Kennewick vote looks like "No" . . . Hitmen need assistant coach

F Radek Duda (Regina, Lethbridge, 1998-2000) has signed a one-year contract with Freiburg (Germany, DEL2). Last season, he had seven goals and nine assists with Karlovy Vary (Czech Republic, Extraliga), a goal and nine assists in two games with Sokolov (Czech Republic, 2.Liga), and a goal and three assists in 20 games with Litvinov (Czech Republic, Extraliga). . . .

F Ned Lukacevic (Spokane, Swift Current, 2001-06) has been released by Chamonix-Morzine (France, Ligue Magnus) at his request. Last season, with the Coventry Blaze (England, UK Elite), he had four goals and nine assists in 21 games. He also had nine goals and 12 assists in 25 games with the Edinburgh Capitals (Scotland, UK Elite). . . .

F Gal Koren (Kelowna, 2010-11) has signed a one-year extension with Olimpija Ljubljana (Slovenia, Erste Bank Liga). Last season, he had three assists in 17 games with the Manchester Storm (England, UK Elite) and two goals and an assist in 32 games with Olimpija Ljubljana. . . .

D Colin Joe (Kelowna, Saskatoon, 2004-09) has signed a one-year contract with Jegesmedvék Miscolc (Hungary, MOL Liga). Last season, with the Colorado Eagles (ECHL), he had three goals and 11 assists in 58 games.

———

It appears that voters in Kennewick, Wash., have voted against the implementation of a sales tax that would have resulted in improvements to the Toyota Center, the home of the WHL’s Tri-City Americans. . . . As of Thursday night, there were about 2,000 ballots yet to count, with the no side holding a lead of 53 to 47 per cent. . . . According to the Tri-City Herald, “The Kennewick Public Facilities District asked voters to approve a two-tenths of a percent sales tax increase to fund a $35-million upgrade to the (Three Rivers Convention Center). It would have added 2 cents to a $10 purchase in the city.” . . . Wendy Culverwell of the Herald reported earlier in the week that a ‘yes’ vote would have allowed the replacing of “aging equipment, including the 28-year-old ice plant for the hockey arena and the old locker room. The project would have made Toyota Center more accessible to visitors with disabilities, as well by upgrading parking and entrances and increasing seating.” . . . The vote took place on Tuesday, with a voter turnout of 30 per cent. . . . Bob Tory, the Americans’ general manager, told Taking Note last night that he will withhold comment until everything is finalized on Aug. 16.

——

The Calgary Hitmen are in need of an assistant coach after Trent Whitfield left to join the Providence Bruins, the AHL  affiliate of the Boston Bruins. Whitfield, a 39-year-old native of Alameda, Sask.,
had been with the Hitmen for one season. He played four seasons (1994-98) with the Spokane Chiefs. He also had played four seasons (2009-13) with Providence. . . . Whitfield spent 2014-15 as an assistant coach with the AHL’s Portland Pirates. . . . Boston announced Thursday that it has hired Whitfield and Jay Leach as Providence assistant coaches. They will work alongside Kevin Dean, who took over as head coach on July 18. . . . If you are interested in the Hitmen posting, email a resume to assistantcoach@hitmenhockey.com.

——

F Deven Sideroff of the Kamloops Blazers has signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Anaheim Ducks, who selected him in the third round of the 2015 NHL draft. . . . Sideroff, a 19-year-old from Summerland, B.C., is in Hockey Canada’s summer evaluation camp for national junior team prospects. . . . According to generalfanager.com, the contract calls for NHL salaries of US$667,500, $742,500 and $742,500, with a $70,000 salary in the AHL. The first year carries $257,500 in performance bonuses, with $182,500 in each of the last two years. Sideroff also gets a $277,500 signing bonus, payable in three annual instalments. . . . Sideroff, a superior skater, had 59 points, including 19 goals, in 63 games last season after missing the start with mononucleosis. . . . In 141 career regular-season WHL games, he has 109 points, including 39 goals.

——

The Everett Silvertips have hired Rob Tagle as their athletic trainer. He takes over from Wayne Duncan, who was there for the past two seasons. According to a news release, Duncan “assumes supervision of medical and health needs, and pursuing the objective of injury prevention and minimal recovery time for Silvertips players.” . . . Tagle, 25, previously worked with the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins as a graduate assistant athletic trainer. He is from West Freehold, N.J.

——

The BCHL’s Salmon Arm Silverbacks are looking for an athletic therapist/equipment manager for the 2016-17 season. If you are interested, you can send an email to team president Troy Mick at gm@silverbacks.com. . . . A job description is posted right here.

——

Dave Barry, the Miami Herald’s superb columnist, is in Rio de Janiero, so it’s time for the Olympic Summer Games to begin. Barry takes a look at the buildup to the Games right here.

——

A Wayne Gretzky rookie card (1979 O-Pee-Chee) has sold for US$465,000, a record for a hockey card. The card sold at the National Sports Collectors Convention in Atlantic City, N.J. The card is believed to be one of a kind because it has been graded as PSA 10. It is impossible to earn a higher grade.

———

Got a tip or some information you feel could be useful to me, feel free to email me at greggdrinnan@gmail.com.

———

Patrick Wellar has signed on as an assistant coach with the ECHL’s Cincinnati Cyclones. Wellar, a 32-year-old from Carrot River, Sask., played four seasons (2000-04) in the WHL, with the Portland Winterhawks and Calgary Hitmen. . . . He was a player-assistant coach last season for the ECHL’s Alaska Aces, getting 14 points, 12 of them assists, in 72 games. . . . During his playing career, he won three ECHL titles and one AHL championship.

———

A mint Wayne Gretzky rookie card sold for 465,000 dollars today. I've got one of my own. #timetocashin pic.twitter.com/bKI01UVvoY

— Regan Bartel (@Reganrant) August 5, 2016

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.

Aces come up kings in ECHL

F Ty Morris (Swift Current, Vancouver, Red Deer, 2003-05) has signed a one-year extension with Landshut (Germany, DEL2). Last season, he had 46 points, including 15 goals, in 47 games.
---

So I am embarking on a voyage of discovery to find out.
I'll be back in a couple of weeks. Until then . . .

1. Elliotte Friedman of Hockey Night in Canada has an interesting note in his weekly 30 Thoughts: “Another AHL coach to watch: Norfolk's Trent Yawney. Hearing Anaheim wants him on the bench next to Bruce Boudreau.” . . . There’s an opening in Anaheim because Bob Woods, whose contract with the Ducks was up and hadn’t yet been renewed, left to join the Saskatoon Blades as GM/head coach. . . . Yawney, from Hudson Bay, Sask., spent three seasons (1981-84) on the Blades’ blue line. . . . Friedman’s latest column is right here.

2. Baseball has Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak. . . . Hockey has Billy Mosienko’s three goals in 21 seconds. . . . Brian Costello of The Hockey News revisits Mosienko’s amazing feat right here.

3. In Cincinnati, G Gerald Coleman stopped 23 shots as the Alaska Aces beat the Cyclones 4-0 and won the ECHL’s Kelly Cup final, 4-2. . . . The Aces won the last two games, both in Cincinnati, to win their third Kelly Cup, tying the South Carolina Stingrays for the most in ECHL history. . . . Former WHL F Turner Elson (Red Deer, 2009-13) had one of Alaska’s goals. . . . Former WHL D James Martin (Swift Current, Kootenay, 2008-11) was among Alaska’s scratches in Game 6. . . . According to an Aces news release, “Assistant coach Louis Mass joined Scott Burt, Jared Bednar and Patrick Wellar as the only individuals to have their names on the Kelly Cup three times.” . . . Burt (Seattle, Swift Current, Edmonton Red Deer, 1994-98) just completed his first season as an assistant coach with the Spokane Chiefs. Prior to that he played three seasons (2008-11) with the Aces and was an assistant coach for two more (2011-13). . . . Bednar, now an assistant coach with the AHL’s Springfield Falcons, played three seasons in the WHL (Saskatoon, Spokane, Medicine Hat, Prince Albert, 1990-93). . . . Wellar, who played this season with the AHL’s Hershey Bears, spent four seasons in the WHL (Portland, Calgary, 2000-04).

4. G Michael Hutchinson stopped 49 shots to lead the visiting St. John’s IceCaps to a 2-1 victory over the Texas Stars in Game 2 of the AHL final on Monday night in Cedar Park, Texas. . . . The series is tied, with the next three games in St. John’s, starting on Wednesday. . . . Hutchinson was especially busy in the third period when he made 20 saves. . . . F Blair Riley, a native of Chase, B.C., scored the GWG. He got his second goal of this postseason early in the second period, just 44 seconds after the Stars had tied the game. . . . F Brendan Ranford, who spent the previous five seasons with the Kamloops Blazers, had the lone Texas goal, his eighth of the playoffs.
---
TWEET OF THE DAY:

Hearing #WHLGiants coaching search may be down to 2 guys - former #Canucks forward Tim Hunter and EDM Oil Kings assistant Steve Hamilton.
— News1130 Sports (@News1130Sports) June 9, 2014

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.