Benson, Howorko, Mort all retire

Two players off the Swift Current Broncos’ roster — forwards Shea Howorko and Brent Benson — tweeted on Tuesday, confirming that they have had to quit playing hockey due to post-concussion syndrome.
Shawn Mullin, the radio voice of the Broncos, spoke with Howorko. That story, along with the interview, is right here.
Here’s one paragraph:
"I don't even know what it feels like not to have a headache anymore," Howorko said. "It's just like part of my life now I guess. Just wake up with a headache and continue my day but not be active at all."
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Mullin ends his piece on Howorko with this: "The Western Hockey League Concussion Management Safety Program reports that concussions were down over 20% overall during the 2012-13 season compared to the 2011-12 season."
Unfortunately, the WHL has never released statistics involving how many concussions there were. Of course, you are aware that the WHL lists all injuries as being of the lower- or upper-body variety. Until the WHL presents the hard evidence that concussions were down 20 per cent — which would be a whopping decrease in one year — it's pretty tough, if not impossible, to believe that statement.
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D Tanner Mort, 20, won’t be returning for a fifth season with the Spokane Chiefs. Mort, who is from Post Falls, Idaho, plans on attending the U of Idaho and studying engineering. . . . According to a Chiefs’ news release, Mort “missed the majority of the 2012-13 season after sustaining a neck injury on October 12, 2012, at Kamloops. Though any head trauma subsided quickly, the neck injury symptoms persisted, which influenced Mort's decision to move on.” . . . He played 137 regular-season games with the Chiefs, recording 32 points, four of them goals.
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Jay McKee, a former NHL defenceman, has signed on as the playing coach of the Dundas, Ont., Real McCoys, the host team for the 2014 Allan Cup tournament. McKee is preparing for his second season with the McCoys, but last season he only played. . . . Ken Mann and Ron Bernacci will serve as McKee’s assistant coaches.
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The Rose Garden in Portland is no more. The NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers and Moda Health announced Tuesday that, effective immediately, the arena is to be known as the Moda Center at the Rose Quarter. . . . According to a news release: “The agreement was jointly announced during a press conference in the center’s South Atrium. At the request of Trail Blazers owner Paul Allen, the new logo for the Moda Center, when unveiled at a later date, will incorporate a rose as a salute to the city of Portland.” . . . Financial terms of the deal for naming rights weren’t disclosed. . . . The WHL’s Portland Winterhawks play some of their games in the arena.
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Jim Matheson, the Edmonton Journal’s hall-of-fame hockey writer, says it’s time for NHL owners to pony up and pay Wayne Gretzky what is owed to him for his time in Phoenix with the Coyotes. That blog entry is right here.
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D Landon Oslanski (Spokane, Lethbridge, Everett, 2009-13) has signed with the ECHL’s Stockton Thunder. Oslanski played out his junior eligibility last season with the Everett Silvertips. . . . After Everett’s season ended, he joined the Thunder and got into six playoff games, picking up one assist, on an OT goal at that. . . . He had 48 points in 72 games with Everett last season.
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The Prince Albert Raiders are less than two weeks away from the start of training camp and general manager Bruno Campese can’t wait to get rolling. Dave Leaderhouse of the Prince Albert Daily Herald has more right here.
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The Saginaw, Mich., Times Herald reported Tuesday that D Dalton John Young of the OHL’s Saginaw Spirit “was arraigned Sunday on charges of assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder, first-degree home invasion, and resisting and obstructing a police officer.” . . . There is more right here.
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“On Tuesday, those who best knew Jordan Boyd held onto those memories a little tighter,” write Sean Gordon and Allan Maki of The Globe and Mail. “It was all they could do after hearing the 16-year-old Nova Scotia athlete had died Monday, during a skating drill at the Titan rookie camp.
“While the exact cause remains unknown, Boyd’s death has generated an outpouring of grief and questioning: What happened? Why Boyd? Was there any way of preventing it?”
Boyd, 16, died during a training camp session in the camp of the QMJHL’s Acadie-Bathurst Titan on Monday.
The Globe and Mail story is right here.
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Whitey Bulger, who was convicted this week of, among other things, 11 murders, has a Stanley Cup ring and he wants to keep it. Chris Nilan, who was married for 25 years to the daughter of a Bulger girlfriend, says it isn’t one of his rings. Stu Cowan, the sports editor of the Montreal Gazette, has a whole lot more right here. Did you know that Bulger may have paid for Nilan’s wedding?
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Charles P. Pierce, who can write, tackles the subject of “Tiger Woods and the weary pursuit of Jack Nicklaus.” That piece, from grantland.com, is right here. “Woods was never effervescent, even in the glorious heart of his young career,” Pierce writes, “but he didn't look the way he does now, coming up the fairway toward the green like an aging farmer coming to work in fields he knows are burnt and fallow but remembers with fondness and with pain the verdancy they once had.”
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And here’s one more good read for today. It’s from Murray Chass, one of the greatest baseball writers to ever sit before a typewriter or keyboard. I have just recently discovered his website (murraychass.com) and have been digging in. This piece right here is a devastating look at Bud Selig, the commissioner of Major League Baseball, and his reign during the steroid era.
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From Brent Benson (@benzySON): “Like to thank @bladeshockey and @SCBroncos for my time spent in both places, great memories with guys ill never forget #bestofluckboys”
Benson, the sixth overall selection in the 2008 bantam draft, has had to retire prior to his 20-year-old season due to post-concussion syndrome.
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From Shea Howorko (@ShaezerBeam): “Like to thank the @SCBroncos organization & fans for a tremendous experience! Unfortunately due to my injury my career is done! #GreatTeam”
Howorko, like Benson, has had to retire due to post-concussion syndrome. A second-round pick in the 2009 bantam draft, Howorko is 19.

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Another player forced to retire

THE MacBETH REPORT:

 D Ray Macias (Kamloops, 2002-07) signed a one-year contract with the Braehead Clan Glasgow (Scotland, UK Elite). He had nine goals and nine assists in 39 games with the Schwenninger Wild Wings (Germany, 2. Bundesliga) last season. . . .


F Levi Nelson (Swift Current, 2004-08) signed a one-year contract with Ritten/Renon (Italy, Serie A). He had 10 goals and 14 assists in 32 games with the Bakersfield Condors (ECHL), three goals and three assists in 10 games with the Greenville Road Warriors (ECHL), and one goal and one assist in 11 games with Grizzly Adams Wolfsburg (Germany, DEL) last season. . . .
F Tyler Beechey (Edmonton/Kootenay, Calgary, 1997-2002) signed a one-year contract with the Schwenninger Wild Wings (Germany, DEL). He had 14 goals and 16 assists in 34 games with the Straubing Tigers (Germany, DEL) last season., This will be Beechey’s seventh season in the DEL.
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The WHL has had another player retire due to post-concussion syndrome.
F Brent Benson, who was the sixth overall selection in the 2008 bantam draft, won’t play in his 20-year-old season.
Benson suffered at least two brain injuries last season and is believed to have had at least five during his career.
From Weyburn, Sask., Benson had 18 points in 64 games with the Saskatoon Blades as a 16-year-old. He added 44 points in 65 games as a sophomore, and 37 in 62 games in his third season.
Last season, he was dealt to the Swift Current Broncos for D Graeme Craig on Oct. 18. He had three assists in 11 games with the Blades and a pair of helpers in 10 games with the Broncos before being shut down.
Benson put up 105 points, including 35 goals, in 216 regular-season games.
Earlier this summer, Swift Current F Shea Howorko, 19, revealed that he has had to quit playing due to post-concussion syndrome.
The Broncos selected Howorko, who is from Swift Current, in the second round of the 2009 bantam draft.
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In a deal involving two 17-year-old defencemen, the Prince George Cougars have dealt Jordan Harris to the Swift Current Broncos for Zack Gonek.
Harris, who is from Prince Albert, had told the Cougars he would prefer to play closer to home. The 6-foot-1, 170-pounder was the 10th overall selection in the 2011 bantam draft. He started last season with the midget AAA Prince Albert Mintos and put up 12 assists in 21 games. However, he suffered a concussion and missed significant playing time. He joined the Cougars early in January and finally played on Feb. 6. In 17 games with Prince George, he had five assists.
Gonek, who is from St. Albert, Alta., was taken by the Broncos with the 13th pick of the 2011 bantam draft. Last season, with the midget AAA St. Albert Raiders, he had four points in 24 games.
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Shawn Mullin, the radio voice of the Swift Current Broncos, tweeted Wednesday afternoon that F Dakota Odgers “is going to be out until Nov/Dec after shoulder surgery.” Odgers, the 17-year-old son of former WHL and NHL F Jeff Odgers, was pointless in eight games with the Broncos last season. He was a second-round pick by the Broncos in the 2011 bantam draft. . . . Mullin also noted that F Ty McLean, 18, has been invited to the Broncos’ training camp. McLean, from Redvers, Sask., had one assist in 24 games with the Regina Pats last season. He was a fifth-round selection by the Pats in the 2010 bantam draft.
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The Saskatoon arena that is home to the Blades may soon be getting a new name. Kevin Menz of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix reports that the credit unions involved purchasing the naming rights to Credit Union Centre won’t be renewing the deal when it expires on Oct. 31, 2014. . . . There’s more right here.
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F Jordan Wyton, 20, has signed with the AJHL’s Brooks Bandits. Wyton, from Lethbridge, played the last three seasons with the Moose Jaw Warriors. Last season, in 35 games, he had 10 points. He spent some time on the shelf with a brain injury. In fact, he played on three games between Nov. 11 and Feb. 22 with what is believed to have been a brain injury. . . . In 173 regular-season games, he had 40 points, including 12 goals.
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Billy Moores, one of the really good guys in the game of hockey, is back with the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers, this time as the director of coaching development and special projects. . . . Joanne Ireland of the Edmonton Journal has more right here.
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Brian Cobb has been hired by the Spokane Chiefs as director of public/media relations. Cobb worked as an intern in public relations and marketing with the Seattle Thunderbirds in 2011-12. With the Chiefs, he takes over from Jay Stewart, who had held that position since 2000 and now is vice-president of sponsorships.
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One of these days, perhaps Friday, Major League Baseball will hand out some more suspensions in the Biogenesis doping scandal. But what about other sports? Should they be concerned? . . . Allen Barra of The Atlantic points out right here that there is a whole lot more to this story than baseball, but some other sports don’t seem to care.
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THE COACHING GAME:
The junior B Revelstoke Grizzlies of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League have hired James Eccles as their new general manager and head coach. For the past two seasons, Eccles has been head coach of the major midget Okanagan Rockets, who play out of Kelowna. He replaces Kevin Kraus, who now is an assistant coach with the BCHL’s Salmon Arm SilverBacks.
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From Lukas Walter (@Lukaswalter9): “Well off to @pdxwinterhawks camp in August couldn’t be more excited and would like to thank the @TCAmericans and hope to see everyone in exys”
Walter, a 20-year-old forward, had three points in 68 games with the Americans last season. The Winterhawkshave two other 20-year-olds on their roster — F Shane McColgan and D Garrett Haar.

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I’ve been at this a long time. In fact, I can’t remember the last day when I didn’t post something here.
So I’m taking the weekend off.
Back early next week.
While I’m away, if you haven’t already, pay a visit to two blogs, both of which you will find over there on the right.
Ladies first . . .
We can . . . with love! is the work of Shelley Lowes, who has been fighting cancer and, not unlike the late Howard Cosell, has given us the blow-by-blow. Down goes cancer! Down goes cancer!
It’s A Mental Game is penned by Glen Erickson, a golfer and hockey writer who also is taking on the Big C. He, too, is allowing us to tag along.
Both blogs are more than worth your time.
Not to be overly dramatic, but you should read the latest offerings from Shelley and Glen, and then see if you feel the same way about the NHL lockout.
Seriously. Who cares? They’re negotiating. It’ll be over when it’s over. Wake me then.
In the meantime, I’m with Shelley and Glen. Hopefully, the bandwagon continues to fill up.
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THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Bernhard Keil (Kamloops, 2010-11) signed a two-year contract extension with the Straubing Tigers (Germany, DEL). The extension runs through the end of the 2014-2015 season. Keil has no points in five games with the Tigers this season and has one assist in one game on loan to Regensburg (Germany, Oberliga) this season.
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The Medicine Hat Tigers have assigned G Dawson MacAuley, 18, to the SJHL’s Yorkton Terriers. . . . MacAuley is the odd-man out after the Tigers acquired G Cam Lanigan, 20, from the Portland Winterhawks on Wednesday. . . . MacAuley was 1-3 with a 3.84 GAA and a .881 save percentage. . . . The Tigers, who are in Edmonton Saturday, now have Lanigan and Czech freshman Marek Langhamer has their goaltenders.
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The Brandon Wheat Kings have added David Anning, 27, to their coaching staff. Anning, who had been working as assistant GM/assistant head coach with the MJHL’s Steinbach Pistons, will join the Wheat Kings on Sunday as they continue a seven-game road trip. He will work alongside head coach Dwayne Gylywoychuk, fellow assistant coach Darren Ritchie and goaltender coach Brent Zelenewich. . . . Anning was the GM/head coach of the MJHL’s Winnipeg Saints before moving to Steinbach. He also spent two seasons as an assistant coach with the MJHL’s Dauphin Kings and has worked with various Hockey Canada programs.
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The Regina Pats have acquired F Colten Mayor, 19, and D Stephen Hak, 18, from the Red Deer Rebels for two 2015 bantam draft picks -- a fourth-rounder and a conditional sixth-rounder. . . . Mayor has three goals in 11 games this season with the Rebels after putting up 38 points in 52 games last season. He has played 168 WHL games so adds some experience to the Regina lineup. . . . Hak had six points in 55 games last season, but had been assigned to the MJHL’s Steinbach Pistons this season. . . . Mayor and Hak were expected to arrive in Regina Thursday night. The Pats are at home to the Tri-City Americans tonight.
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The Swift Current Broncos and Saskatoon Blades have swapped a pair of 19-year-old skaters. F Brent Benson, who is from Weyburn, Sask., is joining the Broncos in exchange for D Graeme Craig, who is from Red Deer. . . . Benson sat out Saskatoon’s 2-1 OT victory over the visiting Tri-City Americans on Wednesday night with what the team said was the flu. He had three assists in 11 games with the Blades this season. Last season, he had 37 points in 72 games. He was the sixth overall selection in the 2008 bantam draft. . . . Craig had one assist in 11 games with the Broncos this season, after putting up 10 points in 56 games last season. The 64th overall selection in the 2008 bantam draft brings some size to Saskatoon’s back end, at 6-foot-5 and 215 pounds. . . . Interestingly, the Blades play in Swift Current tonight and both players are expected to play for their new clubs. . . . Having added a defenceman, the Blades assigned D Nelson Nogier, 16, to the midget AAA Saskatoon Contacts. Nogier, the son of former WHL G Pat Nogier, was a fourth-round pick in the 2011 bantam draft.
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The Calgary Hitmen promoted assistant coach Brent Kisio to associate coach. . . . Kisio is in his sixth season with the Hitmen. He joined them in August 2007 as video/assistant coach after spending four seasons at the U of Nebraska-Omaha and graduating with a degree in criminology.
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The Everett Silvertips have signed G Nik Amundrud, who was a third-round selection in the WHL’s 2012 bantam draft. Amundrud, who turns 15 on Saturday, is from Melfort, Sask. He practised with the Silvertips on Thursday in Saskatoon. He is 2-1, 3.33, .872 in three appearances with the midget AAA Tisdale Trojans this season.
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Former NHLer Mike Busniuk is the interim head coach of the CIS Lakehead Thunderwolves (3-1-0) after Joel Scherban was dismissed on Thursday. Scherban was in his fourth season as the university team’s head coach. The 60-year-old Busniuk, who is from Thunder Bay, which is home to Lakehead U, spent two seasons as an assistant coach on Scherban’s staff. . . . Leith Dunick of tbnewswatch.com reported that “Scherban was let go for what team officials deemed internal issues, problems neither management nor the players would speak when pressed after the news broke.”
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If you like the loser point, this one’s for you.
Robert Tychowski of the Edmonton Sun points out that the Oil Kings “managed just one win in their last five games, but still salvaged five of 10 points in that span thanks (?) to three of those losses coming in overtime or the shootout.”
So if you’re Edmonton head coach Derek Laxdal perhaps you are telling your players that things aren’t going so well because you’ve lost four of five.
But if you play for the Oil Kings you reply that you’re still point points in your jeans.
By the way, after Thursday’s game, 15 of the WHL’s 22 teams have a winning percentage of .500 or better.
The Oil Kings, who have lost six of 10 games (5-3-3), are at .591.
Go figure!
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THURSDAY’S STUFF:
G Jordon Cooke, making his 10th start in 11 games, posted the shutout as the Kelowna Rockets beat the Prince George Cougars, 3-0. . . . Cooke stopped 32 shots for his second shutout this season and the second of his career. . . . Kelowna F Colton Sissons scored the game’s first goal, on a penalty shot, at 12:37 of the first period. . . . The Rockets were shorthanded at the time. . . . Prince George G Mac Engel, in his first start since being acquired from the Spokane Chiefs, stopped 23 shots. . . . Attendance was 4,781. . . . One of the big stories early in this WHL season may be the attendance in Kelowna, considering that franchise automatically drew at least 6,000 fans per game for the longest time. . . . The Cougars now head for Spokane and a Friday date with the Chiefs, who are in Prince George on Tuesday and Wednesday.

In Victoria, F Alex Gogolev scored twice against his former team as the Royals dumped the Calgary Hitmen, 3-1. . . . Gogolev, who has five goals, scored his second goal into an empty net. . . . Victoria F Steven Hodges scored his club’s other goal as he returned from an eight-game absence due to injury. He hadn’t played since Sept. 28. . . . F Zack Jones, whom the Hitmen acquired for Gogolev, scored for Calgary. . . . Victoria was 0-for-5 on the PP, while Calgary didn’t receive even one opportunity with the man advantage.
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CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
None.

CHECKING-TO-THE-HEAD COUNT:
D Marc McNulty, Prince George
F Colton Heffley, Kelowna
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“The Minnesota Department of Health has begun tracking concussions at 42 high schools in an attempt to gauge how the injuries affect students,” writes Alejandra Matos of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. “Within the first seven weeks, 373 students were diagnosed as having had a concussion. Leslie Seymour, an epidemiologist with the Health Department, said tracking the injuries in fall sports, such as football and volleyball, is only the beginning.”
The complete story is right here.
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The best story I saw yesterday is right here. It has nothing to do with hockey; in fact, it has nothing to do with sports. It's a love story involving a big bull elk and a cow. Seriously! Give it a read; it just might make your day.
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TWEET OF THE DAY:
From TC sports desk (@tc_vicsports): “60 minutes & not a single PP for @WHLHitmen who suffered a similar fate just 8 months ago in Victoria in a 5-3 win #WHL #strangebuttrue”

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Charles Inglis of the Prince George Cougars drew a charging major
for this hit on Josh Birkholz (10)
of the host Everett Silvertips on Saturday night.(Photo by Christopher Mast / mastimages.com)

In Calgary, the Hitmen scored the game’s first three goals and the last three, and beat the Lethbridge Hurricanes, 6-2. . . . F Alex Gogolev had two goals and two assists for Calgary, which was 3-for-5 on the PP. . . . Gogolev has 15 points, seven of them goals, in 19 games. . . .
In Cranbrook, goaltender Andrey Makarov stopped 36 shots to lead the Blades to a 2-1 victory over the Kootenay Ice. . . . The Blades have won five in a row and now are atop the Eastern Conference. . . . F Brent Benson’s fourth goal, on the PP, broke a 1-1 tie at 15:49 of the third period. . . . D Darren Dietz had given Saskatoon a 1-0 lead with a PP goal at 2:56 of the first period. . . . Kootenay’s Max Reinhart tied it with his ninth goal of the season, on the PP, at 19:13 of the first. . . . The Ice will play its next nine games on the road. . . .
In Vancouver, F James Henry’s shootout goal gave the Giants a 4-3 victory over the Prince George Cougars. . . . Henry, who scored the shootout’s only goal, also had a goal and an assist in regulation time. He is 3-for-3 in shootouts this season. . . . Vancouver F Brendan Gallagher forced OT with a goal at 18:47 of the third period. . . . Vancouver has won four straight. . . . Prince George was without F Charles Inglis, who has drawn a ‘tbd’ suspension after taking a charging major and game misconduct for a hit on F Josh Birkholz of the Silvertips in Everett on Saturday night. Check out the dynamite photo by Chris Mast of the moment of impact. . . . Also missing from the Cougars’ lineup was D Jesse Forsberg and F Brock Hirsche, both of whom suffered injuries on Saturday. . . . Vancouver was without F Nathan Burns (ankle). He was injured in Saturday’s 3-2 OT victory over the visiting Kelowna Rockets. . . .
In Victoria, F Robin Soudek and F Logan Nelson had shootout goals as the Royals got past the Red Deer Rebels, 4-3. . . . Victoria F Steven Hodges tied the score 3-3 at 19:24 of the third period. . . . The Rebels, who are 5-0-1 on a road trip, had five shots in OT and hit four posts during the game. . . . The Royals had lost three games in a row on home ice. They finished a seven-game homestand at 3-3-1. . . . The Royals were without F Kevin Sundher (undisclosed) but he is expected to return to practice today. . . . The Rebels picked up seven points on their four-game swing into the B.C. Division.
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SUNDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
One night after there were 10 minor penalties called, there weren’t any handed out. Well done!
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Michael Russo, in the Minneapolis Star Tribune:
“In a neat thing, the Wild recalled goalie prospect Darcy Kuemper from ECHL Ontario (Calif.) so he can take the ice during the Wild's optional morning skate Sunday at Anaheim's Honda Center. That means Kuemper, 21, the Western Hockey League's Player and Goalie of the Year last season, will earn his first NHL paycheck and a day's per diem before being reassigned — likely Monday.”
Kuemper was the Red Deer Rebels’ starter last season in what was his 20-year-old season.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
     
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
     
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