Mpofu lays down the law . . . Cameron back in coaching game

Some old, some new . . . as I try to catch up after a few days away . . .
---







F Carter Proft (Brandon, Spokane, 2010-14) signed a one-year contract with the Kassel Huskies (Germany, DEL). Last season, with Spokane, he had 23 points, 11 of them goals, in 72 games. He has dual Canadian-German citizenship. . . .
D Petr Šenkeřík (Kootenay, Prince George, 2009-10) signed a tryout contract with Vitkovice Ostrava (Czech Republic, Extraliga). Last season, with Slavia Prague (Czech Republic, Extraliga), he had a goal and two assists in 24 games. In 17 games with Berounští Medvědi (Czech Republic, 1. Liga), he had 11 points, four of them goals. . . .
F Gal Koren (Kelowna, 2010-11) signed a one-year contract with Olimpija Ljubljana (Slovenia, Erste Bank Liga). Last season, with Medveščak Zagreb (Croatia, KHL), he had one goal in 23 games. He had four goals and four assists in 15 games with Olimpija Ljubljana, and was pointless in four games with Zvolen (Slovakia, Extraliga). . . .
D Dmitri Sinitsyn (Regina, 2013-14) has signed a two-year, two-way contract with Dynamo Moscow (Russia, KHL). Last season, he had 44 points, including 10 goals, in 69 games with Regina. . . .
F Michal Pšurný (Medicine Hat, Kootenay, 2005-06) signed a one-year extension with the Manchester Phoenix (England, Premier). Last season, he led the league in scoring, putting up 99 points, including 45 goals, in 54 games. He was a first-team all-star. . . .
D Jace Coyle (Spokane, Medicine Hat, 2007-11) signed a one-year contract with Aalborg (Denmark, Metal Ligaen). Last season, with the Fort Wayne Komets (ECHL), he had 31 points, including eight goals. He was pointless in three games on loan to the Lake Erie Monsters (AHL). . . .
D Tomáš Troliga (Calgary, 2003-04) signed a tryout contract with Hradec Králové (Czech Republic, Extraliga). Last season, with Dukla Trenčín (Slovakia, Extraliga), he had 24 points, 13 of them goals, in 46 games.
---



F Vukie Mpofu, the 87th selection in the WHL’s 2011 bantam draft, has informed the Red Deer Rebels that he won’t be returning for a second season. Mpofu, 18, is a native of Saskatoon, who had 15 points, including nine goals, in 65 games last season.
He has decided to attend the U of Saskatchewan and study business and marketing as he works toward a law degree.
“He called me and told me he’d thought about it all summer and that his goal was to attend law school,” Brent Sutter, the Rebels’ owner/GM/head coach, told Greg Meachem of the Red Deer Advocate. “He felt it was important for him to start his schooling now (at the U of S) and then in four years enrol in law school in Toronto.”
Sutter told Meachem that he wasn’t surprised to hear from Mpofu.
“I don’t know how driven he was to be a hockey player and I told him that over the phone . . . that if his heart wasn’t in it then it was better to move on to school,” Sutter said. “I kind of had a feeling that something was up at the end of the season. After he got hurt he never had the same drive. His emotion for the game wasn’t the same when he came back and at our year-end meeting I had a feeling he really wasn’t all-in to being a player.”
Mpofu struggled in the second half of the season after returning from a lower-back injury.
 Mpofu told Meachem there wouldn’t be any looking back.
“I’ve had everything I could have ever asked for out of hockey and I’m at a point in my life — now that I’m out of high school — that every decision I make from here on in should be building toward my long-term goals and where I would eventually like to see myself in five to 10 years. That’s pretty much the basis of my decision,” Mpofu said.
“Hockey was a lot of fun for me, but I had to make a decision now for my future.”
---
And now for some self-promotion . . .
Jack Finarelli, aka The Sports Curmudgeon, is a friend who writes daily on his blog. He also offers up some recommended readings for his followers.
The other day, he posted this right here:
“Here is one to put on your ‘Wish List’ so that folks can get you a book for your birthday or for Christmas…"
---
Meanwhile, The Sports Curmudgeon also took time to dissect a claim by someone that the return of LeBron could put $500 million into the Cleveland economy. I always cringe when people, mostly of a political bent, start talking about how much a tournament or an event will mean to a city’s economy because there always seem to be a lot of numbers thrown around without a whole lot of proof. . . . Well, The Sports Curmudgeon explains the whole thing awfully well right here. Give this a read and the next time you hear/read about how much economic benefit there will be from an event coming to your town, you will feel a bit better informed.
---
The Saskatoon Blades, under relatively new ownership and a freshman GM/head coach in Bob Woods, have realigned their scouting department. Doug Molleken, their head scout, now is director of scouting, eastern region, and will be responsible for Saskatchewan, Manitoba and the U.S. Molleken, 54, has signed a two-year extension. . . . Dan Tencer, 28, has been promoted from regional scout to director of scouting, western region, and will focus on Alberta and B.C. . . . Molleken and Tencer will report to Colin Priestner, the franchise’s managing partner who will oversee the bantam and European drafts. . . . There is more on the Blades’ scouting staff right here.
---
“Wilfred Rose, 58, spent a career studying the pants pockets of New Yorkers,” writes Joseph Goldstein in The New York Times, “always on the lookout for ‘a nice stiff wallet’ full of cash, or better yet, the fainter outline of a dozen folded bills.” . . . This is the story of a man who may have been the greatest pickpocket in New York City’s history, and you won’t want to miss it. It’s right here.
---




The Montreal Canadiens have signed F Nikita Scherbak, their first-round pick in the NHL’s 2014 draft, to a three-year, entry-level contract. Scherbak, from Russia, had 78 points, including 28 goals, in 65 games as a freshman with the Saskatoon Blades last season. Under terms of the CBA between the NHL and NHLPA, Scherbak, who doesn’t turn 19 until Dec. 30, has to play with the Canadiens or the Blades in 2014-15. Of course, the Blades could also choose to trade him. . . .
As you will have noticed in The MacBeth Report, D Dmitry Sinitsyn of the Regina Pats has signed with the KHL’s Dynamo Moscow. Sinitsyn, who turned 20 on June 17, may not have returned to the Pats anyway, as the Moscow native would have been a two-spotter -- a 20-year-old and an import. He was a seventh-round pick by the Dallas Stars in the NHL’s 2012 draft. The Pats’ roster also includes German F Maximilian Kammerer, who is preparing for his second WHL season, and Russian D Sergey Zborovsky, who was selected last month in the CHL import draft. . . . Regina finished last season with five other players who could be 20-year-olds on the 2014-15 roster -- F Braden Christoffer, F Patrick D’Amico, G Dawson MacAuley, F Logan McVeigh and F Chandler Stephenson. . . . Another note from The MacBeth Report has F Carter Proft (Brandon, Spokane, 2011-14) having signed with the Kassel Huskies of the German DEL. Proft, who turns 20 on Aug. 30, had 23 points, 11 of them goals, in 72 games last season with the Chiefs. Other 20-year-olds on Spokane’s roster are F Liam Stewart, F Marcus Messier, F Connor Chartier and D Reid Gow. . . .
The Portland Winterhawks have signed D Brendan De Jong, a seventh-round selection in the 2013 bantam draft out of Victoria. De Jong, 16, had 13 points in 32 games with the Pacific Sea Devils, an elite 15 team at the Pacific Coast Academy.
---
THE COACHING GAME:
Malcolm Cameron, who spent last season as head coach of the Regina Pats, now is on staff at the Okanagan Hockey Academy in Penticton, B.C. Cameron, 44, guided the Pats to WHL East Division regular-season title last season, but was fired by the franchise’s new owners last month. Prior to last season, he was an assistant coach with the Pats for two seasons. . . . Before joining the Pats, Cameron was an ECHL head coach for eight season. . . .

Jean-François (J.F.) Houle is the new head coach of the ECHL’s Bakersfield Condors, who are owned by the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers. He takes over from Troy Mann, now the head coach of the AHL’s Hershey Bears. . . . For the past three seasons, Houle, 39, has been head coach of the QMJHL’s Blainville-Boisbriand Armada. . . . He is the son of former Montreal Canadiens F Réjean Houle. . . . The Armada is working on finding a new head coach. . . .

The QMJHL’s Baie-Comeau Drakkar is looking for a head coach after Eric Veilleux left to become head coach of the Norfolk Admirals, the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks. Veilleux, who had been with the Drakkar for two seasons, replaces Trent Yawney, who now is an assistant coach with the Ducks. The Drakkar reached the QMJHL final in each of Veilleux’s seasons. . . .

The Saskatoon Blades have added Shane Endicott (Seattle, 1997-2001) to their staff as the franchise’s first skills coach. Endicott, who is from Saskatoon, spent six seasons in the AHL after being the Pittsburgh Penguins selected him 52nd overall in the NHL’s 2000 draft. He retired after playing in Europe and opened On Ice Connections in Saskatoon. Last season, he helped the U of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s team to its first conference title. . . .

Kevin Kraus (Kamloops, Tri-City, 2006-08) is returning to Vernon as an assistant coach with the BCHL’s Vipers. He will work alongside GM/head coach Jason Williamson. A defenceman from Garden Grove, Calif., Kraus played 130 regular-season and 44 playoff games with the Vipers, helping them to two national championships. Kraus, 24, spent last season as an assistant coach with the BCHL’s Salmon Arm Silverbacks. With the Vipers, he replaces Kris Mallette, now an assistant coach with the WHL’s Kelowna Rockets. . . .

Kim Dillabaugh has left the Kelowna Rockets after 11 seasons as their goaltending coach. Dillabaugh is moving on to work full-time with the Stanley Cup-champion Los Angeles Kings. While working with the Rockets, he also has helped the Kings for the past eight seasons in the area of goaltending development. He will continue in that area with the Kings, but now also will scout for them. The Rockets plan is to hire a goaltending coach to replace Dillabaugh.

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.

THE MacBETH REPORT:
D Brent Henley (Saskatoon, Swift Current, Prince George, 1998-2000) signed a one-year contract with the Nottingham Panthers (England, UK Elite). He had three goals and 12 assists in 59 games with the Fort Wayne Komets and Florida Everblades (both ECHL) and had no points in five games on loan to the Lake Erie Monsters (AHL) last season.
———

The WHL is poised to reveal its exhibition schedule today and then to unveil its regular-season schedule on Wednesday.
The exhibition schedule will open Aug. 27 with the Moose Jaw Warriors visiting the Broncos in Swift Current for a rookies game.
The Everett Silvertips tournament, which also is to include the Seattle Thunderbirds, Tri-City Americans, Spokane Chiefs, Portland Winterhawks and Victoria Royals, is scheduled to run from Aug. 30 through Sept. 1.
The Edmonton Oil Kings tournament is to be held Aug. 31 and Sept. 1, with the Red Deer Rebels, Prince George Cougars, Medicine Hat Tigers, Calgary Hitmen and Swift Current also in attendance.
The following weekend, Sept. 5-8, Portland, Spokane, Seattle, Everett and the Kootenay Ice will join the host Tri-City Americans at their annual tournament in Kennewick, Wash.
As well, Kootenay, Calgary and the Lethbridge Hurricanes will play three games in Crowsnest Pass, Alta., Sept. 13-15.
Calgary and Lethbridge are to play a game in Taber, Alta., on Sept. 5. Also taking their shows on the road will be Edmonton and Red Deer (Lacombe, Sept. 13), Medicine Hat and Red Deer (Stettler, Sept. 14), and Prince Albert Raiders and Saskatoon Blades (Warman, Sept. 14).
The final exhibition games are scheduled for Sept. 15.
———
Some notes on the regular-season schedule:
It is scheduled to begin on Sept. 19 with Swift Current visiting the Regina Pats, whose head coach, Malcolm Cameron, will be making his debut.
There will be eight games the following night, with the defending-champion Portland Winterhawks holding their home-opener in the Rose Garden against the Prince George Cougars.
The Medicine Hat Tigers, whose home arena had four feet of water in it on Monday, are to play their home-opener, against the Lethbridge Hurricanes, on Sept. 21.
The Calgary Hitmen, the Saddledome devastated by floodwaters on the weekend, are to play their home-opener on Sept. 28 against the Red Deer Rebels.
Prince Albert fans will get their first look at new head coach Cory Clouston on Sept. 21 when the Saskatoon Blades are the visitors. The Raiders are to play in Saskatoon on Sept. 20.
Drake Berehowsky, the new head coach in Lethbridge, makes his debut on Sept. 20 against visiting Medicine Hat.
Dave Hunchak, who moved up from associate coach to take over as head coach in Kamloops, gets his first regular-season taste on Sept. 20 against the visiting Kelowna Rockets. Of course, Hunchak was the head coach for four seasons in Moose Jaw before coming to Kamloops two years ago, so it’s not like it will be a new experience to him.
And you know that it will be noisy in Everett on Sept. 21 as the Silvertips, with Kevin Constantine having returned to their bench, play host to Prince George.
Meanwhile, the WHL schedule goes black from Nov. 24 through Nov. 28, with the Grey Cup in Regina on the Sunday and the Subway Super Series in Red Deer and Lethbridge on Nov. 27 and 28, respectively.
It goes black for nine days over Christmas, with no games scheduled from Dec. 18-26, inclusive. Play resumes with 10 games on Dec. 27.
Six teams have scheduled New Year’s Eve home games — Brandon is at Edmonton, Victoria at Everett, Prince Albert at Moose Jaw, Kelowna at Portland, Kamloops at Seattle, and Spokane at Tri-City.
There will be three afternoon games on New Year’s Day — Lethbride at Regina, Swift Current at Saskatoon, and Everett at Victoria.
Victoria and Everett will open their Dec. 31 game at 6:05 p.m., then hustle to Vancouver Island for a 3:05 p.m. start on Jan. 1.
On Jan. 14, Medicine Hat will play in Lethbridge, while Seattle is in Spokane. The CHL Top Prospects game is the following night in Calgary.
There aren’t any games scheduled for Super Bowl Sunday (Feb. 2).
The regular season is to conclude on March 16, with the playoffs to begin on March 21. Should a tiebreaker be needed to decide one of the conference’s final playoff spots, it would be played on March 18.
———
The Prince Albert Raiders have named Ron Gunville their new assistant director of player personnel, replacing the recently retired Ray Dudra. . . . The Raiders also added two scouts to their staff — Doug Padget of Saskatoon and Dwaine Hutton of Calgary. . . . Gunville, who played 38 games with the Raiders in the late 1980s, had been on the staff of the Prince George Cougars. In fact, when the Cougars named Todd Harkins their head scout and director of player personnel on June 14, general manager Dallas Thompson also announced that “Gunville and Pacific-area scout Bob Simmonds will have expanded roles as scouting directors in their respective territories.”
———

The Oklahoma City Barons, the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers, have signed D Joey Leach to an ATO. Leach played four seasons with the Kootenay Ice, completing his eligibility this season. He was a third-round selection by the Calgary Flames in the 2010 NHL draft, but they never signed him. He actually finished this season with the Barons, getting into one regular-season game.
———

THE COACHING GAME:
The Salmon Arm SilverBacks have added Kevin Kraus (Kamloops, Tri-City, 2006-08) as an assistant coach. He also will serve as the club’s strength-and-conditioning coach. Kraus, from Garden Grove, Calif., spent the past two seasons as general manager and head coach of the junior B Revelstoke Grizzlies of the Kootenay International junior league.
———

Matt Erhart has joined the Vancouver Giants as an assistant coach under head coach Don Hay. Erhart replaces Glen Hanlon, who now is the head coach of the Belarusian national team. . . . Erhart spent the last three seasons as head coach of the BCHL’s Surrey Eagles, who won the league championship this season.
With Erhart gone, the Eagles named team president Peter Schaefer (Brandon, 1994-97) the new general manager and head coach. Schaefer is coming off his first season as an assistant coach with the Eagles.
———

Brad Lukowich (Kamloops, 1993-96) has signed on as an assistant coach with the Lethbridge Hurricanes. The announcement came two weeks after Drake Berehowsky was named the club’s new head coach. . . . Lukowich, who is from Kamloops, is a two-time Stanley Cup champ who ended his playing career after the 2012-13 season.
———

The NHL’s Minnesota Wild has moved its AHL affiliate from Houston to Des Moines, Iowa. But, as Mark Emmert of the Des Moines Register has pointed out, the team doesn’t have a coaching staff. John Torchetti, the Houston Aero’s head coach for the past two seasons, now is the head coach of the KHL’s CSKA Moscow. As well, assistant coaches Sebastien Laplante and Mike Van Ryn won’t be back. . . . Emmert’s report is right here.
———



From former WHL D Brandon Underwood (@BUND3RWOOD): “Officially registered for classes today at UBC. For the first time in my life I'm actually excited for school. #LearningIsFun”


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.

THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Michael Grabner (Spokane, 2004-07) signed a lockout contract with hometown team Villach (Austria, Erste Bank Liga). He had 20 goals and 12 assists in 78 games with the New York Islanders last season. Grabner is scheduled to arrive in Austria today and hopes to be in the lineup on Sunday when Villach plays at home against Dornbirn. The Villach club press release thanks six local sponsors for coming up with the funds to pay Grabner, with a special thanks to Kleinen Zeitung, the regional newspaper, which is picking up half the tab. . . .
F Lukas Vantuch (Calgary, Lethbridge, 2005-06) has been reassigned on loan by Liberec (Czech Republic, Extraliga) to Sparta Prague (Czech Republic, Extraliga). He has no points in five games with Liberec this season and had no points in one game on loan to Benatky nad Jizerou (Czech Republic, 1.Liga). Last season, Vantuch had nine goals and five assists in 52 games with Liberec.
———
Former WHL D Kevin Kraus (Kamloops, Tri-City, 2006-08) is fortunate to be alive today.
Kraus, a 23-year-old from Garden Grove, Calif., fell asleep while driving on Wednesday night and ended up in the ditch, his truck wrecked. He was on the Trans-Canada Highway, just outside of Sicamous, which is 73km west of Revelstoke.
Kraus now is the general manager and head coach of the junior B Revelstoke Grizzlies, who play in the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League.
Here’s what he wrote Thursday morning on Facebook: “Fell asleep at the wheel last night and totaled my truck... very lucky to be able to walk away from it and be alive right now, very thankful for the people who helped me last night. Life changing experience.”
On Thursday night, I asked him how he managed to survive.
“I have no idea . . . must be destined to do something!” he told me. “Very lucky and blessed to be alive right now and walk away with no injuries.”
As he dozed off behind the wheel, he said, “I went over a barrier and flipped and landed in between trees.”
If you are at all familiar with the terrain off the Trans-Canada Highway in that neck of the woods, you know just what a disaster this could have been.
The Grizzlies (4-2-0-1) return to action tonight in Armstrong, B.C., against the North Okanagan Knights.
——————————
Followers of the Spokane Chiefs got a taste Thursday afternoon of what Twitter can be like when there’s a race to be first.
Here it is, in order of appearance:
SpokaneChiefsFanPage (@gochiefsgoblog): “Waiting for an official announcement but goaltender Mac Engel is gone from Spokane”
———
Ben&StephenTH (@BenStephenTH): “Heading @chiefshockey G Mac Engel has been traded. Wonder if Vancouver may have been interested”
———
Foofieq (@Foofiebrown): “@gochiefsgoblog: Waiting for an official announcement but goaltender Mac Engel is gone from Spokane”
———
Susie Bush (@AgateShadow): “Is it true that Mac Engel is leaving the Chiefs? @ChiefsHockey)”
———
Jess Brown (@jbrown_SRSports): “Just got off the phone with @chiefshockey GM Tim Speltz. Says G Mac Engel HAS NOT been traded. That’s as much as I have right now.”
———
Ben&StephentH (@BenStephenTH): “Per @jbrown_SRSports who just got off the phone with Chiefs GM Tim Speltz. Mac Engel has NOT been traded.”
———
Through it all, Engel’s name remained on the Chiefs’ roster.
Granted, the Chiefs are carrying three goaltenders, with Engel, a 19-year-old from Red Deer, one of them. Also in the mix are Eric Williams, a 19-year-old from Langley, B.C., who was acquired last season from the Prince Albert Raiders, and Garret Hughson, a 17-year-old freshman from Foremost, Alta.
Chances are the Chiefs will get down to two goaltenders and it very well could happen in the next few days.
But it simply isn’t fair to anyone when people to start spitting out gossip and rumours on the Twitterverse.
——————————
The Regina Pats should have D Colton Jobke, 20, in the lineup tonight when they play host to the Red Deer Rebels. Jobke, who likely will be named Regina’s captain, had been in camp with the AHL’s Houston Aeros but was returned yesterday. That leaves the Pats with four 20-year-olds, the others being F Lane Scheidl, F Andrew Rieder, who is coming off shoulder surgery and has yet to play, and G Matt Hewitt. . . . Tonight’s game in Regina features the return of D Brandon Underwood, 20, to the Saskatchewan capital. Caught with too many 20s, the Pats dealt him to Red Deer late last month.
———
So . . . what is wrong with the Vancouver Giants, who lost 7-0 to the Rockets in Kelowna on Wednesday and go into the weekend with the poorest winning percentage in the 22-team WHL?
“I’m not frustrated,” head coach Don Hay was telling reporters on Thursday, and if you believe that you are expecting the NHL to be back in action in 10 days.
As Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province points out, the Giants have picked a bad time to lay an egg, what with the NHL’s Canucks on the sidelines and there being lots of hungry hockey fans to try and get into your building.
The Giants also are walking a bit of a tightrope because they are planning on bidding for the 2016 Memorial Cup tournament. Which means they need to hang on to their good, young players in order to ensure that they are competitive then.
Anyway . . . Ewen takes a look at the situation right here.
Elliott Pap of the Vancouver Sun writes about the Giants’ start right here.
The Giants entertain the Medicine Hat Tigers tonight. Vancouver is expected to start G Tyler Fuhr, who has the club’s only victory, having beaten the visiting Spokane Chiefs 3-2 on Sunday.
———
The Lethbridge Hurricanes are in Kennewick, Wash., to play the Tri-City Americans tonight, which means it’s something of a Topping family reunion. . . . Mitch, 19, is a defenceman with the Americans. Joel, 17, is a freshman defenceman with the Hurricanes. . . . This will be the first time they’ve lined up against each other. . . . Annie Fowler of the Tri-City Herald reports right here that Mitch was planning on taking his younger brother for some Baskin-Robbins ice cream on Thursday.
———
If you were watching Thursday’s NFL game on Sportsnet, you saw at least two plugs for Friday night hockey, featuring the Calgary Hitmen at the Edmonton Oil Kings. . . . Unfortunately, Sportsnet got a bit ahead of itself. That game is next Friday (Oct. 12). . . . Tonight, you will have to get by with the Shaw TV game, which features the Seattle Thunderbirds at the Kamloops Blazers.
———
THURSDAY:
F Logan McVeigh scored the game’s first goal and finished plus-3 as his Prince Albert Raiders went into Edmonton and beat the Oil Kings, 4-1, in the night’s only game. . . . Raiders G Luke Siemens stopped 33 shots. . . . Edmonton F Dylan Wruck was back in the lineup after recovering from shoulder surgery. He was reunited with T.J. Foster and Michael St. Croix but it wasn’t a night to remember as each was minus-3. . . . The Raiders are 4-0-1 and own the WHL’s best winning percentage (.900). They meet the Hitmen in Calgary tonight and the Kootenay Ice in Cranbrook on Sunday. . . . The defending-champion Oil Kings have lost two in a row, both at home. The last time that happened was in January 2011 when they dropped four straight at home. . . . The Oil Kings get back on the horse Saturday against the visiting Saskatoon Blades.
———
CHECKING FROM BEHIND COUNT:
None.
———
CHECKING TO THE HEAD COUNT:
None.
———
TWEET OF THE DAY:
Joel Topping (@topping9): “RT if you think @mitchtopping and I should fight tomorrow”

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.

THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Igor Bacek (Tri-City, 2005-06) signed a one-year contract with Dortmund (Germany, Oberliga). He had 17 goals and 31 assists in 37 games with Passau Black Hawks (Germany, Oberliga) last season.
———
John Leake, the author of Cold A Long Time: An Alpine Mystery, appeared on Dan Russell’s SportsTalk on Thursday night.
SportsTalk is a three-hour nightly show that originates with CKNW, an AM radio station in Vancouver.
Cole A Long Time details the death of former Saskatoon Blades D Duncan MacPherson and all that follows as his parents, Lynda and Bob, work to find out what happened.
SportsTalk is on the CKNW website in podcast form. The Leake interview covers most of two hours and it’s available right here. Just click on Thursday, June 14, Hour 1 and Hour 2.
The book, which is a must read, is available via the Internet right here.
And it soon is to become available at Chapters Indigo book stores.
———
Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post has a piece right here on Rob Laird, one of the longest-serving members of the Los Angeles Kings organization. A pro scout, Laird has been part of the Kings for 18 years. What is nice about this piece is that Laird passes along some Stanley Cup credit to Al Murray, who once was the Kings’ director of amateur scouting. In fact, it was with Murray heading up the scouting department that the Kings drafted three key players — goaltender Jonathan Quick and forwards Dustin Brown and Anze Kopitar. Murray now is the Tampa Bay Lightning’s director of amateur scouting.
———
JUST NOTES:
The Prince Albert Raiders have signed their first three selections from the 2012 bantam draft. . . . D Brendan Guhle, the third overall selection, had 24 points with the Sherwood Park Flyers of the Alberta Major Bantam League. . . . G Nick McBride, a second-round pick from Maple Ridge, B.C., also signed. He helped the Burnaby Winter Club Bruins win the Western Canadian bantam AAA championship last season. . . . F Matteo Gennaro, who played for the bantam AAA St. Albert Sabres, also was a second-round selection. He had 44 points, including 23 goals, in 31 games. . . .
The Prince George Cougars have signed F Jansen Harkins of North Vancouver. He was the second overall pick in the 2012 bantam draft. Harkins, the son of former pro Todd Harkins, had 122 points, including 68 goals, with the bantam AAA North Shore Winter Club Winterhawks and was named a co-winner of the 2012 Hockey Now Minor Hockey Player of the Year Award. . . .
The Kamloops Blazers have signed F Jayden Halbgewachs, the 19th overall selection in the 2012 bantam draft. Halbgewachs, from Emerald Park, Sask., had 89 points, 55 of them goals, in 24 games with the bantam AA Prairie Storm. He will play next season with the midget AAA Regina Pat Canadians. . . .
Daniel Fink has joined the Regina Pats as their media and communications manager. He joins the Pats from the SJHL’s La Ronge Ice Wolves. He was the radio voice of the Ice Wolves. With the Pats, he will be, according to a news release, “responsible for all aspects of media relations and communications as it relates to the Pats.” . . . Fink starts work on Aug. 18. . . .
Congrats to Bill Whitehead, the newly elected president of Hockey Manitoba. Whitehead, who is from Roland, Man., was a minute-eating defenceman with the MJHL’s Selkirk Steelers when they won the 1974 Centennial Cup as national junior A champions.
 ———
THE COACHING GAME:
The St. Louis Blues have promoted Brad Shaw to associate coach while adding Gary Agnew as an assistant coach. Agnew replaces Scott Mellanby, who left the Blues late last month and has since signed as the Montreal Canadiens’ director of player personnel. . . . Agnew had been head coach of the OHL’s Oshawa Generals since Nov. 7. He spent four seasons as an assistant coach with the Columbus Blue Jackets where he worked alongside Blues head coach Ken Hitchcock. . . . The Blues other assistant coach, Ray Bennett, is going into his sixth full season with the Blues. Prior to that, Bennett, who worked in the WHL with the Spokane Chiefs and Moose Jaw Warriors, spent seven seasons with the Los Angeles Kings. . . . Shaw is going into his seventh season with the Blues. . . .
The QMJHL’s Saint John Sea Dogs have named Mike Kelly as their new head coach. Kelly, who was the Sea Dogs’ director of hockey operations and associate coach, actually has been named general manager and head coach. . . . He replaces Gerard Gallant as head coach. Gallant has signed on as an assistant coach with the Montreal Canadiens. . . . Kelly did a stint as head coach of the Brandon Wheat Kings (2003-04). . . . The Sea Dogs, the 2011 Memorial Cup champions, have won the last two QMJHL titles, going 161-34-9 in the process. . . .
One year after signing on with the junior B Revelstoke Grizzlies as an assistant coach, Kevin Kraus is the team’s general manager and head coach. Kraus (Kamloops, Tri-City, 2006-07) replaces Randy Quakenbush, who had his contract terminated but remains in the organization and plans on working to keep the Kootenay International league franchise in Revelstoke after it came perilously close to being sold and relocated to 100 Mile House. . . . Brian Wiebe, who follows all things BCHL the way a mother goose follows her young ones, first tweeted the Kraus signing on June 8. Wiebe tweets at @Brian_Wiebe.
———
Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com has the latest right here on the story of Jim Duquette, the longtime baseball executive, and his daughter, Lindsey. Jim gave a kidney to Lindsey last week and should have his 10-year-old daughter home for Father’s Day. It doesn’t get any better than that.
———
TWEET OF THE DAY:
From Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter), one of ESPN’s NFL reporters: “After one NFL exec heard CB Adam Jones was ordered to pay $11.7 million for his role in a shooting, he texted, ‘When it rains, it pours.’ ”

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.