&lt;from mailing list&gt;<br><br>Coach Paul Kelly
refers to it as the "trickle down effect" and that could
<br>have a bearing on his Topeka ScareCrows
roster.<br><br>The National Hockey League will soon make its final
cuts, flooding the two <br>Class AAA leagues, the
International and American, with several new faces.<br><br>Good
skaters, who thought they were going to make an IHL or AHL
team, <br>suddenly will be sent packing and will be
searching for a Class AA team.<br><br>"Every year there's a
trickle-down effect," Kelly said. "There's not so much <br>in
our league as the East Coast League (where several
teams have working <br>agreements with NHL clubs), but
there will be some."<br><br>Kelly is expecting to pick
up a couple of players, maybe more, from those
<br>moving to lower leagues from higher leagues.<br><br>One
player who could soon be a ScareCrow is Blair Manning,
who was with the <br>Edmonton Oilers of the NHL when
they opened camp. He was released by Edmonton <br>but
was quickly picked up by the Anaheim Mighty Ducks,
who sent him to their <br>Class AAA Cincinnati
affiliate.<br><br>Cincinnati also has a working agreement with Toronto. When
the Mighty Ducks <br>and Maple Leafs make their last
cuts, Cincinnati may not have enough roster <br>space
to keep Manning.<br><br>"I've talked to him," Kelly
said. "If he doesn't make it there, he'll come
<br>here."<br><br>Manning is a high-scoring center whom Kelly coached at
Muskegon in the United <br>League two years
ago.<br><br>"He's feisty and is the hardest worker on the ice,"
Kelly said. "He comes to <br>play. He's not real big,
but he plays like he is. He keeps himself in great
<br>shape."<br><br>Kelly said he has discussed a split contract with
Cincinnati for Manning. CHL <br>teams are allowed two
players on split contracts and only $400 per week would
<br>be counted against the ScareCrows' salary cap. If
Manning does not make the <br>Cincinnati roster, it could
pay part of his contract and have the right to
<br>recall him if needed.<br><br>Another player who could
wind up back with the ScareCrows is defenseman Chris
<br>Belanger, who scored nine points in 10 games with Topeka
early last season. <br>Belanger left the club to sign a
lucrative contract to play in Europe.<br><br>Belanger is in
camp with the St. John Maple Leafs in the AHL but has
been in <br>contact with Kelly.<br><br>"He asked, 'If
it doesn't work out for me here, would you like to
have me <br>back?' " Kelly said. "I said sure. He's a
skilled player. He kind of gave me <br>the impression
he'd like to stay in North America this
year."<br><br>The ScareCrows' first formal workout is next Monday
at Landon Arena, and <br>Kelly would welcome Manning
and Belanger.<br><br>Kelly has signed forward David
Bouskill, a 22-year-old, 6-foot-3, 225-pound <br>forward
who played 40 games as a rookie last season with
Muskegon.<br><br>"He's supposed to be a really quality kid who comes
highly recommended," <br>Kelly said.<br><br>Kelly said
he has signed three more to tryout contracts:
defenseman Jeff <br>Flanagan of Ontario and centers Nick
Dixon and Billy DeMetriades.<br><br>"Dixon is 20 and
has one year of juniors eligibility left, but we'll
see if <br>he can make the step up (to the pros),"
Kelly said.