Noel gets down to work . . . Changes extend scoring streaks . . . Hurricanes, Rebels make a deal

F Cody Almond (Kelowna, 2005-09) was released by the Minnesota Wild (NHL) and returned to Genève-Servette (Switzerland, NL A). Almond had signed a five-year contract with Genève-Servette in June, then got a one-year NHL deal with the Wild in July. He was pointless in five games with Iowa (AHL). . . .
D Garnet Exelby (Saskatoon, Regina, 1998-2001) has been released by Dornbirn (Austria, Erste Bank Liga). He was pointless in 17 games. . . .
F Owen Fussey (Calgary, Moose Jaw, 1999-2003) has been released by the Guildford Flames (England, Premier). He had nine goals and five assists in 19 games.
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THE COACHING GAME:

Claude Noel worked his first practice as head coach of the Vancouver Giants on Monday. Afterwards, he spent a few minutes chatting with the media.
Interestingly, it seems that Noel didn’t sign a contract. That, he apparently told management, is something that can be worked out down the road.
Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province has the highlights from Noel’s chat right here.
Cam Tucker of Metro Vancouver was there, too. His story is right here.
Vancouver’s first game under Noel is scheduled for Friday against the visiting Portland Winterhawks.
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A couple of scoring changes after the Kootenay Ice’s 4-3 OT victory over the host Seattle Thunderbirds on Sunday extended two scoring streaks. . . . Ice F Sam Reinhart was credited with an assist, allowing him to run his streak to 11 games. He has 23 points, including six goals, over that stretch, which encompasses every game since he was returned by the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres. . . . Ice F Jaedon Descheneau also picked up an assist, and he’s on a 10-game streak. He’s got 17 points, including seven goals, over that stretch.
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Neither D Jordan Thomson (concussion) nor F Wyatt Sloboshan (broken jaw) is with the Saskatoon Blades, who open a B.C. Division swing tonight in Kamloops against the Blazers. . . . As well, the Blades have some illness going through the dressing room. F Sam McKechnie didn’t skate on Monday, and Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix reports that D Amil Krupic “was the first one off the ice because he wasn’t well.” . . . F Luke Gingras and F Landon Welykholowa, both of whom missed a 4-2 loss in Moose Jaw on Saturday, returned to the ice.
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The Red Deer Rebels have acquired F Riley Sheen, 20, who had been the Lethbridge Hurricanes’ leading scorer. . . . The Rebels get Sheen and a conditional fifth-round 2017 bantam draft pick in exchange for F/D Devan Fafard, 20, and F Brayden Burke, 17. Burke was a seventh-round pick by the Rebels in the 2012 bantam draft. . . . Fafard, a defenceman by trade, has been playing up front with the Rebels. He is out with an undisclosed injury and may not play for a week, while Burke has been out since Oct. 5 with an undisclosed injury but is back skating. . . . The draft pick apparently is conditional on Burke reaching a pre-determined number of points. . . . Sheen had 23 points, including 20 assists, in 27 games with the Hurricanes, who have the WHL’s poorest record. Sheen also has played with the Medicine Hat Tigers and Seattle Thunderbirds. In 209 regular-season games, he has 115 points, 36 of them goals. . . . Sheen is expected to be in the Rebels’ lineup tonight when they play host to the Calgary Hitmen.
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The WHL’s Christmas shopping fund has increased by $1,750 as four teams have been asked to make contributions. . . . The Kamloops Blazers were fined $500 after a player (D Ryan Rehill) instigated a fight in the last five minutes of a 7-3 loss to the visiting Regina Pats on Friday. Rehill was hit with a one-game suspension and sat out Saturday’s 5-3 loss to the visiting Victoria Cougars. . . . The Swift Current Broncos were fined $250 “for actions of player at Red Deer” on Saturday. Broncos F Carter Rigby drew a one-game suspension for those actions. . . . The Broncos were fined an additional $500 for their part in a multiple fight situation in that same game. The Red Deer Rebels also were fined $500.
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Hey @calstampeders, you have to win it to break it, right? #Congrats #GreyCup
— Spokane Chiefs (@chiefshockey) December 2, 2014

Pats shuffling their deck . . . Giants interested in Gulutzan, Morrison

F Cody Almond (Kelowna, 2005-09) has signed a five-year extension with Genève-Servette (Switzerland, NL A). Last season, he had 34 points, including 16 goals, in 44 games. Almond, an alternate captain on the team, has dual Canadian-Swiss citizenship. . . .
The KHL has announced that due to civil unrest in eastern Ukraine and the recent arson attack on the Donetsk arena, Donbass Donetsk (Ukraine) will take a “sabbatical” and won’t play in the KHL in 2014-2015. The club is scheduled to return to the KHL in 2015-2016. All players currently under contract with Donbass will remain under contract but will be allowed to sign one-year contracts with other KHL clubs. . . . Donbass announced that it will play in Ukraine Professionalnaya Hokkeinaya Liga this season. Its farm club played in that league last season. . . . Players currently under contract with Donbass include Gennady Razin (Kamloops, 1996-98), Pavel Padakin (Calgary, 2012-14) and Sergei Varlamov (Swift Current, 1995-98).
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Just when things seemed to be settling down on the WHL coaching front . . .
The Regina Pats announced Tuesday that head coach Malcolm Cameron has been fired “effective immediately.”
The Pats also chose to reveal that assistant coach Josh Dixon had quit on June 17, while fellow assistant Billy McGuigan had turned in his resignation on June 5. No one has said why those moves weren’t made public when they happened.
McGuigan apparently cited family reasons when he resigned, while Dixon wasn’t able to come to a contract agreement with the Pats and there are suggestions that he felt low-balled by the franchise’s new owners.
With both assistant coaches having left, it seems the new owners decided to get rid of the head coach and make a fresh start in that area of the front office.
“Coming in we were committed to moving forward as is,” Todd Lumbard, the team’s president and a co-owner, told Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post. “We had a coaching staff that had some success as a unit. (The owners wanted to) keep the momentum going.
“When we knew that neither assistant coach was going to come back for various reasons, we just stopped there for a bit and tried to figure out what we were going to do. We decided we wanted to bring a cohesive group to the team next season. We thought it was best for us to start with a head coach and build our coaching staff that way with someone new that we would hire.”
Cameron was preparing for his second season as head coach. He was an assistant coach there for two seasons before taking over when Pat Conacher left.
McGuigan had spent one season with the Pats, while Dixon had been there through three seasons.
Harder has lots more, including reaction from Cameron, at leaderpost.com.
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Interestingly, the Pats’ new owners, who were so up front and in the spotlight as they purchased the team from Diane and Russ Parker, weren’t very visible on Tuesday.
Here’s Rob Vanstone of the Regina Leader-Post:
“A Tuesday afternoon yak session with the media was devoid of Pat answers.
“The questions persisted for upwards of 20 minutes, leaving Regina Pats general manager Chad Lang as an uneasy and rather sympathetic figure in the face of microphones, cameras and, well, skepticism.
“Lang was essentially served up as a sacrificial lamb by the Western Hockey League team’s new ownership group after head coach Malcolm Cameron was fired — a move that was announced Tuesday morning but never satisfactorily explained to the reporters who convened outside the Pats’ Brandt Centre office.
“The picture became clearer when, in conversation with the Leader-Post’s Greg Harder, new Pats president Todd Lumbard acknowledged that the new regime wanted to bring in its own guy.
“Now, who knows whether the same philosophy will extend to the incumbent general manager?
“The new owners did entrust Lang to meet the media, en masse, on Tuesday. Lucky him . . .”
Visit leaderpost.com for Vanstone’s complete column.
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Glenn Reid, CBC Regina’s veteran sportscaster, took time out to tweet this: “1st strike against #Pats new owners. Fire the coach and don't show up to explain why. Shame.”
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1. Peter Anholt, one of the winningest coaches in WHL history, has joined the Lethbridge Hurricanes as their assistant general manager. . . . Anholt has 450 head-coaching victories to his credit, with the Prince Albert Raiders, Seattle Thunderbirds, Red Deer Rebels and Kelowna Rockets. He is 10th on the WHL list of career coaching victories and sixth in games coached (973). . . . In Lethbridge, he will work with GM Brad Robson. . . . Anholt has spent the last three seasons on Seattle’s scouting staff.

2. Yes, the Pittsburgh Penguins, who are looking for a head coach, are showing some interest in Mike Johnston, the GM/head coach of the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks. Rob Rossi of the Pittsburgh Tribune filed this story right here.

3. Is Eric Lindros a legitimate candidate for the Hockey Hall of Fame? Ken Campbell of The Hockey News explores that issue right here.

4. Darren Gusdal, a forward who spent two seasons with the Brandon Wheat Kings (1978-80), died over the weekend. His obituary is right here; you also are able to leave messages of condolences if you follow that link.

5. It’s not often that #cannibal is trending on Twitter, but that was the case Tuesday afternoon after Italy soccer star Luis Suarez took a bite out of an opponent. . . . Dan Treadway of si.com takes an hilarious look at the situation, including a tweet from Evander Holyfield, right here.

6. The Vancouver Giants continue to search for a head coach to replace Don Hay, who was allowed to get out of his contract which had a year remaining and return to Kamloops where he now is head coach of the Blazers. . . . I am told that the Giants interviewed Glen Gulutzan on Tuesday. Gulutzan, a former head coach of the NHL’s Dallas Stars, is an assistant coach with the Vancouver Canucks. When Gulutzan was the head coach in Dallas, Willie Desjardins was an associate coach with the Stars. Desjardins signed as the Canucks’ head coach on Monday.

7. Throw another name into the Giants’ list of potential head coaches. I am told that they have asked the NHL’s Winnipeg Jets for permission to speak with Mark Morrison, who has been an assistant coach with the St. John’s IceCaps for three seasons. Morrison, who is from Delta, B.C., was the head coach of the now-defunct Victoria Salmon Kings of the ECHL for four-plus seasons. . . . Morrison, 51, played four seasons for the Victoria Cougars (1979-83).

8. If Glen Gulutzan is interested in coaching in the WHL, chances are he will be getting in touch with the Regina Pats, who canned head coach Malcolm Cameron on Tuesday. Gulutzan, a native of The Pas., Man., played in the WHL with the Moose Jaw Warriors, Brandon Wheat Kings and Saskatoon Blades (1986-92).

9. How about Lorne Molleken as the next head coach of the Regina Pats? He’s from Regina. He coached the Pats in 2000-01, when they were the host team for the Memorial Cup. He’s available, too, having been bought out by the Saskatoon Blades’ new owners after spending last season as that team’s general manager.
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THE COACHING GAME:
The Seattle Thunderbirds have signed head coach Steve Konowalchuk to a three-year contract extension. Konowalchuk signed on with the Thunderbirds on June 16, 2011, and started off with a four-year deal. . . . The Thunderbirds went 41-25-6 last season and got into the second round of the players.
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TWEET OF THE DAY:

Cash-strapped Canes add assistant GM, I'd guess the reasoning is you don't get better by cutting back. And everyone else has an ass't GM.
— Dylan Purcell (@dylpurcell) June 24, 2014

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By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
Dan Russell isn’t sure what the future holds.
What he does know is that he’ll be a free agent when his contract at Vancouver radio station CKNW runs out on Aug. 31.
“I have absolutely no plans,” said Russell, prior to Wednesday’s WHL playoff game between the Kelowna Rockets and Kamloops Blazers at Interior Savings Centre. “I have a commitment to finish out my contract at CKNW.”
Tom Plasteras, CKNW’s program director, revealed in mid-March that Russell’s contract won’t be renewed.
For now, Russell continues as the host of Sportstalk, the station’s nightly three-hour show that is heard throughout B.C. He has been behind that microphone for 21 of the past 22 years.
These days, Russell also is doing the play-by-play of WHL games for Shaw TV.
When the WHL season is over, he said, “I’ll focus on the next step. Who knows? I may have to re-invent myself and, if that’s the case, I’m looking forward to it.”
Russell, 52, is married with three children.
“The youngest is six,” he said, “so I’m too young for retirement.”
He also admitted to feeling some excitement over the uncertainty.
“I don’t know where it’s going to take me,” he said.
Russell admitted he would prefer to stay on the Lower Mainland but that he isn’t opposed to leaving the area.
“If the right opportunity comes along . . .,” he said.
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On April 6, 1996, F Jarome Iginla scored at 13:23 of OT to give the host Blazers a 4-3 victory over the Tri-City Americans.
On April 9, 2013, F JC Lipon scored at 3:43 of OT to give the Blazers a 5-4 victory over the visiting Rockets.
In between those two games, the Blazers lost seven consecutive OT games on home ice. (Interestingly, the Blazers lost each of the series in which they were beaten in OT at home.)
On March 29, 1998, F Jarrett Smith got the winner in a 4-3 victory by the Prince George Cougars.
On May 5, 1999, F Jordan Krestanovich scored in triple OT to give the Calgary Hitmen a 4-3 victory.
On March 30, 2005, F Dale Mahovsky scored at 1:25 as the Kootenay Ice won, 3-2.
On March 23 and 24, 2007, the Cougars won in OT, thanks to goals from F Nick Drazenovic and F Devin Setoguchi.
On March 24, 2009, F Cody Almond gave the Rockets a 3-2 OT victory.
On March 23, 2010, F Brett Breitkreuz scored in OT to give the Vancouver Giants a 5-4 victory.
Over that same time period, the Blazers were 4-6 in OT games on the road.
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Goaltender Dustin Butler, who holds the Blazers’ single-season shutout record, made his NHL debut last night with the Vancouver Canucks.
The 25-year-old Butler, who has played five seasons with the U of Calgary Dinos, was on the bench in support of starter Roberto Luongo after Cory Schneider became ill.
Butler, who is from Calgary, set the Blazers’ single-season shutout record with seven in 2006-07.
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Former Blazers F C.J. Stretch has joined the AHL’s Oklahoma City Barons for the second time this season.
Stretch, 23, put up 62 points in 60 regular-season games with the ECHL’s Ontario Reign, then added five points, all goals, in four first-round playoff games.
Earlier this season, he had six points in 10 games with the Barons.
The Reign is between series, having swept the Utah Grizzlies in a first-round series. Stretch set a franchise single-game record with four goals in a 7-2 victory in Game 2.
The Reign, which finished off the Grizzlies on Saturday, won’t play again until April 19, so Stretch may well be back by then.

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THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Justin Keller (Kelowna, 2003-06) signed a one-year contract with Red Bull Salzburg (Austria, Erste Bank Liga). He had 20 goals and 19 assists in 44 games with Linz Black Wings (Austria, Erste Bank Liga) last season. Keller led the league in playoff goals with nine in helping Linz win the league championship. . . .
F Konstantin Pushkaryov (Calgary, 2004-05) signed a two-year contract with Spartak Moscow (Russia, KHL). He had one goal and two assists in 20 games with Barys Astana (Kazakhstan, KHL) and five goals and two assists in six games on assignment to Barys-2 Astana (Kazakhstan, Premier League) last season. . . .
F Tyler Metcalfe (Seattle, 1999-2005) signed a one-year contract with Szekesfehervar (Hungary, Austria Erste Bank Liga). He had 14 goals and 23 assists in 50 games for Arystan Temirtau (Kazakhstan, Premier League) last season. . . .
F Michal Repik (Vancouver, 2005-08) signed a one-year contract with Lev Prague (Czech Republic, KHL). He had 14 goals and 21 assists in 55 games with the San Antonio Rampage (AHL) and two goals and three assists in 17 games with the Florida Panthers (NHL) last season. . . .
F Cody Almond (Kelowna, 2005-09) signed a three-year contract with Genève-Servette (Switzerland, NL A). He had seven goals and eight assists in 46 games with the Houston Aeros (AHL) and one goal in 10 games with the Minnesota Wild (NHL) last season. According to the press release from Genève-Servette, it was discovered that Almond has dual Canadian-Swiss citizenship; thus, he will not count as an import.
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The Central league’s Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees have ceased operations after nine seasons. “The economics of playing in the Valley are no longer financially viable,” reads a news release issued by the organization. “The loss of Laredo for this coming season and the losses of close rivals such as Corpus Christi and Austin in recent years have created a larger financial burden than the team can bear.”
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F Brendan Leipsic of the Portland Winterhawks was honoured Tuesday night as Winnipeg’s Jewish Athlete of the Year at the 40th annual Y Sports Dinner. Leipsic, 18, had 58 points, including 28 goals, in 65 games with Portland. He is eligible for this weekend’s NHL draft.
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The Moose Jaw Warriors have signed two members of their front office to multi-year extensions. . . . Alan Millar, who has been director of hockey operations for two seasons, also has had his title changed to general manager. . . . Corey Nyhagen, the director of business operations, also received an extension. . . . The length of the extensions wasn’t announced.
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Dan Elliott is the new manager of media relations for UBC Athletics. Elliott starred as a linebacker with the Thunderbirds football team (1994-98) and was an integral part of the Vanier Cup-wining team in 1997. He was a two-year captain (1997-98), a three-time Canada West all-star (1996-98) and a second team All-Canadian (1998). . . . Elliott spent the last two seasons as the radio voice of the Vancouver Giants for whom he also handled media relations.
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THE COACHING GAME:
Dave MacQueen, a veteran OHL coach, has signed on as head coach of the Dornbirn Bulldogs in Austria. . . . He had been general manager and head coach of the OHL’s Sarnia Sting from 2006 until being fired on Feb. 6, 2011. . . .
Craig Hartsburg, the former Everett Silvertips head coach (2009-11), is off to the Columbus Blue Jackets as associate coach to head coach Todd Richards. Hartsburg spent last season with the Calgary Flames, but was dumped after the season with one year left on his contract. With Columbus, he replaces Brad Berry,  who left to return to the U of North Dakota coaching staff. . . . The Blue Jackets also added Keith Acton as an assistant coach. He was last on the staff of the Toronto Maple Leafs. . . .
Dean Evason, who was named Tuesday as head coach of the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals, threw out the ceremonial first pitch prior to Wednesday’s game between the Brewers and the visiting Toronto Blue Jays. He did it while wearing shorts and flip-flops, and Brewers slugger Ryan Braun apparently hit it about 600 feet.

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Saturday . . .

“Brantt Myhres has been to the dark side . . . again and again and again and again . . . and again.
And now the 34-year-old former National Hockey League tough guy wants to give back, wants to share his knowledge, wants to help players who are struggling with substance abuse.”
So begins a solid story by John Down of the Calgary Herald. The entire story is right here and it’s a good read, providing yet more insight into the lives led by professional hockey’s enforcers.
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If you are wondering what happened to the QMJHL’s Lewiston Maineiacs, Kalle Oakes of the Lewiston Sun Journal has the story right here. It’s a column and it’s a good one. If you live in a city that has a WHL franchise, you definitely will want to read this piece.
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In Binghamton, N.Y., F Zack Smith (Swift Current, 2004-08) scored twice on Saturday night, leading the Senators to a 4-2 victory over the Houston Aeros in Game 5 of the AHL final. . . . The Senators lead the best-of-seven series 3-2, with Game 5 in Houston on Tuesday. . . . A seventh game, if needed, will be played in Houston on Thursday. . . . Binghamton G Robin Lehner posted a 3-0 shutout on Friday and stopped 41 shots one night later. . . . Attendance was 4,727. . . . Smith scored the game’s last two goals, breaking a 2-2 tie on the PP with nine seconds left in the second period and adding insurance at 15:56 of the third. . . . The Aeros were without F Cody Almond (Kelowna, 2005-09), who suffered a leg injury Friday, and then lost D Jared Spurgeon (Spokane, 2005-10) in Game 5. He didn’t return after taking a check in the second period.
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“Knowing your stance on WHL officiating it’s not surprising this has snuck by,” started the comment from an anonymous reader of this blog. He/she went on to point out that “former WHL referees Kelly Sutherland (Vancity product) and Steve Kozari (Penticton product) made the SCF and SCSF respectively.”
Honestly, I don’t know what to make of the start of the comment because it’s been a long, long time since I was critical of any WHL referee or linesman.
In the late 1970s/early 1980s I was often harshly critical of WHL referees. As a young sports journalist I likely thought it was the thing to do . . . the power of the pen and all that, I suppose.
And then one day the phone rang. It was Ed Chynoweth calling. The man who ran the WHL didn’t sound upset or angry, but it was obvious that this was a time for me to listen. He explained the WHL officiating system, pointing out how the league works to develop officials the same way it develops players.
More than that, though, Chynoweth reminded me that these on-ice officials are out there giving it their all. Sure, some of these guys have bad nights, but don’t you ever have a bad day/night at work?
Now . . . if the anonymous commenter — are there any other kind? — was referring to my opinion of the WHL’s two-man referee system, well, that’s entirely different.
I don’t like the two-man system, but, hey, I’m hardly alone. In fact, I would suggest that the vast majority of WHL general managers and head coaches are in the same boat.
I have long felt that the WHL would develop better referees quicker if it went back to the one-man system. That, however, is beating a dead horse because it won’t happen, at least it won’t as long as the NHL uses the two-man system.

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
     
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
     
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