Tampa Bay bids for WJC . . . Blades lose equipment manager . . . Everett d-man signs with Habs

F Mário Bližňák (Vancouver, 2005-08) signed a one-year extension with Plzeň (Czech republic, Extraliga). Last season with Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia, KHL), he had two assists in 28 games. He then had six goals and four assists in 22 games with Plzeň.
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David Conte had been with the New Jersey Devils for 31 years when the end of his run came on Thursday. The Devils, with Ray Shero as their new general manager, announced that Conte’s contract as director of scouting. . . . Ken Campbell of The Hockey News has more right here on what this move means to the Devils.
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The U.S. is to play host to the 2018 IIHF World Junior Championship, and Tampa Bay officially is involved in the bidding process. The home of the NHL’s Lightning has officially submitted its bid to USA Hockey, which will choose the host city. . . . Should Tampa Bay be the host city, Amalie Arena, the Lightning’s home arena, would be the primary site, with perhaps Germain Arena in Estero, Fla., the home of the ECHL’s Florida Everblades, as a secondary site. . . . Tampa Bay was the host city for the NCAA’s Frozen Four in 2012 and that even is scheduled to be held there again in 2016. . . . In mid-June, the Arizona Coyotes announced that they wouldn’t be bidding for the 2018 WJC, after earlier revealing that they were interested. . . . Also believed to be interested in bidding are Buffalo, Detroit and Pittsburgh. . . . The WJC has been held in the U.S. on six occasions: Minneapolis (1982), Anchorage (1989), Boston (1996), Grand Forks (2005) and Buffalo (2011). . . . The 2016 tournament is scheduled for Helsinki, Finland, with the 2017 event in Montreal and Toronto.
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The 2014-15 hockey season officially drew to a close on Thursday. That’s because Hockey Night in Canada’s Elliotte Friedman filed what he said would be his final 30 Thoughts of the season. Except that this one is 44 Thoughts. . . . It’s right here.
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The NHL’s Florida Panthers made some organizational changes on Thursday, including the promotion of Scott Luce from director of scouting to director of player personnel. . . . The Panthers also announced that Brian Skrudland’s contract as director of player development wouldn’t be renewed. Skrudland is a former WHL player (Saskatoon, 1980-83). . . . The Panthers’ news release is right here.
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Got a tip or some information you feel could be useful to me, feel free to send an email to greggdrinnan@gmail.com.
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Graham (Spike) Watt, who has been with the Saskatoon Blades since 2005, is leaving his post as head equipment manager to join the AHL’s Manitoba Moose. He will be the Moose’s head equipment manager. . . . A native of Brandon, Watt spent five seasons with the MJHL’s Swan Valley Stampeders as their trainer and equipment manager before joining the Blades.
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D Noah Juulsen of the Everett Silvertips has signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Montreal Canadiens. They selected him in the first round, 26th overall, of last month’s NHL draft. . . . Juulsen had 52 points, including 43 assists, in 68 games with the Silvertips last season. In 128 regular-season games over two seasons, the Surrey, B.C., native has 62 points, 11 of them goals.
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D Josh Hanson, who played 317 regular-season games with the Portland Winterhawks, has decided to attend the U of Toronto and play for the Varsity Blues. . . . Hanson, who is from Eagle River, Alaska, used up his junior eligibility last season. He played in four WHL championship series with the Winterhawks, winning in 2012-13. . . . At the U of T, he will study economics.
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Mark Ferner is going to coach his son, Mac, for the first time in 2015-16. The BCHL’s Vernon Vipers have acquired the younger Ferner from the West Kelowna Warriors in a deal that had D Mitch Meek go to the Prince George Spruce Kings and the rights to F Luke Harrison end up with West Kelowna. . . . Mac Ferner, who is heading into his 20-year-old season, had two goals and nine assists in 49 games last season; Meek, who will be 19, had 16 points in 50 games with Vernon. . . . Harrison, who is preparing for his 20-year-old season, is from West Kelowna. He is on the roster of the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers. He had 23 points, 12 of them goals, in 69 games last season. . . . Mark Ferner left the Blazers early last season — he was associate coach under Don Hay — to return to Vernon as the Vipers’ GM and head coach. Ferner has yet to coach his son at any level.
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Blaine Fomradas (New Westminster, Moose Jaw, Saskatoon, Lethbridge, 1986-92) has signed on as director of scouting with the SJHL’s Kindersley Klippers.
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The 2015 Team Snap Hockey Coaches Conference is almost here. It is scheduled to be held in Vancouver, July 24-25. For more info, click right here.
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Such an honor receiving #OrderOfManitoba with Tom Cochrane and Jonathan Toews Remember #Chucks4Bucks @RaeCroteau pic.twitter.com/NjLpuNVgZD

— Sheldon Kennedy (@ShelKenn) July 10, 2015

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Some Saturday WHL highlights, and a coaching change in the PJHL

D Josh Hanson was back in the Portland Winterhawks' lineup on Saturday night. Hanson missed the regular season's first six games with a hand injury. He is one of four 20-year-olds on the Portland roster, so Travis McEvoy sat this one out. The other 20s with Portland are D Josh Smith and F Miles Koules, who was acquired earlier in the week from the Medicine Hat Tigers. . . .
The Seattle Thunderbirds have released F Kevin Wolf, 18, and he is expected to join the AHL's Canmore Eagles. From Cuomo, Minn., Wolf was pointless in three games with Seattle this season. Last season, he had a goal and two assists in 27 games. In 2012-13, he had one assist in 20 games. Seattle selected him in the 10th round of the 2011 bantam draft. . . . Seattle G Danny Mumaugh had the scoop on this move on Thursday when he tweeted: "Going to miss (Kevin Wolf)! Sad to see him go after living with him for the past 2 years. Good luck big."
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Brandon F John Quenneville left early with an undisclosed injury as the Wheat Kings dropped the visiting Red Deer Rebels 7-1 on Saturday night. . . . The Kootenay Ice lost F Jon Martin with an undisclosed injury during a 6-4 loss to the Hitmen in Calgary on Saturday. Ice head coach Ryan McGill told Taylor Rocca of the Cranbrook Townsman that Martin is day-to-day. . . . The Hitmen got a goal and three assists from F Chase Lang in the victory. . . . The Ice blew a 4-1 lead in that one and McGill wasn't a happy camper at game's end. Rocca has more right here. . . .
The Kelowna Rockets, missing four injured defencemen, ran their record to 6-0-0 with a 6-4 victory over the Silvertips in Everett on Saturday. D Mitchell Wheaton didn't play, after being injured Friday night. Also on the shelf with undisclosed injuries are Joe Gatenby, Jesse Lees and Cole Martin. . . . The Rockets got three goals from F Roarke Chartier and four assists from F Nick Merkley. . . . Kelowna F Tyson Baillie scored an empty-netter, giving him a WHL-leading eight goals in six games. He has at least a goal in each of the six games. . . .
G Zach Sawchenko of the Moose Jaw Warriors put up his second straight shutout on Saturday, stopping 25 shots in a 5-0 victory over the visiting Tri-City Americans. On Thursday night, in his previous start, Sawchenko and the Warriors beat the visiting Red Deer Rebels, 3-0. . . . Sawchenko, who turns 17 on Dec. 30, had zero shutouts in 26 appearances with the Warriors last season. He now is riding a shutout streak of 170 minutes 56 seconds. . . .
F Matt Needham, the captain of the Kamloops Blazers, had a tough Saturday night in Medicine Hat. He took five minors and a fighting major in a 5-1 loss to the Tigers. In 187 regular-season games, he has 169 penalty minutes. Last season, he took 37 minutes in 48 games. . . . F Chase Witala had a goal and three assists as the Prince George Cougars beat the host Spokane Chiefs, 6-2. . . .
G Landon Bow stopped 35 shots and F Glenn Gawdin scored in OT as the Swift Current Broncos beat the Royals 2-1 in Victoria. . . . The Portland Winterhawks won their first game this season (1-5-1), getting an OT goal from F Alex Schoenborn to beat the Silvertips 3-2 in Everett. . . . The Silvertips have released F Addison Runey from their roster. He is expected to join the NAHL's Amarillo Bulls. Runey, 17, is from McKinney, Texas. . . . Everett now is carrying 24 players, including 14 forwards and eight defencemen.
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THE COACHING GAME:
The junior B Port Moody, B.C., Panthers of the Pacific Junior Hockey League have fired head coach Kevin Flather, with Ron Johnson, the team's director of hockey development, stepping in on an interim basis. General manager Frank Iantorno indicated that the search for a replacement has begun. . . . Flather joined the Panthers in May after spending last season as head coach of the Kootenay International Junior League's Grand Forks Border Bruins. . . . The Panthers lost 8-1 to the host North Vancouver Wolf Pack on Wednesday and 7-0 at home on Saturday. Those results dropped Port Moody's record to 0-8-0-1 and left it last in the five-team league.

A tip of the cap to the Regina Pats and their alumni, who have raised a healthy amount of cash to benefit former captain Kyle Deck, who is battling kidney disease.
A news release from the Pats notes that “through the Knight Archer Bobblehead night and the Prairie Mobile Skills Competition/Alumni Game, the Regina Pats, Shooting Stars Foundation and Pats Alumni raised $24,500 dollars to help Kyle . . .
“Through donations from the Clark Gillies Bobblehead Night, the Pats and their fans raised $4,500. Half of those funds went towards supporting Kyle while the other half was donated to the Regina Kidney Foundation.
“Pats fans gave generously at the Skills Competition and Alumni Game, making donations at the doors and participating in a silent auction of the Alumni’s game worn jerseys. Founding members of the Shooting Stars Foundation, Mike Sillinger, Jamie Heward and Jordan Eberle, matched the donations from the jersey auction and the night raised $21,000.”
If you haven’t already, please consider becoming an organ donor.
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The Brandon Sun reports that the MJHL’s Dauphin Kings “have officially added 19-year-old right-winger Daulton Siwak to the roster for the rest of the season.”
Earlier this year, the Kings were hit with a $2,500 fine following a investigation into tampering allegations that were levelled by the WHL’s Prince George Cougars. Siwak left the Cougars on Jan. 6 and was suspended through Sunday.
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The matchups if the playoffs opened today:
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Edmonton vs. Medicine Hat
Prince Albert vs. Lethbridge
Calgary vs. Swift Current
Saskatoon vs Red Deer

WESTERN CONFERENCE
Portland vs. Seattle
Kelowna vs. Everett
Kamloops vs. Tri-City
Victoria vs. Spokane
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MONDAY’S GAME:
In Vancouver, F Ty Rattie had four goals and an assist as the Portland Winterhawks beat the Giants, 8-3. . . . The victory, its third in a row, lifted Portland eight points ahead of the idle Edmonton Oil Kings atop the overall standings. The Kelowna Rockets are nine points back. . . . While Portland won for the ninth time in 10 games, the Giants lost for the fourth time in five outings. . . . Rattie, who has nine points over his last two games, has a pair of four-goal games this season. He also has 86 points, good for fourth spot in the scoring race. . . . That race now is led by Portland F Brendan Leipsic, who had a goal and three assists, giving him 101 points. . . . Portland F Nic Petan, who had two assists, has 100 points. . . . Leipsic has points in 11 straight games, including seven consecutive multi-point games. . . . The Winterhawks last had two 100-point skaters in 1993-94 (F Lonny Bohonos, 152; F Colin Foley, 107). . . . Portland D Seth Jones had three assists. He’s got 45 points, tying him for the WHL lead among freshmen. Seattle F Roberts Lipsbergs also has 45 points. Jones leads all freshmen with 36 assists. . . . Rattie now has 324 regular-season points in 255 career games. . . . Portland D Josh Hanson scored his first goal this season; it came in his 57th game. In his career, he has two goals in 172 games. An 18-year-old from Eagle River, Alaska, Hanson scored his first goal in his second career game, a 7-2 victory over the visiting Giants on Sept. 27, 2010.
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CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
F Dalton Sward, Vancouver.

CHECKING-TO-THE-HEAD COUNT:
None.
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From Portland Winterhawks D Josh Hanson (@HansoloCup4): “The floodgates have been opened . . . . . #FirstOfMany #Hopefully #ProbablyNot”
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From Seattle Thunderbirds G Danny Mumaugh (@DannyMumaugh): “Hope the person who broke into my car has fun with my backpack and all that chemistry homework. #goodsteal”

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TAYLOR PETERS

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
Two teams. Two philosophies.
With their WHL Western Conference semifinal series with the Winterhawks scheduled to open in Portland on Friday, the Kamloops Blazers practised Wednesday afternoon at home and then departed by bus at 11 p.m.
They chose to ride through the night, rather than leave earlier in the day and spend the extra night in a hotel. After arriving in Portland on Thursday, they practised at 11 a.m.
The Blazers dropped 5-3 and 4-1 decisions, returning home immediately after Saturday’s Game 2.
The Winterhawks, meanwhile, left Portland on Sunday, in time to get into Kamloops early Sunday evening. After sleeping in hotel beds, they practised Monday morning at Interior Savings Centre.

AUSTIN MADAISKY

As the teams prepared for Game 3, the Blazers had spent two of the previous six nights on their bus. The Winterhawks’ had yet to sleep anywhere but in a bed.
“I’ll take a bed over a bus any day,” Portland forward Taylor Peters said.
Peters, who turned 20 on Jan. 24, has played 280 WHL games with Portland, including 29 in the playoffs, so has put on some bus miles.
He feels that when it comes to player fatigue, “You could easily chalk that up to improper rest. I’d have to think it plays a major part in a player’s overall performance.”
However, Kamloops defenceman Austin Madaisky disagrees.
“I don’t think it matters,” said Madaisky, 19, who has played in 248 WHL games, 10 of them in the postseason. “Playing in this league, you see all kinds of travel things. Whether you’re going overnight, whether you’re going day of (a game), we do it all.
“At this point, it doesn’t make a difference.”
Kamloops head coach Guy Charron said the travel didn’t impact his club at all.
“Whatever it is right now,” he said, “the start of our games have been good. It hasn’t been the start. . . .”
The teams will play Games 3 and 4 tonight and Wednesday at Interior Savings Centre. Should the Blazers win one or both of those games, it will mean making the trek back to Portland for Game 5 on Saturday.
If that happens, the Blazers won’t ride the bus overnight this time. Charron said they will leave Thursday in time to get to Portland that evening.
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If the Blazers have a concern going into Game 3, it has to be with their power play.
They were 0-for-4 with the man advantage in the opener and then went 0-for-7 in Game 2. Throw in Game 4 of their first-round sweep of the Victoria Royals, when Kamloops was 0-for-2, and the Blazers are 0-for-13 through their last three games.
“We’re very confident with how we played,” Madaisky said of the first two games in this series. “Maybe if our power play had scored on one or two of those opportunities it would be a completely different series.
“We’re getting chances but it comes down to the point where you have to start putting pucks in the net.”
The Blazers did a lot of power-play work during practice yesterday. That included having Chase Souto work on a forward unit with Brandon Herrod and Dylan Willick.
Souto, a 17-year-old from Yorba Linda, Calif., scored nine goals this season, none on the power play, but he has a team-leading two goals in this series.
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The Blazers continue to be without F Cole Ully, a freshman forward from Calgary who is out with an undisclosed injury. Ully took part in Wednesday's practice but wasn't on the bus to Portland, so didn't play in either of the first two games.
Charron said yesterday that Ully isn't ready to play tonight. Of course, team captain Chase Schaber (leg) also is out; in fact, his season is over.
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The Winterhawks were busy off the ice yesterday as they signed F Paul Bittner, a 6-foot-5, 185-pounder from Crookston, Minn.
Bittner was one of two Grade 9 players on Crookston High School’s varsity team this season. He had 19 points, including a team-high 15 goals, in 20 games. He also took part in a recent U.S. National Team Development Program under-17 evaluation camp.
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Last week, Ty Rattie. This week, Sven Baertschi.
Rattie was the WHL’s first postseason player of the week after he lit up the Kelowna Rockets for 13 points, 10 of them goals, in a four-game first-round sweep.
Yesterday, the WHL announced that Baertschi has succeeded his linemate as player of the week. Baertschi has three goals and three assists in the two games against Kamloops.
“Their two guys are producing almost at will right now,” Charron said of Rattie and Baertschi, who play on a line with centre Marcel Noebels. “They’re a tough line to play against. They’ve got a great transition. We are trying to eliminate the involvement of their defencemen in their transition game. They’re going to get chances but their defencemen are a big part of their offence.”
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NHL Central Scouting has released its final rankings of players who are eligible for the NHL’s 2012 draft.
The Blazers had two players in those rankings — F Tim Bozon at No. 42 and D Brady Gaudet at No. 205, among North American skaters.
The Winterhawks, who have 11 players on their roster who have been drafted or signed by NHL teams, had four players show up in Central Scouting’s rankings — D Derrick Pouliot, 12th; D Josh Hanson, 102nd; F Brendan Leipsic, 114th; and F Taylor Leier, 131st.
The Blazers have two players on their roster who have been drafted — F Brendan Ranford by the Philadelphia Flyers and Madaisky by the Columbus Blue Jackets.

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THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Sean Selmser (Moose Jaw, Red Deer, 1991-95) signed a one-year contract with Dornbirn (Austria, Nationalliga). He had 16 goals and 25 assists in 58 games for the Coventry Blaze (UK Elite) last season. . . .
D Mark Isherwood (Medicine Hat, 2005-10) signed a one-year contract with Cortina (Italy, Serie A). He had 15 goals and 20 assists in 70 games for the ECHL-champion Alaska Aces last season. Isherwood was also named to the ECHL All-Rookie team. . . .
D Vladimir Mihalik (Red Deer, Prince George, 2005-07) signed a one-year contract with Lev Poprad (Slovakia, KHL). He had one goal and eight assists in 66 games with the Norfolk Admirals (AHL) last season.
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Peter Loubardias hasn’t had time to change the message on his voice mail, which indicates that he is employed by Rogers Sportsnet.
Unfortunately, that no longer is true.
Loubardias, who knows as much, if not more, about major junior hockey than anyone else in this country, lost his job Wednesday.
Loubardias, 43, told Vicki Hall of the Calgary Herald that he is “devastated. Heartbroken. Hurt.”
Major junior hockey has no greater friend — or fan — than Loubardias, who was Sportsnet’s play-by-play voice at the Memorial Cup. He also called the play of Calgary Flames’ games for three seasons.
But you can bet that not getting to call games at the Memorial Cup has cut him to the bone.
"I have treasured the opportunity to cover eight Memorial Cups," he told Hall. "That's hard for me to even talk about. I have been so lucky to be involved with the national broadcast of that tournament.
"To think next year in Shawinigan that's going to be somebody else, that one really hurts. That one really stings."
Hall’s complete story is right here.
What is rather strange about the Loubardias story is that Bruce Dowbiggin, who keeps an eye on the sports media for The Globe and Media, wrote Wednesday that there is a “shortage of available sports TV talent.”
Scott Woodgate, Rogers’ vice-president of news and information, told Dowbiggin: “There are all these rumours of an implosion at Sportsnet. I don’t know where they’re coming from. We’re building our team at the moment. We haven’t got enough people to do all the things we want to do.”
You figure it out!
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Back in the day, I spent a couple of WHL seasons working alongside Loubardias on broadcasts of Regina Pats’ games.
I don’t know what amazed me more — his photographic memory (I don’t know that he ever misidentified a player, and he knew every player on both teams) or his love for the game of junior hockey.
I would suggest that the number of hockey games he saw over the course of any one season rivalled the total witnessed by any NHL scout.
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F Brendan Ranford of the Kamloops Blazers acknowledges that he fought weight and conditioning problems in the second half of last season. There’s more on his story right here.
The Blazers will open 2011-12 by playing four straight home games. Ranford will miss the first three of those as he completes a WHL-issued suspension. You may recall that he drew a six-game suspension after cross-checking linesman Kris Hartley in a late-season game.
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F Max Reinhart of the Kootenay Ice has signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the NHL’s Calgary Flames. Reinhart had 79 points, including 34 goals, in 71 games with the WHL-champion Ice last season. He had 27 points, 15 of them goals, in 19 playoff games. He was Calgary’s first selection in the 2010 NHL draft — the Flames didn’t have a first- or second-round pick, and took him in the third round (64th overall). . . . He is one of three brothers expected to play in the WHL in 2011-12. . . . Griffin, a defenceman, is heading into his second season with the Edmonton Oil Kings. . . . Sam, a forward, will join Max with the Ice.
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F Craig Cunningham, who played out his WHL eligibility last season, has signed a three-year entry-level deal with the Boston Bruins. They selected him in the fourth round of the 2010 NHL draft. He played more than four seasons with the Vancouver Giants before he was traded to the Portland Winterhawks in December. . . . Cunningham finished his WHL career with 264 points in 330 regular-season games. Over his last four seasons, he played in 67, 72, 72 and 71 games.
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D Josh Hanson of the Portland Winterhawks is the lone WHL player (and one of three CHLers) to have been selected to play for the U.S. U-18 team at the 2011 Ivan Hlinka Memorial tournament in Breclav, Czech Republic, and Piestany, Slovakia, from Aug. 8-13. . . . He had three points in 43 games with Portland last season. . . . Canada’s selection camp runs July 30 through Aug. 2.
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THE COACHING GAME:
The yet-to-be nicknamed AHL team in St. John’s, Nfld., has named Keith McCambridge (Swift Current, Kamloops, 1991-95) as its head coach. McCambridge was an assistant coach with the AHL’s Manitoba Moose for the last two seasons. Prior to that, he spent two seasons as head coach of the ECHL’s Anchorage Aces. . . . With the relocation of the NHL’s Atlanta Thrashers to Winnipeg, the Moose has moved to St. John’s, Nfld. The Moose will be the AHL affiliate to the Jets.
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