THE WEDNESDAY THRILLER … WITH PHIL ANDREWS

Voice of the Pats Phil Andrews

REGINA — The Regina Pats’ coaching search continues this week. That being said there is not much to report except that the team has about a half dozen candidates as of right now. Greg Harder of the Leader Post reported last week that former Tri-City bench boss Jim Hiller has been contacted. As well as Tim Hunter, Troy Ward and Lorne Molleken. Trent Cassan has come up as well as a possible successor to Malcolm Cameron.

I talked with GM Chad Lang yesterday to get an update on how the process is coming along and he said it’s just that, a process.

“We went through the candidates and we’ve identified those individuals that we want to have further conversations with.  We established a shortlist of potential candidates and this week we will be reaching out to those individuals and having more in-depth conversations.”

Lang would not confirm or deny any of the names above as it is too premature in the process. He also says he doesn’t have a specific deadline, just wants to make sure he gets the right guy for the job.

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A number of Regina Pats are taking part in NHL Development Camps this week:

– Morgan Klimchuk is in Calgary with the Flames.

– Chandler Stephenson is almost guaranteed to be playing pro next season. He is with the Washington Capitals Development Camp.

– Captain Kyle Burroughs is in Long Island with the Islanders camp. It is his second year in attendance.

– Dmitry Sinitsyn is with the Dallas Stars. This from the Stars website: Sinitsyn led Regina defensemen in scoring with 44 points (10 goals, 34 assists) in 69 games. Had no points in four playoff games. He likely will play another season of junior hockey.

Stars Assistant GM Les Jackson on Sinitsyn: “He had a pretty good year in Regina. He had some challenges at the beginning of the year and some at the end, but he made big strides in his game. He’s got a few things to learn defensively and details without the puck, but he has a good puck game, he’s smart and he makes good plays. He’s a big man who can do a lot of good things. I think there is something there, we just have to keep working with him and be patient.”

I’ve heard forward Dryden Hunt will be attending an NHL development camp. Can’t say who as of yet.

Can you believe Pats training camp is only about 5 weeks away?? I for one can’t wait.

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Well a couple of surprises in Riderville this week. Starting with the performance on Saturday in Toronto and then the trade of Dwight Anderson to the Argos on Monday. I was totally blown away with what happened in that game, did not expect the team to come out so flat and get beat that badly.

But it’s only one game and I think we all know that this club is better than what they showed. As well I think everyone was surprised at the move to trade Anderson. I liked DA as a Rider, he was a big part of last year’s Grey Cup, but he didn’t have a great start to this year. GM Brendan Taman told Rod and me on the SportsCage Monday that they will audition Marshay Green and Macho Harris in his spot. He also said that Neal Hughes will likely miss some time and that Chris Getzlaf is improving and is not ruled out for Saturday’s game against B.C.

Sportsnet’s Arash Madani reported Tuesday the Riders have signed Jerome Messam however there’s nothing from the team yet and it looks like Hugh Charles will start at running back on Saturday.  It will be interesting to see what he can do as I don’t think anyone doubts he has talent. Wouldn’t mind seeing Toston get a chance either, he looked good in the pre-season.

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God the Blue Jays are hard to watch these days. I’m okay with the fact they are in contention here in July but I miss the month of May. The All-Star break can’t come soon enough, this team needs to get healthy.

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Still can’t believe Brazil got beat 7-1 yesterday in the World Cup by Germany. What a way to go down in a semi-final at home. I’m pulling for the Netherlands today over Argentina.

That’s all I’ve got for today. Have a good week.

Phil Andrews