Showing posts with label Seattle Thunderbirds. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Seattle Thunderbirds. Show all posts

Wednesday, July 26, 2017

Smoke over the hills ... Warriors ink goalie coach ... Ex-WHL coach's run ends in Tucson





The summer of fires moved closer to our home late Wednesday afternoon when one broke out near Monte Lake. We live about 20 km east of Kamloops above the north shore of the South Thompson River. When we go to Vernon or Kelowna, we head east on the Trans-Canada Highway to the Monte Creek interchange and then take Highway 97. Monte Lake is about 15 minutes up that highway. . . . The four photos above were taken off our deck on Wednesday evening. When I first heard about the fire, at about 5 p.m., I took a look and there was one fairly thin column of smoke. Inside of 30 minutes it had grown by leaps and bounds. . . . The top photo shows the light from the setting sun glancing off the smoke as the clock neared 9 p.m. . . . The photo second from top was taken just moments before the top one. . . . The third photo was taken around 6 p.m. . . . There were a number of airplanes working the fire; the one in the photo has a retardant bay on its bottom; it was headed back to the Kamloops airport for the night as darkness set in. . . . The Thompson Nicola Regional District put evacuation alerts and orders in place, and there are an untold number of buildings at risk. . . . Now we can only wait and see what morning will bring. 


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THE MacBETH REPORT:

F Charles Wells (Seattle, Prince Albert, Portland, 2007-12) has signed a one-year contract with the Guildford Flames (England, UK Elite). Last season, with Mulhouse (France, Division 1), he had six goals and 15 assists in 22 games. . . .
F Tyler Redenbach (Prince George, Swift Current, Lethbridge, 2001-05) has signed a one-year contract with Tappara Tampere (Finland, Liiga). Last season, he had 11 goals and 22 assists in 34 games with Pardubice (Czech Republic, Extraliga), and two goals and three assists in nine games with Třinec (Czech Republic, Extraliga). . . .
F Justin Maylan (Moose Jaw, Prince George, Prince Albert, 2007-12) has signed a one-year contract with Heilbronn (Germany, DEL2). Last season, with Fehérvár AV19 Székesfehérvár (Hungary, Erste Bank Liga), he had seven goals and 35 assists in 53 games. He led the team in assists.
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A LITTLE OF THIS . . .

Matt Weninger has joined the Moose Jaw Warriors as their new goaltender coach. . . . From a news release: “Weninger is currently the regional consultant and goaltending lead for Hockey Alberta and previously worked with the Saskatchewan Hockey Association in 2015-16 as a goaltending and coaching consultant.” . . . He also served as the goaltending coach for the SJHL’s Yorkton Terriers for two seasons (2015-17) and has worked with Laurentian University (U Sports) and Hockey Canada. . . . As a player, he spent four seasons (2010-14) at St. Lawrence U, where he holds school records for career and single-season games played, minutes played, consecutive games played, and total saves. . . . He also played three SJHL seasons, splitting that time between the Kindersley Klippers and Flin Flon Bombers. . . . In Moose Jaw, Weninger takes over from Jamie Hodson, who had worked with the Warriors since 2011. Hodson now is the director of business and hockey operations for the MJHL’s Virden Oil Capitals.
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If you were wondering what was wrong with D Ethan Bear of the Seattle Thunderbirds late in the WHL playoffs and through the Memorial Cup, well, now we know. . . . As was reported here originally, Bear did have a broken finger. What we didn’t know until now is that he underwent surgery to repair the index finger on his left hand. . . . Bear was injured while blocking a shot in Game 3 of the Western Conference final against the Kelowna Rockets. He sat out the next three games, then returned for the final against the Regina Pats, a series that Seattle won, 4-2. . . . “I was lucky enough to get a quick surgery, and then I recovered enough to play in the final and then the Memorial Cup," Bear told Derek Van Diest for a story that is posted right here at nhl.com. “I had to adjust the knob on my stick and the way I placed my hand. But Seattle, they really made it work for me and I was able to play at my best abilities. They put a plate in it and couple of screws. The doctors did a really good job. They made it strong enough so that I could play and I wouldn't feel as much pain.” . . . According to Van Diest, “Bear still is recovering from his injury, but is expected to be ready for Oilers training camp in the fall.” . . . Bear, 20, was a fifth-round pick by the Edmonton Oilers in the NHL’s 2015 draft and has signed a three-year entry-level contract.
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There are three WHL players on the roster for Team Finland as it prepares to play in the World Junior Summer Showcase in Plymouth, Mich., from July 29 through Aug. 5. . . . F Sami Moilanen (Seattle Thunderbirds), D Juuso Valimaki (Tri-City Americans) and D Henri Jokiharju (Portland Winterhawks) all are on Team Finland’s roster for the tournament that also features teams from Canada, Sweden and the U.S.
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If you’re a regular here, and even you aren’t, feel free to contribute to the feeding of the Drinnan family by making a donation to the cause. You are able to do so by clicking on the DONATE button and going from there.
If you would like to contact Taking Note with information, have a question or just feel like commenting on something, feel free to send an email to greggdrinnan@gmail.com. I’m also on Twitter (@gdrinnan).
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THE COACHING GAME . . .

Mark Lamb, who spent six seasons as the general manager and head coach of the WHL’s Swift Current Broncos, is out after one season as head coach of the Tucson Roadrunners, the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Arizona Coyotes. . . . John Chayka, the Coyotes’ president of hockey operations and general manager, announced Wednesday that Mike Van Ryn has taken over as head coach. . . . The assistant coaches will be John Slaney and Steve Potvin. . . . Mark Hardy, an assistant coach last season, also won’t be returning. . . . Van Ryn spent the past season working as the Coyotes’ development coach. . . . In 2015-16, he was the head coach of the OHL’s Kitchener Rangers. . . . Slaney spent the last two seasons as an assistant coach with the Coyotes, while Potvin has been with the organization for one season as the skills coach. . . . The Roadrunners finished 29-31-8 last season, their first in the AHL. Their winning percentage (.485) left them sixth in the eight-team Pacific Division. They didn’t qualify for the playoffs.
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TWEET OF THE DAY . . .


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Posted by Gregg Drinnan at 9:49 PM
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Thursday, July 20, 2017

Why was K9 a healthy scratch? ... AHL's 2015 man of year joins Seattle ... Toth heading to school


D Patrik Maier (Kamloops, Moose Jaw, 2014-16) has signed a tryout contract with Benátky nad Jizerou (Czech Republic, 1. Liga). Last season, he had a goal and three assists in 53 games with Nové Zámky (Slovakia, Extraliga). . . . 
F Dustin Johner (Seattle, 1999-2004) has signed a one-year contract with the Belfast Giants (Northern Ireland, UK Elite). Last season, with Villach (Austria, Erste Bank Liga), he had 13 goals and 26 assists in 54 games.
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In this space on Thursday, there was a revisitation of a confrontation between a couple of WHL head coaches. Yes, there was photographic evidence, too.
The picture and story prompted all kinds of responses, including the above tweet from Brent Parker, who was the Regina Pats’ general manager for 15 years so was front and centre in a lot of the rivalry with the Moose Jaw Warriors.
In the tweet, he referred to the shenanigans that went on during a home-and-home series on March 24 and 25, 2000.
The series opened in the Moose Jaw Civic Centre, aka the Crushed Can.
At the time, the Warriors had a mascot with the moniker of Puckhead and it looked pretty much like you might imagine — with a giant puck for a head.
At one point during the game, Puckhead was taunted by a few fans who apparently were pals of Pats F Ryan Thomas. One thing led to another and a couple of the fans bodychecked Puckhead. When Puckhead shoved back, one of the fans, according to a piece at CBC.ca, began punching her.
Yes, Puckhead’s outfit was inhabited by a woman, the late Doreen Gurnsey, who was in her sixth season as the mascot. (Gurnsey passed away on Oct. 1, 2007.) 
“I’ve been kicked," she told CBC a few days later. “I’ve had beer poured over me. One fellow one time gave me a shove towards the ice. I mean that's down to the bleachers towards the ice. And it was just lucky that I had straddled the railing and was able to grip on. I'm quite sure I might not have lived through that.”
Anyway, during the altercation, Puckhead’s head came off. You know that the two fans were surprised to see a woman’s face looking back at them, and they quickly and quietly exited stage right.
In a recollection that is posted at rodpedersen.com, veteran Pats/Warriors observer Kelly Remple wrote:
“Following the game, Pats head coach Tim Tisdale sat quietly in the front of the bus, waiting to depart for the Queen City. A lunatic sporting black, red, and white approached the bus and banged on the door. The bus driver opened the door to hear what this maniac was shouting. As the door opened, the crazed fan looked at Tisdale and, like Jack Nicholson in The Shining, said: ‘Your dog is dead. DEAD! You understand me. Your dog is DEAD!’ A concerned Tisdale called home and asked his wife, ‘Honey, is the dog OK?’ ”
There were reports of threatening phone calls to the Pats’ office the following day and, of course, Parker made reference to threatening faxes.
For the record, the Warriors won the Friday game, 6-3, in front of 3,074 fans. The next night, the Pats posted a 3-2 victory before 6,231 fans. Yes, there was a line brawl. No, K9 wasn’t there to witness it.

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The rivalry between the Seattle Thunderbirds and Everett Silvertips may have taken another turn away from love on Thursday. That’s because the Thunderbirds, the WHL’s reigning champions, have hired Kyle Hagel as an assistant coach.
As is evident from the above tweet, Hagel and Mitch Love, Everett’s assistant GM/assistant coach, are
KYLE HAGEL
(Photo: seattlethunderbirds.com)
quite familiar with each other.
There is a whole more to Hagel than a scrap, however.
Hagel, 32, is from Hamilton. He played four seasons at Princeton before going on to a pro career that ended after last season. A defenceman who sometimes played on left wing, he played the last three seasons with the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers.
After 2014-15, Hagel was honoured as the AHL’s IOA/American Specialty AHL man of the year. He was presented with the Yanick Dupre Memorial Award, which is awarded annually, according to the AHL, to a player “for his outstanding contributions to his local community and charitable organizations.” That was the fifth time that Hagel had been nominated by his AHL team for the award.
Hagel also is a co-founder of HP4K (Hockey Players for Kids), a non-profit organization that, according to its website, is “made up of hockey players around the world who are dedicated to positively impacting the communities they play in. . . . HP4K believes that promoting player interaction with children is the best way they can achieve this impact, and acts as a catalyst in connecting players with kids in their communities.”
O’Dette and Hagel met for the first time when they were teammates for part of the 2008-09 season with the ECHL’s Fresno Falcons. That was Hagel’s first season as a pro player, while it was O’Dette’s last one.
The Thunderbirds will hire one more assistant coach before the season. One vacancy was created when the Thunderbirds moved Matt O’Dette from assistant to head coach after Steve Konowalchuk left for the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks. The other spot came open when assistant coach Tyler Alos chose to leave the organization.
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G Rylan Toth, who played out his junior eligibility with the Seattle Thunderbirds last season, has decided to attend UBC and play for the Thunderbirds in 2017-18. . . . Toth led WHL goaltenders in regular-season victories (36) last season. He had a 2.75 GAA and .902 save percentage. He suffered an undisclosed injury late in the season and didn’t play again until getting into two games during the Memorial Cup tournament. . . . Toth also played two seasons with the Red Deer Rebels. . . . In 158 regular-season games, the Saskatoon native was 90-51-13, 2.76, .906.
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The BCHL’s Cowichan Valley Capitals have signed Brian Passmore as their new general manager and head coach. He takes over from Bob Beatty, who has resigned after four seasons with the Capitals. Beatty had spent 17 seasons in the SJHL before signing with the Capitals prior to the 2013-14 season. . . . Passmore, 37, has been the head coach of the bantam prep team at Shawnigan Lake School for the past two seasons. . . . Passmore also has coaching experience in the junior B Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League, having spent two seasons with the Peninsula Panthers and one with the Westshore Wolves. . . . The Capitals also announced that Dan Whiteford will be back for a second season as assistant coach, while Darren Rodney, who had been the assistant GM,  now is director of hockey operations.
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Mike Fraser, who scouts for the Brandon Wheat Kings, also has been writing a weekly column for the Brandon-based Westman Journal. In this week’s ponderings, who looks back at five years with the Wheat Kings. That column is right here. . . . With the Journal undergoing a change in the editor’s office, Fraser has chosen to step back, so next week’s column will be his last one. 
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Darren Steinke, the wandering blogger, spent a lot of the 2016-17 WHL season visiting various arenas. On Thursday, he blogged about his travels and how much fun he had. It’s all right here.
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If you’re a regular here, and even you aren’t, feel free to contribute to the feeding of the Drinnan family by making a donation to the cause. You are able to do so by clicking on the DONATE button and going from there.
If you would like to contact Taking Note with information, have a question or just feel like commenting on something, feel free to send an email to greggdrinnan@gmail.com. I’m also on Twitter (@gdrinnan).
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Thursday, July 13, 2017

Balcers, Clifford, True get contracts ... Battah heads overseas . . . About that $1 million


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 F Bruno Mráz (Brandon, 2011-12) has signed a one-year contract with Metallurg Novokuznetsk (Russia, Vysshaya Liga). Last season, he had 17 goals and 19 assists in 44 games with Zvolen (Slovakia, Extraliga). . . . 
D Roman Pšurný (Medicine Hat, 2004-06) haa signed a one-year extension with Přerov (Czech Republic, 1. Liga). Last season, he had 12 goals and 19 assists in 29 games. Pšurný tied for the team lead in scoring despite missing 23 games.
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Jeff Battah, who has worked in the WHL, is off to Austria as the goaltending coach with the Graz 99ers (Erste Bank Liga). Battah, 36, has been coaching since 2001, both as an assistant coach and as a goaltending coach. He has worked in the WHL, with the Lethbridge Hurricanes and Prince George Cougars, as well as in the AJHL and BCHL and in U Sports. With the 99ers, his first European assignment, he will work alongside head coach Doug Mason.
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The Everett Silvertips have signed goaltending coach Shane Clifford to a contract extension, the length of which wasn’t disclosed. Clifford, 46, is preparing for his 11th season with the Silvertips. In that position, he has tutored Carter Hart, the WHL’s goaltender of the year in each of the past two seasons. . . . According to a news release, Clifford, who is from Cincinnati, has coached professionally with the Pittsburgh Penguins (NHL), Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (AHL), Johnstown Chiefs (ECHL) and Les Ducs d’Angers (French Elite League), with goalies in the college ranks at Ohio State University (NCAA), and goaltenders across two separate tiers of junior levels for the Youngstown Phantoms (USHL) and Wenatchee Wild (NAHL).” . . . The Silvertips are heading into their 15th WHL season and earlier in the week they unveiled sweaters “the team will wear for home and road games designed to commemorate the anniversary campaign.” You are able to get a look at those sweaters by clicking right here.
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Jay Varady, the new head coach
of the Kingston Frontenacs.
(Photo: kingstonfrontenacs.com)
The OHL’s Kingston Frontenacs introduced former WHL coach Jay Varady as their new head coach on Thursday. Varady, 39, spent the past four seasons as the head coach of the USHL’s Sioux City Musketeers. . . . Last season, the Musketeers finished with the USHL’s best regular-season record, and a franchise-record 87 points, and reached the championship final before bowing out to the Chicago Steel. Varady was named the USHL’s coach of the year. . . . In four seasons with Sioux City, Varady was 136-88-10. . . . Varady, a native of Cahokia, Ill., spent eight seasons (2003-11) with the Everett Silvertips, as assistant coach and then associate coach. . . . In Kingston, Varady replaces Paul McFarland, now an assistant coach with the NHL’s Florida Panthers.
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The Lethbridge Hurricanes have signed G Bryan Thomson and D Jonah Regier, both of whom played last season for the bantam AAA Notre Dame Hounds. . . . Thomson was a second-round pick in the WHL’s 2017 bantam draft. From Moose Jaw, he was 3-13-1, 3.72, .895 in the regular season, then went 2-1-0, 2.33, .935 in the playoffs. . . . The Hurricanes selected Regier one pick after having taken Thomson. Regier, from Weyburn, Sask., had two goals and three assists in 30 regular-season games, then was pointless in four playoff games.
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F Rudolfs Balcers, who played last season with the Kamloops Blazers, has signed a three-year entry-level contract with the NHL’s San Jose Sharks. . . . Balcers, a 20-year-old Latvian, was a fifth-round selection in the NHL’s 2015 draft. He is expected to play in San Jose’s organization in 2017-18. . . . Last season, the 5-foot-11, 165-pounder had 77 points, 40 of them goals, in 66 games with Kamloops. . . . The Blazers are likely to open the 2017-18 season with veteran D Ondrej Vala, who will be playing his third season in Kamloops, and Swiss F Justin Sigrist, picked in the 2017 CHL import draft, as their two import players.
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F Alexander True, who scored the biggest goal in the Seattle Thunderbirds’ history, has signed a two-year contract with the San Jose Barracuda, the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s San Jose Sharks. . . . True, who will turn 20 on Monday, is from Denmark. He finished last season with 25 goals and 15 assists in 66 games, then added 12 goals and 10 assists in 20 playoff games. That included the winner at 12:36 of OT as the Thunderbirds beat the host Regina Pats, 4-3, in Game 6 of the WHL’s championship series. Seattle won the series and the Ed Chynoweth Cup, 4-2. . . . In 169 career regular-season games, True had 45 goals and 39 assists. . . . True spent last week in the Sharks’ developmental camp. . . . True’s father, Soren, was a 12th-round pick by the New York Rangers in the NHL’s 1986 draft.
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F Austin Glover, who played out his junior eligibility last season, will attend UBC and play for the Thunderbirds in 2017-18. Glover totalled 22 goals and 36 assists in 69 games split between the Prince Albert Raiders and Red Deer Rebels. . . . Glover, who also played with the Kelowna Rockets, totalled 146 points, including 51 goals, during a 224-game WHL career. . . . He was second-round pick by Kelowna in the WHL’s 2011 bantam draft.
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Before shutting things down for the remainder of the summer, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet filed one last 30 Thoughts. As he points out, when he returns for another the season, the NHL will have 31 teams and that means he’ll be writing 31 Thoughts. . . . His final 30 Thoughts, then, is right here.
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You are almost out of time, but you still have time to register and attend the seventh annual TeamSnap Hockey Coaches Conference that runs in Vancouver today (Friday) and Saturday. If you click on The Coaches Site website right here to register, you are able to get a 20-per-cent discount by entering the coupon code TakingNote.
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If you would like to contact Taking Note with information, have a question or just feel like commenting on something, feel free to send an email to greggdrinnan@gmail.com. I’m also on Twitter (@gdrinnan).
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Concussion Report

 The CFL has a new commissioner in Randy Ambrosie but, writes Paul Wiecek of the Winnipeg Free Press, the new guy “sounds a whole lot like the old commissioner of the CFL” when it comes to talking about CTE. . . . Wiecek’s column, which is headlined ‘CFL should do the right thing and pull its concussed head out of the sand,’ is right here.
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Posted by Gregg Drinnan at 9:57 PM
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Wednesday, July 12, 2017

O'Dette takes over Thunderbirds' bench ... Ex-WHL coach the man in Kingston? ... Wagner facing long rehab


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 The KHL player rights to D Dmitri Osipov (Vancouver, Brandon, 2013-17) have been traded by Sochi (Russia, KHL) to Ak Bars Kazan (Russia, KHL) for G Arseni Akhmetov (born 1999). Last season, Osipov had a goal and 10 assists in 42 games with Vancouver, then added a goal and two assists in 31 games with Brandon. . . . He was the first overall pick in the 2013 CHL import draft and in the 2013 KHL junior draft. . . . Osipov played out his junior eligibility last season. . . .
F David Rutherford (Vancouver, Spokane, 2004-08) has announced his retirement through his Twitter account. Last season, he had 19 goals and 24 assists in 41 games with the Belfast Giants (Northern Ireland, UK Elite). . . .
D Brennan Yadlowski (Lethbridge, Everett, 2007-12) has signed a one-year contract with the Guildford Flames (England, UK Elite). Last season, he had five assists in 28 games with the U of Alberta (U Sports). He graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce degree in June.
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On Tuesday, the day before Matt O'Dette was introduced
as the Seattle Thunderbirds' head coach, he was in the
team's dressing room for a photo shoot when Grace, 6, (left)
and Fiona, 8, arrived on the scene. The daughters of
Ian Henry, the Thunderbirds' director of public and media
relations, promptly showed him a key coaching move.
(Photos: Brian Liesse)
Matt O’Dette is the new head coach of the Seattle Thunderbirds, the reigning WHL champions. O’Dette spent the previous four seasons as an assistant coach with Seattle, working alongside head coach Steve Konowalchuk, who has left to join the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks as an assistant coach.
As a Seattle assistant coach, O’Dette, 41, was responsible for the defencemen, including Shea Theodore, the WHL’s top defenceman in 2014-15 and Ethan Bear, who won the award last season.
O’Dette also directed the Seattle penalty kill, which ranked first in the 22-team league in 2015-16 and third last season.
O'Dette, who is from Toronto, was with the ECHL's Bakersfield Condors, as director of hockey operations and head coach, for two seasons before joining the Thunderbirds. He also worked as assistant GM/assistant coach with the ECHL's Stockton Thunder.
As a player, he got into 663 professional games over 14 seasons in the AHL and ECHL. A defenceman, he played with the OHL’s Kitchener Rangers and Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds.
The Thunderbirds now are looking for two assistant coaches, one to fill the void created by O’Dette’s promotion and the other because Tyler Alos has left the organization after three seasons on staff.
Andy Eide of 710 ESPN Seattle reports that Alos “has opted to pursue a non-hockey opportunity, according to the team.”
Alos played 201 regular-season games over four years with the Thunderbirds before retiring on Dec. 3, 2012, after incurring multiple concussions.
Eide’s story on O’Dette’s promotion is right here.
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WHL ACTIVE COACHES REGULAR-SEASON VICTORIES:
Don Hay, Tri-City, Vancouver, Kamloops 720
Mike Williamson, Portland, Calgary, Tri-City 534
Brent Sutter, Red Deer 441
Marc Habscheid, Kamloops, Kelowna, Chilliwack, Victoria, Prince Albert 424
Shaun Clouston, Medicine Hat 320
Mike Johnston, Portland 271
John Paddock, Regina 125
Tim Hunter, Moose Jaw 103
Steve Hamilton, Edmonton 88
Brent Kisio, Lethbridge 88
Dan Lambert, Kelowna, Spokane 53
Richard Matvichuk, Prince George 45
Jason Smith, Kelowna 45
David Anning, Brandon, 39
Emanuel Viveiros, Swift Current 39
Dean Brockman, Saskatoon 27
Jason McKee, Vancouver 20
Dallas Ferguson, Calgary 0
Matt O’Dette,Spokane 0
James Patrick, Kootenay 0
Dan Price, Victoria 0
Dennis Williams, Everett 0
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F Cavin Leth has decided to attend Ryerson U in Toronto and play for the Rams in 2017-18. Leth, 21, split last season between the Seattle Thunderbirds and Prince Albert Raiders. From Taber, Alta., he had three assists in five games with the Thunderbirds, then put up 23 goals and 13 assists in 63 games with the Raiders. He also played with the Swift Current Broncos during his WHL career. All told, he had 44 goals and 35 assists in 262 regular-season games.
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The OHL’s Kingston Frontenacs have said they will introduce their new head coach today (Thursday). They have been in the market for one since Paul McFarland left to sign on as an assistant coach with the NHL’s Florida Panthers. . . . There has been speculation in OHL circles that Josh Dixon is the leading candidate to take over in Kingston. Dixon spent three seasons (2011-14) as an assistant coach with the Regina Pats and was with the Swift Current Broncos for 2014-15. . . . Dixon, who also is working on a masters in sports psychology, is in player development with CAA Sports.
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F Austin Wagner of the Regina Pats had shoulder surgery on June 7 and could be out of action for as long as six months. Perhaps the fastest skater in the WHL last season, he has signed with the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings and, as a 20-year-old, is eligible to player with their AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign. But he is expected to miss all of training camp and the start of the 2017-18 season. So might the Kings send him back to the Pats, the host team for the 2018 Memorial Cup? . . . Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post has more right here.
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The seventh annual TeamSnap Hockey Coaches Conference in Vancouver runs on Friday and Saturday. Among the presenters are Glen Gulutzan, the head coach of the NHL's Calgary Flames; Ray Ferraro, the terrific hockey analyst with TSN; Craig Cunningham, a former WHLer who now is pro scouting with the Arizona Coyotes; and Winnipeg Jets assistant coach Jamie Kompon, who is a former GM/head coach with the Portland Winterhawks. . . . If you haven't yet registered, click right here. As you register, enter the coupon code TakingNote and you’ll get 20 per cent off the registration fee.
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If you would like to contact Taking Note with information, have a question or just feel like commenting on something, feel free to send an email to greggdrinnan@gmail.com. I’m also on Twitter (@gdrinnan).

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.
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Posted by Gregg Drinnan at 10:34 PM
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Tuesday, July 11, 2017

Homecomings in Calgary ... T-Birds poised to name head coach ... Pats' Paddock adds players


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 D Kalvin Sagert (Kamloops, Lethbridge, Prince George, 2002-08) has signed a one-year contract with Gherdëina Selva Gardena (Italy, Alps HL). Last season, he had two goals and four assists in 27 games with Fehérvár AV19 Székesfehérvár (Hungary, Erste Bank Liga). . . .
D Emerson Hyrnyk (Prince Albert, Chilliwack, 2009-11) has signed a one-year contract with the Dundee Stars (Scotland, UK Elite). Last season, he had four assists in 26 games with Mount Royal University (U Sports).
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 If they didn’t, the Calgary Hitmen should have had Hagood Hardy’s The Homecoming playing in the background of their Tuesday morning news conference.
After all, Jeff Chynoweth, the Hitmen’s new general manager, is coming back to Calgary for the first time in 31 years, while Dallas Ferguson, the new head coach, is returning to Alberta after coaching in Alaska since 2002. Dallas Thompson, the new director of player personnel, is from Hayter, Alta.
Chynoweth joins the Hitmen after spending 16 seasons as the GM of the Kootenay Ice, a franchise that
The Calgary Hitmen braintrust: Dallas Ferguson (left),
Jeff Chynoweth, Mike Moore and Dallas Thompson.(Photo: Candice Ward/Hitmenhockey.com)
was owned by his family. The Chynoweths sold the Ice earlier this summer to Winnipeggers Greg Fettes and Matt Cockell.
With the Hitmen, Chynoweth takes over from Mike Moore, who now is vice-president and alternate governor. Moore had been the GM since 2013.
Chynoweth spent a good part of his youth in Calgary and, in fact, was the visiting teams’ stick boy at Flames games in the early 1980s. The Flames, of course, own the Hitmen.
Ferguson, meanwhile, takes over from Mark French, who left after three seasons as head coach in order to work in Switzerland.
Ferguson, who is from Wainwright, Alta., has been on the coaching staff of the U of Alaska-Fairbanks Nanooks since 2004. He has been the head coach since 2008. Before joining the Nanooks’ coaching staff, he was an assistant coach with the Fairbanks Ice Dogs for two seasons.
For Hitmen fans wanting to know Ferguson a bit better, right here is a College Hockey News story from when he was named the Nanooks’ head coach. . . . Click right here and you’ll find a Q&A that CHN managing editor Adam Wodon did with Ferguson early last season.
www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2008/05/21_ferguson.php
Assistant coaches Trent Cassan and Joel Otto are returning to work alongside Ferguson.
Thompson replaces Dan Bonar, who spent 14 seasons with the Hitmen, the last four as director of player personnel. Thompson worked for the Hitmen for the past two seasons as B.C. scouting director. He is a long-time WHLer, having spent 10 seasons as the general manager of the Prince George Cougars.
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With the Calgary Hitmen having hired Dallas Ferguson as their new head coach, it leaves the Seattle
Thunderbirds as the only one of the WHL’s 22 franchises without a head coach.
The Thunderbirds, the WHL’s reigning champions, are poised to name a a successor to Steve Konowalchuk who left after six seasons and now is an assistant coach with the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks. That announcement is scheduled for today (Wednesday) at noon PT.
Matt O’Dette, an assistant coach alongside Konowalchuk for the past four seasons, is believed to be the leading candidate as Seattle’s next head coach.
What it all means is that, barring any more changes, six teams will have new head coaches when the new season arrives.
Besides Calgary and Seattle, the Everett Silvertips, Kootenay Ice, Spokane Chiefs and Victoria Royals have made changes.
In Everett, the Silvertips chose not to renew Kevin Constantine’s contract after four seasons, and have replaced him with Dennis Williams.
In Kootenay, Luke Pierce, the Ice’s head coach for two seasons, got caught up in an ownership change and has been replaced by James Patrick.
In Spokane, veteran head coach Don Nachbaur and the Chiefs split up after the season and he has since signed on as an assistant coach with the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings.
In Victoria, the Royals lost head coach Dave Lowry to Los Angeles, also for an assistant coaching position. The Royals promoted assistant coach Dan Price to head coach.
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The Regina Pats will be the host team for the 2018 Memorial Cup tournament, and GM/head coach John Paddock is having a busy offseason. He picked up F Matt Bradley, a sniper, from the Medicine Hat Tigers in a move that garnered some notice. In a couple of other moves, Paddock has signed F George King, 19, who scored 36 goals with the MJHL’s OCN Blizzard last season, and F Rayman Bassi, who had 49 points with the major midget Okanagan Rockets. . . . Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post has more right here.
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The Vancouver Giants have signed D Parker Hendren to a WHL contract. From Regina, Hendren was a seventh-round pick in the 2016 bantam draft. . . . Last season, Hendren had 15 points, two of them goals, in 43 games with the midget AAA Regina Pat Canadians.
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If you would like to attend seventh annual TeamSnap Hockey Coaches Conference in Vancouver on Friday and Saturday, Taking Note has a deal for you. Click on The Coaches Site website right here and as you register enter the coupon code TakingNote and you’ll get 20 per cent off the registration fee. . . . Enjoy the weekend!
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If you would like to contact Taking Note with information, have a question or just feel like commenting on something, feel free to send an email to greggdrinnan@gmail.com. I’m also on Twitter (@gdrinnan).
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Coaching

 Two men with ties to the WHL moved into the NHL coaching ranks on Tuesday. . . . Kelly Buchberger (Moose Jaw, 1984-86) has left the Edmonton Oilers organization and now is an assistant coach with the New York Islanders. . . . In Pittsburgh, the Penguins moved Mark Recchi (New Westminster, Kamloops, 1985-88) into an assistant coaching role, filling the vacancy created when Rick Tocchet signed on as head coach of the Arizona Coyotes. . . . Buchberger, 50, spent nine seasons with the Oilers, six as an assistant coach before moving into player personnel and player development. . . . Recchi, 49, has been in player development with the Penguins for the past three seasons. He also is a co-owner of the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers. Recchi will be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame later this year.
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Ted Nolan has signed on as the head coach of Poland’s national men’s team. Nolan, a former NHL coach of the year, spent four years with the Latvian national team. Tom Coolen, an assistant coach with Nolan in Latvia, will fill the same role in Poland.
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Posted by Gregg Drinnan at 9:40 PM
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Sunday, July 2, 2017

Seattle captain gets AHL deal ... Warriors' pick signs with Lightning ... WHL flavour to conference


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 D Filip Novák (Regina, 1999-2002) has signed a one-year extension with České Budějovice (Czech Republic, 1. Liga). He had two goals and four assists in 14 games there last season. Novák started last season with Pardubice (Czech Republic, Extraliga), scoring a goal and adding two assists in nine games, then moved to Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia, KHL), where he had three assists in 11 games. . . .
F Linden Vey (Medicine Hat, 2006-11) has signed a one-year contract with Barys Astana (Kazakhstan, KHL). Last season, he was pointless in four games with the Calgary Flames (NHL). In 61 games with the Stockton Heat (AHL), he had 15 goals and a team-high 40 assists. . . .
D Darren Dietz (Saskatoon, 2009-13) has signed a one-year contract with Barys Astana (Kazakhstan, KHL). Last season, he had six goals and six assists in 39 games with the Hershey Bears (AHL), and had two assists in 13 games with the Texas Stars (AHL) 13. . . .
F Radek Duda (Regina, Lethbridge, 1998-2000) has signed a one-year extension with Freiburg (Germany, DEL2). Last season, he had 18 goals and 29 assists in 48 games.
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 F Scott Eansor, who played out his junior eligibility in winning a WHL title with the Seattle Thunderbirds last season, went to the New York Islanders’ development camp without a contract. On Saturday, he signed with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, the Islanders’ AHL affiliate, for 2017-18. . . . Eansor played four seasons with the Thunderbirds, totalling 129 points, including 47 goals, in 219 games. Last season, the native of Englewood, Colo., captained the Thunderbirds and had 18 goals and 20 assists in 40 games, then added five goals and seven assists in 20 playoff games.
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The NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning have signed D Oleg Sosunov, 19, to a three-year entry-level contract. He was a sixth-round selection in the NHL’s 2016 draft. . . . On Wednesday, the Moose Jaw Warriors picked Sosunov, who is from Ryazan, Russia, in the CHL’s import draft. . . . Interestingly, the Tampa Bay news release on Sosunov’s signing doesn’t mention the Warriors. . . . The 6-foot-8, 230-pound Sosunov was pointless in 32 games with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl (MHL) last season.
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There will be a real WHL flavour to the annual Hockey Coaches Conference when it runs in Vancouver, July 14-15.
At least five of the presenting coaches have ties to the WHL.
Glen Gulutzan, the head coach of the NHL’s Calgary Flames, played with the Moose Jaw Warriors, Brandon Wheat Kings and Saskatoon Blades. His presentation is entitled ‘Motivating your team by creating a vision.’
Richard Matvichuk, the head coach of the Prince George Cougars, is to present on teaching puck retrieval and breakout skills. He spent three seasons (1989-92) as a defenceman with the Blades.
Jamie Kompon, an assistant coach with the NHL’s Winnipeg Jets, spent two seasons as the Portland Winterhawks’ general manager and head coach. His presentation is: Details of the game — A breakdown of some essential skills.
Jay Varady, the head coach of the USHL’s Sioux City Musketeers, will present on technology in coaching. He is a former Everett Silvertips assistant coach.
Craig Cunningham, who played with the Vancouver Giants and the Winterhawks, now is a pro scout with the NHL’s Arizona Coyotes. He will speak on the impact of coaches.
For more info on the conference, click right here.
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BTW, if you want to contact me with some information or just feel like commenting on something, you may email me at greggdrinnan@gmail.com.
I’m also on Twitter (@gdrinnan).

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.
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Posted by Gregg Drinnan at 10:30 PM
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