Nolan to Giants? . . . Amateur athletes or employees? . . . Lowry to Sharks?

F Bernhard Keil (Kamloops, 2010-11) signed a one-year contract with Eispiraten Crimmitschau (Germany, DEL2). This season, with the Schwenninger Wild Wings (Germany, DEL), he had one goal in 39 games. . . .
F Justin Maylan (Moose Jaw, Prince George, Prince Albert, 2007-12) signed a one-year contract with Val Pusteria Brunico (Italy, Serie A). This season, with Gherdëina (Italy, Serie A), he had 14 goals and a team-high 37 assists in 33 games.
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Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province reported Tuesday that the Vancouver Giants have talked with Ted Nolan about their vacant head-coaching position. Nolan, of course, is a veteran coach with plenty of major junior experience, having coached in the OHL and QMJHL. This season, he was the head coach of the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres, who let him go at season’s end. . . . Nolan and his wife, Sandra, have been in Vancouver and toured the Giants’ facility in Ladner. However, Nolan will exercise all of his professional options before he would return to junior and he has been upfront about that. . . . Still, if you were on Twitter yesterday, you would have been led to believe that Nolan and the Giants were in contract negotiations. . . . That might happen, but if it does it won’t be for a while.
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I was reaching for a dictionary on Tuesday morning, as I tried to come to grips with Washington state’s new law that says WHL players on that state’s four WHL teams are amateur athletes and not employees. . . . My reaching was interrupted when I spotted a piece written by Ken Campbell of The Hockey News. . . . He explains it all right here.
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Ken Campbell of The Hockey News also spoke with Jerry Dias, the president of Unifor, which is Canada’s largest public sector trade union. Unifor continues to work towards organizing major junior hockey players in Canada. . . . Dias said the Washington bill is “ridiculous” and added that the effort to unionize major junior hockey players is continuing. . . . “I don’t know how the person who cleans the toilets in the arena is an employee,” Dias told Campbell, “the coaches are employees, the person who sells the popcorn, the person who cleans the ice . . . everybody is an employee except for the person who makes the profits.” . . . That story is right here.
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Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet posted his weekly 30 Thoughts on Tuesday morning. As always, it is highly readable, and it is right here. As he points out, hockey fans shouldn’t discount Dave Lowry as the next head coach of the San Jose Sharks. At present, Lowry is the head coach of the WHL’s Victoria Royals.
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Here is the Memorial Cup schedule (all games on Sportsnet; all times Eastern):
Friday, May 22: Kelowna vs. Quebec, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, May 23: Rimouski vs. Oshawa, 4:30 p.m.
Sunday, May 24: Quebec vs. Oshawa, 4:30 p.m.
Monday, May 25: Rimouski vs. Kelowna, 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday, May 26: Oshawa vs. Kelowna, 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday, May 27: Quebec vs. Rimouski, 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, May 28: Tiebreaker, if necessary, 7:30 p.m.
Friday, May 29: Semifina, 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, May 31: Championship game, TBA
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FUN FACT: New @EdmontonOilers HC, Todd McLellan, is a former Blade! He played centre from 1983-1987. #alwaysablade pic.twitter.com/hc0osvvEZG

— Saskatoon Blades (@BladesHockey) May 19, 2015

THE COACHING GAME:

The NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs announced Tuesday that Gord Dineen, the head coach of their AHL affiliate, the Toronto Marlies, won’t be back. He apparently has been offered the position of associate coach. . . . As well, the Marlies dumped associate coach Derek King and have offered assistant coach Ben Simon a spot elsewhere in the organization. . . . Dineen was an assistant coach with the Marlies for five seasons before taking over as head coach on July 15. After a 39-28-9 regular season, they lost a best-of-five first-round series to the Grand Rapids Griffins, 3-2. . . . There is speculation that Sheldon Keefe, the OHL’s coach of the year with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, will sign on as the Marlies’ head coach.
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The OHL’s Hamilton Bulldogs have rounded out their coaching staff with the hiring of Troy Smith (associate coach), Ron Wilson (assistant coach) and Mike Parson (goaltending coach). They will work with GM/head coach George Burnett. . . . As well, Barclay Branch was named assistant GM and director of player personnel. . . . Branch spent the previous 10 seasons in the same role with the Belleville Bulls. . . . Smith was the Kitchener Rangers’ head coach for the past two seasons, after spending seven seasons as an assistant coach. . . . Wilson, a former NHL player, is a veteran of the coaching game, with extensive AHL experience. . . . Barton has worked as a goaltending coach with the Guelph Storm. This season, he was a goaltending consultant with the U of Guelph, Canisius College and the GOJHL’s Elmira Sugar Kings.
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The Sioux Falls Stampede recently won the Clark Cup as USHL playoff champions. Still, ownership has decided not to renew the contract of head coach Cary Eades, who is a former U of North Dakota assistant. . . . Chris Murphy of the Fargo Forum reported Tuesday that Eades will be named head coach of the USHL’s Fargo Force this morning. . . . According to Murphy, “Sioux Falls television station KSFY reported Eades’ contract was not renewed with the Stampede due to differences with ownership.” . . . Eades spent three seasons in Sioux Falls.
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The BCHL’s Salmon Arm Silverbacks need an athletic therapist, with Tyrol Deeg having resigned citing family concerns. If you’re interested, send your resume to coach@sasilverbacks.com. . . .
The NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs have hired Lindsay Hofford to work in their scouting department with his primary responsibility being the OHL. . . . He had been working as the scouting director for the OHL’s London Knights. Mark Hunter, a co-owner of the Knights, is Toronto’s director of player personnel. . . . Hofford did a stint as the Lethbridge Hurricanes’ head coach, running the bench for 112 games over three seasons (2003-06). . . .
Trevor Linden, the president of the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks, will be in Prince George for a news conference this morning. The Canucks are expected to announce that they will hold their 2015 training camp at the CN Centre in Prince George.
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Andersen, first Danish goalie to play for Ducks. Goldberg, first goalie to eat a danish while playing for Ducks. pic.twitter.com/gZXjSQIwHb

— Mike Kelly (@MikeKellyNHL) May 20, 2015

There has never been a subscription fee for this blog, but if you enjoy stopping by here, why not consider donating to the cause? Just click HERE. . . and thank you very much.

Pats appear to have their man

F James Henry (Vancouver, Moose Jaw, 2006-12) has signed a tryout contract with Dresdner Eislöwen (Germany, DEL2). Last season, with the Stockton Thunder (ECHL), he had 36 points, 14 of them goals, in 66 games. . . .
F Martin Podlešák (Tri-City, Lethbridge, 2000-02) has signed a one-year contract with the Nottingham Panthers (England, UK Elite). Last season, Podlešák, with Hradec Králové (Czech Republic, Extraliga), had seven points, three of them goals, in 23 games. He also had one goal in 23 games with Litoměřice (Czech Republic, 1. Liga). . . .
D Darrell Hay (Tri-City, 1996-2000) has signed a one-year contract with the Sheffield Steelers (England, UK Elite). Last season, with the Tohoku Free Blades Hachinohe (Japan, Asia HL), he had 30 points, including 11 goals, in 42 games. He led the league’s defencemen in goals.
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The Sunday edition of the Vancouver Province included a question-and-answer piece featuring sports columnist Ed Willes and Trevor Linden, the president of the Vancouver Canucks.
The most interesting part of the interview comes at the end.
“You’ve had some interesting things to say about the role of fighting in the game,” Willes says. “Do you think things are changing there?”
Linden responds:
“Fighting is supposed to be there to protect our top players. I’m not sure it has that effect. I think that happened in the ’70s and ’80s, but I think that ended when the game progressed. I don’t speak for every fan, but I think there are a lot of fans out there who don’t understand the staged fight. Within the context of the game it isn’t relevant. Everyone loves playoff hockey and we saw incredible games in these playoffs. It was hard-hitting, fast and intense. And, generally speaking, fighting isn’t part of playoff hockey.
“Some of the best parts of our game are the hitting and clean body contact. The reaction now is to go after that guy. I don’t know what the answer is but we have to look at it. I’m open to having the conversation but I think we have to look at being progressive. I think (Tampa Bay Lightning GM) Steve Yzerman shares the same views. I know it’s not popular with some people.”
Hearing the president of an NHL club, a man who played the game at an extremely high level, talk like that makes me think that fighting in the NHL is one step closer to the precipice. In recent times, more and more NHL teams, like the Canucks and Tampa Bay, have inserted young men, all of them former players, into their front offices and have given them lots of authority.
To hear Linden talk like that makes me think that this conversation is an on-going exchange between the likes of Linden, Yzerman, Brendan Shanahan, Ron Hextall, Brad Treliving, Brad Pascall and other young guns who populate NHL team front offices these days.
If that’s the case, it can’t be good for fight fans.
The complete interview is right here.
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The Regina Pats have signed John Paddock as their new head coach. Paddock, 60, is believed to have gotten the job ahead of former Saskatoon Blades head coach Dave Struch. . . . Struch now may end up as the general manager and head coach of the Humboldt Broncos. Dean Brockman, their former GM/head coach, now is an assistant coach with the Blades. . . . Paddock, from Oak River, Man., has played in the WHL, with the Brandon Wheat Kings (1972-74), but has never coached junior hockey. He has a 589-438-98 record as an AHL head coach and has been a member of that league’s hall of fame since 2010. Paddock also has NHL coaching experience with the Winnipeg Jets (1991-95) and Ottawa Senators (2007-08). . . . For the past five seasons, Paddock has been in the Philadelphia Flyers’ organization, either as an assistant GM or assistant coach. The Flyers announced on June 18 that he wouldn’t be back with them. . . . With Regina, Paddock replaces Malcolm Cameron, who was fired by the Pats’ new owners on June 22. . . . The Pats, who are scheduled to open training camp on Aug. 21, are the only one of the WHL's 22 teams without a head coach at this point. When they get a coach signed, they will be the 10th WHL team to have done so this off-season.
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In reporting that the Pats and John Paddock are working out the final details of a contract, Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post also writes that “Paddock is expected to hold a dual role with management powers, including hockey operations control. It wasn't immediately clear what that means for the future of senior vice-president/GM Chad Lang, whose responsibilities would be altered under a new hierarchy -- if he elects to stay with the organization.”
Harder wasn’t able to reach Lang for comment. It’s never a positive sign when a hockey executive in Lang’s position can’t be reached for comment at a time like this. It’s worth noting that Lang has a year left on his contract.
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Perhaps it is only fitting that the Regina Pats have been searching for a head coach and two assistants as the legendary Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry prepares to celebrate its centennial. And who better to write about that centennial than the great Roy MacGregor of The Globe and Mail. His piece is right here and, yes, it's terrific.
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As mentioned here last week, Dale Hughesman, the father of former Tri-City Americans star F Adam Hughesman, died last week after a long battle with cancer. Dale was 51. A celebration of life is scheduled for Thursday, 1 p.m., at the North Kildonan Mennonite Brethren Churct as 131 Gateway Road in Winnipeg. A private internment with family will occur at a later date. There is an online guest book at www.glenedenmemorial.ca. The family has asked that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to CancerCare Manitoba or in Dale's name to River East Minor Hockey, 2Nations Female Hockey, Winnipeg Minor Hockey, or Hockey Manitoba. . . . The obituary that appears in today’s Winnipeg Free Press is right here.
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LeBron James isn’t the only NBAer who is coming home. Check this out right here. It’s another NBAer announcing that he’s coming home and, gee, the whole thing just might sound a little bit familiar, but a whole lot funnier.
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Swift current - where life makes sense and everyone has the munchies. Seen at front doors of city hall pic.twitter.com/GkUNxMY23X
— Darryl Russell (@DarrylRussell) August 4, 2014

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A mother talks about her son and mental illness . . . Lambert takes over in Kelowna

D Jonathan Harty (Everett, 2004-08) has signed a one-year contract with Björklöven Umeå (Sweden, Allsvenskan). Last season, with Mora (Sweden, Allsvenskan), he had nine points, including three goals, in 46 games.
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After writing a bit about hockey and mental illness in this space yesterday, I heard from a mother.
It was heart-wrenching. It’s one thing to deal with mental illness in a parent; I can’t imaging what it must be like when one of your children is affected.
This mother has a teenage son who is a hockey player and who “suffers from depression and anxiety.“
“He has always had anxiety disorder and this year it crept into the dark side of depression,” she wrote. “The sad truth is no one wants to talk about it. When I spoke to his coaches about it and what was happening, it almost seemed as though they thought he was just mentally weak. I feel like coaches/teachers and such need to learn more and realize this is an illness, not a sign of weakness.
“It makes me mad,” she continued. “If you were diagnosed with cancer your employer . . . would rally around you.”
Yes, mental illness is just that . . . an illness, and the sooner people realize it is,  the better off we all will be. Unfortunately, when it comes to mental illness, there are employers in the hockey world who prefer to look the other way.
When we are ill, we take medication. I have had open-heart surgery and take medication. My wife has had a kidney transplant and takes medication. When someone has a mental illness, of course there is medication involved.
“Our son is on medication right now and is doing so much better,” the mother wrote, adding that there are times when he wants to go off his meds.
“We just say to him when he wants to stop taking meds that a diabetic doesn't stop his insulin when he is feeling good,” she wrote. “I take meds and am not afraid to admit they help me.”
A couple of other notes . . .
Her husband is involved in hockey and she noted that because of his experience at home he “is very aware of little changes in his own players now and is not afraid to ask questions and investigate when he thinks something is a little off.”
This family has a history in hockey, something she said led to her son facing “unreal” expectations.
Unfortunately, I’m guessing that there are a lot of stories out there that are just like this one, and the thought that there are people out there who may not get the help they need is terrifying.
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Dan Lambert is the new head coach of the WHL’s Kelowna Rockets. His promotion from assistant coach was announced Monday afternoon, about three hours after the NHL’s Calgary Flames announced that they had signed Rockets head coach Ryan Huska as the head coach of their AHL affiliate, the Adirondack Flames.
In time, observers will recognize Huska as one of the best coaches in WHL history.
With 295 regular-season victories, he is the winningest coach in franchise history. Only once, in 2011-12, did one of his teams not finish above .500; that team went 31-31-10. The Rockets followed that up with 52- and 57-victory seasons, both of which were franchise records.
Huska was never one to promote himself, so he hadn’t pursued other positions. In the end, the Flames came calling. He was in Calgary on Thursday and a contract offer arrive on Friday.
"I felt really good about the meetings I had and told my wife, Denise, when I got home that I hoped things would work out," Huska told the Kelowna Capital News. "What they stand for just feels right. . . . It's a great opportunity that I'm looking forward to."
No one has won more Memorial Cup championships than Huska, who won three with the Kamloops Blazers (1992, 1994, 1995) and one (2004) as an assistant coach with the Rockets.
A native of Cranbrook, Huska, who turns 39 on July 2, understands how important it is to surround yourself with good people.
"If you don't have good people who aren't passionate about what they do, then you don't get to have individual success," Huska told the Capital News. "Reflecting back, we're proud of the records we've had and the banners we've had, but I'm going to be remembering the team, and all the people that allowed us to get to that point, and allowed me the opportunity to move on. That's what's really special about this organization."
The Flames’ AHL affiliate, which is relocating from Abbotsford, B.C., where it was the Heat, will play out of Glens Falls, N.Y. Huska will replace Troy Ward, whose contract wasn’t renewed.
The 44-year-old Lambert, meanwhile, is a former all-star defenceman with the Swift Current Broncos, who had been an assistant coach with the Rockets for five seasons. He won a Memorial Cup with the 1989 Broncos.
"We spent a lot of time together over the last five years,” Lambert told the Capital News, “and it is sad to see him go but there's no doubt Ryan was ready to move on.
“Him being successful has allowed me to grow as a young coach and now to get this opportunity, I'm very grateful to the Hamilton family and that they trust in me that I can follow in Ryan's footsteps."
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1. That’s quite the Medicine Hat Mafia that the Vancouver Canucks are putting together. . . . Willie Desjardins, signed to a four-year deal as head coach, is, of course, a former Tigers GM and head coach. Canucks president Trevor Linden played for the Tigers and is from Medicine Hat. . . . It’s also expected that Doug Lidster, an assistant coach under Desjardins with the AHL’s Texas Stars, will be on the Vancouver coaching staff. Lidster, a native of Kamloops, is a former Tigers coach. He was on Desjardins’ staff with the Tigers in 2002-03; that was Desjardins’ first season as head coach. Lidster also is a former Canucks captain; in fact, Linden followed Lidster in that role.

2. With Vancouver, the Nashville Predators (Peter Laviolette), Washington Capitals (Barry Trotz), Florida Panthers (Gerard Gallant) and Carolina Hurricanes (Bill Peters) having signed head coaches, all eyes turn to the Pittsburgh Penguins. They lost out on Peters and Desjardins, and now GM Jimmy Rutherford will be going back on the interview circuit. It’s believed that one person he wants to chat with is Mike Johnston, the GM and head coach of the Portland Winterhawks. . . . Darren Dreger of TSN tweeted Monday evening that Johnston “is considered a strong candidate.”

3. Steve Smith has left the Edmonton Oilers after four seasons as an assistant coach. He has signed on as an assistant with the Carolina Hurricanes. That will lead to speculation involving Derek Laxdal, the head coach of the Memorial Cup-champion Edmonton Oil Kings. . . . Oilers head coach Dallas Eakins wanted Smith to move from behind the bench to the press box as an eye in the sky during games. Smith chose to leave for Carolina. . . . You wonder if Laxdal would want to make such a move if it means being the eye in the sky and being that far from the game action.

4. Of course, the Oilers own the Oil Kings. So if Laxdal were to end up on Eakins’ staff, one has to surmise that Oil Kings assistant coach Steve Hamilton, who is highly thought of, would be promoted to head coach.

5. The AHL’s Texas Stars now need a head coach, with Desjardins having moved to the Canucks. Perhaps Laxdal ends up there. . . . Don’t you just love the coaching game of musical chairs?

6. Elliotte Friedman, who is leaving Hockey Night in Canada (RIP) for Sportsnet and its NHL coverage team, has filed his latest 30 Thoughts and it’s right here. Among the news: The Vancouver Canucks, in pursuit of the No. 1 selection in this weekend’s NHL draft, may have offered Medicine Hat Tigers F Hunter Shinkaruk to the Florida Panthers.

7. The Vancouver Giants are the lone WHL team without a head coach. I’m thinking the best candidate is Jim Hiller, who has had success as a WHL head coach with the Chilliwack Bruins (remember them?) and Tri-City Americans. . . . Of course, perhaps he is shopping for a pro job, and maybe that’s holding things up in Vancouver.

8. "Back when we were young, we thought it (smokeless tobacco) was a safe alternative to smoking,” San Diego Padres manager Bruce Bochy told Richard Justice of MLB.com. "We didn't realize how dangerous it was. It's one of the hardest habits to break."
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THE COACHING GAME:
If you are a coach with junior/high performance experience, you may be interested in stepping behind the bench with the major midget Okanagan Rockets, who are based in Kelowna. . . . Mack O’Rourke, who led the Rockets to a league championship, a Pacific Regional title and a third-place finish at the TELUS Cup, is leaving for a job in the oil and gas field. . . . That means that GM David Michaud is searching for a successor. . . . “Our program,” Michaud tells me, “has pushed itself to the point where we need a high-level coach.”
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The BCHL’s Salmon Arm Silverbacks have added Misko Antisin to their coaching staff as an assistant under head coach Brandon West. Antisin (Victoria Cougars, 1983-85) had a lengthy playing career in Europe before getting into coaching. From Vancouver, Antisin has coached in the BCHL, as an assistant coach with the Westside Warriors, and also in the B.C. Major Midget League, as well as in Switzerland.
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The NHL’s Anaheim Ducks have signed Trent Yawney as an assistant coach. Yawney had been the head coach of their AHL affiliate, the Norfolk Admirals. . . . In Anaheim, Yawney will work under head coach Bruce Boudreau and alongside assistants Brad Lauer and Scott Niedermayer, and video co-ordinator Joe Piscotty. . . . Yawney (Saskatoon, 1982-85) is no stranger to the Ducks, having been an associate coach with their AHL team when it was in Syracuse. He also has scouted for the Ducks. . . . Jim Hodges, in the Hampton Roads Virginian-Pilot, reported last night that Admirals assistant coach Jarrod Skaldi is expected to move up as Norfolk’s head coach.
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According to a Monday morning tweet from News1130 Sports, the Vancouver Giants “won't name Don Hay's replacement as head coach till after the NHL draft.” . . . The Lethbridge Hurricanes and Rock 106, which is owned by Rogers Media, have signed a three-year contract involving broadcast rights. They haven’t haven’t yet named a play-by-play voice. The Hurricanes had been heard on 94.1 CJOC for the past seven seasons. . . .
The Seattle Thunderbirds have signed D Sahvan Khaira, who was selected in the ninth round of the WHL’s 2013 bantam draft. Last season, with the Penticton, B.C.-based Okanagan Hockey Academy midget prep team, the 6-foot-1, 210-pounder had 22 points, two of them goals, in 28 games. A native of Cloverdale, B.C., he is the younger brother of F Jujhar Khaira, who played last season with the Everett Silvertips after being a third-round pick by the Edmonton Oilers in the NHL’s 2012 draft. . . . The Vancouver Giants have signed F James Malm, a second-round pick in the 2014 bantam draft, to a WHL contract. Malm, from Langley, B.C., had 144 points, including 70 goals, in 56 games with the Burnaby Winter Club’s Bantam A1 Tier 1 team. . . . The Saskatoon Blades have signed D Schael Higson, a Grande Prairie, Alta., native they listed after he wasn’t selected in the 2013 bantam draft. Higson attended the Blades’ camp prior to last season, then spent the season with the midget AAA Grande Prairie Storm, putting up 20 points, including eight goals, in 33 games.
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Thank you to the @HockeyHallFame @DallasStars @DetroitRedWings @PARaidersHockey what a humbling honor. Words don't do it justice.
— Mike Modano (@9modano) June 23, 2014

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Will Willie be a Star in Vancouver?

The offseason of change continues for the NHL's Vancouver Canucks.
Last season, the Canucks, who signed Willie Desjardins to a four-year contract as head coach on Monday, weren't the high-scoring, highly entertaining team their fans had grown accustomed to watching. Instead, they struggled to score goals and played a much more defensive, slow-paced style.
People who spent their hard-earned money to buy tickets were beginning to lose interest by season’s end.
If Vancouver had won with that style, things may have been different. But the Canucks finished 36-35-11, which wasn't good enough to make the playoffs.
Fans weren’t impressed; neither was ownership.
So . . . there were changes, most notably the firings of general manager Mike Gillis and head coach John Tortorella. The Canucks had decided to go in a different direction.
Trevor Linden, a centre for 16 seasons with the team, was named the president of hockey operations on April 9, and he introduced Jim Benning as the team's general manager on May 23.
The two had many beliefs in common, one being that they want to provide a team that will entertain the fans again.
“When you think about what's going on at Rogers Arena, it's on the ice (and) with us,” Linden explained at a town hall meeting for season-ticket holders on June 17. “We want to bring excitement back to the game and to the ice and have a product that is fun to watch, (a game) that is coached the way we want it, and that the players are excited about playing. That's going to energize the building.”
No matter what sport it is, fans want to enjoy what they're watching. They want to feel that they have received fair value for what they have paid.
Linden’s mother, Edna, is no different.
She, of course, is a big hockey fan, especially of the WHL's Medicine Hat Tigers. Considering the Linden family is from Medicine Hat, it's understandable that she would be a passionate follower of the team. Let's not forget, too, that her son played for the Tigers.
Yes, Edna loves attending Tigers games. Perhaps one of her most enjoyable times as a fan came when Medicine Hat won the Ed Chynoweth Cup by sweeping the Everett Silvertips and earning the chance to play in the 2004 Memorial Cup tournament, which was played host to by the Kelowna Rockets.
Most Tigers fans followed the team’s run on TV or online or via radio or newspaper. Edna wasn't one of them.
She, along with some friends and family, made the trip to Kelowna. Desjardins, the Tigers’ head coach at the time, met with the family for the first time during the tournament.
Medicine Hat failed to win the Memorial Cup, which eventually went to the host Rockets, but one thing was for sure -- Desjardins had proven he had the ability to lead a team to success and he did it in a fashion that was fun to watch.
Desjardins proved that again as he coached the Tigers to the Memorial Cup one more time three seasons later, this time losing to the host Vancouver Giants 3-1 in the championship game.
After eight seasons with the Tigers, two of them winding up with WHL titles and Memorial Cup appearances, it was time to move up.
The NHL’s Dallas Stars named him their associate coach in 2010-11, and he worked under head coach Marc Crawford. However, Crawford was fired and Glen Gulutzan, the head coach of their AHL affiliate, the Texas Stars, was promoted to replace him, with Desdjardins staying on.
But even then, Desjardins wanted to be a head coach. So after two seasons with Dallas, Desjardins chose to go to the AHL with Texas, which plays out of Austin.
He was 55 years of age at the time and having his doubts as to whether he would be given a chance to coach in the NHL.
But, just like he did with Medicine Hat, he led the Stars to success and proved adept at developing players for the big club. Last season, Desjardins helped Texas to 48-18-10 regular-season record, and the Stars then went on to win the Calder Cup as AHL champions.
While Desjardins was chasing that cup, there were NHL teams making coaching changes. But with the Stars in the playoffs, those teams were having to wait if wanting to speak with him.
The Washington Capitals, Florida Panthers, Nashville Predators and Carolina Hurricanes either weren’t interested or weren’t willing to wait for him, perhaps afraid they might lose out on other candidates.
So by the time Texas won the AHL title on June 17, only the Canucks and Pittsburgh Penguins were still without head coaches.
Luckily for Desjardins, both teams were interested and received permission from Dallas to speak to him.
Texas scheduled an event to celebrate its championship on June 19. However, Desjardins had to skip it as he flew to Pittsburgh to meet with management, something that caused some observers to speculate that he was going to be named the head coach of the Penguins.
It wasn't to be, though.
Instead, Desjardins picked the Canucks.
He had spoken to Linden last week, then met with team officials on the weekend.
“I've been looking forward to this opportunity for a long time,” Desjardins said at a press conference on Monday. “To be part of such a great organization and an NHL city is just a real honour, and I can't say enough about how fortunate I am to get this chance.”
That being said, why did he turn down the Penguins' offer to be the head coach, something that would have allowed him to work with Sidney Crosby, arguably the best player in the NHL?
“(The Penguins) are a great organization,” Desjardins stated. “Jim Rutherford, their general manager, is a great man. There's just a couple things that didn't work out. It wasn't his fault and it wasn't mine, it was just something that wouldn't work. Crosby is a heck of a player, but for me, when I looked at what was
here, I looked at the two guys that are leading this. I (also) looked at the quality of the players. It's a Canadian city, with (great) fans. It was a great choice to come here.”
The Canucks are hoping that Desjardins is able to create an entertaining, competitive style that will lead to victories.
Just like he did with the Tigers back when they entertained their fans, including Linden's mother.

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Linden turns to former teammate as Canucks' GM

Trevor Linden has reconnected with a former teammate.
In 1988-89, Linden was an 18-year-old from Medicine Hat, playing his freshman season with the Vancouver Canucks. Jim Benning, on the other hand, was a 25-year-old defenceman from Edmonton who was in his third season with the NHL team, the Canucks having acquired him from the Toronto Maple Leafs for whom he had played five seasons.
As surprising as it might seem, the following season with the Canucks was Benning’s last in the NHL. He would play one more season, 1990-91, with the IHL’s Milwaukee Admirals and call it a career
Linden and Benning walked their separate paths, then, and each had a different vision for his career in the game.
For one, it was to play in the NHL for 20 seasons and start a gym business. The other stayed in hockey in many different roles.
Nobody knew when or if they would meet again.
Meanwhile, Mike Gillis was the general manager during Vancouver's run of playoff appearances during which it reached the 2011 Stanley Cup final against the Boston Bruins. He was sitting in his chair at Rogers Arena for Game 7 as the Canucks worked to win hockey's ultimate trophy for the first time in franchise history.
They didn't.
Instead, Gillis watched his players with their heads bowed, most trying to hold
back tears, some winning the battle and some not.
The Bruins, a team constructed by general manager Peter Chaiarelli and his assistant, Benning, were understandably ecstatic.
The Canucks' goal was to return to the final again in the following seasons, but they weren’t able to come close.
In their latest attempt, they didn’t qualify for the post-season. Shortly after the season, Gillis was relieved of his duties.
The Aquilini family, which owns the Canucks, turned to a long-time friend, in Linden, offering him the position of president of hockey operations, which he was pleased to accept.
It was the start to a new chapter in his life.
That being said, Vancouver still needed to find a general manager.
When Linden was hired and addressed the media on April 9, he was asked what he was looking for in a general manager. At the time, he wasn't willing to say.
Days went by, and there was no still announcement regarding a hiring.
But after the Canucks fired head coach John Tortorella and associate coach Mike Sullivan on May 1, there was some speculation that Benning was on top of the list of candidates for the general manager position.
“I'm not going to comment on specific candidates,” Linden said that day. “I think that that stays somewhat confidential.”
As time went on, more teams, like the Canucks, were looking for a general manager. Now the Canucks had competition. But even with that, Benning, 51, was believed to be the leading candidate.
As it turned out, Linden had talked with Benning, and was impressed with what he had to offer. They had the same beliefs and ideas of what they want the Canucks to look like. In the end, the speculation became fact.
Linden introduced Benning as the Canucks’ general manager on Friday, two days after making the announcement.
“You may have heard some news about our general manager search today, or perhaps the last couple days,” Linden said at a town hall meeting for season-ticket holders on Wednesday. “You want to be careful reading that stuff because you don't know what to believe out there.
“I'm very thrilled, and I'm very honoured to announce to you . . . that, in fact, Jim Benning is going to become our new general manager.”
At the same time, Linden revealed what he was looking for in a general manager.
“For me,” he told the season-ticket holders, “it was all about having someone that had experience at all levels who was a talent evaluator, whether it would be amateur or pro. (As well), someone who built teams.”
But, like anything, it wasn't a simple process to find someone who fit the criteria of what Linden wanted.
“Obviously I had a list of people that I felt could meet (our requirements),” Linden said Friday at Benning’s introductory press conference. “I had a focus list, I would say. I didn't have the luxury of a lot of time because it was (best) that I identified the right person as quickly as possible. The candidate list changed over time, due to various circumstances.
“I don't think you really know until you sit down with that person and spend multiple hours digging into areas that you feel are very critical to that profile. So, I can't say that he was the guy I wanted, because I hadn't spoken to Jim for 25 years.”
But once they spoke, Linden found that Benning matched the profile.
He had been Boston's director of player personnel for one season prior to becoming the Bruins' assistant general manager, a role he filled through eight seasons.
There was more to his resume than just his experience with Boston, though.
Benning was a scout for the Anaheim Ducks for one season prior to spending four seasons in the same role with the Buffalo Sabres. The Sabres then named him director of amateur scouting and he stayed for eight more seasons.
“I started from the ground up,” Benning told reporters. “I learned every step of the way. I feel like at this point I'm ready. I have a good foundation on what it takes to build a winning team, so I've paid my dues, but I was happy every step of the way. I'm grateful for this opportunity today.”
After all those seasons of moving up the ranks, Benning has reunited with Linden once again.
If they didn't get to know each other when they were wearing the same uniform as players, they will do so now.
Only this time, they will be wearing suits and ties.


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Shinkaruk, Cederholm drafting, signings may indicate change in direction

The NHL's Vancouver Canucks are beginning to alter their reputation.
Vancouver has been known as a team that over recent seasons hasn’t had many prospects from the Western Hockey League in its system.
The Canucks management has been heavily criticized for missing out on players like forwards Brendan Gallagher and Milan Lucic, both of whom played for the city's own WHL team, the Vancouver Giants.
Instead, Lucic and Gallagher were drafted by the Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens in the NHL drafts of 2006 and 2011, respectively.
“Well, I think that the scouts spend a lot of time watching talents across the world,” Pat Quinn, who is a part-owner of the Giants, said. “You can make your list up, which all the teams do. But when your time comes up, maybe the player that you think is appropriate at the time is not the right player and doesn't play in the Western Hockey League. I don't think it has anything to do with saying 'well, he's a Western Hockey League player so we're not taking him.' I don't think that's the case at all.
“But (the Canucks) did bypass some guys that, and hindsight is wonderful of course, but (they) did bypass some Western boys who are having significant careers. But again, in their defence, perhaps they wanted them, but it wasn't the right time and the right place so it doesn't happen. There's no reason not to take a player from the Western Hockey League.”
However, since the 2013 NHL draft, names from the WHL have started to show up in Vancouver.
When the Canucks selected Medicine Hat Tigers forward Hunter Shinkaruk with the 24th overall pick in 2013, some fans perhaps thought he was the only player from the WHL that they drafted that year.
But let’s not forget about defenceman Anton Cederholm, whom the Canucks selected with the 145th pick, knowing he was going to playing in the WHL. He played with Rogle Angelholm of the Swedish Elitserien prior to Vancouver drafting him, then joined the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks, who selected him in the CHL’s 2013 import draft.
“(The Canucks) were a little bit of an influence since Vancouver is close to Portland,” Cederholm said. “In the end, it was all up to me. Our purpose was to get me to Portland . . .”
Cederholm finished with 16 points and a plus-42 in his freshman season with Portland, helping the Winterhawks to a 54-13-5 record and first place in the Western Conference. All of that helped him earn an entry-level deal with Vancouver.
Shinkaruk signed a three-year entry-level contract on June 8, and the Canucks decided to wait until doing the same with Cederholm.
But if that wasn't enough to show the Canucks that he deserved an entry-level contract, their scouts didn't have to go far to see him in the playoffs.
A season after the Giants missed the playoffs after finishing with the poorest record in the league, Vancouver bounced back, at least a bit, to finish No. 8 in the Western Conference. That put the Giants up against Portland in the first round
For Cederholm, he wasn't just given an opportunity to impress the scouts in the city of the NHL team that drafted him, it also allowed the fans the opportunity to see him play.
“I don't really feel any pressure (knowing that Canucks scouts are in the building),” he confessed when he arrived in Vancouver to play Games 3 and 4 with the Winterhawks leading 2-0 in the best-of-seven series. “I know all the guys, especially Dave Babych. He's been to most of our games and I know him
personally so there's not a lot of pressure put on myself. It's a fun experience playing in front of Vancouver Giants fans. I mean, they love the Canucks as well, so hopefully they'll have a little love for me (too).”
It wasn't just fun for Cederholm to play in Vancouver, his teammates enjoyed themselves, too, as they swept the Giants.
The Winterhawks ended up going all the way to the WHL final for the fourth consecutive season, but lost in seven games to the Edmonton Oil Kings, who went on to represent the WHL at the Memorial Cup tournament in London, Ont.
Cederholm finished with five points, including three assists, and was a plus-4 during Portland’s playoff run.
The Canucks' scouts gave their reports on Cederholm, who will be back in Portland next season as a 19-year-old, and management was convinced.
On Tuesday, the Canucks announced that they have signed Cederholm to a three-year entry-level contract.
And just like that Vancouver has signed two prospects from the WHL.
Trevor Linden, now the Canucks' president of hockey operations, is familiar with, and a supporter of, the WHL. After all, he played three seasons with the Tigers and assisted them in winning two consecutive Memorial Cups.
So don't be surprised if Vancouver is more active when it comes to adding players from the WHL to its list of prospects.
Don’t forget, too, that the Canucks have the sixth selection in the 2014 NHL draft, and four WHLers are projected to go within the first 10 picks.
So the Canucks won't have to wait long if they want to look at adding another one.


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Things looking different in Vancouver

It wasn't an earthquake, but there was a shakeup in Vancouver.
For several seasons, the Vancouver Canucks have been the hottest ticket in town, selling out Rogers Arena game after game and providing an electric atmosphere. The demand to see the team play live has been extremely high, boosting the cost of attending higher and higher.Fans who wanted to purchase season-ticket packages were put on a waiting list, and had to test their patience if they wanted to get their hands on one.
And understandably so. After all, the Canucks play in a Canadian city.
But after the Canucks rose to the top and stayed there for a few seasons, things began to decline, on and off the ice. It started to show last season, where the team ranked 28th in goals scored (191).
Because Vancouver had difficulty scoring, it wasn’t able to string together victories on a consistent basis.
Much like the players, fans started to become frustrated and, even though it always was announced that the arena was sold out, many seats were empty for a number of games.
But there was one game in which the fans took their anger to another level.
There were four games left in the regular season and Vancouver was six points out of a wild-card playoff spot. It was desperately trying to keep its minimal chances of reaching the post-season alive.
If the Canucks were going to do so, they needed to defeat the Anaheim Ducks, one of the NHL’s top teams, at home on April 7. With less than three minutes left in the game, Vancouver was trailing, 3-0.
Tempers began to flare.
Fans opted to send the organization, especially general manager Mike Gillis, a message.
“Fire Gillis,” the Canucks' faithful chanted. “Fire Gillis.”
Vancouver only put 18 shots on Ducks' rookie goaltender John Gibson, and failed to get on the scoreboard. The Canucks, to nobody's surprise, were officially out of playoff contention for the first time since the 2005-06 season.
The attention wasn't much on that, though.
It was on the fans' chants.
“Personally, I don't think it was the right thing to do,” Canucks' defenceman Kevin Bieksa said. “But at the end of the day, the fans come and they can do whatever they want. Put it this way, we're all going take the blame for this.”
The fans got what they wanted and, perhaps shockingly, it came the next day when Gillis was relieved of his duties as president and general manager.
Who would replace him? None other than Canucks' legend Trevor Linden, who most fans remember as a player on the 1993-94 team that made it to the Stanley Cup final for the second time in franchise history. He was named the team's alternate governor and president of hockey operations.
“I left the game six seasons ago and wasn't sure what the future would hold,” he said on the day of the hiring. “I've enjoyed my time away from the game. Having said that, you don't play 20 seasons in the National Hockey League and spend your whole life in hockey and not have it in your DNA. I always kind of thought I'd be back, I never wanted to work for another organization. I'm a sports fan, I love this team, I follow the team closely. This opportunity at my age is a great challenge. I'm just really excited about this opportunity and the future.”
With Gillis gone, the status of head coach John Tortorella was uncertain.
Gillis, along with the team's ownership, had stated many times that the general manager had hired the one-time Stanley Cup-champion coach.
“Obviously, the timing of this allows me to fully evaluate the coaching staff,” Linden stated. “I come into it with a fresh set of eyes. Obviously, I understand the challenges with coaching. I've been a player for 20 seasons and I look forward to sitting down with the players after the season and fully understanding the ins and outs of their issues and their season.
“Those decisions will be made down the road. Obviously, a critical path is assessing a general manager and looking at the structure of our hockey operations, whether it's on the pro side or the amateur side -- all those decisions need to be evaluated. Any coaching decision will be made in due time after thorough evaluation.”
Some may argue that Tortorella wasn't given the right roster with which to work. He has been known to work well with young players, something that the Vancouver roster doesn't have much of, at least not yet.
“I felt, from Day 1, that (the roster is)) stale,” Tortorella stated at the team's season-ending press conference. “And that's not the players’ fault. This group has been together for a long time; it's stale, it needs youth. It needs a change . . . it needs a changes, I felt that from Day 1.
“We have to stop talking about 2011. The team needs to be retooled, and that's what change is. It's a young man's game, we need to surround (the leaders) with some enthusiasm. If I'm here, I want to play four lines. But you guys have to understand when you're on a bench, and you're down 2-1 trying to get back in the game or trying to get that next goal to win the game, I tried to do what I could to win games because sometimes I'd look down (on the bench) and guys just weren't ready. We lacked depth, and that's where we're at. That isn't being critical, it's the truth.”
Tortorella admitted that he had made his mistakes, too, and he owned up to them.
“My biggest regret, personally, this season was that I was coaching the team properly the first half,” he said. “We were playing a game that I think we should play, I was on top of it. There was a lot of things that we needed to work on, but we were there.
“We get banged up and changed a bit; we needed to and I'd do it again. But I didn't get back in the room and continue to teach the details after, I didn't stay on top of that. I gave the room to the players to too much of an extent, I needed to be in there. I mean, I was in there, but I needed to be pounding away at the details and I think that hurt us. I think that it hurt us in situational play, I think that hurt us in understanding how you change momentum, all parts of the game. That's me. That's not them, that's me.”
After Linden held his exit meetings, he made his decision on the future of the coaching staff.
Tortorella wouldn't get the opportunity to redeem his mistakes as he and associate coach Mike Sullivan were relieved of their duties on Thursday morning after just one season.
“I met with John after the season for several hours on several different days,” Linden explained. “I tried to come in with a very neutral place and we had good conversation. He's a good hockey man. But, I think at the end of the day, I kept coming back to a lot of things that I didn't like that I saw trending. I just felt to move forward and kind of put a new perspective and a new direction was the right thing to do. From the outside, you may have a certain idea, a certain perspective. But when you sit down and talk with someone, they become very human. I've got a lot of respect for him; he's had a great coaching career. I mean, he's won a Stanley Cup and we had great conversation. But at the end of the day, I kept coming back to collectively how this group under-performed and individually as well.”
Vancouver, no longer the team it once was, now hope the changes being made will bring it back to being a winning team that people want to support and enjoy watching.
“I think there's nobody that happy with our results this season,” Linden said. “It starts with our players. They're disappointed.
“I believe in the core of the group down there. I think they're responsible and want to be better. I think we, as an organization, have to connect with our fans in a greater way and, ultimately, I think we need to bring excitement back to Rogers Arena and a brand of hockey that people like to play.
“I understand the fans’ discontent, I don't blame them for it. It's up to us change things and win them back.”

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Monday . . .

Bruce Hamilton, the president and GM of the Kelowna Rockets and the chairman of the WHL’s board of governors, was in Vancouver on Monday.
While he did take in the NHL game between the Buffalo Sabres and the Canucks, that wasn’t the main purpose of his visit.
He was there to attend a news conference at which it was announced that he will be among the four inductees into the B.C. Hockey Hall of Fame this summer.
“(This) is a great honour,” Hamilton told me Monday evening. “I'm just a guy from Saskatoon trying to make our players be good people in the end.”
Hamilton is a former Saskatoon Blades forward (1974-77), who went on to play a bit professionally and was on an Allan Cup winner with the Spokane Flyers.
He helped out the Blades as an assistant coach for a bit and also was a firefighter in Saskatoon before becoming involved in the ownership of the Tacoma Rockets, an expansion franchise that began play in 1991-92 and moved to Kelowna for the 1995-96 season. Since then, the Rockets have appeared in four Memorial Cup tournaments.
Today, an argument could be made that the Rockets are the WHL’s leading franchise.
Because of the Rockets, Kelowna (aka the Little Apple) has played host to a Memorial Cup, which the Rockets won, and to World Junior Championship games and to WHL all-star games and Subway Super Series games.
In the world of major junior hockey, Kelowna is one of THE happening places.
The Rockets average more than 6,000 fans per game in 6,007-seat Prospera Place, and Hamilton will be first to give credit to people like his brother Gavin, the organization’s vice-president of business development, and Gavin’s wife, Anne-Marie, who is the director of marketing and game operations.
And, despite the cyclical nature of junior hockey, the Rockets, more often than not, are a competitive team. The Rockets are, in fact, the WHL’s defending champions. That was the franchise’s third WHL championship in seven seasons.
The credit for that, Bruce Hamilton will tell you, goes to the coaching staff and to super scout Lorne Frey -- his actual title is assistant GM/head scout/director of player personnel -- and his staff for keeping the talent tank full.
Still, it is Bruce Hamilton who is out in front -- he is the franchise’s lightning rod -- and his induction into the B.C. Hockey Hall of Fame is well deserved.
Going into the hall alongside Hamilton will be Trevor Linden, who went on from the Medicine Hat Tigers (1985-88) to a lengthy NHL career, former NHLer Dallas Drake and Frank Lento, the latter a Hockey Canada and B.C. Hockey executive.
Linden played 19 seasons in the NHL, 16 of them with the Vancouver Canucks, who retired his number (16) last season. In Vancouver, he is perhaps the most popular player ever to have played for the Canucks.
Drake, who is from Trail, played junior B in Rossland and junior A in Vernon.
The banquet and induction ceremony will be held in Penticton on July 23.
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Hamilton’s son, Curtis, a forward with the Saskatoon Blades, had surgery on his broken collarbone Sunday. He has broken the collarbone twice this season, although not in the same spot.
There is not yet a timetable for his return.
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So that is all for Patrice Cormier.
The 19-year-old captain of the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies, and the captain of Canada’s national junior team, was suspended Monday for the remainder of this QMJHL season and all of the playoffs. That is his penalty for the flying elbow that landed on the head of Quebec Remparts defenceman Mikael Tam.
The suspension to Cormier arrives just a few days after the OHL drilled Windsor Spitfires forward Zack Kassian for a Jan. 14 hit that left Barrie Colts forward Matt Kennedy with a head injury. Kassian ended up with a 20-game suspension.
Kassian’s suspensions follows an OHL sentence that was handed down in November. Under the terms of that one, Erie Otters forward Michael Liambas had his season ended by the OHL for a thundering check on Kitchener Rangers defenceman Ben Fanelli. Because he is 20 and was in his last season of eligibility, the OHL effectively ended Liambas’s major junior career.
Now I’m not about to sit here and say that the suspensions were correct, or whether they have been too harsh or not harsh enough.
It is quite evident that the NHL, which has bailed every time it has had the opportunity to set a tone on punishment for hits to the head, is not prepared to act on something that has become all but epidemic.
It is time then for all other levels of hockey to act independently to eradicate this problem before someone dies on the ice in front of a few thousand witnesses. If that should happen -- and, given the video evidence before us on oh, so many sportscasts, that day would appear to be coming sooner rather than never -- there will two victims. Oh, and when that day arrives you can bet that the police will become involved in a big hurry.
In an attempt to prevent that day’s arrival, it is time to put the onus on coaches at all levels of hockey to redefine the term “finishing your check.” It is time for those same coaches to spend more time teaching how to take out an opposing player through angling and bumping, rather than through charging and elbowing.
After all, is it really necessary to try and put an opponent into the third row of the stands when all one is trying to do is separate him from the puck?
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THE MacBETH REPORT: F Jason Miller (Medicine Hat, 1987-1991) has been released by Dresden (Germany 2.Bundesliga).He had seven goals and 20 assists in 29 games this season.
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The Brandon Wheat Kings announced Monday that Tom Cochrane, a seven-time Juno winner, will be part of FanFest during the 2010 MasterCard Memorial Cup. (To our American readers, the Junos are our Grammys.)
Cochrane will headline the Memorial Cup final weekend social on May 22 in the Keystone Centre’s Manitoba Room. It’s worth noting that Cochrane got a taste of the Prairies on Saturday -- he was playing the casino in Swift Current when the power went out.
Cochrane was born in Lynn Lake, Man., which also is my hometown and the hometown of onetime New York Rangers prospect Steve Andrasick. (Actually, Steve and I both were born in Sherridon, Man., but we grew up in Lynn Lake. To give this a WHL flavour, it’s worth pointing out that Andrasick played for Pat Ginnell’s Flin Flon Bombers in the days of Bobby Clarke and Reggie Leach and Wayne Hawrysh et al.)
If you are planning on attending the Memorial Cup, here’s a bit more from the Wheat Kings’ press release:
Cochrane’s concert will be one of four “ticket” events to take place during the championship. Ticket prices, availability, as well as more news regarding this year’s Memorial Cup entertainment plans will be announced shortly.
Other Memorial Cup ticket events will include the Opening Banquet on Thursday, May 13, the Manitoba Homecoming Kick-off Social on Saturday, May 15, as well as the Canadian Hockey League Awards Ceremony at the Westman Centennial Auditorium on May 22.
The 2010 MasterCard Memorial Cup will be held in Brandon, May 14-23.
(Yes, Taking Note hopes to be there.)
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SOME SCHEDULING NOTES: The Spokane Chiefs will play the Blazers in Kamloops on Tuesday (Jan. 26). That game originally was scheduled for the following night (Wednesday, Jan. 27). Instead, the Chiefs will meet the Bruins in Chilliwack on Wednesday. . . . Those changes were made in order to avoid a conflict with the Olympic Torch Relay that will go through Kamloops on Wednesday. . . . Meanwhile, the game between the Kootenay Ice and the Pats that was to have been played Sunday (Jan. 24) in Regina has been moved to Monday, Feb. 1. Sunday’s game was postponed due to horrid weather conditions. Game time at the Brandt Centre on Feb. 1 will be 7 p.m.
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D Luca Sbisa spent Monday travelling to Portland and is expected to be at the Winterhawks’ Tuesday practice at Valley Ice Arena.
Sbisa, 19, was acquired from the Lethbridge Hurricanes on Jan. 10, the WHL’s trade deadline. He played for Switzerland in the World Junior Championship, where he suffered an abdominal injury. He has since been getting treatment in Switzerland.
If all goes according to plan, Sbisa will play for the Winterhawks on Friday when they meet the Silvertips in Everett.
He later will join Switzerland for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver and will rejoin the Winterhawks at the conclusion of the Games.