THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Chris St. Jacques (Medicine Hat, 1999-2004) signed a one-year contract extension with the Nietigheim Steelers (Germany 2.Bundesliga). He started the season with the Edinburgh Capitals (UK Elite), getting 18 goals and 32 assists in 30 games, before finishing the season in Bietigheim. St. Jacques had seven goals and six assists in 13 games with the Steelers.
———
THE VICTORIA TO CHILLIWACK SAGA, Chapter 66:
The ECHL’s Victoria Salmon Kings will take a 2-0 lead into Game 3 of their second-round series with the Utah Grizzlies on Wednesday night.
That game will be held at the Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre in Victoria.
Earlier that day, the WHL will hold a news conference in that same facility at which it is expected to announce that Vancouver-based RG Properties, which manages the SOFMC and owns the Salmon Kings, has purchased the Chilliwack Bruins and is moving the franchise to Victoria.
Yes, the first of the dominoes officially will have fallen.
———
Players with the Salmon Kings actually held a news conference in their dressing room on Monday.
Cleve Dheensaw of the Victoria Times Colonist writes: “The Salmon Kings — the players as a collective and not the team officially — called a remarkable press conference Monday at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre exhorting Victorians to see ECHL playoff hockey off with a bang and full houses through the Kelly Cup playoffs this spring.”
Dheensaw’s story is right here.
And wouldn't it be a great story if the Salmon Kings were to win the ECHL championship in their last season in Victoria? Now that would be one for the ages!
———
Just as president and GM Jeff Chynoweth said would happen, the Kootenay Ice sent out its season-ticket renewal notices on Monday, and prices remain unchanged for a third straight season.
An adult season ticket will cost $399 if purchased on or before May 31. A seniors ticket is $299, a student ticket is $249 and a youth ticket is $199, all if purchased on or before May 31.
So . . . you can forget about the Ice relocating to Chilliwack.
———
JUST NOTES: Three more WHL players signed three-year NHL contracts on Monday — F Curtis Hamilton with the Edmonton Oilers, D Alex Petrovic with the Florida Panthers and F Jordan Weal with the Los Angeles Kings. . . . Hamilton, from the Saskatoon Blades, was a second-round selection of the Oilers in the 2010 NHL draft. He has joined the AHL’s Oklahoma City Barons for the duration of this season. They are down 2-0 to the Hamilton Bulldogs in a first-round series. . . . Petrovic, from the Red Deer Rebels, was selected by Florida in the second round of the 2010 NHL draft. . . . Weal, taken in the third round of the 2010 draft, had 96 points in 72 games with the Regina Pats this season. . . . D Martin Marincin of the Prince George Cougars, a second-round pick by the Oilers in the 2010 NHL draft, also is with Oklahoma City. . . .
Kootenay Ice D Brayden McNabb is the WHL’s player of the week. He had a goal and five assists in two games. . . . Ice G Nathan Lieuwen is the WHL’s nominee as the CHL’s goaltender of the week. He was 2-0, 1.00, .965 last week. . . . The Portland Winterhawks are 51-0 when scoring at least four goals this season. That includes 8-0 in these playoffs. . . . Portland is 40-0 when leading after two periods, including 8-0 in these playoffs. . . . So if you want to beat the Winterhawks, all you have to is hold them to three goals and make sure you’re leading after two. . . .
———
Andrea Gordon of the Toronto Star has interviewed Peter Jaffe, a professor at the U of Western Ontario who has written to the NHL and its teams to protest against violence in hockey.
Check out her piece right here.
———
Bob Duff of the Windsor Star calls Seth Jones “Canada’s worst nightmare.” Jones was selected by the Everett Silvertips with the 11th pick of the 2010 bantam draft. He has yet to commit to school or the WHL. Duff’s piece is right here.
———
Vicki Hall of the Calgary Herald writes about “a landmark University of Calgary study published today in the Canadian Medicial Association Journal” that deals with NHL players and concussions.
That story is right here.
———
Derek Abma of Postmedia News writes:
“It's a no-brainer; eliminate bodychecking in all but the most elite levels of youth hockey, where players are at least 16 years old to reduce concussions and other serious injuries.
“That's the conclusion of a new academic review of existing research by Syd Johnson, a bioethicist from Dalhousie University in Halifax. Her report was published Monday in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.”
The complete story is right here.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Taking Note on Twitter
Showing posts with label Curtis Hamilton. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Curtis Hamilton. Show all posts
Monday, April 18, 2011
Friday, January 21, 2011
THE MacBETH REPORT: F Jay Fehr (Brandon, 2006-10) signed a contract for the rest of this season with Dresdner Eislöwen (Germany 2.Bundesliga) after withdrawing from Acadia University (CIS). He had three goals and seven assists in 17 games at Acadia this season. Fehr was expected to be in Dresden in time to practice with the club this morning. . . .
F Brett Lysak (Regina, 1996-2001) signed a contract for the rest of this season with SönderjyskE Vojens (Denmark AL-Bank Ligaen) after obtaining his release from Jesenice (Slovenia, plays in Austria Erste Bank Liga) earlier this week. He had 20 goals and 18 assists in 39 games for Jesenice this season. Lysak played the past three seasons in Denmark prior to signing with Jesenice last summer and led AL-Bank Ligaen in goals with 23 last year while with Esbjerg.
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The Saskatoon Blades expect to have F Brayden Schenn in their lineup Saturday when they are at home to the Calgary Hitmen. Schenn, the MVP at the World Junior Championship in Buffalo where he starred for Team Canada, was acquired from the Brandon Wheat Kings on Jan. 10.
However, he suffered a shoulder injury at the WJC and hasn’t played since the tournament finale, which was played on Jan. 5.
In practice with the Blades this week, Schenn, who is from Saskatoon, has been skating on a line with Curtis Hamilton, who also played for Canada at the WJC, and Jake Trask, a Saskatoon native who was acquired earlier in the season from the Kamloops Blazers.
---
JUST NOTES: F Brenden Silvester, 19, won’t play this season. A back problem has kept Silvester, who is from Port Coquitlam, B.C., from playing since March 14. The Swift Current Broncos acquired Silvester and D Tanner Muth, 17, from the Seattle Thunderbirds for D Travis Bobbee, 20, and a conditional draft pick. . . . Muth (fractured clavicle) has played only 19 games this season, while Bobbee also is injured. He is out for perhaps another three weeks with a shoulder injury. . . . Darcy Kuemper of the Red Deer Rebels is the CHL’s goaltender of the week. He was 3-0-0, 0.32, .988 last week. He put up two shutouts last week and leads the entire CHL with eight blank jobs. . . . It also was the third time this season that Kuemper has won the award. . . . G Jordan White (Prince George, Portland, 2006-08) was in the NHL on Thursday night. White, who attends the U of B.C. and plays for the Thunderbirds, signed a one-game amateur tryout deal with San Jose and backed up starter Antti Niemi in a 2-1 shootout victory. White is from Surrey, B.C. He was practising with the Thunderbirds when he got the call. . . . With G Adam Morrison not feeling well, the Saskatoon Blades have brought in G Tyler Oswald, a fifth-round pick in the 2008 bantam draft, from the midget AAA Pembina Valley Hawks, who play out of Morden, Man. . . . Doug Hetherington, a member of the Moose Jaw Warriors’ board of directors, died suddenly on Sunday. He was 58. There is more right here. . . . Nick Patterson of the Everett Herald reports that Silvertips D Chad Suer, 20, is to get the wires removed from his broken jaw on Jan. 31 and could return shortly after that. He hasn’t played since being injured on Dec. 17 and has since missed 10 games. . . . Olivier Roy of the Acadie-Bathurst Titan became the second-winningest goaltender in QMJHL history Thursday with a 4-2 victory over the P.E.I. Rocket. It was the 111th career victory for Roy, leaving him behind only Jacques Cloutier, who won 142 games with the Trois-Rivieres Draveurs (1976-80).gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Taking Note on Twitter
F Brett Lysak (Regina, 1996-2001) signed a contract for the rest of this season with SönderjyskE Vojens (Denmark AL-Bank Ligaen) after obtaining his release from Jesenice (Slovenia, plays in Austria Erste Bank Liga) earlier this week. He had 20 goals and 18 assists in 39 games for Jesenice this season. Lysak played the past three seasons in Denmark prior to signing with Jesenice last summer and led AL-Bank Ligaen in goals with 23 last year while with Esbjerg.
---
The Saskatoon Blades expect to have F Brayden Schenn in their lineup Saturday when they are at home to the Calgary Hitmen. Schenn, the MVP at the World Junior Championship in Buffalo where he starred for Team Canada, was acquired from the Brandon Wheat Kings on Jan. 10.
However, he suffered a shoulder injury at the WJC and hasn’t played since the tournament finale, which was played on Jan. 5.
In practice with the Blades this week, Schenn, who is from Saskatoon, has been skating on a line with Curtis Hamilton, who also played for Canada at the WJC, and Jake Trask, a Saskatoon native who was acquired earlier in the season from the Kamloops Blazers.
---
JUST NOTES: F Brenden Silvester, 19, won’t play this season. A back problem has kept Silvester, who is from Port Coquitlam, B.C., from playing since March 14. The Swift Current Broncos acquired Silvester and D Tanner Muth, 17, from the Seattle Thunderbirds for D Travis Bobbee, 20, and a conditional draft pick. . . . Muth (fractured clavicle) has played only 19 games this season, while Bobbee also is injured. He is out for perhaps another three weeks with a shoulder injury. . . . Darcy Kuemper of the Red Deer Rebels is the CHL’s goaltender of the week. He was 3-0-0, 0.32, .988 last week. He put up two shutouts last week and leads the entire CHL with eight blank jobs. . . . It also was the third time this season that Kuemper has won the award. . . . G Jordan White (Prince George, Portland, 2006-08) was in the NHL on Thursday night. White, who attends the U of B.C. and plays for the Thunderbirds, signed a one-game amateur tryout deal with San Jose and backed up starter Antti Niemi in a 2-1 shootout victory. White is from Surrey, B.C. He was practising with the Thunderbirds when he got the call. . . . With G Adam Morrison not feeling well, the Saskatoon Blades have brought in G Tyler Oswald, a fifth-round pick in the 2008 bantam draft, from the midget AAA Pembina Valley Hawks, who play out of Morden, Man. . . . Doug Hetherington, a member of the Moose Jaw Warriors’ board of directors, died suddenly on Sunday. He was 58. There is more right here. . . . Nick Patterson of the Everett Herald reports that Silvertips D Chad Suer, 20, is to get the wires removed from his broken jaw on Jan. 31 and could return shortly after that. He hasn’t played since being injured on Dec. 17 and has since missed 10 games. . . . Olivier Roy of the Acadie-Bathurst Titan became the second-winningest goaltender in QMJHL history Thursday with a 4-2 victory over the P.E.I. Rocket. It was the 111th career victory for Roy, leaving him behind only Jacques Cloutier, who won 142 games with the Trois-Rivieres Draveurs (1976-80).gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Taking Note on Twitter
Saturday, December 4, 2010
What's Bruin doin'? He's in Gatineau
The WHL season was underway when the NHL’s Ottawa Senators returned D Jared Cowen to the Spokane Chiefs.
Because of that move, D Bruin McDonald now is with the QMJHL’s Gatineau Olympiques.
A stretch? Perhaps. But you can make the case . . .
The Chiefs acquired McDonald, an 18-year-old from Coquitlam, B.C., from the Prince George Cougars, who had selected him in the seventh round of the 2007 bantam draft. The Chiefs gave up a conditional sixth-round pick in the 2011 bantam draft for McDonald, but then released him. He had recorded one assist in three games.
McDonald, whose father is a big fan of Bobby Orr and the Boston Bruins, ended up with the BCHL’s Victoria Grizzlies for whom he had five points in 14 games.
But he found himself a healthy scratch on Tuesday, and then he was traded Wednesday to the Vernon Vipers for future considerations. Strangely, McDonald was a healthy scratch as the Grizzlies played the host Westside Warriors, with Vernon GM/head coach Mark Ferner in attendance.
(The future considerations may have been to clean up an earlier deal in which the rights to F Kyle St. Denis, 20, moved to Victoria. By the way, there now are rumours that St. Denis is going to join the Grizzlies after initially saying he wanted to play with his hometown Trail Smoke Eaters.)
Shortly after McDonald’s junior A rights had been moved from Vancouver Island to the Interior of B.C., the Olympiques called.
McDonald, who by now was in Vernon, had met Ferner and had been taken to new billets, told Gatineau that he would play there if he was guaranteed a spot for the remainder of this season.
The Olympiques, having had a defenceman go down in a mid-week game, wanted McDonald there in time to play Wednesday night against the host P.E.I. Rocket.
However, at that point, the Olympiques said they couldn’t guarantee him anything. They did, however, tell McDonald they would like him in training camp in August and that they would follow his progress in Vernon.
So . . . McDonald began to prepare to play for the Vipers in a Friday night game at home against Westside.
Except that the saga wasn’t yet finished.
You see, the Olympiques had a change of mind and called him back. They have guaranteed him a roster spot for the rest of this season so he is on his way east. He didn’t get there in time to play Friday night in Moncton against the Wildcats. Tonight, the Olympiques are to play the Sea Dogs in Saint John, N.B.
As someone close to McDonald put it, “It is like becoming the best looking girl in Grade 12 after being the ugly duckling. . . . it’s absolutely whacky. . . . Bruin’s head is spinning. . . . But he seems really happy.”
If you are wondering how a player from the west is eligible to play in the QMJHL, a WHL official explained it this way: “All players 18 years of age or older who do not appear on the protected list of a WHL club are free agents and are eligible to transer to another league in the CHL.”
———
THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Petr Vala (Seattle, 1997-98) requested and was granted his release by Dukla Trencin (Slovakia Extraliga) for personal reasons. He had four goals and no assists in 17 games for Dukla this season.
———
The Tri-City Americans have signed two 17-year-old forwards who are with the midget
AAA Prince Albert Mintos. . . . Brennan Bosovich, who is from Martensville, Sask., goes into the weekend tied for the scoring lead in the Saskatchewan midget AAA league, with 34 points in 19 games. . . . Dallman has 16 points in 12 games. A Prince Albert native, he is the son of Rod Dallman, who played three seasons with the Raiders and was part of the team that won the 1985 Memorial Cup. . . . Both players will travel to Kennewick, Wash., next week and are expected to play for the Americans as they go home-and-home with the Seattle Thunderbirds on Dec. 10 and 11.
———
Cory Wolfe of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix notes that the Hamilton family feud resumes tonight when the Saskatoon Blades meet the Rockets in Kelowna.
Blades F Curtis Hamilton turns 19 today and would love nothing better than to stick it to the Rockets. After all, his father, Bruce, is the Rockets’ president and general manager.
“My wife (Laureen) will cheer for him and his grandpa (Gavin Hamilton Sr.)
will be really mixed up because he won’t know which side to go for,” Bruce told Wolfe. “The best thing for us would be a 4-3 (Kelowna) win in overtime. Then they’d get a point, we’d get two and hopefully (Curtis) gets their three goals.”
The teams have played three times since Curtis joined the Blades. He holds a 2-0-1 edge.
For the rest of Wolfe’s story, and it’s a good one, especially the part about Curtis napping under his dad’s desk, check out the StarPhoenix’s website right here.
———JUST NOTES: D Ayrton Nikkel of Kelowna is expected to make his WHL debut tonight for the Saskatoon Blades in Kelowna against the Rockets. Nikkel was the 42nd selection in the 2010 WHL bantam draft. . . . F Neil Tarnasky of hte Lethbridge Hurricanes drew a three-game suspension for a checking-from-behind major on Wednesday night against the host Swift Current Broncos.
———
SOME HIGHLIGHTS FROM FRIDAY’S WHL GAMES:
In Regina, F Antonin Honejsek and F Spencer Edwards each scored three times to lead the Moose Jaw Warriors to a 9-6 victory over the Pats. . . . The Warriors’ goals all
came from the last five numbered skaters on their roster. . . . Honejsek, who has 14 goals, also had two assists. It was his second WHL hat trick. . . . Edwards, who enjoyed his first three-goal game, has 11 goals. . . . Moose Jaw, which is at home to the Everett Silvertips tonight, has won three in a row. . . . Regina F Jordan Weal scored on a second-period penalty shot that got the Pats to within one at 4-3. However, Honejsek restored the two-goal lead just 1:11 later, at 19:02, and F Dylan Hood added another just 54 seconds into the third period. . . . F Thomas Frazee had two goals and an assist for the Pats, while Weal had a goal and two assists. . . . Regina F Trent Ouellette, a 17-year-old from Drumheller, Alta., scored his first WHL goal. It came in his 26th game. . . . Attendance was 4,462. . . . Despite the rivalry, there were only five minors and two majors handed out. . . . D Dylan McIlrath (knee) was back in Moose Jaw’s lineup after a six-game absence.
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In Swift Current, G Luke Siemens put up his first WHL shutout as the Everett
Silvertips stoned the Broncos 6-0 in the Teddy Bear Game. . . . Siemens, 18, is from Delta, B.C. He was making his fifth appearance of the season and sixth of his career. That includes one start last season with the Prince George Cougars. . . . F Kellan Tochkin stretched a 2-0 lead to 5-0 with three straight goals, two in the second period. He’s got 14 goals this season. Tochkin also had an assist. . . . F Manraj Hayer had three assists for Everett. He went into the game with a goal and two assists in 21 games. . . . Attendance was 2,107.
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In Edmonton, F Michael St. Croix and D Mark Pysyk each had four points as the Oil Kings doubled the Brandon Whet Kings, 8-4. . . . St. Croix had two goals and two
assists, while Pysyk had a goal and three helpers. . . . Brandon, which has lost eight in a row, led 3-1 in the first period but Edmonton tied it on goals by D Braeden Laroque, at 17:26, and F Kristians Pelss, at 18:49. . . . Brandon took a 4-3 lead when D Ryan Bulock scored at 18:49. . . . Edmonton scored the game’s last five goals, four of them in the second period. . . . Pysyk tied it at 6:47, with his first goal this season, and St. Croix then got his 14th and 15th. . . . Laroque, an 18-year-old from Saskatoon, scored his first WHL goal in his 16th game. . . . St. Croix has 15 points in a seven-game point streak. . . . Attendance was 4,621. . . . F Brayden Schenn, who has been returned to Brandon by the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings, didn’t play. He is scheduled to travel today and might play tonight in Red Deer against the Rebels.
———
In Red Deer, G Darcy Kuemper posted his WHL-leading fifth shutout of the season as
the Rebels beat the Prince Albert Raiders, 3-0. . . . Kuemper, 20, stopped 33 shots as he earned the 11th shutout of his career. He had three in each of the last two season. . . . Kuemper has tied the single-season and franchise shutout records that were held by Cam Ward. . . . Kuemper’s goals-against average is down to 1.77. He has a .937 save percentage with a record of 19-4-2. . . . F Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored once and added an assist, as did F John Persson, while F Andrej Kudrna had two assists. . . . Attendance was 4,258.
———
In Kamloops, F Josh Nicholls scored on a 5-on-3 PP at 3:46 of OT as the Saskatoon
Blades beat the Blazers, 4-3. . . . The rare 5-on-3 PP occurred when Kamloops forwards Chase Schaber and Brendan Ranford were penalized on the same play. . . . Nicholls won it with his 15th goal of the season. . . . He was foiled by G Jeff Bosch on a first-period penalty shot attempt. . . . The Blades trailed 3-1 going into the third period, but tied it on goals by F Matej Stransky, at 1:52, and Ryan Olsen, at 12:43. . . . Attendance was 3,928. . . . Saskatoon D Stefan Elliott drew assists on his club’s last two goals.
———
In Portland, F Ryan Johansen and F Nino Niederreiter each scored twice to lead the Winterhawks to a 5-1 victory over the Tri-City Americans, who had won four in a row. . . . The Winterhawks had lost four straight. . . . Niederreiter has 18 points,
including 10 goals, in 18 games since returning from the NHL’s New York Islanders. . . . Johansen, who also had an assist, has 16 goals. . . . Attendance was 5,732. . . . Portland G Mac Carruth stopped 26 shots, losing his shutout bid at 10:22 of the third period when F Adam Hughesman got his 15th on the PP. . . . Tri-City still has four 20-year-olds on its roster and has until Wednesday to get down to three. Last night, F Neal Prokop, who has returned after breaking a leg last spring, sat out. D Zak Stebner, D Tyler Schmidt and F Kruise Reddick were the 20-year-olds in the lineup. When Prokop returned, each of the Tri-City 20-year-olds was told he would sit out one of the next four games. Those four games are over and a decision is pending.
———
In Prince George, F Colin Jacobs broke a 4-4 tie with his third goal of the game at 6:48 of the third period as the Seattle Thunderbirds beat the Cougars, 5-4. . . .
Jacobs, a 17-year-old from Coppell, Texas, has 13 goals this season. He finished last season with 13 goals in 72 games. This was his first three-goal game in the WHL. . . . Jacobs, who also had an assist, has 25 points this season, one fewer than he had last season. . . . F Tyler Alos had a goal and two helpers for Seattle. . . . Seattle D Erik Bonsor was pointless but finished plus-4. . . . F James Dobrowolski had two goals for the Cougars, while F Brett Connolly had a goal and two assists. . . . Connolly has 37 points in 28 games. . . . Attendance was 1,790.
———
In Spokane, F Anthony Bardaro scored on a PP at 3:12 of OT to give the Chiefs a 3-2 victory over the Medicine Hat Tigers. . . . Spokane F Tyler Johnson had forced OT
with his 19th goal at 5:27 of the third period. It was his second goal of the game. . . . Johnson has 16 points, including 12 goals, over his last 10 gmes. . . . Bardaro has nine goals. . . . Spokane has points in 11 of its last 12 games. . . . The Chiefs kept Tigers F Linden Vey, the WHL scoring leader, off the scoresheet. . . . Attendance was 4,927. . . . The Tigers took a 2-1 third-period lead on goals by F Tyler Pitlick, his 12th, at 1:46, and F Kale Kessy, his fifth, at 2:56. . . . Spokane G James Reid went the distance — he made 17 saves — one week after injuring his right leg during a game in Kamloops. . . . “I didn’t like us at all,” Spokane head coach Don Nachbaur told Dave Trimmer of the Spokane Spokesman-Review. “I thought we had a lot of passengers looking out the back window of the bus.” . . . The Tigers were playing their fifth game in seven days in the U.S. Division — they went 3-1-1 — while the Chiefs hadn’t played since Saturday.
———
In Chilliwack, the Bruins erased a 2-0 third-period deficit and beat the Kelowna
Rockets, 3-2. . . . The Rockets, who went in having won 11 of 12, led 2-0 on two goals from F Brett Bulmer, who has 10 goals. . . . Chilliwack D Brandon Manning scored twice, at 1:45 and 10:48 of the third period, to tie it. . . . Manning, who signed a three-year deal with the NHL’s Philadelphia Flyers late last month, has 13 goals. . . . D Mitch Topping got the winner at 12:11. . . . That was Topping’s second goal this season. . . . Attendance was 3,379.
———
In Vancouver, F Cody Sylvester broke a 3-3 tie at 4:35 of the third period as the
Calgary Hitmen beat the Giants, 4-3. . . . Vancouver, which now has lost four straight and six of seven, had scored two goals early in the third period to take a 3-2 lead. F Brendan Gallagher got No. 23 at 1:37 and D David Musil added his fourth at 4:10. . . . F Brendan Rowinski assisted on both goals. . . . The Hitmen got two goals from F Justin Kirsch, who has 13. . . . Musil scored twice, giving him four. . . . Attendance was 6,073.
———
FRIDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
One minor:
Medicine Hat F Kale Kessy
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Taking Note on Twitter
Because of that move, D Bruin McDonald now is with the QMJHL’s Gatineau Olympiques.
A stretch? Perhaps. But you can make the case . . .The Chiefs acquired McDonald, an 18-year-old from Coquitlam, B.C., from the Prince George Cougars, who had selected him in the seventh round of the 2007 bantam draft. The Chiefs gave up a conditional sixth-round pick in the 2011 bantam draft for McDonald, but then released him. He had recorded one assist in three games.
McDonald, whose father is a big fan of Bobby Orr and the Boston Bruins, ended up with the BCHL’s Victoria Grizzlies for whom he had five points in 14 games.
But he found himself a healthy scratch on Tuesday, and then he was traded Wednesday to the Vernon Vipers for future considerations. Strangely, McDonald was a healthy scratch as the Grizzlies played the host Westside Warriors, with Vernon GM/head coach Mark Ferner in attendance.
(The future considerations may have been to clean up an earlier deal in which the rights to F Kyle St. Denis, 20, moved to Victoria. By the way, there now are rumours that St. Denis is going to join the Grizzlies after initially saying he wanted to play with his hometown Trail Smoke Eaters.)
Shortly after McDonald’s junior A rights had been moved from Vancouver Island to the Interior of B.C., the Olympiques called.
McDonald, who by now was in Vernon, had met Ferner and had been taken to new billets, told Gatineau that he would play there if he was guaranteed a spot for the remainder of this season.
The Olympiques, having had a defenceman go down in a mid-week game, wanted McDonald there in time to play Wednesday night against the host P.E.I. Rocket.
However, at that point, the Olympiques said they couldn’t guarantee him anything. They did, however, tell McDonald they would like him in training camp in August and that they would follow his progress in Vernon.
So . . . McDonald began to prepare to play for the Vipers in a Friday night game at home against Westside.
Except that the saga wasn’t yet finished.
You see, the Olympiques had a change of mind and called him back. They have guaranteed him a roster spot for the rest of this season so he is on his way east. He didn’t get there in time to play Friday night in Moncton against the Wildcats. Tonight, the Olympiques are to play the Sea Dogs in Saint John, N.B.
As someone close to McDonald put it, “It is like becoming the best looking girl in Grade 12 after being the ugly duckling. . . . it’s absolutely whacky. . . . Bruin’s head is spinning. . . . But he seems really happy.”
If you are wondering how a player from the west is eligible to play in the QMJHL, a WHL official explained it this way: “All players 18 years of age or older who do not appear on the protected list of a WHL club are free agents and are eligible to transer to another league in the CHL.”
———
THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Petr Vala (Seattle, 1997-98) requested and was granted his release by Dukla Trencin (Slovakia Extraliga) for personal reasons. He had four goals and no assists in 17 games for Dukla this season.
———
The Tri-City Americans have signed two 17-year-old forwards who are with the midget
AAA Prince Albert Mintos. . . . Brennan Bosovich, who is from Martensville, Sask., goes into the weekend tied for the scoring lead in the Saskatchewan midget AAA league, with 34 points in 19 games. . . . Dallman has 16 points in 12 games. A Prince Albert native, he is the son of Rod Dallman, who played three seasons with the Raiders and was part of the team that won the 1985 Memorial Cup. . . . Both players will travel to Kennewick, Wash., next week and are expected to play for the Americans as they go home-and-home with the Seattle Thunderbirds on Dec. 10 and 11.———
Cory Wolfe of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix notes that the Hamilton family feud resumes tonight when the Saskatoon Blades meet the Rockets in Kelowna.
Blades F Curtis Hamilton turns 19 today and would love nothing better than to stick it to the Rockets. After all, his father, Bruce, is the Rockets’ president and general manager.
“My wife (Laureen) will cheer for him and his grandpa (Gavin Hamilton Sr.)
will be really mixed up because he won’t know which side to go for,” Bruce told Wolfe. “The best thing for us would be a 4-3 (Kelowna) win in overtime. Then they’d get a point, we’d get two and hopefully (Curtis) gets their three goals.”
The teams have played three times since Curtis joined the Blades. He holds a 2-0-1 edge.
For the rest of Wolfe’s story, and it’s a good one, especially the part about Curtis napping under his dad’s desk, check out the StarPhoenix’s website right here.
———JUST NOTES: D Ayrton Nikkel of Kelowna is expected to make his WHL debut tonight for the Saskatoon Blades in Kelowna against the Rockets. Nikkel was the 42nd selection in the 2010 WHL bantam draft. . . . F Neil Tarnasky of hte Lethbridge Hurricanes drew a three-game suspension for a checking-from-behind major on Wednesday night against the host Swift Current Broncos.
———
SOME HIGHLIGHTS FROM FRIDAY’S WHL GAMES:
In Regina, F Antonin Honejsek and F Spencer Edwards each scored three times to lead the Moose Jaw Warriors to a 9-6 victory over the Pats. . . . The Warriors’ goals all
came from the last five numbered skaters on their roster. . . . Honejsek, who has 14 goals, also had two assists. It was his second WHL hat trick. . . . Edwards, who enjoyed his first three-goal game, has 11 goals. . . . Moose Jaw, which is at home to the Everett Silvertips tonight, has won three in a row. . . . Regina F Jordan Weal scored on a second-period penalty shot that got the Pats to within one at 4-3. However, Honejsek restored the two-goal lead just 1:11 later, at 19:02, and F Dylan Hood added another just 54 seconds into the third period. . . . F Thomas Frazee had two goals and an assist for the Pats, while Weal had a goal and two assists. . . . Regina F Trent Ouellette, a 17-year-old from Drumheller, Alta., scored his first WHL goal. It came in his 26th game. . . . Attendance was 4,462. . . . Despite the rivalry, there were only five minors and two majors handed out. . . . D Dylan McIlrath (knee) was back in Moose Jaw’s lineup after a six-game absence.———
In Swift Current, G Luke Siemens put up his first WHL shutout as the Everett
Silvertips stoned the Broncos 6-0 in the Teddy Bear Game. . . . Siemens, 18, is from Delta, B.C. He was making his fifth appearance of the season and sixth of his career. That includes one start last season with the Prince George Cougars. . . . F Kellan Tochkin stretched a 2-0 lead to 5-0 with three straight goals, two in the second period. He’s got 14 goals this season. Tochkin also had an assist. . . . F Manraj Hayer had three assists for Everett. He went into the game with a goal and two assists in 21 games. . . . Attendance was 2,107.———
In Edmonton, F Michael St. Croix and D Mark Pysyk each had four points as the Oil Kings doubled the Brandon Whet Kings, 8-4. . . . St. Croix had two goals and two
assists, while Pysyk had a goal and three helpers. . . . Brandon, which has lost eight in a row, led 3-1 in the first period but Edmonton tied it on goals by D Braeden Laroque, at 17:26, and F Kristians Pelss, at 18:49. . . . Brandon took a 4-3 lead when D Ryan Bulock scored at 18:49. . . . Edmonton scored the game’s last five goals, four of them in the second period. . . . Pysyk tied it at 6:47, with his first goal this season, and St. Croix then got his 14th and 15th. . . . Laroque, an 18-year-old from Saskatoon, scored his first WHL goal in his 16th game. . . . St. Croix has 15 points in a seven-game point streak. . . . Attendance was 4,621. . . . F Brayden Schenn, who has been returned to Brandon by the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings, didn’t play. He is scheduled to travel today and might play tonight in Red Deer against the Rebels.———
In Red Deer, G Darcy Kuemper posted his WHL-leading fifth shutout of the season as
the Rebels beat the Prince Albert Raiders, 3-0. . . . Kuemper, 20, stopped 33 shots as he earned the 11th shutout of his career. He had three in each of the last two season. . . . Kuemper has tied the single-season and franchise shutout records that were held by Cam Ward. . . . Kuemper’s goals-against average is down to 1.77. He has a .937 save percentage with a record of 19-4-2. . . . F Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored once and added an assist, as did F John Persson, while F Andrej Kudrna had two assists. . . . Attendance was 4,258.———
In Kamloops, F Josh Nicholls scored on a 5-on-3 PP at 3:46 of OT as the Saskatoon
Blades beat the Blazers, 4-3. . . . The rare 5-on-3 PP occurred when Kamloops forwards Chase Schaber and Brendan Ranford were penalized on the same play. . . . Nicholls won it with his 15th goal of the season. . . . He was foiled by G Jeff Bosch on a first-period penalty shot attempt. . . . The Blades trailed 3-1 going into the third period, but tied it on goals by F Matej Stransky, at 1:52, and Ryan Olsen, at 12:43. . . . Attendance was 3,928. . . . Saskatoon D Stefan Elliott drew assists on his club’s last two goals.———
In Portland, F Ryan Johansen and F Nino Niederreiter each scored twice to lead the Winterhawks to a 5-1 victory over the Tri-City Americans, who had won four in a row. . . . The Winterhawks had lost four straight. . . . Niederreiter has 18 points,
including 10 goals, in 18 games since returning from the NHL’s New York Islanders. . . . Johansen, who also had an assist, has 16 goals. . . . Attendance was 5,732. . . . Portland G Mac Carruth stopped 26 shots, losing his shutout bid at 10:22 of the third period when F Adam Hughesman got his 15th on the PP. . . . Tri-City still has four 20-year-olds on its roster and has until Wednesday to get down to three. Last night, F Neal Prokop, who has returned after breaking a leg last spring, sat out. D Zak Stebner, D Tyler Schmidt and F Kruise Reddick were the 20-year-olds in the lineup. When Prokop returned, each of the Tri-City 20-year-olds was told he would sit out one of the next four games. Those four games are over and a decision is pending.———
In Prince George, F Colin Jacobs broke a 4-4 tie with his third goal of the game at 6:48 of the third period as the Seattle Thunderbirds beat the Cougars, 5-4. . . .
Jacobs, a 17-year-old from Coppell, Texas, has 13 goals this season. He finished last season with 13 goals in 72 games. This was his first three-goal game in the WHL. . . . Jacobs, who also had an assist, has 25 points this season, one fewer than he had last season. . . . F Tyler Alos had a goal and two helpers for Seattle. . . . Seattle D Erik Bonsor was pointless but finished plus-4. . . . F James Dobrowolski had two goals for the Cougars, while F Brett Connolly had a goal and two assists. . . . Connolly has 37 points in 28 games. . . . Attendance was 1,790.———
In Spokane, F Anthony Bardaro scored on a PP at 3:12 of OT to give the Chiefs a 3-2 victory over the Medicine Hat Tigers. . . . Spokane F Tyler Johnson had forced OT
with his 19th goal at 5:27 of the third period. It was his second goal of the game. . . . Johnson has 16 points, including 12 goals, over his last 10 gmes. . . . Bardaro has nine goals. . . . Spokane has points in 11 of its last 12 games. . . . The Chiefs kept Tigers F Linden Vey, the WHL scoring leader, off the scoresheet. . . . Attendance was 4,927. . . . The Tigers took a 2-1 third-period lead on goals by F Tyler Pitlick, his 12th, at 1:46, and F Kale Kessy, his fifth, at 2:56. . . . Spokane G James Reid went the distance — he made 17 saves — one week after injuring his right leg during a game in Kamloops. . . . “I didn’t like us at all,” Spokane head coach Don Nachbaur told Dave Trimmer of the Spokane Spokesman-Review. “I thought we had a lot of passengers looking out the back window of the bus.” . . . The Tigers were playing their fifth game in seven days in the U.S. Division — they went 3-1-1 — while the Chiefs hadn’t played since Saturday.———
In Chilliwack, the Bruins erased a 2-0 third-period deficit and beat the Kelowna
Rockets, 3-2. . . . The Rockets, who went in having won 11 of 12, led 2-0 on two goals from F Brett Bulmer, who has 10 goals. . . . Chilliwack D Brandon Manning scored twice, at 1:45 and 10:48 of the third period, to tie it. . . . Manning, who signed a three-year deal with the NHL’s Philadelphia Flyers late last month, has 13 goals. . . . D Mitch Topping got the winner at 12:11. . . . That was Topping’s second goal this season. . . . Attendance was 3,379.———
In Vancouver, F Cody Sylvester broke a 3-3 tie at 4:35 of the third period as the
Calgary Hitmen beat the Giants, 4-3. . . . Vancouver, which now has lost four straight and six of seven, had scored two goals early in the third period to take a 3-2 lead. F Brendan Gallagher got No. 23 at 1:37 and D David Musil added his fourth at 4:10. . . . F Brendan Rowinski assisted on both goals. . . . The Hitmen got two goals from F Justin Kirsch, who has 13. . . . Musil scored twice, giving him four. . . . Attendance was 6,073.———
FRIDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
One minor:
Medicine Hat F Kale Kessy
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
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Taking Note on Twitter
Nicholls pays off in OT
 |
| Brendan Ranford of the Kamloops Blazers and Marek Viedensky of the Saskatoon Blades battle along the boards during Friday's WHL game. (Photo by Murray Mitchell/Kamloops Daily News) |
Daily News Sports Editor
Josh Nicholls fired the shot that won the game Friday night as the Saskatoon Blades scored a 4-3 overtime victory over the Kamloops Blazers in a WHL game played before 3,928 fans at Interior Savings Centre.
But Nicholls wasn’t about to take the credit. Instead, he deferred to linemate Curtis Hamilton.
With the Blades enjoying a 5-on-3 advantage in OT — something that is rarer than hen’s teeth — Hamilton made a diving play 20 feet inside the Kamloops zone in order to maintain possession. He was able to poke the puck to defenceman Stefan Elliott, who hit Nicholls low on the left side and the 18-year-old from Tsawwassen rifled the winning shot past a lunging Jeff Bosch, the Kamloops goaltender, for his 15th score this season.
“He’s a great player,” Nicholls said of Hamilton, a Kelowna native who will celebrate his 19th birthday today by playing the host Rockets. His father, Bruce, is the Rockets’ president and general manager. “It’s all the little things he does. He never gives up. We don’t win the game if he doesn’t put in an effort like that. It was a great job by him.”
The Blazers appeared in good shape when they took a 3-1 lead into the second period.
But, as Nicholls put it, the visitors “came out firing on all cylinders in the third and we did a great job of burying it.”
With the Blazers on their heels, winger Matej Stransky pulled the Blades to within one as he was the toe on a tic-tac-toe play that presented him with an open net at 1:52.
The Blades continued to pour it on — they outshot the home boys 13-6 in the third — and tied it at 12:43 when Elliott took the puck to the net and Ryan Olsen, a 16-year-old from Delta, scored from the ensuing scramble.
In overtime, the Blades, who now are 21-6-1 with points in each of their last 11 games, picked up where they left off in the third period. And then, at 2:30, they were presented with a 5-on-3 advantage when referees Brent Iverson and Sean Raphael drew the wrath of the Blazers and the crowd by giving hooking penalties to linemates Chase Schaber and Brendan Ranford.
“It was kind of a weak call again,” Schaber said, “but what can you do about that? It was a little bit cheesy by the refs on that. If they’re going to make a 5-on-3 call they have to have a legit call to make.”
With teams playing 4-on-4 in overtime, the rules call for a 5-on-3 in these circumstances. The Blades took 1:16 to end it, and Nicholls celebrated like he meant it.
He had had a number of glorious chances, including a penalty shot late in the first period on which Bosch, whom the Blazers acquired from the Moose Jaw Warriors, made a fine glove save.
“I think he reached back on that one,” said Nicholls, who also nicked a post in OT. “In Moose Jaw, he robbed me all the time.
“It was pretty frustrating. I thought it was never going to get better. But I found a way to get it in and it feels good.”
Schaber felt his club’s problems stemmed from forwards leaving the game plan.
“Our forwards got a little bit one-sided with thinking we need more goals,” he said. “Up front, we were turning pucks over way too much, rather than getting pucks deep.”
Kamloops head coach Guy Charron talked about how “composed and confident (the Blades) are as a team.”
“That team doesn’t get bothered by any adversity,” he added. “We’ve got a lot to learn in that area. We’re fragile compared to a team that has composure.”
Colin Smith, Schaber and Logan McVeigh scored for the Blazers, while Darius Dziurzynski had Saskatoon’s other goal.
Bosch finished with 39 saves, nine more than Saskatoon’s Steven Stanford who now is 13-1-0.
“The sad thing,” Charron said, “is the performance by Jeff Bosch He played exceptionally well.”
The Blazers (13-13-2) may not have won, but they did pick up a point. That allowed them to remain tied for last place in the 10-team Western Conference where nine teams now are within six points of each other.
“Two points would have been a lot better,” Schaber said. “We’ll take one point but . . .”
The Blazers are at home again tonight, this time against the Calgary Hitmen (7-20-1), who beat the Giants 4-3 in Vancouver last night.
JUST NOTES: The Blades, now 3-0-0 on their B.C. Division swing, were given eight of the game’s 15 minor penalties. . . . The Blazers were 2-for-6 on the PP; the Blades were 1-for-4. . . . Dziurzynski’s goal came with the Blazers shorthanded, the fourth time in as many games the Kamloops power play has been torched. . . . Kamloops D Corey Fienhage left the game seven minutes into the third period with an injury to his right arm following a collision with Dziurzynski. Charron couldn’t say whether Fienhage will play tonight. . . . The Daily News Three Stars: 1. Hamilton: Showed why he’s going to camp with Canada’s national junior team; 2. Elliott: Showed why he should be going with Hamilton; 3. Bosch: Deserved better fate.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
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Taking Note on Twitter
Monday, November 15, 2010
Russians next up for Ranford
By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
No WHL player is hotter these days than left-winger Brendan Ranford of the Kamloops Blazers.
The 18-year-old from Edmonton is on a run of three straight three-point games and has 11 points over his last four games. He leads the WHL with 20 goals and is tied for third in points, with 33, all accomplished in 21 games.
Ranford, who had 29 goals in 72 games last season, became the first WHLer this season to reach 20 goals when he snapped a 50-footer through a defenceman and past Everett goaltender Kent Simpson in the Blazers’ 3-1 victory over the visiting Silvertips on Sunday night.
“I shot around (the defenceman),” Ranford said. “For sure, (Simpson) was screened). I’ve been doing that since bantam and peewee hockey. I try to shoot across the box. It’s a tough save for him to make, going across the grain . . . he’s going one way and the puck goes the other way.”
As for the recent run in which Ranford has scored seven goals in four games, he said: “You have to shoot the puck. Right? (Head coach Guy Charron) is always me after me to shoot the puck more and . . . I’ve been getting the bounces.”
Next up for Ranford is Game 5 of the Subway Super Series, which will be played at Interior Savings Centre on Wednesday, 7 p.m. For whatever reason, Ranford wasn’t an original selection to Team WHL, but he was added to the roster on Thursday. (The WHL revealed Monday that winger Brendan Gallagher of the Vancouver Giants won’t play in the game here but will play Thursday in Prince George.)
Ranford has no idea how he’ll do on Wednesday; he just wants to play.
“They’re a really good hockey team,” he said of the Russians. “I’ve noticed how they’ve been doing.”
The Russians took two games from the QMJHL, winning 5-4 and 4-3, before dropping a 4-0 decision to the OHL on Thursday in London. Last night, in Sudbury, the OHL won 2-1 in a shootout.
———
Forward Lindey Vey of the Medicine Hat Tigers will play in both Super Series games. Vey, 19, had a goal and three assists in a 6-4 victory over the visiting Regina Pats on Saturday.
Vey, like every player on the team, wants to make an impression on Hockey Canada head scout Kevin Prendergast, and Medicine Hat head coach Shaun Clouston doesn’t know why he can’t do just that.
“I thought that the last two nights Linden has really done a good job with his game,” Clouston told the Medicine Hat News. “He has worked hard, but he has also played real smart.
“He is looking for the right spots. He is executing the systems. I think he is being rewarded for doing that.”
Vey is tied with Ranford for third in the WHL scoring race, each with 33 points.
————
G Jon Groenheyde, who was traded by the Blazers to the Edmonton Oil Kings for G Cam Lanigan on Nov. 4, watched Sunday’s victory over Everett.
“I haven’t been home yet,” he said, referring to Edmonton as “home.”
“This has been the longest road trip ever,” he added.
On the day of the trade, the Oil Kings were in Prince George for a weekend doubleheader, so Groenheyde joined them there. The Oil Kings went from there to Chilliwack, Kelowna and Spokane before wrapping up Saturday in Cranbrook.
The Oil Kings flew Groenheyde back to Kamloops to allow him to pick up his car and some belongings. They don’t play until Saturday when they are at home to the Red Deer Rebels.
———
JUST NOTES: Ranford was named the WHL’s player of the week on Monday. He had six points, including three goals, in the team’s two games. . . . Kamloops G Jeff Bosch is the WHL’s nominee as goaltender of the week after going 2-0-0 with a 0.50 GAA and a .984 save percentage. . . . Kamloops C Chase Schaber had an assist Sunday to run his point streak to eight games. He has 11 points, eight of them assists, over that stretch. . . . Ranford’s goal on Sunday was announced as unassisted. After the game, assists were added to RW Jordan DePape and D Austin Madaisky. . . . Team WHL players are to arrive in town this afternoon and practice at ISC at 5:30 p.m. The Russians are scheduled to practice at 7:30 p.m. . . . D Matt MacKenzie of the Calgary Hitmen has the flu so won’t play Wednesday. He has been replaced by D Alex Petrovic of the Red Deer Rebels. . . . Schaber and D Austin Madaisky of the Blazers are part of Team WHL for the Wednesday game. . . . Spokane D Jared Cowen will captain Team WHL on Wednesday. Schaber and F Curtis Hamilton of the Saskatoon Blades will serve as alternates. . . . The Blazers, with seven victories in their last 10 games, next play Friday in Everett and Saturday in Portland. Their next home game is Nov. 23 against the Regina Pats.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Taking Note on Twitter
Daily News Sports Editor
No WHL player is hotter these days than left-winger Brendan Ranford of the Kamloops Blazers.
The 18-year-old from Edmonton is on a run of three straight three-point games and has 11 points over his last four games. He leads the WHL with 20 goals and is tied for third in points, with 33, all accomplished in 21 games.
Ranford, who had 29 goals in 72 games last season, became the first WHLer this season to reach 20 goals when he snapped a 50-footer through a defenceman and past Everett goaltender Kent Simpson in the Blazers’ 3-1 victory over the visiting Silvertips on Sunday night.“I shot around (the defenceman),” Ranford said. “For sure, (Simpson) was screened). I’ve been doing that since bantam and peewee hockey. I try to shoot across the box. It’s a tough save for him to make, going across the grain . . . he’s going one way and the puck goes the other way.”
As for the recent run in which Ranford has scored seven goals in four games, he said: “You have to shoot the puck. Right? (Head coach Guy Charron) is always me after me to shoot the puck more and . . . I’ve been getting the bounces.”
Next up for Ranford is Game 5 of the Subway Super Series, which will be played at Interior Savings Centre on Wednesday, 7 p.m. For whatever reason, Ranford wasn’t an original selection to Team WHL, but he was added to the roster on Thursday. (The WHL revealed Monday that winger Brendan Gallagher of the Vancouver Giants won’t play in the game here but will play Thursday in Prince George.)
Ranford has no idea how he’ll do on Wednesday; he just wants to play.
“They’re a really good hockey team,” he said of the Russians. “I’ve noticed how they’ve been doing.”
The Russians took two games from the QMJHL, winning 5-4 and 4-3, before dropping a 4-0 decision to the OHL on Thursday in London. Last night, in Sudbury, the OHL won 2-1 in a shootout.
———
Forward Lindey Vey of the Medicine Hat Tigers will play in both Super Series games. Vey, 19, had a goal and three assists in a 6-4 victory over the visiting Regina Pats on Saturday.
Vey, like every player on the team, wants to make an impression on Hockey Canada head scout Kevin Prendergast, and Medicine Hat head coach Shaun Clouston doesn’t know why he can’t do just that.“I thought that the last two nights Linden has really done a good job with his game,” Clouston told the Medicine Hat News. “He has worked hard, but he has also played real smart.
“He is looking for the right spots. He is executing the systems. I think he is being rewarded for doing that.”
Vey is tied with Ranford for third in the WHL scoring race, each with 33 points.
————
G Jon Groenheyde, who was traded by the Blazers to the Edmonton Oil Kings for G Cam Lanigan on Nov. 4, watched Sunday’s victory over Everett.
“I haven’t been home yet,” he said, referring to Edmonton as “home.”“This has been the longest road trip ever,” he added.
On the day of the trade, the Oil Kings were in Prince George for a weekend doubleheader, so Groenheyde joined them there. The Oil Kings went from there to Chilliwack, Kelowna and Spokane before wrapping up Saturday in Cranbrook.
The Oil Kings flew Groenheyde back to Kamloops to allow him to pick up his car and some belongings. They don’t play until Saturday when they are at home to the Red Deer Rebels.
———
JUST NOTES: Ranford was named the WHL’s player of the week on Monday. He had six points, including three goals, in the team’s two games. . . . Kamloops G Jeff Bosch is the WHL’s nominee as goaltender of the week after going 2-0-0 with a 0.50 GAA and a .984 save percentage. . . . Kamloops C Chase Schaber had an assist Sunday to run his point streak to eight games. He has 11 points, eight of them assists, over that stretch. . . . Ranford’s goal on Sunday was announced as unassisted. After the game, assists were added to RW Jordan DePape and D Austin Madaisky. . . . Team WHL players are to arrive in town this afternoon and practice at ISC at 5:30 p.m. The Russians are scheduled to practice at 7:30 p.m. . . . D Matt MacKenzie of the Calgary Hitmen has the flu so won’t play Wednesday. He has been replaced by D Alex Petrovic of the Red Deer Rebels. . . . Schaber and D Austin Madaisky of the Blazers are part of Team WHL for the Wednesday game. . . . Spokane D Jared Cowen will captain Team WHL on Wednesday. Schaber and F Curtis Hamilton of the Saskatoon Blades will serve as alternates. . . . The Blazers, with seven victories in their last 10 games, next play Friday in Everett and Saturday in Portland. Their next home game is Nov. 23 against the Regina Pats.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
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Taking Note on Twitter
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Saturday . . . early
The Central Hockey League has taken over operation of the Arizona Sundogs, a team that is based in Prescott and owned by Bill Yuill, who also owns the WHL’s Everett Silvertips There’s more right here and right here.
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The WHL has suspended Brandon Wheat Kings F Jay Fehr while it looks into a check from behind that took out Saskatoon Blades F Curtis Hamilton in Game 1 of their second-round series on Friday night in ’Toontown. Hamilton is out indefinitely with a shoulder injury. Fehr was given a double minor on the play in question.
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The WHL has suspended Brandon Wheat Kings F Jay Fehr while it looks into a check from behind that took out Saskatoon Blades F Curtis Hamilton in Game 1 of their second-round series on Friday night in ’Toontown. Hamilton is out indefinitely with a shoulder injury. Fehr was given a double minor on the play in question.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Monday . . .
Bruce Hamilton, the president and GM of the Kelowna Rockets and the chairman of the WHL’s board of governors, was in Vancouver on Monday.
While he did take in the NHL game between the Buffalo Sabres and the Canucks, that wasn’t the main purpose of his visit.
He was there to attend a news conference at which it was announced that he will be among the four inductees into the B.C. Hockey Hall of Fame this summer.
“(This) is a great honour,” Hamilton told me Monday evening. “I'm just a guy from Saskatoon trying to make our players be good people in the end.”
Hamilton is a former Saskatoon Blades forward (1974-77), who went on to play a bit professionally and was on an Allan Cup winner with the Spokane Flyers.
He helped out the Blades as an assistant coach for a bit and also was a firefighter in Saskatoon before becoming involved in the ownership of the Tacoma Rockets, an expansion franchise that began play in 1991-92 and moved to Kelowna for the 1995-96 season. Since then, the Rockets have appeared in four Memorial Cup tournaments.
Today, an argument could be made that the Rockets are the WHL’s leading franchise.
Because of the Rockets, Kelowna (aka the Little Apple) has played host to a Memorial Cup, which the Rockets won, and to World Junior Championship games and to WHL all-star games and Subway Super Series games.
In the world of major junior hockey, Kelowna is one of THE happening places.
The Rockets average more than 6,000 fans per game in 6,007-seat Prospera Place, and Hamilton will be first to give credit to people like his brother Gavin, the organization’s vice-president of business development, and Gavin’s wife, Anne-Marie, who is the director of marketing and game operations.
And, despite the cyclical nature of junior hockey, the Rockets, more often than not, are a competitive team. The Rockets are, in fact, the WHL’s defending champions. That was the franchise’s third WHL championship in seven seasons.
The credit for that, Bruce Hamilton will tell you, goes to the coaching staff and to super scout Lorne Frey -- his actual title is assistant GM/head scout/director of player personnel -- and his staff for keeping the talent tank full.
Still, it is Bruce Hamilton who is out in front -- he is the franchise’s lightning rod -- and his induction into the B.C. Hockey Hall of Fame is well deserved.
Going into the hall alongside Hamilton will be Trevor Linden, who went on from the Medicine Hat Tigers (1985-88) to a lengthy NHL career, former NHLer Dallas Drake and Frank Lento, the latter a Hockey Canada and B.C. Hockey executive.
Linden played 19 seasons in the NHL, 16 of them with the Vancouver Canucks, who retired his number (16) last season. In Vancouver, he is perhaps the most popular player ever to have played for the Canucks.
Drake, who is from Trail, played junior B in Rossland and junior A in Vernon.
The banquet and induction ceremony will be held in Penticton on July 23.
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Hamilton’s son, Curtis, a forward with the Saskatoon Blades, had surgery on his broken collarbone Sunday. He has broken the collarbone twice this season, although not in the same spot.
There is not yet a timetable for his return.
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So that is all for Patrice Cormier.
The 19-year-old captain of the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies, and the captain of Canada’s national junior team, was suspended Monday for the remainder of this QMJHL season and all of the playoffs. That is his penalty for the flying elbow that landed on the head of Quebec Remparts defenceman Mikael Tam.
The suspension to Cormier arrives just a few days after the OHL drilled Windsor Spitfires forward Zack Kassian for a Jan. 14 hit that left Barrie Colts forward Matt Kennedy with a head injury. Kassian ended up with a 20-game suspension.
Kassian’s suspensions follows an OHL sentence that was handed down in November. Under the terms of that one, Erie Otters forward Michael Liambas had his season ended by the OHL for a thundering check on Kitchener Rangers defenceman Ben Fanelli. Because he is 20 and was in his last season of eligibility, the OHL effectively ended Liambas’s major junior career.
Now I’m not about to sit here and say that the suspensions were correct, or whether they have been too harsh or not harsh enough.
It is quite evident that the NHL, which has bailed every time it has had the opportunity to set a tone on punishment for hits to the head, is not prepared to act on something that has become all but epidemic.
It is time then for all other levels of hockey to act independently to eradicate this problem before someone dies on the ice in front of a few thousand witnesses. If that should happen -- and, given the video evidence before us on oh, so many sportscasts, that day would appear to be coming sooner rather than never -- there will two victims. Oh, and when that day arrives you can bet that the police will become involved in a big hurry.
In an attempt to prevent that day’s arrival, it is time to put the onus on coaches at all levels of hockey to redefine the term “finishing your check.” It is time for those same coaches to spend more time teaching how to take out an opposing player through angling and bumping, rather than through charging and elbowing.
After all, is it really necessary to try and put an opponent into the third row of the stands when all one is trying to do is separate him from the puck?
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THE MacBETH REPORT: F Jason Miller (Medicine Hat, 1987-1991) has been released by Dresden (Germany 2.Bundesliga).He had seven goals and 20 assists in 29 games this season.
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The Brandon Wheat Kings announced Monday that Tom Cochrane, a seven-time Juno winner, will be part of FanFest during the 2010 MasterCard Memorial Cup. (To our American readers, the Junos are our Grammys.)
Cochrane will headline the Memorial Cup final weekend social on May 22 in the Keystone Centre’s Manitoba Room. It’s worth noting that Cochrane got a taste of the Prairies on Saturday -- he was playing the casino in Swift Current when the power went out.
Cochrane was born in Lynn Lake, Man., which also is my hometown and the hometown of onetime New York Rangers prospect Steve Andrasick. (Actually, Steve and I both were born in Sherridon, Man., but we grew up in Lynn Lake. To give this a WHL flavour, it’s worth pointing out that Andrasick played for Pat Ginnell’s Flin Flon Bombers in the days of Bobby Clarke and Reggie Leach and Wayne Hawrysh et al.)
If you are planning on attending the Memorial Cup, here’s a bit more from the Wheat Kings’ press release:
Cochrane’s concert will be one of four “ticket” events to take place during the championship. Ticket prices, availability, as well as more news regarding this year’s Memorial Cup entertainment plans will be announced shortly.
Other Memorial Cup ticket events will include the Opening Banquet on Thursday, May 13, the Manitoba Homecoming Kick-off Social on Saturday, May 15, as well as the Canadian Hockey League Awards Ceremony at the Westman Centennial Auditorium on May 22.
The 2010 MasterCard Memorial Cup will be held in Brandon, May 14-23.
(Yes, Taking Note hopes to be there.)
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SOME SCHEDULING NOTES: The Spokane Chiefs will play the Blazers in Kamloops on Tuesday (Jan. 26). That game originally was scheduled for the following night (Wednesday, Jan. 27). Instead, the Chiefs will meet the Bruins in Chilliwack on Wednesday. . . . Those changes were made in order to avoid a conflict with the Olympic Torch Relay that will go through Kamloops on Wednesday. . . . Meanwhile, the game between the Kootenay Ice and the Pats that was to have been played Sunday (Jan. 24) in Regina has been moved to Monday, Feb. 1. Sunday’s game was postponed due to horrid weather conditions. Game time at the Brandt Centre on Feb. 1 will be 7 p.m.
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D Luca Sbisa spent Monday travelling to Portland and is expected to be at the Winterhawks’ Tuesday practice at Valley Ice Arena.
Sbisa, 19, was acquired from the Lethbridge Hurricanes on Jan. 10, the WHL’s trade deadline. He played for Switzerland in the World Junior Championship, where he suffered an abdominal injury. He has since been getting treatment in Switzerland.
If all goes according to plan, Sbisa will play for the Winterhawks on Friday when they meet the Silvertips in Everett.
He later will join Switzerland for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver and will rejoin the Winterhawks at the conclusion of the Games.
While he did take in the NHL game between the Buffalo Sabres and the Canucks, that wasn’t the main purpose of his visit.
He was there to attend a news conference at which it was announced that he will be among the four inductees into the B.C. Hockey Hall of Fame this summer.
“(This) is a great honour,” Hamilton told me Monday evening. “I'm just a guy from Saskatoon trying to make our players be good people in the end.”
Hamilton is a former Saskatoon Blades forward (1974-77), who went on to play a bit professionally and was on an Allan Cup winner with the Spokane Flyers.
He helped out the Blades as an assistant coach for a bit and also was a firefighter in Saskatoon before becoming involved in the ownership of the Tacoma Rockets, an expansion franchise that began play in 1991-92 and moved to Kelowna for the 1995-96 season. Since then, the Rockets have appeared in four Memorial Cup tournaments.
Today, an argument could be made that the Rockets are the WHL’s leading franchise.
Because of the Rockets, Kelowna (aka the Little Apple) has played host to a Memorial Cup, which the Rockets won, and to World Junior Championship games and to WHL all-star games and Subway Super Series games.
In the world of major junior hockey, Kelowna is one of THE happening places.
The Rockets average more than 6,000 fans per game in 6,007-seat Prospera Place, and Hamilton will be first to give credit to people like his brother Gavin, the organization’s vice-president of business development, and Gavin’s wife, Anne-Marie, who is the director of marketing and game operations.
And, despite the cyclical nature of junior hockey, the Rockets, more often than not, are a competitive team. The Rockets are, in fact, the WHL’s defending champions. That was the franchise’s third WHL championship in seven seasons.
The credit for that, Bruce Hamilton will tell you, goes to the coaching staff and to super scout Lorne Frey -- his actual title is assistant GM/head scout/director of player personnel -- and his staff for keeping the talent tank full.
Still, it is Bruce Hamilton who is out in front -- he is the franchise’s lightning rod -- and his induction into the B.C. Hockey Hall of Fame is well deserved.
Going into the hall alongside Hamilton will be Trevor Linden, who went on from the Medicine Hat Tigers (1985-88) to a lengthy NHL career, former NHLer Dallas Drake and Frank Lento, the latter a Hockey Canada and B.C. Hockey executive.
Linden played 19 seasons in the NHL, 16 of them with the Vancouver Canucks, who retired his number (16) last season. In Vancouver, he is perhaps the most popular player ever to have played for the Canucks.
Drake, who is from Trail, played junior B in Rossland and junior A in Vernon.
The banquet and induction ceremony will be held in Penticton on July 23.
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Hamilton’s son, Curtis, a forward with the Saskatoon Blades, had surgery on his broken collarbone Sunday. He has broken the collarbone twice this season, although not in the same spot.
There is not yet a timetable for his return.
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So that is all for Patrice Cormier.
The 19-year-old captain of the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies, and the captain of Canada’s national junior team, was suspended Monday for the remainder of this QMJHL season and all of the playoffs. That is his penalty for the flying elbow that landed on the head of Quebec Remparts defenceman Mikael Tam.
The suspension to Cormier arrives just a few days after the OHL drilled Windsor Spitfires forward Zack Kassian for a Jan. 14 hit that left Barrie Colts forward Matt Kennedy with a head injury. Kassian ended up with a 20-game suspension.
Kassian’s suspensions follows an OHL sentence that was handed down in November. Under the terms of that one, Erie Otters forward Michael Liambas had his season ended by the OHL for a thundering check on Kitchener Rangers defenceman Ben Fanelli. Because he is 20 and was in his last season of eligibility, the OHL effectively ended Liambas’s major junior career.
Now I’m not about to sit here and say that the suspensions were correct, or whether they have been too harsh or not harsh enough.
It is quite evident that the NHL, which has bailed every time it has had the opportunity to set a tone on punishment for hits to the head, is not prepared to act on something that has become all but epidemic.
It is time then for all other levels of hockey to act independently to eradicate this problem before someone dies on the ice in front of a few thousand witnesses. If that should happen -- and, given the video evidence before us on oh, so many sportscasts, that day would appear to be coming sooner rather than never -- there will two victims. Oh, and when that day arrives you can bet that the police will become involved in a big hurry.
In an attempt to prevent that day’s arrival, it is time to put the onus on coaches at all levels of hockey to redefine the term “finishing your check.” It is time for those same coaches to spend more time teaching how to take out an opposing player through angling and bumping, rather than through charging and elbowing.
After all, is it really necessary to try and put an opponent into the third row of the stands when all one is trying to do is separate him from the puck?
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THE MacBETH REPORT: F Jason Miller (Medicine Hat, 1987-1991) has been released by Dresden (Germany 2.Bundesliga).He had seven goals and 20 assists in 29 games this season.
---
The Brandon Wheat Kings announced Monday that Tom Cochrane, a seven-time Juno winner, will be part of FanFest during the 2010 MasterCard Memorial Cup. (To our American readers, the Junos are our Grammys.)
Cochrane will headline the Memorial Cup final weekend social on May 22 in the Keystone Centre’s Manitoba Room. It’s worth noting that Cochrane got a taste of the Prairies on Saturday -- he was playing the casino in Swift Current when the power went out.
Cochrane was born in Lynn Lake, Man., which also is my hometown and the hometown of onetime New York Rangers prospect Steve Andrasick. (Actually, Steve and I both were born in Sherridon, Man., but we grew up in Lynn Lake. To give this a WHL flavour, it’s worth pointing out that Andrasick played for Pat Ginnell’s Flin Flon Bombers in the days of Bobby Clarke and Reggie Leach and Wayne Hawrysh et al.)
If you are planning on attending the Memorial Cup, here’s a bit more from the Wheat Kings’ press release:
Cochrane’s concert will be one of four “ticket” events to take place during the championship. Ticket prices, availability, as well as more news regarding this year’s Memorial Cup entertainment plans will be announced shortly.
Other Memorial Cup ticket events will include the Opening Banquet on Thursday, May 13, the Manitoba Homecoming Kick-off Social on Saturday, May 15, as well as the Canadian Hockey League Awards Ceremony at the Westman Centennial Auditorium on May 22.
The 2010 MasterCard Memorial Cup will be held in Brandon, May 14-23.
(Yes, Taking Note hopes to be there.)
---
SOME SCHEDULING NOTES: The Spokane Chiefs will play the Blazers in Kamloops on Tuesday (Jan. 26). That game originally was scheduled for the following night (Wednesday, Jan. 27). Instead, the Chiefs will meet the Bruins in Chilliwack on Wednesday. . . . Those changes were made in order to avoid a conflict with the Olympic Torch Relay that will go through Kamloops on Wednesday. . . . Meanwhile, the game between the Kootenay Ice and the Pats that was to have been played Sunday (Jan. 24) in Regina has been moved to Monday, Feb. 1. Sunday’s game was postponed due to horrid weather conditions. Game time at the Brandt Centre on Feb. 1 will be 7 p.m.
---
D Luca Sbisa spent Monday travelling to Portland and is expected to be at the Winterhawks’ Tuesday practice at Valley Ice Arena.
Sbisa, 19, was acquired from the Lethbridge Hurricanes on Jan. 10, the WHL’s trade deadline. He played for Switzerland in the World Junior Championship, where he suffered an abdominal injury. He has since been getting treatment in Switzerland.
If all goes according to plan, Sbisa will play for the Winterhawks on Friday when they meet the Silvertips in Everett.
He later will join Switzerland for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver and will rejoin the Winterhawks at the conclusion of the Games.
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