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By Phillip
Brents “I approached Hershey with a list of players who I liked and they said these are the players we liked, so it was beneficial to both teams. It’s much easier to go out and sign young players if they know they are going places where they have a chance to move up,” Martinson said. Deschatelets and Sbrocca are returners to San Diego, though both saw limited action in prior stints (Sbrocca appeared in 26 games last season while Deschatelets played in seven games for the Gulls in the 2000 Taylor Cup playoffs). Busenburg and Voltera are both newcomers to the Gulls’ organization, hailing from Shrewsbury, Mass., and Comox, British Columbia, respectively. Busenburg comes to the WCHL after splitting last season with the United Hockey League's Adirondack Ice Hawks and the American Hockey League's Rochester Americans while Voltera, also 24, spent last season with the UHL's B.C. Icemen where he scored 35 points (12 goals, 23 assists) while racking up 214 penalty minutes in 49 games. In three seasons with the Icemen, Voltera averaged 32 points and 202 penalty minutes. A native of Kenora, Ontario, Garrow split time between Colorado and the AHL's Utah Grizzlies last season. He led WCHL rookie defensemen in scoring with 14 goals and 26 assists for 40 points in 53 games. Garrow's 14 goals were second most by a WCHL defenseman and his +18 plus/minus rating led the Gold Kings. In three years at the University of Alberta (1998-2001), he scored 20 goals and 65 assists. According to
Condors coach Paul Kelly, Byram adds a proven forward to the lineup who
can put points on the scoreboard and is also physically imposing. All six active
WCHL teams filed expansion applications in August with the East Coast Hockey
League for a proposed coast-to-coast league operated by the ECHL. The new
Las Vegas Wranglers, set to begin operations in 2003-2004, also applied
to join the proposed national AA-level league. A vote by the ECHL is expected
in early September with limited interleague play a possibility as early
as this season should scheduling permit. |
FEATURE ARTICLES
AROUND
THE WCHL GAME RECAPS PROFILES IN HOCKEY PRESS RELEASES |
The
San Diego Gulls have signed an affiliation agreement with the AHL Hershey
Bears that Gulls head coach and general manager Steve Martinson said will
enable his team to sign highly skilled and desirable young players. The
Gulls will contribute at least four of their offseason signings –
defensemen Marc Busenburg, forwards Rob Voltera and Sandro Sbrocca and center
Sylvain Deschatelets – to Hershey’s training camp while 2001-2002
WCHL Rookie of the Year Mike Garrow, acquired after Colorado ceased operations
Aug. 1, is scheduled to attend the Utah Grizzlies’ AHL training camp.
The
Bakersfield Condors added former New York Islanders veteran center Shawn
Byram to their training camp roster. Byram, 33, was selected by the Islanders
in the fourth round of the 1986 NHL entry draft but has played the last
eight seasons in the British Superleague, scoring 186 points and amassed
424 penalty minutes in 200 games the past five years for the Ayr Scottish
Eagles. His most productive season in North America came in 1990-91 when
he scored 63 points in 62 games, while adding 162 penalty minutes for Capital
District in the AHL. He also appeared in four games for the parent Islanders
that season, recording14 PIM.