Thursday . . .

With the Regina Pats’ hiring of Dale Derkatch on Thursday, each of the WHL’s 22 teams has a head coach under contract. Derkatch, who signed a three-year deal, knows that his toughest job will be making Pats fans forget Dale Derkatch, the player who dazzled them for so many games during his playing days, and recognize Dale Derkatch, the coach. . . . It is worth noting that Regina GM Brent Parker now has twice searched for a head coach, gotten down to a two-man list that included Marc Habscheid and hired the other guy. . . . The Regina Leader-Post, as usual, covers the Derkatch signing like a grasshopper infestation and it’s all right here.
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Officials from the WHL’s Western Conference teams gathered in Kelowna on Thursday for their annual scheduling meeting.
I would love to be able to provide you with more information but, according to Kamloops Blazers GM Craig Bonner, the WHL placed a gag order on all involved. While everyone knows the regular season will open on Sept. 19, Western Conference teams aren’t allowed to provide the name of their opponent until sometime Friday when the league apparently is going to issue a release involving home-openers. I am taking the day off — kind of placing a gag order on myself, if you will — so there won’t be any information here.
(Whoops! There was one leak — the Seattle Thunderbirds will be in Prince George for a Sept. 19 and 20 doubleheader with the Cougars.)
The WHL apparently will release its entire schedule on Aug. 7.
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THE MacBETH REPORT: D Chad Greenan, who just finished his WHL career with Kootenay, signed with Fussen (Germany Oberliga). . . . D Chris McAllister (Saskatoon) signed with Newcastle (UK Elite Hockey League). He was with Hershey (AHL) last season. McAllister played 14 games with Newcastle during the 2004-05 NHL lockout. Former Seattle F Paul Ferone is Newcastle's club director and a co-owner.
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The AHL’s Iowa Chops have made a contract offer to Brett Favre. Yes, that Brett Favre. Should he accept the offer, Favre is expected to, ahem, quarterback the Chops’ power play.
Here is Chops president Steve Nitzel, from a press release:
"Brett (Favre) is one of the greatest American athletes of the past 50 years and deserves a place to play, so we are extending an offer to him to become the newest member of the Iowa Chops Hockey team of the American Hockey League. . . . All we have to do is sharpen his skating skills and after that, his athletic instincts will take over and he'll be one heck of a hockey player."
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It’s been a short offseason for the Spokane Chiefs, who won the Memorial Cup on May 25 and open training camp on Aug. 22.
Of course, it’s been shorter for some players than for others.
D Jared Spurgeon and G Dustin Tokarski are to report Friday to the Canadian national junior team’s evaluation camp at the U of Ottawa. That camp runs through Wednesday. Of course, Spurgeon has already been through the New York Islanders’ prospects camp; the Isles selected him in the sixth round of the 2008 NHL draft.
Spokane head coach Bill Peters will head for Calgary early next month. He is head coach of the Canadian entry that will play at the U-18 Ivan Hlinka Memorial tournament in Czech Republic and Slovakia, Aug. 12-16. Chiefs D Jared Cowen will attend the Canadian team’s selection camp.
As well, LW Drayson Bowman, C Tyler Johnson and C Mitch Wahl will be in Lake Placid next week for the U.S. national junior team evaluation camp. It begins Aug. 1 and runs through Aug. 9.