F Toni Rajala (Brandon, 2009-10) signed a one-year contract with Luleå (Sweden, SHL). This season, with Yugra Khanty-Mansiysk (Russia, KHL), he had three goals and nine assists in 21 games. In 31 games with Färjestad Karlstad (Sweden, SHL), he had 27 points, including 14 goals. . . .
The KHL ‘Junior Fair’ or entry draft was held on Saturday, and two players with WHL connections were selected. . . . F Jordan Weal (Regina, 2007-12) went in the third round (69th overall) to Sochi. This season, with the Manchester Monarchs (AHL), he had 20 goals and 49 assists in 73 games. Weal was third in the AHL scoring race and was named a second-team all-star. . . . G Patrik Bartosak (Red Deer, 2011-13) was taken in the fifth round (125th overall) by Dynamo Minsk. This season, with Manchester, he was 2.23 and .919 in 28 games. . . . The KHL draft is open to Russian players age 17 and non-Russian players ages 17-23 who don’t have any contractual ties to any KHL or other Russian club.———
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Here is the Memorial Cup schedule (all games on Sportsnet; all times Eastern):
Friday, May 22: Kelowna 3 vs. Quebec 4 (9,497)
Saturday, May 23: Rimouski 3 vs. Oshawa 4 (8,409)
Sunday, May 24: Quebec 4 vs. Oshawa 5 (OT) (10,970)
Monday, May 25: Rimouski 3 vs. Kelowna 7 (6,981)
Tuesday: Oshawa vs. Kelowna, 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday: Quebec vs. Rimouski, 7:30 p.m.
Thursday: Tiebreaker, if necessary, 7:30 p.m.
Friday: Semifinal, 7:30 p.m.
Sunday: Championship game, 7 p.m.
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Graham James is facing yet another sexual assault-related charge.
It was revealed Monday that the 63-year-old James, who coached in the WHL with the Moose Jaw Warriors (1984-85), Swift Current Broncos (1986-94) and Calgary Hitmen (1995-96), has been charged with one count of repeated sexual assaults.
Lawyer Robert Skinner of Regina represented James by phone with Swift Current provincial court on
 |
| GRAHAM JAMES |
On Monday, the judge in Swift Current issued a publication ban in order to protect the identity of the alleged victim.
According to the RCMP, a former Broncos player came forward with a complaint on Sept. 27, 2013. The complainant has said the alleged assaults took place in 1991 and 1992.
James is in prison, although prosecutors have not said where. He is in the final weeks of a sentence he received in 2012 for sexual assaults on former NHL/WHL star Theo Fleury, while he was with the Warriors, and his cousin, Todd Holt, when he was with the Broncos. In that case, James originally was sentenced to two years, but that was increased to five years on appeal.
As news of the latest charges hit social media, Fleury tweeted:
“By the time a pedophile gets caught he has over 120 victims, not surprised by the news of Graham James.
"For all of you asking if I'm ok, I appreciate it and it just gives me more conviction to keep fighting. I have a great life #epidemic.”
Prior to the Fleury/Holt-related sentence, James served 3 1/2 years in prison after pleading guilty to sexually assaulting former NHLer Sheldon Kennedy, while he was with the Broncos, and two other players.
You may recall that the National Parole Board gave James a pardon in 2007, something that resulted in a huge outpouring of outrage and, later, a tightening of the rules regarding such situations.
Kennedy told the Calgary Sun on Monday that he was aware of the latest charge against James, adding that he wasn’t “at all surprised.”
“When the police did the investigation in my case,” Kennedy told 660News, a Calgary radio station, “they figured there was anywhere from 75 to 100 other victims.
“I go back to thinking about how important it is for the individual, that we focus on them as they came forward and I know that there’s going to be some struggles as they go through the process.
“Graham James is hopefully not getting out of jail anytime soon.”
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“A former National Hockey League enforcer has pleaded guilty to a string of criminal charges dating back to last year,” writes Tim Petruk of Kamloops This Week. “Rudy Poeschek was in Kamloops provincial court on Monday, where he entered guilty pleas to four counts — three allegations of driving while prohibited and one count of assault. He will be sentenced on July 2.” . . . Petruk’s complete story is right here.
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THE COACHING GAME:
Bradley Flynn has joined the QMJHL’s Acadie-Bathurst Titan as an assistant coach under head coach Mario Pouliot. . . . Flynn, the son of Saint John Sea Dogs head coach Danny Flynn, will work with fellow assistant Jean-François Grégoire. . . . Bradley Flynn had been an assistant coach with the NAHL’s Corpus Christi IceRays. . . . The Titan also has added Nathan Dunnett as its goaltending coach. He played in the QMJHL with the Drummondville Voltigeurs and Baie-Comeau Drakkar. Most recently, he has been with the Maritime Hockey League’s Miramichi Timberwolves.——
The OHL’s Peterborough Petes are expected to announce today that they have added Jake Grimes to their coaching staff as an assistant under head coach Jody Hull. . . . Grimes spent 11 seasons as an assistant coach with the Belleville Bulls. The Belleville franchise has been sold and the Bulls now are the Hamilton Bulldogs.———
The four-team 2016 Cyclone Taylor Cup will be held in Victoria, April 7-10. The Cyclone Taylor Cup is the B.C. junior B championship. The Victoria Cougars of the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League will be the host team. The tournament also includes the champions from the VIJHL, Kootenay International and Pacific junior leagues. . . . The VIJHL’s Campbell River Storm won the tournament this year in Mission.
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Trent Yawney, once a WHL defenceman (Saskatoon, 1981-85), is an assistant coach with the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks these days and is playing an important role in their playoff run. Eric Duhatschek of The Globe and Mail explains it all right here. . . . Brad Lauer, a former WHL player and coach, also is on the Ducks’ coaching staff.
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Mike O’Brien, who was a colleague when we both worked at the Regina Leader-Post, lost his battle with cancer on Monday. He was a special person. If you haven’t read the feature that Jana Pruden wrote about him recently, that story is right here.
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Sad to say, the lovely & clever Mike O’Brien - who, among many things, played Wes Humboldt on CornerGas - has passed away. #CancerSucks.
— Brent Butt (@BrentButt) May 25, 2015
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for the Ed Chynoweth Cup. . . . That series will follow a 2-3-2 format, opening with games in Brandon on Friday and Saturday nights. . . . The Wheat Kings have home-ice advantage because they finished with 114 regular-season points (53-11-8), while the Rockets had 112 (53-13-6). . . . The last time the top two regular-season teams met in the WHL final was 2003 when the Rockets (51-14-7) beat the Red Deer Rebels (50-17-5) in six games. . . . Cody Nickolet points out via Twitter that “Brandon and Kelowna were also the top two WHL teams in goal differential during the regular season, too. Kelowna +122, Brandon +121.” . . . Each of Brandon’s three playoff series has gone five games; Kelowna has played a four, a five and a six, in that order. . . . The Wheat Kings and Rockets met once this season, with Kelowna skating to a 6-1 victory at home on Oct. 25. F Nick Merkley had a goal and three assists in that one. . . . Going into the final, Portland F Nic Petan leads all playoff scorers with 28 points, two more than Calgary F Adam Tambellini. . . . Petan and Merkley lead in assists (18), while Tambellini and Portland F Oliver Bjorkstrand each had 13 goals. . . . Kelowna F Leon Draisaitl, who had one assist last night, is the leading active scorer, with 21 points. He had points in 13 of Kelowna’s 15 games. . . . F John Quenneville is Brandon’s top scorer, with 19 points.
In Medicine Hat, the Tigers scored the game’s last four goals as they beat the Lethbridge Hurricanes, 6-3. . . . The visitors took a 3-2 lead into the second period. . . . Tigers D Tyler Lewington tied it at 7:43 of the second and gave his guys the lead at 19:52. He’s got eight goals. . . . F Trevor Cox, who leads the WHL in points, got his 21st goal at 2:49 of the third and F Chad Butcher scored No. 15 at 7:11 on a PP. . . . Cox also had two assists. . . . F Markus Eisenschmid had two goals, giving him 15, and added an assist for Medicine Hat. . . . Tigers F Cole Sanford had three assists, as did freshman D David Quenneville, who enjoyed his first three-point game. . . . Medicine Hat F Dryden Hunt didn’t get a point, thus ending his point streak at 19 games, the longest in the WHL this season. He had 10 goals and 19 assists during his streak. . . . The longest active point streak in the WHL now belongs to Cox, at nine games. . . . Cox has 83 points in 48 games; last season, he finished with 82 in 70 games. He leads the scoring race by eight points over Sanford. . . . Lethbridge F Tyler Wong scored his 20th goal of the season, while F Brayden Burke had two assists. . . . With seven regulars out — including D Tommy Vannelli, Ty Stanton, Kyle Burroughs and Kyle Becker— the Tigers had D Brad Forrest of Calgary and F Ryan Jevne of Edmonton in their lineup. Forrest was an eighth-round pick in the 2012 bantam draft; he plays for the AJHL’s Calgary Mustangs. Jevne, who plays for the AJHL’s Drumheller Dragons, was taken in the second round of the 2013 bantam draft. . . . F Zane Franklin, the 43rd overall selection in the 2014 bantam draft, made his debut with the Hurricanes. Franklin, from Marwayne, Alta., is playing for the midget AAA Lloydminster Bobcats. He has 31 points, including 11 goals, in 26 games. . . . The Tigers (34-12-2) have won five in a row. . . . The Hurricanes (11-29-6) entertain the Kootenay Ice tonight. . . .
In Red Deer, D Madison Bowey scored in the fourth round of a shootout to give the Kelowna Rockets a 4-3 victory over the Rebels. . . . Red Deer F Conner Bleackley forced OT with his 23rd goal at 5:29 of the third period. . . . The Rebels took a 2-0 lead with a pair of second-period goals 13 seconds part. . . . F Austin Adamson scored his fourth goal at 3:40 and F Wyatt Johnson added his 20th at 3:53. . . . The Rockets then took the lead with three goals in 2:02. D Madison Bowey got his 12th at 11:55 of the second, with F Justin Kirkland getting his 17th at 13:29 and F Tyson Baillie notching his 30th at 13:57. . . . Kelowna G Jackson Whistler stopped 24 shots through OT and was perfect in the shootout. . . . Red Deer G Rylan Toth turned aside 36 shots. . . . Red Deer was 0-for-4 on the PP, including a 5-on-3 for 1:54 in the second period as it was leading 2-0. . . . Kelowna was 0-for-3. . . . Red Deer won’t have F Evan Polei in its lineup for up to two months. He suffered an undisclosed injury Saturday against visiting Vancouver. . . . The Rockets (37-8-3), who are in Edmonton tonight, have won three straight. . . . The Rebels (27-14-7) are 7-0-2 in their last nine games. They are second in the Central Division, two points ahead of idle Calgary.
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