The Vancouver Giants, with room for one 20-year-old player, have acquired F Kale Kessy from the Medicine Hat Tigers. The Giants gave up a conditional fifth-round selection in the 2015 bantam draft. . . . Kessy is serving a 12-game suspension for a headshot on Lethbridge Hurricanes D Ryan Pilon on Sept. 22. He has six games remaining and will be eligible to play for the Giants on Oct. 30 when they are in, yes, Lethbridge. . . . Kessy, a fourth-round selection by the Phoenix Coyotes in the 2011 NHL draft, has been with the AHL’s Portland Pirates. However, he was told Thursday night that he would be returning to the WHL. . . . Last season, he had 16 points and 151 penalty minutes in 49 games. He had two goals in two games when he was suspended this season. . . . In 195 regular-season games, Kessy has 71 points and 422 penalty minutes.
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The Regina Pats have assigned D Cole Hamblin, 19, to an unspecified junior A team. Hamblin, 6-foot-3 and 235 pounds, had two points in eight games with the Pats this season. He played last season with the MJHL’s Selkirk Steelers. He also has six points in 19 games with the Spokane Chiefs over the last two seasons.
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F Zach Pochiro of the Prince George Cougars has been suspended for three games for a checking-from-behind major and game misconduct incurred on Wednesday night in a 5-4 victory over the host Kootenay Ice. . . . Pochiro sat out Friday’s 4-3 loss to the Hurricanes in Lethbridge.
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Remember Joey Hishon? He was playing for the OHL’s Owen Sound Attack at the 2011 Memorial Cup when he took a headshot from Kootenay Ice D Brayden MacNabb. Hishon, a first-round selection by the Colorado Avalanche in the 2010 NHL draft, has yet to return to action. Sean Fitz-Gerald of the National Post has more right here.
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The Vancouver, Wash., Vipers, who play in the Northern Pacific Hockey League (NORPAC), had four hometown brothers on their roster until making a trade the other day. Now they have but one.
The Vipers dealt Joe Bordak, 19, Avik Bordak, 18, and Elijah Bordak, 17, to the Medford-based Southern Oregon Spartans of the Western States Hockey League. Daniel Bordak, at 20 the oldest of the brothers, remains with the Vipers. . . . Head coach Keith Bemis of the Vipers told the Vancouver Columbian that the Bordaks were traded because they couldn’t afford the US$5,500 per player registration fee. According to the newspaper, “Benis said Southern Oregon had sponsorship money to assist the Bordaks with the cost of playing.” . . . The Columbian also reported that “Bemis said the Vipers will receive between three and five players from Southern Oregon, with most expected to arrive next week.”
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FRIDAY’S STUFF:
G Jackson Whistle earned his second WHL victory — his first since Jan. 10 — as the Kelowna Rockets beat the Royals 4-1 in Victoria. . . . Whistle, who is from West Kelowna, was acquired from the Vancouver Giants last month. His only other victory came on Jan. 10 when the Giants beat the Prince George Cougars, 3-0. . . . Last night, Whistle stopped 20 shots. . . .

The Red Deer Rebels snapped a 12-game home-ice losing streak against Medicine Hat by beating the Tigers, 2-1. . . . According to Greg Meachem, the sports editor at the Red Deer Advocate, the Tigers hadn’t lost in Red Deer since October 2009. . . . Red Deer G Bolton Pouliot stopped 32 shots. . . . Red Deer G Patrik Bartosak was scratched for undisclosed disclipinary reasons. The Rebels had Grant Naherniak, from the Red Deer midget ranks, backing up Pouliot. . . . F Turner Elson broke a 1-1 tie at 16:16 of the second period when his centring pass during a PP bounced in off a Medicine Hat player. . . . Red Deer takes a three-game winning streak into a game tonight in Calgary. . . .

F JC Lipon scored three times in a 5:39 span in the first period and the Kamloops Blazers went on to a 5-1 victory over the visiting Spokane Chiefs. . . . Lipon also had an assist, giving him a WHL-leading 18 points. . . . Kamloops G Cole Cheveldave stopped 36 shots, including 18 in the second period. . . . The Blazers left shortly after the game for a five-game swing into the Central Division. Kamloops (7-0-1) will open the trip Sunday afternoon in Calgary against the Hitmen (5-0-2). These are the only WHL teams not to have lost in regulation time this season. . . .

The Calgary Hitmen improved to 5-0-2 with a 5-4 shootout victory over the host Edmonton Oil Kings. . . . Calgary is 3-0-0 against Edmonton (5-2-2) already this season. . . . The Hitmen won at home, 6-5 in OT, on Sunday. . . . “I didn’t mind the effort,” Edmonton head coach Derek Laxdal told Evan Daum of the Edmonton Journal. “I thought we played hard for 60 minutes and, obviously, a shootout is what it is.” . . . Calgary F Greg Chase, who is from Sherwood Park, Alta., scored the shootout winner. . . . Edmonton’s PP, which features five forwards, was 3-for-3 and now is 9-for-14 in its last four games. . . . With the Hitmen having won all three games with the Oil Kings and with two of them going to extra time, here’s another quote from Laxdal, who told Robert Tychkowski of the Edmonton Sun: “We’ve only got two points out of a possible six, and they’ve got six.” . . . That’s what the loser point does for you. Out of a possible six points, the teams split eight of them. . . .

The Seattle Thunderbirds scored six times on 21 shots in a 6-4 victory over the Giants in Vancouver. . . . F Brendan Rouse may have scored three times for the Thunderbirds. (The online scoresheet has him with three goals; a post-game news release from the Thunderbirds has him with two goals and an assist, with that other goal going to F Luke Lockhart.) . . . The Giants have lost six of eight games. . . . F Marek Tvrdon, a 31-goal man last season, scored his first goal of the season for the Giants. . . .

F Coda Gordon scored a PP goal in OT to give the Swift Current Broncos a 3-2 victory over the Pats in Regina. . . . The goal was Gordon's second of the game. . . . The Broncos, who finished 3-for-6 on the PP, started OT on the PP and then got another PP later in OT. . . . The Broncos have played nine games this season, with five of them going into extra time. . . . Regina F Chandler Stephenson tied the score 2-2 with 6:19 left in the third period. . . . Regina F Dryden Hunt (concussion) returned after missing the season’s first nine games. . . .

The Prince Albert Raiders had their seven-game winning streak come to an end as they lost 5-2 to the visiting Portland Winterhawks. . . . Portland took control late in the second period when D Derrick Pouliot and F Taylor Leier broke a 1-1 tie with goals 1:33 apart. . . . Portland, which held a 40-28 edge in shots, has outshot its opponent in each of its games this season. . . . The Winterhawks wrap up their six-game East Division swing tonight in Swift Current. . . . F Dakota Conroy scored one of the Raiders’ goals. He has four goals in seven games since being acquired from the Victoria Royals. . . . The Raiders meet the Warriors in Moose Jaw tonight, then play nine of their next 10 at home. . . .

The Everett Silvertips, down 2-0 just 12 minutes into the first period, bounced back to beat the host Brandon Wheat Kings 3-2 in overtime. . . . D Landon Oslanski, 20, scored on a slapshot from the point at 1:17 of extra time. . . . Everett F Trent Lofthouse forced OT with his second goal of the season at 14:33 of the third. . . . Everett G Daniel Cotton recorded his first WHL victory. He spent most of two seasons backing up Calvin Pickard with the Seattle Thunderbirds before being dealt to the Silvertips on Sunday. Cotton was 0-8-0 with Seattle last season. . . . Cotton also earned an assist on the game-winner last night. . . . Everett had lost its last three games. . . . Brandon F John Quenneville scored his first WHL goal in the first period and got his first WHL stitches in the third, courtesy of a puck to the face. . . . The Silvertips play in Regina tonight, meaning Everett D Ryan Murray, the No. 2 overall selection in the 2012 NHL draft, gets to play in front of family and friends for the first time since Dec. 7, 2010. Murray is from White City, which is located on the eastern outskirts of Regina. . . .

F Sam Mckechnie’s goal late in the third period broke a 2-2 draw and gave the host Lethbridge Hurricanes a 3-2 victory over the Prince George Cougars. . . . Lethbridge G Ty Rimmer stopped 27 shots. . . . F Russell Maxwell had two PP goals for Lethbridge. . . . Prince George F Colin Jacobs had an assist to run his point streak to eight games. . . . Prince George lost F Caleb Belter to an interference major and game misconduct late in the first period. . . .

F Brock Montgomery had two goals and a helper to help the Kootenay Ice to a 4-3 victory over the visiting Saskatoon Blades. . . . Montgomery’s second goal, at 16:24 of the third, broke a 3-3 tie. . . . Montgomery has seven goals in as many games. . . . Saskatoon F Shane McColgan had tied the game at 15:16 with his first goal of the season. . . . F Sam Reinhart added a goal and an assist for the Ice, who had lost three in a row. . . . F Josh Nicholls had two goals and an assist for the Blades, who have lost five in a row. . . . The Blades are in Lethbridge tonight.
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CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
F Josh Winquist, Everett
F Tim Bozon, Kamloops
D Tyler Stahl, Victoria
F Logan Nelson, Victoria
D Mitchell Wheaton, Kelowna

CHECKING-TO-THE-HEAD COUNT:
D Dan Gibb, Prince George
D Tyler Stahl, Victoria
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TWEET OF THE DAY:
From Seattle Thunderbirds G Brandon Glover (@BGlover31): “Nice win in front of my family tonight in Vancouver. #feelsgood On a side note: who was serving drinks to the shot clock guys tonight?”
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TWEET OF THE DAY II:
Rob Henderson (@HendoRob) of the Brandon Sun, getting ready to cover a game between the Wheat Kings and the visiting Everett Silvertips last night: “Either the TC Americans are here for a look before tomorrow’s game or it’s staff appreciation night at Tip Top. Pretty sure it’s the former.”
The Americans open their six-game East Division tour in Brandon tonight.

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Another player leaves the game

Max Adolph retired on Tuesday.
You can bet the news didn’t cause even a ripple in Shawinigan, Que., where major junior hockey is playing out its season at the Memorial Cup tournament.
Max Adolph?
He was a fourth-round selection by the Kelowna Rockets in the WHL’s 2007 bantam draft. Adolph’s WHL career ended after just 97 regular-season games, 36 of them in 2010-11, none of them this season. He leaves with 16 points and 52 penalty minutes to his credit.
In the summer of 2009, his parents sent him to Kelowna as a 17-year-old centre with big dreams. He returned to the family home in Saskatoon three years later, having experienced six concussions.
“After assessment from our doctors, we’re doing what is in the best interest of Max,” Bruce Hamilton, the Rockets’ president and general manager, said at the time. “Our medical team has advised Max to avoid body contact and shut his season down for now.”
Adolph, the son of U of Saskatchewan Huskies head coach Dave Adolph, never played again.
Concussion-related problems limited Max to 36 games in 2010-11. He suffered a concussion on Oct. 30, 2010, in Portland, returned in January and was knocked out of the lineup again with another head injury. He tried to return in February but was gone again after just two weeks.
Adolph attended training camp prior to this season but suffered yet another concussion in an exhibition game and was sent home.
“At the time,” Adolph, who turned 20 on April 1, told Regan Bartel, the veteran radio voice of the Rockets, “(going home) didn’t seem like the best decision. But now, (after) going to school and looking back at it, I think it was the better decision rather than risk more injuries and turning into a vegetable.”
It is inconceivable that a WHL player, a young man who has so much to live for, is even thinking about “turning into a vegetable.”
Yes, the time has come for the WHL to take its head out of the sand and get serious about head injuries.
You may recall almost a year ago that the WHL, with great fanfare, announced a seven-step plan aimed at addressing the issues of headshots and concussions.
“The WHL is fully committed to addressing head blows and concussions in a comprehensive manner,” WHL commissioner Ron Robison said in a news release.
The WHL, whose teams had experienced more than 100 concussions during the 2010-11 season, immediately stopped reporting specific injuries on its weekly injury report. Instead, every injury was either of the lower- or upper-body variety. You can bet, however, that concussions didn’t decrease this season in the WHL.
It is time, then, for the WHL to stop with the lip service and do something about the concussions. It is time to start walking the walk.
Any contact with an opponent’s head, no matter how incidental, should be greeted with at least a minor penalty. Referees need to stop erring on the side of caution — more major penalties and game misconducts need to be assessed for headshots.
Richard Doerksen, the WHL’s vice-president, hockey, handles discipline. He needs to stop with the one- and two-game suspensions; he needs to start with five and work up from there.
It also is time for the WHL to outlaw fighting. Granted, a small number of concussions are the result of fights, but even one is too many. A fighting major should be accompanied by a game misconduct. There also should be a sliding suspension scale for those inclined to fight on a regular or semi-regular basis.
And please don’t try feeding me the nonsense about how getting rid of fighting will lead to an increase in stickwork. There are referees on the ice who should be calling the penalties.
Remember, too, that as the Edmonton Oil Kings play through the aforementioned Memorial Cup, their roster is missing two players.
Veteran forward Colton Stephenson retired without playing even one game this season. Five concussions meant his career line ended with 17 points in 70 games. Stephenson will turn 20 on July 16.
Jesse Pearson, a defenceman who turned 21 on March 13, got into 18 games last season. He never played again after suffering a concussion in a fight on Dec. 17, 2010. Pearson now is an assistant coach with the Oil Kings.
The list of players who have retired due to concussion-related issues grows longer and longer. It includes Jesse Wallin, the Red Deer Rebels’ general manager and head coach, Kelowna assistant coach Ryan Cuthbert, former Tri-City Americans forward Taylor Procyshen and on and on.
That list now includes Max Adolph. It soon may include Joey Hishon.
Joey Hishon?
You may remember him from the 2011 Memorial Cup. It was May 21, 2011, when Hishon, a forward in his fourth season with the OHL’s Owen Sound Attack, was on the receiving end of an ugly elbow to the head from Kootenay Ice defenceman Brayden McNabb.
McNabb was suspended for one game. This season, he played 25 games with the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres, and another 45 with their AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans.
Joey Hishon?
A first-round selection by the Colorado Avalanche in the 2010 NHL draft, Hishon hasn’t played since May 21, 2011.

Friday . . .

THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Wacey Rabbit (Saskatoon, Vancouver, 2001-07) signed a one-year contract with Jesenice (Slovenia, Austria Erste Bank Liga). He had 12 goals and 27 assists in 53 games for Medvescak Zagreb (Croatia, Austria Erste Bank Liga) this season.
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A regular visitor to this blog asked if I had any idea how many WHL players who were selected in the NHL’s 2009 draft weren’t signed by the June 1 deadline?
So I scurried over to Small Thoughts At Large and found Alan Caldwell’s list of WHLers who were selected in that draft. After subtracting recent signees, here is what’s left:
Second round:
43. San Jose: D William Wrenn (Portland Winter Hawks)
Third round:
67. Florida: F Josh Birkholz (Everett Silvertips)
81. Philadelphia: G Adam Morrison (Saskatoon Blades)
Fifth round:
141. Calgary: F Spencer Bennett (Vancouver Giants)
Sixth round:
155. Atlanta: F Jimmy Bubnick (Calgary Hitmen)
157. Phoenix: F Evan Bloodoff (Kelowna Rockets)
Seventh round:
185. Atlanta: F Levko Koper (Spokane Chiefs)
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To the best of my knowledge, none of the above seven players signed. However, because Wrenn and Birkholz were drafted out of the U.S. college ranks, they weren’t subject to the June 1 deadline. They don’t have to be signed until their classes are scheduled to graduate.
Meanwhile, the Carolina Hurricanes signed D Tommi Kivisto, whom they took 208th overall after he played a season with the Red Deer Rebels. However, he returned to his native Finland for 2010-11 and played for Jokerit. The contract he signed allows him to return to Jokerit and then come to the NHL in 2012-13, should he choose.
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Matt Coxford of the Cranbrook Daily Townsman had an interesting chat with WHL commissioner Ron Robison. Most of the conversation dealt with the attendance at Kootenay Ice games during the playoffs. Among other things, Robison said:
"The margin for error in these small centres is not there. They have to fill the building, they have to get to a position that we're dealing with 90 per cent capacity attendance. Sixty per cent is just not acceptable. A club can't be expected to operate under those circumstances.
"The reality is, if the Western Hockey League is going to continue to operate in the Kootenays — and we're fully committed to making that happen — we need to increase the season ticket base and we need to increase the attendance in a game-by-game basis."
Coxford’s complete story is right here.
Wasn’t it just a short time ago when the WHL was fully committed to making a go of it in Chilliwack? That’s what I thought.
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F Joey Hishon of the Owen Sound Attack was on the receiving end of that elbow from Kootenay Ice D Brayden McNabb at the Memorial Cup. . . . Mike Savage of the Stratford, Ont., Beacon Herald talks with Hishon about his concussion and the impact it has had on him. That story is right here.
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One of the benefits of living as close to the Left Coast as I do is that I, with a newspaper addiction that needs to be fed every day, have access to four daily newspapers, not counting the one for which I work. Had I the time, I would read all four — The Globe and Mail, the National Post, the Vancouver Province and the Vancouver Sun — every day. Not having the time, I pick and choose, but I always try to read columnist Pete McMartin of the Sun. Having started in this business when some of us really did have a bottle in the bottom desk drawer, and when you couldn’t write without chainsmoking and taking coffee via IV, I can easily picture McMartin in a news room in that era.
Anyway, the Seattle Times asked McMartin to write a column for them on the Stanley Cup final. That column is right here and it’s worth your time.
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Jack Knox of the Victoria Times Colonist is another Left Coaster who can write. There are a lot of news columnist out here who have caught Stanley Cup fever and decided to try their hand at sports writing. Knox is no exception and his piece his right here.
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JUST NOTES: The OHL’s Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds have filled out their coaching staff with the hiring of three assistants — Nick Warriner, Seamus Kotyk and Mike Oliverio. Warriner is back for a fourth season with the Soo. Kotyk was promoted to fulltime assistant after serving as the goaltending coach last season. Oliverio, who played five seasons as a player with the Soo, spent the last 14 seasons scouting for the OHL’s Plymouth Whalers. They will work under new head coach mike Stapleton. . . . G Robin Lehner stopped 21 shots Friday night as the host Binghamton Senators blanked the Houston Aeros in Game 4 of the AHL’s championship final for the Calder Cup. . . . Attendance was 4,710. . . . The series is tied 2-2 with Game 5 in Binghamton tonight. . . . The series will return to Houston for Game 6 on Tuesday. A seventh game, if needed, will be played in Houston on Thursday. . . . The OHL released its 2011-12 schedule on Friday. . . . More than 48 hours have passed since Game 1 of the NHL final was played and I’m still trying to figure out why Boston head coach Claude Julien assigned D Zdeno Chara to the front of the Vancouver net on the Bruins’ power play. Gotta think Vancouver’s penalty killers much prefer having Chara there, rather than using his 105 mile an hour slapper from the point. It will be interesting to see where Chara finds himself on Boston’s PP in Game 2. Assuming, that is, that the referees choose to call penalties. . . .
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A note from Rob Vanstone of the Regina Leader-Post:
“Two and a half months have elapsed since the Regina Pats’ season concluded, but there has yet to be an announcement regarding the status of head coach Curtis Hunt and director of scouting Todd Ripplinger. At this point, we can only presume that both men will be retained, because that is the only fair decision general manager Chad Lang can make after taking so long to assess the organization.”
Of course, the other side of that thought process is that if the Pats were going to have them back, they would have made the announcement well before now.

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
     
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