Rebels' Musil week-to-week . . . Giants d-man signs with Avalanche . . . WHL draft lottery today

F Andreas Eder (Vancouver, 2013-14) signed a one-year contract with Red Bull Munich (Germany, DEL). This season, with Red Bull Salzburg II (Austria, Molodyozhnaya Liga), he had 21 goals and 25 assists in 54 games. The MHL is the top Russian junior league.
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The Red Deer Rebels will begin the playoffs without F Adam Musil, who suffered an ankle injury in Saturday’s final regular-season game, a 3-2 loss to the visiting Edmonton Oil Kings. . . . Greg Meachem of the Red Deer Advocate reports that Musil will miss a first-round series against the Medicine Hat Tigers. That series opens Saturday in Medicine Hat. “It’s a significant injury and he’ll be week to week with it,” Brent Sutter, the Rebels’ general manager and head coach, told Meachem. . . . The Rebels have added D Ryan Pouliot, 16, from the major midget Vancouver-North West Giants, and G Trevor Martin, 18, who finished the season with the SJHL’s Melville Millionaires. . . . Pouliot was an 11th-round selection by the Saskatoon Blades in the 2013 bantam draft. Martin was acquired earlier this season from the Blades.
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Despite not making the playoffs, the Moose Jaw Warriors’ braintrust feels the team made considerable progress this season. . . . Matthew Gourlie of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald has more on that story right here.
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The Saskatoon Blades missed the playoffs for a second straight season, but management is convinced that the franchise is on the right track to get back to responsibility. Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix takes a look right here at the pros and cons of the season just past and the one ahead.
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The Prince Albert Raiders are playing the “what if . . .” game now that the season is over and they didn’t make the playoffs. In Prince Albert, that games goes like this: “What if Leon Draisaitl had returned for a third season?” . . . Jeff D’Andrea of paNOW has more right here.
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Myles Fish of the Prince Albert Herald writes of the Raiders that “the questions about the team now centre around its staff. Effectively the entire hockey operations staff with the Raiders have contracts that are set to expire in May.” . . . That story is right here.
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If you aren’t aware, I have been writing stories on hockey coaches for The Coaches Site (thecoachessite.com). With that in mind, I recently had occasion to chat with former SAIT athletic director/hockey coach Ken Babey, who now is the head coach of Canada’s national sledge hockey team. . . . That story is right here.
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D Mason Geertsen of the Vancouver Giants has signed a three-year, entry-level deal with the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche. Colorado selected Geertsen, 19, in the fourth round of the NHL’s 2013 entry draft. Geertsen, from Rocky Rapids, Alta., had 38 points, 13 of them goals, in 69 games this season. . . . He began his career with the Edmonton Oil Kings. . . . In 245 regular-season games, he has 78 points, including 19 goals.
F Jackson Houck of the Giants has signed an amateur tryout (ATO) with the Oklahoma City Barons, the AHL affiliate of the Edmonton Oilers. The Oilers selected him in the fourth round of the 2013 NHL draft. . . . Houck, who turned 20 on Feb. 27, is from North Vancouver. He had 51 points, including 22 goals, in 65 games this season. In 256 regular-season games, all with Vancouver, he has 189 points, including 87 goals.
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Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix reports that Blades D Brycen Martin and F Brett Stovin will be finishing this season in the professional ranks. . . . Martin is to report to the Rochester Americans, the Buffalo Sabres’ AHL affiliate. Buffalo selected Martin in the third-round of the 2014 NHL draft. Martin, who has yet to sign with the Sabres, missed the Blades’ last two games with a back injury, so it’s not certain that he will play for the Americans. . . . After being acquired from the Swift Current Broncos, Martin had 22 points, five of them goals, in 30 games with Saskatoon. . . . Stovin is expected to join the ECHL’s Missouri Mavericks, whose head coach is former Blades D Richard Matvichuk. This season, Stovin, 20, had 50 points, including 29 goals, in 72 games. He will finish this season with the Mavericks, then return home and decide whether to chase a pro career or go to school. . . . Nugent-Bowman’s story is right here.
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The WHL is scheduled to hold its draft lottery today. During this draft, the order for the first six selections in the 2015 bantam draft will be decided. The six teams that didn’t make the playoffs take part in the draft lottery — Saskatoon, Lethbridge, Vancouver, Kamloops, Prince Albert and Moose Jaw. . . . Keep in mind that Spokane holds Saskatoon’s first-round selection from a January 2013 trade in which the Blades acquired F Collin Valcourt. . . . Also remember that Moose Jaw holds Kamloops’ first-round pick from a January 2013 deal in which the Blazers got D Joel Edmundson. . . . The most a team is able to move up in the draft lottery is two spots. . . . The order of the second round and all subsequent rounds will be the inverse order of the regular-season standings. . . . The bantam draft is scheduled for May 7 in Calgary.
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The Kootenay Ice has signed a new three-year broadcasting deal with The Drive 102.9 FM. The contract runs through 2017-18. . . . It covers all 72 regular-season games and all playoff games, as it has for each of the previous 15 seasons. . . . Jeff Hollick, the play-by-play voice since 1999-2000, will remain in place.
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THE WHL PLAYOFF SCHEDULE:

If you came here looking for a WHL playoff schedule, click right here. You will find the complete first-round schedule, with graphics courtesy of Terry Massey of thirteenletter.com.
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THE COACHING GAME:

The QMJHL’s Moncton Wildcats have signed head coach Darren Rumble to a two-year contract that runs through 2016-17. Rumble was working on a two-year deal that was to expire after this season. The club had an option on a third season. . . . The Wildcats are 79-51-0-6 in two seasons under Rumble. They open a first-round playoff series at home to the Chicoutimi Sagueneens on Thursday.
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Here’s a look at the 20 WHL head coaches who have more than 300 regular-season victories to their credit:
1. Ken Hodge (Edmonton, Portland), 742
2. Don Hay (Kamloops, Tri-City, Vancouver) 637
3. Don Nachbaur (Seattle, Tri-City, Spokane) 631
4. Lorne Molleken (Moose Jaw, Saskatoon, Regina) 603
5. Ernie McLean (Estevan, New Westminster) 548
6. Pat Ginnell (Flin Flon, Victoria, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, New Westminster) 518
7. Jack Shupe (Medicine Hat, Victoria) 466
8. Dean Clark (Calgary, Brandon, Kamloops, Prince George) 465
9. Peter Anholt (Prince Albert, Seattle, Red Deer, Kelowna, Prince Albert) 464
10. Mike Williamson (Portland, Calgary, Tri-City) 460
11. Bob Lowes (Seattle, Brandon, Regina) 453
12. Kelly McCrimmon (Brandon) 417
      Doug Sauter (Calgary, Medicine Hat, Regina, Brandon) 417
14. Marcel Comeau (Calgary, Saskatoon, Tacoma, Kelowna) 411
15. Bryan Maxwell (Medicine Hat, Spokane, Lethbridge) 397
16. Brent Sutter (Red Deer) 367
17. Marc Habscheid (Kelowna, Chilliwack, Victoria, Prince Albert) 365
18. Graham James (Moose Jaw, Swift Current, Calgary) 349
19. Bob Loucks (Lethbridge, Tri-City, Medicine Hat) 340
20. Willie Desjardins (Saskatoon, Medicine Hat) 333
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Broadcast booth in final reg season game at The Arena. @BobRidley_CHAT on left. @Bladesvoice on the right. #WHL. pic.twitter.com/48jjWfilYF
— Darren Steinke (@StanksSports) March 25, 2015

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Is the WHL in Babey's future? . . . Improvements in Spokane

F Tomáš Karpov (Moose Jaw, Calgary, 2007-09) has signed a three-year extension with the Basingstoke Bison (England, Premier). Last season, in 54 games, he had 76 points, including 37 goals. He was a first-team Premier League all-star, and led the Bison in goals and points, all while working on a degree at the University of Winchester.
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1. On Tuesday, in this space, I mentioned something about Kingston Frontenacs F Sam Bennett’s inability to do one pull-up at the NHL Scouting Combine in Mississauga, Ont., last weekend.
That prompted an NHL scout to relate, via email, a couple of fitness testing-related anecdotes.
“Martin Havlat was at the Combine in his draft year,” the scout wrote. “He couldn’t do a single bench press. He ended up having a pretty good career and immediate success as a young player.
“I heard (Wayne) Gretzky tell a story one day. To paraphrase, he said: ‘Early in my career, we had testing. I did 10 sit-ups, but scored 60-plus goals that season. Near the end of my career, I could do 60-plus sit-ups, but only scored 10 goals during the season!’ ”
In closing, the scout wrote: “This entire Combine thing is about showcasing the league. Many of the tests that they do are irrelevant to hockey, but they ‘look’ good.”
So, kids, if you blow a test or two, don’t lose sleep over it because it’s what you do on the ice that the scouts will remember.

2. BTW, Wayne Gretzky looked good and sounded great as he appeared on Hockey Night in Canada prior to Game 1 of the Stanley Cup final on Wednesday night. . . . The NHL should hang its head in shame because Gretzky is not actively employed in promoting their game. The fact that he isn't working for an individual team or out of the NHL office should be an embarrassment to the commissioner and the owners. . . . Contrast that with Major League Baseball and the NFL, both of which have numerous former players, many of them Hall of Famers, working to better and to promote their games in one fashion or another.

3. Let the speculation begin. The Calgary Hitmen have an opening for a head coach and Ken Babey, the face of athletics at SAIT in Calgary, is leaving the Trojans after 27 years as the hockey team’s head coach. He also has been the school’s athletic director since 1997. According to a news release: “A desire to pursue other interests, and to go out on on top, has been given as reasons for his decision to step down.” . . . Babey took over as the Trojans head coach in 1987. That followed one season as an assistant coach. . . . Under his guidance, the Trojans won 534 of 849 games. He leaves with a .629 winning percentage. . . . Vicki Hall of the Calgary Herald has more right here, including the revelation that Babey “hopes to find another coaching gig in the near future.” . . . Let the speculation begin.

4. There are at least three movies in the works involving concussions in football. . . . Will Smith may star in one that is based on the GQ story Game Brain that was written by Jeanne Marie Laskas. . . . Cindy Boren of the Washington Post has more right here.

5. D Evan Morden (Everett, Prince Albert, 2011-14) has committed to attend Brock University in St. Catharines, Ont., and play for the Badgers. . . . Morden, from Swan River, Man., will attend the Goodman School of Business at Brock. . . . He played most of last season with the MJHL’s Swan Valley Stampeders. . . . He split 170 WHL games between Everett and Prince Albert, putting up 23 points, including six goals.

6. Yes, the Stanley Cup final started on Wednesday night. John Branch of The New York Times takes a look right here at the rivalry between Los Angeles and New York. Hey, any story in which there are quotes from Ed (Boxcar) Hospodar is a good one.

7. The way NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has it figured, if the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers are worth US$2 billion, “we have plenty of franchises that are worth that, if not more.” . . . OK. Stop laughing! . . . Bettman had that to say and a whole lot more prior to Game 1 of the Stanley Cup final. Helene Elliott of the Los Angeles Times has more right here.

8. Fans of the Spokane Chiefs should be in for improved wireless service when they attend games in the Veterans Memorial Arena in the fall. Boingo Wireless, which bills itself as “the leading DAS and Wi-Fi provider that serves consumers, carriers and advertisers worldwide,” has been chosen to manage the facility’s Distributed Antenna System (DAS) “from design to deployment, multi-carrier access to ongoing management.” . . . According to a news release: “The DAS networks will provide enhanced cellular capacity, allowing fans to upload videos and photos of their event experiences in real time. Boingo’s neutral host approach to DAS networks allow for multiple carriers to access the network on behalf of their customers, ensuring that more fans are automatically connected to the state-of-the-art cellular network.”

9. Don Zimmer, one of the grand old men of baseball, has died at the age of 83. He played for Casey Stengel. He managed four teams on a full-time basis and was the New York Yankees’ interim manager for a bit. In all, he was involved in baseball for more than 60 years. In The Zen of Zim, written with New York writer Bill Madden and published in 2004, Zimmer says: “All I’ve ever been is a simple baseball man, but it’s never ceased to amaze me how so many far more accomplished people I’ve met in this life wanted to be one, too. What a game, this baseball!” . . . The New York Times obituary is right here.

10. The end of Donald Sterling’s days in the NBA is nigh, and it is going to happen without anyone ending up in court. The end result of his selling the Los Angeles Clippers for US$2 billion could be the raising of the NBA’s age limit to 20. Michael McCann of SI.com has all that and more right here. . . . If you want the inside info on the Sterling affair, this is a great read.

11. The World Cup doesn’t start until next week, but the mind game are underway. With Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo on the limp, a witch doctor from Ghana is claiming responsibility. The Guardian has more right here.
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THE COACHING GAME:
The AJHL’s Olds Grizzlys have signed Brett Hopfe, their director of hockey operations and head coach, and Dana Lattery, the manager of player development and assistant coach, to three-year contract extensions. The contracts run through the next three seasons. . . . Joel Hunter, the business operations manager, got a one-year extension.
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The Detroit Red Wings have signed Jeff Blashill, the head coach of their AHL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins, to a three-year contract that runs through 2016-17. Blashill, 40, just completed his second season with the Griffins. They won the Calder Cup as AHL champions in 2012-13. Last season, they finished with 99 points, an increase of seven, then went on to lose a conference semifinal series to the Texas Stars. . . . Last month, Blashill was honoured as the AHL’s coach of the year.

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