Blades, Pats cut a deal . . . NHL facing another concussion-related lawsuit

THE DEAL: The Saskatoon Blades acquired D Isaac Schacher, 19, from the Regina Pats for an eighth-round pick in the 2015 bantam draft.
THE SKINNY: The Pats, who had nine defencemen on their roster, get a draft pick for an older player who was in tough to stick. . . . The Blades continue to shape a roster that didn’t make the playoffs last sesaon.
THE ANALYSIS: Saskatoon hopes that the 6-foot-5, 215-pound Schacher will bring some physical play to their back end. He played 35 games with the Victoria Royals and 25 with Regina last season, putting up nine points, eight of them assists. He also was plus-22. . . . In junior B, playing with his hometown Kimberley, B.C., Dynamiters, he had 63 points in 95 games over two seasons, so there might be more offence there than he has shown. . . . Schacher now is one of 10 defencemen on Saskatoon’s roster.

---


Last week, the WHL announced that Yves Lacasse, a retired RCMP superintendent, was being brought on board as its voluntary security officer.
On Wednesday, in a Kamloops courtroom, Lacasse was described as a “bully” who headed up an RCMP detachment that was “dysfunctional in the extreme.”
This was all part of testimony that was heard during a trial B.C. Supreme Court in which RCMP Cpl. Rick Brown is facing a charge of breach of trust by a public officer. It involves his role in an incident that involved two intoxicated women taking part in explicit sex acts while jailed.
Retired Staff Sgt. Gary Kerr testified that Lacasse was “was extremely, extremely difficult to work for. He was an extreme bully.”
Tim Petruk of Kamloops This Week was in the courtroom and his story is right here.
When the WHL announced Lacasse’s appointment, Marty Hastings of Kamloops This Week wrote a story in which Lacasse spoke about what he hoped and planned on doing in the new position. That story is right here.
---
The Prince George Cougars got down to two goaltenders by releasing G Matt Kustra, 17, who was an eighth-round pick in the 2012 bantam draft. He is expected to join the SJHL’s Yorkton Terriers. . . . The Cougars, who open against the Winterhawks in Portland on Saturday, are carrying 27 players, including goaltenders Ty Edmonds, 18, and Tavin Grant, 16. . . . Prince George has 10 defencemen on its roster, including veteran Raymond Grewal, 19, who is injured, and 15 forwards, including the injured David Soltes.
---
Ma’ake Kemoeatu played for the Baltimore Ravens. His brother, Chris, played for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Today, neither one is playing football, nor will they. . . . Chris needed a kidney transplant. Ma’ake, the oldest of seven children, was quick to offer up a kidney. . . . The transplant took place on Aug. 27. . . . The complete story, and it’s an interesting one, is right here.
---

THE CONCUSSION REPORT:

"A new lawsuit filed against the National Hockey League by two former players alleges that three in 10 retired players have, or will have, brain damage from head injuries or concussions," writes Rick Westhead, TSN's senior correspondent. "The startling allegation is being made in a statement of claim filed by Sasha Pokulok, who was selected by the Washington Capitals with the 14th overall pick in the 2005 NHL draft,  and Simon Danis-Pepin, a 2006 second-round pick of the Chicago Blackhawks."
There now have been at least six concussion-related lawsuits filed against the NHL.
Westhead's complete story is right here.
---
A story at sciencedaily.com begins: “An experimental positron emission tomography (PET) tracer is effective in diagnosing concussion-related brain disease while a person is still alive, according to a case study conducted at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and at Molecular Neuroimaging (MNI) LLC in New Haven, and published September 16 in the journal Translational Psychiatry.”
What this means is that the medical community is that much closer to being able to diagnose chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in a living person.
The Science Daily story is right here.
---
David Ash, the starting quarterback for the Texas Longhorns, has given up football due to multiple concussions. He suffered his third concussion in the last year in the Longhorns’ season-opener against North Texas. Ash was held out of Texas’s last two games, but now has retired. . . . Ash is the second NCAA starting QB, joining Uconn’s Casey Cochran, to quit in the last few days because of concussion problems.
---




The Prince Albert Raiders have released F Ryan Pruden, 18, getting their roster down to 27 players, including 10 defencemen and 15 forwards. Pruden, a 13th-round pick by the Saskatoon Blades in the 2011 bantam draft, was pointless in three games with the Blades last season. A Winnipegger, he also played last season with the MJHL’s Steinbach Pistons and OCN Blizzard. He is expected to return to the MJHL. . . .
Scott Sepich, a Portland freelancer, tweeted Tuesday that F Adam de Champlain, 20, had left the Portland Winterhawks for the AJHL’s Camrose Kodiaks. The Winterhawks confirmed it on Wednesday, saying in a news release that de Champlain “has elected” to play in the AJHL. . . .
The Edmonton Oilers’ rookies beat the U of Alberta Golden Bears 4-2 in their annual game last night at Clare Drake Arena. More than 3,000 fans paid $30 a pop to watch the game.
---

The NFL is out of control. More arrests in a week than the NHL has had in years. You make millions! How hard is it to not be an idiot?!
— Brody Sutter (@Sutts19) September 18, 2014

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.
---



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.
---
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.
---
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.
---

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

There has never been a subscription fee for this blog, but if you enjoy stopping by here, why not consider donating to the cause? Just click HERE. . . and thank you very much.

THE MacBETH REPORT:

F Oscar Möller (Chilliwack, 2006-08) signed a four-year contract extension with Skellefteå (Sweden, Elitserien). He has 12 goals and six assists in 22 games with Skellefteå this season. The contract ties Möller to Skellefteå through the 2016-17 season.
———


The Saskatoon Blades will go hunting for a franchise record tonight and they’ll do it without F Michael Ferland. He’s been suspended for one game after taking a cross-checking major late in Wednesday’s 5-1 victory over the visiting Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . Tonight, the Blades will be in search of their 14th straight victory when they take on the visiting Brandon Wheat Kings. This season’s team shares that record with the 1987-88 club that went from Feb. 14 to March 16 without losing. . . . Saskatoon goaltending coach Tim Cheveldave and assistant coach Curtis Leschyshyn both were on that 1987-88 team. Cheveldave was the starting goaltender; Leschyshyn was a defenceman.
———
Ch-ch-ching! . . . Mike Stothers, the head coach of the Moose Jaw Warriors, was touched up for $750 after being tossed from that Wednesday game in Saskatoon. . . . Stothers apparently was upset after Saskatoon GM/head coach Lorne Molleken put out his top PP unit with a 4-1 lead late in the third period. Molleken said he did that because Moose Jaw D Kendall McFaull had gotten overly physical with Saskatoon F Josh Nicholls.
———
The Prince George Cougars have signed G Matt Kustra, who was an eighth round pick in the 2012 WHL bantam draft. Kustra, from Yorkton, Sask., plays for the midget AAA Notre Dame Hounds, who play out of Wilcox. Kustra has dressed as the backup to Mac Engel in each of the Cougars’ last three games.
The Cougars now have five goaltenders under contract, one from each birth year from 1993 through 1997 — in order, Engel, Devon Fordyce, Brett Zarowny, Ty Edmonds and Kustra. . . . A while back, the Cougars also signed G Tyler Santos, who was born in 1995, but they have since dropped him from their list.
———
In a column on the hit by Vancouver Canucks F Jannik Hansen on Chicago Blackhawks F Marian Hossa, Cam Cole of the Vancouver Sun touched on the NHL’s approach to contact with the head.
“If incidental head contact is cause for suspension,” Cole writes in Thursday’s Sun, “how is it possible for the league to continue to condone, even tacitly encourage, fighting, wherein two players punch each other repeatedly in the head, with nothing in mind other than intent to injure, and are given five minutes each, and remain in the game?
“This paradox, as we’ve noted many times before, cannot withstand any reasonable examination.
“If any point-of-first-contact head blow is cause for supplemental discipline, a participant in a fight has to be tossed out of the game, at minimum.
“I say this as someone who understands the fight-in-anger and even enjoys seeing a good, venomous scrap where a wronged party – or a more muscular teammate of his – is taking the required pound of flesh from the perpetrator of a dirty hit or a spear or a high stick. But then the combatants have to go.
“On the other hand, the staged, pre-meditated fight, off a faceoff — or three of them in a row, as in Vancouver-Dallas last week — is ridiculous, and the league should be embarrassed. Except the league is embarrass-proof.”
Cole’s complete column is right here.
———
The matchups, if the WHL playoffs opened today:
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Edmonton (1) vs. Kootenay (8)
Saskatoon (2) vs. Swift Current (7)
Calgary (3) vs. Medicine Hat (6)
Prince Albert (4) vs. Red Deer (5)

WESTERN CONFERENCE
Portland (1) vs. Everett (8)
Kelowna (2) vs. Seattle (7)
Kamloops (3) vs. Victoria (6)
Tri-City (4) vs. Spokane (5)
———
THURSDAY’S GAMES:
No games scheduled.

There has never been a subscription fee for this blog, but if you enjoy stopping by here, why not consider donating to the cause? Just click HERE. . . and thank you very much.