Back Again!

I'm back in the DP studios after a week-long hiatus. Please check out my Examiner site for a lot of Twins coverage.

Otherwise, cleaning out the notebook on other topics:

• Drew Fisher left the Gopher hockey team for Bemidji State. Fisher played in just 14 games in 2008-09 and added just one assist. The sophomore forward is the third player to leave the Gophers for another program, following freshman forward Michael Dorr (for MSU-Mankato), and freshman defenseman Grant Scott (Fargo Force of the USHL). Fisher must sit out a year, and perhaps the option of playing closer to home (he's from International Falls) intrigued him. Personally, I liked what I saw of Fisher last season. He's big and he always seemed to create some intensity when he was on the ice last year. Of course, the Gophers may have some numbers issues with new players next season, and Fisher probably saw the writing on the wall.
• Roman Augustoviz has a good recap of the WCHA teams' post-season awards in his Star Tribune blog. Also, check out the entry where he addresses that North Dakota will not lose any players to the NHL (Chris VandeVelde is staying) for the first time in years.
• Continuing on the WCHA front, no word has been given about Bemidji State joining the league. Speculation centers on who will be the 12th team. It looks like Nebraska-Omaha is the favorite, and this makes sense. Stay tuned for this developing story.
• The Wild still don't have a GM, but Michael Russo talks about the "final" candidates here. Anyone but Pierre McGuire or Pat Quinn would be fine off that list. Russo's all over this, so check his site daily.
• Over in Timberwolves land, no GM there either. Jerry Zgoda has a list of the most current candidates. My take - hire someone quickly and prepare for the draft. The new GM will not have a lot of time to re-structure things (assuming the new GM is not the current GM, Jim Stack) before the draft, so the summer will be spent doing this task. This is an important summer for this franchise.

I'll try to write more regularly this week as I try to get my bearings. Keep reading my Examiner site on Twins-related stuff and check out the other blogs on my blogroll for current news.