Kamloops, Lethbridge, Vancouver shuffle forwards . . . Hitmen, Oil Kings make deal . . . Rockets add Braid

The WHL trade deadline arrives today at noon MT. That’s 11 a.m. Pacific and 1 p.m. Central.
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If you follow the WHL, make sure you check out Small Thoughts At Large, the blog where Alan Caldwell tracks all the WHL bantam draft picks.
He has created a spreadsheet for each season and tracks the transfer of picks via trade, also noting what was involved in each transaction.
It’s a tough job because not all of these trades are cut and dried, but Caldwell does a terrific job of sorting through it all.
His blog is right here and the link to the spreadsheets is on the right-hand side.
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Over the last while, Todd Harkins, the first-year general manager of the Prince George Cougars, has experienced the downside of the WHL’s trade deadline and he wishes that some people would take a look at how they operate.
"What people don’t realize in social media is these are kids,” he told Regan Bartel, the radio voice of the Kelowna Rockets, earlier in the week. “They are not pros. They play like pros and I think that is the misunderstanding. They love the game at this age and they just want to play and they are doing their best. We have to be careful how we treat them in those social media rings as fans.”
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THE NUMBERS:
(Since Dec. 10)
Trades: 30.
Players: 52.
Draft picks: 38.
Conditional draft picks: 6.
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FRIDAY’S TRADES:

Moments after dropping a 2-1 shootout decision to the visiting Kelowna Rockets, the Kamloops Blazers announced two trades, both involving 20-year-old forwards. . . . The Blazers sent Mike Winther to the Lethbridge Hurricanes for an eighth-round pick in the 2017 bantam draft and acquired F Joel Hamilton from the Vancouver Giants for a sixth-round pick in 2017. . . . Both players were healthy scratches on Friday night. . . . Winther, from Trochu, Alta., has 16 points, including six goals, in 40 games with Kamloops. He also has played with the Prince Albert Raiders and Calgary Hitmen. In 271 regular-season games, he has 158 points, including 76 goals. However, he hasn’t scored since Nov. 19 and has been a healthy scratch for two straight games. The Blazers had acquired him from Calgary for a 2015 fourth-round draft pick and a seventh-rounder in 2017. Taken 16th overall by Prince Albert in the 2009 bantam draft, he was a second-round pick of the Dallas Stars in the 2012 NHL draft, but was never signed. . . . Hamilton, from Cochrane, Alta., has 27 points, 10 of them goals, in 40 games with the Giants this season. He played two seasons with the Red Deer Rebels, before moving to the Giants, where he played last season for Don Hay, now the head coach in Kamloops. In 224 career games, he has 130 points, 37 of them goals. Vancouver gave up a third-round pick in the 2014 bantam draft to get Hamilton from Red Deer. Hamilton was a fourth-round pick by Red Deer in the 2009 bantam draft.
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The acquisition of F Mike Winther left Lethbridge with four 20-year-olds, a situation that was resolved when the Hurricanes dealt F Zane Jones to the Vancouver Giants for the rights to F Johnny Wesley, 17, who is with the BCHL’s Surrey Eagles. . . . Jones, from Olds, Alta., has also played with the Everett Silvertips, Calgary Hitmen, Victoria Royals and Chilliwack Bruins. . . . The Bruins selected him in the fifth round of the 2009 bantam draft. . . . This season, he has 30 points, including 18 goals, in 36 games with Lethbridge. In 229 regular-season games, he has 134 points, including 66 goals. . . . Wesley, from White Rock, B.C., has 21 points, five of them goals, in 32 games with the Eagles. He scored one goal in his lone game with the Giants this season.
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The Kelowna Rockets added a third 20-year-old to their roster with the acquisition of F Chance Braid from the Prince George Cougars. In exchange, the Rockets gave up F Brogan O’Brien, 17, who is from Prince George. . . . The Cougars had gotten Braid from the Prince Albert Raiders over the summer. He had 13 points, including eight goals, in 35 games with the Cougars. A power forward-type, he’ll add some sandpaper to the Rockets’ roster. . . . O’Brien was a 10th-round pick by the Rockets in the 2010 bantam draft. He is playing with the BCHL’s Prince George Spruce Kings and had 15 points, including six goals, in 48 games going into weekend games.
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The Edmonton Oil Kings acquired D Marshall Donald, 19, from the Calgary Hitmen for a 2015 fourth-round draft pick. . . . Donald, from Edmonton, has eight points in 32 games in his first season with the Hitmen. He was a third-round pick by Calgary in the 2010 bantam draft. . . . Donald played the last three seasons with the AJHL’s Sherwood Park Crusaders. Prior to that, he was with the Edmonton-South Side Athletic Club program. . . . Donald is out with an undisclosed injury but is expected to join the Oil Kings early next week.
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TRADE DEADLINE DEALS:

(All draft picks in bantam draft unless otherwise noted)
Dec. 10 . . .
To Kelowna: D Josh Morrissey (95), F Gage Quinney (95).
To Prince Albert: D Jesse Lees (95), F Austin Glover (96), 2016 second-round pick, 2017 third-round pick.
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Dec. 12 . . .
To Red Deer: D Nelson Nogier (96), F Austin Adamson (96).
To Saskatoon: F Mason McCarty (97), 2015 second-round pick, 2016 first-round pick.
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Dec. 16 . . .
To Calgary: G Thatcher Demko, 19, who is at Boston College.
To Spokane: Conditional draft picks. Guy Flaming of The Pipeline Show tweeted that he had it as a second-rounder in 2015 and a second- or third-rounder in 2016.
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Dec. 27 . . .
To Swift Current: D Griffin Foulk, 19.
To Lethbridge: Conditional eighth-round pick in 2016.
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Dec. 27 . . .
To Red Deer: D Colton Bobyk, 18, and a 2016 fourth-round pick.
To Spokane: D Nick Charif, 19, a second-round 2015 pick and a conditional sixth-round 2016 selection.
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Jan. 2 . . .
To Brandon: F Morgan Klimchuk, 19.
To Regina: F Jesse Gabrielle, 17.
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Jan. 5 . . .
To Medicine Hat: D Kyle Burroughs, 19, and F Dryden Hunt, 19.
To Regina: D Connor Hobbs, 17, and two draft picks -- second-rounder in 2016 and third-rounder in 2015.
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Jan. 5 . . .
To Saskatoon: D Kolton Dixon, 19.
To Red Deer: G Trevor Martin, 18.
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Jan. 5 . . .
To Red Deer: F Connor Gay, 19, and three bantam draft picks -- a first-rounder in 2016, a second in 2015 and a seventh in 2017.
To Regina: F Jake Leschyshyn, 15, and a fourth-round pick in 2017.
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Jan. 5 . . .
To Brandon: D Reid Gow, 20.
To Spokane: A fifth-round pick, Spokane’s option for 2015 or 2016.
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Jan. 6 . . .
To Kelowna: F Leon Draisaitl, 19.
To Prince Albert: F Tomas Schmidli, 18, D Dalton Yorke, 18, and three bantam draft picks -- a first-rounder in 2015, a fourth-rounder in 2016 and a conditional fourth-rounder in 2016 or 2017.
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Jan. 6 . . .
To Prince George: D Tomas Andrlik, 19.
To Prince Albert: A 12th-round pick in 2015.
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Jan. 6 . . .
To Moose Jaw: D Connor Clouston, 18.
To Kamloops: A fifth-round pick in 2017.
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Jan. 6 . . .
To Calgary: G Brendan Burke, 19.
To Portland: G Evan Johnson, 18, and a fourth-round pick in 2016.
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Jan. 6 . . .
To Lethbridge: D Brady Reagan, 17.
To Regina: F Taylor Cooper, 19.
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Jan. 6 . . .
To Victoria: F Alex Forsberg, 19, a third-round pick in 2015 and a fourth-round pick in 2016.
To Saskatoon: F Brayden Dunn, 16, and a first-round pick in 2017.
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Jan. 6 . . .
To Portland: D Adam Henry, 20.
To Saskatoon: A second-round pick 2017.
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Jan. 6 . . .
To Moose Jaw: F Axel Blomqvist, 19, a third-round pick in 2015 and a fifth-round pick in 2017.
To Victoria: D Alexey Sleptsov, 18, G Justin Paulic, 19, and a sixth-round pick in 2015.
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Jan. 7 . . .
To Tri-City: F Tyler Sandhu, 18.
To Red Deer: Fourth-round picks in 2015 and 2016.
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Jan. 7 . . .
To Kamloops: D Marc McNulty, 19, and a 2016 sixth-round draft pick.
To Prince George: D Josh Connolly, 19, and a 2015 sixth-round draft pick.
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Jan. 7 . . .
To Saskatoon: D Brycen Martin, 18, and a conditional 2017 fifth-round draft pick.
To Swift Current: D Jordan Thomson, 18, and a 2016 first-round draft pick (originally belonged to Red Deer).
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Jan. 8 . . .
To Kootenay: D Lenny Hackman, 19.
To Lethbridge: A 12th-round pick in the 2015 draft.
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Jan. 8 . . .
To Saskatoon: F Mitch Skapski, 18, and 2015 fifth-round draft pick.
To Victoria: A 2016 fifth-round draft pick.
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Jan. 8 . . .
To Lethbridge: G Jayden Sittler, 18.
To Victoria: A 2016 seventh-round draft pick.
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Jan. 8 . . .
To Seattle: F Cory Millette, 19.
To Prince Albert: A sixth-round pick in the 2015 or 2016 bantam draft.
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Jan. 9 . . .
To Kelowna: F Chance Braid, 20.
To Prince George: F Brogan O’Brien, 17.
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Jan. 9 . . .
To Edmonton: D Marshall Donald, 19.
To Calgary: A 2015 fourth-round draft pick.
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Jan. 9 . . .
To Kamloops: F Joel Hamilton, 20.
To Vancouver: A 2017 sixth-round draft pick.
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Jan. 9 . . .
To Lethbridge: F Mike Winther, 20.
To Kamloops: A 2017 eighth-round draft pick.
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Jan. 9 . . .
To Vancouver: F Zane Jones, 20.
To Lethbridge: F Johnny Wesley, 17.


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WHL: Coaching news and player moves

As you may have guessed, I'm away for a bit. We have been celebrating the first anniversary of Dorothy's kidney transplant. Yes, a good time is being had by all. . . . I will be back on a regular basis late next week but, for now, here's an attempt at catching up on a few things:








F Lukáš Vantuch (Calgary, Lethbridge, 2005-07) signed a contract through Nov. 5 with Landshut (Germany, DEL2). Last season, with Landshut, he had 49 points, including 17 goals, in 53 games. He had been on a tryout with Dusseldorf (Germany, DEL) in August but didn't win a contract. . . .
F Antonín Honejsek (Moose Jaw, 2009-11) has been assigned on loan by the Espoo Blues (Finland, Liiga) to Kiekko-Vantaa (Finland, Mestis). This season, with the Blues, he had one goal in two games while averaging nine minutes of ice time per game. . . .
D Patrik Vrána (Moose Jaw, Prince George, 2006-07) was released by Cracovia Krakow (Poland, Ekstraliga) by mutual agreement. Last season, with Polonia Bytom (Poland, Ekstraliga), he had four goals and seven assists in 32 games.
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The Kamloops Blazers have added Mike Needham to their coaching staff, replacing associate coach Mark Ferner, who resigned this week and now is the general manager and head coach with the BCHL's Vernon Vipers. . . . Ferner was in his second season back with the Blazers. . . . Needham, who has been working at the Okanagan Hockey Academy in Penticton. For the past three seasons, he has been the head coach of OHA's bantam prep team. . . . At the same time, Needham has worked as the Blazers' skills coach. . . . Needham played three seasons (1987-90) with the Blazers and is the father of Blazers captain Matt Needham. . . . OHA commitments will keep Mike from joining the Blazers until Monday. . . . Ferner, meanwhile, is a familiar face in Vernon where he coached the Vipers to three straight BCHL titles and won the 2009 and 2010 RBC Cups as national champions. . . . Any chance of Ferner becoming the Blazers' head coach went by the wayside in January when the team brought back Guy Charron as head coach following the departure of Dave Hunchak. If there was any doubt after that, it disappeared when Don Hay returned to Kamloops as the Blazers' head coach over the summer. Hay had spent the past 10 seasons as head coach of the Vancouver Giants. . . . In Vernon, Ferner takes over from Jason Williamson, who resigned as GM/head coach citing personal reasons. . . .

The Kamloops Blazers' roster is at 26 after they released F Mitch Friesen, 18, on Wednesday. From Surrey, B.C., Friesen had a goal and two assists in 21 games last season. He has a goal and three assists in 68 regular-season games. . . . He was a fourth-round selection in the 2011 bantam draft. . . . Kamloops now is carrying three goaltenders, eight defencemen and 15 forwards. . . . That number includes F Mike Winther, 20, who was acquired from the Calgary Hitmen for a fourth-round pick in the 2015 bantam draft and a sixth-rounder in 2017. Winther was selected by the Prince Albert Raiders with the sixth-overall pick of the 2009 bantam draft. He was later dealt to Calgary and now is into his fifth WHL season. . . . In 231 regular-season games, the native of Trochu, Alta., has 142 points, including 70 goals. Last season, injuries limited him to 31 games. He had 26 points, including seven goals. A second-round pick by the Dallas Stars in the NHL's 2012 draft, Winther didn't sign and now is a free agent. . . . The Blazers also have D Brady Gaudet and G Bolton Pouliot as 20s. They also own the WHL rights to veteran F Chase Souto, 20, but his career is in doubt because of concussion-related issues. . . .

The Everett Silvertips have traded F Zane Jones, 20, to the Lethbridge Hurricanes for a fourth-round pick in the 2015 bantam draft. Jones, from Olds, Alta., was a fifth-round selection by the Chilliwack Bruins in the 2009 bantam draft. He has 104 points, including 48 goals, in 192 regular-season games split between Everett, the Calgary Hitmen, Victoria Royals and Chilliwack. Last season, he had 24 points, 11 of them goals, in 42 games with Calgary and two goals and two assists in 11 games with Everett. . . . The deal leaves Lethbridge with four 20-year-olds, the others being D Tyler Bell and D Nick Walters and F Riley Sheen, who turns 20 on Dec. 21. . . . WHL teams have to declare a maximum of three 20-year-olds by Oct. 15. . . . The Silvertips are down to three -- D Ben Betker, who turns 20 on Sept. 29, F Brayden Low and F Kohl Bauml, who will be 20 on Nov. 25. . . .

The Regina Pats acquired Ukrainian F Pavel Padakin, 20, from the Calgary Hitmen for a third-round selection in the 2017 bantam draft. Padakin is a two-spotter -- a 20-year-old import. To make room for him, Regina released sophomore F Max Kammerer, who is from Germany. . . . Padakin was to have played in the KHL this season, but after he signed with HC Donbass Donetsk, it took a leave from the league due to the political situation there. . . . Last season, Padakin had 54 points, 27 of them goals, with the Hitmen. The previous season, as a freshman, he had 22 goals and 16 assists in 70 games. He scored in his only game with Calgary this season. . . . Regina also has four other 20s on its roster -- F Logan McVeigh, F Chandler Stephenson, F Braden Christoffer and F Patrick D'Amico. Stephenson is expected to play in the Washington Capitals' organization. . . . Regina's other import is Russian D Sergey Zborovskiy, a 17-year-old freshman. . . . Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post has written a terrific feature on Padakin in which he talks about the situation in Ukraine. As this is written, the feature isn't on the newspaper's website, but it should be right here sometime Thursday morning. . . .

The Hitmen are left with three 20-year-olds -- F Connor Rankin, F Adam Tambellini and D Kenten Helgesen. . . . After the New York Rangers returned Tambellini, Alan Caldwell of Small Thoughts At Large tweeted: "If I'm not mistaken, the return of Adam Tambellini to the WHL means the Hitmen owe the Winterhawks a 2015 4th round pick." . . . Calgary also is down to two imports in sophomore Russian F Radel Fazleev, 18, and freshman Pavel Karnaukhov, a 17-year-old Belarussian. . . .

On Wednesday night, the Calgary Hitmen announced that they have dealt F Linden Penner, 19, to the Moose Jaw Warriors for a conditional sixth-round selection in the 2016 bantam draft. From Sherwood Park, Alta., Penner was a 10th-round selection by the Saskatoon Blades in the 2010 bantam draft. He has four goals and four assists in 41 regular-season WHL games. All the points came in 39 games with Calgary last season. He also has played one game with the Everett Silvertips. He was pointless in one game with the Hitmen this season. . . .

The Warriors had two veteran players -- F Scott Cooke, 20, and F Brandon Potomak, 19 -- leave them after spending a lot of Saturday's home-opener on the team's fourth line. Matthew Gourlie of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald has that story right here. . . . Cooke's departure leaves the Warriors with three 20-year-olds -- F Tanner Eberle, F Jack Rodewald and F Jaimen Yakubowski. . . . Eberle still is in camp with the Montreal Canadiens. . . .

The Prince Albert Raiders are expected to announce the signing of a new assistant coach on Thursday. That moves follows the announcement on Wednesday that Tim Leonard has stepped down for personal reasons. He was into his third season with the Raiders. Leonard, who had a long and successful run as head coach of the midget AAA Prince Albert Mintos, joined the Raiders in March 2012. He now has rejoined the Mintos' coaching staff. . . .

The Saskatoon Blades dealt Russian F Nikita Scherbak, their leading scorer from last season, to the Everett Silvertips for G Nik Amundrud, 17, and two conditional bantam draft picks -- a first-rounder in 2015 and a second-rounder in 2016. Scherbak is in camp with the Montreal Canadiens, who selected him with the ?? pick of the NHL's 2014 draft. If Scherbak doesn't end up in Everett, the Silvertips keep both draft picks. . . . Had Scherbak been returned to the Blades, it would have left them with three imports. They added Russian F Nikita Soshnin, 17, and Swedish D Amil Krupic, 19, in the 2014 CHL import draft. CHL rules allow each team to keep two import players, but a team is allowed to draft a third if one of their imports is a first-round NHL selection. However, those same rules don't allow the trading of freshmen imports, so in order to keep Scherbak, the Blades would have had to release Soshnin or Krupic. . . . The Silvertips may find themselves in the same kind of jam, as they also have D Marco Mueller, who is in camp with the San Jose Sharks. He was the 18th overall pick in the 2013 NHL draft. Right now, Russian F Ivan Nikolishin, an 18-year-old sophomore, is the only import in Everett. . . . Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix has more right here. . . . Should Scherbak end up in Everett, it would shed a whole different light on the Western Conference. The Silvertips have been wondering from where the goals will come; thus, they made the move on Scherbak. There's more right here from Nick Patterson of the Everett Herald.

If you missed it, Elliotte Friedman's latest blog posting, 30 Thoughts, is right here. The top is especially interesting because it deals with the fact that NHL teams are starting to wonder if players are spending too much off-season time working out.
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The Kootenay Ice will be without D Rinat Valiev for up to four weeks. He was in camp with the NHL's Toronto Maple Leafs when he suffered an undisclosed injury and underwent surgery. Apparently, the injury isn't considered to be overly serious. . . . Three WHL teams have each been fined $500 for becoming involved in multiple-fight situations. The Seattle Thunderbirds and the Winterhawks went at it on Sept. 19 in Portland. The host Tri-City Americans drew a fine, while the Prince George Cougars didn't, for an incident in Kennewick Wash., on Sunday. . . . F Tyler Wong of the Lethbridge Hurricanes was hit with a three-game suspension for incurring a headshot major and game misconduct on Saturday in Medicine Hat. . . .
The Saskatoon Blades will be without F Ryan Graham, 18, after he was found to have mononucleosis while in camp with the NHL's Minnesota Wild. He won't play until sometime in October. . . . Matthew Liebenberg of the Prairie Post has an in-depth look right here at the financial picture presented by the Swift Current Broncos during the franchise's annual general meeting.

Blades hope Bob can lead them out of the Woods

F Brandon Magee (Chilliwack/Victoria, 2009-14) has signed a tryout contract with Kometa Brno (Czech Republic, Extraliga). Last season, Magee had 67 points, including 25 goals, in 65 games.
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1. Bob Woods, a defenceman for two seasons (1987-89) with the Brandon Wheat Kings, is headed back to the WHL as the next general manager and head coach of the Saskatoon Blades. . . . Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix broke the story on Twitter late Sunday afternoon. His piece is right here. . . . The Blades will introduce Woods at a news conference today. . . . From LeRoy, Sask., a community two hours east of Saskatoon, Woods, 46, has spent the last two-plus seasons as an assistant coach with the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks. . . . He has been in the coaching game for 17 seasons, including two as an assistant coach with the Washington Capitals. He also has coached in the ECHL and the AHL, where he spent four seasons with the Hershey Bears. . . . He won AHL championships in Hershey as a player, assistant coach and head coach. . . . Anaheim head coach Bruce Boudreau, with whom Woods has a long history, is signed through 2014-15, while the contracts of Woods and fellow Ducks assistant Brad Lauer are up this month. . . . Les Lazaruk, the radio voice of the Blades, reported that Woods signed a five-year contract that includes performance bonuses, including one that would reward him should the Blades be named the WHL's scholastic team of the year. . . .
The Blades, who won 16 games last season, are looking to replace Lorne Molleken and David Struch, the GM and head coach, respectively, who were released after last season.

2. Sooner or later, sporting teams are going to realize that, in this era of social media, there aren’t any secrets. The days of a team holding a news conference and having a new head coach walk out from behind a curtain to the surprise of many are over. . . . Word began to leak out early Sunday afternoon that the Saskatoon Blades had signed Bob Woods as their new general manager and head coach. . . . Late in the afternoon, Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix tweeted a link to his story on the Woods signing. In that story, Nugent-Bowman noted that Blades managing partner Colin Priestner had declined comment. . . . Shortly after Nugent-Bowman’s story hit Twitter, the Blades’ own Twitter account confirmed the hiring in a series of tweets, and also revealed that a news conference will be held Monday morning. . . . With so much emphasis on social media and the immediacy it provides, it could be that the time has come for an organization, assuming it wants to control the story, to make an announcement as soon as a deal is done.

3. As you will have read in The MacBeth Report, F Brandon Magee, who turned 20 on Jan. 23, has signed a tryout deal with Kometa Brno of the Czech Republic’s Extraliga. . . . Should Magee return to the WHL for his 20-year-old season, he would miss the first 12 games. That’s because he drew a 12-game suspension from the WHL for two cross-checking incidents in the Victoria Royals’ final playoff game of last season. . . . Magee’s deal, and it’s only for a tryout, will be finalized upon completion of physical and medical testing. . . . Magee, who is from Edmonton, played one season with the Chilliwack Bruins and three with Victoria. In 268 regular-season games, he put up 203 points, including 90 goals.

4. F Steven Hodges of the Victoria Royals has signed a three-year entry-level deal with the Florida Panthers, who selected him in the third round of the NHL’s 2012 draft. . . . Hodges, from Yellowknife, turned 20 on May 5. Last season, he had 47 points, including 21 goals, in 52 games. In 247 regular-season games, he has 157 points, including 75 goals. He played one season with the Chilliwack Bruins and the last three with Victoria.

5. The deadline for NHL teams to sign players selected in the 2012 draft came and went over the weekend. It’s believed that a number of WHL players didn’t get NHL deals, so most will be eligible for the 2014 draft later this month. Among those players who went unsigned are D Travis Brown (Victoria, Chicago Blackhawks); F Alexander Delnov (Seattle, Florida Panthers); F Coda Gordon (Swift Current, Calgary Flames); F Logan Nelson (Victoria, Buffalo Sabres); D Dmitry Sinitsyn (Regina, Dallas Stars); F Tyrel Seaman (Brandon, St. Louis Blues); F Lukas Sutter (Red Deer, Winnipeg Jets); D Nick Walters (Lethbridge, St. Louis Blues; and F Mike Winther (Calgary, Dallas Stars). . . . Sutter and Nelson, who have completed their 20-year-old seasons, become unrestricted free agents if they are unsigned. . . . Seaman actually retired with concussion problems after the 2012-13 season. . . . Delnov signed a two-way deal last week with Yugra Khanty-Mansiysk of the KHL.

6. There was a neat ad in Saturday’s Edmonton Journal, with the Queen City Sports and Entertainment Group, the new owners of the Regina Pats, buying space to send a message that reads: “Hail to the Kings on returning the Memorial Cup to the WHL.” . . . In all the time I’ve been around the WHL, I can’t ever remember one organization taking out an ad in a newspaper to congratulate another team on winning the Memorial Cup. Well done, Pats!

7. The AJHL’s Lloydminster Bobcats will play host to the 2016 RBC Cup for the national junior A championship. That means, of course, that the Bobcats get into the tournament as the host team. . . . The 2015 RBC Cup will be played in Portage la Prairie, Man., with the MJHL’s Terriers as the host team.

8. Ken Warren of the Ottawa Citizen writes right here that “Ottawa Senators owner Eugene Melnyk is spearheading an international movement to boycott the products of major sponsors, including Budweiser and Anheuser-Busch InBev, until the 2018 World Cup is moved away from Russia.” . . . As Warren points out, Melnyk “is livid at the hypocrisy of FIFA . . . for allowing (Russia) to stage the tournament while Russian president Vladimir Putin is waging war.” . . . I keep waiting for someone to start asking questions about why the CHL continues to be involved with the Subway Super Series while Putin continues his military aggressiveness.

9. If you’re into baseball and reading, Bryan Curtis of Grantland has a long read just for you. It’s all about baseball books, old and new, and it’s right here.

10. Here’s the schedule for the Stanley Cup final between the Los Angeles Kings and New York Rangers (all times Pacific; x - if necessary):
Wednesday: at Los Angeles, 5 p.m.
Saturday: at Los Angeles, 4:30 p.m.
Monday, June 9: at New York, 5 p.m.
Wednesday, June 11: at New York, 5 p.m.
x-Friday, June 13: at Los Angeles, 5 p.m.
x-Monday, June 16: at New York, 5 p.m.
x-Wednesday, June 18: at Los Angeles, 5 p.m.

11. And just to get your ready for the Stanley Cup final, there’s a little earworm right here. Enjoy!
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THE COACHING GAME:
Derek Lalonde is the new head coach of the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye. He had been the general manager and head coach of the USHL’s Green Bay Gamblers. . . . Lalonde replaces interim head coach Dan Watson, an assistant who stepped up when Nick Vitucci resigned as head coach in February.
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This actually was a late Friday night tweet . . .
From Denis Skapski (@skapper20): “20 yrs ago, our son Mackenzie was born the night NY won the Cup. 20 yrs later the Rangers return to the Final and today he signed with them.”

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.

Sorry, folks, but this concussion thing just isn’t going to go away.
In fact, the story continues to get bigger and bigger. Sooner or later, the pooh-bahs who run major junior and professional hockey are going to outlaw fighting to show they are serious about eliminating concussions from the game.
Maybe it would help if we stopped calling them concussions and started referring to them as brain injuries. . . .
“The numbers are kind of insane — there are currently 25 players out with concussions, or ‘upper body injuries’ that include ‘concussion-like symptoms.’ ”
So begins a story on concussion in the NHL that was posted on Deadspin on Tuesday afternoon.
That complete report is right here.
There also is link there to a CBC report that claims that 88 NHL players missed 1,697 man-games with concussions last season.
There are 30 NHL teams. In the WHL, where there are 22 teams, it is believed that at least 100 players suffered concussions last season.
While the WHL is secretive when in the area of injuries, especially when it comes to concussions, it would appear that the league is headed into that same territory again this season.
The WHL’s last injury report, dated Feb. 25, indicates that 37 players are out with “upper body” injuries. Of those 37, I would suggest that more than 20 are out with concussions or concussion-like symptoms. That injury list doesn’t include players who have suffered concussions this season and are back playing, a number that may be has high as 50. Nor does it include players who haven’t been able to play because of concussions suffered prior to this season.
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Jeff Z. Klein of The New York Times weighs in right here on the NHL and its recent wave of brain injuries.
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Meanwhile, Eric Russell of the Portland, Me., Press Herald reported on Feb. 16 that “a former University of Maine student-athlete has become the first hockey player to join a class-action lawsuit that claims the National Collegiate Athletic Association has failed to do enough to address and prevent concussions.”
It seems that a lawsuit was filed in September 2011 in Northern Illinois.
Russell’s story is right here. The story details problems encountered by former Maine player Kyle Solomon, as well as three other former NCAA athletes who suffered career-ending concussions.
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There has been speculation that D Derrick Pouliot could return to the Portland Winterhawks’ lineup tonight against the visiting Edmonton Oil Kings. Pouliot, who has been rehabbing a high ankle sprain, originally was injured on Dec. 18. He came back to play four games in January (on the 8th, 9th, 11th and 25th) but hasn’t played since then. . . . Pouliot has been skating for a couple of weeks now and Travis Green, the acting head coach, told Paul Buker of The Oregonian that the defenceman “is close.” . . . Green also said: “I’m not sure if it will be this week, or this weekend. But it’s more day to day now than week to week.” . . . As for Pouliot playing tonight, Green told Buker: “It’s possible, but I don’t suspect he will play.”
What is certain is that Pouliot will play during the playoffs, which makes Portland just that much more formidable.
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THE COACHING GAME:
The BCHL’s Cowichan Capitals announced Tuesday that Bob Beatty has signed on as general manager and head coach. Beatty had been with the SJHL’s La Ronge Ice Wolves. Beatty will take over the Capitals once their 20012-13 season has ended.


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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)
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TUESDAY’S GAMES:
In Moose Jaw, F Mike Winther scored twice and the Prince Albert Raiders dumped the Warriors, 4-1. . . . Winther has 21 goals this season. . . . F Mark McNeill added three assists for the winners. . . . Raiders F Dakota Conroy, who had gone 19 games without a goal, opened the scoring with his 19th goal. . . . Raiders G Luke Siemens stopped 41 shots in posting his 32nd victory. Last season, he put up 35 victories for the Warriors. . . . With the victory, the Raiders moved back into a tie for fourth with the Red Deer Rebels in the Eastern Conference. The Raiders hold a game in hand. . . .

In Red Deer, the Saskatoon Blades ran their winning streak to 16 games and clinched a playoff spot with a 4-0 victory over the Rebels. . . . Saskatoon G Andrey Makarov stopped 24 shots as he set a single-season franchise record with his seventh shutout. The previous record had been held by Braden Holtby (2008-09). Holtby, now with the Washington Capitals, also put up a shutout last night, beating the visiting Carolina Hurricanes, 3-0. . . . F Brenden Walker scored twice for the Blades, with F Michael Ferland and F Brett Stovin each drawing two assists. . . . Walker has a career-high 27 goals. . . . Red Deer G Patrik Bartosak turned aside 42 shots. . . . The Rebels had won the first three games of the season series from the Blades, outscoring them 11-4. . . . The Blades remain atop the East Division, seven points ahead of Prince Albert. . . .

In Kent, Wash., F Henrik Samuelsson and F Michael St. Croix each had a goal and two assists as the Edmonton Oil Kings beat the Seattle Thunderbirds (of Kent), 6-2. . . . The Oil Kings had lost their previous three games, including two on this U.S. Division swing. . . . Edmonton is to meet the Winterhawks in Portland tonight. The Oil Kings beat Portland in seven games in last springs championship final. . . . Samuelsson and St. Croix each has 32 goals. . . . Edmonton F T.J. Foster scored his 26th goal of the season. It was his 100th career goal and 250th career point. . . . Edmonton F Curtis Lazar scored his 34th goal. . . . Oil Kings G Laurent Brossoit picked up his fourth assist this season, breaking the franchise’s single-season record that he set last season. . . . Seattle F Alex Delnov scored his 20th goal. . . . Edmonton was 3-for-3 on the PP. . . . The Oil Kings moved back into second in the overall standings a point ahead of the idle Kelowna Rockets. . . .

In Kennewick, Wash., the Tri-City Americans scored the game’s last four goals and beat the Portland Winterhawks, 4-2. . . . Tri-City F Parker Bowles tied the game 2-2 with his 20th goal at 17:55 of the second period. . . . The Americans report that Bowles, 17, who has 20 goals, is the “youngest Americans rookie to reach 20 goals in a season.” F Jaroslav Kristek was an 18-year-old rookie when he scored 20 goals in 1997-98. . . . Tri-City F Connor Rankin snapped the tie with his 24th at 6:42 of the third. . . . F Beau McCue had two assists for the winners. . . . Portland F Ty Rattie scored his 40th goal. He is the sixth WHLer to reach 40 this season. . . . Portland D Shaun McPherson opened the scoring with his fourth goal. He turned 19 yesterday. . . . Tri-City F Justin Feser scored his 39th goal of the season — and the 150th of his career — in his 311th consecutive game. That ties the WHL record held by D Dwayne Newman (Brandon, Victoria, 1987-92). . . . Tri-City G Troy Trombley continued his terrific run. He made 37 saves in his sixth straight start — he is 6-0-0. He now has beaten the Winerhawks twice, having turned aside 41 shots in a 6-2 victory in Portland on Feb. 15. . . . The Winterhawks had won five in a row. . . . The Americans, who have won six in a row, have three victories over Portland this season. . . . Tri-City is fourth in the Western Conference, now with a three-point edge over the idle Spokane Chiefs. Each team has 10 games remaining.
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CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
F Matej Stransky, Saskatoon
D David Musil, Edmonton

CHECKING-TO-THE-HEAD COUNT:
None
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 From Moose Jaw Warriors F Josh Uhrich (@96uhrich): “Feeling sorry for all the girls in Saskatoon having to deal with all the boys getting their hair done for playoffs”



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THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Marek Svatos (Kootenay, 2000-02) signed a contract for the rest of this season with Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia, KHL) after an unsuccessful tryout with the Florida Panthers. Svatos last played in 2010-11, when he had three goals and five assists in 19 games with Avangard Omsk (Russia, KHL) and four goals and four assists in 28 games split between the Nashville Predators and Ottawa Senators. . . .


D Steve McCarthy (Edmonton/Kootenay, 1996-2000) signed a contract for the rest of this season with ZSC Zurich (Switzerland, NL A) after an unsuccessful tryout with the Calgary Flames. He had two goals and eight assists in 30 games with the Abbotsford Heat (AHL) this season. . . .

 F Ned Lukacevic (Spokane, Swift Current, 2001-06) signed a tryout contract with Aalborg (Denmark, AL-Bank Liga). He started the season with Eispiraten Crimmitschau (Germany, 2. Bundesliga), where he was pointless in a two-game tryout. Lukacevic then signed with Banska Bystrica (Slovakia, Extraliga), getting three goals and eight assists in 15 games before being released by mutual agreement on Monday. . . .

F Duncan Milroy (Swift Current, Kootenay, 1998-2003) signed a contract for the rest of this season with Vålerenga Oslo (Norway, GET-Ligaen). He had six goals and 22 assists in 45 games with the Krefeld Pinguine (Germany, DEL) last season.
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The Prince George Cougars have signed Mark Holick as their head coach, replacing Dean Clark who was relieved of his duties on Tuesday morning.
Assistant coach Jason Becker ran the bench Wednesday, as the Cougars dropped a 3-2 decision to the visiting Prince Albert Raiders.
Holick was to speak with the players following the game and will run practice today and take over the bench Friday when the Everett Silvertips are in Prince George.
Sheri Lamb of the Prince George Citizen has more on the coaching change right here.
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Sheri Lamb of the Prince George Citizen also has spoken with a couple of Cougars players who are dealing with post-concussion syndrome.
This is an interesting story, another one that gives you some idea of what players go through while dealing with brain injuries.
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F Dryden Hunt of the Regina Pats is working to come back from a second concussion this season. Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post writes right here about what Hunt has gone through.
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Rob Henderson of the Brandon Sun reports that D Ryan Pulock (wrist) was back practising with the Brandon Wheat Kings on Wednesday. He has missed five games with a chipped bone in a wrist. The Wheat Kings will meet the Rebels in Red Deer on Friday, but Pulock wasn’t ready to commit himself to playing just yet. . . . Brandon D Rene Hunter didn’t skate after blocking a shot in Tuesday’s 4-1 loss to the visiting Saskatoon Blades. Also missing was F Nick Buonassisi (ill), who didn’t play Tuesday.
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Michael Newman Wright, who was selected by the Tri-City Americans in the sixth round of the 1995 bantam draft, has been sentenced to 3 1/2 years in prison on an armed robbery charge.
Hannah Spray of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix has that story right here.
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WEDNESDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS:
In Saskatoon, the Edmonton Oil Kings scored the game’s first three goals and went on to a 4-2 victory over the Blades. . . . D Griffin Reinhart, who turns 19 today, scored twice for Edmonton, giving him six. . . . Saskatoon F Josh Nicholls scored his 32nd goal at 2:21 of the third to get the Blades to within 3-2. . . . Reinhart got his second goal at 15:02. . . .

F Jaedon Descheneau drew three assists as the host Kootenay Ice got past the Medicine Hat Tigers, 3-2. . . . F Luke Philp broke a 2-2 tie at 13:52 of the third. . . . In 11 January games, Descheneau has 18 points, including 14 in the last seven. . . . Last season, Deschenau, a 17-year-old from Edmonton, had 14 points in 54 games. Now he has 45, including 32 assists, in 45 games. . . . Ice F Sam Reinhart, who was day-to-day on the injury list, had two assists. . . . Kootenay, which has won five straight and 12 of 13, has closed to within four points of an Eastern Conference playoff spot. . . .

In Kamloops, G Austin Lotz stopped 65 shots — yes, 65! — but the last one he faced got past him and gave the Blazers a 4-3 OT victory over the Everett Silvertips. . . . By period, Lotz stopped 29, 18 and 18 shots. His 65 saves were a single-game franchise record. The previous record (55) had been set by Kent Simpson in a game against Portland last season. . . . Kamloops won it when F Cole Ully scored on a penalty shot at 1:17 of extra time. It was Ully’s second goal of the game and 16th of the season. Ully, who had 20 goals, including nine goals, in 55 games last season, has 33 points in 40 games this season. . . . Everett somehow took 43 of the game’s 58 penalty minutes, including 14 of 19 minors. . . . Kamloops ended up going 0-for-12 on the PP; the Silvertips were 1-for-3. . . . Lotz was chosen as Wednesday’s first star by Neate Sager of the Buzzing The Net blog and was given all three stars by the Kamloops Daily News. In the building, he was the third star, although the fans did give him a standing ovation. . . .

In Prince George, the Prince Albert Raiders overcame a 2-0 deficit and beat the Cougars, 3-2. . . . F Mike Winther broke a 2-2 tie at 12:57 of the third period with his 17th goal. . . . It was the Cougars’ first game since head coach Dean Clark was fired on Tuesday. Assistant coach Jason Becker ran the bench, with Mark Holick, the new head coach, planning to take over with the Everett Silvertips in town for a Friday-Saturday doubleheader. . . .

In Spokane, D Brenden Kichton scored in the circus to give the Chiefs a 5-4 victory over the Portland Winterhawks. . . . Kichton, who scored his 16th goal in the first period, was the only one of six shooters to score in the circus. . . . Spokane G Eric Williams stopped 41 shots. . . . Spokane led 3-1 after the second. The Winterhawks forced OT with goals by D Troy Rutkowsk, his 16th, at 15:13 of the third and F Ty Rattie’s 23rd at 16:31. Rutkowski’s goal was a shorthanded effort. . . . Rattie’s goal was his 300th career point. It came in his 245th game. . . . The Chiefs had beaten the host Winterhawks 5-2 on Monday. The teams play again Friday in Spokane.
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CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
F Austin Vetterl, Kootenay
F Manraj Hayer, Everett
F Carson Perreaux, Prince Albert

CHECKING-TO-THE-HEAD COUNT:
D Joel Edmundson, Kamloops
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From Everett Silvertips D Ben Betker (@Betker5): “S/O to my roomy on the road @lotzy30. Kid had a night to remember in the loops #65Saves”
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From former Kootenay Ice F Drew Czerwonka (@cwonks19): “Attempted to wax my chest tonight, did about 6 strips and quit. Mad props to all the ladies out there who do that regularly #sopainful”
Czerwonka now is at the U of Regina.

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