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Coun. Hong: "I want to apologize to the community..." over heated interactions during events centre process. "This was rushed." #nanaimo— Dominic Abassi (@domabassi) March 14, 2017
Coun. Thorpe: "we will take this as a lesson," on a message sent by voters of council's poor behaviour.— Dominic Abassi (@domabassi) March 14, 2017
"It's a shame" the WHL rushed us
More than 48 hours after the taxpayers of Nanaimo resoundingly defeated a referendum that would have led to the relocation of the WHL’s Kootenay Ice to the Vancouver Island city, the WHL has yet to comment.
Presumably, the high foreheads are huddled together and studying options after that referendum — the City wanted the OK to borrow $80 million for an events centre that would house a WHL team — was soundly rejected. If you missed it, 80 per cent of the 23,885 people who voted said NO.
So . . . if places like Winnipeg, Wenatchee, Wash., Penticton and Abbotsford aren’t options, what’s left?
You may recall that it was eight months ago when Alberta’s Frog Lake First Nation announced that it wants to build a complex just west of Lloydminster, Alta., that would include an arena. It also revealed that it wanted a WHL franchise for that arena.
It seems that those plans continue to move forward but there isn’t yet a shovel in the ground. In fact, mylloydminsternow.com reports right here that it all is moving through the regulatory process with Vermilion River County and the City of Lloydminster.
The plans for the complex also include a casino and that awaits direction from Alberta Gaming and Liquor, which presently has in place a moratorium on any new casinos. With the proposed site just off Highway 16 (the Yellowhead Highway), there also is traffic-impact study in progress.
In other words, an arena there is a long ways away.
The difference between that site and Nanaimo is that the Vancouver Island community has a facility — the 2,400-seat Frank Crane Arena — that would have housed the WHL team until the new arena was ready. In Lloydminster, the Centennial Civic Centre, with 1,700 seats, likely is seen as being too small, even on a temporary basis. It is home to the AJHL’s Lloydminster Bobcats.
It’s interesting that the WHL went so far as to sign a memorandum of understanding with Nanaimo that guaranteed a team and a 20-year lease had the referendum passed and a new arena been built.
Bruce Simms, the project manager for Frog Lake, told mylloydminsternow.com:
“What we’re hearing is ‘if you build a building, and you talk to us to apply, we’ll be very interested.’
“They’re not really going to talk to you seriously until you’ve taken concrete steps to build a facility. But the fact that we are talking to them, and hearing what they have to say about arena size and equipment, etc., they understand we’re serious.”
The WHL has to hope they’re serious, because that flat, undeveloped piece of land just west of Lloydminster, Alta., may be their only hope right now.
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Coun. Bestwick says unless there is a different model, events centre discussion likely won't come up again for 10+ years in #Nanaimo— Dominic Abassi (@domabassi) March 14, 2017
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Just because Wenatchee isn’t an option for the WHL at the moment, doesn’t mean it won’t re-enter the picture at a later date.
Bliss Littler, the BCHL’s franchise’s general manager and head coach, told Taking Note on Monday evening: “We’re not there as an organization yet. We should catch up soon.”
The Wild plays out of the 4,300-seat Toyota Town Center.
The Wild had the BCHL’s best record (45-9-4) during the regular season and eliminated the Prince George Spruce Kings from a first-round series on Sunday. The Wild is preparing to face the Chilliwack Chiefs in the second round.
According to announced attendances, the Wild drew 73,837 fans to 29 home regular-season games this season, an average of 2,546 per game.
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F Mathew Barzal of the Seattle Thunderbirds has been isolated while the team waits to see if he does have mumps.
Russ Farwell, the WHL team’s general manager, said Monday morning that “we are being careful but will not know for three days. We are treating it as mumps until we learn otherwise.”
Barzal has undergone tests and it is those results which the team awaits.
If it turns out that Barzal has mumps, the Thunderbirds will become the fourth WHL team to have been stricken, along with the Brandon Wheat Kings, Medicine Hat Tigers and Swift Current Broncos.
The Victoria Royals are awaiting tests on head coach Dave Lowry and defencemen Ralph Jarratt and Mitchell Prowse, who have been isolated since late last week after showing symptoms.
There is an outbreak of mumps in the state of Washington and it has spread to the U of Washington, where at least a dozen students have been diagnosed.
According to KING 5, a Seattle TV station, the Washington State Health department has reported 563 cases of mumps, with more than 200 each in King and Spokane counties. That is quite an increase from 2016 when 154 confirmed and probable cases were reported statewide.
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The Swift Current Broncos have signed F Ethan Regnier, 16, who is a native of Prince Albert. He played this season with the midget AAA Swift Current Legionnaires, recording 18 goals and 36 assists in 44 games. Last season, he had 10 goals and eight assists in 41 games with the Legionnaires. . . . He was an 11th-round selection in the WHL’s 2015 bantam draft. . . . Regnier was on the bus with the Broncos when it left Monday for Brandon and a game tonight (Tuesday) with the Wheat Kings.
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F Tate Popple, who turned 17 on March 3, has joined the Moose Jaw Warriors for the remainder of this season. Popple, from Brandon, played the past two seasons with the midget AAA Wheat Kings. He had 30 points, including 12 goals, in 44 games last season. This season, he put up 22 goals and 32 assists in 41 games. . . . He is the son of Lavern Popple, who played 18 games with the WHL’s Wheat Kings (1977-80).
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The Kootenay Ice has shut down D Austin Wellsby and D Sam Huston for the remainder of the season, both with undisclosed injuries. . . . Wellsby, 19, had six goals and 12 assists in 60 games in what was his second full season with the Ice. From Chilliwack, B.C., he was a fourth-round pick in the WHL’s 2012 bantam draft. . . . Huston, 17, had a goal and four assists in 45 in his freshman season. From Brandon, he was a ninth-round selection in the 2014 bantam draft.
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The Everett Silvertips have added F Dawson Butt to their roster. He has been playing for the Everett Jr. Silvertips 16UAAA club (NAPHL), who are coached by former WHL/NHL F Turner Stevenson. A native of Buckley, Wash., Butt was a sixth-round selection in the WHL’s 2015 bantam draft. He has played two games with the Silvertips this season. . . . In 22 regular-season games with the Jr. Silvertips, Butt had 18 goals and 11 assists. . . . He is the son of Jamie Butt, who played four WHL seasons (1992-96) with the Tacoma/Kelowna Rockets.
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The Kamloops Blazers have added three 16-year-olds — D Devan Harrison, G Max Palaga and F Brodi Stuart — to their roster for the remainder of this season. . . . Harrison, a second-round pick in the 2015 WHL bantam draft, had five goals and 24 assists in 44 games with the midget AAA Moose Jaw Generals. . . . Palaga, who is from Kamloops, played this season with the Thompson Blazers of the B.C. Major Midget Hockey League. . . . Stuart had 44 points, including 18 goals, in 34 games with the Fraser Valley Thunderbirds of the B.C. Major Midget Hockey League.
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Dave Burkholder won’t be back for a 17th season as head coach of the Niagara U Purple Eagles. The move comes after a 5-31-3 season. That included three regular-season victories and two more in a first-round upset of RIT in an Atlantic Hockey quarterfinal series. Canisius eliminated Niagara from playoffs last weekend. . . . The school is saying the decision for change was “mutual.” . . . In a news release, athletic director Simon Gray said: "Both Dave and the university have decided that a change in leadership is best for the program.” . . . Burkholder’s record at Niagara was 247-279-68.
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If the playoffs began today . . .
Eastern Conference
Regina vs. Calgary
Medicine Hat vs. Brandon
Moose Jaw vs. Swift Current
Lethbridge vs. Red Deer
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Western Conference
Seattle vs. Tri-City
Prince George vs. Victoria
Kelowna vs. Kamloops
Everett vs. Portland
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MONDAY’S GAMES:
No Games Scheduled.
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TUESDAY’S GAMES (all times local):
Swift Current at Brandon, 7 p.m.
Edmonton vs. Kootenay, at Cranbrook, B.C., 7 p.m.
Red Deer at Medicine Hat, 7 p.m.
Prince Albert at Moose Jaw, 7 p.m.
Saskatoon at Regina, 7 p.m.
Portland vs. Tri-City, at Kennewick, Wash., 7:05 p.m.
Victoria vs. Vancouver, at Langley, B.C., 7 p.m.
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State House Committee on Labor in the state capital of Olympia on Tuesday.
In Swift Current, G Rylan Parenteau stopped 35 shots to lead the Prince Albert Raiders to a 2-1 victory over the Broncos. . . . Parenteau stopped 29 of 30 shots over the last two periods. . . . He lost his shutout bid when F Colby Cave scored his 22nd goal with 0.4 of a second left on the clock. . . . F Sean Montgomery scored his fourth goal of the season at 10:48 of the second period and D Mackenze Stewart got his third at 7:33 of the third. . . . The Raiders (22-31-2) had lost four straight (0-3-1). They are nine points out of a playoff spot with 17 games remaining. . . . The Broncos (25-24-5), who are third in the East Division, had won their previous two games. . . . 
In Saskatoon, the Spokane Chiefs scored three times in the first 3:08 of the game and went on to a 6-3 victory over the Chiefs. . . . F Adam Helewka scored his 29th goal just 22 seconds into the game to get the visitors started. He later added an assist. . . . F Jacob Cardiff added his third at 1:07 and F Jackson Playfair got his ninth at 3:08. . . . F Liam Stewart had two goals for Spokane, giving him 19, while F Kailer Yamamoto ended a 10-game goalless drought with his 17th goal and two assists. . . . F Wyatt Sloboshan had two assists for the Blades, while D Brycen Martin got his sixth goal and also had an assist. . . . The Chiefs (26-23-4) are 2-1-0 on a six-game swing through the East Division that continues tonight in Prince Albert. Spokane holds down the Western Conference’s first wild-card spot. . . . The Blades (15-35-3) have lost four in a row. . . . Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix has a game story 
In Medicine Hat, the Tigers scored the only two goals of a shootout and beat the Regina Pats, 5-4. . . . Tigers F Markus Eisenschmid forced OT when he scored his second goal of the game and 17th of the season with 15.6 seconds left in the third period. . . . F Dryden Hunt and F Cole Sanford scored the shootout goals. . . . F Austin Wagner’s 18th goal, at 1:01 of the third period, gave the Pats a 3-1 lead. . . . The Tigers tied it on goals from Eisenschmid, at 6:53, and D Kyle Burroughs, on a PP, at 8:32. Burroughs has six goals. . . . Regina F Braden Christoffer gave his side the lead with his 17th goal at 9:52. . . . Hunt had two assists. . . . F Pavel Padakin scored twice for the Pats, giving him 19. . . . Regina G Daniel Wapple stopped 45 shots through OT, 18 more than Medicine Hat’s Marek Langhamer. . . . The Tigers (36-15-3) had lost four in a row (0-3-1). They now lead the Central Division by eight points over the Calgary Hitmen, who have won eight straight. . . . The Pats (30-17-7), who are a comfortable second in the East Division, have points in six straight (4-0-2). . . .
In Kent, Wash., D Jerret Smith’s PP goal at 16:26 of the third period gave the Seattle Thunderbirds a 2-1 victory over the Kelowna Rockets. . . . Smith has six goals this season. . . . F Nick Merkley gave the Rockets a 1-0 lead with his 17th goal at 9:14 of the second period. . . . F Mathew Barzal pulled Seattle even with his 10th goal at 10:22 of the third. . . . Barzal also drew an assist on the winner. . . . Seattle G Taran Kozun stopped 32 shots, seven more than Kelowna’s Michael Herringer, who suffered his first loss in six decisions. . . . According to the Thunderbirds, there were 42 NHL scouts at the game. . . . The Thunderbirds were 1-for-4 on the PP; the Rockets were 0-for-6. . . . Kelowna played its second game without F Tyson Baillie, who took a shot to the head in Kamloops on Saturday. The Rockets also are missing G Jackson Whistle (appendectomy). . . . Kelowna F Tomas Soustal didn’t play. He drew a ‘tbd’ suspension for a charging major and game misconduct he incurred on Monday against Prince George. . . . Seattle improved to 28-20-6 and closed to within four points of second-place Portland in the U. S. Division. Seattle holds a game in hand. . . . The Rockets (42-9-4) had points in each of their previous nine games (8-0-1).
That’s it. Four words. Simple.
At Swift Current, G Landon Bow stopped 25 shots to help the Broncos to a 5-0 blanking of the Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . Bow has a WHL-leading five shutouts in 22 appearances this season. . . . Broncos F Coda Gordon had a goal, his 12th, and an assist as he ran his point streak to 15 games, best in the WHL this season. He also finished plus-4. . . . F Calvin Leth’s first goal of the season, and fourth in 73 career games, stood up as the winner. . . . Brandon was 0-for-5 on the PP; the Broncos were 0-for-2. . . . The Broncos (13-8-4) have points in five straight (3-0-2) and closed to within five points of the East Division-leading Wheat Kings (17-5-1). . . . Brandon continues to play without D Kale Clague, who returned from the U-17 World Hockey Challenge with an undisclosed injury. . . . The Broncos meet the Raiders in Prince Albert on Friday, while the Wheat Kings return home to face the Edmonton Oil Kings. . . . 
At Moose Jaw, F Brett Pollock scored the game’s last two goals to give the Edmonton Oil Kings a 3-2 victory in OT over the Warriors. . . . Pollock tied the game at 18:21 of the third period and won it at 4:14 of OT. He’s got nine goals this season. . . . F Brayden Point scored both Moose Jaw goals, his 13th of the season, on the PP, giving it a 2-1 lead at 4:23 of the third. . . . Edmonton G Tristan Jarry stopped 30 shots, five fewer than Moose Jaw’s Justin Paulic. . . . The Oil Kings (12-8-3) have points in four straight (3-0-1) as they head for Brandon and a weekend doubleheader. . . . The Warriors (9-10-3), who meet the Hitmen in Calgary on Friday, had won their previous two games. . . . 
At Kamloops, the Blazers ended a seven-game losing skid with a 4-1 victory over the Portland Winterhawks. . . . The Blazers (10-10-4), who were 0-4-3 on that slide, got 41 saves from G Connor Ingram. . . . Kamloops F Cole Ully scored his 10th goal and added an assist, while F Colin Shirley had two assists. . . . The Blazers were missing F Matthew Campese, who was acquired Tuesday from the Victoria Royals, and veteran D Brady Gaudet. According to Jon Keen, the radio voice of the Blazers, Gaudet has a shoulder injury and will be out indefinitely. . . . The Winterhawks (9-12-3) had been 2-0-1 in their previous three games. . . . Trailing 2-0 early in the second period, the Winterhawks had two 3-on-1 breaks and a 2-on-1 and came up empty each time. . . . The Winterhawks will meet the Rockets in Kelowna on Friday and Saturday, while the Blazers entertain the Prince George Cougars on Friday. . . . 
At Prince George, F Chase Witala and F Cal Babych each scored twice as the Cougars dumped the Vancouver Giants, 6-1. . . . Vancouver had won 6-4 on Tuesday night. . . . Babych broke a 1-1 tie at 16:03 of the first period and made it 3-1 at 14:17 of the second. He’s got three goals. He went into the game with a goal and an assist in 12 games. . . . Witala has 13 goals this season. . . . F Haydn Hopkins helped the Cougars’ cause with three assists. . . . F Zach Pochiro, who was returned to the Cougars by the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday, had one assist. With him in the lineup, the Cougars scratched G Jared Rathjen to stay at the mandate three 20-year-olds. The other two are F Jari Erricson and F Chance Braid. The latter had a goal, his sixth, and an assist. . . . The Cougars (12-12-0), who visit Kamloops on Friday, had lost their previous four games. . . . The Giants slipped to 9-13-0. They are at home to the Regina Pats on Friday. The Pats arrived in Vancouver on Wednesday, while the Giants were playing in Prince George. . . .
At Victoria, D Jesse Lees scored twice and added an assist to lead the Kelowna Rockets to a 5-3 victory over the Royals. . . . The Rockets led 3-0 when Lees scored his second goal, and fifth of the season, at 10:14 of the first period. . . . D Joe Hicketts, who scored his sixth goal and added two assists, cut the Royals’ deficit to 4-3 at 18:17 of the third period, but Kelowna F Nick Merkley scored an empty-netter at 19:44. . . . Rockets F Rourke Chartier scored his WHL-leading 24th goal. . . . Kelowna G Michael Herringer, whose rights belong to the Royals when this season began, stopped 30 shots. . . . The Royals (12-11-2) had won their previous two games. . . . The Rockets (21-1-2) are 11-0-2 over their last 13 outings. . . . The game ended with something of a melee that could result in fines and/or suspensions. As well, Victoria F Brandon Magee picked up a spearing major and game misconduct. Magee missed the start of this season as he waited out a 12-game suspension left over from a playoff series with the Portland Winterhawks last spring. . . . The Royals are at home to the Everett Silvertips on Friday. . . . The Rockets, who went 4-0-1 on a five-game road trip, will meet visiting Portland on Friday and Saturday nights.
1. The WHL took a hit on Wednesday as the BCHL’s Penticton Vees announced that they have received commitments from F Tyson Jost and D Dante Fabbro, both of whom were first-round selections in the 2013 bantam draft.
5. It looks like only three first-round selections from that 2013 bantam draft haven’t committed to a WHL team. Jost and Fabbro, of course, have shunned the Everett Silvertips and Seattle Thunderbirds, at least for now, in favour of the BCHL’s Penticton Vees. . . . The other player who hasn’t committed to the WHL is F Jared Legien, who was selected ninth overall by the Kootenay Ice. From White City, Sask., he played last season with the midget AAA Moose Jaw Generals, earning 30 points, 13 of the goals, in 40 games. Legien has practised with the Ice, and is expected to sign before training camp starts in late August. "He will be close to making our team in the fall," Ice GM Jeff Chynoweth told me yesterday. Chynoweth also pointed out that the Ice "doesn't sign every drafted player . . . you earn your scholarship at camp."
6. The Tri-City Americans have added Nathan MacMaster to their scouting staff. From Calgary, MacMaster will be scouting southern Alberta, including Calgary, for the Americans. MacMaster, 21, played in the WHL with Moose Jaw, Calgary and the Americans. He finished up his career with the Americans in 2011-12. . . . MacMaster’s younger brother, Tanner, was a first-round selection, 19th overall, by the Spokane Chiefs in the WHL’s 2011 bantam draft. MacMaster has played the last two seasons with the AJHL’s Camrose Kodiaks, and has committed to play next season at Quinnipiac U.
7. According to a Wednesday afternoon tweet from Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon Star-Phoenix, the Saskatoon Blades “are down to 3 candidates for GM/coaching vacancies, according to managing partner Colin Priestner. All 3 are outside of WHL.” . . . The Blades are holding their spring prospects camp this weekend, with former players Tim Cheveldae, Jerome Engele and Ryan Keller running things. Cheveldae and Engele also are former Blades assistant coaches.
8. The Everett Silvertips are looking for an assistant coach, having lost Mark LeRose, who has signed with the USHL’s Sioux City Musketeers as their general manager. Jay Varady, a former Everett associate coach, is Sioux City’s head coach. . . . Varady and LeRose spent two seasons (2007-09) together with the Silvertips. . . . 
9. Another Wednesday tweet from Vancouver radio station News1130 Sports (@News1130Sports): “Tim Hunter gets the 1st interview Friday for the #WHLGiants coaching vacancy.” . . . The Giants are looking for a replacement for Don Hay, who left for the Kamloops Blazers after 10 seasons in Vancouver. . . . Hunter is a former NHL player who has NHL assistant-coaching experience with the Washington Capitals, San Jose Sharks and Toronto Maple Leafs.
10. There was another headshot in the NHL on Tuesday night, with F John Moore of the New York Rangers drilling an unsuspecting F Dale Weise of the Montreal Canadiens. Moore later was hit with a two-game suspension. . . . The problem, as James Mirtle of The Globe and Mail writes, is that “historically, hitting in hockey has been about separating an opponent from the puck so that a player could get said puck. But somewhere along the way, it became more than that, and players who no longer had the puck were – briefly anyway – fair game.”
The ECHL’s Reading Royals have extended Larry Courville’s contract through 2016-17. Courville, 39, is the club’s director of hockey operations and head coach. He took over as head coach on Jan. 6, 2009, and is the winningest coach in franchise history.
There were 5,063 fans in the MTS Centre in Winnipeg on Monday as the host Brandon Wheat Kings beat the Medicine Hat Tigers 6-3 to take a 2-1 lead in that first-round series. According to the Wheat Kings, that “was the largest turnout for a Wheat Kings game at the MTS Centre.” The Wheat Kings have played 12 games there. . . . The Wheat Kings also report that “it also was the biggest crowd in Winnipeg since 7,042 turned out for Game 6 of the 2004 Eastern Conference quarterfinal against Prince Albert at the Winnipeg Arena.” . . . After seven seasons, the SJHL’s Melfort Mustangs have decided not to renew the contract of head coach Darrell Mann. The Mustangs were 32-18-8 this season. Their season ended in a conference final when they were beaten by the La Ronge Ice Wolves. . . . The Everett Silverips will be without concussed forwards Clayton Cumiskey and Parker Stanfield tonight when they play host to Game 3 of their first-round series with the Portland Winterhawks. The Silvertips also are expected to continue to be without G Kent Simpson (ankle). . . . The WHL has hit Chilliwack Bruins F T.C. Cratsenberg with a two-game suspension for a charging major and game misconduct he incurred in Game 2 of a series with the Spokane Chiefs on Saturday. . . . Medicine Hat Tigers F Hunter Shinkaruk won’t play Thursday in Game 4 against the Brandon Wheat Kings in Winnipeg. He is on one of those tbd suspensions. This one was issued under supplemental discipline for a hit on Brandon F Brenden Walker in Game 3 on Monday night.
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