Final resumes tonight in Kent . . . Pats forward gets NHL deal . . . Rockets re-sign two coaches

D Tamás Láday (Spokane, Medicine Hat, 2014-16) has signed a two-year extension with Fehérvári Titánok Székesfehérvár (Hungary, MOL Liga). This season, he had six goals and 17 assists in 38 games. He also was pointless in nine games with Székesfehérvár (Hungary, Erste Bank Liga). . . . Fehérvári Titánok was known as Székesfehérvár II and is the ‘second’ or farm club to Székesfehérvár. . . .

F Mikhail Fisenko (Vancouver, Calgary, 2008-11) has been traded by Admiral Vladivostok to Avangard Omsk (both Russia, KHL). Fisenko had signed a one-year extension with Admiral on Sunday, and now has signed a two-year contract with Avangard.

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A quick hello to all the @WHLPats fans who have made the trip to Seattle/Kent for games 3, 4, & 5.

— TBird Tidbits (@TBirdTidbits) May 9, 2017

The WHL’s championship final for the Ed Chynoweth Cup resumes tonight (Tuesday) in Kent, Wash., with the Regina Pats visiting the Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . The teams split the first two games in Regina, the Thunderbirds winning 2-1 in OT on Friday and the Pats bouncing back to take Game 2, 4-3, also in OT on Saturday. . . . The Thunderbirds announced Monday afternoon that Game 3 is sold out. Jon Ryan the veteran punter with the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks, is scheduled to take part in the ceremonial faceoff. Ryan is from Regina. . . . They’ll stay in Kent for Game 4 on Wednesday night and Game 5 on Friday. . . . Regina F Sam Steel, who won the regular-season scoring title, goes into Game 3 with 27 points, one off F Reid Gardiner of the Kelowna Rockets, who holds the lead. . . . Regina F Austin Wagner has 14 goals, with Gardiner leading the playoffs with 15. . . . Steel holds the lead in assists, with 18, three more than Seattle F Mathew Barzal and Regina D Connor Hobbs. . . . Barzal has played in 12 playoff games this spring and has at least a point in each of them. . . . A note from columnist Rob Vanstone of the Regina Leader-Post: “The superlative work of Cal Filson is one reason why the Seattle Thunderbirds are in their second consecutive league final. The Regina-based Filson spent eight years scouting for the Thunderbirds before being named their director of player personnel in 2015.” . . . 

Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post reported Monday from Kent, Wash., that Pats F Dawson Leedahl, who is in his final season of junior, has signed a three-year entry-level contract with the NHL’s New York Rangers. The NHL later confirmed the signing. . . . Leedahl, from Saskatoon, signed as an undrafted free agent. . . . The Pats acquired Leedahl from the Everett Silvertips last summer. He had played four seasons in Everett. This season, with the Pats, he put up 89 points, including 35 goals, in 71 games. In 19 playoff games, he has 11 goals and 12 assists.

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Travis Crickard and Kris Mallette, assistant coaches with the Kelowna Rockets, have signed two-year contract extensions. They just completed their third seasons with the Rockets. They spent their first season under head coach Dan Lambert, their second season with Brad Ralph and this season with Jason Smith. . . . With Crickard and Mallette on staff, the Rockets hold a regular-season record of 146-55-15. In 54 playoff games, the Rockets are 34-20. . . . Smith, who just finished his first season as a WHL head coach, also is signed through two more seasons.

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The Prince Albert Raiders expect to sign D Kaiden Guhle, the first overall selection in the WHL’s 2017 bantam draft, on Saturday during an open house at the Art Hauser Centre. The open house is part of a move by the Raiders to have 2,000 season-ticket holders in place when the 2017-18 season arrives. . . . The Raiders average announced attendance this season was 2,133. . . . From a news release: “Players such as Cole Fonstad, Carson Miller, Brayden Pachal and Rhett Rhinehart will be in attendance. Also, members of the 2017 WHL bantam draft class — including first-overall selection Kaiden Guhle — will be signing their WHL (contracts) in person at 1:30 p.m.” . . . The open house is to run from noon through 4 p.m.

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In the OHL, the host Mississauga Steelheads beat the Erie Otters, 4-3, on Monday night. The Otters hold a 2-1 lead in the series that resumes with Game 4 in Mississauga on Wednesday. . . . Last night, Mississauga led 2-0 early in the second period, only to have Erie score the next three goals to take a 3-2 lead into the third period. . . . The Steelheads tied it 3-3 at 9:03 of the third, on a goal from F Nathan Bastian (7). F Michael McLeod (10) scored on a PP, at 14:52, to break the tie. . . . Announced attendance at Game 3 was 3,514.

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It's official! @tylerwong_5 has been awarded the Key to the City by @Spearmac!! What a great honour for a great leader! #OhCaptainMyCaptain pic.twitter.com/2Igwa3o8E6

— #AllAboard (@WHLHurricanes) May 8, 2017

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MONDAY’S GAME:

No Game Scheduled.

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TUESDAY’S GAME (all times local):

Regina vs. Seattle, at Kent, Wash., 7:05 p.m. (Series tied, 1-1)

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Winterhawks close in on GM/head coach

F Ian McDonald (Tri-City, 2000-06) signed a one-year contract with Briançon (France, Ligue Magnus). Last season, with Beibarys Atyrau (Kazakhstan, Vysshaya Liga), he had a team-leading 57 points, including 27 goals, in 54 games. He finished seventh in the league’s scoring race.
F Brad Schell (Spokane, 1999-2004) signed a one-year contract with Herning (Denmark, Metal Ligaen). Last season, with Rossoblu Milan (Italy, Serie A), he had 45 points, including a team-leading 35 assists, in 38 games. . . .
F Jozef Balej (Portland, 1999-2002) signed a one-year contract with Plzeň (Czech Republic, Extraliga). Last season, with Chomutov (Czech Republic, Extraliga), he had 14 points, eight of the goals, in 37 games.
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1. The Portland Winterhawks are looking for a replacement for Mike Johnston, who had been their GM/head coach since October 2008. Johnston signed on as head coach of the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins last month. . . . How close are the Winterhawks to signing someone? . . . “Should have an announcement on a new head coach very shortly,” a Portland insider told me on Friday. . . . When queried as to whether the Winterhawks were on the verge of hiring a GM or a GM/head coach, the response was “GM/head coach combo.”

2. The Prince George Cougars have hired Michael Hengen as what their news release called “an assistant/strength and conditioning coach.” . . . Hengen, from Surrey, B.C., spent the last four seasons as an assistant coach with the BCHL’s Penticton Vees. . . . Hengen, 26, was selected by the Swift Current Broncos in the fifth round of the 2002 bantam draft. He split 226 WHL regular-season games between the Broncos, Edmonton Oil Kings, Moose Jaw Warriors, Calgary Hitmen and Saskatoon Blades. . . . With the Cougars, Hengen will work alongside head coach Mark Holick.

3. The Swift Current Broncos have signed Josh Dixon to a three-year contract as their associate coach. Dixon spent the last three seasons as an assistant coach with the Regina Pats. He left last month after being unable to reach a contract agreement with the Pats’ new owners. . . . In Swift Current, Dixon will work with GM/head coach Mark Lamb. . . . With the Broncos, Dixon also will be responsible for all off-ice training and what Lamb referred to as “the fitness aspect of the Broncos organization.” . . . Dixon fills the void created when Darren Evjen resigned after four seasons.

4. The Regina Pats have re-signed goaltending coach Rob Muntain for another season. He is preparing for his fourth season working with Regina’s goaltenders. Muntain, an officer in the Regina Police Service, is a former WHL goaltender (Brandon, 1995-96), who has worked with the Saskatchewan Hockey Association and Hockey Canada. . . . The Pats also are working to sign a head coach and two assistant coaches.

5. Kris Mallette has signed on as an assistant coach with the Kelowna Rockets. He will work with head coach Dan Lambert, who was promoted after five seasons as an assistant coach. Former head coach Ryan Huska now is head coach of the Adirondack Flames, the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Calgary Flames. . . . Mallette (Kelowna, Moose Jaw, 1996-2000) spent last season as an associate coach with the BCHL’s Vernon Vipers.

6. Through four days of NHL free agency, capgeek.com reports that 78 unrestricted free agents have signed for a total of US$560,950,000.


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THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Ryan Menei (Moose Jaw, Saskatoon, 2003-07) signed a one-year contract with the Sheffield Steelers (England, UK Elite). He had 34 goals and 48 assists in 66 games with the Tulsa Oilers (CHL) this season. Menei led the Oilers in scoring and finished fifth in league scoring. . . .



F Petr Nedved (Seattle, 1989-90) signed a one-year contract extension with Liberec (Czech Republic, Extraliga). He had 20 goals and 33 assists in 48 games as captain of Liberec this season.
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So it has come to this in the NHL.
All signs point to the Vancouver Canucks hiring John Tortorella as their new head coach. The New York Rangers have hired a smiling Alain Vigneault as their new head coach.
Tortorella was fired by the Rangers last month. Vigneault was fired by the Canucks last month.
Is this a case of two teams, each thinking it is smarter than the other?
This is absolutely bizarre, but it might make the next NHL season worth watching.
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Iain MacIntyre, a sports columnist with the Vancouver Sun, was among the reporters who staked out the airport in Vancouver once word came via social media that John Tortorella had boarded a plane in Denver and was headed for the home of the Canucks. MacIntyre’s column is right here and it would seem that he, like so many others, is trying to figure out how the ex-Rangers coach might be a good fit for the Canucks.
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Meanwhile, at the Vancouver Province, columnist Ed Willes was likening the expected hiring of John Tortorella to “the kind of knee-jerk decision that other organizations make, not the Canucks.” That piece is right here.
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And how did it get to this point with John Tortorella? Right here is Dave Lozo on what it was like covering the New York Rangers for four years under John Tortorella.
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F Carter Rigby of the Kelowna Rockets, limited by injuries to just 34 regular-season games this season, has had both shoulders operated on already this offseason. According to AM1150, the radio voice of the Rockets, Rigby, 19, had surgery on his right shoulder last month and was to have surgery on his left shoulder on Wednesday in London, Ont.
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THE COACHING GAME:
Kris Mallette has signed on with the BCHL’s Vernon Vipers as their associate coach. He will work alongside general manager/head coach Jason Williamson. Mallette (Kelowna, Moose Jaw, 1996-2000) had been the head coach of the junior B North Okanagan Knights of the Kootenay International Junior League. The Knights went 69-30-2-3 in two seasons under Mallette. . . . The Vipers, whose staff also includes assistant coach Dave Robinson, will be the host team for the 2014 RBC Cup.
The ECHL’s Bakersfield Condors have hired Troy Mann as their head coach. Mann, 43, has been an assistant coach with the AHL’s Hershey Bears for the last four seasons. . . . Mann replaces Matt O’Dette with the Condors and is the first head-coaching hire by new general manager John Olver, who took over on April 11.


The QMJHL’s Charlottetown Islanders have extended the contract of head coach Gordie Dwyer for two seasons. He now is signed through 2015-16. . . . The Islanders are 60-66-0-10 in two seasons under Dwyer, who is a native of Dalhousie, N.B.

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Wednesday . . .

THE MacBETH REPORT:
Kevin Saurette (Regina, 1997-99) signed a one-year contract with Fischtown Pinguins Bremerhaven (Germany 2.Bundesliga). He had 16 goals and 33 assists in 48 games for Eispiraten Crimmitschau (Germany Oberliga) this season. . . .
F Robin Figren (Calgary, Edmonton, 2006-08) signed a two-year contract with Linköping (Sweden Elitserien). He had 14 goals and 17 assists in 76 games for the Bridgeport Sound Tigers (AHL) this season. Linköping GM Johan Hemlin: "It's great that Robin chose Linköping. He is an exciting forward who will be good for us."
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JUST NOTES: F Tyler Pitlick of the Medicine Hat Tigers, who hasn’t skated in six weeks, is due to return to the ice today. He has been out with a broken ankle. . . . The QMJHL has fined Patrick Roy, the GM and head coach of the Quebec Remparts, for “inappropriate comments.” This comes after Martin Mondou, the Shawinigan Cataractes’ GM, complained about security at the rink in Quebec City after fans dumped beer and assorted other stuff on his players. Roy responded by saying that Mondou “has a brain the size of a pea.” . . .
D Alex Petrovic signed a three-year deal with the NHL’s Florida Panthers last week. Capgeek.com reports that his AHL salary will be US$67,500 per season, with NHL salaries of $760,000, $815,000 and $900,000. The signing bonus was $270,000, payable over three years. . . . Petrovic was the 36th overall pick in the 2010 NHL draft. . . . F Tyler Johnson of the Spokane Chiefs has been suspended by the WHL for the first game of the Western Conference final. That’s for a kneeing major he incurred in Game 6 of the conference semfinal against the Tri-City Americans on Tuesday. The Chiefs won that game 5-4 in OT. Johnson was ejected at 18:31 of the first period for a hit on Tri-City F Brendan Shinnimin, who returned to the bench but didn’t play again. The Chiefs open the conference final in Portland against the Winterhawks on Friday. Johnson, the WHL’s second-leading scorer in the regular season, has nine points in nine playoff games this spring. He missed the last two games of the Chiefs’ first-round 4-1 series victory over the Chilliwack Bruins with a concussion. . .
Kevin Dickie, who did a stint as head coach of the Saskatoon Blades (2000-03), is the new athletic director at Acadia University in Wolfville, N.S. He had been the hockey coach at Acadia before joining the Blades. Most recently, Dickie was the athletic director at the U of New Brunswick in Fredericton. . . . Kris Mallette (Kelowna, Moose Jaw, 1996-2000) is the new head coach of the junior B North Okanagan Knights, who play in the Kootenay International junior league out of Armstrong, B.C. Mallette, 32, was an assistant coach and replaces Sylvan Leone. Mallette is a native of Kelowna. . . . Nathan Lieuwen of the Kootenay Ice is the CHL’s goaltender of the week. He was 2-0 with a 1.00 GAA and a .965 save percentage last week.

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