AHS connects Tigers to mumps cases . . . Aces falling from ECHL deck . . . Another lengthy OHL suspension

Tommi Virkkunen (Kamloops, Victoria, 1989-90) has been named the new CEO of Kärpät Oulu (Finland, Liiga), effective May 1. Virkkunen has been chairman of Kärpät's board the past seven years and an executive VP for Finnish company Ahlsell Oy for 10 years.

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Alberta Health Services (AHS) has said that the nine confirmed cases of mumps in the province’s South Zone all are connected to the Medicine Hat Tigers. This is the first such outbreak in the province in 10 years.

AHS believes the Tigers came in contact with the viral infection during a game against the visiting

Brandon Wheat Kings on Jan. 28, as they were starting to fight the illness.

Dr. Vivien Suttorp, the South Zone Medical Officer of Health, told Matt Nemeth of CHAT News Today in Medicine Hat that people who have come in contact with mumps may be symptom-free for as long as 25 days before feeling ill.

Dr. Suttorp told Nemeth: “Before developing symptoms of swollen glands, headaches, feeling unwell, individuals may have already shared the wealth of this virus with others.”

As Nemeth noted, the Tigers have played 10 other teams since they met the Wheat Kings.

In fact, chances are that all of the WHL’s 22 teams have come in contact with one of the teams involved in one way or another, with the Everett Silvertips having completed a recent six-game swing through the East Division.

Meanwhile, it seems the Swift Current Broncos also had to deal with mumps, meaning it has been in at least three WHL dressing rooms.

“They had a situation occur in Swift Current (recently) and it happened in Brandon,” Brent Sutter, the owner, general manager and head coach of the Red Deer Rebels, told rdnewsNOW on Thursday. “Then Medicine Hat happened to go and play Brandon and now they’re dealing with it to some degree.”

Dr. Digby Horne, the AHS Central Zone’s Medical Officer of Health, told rdnewsNOW that there aren’t any cases in that zone.

The Rebels, like other teams, are taking precautions in the hopes of avoiding an outbreak.

“Just manage and control (things),” Sutter said, “make sure we’re dealing with it the right way. Everybody is informed, from the medical side of it, on what we have to do as far as the (WHL) teams. Hopefully, Medicine Hat will get through this and it won’t carry on to another team.”

The Tigers could get some relief tonight (Friday) as they play the host Calgary Hitmen tonight.

Besides having to sit players and one coach because of mumps, they also have been without two top defencemen as David Quenneville and Ty Schultz have been recovering from broken legs suffered while blocking shots. Quenneville, who has missed 21 games, has received medical clearance to return and could be in the lineup against the Hitmen. Schultz, however, still is listed as week-to-week on the WHL roster report.

F Ryan Chyzowski is feeling better and could play in Calgary, while assistant coach Joe Frazer also has returned to the team. D Kristians Rubins and D Jordan Henderson are day-to-day, while F James Hamblin isn’t likely to play.

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The ECHL’s Alaska Aces, who play out of Anchorage, will suspend operations after this season. 

According to Terry Parks, the ownership group’s managing partner, the franchise has lost more money in 2016-17 than in the previous two seasons combined. He said attendance is down 1,500 per game from two seasons ago. . . . From an Aces news release: “Parks says as a result of the economic downturn, sponsorships are down $600,000, season-ticket sales are down $262,000 and attendance is down about 1,500 spectators per game from just a couple seasons ago.” . . . Also from the news release: “With thousands of job losses in Alaska and more likely to come, Parks says, the team expects this downward trend to continue.” . . . The Aces are completing their 15th season in Anchorage.

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The Regina Pats beat the host Saskatoon Blades, 4-1, on Wednesday night, with F Adam Brooks scoring once and being credited with an assist. Brooks won the WHL scoring title last season, with 120 points. That assist gave Brooks 100 points, at least for the moment. . . . However, a post-game scoring change took the assist away from Brooks, leaving him at 99 points. He gets another opportunity to get to 100 tonight (Friday) against the visiting Swift Current Broncos.

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Mike Fraser scouts for the Brandon Wheat Kings and also writes a weekly column for the Brandon-based Westman Journal. This week, he writes about how “listening to a fan or parent yell and mock a 14-year-old kid is hard to digest and let go.” . . . That piece is right here.

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Mike Kelly, the general manager of the Guelph Storm, will leave the OHL team when his contract expires at the end of this season. . . . “Mike has informed us that he and his wife, Denise, will be relocating to the Niagara region to be closer to their children and grandchildren,” Storm president Rick Hoyle said in a news release. “We respect Mike’s decision to prioritize his family.” . . . Kelly joined the Storm for the 1991-92 season and was the GM for six seasons, before signing on as the amateur scouting co-ordinator with the NHL’s Calgary Flames in 1997. He returned to the Storm in November 2010 for a second go-round as GM. . . . From the Storm’s news release: “During his 13 seasons with the club, he led the Storm to three division titles, three OHL regular-season titles, three appearances in the OHL championship series and the franchise’s last OHL championship in 2013-14.” He was the OHL’s executive of the year for 1994-95.

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The OHL has suspended F Max Jones of the London Knights for 10 games after he took a cross-checking major and game misconduct for a hit on F Jonah Gadjovich of the Owen Sound Attack on Feb. 17. Jones will be eligible to return on March 14. . . . Jones was selected by the Anaheim Ducks in the first round of the NHL’s 2016 draft. He has 32 points, including 14 goals, in 29 games this season, one that has been interrupted twice by injuries. . . . Jones is a repeat offender, having been hit with a 12-game suspension for a blindside during a first-round playoff game last season. . . . The latest suspension comes a day after the OHL hit F Christiano DiGiacinto of the Windsor Spitfires with a 10-game suspension after he incurred a headshot major and game misconduct. 

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THURSDAY’S GAMES:

No Games Scheduled.

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FRIDAY’S GAMES (all times local):

Medicine Hat at Calgary, 7 p.m.

Portland at Everett, 7:35 p.m.

Kelowna at Kamloops, 7 p.m.

Brandon at Lethbridge, 7 p.m.

Edmonton at Prince George, 7 p.m.

Kootenay at Red Deer, 7 p.m.

Swift Current at Regina, 7 p.m.

Prince Albert at Saskatoon, 7:05 p.m.

Seattle vs. Tri-City, at Kennewick, Wash., 7:05 p.m.

Victoria vs. Vancouver, at Langley, B.C., 7:30 p.m.

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Oil Kings have a head coach . . . More coaching news, too

F Dustin Cameron (Saskatoon, Prince Albert, 2004-10) has signed a one-year contract with Heilbronner Falken (Germany, DEL2). Last season, with the Ravensburg Towerstars (Germany, DEL2), he had 58 points, including 23 goals, in 53 games. He finished second in scoring on his team.
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1. Steve Hamilton was introduced Monday as the new head coach of the Memorial Cup-champion Edmonton Oil Kings. Hamilton takes over from Derek Laxdal, who left after four seasons to become the head coach of the AHL’s Texas Stars. . . . Hamilton, 40, was an assistant under Laxdal for the past four seasons. . . . The son of former Oil Kings defenceman Al Hamilton, Steve joined the Oil Kings after spending four seasons as GM/head coach of the AJHL’s Spruce Grove Saints. He won three AJHL coach-of-the-year awards. . . . The Oil Kings will hire another assistant coach, who will join Hamilton, assistant coach Sean Brown and goaltending consultant Dustin Schwartz on staff.

2. There now are four WHL teams still without head coaches. The Moose Jaw Warriors, Portland Winterhawks, Regina Pats and Vancouver Giants continue to look for new men to run their benches. . . . The Winterhawks are believed to be close to introducing a GM/head coach to replace Mike Johnston, who now is the head coach of the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins. I was told on Monday that the Winterhawks are on the verge of signing an “NHL guy.”

3. The NHL’s Vancouver Canucks revealed that they are adding Doug Lidster to their coaching staff as an assistant to head coach Willie Desjardins. The two worked together with the Medicine Hat Tigers (2002-03) and the last two seasons with Texas Stars, who won the 2014 Calder Cup as AHL champions. . . . Glen Gulutzan, who was on John Tortorella’s staff in Vancouver last season, is expected to remain with the Canucks as an assistant coach.

4. There seems to be another move afoot to unionize major junior hockey players, but as Rick Westhead and Robert Cribb of the Toronto Star reports right here, it already seems to be stumbling around like a thirsty man in the desert.
Sunaya Sapurji of Yahoo! Sports Canada has more on this story right here.

5. There is quite a scrap going on in Oakland involving the A’s. At least one man, Oakland City Councilman Larry Reid, thinks it all could end with the A’s moving to Montreal or San Antonio. There is more on that right here.

6. It has come to this. . . . The Manitoba Soccer Association has suspended a player for 15 years for an alleged attack on a referee. Oliver Sachgau of the Winnipeg Free Press has more right here. Interestingly, Branko Dukic, who also has been charged with assault causing bodily harm, is a referee himself.
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Mike Kelly, who did a turn as head coach of the Brandon Wheat Kings (2003-04), has joined the NHL’s Florida Panthers as an assistant coach under head coach Gerard Gallant. He and Kelly worked together with the QMJHL’s Saint John Sea Dogs. . . . The Panthers also hired Mark Morris as an assistant coach. He spent the past eight season as the head coach of the Manchester Monarchs, the Los Angeles Kings’ AHL affiliate. When the Kings didn’t renew his contract, it created the opening that has since been filled by Mike Stothers, who left the Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . Dwayne Gylywoychuk, who played with the Brandon Wheat Kings and also was in the organization as the head coach and an assistant coach, has been named an assistant coach with Canada’s national women’s hockey team. Doug Derraugh, the head coach of the women‘s team at Cornell U for nine seasons, is the head coach. The other assistant is Tim Bothwell, a former Medicine Hat Tigers head coach (1990-92), who is on staff at the Edge School in Calgary.
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Watching Tsn and im pretty sure this roger sloan guy is a hockey player disguised as a golfer #beaut
— Brendan Riddall (@sonofrawhead) July 7, 2014

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THE MacBETH REPORT:
Dinamo Minsk has recalled F Sergei Drozd (Tri-City, 2009-10) from assignment to Neman Grodno (Belarus, Ekstraliga). He had 17 points, including five goals, in 17 games with Neman. . . .

F Jaroslav Kristek (Tri-City, 1998-2000) has been released by mutual agreement from Dinamo Minsk (Belarus, KHL). He had one assist in seven games.
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1. The Vancouver Giants revealed on Tuesday that F Tyler Benson, the first overall pick in the 2013 bantam draft, will make his WHL debut on Nov. 16 against the visiting Tri-City Americans. . . . Benson, 15, has 34 points, including 15 goals, in 16 games with the Pursuit of Excellence U-18 Prep team. . . . Veteran WHL referee Steve Papp has been selected to work the World Junior Championship that begins Dec. 26 in Malmo, Sweden. . . .

2. The Kamloops Blazers' roster stands at 22 after the club dropped F Mitch Friesen, 17, on Tuesday. . . . A native of Surrey, B.C., Friesen had two assists in 55 games with the Blazers over last season and this one. This season, he had one assist in nine games. . . .


3. The QMJHL's Saint John Sea Dogs fired Mike Kelly, their general manager and head coach, on Tuesday. . . . At 5-10-2, the Sea Dogs have the WHL's second-poorest record and are winless in eight. . . . Kelly, a former head coach of the Brandon Wheat Kings, was the Sea Dogs' associate coach when they had three straight 50-win seasons (2009-12) and also won a Memorial Cup. He had been head coach since the summer of 2012. . . . A new coach is expected to be introduced within days.

4. The Everett Silvertips will be without G Austin Lotz for up to four weeks. It seems he suffered an ankle injury during a 7-6 overtime victory over the Blazers in Kamloops on Saturday -- he apparently was injured in regulation time and he did finish the game -- and now is encumbered with a walking boot. . . . Lotz started his 11th straight game on Saturday. . . . With Lotz injured, Daniel Cotton, 19, moves up the depth chart, while the Silvertips have brought in Nik Amundrud, 16, to back him up. Amundrud, who is from Melfort, Sask., was a third-round pick in the 2012 bantam draft.

5. If you are a baseball fan of a certain vintage, you recognize the radio call letters KMOX. Yes, that is the AM radio home of the St. Louis Cardinals. KMOX is at 1120 on the AM dial and its 50,000-watt signal covers a good part of North America and beyond. . . . David Waldstein of The New York Times set out Sunday to see if he could outdrive the signal while Game 4 of the World Series was being played. . . . This is good stuff and it's right here.

6. The St. Louis Cardinals are in Boston to meet the Red Sox in Game 6 of the World Series tonight. And you are wondering what it would cost you to get into Fenway Park for this one. Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports has the answer(s) right here.

7. If you're a regular here, you will recall that yesterday I had a bit about Vancouver Canucks head coach John Tortorella and the way he is playing his top three forwards well over 20 minutes per game. . . . That led me to wonder whether an NHL coach really needs 12 forwards at his disposal. . . . In Tuesday's Vancouver Sun, columnist Iain MacIntyre pointed out that the Caucks had gone into Monday's game against the visiting Washington Capitals not having practised in 10 days. Seriously. . . . The Canucks didn't practise while on a seven-game road trip and when the trek was over Tortorella gave his side two days off. That led them into Monday's game, which they won, 3-2. . . . The Canucks, who are 9-4-2 going into tonight's game against the visiting Detroit Red Wings, played nine of their first 15 games on the road. . . . Prior to Monday's game, Tortorella promised that "we'll practice (Tuesday). Win or lose." . . . They did. . . . But 10 days without a practice. Sacrilege, surely.

8. Matthew Gourlie of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald reports that the Moose Jaw Warriors are concerned that an unnamed junior A team may have tampered with F Todd Fiddler, 20, before he was dropped from the WHL team's roster on Monday. . . . That story is right here.
www.mjtimes.sk.ca/Sports/Hockey/2013-10-28/article-3450719/Fiddler-and-Warriors-part-ways/1

TUESDAY NIGHT:
In Prince Albert, the Medicine Hat Tigers unleashed a 50-shot attack and beat the Raiders, 3-1. . . . G Cole Cheveldave stopped 47 shots for the Raiders, 26 more than Marek Langhamer of the Tigers. . . . The Tigers were without F Hunter Shinkaruk (hip) for a second straight game. . . . F Mike Winther of the Raiders sat out Game 2 of a four-game suspension for a headshot. . . . This was the 10th time the Clouston brothers opposed each other as WHL coaches. Cory, who has coached the Kootenay Ice, Brandon Wheat Kings and Prince Albert, is 5-4-1, while Shaun, the Tigers' head coach, is 5-5. . . .

In Kent, Wash., F Seth Swenson had a goal and two assists to lead the Seattle Thunderbirds to a 4-2 victory over the Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . Seattle is 11-3-2 and now leads the Western Conference, by one point over the Portland Winterhawks. . . . The Wheat Kings are 0-3 on their swing through the U.S. Division. . . . Swenson scored his fourth goal in three games, this one coming on a second-period penalty shot. . . . F Sam Mckechnie scored in his first game with the Thunderbirds. He and F Jaimen Yakubowski were acquired last week from the Lethbridge Hurricanes. Yakubowski made his Seattle debut on the weekend; Mckechnie hadn't had as much opportunity to skate after he and Yakubowski were sent home to await a trade, so his debut had to wait. . . . Meanwhile, Yakubowski got a major and game misconduct in the first period for a headshot on D Taylor Green. . . .

 In Prince George, F Jackson Houck struck for three goals to lead the Vancouver Giants to a 6-5 victory over the Cougars. . . . Houck now has two WHL hat tricks to his credit. . . . The teams play again tonight in P.G. . . . Houck went into the game with three goals this season. . . . F Chase Witala scored one of the Cougars' goals as he ran his sniping streak to six games. . . . Witala also had three assists, giving him 20 points, 10 of them goals, in 10 games. . . .

In Lethbridge, F Connor Sanvido's shootout goal gave the Swift Current Broncos a 3-2 victory over the Hurricanes. . . . Sanvido was the only one of six shooters to score. . . . The Hurricanes have lost three in a row and have won once in their last 10 outings. . . . F Riley Sheen, acquired last week from the Seattle Thunderbirds, scored in his first game with the Hurricanes.

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THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Igor Bacek (Tri-City, 2005-06) signed a one-year contract with Dortmund (Germany, Oberliga). He had 17 goals and 31 assists in 37 games with Passau Black Hawks (Germany, Oberliga) last season.
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John Leake, the author of Cold A Long Time: An Alpine Mystery, appeared on Dan Russell’s SportsTalk on Thursday night.
SportsTalk is a three-hour nightly show that originates with CKNW, an AM radio station in Vancouver.
Cole A Long Time details the death of former Saskatoon Blades D Duncan MacPherson and all that follows as his parents, Lynda and Bob, work to find out what happened.
SportsTalk is on the CKNW website in podcast form. The Leake interview covers most of two hours and it’s available right here. Just click on Thursday, June 14, Hour 1 and Hour 2.
The book, which is a must read, is available via the Internet right here.
And it soon is to become available at Chapters Indigo book stores.
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Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post has a piece right here on Rob Laird, one of the longest-serving members of the Los Angeles Kings organization. A pro scout, Laird has been part of the Kings for 18 years. What is nice about this piece is that Laird passes along some Stanley Cup credit to Al Murray, who once was the Kings’ director of amateur scouting. In fact, it was with Murray heading up the scouting department that the Kings drafted three key players — goaltender Jonathan Quick and forwards Dustin Brown and Anze Kopitar. Murray now is the Tampa Bay Lightning’s director of amateur scouting.
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JUST NOTES:
The Prince Albert Raiders have signed their first three selections from the 2012 bantam draft. . . . D Brendan Guhle, the third overall selection, had 24 points with the Sherwood Park Flyers of the Alberta Major Bantam League. . . . G Nick McBride, a second-round pick from Maple Ridge, B.C., also signed. He helped the Burnaby Winter Club Bruins win the Western Canadian bantam AAA championship last season. . . . F Matteo Gennaro, who played for the bantam AAA St. Albert Sabres, also was a second-round selection. He had 44 points, including 23 goals, in 31 games. . . .
The Prince George Cougars have signed F Jansen Harkins of North Vancouver. He was the second overall pick in the 2012 bantam draft. Harkins, the son of former pro Todd Harkins, had 122 points, including 68 goals, with the bantam AAA North Shore Winter Club Winterhawks and was named a co-winner of the 2012 Hockey Now Minor Hockey Player of the Year Award. . . .
The Kamloops Blazers have signed F Jayden Halbgewachs, the 19th overall selection in the 2012 bantam draft. Halbgewachs, from Emerald Park, Sask., had 89 points, 55 of them goals, in 24 games with the bantam AA Prairie Storm. He will play next season with the midget AAA Regina Pat Canadians. . . .
Daniel Fink has joined the Regina Pats as their media and communications manager. He joins the Pats from the SJHL’s La Ronge Ice Wolves. He was the radio voice of the Ice Wolves. With the Pats, he will be, according to a news release, “responsible for all aspects of media relations and communications as it relates to the Pats.” . . . Fink starts work on Aug. 18. . . .
Congrats to Bill Whitehead, the newly elected president of Hockey Manitoba. Whitehead, who is from Roland, Man., was a minute-eating defenceman with the MJHL’s Selkirk Steelers when they won the 1974 Centennial Cup as national junior A champions.
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THE COACHING GAME:
The St. Louis Blues have promoted Brad Shaw to associate coach while adding Gary Agnew as an assistant coach. Agnew replaces Scott Mellanby, who left the Blues late last month and has since signed as the Montreal Canadiens’ director of player personnel. . . . Agnew had been head coach of the OHL’s Oshawa Generals since Nov. 7. He spent four seasons as an assistant coach with the Columbus Blue Jackets where he worked alongside Blues head coach Ken Hitchcock. . . . The Blues other assistant coach, Ray Bennett, is going into his sixth full season with the Blues. Prior to that, Bennett, who worked in the WHL with the Spokane Chiefs and Moose Jaw Warriors, spent seven seasons with the Los Angeles Kings. . . . Shaw is going into his seventh season with the Blues. . . .
The QMJHL’s Saint John Sea Dogs have named Mike Kelly as their new head coach. Kelly, who was the Sea Dogs’ director of hockey operations and associate coach, actually has been named general manager and head coach. . . . He replaces Gerard Gallant as head coach. Gallant has signed on as an assistant coach with the Montreal Canadiens. . . . Kelly did a stint as head coach of the Brandon Wheat Kings (2003-04). . . . The Sea Dogs, the 2011 Memorial Cup champions, have won the last two QMJHL titles, going 161-34-9 in the process. . . .
One year after signing on with the junior B Revelstoke Grizzlies as an assistant coach, Kevin Kraus is the team’s general manager and head coach. Kraus (Kamloops, Tri-City, 2006-07) replaces Randy Quakenbush, who had his contract terminated but remains in the organization and plans on working to keep the Kootenay International league franchise in Revelstoke after it came perilously close to being sold and relocated to 100 Mile House. . . . Brian Wiebe, who follows all things BCHL the way a mother goose follows her young ones, first tweeted the Kraus signing on June 8. Wiebe tweets at @Brian_Wiebe.
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Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com has the latest right here on the story of Jim Duquette, the longtime baseball executive, and his daughter, Lindsey. Jim gave a kidney to Lindsey last week and should have his 10-year-old daughter home for Father’s Day. It doesn’t get any better than that.
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TWEET OF THE DAY:
From Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter), one of ESPN’s NFL reporters: “After one NFL exec heard CB Adam Jones was ordered to pay $11.7 million for his role in a shooting, he texted, ‘When it rains, it pours.’ ”

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Robert MacLeod of The Globe and Mail interviewed OHL vice-president Ted Baker about that league’s move to get rid of what it calls staged, or premeditated fights. That piece is right here.
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The WHL, of course, moved prior to the 2008-09 season to get rid of such fights. However, I don’t know that the WHL had the same problem that OHL commissioner David Branch has indicated his league has had -- players hooking up on Facebook and setting up fights.
Here’s a chunk of what Branch said during an appearance on Prime Time Sports on Toronto‘s FAN 590 (thanks to Neate Sager of Yahoo! Sports):
"What the new rule is to address (is) those situations we feel, certainly at our level, have crept in at the start of the game or the start of the period, but particularly at the start of the game.
"The puck hits the ice, two players drop their gloves and go at it . . . you could reasonably suggest it's been premeditated and arrangements were made.
"I know through some focus groups we had with some of our players on social networking . . . that is one of the things that has been happening, where players have been, you know, prearranging what might occur in the way . . . of physical interaction for the next time they meet.
"We're addressing that and hope (the rule) will serve to remove it."
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Is the WHL, along with the two other major junior leagues, going to have to spend some serious time thinking about and discussing the role of fighting in its game?
While it may not be politically correct to stand up and say fighting belongs in hockey, does the WHL need to take a look at fighting’s role in relation to attendance?
If you tour around the Internet, you will have noticed that people are starting to talk about the WHL and its attendance figures. For starters, people are using figures that are available right here.
You can read whatever you want into those figures, but one thing can’t be denied. League-wide attendance figures are down for a third consecutive season.
After games of Tuesday, attendance is down 17 fans per game, or 0.41 per cent. Those figures have nine teams down and a dozen showing an increase. The Medicine Hat Tigers are the other team; they sell 4,006 tickets per game and have for a number of seasons now.
It’s worth noting that six of the teams showing an increase are up less than five per cent. It is, then, a fine-edged sword.
Last season, league-wide attendance was down 277 fans per game (5.97 per cent); it was down 79 fans (1.67) in 2008-09.
Does the WHL’s stand against some but not all fighting have any bearing on those figures?
If you watched the video of the dustup between the Kamloops Blazers and the Winterhawks in Portland on Saturday night, you know that the fans loved it. If you missed it, the incident took place following the buzzer to end the second period, and the crowd noise gains momentum as the people in the seats come to realize what is happening on the ice.
It is safe to say that no one left the building.
It also is safe to say that this altercation was a one or a two on a scale of 1-10 when compared with the bench-clearing brawls of yesteryear.
One WHL team official suggested Thursday that he thought there was some over-reaction -- the WHL handed out $6,000 in fines (all of which were mandated by league rules) and 15 games in suspensions -- because, in his words, “there really was only one fight.”
As of late Thursday night, the video had been viewed 5,658 times on YouTube.
But, then again, if fighting really does draw fans, what’s the problem in Kamloops?
The Blazers lead the WHL in penalty minutes and in fighting majors -- and their roster includes LW Brendan Ranford, who leads the league in goals.
Through 12 home dates, attendance is down 299 fans per game. In fact, attendance in Kamloops appears headed down for a ninth consecutive season. In 2002-03, the Blazers averaged 5,373 fans, up 34 from the previous season. This season, the Blazers’ average attendance is 4,019.
Last season, the Prince George Cougars led the WHL in fighting majors. And we all know what’s going on with attendance there.
So maybe that theory is full of holes, too.
Maybe there is no definitive answer.
In order to fill its arena, perhaps a team needs a perfect storm -- a good, hard-working team, some toughness, some marketing and a whole lot of word of mouth.
But its all fodder for discussion, isn’t it?
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The Prince Albert Raiders have dealt D Emerson Hrynyk, 18, to the Chilliwack Bruins for G Cole Holowenko, 17, who is with BCHL’s Westside Warriors.
A shoulder injury limited Hrynyk to eight games this season, although he was a healthy scratch for a 3-2 victory over the visiting Moose Jaw Warriors on Wednesday. From Okanagan Falls, B.C., he had six points in 50 games with the Raiders. He joins a Bruins team that has a couple of defencemen on the limp. Zach Habscheid (knee) is week-to-week; Jesse Pauls (broken leg) is out indefinitely.
Holowenko was a second-round selection by the Bruins in the 2008 bantam draft. He will stay in Westside, as the Raiders continue to go with veteran Jamie Tucker and freshman Eric Williams.
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D Kyle Aschim, 20, has joined the BCHL’s Victoria Grizzlies. Aschim (Prince Albert, Calgary, 2006-10) was plagued by shoulder problems last season with the Hitmen and had offseason surgery. Although he has been with Victoria for about a month, he played his first game with the Grizzlies on Thursday as they fell 4-3 to the host Surrey Eagels. . . . The rumours are out there again. Yes, the ones connecting the WHL to Victoria or Victoria to the WHL. The WHL has meetings coming up in January so it is no surprise that these rumours are making the rounds again. . . . People within the WHL have long said that the only way the league considers going back to Vancouver Island is if there are two teams there. And that won’t happen until a city other than Victoria builds a WHL-calibre arena. . . . If there was such a facility in Nanaimo, chances are the WHL would be looking at going back. . . . Victoria, which is home to the ECHL’s Salmon Kings, last had a WHL team for the 1993-94 season. The franchise moved to Prince George over the summer of 1993. . . . If you were wondering, the WHL’s Christmas trade moratorium runs from Dec. 15 through Dec. 27. . . . Hockey Canada will issue invitations to its national junior team’s selection camp on Monday. Gotta wonder if they are RSVP? . . .
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Years ago, when he covered the WHL’s Winnipeg Clubs and Monarchs, he was Pat Doyle, a sports writer with the Winnipeg Tribune. He later wrote for the Toronto Sun and Winnipeg Sun. Today, he is Patti Dawn Swansson. Paul Friesen of the Winnipeg Sun has that story right here.
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The OHL’s Guelph Storm have shuffled the deck, at least a little bit. Mike Kelly is the team’s new vice-president and general manager, replacing Jason Brooks, who stays on as head coach. . . . The Storm is 10-9-3, good for fourth in the Midwest Division. . . . Kelly is a flash from the past -- he was the Storm’s GM for six seasons a while ago. . . . Kelly was helping run an Italian league team from North America and also was a part-time scout for the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes when he chose to return to the Storm. . . . This Mike Kelly is not to be confused with Mike Kelly, who is the director of hockey operations and associate coach with the QMJHL’s Saint John Sea Dogs and who once coached the Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . But you have to wonder how much of their mail gets mixed up?

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
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