One WHL team wants to host 2018 Memorial Cup . . . Silvertips sign two imports

Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post reported Tuesday that the Regina Pats “will inform the WHL office later this week of their intention to bid for the Canadian Hockey League’s showcase event, which celebrates its 100^th anniversary in 2018.”

The CHL has gone away from its regular rotation to allow teams from all three major junior leagues to bid on being the host team for the 2018 Memorial Cup tournament. The Pats are the oldest junior team in the world — they will celebrate their 100th anniversary in 2017-18.

“It’s an opportunity we couldn’t turn away from,” Anthony Marquart, one of the Pats’ owners, told Harder.

The Pats are named after the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry.

“We’re the world’s oldest major-junior hockey franchise and intuitively it makes sense that we host the Memorial Cup that year, especially when the Memorial Cup was named after those brave soldiers that fought and died for our country in World War I.”

(No, the Memorial Cup isn’t named in honour of MasterCard; it just seems that way sometimes. But that’s a story for another day.)

Once the Pats inform the WHL of their interest, it will mean two bidders have come forward, the OHL’s Ottawa 67’s being the other. The OHL’s Oshawa Generals also have expressed an interest. Teams have until Sept. 1 to declare their interest, with each of the three leagues to submit a maximum of two bids to the CHL by Nov. 15.

The CHL has said that it will release a shortlist by Nov. 30, with the host city to be announced early in February.

The Pats last were the host team in 2001 when they added temporary seats to what was then the Agridome, bringing capacity to around 7,000. The arena now is known as the Brandt Centre and has 6,200 seats. Obviously, temporary seating would have to be added again. That would be just one of the improvements that would have to be made to the 40-year-old facility should the Pats’ bid be successful.

Hey, with ice-making technology being what it is today, perhaps they could play the 2018 tournament in Regina’s new football stadium. It will seat 33,000 for football but is to be expandable to 40,000 for special events.

Hey, why not?

Harder’s complete story is right here.

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The Everett Silvertips have signed their two 2016 CHL import draft selections — Finnish F Eetu Tuulola and Slovakian F Mario Mucka. . . . Tuulola, 18, was a sixth-round selection by the Calgary Flames in the NHL’s 2016 draft. The 6-foot-3, 225-pounder took part in the Flames’ development camp last month. Last season, he had nine goals and five assists in 29 games with HPK’s U-20 team in the SM-liiga. He also played for the Finnish team that won the IIHF U-18 World championship in April in Grand Forks, N.D. . . . Mucka, who will turn 18 on Nov. 10, played for the U-18 Nitra team last season, putting up 20 goals and 24 assists in 30 games. . . . Last season, Everett used Russian F Jan Khomenko and Austrian F Dario Winkler as its import, but neither will be returning for another go-round.

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Former WHL G Drew Owsley (Tri-City, Prince George, 2008-12) has signed with the ECHL’s Wichita Thunder. Owsley, 25, played the past four seasons with the X-Men at St. Francis Xavier U in Antigonish, N.S. Last season, he was 16-8-0, 2.54, .914, helping the X-Men to the CIS final.

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The Lake Erie Monsters, the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets, are no more. The franchise announced Tuesday that it has changed its name to the Cleveland Monsters. . . . "This brand refresh has been in the works for several seasons and we are thrilled to make the Cleveland Monsters a reality at long last," Mike Ostrowski, the Monsters’ SVP/COO of franchise operations, explained on the team's website. "In the wake of the Monsters' Calder Cup Championship and the Cavs' NBA title, and heading into the Monsters' 10th anniversary season, we feel now is the perfect time for our organization to honor our great city and proudly become in title what this team has always been in spirit, the Cleveland Monsters." . . . Of course, that also means new-look uniforms which, no doubt, will be on sale soon if they aren’t already.

The #CLEMonsters will wear these NEW sweaters in the 2016-17 season! pic.twitter.com/2yjCMOvN2W

— Cleveland Monsters (@monstershockey) August 9, 2016

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USA Hockey has named the 2016 inductees to the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame — U.S. Olympian and former NHL F Craig Janney, Bill Belisle, who coached for 41 seasons at Mount St. Charles Academy in Rhode Island, and the 1996 U.S. World Cup of Hockey championship team. . . . The U.S. beat Canada, 2-1, in the best-of-three final, after Canada posted a 4-3 OT victory in Game 1. . . . The Team USA roster included F Steve Konowalchuk, who then was with the Washington Capitals and now is the head coach of the Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . Konowalchuk also played two seasons (1990-92) with the Portland Winterhawks. . . . Two other ex-WHLers played for Team USA -- F Adam Deadmarsh (Portland, 1991-95) and F Mike Modano (Prince Albert, 1986-89). . . . A date and place for the induction ceremony have yet to be announced.

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Got a tip or some information you feel could be useful to me, feel free to email me at greggdrinnan@gmail.com.

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Shawn Belle has moved to the Edmonton-based NAIT Ooks as an assistant coach, alongside head coach Tim Fragle. Belle had been an assistant coach with the AJHL’s Sherwood Park Crusaders, while also instructing at Edmonton’s Vimy Ridge Academy. . . . Belle, 31, played in the WHL (Regina Pats, Tri-City Americans, 2000-05) before going on to a pro career that ended after the 2014-15 season. He played the last four seasons in Europe. . . . Fragle is about to begin his first season at NAIT after spending seven seasons as Sherwood Park’s head coach. NAIT won the ACAC championship last season under head coach Mike Gabinet, who now is an associate coach at the U of Nebraska/Omaha.

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Out with the old and in with the new... #ChangeIsGood pic.twitter.com/cv2JMgShg7

— PG Cougars (@PGCougars) August 9, 2016

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THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Fredrik Pettersson (Calgary, 2005-07) exercised his KHL opt-out clause and has left Frölunda Gothenburg (Sweden, Elitserien) after completing just one year of a four-year contract. He now has signed a contract with Donbass Donetsk (Ukraine, KHL). No terms were announced. Pettersson had 16 goals and 24 assists in 54 games as an alternate captain for Frölunda this season. The head coach of Donbass is former Portland assistant coach Julius Supler.
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Hearty congratulations to old friend Roy MacGregor, who was named Friday as this year’s winner of the Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award. It is a Hockey Hall of Fame honour that is selected by the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association.
MacGregor is a prolific writer, who now is with The Globe and Mail. A veteran of the newspaper game, he also has written a number of books, hockey-related and otherwise, as well as a highly successful series of childrens books — The Screech Owls.
The surprise with this award is that he hadn’t won the award a whole lot earlier than this.
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Also on Friday, veteran hockey writer Red Fisher of the Montreal Gazette announced his retirement. Fisher has written about the NHL for 57 years, beginning with the infamous Richard riots in 1955.
Dave Stubbs of the Montreal Gazette writes about Fisher right here.
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James Mirtle of The Globe and Mail writes right here about the Toronto Marlies trying to move forward after losing an AHL playoff game Thursday on a goal that should have been disallowed.
That piece is right here.
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THE COACHING GAME:
Adam Deadmarsh (Portland, 1991-95) had to end his NHL playing career because of concussion-related problems. Now he has left his assistant-coaching job with the Colorado Avalanche for the same reason. Deadmarsh was 28 when he retired as a player; he’s now 37. . . . His wife, Christa, sent this message to Adrian Dater of the Denver Post: “Adam was hurt (concussion issues) this season and decided that health/family and safety are his priority … Adam enjoyed coaching, but this was the right decision … We are back in Idaho and will love being close to our family again:) Hello Idaho friends … we are home:)” . . .
Mike Heilka of the Dallas Morning News reports here that the Dallas Stars “are speaking with Willie Desjardins about taking the head-coaching job with the Texas Stars.” Desjardins, the former GM and head coach of the Medicine Hat Tigers, has one year left on his contract with Dallas. He is the associate coach to head coach Glen Gulutzan. . . .
The OHL’s Kitchener Rangers have hired Mike McKenzie as an assistant coach. Yes, he is a son of Bob McKenzie, TSN’s crack hockey analyst. Mike, 26, played four seasons of NCAA hockey at St. Lawrence U — he twice was on the NCAA all-academic team — before turning pro and playing with the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers and Albany River Rats and the ECHL’s Florida Everblades. He retired after playing last season with the AHL’s Houston Aeros. . . . In Kitchener, he will work alongside GM/head coach Steve Spott. . . .
Craig Hartsburg, a former head coach of the Everett Silvertips, has been dismissed as associate coach by the NHL’s Calgary Flames. He left the Silvertips prior to this season to work with the Flames and then-head coach Brent Sutter. . . . When the Flames dumped Sutter, they also got rid of assistant coach Dave Lowry, a former head coach of the Calgary Hitmen. . . .
Former NHL coach Paul Maurice has signed on as head coach of the KHL’s Metallurg Magnitogorsk. Maurice began this season as head coach of the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes, only to be fired 25 games into it. . . . Former NHL G Tom Barrasso has signed on as Maurice’s assistant coach. . . .
Two WHL assistant coaches — Dwayne Gylywoychuk of the Brandon Wheat Kings and Malcolm Cameron of the Regina Pats — have been named to the coaching staff of Team West that will represent Manitoba and Saskatchewan at the U17 World Hockey Challenge. That tournament is to beging in Drummondville and Victoriaville, Que., on Dec. 29. . . . Don MacGillivray, the head coach of the MJHL’s Winnipeg Blues for four years, is Team West’s head coach for a second consecutive year. . . .
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As you no doubt are aware, the Oklahoma City Thunder has advanced to the NBA final. (BTW, it’s final, not finals, and I don't care what David Stern thinks. It’s one series so it’s singular. OK?)
You also should be aware that the Thunder began life as the Seattle SuperSonics.
So . . . how are the sporting fans of Seattle feeling?
Let’s just say they aren’t enjoying this one bit.
Steve Kelley of the Seattle Times pretty much sums it up with his Friday column right here.


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Thursday . . .

The coaching carousel let one on and another one off Thursday.
The Seattle Thunderbirds introduced Steve Konowalchuk as the 16th head coach in franchise history.
Konowalchuk, 38, spent the last two seasons as an assistant coach with the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche. (By the way, Colorado filled the vacancy on its coaching staff by promoting Adam Deadmarsh to assistant coach from video and development coach; Konowalchuk and Deadmarsh both played for the Portland Winterhawks.)
Konowalchuk played in 14 NHL seasons, splitting them between the Washington Capitals and Colorado. Washington had selected him in the third round of the 1991 NHL draft.
Meanwhile, the Regina Pats dismissed Curtis Hunt, who had one season left on his contract.
At the same time, Regina didn’t renew the contract of Todd Ripplinger, who had been the director of scouting since 1997-98.
Hunt spent six seasons as the Pats’ head coach, although he spent one season in the Ottawa Senators’ organization in the middle of his Regina stint. However, the Pats missed the playoffs each of the last two seasons with Hunt as their head coach. (Regina now has missed the playoffs each of the last three seasons, the first one under Dale Derkatch, who now is in the Prince Albert Raiders organization.) Hunt was 185-201-46 as the Pats’ head coach, winning an East Division title in 2007-08.
You have to wonder what took the Pats so long to make this decision, considering that they played their final game of the 2010-11 season on March 19.
What this means is that general manager Chad Lang, who took over from Brent Parker (he is the team president) after the 2009-10 season, is putting his stamp on the franchise. He had hired neither Hunt nor Ripplinger, and now will be able to put his own people in place. Remember, too, that the Pats earlier had said they wouldn’t be renewing the contracts of assistant coach Shaun Sutter or goaltending consultant Ryan Cyr.
The Pats, then, will have a whole new look when another season gets here.
I was told Thursday that Ripplinger had been offered a contract but hadn’t signed it or even agreed to it, but had planned to get together with Lang when the latter returned from the WHL’s annual general meeting that was held earlier this week in Calgary.
However, Ripplinger was told Thursday morning that the decision had now been made not to bring him back.
“After 14 years, it’s over,” an emotional Ripplinger told Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post. “It’s a hard feeling. I shed some tears. It was tough walking out of that office. It’s hard to put closure on something like that. I’ve met a lot of good people in Regina. They’ve been good to me. I kind of figured this day would come sooner or later but you just can’t prepare for it.”
You have to think Hunt might have a chance to land the job as head coach of the AHL’s Abbotsford Heat, assuming that is that he is interested in jumping right back into the water. That job opened when Jim Playfair left for a spot on the bench with the NHL’s Phoenix Coyotes. The Heat is affiliated with the NHL’s Calgary Flames and Hunt has ties to Calgary head coach Brent Sutter and associate coach Craig Hartsburg.
Hunt also has experience as an AHL head coach. He was an assistant under Hartsburg with the Ottawa Senators when Hartsburg lost his job. Cory Clouston moved up from the AHL’s Binghamton Senators to replace Hartsburg, while Hunt went down to take over from Clouston.
And now Hartsburg is the only one of that trio with a coaching job.
Ahh, the coaching game!
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If you’re counting, the Pats join the Everett Silvertips and Moose Jaw Warriors as WHL teams without head coaches.
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THE COACHING GAME: The Central league’s Quad City Mallards have hired David Bell as general manager and head coach. Bell, 34, was an assistant coach with the OHL’s Barrie Colts for the last two seasons. . . . The Mallards also announced the formation of the Quad City Mallards Community Advisory Board. That board, according to a news release, “will provide guidance, advice and support in an effort to maximize the visibility and success of the Mallards in the community.” The first person named to the board is Kerry Toporowski (Spokane, 1989-91), who is one of two players in Quad City to have his number retired. He played 236 games over six seasons with the Mallards. . . . Former NHL D Darryl Sydor (Kamloops, 1988-92) may be in line for an NHL coaching job after one season as an assistant with the AHL’s Houston Aeros. Mike Yeo, the Aeros’ head coach, is to be named head coach of the NHL’s Minnesota Wild and could easily take Sydor with him. Sydor also is one of five owners of the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers. . . . Curtis Brown (Moose Jaw, Prince Albert, 1992-96) has ended his playing career after three years in Europe. He has joined the NHL’s San Jose Sharks organization and will work in an area called Sharks Ice as a development coach. He played three seasons for the Sharks during his NHL career. . . . Réal Paiement is the new program manager and head coach of the U of Ottawa Gee-Gees. He has coached five different QMJHL teams and had two years left on his contract as head coach of the Acadie-Bathurst Titan. Don Campbell of the Ottawa Citizen reported that Paiement, 51, exercised an out clause in his contract. The U of Ottawa dropped head coach Dave Leger in March. . . .
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Like the Seattle Thunderbirds, the Prince George Cougars have opened an account at Sporcle, which is turning into a popular spot on the Internet. It’s a site specializing in trivia and quizzes. Check it out right here.

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