Here it is! The plaque which will be installed after the Howe's ashes are interred on Sunday. #ThankYouMrHockey pic.twitter.com/gvnVERJBE3— Saskatoon Blades (@BladesHockey) September 19, 2016
The final chapter in a Saskatchewan love story will be written on Sunday when the intermingled ashes of Colleen and Gordie Howe are placed in an urn and set into a vault at the base of a statue of Gordie near the SaskTel Centre, the home of the Saskatoon Blades. . . . Kevin Mitchell of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix has more right here on the work that has gone into preparing the site and the plaque that will be left at the site.
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Some very positive things in the Lethbridge Hurricanes Business Report from Business Mgr Terry Huisman. pic.twitter.com/8zeAOQU8Dv— Pat Siedlecki (@radiopat258) September 20, 2016
One year after losing more than $486,000, the Lethbridge Hurricanes’ board of directors told shareholders on Monday night that the community-owned franchise put up a profit of $197,235 for the 2015-16 season.
That may have had something to do with why general manager Peter Anholt was named the WHL’s executive of the year after his first season on the job.
The team’s annual general meeting was attended by 120 shareholders representing 228 shares.
Shareholders also were told that the team is budgeting for a profit of $96,190 in 2016-17.
And for a change there weren’t any calls to sell the franchise.
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The Saskatoon Blades have acquired D Jackson Caller, 17, from the Portland Winterhawks for a fourth-round selection in the 2018 bantam draft. . . . Caller, from Kamloops, suffered a broken wrist in Portland’s training camp a year ago. He did get into eight games with the Winterhawks, recording one assist, but spent most of the season with the junior B Revelstoke Grizzlies. He had 10 points, including four goals, in 18 games with Revelstoke. . . . Portland selected him in the seventh round of the 2014 bantam draft. . . . On Sunday, the Blades acquired G Logan Flodell, 19, from the Seattle Thunderbirds. On Monday, Saskatoon dropped G Joel Grzybowski, 17, and he has reported to the SJHL’s Battlefords North Stars. Grzybowski, from Hafford, Sask., was an 11th-round selection in the 2014 bantam draft. . . . The Blades are expected to open the season with Flodell and Brock Hamm, 19, as their goaltenders, but Dorrin Luding, 17, is still on the roster.
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The Red Deer Rebels have acquired F Jordan Roy, 18, from the Tri-City Americans for a conditional fifth-round selection in the 2019 bantam draft. The 6-foot-2, 190-pounder from Kimberley, B.C., had two goals and an assist in 34 games with the Americans last season, his first in the WHL. The Americans selected him in the fifth round of the 2013 bantam draft.
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The Spokane Chiefs have placed veteran F Jacob Cardiff, 20, on waivers, while dropping F Eli Zummack and G Donovan Buskey from their roster. . . . Zummack, 16, will return to the major midget Okanagan Rockets, who play out of Kelowna. A Kelowna native, he was acquired from the Red Deer Rebels in a trade last season. The Rebels selected him in the second round of the 2015 bantam draft. . . . Buskey, 16, was selected by the Chiefs in the third round of that 2015 draft. From North Vancouver, he will join the major midget Vancouver-Northwest Giants. . . . Cardiff, who is from Regina, played 156 games over three seasons with the Chiefs, totalling 25 points, including 13 goals. . . . The Chiefs are down to four 20-year-olds — F Keanu Yamamoto, F Markson Bechtold, F Dominic Zwerger, who also is an import, and G Jayden Sittler. That is one over the maximum so obviously there will be at least one more move coming. . . . The Chiefs also are down to two goaltenders — Sittler, who was acquired from the Lethbridge Hurricanes over the summer, and freshman Matt Berlin, 17, who was a seventh-round pick in the 2013 bantam draft. . . . Spokane’s roster sits at 27, including two goaltenders and 16 forwards. . . . The Chiefs also are carrying three imports at the moment, with Czech forwards Pavel Kousal and Ondrej Najman, both freshmen, joining Zwerger, who is from Austria. Teams have until Oct. 15 to get down to two imports. But remember that first-year imports can’t be traded, so in order to keep Zwerger either Kousal or Najman would have to be released.
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F Erik Middendorf, a fourth-round pick by the Moose Jaw Warriors in the 2015 bantam draft, has committed to attend the U of Denver and play for the Pioneers in 2018-19. Middendorf, 16, is from Scottsdale, Ariz. He had 25 points, including 15 goals, in 32 games for the U-16 Phoenix Jr. Coyotes last season. This season, he is playing in the U.S. National Team Development Program.
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JUST NOTES:
The Swift Current Broncos have released F Tristen Elder, who turns 19 on Dec. 11. From Kinistino, Sask., Elder had two assists in 38 games with the Broncos last season. He was pointless in four exhibition games this month. He was a sixth-round pick by the Brandon Wheat Kings in the 2012 bantam draft. . . .
F Nick Merkley, 19, has received medical clearance to return to full-contact practices with the Arizona Coyotes, who selected the Calgary native in the first round of the NHL’s 2015 draft. He suffered a season-ending knee injury while with the Kelowna Rockets last season and later underwent surgery. Merkley, who had 48 points, including 17 goals, in 43 games with Kelowna last season, is expected to return to the Rockets for a fourth WHL season. He has 196 points, 62 of them goals, in 182 regular-season games with Kelowna. . . .
F Jayce Hawryluk, 20, suffered a broken hand during a Sunday fight while with the Florida Panthers’ prospects team. Hawryluk was fighting Washington Capitals prospect Jakub Vrana. Hawryluk, who played last season with the Brandon Wheat Kings, now is likely to miss Florida’s main training camp as he needs surgery. It was expected that he would begin the season with the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds. . . . Hawryluk had 106 points, including 47 goals, in 58 regular-season games with Brandon in 2015-16. . . .
D Haydn Fleury, 20, suffered an undisclosed injury while with the Carolina Hurricanes’ prospects team in Traverse City, Mich., on Friday. Fleury, a product of the Red Deer Rebels, was injured when he fell awkwardly during a 4-3 OT victory over the New York Rangers and didn’t play Saturday or Monday. Carolina is expected to keep him off the ice until its main training camp opens on Friday. Fleury was a first-round pick in the 2014 NHL draft. He is expected to begin this season with the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers.
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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 Kootenay International Junior Hockey League has suspended Bill Rotheisler, the general manager and head coach of the junior B Castlegar Rebels for 45 days and fined him $500. His sin? Tampering. . . . The KIJHL told the Rebels about the disciplinary actions on Sept. 6. The Rebels filed an appeal three days later in the hopes of having the suspension reduced. That appeal was denied. . . . Rotheisler can still run practices, but he is barred from team activities from one hour before games until one hour afterwards. . . . Chelsea Novak of the Castlegar News has more right here.
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The junior B Port Moody Panthers fired head coach Mark Goble last week. “At this time, we have decided to make a change in the direction of our team,” Panthers general manager Frank Iantorno said in a three-paragraph statement on the team’s website. . . . Associate coach Mike Renner was named interim head coach. . . . Goble had been the head coach since April. . . . The Panthers are 1-2-0-0 and in last place, but just two points out of second, in the five-team Pacific Junior Hockey League.
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———Wife asks my 8yr old son if he'd like to see the royals next wknd 'I LOVE the Royals' She meant William/Kate, he meant @victoriaroyals LOL!— Stormin' Norman (@StorminNorman73) September 19, 2016
MONDAY-THURSDAY GAMES:
No Games Scheduled.
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FRIDAY GAMES (all times local):
Kootenay at Calgary, 7 p.m.
Kelowna at Kamloops, 7 p.m.
Medicine Hat at Lethbridge, 7 p.m.
Brandon at Moose Jaw, 7 p.m.
Edmonton at Red Deer, 7 p.m.
Prince Albert at Regina, 7 p.m.
Saskatoon at Swift Current, 7 p.m.
Everett at Vancouver, 7:30 p.m.
Prince George at Victoria, 7:05 p.m.
If you are interested in advertising on this site, there is information just below the banner at the top of this page. . . . 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.
relocating the franchise to the Manitoba capital. The Kootenay Ice would then pack up and leave Cranbrook for Lethbridge.
There is speculation that moving the IceCaps to Winnipeg would be a temporary move, with the Jets continuing to look for a home for the franchise that is closer to Manitoba than St. John’s. Perhaps that would mean finding a city in close proximity to the AHL’s new Pacific Division.
Robison was asked: “Have you had much thought or many talks about expansion or relocation?”
In Prince Albert, F Reid Gardiner scored the game’s last two goals, both via the PP, to give the Raiders a 4-3 victory over the Lethbridge Hurricanes. . . . Gardiner, who has 31 goals, tied the game 3-3at 12:01 of the second period and snapped the tie at 6:50 of the third. . . . F Simon Stransky and F Austin Glover drew assists on both goals. . . . The Raiders led 2-0 after one period, only to have the Hurricanes scored three second-period goals, two of them by F Giorgio Estephan, who now has 20 goals. . . . F Brayden Burke had two assists for Lethbridge. . . . Once again, Hurricanes G Stuart Skinner shone, this time with 55 saves. . . . Raiders G Nick McBride stopped 21 shots. . . . Each team was 2-for-4 on the PP. . . . Lethbridge D Nick Walters played in his 300th regular-season game. Walters, from Spruce Grove, Alta., has played 145 games with Everett, 50 with Brandon and 105 with Lethbridge. . . . The Raiders (27-35-3) have won three straight. . . . The Hurricanes slipped to 20-37-8. . . . 
In Moose Jaw, F Torrin White scored three times to lead the Warriors to a 7-1 victory over the Saskatoon Blades. . . . White opened the scoring at 1:53 of the first period, made it 3-0 at 13:46 of the first and completed his hat trick at 1:06 of the second to make it 5-0. . . . White has 15 goals. . . . The Warriors scored four times in the first period. . . . Moose Jaw F Brayden Point scored his 32nd goal and added three assists, while F Brett Howden notched his 18th goal and had two helpers, and F Axel Blomqvist drew three helpers. . . . Moose Jaw G Brody Willms stopped 28 shots. . . . Moose Jaw was 3-for-7 on the PP; the Blades were 1-for-5. . . . The Warriors honoured the Snowbirds aerobatics team by wearing special jerseys in the warmup. Snowbirds members were in the dressing room prior to the game and on the bench during warmup. . . . The Warriors (29-32-5) have won three in a row. . . . The Blades (19-43-4) have lost three straight. . . . 
In Brandon, F Morgan Klimchuk had two goals and two assists as the Wheat Kings dumped the Swift Current Broncos, 9-1. . . . Brandon F John Quenneville broke a 1-1 tie with his 17th goal at 4:57 of the second period and the Wheat Kings ran away from there. . . . Klimchuk, who has 29 goals, is riding a 10-game point streak. . . . Brandon F Tim McGauley scored his 40th goal and added two assists as he ran his point streak to 22 games, the longest in the WHL this season. He’s got 47 points, including 15 goals, in that streak. It’s the longest point streak by a Wheat Kings skater since F Cory Cyrenne went 23 games in 1997-98. . . . McGauley also went over 200 career regular-season points. He now has 202 points in 219 games. This season, he’s got 97 points, three shy of the WHL scoring leader, F Trevor Cox of the Medicine Hat Tigers. . . . F Peter Quenneville scored twice and added an assist for Brandon. He’s got 26 goals, with eight of them coming in his last four games. . . . Brandon D Eric Roy scored his fifth goal and added two assists, while F Jayce Hawryluk scored his 26th goal and had an assist. D Matt Taraschuk had two assists. . . . Brandon was 4-for-5 on the PP; Swift Current was 0-for-1. . . . Brandon G Jordan Papirny stopped 22 shots as he became the first WHL goaltender to 40 victories this season. He is the first Wheat Kings goaltender with at least 40 victories since Glen Hanlon set the WHL single-season record of 49 in 1976-77. . . . The Wheat Kings (48-11-7) last won 50 games in 2009-10. . . . The Broncos (30-31-5) have lost six in a row. . . . Rob Henderson of the Brandon Sun has a game story 
In Edmonton, F Davis Koch broke a 2-2 tie with his eighth goal of the season at 17:24 of the third period as the Oil Kings beat the Calgary Hitmen, 3-2. . . . Edmonton F Lane Bauer had tied the game with his 23rd goal at 1:45 of the third. . . . The Hitmen took a 1-0 lead on F Adam Tambellini’s 45th goal at 12:42 of the first, on a PP. . . . Edmonton D Dysin Mayo tied it with his 13th goal, on the PP, at 15:38. . . . The Hitmen took the lead when D Travis Sanheim scored his 12th goal, on the PP, at 13:51 of the second. . . . Tambellini, Sanheim and Mayo also had an assist apiece. . . . Edmonton G Tristan Jarry stopped 28 shots, four more than Calgary’s Brendan Burke. . . . Calgary was 2-for-4 on the PP; Edmonton was 1-for-5. . . . The Oil Kings were without D Marshall Donald, who was on crutches after Friday’s 6-4 loss to visiting Regina. Donald was acquired from the Hitmen in January. . . . The Oil Kings improved to 31-29-7. . . . Calgary (40-21-5) has two games left in its franchise-record 11-game road trip. It is 6-3-0 with games left in Red Deer on Friday and Lethbridge on Saturday. . . . 
In Red Deer, D Haydn Fleury broke a 3-3 tie at 7:20 of the third period and the Rebels went on to beat the Regina Pats, 5-3. . . . Fleury has six goals. . . . F Riley Sheen, who also had two assists, scored his 20th goal into an empty net at 18:38 of the third. . . . F Adam Musil gave Red Deer a 1-0 lead with a PP goal at 2:03 of the first period. He’s got 14 goals. . . . The Pats went ahead on goals by D Chase Harrison, his third, at 3:00 of the second and D Colby Williams, his ninth, just 17 seconds later. . . . Regina F Taylor Cooper assisted on both goals. . . . Red Deer F Reese Johnson pulled his guys even with a breakaway goal at 18:35 of the second and D Bart Cote broke the tie 13 seconds later. Johnson has two goals; Cote has eight. . . . Regina F Braden Christoffer scored his 24th goal, on a PP, 53 seconds into the third period. . . . Each team was 1-for-2 on the PP. . . . Red Deer G Taz Burman stopped 23 shots. . . . Regina G Tyler Brown turned aside 29 shots. . . . The Pats had Cole Sears backing up Brown. Daniel Wapple took a high shot on Friday night and now is listed as day-to-day. . . . Sears, 17, is from Red Deer. . . . . The Rebels (35-21-10) have won three in a row. . . . The Pats (35-21-9) are 2-1-1 in their last four games. . . . 
In Medicine Hat, G Marek Langhamer posted his second shutout in three games as the Tigers beat the Kootenay Ice, 1-0. . . . Langhamer has two shutouts this season and six in his career. . . . The game was about one hour late in starting after the Ice encountered some mechanical with their bus while en route to Medicine Hat. . . . Tigers F Cole Sanford score the game’s lone goal, getting No 48 at 3:36 of the first period. . . . Langhamer finished with 16 saves, 15 fewer than the Ice’s Wyatt Hoflin. . . . Kootenay was 0-for-3 on the PP; the Tigers were 0-for-2. . . . Tigers F Trevor Cox drew an assist on the game’s first goal as he became the WHL’s first 100-point man this season. . . . Cox also leads the WHL in assists, with 75. . . . Tigers D Tommy Vannelli was back in the lineup after missing 18 games with a broken finger, while D Ty Stanton (ribs) returned after a two-game absence. . . . The Tigers are 41-22-3. . . . The Ice (33-29-4) has lost three in a row (0-2-1). . . . 
In Vancouver, the Everett Silvertips scored the game’s last three goals and beat the Giants, 3-1. . . . F Tyler Benson scored his 14th goal for the Giants at 7:52 of the first. . . . Everett F Remi Laurencelle tied it with his 20th goal at 1:39 of the second and D Cole MacDonald broke the tie with his 10th goal at 2:15 of the third on a PP. . . . MacDonald also had an assist. . . . F Matt Fonteyne added insurance with his sixth goal at 6:21 of the third. . . . Everett G Carter Hart stopped 25 shots, while Vancouver G Payton Lee kicked out 27. . . . The Giants lost F Vladimir Bobylev with an undisclosed injury after he took a hit from Everett F Logan Aasman in the first period. . . . Vancouver F Zane Jones was in the lineup despite having incurred a boarding major and game misconduct on Friday night. The WHL announced Saturday afternoon that no further discipline would be forthcoming. . . . The Silvertips (40-19-7) have won three in a row. . . . The Giants (26-37-3) have dropped six straight. . . . Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province has more on the game 
In Prince George, F Taylor Crunk scored in the 11th round of a shootout to give the Victoria Royals a 4-3 victory over the Cougars. . . . The Cougars had beaten the Royals 4-3 on Friday night. . . . Last night, the Royals took a 3-0 lead in the latter part of the second period, thanks to goals from D Chaz Reddekopp, his fifth, F Brandon Magee, his 19th, and D Ryan Gagnon, his first. . . . This was a special night for F Tyler Mrkonjic — more on him later — and he got the Cougars on the board with his eighth goal, at 17:27 of the second period. . . . D Tomas Andrlik pulled the home side to within a goal with his third at 5:10 of the third. . . . F Chase Witala tied it with No. 33, on a PP, at 16:59. . . . Victoria F Jack Walker, the first shooter in the breakaway contest, scored. . . . F Zach Pochiro, shooting third, kept the Cougars’ chances alive. . . . That was all the goals until Crunk scored to end it. . . . Prince George F Jansen Harkins had one assist, his 58th this season. That tied the Prince George single-season record set by F Quinn Hancock in 1997-98. . . . Cougars G Ty Edmonds stopped 31 shots. . . . Royals G Coleman Vollrath made 31 saves. . . . The Cougars were 1-for-7 on the PP; the Royals were 0-for-2. . . . The Royals (35-27-4) had lost their previous two games. . . . The Cougars (28-33-5) had won their previous five games. . . . The attendance was 5,404, with the Cougars’ owners guaranteeing the biggest 50/50 draw in franchise history. The winning number is to be posted on the team’s website. . . . The other half of the draw is to go to the Shelly L. Mrkonjic ALS Research Fund. Shelly, who died of ALS in 2006, was Tyler’s mother. So it was only fitting that he should score on what had to be a special night for the family. . . . 
In Portland, F Paul Bittner scored three times and added two assists as the Winterhawks dumped the Tri-City Americans, 6-2. . . . Bittner, who has 32 goals, scored the game’s first goal, at 7:29 of the first period. He made it 3-1 with a PP goal at 16:26 of the first and then got the game’s final goal, at 18:20 of the third. . . . Portland F Nic Petan continued his amazing run with three more assists. He has 20 helpers in his last six game. In his last 20 games, Petan has five goals and 39 assists. . . . Portland F Oliver Bjorkstrand had two assists, but his franchise-record goal streak ended at 12 games. With 97 points, he is three off the WHL lead. . . . Portland F Miles Koules scored his 25th goal and added an assist. . . . Portland F Chase De Leo came up short on a penalty shot in the second period. . . . G Adin Hill stopped 30 shots for Portland, while Tri-City’s Evan Sarthou turned aside 46. . . . Portland was 3-for-5 on the PP; the Americans were 1-for-3. . . . The Winterhawks (39-20-5) are 8-0-2 in their last 10. . . . Tri-City (28-35-3) has lost two in a row. . . . 
In Kelowna, the Rockets erased a 1-0 deficit with four straight goals and went on to a 5-2 victory over the Spokane Chiefs. . . . F Jackson Playfair gave the visitors a 1-0 lead with his 11th goal, on a PP, at 1:28 of the first period. . . . Kamloops D Cole Martin tied it with his sixth goal at 5:34 of the second and F Tate Coughlin gave the Rockets their first lead with his second goal of the season at 5:58. . . . F Chase Braid upped the lead to 3-1 with goal No. 12 at 12:17. . . . Kelowna F Nick Merkley scored his 18th goal and added an assist. . . . Martin and Braid also had assists, while F Leon Draisaitl had two of them as he ran his point streak to 11 games. . . . Draisaitl has 43 points, including 16 goals, in 26 games since joining the Rockets from the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers. . . . The Rockets remain without D Josh Morrissey, F Rourke Chartier and F Justin Kirkland. . . . With the victory, the Rockets (50-11-5) have won 50 games for a third straight season. The only other WHL teams to have done that are the Kamloops Blazers (1989-92) and Edmonton Oil Kings (2011-14). . . . The Chiefs (31-29-4) have lost two in a row. . . . 
In Kent, Wash., D Jared Hauf broke a 1-1 tie at 15:36 of the third period as the Seattle Thunderbirds beat the Kamloops Blazers, 3-1. . . . F Cory Millette gave Seattle a 1-0 lead with his 21st goal, at 4:53 of the second period. . . . Kamloops F Matt Needham tied it with his 23rd goal, at 17:16 of the second period. . . . Hauf then scored his third of the season. . . . Seattle F Nick Holowko scored his fifth goal into an empty net at 19:16 of the third. . . . Seattle F Mathew Barzal had two assists. . . . The Blazers had won the first three games of the four-game season series. . . . Seattle G Taran Kozun stopped 39 shots, 10 more than Cole Ingram of the Blazers. . . . Kamloops was 0-for-2 on the PP; Seattle’s PP didn’t get off the bench. . . . The Thunderbirds improved to 33-24-9. . . . The Blazers (24-34-7) are 3-1-1 in their last five games.
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 
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. . . . 
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