Chiefs, Warriors lose veteran players

D Paul Albers (Calgary, Regina, Vancouver, 2001-06) has signed a one-year extension with Cortina (Italy, Serie A). Last season, he had seven goals and 22 assists in 42 games with Cortina. . . .
F Stanislav Gron (Seattle, Kootenay, 1997-99) has signed a one-year extension with Cortina (Italy, Serie A). Last season, he led Cortina in scoring, with 67 points, including 29 goals, in 40 games.
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The Spokane Chiefs took a hit Sunday when D Jeremy McIntosh informed general manager Tim Speltz that he won’t be returning. . . . “Jeremy contacted me Sunday evening to inform me of his decision to move on," Speltz said in a news release. “He said he has lost his passion for the game and is not as committed as he feels is necessary to play in the WHL.” . . .  A native of Calgary, McIntosh had four goals and six assists in 70 games last season. In his freshman season, 2012-13, he had a goal and four helpers in 65 games. . . . “I am hoping he reconsiders his position and as an organization we will be as patient as possible should he have a change of heart,” Speltz added. "We expected Jeremy to be a big part of our defensive core this season and his decision is a total surprise." . . . McIntosh was a sixth-round selection by the Chiefs in the 2010 bantam draft. . . . Two other veteran defencemen who finished last season with the Chiefs also are gone from the WHL. Reid Gow, the Chiefs’ captain last season, has chosen not to return for his 20-year-old season, while Cole Wedman, 20, was dealt to the Moose Jaw Warriors and has since decided to attend the U of Alberta.
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F Bryson Gore won’t be returning for a third season with the Moose Jaw Warriors. Gore, 19, is from Milo, Alta. . . . According to the Warriors, Gore “has decided to remain at home near Lethbridge and is considering his future hockey and academic opportunities.” . . . Last season, Gore had 18 points, including 11 goals, in 68 games. The previous season, he had nine goals and seven assists in 69 games. . . . He was a 10th-round selection by the Portland Winterhawks in the 2010 WHL bantam draft. He was listed by the Warriors after being dropped from Portland’s protected list.
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According to Shawn Mullin, the radio voice of the Swift Current Broncos, F Maxim Letunov won’t be reporting to the WHL team. Letunov, an 18-year-old from Moscow, was selected by the Broncos in the CHL’s 2014 import draft. He was a second-round pick by the St. Louis Blues in the NHL’s 2014 draft, after playing last season with the USHL’s Youngstown Phantoms. He had 43 points, including 19 goals, in 60 games with the Phantoms. Mullin tweeted that “there have been discussions and the door remains open. Looks like he will play in the USHL still.” . . . Letunov also has committed to Boston U, so that may have figured in his decision not to journey to Swift Current.
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What business is up 500 per cent over the last 10 years? Worth peanuts 10 years ago, it’s now worth $75.5 million annually. If you said the tattoo removal business, go to the head of the class. . . . Sophia Harris of CBC News has an interesting story right here.
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The SJHL’s Yorkton Terriers, the reigning RBC Cup champions, have shaken things up a bit. . . . Don Chesney, who had been their general manager, now is director of marketing. . . . Trent Cassan, their head coach, has added the GM’s duties to his portfolio and he has signed a two-year contract extension.
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Blake Cosgrove has joined the AJHL’s Calgary Canucks as an assistant coach. He will work alongside GM Chad Shiel and head coach Ryan Barrett. . . . A native of Chilliwack, B.C., Cosgrove, 28, played two seasons with the BCHL’s Chilliwack Chiefs and four years at Northern Michigan.
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The Simon Fraser U men’s hockey team has promoted Jim Camazzola (Kamloops, Seattle, New Westminster, 1982-85) from assistant coach to associate coach. . . . He works alongside Mark Coletta, who is preparing for his seventh season as head coach. . . . SFU also has added Tom Spencer as an assistant coach. He was the B.C. Major Midget Hockey League’s coach of the year last season after taking the Valley West Hawks to the league final.

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It won't be Crushed Can II

The Seattle Thunderbirds have acquired D Kyle Verdino, 20, from the Swift Current Broncos for a conditional fifth-round pick in the 2013 bantam draft. Verdino, from Phoenix, began his WHL career with the Kelowna Rockets, who dealt him to the Broncos. The 6-foot-0, 205-pounder has 44 points, including five goals, and 315 penalty minutes in 217 regular-season WHL games. Last season, he had 20 points, four of them goals, and 167 penalty minutes in 67 games.
The Thunderbirds now have three 20-year-olds on their roster, the others being D Cason Machacek, who was acquired earlier from the Lethbridge Hurricanes, and veteran F Burke Gallimore. Seattle also holds the rights to D Ryan Button, 20, who is under contract to the Boston Bruins and likely will open the season with the AHL’s Providence Bruins.
The Broncos, meanwhile, are whittling away at their pile of 20-year-old players. Last week, they released F Killian Hutt. That and the trading of Verdino leaves them with four -- Brad Hoban, Jordan Peddle, Taylor Vause and Dillon Wagner. All four are forwards.
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THE COACHING GAME:
The Chicago Wolves, the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks, have added Karl Taylor, 40, as an assistant coach. He had been the only head coach in the three-year history of the ECHL’s Ontario Reign. Taylor will work alongside head coach Craig MacTavish. . . . The vacancy was created when Ron Wilson left the Wolves for an assistant coaching position with the AHL’s Hamilton Bulldogs. . . .
Ryan Cyr has signed on as the Spokane Chiefs’ goaltending coach. He replaces Denis Sproxton, who left after 10 seasons due to family commitments. Cyr (Seattle, Lethbridge, Saskatoon, 2000-05) was dropped by the Regina Pats after last season. He spent four seasons there as goaltending consultant. . . .
Jim Camazzola (Kamloops, Seattle, New Westminster, 1982-85) has joined the Simon Fraser University’s hockey team as an assistant coach. He will work alongside head coach Mark Coletta. Camazzola is from Burnaby, so is joining a hometown team. Recently, he has coached in Italy’s Serie A, with Asiago HC, and the junior B Delta Icehawks. . . . SFU opens camp on Aug. 27 and will travel to Wenatchee, Wash., to play the Air Force Academy in an exhibition game on Oct. 1. . . .
Jeff Bes is the new head coach of the Southern Professional league’s Mississippi Surge. Bes, who spent the last eight seasons as a player/assistant coach with the Central league’s Laredo Bucks, replaces Steffon Walby, who was fired by new owner Tim Kerr in July. . . .
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The new arena in Moose Jaw has a new name, and it isn’t Crushed Can II.
The City of Moose Jaw and The Mosaic Company have cut a deal for naming rights for the multi-use facility which will be home to the Moose Jaw Warriors starting this season.
The 4,367-seat building will be known as Mosaic Place under the terms of a 10-year, $1.5-million deal.
The facility includes an eight-sheet curling facility, banquet and meeting rooms, and private suites and club-seating.
Mosaic Place opens Aug. 19.
The Mosaic Company is one of the world’s leading producers and marketers of concentrated potash and phosphate crop nutrients.
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JUST NOTES: F Grant Toulmin (Swift Current, 2005-09) will attend Nipissing University and play for the Lakers, who are based in North Bay, Ont. The 6-foot-5, 210-pound Toulmin spent last season at Mount Royal University in Calgary, picking up 19 points in 28 games. The Royals won the national college championship.

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