Ice firms up coaching staff ... Bondra signs with KHL team ... Mariners to honour T-Birds

F Adam Hughesman (Tri-City, 2006-12) has signed a one-year contract with Bordeaux (France, Ligue Magnus). This season, with Orli Znojmo (Czech Republic, Erste Bank Liga), he had 15 goals and nine assists in 49 games. . . . The head coach of Bordeaux is former St. Louis Blues F Philippe Bozon, father of F Tim Bozon (Kamloops, Kootenay, 2011-15). . . .

D Lukáš Bohunický (Kootenay, 2005-07) has signed a one-year extension with Dukla Trenčín (Slovakia, Extraliga). This season, he had three goals and five assists in 55 games. . . . 

F Denis Tolpeko (Seattle, Regina, 2003-06) has signed a one-year extension with Spartak Moscow (Russia, KHL). This season he started with Sochi (Russia, KHL), scoring two goals and five assists in 31 games. He was released on Dec. 20 and signed with Spartak on Dec. 21. He had two goals and an assist in 15 games with Spartak. . . . 

F Richard Rapáč (Moose Jaw, Prince George, 2006-07) has signed a one-year contract with Poprad (Slovakia, Extraliga). This season, with Zug Academy (Switzerland, NL B), he had eight goals and a team-high 16 assists in 39 games. He also was pointless in one game with Zug (NL A). . . . 

F Matt Ellison (Red Deer, 2002-03) has signed a two-year contract with Metallurg Magnitogorsk (Russia, KHL). This season, with Dinamo Minsk (Belarus, KHL), he had 16 goals and 33 assists in 54 games. He led the team in scoring. Ellison had one year left on his contract with Dinamo Minsk but asked for his release and it was granted on June 2. . . .

F Radovan Bondra (Vancouver, Prince George, 2015-17) has signed a one-year contract with Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia, KHL). This season, with Vancouver, he had 19 goals and 12 assists in 32 games, then put up 13 goals and 19 assists with Prince George. He finished the season with the AHL’s Rockford IceHogs, going pointless in five games.

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Jon Klemm, a former NHL defenceman who is from Cranbrook, B.C., has joined the Kootenay Ice as associate coach.

James Patrick, who was named the Ice’s head coach on Tuesday, made the announcement Wednesday morning.

The Ice also announced that assistant coaches Gordon Burnett and Roman Vopat will be returning, while they have added Denis Sproxton as goaltending coach.

Klemm, 47, was an assistant coach with the Spokane Chiefs for three seasons (2009-12). Klemm also played in the WHL with the Seattle Thunderbirds and Spokane (1987-91) before going on to a pro career that included 773 NHL games split between the Quebec Nordiques, Colorado Avalanche, Chicago Blackhawks, Dallas Stars and Los Angeles Kings. He won a Memorial Cup with the Chiefs in 1991 and  Stanley Cups with the Avalanche in 1996 and 2001. Klemm retired after playing the 2008-09 season with the Straubing Tigers of Germany’s DEL. In recent years, Klemm has been coaching minor hockey in the Dallas area.

Burnett, 36, is preparing for his third season with the Ice, while Vopat just completed his first season there. Prior to that, Vopat was on staff with the Prince George Cougars for two seasons.

Sproxton, 46, has served as a goaltending consultant with Hockey Canada, Hockey Alberta and the Chiefs. Sproxton played four seasons in the WHL (Prince Albert, Swift Current, 1987-91). He was the Spokane Chiefs’ goaltending coach (2003-11) and won a Memorial Cup there in 2008.

The Ice also added Jake Heisinger to its staff as manager of hockey operations and player experience. Heisinger has a degree in business management from Curry College in Boston. He is the son of Craig Heisinger, the assistant GM and director of hockey operations with the NHL’s Winnipeg Jets.

The Ice also announced that director of scouting Garnet Kazuik, trainer/ equipment manager Darcy Ewanchuk, and athletic consultant Cory Cameron all will be returning.

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The Prince George Cougars have lost another 20-year-old from their roster with the news, as reported above in The MacBeth Report, that F Radovan Bondra has signed a one-year deal with Slovan Bratislava, a Slovakian team that plays in the KHL. . . . Bondra, who is from Trebisov, Slovakia, was a fifth-round selection by the Chicago Blackhawks in the NHL’s 2015 draft. . . . Bondra started this season with the Vancouver Giants, then was traded to the Prince George Cougars for F Bartek Bison, F Tyler Ho and a third-round pick in the 2018 WHL bantam draft. . . . With Bondra gone, the Cougars still have nine 20s on their roster — F Jared Bethune, F Aaron Boyd, D Shane Collins, F Brodan O’Brien, F Jesse Gabrielle, D Brendan Guhle, F Jansen Harkins, D Tate Olson and F Tanner Wishnowski. Gabrielle (Boston Bruins), Guhle (Buffalo Sabres) and Harkins (Winnipeg Jets) have signed NHL contracts.

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Steve Konowalchuk, the head coach of the WHL-champion Seattle Thunderbirds, will throw out the ceremonial first pitch on Saturday evening before the Seattle Mariners face the visiting Toronto Blue Jays at Safeco Field. . . . It’s all part of an evening during which the Mariners will honour the WHL champions, who won the Ed Chynoweth Cup with a 4-3 OT victory over the host Regina Pats in Game 6 of the final series.

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The Medicine Hat Tigers have signed F Corson Hopwo to a WHL contract. He was a seventh-round selection in the 2016 bantam draft. From Victoria, he played this season at the Delta Hockey Academy, putting up 19 goals and 25 assists in 30 games with the Elite 15s.

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Rob Sklaruk is the new general manager of the Spruce Grove Saints, who are under new ownership. Team president Ryan Smyth made the announcement on Wednesday. Sklaruk has lived in the area for 25 years and for the past five seasons has been president, GM and assistant coach for the senior AAA Stony Plain Eagles. He also is a former Eagles player.

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The Kamloops Blazers expect to have 24 players with birthdates in 2000, 2001 and 2002 on the ice

Saturday and Sunday as they hold a prospects camp. However, F Massimo Rizzo, a first-round selection in the 2016 bantam draft, won’t be there. The 14th overall pick in that draft, Rizzo is vacationing with family in Italy after finishing this season with the BCHL’s Penticton Vees. . . . The 13 players selected ahead of Rizzo in that draft all have signed WHL deals. . . . Kamloops This Week reports that the Blazers expect to meet with the Rizzo family “at the end of the month to discuss Massimo’s future.” . . . Rizzo, who will turn 16 on June 13, had 53 points, including 12 goals, in 28 games with the Burnaby Winter Club’s prep team this season. He was pointless in three regular-season games with the Vees and had one goal in seven playoff games. In the Western Canada Cup, he put up a goal and four assists in six games, then added one goal in five games at the RBC Cup.

The Blazers expect to have F Josh Pillar, the 14th overall selection in the 2017 bantam draft, at their prospects camp, although he hasn’t yet committed to them. All told, eight of the WHL’s 22 first-round picks have yet to sign.

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A few days ago, Patrick Conway, who keeps close tabs on the KHL, took a look at the coaches of the Bobrov Division. This week, he checks out the men behind the benches in the Tarasov Division, and it’s all right here.

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I’m also on Twitter (@gdrinnan).

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Two of the head coaches who appeared in the Memorial Cup and have WHL ties moved into the pro ranks on Wednesday, Kris Knoblauch with the Philadelphia Flyers and Rocky Thompson with the Chicago Wolves, the AHL affiliate of the NHL expansion Vegas Golden Knights.

Knoblauch, 38, signed on as an assistant coach with the Flyers after spending the past five seasons as the head coach of the Erie Otters, who won this season’s OHL playoff championship.

Knoblauch, who is from Imperial, Sask., took over as head coach during 2012-13. In each of his four full seasons as head coach, the Otters won at least 50 games, marking the first time in OHL history that a team posted more than three straight 50-win seasons. He played in the WHL (Red Deer, Edmonton/Kootenay, Lethbridge, 1996-99) and was the Ice’s head coach for two seasons (2010-12), winning the 2011 WHL championship.

Thompson, meanwhile, is the new head coach of the Chicago Wolves. The Golden Knights have taken over the Wolves from the NHL’s St. Louis Blues. Craig Berube, the Wolves’ head coach this season, is expected to end up on the Blues’ staff.

Thompson, 39, guided the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires, as host team, to the Memorial Cup title, beating the Otters, 4-3, in the championship game.

Thompson, from Calgary, spent two seasons with the Spitfires.

As a player, he spent four seasons in the WHL (Medicine Hat, Swift Current, 1993-97). He began his coaching career in the WHL as an assistant coach with the Edmonton Oil Kings (2007-10), before moving on to the AHL’s Oklahoma City Barons. He spent one season on staff with the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers, then took over the Spitfires’ bench.

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Former WHL D Nolan Baumgartner has joined the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks as an assistant coach with head coach Travis Green. Baumgartner had been an assistant coach with the AHL’s Utica Comets, where Green was the head coach before being moved up to the Canucks as head coach. . . . Baumgartner, 41, is from Calgary. He played four seasons with the Kamloops Blazers (1992-96) and was on two Memorial Cup-championships teams (1994, 1995). . . . He twice was named the WHL’s top defenceman and once was the CHL’s top defenceman. . . . The Canucks also announced that Green’s other assistant coaches would be Newell Brown, Doug Jarvis and Manny Malhotra. . . . Also returning are skills coach Glenn Carnegie and video coach Ben Cooper, who is a former Victoria Royals assistant coach (2011-13).

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The ECHL’s Tulsa Oilers have hired Rob Murray as their director of hockey operations and head coach. Murray, 50, spent the previous six seasons as head coach of the ECHL’s Alaska Aces, who have ceased operations. Murray has been coaching since 2003 when he was an assistant with the AHL’s Providence Bruins. In Tulsa, Murray replaces Jason Christie, who left the team after their season ended.

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Congrats to @TheWHL milestone award winners Dave "Radar" Horning & Colin "Toledo" Robinson (1500 games) & Innes Mackie (3000 games) pic.twitter.com/w1H3vA3hKz

— Brian Cheeseman (@b_cheeseman) June 8, 2017

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Raiders show profit for 2015-16 . . . Wheaties get their GM . . . Ice adds coach . . . Veteran scouts on move

F Ned Lukacevic (Spokane, Swift Current, 2001-06) has signed a one-year contract with Katowice (Poland, PHL). 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). . . .
D Kirill Vorobyev (Portland, 2012-13) has been assigned by CSKA Moscow (KHL, Russia) to Zvezda Chekhov (Russia, Vysshaya Liga). Last season, with CSKA Moscow, he had three assists in 28 games. He also had two goals and six assists in 16 games with Zvezda Chekhov . He had one assist in two games with Krasnaya Armiya Moscow (Russia, MHL). MHL (Molodezhnaya Liga) is Russia's top junior league.
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It isn’t much, but it’s a profit, and that’s important to the community-owned teams in the WHL. The Prince Albert Raiders held their annual meeting on Monday and reported a profit of $3,892 for the 2015-16 season. . . . The Raiders showed a profit despite that fact that their attendance dropped 62 fans per game from 2014-15, when the franchise reported a loss of $61,365. In 2015-16, the Raiders averaged 2,369 fans per game. . . . The Raiders definitely would appear to be headed in the right direction; after all, they reported a loss of more than $262,000 for the 2013-14 season.
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The Brandon Wheat Kings, the WHL’s defending champions, announced Tuesday that they have signed Grant Armstrong as their general manager. He replaces Kelly McCrimmon, the franchise’s owner and governor, who is joining the NHL’s Las Vegas franchise as assistant general manager. McCrimmon had been the GM since 1989, when he took over from Bill Shinske. . . . Guy Flaming of The Pipeline Show was the first to suggest that Armstrong could be headed to the Wheat Kings. . . . “I think it’s time,” Armstrong told Taking Note. “Hopefully, we’ll provide Kelly with a team he’s going to be proud of.” . . . . Armstrong, 54, from North Vancouver, had been with the Victoria Royals for four seasons, the past two as assistant GM, player personnel. Before that, he was the director of player personnel for two seasons. . . . Prior to that, Armstrong spent four seasons as the Portland Winterhawks’ head scout. . . . He has been a familiar face in Lower Mainland hockey circles, having coached the junior B North Delta Devils, while serving as the North Vancouver Minor Hockey Association’s director of hockey operations. He also has been involved with the North Delta Minor Hockey Association as a coach and development co-ordinator. He was honoured with the Pacific Coast Amateur Hockey Association’s Coaching Development Award in 2003. . . . The Wheat Kings also announced that Mick McCrimmon, 30, will be the team’s assistant GM. McCrimmon, Kelly’s son, has a law degree, and will assist in hockey and business operations.
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The Kootenay Ice has signed Roman Vopat as an assistant coach. He spent the previous two seasons as an assistant coach with the Prince George Cougars. . . . Vopat played two seasons in the WHL, with the Moose Jaw Warriors and Prince Albert Raiders, before going on to a 16-year professional career that included 133 NHL games. A native of Litvinov, Czech Republic, Vopat and his family reside in Cranbrook. . . . With the Ice, he’ll join head coach Luke Pierce and fellow assistant Gordon Burnett behind the bench.
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With WHL training camps about to open, or in some cases having already started, Alan Caldwell has come through again. His annual numbers-filled look at WHL teams and their prospects is right here.
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Vaughn Karpan, a native of The Pas, Man., has joined the NHL’s Las Vegas franchise as its director of player personnel. He had been with the Montreal Canadiens since 2005, most recently as director of pro scouting. He also worked with the Winnipeg Jets/Phoenix Coyotes for 13 years, five as director of amateur scouting. . . . Karpan played for Canada’s national men’s team (1983-88), playing in two Olympic Winter Games. He captained the U of Manitoba Bisons while playing there and also played one season (1979-80) with the Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . Las Vegas also confirmed something that was reported here yesterday — former Prince Albert Raiders general manager Bruno Campese has been hired as an amateur scout.
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Bruce Franklin, a longtime scout with the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks, has moved to the Anaheim Ducks to fill the new position of director of player evaluation. Franklin spent 23 years with Chicago, the last six as chief amateur scout. . . . He cut his scouting teeth in the WHL, where he was part of two Memorial Cup champions. He was a scout with the 1984-85 Prince Albert Raiders and the director of player personnel with the 1988-89 Swift Current Broncos.
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Scott Galbraith, a fan of the OHL’s London Knights, has filed a civil statement of claim asking for $100,000, including $80,000 for aggravated and punitive damages, after he says he purchased a game-used sweater but wasn’t given the one that he had bought. The suit also names the Canadian Hockey League and the Hockey Hall of Fame. . . . Robert Cribb of the Toronto Star has more right here.
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Got a tip or some information you feel could be useful to me, feel free to email me at greggdrinnan@gmail.com.
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Billy Keane is the new head coach of the MJHL’s Winnipeg Blues. He had been their assistant coach, so steps up to fill the spot created when Don MacGillivray joined the Brandon Wheat Kings as an assistant coach. . . . McGillivray had been the GM/head coach of the Blues for seven seasons. . . . Keane had been an assistant coach with the Blues for three seasons. He played for them for two seasons (1982-84). . . . Tim Schick will be the Blues’ director of hockey operations and head scout, with Wayne Bartley on board as assistant coach. . . . Keane is the brother of former NHL/WHL F Mike Keane.
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Often when I look at the list of trending topics on Twitter I am overwhelmed by a sense of dread for our species.

— Guy Flaming (@TPS_Guy) August 24, 2016

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Analytics creeping into WHL . . . Cougars hire assistant coach

While a lot of hockey people are jumping on the analytics bandwagon these days, the Saskatoon Blades appear to have gotten something of a head start.
The Blades went through an ownership change a year ago, one that had Edmonton-based Mike Priestner and his son, Colin, purchase the franchise from Jack Brodsky and family members.
Almost immediately, Colin Priestner, who is the franchise’s managing partner, brought in Bruce Peter, who volunteered to provide the Blades with something more than the usual in the way of numbers.
“I believe we were the only team in the league using one last season,” Priestner told Taking Note via email. “I hear a few others are now, too.”
Peter, a long-time Blades fan from Outlook, Sask., is back with the Blades and, according to Priestner, will have an even bigger role this season.
“I found it to be an excellent resource last season,” Priestner explained, “and this season we hope to have regular meetings with Bruce and his new apprentice -- a grad student in economics wants to help him -- and our hockey ops to review trends and outliers.”
Just what do the Blades get from Peter?
“His work is awesome and the amount of data he provides us is amazing,” Priestner said. “He does every home game for us.
“He uses his own sheets to track stats. We get everything from everyone's head-to-head faceoff wins to Corsi to Fenwick to offensive-zone entries, defensive-zone entries and scoring chances and drawn penalties.”
To have even one team doing this is a huge step forward for the WHL. After all, this is a league that, as Cam Charron, then of Yahoo! Sports Canada, wrote a year ago, “is a league that publishes very little information via its box scores.” Charron, as of earlier in August, now works for the Toronto Maple Leafs in the NHL’s team’s three-man analytics department.
To give you some idea of the kind of information Priestner is looking for and what he and Peter are up against, here’s more from Charron a year ago:
“Analytics are tricky in the WHL. The NHL in 2007 began publishing play-by-play sheets that didn't just record when shots, hits and giveaways occurred, but also which players were on the ice for each event. That sort of information has been transformed into several different categories, the chief of which is the Corsi number, a plus-minus number that factors in every shot attempt for and against when a player was on the ice.
“Since Corsi is a team statistic, work has been done to attempt to separate a player's individual contribution to his team's Corsi number. Because of the number of games in the WHL and the limited availability of information, coming up with a Corsi number and putting it in the appropriate context is impossible.”
A lot of Peter’s analysis features zone entries and exits, and, as Charron pointed out, that is something that can be done “by a single person sitting high up in the arena,” or by someone watching video with a remote control in hand.
It should be pointed out that the Kelowna Rockets also are beginning to delve into the area of analytics. Larry Fisher of the Kelowna Daily Courier has a story on that right here.
One interesting thing about all of this is that there have long been conversations about the validity of various statistics that are kept by the home team-provided stats crews in WHL arenas. In Kelowna and Vancouver, for example, the shots on goal are often questioned by visiting teams. In Kamloops, then-head coach Guy Charron of the Blazers once had a loud one-sided conversation on that very subject with his own statistical crew.
Last week, one WHL insider told Taking Note that there is a “big question mark at our level regarding the accuracy of information. Without that, you don’t have good data.”
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The WHL is using the exhibition season to experiment with a dry scrape of the entire ice surface between the third period and overtime of those games requiring extra time.
It seems that this has been met with mixed reaction. For one thing, the break during a game in Moose Jaw last week was 12 minutes in duration. The ensuing OT period lasted 34 seconds.
As one individual with knowledge of the ice-making and -maintaining process told me Saturday: “Why an entire dry scrape? Forget the scrape and flood then.”
Prior to now, teams went straight from the third period to OT with just a brief intermission. Then, if a game needed a shootout, a dry scrape that took in the middle of the ice was done. This can be done in three or four minutes. That time now has been at least doubled. So why not do a complete flood?
“The timing of a two-Zamboni flood without on-ice promotions to avoid should be 10 minutes tops -- five minutes for the flood and five minutes drying time,” this person stated. “I guess you could shave the dry time to to 2.5 minutes, depending on conditions.”
He also pointed out that “shaving that layer also could lead to ice issues down the road depending on teams’ flood schedules.”
Interestingly, a game in Everett between the Seattle Thunderbirds and Victoria Royals went to OT on Saturday night. Andy Eide, who covers the Thunderbirds for ESPN 710, tweeted that he asked Seattle head coach Steve Konowalchuk “how he enjoyed the pre-OT ice scrape?”
Konowalchuk’s response: “No comment.”
I don't know how long the dry scrape took, but Seattle won the game, 5-4, on an Ethan Bear goal at 2:20 of OT.
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Roman Vopat, who was a guest coach in camp with the Prince George Cougars, has been added to the team’s coaching staff on a full-time basis. Vopat (Moose Jaw, Prince Albert, 1994-96) was a seventh-round pick by the St. Louis Blues in the 1994 NHL draft and went on to a 16-year pro career. . . . The 38-year-old native of Litvinov, Czech Republic, has coaching experience with the junior B Kimberley Dynamiters of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League. . . . With the Cougars, he will work alongside head coach Mark Holick and assistant coach Mike Hengen. . . . “Roman and I go way back to our playing days, and he also played with my brother Brett for many years,” Todd Harkins, the Cougars’ general manager, said in a news release. “He was a great teammate, cared about everyone in the room and played the game with passion.” . . . Harkins added: “Roman joined us at training camp as a guest coach and impressed all of us with his excitement and professionalism, and his past experience will be beneficial to all of our players who have a dream to play in the NHL. He’s well connected with teams and scouts in Europe, and that will serve us well down the road with the CHL import draft.”
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Carl Cirullo, a familiar face in Spokane hockey circles, has died. He was 87 when he lost his fight with lung cancer on Thursday. . . . Chris Derrick of the Spokane Spokesman-Review has more right here.
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Sorry, Las Vegas. Oh, and you, too, Seattle. But you just don’t have enough NHL fans to make a franchise viable. Cities like Kingston, Halifax and Sudbury might be able to support a team, though. At least, that’s the way Neil Paine of FiveThirtyEight has it figured in a piece that is right here.
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If you’re a regular here, you will know that organ donation is kind of near and dear to me, especially when it involves a kidney. Gregg Doyel, a national columnist for cesspits.com, has the story right here of a college basketball coach who now has three kidneys inside his body. . . . If you read anything today, make it this one.

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Here we have Bob Tory, the general manager of the
Tri-City Americans, and rock star Alice Cooper,
the newest member of the team's fan club. You can
figure out who's who, can't you?

The Everett Silvertips have dealt D Griffin Foulk, 17, to the Seattle Thunderbirds for a couple of bantam draft picks. Everett gets a 2014 fourth-round selection and it gets back the sixth-round pick that it gave Seattle for G Daniel Cotton, 18, in October. . . . Put it all together and Everett gets Cotton and a 2014 fourth-rounder for Foulk. . . . Cotton is 6-5-0, 2.77, .914 with Everett. . . . Foulk, from Broomfield, Colo., is pointless in 14 games with Everett this season. Everett had acquired Foulk and a third-round pick from the Edmonton Oil Kings for F Tyler Maxwell, 20, on Nov. 24, 2011. . . .
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JUST NOTES: D Mirco Müller, 17, of the Everett Silvertips is on Switzerland’s roster for the World Junior Championship. The Swiss will play in Group A, along with Sweden, Finland, Czech Republic and Latvia. The Swiss open Dec. 27 against Latvia. . . . F Sean Monahan of the OHL’s Ottawa 67’s has been suspended for 10 games for an elbow to the head of Plymouth Whalers D Colin MacDonald on Sunday. There wasn’t a penalty called on the play. Monahan is expected to be invited to the Canadian national junior team’s selection camp.
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The junior B Kimberley Dynamiters of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League have announced the general manager/head coach Roman Vopat has resigned. . . . Vopat (Moose Jaw, Prince Albert, 1994-96) apparently resigned after being asked to step back from his coaching duties, at least for a bit. . . . Jordan Foreman has stepped in as interim head coach, with help from former Kootenay Ice head coach Kris Knoblauch, who was working as an assistant coach with Vopat. . . . The Dynamiters were 14-9 this season under Vopat. They are 14-11 going into the weekend. . . .
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Former WHLer Victor Gervais (Seattle, 1986-90) has stepped down as head coach of the junior B Westshore Wolves, an expansion team in the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League. He has been replaced by assistant coach Rob Doyle. . . . "Unfortunately, he's got a young family at home and his decision threw us all for a loop," Doyle told the Victoria Times Colonist. "He just walked into the room after our game last week and said, 'This is it.' " . . . The Wolves were 12-10-0 under Gervais.
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FRIDAY’S GAMES:
In Kamloops, the Saskatoon Blades erased a 2-0 third-period deficit and beat the Blazers, 3-2. . . . F Nathan Burns broke a 2-2 tie at 18:59 of the third period with his first goal since joining the Blades from the Vancouver Giants. It was Burns’ seventh game with Saskatoon. . . . G Andrey Makarov stopped 41 shots for Saskatoon. . . . Kamloops F Brendan Ranford picked up an assist for his 300th career regular-season point. He is 10th on the Blazers’ all-time scoring list. All of his points have come with the Blazers. The last Kamloops skater to get to 300 points was Hnat Domenichelli in 1995-96. . . . Kamloops was 0-6 on the PP; the Blades were 0-5. . . . Since winning 14 in a row, the Blazers are 3-6-1. . . .

In Kennewick, Wash., Malte Strömwall scored 43 seconds into OT to give the Tri-City Americans a 5-4 victory over the Spokane Chiefs. . . . Tri-City F Mitch Messier had forced OT with a goal at 19:43 of the third period with G Eric Comrie on the bench for the extra attacker. . . . Comrie, who made 35 stops, had been winless in five career starts against the Chiefs. . . . The Americans also scored in the final minute of the second period, as D Mitch Topping’s goal left his side trailing 3-2 going to the third. . . . Strömwall also had two assists. . . . The Americans have won four in a row. . . . Spokane head coach Don Nachbaur was behind the bench as a WHL head coach for 999th time. He will get to 1,000 tonight when the teams meet in Spokane. It is only fitting that it happen against the Americans because he spent six seasons, and 423 games, as their head coach. . . . Ken Hodge (Edmonton, Portland, 1,411), Ernie McLean (Estevan, New Westminster, 1,067) and Lorne Molleken (Moose Jaw, Regina, Saskatoon, 1,017) are the only other coaches in WHL history to get to 1,000. . . .

In Edmonton, D Griffin Reinhart’s PP goal in the second period was the winner as the Oil Kings dumped the Moose Jaw Warriors, 5-1. . . . Reinhart broke a 1-1 tie. . . . F Henrik Samuelsson and F Dylan Wruck each had two assists for Edmonton. . . . The Oil Kings were 2-for-4 on the PP with their first two goals coming with the man advantage. . . .

In Portland, the Winterhawks got two third-period goals from F Nic Petan and beat the Kootenay Ice, 4-2. . . . Portland F Brendan Leipsic had an empty-net goal and an assist to run his point streak to 12 games. He also has 10 straight multi-point games. . . . The Winterhawks (19-4-1) have won 15 of their last 16 games and are on point behind the Kamloops Blazers (19-6-2) for first in the WHL’s overall standings. . . . Ice G Wyatt Hoflin stopped 45 shots. . . . The Ice led 2-1 until Petan tied it at 11:37 of the third period and then broke the tie at 17:34. . . . Portland F Ty Rattie had two assists. He’s got points in 17 of his last 18 games, with 34 points over that stretch. . . . Petan, who has 15 goals, is riding a seven-game point streak. . . .

In Calgary, F Cody Sylvester scored two goals and set up another as the Hitmen dumped the Medicine Hat Tigers, 4-1. . . . Sylvester drew an assist on the game’s first goal, then scored the next two, giving him 16. . . . F Victor Rask added a goal, his first since returning from the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers, and added an assist for Calgary. . . . The Hitmen have won four in a row and nine of 10. . . . Calgary G Chris Driedger, who has won seven in a row, stopped 24 shots. He is 14-3-2. . . .

In Brandon, G Luke Siemens kicked out 18 shots to lead the Prince Albert Raiders to a 6-0 victory over the Wheat Kings. . . . Siemens has two shutouts this season and eight in his career. . . . F Davis Vandane had a goal and two assists for the Raiders. . . . Brandon D Ryley Miller took a kneeing major and game misconduct at 18:35 of the third period. . . . F Carson Perreaux, who is from Brandon, had Prince Albert’s second goal. . . . F Richard Nejezchleb (shoulder) was in Brandon’s lineup for the first time since Oct. 13. . . . Brandon played without F Alessio Bertaggia and D Ryan Pulock, its leading scorers, both of whom have undisclosed injuries. . . . The teams play again tonight, this time in Prince Albert. . . .

In Red Deer, F Matt Bellerive scored the only goal of the circus and the Rebels beat the Lethbridge Hurricanes, 2-1. . . . The Rebels are 4-0 since owner/president/general manager Brent Sutter took over as interim head coach, replacing Jesse Wallin. . . . Lethbridge is winless in its last five games. . . . F Conner Bleackley of Red Deer forced OT with a goal at 19:11 of the second period. . . . Lethbridge G Ty Rimmer stopped 44 shots. . . .

In Victoria, the Prince George Cougars got two goals from each of Brett Roulston and Ryan Hanes and beat the Royals, 5-4. . . . F Alex Forsberg had three assists for the Cougars. . . . Victoria F Tim Traber missed his fifth straight game with an undisclosed injury. . . . This was the first of four straight meetings between these teams. They’ll play in Victoria again tonight and then twice in Prince George next weekend. . . . The Cougars continue to be without F Troy Bourke. . . .

In Kelowna, F J.T. Barnett came back from a knee injury to score two goals as the Rockets beat the Regina Pats, 5-1. . . . Barnett, 20, came over from the Everett Silvertips during training camp but suffered a knee injury on the first shift of his first game, on Sept 21, and hadn’t played since then. . . . The Rockets had lost their last two games, both in Kennewick, Wash., to the Tri-City Americans. . . . F Myles Bell, a defenceman when he played for the Pats, had three assists. . . . Kelowna has won seven in a row. . . . The Pats went 2-1-2 on their B.C. Division swing, meaning they lost three times in five games but picked up six points.
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CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
F Victor Rask, Calgary
D Brady Gaudet, Red Deer

CHECKING-T0-THE-HEAD COUNT:
D Joel Edmundson, Edmonton
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From Hockey Business (@HockeyBusiness): “NHL cancelled games thru Dec 14 & All-Star Wknd Jan. 26-27 in Columbus...in other news, fans in Columbus said, "We had the All-Star Game?"
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From Thom Beuning (@ThomBeuning), the radio voice of the Seattle Thunderbirds: “First 9 yrs; ZERO trades between Tbirds & 'Tips. Last 2 months, 2 trades.”


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THE MacBETH REPORT:
D Tomas Mojzis (Moose Jaw, Seattle, 2000-03) was recalled from his loan assignment to Sparta Prague (Czech Republic, Extraliga) by Lev Prague (Czech Republic, KHL). He had one goal and two assists in nine games while on assignment to Sparta. This season with Lev, Mojzis is pointless in five games. . . .
F Simon Ferguson (Lethbridge, Kelowna, 1999-2004) signed a contract for the rest of the season with the Sheffield Steelers (England, UK Elite). He had three assists in ten games with Olimpija Ljubljana (Slovenia, Austria Erste Bank Liga) earlier this season. Last season, Ferguson had 18 goals and 33 assists in 40 games with Esbjerg (Denmark, AL-Bank Liga). . . .
F Jan Fadrny (Brandon, Kelowna, 1998-2001) was granted his release for personal reasons by Martin (Slovakia, Extraliga). He had four goals and seven assists in 22 games for Martin this season.
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Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix has written an excellent piece on Saskatoon Blades F Jessey Astles and the aftermath of the wrist surgery that may have ended his season.
Astles, you may recall, was cut by one of his own skates in the aftermath of a line brawl with the visiting Regina Pats on Nov. 9.
It seems that two players suffered skate cuts during that same bunch of scraps.
Regina D Colton Jobke, 20, was cut across the top of one hand. He suffered some severe tendon damage and underwent surgery. The Pats have no idea when he might return to action.
It was because of that injury that the Pats signed D Alex Theriau, 20. With Jobke out indefinitely, Regina had room for a third 20-year-old. Then, during one of their first two games in B.C. on the weekend, they thought they had lost Theriau with a broken collarbone, but it turned out only to be bruised.
Interestingly, the Pats have lost two other players to skate cuts this season. F Chandler Stephenson and F Patrick D’Amico both are out.
D‘Amico was stepped on during practice on Sept. 19 and is out week-to-week.
Stephenson suffered a cut foot during a game against the visiting Tri-City Americans on Oct. 19 and isn’t expected back until perhaps January.
All of these skate cuts — and three of them having happened to Regina players — brings back memories of Josh Holden. A highly skilled centre with the Pats (1994-98), Holden suffered an awful cut to a wrist during Game 2 of a first-round playoff series with the Moose Jaw Warriors. Holden suffered severe tendon damage and underwent immediate surgery. That turned out to be the Holden’s last game in the WHL, as he turned pro the following season. I think it’s fair to say that Holden was never the same player.
Having covered that game, I cringe every time a player loses a glove during game, even today. On Saturday night, Kamloops D Marek Hrbas lost a glove and looked as though he was going to stay on the ice, and it was all I could do to keep from standing up in the press box and yelling at him to get off the ice.
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The Regina Pats are going to honour former star F Jordan Eberle by retiring his number on Dec. 5. The ceremony had been scheduled for earlier this season but had to be postponed because Eberle ended up with the AHL’s Oklahoma City Barons due to the NHL lockout. . . . The Red Deer Rebels will provide the opposition in Regina on Dec. 5 and Eberle is scheduled to be in attendance.
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It seems that Roman Vopat (Moose Jaw, Prince Albert, 1994-96) is out as general manager and head coach of the junior B Kimberley Dynamiters of the Kootenay International Junior League. It seems the organization is setting up a committee to study the operation. . . . Jordan Foreman, who has done this before, is the interim head coach, with help from assistant coach Kris Knoblauch, the former Kootenay Ice head coach. . . . All of this is interesting because the Dynamiters were 14-9 at the time of the move. Last season, under Vopat, they got to Game 7 of their division final. . . .
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The Prince Albert Raiders have brought in G Nick McBride from the major midget Vancouver-North East Chiefs. . . . The Raiders are in Moose Jaw tonight and likely will have McBride, 15, on the bench backing up starter Luke Siemens. McBride was a second-round selection in the WHL’s 2012 bantam draft. . . . Andy Desautels, the Raiders’ No. 2 goaltender, has a broken finger. . . . The Raiders used G Rylan Parenteau of the midget AAA Saskatoon Contacts as the backup for a couple of weekend games. . . . Prince Albert may have F Reid Gardiner, 16, back tonight after suffering an undisclosed injury against the visiting Tri-City Americans on Oct. 16. . . . The Warriors, by the way, haven’t played in eight days. Yes, there are some bizarre things about this season’s schedule. . . . Moose Jaw F Miles Warkentine, who has been out since Oct. 13 with a suspected concussion, could return to the lineup tonight.
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D Ryan Murray of the Everett Silvertips has a tear in the labrum in one shoulder. Murray, who was injured Friday in Victoria, had an MRI in Everett. He was selected second overall by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the NHL’s 2012 draft. He will be in Columbus early next week where the Blue Jackets’ medical staff will evaluate him. A decision then will be made regarding surgery. Chances are Murray will need surgery, meaning he likely will be gone for as long as five months. . . . According to Nick Patterson of the Everett Herald: “Murray suffered a dislocated shoulder during the second period of Everett's 5-0 loss at Victoria last Friday. Murray was defending Victoria's Logan Nelson on a one-on-one when the players collided. Murray felt the shoulder give on the contact, then the problem was compounded when Murray landed awkwardly on the shoulder on the ice.” . . . The injury means Murray won’t play for Canada at the World Junior Championship.
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F Cain Franson, who hasn’t played since suffering a concussion on Oct. 24, may be back in the Vancouver Giants’ lineup tonight as they play the Winterhawks in Portland. . . . Franson has missed 11 games. . . . D Tyler Yaworski of the Brandon Wheat KIngs served a three-game suspension for the hit that took out Franson. . . . Vancouver F Trevor Cheek takes a six-game goal-scoring streak into tonight’s game. He is from Vancouver, Wash., so should have some supporters in the stands in Portland. . . . Elliott Pap of the Vancouver Sun also reports that Giants G Liam Liston is almost ready to return to action. He suffered an ankle injury on Nov. 1 and hopes to practise Friday.
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The Kelowna Rockets hope to have F J.T. Barnett (knee) and F Carter Rigby (shoulder) back this weekend. . . . Barnett has been out for 21 games, while Rigby has watched 14. . . . The Rockets, riding a six-game winning streak on home ice, are at home to the Regina Pats on Friday and the Saskatoon Blades on Saturday.
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G Carey Price is back in the WHL. Yes, he’s 25, but that hasn’t kept him off the ice with his old club, the Tri-City Americans. . . . Annie Fowler of the Tri-City Herald has that story right here.
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The Moose Jaw Warriors announced Tuesday that D Reid Jackson, 19, has been shut down for the season “due to concussion and post-concussion symptoms.” . . . The Warriors acquired Jackson from the Prince George Cougars in May. He had two assists and 12 penalty minutes in 12 games. He also has played with the Lethbridge Hurricanes. . . . Jackson hasn’t played since an Oct. 24 game against the visiting Hurricanes.
The WHL, of course, guards its injury information the way bodyguards protect President Obama. . . . But in attempting to track the number of concussions suffered this season it would appear that number is higher than 24.
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TUESDAY’S GAMES:
In Edmonton, F Stephane Legault scored two PP goals as the Oil Kings scored a 2-1 victory over the Swift Current Broncos. . . . Legault scored his first two goals this season in his first game back after a 15-game absence due to a foot injury. . . . Legault’s first goal apparently deflected in off the foot that he had injured. . . . Edmonton Oilers assistant coach Kelly Buchberger, who is good friends with Swift Current GM/head coach Mark Lamb, took part in the Broncos’ morning skate. . . . F Jake DeBrusk, who signed with the Broncos on Monday, also was on the ice. He plays for the Edmonton-South Side Athletic Club’s midget club. . . . The Oil Kings also got F Mitch Moroz back after a three-game injury-related absence. . . .

In Lethbridge, Calgary G Chris Driedger stopped 42 shots as the Hitmen beat the Hurricanes, 3-2. . . . F Carson Samoridny gave Calgary a 3-2 lead at 1:47 of the third period and the Hitmen went on to victory. . . . Lethbridge was 1-for-8 on the PP; the Hitmen were 0-for-3. . . .

In Medicine Hat, G Patrik Bartosak turned aside 43 shots to lead the Red Deer Rebels to a 4-0 victory over the Tigers. . . . Bartosak, a Czech who suffered a season-ending shoulder injury after getting into 25 games last season, has one shutout this season and two in his career. He is11-7-1, 2.56, .930 this season. . . . F Wyatt Johnston’s third goal this season, a shorthanded score at 3:36 of the first period, stood up as the winner. . . . Medicine Hat lost F Curtis Valk with a boarding major and game misconduct at 15:59 of the third period. . . . Red Deer F Rhyse Dieno had one assist. He has four points and is plus-5 in three games since joining the Rebels last week from the SJHL’s La Ronge Timber Wolves. . . . Brent Sutter, the Rebels’ owner/president/GM/interim head coach, is 3-0 since going back behind the bench. . . . The Tigers, who have lost five straight games, remain without F Hunter Shinkaruk, who suffered a skate cut of some sort during a game in Portland on Saturday. . .

In Prince George, F Carson Bolduc scored in the fourth round of the circus to give the Cougars a 4-3 victory over the Regina Pats. . . . The Cougars had lost seven games in a row. . . . The Pats got two first-period goals 41 seconds apart from F Lane Scheidl to go up 2-0. . . . Prince George F Brad Morrison, 15, got his first WHL goal on the PP at 9:49 of the second. Morrison, who was outstanding in his WHL debut on Saturday in Kamloops, was the game’s first star. . . . Bolduc’s first WHL goal, at 15:28 of the second, got the Cougars to within one and F Jarrett Fontaine, with his second goal, tied it at 19:33 of the second. . . . Regina G Matt Hewitt stopped 37 shots, while Prince George’s Mac Engel made 13 saves. . . . Prince George F Alex Forsberg was unsuccessful on a second-period penalty shot. . . . Attendance was 1,454. . . . Regina is 1-0-2 on its B.C. swing that continues tonight in Kamloops. . . . The Pats have points in each of their last four games. . . . The Cougars will play their next four games against the Victoria Royals. They play Friday and Saturday in Victoria and the following Friday and Saturday in Prince George. . . . Seriously. Four straight. . . .

In Victoria, F Jamie Crooks scored twice as the Royals dropped the Saskatoon Blades, 5-2. . . . Crooks, a 20-year-old from Vermilion, Alta., began his WHL career with the Blades, playing eight games in 2009-09 and six in 2009-10 before being dealt to the Chilliwack Bruins (remember them?). . . . The Bruins, of course, morphed into the Royals prior to last season. . . . Saskatoon lost F Shane McColgan in the second period after a collision with Victoria F Luke Harrison. McColgan fell and struck his head. He played one PP shift after that, left the game and didn’t return.
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CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
F Pavlo Padakin, Calgary
D Tyler Stahl, Victoria (double minor)

CHECKING-TO-THE-HEAD COUNT:
None
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From Tri-City D Justin Hamonic (@Hammertime6): “If I can move as well as Alice Cooper when I’m 64 I’ll be a happy man. What a show!!”
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From Medicine Hat D Derek Ryckman (@rycks25): “Wishing @reidjackson29 a healthy and quick recovery #niceguybigbush”

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