WHL grad takes slapshot to mouth. Not pretty!

Mitch Callahan of the Grand Rapids Griffins took
a slapshot to the mouth on Wednesday and tweeted
this selfie before going for X-rays.

THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Milan Jurik (Prince Albert, 2006-07) has signed a one-year deal with Mulhouse (France, Division 1). This season, with Zvolen (Slovakia, Extraliga), he had 16 points, including three goals, in 56 games.
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F Mitch Callahan of the Grand Rapids Griffins took a slapshot from teammate Ryan Sproul right in the mouth during an AHL game with the visiting Iowa Wild on Wednesday night.
Callahan, who played in the WHL with the Kelowna Rockets (2008-11), was taken to hospital for X-rays. But before departing, yes, he took a selfie and posted it on Twitter at his account (@MCally15). The above photo was accompanied by one word: Ouch.
Although he already was missing two front teeth, he obviously lost more teeth and suffered other damage.
If you want to see the video, it’s right here.
Peter J. Wallner of mlive.com has more right here.
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Morris Dalla Costa, a sports columnist with the London, Ont., Free Press thought he was going to cover a basketball game on Wednesday night. That didn’t happen because management from one team asked him to leave the arena. Seriously! . . . Cathal Kelly of the Toronto Star opines right here.
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F Anthony Ast is back practising with the Medicine Hat Tigers, just in time for the start of the second round of the playoffs. The Tigers open at home to the Kootenay Ice on Saturday night. . . . Ast underwent surgery on March 17, as he had his appendix removed and also had a small hernia taken care of. “I am feeling pretty good right now,” Ast told Darren Steinke of the Medicine Hat News. “There is always a little bit of lactic acid in your legs. I have been going hard in the gym the last couple of days and hard on the ice. I am confident by Saturday I will be good to go, and I will have fresh legs and be one of the quicker guys on the ice.” . . . Ast was selected 19th overall by the Vancouver Giants in the 2010 bantam draft. They traded him to the Tigers in January and he put up 17 points, including 12 goals, in 27 games with Medicine Hat. . . . With Ast out of the lineup, F Chad Butcher moved up a line and contributed three game-winning goals in a six-game victory over the Swift Current Broncos.
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The Eastern Conference-champion Edmonton Oil Kings may have F Reid Petryk back in their lineup tonight at home as they open a second-round series against the No. 7 Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . Petryk, who turned 21 on Feb. 3, has been out with an undisclosed injury since March 12. He had 56 points, including 17 goals, in 62 games when he was hurt. The injury kept him out of the first-round sweep of the Prince Albert Raiders.
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D Madison Bowey, the captain of the Kelowna Rockets, has signed a three-year, entry-level deal with the Washington Capitals, who selected him in the second round of the 2013 NHL draft. . . . Bowey, who turns 19 on April 22, is completing his third season with the Rockets, who picked him in the second round of the 2010 bantam draft. This season, he had 60 points, including 21 goals, in 72 games. . . . The Rockets, who took out the Tri-City Americans in five games in the first-round of playoffs, open a second-round series against the visiting Seattle Thunderbirds tonight.
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THE SECOND ROUND (best-of-seven; all times local):
(x - if necessary)
EASTERN CONFERENCE

EDMONTON (1) vs. BRANDON (7)
Season series: Edmonton, 3-1-0; Brandon, 1-2-1.
Thursday: Brandon at Edmonton, 7 p.m.
Saturday: Brandon at Edmonton, noon
Tuesday: Edmonton at Brandon, 7 p.m.
Wednesday: Edmonton at Brandon, 7 p.m.
x-Friday, April 11: Brandon at Edmonton, 7 p.m.
x-Monday, April 14: Edmonton at Brandon, 7 p.m.
x-Wednesday, April 16: Brandon at Edmonton, 7 p.m.
INJURIES
Edmonton: F Brandon Baddock, day-to-day; D Blake Orban, day-to-day; F Reid Petryk, day-to-day.
Brandon: None.
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MEDICINE HAT (4) vs. KOOTENAY (6)
Season series: Medicine Hat, 3-3-0; Kootenay, 3-3-0.
Saturday: Kootenay at Medicine Hat, 7:30 p.m.
Sunday: Kootenay at Medicine Hat, 6 p.m.
Wednesday: Medicine Hat at Kootenay, 7 p.m.
Thursday, April 10: Medicine Hat at Kootenay, 7 p.m.
x-Saturday, April 12: Kootenay at Medicine Hat, 7:30 p.m.
x-Monday, April 14: Medicine Hat at Kootenay, 7 p.m.
x-Wednesday, April 16: Kootenay at Medicine Hat, 7 p.m.
(NOTE: Kootenay plays home games in Cranbrook, B.C.)
INJURIES
Medicine Hat: F Anthony Ast, day-to-day; F Gavin Broadhead, day-to-day; F Hunter Shinkaruk, indefinite.
Kootenay: F Tim Bozon, indefinite; F Ryan Chynoweth, indefinite; D Tyler King, day-to-day; D Tanner Faith, 3-5 months.
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WESTERN CONFERENCE

KELOWNA (1) vs. SEATTLE (4)
Season series: Kelowna, 2-1-1; Seattle, 2-1-1.
Thursday: Seattle at Kelowna, 7:05 p.m.
Saturday: Seattle at Kelowna, 7:05 p.m.
Tuesday: Kelowna at Seattle, 7:05 p.m.
Wednesday: Kelowna at Seattle, 7:05 p.m.
x-Friday, April 11: Seattle at Kelowna, 7:05 p.m.
x-Sunday, April 13: Kelowna at Seattle, 5:05 p.m.
x-Tuesday, April 15: Seattle at Kelowna, 7:05 p.m.
(NOTE: Seattle plays home games in Kent, Wash.)
INJURIES
Kelowna: F Myles Bell, day-to-day; D Jesse Lees, indefinite.
Seattle: F Connor Honey, indefinite.
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PORTLAND (2) vs. VICTORIA (3)
(Series televised by Shaw-TV)
Season series: Portland, 1-1-2; Victoria, 3-1-0.
Friday: Victoria at Portland (Veterans Memorial Coliseum), 7 p.m.
Saturday: Victoria at Portland (Moda Center), 7 p.m.
Monday: Portland at Victoria, 7:05 p.m.
Tuesday: Portland at Victoria, 7:05 p.m.
x-Thursday, April 10: Victoria at Portland (Moda Center), 7, p.m.
x-Saturday, April 12: Portland at Victoria, 7:05 p.m.
x-Monday, April 14: Victoria at Portland (Veterans Memorial Coliseum), 7 p.m.
INJURIES
Portland: None.
Victoria: None.
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From Portland Winterhawks D Josh Hanson (@HansoloCup4): “How did no one put 2 and 2 together when Batman and Bruce Wayne mysteriously happened to die at the same time? #ThingsIWontEverUnderstand”

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THE MacBETH REPORT:
D Shaun Heshka (Everett, 2003-06) and F Tomas Vincour (Edmonton, Vancouver, 2007-10) each signed one-year contracts with Ak Bars Kazan (Russia, KHL). . . . Heshka had eight goals and 23 assists in 60 games helping Ässät Pori (Finland, SM-Liiga) win the Finnish championship. . . . Vincour had 18 goals and 21 assists in 53 games with the Texas Stars (AHL) and the Lake Erie Monsters (AHL) and two goals and two assists in 17 games with the Dallas Stars (NHL) and Colorado Avalanche (NHL) this season.
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Is the CHL’s decision to ban European goaltenders legal? Is it in violation of Canada’s Competition Act? Might it be a violation of human rights laws? Yahoo! Sports has an interesting piece right here that was written by Fraser Mackinnon Blair, who is a recent graduate of law school.
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Lucas Aykroyd, who does a lot of writing for iihf.com, has an interesting take right here on the CHL’s ban on European goaltenders. He says it’ll be good for the European goaltenders because history shows that the best ones develop at home. He’s got the names and numbers to back that up, too.
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F Justin Feser, who played out his major junior eligibility with the Tri-City Americans this season, has decided to attend St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, N.S., and play for the X-Men. . . . Feser, who is from Red Deer, played five seasons with the Americans. This season, he had 106 points, 44 of them goals, in 72 games. He was selected the Western Conference’s player of the year.
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If you haven’t noticed, ESPN is becoming a whole lot more about the sizzle than about the steak. If you don’t believe that, read this piece right here. The network has dumped the Schwab. Yes, that Schwab. The guy you couldn’t stump.
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The Prince Albert Raiders have signed F Dylan Williamson, who was a fourth-round selection in the 2013 bantam draft. Williamson had 41 points, 23 of them goals, in 30 games with the Alberta bantam league’s Calgary Bisons.
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D Brennan Evans (Seattle, Kootenay, 1999-2003) scored the winning goal as the visiting Grand Rapids Griffins won the AHL championship with a 5-2 victory over the Syracuse Crunch on Tuesday night. . . . The Griffins won the series 4-2 after winning the first three games. . . . F Mitch Callahan (Kelowna, 2008-11) had a goal and an assist for the Griffins, while F Landon Ferraro (Red Deer, Everett, 2007-11) had two assists. F Triston Grant (Lethbridge, Vancouver, 2000-05) added an assist for Grand Rapids. . . . This is the Griffin’s first championship in the franchise’s 17-year history and the first title in Grand Rapids’ 27-year history in the pro game. . . . The Griffins are the Detroit Red Wings’ AHL affiliate; the Crunch is hooked up with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
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Adrian Dater of the Denver Post reports that the Colorado Avalanche won’t be taking Portland Winterhawks D Seth Jones with the first pick in t he NHL draft on June 30. Straight goods or posturing. That story is right here.
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The high cost of playing hockey is going up and up and up, kind of like the price of gas. Don Campbell of the Ottawa Citizen has a piece right here on how much it’s going to cost your son to play in the Central Canadian Hockey League, a junior a league based in the Ottawa area. If you must know, the price is going to be $3,750 per player and that’s a 400 per cent increase. . . . Perhaps Hockey Canada should be as concerned with the money factor as it is with the impact of European goaltenders over here.
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THE COACHING GAME:
Mike Haviland is the new head coach of the AHL’s Hershey Bears. Haviland, 45, has been a pro coach for 14 seasons. He spent this season as associate coach with the AHL’s Norfolk Admirals. . . . Haviland replaces Mark French, whose contract wasn’t renewed after four seasons behind the bench of the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Washington Capitals. French has since signed on as head coach of the KHL’s Medvescak Zagreb, a Croatian team that is new to the KHL, having played in the Austrian league.

The NHL’s Phoenix Coyotes have extended the contracts of the coaching staff of their AHL affiliate, the Portland Pirates. Head coach Ray Edwards and assistants John Slaney and Mike Minard. . . . Edwards, 42, is preparing for his fifth season as the head coach of the Coyotes’ AHL affiliate. He has been head coach for two seasons with each of the Pirates and, before that, the San Antonio Rampage. . . . Slaney is going into his third season as an assistant with the Pirates. He ended his pro career after the 2010-11 season when he played with Plzen HC in Czech Republic. . . . Minard is heading into his third season as the goaltending and video coach with the Pirates.

Matt Thomas, the head coach of the ECHL’s Stockton Thunder this season, is the new head coach of the U of Alaska-Anchorage Seawolves. Thomas has coached in the ECHL for nine seasons, including the last four-plus with the Thunder. . . . With the Seawolves, he replaces Dave Shyiak, who was fired following the season, his eighth at the school.
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From Spencer Humphries (@shumper5), who completed his WHL eligibility this season with the Calgary Hitmen: “Its official, just signed my first Pro Contract! Ill be playing for Prague of the KHL this year. Leaving early July. #excited #tweetsfromCzech”
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From Regan Bartel (@reganrant): “After 13 seasons they aren’t tired of my act yet. AM1150 and #KelownaRockets have agreed on a new three-year radio deal.”


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THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Justin Kelly (Prince Albert, Spokane, Saskatoon, 1997-2002) signed a one-year contract with Ravensburg Towerstars (Germany, 2. Bundesliga). He had 21 goals and 19 assists in 46 games to lead Troja-Ljungby (Sweden, Allsvenskan) in scoring this season.
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1. What happened to Cullen Finnerty? One of the most successful quarterbacks in the history of U.S. college football, Finnerty was married with two children when he went missing on the weekend of May 26. His body was found facedown in an open field in Michigan and many unanswered questions have followed. Greg Bishop of The New York Times has more, a whole lot more, right here. . . . You should read this one, so pour some coffee and settle in.
2. F Dylan Willick, who captained the Kamloops Blazers this season, flew to Fredericton on Wednesday for a visit to the U of New Brunswick. On Saturday, Willick — or, rather, his mother, Melissa — announced via Twitter that he will attend UNB and play for the Varsity Reds, the defending CIS champions, next season. . . . Willick, who has used up his junior eligibility, played four seasons in Kamloops, putting up 157 points, 80 of them goals, in 266 games.
3. The hockey gods really haven’t taken much of a shine to fans of the Toronto Maple Leafs. How else to explain that their beloved Leafs were so close to eliminating the Boston Bruins – holding a three-goal lead in the third period of Game 7 in a first-round series – who now have swept aside the Pittsburgh Penguins to reach the NHL’s Stanley Cup final?
4. And just to make matters worse for Maple Leafs fans, Boston goaltender Tuukka Rask, who is likely the leading candidate for the Conn Smythe Trophy, was Toronto’s first-round round selection, taken 21st overall, in the NHL’s 2005 draft. . . . Rask was traded to Boston for G Andrew Raycroft on June 25, 2006. . . . The Leafs, under then-GM John Ferguson Jr., chose to keep G Justin Pogge over Rask. Pogge was the 90th overall selection in the 2004 NHL draft.
5. There seem to be a lot of folks calling for massive change to the Penguins before another season gets here. I’m just wondering how many of those prognosticators picked Pittsburgh to get swept by the Bruins and to score only two goals in the process?
6. And let’s not forget that the Chicago Blackhawks trailed the Detroit Red Wings 3-1 in games in that second-round series. I’m sure someone, somewhere had Chicago head coach Joel Quenneville and his staff walking the plank had the Blackhawks lost that series.
7. There has been speculation that Matt Erhart will be joining the Vancouver Giants’ coaching staff, filling the vacancy created when Glen Hanlon left for the head-coaching position with the Belarussian national team. Erhart has been the GM and head coach of the Surrey Eagles, who won the BCHL championship this season.
8. It’s the dog days in Vancouver, it seems, where the police are getting heat for handing out tickets for panhandling and jaywalking in the Downtown Eastside. Shelley Fralic, a columnist with the Vancouver Sun, must be about to go on sabbatical or vacation, because she wrote in Saturday’s paper all about the silly season. . . . She also wonders “how, why and when . . . did animals become more important than humans?” . . . Give this right here a read and then join me in hoping that she shares her mail with us over the next few days. There already were more than 100 comments on the end of the column as of 9:48 p.m. on Saturday. More good reading!
9. Unless my eyes and ears were deceiving me, there were 53,679 people having a great time at the MLS game in Seattle last night. . . . It was a rousing game, too, as the short-staffed Sounders erased a 2-1 Vancouver lead and beat the Whitecaps, 3-2. . . . With attendance like that, you’ve got to wonder if that could translate to an NHL franchise. If there was a facility in which to play, of course.
10. The Stanley Cup final opens with games in Chicago on Wednesday and Saturday. Then it’ll be Monday (June 17) and Wednesday (June 19) in Boston, Saturday (June 22) in Chicago, Monday (June 24) in Boston and Wednesday (June 26) in Chicago. . . . All games will begin at 5 p.m PT. . . . If you’re watching on CBC, you’ll get Jim Hughson and Craig Simpson in the booth, with a studio crew of Elliotte Friedman, Glenn Healy, Ron MacLean, Scott Oake, Andi Petrillo, P.J. Stock and Grapes. . . . With NBC-TV, it’s likely to be Doc Emrick, Ed Olczyk and Pierre McGuire, along with Liam McHugh, Mike Milbury and Keith Jones.
11. This will be the second time that teams from Boston and Chicago have met for a major sporting championship. . . . The Red Sox and Cubs played in the 1918 World Series, with Boston winning, 4-2. . . . If you count the New England Patriots as being from Boston — they play out of Foxborough — they lost 46-10 to the Chicago Bears in the 1986 Super Bowl.
12. The visiting Grand Rapids Griffins opened the AHL final — they play for the Calder Cup — with a 3-1 victory over the Syracuse Crunch last night. . . . Game 2 is tonight in War Memorial Arena in Syracuse. . . . F Mitch Callahan (Kelowna, 2008-10) scored the game’s first goal for the Griffins, the AHL affiliate of the Detroit Red Wings. . . . Yes, someone tossed an octopus onto the ice during the game. . . . Attendance was 6,333.
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From Terry Massey (@TerryMassey): “NHL was founded in 1917 the "Original Six" came to be in 1942… Only original NHL team is Montreal Canadiens.”
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From Iain MacIntyre (@imacVanSun): “Wait, Ralph Krueger got fired?! Works half his life for NHL HC job and gets 48 gms. Tough business. Eakins about to find out.”

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THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Dylan Gyori (Tri-City, 1994-99) signed a one-month contract with the Hannover Indians (Germany, 2.Bundesliga). He had four goals and 14 assists in 48 games with the Indians last season. Gyori has been training in Munich while waiting for his German naturalization papers. He has played in Germany since 2004.
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The WHL season got rolling Thursday night in Edmonton as the Oil Kings beat the Kootenay Ice 5-3 in front of 10,976 fans. . . . The 50-50 draw was worth $10,287. . . . The Oil Kings have won their last 12 reegular-season games. . . . Edmonton went 6-0 against the Ice last season and later swept Kootenay from a playoff series. . . . Edmonton went on to win the WHL championship last season; Kootenay won the title in 2010-11.
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Over at huffingtonpost.com, Nancy Armour has written an enthralling piece about Head Games, the documentary movie that is to be released today.
"We've got to get past this, ‘Little kids involved in a pillow fight' mentality," concussion guru Chris Nowinski tells Armour. "If parents knew what I knew, they would not be tolerating a lot of things in the sports world that they are. We are clearly exposing children to needless risk, and we're not upset about it. And we should be."
That story is right here.
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JUST NOTES: The Prince George Cougars have released F John Odgers, 19. Odgers, from Spy Hill, Sask., is the son of former NHLer Jeff Odgers, who scouts for the Cougars. Odgers had one goal and 18 penalty minutes in eight games with the Cougars last season before a wrist injury ended his season in January. . . . F Dominick Favreau, 20, who was released earlier in the week by the Brandon Wheat Kings, has joined the MJHL’s Dauphin Kings. . . .
F Adam Rossignol, 19, who was dropped Wednesday by the Swift Current Broncos, tweeted last night: “Excited to be a Regina Pat!” . . . Regina F Patrick D’Amico will miss up to two months after being stepped on during a drill in practice. Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post reports that D’Amico, 18, had surgery Wednesday to “re-attach a severed tendon in the foot.” The 6-foot-0, 200-pound D’Amico was an 11th-round selection by the Seattle Thunderbirds in the 2009 bantam draft. . . . Regina F Dryden Hunt (concussion) won’t play on opening weekend. He is listed as being out indefinitely. . . .
The WHL issued its first upper body/lower body report of this season earlier in the week. Among the key early injuries: Kelowna D Mitchell Chapman (LB), one month; Kootenay F Drew Czerwonka (UB), two-to-three weeks; Moose Jaw F Tanner Eberle (UB), two-to-three weeks; and Spokane F Marek Kalus (UB), one month-plus. . . . F Victor Rask of the Calgary Hitmen has left the club for the training camp of the Charlotte Checkers, the Carolina Hurricanes’ AHL affiliate. Rask, 19, was a second-round selection by the Hurricanes in the 2011 NHL draft. Rask has signed with Carolina and, because he was drafted out of Sweden, he is eligible to play in the AHL despite his age. He had 63 points, including 33 goals, for the Hitmen last season so would be a big loss should he not return. . . .
D Ryan Dech, 19, who was released this week by the Edmonton Oil Kings, had his MJHL rights traded on Thursday. The Portage Terriers acquired his rights from the Virden Oil Capitals for F Cody Nelson, 18. . . . The Lethbridge Hurricanes have assigned G Tanner Kovacs, 18, to the AJHL’s Whitecourt Wolverines. Kovacs played last season with the AJHL’s St. Albert Steel. The team relocated to Whitecourt over the summer. The move leaves the Hurricanes with Chris Tai, who turns 17 on Dec. 1, backing up veteran Ty Rimmer, 20. Tai is from Delta, B.C.
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Former WHL G David Reekie (Regina, Everett, 2004-07) will miss the start of the U of Saskatchewan Huskies season after being in a car accident a short time ago. Darren Zary of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix reports that “Reekie is out another four to six weeks with cracked ribs and a bruised sternum.” . . . Head coach Dave Adolph told Zary: "It all depends on how he recovers, but he's got some internal injuries. He smacked his car pretty good. He's on the road to recovery." . . . Reekie was preparing for his fourth season with the Huskies. . . . With Reekie gone, Ryan Holfeld (Medicine Hat, 2006-10) will assume the No. 1 role and head coach Dave Adolph has brought in Blake Voth as the backup. Voth, a U of S student, played last season with the SJHL’s Melville Millionaires. He backstopped the BCHL’s Vernon Vipers to a Royal Bank Cup in the spring of 2010 and got them to the league final in 2010-11. . . . Zary’s complete story is right here.
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TWEET OF THE DAY:
From former Kelowna Rockets F Mitch Callahan (@emcy1five), as he leaves home to join the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins: “After 5 years of leaving home to play hockey, my mom still cries every time I leave.”
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THE SOME PEOPLE WILL NEVER LEARN DEPT.: WHEC-TV of Rochester, N.Y., has reported that the State University of New York at Geneseo has dumped its women’s volleyball season after eight new players were hazed in an alcohol-related incident. On top of that, 11 players are facing criminal charges. . . . Meanwhile, Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ont., has suspended its men’s baseball team for four games after freshmen players were hazed at an alcohol-fuelled team gathering on the weekend. “We’re talking about humiliating, dehumanizing activity as well as alcohol involved,” Laurier athletics director Peter Baxter told Joseph Hall of the Toronto Star. A hearing involving the players will be held Sunday amid concerns that the school still may end the team’s season.


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