Giants hire assistant coach . . . OHL's Greyhounds get head coach . . . Nachbaur to Wenatchee

Peter Young, an old friend and a former CTV sportscaster, sent me this
photo from Winnipeg on Friday. That's Chicago Blackhawks captain
Jonathan Toews leading some boys to a Winnipeg park for a game
of ball hockey. Yes, they played for the Stanley Cup.

F Edgars Kulda (Edmonton, 2012-15) signed a tryout contract with Dinamo Riga (Latvia, KHL). Last season, with Edmonton, he had 13 goals and 17 assists in 47 games. . . .
F Johnny Lazo (Tri-City, 2006-10) signed a one-year contract with Sterzing/Vipiteno (Italy, Serie A). Last season, with the University of Alberta (CIS), he had 19 points, 10 of them goals, in 24 games. He was an alternate captain. . . .
D Cam Barker (Medicine Hat, 2001-06) signed a one-year extension with Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia, KHL). Last season, he had nine assists in 18 games.
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The Medicine Hat Tigers haven’t increased their portion of season-ticket prices, but fees associated with a new building have resulted in an increase. That includes a $77.40 city-imposed facility fee. As well, a new Ticketmaster service charge has been implemented. . . . Peggy Revell of the Medicine Hat News has more right here.
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The five teams in the AHL’s Pacific Division will play 68 games in 2015-16, while all other teams will play 76. On Friday, the league announced how it will determine its playoff teams:
“Teams will receive two points for a win and one point for an overtime or shootout loss. The top four teams in each division ranked by points percentage (points earned divided by points available) will qualify for the 2016 Calder Cup playoffs, with one exception in each conference: if the fifth-place team in the Atlantic or Central Division finishes with a better points percentage than the fourth-place team in the North or Pacific Division, it would cross over and compete in the other division’s bracket.”
This will be interesting to watch unfold because of the three-point games that feature the loser point.
The AHL also will use the five-minute 3-on-3 overtime periods, followed by the three-skater shootouts, if necessary.
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Got a tip or some information you feel could be useful to me, feel free to send an email to greggdrinnan@gmail.com.
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A source familiar with the situation told Taking Note on Friday afternoon that the Vancouver Giants have hired Tyler Kuntz as an assistant coach. He spent last season as the head coach of the UBC Thunderbirds. . . . Prior to taking over as head coach, Kuntz was a UBC assistant coach for four seasons. . . . He also played five seasons with the Thunderbirds. . . . In the Vancouver area, he also worked as an assistant coach with the BCHL’s Burnaby Express and the major midget North West Giants.
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The OHL’s Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds named Drew Bannister their newest head coach on Friday evening. He replaces Sheldon Keefe, who now is head coach of the AHL’s Toronto Marlies. . . . Bannister, 41, spent the past three seasons as an assistant coach with the Owen Sound Attack. . . . A defenceman in his playing days, Bannister played four seasons with the Greyhounds, winning two OHL titles and appearing in three straight Memorial Cups. He was on the Soo team that won it all in 1993. He went on to play 18 years as a pro.
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The BCHL’s Merritt Centennials have added Matt Samson as an assistant coach. He had been the general manager and head coach of the junior B North Van Wolf Pack of the Pacific Junior Hockey League.
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The Seattle Thunderbirds are in the market for an equipment manager after announcing Friday that Ben Calkins is joining the AHL’s San Diego Gulls. Calkins will be a co-equipment manager, with Matt Brayfield, with the Gulls. Calkins spent four seasons with the Thunderbirds. . . . If you are interested in the Thunderbirds’ position, send cover letter and resume to Hunter Cherni, the team’s hockey operations assistant, at hunter@seattlethunderbirds.com.
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F Daniel Nachbaur, 20, has been traded by the BCHL’s Prince George Spruce Kings to the Wenatchee Wild. He is the first player with previous BCHL experience to be added to the Wild’s roster as it prepares for its first season in the league. . . . Nachbaur, the son of Spokane Chiefs head coach Don Nachbaur, was traded for future considerations. He had four points in an injury-plagued 2014-15 season split between the Merritt Centennials and Prince George. . . . He is no stranger to Wenatchee, having played for a U-18 team there in 2011-12.
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Andrei Platonov dissolved his contract with Spartak, will join @tigershockey #WHL #hockey #prospect

— AlessandroSerenRosso (@AlexSerenRosso) July 10, 2015

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Giants end skid . . . Ch-ching! Rebels, Broncos exchange greetings . . . Pats, Chiefs, Winterhawks rolling

The month of December arrives on Monday, which is when Hockey Canada will announce the roster for the national junior team’s selection camp. . . . That camp is scheduled for Dec. 11-15 in Toronto. . . . The tournament opens Dec. 26 in Toronto and Montreal. . . . Monday’s announcement is to be made at 8 a.m. PT.
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A note from Annie Fowler of the Tri-City Herald:
Saturday marked the 25th anniversary of Tri-City goaltender Olie Kolzig’s goal. It was the was the first goal scored by a WHL goalie, coming with 44 seconds remaining in a 5-2 win over Seattle at Toyota Center (in Kennewick, Wash.)
“They had pulled their goalie, and we were up 4-2,” recalled Kolzig in a 2012 interview. “The puck went behind the net. I went back to get it, and I want to say I lifted it 20 feet in the air, but it was about three feet. By the time it was halfway down the ice, it started to curl, and it just went inside the post.”
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F Daniel Nachbaur, 19, was traded from the BCHL’s Merritt Centennials to the Prince George Spruce Kings for future considerations on Saturday. Nachbaur, the son of Spokane Chiefs head coach Don Nachbaur, had 13 goals and 10 assists in 57 games over two seasons in Merritt. . . . The Nachbaur family has roots in the Prince George area and Don is a member of that city's Sports Hall of Fame.
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SATURDAY’S GAMES:

In Prince Albert, the Brandon Wheat Kings scored three times in the second period and went on to beat the Raiders, 6-3. . . . The Raiders (13-14-0) had a five-game winning streak snapped. They will play their next seven games on the road. . . . Brandon F Tim McGauley's 15th goal turned out to be his fourth game-winning goal in five games. . . . F Jordan Tkatch gave the Raiders a 1-0 lead at 11:43 of the first period with his fourth goal. He finished with two goals and an assist. . . . Brandon D Eric Roy tied it with his third, via the PP, at 13:51. . . . F Duncan Campbell scored his fourth to give Brandon a 2-1 lead at 4:59 of the second and the Wheat Kings took it from there. . . . F Tanner Kaspick and D Macoy Erkamps each had two assists for Brandon, which got 30 saves from G Jordan Papirny. . . . The Raiders scratched D Sawyer Lange and D Hunter Warner with undisclosed injuries. . . . The Wheat Kings played their second game in a row without F Rihards Bukarts, who suffered an undisclosed injury during a practice this week. . . . The Wheat Kings (21-5-2) are 4-0-1 in their last five. . . . Rob Henderson of the Brandon Sun has a game story right here. . . .

In Moose Jaw, D Dustin Perillat had a goal and an assist to help the Warriors to a 4-2 victory over the Saskatoon Blades. . . . Perillat broke a 1-1 tie with his third goal at 16:44 of the second period and F Brayden Point mde it 3-1 with his 15th goal at 19:02. . . . Moose Jaw G Justin Paulic stopped 27 shots, five fewer than Saskatoon's Trevor Martin. . . . F Alex Forsberg was among the Blades' scratches, but only because his name was accidentally left off the original game sheet. . . . Saskatoon dressed 17 skaters, one under the maximum. . . . The Warriors (12-12-3) have won two in a row. . . . The Blades (7-18-2) have lost three straight (0-2-1) as they head for Kamloops and a Tuesday date with the Blazers. . . . It was Hall of Fame weekend in Moose Jaw and Nathan Liewicki of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald has more right here. . . .

In Calgary, F Matt Bellerive had two goals and an assist as the Vancouver Giants ended a six-game losing skid with a 6-3 victory over the Hitmen. . . . Vancouver F Jesse Roach broke a 1-1 tie with his first goal at 6:23 of the second period and F Jackson Houck upped the lead to 3-1 with his eighth goal, via the PP, at 10:12. . . . The Hitmen weren't able to equalize as Vancouver G Payton Lee stopped 32 shots. . . . Giants F Thomas Foster and F Tyler Benson each had two assists. . . . Vancouver D Josh Thrower and F Gage Ramsay also scored their first goals. . . . F Jake Virtanen scored twice for the Hitmen, giving him seven on the season. . . . Bellerive's second goal, his 12th, was into an empty net. . . . Vancouver was 2-for-2 on the PP; Calgary was 0-for-4. . . . The Giants (10-18-0) went 1-4 and fired head coach Troy Ward while in Alberta. . . . The Hitmen are 14-11-3. . . .

In Red Deer, the Rebels scored two shorthanded goals in the second period and went on to a 6-2 victory over the Swift Current Broncos. . . . Ch-ch-ching! The game featured a third-period line brawl. At one point in the third period, the Broncos were left with three forwards and three defencemen on their bench. . . . By game's end, the Rebels had taken 120 of 197 penalty minutes. . . . Red Deer F Brooks Maxwell's shorthanded goal at 1:58 of the second period gave the Rebels a 2-1 lead. . . . Red Deer F Wyatt Johnston added his club's WHL-leading 10th shorthanded goal of the season, at 12:40 of the second, for a 4-1 lead. . . . Maxwell has seven goals this season; Johnson has 13. . . . F Scott Feser had a goal, his 10th, and two assists for the Rebels (14-10-4), who had lost their previous two games (0-1-1). . . . The Broncos (14-12-4) have lost three straight. . . .

In Medicine Hat, F Matt Bradley scored his seventh goal at 2:14 of OT to give the Tigers a 3-2 victory over the Edmonton Oil Kings. . . . The Oil Kings took a 2-0 lead into the second period on goals by F Andrew Koep, his seventh, and F Mads Eller, his third, the latter via the PP at 19:05 of the first. . . . The Tigers tied it on second-period goals 29 seconds apart by D Tommy Vannelli and D Tyler Lewington, at 15:31 and 16:00. Vannelli has 10 goals; Lewington has four. . . . Edmonton G Tristan Jarry stopped 49 shots, 30 more than Medicine Hat's Marek Langhamer. . . . Edmonton D Ashton Sautner had two assists as he ran his point streak to 10 games. . . . The Oil Kings were without seven regulars, including F Edgars Kulda. . . . Edmonton had two APs, D Kyle Yewchuk and D Jordan Dawson, in the lineup. . . . The Tigers (19-6-2) have won three in a row. . . . The Oil Kings (14-10-5) had won their previous two starts. . . .

In Kamloops, F Austin Carroll scored twice as the Victoria Royals beat the Blazers, 5-3. . . . Carroll broke a 3-3 tie with his 20th goal at 16:11 of the thid period as he put home the rebound of a shot by D Joe Hicketts. . . . F Taylor Crunk iced it with his fifth goal just 18 seconds after Carroll scored. . . . The Royals scored twice in the game's opening 1:11 and went up 3-0 at 14:33 of the first period. . . . The Blazers came back and tied it on F Matt Needham's ninth goal at 5:41 of the third period. . . . Hicketts and F Axel Blomqvist, who really can impose his will on a game when he wants to, each had two assists. . . . Hicketts, who almost certainly will be invited to the Canadian national junior team's camp on Monday, left 45 seconds into the third period after blocking a shot with his left foot. He perhaps missed one shift before returning looking none the worse for wear. . . . Kamloops G Cole Kehler made his first start in seven games and stopped 27 shots. Connor Ingram had made six straight starts. . . . Kamloops was without D Ryan Rehill and F Deven Sideroff. Rehill served a one-game suspension for a late instigator penalty in Friday's 7-3 loss to the visiting Regina Pats, while Sideroff apparently was injured in that game. . . . F Jake Kryski moved up into Sideroff's spot alongside Cole Ully and Matt Needham on the Blazers' top line to start the game, although head coach Don Hay moved bodies around through the last two periods. . . . The Ully-Needham-Sideroff line was together for 24 of the Blazers’ first 28 games. . . . Victoria F Brandon Magee completed a five-game suspension. He was suspended for a spearing incident in a Nov. 19 games against Kelowna. . . . The Royals (15-13-2) had lost their last two games. . . . The Blazers (11-13-5) are 0-3-1 in their last four. . . .

In Spokane, the Chiefs ran their winning streak to five games as they beat the Lethbridge Hurricanes, 2-1. . . . The Chiefs have won by a 2-1 score on four occasions during that streak. . . . F Jacob Cardiff scored his second goal of the season at 11:31 of the first period to get the Chiefs started. . . . D Jordan Henderson upped the lead to 2-0 with his first goal at 2:27 of the third. . . . F Tyler Wong got the visitors on the board, with his ninth, at 19:31 of the third period. . . . Spokane G Tyson Verhelst stopped 25 shots, while Lethbridge’s Stuart Skinner turned aside 37. . . . The Chiefs (14-7-3) are tied with Portland for second in the U.S. Division and Spokane holds five games in hand. . . . The Hurricanes (6-17-4) have lost two straight and 11 of 12. . . .

In Kelowna, the Regina Pats scored the game’s last three goals, two of them on the same penalty kill, and beat the Rockets, 3-1. . . . F Rourke Chartier scored his WHL-leading 29th goal, on a PP, at 6:54 of the second period to give Kelowna a 1-0 lead. . . . F Pavel Padakin, with his seventh goal, and F Sam Steel, with his fifth, gave Regina a 2-1 lead with shorthanded scores at 9:57 and 10:29 of the second. . . . Regina F Braden Christoffer got his eighth into an empty net at 18:32 of the third. . . . Regina G Daniel Wapple stopped 27 shots. . . . The Pats (16-10-1), who went 4-1-0 in B.C., have won three in a row and 10 of 12. . . . The Rockets (22-3-3) are 7-2-2 in their past 11. . . . 

In Kennewick, Wash., the Portland Winterhawks got out to a 3-0 lead and hung on for a 3-2 victory over the Tri-City Americans. . . . This was the first meeting of the season between these teams. Portland also has yet to play the Spokane Chiefs. . . . Portland F Paul Bittner scored his ninth goal just nine seconds into the game. . . . F Oliver Bjorkstrand got his 18th goal at 4:04 of the second and F Miles Koules made it 3-0 with his ninth at 7:14 of the second. . . . Tri-City F Ty Comrie cut into the lead with his third goal at 18:22, then F Brian Williams scored his seventh, making it 3-2, at 1:21 of the third. . . . Tri-City G Eric Comrie made 39 saves, 11 more than Portland’s Brendan Burke. . . . Portland F Nic Petan had two assists. . . . Portland F Chase De Leo had one assist; it was his 200th career point and came in his 239th game. . . . The Americans were 0-for-4 on the PP; Portland’s PP never got off the bench. . . . The Winterhawks (14-12-3) have won five in a row. . . . The Americans are 15-12-0. . . .

In Kent, Wash., F Luke Philp had three points, including the 150th of his career, as the Kootenay Ice beat the Seattle Thunderbirds, 5-2. . . . The Thunderbirds led this one 2-0 at 10:23 of the first period. . . . Ice F Tim Bozon tied it with his eighth goal, at 15:06 of the first, and Philp got his 11th at 19:32 to put the visitors out front. . . . Ice F Sam Reinhart ran his point streak to 10 games with his sixth goal and an assist, while F Jaedon Descheneau has points in nine straight. He had his 15th goal, into an empty net, and an assist. . . . The Ice improved to 12-15-0, while the Thunderbirds slipped to 10-12-4. . . . The Ice is in Everett to play the Silvertips this afternoon, while the Thunderbirds entertain Spokane.
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— Dryden Hunt (@huntsy22) November 30, 2014

Well, if that really was the debut day for the Canadian Hockey League Players’ Association, let’s just say it was rather inauspicious.
I mean, the worst movie you ever saw had a better debut.
It began with a tweet from the CHLPA:
“NEWS FLASH*** George Laraque signs on with the CHLPA as Executive Director”
Uhh, the gentleman’s name is Georges.
Later, Laraque apparently was to have appeared on a Toronto sports radio show. For some reason, he didn’t make it.
A report by The Canadian Press included this sentence: “Messages for Laraque weren’t returned.”
At the same time, David Branch, who heads up the CHL, was telling The Canadian Press that he knows nothing about the union and that he hasn’t been contacted by anyone from the CHLPA.
There was considerable CHLPA-related chatter on Twitter until later in the afternoon (Pacific time). That’s about when it got blown out of the twitterverse with the news that Avril Lavigne and Chad Kroeger were engaged.
Oh well, there’s always tomorrow. But, at least for now, the C in CHLPA doesn’t stand for credible.
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Here’s Rob Henderson of the Brandon Sun:
While CHLPA spokesman Derek Clarke told the Windsor Star that the union has representatives on all 60 CHL teams, Brandon Wheat Kings goalie Corbin Boes said he has never been contacted personally and doesn’t know of any other players who have.
“That’s the first I’ve ever heard of it,” he said. “Very surprising stuff for me.”
“I read an article (Monday) about it and I saw today Georges Laraque is the executive director, but I don’t know a whole lot,” he continued. “I’d probably have to look more into it, but I guess in some ways it could be beneficial to players, but I don’t really see how it’s necessary, I guess.”
Clarke’s assertion in the Star that “99.9 per cent of the players on active rosters last year know about it” but have been asked to keep tight-lipped for now also seems dubious given the comments of former Wheat King and current Vancouver Giant goaltender Liam Liston, a WHL veteran who is apparently part of the other 0.1 per cent, tweeting, “You’d think that the CHL players might get contacted about this whole CHLPA thing . . . but that would make too much sense.”
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Scott Stinson of the National Post writes: “The CHL and its member leagues did not know anything about it. Players quoted in various stories are similarly uninformed, despite assurances from the CHLPA that an ‘overwhelming’ number of them support the initiative. And, most significantly, the people behind the organization have been cloaked in mystery.”
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Evan Daum of the Edmonton Journal writes that neither Oil Kings captain Mark Pysyk nor any of his teammates seem to have heard from the CHLPA, nor do they know any more than anyone else about what’s going on.
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Sunaya Sapurji of Yahoo! Sports takes a look at the CHLPA and what it’s up against if it hopes to gain certification in Ontario. That piece is right here. . . . She also found a couple of OHL players who heard from people purporting to be from a potential union/association, but neither player sounds too impressed.
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Meanwhile, in other news . . .
F Brayden Cuthbert of the Moose Jaw Warriors hasn’t played since Jan. 22, 2011, when he was nailed in open ice by Red Deer Rebels D Mathew Dumba. Since then, Cuthbert has been dealing with post-concussion syndrome. Cuthbert, 18, is in Moose Jaw and is skating, but has yet to receive medical clearance to return to full-contact workouts. Matthew Gourlie of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald has that story right here.
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The junior B Kimberley Dynamiters, who play in the Kootenay International Junior league, have announced that they have added Kris Knoblauch to their coaching staff. He will work alongside head coach Roman Vopat and fellow assistants Jordan Freeman and Todd White. . . . Knoblauch spent the last two four seasons with the Kootenay Ice, the latter two as head coach. He lost his job when he agreed to be interviewed for the head-coaching position with his alma mater, the U of Alberta Golden Bears, while still under contract with the Ice.
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The Everett Silvertips have welcomed Lisa Rody, the wife of former WHL linesman Vaughan Rody, as their host family co-ordinator. She replaces Pat Jones, who had filled that spot since the Silvertips’ inaugural season (2003-04). She stepped down over the summer. . . . The Rodys have billeted players since 2004. Vaughan has worked the last 13 years as an NHL linesman after spending 10 seasons in the WHL. . . . As well, the Silvertips announced that Darren Parsons is returning for a second season as education co-ordinator. Parsons, originally from Prince Albert, played in the WHL with the Regina Pats and Brandon Wheat Kings (1986-89). He is a teacher at Lake Stevens Middle School.
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Hockey’s history is one of the most under-served areas of the game. Far too many leagues and teams have poor accounts of what happened back in the day.
The BCHL’s Merritt Centennials are preparing for their 40th anniversary season and are hoping to reconnect with a lot of the past.
The Centennials are looking for statistics and rosters from a number of seasons.
"The Centennials have never really had an accurate compilation of all-time statistics and we're close to getting there," Brian Wiebe, the team’s media and communications co-ordinator, said in a news release. "Out of 39 seasons, only a handful are missing."
Wiebe is hoping the team will be able “to compile all-time franchise leaders in goals, assists, points and penalty minutes for forwards and defencemen.”
As well, he said, “Because win-loss records are proving to be very hard to come by, for goaltenders we're just focusing on games-played, goals-against-average and hopefully, save percentage.”
Wiebe isn’t looking for originals to keep.
“All materials submitted will be returned if they are originals,” he said."
The team also would like to get scans of historic Cents photos that any fans may have.
The Centennials are missing full player stats and/or rosters for the following seasons:
1973-74
1976-77
1977-78
1978-79
1980-81
1981-82
1989-90
If you might be able to able, please contact Wiebe at 604-916-8448 or via email at info@merrittcentennials.com.
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The Victoria Times Colonist reports that there are a couple of players with familiar surnames in camp with the BCHL’s Victoria Frizzlies. . . . F Daniel Nachbaur, 17, is the son of Spokane Chiefs head coach Don Nachbaur. Daniel spent last season with the NAHL’s Wenatchee, Wash., Wild. . . . D Logan Hawgood of Kamloops is the son of Greg, a former Blazers star and head coach. Logan, 19, played last season with the Helena Bighorns of the American West League.

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THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Tomas Hricina (Regina, 2008-10) signed a two-year (plus option) contract with Banska Bystrica (Slovakia, Extraliga) after a successful tryout. He had three assists in 19 games with Kosice (Slovakia, Extraliga) and five goals and 10 assists in 23 games on loan to Bardejov (Slovakia, 1.Liga) last season.
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JUST NOTES: G Jonny Hogue of Lethbridge will experience something of a dream come true when he skates onto the ice at the Hurricanes’ camp. Hogue, an eighth-round pick in the 2011 bantam draft, is a former Hurricanes’ stick boy. . . . D Ryan Aasman is coming home. Aasman, 19, who has played with the Prince Albert Raiders, Seattle Thunderbirds and Swift Current Broncos, is going to camp with his hometown Medicine Hat Tigers. Aasman was selected by the Raiders with the eighth overall pick of the 2007 bantam draft. He was dropped by the Broncos after last season. . . . D Justin Slobozian, 19, who spent part of three seasons (2007-10) with the Regina Pats, has been acquired by the MJHL’s Portage Terriers from the Thunder Bay North Stars of the Superior International junior league. Slobozian split last season between the MJHL’s Neepawa Natives and the North Stars. . . . The 2011 Western Canada U-16 Challenge Cup will be played at Mosaic Place in Moose Jaw, Oct. 27-30.  This tournament features the highest-rated U-16 players in the four western provinces. . . . Don Nachbaur, the head coach of the Spokane Chiefs, will go into this regular season with 479 regular-season coaching victories. . . . F Brody Luhning, 19, who has played with the Swift Current Broncos and Calgary Hitmen, will go to camp with the Regina Pats. He spent most of last season with the SJHL’s Battlefords North Stars. He is from Lumsden, Sask., which is a couple of slapshots north of Regina. . . . Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post reports that “The Pats are believed to be close to signing their top two picks from the 2011 WHL bantam draft: C Adam Brooks (second round, 25th overall) and RW Dane Schioler (second round, 36th overall). An announcement could come as early as today.” . . . Latvian D Kristaps Bazevics and Norwegian F Jonas Knutsen, the Prince Albert Raiders’ two selections in the 2011 import draft, have arrived and will take part in training camp. . . . A couple of notes from Jeff Bromley, whose blog, Ice Chips, is linked to over there on the right. He notes that the Kootenay Ice, the WHL’s defending champion, has sold more than 2,100 season tickets. “We sold 328 new season tickets, by far the most in the last number of years,” Ice president/GM Jeff Chynoweth told him. “It’s a great base and it’s going to help get the average attendance up.” . . . Bromley also reports that Kootenay F Brock Montgomery had sports hernia surgery earlier this month and won’t be back on the ice until some time in October. . . . It’s interesting that F Daniel Nachbaur, 16, will be in rookie camp with the Tri-City Americans. Daniel, who played last season in the EDGE program in Calgary, is the son of former Americans head coach Don Nachbaur, who now is the head coach of the Spokane Chiefs. . . . It’s also interesting that Tri-City’s rookie camp roster includes 19 players who are from the U.S.
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THE COACHING GAME:
Jason Christie (Saskatoon, 1986-90) has signed on as head coach of the ECHL’s Ontario Reign. That means the Central league’s Bloomington Blaze is in the market for a new head coach. Christie was the Central league’s coach of the year last season with the Bloomington PrairieThunder. He signed with the Blaze as July 13. . . .
The OHL’s Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors have added Kelly Harper to their staff as assistant GM/assistant coach, while former NHLer Brad May has signed on as an assistant coach. They will work alongside GM/head coach James Boyd, who took over from Dave Cameron when the latter joined the NHL’s Ottawa Senators as an assistant coach. Harper had been on the coaching staff of the Brampton Battalion since 2003. . . .
Former Seattle Thunderbirds assistant coach Turner Stevenson has joined the NAHL’s Wenatchee Wild as an assistant coach. He will work with head coach John Becanic, who spent a season on Seattle’s staff. Becanic is into his first full season as the Wild’s head coach. He took midway through last season.
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A WHL player has pleaded guilty to a charge of dangerous driving causing death. He pleaded guilty through his lawyer on Tuesday in provincial court in Cochane, Alta. Sentencing arguments will be held on Nov. 17. There is more right here.
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It’s called BioSteel and you’re going to be hearing a lot about it in the immediate future. What is BioSteel? It is the latest, and some hockey players say the best, in high-performance energy drinks. James Mirtle of The Globe and Mail has more right here.
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TWEET OF THE DAY . . .
From Regan Bartel, the radio voice of the Kelowna Rockets: “Is this a sign of tough economic times? 350 Rockets season tickets have been released to the public. Wow. This hasn't happened in years.”

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
     
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