Two WHLers in KHL camp ... Medicine Hat chasing tournament; Gas City wants U-17 WHC

F Brandon McMillan (Kelowna, 2006-10) had his KHL rights traded by Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod (Russia, KHL) to Dinamo Riga (Latvia, KHL) for monetary compensation. He started last season with Medveščak Zagreb (Croatia, KHL), recording nine goals and six assists in 31 games. He moved to Torpedo on Nov. 21, where he had five goals and four assists in 24 games. . . . 

F Brock Montgomery (Kootenay, 2009-13) has signed a one-year contract with the Tilburg Trappers (Netherlands, Germany Oberliga). Last season, he had two goals and four assists in 12 games with the Orlando Solar Bears (ECHL), and eight goals and eight assists in 22 games with the Adirondack Thunder (ECHL).

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With KHL teams having opened training camps in preparation for a new season, at least two WHLers are with one of the teams on a tryout basis. . . . D Anatoliy Yelizarov, 19, of the Edmonton Oil Kings and F Vladislav Lukin, 20, of the Tri-City Americans are skating with HC Salavat Yulaev. . . . Yelizarov, who isn’t expected to return to Edmonton for a third season, had seven goals and six assists in 67 games last season. In 125 games over two seasons, he has nine goals and 13 assists. . . . The Oil Kings likely will opening training camp with sophomore F Artyom Balturak and F Andrei Pavlenko as their imports. Both are from Belarus; Pavlenko was selected earlier this month in the CHL import draft. . . . Lukin, meanwhile, has told the Americans that he wants to come to camp, even though he would be in tough as a two-spotter -- a 20-year-old import. He has played three seasons with Tri-City, putting up 118 points, including 54 goals, in 183 games. Last season, he had 26 goals and 32 assists in 63 games.

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City council in Medicine Hat has given its support to a local group that wants to play host to the U-17 World Hockey Challenge in 2018. . . . Ron Webb, who chairs the committee, appeared before City Council on Tuesday night. . . . The 2018 tournament is scheduled for Nov. 1-12. . . . This year, for a second straight year, the tournament will be played in the B.C. communities of Dawson Creek and Fort St. John, Nov. 5-11. . . . Sean Rooney of the Medicine Hat News has more right here.

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I’m also on Twitter (@gdrinnan).

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Jordan Smith has signed on as an associate coach with the OHL’s Sudbury Wolves, where he’ll work alongside head coach Cory Stillman and assistant coach Darryl Moxam. Smith played four seasons (2001-05) with his hometown Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. He spent the past four seasons coaching with the NOJHL’s Soo Thunderbirds.

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Adam Redmond is the new head coach of the AJHL’s Olds Grizzlys, who are under new ownership. Redmond is a former Grizzlys assistant coach. For the past two seasons, Redmond has been the assistant GM/associate coach with the AJHL’s Calgary Canucks. . . . Redmond will be joined behind the bench by Joe Murphy, a former Grizzlys player. . . . Dana Lattery had been the director of hockey operations and head coach for the previous two seasons, and now is acting as an advisor. Lattery had worked as an Olds assistant coach for three-plus seasons before that.

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Cooper Holick tells his story . . . Habscheid gets four years from Raiders . . . Great day for Thoma

F Ty Morris (Swift Current, Vancouver, Red Deer, 2003-05) signed a one-year contract with Peiting (Germany, Oberliga). This season, with Landshut (Germany, DEL2), he had 13 goals and 16 assists in 45 games. he is a dual Dual Canadian-German citizen.
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TUESDAY’S GAMES:

No Games Scheduled.
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KELOWNA VS. PORTLAND: The Winterhawks are scheduled to leave for Kelowna this morning. . . . The Winterhawks are the first team to reach five straight conference finals in the WHL’s bantam draft era. . . . Another note from a Winterhawks’ news release: “The five straight appearances in the conference final tie the Winterhawks for the second-longest streak in WHL history, a feat also accomplished by the Medicine Hat Tigers and New Westminster Bruins. The Kamloops Blazers hold the record with 13 straight from 1984-96.” . . . Each team has a first-year head coach. Kelowna’s Dan Lambert moved up from assistant coach when Ryan Huska left for the Calgary Flames’ organization as head coach of the AHL’s Adirondack Flames. In Portland, Jamie Kompon, who had been an assistant coach with the Chicago Blackhawks, took over from Mike Johnston, who now is head coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

BRANDON VS. CALGARY: These teams last met in the playoffs in the spring of 2012, with the Wheat Kings winning the first-round series in five games. They took Game 5 in OT in a game that was played at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg. . . . They last met in the Eastern Conference final in 2010. The Hitmen won that series and went on to earn the WHL championship and a berth in the Memorial Cup, which was played in Brandon that year. The Wheat Kings beat Calgary in the semifinal game at the Memorial Cup and then lost to the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires in the final. . . . The Wheat Kings had F Ty Lewis, a third-round pick in the 2013 bantam draft, at practice on Tuesday, and he will be there again today. Lewis started the season with the Wheat Kings, but a broken arm limited him to two games. He spent the latter half of the season with the midget AAA Wheat Kings, who have been done since March 28.
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“The hockey world can be a tough place for a young player, with intense pressure and high expectations,” reads the start of a story on the website of Prince George TV station CKPG. “Cooper Holick walked away from the game at the age of 18. Now, he and his dad are trying to reduce the stigma around young athletes living with mental illness.” . . . Cooper’s father, Mark, is the head coach of the Prince George Cougars. . . . Their story is right here.
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The Prince Albert Raiders have signed head coach Marc Habscheid to a four-year contract. They also picked up one-year options on Dale Derkatch, their director of player personnel, and Duane Bartley, the athletic therapist. . . . Habscheid, 52, replaced the fired Cory Clouston on Nov. 1, and went 24-28-4. . . . The Raiders have yet to re-sign associate coach Dave Manson or assistant coach Kelly Guard. The team holds one-year options on each of those men. . . . The club also holds an option on general manager Bruno Campese. . . . Jeff D’Andrea of PAnow has more right here.
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“The state Senate and House each voted to approve a bill that would clarify that Western Hockey League players are amateur athletes and not employees who should be paid minimum wage and fall under state child labor laws,” reports Steve Hunter of the Kent, Wash., Reporter. . . . Hunter’s complete story is right here.
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Jim Swanson, a former sports editor of the Prince George Citizen, is part of the new ownership group with the West Coast Baseball League’s Victoria HarbourCats. . . . Ownership has been transferred by Bhootan LLC to Shwing Batter Investment Group, which features Swanson, his brother, Ken, Richard Harder and Jim Wilson. The move is subject to approval by the WCL’s board. . . . Ken Swanson of Burnaby is the new group’s president, with Wilson, who is involved at the ownership level with the BCHL’s Victoria Grizzlies and VIJHL’s Peninsula Panthers, as vice-president (business), Harder, from New Westminster, as treasurer and Jim Swanson general manager and vice-president (baseball). . . . Jim Swanson was the team’s general manager in 2014 and the HarbourCats led the WCL in attendance, averaging 1,576 fans per game. . . . The HarbourCats open the exhibition season on May 31; the regular-season home-opener is June 5.
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Here’s sports columnist Rob Vanstone of the Regina Leader-Post:
“NHL and WHL referees habitually swallow their whistles in the latter stages of playoff games. The ‘let 'em play’ mindset is supposedly employed because referees are reluctant to influence the outcome. Well, guess what? By not calling obvious penalties, they are influencing the outcome.
“A second-round WHL playoff series between the Regina Pats and Brandon Wheat Kings showed that officials are far too reluctant to call penalties, period. Too much clutching and grabbing was ignored when the Pats and Wheat Kings collided. And whatever happened to an interference penalty? Or a major penalty for a careless hit near the boards?”
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These are interesting times for the Medicine Hat Minor Hockey Association, where the president, association manager and secretary have resigned. Kevin MacKay, who resigned after just one season as manager, told Sean Rooney of the Medicine Hat News that “they are quite a few years behind the times.” . . . Rooney’s piece is right here.
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In the QMJHL, the Val d’Or Foreurs, who lost the first three games of the series, beat the host Baie-Comeau Drakkar 4-3 in OT to win a second-round series, 4-3. . . . There wasn’t a post-game handshake line as a bit of a tussle broke out just prior to it and the Drakkar left the ice. . . . In the other series, the Moncton Wildcats beat the Halifax Mooseheads 6-3 in Game 7. . . . The Foreurs will meet the Rimouski Oceanic in one semifinal, with the Wildcats and Quebec Remparts in the other one.
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Two forwards and a defenceman from the Victoria Royals have moved up to the professional ranks. F Austin Carroll has joined the NHL’s Calgary Flames as one of the black aces, while F Greg Chase has been assigned by the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers to the AHL’s Oklahoma City Barons. D Joe Hicketts, who signed as a free agent with the Detroit Red Wings, has joined the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins.
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Sergei Mikhalyov, the head coach of the Russian team that finished second at the World Junior Championship in 2006, has been killed in a car accident. Mikhalyov, 67, had coached the KHL’s Salavat Yulayev Ufa. He had just attended the funeral of former Traktor Chelyabinsk coach Valery Belousov when the accident occurred. . . . The Moscow Times has more right here.
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THE COACHING GAME:

It’s doubtful that anyone had a better day than Bryce Thoma, the general manager and head coach of the SJHL’s Weyburn Red Wings. Thoma and his wife Jenn welcomed a son, Smith Matthew, to our world on Tuesday morning. He is a brother to Collins Helene, 3, who is thrilled with the new arrival. . . . Later, the Red Wings announced that they have signed Thoma, 32, to a two-year contract. Thoma has been the Red Wings’ head coach for two seasons and the GM for one. They made the playoffs this season for the first time since 2011-12. They won a first-round series with the Humboldt Broncos, then were ousted by the eventual-champion Melfort Mustangs. . . . Thoma, a defenceman, played four seasons (1999-2003) with the Red Deer Rebels. He also spent five seasons on their coaching staff.
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Head coach Jarrod Skalde and the AHL’s Norfolk Admirals “have mutually agreed to part ways,” according to a news release from the team. The Admirals, who are affiliated with the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks, are relocating to San Diego before another season arrives. . . . Skalde, 44, went 27-39-6-4 in his first season as an AHL head coach. He spent one season as an assistant coach with the Admirals before taking over as head coach.
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Rich Pilon, who played in the NHL and WHL, is the new head coach of the midget AAA Saskatoon Blazers. He had been an assistant coach with the Blazers’ cross-town rivals, the Contacts. . . . Pilon takes over from Curtis Leschyshyn, who decided to step down. Scott Scissons, Leschyshyn’s assistant coach, also has left the Blazers. . . . Pilon’s assistant coaches will be Bobby Braybrook and Dean Seymour. . . . Darren Zary of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix has the story right here.
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A newly discovered species of Costa Rican glass frog looks exactly like Kermit the Frog. pic.twitter.com/HXi4mejF3G
— UberFacts (@UberFacts) April 22, 2015

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If WHL playoffs started today . . . Ch-ch-ching! . . . Rids can't believe it!

D Colton Jobke (Kelowna, Regina, 2009-13) has reassigned by the Minnesota Wild (NHL) from the Alaska Aces (ECHL) to the Augsburger Panther (Germany, DEL). This season, with Alaska, he had four assists in 20 games. . . .
F Tyler Spurgeon (Kelowna, 2001-06) has signed a contract for the rest of this season with Thurgau (Switzerland, NL B). This season, with the Ontario Reign (ECHL), he had two goals and eight assists in 12 games. He was pointless in one game with the Adirondack Flames (AHL). . . .
G Alexander Pechursky (Tri-City, 2009-11) has been traded by Metallurg Magnitogorsk to Amur Khabarovsk (both Russia, KHL) for G Alexei Murygin. This season, in nine games with Magnitogorsk, Pechursky was 2-6-0, 2.40, .910.
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THE PLAYOFF PICTURE:

In case you have forgotten, the WHL has redone its playoff format.
This season, it is using a formula that involves conference standings, division standings and wild cards.
Yes, it’s wild.
With the league on its Christmas break -- the next games are scheduled for Dec. 27 -- let’s take a look at what would happen were the playoffs to start today.
Under the new format, eight teams from each conference will qualify for the playoffs. It all starts with the top three teams from each division advancing. After that, the remaining two spots on each side go to wild-card entries -- the two teams in each conference with the most points.
As of this moment, here are the qualifiers, with their point totals:
EASTERN CONFERENCE
East Division
Brandon         52
Regina         42
Swift Current     38
Central Division
Medicine Hat    50
Calgary        41
Red Deer        40
Wild cards
Edmonton        37
Kootenay        36
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WESTERN CONFERENCE
B.C. Division
Kelowna        59
Victoria        37
Prince George    34
U.S. Division
Everett        44
Portland        41
Spokane        39
Wild cards
Tri-City        35
Vancouver        32
(Note: Vancouver and Seattle are tied, with 32 points, for what right now is the Western Conference’s last playoff spot. Were this the end of the regular season, they would meet in a play-in game in Vancouver. For the sake of this exercise, I have given the spot to Vancouver on the basis of more victories -- 16-14.)
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In the first round of the playoffs, the division winners go up against the wild-card entries, with the team with the most points meeting the team with the fewest points. All playoff series are best-of-seven affairs.
In the Eastern Conference, that would be:
Brandon vs. Kootenay
Medicine Hat vs. Edmonton
In the Western Conference, that would be:
Kelowna vs. Vancouver
Everett vs. Tri-City
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Meanwhile, the second- and third-place teams in each division would meet:
Regina vs. Swift Current
Calgary vs. Red Deer
Victoria vs. Prince George
Portland vs. Spokane
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For the second round, the teams stay within their brackets with the winners meeting. Home-ice advantage in each series goes to the team with the most regular-season points. . . . And on it goes.
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The Medicine Hat Tigers have done their bit for Christmas. Give it a look right here.
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There were issues with a gate early in a Wednesday night game between the Kamloops Blazers and the host Medicine Hat Tigers. Sean Rooney of the Medicine Hat News covered that story like a blanket and it’s all right here. Yes, it’s worth reading. (Kamloops head coach Don Hay suggested that the game, which was delayed almost an hour, should have been forfeited to the Blazers. Whoa! He was joking.)
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If you are interested in the KHL and the latest developments, make sure you are following Slava Malamud on Twitter. You are able to do that right here. . . . On Thursday, he live-tweeted the KHL owners’ meeting. ---
Neil Doef, a promising young hockey player with the Smiths Falls, Ont., Bears, suffered a serious injury during a Junior A Challenge game in Kindersley, Sask., on Sunday. . . . Don Butler of the Ottawa Citizen has more right here, including various avenues open should you wish to make a donation in support of Doef and his family.
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Peter Anholt says his Lethbridge Hurricanes aren’t quite the 1977 Montreal Canadiens. Yes, the Hurricanes’ new general manager and head coach brought his sense of humour to Lethbridge with him. Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix has more right here.
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Sy Berger, who was the father of the modern baseball card, died Sunday at the age of 91. If you are of a certain age, you will remember when Topps was the only name in the area of collectible baseball cards. Tyler Kepner of The New York Times remembers right here.
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And now for something completely different. . . . If you’ve been wondering what’s going on with Sony, North Korea, hackers, the movie The Interview . . . well, Mike Fleming Jr. of deadline.com has spoken with George Clooney. That story is right here and it’s a good read.
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The WHL has suspended two players for a game each and fined two teams a total of $2,000 following a line brawl on Wednesday night. The Moose Jaw Warriors and host Prince Albert went at it in the final minute of the Raiders’ 5-1 victory. . . . Moose Jaw F Jaimen Yakubowski and Prince Albert D Mackenze Stewart won’t play on Dec. 27 as each sits out a one-game suspension for instigating a fight in the last five minutes of a game. The Warriors are at home to the Brandon Wheat Kings, while the Raiders are scheduled to entertain the Saskatoon Blades. . . . Meanwhile, the Warriors and Raiders each was fined $500 for having a player instigate a fight in the last five minutes and another $500 for being involved in their first multi-fight situation of the season. . . . Ch-ch-ching! The cheques should arrived in the WHL office just in time for some last-minute Christmas shopping.
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THE BLOG FUND:

The way things are going, the shopping trip for a new computer will happen before too long. If you are a regular in these parts and feel like chipping in, don’t be bashful. Just click on the donate button and away you go. . . . As of late Thursday, the blog master’s computer fund was at $1,015, thanks to the generosity of 19 readers just like you.
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Can't believe the audacity of fans requesting money. Back as a result of the delay at the tiger game last nite.
— Bob Ridley (@BobRidley_CHAT) December 18, 2014

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WHL feeling secure with Lacasse . . . Brain injury ends another career

D Jim Vandermeer (Red Deer, 1997-2001) has signed two-year extension with Kloten (Switzerland, NL A). Last season, he had two goals and 10 assists in 49 games. . . .
F Milan Kytnár (Kelowna, Saskatoon, Vancouver, 2007-10) has signed a contract through Nov. 2 with Banská Bystrica (Slovakia, Extraliga). Last season, with Karlovy Vary (Czech Republic, Extraliga), he had four goals and six assists in 41 games. . . .
F Petr Kalus (Regina, 2005-06) has signed a one-year contract with Herning (Denmark, Metal Ligaen). Last season, with Dukla Trenčín (Slovakia, Extraliga), he had one assist in three games; with Djurgården Stockholm (Sweden, Allsvenskan), he was pointless in two games; and in 42 games with the Nottingham Panthers, he had 38 points, including 18 goals. . . .
F Masi Marjamäki (Red Deer, Moose Jaw, 2002-05) has signed a one-year-plus-option contract with Tappara Tampere (Finland, Liiga). Marjamäki missed all of last season and most of 2012-13 due to injury. In 2012-13, with Ilves Tampere (Finland, Liiga), he had three goals and three assists in nine games.
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Yves Lacasse has joined the WHL as its volunteer
security officer.
(Photo: Kamloops Daily News files)

The WHL announced Tuesday that Yves Lacasse, a former RCMP superintendent in Kamloops, has signed on as its volunteer security officer.
Lacasse, who had been with the Kamloops detachment for eight years, left the RCMP after 27 years early in 2013 to become the manager of external affairs for KGHM International, which is wanting to start a copper and gold mine near Kamloops.
The proposed mine, which would border the Aberdeen section of Kamloops, has caused a deep divide in the community because those who are opposed to it for environmental reasons and those who are for it because of the economic benefits for the community.
Lacasse, who was raised in Thetford Mines, Que., is friends with Kamloops Blazers majority owner Tom Gaglardi and general manager Craig Bonner. Lacasse also has worked with the Blazers for 10 seasons.
According to a WHL news release: “Acting in a volunteer capacity in his new role with the WHL, Lacasse will conduct internal reviews and investigations on behalf of the WHL office to ensure WHL clubs are operating in accordance with league standards and regulations.”
The news release adds that Lacasse “will also be responsible to facilitate the implementation of a new league-wide security program with all WHL clubs.”
The news release also made mention of the success of the WHL's seven-point plan that was enacted in time for 2011-12.“In the first three seasons since being implemented by the WHL, the (plan) has been effective in reducing concussions and other injuries,” according to the news release.
Unfortunately, the WHL, once again, didn’t release any numbers to back up its claims.
At the same time as the WHL was issuing this release, Sean Rooney and Ryan McCracken of the Medicine Hat News were preparing a story that marks the end of F Gavin Broadhead’s career with the Medicine Hat Tigers.
Broadhead, a 19-year-old from Hay River, NWT, last played on Jan. 22.
According to The News’ story, Broadhead took a shoulder to the face during a Jan. 18 game against the Calgary Hitmen. Then, despite not feeling well, he went on a road trip to the West Coast. On Jan. 21, in Victoria, he took another hit. Broadhead said that a Royals’ team doctor checked him over and, according to The News, “concluded it wasn’t a concussion.”
On Jan. 22, Broadhead said he was hit from behind in Vancouver. “Then I knew,” he said. “I was dizzy, I wasn’t feeling well, I was nauseous.”
What followed was eight months of headaches, and now Broadhead, whose father, Curt, also played for the Tigers (1977-81), is moving on.
“My head just wasn’t going to hold up,” Gavin said. “I want to be able to think . . . I don’t want to be smashing up my head anymore.”
Broadhead was selected by the Tigers in the fourth round of the 2010 bantam draft. In 97 regular-season games over parts of three seasons, he had four goals and eight assists. Last season, in 44 games, he had a goal and eight assists.
At some point this morning, The News’ story should appear right here.
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The Everett Silvertips have their roster down to 27 players after releasing F Chris Stockl, 19, on Tuesday. Stockl, from Winnipeg, played with the Saskatoon Blades and Red Deer Rebels over the last two seasons. Last season, he had one goal in 16 games with Red Deer. In 78 regular-season games, he has four goals and seven assists. . . . The Silvertips are carrying four goaltenders, eight defencemen and 15 forwards.
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The Lethbridge Hurricanes have signed F Brett Davis, who was a fourth-round pick in the 2014 bantam draft. From Oakbank, Man., he had 49 points, 26 of them goals, in 36 games with the bantam Notre Dame Hounds, who play in the South Saskatchewan Minor Hockey League.
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Two men have been indicted on drug-related charges in the death of former WHL and NHL enforcer Derek Boogaard. One of the men is Jordan Hart, the son of former Flin Flon Bombers/New York Islanders D Gerry Hart. . . . John Branch and Benjamin Weiser of The New York Times have more right here.
Branch has been on top of the Boogaard story right from the start. Right here, there’s a piece he wrote almost three years ago that is headlined Derek Boogaard: A boy learns to brawl.
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Kevin Kwasny was a football player at Bishop’s U in Montreal when he suffered a concussion during a game. Now he is suing the school, asking for $9.3 million in damages. Karen Seidman of the Montreal Gazette has more right here.
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Today, while the Ray Rice thing is fresh in our minds, is a good time to take a look at some sporting sleazebags. Thanks to Drew Magary and GQ Magazine we can do just that and we can do it right here. Enjoy . . . then take a shower!
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The Everett Silvertips have signed Wayne Duncan as their new trainer. He had been working with high schools in the Seattle area. Duncan takes over from Marc Paquet, who has moved on to the AHL’s Adirondack Flames. . . . The 2016 IIHF world women’s hockey championship will be played in Kamloops. Dates for the 22-game championship have yet to be released, but it will be played in April in the Interior Savings Centre and McArthur Island Sport and Event Centre.

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A (fictional, sarcastic) letter to the WHL's fans

Sean Rooney is the sports editor of the Medicine Hat News. He wrote a column for the Saturday paper that appeared under this headline:

A (fictional, sarcastic) letter to the WHL's fans

Dear loyal fans of (insert your home team here):
Thanks for your money, your dedication, your willingness to sit through seasons upon seasons of poorly performing teams (and good teams, as well) and especially for helping fund the arena the team plays in.
For years, you’ve seen top-notch major junior hockey players come through your community, and you’ve welcomed them with loving arms. Some of you have billeted, others have seen them at the local mall and given them some positive encouragement. Most importantly, you have paid to see them -- more on that later.
Well, as of today, things are a bit different. You see, we’ve all but given the all-clear for the Chilliwack Bruins -- a team that’s been in the league only five years but draws better than 3,000 fans a night -- to be sold and moved to Victoria. We didn’t ask the Chilliwack municipal government, and we certainly didn’t ask the fans. The only people who matter in this equation are the guys who own the team. Check that, only the guys who own the majority of the team.
A couple of minority owners wanted to ante up and buy out the guys who wanted to move the franchise, but we said no.
Anyhow, the message to you is simple: No matter how much you support your team, and no matter what other reasons you might have to the contrary, we really don't care what you think. Your loyalty to us is great, but we really don't feel the same way about you.
When people came asking about the possible sale of the Bruins, we told them to shoo off. When one of the Bruins owners confirmed the sale and move, we refused to talk to anyone in the public about it, then muzzled everyone in our league with confidentiality agreements. You'll hear what we want you to hear, when we want you to hear it.
This is all about money. Even though our athletes aren't yet professionals, and most of our owners make money hand over fist, we want as much cash as we can get. Put simply, we think there's more money-making potential in Victoria than in Chilliwack, so off we go.
You'll remember that Chilliwack got its team because the former owner in Tri-City wanted to move that team to Chilliwack. We had some remnants of a soul back then, and forced the owner to sell to a local group so the team could stay. But to make the old owner happy we diluted the entire league's talent pool by creating an expansion franchise in Chilliwack for him to run.
Given that we've set this glorious precedent, we figure there's little to stop us from moving your team as well. If, say, your team goes through a bit of a dry spell, and if, say, the fine folks of a more prosperous city push for a team, we will absolutely pull the plug on your franchise. No number of public rallies, Facebook groups or empty threats will change our mind. You get the picture — it's about whoever wants to plunk down a thicker stack of bills.
Your loyalty is absolutely still worth something to us though. Just not as much as the millionaire owners. Go (insert your team name here) go!

Sincerely,
The Western Hockey League