Halifax wants 2019 Memorial Cup . . . Czechs load up on WHLers . . . Coaching change in AJHL

D Ole-Kristian Tollefsen (Brandon, 2002-04) has signed a two-year extension with Färjestad Karlstad (Sweden, SHL). He has two goals and three assists in 25 games. He also is an alternate captain.

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The QMJHL’s Halifax Mooseheads announced on Thursday that they plan on submitting a bid in the hopes of playing host to the 2019 Memorial Cup tournament. . . . From the Mooseheads news release: “The 2018-19 season will celebrate the 25th anniversary season of the Mooseheads. It will also be 20 seasons since the club hosted its only previous Memorial Cup in 2000 when the hometown team electrified the City of Halifax and garnered national attention for the franchise. The fans were possibly the biggest story of the event in the spring of 2000 as 79,877 packed the Scotiabank Centre (then Metro Centre) for the eight-day tournament which at the time was the second-highest total in the history of the Memorial Cup.” . . . Halifax won its only Memorial Cup title in Saskatoon in 2013, beating the Portland Winterhawks, 6-4, in the final. . . . The 2017 tournament will be played in Windsor, Ont. . . . The 2018 tournament, which marks the 100th anniversary of the Memorial Cup, is to be played in Hamilton, Oshawa or Regina.

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The Czech Republic’s national junior team includes seven WHLers on its 22-man roster. . . . Three of the eight defencemen are from the WHL — Vojtěch Budik of the Prince Albert Raiders, Libor Hájek of the Saskatoon Blades and Ondrej Vala of the Kamloops. . . . As well, four of the 12 forwards are from WHL teams — Adam Musil and Michael Špaček of the Red Deer Rebels, Simon Stransky of Prince Albert and Tomas Soustal of the Kelowna Rockets. . . . The WHLers are expected to join their Czech teammates in Montreal on Sunday.

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It was 36 years ago last night — Dec. 8, 1980 — when John Lennon was shot down on a sidewalk in New York City. Jimmy Breslin, the legendary columnist, was with the New York Daily News. He was at home that night when he got the call. . . . This link right here will take you to the column he wrote on deadline. This is what newspapering used to be.

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Ryan Howse no longer is an assistant coach with the BCHL’s Prince George Spruce Kings. According to a news release, Howse “has stepped down . . . for personal and family reasons.” . . . Last season, he was the head coach of the Prince George Coast Inn of the North Cougars, a midget Tier 1 team that won the B.C. championship. . . . Howse played four WHL seasons (2007-11) with the Chilliwack Bruins.

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The AJHL’s Grande Prairie Storm has fired general manager/head coach Kevin Higo and replaced him with Matt Keillor. . . . Higo had the rest of this season left on a three-year contract. . . . Keillor has spent the past two seasons as an assistant coach with the Storm, while also working as head coach of the midget AAA Storm. . . . The AJHL’s Storm is 7-22-5 and in sixth place in the Viterra AJHL North, 14 points out of fifth. . . . Under Higo, the Storm was 33-108-13.

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The SJHL’s Kindersley Klippers have added Larry Wintoneak to their staff as an assistant coach. He will work alongside GM/head coach Geoff Grimwood. . . . Wintoneak, who has coached in the SJHL with the Flin Flon Bombers, La Ronge Ice Wolves and the Klippers, has been Kindersley’s strength-and-conditioning coach for the past two years. He will continue with those responsibilities while also working as an assistant coach.

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Tweet of the Day

2.12 - Over the past 2 1/2 weeks, @C_Hart70 has improved his career GAA to 2.12, now tied with Cam Ward for the 6th best in WHL history https://t.co/Vixo6A9MCC

— WHL Facts (@WHLFacts) December 8, 2016

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THURSDAY’S GAMES:

No Games Scheduled.

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FRIDAY’S GAMES (all times local):

Red Deer at Calgary, 7 p.m.

Brandon at Edmonton 7 p.m.

Medicine Hat at Lethbridge, 7 p.m.

Victoria at Portland, 7 p.m.

Moose Jaw at Prince Albert, 7 p.m. (TBG)

Seattle at Prince George, 7 p.m.

Swift Current at Regina, 7 p.m. (TBG)

Kootenay at Spokane, 7:05 p.m. (TBG)

Kelowna vs. Tri-City, at Kennewick, Wash., 7:05 p.m.
Everett vs. Vancouver, at Langley, B.C., 7:30 p.m.
TBG: Teddy Bear Game.

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Blazers, Chiefs sign prospects

 F David Hruška (Red Deer, 1995-96) has signed a one-year contract with Orli Znojmo (Czech Republic, Erste Bank Liga). This season, in 52 games with Chomutov (Czech Republic, Extraliga), he led the team in goals (18),  assists (14) and points (32). . . .
D Jesse Dudas (Lethbridge, Prince George, Swift Current, Regina, 2003-09) has signed a one-year contract with Miskolci Jegesmedvék (Hungary, MOL Liga). This season, Dudas played for the Wichita Thunder (CHL), putting up 38 points, including 14 goals, in 54 games.
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D Nolan Kneen, the third overall selection in the 2014 WHL bantam draft, has signed with the Kamloops Blazers. Kneen, from North Vancouver, played with the bantam AAA North Shore Winter Club Winterhawks, putting up 60 points, including 22 goals, in 69 games. He is expected to play next season with the major midget Okanagan Rockets, who are based in Kelowna.
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The Spokane Chiefs have signed 1998-born F Kailer Yamamoto, the younger brother of Keanu, a forward who just completed his freshman season. According to a Chiefs’ news release, “They will become the first pair of Spokane-native siblings to play for the local club at the same time.” . . . Kailer was a fifth-round pick in the 2013 bantam draft. He had 40 points, 17 of them goals, in 34 games with the Los Angeles Jr. Kings this season. . . . Keanu finished his freshman season with 25 points, including 11 goals, in 57 games, but 15 of those points came in the final two months of the season.
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THE COACHING GAME:
Kevin Flather is the new head coach of the junior B Port Moody Panthers of the Pacific Junior Hockey League. He spent this season as the general manager and head coach of the junior B Grand Forks Border Bruins of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League. Flather actually took over the Bruins in October and guided them to their best record in nine seasons. Flather, a 27-year-old native of Surrey, B.C., owns and operates Precision Hockey Development. . . . Over time, Flather also has worked closely with Ron Johnson, who has signed on with the Panthers as their director of hockey development. Johnson is the founder, owner and technical director of Elite Hockey Shooters, focusing primarily on skill mechanics and offensive tactics for hockey players of all ages and levels. Johnson, 56, was a long-time coach, but chose to retire in 2013 after 38 years of it. . . . The Panthers relocated from Port Coquitlam in 2006. . . . The Panthers went 10-30-2-2 this season and finished last in the Harold Brittain Conference for a second straight season.
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Kevin Higo is the new head coach of the AJHL’s Grande Prairie Storm. He spent this season coaching the Elite 15 team at the Edge School in Calgary. But he has coaching experience in the AJHL with the Fort McMurray Oil Barons, Crowsnest Pass Timberwolves and Brook Bandits. He also has worked as an assistant coach with the WHL‘s Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . With the Storm, Higo takes over from Matt Hughes, who was fired on May 2.
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Tyson Ramsey is the new head coach of the midget AAA Brandon Wheat Kings. He takes over from Ken Schneider, who stepped aside after this season. Ramsey had been an assistant coach on Schneider’s staff.
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MEMORIAL CUP
(at London, Ont., all times Eastern)
(all games televised by Sportsnet)
Friday: Val-d’Or vs. London, 7 p.m.
Saturday: Guelph vs. Edmonton, 4 p.m.
Sunday: London vs. Edmonton, 7 p.m.
Monday: Guelph vs. Val-d’Or, 7 p.m.
Tuesday: Edmonton vs. Val-d’Or, 7 p.m.
Wednesday: London vs. Guelph, 7 p.m.
Thursday, May 22: Tiebreaker, if necessary, 7 p.m.
Friday, May 23: Semifinal, 7 p.m.
Saturday, May 24: No game scheduled.
Sunday, May 25: Final, TBA.


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Pam and Jim Duquette want only for their 10-year-old daughter Lindsey “to be a normal kid.”
Hopefully, their wish will come true now that Jim, a long-time baseball executive who now is a broadcaster, has had one of his kidneys surgically transplanted into Lindsey.
The New York Daily News has a story right here.
Kevin Kaduk of Big League Stew has more right here.
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THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Nathan Rempel (Saskatoon, 1994-98) signed a one-year contract extension with the Guildford Flames (England, Premier). He had 43 goals and 30 assists in 47 games this season with the Flames. Rempel was named to the First All-Star Team in the English Premier league and was the Flames leading scorer this season. . . .
F Mikhail Fisenko (Vancouver, Calgary, 2008-11) signed a two-year contract with Sibir Novosibirsk (Russia, KHL). He had one goal and two assists in 27 games for Metallurg Novokuznetsk (Russia, KHL), one goal and five assists in 13 games for Yermak Angarsk (Russia, Vysshaya Liga), and one goal and one assist in three games for Kuznetskie Medvedi (Russia, MHL) this season.
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Dr. Charles Tator, the foremost concussion expert in Canada, will be honoured for his work by USA Hockey on Wednesday in Colorado Springs. Roy MacGregor of The Globe and Mail has the latest with Dr. Tator right here.
According to Dr. Tator, MacGregor writes: “There is currently zero treatment for concussions” that can be proven effective, apart from time itself. Much of the treatment there is in today’s sports medicine is, in his learned opinion, “worthless” and needs to be“discarded.”
“Research is sadly lacking,” Tator says. “It has been a neglected issue in medical research.”
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THE COACHING GAME:
Peter Schaefer, who was honoured as the WHL’s top player in 1996-97, has joined the BCHL’s Surrey Eagles as an assistant coach and also will work in the area of player development. Schaefer, from Yellow Grass, Sask., played nine NHL seasons. In Surrey, Schaefer will work with GM/head coach Matt Erhart. . . .
The Saskatoon Blades have added Curtis Leschyshyn as a full-time assistant coach. He will work alongside GM/head coach Lorne Molleken and assistant coach David Struch. . . . Leschyshyn worked with the Blades on a part-time basis this season. . . . Leschyshyn played 127 regular-season games with the Blades (1985-88) before going on to a pro career. He was selected by the Quebec Nordiques with the third overall pick in the 1988 NHL draft. . . . The Blades are to be the host team for the 2013 Memorial Cup tournament. . . .
The QMJHL’s Cape Breton Screaming Eagles have signed Jean Francois David as a new assistant coach. He replaces Kevin Higo, whose contract wasn’t renewed. . . . David, who will work alongside head coach Ron Choules, played five seasons in the QMJHL before going on to a nine-year pro career. . . . Higo worked in the AJHL before spending two seasons as an assistant coach with the Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . Higo now is the director of hockey operations and head coach, varsity boys hockey, at Rothesay Netherwood School in Rothesay, N.B. . . .
Steve Martinson has signed on as head coach of the Central league’s Allen Americans. The signing was announced Monday night as minority owners Ed Belfour, Mike Modano and Craig Ludwig, along with assistant coach Richard Matvichuk, all took part in a press conference that was open to the American’s fans. . . . Martinson was the head coach of the ECHL’s Elmira Jackals (2007-10) and was the head coach of the ECHL’s Chicago Express this season. The Express ceased operations after the season.
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JUST NOTES:
D Max Mowat, who played one game with the Kamloops Blazers in 2009-10 but has since been dropped from their list, has been involved in a BCHL transaction. Mowat, who will turn 19 on June 23, has been dealt by the Vernon Vipers to the Trail Smoke Eaters as the future considerations in a deal that was made on Jan. 10. Mowat, who is from Coldstream, B.C., had 15 points in 46 games with the Vipers this season.
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John Branch of The New York Times has written a devastating piece about the late Derek Boogaard and the ease with which he was able to obtain prescription drugs. . . . Len Boogaard, Derek’s father and a long-time RCMP officer, did a lot of digging into his son’s death, wanting to know why it had to happen.
Branch writes: “Len Boogaard knows that his son supplemented his drug habit with purchases of pills from dealers in Minneapolis; New York; and Regina, Saskatchewan. But he has found no sign of abuse until injuries sustained in fights were followed by steady streams of pills provided by team doctors.”
At one point, Len Boogaard tells Branch: “Derek was an addict. But why was he an addict? Everyone said he had ‘off-ice’ issues. No, it was hockey.”
You won’t want to miss this. It’s right here. All of it.
Just the other day, I was listening to an interview with an NHL player who talked of not being able to unwind on game nights until after the "adrenaline and Sudafeds" have worn off.
And I can't help but wonder if there is a connection from the use of Sudafeds to the abuse of prescription drugs.


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Nick Patterson of the Everett Herald reports that the Everett Silvertips are disputing the lawsuit that has been brought against them by former general manager Doug Soetaert. That story is right here.
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Former NFL quarterback Mark Rypien is 49 years of age and already he is experiencing memory loss.
Nathan Fenno of the Washington Times has more right here.
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Lorne Molleken will be back behind the bench of the Saskatoon Blades next season. Molleken, who is the Blades’ general manager and head coach, has told Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix that he will reassess his position(s) after the 2012-13 season, which means after the 2013 Memorial Cup. The Blades will be the tournament’s host team.
Molleken also told Nugent-Bowman that the roster of next season’s team will bear little resemblance to the Saskatoon roster that lost in four games to the Medicine Hat Tigers this week.
That story is right here.
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THE COACHING GAME:
The QMJHL’s Cape Breton Screaming Eagles have announced that they won’t bring back assistant coach Kevin Higo, whose two-year contract is to expire on July 31. Higo, from Lethbridge, was an assistant coach with the Moose Jaw Warriors for two seasons (2008-10). . . .
Victor Gervais (Seattle, 1986-90) is the new GM/head coach of the junior B Westshore Wolves, a new club in the Vancouver Island junior league. Gervais has spent the last five seasons with the BCHL’s Victoria Grizzlies. This season, he was GM and assistant coach, with Len Barrie as majority owner and head coach. . . . The Wolves will play out of Victoria’s Bear Mountain Arena, which also is home to the Grizzlies. . . .
The U of Alberta Golden Bears have redone their organizational tree. No longer will they have a head coach and an assistant coach; instead, there will be a general manager and a head coach. Stan Marple, the interim head coach last season, will be the first GM, while the search is on for a coach. Evan Daum has that story in the Edmonton Journal right here.
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D Morgan Rielly isn’t yet ready to return to the Moose Jaw Warriors’ lineup; in fact, it sounds as though he may not play for a couple of weeks, although he has been practising for 10 days. Rielly, who had major knee surgery on Dec. 1. He visited with his Vancouver surgeon this week and Alan Millar, the Warriors’ director of hockey operations, told Matthew Gourlie of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald that Rielly is “week-to-week.” Millar told Gourlie: “The appointment with the surgeon went very well. (Rielly) continues to be on pace to have a chance to play somewhat ahead of schedule. I know there was a lot of speculation and some reports that he would be in the line-up (tonight). He will not be in the line-up. He will not play at all in this series.” . . . The Warriors take a 3-1 series lead over the Regina Pats into Game 5 in Moose Jaw tonight.
Gourlie’s story, and there’s more to it, is right here.
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Is Saskatoon, a city that would be home to an NHL franchise, a good sports town, or not? Les MacPherson, a columnist with the Saskatoon StarPhoenix, tackles that question right here.
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D Duncan Siemens of the Saskatoon Blades will finish his season with the Lake Erie Monsters, the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche. Siemens was selected by Colorado with the 11th pick of the 2011 NHL draft. . . .
D Josh Caron of the Everett Silvertips, who signed a free-agent deal with the NHL’s Minnesota Wild, is expected to join the AHL’s Houston Aeros for the remainder of the season. . . . Nick Patterson of the Everett Herald reports that F Ryan Harrison has been invited to join the AHL’s Lake Erie Monsters, and D Brennan Yadlowski may hook up with the ECHL’s Colorado Eagles.
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Richard Doerksen, the WHL’s vice-president, hockey, was busy again on Thursday.
He hit Everett F Ryan Harrison with a ‘tbd’ suspension for a charging major and game misconduct in Game 4 against the visiting Tri-City Americans on Wednesday. Assuming that Harrison, 19, is back in the fall, the start of his season almost certainly will be delayed. . . .
F Max Reinhart of the Kootenay Ice was hit with a one-game suspension for a game misconduct he took against the visiting Edmonton Oil Kings on Wednesday. Reinhart didn’t play last night as the Oil Kings completed a sweep of the defending-champion Ice. . . .
Ice D Spencer Wand also sat out last night’s game after being suspended for a game following a pregame violation on Wednesday. . . .
Regina Pats F Dyson Stevenson won’t play tonight in Game 5 against the host Moose Jaw Warriors. He incurred a one-game suspension after taking a clipping major and game misconduct in Game 4 in Regina on Wednesday. He has a team-high three goals and is tied with F Jordan Weal for the team lead in points, with five. . . .
And, finally, Regina president Brent Parker was fined $2,500 for “inappropriate behaviour” after Wednesday’s 5-4 overtime loss to the visiting Moose Jaw Warriors.
Glenn Reid of CBC Regina tweeted: “GM Brent Parker fined $2500 for inappropriate conduct. I thought he was screaming at me for a second there (Wednesday) night.”
Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post reported that Parker “punched a hole in the door of the video replay booth inside the press box” after the game and “also became involved in a heated verbal confrontation with the off-ice officials who were inside the booth.”
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Harder had a busy time of it. He also spoke with Wayne Gretzky, whose good friend, Pat Conacher, is in his first season as the Regina Pats’ head coach. That story is right here.
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Bill Graveland of The Canadian Press reports on a WHL player who received probation and community service after pleading guilty to charges from a high-speed car crash in which his girlfriend was killed. That story is right here.
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THURSDAY’S WHL GAMES:
(If you want WHL facts and stats, get on Twitter and follow @WHLFacts)
In Winnipeg, the Brandon Wheat Kings got a goal at 8:26 of OT to beat the Calgary Hitmen 3-2 and win a first-round series in five games. . . . The Wheat Kings played their home games in Winnipeg because the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair is in Westman Place in Brandon. . . . The Wheat Kings actually scored twice on the game-winning play. F Paul Ciarelli fired a shot that hit the cross-bar in the back of the net. As one of the referees waved it off, F Darian Dziurzynski, who turns 21 today, banged in the rebound. . . . Originally credited to Dziurzynski, the goal was later changed to Ciarelli. . . . The Hitmen killed off a Brandon power play just before the winning goal and, in fact, came close to winning when G Corbin Boes made a tremendous glove save off F Jimmy Bubnick. . . . It is the eighth time in the last 11 seasons that Brandon has moved into the second round. . . . Boes finished with 42 saves. . . . Ciarelli scored at 4:14 of the third period to forge a 2-2 tie. Those were his first two goals of the series. . . . Dziurzynski and Jens Meilleur each had two assists for Brandon as they figured in both Ciarelli goals. . . . The Hitmen played all five games without F Victor Rask (leg), who scored 33 goals in the regular season. . . . Attendance was 4,002. . . . You can bet this series victory meant just a little bit more to Brandon owner/general manager Kelly McCrimmon. His brother, Brad, would have been 53 on Thursday. Brad was the head coach of Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, the KHL team that was wiped out in a plane crash on Sept. 7. . . . The Wheat Kings will be back in Westman Place for the second round. Brandon will face the Edmonton Oil Kings next, if the Moose Jaw Warriors eliminate the Regina Pats. The Warriors take a 3-1 lead in that series into Game 5 tonight in Moose Jaw. . . .

In Cranbrook, F Rhett Rachinski scored the game’s last two goals as the Edmonton Oil Kings beat the Kootenay Ice 3-1 and swept the defending champions from the playoffs. . . . Edmonton has won its last 15 games. . . . Rachinski broke a 1-1 tie with his first goal of the series at 14:09 of the second period and added an empty-netter at 19:23 of the third. . . . The Oil Kings, in their fifth season in the WHL, won a series for the first time. They went in having been swept from the first round in both of their appearances. . . . Ice G Nathan Lieuwen stopped 25 shots, while Laurent Brossoit of Edmonton turned aside 14. . . . The biggest story of the two games in Cranbrook may well have been the attendance — 2,293 on Wednesday and 2,146 last night. Those are the two smallest Rec-Plex playoff crowds in franchise history. . . . The highlight for the fans may have been when Marian Dixon shot a puck from the far blue-line through a hole in a sheet of plywood and won a truck from Denham Ford. . . . A Thursday night tweet from Edmonton D Griffin Reinhart: “Best comment on the ice goes to my little bro Sam saying ‘If you touch me I'm telling mom’ when we were in a scrum.” . . .

In Kelowna, F Ty Rattie scored four times as the Portland Winterhawks beat the Rockets 5-3 to sweep that first-round series. . . . The Winterhawks will meet the Kamloops Blazers in the second round. That series will open with Games 1 and 2 in Portland’s Veterans’ Memorial Coliseum on April 6 and 7. . . . Rattie scored his club’s first three goals, giving Portland 1-0, 2-1 and 3-2 leads. . . . He later added an empty-netter for his 10th goal in the four games. He also had three assists. . . . Interestingly, in the four games in this series, Rattie had one-, two-, three- and four-goal games. . . . Last spring, Rattie finished the playoffs with nine goals in 17 games. . . . He actually outscored the Rockets, 10-9, in the four games. . . . Portland F Sven Baertschi had two assists. . . . Linemates Rattie, Baertschi and Marcel Noebels, who had one helper, each was plus-4.
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THURSDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
None.
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THURSDAY’S CHECKING-TO-THE-HEAD COUNT:
F Curtis Lazar, Edmonton.

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