Former WHLer David Rutherford tweeted this photo
after Game 1 of the ECHL final on Monday night.

When F David Rutherford played in the WHL (Vancouver, Spokane, 2005-08), he was known to play on the edge, and he didn’t mind running his mouth.
That mouth, as you can see by the above photo, is a little sore these days.
Rutherford, who plays for the Florida Everblades, was injured in Game 1 of the ECHL final against the host Las Vegas Wranglers on Monday. The Wranglers won that game, 2-1.
Rutherford lost five teeth at 2:28 of the second period. D Mike Madill of the Wranglers was given a double minor for high-sticking on the play, but the Everblades weren’t able to score on the PP.
Last night, despite the missing teeth, Rutherford had a goal and two assists as the Everblades evened the series with a 7-2 victory.
After Game 1, Rutherford (@Rutherford91) put the above photo on Twitter, along with a couple of tweets.
“Thanks for all the love @WheelsHockey!!! This shit doesn't happen in soccer ! Right back at it tomorrow!”
“Tough 1 tonight ! Right back @ it tomorrow! Who needs teeth in the playoffs too @FL_Everblades #QUESTFORKELLY&NewTeeth.”
And then there was this tweet from Stephanie Wilson (@StephW425):
“There's nothing like your bf sending you a pic of all his front teeth knocked out and saying ‘well it's playoffs’ #QUESTFORKELLY #stillhot”
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THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Casper Carning (Vancouver, 2010-11) signed a one-year contract with Bäcken Gothenburg (Sweden, Division 2). He had eight goals and 20 assists in 39 games for Kungälv (Sweden, Division 1) this season. . . .
F Bostjan Golicic (Calgary, 2007-09) signed a one-year contract with Briançon (France, Ligue Magnus). he had five goals and 10 assists in 38 games with Olimpija Ljubljana (Slovenia, Austria Erste Bank Liga) this season. . . .
F Jordan Krestanovich (Calgary, 1997-2001) signed a one-year contract extension with Braehead Clan Glasgow (Scotland, UK Elite). He had 29 goals and 40 assists in 50 games as captain of the Clan this season. . . .
F Mark Mieritz (Brandon, 2010-11) signed a one-year contract with Copenhagen Hockey (Denmark, AL-Bank Liga). He had two goals and two assists in 38 games for Esbjerg (Denmark, AL-Bank Liga) this season.
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THE COACHING GAME, Part 1:
Kelly McCrimmon, the owner and general manager of the Brandon Wheat Kings, announced Tuesday that head coach Cory Clouston won’t return for a second season. Clouston, who had been fired by the NHL’s Ottawa Senators after the 2011-12 season, signed a two-year deal with Brandon on Aug. 3.
"I have given a great deal of thought to our coaching situation for the upcoming season," McCrimmon said in a news release. "I do not want uncertainty with this important position and as a result have decided we will not have Cory return next season. He will perhaps have opportunities to coach professionally, failing that, we will honor the second year of his contract."
Clouston, 42, told Rob Henderson of the Brandon Sun: “I don’t think I expected it, but I definitely understand Kelly’s thinking. He feels the team is in a rebuilding mode for the next couple years and he told me he just doesn’t want to have the coaching position in limbo for the next two months. I have options.
“He doesn’t want me coming in early July, telling him I’m going to the American league or wherever it may be. I’m not saying that was going to happen, but he doesn’t want that as an option and I can understand his reasoning.”
The Wheat Kings finished sixth in the Eastern Conference (39-28-5) and got past the No. 3 Calgary Hitmen in the opening round of playoffs. Brandon was then swept by the eventual-champion Edmonton Oil Kings.
McCrimmon was Brandon’s head coach for the seven seasons prior to his decision to hire Clouston.
McCrimmon doesn’t have a list of potential coaches. When he puts one together, you have to wonder if his name will be on it?
Clouston played four seasons (1989-93) with the U of Alberta Golden Bears, who happen to be in the market for a head coach. In fact, the closing date for applications was yesterday. You have to think, however, that the Golden Bears’ job wouldn’t be Clouston’s first choice.
Evan Daum of the Edmonton Journal has more on the Golden Bears coaching situation right here.
Bruce Luebke, the veteran play-by-play man who calls Wheat Kings games on CKLQ, offers up his take right here and it’s rather evident that he feels Clouston wasn’t a good fit.
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THE COACHING GAME, Part 2:
Harvey Smyl, a veteran BCHL head coach, and the Chilliwack Chiefs finally got around to putting together a contract. The new deal covers the just completed season and two more, taking him through 2013-14. . . . “The contract is actually for three years, but the first year is already in the books,” said Chiefs president Glen Ringdal in a news conference. “We were so busy getting the organization set up last year we didn’t get around to such matters until late in the season.” . . . You may recall that Chilliwack became home to the Chiefs – they had been the Quesnel Millionaires – after the WHL allowed the sale and relocation of the Chilliwack Bruins to Victoria where the franchise now operates as the Royals. . . .
Leigh Mendelson has signed on as associate head coach with the USHL’s Omaha Lancers. He was an assistant with the Lancers in 2000-01 and against in 2007-08. The Lancers reached the Clark Cup championship in both of those seasons. In Omaha, he will work alongside GM/head coach Mike Aikens. Mendelson spent this season as an assistant coach with the ECHL’s Utah Grizzlies. Mendelson was an assistant coach with the Spokane Chiefs in 2008-09.
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JUST NOTES:
According to the Brandon Sun, the Wheat Kings are close to a new lease with the Keystone Centre. The parties are operating under the terms of a five-year extension that is the continuation of a lease first signed in 1997. It expires on May 31. . . .
D Wil Tomchuk, who turns 18 on Sept. 27, has signed with the Tri-City Americans. Tomchuk had six points and 55 penalty minutes as a freshman with the AJHL’s Fort McMurray Oil Barons this season. The 6-foot-2, 180-pounder is from Fort McMurray. He is represented by Turning Point Sports Management. . . .
The Americans also announced Monday that F Nathan MacMaster won’t be returning to Tri-City for his 20-year-old season. MacMaster, who was acquired from the Calgary Hitmen early this season, had 11 points and 41 penalty minutes in 55 games with the Americans. He was a second-round selection by the Moose Jaw Warriors in the 2007 bantam draft. “Nathan has earned a four-year scholarship from the WHL and will return to Calgary to begin his studies and continue with hockey,” Bob Tory, the Americans’ general manager, said in a news release. . . .
A year ago, brothers Max and Sam Reinhart played in the Memorial Cup with the WHL-champion Kootenay Ice. Now it’s the turn of their other brother, Griffin, who is a defenceman with the Edmonton Oil Kings who won the WHL title on Sunday night. Elliot Pap of the Vancouver Sun checks in with the Reinharts right here. . . .
The QMJHL’s Gatineau Olympiques are getting a new arena, one that will replace the Robert Guertin Arena. The province will cough up $26.5 million, as will the city of Gatineau, and the 4,000-seat facility, which will include 40 corporate boxes, should be ready for the start of the 2014-15 season. . . . Originally, Gatineau wanted to built a 5,000-seat arena that would cost $67 million. But those plans changed after the feds said they wouldn’t be tossing in any loose change. . . .
The keys to the Edmonton Oil Kings winning the WHL championship in only their fifth season of existence? General manager Bob Green tells Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal that it’s all about the bantam draft and being patient. That story is right here. . . .
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That video that Chris Rumble, the son of Seattle Thunderbirds assistant coach Darren Rumble, put together on the hemoncology floor of Seattle Children’s Hospital had received 1,834,214 views on YouTube as of late last night.
If you haven’t seen it yet – it features patients singing the Kelly Clarkson smash hit Stronger – it’s right here. . . . There’s also an extended look at what went on behind the scenes as well as a message from Kelly Clarkson to the patients at SCH.
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Justin Bourne — no, not that Bourne; he’s Jason — knows a bit about hockey. He’s from a hockey family and he played some puck. Right here, he writes about what a young player goes through as he chooses between the college route and the CHL. Bourne should know what he’s talking about, too, because he went through it.

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.

Is everyone going across the pond?

THE MacBETH REPORT:
D Daryl Boyle (Brandon, 2004-08) signed a one-year contract with the Augsburger Panther (Germany, DEL). He had one goal and four assists in five games with the Alaska Aces (ECHL) and one goal and four assists in 26 games with the Peoria Rivermen (AHL) last season. . . .
F Gasper Kopitar (Portland, 2009-11) signed a tryout contract with Södertälje J20 (Sweden, J20 SuperElit). He had one goal in two games with the Winterhawks and 12 goals and 12 assists in 55 games with Des Moines Buccaneers (USHL) last season. . . .
F Casper Carning (Vancouver, 2010-11) signed a one-year contract with Kungälv (Sweden, Division 1). He had two assists in six games with the GIants, 14 goals and 29 assists in 31 games with Frölunda J20 Gothenburg (Sweden, J20 SuperElit), no points in eight games with Frölunda Gothenburg (Sweden, Elitserien), and one goal and one assist in two games on loan with Kungälv last season. . . .
D Brent Sopel (Saskatoon, Swift Current, 1993-97) signed a two-year contract with Metallurg Novokuznetsk (Russia, KHL). He had two goals and five assists in 71 games with the Atlanta Thrashers and Montreal Canadiens last season. . . .
D Harlan Pratt (Seattle, Red Deer, Prince Albert, Regina, Portland, 1994-99) signed a one-year contract with Szekesfehervar (Hungary, Austria Erste Bank Liga). He had five assists in 40 games for Tingsryd (Sweden, Allsvenskan) last season. . . .
G Todd Ford (Swift Current, Prince George, Vancouver, 2000-04) signed a one-year contract with Heilbronner Falken (Germany, 2.Bundesliga). He had a 2.94 GAA and a .886 save percentage in 13 games with the Hershey Bears (AHL) and a 2.74 GAA and a .901 save percentage in 22 games with the South Carolina Stingrays (ECHL) last season.
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Former WHL scoring champion Brian Varga is the new GM of the Medicine Hat Minor Hockey Association. Varga, 50, played four WHL seasons (1978-82), the first three with the Regina Pats and the last one with the Medicine Hat Tigers. He won the 1981-82 scoring title, with 187 points. And, although his name is missing from the WHL Guide recap on 1981-82, he actually finished sixth that season, with 156 points. . . . Varga is a long-time Medicine Hat minor hockey coach and volunteer. "When they decided a long time ago to have a GM within minor hockey,” Varga told Darren Steinke of the Medicine Hat News, “I thought that maybe some day I could do that job. It has been on my mind for quite a while. . . . It is something where maybe I can give back to the community again too by being in that role."
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Chris Peters over at the United States of Hockey has taken a good look at the beating that NCAA hockey has taken over the last little while. If you missed it, a number of high-profile players who had committed to one school or another have de-committed and now are headed to OHL teams. What does it all mean? Check out Peters’ piece right here.
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THE COACHING GAME:
From the department of horrible timing comes news that the Mississippi RiverKings, who moved from the Central League to the Southern Professional league over the summer, fired head coach Paul Gardner on Thursday. He had taken over from Kevin Kaminski early in the 2010-11 season. "I was told that because of moving to the SPHL, they were going in a different direction," Gardner told Chris Van Tuyl of the Memphis Commercial Appeal. "Very shocked. The hardest thing about it is having to tell the kids, and the kids haven't stopped crying. That's the difficult part of the whole thing." . . . As for finding work in the coaching game at this late date, Gardner said: "I think that would be difficult. The majority of the coaches are hired now. I emailed my agent and that's exactly what he said, 'Why did they wait until now?' " . . .
Steve Chapman, the president of the ECHL’s Gwinnett Gladiators, has revealed that his search for a head coach is down to a shortlist that contains three names -- Leigh Mendelson, Steve Weeks and John Wroblewski. . . . Mendelson is a former Spokane Chiefs assistant coach. Last season, he was on staff with the ECHL’s Utah Grizzlies. . . . The Gladiators need a head coach to replace Jeff Pyle, now head coach of the AHL’s Texas Stars.
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Various reports — and I think TSN’s Farhan Lalji was first with it — have former NHLer Ryan Walter to be named president of the AHL’s Abbotsford Heat on Tuesday.
This is a rather interesting move.
Walter, you may recall, was dismissed as an assistant coach by the Vancouver Canucks after the 2009-10 season. He spent two seasons on the coaching staff. The Heat, which plays in Canucks’ territory in what is generically known as the Lower Mainland, is the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Calgary Flames.
The Flames have signed F Ben Walter, Ryan’s son, to a two-year contract and chances are he will start the season with the Heat.
Cam Tucker of the Abbotsford Times has more right here on the Heat, including a bit of news on the deficit the team ran last season, which the city and taxpayers have to cover.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
     
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
     
Taking Note on Twitter

Monday . . .

Some WHL teams have been working at shedding 20-year-old players, in order to get down to the maximum of three by the Oct. 14 deadline.
Not the Prince George Cougars.
They added F Sena Acolatse via the trade route on Sunday.
On Monday, the Cougars added F Taylor Stefishen to their roster.
Stefishen, a sixth-round pick in the 2005 bantam draft, played the last two seasons for the Ohio State Buckeyes, an NCAA Division 1 team.
A 6-foot-0, 185-pounder from North Vancouver, he had 21 points and 14 penalty minutes in 42 games with the Buckeyes.
The Nashville Predators selected him in the fifth round of the NHL’s 2008 draft. He is a younger brother to F Adam Stefishen, who had 20 points and 195 penalty minutes with the Cougars in 2000-01.
With Acolatse, who also can play on the back end, and Stefishen, the Cougars are carrying five 20-year-olds. The other three are G Morgan Clark, F James Dobrowolski and F Parker Stanfield.
The Cougars next play Wednesday when they face the Kootenay Ice in Cranbrook. It will be interesting to see who is in head coach Dean Clark’s lineup.
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Dallas Thompson, the Cougars’ general manager, apparently stops by this site on occasion.
You might recall a recent piece here wondering why the WHL didn’t go to four or five 20-year-olds, from the present maximum of three.
Asked late last night via email whether he had dropped any of his 20-year-olds, Thompson responded:
“What do you mean drop? You said we should have 4 or 5. Now I have 5!”
Then he added: “Just taking note!”
Gotta love a WHL general manager who has a sense of humour.
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The Vancouver Giants have an opening for an import player.
F Casper Carning, 19, has left the Giants and returned to Sweden. He had two assists and two penalty minutes in six games.
According to Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province, Carning told Giants GM Scott Bonner “that the situation wasn’t working out and he was returning home to Goteborg, Sweden.”
The Giants had selected Carning in the 2010 CHL import draft.
According to Ewen, the Giants “had pegged him as a top-six forward and gave him a chance to win a scoring-line spot, but he didn’t play with the type of urgency or intensity that coach Don Hay demands.”
For more, check out The Dub Hub.
Slovakian F Marek Tvrdon, the Giants’ other import, has four goals in six games.
The Giants are able to go out and get another import player, but that player will have to have been selected in the CHL import draft.
At present, only one WHL team shows three imports on their rosters.
The Swift Current Broncos show Slovakian F Juraj Roznik, who turns 18 on Oct. 14, Czech F Stepan Novotny, 20, and Czech D Richard Nedomlel, 17.
The Tri-City Americans’ roster includes Russian G Alex Pechurskiy, 20, Belarussian D Nikita Kardashev, 18, although Kardashev hasn’t yet appeared in a game. The Americans also selected Russian Russian D Nikita Nesterov, 17, in the 2010 import draft. But he has yet to get clearance to play over here.
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The Brandon Wheat Kings’ injury list grew and grew and grew on Monday.
Before the day was done the Wheat Kings had added three players to it, all with long-term injuries.
LW Michael Ferland is to have knee surgery Thursday in Winnipeg. He will be out indefinitely. Ferland, 18, was injured in Brandon’s training camp on Sept. 3. He attended the Calgary Flames’ training camp — he was a fifth-round pick in the NHL’s 2010 draft — where he received treatment. Cleared to play on Sept. 19, he was in Brandon’s lineup for three games, before reinsuring the knee Wednesday in a 5-2 victory over the Warriors in Moose Jaw.
RW David Toews, 20, suffered a high ankle sprain in Brandon’s 4-3 loss to the Blades in Saskatoon on Sunday and could miss up to eight weeks. Toews, who joined the Wheat Kings from the U of North Dakota, had six points in six games. He was a third-round selection by the New York Islanders in the 2008 NHL draft.
D Jordan Fransoo, 17, suffered a broken foot on Sept. 24 during the Wheat Kings’ season-opening 5-4 victory over the Regina Pats. Initial X-rays were negative, with the break showing up in later X-rays. Fransoo actually played in the club’s first six games, picking up three points. A fifth-round bantam draft pick in 2008, Fransoo is out indefinitely.
The Wheat Kings already were without D Rene Hunter (hip Flexor) and RW Jens Meilleur (broken hand).
At the same time, the Wheat Kings got their roster down to 30 players by reassigning RW Dakota Conroy, 16, to the midget AAA Edmonton Southside Athletic Club. He was a third-round pick in the 2009 bantam draft.
Brandon is carrying four goaltenders, 10 defencemen and 16 forwards, including C Brayden Schenn, 19, who is with the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings.
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Hey, how about the King brothers?
F Wheaton King, whose name ranks right up there Steele Boomer among present-day WHLers, is off to a fine start with his hometown Brandon Wheat Kings.
King had one goal in 10 games before being returned to the midget AAA Wheat Kings a year ago. And you know that had to hurt, what with the big Wheaties being the host team for the Memorial Cup.
King, 18, has come back in the right frame of mind, however, and has five points in five games.
And, as Rob Henderson of the Brandon Sun points out, King’s brother Sanfred is off to a great start, too.
Sanfred, 20, now is with the Kindersley Klippers and he goes into the week tied for the SJHL scoring lead, with 14 points.
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Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post reports that Pats G Damien Ketlo will miss up to 10 days with a shoulder injury suffered in a Friday night fight with G Cam Lanigan of the Edmonton Oil Kings.
Yes, Ketlo initiated the scrap, which makes one wonder whether Lanigan will offer up a re-match.
Ketlo will miss at least a couple of games, meaning Dawson Guhle will get to carry the mail.
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F Brad Ross of the Portland Winterhawks is the WHL player of the week. He had six points, five of them goals, and an assist in four games last week. . . . Deven Dubyk of the Medicine Hat Tigers is the WHL’s nominee as CHL goaltender of the week. He was 2-0-0-0 with a 1.00 GAA and a .971 save percentage in 2-1 and 4-1 victories over the Red Deer Rebels.
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The Red Deer Rebels have reassigned F Mark McCoy, 16, a fifth-round pick in the WHL’s 2009 bantam draft. Greg Meachem of the Red Deer Advocate reports that McCoy will play for the AJHL’s Spruce Grove Saints or the midget AAA Southside Athletic Club. He was with SSAC last season. . . . McCoy scored a goal in the Rebels’ home-opening 8-1 victory over Edmonton Oil Kings. But the Rebels’ coaching staff was concerned as to whether it would be able to get McCoy, as a 16-year-old, into the WHL-mandated 40 games.
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The ECHL’s Reading Royals have signed F Derek Hulak (Regina, Saskatoon, 2005-10). Hulak, who played out his WHL eligibility last season, was the Blades’ captain. He had 84 points, including 31 goals, in 72 games last season. He started out this season in the rookie camp of the NHL’s Phoenix Coyotes.
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CapGeek.com reports that F Nino Niederreiter’s three-year contract with the New York Islanders could be worth a maximum of US$8.475 million. . . . It carries an AHL salary of $67,500 for each of three seasons, with the NHL salary at $900,000 per season. There are $1.925 million in bonuses each season, while the $270,000 signing bonus is payable in three annual installments. . . . The Islanders selected Niederrieter, who played last season with the Portland Winterhawks, with the fifth pick of the 2010 NHL draft.
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By comparison, F Ryan Johansen, the fourth overall pick who was returned by the Columbus Blue Jackets to the Winterhawks last week, signed a three-year deal with a maximum value of US$6.195 million. . . . Johansen’s contract. like Niederreiter’s, calls for AHL salaries of $67,500, with a $900,000 annual salary in the NHL. The difference is in bonuses -- Johansen’s has $1.075 million in bonus clauses each season.
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The ECHL’s Las Vegas Wranglers have received three former WHLers on assignment from the AHL’s San Antonio Rampage. F Tyler Mosienko (Kelowna, 2000-05), F Ned Lukacevic (Vancouver, Spokane, Swift Current, 2001-06) and F Justin Bernhardt (Regina, Kelowna, Prince Albert, 2003-09) are were reassigned on Monday. . . . Mosienko, who played in Las Vegas from 2006-09, played last season with the Nuremberg Thomas Sabo Ice Tigers in Germany. . . . Lukacevic played 61 games with the Wranglers last season, while Bernhardt played in 29 games there.

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