All quiet on the Western front, so here’s the latest from Europe.

1. Now that Dany Heatley has finally had his legal problems dealt with in Atlanta, he has decided to join his buddy Ilya Kovalchuk in Kazan (Russia). Given the notoriously bad drivers in Russia, Dany should feel right at home *rimshot*.

2. Frantisek Kaberle has left his brother, Tomas, in Kladno and has joined MoDo of the evil Swedish Elite League.

3. Not-so-swift skating Buffalo forward JP Dumont is headed to SC Bern of the Swiss League.

4. As mentioned before, but confirmed entirely now, Brad Isbister and Richard Matvichuk won’t be joining HC Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia). The insurance costs were just too high (especially for Matvichuk) and the deals fell through. Since both players registered with Slovan, it doesn’t look like they’ll be anywhere in Europe this year.

(Edit: Just to add to this...my Slovak correspondant, Daniel, informs me that the agents for both players wanted Slovan to insure their NHL contracts for their entirety, and not just for this season. Obviously, it wasn't worth it to $lovan.)

5. Kladno and Vsetin played in the lone pre-tournament game yesterday in the Czech Extraliga. Kladno beat a depleted Vsetin team in a 3-2 squeaker.
Robin Kovar: 1 goal and +1
Tomas Kaberle: 1 assist and +1
Jan Hrdina (??) and Roman Cechmanek (night off) did not play.

6. Speaking of evil Sweden, if you want to know how a North American enforcer finds life in Swedish hockey, then check out James Mirtle’s interview with Buffalo prospect Andrew Peters. The experience will ultimately be good for Peters since he can develop his non-fighting skills and defensive play.

7. "The Rat Came Back, the Very Next Day!" – When the moody Slovak Zdeno Ciger retired last August, I wrote that he had a penchant for surprising career moves. Maybe it shouldn’t be surprising, then, that he’s coming out of retirement to play for evil $lovan Bratislava once again.

8. Czechia’s Funniest Videos – On November 5th, 2004, Kladno played host to the Liberec White Tigers. The game was tied at 4 with regulation time coming to an end. With a few seconds left in the game, Tomas Kaberle, who is deep in his own zone, fires the puck down the ice…and scores!!! Yep…while Milan Hnilicka was checking out the babes in the crowd, Kaberle fired the GWG past him at 59:59.
Check out the video here (Right-Click and ‘Save As’).
It is phunny!!