Rockets grab Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy

Canadian Olympic team veteran Hayley Wickenheiser has sent her
best wishes to Kootenay Ice F Tim Bozon, who remains in Royal
University Hospital in Saskatoon battling meningitis.

THE MacBETH REPORT:

F Brett Breitkreuz (Kelowna, Edmonton, Vancouver, 2006-10) has signed a one-year extension with Augsburger Panther (Germany, DEL). In 52 games this season, he had six goals and six assists.
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You may recall a few weeks back when The MacBeth Report brought news of two former WHLers, Tyler Mosienko and Kirill Starkov, who were playing in Denmark and found themselves caught up in a gambling scandal. . . . Well, disciplinary measures have been handed down and details are right here. . . . Mosienko now is with the ECHL’s Alaska Aces and, in fact, has nine points in 12 games.
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The Chilliwack Chiefs without Harvey Smyl? That's like eggs without bacon, like a hot dog without mustard, like Christmas without Santa Claus. But that will be the case next season as the Chiefs announced Wednesday evening that Smyl is stepping down as general manager and head coach of the BCHL franchise. Smyl has been with the Chiefs through 21 seasons. According to a Chiefs' news release, "Smyl informed Chiefs’ President Glen Ringdal on Tuesday that he will not renew his contract which expires at the end of May, but instead will pursue new directions and interests." . . . The Chiefs made the playoffs in 20 of Smyl's 21 seasons there. He is a four-time winner of the BCHL's coach-of-the-year award.
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The Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League has a Hall of Fame and has announced its Class of 2014.
Inductions will take place July 25 as part of SJHL Hall of Fame Weekend in Melfort. Included in the festivities will be a dinner and, yes, a golf tournament.
Going into the Hall of Fame this time will be former Melfort Mustangs head coach Kevin Dickie, former on-ice official Brad Meier, former Melfort D Willie Mitchell, Brian Munz, a one-time radio voice of Humboldt Broncos, Nipawin Hawks and Melfort, former SJHL player and coach Mark Odnokon, former G Rick Schultz, who now is chairman of the SJHL’s board of directors, Neil Shewchuk, who did play-by-play in the SJHL for 20 years, long-time SJHL general manager and executive Leonard Strandberg and the 1995-96 Melfort Mustangs.
For more, check out Benny Walchuk’s blog, Walchuk’s World, right here.
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Meanwhile, the Saskatchewan Hockey Hall of Fame announced its 2014 inductees in January. I was away and missed it, so here they are:
Players -- Brian Propp, Brad McCrimmon, Johnny Gottselig, Jim Neilson
Builders -- Terry Simpson, Wayne Kartusch, Emile Francis
Official -- Wes Smith
Grassroots -- Bruce Clements
Teams -- 1982 Prince Albert Raiders, 1972 Rosetown Redwings
There is more right here.
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The WHL doesn't have a Hall of Fame. Sadly . . .
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Prior to Wednesday's home game, the Regina Pats saluted four long-time volunteers as Builders of the organization. Off-ice officials Gary Renner and Bill White, Dr. Ian Hill and Dr. Ralph Berdan join Graham Tuer, Lorne Davis, Bob Turner, Del Wilson, Gord Staseson and Al Ritchie as honoured Builders. . . . Renner was a member of the team's off-ice crew for 44 years, while White was there for 42 years. . . . Dr. Hill was the club's doctor for 45 years before retiring last season. Dr. Berdan has been the team dentist for 35 years, although he is stepping aside after this season.
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In hockey season, among other things, Steve Ewen covers the Vancouver Giants for the Vancouver Province. In the summer, you can find him at Scotiabank Field at Nat Bailey Stadium covering the Vancouver Canadians. . . . On Wednesday, the Canadians announced that they will induct Ewen into their Broadcast and Journalism Hall of Fame on Aug. 30. Being enshrined with Ewen will be broadcaster Bob Robertson. . . . Ewen has covered the Canadians for 14 seasons and has covered all six of their Northwest League playoff runs.
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The City of Lethbridge has a water problem brought on by turbidity and has declared a state of emergency. One of the things the city has done is shut down all of its arenas. The Hurricanes are scheduled to play host to the Medicine Hat Tigers on Friday; an announcement is expected to be made sometime today as to whether that game will go ahead at the Enmax Centre. . . .
The Brandon Wheat Kings are fighting for their playoff lives and may get some help in time for their next game. The Wheat Kings are to play the Pats in Regina on Friday and Brandon may have F Peter Quenneville back in their lineup. Quenneville, who has 45 points, including 16 goals, in 42 games, hasn’t played since Feb. 17, but took part in a full practice on Wednesday. . . . F Jens Meilleur, a fourth-year skater who has been out since Feb. 26, was on the ice in a non-contact sweater. . . .
The Saskatoon Blades will win fewer than 20 games for the sixth time in franchise history. . . . Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix provides a pretty good look right here at what it was like on a Blades team that won only seven games.
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IF THE PLAYOFFS BEGAN TODAY:
Eastern Conference
Edmonton (1) vs. Brandon (8)
Regina (2) vs. Red Deer (7)
Calgary (3) vs. Swift Current (6)
Medicine Hat (4) vs. Kootenay (5)
(NOTE: A tie for a conference‘s final playoff spot will result in a tiebreaker game. Prince Albert is two points behind Red Deer and Brandon; each of the three teams has two games remaining.)
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Western Conference
Kelowna (1) vs. Tri-City (8)
Portland (2) vs. Vancouver (7)
Victoria (3) vs. Everett (6)
Seattle (4) vs. Spokane (5)
(NOTE: Kelowna-Tri-City and Portland-Vancouver are locked in as first-round series.)
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THURSDAY’S WHL GAMES (all times local):
No games scheduled.
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FRIDAY’S WHL GAMES (all times local):
Calgary at Kootenay, 7 p.m.
Medicine Hat at Lethbridge, 7 p.m.
Saskatoon at Prince Albert, 7 p.m.
Brandon at Regina, 7 p.m.
Moose Jaw at Swift Current, 7 p.m.
Prince George at Kamloops, 7 p.m.
Tri-City at Spokane, 7:05 p.m.
Everett at Victoria, 7:05 p.m.
Kelowna at Vancouver, 7:30 p.m.
Portland at Seattle, 7:35 p.m.
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WEDNESDAY’S GAMES:
In Medicine Hat, the Edmonton Oil Kings moved back into sole possession of first place in the Eastern Conference with a 3-1 victory over the Tigers. . . . F Luke Bertolucci, with his sixth, in the first period, and D Griffin Reinhart, with his fourth, at 1:04 of the second on a PP, gave the visitors a 2-0 lead. . . . Tigers F Cole Sanford got his guys within one when he scored his 31st at 16:15 of the second. . . . Edmonton F Edgars Kulda added insurance with his 29th, into an empty net, at 19:57 of the third. . . . Edmonton G Tristan Jarry stopped 30 shots, five fewer than Medicine Hat's Marek Langhamer. . . . Edmonton F Reid Petryk was helped off the ice in the third period. Darren Steinke of the Medicine Hat News tweeted that Petryk appeared unable to put any weight on his left leg, but that he seemed OK after the game. . . . Tigers D Dylan Bredo played in his 288th consecutive regular-season game, which ties him for fourth with F Steve Kuhn, who played for the Spokane Chiefs, in the WHL record book. F Justin Feser, who played for the Tri-City Americans, holds the WHL record (321). . . . Steinke has a story on Bredo and his accomplishment right here. . . . The Oil Kings (49-18-3) have 101 points, the third straight season in which they surpassed 100. They need one victory or a Calgary Hitmen loss in regulation to wrap up first place in the Eastern Conference for a third straight season. . . . The Tigers (42-24-4) will finish fourth in the conference and will play the Kootenay Ice or Swift Current Broncos in the first round. . . .

In Red Deer, G Patrik Bartosak stopped 46 shots to lead the Rebels to a 3-2 victory over the Kootenay Ice. . . . Rebels D Nick Charif gave his guys a 2-0 lead with this third goal at 6:04 of the second period. . . . Ice F Jaedon Descheneau scored his 43rd just 53 seconds later. . . . Red Deer F Scott Feser upped the lead to 3-1 with this 14th at 16:04 of the third. . . . F Sam Reinhart had two assists for the Ice as he closed to within one of the franchise record for assists in one season. F Jarrett Stoll holds the record of 66 from 2000-01. Reinhart has 99 points this season; Stoll is the last Kootenay player to reach 100 points; he had 106 in 2000-01. . . . Red Deer F Wyatt Johnson drew two assists. . . . The Ice again dressed 16 skaters, two under the maximum. They remain without D Landon Cross and D Landon Peel. . . . Red Deer (34-31-5) is tied with the Brandon Wheat Kings for seventh in the Eastern Conference. Red Deer holds the edge in the tiebreaker, with a 34-32 edge in victories. . . . The Ice (39-27-4) is fifth in the conference, one point ahead of Swift Current. . . .

In Regina, F Dyson Stevenson and F Connor Gay each scored twice as the Pats dumped the Prince Albert Raiders, 7-1. . . . Stevenson has 38 goals, while Gay now has 17. . . . Regina F Morgan Klimchuk scored his 30th goal, a shorthanded effort, while F Dryden Hunt got his 20th. . . . Pats F Chandler Stephenson scored his 20th goal at 17:46 of the second period. It was his eighth shorthanded goal this season. . . . Regina has scored a WHL-leading 17 shorthanded goals, but its penalty killing is ranked 20th. . . . Stephenson also had three assists. . . . (I only hope Chandler's nickname is PH and Dyson answers to V.) . . . Raiders F Collin Valcourt scored the game's first goal, his 25th, but his side then gave up seven. . . . Regina G Dawson MacAuley stopped 28 shots. . . . Regina D Isaac Schacher was pointless but finished plus-4. . . . Regina (39-25-6) hasn’t won 40 games since 2007-08 when it last finished atop the East Division. With two games to play, the Pats lead the division by three points over Swift Current. Each team has two games remaining. . . . The Raiders (33-32-5), who have lost their last two games, slid into ninth place in the Eastern Conference, two points out of a playoff spot. They have two games remaining. . . .

In Swift Current, F Colby Cave broke a 5-5 tie with 20.9 seconds left in the third period as the Broncos beat the Saskatoon Blades, 6-5. . . . Cave's 32nd goal came 1:03 after Saskatoon D Jordan Thomson went off for holding, only the game's fifth minor penalty. . . . F Graham Black had a goal, his 34th, and three assists for the Broncos. . . . Saskatoon led 3-0 before the game was 12 minutes old and drove G Eetu Laurikainen to the bench in the process. Landon Bow came on to stop 15 of 18 shots. . . . Saskatoon D MacKenzie Johnston, a 20-yer-old playing in his hometown for the last time, gave the Blades a 4-1 lead with his fourth goal 24 seconds into the second period. . . . After goals from F Jay Merkley, his 31st, and F Glenn Gawdin, his ninth, Black tied it at 9:44 of the second. . . . F Jake DeBrusk, who had two assists, gave the Broncos the lead with his 15th goal at 11:10. . . . Saskatoon F Cory Millette tied it with his 16th just 10 seconds into the third. . . . F Ryan Graham scored twice for the Blades, giving him 15 on the season. . . . Saskatoon G Brandon Kegler stopped 39 shots. . . . The Broncos (36-25-9) are sixth in the Eastern Conference, one point behind the Kootenay Ice. Swift Current also is three points behind Regina in the race for first in the East Division. . . . The Blades (16-49-5) have lost 10 in a row. . . .

In Kamloops, the Kelowna Rockets clinched first place in the overall standings, beating the Blazers, 4-1. . . . The Rockets now have won the Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy on three occasions. . . . F Ryan Olsen scored twice for the Rockets, getting his 30th of the season into an empty net. . . . Kamloops G Bolton Pouliot was terrific in making 40 saves. . . . Kelowna F Tyrell Goulborne gave his side a 3-1 lead with his 17th goal at 16:13 of the third period. . . . Kamloops F Eric Krienke had scored his third goal at 11:34, giving the Blazers at least faint hope. . . . Kelowna F Nick Merkely scored his 24th goal, one shy of the franchise record for most goals in a season by a 16-year-old. F Shane McColgan, now with the BCHL's Penticton Vees, scored 25 times in 2009-10. . . . Kelowna G Jackson Whistle made 18 saves. He was sharp despite not being tested nearly as often as Pouliot. . . . Kelowna (55-11-4) will meet the Tri-City Americans (28-32-9) in a first-round series. . . . The Blazers (13-52-5) have lost eight in a row. . . .

In Vancouver, F Trent Lofthouse scored two goals to help the Giants to a 3-2 victory over the Victoria Royals. . . . The loss ended Victoria’s six-game winning streak. . . . Vancouver G Payton Lee stopped 41 shots, including 21 in a scoreless first period. . . . Lofthouse, who played nine games with Victoria last season and 11 this season, broke a 1-1 tie with his 11th goal, on the PP, at 15:39 of the second period. . . . He upped the home team’s lead to 3-1 with another PP goal, this one at 15:23 of the third. . . . Victoria F Steven Hodges scored his 20th goal at 1:13 of the second period. . . . Victoria F Austin Carroll got his 34th at 17:18 of the third, via the PP, to make things interesting. . . . Lofthouse, a 19-year-old from Surrey, B.C., joined the Giants with 15 goals in 112 regular-season games. In 34 games with Vancouver, he has scored 11 times. . . . Vancouver G Coleman Vollrath stopped 20 shots. . . . Vancouver was 2-for-3 on the PP; Victoria was 1-for-5. . . . Vancouver F Brendan Holterhus, who will turn 17 on March 24, made his WHL debut. A list player, he is from Edmonton where he spent the season with the midget AAA CAC Canadians. . . . The Giants (32-27-11) will finish seventh in the Western Conference and meet the Portland Winterhawks in the first round. . . . The Royals (48-18-4) will finish third and will meet either the Seattle Thunderbirds, Spokane Chiefs or Everett Silvertips in the opening round. . . .

In Spokane, the Everett Silvertips beat the Chiefs 4-2, giving them their first victory in Spokane in 19 tries. . . . Going into the game, F Josh Winquist was the only player on Everett's roster who knew what it was like for the Silvertips to win in Spokane. . . . Everett last won in Spokane on Feb. 24, 2010. Since then, it was 16-0-2. . . . Winquist scored twice, giving him 45 goals this season. He tied the game 2-2 at 12:27 of the second and then broke the tie at 19:55, on a PP. . . . Winquist drew an assist on F Carson Stadnyk’s second goal of the game, and 22nd of the season, at 16:04 of the third. . . . Spokane F Mitch Holmberg got his WHL-leading 61st goal; it was the 186th of his career, tying F Pat Falloon for the franchise’s career record. . . . Holmberg also had an assist, running his WHL-leading point total to 116. He holds a seven-point edge over Portland Winterhawks F Nic Petan. . . . Everett (37-23-9) is 9-0-1 in its last 10. It is sixth in the Western Conference, one point behind the Chiefs (39-25-6) and three in arrears of the Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . The Chiefs, who had a three-game winning streak snapped, have two games left; Everett and Seattle have yet to play three games.


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Pulock into Wheaties' record book

THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Sami Sandell (Brandon, 2004-06) signed a one-year-plus-option extension with Ilves Tampere (Finland, Liiga). This season, he is second on the team in scoring, with 30 points, including 10 goals, in 43 games.
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JUST NOTES:
D Ryan Pulock of the Brandon Wheat Kings scored his 61st career goal on Saturday, tying him with the late Brad McCrimmon for the franchise record for most career goals by a defenceman. . . . Pulock also became the fifth defenceman in Wheat Kings history to reach 200 points, joining McCrimmon, Cam Plante, Justin Kurtz and Burke Henry. . . .
The Saskatoon Blades have brought in G Brandon Kegler from the Edmonton-based midget AAA Knights of Columbus Pats. Kegler, from Leduc, Alta., was the Blades’ second pick in the 2012 bantam draft, going to them in the fourth round. . . . Kegler’s services are needed to back up Troy Trombley after Alex Moodie was injured on Saturday night during a 6-3 loss to the visiting Victoria Royals. Moodie was returning to action after sitting out 12 games with a groin injury, when he went down with an undisclosed injury and didn’t come out for the third period. . . .
The Seattle Thunderbirds have added F Lane Pederson to their roster. Pederson, a fifth-round pick in the 2012 bantam draft, played this season with the midget AAA Saskatoon Blazers, for whom he had 41 points, including 21 gaols, in 37 games. With the Blazers’ season having ended, Pederson has joined the Thunderbirds. . . .
F Sam Reinhart of the Kootenay Ice goes into this week riding a 20-game point streak, the longest in the WHL this season. The franchise record of 21 is held by F Mike Comrie (Sept. 23 to Nov. 10, 2000). . . . Reinhart also has at least one assist in each of his last 13 games. He has broken the previous franchise record of eight games. . . . F Nic Petan of the Portland Winterhawks has the longest assist streak this season. At 14 games, it is still alive. . . . The Ice visits the Moose Jaw Warriors on Wednesday; the Winterhawks, who were given Monday and Tuesday off, meet the Chiefs in Spokane on Friday.
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IF THE PLAYOFFS BEGAN TODAY:
Eastern Conference
Calgary (1) vs. Prince Albert (8)
Regina (2) vs. Brandon (7)
Edmonton (3) vs. Swift Current (6)
Medicine Hat (4) vs. Kootenay (5)
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Western Conference
Kelowna (1) vs. Tri-City (8)
Portland (2) vs. Everett (7)
Victoria (3) vs. Vancouver (6)
Seattle (4) vs. Spokane (5)
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TUESDAY’S WHL GAMES (all times local):
Lethbridge at Regina, 7 p.m.
Moose Jaw at Saskatoon, 7:05 p.m.
Edmonton at Medicine Hat, 7 p.m.
Prince George at Kelowna, 7:05 p.m.
Prince Albert at Seattle, 7:05 p.m.
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MONDAY’S GAMES:
None scheduled.
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TWEET OF THE DAY:
From Kevin Paul DuPont (@GlobeKPD) of the Boston Globe: “Robocall just now tells me FBI says there is a home break-in every 15 seconds in USA. In Canada, Carey Price stops 'em all.”

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Green moves from Oil Kings to Oilers

If you are a season-ticket holder, I don’t know what, if any, gift you get from the team
you support, but the Regina Pats are providing “a limited edition canvas jersey print,”
according to a news release. “The print features seven jerseys, including the Pats’ current
home-and-away uniforms, along with five from past seasons.”

THE MacBETH REPORT:
D Paul Albers (Calgary, Regina, Vancouver, 2001-06) signed a one-year contract extension with Cortina (Italy, Serie A). He had seven goals and 18 assists in 43 games last season. . . .
D Tyson Marsh (Vancouver, 2001-04) signed a one-year contract extension with the Cardiff Devils (Wales, UK Elite). He had six goals and 23 assists in 52 games last season. . . .
F Tomas Polak (Red Deer, 2007-09) signed a try-out contract with Landshut (Germany, DEL2). He had one assist in one game with Karlovy Vary (Czech Republic, Extraliga), three assists in 11 games on loan to Most (Czech Republic, 1. Liga), and two assists in 27 games on loan to Berounsti Medvedi (Czech Republic, 1. Liga) last season. . . .
D Sebastian Owuya (Medicine Hat, 2010-11) signed a one-year contract with Sundsvall (Sweden, Division 1). He had one goal and four assists in 17 games with Borås (Sweden, Division 1) and three goals and six assists in 24 games with Västervik (Sweden, Division 1) last season.
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One day last week, I ran an item here from a Greg Douglas column that appeared in the Vancouver Sun. That item suggested that there had been discussions between the Vancouver Giants and Vancouver broadcaster Dan Russell involving the WHL team’s play-by-play position.
Russell, the long-time host of Sportstalk on Vancouver radio station CKNW, informed me on Wednesday that simply isn’t true.
“Sadly,” Russell wrote in an email, “it isn’t the first time Douglas has carelessly or erroneously reported on my career.
“The fact is that there was never one discussion with the Giants about that possibility, nor did I want to explore it given that I already have a WHL play-by-play role with Shaw TV.”
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A regular reader from Portland dropped this note:
“Just in case you care . . . the naming rights to the Rose Garden (now the Moda Center) went for $40 million over 10 years . . . four million a year. This was the reported figure in all of the Portland media.
“According to Forbes, Paul Allen is the 20th richest person in the States with an estimated value of $15 billion, so obviously it was very important to him to collect another $40 million.”
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The Edmonton Oil Kings lost their general manager on Wednesday when the parent Edmonton Oilers named Bob Green their director of amateur free-agent scouting. . . . The 52-year-old Green, the WHL’s executive of the year in each of the last two seasons, spent six seasons as the Oil Kings’ GM. . . . According to an Oilers news release: “Green . . . will work closely with the Oilers Hockey Operations department and Amateur Scouting staff, assisting with identifying and recruiting NCAA, CHL and select European free agents, as well as develop a free agent priority list.” . . . Under Green, the Oil Kings have been in the last two WHL championship finals, winning it all in 2011-12. . . . There was no announcement involving a new GM for the Oil Kings, but speculation is that Randy Hansch, the assistant GM and director of player personnel, may be in line for a promotion and that it may come as early as today.
The Edmonton Journal has more right here.
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Jack Brodsky almost certainly will be the majority owner of the Saskatoon Blades when the WHL’s 2013-14 season begins. That’s because there really isn’t anything new regarding a possible sale of the franchise.
Mike Priestner, the Edmonton auto dealer who is hoping to purchase the franchise, confirmed to Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix that he made a “firm offer” but he and Brodsky both have been on vacation.
“Jack is certainly very happy with our offer as far as both the price and what he felt our management structure would look like if we did go forward,” Priestner told Nugent-Bowman without divulging any of his plans.
“Based on their conversations,” Nugent-Bowman writes, “Priestner said he doesn’t expect to hear back from Brodsky for another three or four weeks while he mulls over the offers with his family and the league.”
One other group that includes former Blades players Kelly Chase, Dave Chartier and Rhett Warrener is believed to be in the hunt.
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The Prince Albert Raiders will induct the late Brad McCrimmon into their Wall of Honour on Sept. 27. McCrimmon, a former Raiders defenceman, went on to star for the Brandon Wheat Kings, who will provide the opposition on Sept. 27. Kelly McCrimmon, Brad’s brother, is the Wheat Kings’ owner/GM/head coach. . . . Brad, the SJHL’s defenceman of the year as a 16-year-old with the Raiders, went on to a lengthy pro career and was into coaching when he died in a plane crash with the KHL’s Yaroslavl Lokomotiv on Sept. 7, 2011. . . . The McCrimmons are from Plenty, Sask. . . . Also being inducted into the Wall of Honour will be builders Jim Bristowe and Doug Winterton. . . . Bristowe worked as a minor official and linseman and then took over as the public address voice, a position he held for 27 years, through 1999-2000. He also served on the franchise’s board of directors. . . . Winterton also served on the board and was a charter member of the Raiders’ Booster Club. Like Bristowe, Winterton also billeted players, including Brad McCrimmon.
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Jacques Beaulieu, the former head coach of the OHL’s Sarnia Sting, and his son, Nathan, a Montreal Canadiens prospect, were in court Wednesday. They each pleaded guilty to one count of assault and received conditional discharges.
Jane Sims of the London Free Press has more right here.
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Former NHL player and coach Steve Ludzik is living a happy life despite his battles with Parkinson’s disease.
"I'm the happiest I've ever been in my life," he tells Damian Cristodero of the Tampa Bay Times. "I decided to come out and treat Parkinson's like a bully and expose it."
Later in the story, Ludzik, who figures he had at least six concussions during his NHL careers, says: “"My Parkinson's disease I know without a shadow of a doubt is from getting blows to the head and constant damage to my body.”
Cristodero’s complete story is right here.
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THE COACHING GAME:
Former NHL F Mike Craig has signed on as an assistant coach with the Lethbridge Hurricanes. He joins head coach Drake Berehowsky and assistant Brad Lukowich on what is a brand new coaching staff. . . . Craig, who played junior for the OHL’s Oshawa Generals, played professionally for 22 years, the last 10 in Europe. He played 423 NHL games with four teams (Minnesota North Stars, Dallas Stars, Toronto Maple Leafs and San Jose Sharks).
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The junior B Revelstoke Grizzlies of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League have hired their second head coach of the summer. . . . Kevin MacKay is the new head man, after James Eccles, who was hired late in July, decided to go in another direction. . . . Eccles had been the head coach of the major midget Okanagan Rockets. . . . Kevin Kraus, the GM and head coach of the Grizzlies last season, now is an assistant coach with the BCHL’s Salmon Arm SilverBacks.
Alex Cooper of the Revelstoke Times Review has more right here.
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From Portland Winterhawks F Shane McColgan (@Shane18McColgan): “Surgery was a success.”
He included an instagram photo showing him in a hospital bed with his right arm, wrist, hand and thumb in a cast.

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THE MacBETH REPORT:
D Ricard Blidstrand (Regina, Prince George, 2010-12) has been assigned on loan by Västerås (Sweden, Allsvenskan) to Kallinge/Ronneby (Sweden, Division 1). The term of the loan is open-ended. Blidstrand had five goals and 21 assists in 62 games split between Regina and Prince George last season.
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As you make your way through today, please take a moment and remember the tragedy that hit the hockey world one year ago. It was on Sept. 7, 2011 that the plane carrying Lokomotiv Yaroslavl went down, killing all of the hockey team’s personnel, including former WHL player and coach Brad McCrimmon.
A memorial parade is scheduled for today in Yaroslavl and Maureen McCrimmon, Brad’s widow, and their two children, Carlin and Liam, will be there.
Eric Duhatschek of The Globe and Mail talks with Kelly McCrimmon, Brad’s brother and the owner/GM of the Brandon Wheat Kings, right here.
It also came to light on Thursday that the two pilots of that particular plane were in the air illegally. There’s more on that right here.
Tal Pinchevsky of NHL.com takes a look right here at the players and coaches who died in the crash.
And for today’s good read check out this piece right here by Scott Burnside of espn.com as he visits with Brad McCrimmon’s family.
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Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix has a piece right here on Blades G Andrey Makarov, who rejoined the team on Tuesday. The kid had a tremendously busy summer – when will the pooh-bahs start letting these guys get away from the game for more than a few days during the summer? – and you can bet Blades’ GM/head coach Lorne Molleken will be closely monitoring the workload this season.
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The Prince George Cougars have signed D Tanner Lishchynsky, a 1995-born skater from Saskatoon. The 6-foot-0, 172-pounder played the last two seasons with the midget AAA Saskatoon Blazers. He had 27 points in 41 games last season. . . . Lishchynsky is one of 10 defencemen on the Cougars’ roster going into a two-game set at home against the Edmonton Oil Kings.
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Hockey Alberta is the latest sports organization to made the decision to implement the Respect in Sport parent and activity leader programs. Respect in Sport is an on-line bullying, abuse, harassment and neglect prevention program that is the brainchild of partners Wayne McNeil and former NHL/WHL player Sheldon Kennedy. . . . There is more right here on Hockey Alberta’s decision.
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The NHL’s New Jersey Devils have signed two WHLers – D Reece Scarlett of the Swift Current Broncos and D Damon Severson of the Kelowna Rockets – to three-year entry-level contracts. . . . Scarlett was a sixth-round pick in the 2011 NHL draft. Last season, he had 49 points in 71 games with the Broncos. . . . Severson was taken in the second round of the 2012 NHL draft and attended the Devils' summer came in mid-July. Last season, he had 37 points in 56 games with Kelowna.
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JUST NOTES: D Alex Theriau, 20, of the Medicine Hat Tigers won’t play until perhaps October as he continues to recover from off-season hip surgery. . . . F Sean Aschim, 20, had been in Medicine Hat’s camp but was released and has joined the SJHL’s Melville Millionaires. . . . The WHL-champion Edmonton Oil Kings are in Prince George for games tonight and Saturday with the Cougars. Evan Daum of the Edmonton Journal reports that the Oil Kings left a number of veterans at home, including F T.J. Foster, D Martin Gernat, D Keegan Lowe, F Michael St. Croix and F Henrik Samuelsson. D Griffin Reinhart did make the trip and is expected to play in at least one of the games.
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When you think of hard-hitting football players of recent times, the name Rodney Harrison may be one of the first ones to spring to mind. He’s retired now and, at the age of 39, says he is “scared to death of what may happen to me.” There’s more right here.
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You are the coach of a high school football team. You are 0-2 and have been outscored 98-8. You have 14 healthy players. You had 16 but two have missed time with concussions. What do you do? Cadott, Wisc., head coach Perry Myren called off the rest of the season. . . . That story is right here.

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Remembering Brad McCrimmon . . .
The Detroit Free Press has a story right here.
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Keith Gave of the Detroit Free Press has a neat Brad McCrimmon memory right here.
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Ryan Pyette of QMI Agency attended Saturday’s funeral service in Farmington, Mich. His story is right here.
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Craig Custance of espn.com also was in Farmington and he remembers the beauty of the Beast right here.
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JUST NOTES: The Red Deer Rebels got their roster down to 31 players by assigning F Dexter Bricker, 16, to the midget AAA Swift Current Legionnaires and F Scott Feser, 16, to the midget AAA Red Deer Optimist Rebels. The Rebels have five players still with NHL teams. . . . The Spokane Chiefs got D Brenden Kitchton back from the camp of the New York Islanders but still are missing F Blake Gal (Calgary), F Darren Kramer (Ottawa) and F Dominik Uher (Pittsburgh). . . . Kelowna G Jordan Cooke, 18, finished his superb exhibition season with a 36-save performance Saturday in Ladner, B.C., as the Rockets got past the Vancouver Giants 2-1 in a shootout. Kelowna head coach Ryan Huska is of the belief that Cooke and veteran Adam Brown, 20, give his club the best 1-2 goaltending punch in the league and it’s hard to argue with him at this point. . . . How did Cooke do in the exhibition season? He went 5-0-0, 2.30, .930.
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Victoria makes its return to the WHL on Friday when the Royals meet the Giants in Vancouver. The teams will play again the next night in Victoria. Cleve Dheensaw has an interesting look at the decision-making process on the part of RG Properties that resulted in the franchise moving from Chilliwack to Victoria. That piece is right here.
Dave Dakers, the president of RG Properties sports and entertainment division, told Dheensaw that the ECHL’s Victoria Salmon Kings, a franchise that was folded to make room for the Royals, had an annual operating budget of $3 million, with the Royals’ running at "15 to 20 per cent less" than that.
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James Christie of The Globe and Mail attended a seminar — Outcomes following Concussion in Hockey — at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto on Saturday.
Dr. Shree Bhalerao told the seminar that concussion patients “don’t want to return to the ice. They have a feeling of panic . . . the elements of an acute stress disorder.
“Eighty-seven per cent have cognitive changes in short-term memory and problems in what have become known as executive functions: problems in sequencing organization, attention and planning.”
Dr. Michael Cusimaro, a neurosurgeon who specializes in brain injury management, said: “There's still an attitude out there that brain injury is like a broken arm. You can't take your brain for granted.”
During the seminar, Christie writes, “Dr. Michael Hutchison, a post-doctoral fellow in injury prevention at St. Mike's, said a videotape study of almost 200 concussions in the NHL from 2007 to 2010 showed most are caused by head shots initiated by shoulder, elbow or gloves. Only about one in 10 were the result of fights, he said.”
Christie’s complete piece is right here.

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
     
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
     
Taking Note on Twitter

Please take a couple of minutes out of your busy day and remember Brad McCrimmon by clicking on right here.
McCrimmon, one of the best defencemen ever to play in the WHL, was the head coach of Lokomotiv Yaroslavl and one of 44 people killed in a plane crash on Sept. 7.
A funeral mass will be held today in Farmington, Mich.
McCrimmon, the older brother of Kelly McCrimmon, the Brandon Wheat Kings’ owner and general manager, was 52.
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The Victoria Royals (nee Chilliwack Bruins) played at home for the first time on Friday night. They lost 3-2 to the Vancouver Giants.
The big news, however, was at the gate as 5,396 fans took in the game.
Cleve Dheensaw of the Victoria Times Colonist was there and his story is right here.
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JUST NOTES: D William Wrenn, 20, was back from the San Jose Sharks’ camp and skating with the Portland Winterhawks on Friday. . . . The WHL has suspended Regina Pats F Mikael Jung for four games for a check to the head on Brandon Wheat Kings F Jason Swyripa on Wednesday night. The host Pats won that game 4-0. . . . .Neither Jung nor Swyripa played in Friday’s rematch in Brandon, won 5-0 by the Wheat Kings. . . . Regina got D Art Bidlevskii, 20, back from the camp of the New York Islanders, but he didn’t play. Regina still has five players at NHL camps — D Brandon Davidson (Edmonton), D Ricard Blidstrand and F Campbell Elynuik (Philadelphia), F Garrett Mitchell (Washington) and F Jordan Weal (Los Angeles). . . . Davidson and Mitchell both are 20, while Mitchell also has signed with Washington. . . .
F Killian Hutt scored one goal to help the host Fort McMurray Oil Barons to a 4-2 victory over the Okotoks Oilers in an AJHL game on Friday night. Hutt, 20, hadn’t played since Dec. 10 when he suffered a serious concussion during a game in Kamloops against the Blazers. He was with the Swift Current Broncos, who released him prior to training camp as they worked to get down to three 20-year-olds. . . . The Moose Jaw Warriors had D Morgan Rielly back in the lineup Friday as they beat the visiting Saskatoon Blades, 4-3. Rielly had his appendix taken out a couple of weeks ago. . . .
The Vancouver Giants went into Everett and beat the Silvertips 4-2 without four players who have advanced to main camps with NHL teams. F Brendan Gallagher (Montreal), D Davi Musil and D Wes Vannieuwenhuizen (Edmonton) and F Marek Tvrdon (Detroit) all advanced. . . . F Chris Bruton, who captained the 2008 Memorial Cup-winning Spokane Chiefs, has signed with the ECHL-champion Alaska Aces. Bruton, 24, played the last three seasons at Acadia University in Wolfville, N.S.
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The Wall Street Journal’s Bankruptcy Beat blog reports that the Dallas Stars dropped more than US$91.5 million in the three years leading up to Thursday’s bankruptcy filing, and are projected to lose $31 million in the fast-approaching season.
There’s more right here.

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
     
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Taking Note on Twitter

THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Dale Hunt (Prince George, Everett, 2005-10) was released by Red Bull Salzburg (Austria, Erste Bank Liga). . . .
F Richard Mueller (Brandon, Saskatoon, Calgary, 1998-2003) signed a two-week tryout contract with the Straubing Tigers (Germany, DEL). He had three goals and one assist in 18 games for Ingolstadt (Germany, DEL) and five goals and five assists in 15 games for Eispiraten Crimmitschau (Germany, 2.Bundesliga) last season. . . .
F Mikhail Fisenko (Vancouver, Calgary, 2008-11) signed a one-year contract with Metallurg Novokuznetsk (Russia, KHL). He had eight goals and 32 assists in 64 games for the Hitmen last season.
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While a funeral mass for the late Brad McCrimmon will be held Saturday in Farmington, Mich., there also will be a memorial service held in Saskatoon. It is scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 25, at Knox United Church, 838 Spadina Crescent East.
The service is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m., with a reception from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., at the Cavalier Saskatoon Hotel, 612 Spadina Crescent East.
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THE COACHING GAME:
Emanuel Viveiros (Prince Albert, 1982-86) is the new head coach of Austrian national team. He has signed a three-year contract. . . . Viveiros, 45, played in Europe for 17 years, 13 of them in Austria. . . . An Austrian citizen, he has spent two years as an assistant coach under Bill Gilligan, whom he is sucdeeding. Viveiros will continue as head coach of Klagenfurt. . . . Viveiros has two hockey-playing sons — Landan, 17, played on Austria’s U-18 team last season; Layne, 16, just transferred from Klagenfurt to the Portland Winterhawks. . . . Rob Daum, who has coached with the Prince Albert Raiders, Swift Current Broncos and Lethbridge Hurricanes, signed on as an assistant coach. . . . Daum, a long-time coach at the U of Alberta, also has coached in the AHL and NHL. He is in his first season as head coach of Black Wings Linz, an Austrian club team.
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The Winterhawks are more than pleased with Layne Viveiros, a defenceman who was a ninth-round pick in the 2011 bantam draft. He was born in Edmonton.
“He turned out to be way better than we thought he would be,” Portland GM/head coach Mike Johnston told Jason Vondersmith of the Portland Tribune. “Very smart, puck-moving defenseman. Good intelligence and hockey sense.”
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JUST NOTES: There is word out of the Tacoma area that there is interest in seeing whether it’s viable to have NHL and/or NBA franchises in the city. King 5 News has reported that Tacoma city council will cough up $100,000 for a study to see what the cost would be to renovate the Tacoma Dome and to gauge public support. Tacoma, of course, once was home to the Kelowna Rockets. . . . The Saskatoon Blades are down to two goaltenders after assigning Adam Todd, 17, to the BCHL’s Alberni Valley Bulldogs. That leaves the Blades with veteran Adam Morrison, 20, and Russian freshman Andrey Makarov, 18, who was picked up in the 2011 CHL import draft. . . . The Blades are down to 25 players, including six defenceman and 17 forwards. Of that number, seven are at NHL camps. . . . The Kamloops Blazers have assigned F Devin Oakes, 16, to the Pursuit of Excellence midget AAA prep team in Kelowna. Oakes, a list player, had 24 points in 41 games with the PoE midget AAA team last season.
F Mark Stone, 19, and D Jordan Fransoo, 18, of the Brandon Wheat Kings have made the move to the Ottawa Senators’ main camp after playing for the rookie team in a tournament in Oshawa, Ont. . . . F Ryan Johansen and F Oliver Gabriel, teammates with the Portland Winterhawks, each had a goal Wednesday as the Columbus Blue Jackets rookie team dropped a 4-3 OT decision to the St. Louis Blues in the Traverse City, Mich., tournament. . . . Johansen put up six points, including three goals, and was plus-7 in the tournament, while Gabriel had four points, two of them goals, and was plus-4. . . . The Swift Current Broncos have assigned F Ryan Bloom, 18, to the AJHL’s Drumheller Dragons. Acquired from the Kootenay Ice in the deal for F Cody Eakin in January, Bloom had two points in 29 games split between the Broncos and Ice last season. The Broncos also signed F Jordan Wittman, the 46th overall pick in the 2011 bantam draft, and assigned F Denis Bosc, the 121st selection in the 2010 draft, to the MJHL’s Steinbach Pistons. Bosc has signed with the Broncos. . . .
The Moose Jaw Warriors have claimed G Deven Dubyk, 20, off waivers from the Medicine Hat Tigers. After being dropped by the Tigers last week, Dubyk joined the SJHL’s Humboldt Broncos, who are the host team for the 2012 RBC Cup. An 11th-round pick by the Brandon Wheat Kings in the 2006 bantam draft, Dubyk actually got into 35 games with the Warriors in 2008-09. He was 7-15-1, 4.57, .866. Last season, he went 11-5, 2.89, .908 while backing up Tyler Bunz in Medicine Hat. . . . The Warriors also have two other goaltenders — Brandon Stone, 18, and Spencer Tremblay, 17. Should Dubyk join them, they also will have five 20-year-olds, the others being F Brett Lyon, F Jesse Paradis, F Sebastian Svendsen and D Collin Bowman. . . . The deadline for WHL teams to get down to a maximum of three 20-year-olds is Oct. 13. . . .
F Parker Stanfield, who completed his junior eligibility last season with the Everett Silvertips, has signed with the ECHL’s Bakersfield Condors. Stanfield, who is from Anaheim Hills, Calif., had 34 points in 64 games last season, the first four games and four points with the Prince George Cougars, the rest in Everett. He played three seasons (2007-11) with Prince George. . . . According to the Fredericton Daily Gleaner, F Taylor Procyshen (Tri-City, 2004-09) won’t be back with the U of New Brunswick Varsity Reds “due to concussion-related issues.” The Varsity Reds are the reigning champions in Canadian university hockey. . . . F Jeff Topilko, who had 54 points in 66 games as a 20-year-old with the Brandon Wheat Kings in 2006-07, has signed with the ECHL’s Pensacola Ice Flyers. After graduating from the Wheat Kings, Topilko went on to attend NAIT in Edmonton. . . .
Dave Trimmer of the Spokane Spokesman-Review reports that the Chiefs still have four freshman forwards in camp and one of them is Liam Stewart, the 17-year-old son of actress Rachel Hunter and rocker Rod Stewart. . . . F Travis Ewanyk of the Edmonton Oil Kings didn’t make the trip to Penticton with the Edmonton Oilers’ rookie team. And now we know why. Oil Kings head coach Derek Laxdal tells Corey Graham, the radio voice of the Oil Kings who also does TEAM 1260’s Sports Night Live, that Ewanyk “may have to have surgery and if he does he may be lost to us for a 4-to-5 month range, depending on rehab." It has been speculated that Ewanyk has a shoulder injury. Ewanyk was a third-round pick by the Oilers in the NHL’s 2011 draft. . . . F Spencer Edwards, who spent the last two seasons with the Moose Jaw Warrors, has signed with the Central league’s Allen Americans. He will start the season by going to training camp with the AHL’s Texas Stars. Edwards had 66 points with the Warriors last season when he won the Canadian Hockey League’s humanitarian-of-the-year award.
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Elliott Pap of the Vancouver Sun has written a piece on Vancouver Giants assistant coach Glen Hanlon.
Pap asked Hanlon about the biggest difference between professional and junior players and here is the response:
“Passing skills. I mean, they can stand still and make a pass but being able to receive a pass and give a pass at full speed, the completion rate through your whole group, top to bottom, is not as high as a team of professionals. The skating speed of the players is actually not that much different, it’s the ability to make and receive a pass.”
Pap’s complete story is right here.
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The mask of former WHL goaltender Josh Harding (Regina, Brandon, 2001-04) will remember the late Derek Boogaard, Rick Rypien and Pavol Demitra, all former teammates. For a look, click right here.
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Sean Gordon of The Globe and Mail has a piece right here that includes Montreal Canadiens forward Max Pacioretty’s thoughts on the ongoing headshot/concussion debate in hockey.
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Today’s good read – and it’s a great one – comes from Chris Jones (again), who wrote a piece on hockey enforcers for the website Grantland. Jones chatted with Stu Grimson, who was known as The Grim Reaper during his playing days. You don’t want to miss this one right here.

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
     
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
     
Taking Note on Twitter

The hockey world is small enough that the Wednesday plane crash that claimed the entire Lokomotiv Yaroslavl team has touched virtually ever corner.
Kamloops is no exception.
Guy Charron, the head coach of the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers, knew Lokomotiv head coach Brad McCrimmon and Czech defenceman Karel Rachunek, both of whom were on the ill-fated plane that was carrying the team to its KHL season-opening game.
In 1999, Charron was the head coach of the IHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins, who were affiliated with the NHL’s Ottawa Senators, and had Rachunek on his roster.
“He was a good kid . . . a young guy,” Charron said. “He had good skills . . . good talent. What makes it tough is that I had a rapport with him at one point in his life.”
As Lokomotiv prepared to open its season against Dynamo Minsk in Belarus, Rachunek was the captain of McCrimmon’s team.
Charron got to know McCrimmon while both were working in Calgary, Charron with Canada’s national team and McCrimmon as an assistant coach with the Flames. Like everyone else in hockey, Charron doesn’t have a bad word to say about the man who was known throughout the hockey world as Beast.
(There was a time when McCrimmon was known as Sarge, but that became Beast at some point during his pro career. In a 2008 interview with Craig Custance of Sporting News, McCrimmon said the ‘Beast’ nickname was hung on him by former teammate Peter McNab’s daughter. It was during McCrimmon’s rookie NHL season with the Boston Bruins. According to Custance, “She thought he resembled a children’s character named Beast and the nickname stuck.”)
It’s not that Charron and McCrimmon hung out together or had family barbecues. Rather, they would see each other at coaches’ conferences and compare notes, whether it was about Xs and Os or about the salaries being paid to assistant coaches.
“We had no problem getting together or having a beer,” Charron said after practice on Wednesday. “We were doing the same jobs.”
Charron had a lot of thoughts flashing through his mind yesterday. After all, there was a time when he came close to coaching in that neck of the woods. As well, Dave King, the former head coach of Canada’s national team, is a long-time friend who did some time as the head coach of the KHL’s Metallurg Magnitogorsk.
King, with The Globe and Mail’s Eric Duhatschek, would later write a wonderful book — King of Russia: A Year in the Russian Super League — in which he touched on air travel. Suffice it to say, King was not thrilled with many of the travel arrangements.
“My wife was referring to that,” Charron said, adding that Glen Sather once approached him to see if he had any interest in taking over Belarus’s national team.
“Things didn’t work out,” Charron said, but he had considered it “even though I wasn’t all that keen about it.”
At the time, Charron and King had conversations about coaching there.
“David said to me, ‘Things are never guaranteed,’ ” Charron said. “Wayne Fleming (another Hockey Canada coach) went there and he didn’t have the best of experiences either. And I had been there a number of times so I wasn’t all that crazy about going back.”
McCrimmon went there simply to become a head coach. He had worked as an NHL assistant coach with four different franchises. He had been offered one head-coaching job — by the Atlanta Thrashers — but turned it down because he felt more of the money should have been guaranteed.
He was a farmer’s son from Plenty, Sask., and he knew that you had nothing without principles and credibility.
During his days with the Brandon Wheat Kings, McCrimmon was as good as any defenceman ever to have played in the WHL. He was the best player on the 1978-79 Wheat Kings, a team that lost only five games all season and went on to lose the Memorial Cup championship game in overtime.
Why did they lose?
Because McCrimmon ran out of gas. Legend has it that McCrimmon played every minute of that game, other than when he was serving a couple of penalties. In truth, McCrimmon didn’t play every minute of the game — the Peterborough Petes won it 2-1, getting the winner at 2:38 of OT — but he likely was on the ice for 50 minutes.
“Just think how good he would be if he played a regular shift instead of 50 minutes a game,” Dunc McCallum, the Wheat Kings’ head coach, had said prior to the championship game. “He'll play 45 minutes a game with no problem. His composure is great and he's got super upper-body strength. He never comes to the bench and says he's tired.”
The Wheat Kings had lost defenceman Mike Perovich to a broken arm late in the season. As a result, McCrimmon’s workload increased markedly.
In overtime, the Petes iced the puck. McCrimmon, who was labouring by now, was the first player back. But the linesmen waved off the icing, ruling that McCrimmon hadn’t tried hard enough to play the puck.
The Petes recovered it, moved it out front and scoring the winning goal.
"Everyone on this team showed guts, desire, pride and class,” McCrimmon said when it was over. "We might not have won it, but we proved ourselves. We wanted to win it so bad. We came back after losing our first two games — the guys kept working and working — and we ended up one goal away.”
Left-winger Brian Propp, having overheard McCrimmon, chimed in: "Brad showed more of those attributes than anyone else on this team. If every player was like Brad . . .”
Gary Green, then the Peterborough head coach, admitted later that he was quite aware of McCrimmon's predicament. Green just didn’t know if the Petes would ever be able to take advantage of it.
"I thought, near the end, their defence was finally starting to tire,” Green said. "I felt Brad McCrimmon was finally starting to have a tough time.
"He's an incredible defenceman, he's got an amazing amount of stamina . . . he played really well.”
That was Brad McCrimmon. He was all about hard work and team play. Suck it up and don’t complain. He lived life that way. He coached that way. It was the only way he knew.
McCrimmon was selected by the Boston Bruins with the 15th overall pick of the 1979 NHL draft. That, you may recall, was THE draft. The Bruins also held the eighth overall pick, with which they grabbed defenceman Ray Bourque.
McCrimmon had put up 98 points, including 24 goals, in 66 games with Brandon in 1978-79, while Bourque drew 93 points, 22 of them goals, in 63 games with the Verdun Black Hawks.
In Boston, Bourque would be the offensive guy. McCrimmon, then, would have to re-invent himself. And he did. He became a guy who would make the first pass and then stay at home.
He turned himself into a solid NHL defenceman. More importantly, he earned the respect of every teammate he ever had. Later, in Philadelphia, he and Mark Howe formed as strong a defensive pairing as the NHL has seen. McCrimmon also tutored the likes of Chris Pronger, Gary Suter and Niklas Lidstrom.
“He was my partner every game my first year,” Lidstrom told reporters yesterday. “He was that steady defenceman who stayed home all the time. He protected me in certain situations too when things got a little too heated. He was a great partner to have.”
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Charron, his mind full of memories of Rachunek and McCrimmon yesterday, will be remembering another acquaintance as this week wears on. Ace Bailey, the Los Angeles Kings’ director of pro scouting, was on United Airlines Flight 175 when it crashed into the South Tower of the World Trade Centre on Sept. 11, 2001.
“When you hear that it’s sad,” Charron said of Wednesday’s plane crash in Russia. “It was the same thing when Ace Bailey was part of . . . 9/11.
“He was my linemate with the (Washington) Capitals.”

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
     
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Taking Note on Twitter

Another chapter in hockey's ugly summer

THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Bernhard Keil (Kamloops, 2010-11) has been assigned on loan by the Straubing Tigers (Germany, DEL) to Regensburg (Germany, Oberliga). Keil had five goals and three assists in 46 games with the Blazers last season. The DEL starts its regular season on Sept. 16; the Oberliga starts Sept. 23.
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D Yuri Urychev and F Daniil Sobchenko, who died in Wednesday’s crash of the plane carrying the KHL’s Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, played for Team Russia in last season’s Subway Super Series.
They also played for the Russian team that won the 2011 World Junior Championship in Buffalo.
In the Super Series, Urychev had three assists in the six games, including two helpers in a 7-6 shootout victory over the WHL in Kamloops.
Sobchenko finished the six games with a goal and three assists. He scored once in the game in Kamloops and added another in the shootout.
Sobchenko was a sixth-round selection by the San Jose Sharks in the 2011 NHL draft and later attended their development camp.
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For a look at the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl roster, you can click right here.
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For a pictorial look at the roster, you can click right here.
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Jesse Wallin, the GM and head coach of the Red Deer Rebels, talking to Red Deer Advocate sports editor Greg Meachem:
“This hits pretty close to home. Brad was a tremendous human being, a mentor for me when I was growing up. He and Kelly had a cabin at Jackfish Lake near North Battleford and he used to come by and pick up some of us young guys and take us down to the track to train (for the next hockey season). . . .
“Brad was from the Kindersley (Sask.) area where my mom and dad grew up so we kind of had some family connections. My family had known the McCrimmons for some time.
“I spent a lot of time with him as a teen and I know he was a great resource for a lot of young guys coming through Brandon. Kelly (McCrimmon) had him at (Wheat Kings) training camp for a lot of years. He liked working with the young guys. Here was a guy 15 years into his career and he’d walk into a room, see a young guy sitting in the corner and walk over and start a conversation. That’s just the kind of person he was.”
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A tweet from former NHL/WHL/Team Canada goaltender Corey Hirsch: “I’m at a loss for words about this plane crash. Played with or against most of them. Beast, your giant smile will never be forgotten.”
Beast, of course, was Brad McCrimmon's nickname throughout hockey's world.
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Ron Hextall is the Los Angeles Kings’ assistant GM. He is a former Brandon Wheat Kings goaltender who was a teammate of McCrimmon’s in Philadelphia. Here’s Hextall, to Helene Elliott of the Los Angeles Times: “When I think of the teammates I had over the years and great teammates, Brad McCrimmon is at the top of the list. Any athlete wants to be remembered as a great teammate. He truly was.”
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Eric Duhatschek of The Globe and Mail, who knew McCrimmon perhaps better than any other journalist, offers up his thoughts right here.
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Allan Maki of The Globe and Mail, who like Duhatschek is based in Calgary, says goodbye to McCrimmon right here.
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Craig Custance of Sporting News has a solid read right here.
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Mark Spector of sportsnet.ca takes a look at NHL players and something that goes unspoken as they prepare for yet another in a season’s worth of plane flights. That piece is right here.
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Finally, for a completely different angle on Wednesday’s tragedy check out this entry from a blog named ACHICKSPERSPECTIVE.

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
     
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
     
Taking Note on Twitter

Segal moving on

MARK SEGAL

G Mark Segal won’t be returning for his 20-year-old season with the Vancouver Giants.
Segal has informed the Giants that he is leaving to attend McGill University in Montreal, where he will play for the Redmen.
Segal, a Vancouverite who turns 20 on Aug. 31, played in 91 regular-season and 20 playoff games with the Giants over the last two seasons. This season, he went 27-18-4, 3.07, .891 in 55 games.
Brendan Jensen, an 18-year-old from El Granada, Calif., played in 30 games with the Giants, going 8-13-1 in support of Segal.
The Giants’ website shows three goaltenders on their list who are eligible to play in 2011-12 — Jackson Whistle, who turns 16 on June 9, of Kelowna; Scott legault, who will be 17 on Sept. 25; and, Stephen Heslop, who turns 16 on Sept. 15, of Victoria.
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Today’s good read comes from Bucky Gleason of the Buffalo News.
It’s almost a week old, but I just discovered it Sunday morning.
Yes, it is about pro hockey and the impact of concussions.
Gleason leads with the difficulties faced by former NHL tough guy Matthew Barnaby, who now wonders how badly he damaged his brain during this playing career and whether that is the reason for the changes he has noticed in his personality.
It isn’t all about Barnaby, though. At one point, Dr. Robert Cantu is quoted on the subject of former Buffalo Bills great O.J. Simpson:
"There's a brain I would love to study. I don't know, but I really wonder. With his inability to handle frustrating circumstances, violence and all that stuff, it could be.
"It's hard to know. I'm not suggesting I know the answer, but if and when the time comes I would give anything for him to be on our registry."
Dr. Cantu is a clinical professor neurosurgery at Boston University School of Medicine, which is home to Sports Legacy Institute, where a lot of the research into CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy) is taking place.
Pour yourself a cup of coffee and sit down for today’s good read. It’s long and worthwhile. And it’s right here.
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THE COACHING GAME: Wanting experience as a head coach, former WHLer Brad McCrimmon, 52, has signed on with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl of the Kontinental Hockey League. McCrimmon, an all-star defenceman with the Brandon Wheat Kings (1976-79) and the head coach of the Saskatoon Blades (1998-2000), was an assistant coach with the Detroit Red Wings for the last three seasons. . . . Cole Zahn has signed on as assistant coach with the SJHL’s Estevan Bruins. Keith Cassidy, the Bruins’ new GM/head coach, worked together on the coaching staff of the MJHL’s Selkirk Steelers and got that squad to the RBC Cup in 2007. Zahn will continue to scout for the Vancouver Giants. . . . Ron Holloway, the head coach of the junior B Ochapowace Thunder of the Prairie Junior league, has signed on as an assistant coach with the SJHL’s La Ronge Ice Wolves. He will work alongside head man Bob Beatty as the Ice Wolves chase a third straight SJHL championship.
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F Byron Froese, who turned 20 on March 12, has signed a three-year deal with the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks. Capgeek.com reports that his salaries will be US$67,500 in the AHL and $590,000 in the NHL. . . . He got a $195,000 signing bonus over three years. . . . Froese was selected in the fourth round of the 2009 NHL draft off the Everett Silvertips’ roster. They traded him to the Red Deer Rebels last summer for F Landon Ferraro.
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Michael Traikos of the National Post writes about the week that was at the Memorial Cup. The headline sums it up: Memorial Cup a flop everywhere but the box office. . . . Of course, the CHL knew that would happen when it awarded the tournament to Mississauga, which makes one ask: Why did they award it to Mississauga? . . . That piece is right here.
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You have to feel good for G Jacob DeSerres, who backstopped the QMJHL-champion Saint John Sea Dogs to a 3-1 victory over the host Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors in the final game of the Memorial Cup on Sunday evening. . . . DeSerres, who played in the Memorial Cup with the host Brandon Wheat Kings a year ago and then was waived through the WHL, stopped 34 shots in what was his final game of major junior hockey. . . . He wasn’t named to the tournament all-star team, nor was he selected as the tournament’s top goaltender. No matter, though. He got the ring. . . . The Sea Dogs, the CHL’s top-ranked team through much of the regular season, are the first team from the Maritimes to win major junior hockey’s top prize.
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By the way, a fan of the Portland Winterhawks has a request: Would members of the media please stop referring to the Memorial Cup as a national championship. . . . There are eight Americans teams in the CHL so, as this fan points out, it is more than a national championship. . . . The fan asks: “Had Portland somehow advanced and won the Cup this year, would the Winterhawks have been national champions of Canada . . . or the U.S.?”
Joe Fan has a point, eh? 
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Dave Cameron, Mississauga’s head coach, and Majors’ captain Casey Cizikas have suffered three heart-breaking losses in a five-month period. . . . Both were on Canada’s national junior team when it surrendered a 3-0 lead and lost 5-3 to Russia in the championship game at the World Junior Championship in Buffalo in January. . . . The Majors lost the OHL championship series in seven games to the Owen Sound Attack. Mississauga held 2-0 and 3-2 leads in that series, then lost Game 7 in OT. "They say losing toughens you," Cameron said Sunday night. "Well, right now, I feel like a 10-cent steak, to tell you the truth.” . . . Cameron is almost certain to land on the coaching staff of the NHL’s Ottawa Senators. Eugene Melnyk, who owns the Senators, also owns the St. Michael’s Majors.

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
     
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
     
Taking Note on Twitter

Thursday . . .

THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Marcin Kolusz (Vancouver, 2003-04) signed a two-year contract with Sanok (Poland, Ekstraliga) for next season. He had seven goals and 14 assists in 24 games for Podhale Nowy Targ (Poland, Ekstraliga) this season and also was an assistant captain of the Polish national team at this year's Division 1 World Championship. Kolusz had two goals and four assists in five games to lead Poland in scoring. . . .
G Riku Helenius (Seattle, 2007-08) signed a two-year plus option contract with JyP Jyväskylä (Finland, SM-Liiga). He had a 3.03 GAA and a .884 save percentage in 18 games for Södertälje (Sweden, Elitserien) this season.
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They were playing street hockey at Portage and Main last night, which must mean the NHL’s Atlanta Thrashers are headed to Winnipeg.
Which means, of course, that the Manitoba Moose, the AHL affiliate of the Vancouver Canucks, will need a new home.
Let’s see. There is an arena in Chilliwack that has yet to land a hockey team as a tenant. The WHL’s Chilliwack Bruins, you’ll recall, were sold and have relocated to Victoria. Vancouver-based RG Properties, which purchased the Bruins, has since killed off its other team, the ECHL’s Victoria Salmon Kings.
Negotations aimed at bringing the BCHL’s Quesnel Millionaires to Chilliwack are on-going. But you have to wonder if they won’t be slowed by news that the Moose suddenly are available. If for no other reason than to let this sort itself out.
Or what of Regina, where the Pats again are embroiled in lease negotiations with their landord, Evraz Place? A few weeks ago, when the Phoenix Coyotes-to-Winnipeg rumours were running rampant, I was told that Evraz Place people had at least touched base with the AHL.
So . . . what if the Moose ended up in Regina? Could the Pats pack up and move to Chilliwack?
John Shannon, a hockey analyst with Rogers Sportsnet, tweeted Thursday night that he has heard that a destination for the Moose might well be St. John’s, Nfld., or Thunder Bay.
Or, hey, how about the Chilliwack Moose?
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THE COACHING GAME: Steve Hartley has signed on as an assistant coach with the QMJHL’s Halifax Mooseheads. He is the son of former NHL coach Bob Hartley. Steve will work under Dominique Ducharme, the Mooseheads’ new head coach. Hartley, 25, is a former goaltender who played at Miami-Ohio. He spent the last two seasons coaching the in the Quebec Junior AAA league. . . . Two former WHL head coaches, both of whom also played in the league, are out of work. Terry Ruskowski, who coached the Saskatoon Blades (1989-91), has stepped down as president, general manager and head coach of the Central league’s Laredo Bucks. He had been there for nine seasons, winning championships in 2004 and 2006. “My first instinct was to make sure hockey stays in Laredo,” Ruskowski told Pro 8 Sports-TV, “so I sacrificed my contract to make sure hockey stays in Laredo.” . . . Kenny Ryan of the Laredo Morning Times has more right here. . . . Serge Dube, who has played for the Bucks since 2002, is the Bucks’ new head coach. . . . Brad McCrimmon, another former Blades head coach (1998-2000), has resigned after three seasons as an assistant coach with the Detroit Red Wings. McCrimmon, who has head-coaching aspirations, also has worked as an assistant with the Atlanta Thrashers, Calgary Flames and New York Islanders.
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Management of the Central leagues Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees say the franchise is still alive; however, the office is closed because the team can’t make payroll. Brian Sandalow of  Valley Freedom Newspapers has the story right here.
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D Brayden McNabb of the Kootenay Ice signed a three-year deal with the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday. According to capgeek.com, his AHL salary each of the seasons will be US$67,500 with NHL salaries of $615,000, $690,000 and $740,000. McNabb, a second-round pick in the NHL’s 2009 draft, got a $270,000 signing bonus over the three years. . . . Gotta think McNabb will be buying lunch for the boys sometime during Memorial Cup week.
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Medicine Hat Tigers F Emerson Etem has signed a three-year deal with the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks. He was the 29th player selected in the 2010 NHL draft. Last season, his second in the WHL, he had 80 points, including 45 goals, in 65 games. Etem who is scheduled to turn 19 on June 16, also was plus-41.
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The Max Gardiner watch is on. Gardiner, a forward who was selected by the St. Louis Blues in the third round of the 2010 NHL draft, has left the U of Minnesota after one season with the Gophers. The Dubuque Fighting Saints hold his USHL rights, but he could be ticketed for the WHL’s Tri-City Americans, who have him on their college list. . . . The 6-foot-2, 187-pound Gardiner, who turned 19 on May 7, is from Minnetonka, Minn. He had a miserable season at Minnesota, though, getting just three points in 17 games.
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The Tri-City Americans have listed F Justin Gutierrez, who played for the Alaska All-Stars midget AAA (U-16) team this season. He had 35 points, including 17 goals, and 40 penalty minutes in 39 games. The 6-foot-3, 170-pound Gutierrez is a late birthday; he’ll turn 16 on Dec. 22. He is a younger brother to former WHLer Moises Gutierrez.
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Wade Klippenstein, the assistant GM and director of player personnel with the Prince George Cougars, scored what is believed to be the first journalist scoop of his life Wednesday night when he tweeted congratulations to Brian Chow as the SJHL’s new president.
The SJHL made the formal announcement Thursday.
Chow, 52, has been with the Prince Albert Police Service for 29 years, while also scouting for the Spokane Chiefs.
Chow signed a three-year contract. He replaces Laury Ryan, who resigned in March after spending eight years in the office.
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TWEET OF THE DAY:
From Edmonton Oil Kings D Keegan Lowe: “i dont like the sound of 7 canadian NHL teams. whats gonna happen on hockey day in canada? 1 gets left out.”
If you’re on Twitter, you are able to follow him at @Klowe4.

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
     
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
     
Taking Note on Twitter

Monday . . .

Shane Doiron coaches an atom team in Shediac, N.B. I don’t know the won-loss record of his team of nine- and 10-year-olds . . . not that it matters. Because he is my coach of the year for all of Canada.
Why? Because he is a hockey coach who gets it.
Check it out right here.
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The San Jose Sharks were playing in Chicago on Monday night when play-by-play man Mike (Doc) Emrick made reference to Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews and the fact that his brother, David, plays for the Brandon Wheat Kings.
Which is when analyst Pierre McGuire informed that Kelly McCrimmon runs the Wheat Kings.
And someone mentioned that McCrimmon’s brother, Brad, is on the coaching staff of the Detroit Red Wings. If you weren’t aware, Brad’s nickname is The Beast. (Although at one time he was Sarge.)
To which Emrick intoned: “If Brad is The Beast, is Kelly . . . Beauty?”
No doubt Kelly has been called a lot of things, both during his career as a player and as an owner/general manager/coach. I have a feeling Beauty isn’t one of them.
Or maybe he has been. It could be that at some point in the past, someone perhaps has referred to McCrimmon as a “real beauty.” Don’t you think?
By the way, I’m thinking McCrimmon has to be given some consideration as the Eastern Conference’s executive of the year and also as coach of the year.
When you consider the Wheat Kings’ horrid start, the number of injuries they dealt with, the fact that they are riding two 17-year-ol goaltenders, and the fact that McCrimmon traded away F Brayden Schenn, well, who would have thought that Brandon would be a hard-charging sixth with a week left in the regular season?
McCrimmon may not win either award, but he has to be in the conversation with the likes of Lorne Molleken of the Saskatoon Blades and Jesse Wallin of the Red Deer Rebels.
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Richard Doerksen, the WHL’s vice-president, hockey, appears to have cleared his plate of all but one case.
Doerksen, who is the WHL’s disciplinarian, suspended F Garrett Mitchell of the Regina Pats for one game for a third instigator penalty, hit F Max Ross of the Lethbridge Hurricanes with two games for a boarding major, and sat F Jonathan Parker of the Prince Albert Raiders for a game for an elbowing major.
All that leaves on Doerksen’s plate, at least for now, is the case of F Brendan Ranford of the Kamloops Blazers, who was tossed from a Friday night game with the visiting Kelowna Rockets after he cross-checked linesman Kris Hartley while being escorted to the penalty box.
The Blazers have two games left in the regular season — they go home-and-home with the Prince George Cougars on Friday and Saturday — and you have to think Ranford, who already has sat out one game, won’t play in either of those games.
The Blazers are two points out of a playoff spot, and the only question may be whether the suspension runs into the playoffs or into the 2011-12 season.
The WHL rule book doesn’t appear to be on the league’s website, which is strange if only because the OHL and QMJHL both make their rule books available.
Anyway, the OHL book has two rules (41.3 and 41.4) involving automatic suspensions, either of which would seem to apply to the Ranford situation.
Rule 41 — Physical Abuse of Officials
Rule 41.1 Game Misconduct
Any player or goalkeeper who deliberately applies physical force to an official solely for the purpose of getting free of such an official during or immediately following an altercation shall receive a game misconduct penalty. In addition the following (41.2, 41.3, 41.4) disciplinary penalties shall apply:
41.2 Automatic Suspension — Category 1
Any player who deliberately strikes an official and causes injury or who deliberately applies physical force in any manner against an official with intent to injure or who in any manner attempts to injure an official shall be automatically suspended for not less than 20 games. (For the purpose of the rule, “intent to injure” shall mean any physical force which a player knew or should have known could reasonably be expected to cause injury.)
41.3 Automatic suspension — Category 2
Any player who deliberately applies physical force to an official in any manner (excluding actions set out in Category 1) in which physical force is applied without intent to injury shall be automatically suspended for not less than 10 games.
41.4 Automatic Suspension — Category 3
Any player or goalkeeper who, by his actions, physically demeans an official or physically threatens an official by (but not limited to) throwing a stick or any other piece of equipment or object at or in the general direction of an official, shooting the puck at or in the general direction of an official, spitting at or in the general direction of an official, or who deliberately applies physical force to an official solely for the purpose of getting free of such an official during or immediately following an altercation shall be suspended for not less than three games.
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So depending on how Doerksen interprets Ranford’s actions, and depending on how closely the WHL’s rules are to the OHL’s, Ranford could be looking at a three-game suspension or one that runs at least 10 games.
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Arenas around the WHL were quiet on Monday night; there are three games on tap tonight.
The Lethbridge Hurricanes will visit the Oil Kings in Edmonton. Lethbridge is two points out of an Eastern Conference playoff spot, while the Oil Kings are seventh, three points behind the Brandon Wheat Kings.
The Kootenay Ice will meet the Tigers in Medicine Hat. The Ice, which has three games left, is fourth in the conference, five points behind the Tigers. An Ice loss, then, will mean it finishes fourth and will meet the Moose Jaw Warriors in the first round. . . . A Tigers victory moves them to within two points of the Red Deer Rebels, who, as Central Division leaders, are the conference’s No. 2 seed. The Tigers will use up their game in hand tonight.
And, finally, the Regina Pats are to visit the Broncos in Swift Current. The Broncos, who won’t be in the playoffs, can play spoiler tonight because a victory will finish the Pats. Regina has three games left and is six points behind the Prince Albert Raiders, who hold down the conference’s last spot.
Despite what you may have read or heard, the Pats have not been eliminated. They still can tie for that last spot. And a tie for the final playoff berth would necessitate a sudden-death game.
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JUST NOTES: F Ryan Nugent-Hopkins of the Red Deer Rebels is the WHL’s player of the week. He had 12 points, including five goals, in four games last week. . . . Adam Brown of the Kelowna Rockets is the WHL’s nominee as the CHL’s goaltender of the week. He was 3-0-0, 0.65, .979 last week. . . . The Vancouver Giants have lost six in a row and won’t have F Brendan Gallagher back Wednesday when the meet the Winterhawks in Portland. He is expected to play Friday when the Kelowna Rockets visit Vancouver. . . . Elliott Pap of the Vancouver Sun also reports that Giants head coach Don Hay is likely to be one of the applicants for the position of head coach of Canada’s national junior team. The deadline to apply is today. . . . “I think I'd like to help Canada win a gold medal,” Hay told Pap. “I think it's always a good challenge for coaches to get involved with that program.” . . . The 2012 tournament will be held in Calgary and Edmonton. . . . According to Matthew Gourlie of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald, the Warriors had F Antonin Honejsek (broken ankle) back on the ice Monday. He has missed 15 games. . . . However, the Warriors were missing F Cody Beach (leg), who was injured Saturday. Head coach Dave Hunchak said Beach is week-to-week. . . . Gourlie also reports that the Warriors are bringing in F Torrin White, the 21st overall pick in the 2010 bantam draft. He had 49 points in 33 games with the midget AAA UFA Bisons in Alberta. . . . Portland F Sven Bartschi has 83 points, the most by a Winterhawks’ freshman since Richard Zednik put up 86 in 1994-95. The franchise record is held by Jiri Beranek (94, 1991-92). . . . Yes, Bartschi is the WHL’s highest-scoring freshman, by 19 points. . . . The Winterhawks had G Mac Carruth (concussion, groin) back at practice Monday and are hoping to get him into at least one game by week’s end. Keith Hamilton has played well in Carruth’s absence, going 7-2 since the starter was first injured on Feb. 22.