Showing posts with label Dallas Thompson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dallas Thompson. Show all posts

Tuesday, July 11, 2017

Homecomings in Calgary ... T-Birds poised to name head coach ... Pats' Paddock adds players


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 D Kalvin Sagert (Kamloops, Lethbridge, Prince George, 2002-08) has signed a one-year contract with Gherdëina Selva Gardena (Italy, Alps HL). Last season, he had two goals and four assists in 27 games with Fehérvár AV19 Székesfehérvár (Hungary, Erste Bank Liga). . . .
D Emerson Hyrnyk (Prince Albert, Chilliwack, 2009-11) has signed a one-year contract with the Dundee Stars (Scotland, UK Elite). Last season, he had four assists in 26 games with Mount Royal University (U Sports).
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 If they didn’t, the Calgary Hitmen should have had Hagood Hardy’s The Homecoming playing in the background of their Tuesday morning news conference.
After all, Jeff Chynoweth, the Hitmen’s new general manager, is coming back to Calgary for the first time in 31 years, while Dallas Ferguson, the new head coach, is returning to Alberta after coaching in Alaska since 2002. Dallas Thompson, the new director of player personnel, is from Hayter, Alta.
Chynoweth joins the Hitmen after spending 16 seasons as the GM of the Kootenay Ice, a franchise that
The Calgary Hitmen braintrust: Dallas Ferguson (left),
Jeff Chynoweth, Mike Moore and Dallas Thompson.(Photo: Candice Ward/Hitmenhockey.com)
was owned by his family. The Chynoweths sold the Ice earlier this summer to Winnipeggers Greg Fettes and Matt Cockell.
With the Hitmen, Chynoweth takes over from Mike Moore, who now is vice-president and alternate governor. Moore had been the GM since 2013.
Chynoweth spent a good part of his youth in Calgary and, in fact, was the visiting teams’ stick boy at Flames games in the early 1980s. The Flames, of course, own the Hitmen.
Ferguson, meanwhile, takes over from Mark French, who left after three seasons as head coach in order to work in Switzerland.
Ferguson, who is from Wainwright, Alta., has been on the coaching staff of the U of Alaska-Fairbanks Nanooks since 2004. He has been the head coach since 2008. Before joining the Nanooks’ coaching staff, he was an assistant coach with the Fairbanks Ice Dogs for two seasons.
For Hitmen fans wanting to know Ferguson a bit better, right here is a College Hockey News story from when he was named the Nanooks’ head coach. . . . Click right here and you’ll find a Q&A that CHN managing editor Adam Wodon did with Ferguson early last season.
www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2008/05/21_ferguson.php
Assistant coaches Trent Cassan and Joel Otto are returning to work alongside Ferguson.
Thompson replaces Dan Bonar, who spent 14 seasons with the Hitmen, the last four as director of player personnel. Thompson worked for the Hitmen for the past two seasons as B.C. scouting director. He is a long-time WHLer, having spent 10 seasons as the general manager of the Prince George Cougars.
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With the Calgary Hitmen having hired Dallas Ferguson as their new head coach, it leaves the Seattle
Thunderbirds as the only one of the WHL’s 22 franchises without a head coach.
The Thunderbirds, the WHL’s reigning champions, are poised to name a a successor to Steve Konowalchuk who left after six seasons and now is an assistant coach with the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks. That announcement is scheduled for today (Wednesday) at noon PT.
Matt O’Dette, an assistant coach alongside Konowalchuk for the past four seasons, is believed to be the leading candidate as Seattle’s next head coach.
What it all means is that, barring any more changes, six teams will have new head coaches when the new season arrives.
Besides Calgary and Seattle, the Everett Silvertips, Kootenay Ice, Spokane Chiefs and Victoria Royals have made changes.
In Everett, the Silvertips chose not to renew Kevin Constantine’s contract after four seasons, and have replaced him with Dennis Williams.
In Kootenay, Luke Pierce, the Ice’s head coach for two seasons, got caught up in an ownership change and has been replaced by James Patrick.
In Spokane, veteran head coach Don Nachbaur and the Chiefs split up after the season and he has since signed on as an assistant coach with the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings.
In Victoria, the Royals lost head coach Dave Lowry to Los Angeles, also for an assistant coaching position. The Royals promoted assistant coach Dan Price to head coach.
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The Regina Pats will be the host team for the 2018 Memorial Cup tournament, and GM/head coach John Paddock is having a busy offseason. He picked up F Matt Bradley, a sniper, from the Medicine Hat Tigers in a move that garnered some notice. In a couple of other moves, Paddock has signed F George King, 19, who scored 36 goals with the MJHL’s OCN Blizzard last season, and F Rayman Bassi, who had 49 points with the major midget Okanagan Rockets. . . . Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post has more right here.
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The Vancouver Giants have signed D Parker Hendren to a WHL contract. From Regina, Hendren was a seventh-round pick in the 2016 bantam draft. . . . Last season, Hendren had 15 points, two of them goals, in 43 games with the midget AAA Regina Pat Canadians.
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If you would like to attend seventh annual TeamSnap Hockey Coaches Conference in Vancouver on Friday and Saturday, Taking Note has a deal for you. Click on The Coaches Site website right here and as you register enter the coupon code TakingNote and you’ll get 20 per cent off the registration fee. . . . Enjoy the weekend!
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If you would like to contact Taking Note with information, have a question or just feel like commenting on something, feel free to send an email to greggdrinnan@gmail.com. I’m also on Twitter (@gdrinnan).
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Coaching

 Two men with ties to the WHL moved into the NHL coaching ranks on Tuesday. . . . Kelly Buchberger (Moose Jaw, 1984-86) has left the Edmonton Oilers organization and now is an assistant coach with the New York Islanders. . . . In Pittsburgh, the Penguins moved Mark Recchi (New Westminster, Kamloops, 1985-88) into an assistant coaching role, filling the vacancy created when Rick Tocchet signed on as head coach of the Arizona Coyotes. . . . Buchberger, 50, spent nine seasons with the Oilers, six as an assistant coach before moving into player personnel and player development. . . . Recchi, 49, has been in player development with the Penguins for the past three seasons. He also is a co-owner of the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers. Recchi will be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame later this year.
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Ted Nolan has signed on as the head coach of Poland’s national men’s team. Nolan, a former NHL coach of the year, spent four years with the Latvian national team. Tom Coolen, an assistant coach with Nolan in Latvia, will fill the same role in Poland.
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Posted by Gregg Drinnan at 9:40 PM
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Monday, July 10, 2017

Today is it for Hitmen ... Kisio moves up with U-18 side ... Inside the KHL in tweets


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 D Keaton Ellerby (Kamloops, Moose Jaw, 2004-08) has signed a one-year contract with Mora (Sweden, SHL). Last season, he had three goals and nine assists in 43 games with Lukko Rauma (Finland, Liiga).
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The Calgary Hitmen are poised to make some personnel introductions today (Tuesday).
As was first reported here late Saturday, the Hitmen will name Jeff Chynoweth their new general
manager, with Dallas Ferguson taking over as head coach.
As well, Dallas Thompson will move up to head scout after working for the Hitmen in B.C. for the past two seasons.
Chynoweth, of course, has long been associated with the Edmonton/Kootenay Ice. He, his mother Linda and brother Dean sold the Ice earlier this summer to Winnipeggers Greg Fettes and Matt Cockell.
With the Hitmen, Chynoweth will take over from Mike Moore, who now is  vice-president and alternate governor. Moore had been the GM since 2013.
Ferguson, a native of Wainwright, Alta., will succeed Mark French, who left after three seasons as head coach to take a job in Switzerland. Ferguson, 44, has been at the U of Alaska-Fairbanks since 2004-05. He spent four seasons as an assistant coach and has been the head coach since 2008-09. Ferguson was named head coach on May 21, 2008, about a month after he had stepped in as interim coach following the resignation of Doc DelCastillo.
As a player, Ferguson spent four seasons (1992-96) as a defenceman with the Nanooks.
Thompson, a former WHL player who spent 16 seasons with the Prince George Cougars, the last 10 as GM, will replace Dan Bonar, who had been with the Hitmen for 14 seasons, the last four as director of player personnel.

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Brent Kisio, the head coach of the Lethbridge Hurricanes, has moved up to head coach of the Canadian U-18 team that will play in the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Cup next month. . . . Kisio, who was named as an assistant coach earlier this summer, replaces Paul McFarland, the former head coach of the OHL’s Kingston Frontenacs who now is an assistant coach with the NHL’s Florida Panthers. . . . Kisio is preparing for his third season as the head coach in Lethbridge. . . . Drew Bannister, the head coach of the OHL’s Sudbury Wolves, has been added to the U-18 team as an assistant coach. . . . The Ivan Hlinka Memorial runs from Aug. 7-12 in Breclav, Czech Republic, and Bratislava, Slovakia.
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The Lethbridge Hurricanes won’t have Russian F Egor Babenko back for a third season. This means that they are looking at veteran D Igor Merezhko, who is from Ukraine, and Russian F Yegor Zudilov as their two imports in 2017-18.
Merezhko, 19, has two goals and 29 assists in 128 regular-season games with the Hurricanes.
Zudilov, who will turn 17 on Sept. 10, was selected in the CHL’s 2017 import draft. He had 65 points, including 31 goals, in 35 games with Avangard Omsk’s U-17 team last season. The previous season, he put up 63 points, 31 of them goals, with Avangard Omsk’s U-16 side.
Babenko, now 20, has signed a two-year contract with Lada Togliatti of the KHL. He had 53 goals and 71 assists in 133 regular-season games with the Hurricanes.
Babenko is eligible to play one more season in the WHL, but as a 20-year-old import he would have been a two-spotter.
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One day after losing director of player personnel Ryan Jankowski to the Buffalo Sabres, Hockey Canada waved farewell to one of its goaltending coaches Monday as Fred Brathwaite left to join the New York Islanders. . . . Brathwaite has worked with Hockey Canada’s U-18 team for the past three seasons. He also has been involved with Canada’s national junior team.
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If you are planning on attending the seventh annual TeamSnap Hockey Coaches Conference but haven’t yet registered, don’t forget that we’ve got a deal for you. . . . The conference runs Friday and Saturday in Vancouver, so time is running out for you to register. You are able to get 20 per cent off the registration fee by clicking right here. Tour around the site and when you register just enter the coupon code TakingNote and you will get the discounted rate.
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If you would like to contact Taking Note with information, have a question or just feel like commenting on something, feel free to send an email to greggdrinnan@gmail.com. I’m also on Twitter (@gdrinnan).
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If you have any interest at all in the inner-workings of the KHL — i.e. how does it survive? — read this series of tweets from Slava Malamud.


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Posted by Gregg Drinnan at 10:13 PM
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Sunday, July 9, 2017

Source: Hitmen announcements coming today ... Rasmussen fine, but sits out ... Hockey Canada loses top scout


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 F Egor Babenko (Lethbridge, 2015-17) has signed a two-year two-way contract with Lada Togliatti (Russia, KHL) after his rights were acquired from CSKA Moscow. Last season, with Lethbridge, he had 24 goals and 31 assists in 66 games. . . . Babenko was a first-round selection (19th overall) by CSKA in the 2014 KHL junior draft. . . . Babenko, 20, had 124 points, including 53 goals, in 133 games over two seasons with the Hurricanes.
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 The Calgary Hitmen are expected to make at least three hockey operations-related announcements and Taking Note has been told that it could happen as early as today (Monday).
When Taking Note suggested that the Hitmen might prefer to wait until Stampede Week is over — the
JEFF CHYNOWETH
annual Calgary Stampede pretty much owns the Calgary media at this time of July — the response was: “I’m hearing it will be announced (Monday).”
Whenever it happens, the Hitmen are expected to introduce Jeff Chynoweth as general manager, with Dallas Ferguson having been named head coach and Dallas Thompson head scout.
Chynoweth will take over from Mike Moore, who was named the franchise’s vice-president and alternate governor on May 15. Chynoweth spent the past 16 seasons as the general manager of the Kootenay Ice.
Ferguson will replace Mark French, the head coach for the previous three seasons who left to coach in Switzerland. Taking Note also was told Sunday that Ferguson had been in the mix in Spokane before the Chiefs hired Dan Lambert as head coach. Ferguson has been the head coach of the U of Alaska-Fairbanks Nanooks since 2008-09.
Thompson will fill the vacancy created when the Hitmen chose to terminate Dan Bonar, although the organization has yet to announce his departure. Bonar had been with the Hitmen for 14 seasons, the last six as head scout or director of player personnel.
Thompson, who spent 10 seasons as the general manager of the Prince George Cougars, has been scouting in B.C. for Calgary for the past two seasons.
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F Michael Rasmussen of the Tri-City Americans didn’t take part in a Sunday scrimmage at the Detroit Red Wings’ development camp in Traverse City, Mich. It was the only scrimmage of the camp. . . . Rasmussen, who was the ninth overall selection in the NHL’s 2017 draft, suffered a broken scaphoid in his left wrist in February and didn’t play again last season. . . . He participate in the first two days of Detroit’s development camp and all went well, so he was held out of the scrimmage as a precaution. . . . Detroit’s camp concludes on Tuesday.
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The seventh annual TeamSnap Hockey Coaches Conference runs Friday and Saturday in Vancouver. Should you attend, you will hear from a number of hockey coaches. But you also will get presentations from the likes of Dr. Lawrence Spriet of the U of Guelph; Jason Dorland, co-owner of Your Mindset Coaching; Pavel Barber, Glenn Carnegie and Jim Vital, all of whom are skills coaches; and Mike Snee, the executive director of College Hockey Inc.
Yes, the Hockey Coaches Conference covers a lot of bases.
If you want to attend but haven’t registered, Taking Note has cut a deal on your behalf. Click right here to register, enter the coupon code TakingNote, and get 20 per cent off your registration fee.
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The NHL’s Buffalo Sabres have hired Ryan Jankowski as their director of amateur scouting. Jankowski spent the previous four seasons working with Hockey Canada, first as head scout and later as director of player personnel. He oversaw player evaluation and selection for Canada’s national junior team as well as the U-18 and U-17 programs. . . . Before joining Hockey Canada, Jankowski, who is from Calgary, spent 10 years with the Montreal Canadiens and seven with the New York Islanders. . . . The Sabres also announced that they have promoted Jeff Crisp to assistant director of amateur scouting. He spent last season as the club’s head amateur scout.
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G John Chartrand, who played with three major junior teams, was killed in a car accident in Toronto on Friday, his 24th birthday. Chartrand died when his car slammed into the back of a slowing transport truck on Highway 401 around 3 a.m. He was the lone occupant of the car.
Chartrand, who played with the OHL’s Niagara IceDogs, Barrie Colts and Belleville Bulls, was one of the players involved in the class-action lawsuit filed against the CHL, OHL, QMJHL, WHL and their teams in an attempt to gain minimum wage, vacation pay and other benefits. . . . If you are interested, Chartrand’s affidavit, which was taken in June 2016, is right here.
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If you would like to contact Taking Note with information, have a question or just feel like commenting on something, feel free to send an email to greggdrinnan@gmail.com. I’m also on Twitter (@gdrinnan).
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Posted by Gregg Drinnan at 10:37 PM
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Friday, July 31, 2015

Might sanctions hit at 2016 WJC? . . . Hitmen add experienced scouts . . . Silvertips lose their voice








F Denis Tolpeko (Seattle, Regina, 2003-06) was traded by Salevat Yulaev Ufa to Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod (both Russia, KHL) for 2016 second- and third-round picks in the KHL Junior Draft. Last season, with Salevat Yulaev, he had 10 goals and eight assists in 59 games.
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The 2016 IIHF World Junior Championship is scheduled for Helsinki, Finland, where games are to be played in two arenas, including Hartwall Arena.
Team USA and Canada are to play their round-robin games in an older arena that is owned by the city of Helsinki. The playoff round is to be played in Hartwall Arena.
But what if the U.S. government stepped in and told Team USA that it couldn’t play there? What if teams from European Union (EU) countries weren’t allowed to play there? What then?
Why would that happen?
Well . . . follow along here . . .
The MacBeth Report informs us that on Thursday the U.S. government added Roman Rotenberg, Kai Pannanen, Långvik Capital, Airfix Aviation, and two companies operated by Pannanen to its embargo list.
Rotenberg holds Finnish and Russian passports.
Pannanen is a Finnish citizen who is a member of the board of directors of the Jokerit hockey team.
Långvik Capital is owned by Arkady and Boris Rottenberg. Roman Rottenberg is Boris’s son and Arkady’s nephew.
Arkady Rottenberg owns the KHL’s Dynamo Moscow and is a childhood friend and judo partner of Russian president Vladimir Putin.
Boris Rotenberg owns the KHL’s Dynamo Moscow soccer team. He also is a childhood friend and judo partner of Putin.
Airfix Aviation is owned by Gennady Timchenko, who owns the KHL’s SKA St. Petersburg franchise and is the chairman of the KHL’s board. He holds Russian, Finnish and Armenian citizenship.
Which brings us to Arena Events OY, which owns Hartwall Arena and a majority interest, perhaps even 100 per cent, in Jokerit, which is to play in the KHL in 2015-16.
Arena Events purchased Jokerit and Hartwall Arena in 2012. At that time, Arena Events was owned by Långvik Capital and Timchenko. However, Timchenko, and Arkady and Boris Rotenberg soon found themselves on the U.S. sanctions list, so the ownership picture changed, with Roman Rotenberg becoming the owner of Långvik Capital.
The Finnish government asked the U.S. government about the inclusion of two Finnish citizens and four Finnish companies on the sanctions list. According to Finnish newspaper Turun Sanomat, the U.S. told Finland “the list was expanded to include people and practices who support already-blacklisted magnates Gennadi Timchenko and Boris Rotenberg.”
Marko Lempinen, a columnist with Ilta-Sanomat, speculated that should Jokerit get added to the list the team might fold.
After all, EU companies aren’t allowed to do business with companies or individuals on the EU sanctions list.
Lempinen also wondered in print when Timchenko and Arkady Rotenberg will decide that such problems associated with Jokerit and Hartwall Arena aren’t worth the bother any longer. As Lempinen mused, they are billionaires and wouldn’t be harmed economically by folding Jokerit and letting Hartwall sit unoccupied for a year or two.
Which brings us back to the 2016 IIHF World Junior Championship.
The tournament opens Dec. 26, 2015, with Russia meeting Czech Republic in Hartwall Arena.
As mentioned, the playoff round is to be held in Hartwall Arena. Let’s assume that Team USA qualifies for the playoff round.
If Jokerit and Hartwall Arena are on the embargo list, can Team USA play any games in the facility?
In fact, if Roman Rotenberg is added to the EU sanctions list, along with Långvik Capital, can teams from any EU countries play in Hartwall Arena without violating the sanctions?
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Ron Toigo, the majority owner of the Vancouver Giants, didn’t do anything Friday to quell the rumours of a possible move.
The Giants play in Pacific Coliseum where, he told Greg Douglas, who writes a Saturday column for the Vancouver Sun, that “the rent we’re paying is the highest in the league. It’s not working.”
There has been speculation that the City of Surrey is prepared to offer up some land if a developer wants to build an arena. That led to rumours that the Giants might be on the move.
“I keep hearing that a new arena in South Surrey is in the planning stages,” Toigo told Douglas. “But so far it’s just been a lot of talk.”
Douglas pointed out that the Giants’ attendance has fallen from 8,717 in 2008-09 to about 5,800 last season.
“Am I concerned about it? Absolutely,” Toigo told Douglas. “We’re starting to lose money. . . . The Coliseum is tired and needs capital funding but doesn’t get a subsidy from any level of government.”
Stay tuned. This story likely is far from over.
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The Calgary Hitmen have added two former WHL general managers to their scouting staff. Roy Stasiuk has been named Prairie scouting director, while Dallas Thompson will work as B.C. scouting director. . . . The Hitmen also announced the retirement of Ray Payne, who was their travelling scout. He will continue to scout for the Hitmen on a part-time basis in the Vancouver area. . . . Stasiuk, from Edmonton, was on the Toronto Maple Leafs’ scouting staff for the past six seasons. He has worked in the WHL with Prince Albert, Red Deer, Edmonton, Kootenay and Lethbridge. He had a stint as general manager in Lethbridge, after working as assistant GM/director of player personnel with Kootenay. . . . Thompson worked for 10 years as the general manager of the Prince George Cougars. . . . Dan Bonar remains Calgary’s director, player personnel and oversees the scouting staff.
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The Everett Silvertips have lost Travis Huntington, their play-by-play voice. He is leaving the organization for personal reasons. . . . “The decision to leave was a very difficult one motivated by a desire to be closer to family and friends in Colorado,” Huntington said in a news release, “but I will greatly miss being a member of this team and the friends I’ve made.” . . . Huntington, 32, was the director of broadcasting and public relations for four seasons. . . . He is from Platteville, Colo.
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Got a tip or some information you feel could be useful to me, feel free to email me at greggdrinnan@gmail.com.
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Meanwhile, at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton . . .


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Posted by Gregg Drinnan at 10:49 PM
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Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Oil Kings back in final . . . Voice of Tigers will be back!







F Mikhail Fisenko (Vancouver, Calgary, 2008-11) has signed a two-year extension with Amur Khabarovsk (Russia, KHL). This season, he had six points, including one goal, in 25 games. . . .
D Deron Quint (Seattle, 1993-96) has been traded by CSKA Moscow to Spartak Moscow (both Russia, KHL) for monetary considerations. Quint was traded by Spartak to CSKA on Jan. 15 for monetary considerations. This season, he led all KHL defencemen in goals, with 13. He finished with 28 points in 51 games.
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1. The biggest (and best) news in the WHL on Tuesday came out of Medicine Hat. Actually, it came late Monday night when Bob Ridley (@BobRidley_CHAT) tweeted: “I wish to thank chat radio and t.v for allowing me to semi retire. Will remain as tigers play by play man.” . . . Yes, the Tigers’ bus-driving play-by-play man will be back for another season, and that’s great news.

2. Elliotte Friedman of Hockey Night in Canada has his weekly 30 Thoughts right here. Mike Johnston, the GM/head coach of the Portland Winterhawks, as the next head coach of the Vancouver Canucks? Hey, why not?

3. Ben Cooper, who did a turn as an assistant coach with the Victoria Royals, is back in the WHL as a regional scout with the Lethbridge Hurricanes. He also is a coach at the Okanagan Hockey Academy in Penticton, B.C.

4. Attendance at Game 3 in each of the three major junior championship finals on Tuesday night: Val-d-’Or, 2,890 (seats, 2,140; capacity, 3,504); North Bay, 4,248 (sellout); Edmonton, 6,799.

5. Michael Kim won’t be in the outfield or on the mound this spring as the baseball season begins in Mississauga, Ont. But he is an angel in the outfield. Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun wrote this story right here in 2006, about a young man who lost his life and whose organs benefited eight people.
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After 17 years with the Prince George Cougars, general manager Dallas Thompson worked his last day with the organization on Tuesday. With the franchise going through the sale process, he won’t be returning.
Late Monday night, Thompson posted this on Facebook:
“Not much for updates, however, tomorrow will by my last day going to work for the Prince George Cougars. It has been a great 17 years. We did not get to the place we wanted but we touched a lot of hearts along the way. Thank you Prince George! You were kind and I wish you all the best along the way. ‪#‎princegeorgecougars‬ All the best.”
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The Moose Jaw Warriors have acquired D Cole Wedman, 20, from the Spokane Chiefs for a conditional fourth-round pick in the 2015 bantam draft. . . . Wedman, from Edmonton, had 29 points, including eight goals, in 181 regular-season games over three seasons with the Chiefs. . . . He was a sixth-round pick by the Chiefs in the 2009 bantam draft. . . . Wedman’s brother, Matthew, a forward, was selected by the Seattle Thunderbirds in the second round of last week’s bantam draft. . . . The Chiefs are left with five 1994-born players on their roster -- D Reid Gow, the team captain, F Connor Chartier, F Marcus Messier, F Carter Proft and F Liam Stewart. . . . The Warriors now have four such players on their roster -- Wedman, along with F Scott Cooke, F Tanner Eberle and F Jack Rodewald. . . . The deadline for teams to get down to three 20-year-old players is Oct. 16.
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If you’re interested in the names of players with ties to the WHL who were selected in Phase 2 of the USHL’s draft on Tuesday, there’s a list right here.
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THE OHL FINAL:
OHLIn North Bay, the Guelph Storm scored twice in the last minute of the third period and beat the Battalion 4-3 to take a 2-1 lead in that series. . . . F Zack Mitchell tied the game at 19:30 of the third period and F Brock McGinn got the winner at 19:49. . . . The Battalion had leads of 1-0, 2-1 and 3-2. . . . Game 4 is scheduled for tonight in North Bay.
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THE QMJHL FINAL:
QMJHLIn Val-d’Or, the Foreurs dropped the Baie-Comeau Drakkar 5-2 and now lead that series, 2-1. . . . F Anthony Mantha had two goals and an assist for the winners, who scored the game’s last four goals, three of them in the third period. . . . Mantha gave the Foreurs a 3-2 lead 6:41 and added insurance at 16:57. He’s got 20 goals in these playoffs. . . . The Foreurs are scheduled to play host to Game 4 tonight.
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THE COACHING GAME:
Former UBC Thunderbirds head coach Milan Dragicevic (Regina, New Westminster, Victoria, Spokane, Tri-City, 1986-90) has signed on as director of hockey development for the Richmond, B.C., Minor Hockey Association. Dragicevic, 43, spent 14 seasons as head coach of the Thunderbirds before being fired in March. He was the head coach of the Vancouver Giants in their first two WHL seasons.
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THE FOURTH ROUND (best-of-seven; all times local):
WHL final, for the Ed Chynoweth Cup
(x - if necessary)
(All games televised live by Shaw)
(All games televised on delayed basis by Root Sports)
PORTLAND (2, West) vs. Edmonton (1, East)
(Portland leads, 2-1)
Season series: Portland, 0-0-1; Edmonton, 1-0-0.
Saturday: Edmonton 2 at Portland 5 (10,947)
Sunday: Edmonton 1 at Portland 3 (10,645)
Tuesday: Portland 2 at Edmonton 3 (6,799)
Wednesday: Portland at Edmonton, 7 p.m.
Friday: Edmonton at Portland, 7 p.m. (Moda Center)
x-Sunday: Portland at Edmonton, 4 p.m.
x-Monday: Edmonton at Portland, 7 p.m. (Moda Center)
INJURIES
Portland: None.
Edmonton: None.
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TUESDAY’S GAME:
In Edmonton, the Oil Kings scored the game’s last three goals and beat the Portland Winterhawks, 3-2. . . . The Winterhawks lead the WHL’s championship final for the Ed Chynoweth Cup, 2-1, with Game 4 in Edmonton tonight. . . . Game 5 is scheduled for the Moda Center in Portland on Friday. . . . F Chase De Leo, at 2:38, and D Mathew Dumba, at 3:30, scored first-period goals for the Winterhawks. . . . Edmonton F Henrik Samuelsson got a PP goal at 4:11 of the second period and F Luke Bertolucci pulled his guys even at 11:04. . . . F Edgars Kulda gave the Oil Kings their first lead of the series at 13:13 of the third period, and it stood up as the winner. . . . Edmonton G Tristan Jarry stopped 35 shots, as did Portland’s Corbin Boes. . . . The Oil Kings were 1-for-4 on the PP; the Winterhawks were 0-for-4. . . . The Winterhawks now are 42-4 since Jan. 11. . . . In Game 1, the Oil Kings trailed 1-0 at 2:50 of the first period. In Game 2, Portland scored at 2:12 and 3:14 of the first period. Last night, the Winterhawks scored at 2:38 and 3:30 of the opening period. . . . Portland has outscored Edmonton 7-0 in the first periods of this series. . . . Portland F Brendan Leipsic had one assist, giving him 30 points in 16 games. He now is tied for the playoff scoring lead with teammate Oliver Bjorkstrand, who leads in goals (15). . . . Portland D Derrick Pouliot had an assist, leaving him at 29 points. He leads in assists, with 25.
John MacKinnon of the Edmonton Journal writes right here that Game 3 looked over early, but now it’s a series.
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From Fake GAINER (@fakeGAINER): “#Saskie Derrick Pouliot 29 pts in WHL Playoffs - absolutely crazy for a defenseman. Another product of the Weyburn AllUCanEat KFC Buffet.”


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Posted by Gregg Drinnan at 11:04 PM
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Thursday, February 20, 2014

OHL adjusts player benefits; was it a gaggeroo?

THE MacBETH REPORT:
DELD Jeff Woywitka (Red Deer, 1999-2003) has signed a one-year extension with the Augsburger Panther (Germany, DEL). He has eight points, two of them goals, in 30 games this season.
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Swiss-NLADarrell Romuld of CTV in Regina tweeted Thursday afternoon that Pats “defenceman Jesse Zgraggen has signed a 2 year deal with Ambri-Piotta of the Swiss elite league starting next year.” . . . Zgraggen, 20, is from Lethbridge. He began his WHL career with the Victoria Royals and was moved to the Calgary Hitmen last season. The Hitmen dealt him to Regina early this season. He has 21 points, four of them goals, in 42 games with the Pats. In his career, he has 62 points, including 12 goals, in 246 games.
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Sunaya Sapurji of Yahoo! Canada reported Thursday afternoon that the OHL is making changes to its player benefit packages.
Sapurji writes: “Yahoo Canada has learned that the two most significant amendments to its current program for players focuses on the OHL’s education packages and a new monthly reimbursement plan – covering a number of items like gas, clothing and other incidentals like food – for up to $470. OHL commissioner David Branch, said the initiatives were ratified by the league’s board of governors in August and are now being implemented.”
The biggest news involves giving players who don’t sign NHL contracts another 12 months to decide on using their education packages.
The full report is right here.
From a WHL perspective, it is especially interesting that the OHL also is moving to what Sapjurji refers to as a “reimbursement plan” that involves money to be used for such things as cell phone bills.
As well, “teams will also give each player maximum allowance of $1,000 to put towards their summer training – both on and off the ice. It's another move for the betterment of the players and one that helps relieve some of the financial burdens on parents.”
You may recall that cell phone bills for captains and offseason training expenses were part of the scandal that enveloped the WHL and the Portland Winterhawks in November 2012.
With the OHL having made these moves, you know the WHL won’t be far behind. You have to wonder, though, just how the small-market teams will find room in their budgets to cover even more expenses when new revenue streams are few and far between and attendance isn’t showing much, if any, of an upswing.
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It isn’t often that anyone in the junior hockey world criticizes Hockey Canada.
That wasn’t the case Thursday.
First, Garth Snow, the general manager of the NHL’s New York Islanders, expressed outrage after his team lost F John Tavares for the remainder of this season. Tavares suffered a knee injury in Canada’s 2-1 victory over Latvia at the Olympic Winter Games in Sochi on Wednesday.
"Are the IIHF or IOC going to reimburse our season-ticket holders now?" Snow asked rhetorically, according to a report in New York's Newsday.
"It's a joke. They want all the benefits from NHL players in Olympics and don't want to pay when our best player gets hurt. . . . We lost our best player and he wasn’t playing for us.”
Later in the day, Dallas Thompson, the general manager of the WHL’s Prince George Cougars, tweeted: “Feeling Garth Snow's feeling. Dana Tyrell was lost for a year. Hockey Canada does not feel for you or the shit u have to deal with.”
Obviously, Thompson still feels the sting of a knee injury suffered by Tyrell prior to the 2009 world junior championship. Tyrell had 40 points, including 19 goals, in 30 games with the Cougars when he left to join Canada’s national junior team. However, Tyrell suffered a season-ending knee injury in a pre-tournament game against Sweden and never played another game for the Cougars, who ultimately were a first-round playoff casualty in the spring of 2009.
It would seem that Thompson hasn’t forgotten.
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If you’re interested in more on Matt Marotta, the peewee hockey player from Prince George, there’s more right here in a story written by Andrea Johnson and Ted Clarke of the Prince George Citizen. Yes, the Prince George Minor Hockey Association is looking into what happened. The team’s head coach chose not to comment.
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A thought or two about a couple of WHL goaltenders, both of whom got some heat in the first half of this season . . .
Taran Kozun, a 19-year-old from Nipawin, Sask., opened the season as the Kamloops Blazers’ go-to guy. In 29 appearances, he was 5-19-3, 3.95, .897.
In January, Kozun was dealt to the Seattle Thunderbirds. In 14 games with Seattle, he is 11-3-0, 1.75, .944. Oh, and he has put up four shutouts, which is four more than he had in Kamloops.
With Kamloops, Kozun was seeing 38.2 shots per game; with Seattle that number is 31.1.
The Thunderbirds have allowed 203 goals, which doesn’t give then a stellar defensive record, but it is better than the 253 goals that have been surrendered by the Blazers. Still, I think it’s safe to assume that Kozun sees not only fewer shots but fewer shots from prime scoring areas in Seattle than he did in Kamloops.
Meanwhile, there’s Corbin Boes, a 20-year-old from Saskatoon. He was 5-24-4, 4.11, .900 with the Lethbridge Hurricanes when he was dealt to the Portland Winterhawks for whom he now is 8-0-1, 2.73, .908.
I think it’s safe to say that Boes’ .900 save percentage with Lethbridge, the poorest defensive team in the WHL, may be one of the most surprising numbers in the WHL this season.
With Lethbridge, Boes was seeing 41.1 shots per game. That number with Portland is 29.6. Granted, Boes’ time in Portland presents us with a small sample size, just 550 minutes over nine appearances. But he has taken over the No. 1 job with Brendan Burke out with an illness.
The bottom line to all of this is that you have to think Kozun and Boes both feel as though they were January lottery winners. It will be interesting to watch both these goaltenders to see how they fare in the playoffs. One thing is for sure . . . you know they will be hungry.
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The Brandon Wheat Kings will be without D Colton Waltz for their next two games as he completes what has been set as a three-game suspension. That is for an unpenalized hit on Regina Pats F Dryden Hunt on Feb. 17 in Regina. Hunt is out indefinitely with a suspected brain injury. Waltz will miss home games Friday (Calgary Hitmen) and Saturday (Moose Jaw Warriors). . . . Meanwhile, Lethbridge Hurricanes F Carter Amson ended up with a two-game sentence for a checking-from-behind major against the Oil Kings in Edmonton. He will complete that suspension on Saturday when the Hurricanes meet the host Medicine Hat Tigers.
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The Everett Silvertips have added G Nik Amundrun to their roster and say that he is expected to stay with them for the remainder of the season. A third-round selection in the 2012 bantam draft, Amundrud has spent ample time with the Silvertips but has yet to make his WHL debut. He will be in uniform this weekend as Everett plays three games in three nights – at home to the Seattle Thunderbirds on Friday and the Portland Winterhawks on Sunday, and at the Tri-City Americans on Saturday. . . . Amundrud, from Melville, Sask., was 9-2-1, 2.81 with the North East Wolfpack, a midget AA team in Saskatchewan Centre Four Hockey League.
Nick Patterson of the Everett Herald has his take: “Amundrud's presence is required because goaltender Daniel Cotton and winger Darcy DeRoose remain suspended by the team. The duo was suspended indefinitely last week for violating team rules, and their suspensions remain indefinite. Amundrud being called up for the remainder of the season suggests those indefinite suspensions may be lasting a while longer.”
With Cotton suspended, the Silvertips are riding Austin Lotz.
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Greg Gatto (Portland, Regina, Spokane, Brandon, 1990-92) was fired earlier this week after nine seasons as head coach of the U of Lethbridge Pronghorns.
The Pronghorns were 80-143-20 and made three playoff appearances under Gatto, who also played five seasons at the U of Lethbridge. This season, they went 4-21-3 and missed the Canada West playoffs. . . . The search for a replacement started immediately.
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Some thoughts from one observer on THE women’s hockey game . . .
Yes, the Canadian women won, but they certainly were the beneficiaries of some breaks, so let’s not have any whining if the Canadian men don’t get any today. It could be that the hockey gods already have spoken. . . . Canada’s first goal -- it was Brianne Jenner’s first point of the tournament -- went in off the right knee of American defender Kacey Bellamy. . . . At 2-1, Kelli Stack of the U.S., with a long clearance, hit the left post of a vacated Canadian net. Had that puck been an inch to the right, the game would have been over with 1:25 left to play. . . . Prior to the equalizer, Canadian F Marie-Philip Poulin made a tremendous play along the boards on the left side of the offensive zone that allowed her side to maintain possession. . . . Canadian head coach Kevin Dineen showed absolutely no emotion when Poulin tied the score. Makes you wonder how much fun these coaches have in games such as this one. . . . As for the penalties in OT: Joy Tottman, a British referee in her third Olympics, had no choice but to call Canada’s Catherine Ward for cross-checking at 6:09. The slashing call on American Jocelyn Lamoureux -- CBC-TV play-by-play man Mark Lee referred to her as the “chippy American forward” -- six seconds later was a call to be made early in a game when you are trying to set the tone, not in overtime after numerous infractions have been ignored. . . . Which brings us to the breakaway by Canada’s Hayley Wickenheiser and the cross-checking call on the U.S.’s Hilary Knight. Well, it wasn’t cross-checking; calling it that makes you wonder if Tottman saw what actually happened. Knight was in the process of catching Wickenheiser from behind. In striding, Wickenheiser’s left heel struck Knight’s right leg, then both of their right legs bumped. Wickenheiser went down and Canada, practically en masse, screamed: PENALTY SHOT! . . . I don’t think it should even have been a penalty, considering that Wickenheiser’s right leg initiated the original contact. . . . No matter. On the ensuing PP, the U.S. twice had possession of the puck in its zone but wasn’t able to get it all the way down the ice. Instead, the Canadians regained possession in the neutral zone, set up in the offensive zone and Poulin pumped home the winner. She also had two goals four years ago when Canada beat the U.S. in the championship game in Vancouver. She is our golden girl, no doubt about that. . . . Whatever you do, don’t forget about the contribution made by Canadian G Shannon Szabados, whose play in the first period prevented the Americans from running away with this one early. . . . You couldn’t pay me enough to officiate women’s hockey games because of the rule against bodychecking. That rule puts the referee in a no-win situation because he/she has to decide what is/isn’t a bodycheck. . . . The bottom line, however, is that the U.S. had a 2-0 lead with fewer than four minutes remaining and couldn’t hold it. . . . Michael Wilbon of ESPN’s PTI offered: “This felt like a gaggeroo.”
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THURSDAY’S WHL GAMES (all times local):
No games scheduled.
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FRIDAY’S WHL GAMES (all times local):
Medicine Hat at Moose Jaw, 7 p.m.
Victoria at Regina, 7 p.m.
Calgary at Brandon, 7:30 p.m.
Swift Current at Edmonton, 7 p.m.
Spokane at Kootenay, 7 p.m.
Vancouver at Red Deer, 7 p.m.
Kamloops at Portland, 7 p.m.
Kelowna at Prince George, 7 p.m.
Prince Albert at Tri-City, 7:05 p.m.
Seattle at Everett, 7:35 p.m.
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From CellPhones@PlaneTix (@hawkeyblog): “Upon reading @sunayas write about the #OHL teams now being able to pay the kids cell phone bills & cover offseason training . . . I'd sure like those 1st rounders back for the @pdxwinterhawks. Paging @CHLHockey commish Branch: can you help a guy out? #whl”

There has never been a subscription fee for this blog, but if you enjoy stopping by here, why not consider donating to the cause? Just click HERE. . . and thank you very much.
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Posted by Gregg Drinnan at 11:11 PM
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