Three points for a regulation victory? Yes, please . . . and a blog flashback

Has the time come for the NHL to award three points to a team that wins a regular-season game in regulation time? Pierre LeBrun of espn.com says it has. He says it’s time for the NHL to go to a 3-2-1 points system, something that was discussed at the league level more than 10 years ago. However, it doesn’t sound like the idea will get much, if any, traction with NHL execs. Brian Burke, for example, says he would “rather put a sharp stick in my eye.” . . . LeBrun’s piece is right here.

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Three points for a regulation victory — and doing away with loser points — is something that has long been discussed in this space. For the longest time, Dan Russell, when he was the host of the Vancouver radio show Sports Talk, and I often talked of the need for hockey to stop rewarding losers.

What follows appeared on this blog on Nov. 13, 2008.

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The hockey game is in overtime. A defenceman has the puck in the left corner of his zone. In trying to clear the zone, he throws the puck into the middle of the ice. An opposing forward corrals it, skates in and scores the winning goal.

In the dressing room after the game, the head coach of the losing team berates the defenceman for what was a critical error.

“What’s the big deal, coach?” responds the player. “We still got a point.”

Yes, indeed, the team lost the game in overtime but still was rewarded with a point.

And therein lies the rub — of the ‘major’ sports, hockey is the only one that rewards failure.

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Obviously, this has bastardized hockey statistics to the point of ridiculousness. For example, a player scores the game-winning goal in a shootout but statistics don’t credit him with a goal. A goaltender stops 10 shooters in the shootout but his save percentage doesn’t reflect it.

The standings show one team with a 6-9-0-5 record. But hasn’t that team really won six games and lost 14?

Never mind that the shootout takes what coaches preach is a “team game” and turns it into an individual sport.

And we won’t even get into coaching records. It used to be that a head coach’s record was measured in wins, losses and ties. These days, if a coach has been around long enough, you need five categories — wins, losses, ties, overtime losses and shootout losses — to chart his career. And how dumb is that? Go ahead, you try and figure out Don Hay’s actual winning percentage as a WHL head coach.

Geez, remember when a loss was a loss was a loss?

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Bill Motiuk is a hockey fan. And like a lot of us — hello there, Dan Russell — he despises the present system of awarding two points for a regulation-time victory and three points — two to the winner, one to the loser — of anything that goes beyond that. Loser points really are the scourge of hockey, aren't they?

So Motiuk put on his thinking cap and came up with a system that he says is “based on the business principle that the longer it takes you to get the job done, the more it will cost you.”

When I first looked at his idea, I thought, ‘Ah, what’s the big deal?’ But the more I thought about it and the more I re-read it and the more I absorbed it, the more it grew on me. And now I’m sold.

But in order to be sold on this, you have to go along with this premise:

Some games are worth three points, some are worth two and some are worth one. At first, I wasn’t enthused about that part, but the more I thought about it, well . . .

To begin with, this system puts a three-point value on a regulation-time victory. The winner gets three points; the loser doesn’t get a thing. “To get the three points,” Motiuk says, “you must win in regulation time.”

OK, but what if the game goes into overtime?

An overtime victory is worth two points. Again, the loser doesn’t get anything. “Being tied at the end of regulation deserves nothing,” he explains, “because it wasn’t a tie game and overtime only signified that the end of the first stage did not produce a winner. The winner in overtime only gets two points (as opposed to three) because he didn’t get the job done in regulation time.”

OK, but what if the game goes to a shootout?

The winner of the shootout would receive one point. The loser, again, wouldn’t get a thing.

“The eventual winner ends up forfeiting two points he could have obtained, again for not getting the job done in regulation time,” Motiuk reasons. “At the end of the night, the loser gets nothing because we should not be rewarding losers and there are no longer any tie games under the current system.”

The CFL has long gotten raked over the coals in some corners for awarding a single point on some missed field-goal attempts. But the NHL, the WHL and many other leagues also reward failure by giving points to teams that lose in overtime or a shootout.

“We only have tie segments,” Motiuk points out. “We do not give points for ties at the end of the first and second periods. So why give a point for a tie at the end of the third period? Why reward a team with a point when they lose in overtime? Ditto in the shootout.”

And that, folks, is my favourite part of all this and the thing that really validates it. If you are going to play overtime and if you are going to have shootouts, why give anything to teams for being tied at the end of the third period? As Motiuk points out, teams don't get anything for being tied at the end of the first and second periods.

The way he has it figured, this “would change the whole dynamic of the game.”

“The intensity of the game would be predicated by the three points available before the end of the third period,” he says.

Under this system, should teams be tied near the end of the third period they would be pulling out all stops in an effort to score. After all, score and win and you get three points; go to overtime and you will get two, one or zero points.

Hey, from where I sit, it makes sense. And it certainly is better than the system now in place. Which is why it doesn’t stand a snowball’s chance.

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Buying or selling? . . . Anholt, in conversation with Kingsmith . . . Rebels' Bleackley finds scoring touch

The trade announced late Wednesday between the Kelowna Rockets and Prince Albert Raiders signaled the beginning of the run up to the WHL trading deadline.
That deadline arrives on Jan. 10 at noon MT. But don’t forget that there is a Christmas trade moratorium that runs from Dec. 15 through Dec. 26.
On Wednesday, if you missed it, the Rockets acquired D Josh Morrissey, 19, and F Gage Quinney, 19, from the Raiders for F Austin Glover, 18, D Jesse Lees, 19, and a pair of bantam draft picks -- a second-round selection in 2016 and a third-rounder in 2017.
If Morrissey isn’t the best defenceman in the WHL, he’s in the conversation. So this was a big ‘get’ by the Rockets.
(Morrissey is in the Canadian national junior team’s selection camp. In Thursday’s first workout, he was paired with new teammate Madison Bowey, with whom he no doubt will get ample playing time with the Rockets.)
It’s interesting, too, that it Kelowna landed Morrissey without surrendering a first-round bantam draft pick. Which makes one wonder if that has set the tone as the deadline nears. Will those teams that see themselves as contenders not have to include first-round bantam picks when attempting to acquire front-line players?
Going into this weekend’s games, there appear to be four championship contenders, a couple of pretenders and a whole lot of also-rans.
At the same time, though, I have long felt that the WHL season doesn’t really start until about 10 days after the trade deadline. It isn’t until then that the uncertainty that comes with the trade deadline has dissipated, players have returned from the World Junior Championship, and teams know who will be on their rosters.
From that point on, it’s full speed ahead.
At the moment, the Kelowna Rockets, Brandon Wheat Kings, Medicine Hat Tigers and Everett Silvertips are the WHL’s top four teams.
Kelly McCrimmon, the Wheat Kings’ owner, general manager and head coach, has clearly been targeting next season as he built his present roster. It would seem more likely, then, that he would keep his roster intact and take his chances on winning this season, rather than give up a couple of young assets and risk damaging next season’s game plan.
Kelowna, Medicine Hat and Everett, you have to think, would be open to adding another big gun or two. Don’t forget, too, that the Rockets have room to add one 20-year-old and they certainly will do that before Jan. 10.
Meanwhile, there are only two teams, the Lethbridge Hurricanes and Saskatoon Blades, who are clearly out of the playoff picture.
If you go by winning percentage, 16 of the WHL’s 22 teams, eight in each conference, are at .500 or above. If you go by wins and losses, that number is 11 -- five in the Eastern Conference and six in the Western Conference.
Call it parity or parody, but there will be a number of those teams feeling that they might be a player or two from breaking into that elite group. That is the thought process that turns potential sellers into buyers.
The Regina Pats are one of the teams on the rung below the elite four. John Paddock, the Pats’ senior vice-president of hockey operations and head coach, recently told Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post that he saw his organization as sellers. That, of course, may have put all-star F Morgan Klimchuk, for one, in play.
However, the Pats had a tremendous western road trip that included a victory in Kelowna. After returning to Regina, the Pats swept a home-and-home from the Wheat Kings.
All of which has Paddock hedging his bets.
As Harder wrote in Thursday’s Leader-Post:
“(Paddock) doesn't seem eager to dismantle a group that has worked so hard to exceed expectations. What kind of message would that send to the players? The hard part is to find the right balance between targeting long-range goals without completely disregarding the present.”
A couple of years ago, in an interview with Sportsnet 590 The FAN, a Toronto radio station, Brian Burke, then the general manager of a mediocre Maple Leafs team, summed it up this way”
“I’m not interested in making the playoffs and getting our asses kicked in the first round. I’ve done that. It’s not much fun. I’m interested in getting in with a realistic, reasonable chance to win or bloody somebody’s nose doing it and use that round or two rounds -- or whatever we can do -- as a building block for a championship team.”
You can bet such thoughts are going through the minds of more than one WHL general manager as Jan. 10 approaches.
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Peter Anholt, the Lethbridge Hurricanes’ new general manager and head coach, is into his second day as the man in charge.
On Thursday, he talked with Paul Kingsmith of Global TV in Lethbridge. Kingsmith (@paulkingsmith) tweeted some of the highlights . . .
Anholt, on his recent coaching career: “I haven't coached since ’07 in our league. Basically threw all my coaching material away. I had no inkling I was going to coach.”

Peter Anholt, the general manager and head coach
of the Lethbridge Hurricanes.

On the departed Brad Robson and Drake Berehowsky: “It didn't work out. And it shows this can be a very cold business at times.”
On his outlook: “We have an obligation to our kids to give them a Western Hockey League-level organization. And that's what we need to do. . . . I'll make some mistakes here and there but it won't be through lack of effort."
On his team: “We've won 18 games out of the last hundred. I think that says it right there. . . . I think we have some half-decent players. Our 96s are a group of really good guys; we can lean on them to be good citizens. . . . There are some blocks there to build upon but we have lots of heavy lifting to do over the next while. It is a lot of hard work.”
On the overall organization: “This organization has lost respect in the league. So, what can we do to bring it back? We have to go above and beyond.”
On his immediate approach: “We'll lay some things out that are non-negotiables in our dressing room and I've laid out in our coaching staff certain roles.” . . . I think we've got some good kids in there. We've got to find a way to put a plan in place (that) will give them some success.”
On his dual role: “It's different. When you're wearing your GM's cap you're thinking of the future. When I walk downstairs, it's for today.”
On the city, arena, travel as far as players are concerned: “We have so many good things that it's ridiculous to me that players don't want to play here. . . . That's on us. So let's develop an atmosphere where people want to play here. And that won't happen overnight."
On what’s ahead after this season: “I've committed to come for this (season). We'll see when this (season) is done whether they want me or I want them. I'm focused on the now."
Anholt will make his first appearance behind the Hurricanes’ bench on Sunday when the Kamloops Blazers pay a visit.
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F Wyatt Sloboshan (broken jaw) and D Jordan Thomson (concussion) of the Saskatoon Blades were cleared to return to full practice on Thursday. . . . Sloboshan, who has eight points in 12 games, hasn’t played since Oct. 24. . . . Thomson, with six points in 17 games, last played on Nov. 4. . . . The Blades are at home to the Moose Jaw Warriors tonight. . . . Kevin Mitchell, the sports editor of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix has more right here. . . .
The Swift Current Broncos have recalled D Colby Sissons, 16, from the Edmonton-South Side Athletic Club’s midget AAA team. He has 11 points, including three goals, in 20 games with SSAC. . . . The Broncos will travel to Brandon today to meet the Wheat Kings tonight. . . .
The Regina Pats have recalled F Jacob Elmer, 15, and D Ryan Krushen, 16. . . . Elmer, a sixth-round pick in the 2013 bantam draft, plays for the EDGE School in Calgary. He’s got 24 points, including 13 goals, in 15 games. In his previous three games, he put up 12 points, eight of them goals. Elmer won‘t turn 16 until Dec. 31, so he becomes the youngest player on a WHL roster. . . . Krushen plays for the midget AAA Sherwood Park Kings. He was pointless in two earlier games with the Pats this season. . . . Krushen’s recall comes after D James Hilsendager suffered an undisclosed injury in Wednesday’s 6-4 loss to the Broncos in Swift Current. John Paddock, the Pats’ head coach, has said Hilsendager will out for “quite a while.” . . . Regina already was without D Colby Williams (wrist), who has missed four games. . . . The Pats are scheduled to visit the Saskatoon Blades on Saturday. . . . The Blades are at home to the Moose Jaw Warriors tonight. . . .
F Rihards Bukarts of the Brandon Wheat Kings was back at practice on Thursday. He hasn’t played since Nov. 25 after suffering an undisclosed injury in practice. Bukarts has 29 points, 11 of them goals, in 24 games. . . . The Latvian was off to a prolific start before slowing in November, when he had two goals and three assists in nine games. . . . F Tyler Coulter, F Jayce Hawryluk, F Tim McGauley and D Colton Waltz weren’t on the ice with the Wheat Kings on Thursday. Rob Henderson of the Brandon Sun reports that Wheat Kings GM/head coach Kelly McCrimmon refused “to say why they were absent.” . . . The Wheat Kings are at home to the Swift Current Broncos tonight. . . .
F Jackson Houck didn’t skate with the Vancouver Giants on Thursday after suffering an apparent leg or knee injury in a 3-0 victory over the visiting Prince Albert Raiders on Wednesday night. . . . Houck is riding a four-game goal streak. . . . The Giants visit the Victoria Royals for a Teddy Bear toss game tonight. On Saturday, the Royals are in Vancouver for Ugly Christmas Sweater Night. . . .
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THURSDAY’S GAME:

In Red Deer, D Brett Cote scored 16 seconds into the game and the Rebels went on to a 6-2 victory over the Kamloops Blazers. . . . Cote has six goals this season. . . . F Conner Bleackley, who seems to have found some chemistry with recent acquisition Riley Sheen, had two goals, giving him 12. . . . Sheen had assists on both of them. . . . It was Bleackley’s second straight two-goal game on home ice. . . . Red Deer F Preston Kopeck drew three assists and F Brooks Maxwell had two. . . . F Cole Ully scored his 14th goal for Kamloops, which got two assists from D Josh Connolly. . . . The Rebels (17-11-4) have won three in a row and have points in 17 of their last 21 games (14-4-3). . . . The Blazers (12-17-5) have lost four in a row.
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Royals' Assistant Coach Enio Sacilotto speaking to the media about taking over Head Coaching duties with Dave away! pic.twitter.com/3F7W8NXRw5
— Victoria Royals (@victoriaroyals) December 11, 2014

Some thoughts from the big smoke . . .

Some thoughts, as I sit and contemplate the meaning of life from a hotel deep in the heart of the city where we are all Canucks. . . .

1. From what I have seen, Vancouver doesn't have a vehicular traffic or a bicycle problem; it has a predestrian problem. Having been ensconced in the downtown area for more than two weeks now, I find it amazing how pedestrians simply ignore the 'don't walk' signals and proceed with impunity into crosswalks regardless of whether a driver is attempting to make a right-hand turn. The miracle is that more pedestrians don't lose battles in the middle of the crosswalks.

2. And we won't even get into the danger caused by pedestrians walking and doing whatever it is they are doing with their phones.

3. The Edmonton Eskimos' handling of brain-injured quarterback Mike Reilly is evidence of everything that is wrong with the way a lot of sporting organizations look upon this kind of injury. The Edmonton Oil Kings have as much chance of winning the Grey Cup as the Eskimos do, so why would the footballers rush Reilly back into action and start him Saturday against the visiting Montreal Alouettes? (BTW, how did the once-proud Eskimos get here from there?)

4. You're wondering: How did I spend Saturday morning?Actually, I walked down to Coal Harbour and did some yacht shopping. No, I didn't find one that fits our budget.

5. I'm thinking there might be room for a few more Starbucks outlets in downtown Vancouver. NOT!

6. Those people who are saying it's going to take a death on the ice for the NHL to get fighting out of its game need to do a Google search for Don Sanderson. No matter how you look at the issue of fighting in hockey, you have to admit that it is completely illogical to penalize a player for checking to the head and then allow him to beat that same opponent senseless in a fight.

7. If it comes down to Brian Burke versus Putin and his pals, who you got? After reading this piece by The Globe and Mail's Gary Mason, I've got Burke.

8. Mark Hunter, who is covering the Kamloops Blazers in my absence, has written a nifty piece about goaltender Bolton Pouliot and forward Aspen Sterzer, who one day will be brothers-in-law. It's right here.

9. I'll tell you what . . . Friday was a tough, tough day. Only four baseball games on TV. Cam Moon, I thought of you on more than one occasion.

10. I'm thinking Calgary Hitmen forward Pavel Padakin, who was Pavlo Padakin last season, needs to go back to his former name. He already is serving his second suspension of this season. He drew three games for a match penalty a month ago, and now is to be suspended for a boarding major.

11. The Ottawa Senators and Toronto Maple Leafs played to a 4-4 tie on Saturday night. Sorry, I went back to baseball after watching Toronto's Mason Raymond prove once again that it's gimmick time after overtime in the NHL. . . . I wonder what Ron Hextall or Billy Smith would have done to a player pulling a two-bit spin-o-rama in gimmick time?

12. And what a terrific baseball game it was as the Oakland A's snuck past the Detroit Tigers 1-0 with a run in the bottom of nine. For the first time in MLB history, the starters of a playoff game -- in this instance, Detroit's Justin Verlander and Oakland's Sonny Gray -- each struck out at least nine and didn't allow a run.

13. Here's Steve Simmons, in the Toronto Sun: "Leo Cahill, who has moved from Sarnia to Atlanta, won’t make his way to Toronto later this month to be inducted in the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame. His health prevents him from travelling. He still isn’t in the Canadian Football Hall of Fame and may never be, which remains a great injustice." . . . Whenever Simmons reminds us that Cahill isn't in the Canadian Football Hall of Fame, I am flabbergasted.

14. Thanks to Sportsnet for bringing us Milos Raonic and Juan Martin del Potro in the men's final of the Japan Open final. Watching that was a fine way to end Saturday and bring in Sunday.

15. The defending-champion Portland Winterhawks visited the Kelowna Rockets for a weekend doubleheader with the games, won 6-2 and 6-3 by the home side, drawing 5,003 and 5,010 fans. There was a time not that long ago when each of those games would have attracted more than 6,000 fans. This is a good Rockets side, so it will be interesting to see if attendance holds at 5,000 as the season progresses, or whether it increases.  

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THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Tyler Redenbach (Prince George, Swift Current, Lethbridge, 2001-05) signed a contract for the rest of this season with HIFK Helsinki (Finland, SM-Liiga), one day after his release by Olten
(Switzerland, NL B). He had six goals and 15 assists in 23 games with Olten this season and one goal in three games of the European Trophy Finals while on loan to Red Bull Salzburg (Austria, Erste Bank Liga). . . .
F Justin Mapletoft (Red Deer, 1996-2001) signed a contract for the rest of this season with Basel (Switzerland, NL B) after a successful tryout. He had three assists in five games for Basel during the tryout. Earlier this season, Mapletoft had six assists in 14 games for the Schwenninger Wild Wings (Germany, 2.Bundesliga) and one goal and two assists in two games with Sierre (Switzerland, NL B).
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The Kamloops Blazers have decided not to discipline F Ryan Hanes, 19, who was involved in an altercation in Cactus Jack’s Saloon, a downtown bar, on Dec. 23.
“This incident occurred on the player’s own time and was not related to any team activity,” reads a news release issued by the team on Thursday.
“We have concluded that Ryan was a victim of being at the wrong place at the wrong time. The Club will take no disciplinary action.  Ryan will be out of our lineup with an upper body injury for a yet to be determined time.”
The Blazers left Thursday for Prince George, where they are to play the Cougars tonight and Saturday. Hanes didn’t make the trip. He is shown on the WHL injury list as being out “week to week” with an “upper body injury.”
Meanwhile, the junior B Kamloops Storm, which plays in the Kootenay International league, doesn’t appear prepared to discipline F Colton De Frias, its leading scorer.
Kamloops This Week reported Thursday that De Frias, 20, is facing a charge of assault causing bodily harm after he was involved in an altercation in the downtown area on Oct. 23. The incident apparently happened in front of a bar.
Barry Dewar, the Storm’s owner and GM, told the newspaper that De Frias hasn’t been disciplined because “it was a non-team activity.”
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It sounds like F Charles Inglis is pleased to be out of Prince George.
“Prince George is not a great place to play,” Inglis, 19, tells Greg Meachem, the sports editor of the Red Deer Advocate. “I wasn’t treated very well there and I know other guys aren’t treated very well there considering the amount of traveling they do and how far away they are from everybody. (Red Deer) is a very, very professional organization compared to there and it’s the kind of atmosphere I want to be in.”
The Cougars dealt Inglis to the Rebels on Dec. 29 for F Daulton Siwak and a third-round pick in the 2012 bantam draft. The Cougars had acquired him from the Saskatoon Blades early in the 2010-11 season for a second-round pick.
The Blades traded him to the Cougars, saying he had broken team rules. The Cougars say the same thing happened with them. They sent Inglis home on Dec. 3 to await a trade.
Interestingly, the Cougars are scheduled to play in Red Deer on Jan. 21, while the Rebels will be Prince George on Feb. 15.
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There has been no comment from the Victoria Royals after D Jesse Pauls, 19, announced his retirement Wednesday morning.
Pauls played in a 9-4 loss to the visiting Calgary Hitmen on Tuesday, then informed Marc Habscheid, the general manager and head coach, the next morning that he was done.
Contacted by the Victoria Times Colonist on Wednesday night, the newspaper reported that “Habscheid refused to comment on Pauls' departure.”
The newspaper reported Thursday night that “the team made no official comment on the reason for Pauls’ retirement. Pauls declined comment.”
Pauls, who missed a lot of last season with a badly broken leg, had 12 points in 26 games this season.
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The Red Deer Rebels have released F Josh Cowen, 20, but are keeping him with the team as an assistant coach.
The Rebels had to make a move because, with players coming off the injury list, they found themselves with four 20-year-olds, one over the allowable limit.
This move leaves them with G Deven Dubyk, D Justin Weller and D Aaron Borejko.
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The Edmonton Oil Kings announced Thursday what had been known for a couple of days — “U.S.-born Henrik Samuelsson will join the team from Modo in the Swedish Elite League.”
Samuelsson, who is eligible for the 2012 NHL draft, is expected to join the Oil Kings on Monday. He is the son of former NHL D Ulf Samuelsson, who now coaches with Modo.
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The Everett Silvertips have assigned F Teal Burns to an undisclosed BCHL team. The Nanaimo Clippers hold his BCHL rights. Burns, 19, had four assists in six games with the Prince Albert Raiders this season. Since being acquired by Everett, he had three points in 15 games. . . . He also has played with the Portland Winterhawks and Vancouver Giants over the last two seasons. . . .
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The Saskatoon Blades are expected to go back to G Alex Moodie, 16, tonight when they meet the Pats in Regina. With starter Andrey Makarov playing for Russia at the World Junior Championship, the Blades brought in Moodie from the MJHL’s Winnipeg Saints to support Adam Todd. . . . Moodie is 2-1-0, 3.60, .882 in his first three starts. . .  .
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Jack Blatherwick, a columnist at Let’s Play Hockey (letsplayhockey.com), has posted an interesting column.
In it, he writes that it’s time to start playing hockey the way it is meant to be played — by the rules.
“It is time for a New Year’s resolution: Stop the violence, the venomous trash talk by all of us and the intimidation of referees,” he writes. “Reduce the reliance on physical intimidation, and increase the skills. ELIMINATE ALL CHECKING AGAINST THE BOARDS.
“You can ride the opponent into the boards if you achieve body position first, but you cannot hit the opponent into the boards. Referees would not have to decide which hit from behind is legal and which is not. THERE IS NO LEGAL HIT INTO THE BOARDS.
“We agree with those who say, ‘It’s a physical game.’ However, the limits are defined in the rulebook. Let’s put everyone in the same competitive starting blocks by using the book, not the unwritten macho code, which basically leaves the interpretation of ‘physical’ to each individual or each coach.”
The complete column, and it’s great food for thought, is right here.
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F Taylor Peters of the Portland Winterhawks has been quite a story in that neck of the woods ever since he and his billets’ son ventured out on kayaks in the dark of night to rescue a couple of other kayakers.
There are video reports from Portland TV stations right here and right here and right here.
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Brian Burke, the man who runs the Toronto Maple Leafs, held a news conference Thursday at which he lamented having to assign tough guy Colton Orr to the AHL’s Toronto Marlies.
Damien Cox of the Toronto Star was there and he opines right here.
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Jeff Blair of The Globe and Mail was at the same press conference. His take on it is right here.
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If you saw any of Burke's news conference on TV, perhaps you're thinking like I am that it's time for him to ditch the tie altogether. Hey, we get the fact that you don't like to wear a tie. So don't wear one!
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The saga of the Chilliwack Bruins — a chronology

What follows is something of a chronology of events leading up to the announcement of the sale and relocation of the Chilliwack Bruins, mostly gleaned from the work of Tyler Olsen of the Chilliwack Times and Eric Welsh of the Chilliwack Progress.
Cast of characters, in order of appearance:
Ron Robison: WHL commissioner.
Moray Keith: Minority owner of Chilliwack Bruins and co-owner of Chilliwack Development Group (CDG), which manages Prospera
Centre.
Jim Bond: Minority owner of Chilliwack Bruins and co-owner of Chilliwack Development Group (CDG), which manages Prospera
Centre.
Darryl Porter: One of the Bruins’ three majority owners; he was the franchise’s governor.
Dave Dakers: President of RG Properties’ sports and entertainment division. RG Properties manages Prospera Place in Kelowna and the Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre in Victoria; it also owns the ECHL’s Victoria Salmon Kings. RG Properties bought the Bruins.
Brian Burke: President and general manager of the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs; one of the Chilliwack Bruins’ majority owners.
Glen Sather: President and general manager of the NHL’s New York Rangers; one of the Chilliwack Bruins’ majority owners.
Jim Mullin: Manager of the sports department at CKNW, an AM radio station in Vancouver. He was fired by CKNW on April 20 and tweeted that his dismissal had "everything to do with" his reporting of the sale of the Bruins.
Glen Ringdal: A consultant who works with Moray Keith and Jim Bond.
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2001: “Our interest in Victoria began in 2001 (and) intensified with the (2005) opening of the new facility (Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre).” — WHL commissioner Ron Robison, on The Hawk 89.5, April 20, 2011.
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2009: “In 2009, Robison told the league’s board of governors that the WHL might try and move the next team up for sale to Victoria.” — Tyler Olsen, Chilliwack Times, April 21, 2011.
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February 2009: “February of 2009, as part of its strategic plan, the Western Hockey League Board of Governors made a decision to actively pursue securing a WHL franchise for the Victoria market. At that time, the WHL Board of Governors were advised that should a franchise become available for sale, the WHL may elect to relocate the club to Victoria. Although expanding the league beyond 22 teams was not ruled out, the WHL Board of Governors preference was to relocate an existing team. Further expansion was not considered a viable alternative due to the demand it would place on the talent pool of players and the ability for WHL Clubs to remain competitive at the national level.” — WHL press release, April 20, 2011.
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November 2010: “Keith told the Times that Bond came away (from a Jan. 13 conference call) not thinking that a decision had been made and that no vote was taken. He also said CDG had a standing offer to buy the club dating back to November 2010. Porter said that he knew of no such offer and that there was no ambiguity as to CDG's willingness to sell.” — Tyler Olsen, Chilliwack Times, April 21, 2011.
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December 2010: Darryl Porter asks Chilliwack city council for $175,000 per year to prop up sagging revenues. The request is turned down.
———
Early January 2011: In early January, Keith says that Bruins president Darryl Porter met with Robison during the World Junior Championship in Buffalo, N.Y. According to Keith, “Robison told (Porter) point blank that if they wanted to sell, they had to sell to Victoria.” — Tyler Olsen, Chilliwack Times, April 21, 2011.
———
January 2011: “Dave Dakers, president of RG Properties sports and entertainment division, said the genesis of the deal was when he met Darryl Porter on a ferry in January.” — Cleve Dheensaw, Victoria Times Colonist, April 20, 2011.
———
Jan. 13, 2011: “Burke and Porter talked about a Jan. 13 conference call in which Jim Bond allegedly gave his and Keith’s approval to the pursuit of a sale, at the same time locking the group into exclusive negotiating rights with Victoria. . . . Keith wasn’t involved in that meeting, but he got a play-by-play from Bond. . . . ‘Burkie talked and he was the only guy that talked, and it was presented as a fait d’accompli that this was done,’ Keith said. ‘Jim is adamant that he didn’t concur in a unanimous way that it should be sold. Porter, Burke and Sather agreed to sell the team. That’s 75 per cent and that’s not unanimous.’ ” — Eric Welsh, Chilliwack Progress, April 20, 2011.
———
March 4, 2011: Western Hockey League commission Ron Robison says Chilliwack remains a viable market for major junior hockey. And with rumours flying about the possible sale of the Chilliwack Bruins, Robison told the Chilliwack Times . . . that the league office hasn't received any notice that a sale is imminent. Robison said "there is tremendous interest in purchasing franchises around the league . . . but right now there's been nothing filed with us to indicate that there's been anything material occurring." — Tyler Olsen, Chilliwack Times, March 4, 2011.
———
March 4, 2011: Asked if the league stresses keeping teams in their current markets, Robison said "absolutely." He continued: "It's clearly our desire to keep them where they are. From time to time we have to review relocation but that's been very rare. There hasn't been a relocation in our league for many, many years." — Tyler Olsen, Chilliwack Times, March 4, 2011.
———
March 4, 2011: When asked by the Progress whether the team would be playing in Chilliwack in 2011-12, the answer wasn't exactly a resounding yes. “I would be very surprised if the Western Hockey League isn't playing hockey in Chilliwack,” Porter replied. — Eric Welsh, Chilliwack Progress, March 4, 2011.
———
March 4, 2011: Asked whether the Bruins would be playing in Chilliwack in 2011-12, (Robison) offered this. “It is certainly our intent and we haven’t considered anything different at this point.” — Eric Welsh, Chilliwack Progress, April 21, 2011.
———
March 4, 2011: Asked about the league’s strong desire to get into Victoria, (Robison) offered this. “We are very interested in that possibility, and it’s just been a case of whether we can accommodate that. At this point, we’re not in a position to do that.” — Eric Welsh, Chilliwack Progress, April 21, 2011.
———
March 2011: “In March, Porter told the Times that the owners were weighing ‘multiple offers.’ The owners were, however, negotiating with only one other partner. On (April 20) he apologized for the misleading statements, saying that he was trying to respect a confidentiality agreement and that there was still a possibility that the team wouldn’t be sold to RG Properties. ‘I still had some belief that we would be enticing other offers,’ he said.” — Tyler Olsen, Chilliwack Times, April 21, 2011.
———
March 15, 2011: The Chilliwack Progress reports that Minnesota Twins first baseman Justin Morneau, who “has ties to the area,” is interested in helping keep the Bruins in Chilliwack. "Justin has expressed his interest in being involved with us as an investor in hockey based in Chilliwack," Keith said in an e-mail to the Chilliwack Progress. "We would be honoured to have him involved. It is all predicated obviously in our successfully securing the team.” — Chilliwack Progress, March 15, 2011.
———
March 15, 2011: The Chilliwack Progress reports that “a news article this morning said there is pressure on Burke, Sather and Porter to accept a bid that would land the team in Victoria. That would fly in the face of commments WHL commisioner Ron Robison made in a Chilliwack Progress interview last week.” . . . “The league's position on ownership is always to look for local ownership,” he said. “That is always a priority. We have to make sure we have the right type of ownership, but if there is local interest, that is something we would want to explore.” — Chilliwack Progress, March 15, 2011.
———
March 17, 2011: “On March 17, the WHL Board of Governors granted conditional approval for the sale of the Chilliwack WHL franchise and final agreements were then signed.” — WHL news release, April 21, 2011.
———
March 31, 2011: “Darryl Porter not confirming sale of Chilliwack Bruins at 5:50pm. Says it's not done. Says no sale agreement signed despite speculation.” — Randy Merkley, the radio voice of the Bruins, via Twitter.
———
April 5, 2011: The WHL issues a news release saying it has granted conditional approval to the sale of the Chilliwack Bruins. The news release doesn’t identify a buyer.
———
April 4, 2011: Burke, in a letter through his lawyers to Jim Mullin earlier in the week, claimed that the WHL had “promised” a franchise to Graham Lee, the chief executive officer and president of RG Properties. . . . Burke also wrote that it was “. . . the WHL’s and Mr. Lee’s desire to have an established team in Victoria rather than an expansion team. This will not leave Chilliwack without a WHL team. The WHL is in the process of negotiating the movement of another WHL team to Chilliwack.”
———
April 11, 2011: “Keith cited an April 11 phone conversation between his right-hand man Glen Ringdal and Porter where Porter fingered Robison and the WHL executive as the masterminds behind the Chilliwack-to-Victoria plot.” — Eric Welsh, Chilliwack Progress, April 20.
———
April 18, 2011: The WHL announces that a news conference will be held April 20 in Victoria.
———
April 19, 2011: The deal between RG Properties and the Bruins owners closes.
———
April 20: 2011: The WHL announces the Bruins will be relocated to Victoria.

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

One domino falls . . .

Will moving fans, inside and out, at Prospera Centre 
be the final memory of the WHL in Chilliwack?

Well, the deed is done.
The WHL is in Victoria and the AHL isn’t.
And that’s the name of that game.
But two hockey teams had to be buried in order for the WHL to get across the Strait of Georgia.
The Chilliwack Bruins are dead. Long live the Bruins!
The ECHL’s Victoria Salmon Kings are soon to be dead! Long may they run in these playoffs!!
———
If you have been paying attention to this saga from the beginning, you didn’t learn a whole lot yesterday.
You learned that the deal closed on Tuesday. You learned that the Victoria franchise has a website and that it is running a name-the-team contest.
The most interesting stuff, however, came out of a news release, a copy of which arrived in my inbox from the Bruins.
In it, the WHL and the franchise’s former owners — at least, the majority owners — tried to explain the “multiple reasons that led to the decision” to sell the Bruins. What they did was lay the corpse at the feet of minority owners Moray Keith and Jim Bond.
To summarize that news release:
1. The WHL’s board of governors decided in February 2009 to “actively pursue securing a WHL franchise for the Victoria market.” The governors decided at that time “that should a franchise become available for sale, the WHL may elect to relocate the club to Victoria.”
2. The WHL chose not to sell an expansion franchise “due to the demand it would place on the talent pool of players.”
3. The Chilliwack market changed after arenas went up in Langley and Abbotsford and the NHL’s Calgary Flames relocated their AHL affiliate, the Heat, to Abbotsford. (What the WHL doesn’t mention is that the Calgary Flames own the Calgary Hitmen, so it seems an NHL team actually had a hand in the death of the Bruins.)
4. With the change in the market “it became obvious to the Bruins ownership group that the franchise needed to be restructured from a medium-size model to a small market-size model.”
5. With that in mind, according to the news release, the Bruins ownership group wanted to renegotiate its lease with the Chiefs Development Group, which holds the management contract for Prospera Centre. “What was requested was a lease concurrent to other small-market privately owned WHL teams,” the news release reads, without providing examples. What is interesting about this is that Keith is president of the Chiefs Development Group.
6. “This inability to secure a new lease contributed to the deterioration of our ownership group and their relationship with the Chiefs Development Group,” continues the release.
7. The Bruins’ ownership group — Brian Burke, Glen Sater, Darryl Porter, Keith and Bond — met on Jan. 13 and “agreed with the WHL to sell its franchise for the purpose of relocating the club to Victoria. Provided the terms of the sale met the conditions . . . the partners agreed no other offers would be considered.” . . . (In other words, the Bruins were sold without being placed on the open market. A source familiar with the situation has told me that RG Properties paid $5.5 million for the franchise.)
8. The WHL board of governors granted “conditional approval” for the sale on March 17. The deal closed Tuesday. According to the news release, “All conditions associated with the WHL's approval of the sale and relocation have been satisfied.”
———
All of this raises a couple of questions:
1. What kind of an arrangement is it that has the franchise’s minority owners controlling the building in which the team plays?
2. If the minority owners were part of the movement not to renegotiate the lease, why didn’t the majority owners simply sell the team to them?
3. How long until Keith and Bond tell their side of the story, including Keith‘s late attempt to purchase the franchise for $6.2 million?
———
Later, on Chilliwack radio station 89.5 The Hawk, Darryl Porter, the Bruins’ governor, pointed a finger at the Calgary Flames:
“There's a code in minor sports and especially in hockey. You don't do what Calgary did here. You don't do that and it's never happened. The fundamental bad break we got was when the city of Abbotsford built a building with no plan and they did that deal with the (AHL's Abbotsford Heat). At the end of the day, we're not contributing to that, we're a victim of that."
The Heat, of course, is the AHL affiliate of the Flames, who own the WHL’s Calgary Hitmen.
Brian Burke, one of the Bruins’ majority owners, added:
"The notion that somehow we changed our mind on Chilliwack, or somehow betrayed the fans there when in fact the American Hockey League moved a competing team in within a very close radius to our operating base . . . the notion that we had any control over that or that that's our fault is crazy. I've never taken a dime out of this team."
———
The afore-mentioned news release also contained this paragraph:
“It should be noted that the WHL Board of Governors govern all matters related to WHL franchises. This includes the right to approve franchise ownership and the relocation and sale of franchises in accordance with its bylaws, constitution and strategic plans.”
You wonder if this wasn’t, at least in part, a shot across the bow of the Regina Pats, who are owned by Diane and Russ Parker of Calgary. Russ was in Victoria for yesterday’s news conference. Their son, Darren, was recently named senior vice-president of sales and marketing with the Victoria Salmon Kings.
The Pats are again embroiled in lease negotiations with Evraz Place, the organization that controls the Brandt Centre, the building in which the WHL team plays.
I was told last weekend that Evraz Place had given the Pats a “take-it-or-leave-it” offer and that the Parkers were seriously considering leaving it.
Of course, the Pats and Evraz Place are no strangers to testy negotiations, and only time will tell how it plays out this time.
———
Marc Habscheid, the Bruins’ general manager and head coach, is two years into what is believed to be a five-year contract. I have been told but haven’t able to confirm that he has a clause in his contract that allows him to leave should the franchise be relocated.
When I contacted him via text on Tuesday and asked if he was able to talk, he responded: “Rather not rt now. Thx.”
———
There are stories to be told about what went on in the Bruins organization over the last year, but we may never hear them.
As one former employee wrote in an email to me on Wednesday:
“We are all holding on to the hopes that a team comes here so we don't want to burn any bridges, especially since this is our livelihood. We all invested so much time and energy to make this work and little did we know that we never had a chance.”
———
Paul J. Henderson of the Chilliwack Times reports that in December the owners of the Chilliwack Bruins asked city hall for $175,000 a year “to help with sagging revenues.”
That story is right here.
———
Cory Flett, the WHL’s director, communications, sometimes tweets a song of the day. An emailer has suggested some suggestions for him to send in the direction of Chilliwack fans.
“I would recommend ‘Not Ready to Go’ by the Trews or ‘I'll Keep Your Memory Vague’ by Finger Eleven.
“And, for the new owners and the people of Victoria, I would recommend ‘Bring Everything’ by Jason Plumb.”
The emailer also pointed out that “all songs are Cancon.”
———
SOME NOTES: Don’t forget that the City of Victoria promised to add 10 years to RG Properties’ management contract for SOFMC if it was able to land a WHL franchise. That agreement now runs until 2046. . . . By that time, the WHL may have a franchise in Nanaimo. . . . Former WHL F Josh Aspenlind scored 11 seconds into OT last night to give the host Victoria Salmon Kings a 3-2 victory over the Utah Grizzlies. The Salmon Kings lead the best-of-seven ECHL second-round series 3-0 with Game 4 scheduled for Victoria on Friday. Attendance in the 7,006-seat Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre was 3,691.

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

Wednesday . . .

THE CHILLIWACK-TO-VICTORIA SAGA, Chapter 44:
It’s official. Not that it really was ever in doubt.
The Prince George Cougars aren’t going anywhere.
WHL commissioner Ron Robison has told CKPG-TV in Prince George that “there’s never been any application made to the WHL for a move.”
Robison went on to say that “these rumours come up from time to time. I think any time you have a franchise that . . . is struggling with attendance, as Prince George has, for a lengthy period fo time, you’re going to see these types of rumours surface.  But the ownership is still committed to the Prince George market and hoping that things can turn around soon.”
This all started, of course, because the WHL has allowed the majority owners of the Chilliwack Bruins to sell their franchise for $5.5 million. Eventually, the WHL will announce that Vancouver-based RG Properties has purchased the franchise and will relocate it to Victoria.
Once the WHL confirmed that the Bruins had been sold, the speculation was immediate that the Cougars were likely to head south. That just isn't going to happen.
But what Robison didn’t mention to CKPG-TV — or, if he did, the TV station didn’t use it — is that Moray Keith, one of the Bruins’ minority owners, made an attempt to purchase the Cougars.
Keith first tried to buy the Bruins, but his offer of $6.2 million — not $7.75 million as was reported about a month ago — wasn’t even considered, apparently because majority owners Darryl Porter, Brian Burke and Glen Sather had already accepted RG Properties’ offer.
Keith found out that the Cougars aren’t for sale, at least not for what he was offering, and now the good people of Chilliwack appear likely to have a BCHL franchise moving into their city in the near future.
———
Bob Sales, the president of the BCHL’s Quesnel Millionaires, has confirmed to CKPG-TV that, yes, “the team is for sale.”
And, furthermore, there have been talks with . . .
“We haven’t had any firm offers from Chilliwck,” Sales told the TV station, “but we have talked to Chilliwack.”
———
THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Byron Ritchie (Lethbridge, 1993-97) signed a two-year contract with Bern (Switzerland NL A). He had 23 goals and 21 assists in 53 games with MoDo Örnsköldsvik (Sweden Elitserien) this season, good for fifth in league scoring.
———
A tip of the cap to the American Hockey League for trimming four games from each team’s regular-season schedule.
Yes, the AHL announced Wednesday that each of its teams will play 76 games next season, down from 80.
At the same time, the AHL said it will lengthen the amount of time it takes to play its regular-season schedule by one week. And it will reduce its first-round playoff series to best-of-five from best-of-seven.
The regular-season scheduling changes will mean teams no longer will be required to play four games in five nights.
"As our league has grown in recent years, we have been working closely with the National Hockey League and the Professional Hockey Players' Association to seek a solution to what has become a very onerous playing schedule," David Andrews, the AHL president, said.
"As our league has grown and our game has become faster and more physical, the wear and tear on our players has begun to affect player development and at times the quality of competition.
“These steps are intended to provide a safer environment for our players through increased rest and recovery time, and also to provide our fans with an even higher calibre of play as a result of reduced player fatigue."
Hurrah for the AHL!
———
There is an interesting story developing in the OHL where the Soo Greyhounds are expected to introduce Kyle Dubas as their general manager today. Dubas, at 25 years of age, is a player agent. In fact, he is the youngest player agent to be certified by the NHLPA.
Peter Ruicci of the Sault Star has more right here.
———
The New York Islanders will make a coaching change with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, their AHL affiliate. Pat Bingham, an assistant coach who took over as head coach when Jack Capuono moved up to the Islanders in November, won’t be returning.
The Sound Tigers went 24-30-11 under Bingham, who is a former WHL player (Kamloops, New Westminster, 1985-89).
———
F Tyler Pitlick of the Medicine Hat Tigers, who hasn’t played in a month because of a broken ankle, has signed a three-year deal with the Edmonton Oilers, who selected him in the second round of the 2010 NHL draft.
Pitlick, 19, put up 62 points, including 27 goals, in 56 games in his first WHL season. He joined the Tigers from the NCAA’s Minnesota State-Mankato Mavericks.
Pitlick wsa able to dump his crutches earlier this week, but isn’t expected back in the Tigers’ lineup in the near future.
———
ON THE ICE:
In Medicine Hat, the Red Deer Rebels stayed alive with a 1-0 victory over the Tigers. . . . G Dawson Guhle, starting in place of Darcy Kuemper (ankle), turned aside 21 shots for the shutout. . . . Guhle, an 18-year-old from Daysland, Alta., played in 15 games during the regular season — five with the Regina Pats and 10 with Red Deer. . . . Bolton Pouliot, a 16-year-old from Calgary, served as Guhle’s backup. . . . F Byron Froese scored the game’s only goal, his fourth, at 11:27 of the third period. . . . Medicine Hat G Tyler Bunz turned aside 23 shots. . . . The Tigers had won six straight games. . . . Attendance was 4,006. . . . The Tigers take a 3-1 series lead into Game 5 in Red Deer on Saturday. . . . “(Guhle) made some key saves at key times, some big saves,” Jesse Wallin, the Rebels’ head coach, told Greg Meachem of the Red Deer Advocate. “We know he has that capability and at times this season he’s played real well and shown us what he’s got. But talk about a tough situation to step into, because he hasn’t played a lot of games this season. Good for him. I’m real proud of him and I thought the boys battled real hard in front of him, keeping things to the outside and letting him see the puck and make the first stop. We did a good job of that and yet at playoff time you need big-time goaltending.” . . .
———
In Cranbrook, the Kootenay Ice erased a 1-0 deficit with four straight goals and finished off the Saskatoon Blades, 5-2. . . . The Ice, the Eastern Conference’s fourth seed, swept the Blades, who had finished with the WHL’s best regular-season record. . . . The Ice is the first team to advance to a conference final. . . . F Matt Fraser scored twice and added two assists for the Ice. He leads the playoffs with 10 goals and is third in points (15). . . . F Max Reinhart also scored twice for the Ice. He’s got seven in these playoffs. . . . Ice G Nathan Lieuwen stopped 33 shots, five fewer than Saskatoon’s Steven Stanford. . . . Attendance was 3,021. . . . The Blades won a WHL-high 56 regular-season games. However, they scored only five goals in four games against the Ice. . . . The Los Angeles Kings, who open the NHL playoffs tonight against the Sharks in San Jose, are expected to recall Saskatoon F Brayden Schenn, who was the fifth overall pick in the 2009 draft. Schenn has played eight NHL games, so two more would result in him using up one year of his three-year contract. . . . Cody Nickolet, who provides colour on Blades’ radio broadcasts, tweeted late last night that “Schenn will speak to (Kings GM) Dean Lombardi on Thursday to learn where he is headed.” . . . Nickolet also tweeted that F Curtis Hamilton and D Stefan Elliott will be bound for AHL teams. Hamilton, a second-round NHL draft pick by the Edmonton Oilers in 2009, likely will sign an ATO with the Oklahoma City Barons, while Elliott, who has signed with the Colorado Avalanche, is to join the AHL’s Lake Eric Monsters.
———
In Kelowna, F Nino Niederreiter drew three assists to lead the Portland Winterhawks to a 4-2 victory over the Rockets. . . . The Winterhawks, having won three in a row, hold a 3-1 edge and get their first chance to end the series at home on Friday night. . . . The Winterhawks took a 2-0 on goals 39 seconds apart by F Ty Rattie, at 12:25 of the first, and F Taylor Peters and never trailed. . . . F Shane McColgan got his eighth goal on the PP at 17:39 of the first. . . . Portland D Joe Morrow got that one back on a PP at 2:30 of the third. . . . F Brett Bulmer pulled Kelowna to within one just over 10 minutes later, but the Rockets weren’t able to equalize. . . . Portland F Ryan Johansen, with his seventh point in the last three games, got his sixth goal at 16:11 to provide some insurance. . . . Portland G Mac Carruth, who is 7-1 in these playoffs, stopped 24 shots, while Kelowna’s Adam Brown turned aside 35. . . . Attendance was 4,763.
———
WEDNESDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
None.

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

WHL confirms sale. but that's all

By GREGG DRINNAN

Daily News Sports Editor

The WHL has confirmed that the Chilliwack Bruins have been sold.
In a terse two-paragraph news release issued Tuesday afternoon, the league announced that “it has granted conditional approval to a request from ownership of the Chilliwack Bruins for the sale of their WHL franchise.”
Furthermore, the release stated, “Until such time (as) all of the conditions related to the sale have been satisfied the WHL is not in a position to make any further statement on this transaction.”
The announcement arrived one day before Bruins fans had scheduled a rally for the front entrance to the team’s home arena, Prospera Place. That rally is to take place this evening at the front entrance to the arena.
It is believed that the Bruins’ majority owners — Darryl Porter, Brian Burke and Glen Sather each owns 25 per cent — have sold the franchise to RG Properties, a Vancouver-based real estate development and operating company that manages the Save-On Foods Memorial Centre in Victoria and Prospera Place in Kelowna.
The arena in Victoria is home to the ECHL’s Victoria Salmon Kings, a franchise that is owned by RG Properties. The City of Victoria has a contract with RG Properties to manage the arena. That deal is to expire in 2036 and the City has told RG Properties that the contract will be extended to 2046 if it is able to attract a WHL franchise.
At present, the Salmon Kings are involved in the ECHL playoffs, playing a best-of-five first-round series with the Bakersfield Condors. Once the Salmon King’s season is over, an announcement is expected on the transfer of the Bruins.
Early in March, as speculation on the sale of the franchise heated up, WHL commissioner Ron Robison told the Chilliwack Times: “It’s clearly our desire to keep them where they are. From time to time we have to review relocation but that’s been very rare. There hasn’t been a relocation in our league for many, many years.”
The last franchise to pick up and move was the Edmonton Ice, which relocated to Cranbrook after the 1997-98 season.
Moray Keith and Jim Bond own the remaining 25 per cent of the Chilliwack franchise; Keith also holds the management contract on Prospera Centre, the home to the Bruins for the past five seasons.
Keith and Bond attempted to purchase the Bruins from their partners, reportedly for $7.75 million, but the offer was rebuffed.
Keith later confirmed to Jim Mullin, the sports director at Vancouver radio station CKNW, that the Bruins had been sold.
Meanwhile, Burke, in a letter through his lawyers to Mullin earlier this week, claimed that the WHL had “promised” a franchise to Graham Lee, the chief executive officer and president of RG Properties.
Burke also wrote that it was “. . . the WHL’s and Mr. Lee’s desire to have an established team in Victoria rather than an expansion team. This will not leave Chilliwack without a WHL team. The WHL is in the process of negotiating the movement of another WHL team to Chilliwack.”
The league has since placed a gag order on all WHL and team officials, an order that carried with it the threat of a heavy fine should anyone discuss the situation with the media.
Victoria last was in the WHL in 1993-94, after which the Cougars packed up and moved to Prince George. The Cougars had been in Victoria since 1971-72.
At this point, it isn’t known which WHL franchise, if any, might relocate to Chilliwack.
Dallas Thompson, the general manager of the Cougars, told the Prince George Citizen earlier this week that that franchsie isn’t going anywhere.
“This team is not for sale, and we’ve made that abundantly clear about a hundred times,” Thompson told the Citizen. “We’re exploring a way to make our business work here and relocation is something we don’t want to have happen and it’s not an option.
“We want to make this thing work in Prince George and that’s what we’re trying to do. Chilliwack is not an option. We can’t comment about anything that’s going on there.”
The Cranbrook-based Kootenay Ice is another team that has been rumoured as perhaps being interested in moving.
However, Jeff Chynoweth, the Ice’s president and GM, told The Daily News last night, via text, that the club is “definitely not going to Chilliwack.”

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

Monday's stuff . . .

Defenceman Rasmus Rissanen of the Everett Silvertips has signed
a three-year deal with the NHL's Carolina Hurricanes.
(Photo by Gregg Forwerck/Carolina Hurricanes)

THE CHILLIWACK-TO-VICTORIA SAGA:Things just get stranger and stranger . . .
It was just last week when Moray Keith, who along with Jim Bond owns 25 per cent of the Chilliwack Bruins, confirmed what everyone thought they knew when he told Jim Mullin of Vancouver radio station CKNW that the Bruins are in the process of being sold to Victoria interests.
Then, on Monday, in a letter through his lawyers, Brian Burke, who owns 25 per cent of the Bruins, informed Mullin that “Graham Lee has been promised a WHL franchise in that city.”
Graham Lee, if you aren’t aware, operates RG Properties, which holds a 30-year contract to manage Save-On Foods Memorial Centre in Victoria. And the City of Victoria has said it will extend that deal by 10 years if RG Properties is able to attract a WHL franchise.
Burke’s letter also stated that it was “. . . the WHL’s and Mr. Lee’s desire to have an established team in Victoria rather than an expansion team. This will not leave Chilliwack without a WHL team. The WHL is in the process of negotiating the movement of another WHL team to Chilliwack.”
Shortly after those two notes from Burke, who runs the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs these days, hit the Internet, I was informed by a source that “league members have been threatened with huge fines if they comment on the Chilliwack situation.”
So just when you might be thinking that clarification is needed and might even be on its way, what with the Bruins’ season having ended Saturday night in Spokane, the WHL gags everyone.
And then Tyler Olsen, a writer who is working hard to cover this situation for the Chilliwack Times, tweeted this late Monday afternoon: “#WHL league head office says my repeated pleas for an interview have been ‘unprofessional.’ News flash: that's my profession. #irony.”
Which would seem to indicate that the WHL again has adopted the strategy of trying to shoot the messenger. Again.
In another development, the Chilliwack Times rounded up a number of comments from former Bruins players -- off the Keep the Bruins in Chilliwack Facebook page -- on the situation. That piece is right here.
———
Meanwhile, Bruins fans have scheduled a rally for Wednesday, 7 p.m., at the front entrance to Prospera Centre.
———
And one Bruins fan sent me this email:
“This whole fiasco is a huge mess. It's embarassing for the league as well
as (Darryl) Porter, Burke and (Glen) Sather (each of whom owns 25 per cent of the Bruins). They are not showing any integrity or clarity here, all the fans have gotten is from the media. . . .
“This is not fair to the fans of the Chilliwack Bruins or any other team that is on the bubble that you have named. We're under Year 2 of the Marc Habscheid era and showing signs of turning it around, much better drafting than years past, better trades and it gets yanked from us because RG Properties wanted an established team over an expansion team. We sat
through the expansion, Edmonton sat through the expansion, what makes Victoria so different? And like you said, who knows if Victoria will be a success.
"This stinks."
———
MEANWHILE WE MOVE ON TO OTHER THINGS . . .
As you will be aware by now, Mandi Schwartz lost her battle with leukemia on Sunday. Mike G. Morreale of nhl.com has taken a look at Mandi and the legacy she has left. That is right here.
———
THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Matt Ellison (Red Deer, 2002-03) signed a two-year contract extension with Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod (Russia KHL). He had 21 goals and 29 assists in 53 games this season for Torpedo.
———
In the spring of 2001, Spokane swept the Kamloops Blazers from a first-round series in which Chiefs D Kurt Sauer was as dominant as a defenceman can be. He was tough and physical and absolutely ruled the ice surface through all four games. These days, he’s playing the role of Mr. Mom. Why? Because of concussion-like symptoms. He hasn’t been on the ice since September 2009. Sarah McLellan of the Arizona Republic has that story right here.
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D Rasmus Rissanen of the Everett Silvertips has signed a three-year deal with with the Carolina Hurricanes, who selected him in the sixth round of the 2009 NHL draft. Rissanen, 19, has put up 27 points and 192 penalty minutes in 139 games with Everett. He also played for Finland at the 2011 World Junior Championship in Buffalo. He has joined the Hurricane’s AHL affiliate, the Charlotte Checkers. . . . Former Everett G Leland Irving earned his second straight 1-0 AHL shutout Monday, as the host Abbotsford Heat got past the Hamilton Bulldogs. That was his seventh blank job this season. F Justin Dowling, who played for the Swift Current Broncos this season, drew the second assist on the winner as he ran his point streak to three games. . . . F Shane McColgan is the WHL’s player of the week. He had five points in two games. . . . Drew Owsley of the Tri-City Americans is the WHL’s nominee as the CHL’s goaltender of the week. He was 2-0, 0.50, .975.
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MONDAY’S PLAYOFF GAME:
In Winnipeg, F Kellan Tochkin and F Emerson had two goals each as the Medicine Hat Tigers beat the Brandon Wheat Kings 7-5 to win that first-round series, 4-2. . . . That was the last first-round series to be completed. The four tops seeds in each conference have advanced to the second round. . . . The Wheat Kings were playing their home games at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg because the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair has been in the rink in Brandon. . . . Medicine Hat F Linden Vey had three assists. Vey, who led the regular season in scoring, now tops the playoff point derby, with 12 points. That’s two ahead of F Nino Niederreiter of the Portland Winterhawks and F Brayden Schenn of the Saskatoon Blades. . . . Medicine Hat F Cole Grbavac scored once, giving him nine points, including four goals, in the series. . . . Tochkin’s goals were his first of the series. . . . F Mike Ferland had three goals for Brandon, which took a 2-1 lead into Game 4 in which it wasn’t able to hold a couple of three-goal leads. The Tigers won the last three games. . . . The Tigers continued to be without G Tyler Bunz (concussion) and F Tyler Pitlick (ankle), while the Wheat Kings scratched F Brenden Walker (concussion) and G Liam Liston (concussion) . . . Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Sun covered the game. His story is right here. . . . Gary Lawless of the Winnipeg Free Press also was there, and his game story is right here.
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MONDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
One minor:
Medicine Hat F Wacey Hamilton.
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Rob Henderson of the Brandon Sun wrote an interesting item out of that series between the Wheat Kigns and Medicine Hat Tigers:
“You may have noticed that the Brandon Wheat Kings had no backup goalie listed for Game 4 in Winnipeg, when Liam Liston was unable to play due to a concussion.
“Indeed the Wheat  Kings did have another puckstopper on the bench, but did not list him on the official gamesheet.
“It’s an uncommon — but not unheard of — occurrence, done to protect the identity of emergency goaltenders whose NCAA eligibility could be forfeited by appearing in a WHL game, and it’s something that the league office condones.
“It’s also a policy that seems a little disingenuous coming from a league that has levied heavy sanctions in the past against teams that have used players under assumed names to protect their NCAA eligibility and earlier this season came down on the Portland Winterhawks for letting an ineligible Swiss player take part in a training-camp scrimmage.
“Setting aside the NCAA rulebook for a moment (and frankly, disqualifying a player who happened to be one of the few capable of safely filling in on the bench at a hard-to-come-by position during extenuating circumstances is despicable in itself), hiding a player’s involvement is unbecoming of a league that strives to conduct its business in a professional manner. And withholding a name doesn’t change the fact that the player was there and could face repercussions if discovered.
“I’d be curious to know how others feel who have had their own NCAA eligibility burned after appearing on the gamesheet for a single WHL contest.
“I’m sure they would have appreciated the cover of the WHL’s version of the Witness Protection Program.”

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

Brian Burke weighs in on Victoria

Brian Burke obviously has too much time on his hands.
The man who runs the Toronto Maple Leafs has found time to write a letter to Jim Mullin, the sports director at radio station CKNW in Vancouver.
Actually, the letter came from Burke via his lawyers.
The letter has to do with Burke being unhappy over some comments Mullin made about Burke “seeking vengeance on the Canucks.”
More interesting than that, at least for WHL fans, are a couple of Burke comments pertaining to the impending move of the Chilliwack Bruins to Victoria.
If you came late to this story, Burke owns 25 per cent of the Bruins. He, Glen Sather and Darryl Porter, each of whom owns 25 per cent, have a deal to sell the franchise, but not to minority owners Moray Keith and Jim Bond, who own the other 25 per cent.
Rather, they will sell to Graham Lee’s RG Properties, which holds the management contract for the Save-On Food Memorial Centre in Victoria, the home of the ECHL’s Salmon Kings.
In his letter to Mullin, who has been on top of this story from the get-go, Burke writes:
“Graham Lee has been promised a WHL franchise in that city.”
Unfortunately, Burke doesn’t explain why Lee “has been promised” a team for Victoria. Of course, Dave Dakers, who is president of RG Properties sports and entertainment and also operates their ECHL franchise, is tight -- they are fishing pals -- with Bruce Hamilton, the president of the Kelowna Rockets and the chairman of the WHL’s board of governors. Maybe that has something to do with it.
Remember, too, that the City of Victoria, which owns the arena there, has told RG Properties that it will extend its management contract through 2046 if it is able to land a WHL franchise. That contract now is to expire in 2036.
But wait . . . there’s more.
Later, Burke writes that it was “. . . the WHL’s and Mr. Lee’s desire to have an established team in Victoria rather than an expansion team. This will not leave Chilliwack without a WHL team. The WHL is in the process of negotiating the movement of another WHL team to Chilliwack.”
So let’s really upset the apple cart, why don’t we?
Not only do fans of the Bruins have reason to be up in arms, but now fans in Prince George, Cranbrook, Swift Current, Lethbridge, Prince Albert and anywhere else where people might be feeling at all paranoid about the future of their WHL franchise are dragged into the fray.
What this letter from Burke does do is erase all doubt, if there was any remaining, about the fate of the Bruins. While no one in any official capacity with the league or the Bruins or RG Properties has been up front and transparent about any of this -- hey, there may have been tickets to sell to a Game 6 in Chilliwack between the Bruins and Spokane Chiefs -- Burke at least has come clean about part of this mess.
Now if only someone would explain why a franchise that was in its fifth year of existence and was showing signs of becoming competitive for the first time is being sold and moved on down the road.
And, by the way, is there a guarantee somewhere that says the WHL in Victoria will be a rip-roaring success? What if the team struggles for the better part of five years, as have the Bruins?
Mullin’s complete report is right here.

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

Thursday . . .

 Jim Mullin of Vancouver radio station CKNW tweeted late Thursday afternoon:
“Minority owner Moray Keith confirms to #CKNW that the Chilliwack Bruins have been sold to Victoria's RG Properties.”
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Earlier, Eric Welsh of the Chilliwack Progress posted a piece right here on the impending departure of the Bruins to Victoria. And there are some interesting comments here from Clint Hames, a former Chilliwack mayor.
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Meanwhile, Tyler Olsen of the Chilliwack Times also talked with Hames.
Here is part of what Olsen wrote:
Hames, who was instrumental in bringing the club to the Fraser Valley five years ago, had contacted WHL commissioner Ron Robison and several of the Bruins' owners to try to get to the bottom of rumours about the team's exit.
"I was told by (Bruins co-owner) Brian Burke that (Keith and Bond's) offer would not be considered and that the only offer they are considering is an offer from Victoria," Hames told Postmedia News.
Porter, however, claims the owners were carefully wading through multiple offers to buy the club. Porter also had told fans that the owners were doing what they could to keep the club where it is.
Robison has also said that moving a team is the last resort and that the league preferred to keep the Bruins in Chilliwack. He has refused any further comment on the issue.
A league spokesperson said the WHL will only comment "when there is news to report."
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Obviously, there is a whole lot more going on between the WHL, RG Properties and who knows who else involving franchises on Vancouver Island.
But it doesn’t make any sense at all to have just one team on the Island, so we have questions, questions . . . we have questions:
1. With one team on its way to Vancouver Island, how long before a second one — expansion or otherwise — lands in Nanaimo?
2. Kelly Hrudey, who has ties to the WHL office as president of the WHL Alumni Association, became part-owner of the BCHL’s Nanaimo Clippers earlier this year. Does Hrudey’s sudden involvement mean anything in terms of a WHL franchise landing there?
3. Mike Vandekamp left the AJHL’s Grande Prairie Storm in March to take over the Clippers’ coaching reins. Let’s assume that Vandekamp, who did a turn as a WHL head coach with the Prince George Cougars a while back, aspires to coach in the WHL or at an even higher level. That brings us to this question: Why does a junior A coach leave one job for a similar position at that particular time of year? Or does Vandekamp know something that we don’t know about the WHL and Nanaimo?
4. Darren Parker, who had been running an independent league baseball franchise in Victoria until it folded over the winter, signed on with the ECHL’s Victoria Salmon Kings on Wednesday. He is the club’s senior vice-president of sales and marketing. He also is the son of Russ Parker, who owns the WHL’s Regina Pats. Why does Darren Parker, whose baseball team folded a few months ago, suddenly surface in the front office of an ECHL team that is owned by RG Properties which is in the process of purchasing a WHL franchise?
Oh, what a tangled web is being weaved.
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By the way, Philip Wolf of the Nanaimo Daily News chimes is on the goings-on with the Clippers right here. He says his “bovine excrement detector” has been going off.
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THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Eric Johansson (Tri-City, 1998-2002) signed a one-year (plus option) contract extension with Szekesfehervar (Hungary, plays in Austria Erste Bank Liga). He had 20 goals and 27 assists in 38 games this season. . . .
F Owen Fussey (Calgary, Moose Jaw, 1999-2003) signed a one-year contract extension with the Coventry Blaze (UK Elite). He had 24 goals and 15 assists in 34 games. Fussey had his season cut short when he tore his ACL and MCL in December.
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The ugly side of the Internet has reared its face once again.
It is amazing what big ones some people have as they sit in momma’s basement and do stupid things with the aid of a computer and in the cloak of anonymity that is provided by the Internet.
This time it has struck in Saskatoon where the Blades were doing damage control Thursday thanks to comments that were made by a Brayden Schenn impostor on a Facebook page. Police have launched an investigation. There’s more right here from the Saskatoon StarPhoenix.
Cory Wolfe, who covers the Blades for the StarPhoenix, blogged about the Schenn situation. Wolfe’s piece is right here.
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Merle Haggard sings about White Line Fever. No one, at least not yet, is singing of 50/50 fever. However, Kevin Mitchell of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix takes a look at what went on at last weekend’s Saskatoon Blades’ home playoff games. That story is right here. And having witnessed 50/50 fever at the Memorial Cup in Brandon last spring, I can tell you it’s an amazing thing.
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Ron Toigo, the majority owner of the Vancouver Giants, is in Buenos Aires this weekend. No, he’s not scouting. He’s there for the wedding of part-owner Michael Buble and Luisana Lopilato. . . . Toigo took time to chat with Elliott Pap of the Vancouver Sun about this season and what’s ahead for his WHL team. . . . That story is right here.
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And if you’re into wedding photos, here you go. . . . Buble and Lopilato were married in a civil ceremony in Buenos Aires on Thursday and there are some photos right here.
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JUST NOTES: Ryan Barrett is the new GM/head coach of the AJHL’s Calgary Canucks, having moved up from assistant coach to take over from Don Phelps, who, it seems, has been there since before ice was invented. Mark Astley and Craig Mohr will work as assistant coaches. . . . Adam Brown of the Kelowna Rockets is the WHL’s goaltender of the month for March. He was 6-2-0, 1.61, .944 for the month. . . . F Ryan Nugent-Hopkins of the Red Deer Rebels is the player of the month, after putting up 19 points in eight games. . . . D Corey Fienhage of the Kamloops Blazers will be joining the AHL’s Portland Pirates. He was a third-round pick of the Buffalo Sabres in the NHL’s 2008 draft. Fienhage, 20, joined the Blazers after playing 39 games over the previous two seasons with the U of North Dakota Fighting Sioux. . . . The BCHL’s Prince George Spruce Kings have signed Dave Dupas to a three-year contract as head coach. He took over in November after GM/head coach Ed Dempsey was fired. The Spruce Kings also promoted assistant GM Mike Hawes to GM, although he will work at it on a part-time basis.
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THURSDAY’S PLAYOFF GAMES:
In Winnipeg, centre Linden Vey scored at 19:35 of the third period to give the Medicine Hat Tigers a 5-4 victory over the Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . The series is tied 2-2 with Game 5 scheduled for Medicine Hat on Saturday. . . . The Wheat Kings led 3-0 at 12:47 of the first period after F Matt MacKay scored his third goal of the series, this one via the PP. . . . Brandon led 4-1 at 17:45 of the first after F Shayne Wiebe got his third goal, also on the PP. . . . Medicine Hat F Kale Kessy scored at 18:13 of the first period. . . . The Tigers then counted three times in the third. . . . Vey, who led the WHL in scoring in the regular season, finished with two goals and two assists, while F Emerson Etem had a goal and two helpers. . . . Brandon held a 17-7 edge in first-period shots, but the Tigers outshot the Wheaties 31-12 over the last 40 minutes. . . . Attendance was 6,003. . . . The Wheat Kings are playing first-round home games in the MTS Centre in Winnipeg because the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair is in Westman Place in Brandon. . . . Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Sun was at the game last night. His story is right here. . . .

In Prince Albert, the Raiders came up with a gritty effort for the second game in a row and beat the Saskatoon Blades, 5-2. . . . The series is tied 2-2 with Game 5 in Saskatoon on Saturday. . . . Saskatoon won the first two games at home, outscoring the Raiders 13-3 in the process. . . . The Blades finished with the WHL’s best record, their 115 points leaving them 48 ahead of the eighth-place Raiders in the Eastern Conference. . . . The Blades scored first, getting a PP goal from F Curtis Hamilton at 2:32 of the first period, but the Raiders got the next three, the first two from F Todd Fiddler. . . . F T.J. Constant gave the Raiders a 4-2 lead in the third period with his first WHL point. Constant was added to the Raiders’ roster from the MJHL’s OCN Blizzard. . . . Attendance was 3,111. . . . D Duncan Siemens left the Blades’ bench in the second period and didn’t return. He is believed to have a leg injury . . .
In Edmonton, F Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had a goal and an assist as the Rebels beat the Oil Kings 5-1 to win the series, 4-0. . . . Nugent-Hopkins, who will be an early pick in June’s NHL draft, had nine points over the four games. . . . F Brett Ferguson scored twice for Red Deer, the second into an empty net. . . . Edmonton’s lone goal came from F Curtis Lazar, the second overall pick in the 2010 bantam draft. It was his first WHL score. . . . Attendance was 5,938. . . . Red Deer scratched F Adam Kambeitz and D Aaron Borejko, both for undisclosed reasons. . . .
In Spokane, the Chiefs scored the game’s first three goals and went on to beat the Chilliwack Bruins, 4-2. . . . The Bruins closed to within 3-2 on F Roman Horak’s goal at 3:06 of the third but weren’t able to equalize. . . . Chilliwack F Ryan Howse left the game after the first period and didn’t return. . . . The Chiefs were without F Tyler Johnson, the WHL’s second-leading scorer. . . . The Bruins were without D Tyler Stahl, who got tossed from Game 3 with an elbowing major that knocked Johnson out of the game. Stahl is serving one of those tbd suspensions. . . . The Chiefs also were without F Anthony Bardaro, who drew a tbd sentence under supplemental discipline for a hit in overtime in Game 3. Bardaro wasn’t penalized on the play, but the Bruins asked the WHL to review the play. . . .
In Everett, F Sven Bartschi had a goal and two assists as the Portland Winterhawks beat the Silvertips 6-2 to sweep the first-round series. . . . F Jari Erricson gave the Silvertips a 1-0 lead at 5:22 of the first period, but Portland answered with five straight goals. . . . Attendance was 2,420. . . . Everett F Landon Ferraro was tossed with a cross-checking major as the second period ended. . . . This was the first time Portland has swept a playoff opponent since 1998 when it ousted the Brandon Wheat Kings in the championship final. . . . The Winterhawks had played 13 rounds since then. . . .
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Three of the four Western Conference series ended in sweeps, leaving the Kelowna Rockets, Portland and the Tri-City Americans awaiting a winner in the Spokane-Chilliwack series. . . . Remember that teams are reseeded by regular-season points, so if Spokane wins, the second round will feature Portland vs. Kelowna and Spokane vs. Tri-City. . . . If the Bruins come back from a 3-1 deficit, it’ll be Portland against Chilliwack and Kelowna against Tri-City.
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THURSDAY’S CFB COUNT:
Two minors:
Prince Albert D Harrison Ruopp
Chilliwack F Curt Gogol
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It was Opening Day on Thursday. Yes, we’re talking baseball.
So . . . here’s your good read for the day. Yes, it’s a year old, but it’s by Peter Gammons and it involves baseball and the blues and it doesn’t get any better than that. So take a look right here.

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca

     

gdrinnan.blogspot.com

     

Taking Note on Twitter