Story about Broncos moves closer to big screen

Sudden Death: The Incredible Saga of the 1986 Swift Current Broncos has moved closer to the big screen.
Shayne Putzlocher, the founder of Trilight Entertainment, a Calgary- and Regina-based production company, said Thursday that “we have been approved for our development financing for the Sudden Death first-draft script.”
That financing has come through Telefilm Canada and the Alberta Media Fund.
Rob King, a veteran writer/director, started working on the first draft of a script on Thursday.
The book tells the story of the 1986-87 Swift Current Broncos, a Western Hockey League team that had four players killed in a bus crash on Dec. 30, 1986. In the spring of 1989, the Broncos won the Memorial Cup. Sudden Death was written by Leesa Culp, who witnessed the accident from the cab of a big rig; former Broncos defenceman Bob Wilkie, who was on the bus and the Memorial Cup team; and Gregg Drinnan, who has written about the WHL and its teams for more than 40 years.
The book was published by Dundurn Press in the fall of 2012 and is available in book stores or through the link on the top right of Taking Note’s home page.
Trilight Entertainment purchased an option on the book shortly after it was published.
Putzlocher, who has been on board from the beginning as the project’s producer, has brought in Rob Merilees as co-producer. Merilees is the founder of Foundation Features, a Vancouver-based production company. Of late, Merilees has been producing Motive, a CTV series that just wrapped its second season. Merilees also has been involved in movies like Capote, Just Friends and The Snow Walker.
Putzlocher approached Merilees, whom he describes as “one of my mentors and a really good friend,” and asked if he would co-produce. Putzlocher felt he needed the help “because of the scope of what this is going to be.”
Putzlocher and Merilees got to work and, as Putzlocher said, “between him and myself we were able to raise all the money we needed for this round of development.
“We got financial participation from Telefilm Canada and the Alberta Media Fund.”
The two producers simply sold Telefilm Canada and the Alberta Media Fund on the hockey team’s story.
“We put a package together and it was just the story of the Swift Current Broncos . . . the story of what the book is,” Putzlocher explained. “People know what the story is . . . it wasn’t trying to sell them anything else other than what the story was.
“It’s not just about people in the west or around the WHL who want to see this film made. Telefilm Canada and the Alberta Media Fund see that this story wants to be told. They realize that this is a great story that deserves to be told.
“I would like to give a huge thank you to Telefilm Canada and the Alberta government, and Minister Klimchuk, for supporting this film.”
Heather Klimchuk is Alberta’s minister of culture and community spirit. She was part of an announcement earlier this month involving a $22.8-million studio and sound stage that is to be built in Alberta before the summer of 2015.
With development financing in place, it’s full speed ahead for Sudden Death.
“The first stage of development,” Putzlocher said, “was to get the option on the book and come up with the concept and treatment of what this story is going to be like.
“The second stage is taking that treatment and actually writing a script.”
That's where King comes in. According to Putzlocher, King is a “big junior hockey fan.”
At one point, not long after the Broncos won the 1989 Memorial Cup, a different production company, including King, was in the early stages of developing the Broncos’ story into a movie. However, that project was derailed with the revelations involving Graham James, the Broncos’ general manager and head coach, who eventually was convicted of sexually abusing players.
“I’ve known Rob King since I started in the industry,” said Putzlocher, who has been in the industry for more than 15 years. “He’s a great guy and a great writer. He’s been a great advocate of the industry in Saskatchewan; he’s been around a very long time.”
Putzlocher isn’t prepared to provide any script or production deadlines. As he said, “It takes quite a while . . . it’s taken a year since we developed it. There have been some delays along the way . . .
“But at the end of the day we’re right where we want to be. We are moving forward.”
He paused and continued . . .
“I can’t give you a timeline of when the first draft will be done . . . or when we’ll go on to the second draft or when we want to shoot this. In a perfect world, I know the 30-year anniversary of the accident is coming up.
“But, at the same time, we have to be realistic.”


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THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Codey Burki (Brandon, 2002-07) signed a one-year contract extension with Lausanne (Switzerland, NL A). Burki, who holds dual Canadian-Swiss citizenship, had 12 goals and 17 assists in 39 games this season. Lausanne won the NL B Championship and promotion to NL A for next season. . . .
D Vladimir Mihalik (Red Deer, Prince George, 2005-07) signed a two-year contract extension with Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia, KHL). He had two goals in 15 games with Slovan this season.
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A little of this and some of that . . .
1. The line of the night goes to Les Lazaruk, the veteran play-by-play voice of the Saskatoon Blades. It was the middle of the second period when Lazaruk commented that the fans were really into the game “complaining about everything.” . . . Pause . . . Then he added: “I’d swear it was Moose Jaw.”
2. Bob Wilkie, who won a Memorial Cup in Saskatoon the last time the tournament was played in Saskatoon, is the new director of player development and scouting for the AJHL’s Calgary Canucks. Wilkie, who is from Calgary, was a defenceman with the Swift Current Broncos when they beat the Blades in the final of the 1989 tournament.
3. There will be a lot of talk about the hit by Saskatoon D Dalton Thrower on Portland F Taylor Leier in the first period. . . . If you haven’t seen it, it’s right here.
4. At this point of the Memorial Cup, all disciplinary situations are handled by the NHL’s Hockey Operations department. The people there will be taking a whole lot of looks at Thrower’s hit and will make a decision (suspend or not) early today. . . . Meanwhile, I would be surprised if Leier, who was awfully woozy as he left the ice, plays again in this tournament.
5. The Winterhawks filled Leier’s spot on their second line, alongside Chase De Leo and Oliver Bjorkstrand, with Paul Bittner, a 6-foot-4, 195-pounder from Crookston, Minn. And he was a factor in Portland’s second goal, De Leo’s score that put the Winterhawks up 2-1 at 4:08 of the third period. . . . This really spotlights Portland’s depth. Don’t forget that the Winterhawks lost three of their top four scorers from last season (F Sven Baertschi, F Brad Ross and D Joe Morrow) and really didn’t miss a beat.
6. I’m thinking that Portland F Brendan Leipsic was kind of busy in the second intermission, because that’s when word broke on Twitter that he had signed with the NHL’s Nashville Predators. Must have faxed the contract in from the Winterhawks’ dressing quarters. . . . He then came out and scored his first goal of the tournament at 6:27 of the third period, and that one proved to be the winner. . . . (Neate Sager of Yahoo! Sports reported later that Leipsic actually signed on Sunday.)
7. Attendance was 9,239, so cue the groans. . . . The London Knights, the host team for the 2014 tournament, have announced that ticket packages will sell for between $600 and $680. They play in the 9,100-seat Budweiser Gardens. If they are able to create a demand for tickets, they’ll sell out. The Blades, who play in the 15,195-seat Credit Union Centre, aren’t able to create a demand for tickets.
8. After Portland F Ty Rattie scored his fourth goal of the tournament in the third period, WHL Facts (@WHLFacts) tweeted: “450 — If you count up his reg season, playoff, & MC points.. You'll see that @pdxwinterhawks Ty Rattie just recorded the 450th of his career.”
9. The Blades meet the London Knights in the tiebreaker game tonight, with the winner moving on to play the Winterhawks in the semifinal game on Friday. . . . The Halifax Mooseheads are into Sunday’s final.
10. Driving home from work on Wednesday night, I noticed two gas stations charging $1.41.9 for a litre of regular gasoline. That’s up seven cents a litre from earlier in the day and 30 cents from February.
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The Vancouver Giants have placed D Tyler Nanne, 17, on their protected list and are working hard in an attempt to land the grandson of former Minnesota North Stars icon Lou Nanne. . . . Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province has more right here.
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Well, Wenatchee, Wash., wasn’t without the NAHL for long. Just a few days after the Wild announced that it was relocating to Hidalgo, Texas, the Fresno Monsters have revealed that they will be moving to Wenatchee. . . . One of the reasons the Wild left was an inability to reach a lease agreement with the Town Toyota Center; the Monsters apparently had no such problem. . . . Michelle McNiel of the Wenatchee World reports that the NAHL board of governors is to meet today and Friday, and approval for the move is expected to be granted.
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THE COACHING GAME:
Geoff Grimwood is return for a second season as the head coach of the B.C. Major Midget League’s South Island Royals, who play out of Victoria. The Royals were 11-22-7 last season. . . . Grimwood also is an part-time assistant coach with the WHL’s Victoria Royals. . . . Rob Milliken has signed on as an associate coach alongside Grimwood. Milliken coached the major midget team from 2005-10.

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Name The Line

Back in the day, there was the Kraut Line, Uke Line, Pony Line, Production Line, Triple Crown Line, the French Connection et al.
In Kamloops this season, the Blazers have what to this point is the the WHL’s top threesome, featuring Colin Smith between Tim Bozon and JC Lipon.
The line, however, doesn’t have a nickname.
So now is you chance to name the line.
Email your suggestions to gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.
You’ve got until midnight Pacific time on Nov. 24, at which time a winner will be selected. I also will give the winner a copy of the book that I co-authored — Sudden Death: The Incredible Saga of the 1986 Swift Current Broncos.

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Book on Broncos on shelves Nov. 10

Gregg Drinnan with a copy of the book he co-authored.
(Murray Mitchell / Kamloops Daily News)

By JASON HEWLETT
Daily News Staff Reporter
The picture on the cover of Gregg Drinnan’s book about the 1986 Swift Current Broncos says it all.
At the top is a colour photograph of the WHL team hoisting the 1989 Memorial Cup. Below it is a black and white picture of the bus accident that killed four of the Broncos’ players three years earlier.
“It’s the story of the players,” Drinnan, sports editor at The Daily News, said of Sudden Death: The Incredible Saga of the 1986 Swift Current Broncos.
The book, due in stores Saturday, Nov. 10, provides insight into the team and its struggles to persevere following the tragedy, he said.
But it also reveals a side of coach Graham James that many people might not know, said Drinnan, who was assistant sports editor at the Regina Leader-Post at the time of the accident.
“If you read the book and don’t know anything about Graham James and what happened with him, you’d think this is a very angry hockey coach,” he said.
Although it wasn’t known at the time, James was a sexual predator who victimized at least two of the young players.
As a sports reporter, Drinnan interviewed James numerous times during that period. He said James had two sides, the media-savvy coach that was always good for a quote and the volatile man behind the scenes.
“He would come in the dressing room and pick the stereo up or ghetto blaster and throw it off the wall,” said Drinnan. “After the bus accident, it just got worse.”
At the time, sexual exploitation of children wasn’t reported in the news. Looking back, James’s behaviour can be seen in a new light, said Drinnan.
Drinnan was approached by Leesa Culp and Bob Wilkie four years ago with a rough manuscript that eventually became Sudden Death.
Culp had been travelling in a vehicle behind the bus when the accident occurred. Wilkie is a former player with the Swift Current Broncos.
“I thought there was something there. I thought it was a story certainly worth telling,” said Drinnan.
Drinnan will sign copies of Sudden Death at the Coles bookstore in Aberdeen Mall from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Nov. 10. The book retails for $25.99.

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Sudden Death: Book to be published in September

It was 25 years ago today when the Swift Current Broncos boarded their bus and headed to Regina for a scheduled game against the Pats. It was to be the Broncos’ first game following the 1986-87 Christmas break. This also was their first season back in Swift Current, having moved from Lethbridge over the summer.
The Broncos’ bus, of course, never made it to Regina on that stormy evening in 1986. It crashed just east of Swift Current and four players – Scott Kruger, Trent Kresse, Chris Mantyka and Brent Ruff – were killed.
Tonight, the Broncos are again scheduled to play in Regina and the Pats will honour the memories of Kruger, Kresse, Mantyka and Ruff in a small pregame ceremony.
Tim Tisdale, who was in his first season with the Broncos in 1986-87 and who lives and works in Swift Current, will be on hand to take part in a ceremonial faceoff. Tisdale played with the Broncos through the 1989 Memorial Cup, in which he scored the OT goal in a 4-3 championship-game victory over the host Saskatoon Blades. He later went on to a coaching career that included a two-season stint with the Pats.
The pregame ceremony, which is to begin at 7 p.m., also will include Darren McKechnie, who was a 19-year-old forward with the Pats in 1987-88.
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Rob Vanstone of the Regina Leader-Post flashes back 25 years right here.
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More than two years ago, two people – Leesa Culp and Bob Wilkie – approached me about a project on which they were working.
They had prepared a short manuscript about the crash of the Swift Current Broncos’ bus that they were wanting to turn into a book.
At the time of the accident, Culp was in a big rig that had slowed down to allow the Broncos’ bus to pull onto the Trans-Canada Highway at Swift Current. Wilkie was a defenceman in his first season with the Broncos, who had acquired him from the Calgary Wranglers earlier in the season.
Culp and Wilkie both felt there was a story to be told.
More than two years later, the manuscript has been worked and reworked, interviews have been conducted, and out of it all has come a book.
Sudden Death: The Incredible Saga of the 1986 Swift Current Broncos is to be published by Dundurn Press in September.
This is the story of the Broncos, primarily from Dec. 30, 1986, through the end of the 1989 Memorial Cup.
There is more right here from Robert Koopmans of the Kamloops Daily News.
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You already are able to pre-order this book from Amazon and from McNally Robinson.