Patrick tops Craig's List . . . Veteran forward in Blades' camp . . . Ex-WHL D is head coach at UBC

D Travis Ehrhardt (Moose Jaw, Portland, 2004-09) has signed a one-year contract with Genève-Servette (Switzerland, NL A). Last season, with the Utica Comets (AHL), he had six goals and 19 assists in 64 games. . . .

F Sean Ringrose (Medicine Hat, 2007-09) has signed a one-year contract with Gap (France, Ligue Magnus). Last season, he had two goals and six assists in 22 games with the Colorado Eagles (ECHL).

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While chatting with an NHL scout at a recent exhibition game, it was mentioned that 2016-17 isn’t looking like a banner season for the WHL, at least not in terms of top-end NHL draft picks.

NOLAN PATRICK

In fact, he suggested that the WHL might be home to only . . . maybe . . . three first-round selections. That includes F Nolan Patrick of the Brandon Wheat Kings, who is coming off sports hernia surgery but remains the consensus No. 1 selection.

Craig Button of TSN issued his first 2017 draft rankings yesterday and his list pretty much bears out what the scout suggested.

The second WHLer on Craig’s List is F Kailer Yamamoto of the Spokane Chiefs. He’s at No. 19, one spot ahead of Kelowna Rockets D Cal Foote.

D Henri Jokiharju of the Portland Winterhawks is at No. 22, with F Michael Rasmussen of the Tri-City Americans at No. 27.

Craig’s List also has 10 “players to watch” and it includes four WHLers — F Jaret Anderson-Dolan of Spokane, D Cale Fleury of the Kootenay Ice, G Ian Scott of the Prince Albert Raiders, G Stuart Skinner of the Lethbridge Hurricanes.

Craig’s List is right here.

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Whoops! Apologies to F Owen Seidel of the Seattle Thunderbirds, who, despite a report here yesterday, remains on their preseason roster. Seidel, 18, was acquired from the Swift Current Broncos last season and had a goal and two assists in 18 games with Seattle. He was pointless in seven games with the Broncos. . . . In 2013-14, he led the B.C. Major Midget League in scoring, putting up 67 points, including 50 points, with the Greater Vancouver Canadians. . . . His name was inadvertently dropped from the Thunderbirds’ online roster, which led to reports that he had been released. Seidel was back on that roster as of Tuesday afternoon.

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The Kootenay Ice appears to be down to three goaltenders after dropping Jesse Makaj, 15, from its roster. He is expected to join the Vancouver-North West Giants of the B.C. Major Midget Hockey League. Makaj, a Vancouver native, was a second-round selection in the 2016 bantam draft. . . . News of the move was tweeted by Dickson Liong, the director of communications for The Sports Corporation. . . . Goaltenders still with the Ice are Cranbrook native Payton Lee, 20, who was acquired from the Edmonton Oil Kings over the summer; Declan Hobbs, who backed up Wyatt Hoflin last season; and Jakob Walter, 17, of Langley, B.C., who was a second-round pick in the 2014 bantam draft.

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Veteran F Jesse Shynkaruk, 20, is in camp with the Saskatoon Blades on a tryout basis. He was released by the Moose Jaw Warriors over the summer. The 5-foot-9, 175-pounder is from Saskatoon and played a season there with the midget AAA Contacts. . . . He has three WHL seasons under his belt, having played 85 games with the Kamloops Blazers and 111 with the Warriors. In 196 regular-season games, he has 48 points, including 23 goals. . . . Shynkaruk is one of three 20-year-olds on the Blades’ roster at the moment, the others being F Ryan Graham and D Bryton Sayers.

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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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The ECHL’s Worcester Railers, who are to begin play in October 2017, have signed Jamie Russell as general manager and head coach. Russell, 50, is a native of Kamloops. Russell spent the past two seasons as GM and head coach of the ECHL’s Elmira Jackals. Prior to that, he was an assistant coach for three seasons at Providence College. He also was the head coach at Michigan Tech for eight seasons (2003-11).

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Former WHL D Sven Butenschon has been named the head coach of the UBC Thunderbirds. An assistant coach with the Thunderbirds last season, he was named interim head coach on Aug. 30 when the university announced that it had parted company with head coach Adam Shell after one season. Butenschon played three seasons (1993-96) with the Brandon Wheat Kings before going on to a professional career.

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Ryely McKinstry missed @WHLGiants practice today. GM Glen Hanlon admits it's more concussion concerns. D-man only played 11 games last year.

— Steve Ewen (@SteveEwen) September 14, 2016

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Gordie Bombay helps Terriers win . . . Remembering the 1974 Steelers . . . Lowry to chat with Sharks?

F Dávid Šoltés (Prince George, 2013-15) signed a one-year contract with Košice (Slovakia, Extraliga). This season, as a 19-year-old with the Cougars, he had 28 points, 13 of them goals, in 44 games.
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The host Portage Terriers, who also are the MJHL champions, won the RBC Cup on Sunday, beating the
CCHL-champion Carleton Place Canadians 5-2 in the championship game.
The title goes from one team of Terriers, the SJHL’s Yorkton Terriers, who won it last season, to another.
I can’t tell you how shocked I was to read that Portage’s victory in the national championship game was the first for a Manitoba team since 1974.
Yikes! That was a long time ago. I should know, because I was there.
I was in my first year at the Winnipeg Tribune, after two at the Brandon Sun, and one of my beats was the MJHL.
The Selkirk Steelers, under head coach George Dorman, won the MJHL title in 1973-74 and headed out on the playoff trail.
The Steelers won the MJHL, beating arch-rival Portage in seven games — the Terriers had won the national title the previous season — and taking out the West Kildonan North Stars in five.
The Steelers took the best-of-seven ANAVET Cup final from the Terry Simpson-coached Prince Albert Raiders, 4-2, and then beat the B.C.-champion Kelowna Buckaroos, 4-3, despite playing the last four games in the Little Apple.
There weren’t any three-, four- or five-team tournaments back in the day, and the victory over Kelowna put the Steelers into a best-of-seven national final with the Central Junior A League-champion Smiths Falls Bears.
The Steelers camped out in Ottawa — the first thing Dorman did was get the team out of the small motel in which the CAHA (Canadian Amateur Hockey Association) had the team staying and into a Ramada Inn.
The series went seven games, with all games played in the Nepean Sportsplex because there wasn’t any ice in the Smiths Falls Memorial Centre. The Steelers won the first two games, 5-4 and 7-4, with the Bears taking Game 3, 3-0. After Selkirk won the fourth game, 2-1 behind a 48-save effort by G Andy Stoesz, I seem to recall writing that the series was all over, that the Bears were done like dinner.
You guessed it! Smiths Falls came back with 6-3 and 5-4 victories, the latter in OT, to set up a Game 7 with the winner taking home the Centennial Cup, this being the days before corporate sponsorship put business names on so many things.
In Game 7, the teams played through three scoreless periods — Smith Falls F Terry Fournier ripped a shot off the cross-bar late in the third — and appeared headed to a second OT when Gord Kaluzniak scored. In those days, under CAHA rules, teams played 10 minutes of overtime, no matter how many goals were scored, but if they were still tied they went to 20-minute sudden-death periods. Kaluzniak, a Selkirk kid, scored with two minutes left in the 10-minute period, and the Steelers were able to defend their lead until period’s end.
Considering that the victory gave the MJHL its second straight Centennial Cup, it is hard to imagine that the league wouldn’t be home to the trophy again until last night.
What makes it that much more interesting is that the Centennial Cup was presented to the CAHA by the Manitoba Amateur Hockey Association to commemorate the province’s centennial year of 1970.
——

The Portage Terriers are the first host team to win the RBC Cup as national junior A champions since the SJHL’s Weyburn Red Wings in 2005.
Somehow it was only fitting that in this era of social media, at least one media outlet reported that “Terriers forward Gordie Bombay” scored a PP goal. Portage F Jordyn Boyd uses the Twitter handle @GordieBombay14. Boyd, who has played in the WHL with the Everett Silvertips and Kootenay Ice, gave the Terriers a 3-1 lead early in the third period.
The Bowles brothers, Brad and Shawn, stretched the lead to 5-1 later in the period. Shawn also had two assists. Their sister, Candace, works for Brandon radio station CKLQ and is the in-game host for the Brandon Wheat Kings.
The Canadians had beaten the Terriers, 3-0, in the round-robin.
Last year, the Yorkton Terriers beat those same Carleton Place Canadians, 4-3 in overtime, in the final game in Vernon, B.C.
——

The Memorial Cup tournament opens Friday in Quebec City with the WHL-champion Kelowna Rockets meeting the host Quebec Remparts. Also competing will be the OHL-champion Oshawa Generals and the QMJHL’s Rimouski Oceanic. . . . Ryan Kennedy of The Hockey News provides an early preview right here.
——
Here is the Memorial Cup schedule (all games on Sportsnet; all times Eastern):
Friday, May 22: Kelowna vs. Quebec, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, May 23: Rimouski vs. Oshawa, 4:30 p.m.
Sunday, May 24: Quebec vs. Oshawa, 4:30 p.m.
Monday, May 25: Rimouski vs. Kelowna, 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday, May 26: Oshawa vs. Kelowna, 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday, May 27: Quebec vs. Rimouski, 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, May 28: Tiebreaker, if necessary, 7:30 p.m.
Friday, May 29: Semifina, 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, May 31: Championship game, TBA
——
The hockey season is over for many Canadians, it having ended when the last two Canadian teams, the Montreal Canadiens and Calgary Flames, were eliminated from the NHL playoffs. In his latest piece, Roy MacGregor of The Globe and Mail writes: “It is impossible to count the number of Canadians who will now largely tune out. After the hardest winter in memory for so many, warm spring evenings or weekend afternoons are for spending anywhere but in front of the television watching, say, a team from Florida play a team from California.” . . . That column is right here.
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THE COACHING GAME:

Various sources, including Darren Dreger of TSN, have reported that Dave Lowry, the head coach of the WHL’s Victoria Royals, is in the mix for the head-coaching position with the NHL’s San Jose Sharks. . . . Lowry, who has completed three seasons as the Royals’ head coach, also is the head coach of Canada’s national junior team. . . . Also believed to be contenders for the position are former NHL coaches Peter DeBoer, Dan Bylsma and Randy Carlyle. . . . Of course, the Sharks also want to have a chat with Mike Babcock. . . . Even if Lowry doesn’t get the Sharks’ job, his name now is in the NHL loop and you can bet that more interviews with different teams will follow, maybe not this offseason but in the future. . . . The Sharks have been looking for a head coach since they announced that Todd McLellan wouldn’t return for an eighth season. That was said to be by mutual agreement. . . . McLellan, a former WHL coach (Swift Current, 1994-2000), spent the past few weeks as the head coach of the Canadian team that won the IIHF World championship in Prague on Sunday. Canada, under McLellan, ran the table, completing its tournament with a 6-1 victory over Russia.
——
At the moment, there are three WHL teams — the Kootenay Ice, Lethbridge Hurricanes and Vancouver Giants — without head coaches.
Last offseason, there were 10 teams changing coaches; this season, it doesn’t seem the number of changes will approach anywhere near that total.
In Kootenay, the Ice is looking for a replacement for Ryan McGill, while Lethbridge GM Peter Anholt is said to be down to a shortlist of three as he searches for a replacement for himself. The Giants, at some point, will hire a replacement for Claude Noel.
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Perhaps you heard about Russian president Vladimir Putin’s big game on the weekend. He scored eight times in an exhibition game that featured a lot of former NHLers and was played in Moscow. Putin’s team won, 18-6. . . . Putin spent most of the game on a line with Pavel Bure and Valeri Kamensky. . . .
The QMJHL championship will be decided tonight in Quebec City as the Remparts and Rimouski Oceanic play Game 7. The host Oceanic won Game 6 on Sunday, beating the Remparts 5-4 in OT on a goal by D Jan Kostalek. . . .
You may have seen the mini-documentary on Dickson Liong that got a whole lot of exposure earlier this month. On the weekend, Liong wrote a piece for The Fourth Period, explaining how he came to be the star of that piece. His story is right here.
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World champs 🇨🇦 @Burnzie88 pic.twitter.com/CjlNmZWo1h

— Tyson McLellan (@TysonMcLellan88) May 17, 2015

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Take time for Dickson Liong's story . . . Ice pick opts for Vees . . . BCHL franchise for sale

TUESDAY’S GAME:

No Game Scheduled.

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Dickson Liong is a sports writer who covers the Vancouver Canucks and Vancouver Giants. No one in the business works harder than he does. He’s special, he really is, but he doesn’t care about that, nor does he want special treatment. He just wants to be a writer. How bad does he want it? On quiet days, he writes, even if he’s writing about a days old hockey game. If there’s nothing to write about, he’ll write anyway. . . . I have known him for a few years now and am thrilled to call him my friend. Hey, I have sat across a restaurant table from him and watched him devour a burger and fries. No, he didn’t write about that, but he should have. . . . Anyway, if you don’t know of Liong, he’s got cerebral palsy, not that he lets that get in his way. . . . Take five minutes out of your day and click right here to see his story. You’ll be glad you did.
——
D Griffin Mendel, a first-round selection by the Kootenay Ice in the WHL’s 2014 bantam draft, has decided to play next season with the BCHL’s Penticton Vees. . . . "It's tough, but every player has choices to make," Jeff Chynoweth, the Ice’s general manager, told Taylor Rocca of the Cranbrook Daily Townsman."Griffin, his family and his advisors have made that (decision) for his 16-year-old season. They haven't closed the door moving forward. From our end, we'll recruit accordingly. It's always tough to recover from (losing) any player like that. But you've still got to prove yourself in the Western Hockey League. Most coaches don't care what round you're drafted in. They want the best players.” . . . Rocca’s story is right here.
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The 2015 Hockey Coaches Conference is scheduled for Vancouver, July 24 and 25. It will feature the likes of Mike Johnston, head coach of the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins, Kyle Dubas, an assistant GM with the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs, and Roger Takahashi, strength and conditioning coach with the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks as presenters. . . . To see more presenters, click right here. . . . For more on the conference, click right here.
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There are reports that F Joseph Veleno, 15, has asked Hockey Canada for exceptional player status, which likely would lead to him being the first overall selection in the QMJHL draft. Stephane Leroux of RDS first reported the move. . . . The Saint John Sea Dogs hold the first pick in the draft, which is scheduled for June 6 in Sherbrooke. . . . This season, Veleno had 49 points, including 16 goals, in 38 games with the midget AAA Lac St-Louis Lions. . . . With Quebec at the Canada Winter Games in Prince George, he had 10 points, four of them goals, in six games. . . . Should Veleno be granted exceptional status, he will become the first such player in QMJHL history. . . . Four players have played, or are playing, in the OHL after receiving such status — D Sean Day of the Mississauga Steelheads and Connor McDavid of the Erie Otters, along with Aaron Ekblad and John Tavares, both of whom now are in the NHL. . . . No player has ever requested exceptional status to play in the WHL.
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The BCHL’s Nanaimo Clippers are for sale. The Alberta-based group that has owned the franchise for 10 years says it’s time for a change. That group includes former NHL/WHL G Kelly Hrudey and Bill Gallacher, the owner of the Portland Winterhawks. Spencer Anderson of the Nanaimo Daily News has more right here.
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From Rick Westhead of TSN: “NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman has been ordered by a U.S. federal court judge to offer testimony in the concussions lawsuit filed by 60 former players against the league. TSN has learned that late Tuesday, a judge ordered Bettman to testify in July on matters related to the high-stakes litigation.” . . . Westhead’s complete story is right here.
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when your dad gets your report card and physics isnt your thing pic.twitter.com/eRJkVNppXY

— Patrick Burke (@BurkieYCP) May 6, 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.

Liong tells his story . . . Papirny, Wheaties blank Tigers . . . Hitmen roar through Portland

F Justin Taylor (Medicine Hat, Red Deer, 1999-2001, 2003-04) has been released by Mörrum (Sweden, Division 1) at his request. In 18 games, he had six goals and five assists. Mörrum assistant GM Jens Svensson: “(Taylor) wanted to stay but, unfortunately, his wife could not.” Taylor’s wife didn’t receive a Swedish residence permit.
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I hope my story will help people who are going through a similar situation. If I can affect even one young kid, that's all that matters.
— Dickson Liong (@DLLiong) February 26, 2015

If you only do one thing today, click on this link right here and spend three minutes of your day watching a CTV Vancouver story on Dickson Liong, a young writer who covers the Vancouver Canucks and Vancouver Giants, and whose stories you sometimes read on this blog. . . . He’s a good friend and he is a truly great story. . . . Go ahead and watch his story. I guarantee you won’t be disappointed.
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Bob Brown, the architect behind the Kamloops Blazers’ three Memorial Cup titles in the early 1990s, will be inducted into the Kamloops Sports Hall of Fame on April 11. Brown was the general manager of a community-owned team that became was a major junior dynasty in the late 1980s and into the ’90s, winning the 1992, 1994 and 1995 Memorial Cups. . . . During Brown’s run, the Blazers won 10 Western Conference titles and five WHL championships. . . . With Brown at the helm, the Blazers were 13-6 in Memorial Cup games, 108-54 in the WHL playoffs and 484-202-33 in regular-season play.
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Danny Schur, a film-maker from Winnipeg, is working on a documentary about Terry Sawchuk, one of the greatest of all NHL goaltenders. Terry Sawchuk — The Winnipeg Years is filming now and, hopefully, will be ready for the start of the 2015-16 season. . . . Sara Calnek of CBC News has more right here.
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An unnamed hockey father from Kamloops may be charged following an altercation with on-ice officials who worked a BCHL game between his son’s team, the Merritt Centennials, and the host Penticton Vees on Feb. 20. Joe Fries of the Penticton Herald reports that RCMP are investigating the incident. Fries’ story is right here.
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The Prince George Cougars completed their three-day tour of minor hockey association’s on Wednesday by presenting the folks in 100 Mile House with a cheque for $1,500. The Cougars, who are on their way to Kent, Wash., and a Friday night date with the Seattle Thunderbirds, did the same thing in Quesnel and Williams Lake earlier in the week. In all three communities, the Cougars took part in minor hockey practices, chalk talks, autograph signings, etc. . . .
According to Brett Smith of the Prince Albert Daily Herald, Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid “guaranteed his team would make the playoffs” during a Wednesday breakfast session with season-ticket holders. . . . The Raiders are nine points out of a playoff spot as they head into two games in Alberta this weekend. They’ll play in Red Deer on Friday and Edmonton on Sunday. Prince Albert has 12 games remaining in the regular season. . . . Smith’s story is right here. . . .
It will be a year on Sunday since Kootenay Ice F Tim Bozon was diagnosed with Neisseria meningitis. Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post checks in with Bozon right here.
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WEDNESDAY’S GAMES

B.C. DIVISION: Kelowna (11 games remaining) won at home to stay two points ahead of Brandon atop the WHL’s overall standings. . . . Victoria (11) lost in Kelowna, but will finish second in the division.
U.S. DIVISION: Everett (11) lost on the road and Portland (11) picked up a loser point at home. Everett leads the division by three points over Portland. . . . Portland is seven points ahead of third-place Seattle (12). . . . Spokane (13) won at home and holds down the Western Conference’s first wild-card spot, three points ahead of idle Tri-City (11).
EAST DIVISION: Brandon (11) won at home and remained two points behind Kelowna, which leads the WHL’s overall standings. . . . Regina (12) picked up a loser point at home and remains second, a comfortable nine points ahead of Swift Current (11), which lost on the road.
CENTRAL DIVISION: Calgary (11) won on the road and now leads the division by four points over Medicine Hat (11), which lost on the road. . . . Red Deer (12) won on the road and trails Medicine Hat by six points, but is four points ahead of Kootenay (10), which also won on the road. . . . Kootenay holds down the Eastern Conference’s first wild-card spot, seen points ahead of Edmonton (11), which lost at home.
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In Brandon, G Jordan Papirny, in his 100th WHL regular-season appearance, stopped 32 shots to help the Wheat Kings to a 5-0 victory over the Medicine Hat Tigers. . . . Papirny has six career shutouts, five of them this season. . . . F Rihards Bukarts’ 26th goal, at 15:58 of the second period, stood up as the winner. Bukarts scored twice. . . . D Eric Roy, F John Quenneville and F Tim McGauley each had two assists. . . . McGauley’s point streak now is at 17 games. He has 36 points, including 24 assists, during that stretch. . . . D Ivan Provorov returned to Brandon’s lineup after a six-game injury-related absence. He scored his 13th goal and also had an assist. . . . The game marked the last time, barring a playoff meeting, that the three Quenneville brothers will play in the same WHL game. John, 18, and Peter, 20, who had one assist, play for the Wheaties; David, 16, is a defenceman with the Tigers. . . . G Logan Thompson returned from a case of pink eye to back up Papirny. G Alex Moodie remains out with a suspected concussion. . . . The Wheat Kings (45-10-6), who won the season series 4-0-0, have won two in a row. . . . The Tigers (37-21-3) have lost three in a row. . . .

In Regina, F Jaedon Descheneau scored in the fifth round of a shootout to give the Kootenay Ice a 5-4 victory over the Pats. . . . With the Ice shooting first, he was the only scorer in the shootout. . . . Regina D Connor Hobbs forced OT with his second goal of the season, but his first since being acquired by Regina from Medicine Hat in January, with 45.2 seconds left in the third period. . . . The Pats led 2-0 after one period and 3-1 early in the second. . . . Descheneau scored his 29th goal at 8:25 of the second, F Sam Reinhart got No. 16 at 19:27, and F Tim Bozon gave his guys a 4-3 lead with his 29th at 11:11 of the third. . . . F Austin Vetterl and D Rinat Valiev, the latter returning after missing a game with the flu, each had two assists for the Ice. . . . F Taylor Cooper had a goal, his 23rd, and two assists for the Pats, while freshman F Sam Steel scored his 16th goal. He now has a team-high 50 points, in 55 games. . . . Ice G Wyatt Hoflin stopped 32 shots, five fewer than Regina’s Daniel Wapple. . . . The Pats were without F Austin Wagner, who is expected to be out for up to two weeks. He was injured Monday when he collided with teammate Colby Williams. . . . The Ice (32-27-3) is 4-0-2 in its last six games. . . . Regina (33-19-8) had won its previous four games. . . . Taylor Rocca of the Cranbrook Daily Townsman has a game story right here. . . .

In Saskatoon, F Cameron Hebig and F Brett Stovin each scored twice as the Blades dumped the Swift Current Broncos, 6-2. . . . Hebig, who also had an assist, has 16 goals; Stovin has 27. . . . Blades F Nick Zajac had two assists. . . . The Blades led 2-0 at 7:11 of the first period and were ahead 3-1 and 6-1 at the intermissions. . . . F Colby Cave got his 29th goal for the Broncos, while F Jake DeBrusk had two assists. . . . Saskatoon G Brock Hamm turned aside 46 shots. . . . Saskatoon was 1-for-1 on the PP; Swift Current was 0-for-3. . . . The Blades (18-39-4) snapped a four-game losing streak (0-3-1). . . . The Broncos (30-26-5) had won their previous three games. . . . Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix has a game story right here. . . .

In Edmonton, D Haydn Fleury broke a 1-1 tie at 6:41 of the third period as the Red Deer Rebels beat the Oil Kings, 2-1. . . . Edmonton F Lane Bauer scored his 20th goal at 9:09 of the second period, on a PP. . . . Red Deer F Adam Musil tied it with his 12th goal, at 5:19 of the third, on a PP. Fleury drew the primary assist. . . . Rebels G Rylan Toth stopped 40 shots, 19 more than Edmonton’s Tristan Jarry. . . . The Rebels remain without F Conner Bleackley, their captain. Brent Sutter, the Rebels' GM and head coach, told the Red Deer Advocate that Bleackley may be out up to three more weeks. . . . Red Deer (31-20-9) had lost its previous two games. . . . The Oil Kings slipped to 27-28-6. . . .

In Portland, D Jake Bean scored at 1:36 of OT as the Calgary Hitmen beat the Winterhawks, 5-4. . . . Bean’s sixth goal won it after the Winterhawks had a chance to win it on a late PP. . . . (There was post-game chatter that Calgary F Elliott Peterson may have re-directed Bean’s point shot). . . . The Hitmen trailed 2-0 at 15:51 of the first period and 4-1 early in the second. . . . Calgary F Jake Virtanen scored his 18th goal at 15:08 of the second and D Ben Thomas got his sixth at 17:53. . . . Calgary F Kenton Helgesen forced OT with his 19th goal, shorthanded, at 12:17 of the third period. . . . F Chase Lang had two assists for Calgary, including the only one on the winner. . . . Helgesen also had an assist, as did Virtanen. . . . F Adam Tambellini scored his 42nd goal for Calgary. . . . Portland F Oliver Bjorkstrand had a goal and two assists. He now is tied for the WHL goal-scoring lead, with 46. He also has at least a goal in 10 straight games, one shy of the Portland franchise record. The WHL record (18) was set by F Cliff Ronning of the New Westminster Bruins in 1984-85. . . . Portland D Anton Cederholm and F Nic Petan each had two assists, while F Chase De Leo got his 30th goal. . . . The game featured two goaltenders who were traded for each other in January — Evan Johnson was making just his second appearance for Portland; Brendan Burke made his 11th appearance with Calgary. . . . On this night, Burke left in the second period after giving up four goals on 22 shots. Mack Shields came on to stop all 22 shots he faced. . . . Johnson stopped 33 shots. . . . Portland was 2-for-6 on the PP; Calgary was 0-for-4. . . . Calgary (38-18-5) is 4-0-0 on an 11-game road swing. The Hitmen have won six in a row and 15 of 16. . . . Portland (36-20-5) is 5-0-2 in its last seven. . . .

In Kelowna, the Rockets erased a 2-0 first-period deficit and beat the Victoria Royals, 4-2. . . . F Austin Carroll, with his 35th, and F Greg Chase, with No. 18, gave the visitors a 2-0 lead. . . . D Madison Bowey got the Rockets on the board with his 15th at 5:57 of the second and F Chase Braid tied it with his 11th, via the PP, at 15:07. . . . F Leon Draisaitl gave Kelowna its first lead, with his 12th, at 13:22 of the third. . . . Rockets F Tyson Baillie iced it with his 35th goal, shorthanded, at 15:57. . . . F Cole Linaker had two assists for the Rockets. . . . Kelowna was 1-for-3 on the PP; Victoria was 0-for-7. . . . F Rourke Chartier, who is tied for the WHL’s goal-scoring lead, was among Kelowna’s scratches. . . . Kelowna (47-10-4) had split two games in Victoria last weekend. . . . The Royals are 33-24-4. . . .

In Spokane, F Calder Brooks scored twice and added an assist to lead the Chiefs to a 3-1 victory over the Everett Silvertips. . . . F Nikita Scherbak gave the visitors a 1-0 lead at 16:55 of the second period. He’s got 25 goals. . . . Brooks tied it with 17.6 seconds left in the period and then gave the Chiefs the lead at 7:09 of the third, on a PP. He’s got 18 goals. . . . Spokane F Adam Helewka iced it with his 32nd, an empty-netter, at 19:58. . . . Spokane G Garret Hughson stopped 23 shots, seven fewer than Everett’s Austin Lotz. . . . The Chiefs (28-27-4) snapped a three-game losing skid. . . . The Silvertips slipped to 37-18-7.
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THURSDAY’S GAME

(all times local)
Edmonton at Lethbridge, 7 p.m.
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Alex Smidt with @WHLKootenayICE forward and @CanadiensMTL prospect @timbozon94. Both overcame meningitis pic.twitter.com/OMd9zaJfr2
— Regina Pats (@WHLpats) February 26, 2015

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Where is the creativity? . . . Giants lose their captain . . . Cougars big in Quesnel

Former NHLer Igor Larionov, who first starred with Red Army, has written an intriguing piece that appears on The Players’ Tribune website. For the most part, he deals with the lack of creativity in the North American game.
In part, Larionov writes:
“The problem is more philosophical and starts way before players get to the NHL. It’s easier to destroy than to create. As a coach, it’s easier to tell your players to suffocate the opposing team and not turn the puck over. There are still players whose imagination and creativity capture the Soviet spirit — Johnny Gaudreau in Calgary, Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews in Chicago just to name a few. However, they are becoming exceptions to the rule. Many young players who are intelligent and can see the game four moves ahead are not valued. They’re told “simple, simple, simple.
“That mentality is kind of boring. Nobody wants to get fired. Nobody wants to get sent down to the minors. If you look at the coaches in Juniors and minor league hockey, many of them were not skill players. It’s a lot of former enforcers and grinders who take these coaching jobs. Naturally, they tell their players to be just like them. Their players are 17, 18 years old — younger than I was when I joined the Red Army team.
“Say what you want about the Whiplash mentality (or the Soviet mentality), but if coaches are going to push kids at that age, why are they pushing them to play a simple game? Why aren’t coaches pushing them to create a masterpiece?
“Many young players who are intelligent and can see the game four moves ahead are not valued.”
The complete piece is right here and it’s well worth your time.
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The Vancouver Giants have lost F Dalton Sward, their captain, perhaps for the remainder of the season. Sward suffered a break to his left hand during a 1-0 victory over the visiting Kamloops Blazers on Saturday and the Giants say he’ll sit for up to six weeks. . . . Sward, 20, has played in 294 regular-season WHL games, all with the Giants. . . . Meanwhile, F Matt Bellerive, who has been out with an illness since Jan. 25, is back practising; however, he has yet to be cleared for contact. . . . Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province has more on the Giants right here.
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My friend Dickson Liong was there last week when the Vancouver Giants held Acceptance Day as they played host to the Moose Jaw Warriors. For Liong, whose stories you sometimes find on this blog, Acceptance Day has more than a little personal meeting. . . . His story is right here.
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The Prince George Cougars began their trip to Kent, Wash., on Monday, by stopping in Quesnel to practise and hang out with players from the minor hockey association there. The Cougars will be in Williams Lake today (Tuesday) and 100 Mile House on Wednesday. . . . At day’s end Monday, the Cougars presented the Quesnel Minor Hockey Association with a cheque for $1,500. That resulted in the following tweet from Quesnel native Mitch Love, a former WHL player who now is an assistant coach with the Everett Silvertips. . . .

What a class act by the @PGCougars for the friendly donation to the Quesnel minor hockey association. #myhometown #forthekids
— Mitch Love (@mlovehockey) February 24, 2015

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The Red Deer Rebels have added F Reese Johnson, 16, to their roster, bringing him in from the midget AAA Saskatoon Blazers, whose season is over. . . . Johnson had 38 points, 23 of them goals, in 43 games. . . . The Rebels are without injured forwards Conner Bleackley, Brooks Maxwell and Evan Polei, so Johnson could get some playing time. . . . His older brother, Wyatt, has 23 goals and 23 assists with the Rebels, who next play Wednesday in Edmonton. . . .
Is there anyone who is hotter than Portland F Oliver Bjorkstrand? He has at least one goal in eight straight games. In that eight-game streak, he has put up 21 points, 12 of them goals. . . . Bjorkstrand played for Denmark at the WJC. Since returning, he has 42 points, including 22 goals, in 18 games. On the season, he has 82 points, including 43 goals, in 46 games. . . .
F Aaron Macklin of the Prince George Cougars will sit for a game after instigating a fight in the last five minutes of Saturday’s game against the visiting Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . The Cougars have been fined $500 for that incident. . . . Meanwhile, the Regina Pats were fined $250 for a warmup violation against the visiting Red Deer Rebels on Saturday. I have long believed that a “warmup violation” is when the pre-game coffee isn’t hot enough.
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“According to the New York-based Women’s Sports Foundation,” writes Roy MacGregor of The Globe and Mail, “a survey of American studies of high-school and college athletes suggests that “girls and women suffer from concussions at higher rates than boys and men in similar sports – often significantly higher.” . . . MacGregor’s complete story is right here.
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MONDAY’S GAME:

In Saskatoon, F Taylor Cooper scored the only goal of a shootout to give the Regina Pats a 5-4 victory over the Blades. . . . The Pats have won each of the last 14 regular-season meetings between these teams. . . . Cooper was the first shooter in the shootout and his goal stood up as the winner. . . . The Blades led 1-0 after the first period and had 2-0 and 3-1 leads in the second and third periods. . . . F Rykr Cole scored his seven goal at 5:47 of the third to get the Pats’ comeback started. . . . Cooper, in his first game back after being out with an undisclosed injury, tied it with his 22nd goal at 7:28 and F Luc Smith gave the visitors the lead with his second goal of the season at 9:04. . . . Saskatoon F Ryan Graham forced OT with his 16th goal at 9:48. . . . Cooper also had an assist. . . . The Blades got shorthanded goals from F Brett Stovin and F Nick Zajac. Stovin has 25 goals; Zajac has nine. . . . Graham also had an assist, and Saskatoon D Amil Krupic had two assists. . . . Regina G Daniel Wapple stopped 40 shots, eight more than Saskatoon’s Nik Amundrud. . . . The game, which started at 11:30 a.m., was billed as Team Up For Respect. Attendance was announced as 8,681. . . . Each team was 0-for-4 on the PP. . . . The Pats lost F Austin Wagner, who needed help getting to the dressing room after a third-period collision with D Colby Williams, a teammate. Wagner didn’t return. . . . Regina (33-19-7) is second in the East Division, 10 points ahead of Swift Current. The Pats have won three in a row. . . . The Blades (17-39-4) have lost four straight (0-3-1). . . . Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix has a game story right here.
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TUESDAY’S GAMES

(all times local)
Kootenay at Swift Current, 7 p.m.
Portland vs. Tri-City, at Kennewick, Wash., 7:05 p.m.
Calgary vs. Seattle, at Kent, Wash., 7:05 p.m.
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Players shake hands in the name of respect. pic.twitter.com/nKAEPTgHRW
— Daniel Nugent-Bowman (@DNBsports) February 23, 2015

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