Giants happy with Noel . . . Ice stuns Silvertips . . . Thunderbirds derail Chiefs

F Radek Meidl (Seattle, Tri-City, 2006-08) has signed a contract with Prostějov (Czech Republic, 1. Liga). Contract terms weren’t announced. This season, he had nine goals and eight assists in 16 games with Polonia Bytom (Poland, Ekstraliga). . . .
D Jindřich Barák (Red Deer, 2009-10) has signed a contract for the rest of this season with Skalica (Slovakia, Extraliga) after requesting his release from Sparta Prague (Czech Republic, Extraliga). Barák played for Skalica each of the past two seasons. With Sparta this season, he had one goal in 12 games.
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THE COACHING GAME:

The Vancouver Giants have signed Claude Noel as the fifth head coach in franchise history.
The WHL team made the announcement via a press release Sunday evening, during halftime of the Grey Cup, the annual championship game of the Canadian Football League that this year was held in Vancouver.
“We’re excited to have Claude join our organization,” Giants general manager Scott Bonner said in the news release. “He has worked extensively with Ken Hitchcock, who is one of the best coaches in WHL history, and with Claude coming from the NHL, we know he’s one of the top coaches in the world. We’re confident that he can get us back on track.”
Noel attended the Giants' game in Calgary on Saturday night. The Giants snapped a six-game losing skid, beating the Hitmen, 6-3. The Giants next play on Friday when they entertain the Portland Winterhawks.
The news release didn't give any indication of contract length or terms.
The Giants fired head coach Troy Ward on Wednesday. He was 25 games into a three-year contract and had a 9-16-0 record at the time. Assistant coach Matt Erhart was named interim head coach and the Giants were 1-2-0 with him running the bench.
Noel, 59, has twice been an NHL head coach, with the Winnipeg Jets and Columbus Blue Jackets. He was 80-79-18 with the Jets when they fired him in January. During his time in Winnipeg, he coached former Giants like Evander Kane, Spencer Machacek, Kenndal McArdle and James Wright.
In a short stint as the Blue Jackets' head coach in 2009-10, Noel was 10-8-6.
A native of Kirkland Lake, Ont., Noel has a lot of coaching experience but has never been a head coach at the major junior level. He spent two seasons (1988-90) as an assistant coach under head coach Bert Templeton with the OHL's North Bay Centennials.
Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province tries to piece together the Noel hiring right here.
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The BCHL's Victoria Grizzlies are bringing in Craig Didmon to replace general manager and head coach Brad Knight. The move wll be made official today at a news conference. The Grizzlies are 11-10-0-5, good for fourth spot in the Island Division, four points out of third and five points out of second. . . . Didmon, who is taking over on an interim basis, had been with the Grizzlies, but he resigned in June. . . . Independent Sports News has the story right here.
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Bob Woods, the general manager and head coach of the Saskatoon Blades, learned a lesson on Saturday night in Moose Jaw. We'll never know if it may have cost his side a 4-2 loss to the Warriors. . . . Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix has the story right here explaining how Blades F Alex Forsberg had to leave a game in the middle of the second period, even though he was healthy and hadn't taken a penalty.
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The Moose Jaw Warriors have released F Linden Penner, a 19-year-old from Sherwood Park, Alta. Penner, who was a 10th-round selection by the Saskatoon Blades in the 2010 bantam draft, had a goal and three assists in 24 games with the Warriors. . . . The Warriors had acquired Penner from the Calgary Hitmen on Sept. 24, giving up a conditional sixth round pick in the 2016 bantam draft. Perhaps the draft pick was payable if Penner was on the Warriors' roster on Dec. 1.
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The Colorado Avalanche have recalled F Colin Smith from the AHL's Lake Erie Monsters and he could make his NHL debut tonight against the Montreal Canadiens. Smith, 21, is from Edmonton. He had 271 points, including 102 goals, in 272 regular-season WHL games with the Kamloops Blazers. The Avalanche selected him in the seventh round of the NHL's 2012 draft. . . . Last season, his first as a pro, he had 34 points, eight of them goals, in 76 games with Lake Erie. This season, he has four goals and seven assists in 16 games.
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F Mason Shaw of the Medicine Hat Tigers won’t play again this season. Ryan McCracken of the Medicine Hat News reports that Shaw “will undergo season-ending surgery this week.” . . . Shaw, a 16-year-old from Lloydminster, Alta., was a second-round pick by the Tigers in the 2013 bantam draft. In his first WHL season, he has three goals and six assists in 23 games.
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SUNDAY’S GAMES:

In Everett, D Tyler King scored at 3:08 of OT as the Kootenay Ice erased a 3-0 deficit and beat the Silvertips, 4-3. . . . Kootenay trailed 3-0 early in the third period when F Tim Bozon scored his ninth goal at 1:35. . . . Ice D Rinat Valiev got his side to within a goal with his fourth goal at 5:40, via a PP. . . . D Tanner Faith scored his first goal of the season at 13:52 of the third to force OT. . . . F Nikita Scherback (bruised thigh) returned to the Everett lineup and had his 12th goal and an assist. . . . The Silvertips also had F Remi Laurencelle (ankle) back in the lineup. . . . Kootenay F Sam Reinhart had his point streak snapped at 10 games. . . . The Ice is 9-2-0 with Reinhart in the lineup. . . . The Ice (13-15-0) has won two in a row. . . . Everett is 16-5-4. . . . Taylor Rocca of the Cranbrook Daily Townsman has more right here on the Ice’s weekend. . . .

In Kent, Wash., the Seattle Thunderbirds scored three PP goals and beat the Spokane Chiefs, 4-1. . . . Only the game's first goal, from Seattle D Turner Ottenbreit, didn't come via the PP. . . . F Ryan Gropp scored twice for Seattle, giving him 12 goals this season. Gropp played six games without a goal after last scoring on Nov. 8. . . . F Justin Hickman had two assists for Seattle. . . . F Calder Brooks had Spokane's lone goal, his 11th. . . . Seattle D Sahvan Khaira gave his side a 3-1 lead with his first goal at 10:03 of the second period. . . . The Thunderbirds scratched F Mathew Barzal (knee) and D Shea Theodore (undisclosed). . . . The Thunderbirds improved to 11-12-4, while the Chiefs (14-8-3) had a five-game winning streak end.
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Just watched a midget game with a total of 9 coaches on the benches. Why is this necessary? #ThreeIsPlenty #Overkill
— Mike Fraser (@MikeFraser29) November 30, 2014

Of course, the Kitchener Rangers are upset by the report by Matt Slovin of the Michigan Daily that claims the OHL club offered up a $200,000 package in an attempt to land D Jacob Trouba.
Trouba, an 18-year-old from Rochester, Minn., was selected by the Winnipeg Jets with the ninth pick of the 2012 NHL draft.
On Monday, Slovin wrote that an OHL source had told him the Rangers had made a “huge offer” to the Trouba family and that the package was in place of the standard education package.
The Rangers, a community-owned team, have denied all of that, of course.
In fact, COO/president Steve Bienkowski has told Yahoo! Sports “that the team has retained legal counsel and will be pursuing legal action against the Michigan Daily.”
“We’re going to look at every legal remedy we have against the newspaper,” Bienkowski told Yahoo’s Sunaya Sapurji, “the reporter and these so-called unnamed sources in the OHL who need to be held accountable for basically saying lies against our organization.”
Sapurji also wrote: “Unlike most OHL teams, the Rangers are community-owned and not a privately held company. As such, an external accounting firm audits their financial statements and those accounts are presented to season-ticket holders each year.”
Of course, the Kamloops Blazers once were community-owned and, as such, issued annual financial statements. And, you may recall, almost $1 million walked out the door over a number of years without anyone noticing for the longest time.
That’s not to say other teams don’t have better safeguards in place than the Blazers had at that time.
But, look, rumours of major junior teams making under-the-table payments of one kind or another have been around since Noah first put two defencemen on the ark and set sail.
But the accusers and rumour mongers have yet to offer up even one scrap of proof.
So until there’s proof, well, let’s just forget about it.
By the way, the Trouba family issued a release on Tuesday, saying Trouba will attend the U of Michigan and play for the Wolverines.
In other words, all this was much ado about nothing.
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THE COACHING GAME:
Nolan Baumgartner (Kamloops, 1992-96) has retired as an active player to become an assistant coach with the Chicago Wolves, the AHL affiliate of the Vancouver Canucks. Baumgartner, a two-time CHL defenceman of the year, was selected 10th overall by the Washington Capitals in the 1994 NHL draft. . . . He went on to play 143 NHL games, splitting that between Washington, the Chicago Blackhawks, Vancouver Canucks, Pittsburgh Penguins, Philadelphia Flyers and Dallas Stars. Last season, with the Wolves, he had 22 points in 60 games. . . .
Misha Donskov has left the OHL’s London Knights and joined the Ottawa 67’s. Donskov, who spent three seasons with London, had been assistant general manager and assistant coach with the Knights. He has joined Ottawa as its associate coach. . . .
Brent Demerais is the new general manager of hockey operations and head coach of the junior B Oceanside Generals, who play in the Vancouver Island junior league. . . . He has spent the last seven seasons coaching midget hockey in Alberni Valley. . . . He takes over from Dave Johnston, who now is an assistant coach with the BCHL’s Cowichan Valley Capitals. After last season, the Generals actually renewed Johnston’s contract for one more season, but then had a change of heart late last month and released him. . . .
Veteran coach Craig Didmon has signed on as the assistant GM and associate coach with the BCHL’s Victoria Grizzlies. He will work alongside GM/head coach Bill Bestwick. . . . Didmon had been an assistant coach with the WHL’s Victoria Royals.
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Steve Hendrickson has a Super Bowl ring, but there are times when he doesn’t have yesterday. "I can remember material I had before the concussions," Hendrickson says. "Twenty years ago seems so clear to me, but yesterday seems just . . . far away, foggy." . . . If you are wondering what it’s like to be 45 years of age and have a history of concussions, read this story by Howard Yune of the North County Times. This is frightening stuff, especially when you consider the impact on loved ones.
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The story is dated Dec. 19, 1994.
Michael Farber starts a lengthy Sports Illustrated piece by visiting with former NFL receiver Al Toon.
“The bad days are less frequent now,” Farber writes, “although Toon still can't watch his three children on a merry-go-round without getting dizzy. More than two years after his final concussion — the fifth or ninth or maybe the 13th of his NFL career, according to the various ways that concussions are defined and reported in football — Toon, a former New York Jets wide receiver, is suffering from postconcussion syndrome.”
Later, there is this from Dr. James P. Kelly, directory of the brain-injury program at the Rehabilitation Institue of Chicago and an assistant professor of neurology at Northwestern University Medical School: “People are missing the boat on brain injuries. “It isn't just cataclysmic injury or death from brain injuries that should concern people. The core of the person can change from repeated blows to the head.
"I get furious every time I watch a game and hear the announcers say, 'Wow, he really got his bell rung on that play.' It's almost like, 'Yuk, yuk, yuk,' as if they're joking. Concussions are no joke."
And yet here it is, 2012, and some people still don’t get it.
Farber’s complete story, from the vaults of Sports Illustrated, is right here.
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If you are a follower of the CFL, you should check out this column by Kirk Pention of the Winnipeg Sun. He points out how the CFL is showing signs that it thinks it’s the NFL. Fans banned from practices. Assistant coaches not permitted to talk to the media. Upper-body and lower-body injuries. Say it ain’t so.

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THE COACHING GAME:
The Swift Current Broncos have added Andy Schneider to their coaching staff as an assistant. He’ll work with GM/head coach Mark Lamb and assistant coach Darren Evjen. Schneider, 39, played 15 seasons in Europe and is a member of the Broncos Hall of Fame. He played four seasons with the Broncos (1989-93), finishing with 367 points in 300 games. . . . The only other time in franchise history when the Broncos employed two assistant coaches was 1998-2001 when Andrew Milne was in the role as the second assistant. . . . The Southwest Booster has more on Schneider's role right here. . . .
Vladimir Vujtek, 64, is the new head coach of the Slovakian national hockey team. He replaces Glen Hanlon, who was released after the 2011 world championship. Vujtek is the first Czech to coach the Slovakian team, which means this is a big, big story in the world of international hockey. . . . Hanlon now is an assistant coach with the Vancouver Giants. . . .
Hockey Canada has hired Ron Tugnutt as its goaltender coach. Tugnutt will work with the national men’s teams on a full-time basis. Tugnutt, 43, is no stranger to Hockey Canada, having been a part-timer for two years. . . . According to a Hockey Canada news release, “Tugnutt will be scouting for Canada’s national men’s teams as well as working with Hockey Canada’s development department to develop and improve resources for goaltenders and goaltending coaches. Tugnutt will continue to work closely with Canada’s National Junior Team and National Men’s Under-18 Team, scouting and assisting goaltenders for Hockey Canada’s Program of Excellence.” . . .
Brian Kilrea, the winningest coach in major junior hockey history, has decided to step aside as general manager of the OHL’s Ottawa 67’s. Kilrea, 76, spent 37 years with the franchise and will continue to do some scouting for them. Chris Byrne, 37, will add the GM’s duties to his role has head coach. He is preparing for his third season as head coach after taking over behind the bench from Kilrea, who won 1,193 games during his coaching career. . . .
The Victoria Royals have rounded out their coaching staff with the hiring of Craig Didmon, who will work home practices and home games. Last season, he was the head coach of the major midget South Island Thunderbirds. . . . He joins GM/head coach Marc Habscheid, assistant coach Enio Sacilotto, who was with the club last season when it was the Chilliwack Bruins, and Ben Cooper, who has worked in video with Hockey Canada and also as an assistant coach with the SAIT Trojans in Calgary. . . .
Bob Dever has signed on as an assistant coach with the BCHL’s Trail Smoke Eaters. Dever spent the last three seasons coaching in Hungary. . . . He has previous BCHL experience with the Vernon Vipers and Merritt Centennials. Dever and Bill Birks, Trail’s general manager and head coach, played together with Merritt back in the day.
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JUST NOTES: Ben Calkins is the new equipment manager with the Seattle Thunderbirds. He spent last season with the ECHL’s Stockton Thunder. Calkins, 24, replaces Jason Berger, who now is with the ECHL’s Florida Everblades. . . . The Victoria Royals have named Jeff Harris the director of hockey operations and communications, with Parry Shockey coming on board as director of WHL and junior A scouting. Harris, 39, spent the last four seasons as assistant GM and director of media and community relations with the now-defunct Victoria Salmon Kings of the ECHL. Shockey, 57, is well known across the WHL. He will work out of Calgary. Last season he was head coach of the midget AAA UFA Bisons. He has WHL coaching experience with the Spokane Chiefs, Lethbridge Hurricanes, Regina Pats and Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . The Royals also hired Andy Neal and Matt Human as managers of communications and hockey operations co-ordinators. Neal spent the last two seasons in Prince George doing media relations; last season, he also was the team’s play-by-play voice. Human worked in the media relations and communications department with Vancouver Whitecaps FC.

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