Showing posts with label Dan Lambert. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dan Lambert. Show all posts

Tuesday, June 6, 2017

Ice signs veteran NHL assistant ... Hitmen, Royals need head coaches ... Chiefs sign two prospects


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 F Juraj Hollý (Calgary, 2010-11) has signed a one-year contract with Liptovský Mikuláš (Slovakia, Extraliga). This season, in 22 games with Hermes Kokkola (Finland, Mestis) he was 2.63 and.904.
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Four days after firing Luke Pierce, the Kootenay Ice named James Patrick the eighth head coach in franchise history on Tuesday morning.
Pierce, 33, had been the Ice’s head coach for two seasons.
Patrick, who will turn 54 on June 14, signed a three-year contract.
He has spent the past 11 seasons as an NHL assistant coach with the Buffalo Sabres (2006-13) and
JAMES PATRICK
Dallas Stars (2013-17), working alongside head coach Lindy Ruff in both stops. The Stars announced on April 9 that Ruff’s contract wouldn’t be renewed. At the same time, they chose not to extend Patrick’s deal.
While Pierce came to Cranbrook with six years as a junior coach under his belt — he had been the general manager and head coach of the BCHL’s Merritt Centennials — Patrick has little in the way of junior hockey experience.
Patrick is from Winnipeg, as are Ice owners Greg Fettes and Matt Cockell. However, Patrick told Ted Wyman of the Winnipeg Sun right here that is simply a coincidence.
Patrick played for the SJHL’s Prince Albert Raiders (1980-81) then moved on to the U of North Dakota for two seasons. He followed that up with a season with Canada’s national team, then moved on to an NHL career that took him through 2003-04 and featured stints with the New York Rangers, who selected him with the ninth overall pick of the 1981 NHL draft, Hartford Whalers, Calgary Flames and Buffalo. A defenceman, he had 149 goals and 490 assists in 1,280 regular-season games.
After playing with the DEL’s Frankfurt Lions in 2005-06, Patrick retired and joined the Sabres’ coaching staff.
According to a news release from the Ice, Patrick is familiar with the East Kootenay region as he has owned a condo “near Fernie for the last 20 years.”
Patrick is an uncle to F Nolan Patrick of the Brandon Wheat Kings, who is expected to be one of the first two selections when the NHL draft opens in Chicago on June 23. Nolan’s father, Steve, a former WHL and NHL player, and James are brothers.
In fact, it was through watching Nolan’s games via video over the past three seasons that apparently got James interested in the WHL. He told Brad McLeod of the Cranbrook Daily Townsman that “I tried to watch the majority of his games when I could, and I really got familiar with the league.
“I started seeing what a high level of play it was. So many teams play really similar to NHL teams with their structure and systems.”
Having been moved out by the Stars, Patrick got in touch with Kelly McCrimmon, who owns the Wheat Kings and also is the assistant GM with the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights. Patrick was looking see in what direction the Knights were going with their coaching staff; McCrimmon put Patrick in touch with Cockell, the Ice’s president and GM who once was the Wheat Kings’ goaltending coach.
One thing led to another and Patrick now is the Ice’s head coach.
The Ice has been rebuilding for a couple of seasons now and has finished with the WHL’s poorest record in each of the past two seasons.
Fettes and Cockell purchased the franchise from the Chynoweth family following the end of this season.
McLeod’s complete story is right here.
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Three WHL teams have hired head coaches since the end of the 2016-17 regular season and two teams — the Calgary Hitmen and Victoria Royals — still have vacancies.
It’s interesting to note that each of the three teams that has made a hire has gone in a different direction from the other two.
Of those three teams, the Spokane Chiefs are the only one to have turned to someone with WHL coaching experience. The Chiefs announced Monday that Dan Lambert is their new head coach, replacing Don Nachbaur, who had been there for seven seasons. Lambert was introduced to fans and media in Spokane on Tuesday afternoon.
Lambert spent five seasons as an assistant coach with the Kelowna Rockets and was their head coach in 2014-15 when they won a WHL title. He spent 2015-16 as an assistant coach with the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres and this season as the head coach of their AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans.
Meanwhile, the Everett Silvertips announced on May 15 that they had hired Dennis Williams as head coach, replacing Kevin Constantine whose contract wasn’t renewed after four seasons of a second go-round in Everett. While Williams doesn’t have any WHL experience, he spent the past seven seasons coaching the USHL’s Bloomington Thunder (2014-18) and NAHL’s Amarillo Bulls (2010-14), both junior franchises.
The Bulls, Thunder and Silvertips are owned by CSH International Inc., the sports division of The Monarch Corporation, which is headquartered in Medicine Hat under the leadership of Bill Yuill, the chairman and CEO. Williams had two years left on his contract when he was named the Silvertips’ head coach. Jesse Geleynse of the Everett Herald reported that 
Williams got a four-year deal from the Silvertips.
On Tuesday, the Kootenay Ice announced that it has signed James Patrick as its head coach. Patrick, a former NHL player and assistant coach, has never been a head coach and hasn’t been associated with a junior team since 1980-81 when he was a defenceman with the SJHL’s Prince Albert Raiders. He was teammates with Lindy Ruff for three seasons with the NHL’s New York Rangers, then spent a total of 11 seasons as an NHL assistant, seven with the Buffalo Sabres and four with the Dallas Stars, all of them with Ruff as the head coach.
The Chiefs didn’t reveal any of Lambert’s contract details, while the Ice announced that Patrick has a three-year deal.
Now the spotlight falls on the Calgary Hitmen, who are looking to replace Mark French, who has signed to coach in Switzerland, and the Victoria Royals must replace Dave Lowry, who has signed on as an assistant coach with the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings.
Interestingly, there had been speculation of late that the Royals were interested in Lambert.
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The WHL had at least part of its 2017-18 exhibition schedule on its website on Tuesday, but it all disappeared later in the day. . . . The OHL and QMJHL already have released their 2017-18 regular-season schedules. The WHL won’t release its schedule until some time after its annual general meeting, which is scheduled to be held in Vancouver, June 13 and 14.
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The Spokane Chiefs signed a pair of 2017 prospects on Tuesday — F Jack Finley and D Tyson Feist. . . . Finley, who will turn 15 on Sept. 2, was the sixth overall selection in the WHL’s 2017 bantam draft. From Kelowna, he is the son of former NHL D Jeff Finley, who now is the Detroit Red Wings’ chief amateur scout. Jack had 48 points, 23 of them goals, in 27 games with the Kelowna-based Pursuit of Excellence bantam prep team this season. . . . Feist, 16, was an invitee to the Chiefs’ 2016 training camp and was placed on their protected list in September. From Dawson Creek, B.C., he was 5-foot-10 at training camp and grew to 6-foot-2 during the season. He had three goals and 14 assists in 30 games with the Pursuit of Excellence Elite 15s.
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BCHLThe BCHL’s Salmon Arm Silverbacks are looking for an assistant coach following the departure of Darrell Hay. The son of long-time WHL head coach Don Hay, Darrell spent one season with the Silverbacks. . . . Hay, 37, played four seasons (1996-2000) with the Tri-City Americans before going on to a pro career that included seven seasons in Europe. He retired after two seasons (2014-16) with the Sheffield Steelers of the Elite Ice Hockey League. . . . The Silverbacks announced Hay’s departure two days after he was married. . . . Interestingly, the Kamloops Blazers, with Don Hay as the head coach, are in the market for an assistant coach after Terry Bangen left to join the expansion Worcester, Mass., Railers of the ECHL. However, according to Salmon Arm’s news release, Hay “will be moving back to Colorado this fall.”
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I’m also on Twitter (@gdrinnan).
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Posted by Gregg Drinnan at 9:58 PM
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Monday, June 5, 2017

The coach and the national security advisor ... Lambert's in Spokane ... Ex-WHLers ECHL champs


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 F Tomáš Vincour (Edmonton, Vancouver, 2007-10) has signed a one-year extension with Brno (Czech Republic, Extraliga). This season, in 39 games, he had nine goals and 13 assists.
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 The NHL’s Anaheim Ducks announced Friday that Rich Preston would be back for a second season as an assistant coach, alongside head coach Randy Carlyle and fellow assistant Trent Yawney.
Preston and I were in Regina at the same time back in the day — I was at the Regina Leader-Post and he was coaching the Pats — so have known each other for a while.
More recently, he spent four seasons (2009-13) as the general manager and head coach of the WHL’s Lethbridge Hurricanes.
Anaheim’s announcement gives me reason to re-post one of my favourite stories from my stint with the late Kamloops Daily News.
Here it is, from Oct. 1, 2009 . . . 
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Rich Preston has had friends in high places.
Preston, the general manager and head coach of the WHL's Lethbridge Hurricanes, is friends with Condoleeza Rice, who was the first African-American woman to hold the office of United States Secretary of State.
Preston, a 57-year-old native of Regina, and Rice, a 54-year-old native of Birmingham, Ala., became
RICH PRESTON
friends while both were attending the University of Denver in the early 1970s.
Preston was there on a hockey scholarship; Rice was earning a BA in political science, which she got in 1974 at the age of 19.
Preston said her family — her father, John, was an assistant dean and also taught — followed the hockey team closely and would have the team over to their home for dinner once every season.
At one point, Preston said Rice asked him out.
"It was one of those dances where the girls ask the guys," said Preston, before his squad met the Kamloops Blazers on Wednesday night at Interior Savings Centre. "Still, it was in 1972-73 . . . but I was Canadian."
In other words, eyebrows were raised when the two of them showed up at the dance.
Later, the two would go their separate ways.
After a stop at Stanford University, Rice ended up in the White House as President George W. Bush's National Security Advisor.
Preston wound up as an assistant coach with the NHL's San Jose Sharks.
And so it was that with the Sharks scheduled to play in Washington, Preston decided it would be nice to
CONDOLEEZA RICE
at least say hello.
To make a long story shorter, Preston eventually got through to Rice's personal assistant and asked to leave a message for Rice.
"I said, 'Just tell her Sergeant Preston called. She'll know who it is,' " a chuckling Preston recalled. His nickname while playing hockey at Denver was Sergeant Preston, after the legendary Mountie, of course. Preston told the assistant when the Sharks were to be in Washington and at what hotel they would be staying.
When the team arrived and he got to his room, there was a message from Rice awaiting him.
"So I called her back," he said, "and we talked for about 20 minutes."
As the conversation wound down, Rice told Preston that she would love to meet him for coffee but that she "had a meeting with the President" at 5:30, which was minutes away, immediately after which she was flying to Europe for a NATO meeting.
Preston's response?
A laughing Preston said: "I told her, 'Can't you postpone the NATO meeting?’ “
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In her biography — Condoleezza Rice: A Memoir of My Extraordinary, Ordinary Family and Me — Rice refers to Preston as “the captain of the hockey team and my first real crush.”
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As expected, the Spokane Chiefs announced on Monday that they have signed Dan Lambert as their new head coach. He is the 12th head coach in franchise history. . . . Lambert, 47, will be introduced to the Spokane fans and media at a news conference this afternoon (Tuesday) at Spokane Arena. . . . Lambert, who captained the Swift Current Broncos when they won the 1989 Memorial Cup, was fired by the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres as head coach of their AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans, on May 26. That was part of a regime change in Buffalo, where Lambert had spent 2015-16 as an assistant coach with the Sabres before being assigned to Rochester. . . . Prior to that, Lambert spent six seasons with the Kelowna Rockets, the first five as an assistant coach. In 2014-15, his one season as Kelowna’s head coach, he guided the Rockets to a WHL title (53-13-6) and into the Memorial Cup, where they lost the final, 2-1 in OT, to the OHL-champion Oshawa Generals. . . . The length of Lambert’s contract wasn’t disclosed. . . . Lambert replaces Don Nachbaur, the Chiefs’ head coach for the previous seven seasons. He and the team went their own ways after their season ended, even though Nachbaur had a year remaining on his contract.
There now are three WHL teams without head coaches — the Calgary Hitmen, Kootenay Ice and Victoria Royals.
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F Boston Maxwell has signed a WHL contract with the Prince George Cougars. From Saskatoon, Maxwell was a fourth-round selection in the WHL’s 2017 bantam draft. This season, with the bantam AA Saskatoon Stallions, he had 22 goals and 21 assists in 30 games. He will play with the midget AAA Saskatoon Contacts in 2017-18.
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The Moose Jaw Warriors have signed F Peyton McKenzie to a WHL contract. A native of Sherwood Park, Alta., he was a third-round selection in the 2017 WHL bantam draft. This season, he had 16 goals and 20 assists in 27 regular-season games with the bantam AAA Sherwood Park Flyers. He added six goals and six assists in 10 playoff games.
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ECHLFormer WHL scoring champion F Casey Pierro-Zabotel had a goal and an assist and was named the game’s first star as the Colorado Eagles beat the South Carolina Stingrays 2-1 on Monday in North Charleston, S.C., to sweep the ECHL’s best-of-seven championship final. . . . The Eagles won four one-goal games. . . . Pierro-Zabotel, who won the WHL’s 2008-09 scoring title while with the Vancouver Giants, opened the scoring at 17:10 of the first period with his fourth goal of the playoffs. He added an assist, his 11th, on F Luke Salazar’s tie-breaking goal at 1:19 of the second period. . . . Pierro-Zabotel has won back-to-back Kelly Cups, as he was with the Allen Americans a year ago. . . . Colorado’s lineup last night also included former WHLers D Mason Geertsen (Edmonton, Vancouver, 2011-15), D Sean Zimmerman (Spokane, 2003-07), F Johnny Lazo (Tri-City, 2007-10), D Teigan Zahn (Saskatoon, 2006-11), F Cam Maclise (Edmonton, 2009-10), F Ryan Harrison (Prince Albert, Medicine Hat, Everett, 2008-13) and G Kent Simpson (Everett, 2008-12), who backed up last night. . . . Zimmerman is the team captain. . . . F Jackson Houck (Vancouver, Calgary, 2011-16) also is on Colorado’s roster, although he hadn’t played since May 13. . . . The Eagles won their last eight games. They also set an ECHL playoff record with six OT victories. . . . Announced attendance: 5,519. . . . Former Prince Albert Raiders head coach Chris Stewart (1995-98) is Colorado’s president and general manager, while Ryan Tobler, who played with Saskatoon, Calgary, Swift Current and Moose Jaw (1994-97), is an assistant coach.
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If you’re a regular here, and even you aren’t, feel free to contribute to the feeding of the Drinnan family by making a donation to the cause. You are able to do so by clicking on the DONATE button and going from there.
BTW, if you want to contact me with some information or just feel like commenting on something, you may email me at greggdrinnan@gmail.com.
I’m also on Twitter (@gdrinnan).
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The Kootenay Ice’s new owners have set a target of 2,500 season-ticket holders. The Ice went into this season having sold 1,315.


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Posted by Gregg Drinnan at 9:33 PM
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Sunday, June 4, 2017

Source: Chiefs have their man ... Patrick talks injuries ... Rebels sign draft picks


The number of WHL teams looking for a head coach is expected to fall to three today (Monday).
The Spokane Chiefs are expected to name Dan Lambert as their new head coach today, a source familiar with the situation told Taking Note on Sunday evening.
Neither Lambert nor Scott Carter, who just finished his first season as the Chiefs’ general manager,
DAN LAMBERT
responded to a request for confirmation.
Lambert, 47, was fired last week by the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres. He had spent one season as the head coach of their AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans.
From St. Malo, Man., Lambert is a former WHL defenceman and coach. He played four seasons (1986-90) with the Swift Current Broncos and, in fact, captained their Memorial Cup-championship team in 1989.
After a professional career that included 29 NHL games with the Quebec Nordiques — he had six goals and nine assists — Lambert signed on as an assistant coach with the WHL’s Kelowna Rockets. After five seasons, he was named head coach for 2014-15 and guided the Rockets to a 53-13-6 record and the WHL championship. They reached the Memorial Cup final, only to lose 2-1 in OT to the Oshawa Generals in Quebec City.
Chances are good that Carter had more than one conversation about Lambert with Bruce Hamilton, the Rockets’ president and general manager. Carter and Hamilton are friends and both are involved with the B.C. Hockey Hall of Fame in Penticton. In fact, when the decision was made to induct Carter, who is a co-founder of the hall, it was Hamilton who phoned with the news.
Lambert left Kelowna prior to 2015-16 to sign with the Sabres as an assistant coach under head coach Dan Bylsma. After that season, Lambert was assigned to Rochester as the head coach.
In Spokane, Lambert will replace Don Nachbaur, who had been there for seven seasons. Nachbaur, the third-winningest head coach in WHL regular-season history, and the Chiefs parted company when their season ended despite his having one season left on his contract.
This season, the Chiefs finished 27-33-12 and missed the playoffs.
With Lambert in Spokane, it will leave the Calgary Hitmen, Kootenay Ice and Victoria Royals without head coaches.
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F Nolan Patrick of the Brandon Wheat Kings is expected to be one of the first two selections when the NHL’s two-day 2017 draft opens in Chicago on June 23.
In 2015-16, Patrick put up 102 points, including 41 goals, in 72 games with Brandon, then added 30
NOLAN PATRICK
points, 13 of them goals, in 21 playoff games as the Wheat Kings won the WHL championship.
This season, however, wasn’t even close to that for Patrick, who will turn 19 on Sept. 19. He missed the start of the season after undergoing sports hernia surgery in July, then was plagued by another hernia during the season and played in only 33 games. Still, he had 20 goals and 26 assists.
Patrick spent the latter part of last week in Buffalo at the NHL Scouting Combine, where he spoke about his injury-plagued 2016-17 season for the first time.
“It is what it is, I don’t get mad about it or frustrated when people ask me,” Patrick told reporters. “I had two hernias at the same time, they missed one, but I’m not disappointed in the doctor. He was trying to do the best job he could. It happens sometimes.
“I don’t want anyone feeling sorry for me. I think a little adversity for a young kid is what makes you stronger as a player. For me, I didn’t try and talk about it during the year, the missed diagnosis, I just wanted to focus on my year. This is the first time I’ve spoken about it.”
You know that some NHL teams will have been quizzing Patrick about his health, and now it seems the New Jersey Devils and Philadelphia Flyers, who hold the first and second selections respectively, want Patrick to spend some time with them so that their own medical people can give him a going over.
Because he’s 19 and will have been drafted off a major junior roster, Patrick will have to be returned to the Wheat Kings if he doesn’t make an NHL roster for 2017-18.
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The Red Deer Rebels, who held a prospects camp on the weekend, have signed F Ethan Rowland and F Jordan Borysiuk. . . . Rowland, from Calgary, was the Rebels’ first-round pick, 22nd overall, in the WHL’s 2017 bantam draft. He will turn 15 on Sept. 24. This season, Rowland had 14 goals and 25 assists in 34 games with the bantam AAA Calgary Northstar Sabres. . . . Borysiuk, 15, is from Mannville, Alta., and was a third-round pick in the 2015 bantam draft. . . . He had 16 goals and 24 assists in 30 games with the Pursuit of Excellence bantam prep team out of Kelowna this season. . . . Both players announced their signings via Twitter.
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The Quebec Remparts used an eighth-round draft pick to take D Braeden Virtue of Worcester, Mass., during the QMJHL draft on Saturday. . . . The 6-foot-0, 180-pounder is the son of former WHL player and coach Terry Virtue. A defenceman, he played for the Victoria Cougars, Tri-City Americans and Portland Winterhawks (1988-91) and was an assistant coach with Tri-City for three seasons (2007-10). . . . This season, Braeden, 16, played for the U-16 Islanders of the U.S. Premier Hockey League. He had four goals and nine assists in 26 regular-season games.
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If you’re a regular here, and even you aren’t, feel free to contribute to the feeding of the Drinnan family by making a donation to the cause. You are able to do so by clicking on the DONATE button and going from there.
BTW, if you want to contact me with some information or just feel like commenting on something, you may email me at greggdrinnan@gmail.com.
I’m also on Twitter (@gdrinnan).
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Prior to Saturday’s Stanley Cup game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the host Nashville Predators, James Duthie of TSN was on Twitter, proving once again that it's a great time to be alive . . .


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Posted by Gregg Drinnan at 11:47 PM
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Sunday, May 28, 2017

Spitfires win 99th Memorial Cup ... Is it time for a format change? ... Hitmen looking for new head coach


D Ty Wishart (Prince George, Moose Jaw, 2004-08) has signed a one-year contract with Dynamo Pardubice (Czech Republic, Extraliga). This season, he had five goals and six assists in 49 games with Banská Bystrica (Slovakia, Extraliga).
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 F Aaron Luchuk broke a 3-3 tie at 5:07 of the third period as the host Windsor Spitfires won the 99th Memorial Cup with a 4-3 victory over the OHL-champion Erie Otters on Sunday night. . . . This was the best game of what had been a rather mundane tournament. . . . The Spitfires, who won the tournament for the third time in nine years, ran the table in the four-team tournament, going 4-0. . . . The Otters wound up 3-2. . . . Also in the tournament were the QMJHL-champion Saint John Sea Dogs, who went 1-2 in the round-robin and then lost 6-3 to Erie in the semifinal game, and the WHL-champion Seattle Thunderbirds (0-3). . . .
Erie held 2-1 and 3-2 leads during the championship game. . . . Windsor F Jeremy Bracco, who finished with a goal and two assists, opened the scoring, on a PP, at 16:07 with his third goal of the event. . . . Erie F Dylan Strome tied it 49 seconds later. He finished with seven goals, one shy of the tournament record. . . . Erie took the lead at 5:35 of the second period, on a PP, when the puck hit F Warren Foegele (2) in the left skate and bounced into the net. The goal call was confirmed after video review, although many observers were left wondering exactly what constitutes a distinct kicking motion. . . . Windsor pulled even 52 seconds later when D Logan Stanley scored his first goal. . . . Erie went back out front at 12:41 as F TJ Fergus, the son of former NHL F Tom Fergus, scored his first goal. . . . The Spitfires tied it again, at 14:53, on another PP goal, this one from F Graham Knott (3). . . . That set the stage for Luchuk’s winner, which was set up by Bracco. . . . Windsor got two assists from each of F Gabriel Vilardi and Logan Brown. . . . Strome added an assist to his goal. . . . Both goalies had great games. . . . Michael DiPietro stopped 32 shots to record the victory over Troy Timpano, who made 18 saves. . . . Windsor was 2-4 on the PP; Erie was 1-4. . . . Announced attendance: 6,519, the tournament’s first sellout in the WFCU Centre, which has a capacity of 6,500. It also was the first sellout of the 2016-17 season in the facility. . . . Steve Papp, who works in the WHL, was one of the game’s two referees. The other was the OHL’s Darcy Burchell. . . .
Strome and F Taylor Raddysh of Erie led the tournament with 11 points each. . . . Strome also led in goals (7), while teammate Alex DeBrincat had a tournament-high eight assists. . . . DiPietro finished 4-0, 2.00, .932. . . . Windsor’s Rocky Thompson is the first head coach to win a Memorial Cup without having won a playoff series. . . . The Spitfires lost out to the London Knights in Game 7 of a first-round playoff series and then were off for 44 days before the tournament opened. . . . The last host team to win the Memorial Cup? The QMJHL’s Shawinigan Cataractes, in 2012. All told, 10 host teams have won it all since the format was adopted in 1983. . . . The 2018 Memorial Cup tournament, which will celebrate 100 years, is scheduled to be held in Regina with the WHL’s Pats as the host team. . . . Erie played in its 95th game of the season on Sunday, while Windsor was playing No. 79. . . .
The OHL now has won three straight Memorial Cups. . . . Windsor joins the Cornwall Royals and Kamloops Blazers atop the list, each with three Memorial Cup championships since the round-robin format began. . . . The New Westminster Bruins/Kamloops franchise won five titles. . . . Warren Rychel, the Spitfires’ general manager, has won three championships, tying Matt Leyden (Oshawa Generals, 1939, 1940, 1944) and Bob Brown (Kamloops, 1992, 1994, 1995). . . . Rychel is expected to leave the Spitfires for a spot in the front office of the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche.
Terry Koshan of the Toronto Sun has a game story right here.
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Every year, it seems, the Memorial Cup format comes under fire once the tournament has concluded.
When the host team wins, which is what happened on Sunday when the Windsor Spitfires did just that, well, the flames seem to be just a little bit hotter.
OHLBut, really, is there a better way to decide a Memorial Cup champion than under the present format?
Ideally, it would be decided the way it was back in the day — with the eastern and western champions meeting in a best-of-seven series.
There also was a time (1972-82) when the Memorial Cup was decided in a three-team format without a host team. How do you think the 2017 event would have been received had it featured the Erie Otters, Saint John Sea Dogs and Seattle Thunderbirds in Windsor?
Having a host team allows an organizing committee to turn the tournament into a 10-day festival of sorts. Knowing where the tournament will be well in advance also means fans are able to book vacations and make plans to attend.
The one thing the 2017 tournament did was provide more evidence that junior hockey has lost its way to a certain degree. When it comes to ticket pricing, junior hockey needs to realize that it’s just that — junior hockey. Even with the Spitfires playing well and going 3-0 in the round-robin, the only game in Windsor that sold out was the final one.
It will be interesting to see how the Regina organizing committee and the CHL price tickets for the 2018 tournament in the Brandt Centre, which has a capacity of 6,484.
As we prepare for Regina, maybe the thing to do is come to the realization that the Memorial Cup doesn’t mean what it once did. Winning a league championship in the OHL, QMJHL or WHL is what it’s all about; winning a Memorial Cup is gravy, but it’s not the end of the world if a team gets there and comes up short.
While we’re at it, let’s take Memorial Cup week — or Memorial Cup 10 days — for what it is, a celebration of hockey, a time to enjoy being around other hockey people, fans and media (or what’s left of the media), and have a good time.
Now . . . about those ticket prices.  
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The Calgary Hitmen are in the market for a head coach.
The Hitmen announced Sunday that Mark French, their head coach for the past three seasons, has
signed on as head coach of the Fribourg-Gottéron Dragons of Switzerland’s National League A.
Rumblings about that possibility surfaced early this month with reports from Europe that French was to be interviewed by the Dragons.
Under French, the Hitmen went 117-80-19, qualifying for the playoffs each season. This season, Calgary was 30-32-10, grabbing the Eastern Conference’s second of two wild-card spots, before being swept by the Regina Pats in a first-round playoff series.
The Hitmen had signed French to what the club said was a “multi-year extension” on June 20.
French, who is from Milton, Ont., had joined the Hitmen after being head coach of Medveščak Zagreb in the KHL. He also was to have been an assistant coach with the U-18 Canadian team that will play in the Ivan Hlinka Memorial tournament in August.
There now are two WHL teams without a head coach, the other being the Spokane Chiefs.
Former Kelowna Rockets coach Dan Lambert, who was fired last week by the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres as head coach of their AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans, has been rumoured to be in the mix in Spokane.
The Hitmen also are looking for a general manager, having promoted Mike Moore to vice-president and alternate governor on May 15. Moore is acting as general manager until a successor is found. Moore, who has been with the Hitmen for 10 seasons, had been Calgary’s GM through the past four seasons.
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If you’re a regular here, and even you aren’t, feel free to contribute to the feeding of the Drinnan family by making a donation to the cause. You are able to do so by clicking on the DONATE button and going from there.
BTW, if you want to contact me with some information or just feel like commenting on something, you may email me at greggdrinnan@gmail.com.
I’m also on Twitter (@gdrinnan).

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Posted by Gregg Drinnan at 9:53 PM
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Friday, May 26, 2017

Winterhawks land big one ... Tigers deal goalie to Hitmen ... All OHL final at World Series


F Mads Eller (Edmonton, 2013-15) has signed a one-year contract with Rødovre (Denmark, Metal Ligaen). Eller played his minor hockey with Rødovre. This season, with Gentofte (Denmark, Metal Ligaen), he had a goal and four assists in 25 games. . . .
D Renat Mamashev (Moose Jaw, 2000-01) has signed a one-year contract with Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod (Russia, KHL). This season, with Sochi (Russia, KHL), he had four goals and 13 assists in 47 games.
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 F Kieffer Bellows is leaving Boston University to join the Portland Winterhawks. Bellows, who will turn 19 on June 10, is the son of former NHLer Brian Bellows.
Following this Memorial Day long weekend in the U.S., the Winterhawks will introduce Kieffer to the Portland fans and media at a Tuesday afternoon news conference.
The New York Islanders selected Bellows with the 19th overall pick in the NHL’s 2016 draft. A native of
KIEFFER BELLOWS
Edina, Minn., he was a seventh-round selection by Portland in the WHL’s 2013 bantam draft. That pick was made by Mike Johnston, then Portland’s general manager and head coach. Johnston returned to the Winterhawks prior to this season after a stint as head coach of the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins.
The 6-foot-0, 200-pound Bellows was a freshman at BU this season. He struggled at times against NCAA competition, finishing with seven goals and seven assists in 34 games. However, he was solid with the U.S. national team, with two goals and an assist in seven games, as it won the 2017 World Junior Championship. 
Bellows spent 2014-15 with the USHL’s Sioux Falls Stampede, scoring 33 goals and adding 19 assists in 58 games. In 2015-16, he played 62 games with the U.S. National U-18 team, putting up 50 goals and 31 assists in 62 games. He also played 23 games with the U.S. National Team Development Program U-20 team, scoring 16 times and adding 16 assists.
The Winterhawks see Bellows as a power forward along the lines of graduating captain Keegan Iverson, but with a better scoring touch. Iverson had 26 goals and 44 assists in 55 games this season.
You can bet the house that Bellows will get the opportunity to play alongside F Cody Glass, who will be an early first-round selection in the NHL draft next month. Glass, who turned 18 on April 1, is a tremendous playmaker who had a breakout season, with 94 points, including 62 assists, in 69 games.
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For the third time this week, two WHL teams have been involved in a deal involving a goaltender.
On Friday, the Medicine Hat Tigers dealt G Nick Schneider, who turns 20 on July 21, to the Calgary
NICK SCHNEIDER
Hitmen for a fourth-round selection in the 2019 WHL bantam draft.
This season, Schneider, from Leduc, Alta., went 32-11-1, 3.43, .886. In 142 career regular-season games, he is 76-47-5, 3.30, .893. The Calgary Flames signed him to a three-year entry-level contract as an undrafted free agent in September 2015. As a signed 20-year-old, he will be eligible to play in the Flames’ organization, perhaps with the AHL’s Stockton Heat. But don’t forget that the Flames’ parent company — Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corporation — also owns the Hitmen.
On the Calgary end, this trade was made by former general manager Mike Moore. He was moved up from vice-president business operations and general manager to vice-president and alternate governor on May 15, but is continuing to act as GM until a successor is found.
Schneider began his career by playing nine games with the Regina Pats in 2013-14. On Jan. 10, 2014, the Tigers traded F Logan McVeigh and G Daniel Wapple to the Pats for Schneider, then 16, and a third-round selection in the 2016 bantam draft.
Schneider joins two other veteran goaltenders on Calgary’s roster — Cody Porter, who turns 20 on Sept. 23, and Kyle Dumba, 19.
Aside from Porter, the roster includes four other 20-year-olds — F Matteo Gennaro, D Jaydan Gordon, D Brady Reagan and F Jakob Stukel.
On Tuesday, the Tigers acquired G Jordan Hollett, 18, from Regina for F Matt Bradley, 20, a second-round pick in the 2018 bantam draft and a fifth-rounder in 2019.
Having traded away Bradley and Schneider, the Tigers still have eight 20-year-olds on their roster, including G Michael Bullion. Others are Swedish F John Dahlstrom, F Zach Fischer, D Brad Forrest, D Jordan Henderson, F Mark Rassell, D Kristians Rubins, who is from Latvia, and D Ty Schultz.
The other trade involving a goaltender came down on Thursday, as the Everett Silvertips dealt Mario Petit, who will turn 20 on July 25, to the Kootenay Ice for a conditional sixth-round pick in the 2018 bantam draft.
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D Vojtech Budik of the Prince Albert Raiders has been invited to the summer camp of the Czech Republic’s national junior team. That camp is to run in Rokycany and Salzburg, June 9-16. . . . Budik, 19, had a goal and 25 assists in 56 games with the Raiders last season. . . . He was selected by the Buffalo Sabres in the fifth-round of the NHL’s 2016 draft. . . . Budik played two games for Czech Republic at the 2017 World Junior Championship.
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Coaching Game

 The Buffalo Sabres have fired Dan Lambert, who was the head coach of their AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans, for one season. Lambert, a former WHL player and coach, went 32-41-3 with the Americans this season. Last season, Lambert, 47, was an assistant coach with the Sabres. Prior to that, he spent six seasons with the WHL’s Kelowna Rockets, five as an assistant coach and the last one (2014-15) as head coach. The Rockets won the WHL title in his only season as head coach. . . . A defenceman, he played four seasons (1986-90) with the Swift Current Broncos, helping them to the 1989 Memorial Cup championship. . . . Even before the Sabres fired him on Friday, Lambert’s name had been mentioned in Spokane as a potential candidate for the Chiefs’ vacant head-coaching job.
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Anthony Noreen is the new general manager and head coach of the USHL’s Tri-City Storm. Noreen takes over from Bill Muckalt, the head coach for two seasons, who left to pursue other opportunities. . . . When this season began, Noreen, 43, was in his second season as head coach of the ECHL’s Orlando Solar Bears. However, he was fired on Nov. 14. . . . Prior to that, the Chicago native spent five seasons with the USHL’s Youngstown Phantoms, one as an assistant coach and four as GM/head coach. . . . Muckalt spent four seasons as an assistant coach at Michigan Tech before joining the Storm.
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Jessie Leung has stepped down as head coach of the Valley West Hawks of the B.C. Major Midget Hockey League and has joined the BCHL’s Trail Smoke Eaters as an assistant coach. . . . Leung spent six seasons with the Hawks, the last three as head coach. He guided them to a league title in 2015-16. . . . In Trail, Leung will work alongside general manager/head coach Cam Keith.
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FRIDAY’S GAME:

The OHL-champion Erie Otters broke a 2-2 tie with a pair of early third-period goals en route to a 6-3 victory over the QMJHL-champion Saint John Sea Dogs in the Memorial Cup semifinal on Friday night in Windsor, Ont. . . . The Otters will meet the host Spitfires in the tournament final on Sunday. Game time is 4 p.m. PT (7 p.m. ET). . . .
Last night, F Dylan Strome broke the 2-2 tie with his sixth goal of the tournament at 2:38 of the third period and F Gera Poddubnyi added insurance at 3:45 with his first goal. . . . F Taylor Raddysh (5) upped the lead to 5-2, on a PP, at 12:31. . . . Saint John D Thomas Chabot (2) chopped the deficit to two with his second goal at 16:28. . . . Erie F Warren Foegele (1) iced it with an empty-netter at 19:26. . . . Erie D Darren Raddysh (3) had opened the scoring at 9:56 of the first period, with F Joe Veleno (3) of the Sea Dogs equalizing at 14:10. . . . Erie went ahead 2-1 when Taylor Raddysh scoring, on a PP, at 10:57. . . . Saint John F Julien Gauthier, who also had two assists, tied it, on a PP, at 19:18. . . . F Alex DeBrincat recorded three assists for the Otters and F Anthony Cirelli had two. . . . Erie G Troy Timpano stopped 20 shots. At the other end, Callum Booth turned aside 31. . . . Erie was 2-7 on the PP; Saint John was 1-2. . . . Announced attendance: 5,410. . . .
When they met in the round-robin portion of the tournament, Windsor posted a 4-2 victory despite being outshot, 35-19. . . . The Otters are hoping to become the first U.S.-based team from the OHL to win the Memorial Cup. . . . Sunday’s final will be the first since 2007 to feature two teams from the same league. In 2007, the host Vancouver Giants beat the WHL-champion Medicine Hat Tigers, 3-1, in the final. . . . This will be the third Memorial Cup in a row won by an OHL team. The London Knights won it last year, with the Oshawa Generals having won in 2015. . . . 
Both head coaches — Windsor’s Rocky Thompson and Erie’s Kris Knoblauch — are former WHL players and coaches, who may be coaching their final major junior game on Sunday. Both are expected to move on to the pro ranks after this season. There has been speculation that Thompson will be the next head coach of the Utica Comets, the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks. 
Jim Parker of Postmedia has a game story right here.

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Posted by Gregg Drinnan at 8:28 PM
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Monday, July 6, 2015

Rockets looking for head coach . . . Kelowna d-man off to Saskatoon . . . Ex-Raider in coaching game








D Vladimir Mihalik (Red Deer, Prince George, 2005-07) signed a one-year extension with Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia, KHL). Last season, he had two goals and an assist in 33 games. . . .
F Brock Nixon (Kamloops, Calgary, 2003-08) signed a one-year contract with Esbjerg (Denmark, Metal Ligaen). Last season, with the Colorado Eagles (ECHL), he had a team-high 30 goals, along with 36 assists, in 69 games. . . .  Esbjerg’s head coach is Mark Pederson (Medicine Hat, 1983-88). . . .
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It seems that Vladimir Bobylyov, Vladimir Bobylyev and Vladimir Bobylev are all the same player, a KHLforward who played last season for the Vancouver Giants. . . . F Vladimir Bobylyov was one of 37 players on the training camp roster for Spartak Moscow (Russia, KHL) as the team opened training camp Monday in Vierumäki, Finland. Last season, with the Giants, he had three goals and six assists in 52 games. . . . The Giants released him prior to last month’s 2015 import draft and he was selected by the Victoria Royals. . . . Cam Hope, the Royals’ general manager, tells Taking Note that the Royals, as did the Giants last season, are going with Bobylev because that is what the player prefers. That is the version of his name provided by using the English alphabet. . . . Hope also assures that Bobylev “is coming over and has already signed his IIHF Transfer Card . . . We expect him to be a Victoria Royal in September.”
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Dan Lambert is one and done as head coach of the Kelowna Rockets.
The team announced Monday that Lambert is leaving to work as an assistant coach with the NHL’s Buffalo NHLSabres. He will be the team’s third assistant, with Dave Barr and Terry Murray, working with head coach Dan Bylsma.
Lambert and Bylsma are friends, going back to when they played together with the IHL’s Long Beach Ice Dogs. Bylsma, who spent some time in Kelowna working with the Rockets in March, and Lambert were seen breaking bread together at the NHL draft in Sunrise, Fla., late last month.
Lambert, who played in the WHL with the Swift Current Broncos (1986-90), before going on to a professional career, spent five seasons in Kelowna as an assistant coach. He worked with head coach Ryan Huska, who left after 2013-14 to join the Calgary Flames organization as head coach of their AHL affiliate, the Adirondack Heat. That franchise, along with Huska, has relocated to Stockton, Calif., where it also will be know as the Heat.
In his lone season as head coach, Lambert guided the Rockets to a 53-13-6 record, which was second-best in the WHL’s regular season. The Rockets then went on to sweep the Brandon Wheat Kings from the final for the Ed Chynoweth Cup. Kelowna got to the Memorial Cup final, too, only to lose to the OHL’s Oshawa Generals, in overtime.
Larry Fisher of the Kelowna Daily Courier has more right here on Lambert’s departure.
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Interestingly, Kelowna owner/general manager Bruce Hamilton has never had to replace a one-and-done head coach.
Peter Anholt was the Rockets’ head coach for two seasons (1996-98), with Garth Malarchuk the closest to one-and-done when he lasted one-plus. Malarchuk, now a long-time scout with the Toronto Maple Leafs, was with the Rockets for all of 1998-99 and part of 1999-2000.
Marc Habscheid replaced Malarchuk during the 1999-2000 season and was the head coach for the following four seasons. Jeff Truitt was an assistant under Habscheid. When Habscheid left, Truitt took over and was the head coach for three seasons.
Huska, an assistant under Habscheid and Truitt, was the head coach for seven seasons.
One thing is for certain — neither of the Rockets’ present assistant coaches will be the next head coach. Travis Crickard, 27, and Kris Mallette, 26, are preparing for their second seasons with Kelowna. Hamilton has stressed that the next head coach will have to work with Crickard and Mallette on his staff.
Larry Fisher of the Kelowna Daily Courier has more right here on the search for a new head coach.
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The Sleepy Hollow Wildfire has done a huge amount of damage in the Wenatchee, Wash., area. So the Tri-City Americans are doing their bit to help provide some aid for victims. . . . Today, from 12:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., the Americans are asking their fans to drop off donations of new and gently used items. Just head for the Toyota Center and make you donations on the Main 1 foyer. . . . They are looking for items like non-perishable food, Costco or Fred Meyer gift cards, pet food, cups and silverware, batteries, flashlights, bottled water, towels and toiletries. . . . If your donation is valued at more than $10, the Americans will give you one adult ticket to an Oct. 4 game against the visiting Seattle Thunderbirds.
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The Saskatoon Blades have acquired D Mitchell Wheaton, 20, from the Kelowna Rockets for a fourth-round selection in the 2017 bantam draft. . . . The 6-foot-5, 215-pound Wheaton, from Sherwood Park, Alta., missed almost all of his third WHL season with injuries. In the end, he played in only four regular-season and nine playoff games. . . . In 100 regular-season career games with the Rockets, he had 37 points, including eight goals. He was a fifth-round selection by the Detroit Red Wings in the NHL’s 2013 draft. . . . The Rockets had selected him in the 10th round of the 2010 bantam draft. . . . The Rockets still are left with a number of options as 20-year-olds, including G Jackson Whistle, F Cole Linaker, F Tyson Baillie and G Gage Quinney. D Madison Bowey, D Josh Morrissey and F Leon Draisaitl are likely to open the season in the pro ranks. . . . The Blades have F Nick Zajac, D Ryan Coghlan, D Isaac Schacher, D Kolton Dixon and F Connor Gay as 20-year-olds on their roster.
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Coaching

Richard Seeley is the new head coach of the ECHL’s Manchester Monarchs. Seeley (Lethbridge, Prince Albert, 1996-99) played four seasons in Manchester (2001-04, 2005-06) when it was in the AHL and, in fact, was the second captain in team history. . . . The Monarchs are preparing for their first ECHL season after the AHL franchise moved to Ontario, Calif. . . . Seeley, 36, will be introduced in Manchester this afternoon.
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The NHL’s Carolina Hurricane have hired Mark Morris, 57, as the head coach of their AHL affiliate, the Charlotte Checkers. . . . Geordie Kinnear has been re-signed as assistant coach. . . . Morris was an assistant coach with the NHL’s Florida Panthers last season. Prior to that, he spent eight seasons as head coach of the AHL’s Manchester Monarchs, who are affiliated with the Los Angeles Kings.
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Among those players in the Calgary Flames’ development camp are F Tyson Baillie (Kelowna), D Jason Fram (Spokane), F Tomas Soustal (Kelowna) and G Rylan Toth (Red Deer). . . . F Miles Koules and D Keoni Texeira, both of whom played with Portland last season, are in camp with the Washington Capitals. Koules played out his eligibility last season. . . . Included on the Minnesota Wild’s developmental camp roster are F Jared Bethune (Prince George), F Ryan Graham (Saskatoon), F Carter Rigby (Swift Current) and F Jack Walker (Victoria). Rigby played as a 20-year-old last season. . . . F Beau McCue (Tri-City) is with the New York Islanders as he prepares for his 20-year-old season.
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F Carson Focht, selected seventh overall by the Tri-City Americans in the WHL’s 2015 bantam draft, is in Finland this week for a male hockey development camp and Youth Olympic Games skills challenge qualification event. . . . There’s more right here on Focht and what’s in store for him in the camp. . . . Focht signed with the Americans in May. . . . The camp, in Vierumki, Finland, runs July 4-11.
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D Landon Cross (Kamloops, Kootenay, 2011-14) will continue his hockey career at the U of Regina with the Cougars. Cross, who is from Brandon, played last season as a 20-year-old with the MJHL’s Steinbach Pistons.
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Three members of the Victoria Royals hockey staff have been added to hockey operations staff with Hockey Canada teams. . . . Matt Auerbach, the Royals head equipment manager, will work with the U-20 team as its assistant equipment manager, while athletic therapist Khore Elliott will help the U-18 side as one of its athletic therapists, and medical director Dr. Michael Conrad is to work with the U-17 team.
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F Shane Harper (Everett, 2005-10) has signed a two-way deal with the NHL’s Florida Panthers, whose AHL affiliate now is the Portland Pirates. Harper played the past two seasons with the AHL’s Chicago Wolves. Last season, he had 32 goals and 18 assists in 50 games. . . . D Sena Acolatse (Seattle, Saskatoon, Prince George, 2006-11) also signed a two-way deal with the Panthers. He had 19 points, including six goals, in 38 games with the AHL’s Adirondack Flames. Before that, he played three seasons with the AHL’s Worcester Sharks.
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F Pavel Padakin, who played out his eligibility with the Regina Pats last season, has signed a one-year AHL deal with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. . . . Padakin, from Kiev, Ukraine, had 54 points, including 26 goals, last season with Regina. He also had one goal in one game with the Calgary Hitmen before being dealt to the Pats. He played the previous two seasons in Calgary. . . . Regina general manager/head coach John Paddock is a former Phantoms’ head coach. . . . Padakin will be in the parent Philadelphia Flyers’ development camp this week.
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Dean Moisan is the new head scout for the AJHL’s Lloydminster Bobcats. He spent the past two seasons as the head scout for the SJHL’s Humboldt Broncos. . . . He spent seven seasons scouting for the Broncos. . . . Moisan grew up in Humboldt but has lived in Lloydminster for more than 14 years. With the Bobcats, he replaces Tom Keca, who now is GM and head coach of the AJHL’s Fort McMurray Oil Barons.
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Steve Ewen, who covers the Vancouver Giants for the Vancouver Province, has been honoured as the National Lacrosse League’s Media Person of the Year. He will be presented with the Tom Borrelli Award for his work covering the NLL and the Vancouver Stealth. . . . There’s more right here.
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Posted by Gregg Drinnan at 11:18 PM
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