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

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

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THE MacBETH REPORT:
D/F James Bettauer (Chilliwack, Prince Albert, Medicine Hat, 2007-08, 2010-12) signed a one-year contract with the Hamburg Freezers (Germany, DEL). He had 21 goals and 37 assists in 74 games with Prince Albert Raiders and Medicine Hat Tigers this season. According to the Freezers press release, Bettauer has claim to a German passport and won’t count as an import. The Freezers plan to use him as a defenceman. . . .
D Shawn Belle (Regina, Tri-City, 2000-05) signed a one-year contract extension with Adler Mannheim (Germany, DEL). He had three goals and five assists in 46 games for Adler this season.
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KEEPING UP WITH JONES:
OK.
Everyone who figured D Seth Jones would go to the U of North Dakota after the Portland Winterhawks had obtained the right to talk to him raise your right hand.
That’s what I thought.
Jeff Spiegel of the Portland Tribune reported early Monday evening that Jones, who is projected as an early selection in the NHL’s 2013 draft, signed with the Winterhawks on Saturday and that an official announcement will be made tonight, prior to Game 4 of the WHL championship final in Portland.
The Winterhawks gave up an undisclosed conditional bantam draft pick to acquire the negotiating rights to Jones from the Everett Silvertips. They had selected Jones with the 11th overall pick of the 2009 bantam draft.
Doug Soetaert, then Everett’s general manager, made that selection and also put a lot of time and effort into recruiting Jones. However, Soetaert was fired in February and Garry Davidson, the Winterhawks’ director of player personnel, was named GM shortly thereafter.
A couple of weeks ago, Jones’ representative – please remember that NCAA regulations don’t allow college-eligible players to have agents (wink! wink!) – informed Everett that Jones wouldn’t play for the Silvertips. They then dealt negotiating rights to Portland.
Obviously, it will cost the Winterhawks a whole lot more now that they have signed him.
"We have the framework for that deal, and everyone is comfortable with it if we are able to sign him," Mike Johnston, the Winterhawks’ GM and head coach, told The Tribune after acquiring the negotiating rights.
While the Winterhawks are to announce the signing tonight, chances are they won’t reveal the terms of the trade with the Silvertips. It could be that such a transaction will include a player or two off the Winterhawks’ present roster.
Spiegel’s entire story is right here.
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THE COACHING GAME:
Dale Vossen is the new head coach of the midget AAA Swift Current Home Hardware Legionnaires, as Shawn Mullin, the play-by-play voice of the Swift Current Broncos has reported. Vossen replaces Jason Johns, who was dropped as head coach in March. . . . Vossen is no stranger to hockey in Western Canada, having scouted for the Regina Pats and Kamloops Blazers, and having coached at various levels in minor hockey in and around Swift Current and Regina. He was an assistant coach with the midget AAA Regina Pat Canadians who won the Air Canada Cup in 1988 and got back to the final the following season only to lose to the Calgary Buffaloes. . . . Vossen also spent two seasons (1991-93) as an assistant coach with the Pats. Brad Tippett, brother to Phoenix Coyotes head coach Dave Tippett, was the Pats’ head coach. Oh, could those two, along with Al Dumba, the other assistant coach, tell some stories. . . . Vossen’s son, Evan, scored the OT goal last month that gave the McGill Redmen a 4-3 victory over the Western Mustangs in the CIS championship game. The Redmen are recognized as the oldest hockey team in the world — the club was wrapping up its 136th season — and this was its first championship.
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Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province reports that the Vancouver Giants’ search for a goaltender will continue. Adam Morrison played out his eligibility with the Giants this season. Jackson Whistle and Payton Lee, who also saw action with the Giants last season, are deemed too young to take over the starting role. The Giants, Ewen has reported, had hoped to land Matt Tomkins, who played this season with the AJHL’s Sherwood Park Crusaders but he apparently has decided to go the NCAA route.
Ewen’s complete report is right here.
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Chris Rumble, the son of Seattle Thunderbirds assistant coach Darren Rumble, was diagnosed with leukemia about five weeks ago. Chris just happens to know his way around a video camera and a computer, so while at Seattle Children’s Hospital on the weekend he put together a music video that is a must-see. He filmed it on Saturday, then did the editing on Sunday and then published it online. Check it out right here.
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With the Portland Winterhawks playing in the WHL’s championship final for the Ed Chynoweth Cup for a second straight season, it’s easy to forget how bad this franchise was not that long ago. Jim Beseda of The Oregonian takes a look back right here and writes about how times have changed.
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Ch-ch-ching! As expected, head coach Derek Laxdal of the Edmonton Oil Kings paid a small price for his officiating-related comments after Game 2 of the WHL final. No, he wasn’t talking about how good he felt the officiating has been. And it cost him $500. The WHL announced the fine on Monday.
Laxdal twice said “no comment” to officiating-related questions following Game 3 on Sunday night.
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F Henrik Samuelsson won’t be in the Edmonton Oil Kings’ lineup tonight for Game 4 of the WHL final against the Winterhawks in Portland. Samuelsson drew a one-game suspension under supplementary discipline for a cross-checking incident in Game 3 on Sunday. He drew a double-minor on the play.
After the suspension was announced there were a couple of interesting tweets.
Here’s one from Todd Vrooman, the play-by-play voice of the Winterhawks: “Samuelsson suspended for Game 4 for blatant cross check to the face of Joey Baker in Game 3.”
OK.
Now here are two tweets from Corey Graham, the radio voice of the Oil Kings:
“Just a bizarre situation. WHL suspends Henrik Samuelsson 1 game for protecting himself on a hit by Joey Baker.”
“But the WHL looks other way when Wren hits Moroz from behind during goal celebration, and when Brad Ross shoves one of their officials #???”
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Here is the schedule for the WHL’s championship final for the Ed Chynoweth Cup (all times local):
Thursday, May 3: Portland 2 at Edmonton 3 (7,466)
Friday, May 4: Portland 5 at Edmonton 1 (10,720)
Sunday, May 6: Edmonton 3 at Portland 4 (10,947)
Tuesday, May 8: at Portland (Rose Garden), 7 p.m.
Thursday, May 10: at Edmonton, 7 p.m.
x-Saturday, May 12: at Portland (Rose Garden), 6 p.m.
x-Sunday, May 13: at Edmonton, 6 p.m.

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THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Alex Leavitt (Swift Current, Everett, 2003-05) signed a one-year contract with Medvescak Zagreb (Croatia, Austria Erste Bank Liga). He had eight goals and 24 assists in 57 games for HPK Hämeenlinna (Finland, SM-Liiga) this season. . . .
D Joel Kwiatkowski (Tacoma/Kelowna, Prince George, 1994-98) signed a two-year contract with Fribourg-Gottéron (Switzerland, NL A). He had eight goals and 12 assists in 42 games for Bern (Switzerland, NL A) this season.
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The big news Monday involved the Portland Winterhawks, Everett Silvertips and D Seth Jones.
Jones, now 17, was selected by the Silvertips with the 11th overall pick in the 2009 bantam draft. Jones is projected as an early first-round pick in the NHL’s 2013 draft. The 6-foot-3, 200-pound Jones has been playing in the U.S. National Team Development Program and captained the team that won the IIHF U-18 world championship last week in Czech Republic. He had eight points, including three goals, in six games in the tournament.
However, Jones, who is believed to be choosing between the WHL and the U of North Dakota, has told the Silvertips that he has no interest in playing for them.
“Seth has indicated to us through his family advisor that he has no interest in playing for the Everett Silvertips,” Garry Davidson, Everett’s general manager, said in a news release. “We’re now pursuing other avenues toward receiving some kind of value for this former first-round bantam pick.
“At this point, we feel that this arrangement with Portland is the best way for us to benefit the Silvertips going forward.”
On Monday, the Silvertips dealt Jones’ negotiating rights to the Winterhawks for an undisclosed conditional 2013 bantam draft pick.
Obviously, the Winterhawks have given up something, perhaps a mid-round draft pick, just to speak with Jones during an undisclosed window of time. Should Portland be able to cut a deal with Jones, you can bet there will be more, lots more, compensation involved.
You can also bet that some people will point to the Everett-Portland connection involved in this deal. Davidson, who took over as the Silvertips’ GM on Feb. 15, was brought into the WHL by Johnston as Portland’s director of player personnel, a role he filled for almost four seasons until leaving for Everett to replace the fired Doug Soetaert.
It also is interesting that Bob Tory, the Tri-City Americans’ general manager, was unsuccessful about a month ago in an attempt to acquire a 72-hour negotiating window in order to speak with Jones and his family.
And say what you want about Johnston, but when he identifies a need, he aggressively pursues it. After all, who else would have given up 2012 and 2013 first-round bantam draft picks and a player (F Seth Swenson) to get F Marcel Noebels from the Seattle Thunderbirds at the Jan. 10 trade deadline?
But Johnston had identified a need for a big centreman and Noebels now skates between Sven Baertschi and Ty Rattie on what may be the WHL’s most-explosive forward unit.
Of course, it could be that there won’t be that much difference between a first-round pick originally held by Portland and a second-round selection that had belonged to the Silvertips. As compensation for hiring Davidson, Everett is believed to have surrendered two second-round bantam picks, one in 2012 and the other in 2013.
So, in essence, Johnston gave Seattle two first-round selections, which will be late in that round, and got two second-round picks from Everett that will be in the upper half of that round.
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Mark Visentin, a goaltender with the OHL’s Niagara IceDogs, stopped 22 shots and scored a goal last night in a 5-2 playoff victory over the host Ottawa 67’s. There’s more right here.
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How many WHL goaltenders have scored goals and who are they? Answer below.
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F Dominik Uher of the Spokane Chiefs has joined the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on an ATO. Uher, 19, had 68 points, including 33 goals, in 63 games with the Chiefs. From Frydek-Mistek, Czech Republic, Uher was a fifth-round selection by the parent Pittsburgh Penguins in the NHL’s 2011 draft.
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JUST NOTES: Portland F Ty Rattie has 27 career playoff goals, one shy of Randy Heath’s franchise record. . . . With 16 goals in these playoffs, Rattie is three away from the franchise single-season record held by Dan Woodley (1987). . . . Portland D Derrick Pouliot had four assists in Portland’s 5-4 OT victory over host Tri-City on Saturday night. The last Portland defenceman with four assists in a playoff game? David Babych did it against the Seattle Breakers on March 28, 1980. . . . The NAHL’s Alaska Avalanche, which played out of Palmer, has been sold and will play out of Johnstown, Pa., next season.
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Bruce McDonald, a member of the Seattle Thunderbirds’ radio crew, was diagnosed with leukemia over the weekend.
A note from the Thunderbirds: “Bruce is the second member of the T-Birds family who has been diagnosed with leukemia in the past month. Chris Rumble, assistant coach Darren Rumble’s oldest son, was diagnosed with leukemia about two weeks ago and has since started an aggressive chemotherapy treatment.”
Thom Beuning, the radio voice of the Thunderbirds, passes along this info: “Bruce assists me with the home broadcasts of Thunderbirds games (and has been associated with the team in some way or another. . . fan, statistician, color commentator . . . since he was a youngster, or almost as long as the franchise has been in Seattle).”
If you aren’t aware, Bruce has cerebral palsy, thus gets around in a motorized scooter.
As Beuning writes: “Just keep good thoughts and say a prayer or two for him.”
Feel free to visit the Thunderbirds’ Facebook page right here and send along thoughts, prayers and wishes to Bruce and Chris, who have to know the hockey world is with them.
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TWEET OF THE DAY:
Brendan Burke, who turned 17 on March 11, is the Portland Winterhawks’ backup goaltender. He also is the son of Phoenix Coyotes goaltending coach Sean Burke. After the Coyotes ousted the Chicago Blackhawks last night, Brendan (@bburke1) tweeted:
“I will be collecting my money for the yotes win tomorrow. cash only, no checks.”
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WHL goaltenders who have scored goals:
Jordan McLaughlin, Prince George Cougars, March 5, 2003.
Jason Clague, Red Deer Rebels, March 28, 1994, vs. Lethbridge Hurricanes (playoffs).
Jeff Calvert, Tacoma Rockets, Dec. 29, 1992, vs. Moose Jaw Warriors, December 29, 1992.
Chris Osgood, Medicine Hat Tigers, Jan. 3, 1991, vs. Swift Current Broncos.
Olaf Kolzig, Tri-City Americans, Nov. 29, 1989, vs. Seattle Thunderbirds.

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THE MacBETH REPORT:
D Stefan Warg (Seattle, Prince Albert, 2008-10) signed a two-year contract with Västerås (Sweden, Allsvenskan). He had two goals and three assists in 51 games with Örebro (Sweden, Allsvenskan) this season.
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THE COACHING GAME:
There was word early Monday that former NHLer Tom Rowe is going to be the head coach for Lokomotiv Yaroslavl of the KHL next season. Rowe is a scout with the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes. . . . I first saw a tweet on this from Russian hockey journalist Alessandro Seren Rosso (@AlexSerenRosso).
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It turns out that Ty Rattie and Sven Bartschi of the Portland Winterhawks are as tight off the ice as they are on it. Jim Beseda of The Oregonian has that story right here.
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The Moose Jaw Warriors have won six of their seven playoff games to this point. And they hold a 2-0 lead over the Medicine Hat Tigers in a second-round series. One of the reasons is discipline. Matthew Gourlie of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald reports right here that the Warriors have cut their penalty minutes in half over their regular-season totals.
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Chris Rumble, who played for the NAHL’s Wenatchee Wild (2009-11), has been diagnosed with leukemia and has started treatment in a Seattle hospital. You may recognize Rumble’s name from the documentary ‘Into the Ice’ that he wrote and directed. It was the story of the Wild’s 2010-11 season. . . . If you would like to send Rumble a message, email him at crumble@live.com. . . . There’s more 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.

Thursday . . .

THE MacBETH REPORT:
D Craig Weller (Kootenay, 2000-02) signed a one-year contract with Villach (Austria, Erste Bank Liga). He had 16 goals and 36 assists in 41 games for the Cardiff Devils (Wales, UK Elite) last season and was named UK Elite Ice Hockey League Player of the Year, Defenceman of the Year, and a first team all-star.
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CRAIG HARTSBURG

As of early, early this morning, Craig Hartsburg still was the head coach of the WHL’s Everett Silvertips. That was according to the WHL team’s website.
However, at least one media outlet was reporting that he had quit.
“Craig Hartsburg, who has stepped down as head coach of the WHL's Everett Silvertips,” read a report at sportsnet.ca, “is a top candidate to become right-hand man to head coach Brent Sutter, according to a member of the (Calgary) Flames staff. The spokesperson said there is work to be done but Hartsburg is of interest.”
Steve MacFarlane of the Calgary Sun wrote it this way:
The Calgary Flames have nothing to announce just yet.
But a reunion for Craig Hartsburg and Flames head coach Brent Sutter doesn’t sound far off.
“Craig Hartsburg is a top candidate for a coaching job with the Calgary Flames,” Flames vice-president of communications Peter Hanlon said Thursday after TSN’s Bob McKenzie told the Twitterverse earlier in the day he expected Hartsburg to be named associate coach in Calgary sooner than later.
“However, there is work to be done before any official announcement.”
That complete story is right here.
As for Hartsburg leaving Everett, well, you know what they say about where there’s smoke. . . .
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For all the Kyle Beach fans out there, Cody Pugh, a contributor to bleacherreport.com, takes a look back to see what the enigmatic former WHLer has accomplished to date and where he’s at in terms of making the roster of the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks.
That piece is right here.
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The Portland Winterhawks have dealt G Keith Hamilton, 19, to the Victoria ???? for third-, fourth- and eighth-round selections in the 2012 WHL bantam draft.
Hamilton, a second-round selection by Portland in the 2007 bantam draft, was 17-6-2, 2.91, .914 in backing up Mac Carruth last season.
It would seem that the Winterhawks got decent return for a goaltender who would have been in tough at training camp with Carruth, also 19, the No. 1 guy at this time.
The Winterhawks also have signed G Brendan Burke, the son of former NHLer Sean Burke, and G Jarrod Schamerhorn, and needed to make room for one of them as the backup for next season.
Burke was a third-round selection in the 2010 draft; Schamerhorn, who played for the major midget Kootenay Ice last season, was added to Portland’s list after the 2010 training camp.
Coincidentally, Hamilton and Schamerhorn both are from Kelowna.
Victoria, which finished the season as the Chilliwack Bruins, had Lucas Gore and Braden Gamble on its roster at season’s end. Gore was 20, so played out his eligibility. Gamble, now 20, was 2-8-1 in 19 games during the regular season.
Hamilton “will push for the starting job this year, and has solidified our goaltending corps as we now have three quality goaltenders at different age ranges in Hamilton, Braden Gamble and Jared Rathjen,” Marc Habscheid, Victoria’s GM/head coach, said in a press release.
Rathjen is a list player who is from Prince George. He played last season for the major midget Cariboo Cougars, who play out of P.G.
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Before you start thinking that the ???? paid a steep price for a 19-year-old goaltender with minimal experience at the WHL level, here’s a note from Alan Caldwell at Small Thoughts At Large, which is linked over there on the right:
“An eagle-eyed reader has just pointed out to me that Portland traded their own 2012 3rd, 4th, and 8th round picks to Victoria back at the draft in return for Victoria's 2nd round pick, which the Hawks used on Zach Patterson. So it looks like this deal was just to get the picks back, essentially making the deal Hamilton for the 2nd rounder. Since Portland was still playing at the time of the draft, they couldn't actually trade Hamilton at that time.”
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If you missed Game 2 of the NBA final on Wednesday night, well, you cheated yourself. A game like this is why we watch. And here’s hoping you didn’t change channels when the Miami Heat held a 15-point lead.
Dwyane Wade made a three from in front of the Dallas bench for an 88-73 lead with 7:14 to play, and he posed for three or four seconds.
Whoops!
(The pose came after some big-time strutting by LeBron and Chris Bosh after put-back dunks. Yes, the Heat makes it awfully easy to dislike it.)
Because the Dallas Mavericks went on a 20-2 run and eventually won when, with the score tied at 93, Dirk Nowitzki romped past defender Chris Bosh and laid in the winning points. With the Heat out of timeouts, it had to inbound from under its basket and Wade missed a desperation three at the buzzer.
Bruce Arthur of the National Post went back and looked at the game’s last seven minutes a second time. He came up with this:
“Heat misses last 7:15: Chalmers 3; LBJ layup; CB J; LBJ fade J; CB TO; UH J; LBJ pullup shot-clock 3 (twice); Wade pullup 3; Wade running 3.”
So it’s 1-1 heading to Dallas for three games, with the first on Sunday. You won’t want to miss it.
I have turned into something of an NBA watcher after being unable to watch NHL playoffs in a hotel in Mt. Vernon, Wash., a few weeks ago. Instead of watching Game 7 between the Chicago Blackhawks and Vancouver Canucks — the hotel didn’t provide access to Versus (or CBC) — I watched NBA playoff action. And I haven’t stopped.
Thank you, Mr. Bettman.
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The afore-mentioned Bruce Arthur has today’s good read, too. It’s a farewell of sorts to Shaq.
And it’s right here.
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Condolences to the family of Tom Mangan, a member of the Kamloops Blazers’ board of directors (2003-06), who died Thursday afternoon after battling prostate cancer. He was 64. . . . Mangan was active in the Kamloops sporting world. . . . He also served on the board of the Kamloops Blazers Sports Foundation, which handed out more than $1 million in grants before the WHL franchise was sold over the summer of 2007. And he was on the committee that backed the 2010 World Masters athletics championship that was in Kamloops.
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There are a couple of comments posted on the blog after yesteday’s comment about Game 1 of the Stanley Cup not being televised by Seattle’s NBC outlet.
A couple of hockey fans — and friends — from the Seattle area also emailed me to point out that it really isn’t a big deal.
“KING5, the NBC affiliate, never shows prime-time NHL games,” noted one fan. “Because they would rather show the news.
“So they have a sister station, KONG, which they move the game to. KING is channel 5, KONG is channel 6.
“The problem used to be that Comcast didn’t carry KONG in HD. But they have added to it.
“But, as I always point out . . . Anyone with basic Comcast cable still gets CBUT on channel  99. And if they have Comcast HD, they get the HD feed. And who the heck would want to watch NBC when you can have CBC.”
The second fan wrote:
“No big deal here – Everyone watches HNIC anyway. Can’t miss Coaches Corner.”
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Chris Rumble, a defenceman with the NAHL’s Wenatchee, Wash., Wild, is working on a 90-minute documentary that should be worth a watch. He spent the 2010-11 season getting video and audio — he even had referees mic’d up in four gmes — for the doc that he is editing more than 80 hours of video right now. The hopes to have two shows — one PG, the other uncensored — ready in August.
Corey Voegele of the Wenatchee World has the story right here.
By the way, Rumble is the son of former NHL D Darren Rumble, who spent last season on the coaching staff of the QMJHL’s Lewiston Maineiacs. That franchise, of course, folded earlier this week, meaning Rumble is available. He was shortlisted for a couple of QMJHL head-coaching spots and has been in contact with at least one WHL team.
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The Saskatoon Blades and Credit Union Centre have agreed in principle on a three-year lease. Why just three years? Cory Wolfe of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix has that story right here.
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THE COACHING GAME: The SJHL’s La Ronge Ice Wolves have signed GM/head coach Bob Beatty to a five-year contract extension. Beatty has completed seven seasons as the Ice Wolves’ head coach. They have won the last two SJHL championships. . . . I mentioned here yesterday that Wes Werhun, a new assistant coach with the AJHL’s St. Albert Steel, had been with the midget AAA St. Albert Raiders. It turns out he was with the St. Albert Merchances of the Capital Junior B league. Thanks to the sharp-eyed reader for the note on that one. . . . The BCHL’s Langley Rivermen have hired Steve O’Rourke, 36, as their general manager and head coach. He had been an assistant coach with the AHL’s Abbotsford Heat for two seasons. Assistant coaches will be Bobby Henderson, a son of co-owner Roy Henderson, and Jordan Emmerson. Bobby Henderson, who was on the coaching staff of the junior B Mission, B.C., Ice Breakes last season, played with the BCHL’s Chilliwack Chief before attending the U of Nebraska-Omaha. Emmerson, who is form Abbotsford, played for hte BCHL’s Penticton Panthers before going on to the U of Alaska-Fairbanks.
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Four of the 16 goaltenders invited to Hockey Canada’s sixth annual goaltending camp are from the WHL. Tyler Bunz (Medicine Hat), Calvin Pickard (Seattle) and Kent Simpson (Everett) are among the 10 who will attend the under-20 camp, while Chris Driedger (Tri-City) is on the under-18 list. . . . If you’re at the U-20 camp, you are at least on the radar of the Canadian national junior team’s scouting staff. . . . The camp is scheduled fro the Norma Bush Arena in Calgary, June 9-12. . . . F Taylor Stefishen, who had 67 points in 68 regular-season games with the Prince George Cougars last season, had his NHL rights traded on Thursday. Stefishen, who played two seasons at Ohio State before joining the Cougars for his 20-year-old season, was a fifth-round selection by the Nashville Predators in the 2008 NHL draft. On Thursday, the Preds dealt him to the Washington Capitals for a conditional seventh-round pick in the 2013 draft. Nashville gets the pick if Stefishen appears on the Capitals’ reserve list during either of the next two seasons.

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
     
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