THE MacBETH REPORT:
D Benn Olson (Kamloops, Seattle, 2004-08) signed a one-year contract extension with the Coventry Blaze (England, UK Elite). He had three goals and 12 assists in 53 games with the Blaze and led the league in PIM with 392, including 19 fighting majors. That total was 126 minutes more than the runner-up. Coventry director of hockey operations Paul Thompson: “Benn is the toughest guy in the league but he is also one hell of a defenceman. Benn ticks all the boxes, he is hugely popular with the fans and the league needs characters like him. He fills opposing rinks too, not just ours. We knew Benn was tough, he has that in abundance, but we also knew he could play. He got better as the season went on and had a lot of responsibility. I think he was under-rated by a lot of people in the league — but certainly not by us. He is still young but he is smart and he has been a rock-solid acquisition for us.” . . .

F Levi Nelson (Swift Current, 2004-08) was one of seven players who were told that they wouldn’t be offered contracts for next season by Grizzly Adams Wolfsburg (Germany, DEL). Nelson started the season as captain of the Bakersfield Condors (ECHL), getting 10 goals and 14 assists in 32 games before being traded on Dec. 31 to the Greenville Road Warriors. Nelson had three goals and three assists in Greenville before joining Wolfsburg on Jan. 31, where he had one goal and one assist in 11 regular-season games and two goals and three assists in 12 playoff games.
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JUST NOTES:
The boys are back in town in Saskatoon. Yes, the Blades, the host team for the 2013 Memorial Cup, are back and were on the ice Monday for the first time since they were swept from a first-round series by the Medicine Hat Tigers. . . . F Erik Benoit (knee), who missed all of that first-round series, will be ready by the time the Memorial Cup gets here. Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix reports that Benoit is skating by himself and should be practising inside of 10 days. . . . Nugent-Bowman also reports that D Shayne Gwinner “has been sent home and is no longer a member of the” Blades. Gwinner, who had been picked up from the Prince Albert Raiders for a fifth-round selection in the 2014 bantam draft, had eight points in 19 regular-season games. . . . Nugent-Bowman’s story is right here.
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D Mathew Dumba of the Red Deer Rebels has joined the Houston Aeros, the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Minnesota Wild. . . . The Wild selected Dumba with the seventh overall pick of the NHL’s 2012 draft. He had 42 points in 62 regular-season games with the Rebels this season.
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The Everett Silvertips, who just completed their 10th WHL season, have signed a five-year lease with Comcast Arena that will run through the 2017-18 season. According to a news release: “The new five-year renewal comes on the heels of the club’s initial lease agreement, which spanned 10 seasons since the inception of the Silvertips and the construction of Comcast Arena at Everett in 2003.” . . . The Silvertips have made the playoffs in each of their 10 seasons in the WHL.
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Three former players with the Brandon Wheat Kings, a one-time head coach of the Moose Jaw Warriors and a former head coach of the Winnipeg Warriors are among the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame’s 2013 inductees. . . . Mike Ford, Bill Mikkelson and Vaughn Karpan, all of whom played for the Wheat Kings, will be among the inductees at the annual dinner on Oct. 5, as will former Moose Jaw head coach Gerry James, who was a tremendous athlete and played for the CFL’s Winnipeg Blue Bombers and NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs, and Bruce Southern, a longtime scout who once coached the Winnipeg Warriors before they relocated to Moose Jaw. . . . Also going into the hall will be former players Bill Watson and the late Ed Hoekstra, along with builders Wayne Fleming and Wayne Chernecki, both of whom will be inducted posthumously. . . . Others to be inducted are referee Ian Heather, builder Don MacKenzie, St. James Canucks founder Tom Miller, on-ice official Bob Thompson, veteran coach Al Tresoor and the 2003 Île-des-Chênes North Stars, the 2003 Allan Cup champions.
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The Bentley Generals opened the Allan Cup tournament with a 2-0 victory over the Rosetown Red Wings on Monday at the Red Deer Arena. . . . The second goal came off the stick of G Dan Bakala, a 25-year-old Calgary native who played three seasons at Bemidji State. . . . Here’s Greg Meachem, the sports editor of the Red Deer Advocate: “With the Bentley Generals clinging to a late 1-0 lead, Bakala steadied a puck in front of the net and lifted the rubber over oncoming traffic, all the way down the ice and into the vacated Rosetown Redwings goal to seal a 2-0 win in the Allan Cup opener for both teams.” . . . Former Kelowna Rockets G Kelly Guard was in goal for Rosetown.
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THE COACHING GAME:
Leland Mack has left the major midget Greater Vancouver Canadians after four years. The Canadians play in the B.C. Major Midget Hockey League. . . . Mack now is the head coach of the Burnaby Winter Club’s U-16 academy team. . . .
Mark Osiecki was fired Monday as head coach of the Ohio State Buckeyes. According to athletic director Gene Smith, the decision was made because of “a difference of opinion over the management of the program that could not be resolved.” . . . Assistant coach Steve Rohlik now is running the program until a replacement is hired. . . . Osiecki was the Buckeyes’ head coach for three seasons, going 46-50-16. . . . There already is speculation that Ohio State will hire former U of Denver head coach George Gwozdecky. . . .
Jim Montgomery, the general manager and head coach of the USHL’s Dubuque Fighting Saints, is the new head coach of the U of Denver Pioneers. . . . Montgomery is completing his third season with Dubuque and will take over the Pioneers once the USHL season is over. . . . Montgomery has a 118-45-21 regular-season record with Dubuque, where the Fighting Saints won the Clark Cup as playoff champions in 2010-11, their inaugural season.
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The WHL’s playoff situation:
EASTERN CONFERENCE
THIRD ROUND
Edmonton (1) vs. Calgary (3)
Series opens Thursday in Edmonton; all games on Shaw TV.
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WESTERN CONFERENCE
THIRD ROUND
Portland (1) vs. Kamloops (3)
Series opens Friday in Portland.
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MONDAY’S GAMES:
No games scheduled.
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CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT (16):
None

CHECKING-TO-THE-HEAD COUNT (5):
None
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From Shawn Mullin (@shawnmullin), the radio voice of the Swift Current Broncos: “Congrats to Adam Lowry on getting his deal done with the Winnipeg Jets. He’s a safe bet to play in the NHL but what is his ceiling?”

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THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Jannik Hansen (Portland, 2005-06) signed a lockout contract with Tappara Tampere (Finland, SM-Liiga). He had 16 goals and 23 assists in 82 games with the Vancouver Canucks last season. Hansen arrived in Finland on Tuesday and will be in Tappara's lineup Thursday against KalPa Kuopio. . . .
D Brendan Mikkelson (Portland, Vancouver, 2003-07) signed a lockout contract with Västerås (Sweden, Allsvenskan). He had three goals and 12 assists in 33 games with the Abbotsford Heat (AHL) and one goal and two assists with the Tampa Bay Lightning last season. Mikkelson is expected to join the club, which includes fellow NHL locked-out players F Mikael Backlund (Kelowna, 2008-09) and F Patrik Berglund in time for Thursday's game against Mora. Mikkelson's signing puts Västerås one over the limit of two non-EU players allowed per team, the other two being Brady Leisenring and David Lundbohm, both Americans. Västerås GM Niklas Johansson says: "We are fully aware and have a plan we will follow. It's no secret that our great need right now is on the back end." Leisenring and Lundbohm are both forwards, with Leisenring having eight goals and seven assists in 13 games to lead the team in scoring so far this season. Lundbohm just returned from a loan to TuTo Turku (Finland, Mestis), where he had five goals and five assists in 15 games, and has yet to play a game for Västerås this season. . . .
F Joffrey Lupul (Medicine Hat, 2000-03) signed a lockout contract with Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg (Russia, KHL). He had 25 goals and 42 assists in 66 games with Toronto Maple Leafs last season. . . .
F Brett McLean (Tacoma/Kelowna, Brandon, 1994-99) signed a one-year contract extension with Lugano (Switzerland, NL A). He has four goals and seven assists in 17 games with Lugano this season. McLean signed a one-year extension with Lugano in March after joining the club in January from the Rockford Ice Hogs (AHL). The current extension now ties McLean to Lugano through the end of next season.
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Here’s a little extra from The MacBeth Report, who writes that he “came across this little bit from Greg Wyshynski (Puck Daddy). A fan went after Benn Olson after the game between Coventry and Cardiff in Cardiff on Sunday. Olson and Mike Egener, both with Coventery, are involved.”
Olson and Egener are former WHLers.
The video is right here.
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TUESDAY’S GAMES:
F Shane McColgan scored on the PP to break a 2-2 tie and give the visiting Saskatoon Blades a 3-2 victory over the Regina Pats. . . . Regina F Lane Scheidl pulled the Pats even at 12:10, only to have McColgan score his third goal of the season 53 seconds later. . . . Scheidl also scored a first-period PP goal that ended a Blades’ run of 22 consecutive successful kills. . . . Saskatoon G Andrew Makarov made his ninth straight start. . . . The Blades had a 10-day layoff prior to this game. . . . Regina has lost three straight games now. . . . The Pats lost freshman D Colby Williams in the first period after he took a hit to the head and suffered a deep cut. . . .

In Prince Albert, F Leon Draisaitl scored the only goal of the circus as the Raiders beat the Swift Current Broncos, 2-1. . . . Draisaitl scored his third goal of the season, at 2:47 of the third, via the PP, to tie the score 1-1. . . . A 17-year-old from Cologne, Germany, Draisaitl had three assists in a 5-1 victory over the Moose Jaw Warriors on Saturday. His mother and sister have been in attendance at his last two games. . . . Prince Albert G Luke Siemens improved to 9-3-2 with a 30-save effort . . . The Broncos have played 11 games against East Division and have lost six of them. However, they got loser points in five of those so are 5-1-5, which is a .682 winning percentage. . . . Dave Leaderhouse of the Prince Albert Herald reports that the Raiders scratched F Dakota Conroy, D Shayne Gwinner and F Davis Vandane, all of whom were “suspended for violating team rules.” . . .

F Nathan Burns scored the only goal of the circus as the Vancouver Giants beat the Hurricanes 4-3 in Lethbridge. . . . Burns was the only one of eight shooters to score. . . . Vancouver F Dalton Sward forced OT with his third goal of the season at 19:10 of the third. . . .  F Marek Tvrdon had two assists as he ran his point streak to a career-best nine games. . . . Vancouver G Liam Liston, who played 24 games with the Hurricanes last season, stopped 26 shots for his first victory this season. He’s 1-6-0. . . . F Russell Maxwell had his 11th goal and two assists for Lethbridge. He has 19 points after totalling 31 points, including 15 goals, in 72 games last season. . . .

F Colin Smith scored the only goal of the circus to give the Kamloops Blazers a 3-2 victory over the Silvertips in Everett. . . . The victory allowed the Blazers to set a franchise record for consecutive victories (14). . . . The Blazers are 16-0-1 and remain the CHL’s only team not have been beaten in regulation time. . . . Everett F Ryan Harrison scored his club’s first goal and it was his 200th career regular-season point. . . . The last WHL team to win 14 in a row? Everett and the Kootenay Ice did it in 2009-10. The Edmonton Oil Kings went on a 22-game run last season that overlapped with the playoffs.

D Mike Aviani had two goals and two assists to lead the host Spokane Chiefs to an 8-2 victory over the Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . Aviani has 10 goals this season. . . . Chiefs D Brenden Kichton scored his club’s seventh goal — it was his 50th career goal and 200th point. . . . Spokane D Tyler King had a goal and two assists. . . . Spokane F Todd Fiddler scored his ninth and 10th goals. . . . The Chiefs are 7-0-0 at home and 11-5-0 overall.
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CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
D Sam Grist, Kamloops

CHECKING-TO-THE-HEAD COUNT:
F Tanner Moar, Vancouver.
F Jackson Houck, Vancouver.
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TWEET OF THE DAY:
From WHL fan Terry Massey (@TerryMassey): “Dear @whl why do the pucks keep breaking? #cheap #noslapshotsrestofthegame #rubberpuckshereonin”
This was after two pucks broke just seconds apart during the first period of last night’s game in Regina.
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From Dan Russell (@DanRussellCKNW): “Can a WHL win in October be classified as ‘huge’??? If so, that was a huge win for Saskatoon tonight in Regina.”

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THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Dylan Stanley (Tri-City, 2000-05) signed a one-year contract with EV Bozen 84 Bolzano (Italy, Serie A2). He had 18 goals and 34 assists in 21 games with Bad Nauheim (Germany, Oberliga) last season. . . .
D Benn Olson (Kamloops, Seattle, 2004-08) signed a one-year contract with the Coventry Blaze (England, UK Elite). Olson played with four teams last season, getting one goal in 17 games with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers (AHL), one goal in nine games with the Ontario Reign (ECHL), and going pointless in one game with the Houston Aeros (AHL) and 11 games with the Alaska Aces (ECHL). . . .
F Wacey Rabbit (Saskatoon, Vancouver, 2001-07) signed a one-year contract with Lørenskog (Norway, GET-Ligaen). He had two goals and 12 assists in 71 games with the San Antonio Rampage (AHL) and four assists in three games with the Cincinnati Cyclones (ECHL) last season. . . .
F Vitali Karamnov (Everett, 2007-08) signed a one-year contract with Lev Prague (Czech Republic, KHL). He had 17 goals and 10 assists in 53 games with VMF St. Petersburg (Russia, Vysshaya Liga) last season. . . .
F Igor Valeyev (Lethbridge, Saskatoon, Swift Current, 1998-2000) signed a one-year contract with Buran Voronezh (Russia, Vysshaya Liga). He had seven goals and seven assists in 30 games for Kazzinc-Torpedo Ust-Kamenogorsk (Kazakhstan, Russia Vysshaya Liga) and one assist in one game with Kazzinc-Torpedo-2 Ust-Kamenogorsk (Kazakhstan, Kazakhstan Vysshaya Liga) last season.
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Cascadia Sports Systems of Port Moody, B.C., has finished installing new acrylic glass in Credit Union Centre, the home of the Saskatoon Blades and the host building for the 2013 Memorial Cup.
Mal Paterson, co-owner of Cascadia Sports Systems, tells Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix that the key to his company's design is that each pane of glass is eight feet wide, doubling the conventional width. Paterson said the posts that divide the glass can bend up to five feet.
The buildings in Calgary, Edmonton, Portland and Vancouver also feature acrylic glass.
Nugent-Bowman’s story is right here.
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F Scott MacDonald, who played one season with the Chilliwack Bruins (2008-09) and two with the Everett Silvertips (2009-11), will play next season with the UBC Thunderbirds under head coach Milan Dragicevic. MacDonald had 66 points in 192 regular-season WHL games before playing last season with the USHL’s Waterloo Black Hawks, who lost the championship final to the Green Bay Gamblers. He had 31 points in 49 regular-season games with Waterloo.
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THE COACHING GAME:
The ECHL’s Idaho Steelheads are poised to introduce Brad Ralph as their new head coach on Saturday. He will replace Hardy Sauter who was let go after the season. Ralph has spent the last two seasons as head coach of the Southern Professional league’s Augusta RiverHawks. . . .
Fred Harbinson, the general manager and head coach of the BCHL’s Penticton Vees, has agreed to a five-year contract extension that takes him through 2018-19. Harbinson led the Vees to a BCHL-record 54 victories and the RBC Cup last season. . . . Harbinson has completed five seasons with the Vees. . . . Last season, the club set BCHL records for victories (54) and points (110). . . . Harbinson told Fraser Rodgers, the team’s radio voice, that assistant coaches Steve Cawley, Mike Hengen and Matt Sells will be back for 2012-13. . . .
Bill Bestwick, who was out of hockey last season and calls it the worst winter of his life, is back, this time as head coach of the BCHL’s Victoria Grizzlies. The team also has a new majority owner, meaning that Len Barrie is out.
Mario Annicchiarico of the Victoria Times Colonist has more right here.
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This is just too good to pass up. The crazy bunch at MAD magazine has prepared a plaque just in case Roger Clemens gets elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. It is right here.
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TWEET OF THE DAY:
From former Edmonton Oil Kings F Tyler Maxwell (@KingMaxymus23): “Goodbye California. I am leaving you for Austria. Maybe when I get back I will run for Governor.”
Maxwell, who played out his junior eligibility last season with the WHL-champion Oil Kings, has signed with Red Bull Salzburg, the Austrian league team that is coached by Pierre Pagé.

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Friday . . .

You have to think that things are out of control in the NHL when teams like the Florida Panthers, Buffalo Sabres and Columbus Blue Jackets are driving the free-agent market.
And when some teams are spending like drunken sailors just to get to the salary cap floor you only can shake your head and wonder how we will react a year from now when owners are involved in CBA negotiations and pleading poverty.
Bizarre, or what?
Sheesh, the Dallas Stars, who don’t even have an owner, signed five players, spending almost US$20 million in the process.
All told, teams spent more than $260 million and, you’re right, F Brad Richards has yet to sign. When he does, likely this morning, that will take the total to more than $300 million; in fact, more than $320 million.
If major junior players need motivation, all they have to do is remember that 20 goals and 50 points in the same season now will get you at last $4 million per season in The Show.
I didn’t follow the free-agent frenzy on TV; instead, I kept pace, or tried to, via Twitter.
Here, then, are some of my favourite tweets (the last one features the day's best statistics):
From: @Proteautype
Sent: Jul 1, 2011 4:13p
Some say NHLers are overpaid; compared to the real world, of course they are. But Gary Bettman makes $7+ million a yr. Perspective, people.
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From: @Russostrib
Sent: Jul 1, 2011 4:02p
Christian Ehrhoff makes $1.3 million more than Sidney Crosby next year. These next labor talks should be a doozy
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From: @DamoSpin
Sent: Jul 1, 2011 3:06p
RT @yyzsportsmedia: Panthers prez sounds pretty giddy today.  Guarantee he will site to today as a key reason when he eventually fires talon years from now
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From: @DarrenDreger
Kris Versteeg doesn't have a twitter acct, so he asked me to post this quote," I'm takin my toe drag to south beach". Not much else to say.
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From: @dshoalts
Sent: Jul 1, 2011 3:21p
Serious problem with priorities here. RT @darrenrovell: Avg US consumer drank 476 cans of soda and 243 bottles of beer in 2010.
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THE COACHING GAME:
Colin O’Hara is expected to be named the new head coach of the BCHL’s Salmon Arm SilverBacks. He was the club’s associate coach last season. Prior to that, he was the GM/head coach of the SJHL’s Nipawin Hawks until resigning on Feb. 10, 2010 with the club in last place in the Bauer Conference. O’Hara, who had a year left on his contract when he left Nipawin, will replace Tim Kehler, who resigned earlier this week with two years left on a three-year contract signed July 1, 2010.
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JUST NOTES: In the middle of Friday’s free-agent silliness, the St. Louis Blues announced that they have signed F Cody Beach of the Moose Jaw Warriors to a three-year contract. He was a fifth-round pick by the Blues in the NHL’s 2010 draft. . . . The Tampa Bay Lightning announced the signing of Prince George Cougars F Brett Connolly, something that you read about here a couple of weeks back. Connolly was the sixth overall selection in the 2010 NHL draft. For details on Connolly's contract or, for that matter, any of the other myriad of deals that were signed on Friday, head on over to capgeek.com. . . . F Colin Smith of the Kamloops Blazers, another player who wasn’t selected in the NHL draft, will attend the Edmonton Oilers’ prospect camp next week. He is from Edmonton. . . . D Benn Olson (Kamloops, Seattle, 2004-08) has signed a one-year deal with the AHL’s Bridgeport Sound Tigers. Last season, Olson, 24, played with the ECHL’s Cincinnati Cyclones (43-1-3—4-153), the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals (1-0-0—0-0) and Bridgeport (17-0-3—3-78).
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Former WHL D Victor Bartley continues to chase the NHL dream. Check out this story by Robert Mangelsdorf of the Maple Ridge News.
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It looks as though the U.S. college hockey scene is in for a seismic change. The Big Ten Hockey Conference is scheduled to begin play in 2013-14 and a lot of schools with big-time hockey programs now are exploring their options.
Brad Elliott Scholssman of the Grand Forks Herald has more right here.

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
     
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