Blazers won't replace departed coach ... Iverson inks pro deal ... Will Hossa have to retire?

F Rodrigo Ābols (Portland, 2015-17) has signed a two-year contract with Örebro (Sweden, SHL). Last season, with he had one assist in two games with the Portland WInterhawks (WHL), then moved east and had 18 goals and 32 assists in 52 games with the Acadie-Bathurst Titan (QMJHL). . . .

D Dalton Yorke (Kelowna, Prince Albert, Tri-City, 2012-17) has signed a one-year contract with Löwen Frankfurt (Germany, DEL2). Last season, he had 15 assists in 72 games with Tri-City. Yorke has dual German-Canadian citizenship. . . .

F Filip Ahl (Regina, 2016-17) has signed a one-year contract with Örebro (Sweden, SHL). Last season, he had 28 goals and 20 assists in 54 games with Regina.

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The Kamloops Blazers revealed on Tuesday that they won’t be replacing veteran assistant coach Terry Bangen. He left to join the Worcester Railers, an expansion team that will begin play in the ECHL in 2017-18.
Jamie Russell, who is a Kamloops native, is the general manager and head coach in Worcester and was able to get Bangen to head east.

The remainder of the Blazers’ coaching staff will remain intact, with Don Hay back for a fourth season. Hay will go into the 2017-18 season with 720 regular-season coaching victories, just 22 shy of the record held by Ken Hodge, who coached with the original Edmonton Oil Kings and the Portland Winterhawks.

Mike Needham is returning for a fourth season as Hay’s lead assistant, while Chris Murray is back for a fourth season in a part-time role. Dan De Palma will begin an eighth season as the club’s goaltending coach.

As well, Colin (Toledo) Robinson returns for a 13th season as the team’s athletic trainer. This will be his 22nd season in the WHL.

The Blazers also will have Matt Recchi back as the director of player personnel, with Ken Fox returning as head scout.

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F Keegan Iverson, the captain of last season’s Portland Winterhawks, has signed an AHL contract with the Ontario Reign, which is affiliated with the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings. . . . Iverson played 293 regular-season games over six seasons with the Winterhawks. He put up 190 points, including 80 goals. . . . Last season, as a 20-year-old, he had 26 goals and 44 assists in 55 games. . . . He also played for the Winterhawks as they won the WHL’s 2013 championship. . . . From St. Louis Park, Minn., Iverson was selected by the New York Rangers in the third round of the NHL’s 2014 draft but they never signed him.

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Stefan Burzan of Surrey, B.C., is the new general manager of the Valley West Hawks of the B.C. Major Midget Hockey League. He takes over from Rob Evers, who now is the team’s head coach. . . . Burzan, 22, was a sixth-round pick by the Saskatoon Blades in the WHL’s 2009 bantam draft and played two games with the Seattle Thunderbirds in 2011-12. . . . He presently is a business student at the British Columbia Institute of Technology.

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Hockey Canada has invited about 200 players and all kinds of support staff to various summer camps. For more info, including rosters, check out Hockey Canada’s website. At the same time, let’s banish all thoughts about summer hockey being a nuisance and admit that when the governing body gets involved like this it officially is declaring hockey a year-round thing. So, kids, forget about playing more than one sport and forget about golfing and fishing and ice cream at the Snack Shack. Hey, get back into the gym, then get the blades sharpened and hit the ice. There no longer is an off-season when it comes to hockey.

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Elliotte Friedman of Hockey Night in Canada has filed his weekly 30 Thoughts, and he leads with a piece on former Portland Winterhawks F Marian Hossa. Friedman reports that Hossa has developed a nasty allergy, one that involves the hockey gear that he wears, and may have to retire. . . . That, and so much more, is right here.

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The QMJHL’s Halifax Mooseheads have named Jim Midgley as their new head coach. He takes over from Andre Tourigny, who left to become head coach of the OHL’s Ottawa 67’s. . . . Midgley spent the past six seasons with as an assistant coach in Halifax, one working alongside Tourigny and five with Dominique Ducharme. . . . Midgley also has been on the coaching staff of the QMJHL’s Saint John Sea Dogs, as well as the Acadia U Axemen.

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Kyle Adams is the new head coach of the AJHL’s Drayton Valley Thunder. Adams has junior A coaching experience in B.C., Alberta and the Maritimes. . . . He spent last season with the BCHL’s Chilliwack Chiefs as assistant GM/associate coach. . . . The Thunder recently underwent an ownership change. . . . Adams takes over from Jesse Dorrans, who resigned in May.

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Lowry moves from Royals to Kings ... Winterhawks welcome Bellows ... Blazers lose assistant coach

D Dallas Ehrhardt (Brandon, Moose Jaw, Prince George, 2009-13) has signed a one-year extension with the Manchester Storm (England, UK Elite). This season, he had a goal and eight assists in 51 games.

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All the best in LA @jungledave10 #welldeserved

— Mark Holick (@coachholly68) May 30, 2017

After five seasons as the head coach of the WHL’s Victoria Royals, Dave Lowry is moving on.

The Royals and the Los Angeles Kings announced Tuesday afternoon that Lowry, 52, has joined the NHL

Dave Lowry is leaving Victoria for Los Angeles.
(Photo: victoriaroyals.com)

club as an assistant coach where he will work alongside head coach John Stevens.

Stevens is preparing for his first season as the Kings’ head coach, having replaced Darryl Sutter.

Lowry is the Royals’ all-time winningest head coach, with a record of 199-112-22. He is a two-time winner of the WHL’s Dunc McCallum Memorial Trophy as the coach of the year (2013-14, 2015-16).

He also worked with the Calgary Hitmen, as assistant coach, associate coach and head coach. In his only season as head coach, Lowry guided the Hitmen to the WHL final.

Lowry also has twice been on the coaching staff of Canada’s national junior team, as an assistant in 2015, when the team won gold, and as the head coach in 2016.

“A goal of our franchise is to provide a platform for players, coaches and staff to advance in their careers,” Victoria general manager Cam Hope said in a news release. “The process of securing a head coach who can pick up where Dave left off has already begun.”

The Royals are the third WHL team now in the market for a head coach, joining the Calgary Hitmen and Spokane Chiefs.

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So . . . if you’re a WHL team looking for a head coach, who’s out there? Here’s a look at just a few candidates, in alphabetical order:

Jason Becker — A former WHL player who was an assistant coach with the Prince George Cougars, Becker, 43, spent this season as an assistant with the BCHL’s Penticton Vees. 

Trent Cassan — Cassan, 33, won back-to-back SJHL championships with the Yorkton Terriers in a run of six-plus seasons. He left Yorkton prior to this season to join the Calgary Hitmen as an assistant coach.

Dean Chynoweth — The 48-year-old Chynoweth didn’t coach this season after being fired by the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche after serving as the head coach of their AHL affiliate for four seasons. A former WHL player, he spent nine seasons as a WHL head coach — four with the Seattle Thunderbirds and five with the Swift Current Broncos.

Kevin Constantine — His contract wasn’t renewed by the Everett Silvertips when their season ended. Constantine, 58, won at least 38 games in each of the past four seasons in Everett. His extensive coaching career includes NHL experience.

Kyle Gustafson — He has been with the Portland Winterhawks for 13 seasons, the last two as associate coach. In recent seasons, Gustafson, 36, has filled the role created when Travis Green left for the AHL’s Utica Comets. Green now is the head coach of the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks.

Dan Lambert — He’s a free agent, having been fired last week by the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres as the head coach of their AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans. A former high-scoring WHL defenceman, Lambert, 47, left for Buffalo after six seasons with the Kelowna Rockets, the last one (2014-15) as head coach. The Rockets won the WHL title in his one season as head coach.

Mitch Love — The fans in Everett love the Silvertips’ assistant coach who has been there for six seasons, the last four learning alongside Constantine. Love, 32, is a former WHL defenceman who knew his way around the penalty boxes. 

Don Nachbaur — The third-winningest head coach in WHL history, Nachbaur, 58, and the Spokane Chiefs parted company when their season ended, despite his having a year left on his contract. In the WHL, he also has been head coach of the Seattle Thunderbirds and Tri-City Americans.

Enio Sacilotto — A career coach, he has an extensive resume that includes experience in junior A, Europe and the WHL, the latter with the Chilliwack Bruins/Victoria Royals. After six seasons as an assistant coach with the Bruins/Royals, Sacilotto, 58, spent this season as Victoria’s director of player development. He also was the head coach of the Croatian team at the 2017 IIHF World Championship (Division 1, Group B).

Dave Struch — The former head coach of the Saskatoon Blades is on the list, although he’s not likely to leave his position as assistant GM/assistant coach with the Regina Pats. Struch, 46, is a good fit with John Paddock, the Pats’ GM/head coach, and the Pats will be the host team for the 2018 Memorial Cup.

Jay Varady — The head coach of the USHL’s Sioux City Musketeers isn’t a stranger to the WHL. He spent seven seasons on the staff of the Everett Silvertips. Varady 39, got the Musketeers into the USHL final this season and was named the league’s coach of the year.

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The Portland Winterhawks made last week’s signing story official on Tuesday when they introduced F Kieffer Bellows to fans and media.

Bellows, a first-round selection by the New York Islanders in the NHL’s 2016 draft, is leaving Boston U to

Winterhawks president Doug Piper (left) and Mike
Johnston, the GM/head coach, welcome
Kieffer Bellows to Portland.
(Photo: Gary Peterson/winterhawks.com)

join the Winterhawks.

From Edina, Minn., Bellows was a seventh-round pick by the Winterhawks in the WHL’s 2013 bantam draft.

Bellows brings a history of winning to the Winterhawks, having won a Minnesota state title with Edina High School, a USHL championship with the Sioux Falls Stampede, and a gold medal with Team USA in the 2017 World Junior Championship.

Bellows had seven goals and seven assists in 34 games as a freshman at BU. He had two goals and an assist and was a force in seven games with the U.S. national junior team.

Prior to this season, Bellows scored at every stop.

In 2014-15, with the Stampede, he had 33 goals and 19 assists in 58 games. Last season, he had 50 goals and 31 assists in 61 games with the U.S.’s U-18 team, and also had 16 goals and 16 assists in 23 games with the U.S.’s U-20 side.

His father, Brian, is a former NHLer who won a Memorial Cup with the OHL’s Kitchener Rangers in 1982 and a Stanley Cup with the Montreal Canadiens in 1993.

Paul Danzer of the Portland Tribune has more right here.

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The Regina Pats have signed forwards Mackenzie Belinski and George King to WHL contracts. . . . Belinski, 17, was a fifth-round selection in the 2015 bantam draft. This season, he had 21 goals and 33 assists in 44 games with the midget AAA Yellowhead Chiefs. From Vista, Man., he was a second-team all-star in the Manitoba Midget Hockey League. . . . King, 18, is a list player from Calgary. This season, he had 36 goals and 18 assists in 55 games with the MJHL’s OCN Blizzard.

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The Vancouver Giants have signed F Krz Plummer to a WHL contract. He was a third-round selection in the 2017 bantam draft. Plummer, from Whitecourt, Alta., had eight goals and 13 assists in 27 games with the Pursuit of Excellence’s bantam prep team this season. The 6-foot-0, 200-pound Plummer added two goals and four assists in five playoff games as PoE won the bantam prep title.

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The National, CBC-TV’s primary newscast, carried a piece Monday night about the class-action lawsuit facing the CHL and the three leagues under its umbrella. It included interviews with Lukas Walter, who discussed his time with the WHL’s Tri-City Americans, and Spencer Abraham, who played with the OHL’s Brampton Battalion and Erie Otters. Walter is part of the lawsuit; Abraham is opposed to it. . . . The National piece, which is 11 minutes 45 seconds in length, is right here.

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You watched Game 1 of the Stanley Cup final and you saw the catfish end up on the ice. So you wondered: How do you get a fish that big past security and into the arena? . . . Well, Sean Gentille of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has the story of how it all happened and it’s right here. The key part is that Jake (Catfish) Waddell’s wife was “tentatively OK with it.”

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Terry Bangen is leaving his role as an assistant coach with the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers to become an assistant coach with the ECHL’;s Worcester Railers. . . . Bangen, 66, will work alongside Jamie Russell, the Raiders’ general manager and head coach, who is from Kamloops. . . . The Railers, an expansion franchise, will begin play in 2017-18. . . . Bangen has been with the Blazers for the past three seasons. His resume also includes two seasons (1996-98) as an assistant with the Vancouver Canucks. Earlier, he was on the Blazers’ staff for five seasons (1990-95), during which time they won three Memorial Cup titles. . . . Bangen also spent 10 years with the Tri-City Americans as director of player personnel and later senior advisor to hockey operations.

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Scott Gomez, who played for two seasons (1997-99) with the WHL’s Tri-City Americans, has joined the NHL’s New York Islanders as an assistant coach. Gomez played 16 seasons in the NHL, winning the Calder Trophy in 1999-2000 and capturing two Stanley Cups, both with the New Jersey Devils (2000, 2003). . . . With the Islanders, he will work alongside head coach Doug Weight. . . . The Islanders also are expected to add Kelly Buchberger, who played two seasons (1984-86) with the Moose Jaw Warriors, to their coach staff at some point in June.

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@awfulannouncing What's more amazing, the typo or Melrose's suit? #ATraditionUnlikeAnyOther pic.twitter.com/L41FKYQCjN

— Mike Moyer (@Mike_Moyer) May 30, 2017

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THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Alex Leavitt (Swift Current, Everett, 2003-05) was released by Medvescak Zagreb (Croatia, Austria Erste Bank Liga). He had one goal and four assists in 13 games with Zagreb this season.
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I was remiss here yesterday in not congratulating old friend Roy MacGregor of The Globe and Mail for his having been honoured with the Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award for excellence in hockey journalism. MacGregor was part of the Hockey Hall of Fame festivities on Monday.
The Last Season, a work of hockey fiction starring Felix Batterinski that was published in 1995, is being re-released. If you haven’t read it, you should.
As well, John Allemang of The Globe and Mail has a terrific profile of MacGregor right here.
And if you’re looking for a good piece of MacGregor writing, check out this one right here. It appeared late last month after he spent some time with fans of the AHL’s Hershey Bears. It’s a classic.
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Shawn Mullin, the radio voice of the Swift Current Broncos, has interviewed me about Sudden Death: The Incredible Sage of the 1986 Swift Current Broncos. . . . He also has read the book. . . . His opinion of it is right here, as is the interview.
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No less an authority than Earl Seitz, the veteran sportscaster at CFJC-TV, has given his stamp of approval to Sudden Death: The Incredible Saga of the 1986 Swift Current Broncos. . . . CFJC reporter Chad Klassen filed this report right here. . . . Yes, that is Tri-City Americans scout Terry Bangen in the background in one shot. Yes, he purchased a book. He also told me that on the evening of Dec. 30, 1986, he and play-by-play man Kelly Moore were five minutes from airtime with a Kamloops Blazers game when they were told of the bus crash. It really was one of those "where were you?" moments.
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If you’re interested in hearing some great sports radio, go on over to CKNW’s site and find the podcast of Dan Russell chatting with Phil Esposito. The conversation lasted more than an hour and was terrific.
Go right here and click on hours 1 and 2. You won't be sorry.
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The Saskatoon Blades are heading out on a five-game swing into the B.C. Division without three injured players. F Jessey Astles underwent surgery on a wrist after suffering a skate cut, while F Brett Stovin and D Dalton Thrower have undisclosed ailments. . . . The Blades have added D Nelson Nogier, 16, to their roster for the junket. . . . The Blades being their tour of B.C. in Prince George on Friday. . . . A tip of the cap to the ol' redhead, Les Lazaruk, for the injury info.
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The Swift Current Broncos’ next three games will be in the Central Division, starting Saturday night in Red Deer. The Broncos likely will be without F Brent Benson, 19, who has missed two games with an undisclosed injury and is listed as week-to-week.
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The Regina Pats are going to have to make a 20-year-old decision. They now have four of them, after adding D Alex Theriau, who was dropped last week by the Medicine Hat Tigers and had joined the BCHL’s Cowichan Valley Capitals. (Rick Valette of Octagon Sports tweeted that information last night.)
Theriau is expected to play Friday when the Pats open their B.C. Division swing in Vancouver against the Giants.
He joins G Matt Hewitt, D Colton Jobke and F Lane Scheidl as the Pats’ 20-year-olds. However, Jobke is listed as being out indefinitely with an undisclosed upper-body injury.
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Former Spokane Chiefs D Jared Cowen will undergo hip surgery on Saturday. Cowen, the ninth overall selection by the Ottawa Senators in the NHL’s 2009 draft, had been playing with the AHL’s Binghamton Senators. According to Rick Valette, Cowen’s agent: “Jared has a small tear in his labrum (hip). He will have surgery Saturday morning in New York. I expect he will be out for the season."
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The Everett Silvertips have added F Brayden Low, 18, to their roster. Low had been with the BCHL’s Powell River Kings. So far this season, he had played in the BCHL with Powell River and the Merritt Centennials, putting up 10 points in 17 games. He was a seventh-round pick by the Portland Winterhawks in the 2009 bantam draft. He played five games with Portland over the last two seasons and was in camp with the Seattle Thunderbirds prior to this season.
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You may want to check out Sam Cosentino’s latest blog entry — Coz For Thought. . . . One of Sportsnet's junior hockey voices has some interesting tidbits, including a couple involving the Subway Series. It’s right here.
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F Victor Rask has been assigned to the WHL’s Calgary Hitmen by the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes. He had five points, including a goal, in 10 games with the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers. He was a second-round selection in the 2011 NHL draft. . . . “We’re just trying to do what we think is best for Victor,” Charlotte head coach Jeff Daniels said in a news release. “We want him to be able to get as much ice time as possible in all situations that he might not have gotten here. He needs to be playing at the end of games, taking key faceoffs and being in more of a leadership role.” . . . As a freshman in Calgary last season, Rask had 63 points, 33 of them goals. . . . “He really opened our eyes,” said Daniels of Rask, who ranked tied for second among AHL rookies with a plus-seven rating at the time of his assignment. “We’re really happy and Carolina is really happy with the way he played. His hockey sense is really good, and he was making plays.” . . . Rask is expected to play for Sweden at the world junior tournament next month. He helped his country win the gold medal a year ago. . . . Rask is expected to be in Calgary’s lineup on Sunday when they play host to the Swift Current Broncos.
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TWEET OF THE DAY:
Jim Bray (@jhabray): “Dear Miami, we tried to warn you. Your friend always, Montreal.”
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TWEET OF THE DAY II:
Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie): “On (extremely) off chance anyone (in VAN) finds a silver money clip, 2 (now cancelled) credit cards and my company ID cart, let me know. #doh)
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TWEET OF THE DAY III:
From the aforementioned Bob McKenzie: “Don't think it's post-traumatic stress from losing money clip, but in all seriousness, never felt as discouraged about state of NHL as today”

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