Kelowna one win from title; can finish it on Wednesday . . . First two draft picks sign

F Gaelan Patterson (Saskatoon, 2006-10) signed a one-year contract with Sparta Sarpsborg (Norway, GET-Ligaen). This season, with the Idaho Steelheads (ECHL), he had 11 goals and 25 assists in 71 games.
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MONDAY’S GAME:

In Kelowna, F Rourke Chartier scored twice and added an assist to help the Rockets to a 5-3 victory over the Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . The Rockets lead the championship series for the Ed Chynoweth Cup 3-0 and get their first chance to close it out on Wednesday night at home. . . . This certainly hasn’t turned into the series most observers were expecting, but it does fit in with the rest of this spring’s playoff rounds. With this series yet to be completed, the WHL has had two series go four games this season, with eight decided in five, three in six and one in seven. . . . Kelowna F Leon Draisaitl opened the scoring with his ninth goal, shorthanded, at 6:35 of the first period. . . . Brandon tied it on F Morgan Klimchuk’s PP goal at 7:48 — he’s got three goals — but Kelowna responded with the game’s next three goals. . . . F Gage Quinney put Kelowna back out in front 59 seconds later, with his sixth playoff goal. . . . F Dillon Dube got his fifth at 4:15 of the second period and Chartier made it 4-1 at 15:02. . . . Brandon F Nolan Patrick scored his eighth goal at 15:28 of the second and F Tim McGauley got his eighth, at 10:06 of the third, to get the visitors to within one. . . . But Chartier iced it with his 12th of the playoffs at 13:48. . . . Rockets F Nick Merkley had three assists, while Draisaitl and Quinney had an assist each. . . . Draisaitl has 26 points, two behind Calgary F Adam Tambellini, who leads the scoring race. . . . Kelowna G Jackson Whistle stopped 26 shots, one fewer than Brandon’s Jordan Papirny. . . . Brandon was 1-for-3 on the PP; Kelowna was 0-for-5. . . . The referees were Matt Kirk and Steve Papp. . . . Attendance was 6,271.
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The Spokane Chiefs have signed D Ty Smith, the first overall selection in the WHL’s 2015 bantam draft. Smith, 5-foot-10 and 160 pounds, is from Lloydminster, Alta. . . . The only other time the Chiefs held the first overall selection was in 2006 when they took D Jared Cowen. . . . This season, Smith had 28 points, including nine goals, in 16 games with the bantam prep team at the Delta, B.C., Hockey Academy.
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The Lethbridge Hurricanes have signed D Calen Addison, the second overall selection in the WHL’s 2015 bantam draft. Addison, 5-foot-9 and 160 pounds, is from Brandon where he played this season with the bantam AAA Wheat Kings. He had 76 points, including 45 goals, in 31 games.
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D Andy Stevens, a fifth-round pick by the Kootenay Ice in the 2013 bantam draft, has said he will play next season with the BCHL’s Powell River Kings. He played this season with the junior B Campbell River Storm of the Vancouver Island junior league. The Storm won league, provincial and Western Canadian championships. . . . "We're moving ahead without [Stevens] and wish him nothing but the best in Powell River," Ice GM Jeff Chynoweth told Taylor Rocca of the Cranbrook Daily Townsman. "He's going to stay on our list. Hopefully down the road he looks at it and wants to move up another level. That will be up to him as his career moves along." . . . Rocca’s story is right here.
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Here’s Cathal Kelly, in The Globe and Mail: “While he’s being squired across the continent like a visiting monarch, everyone dropping to their knees as he enters the rink, we’ve all decided Mike Babcock is the best coach in hockey. Not ‘one of’ or ‘arguably.’ Just the best, full-stop. Why is that?” . . . Why, indeed? . . . Kelly’s column is right here.
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In the OHL, the host Erie Otters scored a 4-3 victory over the Oshawa Generals on Monday night. The Generals lead the championship series 2-1 with Game 4 scheduled for Erie on Wednesday night. . . . Erie F Connor McDavid had a goal and an assist. . . . The Otters led it 4-1 before Oshawa made it close with a pair of late goals. . . .

The 2015 U-17 World Hockey Challenge is to be held in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., from Oct. 31 through Nov. 8. The tournament, which last year was held in Sydney, N.S., is to feature three Canadian and five international teams.
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THE COACHING GAME:

Travis Young is the new head coach of the bantam AAA Kings Mutual Wildcats in Berwick, N.S. Young played five WHL seasons (1999-2004) with the Brandon Wheat Kings and Prince Albert Raiders, before going to Acadia U and playing for the Axemen. He cut his career short after three seasons there due to post-concussion syndrome. He went on to spend six seasons as an assistant coach with the Axemen. Last season, the native of Souris, Man., was the head coach of the junior A Bridgewater Lumberjacks of the Maritime Hockey League.
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#Mac T watching #kelowna rockets, #playoffhockey. pic.twitter.com/tl6qkK48xj

— Kro (@Kro9Kro) May 12, 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.

McDavid's right hand in spotlight . . . Benson returns with injury . . . That's 20 for Chartier

F Zdeněk Blatný (Seattle, Kootenay, 1998-2001) has signed a contract for the rest of this season with Dornbirn (Austria, Erste Bank Liga). This season, with Frederikshavn (Denmark, Metal Ligaen), he had three goals and five assists in five games.
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THE FIGHT:

About the time when Connor McDavid swung and missed on Tuesday night, Sportsnet was running a Friday Night Hockey promo during its telecast of the Subway Super Series game from Brandon.
"What separates Connor from his class?" intoned the voice. "Brilliant hands . . ."
Meanwhile, on Twitter, it was as though the stable was on fire.
McDavid, of course, is The Next One. He plays for the OHL's Erie Otters and is likely to win the league's scoring title . . . well, he was until last night, that is. He had 42 points through 14 games, was blanked in No. 15 and then put up seven points over his next two games.
The Otters were at home to the Mississauga Steelheads last night. They had a 4-0 lead in the second period, and McDavid already had a goal, his 16th, and an assist. Then, at 13:50, McDavid took exception to a whack from Steelheads F Bryson Cianfrone and dropped his gloves.
(Victor Fernandes, who covers the Otters for the Erie Times-News, tweeted: "For those keeping score, that was #McDavid's 2nd #OHL fight - 1st where he actually threw punches.")
About halfway through the bout, McDavid's right fist made contact with the boards, dasher or glass. He skated off the ice, his left hand clutching the top of his right hand in obvious discomfort, and headed to the dressing room. He later went to an area hospital for X-rays, the results of which weren't available last night.
McDavid, according to the Otters, is to see a hand specialist today. However, reports late last night indicated that there is a fracture in there somewhere, although it isn't believed to be major.
The Sportsnet gang may not get any sleep as it awaits word on McDavid's immediate future. Game 3 in the Subway Series, this one featuring the OHL and the Russians, is scheduled for Thursday in Peterborough. McDavid is on the OHL's roster.
On Friday, as part of its 12-year CHL contract, Sportsnet is scheduled to show us a game that has the Otters visiting St. Catharines to play the Niagara IceDogs.
We won't even get into how the personality of Canada's national junior team changes if McDavid isn't able to play in the 2015 World Junior Championship that is to be played in Montreal and Toronto. Of course TSN has the TV rights to the WJC, which is why Bob McKenzie was all over this story from the moment McDavid's hand hit the wall.
And if you were tired of hearing about McDavid prior to Tuesday's bout, well, you ain't seen nothin' yet. You can bet that it's going to be all McDavid all the time between now and the Canadian team’s December selection camp. Will he be able to, or won’t he?
Meanwhile, on Twitter, the pro-fighting crowd was braying before the X-ray tech took the first picture of McDavid's hand. Presumably that bunch all will be watching Sportsnet on Thursday and Friday nights if McDavid isn't available.
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Cathal Kelly, The Globe and Mail's sports columnist, was at last night's game in Erie, Pa. His column on what transpired is right here.
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If you haven't yet seen video of the scrap, it is right here.
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Adam Proteau of The Hockey News wrote a piece about the Connor McDavid situation last night. It could be that he was doing a little trolling, too. If so, he caught some big ones. Just check the comments that follow this piece right here.
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The Vancouver Giants aren’t expected to have F Tyler Benson in the lineup tonight when they meet the visiting Tri-City Americans. Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province reported Tuesday morning that Benson returned from the U-17 World Hockey Challenge with an undisclosed injury. . . . Benson, who has three goals and eight assists in 11 games, skated by himself prior to the Giants’ practice, so isn’t believed to be seriously injured. . . . Ewen also reported that F Jakub Stukel (hand), who has played only two games this season, will see a doctor on Nov. 18. He has at least been shooting pucks. . . . F Johnny Wesley, a 17-year-old from White Rock, B.C., skated with the Giants on Tuesday and may be an option for tonight. Wesley, who played one game with the Giants last season, plays with the BCHL’s Surrey Eagles.
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The Kamloops Blazers have released F Spencer Bast, 17, from their roster and he is expected to join the SJHL’s Battefords North Stars. Bast, from Macklin, Sask., was pointless in six games with Kamloops. . . . The Blazers are carrying 24 players, including eight defencemen and 14 forwards.
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Russia won Game 2 of the Subway Super Series, beating the WHL 3-2 in Brandon on Tuesday night. That sends the Russians east with a 5-1 lead in the series -- it’s three points for a regulation victory, zero for a regulation loss, two points for a shootout victory, one point for a shootout loss). . . . Attendance was announced at 4,788. The capacity of Westman Place is 4,999. . . . Russian F Maxim Mamin took an awkward tumble into the end boards after behind hit by WHL D Joe Hicketts on Monday in Saskatoon. Mamin was taken from the ice on a stretcher and apparently was taken to hospital. I didn’t hear an update on his condition during Game 2. . . . D Shea Theodore, who played for the WHL in Monday's 3-2 shootout loss in Saskatoon, didn't get into the lineup last night. Earlier in the day, he rejoined the Seattle Thunderbirds. He practised with them and should be in their lineup tonight when they meet the Warriors in Moose Jaw.
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D Jarret Tyszka and D Alec Capstick, a pair of WHL bantam draft picks, apparently visited the U of Wisconsin on Sunday. . . . Tyszka, from Langley, B.C., was selected by the Seattle Thunderbirds with the 16th overall pick of the 2014 bantam draft. He is playing for the Yale Hockey Academy U18 team. . . . Capstick, also from Langley, was taken by the Saskatoon Blades in the fourth round of the 2014 bantam draft. He also attends the Yale Hockey Academy. . . . Tip of the hat to Andy Johnson (@AndyJohnsonB5Q) for the tweet.
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Dwight Jaynes, a veteran sports journalist on the Portland scene, was carrying a suitcase down some stairs in his home recently. He fell before he got to the bottom, banging his head against a wall in the process. . . . His first-person account of what followed is well worth reading. It’s right here. . . . As he writes, he’d rather have broken a leg.
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THE COACHING GAME:

The AHL’s Iowa Wild made a coaching change on Tuesday, with John Torchetti replacing Kurt Kleinendorst. . . . Torchetti, who had previously coached the Minnesota Wild’s AHL affiliate when it was in Houston, spent last season as head coach of the KHL’s CSKA Moscow. . . . Iowa was 2-10-0 at the time of the change.
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TUESDAY'S GAME:

In Spokane, F Rourke Chartier scored twice to help the Kelowna Rockets beat the Chiefs, 4-3. . . . Rourke leads the WHL with 20 goals. His 20th goal, at 9:18 of the third period, gave the Rockets a 4-2 lead. . . . F Adam Helewka, with his 11th, got the Chiefs to within one at 18:14. . . . Kelowna F Nick Merkley, who leads the WHL scoring race, had two assists. He is No. 1 in assists (29) and points (36). . . . Chartier has 34 points. . . . Rockets D Jesse Lees had two assists. . . . The Chiefs got two goals from F Riley Whittingham, who now has four. . . . Chiefs F Liam Stewart had two assists. . . . The Rockets (18-1-1) are 8-0-1 in their last nine. . . . The Chiefs are 8-6-3. . . . The Rockets were without D Madison Bowey and F Tyson Baillie, both of whom played for the WHL in the Super Series game in Brandon. . . . The Chiefs announced prior to the game that their players will wear CH decals on their helmets for the remainder of this season. Cole Hamblin, a defenceman, played for the Chiefs in 2010-12. Hamblin died of cancer a week ago. He was 21. . . . During last night's pregame warmup, Chiefs captain Jason Fram and Stewart wore No. 6 jerseys with Hamblin on the nameplate in honour of their former teammate.
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Why the hell is Connor McDavid fighting?
— Sunaya Sapurji (@sunayas) November 12, 2014

Chase in holding pattern . . . Playfair back with Chiefs . . . Hobbs' mother recovering

F Jakub Šindel (Brandon, 2004-05) signed a contract for the rest of this season with the Coventry Blaze (England, UK Elite). He had been released by Kaltern/Caldaro (Italy, Serie A). . . .

F Zdeněk Blatný (Seattle, Kootenay, 1998-2001) has been released by Frederikshavn (Denmark, Metal Ligaen). He had three goals and five assists in five games. His contract had a clause allowing either side to terminate it within the first month. Frederikshavn elected to terminate the contract.

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F Greg Chase remains at home in Sherwood Park, Alta., as he waits for the Calgary Hitmen to trade him. He also is a draft pick of the Edmonton Oilers, who signed him to a three-year contract in September. Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal and Kristen Odland of the Calgary Herald look at the situation right here.

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The OHL's Erie Otters suffered their first regulation-time loss of the season on Thursday when they were beaten 5-2 by the host Niagara IceDogs. . . . Erie F Connor McDavid had his point streak end at 14 games (he has 42 points in 15 games). . . . The Otters' had at least a point in 14 straight games (13-0-1), while Niagara had losts its previous six games.

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The WHL's 20-year-old dance continued Wednesday, this time in the dressing room of the Spokane Chiefs. F Jackson Playfair is back with the Chiefs, who in turn placed F Connor Chartier on waivers. Playfair was traded by the Chiefs to the Tri-City Americans last season. However, the Americans acquired F Richard Nejezchleb from the Brandon Wheat Kings on Wednesday, and that left Tri-City with three 20-year-olds, one over the roster limit. The Americans then put Playfair on waivers. When the Chiefs claimed him, it left them one over the limit, so they placed Chartier on waivers. . . . Playfair had seven points, four of them goals, in 16 games with the Americans this season. Before being traded last season, he had played 89 games with the Chiefs, recording six goals and nine assists. . . . Chartier, a second-round pick by the Chiefs in the 2009 bantam draft, had 71 points, 25 of the goals, in 209 games with Spokane.

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Bob Woods, the general manager and head coach of the Saskatoon Blades, has some history with Mark French, the head coach of the Calgary Hitmen. In fact, the two of them won an AHL championship together. . . . Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix has more right here.

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Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix reports that Jackie Hobbs, the mother of D Connor Hobbs, continues to recover from serious injuries suffered in an Oct. 24 head-on collision.

However, Nugent-Bowman writes, that accident didn’t have anything to do with Hobbs leaving the Medicine Hat Tigers on Oct. 30 and asking to be traded.

Hobbs, from Saskatoon, is at home waiting for the phone to ring.

According to Nugent-Bowman, Jackie Hobbs “suffered a broken collarbone, seven broken ribs, a cracked sternum, a chipped vertebrae and a punctured lung . . . She spent nine days in the hospital, but is now recovering well, according to Hobbs's agent Jason Davidson.”

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The latest edition of Elliotte Friedman’s 30 Thoughts is right here. . . . Included is confirmation that, yes, F Kris Versteeg of the Chicago Blackhawks still is interested in purchasing the Lethbridge Hurricanes.

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Cathal Kelly of The Globe and Mail has an interesting take on Alex Rodriguez and his drug situation. Were you in A-Rod’s situation, asks Kelly, what would you have done? Kelly certainly knows what he would have done. Give it a look right here.

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John Forzani, a former CFL player who became a business leader in Calgary, died last week in Palm Springs, Calif. His brain has since been donated to the Canadian Sports Concussion Project. . . . There is no doubt that Forzani experienced brain injuries while playing with the Calgary Stampeders (1971-76), but what makes his situation interesting is that he doesn’t appear to have suffered any cognitive issues in his latter years. He was 67 when he died. . . . Mario Toneguzzi of the Calgary Herald has more right here.

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Sometimes the road has its perks! Team enjoying the TrailBlazers game before tomorrows meeting with @pdxwinterhawks pic.twitter.com/irNhDJ3OrB
— Red Deer Rebels (@Rebelshockey) November 7, 2014

@Rebelshockey Going to a Portland Trailblazers game??? #SanctionsComingSoon
— Not Ron Robison (@NotRonRobison) November 7, 2014

Rigby on the move . . . Bozon back with Ice . . . Big catch for Cougars

The Victoria Royals have claimed Russian D Marsel Ibragimov, 17, off waivers. The freshman had played one game with the Edmonton Oil Kings before they released him in order to get down to the limit of two import players. Edmonton kept veteran forwards Mads Eller, 19, and Edgars Kulda, who turns 20 on Nov. 13. . . . In order to make room for Ibragimov, the Royals released Slovakian F Kristian Ferletak, who also is a freshman.
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The Swift Current Broncos have acquired F Carter Rigby, 20, from the Kelowna Rockets for a third-round pick in the 2016 WHL bantam draft. Rigby, who is from Penticton, B.C., had five goals and four assists in seven games with the Rockets this season. In 150 games with the Rockets, he put up 84 points, 51 of them goals. . . . The trade means the Rockets are prepared, at least for now, to go with F Tyrell Goulbourne, who is injured, F Colton Heffley and D Cole Martin as their 20-year-olds. . . . The Broncos, meanwhile, now have five 20s on their roster, so more moves are to come. Still there are Rigby, F Colby Cave, who turns 20 on Dec. 26, F Andrew Johnson 20 on Oct. 15, F Coda Gordon and D Stephen Shmoorkoff, who will be 20 on Sunday. Last night, in a 5-0 victory over the visiting Kootenay Ice, the Broncos dressed just two 20s -- Cave and Gordon.
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The Montreal Canadiens have returned F Tim Bozon, 20, to the Kootenay Ice for a fourth WHL season. . . . “Tim Bozon has come a long way," Montreal Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin said in a news release. "He fought a life-threatening disease with courage and determination and we are pleased with what he accomplished in the last few months. He was able to take part in the rookie camp, the Canadiens’ official camp and the Hamilton Bulldogs' training camp. However, with his progression having been diminished due to illness, we feel that one of the priorities for his long-term development is for him to fully regain his physical strength. We believe that joining the Kootenay Ice in the WHL is the right decision at this time as it will allow Tim to fully recover." . . . Bozon was struck down by Neisseria meningitis late last season and spent most of a month in Royal University Hospital in Saskatoon. For part of the time, he was in a medically induced coma. . . . The Ice had acquired Bozon from the Kamloops Blazers on Oct. 22. He had 62 points, 30 of them goals, in 50 games with Kootenay. In 203 regular-season games, he has 231 points, 105 of them goals. . . . He was a third-round pick by the Habs in the 2012 NHL draft. . . . Bozon joins fellow forwards Levi Cable and Austin Vetterl as the Ice's 20-year-old players; D Rinat Valiev, who is injured, is the team's other import.
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 If you have tried to access the WHL's website or one belonging to a team over the past few weeks, you may have run into an issue or two . . . or three. Tbird Tidbits takes a look right here at what is going on with this situation, and it ain't pretty.
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Over at Yahoo! Canada Sports, Scott Sepich has an interesting piece right here on Seattle Seahawks punter Jon Ryan, who is from Regina, making reference to having been cut by three different WHL teams. Near the end of the piece, Sepich mentions baseballer Justin Morneau also having been something of a hockey player.
He also could have mentioned Larry Walker, who went on to a pretty decent MLB career after he had been in camp with the Regina Pats. I stand to be corrected but I think it may have been Bob Strumm who suggested to Walker that as a goaltender he made a pretty good hitter. Walker's brother Carey, also a goaltender, had an excellent three seasons (1975-78) with the WHL's New Westminster Bruins.
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Tom Gaglardi, the majority owner of the Kamloops Blazers, wasn't in court Friday as lawyers made sentencing submissions. Gaglardi and Northland Properties have been convicted of two counts of harmful alteration of a fish habitat. Crown prosecutor Digby Kier is asking for the maximum penalty, a $300,000 fine; defence lawyer Rob Bruneau asked for a fine between $50,000 and $75,000. . . . Tim Petruk of Kamloops This Week has more right here.
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Cathal Kelly, The Globe and Mail's sports columnist, was watching Sportsnet on Wednesday and Thursday nights, after which he filed this piece right here reflecting on what he saw. He pretty much hits the nail squarely on the head, and he does it without yelling or talking over anyone.
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There isn't much that is more entertaining than reading the thoughts of the always loquacious Brian Burke, no matter the subject. Cam Cole of the Vancouver Sun chatted with Burke about fighting in the NHL, and the result is right here. Hmm, do you think Burke is anti- or pro-fighting?
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I purchased Boy on Ice: The Life and Death of Derek Boogaard, by John Branch of The New York Times, on Friday and will be digging into it in short order. In the meantime, Jeremy Keehn has reviewed the book for The Globe and Mail. That review is right here, and it includes this:
"More damning still is the cool and non-judgmental picture the author paints of hockey’s reckless disregard for its toughest, most vulnerable players. In recounting Boogaard’s fights, Branch includes not just the old one-two, but the announcers’ excitement, the video editors’ tale-of-the-tape graphics, the fans’ consistent approval. This cultural embrace is one thing when it’s of men who are over 18 and making their own choices as adults, quite another when it’s of boys at the sport’s junior echelons.
"The pathologist who diagnosed Boogaard’s CTE acknowledged in her report that it was impossible to know the extent to which the disease had influenced his addictions and struggles, but the facts paint a suggestive picture: from the time he was a teenager, Derek Boogaard participated in a sport that encouraged him to incur and deliver trauma to the head, and that rewarded him for doing so; at the time he died, his brain bore the evidence. Junior-hockey fans who accept the suggestion are left with a dilemma: can we, in good conscience, pay money for entertainment that encourages minors to stand toe-to-toe with the pure intent to concuss? I wonder why we’re even allowed to under the law."
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D Blake Heinrich, who has yet to play for Portland this regular season, is back skating with the Winterhawks. He suffered a concussion during an exhibition game. Heinrich, 19, is from Cambridge, Minn. He was a fifth-round pick by the Washington Capitals in the NHL's 2013 draft. The Winterhawks selected him in the 12th round of the 2012 bantam draft. . . .
In what is seen in the hockey world as a big catch, the Prince George Cougars have signed F Jared Bethune, 17, who had committed to the U of Minnesota-Duluth for 2016-17. Last season, with Warroad, Minn., High School, he had 84 points, including 31 goals, in 25 games. He also had two goals and three assists in six games with the USHL's Lincoln Stars. Bethune is a dual citizen and took part in the summer camp held by Canada's U-18 team. He now is in Prince George and attempts are going forward to finalize his release from USA Hockey.
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FRIDAY'S HIGHLIGHTS:

G Eric Comrie stopped 29 shots to help the Tri-City Americans to a 3-1 victory over the Pats in Regina. These teams meet only once each season and the Americans are on a five-game winning streak in the series. . . . The Pats honoured the 1974 Memorial Cup-winning team in a pregame ceremony. That team is holding a 40th anniversary reunion this weekend in Regina. . . . In Calgary, the Victoria Royals scored the game's last three goals, all in the third period, and beat the Hitmen, 3-2. F Austin Carroll, whose NHL rights belong to the Calgary Flames, scored the winner on a PP at 16:24 of the third period. . . .
G Landon Bow stopped 26 shots and F Jake DeBrusk scored the game's first two goals as the host Swift Current Broncos beat the Kootenay Ice, 5-0. . . . In Red Deer, D Kyle Becker scored the game's first two goals and added an assist as the Medicine Hat Tigers dumped the Rebels, 5-1. .  . The host Kamloops Blazers scored the game's last three goals, two coming from F Matt Needham, and beat the Lethbridge Hurricanes, 3-1. . . .
D Jared Hauf scored at 1:20 of OT to give the Seattle Thunderbirds a 2-1 victory over the Chiefs in Spokane. . . . The Thunderbirds forced extra time when F Mathew Barzal sacored a PP goal at 17:58 of the third period. . . . The Prince George Cougars scored the game's first two goals and hung on to beat the visiting Vancouver Giants, 2-1. F Jari Erricson scored his seventh goal of the season for the Cougars. . . . In Everett, F Carson Stadnyk scored twice and added an assist to help the Silvertips to a 6-2 victory over the Portland Winterhawks. Everett scored the game's last three goals.

Blades, Warriors deal . . . A few veterans get releases

I realize that this blog is almost always about hockey. But allow me today to spend some space on the subject of domestic abuse.
I have been involved in the founding of two charities, one at the Regina Leader-Post and the other at the now-dead Kamloops Daily News, that worked to help shelters for abused women and their children.
That has at least something to do with why I didn’t understand when Roger Goodell, the boss of all things NFL, chose to whisper in the ear of Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice seven months ago, rather than suspend him for a long, long time.
The NFL, as you will have heard by now, indefinitely suspended Rice on Monday. The Ravens then released him.
Seven months ago, a video surfaced of Rice dragging his unconscious soon-to-be wife out of an elevator in a New Jersey casino. That video was taken from outside the elevator. Eventually, Goodell suspended Rice for the first two games of this regular season.
On Monday, TMZ released video from inside the elevator. It shows, among other things, Rice dropping his soon-to-be wife with a hard left hand.
Why Goodell didn’t suspend Rice indefinitely immediately upon seeing the first video is the $64-billion question. After all, as Goodell was watching that first video, how did he think Rice’s soon-to-be wife came to be in that condition?
Anyway . . .
There is some good reading available on this issue today.
Sally Jenkins of the Washington Post wonders about the NFL’s claim that no one in its office had seen the video from inside the elevator until Monday morning.
“That is almost surely not the truth, unless the NFL wanted it that way,” she writes. “This is a league that works with Homeland Security, confers with the Drug Enforcement Agency, collaborates with law enforcement and has its own highly equipped and secretive private security arm. You’re telling me it couldn’t get a hold of a grainy tape from an Atlantic City casino elevator? But TMZ could?”
Her column is right here.
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In light of the indefinite suspension handed to Rice, Christine Brennan of USA TODAY wonders why players like Ray McDonald of the San Francisco 49ers, Greg Hardy of the Carolina Panthers and Terrell Suggs of the Ravens, each of whom has been involved or is alleged to have been involved in a domestic abuse situation, haven’t been suspended in the same fashion. “(Suggs) played Sunday for the Ravens in their loss to the Cincinnati Bengals,” Brennan writes. “Why? Was it because there's no video? Of course it was. And he'll be playing this Thursday night on national television against the Pittsburgh Steelers, even though he shouldn't be, at least according to the NFL's new Rice standards, as of today.” . . . Brennan’s column is right here.
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Cam Cole of the Vancouver Sun writes that “to understand what did happen, you have to understand the public relations power, and influence, and the almost unbelievable tone-deafness of one of the most intimidating sports leagues in the world. Until TMZ leaked the surveillance tape Monday morning, that is.” . . . His column is right here.
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Cathal Kelly of The Globe and Mail:
“The NFL will try to quickly move the focus back onto the field. That will probably work. A lot of people howl about the NFL’s wobbly moral compass, and most of them watch 12 hours of football every Sunday.
“What won’t survive is our presumption of the league’s basic goodness. We assume that most right-minded people would watch that video and be shocked into action.
“Apparently, the NFL was not.”
Kelly’s column is right here.
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THE DEAL: The Saskatoon Blades get F Josh Uhrich, 18, from the Moose Jaw Warriors for a fourth-round selection in the 2015 bantam draft.
THE SKINNY: Uhrich, from Rosetown, Sask., played for the midget AAA Saskatoon Contacts, who finished third at the TELUS Cup national tournament in 2012. He had 10 goals and 14 assists in 126 regular-season games over two seasons with the Warriors. Uhrich was a second-round draft pick of the Warriors in 2011.
THE ANALYSIS: The 5-foot-11, 195-pound Uhrich hasn’t shown much offensive flair, but he brings sandpaper to the Blades’ lineup as they strive to become more difficult to play against. . . . The Warriors, who also dealt F Colton McCarthy, 18, to the Prince Albert Raiders on the weekend, have cleared room for some younger forwards. . . . A stick tap to the Warriors, too, for giving a couple of players who weren’t going to make their roster opportunities to stay in the WHL despite having to trade within their own division to do so.

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The Kamloops Blazers have their roster at 27, including three goaltenders and eight defencemen, after releasing two veterans -- D Austin Douglas, 18, and F Nathan Looysen, 18 -- on Monday. . . . The 6-foot-6, 195-pound Douglas, from Winnipeg, was acquired last season from the Seattle Thunderbirds, who had selected him in the second round of the 2011 bantam draft. Last season, he had one assist in 13 games with Seattle and one goal in 22 games with Kamloops. . . . Looysen, from Saanichton, B.C., had two goals and seven assists in 57 games as a freshman with the Blazers.
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The Kamloops Blazers don’t have a whole lot left from last season’s trade in which they sent G Taran Kozun, then 19, to the Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . Moving to Kamloops in that Jan. 10 deadline-day deal were G Justin Myles, 18, D Austin Douglas, 17, and a fourth-round pick in the 2015 bantam draft. . . . Douglas was released on Monday, while Myles, who reported to the Blazers with a brain injury, never did play in Kamloops. Instead, he was dealt to the Lethbridge Hurricanes over the summer for a fourth-round pick in the 2015 bantam draft. That pick reverted to Kamloops when Myles was forced to retire before reporting to the Hurricanes. . . . Kamloops also got a fourth-round pick in the 2015 bantam draft in the exchange with Seattle, and later, with Myles unable to play, was given a fourth-round pick in 2016 as compensation. . . . Meanwhile, Kozun, now 20, is Seattle’s starting goaltender. In 24 regular-season games with Seattle last season, he was 14-9-1/2.40/.928 with four shutouts. In 29 games with the Blazers, he had been 5-19-3/3.95/.897.
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The Prince George Cougars got down to 29 players, including three goaltenders, by releasing six players on Monday. That included veteran G Adam Beukeboom, 20, who had been acquired from the Vancouver Giants on Jan. 9 for a seventh-round pick in the 2016 bantam draft. . . . Beukeboom, who played in 19 games with the Regina Pats in 2011-12, was 5-8-0/4.25/,887 in 14 appearances with the Cougars last season. . . . As a 20-year-old this season, Beukeboom was up against it as Ty Edmonds, 18, is expected to be the Cougars’ starter. Beukeboom, who is from Sundre, Alta., played only 29 minutes in the exhibition season and stopped all 18 shots he faced. . . . The move leaves the Cougars with Edmonds, Matt Kustra, 17, and Tavin Grant, 16, as their goaltenders.
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The Vernon Vipers are looking for a general manager and head coach, having revealed that Jason Williamson has vacated both positions. Williamson, who cited personal reasons in leaving, had been GM and head coach for three seasons and had been with the Vipers for the past seven seasons. He also played three seasons with the Vipers. . . . “Jason has
decided he needs some time away from the game to get his affairs in order and I respect that,” owner Duncan Wray said in a news release. “He has been great for our hockey club and will be missed, however we must move forward.” . . . Assistant coach Kevin Kraus has been named interim head, while Eric Godard, the other assistant coach, will take a more active role. . . . The Vipers open their regular season on Sept. 27. . . . Williamson spent four seasons working alongside Mark Ferner, who was then the Vipers’ GM and head coach. When Ferner signed as head coach of the WHL’s Everett Silvertips, prior to the 2011-12 season, Williamson was promoted. . . . Ferner now is preparing for his second season as an assistant coach with the Kamloops Blazers.
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Gordon Clark works in the newsroom at the Vancouver Province. He also is the president of a minor hockey association. In Monday’s Province, Clark offered up what the headline referred to as “some humble advice for hockey parents for the new season.” . . . “Complain loudly and often about all aspects of your kids' hockey program,” Clark writes. “Nothing motivates volunteer coaches, managers and others who give hundreds of hours of their lives each year so that your son or daughter can lace 'em up to improve like a constant stream of tips, critiques and observations. Keep them on their toes!” . . . That piece is right here.
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“It doesn't matter the sport, the area of concussion is now one of the burning issues globally yet many sporting bodies appear as confused and dazed as any player on the receiving end of a blow to the head,” writes Declan Whooley at independent.ie. . . . His complete story is right here.
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“Casey Cochran's college football career is over before it really got going. A series of concussions forced him to quit,” writes Desmond Conner of the Hartford Courant. . . . Cochran had been the starting quarterback for the U of Connecticut Huskies. The school announced Monday that Cochran, who incurred his fourth concussion on Aug. 29, won’t play again. . . . Conner’s story is right here.
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D Austin Shmoorkoff of Edmonton has been assigned by the Red Deer Rebels to the AJHL’s Okotoks Oilers. Shmoorkoff, 17, was pointless in six games with Red Deer last season. The move left the Rebels with 25 players on their roster. . . . Red Deer F Evan Polei suffered a cut hand during a fight in an exhibition game on Saturday and it will prevent him from attending training camp with the NHL’s St. Louis Blues. “His injury is a day-to-day situation,” Red Deer GM/head coach Brent Sutter said in a news release, “and he should be ready for the start of our regular season.” . . .
D Reid Gow, who captained the Spokane Chiefs last season, has enrolled in business at the U of Manitoba and will play for the Bisons. Gow, who is from Killarney, Man., chose to go to school, rather than return for a fifth season with the Chiefs. Last season, he had 62 points, including 56 assists, in 65 games. . . . The Vancouver Giants are down to 26 players, including three goaltenders and 15 forwards. On Monday, they released three players, including F Matt Barberis, 16, of Surrey, B.C., who was the 20th overall selection in the 2013 bantam draft. The Giants also released D Kole Bryks, 17, who was a sixth-round pick in the 2012 bantam draft. . . . 
The Tri-City Americans have the dubious distinction of being the first team to be fined by the WHL office this season. The Americans were docked $500 for “player instigating fight in last five minutes of game vs. Spokane” on Saturday. Tri-City D Riley Hillis, who was hit with a one-game suspension, picked up an instigating minor, along with a fighting major and game misconduct, at 19:06 of the third period in that game. Spokane F Riley Whittingham was given a checking-to-the-head minor and fighting major at the time. . . . F Aaron Macklin of the Prince George Cougars won’t play Friday against his old team, the Kamloops Blazers, as he will serve a one-game suspension. He took a kneeing major and game misconduct against the visiting Edmonon Oil Kings on Saturday. . . . F Taylor Sanheim of the Calgary Hitmen was given a one-game suspension after picking up a goaltender interference major and game misconduct in a Saturday game against the Medicine Hat Tigers.
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Yes! @SeattleTbirds @PARaidersHockey We will be the big brothers for a while, but one day we are gonna be king!
— PG Cougars (@PGCougars) September 8, 2014

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Magee returning to Royals . . . Trolls are winning

D Lukáš Bohunický (Kootenay, 2005-07) has signed a one-year contract with the Edinburgh Capitals (Scotland, UK Elite). Last season, in the Czech Republic with Mladá Boleslav (1. Liga), he had a goal and three assists in 33 games. He also was pointless in eight games while on loan to České Budějovice (1. Liga). . . .
D Ty Wishart (Prince George, Moose Jaw, 2004-08) has been released by the Schwenninger Wild Wings (Germany, DEL) per his request citing personal reasons. Last season with the Wild Wings, he had five goals and 11 assists in 50 games. He had signed a one-year extension with the Wild Wings in March.
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F Brandon Magee has decided to return to the Victoria Royals for a fifth season. Magee, 20, signed a tryout deal with Kometa Brno (Czech Republic, Extraliga) in May but has since decided to opt out of that deal. . . . From Edmonton, Magee played one season with the Chilliwack Bruins and is preparing for his fourth with the Royals. Last season, he had 67 points, including 25 goals, in 65 games. In his career, he has 203 points, 90 of them goals, in 268 games. . . . He will miss the first 12 games of the season with a suspension left over from the WHL playoffs last spring. . . . The Royals expect to open the season with Magee, D Travis Brown and F Austin Carroll as their three 20-year-olds.
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The road from Bakersfield, Calif., to Moose Jaw stopped in Phoenix for F Brayden Watts, who was a third-round selection by the Warriors in the WHL’s 2014 bantam draft. . . . Watts will be in Moose Jaw when camp opens on Thursday. He’s too young to stick this season, but Bob Bartlett, the Warriors’ manager of U.S. scouting and player development, says Watts has a chance to play next season. . . . Mike Griffith of the Bakersfield Californian has Watts’ story right here.
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WHL teams are preparing to open training camps this week, so it’s time to get ready. Andy Eide, who covers the Seattle Thunderbirds for 710 ESPN Seattle and helps out at thehockeywriters.com, has done his part with a WHL social media guide that is right here.
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Johnny Manziel, writes Cathal Kelly of The Globe and Mail, “is Tim Tebow through a glass darkly.” Furthermore, claims Kelly, it all started with something Charles Barkley said in a Nike commercial in 1993. . . . Kelly’s column is right here.
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If you haven’t already figured it out, the trolls are winning. On social media, it isn’t anywhere close to even a draw. Farhad Manjoo of The New York Times has more right here.
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Bandit the python is missing. So sleep with one eye open, people of #SpruceGrove #cbc pic.twitter.com/PUB7Wxe80w
— Alicja Siekierska (@AlicjawithaJ) August 17, 2014

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Storm stings Oil Kings

Mr. Lazuli Bunting stopped by and said hello. Also said
he was on his way to London for the Memorial Cup. I
just hope he knows which London.

F Bud Holloway (Seattle, 2003-08) has signed a one-year contract with Bern (Switzerland, NL A). This season with Skellefteå (Sweden, SEL), he had 33 points, including 10 goals, in 53 games. . . .
F Bohdan Višňák (Saskatoon, 2006-07) has signed a one-year contract with Nice (France, Division 1). This season with Montpellier (France, Division 1), he had 11 points, four of them goals, in 16 games.
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1. So what happened to the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday afternoon? According to Jack Todd, in the Montreal Gazette, it was  a combination of speed and sympathy. His piece is right here.

2. Remember J.P. Arencibia? He was a catcher with the Toronto Blue Jays, until last season ended. Arencibia says he no longer is with the Blue Jays because of unfavourable media coverage last season. Never mind that he couldn’t hit and struggled on defence. Brendan Kennedy of the Toronto Star has more right here.

3. A Saturday afternoon tweet from Cathal Kelly of The Globe and Mail: “A silent prayer for the all the sportswriters who will have to cover the Belmont Stakes, having never watched a horse race in their lives.” . . . That comes after California Chrome won the Preakness Stakes, becoming the third horse in the last 10 years to win the first two legs of the Triple Crown.

4. If you knew that Big Brown (2008) and I’ll Have Another (2012) were the other two, you know your thoroughbreds.

5. In watching the Stanley Cup playoffs and the first two games of the Memorial Cup tournament, it has become rather apparent that the unpenalized cross-check has returned to the game of hockey.

6. Does the performance by F Milan Lucic in these playoffs, from the chest-thumping to the handshake line the other night, say more about him or a lack of leadership on the Boston Bruins’ roster? Shouldn’t one of the more veteran players have taken him aside earlier and suggested he refocus his energies on what he does best, which is forecheck and cause a ruckus in the offensive zone? Or could it be that Lucic sees himself as the next Brad Marchand?

7. Will Lucic spend the off-season getting ready for the welcome he is going to receive in enemy arenas next season?
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F Ethen Frank has committed to attending Western Michigan U and playing for the Broncos. Frank, who played this season with his hometown U-16 Omaha AAA Lancers, was selected by the Victoria Royals in the fourth round of the WHL’s 2013 bantam draft.
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At the RBC Cup in Vernon, B.C., the host Vipers of the BCHL lost a semifinal game, 6-3, to the SJHL’s Yorkton Terriers, whose pregame meal, again, was paid for by F Jarret Stoll of the Los Angeles Kings. Have to think Stoll is buying again before today’s final. . . . The Terriers scored two empty-net goals to put away that victory. . . . In the other semifinal, the CCHL’s Carleton Place Canadians got past the MJHL’s Dauphin Kings, 5-3, with an empty-netter. . . . Today’s final is to begin at 4:30 p.m. Pacific (7:30 Eastern), and it’s scheduled to be televised by TSN.
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The junior B Pacific Junior Hockey League has done some juggling of its conferences, what with the North Delta Devils moving to Langley and becoming the Langley Knights. They will play out of the George Preston Recreation Centre.
Thus, the Knights have moved to the Harold Brittain Conference, with the Port Moody Panthers shifting to the Tom Shaw Conference.
Here is the new alignment:
TOM SHAW CONFERENCE
Delta Ice Hawks
Grandview Steelers
North Vancouver Wolf Pack
Port Moody Panthers
Richmond Sockeyes
HAROLD BRITTAIN CONFERENCE
Abbotsford Pilots
Aldergrove Kodiaks
Langley Knights
Mission City Outlaws
Ridge Meadows Flames
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MEMORIAL CUP
(at London, Ont., all times Eastern)
(all games televised by Sportsnet)
Friday: Val-d’Or 1, London 0 (8,863)
Saturday: Guelph 5, Edmonton 2 (8,842)
Sunday: London vs. Edmonton, 7 p.m.
Monday: Guelph vs. Val-d’Or, 7 p.m.
Tuesday: Edmonton vs. Val-d’Or, 7 p.m.
Wednesday: London vs. Guelph, 7 p.m.
Thursday: Tiebreaker, if necessary, 7 p.m.
Friday: Semifinal, 7 p.m.
Saturday: No game scheduled.
Sunday, May 25: Final, TBD.
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SATURDAY’S GAME:
The OHL-champion Guelph Storm scored the game’s last four goals and beat the WHL-champion Edmonton Oil Kings, 5-2, on Day 2 of the Memorial Cup tournament. . . . Guelph went 2-for-3 on the PP, scoring its first two goals with the man advantage. . . . Guelph got two goals from each of F Kerby Rychel and F Tyler Bertuzzi. Rychel is the son of former NHLer Warren Rychel, who now owns a piece of the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires and is the team’s general manager. Bertuzzi is a nephew to Detroit Red Wings F Todd Bertuzzi, who also played for the Storm. . . . Rychel scored the game’s first goal, with 4.2 seconds left in the first period, scoring on the PP after a soft roughing penalty to Edmonton D Aaron Irving. . . . The Oil Kings roared back early in the second period, getting goals 27 seconds apart from F Henrik Samuelsson (1:19) and D Ashton Sautner (1:46). . . . Guelph G Justin Nichols, who stopped 37 shots, was perfect after that. . . . Rychel tied the game at 7:40 of the second, giving Guelph goals on its first two PP shots of the game. That goal came as Jarry left his net to play the puck, a move that resulted in Edmonton F Mads Eller rifling an attempted clearance off Rychel and into the net. . . . At that point, Rychel had scored his club’s last four goals, as he scored the tying and winning goals as the Storm eliminated the North Bay Battalion in the OHL final. . . . F Brock McGinn gave Guelph its first lead at 14:52. . . . Bertuzzi added his goals at 5:46 and 15:49 of the third period. . . . Edmonton was 0-for-5 on the PP. . . . Jarry stopped 27 shots. . . . The Oil Kings have a quick turnaround as they meet the host London Knights tonight.
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From Edmonton Sun columnist Terry Jones (@sunterryjones): “Good gawd. Attempt from behind own net by Mads Eller to ice puck on power play hits Rychel and in off Jarry. Steve Smith flashback. It's 2-2.”
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From Alan Caldwell (@smallatlarge): “Not a must-win game for the Knights and Oil Kings (today), but loser almost certainly needs to go through tiebreaker game to win Cup. Hard.”


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