New logo for Hurricanes? . . . Concussions in the news

D Robby Sandrock (Spokane, Swift Current, Medicine Hat, Kelowna, 1994-99) has signed a one-year extension with the Belfast Giants (Northern Ireland, UK Elite). Last season, Sandrock had 51 points, including 13 goals, in 59 games. He led the league’s defencemen in assists and was named to the first all-star team.

F Ben Maxwell (Kootenay, 2003-08) has signed a one-year contract with Yugra Khanty-Mansiysk (Russia, KHL). Last season, with Kärpät Oulu (Finland, Liiga), he had 42 points, 16 of them goals, in 49 games, finishing ninth in the league’s scoring race. Maxwell got the primary assists on the Game 6 game-winning goal (a 3-2 victory) and winner and on the Game 7 OT goal (1-0) in the league final. Kärpät had been down 3-1 in the series.
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1. A Thursday afternoon tweet from Lethbridge lawyer David van Moorsel, who specializes in the fields of business and trademarks: “Lethbridge Hurricanes are seeking trademark protection for a new logo. Looks like it's original this time.” The details are right here. . . . The Hurricanes moved from Calgary over the summer of 1987, and when their nickname was announced, Pat Sullivan of the Lethbridge Herald wrote that with a nickname like that the logo should be an overturned mobile home.

2. F Troy Bourke, the captain of the Prince George Cougars, has signed a three-year entry-level contract with the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche. Bourke was a third-round selection by the Avalanche in the NHL’s 2012 draft. . . . According to capgeek.com, Bourke’s deal calls for NHL salaries of US$610,000, $640,000 and $645,000, with an AHL salary of $60,000 each season. He got a signing bonus of $195,000, payable in three installments -- $60,000, $65,000 and $70,000. . . . Bourke, 20, is the Prince George franchise’s all-time leading scorer. He put up 85 points, including 29 goals, in 69 games last season. In 276 career regular-season games, he has 236 points, including 84 goals . . . Bourke finished last season with the Lake Erie Monsters, Colorado’s AHL affiliate, picking up seven points, three of them goals, in 15 games.

3. If you watched Tuesday’s Stanley Cup game between the New York Rangers and host Montreal, you saw Canadiens F Dale Weise take a hit to the hit and need help getting off the ice. You also saw him return to the game a bit later. . . . If you are at all aware of the concussion problem in hockey, you were wondering how it was that Weise was allowed back on the ice. . . . David Shoalts of The Globe and Mail has written an interesting piece on the NHL and concussions, and it’s right here. . . . Feel free to take out NHL and insert WHL, because things are pretty much the same in the major junior league.

4. Bruce Arthur of the Toronto Star also was writing about Montreal F Dale Weise and it’s obvious that Arthur is wondering just how it is that Weise was allowed to re-enter a game he had left in such wobbly condition. . . . Arthur’s column is right here.

5. You know concussions are a serious issue when the White House gets involved, which is what happened Thursday as President Obama convened a gathering of top sports executives and researchers to discuss the situation. Michael D. Shear and Ken Belson of The New York Times have more right here.

6. If you’re wondering what’s going on between the CFL and the CFLPA, check this out right here. Andrew Bucholtz of Yahoo! Sports Canada has broken it down and his report includes charts that make things easy to understand.

7. Thomas Boswell of the Washington Post hits another home run right here as he tries to figure out just what is going on with the Washington Nationals.

8. The Vancouver Giants have signed F Brendan Semchuk, the 10th overall selection in the 2014 WHL bantam draft. Semchuk, from Kamloops, had 77 points, 45 of them goals, with the bantam Tier 1 A1 Blazers.

9. The headline reads: Crocodile injured by falling accountant during circus bus accident in Russia. . . . You are able to read about it right here. Seriously.

10. You may be aware of the Internet scam in which NBAer Chris Andersen, the Birdman, found himself caught up in not that long ago. It’s an amazing story and makes for a great read. Flinder Boyd of Newsweek has it all right here.
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THE COACHING GAME:
George Sipple of the Detroit Free Press reported Thursday night that the OHL’s Plymouth Whalers will name Don Elland as their head coach today. Elland has been an assistant coach with the Whalers for four seasons. . . . Elland, 50, will replace Mike Vellucci as head coach. Vellucci, who had been with the Whalers for 14 seasons, left to become assistant GM and director of hockey operations with the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes. . . . The Whalers and Hurricanes both are owned by Peter Karmanos Jr.
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Dave Allison is the new head coach of the USHL’s Des Moines Buccaneers. Tommy Birch of the Des Moines Register reports that the announcement is to made this morning. . . . Allison has coach in Des Moines before, as he was the head coach of the AHL’s Iowa Stars for three seasons. He also was hired to coach the Buccaneers once before but, as Birch wrote: “(Allison) never took the ice for a game due to work-permit visa issues. He instead took a job as a scout with the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins.” . . . Last season, Allison was an assistant coach with the AHL’s Chicago Wolves. . . . With Des Moines, Allison replaces Jon Rogger, who spent two seasons as head coach. . . . The Buccaneers have missed the playoffs in each of the last seven seasons.
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From Bob Irving (@BobIrvingCJOB), the long-time voice of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on CJOB: “Shame on the cfl and the players association. Wake up folks, you are on the verge of damaging a grand Cdn institution, perhaps permanently.”

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THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Andrej Stastny (Vancouver, 2010-11) signed a two-year contract with Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia, KHL) after a successful try-out. He had 11 goals and 18 assists in 50 games with Dukla Trencin (Slovakia, Extraliga) last season. Stastny has one goal and one assist in the three exhibition games Slovan has played so far this pre-season. . . .
F Bruno Mraz (Brandon, 2011-12) signed a three-year contract with Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia, KHL). He had two goals and 16 assists in 63 games with the Brandon Wheat Kings last season. . . .
D David Hajek (Spokane, 1998-99) signed a try-out contract with Pirati Chomutov (Czech Republic, Extraliga). He had one goal and 10 assists in 44 goes with Orli Znojmo (Czech Republic, Austria Erste Bank Liga) last season.
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By the way, it would appear that F Dominik Volek won’t be back with the Regina Pats this season. He signed over the summer with Färjestad and is in camp with that organization now. Teams began working out Wednesday and if you click on right here you will find a couple of photos of Volek with the J20 team.
Volek, now 18, had 32 points, including 14 goals, in 70 games with the Pats as a freshman last season.
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Nine WHLers are on the 22-player roster of the Canadian team that will play at the Memorial for Ivan Hlinka tournament.
Making the grade were G Eric Comrie, Tri-City Americans; D Madison Bowey, Kelowna Rockets; D Kayle Doetzel, Red Deer Rebels; D Josh Morrissey, Prince Albert Raiders; D Shea Theodore, Seattle Thunderbirds, F Morgan Klimchuk, Regina Pats; F Curtis Lazar, Edmonton Oil Kings; F Nic Petan, Portland Winterhawks; and F Sam Reinhart, Kootenay Ice.
Those WHLers who attended the camp but aren’t on the final roster are G Tristan Jarry, Edmonton Oil Kings; D Dillon Heatherington, Swift Current Broncos; F Carter Hansen, Moose Jaw Warriors; and F Matt Needham, Kamloops Blazers.
The tournament opens Monday in Breclav, Czech Republic, and Piestany, Slovakia, and runs through Aug. 18. There is no TV or radio coverage.
Canada and Czech Republic will play an exhibition game in Piestany on Saturday. Canada then opens tournament play against Switzerland on Aug. 13.
Canada, Slovakia, Sweden and Switzerland will play out of Piestany, with Finland, Russia, Czech Republic and the U.S. in Breclav.
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Shane Pilling has signed with the AJHL’s Brooks Bandits. Pilling, 19, played the last two seasons with the Prince George Cougars. He was a fourth-round selection by the Cougars in the 2008 bantam draft. Last season, he had one assist and 14 penalty minutes in 24 games with Prince George. He had eight points, including one goal, in 56 games in 2010-11.
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If you watched that women’s soccer game from the London Olympics on Monday, you may be interested in some good reading.
Bruce Arthur of the National Post has his take right here.
George Johnson of the Calgary Herald was there, too, and his piece is right here.
Cathal Kelly of the Toronto Star writes that this may have been “the best game of women’s football ever played.” But . . . yes, there was a but. Kelly’s piece is right here.
Kevin Baxter of the Los Angeles Times has his take on proceedings right here.
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Grant Wahl of Sports Illustrated, who is perhaps the U.S.’s top soccer writer, waves the Stars and Stripes right here, and even takes a moment to criticize Canadian captain Christine Sinclair. “Sinclair had a terrific game,” Wahl writes. “It was unfortunate that she decided to lash out afterward.”
To which I say, oh but for the shoe to have been on the other foot in this one. Gee, had the game gone the other way in this fashion I wonder if Hope Solo, for one, may have “decided to lash out” if it had gone the other way.
Consider that Wahl also writes:
“Sinclair's third goal, in the 73rd minute, gave Canada a 3-2 lead and set the stage for the most controversial moment U.S. Soccer has seen in a long time. Seven minutes later, Canadian goalkeeper McLeod leaped to make a save and came to the ground with the ball. She carried the ball around her box, waved her teammates downfield and . . . waited. The whistle blew. Norwegian referee Christiana Pedersen ruled that McLeod had violated Law 12, which awards an indirect free kick if the goalkeeper ‘takes more than six seconds while controlling the ball with her hands before releasing it from her possession.’
“It's exceedingly rare for the violation to be called at the elite level. The only previous incident I could track down took place in the Premier League in 2002, when referee David Elleray blew his whistle on Bolton's Jussi Jasskelainen against Newcastle United. (Alan Shearer tied the game on the ensuing free kick sequence.)”
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A great tweet from Neate Sager of Yahoo! Sports (@neatebuzzthenet):
“Canadians sent 7400 cans of maple syrup to Norway in 2006 to thank a coach who helped our skier. We’d like them back, please. #olympics #ref”
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Then there’s this from Ed Willes (@willeson sports) of the Vancouver Province:
“The Americans have also turned the ‘72 basketball final into a five-decade epic so YOU’LL PARDON US IF WE’RE PISSED. #olympics”
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And, finally, if you haven’t seen this Vin Scully clip from Monday’s game between the host Los Angeles Dodgers and the Colorado Rockies, take a couple of minutes and give it a look. . . . This is Scully at his best.


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Thursday . . .

THE MacBETH REPORT:
D Craig Weller (Kootenay, 2000-02) signed a one-year contract with Villach (Austria, Erste Bank Liga). He had 16 goals and 36 assists in 41 games for the Cardiff Devils (Wales, UK Elite) last season and was named UK Elite Ice Hockey League Player of the Year, Defenceman of the Year, and a first team all-star.
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CRAIG HARTSBURG

As of early, early this morning, Craig Hartsburg still was the head coach of the WHL’s Everett Silvertips. That was according to the WHL team’s website.
However, at least one media outlet was reporting that he had quit.
“Craig Hartsburg, who has stepped down as head coach of the WHL's Everett Silvertips,” read a report at sportsnet.ca, “is a top candidate to become right-hand man to head coach Brent Sutter, according to a member of the (Calgary) Flames staff. The spokesperson said there is work to be done but Hartsburg is of interest.”
Steve MacFarlane of the Calgary Sun wrote it this way:
The Calgary Flames have nothing to announce just yet.
But a reunion for Craig Hartsburg and Flames head coach Brent Sutter doesn’t sound far off.
“Craig Hartsburg is a top candidate for a coaching job with the Calgary Flames,” Flames vice-president of communications Peter Hanlon said Thursday after TSN’s Bob McKenzie told the Twitterverse earlier in the day he expected Hartsburg to be named associate coach in Calgary sooner than later.
“However, there is work to be done before any official announcement.”
That complete story is right here.
As for Hartsburg leaving Everett, well, you know what they say about where there’s smoke. . . .
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For all the Kyle Beach fans out there, Cody Pugh, a contributor to bleacherreport.com, takes a look back to see what the enigmatic former WHLer has accomplished to date and where he’s at in terms of making the roster of the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks.
That piece is right here.
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The Portland Winterhawks have dealt G Keith Hamilton, 19, to the Victoria ???? for third-, fourth- and eighth-round selections in the 2012 WHL bantam draft.
Hamilton, a second-round selection by Portland in the 2007 bantam draft, was 17-6-2, 2.91, .914 in backing up Mac Carruth last season.
It would seem that the Winterhawks got decent return for a goaltender who would have been in tough at training camp with Carruth, also 19, the No. 1 guy at this time.
The Winterhawks also have signed G Brendan Burke, the son of former NHLer Sean Burke, and G Jarrod Schamerhorn, and needed to make room for one of them as the backup for next season.
Burke was a third-round selection in the 2010 draft; Schamerhorn, who played for the major midget Kootenay Ice last season, was added to Portland’s list after the 2010 training camp.
Coincidentally, Hamilton and Schamerhorn both are from Kelowna.
Victoria, which finished the season as the Chilliwack Bruins, had Lucas Gore and Braden Gamble on its roster at season’s end. Gore was 20, so played out his eligibility. Gamble, now 20, was 2-8-1 in 19 games during the regular season.
Hamilton “will push for the starting job this year, and has solidified our goaltending corps as we now have three quality goaltenders at different age ranges in Hamilton, Braden Gamble and Jared Rathjen,” Marc Habscheid, Victoria’s GM/head coach, said in a press release.
Rathjen is a list player who is from Prince George. He played last season for the major midget Cariboo Cougars, who play out of P.G.
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Before you start thinking that the ???? paid a steep price for a 19-year-old goaltender with minimal experience at the WHL level, here’s a note from Alan Caldwell at Small Thoughts At Large, which is linked over there on the right:
“An eagle-eyed reader has just pointed out to me that Portland traded their own 2012 3rd, 4th, and 8th round picks to Victoria back at the draft in return for Victoria's 2nd round pick, which the Hawks used on Zach Patterson. So it looks like this deal was just to get the picks back, essentially making the deal Hamilton for the 2nd rounder. Since Portland was still playing at the time of the draft, they couldn't actually trade Hamilton at that time.”
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If you missed Game 2 of the NBA final on Wednesday night, well, you cheated yourself. A game like this is why we watch. And here’s hoping you didn’t change channels when the Miami Heat held a 15-point lead.
Dwyane Wade made a three from in front of the Dallas bench for an 88-73 lead with 7:14 to play, and he posed for three or four seconds.
Whoops!
(The pose came after some big-time strutting by LeBron and Chris Bosh after put-back dunks. Yes, the Heat makes it awfully easy to dislike it.)
Because the Dallas Mavericks went on a 20-2 run and eventually won when, with the score tied at 93, Dirk Nowitzki romped past defender Chris Bosh and laid in the winning points. With the Heat out of timeouts, it had to inbound from under its basket and Wade missed a desperation three at the buzzer.
Bruce Arthur of the National Post went back and looked at the game’s last seven minutes a second time. He came up with this:
“Heat misses last 7:15: Chalmers 3; LBJ layup; CB J; LBJ fade J; CB TO; UH J; LBJ pullup shot-clock 3 (twice); Wade pullup 3; Wade running 3.”
So it’s 1-1 heading to Dallas for three games, with the first on Sunday. You won’t want to miss it.
I have turned into something of an NBA watcher after being unable to watch NHL playoffs in a hotel in Mt. Vernon, Wash., a few weeks ago. Instead of watching Game 7 between the Chicago Blackhawks and Vancouver Canucks — the hotel didn’t provide access to Versus (or CBC) — I watched NBA playoff action. And I haven’t stopped.
Thank you, Mr. Bettman.
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The afore-mentioned Bruce Arthur has today’s good read, too. It’s a farewell of sorts to Shaq.
And it’s right here.
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Condolences to the family of Tom Mangan, a member of the Kamloops Blazers’ board of directors (2003-06), who died Thursday afternoon after battling prostate cancer. He was 64. . . . Mangan was active in the Kamloops sporting world. . . . He also served on the board of the Kamloops Blazers Sports Foundation, which handed out more than $1 million in grants before the WHL franchise was sold over the summer of 2007. And he was on the committee that backed the 2010 World Masters athletics championship that was in Kamloops.
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There are a couple of comments posted on the blog after yesteday’s comment about Game 1 of the Stanley Cup not being televised by Seattle’s NBC outlet.
A couple of hockey fans — and friends — from the Seattle area also emailed me to point out that it really isn’t a big deal.
“KING5, the NBC affiliate, never shows prime-time NHL games,” noted one fan. “Because they would rather show the news.
“So they have a sister station, KONG, which they move the game to. KING is channel 5, KONG is channel 6.
“The problem used to be that Comcast didn’t carry KONG in HD. But they have added to it.
“But, as I always point out . . . Anyone with basic Comcast cable still gets CBUT on channel  99. And if they have Comcast HD, they get the HD feed. And who the heck would want to watch NBC when you can have CBC.”
The second fan wrote:
“No big deal here – Everyone watches HNIC anyway. Can’t miss Coaches Corner.”
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Chris Rumble, a defenceman with the NAHL’s Wenatchee, Wash., Wild, is working on a 90-minute documentary that should be worth a watch. He spent the 2010-11 season getting video and audio — he even had referees mic’d up in four gmes — for the doc that he is editing more than 80 hours of video right now. The hopes to have two shows — one PG, the other uncensored — ready in August.
Corey Voegele of the Wenatchee World has the story right here.
By the way, Rumble is the son of former NHL D Darren Rumble, who spent last season on the coaching staff of the QMJHL’s Lewiston Maineiacs. That franchise, of course, folded earlier this week, meaning Rumble is available. He was shortlisted for a couple of QMJHL head-coaching spots and has been in contact with at least one WHL team.
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The Saskatoon Blades and Credit Union Centre have agreed in principle on a three-year lease. Why just three years? Cory Wolfe of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix has that story right here.
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THE COACHING GAME: The SJHL’s La Ronge Ice Wolves have signed GM/head coach Bob Beatty to a five-year contract extension. Beatty has completed seven seasons as the Ice Wolves’ head coach. They have won the last two SJHL championships. . . . I mentioned here yesterday that Wes Werhun, a new assistant coach with the AJHL’s St. Albert Steel, had been with the midget AAA St. Albert Raiders. It turns out he was with the St. Albert Merchances of the Capital Junior B league. Thanks to the sharp-eyed reader for the note on that one. . . . The BCHL’s Langley Rivermen have hired Steve O’Rourke, 36, as their general manager and head coach. He had been an assistant coach with the AHL’s Abbotsford Heat for two seasons. Assistant coaches will be Bobby Henderson, a son of co-owner Roy Henderson, and Jordan Emmerson. Bobby Henderson, who was on the coaching staff of the junior B Mission, B.C., Ice Breakes last season, played with the BCHL’s Chilliwack Chief before attending the U of Nebraska-Omaha. Emmerson, who is form Abbotsford, played for hte BCHL’s Penticton Panthers before going on to the U of Alaska-Fairbanks.
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Four of the 16 goaltenders invited to Hockey Canada’s sixth annual goaltending camp are from the WHL. Tyler Bunz (Medicine Hat), Calvin Pickard (Seattle) and Kent Simpson (Everett) are among the 10 who will attend the under-20 camp, while Chris Driedger (Tri-City) is on the under-18 list. . . . If you’re at the U-20 camp, you are at least on the radar of the Canadian national junior team’s scouting staff. . . . The camp is scheduled fro the Norma Bush Arena in Calgary, June 9-12. . . . F Taylor Stefishen, who had 67 points in 68 regular-season games with the Prince George Cougars last season, had his NHL rights traded on Thursday. Stefishen, who played two seasons at Ohio State before joining the Cougars for his 20-year-old season, was a fifth-round selection by the Nashville Predators in the 2008 NHL draft. On Thursday, the Preds dealt him to the Washington Capitals for a conditional seventh-round pick in the 2013 draft. Nashville gets the pick if Stefishen appears on the Capitals’ reserve list during either of the next two seasons.

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