F Judd Blackwater (Spokane, 2005-08) signed a one-year contract with Székesfehérvár (Hungary, Erste Bank Liga). Last season, with the Ontario Reign (ECHL), he had 35 goals and 28 assists in 59 games. . . .
F Jason Jaffray (Edmonton/Kootenay, Swift Current, 1997-2002) signed a one-year contract with Red Bull Munich (Germany, DEL). Last season, he had 12 goals and 10 assists in 36 games with the St. John's Ice Caps (AHL). He was the team captain for the past four seasons. . . .
G Rastislav Staňa (Moose Jaw, Calgary, 1998-2000) announced he is taking a “time out” from hockey due to heart problems. Staňa hasn’t been cleared by doctors for any activity. He contracted pneumonia last season and then doctors discovered weakened heart functions and inflammation of the heart muscle. Last season, with Sparta Prague (Czech Republic, Extraliga), he was 2.57, .903 in 13 games. . . .
D Art Bidlevskii (Prince George, Regina, 2007-12) signed a one-year contract with Kallinge/Ronneby (Sweden, Division 1). Last season, with the Gwinnett Gladiators (ECHL), he had three assists in 13 games. . . .
F Jonas Johansson (Kamloops, 2002-04) signed a one-year contract with the Stavanger Oilers (Norway, GET-Ligaen). Last season, with Lausitzer Füchse Weisswasser (Germany, DEL2), he had 56 points, including 36 assists, in 44 games. He led his team in assists and points.
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Kelly McCrimmon has turned down an offer to join the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs, so will stay in Brandon where he is the owner/general manager and head coach of the Wheat Kings.
McCrimmon, 54, was offered a front-office position with the Maple Leafs sometime in the past month. But as time wore on and there wasn’t a decision, it seemed apparent that McCrimmon would turn down the offer. He made that announcement on Monday afternoon.“With our team expected to contend this season,” McCrimmon, the WHL’s executive of the year for 2014-15, said in a news release, “I felt I owed it to the group to stay here and try to help us take the next step.”
The Wheat Kings had the WHL’s best regular-season record last season, at 53-11-8, and reached the Ed Chynoweth Cup final, where they were swept by the Kelowna Rockets.
Still, many observers feel the Wheat Kings got that far a year ahead of schedule and that the 2015-16 season will be their time.
"I think our players are focused and committed on trying to win and I want to be part of that," McCrimmon told Bruce Luebke, the team’s radio voice. “And, I feel that as the owner, general manager and head coach, I've got a responsibility to be part of that so that was the over-riding factor in the decision.”
If you know McCrimmon, you know that the last paragraph truthfully describes why he made the decision he did. He has a roster full of players who are there, at least in part, because they believe in McCrimmon and expect him to be there to see this process through to its end. McCrimmon knows that and you can bet that he would have had a whole lot of sleepless nights had he turned his back and walked away from them.
Here’s what McCrimmon told Rob Henderson, the Brandon Sun’s sports editor:
“I’m extremely fortunate to do what I do in Brandon. I’m very proud of our organization, I enjoy the people that I work with, I enjoy our players, so again that’s rewarding and something that I’ve always taken a lot of fulfilment out of.
“The opportunity in Toronto to get in on a ground floor with an Original Six franchise, working with people there that I know I would have really enjoyed, and the work needing to be done there would have been real challenging, real stimulating. . . . That’s what made the decision as difficult as it was.”
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The Edmonton Oilers dropped two more people from their front-office staff on Monday, both of whom have ties to the WHL. Dave Semenko, one of the Oilers’ pro scouts, and Billy Moores, who was working in an advisory role with the coaching staff, both were let go. . . . Semenko played for the Brandon Wheat Kings (1975-78), while Moores played four seasons (1966-70) with the Edmonton Oil Kings. Moores, one of the truly nice people in hockey, was the Regina Pats’ general manager and head coach for one season (1985-86).——
From Kevin Oklobzija of the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle:
“Former Rochester Americans and Buffalo Sabres defenseman Nathan Paetsch faces eight months home detention and must pay the U.S. government $265,000 as punishment for his role in an illegal gambling operation that was shut down last summer.
Paetsch, 32, pleaded guilty on Monday morning to two charges relating to an off-shore gambling enterprise run out of The Marina Restaurant and Bar in Charlotte.”
That story is right here.
Paetsch is from LeRoy, Sask. He played four seasons (1999-2003) with the Moose Jaw Warriors. A pro since 2003-04, he has played the last three seasons with the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins.
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F Jarret Stoll of the Los Angeles Kings has been charged with one count of possession of a controlled substance (cocaine). He was arrested in April while he and some teammates were in Las Vegas shortly after their season ended. . . . Stoll, 32, is from Melville, Sask. He played four seasons (1998-2002) with the Kootenay Ice. . . . In terms of his NHL career, he will become an unrestricted free agent on June 1. He has played the past seven seasons with the Kings.
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Eric Duhatschek, the veteran hockey writer who scribbles on behalf of The Globe and Mail, has seen enough of the grinding hockey that now is too often on display in NHL games. It seems that the recently completed Stanley Cup final, in which the Chicago Blackhawks and Tampa Bay Lightning combined to score fewer than four goals per game, was the tipping point. It is time, Duhatschek writes right here, to make the nets larger.———
THE COACHING GAME:
Terry Virtue has resigned as head coach of the Canon-McMillan hockey team. Canon-McMillan is a school district located south of Pittsburgh. . . . According to a Canon-McMillan news release, Virtue is moving to the Worcester, Mass., area “to pursue other opportunities.” . . . A defenceman, Virtue played two seasons (Victoria Cougars, Tri-City, Portland, 1989-91) in the WHL and later was an assistant coach with the Americans for three seasons. . . . During his pro career, he played six seasons with the AHL’s Worcester IceHawks and is in that city’s sports hall of fame. . . . In two seasons at Canon-McMillan, he was 28-14-2. The program won its second Penguins Cup championship last season.———
The WHL says it will release its exhibition schedule today and its regular-season schedule on Wednesday. Release time both days is 11 a.m., Mountain time.
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Got a tip or some information you feel could be useful to me, send an email to gregg@takingnote.ca.
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If I were named commissioner of all sports TV I would cull overpopulated herd of studio analysts by half and donate spare chairs to charity.
— Neil Best (@sportswatch) June 23, 2015
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G Rastislav Staňa (Moose Jaw, Calgary, 1998-2000) has signed a one-year contract with Sparta Prague (Czech Republic, Extraliga). Staňa started this season with CSKA Moscow (Russia, KHL), going 2.31 and .912 in 24 games. He signed with Košice (Slovakia, Extraliga) on Jan. 28 and was 1.25, .952 in eight games. . . .
F Matt Ellison (Red Deer, 2002-03) has signed a two-year contract with Dinamo Minsk (Belarus, KHL). Ellison started this season with Biel (Switzerland, NL A), picking up one assist in seven games. He signed with Medveščak Zagreb (Croatia, KHL) on Oct. 2 and finished with 15 points, eight of them goals, in 38 games. . . .
F Konstantin Pushkarev (Calgary, 2004-05) signed a one-year extension with Barys Astana (Kazakhstan, KHL). This season with Barys, he had four points, including one goal, in 21 games. In five games with Nomad Astana (Kazakhstan, Vysshaya), he had six points, including three goals. . . .
4. Columnist Terry Jones of the Edmonton Sun was in attendance for the first two games of the WHL’s championship final for the Ed Chynoweth Cup in Portland on the weekend. He writes that the Edmonton Oil Kings, who lost both games to the Winterhawks, have gone from underdogs to longshots. . . . That column is 
7. The AHL has approved the transfer of the Abbotsford Heat, the top affiliate of the NHL’s Calgary Flames, to Glens Falls, N.Y., where it will replace the Phantoms. The NHL’s Philadelphia Flyers are moving the Phantoms to Allentown, Pa. . . . New York State now is home to six of the AHL’s 30 franchises. . . . There continues to be speculation that some of the NHL’s western-most franchises are going to relocate their AHL affiliates to the western side of the U.S. A report at 
The Portland Winterhawks have added D Blake Heinrich, who turned 19 on Feb. 17, to their roster. A native of Cambridge, Minn., Heinrich had 16 points, including seven goals, and 117 penalty minutes in 42 games with the USHL’s Sioux City Musketeers. The 5-11, 195-pounder was the Musketeers’ captain. . . . Heinrich was a fifth-round selection by the Washington Capitals in the 2013 NHL draft. The Winterhawks selected him in the 12th round of the 2012 bantam draft, at which time he already was 17 years of age.
The OHL’s Oshawa Generals announced Monday that Jeff Twohey has resigned after two seasons as their general manager. . . . The Generals were swept by the North Bay Battalion in the Eastern Conference final. . . . The Generals were first in the Eastern Conference this season, after finishing third last season. . . . Roger Hunt, the Generals’ assistant GM, has taken over as acting GM.
Chris Hartsburg, a former assistant coach of the Everett Silvertips, has signed on as head coach of the USHL’s Lincoln Stars. Hartsburg spent this season as an assistant coach with the OHL’s Erie Otters. . . . Hartsburg spent four seasons (2009-12) as an assistant coach with the Silvertips. He is the son of former NHL player and head coach Craig Hartsburg, who did a stint as the Silvertips’ head coach. . . . With the Stars, he replaces Jimmy McGroarty, who was fired on March 21. Mick Berge, an assistant coach, served as interim head coach. . . . The Stars missed the playoffs this season for the third time in their 18 seasons of existence.
The OHL’s Kingston Frontenacs have fired head coach Todd Gill and assistant coach Jeff Reid. The moves come after an 84-point regular season and a first-round playoff loss to the Peterborough Petes. The Frontenacs won the first three games of that series, then lost four straight. . . . At the same time, the Frontenacs re-signed general manager Doug Gilmour and Darren Keily, the assistant GM and director of hockey operations. Gilmour has been with the team since 2008 and has been GM since 2011. Keily signed on as an assistant coach in 2008, was named AGM in 2011 and director of hockey ops in 2012.
city when the 2014-15 WHL season gets here?
Oil Kings skated to a 4-2 victory before 11,339 fans. . . . It was Hockey Hooky in Edmonton, so the game, which started at 11:30 a.m., was attended by a whole lot of students. . . . F Brett Pollock scored twice for Edmonton, giving him 19. . . . Edmonton F Henrik Samuelsson had two assits. He’s got 65 points, including 42 helpers, in 43 games. . . . Brandon F Jayce Hawryluk got his 14th goal; he hadn’t scored in his previous 12 games. . . . The Oil Kings (35-13-1) have won six straight. They lead the Central Division by three points over the Calgary Hitmen (31-12-6). . . . Brandon (26-18-5) is fifth in the Eastern Conference, two points behind the Medicine Hat Tigers and two ahead of the Regina Pats. . . . Alicja Siekierska of the Edmonton Journal reports that Pollock and teammates Dysin Mayo and Aaron Irving “woke up at 6 a.m. to write exams.” Her game story is 
In Kamloops, F Mitch Holmberg scored his WHL-leading 44th and 45th goals to help the Spokane Chiefs to a 6-3 victory over the Blazers. . . . Holmberg scored on a first-period 5-on-3 PP at 15:55. . . . F Dominic Zwerger got the Chiefs’ second goal just 1:31 later, the goal coming just as the second PP expired. . . . Spokane F Mike Aviani was ejected in the second period for a headshot on Kamloops D Connor Clouston, who didn’t return. . . . The Chiefs scored two shorthanded goals on the Aviani penalty, the first coming via a penalty shot by F Liam Stewart. . . . The Chiefs lead the WHL with 14 shorthanded goals. . . . F Cole Ully and F Chase Souto each scored his 20th goal of the season for Kamloops. . . . D Sam Grist, who likely leads the Blazers in minutes played, left in the first period and didn’t return after absorbing a hit from Aviani. . . . The Blazers already were without F Matt Needham, F Luke Harrison and F Tyson Ness, all veterans who are injured. . . . With the injuries to Grist and Clouston, the Blazers, who were down to five defenceman, announced after the game that they had added D Cameron Reagan, 16, to their roster. Reagan, a fourth-round bantam draft pick in 2012, plays for the midget AAA Sherwood Park J. Ennis Kings, for whom he has 20 points, including three goals, in 31 games. He will make his WHL debut tonight in Vancouver against the Giants. . . . The Blazers wrapped up a seven-game homestand at 1-5-1. . . . The Blazers meet the Giants in Vancouver tonight, then go home-and-home with the Kelowna Rockets on Friday and Saturday, before opening a six-game homestand. Kamloops then will play 10 in a row on the road as the Tim Hortons Brier -- the Canadian men’s curling championship -- takes over the Interior Savings Centre. . . . The Chiefs (30-15-4) have won three in a row. They are fifth in the Western Conference, three points behind the Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . The Blazers, with three straight losses, are 11-34-5 and last in the Western Conference. 
that they are going to special season-ticket prices for next season, which will be their 25th.
some available for as little as $149.
In Lethbridge, F Curtis Valk broke a 1-1 tie at 5:29 of the second period as the Medicine Hat Tigers got past the Hurricanes, 2-1. . . . Valk has 20 goals this season. . . . Tigers F Cole Sanford also scored his 20th goal, pulling his mates into a 1-1 tie at 5:12 of the second, via the PP. . . . D Macoy Erkamps had given the home boys a 1-0 lead at 19:57 of the first, also on the PP. . . . The Tigers held a 42-14 edge in shots. . . .
In Spokane, F Ryan Gropp scored at 4:16 of OT to give the Seattle Thunderbirds a 1-0 victory over the Chiefs. . . . Gropp, who is from Kamloops, has 11 goals and 10 assists in 32 games since leaving the BCHL’s Penticton Vees for the Thunderbirds. . . . Seattle is 3-0-0 in its last three games, each of which has been decided in extra time. . . . G Taran Kozun, acquired last week from Kamloops, made his Seattle debut and earned the shutout with 28 saves. . . . It was his first shutout this season and the third of his career. . . . Spokane G Eric Williams stopped 22 shots. . . . Kozun came over for D Austin Douglas, G Justin Myles and a fourth-round pick in the 2015 bantam draft. . . . The Chiefs held a 4-1 edge in OT shots. . . . Seattle is 5-0-0 against the Chiefs this season. . . . Seattle (26-14-5) moved in sole possession of fourth place in the Western Conference, two points ahead of the idle Everett Silvertips. . . . The Chiefs (26-14-4) moved into fifth, one point ahead of the Silvertips. 
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