To suspend, or not to suspend? Nah ... Otters in control in OHL ... RBC Cup field set

F Mikhail Fisenko (Vancouver, Calgary, 2008-11) has signed a one-year extension with Admiral Vladivostok (Russia, KHL). This season, he had six goals and five assists in 32 games. . . . 

F Ty Morris (Swift Current, Vancouver, Red Deer, 2003-05) has signed a one-year extension with Peiting (Germany, Oberliga). This season, in 44 games, he had 19 goals and 52 assists. An alternate captain, he led his team in assists and points; he was fifth in Oberliga in assists. . . .

F Spencer Machacek (Vancouver, 2005-08) has signed a one-year contract with Düsseldorf (Germany, DEL). This season, with Eisbären Berlin (Germany, DEL), he had six goals and 10 assists in 51 games.

———

The second game of the WHL’s championship final was decided on a PP in OT, with D Josh Mahura’s goal giving the host Regina Pats a 4-3 victory over the Seattle Thunderbirds.

The series is tied 1-1 with the next three games in Kent, Wash., starting on Tuesday night.

If you haven’t seen video of the play on which Seattle F Keegan Kolesar was given a kneeing penalty in OT, it’s right here:

Many had strong opinions about Ottenbreit's hit on Brooks, but at least that was a hockey play.

Kolesar's kneeing is not. #WHLChampionship pic.twitter.com/cvvTGPWNJ4

— WHL Unfiltered (@WHLunfiltered) May 7, 2017

Kolesar was playing in his first game since serving a one-game suspension for a checking-from-behind major he incurred in the last game of the Western Conference final with the Kelowna Rockets.

Now there are some observers who feel that Kolesar should be suspended again, this time for the knee to Regina D Connor Hobbs.

That could happen, of course, but somehow I don’t think it will. After all, having the game-winning goal scored while you are in the penalty box after taking an awfully poor penalty likely was punishment enough.

——

In the OHL, the Erie Otters hold a 2-0 lead after beating the visiting Mississauga Steelheads, 3-2, on Sunday, behind two goals from F Alex DeBrincat, the league’s most outstanding player during the regular season. DeBrincat had gone four games without a goal. . . . F Warren Foegele broke a 1-1 tie at 18:03 of the third period. . . . Erie, under head coach Kris Knoblauch, a former WHL player and coach, takes a five-game winning streak into Game 3 tonight (Monday) in Mississauga.

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The field for the junior A national championship tournament — the RBC Cup — was finalized on Sunday when the host Penticton Vees beat the Chilliwack Chiefs, 3-2, in a one-game showdown between two BCHL teams for the final berth. The AJHL’s Brooks Bandits had won the Western Canada Cup in Penticton on Saturday night, so also will be in Cobourg, Ont., for the RBC Cup. Also there will be the host Cougars, the Trenton, Ont., Golden Hawks, and the Terrebonne, Que., Cobras. . . . The tournament runs May 13-21.

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Business Trip 👊.#WHLChampionship #REGvsSEA pic.twitter.com/Ly71FZMQet

— #JoinTheRegiment (@WHLPats) May 7, 2017

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SUNDAY’S GAME:

No Game Scheduled.

——

MONDAY’S GAME:

No Game Scheduled.

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TUESDAY’S GAME (all times local):

Regina vs. Seattle, at Kent, Wash., 7:05 p.m. (Series tied, 1-1)

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Red Reign and Thrice Ice . . . Ryan reunites with ex-Chiefs coach . . . Spott popular

D Jonathan Harty (Everett, 2004-08) signed a one-year contract with Grenoble (France, Ligue Magnus). This season, with Björklöven Umea (Sweden, Allsvenskan), he had six assists in 19 games. . . .
F Mikhail Fisenko (Vancouver, Calgary, 2008-11) has been traded by Amur Khabarovsk to Admiral Vladivostok (both Russia, KHL) as part of the largest trade in KHL history. Fisenko, with Amur this season, had 11 goals and 10 assists in 59 games. . . . The trade sends six players plus the rights to two others to Amur in return for three players. Admiral also receives Amur's first-round draft picks in the 2016 and 2017 KHL drafts. . . .
F Mikhail Yakubov (Red Deer, 2001-02) signed a one-year contract with Sochi (Russia, KHL). This season, with Vityaz Podolsk (Russia, KHL), he had three goals and five assists in 46 games.
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If you’re wondering, after the Chicago Blackhawks wrapped up the Stanley Cup last night, the Chicago Tribune’s sports front carried the headline RED REIGN. . . . The Chicago Sun-Times, the Blackhawks having won three Stanley Cups in six seasons, went with THRICE AGE.
——
F Derek Ryan, who played three seasons (2004-07) with the Spokane Chiefs, has signed with the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes. He got a one-year, two-way deal. . . . Ryan, who is from Spokane, is 28. He played four seasons at the U of Alberta before going to Europe for four seasons. This season, he had 60 points, including 15 goals, in 55 games with Orebro of the Swedish Hockey League. He was the SHL’s MVP and forward of the year. . . . Bill Peters, Carolina’s head coach, was Spokane’s head coach for two of Ryan’s seasons there.
——
Dave King, one of the most influential coaches in the game of hockey, was in Regina on the weekend. Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post caught up with him and the resulting story is right here.
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THE COACHING GAME:

Chris Dennis, a former assistant coach with the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs, is the new head coach of the York U Lions. Dennis, who attended York, lost his job with the Maple Leafs in April when they cleaned house. . . . The Lions were 9-15-3 this season, leaving them last in the OUA West Division. . . . Dennis, who spent 10 seasons in Toronto’s organization, takes over from Jim Wells, who had been the head coach since 2009.
——
The Vancouver Giants remain without a head coach and it seems that one of the candidates they have interviewed has become quite popular. It has been speculated that Steve Spott, another former Toronto Maple Leafs assistant coach, has been one of the Giants’ leading candidates. Now there are reports that he has interviewed with the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins for their head-coaching position. On top of that, Spott may be in line for an assistant-coaching position with the NHL’s San Jose Sharks. He and Peter DeBoer, the Sharks’ new head coach, are friends. . . . Terry Koshan of the Toronto Sun also reported on rumours that the Maple Leafs are hoping to hire D.J. Smith, the head coach of the OHL’s Oshawa Generals, who won the Memorial Cup last month. Smith, the Generals’ assistant GM and head coach, later denied those rumours.
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The WHL held an officiating camp....and I assume the outside of the rink looked something like this. pic.twitter.com/7jev3bQXIW

— Alan Caldwell (@smallatlarge) June 15, 2015

Thanks, @Asuchak16. Good luck in the A. #TooGoodToBeAtThisLevel pic.twitter.com/rqordz5x72

— Centralized Hockey (@CentralHockeyTJ) June 15, 2015

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Oil Kings back in final . . . Voice of Tigers will be back!

F Mikhail Fisenko (Vancouver, Calgary, 2008-11) has signed a two-year extension with Amur Khabarovsk (Russia, KHL). This season, he had six points, including one goal, in 25 games. . . .
D Deron Quint (Seattle, 1993-96) has been traded by CSKA Moscow to Spartak Moscow (both Russia, KHL) for monetary considerations. Quint was traded by Spartak to CSKA on Jan. 15 for monetary considerations. This season, he led all KHL defencemen in goals, with 13. He finished with 28 points in 51 games.
---



1. The biggest (and best) news in the WHL on Tuesday came out of Medicine Hat. Actually, it came late Monday night when Bob Ridley (@BobRidley_CHAT) tweeted: “I wish to thank chat radio and t.v for allowing me to semi retire. Will remain as tigers play by play man.” . . . Yes, the Tigers’ bus-driving play-by-play man will be back for another season, and that’s great news.

2. Elliotte Friedman of Hockey Night in Canada has his weekly 30 Thoughts right here. Mike Johnston, the GM/head coach of the Portland Winterhawks, as the next head coach of the Vancouver Canucks? Hey, why not?

3. Ben Cooper, who did a turn as an assistant coach with the Victoria Royals, is back in the WHL as a regional scout with the Lethbridge Hurricanes. He also is a coach at the Okanagan Hockey Academy in Penticton, B.C.

4. Attendance at Game 3 in each of the three major junior championship finals on Tuesday night: Val-d-’Or, 2,890 (seats, 2,140; capacity, 3,504); North Bay, 4,248 (sellout); Edmonton, 6,799.

5. Michael Kim won’t be in the outfield or on the mound this spring as the baseball season begins in Mississauga, Ont. But he is an angel in the outfield. Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun wrote this story right here in 2006, about a young man who lost his life and whose organs benefited eight people.
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After 17 years with the Prince George Cougars, general manager Dallas Thompson worked his last day with the organization on Tuesday. With the franchise going through the sale process, he won’t be returning.
Late Monday night, Thompson posted this on Facebook:
“Not much for updates, however, tomorrow will by my last day going to work for the Prince George Cougars. It has been a great 17 years. We did not get to the place we wanted but we touched a lot of hearts along the way. Thank you Prince George! You were kind and I wish you all the best along the way. ‪#‎princegeorgecougars‬ All the best.”
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The Moose Jaw Warriors have acquired D Cole Wedman, 20, from the Spokane Chiefs for a conditional fourth-round pick in the 2015 bantam draft. . . . Wedman, from Edmonton, had 29 points, including eight goals, in 181 regular-season games over three seasons with the Chiefs. . . . He was a sixth-round pick by the Chiefs in the 2009 bantam draft. . . . Wedman’s brother, Matthew, a forward, was selected by the Seattle Thunderbirds in the second round of last week’s bantam draft. . . . The Chiefs are left with five 1994-born players on their roster -- D Reid Gow, the team captain, F Connor Chartier, F Marcus Messier, F Carter Proft and F Liam Stewart. . . . The Warriors now have four such players on their roster -- Wedman, along with F Scott Cooke, F Tanner Eberle and F Jack Rodewald. . . . The deadline for teams to get down to three 20-year-old players is Oct. 16.
---
If you’re interested in the names of players with ties to the WHL who were selected in Phase 2 of the USHL’s draft on Tuesday, there’s a list right here.
---
THE OHL FINAL:
In North Bay, the Guelph Storm scored twice in the last minute of the third period and beat the Battalion 4-3 to take a 2-1 lead in that series. . . . F Zack Mitchell tied the game at 19:30 of the third period and F Brock McGinn got the winner at 19:49. . . . The Battalion had leads of 1-0, 2-1 and 3-2. . . . Game 4 is scheduled for tonight in North Bay.
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THE QMJHL FINAL:
In Val-d’Or, the Foreurs dropped the Baie-Comeau Drakkar 5-2 and now lead that series, 2-1. . . . F Anthony Mantha had two goals and an assist for the winners, who scored the game’s last four goals, three of them in the third period. . . . Mantha gave the Foreurs a 3-2 lead 6:41 and added insurance at 16:57. He’s got 20 goals in these playoffs. . . . The Foreurs are scheduled to play host to Game 4 tonight.
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THE COACHING GAME:
Former UBC Thunderbirds head coach Milan Dragicevic (Regina, New Westminster, Victoria, Spokane, Tri-City, 1986-90) has signed on as director of hockey development for the Richmond, B.C., Minor Hockey Association. Dragicevic, 43, spent 14 seasons as head coach of the Thunderbirds before being fired in March. He was the head coach of the Vancouver Giants in their first two WHL seasons.
---

THE FOURTH ROUND (best-of-seven; all times local):
WHL final, for the Ed Chynoweth Cup
(x - if necessary)
(All games televised live by Shaw)
(All games televised on delayed basis by Root Sports)
PORTLAND (2, West) vs. Edmonton (1, East)
(Portland leads, 2-1)
Season series: Portland, 0-0-1; Edmonton, 1-0-0.
Saturday: Edmonton 2 at Portland 5 (10,947)
Sunday: Edmonton 1 at Portland 3 (10,645)
Tuesday: Portland 2 at Edmonton 3 (6,799)
Wednesday: Portland at Edmonton, 7 p.m.
Friday: Edmonton at Portland, 7 p.m. (Moda Center)
x-Sunday: Portland at Edmonton, 4 p.m.
x-Monday: Edmonton at Portland, 7 p.m. (Moda Center)
INJURIES
Portland: None.
Edmonton: None.
---

TUESDAY’S GAME:
In Edmonton, the Oil Kings scored the game’s last three goals and beat the Portland Winterhawks, 3-2. . . . The Winterhawks lead the WHL’s championship final for the Ed Chynoweth Cup, 2-1, with Game 4 in Edmonton tonight. . . . Game 5 is scheduled for the Moda Center in Portland on Friday. . . . F Chase De Leo, at 2:38, and D Mathew Dumba, at 3:30, scored first-period goals for the Winterhawks. . . . Edmonton F Henrik Samuelsson got a PP goal at 4:11 of the second period and F Luke Bertolucci pulled his guys even at 11:04. . . . F Edgars Kulda gave the Oil Kings their first lead of the series at 13:13 of the third period, and it stood up as the winner. . . . Edmonton G Tristan Jarry stopped 35 shots, as did Portland’s Corbin Boes. . . . The Oil Kings were 1-for-4 on the PP; the Winterhawks were 0-for-4. . . . The Winterhawks now are 42-4 since Jan. 11. . . . In Game 1, the Oil Kings trailed 1-0 at 2:50 of the first period. In Game 2, Portland scored at 2:12 and 3:14 of the first period. Last night, the Winterhawks scored at 2:38 and 3:30 of the opening period. . . . Portland has outscored Edmonton 7-0 in the first periods of this series. . . . Portland F Brendan Leipsic had one assist, giving him 30 points in 16 games. He now is tied for the playoff scoring lead with teammate Oliver Bjorkstrand, who leads in goals (15). . . . Portland D Derrick Pouliot had an assist, leaving him at 29 points. He leads in assists, with 25.
John MacKinnon of the Edmonton Journal writes right here that Game 3 looked over early, but now it’s a series.
---

From Fake GAINER (@fakeGAINER): “#Saskie Derrick Pouliot 29 pts in WHL Playoffs - absolutely crazy for a defenseman. Another product of the Weyburn AllUCanEat KFC Buffet.”


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THE MacBETH REPORT:
Sibir Novosibirsk (Russia, KHL) traded F Mikhail Fisenko (Vancouver, Calgary, 2008-11) and F Andrei Stepanov to Amur Khabarovsk (Russia, KHL) for former AHL F Alexander Nikulin. Nikulin was in three NHL games over two seasons, going pointless, but had 23 goals and 52 assists in 140 AHL Games. Fisenko has one goal and two assists in 12 games with Sibir this season after signing a two-year contract with the Siberian club this past summer. Fisenko joins former Kamloops and Tri-City D Nikita Korovkin in Khabarovsk, the most eastern team in the KHL.
———
They’re coming. As sure as winter is just around the corner, logos on the game uniforms of North American-based hockey teams are coming.
Street and Smith’s Sports Business Daily reported Sunday that “American insurance firm AIG and the New Zealand Rugby Union have agreed to a five-and-a-half-year deal for AIG to sponsor six NZRU rugby teams.”
The deal includes the renowned All Blacks and the Maori All Blacks.
And you can bet that AIG will have logos on the rugby teams’ kits.
With hockey leagues constantly looking for new revenue streams, you have to think it won’t be long.
———
Fluto Shinzawa of the Boston Globe writes an entertaining hockey notebook for the Sunday paper, and he is continuing to do it even during the NHL lockout. This week, he chatted with OHL commissioner David Branch about the OHL’s new 10-fight rule. That and a whole lot more is right here. (And there is a WHL connection with a mention of Mike Stothers, who now is head coach of the Moose Jaw Warriors.)
———
Four players will be chatting with Richard Doerksen, the WHL’s vice-president, hockey, early this week after they were hit with TBD suspensions for Saturday night transgressions.
F Lucas Grayson of the Everett Silvertips, F Ryan Olsen of the Kelowna Rockets and D Dalton Thrower of the Saskatoon Blades all picked up checking-to-the-head majors, while F Tim Vanstone of the Prince Albert Raiders got tossed for checking from behind. Originally, Vanstone was given a match penalty for attempt to injure; however, that was changed to a major and game misconduct sometime after the game.
Thrower began serving his suspension by sitting out a game on Sunday.
———
SUNDAY’S STUFF:
G Mackenzie Skapski recorded his first WHL shutout as the Kootenay Ice got past the Edmonton Oil Kings 1-0 in Cranbrook. . . . Skapski blocked 25 shots. . . . F Collin Shirley, a 16-year-old freshman from Saskatoon, scored his second WHL goal at 18:56 of the second period. . . . The Ice had lost 11 straight games to Edmonton. . . . The Oil Kings hadn’t been blanked in 113 regular-season games. . . . Ice F Jon Martin was back in the lineup after serving a three-game WHL suspension. . . .

D Darren Dietz had a goal and three assists to lead the Saskatoon Blades to a 6-3 victory over the Tigers in Medicine Hat. . . . Dietz, who is from Medicine Hat, helped the Blades win two in a row for the first time this season. . . . F Josh Nicholls had two goals for the Blades and also was denied on a first-period penalty shot. He is 0-2 on freebies this season, which aren’t to be confused with attempts in the circus. . . .

G Eric Comrie stopped 24 shots to help the Tri-City Americans to a 5-0 victory over the Warriors in Moose Jaw. . . . Comrie has two shutouts this season and five in his career. . . . The Americans are 2-0-0 on their East Division tour, having won 4-3 in Brandon on Friday. . . . The Warriors had beaten the visiting Prince Albert Raiders 9-0 on Saturday night. . . . Moose Jaw had picked up at least a point in its previous 26 home games, dating to Nov. 23, 2011. . . .

F JC Lipon had two goals and two assists as the visiting Kamloops Blazers scored five PP goals and beat the Calgary Hitmen, 5-2. . . . The Blazers, at 8-0-1, are the only WHL team not to have lost in regulation time. The Hitmen sllipped to 6-1-2. . . . The Blazers are off to the second-best start in franchise history. The 1987-88 Blazers opened at 9-0-0. . . . Lipon leads the WHL in assists (13) and points (22). . . . He was the WHL and CHL’s player of the week after totalling seven points in two games last weekend. He then put up 11 points over three games. . . . Blazers F Colin Smith added two goals and an assist and moved into second in the WHL points derby, with 18. . . . Kamloops, which was 5-for-10 on the PP, has won six in a row. . . . Smith and Calgary F Brooks Macek, who drew one assist, are the only WHL players to have scored in each of their club’s games. . . . Kamloops F Aspen Sterzer’s first goal of the season broke a 2-2 tie and stood up as the winner. . . . The Blazers have eight different players each with a GWG. . . . The Hitmen had their winning streak end at three. . . . Calgary was playing its third game in three days. The Blazers beat the visiting Spokane Chiefs 5-1 on Friday night and then left for Red Deer right after the game. They are  headquartered in Red Deer while they play in the Central Division. . . .
———
CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
D Alex Roach, Calgary
D Tyler Bell, Kamloops
D Joel Edmundson, Moose Jaw
F Justin Feser, Tri-City

CHECKING-TO-THE-HEAD COUNT:
F Jake Virtanen, Calgary
———
TWEET OF THE DAY:
From TSN reporter Sara Orlesky (@saraorlesky): “Dear #CFL teams . . . the NFL gives media specific injury updates. No generic upper/lower body injuries here. #refreshing #novelconcept.”
———
Did you hear the one about the hockey referee and the joke about a bomb in a suitcase? According to a story in the Anchorage Daily News, it “temporarily shut down the airport, forced hundreds of passengers into the cold night air, caused many to miss connections, and landed him in jail.” Lisa Demer and Richard Mauer have that story right here.


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Pam and Jim Duquette want only for their 10-year-old daughter Lindsey “to be a normal kid.”
Hopefully, their wish will come true now that Jim, a long-time baseball executive who now is a broadcaster, has had one of his kidneys surgically transplanted into Lindsey.
The New York Daily News has a story right here.
Kevin Kaduk of Big League Stew has more right here.
———
THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Nathan Rempel (Saskatoon, 1994-98) signed a one-year contract extension with the Guildford Flames (England, Premier). He had 43 goals and 30 assists in 47 games this season with the Flames. Rempel was named to the First All-Star Team in the English Premier league and was the Flames leading scorer this season. . . .
F Mikhail Fisenko (Vancouver, Calgary, 2008-11) signed a two-year contract with Sibir Novosibirsk (Russia, KHL). He had one goal and two assists in 27 games for Metallurg Novokuznetsk (Russia, KHL), one goal and five assists in 13 games for Yermak Angarsk (Russia, Vysshaya Liga), and one goal and one assist in three games for Kuznetskie Medvedi (Russia, MHL) this season.
———
Dr. Charles Tator, the foremost concussion expert in Canada, will be honoured for his work by USA Hockey on Wednesday in Colorado Springs. Roy MacGregor of The Globe and Mail has the latest with Dr. Tator right here.
According to Dr. Tator, MacGregor writes: “There is currently zero treatment for concussions” that can be proven effective, apart from time itself. Much of the treatment there is in today’s sports medicine is, in his learned opinion, “worthless” and needs to be“discarded.”
“Research is sadly lacking,” Tator says. “It has been a neglected issue in medical research.”
———
THE COACHING GAME:
Peter Schaefer, who was honoured as the WHL’s top player in 1996-97, has joined the BCHL’s Surrey Eagles as an assistant coach and also will work in the area of player development. Schaefer, from Yellow Grass, Sask., played nine NHL seasons. In Surrey, Schaefer will work with GM/head coach Matt Erhart. . . .
The Saskatoon Blades have added Curtis Leschyshyn as a full-time assistant coach. He will work alongside GM/head coach Lorne Molleken and assistant coach David Struch. . . . Leschyshyn worked with the Blades on a part-time basis this season. . . . Leschyshyn played 127 regular-season games with the Blades (1985-88) before going on to a pro career. He was selected by the Quebec Nordiques with the third overall pick in the 1988 NHL draft. . . . The Blades are to be the host team for the 2013 Memorial Cup tournament. . . .
The QMJHL’s Cape Breton Screaming Eagles have signed Jean Francois David as a new assistant coach. He replaces Kevin Higo, whose contract wasn’t renewed. . . . David, who will work alongside head coach Ron Choules, played five seasons in the QMJHL before going on to a nine-year pro career. . . . Higo worked in the AJHL before spending two seasons as an assistant coach with the Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . Higo now is the director of hockey operations and head coach, varsity boys hockey, at Rothesay Netherwood School in Rothesay, N.B. . . .
Steve Martinson has signed on as head coach of the Central league’s Allen Americans. The signing was announced Monday night as minority owners Ed Belfour, Mike Modano and Craig Ludwig, along with assistant coach Richard Matvichuk, all took part in a press conference that was open to the American’s fans. . . . Martinson was the head coach of the ECHL’s Elmira Jackals (2007-10) and was the head coach of the ECHL’s Chicago Express this season. The Express ceased operations after the season.
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JUST NOTES:
D Max Mowat, who played one game with the Kamloops Blazers in 2009-10 but has since been dropped from their list, has been involved in a BCHL transaction. Mowat, who will turn 19 on June 23, has been dealt by the Vernon Vipers to the Trail Smoke Eaters as the future considerations in a deal that was made on Jan. 10. Mowat, who is from Coldstream, B.C., had 15 points in 46 games with the Vipers this season.
———
John Branch of The New York Times has written a devastating piece about the late Derek Boogaard and the ease with which he was able to obtain prescription drugs. . . . Len Boogaard, Derek’s father and a long-time RCMP officer, did a lot of digging into his son’s death, wanting to know why it had to happen.
Branch writes: “Len Boogaard knows that his son supplemented his drug habit with purchases of pills from dealers in Minneapolis; New York; and Regina, Saskatchewan. But he has found no sign of abuse until injuries sustained in fights were followed by steady streams of pills provided by team doctors.”
At one point, Len Boogaard tells Branch: “Derek was an addict. But why was he an addict? Everyone said he had ‘off-ice’ issues. No, it was hockey.”
You won’t want to miss this. It’s right here. All of it.
Just the other day, I was listening to an interview with an NHL player who talked of not being able to unwind on game nights until after the "adrenaline and Sudafeds" have worn off.
And I can't help but wonder if there is a connection from the use of Sudafeds to the abuse of prescription drugs.


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THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Dale Hunt (Prince George, Everett, 2005-10) was released by Red Bull Salzburg (Austria, Erste Bank Liga). . . .
F Richard Mueller (Brandon, Saskatoon, Calgary, 1998-2003) signed a two-week tryout contract with the Straubing Tigers (Germany, DEL). He had three goals and one assist in 18 games for Ingolstadt (Germany, DEL) and five goals and five assists in 15 games for Eispiraten Crimmitschau (Germany, 2.Bundesliga) last season. . . .
F Mikhail Fisenko (Vancouver, Calgary, 2008-11) signed a one-year contract with Metallurg Novokuznetsk (Russia, KHL). He had eight goals and 32 assists in 64 games for the Hitmen last season.
———
While a funeral mass for the late Brad McCrimmon will be held Saturday in Farmington, Mich., there also will be a memorial service held in Saskatoon. It is scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 25, at Knox United Church, 838 Spadina Crescent East.
The service is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m., with a reception from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., at the Cavalier Saskatoon Hotel, 612 Spadina Crescent East.
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THE COACHING GAME:
Emanuel Viveiros (Prince Albert, 1982-86) is the new head coach of Austrian national team. He has signed a three-year contract. . . . Viveiros, 45, played in Europe for 17 years, 13 of them in Austria. . . . An Austrian citizen, he has spent two years as an assistant coach under Bill Gilligan, whom he is sucdeeding. Viveiros will continue as head coach of Klagenfurt. . . . Viveiros has two hockey-playing sons — Landan, 17, played on Austria’s U-18 team last season; Layne, 16, just transferred from Klagenfurt to the Portland Winterhawks. . . . Rob Daum, who has coached with the Prince Albert Raiders, Swift Current Broncos and Lethbridge Hurricanes, signed on as an assistant coach. . . . Daum, a long-time coach at the U of Alberta, also has coached in the AHL and NHL. He is in his first season as head coach of Black Wings Linz, an Austrian club team.
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The Winterhawks are more than pleased with Layne Viveiros, a defenceman who was a ninth-round pick in the 2011 bantam draft. He was born in Edmonton.
“He turned out to be way better than we thought he would be,” Portland GM/head coach Mike Johnston told Jason Vondersmith of the Portland Tribune. “Very smart, puck-moving defenseman. Good intelligence and hockey sense.”
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JUST NOTES: There is word out of the Tacoma area that there is interest in seeing whether it’s viable to have NHL and/or NBA franchises in the city. King 5 News has reported that Tacoma city council will cough up $100,000 for a study to see what the cost would be to renovate the Tacoma Dome and to gauge public support. Tacoma, of course, once was home to the Kelowna Rockets. . . . The Saskatoon Blades are down to two goaltenders after assigning Adam Todd, 17, to the BCHL’s Alberni Valley Bulldogs. That leaves the Blades with veteran Adam Morrison, 20, and Russian freshman Andrey Makarov, 18, who was picked up in the 2011 CHL import draft. . . . The Blades are down to 25 players, including six defenceman and 17 forwards. Of that number, seven are at NHL camps. . . . The Kamloops Blazers have assigned F Devin Oakes, 16, to the Pursuit of Excellence midget AAA prep team in Kelowna. Oakes, a list player, had 24 points in 41 games with the PoE midget AAA team last season.
F Mark Stone, 19, and D Jordan Fransoo, 18, of the Brandon Wheat Kings have made the move to the Ottawa Senators’ main camp after playing for the rookie team in a tournament in Oshawa, Ont. . . . F Ryan Johansen and F Oliver Gabriel, teammates with the Portland Winterhawks, each had a goal Wednesday as the Columbus Blue Jackets rookie team dropped a 4-3 OT decision to the St. Louis Blues in the Traverse City, Mich., tournament. . . . Johansen put up six points, including three goals, and was plus-7 in the tournament, while Gabriel had four points, two of them goals, and was plus-4. . . . The Swift Current Broncos have assigned F Ryan Bloom, 18, to the AJHL’s Drumheller Dragons. Acquired from the Kootenay Ice in the deal for F Cody Eakin in January, Bloom had two points in 29 games split between the Broncos and Ice last season. The Broncos also signed F Jordan Wittman, the 46th overall pick in the 2011 bantam draft, and assigned F Denis Bosc, the 121st selection in the 2010 draft, to the MJHL’s Steinbach Pistons. Bosc has signed with the Broncos. . . .
The Moose Jaw Warriors have claimed G Deven Dubyk, 20, off waivers from the Medicine Hat Tigers. After being dropped by the Tigers last week, Dubyk joined the SJHL’s Humboldt Broncos, who are the host team for the 2012 RBC Cup. An 11th-round pick by the Brandon Wheat Kings in the 2006 bantam draft, Dubyk actually got into 35 games with the Warriors in 2008-09. He was 7-15-1, 4.57, .866. Last season, he went 11-5, 2.89, .908 while backing up Tyler Bunz in Medicine Hat. . . . The Warriors also have two other goaltenders — Brandon Stone, 18, and Spencer Tremblay, 17. Should Dubyk join them, they also will have five 20-year-olds, the others being F Brett Lyon, F Jesse Paradis, F Sebastian Svendsen and D Collin Bowman. . . . The deadline for WHL teams to get down to a maximum of three 20-year-olds is Oct. 13. . . .
F Parker Stanfield, who completed his junior eligibility last season with the Everett Silvertips, has signed with the ECHL’s Bakersfield Condors. Stanfield, who is from Anaheim Hills, Calif., had 34 points in 64 games last season, the first four games and four points with the Prince George Cougars, the rest in Everett. He played three seasons (2007-11) with Prince George. . . . According to the Fredericton Daily Gleaner, F Taylor Procyshen (Tri-City, 2004-09) won’t be back with the U of New Brunswick Varsity Reds “due to concussion-related issues.” The Varsity Reds are the reigning champions in Canadian university hockey. . . . F Jeff Topilko, who had 54 points in 66 games as a 20-year-old with the Brandon Wheat Kings in 2006-07, has signed with the ECHL’s Pensacola Ice Flyers. After graduating from the Wheat Kings, Topilko went on to attend NAIT in Edmonton. . . .
Dave Trimmer of the Spokane Spokesman-Review reports that the Chiefs still have four freshman forwards in camp and one of them is Liam Stewart, the 17-year-old son of actress Rachel Hunter and rocker Rod Stewart. . . . F Travis Ewanyk of the Edmonton Oil Kings didn’t make the trip to Penticton with the Edmonton Oilers’ rookie team. And now we know why. Oil Kings head coach Derek Laxdal tells Corey Graham, the radio voice of the Oil Kings who also does TEAM 1260’s Sports Night Live, that Ewanyk “may have to have surgery and if he does he may be lost to us for a 4-to-5 month range, depending on rehab." It has been speculated that Ewanyk has a shoulder injury. Ewanyk was a third-round pick by the Oilers in the NHL’s 2011 draft. . . . F Spencer Edwards, who spent the last two seasons with the Moose Jaw Warrors, has signed with the Central league’s Allen Americans. He will start the season by going to training camp with the AHL’s Texas Stars. Edwards had 66 points with the Warriors last season when he won the Canadian Hockey League’s humanitarian-of-the-year award.
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Elliott Pap of the Vancouver Sun has written a piece on Vancouver Giants assistant coach Glen Hanlon.
Pap asked Hanlon about the biggest difference between professional and junior players and here is the response:
“Passing skills. I mean, they can stand still and make a pass but being able to receive a pass and give a pass at full speed, the completion rate through your whole group, top to bottom, is not as high as a team of professionals. The skating speed of the players is actually not that much different, it’s the ability to make and receive a pass.”
Pap’s complete story is right here.
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The mask of former WHL goaltender Josh Harding (Regina, Brandon, 2001-04) will remember the late Derek Boogaard, Rick Rypien and Pavol Demitra, all former teammates. For a look, click right here.
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Sean Gordon of The Globe and Mail has a piece right here that includes Montreal Canadiens forward Max Pacioretty’s thoughts on the ongoing headshot/concussion debate in hockey.
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Today’s good read – and it’s a great one – comes from Chris Jones (again), who wrote a piece on hockey enforcers for the website Grantland. Jones chatted with Stu Grimson, who was known as The Grim Reaper during his playing days. You don’t want to miss this one right here.

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
     
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