Showing posts with label Jonathan Harty. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jonathan Harty. Show all posts

Monday, December 5, 2016

Patrick off Canada's roster . . . Silvertips add goaltender . . . Want the book on Wheat Kings?


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D Jonathan Harty (Everett, 2004-08) has signed a contract for the rest of this season with Heilbronner Falken (Germany, DEL2). This season, with Olimpija Ljubljana (Slovenia, Erste Bank Liga), he had five goals and eight assists in 23 games.
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NOLAN PATRICK
In news that hardly ranks as surprising, Hockey Canada announced Monday night that F Nolan Patrick of the Brandon Wheat Kings won’t be taking part in the national junior team’s selection camp that opens Sunday in Blainville, Que.
Patrick, who still is the consensus No. 1 pick for the NHL’s 2017 draft, hasn’t played since Oct. 11 and hasn’t been medically cleared to attend the camp. He underwent sports hernia surgery in July and is believed to have incurred some difficulties relating to that surgery.
According to Hockey Canada, there won’t be a roster replacement for Patrick, who was the WHL’s playoff MVP as he lead the Wheat Kings to the 2016 Ed Chynoweth Cup. Without Patrick, Canada’s selection camp roster will include 18 forwards.
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The Regina Pats could have as many as four players involved in the 2017 World Junior Championship when it opens in Toronto and Montreal on Boxing Day.
F Filip Ahl was named Monday to Team Sweden’s preliminary roster. Ahl and John Dahlstrom of the Medicine Hat Tigers join 13 other forwards selected to the roster.
Last week, the Pats had forwards Sam Steel and Austin Wagner named to the Canadian national junior team’s selection camp roster, while D Sergey Zborovskiy is on Team Russia’s preliminary roster.
The tournament runs from Dec. 26 through Jan. 5. The The Pats will return from their Christmas break to play the visiting Brandon on Wheat Kings on Dec. 27. Counting that game, Regina is to play seven games from Dec. 27 through Jan. 7.
Five other players showed up on preliminary rosters on Monday, three of them with Team Denmark.
Lasse Petersen of the Red Deer Rebels is one of six goaltenders on Denmark’s roster. He is joined by forwards Joachim Blichfeld of the Portland Winterhawks and Alexander True of the Seattle Thunderbirds. Denmark’s roster includes 22 forwards.
Juuso Välimäki of the Tri-City Americans is one of 10 defencemen on Team Finland’s preliminary roster.
Caleb Jones of the Portland Winterhawks is one of eight defencemen on Team USA’s preliminary roster. He is the only WHL player on that roster.
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D Juuso Välimäki has left the Tri-City Americans for a couple of days as he has been invited to take part in Independence Day celebrations in Helsinki today (Tuesday). Välimäki was the captain of the Finnish team that won the IIHF’s U-18 world championship in Grand Forks, N.D., in April. . . . Independence Day in Finland celebrates accomplishments of its citizens around the world. About 1,800 guests will join President Sauli Niinistö and his wife, Jenni Haukio, in Helsinki.
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DORRIN LUDING
The Everett Silvertips have acquired G Dorrin Luding, 17, from the Saskatoon Blades for a sixth-round selection in the 2019 bantam draft. From Prince George, the 6-foot-1, 205-pound Luding is 4-4-0, 2.93 with the Valley West Hawks of the B.C. Major Midget Hockey League. Saskatoon picked him in the third round of the 2014 bantam draft. . . . Luding has been added to Everett's roster. . . . Everett GM Garry Davidson explained the trade in a news release: “As we’re anticipating Carter Hart’s potential absence with commitments to Hockey Canada for the upcoming World Junior Championship, the move to acquire Dorrin helps address an immediate need for goaltending depth with our current roster, imperative in the oncoming weeks.” . . . Hart could miss as many as 11 games if he makes Team Canada’s roster. With him gone, it would appear that the Silvertips will go with sophomore Mario Petit and Luding. This season, in five appearances, Petit is 4-0-1, 2.45, .916.
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D Brendan Guhle of the Prince George Cougars played his second game in three days with the NHL’s
BRENDAN GUHLE
Buffalo Sabres on Monday. The Sabres dropped a 3-2 OT decision to the Capitals in Washington.
Guhle’s ice time was 16 minutes 48 seconds. He had three hits and four blocked shots, with no shots on goal. The Sabres dressed six defencemen; Guhle had more ice time than two of them.
Guhle only saw five seconds of PP time but head coach Dan Bylsma admits that he may give him a shot on the team’s second PP unit.
Guhle went to Buffalo under emergency recall regulations. The Sabres have four defencemen injured — Zach Bogosian (knee), Josh Gorges (broken foot), Dmitri Kulikov (undisclosed) and Taylor Fedun (undisclosed) — so Prince George shouldn’t hold its breath waiting for Guhle’s return.
The Sabres had D Erik Bergdoerfer up from the AHL’s Rochester Americans and he made his NHL debut, the 11th defenceman dressed by Buffalo this season.
The Sabres are back on the ice tonight (Tuesday) as they play host to the Edmonton Oilers.
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The Brandon Wheat Kings are celebrating their 50th anniversary season in the WHL. In conjunction with that, they are publishing a book: Brandon Wheat Kings — The First 50 Years in the WHL. . . . According to a news release, the 124-page soft cover book provides “a look back at the teams and players of Manitoba’s major junior franchise.” . . . From the news release: “The book, which highlights the club’s history, team and player photos and detailed stats, will go on sale later this week at the BWK Team Store located at the Keystone Centre as well as online at wheatkings.com. . . . Proceeds from the sale of the book will go to the Wheat Kings’ Education Fund.” . . . The book will set you back $29.99, which includes all taxes.
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The Denver Post reported Monday morning that a coroner has revealed that former Kootenay Ice F Marek Svatos had codeine, morphine and the anti-anxiety medication Xanax in his system when he died on Nov. 5 in Lone Tree, Colo., near Denver. . . . Svatos, a Slovakian, was 34. . . . Tom McGhee of the Post wrote that Svatos “had a history of heroin use and had gone through drug rehabilitation, according to the coroner’s report. He also had suspected depression, prior suicidal ideation, and ‘recent life stressors.’ ” . . . The report also said that there was drug paraphernalia at the scene of Svatos’s death. . . . McGhee’s story is right here.
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Peter King of Sport Illustrated spends more than a few column inches on quarterback Henry Burris and the Grey Cup-champion Ottawa Redblacks in his Monday Morning Quarterback piece. . . . It’s right here.
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If you’ve got a comment, some information you would like to pass along, or if you just want to say hello, feel free to contact me at greggdrinnan@gmail.com.
If you would like to donate to the cause, please visit the bottom of this post and go right ahead.
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Coaching
AJHLJeff Richards has resigned as general manager and head coach of the AJHL’s Calgary Mustangs. According to a news release from the Mustangs, Richards resigned for “personal reasons . . . Later Monday, the Mustangs announced they had signed Tyler Drader as head coach. He had been the head coach of the midget AAA Calgary Northstars. . . . Then the Mustangs went out and beat the visiting Camrose Kodiaks, 2-1, to run their winning streak to two games. They beat the host Grande Prairie Storm, 5-3, on Saturday night. . . . The Mustangs (5-24-1) have the AJHL’s poorest record. . . . Richards stepped in as head coach just over a year ago after the team fired Chad Allen.
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MONDAY’S GAME:


At Edmonton, F Tyler Wong had a goal and two assists to lead the Lethbridge Hurricanes to a 6-4 victory
TYLER WONG
over the Oil Kings. . . . Wong, the team captain, has 19 goals. . . . F Egor Babenko gave Lethbridge a 1-0 lead at 9:43 of the first period. . . . Edmonton F Lane Bauer tied it with his 19th goal, at 9:43. . . . Wong broke the tie at 10:14. . . . The Oil Kings took the lead on goals from F Trey Fix-Wolansky (8), at 6:01 of the second period, and F Tyler Robertson (10), at 7:07. . . . The Hurricanes took control by scoring the next four goals. . . . F Zane Franklin (3) tied it at 16:32 of the second and F Jordy Bellerive (9) broke the tie at 19:40. . . . Babenko, who has eight goals, stretched the lead, on a PP, at 2:13 of the third period, with F Giorgio Estephan (16) giving the visitors a 6-3 lead at 11:07. . . . Edmonton D Aaron Irving (9) closed out the scoring at 16:23. . . . The Hurricanes got two assists from F Ryley Lindgren. . . . Wong has 13 points, including six goals, over his past five games. He has 34 points in 26 games. . . . F Davis Koch had two assists for the Oil Kings and Fix-Wolansky had one. . . . Lethbridge got 26 saves from G Stuart Skinner, while Patrick Dea stopped 22 for Edmonton. . . . The Hurricanes were 1-5 on the PP; the Oil Kings were 0-5. . . . The Hurricanes (14-11-4) have points in eight straight (7-0-1) and have moved into a tie with the Red Deer Rebels (14-12-4) for second place in the Central Division. . . . The Oil Kings (13-14-2) had a three-game winning streak snapped. They are four points behind Lethbridge and Edmonton. . . . Announced attendance: 5,067.
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TUESDAY’S GAMES (all times local):

Regina vs. Kootenay, at Cranbrook, B.C., 7 p.m.
Saskatoon at Moose Jaw, 7 p.m.
Calgary at Prince Albert, 7 p.m.
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TEDDY BEAR, TOQUE AND MITTEN TOSS GAMES:

Friday, Dec. 9: Moose Jaw at Prince Albert, 7 p.m.
Friday, Dec. 9: Swift Current at Regina, 7 p.m.
Friday, Dec. 9: Kootenay at Spokane, 7:05 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 10: Prince Albert at Moose Jaw, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 10: Kamloops at Edmonton, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 10: Kelowna at Kootenay, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 10: Calgary at Medicine Hat, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 10: Everett at Portland, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 10: Seattle at Prince George, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 10: Victoria vs. Tri-City, at Kennewick, Wash., 7:05 p.m.
Friday, Dec. 16: Saskatoon at Brandon, 7:30 p.m.
Friday, Dec. 16: Portland vs. Vancouver, at Langley, B.C., 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 17: Brandon at Saskatoon, 7:05 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 17: Portland at Everett, 7:05 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 17: Vancouver at Victoria, 7:05 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 21: Vancouver vs. Seattle, at Kent, Wash., 7:05 p.m.
Nov. 26: D Micheal Zipp, 19:47 1st period, Lethbridge 4 at Calgary 2.
Dec. 2: D Artyom Minulin, 13:24 1st period, Calgary 1 at Swift Current 5.
Dec. 2: F Jordy Bellerive, 14:00 1st period, Red Deer 3 at Lethbridge 5.
Dec. 3: F Adam Musil, 14:27 1st period, Lethbridge 2 at Red Deer 3 (OT).
Dec. 3: D Ondrej Vala, 10:38 1st period, Vancouver 2 at Kamloops 5.
Dec. 3: F Nick Merkley, 6:54 2nd period, Brandon 1 at Kelowna 3.

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Posted by Gregg Drinnan at 10:25 PM
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Monday, June 15, 2015

Red Reign and Thrice Ice . . . Ryan reunites with ex-Chiefs coach . . . Spott popular








D Jonathan Harty (Everett, 2004-08) signed a one-year contract with Grenoble (France, Ligue Magnus). This season, with Björklöven Umea (Sweden, Allsvenskan), he had six assists in 19 games. . . .
F Mikhail Fisenko (Vancouver, Calgary, 2008-11) has been traded by Amur Khabarovsk to Admiral Vladivostok (both Russia, KHL) as part of the largest trade in KHL history. Fisenko, with Amur this season, had 11 goals and 10 assists in 59 games. . . . The trade sends six players plus the rights to two others to Amur in return for three players. Admiral also receives Amur's first-round draft picks in the 2016 and 2017 KHL drafts. . . .
F Mikhail Yakubov (Red Deer, 2001-02) signed a one-year contract with Sochi (Russia, KHL). This season, with Vityaz Podolsk (Russia, KHL), he had three goals and five assists in 46 games.
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If you’re wondering, after the Chicago Blackhawks wrapped up the Stanley Cup last night, the Chicago Tribune’s sports front carried the headline RED REIGN. . . . The Chicago Sun-Times, the Blackhawks having won three Stanley Cups in six seasons, went with THRICE AGE.
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F Derek Ryan, who played three seasons (2004-07) with the Spokane Chiefs, has signed with the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes. He got a one-year, two-way deal. . . . Ryan, who is from Spokane, is 28. He played four seasons at the U of Alberta before going to Europe for four seasons. This season, he had 60 points, including 15 goals, in 55 games with Orebro of the Swedish Hockey League. He was the SHL’s MVP and forward of the year. . . . Bill Peters, Carolina’s head coach, was Spokane’s head coach for two of Ryan’s seasons there.
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Dave King, one of the most influential coaches in the game of hockey, was in Regina on the weekend. Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post caught up with him and the resulting story is right here.
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THE COACHING GAME:

Chris Dennis, a former assistant coach with the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs, is the new head coach of the York U Lions. Dennis, who attended York, lost his job with the Maple Leafs in April when they cleaned house. . . . The Lions were 9-15-3 this season, leaving them last in the OUA West Division. . . . Dennis, who spent 10 seasons in Toronto’s organization, takes over from Jim Wells, who had been the head coach since 2009.
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The Vancouver Giants remain without a head coach and it seems that one of the candidates they have interviewed has become quite popular. It has been speculated that Steve Spott, another former Toronto Maple Leafs assistant coach, has been one of the Giants’ leading candidates. Now there are reports that he has interviewed with the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins for their head-coaching position. On top of that, Spott may be in line for an assistant-coaching position with the NHL’s San Jose Sharks. He and Peter DeBoer, the Sharks’ new head coach, are friends. . . . Terry Koshan of the Toronto Sun also reported on rumours that the Maple Leafs are hoping to hire D.J. Smith, the head coach of the OHL’s Oshawa Generals, who won the Memorial Cup last month. Smith, the Generals’ assistant GM and head coach, later denied those rumours.
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Posted by Gregg Drinnan at 10:30 PM
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Monday, June 23, 2014

A mother talks about her son and mental illness . . . Lambert takes over in Kelowna








D Jonathan Harty (Everett, 2004-08) has signed a one-year contract with Björklöven Umeå (Sweden, Allsvenskan). Last season, with Mora (Sweden, Allsvenskan), he had nine points, including three goals, in 46 games.
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After writing a bit about hockey and mental illness in this space yesterday, I heard from a mother.
It was heart-wrenching. It’s one thing to deal with mental illness in a parent; I can’t imaging what it must be like when one of your children is affected.
This mother has a teenage son who is a hockey player and who “suffers from depression and anxiety.“
“He has always had anxiety disorder and this year it crept into the dark side of depression,” she wrote. “The sad truth is no one wants to talk about it. When I spoke to his coaches about it and what was happening, it almost seemed as though they thought he was just mentally weak. I feel like coaches/teachers and such need to learn more and realize this is an illness, not a sign of weakness.
“It makes me mad,” she continued. “If you were diagnosed with cancer your employer . . . would rally around you.”
Yes, mental illness is just that . . . an illness, and the sooner people realize it is,  the better off we all will be. Unfortunately, when it comes to mental illness, there are employers in the hockey world who prefer to look the other way.
When we are ill, we take medication. I have had open-heart surgery and take medication. My wife has had a kidney transplant and takes medication. When someone has a mental illness, of course there is medication involved.
“Our son is on medication right now and is doing so much better,” the mother wrote, adding that there are times when he wants to go off his meds.
“We just say to him when he wants to stop taking meds that a diabetic doesn't stop his insulin when he is feeling good,” she wrote. “I take meds and am not afraid to admit they help me.”
A couple of other notes . . .
Her husband is involved in hockey and she noted that because of his experience at home he “is very aware of little changes in his own players now and is not afraid to ask questions and investigate when he thinks something is a little off.”
This family has a history in hockey, something she said led to her son facing “unreal” expectations.
Unfortunately, I’m guessing that there are a lot of stories out there that are just like this one, and the thought that there are people out there who may not get the help they need is terrifying.
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Dan Lambert is the new head coach of the WHL’s Kelowna Rockets. His promotion from assistant coach was announced Monday afternoon, about three hours after the NHL’s Calgary Flames announced that they had signed Rockets head coach Ryan Huska as the head coach of their AHL affiliate, the Adirondack Flames.
In time, observers will recognize Huska as one of the best coaches in WHL history.
With 295 regular-season victories, he is the winningest coach in franchise history. Only once, in 2011-12, did one of his teams not finish above .500; that team went 31-31-10. The Rockets followed that up with 52- and 57-victory seasons, both of which were franchise records.
Huska was never one to promote himself, so he hadn’t pursued other positions. In the end, the Flames came calling. He was in Calgary on Thursday and a contract offer arrive on Friday.
"I felt really good about the meetings I had and told my wife, Denise, when I got home that I hoped things would work out," Huska told the Kelowna Capital News. "What they stand for just feels right. . . . It's a great opportunity that I'm looking forward to."
No one has won more Memorial Cup championships than Huska, who won three with the Kamloops Blazers (1992, 1994, 1995) and one (2004) as an assistant coach with the Rockets.
A native of Cranbrook, Huska, who turns 39 on July 2, understands how important it is to surround yourself with good people.
"If you don't have good people who aren't passionate about what they do, then you don't get to have individual success," Huska told the Capital News. "Reflecting back, we're proud of the records we've had and the banners we've had, but I'm going to be remembering the team, and all the people that allowed us to get to that point, and allowed me the opportunity to move on. That's what's really special about this organization."
The Flames’ AHL affiliate, which is relocating from Abbotsford, B.C., where it was the Heat, will play out of Glens Falls, N.Y. Huska will replace Troy Ward, whose contract wasn’t renewed.
The 44-year-old Lambert, meanwhile, is a former all-star defenceman with the Swift Current Broncos, who had been an assistant coach with the Rockets for five seasons. He won a Memorial Cup with the 1989 Broncos.
"We spent a lot of time together over the last five years,” Lambert told the Capital News, “and it is sad to see him go but there's no doubt Ryan was ready to move on.
“Him being successful has allowed me to grow as a young coach and now to get this opportunity, I'm very grateful to the Hamilton family and that they trust in me that I can follow in Ryan's footsteps."
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1. That’s quite the Medicine Hat Mafia that the Vancouver Canucks are putting together. . . . Willie Desjardins, signed to a four-year deal as head coach, is, of course, a former Tigers GM and head coach. Canucks president Trevor Linden played for the Tigers and is from Medicine Hat. . . . It’s also expected that Doug Lidster, an assistant coach under Desjardins with the AHL’s Texas Stars, will be on the Vancouver coaching staff. Lidster, a native of Kamloops, is a former Tigers coach. He was on Desjardins’ staff with the Tigers in 2002-03; that was Desjardins’ first season as head coach. Lidster also is a former Canucks captain; in fact, Linden followed Lidster in that role.

2. With Vancouver, the Nashville Predators (Peter Laviolette), Washington Capitals (Barry Trotz), Florida Panthers (Gerard Gallant) and Carolina Hurricanes (Bill Peters) having signed head coaches, all eyes turn to the Pittsburgh Penguins. They lost out on Peters and Desjardins, and now GM Jimmy Rutherford will be going back on the interview circuit. It’s believed that one person he wants to chat with is Mike Johnston, the GM and head coach of the Portland Winterhawks. . . . Darren Dreger of TSN tweeted Monday evening that Johnston “is considered a strong candidate.”

3. Steve Smith has left the Edmonton Oilers after four seasons as an assistant coach. He has signed on as an assistant with the Carolina Hurricanes. That will lead to speculation involving Derek Laxdal, the head coach of the Memorial Cup-champion Edmonton Oil Kings. . . . Oilers head coach Dallas Eakins wanted Smith to move from behind the bench to the press box as an eye in the sky during games. Smith chose to leave for Carolina. . . . You wonder if Laxdal would want to make such a move if it means being the eye in the sky and being that far from the game action.

4. Of course, the Oilers own the Oil Kings. So if Laxdal were to end up on Eakins’ staff, one has to surmise that Oil Kings assistant coach Steve Hamilton, who is highly thought of, would be promoted to head coach.

5. The AHL’s Texas Stars now need a head coach, with Desjardins having moved to the Canucks. Perhaps Laxdal ends up there. . . . Don’t you just love the coaching game of musical chairs?

6. Elliotte Friedman, who is leaving Hockey Night in Canada (RIP) for Sportsnet and its NHL coverage team, has filed his latest 30 Thoughts and it’s right here. Among the news: The Vancouver Canucks, in pursuit of the No. 1 selection in this weekend’s NHL draft, may have offered Medicine Hat Tigers F Hunter Shinkaruk to the Florida Panthers.

7. The Vancouver Giants are the lone WHL team without a head coach. I’m thinking the best candidate is Jim Hiller, who has had success as a WHL head coach with the Chilliwack Bruins (remember them?) and Tri-City Americans. . . . Of course, perhaps he is shopping for a pro job, and maybe that’s holding things up in Vancouver.

8. "Back when we were young, we thought it (smokeless tobacco) was a safe alternative to smoking,” San Diego Padres manager Bruce Bochy told Richard Justice of MLB.com. "We didn't realize how dangerous it was. It's one of the hardest habits to break."
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THE COACHING GAME:
If you are a coach with junior/high performance experience, you may be interested in stepping behind the bench with the major midget Okanagan Rockets, who are based in Kelowna. . . . Mack O’Rourke, who led the Rockets to a league championship, a Pacific Regional title and a third-place finish at the TELUS Cup, is leaving for a job in the oil and gas field. . . . That means that GM David Michaud is searching for a successor. . . . “Our program,” Michaud tells me, “has pushed itself to the point where we need a high-level coach.”
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The BCHL’s Salmon Arm Silverbacks have added Misko Antisin to their coaching staff as an assistant under head coach Brandon West. Antisin (Victoria Cougars, 1983-85) had a lengthy playing career in Europe before getting into coaching. From Vancouver, Antisin has coached in the BCHL, as an assistant coach with the Westside Warriors, and also in the B.C. Major Midget League, as well as in Switzerland.
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The NHL’s Anaheim Ducks have signed Trent Yawney as an assistant coach. Yawney had been the head coach of their AHL affiliate, the Norfolk Admirals. . . . In Anaheim, Yawney will work under head coach Bruce Boudreau and alongside assistants Brad Lauer and Scott Niedermayer, and video co-ordinator Joe Piscotty. . . . Yawney (Saskatoon, 1982-85) is no stranger to the Ducks, having been an associate coach with their AHL team when it was in Syracuse. He also has scouted for the Ducks. . . . Jim Hodges, in the Hampton Roads Virginian-Pilot, reported last night that Admirals assistant coach Jarrod Skaldi is expected to move up as Norfolk’s head coach.
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According to a Monday morning tweet from News1130 Sports, the Vancouver Giants “won't name Don Hay's replacement as head coach till after the NHL draft.” . . . The Lethbridge Hurricanes and Rock 106, which is owned by Rogers Media, have signed a three-year contract involving broadcast rights. They haven’t haven’t yet named a play-by-play voice. The Hurricanes had been heard on 94.1 CJOC for the past seven seasons. . . .
The Seattle Thunderbirds have signed D Sahvan Khaira, who was selected in the ninth round of the WHL’s 2013 bantam draft. Last season, with the Penticton, B.C.-based Okanagan Hockey Academy midget prep team, the 6-foot-1, 210-pounder had 22 points, two of them goals, in 28 games. A native of Cloverdale, B.C., he is the younger brother of F Jujhar Khaira, who played last season with the Everett Silvertips after being a third-round pick by the Edmonton Oilers in the NHL’s 2012 draft. . . . The Vancouver Giants have signed F James Malm, a second-round pick in the 2014 bantam draft, to a WHL contract. Malm, from Langley, B.C., had 144 points, including 70 goals, in 56 games with the Burnaby Winter Club’s Bantam A1 Tier 1 team. . . . The Saskatoon Blades have signed D Schael Higson, a Grande Prairie, Alta., native they listed after he wasn’t selected in the 2013 bantam draft. Higson attended the Blades’ camp prior to last season, then spent the season with the midget AAA Grande Prairie Storm, putting up 20 points, including eight goals, in 33 games.
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Posted by Gregg Drinnan at 11:41 PM
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Sunday, June 2, 2013

THE MacBETH REPORT:
This was filed late Friday night . . .
No player moves today but we have some Glen Hanlon news. This is from the English-version website of the Belarus Ice Hockey Association:
Former Belarus national team head coach, Canadian specialist Glen Hanlon arrived in Minsk on May 29 by invitation of the Belarusian Ice Hockey Association to hold negotiations on the prospects of his work as the national team head coach. Earlier, the Canadian had lead the team in 2005, 2006, and 2009. Let’s note that team Belarus achieved its best result at the IIHF WMs with Glen Hanlon as a head coach in 2006 in Latvia (6th place) and in 2009 the team promoted to the quarterfinals (8th place). Glen Hanlon also coached HC Dinamo Minsk in 2009.”
The contract of head coach Andrei Skabelka wasn’t renewed at the end of May. Belarus is the host team for the 2014 IIHF world championship.
Last month, Hanlon resigned from his position as an assistant coach with the Vancouver Giants.
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The moves....
F Mark Derlago (Brandon, 2003-07) signed a one-year contract with Aalborg (Denmark, AL-Bank Liga). He had 30 goals and 41 assists in 41 games for Anyang Halla (South Korea, Asian Hockey League) this season. Derlago finished fifth in league scoring. . . .
Mora (Sweden, Allsvenskan) announced the signings of F Jeremy Colliton (Prince Albert, 2001-05) and D Jonathan Harty (Everett, 2004-08) to one-year contracts. . . . Colliton played senior hockey with the Allan Cup-champion Bentley Generals (Alberta, Chinook Hockey League) this season. He had 11 goals and 16 assists in 41 games as captain of the Bridgeport Sound Tigers (AHL) last season. . . . Harty had two goals and nine assists in 18 games with Angers (France, Ligue Magnus) this season.
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At least two WHLers are going back into the NHL draft. . . . F Shane McColgan of the Saskatoon Blades wasn’t signed by the New York Rangers. They had selected him in the fifth round of the 2011 NHL draft. McColgan, who will be heading into his 20-year-old season, had 66 points in 69 games with the Blades, who last summer acquired the native of Manhattan Beach, Calif., from the Kelowna Rockets. . . . Meanwhile, Spokane Chiefs D Brendan Kichton also will be available in the draft. Kichton, from Spruce Grove, Alta., was a fifth-round pick by the New York Islanders in the 2011 draft. He led all WHL defencemen in scoring in each of the last three seasons, putting up 81, 74 and 85 points, but the Islanders chose not to sign him. Kichton has used up his junior eligibility.
As well, I don’t believe the Ottawa Senators signed Victoria Royals D Jordan Fransoo, who was a seventh-round selection in 2011, while I don’t think the Winnipeg Jets signed D Zach Yuen, who was a fourth-round pick. Both are heading into their 20-year-old seasons.
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F Luke Paulsen, who played three seasons with the Kootenay Ice, will attend the U of Manitoba and play for the Bisons in 2013-14. Paulsen, from Winnipeg, was with the Ice from 2009-12 and at one point in 2011-12 actually retired from the game after suffering a brain injury. This season, he got into 19 games with the MJHL’s Winnipeg Blues.
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The Vancouver Giants simply are rolling the dice with the trade they made to acquire D Dalton Thrower from the Saskatoon Blades. . . . Dickson Liong has that story right here.
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THE COACHING GAME:
Steve Christie, a native of Winnipeg, is the U of Manitoba Bisons’ new goaltending coach. Christie, 28, played four seasons (2006-11) with the Bisons before going onto a pro career. He got into 14 games this season with the Southern Professional league’s Pensacola Ice Flyers.
The USHL’s Omaha Lancers have signed Brian Kaufman as their general manager and head coach. Kaufman, 29, was an assistant coach with the Lancers last season. Kaufman played four seasons at Miami U (Ohio) and spent 2011-12 there as a graduate assistant coach. . . . Kaufman replaces Mike Aikens after he and the Lancers agreed to go their different ways with two games left in the regular season. Kaufman ran the bench after Aikens left.
The Central league’s Brampton Beast has hired former professional player Brent Hughes as an assistant coach. He will work alongside head coach Mark Desantis. . . . The Beast is preparing for its first season in Brampton. Desantis and Hughes were teammates and roommates while playing with the Central league’s Amarillo Gorillas. Hughes, who played four seasons in the Central league, also played with the OHL’s Brampton Battalion in 2001-02.
The NAHL’s Wenatchee Wild, the new version, has signed general manager/head coach Bliss Littler. The Wild franchise that Littler coached this season has moved to the Hidalgo, Texas, and has been replaced in Wenatchee by the former Fresno Monsters. The Fresno franchise has adopted the Wild nickname and owner David White has signed Littler to a five-year deal. . . . Chris Clark and Tom Rudrud will return as the assistant coaches.

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Posted by Gregg Drinnan at 11:59 PM
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