THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Tyson Mulock (Medicine Hat, Vancouver, Regina, 1999-2003) signed a one-year contract with the Iserlohn Roosters (Germany, DEL). He had eight goals and 11 assists in 51 games with Eisbären Berlin (Germany, DEL) this season. . . .


F Jakub Klepis (Portland, 2001-02) and F Jaroslav Svoboda (Kootenay, 1998-2000) were informed that they won’t be offered contracts for next season by Lev Prague (Czech Republic, KHL). Klepis had 20 goals and 18 assists in 45 games to lead Lev in scoring and goals, while Svoboda had two goals in 25 games with Lev and three goals in four games on loan to Sparta Prague (Czech Republic, Extraliga) in an injury-plagued season. Lev’s website states that Klepis has an agreement with an unnamed NHL team for next season. . . .


F Björn Svensson (Saskatoon, Moose Jaw, 2003-06) was informed by MoDo Örnsköldsvik (Sweden, Elitserien) that he won’t be offered a contract for next season. Svensson had three goals and three assists in 40 games with MoDo this season. . . .


 Frederikshavn (Denmark, AL-Bank Liga) announced that it won’t offer a contract for next season to F Cam Paddock (Kelowna, 1999-2004). He had 17 goals and 16 assists in 40 games this season.
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From Rachel Brady of The Globe and Mail:
“The GTHL, the largest amateur hockey league in the world with over 40,000 participants, will propose to its members that the age at which players start body checking be raised from 11 to 13 in all of its competitive divisions and gradually eliminated from its Single ‘A’ division over time. The proposed changes are in response to a survey of its parents, players and team and club officials on various topics, which showed that 58 percent of its participants would favour raising the age.”
Brady’s complete story is right here.
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And now there are three . . . WHL teams without head coaches, that is.
The Prince Albert Raiders’ board of directors met Tuesday and decided not to renew head coach Steve Young’s contract. General manager Bruno Campese made the announcement later in the day.
At the same time, Campese, who left the bench and turned over the coaching duties to Young on Oct. 28, 2011, also is on an expiring contract. But it’s believed that the board wants to keep him and has, in fact, begun negotiations.
Young had been with the Raiders since 2008, first as an assistant coach and then as head coach.
Perry Bergson of the Prince Albert Daily Herald has more right here.
The Raiders join the Everett Silvertips and Lethbridge Hurricanes as WHL teams that are in the market for head coaches.
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Rick Brodsky, the owner of the Prince George Cougars, says “We’re not going anywhere.” . . . Brodsky has told Sheri Lamb of the Prince George Citizen: “I love the Cougars. I want to succeed with the Cougars, they're my team and I want to make Prince George proud of us." . . . He also says that doesn’t have any plans to sell the team. "I've heard more times (than I can count) that I've sold the team," he said. "I've never gotten anybody asking about selling the team. Not ever. Every time I've heard that I've sold the team my first question is 'How much did I get?' . . . Nobody's coming to us with a great offer." . . . Brodsky also told Lamb that he is guilty of neglecting his franchise a bit in recent seasons, but that he now is taking a much more active role, starting with Thursday’s bantam draft. . . . Lamb’s story is right here.
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The Lethbridge Hurricanes have made a few moves aimed at firming up their player personnel department. Brad Robson, the club’s new GM, had been its director of player personnel. Those duties now belong to Todd Hassen, a veteran scout out of Saskatoon who has worked in the WHL for 26 years. He’s into his fifth year with Lethbridge. . . . Blake Robson now is the Hurricanes’ head scout. Robson – yes, he is Brad’s son – played five seasons in the WHL, with the Portland Winterhawks and Prince George Cougars. He has been on the Hurricanes’ scouting staff since 2008. . . . Gerry Klinkhammer, who works out of Lethbridge, is the club’s new travelling scout. He has been with the Hurricanes since 2002.
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If you have any interest in the lawsuit filed by Brian Burke last week against anonymous Internet commenters, Jennifer Pagliaro of the Toronto Star has an interesting piece right here. She has spoken to one of the bloggers.
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THE COACHING GAME:
Former NHLer Bob Corkum has been named head coach of the U.S. team that will play at the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament in August. . . . Corkum, from Salisbury, Mass., is the interim head coach at the U of Maine. He has been Maine‘s associate head coach. . . . Corkum has been an assistant coach with the 2012 U-18 team and was head coach of the 2011 U-17 team that won a Five Nations tournament in Ann Arbor, Mich. . . .
Jesse Dorrans is the new head coach of the junior B Castlegar Rebels, who play in the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League. . . . Dorrans takes over from Steve Junker, who resigned Tuesday and is expected to pursue work away from the game. . . . Dorrans spent the last three seasons as an assistant coach with the Rebels. He also has worked as head coach of the KIJHL’s Grand Forks Border Bruins.
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The WHL was the last of the three major junior leagues to have its finalists set. In the QMJHL, it’s the Baie-Comeau Drakkar against the Halifax Mooseheads, with the OHL final featuring the Barrie Colts and London Knights.
The QMJHL final opens Friday in Halifax, with Game 2 there on Saturday. The Mooseheads are 12-0 in the playoffs; the Drakkar has lost twice in 14 games. . . . These were the top two teams in the regular season, the Mooseheads going 58-6-4, while the Drakkar was 44-19-5. . . . Yes, the Mooseheads finished 27 points clear of everyone else. . . . The OHL final begins with games in London on Friday and Sunday nights. In the regular season, the Knights, coached by Dale Hunter, finished atop the Western Conference, at 50-13-5. The Colts, under Dale Hawerchuk, were second in the Eastern Conference, at 44-20-4. In these playoffs, the Knights are 12-2; the Colts are 12-3.
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The WHL’s playoff situation:
EASTERN CONFERENCE
THIRD ROUND
Edmonton (1) vs. Calgary (3)
(Edmonton wins series, 4-3)
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WESTERN CONFERENCE
THIRD ROUND
Portland (1) vs. Kamloops (3)
(Portland wins series, 4-1)
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CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL
Portland vs. Edmonton
(All times local)
Game 1: Friday, at Portland (Rose Garden), 7 p.m.
Game 2: Saturday, at Portland (Rose Garden), 7 p.m.
Game 3: Tuesday, May 7, at Edmonton, 7 p.m.
Game 4: Wednesday, May 8, at Edmonton, 7 p.m.
x-Game 5: Friday, May 10, at Portland (Rose Garden), 7 p.m.
x-Game 6: Sunday, May 12, at Edmonton, 4 p.m.
x-Game 7: Monday, May 13, at Portland (Rose Garden), 7 p.m.
x – if necessary
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TUESDAY’S GAME:
In Edmonton, F Michael St. Croix scored twice and G Laurent Brossoit stopped 26 shots as the Oil Kings beat the Calgary Hitmen, 2-0. . . . The Oil Kings will attempt to win their second straight WHL title against the same team they beat in seven games in the final a year ago. . . . It’s the first time since 1976 that the same teams have met in back-to-back finals. Back then, the New Westminster Bruins and Saskatoon Blades met in consecutive finals. The Bruins won both series in seven games — 4-3 in 1975 and 4-2 with a tie in 1976. . . . Brossoit has five shutouts in these playoffs. . . . Calgary G Chris Driedger, who had a terrific series, stopped 36 shots. . . . St. Croix was named the series MVP. . . . He opened the scoring, finishing off a 2-on-1 with F Stephane Legault, at 14:05 of the first period. St. Croix added his 10th goal of these playoffs at 4:33 of the second. . . . D Cody Corbett had two assists. . . . Edmonton F Curtis Lazar spent part of the day in a dentist’s chair after taking a puck to the mouth during the morning skate. That resulted in Edmonton head coach Derek Laxdal taking his frustrations out on a stick. “One of our kids took a puck off the chicklets and knocked ’em out,” Laxdal told Evan Daum of the Edmonton Journal, “but I had a little bit of intensity there. I wanted to get rid of that stick and get a new one anyways for the next series.” . . . Edmonton F Trevor Cheek, who was injured in Game 5 and played but one shift in Game 6, was scratched. He has 16 points in 15 playoff games. . . . That meant F Luke Bertolucci got back into the Edmonton lineup. . . . Last season, the Oil Kings won the WHL title with a 4-1 Game 7 victory over the visiting Portland Winterhawks.
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CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT (21):
None

CHECKING-TO-THE-HEAD COUNT (7):
F Mitch Moroz, Edmonton
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From Portland D Troy Rutkowski (@Trutter2): “Wouldn't want it any other way. #rematch #redemption”
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From Edmonton Oil Kings G Laurent Brossoit (@LBrossoit): “Bring it on baby @TSPOON77 #rematch”
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From Edmonton Oil Kings F Curtis Lazar (@CurtisLazar95): “Tough way to prepare for game 7, good ole puck to the face. I will not stop smiling though! #always fun #jibs”
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From Les Lazaruk (@Bladesvoice), the radio voice of the Saskatoon Blades: “I feared ‘Snow Golf’ for the May 23rd Mem Cup tournament...but Moon Lake is opening Thursday!!”
The media has its priorities in order as the Memorial Cup approaches.


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THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Björn Svensson (Saskatoon, Moose Jaw, 2003-06) signed a one-month contract with Sierre (Switzerland, NL B) and had one goal and two assists in his first game with the club on Saturday, a 6-3 victory over Lausanne. He went pointless in six exhibition games during a one month tryout with Eisbären Berlin (Germany, DEL) in August. Last season, Svensson has four goals and 14 assists in 55 games for Timrå (Sweden, Elitserien).
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A couple of thoughts after watching the Medicine Hat Tigers score a 5-4 victory over the Blazers in Kamloops on Monday:
1. If you have the opportunity to watch the Tigers, get to the game. Right-winger Emerson Etem of the Tigers is worth it. Period. Etem, who is from Long Beach, Calif., has 12 goals in seven games and, with his combination of size and speed, has an opportunity to have one of those magical seasons.
2. Have you ever been punched directly on a temple? If so, you know it can stun you. In the third period, Kamloops D Josh Caron punched Medicine Hat F Kellan Tochkin on the right temple following a bit of a skirmish at the Tigers’ blue line. Tochkin went down in a hurry. Caron was hit with a double roughing minor. One of the two referees signalled for Tochkin to get up and go to the penalty box. However, Tochkin appeared a bit woozy, so trainer Mikki Lanuk came out, helped him up and took him to the hallway behind the bench, if not to the dressing room. While the announcement was a roughing penalty to Tochkin — for what, I can’t imagine — the online scoresheet showed him with an embellishment minor. That, folks, is a pretty tough embellishment call! (I attempted on numerous occasions to get on the WHL website after midnight, in order to see if that call was changed, but it would appear that the site was experiencing server problems.)
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SOME MONDAY HIGHLIGHTS:
In  Moose Jaw, G Luke Siemens stopped 21 shots to lead the Warriors to a 6-0 victory over the Prince George Cougars. . . . It was his first shutout this season and the third of his career. . . . D Collin Bowman and F Torrin White each scored twice for Moose Jaw. . . . D Joshua Smith of the Cougars picked up a kneeing major early in the second period and can count on hearing from the WHL office. . . . The Warriors lost F Sebastian Svendsen on that play and Moose Jaw head coach Mike Stothers told Katie Brickman of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald that Svendsen “could be out for a while.” Svendsen, a 20-year-old from Denmark, will be re-evaluated today.
In Vancouver, F Brendan Gallagher scored his 100th WHL goal in the game’s first minute and the Giants went on to beat the Victoria Royals, 5-1. . . . Gallagher finished the first period with a goal and two assists, and finished the game with three goals and two helpers. . . . He has seven goals in four games. . . . Gallagher also is closing in on some Giants’ career marks. He now has 102 goals, third on the all-time list, behind Mitch Bartley (107) and Adam Courchaine (126). Gallagher also has 110 assists — 45 shy of Jon Blum’s franchise record. Gallagher’s 212 points is 61 behind Courchaine’s record. . . . James Henry and Marek Tvrdon, Gallagher’s linemates, each had a goal ad two assists. . . . The Giants continue to play without D Neil Manning (back) and he is expected to miss at least another week.
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JUST NOTES: The WHL’s board of governors will convene in Calgary this week and on Wednesday will announce the host city for the 2013 Memorial Cup. It’s down to Kelowna, Red Deer and Saskatoon. . . . The Spokane Chiefs have returned G Zach Rakochy, 18, to the SJHL’s Melville Millionaires. He got into one game with the Chiefs. The move leaves the Chiefs with two goaltenders — Mac Engel and Luke Lee-Knight, who was acquired from the Prince Albert Raiders last month. . . . F Brett Connolly picked up his first NHL point, an assist, on Monday as his Tampa Bay Lightning dropped a 6-5 shootout decision to the host Washington Capitals. Connolly drew the secondary assist on F Dominic Moore’s goal 56 seconds into the second period. All told, Connolly, who has to be returned to the Prince George Cougars if the doesn’t stay with Tampa Bay, played 17 shifts for 12 minutes 46 seconds. That included a 57-second shift on a third-period penalty. . . . Meanwhile, in Columbus, the Blue Jackets made F Ryan Johansen of the Portland Winterhawks a healthy scratch for the second straight game.
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The always readable Roy MacGregor of The Globe and Mail takes a look at Kevin Cheveldayoff, the general manager of the Winnipeg Jets, and how he got to where he is today.
That piece is right here.
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For today’s good read, we go to grantland.com and Michael Weinreb, who writes about quarterback Anthony Cavillo of the Montreal Alouettes, who has passed for more yards than any quarterback in the history of pro football.
That story is right here. 

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
     
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