded out his game and racked up 106 points in 57 Western Hockey League games with the Regina Pats.

Then he scored 14 points in 11 American Hockey League games with the struggling Springfield Falcons farm team, and turned heads at the world championship as a member of Team Canada. Eberle scored once and added three assists when he stepped into the injury-riddled lineup against Norway.

“It’s frustrating when you get cut two years in a row, especially last year. I felt like I was ready,” he said. “The development word kept coming up, but it was frustrating.

“What I didn’t want to do was to be a guy who dwelled on what happened. I wanted to go back (to Regina) and be a go-to guy and I got an opportunity to play five-on-three, five-on-four, power play, penalty kill, the whole works. That experience at the junior level definitely gives you the confidence to to it at the next level.”

Eberle is suddenly the old-timer among Oilers prospects with the likes of 19-year-olds Taylor Hall and Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson, who is also expected to jump onto the big league team.

He came into the development camp pushing 190 pounds, which is 15 pounds heavier than he was when he first showed up in Edmonton.

“I do think it was a season I needed,” Eberle said. “Obviously, it was frustrating that we didn’t make the playoffs, but I got to play in the American Hockey League and at the worlds. I don’t think many junior players have had that opportunity.

“The experience I gained there was unbelievable.”

With all of the changes on the Oilers this off-season, it makes the jump that much easier for Eberle, the Oilers’ first pick in the 2008 entry draft.

He won’t be the only rookie loaded down with expectations, and he won’t be the only newcomer.

“This is an exciting time to come in as a young guy,” he said.

Edmonton Journal

REGINA PATS - SELECT SWEDISH DEFENCEMAN

The Regina Pats were forced to adjust on the fly during Tuesday's CHL import draft.

Having previously traded their first-round pick (13th overall) to the Vancouver Giants, the Pats weren't slated to make a selection until the second round (73rd overall). When it looked like most of the players on their wish list would be gone by that time, GM Chad Lang swung a deal to move up, acquiring the 46th pick from the Lethbridge Hurricanes for a sixth-round bantam selection in 2012.

From that spot, Regina chose Swedish defenceman Ricard Blidstrand, who was selected by the Philadelphia Flyers in the seventh round (206th overall) of the 2010 NHL entry draft. In Central Scouting's final pre-draft rankings, he was rated 53rd out of 150 eligible skaters from Europe.

"We were looking at the guys we had identified and weren't 100-per-cent sure if we stayed pat that we'd be able to get one of those guys," explained Lang. "When the opportunity arose to move up we thought it was right. It allowed us to grab Ricard. He was a player we wanted."

The addition of Blidstrand -- combined with returning left-winger Hampus Gustafsson -- gives Regina a pair of Swedish imports for the first time in franchise history. The Pats had originally been looking to secure another forward in the draft, but their plans changed due to a combination of factors, not the least of which was Blidstrand's availability.

"At the end of the day we said we wanted to take the best player available at the spot we were picking," continued Lang. "We had some players identified and they went earlier in the draft. We still felt there were a couple guys there who we could have selected but with the reports we were getting we thought there was more of an upside with this kid. And the fact that he's a '92-born birthday and a left(-shooting) defenceman, I just think he fits a void that we were lacking on our depth chart."

The 6-foot-2, 205-pounder is regarded as a solid two-way performer. He recorded two goals and eight points in 33 games last season with AIK of the Swedish junior league.

"We knew he was a big kid that moved pretty well," said Lang. "He's not an offensive guy. He's just a steady guy who can move the puck. We wanted to get some size on the back end and needed someone who could make the transition and step in and play. The more we researched him and the more information we got on him, it kept getting more positive and he just kept moving up. He knows Gustafsson so that should help with the transition. Once he comes over and understands the North American game, there's tremendous upside with this kid. That's the big thing we were looking for."

Lang talked to Blidstrand and his agent after making the selection on Tuesday. The GM came away feeling good about the prospects for getting his new defenceman across the pond.

"Until you see the whites of their eyes there's a chance they may not be here," added Lang. "But the reports and the conversations we've had with the agent have all been positive. I talked to him and everything seemed fine. I think he was as excited as the player to get him here."

By Greg Harder

© Copyright (c) The Regina Leader-Post

REGINA PATS - JORDAN WEAL - DRAFTED 70th. BY LOS ANGELES KINGS

Regina Pats Jordan Weal and his family were to spend a week together in southern California following the 2010 NHL draft, which was held Friday and Saturday at the Staples Centre. Those plans were amended, however, after the speedy Regina Pats centre was chosen Saturday by the Los Angeles Kings in the third round (70th overall).

The 18-year-old Weal was promptly invited to a five-day Kings prospects' camp, which is to begin Tuesday in Los Angeles. Hence, Weal has had to cram a lot of his vacation into the brief time between the draft and the camp.

"I'll probably modify a few of my days,'' Weal said with a chuckle after being the first of two Pats selected Saturday -- Edmonton Oilers sixth-rounder Brandon Davidson being the other. "My family will probably be enjoying the sun while I'm working hard at the rink.''

He can hardly wait for the hard work to begin, having realized a dream by being selected by an NHL team.

"It's a big relief,'' Weal said. "All the waiting and the (pre-draft) combine and spending the whole year thinking about where you're going to go has come to an end. Now I'm focused on trying to get better for (the Kings' training camp) in September.''

That camp will include one familiar face -- that of defenceman Colten Teubert, whom the Kings selected 13th overall in 2008. Teubert and Weal have been teammates on the Pats for the past two seasons.

There was some speculation that Weal would also be a first-round pick. The 5-foot-9, 162-pounder was 30th in Central Scouting's final rankings of North American-based skaters. He was also 41st, Europeans included, in The Hockey News Draft Preview.

Based upon those projections, it was not unrealistic to think that Weal could have been among the 30 first-round selections after a 35-goal, 102-point season that placed him third in the WHL's scoring race. However, he ended up waiting until No. 70.

"I definitely heard that I'd probably go a little higher, but I went into the draft with no expectations,'' Weal said. "Wherever I went was where I was going to go. I was hoping to go to a good organization and that's what happened. Now I want to make a good first impression.''

Weal was one of only three draft-eligible players to score at least 100 points in the CHL this past season. The other two -- Taylor Hall (Windsor Spitfires) and Tyler Seguin (Plymouth Whalers) -- went first and second overall to the Oilers and Boston Bruins, respectively.

"We were a bit shocked that maybe Jordan stuck around longer than what we were anticipating but, at the end of the day, it's about a good fit,'' Pats general manager Chad Lang said. "I think L.A.'s a good fit for him. They'll give him an opportunity and I think that's equally important as the number you get picked at.

"It's a really exciting opportunity for him. There's no question that he worked really hard to get to where he is and, for his efforts, he has been rewarded.''

The Pats were rewarded handsomely for selecting the North Vancouver product in the fourth round (79th overall) of the WHL's 2007 bantam draft. That pick was made by director of scouting Todd Ripplinger and then-GM Brent Parker.

"Credit needs to go to Brent and Todd for identifying him and giving him the opportunity and putting him in a position to have success,'' Lang said. "I talked to the family and the kid and they were extremely excited. It's a good day for him and it's a great day for this organization.''

Davidson, meanwhile, went 162nd overall to Edmonton. The Taber, Alta., product, a WHL rookie on the Pats' defence at 18 last season, was a year older than most of the 2010 draftees.

"He kind of flew under the radar,'' Lang said. "Credit to him for not only proving that he can play in the WHL, but for being given an opportunity to play at the next level.''

By Rob Vanstone, The Leader-Post

© Copyright (c) The Regina Leader-Post