THE lure of playing hockey in overseas has seen one player commit for another season in Europe while also drawing the services of another to head across the pond.
After helping his Austrian side in Salzburg capture a league championship this past season Thunder Bay’s Danny Bois has seen his contract extended to remain with the club.
EC Red Bull Salzburg competes in the 10-team Erste Hockey League which is comprised of teams in Austrian, Hungary, Slovenia and Croatia.
The 29-year-old rugged forward notched 33 points in 65 games in his first season with the organization. He also amassed 212 penalty minutes with those numbers leading the team and was also the second most in the league.
Meanwhile another Lakehead product in Colt King has been reported to have signed with the Sheffield Steelers of the English Elite Hockey League.
King will be entering his eighth season in the pro ranks including the past four seasons skating in the Central Hockey League where he was rated the top power forward in the league on multiple occasions in the CHL’s annual best of the best poll.
He has recorded 291 points in the first seven years.
ANOTHER ONE: The Thunder Bay Queens program continues to draw the interest thus giving their players an opportunity to further their education while still playing hockey.
The latest of the ever-growing list of scholarship recipients is Sportop midget AA Queens forward Ellia Heroux.
Heroux will be heading to the U.S. to play collegiately in the fall at St. Michael’s College in Vermont.
She’ll be joining a Purple Knights squad that competes in the 12-team ECAC East women’s hockey conference.
UNLUCKY 13: There won’t be a 13th season working with the Columbus Blue Jackets for Don Boyd.
The Dryden native is in search of a new position in the hockey world after the NHL club announced this past week that they won’t be renewing Boyd’s contract as assistant general manager.
Boyd had spent the past dozen years in the Blue Jackets organization, joining them as director of amateur scouting back in 1999.
He also served as director of player development and director of hockey operations and player personnel during his time with the club.
FREE AGENT FRENZY: With July 1st and the start of the NHL’s free agent frenzy less than three weeks away a number of local players are looking to secure deals with their current clubs before they go on the open market.
The Montreal Canadiens have a pair of Thunder Bay products that are in search of new deals in forward Tom Pyatt and goaltender Alex Auld who filled in admirably in their respective roles with the storied NHL franchise.
Pyatt is in the restricted free agent category while Auld is unrestricted.
While Patrick Sharp is still one year away from becoming a potential unrestricted free agent with the Chicago Blackhawks, Ryan Johnson who joined the team midway through the season is now scheduled to by a UFA should he not reach a deal to remain with the club.
Thunder Bay native Taylor Chorney’s deal with Edmonton is set to expire after he split his first two seasons as a professional between the Oilers and the American Hockey League.
The same can be said for Chris Porter, who spent most of this season with the St. Louis Blues and looks to ink a new deal before the start of next season.