Showing posts with label Kootenay Ice. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kootenay Ice. Show all posts

Tuesday, July 25, 2017

City gives Blazers break on lease ... Ice sweeps out eight scouts ... Oil Kings waive goalie

F Danis Zaripov (Swift Current, 1998-99) has been suspended by the IIHF until May 22, 2019, for using illegal substances. One of Zaripov's samples tested positive for banned stimulants, as well as substances prohibited as diuretics and masking agents. Multiple sources have said Zaripov will appeal. There is no comment so far from the IIHF, KHL or his team, Ak Bars Kazan (Russia, KHL). . . . Patrick Conway of Conway’s Russian Hockey Blog has more right here. . . .
D Tomáš Voráček (Prince Albert, 2007-09) has signed a tryout contract with Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia, KHL). Last season, he had two goals and three assists in 43 games with Mladá Boleslav (Czech Republic, Extraliga). . . .
F Matt Fraser (Red Deer, Kootenay, 2006-11) has signed a one-year contract with Dornbirn (Austria, Erste Bank Liga). Last season, he was pointless in four games with Rögle Ängelholm (Sweden, SHL). Fraser was sidelined by injury until Feb. 28.
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If they haven’t already, landlords to WHL teams just might be hearing from their tenants one of these days. It seems that the league and its teams are concerned about flat ticket sales and are looking for some relief.
Sandman Centre, home of the Kamloops Blazers.
(Photo: sandmancentre.ca)
The City of Kamloops has revealed that it approved a new 10-year lease for the Blazers in February, one that cut the rent by about $150,000 per season.
Jeff Putnam, the city’s parks and civic facilities manager, told Andrea Klassen of Kamloops This Week that the WHL and its teams have been working to renegotiate leases.
“The league was having some concerns about their ticket revenue being flat,” Putnam said. “They’re not struggling, but they’re having challenges with attracting a different demographic. And that was a league-wide issue.”
Klassen reported that the Blazers, whose lease was to expire in 2018, will pay a base rental fee of $128,000 to use the Sandman Centre for 2017-18, down from $278,000 in 2016-17.
Although the Blazers came to an agreement with city officials in February, Klassen reported that “a record of the vote was only recently released.”
According to Klassen, “Under the new deal . . . if more than 3,500 tickets are sold for a game, the city will receive an additional $1.40 per ticket sold above the 3,500 mark.”
Last season, the Blazers’ announced average attendance was 3,782 for 36 regular-season home games. However, there frequently were far fewer bums in the seats than the announced figure, meaning there were a lot of no-shows.
The Blazers also pay the city $250,000 per season in exchange for all advertising rights in the arena.
(The city announced two years ago that it had entered into a 10-year agreement with the Sandman Hotel Group for naming rights to the arena, but has never revealed the financial terms. Tom Gaglardi, the Blazers’ majority owner, is the CEO of the Sandman Hotel Group. Could it be that the naming rights are part of the advertising rights deal?)
The vote on the new lease passed by a 5-3 vote among councillors.
“I have to admit, I had a little bit of trouble swallowing somebody coming to me with their hands out and they’re a billionaire,” Dieter Dudy, one of the councillors who voted for the agreement, told Klassen.
Gaglardi also owns the NHL’s Dallas Stars. He is the CEO of the Northland Properties Group, which owns, among other things, the Sandman and Sutton Place hotels, as well as Denny’s and Moxie’s restaurants, and Shark clubs.
Gaglardi and four ex-Blazers — Shane Doan, Jarome Iginla, Mark Recchi and Darryl Sydor — purchased the franchise from the Kamloops Blazers Sports Society, a community group, in 2007.
According to the winter 2016-17 issue of Canadian Business, the Gaglardis are worth $3.55 billion, leaving them in 20th spot among the countries’ wealthiest “business dynasties.”
Meanwhile, according to hockeyzoneplus.com, a site that tracks the earnings of NHL players, Recchi made US$50,943,000 during his playing days, while Sydor brought in $31,715,000. Both men have retired from playing. Doan’s career earnings are at $41,294,000, with Iginla at $69,025,000. Doan and Iginla, both of whom played last season, are unrestricted free agents who have yet to sign new contracts.
Dudy told Klassen that he voted in favour of the new lease because of concerns that the Blazers might leave Kamloops.
However, under the terms of the sales agreement between Gaglardi’s group and the society, the society has the first option on purchasing the franchise should ownership wish to sell it or move it.
In other words, the Blazers aren’t going anywhere. Besides where would they go? Yes, there is an empty arena in Abbotsford, one that seats 7,000 for hockey, but the Vancouver Giants, who play out of Langley, would have a move and that isn’t likely to happen.
In November 2007, Bob Smillie, the society’s executive director, told its annual meeting that “the option to purchase is at the same price less 10 per cent of what has been paid in the current transaction and is subject to the same conditions. It is transferable to any new owner who may be seeking a franchise in Kamloops.”
According to Smillie, the society felt holding that option was important even though Gaglardi’s group promised to keep the team in Kamloops.
”It’s good and well for everybody to indicate that they would be here forever,” Smillie said at the time. “But we all know that forever is not necessarily forever.”
Smillie, who also chaired the society’s governance committee, pointed out
that WHL bylaws don’t contain anything guaranteeing the franchise could not be moved.
“They have guidelines only; there are no specific requirements within the Western Hockey League bylaws for the new owners of the franchise to keep the operation within the city,” Smillie said. “The board, in its due diligence in discussions with the league, has determined that the guidelines of the league, in fact, would request the new owners to maintain the franchise in Kamloops for a minimum of five years.” 
Kamloops taxpayers also are on the hook for more than $1 million in upgrades to the arena, all of them at the request of the WHL. That includes $300,000 to improve lighting — the WHL has requested that all arenas have LED lightning to facilitate HD telecasts — and about $1 million to retrofit boards and glass.
Klassen’s complete story is right here.
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Two former WHL coaches will be part of the Team Canada’s coaching staff at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea. . . . Willie Desjardins, a former head coach of the Medicine Hat Tigers (2002-10), will be Canada’s head coach, while Dave King, who coached the WHL’s Billings Bighorns (1977-79), will be one of the assistant coaches. . . . The NHL has opted out of the Games, so Hockey Canada will put together a national team of players from outside that league. Its schedule begins with a tournament in Sochi, Russia, from Aug. 6-9. Canada then will move on to St. Petersburg, Russia, for another tournament, Aug. 14-17. . . . Team Canada’s roster for the Sochi Cup includes a number of former WHL players, including F Gilbert Brule (Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk, KHL), F Bud Holloway (Skellefteå AIK, SHL), F Rob Klinkhammer (Dinamo Minsk, KHL), F Brandon Kozun (Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, KHL), F Ben Maxwell (Spartak Moskva, KHL), F Brandon McMillan (Dinamo Riga, KHL) and F Linden Vey (Barys Astana, KHL). 
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Taking Note has been told that the Kootenay Ice has dropped all of its part-time scouts, choosing to keep only Garnet Kazuik, the director of scouting. Kazuik, a former WHL player, has been with the Ice for 12 seasons, 10 of them as director of scouting. . . . Matt Cockell, the Ice’s president and general manager, apparently told the ex-scouts that he is changing the business model and is moving to a system that employs three full-time scouts in Western Canada. . . . The WHL’s 2016-17 Guide showed the Ice with eight scouts — Wayne Dougherty, Peter Dubbeldam, Ward Edwards, Scott Frizzell, Chad Harden, Zenon Herasymiuk, Scott Perry and Tim Schick. Taking Note has been told by a source familiar with the situation that “all eight part-time scouts were let go.” . . . Cockell hasn’t responded to a request asking if he had made changes in the scouting department.
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The Edmonton Oil Kings have placed G Patrick Dea, 20, on waivers. Dea, who is from St. Albert,
Alta., played in 55 games with Edmonton last season, going 19-31-3, 3.86, .882. In 123 career regular-season games, he is 48-55-8, 3.34, .890. . . . Dea was a first-round selection by Edmonton in the WHL’s 2012 bantam draft. . . . With Dea’s departure, the Oil Kings appear poised to start the season with Travis Child as their No. 1 guy. He was acquired from the Brandon Wheat Kings on May 30, for a conditional fifth-round pick in the 2018 bantam draft. Child, 20, played two-plus seasons with the Swift Current Broncos before being traded to Brandon last season. . . . Chances are that Boston Bilous, 16, is No. 2 on the Edmonton depth chart. From Langley, B.C., he was a fourth-round pick by the Oil Kings in the 2016 bantam draft. He spent last season with the Fraser Valley Thunderbirds of the B.C. Major Midget Hockey League. He finished with a 2.20 GAA.
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G Jeffrey Veitch, who will turn 20 on Oct. 4, has signed with the Waldorf University Warriors, who play out of Forest City, Iowa. Veitch was an eighth-round selection by the Kootenay Ice in the eighth round of the WHL’s 2012 bantam draft. He played last season with the Kirkland Lake Gold Miners and Timmins Rock of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League. Before that, he played three seasons with the junior B Mission Outlaws. He is from Mission, B.C.
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The Saskatchewan Hockey Hall of Fame held its gala night on Saturday in North Battleford and there were a number of inductees with ties to the WHL, including Bob Bourne, Stan Dunn, Graham Tuer and Ken Wheler. . . . John Cairns of the Battlefords News Optimist has a terrific recap right here.
Meanwhile, on Sunday night in Canmore, the Alberta Hockey Hall of Fame held its induction dinner, with the hall doors swinging open for Mel Davidson, Bill Hay, Tony Kollman, Perry Pearn, Glen Sather and the Sutter family — yes, the entire family. . . . There is more right here. 
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Yes, I was on the air with Jason Gregor and Jason Strudwick of TSN1260 in Edmonton on Tuesday afternoon. If you missed it, you can find the conversation — it was about 20 minutes worth — via the above Tweet.
And thanks to all of you who messaged me afterwards. The kind words are much appreciated.
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If you’re a regular here, and even you aren’t, feel free to contribute to the feeding of the Drinnan family by making a donation to the cause. You are able to do so by clicking on the DONATE button and going from there.
If you would like to contact Taking Note with information, have a question or just feel like commenting on something, feel free to send an email to greggdrinnan@gmail.com. I’m also on Twitter (@gdrinnan).
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Concussion Report
From Tuesday’s edition of The New York Times:
“Dr. Ann McKee, a neuropathologist, has examined the brains of 202 deceased football players. A broad survey of her findings was published on Tuesday in The Journal of the American Medical Association.
“Of the 202 players, 111 of them played in the N.F.L. — and 110 of those were found to have chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or C.T.E., the degenerative disease believed to be caused by repeated blows to the head.
“C.T.E. causes myriad symptoms, including memory loss, confusion, depression and dementia. The problems can arise years after the blows to the head have stopped.”
The full report from The Times is right here, and it’s well worth a look.
This should end, once and for all, the debate about whether blows to the head are responsible for CTE. A person needn’t have been concussed in order to end up with CTE; it’s quite simple -- blows to the head aren’t a good thing. Period.
This also should be enough for the powers-that-be in any hockey league that allows fighting to act to get it out of the game.
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Coaching Game
The OHL’s Saginaw Spirit is looking for a head coach after Spencer Carbery left to join an unnamed AHL team as an assistant coach. The 35-year-old Carbery, who is from Victoria, spent one season with the Spirit, after working for five seasons as director of hockey operations and head coach of the ECHL’s South Carolina Stingrays, who have an affiliation with the NHL’s Washington Capitals. . . . Last season, the Spirit finished 27-32-9 and out of the playoffs.
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David Bell has joined the AHL’s Ontario Reign as an assistant coach. Bell, 40, spent the previous four seasons with the OHL’s Niagara IceDogs, three as an assistant coach and last season as head coach. . . . With the Reign, Bell will work alongside head coach Mike Stothers. They spent three seasons (2004-07) together with the OHL’s Owen Sound Attack, Stothers as head coach and Bell as an assistant. . . . Bell has previous AHL coaching experience having worked as an assistant for two seasons (2007-09) with the Springfield Falcons.
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If you’re wondering, @clouston25 is the Twitter handle for former WHL D Connor Clouston, whose father is Shaun Clouston, the GM and head coach of the Medicine Hat Tigers.

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Posted by Gregg Drinnan at 10:20 PM
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Monday, July 24, 2017

Weekend of partying is over ... Tri-City d-man gets NHL deal ... More changes with Ice

One of these two special girls just turned one; the other is young
at heart (and kidney).
I’m back after a weekend in Burnaby where one of my two favourite girls celebrated her first birthday. Yes, a grand time was had by all.
But the traffic . . . oh my, the traffic! No, not the traffic on the Lower Mainland; the traffic on the Coquihalla Highway. We were heading west on Friday and everyone else seemed to be going east. On Sunday afternoon, things were reversed.
But if that is normal traffic volume for a summer weekend, I don’t like our chances of weaning ourselves off fossil fuels at any point in the next few years, if we don’t burn down between now and then, that is.
Anyway . . . back to hockey . . .
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 D Landon Oslanski (Spokane, Lethbridge, Everett, 2009-13) has signed a one-year contract with the Braehead Clan Glasgow (Scotland, UK Elite). Last season, he had two goals and 15 assists with the Wichita Thunder (ECHL), and two goals and two assists in 12 games with the Toledo Walleye (ECHL). . . .
D Taylor Aronson (Portland, 2009-11) has signed a one-year contract with the Nuremberg Ice Tigers (Germany, DEL). Last season, with Lada Togliatti (Russia, KHL), he had two goals and 13 assists in 41 games. . . .
D Jesse Craige (Lethbridge, Chilliwack, 2004-10) has signed a one-year contract with the Guildford Flames (England, UK Elite). Last season, with Gap (France, Ligue Magnus), he had three goals and 21 assists in 42 games. . . .
D Giffen Nyren (Moose Jaw, Kamloops, Calgary, 2006-10) has signed a one-year contract with Sterling/Vipiteno (Italy, Alps HL). Last season, he was pointless in one game with the Colorado Eagles (ECHL), and had three goals and 12 assists in 19 games with Dijon (France, Ligue Magnus). . . .
G Barry Brust (Spokane, Calgary, 2000-04) has signed a one-year contract with Fribourg-Gottéron (Switzerland, NL A). Last season, in 42 games with Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia, KHL), he was 19-15-5, 2.42, .918 with three shutouts, two assists and 106 penalty minutes. He finished sixth in the league in penalty minutes. . . . 
F Michal Řepík (Vancouver, 2005-08) was released by Fribourg-Gottéron (Switzerland, NL A) at his request. Řepík wants to play for a team where he will get the "maximum amount of ice time . . . and thus put all the chances on his side for the ultimate goal of playing the next Olympic Games in Pyeongchang with the Czech national team,” according to Fribourg-Gottéron's press release. . . . Řepík then signed a signed one-year contract with Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia, KHL). Last season, he was pointless in two games with Traktor Chelyabinsk (Russia, KHL), and had seven goals and nine assists in 22 games with Sparta Prague (Czech Republic, Extraliga). . . .
F Jordan Knackstedt (Red Deer, Moose Jaw, 2004-08) has signed a one-year contract with Eispiraten Crimmitschau (Germany, DEL2). Last season, he had 12 goals and 19 assists in 32 games with Herlev (Denmark, Metal Ligaen), and three goals and two assists in four games with Esbjerg (Denmark, Metal Ligaen).
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 D Juuso Valimaki of the Tri-City Americans has signed a three-year entry-level contract with the NHL’s Calgary Flames. They selected him in the first round of the NHL’s 2017 draft. . . . From Nokia, Finland, Valimaki had 61 points, including 19 goals, in 60 games with the Americans last season. In 2015-16, his freshman season, he had seven goals and 25 assists in 56 games. . . . Valimaki, who turns 19 on Oct. 6, will have to be returned to the Americans if he doesn’t crack the Flames’ roster out of training camp.
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Nathan Lieuwen has signed on as the Kootenay Ice’s video coach. The former Ice goaltender announced his retirement as a player earlier this year. He was forced out by vision problems that are a direct result of a concussion he suffered in one of seven NHL games he played with the Buffalo Sabres. . . . From Abbotsford, B.C., he played on 14 games last season — two with the AHL’s San Antonio Rampage and 12 with the ECHL’s Colorado Eagles. . . . Lieuwen was 85-59-15 in 178 regular-season appearances (2007-12) with the Ice. He backstopped the Ice to the 2011 Ed Chynoweth Cup when he was named the WHL’s playoff MVP. . . . James Patrick, the Ice’s freshman head coach, was an assistant coach in Buffalo when Lieuwen was in the Sabres’ organization.
The Ice also has hired Adam Douglas as its sports performance consultant. According to a news release, he “will he responsible for athlete testing, programming, training schedules and utilizing data to provide feedback to the Ice coaching staff on rest and recovery.”
Douglas also works with Hockey Canada as manager, sports performance for the men’s high performance teams, and he also is involved with strength and conditioning with the women’s teams. He also is the head strength-and-conditioning coach at York U in Toronto. In the past, he has worked in that area with the NHL’s Ottawa Senators.
Meanwhile, a source told Taking Note last week that the Ice had dropped “a whole bunch of scouts.”
The Ice, of course, changed hands earlier this off-season, with Winnipeggers Greg Fettes and Matt Cockell purchasing the franchise from the Chynoweth family. Cockell, who serves as the Ice’s president and general manager, hasn’t responded to a request for comment.
The WHL’s 2016-17 Guide, which came out late in the season, listed Carter Sears as scouting consultant with Wayne Dougherty, Peter Dubbeldam, Ward Edwards, Scott Frizzell, Chad Harden, Zenon Herasymiuk, Scott Perry and Tim Schick shown as scouts.
The Ice’s website once included a listing of scouts, but it no longer is there. The website does indicate that Garnet Kaziuk remains the director of scouting, a position he has filled since 2007.
In search of confirmation, I contacted someone familiar with the organization last week. The response: “I am not in a position to comment.”
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If you would like to contact Taking Note with information, have a question or just feel like commenting on something, feel free to send an email to greggdrinnan@gmail.com. I’m also on Twitter (@gdrinnan).
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Coaching

 Jake Grimes has replaced Todd Harvey on the coaching staff of the OHL’s Guelph Storm. … Harvey, 42, has left the Storm, telling Tony Saxon of guelphtoday.com that he will be scouting for an NHL team in 2017-18. Harvey had been a Storm assistant coach for four seasons. . . . Grimes, 44, will be working alongside George Burnett, the Storms’ general manager and head coach, as associate coach. Grimes was an assistant coach for 11 seasons in Belleville when Burnett was the head coach. Grimes spent the past two seasons as an assistant coach with the Peterborough Petes. . . . Saxon’s story is right here.


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Posted by Gregg Drinnan at 9:52 PM
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Saturday, July 8, 2017

Do Hitmen have their men? ... Big day for Seibel family ... Ice adds a coach


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Scattershoot

 Spent most of Saturday inside taking a break from the smoke, so here’s some scattershooting . . . 
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Mark Recchi, who is from Kamloops and stands about 5-foot-8, played 21  NHL seasons and, according to hockeyzoneplus.com, had career earnings of US$50,943,000.
Kelly Olynyk, who is from Kamloops and is a 7-footer, has played four NBA seasons with the Boston Celtics and, according to sportrac.com, has career earnings of US$9,321,294. A few days ago, he agreed to a four-year deal with the Miami Heat that could pay him $50 million.
Yes, Olynyk will make almost as much over the next four seasons as Recchi made in 21 seasons.
Over his first eight seasons, Recchi was paid $9,133,000. When Olynyk’s four-year deal with the Heat is up, he will have been paid $59,321,294 over eight seasons.
Meanwhile, James Harden, now with the Houston Rockets, has agreed to a four-year extension that, starting in 2019-20, would pay him US$37.8 million, $40.8 million, $43.8 million and $46.8 million.
If you see anything about Harden and $228 million, that total includes his salary over the next two seasons, too. No matter how you look at it, though, that’s a lot of dough. You just wonder where it all ends, though, don’t you?

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Yes, we are burning up in B.C.
The photo was taken off our deck, facing east, on Saturday at 1 p.m. You can’t see it, but Mount
Martin is located through all that smoke.
Yes, this is quite similar to the late summer of 2003 although the fires aren’t (yet?) quite as close to Kamloops as they were in that hot time.
Still, you hear nightmarish stories . . . like the employee of a shop in a local mall who on Saturday, with smoke everywhere, says she noticed a woman in a van smoking while hooked up to a portable oxygen tank.
The smoker flipped the butt out the window, so the employee walked over, ground the butt into the asphalt and reprimanded the smoker. The employee also said that she was going to jot down the licence plate, and walked around to the rear of the van to do just that.
At which point, the smoker started the van and put it in reverse.
Injuries were avoided.
Welcome to the burning of B.C.
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“Cornerback Shareece Wright took a 450-mile Uber ride to Buffalo to make the Bills’ voluntary offseason workout,” reports RJ Currie of SportsDeke.com. “At the very least, he's a lock for the taxi squad.”
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Here’s a great suggestion, as passed along by Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times . . .
Author unknown, with a good argument for calling one’s toilet the Jim instead of the John: “It sounds better when I say I go to the Jim first thing every morning.”
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You make the call, suggests the afore-mentioned Perry . . .
The greatest 99 in history is:
Wayne Gretzky
J.J. Watt
George Mikan
Warren Sapp
Aaron Judge
Ricky “Wild Thing” Vaughn
Barbara Feldon
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 D William Wrenn (Portland, 2010-12) has signed a one-year contract with Bolzano (Italy, Erste Bank Liga). Last season, he had three goals and six assists in 38 games with the Toronto Marlies (AHL).
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 The next general manager of the Calgary Hitmen?
A well-connected source has told Taking Note that the position is to be filled by Jeff Chynoweth, the
former president, governor and general manager of the Kootenay Ice.
Chynoweth, his mother Linda and brother Dean recently sold the Ice, leaving the WHL without a Chynoweth involved for the first time since 1972.
The Hitmen have been without a general manager since May 15 when Mike Moore, who had been the vice-president of business operations and GM, was named vice-president and alternate governor.
The Hitmen also are in need of a head coach, Mark French having left after three seasons in order to coach in Switzerland.
Jeff Chynoweth also has worked with the Brandon Wheat Kings, Medicine Hat Tigers, Red Deer Rebels and Spokane Chiefs. He was Kootenay’s general manager for 16 seasons (2001-17). The Ice won WHL titles in 2000, 2002 and 2011, also winning the Memorial Cup in 2002.
Meanwhile, it has been suggested to Taking Note that the leading candidate to replace French as Calgary’s head coach is Dallas Ferguson, who has been at the U of Alaska-Fairbanks since 2004. Ferguson, a 44-year-old from Wainwright, Alta., was an assistant coach with the Nanooks for four seasons and has been the head coach since 2008-09.
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If you are wanting to attend the seventh annual TeamSnap Hockey Coaches Conference in Vancouver but haven’t yet registered, well, we have a deal for you.
The conference runs Friday and Saturday and here’s how you can get 20 per cent off your ticket: Simply click right here to register and enter the coupon code TakingNote to receive the discount.
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There was exciting news in the Seibel household on Saturday when the Vancouver Whitecaps FC announced that Sophia, daughter of Teresa and Steve, has been selected on a full-time basis to the Girls Elite REX (Regional Excel Centre) Program that operates out of Burnaby, B.C. Entrance to this program is by invitation only, so this is a great accomplishment.
From the news release:
“Sophia joined TOFC (Thompson-Okanagan FC) as an intake U12 player in 2014. She is a technically and tactically strong player who has become a perennial BC Soccer High Performance Program selection. She has been part of the Whitecaps FC Prospects Academy in Kamloops for the past three years. Her highly competitive character will serve her well as she moves on to the next level of high performance soccer.”
Sophia’s brother, Sol, was selected by the Swift Current Broncos in the seventh round of the WHL’s 2014 bantam draft. A defenceman, he played last season as a 17-year-old with the BCHL’s Vernon Vipers, putting up eight assists in 49 games.
Teresa is a triathlon competitor and coach, who, among other things, also is a swim coach.
Steve, a lawyer in Kamloops, is a basketball referee who has worked in three Olympic Summer Games, including last summer in Rio de Janeiro, and countless other international games.
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The Kootenay Ice has named Doug Swanson as its mental skills coach. . . . From a news release: “Swanson has more than 20 years of experience as a mental skills coach, working with numerous athletes in diversified sports disciplines including hockey, basketball, figure skating, golf, volleyball, ringette, baseball, swimming, synchronized swimming and gymnastics. (He) has worked with numerous high-performance hockey programs in the WHL, Hockey Alberta and currently supports the U18 and development female high performance program.” . . . Swanson, from Sorrento, B.C., has a masters in educational psychology, along with a bachelor of education in special education, and a mental deficiency nursing diploma. He is a retired teacher, having taught for 32 years.
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If you’re a regular here, and even if you aren’t, feel free to make a donation to the cause. You are able to do so by clicking on the DONATE button and going from there.
BTW, if you want to contact me with some information or just feel like commenting on something, you may email me at greggdrinnan@gmail.com.
I’m also on Twitter (@gdrinnan).
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Posted by Gregg Drinnan at 9:43 PM
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Thursday, July 6, 2017

Quiet Thursday rocked by two WHL trades; d-man, goalie on move ... Hey, Tri-City, Eli's coming!


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 G Ville Kolppanen (Lethbridge, 2009-10) has signed a one-year contract with Rögle Ängelholm (Sweden, SHL). Last season, with Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk (Russia, KHL), he was 9-14-3, 2.80, .917 in 30 games. He also had two shutouts. . . .
D Alex Plante (Calgary, 2004-09) has signed a one-year extension with Anyang Halla (South Korea, Asia HL). Last season, he had 12 goals and 12 assists in 48 games. He led all Asia League defencemen in goals. Plante has dual South Korean-Canadian citizenship.
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 The Saskatoon Blades have acquired D Seth Bafaro, 17, from the Tri-City Americans in exchange for a
SETH BAFARO
pair of WHL bantam draft picks — a third-rounder selection in 2019 and a fifth-round pick in 2020.
The 5-foot-11, 175-pound Bafaro, who is from Revelstoke, B.C., had one assist in 28 games with the Americans last season as a 16-year-old freshman. He battled injuries through the season, which limited his playing time.
Tri-City selected him in the third round of the 2015 bantam draft.
With the addition of Bafaro, the Blades could have seven defencemen in training camp with WHL experience. Only Bryton Sayers, who has used up his eligibility, won’t be back.
The Americans, with a surplus of young defencemen, were able to move Bafaro and get a decent return in a pair of draft picks.
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The Spokane Chiefs have acquired G Declan Hobbs from the Kootenay Ice for a seventh-round selection in the 2018 WHL bantam draft.
A third-round pick by the Ice in the 2013 draft, Hobbs, who is scheduled to turn 19 on Aug. 19, got into
DECLAN HOBBS
three games with Kootenay last season, going 0-3, 7.16, .800. He spent most of last season with the SJHL’s Nipawin Hawks (1.94, .929 in 13 games).
In 2015-16, Hobbs, who is from Saskatoon, made 24 appearances with the Ice, going 2-14-3, 4.66, .873.
With the acquisition of Hobbs, the Chiefs now have one goaltender from each of five age groups on their depth chart, the others being Dawson Weatherill, 18; Donovan Buskey, 17; Ross Hawryluk, 16; and Campbell Arnold, 15. Hawryluk, a fifth-round pick in the 2016 bantam draft, and Arnold, taken in the second round in 2017, aren’t signed to WHL contracts.
Weatherill was 11-14-6 in 36 games last season, while Buskey, in four games, went 0-2-1, 4.25, .866.
Hobbs is the younger brother of Regina Pats D Connor Hobbs, who has signed with the NHL’s Washington Capitals.
Barring more moves, the Ice is expected to go into camp with Mario Petit, 20, and Jakob Walter, 18, scrapping for the starting role. Petit was acquired from the Everett Silvertips in May for a conditional sixth-round pick in the 2018 draft.
In Everett, Petit backed up veteran workhorse Carter Hart. In 22 games, Petit was 11-5-4, 2.93, .896.
Walter, a second-round pick in the 2014 bantam draft, got into 30 games while backing up Payton Lee, then 20, last season. Walter finished 4-17-2, 5.02, .868.
Also on the Ice depth chart are the likes of Jesse Makaj and Carter Woodside, both 16. Makaj, from North Vancouver, was a second-round pick in the 2016 bantam draft, while Woodside, from Asquith, Sask., was a sixth-round selection in that same draft.
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If you’re a regular here, and even if you aren’t, feel free to make a donation to the cause. You are able to do so by clicking on the DONATE button and going from there.
BTW, if you want to contact me with some information or just feel like commenting on something, you may email me at greggdrinnan@gmail.com.
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Concussion Report

 “Former B.C. Lions’ defensive lineman Rick Klassen may have died of lymphoma in December, but an autopsy of his brain has shown extensive chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a neurological disease that has led to such suspected symptoms as erratic behaviour and dementia,” writes Allan Maki of The Globe and Mail. . . . This one hits close to home, because Klassen’s son, Chad, is an acquaintance as he is a reporter with CFJC-TV here in Kamloops. As well, Rick Klassen played in the CFL while I was involved in coverage for the Regina Leader-Post. . . . One really has to wonder how many more stories like this one will develop as players of Rick Klassen’s generation reach 60 years of age? . . . Maki’s story is right here.
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Coaching

 The Tri-City Americans have hired Eli Wilson as their goaltending coach. He replaces Rejean Beauchemin, who had been with the Americans for two seasons. . . . Wilson is a veteran goaltending coach who has worked with the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks and Ottawa Senators. He also has been on staff with the WHL’s Vancouver Giants. . . . Jerry Price, the father of G Carey Price of the NHL’s Montreal Canadiens, remains with the Americans as a goaltending consultant. Carey spent four seasons (2003-07) with the Americans.
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Jason Christie, a former WHL player, is the new head coach of the ECHL’s Jacksonville IceMen, who are affiliated with the NHL’s Winnipeg Jets. Christie is a veteran ECHL coach, having put up a record of 547-349-111 in 14 seasons. He also has a history with the Jets, having worked with previous affiliates in Ontario and Tulsa. He spent the past two seasons as the Tulsa Oilers’ head coach. Prior to that, he was the Ontario Reign’s director of hockey operations and head coach for four seasons. . . . Christie, from Gibbons, Alta., played four seasons (1986-90) with the Saskatoon Blades. . . . The Jacksonville franchise has morphed from the Muskegon Fury (1992-2008) to the Muskegon Lumberjacks (2008-10) to the Evansville IceMen (2010-16). The franchise sat out the 2016-17 season.
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Posted by Gregg Drinnan at 9:52 PM
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Tuesday, July 4, 2017

Improvements coming to Regina arena? ... Ice season tickets past 1,700 ... Benson skates with Oilers


F Liam Stewart (Spokane, 2011-15) has signed a one-year contract with the Guildford Flames (England, UK Elite). Last season, he had nine goals and 11 assists in 49 games with the Coventry Blaze (England, UK Elite). . . .
F Sergei Drozd (Tri-City, 2009-10) has signed a one-year extension with Dinamo Minsk (Belarus, KHL). Last season, he had a goal and six assists in 46 games.
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 The Regina Pats will be the host team for the 2018 Memorial Cup tournament, which is bound to be extra-special because it’ll be the 100th anniversary of the fabled trophy. When the Pats bid on the tournament, they knew that their home, the Brandt Centre, would need some improvements. With that in mind, the Regina Exhibition Association Ltd. has asked the city for $1.3 million for renovations. . . . Craig Baird of the Regina Leader-Post has more right here.
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The Kootenay Ice’s Drive to 25 campaign ended on Friday with the team having sold 1,713 season tickets. The team made that announcement on Tuesday. . . . “We are off to a good start towards our goal of 2,500 season seats and we feel like there is some momentum gathering,” Matt Cockell, the franchise’s president and general manager, said in a news release. “Our entire staff is excited to do the work and continue to get out in the community and talk about the value of being a season-ticket holder; our goal of 2,500 season-seat holders continues to be the target.” . . . That news release is right here.
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F Tyler Benson has struggled through two injury-filled seasons with the Vancouver Giants. These days, he’s hoping they all are permanently in his rear-view mirror. Benson has been in Jasper, Alta., skating at the Edmonton Oilers’ development camp and he reports that things are going well. He had surgery to repair a sports hernia in April and in Jasper was almost up to full speed. . . . Postmedia’s Rob Tychkowski has more right here.
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There is a huge developing story ongoing in the KHL where 42 players whose rights belonged to Dynamo Moscow all have been declared “unlimited free agents.” That includes F Klim Kostin, who was selected by the Kootenay Ice with the first pick of the CHL’s 2016 import draft but chose not to report. He was selected by St. Louis with the 31st overall pick of the NHL’s 2017 draft and is expected to sign with the Blues, perhaps as soon as this week. . . . The Dynamo situation all has to do with a change in ownership, a power struggle and an organization that is in debt to the tune of somewhere near Cdn$43 million — that’s about two billion rubles. . . . Patrick Conway has a whole lot more on that story right here.
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If you’re a regular here, and even if you aren’t, feel free to make a donation to the cause. You are able to do so by clicking on the DONATE button and going from there.
BTW, if you want to contact me with some information or just feel like commenting on something, you may email me at greggdrinnan@gmail.com.
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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.
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Posted by Gregg Drinnan at 10:37 PM
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Thursday, June 29, 2017

Ex-WHLer heads to Vegas ... 'Canes add assistant coach ... Ice gets forward from Rebels


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 F Garry Nunn (Vancouver, Edmonton, 2007-10) has signed a one-year contract with Frisk Asker (Norway, GET-Ligaen). Last season, with the San Antonio Rampage (AHL), he had eight goals and 10 assists in 53 games. . . .
F T.J. Foster (Edmonton, 2008-13) has signed a one-year contract with Frisk Asker (Norway, GET-Ligaen). Last season, with the Orlando Solar Bears (ECHL), he had two goals and three assists in 12 games. He also had 23 goals and 32 assists in 50 games with the Norfolk Admirals (ECHL). He led the Admirals in goals, assists and points. . . .
D Daine Todd (Medicine Hat, 2003-08) has signed a one-year contract with Örebro (Sweden, SHL). Last season, he had four goals and 11 assists in 36 games with Luleå (Sweden, SHL). . . .
F Roberts Libsbergs (Seattle, 2012-15) has signed a one-year extension with Dinamo Riga (Latvia, KHL). Last season, he had three goals and four assists in 31 games.
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RYAN McGILL
(Photo: attackhockey.com)
Ryan McGill, a former WHL player and coach, has left the OHL’s Owen Sound Attack to join the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights as an assistant coach. McGill, 48, spent two seasons as the Attack’s head coach and was the OHL and CHL coach of the year for 2016-17. With the Golden Knights, he joins head coach Gerard Gallant and fellow assistants Mike Kelly and Ryan Craig. . . . In the WHL, McGill began his coaching career as an assistant with the Edmonton Ice (1996-98), and took over as head coach during the 1997-98 season. . . . He was the head coach of the Kootenay Ice (1998-2002, 2012-15), guiding them to the 2002 Memorial Cup title. He played four seasons (1985-89) in the WHL, splitting that between the Lethbridge Broncos, Swift Current Broncos and Medicine Hat Tigers. He helped the Tigers to the 1988 Memorial Cup championship.
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The Lethbridge Hurricanes have added Jeff Hansen as an assistant coach. Hansen, 35, spent the previous four seasons as video coach with the Calgary Hitmen. For the first two of those seasons, Brent Kisio, the Hurricanes’ head coach, was an assistant coach with the Hitmen. . . . Before joining the Hitmen, Hansen was an assistant coach with the AJHL’s Calgary Mustangs. He also has coached in the Alberta Major Midget Hockey League. . . . With the Hurricanes, Hansen fills the vacancy created when Mike Craig left the team in May. He had been on staff through four seasons. . . . The Hurricanes' staff also includes Darcy Wakaluk, a former goaltender coach with the Hitmen.
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Bruce Gordon played three seasons (1979-82) in the WHL, starting with the Medicine Hat Tigers (71 games) and finishing up with the Saskatoon Blades (112 games). A grinding, tough forward who played hard at home and on the road, he totalled 22 goals, 65 assists and 818 penalty minutes. . . . Gordon, 54, has been incredibly fit. He’s an Ironman triathlete. He lifts, he cycles, he does it all. He was a member of the Saskatoon Police Service, then, at 50, he decided to become a defence lawyer. . . . The other day, things changed when he was diagnosed with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer. . . . Dan Zakreski of CBC News has the story right here.
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CAMERON HAUSINGER
The Kootenay Ice has acquired F Cameron Hausinger, 18, from the Red Deer Rebels for a fourth-round selection in the 2018 WHL bantam draft. . . . The Ice had gotten that fourth-round pick from Lethbridge on Jan. 8 in a deal that had F Zak Zborosky, F Matt Alfaro and a sixth-round pick in 2018 go to the Hurricanes for F Brett Davis, F Colton Kroeker and a 2018 second-round pick. . . . Hausinger, who is from Anchorage, had seven goals and eight assists in 61 games split between Red Deer and the Saskatoon Blades last season. . . . The Blades selected him in the seventh round of the 2014 bantam draft. He had six goals and five assists in 58 games with the Blades in 2015-16. . . . The Blades traded him to Red Deer on Nov. 25 for two draft picks — a seventh-rounder in 2017 and a fifth in 2018.
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MASSIMO RIZZO
The Kamloops Blazers have yet to sign F Massimo Rizzo, their first pick in the WHL’s 2016 bantam draft. But he hasn’t yet turned them down, either. . . . Marty Hastings of Kamloops This Week reports that “the Blazers brought the heavyweights — (majority) owner Tom Gaglardi, part-owner Shane Doan, general manager Stu MacGregor and head coach Don Hay” to a meeting with Rizzo and his father in Vancouver on Wednesday. . . . Last season, Rizzo put up 84 points in 48 games with the midget prep team at the Burnaby Winter Club. Rizzo also played in a few games with the BCHL’s Penticton Vees. He was pointless in three regular-season games and had one goal in seven playoff games. But he really hit is stride at the Western Cup, where he had a goal and four assists in five games and got some power-play time. He also had a goal in five games at the RBC Cup. . . . Hastings’ story is right here.
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OHLThe OHL-champion Erie Otters have signed Chris Hartsburg as their new head coach. He takes over from Kris Knoblauch, who now is an assistant coach with the NHL’s Philadelphia Flyers. . . . Hartsburg, a former assistant coach with the WHL’s Everett Silvertips 2009-13), has been the head coach of the USHL’s Lincoln Stars for the past three seasons. . . . He spent 2013-14 as an assistant under Knoblauch with the Otters. . . . From Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., he is the son of former NHL player/coach Craig Hartsburg, who also did a stint (2009-11) as Everett’s head coach. . . . The Otters also signed GM Dave Brown to a three-year extension through 2019-20, and promoted assistant coach B.J. Adams to associate coach. Adams and assistant coach Wes Wolfe were extended through 2019-20.
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The QMJHL’s Halifax Mooseheads have signed Sylvain Favreau as an assistant coach to work alongside head coach Jim Midgley. Favreau, 39, had been the director of hockey operations and head coach with the CCHL’s Cumberland Grads. From Orleans, Ont., he has been coaching in the CCHL, with Cumberland the Gloucester Rangers, since 2009.
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D Jordan Wharrie, who has played the past three seasons in the WHL, has decided to play for the BCHL’s Nanaimo Clippers in 2017-18. Wharrie, 20, is from Port Moody, B.C. . . . The Everett Silvertips selected him in the fifth round of the WHL’s 2012 bantam draft. . . . He played seven games with Everett in 2013-14, then spent 2014-15 with the Silvertips. In 2015-16, he played for the Victoria Royals. He split last season between the Brandon Wheat Kings and Vancouver Giants. . . . In 162 regular-season games, he had eight goals and 10 assists.
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The junior B Creston Valley Thunder Cats of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League have signed Brad Tobin as their new general manager and head coach. He takes over from Jeff Dubois, who has signed on as assistant GM/assistant coach with the BCHL’s Alberni Valley Bulldogs. . . . Tobin joined the Thundercats a year ago as assistant GM/associate coach. He had been an assistant coach with the BCHL’s Surrey Eagles (2010-16). . . . Creston also promoted assistant coach Jeff Wagner to assistant GM/associate coach. . . . Dubois had been the head coach in Creston for three seasons, going 97-42 with four ties. He is the KIJHL’s reigning coach of the year.
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F Adam Brooks, who completed his junior eligibility with the Regina Pats last season, has signed a three-year entry-level contract with the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs. They selected him in the fourth round of the NHL’s 2016 draft. . . . Brooks, who is from Winnipeg, won the WHL scoring title in 2015-16 when he put up 120 points. In 2017-18, he totalled 130 points and finished second to teammate Sam Steele in the scoring race. . . . Brooks finished his WHL career with 335 points, including 119 goals, in 317 regular-season games. He added 49 points, 33 of them assists, in 42 playoff games.
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The SPHL’s Knoxville Ice Bears have named Jeff Carr as their new head coach. He had been an assistant coach with the Ogden, Utah, Mustangs of the Western States Hockey League for the previous two seasons. . . . Carr replaces Mike Craigen, whose contract wasn’t renewed after the 2016-17 season ended. Craigen had been the Knoxville head coach for seven seasons.
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If you’re a regular here, and even if you aren’t, feel free to make a donation to the cause. You are able to do so by clicking on the DONATE button and going from there.
BTW, if you want to contact me with some information or just feel like commenting on something, you may email me at greggdrinnan@gmail.com.
I’m also on Twitter (@gdrinnan).

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.
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Posted by Gregg Drinnan at 9:33 PM
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