Plans for a Monday funeral mass for Darcy Robinson, the Kamloops native who died Thursday while playing hockey in Asiago, Italy, have changed. Rather than a mass at the Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church, a celebration of Robinson’s life will be held Monday, 11 a.m., at the Calvary Community Church, 1205 Rogers Ways, in Kamloops. The change was made at the request of family members and his fiancee, Kristen Windsor, who attended a Catholic mass Tuesday in Asiago. They feel their spiritual needs were met at that mass, which apparently was well attended, so they have requested a more-celebratory memorial service in Kamloops. . . .
The Vancouver Canucks have assigned Slovakian C Mario Bliznak, 20, to the Vancouver Giants. The Giants created room for Bliznak last week when they dealt C Tim Kraus 20, and D Juraj Valach, 18, to the Regina Pats. Bliznak, as a 20-year-old import, is a two-spotter, and the deal created an opening in both categories. . . . Bliznak is one of the WHL premier defensive forwards and a top-notch faceoff man. . . .
The Edmonton Oil Kings made a couple of moves Tuesday. They acquired D Adrian Van de Mosselaer, 17, from the Medicine Hat Tigers for a 2008 sixth-round bantam pick. (Edmonton actually is returning a sixth-round pick to the Tigers, who swapped the pick to the Oil Kings in order to move up in the CHL’s 2007 import draft.) Van de Mosselaer was a seventh-round pick in the 2005 draft. . . . Edmonton opened a spot by sending D Karl Benke, 19, to the AJHL’s Grande Prairie Storm.