Stoll buys lunch; Hunt back in coaching game

D Tomáš Kudělka (Lethbridge, 2005-2007) signed 1 yr.plus option contract w/ Pelicans Lahti (Finland, Liiga). (1/2)2/2) Kudělka last season w/ Vitkovice Ostrava (Czech Republic, Extraliga) 47 GP, 1+10.
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1. The long weekend arrived in Kamloops on Thursday at 12:52 p.m. . . . Dorothy and I were at the intersection where the Yellowhead Highway meets Halston. There is a Husky gas station there. As we sat at a red light waiting to turn on to Halston, Dorothy said: “Look. The Husky has two gas prices.” Sure enough. One sign read: $1.32.9. The other read: $1.38.9. . . . “Oh look,” Dorothy said. “The other one is changing.” . . . Hello, Victoria Day long weekend! And, hello, gas at $1.38.9 a litre! But, hey, you knew it was coming. Right? After all, big oil has become as predictable as Christmas in December.

2. Who is Anthony Marquart? Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post answers that question right here, as he writes about the man who heads up the group that has purchased the Regina Pats.

3. If you are wondering about the men who purchased the Prince George Cougars, Ted Clarke of the Prince George Citizen will introduce you to them right here.

4. The Saskatoon Blades are in search of a general manager and head coach, and Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix reports that the process is about to go into the interview stage. That story is right here.

5. A reader of this blog noticed that D Nolan Kneen, who signed with the Kamloops Blazers on Wednesday, played 69 games with the bantam AAA North Shore Winter Club Winterhawks this season. “As a bantam. No time to practise, I guess,” the reader writes. “Fourteen- and 15-year-olds playing 69 games. Holy Hannah! So the Dub has a 72-game sked to get players ‘ready for the NHL’ and bantams are now playing nearly the same amount, I presume, to get them ready for the Dub. Pretty soon, Initiation A players will have 70-game sked to get them ready for Initiation B, etc., etc.” . . . A check of the pre-draft numbers at Small Thoughts at Large shows that Kneen played at least 84 games, what with appearances at the St. Albert tournament, the Western Canadian championship and the U16 B.C. Cup. He turned 15 on March 22.

6. On May 13. 1989, the Swift Current Broncos beat the host Saskatoon Blades 4-3 in overtime to win the Memorial Cup. The championship team’s roster included seven players who had been involved in a bus accident on Dec. 30, 1986, in which four teammates were killed. . . . F Tim Tisdale scored the OT goal in that game. Also on the ice for the GWG were were G Trevor Kruger, D Darren Kruger, D Bob Wilkie, F Kyle Reeves and F Brian Sakic. . . . Brad Brown has chatted with all six players and his report, strictly through the eyes of those who were there, is right here. . . . If you want to read more about how high the mountain was that those Broncos climbed, you may want to take a look at the book Sudden Death: The Incredible Saga of the 1986 Swift Current Broncos.

7. A tip of the hat to F Jarret Stoll of the Los Angeles Kings. Stoll was born in Melville, Sask., but played most of his minor hockey in Yorkton where he helped the bantam AAA Terriers win the 1997 Western Canadian championship. The SJHL’s Yorkton Terriers are in Vernon, B.C., this week, playing in the RBC Cup for the national junior A championship. . . . On Wednesday, Stoll paid for the Terriers’ pregame meal.
On Thursday morning, the Terriers (@Terriers_SJHL) tweeted: “Terriers thank @jarretstoll for his kind gesture yesterday for the boys. Congrats on the win last night Stolly, getter done in Anaheim tmw.”
To which Stoll, who spent four seasons (1998-2002) with the WHL’s Kootenay Ice, responded: “@Terriers_SJHL you’re welcome guys!! Good day for both of us....keep it going! #RBCcup #BecauseitstheCup”

8. By now, you will be aware of what went on with Boston Bruins F Milan Lucic in the handshake line after he and his teammates were eliminated by the visiting Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday night. Jack Todd of the Montreal Gazette has a piece right here in which he points out Lucic wasn’t really being Boston Strong.

9. The championship game at the 2014 Memorial Cup tournament is to be played Sunday, May 25, in London, Ont. When the schedule was announced, a starting time had yet to be determined. That isn’t the case now. The game, according to the tournament’s website, will start at noon Eastern, which is 9 a.m. Pacific.

10. Ian Douglas has been named the fulltime radio voice of the BCHL’s Salmon Arm Silverbacks. Douglas, whose career includes time as the play-by-play man with the BCHL’s Trail Smoke Eaters and the junior B Kamloops Storm and Chase Chiefs, stepped in last season when the Silverbacks found themselves without a radio voice.
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Willie Desjardins, the head coach of the AHL’s Texas Stars, has been added to the roster of speakers for the 2014 Hockey Coaches Conference. Desjardins, a former GM and head coach of the Medicine Hat Tigers, will cover offensive zone play in his presentation. . . . Texas is involved in the AHL playoffs, his Stars and the defending-champion Griffins tied 2-2 in a second-round series that continues tonight in Grand Rapids. . . . The Coaches Conference is scheduled for July 18 and 19 at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. For more info, click right here or click on the ad at the top of this page.
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The RBC Cup semifinals in Vernon are scheduled for Saturday. In the first game, the SJHL’s Yorkton Terriers will meet the host Vipers, with the MJHL’s Dauphin Kings playing the CCHL’s Carleton Place Canadians in the second game. The first game starts at 2 p.m. Pacific, with the second game at 6 p.m. Unless there is OT in the opener, of course. . . . Dauphin was 3-1 in the round-robin portion of the tournament; the other three qualifiers each was 2-2. . . . The OJHL’s Toronto Lakeshore Patriots went 1-3 and were eliminated.
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D Mathew Berry-Lamontagna, 20, has committed to attending Simon Fraser University and playing for the men’s hockey team there. Berry-Lamontagna (Prince Albert, 2010-12) played this season in the BCHL, splitting it with the Coquitlam Express and Cowichan Valley Capitals. From Vancouver, he had 19 points, six of them goals, in 52 BCHL games this season. . . . He is the first member of SFU’s 2014-15 recruiting class.
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The Vancouver Giants have signed F Dawson Holt of Saskatoon. He was the eighth overall selection in the WHL’s 2014 bantam draft. He had 73 points, 35 of them goals, in 26 games with the bantam AA Saskatoon Generals.
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THE COACHING GAME:
Mario Pouliot is the new head coach of the QMJHL’s Acadie-Bathurst Titan. Pouliot spent the last two seasons as an assistant coach with the QMJHL’s Rouyn-Noranda Huskies. He also has QMJHL head-coaching experience with the Baie-Comeau Drakker (2010-12). . . . He replaces Ron Choules with the Titan. Choules stepped in for Danny Smith when the latter was fired in January. . . . The Titan finished 22-40-6 this season then were swept in a first-round series with the Val-d’Or Foreurs.
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Curtis Hunt is the new general manager and head coach of the AJHL’s Fort McMurray Oil Barons. He replaces Gord Thibodeau, who was fired when this season ended and now is on the staff of the AJHL’s Lloydminster Bobcats. Thibodeau had been with the Oil Barons for 12 seasons. . . . Hunt spent two seasons (2002-04) as head coach of the WHL’s Moose Jaw Warriors and six as head coach of the Regina Pats (2004-08, 2009-11). . . . Hunt was an assistant coach with the NHL’s Ottawa Senators (2008-09) and also worked as the head coach of their AHL affiliate the Binghamton Senators that same season. . . . He has won two gold medals as an assistant coach with Canada’s national junior team (2007, 2008) and has been on the coaching staff with Canada’s national sledge hockey team, helping it to, among other medals. bronze at the 2014 Sochi Paralympic Games.
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MEMORIAL CUP
(at London, Ont., all times Eastern)
(all games televised by Sportsnet)
Friday: Val-d’Or vs. London, 7 p.m.
Saturday: Guelph vs. Edmonton, 4 p.m.
Sunday: London vs. Edmonton, 7 p.m.
Monday: Guelph vs. Val-d’Or, 7 p.m.
Tuesday: Edmonton vs. Val-d’Or, 7 p.m.
Wednesday: London vs. Guelph, 7 p.m.
Thursday: Tiebreaker, if necessary, 7 p.m.
Friday, May 23: Semifinal, 7 p.m.
Saturday, May 24: No game scheduled.
Sunday, May 25: Final, noon.
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 From Jim Parker (@winstarparker): “Expect Oshawa #Generals asst. & former #OHL Windsor #Spitfires captain Paul McFarland to be named Kingston #Frontenacs head coach (Tuesday).”
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From John Duncan (@DuncanOHL): “@winstarparker @vishal_hussain Rumour in Kgn is that Kgn native and former NHLer Jay McKee will be announced on Tues as new FrontHead Coach.”


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THE MacBETH REPORT:
D Tomas Kudelka (Lethbridge, 2005-07) signed a one-year contract extension with Vitkovice Ostrava (Czech Republic, Extraliga). He has three goals and 16 assists in 52 games for Vitkovice this season.
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Shelley Lowes, the wife of longtime hockey coach/scout Bob Lowes, has undergone surgery in Regina after being diagnosed with breast cancer.
The Lowes family is doing a remarkable thing through all of this — maintaining a blog titled: We can . . . with love!
Here is a note Shelley left for her family before surgery:
“To my beautiful family.
“Please take a deep breath and help each other out...even if you are not asked to help.
“Please remember to say ‘I love you’ and give a hug...it doesn't cost a thing.
“Please remember I love you....have a great lunch today, work out....stay busy, stay together, stay strong!
“Thank you — for you, your prayers — your strength!
“Can't wait to see you.
“Love Mom xoxo”
You should check this out right here and please feel free to send along some thoughts and best wishes.
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Ryan Gibbons, a WHL linesman who played for the Seattle Thunderbirds, wore a GoPro camera on his helmet during the Celebrity All-Star game that was part of Hockey Challenge 2012 in Kent, Wash., on Saturday. If you haven’t seen the footage yet, it’s right here.
Gibbons also worked the Thunderbirds’ game that night. . . . His linesmen’s jersey was part of the Challenge auction and it went for $750. He autographed it after the game.
The Thunderbirds and Ronald McDonald House Charities of Western Washington & Alaska (RMHC) have since announced that the 14th annual Hockey Challenge, which was held Saturday and Sunday, raised more than $190,000, bringing the 14-year total to more than $4.2 million.
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Whatever happened to Mick McGeough, who perhaps was the last of the WHL referees to express his personality while he worked? He was the supervising official when the Vancouver Canucks played the Phoenix Coyotes in the desert last night. . . .
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The Edmonton Journal reports that Medicine Hat Tigers G Tyler Bunz, who turned 20 on Feb. 11, will face a drunk driving trial on March 5 in St. Albert, Alta. According to the newspaper, Bunz “is charged with one count of impaired driving and one count of driving with a blood-alcohol level over .08.” . . . Bunz, who is from St. Albert, was charged on May 28. . . . His NHL rights belong to the Edmonton Oilers. . . .
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The Lethbridge Hurricanes, who play the Raiders in Prince Albert tonight, have lost F Brady Ramsay and his 23 goals to an undisclosed injury. They have brought in Tyler Wong and Harrison Harper. . . . Wong, taken in the fifth round of the 2011 bantam draft, had 32 points in 26 games with the midget AAA UFA Bisons, while Harper had 10 points in 28 games with the junior B Airdrie Thunder. Harper was a 12th round pick in the 2009 bantam draft. . . .
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The WHL and the Prince Albert Raiders are mourning the death of Ruth (Grams) Pollock, who passed away Tuesday morning. She was 90. Pollock billeted players for 20 straight seasons, starting with grandson Troy Hjertaas in 1988-89. According to a Raiders new release, “Over two decades, Grams billeted many players, including Donovan Hextall, Richard Seeley, Derek Paget, David Van Drunen, Milan Kraft, Shane Willis, Dane Byers Rejean Beauchemin, Aki Seitsonen, Shane Hnidy, Mike McGhan, Ryan White, David Aime, Mike Small, Greg Watson, Jordan Kochan and Brandon Herrod. Her billeting duties came full circle in 2008, when she billeted her grandson Zach Sim.” . . . She received the WHL Distinguished Services Award in 2008. . . . Funeral arrangements are pending. . . .
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A tweet from Ryan Button (@buttsy78): “RIP Grams, truly a legend in the community of PA. #thebest”
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A source has told me that the Portland Winterhawks received two second-round bantam draft picks from Everett as compensation for the Silvertips decision to sign Garry Davidson as general manager. Davidson has been Portland’s director of player personnel. . . . That would be one pick in 2012 and another in 2013. . . .
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The Regina Pats have added D Nathan Zimbaluk, 18, who started the season in the Queen City but was sent to the SJHL’s Melfort Mustangs in January. . . . With Zimbaluk in camp, the Pats no longer have D Colby Williams, 16, with them. He spent the season with the midget AAA Regina Pat Canadians. . . .
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BCHL commissioner John Grisdale and a member of that league’s expansion committee will be in Wenatchee, Wash., this weekend looking at the NAHL’s Wild as a potential entry. The Wild would like to get into the BCHL as soon as next season; the BCHL has said it is looking at 2013-14. . . . The Wild is home to the Fresno Monsters on Saturday.
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THE COACHING GAME:
The SJHL’s Yorkton Terriers have re-signed general manager Don Chesney and head coach Trent Cassan to two-year contracts. . . .
Former U of North Dakota star Tony Hrkac won’t return for a sixth season as head coach of the hockey program at Concordia University Wisconsin in Mequon, Wis. . . . Hrkac went 10-109-10 as the first head coach in the program’s history.
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TUESDAY’S GAMES:
In Moose Jaw, F Sam Fioretti scored twice to help the Warriors to a 5-1 victory over the Red Deer Rebels. . . . Fioretti, who has 19 goals, opened the scoring at 11:41 of the first and then broke a 1-1 tie at 4:23 of the second. . . . F Quinton Howden had a goal and two assists for the Warriors. . . . Moose Jaw lost F Kenton Miller toa checking-to-the-head major at 13:55 of the first period. . . . The Rebels had captain Adam Kambeitz back after a 13-game absence, but they dressed just 16 skaters, two under the maximum. D Aaron Borejko, D Kayle Doetzel, F Joel Hamilton, F Colten Mayor, F Cory Millette and D Justin Weller all are out with injuries, as is G Patrik Bartosak. . . . With the victory, the Warriors clinched a playoff spot, the second Eastern Conference team to do so. . . . The Warriors were without F Cody Beach, who has been suspended for two games for “accumulation of embellishment penalties.” Earlier, he was suspended one game for the same thing. . . . Beach gets three games for making a fool of himself; other players get one-game suspensions for incurring kneeing and cross-checking majors, infractions that presumably put other players at risk. You figure it out. . . . The Warriors are atop the East Division, 11 points ahead of the Saskatoon Blades, who have nine games left. . . . The Rebels are 10 points out of the playoffs with 10 games remaining. . . .

In Kennewick, Wash., the Brendan Shinnimin train slowed, but just a bit, as he drew two assists in the Tri-City Americans’ 3-1 victory over the Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . Shinnimin, whose 10-game goal-scoring streak was snapped, finished February with 43 points in 14 games. That included 23 goals. . . . He now has 117 points and an 11-point lead atop the WHL scoring race. . . . Tri-City F Patrick Holland had a goal, his 24th, and an assist, lifting him to 97 points. . . . Holland leads the WHL with 73 assists. The last WHLer with 80 assists in a season was Portland F Todd Robinson (1996-97). . . . F Justin Feser got his 32nd goal for the Americans, giving them a 3-0 lead in the first period. . . . F Connor Sanvido scored for Seattle, his fifth of the season. Sanvido, Seatte’s first selection, 14th overall, in the 2009 bantam draft, was playing in his first game since Feb. 6 after having been sent home to think about things. . . . The Thunderbirds were without D Cason Machacek, who drew an eight-game suspension after his stick came into contact with linesman Zach Brooks in Sunday’s 5-1 loss to the visiting Tri-City Americans. Machacek has been suspended four times this season for a total of 15 games. . . . Seattle also was without F Branden Troock, who drew a one-game sentence for a cross-checking major in that same game. . . . The Americans remain on top of the WHL’s overall standings and the Western Conference. . . . They are a point ahead of the Portland Winterhawks and three ahead of the Kamloops Blazers. Portland will visit the Americans on Friday and the teams will meet at the Rose Garden in Portland on Sunday. . . . Seattle holds the Western Conference’s last playoff spot, one point ahead of the Everett Silvertips. . . . The Thunderbirds are to play in Everett on Friday. . . .

In Portland, F Oliver Gabriel scored twice to lead the Winterhawks to a 5-2 victory over the Kamloops Blazers. . . . Gabriel got the game’s first goal, at 1:35 of the second period, and then gave his side a 3-1 lead at 3:30 of the third. He’s got 16 goals. . . . Portland F Sven Baertschi had a goal, his 26th broke a 1-1 tie ta 3:14 of the third, and two assists. He is a point shy of maintaining his two-point-a-game clip — he has 87 in 44. . . . Last season, Baertschi finished with 85 points in 66 games. . . . Portland F Marcel Noebels got his 20th goal, while F Ty Rattie had two assists. . . . Portland had a 47-26 edge in shots, including 22-5 in the third period. . . . Portland G Mac Carruth won his WHL-leading 39th game. With nine games remaining, Carruth can’t get to the WHL single-game record that is held by Glen Hanlon, now an assistant coach with the Vancouver Giants. Hanlon won 49  games with the 1976-77 Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . The Blazers have lost their last two games, the seventh time this season they have lost two in a row. They have yet to lose three in a row. Kamloops plays the Silvertips in Everett tonight. . . . Kamloops F Brendan Ranford, who had his 13-game point streak halted, left in the third period with an apparent leg injury. . . . Kamloops F Jordan DePape, who hasn’t played since Oct. 10 because of a shoulder injury that needed surgery, skated in the pregame warmup before being scratched. He may play against the Silvertips in Everett tonight. . . . While they trail Tri-City and Portland in the overall standings, Kamloops remains the Western Conference’s second seed because it leads the B.C. Division. . . . Portland has won 10 of 11 and 24 of 29. . . .

In Prince George, F Hunter Shinkaruk scored twice to help the Medicine Hat Tigers to a 3-2 victory over the Cougars. . . . Shinkaruk has 42 goals. . . . Tigers F Emerson Etem, who leads the league with 53 goals, didn’t score but did draw three assists. . . . Cougars G Drew Owsley stopped 41 shots; Medicine Hat’s Tiger Bunz stopped 19. . . . Shinkaruk gave the Tigers a 3-1 lead at 14:53 of the second. . . . F Caleb Belter got the Cougars to within one at 14:09 of the third. . . . The same teams play again tonight in Prince George. . . . The Cougars have lost five straight and are four points out of a playoff spot. . . .

In Victoria, the Spokane penalty-killers went 6-for-6 as the Chiefs doubled the Royals, 4-2. . . . Spokane F Blake Gal broke a 2-2 tie at 16:40 of the third period. He’s got 13 goals. . . . D Corbin Baldwin put it away with an empty-netter at 18:54. . . . Chiefs D Brendan Kichton had one assist and was plus-3. . . . Victoria G Jared Rathjen, making his fourth straight start, stopped 29 shots, three more than Spokane’s Mac Engel. . . . The Chiefs had lost their previous two games. They are fifth in the Western Conference, three points behind the Vancouver Giants with a game in hand. These two teams will meet in the first round, so all that’s left to decide is home-ice advantage. . . . The Royals have won three in a row. They are seventh in the Western Conference, two points ahead of Seattle and three ahead of Everett.
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TUESDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
None.
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TUESDAY’S CHECKING-TO-THE-HEAD COUNT:
F Kenton Miller, Moose Jaw (major).
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For what it’s worth, The New York Times played that story on fighting in hockey that was linked to here yesterday on its front page. It was below the fold but it was front page news.
Jeff Z. Klein of The Times spent some time recently in the Saskatoon area and filed this story that focuses on fighting in hockey.
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Todd Holt was a real pepper-pot when he played for the Swift Current Broncos. He wasn’t very big, but he was a talker and a sniper with the ability to bring fans out of their seats. Who knew then of the torture he was experiencing? Rob Vanstone of the Regina Leader-Post has a close-up look at the life Holt has led since then. If you read anything today, make sure this is it.
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ASK THE COMMISSIONER:
The Kamloops Blazers played the Giants in Vancouver on Friday night. There was a skirmish at 18:03 of the third period, after which the two referees gave misconducts to all 10 skaters who were on the ice, including Vancouver D Kiefer McNaughton. Both play-by-play men, Dan Elliott of the Giants and Jon Keen of the Blazers, confirmed that McNaughton took another shift before the game ended. Mr. Commissioner, if McNaughton was given a misconduct, how was that possible?

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Lots of news . . .

THE MacBETH REPORT:
G Tyler Weiman (Tri-City, 2000-04) signed a one-year contract with the Augsburger Panther (Germany, DEL). He had a 2.62 GAA and a .909 save percentage in 29 games with the Manitoba Moose (AHL) last season. . . .
D Tomas Kudelka (Lethbridge, 2005-07) signed a one-year contract with Vitkovice (Czech Republic, Extraliga). He was pointless in nine games with Pardubice (Czech Republic, Extraliga) and had one goal and five assists in 43 games with TPS Turku (Finland, SM-Liiga) last season. . . .
F Bud Holloway (Seattle, 2003-08) signed a one-year contract with Skellefteå (Sweden, Elitserien). He had 28 goals and 33 assists in 78 games with the Manchester Monarchs (AHL) last season. . . .
D Gord Baldwin (Medicine Hat, 2004-07) signed a one-year contract with Mlada Boleslav (Czech Republic, Extraliga). He had two goals and 11 assists in 75 games with the Abbotsford Heat (AHL) last season.
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The Regina Pats will introduce Pat Conacher as their head coach this afternoon.
The Pats issued a news release late Monday afternoon indicating they will hold a press conference this afternoon. Later, a few Internet reports indicated Conacher, the assistant general manager and assistant coach with the Victoria Royals, had signed with the Pats.
Early Monday evening, two sources familiar with the situation confirmed Conacher’s signing. He will replace Curtis Hunt, who was fired last month despite having a year left on his contract last month.
That means each of the 22 WHL teams now has a head coach under contract, with the Pats being the fourth team to make a change this summer.
The Everett Silvertips lost Craig Hartsburg to the NHL’s Calgary Flames, and replaced him with Mark Ferner, who had been with the BCHL’s Vernon Vipers.
The Moose Jaw Warriors, who fired Dave Hunchak after last season, now have former NHL defenceman Mike Stothers as head coach. Stothers spent last season as an assistant coach with the NHL’s Atlanta Thrashers. Hunchak has since signed on as associate coach with the Kamloops Blazers.
The Seattle Thunderbirds hired former WHL forward Steve Konowalchuk, who had been an assistant coach with the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche. With the Thunderbirds, he replaces Rob Sumner.
Conacher, a 52-year-old native of Edmonton, played in the WHL with the Billings Bighorns and Saskatoon Blades before going on to a professional career that included 521 NHL games split among the New York Rangers, Edmonton Oilers, New Jersey Devils, Los Angeles Kings, Calgary Flames and New York Islanders.
He has head-coaching experience with the AHL’s Utah Grizzlies and San Antonio Rampage. Conacher spent last season as general manager/head coach Marc Habscheid’s right-hand man with the Chilliwack Bruins, who relocated to Victoria earlier this summer.
Just last week, the Royals signed Ben Cooper as an assistant coach. He had been a video coach with Hockey Canada for the previous three years.
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Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Post-Dispatch reported Sunday that Tyler Wright (Swift Current, 1989-93) is about to be promoted by the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets.
According to Portzline, Wright, who has been the team’s development coach for three seasons, is soon to be promoted to director of amateur scouting and will share that title with Paul Castron, who has been there for five years.
There will be more changes coming, too, as the Blue Jackets have yet to replace Don Boyd, who was dropped as director of player personnel, and Bob Strumm, the former director of pro scouting who was relieved of his duties after the season.
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Two new chapters to the Boogaard situation were penned on Monday.
Late Monday night, Michael Russo of the Minneapolis StarTribune posted to his blog an email he received from Ryan Boogaard, who is younger than his late brother, Derek, but older than Aaron. That posting is right here.
Earlier in the day, Aaron Boogaard appeared in court on charges relating to Derek’s death on May 13. He did not enter a plea and is to return to court on Aug. 17.
The StarTribune’s story on that appearance is right here.
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Now a few words about a story that will take place today.
Forward Kris Draper of the Detroit Red Wings is expected to announce his retirement today, bringing to an end a 20-year career.
It says something that Draper was a member of four Stanley Cup-championship teams in Detroit.
But what always struck me the most about Draper was that he played the game the right way. A wonderful skater, he played whatever role was requested of him, and he played hard and within the rules.
More players should fashion themselves after Draper.
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D Jamieson Oleksiak, all 6-foot-7 and 240 pounds of him, has left Northeastern University, where he spent one season, to sign with the OHL’s Saginaw Spirit. He was the 14th overall selection in the NHL’s 2011 draft, taken by the Dallas Stars.
Oleksiak, who is from Toronto but has dual U.S.-Canadian citizenship, will attend the Canadian national junior team’s development camp in August.
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It would seem that Kamloops Blazers F Dylan Willick was rather fit when he showed up at the development camp of the NHL’s Minnesota Wild earlier this month.
In the fitness testing, Willick did 41 metronome pushups, which is a timed sequence involving doing a pushup every three seconds or so.
 In the last three NHL combines, only two players have bettered that number — G Mike Morrison (45) of the OHL’s Kitchener Rangers and F Max Le Sieur (42) of the QMJHL’s Shawinigan Cataractes topped it at this year’s predraft combine. In 2009, F Kyle Palmieri of the U.S. U18 NTDP team also did 41.
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The Portland Winterhawks revealed Monday that they will play 14 home games at the Rose Garden this season, with the other 22 scheduled for Memorial Coliseum.
However, you shouldn’t take that to the bank.
With the NBA presently in lockout mode, those numbers could change.
“If the current NBA labor dispute extends into the scheduled start of basketball season,” the Winterhawks’ news release reads, “the Winterhawks could move games to the Rose Garden. Should that be the case, the Winterhawks will announce those changes as those games approach.”
In other words, stay tuned.
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Travis Hunington is the new radio voice of the Everett Silvertips.
Huntington, 28, is coming off four seasons with the now-defunct Bossier-Shreveport, La., Mudbugs, who folded after winning the Central league’s 2010-11 championship.
Huntington, a native of Platteville, Colo., will work as the Silvertips’ director of broadcasting and public relations. He replaces Jon Rosen, whose last day with the Silvertips is today.
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THE COACHING GAME:
Ken Pearson, who resigned Monday as GM/head coach of the SJHL’s Battlefords North Stars, has a two-year deal as GM/head coach of the MJHL’s Winkler Flyers. Pearson spent the last three seasons with the North Stars after joining them from the MJHL’s Winnipeg South Blues in April 2008. . . . Pearson has two children who live in Emerson, Man., which is 56 km south east of Winkler, so this move will allow them to see more of each other. . . . In Winkler, Pearson will replace John Marks, who left last week to sign on with the USHL’s Fargo Force. . . . Pearson is a veteran coach who actually is returning to Winkler for a third time. He was on the Flyers’ coaching staff (1996-98) and was GM/head coach for a time after that. He also has extensive scouting experience. . . .
There are reports that Ron Rolston will be the next head coach of the Rochester Americans, the AHL affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres. He is the head coach of USA Hockey’s U-18 national development team. . . . He is a brother to NHLer Brian Rolston. . . .
A Monday afternoon tweet from Michael Russo of the Minneapolis StarTribune: “Per sources, ex #NHL dman Mike Van Ryn is leading contender to be John Torchetti's top asst in Houston.” . . . The Houston Aeros are the AHL affiliate of the Minnesota Wild.
Former NHL head coach Andy Murray will be the next head coach of the Western Michigan University Broncos. He is reported to have signed a five-year contract. . . . The Broncos have needed a head coach since earlier this month when Jeff Blashill signed on as an assistant coach with the Detroit Red Wings. . . .
Jim Madigan, who has been an NHL scout for the last 19 years, is expected to be named Northeastern’s head coach today. Numerous reports having him replacing Greg Cronin, who now is an assistant coach with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Madigan is a former Northeastern player (1981-85). He spent 13 years scouting with the New York Islanders, before moving over to the Pittsburgh Penguins. After playing, he worked for six seasons as an assistant coach at Northeastern.
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Take two minutes out of your day and take a look at this Lethbridge TV feature on Tri-City Americans prospect Tyler Mrkonjic. You won’t be sorry you did.

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