Tuesday . . .

The Hockey Hall of Fame announced its Class of 2011 on Tuesday. It comprises former NHL players Ed Belfour, Doug Gilmour, Mark Howe and Joe Nieuwendyk, all of them most deserving.
Look, these things always are subjective and there always, always, always are great debates about who should or who shouldn’t be in there. And it doesn’t matter what the sports is. If you don’t believe that, sign on to Twitter and start following Peter King of Sports Illustrated. He is on the Football Hall of Fame’s selection committee and he always ends up debating the choices. Just the other night, in fact, he tweeted that he was taking time off from that particular debate.
Which brings us to the Hockey Hall of Fame. . . .
There are those who feel the likes of Pavel Bure and Eric Lindros should be in the hall. Others can’t understand why former Philadelphia Flyers head coach Fred Shero is on the outside looking in, and lots of folks feel Pat Burns should have been included among last year’s inductees, never mind this year’s.
All of which is fine. You can make a case, and a good one, for any number of former players and coaches and management types.
As far as I’m concerned none of that matters, not until Paul Henderson is among the inductees.
I’m sorry, but here’s a guy who scored the winning goal in each of the last three games of the greatest hockey series of all time, a guy who had a solid NHL career . . . and he isn’t in the Hockey Hall of Fame.
He scored the most-famous goal in the history of the sport, winning the 1972 Summit Series with 34 seconds left in the eighth and final game.
And it’s not like Henderson was a slug as a pro.
He played 707 regular-season NHL games, picking up 477 points, including 236 goals. He also played 360 games in the World Hockey Association, adding 140 goals and 143 assists to his professional totals.
He played in 56 NHL playoff games, scoring 11 goals and adding 14 assists.
All told, he played 18 seasons as a professional
On Tuesday, Bill Hay, the chairman of the Hockey Hall of Fame, pointed out: “It’s always been the Hockey Hall of Fame and not the NHL Hall of Fame.”
That being the case, Henderson deserves a spot.
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THE IMPORT DRAFT:
The London Knights are expected to open the CHL’s 2011 import draft this morning by taking Finnish D Olli Maatta, who turns 17 on Aug. 22. He didn’t play a whole lot in the 2011 World Junior Championship, but still is the youngest player ever to play for Finland in that tournament. . . .
The Quebec Remparts traded into the No. 2 swap and chances are that Patrick Roy’s club will take Russian F Igor Grigorenko, who may be the best 1994-born player in that country. . . .
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The Kootenay Ice won the WHL championship for 2010-11 without any import players. Jeff Chynoweth, the Ice’s president and GM, felt he had a solid group of returning players, so didn’t partake in the 2010 import draft. History shows that he made  and history shows that he made the correct decision.
So . . . will the Ice take part today?
“Don’t know yet,” Chynoweth told me via text on Tuesday afternoon. “Right now no, but that might change.”
As he pointed out, “It is tough to get a good player when you are selecting 51st overall!”
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The Lethbridge Hurricanes hold the 12th and 72nd selections and are expected to use both, having released their two imports from last season.
Swedish F Jacob Berglund, who had 33 points in 61 games, is 20, so would have been a two-spotter. He will play in Sweden next season.
Russian F Alex Kuvaev, now 18, had 24 in 58 games in his freshman season. He will be available to other teams in today’s draft.
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Sean Rooney of the Medicine Hat News reports that the Tigers plan on making one selection in the import draft.
They have Finnish F Patrik Parkkonen and Swedish D Sebastian Owuya returning. However, Owuya is preparing for his 20-year-old season so would be a two-spotter. Owuya plans on attending the Tigers’ camp and seeing if he gets an opportunity to play professionally.
Rooney’s story is right here.
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The Victoria Royals, according to Cleve Dheensaw of the Victoria Times Colonist, will select one player in the import draft.
They expect to lose Czech F Roman Horak, 20, who should play in the Calgary Flames’ organization.
But the Royals anticipate having Czech F Robin Soudek return. He’s 20, so will be a two-spotter. But he had 57 points in 61 games in his third WHL season.
Dheensaw's story is right here.
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The WHL plans to release its 2011-12 regular-season schedule today, despite the fact that the CHL’s 2011 import draft is being held today.
In recent years, the WHL has released its schedule in August, so it’s terrific that it has it ready in June.
But why release it on the same day as the import draft?
Why not capitlize on the situation and try to maximize the publicity during the offseason. To do that, you save the schedule for a day or two, then make sure to release it on a day when there is no other major WHL-related news.
Let the import draft dominate the news today. And then let the schedule be the story on another day. In some markets, it could be a headline that Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, the first overall pick in last weekend’s NHL draft, might be coming to town with the Red Deer Rebels.
But that may not even get a mention on the same day as the import draft.
Hey, WHL, you’re welcome .
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Charges have been filed in the June 12 death of Dain Phillips, 51, who was beaten to death in Kelowna. Phillips played for the Medicine Hat Tigers and Lethbridge Broncos (1978-80).
Kim Bolan, the Vancouver Sun’s top-notch crime reporter, has more right here. And it isn’t pretty — the Hells Angels are involved.
Bolan's story is right here.
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D Dylan Busenius, 18, of the Medicine Hat Tigers wasn’t selected in the NHL draft on the weekend but as accepted an invitation to the Minnesota Wild’s development camp, July 10-17. . . . D Evan Morden, 18, of the Everett Silvetips also wasn’t drafted and has signed on to attend the Dallas Stars’ development camp which begins today. . . . Tyler King, who had been doing radio work in Kingston, Ont., is on his way to Fort McMurray, Alta., where he will be the radio voice of the AJHL’s Oil Barons.
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THE COACHING GAME: The Seattle Thunderbirds have signed Jim McTaggart and Darren Rumble as assistant coaches to work alongside new head coach Steve Konowalchuk. Rumble, a former NHL defenceman with a Stanley Cup ring from the 2003-04 Tampa Bay Lightning, worked last season as an associate coach with the QMJHL’s now-defunct Lewiston Maineiacs. . . . McTaggart worked as a Seattle assistant coach for the last seven seasons under former head coach Rob Sumner. He was also an assistant coach with Seattle from 1994-96. . . . According to a news release from the Thunderbirds, former assistant coach Turner Stevenson “has elected to pursue coaching opportunities” at the AHL level. . . .
The Dallas Stars have added Paul Jerrard as an assistant coach. He had been an assistant with their AHL affiliate, the Texas Stars. . . . Jerrard spent the last two seasons working under Glen Gulutzan, Dallas’s new head coach, with the AHL franchise. . . .
Terry Ruskowski is the new GM/head coach of the Central league’s Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees. He had spent the previous nine seasons with that league’s Laredo Bucks. . . .
Brent Thompson, a former WHL defenceman (Medicine Hat, 1988-91), is the new head coach of the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, the AHL affiliate of the New York Islanders. He has been the head coach of the ECHL’s Anchorage Aces for the last two seasons. The Aces won the 2010-11 ECHL championship and Thompson was saluted as the league’s coach of the year.
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TWEET OF THE DAY:
Actually, this tweet showed up Monday. I made a note about it but forgot to include it last night. However, it’s from a favourite so here it is, a day late:
Scottie Upshall, a product of the Kamloops Blazers now with the Columbus Blue Jackets, tweeted this one:
“Surprised my beautiful mom Mandy w/ a new #BMW X1 for her 50th Birthday! http://t.co/DYN4PiA”
Check out this link for a photo of Upshall, his mother and the birthday gift.
Atta boy, Scottie! And a belated Happy Birthday to Mandy. May there be many more — BMWs and birthdays!

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
     
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
     
Taking Note on Twitter

THE COACHING GAME: John Becanic has left his role as an assistant coach with the Vancouver Giants to take over as head coach of the NAHL’s Wenatchee, Wash., Wild. Becanic was in his first season with the Giants. He spent last season as an assistant coach with the Seattle Thunderbirds, after spending six seasons with the Everett Silvertips. The Giants aren’t expected to replace Becanic, meaning head coach Don Hay and assistant coach Chad Scharff will carry the load for the rest of this season. . . . The Wild fired Paul Baxter (Winnipeg, 1973-74) as head coach on Nov. 24 despite his having led the club to division titles in each of his first two seasons. . . . .The SJHL’s Kindersley Klippers have fired head coach Larry Wintoneak. They were 16-15-2 and fourth in the six-team Sherwood Division. Assistant coach Rockie Zinger has been named interim head coach. . . . In the OHL, the Guelph Storm has removed Jason Brooks from behind its bench, with GM Mike Kelly taking over on an interim basis. Brooks had been on the Storm’s coaching staff since 2001-02. He was in his second season as head coach. Brooks has been offered another position with the Storm. The Storm is 13-13-5, which has it tied for fourth in the five-team Midwest Division of the Western Conference.
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The Vancouver Giants got some good news concerning the injury suffered last week by D David Musil.
Originally thought to have a hairline fracture in a leg, it turns out that Musil as a deep bone bruise.
Head coach Don Hay, appearing Monday night on Dan Russell’s Sportstalk on CKNW, said that Musil had undergone an MRI that showed a bruise rather than a hairline fracture.
Hay said the Czech Ice Hockey Federation will decide by Wednesday whether to invite Musil to its national junior team camp.
“He may get an opportunity to go there,” Hay said.
Hay said that Musil wouldn’t be ready to play this weekend, but that he should be back after the Christmas break.
“It’s better than we first thought,” Hay said. “I would think he’d be ready after Christmas. It’s how much pain David can take in that type of situation.”
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Is any WHL team hotter these days than the Spokane Chiefs? They played three games last week and scored 22 goals, which gives them the WHL’s top offence, at 4.10 goals per game. . . . The Chiefs, in fact, are the only team in the league scoring more than four goals a game.
“And suddenly,” writes Dave Trimmer of the Spokane Spokesman-Review, “the team that lost 103 goals and 301 points from a half-dozen regulars last season is leading the league in scoring.”
Spokane also has the WHL’s second-best PP, at 24.1 per cent. And, as Trimmer points out, this PP unit once went 23 chances in a row without scoring. . . . They scored four PP goals in beating the visiting Kamloops Blazers 10-5 on Saturday and also have at least one PP goal in each of their last 13 games.
The Chiefs also are fourth in the 22-team league in defence and fourth on the penalty kill.
Veteran C Tyler Johnson scored 10 points in three games to move into a tie for third place in the WHL points derby, with 46.
You may recall that the Chiefs got off to something of a slow start, at 2-5-0. Since then, they are 14-4-4, and now are tied for second in the U.S. Division with the Tri-City Americans. . . . The Chiefs, who are 7-0-2 in their last nine outings, have one regulation loss in their last 15 games.
Interestingly, the Chiefs will meet the Seattle Thunderbirds four times in their next games, starting with a home-and-home set this week. The teams play tonight in Spokane and Wednesday in Kent, Wash.
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Should the WHL just give its rookie-of-the-year award to Sven Bartschi for Christmas? Hey, just asking.
The Portland Winterhawks newest Swiss sensation has 46 points and is the league’s highest-scoring freshman, by 13 points. He and Spokane Chiefs C Tyler Johnson are four points of the lead in the WHL scoring race.
Bartschi, with seven points in his last five games, also has taken over the Winterhawks’ scoring lead. In fact, he is the only freshman in the WHL to be leading his team in points.
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Rich Preston, the GM/head coach of the Lethbridge Hurricanes, is soon to be reunited with an old teammate.
Preston and Gordie Howe were teammates for three seasons with the WHA’s Houston Aeros. For part of that time, Preston played on a line with Gordie and Mark, one of his sons.
And now Mr. Hockey will be in Lethbridge on Feb. 2 as the Hurricanes meet the Vancouver Giants. Howe, along with son Marty, will attend a small gathering that is being billed as Mr. Hockey Dinner on Feb. 1 and the game on Feb. 2.
Check the Hurricanes’ website for more details.
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F Cody Eakin of the Swift Current Broncos is the WHL’s player of the week. He had nine points, including six goals, in three games as the Broncos went 2-1-0 on the road. . . . Drew Owsley of the Tri-City Americans is the WHL’s nominee as the CHL’s goaltender of the week. He was 2-0-0, 1.07, .958 last week. . . . The Kamloops Blazers have recalled F Aspen Sterzer, 16, from the midget AAA EDGE prep team in Calgary. Sterzer will be with the Blazers for games against the Winterhawks in Portland on Wednesday and in Prince George against the Cougars on Friday and Saturday. Sterzer has 27 points, including 20 assists, in 25 games at EDGE. He played four games with the Blazers earlier this season. . . . The Blazers have signed forward Cole Ully, a 15-year-old from Calgary, to a WHL contract. Ully was a second-round pick in the 2010 bantam draft. The Blazers now have signed their first four selections from that draft. Ully has 19 points, including 11 goals, with the midget AAA Calgary Flames.
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Some highlights from Monday’s lone WHL game . . .
In Edmonton, F Jordan Hickmott enjoyed a career night as the Oil Kings dropped the Regina Pats, 9-3. . . . Hickmott, a 20-year-old from Mission, B.C., had six points, three of them goals. . . . He has 31 points, including 16 goals, in 31 games. Last season, he had 49 points, 21 of them goals, in 72 games with the Prince Albert Raiders. . . . F Dylan Wruck added two goals and two assists, while F T.J. Foster also scored twice. Foster actually has scored at least once in each of his last eight games. He has 12 goals on the season, nine of them over his last eight games. . . . Edmonton F Michael St. Croix had three assists. He is on a 10-game point streak, with 23 points over that stretch. . . . Edmonton D Adrian Van de Mosselaer had a goal and two helkpers, while F Stephane Legault had three assists. . . . Regina trailed 2-1 after one period but the Oil Kings scored the game’s next five goals. . . . Edmonton had a 31-25 edge in shots. . . . The Oil Kings are 15-14-2. Last season, they finished with 16 victories. . . . Attendance was 2,967. . . . The Oil Kings are 8-1-1 in their last 10 games. They next play Wednesday against the visiting Swift Current Broncos, who finish up a B.C. Division tour tonight in Prince George against the Cougars.

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Taking Note on Twitter