The WHL’s board of governors has signed commissioner Ron Robison to a contract extension that takes him through 2010-11. The deal came out of two days of meetings that wrapped up Tuesday in Calgary. Robison has been commissioner since Sept. 12, 2000. . . . That was the most newsworthy thing to come out of the meeting, although the most important news item had to do with a report presented by Russ Farwell, the governor and general manager of the Seattle Thunderbirds. The WHL commissioned the report on its economic stability and the board has agreed to spend more time studying the situation. “It was designed to examine how we can maintain our franchises going forward,” Robison told the Medicine Hat News. “(The economics of the league) are okay; there are certainly some challenges in certain markets. Overall, we’re concerned that there’s a lot of pressure from an expense point of view. . . . It’s challenging when you consider that we’re essentially a ticket-driven industry.” . . . The biggest problem faced by the WHL is that expenses continue to go up while revenues have gone flat. In other words, some franchises are going to have to get a handle on their expenses, especially now that there doesn’t appear to be any expansion money on the horizon. As well, there won’t be any Memorial Cup or world junior money to share for the next couple of years. . . . The WHL is not unlike the NHL in that both have big markets and small markets. However, while the NHL has a form of revenue sharing as well as something of a profit-sharing plan with players, the WHL has neither. . . . Other things to come out of this meeting: The league will continue to enforce a rule that calls for teams to travel by bus; some teams have asked for the league to look into a salary cap for off-ice personnel, something it apparently will take a look at (let’s see someone try and enforce that); and, the 2008-09 schedule will continue with the partially interlocking format now being used. That means that next season the East Division travels to the B.C. Division, the Central Division to the U.S. Division, the U.S. Division to the East Division and the B.C. Division to the Central Division.
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One thing that wasn’t discussed at WHL meetings in Calgary was the apparent sale of the Edmonton Oil Kings. That franchise is in its first season and has been owned by the Edmonton Investors Group, the owner of the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers. The EIG reached an agreement Tuesday to sell the NHL team to Edmonton businessman Darryl Katz for $200 million. The Katz Group owns more than 1,500 drug stores across North America. EIG chairman Cal Nichols, who is the Oil Kings’ governor, was in Calgary at the WHL meetings.
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TUESDAY NOTES: The Spokane Chiefs, who are at home to the Everett Silvertips on Wednesday, have 38 victories, the most they’ve had since they put up 47 in 1999-2000. It also is two more than they had all of last season. . . . The franchise record is 50 (1995-96). . . . Spokane head coach Bill Peters is gunning for his 100th head-coaching victory. He has 99, the third-most in franchise history, behind Mike Babcock (223) and Bryan Maxwell (165). . . . Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province reports that F James Wright of the Giants is in head coach Don Hay’s doghouse. Wright is expected to be a healthy scratch Wednesday when the Giants meet the Winter Hawks in Portland. Wright, 17, didn’t even make the trip to Portland, a victim of what is seen as inconsistent play. Also staying home was D Jon Blum (flu). D R.J. LaRochelle is fighting a wonky back but was on the bus when it left Vancouver. . . . Everett will be without three veteran defencemen – Mike Alexander (shoulder), Taylor Ellington (foot) and Graham Potuer (flu) – on Wednesday in Spokane. C Vitaly Karamnov (shoulder) is expected to miss his fifth straight game but is likely to play on the weekend. . . . F Connor Redmond, the 11th pick in the 2007 bantam draft, is expected to make his WHL debut for the Red Deer Rebels on Friday when they play host to the Calgary Hitmen. Redmond, from Maple Ridge, B.C., plays for the B.C. major midget league’s Vancouver-Northeast Chiefs for whom he has 26 points in 33 games. . . . F Kevin Undershute’s WHL career is over. Undershute, 20, won’t return to the Portland Winter Hawks. He is at home in Medicine Hat awaiting shoulder surgery. Undershute spent three seasons playing in Medicine Hat; his stint in Portland lasted 18 games. . . . Four Portland players have suffered season-ending injuries, the others being LW Riley Boychuk (hip), D Brock Cornish (shoulder) and D Lee Morrow (shoulder).
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TUESDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS:
In Swift Current, F Cody Eakin scored the game’s first and last goals as the Broncos dumped the Saskatoon Blades, 5-2. . . . The Broncos (31-20-0-5) have won eight in a row. . . . The Blades (18-32-3-2) have lost six of seven. . . . Eakin has nine goals this season. . . . The Blades led this one 2-1 late in the first period. . . . F Curtis Hamilton gave the visitors a 2-1 lead with his seventh goal at 17:00 of the first period. However, F Levi Nelson got his 19th just 24 seconds later to tie it and the Broncos went on from there to score three more unanswered goals. . . .
In Chilliwack, F Radek Meidl’s goal in the circus gave the Tri-City Americans a 5-4 victory over the Bruins. . . . The Americans (39-12-1-2) have won four straight. They also have won seven of their last eight games. . . . Tri-City is 4-0 versus Chilliwack with all four games decided by a goal. . . . The Bruins are 23-24-3-3. . . . Meidl was the only one of 14 circus shooters to score. . . . The Bruins took a 4-2 lead into the last half of the third period only to have the Americans tie it on goals by Meidl, at 11:44, and D T.J. Fast, on a power play at 17:53. . . . Chilliwack got a goal from F Oscar Moller, who had but one goal in his previous 13 games. . . . He now has 27 on the season. . . . Fast scored twice and has 11 this season. . . . F Mark Santorelli had a goal and two assists for the Bruins. He has 78 points, four shy of Kelowna Rockets C Colin Long, who leads the WHL point parade. . . . LW Colton Yellow Horn got his WHL-leading 37th goal for the Ams. . . . Tri-City G Chet Pickard recorded his 34th victory of the season to set a franchise single-season record. The previous record was held by Brian Boucher. . . .
In Edmonton, F Dwight King scored two goals and set up two others to lead the Lethbridge Hurricanes to a 7-0 victory over the Oil Kings. . . . The Hurricanes (34-15-2-3) have won six of seven. . . . The Oil Kings are 18-27-4-6. . . . The Hurricanes have won 17 times at home and 17 times on the road. . . . Lethbridge concluded a six-game road trip (5-1-0-0) with this victory. The trip, five games of which were played in the B.C. Division, ended with Lethbridge having outscored its opposition, 36-10. . . . King has 26 goals. . . . Lethbridge G Juha Metsola stopped 22 shots for his second WHL shutout. . . . Lethbridge LW Zach Boychuk had a goal and two helpers. . . . Edmonton has been blanked seven times this season. . . .
In Regina, the Medicine Hat Tigers beat the Pats, 5-2. . . . Regina (33-18-3-2) has lost three in a row after it had won seven straight. . . . The Tigers (30-18-5-1) finished 1-3 against the Pats this season. . . . Medicine Hat G Tomas Vosvrda stopped 31 shots. . . . LW Colton Grant scored twice for the Tigers, giving him six goals this season. . . . Medicine Hat was 3-for-4 on the power play. . . . Medicine Hat C Tyler Ennis had his six-game goal-scoring streak snapped. . . . Regina head coach Curtis Hunt sat this one out as he completed a two-game suspension. . . . Hunt will return to go home-and-home with the Moose Jaw Warriors this weekend, starting Friday in the Crushed Can.
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