Raiders show profit for 2015-16 . . . Wheaties get their GM . . . Ice adds coach . . . Veteran scouts on move

F Ned Lukacevic (Spokane, Swift Current, 2001-06) has signed a one-year contract with Katowice (Poland, PHL). Last season, with the Coventry Blaze (England, UK Elite), he had four goals and nine assists in 21 games. He also had nine goals and 12 assists in 25 games with the Edinburgh Capitals (Scotland, UK Elite). . . .
D Kirill Vorobyev (Portland, 2012-13) has been assigned by CSKA Moscow (KHL, Russia) to Zvezda Chekhov (Russia, Vysshaya Liga). Last season, with CSKA Moscow, he had three assists in 28 games. He also had two goals and six assists in 16 games with Zvezda Chekhov . He had one assist in two games with Krasnaya Armiya Moscow (Russia, MHL). MHL (Molodezhnaya Liga) is Russia's top junior league.
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It isn’t much, but it’s a profit, and that’s important to the community-owned teams in the WHL. The Prince Albert Raiders held their annual meeting on Monday and reported a profit of $3,892 for the 2015-16 season. . . . The Raiders showed a profit despite that fact that their attendance dropped 62 fans per game from 2014-15, when the franchise reported a loss of $61,365. In 2015-16, the Raiders averaged 2,369 fans per game. . . . The Raiders definitely would appear to be headed in the right direction; after all, they reported a loss of more than $262,000 for the 2013-14 season.
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The Brandon Wheat Kings, the WHL’s defending champions, announced Tuesday that they have signed Grant Armstrong as their general manager. He replaces Kelly McCrimmon, the franchise’s owner and governor, who is joining the NHL’s Las Vegas franchise as assistant general manager. McCrimmon had been the GM since 1989, when he took over from Bill Shinske. . . . Guy Flaming of The Pipeline Show was the first to suggest that Armstrong could be headed to the Wheat Kings. . . . “I think it’s time,” Armstrong told Taking Note. “Hopefully, we’ll provide Kelly with a team he’s going to be proud of.” . . . . Armstrong, 54, from North Vancouver, had been with the Victoria Royals for four seasons, the past two as assistant GM, player personnel. Before that, he was the director of player personnel for two seasons. . . . Prior to that, Armstrong spent four seasons as the Portland Winterhawks’ head scout. . . . He has been a familiar face in Lower Mainland hockey circles, having coached the junior B North Delta Devils, while serving as the North Vancouver Minor Hockey Association’s director of hockey operations. He also has been involved with the North Delta Minor Hockey Association as a coach and development co-ordinator. He was honoured with the Pacific Coast Amateur Hockey Association’s Coaching Development Award in 2003. . . . The Wheat Kings also announced that Mick McCrimmon, 30, will be the team’s assistant GM. McCrimmon, Kelly’s son, has a law degree, and will assist in hockey and business operations.
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The Kootenay Ice has signed Roman Vopat as an assistant coach. He spent the previous two seasons as an assistant coach with the Prince George Cougars. . . . Vopat played two seasons in the WHL, with the Moose Jaw Warriors and Prince Albert Raiders, before going on to a 16-year professional career that included 133 NHL games. A native of Litvinov, Czech Republic, Vopat and his family reside in Cranbrook. . . . With the Ice, he’ll join head coach Luke Pierce and fellow assistant Gordon Burnett behind the bench.
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With WHL training camps about to open, or in some cases having already started, Alan Caldwell has come through again. His annual numbers-filled look at WHL teams and their prospects is right here.
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Vaughn Karpan, a native of The Pas, Man., has joined the NHL’s Las Vegas franchise as its director of player personnel. He had been with the Montreal Canadiens since 2005, most recently as director of pro scouting. He also worked with the Winnipeg Jets/Phoenix Coyotes for 13 years, five as director of amateur scouting. . . . Karpan played for Canada’s national men’s team (1983-88), playing in two Olympic Winter Games. He captained the U of Manitoba Bisons while playing there and also played one season (1979-80) with the Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . Las Vegas also confirmed something that was reported here yesterday — former Prince Albert Raiders general manager Bruno Campese has been hired as an amateur scout.
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Bruce Franklin, a longtime scout with the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks, has moved to the Anaheim Ducks to fill the new position of director of player evaluation. Franklin spent 23 years with Chicago, the last six as chief amateur scout. . . . He cut his scouting teeth in the WHL, where he was part of two Memorial Cup champions. He was a scout with the 1984-85 Prince Albert Raiders and the director of player personnel with the 1988-89 Swift Current Broncos.
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Scott Galbraith, a fan of the OHL’s London Knights, has filed a civil statement of claim asking for $100,000, including $80,000 for aggravated and punitive damages, after he says he purchased a game-used sweater but wasn’t given the one that he had bought. The suit also names the Canadian Hockey League and the Hockey Hall of Fame. . . . Robert Cribb of the Toronto Star has more right here.
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Got a tip or some information you feel could be useful to me, feel free to email me at greggdrinnan@gmail.com.
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Billy Keane is the new head coach of the MJHL’s Winnipeg Blues. He had been their assistant coach, so steps up to fill the spot created when Don MacGillivray joined the Brandon Wheat Kings as an assistant coach. . . . McGillivray had been the GM/head coach of the Blues for seven seasons. . . . Keane had been an assistant coach with the Blues for three seasons. He played for them for two seasons (1982-84). . . . Tim Schick will be the Blues’ director of hockey operations and head scout, with Wayne Bartley on board as assistant coach. . . . Keane is the brother of former NHL/WHL F Mike Keane.
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Often when I look at the list of trending topics on Twitter I am overwhelmed by a sense of dread for our species.

— Guy Flaming (@TPS_Guy) August 24, 2016

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Hurricanes, Ice swap forwards . . . Broncos sign one, release two

F Jesse Zaharichuk wanted out of Cranbrook, so the Kootenay Ice accommodated him. On Monday, the Ice dealt the 19-year-old to the Lethbridge Hurrianes for F Barrett Sheen, who will turn 18 on Sept. 20. . . . Zaharichuk, from Sherwood Park, Alta., played one-plus seasons with the Kamloops Blazers before being dealt to the Ice last season. He had eight goals and 20 assists in 43 games with the Ice, after totalling seven goals and 21 assists in 65 games over two seasons with Kamloops. . . . Sheen, from Airdrie, Alta., had four goals and eight assists in 46 games as a freshman with the Hurricanes last season. He is a cousin to former Hurricanes F Riley Sheen. . . . The Hurricanes get some skill with the 5-foot-8, 155-pound Zaharichuk, but give up size in trading away the 6-foot-3, 210-pound Barrett Sheen.

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The Swift Current Broncos signed F Quinton Waitzner to a WHL contract on Monday, while revealing that two veterans — F Austin Adamson, 20, and D Mark Taraschuk, 19 — have been

released. . . . Waitzner, from Victoria, was a ninth-round selection in the 2015 bantam draft. Last season, he had eight goals and nine assists in 18 games with Shawnigan Lake School’s varsity team in the Canadian Sports School Varsity Hockey League. He added a goal and two assists in four playoff games, and also had one assist in nine games with the school’s prep team in the CSSHL. . . . Adamson, from Richmond, B.C., had a goal and four assists in 23 games with the Broncos after being acquired from the Red Deer Rebels in January. He also has played with the Saskatoon Blades. In 134 regular-season games, he has eight goals and 12 assists. . . . Taraschuk, from Winnipeg, came over from the Brandon Wheat Kings in November, then left the Broncos for what the team said was “personal reasons” in February. He had one goal in 19 games with Swift Current. He was a sixth-round pick by the Wheat Kings in the 2012 bantam draft. In 50 games over two seasons with Brandon, he had 10 assists.

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Bruno Campese, the former general manager of the Prince Albert Raiders, is joining the NHL expansion franchise in Las Vegas, a source told Taking Note on Monday. . . . Campese, 53, was in Prince Albert for eight seasons (2007-15). He was the head coach for four-plus seasons and the general manager for seven seasons. . . . Last season, he was the head coach of the bantam prep team at the Okanagan Hockey Academy in Penticton. He also scouted for the Kelowna Rockets. . . . A goaltender in his playing days, Campese played one season (1982-83) with the Portland Winterhawks and the next with the Kelowna Wings.

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It was mentioned here yesterday that the U of Alberta Golden Bears were welcoming D Ben Carroll, from the Edmonton Oil Kings, to the fold, and that they may yet end up with D Ryan Rehill (Kamloops Blazers), F Luke Philp (Kootenay Ice, Red Deer Rebels), F Tyson Baillie (Kelowna Rockets) and D Jason Fram (Spokane Chiefs), all of whom will first attend pro camps. . . . It should be mentioned that the Golden Bears also have ex-WHL forwards Cole Linaker (Kelowna), Taylor Cooper (Brandon Wheat Kings, Lethbridge Hurricanes, Regina Pats) and Todd Fiddler (Medicine Hat Tigers, Prince Albert Raiders, Spokane, Moose Jaw Warriors, Prince George Cougars) coming in, and they may yet land F Trevor Cox (Medicine Hat, Vancouver Giants). Fiddler counted 92 goals in his last two WHL seasons before dipping his toes into the ECHL last season. As well, D Graeme Craig (Swift Current Broncos, Saskatoon Blades, Prince Albert) will play after red-shirting. . . . The Golden Bears didn’t win the CIS championship last season. Perhaps they took it personally!

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Scott Galbraith, who collects game-worn sweaters, paid $3,510 for a game-worn sweater. But he says he didn’t get what he paid for and apparently is threatening to sue the OHL’s London Knights. For their part, the Knights say they have done nothing wrong. . . . Ryan Pyette of the London Free Press has more right here.

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Rockets, Generals in Memorial Cup final . . . Hockey Canada honours Tuer . . . Campese back coaching

F Adam Hughesman (Tri-City, 2006-12) signed a one-year contract with Sterzing/Vipiteno (Italy, Serie A). This season, with the Reading Royals (ECHL), he had 23 goals and 44 assists in 69 ghames. He also had one goal in three games with the Manchester Monarchs (AHL). Hughesman led Reading in assists and was second in points. . . .
F Brad Ross (Portland, 2007-12) signed a one-year-plus-option contract with the Iserlohn Roosters (Germany, DEL). This season, he had four goals and four assists in 32 games with the Toronto Marlies (AHL) and five goals and six assists in 32 games with the Orlando Solar Bears (ECHL). . . .
D Rod Sarich (Calgary, 1996-2002) signed a one-year extension with the Sheffield Steelers (England, UK Elite). This season, he had three goals and seven assists in 60 games. Sarich has dual Canadian-UK citizenship. Next season will be his 10th season with Sheffield. He has played 507 games with the Steelers, fifth on their all-time list.
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The WHL-champion Kelowna Rockets advanced to the Memorial Cup final by thrashing the host Quebec Remparts 9-3 before 9,870 fans on Friday night. . . . The Remparts were playing their third game in three nights and it showed. This also was their final game in the historic Colisee, as they will move into the brand new Videotron Centre next season. . . . The Rockets and OHL-champion Oshawa Generals will play Sunday

evening for the major junior championship. . . . The Generals went 3-0 in the round-robin to earn a bye into the final. The Rockets were 1-2 in the round-robin, including a 2-1 loss to Oshawa on Tuesday. . . . The Generals haven’t played since that game. . . . The QMJHL, the host league, won’t be represented in the final. This will be the first time that has happened since 2009 when the final, in Rimouski, Que., featured the Rockets and the Windsor Spitfires. That was the Rockets’ last Memorial Cup appearance. The Spitfires won that one, 4-1. . . . Oshawa head coach DJ Smith was on Windsor’s coaching staff at the time. . . . Last night, the Rockets got two goals and two assists from F Justin Kirkland, with F Leon Draisaitl and D Josh Morrissey each getting a goal and two assists. . . . Kelowna F Rourke Chartier scored twice. . . . F Adam Erne gave Quebec a 1-0 lead at 3:11 of the first period, with Kelowna F Chance Braid tying it at 9:51. . . . Kelowna took control with four second-period goals, the first three coming in a span of 3:49 in the first 4:06. . . . Kelowna G Jackson Whistle stopped 20 shots, while Quebec’s Zach Fucale, who turned 20 on Thursday, turned aside 35. . . . The Rockets were 3-for-6 on the PP; the Remparts were 1-for-7. . . . The referees were Jonathan Alarie and Olivier Gouin, both from the QMJHL. In fact, they were the referees on Wednesday when the Remparts dropped a 4-0 decision to the Rimouski Oceanic. After that game, Quebec head coach Phillippe Boucher ripped the officiating and later was fined $10,000. . . . The Rockets were 51-for-82 on faceoffs, with Draisaitl going 16-for-26. . . . Ryan Kennedy of The Hockey News has more on the game right here, and it included quite a trash-throwing incident involving the fans.
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Here is the Memorial Cup schedule (all games on Sportsnet; all times Eastern):
Friday, May 22: Kelowna 3 vs. Quebec 4 (9,497)
Saturday, May 23: Rimouski 3 vs. Oshawa 4 (8,409)
Sunday, May 24: Quebec 4 vs. Oshawa 5 (OT) (10,970)
Monday, May 25: Rimouski 3 vs. Kelowna 7 (6,981)
Tuesday, May 26: Oshawa 2 vs. Kelowna 1 (7,002)
Wednesday, May 27: Quebec 0 vs. Rimouski 4 (10,277)
Thursday, May 28 (tiebreaker): Quebec 5 vs. Rimouski 2 (6,533)
Friday, May 29 (semifinal): Kelowna 9 vs. Quebec 3 (9,870)
Sunday (championship): Oshawa vs. Kelowna, 7 p.m.
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Luke Pierce, who signed with the Kootenay Ice earlier in the week, is the youngest head coach in the WHL, and it isn’t even close.
Keeping in mind that the Lethbridge Hurricanes and Vancouver Giants have yet to sign head coaches, here’s a look at the ages of the league’s head guys, from youngest to oldest:
Luke Pierce, Kootenay Ice, 31
Steve Hamilton, Edmonton Oil Kings, 41
Mike Williamson, Tri-City Americans, 42
Steve Konowalchuk, Seattle Thunderbirds, 42
Mark French, Calgary Hitmen, 44
Dan Lambert, Kelowna Rockets, 45
Mark Holick, Prince George Cougars, 46
Shaun Clouston, Medicine Hat Tigers, 47
Bob Woods, Saskatoon Blades, 47
Jamie Kompon, Portland Winterhawks, 48
Dave Lowry, Victoria Royals, 50
Mark Lamb, Swift Current Broncos, 50
Marc Habscheid, Prince Albert Raiders, 52
Brent Sutter, Red Deer Rebels, 52
Kelly McCrimmon, Brandon Wheat Kings, 54
Tim Hunter, Moose Jaw Warriors, 54
Don Nachbaur, Spokane Chiefs, 56
Kevin Constantine, Everett Silvertips, 56
John Paddock, Regina Pats, 60
Don Hay, Kamloops Blazers, 61
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Graham Tuer, one of the really good guys in the hockey world, received an Order of Merit for dedicated service to the sport during Hockey Canada’s Spring Congress in Toronto on Friday. . . . Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post has more right here. . . . It’s also worth mentioning that Brad Howard of Regina, a longtime on-ice official and someone who continues to be involved with officiating, was presented with Hockey Canada’s Officiating Award for his contributions to that aspect of the game.
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The Moose Jaw Warriors are holding their prospects’ camp this weekend, and there are some familiar names on hand. . . . F Landon Quinney of Las Vegas, who has played in the Arizona Bobcats program, is the son of former Calgary Wranglers F Ken Quinney and the brother of Gage, a forward with the Kelowna Rockets. . . . Also in camp, reports Matthew Gourlie of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald, is F Erik Middendorf, who was a fourth-round selection in the 2015 bantam draft. From Phoenix, he is the nephew of F Max Middendorf, who played in the QMJHL and NHL. . . . The Warriors have put some added emphasis on their American scouting of late. Former Lethbridge Hurricanes GM Bob Bartlett is Moose Jaw’s senior scout and manager of U.S. scouting and player development.
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Here’s Jeb Lund, for Rolling Stone, on the biggest story in sports this year: “FIFA is so grandiosely historically corrupt that busting them for this, finally, feels like ignoring reports on Jeffrey Dahmer for years and then raiding his kitchen for health-code violations.” . . . This excellent piece is right here.
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THE COACHING GAME:

Bruno Campese, the former general manager of the Prince Albert Raiders, has been named head coach of the Penticton, B.C.-based Okanagan Hockey Academy’s bantam prep team. . . . Campese, 51, spent eight seasons with the Raiders, beginning as head coach. He coached until 2011 and was the general manager from 2008-15. . . . Before joining the Raiders, Campese spent three seasons as director of hockey operations and head coach with the BCHL’s Penticton Vees.
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Brian Wiebe tweeted Friday that the BCHL’s Merritt Centennials have promoted Joe Martin, their assistant general manager and assistant coach, to GM and head coach. He takes over from Luke Pierce, who signed on as the Kootenay Ice’s head coach earlier in the week. . . . Pierce had been with the Centennials for six seasons. . . . Martin has been with the Centennials since May 27, 2011. He had been GM/head coach of the junior B Creston Valley Thundercats of the Kootenay International Junior League. . . . Wiebe, by the way, has been named assistant GM of the junior B Port Moody Panthers. He already was their director of media and communications.
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Fred Harbinson, the general manager and head coach of the BCHL’s Penticton Vees, has decided to stay put. Andy Baggot of the Wisconsin State Journal has reported that Mike Eaves, the head coach of the U of Wisconsin Badgers, offered Harbinson an assistant-coaching position. Harbinson told Baggot he had multiple conversations with Eaves and received a “very strong” offer. . . . Harbinson chose to remain in Penticton because “it’s better for me and my family to stay put.”
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The Tri-City Americans have signed F Carson Focht, the seventh overall selection in the WHL’s 2015 bantam draft. The 6-foot-0, 150-pound Focht, from Regina, played with the Notre Dame Hounds of Wilcox, Sask. He led the bantam league in scoring, with 70 points, including 39 goals, in 38 games. . . .
In the AHL, the host Grand Rapids Griffins earned a 3-2 OT victory over the Utica Comets before 8,967 fans on Friday night. That tied the Western Conference final 2-2 with Game 5 in Grand Rapids on Sunday. . . . F Andreas Athanasiou got the winner last night, at 5:05 of the first extra period. . . .
The NHL’s Montreal Canadiens no longer are affiliated with the ECHL’s Wheeling Thunder. Instead, Montreal’s ECHL affiliate will be the Brampton, Ont., Beast. . . . The Beast will play in the 5,000-seat Powerade Centre, the former home of the OHL’s Brampton Battalion.
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@sask_hockey Our own Graham Tuer and his granddaughter & #puckster @HockeyCanada awards gala. #hockeyproud pic.twitter.com/9gdl0Ykfnn

— Scott Frizzell (@ScottFrizz) May 29, 2015

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Raiders looking for GM . . . Hurricanes, Thunderbirds swap veterans . . . Unhappiness in The Hat

KHL news . . . some old . . . some new . . .
The Associated Press reported April 9 that Sochi hadn’t paid its players since January, but promised that they would be paid in full by the end of April. That didn't happened so the players have filed suit in Russian court to get their money. League rules require teams to resolve all debts to players by May 31 if they wish to continue in the league in the following season.
This AP report also noted there were Russian media reports that put at least five teams at risk of withdrawing from the KHL for financial reasons. The AP named Slovan Bratislava, Atlant Mytischi and Admiral Vladivostok as three of the five.
While Slovan Bratislava hasn’t officially left the KHL, it has applied to rejoin Slovakia's Extraliga.
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From the April 30 edition of the online Russian website Sport-Express (it has been all World Championship since then):
1) Valery Kamensky, president of Atlant Mytischi, said that from May 1 all members of the team would be dismissed. According to him, the future of the club is unknown. "Today is the last day for all staff of Atlant. From 1 May, they will be fired,” Kamensky said."With regard to the future of the club, for the moment I have nothing to say. There is no news. We are planning that the youth team will continue to serve in the region and the Youth Academy also continues." On April 28, Atlant GM Alexi Zhamnov confirmed that Atlant has transferred the rights to 10 players to SKA St. Petersburg as compensation for money SKA gave to Atlant earlier in the season so that Atlant could finish the season.
2) Alexander Pavlinov, vice-president of Amur Khabarovsk, admitted that the club had sent a request for deferral of the KHL deadline to provide financial guarantees for the coming season. It was reported earlier that difficulties arose with the co-operation necessary for confirmation in the documents. "We have appealed to the leadership of the league for an extension of the deadlines for submission of documents,” Pavlinov said. "A technical hitch, so we still need time. Asked to extend until the end of May and we are waiting for a response.”
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Slava Malamud, who is a Washington, D.C., area correspondent for the Russian media outlet Sport-Express, tweeted last month that SKA St. Petersburg players were each paid a US$800,000 bonus for reaching the KHL final. SKA won the league championship so one can only imagine what kind of bonus the players got for that. How this falls under the KHL salary cap is unknown.
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The 2015-16 KHL regular season is scheduled to open on Aug. 24. The league had announced during this season that it plans to align the schedule more closely to the needs of the Russian national team. As such, Russian Hockey Federation president Vladislav Tretiak has said that the KHL won’t adjust its schedule to fit in with the proposed NHL/NHLPA World Cup in 2016. If this holds, there won’t be any KHL players available to play in the World Cup.
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It wasn’t a surprise when the Prince Albert Raiders announced Friday that general manager Bruno Campese won’t be returning.
It had been rumoured for a while now that Campese wasn’t likely to be back, that he was wanting to return to West Kelowna, B.C., for family reasons.
The Raiders and Campese, 51, said that the decision to part company was mutual, and that the Raiders

BRUNO CAMPESE

wouldn’t be exercising their option on his contract.
“There’s no doubt that I would’ve loved to come back,” Campese told Brett Smith of the Prince Albert Daily Herald.“I love my job and I love the people I work with but, at the end of the day, it’s been a family decision to move back home. I’m good with it, my family’s good with it and I think when I look at it perspectively from the Raiders’ point of view, and I had mentioned this to our executive board, that the right time to do this is now.”
If there had been any doubt that this would happen, it likely was erased on April 21 when the Raiders announced that head coach Marc Habscheid had been signed to a four-year contract. At that time, nothing was said about Campese’s future.
As well, nothing definitive was said earlier this week when the Raiders announced they had re-signed associate coach Dave Manson to a four-year deal and assistant coach Kelly Guard to a one-year contract.
Raiders president Dale McFee plans on having a new GM in place in short order. The way McFee sounds, Habscheid, who was GM/head coach with the Chilliwack Bruins/Victoria Royals, isn’t a candidate.
“Marc is a qualified candidate, but I think we’ve been through that experience once already,” McFee told Smith. “We had a coach/GM and it didn’t work.
“We feel the ultimate model for Prince Albert is one where we have a coach and a general manager that are separate and that we actually can focus in and make sure that obviously our business product, being a community-owned team, is aligned with our on-ice product and that’s not something we feel we want to give up on.”
Of course, if it isn’t Habscheid, the next GM will be brought in knowing full well that he won’t have any of his hires on the coaching staff. And how often does that work out?
Campese, who will work with the Raiders until a replacement is named, spent eight seasons with the Raiders. He was hired as the head coach prior to 2007-08 and was also the GM before that season ended. In 2011, he stepped aside as head coach and has been strictly the GM since that time.
The Raiders had their struggles on the ice, making the playoffs in three of Campese’s eight seasons in Prince Albert. However, they did make the playoffs in the two seasons prior to this one, and it’s fair to say that things looked pretty good a year ago.
In fact, I think it’s fair to say that he and the Raiders deserved a better fate than not making the playoffs this season.
After going 35-32-5 in 2013-14 and suffering a second-straight first-round exit, the Raiders and their fans looked forward to this season, knowing they would have two of the WHL’s premier players — D Josh Morrissey and F Leon Draisaitl — on their roster. However, Draisaitl, the third-overall pick in the NHL’s 2014 draft, opened the season with the Edmonton Oilers, who later refused to return him to the Raiders. The Oilers told the Raiders that if Draisaitl was to return to the WHL he would only play with the Kelowna Rockets. (Bruce Hamilton, the Rockets’ president and GM, is tight with a number of people in the Oilers’ organization, which made the optics even worse.)
Faced with that news, Campese was forced to try and cut his losses, so Morrissey and Draisaitl both ended up with the Rockets.
Kelowna won the WHL championship on Wednesday night; two days later, Campese announced that he was done.
Now that he’s available, perhaps the Oilers need an assistant GM.
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The Lethbridge Hurricanes have traded F Jamal Watson, their captain, to the Seattle Thunderbirds for F Cory Millette and a 2016 fifth-round bantam draft pick.
Both players are preparing for their 20-year-old seasons.
Watson, from Calgary, is coming off a career season. He had 56 points, including 26 goals, as he set career highs in all three major offensive categories. He was named team captain prior to what was his fourth season in Lethbridge. In those four seasons, he had 148 points, 69 of them goals, in 270 games. Only six players in franchise history played more games.
Millette, from Storthoaks, Sask., split last season between the Thunderbirds, Prince Albert Raiders and Saskatoon Blades. In 71 games, he had 47 points, including 24 goals. He also has played with the Red Deer Rebels. In 238 career games, he has 121 points, 60 of them goals.
Millette is the lone 20-year-old on the Hurricanes’ roster.
The Thunderbirds’ roster also includes two 20-year-old defencemen — Jared Hauf and Jerret Smith.
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Things are turning nasty in Medicine Hat where the Tigers don’t yet have a lease to play in the Regional Event Centre, a $75-million facility that is to open in time for next season. . . . Collin Gallant of the Medicine Hat News has more right here.
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If you have ever wondered what it costs to operate a facility like the Medicine Hat Arena, Alex McCuaig of the Medicine Hat News has a chart right here that shows how that facility lost $1,866,827, not including administration costs, over the past six years.
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The Thrill Is Gone, bluesman B.B. King having died on Thursday evening. He was one of a kind and there will never be another. . . . Right here, Rolling Stone takes a look at his 10 greatest songs. Enjoy!
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Tim Weiner has The New York Times’ obituary on B.B. King right here. Just in case you don’t know what B.B. means . . .
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THE COACHING GAME:

While the Prince Albert Raiders may be reluctant to have one person as the general manager and head coach, that isn’t the case with the OHL’s Ottawa 67’s. On Friday, they announced that head coach Jeff Brown, 49, a former NHL defenceman, also will be the GM. He is coming off his first season as head coach, one in which he guided the 67’s into the playoffs for the first time in three seasons. They were 38-25-5 in the regular season. . . . Brown takes over from Pat Higgins, who resigned after the season and now is Ottawa’s head scout.
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McDavid and his dad once the media scrum ended. pic.twitter.com/OoD9Aupu7j

— Steve Dangle Glynn (@Steve_Dangle) May 16, 2015

In the OHL, the Oshawa Generals beat the visiting Erie Otters 6-2 to win the championship final, 4-1, before 6,125 fans. . . . Oshawa F Cole Cassels had four assists as the Generals won their first OHL championship since 1997. . . . Erie F Connor McDavid was selected as the playoff MVP. It was only the second time that a player from a non-championship team won the award, the other being D Marc Staal with the Sudbury Wolves in 2007. . . . McDavid was held pointless in what likely was the final game of his junior career. He led the OHL playoffs in goals (21), assists (28) and points (49), all in 20 games. He finished 18 points ahead of Cassels and Oshawa F Michael Dal Colle. . . .

In the QMJHL, the visiting Quebec Remparts beat the Rimouski Oceanic 3-2 in OT to take a 3-2 lead in the championship final. . . . F Massimo Carozza’s fourth goal of the playoffs won the game 10 seconds into the first OT period. . . . Attendance was 4,732. . . . Game 6 is scheduled for Sunday afternoon in Quebec City. . . . With the Remparts the host team for the Memorial Cup, both teams will play in the tournament.
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I get that Babcock is a good coach... But who really cares where he coaches, I don't pay to watch him behind the bench!#makeadecisionslready

— Drew Schoneck (@TCCoachShoe) May 16, 2015

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

Schmidli signs pro deal, so won't be back in Prince Albert

Let’s have a tip of the hat and a whole bunch of stick taps for Bruno Campese, the general manager of the Prince Albert Raiders.
There are a lot of junior hockey people who talk about doing things in the best interests of their

BRUNO CAMPESE

players, but you wonder how many of them would have done something that Campese did just the other day? Kris Schmidli, who is from Zurich, Switzerland, recently had a conversation with Campese. Schmidli, who is preparing for his 19-year-old season, had received a contract offer from a pro team in Zurich. Oh, what to do?
“He asked me what I thought,” Campese told Jeff D’Andrea of paNOW, “and I just told him that he’s not going to play in the National Hockey League . . . in his career, he’s going to be a European pro. He’s getting offered a decent contract for his first year of pro and I just think (it’s) in his best interest to look at that option, which he has. We’re happy for him.”
After talking with Campese, Schmidli signed with the GCK Lions, a team that plays in his hometown of Zurich. The Lions play in Switzerland’s National League B.
Campese is to be saluted for his honesty.

Because while Schmidli, who is 5-foot-10 and 180 pounds, may never play in the NHL, he would have been a key part of the Raiders in 2015-16.

KRIS SCHMIDLI

Campese acquired Schmidli as part of the deal in which F Leon Draisaitl, the German star, was sent to the Kelowna Rockets. That deal was forced on Campese because the Edmonton Oilers, who hold Draisaitl’s NHL rights, refused to return him to Prince Albert and let it be known that they wanted him in Kelowna.
Campese dealt Draisaitl, who had put up 105 points, including 38 goals, in 64 games in 2013-14. This season, in 32 regular-season games with the Rockets, Draisaitl had 53 points, 19 of them goals.
Along with Schmidli, Campese acquired D Dalton Yorke, who will be 19 next season, a 2015 first-round bantam draft pick, a fourth-round pick in 2016 and a conditional fourth-rounder in 2016 or 2017.
Injuries limited Schmidli to 17 games with the Raiders, but he was a point-a-game producer. He didn’t play between Feb. 4 and March 14 as the Raiders battled for their playoff lives, a fight they eventually lost.
All told, Schmidli put up 34 points, 12 of them goals, in 50 games this season. One season earlier, as a freshman, he had 35 points, nine of them goals, in 68 games with Kelowna.
You can bet that when the deal was made Campese saw Schmidli as a big part of next season’s team.
Instead, Campese will go into the CHL’s 2015 import draft with an opening.
The Raiders’ other import is Czech F Simon Stransky, who won’t turn 18 until Dec. 21. This season, as a freshman, Stransky had 42 points, 12 of them goals, in 70 games.
D’Andrea’s complete story is right here.

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