McLellan gold and new job . . . Former Chiefs star on fire . . . Rimouski wins QMJHL title

This is the first time a country has held the Olympic, World Junior and the World Championship gold at the same time👌 pic.twitter.com/BOWPTUFEeH

— Hockey Posts™ (@HockeyPosts) May 18, 2015

With apologies to Blackie Sherrod, we’re scattershooting on a Monday evening:

1. O Canada!

2. It was great to see head coach Todd McLellan guide Canada to a gold medal at the IIHF World championship in Czech Republic over the past few weeks. Hockey can be a cruel business but, even by those standards, he really got stiffed by the San Jose Sharks. He’ll get over it as the head coach of Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers (aka Young Guns).

3. It also was great to see Bill Peters win gold in Czech Republic too. Peters, always a straight shooter, is a former head coach of the Spokane Chiefs, who now is head coach of the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes.

4. How do you feel if you’re a season-ticket holder with the Prince Albert Raiders? First, a couple of the WHL’s premier players moved from the Raiders to the Kelowna Rockets, with thanks to the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers. The Rockets then went on to win the WHL championship, with one of those players named the playoff MVP. The Raiders, of course, didn’t make the playoffs and, on top of all that, the WHL commissioner has told the world that “in order for the Prince Albert Raiders to be viable long term, a new facility is required.” . . . Other than that, Raiders fans, how has your month been?

5. This WHL offseason just might be worth watching, what with the Medicine Hat Tigers not yet having a lease to play in that city’s new building, the Regina Pats’ owners scrapping with their landlord, the WHL hinting that Prince Albert needs a new arena or else, the WHL leaning on Lethbridge Hurricanes’ shareholders to sell to private interests, the WHL pretty much telling Kootenay Ice fans to show up in 2015-16 or else. . . .

6. If Canadian hockey fans ever wondered how much respect the NHL has for them, it was most evident when the Eastern Conference final opened with a Saturday day game. To the NHL, the tradition of Hockey Night in Canada is nothing more than chopped liver.

7. If you are watching an NHL playoff game, please don’t start whining about the number of penalties being called. Please don’t start begging the referees to “let them play.” Please plead with the referees to call the game by the rule book.

8. In Tyler Johnson’s last two seasons with the Spokane Chiefs, he was the best faceoff man and best penalty killer I had seen in a long while. But who knew the Tampa Bay Lightning star would be able to score like this at the NHL level? . . . If you missed it, he had the first playoff hat trick in Lightning history last night in a 6-2 victory over the Rangers in New York. He leads all playoff scorers in goals (11) and points (16). His 11 goals are four more than anyone else.

9. Chris Peters, the hockey writer at cbssports.com, has a good piece right here on Tyler Johnson and all that went on last night.

10. With the governor of Washington state having signed a bill designating WHL players as amateur athletes and non-employees, someone is going to have to explain to me how that works. After all, hasn’t the NCAA proclaimed WHL players as professionals? . . . Hey, perhaps things would be different if WHL players employed advisors and not agents.
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D Nolan Yonkman (Kelowna, Brandon, 1996-2001) signed a one-year contract with JYP Jyvaskyla (Finland, Liiga). This season, with the Adirondack Flames (AHL), he had two goals and 10 assists in 65 games. He was the team captain.
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It was a long weekend in Canada — thank you, Queen Victoria — and still no decision from F Auston Matthews. Matthews, who turns 18 on Sept. 17, is from Scottsdale, Ariz., and he is a game-changer. . . . His WHL rights belong to the Everett Silvertips, who selected him in the third round of the 2012 bantam draft. . . . Matthews is said to be deciding between Everett, the ZSC Lions, a Swiss pro team based in Zurich, and an NCAA school. I’m thinking the NCAA is out, so it’s between Everett and Lions. . . . One thing is for certain: Everett GM Garry Davidson says that, regardless of what you may have heard, the Matthews camp hasn’t asked the Silvertips to trade his WHL rights. . . . Nick Patterson of the Everett Herald has more right here.
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Jay Inslee, the governor of Washington state, signed Senate Bill 5893 on Monday. That bill designates players on the WHL’s four Washington teams as amateur athletes and non-employees. That exempts the players from laws requiring employees be paid at least the minimum wage.
Jim Camden of the Spokane Spokesman-Revew has more right here.
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The second-round AHL series between the Utica Comets and Oklahoma City Barons will be decided in Game 7 on Wednesday. The Barons won 2-1 at home last night, so Game 7 will be in Utica. . . . F Jake Virtanen of the Calgary Hitmen made his pro debut with the Comets in that game. The Vancouver Canucks selected him with the sixth overall pick in the NHL’s 2014 draft.
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The host Rimouski Oceanic won the QMJHL championship on Monday, beating the Quebec Remparts 2-1 in double OT. . . . F Michael Joly’s 12th goal of the playoffs, via a PP, won the game, at 2:13 of the second OT period before 5,062 fans. . . . Rimouski G Philippe Desrosiers stopped 47 shots. . . . The Oceanic also won Game 6 in OT, that one by a 5-4 count. . . . With the Remparts as the host team for the Memorial Cup, both teams knew prior to the start of the series that both teams would play in the tournament.
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Here is the Memorial Cup schedule (all games on Sportsnet; all times Eastern):
Friday, May 22: Kelowna vs. Quebec, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, May 23: Rimouski vs. Oshawa, 4:30 p.m.
Sunday, May 24: Quebec vs. Oshawa, 4:30 p.m.
Monday, May 25: Rimouski vs. Kelowna, 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday, May 26: Oshawa vs. Kelowna, 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday, May 27: Quebec vs. Rimouski, 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, May 28: Tiebreaker, if necessary, 7:30 p.m.
Friday, May 29: Semifina, 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, May 31: Championship game, TBA
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THE COACHING GAME:

The NHL’s Colorado Avalanche lost two assistant coaches on Monday with the resignations of Mario Duhamel and André Tourigny. . . . Duhamel, the video coach, completed two seasons under head coach Patrick Roy with the Avalanche. Prior to that, Duhamel was the head coach of the QMJHL’s Drummondville Voltigeurs for four seasons. . . . Tourigny, who handled the defence, also spent two seasons with Colorado. Before that, he spent 10 seasons as head coach of the QMJHL’s Rouyn-Noranda Huskies.
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The U of North Dakota promoted assistant coach Brad Berry to head coach on Monday, just moments after the NHL’s Philadelphia Flyers announced that Dave Hakstol would be their next head coach. Hakstol had been UND’s head coach for 11 seasons . . . Berry and Kamloops Blazers GM Craig Bonner are friends and it wasn’t that long ago when Berry was in the running to be the Blazers’ head coach. Before it got to that, however, Berry asked that his name be taken out of consideration.
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The NHL’s Phoenix Coyotes cleaned house in Portland, Me., on Monday, as they dumped a whole lot of people from hockey operations with their AHL affiliate, the Pirates. . . . Chris Roy of Maine Hockey Journal reported that Ray Edwards, the GM and head coach, has been fired, along with assistant coaches John Slaney and Trent Whitfield. . . . The Pirates, who lost out in the first round of the playoffs, also dumped athletic therapist Bike Booi, equipment manager John Krouse, video coach Alex Loh and assistant equipment manager Joe Morse. . . . The Pirates are to move to Springfield, Mass., before the start of next season.
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I believe Tyler Johnson is 5'8, he just scored his 3rd goal of the game, all G's a combined distance of 2 feet from the crease #gotothenet

— Chris Clark (@clarkyhockey) May 19, 2015

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Rebels: To bid, or not to bid . . .

F Chris St. Jacques (Medicine Hat, 1999-2004) signed a one-year contract with Sterzing/Vipiteno (Italy, Serie A). Last season, with the Bietigheim Steelers (Germany, DEL2), he had 61 points, including 24 goals, in 50 games.
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If a WHL team is interested in playing host to the 2016 Memorial Cup tournament, it has to make its intentions known by July 15.
The Vancouver Giants have made it clear that they are interested, and the Red Deer Rebels also have an interest.
However, Brent Sutter, the owner, general manager and head coach of the Rebels, has told Greg Meachem, the sports editor of the Red Deer Advocate, that he is testing the wind before becoming fully involved.
You could say it’s a textbook case of ‘once burned, twice shy’ if you wish.
“When you’re a mid-sized franchise, you need to know where the league is at with the dynamics of having to compete against large-market teams,” Sutter told Meachem. “When you look at the bid for the (2013) Memorial Cup, we put a lot of time into that — eight months worth — and a lot of people were pretty disappointed when we didn’t get it. People not just in our organization, but (in) the community and the province.
“The due diligence is really important. We never had an opportunity to host it the last time simply because we got outbid by a team that had a 14,000-seat arena and with all provincial money behind it. Their bid was significantly higher than our bid, but we had gone as far as we could for a midsize-market team.”
The 2013 Memorial Cup was played in Saskatoon, the Blades winning the right to play host to it with a bid that included a guarantee backed by the Saskatchewan government.
As Meachem wrote, “The (Rebels) will not bid . . . if a large-market team enters the process with financial backing that’s impossible to match, unless there’s an understanding that money will not be the determining bottom line.”
As for Red Deer’s bid for the 2013 event, Meachem added: “The Rebels felt at the time that their bid turned out to be a colossal waste of human resources when the Blades’ package featured perhaps $1 million more in financial guarantees and a 14,000-seat facility to boot.
“And so, it came down to dollars and cents, with the majority of league governors voting for Saskatoon and a larger windfall as their respective share of the pot that was the Blades’ financial guarantee/potential tournament profits.”
Interestingly, WHL commissioner Ron Robison appeared in front of Lethbridge city council on April 28 and, when asked about that city’s chances of playing host to the Memorial Cup at some point in the future, he replied:
“Maybe I can tell you a little bit more after our June (annual) meeting because we have some recommendations in front of our board of governors at that time which I think are going to change the course of our selection process for the Memorial Cup.
“I’m a believer that every community that meets the criteria that we have for hosting events of this magnitude should get that opportunity to host the event.
“Quite frankly, my view of it is that it is driven by the quality of the hockey program. It comes back to the hockey program because in order to generate excitement in the community you need a quality team. In the particular case of hosting the Memorial Cup, you need a team that is a championship-calibre team, first and foremost.
“Secondly, then you have to look at why have we gone to certain locations in recent years and why has the World Junior Championship moved to major markets like Toronto and Montreal? It’s because of economics, no question, and it’s because of provincial governments, quite frankly, stepping in and providing significant financial support for those events.
“If I have my way, it’s going to be a hockey-driven decision next time . . . not just the largest venue or the best economic offer that we have on the table.”
So what happened at that annual meeting last week in Vancouver?
Sutter told Meachem that the topic was discussed and, Meachem wrote, “Sutter came away with the feeling that at least some governors would be willing to make the almighty dollar a lower priority in the final selection process.”
“Our (2015-16) team should be good and that has to be a priority in the selection process,” Sutter told Meachem. “And that’s where the dynamics lie. Hockey should always be the No. 1 priority — what type of team will you have and will you have the assets to get your team to where it needs to be?
“I know the league office certainly doesn’t want to see the Memorial Cup always staged in a large market. It’s not good for the league, it’s just not a positive thing. That being said, I fully respect all the governors and their mindsets.
“I just have to have more of a comfortable feeling from the league. I just need to get a feeling from (Robison) that yes, Red Deer could have an opportunity to host.
“As long as we have a chance then I have no problem with it, but to do the work that we and Kelowna did the last time and then lose to a financial bid that blew us out of the water . . . . it’s tough to compete in that environment and I just don’t want to put people through it if at the end of the day you have no chance.
“We’ll see what happens in the next two to three weeks, but as of now our intentions are to bid for the 2016 Memorial Cup.”
The Memorial Cup hasn’t been played in Alberta since 1974 when the Regina Pats won a three-team tournament that was played in the Calgary Corral.
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1. Followers of the Portland Winterhawks may be sweating a bit as the Vancouver Canucks’ field of coaching candidates narrows. There are rumblings from some corners of the Vancouver media that Willie Desjardins is the leading candidate to replace the fired John Tortorella. However, Desjardins, the former Medicine Hat Tigers’ GM/head coach who guided the Texas Stars to the AHL title, may well end up with the Pittsburgh Penguins. . . . According to a tweet from Elliotte Friedman of Hockey Night in Canada: “PIT interviewed him by phone Wednesday, now bringing him in. That's a quick-moving romance.” . . . Should Desjardins go to the Penguins, that might move Mike Johnston, the Winterhawks’ GM/head coach, to the top, or near the top, of the Canucks’ list. Johnston has some history in Vancouver, too, having worked for the Canucks as an assistant and associate coach. . . . Dan Bylsma, who was fired the other day as head coach of the Penguins, also has been interviewed for the Canucks’ job. But he may end up with the Florida Panthers. Or will the Panthers sign Gerard Gallant, an assistant coach with the Montreal Canadiens? . . . What this all means is that the guessing games in the media will continue for another day or two, and Portland fans will continue to hold their collective breath.

2. The Saskatoon Blades have promoted Steve Hildebrand from trainer to assistant general manager. Hildebrand spent 13 seasons on the Blades’ training staff. He also spent time with the SJHL’s Flin Flon Bombers, the AHL’s Manitoba Moose and the U of Manitoba Bisons. . . . According to a news release from the Blades: “Hildebrand's role will include helping manage and track the players on the Blades’ 50-man protected list, and taking care of team travel arrangements, contracts and league paperwork, while also watching players at all levels including bantam, midget, junior A and the WHL.” . . . The Blades also announced the hiring of James McDonald as their athletic therapist. He spent the past two seasons as the trainer/equipment manager with the BCHL’s Alberni Valley Bulldogs. . . . Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix has more right here.

3. For the first time since 1995, Ron Rumball no longer is the general manager of the SJHL’s Weyburn Red Wings. It was announced at the team’s annual meeting that head coach Bryce Thoma (Red Deer, 1999-2002) also is the GM now. . . . Rumball remains with the Red Wings and will work in player development. . . . For the longest time, Rumball was the GM and Dwight McMillan the head coach with the Red Wings. In fact, it seemed they were partners longer than Hope and Crosby.

4. The Everett Silvertips have extended the contract of assistant coach Mitch Love through the next three seasons. Love, a former WHL defenceman, has been on the Silvertips’ staff for three seasons now. He will continue to work alongside head coach Kevin Constantine. The Silvertips also will sign a second assistant coach before the season arrives. . . . Love, who turned 30 on Sunday, played five seasons in the WHL (Moose Jaw, Swift Current, Everett, 2000-05). He played two seasons under Constantine with the Silvertips, helping them to the Western Conference championship in their expansion season and serving as team captain the following season, as a 20-year-old.

5. Former Spokane Chiefs head coach Bill Peters has been signed as the head coach of the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes. . . . General manager Ron Francis will introduce the first head coach of his regime today at noon EST. . . . Peters, 48, has been on head coach Mike Babcock’s staff with the Detroit Red Wings for the past three seasons. Before that, Peters spent three seasons as head coach of the AHL’s Rockford Ice Hogs. . . . Peters was the Chiefs’ head coach for three seasons (2005-08), winning the Memorial Cup in the spring of 2008. . . . Peters and Babcock are former WHL head coaches and both were head coaches with the U of Lethbridge Pronghorns. Peters was a head coach with the Chiefs for four seasons before going to the Pronghorns.

6. The Brandon Wheat Kings have revealed that they sold 1,662 season-tickets by the time its early-bird deadline flew by on Friday. That’s up 33 from the same time last season. . . . “We were hopeful that the increase would have been larger than what it is to date and yet we’re encouraged that there has been quite a few new season tickets sold, and that’s a good sign for us . . .,” Kelly McCrimmon, the Wheat Kings owner, GM and head coach, told James Shewaga, the sports editor of the Brandon Sun. “I think it was helpful for us that we were selling season tickets while our team was still playing, that was a good move by us ... and I think people are excited about our team and the upcoming year.” . . . The Wheat Kings had 2,361 season-ticket holders last season.

7. Steve Buffery of the Toronto Sun was among those in attendance at a charity function in Toronto on Thursday night. Brian Burke, the former general manager of the Maple Leafs who now runs the Calgary Flames, was front-and-centre and offered up his opinion on the Toronto media. “I don’t give a rat’s ass what they write,” Burke said at one point, before going on to prove that he really does. . . . Buffery’s piece is right here.
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F David Stephens, who played with the Edmonton Oil Kings, will attend Mount Royal U in Calgary and play hockey for the Cougars, a CIS team that plays in Canada West. Stephens, 21, completed his junior eligibility last season with the Maritime Hockey League’s Weeks Crushers. He played 30 games with the Oil Kings in 2010-11 and two the following season, both seasons curtailed by injuries. . . . F Boston Leier, who played out his eligibility with the Regina Pats last season, has committed to the Acadia Axemen, who play in the CIS out of Wolfville, N.S.
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The Love family is excited to be back with the @WHLsilvertips and @TheWHL families for the next 3 years and hopefully beyond. #tipscountry
— Mitch Love (@mlovehockey) June 20, 2014

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Graeme Craig of the Swift Current Broncos shows off
his new look after a puck took out three teeth on
Friday night in Regina. What a way to bring in a new year!
(Photo courtesy Graeme Craig via Twitter — @craigstand6)

Graeme Craig is in his third season as a defenceman with the Swift Current Broncos.
The 6-foot-4, 215-pounder from Red Deer is one of those steady performers who will sacrifice his body for the team.
On Friday night, he took one for the team and it cost him three teeth.
With Regina leading 1-0 late in the second period, Pats F Jordan Weal took a one-timer that went high.
“As I turned to face the play, it hit me square in the mouth,” Craig wrote to me on New Year’s Eve.
It was a bad luck play all around as the puck went off Craig’s face into the crease and F Jack Rodewald tucked it in for his third goal of the season and one that stood up as the game-winner.
I’ll let Craig explain the dental aspect of it all:
“It turns out it was only three teeth — two were laying on the ice and we tried to put them back in but the bone that holds them in place got smashed. Got the third one pulled later in the dentist office.
“Seven stitches to close the holes. For now it'll be a week or so til I get X-rays and then will get a denture made for the rest of the season. I'm really hoping I can get some permanent ones or I'll be devastated haha.”
Of course, when Craig returns to the lineup he plans on wearing a cage.
And when will he makes his return?
He says he hopes to play today — New Year’s Day — against the visiting Medicine Hat Tigers.
Hey, he’s a hockey player!
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As you may have guessed, Craig’s mother, Helen, “was pretty upset and concerned.”
“I had pretty nice teeth, didn’t have braces or anything and she was probably mourning their loss more than I was,” Craig noted.
Craig has 20 points, three of them goals, and 182 penalty minutes in 163 regular-season games over three seasons. This season, he has a career-high two goals, to go with four helpers, in 30 games.
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JUST NOTES:
D David Musil of the Vancouver Giants didn’t play for the Czech Republic on Saturday in a 4-0 loss to Finland at the World Junior Championship. He took a blindside hit on Friday in a game against the U.S., and is experiencing concussion-like symptoms. . . . F Sven Bartschi of the Portland Winterhawks has missed Switzerland’s last two games and is believed to have a concussion. . . .
F Shayne Wiebe (Kamloops, Brandon, 2007-11) has been released by the AHL’s St. John’s IceCaps and will join the University of New Brunswick Reds, who are the defending Canadian university champions. The 21-year-old Wiebe, who is from Brandon, had four assists in 12 games with the IceCaps, the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Winnipeg Jets. . . .
When Team Canada beat the U.S., 3-2, at the World Junior Championship on Saturday, the opposing goaltenders were Scott Wedgewood and Jack Campbell. Interestingly, they have something in common, aside from the fact both play in the OHL, Wedgewood with the Plymouth Whalers and Campbell with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. . . . They both are coached by former WHL G Stan Matwijiw, who played with the Prince Albert Raiders (1991-94) and Lethbridge Hurricanes (1993-94). . . . These days, Matwijiw operates Bandits Goalie School, with Campbell and Wedgewood included among his students. Matwijiw also is Plymouth’s goaltender coach. . . . And a stick tap to former Raiders play-by-play voice Kevin Smook for that one.
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WHL TRADE TRACKER (trades made since Dec. 27):
Trades made: 4
Players: 11
Draft picks: 4
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The race to the Jan. 10 trade deadline continued on Saturday as the Prince Albert Raiders dealt F Brandon Herrod, 20, to the Kamloops Blazers for F Logan McVeigh, 17, and a 2012 second-round bantam draft pick.
Herrod, who is expected to be in the Blazers’ lineup tonight against the visiting Prince George Cougars, has 36 points, including 18 goals, in 40 games this season. He has played 314 career regular-season games, never playing fewer than 64 games in a season, and has put up 241 points, 106 of them goals. Herrod is from Meadow Lake, Sask., and was a third-round pick by the Raiders in the 2006 bantam draft.
The Blazers have had room for a 20-year-old since trading D Josh Caron to the Everett Silvertips on Nov. 29. Kamloops has been looking for a winger to play alongside LW Brendan Ranford and C Chase Schaber. That spot had belonged to RW Jordan DePape, but he is out until at least March after having shoulder surgery on Nov. 4.
McVeigh, from Kenaston, Sask., was a second-round selection in the 2009 bantam draft. A sophomore, he has 16 points, including five goals, in 34 games. Last season, he finished with 13 points, four of them goals, in 59 games. He is a superb penalty killer and strong defensively.
The Raiders next play Wednesday when they meet the Pats in Regina.
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Late Saturday night, McVeigh tweeted:
“This 14 hour drive back to sask is getting old #butworthit , new years on the highway #lonely”
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In Saturday’s Everett Herald, Silvertips GM Doug Soetaert reiterated that he won’t trade D Ryan Murray, who almost certainly will be a top five selection in the NHL’s 2012 draft.
Here’s what Soetaert told the Herald’s Nick Patterson:
“Ryan Murray is what we want in a hockey player. Ryan is a young man who plays hard every day. He cares and competes. He's played hard in every game he's been with us since he was a 16-year-old. That's the type of player we want in our organization, and I won't trade Ryan Murray.”
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SATURDAY’S GAMES:
In Everett, the Moose Jaw Warriors got out to a 3-0 lead and went on to beat the Silvertips, 5-2. . . . F Sam Fioretti, who was in Everett’s training camp in 2008, scored twice and set up another for the Warriors, who are 1-1 on their U.S. Division swing. Fioretti has 14 goals. . . . Moose Jaw has won five of its last six games. . . . F Justin Kirsch had three assists. . . . F Ryan Harrison had two assists for Everett, giving him five points over his last two games. . . . Everett went in having picked up at least a point in each of its last four games. . . . The two heavyweights — Moose Jaw D Dylan McIlrath and Everett D Josh Caron — got it on 9:13 into the first period. . . . Warriors G Luke Siemens stopped 22 shots in winning his 20th game. Siemens, who was acquired from Everett early in the season, is 20-7-5. . . .

In Kennewick, Wash., the Tri-City Americans tied a 20-year-old franchise record as they beat the Spokane Chiefs, 4-1. . . . The Americans have won 10 straight games, equalling the franchise record set in 1991. . . . The Americans went 10-0 in December, the first time in franchise history a team had gone undefeated in a month in which it played five or more games. . . . This was the 21st renewal of the New Year’s Eve series between the visiting Chiefs and the Americans. Tri-City now is 14-5-1 with one other game ending in a tie (remember them?). . . . F Patrick Holland and F Justin Feser each had a goal and two assists. Holland, who scored while shorthanded, has 15 goals; Feser has 18. . . . Attendance was announced at 6,064, the third-largest crowd in franchise history. . . . Spokane G Eric Williams stopped 16 shots in his first start since being acquired from the Prince Albert Raiders earlier in the week. . . .

In Portland, the Winterhawks held a 48-18 edge in shots as they beat the Seattle Thunderbirds, 2-0. . . . G Mac Carruth stopped 18 shots for the shutout, his first of the season and third of his career. . . . Portland F Ty Rattie, who leads the WHL with 37 goals, scored the game’s first goal, with 9.3 seconds left in the second period. . . . Portland held a 23-3 edge in shots in the second period. . . . F Brendan Leipsic added a PP goal at 1:51 of the third. . . . These two teams have played in Portland each New Year’s Eve since 1995. Portland holds a 9-8-0 edge or, if you prefer, Seattle is 8-8-1. . . . The game drew 10,356 fans, Portland’s fourth straight game over 8,000. . . . The Winterhawks were without F Oliver Gabriel (undisclosed). F Pearce Eviston, 19, played his first game this season with the Winterhawks. He had one goal in two games last season. He also played in 12 playoff games, getting one assist. . . .
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SATURDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
D Sam Grist, Tri-City (double minor)
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Team Pacific ran its record to 3-0 with a 4-3 victory over Russia on Saturday at the U-17 World Hockey Challenge in LaSalle, Ont. . . . F Nic Petan (Portland) scored twice for Team Pacific, with F Macoy Erkamps (Lethbridge) and F Tyson Baillie (Kelowna) adding one each. . . . Petan’s second goal, at 19:14 of the second period, gave Team Pacific a 4-1 lead. . . . G Eric Comrie (Tri-City) stopped 27 shots. . . . F Sam Reinhart (Kootenay) had two assists. . . . After the game, Team Pacific headed across the river to the Joe Louis Arena and watched the Detroit Red Wings beat the St. Louis Blues, 3-0. Following the NHL game, the players spent about an hour in the Red Wings’ dressing room as guests of Detroit assistant coach Bill Peters, a former Spokane Chiefs coach. “It was a tremendous experience for the players,” one team official reported. “Bill had lots of motivational words and even passed around his Stanley Cup ring for the boys to try on for size.” . . .
On Saturday, in Tecumseh, Ont., Team West dropped a 5-2 decision to the Czech Republic. F Craig Leverton (Lethbridge) and F Jonathan Martin (Kootenay) scored for Team West, which got 30 saves from G Austin Lotz (Everett).
Team Pacific (3-0) is off until Monday when it plays the U.S. Today, Team West (0-2) meets the U.S. (1-1).
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Lisa Dillman of the Los Angeles Times takes a look at the NHL and its problem with head injuries right here. She ends her piece with some chilling words from player agent Allan Walsh, who has been quite vocal about what he feels is a lack of action by the NHL.
Dillman writes that Walsh feels “the greatest push (for change) will come from a venue outside the sporting arena, taking note of the many lawsuits filed in the last few months by former NFL players against their league over concussions.”
She quotes Walsh: "Mark my words, lawsuits are coming. And there will be no greater change agent for the NHL and teams than lawsuits."
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And right here is today’s good read, from Bruce Arthur of the National Post. It’s a compilation of 2011’s best sports-related quotes. It's long, so make sure the coffee pot has three cups in it. Enjoy! . . . And a Happy New Year to all.
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THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Roman Wick (Red Deer, Lethbridge, 2005-06) signed a three-year contract with Kloten (Switzerland NLA). He had 20 goals and 22 assists in 70 games for the AHL-champions Binghamton Senators and was pointless in seven games with Ottawa Senators (NHL) last season.
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If you’ve been paying attention, you will be aware that there is a huge shakeup going on in the world of NCAA hockey. But what does it all mean? Chris Dilks has some thoughts at the Western College Hockey blog, and it is right here.
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Neate Sager of Yahoo! Sports offers his take on the NCAA hockey picture right here.
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JUST NOTES: John MacNeil of the Brandon Sun reports that the King brothers, Wheaton and Sanfred, are on the move. . . . Wheaton, an 18-year-old forward, has been invited to training camp by the Medicine Hat Tigers. . . . Sanfred, now 21, has committed to attend McGill U in Montreal and play for the Redmen. . . . The King boys finished last season playing on the same line with the SJHL’s Kindersley Klippers. . . . D Riley McIntosh (Kelowna, Tri-City, 2006-10) has committed to attend to Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, Ont., and play for the Timberwolves. McIntosh finished up last season with the BCHL’s Coquitlam Express. . . . F Joel Ridgeway (Tri-City, Portland, 2006-10) will attend Acadia U and play for the Axemen, who play out of Wolfville, N.S. He played most of the last two seasons for the MJHL’s Selkirk Steelers.
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THE COACHING GAME:
Former Spokane Chiefs coach Bill Peters has left the AHL’s Rockford IceHogs to join the Detroit Red Wings as an assistant coach. Peters spent three seasons as the IceHogs’ head coach, going 122-97-7-14. The are affiliated with the Chicago Blackhawks. . . . Peters and Detroit head coach Mike Babcock worked together on the Spokane coaching staff in the late 1990s. . . . The Red Wings also added Jeff Blashill, the head coach at Western Michigan, to their coaching staff. . . . They replace Brad McCrimmon, who will coach in the KHL next season, and Paul MacLean, now the head coach of the Ottawa Senators. . . .
Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Sun reports that former NHL D Charlie Huddy “has agreed to become an assistant coach on Claude Noel’s staff” with the Winnipeg Jets. . . . Huddy was an assisant coach with the Dallas Stars for the last two seasons. . . . Wiebe also writes that Ray Edwards, the head coach of the AHL’s Portland Pirates, also has interviewed with the Jets. Edwards was the head coach of the AHL’s San Antonio Rampage last season. The Phoenix Coyotes shifted their AHL affiliation fro San Antonio to Portland and announced that Edwards would be the Pirates’ head coach.
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The Lethbridge Hurricanes have revealed that their newest Hall-of-Fame inductees will be former GM Bob Bartlett, D Jamie Pushor and F Jason Ruff.
Bartlett was instrumental in getting the Calgary Wranglers franchise relocated to Lethbridge for the 1987-88 season. He spent 11 seasons scouting for the team and worked as GM for five seasons. Bartlett already is a member of the Alberta and Lethbridge sports halls of fame. . . . Pushor, a former team captain who was born and raised in Lethbridge, played for the Hurricanes from 1988-93. . . . Ruff  holds the club’s career records for goals (183) and points (382).
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Kelly Friesen, who follows the WHL for Yahoo! Sports, chatted with Mike Johnston, the Portland Winterhawks’ GM/head coach, about that franchise’s spectacular results in the last two NHL drafts. Friesen’s piece is right here and it’s a must read if you’re wondering how the Winterhawks went from the outhouse to the penthouse in such short order.

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
     
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Wednesday . . .

The Buffalo Sabres have signed D Mark Pysyk of the Edmonton Oil Kings to a three-year NHL deal. His AHL salary each of the three seasons would be US$67,500, with his NHL salary at $900,000 each season. He got a $270,000 signing bonus payable over three years. The Sabres took Pysyk with the 23rd selection in the 2010 NHL draft. He was the Oil Kings’ first draft pick, taken third in the WHL‘s 2007 bantam draft.
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D Justin Weller of the Red Deer Rebels signed a three-year contract with the NHL’s Phoenix Coyotes. Capgeek.com reports that his AHL salary will be US$50,000, $55,000 and $60,000. The NHL salary would be $565,000 in each of the three seasons. . . . He got a $120,000 signing bonus over three years. . . . Weller, a fourth-round selection in the 2009 NHL draft, is expected to be returned to the Rebels for his 20-year-old season. He had 17 points and 104 penalty minutes in 68 games last season.
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F Gilbert Brule of the Edmonton Oilers, who played in the WHL with the Vancouver Giants, was driving in West Vancouver with his girlfriend on Tuesday when they picked up a couple of hitchhikers. One of them turned out to be Bono. Yes, that Bono. So this is the story of how Brule dumped tickets to Game 1 of the Stanley Cup final and flew to Edmonton for a concert. The story is right here.
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JUST NOTES: In Binghamton, N.Y., the Houston Aeros scored a 2-1 victory over the Senators to take a 2-1 lead in the AHL’s best-of-seven Calder Cup final. . . . They’ll play Game 4 in Binghamton on Friday. . . . For whatever it’s worth, the Seattle NBC outlet didn’t carry Game 1 of the Stanley Cup final on Wednesday. . . . F Roman Horak, who played the last two seasons with the Chilliwack Bruins, was traded to the Calgary Flames by the New York Rangers on Wednesday. The Flames acquired Horak and two 2011 second-round draft picks for the rights to D Tim Erixon and a 2011 fifth-round pick. . . . The Flames selected Erixon with the 23rd pick in the 2009 draft but weren’t able to sign the Swede, whose father, Jan, is a former NHLer who played for the Rangers. . . . Horak, who signed with the Rangers late in the season, was a fifth-round pick in 2009. He had 78 points, including 26 goals, in 64 games last season. . . . The Kamloops Blazers have hired Todd Carnelley, who played defence for the Jr. Oilers and Blazers (1983-86) as director of ticketing. He most recently worked for Andre’s Audiotronic and Andre’s Telus division.
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THE COACHING GAME: Marty Raymond, the head coach of the ECHL’s Bakersfield Condors since Feb. 26, 2003, is leaving to coach a team in Zagreb, Croatia, that plays in the Austrian Elite League. Raymond, 46, had signed an extension with the Condors on May 10. . . . Former Spokane Chiefs head coach Bill Peters has signed a new two-year deal with the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks and will remain head coach of the AHL’s Rockford IceHogs. Peters is 122-97-7-14 in three seasons there. . . . Rockford assistant coaches Ted Dent and Steve Poapst and GM Mark Bernard also got new two-year deals. . . . The AJHL’s St. Albert Steel has added Wes Werhun and Donovan Sugiyama as assistant coaches under GM/head coach Greg Parks. Werhun has been coaching the midget AAA St. Albert Raiders, while Sugiyama has been with the midget AA St. Albert Blues.

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
     
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Taking Note on Twitter