F Jordan Knackstedt (Red Deer, Moose Jaw, 2004-08) signed a one-year contract with Rubin Tyumen (Russia, Vysshaya Liga). Last season, with the Bakersfield Condors (ECHL), he had 41 points, 19 of them goals, in 69 games. He also was pointless in one game with the Abbotsford Heat (AHL).
---
Two weeks before opening training camp, the Regina Pats have unveiled their new structure. As Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post reported in Wednesday’s paper, John Paddock, who signed what the team calls a “multi-year contract,” is the new head coach and will have complete control of hockey operations as he also is the senior vice-president of hockey operations. . . . Chad Lang no longer is the general manager; instead, he is senior vice-president. . . . Lang, with one year left on his contract, told Harder: “I want the organization to have success. I want to surround myself with good people and ultimately it’s about the team. I’m born and raised in Regina. I grew up watching this team. It’s a big part of my family, it’s a big part of me. I’ve taken tremendous pride in what we’ve been able to accomplish in the short term that I’ve been here. I take great pride in the tradition of this organization and being a part of it. I’ve enjoyed every minute. That won’t change.” . . . In Thursday’s paper, Harder explains how the hiring process worked and explains how the new structure is supposed to work. . . . Once The Leader-Post updates its site, you’ll find two Harder stories right here.---
Last week, I put up a poll asking when you thought the Pats would announce a new head coach. The eight of you who picked Aug. 5 can take a bow, as you were the closest, missing it by only one day. But it was kind of neat that Oct. 1 was the leading selection. It’s good that some of you have a sense of humour.
---
The Kootenay Ice has hired Chris Wahl as its director of sales and public relations. Wahl takes over from Kaytee Wheaton, who left to join Royal LePage East Kootenay Realty. . . . Wahl spent the past three seasons in the BCHL, with the Trail Smoke Eaters (2011-13) and Surrey Eagles (2013-14). According to an Ice news release, Wahl “will be responsible for executing corporate sales agreements as well as building on the club’s foundation of communication strategies, both through traditional and new media.” . . . At the same time, Don MacMillan, who was with the Ice from 1998-2008, has returned as a part-time sales consultant. MacMillan is a bylaws officer with the City of Cranbrook.---
The Prince Albert Raiders have signed D Hunter Warner, who played last season with the USHL’s Fargo Force. Warner, who turns 19 on Sept. 21, had 12 points, two of them goals, and 125 penalty minutes in 43 games with the Force last season. The 6-foot-2, 200-pounder is from Eden Prairie, Minn., and was listed by the Raiders in 2012. . . . Andrew Schopp of the Prince Albert Daily Herald has more right here.---
It’s doubtful that any NFL owner, or perhaps any owner in pro sports today, is under as much fire as Dan Snyder of the Washington Redskins. Dan McKenna of Deadspin has a great piece right here that is headlined: How Dan Snyder Bought Off The D.C. Media. This is great stuff.
---
Well it's official, heading back to school this year #UofC #dinos #newcolors
— cain franson (@frannyy12) August 6, 2014
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.
F Ned Lukacevic (Spokane, Swift Current, 2001-06) has signed a one-year extension with the Fife Flyers (Scotland, UK Elite). Lukacevic started this season with Tohoku Free Blades Hachinohe (Japan, Asia HL), putting up seven points, two of them goals, in 10 games. . . . He signed with the Bakersfield Condors (ECHL) on Oct. 22 and was pointless in one game. He was claimed on waivers on Oct. 28 by the Reading Royals (ECHL) and scored twice in nine games. He signed with Fife on Dec. 14 and had 44 points, 15 of them goals in 34 games. . . . The Fife head coach is Todd Dutiaume (Brandon, 1991-94), who has been at Fife as a player, player-coach, or coach since 1998-99.
Suddenly, there are more names mentioned for the Vancouver Giants’ head-coaching vacancy than minority owner Michael Buble has songs in his repertoire. . . . News 1130 Sports tweeted early Thursday that Perry Pearn is “very high” on the list. “Coaching search not done,” the tweet read, “but Pearn emerging as leader.” . . . Earlier, News 1130 Sports had tweeted that Pearn, Marc Habscheid and Tim Hunter are “just some of the names who have applied” for the job. . . . Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province reports that the Giants “apparently” talked with former Portland Winterhawks head coach Travis Green, who is the head coach of the Utica Comets, the Vancouver Canucks’ AHL affiliate. According to Ewen, Green “told them that he wants to stay in the pro ranks.” . . . Ewen also reports that former Saskatoon Blades F Jason Christie, now the head coach with the ECHL’s Ontario Reign, “is said to be on the Giants’ radar,” as is Edmonton Oil Kings’ assistant coach Steve Hamilton. . . . I was told Thursday that the Saskatoon Blades, who are in need of a general manager and head coach, also are wanting to chat with Hamilton, who is kind of busy at the Memorial Cup these days. Hamilton is wrapping up his fourth season as an assistant with the Oil Kings. Of course, should Edmonton head coach Derek Laxdal move on after what has been another successful season, perhaps Hamilton would be in line for a promotion. When former GM Bob Green moved to the parent Edmonton Oilers, it was his assistant, Randy Hansch, who moved up, so there is at least some history in the organization of promoting from within.
Jay Wells has joined the OHL’s Saginaw Spirit as an assistant coach. Wells, a veteran of 18 seasons as an NHL defenceman, spent the last three seasons as an assistant coach with the OHL’s Barrie Colts. . . . Wells and Spirit head coach Greg Gilbert played together on the 1993-94 New York Rangers, who won the Stanley Cup. . . . The Spirit, which earlier added former NHLer Phil Myre as its goaltending coach, also announced that associate coach John Kisil is returning.
Head coach Brad Ralph and the ECHL’s Idaho Steelheads have reached agreement on a two-year contract extension that will take him through 2016-17. The 33-year-old Ralph, who also is director of hockey operations, has been with Idaho for two seasons, reaching the playoffs in both. The Steelheads got into the second round this season, after losing out in the Western Conference final a year ago.
In Brandon, F Jayce Hawryluk, who spent Wednesday and Thursday nights in hospital, had a goal and an assist as the Wheat Kings dumped the Regina Pats 5-1 to sweep a first-round series. . . . The Wheat Kings will meet the Eastern Conference-winning Edmonton Oil Kings in the second round. . . . Hawryluk scored three times and added an assist in Wednesday’s 5-4 victory, after which he experienced light-headedness and respiratory problems. He was taken to Brandon Regional Health Centre by ambulance and spent Thursday undergoing tests, all of which were negative. . . . Hawryluk’s line enjoyed another solid night Friday, as John Quenneville had two goals and an assist, and Jesse Gabrielle had one of each. . . . Brandon took a 2-0 lead into the second period, on goals by Gabrielle, his third, and F Richard Nejezchleb, his second. . . . Regina got on the board when F Morgan Klimchuk got his third of the series, this one on a PP, with 1.6 seconds left in the second period. . . . The Wheaties put it away with third-period goals by Hawryluk, his fifth in four games, F Ryley Lindgren and Quenneville, the latter on a PP. . . . Brandon was 1-for-7 on the PP; Regina was 1-for-3. . . . Brandon G Jordan Papirny stopped 28 shots, while Regina G Daniel Wapple turned aside 37. . . . F Peter Quenneville was back in Brandon’s lineup after a one-game absence. He was held pointless. . . . “I was able to recover and get some fluids and whatnot into me,” Hawryluk told Rob Henderson of the Brandon Sun. “I’m ready to play and I want to play. I want to be out here as much as anything . . . I want to be here and help the guys no matter what the situation. They’re my brothers and I just want to be here for them if I can.”
In Everett, F Jujhar Khaira scored three times as the Silvertips staved off elimination with a 6-1 victory over the Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . Seattle holds a 3-1 lead in the series as it returns to Kent, Wash., for Game 5 tonight. . . . Khaira, who scored his first three playoff goals, is coming off a regular-season in which he scored 16 times in 59 games. . . . Khaira opened the scoring at 1:27 of the first period as Everett scored first for the third straight game. . . . It was 2-0 just 1:05 later as F Josh Winquist added his first goal of the series, shorthanded. . . . F Brayden Low got his first goal of the series at 7:57 and Everett took a 3-0 lead into the second period. . . . Everett scored three times on its first six shots. . . . D Jared Hauf scored for Seattle at 18:22 of the second period. . . . Khaira put it away with two PP goals early in the third. . . . Everett G Austin Lotz made 17 saves. . . . Seattle starter Taran Kozun was beaten six times on 29 shots. Danny Mumaugh came on after Everett’s sixth goal, at 6:48 of the third, and stopped five shots. . . . Everett D Cole MacDonald left in the second period with an undisclosed injury and didn’t return. . . . F Jaimen Yakubowski was among Seattle’s scratches, as he served a one-game WHL suspension for a hit from behind on Everett D Noah Juulsen in Game 3. . . . Juulsen left Game 3 and didn’t return. He was scratched last night. . . . Everett had lost its previous nine home playoff games. . . . 
In Kelowna, F Marek Tvrdon scored twice to help the Rockets to a 4-1 victory over the Tri-City Americans. . . . The Rockets won the series, 4-1, and will meet the winner of the Seattle/Everett series in the second round. . . . The Americans, trailing 2-1, had a number of terrific scoring chances early in the third period but weren’t able to beat Kelowna G Jordon Cooke, who finished with 29 saves. . . . Tvrdon relieved the pressure with a PP goal, his fourth of the series, at 13:24. . . . Kelowna F Rourke Chartier iced it at 14:40 with his third goal in five games. . . . F Carter Rigby, at 6:56 of the first, and Tvrdon, at 13:05 of the second, had given Kelowna a 2-0 lead. . . . Americans F Parker Bowles got his first goal of the series, at 17:42 of the second, on a PP. . . . F Nick Merkley had two assists for Kelowna. . . . The Rockets were 1-for-2 on the PP; the Americans were 1-for-4. . . . Kelowna was without F Myles Bell, its leading regular-season scorer, with 77 points, including a team-high 42 goals. He was in the crowd, with crutches, after being injured in a Game 4 collision with Tri-City F Beau McCue. . . . Tri-City G Eric Comrie stopped 34 shots. He is expected to join the St. John’s IceCaps, the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Winnipeg Jets. Comrie was a second-round pick by the Jets in the NHL’s 2013 draft. . . . “This was (Tvrdon’s) best game,” Rockets head coach Ryan Huska told Doyle Potenteau of the Okanagan Saturday. “He seemed like he was engaged all night. And when you look at your older players, you need that from him. Tonight, we saw that, if not our best player, then him and (goalie Jordon Cooke). Our two 20-year-olds were our best guys on the ice.”
F Erik Christensen (Kamloops, Brandon, 1999-2004) has signed a two-year extension with HV71 Jönköping (Sweden, SHL). This season, Christensen had two points, one of them a goal, in 12 games with Lev Prague (Czech Republic, KHL). He was released on Oct. 17 and signed with HV71 on Oct. 22. There, he had 27 points, including 13 goals, in 38 games.
In Kent, Wash., F Roberts Lipsbergs scored in the fifth round of the shootout to give the Seattle Thunderbirds a 4-3 victory over the Vancouver Giants. . . . F Cain Franson, Vancouver’s first shooter, scored the first goal of the shootout. . . . D Shea Theodore, Seattle’s third shooter, tied it. . . . The Thunderbirds had taken a 3-1 lead into the third period. . . . Vancouver D Mason Geertsen scoed his fourth goal at 10:01, via the PP, and Franson tied it, with his 30th goal, just five seconds later. . . . Theodore had three assists for Seattle. . . . F Alexander Delnov scored his 28th goal for Seattle. . . . Vancouver G Payton Lee stopped 43 shots through OT, 11 more than Seattle’s Danny Mumaugh. . . . The Thunderbirds (40-22-6), who snapped a three-game losing skid, are fourth in the Western Conference, four points ahead of the Spokane Chiefs. Each team has four games remaining. . . . The Giants (31-27-11) lead the WHL in loser points. They are locked into seventh in the conference and almost certainly will face the Portland Winterhawks in a first-round playoff series.
F Gal Koren (Kelowna, 2010-11) has signed with Zvolen (Slovakia, Extraliga) for the rest of this season. He had one goal in 23 games with Medvescak Zagreb (Croatia, KHL) and eight points, four of them goals, in 15 games with Olimpija Ljubljana (Slovenia, Austria Erste Bank Liga) this season. . . .
F Richard Rapac (Moose Jaw, Prince George, 2006-07) has signed with Banska Bystrica (Slovakia, Extraliga) for the rest of this season. This season, with Litvonov (Czech Republic, Extraliga), he had two points in 17 games. He also was on loan to Most (Czech Republic, 1.Liga) and had two goals in six games.
In Kent, Wash., the Prince George Cougars erased an early 3-0 deficit and beat the Seattle Thunderbirds, 6-4. . . . Seattle scored three times in the game’s first 6:48. . . . Prince George F Jansen Harkins broke a 3-3 tie at 5:48 of the second period and drove Seattle G Danny Mumaugh to the bench having allowed four goals on 23 shots. The Cougars promptly scored on their first two shots on G Taran Kozun, who relieved Mumaugh. . . . F Zach Pochiro scored twice, giving him 26, and added an assist for the Cougars, while F Troy Bourke got his 25th goal and had two helpers. . . . Prince George F Todd Fiddler had his 39th goal and an assist. . . . Cougars G Ty Edmonds came on in relief with his side down 3-0 and stopped 39 of 40 shots. . . . F Jaimen Yakubowski scored twice for Seattle, giving him nine goals. . . . Prince George D Wil Tomchuk missed the early part of the game with skate problems so wasn’t on the ice for any of Seattle’s early goals. At game’s end, he had one assist and was plus-4. . . . The Cougars (25-29-8) are two points behind the Tri-City Americans, who hold down the Western Conference’s last playoff spot. . . . Seattle (37-18-5) is fourth, five points behind the Victoria Royals and eight in front of the Spokane Chiefs. . . . 
In Spokane, Chiefs F Mitch Holmberg became the WHL’s first 50-goal man this season in a 5-3 victory over the Everett Silvertips. . . . Holmberg scored twice, giving him 51, and added an assist. The three points also moved him to 100 on the season and put him into a tie with Portland Winterhawks F Nic Petan for the lead in the points derby. . . . Spokane and Portland each has 13 regular-season games remaining. . . . Holmberg has 136 regular-season career goals, 10 behind F Pat Falloon (1988-91), who holds the franchise record. . . . F Mike Aviani helped the Chiefs with his 32nd goal and two assists, while F Adam Helewka had three assists. . . . Helewka, an 18-year-old sophomore from Burnaby, B.C., has 42 points, including 20 goals, in 49 games. Last season, he finished with 27 points, 10 of them goals, in 60 games. . . . Everett F Josh Winquist got his 38th goal of the season. . . . G Carter Hart, 15, made his WHL debut by starting for the Silvertips. He stopped 20 shots. A native of Sherwood Park, Alta., Hart is wearing No. 70. . . . Spokane G Eric Williams turned aside 34 shots. . . . This was Spokane’s 18th straight home-ice victory over Everett. . . . The Chiefs (33-20-5) are fifth in the Western Conference. . . . Everett (28-22-8) is seventh, two points behind Vancouver and four ahead of Tri-City.
Posts
