The Sports Curmudgeon celebrates (?) the end of 2012 with his Meathead of the Year posting. You won’t want to miss it and it’s right here.
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If you are at all concerned about concussions in sport, including the WHL, you should be paying attention to this website right here.
It is the sports page for the PBS-TV investigative program FRONTLINE. And there is some remarkable information available there.
For example, the site has been tracking concussions in the NFL this season. In the Week 16 Roundup, Jason M. Breslow begins:
“Through the first 15 weeks of the NFL season, roughly 10 players per week suffered a concussion. This past weekend, teams appeared to outdo that pace as at least 12 players — including three who have already had a concussion this year — left games due to possible head injuries.”
If you are paying attention, the number of head injuries being suffered by athletes, including WHL players, is absolutely mind-boggling.
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Right here is another Frontline piece, this one written by Steve Fainaru and Mark Fainaru-Wada, who are writing a book on football and brain injuries that will be published in 2013.
This story details how “the NFL’s retirement board awarded disability payments to at least three former players after concluding that football caused their crippling brain injuries — even as the league’s top medical experts for years consistently denied any link between the sport and long-term brain damage.”
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Fainaru and Fainaru-Wade have another piece right here in which they write:
“Three years after Congress pressured the NFL to overhaul its concussion program, the league effort remains marked by inconsistencies in how it tracks, manages and even describes serious head injuries, making it difficult to assess the league’s progress on the issue, an analysis by ESPN’s Outside the Lines and PBS FRONTLINE shows.
“The analysis found that NFL officials this season have released conflicting data about head injuries, and medical personnel have sent some injured players back into games — possibly in violation of new league guidelines.”
Check out that piece right here.
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The gang at CBC Regina’s The Morning Edition set up a chat with Shelley Lipon, the mother of Team Canada forward JC Lipon, who also plays for the Kamloops Blazers, on Monday morning. Shelley and her husband, Jason, are in Ufa, Russia, taking in all the excitement of the World Junior Championship. That interview is right here.
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F Adam Lowry of the Swift Current Broncos was credited with an assist in a postgame scoring decision following a 4-1 loss to the Tigers in Medicine Hat on Saturday night. That extended Lowry’s point streak to 14 games. . . . The Broncos are at home to the Lethbridge Hurricanes today at 2 p.m.
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The Everett Silvertips have signed F Logan Aasman, 17, who made his WHL debut in Sunday’s 5-1 loss to the Rockets in Kelowna. The 6-foot-4, 185-pound Aasman, from Medicine Hat, had 18 points, including 12 goals, with the midget Southeast Tigers. He is the younger brother of D Ryan Aasman, who played with five different WHL teams from 2008-12.
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The OHL’s London Knights ran their win streak to 24 games on Monday, and that’s one shy of the league record that is held by the 1984-85 Kitchener Rangers. . . . On Monday, the Knights erased a 2-0 deficity and beat the host Sarnia Sting, 3-2. . . . The teams play today in London. . . . Should the Knights win today, they could set the record Friday when they play host to the Saginaw Spirit. . . . Kitchener and the QMJHL’s 1973-74 Sorel Eperviers share the CHL record. . . . On Monday, the Sting felt London should have been called for a check from behind just prior to the visitors scoring the tieing goal. . . . “It wasn’t hard to figure out who was bad and who wasn’t,” Sting head coach Jacques Beaulieu told Morris Dalla Costa of the London Free Press. “It wasn’t the London Knights or the Sarnia Sting tonight.” . . . The WHL record for longest winning streak in one season is 22 (Estevan Bruins, 1967-68).
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If you read here the other day about Dwight McMillan’s decision to step down as head coach of the SJHL’s Weyburn Red Wings, you may be have been left wondering what really happened.
Well, McMillan has written a letter thanking a whole lot of people for their support over the last 37 years.
He also writes a bit more than that.
“Unfortunately,” McMillan writes, “my term as Head Coach is over.  Scott Sabados - Team President, and the Board of Directors terminated my employment as Head Coach I then offered to allow them to have me resign and they chose to communicate my dismissal as a resignation.”
McMillan’s complete letter is right here
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MONDAY’S GAMES:
In Portland, G Mac Carruth stopped 31 shots to lead the Winterhawks to a 5-0 victory over the Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . It was the 18th straight New Year’s Eve that these teams have played in Portland and the 22nd renewal of the battle overall. . . . The Winterhawks hold a 13-8-1 edge. . . . Carruth, now 18-2-0, won his 105th regular-season game to tie the franchise record held by Darrell May Sr. (1978-82). . . . Carruth has three shutouts this season and seven in his career. . . . On Dec. 31, 2011, Carruth stopped 18 shots as Portland beat visiting Seattle, 2-0. . . . The Winterhawks, who are playing as though on a mission or something, have won nine in a row and are 28-2 over their last 30 outings. . . . They lead the overall standings by nine points over the idle Kamloops Blazers and hold a 16-point edge over the Spokane Chiefs in the U.S. Division. . . . Portland has the WHL’s top offence (172 goals for) and defence (82 goals against). . . . F Paul Bittner’s fifth goal of the season, at 12:41 of the first, stood up as the winner. . . . Portland F Brendan Leipsic got his 24th, shorhanded, and had two assists, while F Nic Petan scored No. 26. . . . The Thunderbirds have lost eight in a row. . . . F Keegan Kolesar, the 20th overall selection in the 2012 bantam draft, made his debut with Seattle. From Winnipeg, Kolesar has 26 points, including 15 goals, in 25 games with the midget AAA Winnipeg Thrashers. . . .

In Cranbrook, F Levi Cable broke a 2-2 tie at 10:20 of the third period as the Kootenay Ice got past the Calgary Hitmen, 3-2. . . . F Brock Montgomery scored the Ice’s other two goals, giving him 14. . . . Cable has five goals. . . . Calgary is 13-2-1 on the road . . . Ice G Mackenzie Skapski stopped 30 shots. . . .

In Edmonton, F Henrik Samuelsson scored three times to lead the Oil Kings to a 6-2 victory over the Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . Samuelsson, who also had an assist, has 45 points, including 22 goals, in 38 games. He joined the Oil Kings a year ago and put up 23 points, seven of them goals, in 28 games. . . . This was Samuelsson’s first WHL hat trick. . . . Edmonton D Keegan Lowe scored twice, giving him eight goals this season — in this first three season, he scored two, two and three goals. It was his first two-goal game and came in his 243rd regular-season game. . . . The Oil Kings now lead the Eastern Conference by three points over the Calgary Hitmen. . . . Bruce Luebke, the radio voice of the Wheat Kings, tweeted this during the game: “Michael Ferland goes akwardly into the boards on an attempted hit in 2nd period & then immediately limped to the #BWK dressing room.” . . .

In Kennewick, Wash., the Tri-City Americans scored the game’s last four goals and beat the Spokane Chiefs, 6-3. . . . The Americans hold a 15-6-1 edge, with one tie, in the New Year’s Eve series. . . . Spokane took a 3-2 lead into the third period, only to have F Parker Bowles tie it at 2:06 and D Drydn Dow put the Americans out front for good at 7:41. . . . Bowles, who has 10 goals, finished with two scores and an assist. . . . Tri-City F Marcus Messier played for the first time since Nov. 30 and scored the game’s first goal, his ninth. He had missed nine games with an undisclosed injury. . . . Spokane D Brenden Kichton had a goal and an assist; he’s got 44 points in 37 games. . . . The Chiefs hold a 4-2-1 edge in the season series but have lost the last two.
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CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
None

CHECKING-TO-THE-HEAD COUNT:
None
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Kelowna Rockets F Ryan Olsen (@rolsen94): “45 minutes to find a kiss . . . . Or its 3 years in a row #newyears #imgayiguess”



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Last night, the Swift Current Broncos honoured the memories of four players
who died when the team's bus crashed on Dec. 30, 1986. Board signs in memory
of Scott Kruger, Trent Kresse, Chris Mantyka and Brent Ruff were unveiled, and
Medicine Hat Tigers associate coach Darren Kruger, Scott's brother, took part
in a ceremonial faceoff.
(Swift Current Broncos photo)

The latest issue of DubNation is available and you can get to it by clicking on the cover — that’s JC Lipon of the Kamloops Blazers — right over there on the right.
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The Lethbridge Hurricanes have lost D Albin Blomqvist, perhaps for the remainder of this season, with a concussion.
Blomqvist, who turns 20 on Jan. 8, has been placed on the 30-day injured list and is at home in Sweden. He went home to Osby for Christmas and will remain there while he hopefully is able to make a full recovery.
The 6-foot-3, 200-pound Blomqvist, the 12th selection in the CHL’s 2011 import draft, had six points and 117 penalty minutes in 69 games with Lethbridge over two seasons.
Blomqvist, whose 17-year-old brother Axel is a freshman forward with the Hurricanes, hasn’t played since Dec. 5.
Albin Blomqvist is one of more than 37 players to have suffered concussions to this point in the WHL season.
While the league and its teams go to great lengths to hide injury-related information, close scrutiny of the weekly injury reports combined with information compiled from numerous sources reveals that the WHL is likely to finish this season with players having suffered more than 80 concussions.
As the Christmas break began, at least 37 players had suffered concussions, and that doesn’t include players like F Brayden Cuthbert, D Shane Pilling and F Shae Howorko, who suffered concussions last season and have yet to play in the WHL this season. The list does include Kelowna Rockets F Spencer Main, Seattle Thunderbirds F Tyler Alos and Moose Jaw Warriors D Reid Jackson, all of whom have had their seasons or careers ended by concussions this season.
Players like Kootenay F Brock Montgomery and Regina Pats D Dryden Hunt, who have suffered two concussions this season, are counted once.
While the number I have come up with is 37, I would suggest it is more than that, simply because the league and teams aren’t forthcoming with this information and there no doubt is some concussion-related information that has been hidden better than others.
No matter, though. The point is that the WHL needs to do more than it is doing to get the concussion number down a lot lower than it is. Two seasons ago, WHL players incurred around 100 concussions. At that point, the WHL stopped identifying injuries, choosing instead to go to the silly system of reporting injuries as being of the upper- or lower-body variety.
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F Alex Forsberg, the first overall selection in the WHL’s 2010 bantam draft, chose not to return to the Prince George Cougars following the Christmas break and has asked for a trade. . . . Forsberg, 5-foot-11 and 185 pounds, is from Waldheim, Sask. He will turn 18 on Jan. 4. . . . He went home on Dec. 17 and didn’t return as the Cougars resumed play with a 5-1 loss to the Royals in Victoria last night. . . . Forsberg had 40 points, including 15 goals, in 51 games last season. This season, he has 19 points, nine of them goals, in 31 games. . . . His 19-year-old brother Jesse played three seasons with the Cougars and was the team captain when he asked for a trade last summer. He now is with the Seattle Thunderbirds, who gave up F Colin Jacobs, 19. Seattle also got two 2013 bantam draft picks (fifth- and seventh-rounders). . . .
Before the Christmas break, Cougars head coach Dean Clark, in speaking of Forsberg, told Sheri Lamb of the Prince George Citizen:
“Points aren’t just going to happen. With his skills he’s going to create something but it’s not just going to happen, you have to put the effort out there all the time. Mentally he has to get a little bit stronger.
“If he can understand he has to come back in some half-decent shape he’ll be fine.”
Instead, Forsberg chose not to come back at all.
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The Kamloops Blazers will be without D Ryan Rehill when they play host to the Vancouver Giants tonight. Rehill will be serving a one-game suspension. He was hit with a checking-from-behind major and game misconduct in a 7-3 loss to the Rockets in Kelowna on Thursday night. The penalty later was changed to a boarding major and he has been handed a one-game suspension.
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Darcy Pindus will work as the head coach of the SJHL’s Weyburn Red Wings, at least through the end of this season. Pindus, an assistant coach, takes over from the legendary Dwight McMillan, who decided to step aside over the Christmas break after almost 40 years behind the bench. McMillan, 69, had decided this would be his final season, but he has decided to retire just a bit earlier than that. Other than two seasons in the late 1980s, McMillan had been the Red Wings’ coach since 1972. . . . Scott Sabados, the team president, has told Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post that the position will be re-evaluated after this season. . . . “What (McMillan) has done for the organization can't be measured," Sabados told Harder. "Through some of the times the team has been through, there may not be a Weyburn Red Wings had it not been for a man like Dwight McMillan. It's going to be hard (to see him go). Only time will tell whether it's a goodbye or just a moving forward.”
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G Mitch Gillam of the BCHL’s Chilliwack Chiefs was credited with a goal on Friday night. . . . Gillam, 20, is from Peterborough, Ont., and has committed to Cornell starting next season. . . . He was credited with the game’s first goal, an empty-netter, at 8:36 of the first period. . . . The Chiefs went on to drop a 5-3 decision to the host Surrey Eagles.
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Ken Campbell, veteran columnist with The Hockey News, takes a look right here at how Donald Fehr has played the tune that NHL owners are dancing to during the lockout.
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FRIDAY’S GAMES:
F Anthony Bardaro had a goal and three assists to help the host Prince Albert Raiders to a 5-4 victory over the Saskatoon Blades. . . . Bardaro’s 11th goal broke a 4-4 tie at 15:04 of the third. . . . The teams play again tonight in Saskatoon. The East Division-leading Raiders go in with a 10-point edge on the Blades. . . . Saskatoon F Brett Stovin returned from a six-game absence. He had been out with an undisclosed injury. . . .

In Swift Current, the Broncos overcame a 4-1 deficit and beat the Medicine Hat Tigers, 6-4. . . . Broncos F Adam Lowry scored his 24th goal as he ran his goal streak to eight games, the longest in the WHL this season. . . . Lowry also had three assists. . . . F Coda Gordon helped out with two goals and three assists. . . . F Colby Cave, the third member of the line, had two goals and an assist. . . . Prior to the game, a ceremonial faceoff was held to remember the four Broncos – Trent Kresse, Scott Kruger, Chris Mantyka and Brent Ruff – who were killed when the team bus crashed on its way to Regina on Dec. 30, 1986. Darren Kruger, Scott’s brother, dropped the puck in the ceremonial faceoff. Darren, the Tigers’ associate coach and Scott‘s brother, played for the 1988-89 Broncos, who won the Memorial Cup. . . . The teams play tonight in Medicine Hat. . . .

In Brandon, D Travis Brown’s eighth goal of the season broke a 3-3 tie and gave the Moose Jaw Warriors a 4-3 victory over the Wheat Kings. . . . F Tanner Eberle had a goal and two assists for Moose Jaw, giving him seven points over his last four games. . . . The Wheat Kings had F Michael Ferland, 20, back in their lineup after the Brandon native was reassigned earlier in the day by the NHL’s Calgary Flames. Ferland was a fifth-round pick by the Flames in the 2010 NHL draft. He had 96 points, including 47 goals, with the Wheaties last season. . . . The Wheat Kings now have four 20-year-olds on their roster, with Ferland joining F Nick Bounassisi, D Ryley Miller and D Tyler Yaworski. Brandon has 14 days to get down to the maximum of three. . . . Miller was a healthy scratch last night. . . .

F Todd Fiddler’s unassisted goal at 18:18 of the second period stood up as the Spokane Chiefs beat the Kootenay Ice 1-0 in Cranbrook. . . . G Eric Williams stopped 29 shots for his second shutout this season and the fourth of his career. . . . The Ice had three injured players back in the lineup. F Brock Montgomery had missed six games, while D Joey Leach sat out eight and D Tanner Muth missed seven. . . . They’ll play a rematch tonight in Spokane. . . .

F T.J. Foster had a goal and two assists to lead the Edmonton Oil Kings to a 6-1 victory over the host Red Deer Rebels. . . . Foster, who has 18 goals, also was stymied on a penalty shot late in the third period. . . . The game was officiated by the four C’s – referees Chris Crich and Colin Stefanyk, and linesmen Cody Huseby and Cory Lundquist. . . . Edmonton F Michael St. Croix scored his 14th PP goal of the season, and that’s five more than any other WHLer has this season. . . . The Rebels had won 5-3 in Edmonton on Thursday night. . . . Red Deer is without D Brady Gaudet, who had his right arm in a cast after being injured in Edmonton on Thursday. . . .

G Ty Rimmer stopped 36 shots to lead the Lethbridge Hurricanes to a 2-1 victory over the Hitmen in Calgary. . . . F Sam Mckechnie’s 17th goal of the season, at 13:31 of the second, gave Lethbridge a 2-0 lead and stood up as the winner. . . . The Hurricanes had D Adam Henry, 18, in the lineup for the first time this season. He was diagnosed with a heart condition (myocarditis) over the summer and hadn’t been cleared to play. He had 21 points in 60 games as a freshman last season. . . . The teams will clash again tonight in Lethbridge. . . .

G Brendan Burke stopped a career-high 43 shots to help the Portland Winterhawks to a 4-3 victory over the host Tri-City Americans. . . . The Winterhawks have won seven in a row and are atop the WHL’s overall standings, seven points ahead of the idle Kamloops Blazers. . . . F Taylor Leier and F Oliver Bjorkstand each scored his 15th goal for Portland. . . . Portland F Brendan Leipsic came up empty on a first-period penalty shot. . . . F Justin Feser scored twice for Tri-City. He has passed F Brendan Shinnimin and tied F Brian Sakic for fifth on the Americans’ all-time goals list, with 132. Feser also tied Kruise Reddick for seventh on the team’s games-played list, at 315. . . . The Americans, who have lost four straight at home, continue to be without F Marcus Messier (undisclosed injury) and F Phil Tot (undisclosed). . . . Among Portland’s scratches was D Derrick Pouliot (undisclosed). . . . The Americans and Winterhawks will play today, 3 p.m., in Portland. . . .

In Victoria, F Ben Walker had two goals and an assist as the Royals skated to a 5-1 victory over the Prince George Cougars. . . . They’ll play in Victoria again tonight. . . . Walker has 12 goals. . . . Victoria F Taylor Crunk broke a 1-1 tie at 18:58 of the first with his second goal of the season. . . . Victoria F Jamie Crooks had a goal and two assists, and F Brandon Magee had three helpers. . . .

In Vancouver, the Kelowna scored two third-period goals and beat the Giants, 5-3. . . . The Rockets now are within two points of the B.C. Division-leading Kamloops Blazers, who are at home to the Giants tonight. . . . Kelowna G Jackson Whistle, who started the season with the Giants, stopped 24 shots. . . . F Dylen McKinlay scored twice for Kelowna, giving him 12. His second one, the game’s last goal, was shorthanded. . . . D Colten Martin had a goal and two assists for the Rockets. . . . Vancouver F Cain Franson was unsuccessful on a second-period penalty shot but made amends when he scored with 4.8 seconds left in the frame to forge a 3-3 tie. . . . The Giants scored three goals in the second period when they enjoyed a 17-3 edge in shots. . . . The Rockets beat the visiting Kamloops Blazers 7-3 on Thursday but had just eight shots on goal through two periods last night. Ahh, the vagaries of junior hockey. . . . The Giants, losers of six of seven, had G Alex Ahnert, 19, on the bench in support of starter Tyler Fuhr. Ahnert plays for the junior B Delta Ice Hawks. . . . The Giants are short a goaltender with No. 1 Payton Lee with Team Pacific at the U17 World Hockey Challenge and Liam Liston having retired earlier in the week. . . . Again among the Rockets’ scratches were G Jordon Cooke (foot) and F Colton Sissons (concussion). . . . With Cooke out, Jake Morrissey, a fifth-round pick in the 2012 bantam draft, backed up Whistle. . . . Sissons and Cooke both could return Sunday against visiting Everett.

In Kent, Wash., the Everett Silvertips got 38 saves from G Austin Lotz and beat the Seattle Thunderbirds (of Kent), 2-1. . . . It was Everett’s first victory in five games with Seattle this season. . . . Everett erased a 1-0 deficit on goals by F Carson Stadnyk, at 4:56 of the second, and F Kohl Bauml, at 10:53 of the third. . . . F Ryan Harrison had two assists for Everett. . . . The Thunderbirds have lost six in a row. . . . The teams play again tonight in Everett.
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CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
F Jesse Mychan, Tri-City

CHECKING-TO-THE-HEAD COUNT:
D Tyler Yaworski, Brandon
D Nick Walters, Everett


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THE MacBETH REPORT:
D Andrew Ference (Portland, 1994-99) has left Ceske Budejovice (Czech Republic, Extraliga). He had two goals and five assists in 21 games. Ference left to rejoin his family in Boston, but didn’t rule out rejoining Ceske Budejovice before the end of January should the NHL owners cancel the rest of the season.
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The Regina Pats are hoping to have Chandler Stephenson, their top centre, back in the lineup for a game tonight against the visiting Moose Jaw Warriors. Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post reports that Stephenson, who hasn’t played since suffering a skate cut to a foot on Oct. 19, was to practise on Wednesday, after which head coach Pat Conacher would ponder a decision. . . . Harder also reports that D Luke Fenske (wrist) and F Dyson Stevenson (virus) are day-to-day, with D Colton Jobke (hand) and F Dryden Hunt (concussion) “a ways away.”
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Harder also reported that former Pats F Andrew Rieder, 20, underwent shoulder surgery on Dec. 19, thereby ending his junior career. After being released by the Pats as they worked to get down to three 20-year-olds, Rieder, who is from Regina, joined the OHL’s Peterborough Petes. He played five games there before his recurring shoulder problems brought it all to and end. . . . “Because I got it done (now), my junior career is over,” Rieder told Harder. “At first it was a really hard pill to swallow. Growing up in Regina and playing for the Pats and then moving away and playing in the O and all of a sudden it’s over. It’s definitely difficult but I’m grateful for the opportunity that both the Pats and Peterborough gave me.”
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The Moose Jaw Warriors go into Regina tonight having lost three straight games, and they are missing a few players with D Morgan Rielly with Canada at the World Junior Championship and three others at the U17 World Hockey Challenge. . . . F Jordan Wyton (suspected concussion) is close to returning from a 14-game absence, while Matthew Gourlie of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald reports that the Warriors had five young faces on the ice yesterday – G Zach Sawchenko (midget AAA Notre Dame Hounds), D Royce Rossignol (major midget Valley West Hawks in B.C.), F Jayden Halbgewachs (midget AAA Regina Pat Canadians), F Darcy DeRoose (SJHL’s Estevan Bruins) and F Ethan Williams (midget AAA Winnipeg Hawks). . . . Halbgewachs, the fourth overall selection in the 2012 bantam draft, was acquired from the Kamloops Blazers in the Joel Edmundson swap earlier this month. Halbgewachs is from Emerald Park, a community just east of Regina, and he just might make his WHL debut in Regina tonight.
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If you happened by the Vancouver Giants’ website on Wednesday evening, you may have come across a video feature on how Liam Liston planned on spending Boxing Day. There was, however, no mention of retirement.
However, late on Wednesday, Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province tweeted: that the Giants “say G Liam Liston, 19, has retired. Tyler Fuhr, 17, to carry load with Payton Lee, 16, away.”
Lee, who has been starting the bulk of the Giants’ games, is with Team Pacific at the U17 World Hockey Challenge in Quebec.
With Liston gone, the Giants had G Stefan Wornig, 15, at practice yesterday. Wornig, from White Rock, B.C., was a fifth-round selection by the Giants in the 2012 bantam draft.
Ewen has a complete report right here.
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This appeared on the website of the SJHL’s Weyburn Red Wings on Wednesday:
“After discussions between the Weyburn Red Wings and Dwight McMillan, the Weyburn Red Wings regretfully accepted his decision to retire. The Weyburn Red Wings would like to thank Dwight for his many years of service and dedication to the Wings and wish him all the best in any future endeavours he may pursue. This will be effective immediately.”
Prior to this season, McMillan, 68, had said it would be his final season.
"It's going to be hard (to leave the job) because I still enjoy coaching and working with the kids and everything else," McMillan told Ian Hamilton of the Regina Leader-Post in September. "But when you're pushing 69, holy mackerel, there has to come a time when you've got to say you're quitting. Sooner or later, I'm going to have to quit and spend time with my wife (Diane). It has been 40 years doing this."
McMillan has been the Red Wings’ head coach since 1972, with the exception of two seasons in the late 1980s.
Under McMillan, the Red Wings won SJHL titles in 1984, '94, '95, '97, '98 and 2001. They won Canadian junior A titles in 1984 and 2005.
This season, the Red Wings are 9-19-2 and last in the six-team Sherwood Division.
———
The Brandon Wheat Kings had a familiar face skating with them on Wednesday. F Michael Ferland, 20, who has been with the AHL’s Abbotsford Heat, was on the ice in Brandon. He had 96 points, including 47 goals, with the Wheat Kings last season. However, he had gotten into only seven games with the Heat and three with the ECHL’s Utah Grizzlies this season. He was a fifth-round selection by the Calgary Flames in the NHL’s 2010 draft. . . . Should Ferland get clearance from the Flames to return to Brandon, the Wheat Kings would have 14 days in which to move one of the three 20-year-olds now on their roster, either F Nick Buonassisi, D Ryley Miller or D Tyler Yaworski.

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THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Brad Leeb (Red Deer, 1994-99) signed a one-year contract with the Coventry Blaze (England, UK Elite). He had three goals and six assists in 44 games with the Nuremberg Ice Tigers (Germany, DEL) last season. Leeb joins his brother Greg (Spokane, 1994-98), who signed with Coventry three weeks ago. The brothers also played the past four seasons together in Nuremberg. . . .
F Kyle Bailey (Portland, Lethbridge, 2002-07) signed a one-year contract with Alba Volan Szekesfehervar (Hungary, Austria Erste Bank Liga). He had 16 goals and 17 assists in 27 games with University of New Brunswick Varsity Reds (CIS) and was pointless in five games with Rochester Americans (AHL) last season. Bailey was captain of UNB the last three seasons and capped his final university season by leading the Varsity Reds in scoring; winning the 2011-12 UNB Red Black Award for overall contribution as a player, student, and community member for the third time; winning the 2011-2012 Atlantic University Sports Godfrey Award recognizing leadership, academics, and community service for a second straight year; and winning the 2011-12 Dr. Randy Gregg Award as the CIS hockey player who best combined hockey, academics, and community service, all accomplished while in graduate school working on his MBA degree. Bailey finished his university career as the third-leading career scorer at UNB.
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The Prince Albert Raiders have signed F Leon Draisaitl, who was the second overall selection in the CHL’s 2012 import draft. Draisaitl, from Cologne, Germany, had 56 points, including 21 goals, in 35 games last season for Jungadler Mannheim’s U-18 team. The previous season, he had 192 points, including 97 goals, in 29 games for the U-16s. He has represented Germany in U-18 and U-17 competitions.
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THE COACHING GAME:
Josh Hepditch is the new head coach of the junior B Creston Valley Thunder Cats of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League. A product of the minor hockey system in Fredericton, N.B., he played four seasons with the QMJHL’s Moncton Wildcats and five at the U of New Brunswick. He went on to play for the Central league’s Allen Americans. . . . In Creston, Hepditch replaces head coach Brent Heaven, who now is an assistant coach with the BCHL’s Trail Smoke Eaters. . . .
Reports indicate that Scott Pellerin will be named the next head coach of the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s New York Islanders. . . . Pellerin has been an assistant coach with the AHL’s Manchester Monarchs, an affiliate of the Los Angeles Kings, since 2006. . . . Pellerin, a native of Shediac, N.B., spent four seasons playing at the U of Maine where he was teammates with Islanders GM Garth Snow. . . . Brent Thompson, Bridgeport’s last head coach, has moved into an assistant’s role with the Islanders. . . .
Dwight McMillan has indicated that 2012-13 will be his final season as head coach of the SJHL's Weyburn Red Wings. The team made the announcement on its website, announcing at the same time that he had signed a one-year contract. This, folks, is a big deal. Why? Well, consider that he has been with the team for almost every season since its inception in 1961. Back then, he was a rookie player. He took over as the head coach of the junior B Red Wings in 1967 and became head coach of the junior A team in 1972. Other than two seasons in the 1980s, he's been the coach ever since. He has won well over 1,000 games in the SJHL and two national championships. . . . McMillan's final season will be his 25th consecutive winter behind the Red Wings' bench.
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So what happens when a WHL team moves from a bandbox into a new facility? If you’re the Moose Jaw Warriors, who said hello to Mosaic Place and goodby to the Crushed Can (aka the Civic Centre), the gate receipts, including playoffs, more than double. Here’s Matthew Gourlie of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald, reporting on the Warriors’ annual general meeting that was held Tuesday: "The Warriors’ gate receipts totalled $1,651,235 last season which nearly doubled the $881,357 from the season previous. The deep playoff run to the Eastern Conference final also earned them $580,109 in receipts, but their direct playoff expenses were $228,109." . . . In the end, Gourlie reported, "The Warriors announced net earnings of $394,646 and have retained earnings of $923,702 at the end of the fiscal year." . . . At the meeting, Dave Kiefer and Dean Lang were re-elected to three-year terms on the board of directors, while Darrell Markin was elected to replace governor Darin Chow on the board. Chow, who is moving to Yorkton where he will serve as a judge, is to remain the Warriors’ governor. . . . Warriors president Chad Taylor also told Gourlie that the Warriors have been promoted within the WHL and no longer are considered small market. Instead, they now are a "mid-market team." . . . "We’ve always been in the bottom classification. It’s based on revenues and season ticket base," Taylor said. "We’ve moved up into the next category which is a bit of a pat on the back from the other owners. It’s a good thing."
For more, lots more, on the annual meeting, check out Gourlie’s story right here.

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Shinnimin places a phone call

THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Jesse Schultz (Tri-City, Prince Albert, Kelowna, 1999-2003) signed a one-year contract with Cortina (Italy Serie A). He had seven goals and nine assists in 21 games for Björklöven Umeå (Sweden Allsvenskan) and four goals and eight assists in 21 games for Nuremburg (Germany DEL) last season. . . .
D Jason Beckett (Seattle, 1997-2000) signed a try-out contract with Jesenice (Slovenia, plays in Austria Erste Bank Liga). He had six goals and 33 assists with Red Bull Salzburg II (Austria Nationalliga) last season.
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By now, you will have heard that the WHL has suspended Tri-City Americans F Brendan Shinnimin for 12 games for his hit on Saskatoon Blades F Josh Nicholls on Oct. 6. John MacNeil of the Prince Albert Daily Herald spoke with Shinnimin and Nicholls. That story is right here. And, yes, Shinnimin has called Nicholls and offered an apology.
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One day after giving up eight goals and losing 8-7 in overtime to the host Edmonton Oil Kings, the Prince George Cougars have added a goaltender to their roster. Chase Martin, 18, from Medicine Hat, is scheduled to practice with the Cougars today. Martin was a fifth-round pick by the Spokane Chiefs in the 2007 WHL entry draft. . . . He played last season with the AJHL’s Calgary Canucks, going 9-8-2, 3.33, .896 in 23 games. . . . Martin joins James Priestner, 19, and Tyler Santos, 16, as the goaltenders on the Cougars’ roster.
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The Prince Albert Raiders meet the Giants in Vancouver tonight, which means G Jamie Tucker gets to play against his old team. Tucker was with the Giants last season before asking to be moved. Elliott Pap of the Vancouver Sun has that story right here.
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F Matt Bellerive of the Vancouver Giants won’t play against the visiting Prince Albert Raiders tonight. He received a two-game suspension for a boarding major he incurred Monday for a hit on F Chase Schaber of the Kamloops Blazers. . . . Vancouver F Randy McNaught suffered an ankle injury in that Monday game in Kamloops. Vancouver head coach Don Hay told Elliott Pap of the Vancouver Sun that McNaught is out “week-to-week.“ . . . In a trade with a bit of a difference, the SJHL’s Weyburn Red Wings swapped one brother act (F Daniel Adams and D Dmitry Adams) to the MJHL’s Neepawa Natives for another brother act (F Blake Kirkham and F Scott Kirkham). Weyburn GM Ron Rumball told the Saskatoon StarPhoenix he hadn’t seen such a trade in his 45 years around the SJHL. . . . And if he hasn’t seen it, that’s good enough for me. If you didn‘t know, Rumball and Weyburn head coach Dwight McMillan have been around so long they boarded Noah’s boat together. . . . F D.Jay McGrath, an 18-year-old from Kindersley, Sask., has joined his hometown SJHL team, the Klippers, after being released by the Everett Silvertips. He was pointless in five games this season after picking up five points in 52 games with Everett last season. He was a third-round pick in the 2007 bantam draft. . . . Matthew Gourlie of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald reports that G Brandon Stone will make his first WHL start tonight against the visiting Kootenay Ice. . . . Moose Jaw D Dallas Ehrhardt (knee) is skating but isn’t quite ready. Gourlie also writes that F Brendan Rowinski, 20, who had offseason knee surgery, is to arrive in Moose Jaw today from his home in Winnipeg. He is to be evaluated in Moose Jaw and is expected to be on skates soon. . . . If you’ve been following the Mandi Schwartz story, Joe Couture of the Regina Leader-Post has the lastest right here.
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D Dave Van Drunen (Prince Albert, 1993-94) was badly injured during a brawl in a Central league game Sunday in Loveland, Colo. Van Drunen was with the Odessa Jackalopes when things got ugly in a game with the Colorado Eagles. There’s more -- a whole lot more -- right here.
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TUESDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS:
KOOTENAY 2 at REGINA 0: G Nathan Lieuwen stopped 14 shots to earn his second shutout of the season. There have been nine shutouts in the league this season, with Lieuwen and Mark Friesen of the Swift Current Broncos each owning two. . . . F Drew Czerwonka, with his fourth, at 12:10 of the second period, and F Christian Magnus, with his second, at 11:45 of the third, had the goals. . . . The Ice was bound to win, considering that it won its first game of the season and had alternated wins and losses through its first six games.. . . The Ice is 4-2-0-1 and has three shutouts, including a 1-0 shootout loss in Swift Current on Monday. . . . Regina slipped to 1-6-1-0. . . . The Pats have lost five straight and allowed 27 goals in the process. . . . Regina G Matt Hewitt stopped 34 shots. . . . Each team was 0-for-5 on the PP. . . . Attendance was 3,216. . . . Checking-from-behind count: Zero. . . . The Ice was without D Brayden McNabb, who is out with what is believed to be a shoulder injury. . . . Regina lost F Dane Muench in the first period with a leg injury. . . . The Ice didn’t have G Todd Mathews in the lineup. He is one of four 20-year-olds and Kootenay chose to go with forwards Steele Boomer, Matt Fraser and Kevin King. . . . Each of the WHL’s 22 teams will have to declare a maximum of three 20-year-olds by Thursday.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
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