Commish wants more support for Ice, new rink in P.A. . . . or else!

Nice to welcome @Kelowna_Rockets to Brandon to play our @bdnwheatkings Two great teams! And thanks for flying #YBR 😉 pic.twitter.com/JgW33wUCxy

— shannon (@ShannonMannall) May 6, 2015

WEDNESDAY’S GAME:

No Game Scheduled.

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The WHL’s championship final, for the Ed Chynoweth Cup, begins Friday in Brandon with the Wheat Kings meeting the Kelowna Rockets. . . .
Each team is 12-3 in these playoffs. . . . Brandon has won each of its series in five games; Kelowna has won in four, five and six games, which, if you are into omens, might indicate the Rockets will win the final in seven. . . . The Wheat Kings have scored 65 goals in their 15 games; the Rockets have scored 65. . . . Brandon has surrendered 34 goals; Kelowna 39. . . . Kelowna fell behind in five of the six games in its 4-2 Western Conference final victory over the Portland Winterhawks. . . . As for injuries, Brandon F Reid Duke, F Tanner Kaspick and D Kale Clague have been practising this week. Duke was injured in Game 5 of a second-round series. Kaspick and Clague went down in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference final. . . . The Rockets will be without F Tyrell Goulbourne, who underwent surgery last week to repair a skate cut to his left calf. F Rourke Chartier, a 48-goal scorer in the regular season, is day-to-day after missing the last three games against Portland. . . . Here’s an interesting tidbit from Brandon Sun sports editor Rob Henderson: “The combined 226 points that Brandon and Kelowna racked up this season are more than any other pair of finalists except 1979 when the Wheat Kings (with a league-record 125 points) topped the Portland Winterhawks (111) for the WHL title.”
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Last week, you will recall, Avenir Sports & Entertainment, purchased majority ownership of the Kloten Flyers, a team that players in the Switzerland’s NL A. Avenir is owned by Bill Gallacher, who also owns the Portland Winterhawks. Perhaps you are wondering that the move might mean to the Winterhawks. If so, here’s what Winterhawks president Doug Piper told Kerry Eggers of the Portland Tribune:
"When Bill bought the Winterhawks (in 2008), his intention was to also buy an NHL franchise. Those opportunities have come and gone, so we started thinking about the European market. We've always loved Swiss players — the three who have played for us have been fantastic. Switzerland is a great hockey market, almost Canadian-like in its appreciation with the game.
"The WHL allows each team only two imports, but the ones we've had have been impactful. Switzerland has a sophisticated youth program. We've always been tuned into Europe, but we feel this helps us get even more eyes over there and be in line to find more Niederreiter-like talent. The more we understand the world as a whole and start looking at it that way, we felt it was a wise thing to do for the future.”
The three Swiss players to have been with the Winterhawks are Nino Niederreiter, Sven Baertschi and Luca Sbisa.
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Ron Robison, the commissioner of the WHL, was in Lethbridge on Monday, where he met with shareholders of the Hurricanes and urged them to sell the franchise to private owners. . . . On Tuesday, he told Les Lazaruk, the radio voice of the Saskatoon Blades, that the Kootenay Ice and Prince Albert Raiders need help if they are to remain where they are in the long term.
Robison, on the Ice: “The attendance in (Cranbrook) is not where we need it to be. We're addressing that and hopeful that we can get some solution in place here very soon. But, the reality is that in order to continue to operate in markets such as Cranbrook, the Kootenay Ice have to draw more people . . . have to get better support in that community. Otherwise, we may have no alternative but to relocate the franchise.”
Robison, on the Raiders: “There's no question that in order for the Prince Albert Raiders to be viable long term, a new facility is required. I think the city acknowledges that. The Raiders certainly understand that moving forward and I think it would be a major asset to the community. They want to preserve their franchise and, certainly, discussions are underway in that regard.”
Lazaruk’s story is right here.
Brett Smith of the Prince Albert Daily Herald followed up on that story by talking with Raiders officials. That story is right here.
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The WHL bantam draft is scheduled to be held today in Calgary. When it comes to coverage, the day belongs to Alan Caldwell over at Small Thoughts at Large. So check out his blog for all the happenings. . . . If you click right here, you will find his spreadsheet that features all of the WHL trades that involved draft picks.
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Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post reports that Pats F Braden Christoffer, 20, has signed with the Oklahoma City Barons, the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers. According to Harder, Christoffer, the Pats’ captain, isn’t expected to join the Barons now; rather, he will report next season when the franchise has moved to Bakersfield, Calif. He also will play for the Oilers in a prospects tournament in Penticton, B.C., in September.
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The WHL held its awards luncheon in Calgary on Wednesday. For a look at all the winners, click right here.
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During the WHL’s awards luncheon, former Regina Pats owner Russ Parker was honoured with the 2014-15 Governors Award. Parker and his wife, Diane, purchased the Pats from the WHL in 1995. They sold the franchise prior to this season.
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THE COACHING GAME:

Moe Mantha, a former NHL defenceman, has signed on as the first GM/head coach of the French River Rapids, who will begin play in the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League next season. The 54-year-old Mantha is a native of Sturgeon Falls, Ont., which is a short drive from Noelville, the home of the Rapids. Mantha had been working as the head coach of the NAHL’s Michigan Warriors. . . . Randy Russon of Sault This Week has more right here.
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Ryan Donald has signed on as assistant GM and assistant coach with the BCHL’s Trail Smoke Eaters. He had been the head coach and assistant GM of the Woodstock Slammers of the junior A Maritime Hockey League. He is a graduate of Yale who captain the Bulldogs. He also played in the AJHL with the Fort Saskatchewan Traders and Camrose Kodiaks. In Trail, he will be working with GM/head coach Nick Deschenes and assistant coaches Craig Clare and Barry Zanier.
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Some 5'9" dude from Spokane is leading the #NHLPlayoffs in goals. Didn't see that coming when he was a @chiefshockey player

— Chad Balcom (@hawkeyblog) May 7, 2015

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Chiefs to pick first in 2015 bantam draft

The Spokane Chiefs will make the first selection when the WHL’s 2015 bantam draft opens in Calgary on May 7. The Saskatoon Blades won the draft lottery on Wednesday, but the Chiefs hold that pick as part of a January 2013 deal that had F Collin Valcourt join the Blades. . . . This will be the second time in franchise history that the Chiefs have held the first selection. They took D Jared Cowen first overall in 2006. . . . Interestingly, the Blades also won the draft lottery a year ago, but had traded the first pick to the Brandon Wheat Kings, who used it to select F Stelio Mattheos of Winnipeg. . . . Still, the Blades do hold two first-round selections in the 2015 draft. The Blades will pick 12th and 18th, the former having been acquired from the Kamloops Blazers and the latter from the Everett Silvertips. The 12th pick originally belonged to the Kootenay Ice, but went to Kamloops as part of the deal in which F Tim Bozon went to the Ice. The Blades then used it in acquiring F Matt Revel from the Blades. The Everett pick went to Saskatoon in the deal for F Nikita Scherbak.
The first round:
1. Spokane (from Saskatoon); 2. Lethbridge; 3. Vancouver; 4. Moose Jaw (from Kamloops); 5. Prince Albert; 6. Moose Jaw; 7. Tri-City; 8. Prince George; 9. Spokane; 10. Swift Current; 11. Edmonton;
12. Saskatoon (from Kootenay); 13. Victoria; 14. Regina; 15. Seattle; 16. Red Deer; 17. Medicine Hat; 18. Saskatoon (from Everett); 19. Calgary; 20. Prince Albert (from Kelowna); 21. Brandon.
The Portland Winterhawks would have selected 17th, but forfeited that pick as part of the discipline meted out for those unpardonable sins committed in days of yore.
The second and all other rounds will follow the inverse order of the final regular-season standings:
1. Saskatoon; 2. Lethbridge; 3. Vancouver; 4. Kamloops; 5. Tri-City; 6. Prince Albert; 7. Prince George; 8. Moose Jaw; 9. 9. Spokane; 10. Swift Current; 11. Edmonton;
12. Kootenay; 13. Victoria; 14. Regina; 15. Seattle; 16. Red Deer; 17. Portland; 18, Medicine Hat; 19. Everett; 20. Calgary; 21. Kelowna; 22. Brandon. (The order here doesn't include trades, of course. For more on that, visit the blog Small Thoughts at Large where Alan Caldwell has a spreadsheet that tracks all WHL trades that include bantam draft picks.)
From Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix: “Lloydminster’s Ty Smith, who captained the Delta Hockey Academy bantam prep team, is considered a front-runner to be selected No. 1 this year.
“The 5-foot-10, 155-pound defenceman had nine goals and 28 points in 16 games.”
 Nugent-Bowman has more on the Blades and the draft right here.


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SilverBacks need some help

The Medicine Hat Tigers have dealt D Garrett Haar, 20, to the Portland Winterhawks for an undisclosed conditional selection in the 2014 bantam draft. . . . Haar, who is from Huntington Beach, Calif., played the last two seasons at Western Michigan U. Broncos head coach Andy Murray said Haar had been dropped from his program, adding that he had met more with Haar than with any other player in his coaching career. . . . Haar said that he chose to leave the program. . . . Regardless, the 6-foot-1, 198-pound had been declared academically ineligible for the start of the season. . . . Haar was a seventh round selection by the Washington Capitals in the NHL’s 2011 draft. . . . Last season, Haar had nine points in 22 games. The previous season, he had eight points in 36 games. . . . The Winterhawks now have two 20-year-olds on their roster. The other is F Shane McColgan, who was acquired earlier this summer from the Saskatoon Blades. McColgan is from Manhattan Beach, Calif. . . . Haar, who was a 10th-round bantam draft pick of the Moose Jaw Warriors in 2005, had been on Medicine Hat’s college list. When he was dropped from the Broncos’ roster, he tweeted that he likely was going to play for Medicine Hat. . . . After this trade, the Tigers are left with five 20-year-olds on their roster — forwards Dylan Bredo, Jake Doty, Boston Leier and Curtis Valk, and D Zach Hodder.
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Both the Winterhawks and Tigers announced that the deal was for a conditional selection in the 2014 bantam draft. Neither team was more specific than that and, as of early this morning, the trade wasn’t listed in the transactions on the WHL website.
There was a time, and not that long ago, when the WHL didn’t allow transactions to be made public without more specifics.
Here’s Dylan Bumbarger at oregonlive.com: “Interesting that the draft pick Portland traded for him was listed as ‘conditional.’ Usually the condition is the player reporting but it seems certain that Haar will come here. Given that he seems to be a bit of a wildcard, is there some way to base the pick on how good he turns out to be, games played or something? I've never heard of that before; I suspect it's not legal, or if it was, the secret rulebook just got updated 20 minutes ago.”
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Meanwhile, over at Small Thoughts at Large, Alan Caldwell has broken down the 20-year-old situation for each of the WHL’s teams. . . . That blog is linked to over there on the right.
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The 2013 Hockey Coaches Conference in Burnaby, B.C., next month will include Dr. Saul Miller, a performance specialist and sports psychologist, who will present ‘The Five Biggest Mistakes that Coaches Make.’ . . . According to a news release: “In this unique and interactive session, delegates will be asked to share their own ideas on what the biggest mistakes coaches make. Delegates of the 2013 Hockey Coaches Conference and other coaches can share their thoughts through Twitter and on our Facebook page. Comments will be gathered and shared with Dr. Miller prior to his presentation at the conference.” . . . Dr. Miller has written eight books on performance and well-being, and has helped businesses, teams and individuals overcome mental obstacles and offers tools to transform stress and pressure into success. He has worked with professional teams across all levels and sports and is one of North America’s top sports psychologists. . . . The conference is scheduled for Aug. 9-11 at the Delta Hotel & Conference Centre in Burnaby. There is more information at www.thecoachessite.com.
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Peggy and Rich Victor of Moses Lake, Wash., started attending some Spokane Chiefs’ games because they are big fans of rock legend Rod Stewart and his son, Liam, plays for the Chiefs.
Flash forward to this summer in Las Vegas.
Paul Turner of the Spokane Spokesman-Review picks up the story right here.
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The BCHL’s Salmon Arm SilverBacks continue to search for a trainer for the fast-approaching season. Troy Clifford, the trainer from last season, has had to step aside due to work-related commitments in his other career as a paramedic.
If you are interested in the position, call Troy Mick, the SilverBacks’ GM/head coach, at 250-938-5459 or send him an email at gm@sasilverbacks.com.
Tell him that I sent you!
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THE COACHING GAME:

The BCHL’s West Kelowna Warriors have signed Rylan Ferster, their general manager and head coach, to a five-year extension. The Warriors are 52-42-6-16 in two seasons under Ferster.
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If you’re a baseball fan, you may be wondering what has happened to the Los Angeles Angels, especially with the signing of Albert Pujols in December 2011. Well, Pujols’ season may be over and the Angels are struggling. Tyler Kepner of The New York Times takes a look right here.


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1. It seems I am not the only person to be at least a bit concerned with the WHL's penchant for secrecy. . . . Small Thoughts At Large has a bone to pick with the WHL and it has to do with more apparent secrecy by the league and its teams. The last straw was the trade made Thursday by the Red Deer Rebels and Saskatoon Blades. It was announced as one player having been swapped for another player and two bantam draft picks. But it turns out that really wasn’t the case. Or was it? . . . Check out Small Thoughts At Large over there on the right.
smallatlarge.blogspot.ca/

2. The Tri-City Americans have named the Toyota Center locker-room used by the on-ice officials in honour of Alfred (Fred) Vallee, a long-time goal judge who died on June 6 at the age of 71. Vallee had been a goal judge since the Americans’ first game in 1988. . . . It is moves like this that keep the Americans at the top of the class.

3. Todd Harkins is the Prince George Cougars’ new head scout and director of player personnel. . . . Harkins, a former NHLer, replaces Wade Klippenstein, who resigned prior to the 2013 bantam draft citing philosophical differences with management. . . . Harkins is the father of  F Jansen Harkins, who was taken second overall in the 2012 bantam draft by the Cougars. . . . Todd Harkins has scouted for the Cougars in the Vancouver area and worked a few games as an assistant coach last season while Jason Becker was with Team Pacific at the U17 World Hockey Challenge. . . . As head coach of the Vancouver-Northwest Giants, Harkins won two B.C. Major Midget Hockey League championships. . . . The Cougars also announced that, according to a news release, “Western-area scout Ron Gunville and Pacific-area scout Bob Simmonds will have expanded roles as scouting directors in their respective territories."

4. F Taylor Makin, who played three WHL seasons (Prince George, Vancouver, 2009-12), has committed to attend Acadia University in Wolfville, N.S., and play for the Axemen. . . . Makin played out his junior eligibility this season with the AJHL’s Brooks Bandits, putting up 50 points in 50 regular-season games and then helping them win the RBC Cup as national champions.

5. It seems that Alain Vigneault, who was deposed as head coach of the Vancouver Canucks following the season, is going to be the next head coach of the New York Rangers. . . . He withdrew from consideration for that post with the Dallas Stars on Friday. . . . Larry Brooks of the New York Post reported late last night that Vigneault has the “inside track” on the head-coaching position with the New York Rangers and that a contract “offer may be forthcoming.” . . . Katie Strang of ESPNNewYork.com reports right here that the Rangers “have zeroed in on” Vigneault.

6. “Does every truck commercial claim to be ‘Truck of the year’?” wonders Prince Albert Raiders D Josh Morrissey in a Friday night tweet. . . . Ain’t that the truth!


7. The AHL final, with the Calder Cup on the line, isn’t over. The Syracuse Crunch scored a 3-2 victory over host Grand Rapids on Friday night, leaving the Griffins with a 3-1 edge in the best-of-seven series. . . . Game 5 is scheduled for tonight in Grand Rapids.



8. The Vancouver Canucks have cut a deal to operate their AHL affiliate in Utica, N.Y., as the Comets. . . . Chris Creamer at sportslogos.net has more right here, including a look at logos and sweaters. . . . The Canucks AHL affiliate had been the Chicago Wolves. However, Vancouver purchased the Peoria Rivermen franchise from the St. Louis Blues and has moved it to Utica. . . . That will kill, at least for now, the rumours of the Canucks taking their AHL farm team to Abbotsford, B.C., which is home to the Heat, a franchise hooked up with the Calgary Flames.

9. A body was recovered Friday from the Daugava River in Riga, Latvia, and, while a positive identification isn’t expected until early next week, it seems it most likely is that of Kristians Pelss, the former Edmonton Oil Kings forward who went missing this week. Bruce McCurdy of the Edmonton Journal has more right here.

10. Scott Winkler, the 23-year-old Dallas Stars prospect who was found dead at his family’s home in Norway on Wednesday, was the son of Rod Winkler, a former Brandon University Bobcats hockey player. . . . Rod, who is from Milestone, Sask., played for the Bobcats under head coach Andy Murray and then went on to play in Norway.
On Friday morning, Rod posted this message on this story by Joe Paisley that appeared on the Colorado Spring Gazette’s website:
“My family would like to thank everyone for their very kind thoughts. Seeing all the messages from Scott’s team mates, friends and the players he played against truly shows what a great and wonderful hockey world we live in.
“Scott we love you with all our hearts!

“Rod, Anne Karin and Karina Winkler”
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THE COACHING GAME:
The OHL’s Sarnia Sting has promoted associate coach Trevor Letowski into the position as head coach. . . . Letowski, 36, signed a three-year contract. He replaces Jacques Beaulieu, who was fired late last month. . . . Letowski is a former Sting player who had a nine-season NHL career. . . . Beaulieu had been general manager and head coach. The team is operating without a GM now, preferring to do it by committee, at least for now. . . . Neate Sager of Yahoo! Sports has more right here.


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1. One day after the Memorial Cup tournament ended, the Saskatoon Blades began pruning the tree of 20-year-olds by dealing D Dalton Thrower to the Vancouver Giants for a conditional second-round selection in the 2014 bantam draft. The pick is conditional on Thrower, who is from Squamish, playing in the WHL next season. He doesn’t turn 20 until Dec. 20 but, under hockey’s system, 2013-14 will be his 20-year-old season. . . . Thrower was a second-round selection by the Montreal Canadiens in the NHL’s 2012 draft, but he has yet to sign with the Habs. . . . Thrower found out that he had been traded while doing his exit interview on Friday. . . . The Blades now have 13 potential 20-year-olds on their roster. . . . Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix has more right here.

2. Alan Caldwell over at Small Thoughts At Large has some closing thoughts on the Memorial Cup and the immediate future of the Saskatoon Blades. Check it out right here.

3. It got lost a bit in the Memorial Cup hoopla, but Hockey Canada dumped its head scout, Kevin Prendergast, and its goaltender coach, Ron Tugnutt, on the weekend. . . . Isn’t it interesting how the coaches and the head scout get shown the door but upper management stays the same?

4. The Montreal Canadiens have hired Shane Churla (Medicine Hat, 1983-85) and named him their chief amateur scout. Churla, 47, had been a scout with the Dallas Stars. After being a sixth-round pick of the Hartford Whalers in the NHL’s 1985 draft, Churla played 11 seasons in the NHL, splitting his career between the Whalers, Calgary Flames, Minnesota North Stars/Dallas, Los Angeles Kings and New York Rangers. In 488 games, he had 71 points and 2,301 penalty minutes.

5. Meanwhile, Stéphane Leroux of RDS has reported that Ryan Jankowski, an amateur scout with the Canadiens since the summer of 2010, has interviewed with Hockey Canada for the position of head scout. Jankowski is a former assistant GM and director of amateur scouting with the New York Islanders. He moved to the Habs after being dropped by the Islanders.

6. Paul Buker of The Oregonian visited with the Portland Winterhawks after they arrived back home on Monday. He’s got plenty of insight right here on the players’ mindset after losing the Memorial Cup final, along with some thoughts from GM/head coach Mike Johnston on the future of Travis Green, who has been acting GM and head coach since Nov. 28.


7. Earlier Monday, Buker tweeted this quote from Johnston: “We feel quite comfortable that we're going to be a contender for next couple years for sure.”

8. The Memorial Cup grist mill spit out some rumours, as it always seems to do. . . . Among the speculation: (a) Former Regina Pats head coach Pat Conacher may end up as the head coach of the Lethbridge Hurricanes; (b) Brian Pellerin is the name most-often mentioned in terms of the opening with the Prince Albert Raiders; (c) the Everett Silvertips want to chat with Travis Green, now that the Memorial Cup is over; (d) the job as lead assistant coach with the Kamloops Blazers if Curtis Hunt’s if he wants it.

 9. The KHL held its 2013 junior draft on Monday, with teams selecting only players born in 1996. Two WHLers were selected, with Calgary Hitmen F Jake Virtanen going to Medvescak with the last pick of the second round and Moose Jaw Warriors F Brayden Point being taken by Traktor Chelyabinsk late in the fifth and final round. . . . The complete draft list is right here.
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From former WHL D Brandon Underwood (@BUND3RWOOD): “If ABC wants real entertainment they should try The Bachelorette with 25 junior hockey players competing for one girl #woof”

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THE MacBETH REPORT:
D Mike Card (Kelowna, 2002-06) signed a one-year contract with Tingsryd (Sweden, Allsvenskan). He had four goals and 18 assists in 46 games with Alleghe (Italy, Serie A) last season. Card is scheduled to arrive in Tingsryd on Sunday and is expected to play in Tingsryd's exhibition game on Wednesday against Troja/Ljungby.
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The Medicine Hat Tigers shuffled the deck a bit on Friday, with head coach Shaun Clouston also assuming the general manager’s duties and former GM Brad McEwen dropping down to assistant GM.
McEwen had been the Tigers’ GM since July 16, 2010. He took over from Willie Desjardins, who had been the GM and head coach before moving to the NHL’s Dallas Stars as associate coach. Desjardins now is head coach of the AHL’s Texas Stars.
Before moving up to GM, McEwen had been the Tigers’ director of scouting for three years.
McEwen, 51, and his family live at Round Lake, in Saskatchewan’s Qu’Appelle Valley. Their home suffered flood damage in the spring of 2011 and I am told that it bothered McEwen that he had to leave for training camp before everything was looked after. That, combined with having children in school, helped McEwen decide that he wasn’t going to relocate to Medicine Hat and that perhaps a change was needed.
He also loves scouting more than anything else.
“Honestly, that is what I enjoy doing,” McEwen told Darren Steinke of the Medicine Hat News. “For me, I knew what I had to do.
“Personally and family-wise, you go and streamline your job (and) you have a little more ability and a little more flexibility. It works much better for me personally and my family.
“I think it is going to be real good.”
Clouston, 44, is preparing for his 10th season with the Tigers. An assistant coach under Desjardins, Clouston took over as head coach upon Desjardins’ departure.
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Well, that takes care of that!
The Michigan Daily has published a clarification involving its story of June 28 in which it claimed that D Jacob Trouba wouldn’t play for the U of Michigan Wolverines, choosing instead to join the OHL’s Kitchener Rangers. The OHL team, according to a Daily source, had offered Trouba $200,000 to change his mind.
The Rangers later filed a lawsuit against the paper and writer Matt Slovin.
With the clarification and the Daily’s having removed the original story from its website, the Rangers had dropped their lawsuit.
That clarification is right here.
Sunaya Sapurji of Yahoo! Sports has more on that story right here. Her story includes news that the Rangers continue to proceed with part of their lawsuit. That would be the part against the Daily’s source, named in the statement of claim as John Doe.
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If you haven’t already, visit Small Thoughts at Large over there on the right. Alan Caldwell has put up his annual mileage chart that shows how far each of the WHL teams will travel this season.
He also has a team-by-team look at the 20-year-old situations across the league.
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The Prince George Cougars have released F Greg Fraser, 20, who was a 15th-round pick in the 2007 bantam draft. From Nanaimo, B.C., Fraser played 252 regular-season games with the Cougars, picking up 73 points, including 46 goals. . . . Fraser has decided to get on with his education. . . . His departure leaves the Cougars with four 20s on their roster — D Dallas Ehrhardt, F Campbell Elynuik, D Dan Gibb and F Brock Hirsche. . . . Meanwhile, F Brad Morrison, the seventh overall selection in the 2012 bantam draft, has moved back to Prince George and is expected to play for the major midget Cariboo Cougars this season. Morrison played last season with the Okanagan Hockey Academy in Penticton, putting up 141 points, including 83 goals.
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D Dylan Kuczek, 18, has told the Brandon Wheat Kings that he won’t be returning. Kuczek, from Winnipeg, was a second-round pick in the 2009 bantam draft. He had two points and 27 penalty minutes in 33 games before a shoulder injury ended his season . . . . What happened? . . . “He just wanted to move on and do other things,” Brandon owner/GM Kelly McCrimmon told Rob Henderson of the Brandon Sun. “He had a tough time with injuries and just decided that he wanted to pursue other interests.”
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The Lethbridge Hurricanes are down to four 20-year-olds with the news that D Tyler Kizuik won’t be returning; instead, he is off to the U of Lethbridge where he will play for the Pronghorns. Kizuik was acquired by the Hurricanes early in 2010-11 from the Saskatoon Blades. He also played with the Prince George Cougars. Last season, he had four goals and 43 penalty minutes in 58 games with the Hurricanes. . . . Lethbridge’s roster now features F Nick Buonassisi, F Graham Hood, D Daniel Johnston and G Ty Rimmer as the 20s.
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Pour yourself a cup of coffee and make sure there’s more at hand. Because right here is today’s good read and it’s terrific.
Jane Leavy, who is a terrific writer, profiles Dr. Ann McKee, the woman who would save football. This piece is from grantland.com and it is amazing.
Leavy, by the way, is the author of two great baseball books — Sandy Koufax: A Lefty's Legacy and The Last Boy, Mickey Mantle and the End of America's Childhood. If you haven’t already read them, you should.

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