Hurricanes to stay the course . . . Hockey loses a giant . . . Wenatchee changes leagues

F Konstantin Pushkarev (Calgary, 2004-05) signed a two-year, two-way extension with Barys Astana (Kazakhstan, KHL). This season, he had nine goals and eight assists in 54 games. . . .
F Alex Leavitt (Swift Current, Everett, 2003-05) signed a one-year contract with the Braehead Clan Glasgow (Scotland, UK Elite). This season, with the Ravensburg Towerstars (Germany, DEL2), he had 49 points, including 19 goals, in 44 games. . . .
F Justin Kirsch (Calgary, Moose Jaw, 2009-13) signed a one-year extension with Löwen Frankfurt (Germany, DEL2). This season, with the Missouri Mavericks (ECHL), he had one assist in four games. He had one goal in four games with the Knoxville Ice Bears (SPHL), and he had seven goals and 18 assists in 31 games with Löwen Frankfurt, which he joined on Dec. 3. Kirsch has dual Canadian-German citizenship. . . .
F Tomáš Netík (Medicine Hat, 2000-01) signed a one-year contract with Sparta Prague (Czech Republic, Extraliga). This season, with Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia, KHL), he had 11 goals and 13 assists in 56 games.
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The Lethbridge Hurricanes will remain one of four community-owned teams in the WHL.
Despite pressure from WHL commissioner Ron Robison, who has pushed for shareholders to sell the financially troubled team, those attending a meeting on Monday night voted not to put the team up for sale with the intention of selling to private owners.

I picture the WHL commish sharpening his fangs as the Hurricanes financial numbers hit his desk....

— Dylan Purcell (@dylpurcell) June 2, 2015

The approval of 75 per cent of voters was needed to continue the process towards a possible sale. When the votes were counted, 68 per cent had voted that way.
The vote was done by secret ballot, and not a show of hands.
As Pat Siedlecki, the former radio voice of the Hurricanes and ClearSky Radio’s corporate news director, tweeted immediately after the vote: “With this decision by shareholders tonight, it essentially means the issue of selling the Hurricanes to private owners is now dead.” (Siedlecki’s blog, including a report from last night, is right here.)
Early in May, Robison met with shareholders. According to Paul Kingsmith of Global-TV, Robsion said: “It’s not to say that this community organization can’t get things turned around. But we think, when you look at the franchise moving forward, that private interests would be in the best interest of the club.”
On that visit, Robison met with about 160 shareholders.
Last night, there were 270 shareholders representing 681 shares in attendance.

Interested now to see how the WHL office reacts to Lethbridge shareholders deciding not to sell the team. Hard line coming on more losses?

— Alan Caldwell (@smallatlarge) June 2, 2015

Also from last night’s meeting:
* In search of cash, shareholders voted to sell as many as 2,000 premium shares valued at $1,000 each.
* It was revealed that the Hurricanes have about 1,100 shareholders who hold about 2,500 shares.
* Financials from this season have not yet been audited, so the media in attendance was asked not to report figures. However, it was stressed that the team suffered significant losses this season. “The team is still far from stable,” Kingsmith wrote in a story that is right here. “It has lost more than $1-million over the last five years, with another six-figure deficit from this past season announced to shareholders through unaudited financial numbers.”
* The Hurricanes have sold about 1,650 season-tickets for 2015-16, with the goal set at 2,500. This season, they had about 1,300 season-ticket holders.
* It was revealed that only 20 per cent of shareholders also are season-ticket holders.
The Moose Jaw Warriors, Prince Albert Raiders and Swift Current Broncos also are owned by community shareholders.
During the Hurricanes' meeting, general manager Peter Anholt told shareholders that he has signed F Jordy Bellerive, who was the second overall selection in the 2014 bantam draft.
Bellerive, from North Vancouver, will be eligible for the NHL’s 2017 draft. This season, he had 49 points, including 34 goals, in 27 games with the Okanagan Hockey Academy’s White Prep team. In his bantam draft season, he had 114 points, 61 of them goals, in 49 games with the North Shore Winter Club’s bantam AAA team. He is the younger brother of F Matt  Bellerive, who played out his junior eligibility this season with the Vancouver Giants.
Meanwhile, it is believed that the Hurricanes will announce the signing of a new head coach on Thursday, at which time they also will reveal more player signings.
A new coach will take over from Anholt, who replaced the fired Drake Berehowsky in mid-season.

That an exec from another WHL team showed up to vote on the Canes' future was embarrassing -- for the Hitmen and the league.

— Dylan Purcell (@dylpurcell) June 2, 2015

Other WHL teams gave the @WHLHurricanes advice already, when they sent Robison here to tell shareholders to sell.

— Dylan Purcell (@dylpurcell) June 2, 2015

Don't get me wrong, Hurricanes shareholders might have made a biiiiig mistake tonight. But it was their mistake to make.

— Dylan Purcell (@dylpurcell) June 2, 2015

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The hockey family took a hit on Monday with the death of Frank McKinnon, who contributed as much to the game as anyone. McKinnon was 81 when he died in Calgary where he had lived for the past few years with

FRANK McKINNON

his wife, Pat. . . . McKinnon, who was named a Member of the Order of Canada in February, was the commissioner of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League (1992-2002). He also was a Manitoba Amateur Hockey Association executive for years and years, and served as president for five years. A teacher and principal in Carman, Man., he also was president of the Carman-Dufferin Minor Hockey Association. . . . From a MJHL news release: “He also left his mark beyond Manitoba. As a trustee, he helped create the Centennial Cup (now RBC Cup) in 1971. He was a member of the congress of the International Ice Hockey Federation and part of the committee that organized the first IIHF World Junior Championship in 1974. In 1979, McKinnon became the first chairman of the board of the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (now Hockey Canada), a post he would hold until 1982.” . . . He was a recipient of the Gordon Juckes Award, Hockey Canada’s volunteer-of-the-year award and Hockey Canada’s Order of Merit. . . . As well, he served on the boards of the Sports Federation of Canada and the Canadian Olympic Association. . . . McKinnon is a life member of Hockey Canada, the Canadian Junior Hockey League and Hockey Manitoba. He has been inducted into the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame and the Manitoba High Schools Athletic Association Hall of Fame. . . . Beyond all of that, McKinnon was one of the finest people I have ever had the privilege of knowing.
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The Prince George Cougars have signed their first three selections from the WHL’s 2015 bantam draft, with all of them from North Vancouver and off the roster at the North Shore Winter Club. . . . F Jackson Leppard, from North Vancouver, was taken eighth overall. He had 89 points, including 46 goals, this season. . . . D Jonas Harkins, also from North Vancouver, was taken in the second round. He had 12 points, three of them goals, this season. He is the son of Cougars GM Todd Harkins and the brother of Cougars F Jansen Harkins. . . . F Tyler Ho was taken in the third round. He had 87 points, including 30 goals, this season. . . . All three players were key contributors to NSWC’s 2015 Western Canadian bantam AAA championship.
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THE COACHING GAME:

News 1130, a Vancouver radio station, reported Monday morning that the Vancouver Giants “interviewed” former Edmonton Oilers head coach Dallas Eakins “two weeks ago and he has strong interest in the job.” . . . Last month, it was reported that the Giants were courting Ted Nolan, who was fired as the Buffalo Sabres’ head coach when their season ended. . . . Eakins, 48, was in his second season as the Oilers’ head coach when he was fired in December. The Oilers were 36-63-14 during his time there. He had joined the Oilers from the AHL’s Toronto Marlies, having done well enough there that he was thought of as a real up-and-comer. . . . Eakins has never coached junior hockey, having moved directly from his playing career into a pro-coaching career. . . . Via text, Eakins, who has two years left on his Oilers contract, told Edmonton Journal hockey writer Jim Matheson: “Just because it’s on Twitter doesn’t mean it’s true.”. . . . It does seem that the Giants again are looking for a ‘name’ coach. Having missed the playoffs two of the last three seasons and not having been out of the first round since 2010, one wonders: Why don’t the Giants hire a young coach who can grow with a young team? Or do fans really buy tickets to watch the head coach perform?
BTW, please feel free to check out our latest poll over there on the right, and vote on who you think will be the next head coach of the Giants.
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It appears as though at least four WHLers will be re-entering the NHL draft after not being signed. . . . F Jackson Houck of the Vancouver Giants was taken by the Edmonton Oilers in the fourth round of the 2013 draft, while D Eric Roy of the Brandon Wheat Kings went to the Calgary Flames in the fifth round. . . . Portland freelancer Scott Sepich reported late Monday that the Washington Capitals aren’t likely to sign Winterhawks D Blake Heinrich. He was a fifth-round pick from the USHL’s Sioux City Musketeers in 2013. . . . Later, Sepich reported that the Arizona Coyotes had “removed G Brendan Burke from their prospects roster so it appears they didn't sign him and have have forfeited his rights.” . . . Burke was a sixth-round pick. . . . Roy played out his junior eligibility this season; Houck, Heinrich and Burke are eligible to play as 20-year-olds in 2015-16. . . . NHL teams had until June 1 to sign players selected from junior teams in the 2013 draft.
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The Edmonton Oil Kings made it official on Monday — G Alec Dillon has chosen to play for them, rather than go the NCAA route. The Los Angeles Kings selected him in the fifth round of the NHL’s 2014 draft. Dillon played this season with the USHL’s Tri-City Storm, where he was a second-team all-star. The Oil Kings had acquired his rights from the Swift Current Broncos and now will give up a 2016 fourth-round bantam draft pick. . . . Brian Swane of the Edmonton Sun has more right here.
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The BCHL announced Monday that the Wenatchee, Wash., Wild will become its 17th franchise when the 2015-16 season begins play. The announcement was made at a news conference in Wenatchee that apparently was attended by 160 people. . . . The Wild had played in the NAHL since 2008-09. . . . From a BCHL news release: The Wild has had “a winning record in each of its seven seasons of existence and this season had six players on its roster committed to NCAA Div. I programs. Playing out of Wenatchee’s Town Toyota Center, the team averages about 3,000 fans at home games.” . . . Bliss Littler has completed three seasons as the team’s general manager and head coach. He has coached junior hockey for 22 seasons. . . . The Bellingham, Wash., Ice Hawks (1990-95) were the BCHL’s last U.S.-based team. . . . If you are wondering, Wenatchee is 236 miles from Vancouver, B.C., and 642 miles from Prince George, the home of the BCHL’s Spruce Kings. . . . Brian Wiebe has more right here on the Wenatchee announcement.
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The BCHL’s Penticton Vees confirmed Monday that D Dante Fabbro and F Tyson Jost, a pair of potential first-round selections in the NHL’s 2016 draft, will return for their sophomore seasons. . . . The Everett Silvertips took Jost with the seventh overall selection in the 2013 bantam draft. The Seattle Thunderbirds selected Fabbro with the next pick. . . . This season, Jost had 45 points, 23 of them goals, in 46 games and added 10 goals in 21 playoff games. . . . Fabbro had 33 points in 44 games and added 15 points in 21 playoff games.
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In a junior A deal announced Monday, G Christopher Tai, who has WHL experience, had his rights moved from the BCHL’s Coquitlam Express to the AJHL’s Lloydminster Bobcats as the future considerations from an earlier deal. In that deal, made on Oct. 24, the Express acquired Tai from the Bobcats for futures. . . . Yes, Tai has been traded for himself. . . . Tai, a 19-year-old from Delta, B.C., made WHL stops in Lethbridge, Brandon and Medicine Hat (2012-14). . . . The Bobcats are the host team for the 2016 RBC Cup tournament.
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F Mats Zuccarello of the New York Rangers took a puck to the head in Game 5 of a first-round playoff series. He hasn’t played since. . . . “I couldn't talk for a while,” he told reports on Monday, “had a contusion, some blood in my brain. That affects a lot. Now I go to speech therapy. I'm getting much better. I couldn't say a word for four days. I feel much better.” . . . The Rangers claim Zuccarello didn't suffer a concussion. . . . There’s more right here.
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“Former Blackhawks center and Lightning coach Steve Ludzik is suing the NHL, alleging the league failed to warn him of the significant risk of brain damage during his 10-year career,” writes Chris Kuc of the Chicago Tribune. “The suit, which was filed Monday by the Chicago law firm Corboy & Demetrio — the same firm representing the estates of former Hawks defenseman Steve Montador and former Bears defensive back Dave Duerson — claims the NHL ‘allowed and encouraged Ludzik, after suffering concussions, to return to play in the same game and/or practice.’ ” . . . Ludzik now suffers with Parkinson’s disease, something he claims is a result of concussion-related issues. . . . Kuc’s story is right here.
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Brandon Wheat King GM-coach Kelly McCrimmon interviewed for a management position (not GM) with TOR last week.

— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) June 1, 2015

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Hay faced with real challenge in Kamloops

Don Hay is about to become a familiar figure in Kamloops again.
(Photo by Christopher Mast / www.mastimages.com)

THE MacBETH REPORT:


D Lukáš Pulpán (Vancouver, 2003-04) has signed a three-year contract with Plzeň (Czech Republic, Extraliga). This season with Chomutov (Czech Republic, Extraliga), he had 13 points, two of them goals, in 42 games. . . .



F Antonín Honejsek (Moose Jaw, 2009-11) has signed a one-year contract with the Espoo Blues (Finland, Liiga). This season with Zlin (Czech Republic, Extraliga), he had 24 points, 15 of them goals, in 45 games. . . .

F Alex Leavitt (Swift Current, Everett, 2003-05) has signed a one-year contract with the Ravensburg Towerstars (Germany, DEL2). Leavitt started this season with Oskarshamn (Sweden, Allsvenskan), earning three points, including a goal, in 10 games. He signed with Aalborg (Denmakr, Metal Ligaen) on Oct. 22 and went on record 61 points, including 22 goals, in 32 games. He led the Metal Ligaen in scoring and was named to the second all-star team.
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For those who were wondering, there wasn’t a parade in Kamloops on Friday.
With the announcement by the Vancouver Giants on Thursday that Don Hay was leaving their organization after 10 years to return to coaching the Kamloops Blazers, perhaps you expected something of a celebration, say a party topped off with cake and fireworks at Riverside Park.
After all, Hay, one of the legendary figures in Kamloops’ history, is on his way home. He is a member of the Kamloops Sports Hall of Fame and the B.C. Hockey Hall of Fame.
If you missed it, the Giants have let Hay out of the last year of his contract, allowing him to return to his hometown and try to restore the lustre to a franchise that won three Memorial Cup titles with him on the coaching staff. Hay was an assistant coach, under Tom Renney, in 1992 and the head coach in 1994 and 1995.
(Interestingly, the Giants made the announcement on Thursday, at 5 p.m. The Blazers didn’t issue a news release until Friday morning and have yet to hold a news conference to re-introduce him to a city where he, Ken Hitchcock or Bob Brown could be mayor should any one of them choose to run.
(Exactly how is Hay looked upon in these parts? My wife and I had coffee with an old friend last night. She hasn’t been to any more than a handful of Blazers games in recent years, but now is talking about buying a season ticket. Why? “Because,” she said, “it was so much fun back then.”)
These days, however, the Blazers aren’t even a shadow of the Memorial Cup teams.
After making a run to the Western Conference final a year ago, the Blazers have just suffered through the worst season in franchise history. They went 10-29-5 with Dave Hunchak as head coach, 0-1-0 with Mark Ferner running the bench, and finished up 4-23-0 with Guy Charron in charge. Add it up and the Blazers were 14-53-5.
What it means is that Hay has stepped into a job that is going to offer him the biggest challenge of his career.
The first time Hay stepped in as the Blazers’ head coach, after six seasons as an assistant, he took over a team that had gone 51-17-4 before winning the WHL championship and the Memorial Cup.
In 1998-99, he moved in as head coach of the Tri-City Americans, a team that was 17-49-6 (that’s six ties) the previous season, and they went 43-23-6. That team was swept from the Western Conference final by a Blazers team under head coach Marc Habscheid.
In 2004-05, Hay was back in the WHL as head coach of the Vancouver Giants, a team that was 33-24-9-6 (nine ties and six overtime losses) the previous season. His first season there was the franchise’s fourth and the Giants finished 34-30-4-4 before losing a first-round series in six games to the Kelowna Rockets.
Now, Hay takes over a team that scored 175 goals, the second-poorest total in the 22-team league. Sheesh, his two Memorial Cup-championship teams scored 381 and 375 goals. Yes, that was then and this is now, but that’s a 200-goal differential.
This season’s Blazers also gave up 305 goals and only two teams were poorer defensively.
Still, Hay proved in his first season with the Americans that, yes, miracles do happen on ice. Perhaps he can pull off another one in Kamloops.
At the end of the day, though, Blazers’ fans, especially those who continue to revel in those Memorial Cup victories of the mid-1990s, are going to have to realize that this isn’t about next season. It’s a cliché but this about Hay having to change the culture, to get this team playing Hay hockey, which means a team that is incredibly hard to play against, and then taking it from there.
That’s something that seemed to disappear in Vancouver about the time that gritty and pesky Brendan Gallagher graduated to the NHL’s Montreal Canadiens, and perhaps that wasn’t a coincidence.
Time will tell whether Hay, the winningest active coach in the WHL, still has that magic.
The great part of this story is that should this be the last stop of the 60-year-old Hay‘s coaching career, he will finish up among friends and family.
His mother, along with a brother and a sister, live in Kamloops, as do various relatives and in-laws. Hay and his wife, Vicki, have twin daughters -- Angela, who is married to former WHL goaltender Thomas Vicars, lives in Salmon Arm with their two daughters; Ashly lives in Kamloops with her fiancé. You bet that Grandpa is going to love being closer to his granddaughters.
Son Darrell, who played for his father in Tri-City, is 34 now and is a free agent, waiting to see whether there will another season in his career. After three seasons in Europe, he played this season in Japan, and will split the summer between Kamloops and Boise, Idaho.
Darrell is at the stage of his career where he is trying to look ahead. What about coaching?
“I would love to try it to see if I have the chops for it one day,” he told me yesterday.
Well, he played two seasons for his father with the Americans. Maybe the two could co-exist on the same coaching staff. It would be in their hometown and how neat would that be?
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1. Is it just me, or does it seem like a month has passed since the WHL’s conference finals came to an end? In other words, Game 1 of the final can’t come soon enough.

2. The OHL’s championship final is 1-1 after the visiting North Bay Battalion beat the Guelph Storm 4-3 in OT on Friday night. . . . F Barclay Goodrow won it at 2:30 of extra time with his 12th goal of these playoffs. . . . The Storm had won the opener, 3-2 in OT, on Thursday night. That one needed just 57 seconds of extra time. . . . Last night, the Storm held a 2-0 lead in the first period and was up 3-2 in the third. . . . F Robby Fabbri scored twice for the Storm. . . . The Battalion forced OT when F Nick Paul scored on the PP at 14:32 of the third period. . . . Game 3 is scheduled for Tuesday in North Bay.

3. In the QMJHL final, G Philippe Cadorette stopped 19 shots and F Charles Hudon had two goals as the host Baie-Comeau Drakkar beat the Val-d’Or Foreurs 3-0 on Friday night in Game 1 of the final. . . . F Jeremy Gregoire helped out with a goal and two assists. . . . Game 2 is scheduled for tonight in Baie-Comeau.

4. How do you feel if you are a long-time fan of the Houston Rockets? . . . A tweet from ESPN Stats and Info after last night’s game in Portland: “The last 2 buzzer-beaters to win playoff series both came vs Rockets -- Damian Lillard tonight & John Stockton in 1997. @EliasSports”

5. Dan Russell and his son, Ben, were in the crowd for last night’s NBA game in Portland. What a way for Russell to spend his first night after signing off on a 30-year career as host of Sportstalk, his Vancouver-based radio show. . . . Russell will be calling the play tonight as the Edmonton Oil Kings and host Portland Winterhawks open the WHL’s championship final for the Ed Chynoweth Cup on Shaw TV.

6. Here’s an interesting Friday tweet from an interesting guy, Kyle Beach (@KBeachy12): “Congrats to all the players selected in the @TheWHL #BantamDraft! In particular the ones joining the @WHLsilvertips and @chiefs hockey.” . . . Beach also played for the Lethbridge Hurricanes, but perhaps he didn’t enjoy himself there as much as he did in Spokane and Everett.
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The Spokane Chiefs have acquired G Alex Moodie from the Saskatoon Blades for a fourth-round selection in the 2016 bantam draft. Moodie was a fifth-round pick by the Blades in 2010. . . . Moodie, 19, is from Winnipeg. He got into 28 games with the Blades this season, going 7-18-2, 4.29, .894 on a team that didn’t come close to making the playoffs. . . . The Chiefs are looking to fill the vacancy created by the graduation of G Eric Williams. . . . "We feel Garret Hughson has earned the opportunity to be a starter in the WHL and if Alex Moodie can regain the form he showed as a young goaltender, we'll have two capable starting goaltenders,” Spokane GM Tim Speltz said in a news release. “We also expect Tyson Verhelst is ready to make the jump to the WHL, so we have good depth and competition for our goaltending position." . . . Verhelst, from Brandon, is prepping for his 17-year-old season. He was a third-round selection in the 2012 bantam draft. . . . Moodie’s best stint with the Blades came in 2011-12 when he joined them from his midget AAA team in Winnipeg in December and went 9-3-0, 3.42, .895.
Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix has more on this trade right here.
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THE COACHING GAME:
The AJHL’s Grande Prairie Storm fired general manager and head coach Matt Hughes on Friday. The moves come after the Storm went 21-36-3-1 in his first season as GM/head coach and missed the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. . . . Logan Clow of the Grande Prairie Daily Herald-Tribune has more right here.
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THE FOURTH ROUND (best-of-seven; all times local):
WHL final, for the Ed Chynoweth Cup
(x - if necessary)
(All games televised live by Shaw)
(All games televised by Root Sports -- Game 2 live, others on delayed basis)
PORTLAND (2, West) vs. Edmonton (1, East)
Season series: Portland, 0-0-1; Edmonton, 1-0-0.
Saturday: Edmonton at Portland, 7 p.m. (Moda Center)
Sunday: Edmonton at Portland, 5 p.m. (Moda Center)
Tuesday: Portland at Edmonton, 7 p.m.
Wednesday: Portland at Edmonton, 7 p.m.
x-Friday: Edmonton at Portland, 7 p.m. (Moda Center)
x-Sunday, May 11: Portland at Edmonton, 4 p.m.
x-Monday, May 12: Edmonton at Portland, 7 p.m. (Moda Center)
INJURIES
Portland: None.
Edmonton: None.
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FRIDAY’S GAME:
No game scheduled.

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Broncos streak now at eight wins

THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Alex Leavitt (Swift Current, Everett, 2003-05) signed for the rest of the season with Aalborg (Denmark, AL-Bank Liga) after a successful tryout. During the three-game tryout, he put up six points, including four goals. Earlier this season, he had three points, one of them a goal, in 10 games with Oskarshamn (Sweden, Allsvenskan).
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At 19 years of age, F Jesse Miller should be enjoying his second season with the WHL's Red Deer Rebels. But that's not how things have turned out. Miller had two assists in 26 games last season when it all came crashing down thanks to a brain injury. . . . There's more right here.
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MONDAY:
In Swift Current, the Broncos ran their winning streak to eight games with a 7-1 victory over the Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . The Broncos won three weekend games by a combined score of 19-6. . . . F Colby Cave and F Coda Gordon each had two goals and two assists for the Broncos, with D Brycen Martin adding a goal and three helpers. . . . Broncos F Connor Sanvido ran his goal-scoring streak to six games with his 12th score of the season. . . . The Broncos were 4-for-7 on the PP. . . . F Josh Uhrich scored for Moose Jaw, giving him three goals this season and a three-game goal-scoring streak. . . . Moose Jaw G Zachary Sawchenko started a second straight game for the first time this season. He gave up three goals on 18 shots and was replaced by Justin Paulic to start the third period. . . .

In Brandon, F Richard Nejezchleb scored three goals to help the Wheat Kings to a 5-3 victory over the Lethbridge Hurricanes. . . . The Hurricanes now have lost 10 in a row to slip to 2-17-1-2. . . . Nejezchleb, who scored 11 goals in 35 games last season, has 16 goals in 20 games this season, including eight in his last five games. . . . With only three assists, Nejezchleb is 16-3 and in the running for a Cy Young Award. . . . Nejezchleb broke a 3-3 tie at 15:15 of the third period. . . . Brandon D Ryan Pulock had three assists. . . . Brandon G Jordan Papirny stopped 26 shots in his fifth straight start. . . . Lethbridge captain Josh Derko was scratched with an undisclosed injury just prior to the game. . . . The Wheat Kings had lost their previous two games, both at home. . . .

In Everett, F Ivan Nikolishin scored at 1:07 of OT to give the Silvertips a 4-3 victory over the Vancouver Giants. . . . F Jujhar Khaira, who had been out since Oct. 12 with an undisclosed injury, set up the winner. . . . Vancouver F Carter Popoff forced extra time with a goal at 15:48 of the third period. . . . The Giants continue to play without D Dalton Thrower, their captain, who is out with an undisclosed injury. Thrower was injured on hit by Edmonton F Mitch Moroz on Nov. 5. . . . Everett F Josh Winquist had a goal, his 16th, and an assist. He has 35 points in 20 games this season, including 23 over his last nine outings. He had two or more points in eight of those games. . . .

In Calgary, F Jaedon Descheneau, who sat out the previous game in a coach's decision, had two goals and an assist as the Kootenay Ice dumped the Hitmen, 5-1. . . . Descheneau has a team-high 16 goals. . . . It was the first of four straight on the road for the Ice. . . . Kootenay F Tim Bozon scored his first goal in his eighth game since being acquired from the Kamloops Blazers. He also had two assists, giving him six helpers with Kootenay. . . . D Rinat Valiev, a Russian freshman, scored his first WHL goal in his 10th game since reporting to Kootenay. He also has five assists. . . . Ice G Wyatt Hoflin stopped 29 shots. With starter Mackenzie Skapski injured, G Jayden Sittler, who plays for the midget AAA Red Deer Optimist Chiefs, is with the Ice through Nov. 20. . . . The Hitmen have lost four straight.

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THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Dominik Pacovsky (Kootenay, 2008-10) signed for the rest of the season with Lev Prague (Czech Republic, KHL). It's a two-way deal with him scheduled to join Lev today. This season with Sparta Prague (Czech Republic, Extraliga), he had five points, including three goals, in 13 games. Last season with Sparta, he had 26 points, 13 of them goals, in 37 games. . . .
F Alex Leavitt (Swift Current, Everett, 2003-05) signed a tryout contract with Aalborg (Denmark, AL-Bank Liga). The tryout runs until Nov. 1. He was released earlier by Oskarshamn (Sweden, Allsvenskan) after picking up three points, one of them a goal, in 10 games. . . .
F Erik Christensen (Kamloops, Brandon, 1999-2004) signed for the rest of this season with HV71 Jönköping (Sweden, SHL) after being released by Lev Prague on Thursday. He is to arrive in Jönköping on Thursday. With Lev this season, he had a goal and an assist in 12 games.
F Kris Beech (Calgary, 1996-2001) has signed a tryout deal with the Straubing Tigers (Germany, DEL). He played last season with Pardubice (Czech Republic, Extraliga), getting eight points, including two goals, in 21 games, and AIK Stockholm (Sweden, Elitserien), putting up five points, three of them goals, in 23 games. . . .
D Tomas Fojtik (Portland, 2003-04) has been released by the Slough Jets (England, Premier). He had three assists in 10 games. . . .
F Ned Lukacevic (Spokane, Swift Current, 2001-06) has been released by the Tohoku Free Blades Hachinohe (Japan, Asian HL). He had seven points, including two goals, in 10 games. . . . Lukacevic has since signed with the ECHL's Bakersfield Condors.
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1. The Kootenay Ice was looking for a defenceman who could play in its top four; the Kamloops Blazers were looking for draft picks.
So general managers Jeff Chynoweth (Ice) and Craig Bonner (Blazers) got together and swapped four players and three bantam draft picks on Tuesday.
The Ice got F Tim Bozon and D Landon Cross, both 19, with the Blazers landing D Matt Thomas, 18, F Collin Shirley, 17, and the three picks -- first- and fifth-round selections in 2015 and a third-rounder in 2014.
While Bozon, a third-round pick by the Montreal Canadians in the 2012 NHL draft who has signed with the Habs, is the biggest name in the deal, the swap's genesis came on the weekend when Ice general manager Jeff Chynoweth inquired about the availability of Cross.
Chynoweth told me via text yesterday afternoon that he made the first call, inquiring "about Cross."
"It just grew from there," Chynoweth said. "We thought why not ask about Bozon, thinking he would look very good playing with (Sam) Reinhart and (Jaedon) Descheneau."
As well, Chynoweth said, "Cross gives us much needed depth on our back end."
Bozon is coming off 71- and 91-point seasons and has seven points in 13 games this season. He is an interesting study because he was born in St. Louis, while his father, Philippe, was playing with the Blues, calls Switzerland home and plays internationally for France.
Bozon had great chemistry for most of the last two seasons with forwards Colin Smith and JC Lipon, both of whom have signed NHL deals and are in the AHL. The Blazers don't have anyone who has been able to fit that well with Bozon, who has played like it. With the Ice, Bozon will get a chance to revive his role as a triggerman, this time alongside Reinhart and Descheneau.
Cross, from Brandon, was a third-round pick by Kamloops in the 2009 bantam draft. In his third full WHL season, he has 24 points in 134 regular-season games. He has turned into a solid stay-at-home defender who should enjoy playing for Ice head coach Ryan McGill.
Shirley, from Saskatoon, had 23 points, including nine goals, in 60 games last season. This season, he has three points, two of them goals, in 11 games. He was the 17th overall selection in the 2011 bantam draft.
Thomas, who was listed by the Ice prior to last season, is from Calgary. He had two assists in 66 games last season and has one in 11 outings this season.
Here's a paragraph from the Blazers' news release, which sums up their reason for making this trade: "In acquiring a first-round pick in 2015 and a third-round pick in 2014, the Blazers recoup draft picks that were traded to acquire defenceman Joel Edmundson last season and (forward) Tyson Ness this season."
The Ice is off to a 6-5-2 start, and has scored 37 goals. Reinhart and Descheneau have accounted for 16 of those, and have combined for 42 points. Yes, Chynoweth and McGill will be eager to get a look at Bozon alongside those two.
The Blazers are 4-9-0 and in a definite rebuilding/reloading mode, although they will continue to pursue a Western Conference playoff spot.
The Ice next plays Friday against the visiting Portland Winterhawks, while the Blazers are at home to the Everett Silvertips on Saturday.
The Ice is scheduled to visit Kamloops on Dec. 6.
Meanwhile, the Ice has dropped D Clint Filbrandt, 18, from its roster. He is expected to end up with a junior A team. Filbrandt was acquired from the Tri-City Americans on May 14 for a fifth-round pick in the 2015 bantam draft.
Some Twittering on the Kamloops-Kootenay swap:
From Alan Caldwell (@smallatlarge): "I'm surprised Blazers are declaring themselves as sellers so early though. I didn't think they'd drop as much from last year as they have."
From Trevor Crawley (@tcrawls) of the Cranbrook Daily Townsman: "#FunFact: Tim Bozon is the 4th @WHLKootenayICE player whose father played in the NHL (Elynuik, Reinhart & Dirk).)
From Dan Russell (@DanRussellST): "Taking page out of brother Scott's book? Last yr D Musil signified rebuild mode in Oct for Van -Craig's T Bozon deal today says same in Kam?"
From Regan Bartel (@Reganrant), the radio voice of the Kelowna Rockets: "I won't bet against Chynoweth. I mean really, have the @WHLKootenayICE ever sucked? No! Plus the little engine that could has 3 WHL titles."
From Daniel Nugent-Bowman (@DNBsports) of the Saskatoon Star-Phoenix: "Spoke with Ice GM Jeff Chynoweth about the trade. Said talks started with Landon Cross and expanded from there."

2. How did Hamilton Burger keep his job for so long?

3. When the Kamloops Blazers played the Silvertips in Everett on Saturday night, it marked a return for Mark Ferner. Fired as the Silvertips' head coach last season, he now is the Blazers' associate coach. Nick Patterson of the Everett Herald checks in with Ferner right here.

4. As I stroll the streets of downtown Vancouver, I notice that most pedestrians have only one free hand, the other carrying either a phone or a cup of coffee. (Of course, some of the more highly skilled pedastrians fill both hands.) Hilary Stout of The New York Times has more right here on our love affair with coffee. This is interesting stuff.

5. Over at the Monday Morning Quarterback website, they are spending a lot of this week with the focus on concussions in football. You should check it out right here because it's important stuff.

6. Steve Miller, an assistant coach with the Denver University Pioneers for more than 19 seasons, is flying like an eagle (sorry!) to a USHL expansion franchise that will begin play in Madison, Wis., next season. He will be the general manager and head coach in Madison. Miller starts his new job on Jan. 1.

7. If you enjoy good hockey photos, check out this spot right here. You may even be interested in purchasing a photo or two. Yes, Chris Mast is involved.

8. F Zach Jones scored with 1:05 left in the third period Tuesday night, giving the visiting Calgary Hitmen a 2-1 victory over the Kelowna Rockets. Calgary G Chris Driedger stopped 38 shots. Attendance was 4,674. . . . In Lethbridge, the Portland Winterhawks scored three first-period goals and went on to a 3-2 victory over the Hurricanes. Portland, the WHL's defending champion, has won five straight games. . . . In Kennewick, Wash., F Phil Tot scored 34 seconds into the game and added an empty-netter as the Tri-City Americans dumped the Swift Current Broncos, 4-1. The Broncos went 0-5 on their U.S. Division swing and were outscored 24-10 in the process.

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THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Rudolf Cerveny (Regina, 2007-09) and F Martin Podlesak (Tri-City, Lethbridge, 2000-02) signed one-year plus option contract extensions with Ceske Budejovice (Czech Republic, Extraliga). . . . Cerveny had three goals and two assists in 33 games with Ceske Budejovice and four assists in 11 games on loan to Mlada Boleslav (Czech Republic, 1. Liga). . . . Podlesak had five goals and two assists in 32 games with Ceske Budejovice this season. . . .

D Michael Busto (Moose Jaw, Swift Current, Kootenay, 2001-07) signed a two-year contract extension with Angers (France, Ligue Magnus). He had three goals and 11 assists in 26 games this season. Angers finished the regular season in first place and lost to Rouen in Game 7 of the final, 4-3 in overtime. . . .

F Alex Leavitt (Swift Current, Everett, 2003-06) signed a one-year contract with Oskarshamn (Sweden, Allsvenskan). He had one goal and four assists in 13 games with Medvescak Zagreb (Croatia, Austria Erste Bank Liga) and 13 goals and 35 assists in 32 games with Schwenninger Wild Wings (Germany, 2. Bundesliga) this season. . . .

F Petr Dvorak (Regina, 2002-03) signed a one-year contract extension with Cracovia Krakow (Poland, Ekstraliga). He had 15 goals and 13 assists in 32 games this season for the Polish champions. . . .

F Curtis Huppe (Medicine Hat, Lethbridge, Tri-City, 1995-2000) signed a one-year contract extension with the Guilford Flames (England Premier). He had 50 goals and 31 assists in 50 games with the English Premier champions this season.
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The USHL held Phase II of its draft last night. If you’re a fan of drafts, you have to love the USHL round-by-round. It’s right here, and if you click on a player’s name you will get his stats. Great stuff!
ushl.rinknetcloud.com/draft27.htm
Some names that caught my eye . . .

F Chris Wilkie was the second overall selection, going to the Tri-City Storm, in the the USHL draft on Tuesday evening. Wilkie, who turns 17 on July 10, has committed to North Dakota and has said he is leaving the U.S. National Team Development Program. . . . His WHL rights belong to the Victoria Royals, who selected him in the fourth round of the 2011 bantam draft. . . . The Storm plays out of Kearney, Nebraska. Wilkie is from Omaha and would become the first Nebraska native to play for the Storm should he, as expected, sign with there.

Still with the USHL draft, F Tyson McClellan, the son of San Jose Sharks head coach Todd McClellan, was picked by the Waterloo Black Hawks in the sixth round, 84th overall. Tyson, 17, has twice been in training camp with the Kamloops Blazers. . . .
Waterloo selected F Tanner MacMaster of Calgary in the fourth round, 57th overall. The Spokane Chiefs selected him in the first round, 19th overall, of the WHL’s 2011 bantam draft. He played this season with t he AJHL’s Camrose Kodiaks and has committed to Boston College. . . .

F Ryan Gropp of Kamloops was taken in the eighth round, 108th overall, by the Des Moines Buccaneers in the USHL’s draft on Tuesday evening. Gropp, who turns 17 on Sept. 16, played this season with the BCHL’s Penticton Vees. His WHL rights belong to the Seattle Thunderbirds, who selected him sixth overall in the WHL’s 2011 draft. The 6-foot-2, 180-pounder has yet to publicly declare whether he will play in the WHL or take the NCAA route.

G Dawson MacAuley, whose WHL rights were acquired Thursday by the Regina Pats, was taken by the Lincoln Stars in the 22nd round, 326th overall. . . . MacAuley, who turns 19 on June 14, is from Prince Albert. He has some WHL experience with t he Medicine Hat Tigers, but played most of this season with the SJHL-champion Yorkton Terriers. The Pats acquired MacAuley from the Calgary Hitmen for a fourth-round pick in the 2013 bantam draft.


The Dubuque Fighting Saints selected D David Quenneville of Edmonton with the last pick of the 27th round. He was selected 10th overall by the Medicine Hat Tigers in the WHL bantam draft on Thursday.
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THE COACHING GAME:
The BCHL’s Langley Rivermen have signed Jon Calvano as assistant general manager and associate coach. Calvano spent the past three years as head coach of the BCHL’s Coquitlam Express, going 92-87-3-4. . . . With the Rivermen, Calvano will work alongside GM/head coach Bobby Henderson.
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In the QMJHL, the host Baie-Comeau Drakkar scored a 3-1 victory over the Halifax Mooseheads. . . . Halifax, which now is 14-1 in these playoffs, holds a 2-1 lead with Game 4 in Baie-Comeau tonight.
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The WHL’s playoff situation:
CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL
Portland vs. Edmonton
(Portland leads, 2-1)
(All times local)
Game 1: Friday — Edmonton 4 at Portland 1 (10,097)
Game 2: Saturday — Edmonton 0 at Portland 3 (10,947)
Game 3: Tuesday — Portland 3 at Edmonton 1 (8,513)
Game 4: Today, May 8, at Edmonton, 7 p.m.
Game 5: Friday, at Portland (Rose Garden), 7 p.m.
x-Game 6: Sunday, at Edmonton, 4 p.m.
x-Game 7: Monday, May 13, at Portland (Rose Garden), 7 p.m.
x – if necessary.


All games are being televised by Shaw in Canada. They also will be televised in Portland, with Games 4, 5 and 6 on Comcast SportsNet, and Game 7 on Root Sports.
Comcast and Roots will pick up the Shaw telecast that feature play-by-play man Dan Russell, along with Bill Wilms, Peter Loubardias and Andy Neal.
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TUESDAY’S GAME:
In Edmonton, F Ty Rattie tied the WHL record for career playoff goals as the Portland Winterhawks beat the Oil Kings, 3-1. . . . Rattie scored his WHL-leading 17th goal to give Portland a 2-0 lead in the first period. That was his 47th career playoff goal, tying him with F Mark Pederson (Medicine Hat, 1983-88). . . . Rattie has played in 73 career playoff games; Pederson played in 71. . . . Rattie also leads the WHL with 33 points, in 18 games. Last season, he put up 33 points in 21 games, finishing one point behind then-teammate F Sven Baertschi. . . . The Winterhawks dominated the first period, getting goals from F Taylor Leier (8:39), Rattie (8:14) and F Oliver Bjorkstrand (15:48). . . . Portland G Mac Carruth, who lost his shutout bid when F Michael St. Croix scored at 9:13 of the second, stopped 38 shots. . . . Edmonton G Laurent Brossoit turned saide 24. . . . The Oil Kings remain without F Trevor Cheek, who has an undisclosed injury and may not play at all in the series, and D Griffin Reinhart, whose season was ended by a skate cut to a foot that required surgery.
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The Winterhawks gained at least a measure of revenge with last night’s victory, writes Evan Daum, who is covering the games in Edmonton for The Oregonian. That story is right here.
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“Maybe they had no ‘puck luck’, but the Edmonton Oil Kings fell 3-1 in Game 3 of the WHL finals at Rexall Place — and 2-1 in the series — to the Portland Winterhawks at Rexall Place on Tuesday night,” writes Dave (Crash) Cameron of the Edmonton Sun. His story is right here.
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Veteran Edmonton Sun columnist Terry Jones figures the Winterhawks “are going to be hard to stop now.” His column from Game 3 is right here.
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The Oil Kings, writes Chris O’Leary of the Edmonton Journal, “have started each game of the series progressively slower, with the results becoming increasingly predicable.” His game story is right here.
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Columnist John MacKinnon of the Edmonton Journal writes that the Oil Kings know what they want to do, but “it’s putting the plan into action that’s hanging them up.” His piece is right here.
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CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT (21):
None

CHECKING-TO-THE-HEAD COUNT (7):
None
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TWEET OF THE DAY:
From the USHL’s Chicago Steel (@ChicagoSteel): “With (its) final pick the Steel draft Jack Jablonski. Congrats @Jabs_13 on becoming a member of the Steel!”
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From Jack Jablonski (@Jabs_13): “Best night ever. #steel”

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