P.G. gang comes through for evacuees ... Slovak signs with Chiefs ... Warriors sign an AGM

Hey folks @gdrinnan Taking Note is working just loading really slowly thanks to a new script from @blogger be patient. #SameGreatWriting

— Terry Massey (@TerryMassey) July 6, 2017

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F Curt Gogol (Kelowna, Saskatoon, Chilliwack, 2007-11) signed a one-year contract with Rubin Tyumen (Russia, Vysshaya Liga). Last season, with the Florida Everblades (ECHL), he had six goals and 11 assists in 37 games.

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A tip of the cap to the Prince George Cougars Alumni Association, the Prince George Cougars Society and the Spirit of the North Healthcare Foundation for their generosity in support of wildfire evacuees from their area. . . . The announcement was made before the alumni association’s annual Hospital Charity Golf Tournament got started. . . . A lot of the province of B.C. is burning up and you can bet that kind of generosity is greatly appreciated. . . . Should you want to donate to the Red Cross you are able to do so right here.

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F Milos Fafrak, a Slovakian, has signed a WHL contract with the Spokane Chiefs. He was a first-round selection in the CHL’s 2017 import draft. Fafrak, 18, had 39 points, 11 of them goals, in 44 games with the Slovkian U-18 team that played in the Slovak U-20 Extraliga last season. . . . The Chiefs also selected Czech D Filip Kral in the 2017 import draft. Kral, who is to turn 18 on Oct. 20, played last season with HC Kometa Brno in the Czech U-20 league and also got into 23 games with Kometa Brno in the Czech Extraliga. He has yet to sign with the Chiefs.

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The Moose Jaw Warriors have hired Jason Ripplinger as assistant general manager after losing Doug Gasper, their director of scouting, to the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks. . . . Ripplinger, who is from Regina, spent the previous 17 years with the Vancouver Giants, first as head scout and then as director of player personnel, a position he had filled since 2008. . . . Gasper joined the Warriors in 2007. He was named assistant head scout in 2012 and had been director of scouting since 2015. According to the Warriors, Gasper has “accepted a scouting position” in the NHL. . . . Shortly after the Warriors issued their news release, Rick Dhaliwal of News 1130 Sports in Vancouver reported that Gasper will be joining the Canucks’ scouting staff.

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Todd Gill is the new head coach of the OHL’s Owen Sound Attack. He replaces Ryan McGill, the OHL’s reigning coach of the year, who left after two seasons to join the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights as an assistant coach. . . . A former NHL defenceman, Gill spent the past two seasons as an assistant coach with the AHL’s Stockton Heat. Before joining the Heat, Gill spent three seasons as the head coach of the OHL’s Kingston Frontenacs. . . . Alan Letang, an assistant coach under McGill, will stay on with the Attack and work alongside Gill.

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A couple of notes involving junior teams from the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League . . . The Kimberley Dynamiters and the WHL’s Kootenay Ice have joined forces in a deal that will provide ticket discounts to fans. Season-ticket holders for Ice games will get 15 per cent off individual tickets to Dynamiters’ games, while Kimberley season-ticket holders will get the same discount on tickets to Ice home games. . . . On Thursday, NASCAR promoted Brent Dewar from vice-chairman to president. Hired as the chief operating officer in 2013, he had been moved to vice-chairman in 2015. Dewar is only the fourth president in the history of NASCAR, which began under Bill France Sr. in 1948. Dewar is the brother of Kamloops Storm owner/general manager Barry Dewar.

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Luke Strand is the new head coach of the USHL’s Sioux City Musketeers. Strand, who spent last season as an amateur scout with the NHL’s Calgary Flames, takes over from Jay Varady, who was introduced Thursday as the head coach of the OHL’s Kingston Frontenacs. . . . Strand is quite familiar with Sioux City, having worked as the Musketeers’ GM/head coach for two seasons (2009-11) and as GM in 2013-14. . . . He also has coached with the USHL’s Green Bay Gamblers and Madison Capitals, the AHL’s Houston Aeros, the AHL’s Abbotsford Heat and the U of Wisconsin Badgers.

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After the Calgary Hitmen filled out their coaching staff and front office earlier in the week, Hartley Miller had some fun with it all, especially the promotion of, as he calls him, The Dallas Thompson. . . . Yes, that Dallas Thompson! . . . Miller’s piece, from myprincegeorgenow.com, is right here.

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If you would like to contact Taking Note with information, have a question or just feel like commenting on something, feel free to send an email to greggdrinnan@gmail.com. I’m also on Twitter (@gdrinnan).

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Winnipeg Blue Bombers fan who missed out on a $1-million prize won't leave empty-handed after all https://t.co/5UyMNUXXY8 pic.twitter.com/azoFYY0woi

— CBC News (@CBCNews) July 15, 2017

Karen Kuldys denied $1-million jackpot by a penalty call in last nights CFL game.  A few years ago her husband won about $700K in lottery.

— Earl J. Seitz (@EarlCFJCsports) July 14, 2017

The CFL could have turned the Kuldys mess into a bonanza for $111,111.11 per club but they'd rather nickel-and-dime her. Bullet to the foot.

— Jack Todd (@jacktodd46) July 14, 2017

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Gow decides to end his WHL career

F Michal Řepík (Vancouver, 2005-08) has signed a one-year contract with the Lahti Pelicans (Finland, Liiga). Last season, with Lev Prague (Czech Republic, KHL), he had 12 points, eight of them goals, in 51 games. . . .
F Vladimir Dolnik (Everett, 2011-12) has signed a tryout contract with Kitzbühel (Austria, Inter-National-League). Last season, with Banská Bystrica U20 (Slovakia, U20 Extraliga), he had 10 points, including five goals, in eight games. He also was pointless in 19 games with Banská Bystrica (Slovakia, Extraliga), and had three goals and three assists in 16 games with Detva (Slovakia, 1. Liga). . . .
D Kenton Smith (Calgary, 1995-2000) has signed a one-year contract with the Swindon Wildcats (England, Premier). Last season, with the Braehead Clan Glasgow (Scotland, UK Elite), he had 14 points, including five goals, in 41 games. Smith signed with Swindon to be closer to his family in Cardiff, Wales.
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The Spokane Chiefs have taken something of a roster hit with the news that D Reid Gow has decided not to return for his 20-year-old season.
Gow, who is from Killarney, Man., also was the team captain. The 16th overall selection in the 2009 bantam draft, he played four seasons with the Chiefs. Last season, he had 62 points, including 56 assists in 65 games. Only four defencemen finished with more points, while he was the Chiefs’ third-leading scorer, behind F Mitch Holmberg and F Mike Aviani, both of whom were 20 last season.
In 229 regular-season games, Gow had 146 points, including 129 assists.
“I have spoken with Reid numerous times over the summer and he has informed me that he does not want to play in the WHL for his overage year,” Tim Speltz, the Chiefs’ general manager, said in a news release. “Reid said he has lost his desire to compete and does not have the drive to play in this league. He has decided to stay home and be close to family and friends.
“As an organization, we hope Reid reconsiders, but at this time, it is important for us to be prepared to move forward without him. He was a huge part of our team last year, but we understand the commitment and dedication it takes for a player to play at this level of competition.
"Although I do not agree with Reid's decision, our organization must accept and respect it. I will continue to have communication with him, but I am not confident any change in his decision is imminent."
The Chiefs’ roster now is down to three 20-year-olds -- F Connor Chartier, F Marcus Messier and F Liam Stewart.
Not that long ago, the Chiefs had six 20s on their roster, but Gow now is out of the picture, while D Cole Wedman was dealt to the Moose Jaw Warriors and F Carter Proft has signed with the Kassel Huskies (Germany, DEL).
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You may be aware that there has been a huge hue and cry in the U.S., over comments made by talking head Stephen A. Smith on an ESPN yap fest last week. It all had to do with the two-game suspension issued by the NFL to Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice following an incident of domestic abuse.
Smith, who gives all of us a good reason not to watch those talk shows, spoke without thinking, as he is wont to do.
Anyway . . . Cathal Kelly of The Globe and Mail takes a good look at that situation right here.
Meanwhile, Sally Jenkins of the Washington Post makes sure that she’s not on Smith’s Christmas card list with this piece right here. When Jenkins got through with Smith, he was more done than a Christmas turkey.
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THE COACHING GAME:
The junior B Nelson Leafs, who play in the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League, have lost their head coach before they played even one game with him behind their bench. . . . Matt Hughes, who was hired in May, resigned on the weekend and now is with the Kelowna-based Pursuit of Excellence. . . . Bruce Fuhr of the Nelson Daily has more right here.
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Shayne Toporowski (Prince Albert, 1991-95) is the new head coach of the Worcester State Lancers. Toporowski, 38, takes over from John Guiney, who resigned after 22 seasons as head coach. . . . Jennifer Toland of the Worcester Telegram has more right here.
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Former NHL D Todd Gill has signed on with the Adirondack Flames as an assistant coach. The Flames are the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Calgary Flames. . . . Gill had been the head coach of the OHL’s Kingston Frontenacs for three seasons. However, he was dumped after last season, when his side blew a 3-0 lead to the Peterborough Petes in a first-round playoff series. . . . In Adirondack, he’ll work alongside head coach Ryan Huska, formerly of the Kelowna Rockets.
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I'm more & more appreciative to have lived when Terry Fox was alive. As @Taggart7 said, his birthday – today – should be a Canadian holiday.
— Adam Proteau (@Proteautype) July 28, 2014

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WHL final resumes tonight . . . 10 things you didn't know about Blazing Saddles!

G Rastislav Staňa (Moose Jaw, Calgary, 1998-2000) has signed a one-year contract with Sparta Prague (Czech Republic, Extraliga). Staňa started this season with CSKA Moscow (Russia, KHL), going 2.31 and .912 in 24 games. He signed with Košice (Slovakia, Extraliga) on Jan. 28 and was 1.25, .952 in eight games. . . .

F Matt Ellison (Red Deer, 2002-03) has signed a two-year contract with Dinamo Minsk (Belarus, KHL). Ellison started this season with Biel (Switzerland, NL A), picking up one assist in seven games. He signed with Medveščak Zagreb (Croatia, KHL) on Oct. 2 and finished with 15 points, eight of them goals, in 38 games. . . .

F Konstantin Pushkarev (Calgary, 2004-05) signed a one-year extension with Barys Astana (Kazakhstan, KHL). This season with Barys, he had four points, including one goal, in 21 games. In five games with Nomad Astana (Kazakhstan, Vysshaya), he had six points, including three goals. . . .


D Gennadi Razin (Kamloops, 1996-98) has signed a one-year extension with Donbass Donetsk (Ukraine, KHL). This season, he had three points, two of them goals, in 49 games.
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1. All three major junior finals resume tonight. The Portland Winterhawks take a 2-0 lead on the Oil Kings into Edmonton for a game that is available on Shaw TV. . . . In the OHL, the Guelph Storm and North Bay Battalion are tied 1-1, with both games having been decided in OT. They are in North Bay tonight. . . . In the QMJHL, the Baie-Comeau Drakkar and Val-d’Or Foreurs also are 1-1. They are in Val-d‘Or tonight.

2. If you were wondering, Sportsnet will televise Game 5 of the OHL series on Friday night.

3. The Oil Kings, who trail 2-0 in the WHL’s best-of-seven final, spent far too much time chasing the game in Portland. So far, the Winterhawks have played with the lead for 114 minutes 58 seconds.

4. Columnist Terry Jones of the Edmonton Sun was in attendance for the first two games of the WHL’s championship final for the Ed Chynoweth Cup in Portland on the weekend. He writes that the Edmonton Oil Kings, who lost both games to the Winterhawks, have gone from underdogs to longshots. . . . That column is right here.

5. Columnist John MacKinnon of the Edmonton Journal previews Game 3 of the WHL final right here, starting with the role Portland G Corbin Boes has played since taking over as the Winterhawks’ starter.

6. A couple of things from WHL Facts (@WHLFacts). . . . “2000 - The last time a team trailed 2-0 in a WHL Final series & came back to win was the @WHLKootenayICE in 2000, who defeated Spokane in 6.” . . . “75 - With 2 points (Sunday night), @pdxwinterhawks Brendan Leipsic now has 75 for his playoff career, moving him into a tie for 7th place all-time.” . . . Leipsic is tied with F Ray Allison (Brandon, 1976-79), and is two points behind F Brian Propp (Brandon, 1977-79).

7. The AHL has approved the transfer of the Abbotsford Heat, the top affiliate of the NHL’s Calgary Flames, to Glens Falls, N.Y., where it will replace the Phantoms. The NHL’s Philadelphia Flyers are moving the Phantoms to Allentown, Pa. . . . New York State now is home to six of the AHL’s 30 franchises. . . . There continues to be speculation that some of the NHL’s western-most franchises are going to relocate their AHL affiliates to the western side of the U.S. A report at MayorsManor.com in April indicated that eight NHL teams once were involved in discussions but that the Anaheim Ducks, Los Angeles Kings, Phoenix Coyotes and San Jose Sharks are the teams most serious about this project. . . . The report from MayorsManor.com is right here.

8. If you were wondering how much Floyd Mayweather will make from last weekend’s bout, you should start at about US$70 million. On Monday, he tweeted: “$32,000,000.00 for 36 minutes. I’m waiting for the PPV numbers to come in so I can make another $38,000,000.00 on the back-end . . . making it a grand total of $70,000,000.00.” . . . Now you should pick any 36 minutes out of your life and figure out how close you have come to duplicating that.

9. Chances are you have seen the Mel Brooks movie Blazing Saddles. If not, you should. And if you click right here you will find 10 things you never knew about Blazing Saddles.
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The Portland Winterhawks have added D Blake Heinrich, who turned 19 on Feb. 17, to their roster. A native of Cambridge, Minn., Heinrich had 16 points, including seven goals, and 117 penalty minutes in 42 games with the USHL’s Sioux City Musketeers. The 5-11, 195-pounder was the Musketeers’ captain. . . . Heinrich was a fifth-round selection by the Washington Capitals in the 2013 NHL draft. The Winterhawks selected him in the 12th round of the 2012 bantam draft, at which time he already was 17 years of age.
“We have had discussions with Blake since drafting him about becoming a Winterhawk and are excited to announce that he will join us at the end of the (season),” Portland GM/head coach Mike Johnston said in January when the club announced it had signed Heinrich. “He is a dynamic defenceman who is a perfect fit for our style of play. I expect he will be a big part of our future over the next two seasons as we rebuild our defence.”
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The USHL held Phase 1 of its annual draft on Monday. There is a list right here of players who were selected and have ties to the WHL.
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The OHL’s Oshawa Generals announced Monday that Jeff Twohey has resigned after two seasons as their general manager. . . . The Generals were swept by the North Bay Battalion in the Eastern Conference final. . . . The Generals were first in the Eastern Conference this season, after finishing third last season. . . . Roger Hunt, the Generals’ assistant GM, has taken over as acting GM.
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THE COACHING GAME:
Chris Hartsburg, a former assistant coach of the Everett Silvertips, has signed on as head coach of the USHL’s Lincoln Stars. Hartsburg spent this season as an assistant coach with the OHL’s Erie Otters. . . . Hartsburg spent four seasons (2009-12) as an assistant coach with the Silvertips. He is the son of former NHL player and head coach Craig Hartsburg, who did a stint as the Silvertips’ head coach. . . . With the Stars, he replaces Jimmy McGroarty, who was fired on March 21. Mick Berge, an assistant coach, served as interim head coach. . .  . The Stars missed the playoffs this season for the third time in their 18 seasons of existence.
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The OHL’s Kingston Frontenacs have fired head coach Todd Gill and assistant coach Jeff Reid. The moves come after an 84-point regular season and a first-round playoff loss to the Peterborough Petes. The Frontenacs won the first three games of that series, then lost four straight. . . . At the same time, the Frontenacs re-signed general manager Doug Gilmour and Darren Keily, the assistant GM and director of hockey operations. Gilmour has been with the team since 2008 and has been GM since 2011. Keily signed on as an assistant coach in 2008, was named AGM in 2011 and director of hockey ops in 2012.
Doug Graham of the Kingston Whig-Standard has more right here.
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THE FOURTH ROUND (best-of-seven; all times local):
WHL final, for the Ed Chynoweth Cup
(x - if necessary)
(All games televised live by Shaw)
(All games televised on delayed basis by Root Sports)
PORTLAND (2, West) vs. Edmonton (1, East)
(Portland leads, 2-0)
Season series: Portland, 0-0-1; Edmonton, 1-0-0.
Saturday: Edmonton 2 at Portland 5 (10,947)
Sunday: Edmonton 1 at Portland 3 (10,645)
Tuesday: Portland at Edmonton, 7 p.m.
Wednesday: Portland at Edmonton, 7 p.m.
x-Friday: Edmonton at Portland, 7 p.m. (Moda Center)
x-Sunday: Portland at Edmonton, 4 p.m.
x-Monday: Edmonton at Portland, 7 p.m. (Moda Center)
INJURIES
Portland: None.
Edmonton: None.
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MONDAY’S GAME:
No game scheduled.
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From David Larkins (@LarkinsWSun) of the Winnipeg Sun: “I'm taking out a restraining order on the Trivago guy. For all of us.”
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From Julius Sharpe (@juliussharpe): “My Dad lived through WWII, rock and roll, the Kennedy assassination, Vietnam and 9/11. I've updated the Adobe Flash player 900 times.”


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Needham hoping to play for Canada

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
Forward Matt Needham of the Kamloops Blazers is one of 13 WHL players to have been invited by Hockey Canada to attend its summer under-18 selection camp.
All told, 40 players, all of them from the CHL and born in 1995 and ’96, have been invited to the camp in Toronto, Aug. 3-6. Afterwards, a 22-player roster will be named to compete in the Memorial of Ivan Hlinka tournament that is scheduled for Piestany, Slovakia, and Breclav, Czech Republic, Aug. 13-18.
“It was exciting to hear,” Needham said Thursday afternoon from his family’s home in Penticton. He also admitted that getting to this camp and making the team “was definitely in the back of my mind.”
Needham, who has never been to Europe, is not a stranger to Hockey Canada and its Program of Excellence, having won gold with Team B.C. at the 2011 Canada Winter Games in Halifax and then placing fifth with Team Pacific at the U17 World Hockey Challenge in Windsor, Ont., last season.
Needham is one of 24 forwards on the roster, along with four goaltenders and 12 defencemen. The OHL is represented by 17 players, with 13 from the QMJHL. The roster was selected by Kevin Prendergrast, Hockey Canada’s head scout, along with the coaching staff. Todd Gill of the OHL’s Kingston Canadians is the head coach, with Yanick Jean (QMJHL-Victoriaville Tigres) and Scott Walker (OHL-Guelph Storm) are the assistants.
Needham, who was selected eighth overall by the Blazers in the WHL’s 2010 bantam draft, had 34 points, including 12 goals, in 61 games last season. He added seven points in 11 playoff games.
He really appeared to come into his own in the regular-season’s last six weeks.
“I had a few good games in a row and I kept building off it,” he said. It was then, he added, that he realized he was capable of “putting up numbers” at this level. It dawned on him that, indeed, he could be a “point-per-game kind of guy” and “I started doing that towards the end.”
The coaching staff also began giving him consistent time on the penalty-killing unit, a move that further defined his role.
Needham said he took a break after the Blazers’ season ended with seven-game loss to the Portland Winterhawks in the second round.
“I took a couple of weeks off to let my body relax and get all the bumps and bruises out,” he said. “It was pretty strenuous and it was nice to take a little break.”
Needham also admitted he’ll be a long-time forgetting the series with Portland, a series in which the Blazers lost the first three games. They came back to force a Game 7, only to lose 2-0 in Portland.
“It was a good learning experience for me and everyone else,” he said. “It was our first crack at it and to push a team that good to seven games, especially down 3-0 . . . it’s prett impressive looking back at it.
“It’s tough to lose but . . .”
Now, with last season in his rearview mirror, he is starting to get back into training and will step it up even more once school ends later this month.
“Once I can free up some more time,” he said, “I’ll be able to start getting into it a bit more.”
His father, Mike, works at the Okanagan Hockey Academy in Penticton, which is where Matt played before joining the Blazers. Getting ice time won’t be a problem then, and he’ll be on the ice more and more as August nears.
The U-18 selection camp will be a new experience for Needham, because he has never attended one like this. Prior to making Team B.C. and Team Pacific, he attended summer camps, with team rosters named later in the season.
“You can’t take any days off,” Needham said, looking forward to the four-day camp in August.

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