Wayne Fleming memorial scheduled for July 16

THE MacBETH REPORT:
D Doug Lynch (Red Deer, Spokane, 1998-2003) signed a one-year contract extension with Red Bull Salzburg (Austria, Erste Bank Liga). He had two goals and two assists in 33 games with Frölunda Gothenburg (Sweden, Elitserien) before returning to Red Bull, where he had one goal and two assists in 14 games last season. . . .
F Patrik Valcak (Lethbridge, Kelowna, 2003-04) signed a try-out contract with Dinamo Riga (Latvia, KHL). He had 15 goals and 41 assists in 38 games with Polish champions Cracovia Krakow (Poland, Ekstraliga) last season. Valcak led Ekstraliga in scoring and assists. . . .
F Chad Bassen (Regina, Vancouver, Medicine Hat, Everett, 2000-04) signed a one-year contract with Grizzly Adams Wolfsburg (Germany, DEL). He had eight goals and four assists in 42 games for Augsburger Panther (Germany, DEL) last season. This will be the 10th season in the DEL for Bassen, who holds dual Canadian-German citizenship. . . .
F Dylan Stanley (Tri-City, 2000-05) signed a one-year contract with Gherdeina Val Gardena (Italy, Austria Inter-National-League). He had 38 goals and 33 assists in 40 games with EV Bozen 84 Bolzano and Neumarkt/Egna (both Italy, Serie A2) last season. Stanley’s 38 goals led Serie A2 in goals and he finished third in league scoring.
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Peter Friedel, who has been with the Kamloops Blazers for 30 years, most recently as an assistant trainer, needs a kidney. There’s a whole lot more about his story right here.
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As you may be aware, organ donation is something that is near and dear to my heart because my wife is awaiting a kidney transplant, as well.
Here is a comment that appears on The Daily News website, under the story on Peter Friedel:
“I am from Kamloops and donated a kidney 14 months ago, it was the most rewarding experience of my life, I urge the people of Kamloops to get tested and get on the donor list, If you lived to be 150 you could never do something more rewarding, My wife and I wish Peter the best in his journey.”
I couldn’t have said it better myself. At the very least, do some research on organ donation. Learn how many people are waiting for kidneys and find out what awaits those people who choose to donate. You may be surprised at what you learn.
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What follows appeared in the Vancouver Province last week:
With 400 people in B.C. desperately waiting for a kidney transplant, doctors and dialysis patients are desperately trying to raise awareness of organ donation.
According to a study released in the June issue of the medical journal Transplantation, ethnic minorities are least likely to donate organs — 89 per cent of B.C. organ donors were Caucasian, with South Asians making up a mere 1.08 per cent.
"The reality is in certain cultural groups, diseases have a stigma attached to it," said Dr. Jagbir Gill, nephrologist at St. Paul's Hospital.
"It's a lot for people to have to put their disease out there — to have to put out the fact that they need a transplant." It's believed much of the hesitation has to do with lack of awareness as well.
"Donating a kidney is not associated with death," said Gill. "People's risk of developing kidney disease doesn't change by donating a kidney.
"We live without our appendix, without our gall bladder and people don't have any long-term effects from it."
Potential donors undergo a number of tests to ensure it's safe to donate.
And if time or money is an issue, the Kidney Foundation of Canada has a reimbursement program for those facing financial barriers, which covers hospital expenses and a certain amount of travel and loss of income.
According to Gill, organ-donor patients spend about two days in hospital and require up to four weeks off work (eight weeks for heavy work).
"Most people feel quite good by the end of the first month," he said.
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You may be aware that Yoenis Cespedes of the Oakland Athletics won the Home Run Derby on Monday night. But you may not know a whole lot about him or his family. The story of how his family got from Cuba to the U.S. is amazing. Susan Slusser and Demian Bulwa have a fantastic story right here about that journey.
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F Blake Geoffrion of the Montreal Canadiens announced his retirement on Monday. Geoffrion, 25, hasn’t played since suffering a fractured skull and brain injury during an AHL game in November. . . . John Buccigross takes a look at Geoffrion, from his name to the end of his career, right here.
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The Edmonton Oil Kings have signed F Davis Koch, who was their first selection in the 2013 bantam draft. Koch, from Surrey, B.C., had 104 points in 56 games at the Okanagan Hockey Academy last season. The Oil Kings didn’t have a first-round pick and took Koch 42nd overall.
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The Tri-City Americans have placed F Lukas Walter, 20, and G Luke Lee-Knight, 20, on waivers. . . . Walter, from Langley, B.C., had three points in 68 games last season, while Lee-Knight was 11-9-0, 3.90, .881 in 21 games. . . . The Americans now have four 1993-born players left from their season-ending roster — F Phil Tot, whose last season was ended by a brain injury just 15 games into it, F Tyson Dallman, D Zach Yuen and D Mitch Topping. Since season's end, they also have acquired F Jessey Astles from the Saskatoon Blades.
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In North American, where track and field isn’t a mainstream sports, it may not have gotten much attention. But the biggest sports story on Sunday involved positive drug tests. . . . Mike Costello of BBC Radio 5 writes right here about how “five of the 10 quickest men in history now have tested positive.” This is a huge story, especially with what is going on with the Jamaican sprinters, although not Usain Bolt.
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Mary Pilon of The New York Times has more on the doping scandal right here.
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THE COACHING GAME:
The ECHL’s Stockton Thunder has hired Rich Kromm as its director of hockey operations and head coach. Kromm takes over from Matt Thomas, who left to become head coach at the U of Alaska-Anchorage. . . . Kromm, 49, is a former head coach of the Portland Winterhawks. He spent the past three seasons with the Evansville IceMen, who played in the ECHL. . . . Brian Sandy, the Thunder’s new president, was with the Tri-City Americans while Kromm was with the Winterhawks.


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THE MacBETH REPORT:
D Doug Lynch (Red Deer, Spokane, 1998-2003) signed a contract for the rest of this season with Red Bull Salzburg (Austria, Erste Bank Liga) after his release by Frölunda Gothenburg (Sweden, Elitserien). He had two goals and two assists in 33 games with Frölunda this season. Lynch has spent the past three seasons and four of the last five with Red Bull.
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The WHL trade deadline is due to arrive on Thursday.
There has been talk that the OHL may move its deadline until sometime next week.
The WHL, it seems, isn’t about to change anything. Asked on Sunday night if the WHL would move its trade deadline, an official with one WHL team quickly responded: “No.”
Some WHL teams, however, are going to lose players, perhaps for the remainder of this season.
Once NHL camps open next weekend, D Morgan Rielly of the Moose Jaw Warriors will report to the Toronto Maple Leafs, reports Kevin McGran of the Toronto Star right here.
As for other WHLers, D Griffin Reinhart of the Edmonton Oil Kings will check in with the New York Islanders, while D Mathew Dumba of the Red Deer Rebels could go to camp with the Minnesota Wild.
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SUNDAY’S GAMES:
In Calgary, F Brady Brassart scored twice to lead the Hitmen to a 5-4 victory over the Vancouver Giants. . . . Brassart’s second goal, his 13th of the season, broke a 4-4 tie on the PP at 10:39 of the third period. . . . Calgary has won three in a row. . . . D Brett Kulak had a goal and two assists for the Giants. . . . Calgary G Mack Shields stopped 22 shots. . . . Vancouver G Payton Lee, in his first start since playing for Team Pacific at the U17 World Hockey Challenge, stopped 29 shots. . . . Having added G Jared Rathjen, 18, in a trade with the Victoria Royals last week, the Giants have assigned G Tyler Fuhr, 17, to an unspecified AJHL team. He went 4-8-0, 4.74, .830 with the Giants. . . . Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province reported after the game that Giants D Wes Vannieuwenhuizen, their captain, suffered a hand injury while blocking a shot in a 5-0 loss in Edmonton on Saturday and will be out for at least four weeks. . . . Ewen also reported that F Rob Trzonkowski suffered a knee injury in the loss in Calgary and will be out indefinitely. Trzonkowski, 18, was acquired from Kamloops on Wednesday night in a deal that had F Kale Kessy, 20, move to the Blazers. . . .

In Regina, D Colton Jobke broke a 1-1 tie at 3:47 of the third period and the Regina Pats went on to beat the Brandon Wheat Kings, 3-1. . . . The goal was Jobke’s second of the season. . . . Regina F Morgan Klimchuk iced it with an empty-netter at 19:08, his 21st goal of the season. . . . The Pats have won five in a row, while Brandon has lost four straight. . . . Brandon F Mike Ferland, 20, sat out his third straight game with an undisclosed injury. . . . This was the first time these teams have played each other since opening weekend. . . .

In Cranbrook, F Erik Benoit scored twice to lead the Kootenay Ice to a 3-2 victory over the Red Deer Rebels. . . . The Ice has won five straight games. . . . Benoit broke a 1-1 tie at 10:44 of the third period and then upped the lead to 3-1 at 14:14. . . . Red Deer G Bolton Pouliot stopped 45 shots, 24 more than the Ice’s Mackenzie Skapski. . . . D Joey Leach had two assists for the Ice. . . .


In Lethbridge, F Reid Duke scored his first two goals this season to help the Hurricanes to a 4-1 victory over the Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . Duke, a 16-year-old from Calgary, had two goals in 12 games last season. He has two in 30 games this time around. . . . Duke was playing in his first game since returning from a stint with Team Pacific at the U17 World Hockey Challenge. . . . F Jaimen Yakubowski also scored twice for Lethbridge, giving him 23 goals in 44 games this season. He had 16 goals in 68 games last season. . . . Lethbridge G Christopher Tai stopped 40 shots as he improved to 3-1-0. . . . Moose Jaw F Jordan Messier, 20, played in his 300th regular-season game. It was his 30th game with the Warriors, after playing 270 with the Tri-City Americans.
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CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
None

CHECKING-TO-THE-HEAD COUNT:
None
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From former WHL D Kevin Kraus (@KevinMKraus): “Thanks to whatever nice individual who cleared the foot of snow off my vehicle while we were on the road #nicepeople”
Kraus is the GM/head coach of the junior B Revelstoke Grizzlies of the Kootenay International Junior League.

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.

THE MacBETH REPORT:
Kladno (Czech Republic, Extraliga) announced the signings of F Jan Dalecky (Swift Current, 2007-09) and F Jan Eberle (Seattle, 2006-08) to one-year contract extensions. . . . Dalecky had 18 goals and eight assists in 25 games for Kladno U20 (Czech Republic, U20 Extraliga), was pointless in five games on loan to Berounsti Medvedi (Czech Republic, 1.Liga), and had two assists in nine games on loan to Pisek (Czech Republic, 1.Liga). . . . Eberle had four goals and four assists in 35 games with Kladno and eight goals and nine assists in 20 games on loan to Pisek this season. . . .
D Kenton Smith (Calgary, 1995-2000) signed a one-year contract extension with the Cardiff Devils (Wales, UK Elite). He had 12 goals and 32 assists in 62 games for the Devils this season. Smith was named the winner of the Devils' Coaches' Player of the Year award this season. . . .
D Doug Lynch (Red Deer, Spokane, 1998-2003) signed a one-year contract with Frölunda Gothenburg (Sweden, Elitserien). He had 16 goals and 18 assists in 48 games for Red Bull Salzburg (Austria, Erste Bank Liga) this season.
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Taylor Vause, who played out his WHL eligibility with the Swift Current Broncos this season, is a talented young man. Highly skilled with graphics and a computer, he designs hockey-themed movie posters as a hobby. On Friday night, he posted one in tribute to the late Derek Boogaard.
It is right here.
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THE COACHING GAME:
Ryan Parent is the new director of hockey operations and head coach of the AJHL’s Lloydminster Bobcats. He had been coaching the major midget prep team at the Pursuit of Excellence in Kelowna. In 2010-11, he was an assistant coach with the BCHL’s Salmon Arm SilverBacks. . . . In Lloydminster, he replaces Brian Curran, who left for a five-year contract as GM and head coach with the AJHL’s Drumheller Dragons. . . .
Clarke Singer, the head coach of the U of Western Mustangs, who play out of London, Ont., will take a one-year sabbatical so will miss next season. Pat Powers, an assistant coach with the Mustangs, will serve as the interim head coach in Singer’s absence. . . .
There is ample speculation out there involving who will be the next head coach of the NHL’s Calgary Flames, who announced Thursday that they weren’t renewing the contract of Brent Sutter. . . . Mike Brophy of Sportsnet has said a “Calgary source” told him that Dallas Eakins, the head coach of the AHL’s Toronto Marlies, will get a serious look. Brophy also wrote that “other candidates being mentioned for the Flames' job include Troy Ward, head coach with Calgary's farm team, former Bruins coach Mike Sullivan, ex-Oilers coach Craig MacTavish, Bob Boughner and Bob Hartley.” . . . Roger Millions, who covers the Flames for Sportstnet, tossed out the name of Mike Johnston, the GM/head coach of the Portland Winterhawks. Johnston has NHL experience as an assistant coach under head coach Marc Crawford with the Vancouver Canucks and Los Angeles Kings.
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In the AHL, the Norfolk Admirals ran their amazing winning streak to 26 games with a 5-1 victory over the host Albany Devils. D Keith Aulie, who played in Brandon, had two assists and was plus-3, while F Tyler Johnson (Spokane) had an assist and was plus-2. . . . G Dustin Tokarski (Spokane) was on the bench in a backup role.
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The Humboldt Broncos won their fourth SJHL title in six years on Friday, beating the Red Wings 6-0 in Weyburn to take the best-of-seven final in six games. . . . Dean Brockman, the Broncos’ general manager and head coach, has been there for all four titles; the others came in 2007, 2008 and 2009. . . . The Broncos will meet the MJHL-champion Portage Terriers in the Anavet Cup series. But the Broncos are the host team for the RBC Cup — the national junior A championship tournament — so the Terriers are automatically in, too.
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Followers of the OHL’s Sarnia Sting have this little-known tradition of throwing walleye — some may know them as pickerel — on the ice after their favourite team’s first goal of a game. . . . No more. . . . The OHL has lowered the boom, as Neate Sager of Buzzing The Net relates right here. . . . I will say that a dead walleye belongs in a frying pan, not on a sheet of ice in an arena. . . . Hey, do fans of the Flin Flon Bombers still toss moose hooves onto the ice?
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Matthew Gourlie of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald reports that the Moose Jaw Warriors may get all three of their injured players back for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference final. That series opens in Edmonton against the Oil Kings on Friday. . . . The Warriors have said that D Morgan Rielly (knee) is expected to play in the opener. . . . Gourlie writes that F Jordan Wyton and F Torrin White also might be ready. . . . Wyton suffered a broken hand during a March 13 practice. . . . White has been out since going knee-to-knee with Medicine Hat Tigers F Emerson Etem in Game 1 of their conference semifinal series. Etem drew a one-game suspension for the hit.
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TWEET OF THE DAY:
From Kamloops Blazers F Jordan DePape (@papskos17): “Well, its already been 7 years today living strong and healthy with type 1 diabetes, almost 15,000 needles later! Time sure flys! #strength)
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FRIDAY’S GAME:
In Spokane, F Dominik Uher scored at 6:28 of OT to give the Chiefs a 3-2 victory over the Tri-City Americans. . . . The series is tied 2-2 with Game 5 in Kennewick, Wash., tonight. . . . They’ll play Game 6 in Spokane on Monday. . . . Uher beat Tri-City G Ty Rimmer on the shortside with a backhand shot from the right circle. . . . This was the fourth one-goal game of the series and the second decided in OT. . . . It was the 10th time in the last 17 playoff meetings between these teams that they needed OT to settle the issue. So if you’re going to tonight’s game, you should tell the babysitter that you’ll be late. . . . Spokane F Dylan Walchuk took off on a breakaway — Tri-City D Zach Yuen fell in the neutral zone — and hit a post with 1:40 left in the third period. . . . The Chiefs got first-period goals from F Colin Valcourt and F Mitch Holmberg. . . . Holmberg got his ninth of these playoffs on the PP. . . . The Americans tied it in the second, on goals by D Derek Ryckman and F Adam Hughesman, the latter scoring on the PP. . . . Spokane G Eric Williams stopped 33 shots, one fewer than Rimmer. . . . Tri-City F Brendan Shinnimin was held off the scoresheet, ending his point streak at 30 games. The last time he went without a point was in a Jan. 29 game in Calgary. He put up 72 points, including 34 goals, in those 30 games.

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THE MacBETH REPORT:
D Doug Lynch (Red Deer, Spokane, 1998-2003) was signed to a contract extension for the rest of this season by Red Bull Salzburg (Austria, Erste Bank Liga) at the end of his three-month contract. He has four goals and five assists in 16 games for Red Bull this season. Last season, Lynch had seven goals and 21 assists in 44 games for Red Bull.
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Neate Sager of Yahoo! Sports either has too much time on his hands, or he’s a real hard-core junior hockey fan.
Bet on the latter.
F Emerson Etem of the Medicine Hat Tigers goes into the weekend with 22 goals in 16 games, which is eight more goals than any other WHL player.
“So just for fun,” Sager writes, “and to be a huge stat nerd, someone pored through 15 years of WHL game-by-game stats to look up how many other players had scored so prolifically through their first 16 games.”
We will leave it to you to figure out who that someone was.
His findings are reported right here.
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The WHL firmed up a pair of suspensions on Thursday.
F Darian Dziurzynski of the Brandon Wheat Kings will sit two games for a charging major he incurred late in their 7-3 victory over the Broncos in Swift Current on Tuesday. He will sit out Friday and Saturday games against the visiting Calgary Hitmen and Medicine Hat Tigers. (The latter game, by the way, signals Chapter 2 in the Clouston Contest, with Shaun, the head coach of the Tigers, holding 1 -0 edge over Cory, the Wheat Kings’ head coach.)
F Jordyn Boyd of the Everett Silvertips received a one-game suspension after being hit with a clipping major in a 4-3 shootout loss to the host Lethbridge Hurricanes on Wednesday.
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In the QMJHL, meanwhile, F Jonathan Lessard of the Baie-Comeau Drakkar was hit with a 15-game suspension. He initiated a knee-on-knee hit on Quebec Remparts F Nick Sorensen on Oct. 28. Sorensen, a freshman from Sweden, suffered a season-ending knee injury on the play. According to the Remparts, Sorensen has ACL and MCL damage and won’t play for up to six months.
As a sidebar to that suspension, Patrick Roy, the Remparts’ GM/head coach, was fined $2,500.
The QMJHL employs a discipline system that employs an independent disciplinarian, in this case a gentleman named Raymond Bolduc.
After the game in which Sorensen was hurt, Roy told the media that the league’s disciplinary system had one problem, that being that Bolduc was “too nice”, resulting in discipline that wasn’t nearly stiff enough.
Gilles Courteau, the QMJHL commissioner, said in a statement: "At no time will I permit that a staff member of a Quebec Major Junior Hockey League club make inappropriate comments toward League personnel, especially in regards to their capacity to accomplish a mandate which I have given them."
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JUST NOTES: The ECHL’s Alaska Aces have released G Andrew Hayes (Brandon, 2007-10). The move was made in order to make roster room for G Adam Courchaine, who played with the Aces last season but opened this season with the AHL’s Providence Bruins. The NHL’s Boston Bruins re-assigned Courchaine to the Aces on Thursday. . . . Rob Henderson of the Brandon Sun reports that Hayes “is expected to go to the University of Regina.” . . . The Vancouver Giants have Russian F Alex Kuvaev, 18, on their list. Kuvaev had 24 points in 58 games with the Lethbridge Hurricanes last season, but was dropped prior to the 2011 CHL import draft. The Kootenay Ice picked up his rights, but dropped him after learning that he had signed a three-year contract with the KHL’s Dynamo Moscow. Dynamo had acquired Kuvaev’s rights from HC Vityaz Chekhov. The Giants are playing with just one import — Slovakian F Marek Tvrdon, who has 20 points in 17 games after shoulder woes limited him to 12 games (and 11 points) last season . . . .
D Zach Habscheid of the Victoria Royals will be back in the lineup tonight against the visiting Vancouver Giants. Habscheid, 19, has missed 11 games since suffering the fourth concussion of his career on Oct. 6. . . . The Royals continue to be without D Tyler Stahl, 19, who has sat out 13 games since suffering a concussion on Oct. 1.
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From today’s Regina Leader-Post:
“Delisle Chiefs goalie Cam Irwin scored an empty-net goal with 44 seconds left in Wednesday's Prairie Junior Hockey League game against the visiting Saskatoon Quakers.
Irwin, who also made 20 saves, helped the Chiefs win 7-4. Paul Sonntag led the Chiefs with two goals and an assist.”
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The Connolly family quite enjoyed it when F Brett Connolly of the Tampa Bay Lightning scored his first NHL goal the other night.
Dave Kearsey of the Western Star in Corner Brook, Nfld., has that story right here.
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TWEET OF THE DAY:
This comes from the aforementioned Brett Connolly, who on Thursday afternoon tweeted:
“Nothing like buying your first car. And nothing like going to the rink in flip flops. What a job.”

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
     
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
     
Taking Note on Twitter

Great day for Morrow

THE MacBETH REPORT:
D Doug Lynch (Red Deer, Spokane, 1998-2003) signed a contract extension with Red Bull Salzburg (Austria, Erste Bank Liga). He had seven goals and 21 assists in 44 games with Red Bull last season. . . .
F Simon Ferguson (Lethbriodge, Kelowna, 1999-2004) signed a one-year contract with Esbjerg (Denmark, AL-Bank Liga). He had 20 goals and 15 assists in 51 games with the Utah Grizzlies (ECHL) last season. . . .
F Björn Svensson (Saskatoon, Moose Jaw, 2003-06) signed a one-year contract with Eisbären Berlin (Germany, DEL). He had four goals and 14  assists with Timrå (Sweden, Elitserien) last season. . . .
F Roman Tomanek (Calgary, Seattle, 2004-06) signed a one-year contract with Mlada Boleslav (Czech Republic, Extraliga). He had 29 goals and 18 assists in 48 games with Banska Bystrica (Slovakia, Extraliga) last season.
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You just know that this is going to be a great day for Portland Winterhawks D Joe Morrow.
Morrow, who has played three seasons in Portland, is in Edmonton at the Canadian national junior team’s development camp.
And the Pittsburgh Penguins are expected to announce today that they have signed him to a three-year entry-level contract. They selected him 23rd overall in the NHL’s 2011 draft.
Morrow, who doesn’t turn 19 until Dec. 9, had 49 points, including nine goals, and 67 penalty minutes in 60 games with Portland last season. In 165 regular-season games, he has 16 goals and 71 assists, to go along with 152 penalty minutes.
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Hockey Canada finalized the 22-player roster for the team that will play in the U-18 Ivan Hlinka Memorial tournament and five of the skaters are from the WHL. D Matt Dumba (Red Deer), D Derrick Pouliot (Portland), D Griffin Reinhart (Edmonton), D Morgan Rielly (Moose Jaw) and F Hunter Shinkaruk (Medicine Hat) made the club that will play in the tournament that runs from Monday through Aug. 13 in Breclav, Czech Republic, and Piestany, Slovakia. . . . Don Nachbaur, the head coach of the Spokane Chiefs, is an assistant coach. The head coach is Steve Spott of the OHL’s Kitchener Rangers. . . . There is no radio or TV coverage of the tournament. . . . Canada, which has won the tournament each of the last three years, will play an exhibition game against Slovakia in Piestany on Saturday and then opens the tournament against Sweden on Monday.
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THE COACHING GAME:
Jim Parker of the Windsor Star reports that Bob Boughner is expected to return as head coach of the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires today. After winning back-to-back Memorial Cups, Boughner, who owns a piece of the Spitfires, spent last season as an assistant coach with the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets. . . . Bob Jones, the associate coach under Boughner, was the club’s head coach last season. . . .
Nick Patterson of the Everett Herald reports that the Everett Silvertips may be in the market for a goaltending coach. According to Patterson, “Sources indicate that Sigalet is in line to become the goaltending coach for the AHL's Abbotsford Heat.” . . . Sigalet spent last season working with the Silvertips on a part-time basis. . . .
Greg Ireland is to be named head coach of the OHL’s Owen Sound Attack today. Fred Wallace of CFOS Radio reported Tuesday that the job had been offered to Ireland, 46. A coach since 1992, Ireland spent the last eight seasons in the AHL, with the San Antonio Rampage and Grand Rapids Griffins. He will replace Mark Reeds, who guided the Attack to the OHL championship last season and has since signed on as an assistant coach with the NHL’s Ottawa Senators. . . . Owen Sound assistant coach Terry Virtue, a former WHL player and assistant coach, was on the short list. According to Wallace, Virtue “is expected to remain with the Attack, conceivably with elevated responsibilities.” . . .
The AHL’s Houston Aeros have named Sebastien Laplante and Mike Van Ryn as assistant coaches. They will work with head coach John Torchetti. . . . Laplante, 38, spent the last three seasons as an assistant coach at Northeastern University. . . . Van Ryn, 32, was an assistant coach with the OHL’s Niagara IceDogs last season. . . .
The OHL’s Erie Otters have agreed to two-year contract extensions with head coach Robbie Ftorek, who had one year left on his present deal, and assistant coach Peter Sidorkiewicz.
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JUST NOTES: As speculated late last week, the AHL’s Abbotsford Heat has named Ryan Walter (Kamloops, Seattle, 1984-78) as president. Walter spent last season as the head coach of Canada’s national women’s team after working two seasons as an assistant coach with the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks. The Heat is the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Calgary Flames. . . . The BCHL’s Victoria Grizzlies have dealt F Evan Richardson, 17, to the Powell River Kings for G Michael Garteig, 20, D Braden Pears, 18, and F Scott Renner, 18. Richardson was selected 15th overall by the Swift Current Broncos in the 2009 WHL bantam draft, but has committed to attend Boston College for the 2013-14 season. Last season, he had 42 points, including 12 goals, in 55 games with the Grizzlies. . . . The Grizzlies apparently were concerned that Richardson may end up in the USHL this season. . . . F Colton Graf (Chilliwack, 2006-08) has chosen to attend Simon Fraser University and play for its hockey club in the B.C. Intercollegiate league. Graf, 21, played the last two seasons with the MJHL’s Dauphin Kings. He put up 92 points in 111 regular-season games with Dauphin.
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Another former WHL player has had to quit hockey because of post-concussion syndrome.
Eric Doyle (Everett, Swift Current, Portland, 2005-10) has told Jon Keen, the radio voice of the Kamloops Blazers: “Over my career I had five diagnosed concussions . . . and probably two more that weren't. The last three concussions all came pretty close together and were the worst by far.”
Doyle last skated in November with the ECHL’s Ontario Reign. He was able to play only 12 games with the Reign, though.

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
     
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
     
Taking Note on Twitter