Three WHLers get NHL deals . . . Iconic BCHL franchise sold . . . Lots of WHL roster moves

F Carson McMillan (Calgary, 2005-09) has signed a one-year contract with Esbjerg (Denmark, Metal Ligaen). Last season, he was the captain of the Idaho Steelheads (ECHL). He had 19 goals and 15 assists in 70 games. . . . 

F Jonas Johansson (Kamloops, 2002-04) has signed a one-year contract with Gherdëina (Italy, Alps HL). Last season, he had three goals and seven assists in 21 games with the Stavanger Oilers (Norway, GET-Ligaen), three assists in seven games with the SønderjyskE Vojens (Denmark, Metal Ligaen), and four goals and four assists in 12 games with Troja-Ljungby (Sweden, Division 1). . . . 

F Petr Kalus (Regina, 2005-06) has signed a tryout agreement with Zvolen (Slovakia, Extraliga). He had been released by Orli Znojmo (Czech Republic, Erste Bank Liga) on Sept. 29 after going pointless in three games.

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The Prince George Cougars, flying high at 6-0-0 for the first time in franchise history, dropped three players from their roster on Monday. . . . D Jonas Harkins, 16, will join the Prince George-based Cariboo Cougars of the B.C. Major Midget Hockey League. D Cole Moberg, who turns 16 on Oct. 17, is off to the Vancouver-Northwest Giants of the BCMMHL. F Brendan Kochanski, 17, is expected to play for the MJHL’s Dauphin Kings. . . . Harkins was a second-round selection in the 2015 bantam draft. Last season, he had nine points, eight of them assists, in 37 games with Cariboo. He is the son of Cougars general manager Todd Harkins and the younger brother of Cougars F Jansen Harkins. . . . Moberg played last season for the North Shore Winter Club’s midget AAA side, putting up 48 points, including 21 goals, in 57 games. . . . Last season, Kochanski had 18 points, including eight goals, in 37 games with the midget AAA Winnipeg Thrashers. He is from Winnipeg. . . . The moves get the Cougars down to 27 players, including two goaltenders and nine defencemen.

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Today's Rebels/Pats trade is the 7th trade the Rebels have made in the last 2.5 weeks. #ExtremeMakeoverWHLEdition

— Alan Caldwell (@smallatlarge) October 3, 2016

The Red Deer Rebels have acquired D Jared Freadrich, 18, from the Regina Pats for a fourth-round selection in the 2017 WHL bantam draft. The draft pick had belonged to the Swift Current Broncos; the Rebels acquired it in a trade for F Scott Feser in 2015. . . . A fourth-round pick by the Pats in the 2013 bantam draft, Freadrich has five goals and 16 assists in 61 career regular-season games. . . . The Rebels also dropped F Ben Hiltz, 17, from their roster. Hiltz is from Weyburn, Sask., and will play this season with the SJHL’s Red Wings.

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G Carter Hart of the Everett Silvertips has signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Philadelphia Flyers, who selected him in the second round of the 2016 NHL draft. . . . From Sherwood Park, Alta., Hart is going into his third season with Everett. Last season, he was the CHL’s goaltender of the year after going 35-23-4, 2.14 .918. He also put up six shutouts. . . . According to generalfanager.com, Hart’s contract calls for NHL salaries of US$742,500, $792,500 and $842,500, with an AHL salary of $70,000 each season. The first year of the contract includes $182,500 in performance bonuses with the next two carrying $132,500 and $82,500. There also is a signing bonus of $277,500, payable in three annual instalments of $92,500.

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You can bet that there were a lot of smiles around the Swift Current Broncos on Monday. That’s because two of their defencemen — Max Lajoie and Colby Sissons — signed three-year entry-level NHL contracts. . . . Lajoie, who turns 19 on Nov. 5, signed with the Ottawa Senators, who selected him in the fifth round of the NHL’s 2016 draft. The Broncos selected him in the fifth round of the 2012 bantam draft. He is into his third season in Swift Current. Last season, he had 37 points, eight of them goals, in 62 games. . . . According to generalfanager.com, Lajoie’s contract calls for an NHL salary of US$730,000 in each of the three seasons, with AHL salaries of $60,000, $65,000 and $67,500. There are $70,000 in performance bonuses each season and a $240,000 signing bonus, payable in three annual $80,000 instalments. . . . Sissons, an 18-year-old from Edmonton, signed with the New Jersey Devils after attending camp as a free-agent invitee. Last season, as a freshman, he had 22 points, including three goals, in 71 games with the Broncos. In 74 career games, he has 24 points, four of them goals. Sissons wasn’t selected in the WHL bantam draft. . . . According to generalfanager.com, Sissons’ deal includes NHL salaries of US$610,000, $690,000 and $690,000, with the AHL salaries set at $55,000, $55,000 and $60,000. There is a signing bonus of $105,000, payable in $35,000, $40,000 and $40,000 annual instalments.

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The Lethbridge Hurricanes have acquired D Brennan Riddle, 19, from the Prince Albert Raiders for a sixth-round selection in the 2018 WHL bantam draft. . . . The 6-foot-2, 190-pound Riddle was a first-round selection by the Calgary Hitmen in the 2012 bantam draft. He played from 2012-14 with the midget AAA Tisdale, Sask., Trojans. . . . In 111 games with the Raiders, he had 10 assists. Last season, in 50 games, he had four assists.

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The Portland Winterhawks have signed defencemen Nick Cicek and Darren Gisti. . . . Cicek, 16, was a seventh-round pick in the WHL’s 2015 bantam draft. Last season, he had 36 points, including 11 goals, for the Winnipeg Monarchs of the Winnipeg City Midget Hockey League. . . . Gisti, 17, also played in the WCMHL last season, putting up 35 points, 18 of them goals, in 30 games. He will play this season with the MJHL’s Dauphin Kings. Portland add him to its protected list in August. . . . The Winterhawks open a six-game swing through the East Division tonight (Tuesday) against the Swift Current Broncos.

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The Kamloops Blazers got their roster down to 24 on Monday by releasing F Brodi Stuart, 16, and D Tylor Ludwar, 17. . . . Stuart, from Langley, B.C., will join the Fraser Valley Thunderbirds of the B.C. Major Midget Hockey League. A fourth-round pick in the 2015 bantam draft, he had two assists in four exhibition games and was pointless in one regular-season game. . . . Ludwar, who was pointless in four exhibition games, is to join the midget AAA Regina Pat Canadians. He is from Regina.

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Players who were returned to WHL teams by NHL teams on the weekend:

Calgary Hitmen — F Matteo Gennaro, Winnipeg Jets; F Jordy Stallard, Winnipeg Jets.

Everett Silvertips — D Noah Juulsen, Montreal Canadiens.

Kelowna Rockets — F Nick Merkley, Arizona Coyotes.

Prince George Cougars — F Jansen Harkins, Winnipeg Jets; F Jesse Gabrielle, Boston Bruins.

Red Deer Rebels — F Michael Spacek, Winnipeg Jets.

Regina Pats — F Austin Wagner, Los Angeles Kings.

Swift Current Broncos — F Colby Sissons, New Jersey Devils.

Vancouver Giants — F Tyler Benson, Edmonton Oilers.

Victoria Royals — D Chaz Redekopp, Los Angeles Kings.

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By my count, and it’s strictly unofficial, these are the WHL players still in NHL camps, not including 20-year-olds:

Brandon Wheat Kings — D Ivan Provorov, Philadelphia Flyers.

Calgary Hitmen — D Jake Bean, Carolina Hurricanes.

Lethbridge Hurricanes — F Giorgio Estephan, Buffalo Sabres.

Prince Albert Raiders — D Brendan Guhle, Buffalo Sabres.

Seattle Thunderbirds — F Mathew Barzal, New York Islanders; F Keegan Kolesar, Columbus Blue Jackets. (Kolesar will miss about six weeks after undergoing surgery for a supraumbilical hernia last week.)

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Best wishes to former @WHLPats Barret Jackman as he retires from great @NHL career. Was my first Bant Draft pick in 96 & was a true warrior!

— Brent Parker (@Patguy65) October 3, 2016

Barret Jackman is expected to make it official today — he is retiring after playing 876 regular-season NHL games and 53 playoff games. He played four seasons (1997-2001) with the Regina Pats. I was at the Regina Leader-Post for a lot of Jackman’s time with the Pats and I have often said he was one of the toughest players I have seen in the WHL. I don’t know of anyone who could match him in a one-on-one puck battle in any corner. Ken Campbell of The Hockey News has more right here. 

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The BCHL’s Trail Smoke Eaters, one of the great organizations in Canada’s hockey history, have been sold. The franchise’s board of directors has said it will hold a public information session today (Tuesday) at which it will provide some details of the sale. . . . “The hockey club has been for sale for over a year now,” Tom Gawryletz, the club’s president, told the Nelson Daily. “We want to keep the team in Trail and this sale makes that possible. The buyer’s interest is in the team, the players and investing in our community, and not in making a large profit.” . . . Gawryletz told Kari Lee Campbell the identity of the buyer, who lives in Minnesota, won’t be revealed. “This will not be a disclosure meeting,” he said. “The intent is to provide information, explain our decision and why we have moved in this direction. We would not have moved in this direction if we didn't feel it is a positive move for the team and for the city.”

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JUST NOTES:

The Spokane Chiefs named D Tyson Helgesen, 19, as their captain. Helgesen, from Fairview, Alta., is into his third season with the Chiefs. . . .

The Lethbridge Hurricanes dropped F Jayden Davis, who turns 17 on Nov. 14, from their roster on Monday. He is expected to join the SJHL’s Estevan Bruins. Davis, from Alameda, Sask., had one assist in two games with the Hurricanes. Lethbridge is down to 24 players, including two goaltenders and eight defencemen. . . . 

The Swift Current Broncos have dropped F Josh Baker, 17, from their roster. He is likely to play this season with the AJHL’s Spruce Grove Saints. The Broncos selected him in the eighth round of the 2014 bantam draft. Last season, Baker, who is from Edmonton, had 46 points, including 32 goals, in 36 games with OHA Edmonton’s prep team in the Canadian Sport School Hockey League. . . .

The Moose Jaw Warriors have released sophomore F Landon Quinney, 18. From Las Vegas, Quinney had 16 points, three of them goals, in 69 games with the Warriors last season. He is the younger brother of Gage Quinney, who played out his junior eligibility with the Kamloops Blazers last season. . . . Their father, Ken, played four seasons (1981-85) with the Calgary Wranglers. . . .

The Kootenay Ice has its roster at 24 players after dropping F Jared Legien, 18. From Pilot Butte, Sask., Legien is expected to end up with a team in the SJHL. . . . The ninth overall selection in the 2013 bantam draft, Legien has nine points, including four goals, in 84 career regular-season games with the Ice. . . . The roster includes three goaltenders and seven defencemen.

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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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MONDAY’S GAMES:

No Games Scheduled.

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TUESDAY’S GAMES (all times local):

Moose Jaw vs. Kootenay, at Cranbrook, B.C., 7 p.m.

Portland at Swift Current, 7 p.m.

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McCrimmon picks Brandon over Toronto . . . Oilers keep cutting . . . Ex-WHLers in trouble with law

F Judd Blackwater (Spokane, 2005-08) signed a one-year contract with Székesfehérvár (Hungary, Erste Bank Liga). Last season, with the Ontario Reign (ECHL), he had 35 goals and 28 assists in 59 games. . . .
F Jason Jaffray (Edmonton/Kootenay, Swift Current, 1997-2002) signed a one-year contract with Red Bull Munich (Germany, DEL). Last season, he had 12 goals and 10 assists in 36 games with the St. John's Ice Caps (AHL). He was the team captain for the past four seasons. . . .
G Rastislav Staňa (Moose Jaw, Calgary, 1998-2000) announced he is taking a “time out” from hockey due to heart problems. Staňa hasn’t been cleared by doctors for any activity. He contracted pneumonia last season and then doctors discovered weakened heart functions and inflammation of the heart muscle. Last season, with Sparta Prague (Czech Republic, Extraliga), he was 2.57, .903 in 13 games. . . .
D Art Bidlevskii (Prince George, Regina, 2007-12) signed a one-year contract with Kallinge/Ronneby (Sweden, Division 1). Last season, with the Gwinnett Gladiators (ECHL), he had three assists in 13 games. . . .
F Jonas Johansson (Kamloops, 2002-04) signed a one-year contract with the Stavanger Oilers (Norway, GET-Ligaen). Last season, with Lausitzer Füchse Weisswasser (Germany, DEL2), he had 56 points, including 36 assists, in 44 games. He led his team in assists and points.
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Kelly McCrimmon has turned down an offer to join the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs, so will stay in Brandon where he is the owner/general manager and head coach of the Wheat Kings.
McCrimmon, 54, was offered a front-office position with the Maple Leafs sometime in the past month. But as time wore on and there wasn’t a decision, it seemed apparent that McCrimmon would turn down the offer. He made that announcement on Monday afternoon.
“With our team expected to contend this season,” McCrimmon, the WHL’s executive of the year for 2014-15, said in a news release, “I felt I owed it to the group to stay here and try to help us take the next step.”
The Wheat Kings had the WHL’s best regular-season record last season, at 53-11-8, and reached the Ed Chynoweth Cup final, where they were swept by the Kelowna Rockets.
Still, many observers feel the Wheat Kings got that far a year ahead of schedule and that the 2015-16 season will be their time.
"I think our players are focused and committed on trying to win and I want to be part of that," McCrimmon told Bruce Luebke, the team’s radio voice. “And, I feel that as the owner, general manager and head coach, I've got a responsibility to be part of that so that was the over-riding factor in the decision.”
If you know McCrimmon, you know that the last paragraph truthfully describes why he made the decision he did. He has a roster full of players who are there, at least in part, because they believe in McCrimmon and expect him to be there to see this process through to its end. McCrimmon knows that and you can bet that he would have had a whole lot of sleepless nights had he turned his back and walked away from them.
Here’s what McCrimmon told Rob Henderson, the Brandon Sun’s sports editor:
“I’m extremely fortunate to do what I do in Brandon. I’m very proud of our organization, I enjoy the people that I work with, I enjoy our players, so again that’s rewarding and something that I’ve always taken a lot of fulfilment out of.
“The opportunity in Toronto to get in on a ground floor with an Original Six franchise, working with people there that I know I would have really enjoyed, and the work needing to be done there would have been real challenging, real stimulating. . . . That’s what made the decision as difficult as it was.”
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The Edmonton Oilers dropped two more people from their front-office staff on Monday, both of whom have ties to the WHL. Dave Semenko, one of the Oilers’ pro scouts, and Billy Moores, who was working in an advisory role with the coaching staff, both were let go. . . . Semenko played for the Brandon Wheat Kings (1975-78), while Moores played four seasons (1966-70) with the Edmonton Oil Kings. Moores, one of the truly nice people in hockey, was the Regina Pats’ general manager and head coach for one season (1985-86).
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From Kevin Oklobzija of the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle:
“Former Rochester Americans and Buffalo Sabres defenseman Nathan Paetsch faces eight months home detention and must pay the U.S. government $265,000 as punishment for his role in an illegal gambling operation that was shut down last summer.
Paetsch, 32, pleaded guilty on Monday morning to two charges relating to an off-shore gambling enterprise run out of The Marina Restaurant and Bar in Charlotte.”
That story is right here.
Paetsch is from LeRoy, Sask. He played four seasons (1999-2003) with the Moose Jaw Warriors. A pro since 2003-04, he has played the last three seasons with the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins.
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F Jarret Stoll of the Los Angeles Kings has been charged with one count of possession of a controlled substance (cocaine). He was arrested in April while he and some teammates were in Las Vegas shortly after their season ended. . . . Stoll, 32, is from Melville, Sask. He played four seasons (1998-2002) with the Kootenay Ice. . . . In terms of his NHL career, he will become an unrestricted free agent on June 1. He has played the past seven seasons with the Kings.
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Eric Duhatschek, the veteran hockey writer who scribbles on behalf of The Globe and Mail, has seen enough of the grinding hockey that now is too often on display in NHL games. It seems that the recently completed Stanley Cup final, in which the Chicago Blackhawks and Tampa Bay Lightning combined to score fewer than four goals per game, was the tipping point. It is time, Duhatschek writes right here, to make the nets larger.
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THE COACHING GAME:

Terry Virtue has resigned as head coach of the Canon-McMillan hockey team. Canon-McMillan is a school district located south of Pittsburgh. . . . According to a Canon-McMillan news release, Virtue is moving to the Worcester, Mass., area “to pursue other opportunities.” . . . A defenceman, Virtue played two seasons (Victoria Cougars, Tri-City, Portland, 1989-91) in the WHL and later was an assistant coach with the Americans for three seasons. . . . During his pro career, he played six seasons with the AHL’s Worcester IceHawks and is in that city’s sports hall of fame. . . . In two seasons at Canon-McMillan, he was 28-14-2. The program won its second Penguins Cup championship last season.
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The WHL says it will release its exhibition schedule today and its regular-season schedule on Wednesday. Release time both days is 11 a.m., Mountain time.
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Got a tip or some information you feel could be useful to me, send an email to gregg@takingnote.ca.
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If I were named commissioner of all sports TV I would cull overpopulated herd of studio analysts by half and donate spare chairs to charity.

— Neil Best (@sportswatch) June 23, 2015

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THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Jonas Johansson (Kamloops, 2002-04) signed a one-year contract with Alleghe (Italy, Serie A). He had 21 goals and 26 assists in 41 games with Cortina (Italy, Serie A) last season. . . .
D Deryk Engelland (Moose Jaw, 1998-2003) signed a lockout contract with Rosenborg (Norway, GET-Ligaen). He had four goals and 13 assists in 73 games with the Pittsburgh Penguins last season. Rosenborg's press release notes that Engelland is drawing no salary from the club. Rosenborg is covering only his insurance premiums, travel expenses, and accommodations in Norway. Engelland is scheduled to arrive in Rosenborg on Monday. . . .
F Dale Weise (Swift Current, 2005-08) signed a lockout contract with the Tilburg Trappers (Netherlands, Eredivisie). He had four goals and four assists in 68 games with the Vancouver Canucks last season. . . .
F Jesse Schultz (Tri-City, Prince Albert, Kelowna, 1999-2003) was released by Milan Rossoblu (Italy, Serie A). He had two goals and two assists in eight games with Milan this season. No reason was given by the club for the release. . . .
D Tyler Myers (Kelowna, 2005-09) signed a lockout contract with Klagenfurt (Austria, Erste Bank Liga). He had eight goals and 15 assists in 55 games with the Buffalo Sabres last season. Myers is
scheduled to arrive in Austria on Tuesday. Klagenfurt's director of hockey operations is former Prince Albert Raiders and Minnesota North Stars D Emanuel Viveiros, father of Portland D Layne Viveiros. . . .
F Marek Curilla (Kootenay, Medicine Hat, 2005-06) was released at the end of his try-out contract with Most (Czech Republic, 1.Liga). He had four assists in 10 games during his try-out. Last season, Curilla had one goal in seven games with Slovan Ustecti Lvi (Czech Republic 1.Liga) and eight goals and nine assists in 41 games on loan to Zvolen (Slovakia, Extraliga).
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A story from the press box that illustrates what today’s junior hockey coaches are up against. . . .
Someone from the visiting team always comes into the press box about 90 minutes before game time and sets up a laptop computer that is hooked into the home team’s video gear.
At one game in Kamloops this season, one of the visiting team’s assistant coaches was doing just that when he discovered that he was going to need a power bar in order to get plugged into the nearest electrical outlet.
Just then, one of the players who was scratched from the lineup walked into the press box.
The assistant coach promptly asked the player to return to the dressing room area and bring back a power bar.
And that, said the assistant coach, would be an electrical power bar, not the PowerBar that you eat.
A nearby reporter digested that and burst out laughing.
Don’t laugh, offered the assistant coach, admitting that at a previous game he had requested a power bar and been presented with a PowerBar.
Ahh, the challenges of coaching in today’s game!
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You will recall reading here yesterday that, according to the online scoresheet, Seattle Thunderbirds F Brendan Rouse had been credited with three goals in a 6-4 victory over the host Vancouver Giants on Friday night.
But a news release from the Thunderbirds indicated that Rouse had scored twice, with the other goal going to Luke Lockhart.
Well, if you click right here and scroll down a few pictures, you will see Lockhart’s goal. No idea how that could end up being credited to Rouse. (As of 1:30 a.m. PT, Rouse still had three goals on the online scoresheet.)
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SATURDAY’S STUFF:
The Tri-City Americans opened their six-game East Division swing with a 4-3 victory over the Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . Tri-City F Jesse Mychan (bruised thigh) returned to the lineup for the first time since Sept. 29 and drew two assists. . . . Tri-City F Lukas Walter, who didn’t score in 49 games last season, scored his first WHL goal in his eighth game this season. . . . The Wheat Kings lost three games to visiting U.S. Division teams in an eight-day span, as they also lost to the Portland Winterhawks (2-1) and Everett Silvertips (3-2, OT). . . . The Wheat Kings (5-3-1) leave Monday on a seven-game swing into the Western Conference. . . . The Americans are in Moose Jaw tonight, where they have won four straight . . . .

The Calgary Hitmen scored the game’s last three goals and beat the visiting Red Deer Rebels, 4-2. . . . Calgary F Cody Sylvester tied the game 2-2 at 12:39 of the second period on a PP and got the winner at 10:54 of the third. He’s got seven goals. . . . Calgary G Mack Shields stopped 17 shots in earning his first WHL victory. . . . This result sets up this afternoon’s game between the only two teams who have yet to lose in regulation time. The Kamloops Blazers (7-0-1) will meet the Hitmen (6-0-2) in Calgary today. . . . The Blazers (.938) and Hitmen (.875) also own the WHL’s top two winning percentages. . . .

F Brett Stovin scored three times as the Saskatoon Blades snapped a five-game losing streak, winning 5-2 over the host Lethbridge Hurricanes. . . . These were Stovin’s first goals this season. He had 13 in 69 games last season. . . . Saskatoon F Travis McEvoy had three assists. . . . Saskatoon enjoyed its first two-goal lead of the season. . . . Saskatoon D Dalton Thrower was ejected for a check to the head of Lethbridge D Axel Blomqvist. . . .

F Sam Fioretti scored three times as the Moose Jaw Warriors whipped the visiting Prince Albert Raiders, 9-0. . . . G Daniel Wapple stopped 32 shots for his first WHL shutout. . . . Fioretti has a WHL-leading 10 goals, one more than Spokane Chiefs F Mitch Holmberg. . . . Fioretti, who also had two assists, has two WHL hat tricks, both in the last two weeks. . . . Fioretti has 17 points, one behind F JC Lipon of the Kamloops Blazers, who leads the WHL with 18. . . . Moose Jaw F Tanner Eberle (shoulder) played in his first game this season. . . . Moose Jaw D Morgan Rielly had five assists and was plus-5. . . . Moose Jaw D Kendall McFaull was pointless and plus-5. . . . Prince Albert F Tim Vanstone picked up a match penalty for attempt to injury at 13:31 of the first. . . . The Raiders have followed a seven-game winning streak with two straight losses. . . .

The Steph/venson boys struck late to carry the Regina Pats to a 4-3 victory over the visiting Everett Silvertips. . . . F Colton Stephenson scored at 13:35 of the third period on a PP to forge a 3-3 tie. . . . F Dyson Stevenson scored at 14:41 for the victory. . . . Everett led this one 3-1 midway through the second period. . . . Regina F Dryden Hunt was shaken up after taking a hit to head from Everett F Lucas Grayson who was tossed. . . . Hunt, who was playing in his second game after returning from a concussion, left the game and didn’t return. . . . Regina G Teagan Sacher stopped 21 shots in earning his first WHL victory. . . .

F Ty Rattie struck for four goals to lead the Portland Winterhawks to a 6-3 victory over the host Swift Current Broncos. . . . The Winterhawks went 4-1-1 on their East Division swing. . . . Rattie, who has seven goals, also drew on assist. . . . The Winterhawks improved to 7-3-1 and moved into a tie for first in the Western Conference with the idle Kamloops Blazers. Kamloops holds three games in hand as it opens a Central Division swing in Calgary today. . . . Portland G Brendan Burke stopped 28 shots, with Mac Carruth on the bench as the backup. . . .

F Boston Leier drew four assists to help the host Medicine Hat Tigers beat the Prince George Cougars, 7-2. . . . Medicine Hat F Hunter Shinkaruk scored his fifth goal — it stood up as the winner — on his 18th birthday. . . .

F Colin Valcourt scored three times in the third period to lead the Spokane Chiefs to a 5-2 victory over the visiting Vancouver Giants. . . . Spokane F Mitch Holmberg, who had a six-game scoring streak snapped Friday in a 5-1 loss in Kamloops, drew three assists. . . . Spokane F Dylan Walchuk also had three assists. . . . The Giants slipped to 2-7-0 and have the WHL’s poorest winning percentage (.222). . . .

G Coleman Vollrath made 30 saves for his first WHL victory as the host Victoria Royals beat the Kelowna Rockets, 3-2. . . . It was Vollrath’s first career start. . . . Vollrath is one of three goaltenders on the Royals’ roster, along with Czeck Partik Polivka and Jared Rathjen. . . . The Royals scored the game’s last two goals, with D Jesse Zgraggen’s first goal tying it at 6:16 of the third and F Ben Walker winning it on a PP at 17:44. . . . Walker scored twice and added an assist. . . . Zgraggen, 19, went into the game with three goals in 134 regular-season games. . . . Victoria F Steven Hodges (undisclosed) missed his eighth straight game. . . . The Rockets were without F Zach Franko, who suffered an undisclosed injury in Friday’s 4-1 victory over the Royals.
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CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
F Tim Vanstone, Prince Albert (match, intent to injure)
D Dalton Thrower, Saskatoon
D Kyle Burroughs, Regina

CHECKING-TO-THE-HEAD COUNT:
D Dalton Thrower, Saskatoon (major)
F Lucas Grayson, Everett (major)
F Ryan Olsen, Kelowna (major)
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TWEET OF THE DAY:
Former Kamloops Blazers F Ryan Hanes (@HANESR13), now with the BCHL’s Cowichan Valley Capitals: “Holy smokes, I love to see @_JLipon on the top of the leading board in the whole WHL! Get him to the show, ima live in guesthouse #beauty.”
Hanes leads the Capitals in goals (8) and points (12) in 11 games.

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Wednesday . . .

THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Jonas Johansson (Kamloops, 2002-04) signed a one-year contract extension with Cortina (Italy, Serie A). He had 23 goals and 24 assists in 39 games with Cortina last season. . . .
F Jared Aulin (Kamloops, 1997-2002) signed a one-year contract with Örebro (Sweden, Allsvenskan). He had 10 goals and 20 assists in 36 games for Leksand (Swweden, Allsvenskan) last season. . . .
F Stanislav Balan (Portland, 2005-06) signed a one-year contract with Lev Poprad (Slovakia, KHL). He had eight goals and eight assists in 50 games with Zlin (Czech Republic, Extraliga) last season. . . .
F Konstantin Panov (Kamloops, 1998-2001) signed a two-year contract with Traktor Chelyabinsk (Russia, KHL). He had two goals and seven assists in 29 games with SKA St. Petersburg (Russia, KHL) last season.
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Paul Kariya announced his retirement as a professional hockey player on Tuesday. And everyone — every single person who is associated with hockey at any level today, from parents to fans to team and league officials — must read Eric Duhatschek’s piece in The Globe and Mail.
Kariya told Duhatschek that the risk of incurring another concussion simply is too great. So, Kariya, at 36 years of age, is walking away.
He took 2010-11 off in an attempt to recover from multiple concussions. And even though he now feels fine, well, that just isn’t good enough.
After the last concussion-causing hit, Kariya told Duhatschek, he “hoped his symptoms would go away over time, as they had before.
“Instead, they just kept getting worse and worse. My doctor said, ‘there’s no one in my profession that could clear you to play in this condition.’ Even last summer, he said, ‘even if you recover 100 per cent, I would advise you to retire.’
“I knew I was bad, but I didn’t know I was that bad. But they had concussion data on me all the way back to 1996, and then from the (Gary) Suter hit (just before the 1998 Winter Olympics), so they could track my results from one concussion to another.
“The drop in my brain function, the doctor said, was down by 50 per cent. At that point, I wasn’t thinking, ‘Am I going to play again?’ I just wanted to get healthy.”
Scary stuff.
And there’s a whole lot more in Duhatschek’s story, including what Kariya feels needs to be done to get most concussions out of hockey.
If you read only one thing today, make this the one.
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Matt Coxford of the Cranbrook Daily Townsman has the story of Brad Shaw, a former trainer with the Kootenay Ice, who has been hired by the NHL’s Winnipeg Jets. That story is right here.
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Saskatoon definitely isn’t a city where the streets have no names.
One of them soon may be named after Shannon Tweed.
Yes, that Shannon Tweed. Hey, she did attend a Saskatoon Blades game last season.
Saskatoon city council has OK’d the adding of Tweed’s name to a master list that is used for street names.
According to CBC, “A report to council said Tourism Saskatoon wants a street named ’Tweed Lane’ in the Rosewood neighbourhood.”
The 54-year-old Tweed attended high school in Saskatoon — she was born in Newfoundland — and is married to Gene Simmons, the lead singer of KISS.
The two of them attended a Blades game last season while they were in the Bridge City taping a segment of their reality show — Gene Simmons Family Jewels.
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SOME IMPORT DRAFT NOTES:
The Kootenay Ice took a pass on the CHL import draft for a second straight year.
A year ago, Ice president/GM Jeff Chynoweth felt he had such a solid nucleus of players returning that it would have been tough to find a slot for an import on his roster.
This time around, he admitted that he had a line on a particular player. But the Ice held the 51st selection, which was too deep into the draft to land what he wanted so Chynoweth dealt the pick.
The Ice traded that selection to the Everett Silvertips for an eighth-round pick in the 2012 WHL bantam draft.
Everett used the import pick on German D Dominik Bittner.
The Ice last used import players in 2009-10 when Czech F Dominik Pacovsky and Czech D Petr Senkerik were on the roster. . . .
Meanwhile, the Brandon Wheat Kings used the 33rd selection to take F Alessio Bertaggia of Switzerland. The 5-foot-8, 156-pounder had 37 points and 75 penalty minutes with a junior team in Lugano last season.
However, if you are a WHL observer you will recall Bertaggia as the at-the-time nameless player who lit it up during a practice session with the Portland Winterhawks last season. . . .
The Winterhawks dealt the 58th pick — it became No. 57 when the QMJHL’s Saint John Sea Dogs passed at No. 53 — to Kelowna for the Rockets’ first selection in the 2012 import draft.
The Winterhawks’ roster includes two Swiss forwards — Sven Bartschi and Nino Niederreiter. Bartschi was a first-round selection by the Calgary Flames in the 2011 NHL draft, while Niederreiter went to the New York Islanders in the first round of the 2010 draft.
According to a news release from the Winterhawks, Portland will keep both plays “on the roster in the event they are returned to Portland by their National Hockey League teams.”
Niederreiter played nine games with the Islanders to start the 2010-11 season before being returned to the Winterhawks. . . .
The Vancouver Giants selected Finnish G Jonathan Iilahti, a 19-year-old, with the 39th pick in the import draft. he was taken by the Vancouver Canucks in the sixth round of the NHL’s 2010 draft.
Iilhati is expected to be the Giants’ starting goaltender. Mark Segal, last season’s starter, is 20 and has opted to attend McGill University in Montreal and play for the Redmen.
The Giants believe that Jackson Whistler, a 16-year-old from Kelowna, and Payton Lee, a 15-year-old from Cranbrook, are their goaltenders of the future.
They need Iilahti to be the bridge to those two.
Whistle was a fourth-round selection in the 2010 bantam draft and should battle Brandon Jensen, 18, who was 8-13-1, 3.76, .875 while backing up Segal last season.
Lee was taken by the Giants with the 28th pick in the 2011 draft. . . .
The Prince George Cougars used the 59th selection in the draft to take F Marko Dano, 16, out of Trencin, Slovakia. He is a late-1994 so isn’t eligible for the NHL draft until 2013. According to a news release from the Cougars: “Dano’s father, Jozef, scored five goals and nine points in 12 games for Slovakia at three IIHF World Championships (1996, ’97 & ’99).”
Earlier, the Cougars swapped import picks with the Saskatoon Blades, who got the 30th pick in the exchange. Prince George also got a 2012 third-round bantam draft pick from Saskatoon. The Blades took Russian G Andre Makarov with the 30th selection. He had been with the QMJHL’s Lewiston Maineiacs but came available with the unfortunate demise of that franchise. . . .
The Lethbridge Hurricanes used the 12th overall pick on Swedish D Albin Blomqvist, whose brother, Anton, was taken 167th overall by the Columbus Blue Jackets in last weekend’s NHL draft. . . .
The Edmonton Oil Kings dealt D Marek Hrbas, the fourth overall pick in the 2010 import draft, to the Kamloops Blazers earlier in the week. That deal involved a swap of import picks, with the Oil Kings moving up to 18th, where they took Slovakian D Martin Gernat, who is 6-foot-5 and 187 pounds. The Edmonton Oilers selected Gernat in the fourth round of the 2011 NHL draft. . . .
The Blazers used the 27th selection on Swiss F Tim Bolzon, whose father, Philippe, played 144 NHL games with the St. Louis Bllues (1991-95). Tim actually was born in St. Louis and has played internationally for French teams. . . .
The Calgary Hitmen used the third overall selection to take Swedish F Victor Rask, 18, who was a second-round pick by the Carolina Hurricanes in last weekend’s NHL draft. His agent apparently told the Hitmen that Rask doesn’t want to play in the WHL. But the Hitmen are prepared to wait and see how things develop after Rask attends the Hurricanes’ training camp.
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Neate Sager of Yahoo! Sports takes a look at the run on goaltenders in the import draft. Check that out right here.
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There were 59 players selected in the first round, with just three players taken in the second round when only the Calgary Hitmen, Tri-City Americans and Brandon Wheat Kings made selections. . . .  The CHL’s 60 teams selected 15 players from Czech Republic and 11 from Russia. Others came from Sweden (9), Slovakia (7), Germany and Switzerland (each 5), Norway (4), Latvia (3), Finland (2) and Belarus (1). . . . It’s interesting that NHL teams took only eight Russians in last weekend’s draft.
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JUST NOTES: D Wes Vanieuwenhuizen of the Vancouver Giants, who wasn’t selected in the NHL draft, will attend the Edmonton Oilers’ prospects camp that is scheduled to run July 4-9. . . . If you were wondering, former Medicine Hat Tigers GM/head coach Willie Desjardins will stay on staff with the Dallas Stars, working under new head coach Glen Gulutzan. Also staying will be former WHLer Stu Barnes, who owns a chunk of the Tri-City Americans. . . . Former NHL D Charlie Huddy is the odd-man out in Dallas. He may get a shot at an assistant’s role with the Winnipeg Jets. . . . Seattle Thunderbirds F Luke Lockhart, who wasn’t selected in last weekend’s NHL draft, has accepted an invitation to the Washington Capitals’ development camp that begins July 10.

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
     
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