Nice work Rider Nation. #riderpool pic.twitter.com/YcX2dp7Ct0— Brad Wall (@PremierBradWall) August 10, 2016
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D Jim Vandermeer (Red Deer, 1997-2001) has signed a one-year extension with the Belfast Giants (Northern Ireland, UK Elite). He had two goals and 10 assists in 13 games last season. . . .
D David Němeček (Saskatoon, 2013-14) has signed a tryout contract with Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia, KHL). Last season, with the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders (USHL), he had two goals and seven assists in 60 games.
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Team Canada, you will recall, finished sixth at the 2016 World Junior Championship in Helsinki.
Last week, Canada went 0-3 in a four-country summer tournament in Plymouth, Mich.
On Wednesday, Canada’s eight-year golden run ended at the U-18 Ivan Hlinka Memorial tournament in Czech Republic and Slovakia.
Hey, Canada, what’s wrong?
After the three losses in Plymouth, Team Canada head coach Dominique Ducharme claimed that he isn't worried. “In August?” he said. “Not really. We’re building, putting in the combinations for Christmas.”
However, there are those who get paid to watch these games who feel that Canada should be concerned.
As Bob Duff, who was in Plymouth, wrote in the Windsor Star: “A Hockey Canada veteran, a former Olympian who was among the scores of NHL people here to scout the event, suggested that the Canadians were the victims of over-coaching, that their natural talents were being squeezed out of their game by the obsessive need to play within the system.
“An NHL GM went as far as to suggest that the European teams are better coached in the ways of the game than Canada, and certainly the Swedes and Finns played with much more flow and skill than was exhibited by Canada.
“The Canadians looked rigid, like they were thinking too much instead of reacting to situations. They always appeared to be a step slower than their opponents. Passes went nowhere, or often to the stick on an opponent.”
Duff also had this: “An NHL scout suggested that beyond (Mitch) Marner and Tyson Jost, there might not be another Canadian who thinks the game well, simply because in today’s robotic style of hockey, where blocked shots are a treasured statistic, thinking isn’t in vogue.”
Look, it has become most apparent that Canada’s U-18 and U-20 teams are struggling to stay in the top four of their age groups. In fact, with the Russians and Czechs also in the hunt, you could make a case for their being a top six.
The Canadian way of sticking to a system at all costs and grinding out greasy goals just doesn’t cut it anymore. If you are a regular watcher of major junior games, you know that most teams in your favourite league play those systemic games, too. Cycle. Grind. Crash the net. Cycle. Grind. Crash the net. Gotta get those greasy goals.
The problem, of course, is that there are too many major junior teams for the size of the talent pool. A team without an abundance of skill has a better chance of winning by grinding, blocking shots and limiting the other team’s scoring chances. The stakes are high, too, and jobs are on the line, so better to increase the chances of winning by installing those systems.
However, it is all but impossible for coaches and players to transition from that kind of system to one that allows them to run and gun on offence — all the while showing defensive responsibility — for a month in mid-season.
Meanwhile, the Swedes, Finns and Americans have chosen to unleash the hounds on offence, something that has put plenty of imagination into that part of their game.
The other day in Plymouth, the Americans dominated the early part of the second period against Canada to the point where at one point they had 16 straight shots on goal.
Still, Ducharme plays the Alfred E. Neuman card — “What, me worry?” — at least on the outside.
Duff’s complete piece is right here.
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The Prince Albert Raiders have added Brandin Cote to their staff as an assistant coach. He fills the spot created when Kelly Guard stepped aside. Cote will work alongside head coach Marc Habscheid and associate coach Dave Manson. Guard remains with the Raiders as their goaltending consultant. . . . Cote, who is from Swift Current, spent the past two seasons as head coach of the midget AAA Red Deer Optimist Chiefs. He spent two seasons (2012-14) coaching the Bentley, Alta., Generals, a senior team that won the 2013 Allan Cup. He also has coached with the Red Deer College Kings and Red Deer College Queens. As a player, he spent 1996-2002 with the Spokane Chiefs, putting up 255 points in 352 regular-season games. . . . There is a complete news release right here.
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Got a tip or some information you feel could be useful to me, feel free to email me at greggdrinnan@gmail.com.
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Jeff Woywitka is the new assistant coach with the AJHL’s Sherwood Park Crusaders. He fills the vacancy created when Shawn Belle left to join the Edmonton-based NAIT Oooks as an assistant coach. . . . Woywitka will work with head coach Adam Manah. . . . Woywitka, 32, is from Vermilion, Alta.. He played four seasons (1999-2003) with the Red Deer Rebels before going to a pro career that included 278 NHL games. He last played in Germany, spending two seasons (2013-15) with the DEL’s Augsburger Panther.
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Trump Tower climber is now climbing on Michael Phelps back. 💀 pic.twitter.com/GrmMv4lNd7— Dylan (@DylansFreshTake) August 11, 2016
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.
F Mitch Lipon, 18, is in camp with the Spokane Chiefs. Lipon, from Regina, had seven points, two of them goals, in 31 games with the Kamloops Blazers last season, before he was dealt to the Saskatoon Blades. He had six points, including four goals, in 24 games with the Blades. The 5-foot-8, 160-pound Lipon was dropped by the Blades during the 2014 bantam draft. . . . He is the younger brother of former Blazers F JC Lipon, who played last season with the AHL’s St. John’s IceCaps.
F Chris Stockl, who has played with the Saskatoon Blades and Red Deer Rebels, is in camp with the Everett Silvertips. Stockl, 19, is from Winnipeg. He was a fourth-round selection by the Saskatoon Blades in the 2010 bantam draft. . . . He had one goal in five games with the Blades in 2012-13, before moving on to Red Deer, where he had nine points, including two goals, in 57 games. Last season, he had one goal in 16 games with the Rebels. He missed about two months of the season with a brain injury, and then joined the MJHL’s Virden Oil Capitals. He was pointless in two games with them.
The Edmonton Oil Kings announced Thursday that they “have agreed to part ways” with Sean Brown, who had been an assistant coach through two seasons. . . . General manager Randy Hansch said, in a news release: “With the promotion of Steve Hamilton and the hiring of Ryan Marsh this off-season, as well as the increased roles of Dustin Schwartz and Jory Stuparyk, we're excited to have our coaching staff in place.” . . . Hamilton was promoted from assistant to head coach after Derek Laxdal left the reigning Memorial Cup champions to take over as head coach of the AHL’s Texas Stars.
In Brandon, F Jayce Hawryluk broke a 4-4 tie with 28.9 seconds left in the third period and the Wheat Kings beat the Regina Pats, 5-4. . . . With the victory, Brandon (15-13-2) moved past Regina (15-13-1)and into a sixth-place tie with the Kootenay Ice (15-14-2) in the Eastern Conference. . . . Hawryluk, who has 13 goals, scored twice and added an assist. . . . The Pats pulled into a 4-4 tie with goals by F Braden Christoffer at 7:48 of the third period and D Griffin Mumby at 8:40. . . . Mumby scored his first WHL goal in his 73rd game. The 17-year-old from Calgary was scoreless in 51 games last season. . . . Regina lost D Kyle Burroughs after he absorbed a first-period hit from Hawryluk. Burroughs was wobbly and needed help to get off the ice. He didn’t return. Hawrulyk wasn’t penalized on the play. . . . G Jordan Papirny stopped 30 shots in his 14th straight start for Brandon as G Curtis Honey remains sidelined with an injury. . . . Brandon was 3-for-5 on the PP. . . . The Pats are without F Morgan Klimchuk (hip). . . .
In Swift Current, F Graham Black had a goal, his 16th, and two assists to help the Broncos to a 4-1 victory over the Lethbridge Hurricanes. . . . Black also was plus-4. . . . The Broncos (18-11-3) lead the Eastern Conference by two points over the idle Medicine Hat Tigers (17-8-3), who hold four games in hand. . . . Broncos F Colby Cave opened the scoring, with his 17th, at 1:53 of the first period. That was the Teddy Bear goal. . . . Broncos G Eetu Laurikainen stopped 35 shots. . . . The Hurricanes have lost seven in a row and have one victory in their last 18 outings. . . . Lethbridge had F Russell Maxwell (undisclosed injury) and F Tyler Cooper (concussion) back in its lineup. . . . The Hurricanes got their goal from F Carter Folk, a 17-year-old Reginan. It was his first WHL goal and came in his 22nd game, 15 of which have come this season. . . .
In Red Deer, the Rebels overcame a 3-1 deficit with four straight goals and beat the Prince Albert Raiders, 6-3. . . . The Raiders got goals from F Leon Draisaitl, his 16th, and F Mike Winther, his third, at 16:32 and 16:59 of the second to take a 3-1 lead. . . . But the Rebels tied it before period’s end as D Kayle Doetzel, with his first, and F Dominik Volek, with his 14th, counted 35 seconds apart. . . . Rebels D Haydn Fleury broke the 3-3 tie with his fifth goal 42 seconds into the third. . . . Volek had a goal and an assist, and was plus-3. . . .
In Spokane, F Mitch Holmberg, the WHL’s leading scorer, struck for two shorthanded goals in the first period and the Chiefs went on to a 2-1 victory over the Saskatoon Blades. . . . With D Tyler King off for tripping, Holmberg scored at 17:51 and 19:29. . . . Chiefs G Eric Williams turned aside 27 shots, 10 fewer than Saskatoon’s Troy Trombley. . . . Saskatoon went 0-5 as it played five times in six nights on its U.S. Division swing. The Blades are 1-9-0 in its last 10. . . . The Chiefs were 0-for-4 on the PP; it has gone three games without a PP goal. . . . F Liam Stewart drew assists on both of Holmberg’s goals. Holmberg leads the WHL in goals (32) and points (66). . . . The Chiefs are without D Reid Gow, who has an undisclosed injury. He has yet to score this season, but has 33 assists in 28 games. . . . Saskatoon D David Nemecek took a charging major and game misconduct for a second-period hit on Spokane F Riley Whittingham. . . .
In Vancouver, G Jared Rathjen stopped 33 shots to lead the Giants to a 3-2 victory over the Kootenay Ice. . . . The Ice, which has lost three straight, outshot its hosts 8-4 and 14-5 in the last two periods. . . . Vancouver F Jackson Houck broke a 2-2 tie with a PP goal at 15:19 of the third period. . . . F Austin Vetterl had pulled the Ice into a 2-2 tie at 6:14, on the PP. Vetterl, who once played for the Giants, also had an assist. . . . The Giants (13-11-7), with points in 11 straight games (6-0-5), hold down the Western Conference’s eighth and final playoff spot, seven points up on the Prince George Cougars (11-16-4). . . . Vancouver’s next three games all will be against the Victoria Royals. They’ll play Friday and Saturday in Victoria, then return for a game in Vancouver on Tuesday. The Royals (19-11-1) are fourth in the Western Conference, six points ahead of the Giants.
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