Showing posts with label Daniel Spence. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Daniel Spence. Show all posts

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

It's hard to say goodbye . . . Chase leaves Hitmen . . . Iron Commissioner drops hammer


Goaltender Austin Lotz of the Everett Silvertips played Wednesday's
game with a heavy heart following the death of Cole Hamblin
earlier in the day. After the game, Lotz tweeted a picture of the game
puck along with: "If I had a good enough arm I'd toss this up to you.
That one was for you. Thanks to everyone for the love and support."
(Photo: Chris Mast / mastimages.com)








G Daniel Spence (Calgary, 2004-09) has been released by Asplöven Haparanda (Sweden, Allsvenskan) by mutual agreement. In three games, he has a 3.39 GAA and .866 save percentage. . . .
F Jaroslav Svoboda (Kootenay, 1998-2000) has signed for the rest of this season with Martin (Slovakia, Extraliga). He had been on a one-month contract with Red Ice Martigny (Switzerland, NL B) that expired Oct. 3. In five games with Red Ice, he had a goal and two assists. . . .
F Jakub Šindel (Brandon, 2004-05) has been released by Kaltern/Caldaro (Italy, Serie A). He had eight points, including three goals, in 14 games.
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A SAD FAREWELL:

A few short months ago, Cole Hamblin was preparing to begin a new chapter in his life.
After a junior career that included stints with the Spokane Chiefs and Regina Pats, he was going to attend the U of Guelph and play hockey for the Gryphons.
It didn’t happen.
Hamblin died Wednesday morning at the age of 21.
A native of Ste. Adolphe, Man., Hamblin began experiencing lower pack pain and weight loss during the summer. He was found to have mucoepidermoid carcinoma; it was in Stage 4 when it was discovered.
Hamblin had been in hospital since Sept. 22 when he died.
Shortly after his death, his family posted an update to the GoFundMe page:
“For those who have not yet heard Cole passed away this morning with his family by his side. He will be greatly missed by everyone who had the chance to know him! He touched so many lives and for that we are all greatful for. All remaining donations that have not been used will be generously donated to Cancer Care! The family is in awe with the support received from everyone and is truly grateful for everything. Our continuous thoughts are with Cole and The Hamblins. We love you all!”
I never had occasion to meet Hamblin, but I am wishing that I had. Judging from the number of people who posted messages of condolences on Twitter, this young man touched a lot of lives in a positive fashion.
Hopefully that will in time provide his family with some solace.






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F Greg Chase has joined the parade of players to have walked out on WHL teams this season.
Chase, 19, didn’t play in Tuesday’s 4-1 victory over the Blades in Saskatoon. He was a healthy scratch from that one. On Wednesday, the Hitmen said it was “related to on-ice discipline.”
Prior to Wednesday’s game in Prince Albert, the Hitmen revealed, via Twitter, that Chase “has since requested a trade and has returned home.”
This season, in 15 games, Chase had 15 points, including two goals. On the Hitmen, only F Chase Lang, with 17, and F Adam Tambellini, with 16, had more points than Chase.
Interestingly, Chase is one of the forwards on the roster of the WHL team that is to play in the Subway Super Series.
A native of Sherwood Park, Alta., Chase was a seventh-round selection by the Edmonton Oilers in the NHL’s 2013 draft. That came after a season in which he had 49 points, including 17 goals, in 69 games. Last season, Chase scored 35 times and finished with 85 points, in 70 games.
From all reports, Chase had a tremendous training camp with the Oilers in September and they responded by signing him to a three-year entry-level contract.
In 219 regular-season WHL games, all with Calgary, he has 177 points, including 60 goals.
The Hitmen selected him with the 22nd overall in the 2010 bantam draft.
Meanwhile, a source familiar with the situation has confirmed to Taking Note that D Reid Zalitach, 18, has left the Moose Jaw Warriors. He becomes at least the fourth player to leave the Warriors since the season began.
Zalitach and D Taylor Green, 19, were roommates in Moose Jaw. Green left the Warriors on Oct. 29.
When Green departed, Moose Jaw general manager Alan Millar told the Moose Jaw Times-Herald that “it was a decision he felt was in his best interest to move on from the game at this time and pursue other options, in particular, his education.”
A source has told Taking Note that Green’s departure didn’t have anything to do with wanting to get on with his education and everything to do with not seeing eye-to-eye with head coach Tim Hunter.
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You had to think that David Branch, the commissioner of the OHL, would get it right. On Wednesday, the Iron Commissioner suspended two players for 15 games each for “recent social networking activity.” . . . Chris Peters of cbssports.com has more right here.---
The Everett Silvertips are in Vancouver to play the Giants on Friday night. Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province writes right here about the relationship between the head coaches -- Kevin Constantine of the Silvertips and Troy Ward of the Giants.
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Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province also reports that F Luca Leone, 18, who was released this week by the Swift Current Broncos, is taking his career to Italy. Leone has an Italian passport so won’t be classified as an import when he joins the Milan-based Milano Rossoblu, a team that plays in Serie A. . . . Leone had six points, two of them goals, in 33 games with the Giants last season. This season, he was pointless in seven games with the Broncos.
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Neate Sager of Yahoo! Sports Canada does up a weekly set of CHL rankings that he has dubbed the Buzzing The Net Dynamic Dozen. If you aren’t aware of them, check out the latest rankings right here. Hint: Teams from the WHL occupy the top two slots and three of the top six. . . . It’s worth looking at the paragraph that follows the rankings to see just what goes into the compilation.
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F Dryden Hunt of the Regina Pats missed most of 2012-13 thanks to a pair of concussions. So you know how badly he feels now that he’s sitting out a two-game suspension for having been involved in a hit that left Saskatoon Blades D Adam Henry with a concussion. . . . Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post has that story right here.
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Earlier in the week came word of a mother who had been ordered by a B.C. court not to contact various hockey coaches and officials on behalf of her sons. Today comes word of a minor hockey coach in North Delta, B.C., who was “fired for posting Nazi propaganda to his Facebook page,” according to this story right here by Tom Zytaruk of Surrey Now. . . . Obviously, there is a reason why it’s called the Left Coast.
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WEDNESDAY’S GAMES:

In Prince Albert, F Connor Rankin had a goal and two assists as the Calgary Hitmen beat the Raiders, 4-2. . . . Rankin has two goals this season. . . . Calgary F Radel Fazleev snapped a 2-2 tie with his seventh goal at 13:07 of the third period. He also had an assist. . . . Calgary F Adam Tambellini added the insurance, with his 11th goal at 17:21. . . . F Craig Leverton scored twice for the Raiders (8-10-0), giving him 11. . . . F Jordy Stallard added his first WHL goal for the Hitmen. . . . The Raiders welcomed back F Reid Gardiner after a five-game absence with a broken nose and a bad facial cut. . . . Hitmen G Evan Johnson stopped 36 shots, five more than Nick McBride of the Raiders. . . . Calgary (9-8-1) has won two in a row. . . .

In Everett, F Nikita Scherbak struck for three goals to lead the Silvertips to a 6-3 victory over the Red Deer Rebels. . . . Scherbak gave Everett (11-1-3) a 4-2 lead with a PP goal at 8:25 of the second period. He completed his first WHL hat trick with the game’s last two goals, the final one into an empty net. . . . Scherbak has 10 goals and 10 assists in 12 games. . . . F Conner Bleackley had two goals for the Rebels. He’s got five. . . . F Tyler Sandhu, acquired by Red Deer from Everett early in the season, scored his fourth goal to get his side to within one, at 3-2, at 3:21 of the second. . . . If you’re keeping track, Everett took two minor penalties, one fewer than Red Deer (8-8-2). . . . The Rebels had been 5-0-1 in their past six games. . . . After the first period, Nick Patterson of the Everett Herald tweeted: “Last night Red Deer and Seattle combined for 52 penalty minutes in 1st period. Tonight Everett and Red Deer combined for ZERO.” . . .

In Kennewick, Wash., G Eric Comrie turned aside 25 shots as his Tri-City Americans beat the Edmonton Oil Kings, 1-0. . . . Comrie has one shutout this season and 10 in his career. . . . F Beau McCue scored the game’s only goal, his sixth, on a PP at 6:40 of the third period. . . . Edmonton G Tristan Jarry stopped 20 shots. . . . F Richard Nejezchleb, acquired Tuesday from the Brandon Wheat Kings, drew the primary assist on McCue’s goal. . . . Edmonton (9-7-2) lost five times on its trip through the U.S. Division. . . . The Americans (10-9-0) have won their last two starts. . . .

In Kelowna, F Nick Merkley, the WHL’s scoring leader, had a goal and two assists to help the Rockets to a 5-1 victory over the Victoria Royals. . . . Merkley has 30 points, including a league-leading 24 assists, in 17 games. . . . F Rourke Chartier and D Madison Bowey also had a goal and two assists each for the Rockets (15-1-1). Chartier has a WHL-leading 15 goals, while Bowey has seven. Bowey leads all defencemen in points (25). . . . The Royals (9-8-2) took 65 of the game’s 128 penalty minutes, 68 of which came in the last two minutes of the third period.
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The Swift Current Broncos will finish the 2015-16 regular season on the road and if they qualify for the playoffs they will open on the road. That’s because the 2016 Ford World women’s curling championship will be played in the Credit Union i-plex, March 19-27. . . . The Broncos have experience in this situation because the 2010 championship also was held in Swift Current. . . .
The Ottawa Senators revealed on Wednesday that F Curtis Lazar, 19, is staying with the NHL team. Lazar, who was the 17th overall selection in the 2013 NHL draft, has two assists in nine games. Ottawa’s only other option with Lazar is to return him to the Edmonton Oil Kings, with whom he has played the past three seasons. . . .
At least two WHL players will be on the Russian team’s roster when the Subway Super Series opens in Saskatoon on Monday. D Ivan Provorov of the Brandon Wheat Kings and Kootenay Ice D Rinat Valiev officially have been added to the Russian team. Game 2 of the six-game series will be played in Brandon on Nov. 11, before the Russian team heads east for two games with the OHL and two with a QMJHL select team. . . . On Wednesday evening, Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix tweeted: “Russian Super Series roster hasn't been released, but I've been told former Saskatoon Blade Nikita Scherbak will be playing vs. the WHL.” . . .
Rogers Sportsnet begins its CHL telecast schedule on Monday with the Super Series game in Saskatoon. Once again, the broadcast team features RJ Broadhead calling the play, with analysis by Sam Cosentino. The host of the show will be Rob Faulds. . . . The complete telecast schedule was released on Wednesday and is right here.
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Posted by Gregg Drinnan at 11:08 PM
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Thursday, May 8, 2014

Former WHL D retires; Tigers promote Kruger







G Daniel Spence (Calgary, 2004-09) has signed a one-year contract with Asplöven Haparanda (Sweden, Allsvenskan). This season, with Jokipojat Joensuu (Finland, Mestis), Spence was 2.28 and .922 in 38 games. . . .
Brandon F Jesse Gabrielle was drafted by Medveščak Zagreb (Croatia) in the fourth round, 156th overall, of Thursday’s KHL Junior Draft.
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1. If it really does get darkest just before the dawn, it may be a while before the sun rises over the Lethbridge Hurricanes. . . . In the latest chapter to the saga of the Hurricanes, Clear Sky Radio has announced that it won’t bid on the team’s broadcast rights when its contract expires May 31. . . . 94.1 CJOC has been home to Hurricanes’ broadcasts since 2007. . . . There is more on all of this on Pat Siedlecki’s blog right here. He had been the Hurricanes’ radio voice; now he has been named Clear Sky Radio’s corporate news director.

NHL2. An observer sits and watches goings-on in the NHL where Brad Treliving now is the general manager of the Calgary Flames and Ron Hextall is the GM with the Philadelphia Flyers, and where the Vancouver Canucks and Washington Capitals have vacancies for that position. Some organizations -- Vancouver, the Colorado Avalanche, Philadelphia and Toronto Maple Leafs, for starters -- have created a new layer of management by hiring a president to fill a slot on the organizational tree that is a step above the general manager. . . . An observer wonders why NHL teams don’t look into the WHL when looking to fill some of these vacancies. Who is more qualified to be the president or GM of an NHL franchise than someone who has run every aspect of a major junior franchise and been successful doing it, someone like Kelly McCrimmon of the Brandon Wheat Kings, Tim Speltz of the Spokane Chiefs or Bob Tory of the Tri-City Americans, just to name three?
The Canucks put former captain Trevor Linden into the president’s office, even though he had never worked in an NHL team’s front office and had been away from the game for six years. If you are going to give the keys to the Bentley to someone like that, it says here that you could do a lot worse than turn to someone like McCrimmon, who has all the hockey qualifications and an MBA.

3. D Dean Arsene has chosen to retire, ending his 13-season professional career. Arsene played this season with the AHL’s Abbotsford Heat. Troy Ward, the Heat’s head coach, said: “Whether you want to say he was a crusher or a rusher, he wasn't either one. He made it just on hard work, and just being a really good man. That was the part that was most encouraging – you can still do something you really love just by being a really good human being. That's pretty cool." . . . Arsene (Regina, Edmonton, Kootenay, 1996-2001) always carried himself like a professional, even in the early days of his WHL career with the Pats. . . . Dan Kinvig has more on Arsene right here.

4. It’s doubtful that there is a better analyst on TV today than Hubie Brown, who does NBA telecasts for ABC/ESPN.

5. At 14 years of age, James Priestner was seen as perhaps the best goaltender in Canada in his age group. He played in the WHL (Kamloops, Brandon, Prince George, 2006-11) but the hockey career didn’t work out. Now he’s into music as the lead vocalist with a group called The Lunas. . . . Check it out right here.

6. Who is having a better playoff season, F Lars Eller of the Montreal Canadiens or his brother, Mads, with the Edmonton Oil Kings? Perhaps one day the story will be told about how Mads came this close () to being the property of the WHL’s Victoria Royals.

7. F Matt Fraser (Red Deer, Kootenay, 2006-11), playing in his first NHL playoff game, scores in OT and the Boston Bruins beat the host Montreal Canadiens, 1-0. It is moments like that prove live sporting events are the best of reality TV. . . . As Thomas Boswell of the Washington Post tweeted: “Ha Ha Clinton-Dix gets drafted before Johnny Football. And you say you don't love sports?”

8. A tweet from WHL Facts (@WHLFacts): “17 - The number of goals Matt Fraser scored during the 2011 Playoffs... Including the Game Winner in the WHL Championship clinching Game 5.”
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The Saskatoon Blades have acquired G Trevor Martin, 18, from the Spokane Chiefs for a conditional seventh-round pick in the 2015 bantam draft. Martin, a ninth-round pick by Spokane in 2011, played this season for the midget AAA Leduc Oil Kings, going 9-4-1, 2.41, .925. . . . Earlier, the Blades dealt G Alex Moodie, 19, to the Chiefs for a fourth-round pick in the 2016 bantam draft.
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F Leon Draisaitl of the Prince Albert Raiders will play for his native Germany in the IIHF World championship tournament that opens today in Minsk, Belarus. Draisaitl, from Cologne, had 105 points, including 38 goals, with the Raiders this season. He is expected to be on of the first players selected in the NHL’s 2014 draft. . . . Playing for Germany will be quite a thrill for Draisaitl because his father, Peter, played 49 games for Germany over seven World championships. . . . Germany opens against Kazakhstan on Saturday. Also in that group are Belarus, Finland, Latvia, Switzerland and the U.S.
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THE OHL FINAL:
Friday: North Bay Battalion at Guelph Storm. Guelph leads 3-1.
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THE QMJHL FINAL:
Friday: Val-d’Or Foreurs at Baie-Comeau Drakkar. Series tied 2-2.
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THE COACHING GAME:
The Medicine Hat Tigers have promoted assistant coach Darren Kruger to senior director, player development. According to a news release from the Tigers, Kruger “will be responsible for advance scouting WHL teams along with overseeing the development of Tigers’ prospects playing at various levels in western Canada and the northwest United States.” . . . The position has been vacant for about two years, or since Rick Carriere left to join the Edmonton Oilers organization. . . . Kruger, a puck-moving defenceman in his playing days (Swift Current, 1986-89), has been with the Tigers for nine years.
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Two WHL coaches will be involved with Canadian teams at the U-17 World Hockey Challenge that is scheduled for Oct. 31 to Nov. 8 at a site that has yet to be determined. Hockey Canada will have three teams in the tournament (Black, Red and White), rather than the five regional teams as in past seasons. . . . Dan Lambert, an assistant coach with the Kelowna Rockets, will be one of the head coaches, while Josh Dixon, an assistant coach with the Regina Pats, will be an assistant coach with one of the Canadian teams.
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AHLThe NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets have picked up the option year on the contract of Brad Larsen, the head coach of their AHL affiliate, the Springfield Falcons. . . . Larsen (Swift Current, 1993-97) has been the head coach in Springfield for two seasons, after spending two seasons as an assistant coach. . . . Assistant coaches Nolan Pratt (Portland, 1991-95) and Jared Bednar (Saskatoon, Spokane, Medicine Hat, Prince Albert, 1990-93) also will be back with the Falcons.
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The Calgary-based Mount Royal Cougars have named Bert Gilling as their new head coach. Gilling, a native of Alexander, Man., has been an assistant coach with the Bemidji State Beavers for 11 seasons. . . . Gilling takes over from Jean LaForest, who stepped down after six seasons as head coach, the first four in the ACAC and the last two in Canada West. . . . The Cougars also have announced that F Rob Trzonkowski (Calgary, Kamloops, Vancouver, 2010-14) has committed to their program. Trzonkowski, 20, is coming off two injury-ravaged WHL seasons. This season, he had four points, three of them goals, in 36 games with the Giants.
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BCHLTom Spencer, the B.C. Major Midget Hockey League’s coach of the year with the Valley West Hawks, is stepping up to the BCHL. Spencer has signed on as an assistant coach with the Surrey Eagles, where he will work alongside GM/head coach Peter Schaefer. Spencer spent three seasons as the Hawks’ head coach.
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AJHLGord Thibodeau, fired last month as GM/head coach of the AJHL’s Fort McMurray Oil Barons, has landed with that league’s Lloydminster Bobcats. . . . Thibodeau will be part of a coaching staff that is headed up by GM/head coach Garry VanHereweghe. . . . Thibodeau was the head coach in Lloydminster for three seasons (1997-2000) before he went to Fort McMurray. . . . Thibodeau signed a multi-year contract that is effective immediately.
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THE FOURTH ROUND (best-of-seven; all times local):
WHL final, for the Ed Chynoweth Cup
(x - if necessary)
(All games televised live by Shaw)
(All games televised on delayed basis by Root Sports)
PORTLAND (2, West) vs. Edmonton (1, East)
(Series tied, 2-2)
Season series: Portland, 0-0-1; Edmonton, 1-0-0.
Saturday: Edmonton 2 at Portland 5 (10,947)
Sunday: Edmonton 1 at Portland 3 (10,645)
Tuesday: Portland 2 at Edmonton 3 (6,799)
Wednesday: Portland 0 at Edmonton 2 (7,859)
Friday: Edmonton at Portland, 7 p.m. (Moda Center)
Sunday: Portland at Edmonton, 4 p.m.
x-Monday: Edmonton at Portland, 7 p.m. (Memorial Coliseum)
INJURIES
Portland: None.
Edmonton: None.
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THURSDAY’S GAME:
No game scheduled.
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From Paul Kingsmith (@paulkingsmith): “Pat Siedlecki (@radiopat258) will not return as @WHLHurricanes play-by-play voice. A crushing blow for Canes fans, Pat is a true pro.”
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One more from Kingsmith: “@radiopat258 & @FreddieJack643 raised the bar for local broadcast adding a full pregame & weekly show. Huge shoes for Hurricanes to fill.”
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From WHL Facts (@WHLFacts): “27 - Number of times the @pdxwinterhawks shut out opponents between Dec 18, 2011 & May 6, 2014. PORT scoring at least 1 goal in all 247 games.”
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From Thomas Hickey (@thomas_hickey14): “Could you imagine if guys did the cool handshake/hug combo with Bettman after they got drafted? #NFLDraft2014”


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Posted by Gregg Drinnan at 11:42 PM
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Friday, August 9, 2013

Wheat Kings sign three for the future

THE MacBETH REPORT:
G Daniel Spence (Calgary, 2004-09) signed a one-year contract with Jokipojat Joensuu (Finland, Mestis). He had a 2.93 GAA and a .915 save percentage in 26 games with Nipissing University (CIS) last season.
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If you’re a hockey fan, you surely have some ideas that you feel would help make the game better at the NHL and major junior levels. . . . Sean McIndoe, over at grantland.com, attacked that very assignment with a whole lot of vim and vigour. His piece is right here. . . . Hey, WHL, give this a read and pay attention. There are a few things in here that could help your game, too.
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The Brandon Wheat Kings have signed their first three selections in the WHL’s 2013 bantam draft – F Nolan Patrick, who was taken fourth overall, D Kale Clague, who went sixth, and F Tanner Kaspick, who was the 25th player selected. . . . Patrick, from Winnipeg, led that city’s bantam AAA league in scoring last season, with 75 points in 30 games with the Winnipeg Hawks. He is the son of former Wheat Kings F Steve Patrick. . . . Clague had 77 points in 33 games with the Lloydmister Heat of the Alberta bantam AAA league. His father, Jason, is a former WHL goaltender. . . . Kaspick, a Brandon native, had 38 points in 42 games with the midget AAA Wheat Kings.
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The Spokane Chiefs and Chris Moulton, their director of player personnel, have agreed on a three-year contract extension that runs through 2015-16. Moulton, who is from Fernie, B.C., had been with the Chiefs since June 2005. Prior to that, he had worked with the Calgary Hitmen.
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F Anthony Bardaro has decided to attend the U of British Columbia and play for head coach Milan Dragicevic with the Thunderbirds. Bardaro, who is from Delta, B.C., completed his WHL eligibility with the Prince Albert Raiders last season. A sixth-round pick of the Spokane Chiefs in the 2007 bantam draft, he had 190 career points in 268 games.
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F Jakob Stukel of the Vancouver Giants underwent knee surgery this week and may not play again this season. Stukel, who was injured during offseason training, was a second-round selection in the 2012 bantam draft. He had 43 points, including 30 goals, with the Valley West Hawks of the B.C. Major Midget League last season. He also had four points, two of them goals, in six games with the Giants.
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THE COACHING GAME:
Mark Ferner is back with the Kamloops Blazers. Ferner was named the club’s associate coach on Wednesday and will work alongside head coach Dave Hunchak. . . . Ferner previously coached the Blazers (2002-06), first as an assistant and then as head coach. He also played for the Jr. Oilers/Blazers (1982-85). . . . He followed up his Kamloops coaching stint with four seasons with the BCHL’s Vernon Vipers, winning three straight BCHL titles and a pair of national championships. . . . Ferner signed on as head coach of the WHL’s Everett Silvertips prior to 2011-12 but was dismissed during last season. . . .
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From Bruce Luebke (@wheatkingsvoice): “BTW, GM/Coach Kelly McCrimmon says @bdnwheatkings Director of Player Personnel position remains vacant, but could be filled shortly.”

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Posted by Gregg Drinnan at 12:34 AM
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