Day 5 . . . it wraps up with some notes

DAY 5 AT THE MASTERCARD MEMORIAL CUP . . .

FACES IN THE CROWD: There was Kevin Lowe, the president of the Edmonton Oilers, chatting and signing autographs on the concourse before the game. . . . Also there was former Regina Pats star Mike Sillinger, who works in player development with the Oilers. Sillinger, of course, is rumoured to part of a group that has a lot of interest in purchasing the Pats. Naturally, it was denials all around — but with that trademark smile — as Sillinger laughed it off. He is, he said, quite pleased to be doing what he is doing. . . . Also on the concourse was Winnipegger Tom Thompson, the former assistant GM of the NHL’s Minnesota Wild. He won’t comment but there is speculation that he will land with the Tampa Bay Lightning if that franchise’s new owners hires Doug Risebrough as its GM. Risebrough, who is believed to have interviewed at least twice with the Lightning, hired Thompson when he was the GM in Minnesota. . . . Risebrough is in Germany at the world championship. . . . Also on the concourse was longtime scout and good guy Wayne Meier, who spent a long, long time with the Portland Winterhawks and now works for the Pittsburgh Penguins. Yes, he has a Stanley Cup ring.
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Every team that plays in the Memorial Cup is required by the Canadian Hockey League to produce at least some semblance of a media guide.
And there they are on a table at the entrance to the Media Centre here at the 2010 MasterCard Memorial Cup in Brandon.
Well, they’re almost all there.
The array includes a QMJHL guide on a disc, a Windsor Spitfires 2009-10 media guide, a Calgary Hitmen guide, a Rogers Sportsnet media kit, a colourful Moncton Wildcats guide and . . . and . . . what’s missing?
You are correct. There isn’t a Brandon Wheat Kings media guide.
So . . . what happened?
A Taking Note undercover investigation — I asked a couple of people — seems to indicate that the team simply decided to take the modern, technological way out and thus spare the expense of having a media guide printed.
In the end, the undercover investigation uncovered the Wheat Kings’ media guide.
It actually was buried deep inside a Memorial Cup bag; I just don’t know how many media types have been able to find it.
When media types arrived here and appeared at the accreditation centre, they were presented with Memorial Cup bags, the kind that are great for carrying a few guides, pens, etc., and a laptop computer.
Included was a flash stick that had Travel Manitoba.com imprinted on it.
Well, it turns out that the Wheat Kings’ media guide — along with a few other items, such as OHL, QMJHL and WHL guides — is included there.
So the mystery is solved and the Wheat Kings, I guess, did produce a media guide.
It just took some work to find it.
So . . . what happened?
As one well-connected official put it: “Somebody dropped the ball.”
And something tells me that someone from the CHL’s Memorial Cup committee will be having a chat with the Wheat Kings. Chances are the Wheat Kings will be relieved of a sheckel or two.
Not having a printed media guide may not seem like a big deal in the overall scheme of things, but when the CHL wants this event run like a well-oiled machine, well, that’s one speck of dust that could have been avoided.
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There has been some discontent expressed by at least some fans over the decision to shift the game time of Sunday’s final from 2 p.m. (Brandon time) to 6 p.m. This change was made, so organizers, CHL and Rogers Sportsnet people said, to allow hockey fans to watch world championship and Stanley Cup hockey on Sunday afternoon.
About all they accomplished was to inconvenience fans who had travelled to Brandon for the 2010 Memorial Cup.
Neate Sager of Yahoo!Sports has a reaction piece right here.
Something I meant to mention a while ago is Yahoo’s recent move that has it singling out major junior hockey for expanded coverage. It now has its own section on the Yahoo!Sports home page and there is lots of coverage there. Give it a look. I’m sure you will enjoy what you find.
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JUST NOTES: It seems there was a bit of a scrap as the Calgary Hitmen held their morning skate on Monday in preparation for playing the Windsor Spitfires later that night. F Rigby Burgart is said to have dropped the mitts with F Kris Foucault. The bout didn’t last long before head coach Mike Williamson declared it over. . . . Later, in the Spitfires’ 6-2 victory, Burgart scrapped again, this time with someone from the other team — F Adam Wallace, who had scored just two seconds earlier late in the third period. . . .
Hats off to the group of Calgary Hitmen fans who change their attire for every game. So far we’ve seen the get-up with the masks that are similar to the one on the team’s logo, the Hanson brothers look from Slap Shot and something resembling the Blue Brothers. . . . And let’s not forget Hitmen fan Kim Thomas and his customized seat — he tapes a toilet seat to his assigned seat. . . . If you were wondering, Rogers Sportsnet is using 12 cameras to cover each game, along with a crew of 25. . . .
Fabian Joseph, an assistant coach with the Moncton Wildcats, was a pretty fair player during two seasons (1982-84) with the Victoria Cougars. Joseph, who is from Sydney, N.S., put up 217 points in 141 regular-season games with the Cougars. . . .
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F Evan Richardson, the Swift Current Broncos' first pick in the 2009 bantam draft, has decided to play with the BCHL's Victoria Grizzlies. Richardson, from Nanaimo, was the B.C. major midget league's top scorer this season, with the North Island Silvertips. The Broncos used the 15th pick of the 2009 draft to select Richardson. He told the Victoria Times Colonist that one of the reasons he chose the Grizzlies was that he received "an assurance he wouldn't be held back from a desire to move to the WHL or American college."
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A note involving the NAHL and Everett Silvetips owner Bill Yuill, from americanjuniorhockey.com: It appears that new Texas Tornado owner Bill Yuill . . . has bought the Albert Lea Thunder franchise and intends to move it to Amarillo. First of all, we are not sure it is ever a good idea for a single entity to operate two teams in the same league, especially in the same division. This is Junior “A” Hockey, not NASCAR. There is always that chance that one team could try and load up the roster of the other, or even worse, intentionally lose games to help advance the other team. Every move will be closely watched.”
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The Moose Jaw Warriors have announced that Theoren Fleury and Scott Thomas will be the Warriors and Legends Hall of Fame inductees for 2010. The banquet is scheduled for Aug. 20 at the Heritage Inn in Moose Jaw. . . . Fleury played in 274 games with the Warriors, putting up 472 points, including 201 goals. . . . Thomas, who has used the WHL scholarship plan and now is Dr. Thomas, played 209 games for the Warriors from 1987-91. He attended the U of Regina and the U of Saskatchewan before earning his degree at the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College in Toronto. He now practises in Saskatoon.
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From the website of the BCHL:
The British Columbia Hockey League has announced that the membership of the Williams Lake Timberwolves franchise has been suspended following a vote from the league’s Board of Governors.
The vote came as a result of the Timberwolves being a Member Not in Good Standing within the BCHL. With its membership suspended, the Timberwolves will not take part in the BCHL’s 2010/11 season.
"It is always disappointing when a decision of this nature must be made," says BCHL Commissioner John Grisdale. "However, our Board of Governors felt that it was in the best interests of the league that the Williams Lake franchise be suspended at this time."
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The Enmax Centre in Lethbridge, home to the WHL’s Hurricanes, has a new general manager. Ashley Matthews, the former GM, has moved up within city ranks, and now Kim Gallucci is the new GM. He had been the executive director at TCU Place, which bills itself as Saskatoon’s Arts and Convention Centre. Gallucci has the reputation as someone who is aggressive in attracting events so Lethbridge may be in line for some good stuff. . . .
Earlier, there was news that Bruce Hamilton, the president and GM of the Kelowna Rockets, has said his organization will bid to play host to the 2013 MasterCard Memorial Cup, which is the next time the tournament will be held in a WHL city. A source told me today that the Saskatoon Blades, under governor Jack Brodsky, also are very interested in getting involved in the bidding. . . . The Blades were the early favourites to play host to the 2010 event before the 2010 world junior tournament was awarded to Saskatoon and Regina. . . . Hamilton, of course, is the chairman of the WHL’s board of governors. He badly wants a new scoreclock/video unit for the rink in Kelowna. Were the Rockets, who won the 2004 tournament as the host team, to get the 2013 tournament one would think that RG Properties Ltd., which owns the arenas in Kelowna and Victoria, would spend the money needed to purchase and install a new clock. In fact, I am told that Dave Dakers, RG Properties executive director of facilities, has been asking questions about the clocks in Brandon and Saskatoon — which apparently are identical — so maybe a move to a new clock already is afoot.
I also have been told that the WHL is applying “significant pressure” on all facilities that don’t have score clocks/video to get it done within “a reasonable time frame.”
The WHL apparently made a point of bringing this up to facility managers during meetings in April in Calgary.
At the same time, the WHL is asking all of its facilities to use two Zambonis to flood the ice during every game. You also can expect to see WHL teams and their facilities working closer together, meaning there will be far more joint marketing ventures than there have been.
And don’t be surprised if the WHL hires a director of operations to fill a role similar to the one Dan Craig fills with the NHL.