Sask. Hall welcomes inductees . . . Bassin done in Erie . . . Nicholls: Hockey "detrimental to my health"

F Gilbert Brule (Vancouver, 2002-06) signed a one-year contract with Medveščak Zagreb (Croatia, KHL). Last season, with Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg (Russia, KHL), he had 10 goals and five assists in 44 games.
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The Saskatchewan Hockey Hall of Fame held its fourth annual induction ceremony in Humboldt on Friday evening. The class of 2015 features former Saskatoon Blades star Wendel Clark; Guyle Fielder, who dominated the pro Western league back in the day; Dave King, one of Canada’s great coaches; the late Vic Lynn, who played for all of the Original Six teams during his NHL career; former Canadian national team and Saskatoon Blades head coach Jackie McLeod; Kevin Muench, a longtime on-ice official who now is the WHL’s director of officiating; longtime Humboldt Broncos trainer Elgar (A.J.) Petersen; Gerry Rooney, a former Broncos manager and assistant coach; and former Swift Current Broncos forward Dave (Tiger) Williams. Also being inducted were two teams — the 1934 Saskatoon Quakers, who won the world championship; the 2003 Humboldt Broncos, who won the RBC Cup; and the Simpson Flyers (1965-72), who won six Saskatchewan titles. . . . The Hall of Fame is located in the Credit Union iPlex in Swift Current, the home of the Broncos.
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PHX✈️AUS pic.twitter.com/XRoksQdb7n

— The Carson Show (@CarsonDimoff) July 18, 2015

The story in the above tweet is about forwards Carson Dimoff and Ryan Savage, and how they came to join Red Bull Salzburg in Austria, where they plan on playing hockey this season. The WHL rights to both players belong to the Everett Silvertips.
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Sherry Bassin’s 19-year run with the OHL’s Erie Otters is over. With the team having changed hands, he won’t be back as its general manager, Victor Fernandes of goerie.com suggests right here that Dave Brown should be the team’s next GM.
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Got a tip or some information you feel could be useful to me, feel free to send an email to greggdrinnan@gmail.com.
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“I had a tremendous hockey career,” writes former NHL star Bernie Nicholls, “but it was extremely detrimental to my health and mental well-being.” . . . Nicholls has written a first-person piece for the New York Daily News and it’s right here.
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#GrowingUpInArizona When you roll the window down while driving.🔥 pic.twitter.com/bFE8262GaA

— Trev (@Ruelas_Trevor) July 18, 2015

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A Royal time at camps

THE MacBETH REPORT:
G Barry Brust (Spokane, Calgary, 2000-04) signed a one-year contract with Medvescak Zagreb (Croatia, KHL). He had a 2.50 GAA and a .911 save percentage in 35 games with the Abbotsford Heat (AHL) last season. . . .
D Spencer Humphries (Tri-City, Calgary, 2008-13) signed a one-year contract with Lev Prague (Czech Republic, KHL), after Lev traded a second-round pick in the 2014 KHL draft to Traktor Chelyabinsk in return for Humphries' KHL rights. Humphries, a fifth-round pick by Traktor in the 2012 KHL junior draft, had five goals and 33 assists in 70 games for the Hitmen last season.
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Brian Sandy, who spent six seasons in the front office of the Tri-City Americans, has been named president and alternate governor of the ECHL’s Stockton Thunder. . . . Sandy was the Americans’ chief marketing officer and senior vice-president, business operations with the Americans (2005-11). . . . Most recently, he served IMG College as associate general manager for the athletic department of the University of Arizona. . . . Sandy replaces Dan Chapman, who has accpeted the associate athletic director’s position with the University of the Pacific.
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Swedish F Andre Burakovsky was selected by the Washington Capitals in the first round of the 2013 NHL draft. And he was taken by the OHL’s Erie Otters with the fifth pick of the CHL’s 2013 import draft. But he apparently isn’t too happy about that. In fact, he seems he might prefer to play for the Windsor Spitfires. Too bad. “This isn’t free agency,” Erie general manager Sherry Bassin tells Sunaya Sapurji of Yahoo! Sports. “This is a draft.”
There’s more right here.
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The Victoria Royals have five players in NHL development camps this week. . . . F Austin Carroll, 19, is with the Calgary Flames as a free-agent invitee. . . . F Steven Hodges, 19, was selected by Florida in the third round of the NHL’s 2012 draft, and is in the Panthers’ development camp. . . . D Keegan Kanzig, 18, taken by the Flames in the third round of last month’s draft, is in Calgary’s camp. . . . F Logan Nelson, who is preparing for his 20-year-old season, is with the Buffalo Sabres. hey took him in the fifth round of the 2012 NHL draft. . . . F Ben Walker, who turned 20 on June 21, is from Edina, Minn., and is in the Minnesota Wild’s camp as a free-agent invitee.
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THE COACHING GAME:

Tim Branham is the new general manager and head coach of the ECHL’s Utah Grizzlies. Branham, 32, spent the previous four seasons as an assistant coach with the Reading Royals, who won the ECHL championship in 2012-13. . . . With Utah, he replaces Kevin Colley, who left Utah to take over as head coach of the Central League’s Arizona Sun Dogs.

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THE MacBETH REPORT:


F Justin Keller (Kelowna, 2003-06) signed a one-year contract extension with the Vienna Capitals (Austria, Erste Bank Liga). He had 16 goals and 19 assists in 52 games split between Red Bull Salzburg (Austria, Erste Bank Liga) and the Capitals. . . .


F Matt MacKay (Moose Jaw, Medicine Hat, Vancouver, Brandon, 2008-11) signed a one-year contract extension with the Schwenninger Wild Wings (Germany, 2. Bundesliga). He had three goals and five assists in 42 games with the Wings this season. . . .

D Robert Schnabel (Red Deer, 1997-99) signed a one-year contract extension with the Manchester Phoenix (England, Premier). He had eight goals and 18 assists in 45 games with the Premier League champs this season. . . .

F Lauris Darzins (Kelowna, 2004-06) signed a one-year contract with Traktor Chelyabinsk (Russia, KHL). He had four goals and eight assists in 24 games with Ak Bars Kazan (Russia, KHL) this season. Darzins also was captain of the Latvian national team at the world championship last month, where he had five goals and one assist in seven games. He also was Latvia’s leading scorer at the 2014 Olympics Qualifying Tournament with three goals and two assists in three games. Latvia won its group and qualified for Sochi. . . .

And an interesting note from the KHL. The league has mandated going to NHL-sized rinks starting with the 2013-2014 season. Hmmm. . . .
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There was a time when the WHL would at least put out a news release in advance of its annual general meeting.
These days, it seems the WHL would prefer to operate in secrecy.
There was no news release early in the week to provide even a speck of information on what would be on the agenda. That annual two-day meeting apparently was held in Vancouver and ended Wednesday. (Allow me to ask once again: Why not hold the annual meeting in one of the league’s smaller cities, providing a hotel or two and a restaurant or three with some offseason business? Or perhaps it could have been held in Portland where it might have received far more media attention than it did in Vancouver.)
Anyway . . .
According to the WHL’s own news release:
“One of the highlights of the meetings was a report on the WHL Concussion Management Safety Program indicating that concussions were down over 20% overall during the 2012-13 season compared to the 2011-12 season. The reduced number of concussions is largely a result of the WHL's Seven Point Plan, a comprehensive education and prevention program designed to reduce contact to the head and concussions, introduced prior to the 2011-12 season.”
The WHL, of course, didn’t provide any numbers. It expects us to take this at face value.
Brain injuries, it wants us to believe, are down more than 20 per cent. Of course, that could mean 20.1 per cent; it could mean 50 per cent. It could mean anything more than 20 per cent.
But more than 20 per cent of what? The WHL needs to start giving the media and fans credit for some intelligence; in other words, don’t expect that stuff to be swallowed like so much pablum.
The WHL started hiding its injury information following a 2010-11 season in which players accumulated more than 100 brain injuries and alarm bells started to go off. Those alarm bells got louder when some media outlets made something out of the WHL having surpassed the century mark.
The WHL’s response was to start reporting all injuries as being of the upper- or lower-body variety.
And now, with no point of reference, the WHL wants us to drink the Kool-Aid and believe that brain injuries were down more than 20 per cent this season.
I would suggest that if there was a drop of even 20 per cent, it means that brain injuries were way up — way, way up — in 2011-12 from 2010-11.
It is impossible to document a precise number because the WHL and its teams simply refuse to be truthful about such injuries. However, tracking upper-body injuries and using anecdotal evidence gathered throughout this season, I would suggest there were somewhere between 75 and 110 brain injuries.
Again, this is pure speculation, the numbers having been compiled by perusing the WHL’s weekly injury list and then attempting to research each upper-body injury.
What is known is that a number of players including F Spencer Main of the Kelowna Rockets, F Brayden Cuthbert of the Moose Jaw Warriors and F Shae Howorko of the Swift Current Broncos weren’t able to start the season because of previously incurred brain injuries.
A number of others, including forward Brent Benson of Swift Current, D Albin Blomqvist of the Lethbridge Hurricanes, D Reid Jackson of the Moose Jaw Warriors, G Daniel Wapple of Moose Jaw, F Phil Tot of the Tri-City Americans and F Tyrel Seaman of the Brandon Wheat Kings were shut down during the season to allow them more time to recover from brain injuries.
Two years ago, the WHL announced a “Seven-Point Plan” aimed at reducing brain injuries.
Then, following its annual meeting a year ago, the league said in a news release: “Despite a slight increase in concussions, the WHL remains confident the Seven Point Plan will assist in reducing concussions in the future.”
In the same news release, commissioner Ron Robison stated that the league actually expected that increase.
“We anticipated the rate of concussions may increase this past season as there is more emphasis being placed now than ever before on the care and treatment of concussion injuries,” Robison stated. “We remain confident that the WHL's Seven Point Plan will address this matter effectively and reduce concussions in the seasons ahead.”
Of course, no one from the WHL has said exactly how many brain injuries were suffered during that 2011-12 season. So, again, there is no point of reference.
We aren’t likely to find out how many there were in 2012-13 either because the WHL continues to hide the numbers.
But, as mentioned, that total would appear to be between 75 and 110, and that’s far too many, especially if you are one of the unfortunate young men who has ended up with a brain injury that may have a long-term impact on your life.
But until the WHL chooses to become more transparent and provide hard numbers, we will never know what is really happening.
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The WHL’s news release from its annual meeting that benefited the economy of Vancouver also mentioned:
1. The league will use video replay “in the offensive zone to review goal situations when a player may have scored as a result of a hand pass or high stick.” This change is too late to help the Swift Current Broncos who lost a home playoff game in OT because the on-ice officials missed a gloved pass in the goal area that resulted in a goal.
2. The league is using a “new computer assisted scheduling system.” . . . The exhibition schedule is to be released June 25, with the regular-season schedule to follow the next day.
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1. The Tri-City Americans have acquired F Jessey Astles, 20, from the Saskatoon Blades for a conditional sixth-round selection in the 2014 bantam draft. Astles had two points in 26 games with the Blades. He missed a lot of the season after suffering a skate cut to one wrist during a November game against the Regina Pats. The injury required surgery. Astles, a sixth-round selection by Kelowna in the 2008 bantam draft, played three seasons with the Rockets He was dealt to the Blades last summer.

2. The Americans now have six 1993-born players on their roster. The others are F Tyson Dallman, F Lukas Walter, D Zach Yuen, D Mitch Topping and G Luke Lee-Knight. . . . The Blades, meanwhile, have 13, but two of those are imports. . . . Teams are allowed to carry three 20-year-olds after a mid-October deadline.


3. The Prince Albert Raiders have signed F Lance Yaremchuk, a local lad who led the Saskatchewan midget AAA league in goals (38) with his hometown Mintos this season. Yaremchuk, a sixth-round selection in the 2011 bantam draft, is a 1996-born player. He had 63 points, leaving him fourth in the league scoring race.


4. Dan Lambert, who is prepping for his fifth season as an assistant coach with the Kelowna Rockets, has been named head coach of Team West, the Manitoba-Saskatchewan combines who will play in the U17 World Hockey Challenge in Cape Breton, Dec. 28 through Jan. 5. . . . Lambert, 43, replaces Malcolm Cameron, who stepped aside after being named head coach of the Regina Pats last month.

5. Lambert, then a defenceman with the Swift Current Broncos, played for a similar U17 team that met a touring Soviet side in a three-game series late in 1986. It was while he was with that team that the Broncos’ bus crashed, on Dec. 30, 1986, killing four of his teammates. . . . The book that is linked to at the top right of this page — Sudden Death: The Incredible Saga of the 1986 Swift Current Broncos — is about that crash and all that happened afterwards.

6. The OHL’s Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds have signed general manager Kyle Dubas to a two-year extension, taking him through 2015-16. Dubas, 27, is a Sault Ste. Marie native who signed with the team in April 2011. . . . Earlier, the Greyhounds picked up an option on head coach Sheldon Keefe and now have him signed through 2014-15.


7. Doug Harrison of CBC Sports has spoken with Sherry Bassin, the majority owner and general manager, of the OHL’s Erie Otters about the CHL’s decision to prohibit European goaltenders. That story is right here.
Bassin, who has been around since they flooded the ice with water barrels and gunnysacks, talks a lot about the lack of coaching provided to goaltenders in minor hockey.
But at the end of the story he opens another can of worms by telling Harrison that it wouldn’t surprise him if all European players were prohibited from playing in the CHL in the not-too-distant future.
Discuss.

8. The Grand Rapids Griffins closed to within one victory of the AHL championship with a 4-2 victory over the visiting Syracuse Crunch last night. . . . The Griffins lead the best-of-seven final for the Calder Cup, 3-0. Game 4 is scheduled for Friday night in Grand Rapids. . . . F Jan Mursak broke a 2-2 tie at 15:11 of the third period. . . . Game 4 will be available on AHL Live, SiriusXM NHL Network Radio, and ESPN America). Game time is 7 p.m. ET. . . . Attendance for Game 3 was 10,102.

9. Ken Campbell of The Hockey News has a piece right here speculating on the future of the NHL’s Phoenix Coyotes. Will they stay, or will they go? And if they go, what is their destination? . . . Interestingly, Campbell has former Tampa Bay Lightning co-owner Oren Koules involved in a group that is “lurking in the background.” . . . Campbell also speculates that the Coyotes could end up relocating to Tacoma. Why Tacoma? Because Seattle’s Key Arena no longer has ice-making equipment or an accessible chilling system. That would precede a move to Seattle, should Chris Hansen get a new arena built for an NBA franchise that he hasn’t yet obtained. . . . Campbell doesn’t suggest an owner should the Coyotes end up Tacoma/Seattle, but I have to wonder if Bill Gallacher, who owns the Portland Winterhawks, would be involved.
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THE COACHING GAME:
The OHL’s Ottawa 67’s have added Travis Crickard, 25, to their staff as an assistant coach. A native of St. John’s, N.L., Crickard spent this season as the head coach of the major midget Ottawa Jr. 67’s, who played in the Telus Cup.
Paul Fixter has signed on with the OHL’s Sudbury Wolves as the associate coach. He had been with the Kitchener Rangers as assistant GM/associate coach since 2008.
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From Guy Flaming (@TPS-Guy): "Petr Mrazek and the Grand Rapids Griffins lead Syracuse 3-0 in the AHL finals. Waiting for AHL to ban Euro goalies now.”
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From WHL Facts (@WHLFacts): “#35 - So I propose to have the Euro Netminder ban be dubbed the ‘Bartosak Rule’, since apparently he's too good for the CHL #GoalieOfTheYear”

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The Red Deer Rebels will be wearing special jerseys on Saturday
when they meet the visiting Calgary Hitmen.

THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Jakub Sindel (Brandon, 2004-05) signed a contract for the rest of this season with Ässät Pori (Finland, SM-Liiga). He had two assists in five games with Kloten (Switzerland, NL A), one goal in 21 games with Dinamo Riga (Latvia, KHL), and three assists in 11 games with Kärpät Oulu (Finland, SM-Liiga) this season. . . .
F Jan Fadrny (Brandon, Kelowna, 1998-2001) signed a contract for the rest of this season with Martin (Slovakia, Extraliga). He had 13 goals and 25 assists in 26 games for Königsbrunn (Germany, Regionalliga) this season. . . .
F Brad Schell (Spokane, 1999-2004) was released by Dornbirn (Austria, Nationalliga). He had 18 goals and 32 assists in 27 games for Dornbirn this season. Schell was released to open a import roster slot for former NHL and AHL F Scott Barney. . . .
D Ross Lupaschuk (Lethbridge, Prince Albert, Red Deer, 1996-2001) signed a contract for the rest of this season with Jokerit Helsinki (Finland, SM-Liiga). He had 10 goals and 17 assists in 38 games with the Vienna Capitals (Austria, Erste Bank Liga) this season. . . .
F Kyle Bruce (Kamloops, Prince Albert, Vancouver, 1999-2004) signed a contract for the rest of this season with the Dundee Stars (Scotland, UK Elite). He had two goals and 11 assists in 26 games with the Braehead Clan (Scotland, UK Elite) this season. . . .
F Kirill Starkov (Red Deer, 2006-07) signed a contract for the rest of this season with SønderjyskE Vojens (Denmark, AL-Bank Liga). He had three goals and 12 assists in 39 games with Rögle (Sweden, Allsvenskan) this season. . . .
D Jason Beckett (Seattle, 1997-2000) was released Monday by Kallinge/Rommeby (Sweden, Division 1). He had two goals and three assists in 32 games with Kallinge/Ronneby this season. . . . On Tuesday, Beckett signed a contract for the rest of this season with Västervik (Sweden, Division 2). . . .
F Jaroslav Kristek (Tri-City, 1998-2000) was assigned on loan by Lev Poprad (Slovakia, KHL) to Kosice (Slovakia, Extraliga) for the rest of this season. He had eight goals and six assists in 36 games for Lev this season. . . .
G Tyler Plante (Brandon, 2003-07) signed a contract for the rest of this season with Djurgården Stockholm (Sweden, Elitserien). He started the season with the San Antonio Rampage (AHL), playing two games with a 3.14 GAA and a .899 save percentage. Plante also appeared in four games with the Cincinnati Cyclones (ECHL), registering a 2.65 GAA and a .896 save percentage. After being released by Florida Panthers, he signed on with Mora (Sweden, Allsvenskan). There, he had a 3.00 GAA and a .899 save percentage in six games. . . .
F Milan Kytnar (Kelowna, Saskatoon, Vancouver, 2007-10) was assigned on loan by the Edmonton Oilers to HPK Hämeenlinna (Finland, SM-Liiga) for the rest of this season. He had one goal and two assists in 13 games with the Oklahoma City Barons (AHL), five goals and three assists in 14 games with the Stockton Thunder (ECHL) and was pointless in one game with the Oilers this season.
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ASK THE COMMISSIONER:
Why does the WHL not shut down for the CHL Top Prospects Game? Your ticket buyers are denied watching a number of your best players over the Christmas/New Year season because of the various international assignments. So why not shut down for three days while the TPG and its skills competition are being held and give the ticket-buying public a break?
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THE COACHING GAME:
Lonny Bohonos (Moose Jaw, Seattle, Portland, 1991-94) is the new head coach of the Thunder Bay North Stars of the junior A Superior International league. Bohonos was named interim head coach following the firing of Todd Howarth. . . . Howarth stepped down, citing personal reasons. He had been the head coach since 2002-03. . . . Bohonos, who is from Winnipeg, has lived in Thunder Bay since 2006, where he has coached in the Thunder Bay Kings organization. . . . The North Stars are 22-15-5 and in third place.
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JUST NOTES:
The Red Deer Rebels have hooked up with Finning Canada for a Saturday promotion to benefit KidSport in Central Alberta. The Rebels will wear special sweaters for Saturday’s game against the visiting Calgary Hitmen. The sweaters will be part of a silent auction to be held during the game. . . . According to a Rebels’ news release: “The silent auction will begin when the doors open at 6:30 p.m. It will conclude, at the latest, by the end of the first period intermission. There will be a limit of one jersey per fan, and each jersey will have a ‘buy now’ price. After the game, each player will sign his jersey before presenting it to the person who made the successful bid.” . . .
The Saskatoon Blades have added D Nelson Nogier, 15, to their lineup for tonight’s game against the visiting Swift Current Broncos. Nogier, the son of former WHL G Pat Nogier, is from Saskatoon and plays for the midget AAA Contacts. Nelson was a fourth-round selection in the 2011 bantam draft. . . . The Blades are without F Lukas Sutter and D Dalton Thrower, both of whom are at the Top Prospects Game in Kelowna, D Matt Pufahl (ankle) and F Travis McEvoy (concussion). . . . McEvoy and Pufahl both were injured in fights during a game on Saturday. Pufahl broke an ankle and has had surgery. He is expected to be out up to eight weeks. . . .
The Blades also have added former D Curtis Leschyshyn to their coaching staff. He will help out for the next couple of weeks with Jerome Engele away until the middle of February. . . .
The Portland Winterhawks will induct Brent Peterson, a former player and coach, into their Hall of Fame on Friday, prior to a game against the visiting Everett Silvertips. The ceremony is scheduled to begin at 6:45 p.m. . . . The Winterhawks will be looking to extend their franchise-record home-ice winning streak to 19 games. The Silvertips are coming off a doubleheader sweep in Prince George.
Doug Harrison of CBC Sports has done up an interesting feature on Sherry Bassin, the general manager of the OHL’s Erie Otters. You may check it out right here. If you do, pay particular attention to the sidebar in which Bassin talks about the importance of delegating wisely.
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I really don’t know why it took until now for me to stumble upon a blog that is titled The Agents of Change. But I did happen upon it and it’s definitely worth your checking out. Written by long-time agent Ritch Winter, there is lots of food for thought here.
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The Detroit Red Wings will play the Flames in Calgary tonight. Prior to the game, the Flames will honour the memory of Brad McCrimmon, who played for both teams. McCrimmon, who played for the WHL’s Brandon Wheat Kings and coached the Saskatoon Blades, was killed when a plane carrying the KHL’s Lokomotiv Yaroslavl club crashed on Sept. 7.
There’s more right here.
And if you haven't yet made a donation and got your Love for Lokomotiv bracelet, skip on over to right here and get it done.


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When the WHL’s weekly injury list is released today or tomorrow, the Portland Winterhawks likely will show F Oliver Gabriel as being out with an upper body injury. His left shoulder apparently popped out twice in Friday’s 7-6 victory over the visiting Victoria Royals. . . . An observer tells me: “The first time was in a fight early in the game; he basically had to give up the fight and he skated straight to the locker-room. He came back for a couple of shifts at the end of the period, then on the first shift of the second period, he just collapsed in a heap on the ice in obvious pain. He eventually got up and his left arm was just dangling as he skated off. From what I can tell, there was no contact at all the second time.” . . . Gabriel had his 2010-11 season come to a premature end when he needed surgery on his right shoulder. . . . He has signed with the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets – he was a free-agent signing – and began this season with the AHL’s Springfield Falcons. If he is gone for any length of time, it could be a devastating loss for a Portland team that needs his grit up front.
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D Tyler Bortsmayer, 18, is back with the SJHL’s Weyburn Red Wings after a brief stint with the Regina Pats. . . . He joined the Pats in mid-December and was pointless in four games. . . .
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MONDAY’S GAME:
In Lethbridge, the Hurricanes broke a 2-2 tie with five goals and beat the Kootenay Ice, 5-2. . . . F Reid Duke, the fifth overall pick in the 2011 bantam draft, scored his first WHL goal for Lethbridge. . . . F Max Reinhart scored twice for the Ice. He’s got 18 this season. . . . Lethbridge D Daniel Johnston had three assists. . . . Lethbridge G Damien Ketlo stopped 31 shots. . . . Lethbridge F Russell Maxwell’s ninth goal broke a 2-2 tie at 12:53 of the second period. . . . The Hurricanes were 3-for-9 on the PP; the Ice was 1-for-5.
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MONDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
F Albin Blomqvist, Lethbridge.
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Team Pacific went into Monday’s play at the U-17 World Hockey Challenge riding high atop the B Group with a 3-0 record. But then it lost 4-2 to the United States and now finds itself playing for fifth place against Quebec. . . . The U.S., Russia and Team Pacific all finished 3-1. According to the tiebreaking procedure, a sub-group is created “of the three teams that have the same record. The tie-break between the three teams is the goal differential in the games played amongst each other. The seeded teams then are: USA in first (+1), Russia in second (even), Pacific in third (-1).” . . . F Torrin White (Moose Jaw) and F Morgan Klimchuk (Regina) scored for Team Pacific. . . . Team West, meanwhile, lost 6-3 to Russia and now is 0-4, the first Canadian team to go winless since Quebec went 0-4 in Lethbridge in 2005. . . . F Denis Bosc (MJHL-Steinbach Pistons), F Cory Millette (Red Deer) and F Jordan Tkatch (Prince George) scored for Team West, which will play Germany in the ninth-place game. . . . Today’s semifinals feature Sweden against the U.S., and Russia versus defending-champion Ontario.
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WHL TRADE TRACKER (trades made since Dec. 27):
Trades made: 4
Players: 11
Draft picks: 4
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JUST NOTES:
The Chicago Blackhawks announced the signing of F Mark McNeill of the Prince Albert Raiders on Monday. McNeill, the 18th overall pick in the 2011 NHL draft, has 39 points in 37 games with the Raiders this season. Capgeek.com actually reported this deal on Sunday, noting that the three-year deal calls for AHL salaries of US$70,000, annual NHL salaries of $1.175 million and a signing bonus of $277,500 payable over the three years. . . .
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Grant Thomas, a former QMJHL defenceman (Montreal Rocket, Cape Breton Screaming Eagles, Halifax Mooseheads, 2001-04), is the proud father of Langley, B.C.’s New Years baby. His wife, Katie, gave birth to Blake Colton Thomas at 8:10 a.m. He weighed nine pounds six ounces and already is 22 inches tall. “He’s thick,” Grant told Troy Landreville of the Langley Advance. “He’ll definitely be finishing his bodychecks.”
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Andrew Podnieks takes a look right here at linesman Kiel Murchison, who works WHL games while also serving as a Vancouver police officer. Murchison has been working the lines at the World Junior Championship.
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Jack Jablonski, a 16-year-old high school hockey player from the Minneapolis area, was left paralyzed after taking a hit from two opposing players on Friday night. According to his coach, Jablonski has no movement in his legs and minimal movement in his hands and figures. Dan Browning of the Minneapolis Star Tribune has more right here.
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Dave Paul of the Sarnia Observer talks with Alex Galchenyuk Sr., an assistant coach with the OHL’s Sarnia Sting, and Sherry Bassin, the Erie Otters’ general manager, about the Punchup in Piestany that took place 25 years ago. That story is right here and, boy, have we come a long ways since that day.

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