Cougars redo ticketing system ... Peterson has seen it all in Nashville ... Ex-WHL goalie retires

The Prince George Cougars, having lost a big chunk of change over the past three seasons, have moved to a new ticket-pricing system. As Ted Clarke of the Prince George Citizen writes: “The team has dropped age-based pricing and will instead sell tickets based on where the seats are located in the arena.”

Greg Pocock, the franchise’s president, told Clarke:

"We've lost $2.3 million in three years and we can't continue to provide the players with the experience they're getting, that they've earned and deserve, and lose that kind of money. It's not sustainable.

“Projecting forward, this will put us up in the middle of the league in our pricing structure and it should encourage more people to come out and enjoy Cougars hockey.”

Here’s how Clarke explained the new pricing system:

“The team has set up four tiers of ticket-pricing for season memberships. A premium centre ice red ticket in the two main sections of the arena which starts a few seats shy of each goal line on either side will cost $728. The next most expensive tickets ($576) are in the blue section to the sides and behind the goal in what will be the Cougars' attacking end for the first and third periods.

“Seats in the white section, which will be to the sides and behind the goal the Cougars will defend for two periods, are priced at $420. The cheapest seats ($252 for a full 36-game season) are in the green section and will be in the first four rows in either end. Based on a 36-game schedule, the per-game ticket cost is $20.20 (red), $16 (blue), $11.67 (white) and $7 (green).”

Clarke’s complete story is right here.

——

Please read the article about Brent Peterson. Doesn't deserve his lot in life but never gives in and always positive. Amazing man

— Ray Ferraro (@rayferrarotsn) May 27, 2017

Back in the day, Brent Peterson was a player (1974-78) with the Edmonton Oil Kings/Portland Winterhawks and a coach (1991-98) with Portland. He was the Winterhawks’ head coach when they won the 1998 Memorial Cup. . . . These days, he’s getting ready for the Stanley Cup final as a radio analyst on the Nashville Predators’ radio crew. Peterson, 59, has been with the Predators since Day 1, so you know how much this means to him. He was on the coaching staff until Parkinson’s disease made that untenable. . . . Allan Maki of The Globe and Mail has more on Peterson’s story right here.

——

Nathan Lieuwen played in the WHL for seasons (2008-12) in the WHL, all of them tending goal for the Kootenay Ice. He’s 25 years of age now and has chosen to retire from hockey. He got into seven NHL games during his career, all of them with the Buffalo Sabres, but he got run over in the last one and ended up with a concussion, one that has had an impact on his vision. . . . Elliotte Friedman of Hockey Night in Canada has more in his 30 Thoughts and it’s all right here.

——

If you’re a regular here, and even you aren’t, feel free to contribute to the feeding of the Drinnan family by making a donation to the cause. You are able to do so by clicking on the DONATE button and going from there.

BTW, if you want to contact me with some information or just feel like commenting on something, you may email me at greggdrinnan@gmail.com.

I’m also on Twitter (@gdrinnan).

There has never been a subscription fee for this blog, but if you enjoy stopping by here, why not consider donating to the cause? Just click HERE. . . and thank you very much.

The AHL’s Manchester Monarchs have signed G Ty Rimmer to an ATO (amateur tryout agreement). Rimmer played out his junior eligibility with the Lethbridge Hurricanes, leading the WHL in miutes played (2,310) and saves (2,106). He finished 24-30-10, 3.19, .912. . . . Rimmer, who turns 21 today, is represented by Turning Point Sports Management. . . . The Monarchs are affiliated with the NHL's Los Angeles Kings.

———
The Edmonton Oilers have signed F Travis Ewanyk to a three-year, entry-level NHL contract. Ewanyk, 19, was a third-round selection in the NHL’s 2011 draft. He was limited to 11 games last season because of shoulder problems, but came back in time for the Oil Kings’ championship playoff run. This season, he put up 23 points and had 119 penalty minutes in 58 games.
Bruce McCurdy takes a really good look at the Ewanyk signing right here.
———
Brent Peterson, the former Portland Winterhawks player and coach, has written a book and it hit shelves (and amazon.com) on Friday. My Toughest Faceoff: My Life in Hockey and My Battle with Parkinson’s Disease was written with Jim Diamond.
It’s available right here.
———
THE COACHING GAME:
Dan Olson of The Now, a newspaper on the Lower Mainland of B.C., has more right here on the decision by the BCHL’s Coquitlam Express to fire GM/head coach Jon Calvano with a year left on his contract. . . .
Taylor Dakers (Kootenay, 2003-07) has signed on as the goaltending coach of the junior B 100 Mile House Wranglers of the Kootenay International junior league. . . . Dakers is the goaltending coach with the WHL’s Everett Silvertips and the senior head instructor of the Calgary-based World Pro Goaltending. . . . Before moving into the WHL, Dakers played junior B for Wranglers head coach Doug Rogers.
———
Former WHL D Link Gaetz (New Westminster, Spokane, 1986-88) is facing an assault trial after an incident at a Dairy Queen outlet in Cache Creek, B.C., on April 20.
The Kamloops Daily News reports in its Saturday editions that Gaetz has been charged with assault and causing a disturbance. Gaetz has been charged with assaulting Jean Guye-Vuilleme in the restaurant.
The trial date of Oct. 8 has been set in Kamloops.
“We will be litigating the matter,” Jeremy Jensen, Gaetz’s lawyer, told the newspaper. “Legendary hockey figure aside, at this point the presumption is that he is innocent.”
Gaetz, 44, is from Vancouver.
———
After the piece here yesterday about the NHL’s Washington Capitals having requested that the Lethbridge Hurricanes change their logo, more than one person contacted me to point out that the BCHL’s Cowichan Capitals have a similar logo.
For the record, here are all three logos:
 

















———


The WHL’s first-round situation (all best-of-7):
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Edmonton (1) vs. Kootenay (8)
(Edmonton leads 1-0; Game 2 on Sunday in Edmonton)
Saskatoon (2) vs. Medicine Hat (7)
(Medicine Hat leads 2-0; Game 3 on Tuesday in Medicine Hat)
Calgary (3) vs. Swift Current (6)
(Calgary leads 2-0; Game 3 on Monday in Swift Current)
Red Deer (4) vs Prince Albert (5)
(Red Deer leads 1-0; Game 2 tonight in Red Deer)

WESTERN CONFERENCE
Portland (1) vs. Everett (8)
(Everett leads 1-0; Game 2 tonight in Portland)
Kelowna (2) vs. Seattle (7)
(Seattle leads 1-0; Game 2 tonight in Kelowna)
Kamloops (3) vs. Victoria (6)
(Kamloops leads 1-0; Game 2 tonight in Kamloops)
Spokane (4) vs. Tri-City (5)
(Spokane leads 1-0; Game 2 tonight in Spokane)
———
FRIDAY’S GAMES:
In Saskatoon, G Cam Lanigan stopped 42 shots as the Medicine Hat Tigers beat the Blades, 3-0. . . . The Tigers hold a 2-0 lead in the series after sweeping the Blades in a first-round series a year ago. . . . Lanigan has stopped 84 of 85 shots over two games. . . . Saskatoon now has lost 10 straight playoff games. . . . F Trevor Cox got his second goal in two nights, this one on the PP at 3:32 of the second, and it stood as the winner. . . . Medicine Hat F Mile Koules had a goal and an assist. . . . The Blades were without F Jessey Astles, who drew a ‘tbd’ suspension under supplemental discipline for a first-period hit on Medicine Hat F Matt Staples, who left the game and didn’t return. Staples, who has concussion-like symptoms, was scratched from Game 2, with F Steven Owre taking his place in the lineup. The length of Astles’ suspension is expected to be finalized on Monday. . . . The Blades inserted F Ryan Graham in Astles’ spot. Saskatoon also dressed D Kyle Schmidt and took out D Nelson Nogier. . . .  Saskatoon was without F Erik Benoit (undisclosed) for the first two games. . . .

In Edmonton, F Stephane Legault had a seven-point night as the Oil Kings whipped the Kootenay Ice, 9-0. . . . Legault scored three times, added four assists and was a plus-4. . . . The WHL record for most points in a playoff game is eight, shared by F Dave Chartier of the Brandon Wheat Kings (March 27, 1981) and F Alfie Turcotte of the Portland Winterhawks (March 26, 1983). Chartier had five goals and three assists in a 13-4 victory over the visiting Regina Pats. Turcotte was four and four in a 13-4 victory over the host Seattle Breakers. . . . Edmonton G Laurent Brossoit stopped 28 shots for his third career playoff shutout. . . . Edmonton struck for five goals in the last 12 minutes of the first period. . . . F Michael St. Croix had a goal and two assists, F Trevor Cheek had two goals and an assist — and was plus-5 — and D Martin Gernat had three assists. . . .

In Calgary, G Chris Driedger turned aside 39 shots to lead the Hitmen to a 3-1 victory over the Swift Current Broncos. . . . The Hitmen led 3-0 before F Adam Lowry ruined Driedger’s shutout bid at 10:19 of the third on a PP. . . . F Cody Sylvester, F Greg Chase and F Victor Rask scored for Calgary, the first two in the second period, the latter in the third. . . .

In Red Deer, G Patrik Bartosak stopped 31 shots to lead the Rebels to a 3-0 victory over the Prince Albert Raiders. . . . Bartosak was the Eastern Conference’s first-team all-star goaltender. . . . F Brooks Maxwell scored 25 seconds into the game — he tipped in a point shot by D Brady Gaudet — and the Rebels were never caught. . . . F Rhyse Dieno scored Red Deer’s second goal, at 19:04 of the first. Just before that, at 16:19, Dieno came up short on a penalty shot attempt. . . . Prince Albert G Luke Siemens made 27 saves. . . .

In Spokane, F Alessio Bertaggia broke a 1-1 tie at 11:15 of the first period and the Chiefs went on to a 4-1 victory over the Tri-City Americans. . . . F Mitch Holmberg scored twice for the Chiefs, while D Brenden Kichton and D Reid Gow each had two assists. . . . Spokane G Eric Williams stopped 26 shots. . . . D Brandon Carlo, a 16-year-old from Colorado Springs playing his first WHL game, scored for the Americans. He tied the game at 6:36 of the first period. Carlo is in the lineup replacing the injured Mitch Topping. . . .

In Portland, G Austin Lotz stopped 55 shots to lead the Everett Silvertips to a 4-3 victory over the Winterhawks. . . . Lotz, who was making his first career playoff start, has performed this kind of larceny at least one other time. On Feb. 7, he turned aside 65 shots in a 4-3 OT loss in Kamloops. . . . The Silvertips had lost their previous 10 playoff games. . . . F Kohl Bauml scored twice for the Silvertips. His first goal, at 3:25 of the third, gave Everett a 3-1 lead. His second goal, at 12:46, gave Everett a 4-2 lead. . . . Portland fired 22 shots at Lotz in the third period and finally got a PP goal from F Nic Petan with 16 seconds remaining. . . . Portland G Mac Carruth turned aside 27 shots. . . .

In Kamloops, F JC Lipon broke a 2-2 tie at 4:37 of the third period and the Blazers went on to beat the Victoria Royals, 3-2. . . . Lipon scored twice, while F Steven Hodges had two goals for Victoria. . . . Kamloops G Cole Cheveldave stopped 22 shots, with 11 of those coming in the third period. He made four game-saving stops in the third period. . . . G Patrik Polivka, who hadn’t played since March 5, was back in goal for the Royals. He made 33 saves. . . . The Royals were without F Alex Gogolev, their leading scorer. He is out long-term after undergoing surgery to repair damage to a leg from a skate cut. . . . Victoria also was without D Tyler Stahl, its captain. Originally, the Royals had him in the lineup, with question marks beside D Ryan Gagnon and D Isaac Schacher. Stahl took the warmup and then was scratched, with Gagnon and Schacher both staying in and playing. . . .

In Kelowna, F Luke Lockhart scored the game’s last two goals as the Seattle Thunderbirds beat the Rockets, 5-4. . . . The Rockets took a 4-3 lead by scoring in the last minute of the second period (F Tyson Baillie on a PP at 19:02) and in the first minute of the third period (F Myles Bell at 0:59). . . . Lockhart scored at 13:30 to force OT and then won it at 19:09 of the first extra-time period. . . . Seattle G Brandon Glover stopped 35 shots, 10 fewer than Kelowna’s Jordon Cooke. . . . D Jesse Forsberg and F Roberts Lipsbergs each had a goal and two assists for Seattle. . . . Lipsbergs assists came on Lockhart’s goals. . . . D Damon Severson scored once and added two assists for Kelowna.
———
CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT (4):
F Travis Ewanyk, Edmonton
D Graeme Craig, Saskatoon
F Reid Petryk, Everett
F Blake Gal, Spokane

CHECKING-TO-THE-HEAD COUNT (1):
D Derrick Pouliot, Portland
———

From injured Tri-City Americans F Ryan Chynoweth (@RChynowethh): “Well the trek for my grandpas trophy starts today #game1 #playoffs13 #gotime”


There has never been a subscription fee for this blog, but if you enjoy stopping by here, why not consider donating to the cause? Just click HERE. . . and thank you very much.

Doug Soetaert was fired Thursday as the Everett Silvertips' general manager.
(Photo from the Silvertips' website)

The Everett Silvertips played their first WHL season in 2003-04.
They finished atop the U.S. Division, going 35-27-8-2 (the 8 being ties) and, incredibly enough, getting all the way to the WHL’s championship final where they lost to the Medicine Hat Tigers.
The Silvertips were in their first season in the WHL; the Tigers were in their 34th. In the previous 10 seasons, the Tigers had, in order, been bounced in the first round four times, missed the playoffs five times and lost in the second round once.
I bring this up because the Silvertips fired general manager Doug Soetaert on Thursday.
Soetaert, 55, was named the Silvertips’ vice-president and GM on April 16, 2002, a position he filled until May 16, 2005, when he left to work as the GM of an AHL franchise in Omaha that was hooked up with the NHL’s Calgary Flames. He stayed there one season, then returned to Everett.
Soetaert, a former WHL goaltender, built a franchise that won three U.S. Division titles and a Western Conference championship in its formative years. The Silvertips also finished atop the WHL’s overall standings in 2006-07, when they went 54-15-3.
Two seasons ago, Everett went 46-21-5 and finished in a tie with the Tri-City Americans for top spot in the U.S. Division and the Western Conference. The Americans, however, won one more game (47-46) than did Everett, so was awarded the pennant.
The last two seasons, however, haven’t been as kind to Everett. It was 28-33-11 last season, after which head coach Craig Hartsburg left to join the Flames’ coaching staff. You may recall, too, that the season was disrupted somewhat when Hartsburg left the team to undergo a heart procedure.
This season, under head coach Mark Ferner, the Silvertips are 12-30-9 and may well miss the playoffs for the first time in the franchise’s history.
Prior to this season, Soetaert admitted that he was beginning a full-scale rebuild. This wasn’t a reload. This would be a complete rebuild.
Soetaert now won’t be around to see his plan to fruition.
“Doug's contract was expiring this year, and we've been spending months evaluating our direction," Silvertips president Gary Gelinas told Nick Patterson of the Everett Herald. "We made the decision not to renew his contract. We decided to make the decision sooner rather than later so we could find the right individual to bring in and lead the organization.”
Gelinas also told Patterson that no other changes are expected for the time being.
The Silvertips are owned by Bill Yuill, who sold the Seattle Thunderbirds in order to purchase the expansion franchise for Everett. Gelinas is the franchise’s president and governor.
Firing Soetaert at this particular point in time is a risky proposition and, on the face of it, doesn’t seem to make a whole lot of sense.
Soetaert has more than proven himself in this league and, one might have thought, had earned a chance to right the ship.
You also have to wonder how secure Ferner is feeling this morning. He left a situation with the BCHL’s Vernon Vipers in which he could have stayed indefinitely. Under Ferner, the Vipers had made three straight trips to the RBC Cup, the national junior A championship tournament, winning two of them.
With Soetaert gone, assistant GM Zoran Rajcic and Ferner will handle those duties.
Now, with a new GM to come in sometime in the next few months, you have to wonder just how safe the coaching staff will be once this season ends.
As one WHL team official told me last night: “It’s a (crappy) game sometimes.”
———
There has never been a subscription fee for this blog, but if you enjoy stopping by here, why not consider donating to the cause? Just click HERE. . . and thank you very much.
——— 

ASK THE COMMISSIONER:
Why only allow players to have until Dec. 31 of the completion of their 21-year-old season to play professional and then force them to make a decision about pro vs. school? Why not give them a full season or two . . . or five? Also, how much is currently in the WHL education fund and how much gets used?
———
JUST NOTES: D Corbin Baldwin of the Spokane Chiefs has drawn a two-game suspension after taking a major and game misconduct for a check to the head in a 4-1 loss to the Blazers in Kamloops on Wednesday night. With the score tied 1-1 in the third period, Baldwin laid out Kamloops F Dylan Willick with an elbow to the head. . . . I would love to show that video to OHL commissioner David Branch and ask him what a check like that would be worth in the OHL. . . . Baldwin won’t play against the visiting Victoria Royals tonight or against the host Kootenay Ice on Saturday. . . .
Rose Mary Hartney and Greg (Spike) Wallace are the recipients of the WHL Distinguished Service Award for this season. Hartney, who has worked at Vanier Collegiate in Moose Jaw for 38 years, has been a long-time education advisor to the Warriors. Wallace has been around the WHL for a long while, first in Victoria and now Kamloops. He joined the Blazers as their trainer/equipment manager in 1984 and now is their community and sponsorship co-ordinator. . . .
The Vancouver Giants will wear special sweaters tonight for a game against the visiting Kamloops Blazers. Zip on over to the Giants’ website for a look at the sweaters that will honour Gordie Howe.
———
Patrick Roy, the GM and head coach of the Quebec Remparts, has been fined again. This time he’ll pay $5,000 for comments he made concerning Gilles Courteau, the league’s commissioner. That story is right here.
———
Writers from The Associated Press have spent the last two months interviewing ex-NFL players about concussions.
Here is how the story, written by Howard Fendrich, Martha Irvine, and Nancy Armour begins:
The helmet-to-helmet shot knocked Tony Dorsett out cold in the second quarter of a 1984 Cowboys-Eagles game, the hardest hit he ever took during his Hall of Fame NFL career.
“It was like a freight train hitting a Volkswagen,” Dorsett says now.
“Did they know it was a concussion?” he asks rhetorically during an interview with The Associated Press. “They thought I was half-dead.”
This is a lengthy and frightening story. It is right here.
———
The Globe and Mail has decried fighting in junior hockey. In a crisp, four-paragraph editorial headlined ‘The game’s dark side,’ the newspaper notes that “there is no earthly reason to put teenagers’ brains through a meat grinder to keep purists happy.”
———
Brent Peterson, a former player and coach with the Portland Winterhawks, will be inducted into the organization’s Hall of Fame tonight prior to a game against the visiting Everett Silvertips. Jim Beseda of the Oregonian checked in with Peterson, who has been battling Parkinson’s disease. And the picture with the story tells it all — a smile on his face and a golf club in his left hand. That story is right here.


 

THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Brett Breitkreuz (Kelowna, Edmonton, Vancouver, 2006-10) signed a one-year contract extension with Kölner Haie (Germany, DEL). He has three goals and five assists in 29 games for Cologne this season. . . .
F Ivan Dornic (Portland, 2003-05) signed a contract for the rest of this season with AaB Aalborg (Denmark, AL-Bank Ligaen). He had nine goals and seven assists in 25 games with Metallurg Zhlobin (Belarus, Extraliga) this season. . . .
F Patrik Valcak (Lethbridge, Kelowna, 2003-04) was released by Nitra (Slovakia, Extraliga). He had one goal and seven assists in 18 games for Nitra. Valcak began the season with Trinec (Czech Republic, Extraliga), where he was pointless in eight games.
———
JUST NOTES:
F Chris Wilkie, a fourth-round selection by the Victoria Royals in the WHL’s 2011 bantam draft, has committed to the U of North Dakota. Wilkie, 15, has 37 points in 14 regular-season games with the Omaha Jr. Lancers program. According to a Lancers news release, he leads “all three PHL divisions (18U, 16U, 14U) in scoring . . . and has quickly become one of the best young prospects the PHL has seen in its three-year history.” . . . That would be the North American Prospects Hockey League. . . . Wilkie is coming off a five-game, 23-point performance in a weekend PHL event in Dallas. . . . Wilkie’s father, David, coaches the Lancers. David also is a former WHL defenceman (Seattle, Kamloops, Regina, 1991-94) who was a first-round selection by the Montreal Canadiens in the NHL’s 1992 draft. . . . Carlos Sosa and Darcy Tucker of Turning Point Sports Management are the Wilkie family’s advisors. . . . Interestingly, David Wilkie was Sosa’s first client to be a first-round selection in the NHL draft. Wilkie also introduced Sosa to Tucker, then a forward with the Kamloops Blazers. Wilkie recommended that Sosa take on Tucker as a client, which is what happened. Sosa and Tucker have since partnered in TPSM.
———
The Lethbridge Hurricanes have named F Brody Sutter as their captain, replacing F Cam Braes, 20, who was traded Monday to the Moose Jaw Warriors. Sutter, 20, was named captain just two days after his name was being bandied about in trade talks. . . . Sutter, a seventh-round selection of the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2011 NHL draft, is the 21st captain in franchise history. . . . He is the son of former WHL/NHL F Duane Sutter.
———
F Brett Connolly, whose WHL rights went from the Prince George Cougars to the Tri-City Americans on Tuesday, was in action with the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday night. Connolly, 19, played nine minutes 43 seconds over 15 shifts as the Lightning lost 5-2 to the visiting Carolina Hurricanes. . . . He played nine minutes 42 seconds of even strength, with one second of PP time. . . . Hello, Steve, this is Bob Tory calling.
———
F Patrick Holland of the Tri-City Americans got through the WHL trade deadline without having to pack up and move. But two days later he was involved in an NHL trade. On Thursday night, the Calgary Flames dealt Holland, F Rene Bourque and a 2013 second-round draft pick to the Montreal Canadiens for F Mike Cammalleri, G Karri Ramo and a 2012 fifth-round draft pick. . . . A seventh-round selection by the Flames in the NHL’s 2010 draft, Holland has 56 points in 39 games with the Americans this season. He is ninth in the WHL scoring race. Holland, 19, has yet to sign an NHL contract. . . . Later in the evening, Holland tweeted: “Guess it's time to thank my parents for putting me in 9 years of french immersion. Hoping I can please the @CanadiensMTL fans someday.”
———
The Vancouver Giants are checking out F Austin Fyten, 20. Fyten underwent major knee surgery after suffering an injury during a Sept. 8 exhibition game with the Lethbridge Hurricanes. Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province reports that Fyten became a free agent on Tuesday when the Hurricanes dropped him at Tuesday’s trade deadline. According to Ewen, Fyten is “slated to come to town early next week to meet with Giants doctors, who will assess what rehab it may take for him to return this season.” The Giants are thinking perhaps they can get him into the lineup late in March or early in April. . . . Fyten, a second-round selection the 2006 bantam draft, had 177 points, including 55 goals, and 287 penalty minutes in 193 games with Lethbridge. Last season, in 52 games, he had 54 points, including 24 goals, and 103 penalties.
———
There is going to be some emotion at an upcoming Portland Winterhawks game with former player and coach Brent Peterson in the house. He plans on attending a game or two early in February.
Kerry Eggers of the Portland Tribune has more right here.
———
The Saskatoon Blades are expected to start G Alex Moodie, 16, again tonight as they play the Broncos in Swift Current. Moodie was to have been sent back to the midget AAA Winnipeg Wild. But the Blades lost G Andrey Makarov to a concussion so ended up keeping Moodie. All he did was go into Brandon and blank the Wheat Kings 2-0 on Wednesday night. That made him, according to Les Lazaruk, the radio voice of the Blades, the first 16-year-old goaltender in franchise history to post a shutout. . . . Once Makarov gets a clean bill of health, which could come early next week, Moodie will be going back to the Wild. . . . Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix has more on the Blades’ goaltending situation right here.
———
THURSDAY’S GAME:
In Medicine Hat, F Dylan Wruck scored two goals and set up another to help the Edmonton Oil Kings to a 6-2 victory over the Tigers. . . . Edmonton also got two goals from F Rhett Rachinski, with F Tyler Maxwell scoring once and drawing two helpers. . . . F Emerson Etem got his 35th of the season for the Tigers. . . . Emerson scored the game’s first goal, at which point he had scored Medicine Hat’s last four goals. . . . Tigers G Tyler Bunz, who is stuck on 99 victories, left after two periods. He gave up five goals on 30 shots. . . . Edmonton D Griffin Reinhart (undisclosed) was scratched. . . . F Henrik Samuelsson made his Edmonton debut. He had one assist.
———

There has never been a subscription fee for this blog, but if you enjoy stopping by here, why not consider donating to the cause? Just click HERE. . . and thank you very much.

In keeping with the Christmas spirit, we bring you a story from Regina that involves a Santa who, uhh, was in a state of, uhh, intoxication on Friday morning. Is that called having too much Christms spirit? That story is right here.
———
Jeff Blair of The Globe and Mail has a few words of warning for those fans who might become too invested in the Canadian team at the World Junior Championship. That piece is right here.
While the WJC is on, don’t forget about the Spengler Cup.
———
F Brayden Cuthbert, out with a concussion since Jan. 22, wants nothing more than go get back into the Moose Jaw Warriors’ lineup. But he knows he has some work to do to get back to that level of play. So Cuthbert, a 17-year-old from Brandon, has joined the midget AAA Brandon Wheat Kings for the rest of this season.
———
The Brandon Wheat Kings have added G Curtis Honey, a 17-year-old from Edmonton, to their roster. Honey had been with the AJHL’s Bonneyville Pontiacs. He will back up Brandon Anderson, 19, while Corbin Boes, 18, recovers from a broken hand. . . . Honey was added to Brandon’s protected list after he helped the Edmonton-South Side Athletic Club Athletics to the Mac’s tournament title in Calgary, stopping 39 shots in a 3-2 championship-game victory over the Saskatoon Contacts. . . . In Bonneyville, Honey was 12-4-1, 2.41, .919.
———
Tyler Kula of the QMI Agency has more on D Tanner Ferguson of the junior B Lambton Shores Predators, who suffered horrible facial injuries in a game last week. F Justin Thomas of the Strathroy Rockets has been suspended indefinitely by the Ontario Hockey Association, while Ferguson has undergone facial reconstruction surgery.
Kula’s story is right here, with video of the check.
———
And here is another video story on former Portland Winterhawks player/coach Brent Peterson, who underwent deep brain stimulation in an attempt to help him cope with Parkinsons Disease.
———
Here is today’s good read; enjoy it with your morning coffee. It’s Jim Matheson’s Christmas Eve Hockey World, from the pages of the Edmonton Journal. Enjoy!
———
There has never been a subscription fee for this blog, but if you enjoy stopping by here, why not consider donating to the cause? Just click HERE. . . and have a Merry Christmas.

THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Sean McAslan (Calgary, 1996-2001) signed a contract for the rest of this season with the Nottingham Panthers (England, UK Elite). He had one goal and one assist in two games with the Bentley Generals (Alberta, Chinook Hockey League) this season.
———
On the concussion front, the NFL has been hit by yet another lawsuit. This one involves Jamal Lewis, Dorsey Levens, Fulton Kuykendall and Ryan Stewart, all of whom are claiming brain injuries have left them with medical difficulties.
That story is right here.
———
If you haven't seen the feature TSN's Dave Naylor did on former Portland Winterhawks player and coach Brent Peterson, this is must-see TV. That piece is right here.
———
There has never been a subscription fee for this blog, but if you enjoy stopping by here, why not consider donating to the cause? Just click HERE. . . and thank you very much.

Dean Blais, the head coach of the U.S. national junior team, is expected to name a final roster today. . . . D Seth Jones, from the U.S. U-18 national team, won’t be on the roster. Jones, a first-round selection by the Everett Silvertips in the 2009 bantam draft, suffered an undisclosed injury in a Tuesday pre-tournament game against Russia. . . . Jones is the son of former NBA player Popeye Jones.
———
Good on the CHL for signing on with Respect Group Inc.
Respect Group Inc., which was co-founded by Sheldon Kennedy and Wayne McNeil, operates the Respect in Sport on-line training program that already has partnered with an impressive list of sports organizations. Check it out right here.
The Respect in Sport program all is done on-line. It deals with educating people on how to recognize signs of abuse, bullying and harassment, also how to deal with it and how to prevent it.
The CHL will begin its program in January, with all 59 of its member teams — in the WHL, QMJHL and OHL — involved.
According to a CHL press release:
“All CHL member club hockey personnel will be required to take the 2.5-hour on-line training course which covers a wide spectrum of topics including recognizing the signs and symptoms of bullying, harassment and abuse as well as using positive power to create the desired environment for athletes to excel.”
While this is a positive move by the CHL, you really have to wonder what took so long. After all, Kennedy was sexually abused by a WHL coach while playing in the WHL, and Respect in Sport, which has been available for a number of years now, is one of the things that has developed out of that experience.
———
If you stop here regularly and like what you see, feel free to make a donation by clicking HERE. . . Thank you very much and have a Merry Christmas.
———
From Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal:
Nashville Predators associate coach Brent Peterson, who once played centre for the Edmonton Oil Kings and Portland Winterhawks of the Western Hockey League, got an early Christmas gift as he continues his ongoing battle with Parkinson’s disease.
This week, doctors implanted electrodes into his brain, ran a wire down his neck and hooked the wire up to a pacemaker-like box inside his chest. They activated the battery-operated stimulator at the Vanderbilt University Medical facility and Peterson was able to function much better than he has over the past several years.
His walking is better, rather than being a shuffle, and his right hand, which was locked tightly to his right side, has opened up. He actually worked out on a treadmill at the team’s practice facility on Wednesday.
“I feel like I’ve come out of the dead zone. This is a lifesaver for me,” Peterson told a Nashville television station.
———
D Willie Mitchell of the Los Angeles Kings suffered a concussion in 2010 and it cost him a good chunk of the 2009-10 NHL season.
He described what he went through to NBC-TV:
"I missed eight months of hockey. Eight months of my life was gone, right? (That's) the reality of it, eight months of your life is gone. You're living in pain every day, you have a headache, headache is pain. Whether it's small, medium, or large headache, it's pain. You live with that.
“It's tough. You can't do anything. You can't read, you can't drive your car — it hurts. Living in pain, it's almost like, I always say, a snippet into a terminal illness so to speak. It gives you a little snippet, because not only (does it) physically bother you, but it's the emotional aspect of it as well. You wake up every day and you don't feel better and that can take its toll. And stress in life, what does it do? It gives you a headache. Well, that's one thing you're trying to get away from is a headache."
—––
OHL commissioner David Branch is looking in an alleged racial slur from a game Friday night in London, Ont. John Matisz of the London Community News has more right here.
———
F Colby Armstrong of the Toronto Maple Leafs is on the injured list with a concussion. He was injured Saturday against the visiting Vancouver Canucks, but tried to hide it from the Maple Leafs’ training staff. That last until Monday when he threw up after riding an exercise bike.
Unfortunately, hiding — to trying to hide — concussions is a lot more common in hockey than you might think. And, yes, that applies to major junior hockey as well.
Dave Shoalts of The Globe and Mail has the Armstrong story, and more, right here.
Earlier this season, I talked with Kamloops Blazers F Chase Souto about the concussions he has had during his brief WHL career. Souto, 17, suffered one in September and admits trying to hide it from Kamloops trainer Colin (Toledo) Robinson.
If you care to revisit that story, it’s right here.
It’s unfortunate that these athletes are so concerned about losing their roster spots and have such a burning desire to play — they feel they are letting down teammates, friends, family and fans if they don’t — that they will try to keep all kinds of injuries, including concussions, from a team’s medical staff.
As we are learning, nothing good can come of hiding a concussion and playing in that condition. Medical tests have proven that a person with a concussion is really, really susceptible to another one if their brain is the subject of any more trauma during the healing process.
This definitely isn’t the time to be thinking about short-term pain for long-term gain.

 

THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Tyler Redenbach (Prince George, Swift Current, Lethbridge, 2001-05) will be loaned to Red Bull Salzburg (Austria, Erste Bank Liga) by Olten (Switzerland, NL B) for the European Trophy finals. Redenbach has four goals and 14 assists in 20 games for Olten this season. Red Bull have five players playing with the Austrian national team during the finals, so the club needs some reinforcements. The European Trophy is a tournament featuring 24 teams from six European countries. It started in August with group play and the top eight advanced to the finals, which run Dec. 16-18 in Salzburg and Vienna. . . .
F Justin Mapletoft (Red Deer, 1996-2001) signed a tryout contract with Basel (Switzerland, NL B). He had six assists in 14 games with Schwenninger Wild Wings (Germany, 2.Bundesliga) and one goal and two assists in two games with Sierre (Switzerland, NL B) earlier this season. No contract terms were released by Basel.
———
If you enjoy what you see here, why not considering make a donation to help keep this blog going. It's easy. Just =click HERE. . . and thank you very much.
———
David Branch, the president of the Canadian Hockey League and the commissioner of the OHL, is major junior hockey’s visionary.
It is a role that once was filled by Ed Chynoweth, when he was the head of the CHL and running the WHL. Chynoweth was terrific at looking into the future and choosing the direction in which his league should travel.
Now it is Branch who is showing a knack for prescience.
It is Branch who, as the head of the OHL, first began cracking down on headshots and using the lengthy suspension as a deterrent.
Now, he says, the day is coming when hockey will move to ban fighting.
In a piece written by Michael Traikos of the National Post, Branch talks of ejecting players who fight.
“I think, practically, that’s really the only rule you could have,” Branch told Traikos. “And then you may choose going forward to increase the sanctions if you become a habitual fighter. There’s such a changing attitude. If you had brought that up 20 years ago, (team owners and general managers) would have shook their heads. Now, there’s more and more people saying, ‘How can we get there?’ And it’s coming.”
Traikos has presented an intriguing column, and it’s right here.
Branch, among other things, says hockey doesn’t need fighting to sell tickets.
He also points out:
“You look at the Memorial Cup; there’s no fights. You look at the world junior championships; you don’t have any fighting there. And I really believe attitudes have been changing and continue to change and there’s a steady, natural evolution away from it. The time will come where it will be deemed to be totally unacceptable and that will reduce it further.”
———
Let us not forget that almost two years have passed since Don Sanderson, a player with the senior Whitby, Ont., Dunlops, died after falling to the ice and hitting his helmetless head on the ice during a fight.
Sanderson was injured on Dec. 14, 2008, and was in a coma before dieing in a Hamilton hospital on Jan. 2, 2009.
At the time, David Branch was quoted by CBC as saying:
"All of us that are in positions to exercise some influence have an obligation to challenge as to what we can do to hopefully not see something like this occur again.”
———
If you have ever wondered how fighting came to be a part of hockey, well, check out this piece right here by Jeff Z. Klein of The New York Times.
Perhaps the most relevant paragraph in that piece is this quote from Adam Proteau of The Hockey News:
“You can no more ban fighting in hockey than in any other sport. But you can punish it more appropriately, starting with a game misconduct and ejection for any fight, and a sliding scale of fines/suspensions for repeat offenders.”
Proteau is the author of the newly published book Fighting the Good Fight: Why On-Ice Violence Is Killing Hockey.
———
F Eric Walker of the Vancouver Giants has had charges he was facing dismissed in Marquette County District Court in Michigan.
Walker, then a student-athlete at Northern Michigan University, and six other hockey players were charged in conjunction with some stolen bicycles on campus.
The case was heard on Tuesday, with four of the players pleading no contest.
Charges against Walker, 18, who left school and joined the Giantgs before the case reached court, F Dylan Walchuk, a 19-year-old from McBride, B.C., and F Ryan Aynsley, 21, of Kelowna were dismissed.
According to The North Wind, the NMU campus newspaper, “Walchuk and Aynsley were originally charged with receiving and concealing property under $200. Walker was originally charged with receiving and concealing property valued at more than $200 but less than $1,000.”
The other four players pleaded no contest and are to be sentenced on Tuesday.
The North Wind has more right here.
———
Former Portland Winterhawks player and coach Brent Peterson has been fighting Parkinson’s Disease and underwent deep brain stimulation earlier in the week. KATU-TV has the story right here.
———
THE COACHING GAME:
The OHL’s Saginaw Spirit has fired GM/head coach Todd Watson and brought in Greg Gilbert as head coach. At the time of the change, the Spirit was 11-17-0 and six points out of the playoffs, despite a roster that includes seven NHL draft selections. . . . Jim Paliafito, the Spirit’s assistant GM and director of scouting, takes over as GM. . . . Gilbert spent three seasons (2003-06) as head coach of the OHL’s Mississauga IceDogs. Most recently, the was fired by the AHL’s Adirondack Phantoms during the 2010-11 season. . . . Watson signed on as head coach for 2007-08 and was 154-115-33, plus 12-18 in the playoffs.
———
Head on over to Small Thoughts at Large (link on the right) for a look at the number of WHL players who could miss regular-season games between now and early January. As usual, Alan Caldwell has done a bang-up job of keeping track of the Christmas absentees.
———
In Moose Jaw, F Kenton Miller scored twice to help the Warriors to a 4-1 victory over the Kelowna Rockets. . . . Miller has 10 goals this season. . . . The Rockets, who trailed 3-0 in the second period, were burned for four PP goals as the Warriors went 4-for-7. . . . The Rockets are 0-1-1 on their East Division swing. . . .

In Swift Current, F Tim Bozon scored two goals and added two assists to help the Kamloops Blazers open their East Division trek with a 5-4 victory over the Broncos. . . . Bozon, from Switzerland, is in his freshman season. He has 28 points, including 13 goals, in 30 games. . . . F J.C. Lipon, who is from Regina, had two goals, giving him 12, and an assist for Kamloops. He has 12 goals and 18 assists in 30 games. Last season, he finished with three and 18 in 65 games. . . . Swift Current F Adam Lowry scored the Teddy Bear goal and added three assists. . . . F Taylor Vause scored twice for the Broncos, giving him 20. . . . Kamloops G Cole Cheveldave stopped 32 shots and preserved the victory with a blocker save on Lowry in the game’s dying moments. . . . Kamloops won its eighth straight game, something it hadn’t done since 2006-07. . . . The Broncos had their three-game winning streak end. . . .

In Saskatoon, the Blades erased a 2-0 second-period deficit and beat the Regina Pats, 4-2. . . . F Michael Burns pulled the Blades even at 4:07 of the third period — he has 13 goals; he score 15 all of last season — and F Matej Stransky broke the tie at 18:08. He has 15 goals. . . . Saskatoon G Andrej Makarov stopped 40 shots. . . .

In Edmonton, the Oil Kings ran their winning streak to nine games as they dropped the Prince Albert Raiders, 5-3. . . . Edmonton got four assists from F Dylan Wruck, while F T.J. Foster had two goals. . . . Edmonton G Tristan Jarry stopped 34 shots. . . . Edmonton F Tyler Maxwell had a goal and an assist. In eight games since being acquired from the Everett Silvertips, Maxwell, 20, has 15 points and is plus-14. . . .

In Medicine Hat, the defending-champion Kootenay Ice ended a four-game losing skid with a 3-2 victory over the Tigers. . . . F Drew Czerwonka broke a 2-2 tie at 15:16 of the third period. . . . Ice G Nathan Lieuwen stopped 31 shots, one fewer than Medicine Hat’s Kenny Cameron. . . . Tigers F Emerson Etem had the Teddy Bear goal, his 29th score this season. . . . Ice D John Neibrandt scored his first goal of the season. It came in his 32nd game. Last season, his first in the WHL, he had one goal in 65 games. . . .

In Everett, the Tri-City Americans scored the game’s last four goals and beat the Silvertips, 5-1. . . . Tri-City F Patrick Holland enjoyed his second career three-goal game. He has 10 goals this season. . . . The Silvertips have lost nine in a row, the longest losing streak in franchise history. . . . F Adam Hughesman had a goal, his 22nd, and an assist for the Americans, who got 21 saves from G Eric Comrie. . . . Hughesman, with 286 career points, moved past F Dylan Gyori and into fifth place on the Americans’ career list. . . . Everett F Cody Fowlie took a checking-from-behind majorat 17:14 of the third period. . . . The Ameicans have won four in a row on the road and five straight overall. . . . The Americans are at home to the Portland Winterhawks tonight. . . .

In Vancouver, F Jaimen Yakubowski broke a 1-1 tie on a second-period penalty shot and the Lethbridge Hurricanes went on to a 4-2 victory over the Vancouver Giants. . . . Yakubowski scored on the penalty shot at 2:29 of the second, then added his sixth goal of the season at 4:38. . . . Lethbridge went 1-2 on a brief trip into the B.C. Division. . . . The Hurricanes hadn’t beaten Vancouver in seven years, a span of 12 games. . . .

In Spokane, D Cody Carlson’s shootout goal gave the Prince George Cougars a 4-3 victory over the Chiefs. . . . The shootout went four rounds, with Carlson the last shooter. His goal won it, 2-1. . . . The Chiefs scored the game’s first three goals and took that lead into the third period. . . . The Cougars tied it on Carlson’s PP goal at 16:12. . . . D Jason Fram got the Teddy Bear goal, his second score this season. . . . Cougars F Campbell Elynuik drew a ‘tbd’ suspension for boarding major Friday night in 1-0 victory over the Seattle Thunderbirds in Kent, Wash. . . .

In Kent, Wash., F Colin Jacobs, the sixth shooter, scored the lone goal of the shootout as the Seattle Thunderbirds beat the Victoria Royals, 4-3. . . . Seattle had scored the first three goals of the game, with the Royals getting the last three, all on third period PPs. D Hayden Rintoul tied it at 6:18. . . . The three goals came in a span of 2:19. . . . Seattle F Tyler Alos and Jacobs each scored their first goals of the season. Jacobs was playing only his second game after returning from an undisclosed injury. . . . Victoria F Taylor Crunk was ejected with a cross-checking major at 8:59 of the second period. . . . Seattle G Calvin Pickard stopped 35 shots, two more than Victoria’s Keith Hamilton.
———
SATURDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
F Logan McVeigh, Kamloops.
F Cody Fowlie, Everett (major).
F Tyler Alos, Seattle.
F Carter Proft, Spokane.
———
For today’s good read, we turn to a piece penned by Peter King of Sports Illustrated, but involved a number of SI staff members.
If you have ever wondered what life after football is really like, check this out right here.
It’s about the 1986 Cincinnati Bengals and the condition the players are in today.