Around The Rinks (Gomez, Lawson, Thompson, Walsky, Larranaga, Mat Robinson, Zinger)

As things heat up in NHL training camps and minor-league teams get poised to follow, here's a quick look around the rinks.

We start with Montreal Canadiens center Scott Gomez of Anchorage -- check out the 411 on him in a Montreal Gazette story here.

Meanwhile, three Alaska connections played in an NHL exhibition game in the middle of nowhere (i.e. Terrace, B.C.) on Monday night, when the Vancouver Canucks beat the New York Islanders in something called the Kraft Hockeyville Game. Former UAA Seawolves goaltender Nathan Lawson stopped five of six shots in playing half the game for the Isles. Islanders center Nate Thompson of Anchorage was even with one shot on goal and Anchorage winger Eric Walsky, late of Colorado College, UAA and East High, went even with zero shots for the Canucks.

In the American Hockey League, former UAA defenseman Mat Robinson has been sent down to Binghampton from the Ottawa Senators camp.

In the ECHL, the Cincinnati Cyclones have signed veteran defenseman Dwayne Zinger, the former UAF Nanook. He got a sniff in the NHL in 2003-04 and has played a ton in the 'A.' Last season, he played in Denmark, and this will be his first taste of the ECHL.

In the Central Hockey League, the Colorado Eagles have signed former Alaska Aces and UAF defenseman Felipe Larranaga.

And in something called the All American Hockey League, a second-year, Midwest-based circuit I was completely clueless about (well, I'm still clueless), the Madison Ice Muskies will be coached by former Anchorage Aces bench boss Rod Davidson.