1. The Lethbridge Hurricanes are scheduled to hold two news conferences next week — one on Monday, the other on Thursday. Presumably, they will introduce a new head coach at one and unveil their new logo at the other. . . . You will know which one is to introduce the coach if it opens with Drake singing What’s My Name?
2. Glen Hanlon, who resigned last month as the Vancouver Giants’ lead assistant coach, has confirmed that he is back as the head coach of the Belarussian national team. . . . “I just felt I needed more of a challenge,” Hanlon told Greg Douglas for his Saturday column in the Vancouver Sun. “I’ve had the itch to be a head coach again and with Belarus hosting the world hockey championships in 2014, it seemed like a perfect fit. I was part of the Belarus presentation five years ago to land the tournament. Now I’ve got the opportunity to take it the next step by coaching and helping with their player development program.” . . . Douglas’s column is right here.
3. The NBA final resumes Sunday with the San Antonio Spurs back in Miami hoping to take a 2-0 lead over the Heat. Charles Barkley was saying Friday that he thinks the Spurs can sweep the Heat. Check that out right here.
4. How bad were the Pittsburgh Penguins beaten by the Boston Bruins in an Eastern Conference final that ended in a sweep on Friday night in Beantown? Here’s Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Tribune: “This was the worst playoff series in franchise history. The most embarrassing. The most ridiculous. The most inexplicable.” . . . There’s more right here.
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THE COACHING GAME:
The Halifax Mooseheads, who won the Memorial Cup in Saskatoon last month, have signed general manager Cam Russell and head coach Dominique Ducharme to three-year contracts. . . . At the same time, assistant coaches Jim Midgley and Steve Hartley, and goaltending coach Eric Raymond have signed two-year contracts. . . . Russell has been GM since January 2009, while Ducharme and his staff are preparing for their third season in Halifax. In their first two seasons, the Mooseheads went 97-28-11.


Jon Calvano is back in the BCHL. Calvano, who spent the last three seasons as head coach of the BCHL’s Coquitlam Express, has signed on with the Langley Rivermen. He will work as the associate coach and assistant general manager. Bobby Henderson is Langley’s general manager and head coach.


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THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Rudolf Cerveny (Regina, 2007-09) and F Martin Podlesak (Tri-City, Lethbridge, 2000-02) signed one-year plus option contract extensions with Ceske Budejovice (Czech Republic, Extraliga). . . . Cerveny had three goals and two assists in 33 games with Ceske Budejovice and four assists in 11 games on loan to Mlada Boleslav (Czech Republic, 1. Liga). . . . Podlesak had five goals and two assists in 32 games with Ceske Budejovice this season. . . .

D Michael Busto (Moose Jaw, Swift Current, Kootenay, 2001-07) signed a two-year contract extension with Angers (France, Ligue Magnus). He had three goals and 11 assists in 26 games this season. Angers finished the regular season in first place and lost to Rouen in Game 7 of the final, 4-3 in overtime. . . .

F Alex Leavitt (Swift Current, Everett, 2003-06) signed a one-year contract with Oskarshamn (Sweden, Allsvenskan). He had one goal and four assists in 13 games with Medvescak Zagreb (Croatia, Austria Erste Bank Liga) and 13 goals and 35 assists in 32 games with Schwenninger Wild Wings (Germany, 2. Bundesliga) this season. . . .

F Petr Dvorak (Regina, 2002-03) signed a one-year contract extension with Cracovia Krakow (Poland, Ekstraliga). He had 15 goals and 13 assists in 32 games this season for the Polish champions. . . .

F Curtis Huppe (Medicine Hat, Lethbridge, Tri-City, 1995-2000) signed a one-year contract extension with the Guilford Flames (England Premier). He had 50 goals and 31 assists in 50 games with the English Premier champions this season.
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The USHL held Phase II of its draft last night. If you’re a fan of drafts, you have to love the USHL round-by-round. It’s right here, and if you click on a player’s name you will get his stats. Great stuff!
ushl.rinknetcloud.com/draft27.htm
Some names that caught my eye . . .

F Chris Wilkie was the second overall selection, going to the Tri-City Storm, in the the USHL draft on Tuesday evening. Wilkie, who turns 17 on July 10, has committed to North Dakota and has said he is leaving the U.S. National Team Development Program. . . . His WHL rights belong to the Victoria Royals, who selected him in the fourth round of the 2011 bantam draft. . . . The Storm plays out of Kearney, Nebraska. Wilkie is from Omaha and would become the first Nebraska native to play for the Storm should he, as expected, sign with there.

Still with the USHL draft, F Tyson McClellan, the son of San Jose Sharks head coach Todd McClellan, was picked by the Waterloo Black Hawks in the sixth round, 84th overall. Tyson, 17, has twice been in training camp with the Kamloops Blazers. . . .
Waterloo selected F Tanner MacMaster of Calgary in the fourth round, 57th overall. The Spokane Chiefs selected him in the first round, 19th overall, of the WHL’s 2011 bantam draft. He played this season with t he AJHL’s Camrose Kodiaks and has committed to Boston College. . . .

F Ryan Gropp of Kamloops was taken in the eighth round, 108th overall, by the Des Moines Buccaneers in the USHL’s draft on Tuesday evening. Gropp, who turns 17 on Sept. 16, played this season with the BCHL’s Penticton Vees. His WHL rights belong to the Seattle Thunderbirds, who selected him sixth overall in the WHL’s 2011 draft. The 6-foot-2, 180-pounder has yet to publicly declare whether he will play in the WHL or take the NCAA route.

G Dawson MacAuley, whose WHL rights were acquired Thursday by the Regina Pats, was taken by the Lincoln Stars in the 22nd round, 326th overall. . . . MacAuley, who turns 19 on June 14, is from Prince Albert. He has some WHL experience with t he Medicine Hat Tigers, but played most of this season with the SJHL-champion Yorkton Terriers. The Pats acquired MacAuley from the Calgary Hitmen for a fourth-round pick in the 2013 bantam draft.


The Dubuque Fighting Saints selected D David Quenneville of Edmonton with the last pick of the 27th round. He was selected 10th overall by the Medicine Hat Tigers in the WHL bantam draft on Thursday.
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THE COACHING GAME:
The BCHL’s Langley Rivermen have signed Jon Calvano as assistant general manager and associate coach. Calvano spent the past three years as head coach of the BCHL’s Coquitlam Express, going 92-87-3-4. . . . With the Rivermen, Calvano will work alongside GM/head coach Bobby Henderson.
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In the QMJHL, the host Baie-Comeau Drakkar scored a 3-1 victory over the Halifax Mooseheads. . . . Halifax, which now is 14-1 in these playoffs, holds a 2-1 lead with Game 4 in Baie-Comeau tonight.
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The WHL’s playoff situation:
CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL
Portland vs. Edmonton
(Portland leads, 2-1)
(All times local)
Game 1: Friday — Edmonton 4 at Portland 1 (10,097)
Game 2: Saturday — Edmonton 0 at Portland 3 (10,947)
Game 3: Tuesday — Portland 3 at Edmonton 1 (8,513)
Game 4: Today, May 8, at Edmonton, 7 p.m.
Game 5: Friday, at Portland (Rose Garden), 7 p.m.
x-Game 6: Sunday, at Edmonton, 4 p.m.
x-Game 7: Monday, May 13, at Portland (Rose Garden), 7 p.m.
x – if necessary.


All games are being televised by Shaw in Canada. They also will be televised in Portland, with Games 4, 5 and 6 on Comcast SportsNet, and Game 7 on Root Sports.
Comcast and Roots will pick up the Shaw telecast that feature play-by-play man Dan Russell, along with Bill Wilms, Peter Loubardias and Andy Neal.
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TUESDAY’S GAME:
In Edmonton, F Ty Rattie tied the WHL record for career playoff goals as the Portland Winterhawks beat the Oil Kings, 3-1. . . . Rattie scored his WHL-leading 17th goal to give Portland a 2-0 lead in the first period. That was his 47th career playoff goal, tying him with F Mark Pederson (Medicine Hat, 1983-88). . . . Rattie has played in 73 career playoff games; Pederson played in 71. . . . Rattie also leads the WHL with 33 points, in 18 games. Last season, he put up 33 points in 21 games, finishing one point behind then-teammate F Sven Baertschi. . . . The Winterhawks dominated the first period, getting goals from F Taylor Leier (8:39), Rattie (8:14) and F Oliver Bjorkstrand (15:48). . . . Portland G Mac Carruth, who lost his shutout bid when F Michael St. Croix scored at 9:13 of the second, stopped 38 shots. . . . Edmonton G Laurent Brossoit turned saide 24. . . . The Oil Kings remain without F Trevor Cheek, who has an undisclosed injury and may not play at all in the series, and D Griffin Reinhart, whose season was ended by a skate cut to a foot that required surgery.
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The Winterhawks gained at least a measure of revenge with last night’s victory, writes Evan Daum, who is covering the games in Edmonton for The Oregonian. That story is right here.
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“Maybe they had no ‘puck luck’, but the Edmonton Oil Kings fell 3-1 in Game 3 of the WHL finals at Rexall Place — and 2-1 in the series — to the Portland Winterhawks at Rexall Place on Tuesday night,” writes Dave (Crash) Cameron of the Edmonton Sun. His story is right here.
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Veteran Edmonton Sun columnist Terry Jones figures the Winterhawks “are going to be hard to stop now.” His column from Game 3 is right here.
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The Oil Kings, writes Chris O’Leary of the Edmonton Journal, “have started each game of the series progressively slower, with the results becoming increasingly predicable.” His game story is right here.
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Columnist John MacKinnon of the Edmonton Journal writes that the Oil Kings know what they want to do, but “it’s putting the plan into action that’s hanging them up.” His piece is right here.
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CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT (21):
None

CHECKING-TO-THE-HEAD COUNT (7):
None
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TWEET OF THE DAY:
From the USHL’s Chicago Steel (@ChicagoSteel): “With (its) final pick the Steel draft Jack Jablonski. Congrats @Jabs_13 on becoming a member of the Steel!”
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From Jack Jablonski (@Jabs_13): “Best night ever. #steel”

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Things are happening in Arizona when it comes to attempts to cut down on the number of concussions being experienced by young athletes. Wynter Holden of Phoenix magazine has that story right here.
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In the NFL, ball carriers no longer will be able to use the crown of the helmet to deliver blows.
Len Berman of ThatsSports.com reports that Jim Brown, only the greatest running back in football history, had this to say: "I used my forearm. And the palm of my hand. And my shoulders. And my shoulder pads. I wasn't putting my head into too much of anything. I don't think that sounds like a good idea to me. What is my guarantee that my head is going to be strong enough to hurt somebody else, and not hurt myself?"
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You may know Diana Swain as an investigative reporter with CBC News; on occasion, she also sits in for host Peter Mansbridge on The National. On top of that, She is a hockey mom, and she is preparing for her final minor hockey game. Actually, it’s her son’s final game. Anyway, she has written a terrific piece looking at her son’s minor hockey career. Her son never played junior hockey and won’t be playing professionally. As Swain writes: “University beckons in the fall. When he plays again, it will be in a men's beer league somewhere where there will be women in the stands, but not the moms. I will miss it very much. It's not just a chapter of his life that’s closing. But, a chapter of mine too.”
That piece is right here. Give it a read.
If you aren’t aware, there was a time when Diana’s late father, Brian, was a TV/radio guy in Brandon and covered the  Wheat Kings.
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F Dyson Stevenson of the Regina Pats is joining the ECHL’s Bakersfield Condors, while D Dan Gibb of the Prince George Cougars will finish up with the ECHL’s Stockton Thunder. . . . D Brett Kulak of the Vancouver Giants will finish up with the AHL’s Abbotsford Heat. The Calgary Flames, the Heat’s parent club, selected Kulak in the fourth round of the 2012 NHL draft. . . .
The WHL announced its Western Conference award winners and all-stars teams yesterday. Check them out at whl.ca.
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It seems that the Washington Capitals have requested that the Lethbridge Hurricanes do something with their logo.
Cam Charron of Yahoo! Sports has more right here.



All of this reminds me of when the franchise first was nicknamed the Hurricanes. Pat Sullivan, a columnist with the Lethbridge Herald, was trying to understand the choice of nickname and wrote that perhaps the logo should have featured an overturned mobile home.
Had the Hurricanes only taken his advice, they could have avoided all of this.
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THE COACHING GAME:
The BCHL’s Coquitlam Express has relieved general manager and head coach Jon Calvano of his duties. Calvano had been with the Express for three seasons. “A very strong shortlist of Head Coach candidates has been identified and a decision on a replacement is pending,” reads a release posted on the Express’ website. . . .
The junior B Kimberley Dynamiters of the Kootenay Junior Interional Hockey League are looking for a general manager/head coach. They chose not to renew the contract of Glenn Burgess, who was a midseason replacement for Roman Vopat.
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The WHL’s first-round playoff matchups:
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Edmonton (1) vs. Kootenay (8)
Saskatoon (2) vs. Medicine Hat (7)
Calgary (3) vs. Swift Current (6)
Red Deer (4) vs Prince Albert (5)

WESTERN CONFERENCE
Portland (1) vs. Everett (8)
Kelowna (2) vs. Seattle (7)
Kamloops (3) vs. Victoria (6)
Spokane (4) vs. Tri-City (5)
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THURSDAY’S GAMES:
Two playoff series began last night. All eight series will feature games tonight. . . .
In Saskatoon, G Cam Lanigan stopped 42 shots as the Medicine Hat Tigers got past the Blades, 4-1. . . . The Tigers led 1-0 after a period on goals by F Trevor Cox and F Hunter Shinkaruk. . . . Medicine Hat was never caught after that. . . . Medicine Hat D Zach Hodder didn’t get a point, but he was plus-4. . . . Blades G Andrey Makarov, who played in 61 regular-season games, turned aside 29 shots. . . . The teams play again tonight in Saskatoon. . . . A year ago, the Tigers swept the Blades from a first-round series. . . . In fact, the Blades now have lost nine straight playoff games. . . . This season, the Blades went 4-0 against the Tigers, outscoring them 23-11. . . . Medicine Hat D Matt Staples didn’t return after taking a hard check from Saskatoon F Jessey Astles in the first period. . . . The Tigers didn’t bring F Blake Penner (leg, skate cut) or D Ty Stanton (concussion) to Saskatoon. . . . The Blades have added G Patrick Johnson to their roster. Johnson, who played for the SJHL’s Melfort Mustangs, will be behind Makarov and backup Alex Moodie on the depth chart. . . .

In Calgary, D Alex Roach scored at 4:32 of OT to give the Hitmen a 6-5 victory over the Swift Current Broncos. . . . The goal came off a shot from a bad angle and originally was credited to F Pavlo Padakin. . . . The Hitmen took a 1-0 lead just 34 seconds into the first period when F Brooks Macek scored on a PP. It was the seventh time this season that Macek scored in the opening minute of a period. . . . Calgary went on to lead this one 4-0 halfway through the second period. . . . Calgary F Brady Brassart gave his side a 5-3 lead with his third goal at 3:47 of the third. . . . Broncos F Coda Gordon scored at 4:20 of the third period and F Graham Black tied it on a PP at 13:53. . . . That was Brassart’s first WHL hat trick.
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From Tri-City Americans F Jesse Mychan (@jmychan28): “Game 1 in spoke tomorrow! Nothing better than 10,000+ booing you #muckonmuck”
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From Edmonton Sun columnist Terry Jones (@sunterryjones): “Big upset in Saskatoon. Medicine Hat Tigers 4 Saskatoon Blades 1. Toon Town is Memorial Cup host two months from now. Imagine . . .”

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THE MacBETH REPORT:
D Shawn Belle (Regina, Tri-City, 2000-05) signed a tryout contract with Adler Mannheim (Germany, DEL). He didn’t have any points in nine games with the Edmonton Oilers and Colorado Avalanche (both NHL) and six goals and 20 assists in 51 games with the Oklahoma City Barons and Lake Erie Monsters (both AHL) last season. The contract is through Sept. 22.
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The Swift Current Broncos have suffered something of a blow with the departure of G Steffen Soberg.
Soberg, 18, is from Oslo, Norway, and was a fourth-round pick by the Washington Capitals in the 2011 NHL draft. The Broncos used the sixth overall pick in the CHL’s 2011 import draft to take Soberg.
He arrived at the Broncos’ training camp and was expected to be the Broncos’ No. 1 goaltender. Shawn Mullin, the radio voice of the Broncos, reported that Soberg “played half an exhibition game before injuring his knee and missing the Edmonton tournament.”
Soberg didn’t go to the Capitals’ camp, and the Broncos, according to Mullin, are saying that “Soberg had to leave to deal with personal issues.”
This isn’t to say Soberg won’t return to Swift Current, but his departure leaves the Broncos with Austin Smith and Steve Myland as their goaltenders.
Smith, an 18-year-old from Calgary, was a second-round pick in the 2008 bantam draft. Smith was 0-6-0, 4.86, .871 in 11 appearances with the Broncos last season.
Myland was acquired from the Kootenay Ice in the January blockbuster in which the Broncos surrendered F Cody Eakin. Myland, a 17-year-old from Cloverdale, B.C., played last season with the Valley West Hawks of the B.C. Major Midget League. The Ice selected him in the 10th round of the 2009 bantam draft.
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On the afternoon after his side absorbed a 10-1 loss at the hands of the Medicine Hat Tigers, GM/head coach Rich Preston of the Lethbridge Hurricanes acquired a new goaltender.
The Hurricanes picked up G Damien Ketlo, 20, from the Regina Pats for a conditional fifth-round pick in the 2012 bantam draft.
The plan in Lethbridge would seem to call for Ketlo, who is entering his fourth WHL season, to partner with Brandon Anderson, 19, who has signed with the NHL’s Washington Capitals. Or perhaps the plan is to move Anderson, who would seem to be a rather valuable asset.
In speaking with Kelowna Rockets head coach Ryan Huska on Friday, he mentioned that he feels his club’s one-two punch in goal — Adam Brown, who is expected to return from the camp of the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers, and Jordon Cooke — is as good as any in the league.
Huska put it like this: “If we get Adam back, which we are expecting we will, we feel like we have a good one-two punch . . . some teams don’t have a one.”
That being the case, Anderson might become a really valuable chip.
Ketlo is one of four 20-year-olds on the Hurricanes’ roster, joining F Cam Braes, F Austin Fyten and F Brody Sutter.
The deal leaves Regina with three 20-year-olds on its roster — D Brandon Davidson, D Art Bidlevskii and F Garrett Mitchell, all of whom are at NHL camps.
The Pats are down to three goaltenders now — veteran Matt Hewitt, 19, and freshmen Teagan Sacher of Winnipeg, who turns 17 on Dec. 1, and Adam Beukeboom, 17, of Sundre, Alta.
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A story in Coquitlam Now contained an interesting quote from Jon Calvano, the head coach of the BCHL’s Coquitlam Express.
His club recently had two players — Austin Carroll and Jason Fram — move on to WHL teams. Carroll, a ninth-round pick in the 2009 bantam draft, is with the Victoria Royals, while Fram, an eighth-round pick in 2010, went to the Spokane Chiefs.
“It's an old cliché, but it is what it is,” Calvano told the newspaper. “We are both in the position of developing players and both in it to win. I'd be foolish to say that the WHL is not a good league and won't open doors for players; we're just different options. When it's all said and done, I wish both players well.”
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According to Cleve Dheensaw of the Victoria Times Colonist, the Victoria Royals will be without D Zach Habscheid (upper body) for “up to six weeks.” D Tyler Stahl also has an upper body injury, meaning the Royals are missing two of their top four defencemen. . . . As well, Victoria F Brendan Persley is out with mononucleosis. . . . Stahl was selected by the Carolina Hurricanes in the sixth-round of the NHL’s 2010 draft. His injury has prevented him from joining them in training camp. . . . RW Jordan DePape (hip flexor) didn’t get on the ice a whole lot in the Kamloops Blazers’ camp before leaving to join the Winnipeg Jets’ rookie team for a tournament in Penticton. The Jets kept DePape off the ice Sunday — he did work out off the ice — but hope he can play in a game today.
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TWEET OF THE DAY:
From D Matt Dumba of the Red Deer Rebels:
“Would rather punt my dog off a bridge than lose to Calgary.”
That was after the Calgary Hitmen beat the Rebels 4-2 on Saturday.
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And now for something completely different. . . .
Buzz Bissinger, who wrote Friday Night Lights, provides his take on remembering 9/11. You’ll find it right here.

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
     
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
     
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