For the Reporter<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p>\n Cal Filson has been named the Seattle Thunderbirds’ new director of player personnel, team general manager Russ Farwell announced today.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Filson, from Regina, Saskatchewan, has been a scout for the T-Birds for the last eight seasons. He will be responsible for maintaining the T-Birds’ 50-player protected list, scouting and evaluating players in western Canada and the United States and preparing for and running the annual bantam draft for the T-Birds.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Filson takes over for Colin Alexander, who joined the Pittsburgh Penguins on Aug. 27 as an amateur scout.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n “We are excited to be able to bring Cal in to replace Colin Alexander as our director of player personnel,” Farwell said. “He had eight years under Colin and each year he grew and became a bigger contributor. He is more than ready to take on this challenge as his next step in hockey.”<\/p>\n<\/p>\n In addition, Dan McLean has been named the T-Birds’ new director of scouting. McLean, from Sylvan Lake, Alberta, has been a T-Birds scout for the last 19 seasons.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n “Dan has been a very valuable member of our scouting staff and we have been planning to bring him on in a bigger role for a while,” Farwell said. “Under our previous structure it was becoming necessary to add support for our director of player personnel and Dan is perfect for this job. We are happy other parts of his life have evolved to where he now has the time to take on this new position.”<\/p>\n<\/p>\n McLean will be responsible for helping plan scouting coverage, research and background preparation for the bantam draft and assisting in player recruitment.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Filson and McLean start in their new positions immediately.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n On the ice<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p>\n The T-Birds’ next preseason appearance will be in Kennewick at the Red Lion Hotels’ Preseason Tournament at the Toyota Center. The T-Birds play the Kootenay Ice at 3 p.m. Friday, and face the Tri-City Americans at 7:05 p.m. Saturday.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n The T-Birds conclude their preseason schedule with a home game against the Victoria Royals on Friday, Sept. 18, at 7:35 p.m. at the ShoWare Center.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n The T-Birds open the regular season in Vancouver against the Giants at 7:35 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 25. The T-Birds’ home opener is 7:35 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 3, against the Prince George Cougars.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n