Flames checking Kylington contract . . . Berehowsky back coaching . . . Yamamoto on U.S. team

D Tyson Marsh (Vancouver, 2001-05) signed a one-year extension with the Cardiff Devils (Wales, UK Elite). Last season, he had eight goals and 25 assists in 61 games. He was the team captain and a second-team all-star. . . .
F Mitch Wahl (Spokane, 2005-10) signed a one-year contract with Oskarshamn (Sweden, Allsvenskan). Last season, with the Florida Everblades (ECHL), he had 15 goals and a team-high 44 assists in 53 games. . . .
F Marek Kalus (Spokane, Brandon, 2010-13) signed a one-year contract with Havířov (Czech Republic, 1. Liga). Last season, with Cracovia Krakow (Poland, Ekstraliga), he had 19 goals and 23 assists in 45 games. . . .
D Kenton Smith (Calgary, 1995-2000) signed a one-year extension with the Swindon Wildcats (England, Premier). Last season, he had two goals and seven assists in 28 games. Smith will be primarily an assistant coach running the bench during games — the Wildcats have a playing head coach in D Daniel Sullivan — but will be available to play as needed. . . .
F Kris Beech (Calgary, 1996-2001) signed a one-year contract with the Belfast Giants (Northern Ireland, UK Elite). Last season, with Innsbruck (Austria, Erste Bank Liga), he had nine goals and 17 assists in 51 games.
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The Brandon Wheat Kings selected D Oliver Kylington with the last pick of the first round of the CHL import draft on Tuesday. Kylington had been a second-round selection by the Calgary Flames in the NHL draft on Saturday. But he is under contract to AIK, a pro team in Sweden, for the next two seasons. Randy Sportak of the Calgary Sun reports that Calgary “is looking into whether it has an outclause that would allow him to report to the WHL. Kylington would be eligible to play in the AHL at his age.” . . . Calgary assistant general manager Craig Conroy told Sportak: “We want to do what’s best for him. We don’t want to throw him in a situation that doesn’t benefit him. We want him to play tons of minutes and just develop.”
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NHLer Rich Clune is a recovering alcoholic and drug addict who has been sober for five years now. He also is a hockey fighter, albeit reluctantly. He has told his story for The Players Tribune. This is engrossing and frightening stuff, but it also is enlightening, and it’s right here.
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Got a tip or some information you feel could be useful to me, feel free to send an email to greggdrinnan@gmail.com.
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Former Lethbridge Hurricanes head coach Drake Berehowsky has signed on as associate coach with the OHL’s Sudbury Wolves under new head coach Dave Matsos. . . . Matsos recently was promoted from associate to head coach. . . . Berehowsky was in his second season as the Hurricanes head coach when he was fired on Dec. 10. He has previous OHL coaching experience, having been an assistant with the Barrie Colts and then-Brampton Battalion. . . . The Wolves also announced that Bryan Verreault will return for a second season as an assistant coach, while Miguel Beadry is back as goaltending coach.
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Bob Boughner has stepped down as head coach of the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires in order to sign a three-year deal as an assistant coach with the NHL’s San Jose Sharks. . . . Boughner will remain as the Spitfires’ majority owner and team president. . . . The Spitfires won the 2009 and 2010 Memorial Cups under Boughner.
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USA Hockey released the roster for the team that will play at the U-18 Ivan Hlinka Memorial tournament next month. The roster includes F Kailer Yamamoto of the Spokane Chiefs. . . . Yamamoto had 57 points, including 23 goals last season, and was named the WHL Western Conference’s rookie of the year. . . . The tournament is scheduled for Aug. 10-15 in Breclav, Czech Republic, and Piestany, Slovakia. . . . The USA Hockey news release is right here, with a link to the roster.

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Molleken next Giants' coach? . . . WHL-related NHL draft notes . . . Dillabaugh joins Flyers

So cool to see this outside the @Rutherford_Rink rink for @Smukyou2. pic.twitter.com/6DBUDhF9f0

— Darren Steinke (@StanksSports) June 28, 2015

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According to a Saturday afternoon tweet from Jay Janower of Global B.C., the Vancouver Giants are “set to announce Lorne Molleken” as their latest head coach. . . . Molleken sat out last season after being bought out when Edmonton car dealer Mike Priestner bought the Saskatoon Blades. Molleken had been the Blades’ general manager and head coach. . . . Molleken also has coached the Moose Jaw Warriors and Regina Pats. He has 603 career WHL coaching victories, good for fourth spot on the WHL’s all-time list. . . . Daniel Nugent-Bowman, who has covered the Saskatoon Blades for the Saskatoon StarPhoenix, reported that the Giants offered Molleken their head-coaching position on an interim basis in November. . . . With the Giants, Molleken will replace Claude Noel, who took over from Troy Ward early last season and wasn’t retained at season’s end. . . . The Giants have missed the playoffs in two of the last three seasons, including last season.
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The WHL says it had 35 players selected in the two-day NHL draft that wrapped up Saturday afternoon in Sunrise, Fla., the home of the Florida Panthers. That included five first-round selections.
First Round
7. D Ivan Provorov, Brandon Wheat Kings, Philadelphia Flyers.
14. F Jake DeBrusk, Swift Current Broncos, Boston Bruins.
16. F Mathew Barzal, Seattle Thunderbirds, New York Islanders.
26. D Noah Juulsen, Everett Silvertips, Montreal Canadiens.
30. F Nick Merkley, Kelowna Rockets, Arizona Coyotes.
Second Round
37. D Brandon Carlo, Tri-City Americans, Boston.
38. F Paul Bittner, Portland Winterhawks, Columbus Blue Jackets.
41. F Ryan Gropp, Seattle, New York Rangers.
47. F Jansen Harkins, Prince George Cougars, Winnipeg Jets.
51. D Brendan Guhle, Prince Albert Raiders, Buffalo Sabres.
Third Round
65. D Andrew Nielsen, Lethbridge Hurricanes, Toronto Maple Leafs.
69. F Keegan Kolesar, Seattle, Columbus.
76. G Adin Hill, Portland, Arizona.
79. D Sergei Zborovskiy, Regina Pats, New York Rangers.
84. F Deven Sideroff, Kamloops Blazers, Anaheim Ducks.
Fourth Round
94. F Adam Musil, Red Deer Rebels, St. Louis Blues.
99. F Austin Wagner, Regina, Los Angeles Kings.
105. F Jesse Gabrielle, Regina, Boston.
106. F Adam Helewka, Spokane Chiefs, San Jose Sharks.
112. D Parker Wotherspoon, Tri-City, New York Islanders.
113. F Brad Morrison, Prince George, New York Rangers.
116. F Glenn Gawdin, Swift Current, St. Louis.
Fifth Round
122. D Devante Stephens, Kelowna, Buffalo.
124. D Ethan Bear, Seattle, Edmonton Oilers.
129. D Sam Ruopp, Prince George, Columbus.
131. F Matt Bradley, Medicine Hat, Montreal.
136. F Pavel Karnaukhov, Calgary Hitmen, Calgary Flames.
143. D Connor Hobbs, Regina, Washington Capitals.
147. D Ryan Pilon, Brandon, New York Islanders.
Sixth Round
152. F Giorgio Estephan, Lethbridge, Buffalo.
173. D Colby Williams, Regina, Washington.
Seventh Round
187. D Chaz Reddekopp, Victoria Royals, Los Angeles.
203. F Matteo Gennaro, Prince Albert, Winnipeg.
205. G Evan Smith, Victoria, Nashville Predators.
210. D Tate Olson, Prince George, Vancouver Canucks.
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The Regina Pats led all WHL teams with five players selected off their roster. Here’s a team-by-team look:
5 -- Regina.
4 -- Prince George, Seattle.
3 -- None.
2 -- Brandon, Kelowna, Lethbridge, Portland, Prince Albert, Swift Current, Tri-City, Victoria.
1 -- Calgary, Everett, Kamloops, Medicine Hat, Red Deer, Spokane.
0 -- Edmonton, Kootenay, Moose Jaw, Saskatoon, Vancouver.
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DRAFT NOTES: The OHL had 31 players selected, while 30 were taken out of the QMJHL. . . . There were 17 Russian-born players selected, the most in 11 years. . . . A year ago, there were 37 WHL players drafted. The record is 43 in 2010 and 2005. . . . There were 37 players drafted who played last season in the USHL. . . . The Prince George Cougars had four players selected Saturday after having had five players taken in the previous six drafts. . . . F Cameron Hughes, who will turn 19 on Oct. 9, was selected in the sixth round by the Boston Bruins. He has 13 points, including three goals, in 34 games as a freshman at Wisconsin last season. His WHL rights belong to the Swift Current Broncos. From Edmonton, the Broncos selected him in the ninth round of the 2011 bantam draft. . . . The Arizona Coyotes selected then-Portland G Brendan Burke in the sixth round of the 2013 draft, but then chose not to sign him. On Saturday, the Coyotes selected Portland G Adin Hill in the third round. Hill beat out Burke for the No. 1 job in Portland last season, and Burke was dealt to the Calgary Hitmen. . . . G Evan Smith of Parker, Colo.,, played four games with Victoria and finished the season with the NAHL’s Austin Bruins, playing 15 regular-season and six playoff games. Still, the WHL is including him in its 35-player total. . . . D Andrew Nielsen of the Lethbridge Hurricanes, who went to Toronto in the third round, is a former Red Deer Rebels’ stick boy. . . . F Marcus Vela of the BCHL’s Langley Rivermen was the only player drafted from a junior A team. Vela, who is from Burnaby, B.C., was a seventh-round pick by Spokane in the WHL’s 2012 bantam draft. He has committed to the U of New Hampshire. . . .
In the seventh round, the Columbus Blue Jackets selected Finnish D Markus Nutivaara, who is 21 years of age. He had four assists in 35 games with Karpat of the Finnish Liiga last season. Nutivaara was the oldest player to be selected in the 2015 draft. . . . You may have noticed that there were 31 selections in the second round on Saturday. The Chicago Blackhawks received the round’s 24th pick (54th overall) as compensation for not signing F Kevin Hayes, a 2010 first-round selection. . . . All told, 211 players were selected. . . . NHL draft picks by birthplace: Canada, 79; U.S., 55; Sweden, 19; Russia, 17; Finland, 13; Czech Republic, 11; Slovakia, 5; Switzerland, 4; Latvia, 3; and, Belarus, China, Germany, Netherlands, Ukraine, each 1. . . . The CHL has scheduled its 2015 import/goaltenders-not-welcome draft for Tuesday.

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Later Saturday, reports began indicating that various undrafted players had accepted invitations to NHL team development camps. . . . F Dryden Hunt of Medicine Hat will go to camp with Montreal. . . . D Turner Ottenbreit of Seattle is off to Washington’s camp. . . . Everett G Austin Lotz will go to Buffalo’s development camp.
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Chris Pronger hasn’t played an NHL game for more than two years. He now is an NHL employee. His name may be among the latest Hockey Hall of Fame inductees when the list is revealed on Monday. . . . None of that prevented his having been traded by the Philadelphia Flyers to the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday. . . . Crazy? Welcome to the NHL’s salary cap world. . . . Adam Gretz of cbssports.com explains it all right here. . . . Ken Campbell of The Hockey News blogs about it right here.

If Coyotes can get deal with Glendale to stay in force, taxpayers helping pay $500,000 salary of a guy who's won't play and works for NHL.

— Ken Campbell (@THNKenCampbell) June 27, 2015

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Got a tip or some information you feel could be useful to me, send an email to greggdrinnan@gmail.com.
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There were reports on Saturday that Bob Boughner, the head coach of the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires, is headed to the NHL. Darren Dreger of TSN reported that Boughner is soon to sign on as an assistant coach with the San Jose Sharks. Peter DeBoer, hired earlier as the Sharks’ head coach, is putting together his coaching staff. . . . Boughner coached the Spitfires to Memorial Cup titles in 2009 and 2010. He then joined the Columbus Blue Jackets as an assistant coach for one season before returning to Windsor.
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Kim Dillabaugh has left the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings and signed on with the Philadelphia Flyers. Dillabaugh, who is from Kelowna, spent nine seasons with the Kings, mostly as their director of goaltender development. He was part of two Stanley Cup championships and also helped the AHL’s Manchester Monarchs to a Calder Cup title in 2014-15. . . . With the Flyers, Dillabaugh, 37, will take over from the departed Jeff Reese as goaltending coach. . . . Dillabaugh also has worked with the Kelowna Rockets, serving as an assistant coach and goaltending coach. He helped them to a Memorial Cup title in 2004 and WHL championships in 2005 and 2009. . . . Former NHL G Bill Ranford is the Kings’ goaltending coach. . . . Tim Panaccio of CSN-Philadelphia was the first to report the Flyers had signed Dillabaugh.
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Meanwhile, the Toronto Maple Leafs have hired Steve Briere as their goaltending coach. Briere is the owner/head instructor of Canadian Professional Goalie Schools. He also works with four U.S. junior teams -- the Topeka Roadrunners (NAHL), Fargo Force and Des Moines Buccaneers (USHL), and Casper Coyotes (WSHL). . . . With Toronto, Briere will replace Rick St. Croix, who was dumped after last season.
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For the love of god people, stop writing articles on the winners and losers in the 2015 NHL Draft. It is pointless to evaluate a draft early

— Shane Malloy (@ShaneMalloy) June 27, 2015

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Defenceman Brady Gaudet of the Kamloops Blazers takes a back-door pass
from centre Colin Smith and hammers it past goaltender Kent Simpson
of the host Everett Silvertips on Wednesday night. The goal, Gaudet's first
of the season, gave the Blazers a 3-0 lead and they went on to a
3-2 victory.
(Photo by Christopher Mast / mastimages.com)

Fighting in hockey gets onto the front page of The New York Times and a debate breaks out:
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Bob Boughner, the president and head coach of the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires, doesn’t want to see fighting taken out of the game, at least not at the major junior level. “We’re on a very, very dangerous slope,” Boughner told Jim Parker of the Windsor Star. “We’re preparing guys for the next level and if you toughen the rules and get rid of it (fighting) in the game, it would have to coincide with the NHL and AHL. If they’re not doing it, then you’re putting kids (looking to go pro) in a tough situation.”
That story is right here.
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Meanwhile, Mark Hunter, the head coach of the OHL’s London Knights, tells Morris Dalla Costa of the London Free Press that he realizes fighting in the game is on its last legs. "If you're asking me if I think fighting will be taken out of the game, I think it will,” Hunter said. "I think the rule will be something like, you fight, you are thrown out of the game and suspended for another game." Hunter went so far as to acknowledge the dangers of fighting. "People get hurt," Hunter said. "They get in fights and get concussions and get hit in the head and that's something we can't have."
You are able to read that piece right here.
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And then there is Dan Bernstein, a senior columnist at CBSChicago. com, who says sooner or later a light will shine into the caves and fighting will be gone. You are able to read his opinion right here.
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Don Hay, the head coach of the Vancouver Giants, doesn’t want to see fighting prohibited in the WHL. But, he told Elliott Pap of the Vancouver Sun, he would be all for it were the NHL to do away with it. That story is right here.
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Kris Dielman, a veteran offensive lineman with the San Diego Chargers, is expected to announce his retirement today. Dielman has played nine seasons in the NFL, all with San Diego, and is a four-time Pro Bowler. He is retiring because of a series of concussions, the latest of which resulted in his having a seizure on a flight back to San Diego after a game against the New York Jets.
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And now we get to the serious part. . . .
A friend in Spokane pointed me in the direction of a lengthy piece titled The Way We Play The Game that is in the Feb. 27 issue of Sports Illustrated. It was written by Karen S. Schneider, who is a hockey mom. Her son, Cade, is 14 and plays in Minnesota. In fact, as Schneider writes, Cade “grew up sakting with (Jack Jablonski) on the lakes around our homes.”
This is a devastating read about a hockey mom’s view of the game and all that is around it.
Whatever you do, don’t miss this read.
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WEDNESDAY’S GAMES:
(With a tip of the hat to @WHLFacts for some of the info that follows. If you are on Twitter and aren’t following, you should be.)
In Regina, F Chad Robinson’s seventh goal of the season stood up as the winner as the Red Deer Rebels beat the Pats, 3-2. . . . Robinson’s goal at 4:27 of the third period gave the visitors a 3-1 lead. . . . Regina F Jordan Weal got his 39th, via the PP, at 6:20 of the third. He also had an assist. . . . F Tyson Ness had a goal, his 17th, and an assist for Red Deer. His goal came 56 seconds into the second period. . . . Red Deer G Deven Dubyk stopped 20 shots. . . . Due to injuries, the Rebels dressed just 16 skaters, including two forwards — Connor Bleakley and Dexter Bricker — who spent the season playing midget AAA. . . . Regina had D Brandon Davidson back after a three-game absence due to a sore neck. But the Pats lost F Matt Marantz to a leg injury in the first period. . . . The Pats missed a chance to move past the idle Saskatoon Blades and into sixth in the Eastern Conference. Instead, they remain a point behind Saskatoon and one up on the Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . The Rebels, with nine games left, are eight points behind Brandon which holds down the conference’s last playoff spot. . . .

In Prince Albert, F Juraj Bezuch and F Phil Tot scored in the circus to give the Lethbridge Hurricanes a 4-3 shootout victory over the Raiders. . . . The Raiders forced OT on goals by F Anthony Bardaro, his 30th at 7:37 of the second, and F Justin Maylan, his 23rd, at 18:08 of the third. . . . Lethbridge G Liam Liston stopped 30 shots, seven fewer than Cole Holowenko of the Raiders. . . . Bardaro scored twice for the Raiders and also had an assist. . . . F Graham Hood scored the game’s first two goals for Lethbridge. He has 14 this season. . . . Neither team will make the playoffs, but the Hurricanes now are seven points ahead of the last-place Raiders. (By the way, it’s apples and oranges, but, with 46 points, the Raiders would be tied for seventh in the Western Conference.) . . .

In Calgary, F Victor Rask scored twice on the PP to help the Hitmen to a 5-4 victory over the Swift Current Broncos. . . . Calgary was 4-6 on the PP. . . . Rask, who has 29 goals, also had an assist as he ran his point streak to seven games. . . . Calgary got a goal and two assists from F Spencer Humphries. . . . The Hitmen have won in two in a row and six of seven. . . . Humphries, who has seven goals, gave the Hitmen a 5-2 lead with a PP score at 7:28 of the the third period. . . . .D Richard Nedomlel, with his ninth, and F Christian Magnus, with his seventh, got the Broncos to within. . . . Magnus had two goals in his first game since Feb. 10. . . . The Hitmen are fourth in the Eastern Conference, four points behind the Medicine Hat Tigers and three ahead of the Kootenay Ice. . . .

In Cranbrook, the Edmonton Oil Kings scored the game’s first three goals and beat the Kootenay Ice, 3-1. . . . F T.J. Foster opened the scoring at 9:09 of the second period. . . . F Tyler Maxwell got his 37th at 1:40 of the third and F Jordan Peddle added his 10th at 8:54. . . . Edmonton G Laurent Brossoit, who stopped 32 shots, lost his shutout at 17:45 when F Max Reinhart got his 27th on a PP. . . . Edmonton F Michael St. Croix had one assist in his 200th game. . . . G Mackenzie Skapski stopped 24 shots for the Ice. . . . The Ice has added F Luke Philp to its roster for the remainder of the season. He played this season with the AJHL’s Canmore Eagles, putting up 46 points, including 30 assists, in 48 games. He was a third-round selection in the 2010 bantam draft. . . . The Oil Kings lead the Western Conference by six points over the Moose Jaw Warriors. Edmonton is two points behind the Tri-City Americans, who lead the overall standings. . . .

In Prince George, F Brendan Hurley broke a 1-1 tie at 9:29 of the second period and the Medicine Hat Tigers went on to beat the Cougars, 4-1. . . . The Tigers clinched a playoff spot with the victory. . . . Hurley has five goals this season. . . . F Hunter Shinkaruk scored three times, giving him 45 this season. He scored five times in the Tigers’ two-game sweep of the Cougars. . . . Medicine Hat F Dylan Bredo had an assist and was plus-4. . . . Medicine Hat G Tyler Bunz stopped 32 shots, seven fewer than Drew Owsley of the Cougars. . . . Among the Tigers’ scratches was F Rhyse Dieno. Darren Steinke of the Medicine Hat News reports that Dieno has a separated shoulder and will be out for more than a month. . . . The Tigers are third in the Eastern Conference and are second in the Central Division, eight points behind Edmonton. . . . The Cougars have lost six in a row and remain 10th in the Western Conference. Still, they are only four points out of a playoff spot. . . .

In Everett, D Brady Gaudet’s first goal of the season stood up as the winner as the Kamloops Blazers beat the Silvertips, 3-2. . . . The Blazers built up a 3-0 lead on goals by F Matt Needham, his 12th, and F Brendan Ranford, his 37th, in the first period. . . . Gaudet got his goal on a PP at 7:55 of the second. . . . Everett got close on goals by F Reid Petryk, his 14th, and F Josh Winquist, his 14th, but couldn’t equalize. Winquist scored shorthanded at 19:23 of the third. . . . Kamloops G Cole Cheveldave stopped 28 shots in earning his 31st victory. . . . The Blazers lost F Ryan Hanes with a leg injury in the third period. . . . Kamloops went 4-0-0 against Everett this season and now is 14-2-1 against U.S. Division teams. . . . Kamloops moved back into a tie with Portland for second in the Western Conference, one point behind Tri-City. . . . The Blazers lead the B.C. Division by 16 points over the Vancouver Giants, who have nine games left. . . . Everett is one point behind the eighth-place Seattle Thunderbirds, who hold down the conference’s last playoff spot. . . .

In Victoria, F Liam Stewart scored two shorthanded goals to help the Spokane Chiefs to a 6-1 victory over the Royals. . . . The Chiefs had beaten the Royals 4-2 on Tuesday. . . .. Stewart scored his third shorthanded goal of the season to give his side a 2-0 lead at 15:15 of the second. He added his team-high fourth at 9:46 of the third. . . . Only five players in the WHL have more than four SH goals. . . . Stewart has 14 goals overall. . . . Cleve Dheensaw of the Victoria Times Colonist points out that Stewart’s father — rock star Rod Stewart — opened Victoria’s Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre in 2005. . . . A tip of the cap to Tom Grainger, the man who plays the music in Victoria. Dheensaw reports that the music of choice after each of Liam’s goals was, yes, Maggie May. . . . The Chiefs broke open a scoreless game with three second-period goals. . . . F Steven Kuhn had three assists for Spokane. . . . Chiefs G Mac Engel stopped 24 shots, losing his shutout when F Steven Hodges got his 20th goal at 12:52 of the third. . . . Victoria G Jared Rathjen stopped 30 shots in making his fifth straight start. . . . Spokane D Brendan Kitchton had a goal and an assist and was plus-4. He was plus-7 in the two games. . . . The Chiefs are fifth in the Western Conference, one point behind Vancouver. . . . The Royals remain seventh, two points ahead of Seattle.
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WEDNESDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
None.
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WEDNESDAY’S CHECKING-TO-THE-HEAD COUNT:
None.
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JUST NOTES:
The Syracuse Crunch’s stint as the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks will end after this season. The Crunch has declined an option on the agreement with the Ducks after just two seasons. . . . Former Kootenay Ice head coach Mark Hollick is on the Crunch’s coaching staff. He was the head coach last season and to start this season, but now is an associate coach under associate head coach Trent Yawney. . . . Seems like there might be more associates there than in the local Walmart outlet. . . .
The Portland Winterhawks have signed Sue Johnson, their education adviser, to a three-year contract extension. . . . She has been with the Winterhawks for more than 20 years but has taken on an expanded role since retiring from Milwaukie High School prior to 2010-11. . . .
How many WHL head coaches would be willing to start a 16-year-old goaltender and ride him and ride him and ride him? That’s what I thought. Well, in the QMJHL, Zachary Fucale of the Halifax Mooseheads has played in 49 consecutive games, including five at the U-17 World Hockey Challenge. And he has put up 28 victories for the Mooseheads, to break the QMJHL record for a freshman goaltender. Neate Sager of Yahoo! Sports has his story right here.
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Patrick King, who keeps an eye on major junior hockey for sportsnet.ca, takes a look right here at the Tri-City Americans and their connection to Winnipeg. It all started when general manager Bob Tory was scouting Jonathan Toews.

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Great day for Morrow

THE MacBETH REPORT:
D Doug Lynch (Red Deer, Spokane, 1998-2003) signed a contract extension with Red Bull Salzburg (Austria, Erste Bank Liga). He had seven goals and 21 assists in 44 games with Red Bull last season. . . .
F Simon Ferguson (Lethbriodge, Kelowna, 1999-2004) signed a one-year contract with Esbjerg (Denmark, AL-Bank Liga). He had 20 goals and 15 assists in 51 games with the Utah Grizzlies (ECHL) last season. . . .
F Björn Svensson (Saskatoon, Moose Jaw, 2003-06) signed a one-year contract with Eisbären Berlin (Germany, DEL). He had four goals and 14  assists with Timrå (Sweden, Elitserien) last season. . . .
F Roman Tomanek (Calgary, Seattle, 2004-06) signed a one-year contract with Mlada Boleslav (Czech Republic, Extraliga). He had 29 goals and 18 assists in 48 games with Banska Bystrica (Slovakia, Extraliga) last season.
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You just know that this is going to be a great day for Portland Winterhawks D Joe Morrow.
Morrow, who has played three seasons in Portland, is in Edmonton at the Canadian national junior team’s development camp.
And the Pittsburgh Penguins are expected to announce today that they have signed him to a three-year entry-level contract. They selected him 23rd overall in the NHL’s 2011 draft.
Morrow, who doesn’t turn 19 until Dec. 9, had 49 points, including nine goals, and 67 penalty minutes in 60 games with Portland last season. In 165 regular-season games, he has 16 goals and 71 assists, to go along with 152 penalty minutes.
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Hockey Canada finalized the 22-player roster for the team that will play in the U-18 Ivan Hlinka Memorial tournament and five of the skaters are from the WHL. D Matt Dumba (Red Deer), D Derrick Pouliot (Portland), D Griffin Reinhart (Edmonton), D Morgan Rielly (Moose Jaw) and F Hunter Shinkaruk (Medicine Hat) made the club that will play in the tournament that runs from Monday through Aug. 13 in Breclav, Czech Republic, and Piestany, Slovakia. . . . Don Nachbaur, the head coach of the Spokane Chiefs, is an assistant coach. The head coach is Steve Spott of the OHL’s Kitchener Rangers. . . . There is no radio or TV coverage of the tournament. . . . Canada, which has won the tournament each of the last three years, will play an exhibition game against Slovakia in Piestany on Saturday and then opens the tournament against Sweden on Monday.
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THE COACHING GAME:
Jim Parker of the Windsor Star reports that Bob Boughner is expected to return as head coach of the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires today. After winning back-to-back Memorial Cups, Boughner, who owns a piece of the Spitfires, spent last season as an assistant coach with the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets. . . . Bob Jones, the associate coach under Boughner, was the club’s head coach last season. . . .
Nick Patterson of the Everett Herald reports that the Everett Silvertips may be in the market for a goaltending coach. According to Patterson, “Sources indicate that Sigalet is in line to become the goaltending coach for the AHL's Abbotsford Heat.” . . . Sigalet spent last season working with the Silvertips on a part-time basis. . . .
Greg Ireland is to be named head coach of the OHL’s Owen Sound Attack today. Fred Wallace of CFOS Radio reported Tuesday that the job had been offered to Ireland, 46. A coach since 1992, Ireland spent the last eight seasons in the AHL, with the San Antonio Rampage and Grand Rapids Griffins. He will replace Mark Reeds, who guided the Attack to the OHL championship last season and has since signed on as an assistant coach with the NHL’s Ottawa Senators. . . . Owen Sound assistant coach Terry Virtue, a former WHL player and assistant coach, was on the short list. According to Wallace, Virtue “is expected to remain with the Attack, conceivably with elevated responsibilities.” . . .
The AHL’s Houston Aeros have named Sebastien Laplante and Mike Van Ryn as assistant coaches. They will work with head coach John Torchetti. . . . Laplante, 38, spent the last three seasons as an assistant coach at Northeastern University. . . . Van Ryn, 32, was an assistant coach with the OHL’s Niagara IceDogs last season. . . .
The OHL’s Erie Otters have agreed to two-year contract extensions with head coach Robbie Ftorek, who had one year left on his present deal, and assistant coach Peter Sidorkiewicz.
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JUST NOTES: As speculated late last week, the AHL’s Abbotsford Heat has named Ryan Walter (Kamloops, Seattle, 1984-78) as president. Walter spent last season as the head coach of Canada’s national women’s team after working two seasons as an assistant coach with the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks. The Heat is the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Calgary Flames. . . . The BCHL’s Victoria Grizzlies have dealt F Evan Richardson, 17, to the Powell River Kings for G Michael Garteig, 20, D Braden Pears, 18, and F Scott Renner, 18. Richardson was selected 15th overall by the Swift Current Broncos in the 2009 WHL bantam draft, but has committed to attend Boston College for the 2013-14 season. Last season, he had 42 points, including 12 goals, in 55 games with the Grizzlies. . . . The Grizzlies apparently were concerned that Richardson may end up in the USHL this season. . . . F Colton Graf (Chilliwack, 2006-08) has chosen to attend Simon Fraser University and play for its hockey club in the B.C. Intercollegiate league. Graf, 21, played the last two seasons with the MJHL’s Dauphin Kings. He put up 92 points in 111 regular-season games with Dauphin.
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Another former WHL player has had to quit hockey because of post-concussion syndrome.
Eric Doyle (Everett, Swift Current, Portland, 2005-10) has told Jon Keen, the radio voice of the Kamloops Blazers: “Over my career I had five diagnosed concussions . . . and probably two more that weren't. The last three concussions all came pretty close together and were the worst by far.”
Doyle last skated in November with the ECHL’s Ontario Reign. He was able to play only 12 games with the Reign, though.

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
     
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