THE DEAL: The Saskatoon Blades acquired D Isaac Schacher, 19, from the Regina Pats for an eighth-round pick in the 2015 bantam draft.
THE SKINNY: The Pats, who had nine defencemen on their roster, get a draft pick for an older player who was in tough to stick. . . . The Blades continue to shape a roster that didn’t make the playoffs last sesaon.
THE ANALYSIS: Saskatoon hopes that the 6-foot-5, 215-pound Schacher will bring some physical play to their back end. He played 35 games with the Victoria Royals and 25 with Regina last season, putting up nine points, eight of them assists. He also was plus-22. . . . In junior B, playing with his hometown Kimberley, B.C., Dynamiters, he had 63 points in 95 games over two seasons, so there might be more offence there than he has shown. . . . Schacher now is one of 10 defencemen on Saskatoon’s roster.
---
Last week, the WHL announced that Yves Lacasse, a retired RCMP superintendent, was being brought on board as its
voluntary security officer.On Wednesday, in a Kamloops courtroom, Lacasse was described as a “bully” who headed up an RCMP detachment that was “dysfunctional in the extreme.”
This was all part of testimony that was heard during a trial B.C. Supreme Court in which RCMP Cpl. Rick Brown is facing a charge of breach of trust by a public officer. It involves his role in an incident that involved two intoxicated women taking part in explicit sex acts while jailed.
Retired Staff Sgt. Gary Kerr testified that Lacasse was “was extremely, extremely difficult to work for. He was an extreme bully.”
Tim Petruk of Kamloops This Week was in the courtroom and his story is right here.
When the WHL announced Lacasse’s appointment, Marty Hastings of Kamloops This Week wrote a story in which Lacasse spoke about what he hoped and planned on doing in the new position. That story is right here.
---
The Prince George Cougars got down to two goaltenders by releasing G Matt Kustra, 17, who was an eighth-round pick in the 2012 bantam draft. He is expected to join the SJHL’s Yorkton Terriers. . . . The Cougars, who open against the Winterhawks in Portland on Saturday, are carrying 27 players, including goaltenders Ty Edmonds, 18, and Tavin Grant, 16. . . . Prince George has 10 defencemen on its roster, including veteran Raymond Grewal, 19, who is injured, and 15 forwards, including the injured David Soltes.---
Ma’ake Kemoeatu played for the Baltimore Ravens. His brother, Chris, played for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Today, neither one is playing football, nor will they. . . . Chris needed a kidney transplant. Ma’ake, the oldest of seven children, was quick to offer up a kidney. . . . The transplant took place on Aug. 27. . . . The complete story, and it’s an interesting one, is right here.
---
THE CONCUSSION REPORT:
"A new lawsuit filed against the National Hockey League by two former players alleges that three in 10 retired players have, or will have, brain damage from head injuries or concussions," writes Rick Westhead, TSN's senior correspondent. "The startling allegation is being made in a statement of claim filed by Sasha Pokulok, who was selected by the Washington Capitals with the 14th overall pick in the 2005 NHL draft, and Simon Danis-Pepin, a 2006 second-round pick of the Chicago Blackhawks."There now have been at least six concussion-related lawsuits filed against the NHL.
Westhead's complete story is right here.
---
A story at sciencedaily.com begins: “An experimental positron emission tomography (PET) tracer is effective in diagnosing concussion-related brain disease while a person is still alive, according to a case study conducted at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and at Molecular Neuroimaging (MNI) LLC in New Haven, and published September 16 in the journal Translational Psychiatry.”
What this means is that the medical community is that much closer to being able to diagnose chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in a living person.
The Science Daily story is right here.
---
David Ash, the starting quarterback for the Texas Longhorns, has given up football due to multiple concussions. He suffered his third concussion in the last year in the Longhorns’ season-opener against North Texas. Ash was held out of Texas’s last two games, but now has retired. . . . Ash is the second NCAA starting QB, joining Uconn’s Casey Cochran, to quit in the last few days because of concussion problems.
---
The Prince Albert Raiders have released F Ryan Pruden, 18, getting their roster down to 27 players, including 10 defencemen and 15 forwards. Pruden, a 13th-round pick by the Saskatoon Blades in the 2011 bantam draft, was pointless in three games with the Blades last season. A Winnipegger, he also played last season with the MJHL’s Steinbach Pistons and OCN Blizzard. He is expected to return to the MJHL. . . .
Scott Sepich, a Portland freelancer, tweeted Tuesday that F Adam de Champlain, 20, had left the Portland Winterhawks for the AJHL’s Camrose Kodiaks. The Winterhawks confirmed it on Wednesday, saying in a news release that de Champlain “has elected” to play in the AJHL. . . .
The Edmonton Oilers’ rookies beat the U of Alberta Golden Bears 4-2 in their annual game last night at Clare Drake Arena. More than 3,000 fans paid $30 a pop to watch the game.
---
The NFL is out of control. More arrests in a week than the NHL has had in years. You make millions! How hard is it to not be an idiot?!
— Brody Sutter (@Sutts19) September 18, 2014
The Victoria Royals have signed D Isaac Schacher, who turned 18 on Feb. 7, and he made his debut in Wednesday’s 4-1 loss to the Kootenay Ice in Cranbrook. The 6-foot-5, 200-pound Schacher, from Kimberley, B.C., was pointless and plus-1 in his first game. He plays for the junior B Kimberley Dynamiters of the Kootenay International Junior League, for whom he has 36 points and 44 penalty minutes in 45 games.
F Gage Quinney, a list player from Las Vegas, is spending a few days with the Prince Albert Raiders. He has 40 points, 24 of them goals, in 37 games with the Las Vegas Storm of the U.S. U-18 Tier 1 Elite Midget Hockey League. . . . Quinney, 5-foot-11 and 180 pounds, is the son of former WHLer Ken Quinney (Calgary, 1981-85), who now is a firefighter in Las Vegas.
In Kelowna, G Jackson Whistle stopped 20 shots and the Rockets three PP goals as they dumped the Everett Silvertips, 4-1. . . . The Rockets had beaten the Silvertips 3-2 in Everett on Sunday. . . . Were the playoffs to begin today, Kelowna and Everett would meet in the first round. . . . Whistle is 13-2-1, 2.01, .927 since being acquired from the Vancouver Giants. . . . F Ryan Olsen scored twice for the Rockets, giving him 30, and added an assist. . . . Kelowna captain Colton Sissons scored his 24th goal and added two helpers. . . . D Landon Oslanski scored for the Silvertips at 19:29 of the second period. However, the goal wasn’t awarded until after a lengthy video review following the end of the period. It was then determined that Oslanski’s shot had gone through the net’s mesh. . . . Everett has lost eight in a row. . . . The Rockets lead the B.C. Division by seven points over the Kamloops Blazers. The teams play tonight in Kamloops and Saturday in Kelowna.
Posts
