Showing posts with label Ty Prefontaine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ty Prefontaine. Show all posts

Friday, October 28, 2016

Judge wants to see financials, tax returns . . . Did NCAA err on Gelsinger? . . . Ice dumps Wheaties

D Keaton Ellerby (Kamloops, Moose Jaw, 2004-08) has signed a one-year contract with Lukko Rauma (Finland, Liiga). Last season, he had two goals and seven assists in 42 games with Barys Astana (Kazakhstan, KHL), and a goal and five assists in 13 games with Fribourg-Gottéron (Switzerland, NL A). . . .
F Tyler Mosienko (Kelowna, 2000-05) has been released by the Sheffield Steelers (England, UK Elite) at his request. He had five goals and 10 assists in 13 games.
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The potential class-action lawsuit faced by the CHL, WHL and OHL and the 42 teams in the OHL and WHL got a lot more interesting on Friday when Justice R.J. Hall of the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench in Calgary ordered the CHL and those teams, according to TSN’s Rick Westhead, “to hand over their tax returns and financial statements dating back to 2011 to establish whether those franchises are profitable or lose money.” . . . Justice Hall also wants to see all CHL contracts “that funnel revenue to teams” in the WHL and OHL, Westhead reports. . . . The QMJHL and its 18 teams? They weren’t named as defendants in the lawsuit, so aren’t part of the court order. . . . This is part of a potential class-action lawsuit that asks that teams be forced to pay players at least minimum wage. . . . Governments in B.C., Saskatchewan, Washington state and Nova Scotia have exempted teams in those jurisdictions from minimum-wage legislation. Those governments did so without seeing any financial statements from the teams involved. . . . Westhead’s complete story is right here.
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According to Brad Schlossman of the Grand Forks, N.D., Herald, F Brayden Gelsinger should have had to sit out one complete season and 12 games of another before being allowed to play for the Lake Superior State U Lakers, an NCAA Division I team.
Gelsinger, who has four goals and three assists in the 4-0-0 Lakers’ first four games, played 12 regular-season games with the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers in 2012-13.
“Normally,” Schlossman writes, “that would mean he would have to sit out one year (for signing in WHL) and 12 games the following year (for playing 12 WHL games) before having his eligibility re-instated.”
According to Schlossman, “The NCAA just missed it.”
“When his paperwork was sent into the NCAA, they missed that Gelsinger had played in the WHL and ruled him eligible immediately,” Schlossman writes. “Upon learning about their mistake, the NCAA decided to own it and not punish the kid or the team for their mistake.
“So, the NCAA’s stance hasn’t changed or softened on ruling those who play in the CHL ineligible. In this extremely rare case, the NCAA just missed it.”
As bizarre as it sounds, it seems that’s exactly what happened.
Chris Dilks, a long-time observer of the U.S. college hockey scene and the managing editor of SBN College Hockey (sbncollegehockey.com), later tweeted: “The Gelsinger story still seems crazy to a me, but I've heard the same story as Brad's from a couple different sources now.”
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The Lethbridge Hurricanes have acquired D Ty Prefontaine, 17, from the Calgary Hitmen for a seventh-round selection in the 2017 WHL bantam draft. . . . Prefontaine, from Saskatoon, was a fifth-round pick by the Prince Albert Raiders in the 2014 bantam draft. He played three games with the Raiders and eight with Calgary. This season, he had one assist in seven games with the Hitmen. . . . The Hitmen acquired Prefontaine and F Matteo Gennaro in January for F Layne Bensmiller and D Loch Morrison.
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JUST NOTES:

The Calgary Hitmen have signed D Jameson Murray, 17, who was placed on their protected list a year ago. From Kelowna, he is playing with the Okanagan Rockets of the B.C. Major Midget Hockey League. He has three assists in six games. . . . Having dealt D Ty Prefontaine, 17, to the Lethbridge Hurricanes earlier in the day, the Hitmen added Murray to their roster on Friday. . . .
The Lethbridge Hurricanes have suspended D Brady Reagan, 19, “for violating team rules.” According to the team, the length of the suspension has yet to be decided. Reagan is into his second full season with the Hurricanes, who acquired him from the Regina Pats midway through the 2014-15 season. This season, he has a goal and two assists in 12 games.
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Got a tip or some information you feel could be useful to me, feel free to email me at greggdrinnan@gmail.com.
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Coaching
The SJHL’s Melfort Mustangs have signed general manager/head coach Trevor Blevins to a three-year extension. Blevins, who is from Melfort, played for the Mustangs and has been the head coach since December 2013. He was working on a three-year deal that was to expire after this season. . . . Melfort went into Friday’s games with a 5-9-2 record, good for third place in the four-team Sherwood Division.
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FRIDAY’S GAMES:


At Edmonton, F Carsen Twarynski’s two goals helped the Calgary Hitmen to a 5-2 victory over the Oil
CARSEN TWARYNSKI
Kings. . . . The visitors took a 2-0 first-period lead and never trailed. F Lucas Cullen’s first goal, on a PP, gave Calgary a 1-0 lead at 1:47, with F Jordy Stallard’s second goal upping it to 2-0 at 8:53. . . . Edmonton F Lane Bauer’s sixth goal cut into the lead, on a PP, at 9:30 of the second. . . . Twarynski’s first goal of the night, at 12:33, restored the two-goal lead. . . . The Oil Kings got back to within one when F Nicholas Bowman got his first goal, at 6:24 of the third period. . . . However, Calgary F Taylor Sanheim got that one back 26 seconds later. He’s got two goals. . . . Twarynski got the empty-netter at 19:31. . . . Calgary got two assists from each of D Micheal Zipp, F Andrei Grishakov and F Matteo Gennaro, while Sanheim added one to his goal. . . . G Cody Porter stopped 38 shots for the Hitmen, with Patrick Dea making 26 stops at the other end. . . . Calgary was 2-7 on the PP; Edmonton was 0-2. . . . The Hitmen (4-5-1) had lost their previous five games (0-4-1). . . . The Oil Kings (4-7-2) have lost two in a row. . . . D Jakob LaPointe was back in Calgary’s lineup after missing nine games with an undisclosed injury. . . . Announced attendance: 7,774.
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CONNOR INGRAM
At Kamloops, G Connor Ingram stopped 30 shots for his first shutout this season, leading the Blazers to a 3-0 victory over the Vancouver Giants. . . . It was Ingram’s eighth career shutout. He is a candidate for Canada's national junior team and has been playing like it. . . . F Nick Chyzowski’s sixth goal, at 6:33 of the first period, stood up as the winner. . . . F Garrett Pilon’s second goal, on a PP, at 10:54 of the third period added insurance. . . . F Rudolfs Balcers got his sixth goal into an empty net at 18:57. . . . Pilon also had an assist. . . . Vancouver G Ryan Kubic also was terrific. He finished with 40 saves. . . . Kamloops was 1-2 on the PP; Vancouver was 0-4. . . . The Blazers improved to 8-7-0. . . . The Giants (6-10-0) have lost two in a row. . . . The teams meet again tonight (Saturday) in Langley, B.C. . . . Announced attendance: 3,208.
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At Cranbrook, B.C., F Zak Zborosky broke a 1-1 tie at 10:07 of the third period and the Kootenay Ice went
ZAK ZBOROSKY
on to a 2-1 victory over the Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . Zborosky has 11 goals in 14 games this season. He is one goal behind Tri-City F Michael Rasmussen, who leads the WHL. . . . Brandon took a 1-0 lead on a PP goal by F Stelio Mattheos at 6:02 of the second period. He’s got six goals. . . . The Ice tied it at 5:512 of the third when F Vince Loschiavo scored his second goal. Zborosky drew the secondary assist. . . . G Payton Lee blocked 32 shots for the victory. . . . Brandon’s Jordan Papirny turned aside 29 shots. . . . The Ice was 1-2 on the PP; the Wheat Kings were 1-3. . . . The Ice (2-8-4) had lost seven in a row (0-5-2). . . . Brandon (6-5-2) has lost two straight. . . . F Reid Duke returned to Brandon's lineup after missing two games while tending to a personal matter. However, the Wheat Kings continue to play without injured F Nolan Patrick. . . . The Wheat Kings will play in Cranbrook again on Sunday afternoon. . . . Announced attendance: 1,736.
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At Lethbridge, F Bartek Bison broke a 1-1 tie at 18:23 of the first period as the Prince George Cougars beat the Hurricanes, 2-1. . . . F Jansen Harkins’ fourth goal, at 3:51, gave the visitors the lead. . . . The Hurricanes tied it on a PP goal from F Giorgio Estephan at 9:21. He’s got four goals. . . . Bison’s third goal of the season stood up as the winner. . . . G Ty Edmonds stopped 28 shots for the Cougars, two more than Lethbridge’s Stuart Skinner. . . . Lethbridge was 1-8 on the PP; Prince George was 0-4. . . . The Cougars (13-2-1) have points in six straight (5-0-1). . . . The Hurricanes (5-7-2) have dropped six in a row (0-5-1). . . . Announced attendance: 3,694.
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At Moose Jaw, F Noah Gregor scored twice to help the Warriors to a 4-2 victory over the Saskatoon Blades. . . . F Dakota Odgers, with his first goal, at 6:35 of the first period, and Gregor, with his fourth, at 13:46 gave the home side a 2-0 edge. . . . F Mason McCarty’s ninth goal, on a PP at 6:50 of the second period, cut the lead in half. . . . Gregor got that one back at 4:46 of the third period. . . . F Luke Gingras got Saskatoon back to within one at 14:21 of the third. . . . Moose Jaw F Tanner Jeannot put it away at 19:58. . . . F Nikita Popugaev had two assists for the Warriors, with Odgers getting one. . . . Moose Jaw got 32 saves from G Brody Willms, while Saskatoon’s Logan Flodell stopped 35 shots. . . . Saskatoon was 1-2 on the PP; Moose Jaw was 0-4. . . . The Warriors now are 8-3-2. . . . The Blades (6-7-1) have lost four in a row. . . . The Blades have lost eight straight games in Moose Jaw. . . . F Brett Howden (undisclosed injury) was among Moose Jaw’s scratches. . . . Announced attendance: 3,162.
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JAYDEN SITTLER
At Prince Albert, the Spokane Chiefs ran their winning streak to three games as they beat the Raiders, 4-2. . . . The Chiefs (6-6-2) are 3-2-0 on their six-game East Division swing. They won three times in the past four nights, outscoring the opposition, 16-6, in the process. . . . The Raiders are 4-8-1. . . . The Chiefs scored the game’s first three goals, with F Ethan McIndoe getting his third goal at 3:06 of the second period, D Jeff Faith scoring his second at 5:25, and F Jaret Anderson-Dolan getting his fifth, at 10:34. . . . F Cavin Leth got his first goal for the Raiders at 11:08 of the third period, but Spokane F Hudson Elynuik got it back just 14 seconds later. . . . D Brendan Guhle scored for the Raiders at 19:46 of the third, on a PP. That was the first goal this season by a Prince Albert defenceman. . . . G Jayden Sittler stopped 22 shots for the Chiefs. . . . Raiders starter Ian Scott gave up three goals on 19 shots. Nick Sanders came on in relief to stop 10 of 11 shots in 29:26. . . . The Raiders were 2-4 on the PP; the Chiefs were 0-4. . . . Spokane wraps up its East Division swing tonight in Swift Current. . . . Announced attendance: 2,114.
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At Red Deer, the Medicine Hat Tigers scored three times in the game’s first nine minutes en route to a 5-
MASON SHAW
2 victory over the Rebels. . . . F Max Gerlach got the visitors rolling with his seventh goal, on a PP, at 5:57. . . . F Mark Rassell scored his 10th goal at 8:32, and D David Quenneville’s seventh, at 8:52, made it a three-goal difference. . . . Red Deer F Michael Spacek stretch his point streak to 10 games with his eighth goal at 12:55. . . . Tigers F Mason Shaw, the WHL’s leading scorer, made it 4-1 with a shorthanded goal at 7:49 of the second period. He leads the WHL, with 24 points. . . . D Josh Mahura’s fifth goal, at 8:07, cut the deficit in half, but the Tigers iced it with F Max Gerlach getting No. 8, on a PP, at 18:33. . . . Spacek, who also had an assist, has eight goals and nine assists over his past 10 games. . . . Medicine Hat G Nick Schneider stopped 38 shots. . . . Red Deer starter Lasse Petersen allowed three goals on 12 shots in 8:52. Riley Lamb played the final 51:08, stopped 25 of 27 shots. . . . The Tigers were 2-4 on the PP; the Rebels were 0-7. . . . Medicine Hat improved to 9-4-1. . . . The Rebels (8-4-2) had a six-game winning streak end. . . . Announced attendance: 4,581.
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At Swift Current, D Ethan Bear’s PP goal at 3:39 of the third period stood up as the winner as the Seattle 
ETHAN BEAR
Thunderbirds opened an East Division swing with a 2-1 victory over the Broncos. . . . Bear has two goals this season. . . . F Calvin Spencer gave the Broncos a 1-0 lead, with his sixth goal, at 8:05 of the first period. . . . Seattle F Ryan Gropp’s first goal, with Bear getting the primary assist, tied it at 11:38 of the first. . . . Gropp was back in the Thunderbirds’ lineup after not playing since Oct. 15 because of an undisclosed injury. He has a goal and an assist in four games since returning from the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack. . . .  The two goaltenders — Seattle’s Rylan Toth and Swift Current’s Taz Burman — were teammates with the Red Deer Rebels at one time. Both were traded by Red Deer to Seattle. . . . Toth finished with 29 saves, three more than Burman. . . . Seattle was 1-3 on the PP; Swift Current was 0-5. . . . The Thunderbirds improved to 4-5-1. . . . The Broncos (8-5-2) have lost four in a row (0-3-1). . . . Announced attendance: 1,988.
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At Kennewick, Wash., F Kyle Olson’s second goal of the game, at 2:12 of OT, gave the Tri-City
KYLE OLSON
Americans a 5-4 victory over the Victoria Royals. . . . Olson has five goals. . . . F Tyler Soy scored three times for the Royals, his third career hat trick giving him eight goals this season. . . . Soy gave the visitors a 1-0 lead at 14:17 of the second period. . . . The Americans then took a 2-1 lead on goals 33 seconds apart by F Parker AuCoin, shorthanded, at 17:09, and Olson. . . . The Royals started the third period by moving back out front on goals from F Dante Hannoun, his seventh, at 1:06, and Soy, shorthanded, at 3:15. . . . The Americans went back in front on PP goals from F Michael Rasmussen, his WHL-leading 12th, at 4:03, and F Morgan Geekie, his sixth, at 6:24. . . . Soy forced OT with a PP goal at 18:55. . . . D Juuso Valimaki and Rasmussen each had two assists, while Geekie added one to his goal. . . . Victoria F Jack Walker had three helpers, with D Chaz Reddekopp earning two. . . . G Rylan Parenteau turned aside 24 shots for the Americans, as did Dylan Myskiw of the Americans. . . . Tri-City (9-6-1) was 2-7 on the PP; the Royals (8-7-1) were 1-8. . . . Announced attendance: 3,435.
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SATURDAY’S GAMES (all times local):

Prince George at Calgary, 7 p.m.
Medicine Hat at Edmonton, 7 p.m.
Red Deer at Lethbridge, 7 p.m.
Victoria at Everett, 7:05 p.m.
Kelowna at Portland, 7 p.m.
Saskatoon at Prince Albert, 7 p.m.
Spokane at Swift Current, 7 p.m.
Kamloops vs. Vancouver, at Langley, B.C., 7 p.m.


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Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Another Sutter on the way . . . Giants looking for head coach . . . Shaw TV to open with Calgary-Kootenay

With apologies to Blackie Sherrod, we're scatter-shooting with another WHL regular season having come and gone:
1. The Brandon Wheat Kings were being built for the 2015-16 season, weren’t they? A trade here and a tweak there, and the Wheat Kings finished first overall this season. Which means Kelly McCrimmon should be the WHL’s executive of the year and the coach of the year. Right?
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2. McCrimmon was the WHL’s exec of the year for 1994-95 and 2009-10. He won CHL honours in 2009-10. He has never been the WHL’s coach of the year.
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3. Whoops! McCrimmon wasn’t even nominated as the Eastern Conference’s coach of the year. That honour went to John Paddock of the Regina Pats.
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4. Of course, Mike Johnston was never honoured as the coach of the year, despite his accomplishments with the Portland Winterhawks. . . . Of course, Johnston never won the executive-of-the-year award either. . . . And look where not winning either award got him.
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5. F Oliver Bjorkstrand of the Winterhawks is the most exciting talent this league has seen since . . . F Nino Niedereitter, who also played for Portland.
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6. Bjorkstrand led the WHL in goals (63) and points (118), all in 59 games. Wouldn’t it have been great if the WHL had decided prior to this season to track individual shot attempts and shots on goal? Had that happened, we would know just how much shooting Bjorkstrand did in what has been a truly remarkable season.
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7. How many WHL teams and observers are hoping that the Kelowna Rockets don’t go all the way? Why? Because those people are of the opinion that the deal in which the Rockets landed F Leon Draisaitl from the Prince Albert Raiders, by order of the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers, stunk to high heaven.
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8. Bruce Hamilton of the Rockets is the Western Conference’s nominee as executive of the year. Some people thought the honour might go to Craig MacTavish of the Edmonton Oilers.
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9. In hindsight, one of the best trades, in terms of helping both teams, at the WHL deadline involved Portland and Calgary Hitmen. The Winterhawks sent G Brendan Burke to Calgary, a move that freed up their starting job for Adin Hill, an 18-year-old freshman from Calgary. . . . With Calgary, Burke went 13-3-1, 2.38, .918. . . . Hill finished up 31-11-1, 2.81, .921.
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10. I have yet to figure out what the WHL gets out of having its games on TV, but what I really don’t understand is how the league ends up with games on Shaw TV and Sportsnet at the same time. For example, on Friday, March 20, Shaw was showing Everett at Victoria, while Sportsnet gave us Kelowna at Vancouver.
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Another Sutter has made his way into the WHL. F Riley Sutter is skating with the Everett Silvertips, who selected him in the sixth round of the WHL’s 2014 bantam draft. . . . Riley’s father, Ron, is one of the six Sutter brothers to have played in the NHL. Ron and his twin brother, Rich, both had NHL careers. . . . Riley, who won’t turn 16 until Oct. 25, played this season with the midget AAA Calgary Rangers, putting up 50 points, including 22 goals, in 36 games. . . . Should Riley play in a WHL game at some point, he will become at least the 11th member of the Sutter family to do so.
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WHL on Shaw
Shaw TV will show at least seven first-round WHL playoff games.
Shaw’s coverage will begin with Games 1 and 2 between the Calgary Hitmen and the Kootenay Ice. Those games are to be played in Calgary on Friday and Sunday.
Then it will be over to the series between the Regina Pats and Swift Current Broncos. Shaw will televise Games 3 and 4 from Swift Current on March 31 and April 1.
Shaw will return to the Calgary-Kootenay series for Game 5, if necessary, which is scheduled for Cranbrook on April 3.
If the series between the Red Deer Rebels and Medicine Hat Tigers goes six games, Shaw will show Game 6 from Red Deer on April 5.
And, finally, if the Hitmen and Ice need seven games to decide their series, Game 7 from Calgary on April 6 will be shown.
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Two games in the first-round series between the Brandon Wheat Kings and Edmonton Oil Kings have had their starting times changed. Games 4 and 5, the latter if necessary, are scheduled for Edmonton on March 31 and April 1. They now will begin at 8 p.m. Mountain, rather than 7 o’clock, as originally was scheduled. . . . That series opens tonight in Brandon.
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The Prince Albert Raiders have signed G Curtis Meger and D Ty Prefontaine. . . . Meger, a list player, is with the Regina Pat Canadians who are playing in the Saskatchewan Midget AAA League final. In 23 regular-season appearances, he was 16-5-0, 1.91, .934. . . . Prefontaine, from Saskatoon, was a fifth-round pick in the 2014 bantam draft. He had 36 points, including seven goals, in 36 games with the midget AAA Saskatoon Contacts.
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They’re working hard to raise money for a new arena in Assiniboia, Sask. With that in mind, they are holding their Sports Celebrity Supper and Auction on April 11, at 5:30 p.m. . . . Former New York Islanders star Clark Gillies, who is Moose Jaw’s favourite son, will be in attendance, as will Bob Bourne, who also is a former Islanders skater. Amber Holland, a world curling silver medallist, also is to be there. . . . Among the items available via silent auction: autographed Olympic Team Canada sweaters from the likes of Patrice Bergeron, Shea Weber and Ryan Getzlaf; a diamond ring; a northern Saskatchewan fishing trip; a trailer for a golf cart or ATV; a whole lot of autographed memorabilia and a trip for two to New York to watch the Islanders play. The latter trek includes seats in the Islanders’ Alumni box alongside Gillies. . . . Tickets? Email springfever@sasktel.net.
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THE COACHING GAME:

The Vancouver Giants are looking for their fourth head coach in three seasons. The Giants announced yesterday that Claude Noel, who joined the team on Nov. 30, won’t return.
According to the team, the decision was mutual.
The Giants were one of 10 WHL teams to make a coaching change during the last offseason. They also were the last of the 10 to fill the vacancy when they hired Troy Ward.
However, management chose to dump Ward when the team was 9-16-0 and on a road trip into the Central Division. Assistant coach Matt Erhart stepped in and went 1-2-0 before Noel was hired.
Under Noel, the Giants went 17-23-4.
Overall, they finished 27-41-4 and missed the playoffs.
In a revealing conversation with Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province earlier in the week, Noel talked about the future of the Giants organization:
”They have some work to do. They need to decide where they’re going to go and how they’re going to get there. There are some things that the organization is probably going to reassess. You always wonder: you were here, how did you get there? There are reasons you get from one to the other, and how do you get back? They have some young players. Their young players all look bright, but they’re just part of it. That’s just part of the equation. Who are your overages? Where’s your goaltending? Where’s your defence? Who are your forwards? Who’s going to score?”
Ewen’s blog piece is right here.
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“Chalk up a win for former players in their battle with the NHL over hockey-related head trauma,” writes Allan Muir of Sports Illustrated. “A motion filed by the league to dismiss the master complaint brought by the players was dismissed today in United States District Court in Minnesota.” . . . Muir’s piece is right here.
The order denying the motion is right here.
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Adam Proteau of The Hockey News takes a look right here at the above-mentioned lawsuit, the decision and the direction in which this whole thing appears headed.
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Centre Jack Miller, the Michigan Wolverines’ best offensive lineman in 2015, won’t play his senior season and he tells ESPN.com it’s because of the risk of brain injuries.
“I know I've had a few, and it's nice walking away before things could've gotten worse,” Miller told ESPN.com. “And yes, multiple schools have reached out. But I'm ready to walk away from it. My health and happiness is more important than a game.
“I know it's pretty unorthodox for a 21-year-old to see past his own nose. This game requires such a passion to excel, and my flame is burned out. However, I'd be lying if I said that the concussion thing doesn't scare me a little.”
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