Tuesday thoughts

Good afternoon. The Bruins are in North Battleford tonight to try to get back into the win column. The Stars haven't slowed down at all, having won their last seven games, so it will be a very tall order.

North Battleford writer Phil Heilman is running a live chat for the game; you can find it right here.

Last night's 3-2 shootout loss in Kindersley had to be disappointing, especially since the Klippers held Jordon Hoffman and Taylor Duzan out of the lineup (Hoffman was traded to Weyburn today and Duzan likely isn't far behind).

Taylor Reich and Calder Neufeld had the Estevan goals, both on the power play, with Dylan Smith and Austin Yano getting the apples on both. D. Jay McGrath and Bradley Buckingham scored for the Klippers.

In the shootout, Cole Olson had the Bruins' only goal while Brennen Bosovich and Colby Daniels scored for the Klips.

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Speaking of the Hoffman trade, the trade front is starting to heat up around the league. The Klippers have started shipping out their 20-year-olds, beginning with the trade of Jesse Mysiorek to Flin Flon on Friday for 1992 F Jesse Mychan (currently with Everett) and 1995 F Connor Gay.

Today, Kindersley shipped Hoffman and '93 D Aaron Letourneau to Weyburn for '93 F Trent Hermary, '94 D Michael Statchuk and '94 D Kody Thue. I like Hermary, but it sounds like Statchuk will probably go out to Salmon Arm, so my first reaction is to call this a win for the Red Wings.

I dealt with Hoffman and Mysiorek a lot the last two years covering the Klippers, and they are both great kids who were a pleasure to get to know. I know both loved being a Klipper and the trades have to be tough - especially Hoffman, who is a local product from Major - but it's a reality of junior hockey. Both are easy to coach and they play a grinding game built for the playoffs, so their new teams should be happy with them.

Another move came last week when Nipawin traded 1993 F Wilson Dumais to La Ronge for futures. He spent last year and part of 2009-10 with the Prince George Cougars, but he hadn't done much in eight games since being reassigned to the Hawks.

I'm sure we'll see a few more moves before Thursday as the arms race gets going. The Bruins are still looking for another veteran d-man.