Showing posts with label Mike Benton. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mike Benton. Show all posts

Thursday, March 2, 2017

Rasmussen's season over? . . . Of course, Mom gets her hug . . . Broadcasters thank their mentor


———


F Michael Rasmussen of the Tri-City Americans may not play again this season, due to what the team is saying is a fractured wrist. Rasmussen is believed to have a broken scaphoid in one wrist.
That is a bone in the wrist that, when broken, can be slow to heal, primarily because it doesn’t receive
MICHAEL RASMUSSEN
optimal blood flow due to its location.
The 6-foot-5, 200-pound Rasmussen is expected to be a first-round selection in the NHL’s 2017 draft. From Surrey, B.C., he has 55 points, including 32 goals, in 50 games this season. He last played on Feb. 1.
The Americans are 7-3-0 without him. They started by losing three in a row and now are riding a seven-game winning streak. They will visit the Seattle Thunderbirds tonight and then head for Kelowna and a Saturday night date with the Rockets.
Rasmussen, who doesn’t require surgery, is under the care of Dr. Rodney French, a hand/wrist specialist, in Vancouver, B.C. Dr. French is expected to re-examine Rasmussen in about six weeks.
Tri-City also has been without F Vladislav Lukin (undisclosed injury). He hasn’t played since Feb. 18. Bob Tory, the Americans’ general manager, told Taking Note on Thursday that Lukin won’t play this weekend, but that they hope to have him back for a March 10 date with the visiting Prince George Cougars.
Lukin has 55 points, including 24 goals, in 61 games, so getting him back will help take some pressure of the other forwards in Rasmussen’s absence.
——

With mumps in its neighbourhood, the WHL issued an edict on Feb. 24 that “instructed all WHL clubs to advise players to refrain from any direct contact with fans at this time.”
You have to think that the WHL wasn’t intending to keep mothers away from sons, though.
But the law of unintended consequences struck in Kamloops on Wednesday night following the Blazers’ 5-4 OT victory over the Seattle Thunderbirds.
Seattle F Ryan Gropp, a 20-year-old who is from Kamloops, likely had played the last game of his hockey career in his hometown. Afterwards, well, here’s Marty Hastings of Kamloops This Week . . . 
“Members of Gropp’s family were waiting near the dressing room to see him after the game, but were told to leave by security, which was acting on instructions to keep the general public away from players due to the WHL’s well-documented mumps outbreak.
“A mother just wanted to see her son. That eventually happened in the face of the ever-growing swarm of security guards.
“Words were exchanged, but both parties went their separate ways without much incident.”
Someone who witnessed it told Taking Note: “The Walkie Talkies came out. . . . At first, there was one (security person). Within minutes, there were seven of them.”
Mom didn't leave until getting a hug from her son, which is all she wanted in the first place.
The photo in the above tweet was taken the previous weekend when all the parents were in Kent for parents' weekend.
Hastings’ complete game story is right here.
——

The NHL’s Washington Capitals have signed D Lucas Johansen of the Kelowna Rockets to a three-year, entry-level contract. Johansen was selected by the Capitals in the first round of the NHL’s 2016 draft.
This season, Johansen, 19, has 36 points, including 30 assists, in 60 games. Last season, he put up 49 points, 10 of the goals, in 69 games.
Johansen, from Port Moody, B.C., is the younger brother of F Ryan Johansen of the NHL’s Nashville Predators.
The Capitals also announced Thursday that they have signed D Colby Williams, a former captain of the Regina Pats, to a two-year, entry-level deal. Williams, 22, has 13 points, three of them goals, in 49 games with the AHL’s Hershey Bears, with whom he signed a one-year deal prior to the season.
Williams, who is from Regina, had 104 points, including 25 goals, in 211 career games over six seasons with the Pats. He served as the team’s captain in 2015-16.
The Capitals selected Williams in the sixth round of the NHL’s 2015 draft.
——
Three cheers for D Connor Hobbs of the Regina Pats.
The Pats have been atop the WHL’s overall standings for much of this season. However, they have
encountered some adversity of late and their lead has shrunk to five points over the second-place Medicine Hat Tigers, although the Pats do hold two games in hand.
The Tigers are scheduled to play in Regina tonight (Friday) and Hobbs, rather than saying it’s “just another game,” told Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post that “it’s a huge game.”
“We’ve struggled a little bit as of late,” Hobbs continued, “and Medicine Hat is a good team. They’re closest to us (in the standings). We just have to treat it like it’s the huge game that it is.”
The Pats will play three times in fewer than 48 hours this weekend — they are at home to the Calgary Hitmen on Saturday night and then in Brandon for a Sunday (4 p.m.) start against the Wheat Kings.
Regina may get D Jonathan Smart and F Filip Ahl back at some point this weekend. Ahl, who has 24 goals and 17 assists in 45 games, and Smart both have been out since Feb. 20.
——
Prior to Wednesday’s game in Kamloops between the Blazers and Seattle Thunderbirds, I received an email from a fan asking if he could come up to the press box and say hello.
“There are four of us coming up for the game,” Jon Whiting, a Thunderbirds’ fan, wrote in the email.
“Hmm, that’s interesting,” I thought. “Sheesh, that’s a long drive just to watch one junior hockey game.”
Whiting showed up beside me in the second intermission and we had quite an enjoyable chat. It turns out that he has a friend who is a pilot and so they hopped in a small plane about 3 p.m., and were having dinner in Kamloops by 5:30.
They flew back to Seattle after the game.
“Walked in my house about 1 a.m.,” messaged Ryland Spencer, one of the flying foursome. “Was a fun trip!”
——
Bob Miller, the longtime play-by-play voice of the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings, announced his retirement on Thursday, although he will work the team’s last two regular-season games, on April 8 and 9.
CRAIG WEST: Baseball fan.
That announcement may not have meant much to Canadian hockey fans, but it meant a lot to a pair of men who call WHL games. Craig West, the radio voice of the Tri-City Americans, and Mike Benton, who calls Everett Silvertips’ games, both watched the announcement via live stream. You can bet there was a tear or two, because Miller has been a mentor to both men.
Later, West posted this on Facebook:
“Bob truly helped me so much showing me how to treat the game, the players, management and coaches with respect on both sides.
In March 1991 during my first season in the WHL, I made a trip from Spokane to see the Kings play Winnipeg at the Forum. I took a tape and resume to Bob before he went on air. He was gracious and said, ‘Craig, when the season is over I will listen, break this out and be in touch with you.’
In May 1991, the Chiefs clinched the WHL title with a win over Lethbridge in four straight. The night before departure for Quebec City for the Memorial Cup, my home phone rings: ‘Hello Craig, this is Bob Miller.’
After about two minutes he says, ‘You think I'm one of your friends putting you on! Maybe this will convince you . . . please say hi to Debbie and Bryan Maxwell from my wife and I. We went to dinner many times when he was with the Kings.’
I then realized it was him! On his own time, which amounted to a 90-minute phone call, he basically took all the rough edges off my call. ‘Craig, when you say the play comes across the blue line . . . which blue
Mike Benton, voice of the Silvertips.
line? The Chiefs or Seattle?’ ”
Meanwhile, Benton turned to his blog, writing:
“Bob’s name still stands on my resume as a reference, and he went above and beyond to phone the Stockton Thunder for a recommendation when I pursued (and landed) my first broadcasting job in hockey. As many fellow friends in the business can attest to, he was always willing to pick up the phone when you called his house. Whatever he was in the middle of, he was always willing to give you 5-15 minutes of an intimate and warming conversation, whether to catch up or provide solid, raw, and unfiltered career advice.
“He taught me more than just the basic mechanics of handling the flow of play-by-play and preparation: he taught me about the value of being approachable. In the long run, you never know who you may meet, and use that valuable experience to ‘pay it forward.’ ”
Benton’s blog is right here, and he wrote a whole lot more about what Miller means to him.
bentonhockey.wordpress.com/2017/03/02/thank-you-bob-we-smile-because-it-happened/
——
If you enjoy stopping off here and would care to make a donation to the cause, please feel free to do so by clicking on the DONATE button and going from there.
If you have some information you would like to share or just a general comment, feel free to email me at greggdrinnan@gmail.com.
———

JUST NOTES:

F Ty Lewis of the Brandon Wheat Kings was back at practice on Thursday. Lewis is second on the Wheat Kings in goals (28) and points (61) and leads in assists (33). He missed Wednesday’s 3-2 OT loss to the visiting Lethbridge Hurricanes in which Brandon dressed 17 skaters, one under the maximum. . . . The Wheat Kings are at home to the Calgary Hitmen on Friday night. . . .
Bill Yuill, the head of Monarch Corporation and the owner of the Everett Silvertips, is chairing a committee in Medicine Hat that wants to manage The Arena, the former home of the Medicine Hat Tigers that has been scheduled for closure. . . . Collin Gallant of the Medicine Hat News has more right here. . . . 
There was a time when the day of the NHL trade deadline was like a car wreck from which you couldn’t look away. That was then. This is now. On Wednesday, when I flipped on TSN, the talking heads were debating whether they would trade Auston Matthews for Connor McDavid. Click! That was the end of that. . . . Ken Campbell of The Hockey News, meanwhile, writes right here about The Yard Sale for Misfit Toys.
———

If you aren’t already, you should be following the Medicine Hat Tigers (@tigershockey). They have been reliving the franchise’s history and it has been a lot of fun that includes a lot of familiar names, like Al Conroy.
———

THURSDAY’S GAMES:

No Games Scheduled.
——

FRIDAY’S GAMES (all times local):

Calgary at Brandon, 7:30 p.m.
Kelowna at Everett, 7:35 p.m.
Vancouver at Portland, 7 p.m.
Lethbridge at Prince Albert, 7 p.m.
Kamloops at Prince George, 7 p.m.
Medicine Hat at Regina 7 p.m.
Kootenay at Saskatoon, 7:05 p.m.
Tri-City vs. Seattle, at Kent, Wash., 7:35 p.m.
Spokane at Victoria, 7:05 p.m.

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.
PhotobucketPhotobucketPhotobucket
Posted by Gregg Drinnan at 9:23 PM
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Thursday, December 29, 2016

Constantine: The idea we go down easy . . . we're real touchy about it

Kevin Constantine, the head coach of the Everett Silvertips,
is tired of the diving talk.(PHOTO: Everett Silvetips)
The Everett Silvertips are atop the WHL’s overall standings.
They have 56 points, at least one more than each of the other 21 teams.
They have lost only four times in regulation time; only the Regina Pats (3) are better.
Everett’s points percentage — or whatever you want to call it — is .800, behind only Regina’s .803.
Everett has allowed 73 goals in 35 games, by far the best defensive record in the WHL.
Yes, this is an awfully good hockey team.
Psst! Did you know that the Silvertips are a bunch of divers and embellishers.
Yes, that is the buzz . . . and, according to head coach Kevin Constantine, that’s the buzz among WHL referees, too. According to Constantine, too, he’s had enough of that talk.
Constantine’s bank account is $500 lighter these days. That’s how much he was fined on Wednesday after being ejected from a 5-4 OT loss to the Vancouver Giants in Langley, B.C., on Tuesday night.
For some reason, you won’t find Constantine’s ejection anywhere on the on-line scoresheet. But he was tossed shortly after F Dominic Zwerger was hit with a minor penalty for embellishment at 6:49 of the second period. As that penalty was being handed out, the Silvertips also were given a minor for unsportsmanlike conduct, presumably because someone on the bench was being overly vocal.
At 9:46 of that second period, Constantine, on his 58th birthday, was given the ol’ heave-ho.
On Wednesday, prior to what would be a 4-1 victory over the visiting Giants, Mike Benton, the radio voice of the Silvertips, asked Constantine: “What do you recall . . . out of what eventually was an ending to a short night?”
Constantine replied: “Are you talking about when I got sent an early birthday gift of not having to work as hard?”
Constantine, who is in his second go-round with the Silvertips, paused and then continued.
“It’s passed around amongst the refs that Everett goes down easy, meaning there’s things that happen and we get knocked down, cross-checked down, hit down  ..  and we go down easy.
“It just riles me up because it’s, No. 1, not true, and, No. 2, when the refs don’t call penalties in situations where we do get illegally knocked to the ice we’re vulnerable to getting hurt. To protect the players you’re always concerned about that. In the case of the situation (Tuesday) night, that happened two or three times in the game.
“We had some legal hits that we put on . . . we got cross-checked back doing it. One of the cross-checks knocks Dominic Zwerger down to the ice and we get called for embellishment which is garbage.”
At that point, Constantine said, he tried to “communicate that to the referees.”
Constantine was Everett’s head coach for the first four seasons (2003-07) of the franchise’s existence. He then moved on, before returning prior to the 2013-14 season.
“I’ve been pretty well-behaved in Round 2 of coaching the Silvertips,” he told Benton. “I was, I think, more aggressive in dealing with the refs in Round 1.
“It’s pretty rare that I take those kinds of . . . I don’t want to take those kinds of penalties in situations . . . I don’t want to hurt our team in any way. The guys work so hard I don’t want to be the one that’s a detriment to the team.”
Constantine also told Benton that his players don’t dive or embellish; in fact, they are told not to, something that is part of the team’s disciplined approach.
“We have a great group of players that has been very coachable, very dedicated to what we’re doing and very disciplined,” Constantine said. “We take the least penalties in the league because we try to defend with legal tactics and good positioning.
“With regard to doing something that would have us take a penalty like diving or embellishing something to take a penalty, we tell our players not to do it. We don’t want those penalties to happen so our players don’t try to do that because of what we coach . . . so we’re not going to do anything that is going to put us in a penalty situation unnecessarily.
“Penalties do happen during the game . . . it’s a real touch topic with us . . . the whole idea that we go down easy . . . we’re real touchy about it.”
The Silvertips are at home to the Prince George Cougars tonight (Friday), as each team plays its third game in four nights. The Cougars are third in the overall standings, one point behind the Medicine Hat Tigers and two behind the Silvertips.
Prince George is coming off back-to-back losses to the Royals in Victoria on Tuesday and Wednesday nights; at the same time, the Silvertips split with the Giants.

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.
PhotobucketPhotobucketPhotobucket
Posted by Gregg Drinnan at 8:39 PM
Labels: , ,

Thursday, November 17, 2016

Forward returns to Silvertips . . . Update on Patrick . . . Warriors romp in Saskatoon

F Jens Meilleur (Brandon, 2010-14) has been released by the Nuremberg Ice Tigers (Germany, DEL) at his request. He was pointless in four games. This season, he had two assists in seven games while on loan to Bayreuth (Germany, DEL2) and was pointless in one game while on loan to Weiden (Germany, Oberliga).
-———
Jesse Geleynse of the Everett Herald tweeted Thursday that F Bradly Goethals has returned to the Everett Silvertips.
Goethals, 18, from Ile-des-Chenes, Man., was acquired from the Brandon Wheat Kings on Oct. 11 for a conditional seventh-round selection in the 2018 WHL bantam draft. Goethals joined the Silvertips after the trade, but left shortly afterwards for what was said to be personal reasons.
Last season, he put up 74 points, 41 of them goals, for the midget AAA Eastman Selects. He led the
Manitoba Midget Hockey League in goals and points. He also had three goals in one game with the MJHL’s Selkirk Steelers and a goal and an assist in five games with the MJHL’s Dauphin Kings.
The Silvertips, of course, are the WHL’s top defensive team, but surely could use an injection of offensive talent. All Goethals has to do is buy into head coach Kevin Constantine’s structured defensive game to earn enough playing time to be able to exercise his offensive skills.
The Silvertips had their defensive game on display in Kamloops on Wednesday night and an Everett fan could make the argument that circumstances conspired against the visitors in this one.
A Kamloops fan would say that the Blazers’ goaltender was better than Everett’s in this one — not by much, but enough to win.
The Blazers, who had been terrible in a 7-0 loss to the visiting Prince George Cougars on Saturday night, were much better against Everett, but still needed superb goaltending from Connor Ingram before beating the Silvertips 2-1 in OT.
The Blazers were being outshot 22-7 when Everett scored its only goal, at 12:12 of the second period, and the edge was 27-12 going into the third period.
However, the Silvertips had played at home the night before — they beat the Calgary Hitmen, 6-1 — and got into Kamloops in the wee hours of Wednesday morning. And it started to show in the latter stages of the second period.
The Silvertips got caught running around in their zone for maybe the only time all night at 15:31 when Kamloops F Rudolfs Balcers was able to beat a stickless Carter Hart with a high shot.
The OT lasted 11 seconds and the flagging Silvertips were no match for the Blazers’ speed 3-on-3, with Balcers ending the game as he finished off a give-and-go-go with linemate Deven Sideroff.
By game’s end, the Blazers had closed the gap on the shot clock to 34-23.
Everett’s offence is averaging 3.25 goals per game, 10th-best in the WHL, while it is far and away No. 1 on defence at 1.95, with the Prince George Cougars next at 2.55.
The Silvertips (15-2-4) and Cougars (16-4-2) are tied atop the WHL’s overall standings, with the Regina Pats (15-0-3) just a point off the pace. The high-flying Pats are scoring 5.78 goals per game, almost a goal more than the Medicine Hat Tigers (4.80) and two up on the Tri-City Americans (3.81). If you’re wondering, Regina’s defence is ninth, allowing 3.17 goals per game.
If Goethals can stick around and add even a little bit to Everett’s offence, Constantine and general manager Garry Davidson will be thrilled. If not, well, the trade deadline is less than two months away.
——
F Nolan Patrick of the Brandon Wheat Kings, the consensus No. 1 pick in the NHL’s 2017 draft, has told NHL.com that he expects to miss another two to three weeks. Patrick, who underwent sports hernia surgery in July and missed most of training camp, has played only six games this season, putting up four goals and five assists. He last played on Oct. 11. . . . "I'm skating on my own right now," Patrick told Mike Morreale of nhl.com. "I’m just starting getting back on the ice (this week) and doing edge work and skill stuff like that, but nothing too intense yet. Every day it gets a little better, so I'm hopeful. This was out of my control, and it's killing me not to be out there with my teammates." . . . Patrick still hopes to get an invitation to the Canadian national junior team’s selection camp. He likely will be on the list that Hockey Canada says will come out on Nov. 29. The selection camp is scheduled to open Dec. 11 in Blainville, Que. If Patrick isn’t back with Brandon for another three weeks, the time line would seem to be a bit tight. . . . Morreale’s story is right here.
——

The Brandon Wheat Kings posted the above tweet on Thursday afternoon. We have determined that No. 6 is D Dean Kennedy, who was the captain of the Wheat Kings at the time. If you have any idea who the other player might be, drop me an email at greggdrinnan@gmail.com.
——
The Spokane Chiefs have signed Chris Moulton to a contract through 2017-18 and named him assistant general manager, hockey operations. Moulton has been with the Chiefs since 2005 when he signed on as director of player personnel. . . . Before joining the Chiefs, he scouted with the Calgary Hitmen. . . . The Chiefs also have signed Todd Daniels, their athletic trainer and conditioning coach, through 2017-18. He has been with them since 2008.
——
John Tortorella, the head coach of the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets, suggested earlier this week that game-day skates are over-rated. . . . Mike Benton, the radio voice of the Everett Silvertips, asked head coach Kevin Constantine for his thoughts. Here’s Constantine’s answer:
“We do everything with trying to add a bit of science and study to make sure our facts are facts and not just an idea. We have found ourselves that we are much better by not skating. All the analytics and studies we’ve done we’re a better team when we don’t skate in the morning and we save the energy for the game at night.”
——
Have you ever wondered how much money is to be made by playing hockey in Europe? Well, let us take a look at F Aaron Gagnon, a product of Armstrong, B.C. Gagnon, now 30, played five seasons with the Seattle Thunderbirds before going on to a pro career that includes 38 NHL games — 21 with the Dallas Stars and 17 with the Winnipeg Jets. . . . Gagnon went to Europe for 2013-14 and now is into his fourth season with Lukko Rauma in the Finnish Liiga, that country’s top league.
Every October, the Finnish government publishes a list of individuals who earned at least 100,000 euros and their taxable income for the previous year as reported on their tax returns. The list that was published last month is for 2015 and Gagnon shows up as having the fourth-highest taxable income for a paid hockey player during that period.
According to the list, Gagnon earned 252,904 euros. At Thursday’s exchange rates, he made Cdn$363,300 (US$268,058).
That might be something for today’s junior/college players to ponder.
———
Coaching
Mark McNaughton has stepped in as the interim general manager and head coach of the junior B Princeton Posse of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League. . . . He replaces Geoff Goodman, who was fired on Wednesday. The Posse also fired associate coach Lance Vaillancourt. . . . Goodman was in his second season in Princeton. . . . McNaughton had been the Posse’s director of hockey operations.
———
Concussion Report
These days, Bob McKeown is the co-host of the fifth estate, CBC-TV’s investigative show. In another life, he played for the CFL’s Ottawa Rough Riders. In fact, he played enough football during his athletic career that he writes “I happen to know something about concussions in football because . . . I’ve had a lot of them.” . . . This is scary and interesting stuff, and it’s all right here.
———


——

THURSDAY’S GAME:


At Saskatoon, F Luka Burzan and F Noah Gregor each had two goals and an assist as the Moose Jaw Warriors skated to a 5-1 victory over the Saskatoon Blades. . . . Burzan, who has seven goals, gave the
Blades a 2-0 lead with goals at 18:39 of the first period and 1:40 of the second. . . . Burzan drew an assist on Gregor’s eighth goal, at 7:00 of the second, that gave the visitors a 3-0 lead. . . . F Wyatt Sloboshan (3) got the Blades to within two goals at 7:23. . . . Warriors F Jayden Halbgewachs got that one back when he scored No. 13, on a PP, at 11:39. . . . Gregor closed out the scoring with a shorthanded goal at 4:03 of the third period. . . . F Nikita Popugaev had three assists for the Warriors, with D Matt Sozanski earning two. . . . G Zach Sawchenko stopped 32 shots for the Warriors, two more than Saskatoon’s Brock Hamm. . . . The Warriors were 1-2 on the PP; the Blades were 0-4. . . . Moose Jaw (12-4-4) had lost its previous three games. . . . The Blades slid to 9-12-1. . . . F Brayden Burke was pointless in his debut with the Warriors after being acquired last week from the Lethbridge Hurricanes. . . . The Blades will complete a stretch of three games in as many nights by playing in Brandon on Friday and Saturday. . . . Announced attendance: 3,302.
——

FRIDAY’S GAMES (all times local):

Saskatoon at Brandon, 7:30 p.m.
Vancouver at Kelowna, 7:05 p.m.
Edmonton vs. Kootenay, at Cranbrook, B.C., 7 p.m.
Prince Albert at Prince George, 7 p.m.
Lethbridge vs. Seattle, at Kent, Wash., 7:35 p.m.
Calgary at Spokane, 7:05 p.m.
Medicine Hat at Red Deer, 7 p.m.
Moose Jaw at Swift Current, 7 p.m.
Kamloops vs. Tri-City, at Kennewick, Wash., 7:05 p.m.




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.
PhotobucketPhotobucketPhotobucket
Posted by Gregg Drinnan at 8:33 PM
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Wednesday, September 21, 2016

Brandon d-man injured with Kings . . . Pats, Chiefs swing deal . . . Four WHL teams in Top 10


-——


The Saskatoon Blades will be without F Ryan Graham (leg) and F Cam Hebig (undisclosed) for the immediate future. . . . Hebig, 19, put up 69 points, including a team-leading 26 goals, in 59 games last season. He has played 198 regular-season games with his hometown team over the past three seasons. . . . Graham, 20, had 46 points, 22 of them goals, in 71 games. He is heading into his fifth season with the Blades. Graham is one of three 20-year-olds on the roster, joining F Jesse Shynkaruk and D Bryton Sayers. . . . The Blades open the season against the host Swift Current Broncos on Friday. . . .
Vancouver Giants F Alec Baer (shoulder) didn’t play in the exhibition season and is practising in a non-contact sweater. F Tyler Benson of the Giants also has a shoulder injury. He is with the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers but didn’t play Wednesday as the Oilers rookies took on the U of Alberta Golden Bears in an annual matchup. . . . The Giants are at home in the Langley Events Centre to the Everett Silvertips on Friday. . . .
F Lane Zablocki of the Regina Pats didn’t play in an exhibition game because of a shoulder injury. But he is expected to be in the lineup Friday as the Pats open the season against the visiting Prince Albert Raiders. Last season, as a freshman, he had 37 points, including 18 goals, in 72 games. He added seven goals in 12 playoff games.
——
D Kale Clague of the Brandon Wheat Kings was injured while playing for the Los Angeles Kings in a rookie game against the Arizona Coyotes on Wednesday. It doesn’t sound like the injury is serious, but, at the same, he apparently will miss some time. Here is Mike Stothers, who coached the Kings team, in conversation with Kings Insider Jon Rosen: “It’s a lower-body injury . . . I don’t think it’s going to be bad. But it is going to be bad, because he’s a young guy and he’s going to miss a little bit of time, I would imagine. You never want to see a young kid get hurt. You don’t want to see anybody get hurt. . . . But I think he’ll be OK, shortly.” . . . Clague, 18, was a second-round pick by the Kings in the 2016 NHL draft. He had 43 points, including 37 assists, in 71 games with Brandon last season. In 21 playoff games, he added 14 points, six of them goals.
——
The Regina Pats have acquired D Tyler Jubenvill, who will turn 17 on Nov. 30, from the Spokane Chiefs for a conditional fourth-round pick in the 2018 bantam draft. Jubenvill, from Gilbert Plains, Man., was a ninth-round selection by the Chiefs in the 2014 draft, but has committed to the NCAA’s Bemidji State Beavers. Last season, with the MJHL’s Winkler Flyers, the 5-foot-10, 180-pounder had four goals and 27 assists in 57 games. He has returned to the Flyers this season. . . . Earlier, the Pats rolled the dice on a couple of other players believed going the NCAA route. They acquired the rights to F Nick Henry from the Everett Silvertips earlier this year and have since signed him. They selected F Bryan Lockner in the third round of the 2015 draft and also were able to sign him. . . . Also on Wednesday, the Pats dropped F Jake Elmer, who will turn 18 on Dec. 31, from their roster. He is expected to report to the AJHL’s Grande Prairie Storm. The Calgary native was pointless in 17 games with the Pats last season. He also got into 20 games with the Storm, recording a goal and three assists.
——
Rob Vanstone, in the Regina Leader-Post: “Fighting in hockey is pointless, Part 2,378,119: Jayce Hawryluk suffered a broken hand in a fight during a rookie game with the NHL’s Florida Panthers. If not for hockey’s backwards culture, the 19-year-old Hawryluk — who had 106 points, including 47 goals, in 58 games with the WHL’s Brandon Wheat Kings last season — would have more opportunities to use his hands to impress the Panthers’ brass with his abundant offensive skills. . . .Who says that nobody gets hurt in a hockey fight?”
——
The CHL’s first ratings of the 2016-17 season — as voted on by a panel of anonymous NHL scouts — were released on Wednesday afternoon and the OHL’s London Knights, the defending Memorial Cup champions, are in the No. 1 slot. . . . There are four WHL teams in the top 10: 3. Brandon Wheat Kings; 4. Seattle Thunderbirds; 8. Victoria Royals; 10. Regina Pats. . . . The Kelowna Rockets got an honourable mention. . . . Keep in mind, however, that there isn’t much on which to base these rankings this early in the season. . . . Uhh, the visiting Knights lost 4-1 to the Sarnia Sting on Wednesday night. The Sting received an honourable mention in the rankings.
——
Commissioner Gilles Courteau says the QMJHL has changed the rules regarding its draft lottery — there now will be five teams in the lottery, rather than two. With 16 of the league’s 18 teams qualifying for the playoffs, the lottery now will include the two non-playoff teams as well as the three lowest qualifiers. 
——
As you no doubt will be aware, the legendary Vin Scully will walk away from his one-of-a-kind broadcast career after calling the play of the game between his Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Francisco Giants on Oct. 2. . . . What you may not know is that there is a line between Scully and the WHL. Mike Benton, who is preparing for his second season as the voice of the Everett Silvertips, grew up worshiping at the Scully shrine and, at one point, had the opportunity to job shadow his hero. . . . Benton writes about all of that right here.
——
If you are a regular in these parts, you know how I feel about organ donations and you also know why I feel the way I do. When I was hired as sports editor of Kamloops Daily News, Susan Duncan was the editor. Almost three months ago, she became a kidney donor. On Wednesday, she and Lloyd Garner, the recipient of that kidney, appeared on The Jim Harrison Show on Radio NL in Kamloops. . . . The story of how she came to give him a kidney is rather amazing. . . . Take 12 minutes and give it a listen right here.
———
Got a tip or some information you feel could be useful to me, feel free to email me at greggdrinnan@gmail.com.
———
Coaching
Former NHL F Ethan Moreau has joined the Niagara U Purple Eagles as an assistant coach under head coach David Burkholder. . . . Moreau played 15 seasons in the NHL. After retiring, Moreau spent three seasons (2012-15) as a pro scout with the NHL’s Montreal Canadiens. Last season, he was a development coach at the HarborCenter Academy Hockey in Buffalo. . . . From a Purple Eagles news release: “Among current NCAA Division I hockey coaches, only three played more games at the NHL level than Moreau: Boston University assistant coach Scott Young, Michigan State assistant coach Kelly Miller, and Michigan head coach Red Berenson.”
———


———

WEDNESDAY-THURSDAY GAMES:

No Games Scheduled.
——

FRIDAY GAMES (all times local):

Kootenay at Calgary, 7 p.m.
Kelowna at Kamloops, 7 p.m.
Medicine Hat at Lethbridge, 7 p.m.
Brandon at Moose Jaw, 7 p.m.
Edmonton at Red Deer, 7 p.m.
Prince Albert at Regina, 7 p.m.
Saskatoon at Swift Current, 7 p.m.
Everett at Vancouver, 7:30 p.m.

Prince George at Victoria, 7:05 p.m.

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.
PhotobucketPhotobucketPhotobucket
Posted by Gregg Drinnan at 9:29 PM
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

  © Design byThirteen Letter

Back to TOP