Doing some scattershooting ... Hunchak a Hall of Famer ... Gulutzan keys up Coaches Conference

Prior to the first round of the NHL draft in Chicago on Friday, the NHL sequestered eight potential early selections and their families in a ‘green’ room, rather than have them in the stands with the commoners. It was a disaster. Russian F Klim Kostin and his family were left all alone for a long while before the St. Louis Blues took him with the last pick of the first round, 31st overall. . . . Here’s hoping the ‘green’ room was simply a one-and-done experiment.

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After LaVar Ball, the king of hype, said his son, Lonzo, would get the Los Angeles Lakers into the NBA playoffs in his first season with them, Janice Hough, aka The Left Coast Sports Babe, wondered: “So is he buying them tickets?” . . . Upon hearing reports than Kevin Durant of the Golden State Warriors won’t exercise a US$28-million option and take $24 million instead, all aimed at allowing the team to keep Andre Iguodola, Hough asked: “How will he feed his family?”

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It always amazes me how anyone thinks they can pick the winners and losers from the NHL draft less than 24 hours after it concludes. Let’s check back in four or five years. OK?

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Headline at TheKicker.com: Umps go to video replay to see if they’re slowing game down too much.

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Judging by the empty seats at home-openers in Vancouver and Toronto this weekend, at least a couple of CFL teams have some work ahead of them to get bums back in the pews.

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About 24 hours before F Nolan Patrick of the Brandon Wheat Kings was taken second overall by the Philadelphia Flyers in the NHL draft, Bauer Hockey announced that it had signed him as an “official partner.” That means that Patrick will use Bauer gear in 2017-18. It’s worth noting that Bauer also suppled WHL skaters with equipment, so there won’t be a conflict should Philly return Patrick for another season of major junior.

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BTW, F Nico Hischier of the QMJHL’s Halifax Mooseheads, who was taken first overall by the New Jersey Devils, has signed with CCM.

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After the U.S. Open golf tournament earlier this month, Mike Bianchi of the Orlando, Fla., Sentinel noted: “Erin Hills isn’t just playing easy, it’s more forgiving than the Tallahassee Police Department.”

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A tip of the cap to head coach Ryan McGill and his Owen Sound Attack for leading the CHL’s 60 teams by having six players selected in the weekend’s NHL draft. Yes, that’s a franchise record. . . . McGill, of course, is a former WHL player and coach. He also is the OHL’s reigning coach of the year.

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Donald Trump, the U.S. president, “has made travel more difficult to Americans,” notes Richmond, B.C., blogger TC Chong. “It will remain that way until a new Havana Trump Hotel and Golf Course opens.”

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The best response from a player to a question during the NHL draft came from Swedish D Erik Brannstrom, who was selected 15th overall by the Vegas Golden Knights. He admitted to never having been to Las Vegas, but added: “I’ve seen The Hangover. I’ve seen all three.”

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“Charles P. Thacker, a pioneer in early personal computing, died last week at age 74,” reports RJ Currie of SportsDeke.com. “Out of habit, doctors tried rebooting him.”

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An absolute pro! @Bladesvoice Les Lazaruk has been an excellent host this evening for the @KlippersHockey Banquet! pic.twitter.com/IU1BzZUFpI

— Brad Jennings (@BradHitt75) June 25, 2017

Dave Hunchak, a former WHL coach, was among the inductees when the SJHL held its 2017 Hall of Fame induction dinner in Kindersley on Saturday evening.

It was a homecoming of sorts for Hunchak, 43, who was an assistant coach with the Klippers (1997-

DAVE HUNCHAK

2000) and the general manager and head coach for four seasons (2000-04). Under Hunchak, who is from Warman, Sask., the Klippers won SJHL championships in 2002 and 2004. In his playing days, he spent time with the Saskatoon Titans, who later morphed into the Klippers.

In the WHL, Hunchak spent three seasons (2004-07) as an assistant coach with the Swift Current Broncos, four seasons (2007-11) as the head coach of the Moose Jaw Warriors, and two-plus seasons on the Kamloops Blazers’ staff. He leaves next month for his first season as an assistant coach with HC Banska Bystrica of the Slovak Extraliga.

Hunchak was inducted in the coach category, joining builder Terry Shea, a long-time Klippers executive; players Troy Schwab, Derek Dorsett and Chris Winkler, all from the Klippers; Kindersley native Devin Edgerton (Humboldt Broncos) and Greg Paslawski, a Kindersley native who played for the SJHL’s Prince Albert Raiders.

The 2003-04 Klippers, who reached the RBC Cup final with Hunchak as head coach, also were inducted.

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The CHL import draft is scheduled for Wednesday, starting at 8 a.m. PT. It is held via telephone. . . . The Kootenay Ice is scheduled to be the first WHL team to make a selection. That will be the third-overall pick, behind the OHL’s Barrie Colts and the QMJHL’s Moncton Screaming Eagles. . . . The order of selection is right here.

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Glen Gulutzan, the head coach of the NHL’s Calgary Flames, is just one of the keynote speakers line up for The Coaches Conference that is scheduled to be held in Vancouver, July 14 and 15. . . . Gulutzan is preparing for his second season as the Flames’ head coach. . . . Also on tap as presenters are Mike Snee, the executive director at College Hockey Inc.; Jim Paek, the head coach of the South Korean national team; Craig Cunningham, who is heading into his first season as a pro scout with the NHL’s Arizona Coyotes; and Ray Ferraro, the highly popular analyst with TSN. . . . Snee has been CHI’s executive director since Aug. 28, 2012; he also is on USA Hockey’s board of directors and USA Hockey’s junior council. . . . Paek also is the director of hockey for the Korea Ice Hockey Association. South Korea will play host to the 2018 Olympic Winter Games. . . . Cunningham had his playing career cut short last season when he suffered an on-ice cardiac event prior to an AHL game. He was the captain of the Tucson Roadrunners. . . . For more info on the conference, click right here.

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Some NHL teams have developing camps starting today (Monday). I’m not tracking invitees but stumbled on three undrafted WHLers with invitations — G Cole Kehler (Portland Winterhawks) will skate with the Winnipeg Jets; F Tanner Jeannot (Moose Jaw Warriors) will join the Washington Capitals; and F Jayden Halbgewachs, a 50-goal scorer with the Warriors last season, will be with the Vegas Golden Knights. . . . If you know of more invitees, email me at greggdrinnan@gmail.com.

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F Brian King of the Everett Silvertips was the valedictorian recently as Everett High School held its graduation ceremony. Nick Patterson of the Everett Herald has a good piece right here on King, what he said and his off-ice accomplishments, including a 4.0 GPA, to this point.

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Ex-WHL coach off to Slovakia ... Hitmen coach talking with Swiss team? ... Blades sign three picks

F Brad Ross (Portland, 2007-12) has signed a one-year contract with the Heilbronner Falken (Germany, DEL2). This season, with the Iserlohn Roosters (Germany, DEL), Ross had four assists in six games. His season ended prematurely due to a hand injury. Heilbronner’s head coach is Gerhard Unterluggauer (Brandon, 1995-97). . . .

F Dalibor Bortňák (Kamloops, 2008-11) has signed a one-year extension with Banská Bystrica (Slovakia, Extraliga). This season, in 49 games, he had 10 goals and 22 assists.

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Former Kamloops Blazers head coach Dave Hunchak will
coach in Slovakia next season.
(Photo: Hugo Yuen/Kamloops Daily News)

It took more than three years, but former WHL coach Dave Hunchak is back in the game.

Hunchak has been named associate coach with Banská Bystrica, which won the Slovak Extraliga this season. Hunchak, who got a two-year contract, will work alongside head coach Vladimir Országh.

Hunchak, 43, coached in the WHL for 10 seasons, with the Swift Current Broncos, Moose Jaw Warriors and Kamloops Blazers. He was the head coach in Moose Jaw for four seasons (2007-11) and spent two-plus seasons in Kamloops.

Hunchak was the Blazers’ head coach when he left the team while it was in Spokane in January 2014. More than a year later he spoke with Allan Maki of The Globe and Mail for a piece headlined: Hockey world steps up mental health support. But is it enough?

That story is right here.

Banská Bystrica was looking to replace Richard Zednik, who had left its coaching staff, and chose to get in touch with Hunchak.

“During the interviews . . . many names fell,“ Julius Koval, Banská Bystrica’s sports manager, said on the team’s website. “But finally, on the basis of recommendations, like Jason Bast or Ty Wishart, we decided to reach Dave.”

Bast and Wishart played for Hunchak in Moose Jaw. Bast played in Banská Bystrica in 2015-16, while Wishart just completed his first season there.

Hunchak will leave for training camp in mid-July.

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Excited to be returning to Bruneck and @hcpustertal Looking forward to working with the great group of players and staff we have there.

— Mark Holick (@coachholly68) May 17, 2017

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The Calgary Hitmen are looking for a new general manager, having moved Mike Moore up to vice-president and alternate governor on Tuesday.

Might they also be in the market for a head coach before too long?

Mark French, their 46-year-old head coach, is said to be in the running for the head-coaching job with the Fribourg-Gotteron Dragons of Switzerland’s National League A.

Earlier this month, the Swiss newspaper La Liberte reported that French was the front-runner to replace Larry Huras, and that French was likely to meet with team president Michel Volet in the near future.

French has completed three seasons as Calgary’s head coach. He received what the team said was a “multi-year” contract extension on June 20.

Before signing with Calgary, he was the head coach the AHL’s Hershey Bears for four seasons and with Medvescak Zagreb of the KHL for one season.

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The Saskatoon Blades had two first-round selections in the 2017 WHL bantam draft and signed both of them on Wednesday. . . . D Aidan De La Gorgendiere, the fifth overall selection, is from Langley, B.C. De La Gorgendiere played this season at the Yale Hockey Academy. He had 26 points, including five goals, in 30 games with the bantam prep team and added two goals and two assists in four games with the Elite 15s. His parents grew up in Saskatoon so he has a lot of family there. . . . The Blades also signed F Kyle Crnkovic of Chestermere, Alta., who was the 10th overall pick. He had 79 points, 40 of them goals, in 30 games with the Pursuit of Excellence bantam prep team. . . . The Blades also announced the signing of F Braden Plaschewsky, who was taken in the second round with a pick acquired from the Red Deer Rebels for F Mason McCarty, 20. Plaschewsky, from Calgary, had 72 points, including 30 goals, in 35 games with the bantam AAA Calgary Bisons.

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F Tim Vanstone has made a commitment to the U of Calgary where he will play for the Dinos. Vanstone, from Swift Current, played out his junior eligibility this season. He was the Raiders’ captain for the past two seasons. This season, he had 30 points, including 12 goals, in 68 games. In 299 career regular-season games, all with the Raiders, he had 36 goals and 58 assists. The Raiders selected him in the third round of the 2011 bantam draft.

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D Josh Mahura of the Regina Pats has signed a three-year entry-level contract with the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks. From St. Albert, Alta., Mahura was a third-round pick by the Ducks in the NHL’s 2016 draft. . . . Mahura had two goals and six assists in 51 games as a 16-year-old with the Red Deer Rebels. He missed all but two games of the 2015-16 regular season due to a knee injury, but came back to play in 17 playoff games, picking up two goals and two assists. He was dealt to the Pats this season -- he had nine goals and 24 assists in 39 games with Red Deer, and eight goals and 12 assists in 34 games with Regina. But he really caught fire in the playoffs, putting up eight goals and 13 assists in 23 games as the Pats got six games into the championship final before losing to the Seattle Thunderbirds.

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The Vancouver Giants have signed D Tanner Brown, who was a second-round pick in the 2017 WHL bantam draft. From Kelowna, Brown had seven goals and 22 assists in 26 games with the Pursuit of Excellence’s bantam prep team this season.

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Ryan McGill of the Owen Sound Attack and Kris Knoblauch of the Erie Otters were named the OHL’s first- and second-team all-star coaches on Wednesday. Both are former WHL players and coaches. . . . McGill played for the Lethbridge Broncos, Swift Current Broncos and Medicine Hat Tigers (1985-89) and was a coach with the Edmonton/Kootenay Ice (1996-2002, 2012-15). . . . Knoblauch played for the Red Deer Rebels, Edmonton/Kootenay and the Lethbridge Hurricanes (1996-99). As a coach, he spent one season (2006-07) with the Prince Albert Raiders and five (2007-12) with Kootenay. . . . Knoblauch guided his Otters to the OHL championship and they are in Windsor, preparing for the Memorial Cup tournament that begins on Friday. Two of the other three head coaches also have WHL ties. Steve Konowalchuk, who is in his sixth season with the WHL-champion Seattle Thunderbirds, played two seasons (1990-92) with the Portland Winterhawks. . . . Rocky Thompson, in season No. 2 as the head coach of the host Windsor Spitfires, played four-plus seasons (1993-97) with the Medicine Hat Tigers, finishing up with 22 games with the Swift Current Broncos. He began his coaching season with three seasons (2007-10) as an assistant with the Edmonton Oil Kings.

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If you are interested in Part 2 of Lucas Aykroyd’s interview with Dave King, it’s right here. These days, King is working as an assistant coach with Team Canada at the IIHF World Championship. . . . BTW, King jogs every morning. In fact, he has jogged every morning for almost 30 years without missing a day.

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Jesse Dorrans no longer is the general manager and head coach of the AJHL’s Drayton Valley Thunder. The team revealed Wednesday morning that Dorrans “has resigned due to personal reasons.” . . . Dorrans spent one season with the Thunder, going 17-39-4 to finish sixth in the eight-team Viterra North Division. In the playoffs, the Thunder was swept from a best-of-five first-round series by the Spruce Grove Saints.

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Hunchak: I was in the darkest place I'd ever been in

More than a year has gone by since Dave Hunchak left the Kamloops Blazers. They were in Spokane for a Jan. 10 game with the Chiefs when Hunchak, the Blazers’ head coach, left the team and returned home. The team announced that he was on a leave of absence; he never returned. Hunchak has told Allan Maki of The Globe and Mail that his nightmare began with an anxiety attack that ultimately was followed by depression. . . . “The best way I can describe it is: I was in the darkest place I’d ever been in,” Hunchak told Maki. “I was thinking it was possible I could do something I would regret.” . . . Maki’s complete story is right here, and it deals with a lot more than Hunchak, who, by the way, is back to where he was and wanting to get back to coaching. In the meantime, he is working in Kamloops as an electrician.
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“A Canadian lawyer has told Washington state legislators he opposes a bill that might allow Western Hockey League teams to circumvent laws on child labour and minimum wage, a change WHL team executives say is critical for them to stay in business,” writes Rick Westhead of TSN. “In a Feb. 17 letter that was sent to seven Washington state senators and obtained by TSN, Toronto lawyer Ted Charney wrote that he opposes Bill 1930 on behalf of his clients, Lukas Walter and Sam Berg, former major junior hockey players who are now suing the Ontario Hockey League, the Western Hockey League and the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Charney hopes to have a lawsuit certified as a class action case.” . . . Westhead’s complete story is right here.
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WHL commissioner Ron Robison and the general managers of the four Washington-based teams appeared at a Senate hearing in the state capital of Olympia on Wednesday. Scott Sepich, a Portland-based freelancer, has that story right here.
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The sporting community in Kamloops is coming together to help Peter Friedel, who has done a lot of volunteer work with the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers, the junior B Kamloops Storm of the Kootenay International Junior league and the Kamloops Venom junior lacrosse team. . . . The Storm will donate a portion of the gate receipts from its Saturday playoff game to Friedel, and a dinner and dance to benefit him is scheduled for March 7. . . . Marty Hastings of Kamloops This Week has more right here.
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F Trevor Cox of the Medicine Hat Tigers has had his suspension set at three games. He was suspended under supplemental discipline for a hit on Calgary F Kenton Helgesen during a game on Saturday. Cox, who already has missed two games, will complete the suspension on Sunday when the Tigers play in Edmonton. . . . Helgesen didn’t play in Calgary’s 2-1 victory over the visiting Tigers on Tuesday.
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F Logan Aasman of the Everett Silvertips doesn’t even know when he first was concussed. He just knows that recovering at home in Medicine Hat wasn’t a whole lot of fun. Aasman, who last played on Nov. 30, finally has been cleared to return and Nick Patterson of the Everett Herald has the story right here.
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WEDNESDAY’S GAMES

B.C. DIVISION: Kelowna won at home and now leads the overall standings by two points over idle Brandon. Each teams has 14 games remaining. . . . Vancouver won at home and remains third in the B.C. Division, but now is three points ahead of Kamloops, which lost on the road, and idle Prince George.
U.S. DIVISION: All five teams enjoyed the day off. You have to think players from the four Washington-based teams were watching goings-on in Olympia.
EAST DIVISION: Moose Jaw lost in OT on the road and the loser point lifted it to within seven points of a playoff spot.
CENTRAL DIVISION: Red Deer won on the road. It remains third in the division, four points behind second-place Calgary and nine points ahead of Kootenay, which holds down the Eastern Conference’s first wild-card spot.

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In Vancouver, D Mason Geertsen’s second goal of the game, at 4:11 of OT, gave the Giants a 3-2 victory over the Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . Geertsen, who has 11 goals, had given the Giants a 2-1 lead at 19:28 of the second period. He also drew an assist on his side’s first goal. . . . D Spenser Jensen forced OT with his third goal at 6:06 of the third period. . . . F Jack Rodewald gave Moose Jaw a 1-0 lead with his 27th goal 59 secondsd into the second period. . . . F Thomas Foster scored his 10th at 14:22 of the second, on a PP, to pull the Giants even. . . . F Tyler Benson had three assists for Vancouver. . . . Vancouver was 1-for-2 on the PP; Moose Jaw was 0-for-3. . . . Moose Jaw G Brody Willms stopped 29 shots, six more than Vancouver’s Payton Lee. . . . It was a Hockey Hooky game, meaning a noon start. Moose Jaw had played in a Hockey Hooky game in Victoria the previous day and had come away with a 4-3 victory. . . . F Ty Ronning and D Arvin Atwal were among the Giants’ scratches. News1130 Sports (@News1130Sports) tweeted that “Atwal hasn’t played since off-ice incident last week.” . . . The Giants (25-30-3) have won two in a row. . . . The Warriors (23-30-5) are 2-2-1 on a seven-game road swing that continues Friday in Kamloops. . . . Matthew Gourlie of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald has a game story right here. . . . Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province has a game story right here. . . .

In Saskatoon, the Red Deer Rebels scored two third-period goals and beat the Blades, 4-3. . . . D Amil Krupic’s fifth goal of the season, at 13:41 of the second, had given the Blades a 3-2 lead. . . . D Josh Mahura scored his first WHL goal at 13:56 of the third to tie it and F Preston Kopeck got the winner, his 17th goal of the season, at 15:21. . . . Kopeck, F Riley Sheen and F Wyatt Johnson each had a goal and an assist for Red Deer. Sheen has 17 goals; Johnson has 22. . . . F Wyatt Sloboshan had two assists for the Blades, whose captain, F Brett Stovin, scored his 24th goal. . . . Red Deer G Trevor Martin, who was acquired from the Blades, stopped 30 shots in his first start since being added from the SJHL’s Melville Millionaires. He now will return to Melville. . . . Saskatoon G Nik Amundrud turned aside 35 shots. . . . Saskatoon D Brycen Martin had his point streak snapped at 11 games. . . . The Rebels (30-18-9) are 2-0-1 in their last three. . . . The Blades now are 17-37-3. . . . Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix has a game story right here. . . .

In Kelowna, every skater on the roster but one picked up at least one point as the Rockets whipped the Kamloops Blazers, 11-4. . . . Only D Madison Bowey failed to get at least one point. . . . F Tomas Soustal led the way with two goals, giving him eight, and two assists, with F Rourke Chartier adding two goals and one assist. . . . Chartier now leads the WHL with 46 goals, one more than F Cole Sanford of the Medicine Hat Tigers. . . . D Josh Morrissey also scored twice for the Rockets, giving him 12. They got three assists from F Leon Draisaitl and two from each of F Nick Merkley, F Tate Coughlin and F Cole Linaker. . . . F Collin Shirley scored twice for Kamloops, giving him 20, and added an assist. F Matt Needham also scored his 20th goal this season. . . . Kamloops F Cole Ully had two assists. . . . According to a tweet from Kelowna play-by-play voice Regan Bartel: “Last time the @Kelowna_Rockets put up 11 goals on home ice prior to tonight was in an 11-2 win vs. Giants Jan 5/2002.” . . . The Rockets now have beaten the Blazers in 18 straight regular-season meetings. The Blazers last posted a regular-season victory over the Rockets on March 3, 2013, when G Cole Cheveldave stopped 25 shots in a 3-0 shutout in Kamloops. F JC Lipon scored all three Kamloops goals. F Cole Ully and D Ryan Rehill are the only two players off today’s Kamloops roster who played in that game. . . . The Rockets won the last two regular-season meetings that season, all eight last season and another eight this season. The teams will meet twice more this season. . . . The Rockets (45-9-4) have won three in a row. . . . The Blazers (22-31-6) have lost two straight.
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THURSDAY’S GAMES
(all times local)
No Games Scheduled
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FRIDAY’S GAMES
(all times local)
Red Deer at Swift Current, 7 p.m.
Brandon at Prince Albert, 7 p.m.
Saskatoon at Regina, 7 p.m.
Edmonton vs. Kootenay, at Cranbrook, 7 p.m.
Moose Jaw at Kamloops, 7 p.m.
Vancouver at Portland, 7 p.m.
Calgary at Spokane, 7:05 p.m.
Kelowna at Victoria, 7:30 p.m.
Tri-City at Everett, 7:35 p.m.
Lethbridge vs. Seattle, at Kent, Wash., 7:35 p.m.
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GM, Head Coach, & Bus Driver. @PeterAnholt guiding us the way for the 1st leg of our trip! #TripleThreat #CaneTrain pic.twitter.com/7gT2xhKXeW
— LethbridgeHurricanes (@WHLHurricanes) February 18, 2015

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Oil Kings one win from title; Americans looking for head coach

F Bernhard Keil (Kamloops, 2010-11) signed a one-year contract with the Schwenninger Wild Wings (Germany, DEL). This season with Straubing and Red Bull Munich (both Germany, DEL), he had three goals in 35 games. While on loan to Kaufbeuren (Germany, DEL2), he had two assists in three games.
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The news release from the Tri-City Americans announcing the dumping of head coach Jim Hiller hadn’t been out there too long when an email arrived.
It contained one line: “Bob Tory told me that this guy (Hiller) was the best in the WHL!”
Obviously, Tory’s opinion changed because he announced Friday that the Americans wouldn’t “be extending the contract of head coach Jim Hiller.”
Like a good politician, Tory dropped the bombshell on a Friday afternoon.
“Jim is a good person and coach and we are thankful for all of the contributions he's made to our club,” Tory said in the news release. “However, at this time, we feel we need a fresh face and voice moving forward to lead our team.”
Hiller spent five seasons as the Americans’ head coach, putting up 210 victories in 360 starts. As the news release points out, Hiller had four seasons with at least 40 victories, won two U.S. Division titles and had a .619 winning percentage.
Only Don Nachbaur (229) won more regular-season games as an Americans head coach. Nachbaur did that in 423 games, 63 more than Hiller.
“Hiller also departs as the Americans' all-time leader in playoff wins (29), playoff winning percentage (0.509) and playoff series wins (6),” the news release continues. “After his 2009-10 squad advanced to the WHL final for the first time in franchise history, Hiller also earned the Dunc McCallum Memorial Trophy as WHL Coach of the Year . . .”
Hiller’s Americans won 47, 44, 50, 40 and, this season, 29 games. This season, in what was considered a rebuilding/reloading season, the Americans finished eighth in the Western Conference and lost a first-round series in five games to the Kelowna Rockets, who had finished 40 points in front of them.
“There still is a lot of work to be done,” Tory told Annie Fowler of the Tri-City Herald. “The last two years were not up to the standard we would have liked. Our young guys will be that much better. We are moving back in the right direction.”
If you read the Americans’ news release, it makes you wonder why Tri-City is tying a can to Hiller, instead of rewarding him with a multiyear deal. What more, you ask yourself, could a coach have done?
Asked by text if he is talking with Mike Williamson, Tory replied: “Have lots of interest. Difficult decision.”
Williamson, of course, was dumped by the Calgary Hitmen in mid-April.
With Williamson in his fifth season as head coach, the Hitmen put up 103 points in the regular season, but then lost a first-round series in six games to the Kootenay Ice, who were 20 points poorer over the regular season.
“We just didn’t feel our hockey club reached the level it should’ve,” Calgary GM Mike Moore told George Johnson of the Calgary Herald. “As evidenced in the Kootenay series and at other times during the year. Mike did a lot of good things but the level of (success) wasn’t where we felt the level of talent should get to.”
So what we have here are two excellent young coaches -- Hiller is 44; Williamson is 41 -- out of work, one because a new voice is needed, despite a .619 winning percentage over the last five seasons, the other because a 103-point regular season followed by a first-round six-game exit isn’t good enough.
The bars have been raised awfully high in Kennewick, Wash., and in Calgary.
Someone is going to have to remind me again (1) why anyone would want to get into the coaching game, and (2) how many teams win the last game of the playoffs?
To paraphrase Waylon and Willie, “Mammas, don’t let your babies grow up to be hockey coaches.”
On the other side of the coin, those teams who have coaching vacancies now have some awfully good resumes to look through.
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1. With the sudden fall from grace of head coach Jim Hiller with the Tri-City Americans, there are four WHL teams without head coaches. The Americans, Calgary Hitmen, Saskatoon Blades and Vancouver Giants all are searching.

2. This is the most bizarre offseason in terms of WHL coaching moves that I can recall, and the season isn’t even over yet. . . . Kamloops ended up with Don Hay as its head coach, even though the Blazers have yet to admit publicly that they have parted company with Dave Hunchak. . . . Hay, the winningest active coach in the league, left Vancouver after 10 years with the Giants. The Giants didn’t ask for compensation, despite Hay having one year left on his contract. It seems that Hay and general manager Scott Bonner were barely on speaking terms. One source told me: “There were very few conversations between the two, even though their offices were right next to one another.” According to another source, “For the last few years, Don entered through the back of the Coliseum, and Scott through the front office. I don't think business has worked like that at the Coliseum since the days of the WHA when the Blazers and the Canucks shared the barn!”

3. Yes, Dave Hunchak is looking for work, too, and it’s not that long ago (2010-11) when the Moose Jaw Warriors won 40 games with him at the controls.

4. Fans who aren’t too close to the game may not know the name of Michael Futa. But the co-director of amateur scouting with the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings has been a person of interest to teams looking to fill front-office vacancies. That included the Vancouver Canucks, who need a general manager. But Futa is off the market after the Kings promoted him Friday to president of hockey operations and director of player personnel. . . . This is a great move for the Kings, and it’s nice to see someone rewarded for good work.

5. Hockey has a concussion problem and it’s not going anywhere. Read this piece right here by Sportsnet’s Mark Spector and don’t think for a minute that it doesn’t apply to various levels of hockey, not just the NHL.

6. F Tim Bozon of the Kootenay Ice, who battled meningitis through the month of March, continues to rehab in France. The Montreal Canadiens selected him in the third round of the NHL’s 2012 draft and his goal is to be at their training camp in September. He has told Le Matin that he has lost 16 pounds and still suffers from vertigo and memory loss.

7. The 2019 Memorial Cup? Forget about it Red Deer. Lethbridge, you’ve got no chance. . . . Terry Jones of the Edmonton Sun reports that the 2019 Memorial Cup will be held in Edmonton. Seriously. . . . Of course, a host WHL city has yet to be decided upon for the 2016 Memorial Cup. . . . Jones’ column is right here. . . . The Memorial Cup hasn’t been decided in Alberta since 1974 when the Regina Pats won it at the Corral in Calgary.
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Michael Scissons, who has worked in Saskatoon’s front office since 2003, has been moved by the Blades into the newly created position of vice-president of business operations. Scissons joined the Blades in 2003-04 as an account executive. Most recently, he has been director of sales. . . . According to a Blades news release, in his new role, “Scissons will continue to guide the Blades business operations, maintaining contact on a daily basis with both corporate partners and season-ticket holders.”
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THE OHL FINAL:
In Guelph, the Storm booked its berth in the Memorial Cup with a 4-3 victory over the North Bay Battalion. . . . The Storm won the best-of-seven final, 4-1, to earn its first OHL championship since 2004. . . . North Bay took a 3-2 lead into the last five minutes of the third period, only to lose it on two goals by F Kirby Rychel. . . . Rychel tied the score at 15:31 and then got the winner with 26.3 seconds left in the third period. . . . The 2014 Memorial Cup opens in London, Ont., on Friday with the host Knights meeting the QMJHL champion.
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THE QMJHL FINAL:
In Baie-Comeau, the Drakkar closed to within a victory of their first championship with a 6-5 victory over the Val-d’Or Foreurs. . . . The Drakkar leads the best-of-seven final, 3-2, with Game 6 in Val-d’Or on Sunday. . . . If needed, Game 7 would be played Tuesday in Baie-Comeau. . . . F Valentin Zykov had two goals and three assists for the winners. His second goal, at 7:05 of the third period, gave his guys a 6-4 lead. . . . Baie-Comeau captain Felix Girard was 21-for-34 on faceoffs. He took part in 34 of the game’s 72 draws. . . . The Drakkar lost last season’s final to the Halifax Mooseheads in five games.
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THE COACHING GAME:
Mike Haviland has stepped down after one season as head coach of the AHL’s Hershey Bears in order to become the head coach of the Colorado College Tigers. Haviland also has coached in the AHL with the Norfolk Admirals and Rockford IceHogs. He has a 176-104-36 record as an AHL head coach. . . . With the Tigers, Haviland replaces Scott Owens, who resigned in April after 15 seasons there.
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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)
(Edmonton leads, 3-2)
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 3 at Portland 2 (10,947)
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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FRIDAY’S GAME:
In Portland, the Edmonton Oil Kings won their third straight game to close to within one victory over the WHL title as they beat the defending-champion Winterhawks, 3-2. . . . Game 6 is scheduled for Edmonton on Sunday (Mother’s Day), at 4 p.m. . . . The Oil Kings are looking for their second championship in three seasons. . . . These two teams have met in each of the last three finals. . . . Portland F Paul Bittner opened the scoring at 15:28 of the first period. At that point, Portland had outscored Edmonton 8-0 in first periods. . . . It was Bittner’s fourth goal in the championship final. . . . That also was Portland’s first goal in 131:58, or since early in the first period of Game 3. . . . Edmonton F Edgars Kulda tied it on a PP at 18:27 of the first period. . . . The Oil Kings took the lead when D Griffin Reinhart scored at 2:11 of the second period and then stretched it to two on F Henrik Samuelsson’s goal at 7:39. . . . Samuelsson, who scored two goals through the first three rounds, has four scores in the final. . . . D Mathew Dumba got Portland to within one, at 3-2, with 1:45 left in the third period, but the Winterhawks weren’t able to equalize. . . . Edmonton G Tristan Jarry was outstanding. He stopped 37 shots, including all 18 he faced in the second period. . . . Portland G Corbin Boes turned aside 27 shots. . . . Edmonton was 1-for-5 on the PP; Portland was 0-for-4 and now has one PP goal in its last 15 opportunities. . . . The Winterhawks had won their last 25 home games. They hadn’t tasted defeat on home ice since dropping a 3-2 decision to the Victoria Royals on Jan. 4. . . . Interestingly, if this series goes to a Game 7, each of the final three games will have been played in a different facility. Last night, they played in Portland’s Moda Center. On Sunday, Game 6 will be played in Edmonton’s Rexall Place. On Monday, if needed, it’s back to Portland but Game 7 would be played in Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
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Post-game tweets from Scott Sepich (@SSepich):
Edmonton D Griffin Reinhart: “"We weren't playing as structured (in first 2 games), now we're trying to frustrate them and wear them down.“
Portland GM/head coach Mike Johnston: "If we repeat that game, we'll be OK in Game 6. I thought our energy was good and our attack was good."
Johnston: "We had 7 or 8 chances where we shot it over the net. We had 17 chances in the 2nd period, you have to put a couple of them away."
Edmonton F Henrik Samuelsson: "We're playing a little safer, making the easy plays, not trying to force passes through the seam."
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From WHL Facts (@WHLFacts): “50% - Through 18 WHL Final games between the @EdmOilKings and @pdxwinterhawks, each team has now won 9.”
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From Sunaya Sapurji (@sunayas) of Yahoo! Sports: “France has 18,041 registered hockey players (total). Also 129 rinks (total) in the country.”
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The first day of the next chapter

Well, that was an interesting day.
I’m referring to Saturday, a day in which I experienced unemployment for the first time in my life.
I have always been employed, from my high schools days when I spent summers working for the Local Government District of Lynn Lake or Sherritt Gordon Mines. I started in the newspaper business with the Brandon Sun in the summer of 1971 and have been in one sports department or another since then.
Until the Kamloops Daily News ceased publication with Saturday’s paper.
The day began when I awoke and, as per usual, checked my email. Which is where I found a news release from the Kamloops Blazers informing me that head coach Dave Hunchak “has taken a leave of absence from the team effective immediately” and that Guy Charron, the head coach for more than three seasons (2009-13), was back.
I will admit to feeling a strange sensation skip through my system when I read the news release and then realized that it meant little to me, that I no longer was employed by a daily newspaper, so I didn’t have to start assembling a story for Monday’s edition.
The adrenaline rush that usually followed news like that just wasn’t there. It was a feeling that I hadn’t experienced in a long, long time and I’m not yet sure whether I enjoyed it. However, it’s one I realize that I am going to have to get used to.
Anyway . . .
Who knows what really happened with Hunchak and the coaching change; perhaps, in time, we will find out.
The news release ended with: “No further comment will be made at this time.”
General manager Craig Bonner later said just that in a conversation with Marty Hastings of Kamloops This Week.
On Saturday night, following a 4-3 shootout loss to the visiting Prince George Cougars, Charron, as quoted by Hastings, at least hinted that Hunchak’s disappearance was more than a leave of absence, or at least a voluntary leave of absence.
“Let’s face it — things weren’t going very well,” Hastings quotes Charron as saying. “(Bonner) doesn’t like to step in and let go of anyone unless it has to come to the point where it needs to be done and maybe it had reached that point and that’s when he asked me to come in and help the kids.”
After stepping aside as head coach after last season, Charron had been serving the Blazers as an advisor to hockey operations, a position that was created in order to keep him in the organization. One of the things that he mentioned when he left the head-coaching position was that he didn’t feel that his back could take too many more bus trips.
The Blazers, who have lost five straight and nine of 10, opened a seven-game homestand last night. Later, they have a six-game homestand that ends Feb. 15. After that, with the Tim Hortons Brier (the Canadian men’s curling championship) in the Interior Savings Centre, they will play 11 of their last 13 games on the road, including 10 in a row.
Yes, there are some bus miles left for Charron to travel.
Following last night’s loss to the Cougars, the Blazers are 10-29-5 and 19 points out of a playoff spot. This is a team that has been searching for its personality and it’s no wonder, because of the 24 players listed on its roster, 12 were acquired via trades. The Blazers also are carrying 11 players who were born in 1996 or 1997, with eight others born in 1995. Yes, this is a young team.
Hastings also reported that Hunchak actually left the Blazers on Thursday while the team was in Spokane. The head coach apparently flew home to Kamloops at that time, leaving associate coach Mark Ferner to run the bench in a 6-3 loss to the Chiefs on Friday night.
Interestingly, I don't think there was any mention of Hunchak’s absence during Friday night’s pre-game show, game broadcast or post-game show on Radio NL, the longtime radio voice of the Blazers. Ferner appeared on both the pre- and post-game shows.
I was at my then-desk through the entire game and listened from the start of the pre-game show to the end of Ferner's appearance on the post-game show. Perhaps I missed it, but I don't recall hearing anything about Hunchak's absence.
Hunchak, who worked as an assistant/associate coach alongside Charron for two seasons, was named head coach on May 15. He signed a two-year contract that includes a club option for a third season.

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Silvertips spoil Teddy Bear party

By MARK HUNTER
Daily News Sports Reporter
If ever a moment could describe a season, the Kamloops Blazers despondently picking teddy bears off the Interior Savings Centre ice following Saturday’s WHL game would be it.
The Blazers were hammered 7-0 by the Everett Silvertips on Teddy Bear Game night. Not only was it the team’s 12th straight loss, it also came on what should have been a fun night.
Instead, 4,119 disappointed fans had to throw their teddy bears at game’s end, when the Silvertips were celebrating, and the Blazers had to help clean up the building they had just been blown out of.
It was the second straight thumping for the Blazers, who lost 7-3 to the visiting Kootenay Ice on Friday.
“I’m at a loss for words right now,” said Blazers head coach Dave Hunchak. “We just basically fell apart. You can see the frustration on guys, but at the same time, there’s no excuse for that to happen in our building, ever.
“That should never happen in our building — it doesn’t matter who we play. To watch these last two nights, it’s sickening. It’s sickening to watch . . .”
The 12-game losing skid ties the franchise worst, which the Junior Oilers set in 1981-82.
The Blazers knew this was going to be a tough season — they lost most of the key players who carried the mail on the team that went to the Western Conference final last season. But what happened on Friday and Saturday had less to do with experience and more to do with performance.
“There’s guys in that room that just have to get better. They just have to get better,” Hunchak said. “Yeah, 13-14 new guys — that’s just an excuse. We have to be better as a hockey team.”
The Silvertips, coming off back-to-back losses, played a nearly perfect game Saturday, even if the Blazers never really pushed them. Everett got 26 saves from Austin Lotz, who now has four shutouts, as well as two goals apiece from Ben Betker and Ivan Nikolishin.
It’s not the first time the Blazers have been shut out on Teddy Bear Night — in 2008, Travis Yonkman stopped 28 shots as the Swift Current Broncos shut out the Blazers 2-0. Yonkman likely had to work harder for that shutout than Lotz did Saturday.
“Right now our group is so wishy-washy as far as the decisions they make with the puck,” Hunchak said. “We didn’t have the puck tonight. That’s the bottom line — (Everett) had the puck pretty much the final 40 minutes, and when you don’t have the puck, it’s hard to generate anything.”
Kamloops hit the road right after the contest for a six-game trip to the East Division, a trip that will take it into Christmas. The first game is scheduled for Tuesday against the Wheat Kings in Brandon.
“Believe me, we’re trying everything right now. We are trying absolutely everything we can to get this thing righted,” Hunchak said. “It’s everything from (defensive) zone coverage right on up to the offensive zone.
“We’ve tried different things to get a spark here and at some point, it has to fall on the players’ laps. I’m willing to take as much criticism as anybody, but at some point, it’s got to start falling on some players’ laps here as well.”
The Blazers, now 6-20-4, are last in the Western Conference. They have lost as many games in regulation (20) as they did in each of the past two regular seasons.
The Blazers also are facing a schedule that will get much more difficult from this point forward. Because the Tim Hortons Brier is forcing the team out of ISC for a month starting in mid-February, Kamloops has played 19 of its first 30 games at home.
Starting with the six games in the East Division, the Blazers will play 12 of 13 on the road. In total, 25 of the team’s last 42 games will be played away from home.
Kamloops has lost eight straight on the road, and is 1-9-1 away from ISC. Not that things are going so well at home either.
“We’ve been embarrassed in our building the last two nights (so) I would hope they’d be angry,” Hunchak said. “Just from a personal perspective, you should be angry with what’s going on.”
Carson Stadnyk, Mirco Mueller and Jujhar Khaira also scored for the Silvertips. For the second straight night, Taran Kozun was pulled out of the Blazers goal. On Saturday, he left after allowing five goals on 29 shots; Cole Kehler stopped nine of the other 11 Everett shots.
JUST NOTES: Kamloops D Sam Grist sat out a one-game WHL suspension for a match penalty he took in Friday’s loss. . . . Kamloops F Joe Kornelsen (head) sat out Saturday, while F Aspen Sterzer (lower body) returned after missing two games. . . . Referee Brett Iverson, who once again proved the one-man system to be superior, gave the Silvertips two power plays, on which they scored once, and the Blazers one man advantage. . . . The Daily News’ Three Stars: 1. Mueller: San Jose Sharks prospect was outstanding; 2. Lotz: Didn’t exactly steal Christmas, but was solid; 3. Betker: Made it tough for Kamloops forwards to do anything. . . . The Blazers’ next home game is scheduled for Dec. 29, when the Vancouver Giants visit.
mhunter@kamloopsnews.ca

———

By MARK HUNTER
Daily News Sports Reporter
The Everett Silvertips don’t get to have a Teddy Bear Game, so they decided to spoil the fun for the Kamloops Blazers.
The Silvertips shut out the Blazers 7-0 at Interior Savings Centre on Saturday night. It ruined the annual Teddy Bear Game for the 4,119 fans in attendance, who were forced to throw their bears on the ice at game’s end while the Silvertips were celebrating.
Everett doesn’t hold a Teddy Bear Game.
“Long before my time, not sure when — maybe 2004, 2005 or 2006 — they got shut out two years in a row on Teddy Bear Toss night,” explained 19-year-old defenceman Ben Betker, who scored twice Saturday in what was his 100th career WHL game. “So we don’t do one down there anymore. It’s kind of too bad, because I enjoy the Teddy Bear Toss nights.”
Betker certainly enjoyed Saturday’s, especially playing the part of the Grinch. His strong defensive play — it was a solid team effort, really — helped Austin Lotz record his fourth shutout of the season with a 26-save effort.
Everett had lost two straight games coming into Saturday’s contest, so wasn’t really focusing on teddy bears.
“I think it’s just a bonus,” Betker said. “We definitely knew it was Teddy Bear Night, but for the most part, we just wanted to come in here and execute our game plan.
“For them to not get to throw their bears is kind of a bonus.”
mhunter@kamloopsnews.ca

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