Devon Toews practiced with the Sound Tigers today. Took part in the power-play practice. They’ll make a decision on him tomorrow for tomorrow night. Lines and pairs were somewhat mixed up, though Dal Colle – Koivula – Ho-Sang remained together. See who gets the go tomorrow against Providence.
Ryan Hitchcock goes back to Worcester after playing one game back up here. “He needs to play games,” Brent Thompson said. “He does everything right here. He’s been working extremely hard. It’s numbers. With the affiliation so close, he can go down and play games.” Worcester plays tonight at Portland, is off Saturday and hosts the Mariners on Sunday.
You may’ve seen earlier this week that General Motors plans major cuts to its workforce and five plant closures. (Like, many people tweeted about it.) One was eye-catching for a hockey reason: the assembly plant in Oshawa, Ontario, where the Oshawa Generals are tied closely with GM, an early sponsor.
“Starting with the name,” said Michael Dal Colle, a General for three and a half seasons. “Playing in that city, it’s a really hard-working city. It means a lot to Oshawa ad the Durham region. It’s one of the most well-known plants that’s getting shut down. It’s very unfortunate My time playing in Oshawa were some of the best years of my life. The fan base there is incredible. I’m sure it’s a big loss, and I’m sorry for that community.”
The Generals released a statement the other day on GM’s impending closure.
“It’s a blue-collar city. That plant was pretty much one of the biggest things there. So many people worked there,” said Mitch Vande Sompel, who also played three and a half years in Oshawa. “It had a way of connecting and touching everyone that was in Oshawa and the surrounding cities in the Durham region. I mean, the team’s named after them. It’s a huge part. I just saw that on the news the other day, and it’s unfortunate the way it’s working out, but it’s a great city. I wish them all the best.”
Back closer to home, great pix of Kieffer Bellows and Christopher Gibson in the team’s Teddy Bear Toss tweet from yesterday.
The Islanders return to the Coliseum for practice today, but if the TV camera is on the red line, is it really the Coliseum?
And… Prescout tonight. Mark Divver had a bunch of Bruins notes on Twitter. No Valentin Zykov for the Checkers; Edmonton plucked him off waivers.