THE MacBETH REPORT:


 F Greg Scott (Seattle, 2005-09) signed a one-year contract with Brynäs Gävle (Sweden, Elitserien). He had 13 goals and 19 assists in 69 games with the Toronto Marlies (AHL) this season. . . .



F Martin Tomasek (Red Deer, 1996-97) signed a one-year contract with Karvina (Czech Republic, 2. Liga). Tomasek started this season by spending one week with Karvina, getting two goals and seven assists in three games, before signing with Neuilly-sur-Marne (France, Division 1), where he had 19 goals and 26 assists in 22 games. Karvina’s press release states that the contract has an escape clause should Tomasek sign with another European club, something the club expects will happen.
———

1. Kevin Constantine back with the Everett Silvertips? It could happen, according to a source who told me Wednesday night that “I've heard that this may be a done deal already.” . . . Constantine was fired by the Swiss club HC Ambri-Piotta 14 games into the 2011-12 season. He signed there in October 2010 and is under contract through 2013-14. . . . But word in hockey circles is that he has been trying to get back to this side of the pond and that he also has applied for the opening at the U of Alaska-Anchorage. . . . Constantine was the Silvertips' first head coach and was there from 2003-07.

2. The Montreal Impact and host Vancouver Whitecaps played to a 2-2 draw in a soccer game on Wednesday night. Add ’em up. That’s four goals. . . . In the NHL on Tuesday night, the Los Angeles Kings beat the visiting San Jose Sharks 2-1 in Game 7 of one series, while the host Chicago Blackhawks beat the Detroit Red Wings 2-1 in OT in a Wednesday night Game 7. . . . Yes, the NHL has a scoring problem so, please, no more soccer jokes.

3. Glen Sather, the president and general manager of the New York Rangers, fired head coach John Tortorella on Wednesday. Katie Strang of ESPNNewYork.com explains right here what happened to the fiery Tortorella and how it all went downhill.

4. Nicholas J. Cotsonika of Yahoo! Sports weighs in right here on the firing of John Tortorella by the New York Rangers. . . . “He might be a bully, but he will be back as soon as another team decides it needs a bully — a bully with a Stanley Cup ring and a Jack Adams Award as the NHL’s coach of the year,” Cotsonika writes.

5. On Tuesday, Matthew Boudreau, a forward with the Halifax Mooseheads, was getting a tattoo to commemorate his team’s Memorial Cup victory. On Wednesday, he was talking to Willy Palov of the Halifax Chronicle-Herald about having been traded to the Shawinigan Cataractes. Palov’s story is right here.

6. Things are heating up in Anchorage where the U of Alaska-Anchorage athletic director is out and he isn’t leaving quietly, suggesting that the school’s president may be “mentally ill.” And it all started with the firing of the school’s hockey coach. . . . Beth Bragg of the Anchorage Daily News has more right here.

7. Taylor Leier’s Memorial Cup didn’t go quite the way he had hoped it would. The Portland Winterhawks forward missed the last two games with a brain injury. No, he doesn’t remember that hit that hurt him. But he’s back in his hometown of Saskatoon and Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the StarPhoenix has spoken with him. That story is right here.
———
THE COACHING GAME:
Chris Lewgood is the new general manager and head coach of the SJHL’s Estevan Bruins. Lewgood, 31, has been t he head coach of the junior B Pilot Butte, Sask., Storm for the last six seasons. . . . With the Bruins, he replaces Keith Cassidy who was dropped after the season. . . . Josh Lewis of the Estevan Mercury has more right here. . . .


Derek Stuart, an assistant coach for three seasons with the AJHL’s Okotoks Oilers, has signed on as general manager and head coach of that league’s Calgary Mustangs. . . . Stuart takes over from Mario Amantea, who spent one season with the Mustangs. . . .

Dale Hladun has signed on as the general manager and head coach of the junior B Fernie Ghostriders of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League. If you’re a regular here, you’ll recall reading that Hladun left the Princeton Posse earlier this month after spending more than eight seasons there. . . . In Fernie, he takes over from Barry Wolff, who now is head coach of the BCHL’s Coquitlam Express. . . . A tip of the cap to George Hurlbut, who blogs right here. . . .

The QMJHL’s Rouyn-Noranda Huskies are looking for help after general manager and head coach Andre Tourigny accepted an offer to be an assistant coach with the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche. Of course, the Avalanche signed Patrick Roy as head coach earlier in the week. . . . Tourigny has been the Huskies’ head coach since 2003-04, missing the playoffs just once in 10 seasons.

There has never been a subscription fee for this blog, but if you enjoy stopping by here, why not consider donating to the cause? Just click HERE. . . and thank you very much.

Thursday . . .

The subject of concussions and their impact on young athletes isn’t going to go away anytime soon.
In fact, it has become a story with legs, as they say.
On Wednesday, USA TODAY ran an editorial that carried this headline:
Who needs concussion laws? 1.2 million young football players
That editorial is right here.
———
On Thursday, USA TODAY, on its op-ed page, carried a piece headlined:
Risk a child’s brain for football?
This piece was written by Katherine Chretien, who is an associate professor of medicine at George Washington University. She touches on the questions and the unknowns involving young people and concussions.
Her essay is right here.
———
Keep in mind that USA TODAY has a daily circulation of 1.83 million, which translates to something like 6 million daily readers.
———
THE COACHING GAME: The QMJHL’s Rouyn-Noranda Huskies have signed GM/head coach Andre Tourigny to a three-year deal. . . .
Rob Vanstone of the Regina Leader-Post takes a look at the Regina Pats’ coaching situation, after the team swept two assistant coaches out the door on Wednesday. That piece is right here. . . .
Might Craig Hartsburg be the next head coach of the NHL’s Minnesota Wild? Hartsburg, the head coach of the Everett Silvertips, says he hasn’t heard from the Wild. Fox Sports has that story right here.
———
The Portland Winterhawks will celebrate a milestone Saturday night as they play host to the Spokane Chiefs in Game 5 of the Western Conference final. Prior to the game, the Winterhawks will welcome the one millionth fan in team playoff history. . . . At present, they are 2,108 fans shy of reaching 1,000,000. . . . According to a news release from the Winterhawks, “The lucky fan . . . will receive season tickets to the Winterhawks’ 2011-12 season, a team autographed jersey and will present the three stars at the conclusion of Saturday’s Game 5.” . . . The Winterhawks take a 2-1 lead into Game 4 tonight in Spokane.
———
The winner of the Western Conference final will meet the Kootenay Ice in the WHL championship series. The Ice completed a sweep of the Medicine Hat Tigers on Wednesday night. . . . The Ice played that game without F Steele Boomer and F Drew Czerwonka. Boomer suffered a concussion in Game 1 and sat out the last three games. Czerwonka got a stretcher ride off the ice in Game 3 after falling awkwardly into the boards. He was cleared to play in Game 4 but general soreness kept him out. . . . Ice GM Jeff Chynoweth told me Thursday “both Steele and Drew should be ready for Games 1 and 2 and there also is a possibility that Brock Montgomery also will be back. We miss all three of them.” Montgomery has been out with mononucleosis. . . . The WHL final could start May 6 in Portland or Spokane, with Games 3 and 4 in Cranbrook on May 10 and 11. That is strictly tentative, however.
———
The ECHL’s Victoria Salmon Kings, who are a dead team skating, head home from Anchorage trailing the Aces 2-0 after dropping a 4-3 overtime decision on Thursday night. . . . F Wes Goldie, who left the Salmon Kings over the summer despite being one of their most popular players, scored the winner at 2:15 of OT. . . . The Aces opened the Western Conference final Wednesday with a 2-1 victory, scoring the winner with nine seconds left in the third period. . . . The series resumes in Victoria with games on Saturday, Monday and, if necessary, Wednesday. . . . The Salmon Kings' fate has yet to be announced, but their owner, Vancouver-based RG Properties, has purchased the Chilliwack Bruins and is moving the WHL team to the B.C. capital.
———
Doug McConachie, a former sports editor of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix, died Wednesday morning after what ended up being a one-sided scrap with pancreatic cancer. McConachie was one of the last of the old breed of newspapermen. There aren’t too many of us left who remember what a typewriter sounded like, never mind what hot metal means (or used to mean). . . . Kevin Mitchell, today the sports editor at The StarPhoenix, remembers McConachie — or McDoug, as some of us called him — right here. . . . And why do I think McDoug is somewhere skiing or fishing right now?

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
     
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
     
Taking Note on Twitter