Ex-WHL coach off to Slovakia ... Hitmen coach talking with Swiss team? ... Blades sign three picks

F Brad Ross (Portland, 2007-12) has signed a one-year contract with the Heilbronner Falken (Germany, DEL2). This season, with the Iserlohn Roosters (Germany, DEL), Ross had four assists in six games. His season ended prematurely due to a hand injury. Heilbronner’s head coach is Gerhard Unterluggauer (Brandon, 1995-97). . . .

F Dalibor Bortňák (Kamloops, 2008-11) has signed a one-year extension with Banská Bystrica (Slovakia, Extraliga). This season, in 49 games, he had 10 goals and 22 assists.

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Former Kamloops Blazers head coach Dave Hunchak will
coach in Slovakia next season.
(Photo: Hugo Yuen/Kamloops Daily News)

It took more than three years, but former WHL coach Dave Hunchak is back in the game.

Hunchak has been named associate coach with Banská Bystrica, which won the Slovak Extraliga this season. Hunchak, who got a two-year contract, will work alongside head coach Vladimir Országh.

Hunchak, 43, coached in the WHL for 10 seasons, with the Swift Current Broncos, Moose Jaw Warriors and Kamloops Blazers. He was the head coach in Moose Jaw for four seasons (2007-11) and spent two-plus seasons in Kamloops.

Hunchak was the Blazers’ head coach when he left the team while it was in Spokane in January 2014. More than a year later he spoke with Allan Maki of The Globe and Mail for a piece headlined: Hockey world steps up mental health support. But is it enough?

That story is right here.

Banská Bystrica was looking to replace Richard Zednik, who had left its coaching staff, and chose to get in touch with Hunchak.

“During the interviews . . . many names fell,“ Julius Koval, Banská Bystrica’s sports manager, said on the team’s website. “But finally, on the basis of recommendations, like Jason Bast or Ty Wishart, we decided to reach Dave.”

Bast and Wishart played for Hunchak in Moose Jaw. Bast played in Banská Bystrica in 2015-16, while Wishart just completed his first season there.

Hunchak will leave for training camp in mid-July.

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Excited to be returning to Bruneck and @hcpustertal Looking forward to working with the great group of players and staff we have there.

— Mark Holick (@coachholly68) May 17, 2017

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The Calgary Hitmen are looking for a new general manager, having moved Mike Moore up to vice-president and alternate governor on Tuesday.

Might they also be in the market for a head coach before too long?

Mark French, their 46-year-old head coach, is said to be in the running for the head-coaching job with the Fribourg-Gotteron Dragons of Switzerland’s National League A.

Earlier this month, the Swiss newspaper La Liberte reported that French was the front-runner to replace Larry Huras, and that French was likely to meet with team president Michel Volet in the near future.

French has completed three seasons as Calgary’s head coach. He received what the team said was a “multi-year” contract extension on June 20.

Before signing with Calgary, he was the head coach the AHL’s Hershey Bears for four seasons and with Medvescak Zagreb of the KHL for one season.

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The Saskatoon Blades had two first-round selections in the 2017 WHL bantam draft and signed both of them on Wednesday. . . . D Aidan De La Gorgendiere, the fifth overall selection, is from Langley, B.C. De La Gorgendiere played this season at the Yale Hockey Academy. He had 26 points, including five goals, in 30 games with the bantam prep team and added two goals and two assists in four games with the Elite 15s. His parents grew up in Saskatoon so he has a lot of family there. . . . The Blades also signed F Kyle Crnkovic of Chestermere, Alta., who was the 10th overall pick. He had 79 points, 40 of them goals, in 30 games with the Pursuit of Excellence bantam prep team. . . . The Blades also announced the signing of F Braden Plaschewsky, who was taken in the second round with a pick acquired from the Red Deer Rebels for F Mason McCarty, 20. Plaschewsky, from Calgary, had 72 points, including 30 goals, in 35 games with the bantam AAA Calgary Bisons.

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F Tim Vanstone has made a commitment to the U of Calgary where he will play for the Dinos. Vanstone, from Swift Current, played out his junior eligibility this season. He was the Raiders’ captain for the past two seasons. This season, he had 30 points, including 12 goals, in 68 games. In 299 career regular-season games, all with the Raiders, he had 36 goals and 58 assists. The Raiders selected him in the third round of the 2011 bantam draft.

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D Josh Mahura of the Regina Pats has signed a three-year entry-level contract with the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks. From St. Albert, Alta., Mahura was a third-round pick by the Ducks in the NHL’s 2016 draft. . . . Mahura had two goals and six assists in 51 games as a 16-year-old with the Red Deer Rebels. He missed all but two games of the 2015-16 regular season due to a knee injury, but came back to play in 17 playoff games, picking up two goals and two assists. He was dealt to the Pats this season -- he had nine goals and 24 assists in 39 games with Red Deer, and eight goals and 12 assists in 34 games with Regina. But he really caught fire in the playoffs, putting up eight goals and 13 assists in 23 games as the Pats got six games into the championship final before losing to the Seattle Thunderbirds.

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The Vancouver Giants have signed D Tanner Brown, who was a second-round pick in the 2017 WHL bantam draft. From Kelowna, Brown had seven goals and 22 assists in 26 games with the Pursuit of Excellence’s bantam prep team this season.

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Ryan McGill of the Owen Sound Attack and Kris Knoblauch of the Erie Otters were named the OHL’s first- and second-team all-star coaches on Wednesday. Both are former WHL players and coaches. . . . McGill played for the Lethbridge Broncos, Swift Current Broncos and Medicine Hat Tigers (1985-89) and was a coach with the Edmonton/Kootenay Ice (1996-2002, 2012-15). . . . Knoblauch played for the Red Deer Rebels, Edmonton/Kootenay and the Lethbridge Hurricanes (1996-99). As a coach, he spent one season (2006-07) with the Prince Albert Raiders and five (2007-12) with Kootenay. . . . Knoblauch guided his Otters to the OHL championship and they are in Windsor, preparing for the Memorial Cup tournament that begins on Friday. Two of the other three head coaches also have WHL ties. Steve Konowalchuk, who is in his sixth season with the WHL-champion Seattle Thunderbirds, played two seasons (1990-92) with the Portland Winterhawks. . . . Rocky Thompson, in season No. 2 as the head coach of the host Windsor Spitfires, played four-plus seasons (1993-97) with the Medicine Hat Tigers, finishing up with 22 games with the Swift Current Broncos. He began his coaching season with three seasons (2007-10) as an assistant with the Edmonton Oil Kings.

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If you are interested in Part 2 of Lucas Aykroyd’s interview with Dave King, it’s right here. These days, King is working as an assistant coach with Team Canada at the IIHF World Championship. . . . BTW, King jogs every morning. In fact, he has jogged every morning for almost 30 years without missing a day.

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Jesse Dorrans no longer is the general manager and head coach of the AJHL’s Drayton Valley Thunder. The team revealed Wednesday morning that Dorrans “has resigned due to personal reasons.” . . . Dorrans spent one season with the Thunder, going 17-39-4 to finish sixth in the eight-team Viterra North Division. In the playoffs, the Thunder was swept from a best-of-five first-round series by the Spruce Grove Saints.

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Holick enjoying Italy . . . Hitmen ice Ice again . . . Rockets end red-hot road trip

That moment when @ssteel23, @robbieholmes77 and Luc Smith are headed home for Christmas, and meet Paul Coffey! #JoinTheRegiment pic.twitter.com/YRzdCmTTDv

— Regina Pats (@WHLPats) December 18, 2016

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM TAKING NOTE

We are into the stretch drive with the big day less than a week away. Right here is Johnny Mathis, the man with the voice, with . . . When A Child Is Born.

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Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all of you. Safe travels if you are on the byways and highways, and please slow down and enjoy the season. Taking Note will be here through the holidays just in case you need shelter from the storm. Besides, there still are more Christmas tunes to be played.

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F Tomáš Kopecký (Lethbridge, 2000-02) has been released by Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia, KHL). He had one assist in 15 games. He had started season with Dukla Trenčín (Slovakia, Extraliga), recording two assists in five games.

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A year ago, Mark Holick was the head coach of the WHL’s Prince George Cougars. Today, he’s coaching a team in Italy that plays in an open-air arena -- well, it does have a roof -- and having the time of his life. . . . There is more with Holick right here from The Coaches Site.

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F Tyler Ward of the BCHL’s Merritt Centennials has committed to the U of Denver where he will play for the Pioneers. Ward, 17, is from Kamloops. He was an 11th-round pick of the Blazers in the WHL’s 2014 bantam draft. This season, he has 12 points, seven of them goals, in 16 games with the Centennials. Last season, he finished with 17 goals and 10 assists in 52 games.

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Now that's the video board we need in Tri City. #AmsHockey#CityofKennewick pic.twitter.com/syIDtKi95D

— Robert (Bob) Tory (@BTORY) December 18, 2016

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SUNDAY’S GAMES:

#WHL KTN/CGY:  Jordy Stallard's 6th of campaign is difference as @WHLHitmen win 13th straight vs. Kootenay.  Only 3 have been 3+ spread.

— Geoffrey Brandow (@GeoffreyBrandow) December 19, 2016

At Calgary, F Jordy Stallard broke a 2-2 tie at 13:41 of the third period and the Hitmen went on to beat the

JORDY STALLARD

Kootenay Ice, 3-2. . . . Stallard has six goals. . . . D Ryan Pouliot had given the Ice a 1-0 lead with his first goal, at 1:07 of the first period. . . . The Hitmen tied it when F Andrei Grishakov (3) scored at 18:21. . . . F Jakob Stukel’s ninth goal gave the home side a 2-1 lead, at 8:18 of the second period. . . . F Austin Wellsby (2) pulled Kootenay into a 2-2 tie at 10:23 of the second. . . . Stallard also had an assist. . . . G Cody Porter had a big game with 33 saves to earn the victory. . . . G Payton Lee stopped 25 shots for the Ice. . . . Kootenay was 1-3 on the PP; Calgary was 0-1. . . . Calgary improved to 13-16-2, while the Ice (6-22-8) lists its sixth straight game (0-5-1). . . . This was an important victory for the Hitmen, who are six points behind the Brandon Wheat Kings, who hold down the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card spot and hold two games in hand. . . . Announced attendance: 6,562.

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Holiday full team autograph signing 🎄 pic.twitter.com/MjeY7hUK7A

— Edmonton Oil Kings (@EdmOilKings) December 19, 2016

At Edmonton, F Jake Kryski scored the only goal of a three-round shootout to give the Kelowna Rockets

MICHAEL HERRINGER

a 2-1 victory over the Oil Kings. . . . Neither team was able to score through 40 minutes of regulation time. . . . F Nick Bowman gave the Oil Kings a 1-0 lead with his fifth goal, at 1:50 of the third period. . . . Kelowna tied it at 8:45 when F Jack Cowell scored his second goal of the season. . . . Rockets F Kole Lind had a 13-game point streak come to an end. . . . Edmonton held a 7-1 edge in shots in OT but wasn’t able to solve Rockets G Michael Herringer. He finished with 28 saves through OT, then was perfect on three shootout attempts. . . . Edmonton G Patrick Dea turned aside 29 shots. . . . Each team was 0-5 on the PP. . . . The Rockets (22-12-2) are 3-0-1 in their last four games and are second in the B.C. Division. They went 5-1-1 on a seven-game trek that started with a 3-2 OT victory over the Tri-City Americans on Dec. 9 and included six stops in the Central Division. All told, the Rockets played the seven games in 10 days. . . . The Oil Kings (16-15-4) have points in four straight games (2-0-2). They hold down the Eastern Conference’s first wild-card spot, but are just two points behind the Red Deer Rebels, who are third in the Central Division. . . . The Rockets are 2-0-0 in Edmonton this season. They won 1-0 on Oct. 7. . . . Announced attendance: 8,657.

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DEC. 19-26:

No Games Scheduled.

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TEDDY BEAR, TOQUE AND MITTEN TOSS GAMES:

Saturday, Jan. 21: Vancouver vs. Seattle, at Kent, Wash., 7:05 p.m.

Nov. 26: D Micheal Zipp, 19:47 1st period, Lethbridge 4 at Calgary 2.

Dec. 2: D Artyom Minulin, 13:24 1st period, Calgary 1 at Swift Current 5.

Dec. 2: F Jordy Bellerive, 14:00 1st period, Red Deer 3 at Lethbridge 5.

Dec. 3: F Adam Musil, 14:27 1st period, Lethbridge 2 at Red Deer 3 (OT).

Dec. 3: D Ondrej Vala, 10:38 1st period, Vancouver 2 at Kamloops 5.

Dec. 3: F Nick Merkley, 6:54 2nd period, Brandon 1 at Kelowna 3.

Dec. 9: F Austin Glover, 0:32 2nd period, Moose Jaw 7 at Prince Albert 3. 

Dec. 9: F Riley Woods, 11:45 1st period, Swift Current 1 at Regina 8.

Dec. 9: F Keanu Yamamoto, 4:01 1st period, Kootenay 3 at Spokane 4.

Dec. 10: D Josh Thrower, 12:13 1st period, Prince Albert 4 at Moose Jaw 5 (SO).

Dec. 10: F Nick Bowman, 13:38 2nd period, Kamloops 3 at Edmonton 2.

Dec. 10: D Troy Murray, 1:51 2nd, Kelowna 7 at Kootenay 3.

Dec. 10: F Max Gerlach, 5:26 1st period, Calgary 4 at Medicine Hat 7.

Dec. 10: F Skyler McKenzie 2:21 1st, Everett 2 at Portland 5.

Dec. 10: F Josh Curtis, 6:02 2nd period, Seattle 4 at Prince George 6.

Dec. 10: F Tyler Sandhu, 0:36 1st period, Victoria 3 at Tri-City 4.

Dec. 16: F Linden McCorrister, 17:47 1st period, Saskatoon 2 at Brandon 3 (SO).

Dec. 16: F James Malm, 3:34 1st period, Portland 4 vs. Vancouver 6, at Langley, B.C.

Dec. 17: F Braylon Shmyr, 2:13 2nd period, Brandon 3 at Saskatoon 2.

Dec. 17: F Eetu Tuulola, 19:29 2nd period, Portland 2 at Everett 4.

Dec. 17: F Eric Florchuk, 15:57 1st period, Vancouver 5 at Victoria 4 (OT).

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McCrimmon signs with Vegas; injuries take out Everett defenceman

F Colton Gilles (Saskatoon, 2004-08) has signed a one-year contract with Dinamo Riga (Latvia, KHL) after a successful tryout. Last season, with Banská Bystrica (Slovakia, Extraliga), he had six goals and five assists in 28 games. . . .

F Colin Long (Kelowna, 2005-09) has signed a one-year contract with Asiago (Italy, Alps HL). Last season, he had seven goals and 14 assists in 40 games with Asplöven Haparanda (Sweden, Allsvenskan). . . .

D Andrej Meszároš (Vancouver, 2004-05) has signed a one-year contract with Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia, KHL). Last season, with Sibir Novosibirsk (Russia, KHL), he had six goals and three assists in 28 games.

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Las Vegas NHL expansion team has hired Kelly McCrimmon as its assistant general manager per owner Bill Foley. Official announcement Tuesday.

— Steve Carp (@stevecarprj) August 2, 2016

Yes, the NHL’s Las Vegas franchise, which is to begin play in 2017-18, has hired Kelly McCrimmon as an assistant general manager. McCrimmon, the owner, general manager and head coach of the Brandon Wheat Kings, will work alongside Las Vegas general manager George McPhee. . . . McCrimmon is to be introduced at a news conference in Las Vegas today (Tuesday). At that point, perhaps he will enlighten folks as to his plans for the Wheat Kings, who are the WHL’s reigning champions. . . . Steve Carp of the Las Vegas Review-Journal has a bit more right here.

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D Tristen Pfeifer revealed on Monday that he won’t be returning to the Everett Silvertips for a third season. “I am saddened to announce that I will not be returning to Everett next season because of health concerns,” he wrote on social media. “Would like to thank everyone who has supported me throughout my hockey career. A special thanks to the Silvertips organization, my coaches, the fans, the city, my billets, and most importantly the guys for making these last couple years unforgettable. I’m very blessed and grateful for my time as a Tip.” . . . Pfeifer, from Phoenix, played two seasons with Everett, but was limited by injuries — shoulder and concussions — to 49 games as a freshman and 60 games last season when he wasn’t able to play in the playoffs. . . . He totalled four goals and 18 assists in 109 regular-season games. . . . Pfeifer showed enough as an 18-year-old freshman that NHL Central Scouting ranked him No. 135 among North American skaters prior to the 2015 draft. However, he went undrafted. . . . Without Pfeifer, the Silvertips are left with three 20-year-olds on their roster — F Lucas Skrumeda, F Graham Millar and F Brandon Ralph.

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The Spokane Chiefs have signed F Carter Chorney, who was a second-round selection in the 2016 bantam draft. The 6-foot-0, 170-pounder is from Sherwood Park, Alta. Last season, he had 66 points, including 31 goals, in 36 games with the bantam AAA Sherwood Park Flyers. He added 14 points, six of them goals, in 10 playoff games.

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Got a tip or some information you feel could be useful to me, feel free to email me at greggdrinnan@gmail.com.

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Mark Holick is the new head coach of HC Pustertal Wolfe, an Italian team that plays in the Alps HL out of Bruneck. . . . Holick, 47, is a native of Penticton, B.C., who has been coaching since 1994. He spent the previous three-plus seasons as head coach of the WHL’s Prince George Cougars. That relationship ended after the 2015-16 season, although Holick had one year left on his contract. This will be Holick’s first coaching assignment in Europe.

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Dustin Donaghy, a former WHLer, has joined the BCHL’s Nanaimo Clippers as an assistant coach. He will work alongside general manager/head coach Mike Vandekamp. Donaghy, 27, was with the Spokane Chiefs when they won the 2008 Memorial Cup. He also played in the WHL with the Lethbridge Hurricanes. . . . He went on to play five seasons in the Central league. . . . From Cranbrook, he has been living in Spokane. He has coaching experience at the Compete Hockey Academy in Spokane and the Coeur d’Alene Hockey Academy.

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The midget AAA Eastman Selects, who play out of Beausejour, Man., went 40-1-3 in 2015-16, the best record in franchise history, before losing to the second-place Winnipeg Wild in the league final. . . . So why did the Eastman Minor Hockey Association dump the general manager and the coaching staff. Well, it seems the board “has determined to go in a different direction.” . . . Terry Frey of The Carillon has the story right here.

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Matthew Tkachuk said he's healthy but needs some rest so he's staying off the ice at #NJEC pic.twitter.com/O8I9i7t5uE

— Adam Kimelman (@NHLAdamK) August 2, 2016

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Cooper Holick tells his story . . . Habscheid gets four years from Raiders . . . Great day for Thoma

F Ty Morris (Swift Current, Vancouver, Red Deer, 2003-05) signed a one-year contract with Peiting (Germany, Oberliga). This season, with Landshut (Germany, DEL2), he had 13 goals and 16 assists in 45 games. he is a dual Dual Canadian-German citizen.
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TUESDAY’S GAMES:

No Games Scheduled.
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KELOWNA VS. PORTLAND: The Winterhawks are scheduled to leave for Kelowna this morning. . . . The Winterhawks are the first team to reach five straight conference finals in the WHL’s bantam draft era. . . . Another note from a Winterhawks’ news release: “The five straight appearances in the conference final tie the Winterhawks for the second-longest streak in WHL history, a feat also accomplished by the Medicine Hat Tigers and New Westminster Bruins. The Kamloops Blazers hold the record with 13 straight from 1984-96.” . . . Each team has a first-year head coach. Kelowna’s Dan Lambert moved up from assistant coach when Ryan Huska left for the Calgary Flames’ organization as head coach of the AHL’s Adirondack Flames. In Portland, Jamie Kompon, who had been an assistant coach with the Chicago Blackhawks, took over from Mike Johnston, who now is head coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

BRANDON VS. CALGARY: These teams last met in the playoffs in the spring of 2012, with the Wheat Kings winning the first-round series in five games. They took Game 5 in OT in a game that was played at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg. . . . They last met in the Eastern Conference final in 2010. The Hitmen won that series and went on to earn the WHL championship and a berth in the Memorial Cup, which was played in Brandon that year. The Wheat Kings beat Calgary in the semifinal game at the Memorial Cup and then lost to the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires in the final. . . . The Wheat Kings had F Ty Lewis, a third-round pick in the 2013 bantam draft, at practice on Tuesday, and he will be there again today. Lewis started the season with the Wheat Kings, but a broken arm limited him to two games. He spent the latter half of the season with the midget AAA Wheat Kings, who have been done since March 28.
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“The hockey world can be a tough place for a young player, with intense pressure and high expectations,” reads the start of a story on the website of Prince George TV station CKPG. “Cooper Holick walked away from the game at the age of 18. Now, he and his dad are trying to reduce the stigma around young athletes living with mental illness.” . . . Cooper’s father, Mark, is the head coach of the Prince George Cougars. . . . Their story is right here.
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The Prince Albert Raiders have signed head coach Marc Habscheid to a four-year contract. They also picked up one-year options on Dale Derkatch, their director of player personnel, and Duane Bartley, the athletic therapist. . . . Habscheid, 52, replaced the fired Cory Clouston on Nov. 1, and went 24-28-4. . . . The Raiders have yet to re-sign associate coach Dave Manson or assistant coach Kelly Guard. The team holds one-year options on each of those men. . . . The club also holds an option on general manager Bruno Campese. . . . Jeff D’Andrea of PAnow has more right here.
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“The state Senate and House each voted to approve a bill that would clarify that Western Hockey League players are amateur athletes and not employees who should be paid minimum wage and fall under state child labor laws,” reports Steve Hunter of the Kent, Wash., Reporter. . . . Hunter’s complete story is right here.
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Jim Swanson, a former sports editor of the Prince George Citizen, is part of the new ownership group with the West Coast Baseball League’s Victoria HarbourCats. . . . Ownership has been transferred by Bhootan LLC to Shwing Batter Investment Group, which features Swanson, his brother, Ken, Richard Harder and Jim Wilson. The move is subject to approval by the WCL’s board. . . . Ken Swanson of Burnaby is the new group’s president, with Wilson, who is involved at the ownership level with the BCHL’s Victoria Grizzlies and VIJHL’s Peninsula Panthers, as vice-president (business), Harder, from New Westminster, as treasurer and Jim Swanson general manager and vice-president (baseball). . . . Jim Swanson was the team’s general manager in 2014 and the HarbourCats led the WCL in attendance, averaging 1,576 fans per game. . . . The HarbourCats open the exhibition season on May 31; the regular-season home-opener is June 5.
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Here’s sports columnist Rob Vanstone of the Regina Leader-Post:
“NHL and WHL referees habitually swallow their whistles in the latter stages of playoff games. The ‘let 'em play’ mindset is supposedly employed because referees are reluctant to influence the outcome. Well, guess what? By not calling obvious penalties, they are influencing the outcome.
“A second-round WHL playoff series between the Regina Pats and Brandon Wheat Kings showed that officials are far too reluctant to call penalties, period. Too much clutching and grabbing was ignored when the Pats and Wheat Kings collided. And whatever happened to an interference penalty? Or a major penalty for a careless hit near the boards?”
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These are interesting times for the Medicine Hat Minor Hockey Association, where the president, association manager and secretary have resigned. Kevin MacKay, who resigned after just one season as manager, told Sean Rooney of the Medicine Hat News that “they are quite a few years behind the times.” . . . Rooney’s piece is right here.
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In the QMJHL, the Val d’Or Foreurs, who lost the first three games of the series, beat the host Baie-Comeau Drakkar 4-3 in OT to win a second-round series, 4-3. . . . There wasn’t a post-game handshake line as a bit of a tussle broke out just prior to it and the Drakkar left the ice. . . . In the other series, the Moncton Wildcats beat the Halifax Mooseheads 6-3 in Game 7. . . . The Foreurs will meet the Rimouski Oceanic in one semifinal, with the Wildcats and Quebec Remparts in the other one.
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Two forwards and a defenceman from the Victoria Royals have moved up to the professional ranks. F Austin Carroll has joined the NHL’s Calgary Flames as one of the black aces, while F Greg Chase has been assigned by the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers to the AHL’s Oklahoma City Barons. D Joe Hicketts, who signed as a free agent with the Detroit Red Wings, has joined the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins.
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Sergei Mikhalyov, the head coach of the Russian team that finished second at the World Junior Championship in 2006, has been killed in a car accident. Mikhalyov, 67, had coached the KHL’s Salavat Yulayev Ufa. He had just attended the funeral of former Traktor Chelyabinsk coach Valery Belousov when the accident occurred. . . . The Moscow Times has more right here.
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THE COACHING GAME:

It’s doubtful that anyone had a better day than Bryce Thoma, the general manager and head coach of the SJHL’s Weyburn Red Wings. Thoma and his wife Jenn welcomed a son, Smith Matthew, to our world on Tuesday morning. He is a brother to Collins Helene, 3, who is thrilled with the new arrival. . . . Later, the Red Wings announced that they have signed Thoma, 32, to a two-year contract. Thoma has been the Red Wings’ head coach for two seasons and the GM for one. They made the playoffs this season for the first time since 2011-12. They won a first-round series with the Humboldt Broncos, then were ousted by the eventual-champion Melfort Mustangs. . . . Thoma, a defenceman, played four seasons (1999-2003) with the Red Deer Rebels. He also spent five seasons on their coaching staff.
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Head coach Jarrod Skalde and the AHL’s Norfolk Admirals “have mutually agreed to part ways,” according to a news release from the team. The Admirals, who are affiliated with the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks, are relocating to San Diego before another season arrives. . . . Skalde, 44, went 27-39-6-4 in his first season as an AHL head coach. He spent one season as an assistant coach with the Admirals before taking over as head coach.
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Rich Pilon, who played in the NHL and WHL, is the new head coach of the midget AAA Saskatoon Blazers. He had been an assistant coach with the Blazers’ cross-town rivals, the Contacts. . . . Pilon takes over from Curtis Leschyshyn, who decided to step down. Scott Scissons, Leschyshyn’s assistant coach, also has left the Blazers. . . . Pilon’s assistant coaches will be Bobby Braybrook and Dean Seymour. . . . Darren Zary of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix has the story right here.
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A newly discovered species of Costa Rican glass frog looks exactly like Kermit the Frog. pic.twitter.com/HXi4mejF3G
— UberFacts (@UberFacts) April 22, 2015

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Ex-coach: Depression, anxiety among factors in players leaving

It happens every August as WHL teams get their training camps rolling.
Some veteran players don’t show up. For one reason or another, they decide to move on to other things.
A lot of these players would be going into their 20-year-old seasons. Are they tired of the grind? Are they concerned about getting caught up in the 20-year-old game and its uncertainties, with each team being allowed to keep only three of them?
Some of the departing players are younger, perhaps feeling the impact of injuries or not wanting to be away from home anymore.
One former WHL coach wonders if this is just a sign of the times.
“Kids in general today do not have the same character required by people who have been in the game for 20-plus years,” he said. “Players have changed; managers, owners, coaches have not.
“The idea of ‘earning’ something seems to have gone by the wayside. Once a player gets drafted, it’s expected by the player, parents and agent for the ‘team’ to make him a player. (That is) unfortunate, but very true.”
This former coach also pointed a finger at the rigours of being a major junior hockey player.
These days, hockey at this level offers little in the way of down time. As a result, he said, “Players are getting worn out by pushing themselves in the off-season. Whatever happened to playing another sport?”
He suggests that hockey’s push to being a year-round sport has taken a lot of the “fun” out of the game.
“It’s a game,” he said. “But we do not treat it like a game. It’s all or nothing. TSN thrives on the business and compete part of the game. Rogers will do the same. It’s big business in the CHL.”
The former coach also touched on a couple of things that don’t get a whole lot of play in the hockey world.
“Depression and anxiety play a huge part in all of this,” he said. “The stress and pressure for a player to reach his ‘potential’ is a lot of times insurmountable. When you have been the best from 10-15 (years of age) in a small pool, expectations become unrealistic. Jump in the big pool, and the sharks eat you.”
It all adds up to a lot of burnout and pressure, he said, adding that “I would easily say that 75 per cent of players in the entire pool of players fall because of unrealistic expectations.”
Another former WHL coach wonders if some players who leave before their 20-year-old seasons would stay if they had no-trade clauses.
“The 20-year-olds don’t want to be suitcases and would like to play but not get traded,” he suggested. “As you have seen over the years, there is that the glut of 20-year-olds at the start of the season and players get moved or dropped to junior A. The kids are smarter now and don't like it.
“If the WHL wants to change this, then they need to open up the 20-year-olds to five or maybe even seven, and then they won’t quit.”
The ex-coach also is of the opinion that such a move would only help the WHL’s product.
“It would give better value to the $20,” he reasoned. “I also think that this would help the NHL coaches coming to the WHL as they won’t have to do skills and progression drills . . . just systems.”
From time-to-time, there has been talk among WHL officials about increasing the 20-year-old roster limit. However, it won’t happen without support from the OHL and QMJHL and, to date, that support hasn’t been there.
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G Brett Zarowny didn’t report to training camp with the Prince George Cougars. Zarowny, 19, was a third-round bantam draft pick in 2010. From Edson, Alta., Zarowny played two seasons with the Cougars. He was 9-19-0/3.74/.886 in 2012-13; last season, he went 3-10-2/4.23/.885. . . . A groin injury suffered in late November limited Zarowny to 17 games last season. . . . Cougars head coach Mark Holick told Taking Note that Zarowny “has decided to go to school.”
With Zarowny gone, it would appear that the top two goaltenders on the Cougars’ depth chart would be Ty Edmonds, 18, and Adam Beukeboom, 20, with Matt Kustra, 17, perhaps third. Edmonds got into 55 games last season, going 19-19-6/3.85/.887. With Zarowny hurt, Beukeboom came on to play in 14 games, going 5-8-0/4.25/.887. Kustra was an eight-round bantam draft pick in 2012.
The Cougars’ roster shows four 1994-born players, the others being F Chance Braid, F Jari Erricson and D Wil Tomchuk.
Holick told Taking Note that Erricson is in camp and has been cleared to participate. Erricson had one assist in four games last season before suffering a season-ending brain injury during a fight with F Jessey Astles of the Tri-City Americans on Sept. 22.
In 192 career games, the first 129 with the Everett Silvertips, Erricson, who is from Prince George, has 62 points, including 26 goals.
There is more good news in Prince George as F David Soltes, a 19-year-old Slovakian, is on the training camp roster. He had his freshman season ended by a knee injury after just 15 games. He had four goals and one assist in those 15 games.
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The Lethbridge Hurricanes have signed Russian F Pavel Skumatov, 17, who was their second-round selection in the CHL’s 2014 import draft. He is from Mescherskoye. The 6-foot-0, 165-pounder played for Vityazi Chekhov in the U20 MHL last season. He was one of the youngest players on his team and had two assists in 26 games.
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Stay home, or hand over big bucks and go to the game. Scott Ostler of the San Francisco Chronicle has that argument with himself right here.
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More rosters added/updated with cuts. http://t.co/mRUqirz94K Still nothing available from Edmonton, Kelowna, Medicine Hat.
— Alan Caldwell (@smallatlarge) August 23, 2014

It's nothing new, same teams every year. Slightly disappointing that some teams make it so difficult for their fans to follow their camps.
— Alan Caldwell (@smallatlarge) August 23, 2014

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