D Vladimir Mihalik (Red Deer, Prince George, 2005-07) signed a one-year extension with Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia, KHL). Last season, he had two goals and an assist in 33 games. . . .
F Brock Nixon (Kamloops, Calgary, 2003-08) signed a one-year contract with Esbjerg (Denmark, Metal Ligaen). Last season, with the Colorado Eagles (ECHL), he had a team-high 30 goals, along with 36 assists, in 69 games. . . . Esbjerg’s head coach is Mark Pederson (Medicine Hat, 1983-88). . . .
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It seems that Vladimir Bobylyov, Vladimir Bobylyev and Vladimir Bobylev are all the same player, a
forward who played last season for the Vancouver Giants. . . . F Vladimir Bobylyov was one of 37 players on the training camp roster for Spartak Moscow (Russia, KHL) as the team opened training camp Monday in Vierumäki, Finland. Last season, with the Giants, he had three goals and six assists in 52 games. . . . The Giants released him prior to last month’s 2015 import draft and he was selected by the Victoria Royals. . . . Cam Hope, the Royals’ general manager, tells Taking Note that the Royals, as did the Giants last season, are going with Bobylev because that is what the player prefers. That is the version of his name provided by using the English alphabet. . . . Hope also assures that Bobylev “is coming over and has already signed his IIHF Transfer Card . . . We expect him to be a Victoria Royal in September.”———
Dan Lambert is one and done as head coach of the Kelowna Rockets.
The team announced Monday that Lambert is leaving to work as an assistant coach with the NHL’s Buffalo
Sabres. He will be the team’s third assistant, with Dave Barr and Terry Murray, working with head coach Dan Bylsma.Lambert and Bylsma are friends, going back to when they played together with the IHL’s Long Beach Ice Dogs. Bylsma, who spent some time in Kelowna working with the Rockets in March, and Lambert were seen breaking bread together at the NHL draft in Sunrise, Fla., late last month.
Lambert, who played in the WHL with the Swift Current Broncos (1986-90), before going on to a professional career, spent five seasons in Kelowna as an assistant coach. He worked with head coach Ryan Huska, who left after 2013-14 to join the Calgary Flames organization as head coach of their AHL affiliate, the Adirondack Heat. That franchise, along with Huska, has relocated to Stockton, Calif., where it also will be know as the Heat.
In his lone season as head coach, Lambert guided the Rockets to a 53-13-6 record, which was second-best in the WHL’s regular season. The Rockets then went on to sweep the Brandon Wheat Kings from the final for the Ed Chynoweth Cup. Kelowna got to the Memorial Cup final, too, only to lose to the OHL’s Oshawa Generals, in overtime.
Larry Fisher of the Kelowna Daily Courier has more right here on Lambert’s departure.
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Interestingly, Kelowna owner/general manager Bruce Hamilton has never had to replace a one-and-done head coach.
Peter Anholt was the Rockets’ head coach for two seasons (1996-98), with Garth Malarchuk the closest to
one-and-done when he lasted one-plus. Malarchuk, now a long-time scout with the Toronto Maple Leafs, was with the Rockets for all of 1998-99 and part of 1999-2000.Marc Habscheid replaced Malarchuk during the 1999-2000 season and was the head coach for the following four seasons. Jeff Truitt was an assistant under Habscheid. When Habscheid left, Truitt took over and was the head coach for three seasons.
Huska, an assistant under Habscheid and Truitt, was the head coach for seven seasons.
One thing is for certain — neither of the Rockets’ present assistant coaches will be the next head coach. Travis Crickard, 27, and Kris Mallette, 26, are preparing for their second seasons with Kelowna. Hamilton has stressed that the next head coach will have to work with Crickard and Mallette on his staff.
Larry Fisher of the Kelowna Daily Courier has more right here on the search for a new head coach.
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The Sleepy Hollow Wildfire has done a huge amount of damage in the Wenatchee, Wash., area. So the
Tri-City Americans are doing their bit to help provide some aid for victims. . . . Today, from 12:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., the Americans are asking their fans to drop off donations of new and gently used items. Just head for the Toyota Center and make you donations on the Main 1 foyer. . . . They are looking for items like non-perishable food, Costco or Fred Meyer gift cards, pet food, cups and silverware, batteries, flashlights, bottled water, towels and toiletries. . . . If your donation is valued at more than $10, the Americans will give you one adult ticket to an Oct. 4 game against the visiting Seattle Thunderbirds.——
Got a tip or some information you feel could be useful to me, feel free to send an email to greggdrinnan@gmail.com.
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The Saskatoon Blades have acquired D Mitchell Wheaton, 20, from the Kelowna Rockets for a fourth-round selection in the 2017 bantam draft. . . . The 6-foot-5, 215-pound Wheaton, from Sherwood Park, Alta., missed almost all of his third WHL season with injuries. In the end, he played in only four regular-season and nine playoff games. . . . In 100 regular-season career games with the Rockets, he had 37 points, including eight goals. He was a fifth-round selection by the Detroit Red Wings in the NHL’s 2013 draft. . . . The Rockets had selected him in the 10th round of the 2010 bantam draft. . . . The Rockets still are left with a number of options as 20-year-olds, including G Jackson Whistle, F Cole Linaker, F Tyson Baillie and G Gage Quinney. D Madison Bowey, D Josh Morrissey and F Leon Draisaitl are likely to open the season in the pro ranks. . . . The Blades have F Nick Zajac, D Ryan Coghlan, D Isaac Schacher, D Kolton Dixon and F Connor Gay as 20-year-olds on their roster.———
Richard Seeley is the new head coach of the ECHL’s Manchester Monarchs. Seeley (Lethbridge, Prince Albert, 1996-99) played four seasons in Manchester (2001-04, 2005-06) when it was in the AHL and, in fact, was the second captain in team history. . . . The Monarchs are preparing for their first ECHL season after the AHL franchise moved to Ontario, Calif. . . . Seeley, 36, will be introduced in Manchester this afternoon.
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The NHL’s Carolina Hurricane have hired Mark Morris, 57, as the head coach of their AHL affiliate, the Charlotte Checkers. . . . Geordie Kinnear has been re-signed as assistant coach. . . . Morris was an assistant coach with the NHL’s Florida Panthers last season. Prior to that, he spent eight seasons as head coach of the AHL’s Manchester Monarchs, who are affiliated with the Los Angeles Kings.
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Among those players in the Calgary Flames’ development camp are F Tyson Baillie (Kelowna), D Jason Fram (Spokane), F Tomas Soustal (Kelowna) and G Rylan Toth (Red Deer). . . . F Miles Koules and D Keoni Texeira, both of whom played with Portland last season, are in camp with the Washington Capitals. Koules played out his eligibility last season. . . . Included on the Minnesota Wild’s developmental camp roster are F Jared Bethune (Prince George), F Ryan Graham (Saskatoon), F Carter Rigby (Swift Current) and F Jack Walker (Victoria). Rigby played as a 20-year-old last season. . . . F Beau McCue (Tri-City) is with the New York Islanders as he prepares for his 20-year-old season.
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F Carson Focht, selected seventh overall by the Tri-City Americans in the WHL’s 2015 bantam draft, is in Finland this week for a male hockey development camp and Youth Olympic Games skills challenge qualification event. . . . There’s more right here on Focht and what’s in store for him in the camp. . . . Focht signed with the Americans in May. . . . The camp, in Vierumki, Finland, runs July 4-11.
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D Landon Cross (Kamloops, Kootenay, 2011-14) will continue his hockey career at the U of Regina with the Cougars. Cross, who is from Brandon, played last season as a 20-year-old with the MJHL’s Steinbach Pistons.
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Three members of the Victoria Royals hockey staff have been added to hockey operations staff with Hockey Canada teams. . . . Matt Auerbach, the Royals head equipment manager, will work with the U-20 team as its assistant equipment manager, while athletic therapist Khore Elliott will help the U-18 side as one of its athletic therapists, and medical director Dr. Michael Conrad is to work with the U-17 team.
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F Shane Harper (Everett, 2005-10) has signed a two-way deal with the NHL’s Florida Panthers, whose AHL affiliate now is the Portland Pirates. Harper played the past two seasons with the AHL’s Chicago Wolves. Last season, he had 32 goals and 18 assists in 50 games. . . . D Sena Acolatse (Seattle, Saskatoon, Prince George, 2006-11) also signed a two-way deal with the Panthers. He had 19 points, including six goals, in 38 games with the AHL’s Adirondack Flames. Before that, he played three seasons with the AHL’s Worcester Sharks.
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F Pavel Padakin, who played out his eligibility with the Regina Pats last season, has signed a one-year AHL deal with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. . . . Padakin, from Kiev, Ukraine, had 54 points, including 26 goals, last season with Regina. He also had one goal in one game with the Calgary Hitmen before being dealt to the Pats. He played the previous two seasons in Calgary. . . . Regina general manager/head coach John Paddock is a former Phantoms’ head coach. . . . Padakin will be in the parent Philadelphia Flyers’ development camp this week.
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Dean Moisan is the new head scout for the AJHL’s Lloydminster Bobcats. He spent the past two seasons as the head scout for the SJHL’s Humboldt Broncos. . . . He spent seven seasons scouting for the Broncos. . . . Moisan grew up in Humboldt but has lived in Lloydminster for more than 14 years. With the Bobcats, he replaces Tom Keca, who now is GM and head coach of the AJHL’s Fort McMurray Oil Barons.
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Steve Ewen, who covers the Vancouver Giants for the Vancouver Province, has been honoured as the National Lacrosse League’s Media Person of the Year. He will be presented with the Tom Borrelli Award for his work covering the NLL and the Vancouver Stealth. . . . There’s more right here.
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Two nice plays so far by Tigers SS Jose Iglesias. He's dedicated them to all the girls he's loved before.
— Larry Stone (@StoneLarry) July 7, 2015
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.
D Nikolai Ladygin (Medicine Hat, Tri-City, 2001-02) has signed for the rest of this season with the Hull Stingrays (England, UK Elite). He started this season with the Generals Kiev (Ukraine, PHL); no statistics are available. Last season, he had six points, two of them goals, in 35 games with Yuzhny Ural Orsk (Russia, Vysshaya Liga).
In Prince Albert, F Bryson Gore broke a 2-2 tie with two third-period goals to lead the Moose Jaw Warriors to a 4-3 victory over the Raiders. . . . F Reid Gardiner pulled the Raiders into a 2-2 tie at 3:14 of the third period. . . . Gore than struck for his fourth and fifth goals of the season, at 12:06 and 18:28, the latter into an empty net. . . . Raiders D Dylan Busenius got his side to within one at 19:21 of the third. . . . The Warriors, who have won two in a row, had three defencemen — Travis Brown, Jesse Forsberg and Reid Zalitach — each get two assists. . . . The Raiders have lost seven in a row and now are tied with the Red Deer Rebels for the Eastern Conference’s last playoff spot. . . . 
In Swift Current, the Broncos overcame an early 2-0 deficit with five straight goals and went on to dump the Kamloops Blazers, 6-3. . . . Kamloops got PP goals from F Cole Ully and F Aspen Sterzer at 11:10 and 11:51 of the first. . . . Ully has 15 goals; Sterzer has 14. . . . The Blazers were without F Chase Souto who suffered a suspected brain injury in a fight with F Bryson Gore of the host Moose Jaw Warriors on Sunday. . . . F Colby Cave got the Broncos even with his 19th and 20th goals, at 3:35 and 10:47 of the second. The latter came via the PP. . . . Cave also had an assist, while F Graham Black had three helpers. . . . F Collin Shirley had two assists for Kamloops. . . . The Blazers finished 3-3-0 on their East Division swing, but lost the last two. . . . The Broncos had lost four in a row. . . . 
In Saskatoon, the Kelowna Rockets finished running the East Division table as they dropped the Blades, 7-1. . . . Kelowna, which has won 12 in a row, went 6-0 on its East Division trek. . . . The Rockets set a franchise record with their 13th straight road victory. . . . Kelowna (28-3-2) leads the overall standings by eight points over the Portland Winterhawks. . . . The Blades have lost 11 straight. . . . The Rockets scored the game’s last six goals. . . . F Carter Rigby scored twice for Kelowna, while D Mitchell Wheaton had a goal and three assists and F Rourke Chartier, who is from Saskatoon, had a goal and two helpers. . . . Kelowna held a 51-28 edge in shots. . . . Rockets G Jackson Whistle stopped 27 shots. . . . Kelowna F Myles Bell had a goal and an assist. He totalled seven goals and three assists on the six-game jaunt. Prior to the trip, he had one goal in eight games. . . . The Blades were without F Logan Harland, F Brett Stovin, F Collin Valcourt and F Nick Zajac, all of whom are injured. As well, D Nelson Nogier suffered an undisclosed injury Sunday in Edmonton and, according to the Blades, “is expected to miss several weeks.” . . . Thus, the Blades had three prospects arrive in time for this game. D Turner Ottenbreit, a 16-year-old from Yorkton, Sask., was a 12th-round pick in the 2012 bantam draft. F Parker Smyth, 15, was a second-round selection in the 2013 bantam draft, while F Cody Prevost, 16, is a list player. Smyth, from Red Deer, is a nephew to Edmonton Oilers F Ryan Smyth. . . .
In Calgary, the Hitmen scored the game’s first six goals and went on to a 6-3 victory over the Regina Pats. . . . The Hitmen have points in their last 10 games (9-0-1) and now lead the Eastern Conference by two points over the Edmonton Oil Kings. . . . Calgary F Greg Chase scored twice, giving him 19 goals, while F Radel Fazleev had three assists. . . . The Hitmen were 2-for-4 on the PP and also had two shorthanded goals. . . . Earlier Tuesday, the NHL’s Calgary Flames announced they had signed Regina F Morgan Klimchuk to a three-year entry-level contract. Klimchuk, a Calgarian who is out with a hip injury suffered in the Subway Super Series, was the 28th overall pick in the 2013 NHL raft. He has 29 points, including 12 goals, in 26 games. His contract is worth US$832,500. A $92,500 signing bonus is payable each season. The AHL salary is $70,000. . . . 
In Edmonton, the Victoria Royals fell behind early but roared back for a 5-3 victory over the Oil Kings, who had won their previous nine games. . . . Victoria G Patrik Polivka stopped 37 shots. . . . Royals F Brandon Magee had a goal, his 12th, and two helpers. The goal was an EN. . . . F Mitch Moroz gave Edmonton a 1-0 lead, with his 21st goal, at 4:30 of the first. . . . F Matt Dykstra, a 16-year-old from Edmonton, pulled Victoria even with his first WHL goal in his third goal this season at 11:37 and F Axel Blomqvist gave the Royals the lead, with his 11th, at 16:36. . . . Victoria scored four straight goals before Edmonton cut the lead to 4-3. . . . The Royals took the game’s first five minor penalties, all in the second period, but surrendered only one PP goal. . . . Victoria went 3-1-1 on a road swing that featured stops in Vancouver, Swift Current, Medicine Hat, Lethbridge and Edmonton. . . . The Royals are tied for third with the Everett Silvertips in the Western Conference, just two points behind the Portland Winterhawks. . . . The Oil Kings trail the Eastsern Conference-leading Calgary Hitmen by two points. . . . 
In Red Deer, F Lukas Sutter scored twice and F Conner Bleackley had a goal and two assists as the Rebels beat the Medicine Hat Tigers, 5-2. . . . F Curtis Valk opened the scoring for the Tigers, getting his 15th goal, on the PP, at 1:33 of the second. . . . The Rebels scored the next four goals, with Sutter getting his sixth and seventh, and Bleackley adding his 17th. . . . Red Deer G Patrik Bartosak kicked out 46 shots. . . . Red Deer was without four of its top six scorers — F Matt Bellerive, F Rhyse Dieno and F Brooks Maxwell are injured, while F Dominik Volek is in the Czech Republic national junior team’s selection camp. . . . Greg Meachem, the sports editor of the Red Deer Advocate, also reports that Red Deer F Vukie Mpofu left after the warmup. Mpofu a 17-year-old freshman, was injured during a Monday practice and apparently aggravated the injury during the warmup. . . . F Brayden Burke, a 16-year-old from Edmonton, made his WHL debut with the Rebels. He was a seventh-round pick in the 2012 bantam draft. . . . The Rebels have won three straight and now are tied with the Prince Albert Raiders for the Eastern Conference’s last playoff spot. . . . 
In Kent, Wash., F Branden Troock scored twice and set up another as the host Seattle Thunderbirds defeated the Tri-City Americans, 5-2. . . . Troock, who was plus-4, has 7 goals. . . . F Alexander Delnov helped Seattle with a goal, his 16th, and three assists. He was plus-4. . . . Seattle F Ryan Gropp, the third member of that line, had one goal, his fifth, and also was plus-4. . . . Seattle is 9-1-0 in its last 10 and is just four points behind the U.S. Division-leading Portland Winterhawks. . . . The Thunderbirds dressed 16 skaters. Among the scratches was F Keegan Kolesar, who took a headshot from Portland F Brendan Leipsic on Saturday. Leipsic drew a seven-game suspension. . . . The Americans have lost four in a row. . . . 
In Portland, F Josh Winquist scored twice as the Everett Silvertips halted a four-game losing skid with a 4-2 victory over the Winterhawks. . . . The Silvertips had lost six of seven. They also had dropped 16 straight regular-season decisions in Portland. . . . Winquist, whose second goal was into an empty net, has 26 goals. . . . According to the WHL website, Everett G Austin Lotz made 14 saves in the game’s first 26:37, then was replaced by Daniel Cotton, who stopped seven of nine shots. . . . According to the Everett Herald, Lotz was injured “after taking a knee to head from Portland’s Shane McColgan.” The Herald has the injury occurring late in the first period, with Lotz not returning for the second. Lotz, according to the newspaper, stopped all seven shots he saw, with Cotton coming in to stop 13 of 15. . . . Earlier in the day, Portland F Brendan Leipsic was suspended for seven games for a headshot on Seattle F Keegan Kolesar. Leipsic, who has 43 points, 20 of them goals, in 29 games, will be eligible to return on Jan. 8 against the host Silvertips. . . . Leipsic served a three-game suspension earlier this season
In Saskatoon, the Blades scored five straight goals in beating the Brandon Wheat Kings, 5-1. . . . Saskatoon now has won 12 in a row and holds a four-point lead atop the East Division. . . . F Josh Nicholls scored his 38th goal of the season for the Blades, while F Matej Stransky got his 32nd. . . . Saskatoon is one victory shy of the franchise record for consecutive records set by the 1987-88 team. The Blades are at home to the Moose Jaw Warriors on Wednesday. . . . Brandon had D Tyler Yaworski back in the lineup after he served a six-game suspension for a checking-to-the-head major. He took a checking-from-behind minor in the second period last night. . . . 
In Swift Current, F Jaedon Descheneau scored three times to lead the Kootenay Ice to a 5-2 victory over the Broncos. . . . The victory lifted the Ice past the idle Lethbridge Hurricanes and into eighth place in the Eastern Conference. . . . Descheneau has 18 goals this season. . . . F Adam Lowry scored twice for the Broncos, giving him 39 goals. . . . Ice G Mackenzie Skapski, in his 54th appearance, stopped 23 shots as he won for the 28th time. Among goaltenders, only Lethbridge’s Ty Rimmer (55) has been in more games this season. . . . 
In Edmonton, G Laurent Brossoit stopped 20 shots and F Michael St. Croix the career 300-point plateau as the Oil Kings beat the Prince George Cougars, 6-0. . . . Brossoit has 10 shutouts in his career, five of them this season. . . . F Henrik Samuelsson scored the game’s first goal, his 30th. . . . St. Croix had a goal, his 31st, and two assists. In his career, he has 302 points in 268 games. . . . F Curtis Lazar added two goals, giving him 32. . . . 
In Portland, the line of Taylor Leier, Chase De Leo and Oliver Bjorkstand combined for 16 points as each enjoyed a career game in the Winterhawks’ 8-3 victory over the Spokane Chiefs. . . . Leier scored twice, giving him 25, and added four assists. . . . De Leo had five assists. . . . Bjorkstand, a 17-year-old freshman from Denmark, struck for four goals and added an assist. He has 27 goals this season, including two hat tricks. . . . Leier had the first six-point game by a Portland player since Chad Wolkowski on Dec. 1, 2002. He had four goals and two assists in a 6-1 victory over the visiting Swift Current Broncos. . . . Portland players have enjoyed four four-goal games this season. . . . The Winterhawks’ high-scoring line of Brendan Leipsic, Nic Petan and Ty Rattie didn’t pick up even one point.
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