McLellan gold and new job . . . Former Chiefs star on fire . . . Rimouski wins QMJHL title

This is the first time a country has held the Olympic, World Junior and the World Championship gold at the same time👌 pic.twitter.com/BOWPTUFEeH

— Hockey Posts™ (@HockeyPosts) May 18, 2015

With apologies to Blackie Sherrod, we’re scattershooting on a Monday evening:

1. O Canada!

2. It was great to see head coach Todd McLellan guide Canada to a gold medal at the IIHF World championship in Czech Republic over the past few weeks. Hockey can be a cruel business but, even by those standards, he really got stiffed by the San Jose Sharks. He’ll get over it as the head coach of Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers (aka Young Guns).

3. It also was great to see Bill Peters win gold in Czech Republic too. Peters, always a straight shooter, is a former head coach of the Spokane Chiefs, who now is head coach of the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes.

4. How do you feel if you’re a season-ticket holder with the Prince Albert Raiders? First, a couple of the WHL’s premier players moved from the Raiders to the Kelowna Rockets, with thanks to the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers. The Rockets then went on to win the WHL championship, with one of those players named the playoff MVP. The Raiders, of course, didn’t make the playoffs and, on top of all that, the WHL commissioner has told the world that “in order for the Prince Albert Raiders to be viable long term, a new facility is required.” . . . Other than that, Raiders fans, how has your month been?

5. This WHL offseason just might be worth watching, what with the Medicine Hat Tigers not yet having a lease to play in that city’s new building, the Regina Pats’ owners scrapping with their landlord, the WHL hinting that Prince Albert needs a new arena or else, the WHL leaning on Lethbridge Hurricanes’ shareholders to sell to private interests, the WHL pretty much telling Kootenay Ice fans to show up in 2015-16 or else. . . .

6. If Canadian hockey fans ever wondered how much respect the NHL has for them, it was most evident when the Eastern Conference final opened with a Saturday day game. To the NHL, the tradition of Hockey Night in Canada is nothing more than chopped liver.

7. If you are watching an NHL playoff game, please don’t start whining about the number of penalties being called. Please don’t start begging the referees to “let them play.” Please plead with the referees to call the game by the rule book.

8. In Tyler Johnson’s last two seasons with the Spokane Chiefs, he was the best faceoff man and best penalty killer I had seen in a long while. But who knew the Tampa Bay Lightning star would be able to score like this at the NHL level? . . . If you missed it, he had the first playoff hat trick in Lightning history last night in a 6-2 victory over the Rangers in New York. He leads all playoff scorers in goals (11) and points (16). His 11 goals are four more than anyone else.

9. Chris Peters, the hockey writer at cbssports.com, has a good piece right here on Tyler Johnson and all that went on last night.

10. With the governor of Washington state having signed a bill designating WHL players as amateur athletes and non-employees, someone is going to have to explain to me how that works. After all, hasn’t the NCAA proclaimed WHL players as professionals? . . . Hey, perhaps things would be different if WHL players employed advisors and not agents.
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D Nolan Yonkman (Kelowna, Brandon, 1996-2001) signed a one-year contract with JYP Jyvaskyla (Finland, Liiga). This season, with the Adirondack Flames (AHL), he had two goals and 10 assists in 65 games. He was the team captain.
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It was a long weekend in Canada — thank you, Queen Victoria — and still no decision from F Auston Matthews. Matthews, who turns 18 on Sept. 17, is from Scottsdale, Ariz., and he is a game-changer. . . . His WHL rights belong to the Everett Silvertips, who selected him in the third round of the 2012 bantam draft. . . . Matthews is said to be deciding between Everett, the ZSC Lions, a Swiss pro team based in Zurich, and an NCAA school. I’m thinking the NCAA is out, so it’s between Everett and Lions. . . . One thing is for certain: Everett GM Garry Davidson says that, regardless of what you may have heard, the Matthews camp hasn’t asked the Silvertips to trade his WHL rights. . . . Nick Patterson of the Everett Herald has more right here.
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Jay Inslee, the governor of Washington state, signed Senate Bill 5893 on Monday. That bill designates players on the WHL’s four Washington teams as amateur athletes and non-employees. That exempts the players from laws requiring employees be paid at least the minimum wage.
Jim Camden of the Spokane Spokesman-Revew has more right here.
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The second-round AHL series between the Utica Comets and Oklahoma City Barons will be decided in Game 7 on Wednesday. The Barons won 2-1 at home last night, so Game 7 will be in Utica. . . . F Jake Virtanen of the Calgary Hitmen made his pro debut with the Comets in that game. The Vancouver Canucks selected him with the sixth overall pick in the NHL’s 2014 draft.
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The host Rimouski Oceanic won the QMJHL championship on Monday, beating the Quebec Remparts 2-1 in double OT. . . . F Michael Joly’s 12th goal of the playoffs, via a PP, won the game, at 2:13 of the second OT period before 5,062 fans. . . . Rimouski G Philippe Desrosiers stopped 47 shots. . . . The Oceanic also won Game 6 in OT, that one by a 5-4 count. . . . With the Remparts as the host team for the Memorial Cup, both teams knew prior to the start of the series that both teams would play in the tournament.
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Here is the Memorial Cup schedule (all games on Sportsnet; all times Eastern):
Friday, May 22: Kelowna vs. Quebec, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, May 23: Rimouski vs. Oshawa, 4:30 p.m.
Sunday, May 24: Quebec vs. Oshawa, 4:30 p.m.
Monday, May 25: Rimouski vs. Kelowna, 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday, May 26: Oshawa vs. Kelowna, 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday, May 27: Quebec vs. Rimouski, 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, May 28: Tiebreaker, if necessary, 7:30 p.m.
Friday, May 29: Semifina, 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, May 31: Championship game, TBA
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THE COACHING GAME:

The NHL’s Colorado Avalanche lost two assistant coaches on Monday with the resignations of Mario Duhamel and André Tourigny. . . . Duhamel, the video coach, completed two seasons under head coach Patrick Roy with the Avalanche. Prior to that, Duhamel was the head coach of the QMJHL’s Drummondville Voltigeurs for four seasons. . . . Tourigny, who handled the defence, also spent two seasons with Colorado. Before that, he spent 10 seasons as head coach of the QMJHL’s Rouyn-Noranda Huskies.
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The U of North Dakota promoted assistant coach Brad Berry to head coach on Monday, just moments after the NHL’s Philadelphia Flyers announced that Dave Hakstol would be their next head coach. Hakstol had been UND’s head coach for 11 seasons . . . Berry and Kamloops Blazers GM Craig Bonner are friends and it wasn’t that long ago when Berry was in the running to be the Blazers’ head coach. Before it got to that, however, Berry asked that his name be taken out of consideration.
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The NHL’s Phoenix Coyotes cleaned house in Portland, Me., on Monday, as they dumped a whole lot of people from hockey operations with their AHL affiliate, the Pirates. . . . Chris Roy of Maine Hockey Journal reported that Ray Edwards, the GM and head coach, has been fired, along with assistant coaches John Slaney and Trent Whitfield. . . . The Pirates, who lost out in the first round of the playoffs, also dumped athletic therapist Bike Booi, equipment manager John Krouse, video coach Alex Loh and assistant equipment manager Joe Morse. . . . The Pirates are to move to Springfield, Mass., before the start of next season.
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I believe Tyler Johnson is 5'8, he just scored his 3rd goal of the game, all G's a combined distance of 2 feet from the crease #gotothenet

— Chris Clark (@clarkyhockey) May 19, 2015

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Commissioner urges shareholders to sell 'Canes . . . Portland gets small reprieve . . . Bjorkstrand to worlds

MONDAY’S GAME:

No Game Scheduled.

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Ron Robison, the WHL commissioner, was in Lethbridge on Monday evening to speak to Hurricanes’ shareholders. The gathering was closed to the public and to the media.
Afterwards, Robison told local media that he had told shareholders that “given the team’s current financial position, I recommend they strongly consider private ownership.”
The franchise has been headed in that direction since its last annual general meeting. At that meeting, a motion was put forward asking that shareholders entertain a sale. Next up will be a special meeting at which shareholders will vote on whether to hold a vote on the sale. The date for that meeting will be set sometime in the next three weeks.
Paul Kingsmith of Global TV has more right here.
One paragraph in Kingsmith’s report reads: “Should shareholders choose to sell, they would have a say in who the team is sold to, although final approval rests with the WHL’s board of governors. Robison stresses the league favours local owners, and points to the Kamloops Blazers as the ideal template of how a team can successfully transition from community to private ownership.”
The Blazers were sold by shareholders to Tom Gaglardi, Shane Doan, Jarome Iginla, Mark Recchi and Darryl Sydor prior to the 2007-08 season. While those five all have ties to Kamloops, it would be a reach to call any of them “local.” Recchi is the only one of the five who was born in Kamloops, but his appearances here have lessened with time.
Also, perhaps Robison has forgotten how messy things were around Kamloops in the months leading up to the sale. Sheesh! I seem to recall both parties appearing in B.C. Supreme Court before all the smoke had cleared. And we won’t even get into the hullabaloo that took place when Mike Priestner, now the owner of the Saskatoon Blades, got involved by making an offer to purchase the Blazers. At one point, Jim Pattison — yes, that Jim Pattison! — was said to be contemplating making an offer.
Perhaps the commissioner has forgotten that the Blazers’ shareholders voted during the summer of 2006 not to sell the franchise. At that time, it wasn’t a case of not selling to the Gaglardi group; it was a case of not wanting to sell to anyone.
Over the winter of 2006-07, a lot of shares changed hands and ended up with folks who voted to sell to the Gaglardi group at a meeting during the summer of 2007.
Under new ownership, the Blazers have struggled, on and off the ice, to find an identity. They have missed the playoffs three of the last five seasons, including each of the last two. They were eliminated four times in the first round, lost out once in the second round, and reached the Western Conference final once. They have had six head coaches — seven if you count Guy Charron twice — and two interim head coaches in eight seasons.
In 2006-07, the last season under community ownership, the average attendance was 4,787. In 2007-08, the first season under new ownership, it was 4,562. It slid to 4,132, before reaching 4,825 in 2012-13 when the Blazers had a 99-point regular season. However, attendance slipped to 4,148 the following season. This season’s average was 3,994.
The one really good thing that came out of the sale is that the Kamloops Blazers Sports Society, which sold the franchise, has invested the money it received from the sale and now puts money into the community through its Sports Legacy Fund.
Since 2009, the society has issued $2,158,287 in grants to 84 organizations. Earlier this year, 27 organizations shared in $325,000 in grants.
For more on the terrific work being done by the society, click right here.
Under terms of the sale of the Blazers, the society retained the right to buy back the franchise at the original sale price should the Gaglardi group ever choose to sell.
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The Lethbridge Hurricanes have signed general manager Peter Anholt to a three-year contract. Anholt took over as GM/head coach on Dec. 10, with the Hurricanes having fired GM Brad Robson and head coach Drake Berehowsky. . . . Anholt is adamant that he won’t return as head coach, and that he will hire a coach after the bantam draft. . . . “I certainly have a type of coach I’m looking for,” Anholt said on Monday. “I would like it to be a teacher, somebody that’s going to relate well with the young players. And it would be nice to have experience in our league.” . . . If that, indeed, is what Anholt is looking for, you have to wonder if he might take a look at someone like Victoria Royals assistant coach Enio Sacilotto. . . . Paul Kingsmith of Global TV has more on the Anholt signing right here.
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The WHL has revealed that it has returned Portland’s 2017 first-round bantam draft pick to the Winterhawks. . . . On Nov. 28, 2012, the WHL ruled that the Winterhawks wouldn’t be permitted to take part in the first five rounds of the 2013 bantam draft and also took away first-round selections in 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017. As well, the Winterhawks were fined $200,000 and GM/head coach Mike Johnston was suspended for the remainder of the season, including the playoffs. . . . The Winterhawks were ruled to have broken player-benefit rules, including flying in parents to watch games, supplying some players with cell phones and paying some players off-season training allowances. . . . The last paragraph of Monday’s news release reads: “The WHL and the Portland Winterhawks will not be making any further comment on this matter.” . . . While the Winterhawks wouldn’t make any official comment, one insider told Taking Note that this was “total vindication.”
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Doug Kerslake, who played with the 1970-71 Edmonton Oil Kings who reached the Memorial Cup, has died. Kerslake, who was born in Saskatoon, was 65. . . . There is an obituary right here.
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F Oliver Bjorkstrand of the Portland Winterhawks will join Denmark at the IIHF World championship tournament that is being played in Czech Republic. Bjorkstrand, whose NHL rights belong to the Columbus Blue Jackets, scored 76 goals in 76 games this season. He had 63 goals in 59 regular-season games and followed that up with 13 goals in 17 playoff games.
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The Kamloops Blazers have signed G Dylan Ferguson, who was an eighth-round pick in the 2013 bantam draft. Ferguson, from Lantzville, B.C., will turn 17 on Sept. 20. He played the last two seasons for the midget AAA Notre Dame Hounds, who play out of Athol Murray College in Wilcox, Sask. This season, he was 17-7-0, 2.70, .907. . . . One would think that Connor Ingram, 18, goes into training camp in August as the No. 1 goaltender. Barring a transaction, that would leave Ferguson to scrap with returnee Cole Kehler, who turns 18 on Dec. 17, for the backup position. Ingram got into 52 games this season, while Kehler played in 21.
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“The Crown wants a ‘safety plan’ in place to protect the fiancée of a former Kamloops Blazers defenceman facing a domestic-assault allegation,” writes Tim Petruk of Kamloops This Week. “Cory Crichton was charged last week with assault causing bodily harm in relation to an April 19 altercation with his fiancée.” . . . Crichton, who is from Kamloops, played four games with the Blazers in 1987-88 and 55 in 1988-89. . . . Petruk’s story is right here.
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Have you ever wondered what suggestions are made when a team goes public in its search for a new nickname? In this case, it’s the U of North Dakota, which is looking to replace Fighting Sioux as its nickname. . . . Chris Peters of cbssports.com has more right here, and a lot of it isn’t pretty.
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No doubt you have tuned into a sporting event, either on radio or TV, and had one of the broadcasters check in with his “Keys to the Game.” And no doubt you have reacted with: “No kidding!” . . . Well, Fox Sports San Diego has taken “Keys to the Game” to a new level. . . . Check it out right here and you will never again look at “Keys to the Game” in the same light.
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THE COACHING GAME:

Colin Chaulk is the new head coach of the ECHL’s Brampton Beast. Chaulk, 38, spent the past two seasons as an assistant coach with the ECHL’s Kalamazoo Wings. . . . Chaulk replaces Brent Hughes, who was fired after a 23-46-3 season. This was the Beast’s first season in the ECHL.

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USA Hockey posts solid numbers . . . Whatever happened to Eric (The Flea) Allen?

1. A report issued by USA Hockey earlier this month shows player registration at an all-time high. In 2013-14, USA Hockey reports it had 519,417 registered players. . . . In Oregon, home of the Portland Winterhawks, registration was up 60.2 per cent, to 2,148 players. . . . Chris Peters of The United States of Hockey has a great look at all the numbers right here. . . . In looking at Oregon, he writes: “I think part of Oregon’s rapid growth is aided by adult leagues coming under USA Hockey registration that were not previously, skewing the numbers. That said, youth hockey is also up across the board. I think the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks and their recent stretch of excellent teams and ability to connect the greater Portland area to hockey has really made an impact here in some meaningful ways.” . . . The state of Washington, which boasts four WHL franchises, is up 5.7 per cent to 8,369 players. “I don’t have much of a theory on how this is happening, but Washington state has been trending up in hockey participation for years now,” Peters writes. “Four WHL teams and a strong NAHL club definitely have to be helping in some ways here.” . . . Peters also breaks down some numbers to show that, although it’s early, it seems the decision to remove body-checking from the lower age groups is starting to pay dividends.

2. While watching Germany and Ghana play to a 2-2 draw at the World Cup on Saturday afternoon, a thought crossed my mind. Yes, that happens once in a while. . . . It was late in the game and both teams were going hard; in other words, there was no sitting back and playing for the tie and the resulting overtime or shootout. . . . In the first round of the World Cup, a regulation-time victory is worth three points; a draw gives one point to each team. The loser doesn’t get a thing. . . . Hey, hockey, are you paying attention?

3. BTW, you don’t have to like soccer to have enjoyed that game between Germany and Ghana. Not only did both teams play hard until the end, it was ample proof that there are times when there isn’t anything wrong with a game that ends in a draw.

4. As I headed out on my daily walk early Saturday afternoon, I flipped on XM Radio and it happened to be set on ESPN. Jon Champion and Stewart Robson were calling Germany versus Ghana and doing an excellent job of it. . . . JP Dellacamera and Tommy Smyth will have today’s much-anticipated match between Portugal and the U.S. Game time is 2:30 p.m. Pacific. . . . Smyth, by the way, had one of those moments during Friday’s Costa Rica-Italy game. Awful Announcing has more on that right here.

5. A junior A hockey coach, who also owned the franchise, once told me that a perfect season meant losing Game 7 of the championship final at home. That meant, he explained, that the team would make money. A Game 7 victory and the ensuing travels would only cost money. . . . That crossed my mind as I read this piece right here from Robin Short of the St. John’s Telegram. In the column, Short explains how the St. John’s IceCaps got to Game 5 of the AHL final and ended up losing “350 large.” . . . But had the series gone to a Game 6, that figure would have been more than $500,000.

6. Amateur sport may be in its death throes and it’s happening in a courtroom in Oakland. Yes, it involves the NCAA, which maintains that it shouldn’t pay a salary to student-athletes. Charles P. Pierce of Grantland has an excellent piece right here.

7. Daniel Snyder, the owner of the NFL’s Washington Redskins, has so far ignored all the cries for him to change the team’s nickname. As the heat intensifies, how should Roger Goodell, the NFL’s commissioner, approach the situation? William C. Rhoden of The New York Times opines right here.

8. If you are a football fan, you may remember former Toronto Argonauts star Eric (The Flea) Allen. Today, he lives in South Carolina where his mother looks after him. His family is working to find a lawyer, meaning the CFL soon may be facing one of those concussion lawsuits. Terry Ott of The Concussion Blog has more right here.

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1. F Ryan Gropp, the sixth overall selection in the 2011 bantam draft, won't make his WHL debut in his hometown of Kamloops tonight (Wednesday) as the Seattle Thunderbirds meet the Blazers. Gropp left the BCHL's Penticton Vees to join the Thunderbirds on Tuesday, also giving up his commitment to the U of North Dakota in the process. He had said he would attend UND in the fall of 2014.
Mark Hunter of the Kamloops Daily News reports that "because of paperwork issues involved with playing for a team based in the U.S., Gropp can’t play in tonight’s game, and might not even make it into the lineup until next week."
Gropp has a late 1996 birthday (Sept. 16, one day after the NHL draft cutoff) and is projected as an early selection in the NHL's 2015 draft. He had eight points, three of them goals, in 10 games with the Vees this season, after putting up 31 points, including 12 goals, in 50 games last season.
If you have paid attention to the Gropp saga, you won't have been surprised by his decision. He didn't commit to UND until earlier this summer. Obviously, then, there have been some doubts in his mind, and you can bet that he has been hearing from Seattle freshman F Mathew Barzal, the first overall selection in the 2012 bantam draft who has put up 14 points in his first 10 WHL games, and good friend Joe Hicketts, the sophomore defenceman with the Victoria Royals. Barzal leads the Thunderbirds, who are 8-2-0, in assists (11) and points (14).

2. Chris Peters, the editor of the United States of Hockey, also writes for cbssports.com. In his latest essay, he makes a strong case that the time has come to stop the fighting. The final straw as far as Peters is concerned? The horrible incident in the USHL on Saturday night. . . . Peters' piece is right here.

3. League of Denial, the documentary that aired last week on Frontline, created quite a stir. Of course, there was quite a stir weeks before it aired when ESPN moved to distance itself from the show. Robert Lipsyte is ESPN's ombudsman; if you aren't aware of him, he also is a wonderful writer. Right here, he takes a look at all that went on from start to finish and then some.

4. Another note from a WHL fan about the league's decision not to print a Guide this season:
"I couldn't agree more with you and the others about the lack of a WHL Guide this year. As someone who lives on the U.S. East Coast and listens to games over the Internet, it has been absolutely indispensable. I can't fathom the short-sightedness of the people who manage the league."

5. It was early this year when Brent Sutter, the owner, GM and head coach of the Red Deer Rebels, told Jason Gregor of the Edmonton Journal: "You just don’t have as many players today that are as good athletes as they used to be. Too much today, especially in young players, is focused on hockey 12 months a year. They don’t play soccer, they don’t play baseball or tennis or the other things that people used to do.” . . . It turns out there are a whole lot of one-sport athletes out there and it seems to be causing a bunch of problems. The headline reads: Injuries exploding as youths focus on one sport. . . . Ron Kroichick's story from sfgate.com is right here.




The Swift Current Broncos have released F Jordan Wittman, 17, from their roster and he will join the SJHL's Kindersley Klippers. A third-round pick in the 2011 bantam draft, Wittman, from Stewart Valley, Sask., had yet to play in a regular-season game, after putting up two points in six preseason games. . . .
The Regina Pats have added G Mac Engel, 20, to their roster after G Teagan Sacher, who turns 19 on Dec. 1, left the team to attend the U of Winnipeg. . . . Sacher, who is from Winnipeg, has had an undisclosed injury and played in just two games. Last season, in 26 games, he was 8-13-2, 3.87, .883. . . . Engel was claimed off waivers from the Prince George Cougars. He has career numbers of 52-51-14, 2.91, .894 in 135 games with the Spokane Chiefs and Prince George. . . . Engel's arrival leaves the Pats with three 20-year-olds, the others being F Boston Leier and F Dyson Stevenso. . . . Regina's roster includes two other goaltenders — Dawson MacAuley and Spencer Tremblay, both 18. . . .
The visiting Prince Albert Raiders and the Edmonton Oil Kings were 1:26 into the first period at Rexall Place last night when the lights went out. They stayed out for almost two hours, with play resuming at 9 p.m. . . . Naturally, the game went all the way to a shootout after Prince Albert F Reid Gardiner tied it at 2 with 16.6 seconds left in the third period. . . . In the end, Raiders G Cole Cheveldave stopped 37 shots and three more in the circus, helping his side to a 3-2 victory.

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End of an era in Saskatoon today?

THE MacBETH REPORT:

 F Frantisek Mrazek (Red Deer, 1997-99) was released from his tryout with Ceske Budejovice (Czech Republic, KHL). He had 18 goals and 10 assists in 44 games with Landshut (Germany, 2. Bundesliga) last season. . . .



F Kirill Starkov (Red Deer, 2006-07) was released by Yuzhny Ural Orsk (Russia, Vysshaya Liga) so he could sign a one-year contract with Esbjerg (Denmark, AL-Bank Liga), the club with which he played his minor hockey. He had six goals and nine assists in 52 games with Oskarshamn (Sweden, Allsvenskan) last season. Starkov was born in Russia but moved to Esbjerg when he was three when his father Oleg signed with the club. Oleg Starkov played nine seasons with Esbjerg after 10 years in the Soviet league. Oleg represented the Soviet Union at the 1983 World Junior Championship in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), where he finished fourth in scoring with six goals and six assists in seven games, eight points behind scoring champion Vladimir Ruzicka, one point ahead of Canada’s scoring leader Dave Andreychuk, and two points ahead of a 17-year-old Mario Lemieux. . . .

F Martin Tomasek (Red Deer, 1996-97) signed a one-year contract with Feldkirch (Austria, Erste Bank Liga). He had two goals and seven assists in three games with Karvina (Czech Republic, 2. Liga) and 19 goals and 26 assists in 22 games with Neuilly-sur-Marne (France, Division 1) last season. . . .

F Martin Ruzicka (Everett, Lethbridge, 2003-05) signed a one-year contract extension with Trinec (Czech Republic, Extraliga). He had 40 goals and 43 assists in 52 games with Trinec last season. Ruzicka led Extraliga in scoring (by 25 points), goals (by 13 goals), and assists (by four over ex-NHL player Martin Straka) last season. . . .


F Lukas Vantuch (Calgary, Lethbridge, 2005-07) signed a one-year contract with Landshut (Germany, DEL2) after a successful tryout. He had one goal and four assists in 31 games with Liberec (Czech Republic, Extraliga), one assist in five games on loan to Sparta Prague (Czech Republic, Extraliga), and no points in two games with Benatky nad Jizerou (Czech Republic, 1. Liga) last season. . . .



F Jakub Klepis (Portland, 2001-02) signed a one-year contract extension with Lev Prague (Czech Republic, KHL). He had 20 goals and 18 assists in 45 games with Lev last season to lead the team in goals, assists, and scoring.
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Chris Peters of The United States of Hockey writes:
“More research on head trauma is coming out with increased regularity and hopefully those that are running college and junior hockey leagues are paying extremely close attention. This is one of the biggest and most important issues in modern sport. If rules and equipment can’t make a difference, it’s the individuals that have to find a way to.
“That could mean more, stricter rules, but more than anything teams and leagues should be examining how they are going about identifying high-risk incidents, while also examining the diagnosis and treatment of concussions and head trauma in a sports setting.
“The adults in charge of the leagues making money off of these players need to do right by their young people. How to do that in the most effective manner may take years to discover, but the search has to start now, if it hasn’t already. It could be the difference between a few days on the sidelines and the end of a career. Or worse, a life forever altered.”
That entire piece is right here.
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Dan Russell’s Sportstalk will debut on Vancouver radio station CISL (AM 650) on Sept. 29 at 9 p.m.
From a news release:
“Some exciting changes are planned to refresh Sportstalk, starting with the show’s new Sunday to Thursday night time slot. In addition, veteran sports mind Lee Powell will be joining the proceedings. With 35 years of local experience, Powell’s knowledge and credibility run deep when it comes to sports in Vancouver.
“Longtime producer Heath Morgan will be continuing with the Sportstalk team.”
Russell did his final show as the host of Sportstalk on CKNW 980 on Friday night. CKNW had informed him earlier in the summer that his contract wouldn’t be renewed when it expired on Aug. 31.
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It almost certainly will be the end of an era in the WHL today as the board of governors gathers in Calgary today where it is expected to vote unanimously in favour of allowing Saskatoon Blades owner Jack Brodsky to sell the franchise to Edmonton-based auto dealer Mike Priestner. . . . The sale needs two-thirds of the 22 governors to vote in favour in order to pass. But it is expected to be unanimous, simply because of Brodsky’s long-standing relationship with the WHL. The franchise has been in the Brodsky family since 1976. . . . With the sale price said to be north of $9 million, you can bet there will a lot of smiles around the governors’ table today. . . . The Edmonton Journal’s Jim Matheson reports that Steve Hogle, the vice-president of hockey communications with the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers, is expected to take over as the Blades’ president.
Matheson’s complete story is right here.
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The Saskatoon Blades have received clearance to use Russian F Nikita Sherbak, who won’t turn 18 until Dec. 30. . . . The Blades received clearance from the IIHF on Tuesday morning, according to Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix. . . . Sherbak’s former team, Kapitan Stupino, a Russian junior club, had refused to issue him a release. . . . Sherbak, who had been spending a lot of time riding the bike, skated with the Blades on Tuesday.
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The Prince George Cougars have released G Mac Engel, 20, meaning they will open the season with Brett Zarowny, 18, and Ty Edmonds, 17, as their goaltenders. Zarowny is heading into his second season with the Cougars; Edmonds, from Winnipeg, played last season for the MJHL’s Virden Oil Capitals. . . . The Cougars also released F Jarrett Fontaine, 18. In 133 games with the Cougars over two seasons, the 5-foot-5 Fontaine, who is from Humboldt, Sask., had 27 points, including 10 goals.
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The Everett Silvertips have signed F Patrick Bajkov, D Jordan Wharrie and D Lucas Skrumeda. . . . Bajkov, who turns 16 on Nov. 27, was a sixth-round pick in the 2012 bantam draft. The Nanaimo, B.C., native had 31 points, including 20 goals, with the major midget North Island Silvertips last season. . . . Wharrie, 16, was taken in the fifth-round of the 2012 bantam draft. From Port Moody, B.C., he had two points in 39 games with the major midget Vancouver North East Chiefs. . . . Skrumeda, a list player, is to turn 17 on Oct. 7. From St. Andrews, Man., he had 28 points in 43 games with the midget AAA Winnipeg Thrashers last season.
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The Portland Winterhawks, the WHL’s defending champions, have nine players heading out to NHL training camps — F Oliver Bjorkstrand, Columbus Blue Jackets; G Brendan Burke, Phoenix Coyotes; F Anton Cederholm, Vancouver Canucks; F Adam de Champlain, Vancouver; D Garrett Haar, Washington Capitals; F Taylor Leier, Philadelphia Flyers; F Brendan Leipsic, Nashville Predators; F Nic Petan, Winnipeg Jets; and D Derrick Pouliot, Pittsburgh Penguins.
All are draft picks, with the exception of de Champlain, who is a free-agent invitee.
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The Moose Jaw Warriors are preparing to have three players depart for NHL camps — D Morgan Rielly, Toronto Maple Leafs; D Travis Brown, Chicago Blackhawks; and F Tanner Eberle, Montreal Canadiens. Rielly and Brown were draft picks; Eberle is on a free-agent tryout.
The 19-year-old Rielly was selected with the fifth overall pick of the 2012 NHL draft. He joined the AHL’s Toronto Marlies when the Warriors’ last season ended, getting into 14 regular-season and eight playoff games. Based on all of that, you have to think he will be given every opportunity to stick with the Maple Leafs.
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The Seattle Thunderbirds will have four roster players attending NHL camps — D Shea Theodore, Anaheim Ducks; F Alexander Delnov, Florida Panthers; F Mitch Elliot, Vancouver Canucks; and D Jared Hauf, Philadelphia Flyers. Theodore and Delnov are draft picks; Elliot and Hauf are free-agent invitees. . . . Seattle F Branden Troock, who was selected by the Dallas Stars in the fifth round of the 2012 draft, continues to recover from offseason shoulder surgery and won’t attend the NHL team’s camp.
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From Portland Winterhawks F Nic Petan (@petan19): “Thankful to be living on a houseboat this year. #portland #view.”
He included this photo.


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