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durhamreglon.com THE CANADIAN STATESMAN ♦ JANUARY 12,2005 ♦ PAGE 11 Œtjc Canabtan Statesman ♦ durhamregion.com Eagles keep status quo Brian McNair Selwood gets a passing grade... for now No deals made as trade deadline passes on Monday BY BRAD KELLY Sports Editor BOWMANVILLE -- It's a done deal: the Bowmanville Eagles didn't make any. The trade deadline for the Provincial Junior A Hockey League passed on Monday Monday at midnight, and the same lineup that exited the ice following a 3-l win over the Cobourg Cougars on Sunday night will be the same group that takes to the ice again Thursday in Kingston. General manager Perry Bowles says he was actively trying to improve his roster, but any deals that were discussed just didn't make any sense from his standpoint. standpoint. "We had some talks, but for the most part, the other teams wanted too much from the core of our team," he says of discussions discussions that took place with a handful of teams, though he opted not to specify who the other teams were. "We like our team the way it is. Any moves we made could have disrupted our chemistry and we didn't want to do that." While the club came up empty adding a new body, there is a chance one could be leaving. Defence- man Eric Kemp's OHL rights were traded from the Brampton Battalion to the St. Michael's Majors for a conditional 15th round draft pick on Monday. Kemp, who was originally drafted by Brampton in the 8th round of the 2003 draft, has been a solid blue-liner for the Eagles the past two seasons. As of Tuesday morning, Bowles hadn't heard from either Brampton or St. Michael's in regards to the deal, and didn't know what the short-term plans were for Kemp. Regardless of the lack of activity at the trade deadline, the Eagles continue to climb the East Conference standings with the status quo. In the past week since returning from the Christmas break, the Eagles have won all three games, including knocking off the first place Port Hope Predators, and have moved into third place, three points up on the Cobourg Cougars Cougars and just six back of the second place Wellington Dukes. The Eagles have played three fewer games than both teams. "Our last two to three months we have been playing well as our record indicates," says Bowles of his team's 19-2-1-0 mark since Oct. 29, which included a run of 12 consecutive wins. See No page 12 /SI Judgement day has come and gone, quite harshly, for Bob McGill. Now it's time to evaluate the job done so far by his executioner, Brad Selwood. Especially since the trade deadline has passed. Both men were brought in shortly shortly after John Davies purchased the Oshawa Generals, Selwood as GM and McGill as head coach, replacing George Burnett, who held the dual portfolio for the four years prior. It's clear Selwood made one mistake right' off the bat; that is, hiring McGill. There's no greater self-admission to such than having to fire him just 32 I games into his first OHL season. But the move also shows a certain courage and conviction. Rather than watching the team continue to struggle, struggle, as he clearly felt it would, Selwood Selwood pulled the trigger on McGill in an attempt to right the ship as quickly . as possible. Speaking to the players, or simply observing their body language on the ice, the move already seems to have a positive.effect.on . their- attitude and--- outlook. : , -■ ■ ' Hopefully, for his sake, Selwood has gotten it right this time with the hiring of Randy Ladouceur. As for the on-ice product, Selwood promised from the get-go to build a strong foundation for the future, while keeping the team competitive in the here and now. He's certainly delivered on the former former and, arguably too, on the latter. Although it is difficult to judge a GM who has inherited a team and has yet to handle a draft, Selwood has unquestionably unquestionably set this team up to be better down the road through trades. A quick look at the 17-year-olds is reason enough for optimism. When he came in, Selwood had defencemen Justin Wallingford and forwards Gary Friesen and Mike Kava- . nagh as his top three 1987s, hardly inspiring. He has since added hulking dèfence- man Devereaux Heshmatpour and forwards forwards Cal Clutterbuck and Tom Jefferson, Jefferson, while deleting only Wallingford. He has a solid cast of 18-year-olds with the likes of goalie Carlo DiRien- zo, defencemen Bret Nasby, David Halasz and Trevor Waddell, and forwards forwards Adam Berti and Peter Tsimika- lis. On the rookie front, defenceman James DeLory is likely to be a star before long, while fellow freshmen. Matt Piva and Jesse Biduke should be solid players in the league. Selwood has also straightened out the next draft, getting second and fourth round picks from the Soo to give him six selections in the top-100 this year. As for the present, the roster for this season may not be quite as strong as it was when Selwood began -- after all, he has dealt a good chunk of offence in the Donati twins and Chris .Hulit, not to mention last season's MVP in goalie Dan Turple -- but it is comparable and does seem to have more character. If the Generals reach the playoffs, everybody will be happy for this season. season. For a more complete judgement on Selwood, we'll have to wait and see how he handles the drafts he's so eager to get his hands on. Rookie gets tuned up Joshua Carlson comes out on wrong end of meeting with dressing room speaker z Joshua Carlson, of St. Paul, Minnesota, made his debut with the Bowmanville Eagles over the weekend. A misadventure with a dressing room speaker prior to Sunday's game left him sporting a large bandage on his forehead and earned him a trip to the hospital after the game. Ron Pietroniro/ The Canadian Statesman y m BY BRAD KELLY Sports Editor BOWMANVILLE--It took Joshua Carlson Carlson just two games to begin to experience the perils of playing junior .hockey, but funnily enough, most of the damage wasn't done on the ice. The newest addition to the Bowmanville Eagles via St. Paul, Minnesota, was sporting a faint black mark under his left eye, and a large bandage taking up the entire area between his eyebrows following -Sunday's,game againsttheJCobourg: Cougars..The black-eye was.a.result of^ high stick-in-Lindsay.,. during his debut on Friday, night, while the cut between the eyes came as he walked into the dressing room prior to Sunday's home game. "I walked into the room and a speaker fell on my head," he said'sheepishly, relating how a speaker from the stereo system fell from its stand, hit defenceman Steve Comelissen first, then Carlson. The end result? "I'm going for stitches," soon after showering, he noted. It was a rude introduction to the team for the rookie, who didn't register a point in his weekend debut, but did show flashes of speed and a willingness to play a physical game, not shying away from the comers. "He comes highly recommended. I think he is an intelligent player with good speed and will give us some depth," said coach Curtis Hodgins after watching the 18-year-old winger perform in a pair of weekend wins. Carlson spent some time in these parts in the summer working out, and through some local contacts, arranged to skate for the Wexford Raiders and the Eagles, who subsequently signed him last week. For his part, Carlson wanted to elevate his game, hoping for a bigger challenge than the,one he was getting by playing in the Minnesota State High School Hockey League. "The high school hockey there is really watered down," he said of the league closer to home. "I wanted more of a challenge. I saw the hockey up here and thought it would be a challenge and help me get to the next level." That next level is a Division I scholarship that he would like to secure for the fall of 2006, noting he would prefer to play again next season with the Eagles, if they will have him. As for adapting to new surroundings and a new team, Hodgins predicts it will take the rookie two to three weeks. "We play a tight system and ask the players to stick to the game plan and he's new to that. We'll give him some games and as he gets comfortable, his play will pick up." Carlson hopes to speed that process up, citing a couple of more games is all he will need to become comfortable comfortable to the point he will be able to showcase his talent. So far, based on his impressions of the league through two games, the decision to pack up and leave home seems like the right one to help improve his game. "(The league) doesn't just let you play offence. You have to play both sides of the puck and that's what you have to do to get to the next level. You have to play defence." Play defence, and perhaps, wear a hard hat into the dressing room prior to games. Wheeling and dealing done for Gens Generals trade Gibbons Monday, Donatis Saturday x BY BRIAN MCNAIR Staff Editor OSHAWA -- Considering he'd already made a dozen deals since taking taking over as general manager of the Oshawa Generals, it's hardly surprising Brad Selwood made one more right before the trade deadline Monday. In the final move of a major restructuring restructuring of the team he inherited from George Burnett, Selwood traded Oshawa Oshawa native Andrew Gibbons and Bramp ton's third-round draft pick in 2005 to the Sault Ste, Marie Greyhounds in exchange for Matt Puntureri as well as second and fourth-round picks in 2005. "He's a guy who can fill some holes in a lot of areas and help us down the stretch," Selwood Selwood said of Puntureri, a 19- year-old centre and former first- round pick of the Brad Selwood Guelph Storm. Although admitting it was difficult to give up a homegrown product like Gibbons, Gibbons, Selwood said the inclusion of the second round pick "was crucial" to the deal going through, since the Generals had already traded away their own. He now has a pick in each of the first three rounds and two in the fourth for the 2005 draft. "I think we've put ourselves in a great position for the future," said Selwood. "Now it's up to us to draft right." Gibbons, 18, had struggled much of this season after showing such promise late in his rookie campaign. He had 3-12-15 numbers in 35 games with the Generals this season. Puntureri is a strong penalty killer who had 6-2-8 numbers in 42 games with Guelph. On Saturday, Selwood finally dealt disgruntled twins Tyler and Justin Donati, who left the team and demand ed a trade in late November, acquiring 17-year-old right-winger Cal Clutter- buck and a 2006 fifth-round draft pick from the St. Michael's Majors. Clutterbuck made his debut for the Generals Sunday, playing on a line with Brandon McBride and Adam Berti and nearly scored the winning goal on a strong drive to the net late in the third period of a 1-1 tie with Guelph. St. Mike's first round pick (13th overall) in the 2003 draft, Clutterbuck Clutterbuck knows all about winning, having played on championship teams at both the Under-17 World Hockey Challenge and the Under-18 Junior World Cup in 2004. See Gens page 12 Call the sports desk 905- 579- 4400 200$ Montana "OVD" Payments and pricing exclude applicable taxes, admin., registration and licence. Cash selling price exclude III. and cannot be tomblned with lease or „ finance oilers and Include \ RDColHOOQ on Montana., Extra kms at end ol lease are 12* per Km. mm BEST PRICES THIS YEARI P/mo 0 kill | Owdj* PONTIAC BUICK GMC 905-885-8154 • 800-361-8154 50 Benson Crt., Port Hope 200$ Pontiac Sunflre 1 Payments and piking exclude applicable taxes, admin., legislation and licence. 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