HELLCATS READY AND ROARIN’ TO GET STARTED The RAM Katmandu, NEPAL- GM Drummond (AKA. The Bulldog), made no secret that last season he was looking for a new home for the Hellcats. “The people of Nepal have been very good to us in the 10 years that we have been here. Including, building us a 22,000 seat arena. Unfortunately, the novelty of the game of hockey has started to wear off on most of the population. This is going to be the last season the Hellcats will be playing in Katmandu. I will be taking bids from cities around the globe and will announce our new home before the end of this season. The only way that we’ll stay put in Katmandu, will be if we start getting the same kind of support that we received in our first 6 years here and our average attendance must be 19,000 or better.” Coach Keenan was chomping at the bit to get the season under way. “I can’t wait. I’m really excited about this season, which is no different than any other I suppose. I just can’t wait.” The Hellcats almost made it to the finals last season, DHHL19, but it was not to be, as they ran into a hot Port Perry goalie, Matus Kostur. In this year’s draft, the Hellcats made a surprise selection with their 1st round pick by choosing LW Ruslan BASHKIROV. A long shot to make to the DHHL, the young Russian has surprised many in training camp with his skating and shooting. “He’s definiately much better than I though, I can see why we drafted him,” said captain Homer Simpson. “I hope he likes donuts, we’ve got a nice surprise for the young man.” Also selected are two defenseman. American Jonathan BLUM and Ontario native, Josh GODFREY. Two young dmen that will need a lot of guidance on the farm, which they will get from coach Cosmo Kramer. This is the Ram, reporting from the Hellcats training camp. ICEBERGS BEGIN Iqaluit fans excited for season Meekitjuk Mativik reporting for the Iqaluit Icebergs. The Icebergs come to Nunavut to represent the far north of Canada in the DHHL. The team that has been bought by the Nunavut Council is one of the lesserlights in the DHHL, but the team hopes to turn things around, and plan on following a slow and steady path to do so. The first move the team made, and in most prognosticators eyes it was a sound one, was acquiring one of the most esteemed GM’s in league history, with Wayne Trainor taking the helm. He was the guiding force for the Peterborough Smoke Eaters in the first two seasons of DHHL, leading them to the Presidents Trophy in each season, before losing in the finals in DHHL1 and DHHL2. He then stepped back to other duties and watch his creation in Peterborough take the championship in season 3. He left his sabbatical and returned in season 8 leading the Capreol Cobras to an unprecedented, and since unrepeated 6 consecutive DHHL finals, winning three of them, in seasons 8, 10 and 13. He then left again, and has not been at the controls of a team until now. It is a great coup by Iqaluit to sign him to a deal, as it was rumoured that as many as 7 different teams had approached him in the offseason. When asked why he came out of retirement now, Trainor responded: “ It is a good fit for me, and a great opportunity to bring quality DHHL hockey to a new area on the globe. I look forward to the challenge.” Trainor continued: “ I do not want to get anyone’s hopes up, that we can instantly become one of the top dogs in the league. The rebuilding process will be long and meticulous. So many seasons of a Whalen at the helm, so many seasons of being Corporate America’s farm team, has taken a serious toll on the cupboard of the franchise. But we will rebuild,” The Icebergs will be in a division with perennial contender Montreal, the very tough Port Perry, and Halifax and Port Hope. “Although we do not have the depth of Halifax or Port Hope, I believe we can compete with them for 3rd place in the division, behind the two top dogs.” Said Trainor. The new GM also made his first move earlier this evening, when, strangely enough, he made a deal with the franchise’s former nemesis, Corporate America, To Iqaluit: 6 Mark Mitera 0 L D 6 7 8 7 7 4 7 5 8 8 4 71 3 32 Eric Gryba 0 L D 5 6 7 6 5 4 7 6 5 6 5 62 2 1 DHHL23 TC To Miami: 34 Eric Johnson 0 R D 6 9 8 8 6 6 8 8 8 8 8 83 3 “Eric Johnson will be a stud in this league for a very long time; however the team must start small. The chance to pick up some young talent in this trade was too good to pass up. Knowing we have at minimum 6 players, including 3 starting blueliners retiring at the end of this season, means we must begin to fill those holes now, before we are handcuffed. I especially believe Mitera can pan out to become a very solid defensive defenseman for us in the future.”, said Trainor. The team did release their jerseys before leaving, and informing us that there would be more news in the near future, Meekitjuk Mativik