Wayne Fleming memorial scheduled for July 16

THE MacBETH REPORT:
D Doug Lynch (Red Deer, Spokane, 1998-2003) signed a one-year contract extension with Red Bull Salzburg (Austria, Erste Bank Liga). He had two goals and two assists in 33 games with Frölunda Gothenburg (Sweden, Elitserien) before returning to Red Bull, where he had one goal and two assists in 14 games last season. . . .
F Patrik Valcak (Lethbridge, Kelowna, 2003-04) signed a try-out contract with Dinamo Riga (Latvia, KHL). He had 15 goals and 41 assists in 38 games with Polish champions Cracovia Krakow (Poland, Ekstraliga) last season. Valcak led Ekstraliga in scoring and assists. . . .
F Chad Bassen (Regina, Vancouver, Medicine Hat, Everett, 2000-04) signed a one-year contract with Grizzly Adams Wolfsburg (Germany, DEL). He had eight goals and four assists in 42 games for Augsburger Panther (Germany, DEL) last season. This will be the 10th season in the DEL for Bassen, who holds dual Canadian-German citizenship. . . .
F Dylan Stanley (Tri-City, 2000-05) signed a one-year contract with Gherdeina Val Gardena (Italy, Austria Inter-National-League). He had 38 goals and 33 assists in 40 games with EV Bozen 84 Bolzano and Neumarkt/Egna (both Italy, Serie A2) last season. Stanley’s 38 goals led Serie A2 in goals and he finished third in league scoring.
———
Peter Friedel, who has been with the Kamloops Blazers for 30 years, most recently as an assistant trainer, needs a kidney. There’s a whole lot more about his story right here.
———
As you may be aware, organ donation is something that is near and dear to my heart because my wife is awaiting a kidney transplant, as well.
Here is a comment that appears on The Daily News website, under the story on Peter Friedel:
“I am from Kamloops and donated a kidney 14 months ago, it was the most rewarding experience of my life, I urge the people of Kamloops to get tested and get on the donor list, If you lived to be 150 you could never do something more rewarding, My wife and I wish Peter the best in his journey.”
I couldn’t have said it better myself. At the very least, do some research on organ donation. Learn how many people are waiting for kidneys and find out what awaits those people who choose to donate. You may be surprised at what you learn.
———
What follows appeared in the Vancouver Province last week:
With 400 people in B.C. desperately waiting for a kidney transplant, doctors and dialysis patients are desperately trying to raise awareness of organ donation.
According to a study released in the June issue of the medical journal Transplantation, ethnic minorities are least likely to donate organs — 89 per cent of B.C. organ donors were Caucasian, with South Asians making up a mere 1.08 per cent.
"The reality is in certain cultural groups, diseases have a stigma attached to it," said Dr. Jagbir Gill, nephrologist at St. Paul's Hospital.
"It's a lot for people to have to put their disease out there — to have to put out the fact that they need a transplant." It's believed much of the hesitation has to do with lack of awareness as well.
"Donating a kidney is not associated with death," said Gill. "People's risk of developing kidney disease doesn't change by donating a kidney.
"We live without our appendix, without our gall bladder and people don't have any long-term effects from it."
Potential donors undergo a number of tests to ensure it's safe to donate.
And if time or money is an issue, the Kidney Foundation of Canada has a reimbursement program for those facing financial barriers, which covers hospital expenses and a certain amount of travel and loss of income.
According to Gill, organ-donor patients spend about two days in hospital and require up to four weeks off work (eight weeks for heavy work).
"Most people feel quite good by the end of the first month," he said.
———
You may be aware that Yoenis Cespedes of the Oakland Athletics won the Home Run Derby on Monday night. But you may not know a whole lot about him or his family. The story of how his family got from Cuba to the U.S. is amazing. Susan Slusser and Demian Bulwa have a fantastic story right here about that journey.
———
F Blake Geoffrion of the Montreal Canadiens announced his retirement on Monday. Geoffrion, 25, hasn’t played since suffering a fractured skull and brain injury during an AHL game in November. . . . John Buccigross takes a look at Geoffrion, from his name to the end of his career, right here.
———
The Edmonton Oil Kings have signed F Davis Koch, who was their first selection in the 2013 bantam draft. Koch, from Surrey, B.C., had 104 points in 56 games at the Okanagan Hockey Academy last season. The Oil Kings didn’t have a first-round pick and took Koch 42nd overall.
———
The Tri-City Americans have placed F Lukas Walter, 20, and G Luke Lee-Knight, 20, on waivers. . . . Walter, from Langley, B.C., had three points in 68 games last season, while Lee-Knight was 11-9-0, 3.90, .881 in 21 games. . . . The Americans now have four 1993-born players left from their season-ending roster — F Phil Tot, whose last season was ended by a brain injury just 15 games into it, F Tyson Dallman, D Zach Yuen and D Mitch Topping. Since season's end, they also have acquired F Jessey Astles from the Saskatoon Blades.
———
In North American, where track and field isn’t a mainstream sports, it may not have gotten much attention. But the biggest sports story on Sunday involved positive drug tests. . . . Mike Costello of BBC Radio 5 writes right here about how “five of the 10 quickest men in history now have tested positive.” This is a huge story, especially with what is going on with the Jamaican sprinters, although not Usain Bolt.
———
Mary Pilon of The New York Times has more on the doping scandal right here.
———
THE COACHING GAME:
The ECHL’s Stockton Thunder has hired Rich Kromm as its director of hockey operations and head coach. Kromm takes over from Matt Thomas, who left to become head coach at the U of Alaska-Anchorage. . . . Kromm, 49, is a former head coach of the Portland Winterhawks. He spent the past three seasons with the Evansville IceMen, who played in the ECHL. . . . Brian Sandy, the Thunder’s new president, was with the Tri-City Americans while Kromm was with the Winterhawks.


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.

THE MATCHUPS
Eastern Conference
Edmonton (1) vs. Kootenay (8) — Overall leaders face defending champs.
Moose Jaw (2) vs. Regina (7) — The Trans-Canada Rivalry heats up.
Calgary (3) vs. Brandon (6) — Brandon draws first blood.
Medicine Hat (4) vs. Saskatoon (5) — Will the Tigers Etem up? Or are Blades equal to the Trask?
———
Western Conference
Tri-City (1) vs. Everett (8) — Can Silvertips handle Ams’ all-star line?
Kamloops (2) vs. Victoria (7) — This one’s on Shaw TV.
Portland (3) vs. Kelowna (6) — To tell the Carruth, Portland’s favoured.
Vancouver (4) vs. Spokane (5) — The battle of the two Dons.
———
THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Chad Bassen (Regina, Vancouver, Medicine Hat, Everett, 2000-04) signed a one-year contract extension with the Augsburger Panther (Germany, DEL). He had nine goals and 16 assists in 52 games for Augsburg this season.
———
There was more than one full page of copy and photos dedicated to the Western Hockey League in Thursday’s edition of the Kamloops Daily News.
In fact, about half the editorial space that was provided to the sports department was filled with WHL-related copy.
In one story, the Victoria Royals were referenced on one occasion as the Victoria

Grizzlies. The Royals, of course, are the team that the WHL allowed RG Properties to purchase and move to Victoria after five seasons as the Chilliwack Bruins; the Grizzlies are the BCHL’s Victoria franchise.
And so it came to pass that Dave Dakers, the president and alternate governor of the Bruins, er, Royals, chose to get up on his hind legs during a Thursday news conference in Kamloops — he was the guy who someone suggested looked as though he’d slept on a Greyhound bus and arrived just before the talking started — and whined about the lack of respect his club was getting.
Yes, the Bruins, er, Grizz . . . ahh, Royals are in full ‘woe is me’ mode. Rodney Dangerfield never had it this bad.
Victoria, the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference, got into the playoffs with 24 victories — the Bruins, er, Royals also lost 48 games, although they earned loser points for seven of those setbacks.
Were they in the Eastern Conference, they would have missed the playoffs by 27 points. (By the way, WHL commissioner Ron Robison spent part of his address yesterday talking about his league’s competitive balance. Ahh, we won’t go there, not when the final standings show 14 of 22 teams at better than .500, not when three Eastern Conference teams are out, despite having far superior records to three Western Conference teams that are in.)
But we digress . . .
So far the Royals have played the experts-are-picking-Kamloops-in-three card, the we-beat-Portland-twice-last-week-and-didn’t-get-any-respect card, the we-don’t-know-why-we’re-playing-this-series card, the nobody-knows-our-name card. . . .
All of which means the playoffs have arrived.
Here’s Marc Habscheid, the Bruins’, er, Royals’ GM/head coach, to the Victoria Times Colonist earlier in the week:
“Some people are picking them in three games, not just four. We shouldn't even go to Kamloops, the way it sounds. All I know is, we’ll show up Friday when the puck is dropped.”
Here’s Habscheid, to Travis Paterson of the Victoria News:
“We beat Portland and we’ve heard, ‘Well, they didn’t have (Sven) Baertschi.”
Here’s Dakers, at Thursday’s news conference:
“We’re not sure why we’re playing this series.”
One of the reasons the WHL held the news conference, as it put it in a news release, was to launch the 2012 playoffs.
The news conference was held in the Interior Savings Centre in Kamloops, but only one team — the Blazers — had a coach and players in attendance.
Here’s hoping the Bruins, er, Grizzlies or whoever they are — the Salsa? — show up tonight and for five or six games after this one.
Hey, at least we didn’t call them the Cougars! Or did we?
———
If you're looking for the Western Conference individual award winners and all-star teams that were announced yesterday, you will find them at www.whl.ca.
———
THURSDAY’S GAME:
In Calgary, F Mark Stone broke at 2-2 tie late in the second period and the Brandon Wheat Kings went on to a 6-2 victory over the Hitmen. . . . This was the first game of a first round series, with Game 2 scheduled for tonight in Calgary. . . . The teams then head to Winnipeg for as many as three games, if necessary. With the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair in Brandon, the Wheat Kings have again had to take their first-round show on the road. . . . Stone, who is playing with a thumb injury, got his first playoff goal at 16:13 of the second period. . . . F Darian Dziurzynski scored twice for Brandon, which got two assists from F Paul Ciarelli. . . . After Brandon took a 2-0 lead on first-period goals by F Jason Swyripa and Dziurzynski, Calgary tied it when F Brooks Macek scored at 19:01 of the first and F Alex Gogolev scored at 1:16 of the second, on a PP. . . . Brandon G Corbin Boes stopped 34 shots. . . . Calgary was without F Cody Sylvester (undisclosed) and F Victor Rask (leg), two of its top three regular-season scorers.
Scott Fisher of the Calgary Sun was at the game and filed this story.
———
On the eve of opening a playoff series in Edmonton, Jeff Chynoweth, the president and general manager of the Kootenay Ice, talked with Chris O’Leary of the Edmonton Journal about what might have been. The Ice, you’ll recall, began life as the Edmonton Ice and spent two seasons there before relocating to Cranbrook.
That story is right here.
———
Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province has all but guaranteed the series between Don Hay’s Giants and Don Nachbaur’s Spokane Chiefs — it opens tonight in Vancouver — will be a goaltender’s nightmare.
Here’s some of what Ewen wrote:
“Hay is an old school guy. Don Nachbaur is  an old school guy. They are defence first guys and this is going to a series of 2-1 and 3-2 games. The regular season match-ups this year, which saw Vancouver win 2-1 in Spokane on Feb. 15 and 3-2 at home in a shoot-out on Oct. 5 certainly suggest that. The team that sticks with its plan the best should win. Another point to ponder? Vancouver is 11-1 in playoff series under Hay when it has home-ice advantage like it does in this one, and 1-5 when it does not.”
Ewen also has a piece today on Vancouver G Adam Morrison who, it turns out, has a relative on the Chiefs’ roster. Morrison and Spokane F Steven Kuhn are cousins.
For more from Ewen, scoot on over to The Province’s website.
———
It has been almost 23 years since Duncan MacPherson, a former Saskatoon Blades defenceman, disappeared while traveling in Austria. You will recall that his body was found 14 years after his disappearance. His parents, Lynda and Bob, were convinced that there was more to this story than authorities were letting on. Now there’s a book about the case — Cold a Long Time: An Alpine Mystery — and author John Leake has spoken about it with Kevin Mitchell, the sports editor of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix.
That story is right here.
———
F Turner Elson of the Red Deer Rebels has signed an ATO with the Abbotsford Heat, the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Calgary Flames. Elson, a free-agent signee of the Flames after their last training camp, had 46 points and 59 penalty minutes in 56 games with the Rebels. Elson turned 20 on Wednesday.
———
Dave (Crash) Cameron of the Edmonton Sun writes that the bandwagon is filling up. Of course, that would be the Edmonton Oil Kings’ bandwagon. That piece is right here.
———

If there is a model franchise in the CHL today, it very well may be the Tri-City Americans. The franchise is operated by general manager Bob Tory, who is profiled right here by Annie Fowler of the Tri-City Herald.
———

Pat Conacher, the first-year head coach of the Regina Pats, is the Eastern Conference nominee as the WHL’s coach of the year. When he heard the news, he was surprised, honoured and uncomfortable.
Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post has that story right here.
———
And finally . . . I’m sorry but this just slays me. Mac Engel, a writer with the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, has a blog — The Big Mac Blog. . . . No, he isn’t related to Mac Engel, the Spokane Chiefs goaltender. . . . But Mac the Blogger is keeping tabs on Mac the Goaltender, “the greatest goalie in the history of hockey” as it says here. . . . The latest entry is right here.


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.

Wednesday . . .

Fans of the Chilliwack Bruins gather outside Prospera Centre for a Keep the Bruins in Chilliwack Rally on Wednesday evening. There are more photos available at www.facebook.com/pages/Keep-the-Bruins-in-Chilliwack/147454271983957.

THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Chad Bassen (Regina, Vancouver, Medicine Hat, Everett, 2000-04) signed a one-year contract with the Augsburger Panther (Germany DEL). He had five goals and four assists in 52 games for the Hamburg Freezers (Germany DEL) this season.
———
The WHL has six players on the Canadian team that will play at the under-18 IIHF World Championship in Germany later this month.
Those WHLers are defencemen Morgan Reilly (Moose Jaw Warriors), Ryan Murray (Everett Silvertips) and Reece Scarlett (Swift Current Broncos) and forwards Travis Ewanyk (Edmonton Oil Kings), Mark McNeill (Prince Albert Raiders) and Colin Smith (Kamloops Blazers).
The head coach is Mike Williamson of the Calgary Hitmen, while the assistants are Mark Lamb of Swift Current and Dale Hawerchuk of the OHL’s Barrie Colts.
The Canadian team leaves today for Germany.
Canada will play three exhibition games, against the U.S. on Saturday in Dresden, against Sweden on Monday in Crimmitschau and against Germany on Tuesday in Dresden.
The tournament runs April 14-24 in Dresden and Crimmitschau. Canada is in a Dresden-based pool with Czech Republic, Finland, Norway and Sweden, and will play its first round-robin game on April 15 against Czech Republic.
The other pool features Germany, Russia, Slovakia, Switzerland and the U.S.
The round-robin concludes on April 19, with the playoff round to start on April 21 and end on April 24.
———
There was interesting news out of B.C. on Wednesday when a former hockey player who at 13 years of age had been sexually assaulted by his coach was awarded $605,000  by a B.C. Supreme Court Judge Dev Dley.
The Victoria Times Colonist has the story right here.
There is reaction from Theo Fleury in this Canadian Press story right here.
———
The Tri-City Americans will announce today that they have signed G Eric Comrie, who was the 15th overall selection in the 2010 bantam draft. Comrie, the son of Bill Comrie, who owns The Brick and once was involved at the ownership level in the CFL, is the younger brother of NHLer Mike Comrie and Paul Comrie, whose career was ended by post-concussion syndrome. He was 24 at the time. . . . Eric Comrie, who played this season for the L.A. Selects, had at least considered going the NCAA route, as he visited Denver University in January. His brother, Paul, was a star with the Pioneers (1996-99). . . . The Americans also are expected to announce the signing of F Brian Williams, who was an eighth-round pick in the 2010 bantam draft. That signing should be announced on Monday. Williams, from Claremont, Calif., also plays in the L.A. Selects program.
———
Matt Coxford of the Cranbrook Daily Townsman reports that the Kootenay Ice should get two injured players back at some point during a second-round series with the Saskatoon Blades. D Luke Paulsen (separated shoulder) is questionable for Games 1 and 2 in Saskatoon on Friday and Saturday, but should play in Game 3 in Cranbrook on Tuesday. Paulsen missed almost a month with a concussion suffered Jan. 15, then injured his shoulder Feb. 22 and hasn’t played since then. F Drew Czerwinski (upper body) was hurt in Game 3 of the six-game series with the Moose Jaw Warriors. He is possible for the first two games against Saskatoon, but if he doesn’t play then should be ready for Game 3. . . . The Ice also is without F Brock Montgomery (mononucleosis) but has added F Sam Reinhart, 15, for the weekend. Reinhart will be rejoining his major midget team, the Vancouver-North West Giants, for the Telus Cup that opens April 18 in St. John’s Nfld.
———
The Portland Winterhawks have signed F Chase Deleo, their ninth-round pick in the 2010 bantam draft. Deleo spent this season with the Los Angeles Selects U-16 team, putting up 39 points in 35 games. . . . Capgeek.com reports that Everett Silvertips D Rasmus Rissanen, who has signed a three-year deal with the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes, draws an AHL salary of $55,000 in each of the season with NHL salaries of $575,000 each season. He got a $150,000 signing bonus, payable over three years. . . . D Dylan McIlrath of the Moose Jaw Warriors will finish his season with the Connecticut Whale, the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s New York Rangers. McIlrath was the 10th overall pick in the NHL’s 2010 draft and signed a three-year deal with the Rangers last month. . . . F Quinton Howden of the Warriors has signed a three-year entry-level deal with the Florida Panthers, who selected him 25th overall in the 2010 NHL draft. . . . Eric Lavigne has resigned as head coach of the QMJHL’s PEI Rocket. Lavigne, who had a year left on his contract, cited personal reasons and a desire to spend more time with his family as reasons for his leaving.
———
Three Robservations from longtime WHL (R)observer Rob Vanstone of the Regina Leader-Post . . .
1. The future of Moose Jaw Warriors head coach Dave Hunchak is certain after the team's first-round ouster from the WHL playoffs. Although the playoffs were disappointing, it should be remembered that Hunchak is only the third head coach to extract 40 wins from the Warriors since the team moved from Winnipeg to Moose Jaw in 1984.
2. It could be said that a 40-win season in Moose Jaw is surprisingly unexpected. With that in mind, Hunchak should receive a contract extension -- a move which would be a welcome departure from tradition. Over the years, the Warriors have allowed too many first-rate coaches to get away (see: Lorne Molleken, Curtis Hunt, Mike Babcock). All three of those gentlemen coached in the NHL after leaving Moose Jaw.
3. Defenceman Ryan Murray, who is from White City, was named captain of the WHL's Everett Silvertips earlier this week. Thanks to the WHL's ridiculous partial interlocking schedule, Murray won't have an opportunity to play near his hometown until the 2012-13 season. Next season's only matchup between the Silvertips and Regina Pats will be in Everett, Wash. What kind of league is this? Every team should play in every arena every season. This should be fundamental. The players deserve this. The fans deserve this. Alas, it'll never happen.
(What Vanstone doesn’t mention is that Murray could be playing in the NHL come the 2012-13 season, which would mean he wouldn’t get to play in Regina. He has a late-1993 birth date (Sept. 27), already has played two WHL seasons and is being projected as an early selection in the NHL’s 2012 draft. He very well might be the WHL’s top defenceman next season. That being the case, it very well might depend on which NHL team selects him as to whether he is back in the WHL or moves on to the NHL in the fall of 2012. . . . By the way, White City is on the eastern outskirts of Regina.)

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