Time for celebration in Edmonton

F Greg Scott (Seattle, 2005-09) has signed a two-year extension with Brynäs Gävle (Sweden, SHL). He had 36 points, including 17 goals, with Brynäs last season. . . .

F Andrew Clark (Brandon, 2005-09) has signed a one-year contract with Esbjerg (Denmark, Metal Ligaen). Last season, he had 35 points, 14 of them goals, in 31 games with the Stockton Thunder (ECHL). He also played 35 games on loan to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers (AHL), where he had 19 points, including seven goals, in 35 games. . . . Esbjerg’s head coach is Mark Pederson (Medicine Hat, 1983-88). . . .

D Michal Gulasi (Lethbridge, 2003-05) has signed a contract (one year plus option) with Sodertalje (Sweden, Allsvenskan). Last season, with Karlovy Vary (Czech Republic, Extraliga), he had 15 points, two of them goals, in 52 games. An alternate captain, he led the league in hits and blocked shots. . . .

Glen Hanlon (Brandon, 1974-77; assistant coach, Vancouver, 2011-13) was named head coach of Switzerland’s national team. Hanlon, who signed a two-year contract, also will be the general manager of Switzerland’s national junior team. Hanlon had been working as head coach of the Belarusian national team program. . . .

F Robin Kovář (Vancouver, Regina, 2001-04) has signed a one-year extension with the Manchester Phoenix (England, Premier). Last season, he had 78 points, including 36 goals, in 52 games. He was sixth in the league’s scoring race and was named to the second all-star team, while the Phoenix won the league championship. . . .

F Stanislav Balán (Portland, 2005-06) has signed a one-year extension with Karlovy Vary (Czech Republic, Extraliga). Last season, he had 31 points, including a team-high 19 assists, in 41 games.
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1. If you are in the Edmonton area today (Wednesday), you will want to be at Sir Winston Churchill Square by 11:45 a.m., because folks will be celebrating the Oil Kings’ Memorial Cup championship. . . . According to a team news release: The fun begins “at 11:45 a.m. with a procession of our champions, southward on 99 Street from 103A Avenue to 102 Avenue. The celebration will then proceed to the stage, located on the south side of Churchill Square. Edmonton Mayor Don Iveson and Alberta Premier Dave Hancock will be on hand to celebrate the Oil Kings 2014 Memorial Cup championship. Following the formal celebration, Oil Kings players will be hosting an autograph session, thanking their dedicated fans who helped them reach junior hockey's ultimate prize.”

2. Right-hander Dustin Molleken, who was selected by the Regina Pats in the eighth round of the 1999 WHL bantam draft, is working out of the bullpen of the Nashville Sounds, the Pacific Coast League affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. . . . Going into today’s play, Molleken, the son of Saskatoon Blades head scout Doug Molleken, had thrown 10.2 consecutive scoreless innings over his last six outings. He had struck out 13 in that stretch. . . . This season, the 6-foot-4, 230-pound Molleken, who turns 30 on Aug. 21, is 1-2 with one save and a 3.77 ERA.

3. The NHL has yet to commit to having its players perform in the 2018 Olympic Winter Games that are to be held in PyeongChang, South Korea. But what of even beyond then? . . . There is an interesting piece right here that points out how it seems to be getting more and more difficult to find cities interested in bidding for the Games.

4. “The crisis in Ukraine has now entered the hockey world,” writes Travis Hughes at sbnation.com. “Druzhba Arena, the home rink of HC Donbass of the KHL, was severely damaged Monday evening and early Tuesday by pro-Russian militants, who burned and robbed the hockey arena that's stood since 1976. The attack was perpetrated by members of a group that supports the creation of a sovereign ‘Donetsk People's Republic.’ The group is pro-Russian and anti-Ukrainian, and HC Donbass called them ‘terrorists’ in a statement after the burning of their arena.” . . . Former NHLer Andrey Nazarov is HC Donbass’ head coach. . . . The arena also is scheduled to play host to the IIHF’s Division 1A World Championship in April. . . . Hughes’s complete report is right here.
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THE COACHING GAME:
David Robinson has resigned from his position as an assistant coach with the BCHL’s Vernon Vipers. Robinson (Chilliwack, 2007-10) was on the Vipers’ staff for two seasons. According to a team news release, he “has decided to pursue other options at this time.”
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Scott Hillman has signed a multi-year contract as the head coach of the Indy Fuel, the newest team in the ECHL. Hillman, 40, is coming off five seasons as head coach of the Central league’s Missouri Mavericks. Missouri had the CHL’s best regular-season record in 2013-14, leaving Hillman with a .607 winning percentage during his stint there.
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The QMJHL’s Victoriaville Tigres have signed Bruce Richardson as their new head coach. For the last two seasons, Richardson has been the head coach of the midget AAA Châteauguay Grenadiers. They reached the final of the TELUS Cup national championship tournament earlier this month. . . . With the Tigres, Richardson replaces Yanick Jean, who was fired after a first-round playoff loss to the Drummondville Voltigeurs. Jean had been the Tigres head coach since February 2008.
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From Stephen Harper (@pmharper): “Congratulations to the @EdmOilKings for their #MemorialCup victory. What a great end to a very exciting season!”
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From Dan Shulman (@DShulman_ESPN), who was watching the New York Rangers and host Montreal Canadiens last night: “I'm no hockey expert, but these hits to the head are terrifying.”
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From Terry Koshan (@koshtorontosun): “Why players push opposing players on to their own goalie is one of hockey's great mysteries, never to be solved.”
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From Butch Goring (@91Butch), who should be in the Hockey Hall of Fame: “Love the refs calling the embellishments. Hockey is a man's game, not a place for shady individuals looking for something free.” . . . Check him out on Twitter; yes, his avatar is that helmet.

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N-H-L L-O-C-K-O-U-T!
That is just in case anyone asks if you know how to spell lockout.
Because it is coming and it’s coming in a big hurry.
The Detroit Red Wings’ annual eight-team prospects tournament that is held in Traverse City, Mich., was cancelled on Thursday. Every year, dozens of junior-aged prospects played for rookie teams in the tournament. But not this year.
The Traverse City wing-ding . . . the five-team Penticton Young Guns tournament that had become a fixture over the last few years . . . a handful of NHL exhbition games in Europe . . . have I missed anything on the list of cancellations.
For what it’s worth, I’m not expecting to see NHL teams in action at all in 2012-13. The gulf between the NHL and NHLPA right now is best described as an abyss. In the end, all you have to do is follow the money, and the biggest stumbling block is going to involve revenue sharing, something the richest franchises don’t even want mentioned.
How bizarre is all of this? Consider that Ed Snider is a big wheel in the NHL. He is the chairman of Comcast Spectacor, a company that owns, among other things, the Philadelphia Flyers and Comcast SportsNet. The first offer made by Snider and the owners to the players called for cap length of five years on player contracts. The Flyers — Snider’s Flyers — signed forward Wayne Simmonds to a new contract this week that is six years in length.
You figure it out!
One other thing . . . the NHLPA has never been led by someone like Donald Fehr. The NHL and its team owners are about to find out what baseball learned a long time ago – Fehr is the real deal.
There won’t be any capitulating by the players this time around.
Gary Bettman, the NHL commissioner, has never been one to capitulate.
So, hockey fans, get ready to take another one you know where.
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F Brad Hoban, who played 325 games with the Swift Current Broncos, has decided to attend the U of British Columbia (UBC) and play for the Thunderbirds. Hoban put up 176 points, including 69 goals, while with Swift Current. Last season, in 69 games, he had a 53 points, 21 of them goals.
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The Brandon Wheat Kings added some toughness on the back end and firmed up their 20-year-old situation, at least for now, by acquiring D Tyler Yaworski from the Prince Albert Raiders on Thursday. . . . Brandon sent a fifth-round selection in the 2013 bantam draft the other way. . . . Yaworski, who has three WHL seasons under his belt, had 23 points and 188 penalty minutes in 71 games last season. . . . Brandon’s other 20s are D Ryley Miller and F Dominick Favreau. . . . The Raiders, meanwhile, are down to three 20-year-olds — F Anthony Bardaro and D Antoine Corbin, along with G Luke Siemens, who was acquired earlier from the Moose Jaw Warriors.
The Wheat Kings also revealed that D Dylan Kuczek, an 18-year-old Winnipegger, “has informed the club that he will not be returning.” Kuczek, a second-round pick in the 2009 bantam draft, had two points and 27 penalty minutes in 33 games last season.
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The Everett Silvertips have added D Landon Oslanski, 20, to their roster after claiming him on waivers from the Lethbridge Hurricanes.
Oslanski was selected by the Spokane Chiefs in the third round of the 2007 bantam draft. He played one game with the Chiefs before being dealt to Lethbridge as part of the swap that moved F Kyle Beach to Spokane.
In 207 career games, Oslanski has 70 points, including 16 goals, and 239 penalty minutes.
The addition of Oslanski leaves Everett with five 20s on its roster, the others being G Brandon Anderson, who has signed with the NHL’s Washington Capitals and could open the season in their organization, and forwards J.T. Barnett, Cody Fowlie and Ryan Harrison. Anderson’s rights were acquired from the Brandon Wheat Kings last month.
The Hurricanes’ roster still includes five 20-year-olds — D Daniel Johnston, D Tyler Kizuik, F Graham Hood, F Nick Buonassisi and G Ty Rimmer, the latter having been acquired from the Tri-City Americans in May.
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Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix reports here that G Andrey Makarov of the Saskatoon Blades “has accepted an invitation to the Buffalo Sabres’ training camp next month.” The move was confirmed by Jay Grossman, Makarov’s agent. . . . Makarov, one of Russia’s top junior-aged goaltenders, was selected in the NHL’s 2012 draft, despite being ranked seventh among draft-eligible goaltenders by NHL Central Scouting. . . . After the draft, Makarov, 19, was in the Florida Panthers’ development camp.
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F Ryan Hanes, a 20-year-old who was placed on waivers by the Kamloops Blazers, hadn't heard from any team or teams as of Thursday evening. "Hopefully, I can go somewhere and play," he wrote in a text last night. . . . With the Blazers a week from training camp, Hanes found himself fifth on the Blazers' 20-year-old depth chart. Assuming he cleared WHL waivers, Hanes now is a free agent.
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David Robinson, who played two-plus seasons with the Chilliwack Bruins (remember them?), is getting into the coaching game. After spending last season at the U of Calgary, Robinson is returning to his hometown of Vernon and will work as an assistant coach with the BCHL’s Vipers. After leaving the Bruins, Robinson finished the 2009-10 season with the Vipers and captained the team the following season.
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And, finally, a tip of the cap in the direction of the Danbury Whalers of the Federal Hockey League. The Whalers have made a key signing in the person of Dan Barletta. There aren’t a whole lot of hockey teams who employ organists, but the Whalers now are one of them. There’s more right here.


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