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

June 6, 1944- We will never forget the bravery and sacrifice of those Canadians who landed on #JunoBeach #DDay #WWII pic.twitter.com/uMQaTGlFSS

— Brandon Wheat Kings (@bdnwheatkings) June 6, 2017

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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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I'm bringing new @WHLKootenayICE Head Coach James Patrick with me to Cranbrook on Thursday. I'm excited for you all to meet him! #icecountry

— Greg Fettes (@greg_fettes) June 6, 2017

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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Congratulations Coach Dan Lambert and welcome to Spokane! The future looks great for this upcoming season! @spokanechiefs pic.twitter.com/R9igQYt2xC

— Brian Schaeffer (@SpokaneFire) June 6, 2017

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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The 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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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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Another crazy Game 6 Stanley Cup Final sale in Nashville.

Someone just paid $31,845 (including fees) on StubHub for 4 seats on glass.

— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) June 7, 2017

There has never been a subscription fee for this blog, but if you enjoy stopping by here, why not consider donating to the cause? Just click HERE. . . and thank you very much.

Memorial Cup semifinal set . . . Remparts coach pays price for rant . . . Pats shuffle their deck

D Shaun Heshka (Everett, 2003-06) signed a one-year contract with MODO Örnsköldsvik (Sweden, SHL). This season, with Ak Bars Kazan (Russia, KHL), he had one goal and five assists in 22 games. He was traded to Admiral Vladivostok (Russia, KHL) on Oct. 31, and had 13 points, including two goals, in 35 games there. . . .

F Malte Strömwall (Tri-City, 2011-13) signed a one-year contract with AIK Stockholm (Sweden, Allsvenskan). This season, with Växjö (Sweden, SHL), he had two goals in 21 games. He also had one goal and one assist in 21 games with Lulea (Sweden, SHL). On loan to Asplöven Haparanda (Sweden, Allsvenskan), he had one goal in four games, and he had three goals in 12 games with HV71 Jönköping (Sweden, SHL). . . .

Darrell Hay (Tri-City, 1996-2000) has signed a one-year contract as a full-time assistant coach with the Sheffield Steelers (England, UK Elite). This season, with Sheffield, the defenceman had six goals and 19 assists in 65 games. . . . Hay, the son of Kamloops Blazers head coach Don Hay, remains registered as an active player for Sheffield for next season.
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It’ll be the WHL-champion Kelowna Rockets and the host Quebec Remparts in the Memorial Cup semifinal tonight in Quebec City. . . . The winner will meet the OHL-champion Oshawa Generals in Sunday’s final. . . . The Remparts advanced with a 5-2 victory over the QMJHL-champion Rimouski Oceanic before only 6,533 fans on Thursday night. . . . Attendance through seven games is 59,669, an average of 8,524. . . . I seem to recall attendance, or the perceived lack of same, being something of a story when the tournament was held in Saskatoon in 2013. That tournament featured nine games and drew 82,503 fans, an average of 9,167. . . . There should be more than 10,000 fans in Quebec City tonight. . . . This was the 17th time these two teams have met this season; the Oceanic finished with a 10-5-2 edge. Rimouski also went into

the tiebreaker having won its last six games against the Remparts at the Pepsi Colisée. . . . The Oceanic had posted a 4-0 victory over the Remparts in a round-robin game on Wednesday. After that game, Quebec head coach Philippe Boucher ripped the officiating — both referees were from the QMJHL. On Thursday, Boucher was fined $10,000. . . . The Kelowna Rockets were fined $500 after someone from their organization was critical of the officiating following a 4-3 tournament-opening loss to the Remparts. . . . Presumably, the difference is that Boucher performed his surgery in public, while the Kelowna official did it in private to CHL officials. . . . Adam Proteau of The Hockey News has more on Boucher and his rant right here. . . . After last night’s game, Boucher told reporters: “"I told my daughter there's no vacation this summer.” . . . Last night’s referees were Brett Iverson of the WHL and the OHL’s Mike Cairns. . . . Quebec F Jerome Verrier scored twice, his first goals in 15 games, while F Anthony Duclair and F Marc-Olivier Roy scored their first goals in nine games. . . . Verrier and Duclair had both left Wednesday’s game with injuries. . . . F Jeremy Lepine pulled Rimouski into a 2-2 tie at 16:07 of the second period. . . . However, Quebec F Adam Erne scored 47 seconds later and Verrier made it 4-2 at 19:19. . . . Roy iced it with his goal at 11:31 of the third. . . . Quebec G Zach Fucale, who didn’t finished one night earlier, stopped 30 shots, four more than Rimouski’s Philippe Desrosiers. . . . The Remparts were 1-for-4 on the PP; the Oceanic was 1-for-3. . . . This is the final hockey event to be held in the Pepsi Colisée, and you can bet the Remparts are using that for motivation.

(1.) Rimouski & Quebec playing each other for 17th time this season. Announcer says "Unheard of!". How cute....

— Thom Beuning (@ThomBeuning) May 29, 2015

(2.). @SeattleTbirds and @pdxwinterhawks played each other 18 times this season. Have played 19 times in a season in the past.

— Thom Beuning (@ThomBeuning) May 29, 2015

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Here is the Memorial Cup schedule (all games on Sportsnet; all times Eastern):
Friday, May 22: Kelowna 3 vs. Quebec 4 (9,497)
Saturday, May 23: Rimouski 3 vs. Oshawa 4 (8,409)
Sunday, May 24: Quebec 4 vs. Oshawa 5 (OT) (10,970)
Monday, May 25: Rimouski 3 vs. Kelowna 7 (6,981)
Tuesday, May 26: Oshawa 2 vs. Kelowna 1 (7,002)
Wednesday, May 27: Quebec 0 vs. Rimouski 4 (10,277)
Thursday, May 28 (tiebreaker): Quebec 5 vs. Rimouski 2 (6,533)
Friday (semifinal): Kelowna vs. Quebec, 7:30 p.m.
Sunday (championship): Oshawa vs. Kelowna/Quebec winner, 7 p.m.
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The Regina Pats did a bit of shuffling in their front office on Thursday. . . . John Paddock now is the senior vice-president of hockey operations, general manager and head coach, while assistant coach Dave Struch has added assistant GM to his duties. . . . Gord Pritchard, the director of corporate affairs, now is the assistant to the general manager. . . . The Pats also have extended the contracts of goaltender coach Rob Muntain, athletic therapist Greg Mayer and equipment manager Gord Cochran. . . . As well, they announced that assistant coach Darrin McKechnie won’t be returning. According to a news release, McKechnie, “an Inspector with the Regina Police Service (RPS), recently received a promotion.” . . . The Pats now are looking to add an assistant coach to their staff.
Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post reports that Struch’s promotion is all part of the Pats’ succession plan.
From Harder’s story:
“There’s no question that we think Dave is our next head coach,” offered Pats president Todd Lumbard. “John has indicated that potentially his coaching days may be coming to an end, not right away, but at some point (in the not-too-distant future). Dave is the logical successor. If the timing can work out, that would be our plan for sure. John would move fully into the GM’s role and Dave would become our head coach. It’s not written in stone but that’s something we have talked about.”
Harder added: “The tentative plan is for the 60-year-old Paddock to remain behind the bench for the duration of his four-year contract, which he signed last summer to become the team’s head coach and senior vice-president of hockey operations. He absorbed the general manager’s title on Thursday as part of a minor shuffling of the hockey operations department, highlighted by Struch accepting a larger role.”
Harder also reported: “Although Struch was already under contract for the next three seasons, the Pats felt compelled to make a pre-emptive strike in order to keep him. He was regarded as a potential candidate for WHL head-coaching vacancies with the Lethbridge Hurricanes, Kootenay Ice and Vancouver Giants.
All three clubs are believed to have asked the Pats for permission to speak to him. According to sources, he was a leading candidate for the job in Lethbridge before pulling himself out of the running to stay in Regina.”
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Bruce Vance worked his last day with the Prince Albert Raiders on Thursday. He spent seven years with
the Lethbridge Hurricanes and 14 with the Raiders. He now is moving on to work for the City of Prince Albert.
In honour of his leaving the Raiders, we have this note from Liane Sadlemyer Vance:

BRUCE VANCE

I am posting this for Carrie Georgeson, Eryn Georgeson-Tait, Kim Pagé who have expressed sadness on this day that Bruce Vance is leaving the Prince Albert Raiders. I have known Bruce for almost 30 years and his nicknames and sayings get in your head and won't go away (just ask his children)!! So here are the top 10 Bruce Vance(isms) for you ladies to give you a laugh. And remember when you catch yourself saying them over and over again, you have Bruce to thank (please note these are Bruce Vance Raider(isms), he makes up new sets depending on his environment.
10. ARGOOOOOOOSSSS!!!! (This would be yelled at random times, not necessarily when the Argos are playing)
9. Corksoaker!
8. 4,5, 6!!
7. Meow (this is more of a sound as opposed to a saying)
6. Smile and nod...
5. It's a great day for hockey
4. NUGGET what are you doing????
3. NOTHING!!!
2. Let's do this, it's our time
1. Win or lose..........
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THE COACHING GAME:

Geoff Grimwood, who had been working with the Victoria Royals, is the new general manager and head coach of the SJHL’s Kindersley Klippers. . . . Grimwood spent the past three seasons as an assistant coach with the Royals. He also oversaw the major midget South Island Royals for parts of three seasons. . . . Before that, he was an assistant coach with the BCHL’s Powell River Kings for two seasons. . . . He replaces Rockie Zinger, whose contract wasn’t renewed.
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If your organization is making a change or has vacancies that you are trying to fill, email Taking Note at gregg@takingnote.ca, and I’ll let the hockey crowd that follows this blog know all about it.
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In the AHL, the visiting Utica Comets scored a 4-1 victory over the Grand Rapids Griffins last night, to take a 2-1 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinal. F Sven Baertschi scored Utica’s first three goals. . . . Baertschi, who was acquired by the parent Vancouver Canucks from the Calgary Flames during the season, scored three second-period goals in a span of 8:36. . . . Utica F Jake Virtanen, who played this season with the Calgary Hitmen, drew an assist on Baertschi’s third goal. That was Virtanen’s first professional point. . . . Attendance was 5,122. . . . The Comets and Griffins will play again tonight and Sunday in Grand Rapids. . . .
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F Radel Fazleev of the Calgary Hitmen has signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the NHL’s Philadelphia Flyers. Fazleev, 19, was selected by the Flyers in the sixth round of the NHL’s 2014 draft. . . . A native of Kazan, Russia, he had 51 points, including 18 goals, in 71 games this season, his second with the Hitmen. . . .
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The Brandon Wheat Kings revealed earlier in the week that they have sold more than 1,200 season-tickets with two weeks left before their early bird deadline. A year ago, with two weeks to the deadline, the Wheat Kings said they had sold 1,100 season-tickets. A year ago, when the deadline arrived in June, that total was at 1,600. . . . The Wheat Kings, who lost in the WHL’s championship final earlier this month, are expected to contend again next season.
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“Rowan Stringer’s fatal head injury on a high school rugby field could have been prevented if those around her had some basic knowledge of concussion management, an internationally renowned concussion expert told an inquest Thursday into the teenager’s death,” writes Chris Cobb of the Ottawa Citizen. “Despite the proliferation of publicly available information about concussions and concussion management, Toronto neurologist Charles Tator said, it is a major concern that none of it appears to have reached Rowan, her peers, coaches or teachers.” . . . Stringer, 17, died in May 2013, four days after being injured. . . . The inquest in Ottawa has been ongoing and the jury is expected to bring back recommendations next week. . . . Cobb’s story is right here.
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These are interesting days with the NBA’s Golden State Warriors, with Klay Thompson appearing to have suffered a concussion on Wednesday night, just a couple of nights after Steph Curry, the league’s MVP, took a hard fall and landed on his head. . . . Jesus Gomez of sbnation.com has more right here.
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And so it begins. #newboards #whlcanes #yql pic.twitter.com/t1zp2C9DzJ

— LethbridgeHurricanes (@WHLHurricanes) May 28, 2015

There has never been a subscription fee for this blog, but if you enjoy stopping by here, why not consider donating to the cause? Just click HERE. . . and thank you very much.

Pats appear to have their man

F James Henry (Vancouver, Moose Jaw, 2006-12) has signed a tryout contract with Dresdner Eislöwen (Germany, DEL2). Last season, with the Stockton Thunder (ECHL), he had 36 points, 14 of them goals, in 66 games. . . .
F Martin Podlešák (Tri-City, Lethbridge, 2000-02) has signed a one-year contract with the Nottingham Panthers (England, UK Elite). Last season, Podlešák, with Hradec Králové (Czech Republic, Extraliga), had seven points, three of them goals, in 23 games. He also had one goal in 23 games with Litoměřice (Czech Republic, 1. Liga). . . .
D Darrell Hay (Tri-City, 1996-2000) has signed a one-year contract with the Sheffield Steelers (England, UK Elite). Last season, with the Tohoku Free Blades Hachinohe (Japan, Asia HL), he had 30 points, including 11 goals, in 42 games. He led the league’s defencemen in goals.
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The Sunday edition of the Vancouver Province included a question-and-answer piece featuring sports columnist Ed Willes and Trevor Linden, the president of the Vancouver Canucks.
The most interesting part of the interview comes at the end.
“You’ve had some interesting things to say about the role of fighting in the game,” Willes says. “Do you think things are changing there?”
Linden responds:
“Fighting is supposed to be there to protect our top players. I’m not sure it has that effect. I think that happened in the ’70s and ’80s, but I think that ended when the game progressed. I don’t speak for every fan, but I think there are a lot of fans out there who don’t understand the staged fight. Within the context of the game it isn’t relevant. Everyone loves playoff hockey and we saw incredible games in these playoffs. It was hard-hitting, fast and intense. And, generally speaking, fighting isn’t part of playoff hockey.
“Some of the best parts of our game are the hitting and clean body contact. The reaction now is to go after that guy. I don’t know what the answer is but we have to look at it. I’m open to having the conversation but I think we have to look at being progressive. I think (Tampa Bay Lightning GM) Steve Yzerman shares the same views. I know it’s not popular with some people.”
Hearing the president of an NHL club, a man who played the game at an extremely high level, talk like that makes me think that fighting in the NHL is one step closer to the precipice. In recent times, more and more NHL teams, like the Canucks and Tampa Bay, have inserted young men, all of them former players, into their front offices and have given them lots of authority.
To hear Linden talk like that makes me think that this conversation is an on-going exchange between the likes of Linden, Yzerman, Brendan Shanahan, Ron Hextall, Brad Treliving, Brad Pascall and other young guns who populate NHL team front offices these days.
If that’s the case, it can’t be good for fight fans.
The complete interview is right here.
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The Regina Pats have signed John Paddock as their new head coach. Paddock, 60, is believed to have gotten the job ahead of former Saskatoon Blades head coach Dave Struch. . . . Struch now may end up as the general manager and head coach of the Humboldt Broncos. Dean Brockman, their former GM/head coach, now is an assistant coach with the Blades. . . . Paddock, from Oak River, Man., has played in the WHL, with the Brandon Wheat Kings (1972-74), but has never coached junior hockey. He has a 589-438-98 record as an AHL head coach and has been a member of that league’s hall of fame since 2010. Paddock also has NHL coaching experience with the Winnipeg Jets (1991-95) and Ottawa Senators (2007-08). . . . For the past five seasons, Paddock has been in the Philadelphia Flyers’ organization, either as an assistant GM or assistant coach. The Flyers announced on June 18 that he wouldn’t be back with them. . . . With Regina, Paddock replaces Malcolm Cameron, who was fired by the Pats’ new owners on June 22. . . . The Pats, who are scheduled to open training camp on Aug. 21, are the only one of the WHL's 22 teams without a head coach at this point. When they get a coach signed, they will be the 10th WHL team to have done so this off-season.
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In reporting that the Pats and John Paddock are working out the final details of a contract, Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post also writes that “Paddock is expected to hold a dual role with management powers, including hockey operations control. It wasn't immediately clear what that means for the future of senior vice-president/GM Chad Lang, whose responsibilities would be altered under a new hierarchy -- if he elects to stay with the organization.”
Harder wasn’t able to reach Lang for comment. It’s never a positive sign when a hockey executive in Lang’s position can’t be reached for comment at a time like this. It’s worth noting that Lang has a year left on his contract.
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Perhaps it is only fitting that the Regina Pats have been searching for a head coach and two assistants as the legendary Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry prepares to celebrate its centennial. And who better to write about that centennial than the great Roy MacGregor of The Globe and Mail. His piece is right here and, yes, it's terrific.
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As mentioned here last week, Dale Hughesman, the father of former Tri-City Americans star F Adam Hughesman, died last week after a long battle with cancer. Dale was 51. A celebration of life is scheduled for Thursday, 1 p.m., at the North Kildonan Mennonite Brethren Churct as 131 Gateway Road in Winnipeg. A private internment with family will occur at a later date. There is an online guest book at www.glenedenmemorial.ca. The family has asked that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to CancerCare Manitoba or in Dale's name to River East Minor Hockey, 2Nations Female Hockey, Winnipeg Minor Hockey, or Hockey Manitoba. . . . The obituary that appears in today’s Winnipeg Free Press is right here.
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LeBron James isn’t the only NBAer who is coming home. Check this out right here. It’s another NBAer announcing that he’s coming home and, gee, the whole thing just might sound a little bit familiar, but a whole lot funnier.
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Swift current - where life makes sense and everyone has the munchies. Seen at front doors of city hall pic.twitter.com/GkUNxMY23X
— Darryl Russell (@DarrylRussell) August 4, 2014

There has never been a subscription fee for this blog, but if you enjoy stopping by here, why not consider donating to the cause? Just click HERE. . . and thank you very much.

Hay faced with real challenge in Kamloops

Don Hay is about to become a familiar figure in Kamloops again.
(Photo by Christopher Mast / www.mastimages.com)

THE MacBETH REPORT:


D Lukáš Pulpán (Vancouver, 2003-04) has signed a three-year contract with Plzeň (Czech Republic, Extraliga). This season with Chomutov (Czech Republic, Extraliga), he had 13 points, two of them goals, in 42 games. . . .



F Antonín Honejsek (Moose Jaw, 2009-11) has signed a one-year contract with the Espoo Blues (Finland, Liiga). This season with Zlin (Czech Republic, Extraliga), he had 24 points, 15 of them goals, in 45 games. . . .

F Alex Leavitt (Swift Current, Everett, 2003-05) has signed a one-year contract with the Ravensburg Towerstars (Germany, DEL2). Leavitt started this season with Oskarshamn (Sweden, Allsvenskan), earning three points, including a goal, in 10 games. He signed with Aalborg (Denmakr, Metal Ligaen) on Oct. 22 and went on record 61 points, including 22 goals, in 32 games. He led the Metal Ligaen in scoring and was named to the second all-star team.
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For those who were wondering, there wasn’t a parade in Kamloops on Friday.
With the announcement by the Vancouver Giants on Thursday that Don Hay was leaving their organization after 10 years to return to coaching the Kamloops Blazers, perhaps you expected something of a celebration, say a party topped off with cake and fireworks at Riverside Park.
After all, Hay, one of the legendary figures in Kamloops’ history, is on his way home. He is a member of the Kamloops Sports Hall of Fame and the B.C. Hockey Hall of Fame.
If you missed it, the Giants have let Hay out of the last year of his contract, allowing him to return to his hometown and try to restore the lustre to a franchise that won three Memorial Cup titles with him on the coaching staff. Hay was an assistant coach, under Tom Renney, in 1992 and the head coach in 1994 and 1995.
(Interestingly, the Giants made the announcement on Thursday, at 5 p.m. The Blazers didn’t issue a news release until Friday morning and have yet to hold a news conference to re-introduce him to a city where he, Ken Hitchcock or Bob Brown could be mayor should any one of them choose to run.
(Exactly how is Hay looked upon in these parts? My wife and I had coffee with an old friend last night. She hasn’t been to any more than a handful of Blazers games in recent years, but now is talking about buying a season ticket. Why? “Because,” she said, “it was so much fun back then.”)
These days, however, the Blazers aren’t even a shadow of the Memorial Cup teams.
After making a run to the Western Conference final a year ago, the Blazers have just suffered through the worst season in franchise history. They went 10-29-5 with Dave Hunchak as head coach, 0-1-0 with Mark Ferner running the bench, and finished up 4-23-0 with Guy Charron in charge. Add it up and the Blazers were 14-53-5.
What it means is that Hay has stepped into a job that is going to offer him the biggest challenge of his career.
The first time Hay stepped in as the Blazers’ head coach, after six seasons as an assistant, he took over a team that had gone 51-17-4 before winning the WHL championship and the Memorial Cup.
In 1998-99, he moved in as head coach of the Tri-City Americans, a team that was 17-49-6 (that’s six ties) the previous season, and they went 43-23-6. That team was swept from the Western Conference final by a Blazers team under head coach Marc Habscheid.
In 2004-05, Hay was back in the WHL as head coach of the Vancouver Giants, a team that was 33-24-9-6 (nine ties and six overtime losses) the previous season. His first season there was the franchise’s fourth and the Giants finished 34-30-4-4 before losing a first-round series in six games to the Kelowna Rockets.
Now, Hay takes over a team that scored 175 goals, the second-poorest total in the 22-team league. Sheesh, his two Memorial Cup-championship teams scored 381 and 375 goals. Yes, that was then and this is now, but that’s a 200-goal differential.
This season’s Blazers also gave up 305 goals and only two teams were poorer defensively.
Still, Hay proved in his first season with the Americans that, yes, miracles do happen on ice. Perhaps he can pull off another one in Kamloops.
At the end of the day, though, Blazers’ fans, especially those who continue to revel in those Memorial Cup victories of the mid-1990s, are going to have to realize that this isn’t about next season. It’s a cliché but this about Hay having to change the culture, to get this team playing Hay hockey, which means a team that is incredibly hard to play against, and then taking it from there.
That’s something that seemed to disappear in Vancouver about the time that gritty and pesky Brendan Gallagher graduated to the NHL’s Montreal Canadiens, and perhaps that wasn’t a coincidence.
Time will tell whether Hay, the winningest active coach in the WHL, still has that magic.
The great part of this story is that should this be the last stop of the 60-year-old Hay‘s coaching career, he will finish up among friends and family.
His mother, along with a brother and a sister, live in Kamloops, as do various relatives and in-laws. Hay and his wife, Vicki, have twin daughters -- Angela, who is married to former WHL goaltender Thomas Vicars, lives in Salmon Arm with their two daughters; Ashly lives in Kamloops with her fiancé. You bet that Grandpa is going to love being closer to his granddaughters.
Son Darrell, who played for his father in Tri-City, is 34 now and is a free agent, waiting to see whether there will another season in his career. After three seasons in Europe, he played this season in Japan, and will split the summer between Kamloops and Boise, Idaho.
Darrell is at the stage of his career where he is trying to look ahead. What about coaching?
“I would love to try it to see if I have the chops for it one day,” he told me yesterday.
Well, he played two seasons for his father with the Americans. Maybe the two could co-exist on the same coaching staff. It would be in their hometown and how neat would that be?
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1. Is it just me, or does it seem like a month has passed since the WHL’s conference finals came to an end? In other words, Game 1 of the final can’t come soon enough.

2. The OHL’s championship final is 1-1 after the visiting North Bay Battalion beat the Guelph Storm 4-3 in OT on Friday night. . . . F Barclay Goodrow won it at 2:30 of extra time with his 12th goal of these playoffs. . . . The Storm had won the opener, 3-2 in OT, on Thursday night. That one needed just 57 seconds of extra time. . . . Last night, the Storm held a 2-0 lead in the first period and was up 3-2 in the third. . . . F Robby Fabbri scored twice for the Storm. . . . The Battalion forced OT when F Nick Paul scored on the PP at 14:32 of the third period. . . . Game 3 is scheduled for Tuesday in North Bay.

3. In the QMJHL final, G Philippe Cadorette stopped 19 shots and F Charles Hudon had two goals as the host Baie-Comeau Drakkar beat the Val-d’Or Foreurs 3-0 on Friday night in Game 1 of the final. . . . F Jeremy Gregoire helped out with a goal and two assists. . . . Game 2 is scheduled for tonight in Baie-Comeau.

4. How do you feel if you are a long-time fan of the Houston Rockets? . . . A tweet from ESPN Stats and Info after last night’s game in Portland: “The last 2 buzzer-beaters to win playoff series both came vs Rockets -- Damian Lillard tonight & John Stockton in 1997. @EliasSports”

5. Dan Russell and his son, Ben, were in the crowd for last night’s NBA game in Portland. What a way for Russell to spend his first night after signing off on a 30-year career as host of Sportstalk, his Vancouver-based radio show. . . . Russell will be calling the play tonight as the Edmonton Oil Kings and host Portland Winterhawks open the WHL’s championship final for the Ed Chynoweth Cup on Shaw TV.

6. Here’s an interesting Friday tweet from an interesting guy, Kyle Beach (@KBeachy12): “Congrats to all the players selected in the @TheWHL #BantamDraft! In particular the ones joining the @WHLsilvertips and @chiefs hockey.” . . . Beach also played for the Lethbridge Hurricanes, but perhaps he didn’t enjoy himself there as much as he did in Spokane and Everett.
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The Spokane Chiefs have acquired G Alex Moodie from the Saskatoon Blades for a fourth-round selection in the 2016 bantam draft. Moodie was a fifth-round pick by the Blades in 2010. . . . Moodie, 19, is from Winnipeg. He got into 28 games with the Blades this season, going 7-18-2, 4.29, .894 on a team that didn’t come close to making the playoffs. . . . The Chiefs are looking to fill the vacancy created by the graduation of G Eric Williams. . . . "We feel Garret Hughson has earned the opportunity to be a starter in the WHL and if Alex Moodie can regain the form he showed as a young goaltender, we'll have two capable starting goaltenders,” Spokane GM Tim Speltz said in a news release. “We also expect Tyson Verhelst is ready to make the jump to the WHL, so we have good depth and competition for our goaltending position." . . . Verhelst, from Brandon, is prepping for his 17-year-old season. He was a third-round selection in the 2012 bantam draft. . . . Moodie’s best stint with the Blades came in 2011-12 when he joined them from his midget AAA team in Winnipeg in December and went 9-3-0, 3.42, .895.
Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix has more on this trade right here.
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THE COACHING GAME:
The AJHL’s Grande Prairie Storm fired general manager and head coach Matt Hughes on Friday. The moves come after the Storm went 21-36-3-1 in his first season as GM/head coach and missed the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. . . . Logan Clow of the Grande Prairie Daily Herald-Tribune has more right here.
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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 by Root Sports -- Game 2 live, others on delayed basis)
PORTLAND (2, West) vs. Edmonton (1, East)
Season series: Portland, 0-0-1; Edmonton, 1-0-0.
Saturday: Edmonton at Portland, 7 p.m. (Moda Center)
Sunday: Edmonton at Portland, 5 p.m. (Moda Center)
Tuesday: Portland at Edmonton, 7 p.m.
Wednesday: Portland at Edmonton, 7 p.m.
x-Friday: Edmonton at Portland, 7 p.m. (Moda Center)
x-Sunday, May 11: Portland at Edmonton, 4 p.m.
x-Monday, May 12: Edmonton at Portland, 7 p.m. (Moda Center)
INJURIES
Portland: None.
Edmonton: None.
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FRIDAY’S GAME:
No game scheduled.

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Nikolishin to report to Silvertips

THE MacBETH REPORT:
D Darrell Hay (Tri-City, 1996-2000) and F Ned Lukacevic (Spokane, Swift Current, 2001-06) each signed one-year contracts with Tohoku Free Blades Hachinohe (Japan, Asia Hockey League). . . . Last season, Hay had four goals and 16 assists in 40 games with Cortina (Italy, Serie A), while Lukacevic had no points in two games with Eispiraten Crimmitschau (Germany, 2. Bundesliga) and three goals and eight assists in 15 games with Banska Bystrica (Slovakia, Extraliga). . . .

F Aaron Gagnon (Seattle, 2001-07) signed a two-year contract with HV71 Jönköping (Sweden, SEL). He had three goals in 10 games with the Winnipeg Jets (NHL) and 11 goals and 13 assists in 43 games with the St. John’s Ice Caps (AHL) last season. Gagnon is due in Jönköping next week as HV71 opens its exhibition season on Tuesday, Aug. 13 at JYP Jyväskylä (Finland, SM-Liiga) — their training camp started July 29.
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F Jujhar Khaira, 19, has chosen to leave the Michigan Tech Huskies and sign with the Edmonton Oilers, who selected him in the third round of the NHL’s 2012 draft. His WHL rights are held by the Everett Silvertips, who acquired them from the Prince George Cougars. . . . Khaira, who is from Surrey, B.C., was drafted after playing for the BCHL’s Prince George Spruce Kings. He then went to Michigan Tech. I can’t find a clause in the NHL-NHLPA CBA that covers a player drafted from junior who goes to college and then leaves early. But it is speculated that Khaira is eligible to play in the AHL this season. Should the Oilers decide he isn’t quite ready for that avenue, he could end up in Everett. . . . The 6-foot-3, 200-pound Khaira had 25 points, including six goals, in 37 games with Michigan Tech last season. In two seasons with the Spruce Kings, he had 121 points, 39 of them goals, in 112 games.
Nick Patterson of the Everett Herald has more on Khaira right here. Patterson also covers the Silvertips’ import situation, starting with the news that Russian F Ivan Nikolishin is expected to show up for training camp.
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The Portland Winterhawks are going to share their 2012-13 WHL championship with their season-ticket holders.
The team revealed Wednesday that every 2013-14 season-ticket holder will be presented with “a wearable championship ring that will be an exact replica of the ring that will be given to the players and coaches for winning last season's title.” . . . The presentations to fans will made at a game during the upcoming season.
"Championships require commitment, and no one is more committed to the Portland Winterhawks than our season ticket holders. We can't think of a better way to honor them than with championship rings of their own," Winterhawks president Doug Piper said in a statement. "This will be an exclusive gift for all of our full season ticket holders, something we hope they treasure for years to come."
Any season-ticket holders who might be flying in for the ceremony will have to foot the bill themselves. Or see if a QMJHL team will help them out.
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In the world of junior hockey, where new revenue streams are getting harder and harder to find, the SJHL just may have happened upon something.
The SJHL, under president Bill Chow, has sold the naming rights to one of its division. Yes, the Central Division, as it was called earlier this year when realignment was announced, now is the Kramer Division.
That’s because Kramer Ltd., a North Battleford-based outfit that specializes in selling farm equipment through auction, has cut a three-year deal for those naming rights.
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THE COACHING GAME:
Rick Emmett is the new head coach of the ECHL’s Gwinnett Gladiators. Emmett, an assistant coach with the Gladiators, was promoted after head coach John Wroblewski joined the AHL’s Rochester Americans as an assistant coach. . . . Emmett spent the past two seasons as an assistant under Wroblewski.
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Robbie Ftorek, who spent most of five seasons as head coach of the OHL’s Erie Otters, has been hired by the NHL’s Calgary Flames to work as an assistant coach with the AHL’s Abbotsford Heat. . . . Ftorek will work alongside head coach Troy Ward with the Heat. . . . George Johnson of the Calgary Herald has more right here.
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From Larry Stone (@StoneLarry) of the Seattle Times: “Just saw an usher in the elevator lugging a bunch of brooms left behind by Jays fans hoping for a sweep.”

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