THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Jonas Johansson (Kamloops, 2002-04) signed a one-year contract extension with Cortina (Italy, Serie A). He had 23 goals and 24 assists in 39 games with Cortina last season. . . .
F Jared Aulin (Kamloops, 1997-2002) signed a one-year contract with Örebro (Sweden, Allsvenskan). He had 10 goals and 20 assists in 36 games for Leksand (Swweden, Allsvenskan) last season. . . .
F Stanislav Balan (Portland, 2005-06) signed a one-year contract with Lev Poprad (Slovakia, KHL). He had eight goals and eight assists in 50 games with Zlin (Czech Republic, Extraliga) last season. . . .
F Konstantin Panov (Kamloops, 1998-2001) signed a two-year contract with Traktor Chelyabinsk (Russia, KHL). He had two goals and seven assists in 29 games with SKA St. Petersburg (Russia, KHL) last season.
———
Paul Kariya announced his retirement as a professional hockey player on Tuesday. And everyone — every single person who is associated with hockey at any level today, from parents to fans to team and league officials — must read Eric Duhatschek’s piece in The Globe and Mail.
Kariya told Duhatschek that the risk of incurring another concussion simply is too great. So, Kariya, at 36 years of age, is walking away.
He took 2010-11 off in an attempt to recover from multiple concussions. And even though he now feels fine, well, that just isn’t good enough.
After the last concussion-causing hit, Kariya told Duhatschek, he “hoped his symptoms would go away over time, as they had before.
“Instead, they just kept getting worse and worse. My doctor said, ‘there’s no one in my profession that could clear you to play in this condition.’ Even last summer, he said, ‘even if you recover 100 per cent, I would advise you to retire.’
“I knew I was bad, but I didn’t know I was that bad. But they had concussion data on me all the way back to 1996, and then from the (Gary) Suter hit (just before the 1998 Winter Olympics), so they could track my results from one concussion to another.
“The drop in my brain function, the doctor said, was down by 50 per cent. At that point, I wasn’t thinking, ‘Am I going to play again?’ I just wanted to get healthy.”
Scary stuff.
And there’s a whole lot more in Duhatschek’s story, including what Kariya feels needs to be done to get most concussions out of hockey.
If you read only one thing today, make this the one.
———
Matt Coxford of the Cranbrook Daily Townsman has the story of Brad Shaw, a former trainer with the Kootenay Ice, who has been hired by the NHL’s Winnipeg Jets. That story is right here.
———
Saskatoon definitely isn’t a city where the streets have no names.
One of them soon may be named after Shannon Tweed.
Yes, that Shannon Tweed. Hey, she did attend a Saskatoon Blades game last season.
Saskatoon city council has OK’d the adding of Tweed’s name to a master list that is used for street names.
According to CBC, “A report to council said Tourism Saskatoon wants a street named ’Tweed Lane’ in the Rosewood neighbourhood.”
The 54-year-old Tweed attended high school in Saskatoon — she was born in Newfoundland — and is married to Gene Simmons, the lead singer of KISS.
The two of them attended a Blades game last season while they were in the Bridge City taping a segment of their reality show — Gene Simmons Family Jewels.
———
SOME IMPORT DRAFT NOTES:
The Kootenay Ice took a pass on the CHL import draft for a second straight year.
A year ago, Ice president/GM Jeff Chynoweth felt he had such a solid nucleus of players returning that it would have been tough to find a slot for an import on his roster.
This time around, he admitted that he had a line on a particular player. But the Ice held the 51st selection, which was too deep into the draft to land what he wanted so Chynoweth dealt the pick.
The Ice traded that selection to the Everett Silvertips for an eighth-round pick in the 2012 WHL bantam draft.
Everett used the import pick on German D Dominik Bittner.
The Ice last used import players in 2009-10 when Czech F Dominik Pacovsky and Czech D Petr Senkerik were on the roster. . . .
Meanwhile, the Brandon Wheat Kings used the 33rd selection to take F Alessio Bertaggia of Switzerland. The 5-foot-8, 156-pounder had 37 points and 75 penalty minutes with a junior team in Lugano last season.
However, if you are a WHL observer you will recall Bertaggia as the at-the-time nameless player who lit it up during a practice session with the Portland Winterhawks last season. . . .
The Winterhawks dealt the 58th pick — it became No. 57 when the QMJHL’s Saint John Sea Dogs passed at No. 53 — to Kelowna for the Rockets’ first selection in the 2012 import draft.
The Winterhawks’ roster includes two Swiss forwards — Sven Bartschi and Nino Niederreiter. Bartschi was a first-round selection by the Calgary Flames in the 2011 NHL draft, while Niederreiter went to the New York Islanders in the first round of the 2010 draft.
According to a news release from the Winterhawks, Portland will keep both plays “on the roster in the event they are returned to Portland by their National Hockey League teams.”
Niederreiter played nine games with the Islanders to start the 2010-11 season before being returned to the Winterhawks. . . .
The Vancouver Giants selected Finnish G Jonathan Iilahti, a 19-year-old, with the 39th pick in the import draft. he was taken by the Vancouver Canucks in the sixth round of the NHL’s 2010 draft.
Iilhati is expected to be the Giants’ starting goaltender. Mark Segal, last season’s starter, is 20 and has opted to attend McGill University in Montreal and play for the Redmen.
The Giants believe that Jackson Whistler, a 16-year-old from Kelowna, and Payton Lee, a 15-year-old from Cranbrook, are their goaltenders of the future.
They need Iilahti to be the bridge to those two.
Whistle was a fourth-round selection in the 2010 bantam draft and should battle Brandon Jensen, 18, who was 8-13-1, 3.76, .875 while backing up Segal last season.
Lee was taken by the Giants with the 28th pick in the 2011 draft. . . .
The Prince George Cougars used the 59th selection in the draft to take F Marko Dano, 16, out of Trencin, Slovakia. He is a late-1994 so isn’t eligible for the NHL draft until 2013. According to a news release from the Cougars: “Dano’s father, Jozef, scored five goals and nine points in 12 games for Slovakia at three IIHF World Championships (1996, ’97 & ’99).”
Earlier, the Cougars swapped import picks with the Saskatoon Blades, who got the 30th pick in the exchange. Prince George also got a 2012 third-round bantam draft pick from Saskatoon. The Blades took Russian G Andre Makarov with the 30th selection. He had been with the QMJHL’s Lewiston Maineiacs but came available with the unfortunate demise of that franchise. . . .
The Lethbridge Hurricanes used the 12th overall pick on Swedish D Albin Blomqvist, whose brother, Anton, was taken 167th overall by the Columbus Blue Jackets in last weekend’s NHL draft. . . .
The Edmonton Oil Kings dealt D Marek Hrbas, the fourth overall pick in the 2010 import draft, to the Kamloops Blazers earlier in the week. That deal involved a swap of import picks, with the Oil Kings moving up to 18th, where they took Slovakian D Martin Gernat, who is 6-foot-5 and 187 pounds. The Edmonton Oilers selected Gernat in the fourth round of the 2011 NHL draft. . . .
The Blazers used the 27th selection on Swiss F Tim Bolzon, whose father, Philippe, played 144 NHL games with the St. Louis Bllues (1991-95). Tim actually was born in St. Louis and has played internationally for French teams. . . .
The Calgary Hitmen used the third overall selection to take Swedish F Victor Rask, 18, who was a second-round pick by the Carolina Hurricanes in last weekend’s NHL draft. His agent apparently told the Hitmen that Rask doesn’t want to play in the WHL. But the Hitmen are prepared to wait and see how things develop after Rask attends the Hurricanes’ training camp.
———
Neate Sager of Yahoo! Sports takes a look at the run on goaltenders in the import draft. Check that out right here.
———
There were 59 players selected in the first round, with just three players taken in the second round when only the Calgary Hitmen, Tri-City Americans and Brandon Wheat Kings made selections. . . . The CHL’s 60 teams selected 15 players from Czech Republic and 11 from Russia. Others came from Sweden (9), Slovakia (7), Germany and Switzerland (each 5), Norway (4), Latvia (3), Finland (2) and Belarus (1). . . . It’s interesting that NHL teams took only eight Russians in last weekend’s draft.
———
JUST NOTES: D Wes Vanieuwenhuizen of the Vancouver Giants, who wasn’t selected in the NHL draft, will attend the Edmonton Oilers’ prospects camp that is scheduled to run July 4-9. . . . If you were wondering, former Medicine Hat Tigers GM/head coach Willie Desjardins will stay on staff with the Dallas Stars, working under new head coach Glen Gulutzan. Also staying will be former WHLer Stu Barnes, who owns a chunk of the Tri-City Americans. . . . Former NHL D Charlie Huddy is the odd-man out in Dallas. He may get a shot at an assistant’s role with the Winnipeg Jets. . . . Seattle Thunderbirds F Luke Lockhart, who wasn’t selected in last weekend’s NHL draft, has accepted an invitation to the Washington Capitals’ development camp that begins July 10.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Taking Note on Twitter
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Tuesday . . .
The Hockey Hall of Fame announced its Class of 2011 on Tuesday. It comprises former NHL players Ed Belfour, Doug Gilmour, Mark Howe and Joe Nieuwendyk, all of them most deserving.
Look, these things always are subjective and there always, always, always are great debates about who should or who shouldn’t be in there. And it doesn’t matter what the sports is. If you don’t believe that, sign on to Twitter and start following Peter King of Sports Illustrated. He is on the Football Hall of Fame’s selection committee and he always ends up debating the choices. Just the other night, in fact, he tweeted that he was taking time off from that particular debate.
Which brings us to the Hockey Hall of Fame. . . .
There are those who feel the likes of Pavel Bure and Eric Lindros should be in the hall. Others can’t understand why former Philadelphia Flyers head coach Fred Shero is on the outside looking in, and lots of folks feel Pat Burns should have been included among last year’s inductees, never mind this year’s.
All of which is fine. You can make a case, and a good one, for any number of former players and coaches and management types.
As far as I’m concerned none of that matters, not until Paul Henderson is among the inductees.
I’m sorry, but here’s a guy who scored the winning goal in each of the last three games of the greatest hockey series of all time, a guy who had a solid NHL career . . . and he isn’t in the Hockey Hall of Fame.
He scored the most-famous goal in the history of the sport, winning the 1972 Summit Series with 34 seconds left in the eighth and final game.
And it’s not like Henderson was a slug as a pro.
He played 707 regular-season NHL games, picking up 477 points, including 236 goals. He also played 360 games in the World Hockey Association, adding 140 goals and 143 assists to his professional totals.
He played in 56 NHL playoff games, scoring 11 goals and adding 14 assists.
All told, he played 18 seasons as a professional
On Tuesday, Bill Hay, the chairman of the Hockey Hall of Fame, pointed out: “It’s always been the Hockey Hall of Fame and not the NHL Hall of Fame.”
That being the case, Henderson deserves a spot.
———
THE IMPORT DRAFT:
The London Knights are expected to open the CHL’s 2011 import draft this morning by taking Finnish D Olli Maatta, who turns 17 on Aug. 22. He didn’t play a whole lot in the 2011 World Junior Championship, but still is the youngest player ever to play for Finland in that tournament. . . .
The Quebec Remparts traded into the No. 2 swap and chances are that Patrick Roy’s club will take Russian F Igor Grigorenko, who may be the best 1994-born player in that country. . . .
———
The Kootenay Ice won the WHL championship for 2010-11 without any import players. Jeff Chynoweth, the Ice’s president and GM, felt he had a solid group of returning players, so didn’t partake in the 2010 import draft. History shows that he made and history shows that he made the correct decision.
So . . . will the Ice take part today?
“Don’t know yet,” Chynoweth told me via text on Tuesday afternoon. “Right now no, but that might change.”
As he pointed out, “It is tough to get a good player when you are selecting 51st overall!”
———
The Lethbridge Hurricanes hold the 12th and 72nd selections and are expected to use both, having released their two imports from last season.
Swedish F Jacob Berglund, who had 33 points in 61 games, is 20, so would have been a two-spotter. He will play in Sweden next season.
Russian F Alex Kuvaev, now 18, had 24 in 58 games in his freshman season. He will be available to other teams in today’s draft.
———
Sean Rooney of the Medicine Hat News reports that the Tigers plan on making one selection in the import draft.
They have Finnish F Patrik Parkkonen and Swedish D Sebastian Owuya returning. However, Owuya is preparing for his 20-year-old season so would be a two-spotter. Owuya plans on attending the Tigers’ camp and seeing if he gets an opportunity to play professionally.
Rooney’s story is right here.
———
The Victoria Royals, according to Cleve Dheensaw of the Victoria Times Colonist, will select one player in the import draft.
They expect to lose Czech F Roman Horak, 20, who should play in the Calgary Flames’ organization.
But the Royals anticipate having Czech F Robin Soudek return. He’s 20, so will be a two-spotter. But he had 57 points in 61 games in his third WHL season.
Dheensaw's story is right here.
———
The WHL plans to release its 2011-12 regular-season schedule today, despite the fact that the CHL’s 2011 import draft is being held today.
In recent years, the WHL has released its schedule in August, so it’s terrific that it has it ready in June.
But why release it on the same day as the import draft?
Why not capitlize on the situation and try to maximize the publicity during the offseason. To do that, you save the schedule for a day or two, then make sure to release it on a day when there is no other major WHL-related news.
Let the import draft dominate the news today. And then let the schedule be the story on another day. In some markets, it could be a headline that Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, the first overall pick in last weekend’s NHL draft, might be coming to town with the Red Deer Rebels.
But that may not even get a mention on the same day as the import draft.
Hey, WHL, you’re welcome .
———
Charges have been filed in the June 12 death of Dain Phillips, 51, who was beaten to death in Kelowna. Phillips played for the Medicine Hat Tigers and Lethbridge Broncos (1978-80).
Kim Bolan, the Vancouver Sun’s top-notch crime reporter, has more right here. And it isn’t pretty — the Hells Angels are involved.
Bolan's story is right here.
———
D Dylan Busenius, 18, of the Medicine Hat Tigers wasn’t selected in the NHL draft on the weekend but as accepted an invitation to the Minnesota Wild’s development camp, July 10-17. . . . D Evan Morden, 18, of the Everett Silvetips also wasn’t drafted and has signed on to attend the Dallas Stars’ development camp which begins today. . . . Tyler King, who had been doing radio work in Kingston, Ont., is on his way to Fort McMurray, Alta., where he will be the radio voice of the AJHL’s Oil Barons.
———
THE COACHING GAME: The Seattle Thunderbirds have signed Jim McTaggart and Darren
Rumble as assistant coaches to work alongside new head coach Steve Konowalchuk. Rumble, a former NHL defenceman with a Stanley Cup ring from the 2003-04 Tampa Bay Lightning, worked last season as an associate coach with the QMJHL’s now-defunct Lewiston Maineiacs. . . . McTaggart worked as a Seattle assistant coach for the last seven seasons under former head coach Rob Sumner. He was also an assistant coach with Seattle from 1994-96. . . . According to a news release from the Thunderbirds, former assistant coach Turner Stevenson “has elected to pursue coaching opportunities” at the AHL level. . . .
The Dallas Stars have added Paul Jerrard as an assistant coach. He had been an assistant with their AHL affiliate, the Texas Stars. . . . Jerrard spent the last two seasons working under Glen Gulutzan, Dallas’s new head coach, with the AHL franchise. . . .
Terry Ruskowski is the new GM/head coach of the Central league’s Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees. He had spent the previous nine seasons with that league’s Laredo Bucks. . . .
Brent Thompson, a former WHL defenceman (Medicine Hat, 1988-91), is the new head coach of the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, the AHL affiliate of the New York Islanders. He has been the head coach of the ECHL’s Anchorage Aces for the last two seasons. The Aces won the 2010-11 ECHL championship and Thompson was saluted as the league’s coach of the year.
———
TWEET OF THE DAY:
Actually, this tweet showed up Monday. I made a note about it but forgot to include it last night. However, it’s from a favourite so here it is, a day late:
Scottie Upshall, a product of the Kamloops Blazers now with the Columbus Blue Jackets, tweeted this one:
“Surprised my beautiful mom Mandy w/ a new #BMW X1 for her 50th Birthday! http://t.co/DYN4PiA”
Check out this link for a photo of Upshall, his mother and the birthday gift.
Atta boy, Scottie! And a belated Happy Birthday to Mandy. May there be many more — BMWs and birthdays!
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Taking Note on Twitter
Look, these things always are subjective and there always, always, always are great debates about who should or who shouldn’t be in there. And it doesn’t matter what the sports is. If you don’t believe that, sign on to Twitter and start following Peter King of Sports Illustrated. He is on the Football Hall of Fame’s selection committee and he always ends up debating the choices. Just the other night, in fact, he tweeted that he was taking time off from that particular debate.
Which brings us to the Hockey Hall of Fame. . . .
There are those who feel the likes of Pavel Bure and Eric Lindros should be in the hall. Others can’t understand why former Philadelphia Flyers head coach Fred Shero is on the outside looking in, and lots of folks feel Pat Burns should have been included among last year’s inductees, never mind this year’s.
All of which is fine. You can make a case, and a good one, for any number of former players and coaches and management types.
As far as I’m concerned none of that matters, not until Paul Henderson is among the inductees.
I’m sorry, but here’s a guy who scored the winning goal in each of the last three games of the greatest hockey series of all time, a guy who had a solid NHL career . . . and he isn’t in the Hockey Hall of Fame.
He scored the most-famous goal in the history of the sport, winning the 1972 Summit Series with 34 seconds left in the eighth and final game.
And it’s not like Henderson was a slug as a pro.
He played 707 regular-season NHL games, picking up 477 points, including 236 goals. He also played 360 games in the World Hockey Association, adding 140 goals and 143 assists to his professional totals.
He played in 56 NHL playoff games, scoring 11 goals and adding 14 assists.
All told, he played 18 seasons as a professional
On Tuesday, Bill Hay, the chairman of the Hockey Hall of Fame, pointed out: “It’s always been the Hockey Hall of Fame and not the NHL Hall of Fame.”
That being the case, Henderson deserves a spot.
———
THE IMPORT DRAFT:
The London Knights are expected to open the CHL’s 2011 import draft this morning by taking Finnish D Olli Maatta, who turns 17 on Aug. 22. He didn’t play a whole lot in the 2011 World Junior Championship, but still is the youngest player ever to play for Finland in that tournament. . . .The Quebec Remparts traded into the No. 2 swap and chances are that Patrick Roy’s club will take Russian F Igor Grigorenko, who may be the best 1994-born player in that country. . . .
———
The Kootenay Ice won the WHL championship for 2010-11 without any import players. Jeff Chynoweth, the Ice’s president and GM, felt he had a solid group of returning players, so didn’t partake in the 2010 import draft. History shows that he made and history shows that he made the correct decision.So . . . will the Ice take part today?
“Don’t know yet,” Chynoweth told me via text on Tuesday afternoon. “Right now no, but that might change.”
As he pointed out, “It is tough to get a good player when you are selecting 51st overall!”
———
The Lethbridge Hurricanes hold the 12th and 72nd selections and are expected to use both, having released their two imports from last season.Swedish F Jacob Berglund, who had 33 points in 61 games, is 20, so would have been a two-spotter. He will play in Sweden next season.
Russian F Alex Kuvaev, now 18, had 24 in 58 games in his freshman season. He will be available to other teams in today’s draft.
———
Sean Rooney of the Medicine Hat News reports that the Tigers plan on making one selection in the import draft.They have Finnish F Patrik Parkkonen and Swedish D Sebastian Owuya returning. However, Owuya is preparing for his 20-year-old season so would be a two-spotter. Owuya plans on attending the Tigers’ camp and seeing if he gets an opportunity to play professionally.
Rooney’s story is right here.
———
The Victoria Royals, according to Cleve Dheensaw of the Victoria Times Colonist, will select one player in the import draft.They expect to lose Czech F Roman Horak, 20, who should play in the Calgary Flames’ organization.
But the Royals anticipate having Czech F Robin Soudek return. He’s 20, so will be a two-spotter. But he had 57 points in 61 games in his third WHL season.
Dheensaw's story is right here.
———
The WHL plans to release its 2011-12 regular-season schedule today, despite the fact that the CHL’s 2011 import draft is being held today.
In recent years, the WHL has released its schedule in August, so it’s terrific that it has it ready in June.But why release it on the same day as the import draft?
Why not capitlize on the situation and try to maximize the publicity during the offseason. To do that, you save the schedule for a day or two, then make sure to release it on a day when there is no other major WHL-related news.
Let the import draft dominate the news today. And then let the schedule be the story on another day. In some markets, it could be a headline that Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, the first overall pick in last weekend’s NHL draft, might be coming to town with the Red Deer Rebels.
But that may not even get a mention on the same day as the import draft.
Hey, WHL, you’re welcome .
———
Charges have been filed in the June 12 death of Dain Phillips, 51, who was beaten to death in Kelowna. Phillips played for the Medicine Hat Tigers and Lethbridge Broncos (1978-80).
Kim Bolan, the Vancouver Sun’s top-notch crime reporter, has more right here. And it isn’t pretty — the Hells Angels are involved.
Bolan's story is right here.
———
D Dylan Busenius, 18, of the Medicine Hat Tigers wasn’t selected in the NHL draft on the weekend but as accepted an invitation to the Minnesota Wild’s development camp, July 10-17. . . . D Evan Morden, 18, of the Everett Silvetips also wasn’t drafted and has signed on to attend the Dallas Stars’ development camp which begins today. . . . Tyler King, who had been doing radio work in Kingston, Ont., is on his way to Fort McMurray, Alta., where he will be the radio voice of the AJHL’s Oil Barons.———
THE COACHING GAME: The Seattle Thunderbirds have signed Jim McTaggart and Darren
Rumble as assistant coaches to work alongside new head coach Steve Konowalchuk. Rumble, a former NHL defenceman with a Stanley Cup ring from the 2003-04 Tampa Bay Lightning, worked last season as an associate coach with the QMJHL’s now-defunct Lewiston Maineiacs. . . . McTaggart worked as a Seattle assistant coach for the last seven seasons under former head coach Rob Sumner. He was also an assistant coach with Seattle from 1994-96. . . . According to a news release from the Thunderbirds, former assistant coach Turner Stevenson “has elected to pursue coaching opportunities” at the AHL level. . . .The Dallas Stars have added Paul Jerrard as an assistant coach. He had been an assistant with their AHL affiliate, the Texas Stars. . . . Jerrard spent the last two seasons working under Glen Gulutzan, Dallas’s new head coach, with the AHL franchise. . . .
Terry Ruskowski is the new GM/head coach of the Central league’s Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees. He had spent the previous nine seasons with that league’s Laredo Bucks. . . .
Brent Thompson, a former WHL defenceman (Medicine Hat, 1988-91), is the new head coach of the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, the AHL affiliate of the New York Islanders. He has been the head coach of the ECHL’s Anchorage Aces for the last two seasons. The Aces won the 2010-11 ECHL championship and Thompson was saluted as the league’s coach of the year.
———
TWEET OF THE DAY:
Actually, this tweet showed up Monday. I made a note about it but forgot to include it last night. However, it’s from a favourite so here it is, a day late:
Scottie Upshall, a product of the Kamloops Blazers now with the Columbus Blue Jackets, tweeted this one:
“Surprised my beautiful mom Mandy w/ a new #BMW X1 for her 50th Birthday! http://t.co/DYN4PiA”
Check out this link for a photo of Upshall, his mother and the birthday gift.
Atta boy, Scottie! And a belated Happy Birthday to Mandy. May there be many more — BMWs and birthdays!
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Taking Note on Twitter
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Monday . . .
THE MacBETH REPORT:
D David Turon (Portland, 2002-03) signed a one-year contract with Fassa (Italy, Serie A). He had two goals and one assist in 25 games with Dukla Trencin (Slovakia, Extraliga) and five goals and three assists in 28 games for Lausitzer Fuche Weisswasser (Germany, 2.Bundesliga) last season.
———
The Kamloops Blazers have added to their stable of experienced WHL defencemen.
The Blazers acquired Marek Hrbas, an 18-year-old sophomore from the Czech Republic, from the Edmonton Oil Kings on Monday. In exchange for Hrbas and the 27th selection in the 2011 CHL import draft that is to be held Wednesday, the Blazers surrendered the 18th pick in the import draft and a fifth-round selection in the 2012 WHL bantam draft.
Hrbas, 5-foot-10 and 180 pounds, had 17 points, including five goals, and 30 penalty minutes in 64 games with the Oil Kings last season. He was pointless in four playoff games. The Oil Kings selected him fourth overall in the CHL’s 2010 import draft.
Hrbas spent 2009-10 with the USHL’s Fargo, N.D., Force, earning 15 points, four of them goals, in 40 games. That season, he played for Czech Republic in the U-17 World Hockey Challenge at Timmins, Ont., and was the tournament’s highest-scoring defenceman with seven points in five games.
He played for the Czech Republic — he was the team captain — at the U-18 World Junior Championship in Germany in April, recording four assists in six games.
The acquisition of Hrbas leaves the Blazers with seven defencemen on their roster, each of whom has played at least one WHL season. Two of them — Josh Caron and Bronson Maschmeyer — are 20 years of age, while Austin Madaisky and Brandon Underwood are 19 and have played three WHL seasons. Tyler Hansen, at 18, is heading into his third season. Brady Gaudet, 17, is preparing for his second season.
Prior to trading for Hrbas, the Blazers were eligible to make two selections in the import draft, having chosen not to bring back Slovakian forward Dalibor Bortnak or German forward Bernhard Keil.
Now, Kamloops is scheduled to pick 27th, which should happen Wednesday at 10:20 a.m.
The OHL’s London Knights hold the first pick, having acquired it Monday from the Barrie Colts. London is to open the draft at 6 a.m.
———
Check out Alan Caldwell’s blog, Small Thoughts At Large, over there on the right for a team-by-team look at the WHL heading into the import draft. . . . Between analysis like that and his statistical look at all of the WHL teams’ prospects that Caldwell has posted over the last while, you have to wonder why the WHL doesn’t offer him some big money to join their staff as the Minister of Information.
———
JUST NOTES: Among the undrafted free agents attending the New York Rangers’ development camp that opened Monday are F T.J. Foster of the Edmonton Oil Kings, F Austin Fyten of the Lethbridge Hurricanes and F Jordan Hickmott of the Oil Kings. . . . The IIHF announced Monday that the 2014 World Junior Championship will be played in Malmö, Sweden. The 2012 event is scheduled for Calgary and Edmonton, with the 2013 tournament to be played in Ufa, Russia. . . . The Calgary Flames have said they won’t renew the contract of Duane Sutter, their director of player personnel. The Flames have signed John Weisbrod, who had been the director of pro and amateur scouting for the Boston Bruins, as assistant GM.
———
An email from Ryan Ohashi, the Lethbridge Hurricanes’ communications and events manager, provides us with what he calls Ryan’s Really Random factoid of the day.
He points out quite a link between his Hurricanes and the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes . . .
Brody Sutter became the third Lethbridge Hurricanes player the NHL Hurricanes have drafted (they took him in the seventh round) and the fifth if you include the Hartford Whalers years.
The previous picks:
2008 – Zach Boychuk (Drafted by Carolina – 1st round, 14th overall)
1997 – Shane Willis (Drafted by Carolina – 4th round, 88th overall)
1995 – Byron Ritchie (Drafted by Hartford – 7th round, 165th overall)
1990 – Mark Greig (Drafted by Hartford – 1st round, 15th overall)
When Greig was drafted by Hartford, he became Lethbridge’s highest NHL draft pick, which lasted until 2003 when Brent Seabrook was selected 14th overall by the Chicago Blackhawks. That was matched in 2008 when Carolina selected Boychuk.
———
It’s worth noting, too, that Carolina now has three Sutters in its organization. Brody has two cousins, Brandon and Brett, with the Hurricanes. Brandon is on the NHL roster, while Brett finished the season with the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers.
Brody is the son of Duane Sutter, who was the Calgary Flames’ director of player personnel until being relieved of his duties on Sunday.
Brandon is the son of Brent Sutter, who owns the Red Deer Rebels and is the Flames’ head coach.
Brett’s father is Darryl, formerly the Flames’ general manager.
———
THE COACHING GAME: Jason Herter, the head coach of the USHL’s Fargo Force, is leaving to sign on as an assistant coach with the U of Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs, who are the reigning NCAA champions. . . . Fargo assistant coach Byron Pool is the Force’s interim head coach while management searches for what will be the fourth coach in as many seasons. . . .
A source told me late Monday night that “Dave Barr is the new guy in Moose Jaw.” . . . Barr spent the
last two seasons as an assistant coach with the NHL’s Minnesota Wild and was an assistant with the Colorado Avalanche for the previous season. . . . Before that, he spent four seasons as GM and head coach of the OHL’s Guelph Storm. . . . Barr, who played 614 regular-season NHL games over 13 seasons, will take over from Dave Hunchak, who was relieved of his duties after last season. He had been head coach of the Warriors for four seasons and now is the associate coach with the Kamloops Blazers. . . .
Former NHL F Kirk Muller has been named head coach of the Milwaukee Admirals, the NHL affiliate of the Nashville Predators. . . .
The NHL’s Vancouver Canucks, having lost their AHL affiliate, the Manitoba Moose, have hooked up with the Chicago Wolves on a two-year deal. . . . Wolves head coach Don Lever and assistant Ron Wilson won’t be returning. . . . Other AHL teams needing head coaches are the Abbotsford Heat, Houston Aeros, San Antonio Rampage, Texas Stars and St. John’s, the latter formerly the Manitoba Moose. . . .
The Portland Pirates have become affiliated with the Phoenix Coyotes, announcing a multi-year deal on Monday. The teams then announced that Ray Edwards would be head coach. . . . Brad Treliving, the Coyotes’ assistant GM, will serve as the Pirates’ GM. . . . The Coyotes had been affiliated with the San Antonio Rampage. . . . Edwards was 70-56-16 in two seasons as the Rampage’s head coach. . . . Portland was affiliated with the Buffalo Sabres for the last three seasons. However, the Sabres have purchased the Rochester Americans. . . . With Edwards gone, the Rampage, which seems to be headed for a hookup with the NHL’s Florida Panthers, coaching staff comprises assistants Brian Pellerin and Jeff Truitt. . . .
Geoff Smith, a former NHL D who had been an assistant coach with the Kamloops Blazers, has signed on as head coach of the junior B Kamloops Storm, a team that plays in the Kootenay International junior league. . . . Smith and fellow assistant Scott Ferguson were dropped by the Blazers after last season. . . .
Brent Heaven is the new GM/head coach of the KIJHL’s Creston Valley ThunderCats. He takes over from Joe Martin, who left to become assistant GM/assistant coach with the BCHL’s Merritt Centennials.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Taking Note on Twitter
D David Turon (Portland, 2002-03) signed a one-year contract with Fassa (Italy, Serie A). He had two goals and one assist in 25 games with Dukla Trencin (Slovakia, Extraliga) and five goals and three assists in 28 games for Lausitzer Fuche Weisswasser (Germany, 2.Bundesliga) last season.
———
The Kamloops Blazers have added to their stable of experienced WHL defencemen.
The Blazers acquired Marek Hrbas, an 18-year-old sophomore from the Czech Republic, from the Edmonton Oil Kings on Monday. In exchange for Hrbas and the 27th selection in the 2011 CHL import draft that is to be held Wednesday, the Blazers surrendered the 18th pick in the import draft and a fifth-round selection in the 2012 WHL bantam draft.
 |
| MAREK HRBAS |
Hrbas spent 2009-10 with the USHL’s Fargo, N.D., Force, earning 15 points, four of them goals, in 40 games. That season, he played for Czech Republic in the U-17 World Hockey Challenge at Timmins, Ont., and was the tournament’s highest-scoring defenceman with seven points in five games.
He played for the Czech Republic — he was the team captain — at the U-18 World Junior Championship in Germany in April, recording four assists in six games.
The acquisition of Hrbas leaves the Blazers with seven defencemen on their roster, each of whom has played at least one WHL season. Two of them — Josh Caron and Bronson Maschmeyer — are 20 years of age, while Austin Madaisky and Brandon Underwood are 19 and have played three WHL seasons. Tyler Hansen, at 18, is heading into his third season. Brady Gaudet, 17, is preparing for his second season.
Prior to trading for Hrbas, the Blazers were eligible to make two selections in the import draft, having chosen not to bring back Slovakian forward Dalibor Bortnak or German forward Bernhard Keil.
Now, Kamloops is scheduled to pick 27th, which should happen Wednesday at 10:20 a.m.
The OHL’s London Knights hold the first pick, having acquired it Monday from the Barrie Colts. London is to open the draft at 6 a.m.
———
Check out Alan Caldwell’s blog, Small Thoughts At Large, over there on the right for a team-by-team look at the WHL heading into the import draft. . . . Between analysis like that and his statistical look at all of the WHL teams’ prospects that Caldwell has posted over the last while, you have to wonder why the WHL doesn’t offer him some big money to join their staff as the Minister of Information.
———
JUST NOTES: Among the undrafted free agents attending the New York Rangers’ development camp that opened Monday are F T.J. Foster of the Edmonton Oil Kings, F Austin Fyten of the Lethbridge Hurricanes and F Jordan Hickmott of the Oil Kings. . . . The IIHF announced Monday that the 2014 World Junior Championship will be played in Malmö, Sweden. The 2012 event is scheduled for Calgary and Edmonton, with the 2013 tournament to be played in Ufa, Russia. . . . The Calgary Flames have said they won’t renew the contract of Duane Sutter, their director of player personnel. The Flames have signed John Weisbrod, who had been the director of pro and amateur scouting for the Boston Bruins, as assistant GM.
———
An email from Ryan Ohashi, the Lethbridge Hurricanes’ communications and events manager, provides us with what he calls Ryan’s Really Random factoid of the day.
He points out quite a link between his Hurricanes and the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes . . .Brody Sutter became the third Lethbridge Hurricanes player the NHL Hurricanes have drafted (they took him in the seventh round) and the fifth if you include the Hartford Whalers years.
The previous picks:
2008 – Zach Boychuk (Drafted by Carolina – 1st round, 14th overall)
1997 – Shane Willis (Drafted by Carolina – 4th round, 88th overall)
1995 – Byron Ritchie (Drafted by Hartford – 7th round, 165th overall)
1990 – Mark Greig (Drafted by Hartford – 1st round, 15th overall)
When Greig was drafted by Hartford, he became Lethbridge’s highest NHL draft pick, which lasted until 2003 when Brent Seabrook was selected 14th overall by the Chicago Blackhawks. That was matched in 2008 when Carolina selected Boychuk.
———
It’s worth noting, too, that Carolina now has three Sutters in its organization. Brody has two cousins, Brandon and Brett, with the Hurricanes. Brandon is on the NHL roster, while Brett finished the season with the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers.
Brody is the son of Duane Sutter, who was the Calgary Flames’ director of player personnel until being relieved of his duties on Sunday.
Brandon is the son of Brent Sutter, who owns the Red Deer Rebels and is the Flames’ head coach.
Brett’s father is Darryl, formerly the Flames’ general manager.
———
THE COACHING GAME: Jason Herter, the head coach of the USHL’s Fargo Force, is leaving to sign on as an assistant coach with the U of Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs, who are the reigning NCAA champions. . . . Fargo assistant coach Byron Pool is the Force’s interim head coach while management searches for what will be the fourth coach in as many seasons. . . .
A source told me late Monday night that “Dave Barr is the new guy in Moose Jaw.” . . . Barr spent the
last two seasons as an assistant coach with the NHL’s Minnesota Wild and was an assistant with the Colorado Avalanche for the previous season. . . . Before that, he spent four seasons as GM and head coach of the OHL’s Guelph Storm. . . . Barr, who played 614 regular-season NHL games over 13 seasons, will take over from Dave Hunchak, who was relieved of his duties after last season. He had been head coach of the Warriors for four seasons and now is the associate coach with the Kamloops Blazers. . . .Former NHL F Kirk Muller has been named head coach of the Milwaukee Admirals, the NHL affiliate of the Nashville Predators. . . .
The NHL’s Vancouver Canucks, having lost their AHL affiliate, the Manitoba Moose, have hooked up with the Chicago Wolves on a two-year deal. . . . Wolves head coach Don Lever and assistant Ron Wilson won’t be returning. . . . Other AHL teams needing head coaches are the Abbotsford Heat, Houston Aeros, San Antonio Rampage, Texas Stars and St. John’s, the latter formerly the Manitoba Moose. . . . The Portland Pirates have become affiliated with the Phoenix Coyotes, announcing a multi-year deal on Monday. The teams then announced that Ray Edwards would be head coach. . . . Brad Treliving, the Coyotes’ assistant GM, will serve as the Pirates’ GM. . . . The Coyotes had been affiliated with the San Antonio Rampage. . . . Edwards was 70-56-16 in two seasons as the Rampage’s head coach. . . . Portland was affiliated with the Buffalo Sabres for the last three seasons. However, the Sabres have purchased the Rochester Americans. . . . With Edwards gone, the Rampage, which seems to be headed for a hookup with the NHL’s Florida Panthers, coaching staff comprises assistants Brian Pellerin and Jeff Truitt. . . .
Geoff Smith, a former NHL D who had been an assistant coach with the Kamloops Blazers, has signed on as head coach of the junior B Kamloops Storm, a team that plays in the Kootenay International junior league. . . . Smith and fellow assistant Scott Ferguson were dropped by the Blazers after last season. . . .
Brent Heaven is the new GM/head coach of the KIJHL’s Creston Valley ThunderCats. He takes over from Joe Martin, who left to become assistant GM/assistant coach with the BCHL’s Merritt Centennials.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Taking Note on Twitter
Monday, June 27, 2011
WILD THING!
How many times have you watched a manager hold up four fingers, signalling an intentional walk, and wondered why they bother throwing the pitches? Why not just send the hitter to first base, thus saving time and speeding up the game?
We take you to Sunday night at Safeco Field in Seattle with the Mariners playing the Florida Marlins.
It was the top of the 10th inning and the Mariners — yes, the Mariners — were hitting with the teams tied 1-1. (It was a Florida home game, the third game in a three-game series that had been moved to Seattle because U2 had the Marlins’ home stadium booked.)
Seattle second baseman Dustin Ackley led off with a double and moved to third on a flyball to left centre off the bat of catcher Miguel Olivo.
Florida manager Jack McKeon then signalled for an intentional walk to left-fielder Carlos Peguero. Right-hander Steve Cishek, who has a funky delivery, was doing just that when, on a 2-0 count, he threw a pitch that flew past catcher John Buck. Ackley scored on the wild pitch and the Mariners went on to win, 2-1.
Here’s a paragraph from the story filed by Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times:
“Cishek told reporters after the game that he had the same thing happen to him once, in Class A ball. His manager, 80-year-old Jack McKeon, said he had only seen it happen on television and never in a game he's been involved in during five decades of professional baseball.”
To make the whole scenario even stranger, Cishek then pitched to Peguero, from the 3-0 count, and struck him out.
It was the Marlins’ 22nd loss in June.
Afterwards, Buck told the Miami Herald: "There can't be too many other ways (to lose), right? We got that one crossed off the list, so hopefully that'll be it."
And now you know why the intentional walk never will be turned into an automatic walk to first base. It may only happen once in a blue moon but, hey, it happened.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Taking Note on Twitter
We take you to Sunday night at Safeco Field in Seattle with the Mariners playing the Florida Marlins.
It was the top of the 10th inning and the Mariners — yes, the Mariners — were hitting with the teams tied 1-1. (It was a Florida home game, the third game in a three-game series that had been moved to Seattle because U2 had the Marlins’ home stadium booked.)
Seattle second baseman Dustin Ackley led off with a double and moved to third on a flyball to left centre off the bat of catcher Miguel Olivo.
Florida manager Jack McKeon then signalled for an intentional walk to left-fielder Carlos Peguero. Right-hander Steve Cishek, who has a funky delivery, was doing just that when, on a 2-0 count, he threw a pitch that flew past catcher John Buck. Ackley scored on the wild pitch and the Mariners went on to win, 2-1.
Here’s a paragraph from the story filed by Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times:
“Cishek told reporters after the game that he had the same thing happen to him once, in Class A ball. His manager, 80-year-old Jack McKeon, said he had only seen it happen on television and never in a game he's been involved in during five decades of professional baseball.”
To make the whole scenario even stranger, Cishek then pitched to Peguero, from the 3-0 count, and struck him out.
It was the Marlins’ 22nd loss in June.
Afterwards, Buck told the Miami Herald: "There can't be too many other ways (to lose), right? We got that one crossed off the list, so hopefully that'll be it."
And now you know why the intentional walk never will be turned into an automatic walk to first base. It may only happen once in a blue moon but, hey, it happened.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Taking Note on Twitter
 |
| VIN SCULLY |
With all that is going on around the Los Angeles Dodgers, many fans may be asking what's left from the good ol' days.
There is one person . . . Vin Scully, who has been the voice of the Dodgers since before they left Brooklyn and moved to Los Angeles. Scully’s 62 years as the ‘sweet as butter cream’ voice of Dodgers has set him firmly in the history books.With rumors of Scully's retirement floating around, there's a petition making the rounds that asks to have Scully call this year's World Series. The last time he called a World Series was in 1988 when the Dodgers beat Oakland.
Vin Scully also penned the introduction to the recently released book The Jim Murray Reader, available for purchase now on Amazon!
Now here is Jim Murray's 1983 column on the legend of the broadcast booth, Vin Scully.
Enjoy!
JULY 8, 1983, SPORTS
Copyright 1983/THE TIMES MIRROR COMPANY
Scully Handles a Mike Like Ruth Did a Bat
It took baseball in its wisdom 10 years to turn Babe Ruth, the most perfect hitting machine of all time, from a pitcher into a slugger.
It took football seasons to figure out Marcus Allen wasn't a blocking back and to hand him the football.
And it took network television forever to get the message that Vin Scully should do major league baseball and stop fooling around.
It wasn't that Scully was inept at other sports. It was just that he was miscast. It was like Errol Flynn playing a faithful old sidekick. Scully could do golf and do it well. Rembrandt could probably paint soup cans or barn doors, if it came to that. Hemingway could probably write the weather. Horowitz could probably play the ocarina. But what a waste!
Nobody understands baseball the way Vin Scully does. He knows it for the laid-back, relatively relaxed sport it is. Scully is the world's best at filling the dull times by spinning anecdotes of the 100-year lore of the game. He can make you forget you're watching a 13-3 game, as we were Wednesday night at Chicago, and take you with him to a time and place where you are suddenly watching Babe Ruth steal home. He is like a marvelous raconteur who can make you forget you're in a dungeon. He can make baseball seem like Camelot and not Jersey City.
He knows baseball fans are ancestor worshipers, like the British aristocracy, and he can invest a game with allusions to its gaudy past that give meaning to the present. We suddenly see knights in shining armor out there carrying on a glorious tradition instead of two rival factions of businessmen trying to land the order.
Football requires screaming. "They're on the five and it's second down and goal to go!" "They're on the three and it's third down and there's 29 seconds left to play!" Baseball requires humor, deft drama, a sprinkling of candor, mix well and serve over steaming hot tradition.
Scully knows the sport as few do. He learned it at the knee of Branch Rickey at the time he was most impressionable, a young, ambitious, career-oriented student out of Fordham. Scully will tell you why a batter should try to hit to right with a man on first and none out. ("The first baseman has to stay on the bag to keep the runner close. The second baseman has to cheat a step toward second in the event of a steal or a double play. There's a hole there in which you could dock ships.")
But finally, the pairing of Scully with Joe Garagiola was an inspired piece of casting, not quite like Burns and Allen or the Sunshine Boys but a matchup quite as important to baseball as Ruth and Gehrig or Tinker and Evers and Chance.
I originally thought that was a lot of ego for one stage, or one microphone, but the two have locked into place like tongue in groove, or in this case, tongue in cheek.
Garagiola is the locker-room wit, the jokester from the team bus. Scully brings out the best in him, and he brings out the best in Scully. When the ballgame starts with the pitcher throwing two baseballs out of the infield and the third baseman following suit in the bottom half of the first, Garagiola pronounced it "a real Halloween inning" and later suggested that the ritual disclaimer — "This game is the property of major league baseball" — be waived since presumably nobody in the big leagues wanted to claim this game.
Later, when Scully noted that a certain pitcher had "retired 53 of 58 batters who faced him," Garagiola wondered, "Why wouldn't you try to sign those five guys?"
When a pitcher built along the general lines of King Kong took the mound, Garagiola observed, "He's an eight on a seismograph. His birthday is Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday." Later, Joe said of a pitcher with a roundhouse, hanging curve, "He throws an American Legion curveball."
Later, when Scully said that a bearded infielder "looks as if he fell off a box of cough drops," Garagiola noted: "If he shaves, he only weighs 91 pounds." When a pitcher wearing more gold chains than a wine clerk appeared, Scully noted that "he looks as if he just came from Westminster Abbey."
It was all good clean fun. They brought out the best in each other. No one noticed the game was boring. Because it wasn't in the broadcast booth. That's one of the things that made this game great all along.
*Reprinted with the permission of the Los Angeles TImes.
Jim Murray Memorial Foundation | P.O. Box 995 | La Quinta | CA | 92247
Sunday . . .
Scott Fisher of the Calgary Sun thinks the time is right for the WHL to move a franchise into Winnipeg.
“Now that the NHL is safe and sound back in Winnipeg, the WHL is staring at a great opportunity,” he writes.
That piece is right here.
———
Only eight Russian players were among the 210 selected in the NHL draft, and three of those went to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Perhaps the existence of the Kontinental Hockey League has something to do with the dearth of Russian draft picks.
Here's a piece from The Globe and Mail.
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You’ve been touring the Internet and you still haven’t had enough of the NHL draft. Check out this notebook from Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal.
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JUST NOTES: Apologies to Jeff Paterson of Vancouver radio station Team 1040. After the NHL draft, Paterson, a former radio voice of the Kamloops Blazers, tweeted: “Not right or wrong, just strange: 652 players taken in NHL drafts since Canucks last drafted a WHLer (7th rd 2008).” . . . I misremembered or something and got it all wrong. He was correct. That last pick was G Morgan Clark, then with the Red Deer Rebels. . . . John MacNeil of the Brandon Sun reports that G Jacob DeSerres, who backstopped the QMJHL’s Saint John Sea Dogs to the Memorial Cup title, “has earned an invitation to the Phoenix Coyotes’ prospects development camp next month.” DeSerres told MacNeil that he “probably attend.” DeSerres, who completed his junior eligibility last season, is keeping his options open, though, and admits that he still might end up going to school, perhaps at the U of Manitoba. DeSerres was a third-round pick by the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2008 NHL draft but was never signed. . . . The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that the NHL’s Nashville Predators will hold a new conference today at noon to introduce Kirk Muller as the head coach of the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals. Muller has spent five seasons as an assistant coach with the Montreal Canadiens. The Admirals lost their head coach, Lane Lambert, to the parent Nashville Predators. . . . Two former WHL players, Ian Herbers and Brad Lauer, were assistants with Milwaukee last season and were in the running for the head-coaching job.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Taking Note on Twitter
“Now that the NHL is safe and sound back in Winnipeg, the WHL is staring at a great opportunity,” he writes.
That piece is right here.
———
Only eight Russian players were among the 210 selected in the NHL draft, and three of those went to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Perhaps the existence of the Kontinental Hockey League has something to do with the dearth of Russian draft picks.
Here's a piece from The Globe and Mail.
———
You’ve been touring the Internet and you still haven’t had enough of the NHL draft. Check out this notebook from Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal.
———
JUST NOTES: Apologies to Jeff Paterson of Vancouver radio station Team 1040. After the NHL draft, Paterson, a former radio voice of the Kamloops Blazers, tweeted: “Not right or wrong, just strange: 652 players taken in NHL drafts since Canucks last drafted a WHLer (7th rd 2008).” . . . I misremembered or something and got it all wrong. He was correct. That last pick was G Morgan Clark, then with the Red Deer Rebels. . . . John MacNeil of the Brandon Sun reports that G Jacob DeSerres, who backstopped the QMJHL’s Saint John Sea Dogs to the Memorial Cup title, “has earned an invitation to the Phoenix Coyotes’ prospects development camp next month.” DeSerres told MacNeil that he “probably attend.” DeSerres, who completed his junior eligibility last season, is keeping his options open, though, and admits that he still might end up going to school, perhaps at the U of Manitoba. DeSerres was a third-round pick by the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2008 NHL draft but was never signed. . . . The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that the NHL’s Nashville Predators will hold a new conference today at noon to introduce Kirk Muller as the head coach of the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals. Muller has spent five seasons as an assistant coach with the Montreal Canadiens. The Admirals lost their head coach, Lane Lambert, to the parent Nashville Predators. . . . Two former WHL players, Ian Herbers and Brad Lauer, were assistants with Milwaukee last season and were in the running for the head-coaching job.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Taking Note on Twitter
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Armstrong rocks Calgary
 |
| DYLAN ARMSTRONG (Photo by Keith Anderson/Kamloops Daily News) |
By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
It was a day unlike any other in Canadian shot putting history.
Before Dylan Armstrong of Kamloops was done at the Canadian track and field championships at Foothills Athletic Park in Calgary on Saturday, he had (a) broken his Canadian senior record, (b) won the Canadian championship for a sixth time, and (c) uncorked four of the longest throws in the world this season. including the best one.
“It was just one of those things,” Armstrong said Sunday from Edmonton, where he is to compete in the International Classic on Wednesday. “I was just on. My muscles were a little bit sore because I changed my program a couple of days prior to, but I was like, ‘I’m just going to go for it anyway.’ ”
With his sixth and final throw, Armstrong, 30, reached 22.21 metres, a Canadian record and the longest throw in the world this year.
In fact, Armstrong, who went into the weekend ranked No. 3 in the world, also had throws of 21.89, 21.78 and 21.75, meaning he now has five of the 10 best throws of 2011.
All four of those throws were better than Armstrong’s previous Canadian record of 21.72m that was set in San Diego on April 23.
When it was pointed out that each of his four throws broke his Canadian record, Armstrong replied: “That’s right. I know . . . I know. That’s kind of cool.”
Armstrong’s Canadian record now is the 44th-longest throw in the sport’s history, with only 11 of those having occurred since the turn of the century. American Kevin Toth is No. 8 on the all-time list with a throw of 22.67m in Lawrence, Kan., on April 19, 2003, while Christian Cantwell of the U.S. threw 22.54m on June 5, 2004, in Gresham, Ore., and is 14th.
“It was good,” said Armstrong, who had “about 50 messages” on his voicemail when he activated his phone later on Saturday. “It was pretty exciting . . . pretty exciting.”
Still, he admitted, he had no idea what to expect when he began to warm up.
“I had been training pretty hard prior . . . I really hadn’t shut my body down to give it some rest before,” he explained. “It was one of those things where I warmed up, hit the first warmup throw and thought, ‘Wow, I’m feeling pretty good.’
“So I thought, ‘Well, I’ll try to crank it up each throw’ and it turned out pretty well.”
Which is like saying the movie Titanic made a bit of money at the box office.
“The crowd was awesome,” Armstrong said. “It was totally pcaked there. It was pretty nice to see. Overall, there were a lot of good results over the weekend for Canadian track and field.”
Timothy Nedow of Brockville, Ont., finished second to Armstrong, at 18.69m, with Andrew Smith of Carrot River, Sask., third (18.24m).
And what does Armstrong do the morning after the greatest day in Canadian shot putting history? He trained, of course, then he drove to Edmonton, where he has another session scheduled for today “and then a couple of more and then I’ll be hitting that meet on Wednesday . . . then i’m on the plane at 7 o’clock.”
Armstrong also is No. 1 in the Diamond League standings, with its next meet in Lausanne, Switzerland, on Thursday. He will fly into Geneva, drive to Lausanne, compete and then fly to Vancouver for the Harry Jerome meet on Friday.
“I’m just going to go with it. I’m not thinking about it,” he said of the hectic schedule. “There isn’t anything I can do about it . . . I just have to go with it and prepare as well as I can . . . and try to compete to win.”
When the Canadian championships were over, Armstrong and hammer thrower Sultana Frizell, both of whom work with Dr. Anatoliy Bondarchuk out of the National Throws Centre (NTC) in Kamloops, were among the 13 athletes who have qualified for the world championships in Daegu, South Korea, Aug. 27 to Sept. 4. Dr. B, as he is known throughout the world of athletics, was in Calgary.
Frizell, the defending champion, finished second in the women’s hammer throw, her best toss of 70.17m behind only the 70.86m of Heather Steacy of Lethbridge. Frizell is the Canadian record holder, at 72.24m.
Crystal Smith of the NTC was third in Calgary, at 66.65, with Jennifer Joyce fourth (66.34) and Meghan Rodhe fifth (65.29). Joyce trains in Kamloops, while Rodhe is with the NTC.
Also in the men’s shot put, Justin Rodhe of the NTC opened with a throw of 18.69m and then fouled five straight times.
gdrinnan@telus.net
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twitter.com/gdrinnan
While Dylan Armstrong spent Saturday at the Canadian track and field championships in Calgary, his American rivals were at the U.S. championships in Eugene, Ore.
Armstrong broke his Canadian record four times in winning his sixth national shot put title in Calgary. But, he said, he wasn’t trying to send a message to anyone.
“I’m focusing just on my personal results,” he said. “I wouldn’t say it’s sending a message. I’m trying to break away from everyone. That’s my goal. I’m trying to get to a real high-end level.”
Still, he knew that the likes of Reese Hoffa and Christian Cantwell were in Eugene and that the shot put title would be decided on Sunday.
“I definitely gave them some motivation going into (Sunday), for sure,” Armstrong said.
He then paused and added, with a chuckle: “I’m sure there’ll be some big throws.”
There were, but nothing that could match Armstrong’s 22.21 metres from Saturday.
Adam Nelson, who turns 36 in July, won his fifth U.S. title, and first since 2006, with a throw of 22.09m, the second-best throw in the world this season, behind Armstrong’s gold medal-winning heave of 22.21m on Saturday.
Cantwell, the defending world champion, was second in Eugene, at 21.87, with Hoffa third (21.86).
— GREGG DRINNAN
The top 10 throws by shot putters in 2011 (distances in metres):
22.21 Dylan Armstrong, Canada Calgary June 25
22.09 Adam Nelson, U.S. Eugene, Ore. June 26
21.89 Dylan Armstrong Calgary June 25
21.87 Christian Cantwell Eugene, Ore. June 26
21.87 Reese Hoffa, U.S. Hengelo, Netherlands May 28
21.86 Reese Hoffa Eugene, Ore. June 26
21.78 Dylan Armstrong Calgary June 25
21.77 Christian Cantwell Eugene, Ore. June 26
21.75 Dylan Armstrong Calgary June 25
21.72 Dylan Armstrong San Diego April 23
The top five throws in history (distances in metres):
23.12 Randy Barnes, U.S. Los Angeles May 20, 1990
23.10 Randy Barnes, U.S. San Jose May 26, 1990
23.06 Ulf Timmermann, Germany Chania, Greece May 22, 1988
22.91 Alessandro Andrei, Italy Viareggio Aug. 12. 1987
22.86 Brian Oldfield, U.S. El Paso, Texas May 10, 1975
Undrafted Willick looking at Wild
By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
Dylan Willick didn’t really need added motivation for the next WHL season.
But the Kamloops Blazers forward got a healthy dose of it Saturday when he wasn’t among the 210 players selected during the NHL’s 2011 draft in St. Paul, Minn.
“Blank . . . almost,” Willick said Saturday in describing how he felt about not being picked by one of the NHL’s 30 teams. “But, at the same time, there is still the possibility of free-agent camps and whatnot, so I am still optimistic about it all.”
Willick went into the weekend ranked by NHL Central Scouting as No. 164 among North American skaters eligible for the draft. He was joined on the list by two teammates, centre Colin Smith and defenceman Tyler Hansen, at Nos. 96 and 131, respectively.
But, for the second time in the franchise’s 30-season history in Kamloops, the Blazers were blanked. The only other time they haven’t had even one player drafted was 2008.
In 2010, defenceman Austin Madaisky was selected by the Carolina Hurricanes in the fifth round and left-winger Brendan Ranford went to the Philadelphia Flyers in Round 7.
After the 2010 draft, Blazers defenceman Josh Caron, a free agent, signed an NHL contract with the Minnesota Wild.
And it wasn’t long after the conclusion of Saturday’s seventh round when Willick’s agent, Jerrold Colton of CS Sports Management, received a call from the Wild. Minnesota was offering Willick a spot at a development camp that opens July 11.
“I didn’t have to wait long to find out I at least had somewhere to go, so I walk away from it still happy,” said Willick, adding that he will “probably attend.”
Should that happen, he would travel to the camp with Caron.
“I would be with someone who has been there . . . to help me through it a bit,” Willick said.
He will, however, wait to see if Colton hears from any other NHL teams.
Willick, now 5-foot-11 and 193 pounds, knew going into the draft that he might be in tough. But after a 44-point sophomore season for a non-playoff team, he felt his hockey intelligence and defensive acumen might see him through. It just didn’t happen, though.
“All these reports said that my size was going to be my big factor,” said Willick, who took in the draft via the Internet. “I’m looking at the draft and there are these guys who are 5-foot-6 and 160 pounds and all these guys who are a lot smaller than I am, and I’m sitting there going ‘Really. . . . I’ve been told I’m too small and you guys are drafting guys half my size.’
“Other than that . . .”
But, he concluded, “It’s a tough world. It’s hard to tell what everyone really wants and what they’re really thinking.”
JUST NOTES: Next up is the CHL import draft on Wednesday. The Blazers, with neither Slovakian C Dalibor Bortnak nor German LW Bernhard Keil returning, are eligible to make two selections. The Blazers’ first pick is 18th overall. . . . The OHL’s Barrie Colts are scheduled to make the first pick at 6 a.m. PT. . . . The WHL had 33 players selected in the NHL draft, with the Edmonton Oil Kings, Portland Winterhawks and Saskatoon Blades each having four players taken. Like the Blazers, the Calgary Hitmen, Everett Silvertips, Prince George Cougars, Regina Pats and Victoria Royals were blanked. . . . Only three B.C. Division players were drafted — the Edmonton Oilers took D David Musil (Vancouver Giants) to open the second round; the Detroit Red Wings grabbed F Marek Tvrdon (Vancouver) in the fourth round; and, the New York Rangers took F Shane McColgan (Kelowna Rockets) in the fifth round. Tvrdon scored six goals in 12 games before his season was ended by a shoulder injury.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Taking Note on Twitter
Daily News Sports Editor
Dylan Willick didn’t really need added motivation for the next WHL season.
But the Kamloops Blazers forward got a healthy dose of it Saturday when he wasn’t among the 210 players selected during the NHL’s 2011 draft in St. Paul, Minn.
“Blank . . . almost,” Willick said Saturday in describing how he felt about not being picked by one of the NHL’s 30 teams. “But, at the same time, there is still the possibility of free-agent camps and whatnot, so I am still optimistic about it all.”
Willick went into the weekend ranked by NHL Central Scouting as No. 164 among North American skaters eligible for the draft. He was joined on the list by two teammates, centre Colin Smith and defenceman Tyler Hansen, at Nos. 96 and 131, respectively.
But, for the second time in the franchise’s 30-season history in Kamloops, the Blazers were blanked. The only other time they haven’t had even one player drafted was 2008.
In 2010, defenceman Austin Madaisky was selected by the Carolina Hurricanes in the fifth round and left-winger Brendan Ranford went to the Philadelphia Flyers in Round 7.
After the 2010 draft, Blazers defenceman Josh Caron, a free agent, signed an NHL contract with the Minnesota Wild.
And it wasn’t long after the conclusion of Saturday’s seventh round when Willick’s agent, Jerrold Colton of CS Sports Management, received a call from the Wild. Minnesota was offering Willick a spot at a development camp that opens July 11.
“I didn’t have to wait long to find out I at least had somewhere to go, so I walk away from it still happy,” said Willick, adding that he will “probably attend.”
Should that happen, he would travel to the camp with Caron.
“I would be with someone who has been there . . . to help me through it a bit,” Willick said.
He will, however, wait to see if Colton hears from any other NHL teams.
Willick, now 5-foot-11 and 193 pounds, knew going into the draft that he might be in tough. But after a 44-point sophomore season for a non-playoff team, he felt his hockey intelligence and defensive acumen might see him through. It just didn’t happen, though.
“All these reports said that my size was going to be my big factor,” said Willick, who took in the draft via the Internet. “I’m looking at the draft and there are these guys who are 5-foot-6 and 160 pounds and all these guys who are a lot smaller than I am, and I’m sitting there going ‘Really. . . . I’ve been told I’m too small and you guys are drafting guys half my size.’
“Other than that . . .”
But, he concluded, “It’s a tough world. It’s hard to tell what everyone really wants and what they’re really thinking.”
JUST NOTES: Next up is the CHL import draft on Wednesday. The Blazers, with neither Slovakian C Dalibor Bortnak nor German LW Bernhard Keil returning, are eligible to make two selections. The Blazers’ first pick is 18th overall. . . . The OHL’s Barrie Colts are scheduled to make the first pick at 6 a.m. PT. . . . The WHL had 33 players selected in the NHL draft, with the Edmonton Oil Kings, Portland Winterhawks and Saskatoon Blades each having four players taken. Like the Blazers, the Calgary Hitmen, Everett Silvertips, Prince George Cougars, Regina Pats and Victoria Royals were blanked. . . . Only three B.C. Division players were drafted — the Edmonton Oilers took D David Musil (Vancouver Giants) to open the second round; the Detroit Red Wings grabbed F Marek Tvrdon (Vancouver) in the fourth round; and, the New York Rangers took F Shane McColgan (Kelowna Rockets) in the fifth round. Tvrdon scored six goals in 12 games before his season was ended by a shoulder injury.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Taking Note on Twitter
Saturday . . .
A Canadian has never won an Olympic shot put medal. Dylan Armstrong of Kamloops is planning on becoming the first as he has his sights set on London and the 2012 Olympic Summer Games. This season, he already has had a six-meet victory string and he’s ranked No. 1 on the Diamond League and No. 3 in the world.
Allan Maki of The Globe and Mail has that story right here.
———
Later Saturday, Armstrong broke his own Canadian senior shot put record with a throw of 22.21 metres. That also is the best throw in the world this season. . . . Prior to Saturday, his most-recent Canadian record throw was 21.72m at a meet in San Diego on April 23. Armstrong surpassed that mark four times in Calgary on Saturday.
———
Clayton Stoner remembers looking at his cell phone and having a "bad feeling."
That’s how Michael Russo of the Minneapolis StarTribune began a story on the Minnesota Wild defenceman who played in the WHL with the Tri-City Americans.
Stoner’s brother, Luke, had been killed in a logging accident on B.C. Island.
The complete story is right here.
———
SOME NHL DRAFT NOTES: The first round took almost four hours. Rounds 2-7 were completed in less than that. . . . The Edmonton Oilers selected F Ryan Nugent-Hopkins of the Red Deer Rebels with the draft’s first pick. He is the first WHL player to be selected first overall since Prince Albert D Chris Phillips was taken by the Ottawa Senators in 1996. . . . D Keegan Lowe of the Edmonton Oil Kings had asked the Edmonton Oilers not to select him. He was taken by the Carolina Hurricanes in the third round. His father, Kevin, is the Oilers’ president, hockey operations. . . . Laurent Brossoit of the Oil Kings was the first WHL goaltender selected when he was taken by the Calgary Flames in the sixth round. Interestingly, former Oil Kings head coach Steve Pleau scouts for the Flames. Brossoit played three games for Pleau, one in 2008-09 and two in 2009-10. . . . G Nathan Lieuwen of the Kootenay Ice, who was the WHL’s playoff MVP, was taken by the Buffalo Sabres in the sixth round. . . . Brossoit was taken 164th overall; Lieuwen was No. 167. . . . The Oilers took Vancouver D David Musil with the first pick of the second round. His father, Frank, is a former NHLer who now scouts for the Oilers. . . . The Anaheim Ducks used a sixth-round pick on D Josh Manson of the BCHL’s Salmon Arm Silverbacks. He is the son of Dave Manson, a former Prince Albert defenceman and coach. . . . The Carolina Hurricanes grabbed the last WHL player selected when they took F Brody Sutter of the Lethbridge Hurricanes in the seventh round, 193rd overall. He is the son of former NHLer Duane Sutter, who now is the Calgary Flames’ director of player personnel. . . .
The St. Louis selected F Demitrij Jaskin in the second round. He is from Omsk, Russia, but has played internationally for the Czech Republic's U-18 side. He was taken by the Calgary Hitmen in the 2010 CHL import draft. Sibir Novosibirsk selected him with the first pick of the KHL's 2010 draft. If he comes over here, chances are he'll end up with the AHL's Peoria Rivermen. . . . According to the USHL, “A total of 28 players who skated in the USHL during the 2010-11 season had their names called by NHL clubs.” . . . According to Skip Berry, the director of broadcasting and media relations for the Tri-City Storm, “The impact of the USHL overall on the draft is around 41 players, drafted out of the USHL/played in the USHL, just five players behind the OHL.” . . . The WHL had 33 players selected, with 22 taken from the QMJHL. . . . A year ago, there were 43 WHL players taken in the draft. . . .
———
WHL teams and the number of 2011 draft picks:
4 — Edmonton, Portland, Saskatoon.
3 — Spokane, Swift Current.
2 — Prince Albert, Red Deer, Seattle, Vancouver.
1 — Brandon, Kelowna, Kootenay, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, Moose Jaw, Tri-City.
0 — Calgary, Everett, Kamloops, Prince George, Regina, Victoria.
By division:
East — 11
U.S. — 10
Central — 9
B.C. — 3
———
Best tweet from the draft came from F Rocco Grimaldi:”I have decided to take my talents to South Beach and join the Florida Panthers. haha.”
Grimaldi, who is listed at 5-foot-6, was taken 33rd overall by Florida. He is out of the U.S. National Team Development Program; his WHL rights belong to the Portland Winterhawks.
———
THE COACHING GAME: Michael Russo of the Minneapolis StarTribune reported Saturday afternoon that the Houston Aeros, the AHL affiliate of the Minnesota Wild, were down to a shortlist of four in a search for a new head coach. According to Russo, that list included Gary Agnew, Ryan McGill, Kirk Muller and Trent Yawney. . . . An hour later, Nick Kypreos of Sportsnet reported that Muller is expected to be named head coach of the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals, who are hooked up with the Nashville Predators. . . . The Aeros are looking to replace Mike Yeo, now the head coach of the Wild. . . . The Admirals need to replace Lane Lambert, now an assistant coach with the Predators. . . . While all this was going on, both Vancouver papers are reporting that Muller is in the running — and perhaps the leading candidate — for the position of head coach of the Vancouver Canucks’ AHL affiliate, which it seems will be the Chicago Wolves. . . . The AHL’s Abbotsford Heat also is in need of a head coach, although I’m told assistant Troy Ward has the inside track there. The Heat is looking for a replacement for Jim Playfair, who now is on the Phoenix Coyotes’ staff. . . . The AHL’s Providence Bruins have signed Bruce Cassidy as their head coach. The Boston Bruins affiliate made the announcement Saturday. Cassidy, 46, is the 10th head coach in Providence history. He has been an assistant coach there through three seasons and replaces Rob Murray. . . . Kevin Dineen, the new head coach of the NHL’s Florida Panthers, has said that assistant coach Gord Murphy and goaltender coach Robb Tallas will return. Dineen told George Richards of the Miami Herald that he will hire one more assistant.
———
Today’s good read comes from Jason Gay of The Wall Street Journal. It involves the Boston Bruins, a Stanley Cup celebration and a $100,000 bottle of champagne.
It’s right here.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Taking Note on Twitter
Allan Maki of The Globe and Mail has that story right here.
———
Later Saturday, Armstrong broke his own Canadian senior shot put record with a throw of 22.21 metres. That also is the best throw in the world this season. . . . Prior to Saturday, his most-recent Canadian record throw was 21.72m at a meet in San Diego on April 23. Armstrong surpassed that mark four times in Calgary on Saturday.
———
Clayton Stoner remembers looking at his cell phone and having a "bad feeling."
That’s how Michael Russo of the Minneapolis StarTribune began a story on the Minnesota Wild defenceman who played in the WHL with the Tri-City Americans.
Stoner’s brother, Luke, had been killed in a logging accident on B.C. Island.
The complete story is right here.
———
SOME NHL DRAFT NOTES: The first round took almost four hours. Rounds 2-7 were completed in less than that. . . . The Edmonton Oilers selected F Ryan Nugent-Hopkins of the Red Deer Rebels with the draft’s first pick. He is the first WHL player to be selected first overall since Prince Albert D Chris Phillips was taken by the Ottawa Senators in 1996. . . . D Keegan Lowe of the Edmonton Oil Kings had asked the Edmonton Oilers not to select him. He was taken by the Carolina Hurricanes in the third round. His father, Kevin, is the Oilers’ president, hockey operations. . . . Laurent Brossoit of the Oil Kings was the first WHL goaltender selected when he was taken by the Calgary Flames in the sixth round. Interestingly, former Oil Kings head coach Steve Pleau scouts for the Flames. Brossoit played three games for Pleau, one in 2008-09 and two in 2009-10. . . . G Nathan Lieuwen of the Kootenay Ice, who was the WHL’s playoff MVP, was taken by the Buffalo Sabres in the sixth round. . . . Brossoit was taken 164th overall; Lieuwen was No. 167. . . . The Oilers took Vancouver D David Musil with the first pick of the second round. His father, Frank, is a former NHLer who now scouts for the Oilers. . . . The Anaheim Ducks used a sixth-round pick on D Josh Manson of the BCHL’s Salmon Arm Silverbacks. He is the son of Dave Manson, a former Prince Albert defenceman and coach. . . . The Carolina Hurricanes grabbed the last WHL player selected when they took F Brody Sutter of the Lethbridge Hurricanes in the seventh round, 193rd overall. He is the son of former NHLer Duane Sutter, who now is the Calgary Flames’ director of player personnel. . . .
The St. Louis selected F Demitrij Jaskin in the second round. He is from Omsk, Russia, but has played internationally for the Czech Republic's U-18 side. He was taken by the Calgary Hitmen in the 2010 CHL import draft. Sibir Novosibirsk selected him with the first pick of the KHL's 2010 draft. If he comes over here, chances are he'll end up with the AHL's Peoria Rivermen. . . . According to the USHL, “A total of 28 players who skated in the USHL during the 2010-11 season had their names called by NHL clubs.” . . . According to Skip Berry, the director of broadcasting and media relations for the Tri-City Storm, “The impact of the USHL overall on the draft is around 41 players, drafted out of the USHL/played in the USHL, just five players behind the OHL.” . . . The WHL had 33 players selected, with 22 taken from the QMJHL. . . . A year ago, there were 43 WHL players taken in the draft. . . .
———
WHL teams and the number of 2011 draft picks:
4 — Edmonton, Portland, Saskatoon.
3 — Spokane, Swift Current.
2 — Prince Albert, Red Deer, Seattle, Vancouver.
1 — Brandon, Kelowna, Kootenay, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, Moose Jaw, Tri-City.
0 — Calgary, Everett, Kamloops, Prince George, Regina, Victoria.
By division:
East — 11
U.S. — 10
Central — 9
B.C. — 3
———
Best tweet from the draft came from F Rocco Grimaldi:”I have decided to take my talents to South Beach and join the Florida Panthers. haha.”
Grimaldi, who is listed at 5-foot-6, was taken 33rd overall by Florida. He is out of the U.S. National Team Development Program; his WHL rights belong to the Portland Winterhawks.
———
THE COACHING GAME: Michael Russo of the Minneapolis StarTribune reported Saturday afternoon that the Houston Aeros, the AHL affiliate of the Minnesota Wild, were down to a shortlist of four in a search for a new head coach. According to Russo, that list included Gary Agnew, Ryan McGill, Kirk Muller and Trent Yawney. . . . An hour later, Nick Kypreos of Sportsnet reported that Muller is expected to be named head coach of the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals, who are hooked up with the Nashville Predators. . . . The Aeros are looking to replace Mike Yeo, now the head coach of the Wild. . . . The Admirals need to replace Lane Lambert, now an assistant coach with the Predators. . . . While all this was going on, both Vancouver papers are reporting that Muller is in the running — and perhaps the leading candidate — for the position of head coach of the Vancouver Canucks’ AHL affiliate, which it seems will be the Chicago Wolves. . . . The AHL’s Abbotsford Heat also is in need of a head coach, although I’m told assistant Troy Ward has the inside track there. The Heat is looking for a replacement for Jim Playfair, who now is on the Phoenix Coyotes’ staff. . . . The AHL’s Providence Bruins have signed Bruce Cassidy as their head coach. The Boston Bruins affiliate made the announcement Saturday. Cassidy, 46, is the 10th head coach in Providence history. He has been an assistant coach there through three seasons and replaces Rob Murray. . . . Kevin Dineen, the new head coach of the NHL’s Florida Panthers, has said that assistant coach Gord Murphy and goaltender coach Robb Tallas will return. Dineen told George Richards of the Miami Herald that he will hire one more assistant.
———
Today’s good read comes from Jason Gay of The Wall Street Journal. It involves the Boston Bruins, a Stanley Cup celebration and a $100,000 bottle of champagne.
It’s right here.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Taking Note on Twitter
Saturday, June 25, 2011
They gathered in St. Mary’s, Ont., for the annual Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremonies. There also was a silent auction that included a hockey equipment bag, a wooden duck decoy and a three-month membership at the local YMCA. "But that's the beauty of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in lovely St. Mary's," Steve Buffery of the Toronto Sun noted. "It's incredibly quaint. How quaint? Well, Tom Henke's induction speech was interrupted — twice — by a barking dog." . . . The San Diego Padres have been leading Major League Baseball in strikeouts. As Nick Canepa of the San Diego Union-Tribune wrote: "The Padres have the plate discipline of Joey Chestnut." . . .
My everlasting memory of the 2011 Stanley Cup final will be Brad Marchand speed-bagging the right side of Daniel Sedin’s face during Game 6. No penalty. No retaliation. No one riding to Sedin’s rescue. Once again, NHL rules changed from the regular season to the playoffs. . . . The NHL also is the only one of the four major (?) professional leagues that doesn’t provide its star players with a high degree of protection. . . . That is something that needs to change. . . . You know the late Clarence Clemons really was The Big Man when you learn his present wife and three of his four ex-wives attended his funeral on Tuesday in Palm Beach, Fla. . . .
The Philadelphia Flyers spent a lot of last season denying there were problems inside their dressing room. Then, in about 30 minutes on Thursday, GM Paul Holmgren traded away forwards Mike Richards, the team captain, and Jeff Carter, both of whom had been seen as the franchise’s glue. . . . Draw your own conclusions. . . . Tom Gaglardi, the majority owner of the Kamloops Blazers, is wanting to purchase the NHL’s Dallas Stars. While that has been crawling towards a resolution, the Gaglardi family-owned Northland Properties Corp. has purchased two major Canadian hotels, Sutton Place in Vancouver, for $164 million, and Sutton Place in Edmonton, for $34 million. . . .
When the NHL came out of the lockout for the 2004-05 season, the salary cap was US$39 million. Next season, that cap will be $64.3 million, with a floor of $48.3 million. That means the floor now is higher than the cap was when the lockout ended. . . . So why was it again that the NHL went through that lockout? . . . The gang at CapGeek.com points out that since June 1, NHL teams have spent US$108,175,000 extending the contracts of 22 unrestricted free agents. And it’s not even July 1 yet. . . . The Sports Curmudgeon returned from vacation to note: “With the Atlanta Thrashers neatly relocated to Winnipeg . . . that makes two NHL franchises that have had to depart Atlanta for Canadian outposts. In case you forgot, the Calgary Flames used to play in Atlanta. Do you think that the great strategic thinkers at NHL HQs have figured out there is a pattern here?” . . .
When reporters asked Virginia Wade, a 1977 Wimbledon champ, who she thinks will win the women’s singles title this year, she replied: “I’m going to go with Maria Sharapova this time. Venus (Williams) has forgotten how to win in the last year or so.” . . . Those who know say Boston Bruins head coach Claude Julien is one of hockey’s good guys. Today, he’s a Stanley Cup champion. But had the Bruins not gotten an OT goal from Nathan Horton in Game 7 against the Montreal Canadiens, well, who knows what might have happened. . . .
If you’re near a TV set today, you may want to check out the Canadian track and field championships from Calgary. Dylan Armstrong of Kamloops, the world’s No. 3-ranked shot putter, will be there. The telecast is scheduled for 1 p.m. PT. . . . When Mike Yeo, the new head coach of the NHL’s Minnesota Wild, completes his coaching staff, don’t be surprised if Darryl Sydor is one of the assistant coaches. Sydor, the former Blazers defenceman who now owns a piece of the team, was on Yeo’s staff with the Houston Aeros in 2010-11 and the team got to the AHL final. . . . If Sydor moves up, he would take the assistant’s spot that belongs, at the moment, to Dave Barr, who could end up as the head coach of the Moose Jaw Warriors. . . .
Scott Ostler, in the San Francisco Chronicle: “You didn't see Miami Heat fans rioting when their team lost. Maybe because most Miami fans immediately joined the LeBigfoot search party. No wonder the rest of Canada wants to disown Vancouver. What a bunch of drooling, feeble-brained Canuckleheads.” . . . One more from Ostler: “Isn’t Lenny Dykstra running out of crimes to allegedly commit? Latest: grand theft auto and drug possession. Lenny Dykstra, video game.” . . .
Here’s one for you: The NHL’s Winnipeg Jets won’t play in Edmonton in 2011-12, but will play in Calgary and Vancouver. Seriously. . . . The Oilers will visit Winnipeg once. . . . By the way, all that hype and we get the Winnipeg Jets? To quote Peggy Lee, is that all there is? . . . I wanted Winnipeg Yetis. . . . The Florida Marlins named Jack McKeon as their interim manager earlier this week. McKeon is 80 years of age. On Tuesday, he asked outfielder Logan Morrison, 23, what he had going on that night. Morrison told him he was going home to play with Twitter. McKeon replied: “Oh, what kind of dog is it?”
Gregg Drinnan is sports editor of The Daily News. Email him at gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca, follow him at twitter.com/gdrinnan, or visit his blog at gdrinnan.blogspot.com. Keeping Score returns July 16.
Friday, June 24, 2011
Thursday . . .
THE MacBETH REPORT:
D Brett Palin (Kelowna, 2000-05) signed a one-year contract with Chomutov (Czech Republic, 1.Liga). He had four goals and 14 assists in 80 games with the Milwaukee Admirals (AHL) last season.
———
Glen Hanlon, the red-headed former WHL goaltender known throughout the hockey world as ‘Carrot,’ has signed a two-year contract to work as an assistant coach with the Vancouver Giants.
Hanlon, who lives with his family in Point Roberts, Wash., has worked as a professional coach since 1995, says he was interested in the Vancouver opportunity for family reasons.
Elliott Pap of the Vancouver Sun has the story right here.
According the Giants, they are the only team in the CHL to have two former NHL head coaches on their coaching staff.
———
Hanlon, 54, played three seasons (1974-77) with his hometown Brandon Wheat Kings. In 1976-77, he went 49-7-7 and that may well be the WHL single-season record for single-season victories by a goaltender.
It was while he was with the Wheat Kings that Hanlon was involved in a scrap with F Rocky Saganiuk of the Lethbridge Broncos.
Legend has it that Saganiuk, who may have been 5-foot-8 at the time, ran Hanlon. When none of his teammates rode to his rescue, Hanlon took matters into his own hands.
That led to Brandon head coach Dunc McCallum blasting his charges for not backing up the goaltender. What made things especially bad, McCallum said, was that Hanlon had been hit by a guy who was “a foot shorter than a duck.”
That type of thing never happened again during McCallum’s reign with the Wheat Kings.
———
THE COACHING GAME: Dave Cameron and Mark Reeds, who opposed each other as head coaches in the 2011 Memorial Cup, have been named assistant coaches with the NHL’s Ottawa Senators. Cameron was with the Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors, while Reeds was head coach of the Owen Sound Attack. . . . Paul MacLean, a former Detroit Red Wings assistant coach, is the new head coach in Ottawa. . . . Former Tri-City Americans assistant coach Terry Virtue is an assistant in Owen Sound. Attack GM Dale DeGray has told Bill Walker of the Owen Sound Sun Times that he considers Virtue a candidate to replace Reeds. “I think we have a tremendous candidate in Terry Virtue, there’s no question,” DeGray told Walker. “We'll go through the process because quite honestly, you don't know what you're going to get as far as applicants who might be interested. I would be doing a disservice to the organization if I didn't look at applications." . . . The OHL’s Kingston Frontenacs have added two goaltending coaches to their staff in former NHL G Curtis Joseph and David Franco. Franco has coached goaltenders for more than 20 years and included Joseph among those he has tutored. . . . Jim Midgley, who was head coach of the New Brunswick at the 2011 Canada Winter Games, has joined the QMJHL’s Halifax Mooseheads as an assistant coach. He has QMJHL experience as an assistant coach with the Saint John Sea Dogs.
———
The U of Lethbridge Pronghorns have landed former WHL goaltenders James Reid and Dylan Tait. Reid, who played three seasons with the Spokane Chiefs, was the WHL Western Conference’s nominee as goaltender of the year. Tait, who is from Lethbridge, played last season with the Lethbridge Hurricanes. Pronghorns starter Scott Bowles is heading into his final season of eligibility. . . . F Todd Robinson (Portland, 1994-99) has signed a two-year contract with the Central league’s Evansville IceMen. Robinson, 33, put up 99 points in 62 games with the Central league’s Odessa Jackalopes last season. He is one of the most prolific scorers in minor pro history. Former Portland head coach Rich Kromm is Evansville’s GM and head coach. . . . Former Red Deer Rebels assistant coach Dallas Gaume is the new general manager of the Red Deer Minor Hockey Association.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Taking Note on Twitter
D Brett Palin (Kelowna, 2000-05) signed a one-year contract with Chomutov (Czech Republic, 1.Liga). He had four goals and 14 assists in 80 games with the Milwaukee Admirals (AHL) last season.
———
Glen Hanlon, the red-headed former WHL goaltender known throughout the hockey world as ‘Carrot,’ has signed a two-year contract to work as an assistant coach with the Vancouver Giants.Hanlon, who lives with his family in Point Roberts, Wash., has worked as a professional coach since 1995, says he was interested in the Vancouver opportunity for family reasons.
Elliott Pap of the Vancouver Sun has the story right here.
According the Giants, they are the only team in the CHL to have two former NHL head coaches on their coaching staff.
———
Hanlon, 54, played three seasons (1974-77) with his hometown Brandon Wheat Kings. In 1976-77, he went 49-7-7 and that may well be the WHL single-season record for single-season victories by a goaltender.
It was while he was with the Wheat Kings that Hanlon was involved in a scrap with F Rocky Saganiuk of the Lethbridge Broncos.
Legend has it that Saganiuk, who may have been 5-foot-8 at the time, ran Hanlon. When none of his teammates rode to his rescue, Hanlon took matters into his own hands.
That led to Brandon head coach Dunc McCallum blasting his charges for not backing up the goaltender. What made things especially bad, McCallum said, was that Hanlon had been hit by a guy who was “a foot shorter than a duck.”
That type of thing never happened again during McCallum’s reign with the Wheat Kings.
———
THE COACHING GAME: Dave Cameron and Mark Reeds, who opposed each other as head coaches in the 2011 Memorial Cup, have been named assistant coaches with the NHL’s Ottawa Senators. Cameron was with the Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors, while Reeds was head coach of the Owen Sound Attack. . . . Paul MacLean, a former Detroit Red Wings assistant coach, is the new head coach in Ottawa. . . . Former Tri-City Americans assistant coach Terry Virtue is an assistant in Owen Sound. Attack GM Dale DeGray has told Bill Walker of the Owen Sound Sun Times that he considers Virtue a candidate to replace Reeds. “I think we have a tremendous candidate in Terry Virtue, there’s no question,” DeGray told Walker. “We'll go through the process because quite honestly, you don't know what you're going to get as far as applicants who might be interested. I would be doing a disservice to the organization if I didn't look at applications." . . . The OHL’s Kingston Frontenacs have added two goaltending coaches to their staff in former NHL G Curtis Joseph and David Franco. Franco has coached goaltenders for more than 20 years and included Joseph among those he has tutored. . . . Jim Midgley, who was head coach of the New Brunswick at the 2011 Canada Winter Games, has joined the QMJHL’s Halifax Mooseheads as an assistant coach. He has QMJHL experience as an assistant coach with the Saint John Sea Dogs.
———
The U of Lethbridge Pronghorns have landed former WHL goaltenders James Reid and Dylan Tait. Reid, who played three seasons with the Spokane Chiefs, was the WHL Western Conference’s nominee as goaltender of the year. Tait, who is from Lethbridge, played last season with the Lethbridge Hurricanes. Pronghorns starter Scott Bowles is heading into his final season of eligibility. . . . F Todd Robinson (Portland, 1994-99) has signed a two-year contract with the Central league’s Evansville IceMen. Robinson, 33, put up 99 points in 62 games with the Central league’s Odessa Jackalopes last season. He is one of the most prolific scorers in minor pro history. Former Portland head coach Rich Kromm is Evansville’s GM and head coach. . . . Former Red Deer Rebels assistant coach Dallas Gaume is the new general manager of the Red Deer Minor Hockey Association. gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Taking Note on Twitter
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Wednesday . . .
THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Hampus Gustafsson (Regina, Brandon, 2009-11) signed a one-year contract with Stjernen (Norway, Get Ligaen). He had 10 goals and 33 assists in 70 games with Regina and Brandon last season. . . .
F Derek Ryan (Spokane, 2003-07) signed a one-year contract with Szekesfehervar (Hungary, Austria Erste Bank Liga). Ryan had 17 goals and 30 assists in 28 games with the University of Alberta (CIS) last season. He was the Canada West Most Valuable Player and was named to the All-Canadian First Team. . . .
D Nathan Paetsch (Moose Jaw, 1998-2003) signed a one-year contract with Grizzly Adams Wolfsburg (Germany, DEL). He had nine goals and 11 assists in 43 games with the Rochester Americans and Syracuse Crunch (both AHL) last season.
———
Fans of the Medicine Hat Tigers should relax. At least a bit.
It would seem that the Medicine Hat Arena isn’t the only one in the WHL that doesn’t meet league standards.
If you tuned in late, Medicine Hat city council has voted 6-3 against a funding proposal for a $94.5-million regional event centre.
This is the latest development in what has turned into a long-running story regarding a potential new facility to replace the 41-year-old Medicine Hat Arena.
It comes with the good folks of Moose Jaw preparing to open a new complex. The Moose Jaw Warriors have vacated the Civic Centre (aka Crushed Can) and will move into a new facility in time for the 2011-12 season.
So . . . after the latest development in Medicine Hat, here’s what WHL commissioner Ron Robison told Amanda Stephenson of the Medicine Hat News:
“I think we were very patient in the Moose Jaw process, and that eventually resulted in a new facility for that city. We understand the challenges associated with funding a project of this nature, but on the other hand, Medicine Hat is currently the only facility in the Western Hockey League that does not meet our standards. We do need it addressed, and we need it addressed immediately."
Right away, fans started to wonder if the Tigers were on borrowed time.
But . . . whoa! Wait a minute here!
It turns out that Robison was singing the same tune in another WHL city not that long ago.
The March 1, 2010, edition of The Oregonian contains a story on the Winterhawks by freelancer Scott Sepich. The crux of the story was how far the Winterhawks had come since being purchased by Bill Gallacher in the fall of 2008,
In the story, Sepich mentioned that the Winterhawks were working with the city and the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers in the hopes of renovating their home arena, Memorial Coliesum, so that they would be able to use it on an every-game basis.
Sepich wrote:
“Robison has long contended that the Coliseum is not an appropriate venue for the WHL in its current form, citing shorcomings such as the smaller-than-regulation ice surface to the lack of amenities for fans.”
At that point, Sepich quoted Robison as saying:
"It doesn't meet our current standards, but it's adequate for the time being. We're excited about the plans for renovation."
Well, those “plans for renovation” are still just that . . . plans. In fact, any renovations to Memorial Coliseum won’t get started until the middle of 2012. Which must mean that the Portland rink still doesn’t meet WHL standards.
So, Medicine Hat hockey fans, you can breathe easier. Your rink may not meet those standards, but you are not alone.
———
By the way, Amanda Stephenson’s story is right here.
———
In that story, Robison is quoted as saying:
"I certainly hope council will revisit the matter soon to determine if there's a funding formula or new plan that will work. We had made an assumption that the project would be moving forward in a timely fashion.
"Obviously, that's not the case. We will now have to meet with the city, along with the Tigers, to determine what the alternative will be."
Alternative?
There would appear to be none.
With the NHL going back to Winnipeg, you would have to think that market is dead, at least for now, in terms of being home to a WHL franchise.
Of course, there is a building in Chilliwack that meets WHL standards but the league torched every bridge into it when it allowed the Bruins to be sold and moved to Victoria where the franchise now does business as the Royals.
The WHL would love to get a franchise into Nanaimo, which would give it two teams on Vancouver Island, but there isn’t a major junior-calibre arena there and the city doesn’t have any plans to build one.
John Ruttan, the mayor of Nanaimo, told Walter Cordery of the Nanaimo Daily News in April that he would like to see the WHL in his city but "not if they expect city taxpayers to underwrite the cost of a new arena."
Alternative? Not unless we are headed back to the days when the WHL was looking at places like Fresno and Butte and Anchorage.
Hey, what about Wenatchee, Wash.?
———
Dave Barr still is shown on the Minnesota Wild’s website as an assistant coach with the NHL team.
It seems, however, that he might end up as the next head coach of the Moose Jaw Warriors.
I’m told that Barr has been offered the Warriors’ head-coaching job, and that he has been told the team needs an answer from him right after this weekend’s NHL draft.
Should Barr accept, meaning he isn’t able to land an NHL job over draft weekend, he would be introduced to the Moose Jaw fandom next week.
The Warriors are looking for head coach after they fired Dave Hunchak following the end of last season. He has since signed on as an associate coach with the Kamloops Blazers.
Barr just completed his second season on the Wild staff, after one season with the Colorado Avalanche.
The Wild, however, fired head coach Todd Richards after the season and has since named Mike Yeo as head coach. Yeo spent last season as head coach of the AHL’s Houston Aeros and is expected to bring Darryl Sydor along as one assistant coach.
Rick Wilson, the former Prince Albert Raiders head coach, will be staying on the Wild staff. Homebrew Darby Hendrickson is the other assistant coach, at least at present.
Barr also has major junior coaching experience, having guided the OHL’s Guelph Storm (2004-08).
Alan Millar, who is heading into his second season as Moose Jaw’s director of hockey operations. He was the GM of the OHL’s Sarnia Sting (2004-09), after being GM of the Storm (1997-2003).
Barr also played 614 games over 13 NHL seasons.
———
The Kootenay Ice, who won the WHL’s 2010-11 championship, have sold 2,029 season tickets, and that’s a franchise record. They sold 1,829 of them for the 2010-11 season.
“We’re very happy with that number. Not satisfied, but very happy,” Ice president and general manager Jeff Chynoweth told Matt Coxford of the Cranbrook Daily Townsman.
That story is right here.
The Ice, as you will be aware, won the WHL title with a roster comprised entirely of Canadian players after Chynoweth chose not take part in the CHL’s 2010 import draft.
Will the Ice be involved in this year’s import draft?
“At this time,” he told Coxford, “we haven’t decided if we’re going to participate in that.”
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Taking Note on Twitter
F Hampus Gustafsson (Regina, Brandon, 2009-11) signed a one-year contract with Stjernen (Norway, Get Ligaen). He had 10 goals and 33 assists in 70 games with Regina and Brandon last season. . . .
F Derek Ryan (Spokane, 2003-07) signed a one-year contract with Szekesfehervar (Hungary, Austria Erste Bank Liga). Ryan had 17 goals and 30 assists in 28 games with the University of Alberta (CIS) last season. He was the Canada West Most Valuable Player and was named to the All-Canadian First Team. . . .
D Nathan Paetsch (Moose Jaw, 1998-2003) signed a one-year contract with Grizzly Adams Wolfsburg (Germany, DEL). He had nine goals and 11 assists in 43 games with the Rochester Americans and Syracuse Crunch (both AHL) last season.
———
Fans of the Medicine Hat Tigers should relax. At least a bit.
It would seem that the Medicine Hat Arena isn’t the only one in the WHL that doesn’t meet league standards.
If you tuned in late, Medicine Hat city council has voted 6-3 against a funding proposal for a $94.5-million regional event centre.This is the latest development in what has turned into a long-running story regarding a potential new facility to replace the 41-year-old Medicine Hat Arena.
It comes with the good folks of Moose Jaw preparing to open a new complex. The Moose Jaw Warriors have vacated the Civic Centre (aka Crushed Can) and will move into a new facility in time for the 2011-12 season.
So . . . after the latest development in Medicine Hat, here’s what WHL commissioner Ron Robison told Amanda Stephenson of the Medicine Hat News:
“I think we were very patient in the Moose Jaw process, and that eventually resulted in a new facility for that city. We understand the challenges associated with funding a project of this nature, but on the other hand, Medicine Hat is currently the only facility in the Western Hockey League that does not meet our standards. We do need it addressed, and we need it addressed immediately."
Right away, fans started to wonder if the Tigers were on borrowed time.
But . . . whoa! Wait a minute here!
It turns out that Robison was singing the same tune in another WHL city not that long ago.
The March 1, 2010, edition of The Oregonian contains a story on the Winterhawks by freelancer Scott Sepich. The crux of the story was how far the Winterhawks had come since being purchased by Bill Gallacher in the fall of 2008, In the story, Sepich mentioned that the Winterhawks were working with the city and the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers in the hopes of renovating their home arena, Memorial Coliesum, so that they would be able to use it on an every-game basis.
Sepich wrote:
“Robison has long contended that the Coliseum is not an appropriate venue for the WHL in its current form, citing shorcomings such as the smaller-than-regulation ice surface to the lack of amenities for fans.”
At that point, Sepich quoted Robison as saying:
"It doesn't meet our current standards, but it's adequate for the time being. We're excited about the plans for renovation."
Well, those “plans for renovation” are still just that . . . plans. In fact, any renovations to Memorial Coliseum won’t get started until the middle of 2012. Which must mean that the Portland rink still doesn’t meet WHL standards.
So, Medicine Hat hockey fans, you can breathe easier. Your rink may not meet those standards, but you are not alone.
———
By the way, Amanda Stephenson’s story is right here.
———
In that story, Robison is quoted as saying:
"I certainly hope council will revisit the matter soon to determine if there's a funding formula or new plan that will work. We had made an assumption that the project would be moving forward in a timely fashion.
"Obviously, that's not the case. We will now have to meet with the city, along with the Tigers, to determine what the alternative will be."
Alternative?
There would appear to be none.
With the NHL going back to Winnipeg, you would have to think that market is dead, at least for now, in terms of being home to a WHL franchise.
Of course, there is a building in Chilliwack that meets WHL standards but the league torched every bridge into it when it allowed the Bruins to be sold and moved to Victoria where the franchise now does business as the Royals.
The WHL would love to get a franchise into Nanaimo, which would give it two teams on Vancouver Island, but there isn’t a major junior-calibre arena there and the city doesn’t have any plans to build one.
John Ruttan, the mayor of Nanaimo, told Walter Cordery of the Nanaimo Daily News in April that he would like to see the WHL in his city but "not if they expect city taxpayers to underwrite the cost of a new arena."
Alternative? Not unless we are headed back to the days when the WHL was looking at places like Fresno and Butte and Anchorage.
Hey, what about Wenatchee, Wash.?
———
Dave Barr still is shown on the Minnesota Wild’s website as an assistant coach with the NHL team.
It seems, however, that he might end up as the next head coach of the Moose Jaw Warriors.I’m told that Barr has been offered the Warriors’ head-coaching job, and that he has been told the team needs an answer from him right after this weekend’s NHL draft.
Should Barr accept, meaning he isn’t able to land an NHL job over draft weekend, he would be introduced to the Moose Jaw fandom next week.
The Warriors are looking for head coach after they fired Dave Hunchak following the end of last season. He has since signed on as an associate coach with the Kamloops Blazers.
Barr just completed his second season on the Wild staff, after one season with the Colorado Avalanche.
The Wild, however, fired head coach Todd Richards after the season and has since named Mike Yeo as head coach. Yeo spent last season as head coach of the AHL’s Houston Aeros and is expected to bring Darryl Sydor along as one assistant coach.
Rick Wilson, the former Prince Albert Raiders head coach, will be staying on the Wild staff. Homebrew Darby Hendrickson is the other assistant coach, at least at present.
Barr also has major junior coaching experience, having guided the OHL’s Guelph Storm (2004-08).
Alan Millar, who is heading into his second season as Moose Jaw’s director of hockey operations. He was the GM of the OHL’s Sarnia Sting (2004-09), after being GM of the Storm (1997-2003).
Barr also played 614 games over 13 NHL seasons.
———
The Kootenay Ice, who won the WHL’s 2010-11 championship, have sold 2,029 season tickets, and that’s a franchise record. They sold 1,829 of them for the 2010-11 season.
“We’re very happy with that number. Not satisfied, but very happy,” Ice president and general manager Jeff Chynoweth told Matt Coxford of the Cranbrook Daily Townsman.That story is right here.
The Ice, as you will be aware, won the WHL title with a roster comprised entirely of Canadian players after Chynoweth chose not take part in the CHL’s 2010 import draft.
Will the Ice be involved in this year’s import draft?
“At this time,” he told Coxford, “we haven’t decided if we’re going to participate in that.”
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Taking Note on Twitter
Chilliwack Tigers? Nah, never happen!
THE MacBETH REPORT:
Lee Goren (Saskatoon, 1995-96) signed a one-year contract with Skellefteå (Sweden, Elitserien). He had 12 goals and 26 assists in 34 games with the Straubing Tigers (Germany, DEL) and one assist in one game with Bern (Switzerland, NLA) last season.
———
The Chilliwack Tigers?
Kind of just rolls off the tongue, doesn’t it?
Following Medicine Hat city council’s decision Monday to defeat a funding proposal for a $94.5-million sports complex, WHL commissioner Ron Robison expressed the WHL’s disappointment in a not-so-subtle threat.
According to CHAT-TV, Robison said the Tigers are the lone WHL franchise playing in a facility that doesn’t meet league standards.
Furthermore, Robison said, the construction of a new arena and event centre is necessary for the Tigers' future in Medicine Hat.
Medicine Hat lose the Tigers? Not a chance, you’re thinking. Well, geez, the good folks of Chilliwack never thought they’d lose their Bruins, either, although the franchise had only been there through five seasons. The Bruins, of course, now are the Victoria Royals.
But before anyone goes off the rails here, the commissioner apparently wants to meet with Medicine Hat city officials.
Graham Kelly, one of the aldermen who voted against the funding proposal (the vote was 6-3), has said he will bring forth a plan by Labour Day that will involve spending about $35 million on a new facility.
One of the aldermen who voted in favour of the proposal was Jeremy Thompson, who played for the Tigers in 1993-94.
In a news release posted on the Tigers’ website, Dave Andjelic, the club’s director of marketing and public relations, said:
“We are extremely disappointed with the outcome of city council’s six to three vote against building the Regional Events Centre.”
The new release continues:
“After countless hours of work and (more than) $500,000 spent on designing and preparing an events centre model that fits the Medicine Hat community and with the dissolution of the steering committee, the city is right back at the place it started in 2004. The regional events centre project has effectively been shelved.”
Andjelic continued: “I don’t think certain aldermen can keep saying they are in favour of this project but continue to vote against it. I seriously doubt the public will buy this any longer and will regard this as a tactic to deflect criticism that is sure to follow. We sense the public is very disappointed with the result.”
———
Not only are the Everett Silvertips in the market for a head coach, they also need a new director of public relations and broadcasting following the resignation of Jon Rosen.
Rosen, who is suffering through the trials and tribulations of his Los Angeles Dodgers, has been the radio voice of the Silvertips. He will stay with the team through the end of July.
Rosen, 29, spent four seasons with the Silvertips. He said he doesn’t have any “definitive plans” but wants to pursue other broadcast opportunities.
The Silvertips also are needing a head coach, following the resignation earlier this month of Craig Hartsburg, who now is an associate coach with the NHL’s Calgary Flames.
———
Brad Whelen has left the Calgary Hitmen. Whelen, the club’s assistant general manager and head scout, has joined the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning as western Canadian scout. Whelen spent 15 seasons with the Hitmen, the first five as a regional scout and the last 10 as head scout. He added AGM to his title last summer. . . . The Lightning has hired five scouts over the last few days.
———
The Vancouver Giants are set to announce the addition of Glen Hanlon to their coaching staff. Elliott Pap of the Vancouver Sun tweeted the news Tuesday afternoon.A news conference is likely to be held Thursday.
Hanlon, 54, was a goaltender with the Brandon Wheat Kings (1974-77) and was a third-round pick by the Vancouver Canucks in the 1977 NHL draft. He played in the NHL with the Canucks, St. Louis Blues, New York Rangers and Detroit Red Wings.
As a coach, he has worked as an assistant with the Canucks and Washington Capitals, and as a head coach with the AHL’s Portland Pirates and with the Capitals. He also has extensive international experience, most recently as head coach of the Slovakian national team.
Hanlon is a key hire for the Giants who were in dire need of an experienced coach to work as head coach Don Hay’s assistant. That’s because Hay will miss about a month of the regular season as he tends to his duties as head coach of Canada’s national junior team.
The Giants also are in the process of shuffling their support staff, a situation that apparently started in February when a trainer missed the flight back from Whitehorse after a game against the Kamloops Blazers. The Giants also have chosen to replace veteran equipment manager Grant (Granny) Ferguson and have filled that spot by moving in former player/assistant coach Chad Scharff.
———
On the night that the Portland Winterhawks’ 2010-11 season came to an end, columnist Kerry Eggers of the Portland Tribune reported that general manager/head coach Mike Johnston and others in the front office had agreed to multi-year contract extensions.
The Winterhawks issued that news release on Tuesday.
Johnston and Travis Green, the assistant GM/assistant coach, have signed four-year extensions.
Kyle Gustafson, the other assistant coach, Garry Davidson, the director of player personnel, Matt Bardsley, the director of hockey operations, Rich Campbell, the athletic trainer/strength and conditioning coach, and equipment manager Rob Gagne all signed what the Winterhawks called “multi-year contract extensions.”
“The job Mike, Travis and the entire hockey operations staff have done to transform a last-place team into the Western Conference champion in less than three years is nothing short of remarkable,” said Winterhawks owner Bill Gallacher in the release. “The stability these extensions will provide the organization will be incredibly valuable as Mike and Travis continue to pursue the goal of bringing the Memorial Cup back to Portland.”
———
The WHL won’t release its 2011-12 regular-season schedule until next week at the earliest, but the Brandon Sun has reported that the first game will be played Sept. 22 with the Wheat Kings visiting the Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . That will be the first regular-season game to be played in Moose Jaw’s new facility. . . . G Graeme Gordon, who won two straight RBC Cup championships with the BCHL’s Vernon Vipers, has committed to attending Simon Fraser University and playing hockey there. Gordon, who is from North Vancouver, played last season with the UBC Thunderbirds. . . . The ECHL’s Cincinnati Cyclones have added former NHLer Andrew Cassels as an assistant coach. Cassels, 41, will work alongside head coach Jarrod Skalde. . . . You may recall during last season’s playoffs when the BCHL’s Victoria Grizzlies ended up with majority owner Len Barrie helping out head coach Victor Gervais behind the bench. Well, Cleve Dheensaw of the Victoria Times Colonist reports that Barrie may not going to coach in 2011-12, but there will be a new head coach. Gervais has been moved to an assistant position. Dheensaw’s story is right here.
———
Rich Cimini of ESPNNewYork.com has today’s good read. It’s about former New York Jets running back Emerson Boozer and his relationship with The Big Man, Clarence Clemons, who died Saturday. Boozer and Clemons were college football teammates at Maryland; in fact, Cimini writes that perhaps only a car accident kept Clemons from a career in the NFL.
That story is right here.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Taking Note on Twitter
Lee Goren (Saskatoon, 1995-96) signed a one-year contract with Skellefteå (Sweden, Elitserien). He had 12 goals and 26 assists in 34 games with the Straubing Tigers (Germany, DEL) and one assist in one game with Bern (Switzerland, NLA) last season.
———
The Chilliwack Tigers?
Kind of just rolls off the tongue, doesn’t it?
Following Medicine Hat city council’s decision Monday to defeat a funding proposal for a $94.5-million sports complex, WHL commissioner Ron Robison expressed the WHL’s disappointment in a not-so-subtle threat.
According to CHAT-TV, Robison said the Tigers are the lone WHL franchise playing in a facility that doesn’t meet league standards.Furthermore, Robison said, the construction of a new arena and event centre is necessary for the Tigers' future in Medicine Hat.
Medicine Hat lose the Tigers? Not a chance, you’re thinking. Well, geez, the good folks of Chilliwack never thought they’d lose their Bruins, either, although the franchise had only been there through five seasons. The Bruins, of course, now are the Victoria Royals.
But before anyone goes off the rails here, the commissioner apparently wants to meet with Medicine Hat city officials.
Graham Kelly, one of the aldermen who voted against the funding proposal (the vote was 6-3), has said he will bring forth a plan by Labour Day that will involve spending about $35 million on a new facility.
One of the aldermen who voted in favour of the proposal was Jeremy Thompson, who played for the Tigers in 1993-94.
In a news release posted on the Tigers’ website, Dave Andjelic, the club’s director of marketing and public relations, said:
“We are extremely disappointed with the outcome of city council’s six to three vote against building the Regional Events Centre.”
The new release continues:
“After countless hours of work and (more than) $500,000 spent on designing and preparing an events centre model that fits the Medicine Hat community and with the dissolution of the steering committee, the city is right back at the place it started in 2004. The regional events centre project has effectively been shelved.”
Andjelic continued: “I don’t think certain aldermen can keep saying they are in favour of this project but continue to vote against it. I seriously doubt the public will buy this any longer and will regard this as a tactic to deflect criticism that is sure to follow. We sense the public is very disappointed with the result.”
———
 |
| JON ROSEN |
Rosen, who is suffering through the trials and tribulations of his Los Angeles Dodgers, has been the radio voice of the Silvertips. He will stay with the team through the end of July.
Rosen, 29, spent four seasons with the Silvertips. He said he doesn’t have any “definitive plans” but wants to pursue other broadcast opportunities.
The Silvertips also are needing a head coach, following the resignation earlier this month of Craig Hartsburg, who now is an associate coach with the NHL’s Calgary Flames.
———
Brad Whelen has left the Calgary Hitmen. Whelen, the club’s assistant general manager and head scout, has joined the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning as western Canadian scout. Whelen spent 15 seasons with the Hitmen, the first five as a regional scout and the last 10 as head scout. He added AGM to his title last summer. . . . The Lightning has hired five scouts over the last few days.
———
The Vancouver Giants are set to announce the addition of Glen Hanlon to their coaching staff. Elliott Pap of the Vancouver Sun tweeted the news Tuesday afternoon.
A news conference is likely to be held Thursday.Hanlon, 54, was a goaltender with the Brandon Wheat Kings (1974-77) and was a third-round pick by the Vancouver Canucks in the 1977 NHL draft. He played in the NHL with the Canucks, St. Louis Blues, New York Rangers and Detroit Red Wings.
As a coach, he has worked as an assistant with the Canucks and Washington Capitals, and as a head coach with the AHL’s Portland Pirates and with the Capitals. He also has extensive international experience, most recently as head coach of the Slovakian national team.
Hanlon is a key hire for the Giants who were in dire need of an experienced coach to work as head coach Don Hay’s assistant. That’s because Hay will miss about a month of the regular season as he tends to his duties as head coach of Canada’s national junior team.
The Giants also are in the process of shuffling their support staff, a situation that apparently started in February when a trainer missed the flight back from Whitehorse after a game against the Kamloops Blazers. The Giants also have chosen to replace veteran equipment manager Grant (Granny) Ferguson and have filled that spot by moving in former player/assistant coach Chad Scharff.
———
On the night that the Portland Winterhawks’ 2010-11 season came to an end, columnist Kerry Eggers of the Portland Tribune reported that general manager/head coach Mike Johnston and others in the front office had agreed to multi-year contract extensions.
The Winterhawks issued that news release on Tuesday.Johnston and Travis Green, the assistant GM/assistant coach, have signed four-year extensions.
Kyle Gustafson, the other assistant coach, Garry Davidson, the director of player personnel, Matt Bardsley, the director of hockey operations, Rich Campbell, the athletic trainer/strength and conditioning coach, and equipment manager Rob Gagne all signed what the Winterhawks called “multi-year contract extensions.”
“The job Mike, Travis and the entire hockey operations staff have done to transform a last-place team into the Western Conference champion in less than three years is nothing short of remarkable,” said Winterhawks owner Bill Gallacher in the release. “The stability these extensions will provide the organization will be incredibly valuable as Mike and Travis continue to pursue the goal of bringing the Memorial Cup back to Portland.”
———
The WHL won’t release its 2011-12 regular-season schedule until next week at the earliest, but the Brandon Sun has reported that the first game will be played Sept. 22 with the Wheat Kings visiting the Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . That will be the first regular-season game to be played in Moose Jaw’s new facility. . . . G Graeme Gordon, who won two straight RBC Cup championships with the BCHL’s Vernon Vipers, has committed to attending Simon Fraser University and playing hockey there. Gordon, who is from North Vancouver, played last season with the UBC Thunderbirds. . . . The ECHL’s Cincinnati Cyclones have added former NHLer Andrew Cassels as an assistant coach. Cassels, 41, will work alongside head coach Jarrod Skalde. . . . You may recall during last season’s playoffs when the BCHL’s Victoria Grizzlies ended up with majority owner Len Barrie helping out head coach Victor Gervais behind the bench. Well, Cleve Dheensaw of the Victoria Times Colonist reports that Barrie may not going to coach in 2011-12, but there will be a new head coach. Gervais has been moved to an assistant position. Dheensaw’s story is right here.———
Rich Cimini of ESPNNewYork.com has today’s good read. It’s about former New York Jets running back Emerson Boozer and his relationship with The Big Man, Clarence Clemons, who died Saturday. Boozer and Clemons were college football teammates at Maryland; in fact, Cimini writes that perhaps only a car accident kept Clemons from a career in the NFL.
That story is right here.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Taking Note on Twitter
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Willick hopes to feel NHL's draft
 |
| Dylan Willick of the Kamloops Blazers, here getting squeezed by Portland defenceman Tyler Wotherspoon in front of Winterhawks goaltender Mac Carruth during a 2010-11 game at Interior Savings Centre, has never been shy about going to the tough areas of the ice. (Photo by Murray Mitchell / Kamloops Daily News) |
By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
If you were only one inch tall, wrote the poet Shel Silverstein, you’d ride a worm to school.
And if Dylan Willick was only one inch taller, he might be riding a lot higher in the buildup to this weekend’s NHL draft.
Willick, who is scheduled to turn 19 on Oct. 19, has played two seasons with the Kamloops Blazers. After a 29-point freshman season, he recorded 44 points, including 24 goals, in 72 games in 2010-11, a season in which he was the WHL team’s most reliable and most consistent player.
“I felt like I didn’t have any regrets. I felt I did everything that I could,” he says.
Of course, he “wanted more team success,” but without that he had to look at his individual accomplishments.
“I’d rather have team success and I wish the team had gone further,” he says, “but on a personal level I think I did everything I had hoped for.”
We will find out Saturday if the scouts agree with him, although some of the pundits obviously do.
“He is one of those players that coaches can count on,” notes the gang at hockeyprospect.com. “He is great on the penalty kill and plays smart hockey. He has very good speed and is a hard working forward.”
However, in a sport in which professional teams value size the way the Kardashian girls treasure diamonds, Willick measures out at 5-foot-11.
When it is suggested that maybe, just maybe, he is 5-11 and about 7/8 of an inch if he stretches it, he laughs and says: “Yeah, something like that.”
These days, he weighs 193 pounds, which is about where he finished last season. He almost certainly will add 10 or 12 pounds as he continues to fill out over the next two or three years.
But, sheesh, if he were only 6-foot-0 . . . because he is a player with a high hockey IQ, with a sound understanding of positioning, systems and defensive responsibilities. He also is a player who can play all three forward positions, although he appears most comfortable at left wing.
As hockeyprospect.com notes: “Willick is a player with a good knowledge of what is expected of him.”
Willick also is intelligent enough to realize that his defensive game is solid, but that he needs to work on his offensive play. So when training camp arrives in August, he says he’ll be working on being more creative.
“I need to work on doing more in the offensive zone when I have the puck,” he says. “I want to be able to create now. I don’t think I’m going to lose my hockey knowledge that I have . . . it’s a matter of being able to do something more with it.”
To do that, he wants to improve his quickness and get more explosiveness into his stride.
With that in mind, he has been working out under the watchful eyes of Dev Mitra, the Blazers’ strength and conditioning guru. And the offseason workouts have been made more productive by a move.
His family — parents Melissa and Blaine, along with sisters Devin, 17, and Dakota, 13 — have moved from Prince George to Kamloops.
The family chose to relocate at least in part because of hockey but also, Willick says, because “we all have fallen in love with the city. . . . My mom really likes the city.”
Blaine works in Fort McMurray, Alta., so, as his son puts it, “it doesn’t really matter where we live; he has to go back and forth, regardless.”
What Dylan expects this move to do is create a larger comfort zone for him.
“This way,” he explains, “I get to train with Dev. That helps a lot.”
In the past, he says, “I used his program but I just did it on my own. Now I’ve got somebody there who is pushing me to go a bit harder than normal. I find that I use my time a bit more wisely this way.”
These days, Willick works out six days a week. He’s working with weights for three days.
“The other three days it’s cardio, quickness, Plyometrics . . . so it’s a power-type training,” he says.
To date, he adds, his weight-lifting production has gone up, while his running times have gone down. So everything appears to be on schedule.
He will take time out from that training to pay attention to this weekend’s draft, which is to be held in the home arena of the Minnesota Wild. The first round is scheduled for Friday evening, with the remaining six rounds on Saturday.
When NHL Central Scouting issued its final rankings, Willick was at No. 164 among North American skaters. Two of his teammates also were ranked — centre Colin Smith at No. 96 and defenceman Tyler Hansen 131st.
Although he won’t be attending the draft, Willick admits that he is excited.
“I am, actually,” he says. “It’s a pretty exciting time and there is going to be a lot of friends and family with me. Hopefully, they’ll be able to share some good news with me.”
That just might be the case.
As hockeyprospect.com puts it: “He might be looked back on as a steal in this draft.”
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Taking Note on Twitter
Monday . . .
THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Gal Koren (Kelowna, 2010-11) signed a one-year contract with Medvescak Zagreb (Croatia, Austria Erste Bank Liga). He had one goal and two assists in 36 games for the Kelowna Rockets (WHL) last season.
———
It seems the good folks of Medicine Hat are going to have to wait a while longer for a new arena.
Despite the owners of the Medicine Hat Tigers throwing their weight behind the proposed $94.5-million Regional Event Centre, Medicine Hat's city council voted Monday to reject a funding model for the project.
However, as Amanda Stephenson of the Medicine Hat News reports, the project may not be dead, although it might well be on life support.
Her story is right here.
———
Bill Shaw is the new head coach of the Eastern Washington University Eagles, who have joined the B.C. Intercollegiate Hockey League. Gary Braun, a former WHL coach, decided to step aside, with Shaw, an assistant coach for three seasons, moving up as head coach. Braun went 115-29-8 in five seasons with the Eagles. At the same time, the Eagles named J.C. Thomas as their assistant coach. He spent the last two seasons as an assistant coach with the junior B Spokane Braves of the Kootenay International junior league. Thomas played for Braves from 2001-07. . . . The MJHL’s Selkirk Steelers have signed Chris Poponick as their general manager/director of business operations. The Selkirk native replaces Ken Petrash. Poponick spent 12 seasons as an assistant coach with the junior B Selkirk Fishermen.
———
The Chilliwack Bruins now officially are the Victoria Royals. The WHL’s newest franchise, which was sold and relocated to the B.C. capital from Chilliwack, announced its nickname and colours on Monday.
Cleve Dheensaw of the Victoria Times Colonist has the story right here.
Dheensaw also reports on the Royals and school, billets and training camp right here.
———
Rocker Rod Stewart’s son Liam, 17, played last season in the Los Angeles Junior Kings program. He has since been selected by the Lincoln Stars in the USHL draft. But he was born in London and is hoping to play for Great Britain. There’s more right here.
———
Drew Wilson, the radio voice of the Prince Albert Raiders on CKBI, is already preparing for the 2011-12 season. He ran 10 kilometres in the annual Prince Albert Road Race on Sunday. How did he do? Well, as he puts it: “My motto was slow and steady finishes the 10k.”
———
Mark Recchi announced his retirement from the NHL on Wednesday night, in the aftermath of the Boston Bruins’ victory in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final.
Is the 43-year-old Recchi a cinch to be elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame?
There’s more on that right here.
———
While Tom Gaglardi, the majority owner of the Kamloops Blazers, works to purchase the NHL’s Dallas Stars, he also has been buying up hotels. There's more right here.
———
It’s safe to say that the NHL — and, by association, the sport of ice hockey — has an image problem.
The good folks at EA Sports, who this week will reveal the name of the player whose likeness will grace the cover of NHL 12, have issued a news release heralding the announcement.
NHL 12, they say, will reignite “the beloved fighting engine that first appeared in NHL 10 with all-new goalie battles. When the action gets heated, send a message by leaving the net, dropping the gloves, and trading punches with rivals during fights.”
As Jeff Blair wrote in The Globe and Mail: “There really is a special place in hell for these people, no? No report on whether you can pick a city of your choice to burn after your team craps the bed in the playoffs.”
———
Yes, it’s NHL draft week, with the first round scheduled for Friday and the last six on Saturday. It’ll be held in the Xcel Energy Center, the home arena of the NHL’s Minnesota Wild.
As usual, TSN will be all over the draft. It’s live coverage begins Friday at 4 p.m. PT.
Veteran analyst Bob McKenzie has released his top 30 draft prospects and here they are:
According to a TSN news release: “Over the past seven years, McKenzie has an 84 per cent accuracy rate in projecting the 30 players selected in the first round. Last year, 25 of McKenzie’s top 30 players were selected in the first round of the draft.”
Six of McKenzie’s top 30 are from the WHL, with three of those being from the Portland Winterhawks, who also own the WHL rights to C Rocco Grimaldi, who is in the USA Hockey National Team Development Program.
Here is McKenzie’s top 30:
1. C Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Red Deer (WHL)
2. D Adam Larsson, Skelleftea (Sweden)
3. C/LW Jonathan Huberdeau, Saint John (QMJHL)
4. LW Gabriel Landeskog, Kitchener (OHL)
5. C Sean Couturier, Drummondville (QMJHL)
6. D Dougie Hamilton, Niagara (OHL)
7. C Ryan Strome, Niagara (OHL)
8. D Ryan Murphy, Kitchener (OHL)
9. C Mika Zibanejad, Djurgarden (Sweden)
10. D Jonas Brodin, Farjestad (Sweden)
11. D Nathan Beaulieu, Saint John (QMJHL)
12. C Mark Scheifele, Barrie (OHL)
13. D Duncan Siemens, Saskatoon (WHL)
14. RW Joel Armia, Assat (Finland)
15. RW Tyler Biggs, US U-18
16. LW Sven Bartschi, Portland (WHL)
17. D Jamie Oleksiak, Northeastern (NCAA)
18. LW J.T. Miller, US U-18
19. C Mark McNeill, Prince Albert (WHL)
20. D Joe Morrow, Portland (WHL)
21. D Oscar Klefbom, Farjestad (Sweden)
22. LW Brandon Saad, Saginaw (OHL)
23. C Rocco Grimaldi, US US-18
24. RW Nicklas Jensen, Oshawa (OHL)
25. RW Ty Rattie, Portland (WHL)
26. C Boone Jenner, Oshawa (OHL)
27. LW Matt Puempel, Peterborough (OHL)
28. C Zack Phillips, Saint John (QMJHL)
29. RW Tomas Jurco, Saint John (QMJHL)
30. D Connor Murphy, US U-18
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Taking Note on Twitter
F Gal Koren (Kelowna, 2010-11) signed a one-year contract with Medvescak Zagreb (Croatia, Austria Erste Bank Liga). He had one goal and two assists in 36 games for the Kelowna Rockets (WHL) last season.
———
It seems the good folks of Medicine Hat are going to have to wait a while longer for a new arena.
Despite the owners of the Medicine Hat Tigers throwing their weight behind the proposed $94.5-million Regional Event Centre, Medicine Hat's city council voted Monday to reject a funding model for the project.However, as Amanda Stephenson of the Medicine Hat News reports, the project may not be dead, although it might well be on life support.
Her story is right here.
———
Bill Shaw is the new head coach of the Eastern Washington University Eagles, who have joined the B.C. Intercollegiate Hockey League. Gary Braun, a former WHL coach, decided to step aside, with Shaw, an assistant coach for three seasons, moving up as head coach. Braun went 115-29-8 in five seasons with the Eagles. At the same time, the Eagles named J.C. Thomas as their assistant coach. He spent the last two seasons as an assistant coach with the junior B Spokane Braves of the Kootenay International junior league. Thomas played for Braves from 2001-07. . . . The MJHL’s Selkirk Steelers have signed Chris Poponick as their general manager/director of business operations. The Selkirk native replaces Ken Petrash. Poponick spent 12 seasons as an assistant coach with the junior B Selkirk Fishermen.———
The Chilliwack Bruins now officially are the Victoria Royals. The WHL’s newest franchise, which was sold and relocated to the B.C. capital from Chilliwack, announced its nickname and colours on Monday.Cleve Dheensaw of the Victoria Times Colonist has the story right here.
Dheensaw also reports on the Royals and school, billets and training camp right here.
———
Rocker Rod Stewart’s son Liam, 17, played last season in the Los Angeles Junior Kings program. He has since been selected by the Lincoln Stars in the USHL draft. But he was born in London and is hoping to play for Great Britain. There’s more right here.
———
Drew Wilson, the radio voice of the Prince Albert Raiders on CKBI, is already preparing for the 2011-12 season. He ran 10 kilometres in the annual Prince Albert Road Race on Sunday. How did he do? Well, as he puts it: “My motto was slow and steady finishes the 10k.”
———
Mark Recchi announced his retirement from the NHL on Wednesday night, in the aftermath of the Boston Bruins’ victory in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final.
Is the 43-year-old Recchi a cinch to be elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame?
There’s more on that right here.
———
While Tom Gaglardi, the majority owner of the Kamloops Blazers, works to purchase the NHL’s Dallas Stars, he also has been buying up hotels. There's more right here.
———
It’s safe to say that the NHL — and, by association, the sport of ice hockey — has an image problem.
The good folks at EA Sports, who this week will reveal the name of the player whose likeness will grace the cover of NHL 12, have issued a news release heralding the announcement.
NHL 12, they say, will reignite “the beloved fighting engine that first appeared in NHL 10 with all-new goalie battles. When the action gets heated, send a message by leaving the net, dropping the gloves, and trading punches with rivals during fights.”
As Jeff Blair wrote in The Globe and Mail: “There really is a special place in hell for these people, no? No report on whether you can pick a city of your choice to burn after your team craps the bed in the playoffs.”
———
Yes, it’s NHL draft week, with the first round scheduled for Friday and the last six on Saturday. It’ll be held in the Xcel Energy Center, the home arena of the NHL’s Minnesota Wild.
As usual, TSN will be all over the draft. It’s live coverage begins Friday at 4 p.m. PT.
Veteran analyst Bob McKenzie has released his top 30 draft prospects and here they are:
According to a TSN news release: “Over the past seven years, McKenzie has an 84 per cent accuracy rate in projecting the 30 players selected in the first round. Last year, 25 of McKenzie’s top 30 players were selected in the first round of the draft.”
Six of McKenzie’s top 30 are from the WHL, with three of those being from the Portland Winterhawks, who also own the WHL rights to C Rocco Grimaldi, who is in the USA Hockey National Team Development Program.
Here is McKenzie’s top 30:
1. C Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Red Deer (WHL)
2. D Adam Larsson, Skelleftea (Sweden)
3. C/LW Jonathan Huberdeau, Saint John (QMJHL)
4. LW Gabriel Landeskog, Kitchener (OHL)
5. C Sean Couturier, Drummondville (QMJHL)
6. D Dougie Hamilton, Niagara (OHL)
7. C Ryan Strome, Niagara (OHL)
8. D Ryan Murphy, Kitchener (OHL)
9. C Mika Zibanejad, Djurgarden (Sweden)
10. D Jonas Brodin, Farjestad (Sweden)
11. D Nathan Beaulieu, Saint John (QMJHL)
12. C Mark Scheifele, Barrie (OHL)
13. D Duncan Siemens, Saskatoon (WHL)
14. RW Joel Armia, Assat (Finland)
15. RW Tyler Biggs, US U-18
16. LW Sven Bartschi, Portland (WHL)
17. D Jamie Oleksiak, Northeastern (NCAA)
18. LW J.T. Miller, US U-18
19. C Mark McNeill, Prince Albert (WHL)
20. D Joe Morrow, Portland (WHL)
21. D Oscar Klefbom, Farjestad (Sweden)
22. LW Brandon Saad, Saginaw (OHL)
23. C Rocco Grimaldi, US US-18
24. RW Nicklas Jensen, Oshawa (OHL)
25. RW Ty Rattie, Portland (WHL)
26. C Boone Jenner, Oshawa (OHL)
27. LW Matt Puempel, Peterborough (OHL)
28. C Zack Phillips, Saint John (QMJHL)
29. RW Tomas Jurco, Saint John (QMJHL)
30. D Connor Murphy, US U-18
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Taking Note on Twitter
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