Blades, Pats cut a deal . . . NHL facing another concussion-related lawsuit

THE DEAL: The Saskatoon Blades acquired D Isaac Schacher, 19, from the Regina Pats for an eighth-round pick in the 2015 bantam draft.
THE SKINNY: The Pats, who had nine defencemen on their roster, get a draft pick for an older player who was in tough to stick. . . . The Blades continue to shape a roster that didn’t make the playoffs last sesaon.
THE ANALYSIS: Saskatoon hopes that the 6-foot-5, 215-pound Schacher will bring some physical play to their back end. He played 35 games with the Victoria Royals and 25 with Regina last season, putting up nine points, eight of them assists. He also was plus-22. . . . In junior B, playing with his hometown Kimberley, B.C., Dynamiters, he had 63 points in 95 games over two seasons, so there might be more offence there than he has shown. . . . Schacher now is one of 10 defencemen on Saskatoon’s roster.

---


Last week, the WHL announced that Yves Lacasse, a retired RCMP superintendent, was being brought on board as its voluntary security officer.
On Wednesday, in a Kamloops courtroom, Lacasse was described as a “bully” who headed up an RCMP detachment that was “dysfunctional in the extreme.”
This was all part of testimony that was heard during a trial B.C. Supreme Court in which RCMP Cpl. Rick Brown is facing a charge of breach of trust by a public officer. It involves his role in an incident that involved two intoxicated women taking part in explicit sex acts while jailed.
Retired Staff Sgt. Gary Kerr testified that Lacasse was “was extremely, extremely difficult to work for. He was an extreme bully.”
Tim Petruk of Kamloops This Week was in the courtroom and his story is right here.
When the WHL announced Lacasse’s appointment, Marty Hastings of Kamloops This Week wrote a story in which Lacasse spoke about what he hoped and planned on doing in the new position. That story is right here.
---
The Prince George Cougars got down to two goaltenders by releasing G Matt Kustra, 17, who was an eighth-round pick in the 2012 bantam draft. He is expected to join the SJHL’s Yorkton Terriers. . . . The Cougars, who open against the Winterhawks in Portland on Saturday, are carrying 27 players, including goaltenders Ty Edmonds, 18, and Tavin Grant, 16. . . . Prince George has 10 defencemen on its roster, including veteran Raymond Grewal, 19, who is injured, and 15 forwards, including the injured David Soltes.
---
Ma’ake Kemoeatu played for the Baltimore Ravens. His brother, Chris, played for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Today, neither one is playing football, nor will they. . . . Chris needed a kidney transplant. Ma’ake, the oldest of seven children, was quick to offer up a kidney. . . . The transplant took place on Aug. 27. . . . The complete story, and it’s an interesting one, is right here.
---

THE CONCUSSION REPORT:

"A new lawsuit filed against the National Hockey League by two former players alleges that three in 10 retired players have, or will have, brain damage from head injuries or concussions," writes Rick Westhead, TSN's senior correspondent. "The startling allegation is being made in a statement of claim filed by Sasha Pokulok, who was selected by the Washington Capitals with the 14th overall pick in the 2005 NHL draft,  and Simon Danis-Pepin, a 2006 second-round pick of the Chicago Blackhawks."
There now have been at least six concussion-related lawsuits filed against the NHL.
Westhead's complete story is right here.
---
A story at sciencedaily.com begins: “An experimental positron emission tomography (PET) tracer is effective in diagnosing concussion-related brain disease while a person is still alive, according to a case study conducted at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and at Molecular Neuroimaging (MNI) LLC in New Haven, and published September 16 in the journal Translational Psychiatry.”
What this means is that the medical community is that much closer to being able to diagnose chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in a living person.
The Science Daily story is right here.
---
David Ash, the starting quarterback for the Texas Longhorns, has given up football due to multiple concussions. He suffered his third concussion in the last year in the Longhorns’ season-opener against North Texas. Ash was held out of Texas’s last two games, but now has retired. . . . Ash is the second NCAA starting QB, joining Uconn’s Casey Cochran, to quit in the last few days because of concussion problems.
---




The Prince Albert Raiders have released F Ryan Pruden, 18, getting their roster down to 27 players, including 10 defencemen and 15 forwards. Pruden, a 13th-round pick by the Saskatoon Blades in the 2011 bantam draft, was pointless in three games with the Blades last season. A Winnipegger, he also played last season with the MJHL’s Steinbach Pistons and OCN Blizzard. He is expected to return to the MJHL. . . .
Scott Sepich, a Portland freelancer, tweeted Tuesday that F Adam de Champlain, 20, had left the Portland Winterhawks for the AJHL’s Camrose Kodiaks. The Winterhawks confirmed it on Wednesday, saying in a news release that de Champlain “has elected” to play in the AJHL. . . .
The Edmonton Oilers’ rookies beat the U of Alberta Golden Bears 4-2 in their annual game last night at Clare Drake Arena. More than 3,000 fans paid $30 a pop to watch the game.
---

The NFL is out of control. More arrests in a week than the NHL has had in years. You make millions! How hard is it to not be an idiot?!
— Brody Sutter (@Sutts19) September 18, 2014

1. Another fan checks in with thoughts on the WHL's decision not to print its Guide for this season:
"I too was disappointed that the WHL did not publish a print copy. I did go to fedex office and they printed out the guide for me in a spiral bind for $27."

2. F Ryan Pruden of the Saskatoon Blades was scheduled for surgery on Wednesday in Winnipeg to repair a fractured scaphoid left over from March. The Winnipegger is likely to miss at least two months. . . . Pruden, 17, was pointless in three games this season. He was a 13th-round selection in the 2011 bantam draft.

3. The Vancouver Giants, who have been short on size and depth up front, have acquired F Trent Lofthouse, who turns 19 on Nov. 17, from the Victoria Royals for a 2014 eighth-round bantam draft pick. The 6-foot-3, 185-pound Lofthouse, who has two points in 11 games with Victoria, is in his third WHL season. A native of Surrey, B.C., the son of former WHLer Mark Lofthouse, Trent began his career with the Everett Silvertips. He has 23 points in 112 regular-season games. . . . Lofthouse is expected to make his debut with the Giants on Friday against the visiting Kamloops Blazers.

4. The BCHL's Trail Smoke Eaters' board of directors reacted to a 4-9-1-1 start by firing general manager/head coach Bill Birks on Wednesday. Birks had been head coach since May 2011. He joined Trail as an assistant coach during the summer of 2010. . . . Barry Zanier and Craig Clare, the club's two assistant coaches, have taken over as interim head coaches while the board searches for a new head man.

5. The Everett Silvertips have dropped D Lucas Skrumeda, 17, from their roster. He is expected to join the MJHL's Winnipeg Blues. He had yet to get into a game with the Silvertips.

6. D Zach Hodder, 20, has joined the BCHL's Coquitlam Express. Hodder had one assist in six games with the Moose Jaw Warriors before leaving the team last week. He also has played in the WHL with the Vancouver Giants, Saskatoon Blades, Prince Albert Raiders and Medicine Hat Tigers.

7. Former Moose Jaw Warriors general manager Ralph Schmidt died on Saturday in East Chatfield Beach, Sask., near North Battleford. . . . He was the Warriors' general manager for three years, leaving in June 2001. . . . An obituary is located right here.

8. D Riley Stadel, who scored twice in 49 games as a freshman last season, counted three times last night as his Kelowna Rockets dropped the visiting Lethbridge Hurricanes, 6-0. Stadel, who also had an assist, has seven goals this season. . . . The Rockets, who held a 62-26 edge in shots, were 3-for-13 on the PP as the Hurricanes took 72 of 106 penalty minutes. . . . Lethbridge, which has lost seven in a row, went 0-4 on a swing into the B.C. Division and was outscored 21-4 in the process. . . . F Tim Bozon scored twice as the host Kamloops Blazers beat Seattle, 3-1, to snap the Thunderbirds' five-game winning streak. F Ryan Gropp, who left the BCHL's Penticton Vees and joined the Thunderbirds on Tuesday, didn't play as he waits for the paperwork to be completed. . . .
Brandon D Ryan Pulock tied it with 16 seconds left in the third period and F Taylor Cooper won it at 1:51 of OT as the Wheat Kings got past the host Moose Jaw Warriors, 3-2. . . . In Portland, F Adam Rossignol scored the winner on his 20th birthday as the Winterhawks dumped the Tri-City Americans, 4-1. D Garrett Haar was plus-4. . . .
F Logan Nelson ran his goal-scoring streak to six games as his Victoria Royals beat the visiting Prince George Cougars, 5-4. Nelson scored his side's fifth goal, giving Victoria a 5-3 lead after it had almost given up a 4-0 edge. . . . In three previous meetings, the two teams had combined for six goals. . . . Victoria G Patrik Polivka is 8-0 against the Cougars over the last two seasons. . . . The Royals have won five in a row, all at home. . . . F Mitch Holmberg and F Mike Aviani each scored twice and added two assists as the host Spokane Chiefs dropped the Swift Current Broncos, 5-1. Holmberg has 14 goals; Aviani has 11.

9. One of the problems with concussions is that they can't be measured definitively. Geoffrey Mohan of the Los Angeles Times writes right here about a man who is working to shed light on that situation and the key may involve fruit flies. Seriously, give this a read.


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.