Things are happening in Arizona when it comes to attempts to cut down on the number of concussions being experienced by young athletes. Wynter Holden of Phoenix magazine has that story right here.
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In the NFL, ball carriers no longer will be able to use the crown of the helmet to deliver blows.
Len Berman of ThatsSports.com reports that Jim Brown, only the greatest running back in football history, had this to say: "I used my forearm. And the palm of my hand. And my shoulders. And my shoulder pads. I wasn't putting my head into too much of anything. I don't think that sounds like a good idea to me. What is my guarantee that my head is going to be strong enough to hurt somebody else, and not hurt myself?"
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You may know Diana Swain as an investigative reporter with CBC News; on occasion, she also sits in for host Peter Mansbridge on The National. On top of that, She is a hockey mom, and she is preparing for her final minor hockey game. Actually, it’s her son’s final game. Anyway, she has written a terrific piece looking at her son’s minor hockey career. Her son never played junior hockey and won’t be playing professionally. As Swain writes: “University beckons in the fall. When he plays again, it will be in a men's beer league somewhere where there will be women in the stands, but not the moms. I will miss it very much. It's not just a chapter of his life that’s closing. But, a chapter of mine too.”
That piece is right here. Give it a read.
If you aren’t aware, there was a time when Diana’s late father, Brian, was a TV/radio guy in Brandon and covered the  Wheat Kings.
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F Dyson Stevenson of the Regina Pats is joining the ECHL’s Bakersfield Condors, while D Dan Gibb of the Prince George Cougars will finish up with the ECHL’s Stockton Thunder. . . . D Brett Kulak of the Vancouver Giants will finish up with the AHL’s Abbotsford Heat. The Calgary Flames, the Heat’s parent club, selected Kulak in the fourth round of the 2012 NHL draft. . . .
The WHL announced its Western Conference award winners and all-stars teams yesterday. Check them out at whl.ca.
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It seems that the Washington Capitals have requested that the Lethbridge Hurricanes do something with their logo.
Cam Charron of Yahoo! Sports has more right here.



All of this reminds me of when the franchise first was nicknamed the Hurricanes. Pat Sullivan, a columnist with the Lethbridge Herald, was trying to understand the choice of nickname and wrote that perhaps the logo should have featured an overturned mobile home.
Had the Hurricanes only taken his advice, they could have avoided all of this.
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THE COACHING GAME:
The BCHL’s Coquitlam Express has relieved general manager and head coach Jon Calvano of his duties. Calvano had been with the Express for three seasons. “A very strong shortlist of Head Coach candidates has been identified and a decision on a replacement is pending,” reads a release posted on the Express’ website. . . .
The junior B Kimberley Dynamiters of the Kootenay Junior Interional Hockey League are looking for a general manager/head coach. They chose not to renew the contract of Glenn Burgess, who was a midseason replacement for Roman Vopat.
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The WHL’s first-round playoff matchups:
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Edmonton (1) vs. Kootenay (8)
Saskatoon (2) vs. Medicine Hat (7)
Calgary (3) vs. Swift Current (6)
Red Deer (4) vs Prince Albert (5)

WESTERN CONFERENCE
Portland (1) vs. Everett (8)
Kelowna (2) vs. Seattle (7)
Kamloops (3) vs. Victoria (6)
Spokane (4) vs. Tri-City (5)
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THURSDAY’S GAMES:
Two playoff series began last night. All eight series will feature games tonight. . . .
In Saskatoon, G Cam Lanigan stopped 42 shots as the Medicine Hat Tigers got past the Blades, 4-1. . . . The Tigers led 1-0 after a period on goals by F Trevor Cox and F Hunter Shinkaruk. . . . Medicine Hat was never caught after that. . . . Medicine Hat D Zach Hodder didn’t get a point, but he was plus-4. . . . Blades G Andrey Makarov, who played in 61 regular-season games, turned aside 29 shots. . . . The teams play again tonight in Saskatoon. . . . A year ago, the Tigers swept the Blades from a first-round series. . . . In fact, the Blades now have lost nine straight playoff games. . . . This season, the Blades went 4-0 against the Tigers, outscoring them 23-11. . . . Medicine Hat D Matt Staples didn’t return after taking a hard check from Saskatoon F Jessey Astles in the first period. . . . The Tigers didn’t bring F Blake Penner (leg, skate cut) or D Ty Stanton (concussion) to Saskatoon. . . . The Blades have added G Patrick Johnson to their roster. Johnson, who played for the SJHL’s Melfort Mustangs, will be behind Makarov and backup Alex Moodie on the depth chart. . . .

In Calgary, D Alex Roach scored at 4:32 of OT to give the Hitmen a 6-5 victory over the Swift Current Broncos. . . . The goal came off a shot from a bad angle and originally was credited to F Pavlo Padakin. . . . The Hitmen took a 1-0 lead just 34 seconds into the first period when F Brooks Macek scored on a PP. It was the seventh time this season that Macek scored in the opening minute of a period. . . . Calgary went on to lead this one 4-0 halfway through the second period. . . . Calgary F Brady Brassart gave his side a 5-3 lead with his third goal at 3:47 of the third. . . . Broncos F Coda Gordon scored at 4:20 of the third period and F Graham Black tied it on a PP at 13:53. . . . That was Brassart’s first WHL hat trick.
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From Tri-City Americans F Jesse Mychan (@jmychan28): “Game 1 in spoke tomorrow! Nothing better than 10,000+ booing you #muckonmuck”
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From Edmonton Sun columnist Terry Jones (@sunterryjones): “Big upset in Saskatoon. Medicine Hat Tigers 4 Saskatoon Blades 1. Toon Town is Memorial Cup host two months from now. Imagine . . .”

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It is quite apparent that the game of hockey has reached a turning point. Serious decisions are going to have to be made as to which direction it will take.
Here is something from www.sciencedaily.com that was passed along by a reader of this blog:
“Instituting and enforcing rules that limit aggressive acts like bodychecking in ice hockey should help reduce injuries for young players, including serious brain and spine injuries, according to a new study published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).”
Two paragraphs later:
“Brain and spinal cord injuries among hockey players have been increasing over the past 15 years and are often the result of aggressive bodychecking. In players aged 9-16 years, brain injuries account for 15% of all injuries.
That complete release is right here.
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If you are at all interested in what other countries are doing with their national junior hockey programs, check this out right here. It’s a report from Finland involving the selection process for the U16 team.
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The NAHL’s Wenatchee, Wash., Wild has been given approval by USA Hockey to move to the BCHL. The approval came during USA Hockey’s winter meetings in Orlando, Fla. . . . The Wild still will need to make application to the BCHL and the move will have to get the approval of Hockey Canada.

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For a great read on the Lance Armstrong fiasco, check this out right here. It’s from Paul Kimmage of The Observer and make sure you read it right to the end.
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SATURDAY’S GAMES:
In Regina, F Colby Cave broke a 1-1 tie at 4:07 of the second period as the Swift Current Broncos shut down the Pats, 2-1. . . . G Eetu Laurikainen stopped 30 shots. . . . F Morgan Klimchuk gave Regina a 1-0 lead, with his 24th, at 7:11 of the first. . . . Swift Current F Graham Black tied it, with his 19th, at 13:32 of the first. . . . The Broncos lost F Coda Gordon at 12:56 of the first period with a boarding major and game misconduct. . . . Broncos F Adam Lowry was held pointless for the first time since Nov. 20. He totalled 37 points in what was a 21-game streak, the longest in the WHL this season. . . .

In Moose Jaw, the goaltenders stole the show as the Kootenay Ice beat the Warriors 3-2 in the circus. . . . Ice G Mackenzie Skapski stopped 22 shots through OT and then faced 10 circus shooters without giving up a goal. . . . Moose Jaw G Justin Paulic turned aside 23 shots and was 9-for-10 in the shootout. . . . F Zach McPhee, who has five goals in 45 games this season, got the winner. . . . Ice F Jaedon Descheneau forced OT with his 13th goal at 9:17 of the third. . . . F Sam Reinhart had a goal, his 23rd, and an assist for Kootenay. . . . Descheneau and Reinhart both are on 10-game point streaks. . . . D Kendal McFaull scored twice for the home team. He’s got three. . . . The Ice, with just 21 players on its roster, lost F Jon Martin 21 seconds into the second period when he was hit with a charging major and game misconduct for a hit on D Morgan Rielly. . . . Rielly was cut above the right eye but didn’t miss a shift. . . . The Ice, with 11 victories in 12 games, has closed to within four points of a playoff spot. . . .

In Saskatoon, D Nick Walters, the 24th shootout in the circus, scored to give the Brandon Wheat Kings a 3-2 victory over the Blades. . . . Brandon won the shootout, 2-1. . . . Walters told Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix that he had never before taken part in a shootout. . . . In his third WHL season, Walters has seven career goals. . . . Brandon G Corbin Boes, who is from Saskatoon, stopped 43 shots through OT and was beaten by only F Shane McGolgan in the shootout. . . . Saskatoon G Andrey Makarov stopped 31 shots on Andrey Makarov Bobblehead Night. . . . Brandon F Tim McGauley scored his 14th goal at 15:45 of the third to force OT. McGauley played the first five games of his WHL career with the Blades in 2010-11. The 20th overall selection in the 2010 bantam draft, McGauley went to Brandon as part of the deal in which F Brayden Schenn went the other way. . . . The Blades have lost four of five. . . . Brandon remains without D Ryan Pulock (wrist). . . .

In Red Deer, the Prince George Cougars scored the game’s last three goals and beat the Rebels, 3-1. . . . D Dan Gibb scored at 15:31 of the first period to break a 1-1 tie. That was Gibb’s second goal of the season. . . . Prince George nursed that until F Klarc Wilson got the empty-netter at 19:19. . . . Prince George G Mac Engel, who is from Red Deer, stopped 30 shots. . . .

In Medicine Hat G Marek Langhamer stopped 30 shots as the Tigers beat the Calgary Hitmen, 4-0. . . . Langenhamer posted his first WHL shutout. . . . F Blake Penner gave the Tigers a 1-0 lead with his second goal at 9:40 of the first period. . . .

In Kamloops, F Brandon Magee scored two PP goals in the third period as the Victoria Royals came from behind to beat the Blazers, 5-4. . . . Magee tied the game at 3:01 and got the winner at 6:20. . . . F Alex Gogolev had a goal, his 16th, and three assists for Victoria. . . . Magee, who has 19 goals, also had an assist. . . . The Royals finished 3-10 on the PP; Kamloops was 2-6. . . . F Matt Needham scored three times for Kamloops. Needham, who has 11 goals, got his second goal at 18:42 of the second and scored again at 19:39 to forge a 3-3 tie. . . . Kamloops F Tim Bozon (ill) missed his second straight game. . . . Victoria beat the Blazers three times in five nights, having won 6-4 and 3-2 (shootout) at home earlier in the week. . . . Kamloops G Taran Kozun started his third straight game for the Blazers, the first time he has done that. However, he didn’t finish, as he left after Victoria’s fourth goal, having stopped 11 shots. . . .

In Everett, G Austin Lotz stopped 30 shots to lead the Silvertips to a 3-2 victory over the Lethbridge Hurricanes. . . . Lethbridge F Reid Duke scored his seventh goal in his last six games at 10:02 of the first. . . . Duke later left the game with an undisclosed injury. . . . Everett followed with three straight goals, including one from F Mitch Skapski, his first, early in the second period. . . . Lethbridge G Christopher Tai turned aside 30 shots. . . . With three defencemen injured — Connor Cox, Austin Adam and Ayrton Nykkel — the Silvertips brought in Kevin Davis, their 2012 first-round bantam pick from Kamloops. Davis’s club team, the major midget Thompson Blazers, played in Langley, B.C., earlier in the day. . . . Lethbridge D Dan Johnston (shoulder) was injured Friday in Portland and isn’t expected back in the lineup for a while. . . .

In Kent, Wash., F Branden Troock broke a 2-2 tie at 4:59 of the second period and the Seattle Thunderbirds (of Kent) went on to a 4-3 victory over the Portland Winterhawks. . . . And so ended Seattle’s 15-game losing streak. . . . The Thunderbirds won four in a row before losing 6-2 to the visiting Winterhawks on Dec. 8. Seattle then lost its next 15 games. . . . While Seattle was struggling, the Winterhawks had gone 14-0-1. . . . Seattle F Adam Kambeitz scored his 10th goal — his first since coming over from Saskatoon on Jan. 10 — and it stood up as the winner after Portland F Nic Petan scored his 31st at 13:55 of the third. . . . Petan and Swift Current’s Adam Lowry share the WHL lead in goals. . . . Portland F Brendan Leipsic scored his 30th in the first period and has goals in five straight games. Leipsic is riding a 14-game point streak, the longest active one. . . . Petan also had two assists and leads the WHL with 80 points, four more than Leipsic. . . . Seattle F Roberts Lipsbergs had a goal, his 18th, and an assist. . . .

In Kelowna, F Carter Rigby struck for three goals as his Rockets beat the Vancouver Giants, 4-3. . . . Kelowna has won 19 straight home games, a record for the franchise’s time in the Okanagan. While located in Tacoma, the Rockets once won 24 straight. . . . Rigby has eight goals this season. . . . F Cain Franson scored twice for the Giants, giving him 18 this season. . . . Kelowna G Jordon Cooke stopped 19 shots in winning his 18th straight start. . . .

In Spokane, F Matte Strömwall’s goal 21 seconds into OT gave the Tri-City Americans a 4-3 victory over the Chiefs. . . . Tri-City F Jesse Mychan scored his seventh goal, at 11:23 of the third, to give his guys a 3-2 lead. . . . Spokane F Dylan Walchuk got his 13th, on the PP, at 14:40. . . . Strömwall has 13 goals this season. . . . F Parker Bowles scored twice for the Americans, giving him 15 on the season. . . . Spokane F Todd Fiddler got his 30th, one off the WHL lead. . . . Tri-City G Luke Lee-Knight stopped 39 shots. . . . Spokane C Brenden Kichton had two assists as he ran his point streak to 11 games.
———
CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
D Ben Betker, Everett

CHECKING-TO-THE-HEAD COUNT:
D Joel Edmundson, Kamloops
F Ryan Harrison, Everett


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The WHL’s board of governors held a conference call on Tuesday.
In light of all that transpired last week in terms of WHL vs. Portland Winterhawks, yes, there was some discussion of the situation.
How much isn’t known, at least not by those who weren’t on the call, but you can safely guess it wasn’t much.
The Winterhawks, of course, were whacked last week for what the WHL has said were multiple violations of rules involving player benefits. The WHL has allowed that none of the violations involved recruiting violations of enhanced education packages.
In the end, the Winterhawks were fined $200,000 — a number that may now be as high as $275,000 after they apparently were disciplined for issuing a couple of news releases last week in which they explained their role in these violations. Mike Johnston, their general manager and head coach, was suspended through the end of the Memorial Cup, and they lost a number of draft picks.
Shortly after all of this came to light, the Winterhawks revealed that they were pondering an appeal. However, the WHL’s rules and regulations apparently don’t make any mention of an appeals process. Still, the Winterhawks had hoped they would at least get to make their case to the WHL’s board of governors.
Well, the BoG held that conference call and . . .
I have been told by a source familiar with the goings-on that the “WHL refused to even hear the appeal . . . let alone reconsider the facts.”
Paul Buker of The Oregonian later reported, via Twitter, that Winterhawks president Doug Piper chose not to comment on the conference call, while Graham Kendrick, the director of media and public relations, said the “best we can say now is due to the fact there is no formal appeal process we are in discussions.”
The next move, then, would appear to be up to the Winterhawks.
I am told that the WHL, after that conference call, sent out an email that changes what apparently had been an open-ended Christmas gift policy. I don’t know any of the details but am guessing there now is an expense cap on that policy.
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Which brings us to the can of worms being opened by the Portland Winterhawks Booster Club.
It seems that these folks are about to embark on a fund-raising effort with the dough to be turned into plane tickets for the parents of Winterhawks players.
Consider these two paragraphs from Oregon Live, where Samantha Meese, a community blogger, writes about the Winterhawks:
“I encourage other fans to join me in donating to the Portland Winterhawks Booster Club for the express purpose of financially supporting air travel for the families of our players. You may do this at any time and simply earmark the funds accordingly. I plan to get the party started this Friday, and I hope others will join me. The Booster Club has the donation form online and in hard copy form at their table — they can also answer any questions you may have.
“Here's a thought for you: The Teddy Bear Toss is pretty much sold out at this point. Imagine if all of us gave just one dollar that night to this effort: We'd have collected nearly $11,000 in one night; I figure that should be enough to transport a few families in need to the Rose City, don't you think? And the best part is there is nothing — not one rule or law — stopping us from doing what is right. Because it is a charitable donation to the Booster Club, it is free and clear of WHL rules and regulations. Oh, and it's a great tax write off for 2012 if you donate before the year is over.”
The complete blog entry is right here.
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Beth Slovic of The Oregonian has a piece right here about the sanctions against the Winterhawks having caused some uncertainty in Portland about the future of the scheduled redevelopment of Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Bill Gallacher, the Winterhawks’ owner, has been talking of putting up $10 million for the project. But now it seems there are questions.
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To add even more intrigue to the Portland situation, there has been speculation the last couple of days that perhaps F Quentin Shore is soon to leave the U of Denver Pioneers and join the Winterhawks.
It is that time of season when there will be a few players leaving NCAA schools for the major junior ranks. Only time will tell if Shore is one of those.
Early Wednesday, Paul Buker of The Oregonian tweeted: “No comment from Portland today on speculation U Denver F Quentin Shore is leaving school to play for Hawks.”
Later, Ryan Kennedy of The Hockey News tweeted: “Quentin Shore not leaving Denver just yet — controversy surrounding Portland a factor.”
Shore, an 18-year-old from Denver who is a Portland list player, has seven points in 14 games with the Pioneers. He played the last two seasons in the U.S. National Team Development Program.
Shore’s parents, Sarah and David, both attended Denver. Two of his brothers also have played hockey there.
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The Prince George Cougars lost their captain on Wednesday when F Brock Hirsche, 20, announced his retirement. He had undergone his second major shoulder surgery in two years on Tuesday. . . . "It's tough when you've got to walk away from the game you love, it sucks, it really does," the Lethbridge native told Sheri Lamb of the Prince George Citizen. "I guess being able to brace for it for the last couple of weeks has helped me a little bit. Those first few nights when I found out there was a pretty good chance I wouldn't play again I honestly didn't sleep at all so as tough as it is today, it's not as bad because I've been expecting it for a while." . . . The Cougars have named D Dan Gibb as their captain, with Troy Bourke, Dallas Ehrhardt and Ryan Hanes as the alternates. . . . Hirsche worked as an assistant when he was injured last season and has done the same last season. He said he will decide over Christmas whether to return to the team in that role.
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D Ryan Pulock should be back in the Brandon Wheat Kings’ lineup on Friday night when they play host to the Spokane Chiefs. Pulock has missed six games since being struck in the face with a puck. He will be wearing a full visor when he returns. . . . Rob Henderson of the Brandon Sun reports that F Jens Meilleur , who has sat out eight games with an undisclosed injury, didn’t skate on Wednesday. He had taken part in a full practice on Tuesday.
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F Matthew Barzal, taken by the Seattle Thunderbirds with the first pick of the 2012 bantam draft, had one assist last night as his Coquitlam Express beat the host Chilliwack Express, 3-2. That was Barzal’s fifth BCHL game; he has two assists. . . . Barzal has 50 points, 17 of them goals, in 17 games with the major midget Vancouver—North East Chiefs. . . . Barzal has yet to commit to the Thunderbirds as he keeps his options open.
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WEDNESDAY’S GAME:
In Kelowna, the Rockets scored four third-period goals and beat the Swift Current Broncos, 6-5. . . . The Rockets have won 11 in a row at home. . . . Swift Current F Adam Lowry scored three of the game’s first goals, giving him 14 this season. His second goal came on a penalty shot. . . . He also had one assist. . . . F Cody Fowlie had a goal and two assists for the Rockets, all in the third period. . . . The Rockets gave up two shorthanded goals in a game for the second time this season. . . . The Broncos had F Glenn Gawdin in the lineup. Gawdin, 15, was the fifth overall selection in the 2012 bantam draft. He is coming off an eight-point weekend as his Greater Vancouver Canadians swept the Prince George-based Cariboo Cougars 9-6 and 5-3 in B.C. Major Midget League play. . . . Gawdin has 25 points in 18 games with the Canadians. . . . Swift Current also had F Daniel Dale back from a two-game suspension. . . . However, the Broncos were without F Josh Derko (ankle) and F Levi Bews (knee), both of whom were injured Tuesday in Kamloops. As well, F Chance Lund (ill) sat this one out. . . . D Brett Lernout, acquired Monday from the Saskatoon Blades, made his Swift Current debut. . . . The Broncos may have lost D Reece Scarlett last night as radio voice Shawn Mullin reports that he didn’t play in the last 10 minutes of the third period. . . .

In Lethbridge, F Giorgio Estephan, the fourth overall pick in the 2012 bantam draft, scored his first WHL goal in his first game to help the Hurricanes to a 6-2 victory over the Edmonton Oil Kings. . . . Estephan, who is from Edmonton, scored his club’s sixth goal on a PP. . . . F Sam Mckechnie had two goals for Lethbridge, giving him 14, while F Russell Maxwell got his 15th. . . . F Curtis Lazar scored twice for Edmonton, giving him back-to-back two-goal games after a goal-less November. . . . Edmonton G Laurent Brossoit, who will attend the Canadian national junior team’s selection camp next week in Calgary, got the hook at 10:28 of the second period after being beaten four times on 20 shots. . . .

In Saskatoon, Spokane F Todd Fiddler moved into the WHL goal-scoring lead as his Chiefs beat the Blades, 4-1. . . . Fiddler, who has goals in five straight games, has 23 on the season, one more than Kamloops F JC Lipon. . . . The Blades (13-14-1) are 3-7-0 at home this season, including a 1-4 record against visiting U.S. Division teams. . . . The Chiefs are 4-0-0 on their East Division swing. They are the last of the U.S. Divisions to make the tour. The Tri-City Americans went 5-0-1 on their swing, while the Portland Winterhawks were 4-1-1, the Everett Silvertips 4-2-0 and the  Seattle Thunderbirds 2-4-0. . . .

In Regina, the Red Deer Rebels spoiled the Pats’ party with a 5-1 victory. . . . The Pats saluted former star F Jordan Eberle by retiring his number (7). . . . Red Deer is 8-0-0 under Brent Sutter, the owner, president and interim head coach. . . . F Rhyse Dieno had two goals and two assists for the Rebels, who held a 49-20 edge in shots. . . . Dieno has 11 points, including four goals, in eight games since joining the Rebels from the SJHL’s La Ronge Ice Wolves. . . . The game drew a season-high crowd of 5,858. . . . Regina F Trent Ouellette (knee) returned after missing 15 games. . . . Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post reports that the Pats also got back F Emil Sylvegard (hand) and D/F Kade Pilton (virus), “but the team added D Luke Fenske (wrist) to its injured list.” . . . The game’s start was delayed by 30 minutes due to the Eberle celebration. Red Deer D Matt Dumba, who will be going to the Canadian junior team’s selection camp next week, told Harder that he was thinking about Eberle’s accomplishments while taking it all in. “That’s basically all I was thinking about when I was sitting on the bench,” Dumba said. “Just remembering all the goals he scored with Team Canada and what an experience he must have had. I was picturing maybe the possible future for me but I know I still have a ton of hard work in front of me.” . . .

In Victoria, F Cain Franson scored twice to help the Vancouver Giants to a 7-2 victory over the Royals. . . . The Giants had lost their last seven games. . . . Vancouver D Blake Orban had two assists and was plus-4, while F Kale Kessy, who had a goal, also was plus-4.
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CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
None.

CHECKING-TO-THE-HEAD COUNT:
None.
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From Oregonian sports writer Paul Buker (@Pnbuker): “If you've followed along and know the league, Hawks seeking relief from BOG is akin to Auburn asking for help from Alabama #rigged jury”
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From Seattle Thunderbirds D Jesse Forsberg (@forsmasterrex): “@bigsexytweet10 sad to see you hang them up, one of the best ppl iv met in the game and one of the best friends I have #loveyou #gursh”
Forsberg played with F Brock Hirsche, who retired Wednesday, in Prince George.
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From G Drew Owsley (@D_Owsley30), who played in Prince George last season: “Sad to hear one of the most genuine guys I’ve ever played with @bigsexytweet10 had to hang em up. Definitely has a bright future #loveu”

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Injured Willick named Blazers' captain

When Dylan Willick (left) returns from a broken ankle, the Kamloops
Blazers will have sewn a 'C' onto his sweater.
(Murray Mitchell / Kamloops Daily News)

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports EditorAll Dylan Willick wants is to play hockey again.
The 20-year-old Willick is in his fourth season with the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers, but hasn’t played since breaking his right ankle on Nov. 2.
But now, after being named the team’s captain on Wednesday, he wants to get back in the lineup even more than before, if that’s possible.
“I didn’t know if I could want to get back any quicker,” Willick said last night, “but today I found a new spark.”
The Blazers, who will entertain the Prince George Cougars on Friday, didn’t name a captain prior to the start of the season as they weren’t certain whether they would get defenceman Austin Madaisky, 20, back from the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets. He recently underwent wrist surgery and may not play again until at least March, so the Blazers made the move to put the ‘C’ on Willick’s chest.
“It’s an honour. It’s not a small step,” Willick said. “There have been a lot of captains in this organization. It’s something pretty special to me. It’s something I don’t take lightly.”
Veterans Tyler Hansen, Brendan Ranford and Colin Smith, each of whom is in his fourth or fifth season here, are the alternate captains.
Willick, a native of Prince George, won’t play again until after Christmas. He said if things go perfectly he would return Dec. 29 against the visiting Vancouver Giants.
“I’m able to do a little bit of weight bearing with a walking cast on,” he said. “But it’ll still be after Christmas.”
The Blazers return from the Christmas break with a game against the host Kelowna Rockets on Dec. 27.
“I will need a couple of practices, some full contact, to make sure I’m game ready before I jump into something like,” said Willick, who has 14 points in 19 games and also is the team’s best penalty-killing forward.
He added that the Dec. 29 game is “the best-case scenario.”
If that doesn’t happen, “I’m pretty much for sure after the new year unless I fall down the stairs at some point,” he said with a laugh.
For the past month he has watched from on high as the Blazers, who won 14 straight games just before he was injured, have gone 5-6-2 without him in the lineup.
“I’m still seeing the effort,” he said. “There are moments when we’ve been showing our frustration. But in our last game (a 2-1 victory over the visiting Swift Current Broncos on Tuesday) the frustration wasn’t there. The guys kept on doing what they were supposed to do, what we are told to do, and it paid off in the long run.
“We haven’t been playing bad; it’s just that the pucks aren’t doing what they were at the start of the season.”
For now, then, Willick will continue to watch from on high and perhaps pass on the odd observation. He has had some support, too, from people like former teammates Chase Schaber, who was the captain the last two seasons and now is at the U of Lethbridge, and Jordan DePape. Both have known the bite of injury, Schaber having had last season halted prematurely by a skate cut to a leg and DePape having left the club due to shoulder problems on Nov. 17.
“As long as I can still be part of the team in whatever way I can . . . that’s all that matters,” Willick said.
Meanwhile, in Prince George, the Cougars also announced a new captain with defenceman Dan Gibb taking over from forward Brock Hirsche.
Hirsche, a 20-year-old from Lethbridge, has had to retire due to shoulder problems. He had surgery Tuesday to repair a torn labrum, his second major procedure in the last two years.
The Cougars have told Hirsche he is welcome to stay with the club as an assistant coach, a role he has filled while on the shelf the last two seasons. He said he will decide what he’s going to do during the Christmas break.
Gibb had been an alternate captain, but that letter now belongs to former Blazers winger Ryan Hanes, who is from Kamloops.
Willick admitted being quite pleased for Hanes, who joined the Cougars in mid-November. He got caught up in the 20-year-old numbers game with the Blazers and had been with the BCHL’s Cowichan Valley Capitals.
“The guy in the dressing room, as far as what I know, he deserves something like that,” Hanes said. “He doesn’t take that lightly either.”
Gibb and Willick, the WHL’s newest captains, were teammates on the major midget Cariboo Cougars, who play out of Prince George, in 2008-09.
JUST NOTES: The Broncos are likely to be without forwards Josh Derko and Levi Bews until after Christmas. Both were taken to Royal Inland Hospital with leg injuries during Tuesday’s game. Derko apparently has some damage to his left ankle, although it’s not broken, and is on crutches. Bews has a sprained right knee. . . . The Broncos took a 3-2 lead into the third period last night in Kelowna, but ran out of gas and ended up losing 6-5. 

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