Giants introduce head coach . . . Ice fills out hockey staff . . . Pats bring back familiar face

D Mike Wilson (Prince Albert, Swift Current, 2003-08) signed one-year contract with the Belfast Giants (Northern Ireland, UK Elite). Last season, with the Wichita Thunder (ECHL), he had 13 goals and 37 assists in 72 games.
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The Vancouver Giants introduced Lorne Molleken as their newest head coach on Tuesday morning. Molleken, the fourth-winningest coach in WHL regular-season history, replaces Claude Noel, who replaced Troy Ward 25 games into last season. . . . Molleken, 59, last coached in 2012-13 with the Saskatoon Blades. He was the Blades’ general manager the following season, then was bought out when Edmonton-based auto dealer Mike Priestner bought the franchise. . . . Cam Tucker of Metro Vancouver has more right here.
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The Kootenay Ice have finished filling out the hockey operations side of their organization. Last month, general manager Jeff Chynoweth announced the hiring of Luke Pierce as head coach, replacing Ryan McGill, whose contract wasn’t renewed. . . . On Tuesday, Chynoweth announced the hiring of Gordon Burnett as assistant coach. As well, Garnet Kazuik, the director of scouting, has been re-signed, while Darcy Ewanchuk is returning to the Ice as trainer/equipment manager. . . . Burnett, Kazuik and Ewanchuk each signed a three-year contract. . . . Burnett, 34, is from Regina. Last season, he worked as an assistant coach at the U of Notre Dame. In 2013-14, he was with the Central league’s Arizona Sundogs. . . . Kazuik has been with the Ice since 2005. He has been the director of scouting since 2007. . . . Ewanchuk takes over from Cory Cameron, who stays with the team as an athletic consultant. Ewanchuk was with the Ice when the franchise was in Edmonton, working as assistant athletic trainer (1996-98) and was the Ice’s training in Cranbrook from 1999-2007. He also has worked with the Edmonton Oil Kings and Tri-City Americans.
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Graham Tuer is back with the Regina Pats. He will scout for the team and also serve as a liaison with Hockey Regina, which oversees minor hockey in the city. . . . Tuer, who had been scouting with the Kelowna Rockets, has been associated with hockey in Regina for more than 50 years. . . . An annual bantam AA tournament in Regina was named after him in 2007. . . . Tuer worked as the Pats’ assistant GM and director of player personnel in the early 1990s. . . . He is a member of the Regina Sports Hall of Fame and has been on the Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League’s board of directors since 1983.
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Got a tip or some information you feel could be useful to me, send an email to greggdrinnan@gmail.com.
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THE IMPORT DRAFT:

2015 #CHL Import Draft concludes with 78 selections made from 14 different countries. RESULTS: http://t.co/upr6Lcxl3R pic.twitter.com/l9iEHVFl1j

— CanadianHockeyLeague (@CHLHockey) June 30, 2015

Some notes . . .
The Victoria Royals used their first-round selection on Russian F Vladimir Bobylev, 18, who played last season with the Vancouver Giants. He had three goals and six assists in 52 games. . . . Vancouver had selected him in the first round of the 2014 draft, but dropped him before Tuesday’s draft. . . .
The Red Deer Rebels took Czech F Michael Spacek in the first round. The Rebels rolled the dice because Spacek, 18, has one year left on a contract with HC Dynamo Pardubice of the Czech Extraliga. Spacek was selected by the Winnipeg Jets in the fourth round of the NHL draft on Saturday. . . . After the Rebels took Spacek, Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Sun tweeted: “At the draft, Michael Spacek expressed interest in playing in North America next season. Rebels are hosting the 2016 Memorial Cup.” . . . 
The Kootenay Ice took Slovakian D Mario Grman, 18, in the second round. He played last season with the Red Deer Rebels, earning three assists in 35 games. . . .
The Saskatoon Blades were the first WHL team to pick and they took Czech D Libor Hajek with the second overall selection. . . . Scott Larson of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix has more right here. . . .
With the last selection of the first round, the Brandon Wheat Kings took Swedish D Oliver Kylington. The Calgary Flames selected Kylington in the second round of the NHL draft on Saturday. . . . Kylington is signed for the next two seasons with AIK, which plays in Sweden’s Allsvenskan, the country’s No. 2 pro league. . . .
The Vancouver Giants held the eighth overall pick and took Slovakian F Radovan Bondra, 18. He is said to be 6-foot-5 and 220 pounds. He was a fifth-round pick by the Chicago Blackhawks in the NHL draft on Saturday. . . .
The Regina Pats selected Russian D Nikolai Knyzhov, 17, with their first-round pick. He has played the last two seasons in Phoenix. Last season, he had a goal and three assists with the U-16 Phoenix Jr. Coyotes. . . .
With their first-round pick, the Seattle Thunderbirds took Swedish F Gustav Olhaver. On Saturday, he was taken by the Colorado Avalanche in the seventh round of the NHL draft. . . . He is said to be 6-foot-6 and 213 pounds. . . .
There is a complete list of WHL team selections right here.
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Darcy Pindus is retiring after 18 seasons with the SJHL’s Weyburn Red Wings. Pindus, a defence man in his playing days, first joined the Red Wings in 1980. He played parts of three seasons with Weyburn, while having stints in the WHL with the Regina Pats, Lethbridge Hurricanes and Medicine Hat Tigers. He also played five seasons with the U of Regina Cougars. In 1997, he began helping then-head coach Dwight MacMillan with the Red Wings. . . . From a Red Wings’ news release: “During his 18-year tenure, Pindus helped the Red Wings to two league titles, two Anavet Cups, and what he calls his most cherished memory with the Wings, winning the 2005 RBC Cup on home ice.”
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The SJHL’s Estevan Bruins have signed GM/head coach Chris Lewgood to a four-year extension that runs through 2019-20. Lewgood, who had one season left on his original three-year contract, is preparing for his third season with the Bruins. . . . Estevan is 49-47-1-15 under Lewgood.
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Fabian Joseph has signed on as head coach and assistant GM of the Woodstock, N.B., Slammers of the junior A Maritime Hockey League. Joseph (Victoria Cougars, 11982-84) had been on the coaching staff of the QMJHL’s Moncton Wildcats since 2007. . . . He is a native of Sydney, N.S.
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Anthony Noreen is the new head coach of the ECHL’s Orlando Solar Bears. He was the USHL’s coach of the year after his Youngstown Phantoms went 40-14-6 last season. . . . Noreen, who is from Chicago, was the Phantoms’ general manager and head coach for four seasons.
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One of the best speakers we’ve ever had @penguins HC Mike Johnston is back as a presenter for the #TSCC2015 http://t.co/jdeL47BNR8

— The Coaches Site (@TheCoachesSite) July 1, 2015

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The NHL’s Edmonton Oilers invited eight free agents from the WHL to their development camp that opens today. Headed to Edmonton are G Jordan Papirny, 19, of the Brandon Wheat Kings, D Kevin Davis, 18, of the Everett Silvertips, F Connor Rankin of the Calgary Hitmen, F Jakob Stukel, 18, of the Vancouver Giants, F Cole Sanford, 20, of the Medicine Hat Tigers, F Braden Christoffer of the Regina Pats, F Tyler Soy, 18, of the Victoria Royals and F Tyler Robertson, 19, of the Edmonton Oil Kings. . . . Rankin and Christoffer played out their junior eligibility last season. . . . F Trevor Cox, 20, of the Medicine Hat Tigers will skate with the Washington Capitals.
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http://t.co/tleIjmGH7f is pleased to have @garoyals Assistant General Manager @victoriaroyals to present at #TSCC2015 pic.twitter.com/ONnxQPldoH

— The Coaches Site (@TheCoachesSite) June 30, 2015

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Last night, the Swift Current Broncos honoured the memories of four players
who died when the team's bus crashed on Dec. 30, 1986. Board signs in memory
of Scott Kruger, Trent Kresse, Chris Mantyka and Brent Ruff were unveiled, and
Medicine Hat Tigers associate coach Darren Kruger, Scott's brother, took part
in a ceremonial faceoff.
(Swift Current Broncos photo)

The latest issue of DubNation is available and you can get to it by clicking on the cover — that’s JC Lipon of the Kamloops Blazers — right over there on the right.
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The Lethbridge Hurricanes have lost D Albin Blomqvist, perhaps for the remainder of this season, with a concussion.
Blomqvist, who turns 20 on Jan. 8, has been placed on the 30-day injured list and is at home in Sweden. He went home to Osby for Christmas and will remain there while he hopefully is able to make a full recovery.
The 6-foot-3, 200-pound Blomqvist, the 12th selection in the CHL’s 2011 import draft, had six points and 117 penalty minutes in 69 games with Lethbridge over two seasons.
Blomqvist, whose 17-year-old brother Axel is a freshman forward with the Hurricanes, hasn’t played since Dec. 5.
Albin Blomqvist is one of more than 37 players to have suffered concussions to this point in the WHL season.
While the league and its teams go to great lengths to hide injury-related information, close scrutiny of the weekly injury reports combined with information compiled from numerous sources reveals that the WHL is likely to finish this season with players having suffered more than 80 concussions.
As the Christmas break began, at least 37 players had suffered concussions, and that doesn’t include players like F Brayden Cuthbert, D Shane Pilling and F Shae Howorko, who suffered concussions last season and have yet to play in the WHL this season. The list does include Kelowna Rockets F Spencer Main, Seattle Thunderbirds F Tyler Alos and Moose Jaw Warriors D Reid Jackson, all of whom have had their seasons or careers ended by concussions this season.
Players like Kootenay F Brock Montgomery and Regina Pats D Dryden Hunt, who have suffered two concussions this season, are counted once.
While the number I have come up with is 37, I would suggest it is more than that, simply because the league and teams aren’t forthcoming with this information and there no doubt is some concussion-related information that has been hidden better than others.
No matter, though. The point is that the WHL needs to do more than it is doing to get the concussion number down a lot lower than it is. Two seasons ago, WHL players incurred around 100 concussions. At that point, the WHL stopped identifying injuries, choosing instead to go to the silly system of reporting injuries as being of the upper- or lower-body variety.
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F Alex Forsberg, the first overall selection in the WHL’s 2010 bantam draft, chose not to return to the Prince George Cougars following the Christmas break and has asked for a trade. . . . Forsberg, 5-foot-11 and 185 pounds, is from Waldheim, Sask. He will turn 18 on Jan. 4. . . . He went home on Dec. 17 and didn’t return as the Cougars resumed play with a 5-1 loss to the Royals in Victoria last night. . . . Forsberg had 40 points, including 15 goals, in 51 games last season. This season, he has 19 points, nine of them goals, in 31 games. . . . His 19-year-old brother Jesse played three seasons with the Cougars and was the team captain when he asked for a trade last summer. He now is with the Seattle Thunderbirds, who gave up F Colin Jacobs, 19. Seattle also got two 2013 bantam draft picks (fifth- and seventh-rounders). . . .
Before the Christmas break, Cougars head coach Dean Clark, in speaking of Forsberg, told Sheri Lamb of the Prince George Citizen:
“Points aren’t just going to happen. With his skills he’s going to create something but it’s not just going to happen, you have to put the effort out there all the time. Mentally he has to get a little bit stronger.
“If he can understand he has to come back in some half-decent shape he’ll be fine.”
Instead, Forsberg chose not to come back at all.
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The Kamloops Blazers will be without D Ryan Rehill when they play host to the Vancouver Giants tonight. Rehill will be serving a one-game suspension. He was hit with a checking-from-behind major and game misconduct in a 7-3 loss to the Rockets in Kelowna on Thursday night. The penalty later was changed to a boarding major and he has been handed a one-game suspension.
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Darcy Pindus will work as the head coach of the SJHL’s Weyburn Red Wings, at least through the end of this season. Pindus, an assistant coach, takes over from the legendary Dwight McMillan, who decided to step aside over the Christmas break after almost 40 years behind the bench. McMillan, 69, had decided this would be his final season, but he has decided to retire just a bit earlier than that. Other than two seasons in the late 1980s, McMillan had been the Red Wings’ coach since 1972. . . . Scott Sabados, the team president, has told Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post that the position will be re-evaluated after this season. . . . “What (McMillan) has done for the organization can't be measured," Sabados told Harder. "Through some of the times the team has been through, there may not be a Weyburn Red Wings had it not been for a man like Dwight McMillan. It's going to be hard (to see him go). Only time will tell whether it's a goodbye or just a moving forward.”
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G Mitch Gillam of the BCHL’s Chilliwack Chiefs was credited with a goal on Friday night. . . . Gillam, 20, is from Peterborough, Ont., and has committed to Cornell starting next season. . . . He was credited with the game’s first goal, an empty-netter, at 8:36 of the first period. . . . The Chiefs went on to drop a 5-3 decision to the host Surrey Eagles.
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Ken Campbell, veteran columnist with The Hockey News, takes a look right here at how Donald Fehr has played the tune that NHL owners are dancing to during the lockout.
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FRIDAY’S GAMES:
F Anthony Bardaro had a goal and three assists to help the host Prince Albert Raiders to a 5-4 victory over the Saskatoon Blades. . . . Bardaro’s 11th goal broke a 4-4 tie at 15:04 of the third. . . . The teams play again tonight in Saskatoon. The East Division-leading Raiders go in with a 10-point edge on the Blades. . . . Saskatoon F Brett Stovin returned from a six-game absence. He had been out with an undisclosed injury. . . .

In Swift Current, the Broncos overcame a 4-1 deficit and beat the Medicine Hat Tigers, 6-4. . . . Broncos F Adam Lowry scored his 24th goal as he ran his goal streak to eight games, the longest in the WHL this season. . . . Lowry also had three assists. . . . F Coda Gordon helped out with two goals and three assists. . . . F Colby Cave, the third member of the line, had two goals and an assist. . . . Prior to the game, a ceremonial faceoff was held to remember the four Broncos – Trent Kresse, Scott Kruger, Chris Mantyka and Brent Ruff – who were killed when the team bus crashed on its way to Regina on Dec. 30, 1986. Darren Kruger, Scott’s brother, dropped the puck in the ceremonial faceoff. Darren, the Tigers’ associate coach and Scott‘s brother, played for the 1988-89 Broncos, who won the Memorial Cup. . . . The teams play tonight in Medicine Hat. . . .

In Brandon, D Travis Brown’s eighth goal of the season broke a 3-3 tie and gave the Moose Jaw Warriors a 4-3 victory over the Wheat Kings. . . . F Tanner Eberle had a goal and two assists for Moose Jaw, giving him seven points over his last four games. . . . The Wheat Kings had F Michael Ferland, 20, back in their lineup after the Brandon native was reassigned earlier in the day by the NHL’s Calgary Flames. Ferland was a fifth-round pick by the Flames in the 2010 NHL draft. He had 96 points, including 47 goals, with the Wheaties last season. . . . The Wheat Kings now have four 20-year-olds on their roster, with Ferland joining F Nick Bounassisi, D Ryley Miller and D Tyler Yaworski. Brandon has 14 days to get down to the maximum of three. . . . Miller was a healthy scratch last night. . . .

F Todd Fiddler’s unassisted goal at 18:18 of the second period stood up as the Spokane Chiefs beat the Kootenay Ice 1-0 in Cranbrook. . . . G Eric Williams stopped 29 shots for his second shutout this season and the fourth of his career. . . . The Ice had three injured players back in the lineup. F Brock Montgomery had missed six games, while D Joey Leach sat out eight and D Tanner Muth missed seven. . . . They’ll play a rematch tonight in Spokane. . . .

F T.J. Foster had a goal and two assists to lead the Edmonton Oil Kings to a 6-1 victory over the host Red Deer Rebels. . . . Foster, who has 18 goals, also was stymied on a penalty shot late in the third period. . . . The game was officiated by the four C’s – referees Chris Crich and Colin Stefanyk, and linesmen Cody Huseby and Cory Lundquist. . . . Edmonton F Michael St. Croix scored his 14th PP goal of the season, and that’s five more than any other WHLer has this season. . . . The Rebels had won 5-3 in Edmonton on Thursday night. . . . Red Deer is without D Brady Gaudet, who had his right arm in a cast after being injured in Edmonton on Thursday. . . .

G Ty Rimmer stopped 36 shots to lead the Lethbridge Hurricanes to a 2-1 victory over the Hitmen in Calgary. . . . F Sam Mckechnie’s 17th goal of the season, at 13:31 of the second, gave Lethbridge a 2-0 lead and stood up as the winner. . . . The Hurricanes had D Adam Henry, 18, in the lineup for the first time this season. He was diagnosed with a heart condition (myocarditis) over the summer and hadn’t been cleared to play. He had 21 points in 60 games as a freshman last season. . . . The teams will clash again tonight in Lethbridge. . . .

G Brendan Burke stopped a career-high 43 shots to help the Portland Winterhawks to a 4-3 victory over the host Tri-City Americans. . . . The Winterhawks have won seven in a row and are atop the WHL’s overall standings, seven points ahead of the idle Kamloops Blazers. . . . F Taylor Leier and F Oliver Bjorkstand each scored his 15th goal for Portland. . . . Portland F Brendan Leipsic came up empty on a first-period penalty shot. . . . F Justin Feser scored twice for Tri-City. He has passed F Brendan Shinnimin and tied F Brian Sakic for fifth on the Americans’ all-time goals list, with 132. Feser also tied Kruise Reddick for seventh on the team’s games-played list, at 315. . . . The Americans, who have lost four straight at home, continue to be without F Marcus Messier (undisclosed injury) and F Phil Tot (undisclosed). . . . Among Portland’s scratches was D Derrick Pouliot (undisclosed). . . . The Americans and Winterhawks will play today, 3 p.m., in Portland. . . .

In Victoria, F Ben Walker had two goals and an assist as the Royals skated to a 5-1 victory over the Prince George Cougars. . . . They’ll play in Victoria again tonight. . . . Walker has 12 goals. . . . Victoria F Taylor Crunk broke a 1-1 tie at 18:58 of the first with his second goal of the season. . . . Victoria F Jamie Crooks had a goal and two assists, and F Brandon Magee had three helpers. . . .

In Vancouver, the Kelowna scored two third-period goals and beat the Giants, 5-3. . . . The Rockets now are within two points of the B.C. Division-leading Kamloops Blazers, who are at home to the Giants tonight. . . . Kelowna G Jackson Whistle, who started the season with the Giants, stopped 24 shots. . . . F Dylen McKinlay scored twice for Kelowna, giving him 12. His second one, the game’s last goal, was shorthanded. . . . D Colten Martin had a goal and two assists for the Rockets. . . . Vancouver F Cain Franson was unsuccessful on a second-period penalty shot but made amends when he scored with 4.8 seconds left in the frame to forge a 3-3 tie. . . . The Giants scored three goals in the second period when they enjoyed a 17-3 edge in shots. . . . The Rockets beat the visiting Kamloops Blazers 7-3 on Thursday but had just eight shots on goal through two periods last night. Ahh, the vagaries of junior hockey. . . . The Giants, losers of six of seven, had G Alex Ahnert, 19, on the bench in support of starter Tyler Fuhr. Ahnert plays for the junior B Delta Ice Hawks. . . . The Giants are short a goaltender with No. 1 Payton Lee with Team Pacific at the U17 World Hockey Challenge and Liam Liston having retired earlier in the week. . . . Again among the Rockets’ scratches were G Jordon Cooke (foot) and F Colton Sissons (concussion). . . . With Cooke out, Jake Morrissey, a fifth-round pick in the 2012 bantam draft, backed up Whistle. . . . Sissons and Cooke both could return Sunday against visiting Everett.

In Kent, Wash., the Everett Silvertips got 38 saves from G Austin Lotz and beat the Seattle Thunderbirds (of Kent), 2-1. . . . It was Everett’s first victory in five games with Seattle this season. . . . Everett erased a 1-0 deficit on goals by F Carson Stadnyk, at 4:56 of the second, and F Kohl Bauml, at 10:53 of the third. . . . F Ryan Harrison had two assists for Everett. . . . The Thunderbirds have lost six in a row. . . . The teams play again tonight in Everett.
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CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
F Jesse Mychan, Tri-City

CHECKING-TO-THE-HEAD COUNT:
D Tyler Yaworski, Brandon
D Nick Walters, Everett


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