Tampa Bay bids for WJC . . . Blades lose equipment manager . . . Everett d-man signs with Habs

F Mário Bližňák (Vancouver, 2005-08) signed a one-year extension with Plzeň (Czech republic, Extraliga). Last season with Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia, KHL), he had two assists in 28 games. He then had six goals and four assists in 22 games with Plzeň.
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David Conte had been with the New Jersey Devils for 31 years when the end of his run came on Thursday. The Devils, with Ray Shero as their new general manager, announced that Conte’s contract as director of scouting. . . . Ken Campbell of The Hockey News has more right here on what this move means to the Devils.
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The U.S. is to play host to the 2018 IIHF World Junior Championship, and Tampa Bay officially is involved in the bidding process. The home of the NHL’s Lightning has officially submitted its bid to USA Hockey, which will choose the host city. . . . Should Tampa Bay be the host city, Amalie Arena, the Lightning’s home arena, would be the primary site, with perhaps Germain Arena in Estero, Fla., the home of the ECHL’s Florida Everblades, as a secondary site. . . . Tampa Bay was the host city for the NCAA’s Frozen Four in 2012 and that even is scheduled to be held there again in 2016. . . . In mid-June, the Arizona Coyotes announced that they wouldn’t be bidding for the 2018 WJC, after earlier revealing that they were interested. . . . Also believed to be interested in bidding are Buffalo, Detroit and Pittsburgh. . . . The WJC has been held in the U.S. on six occasions: Minneapolis (1982), Anchorage (1989), Boston (1996), Grand Forks (2005) and Buffalo (2011). . . . The 2016 tournament is scheduled for Helsinki, Finland, with the 2017 event in Montreal and Toronto.
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The 2014-15 hockey season officially drew to a close on Thursday. That’s because Hockey Night in Canada’s Elliotte Friedman filed what he said would be his final 30 Thoughts of the season. Except that this one is 44 Thoughts. . . . It’s right here.
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The NHL’s Florida Panthers made some organizational changes on Thursday, including the promotion of Scott Luce from director of scouting to director of player personnel. . . . The Panthers also announced that Brian Skrudland’s contract as director of player development wouldn’t be renewed. Skrudland is a former WHL player (Saskatoon, 1980-83). . . . The Panthers’ news release is right here.
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Got a tip or some information you feel could be useful to me, feel free to send an email to greggdrinnan@gmail.com.
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Graham (Spike) Watt, who has been with the Saskatoon Blades since 2005, is leaving his post as head equipment manager to join the AHL’s Manitoba Moose. He will be the Moose’s head equipment manager. . . . A native of Brandon, Watt spent five seasons with the MJHL’s Swan Valley Stampeders as their trainer and equipment manager before joining the Blades.
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D Noah Juulsen of the Everett Silvertips has signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Montreal Canadiens. They selected him in the first round, 26th overall, of last month’s NHL draft. . . . Juulsen had 52 points, including 43 assists, in 68 games with the Silvertips last season. In 128 regular-season games over two seasons, the Surrey, B.C., native has 62 points, 11 of them goals.
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D Josh Hanson, who played 317 regular-season games with the Portland Winterhawks, has decided to attend the U of Toronto and play for the Varsity Blues. . . . Hanson, who is from Eagle River, Alaska, used up his junior eligibility last season. He played in four WHL championship series with the Winterhawks, winning in 2012-13. . . . At the U of T, he will study economics.
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Mark Ferner is going to coach his son, Mac, for the first time in 2015-16. The BCHL’s Vernon Vipers have acquired the younger Ferner from the West Kelowna Warriors in a deal that had D Mitch Meek go to the Prince George Spruce Kings and the rights to F Luke Harrison end up with West Kelowna. . . . Mac Ferner, who is heading into his 20-year-old season, had two goals and nine assists in 49 games last season; Meek, who will be 19, had 16 points in 50 games with Vernon. . . . Harrison, who is preparing for his 20-year-old season, is from West Kelowna. He is on the roster of the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers. He had 23 points, 12 of them goals, in 69 games last season. . . . Mark Ferner left the Blazers early last season — he was associate coach under Don Hay — to return to Vernon as the Vipers’ GM and head coach. Ferner has yet to coach his son at any level.
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Blaine Fomradas (New Westminster, Moose Jaw, Saskatoon, Lethbridge, 1986-92) has signed on as director of scouting with the SJHL’s Kindersley Klippers.
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The 2015 Team Snap Hockey Coaches Conference is almost here. It is scheduled to be held in Vancouver, July 24-25. For more info, click right here.
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Such an honor receiving #OrderOfManitoba with Tom Cochrane and Jonathan Toews Remember #Chucks4Bucks @RaeCroteau pic.twitter.com/NjLpuNVgZD

— Sheldon Kennedy (@ShelKenn) July 10, 2015

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Pochiro shoots way out of PG doghouse

D Bryce Lampman (Kamloops, 2002-03) has signed for the rest of this season with Lørenskog (Norway, GET-Ligaen). This season, with Florida (ECHL), he had five points, including one goal, in eight games. . . .
F Kirill Starkov (Red Deer, 2006-07) has signed with Red Ice Martigny (Switzerland, NL B) for the rest of the season, with an option. (Red Ice contacted the Danish federation and inserted a termination clause should Starkov be suspended by the IIHF over a Danish betting case.)
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George Johnson, the Calgary Herald’s sporting columnist, is one of Canada’s best wordsmiths. He was in attendance Sunday as the hometown Hitmen dropped a 3-2 OT decision to the Edmonton Oil Kings, and his report is right here.
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Things appear to be going from bad to worse for the Kamloops Blazers. They have the WHL’s second-poorest record (11-33-5) and have only one victory in their last 10 outings. And now, as they prepare to play four games in five nights, they have lost two veterans to what they are calling “long-term injuries.”
F Luke Harrison, 18, suffered an undisclosed injury during a 4-0 loss to the visiting Medicine Hat Tigers on Saturday. Harrison, who missed time earlier this season with a brain injury, was involved in a heavy collision with Tigers D Scott Allan at 14:13 of the third period. Harrison needed help from trainer Colin Robinson and left with gauze in his mouth.
One night earlier, F Tyson Ness, 20, suffered a broken jaw when struck by a puck during a 7-2 loss to the visiting Victoria Royals. Ness is expected to be lost for the remainder of the season, although he has told team officials that he badly wants to play in one more game.
The Blazers also are missing freshman F Eric Krienke and veteran F Matt Needham, their captain, with undisclosed injuries. According to the team, Krienke is out one to two weeks, while Needham is week-to-week.
With the injuries, the Blazers have added F Deven Sideroff, 16, to their roster for this week. He has 55 points, 26 of them goals, in 33 games with the midget prep team at the Okanagan Hockey Academy.
G Cole Kehler, 16, also has rejoined the Blazers and will stay with the team while G Justin Myles, who was acquired from the Seattle Thunderbirds at the trade deadline, recovers from an undisclosed injury. Kehler also attends the Okanagan Hockey Academy and plays for the midget prep team for whom he has a 19-4 record. He has gotten into six games with the Blazers this season.
The Blazers are at home to the Spokane Chiefs on Tuesday night, then visit the Giants in Vancouver on Wednesday. F Quinn Benjafield, the Blazers’ first pick, 19th overall, in the 2013 bantam draft, is expected to make his WHL debut in Vancouver, which happens to be his hometown. Benjafield, 15, has 34 points, including 14 goals, in 27 games with the major midget Vancouver-North West Giants.
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The ECHL’s San Francisco Bulls folded on Monday. The Bulls had an affiliation with the NHL’s San Jose Sharks. . . . “We regret to inform you that the SF Bulls are ceasing operations, effective immediately,” president/GM/head coach Pat Curcio wrote to season-ticket holders. “The team was hoping to secure new ownership, however the terms of an updated deal were unable to be finalized, cancelling the remainder of the season.” . . . Included on the roster was D Kalvin Sagert (Kamloops, Lethbridge, Regina, 2002-08). Sagert now is an unrestricted free agent, as are any Bulls players who don’t have AHL or NHL contracts.
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Ron Judd of the Seattle Times starts your Super Bowl preparations -- it’s the Seattle Seahawks and the Denver Broncos on Sunday -- with a piece that includes this: “Denver’s Gates Corporation is the world’s largest producer of automotive belts and hoses. Seattle’s Gates Foundation is the world’s largest curer of global hunger and disease.” . . . There’s more right here.
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 The Portland Winterhawks, who have won seven in a row, have earned 17 of a possible 18 points since Jan. 4. . . . Portland F Brendan Leipsic has 20 points in the nine games he has played since serving a seven-game suspension. He has 63 points in 38 games this season. . . . If you were wondering, the Winterhawks are 5-0-0 since D Mathew Dumba joined them after getting some rest following the World Junior Championship. He’s got six points, including two goals, and is plus-10. . . .
Don’t look now but things are heating up in the WHL’s scoring derby. Spokane Chiefs F Mitch Holmberg continues to lead, with 85 points in 48 games, but Portland F Nic Petan is on the move, with 79 points in 41 games. . . . Holmberg leads the WHL in goals, with 43, and that’s 10 more than Portland F Oliver Bjorkstrand, who is third in the points derby, with 70. . . . Petan leads the league in assists, with 55. . . . Leipsic and Petan shared the scoring title last season, each with 120 points. . . .
The Brandon Wheat Kings, who are 4-0-1 in their last five games, open a four-game road swing in Edmonton against the red-hot Oil Kings today. If you’re in the area, not that the game is scheduled to start at 1 p.m. Yes, they are calling it Hockey Hooky. . . .
Kootenay Ice F Luke Philp is on a 10-game point streak, with 16 points in that time, while F Tim Bozon is riding a nine-game tear. He has 15 points over that stretch. . . . Philp has the longest ongoing streak in the WHL at the moment. . . .
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The Prince George Cougars were without three of their top eight scorers as they dropped a 6-3 decision to the Wheat Kings in Brandon on Saturday night. Ted Clarke of the Prince George Citizen reports that “centre Alex Forsberg (concussion) and winger Chase Witala (upper body) were out with injuries and centre Zach Pochiro was scratched as punishment for his undisciplined play after he took three straight minor penalties in the first period of the Regina game.” . . . The Cougars had lost 8-0 to the Pats in Regina on Friday. . . .
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MONDAY’S GAME:
In Prince Albert, F Zach Pochiro, back in the lineup after sitting out a game as a healthy scratch, forced OT and then won the game in the shootout as the Prince George Cougars beat the Raiders, 6-5. . . . Pochiro tied the game right off a faceoff with 15.4 seconds left in the third period. He then was the only one of eight skaters to score in the shootout. . . . F Todd Fiddler scored twice for the Cougars, giving him 30 goals this season. . . . The Raiders led five times in this one -- 1-0, 2-1, 3-2, 4-3 and 5-4. . . . The Raiders (23-23-3), who had scored five regulation-time goals in their previous five games, are ninth in the Eastern Conference, five points out of a playoff spot. . . . The Cougars (19-26-7) are ninth in the Western Conference, eight points out of the playoffs.
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From Francis Costello (@FrankCostello_): “Welcome back. I actually had to scroll box scores! Business idea alert: $10 annual subscription. I’d gladly play!!”
Hmmm . . . seeing as I’m unemployed . . .

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