1. There I was sitting at a counter in a DQ, enjoying a cup of coffee while my wife did the crossword puzzle in Saturday’s Vancouver Sun. I was tracking the NHL draft lottery on my tablet and wondering if the NHL intentionally created such humour.
2. Of course, the last thing the Edmonton Oilers, who won the lottery, need is another highly skilled forward. Perhaps they will select F Connor McDavid of the OHL’s Erie Otters and turn him into a defenceman?
3. Here’s a post-lottery tweet from Neate Sager of Yahoo! Sports that says it all: “So Connor McDavid will go to #Oilers, who forced @ErieOtters owner Sherry Bassin to file Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. No justice. #OHL.”
4. Do you recall the comments by then-Vancouver Canucks head coach John Tortorella after his infamous dash towards the Calgary Flames dressing room last season? After that incident, he said of Flames head coach Bob Hartley: “I don’t like the way he does business.” . . . You can bet that wherever Tortorella was on Friday night, he was nodding his head.
5. If you’re like me, you’re wondering how much of that $50,000 fine will come out of Hartley’s pocket?
6. The WHL playoffs are almost through two rounds, and 21 of 61 games have gone to overtime. Unfortunately, these playoffs haven’t been as close as that might seem to indicate. To date, only three of 11 series have needed more than five games to decide. If Portland wins tonight in Everett, that will be three of 12.
7. If you’re a fan of the Portland Winterhawks, you have to like the way these playoffs are shaping up. The Winterhawks, who have been to four straight WHL finals, are relatively healthy, while the other four teams still standing — Brandon, Calgary, Everett and Kelowna — all have had injury issues. It could be, though, that the Rockets are getting healthy at just the right time.
8. You can bet that Brandon, Calgary and Kelowna, none of whom is likely to play before Friday, will make good use of the off days, simply by resting those players with bumps and bruises and worse.
9. There is speculation that Mike Johnston, who had so much success as the GM and head coach of the Winterhawks, is on the hot seat as his first season as head coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins winds down. . . . If you think that’s crazy, there is speculation that the Boston Bruins’ brain trust is giving at least some consideration to firing head coach Claude Julien and hiring Mike Milbury to replace him. . . . Peter Chiarelli, the GM the Bruins fired the other day, had three years left on his contract.
10. A Saturday night tweet from Randy Turner of the Winnpeg Free Press: “I don't know why media keeps asking MacT if he'll trade McDavid. The Edmonton Oilers would never trade the best hockey player in the world.”
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F Maximilian Kammerer (Regina, 2013-14) has signed a three-year contract with Düsseldorf (Germany, DEL). This season, with Red Bull Salzburg II (Austria, Russia MHL), he had five goals and eight assists in 35 games.
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SATURDAY’S GAMES:
No Games Scheduled.———
G Steve Christie, a 30-year-old Winnipegger, stopped 27 shots on Saturday, leading the South East Prairie Thunder to a 2-0 victory over the Bentley, Alta., Generals in the Allan Cup final in Clarenville, Nfld. The Allan Cup was awarded for the 107th time. . . . The Prairie Thunder, which plays out of Steinbach, Man., will be host team for the 2016 Allan Cup tournament. . . . The goals came from F Mark Agnew, a 32-year-old native of Hartney, Man., who played four seasons at Quinnipiac U, and F Shawn Limpright, 33, who is from St. Adolphe, Man., and played four seasons with the Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . The Thunder’s lineup also included F Terry Yake, who played three seasons with the Brandon Wheat Kings before going on to a pro career that included 403 games in the NHL. Yake had an assist in the final, giving him a goal and two assists in four tournament games. Yake is 46 years of age. . . . The scoresheet from the final game is right here.
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The Kelowna Rockets advanced to the third round of the WHL playoffs on Friday night and now await the winner of the ongoing series between the Portland Winterhawks and Everett Silvertips. Portland takes a 3-1 lead into Everett tonight. . . . Should the next round feature Kelowna and Portland, Larry Fisher of the Kelowna Daily Courier writes that the Rockets could be “heavy favourites to avenge last year’s loss.” His reasoning? “Portland has a couple elite talents up front in Oliver Bjorkstrand and Nic Petan, but the tables have been turned on the back end, with Kelowna now boasting a clear advantage with (Josh) Morrissey in the fold. If (Leon) Draisaitl can pick up where he left off against Victoria, then the Rockets will be heavy favourites to avenge last year’s loss.”
Fisher’s story is right here.
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Here’s Kerry Eggers of the Portland Tribune, before the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the host New York Rangers 4-3 on Saturday:
The Pittsburgh Penguins are in tough in their first-round NHL playoff series with the New York Rangers, who owned the league's best record in the regular season (53-22-7). According to a column in the Pittsburgh Tribune Review, first-year coach Mike Johnston — the former Winterhawks general manager/head coach — is on the hot seat if the Penguins lose.
"Mike Johnston should survive. He probably won't," writes columnist Rob Rossi, blaming the Penguins' late-season swoon on injuries and a poor job of salary-cap management by general manager Jim Rutherford.
If the Penguins axe Johnston, the Winterhawks would be wise to welcome him back with open arms.
Johnston's replacement, Jamie Kompon, has done a capable job coaching the Hawks into the WHL's Western Conference semifinals. But Johnston did a sensational job in his six years in Portland, resurrecting a woebegone franchise that was a laughingstock when he arrived in 2008.
Keeping Kompon as coach and bringing back Johnston as the club's GM would be a win-win for everybody.
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Jack Brodsky, a former owner of the Saskatoon Blades, will be presented with the Saskatchewan Order of Merit on May 13 in Regina. . . . Before the Blades were sold to Edmonton-based auto dealer Mike Priestner prior to the 2013-14 season, Brodsky was prominent in WHL circles. He was the Blades’ president and governor, and served on numerous WHL committees. . . .
F Tim Bozon (Kootenay Ice) made his pro debut with the AHL’s Hamilton Bulldogs last night. Bozon, who played out his junior eligibility this season, was pointless but had six shots on goal as the host Bulldogs dropped a 4-3 shootout decision to the Lake Erie Monsters. Bozon had a chance to win the game in OT but Monster G Calvin Pickard came up with a tremendous save. . . . Kootenay D Rinat Valiev also made his debut last night. He was plus-1 as his Toronto Marlies beat the host Rockford IceHogs, 3-1.
F Cole Ully (Kamloops Blazers) was pointless as the Texas Stars scored a 4-3 OT victory over the San Antonio Rampage. It was Ully’s second pro game; he picked up an assist in a 3-2 victory on Friday night. Ully, who has signed with the parent Dallas Stars, is headed home to Calgary today. . . . BTW, former Kamloops F Brendan Ranford scored the OT goal for Texas last night.
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What is it like to be part of a family in which one individual is trying to cope with post-concussion syndrome? Kristin Reed has had six of these brain injuries, all while playing sports. She is 15 years of age. She yearns for a headache-free day. . . . Brandon Stoneburg of the Norristown, Pa., Times Herald has Stewart’s story right here.
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I wonder if Kelowna Rockets GM Bruce Hamilton has made the call to Oilers GM Craig McTavish to get Connor McDavid in a Rockets Jersey ???
— Andrew Castell (@ACHockeyHistory) April 19, 2015
So think of how many years that Canada will now have McDavid for the World Champs this time of year!
— Peter Milobar (@PeterMilobar) April 19, 2015
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.
In Regina, G Daniel Wapple stopped 31 shots as the Pats beat the Victoria Royals, 3-2. . . . The Pats, who have won three in a row, scored three second-period goals to take a 3-0 lead and then hung on as the Royals scored twice in the third. . . . Wapple had started eight straight games before Dawson MacAuley played in a 4-2 victory over the host Saskatoon Blades on Wednesday. . . . The Royals had won nine in a row on the road and seven in a row overall; this also was their first regulation-time loss in 15 games. . . . Victoria is 3-1-0 on a five-game swing that wraps up tonight in Saskatoon. . . . F Chandler Stephenson scored his 28th goal of the season and added an assist for Regina. . . . The Royals got a goal, his 32nd, and an assist from F Austin Carroll. . . . F Boston Leier was among the Pats’ scratches. He has 66 points, including a team-leading 31 goals. . . . Regina, 8-1-1 in its last 10, continues to lead the East Division, now by six points over the Swift Current Broncos. . . . The Royals (42-17-4) are third in the Western Conference. . . . 
In Brandon, the Calgary Hitmen ran their winning streak to nine games as they beat the Wheat Kings, 5-4. . . . It seems that a late-game play -- Brandon F Rihards Bukarts hit the cross-bar with a second left in regulation -- was under video review but that was unbeknownst to almost everyone. A tweet from Wheat Kings radio voice Bruce Luebke: “Teams off ice, stars announced and sticks taken to dressing room before Steve Papp emerged with no goal call.” . . . The Wheat Kings are winless in eight games. . . . Calgary F Jake Virtanen had a goal, his 39th, and two assists, while F Brady Brassart picked up an assist and now is riding a 12-game point streak. . . . Calgary opened a 3-0 lead and the Wheat Kings were forced to chase the game after that. They got to within 3-2, 4-3 and 5-4 but weren’t able to pull even. . . . G Chris Driedger made his first start since being suspended by the Hitmen for being in violation of team rules. He finished with 24 saves. . . . Brandon, which had 12 shots through two periods, scored three times in 17 shots in the third. . . . The Wheat Kings got F John Quenneville and F Jayce Hawryluk back from injuries, but were without F Richard Nejezchleb, D Rene Hunter and F Peter Quenneville (all injured) and D Colton Waltz (suspended). . . . The Hitmen (41-15-6) have as many points (88) as the Eastern Conference-leading Edmonton Oil Kings, who have the edge in winning percentage (.746-.710) and hold three games in hand. . . . The Wheat Kings (28-26-8) are seventh in the converence, two points head of the Red Deer Rebels. . . . 
In Moose Jaw, the Medicine Hat Tigers struck for four goals in a span of four minutes 16 seconds en route to a 6-0 victory over the Warriors. . . . The Tigers went 4-0-0 versus the Warriors this season. . . . Tigers G Marek Langhamer stopped 34 shots, including 16 in the third period, for his second shutout this season and the fourth of his career. . . . With the score 6-0 in the second period, Matthew Gourlie of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald tweeted: “Five of the Tigers' six goals have been scored by players who are 5-foot-9 or shorter. Speed skills.” . . . Medicine Hat got two goals from F Chad Butcher, who now has four this season, and a goal, his 28th, and two assists from F Cole Sanford. . . . F Trevor Cox also had a goal, his 21st, and two assists. . . . F Curtis Valk, who had an 18-game point streak snapped in his last game, got his 35th goal and added an assist. . . . Among Medicine Hat’s scratches were D Tommy Vannelli and D Ty Stanton. . . . The Tigers (37-21-3) are fourth in the Eastern Conference, three points ahead of the Kootenay Ice. . . . The Warriors (15-36-9) are 10th in the conference. . . . 
In Edmonton, the Oil Kings ran their winning streak to three games with a 4-1 victory over the Swift Current Broncos. . . . The Oil Kings, who have won 20 of 23, fell behind 1-0 on F Colby Cave’s 28th goal, shorthanded, at 2:54 of the first period, but scored the game’s last four goals. . . . Edmonton F Curtis Lazar got his 34th of the season. . . . D Griffin Reinhart, the Oil Kings’ captain, played in his 200th regular-season game. . . . The Broncos are spending the weekend without F Nathan Burns (undisclosed injury). . . . Edmonton (43-14-2) leads the Eastern Conference. . . . The Broncos (29-24-8) are sixth, eight points behind the Kootenay Ice. Furthermore, the Broncos now are six points behind the East Division-leading Regina Pats. . . . 
In Red Deer, the Rebels ended a five-game home-ice losing skid with a 5-3 victory over the Vancouver Giants. . . . F Rhyse Dieno had two goals, giving him 20, and an assist for the Rebels. . . . Since joining the Rebels last season, Dieno, 20, has 114 points, including 47 goals, in 103 games. . . . F Cain Franson scored twice for Vancouver, giving him 27. . . . F Jackson Houck had three assists for the Giants. . . . Dieno’s first goal, at 13:21 of the second period, on the PP, tied the game, 2-2. . . . F Conner Bleakley’s 27th gave the Rebels the lead at 18:18 of the second. . . . Dieno’s second goal came into an empty net at 19:00 of the third. . . . The Giants were without veteran defencemen Dalton Thrower and Brett Kulak. . . . Ch-ch-ch-ching! There was a multi-fight situation at 19:42 of the third period. . . . Red Deer, which had lost three in a row and 10 of 11, is 29-29-4 and holds down the Eastern Conference’s last playoff spot, two points ahead of the Prince Albert Raiders. . . . The Giants (29-24-10) are sixth in the Western Conference, two points up on the Everett Silvertips. . . . 
In Cranbrook, D Rinat Valiev scored the only goal of the shootout to give the Kootenay Ice a 3-2 victory over the Spokane Chiefs. . . . Valiev, who was shown on the on-line score sheet as the game’s first star before the overtime period started, was the ninth shooter in a five-round skills competition. . . . The Ice led 2-0 only to have the Chiefs tie it on two goals by F Keanu Yamamoto, who has nine goals this season. Yamamoto, a 17-year-old from Spokane, has three goals in his last two games and four in his last five outings. . . . Yamamoto’s second goal, at 15:45 of the second period, forced OT. . . . Spokane G Eric Williams stopped 40 shots. G Mackenzie Skapski of the Ice turned aside 25 and then was clean in the shootout. . . . The Chiefs took all five of the game’s minor penalties. . . . Just wondering, but when was the last time a Ryan McGill-coached team didn’t take even one penalty? . . . The Ice was 0-for-5 on the PP. . . . F Connor Chartier and F Marcus Messier each had two assists for Spokane. . . . D Jagger Dirk scored his seventh goal and added an assist for the Ice. . . . Ice F Sam Reinhart ran his point streak to 19 games. . . . That is two games shy of the franchise record that is held by F Mike Comrie, who did it Sept. 23 to Nov. 10, 2000. . . . Reinhart’s point streak is the longest in the WHL this season. He also is riding a 12-game assist streak. . . . The Ice dressed nine forwards and seven defencemen. . . . F Luke Philp was among the Ice’ scratches. . . . The Ice (35-22-4) is fifth in the Eastern Conference, three points behind Medicine Hat. . . . The Chiefs (34-21-6) are fifth in the Western Conference. . . . 
In Portland, F Keegan Iverson broke a 2-2 tie with his 20th goal of the season at 5:27 of the third period and the Winterhawks went on to beat the Kamloops Blazers 4-2 for their 18th straight victory. . . . The Winterhawks are 18-1-1 since Jan. 4. . . . Portland now has seven players on its roster with at least 20 goals. The Medicine Hat Tigers (1985-86) and the Winterhawks (1980-81) share the single-season record, at 12. . . . The Blazers led this one 2-1 after the first period on goals by F Matt Revel, his 14th, and F Carson Bolduc, his fifth. . . . Portland F Taylor Leier, with his 32nd, tied it 42 seconds into the second. . . . Portland F Brendan Leipsic added insurance with his 34th at 9:05 of the third, via the PP. . . . Kamloops G Benoit Pouliot stopped 42 shots, 28 more than Portland’s Corbin Boes. . . . F Matt Needham, the team captain, was back in the Blazers’ lineup after being out with an undisclosed injury. It was his first game in February and his second of 2014. . . . Portland F Nic Petan, who leads the WHL points race, had one assist. He’s got 103 points, three more than Spokane Chiefs F Mitch Holmberg, who was blanked last night. . . . Petan is riding a 14-game point streak, while F Oliver Bjorkstrand, who had an assist, has put together a 12-game streak. . . . The Winterhawks will go for 19 in a row tonight against the visiting Prince Albert Raiders. . . . Portland (44-12-5) is seven points behind the Western Conference-leading Kelowna Rockets. . . . Kamloops (12-44-5) is two games into a 10-game road trip. . . .
In Prince George, G Jackson Whistle turned aside 35 shots to help the Kelowna Rockets to a 4-2 victory over the Cougars. . . . With the victory, the Rockets became the first team in the CHL to reach 100 points this season. . . . D Mark McNulty scored his 17th goal of the season, on a PP, 19 seconds into the second period to give the home side a 1-0 lead. . . . Kelowna D Damon Severson tied it at 17:41 of the second, on the PP, and F Justin Kirkland gave the Rockets the lead at 19:10. They’ve each got 13 goals. . . . F Todd Fiddler got his 41st goal of the season for the Cougars. . . . Prince George G Adam Beukeboom stopped 40 shots. . . . The Cougars had D Peter Kosterman, 20, back in their lineup after he missed 25 games with a broken jaw. . . . The Cougars remain without F Jari Erricson, F Alex Forsberg, F Brett Roulston, F David Soltes, F Chase Witala and G Brett Zarowny. . . . The Rockets are without D Tyson Baillie (leg) and D Jesse Lees (undisclosed). . . . Let’s play three: These two teams will meet again tonight in Prince George and they’ll clash again Tuesday, this time in Kelowna. . . . The Rockets (48-8-4) lead the WHL’s overall standings. . . . The Cougars (25-31-8) are two points out of the Western Conference’s last playoff spot. . . . 
In Kennewick, Wash., F Leon Draisaitl had two goals and an assist to help the Prince Albert Raiders to a 6-4 victory over the Tri-City Americans. . . . Draisaitl, who has 28 goals, broke a 2-2 tie at 18:06 of the second period, via the PP. . . . Raiders F Shane Danyluk upped the lead to 4-2 with a shorthanded goal at 3:46 of the third and the visitors were never headed. . . . Danyluk has six goals, three of them in his last two games. . . . The Raiders have opened this six-game road trip with three straight victories. . . . Tri-City got two goals and an assist from D Mitch Topping. He’s got seven goals this season. . . . Topping has 33 goals in 306 career regular-season games. This was the first two-goal game of his career. . . . At one time in the second period, the Raiders held a 16-4 edge in shots. . . . Tri-City G Eric Comrie stopped 30 shots, eight more than P.A’s Cole Cheveldave. . . . The Raiders (28-28-4) are two points behind Red Deer, which holds down the Eastern Conference’s last playoff spot. . . . The Americans (27-27-6) are eighth in the Western Conference, two points ahead of Prince George. . . .
In Everett, D Mirco Mueller’s fourth goal of the season stood up as the winner as the Silvertips got past the Seattle Thunderbirds, 2-1. . . . Mueller’s goal, at 10:45 of the third period, gave the home boys a 2-0 lead. He also drew the lone assist on F Dawson Leedahl’s sixth goal at 1:41 of the first period. . . . Seattle F Justin Hickman got his 20th at 18:57 of the third period. . . . Mueller’s sister, Alina, scored the game-winner as Switzerland beat Sweden 4-3 to win the bronze medal in women’s hockey at the Olympic Winter Games on Thursday. . . . Everett G Austin Lotz stopped 17 shots, nine fewer than Seattle’s Taran Kozun. . . . A note involving a pair of Silvertips from Nick Patterson of the Everett Herald: “Goaltender Daniel Cotton and winger Darcy DeRoose, who were suspended by the team indefinitely last week for violating team rules, are no longer listed on either the game-day or permanent rosters.” . . . Everett (29-23-8) is seventh in the Western Conference, two points behind Vancouver. . . . Seattle (37-19-5) is a comfortable fourth in the conference.
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