F Riley Holzapfel (Moose Jaw, 2004-08) signed a two-year contract with HV71 Jönköping (Sweden, SHL — formerly known as Elitserien). He had 21 goals and 30 assists in 76 games with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (AHL) last season. . . .
D T.J. Fast (Tri-City, 2006-08) signed a one-year contract with Eispiraten Crimmitschau (Germany, 2. Bundesliga). He had one assist in 17 games with the Bakersfield Condors (ECHL) last season.
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The WHL has lost another player to brain injury-related problems.
Shea Howorko, a forward with the Swift Current Broncos, has had to retire.
“My career is done . . . unfortunately,” he told me via Facebook on Thursday.
Howorko, a 19-year-old from Regina, was a second-round selection by the Broncos in the 2009 bantam draft.
He had three points in 61 games as a freshman in 2010-11, but was limited to 30 games — he had four points — in 2011-12. He wasn’t able to play at all last season. In fact, he last played on Dec. 3, 2011.
“The only thing that’s scared me is if it could be permanent, if I could never play hockey again,” Howorko told Brad Brown of the Prairie Post in December 2012. “That’s my goal, is I want to come back and play. What’s scary is that it could take out my career. I try to keep hope every single day.”
If you want to get a feel for what Howorko has gone through, read this Dec. 6 story by Brown.
(Tip of the hat to @saskawhat for the tweet.)
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F Jaimen Yakubowski of the Lethbridge Hurricanes will attend the Detroit Red Wings’ prospects camp that begins Saturday in Traverse City, Mich. Yakubowski, 19, had 50 points, including 32 goals, in 66 games last season, his second in the WHL. He is from Dalmeny, Sask., and is represented by Turning Point Sports Management.
As well, D Matt Staples of the Medicine Hat Tigers is in the Dallas Stars’ prospects camp. From Coppell, Texas, he had three points in 30 games with the Tigers as a freshman last season.
Red Deer Rebels F Matt Bellerive, who turns 19 on July 12, will go to camp with the Toronto Maple Leafs’ prospects. Bellerive, who played two WHL seasons with the Vancouver Giants before being dealt to Red Deer, is from North Vancouver. He had 36 points, 15 of them goals, in 69 games last season.
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If you haven’t already read Cold a Long Time: An Alpine Mystery, you absolutely must. It is the story of the disappearance of former Saskatoon Blades defenceman Duncan MacPherson and the heart-wrenching situations his parents found themselves in as they searched for him. . . . If you haven’t read it, order it right here. I promise you that you won’t be sorry. This is one of those reads that will stay with you for a long, long time. . . . There is a solid review of it right here.
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Somehow, I missed this terrific read right here on the Aaron Hernandez situation. It was written by Charles P. Pierce of Grantland.com. And even though it was written before Hernandez ws arrested, it’s well worth your time.
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Jerry Brewer of the Seattle Times writes right here that his city’s motto “should be something like: Always the robbed, never the robber.” . . . Still, he feels Seattle has gained a lot despite being used as leverage by the NBA and NHL.
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There were 40,000 people in attendance Thursday as Joey Chestnut won his seventh straight Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating championship on Coney Island, N.Y. The New York Daily News was there, too, and reported that Chestnut, who ate 69 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes, “ate 20,010 calories, 1,173 grams of fat and 48,990 miligrams of sodium.” . . . According to the Post, “A normal American . . . is supposed to consume 2,000 calories a day, and no more than 200 grams of fat or 2,300 milligrams of salt.” . . . Chew on that for a while.
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THE COACHING GAME:
Philippe Boucher is scheduled to be introduced Monday as the new general manager and head coach of the QMJHL’s Quebec Remparts. He takes over from Patrick Roy, now the head coach of the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche. Roy also owns a piece of the Remparts. . . . Boucher spent the past two seasons as vice-president of hockey operations and general manager of the Rimouski Oceanic. . . . Rimouski, meanwhile, added the GM’s portfolio to head coach Serge Beausoleil’s duties. . . .
Stephane Paquette of Acadie Nouvelle reported last night that Darren Rumble will be introduced today as head coach of the QMJHL’s Moncton Wildcats. . . . Rumble has spent the last two seasons as an assistant coach with the Seattle Thunderbirds.———
From Brent Parker (@Patguy65): “Hey @CityofRegina would it kill you to throw some lines on the roads around town. I'm unemployed give me a can of paint and ill do it!”
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