Papirny, Gawdin, Kaspick off to AHL ... Three schools get coaches ... Broncos sign prospect

F Taylor Vause (Swift Current, 2007-12) has signed a one-year extension with the Vienna Capitals (Austria, Erste Bank Liga). This season, he had 13 goals and 15 assists in 49 games. . . . 

F Jens Meilleur (Brandon, 2010-14) has signed a one-year extension with the Kassel Huskies (Germany, DEL2). This season, he had eight goals and 10 assists in 36 games. He started the season with the Nuremberg Ice Tigers (Germany, DEL), going pointless in four games. He was loaned to Bayreuth (Germany, DEL2), where he had two assists in seven games. On to Blue Devils Weiden (Germany, Oberliga), he was pointless in one game. He signed with Kassel on Nov. 18. Meilleur had played for Kassel each of the previous two seasons.
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The Swift Current Broncos have signed D Connor Horning to a WHL contract. From Kelowna, Horning was a third-round selection in the 2016 bantam draft. Horning, who will turn 16 on May 11, had a goal and six assists in 22 games with the Pursuit of Excellent 18U prep team. He also was pointless in four games with the BCHL’s West Kelowna Warriors.

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G Jordan Papirny of the Swift Current Broncos has signed an ATO with the Toronto Marlies, the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs. . . . Papirny, who moved to the Broncos from the Brandon Wheat Kings in a January deal, completed his junior eligibility this season. Last season, he backstopped the Wheat Kings to a WHL title. . . . Here’s a note from pensionplanpuppets.com: “There’s no better place to start than the Toronto Marlies, and they may have some practice time opening up for (Papirny). With the Orlando Solar Bears losing their starting goalie Ryan Massa to a head injury after a line brawl, the Marlies could send Kasimir Kaskisuo back to Orlando to help out the Bears as they try to advance through the ECHL playoffs.”

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F Glenn Gawdin, the captain of the Swift Current Broncos, and F Tanner Kaspick of the Brandon Wheat Kings have signed ATOs with the Chicago Wolves, the AHL affiliate of the St. Louis Blues. . . . Gawdin, who turned 20 on March 25, has played four seasons with the Broncos. This season, he had 26 goals and 33 assists in 52 games. He was a fourth-round selection by the Blues in the NHL’s 2015 draft. If they don’t sign him by June 1, he will be available in the 2017 NHL draft. . . . Kaspick, 19, was selected by the Blues in the fourth round in 2016 draft. This season, Kaspick had 19 goals and 26 assists in 49 games. . . . The Wolves are involved in the first round of the AHL playoffs. They trail the Charlotte Checkers 2-1 in a best-of-five series that continues tonight (Tuesday) in Rosemont, Ill.

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Team USA won the IIHF U-18 World Championship on Sunday, beating Finland, last year’s winner, 4-2 in the final at Poprad, Slovakia. It was Team USA’s third championship in four years and its seven in the past nine years. . . . At this point in 2017, the IIHF has had four world titles decided and the U.S. has won them all -- the World Junior, the World Women’s, the Women’s U-18 and now the Men’s U-18. . . . There’s more right here. . . . Russia won the bronze medal with a 3-0 victory over Sweden in Poprad. Russia’s roster included D Mark Rubinchik of the Saskatoon Blades. It was Russia’s first medal in the competition since it won bronzie in 2011. Rubinchik had two goals and four assists in six games. . . . In Spisska Nova Ves, Slovakia, Belarus won the best-of-three relegation series, 2-1, with a 3-1 victory over Latvia. D Vladislav Yeryomenko of the Calgary Hitmen had two goals and two assists in seven games with Belarus.

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Sven Butenschon, a former Brandon Wheat Kings defenceman (1993-96), is expected to be named the fulltime head coach of the UBC Thunderbirds in Vancouver today. . . . Howard Tsumura of varsity letters.ca reported the story on Monday afternoon. . . . Butenschon, 41, moved up from assistant coach after UBC dropped head coach Adam Shell just prior to the start of last season. Under Butenschon, who was the program’s fourth head coach in as many seasons, the Thunderbirds went 12-13-3 and made the Canada West playoffs, where it was swept by the Calgary Dinos in a best-of-three first-round series. Game 1 went to triple OT.

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Mel Pearson has left Houghton-based Michigan Tech to take over as the head coach of the Michigan Wolverines, who play out of Ann Arbor. At Michigan, he will replace the legendary Red Berenson, 77, who stepped aside following the season. . . . Pearson had spent 23 seasons (1983-2011) with the Wolverines as an assistant/associate coach before leaving to take over the Michigan Tech program. . . . Pearson was 118-92-29 at Michigan Tech, including a 75-34-14 run over the past three seasons. He has twice been named WCHA coach of the year. . . . Pearson’s father, Mel, played with the Flin Flon Bombers (1955-57) when they were in the SJHL — he played for them when they won the 1957 Memorial Cup — and later coached the Bombers for one season (1974-75). The people of Flin Flon haven’t forgotten him, either, as they annually hold the Mel Pearson Memorial Tournament for novice players.

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Jason Lammers is the new head coach of the Niagara U Purple Eagles. He replaces Dave Burkholder, who was dropped on March 13. Lammers is the third head coach in the program’s 21 years. Burkholder had been the head coach since 2001. Lammers will step into his job following the completion of the USHL playoffs. He is the head coach of the Dubuque, Iowa, Fighting Saints, who are involved in the second round of playoffs.

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Had to tell this reader that the story he hated ran online only. Bird will have to poop directly on the laptop. pic.twitter.com/JwaUNZWHac

— David Fahrenthold (@Fahrenthold) April 24, 2017

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MONDAY’S GAMES:

No Games Scheduled.

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TUESDAY’S GAMES (all times local):

Seattle at Kelowna, 7:05 p.m. (Series tied, 1-1)

Regina at Lethbridge, 7 p.m. (Series tied, 1-1)

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Forward returns to Silvertips . . . Update on Patrick . . . Warriors romp in Saskatoon

F Jens Meilleur (Brandon, 2010-14) has been released by the Nuremberg Ice Tigers (Germany, DEL) at his request. He was pointless in four games. This season, he had two assists in seven games while on loan to Bayreuth (Germany, DEL2) and was pointless in one game while on loan to Weiden (Germany, Oberliga).

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Jesse Geleynse of the Everett Herald tweeted Thursday that F Bradly Goethals has returned to the Everett Silvertips.

Goethals, 18, from Ile-des-Chenes, Man., was acquired from the Brandon Wheat Kings on Oct. 11 for a conditional seventh-round selection in the 2018 WHL bantam draft. Goethals joined the Silvertips after the trade, but left shortly afterwards for what was said to be personal reasons.

Last season, he put up 74 points, 41 of them goals, for the midget AAA Eastman Selects. He led the

Manitoba Midget Hockey League in goals and points. He also had three goals in one game with the MJHL’s Selkirk Steelers and a goal and an assist in five games with the MJHL’s Dauphin Kings.

The Silvertips, of course, are the WHL’s top defensive team, but surely could use an injection of offensive talent. All Goethals has to do is buy into head coach Kevin Constantine’s structured defensive game to earn enough playing time to be able to exercise his offensive skills.

The Silvertips had their defensive game on display in Kamloops on Wednesday night and an Everett fan could make the argument that circumstances conspired against the visitors in this one.

A Kamloops fan would say that the Blazers’ goaltender was better than Everett’s in this one — not by much, but enough to win.

The Blazers, who had been terrible in a 7-0 loss to the visiting Prince George Cougars on Saturday night, were much better against Everett, but still needed superb goaltending from Connor Ingram before beating the Silvertips 2-1 in OT.

The Blazers were being outshot 22-7 when Everett scored its only goal, at 12:12 of the second period, and the edge was 27-12 going into the third period.

However, the Silvertips had played at home the night before — they beat the Calgary Hitmen, 6-1 — and got into Kamloops in the wee hours of Wednesday morning. And it started to show in the latter stages of the second period.

The Silvertips got caught running around in their zone for maybe the only time all night at 15:31 when Kamloops F Rudolfs Balcers was able to beat a stickless Carter Hart with a high shot.

The OT lasted 11 seconds and the flagging Silvertips were no match for the Blazers’ speed 3-on-3, with Balcers ending the game as he finished off a give-and-go-go with linemate Deven Sideroff.

By game’s end, the Blazers had closed the gap on the shot clock to 34-23.

Everett’s offence is averaging 3.25 goals per game, 10th-best in the WHL, while it is far and away No. 1 on defence at 1.95, with the Prince George Cougars next at 2.55.

The Silvertips (15-2-4) and Cougars (16-4-2) are tied atop the WHL’s overall standings, with the Regina Pats (15-0-3) just a point off the pace. The high-flying Pats are scoring 5.78 goals per game, almost a goal more than the Medicine Hat Tigers (4.80) and two up on the Tri-City Americans (3.81). If you’re wondering, Regina’s defence is ninth, allowing 3.17 goals per game.

If Goethals can stick around and add even a little bit to Everett’s offence, Constantine and general manager Garry Davidson will be thrilled. If not, well, the trade deadline is less than two months away.

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F Nolan Patrick of the Brandon Wheat Kings, the consensus No. 1 pick in the NHL’s 2017 draft, has told NHL.com that he expects to miss another two to three weeks. Patrick, who underwent sports hernia surgery in July and missed most of training camp, has played only six games this season, putting up four goals and five assists. He last played on Oct. 11. . . . "I'm skating on my own right now," Patrick told Mike Morreale of nhl.com. "I’m just starting getting back on the ice (this week) and doing edge work and skill stuff like that, but nothing too intense yet. Every day it gets a little better, so I'm hopeful. This was out of my control, and it's killing me not to be out there with my teammates." . . . Patrick still hopes to get an invitation to the Canadian national junior team’s selection camp. He likely will be on the list that Hockey Canada says will come out on Nov. 29. The selection camp is scheduled to open Dec. 11 in Blainville, Que. If Patrick isn’t back with Brandon for another three weeks, the time line would seem to be a bit tight. . . . Morreale’s story is right here.

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#ThrowbackThursday A fight breaks out on the North End Stage of the Keystone Centre back in 1982! #oldtimehockey #PrideofthePrairies pic.twitter.com/QWXk4b2EQS

— Brandon Wheat Kings (@bdnwheatkings) November 17, 2016

The Brandon Wheat Kings posted the above tweet on Thursday afternoon. We have determined that No. 6 is D Dean Kennedy, who was the captain of the Wheat Kings at the time. If you have any idea who the other player might be, drop me an email at greggdrinnan@gmail.com.

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The Spokane Chiefs have signed Chris Moulton to a contract through 2017-18 and named him assistant general manager, hockey operations. Moulton has been with the Chiefs since 2005 when he signed on as director of player personnel. . . . Before joining the Chiefs, he scouted with the Calgary Hitmen. . . . The Chiefs also have signed Todd Daniels, their athletic trainer and conditioning coach, through 2017-18. He has been with them since 2008.

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John Tortorella, the head coach of the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets, suggested earlier this week that game-day skates are over-rated. . . . Mike Benton, the radio voice of the Everett Silvertips, asked head coach Kevin Constantine for his thoughts. Here’s Constantine’s answer:

“We do everything with trying to add a bit of science and study to make sure our facts are facts and not just an idea. We have found ourselves that we are much better by not skating. All the analytics and studies we’ve done we’re a better team when we don’t skate in the morning and we save the energy for the game at night.”

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Have you ever wondered how much money is to be made by playing hockey in Europe? Well, let us take a look at F Aaron Gagnon, a product of Armstrong, B.C. Gagnon, now 30, played five seasons with the Seattle Thunderbirds before going on to a pro career that includes 38 NHL games — 21 with the Dallas Stars and 17 with the Winnipeg Jets. . . . Gagnon went to Europe for 2013-14 and now is into his fourth season with Lukko Rauma in the Finnish Liiga, that country’s top league.

Every October, the Finnish government publishes a list of individuals who earned at least 100,000 euros and their taxable income for the previous year as reported on their tax returns. The list that was published last month is for 2015 and Gagnon shows up as having the fourth-highest taxable income for a paid hockey player during that period.

According to the list, Gagnon earned 252,904 euros. At Thursday’s exchange rates, he made Cdn$363,300 (US$268,058).

That might be something for today’s junior/college players to ponder.

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Mark McNaughton has stepped in as the interim general manager and head coach of the junior B Princeton Posse of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League. . . . He replaces Geoff Goodman, who was fired on Wednesday. The Posse also fired associate coach Lance Vaillancourt. . . . Goodman was in his second season in Princeton. . . . McNaughton had been the Posse’s director of hockey operations.

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These days, Bob McKeown is the co-host of the fifth estate, CBC-TV’s investigative show. In another life, he played for the CFL’s Ottawa Rough Riders. In fact, he played enough football during his athletic career that he writes “I happen to know something about concussions in football because . . . I’ve had a lot of them.” . . . This is scary and interesting stuff, and it’s all right here.

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Fred Sasakamoose, the 1st First Nations NHLer is in the house with chiefs from Saskatoon Tribal Council! 💯 pic.twitter.com/5vf8HspiLr

— Saskatoon Blades (@BladesHockey) November 18, 2016

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THURSDAY’S GAME:

The @MJWARRIORS celebrate their 5-1 victory over the Saskatoon Blades. #WHL. pic.twitter.com/5uEoUVE8wF

— Darren Steinke (@StanksSports) November 18, 2016

At Saskatoon, F Luka Burzan and F Noah Gregor each had two goals and an assist as the Moose Jaw Warriors skated to a 5-1 victory over the Saskatoon Blades. . . . Burzan, who has seven goals, gave the

Blades a 2-0 lead with goals at 18:39 of the first period and 1:40 of the second. . . . Burzan drew an assist on Gregor’s eighth goal, at 7:00 of the second, that gave the visitors a 3-0 lead. . . . F Wyatt Sloboshan (3) got the Blades to within two goals at 7:23. . . . Warriors F Jayden Halbgewachs got that one back when he scored No. 13, on a PP, at 11:39. . . . Gregor closed out the scoring with a shorthanded goal at 4:03 of the third period. . . . F Nikita Popugaev had three assists for the Warriors, with D Matt Sozanski earning two. . . . G Zach Sawchenko stopped 32 shots for the Warriors, two more than Saskatoon’s Brock Hamm. . . . The Warriors were 1-2 on the PP; the Blades were 0-4. . . . Moose Jaw (12-4-4) had lost its previous three games. . . . The Blades slid to 9-12-1. . . . F Brayden Burke was pointless in his debut with the Warriors after being acquired last week from the Lethbridge Hurricanes. . . . The Blades will complete a stretch of three games in as many nights by playing in Brandon on Friday and Saturday. . . . Announced attendance: 3,302.

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FRIDAY’S GAMES (all times local):

Saskatoon at Brandon, 7:30 p.m.

Vancouver at Kelowna, 7:05 p.m.

Edmonton vs. Kootenay, at Cranbrook, B.C., 7 p.m.

Prince Albert at Prince George, 7 p.m.

Lethbridge vs. Seattle, at Kent, Wash., 7:35 p.m.

Calgary at Spokane, 7:05 p.m.

Medicine Hat at Red Deer, 7 p.m.

Moose Jaw at Swift Current, 7 p.m.

Kamloops vs. Tri-City, at Kennewick, Wash., 7:05 p.m.

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Blazers' top pick back with Vees . . . Howe ashes to be interred by statue of Mr. Hockey

F Jens Meilleur (Brandon, 2010-14) has been assigned on loan by the Nuremburg Ice Tigers (Germany, DEL) to Beyreuth (Germany, DEL2). Meilleur signed a two-year contract with Nuremburg in April. Last season, with the Kassel Huskies (Germany, DEL2), he had 11 goals and 14 assists in 50 games.

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One day after recording two assists in the Kamloops Blazers’ intrasquad game, F Massimo Rizzo was back in the Penticton Vees’ lineup for a BCHL exhibition game against the host West Kelowna Warriors on Wednesday night.

Rizzo, from Burnaby, B.C., was selected by the Blazers with the 15th overall pick in the WHL’s 2016 bantam draft. He put up 137 points, including 60 goals, in 61 games with the bantam AAA Burnaby Winter Club Bruins last season.

Rizzo, who hasn’t signed with the Blazers, played in one game with the Vees last week, before joining the Blazers in time for their rookie camp. He was held over and took part in main camp, before rejoining the Vees on Wednesday.

It is quite evident that Rizzo and his family plan on keeping his NCAA option open, at least for the short term.

As for the Vees, general manager/head coach Fred Harbinson likes what he has seen.

“He’s an elite player, a player we are excited about,” Harbinson told Fraser Rodgers, the Vees’ radio voice, prior to Wednesday’s game. “I think he’s excited about us. Obviously, he has some decisions down the road but right now it looks like he’s going to be an affiliate player with us for this (season). We’ll see how many games he can get into.

“It’s more about building a relationship with him and his family and kind of seeing how it goes from there.”

If you’re wondering, the Vees and Warriors played to a 2-2 draw.

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The Victoria Royals have signed three players — D Jeremy Masella, D Matthew Smith and F Tarun Fizer. . . . Masella, 17, is from Phoenix. The 6-foot-3, 210-pounder had a goal and 10 assists in 25 games with the U-16 Arizona Bobcats last season. . . . The 5-foot-10, 140-pound Smith, 16, was a seventh-round pick in the 2015 bantam draft. From Saskatoon, he had seven assists in 41 games with the midget AAA Saskatoon Blazers last season. . . . Fizer, 15, was a fourth-round pick in the 2016 bantam draft. From Chestermere, Alta., he had 57 points, including 33 goals, with the Rocky Mountain Raiders of the Alberta Major Bantam League last season. . . . F Blake Bargar scored three goals in the Royals’ intrasquad game on Wednesday, helping Team White to a 6-3 victory over Team Blue. Bargar, 18, was acquired in May from the Moose Jaw Warriors for a conditional eighth-round pick in the 2018 bantam draft. From Torrance, Calif., he had one goal and five assists in 59 games as a freshman, and one goal and one assist in 60 games last season.

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The Saskatchewan government has given the OK to a request by the City of Saskatoon to declare the area around a Gordie Howe statue a cemetery. The statue is located near the Sasktel Centre, the home of the Saskatoon Blades. . . . This all but clears the way for the Blades to honour Howe prior to their home-opener on Sept. 25. 

From a Blades’ news release:

“The Blades can now move forward in the planning to have the ashes of Gordie Howe and his wife Colleen interred in front of his statue on Sept. 25 at Sasktel Centre. This will happen in a private ceremony for Howe’s immediate family. Following the ceremony, the Blades will take the Howe family to the newly christened Gordie Howe Bridge for the official naming of the bridge.

“The celebration of Mr. Hockey’s life and legacy will then shift back to Sasktel Centre where a tailgate party is planned prior to the Blades home opener against the Swift Current Broncos. The Blades also have a spectacular pre-game ceremony planned to thank Gordie for everything he has done for the game of hockey, our city, and most importantly our people.”

The Blades will announce more details on Sept. 6.

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The Regina Pats have signed F Logan Nijhoff and F Duncan Pierce to WHL contracts. . . . Nijhoff, 5-foot-11 and 170 pounds, is from Comox, B.C. Last season, with the Okanagan Hockey Academy’s bantam prep team, he had 27 points, including 11 goals. He was an eighth-round pick in the 2016 bantam draft. . . . The 6-foot-1, 186-pound Pierce is from Winnipeg. Pierce, 16, had seven goals and six assists in 39 games with the midget AAA Winnipeg Thrashers last season.

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The Saskatoon Blades got their roster down to 30 players on Wednesday. Among the players released was D Chance Patterson, 19, of Foam Lake, Sask. The 6-foot-3, 190-pounder had one assist in 57 games over the past two seasons with the Edmonton Oil Kings.

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The Medicine Hat Tigers have signed D Dalton Gally, a 6-foot-5, 230-pounder from Eagle River, Alaska, who played last season with the NAHL’s Austin Bruins. Gally, 18, had three goals and four assists in 50 games. In 2014-15, he played four games with the USHL’s Des Moines Buccaneers and 15 with the U-16 Omaha Lancers. . . . He was a sixth-round pick by the Calgary Hitmen in the 2013 bantam draft.

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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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Riley Armstrong has joined the ECHL’s Wheeling Nailers as an assistant coach. Armstrong, 31, played two seasons (2002-04) in the WHL, with the Kootenay Ice and Everett Silvertips before going on to a pro career that ended following last season with the ECHL’s Reading Royals. A native of Saskatoon, Armstrong will work alongside Jeff Christian, who is preparing for his first full season as head coach.

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KABOOM! Exciting times in Kimberley . . . Eller may be in . . . Betker's status unknown

Congratulations to our @TysonBrouwer and the @nitroshockey on winning the 2014-2015 KIJHL Championship pic.twitter.com/imH0O1igtk
— Dove Christian (@DoveChristian97) March 30, 2015

There is nothing more Canadian than hockey, and when it involves a championship team in a small community, well, that is the essence of Canadiana.
The Kimberley Dynamiters — KABOOM! — won the junior B Kootenay International Junior Hockey League’s

playoff championship on Sunday night, wrapping it up with a Game 6 victory over the Storm in Kamloops.
Kimberley is a community of about 7,400 people located in the southeast corner of British Columbia.
Monitoring social media as the Dynamiters marched to the championship was nothing short of heart-lifting. Check out the Dynamiters’ Twitter timeline (@nitroshockey) and you will get a feel for just how the entire community went along for the ride and, in the end, was part of the championship.
Taylor Rocca of the Cranbrook Daily Townsman has more right here on Kimberley’s first KIJHL championship in 35 years.
Being on the outside looking in, one can only imagine the excitement in Kimberley over the past few weeks. And it will only get better as the Dynamiters prepare for the Cyclone Taylor Cup, the province’s junior B championship tournament that also will feature the Campbell River Storm, North Vancouver Wolf Pack and the host Mission City Outlaws. It opens Friday and runs through Monday.
Head coach Jerry Bancks, a former Kootenay Ice assistant, and the Dynamiters were honoured at a community rally at the Civic Centre last night.
I have said it before and I’ll say it again — Dynamiters is the niftiest nickname in the hockey world. At least it is in my books.
I don’t know what it is about it that appeals to me, but there is something about it. Maybe it’s because

Lynn Lake's high school hockey team, circa 1967.
(Photo by Vic Laird)

that nickname goes back a long way with me.
I was raised in Lynn Lake, a mining community in northern Manitoba. As a teenager, I played for a high school team that was in a league with two teams from the local mine. One of the teams was the Surface Bombers; the other was the Underground Dynamiters.
Yes, it was a tough league. Yes, I was the furthest thing from a tough cookie.
But perhaps it was from that three-team league in a small town that my affinity for Dynamiters comes.
Anyway . . . you can bet I’ll be paying attention to the Cyclone Taylor Cup over the Easter weekend.
The Cyclone Taylor Cup home page is right here and, yes, it includes a schedule.
KABOOM!
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F Viktor Gibbs Sjödin (Portland, 2006-08) has signed a one-year extension with the Melbourne Mustangs (Australia, AIHL). Last season, with the Mustangs, he had 13 goals and 16 assists in 22 games. He was named the AIHL championship final MVP as the Mustangs won the title. The AIHL regular season begins on April 25. . . .
F Carter Proft (Brandon, Spokane, 2010-14) has signed a one-year extension with the Kassel Huskies (Germany, DEL2). In 50 games this season, he had four goals and 17 assists. Proft has dual Canadian-German citizenship. . . .
F Jens Meilleur (Brandon, 2010-14) has signed a one-year extension with the Kassel Huskies (Germany, DEL2). In 52 games this season, he had 32 points, including 18 goals. He has dual Canadian-German citizenship.
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The Lethbridge Hurricanes held a public information session on Monday night. The meeting had nothing to do with finances as it wasn’t an AGM or a shareholders’ meeting. . . . Pat Siedlecki has more on his blog right here.
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F Mads Eller of the Edmonton Oil Kings may return tonight for Game 4 against the visiting Brandon Wheat Kings, who hold a 2-1 edge in the series. Eller left Sunday’s game in the first period after running into the gate as he attempted to check Brandon F Braylon Shmyr. He hit the open gate with his neck/shoulder area. “There’s no structural damage,” Edmonton head coach Steve Hamilton told Rob Henderson of the Brandon Sun. “I’ve seen that hit or incident on a couple of different angles and . . . it was hard to watch but miraculous that there wasn’t damage beyond what he’s gone through.” . . . Tonight’s game will be televised on Sportsnet.
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The Tri-City Americans are running out of defencemen as they attempt to get back in their series with the Kelowna Rockets. . . . Game 3 is scheduled for tonight in Kennewick, Wash., with the Rockets up 2-0 and having yet to surrender even one goal. . . . Riley Hillis, who missed the last 10 games of the regular season, returned for the first two games but will be a game-time decision. Carter Cochrane’s season is over after he had shoulder surgery. On top of that, Tyler Morrison suffered an undisclosed injury in Game 2 on Saturday. . . . If Hillis isn’t able to play, the Americans will be down to five defencemen. . . . Kelowna lost D Devante Stephens (right leg) during Saturday’s game. The Rockets are already without D Josh Morrissey, who isn’t expected to play in this series.
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The Regina Pats hold a 2-0 lead as they go into Swift Current to meet the Broncos tonight. In its last 11 trips to Swift Current over the past three seasons, Regina has two victories. . . .
F Quintin Lisoway of the Brandon Wheat Kings underwent left knee surgery on Monday in Winnipeg. Lisoway, who will be 20 next season, is expected to be ready for training camp. Dr. Peter MacDonald, who works with the Winnipeg Jets, repaired Lisoway’s anterior cruciate ligament and medial collateral ligament. . . .
This being playoff time, the Everett Silvertips are saying little about the status of D Ben Betker, who suffered an arm injury during a 6-2 loss to the visiting Spokane Chiefs in Game 2 of their series on Saturday night. . . . Betker left in the first period and didn’t return. His status for Game 3 on Wednesday isn’t known. As Nick Patterson of the Everett Herald write: “If Betker is unavailable for Wednesday's Game 3 in Spokane it's a big blow for the Tips. The 6-foot-6 overager plays heavy minutes against opposing top lines as a member of Everett's top defensive pairing.” . . . The series is tied, 1-1.
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@nitroshockey KIJHL Champions! On home ice award ceremony. pic.twitter.com/aQNYzD93BN
— Kimberley CityBakery (@KCityBakery) March 31, 2015

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Giants get their coach . . . Guess who's back with Hurricanes?

It has been quite a while since Taking Note has included a poll. But there is one here today.
With three WHL franchises having indicated they are likely to bid on the 2016 Memorial Cup tournament, I thought it would be fun to see how readers of this blog feel about the subject.
So . . . there’s a poll over there on the right. Please take a moment and make your choice.
Thank you.
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F Jens Meilleur (Brandon, 2010-14) has signed a one-year contract with the Kassel Huskies (Germany, DEL2). He has dual Canadian-German citizenship. Last season, with Brandon (WHL), he had 26 points, including 11 goals, in 67 games.
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Trilight Entertainment, which purchased an option on Sudden Death: The Incredible Saga of the 1986 Swift Current Broncos, is still hoping to do some of the filming in the southwestern Saskatchewan city.
Shayne Putzlocher, a producer with Trilight Entertainment, was in Swift Current on Tuesday “doing some preliminary scouting and meetings,” he said via email. “(We are) still trying to do what we can to shoot some of this movie in Swift.”
The book, which was published in November 2012, takes a look at how the Broncos dealt with the aftermath of a bus accident in which four players died and how the team went on to win the 1989 Memorial Cup championship. (If you haven’t read it yet, you may order it over there on the right.)
To date, Trilight Entertainment has received funding from Telefilm Canada and the Alberta Media Fund, and a first draft script is being written.
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1. And then there were two. . . . The Vancouver Giants will introduce a new head coach this morning, leaving only the Moose Jaw Warriors and Regina Pats as WHL teams without head coaches. . . . The Warriors are looking to replace Mike Stothers, now the head coach of the AHL’s Manchester Monarchs. The Pats’ new owners created a vacancy when they fired Malcolm Cameron last month. . . . One rumour that just won’t go away has Lorne Molleken and David Struch signing in Regina as head coach and assistant coach. Molleken was the Pats’ head coach in 2000-01 when they were the host team for the Memorial Cup. Most recently, he was the general manager of the Saskatoon Blades, but he was dropped after last season. Struch, Molleken’s long-time assistant coach in Saskatoon, spent last season as the Blades’ head coach and was fired following the season. . . . Meanwhile, Cameron has expressed an interest in the Warriors’ vacancy. . . . Hey, wouldn’t it make things interesting if Molleken and Struch do end up in Regina and Cameron surfaces as the Warriors’ head coach? . . . Now that would add some heat to some rivalries!

2. The Vancouver Giants have signed Troy Ward as their head coach and are scheduled to introduce him at a news conference this morning. Ward will replace Don Hay, who left to return to his hometown of Kamloops and work as the Blazers’ head coach. The Giants have been looking for a new coach since May 1. . . . Ward, a 52-year-old native of St. Paul, Minn., spent the last three seasons as the head coach of the Abbotsford Heat, the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Calgary Flames. His contract wasn’t renewed following last season. . . . Ward also spent part of a season (34 games in 2005-06) as head coach of the Victoria Salmon Kings, a now-defunct ECHL franchise. . . . Ward, a coach since 1990-91, hasn’t coached junior hockey since 1993-95 when he was the head coach of the USHL’s Dubuque Fighting Saints. He spent three seasons (2002-05) on the coaching staff at the U of Wisconsin.

3. The Abbotsford Heat, of course, have relocated to Glens Falls, N.Y., where they now are the Adirondack Flames. The parent Calgary Flames reached into Kelowna and signed Rockets head coach Ryan Huska to replace Troy Ward as the head coach of their AHL affiliate. . . . Calgary has yet to sign any assistant coaches for Adirondack and a source told me Tuesday night that Mark Ferner will be joining the AHL team’s staff. Ferner, 48, spent last season as the associate coach with the Kamloops Blazers. . . . He and Huska, 39, both played junior in Kamloops.

4. The Prince George Cougars did the expected on Tuesday, naming Todd Harkins as their new general manager. . . . Harkins, 45, had been head scout and director of player personnel at the time of an ownership change earlier this summer. When former GM Dallas Thompson wasn’t kept on, Harkins stepped in as interim GM. . . . According to team president Greg Pocock, “We took the time needed to make sure that we got the best person for the job. We had 17 candidates, talked to eight, interviewed five and hired the best one -- Todd Harkins.” . . . Harkins is a former Miami University player who went on to play in the NHL, with the Calgary Flames and Hartford Whalers. He retired in 2001 after a four-year stretch in Germany. . . . Later, he worked as the hockey director at the North Shore Winter Club. He also coached the major midget Vancouver Northwest Giants to back-to-back provincial titles in 2011 and 2012. . . . Harkins also is the answer to a trivia question: “Who played Russian forward Valeri Kharlamov in the movie Miracle? . . . Harkins’ son Jansen is heading into his second season with the Cougars. Jansen was the second overall pick in the 2012 WHL bantam draft. . . . Harkins’ contract is for four years, with an option for a fifth season. . . . The Cougars are expected to name a new director of player personnel in the not too distant future.

5. The Cougars also gave head coach Mark Holick a contract extension. Holick had expressed an interest in the general manager’s position, but it’s believed that he was told as early as April that the new owners, EDGEPRO Sports, preferred to split the general manager and coaching duties. . . . Holick, 45, is preparing for his second full season as the Cougars’ head coach. He replaced Dean Clark in January 2013. Holick, who had two years left on his contract, received a two-year extension and now is signed through 2017-18. . . . Holick’s family spent last season at their home in Penticton, but wife Janet is planning on moving to Prince George this summer. . . . A former WHL player (Saskatoon, New Westminster, 1984-88), Holick was the head coach of the Kootenay Ice for three seasons (2007-10). . . . The Cougars have missed the playoffs for three straight seasons and haven’t been out of the playoffs since reaching the Western Conference final in the spring of 2007.

6. The Lethbridge Hurricanes have added Bryan Maxwell to their coaching staff. He will work as an assistant, alongside head coach Drake Berehowsky and fellow assistant Mike Craig. . . . Maxwell, 58, is a veteran WHL coach, having worked in Medicine Hat, Lethbridge and Spokane, but he has been out of the game for a while. . . . He was the WHL’s coach of the year with the Spokane Chiefs for 1991-92. . . . Maxwell was the head coach of the 1986-87 Medicine Hat Tigers, who won the Memorial Cup. . . . He then spent two seasons as an assistant coach with the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings, before taking over as head coach of the Chiefs, a job he held for five seasons. . . . He took over as the Hurricanes’ head coach in 1995-96 and also held the job from 1997-2001 and for 34 games in 2002-03. . . . He sat out the 1996-97 season with a suspension following a post-game altercation involving referee Brent Reiber on March 23, 1996.

7. Ed Habetler, one of the founding fathers of the Prince Albert Raiders, died on the weekend. Habetler, 78, had been battling cancer for some time. . . . According to a Raiders’ news release: “Habetler was on the original board of directors of the hockey club established in 1972 by the Northern Hockey Development Association. . . . Habetler (and) his wife Violet have had season tickets with the hockey club for each of the 43 seasons in club history.” . . . A funeral mass is scheduled for Thursday, 10 a.m., in St. Roman’s Catholic Church in Prince Albert. . . . Almost four years ago, the Prince Albert Daily Herald profiled Habetler right here.

8. The NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs have named Gord Dineen as head coach of their AHL affiliate, the Toronto Marlies. . . . Dineen takes over from Steve Spott, who has moved up to the Maple Leafs as an assistant coach. . . . Dineen, 51, has been a Marlies’ assistant coach for five seasons. . . . The Leafs also promoted Marlies assistant coach Derek King to associate coach. King, 47, also has been with the Marlies for five seasons.
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Happy to see @TrilightEnt scouting locations in @City_SC today for the Swift Current Broncos movie! Great to have you in Sask! #skfilm
— SMPIA Office (@SMPIAOffice) July 15, 2014

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