The host Regina Pats beat Prince Albert 5-2 on Sunday night, preventing the Raiders from posting the franchise’s 1,000th regular-season victory since entering the WHL in 1982. . . . Regina D Artem Bidlevskii left in the second period following a fight with F Chance Braid. Bidlevskii was in a state of wooziness as he departed. . . . In Vancouver, F Brendan Gallagher had a goal and three assists as the Giants dumped the Kelowna Rockets, 5-2. The Giants are 6-1-1 at home and 0-5-0 on the road. . . . Gallagher has 17 points in nine games since returning from the camp of the NHL’s Montreal Canadiens. . . .
Former Rockets D Tyson Barrie scored twice on Sunday, including the overtime winner, as the visiting Lake Erie Monsters scored a 5-4 AHL victory over the host Toronto Marlies. . . . In Kent, Wash., the Everett Silvertips scored a 5-1 victory over the Seattle Thunderbirds. It was the first time this season that the Silvertips (3-8-2) held an opponent to one goal. . . . The Calgary Hitmen had a three-game winning streak end as they lost 4-2 to the visiting Kootenay Ice on Sunday afternoon. . . .
The WHL’s department of justice will be busy early in the week as there are three players sitting out with those “tbd” suspensions.
D Blake Orban of the Vancouver has been sitting since taking an interference major in a game in Kelowna on Thursday. . . . D Kyle Verdino of the Seattle Thunderbirds is sitting out due to supplement discipline for an incident in a game at Everett on Friday. . . . Kelowna F Filip Vasko took a boarding major on Saturday in a game against the visiting Victoria Royals. . . .
———
A friend sent me a link to a QMI Agency story on Winnipeg Jets defenceman Dustin Byfuglien and his alleged impaired boating incident. Most of it has to do with the charges he faces, but there is a rather interesting paragraph near the end.
The story reads:
Byfuglien, who showed a blood-alcohol level of 0.031% in a breath test, was taken to a police water patrol headquarters where the drug recognition expert examined him further.
“Mr. Byfuglien stated that he had taken a muscle relaxer earlier that day, but that he could not remember the name of the muscle relaxer. Mr. Byfuglien stated that he takes a ‘handful’ of supplements from 16 or 17 different bottles every day and that he does not know the names of the supplements,” says the police statement, which the Winnipeg Sun obtained from the Lake Minnetonka Conservation District.
The complete story is right here, but 16 or 17 different bottles of supplements? Is this where we have gotten to from wherever it was that we were?
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Taking Note on Twitter
Showing posts with label Kyle Verdino. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kyle Verdino. Show all posts
Sunday, October 2, 2011
JUST NOTES: The visiting Peoria Rivermen and Rockford IceHogs went 16 rounds in a shootout on Saturday, before Peoria D David Shields won the AHL game, 3-2. Of note was that one of the game’s two fights featured Peoria’s Chris Bruton (Spokane, 2004-08) battling Rockford’s Kyle Beach (Everett, Lethbridge, Spokane, 2005-10)just 23 seconds into the game. . . . The AHL’s Chicago Wolves released D Kyle Verdino, 20, on Saturday. Verdino had left the Seattle Thunderbirds last week for a tryout with the Wolves. . . . F Charles Inglis of the Prince George Cougars will be hearing from the WHL office after taking a major and game misconduct for checking to the head of D Tyler Stahl during a 6-5 loss to the visiting Victoria Royals on Saturday night. . . . F Jamie Crooks led the Royals with three goals, the first time he has done that in 156 regular-season games. . . .
Also on Saturday night, F Brendan Gallagher was back in the Vancouver Giants’ lineup and had one goal. But it wasn’t nearly enough as the Giants were beaten 6-3 by the Rockets in Kelowna. Vancouver has given up 22 goals over its last four games. . . . According to DubNation: “After Saturday's contest, Vancouver held a lengthy closed-door session.” . . . Gallagher was returned by the NHL’s Montreal Canadiens on Friday and began his Saturday at 1:45 a.m. . . . G Corbin Boes stopped 23 shots for his second career shutout as the host Brandon Wheat Kings beat the Saskatoon Blades, 6-0. F Mark Stone scored three times for Brandon, giving him the second hat trick of his WHL career. He had one three-goal game in 2009-10, when he scored 11 goals. He wasn’t able to turn the trick last season when he scored 37 times. He has 13 points, including five goals, in five games this season. . . .
F Anthony Bardaro had three goals to lead the host Spokane Chiefs to a 7-2 victory over the Tri-City Americans. He had one hat trick last season en route to a 24-goal finish. . . . The Chiefs lost three players to injuries -- F Mitch Holmberg took a high-stick to the face and will be seeing a dentist, while D Tanner Mort and F Liam Stewart left with undisclosed injuries. “I don’t know if I want to comment. I know I had guys hurt,” Chiefs head coach Don Nachbaur told Dave Trimmer of the Spokane Spokesman-Review. “I didn’t see it and I haven’t viewed it on the video so it’s really difficult for me to comment. . . . We spent a lot of time on the power play.” The Chiefs were 4-for-12 on the PP; the Americans were 0-for-5. . . . Spokane also got four assists from sophomore D Reid Gow, who had 11 points in 41 games last season.
———
Two more former U.S. college football players have sued the NCAA, saying it failed to protect them from concussions.
There is more right here.
———
Roy MacGregor of The Globe and Mail opens a Saturday column by writing about “mad hatters” and the fact that nine out of 10 doctors once preferred Camels.
“And so it goes with hockey,” MacGregor writes. “This early fall of 2011 may well go down as the moment the Canadian game chose to step out of its own Alice-in-Wonderland world of make-believe and bring an end to the scourge of head hits – all head hits, including the accidental, including hits delivered by fists.
“We are not there yet, but we are getting there – and that alone is cause for hope.”
There is one quote in the MacGregor piece that simply jumps off the page. It comes from referee Bruce Tennant, a veteran of more than 30 years in stripes. He told MacGregor: “If I had a son who wasn’t showing the potential to play at the highest levels, I really don’t think I’d let him play contact hockey.”
MacGregor’s complete column is right here.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Taking Note on Twitter
Also on Saturday night, F Brendan Gallagher was back in the Vancouver Giants’ lineup and had one goal. But it wasn’t nearly enough as the Giants were beaten 6-3 by the Rockets in Kelowna. Vancouver has given up 22 goals over its last four games. . . . According to DubNation: “After Saturday's contest, Vancouver held a lengthy closed-door session.” . . . Gallagher was returned by the NHL’s Montreal Canadiens on Friday and began his Saturday at 1:45 a.m. . . . G Corbin Boes stopped 23 shots for his second career shutout as the host Brandon Wheat Kings beat the Saskatoon Blades, 6-0. F Mark Stone scored three times for Brandon, giving him the second hat trick of his WHL career. He had one three-goal game in 2009-10, when he scored 11 goals. He wasn’t able to turn the trick last season when he scored 37 times. He has 13 points, including five goals, in five games this season. . . .
F Anthony Bardaro had three goals to lead the host Spokane Chiefs to a 7-2 victory over the Tri-City Americans. He had one hat trick last season en route to a 24-goal finish. . . . The Chiefs lost three players to injuries -- F Mitch Holmberg took a high-stick to the face and will be seeing a dentist, while D Tanner Mort and F Liam Stewart left with undisclosed injuries. “I don’t know if I want to comment. I know I had guys hurt,” Chiefs head coach Don Nachbaur told Dave Trimmer of the Spokane Spokesman-Review. “I didn’t see it and I haven’t viewed it on the video so it’s really difficult for me to comment. . . . We spent a lot of time on the power play.” The Chiefs were 4-for-12 on the PP; the Americans were 0-for-5. . . . Spokane also got four assists from sophomore D Reid Gow, who had 11 points in 41 games last season.
———
Two more former U.S. college football players have sued the NCAA, saying it failed to protect them from concussions.
There is more right here.
———
Roy MacGregor of The Globe and Mail opens a Saturday column by writing about “mad hatters” and the fact that nine out of 10 doctors once preferred Camels.
“And so it goes with hockey,” MacGregor writes. “This early fall of 2011 may well go down as the moment the Canadian game chose to step out of its own Alice-in-Wonderland world of make-believe and bring an end to the scourge of head hits – all head hits, including the accidental, including hits delivered by fists.
“We are not there yet, but we are getting there – and that alone is cause for hope.”
There is one quote in the MacGregor piece that simply jumps off the page. It comes from referee Bruce Tennant, a veteran of more than 30 years in stripes. He told MacGregor: “If I had a son who wasn’t showing the potential to play at the highest levels, I really don’t think I’d let him play contact hockey.”
MacGregor’s complete column is right here.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Taking Note on Twitter
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Could it be that the WHL has found a way to eliminate concussions? Simply by not reporting them? If you haven’t yet seen this week’s WHL injury list, you should check it out. (To find it, go to the WHL website, click on NEWS, then WHL WEEKLY REPORT.)
Every injured player — every single one of them — is listed as having either an upper body or lower body inury.
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Taking Note on Twitter
Every injured player — every single one of them — is listed as having either an upper body or lower body inury.
For instance, D Brodie Melnychuk of the Brandon Wheat Kings, who has a broken wrist, is shown to have an upper body injury. Brandon F Brenden Walker, who is recovering from a concussion suffered last season, also has an upper body injury.
Seattle Thunderbirds F Branden Troock, who is struggling with migraines, is shown as having an upper body injury.F Max Adolph of the Kelowna Rockets, who returned home to Saskatoon this week with another in a series of concussions, isn’t even listed on the injury report.
While everyone is pleading for transparency when it comes to head injuries, the WHL, a league in which players incurred more than 100 concussions last season, has taken a horrible step backwards.Here’s hoping someone in the Calgary office comes to their senses and returns the injury list to what it used to be.
———
Normally, I don’t pay a whole lot of attention to the Canadian Hockey League’s BMO CHL MasterCard top 10 rankings and it isn’t because of the ridiculously long title.
No, it’s because the rankings often are badly lacking in the credibility department.
However, when I noticed that the QMJHL’s Saint John Sea Dogs, who are the defending Memorial Cup champions, are at No. 1 in the latest rankings, despite their ho-hum record (3-3-0), I chose to take a look.The Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors, who appeared in the 2011 Memorial Cup as the host team, are No. 10, with a 2-0-0 record.
And what of the Kootenay Ice, the WHL’s defending champion?
Well, the Ice, despite being 2-0-1, despite having gotten G Nathan Lieuwen back from the Buffalo Sabres, despite having gotten F Max Reinhart back from the Calgary Flames, is nowhere to be found.
The WHL’s Red Deer Rebels (2-0-0) moved from ninth to third. The Portland Winterhawks (2-1-0) fell from third to fifth. The Kelowna Rockets (1-0-0) dropped from seventh to ninth despite winning their lone game, beating the Silvertips in Everett.
The Regina Pats (2-0-0) earned an honourable mention, never mind that they haven’t made the playoffs since the spring of 2008 and never mind that their two early victories both were over the Swift Current Broncos, a team that also has struggled in recent seasons.
The Kootenay Ice? If nothing else, the lack of respect gives head coach Kris Knoblauch more bulletin board material.
———
JUST NOTES: D Kyle Verdino, 20, has left the Seattle Thunderbirds after signing an ATO with the AHL’s Chicago Wolves, who are affiliated with the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks. Verdino, who was acquired from the Swift Current Broncos over the summer, had one assist in Seattle’s lone game to this point in the season. . . . F James Henry of the Vancouver Giants tied a franchise record Wednesday night as he drew five assists in a 6-5 victory over the visiting Everett Silvertips. Henry now shares the record with F Craig Cunningham, who set it on Oct. 20 in a 7-5 victory over the Kelowna Rockets. . . . The Giants were without C Brendan Gallagher, who remains with the NHL’s Montreal Canadiens, and D Neil Manning (back). . . . The Regina Pats improved to 3-0 with a 5-3 victory over the Tigers in Medicine Hat. The Pats had lost their last six appearances in Medicine Hat by a combined score of 32-12. . . . F Darren Kramer, who led the WHL in fighting majors (46) and penalty minutes (306) last season, has been returned to the Spokane Chiefs by the NHL’s Ottawa Senators. Kramer’s arrival will leave the Chiefs with four 20-year-olds on their roster, the others being F Steven Kuhn, F Matt Marantz and D Corbin Baldwin.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.cagdrinnan.blogspot.com
Taking Note on Twitter
Friday, August 12, 2011
It won't be Crushed Can II
The Seattle Thunderbirds have acquired D Kyle Verdino, 20, from the Swift Current Broncos for a conditional fifth-round pick in the 2013 bantam draft. Verdino, from Phoenix, began his WHL career with the Kelowna Rockets, who dealt him to the Broncos. The 6-foot-0, 205-pounder has 44 points, including five goals, and 315 penalty minutes in 217 regular-season WHL games. Last season, he had 20 points, four of them goals, and 167 penalty minutes in 67 games.
The Thunderbirds now have three 20-year-olds on their roster, the others being D Cason Machacek, who was acquired earlier from the Lethbridge Hurricanes, and veteran F Burke Gallimore. Seattle also holds the rights to D Ryan Button, 20, who is under contract to the Boston Bruins and likely will open the season with the AHL’s Providence Bruins.
The Broncos, meanwhile, are whittling away at their pile of 20-year-old players. Last week, they released F Killian Hutt. That and the trading of Verdino leaves them with four -- Brad Hoban, Jordan Peddle, Taylor Vause and Dillon Wagner. All four are forwards.
———
THE COACHING GAME:
The Chicago Wolves, the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks, have added Karl Taylor, 40, as an assistant coach. He had been the only head coach in the three-year history of the ECHL’s Ontario Reign. Taylor will work alongside head coach Craig MacTavish. . . . The vacancy was created when Ron Wilson left the Wolves for an assistant coaching position with the AHL’s Hamilton Bulldogs. . . .
Ryan Cyr has signed on as the Spokane Chiefs’ goaltending coach. He replaces Denis Sproxton, who left after 10 seasons due to family commitments. Cyr (Seattle, Lethbridge, Saskatoon, 2000-05) was dropped by the Regina Pats after last season. He spent four seasons there as goaltending consultant. . . .
Jim Camazzola (Kamloops, Seattle, New Westminster, 1982-85) has joined the Simon Fraser University’s hockey team as an assistant coach. He will work alongside head coach Mark Coletta. Camazzola is from Burnaby, so is joining a hometown team. Recently, he has coached in Italy’s Serie A, with Asiago HC, and the junior B Delta Icehawks. . . . SFU opens camp on Aug. 27 and will travel to Wenatchee, Wash., to play the Air Force Academy in an exhibition game on Oct. 1. . . .
Jeff Bes is the new head coach of the Southern Professional league’s Mississippi Surge. Bes, who spent the last eight seasons as a player/assistant coach with the Central league’s Laredo Bucks, replaces Steffon Walby, who was fired by new owner Tim Kerr in July. . . .
———
The new arena in Moose Jaw has a new name, and it isn’t Crushed Can II.
The City of Moose Jaw and The Mosaic Company have cut a deal for naming rights for the multi-use facility which will be home to the Moose Jaw Warriors starting this season.
The 4,367-seat building will be known as Mosaic Place under the terms of a 10-year, $1.5-million deal.
The facility includes an eight-sheet curling facility, banquet and meeting rooms, and private suites and club-seating.
Mosaic Place opens Aug. 19.
The Mosaic Company is one of the world’s leading producers and marketers of concentrated potash and phosphate crop nutrients.
———
JUST NOTES: F Grant Toulmin (Swift Current, 2005-09) will attend Nipissing University and play for the Lakers, who are based in North Bay, Ont. The 6-foot-5, 210-pound Toulmin spent last season at Mount Royal University in Calgary, picking up 19 points in 28 games. The Royals won the national college championship.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Taking Note on Twitter
The Thunderbirds now have three 20-year-olds on their roster, the others being D Cason Machacek, who was acquired earlier from the Lethbridge Hurricanes, and veteran F Burke Gallimore. Seattle also holds the rights to D Ryan Button, 20, who is under contract to the Boston Bruins and likely will open the season with the AHL’s Providence Bruins.
The Broncos, meanwhile, are whittling away at their pile of 20-year-old players. Last week, they released F Killian Hutt. That and the trading of Verdino leaves them with four -- Brad Hoban, Jordan Peddle, Taylor Vause and Dillon Wagner. All four are forwards.
———
THE COACHING GAME:
The Chicago Wolves, the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks, have added Karl Taylor, 40, as an assistant coach. He had been the only head coach in the three-year history of the ECHL’s Ontario Reign. Taylor will work alongside head coach Craig MacTavish. . . . The vacancy was created when Ron Wilson left the Wolves for an assistant coaching position with the AHL’s Hamilton Bulldogs. . . .
Ryan Cyr has signed on as the Spokane Chiefs’ goaltending coach. He replaces Denis Sproxton, who left after 10 seasons due to family commitments. Cyr (Seattle, Lethbridge, Saskatoon, 2000-05) was dropped by the Regina Pats after last season. He spent four seasons there as goaltending consultant. . . .
Jim Camazzola (Kamloops, Seattle, New Westminster, 1982-85) has joined the Simon Fraser University’s hockey team as an assistant coach. He will work alongside head coach Mark Coletta. Camazzola is from Burnaby, so is joining a hometown team. Recently, he has coached in Italy’s Serie A, with Asiago HC, and the junior B Delta Icehawks. . . . SFU opens camp on Aug. 27 and will travel to Wenatchee, Wash., to play the Air Force Academy in an exhibition game on Oct. 1. . . .
Jeff Bes is the new head coach of the Southern Professional league’s Mississippi Surge. Bes, who spent the last eight seasons as a player/assistant coach with the Central league’s Laredo Bucks, replaces Steffon Walby, who was fired by new owner Tim Kerr in July. . . .
———
The new arena in Moose Jaw has a new name, and it isn’t Crushed Can II.
The City of Moose Jaw and The Mosaic Company have cut a deal for naming rights for the multi-use facility which will be home to the Moose Jaw Warriors starting this season.The 4,367-seat building will be known as Mosaic Place under the terms of a 10-year, $1.5-million deal.
The facility includes an eight-sheet curling facility, banquet and meeting rooms, and private suites and club-seating.
Mosaic Place opens Aug. 19.
The Mosaic Company is one of the world’s leading producers and marketers of concentrated potash and phosphate crop nutrients.
———
JUST NOTES: F Grant Toulmin (Swift Current, 2005-09) will attend Nipissing University and play for the Lakers, who are based in North Bay, Ont. The 6-foot-5, 210-pound Toulmin spent last season at Mount Royal University in Calgary, picking up 19 points in 28 games. The Royals won the national college championship.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Taking Note on Twitter
Posts
