Hurricanes keeping busy . . . Tigers lose assistant GM to NHL

D Mitch Versteeg (Lethbridge, 2006-09) has signed a one-year contract with the Nikkō Icebucks (Japan, Asia HL). Last season, with Heilbronner Falken (Germany, DEL2), he had six goals and 11 assists in 27 games. He also played for Bad Nauheim (Germany, DEL2), picking up 14 points, including two goals, in 24 games. . . .
F Justin Keller (Kelowna, 2003-06) has signed a one-year contract with Bolzano (Italy, Erste Bank Liga). Last season, with the Vienna Capitals (Austria, Erste Bank Liga), he had 14 goals and 15 assists in 50 games.
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TRADE WIRE:

THE DEAL: The Lethbridge Hurricanes get G Zac Robidoux, 18, from the Medicine Hat Tigers for a third-round pick in the 2015 bantam draft and a conditional fourth-rounder in 2017. The latter is conditional on Robidoux playing in the WHL in 2016-17. He is the son of Florent Robidoux, who played two seasons (1978-80) with the Portland Winterhawks.
THE SKINNY: The Hurricanes lost G Justin Myles, who retired Friday due to problems associated with a brain injury suffered last season. Thus, they need some depth at that position. . . . Robidoux, from Morden, Man., is 6-foot-3 and 210 pounds. He played last season with the MJHL’s Portage Terriers, finishing with a slash line of 17-9-0/2.19/.924 in 27 appearances. With the Tigers, he was 2-1-0/2.27/891 in three games. He was a sixth-round pick of the Tigers in the 2011 bantam draft.
THE ANALYSIS: The Hurricanes used six goaltenders last season as they stumbled to a WHL-worst 12-55-5. Taking a look at Robidoux can’t hurt because it’s too early for Stuart Skinner, 16, the 17th pick in the 2013 bantam draft, to be the go-to guy. . . . The deal would seem to signal the Tigers’ contentment with a goaltending tandem of Nick Schneider, 17, and Jared Rathjen, 20. Schneider was acquired last season from the Regina Pats; Rathjen came over this summer from the Vancouver Giants.
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All eyes were on the Lethbridge Hurricanes on Friday, and they didn’t disappoint.
They didn’t trade D Macoy Erkamps, but they did place F Reid Duke on the suspended list, announced that G Justin Myles has retired, and acquired G Zac Robidoux from the Medicine Hat Tigers.
Erkamps, 19, didn’t show up for camp on Thursday and has requested a trade. The native of Delta, B.C., has played three seasons with the Hurricanes.
Duke, 18, was one of Lethbridge’s better players last season, his second with the Hurricanes after being the fifth overall pick in the 2011 bantam draft. (D Ryan Pilon, selected by Lethbridge with the third pick in that draft, asked for a trade last season and ended up with the Brandon Wheat Kings.)
Duke put up 40 points, including 15 goals, in 62 games. In 131 career regular-season games, he has 25 goals and 45 assists.
General manager Brad Robson said Thursday that Duke would be placed on the suspended list if he wasn’t in camp by Friday, at 2 p.m. Duke now is on that suspended list.
Myles, meanwhile, hasn’t played since Jan. 5 when he was with the Seattle Thunderbirds. Since then, he has been traded to the Kamloops Blazers and the Hurricanes.
Robson told Pat Siedlecki of Lethbridge radio station CJOC that doctors advised Myles not to play due to concussions. The conditional draft pick that went to Kamloops in the trade has reverted to Lethbridge.
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Mitch Wilson was a tough hockey player, witness 436 penalty minutes with the WHL’s Seattle Breakers in 1981-82. Now he’s taking on ALS, as documented right here by Mike Morreale of NHL.com. . . . Wilson, a Calgary native, has been sailing the seas for the last 20 years, most recently as a tugboat captain. He played two seasons (1980-82) with the Breakers; he piled up 253 penalty minutes in his first season. . . . In 124 regular-season games, he had 66 points, including 26 goals. He went on to play professionally into the mid-1990s, and got into 26 NHL games, scoring twice, earning three assists, and picking up 104 penalty minutes.
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G Christopher Tai, who turns 19 on Dec. 1, is in camp with the Kelowna Rockets. A native of Delta, B.C., Tai played last season with the Lethbridge Hurricanes (eight games), Medicine Hat Tiger (1) and Brandon Wheat Kings (1). In 2012-13, he got into 12 games with the Hurricanes. . . . In 22 regular-season games, he is 5-6-0, 4.54, .867. . . . In Kelowna, it’s anticipated that veteran Jackson Whistle will open as the starter, after backing up Jordon Cooke last season. Cooke has used up his junior eligibility.
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The Kamloops Blazers revealed Friday morning that F Carson Bolduc, 18, has decided not to report to training camp. . . . According to a news release, he is evaluating his hockey career. . . . “Carson informed us prior to training camp that he did not want to compete at the level necessary to play in the WHL,” general manager Craig Bonner said in that news release. . . . Bolduc, from Salmon Arm, had 20 points, eight of them goals, in 121 career regular-season games. He was acquired last season from the Prince George Cougars and had 11 points, including three goals, in 44 games with the Blazers. . . . The Cougars selected him in the third round of the 2011 bantam draft.
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The Kamloops Blazers have three sets of twins in their rookie camp. Andrew and Lucas Palladino, from Sturgeon County, Alta., both are forwards, as are Michael and Ryan Van Unen, who are from Kamloops. Benson and Jordan Thorpe are from Saskatoon. Benson is a right winger, while Jordan is a defenceman. All are 15 years of age. . . . Kamloops has D Clint Colebourn of North Vancouver and F Phillip Knies of Phoenix on its main camp roster. Both were 2013 bantam draft picks, Colebourn in the seventh round and Knies in the fourth, but both were injured an unable to attend camp a year ago. . . . F Tyler Ward of Kamloops turned 15 on Tuesday, but had to pull out of the Blazers’ camp with an injury. The 5-foot-6, 130-pound Ward was an 11th-round pick in the 2014 bantam draft.
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Dan Olsen is the new head coach of the Calgary-based SAIT Trojans. Olsen is a former player and assistant coach with the Trojans. . . . He is SAIT’s first new hockey coach in 27 years. Olsen, 53, takes over from Ken Babey, the former head coach and athletic director who resigned from both positions in June. . . . Olsen was Babey’s assistant coach for five seasons (1991-95). . . . Most recently, Olsen has been the head coach of the Calgary Buffalo Hockey Association’s minor midget Triple A Rangers.
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The Moose Jaw Warriors have signed F Noah Gregor, 16, who was acquired last season from the Victoria Royals. The Royals picked up Gregor and two third-round bantam draft picks, in 2014 and 2016, for D Travis Brown, 19. . . . The Warriors traded that 2016 pick last week when they acquired F Jaimen Yakubowski, 20, from the Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . Last season, Gregor played for the midget AAA Leduc Oil Kings. In his freshman season, he led the league in scoring, with 51 points, including 21 goals, in 35 games. . . . Victoria had selected him in the third round of the 2013 draft. . . . Matthew Gourlie of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald reports that Gregor will take it slow over the weekend, thanks to “a minor back and hip flexor injury.” . . . Gourlie also reports that the Warriors didn’t invite F Brandon Del Grosso, 18, to camp. He was limited to one game last season after suffering a brain injury on Oct. 10. . . .
D Liam Schioler, 16, is taking part in the Regina Pats’ rookie camp. Schioler, from Winnipeg, was a second-round selection in the 2013 bantam draft. He plans on returning to Shattuck-St. Mary’s in Faribault, Minn., for a second season. . . . The NHL’s Calgary Flames have added Brad McEwen to their scouting staff. He had been working with the Medicine Hat Tigers as their head scout and assistant general manager. McEwen will begin work for the Flames on Sept. 1. A veteran of Western Canadian hockey arenas, he had been the Tigers’ head scout since 2007. . . . The Moose Jaw Warriors will donate all proceeds from Sunday’s intrasquad game to the Journey to Hope in memory of Ethan Williams. A fifth-round draft pick by the Warriors in 2012, Williams committed suicide last month in his hometown of Winnipeg. He was to have attended this training camp.
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Why are some of these players quitting? Would u eventually run out of gas too if u were playing/training for hockey 12 months of the year?
— Regan Bartel (@Reganrant) August 22, 2014

Changes in Canes land: the voice of the team hasn't even mentioned the two missing veterans. Controlling the message?
— Dylan Purcell (@dylpurcell) August 22, 2014

There has never been a subscription fee for this blog, but if you enjoy stopping by here, why not consider donating to the cause? Just click HERE. . . and thank you very much.

More unrest in Lethbridge . . . Oil Kings part ways with assistant coach

 Please allow me to remind you that my wife, Dorothy, will take part in the 2014 Kidney Walk in Kamloops on Sunday. She underwent a kidney transplant on Sept. 23 and now is healthy enough to walk the 2.5 kilometres and give something back to the Kidney Foundation.
Should you like to sponsor her and be part of Dorothy's Team, please click right here and then go to Sponsor a Participant.
If you are interested in seeing how much money she has raised, click on the link and you will find a list of fund-raisers on the right-hand side. Click on her name, and you will see a list of donors on a scroll.
 Thank you.
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D David Nemecek (Saskatoon, 2013-14) has signed a tryout contract with TPS Turku U20 (Finland, U20 SM-Liiga). Last season, with Saskatoon, he had 15 points, five of them goals, in 56 games. . . .
D Logan Stephenson (Tri-City, 2001-06) has signed a one-year contract with Tohoku Free Blades Hachinohe (Japan, Asia Hockey League). Last season, with Sparta Sarpsborg (Norway, GET-Ligaen), he had seven goals and 16 assists in 44 games.
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If you are still confused about the options that are available to D Julius Honka and F Leon Draisaitl, I will try to clarify them by bringing D Tommy Vanelli into the picture.
Draisaitl was a first-round selection, third overall, by the Edmonton Oilers in the NHL’s 2014 draft; Honka went to the Dallas Stars in the first round, 14th overall, of the same draft.
Vanelli, 19, was selected by the St. Louis Blues in the second round of the 2013 draft.
Draisaitl, who will turn 19 on Oct. 27, was drafted from the WHL’s Prince Albert Raiders; Honka, whose 19th birthday is on Dec. 3, was taken from the WHL’s Swift Current Broncos.
The Blues drafted Vanelli, who played last season with the WHL’s Medicine Hat Tigers, from a high school team in Minnetonka, Minn.
And therein lies the rub. . . .
Because Draisaitl and Honka played last season with CHL teams and because they were the property of those teams when drafted, their immediate futures include two options for their 19-year-old seasons -- they either play in the NHL or they are returned to their WHL teams. That is the rule according to the CBA between the NHL and the NHLPA.
Because Vanelli was drafted from a team that is not under the CHL umbrella, his options include the NHL, the AHL and the WHL. Yes, he could be assigned to the Blues’ AHL affiliate, the Chicago Wolves.
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When will the circus leave Lethbridge?
Two veteran players -- F Reid Duke and D Macoy Erkamps -- were no-shows on Wednesday when the Hurricanes opened camp.
Paul Kingsmith of Global Lethbridge tweeted that Duke, according to general manager Brad Robson, is expected today.
Erkamps, however, has asked to be traded.
Duke, 18, was the fifth overall selection in the 2011 bantam draft. A native of Calgary, he had 40 points, 15 of them goals, in 62 games as a sophomore last season. That followed a freshman season in which he put up 24 points, eight of them goals. The Minnesota Wild selected him in the sixth round of the NHL’s 2014 draft.
Erkamps, 19, has played three seasons in Lethbridge, after being a second-round pick in the 2010 bantam draft. From Delta, B.C., he has had 20-, 35- and 31-point seasons. In 201 career games, he has 86 points, 14 of them goals.
But wait . . . there’s more!
F Giorgio Estephan, the fourth overall pick in the 2012 bantam draft, was injured at Hockey Canada’s U-18 camp and will sit for six weeks. He apparently was recovering from a fractured foot, aggravated it and has since had surgery.
The 17-year-old from Edmonton had 12 goals and 12 assists in 64 games last season as a freshman.
All of this comes after a 2013-14 season in which the Hurricanes missed the playoffs for a fifth straight season, thanks to a 12-55-5 mark, the poorest record in the 22-team league. During the season, the likes of Sam McKechnie, Jaimen Yakubowski and Ryan Pilon, all veterans, asked out and were traded.
On top of this, there is speculation in Lethbridge that G Justin Myles, 19, will retire.
Myles, from Calgary, was selected by the Seattle Thunderbirds in the fifth round of the 2010 draft. Seattle dealt him to Kamloops on Jan. 10, but he showed up with an upper body injury, believed to be a brain injury, and never played a game with the Blazers. On May 12, they dealt him to Lethbridge for a fourth-round pick in the 2015 bantam draft.
Without Myles, the Hurricanes might be looking at going into the season with Jonny Hogue, 18, and Stuart Skinner, who won’t be 16 until Nov. 1, as their two goaltenders. They are two of the six goaltenders used by the Hurricanes last season. Hogue played in 18 games; Skinner got into four.
On Wednesday, the Hurricanes signed F Zane Franklin, a second-round pick from the 2014 bantam draft. He had 116 points in 38 regular-season and playoff games with the bantam AAA Lloydminster Heat last season.
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F Mitch Lipon, 18, is in camp with the Spokane Chiefs. Lipon, from Regina, had seven points, two of them goals, in 31 games with the Kamloops Blazers last season, before he was dealt to the Saskatoon Blades. He had six points, including four goals, in 24 games with the Blades. The 5-foot-8, 160-pound Lipon was dropped by the Blades during the 2014 bantam draft. . . . He is the younger brother of former Blazers F JC Lipon, who played last season with the AHL’s St. John’s IceCaps.
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F Chris Stockl, who has played with the Saskatoon Blades and Red Deer Rebels, is in camp with the Everett Silvertips. Stockl, 19, is from Winnipeg. He was a fourth-round selection by the Saskatoon Blades in the 2010 bantam draft. . . . He had one goal in five games with the Blades in 2012-13, before moving on to Red Deer, where he had nine points, including two goals, in 57 games. Last season, he had one goal in 16 games with the Rebels. He missed about two months of the season with a brain injury, and then joined the MJHL’s Virden Oil Capitals. He was pointless in two games with them.
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The Edmonton Oil Kings announced Thursday that they “have agreed to part ways” with Sean Brown, who had been an assistant coach through two seasons. . . . General manager Randy Hansch said, in a news release: “With the promotion of Steve Hamilton and the hiring of Ryan Marsh this off-season, as well as the increased roles of Dustin Schwartz and Jory Stuparyk, we're excited to have our coaching staff in place.” . . . Hamilton was promoted from assistant to head coach after Derek Laxdal left the reigning Memorial Cup champions to take over as head coach of the AHL’s Texas Stars.
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By the time things finished shaking out this week, the Toronto Maple Leafs had a three-man analytics department. That’s about all we know and about all we will ever find out about that particular part of the Toronto organization. To paraphrase Gare Joyce, the sun will never shine on the Maple Leafs’ analytics department. Joyce, a longtime observer and writer of all things hockey, has more on the NHL’s seemingly sudden move to analytics right here.
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G Jean-Sebastien Giguere announced his retirement on Thursday, ending a career that included 16 seasons in the NHL. He was with the Colorado Avalanche for most of the last three seasons. . . . Giguere was selected 13th overall by the Hartford Whalers in the NHL’s 1995 draft. He played eight games with the Whalers in 1996-97 and is the last active NHLer to have played for Hartford. . . . Giguere is a part-owner of the QMJHL’s Blainville-Boisbriand Armada. He plans to stay in hockey by learning the junior hockey ropes with the Armada.
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Pour yourself a big cup of coffee before clicking on this story right here. It’s from GQ and was written by Michael Finkel. It’s about a guy who drove into the forest in northern Maine in 1986 and didn’t come out until 2013. This is an amazingly interesting read.
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In Saskatoon, the home of the Blades is gets a new name today. The Credit Union Centre for the past 10 years now is SaskTel Centre, with signing expected to go up on Friday. City council approved a deal on Thursday that gives SaskTel naming rights for 10 years for $3.5 million. The previous deal was worth $1.6 million over 10 years. “The Blades retain the right to rink board advertising, except the centre-ice logo, during WHL games,” writes Phil Tank of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix in a story that is right here. “SaskTel has the right to renegotiate the agreement should a WHL team no longer be a permanent fixture at the arena, while the city has the right to seek more money should a professional hockey or basketball team move to Saskatoon and start playing in the facility.” . . . D Ben (Boo) Grist of North Saanich, B.C., suffered a suspected concussion during a scrimmage in the Red Deer Rebels’ camp on Thursday. He was a sixth-round pick of the Rebels in the 2014 bantam draft. . . . Nick Patterson of the Everett Herald reports that Silvertips G Austin Lotz reported to camp having lost a few pounds. “Lotz played at 203 pounds last season,” Patterson writes, “but he reported to camp at a trim 180 pounds, looking nearly unrecognizable. The main factor in Lotz's weight loss was getting serious about nutrition during the offseason.” . . . The Portland Winterhawks released their venue schedule on Thursday. They will play 17 games in the Moda Center and 16 in Veterans Memorial Coliseum. The venue for three other games will be decided later, depending on building availability. The Moda Center also is home to the NBA’s Trail Blazers.
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Your move, @SeattleTbirds. Who's our special guest? MT @rachelhunterx: super excited to get there Saturday to watch Red & White game Sunday
— TBird Tidbits (@TBirdTidbits) August 21, 2014

There has never been a subscription fee for this blog, but if you enjoy stopping by here, why not consider donating to the cause? Just click HERE. . . and thank you very much.

Oil Kings crowned kings of the WHL

F Gilbert Brulé (Vancouver, 2002-06) has signed a one-year contract with Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg (Russia, KHL). This season, with the Phoenix Coyotes (NHL), he was pointless in three games. In 11 games with the Portland Pirates (AHL), he had 12 points, including 12 goals. . . .

F Roman Horák (Chilliwack, 2009-11) has signed a one-year contract with Vityaz Podolsk (Russia, KHL). This season with the Calgary Flames/Edmonton Oilers, Horák had one goal in three games. With the Abbotsford Heat/Oklahoma City Barons (AHL), he had 55 points, 23 of them goals, in 66 games.
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G Justin Myles’ stint with the Kamloops Blazers is over, and he never did get into a game.
In January, the Blazers sent G Taran Kozun to the Seattle Thunderbirds in exchange for Myles, D Austin Douglas and a fourth-round selection in the 2015 bantam draft.
However, Myles, who is from Calgary, was injured and never did play for the Blazers.
On Monday, the Blazers dealt Myles, 19, to the Lethbridge Hurricanes for a conditional fourth-round pick in the 2015 bantam draft.
Kamloops also has received a 2016 fourth-round pick in the 2016 bantam draft from Seattle as compensation for Myles.
The Blazers are expected to open next season with Bolton Pouliot, 20, as their starter. Cole Kehler, 17, is No. 2 on the depth chart, after getting into 11 games this season. Connor Ingram, 17, of the midget AAA Prince Albert Mintos, who won the Telus Cup, and Dylan Ferguson, 16, of the midget AAA Notre Dame Argos also are in the picture.
Myles joins Teagan Sacher, who turns 20 on Dec. 1, Jarrod Schamerhorn, 19, Jonny Hogue, 18, and Stuart Skinner, who will be 16 on Nov. 1, as goaltenders on the Lethbridge roster who have seen action in the WHL.
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The Moose Jaw Warriors have acquired F Kolten Olynek, 18, from the Lethbridge Hurricanes for F Miles Warkentine, 18.
Olynek, from Saskatoon, had 12 points, including four goals, in 57 games with the Hurricanes this season. He was a second-round pick, 26th overall, in the 2011 bantam draft.
After an injury-filled freshman season, Warkentine, from Prince Albert, had 12 points, three of them goals, in 65 games with the Warriors this season. Moose Jaw selected him 16th overall in the 2011 bantam draft.
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1. Travis Green, the head coach of the AHL’s Utica Comets, was in the house in Portland on Tuesday night as the Winterhawks lost 4-2 to the Edmonton Oil Kings in Game 7 of the WHL final. Green spent most of last season as the Winterhawks’ head coach, with GM/head coach Mike Johnston suspended. Stu Walters of Shaw-TV reported that Green watched Game 6 of the WHL final in Anaheim, while communicating with Portland assistant GM Matt Bardsley. With the Oil Kings leading 5-2, Green apparently told Bardsley that if the Winterhawks came back and won, he would be in Portland for Game 7. They did and he was.


2. The Memorial Cup field will be rounded out tonight when Game 7 of the QMJHL final is played in Baie-Comeau between the Drakkar and the Val-d’Or Foreurs.

3. The Memorial Cup is to be played in London, Ont., and will open Friday with the host Knights meeting the QMJHL champion. The Edmonton Oil Kings, who won the WHL title last night in Portland, open Saturday against the OHL-champion Guelph Storm. . . . The Oil Kings then meet London on Saturday.

4. Late night tweet from the Guelph Storm (@Storm_City): “Hey @EdmOilKings, we found some ice time in London on Saturday. Are you in?”

5. Response from the Edmonton Oil Kings (@EdmOilKings): “It's a date!”

6. G Henrik Lundqvist of the New York Rangers drew a $5,000 fine for squirting Sir Sidney Crosby with water during a playoff game on Sunday night. . . . Earlier in these playoffs, F Milan Lucic was fined $5,000 for spearing Detroit Red Wings D Danny DeKeyser in the jewels. . . . Boston F Shawn Thornton was fined $2,820.52 for squirting water in the face of Montreal Canadiens D P.K. Subban. . . . All of these are the maximum allowed under the CBA, which makes one wonder if that part was negotiated near the end of an all-nighter.

7. Remember when the NHL said it was going to crack down on obstruction and that penalties would be called in the playoffs just like they are in the regular season? Did you believe the NHL at the time? If so, do you now feel shame?

8. If you were wondering, Brett Iverson will be the WHL referee to work Memorial Cup games in London.
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THE COACHING GAME:
Jason Williamson, the general manager and head coach of the BCHL’s Vernon Vipers, got a new two-year contract last week. Williamson, 33, who is coaching the host team for the RBC Cup this week, was in the final year of a three-year contract. . . . Associate coach Kris Mallette also will return to the Vipers next season, as will assistant coach Dave Robinson.
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Bob Prier has resigned after three seasons as head coach of the Princeton U Tigers, who were 6-26-0 this season. Prier, who resigned Monday, had a 25-58-12 record at Princeton.
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The junior B Grand Forks Border Bruins of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League have signed Brad Snyder as their general manager and head coach. Snyder, from Flin Flon, Man., replaces Kevin Flather, who had been hired Nov. 7 to replace Nick Deschenes, who left early in the season to join the staff of the BCHL’s Trail Smoke Eaters.
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THE FOURTH ROUND (best-of-seven):
WHL final, for the Ed Chynoweth Cup
PORTLAND (2, West) vs. Edmonton (1, East)(Edmonton wins, 4-3)
Season series: Portland, 0-0-1; Edmonton, 1-0-0.
Saturday: Edmonton 2 at Portland 5 (10,947)
Sunday: Edmonton 1 at Portland 3 (10,645)
Tuesday: Portland 2 at Edmonton 3 (6,799)
Wednesday: Portland 0 at Edmonton 2 (7,859)
Friday: Edmonton 3 at Portland 2 (10,947)
Sunday: Portland 6 at Edmonton 5 (OT) (11,902)
Monday: Edmonton 4 at Portland 2 (10,095)
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MONDAY’S GAME:
In Portland, the Edmonton Oil Kings erased a 1-0 deficit with four goals in the second period and went on to win the Ed Chynoweth Cup with a 4-2 victory over the defending-champion Winterhawks. . . . The Oil Kings, who won four of the last five games in the series, took the best-of-seven series 4-3. . . . The Memorial Cup opens Friday in London, Ont., with the host Knights playing the QMJHL champion, which will be decided tonight. . . . The Oil Kings open Saturday against the OHL-champion Guelph Storm. . . . In 10 previous WHL championship Game 7s, the home team was 10-0. . . . This was the third time in as many years that the same teams met in the WHL final. Edmonton won two years ago; the Winterhawks won last season. In the three finals, each team won 10 times. . . . Portland F Oliver Bjorkstrand opened the scoring at 4:42 of the first period, going coast-to-coast and beating G Tristan Jarry off the right wing, high to the long side, moments after G Brendan Burke had come up big on Edmonton F Mitch Moroz. . . . The Oil Kings came close to tying it a short time later while on the game’s first PP, but F Curtis Lazar was ruled to have kicked the puck into the net with his left foot. . . . Edmonton tied it when F Mitch Moroz waltzed from the right wing across the slot and beat Burke at 3:50 of the second. . . . With the Winterhawks on the PP but looking the more tired of the two teams, Lazar scored shorthanded at 9:02 for a 2-1 lead. . . . Just 40 seconds later, F Reid Petryk drove to the net and got the puck through Burke for a 3-1 lead. . . . Edmonton finished off the period with F Mads Eller scoring on a 3-on-1 break at 17:17. . . . Portland didn’t score again until F Brendan Leipsic beat Jarry on a PP at 16:38 of the third period. . . . Portland was 1-for-5 on the PP; Edmonton was 0-for-2. . . . Jarry finished with 32 saves, three more than Burke. . . . Edmonton D Griffin Reinhart was selected as the MVP of the playoffs. Reinhart was injured last season and didn’t play in the championship series. . . . Bjorkstrand and Leipsic tied for the playoff scoring lead, each with 33 points. Bjorkstrand led the playoffs in goals (16) and Portland D Derrick Pouliot was tops in assists (27).
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From Edmonton Journal sports columnist John MacKinnon (@rjmackinnon), after the post-game trophy presentations: “#WHL pres. Ron Robison gets the boos in Portland. Fans don't forgive or forget, apparently. Yikes.”

There has never been a subscription fee for this blog, but if you enjoy stopping by here, why not consider donating to the cause? Just click HERE. . . and thank you very much.

See you later, alligator!

This is the last post that will appear here for an indefinite period.
I have taken an indefinite leave from the Kamloops Daily News as my wife is scheduled for a kidney transplant.
Thank you for stopping by and hopefully we’ll meet here again in the not-too-distant future.
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THE MacBETH REPORT:
D David Hajek (Spokane, 1998-99) signed a contract through Dec. 1 with Dresden (Germany, DEL2). He had five goals and 15 assists in 48 games for Dresden last season.
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The MacBeth Report has joined the Twitterverse. With this blog going black for a while, you will be able to follow The MacBeth Report on Twitter at @MacBethReport.
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The Victoria Royals have signed F Dante Hannoun, the 11th overall selection in the 2013 WHL bantam draft. The 5-foot-6, 145-pound Hannoun, from Delta, B.C., will spend this season with the major midget Greater Vancouver Canadians. Last season, he captained the bantam AAA North Shore Winter Clukb Hawks, putting up 151 points, including 63 goals, in 63 games.
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The Moose Jaw Warriors have acquired D Zach Hodder, 20, from the Medicine Hat Tigers for a conditional eight-round 2014 bantam draft pick. . . . Hodder, from Delta, B.C. will be joining his fifth WHL team as he also has played for the Vancouver Giants, Saskatoon Blades and Prince Albert Raiders. . . . In 125 regular-season games, he has 38 points. . . . Hodder was selected by the Giants with the 20th overall pick of the 2008 bantam draft. . . . The Tigers’ roster now includes four 20-year-olds — D Dylan Bredo, F Jacob Doty, F Boston Leiter and F Curtis Valk. . . . Hodder’s arrival gives Moose Jaw three 20-year-olds, as he joins F Sam Fioretti and F Todd Fiddler.
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The Medicine Hat Tigers got down to two goaltenders on Friday when they released G Keelan Williams, 17. . . . Williams, from Calgary, played last season with the midget AAA Calgary Buffaloes. . . . The move leaves the Tigers with sophomore Marek Langhamer, 19, who is from Czech Republic, and freshman Zac Robidoux, 17, from Morden, Man. . . . Langhamer returned Thursday from the Phoenix Coyotes’ rookie camp in Glendale, Ariz.
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The host Everett Silvertips scored four second-period goals and beat the Seattle Thunderbirds 5-4 on Friday night. That allowed the Silvertips to run their preseason record to 6-0. . . . Interestingly, the Silvertips, who struggled to score last season, lead the WHL with 31 goals, 27 of those in their last four games. . . . The Silvertips conclude their exhibition schedule tonight when they meet the Seattle Thunderbirds in Kent, Wash.
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“Hockey fans at the season-opener of the Tri-City Americans will have a chance to help the U.S. Department of Homeland Security improve its facial recognition capabilities,” writes Annette Cary of the Tri-City Herald. “Video will be taped by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory at the Sept. 21 game in a portion of the Toyota Center in Kennewick.” . . . Cary’s complete story is right here.
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The Seattle Thunderbirds are down to three goaltenders after releasing Logan Flodell, 16, from their training camp roster. Flodell is from Regina and played last season with the midget AAA Regina Pat Canadians. . . . The Thunderbirds are left with Danny Mumaugh, 17, Devon Fordyce, 19, and Justin Myles, 18, as their goaltenders to this point.
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“Minor hockey officials, please take note,” writes Stephen Hume in the Vancouver Sun. “The lawyers came for the National Football League, that $10 billion marketing behemoth that makes the National Hockey League look like a peewee division. And soon they’ll be coming for you, too. At least they will if you don’t move much more aggressively to clean up attitudes regarding head injuries in hockey.”
That complete column is right here.
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Roy MacGregor of The Globe and Mail writes today of the need to get fun back into the game of hockey. As usual, MacGregor hits the nail squarely on the head. That piece is right here.
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From Michael Scissons (@mrscizz): “I wish the best to @SportyHurly and @Johnny_ops on their future endeavours. It was my pleasure to have worked with you. #dontbestrangers”
Scissons is the director of sales for the Saskatoon Blades. . . . Davis Hurlburt (@SportyHurly) was an account executive with the Blades. . . . John Brodsky (@Johnny_ops) was the Blades’ director of business operations. He is the son of former Blades owner Jack Brodsky.

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