Rockets looking for head coach . . . Kelowna d-man off to Saskatoon . . . Ex-Raider in coaching game

D Vladimir Mihalik (Red Deer, Prince George, 2005-07) signed a one-year extension with Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia, KHL). Last season, he had two goals and an assist in 33 games. . . .
F Brock Nixon (Kamloops, Calgary, 2003-08) signed a one-year contract with Esbjerg (Denmark, Metal Ligaen). Last season, with the Colorado Eagles (ECHL), he had a team-high 30 goals, along with 36 assists, in 69 games. . . .  Esbjerg’s head coach is Mark Pederson (Medicine Hat, 1983-88). . . .
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It seems that Vladimir Bobylyov, Vladimir Bobylyev and Vladimir Bobylev are all the same player, a forward who played last season for the Vancouver Giants. . . . F Vladimir Bobylyov was one of 37 players on the training camp roster for Spartak Moscow (Russia, KHL) as the team opened training camp Monday in Vierumäki, Finland. Last season, with the Giants, he had three goals and six assists in 52 games. . . . The Giants released him prior to last month’s 2015 import draft and he was selected by the Victoria Royals. . . . Cam Hope, the Royals’ general manager, tells Taking Note that the Royals, as did the Giants last season, are going with Bobylev because that is what the player prefers. That is the version of his name provided by using the English alphabet. . . . Hope also assures that Bobylev “is coming over and has already signed his IIHF Transfer Card . . . We expect him to be a Victoria Royal in September.”
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Dan Lambert is one and done as head coach of the Kelowna Rockets.
The team announced Monday that Lambert is leaving to work as an assistant coach with the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres. He will be the team’s third assistant, with Dave Barr and Terry Murray, working with head coach Dan Bylsma.
Lambert and Bylsma are friends, going back to when they played together with the IHL’s Long Beach Ice Dogs. Bylsma, who spent some time in Kelowna working with the Rockets in March, and Lambert were seen breaking bread together at the NHL draft in Sunrise, Fla., late last month.
Lambert, who played in the WHL with the Swift Current Broncos (1986-90), before going on to a professional career, spent five seasons in Kelowna as an assistant coach. He worked with head coach Ryan Huska, who left after 2013-14 to join the Calgary Flames organization as head coach of their AHL affiliate, the Adirondack Heat. That franchise, along with Huska, has relocated to Stockton, Calif., where it also will be know as the Heat.
In his lone season as head coach, Lambert guided the Rockets to a 53-13-6 record, which was second-best in the WHL’s regular season. The Rockets then went on to sweep the Brandon Wheat Kings from the final for the Ed Chynoweth Cup. Kelowna got to the Memorial Cup final, too, only to lose to the OHL’s Oshawa Generals, in overtime.
Larry Fisher of the Kelowna Daily Courier has more right here on Lambert’s departure.
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Interestingly, Kelowna owner/general manager Bruce Hamilton has never had to replace a one-and-done head coach.
Peter Anholt was the Rockets’ head coach for two seasons (1996-98), with Garth Malarchuk the closest to one-and-done when he lasted one-plus. Malarchuk, now a long-time scout with the Toronto Maple Leafs, was with the Rockets for all of 1998-99 and part of 1999-2000.
Marc Habscheid replaced Malarchuk during the 1999-2000 season and was the head coach for the following four seasons. Jeff Truitt was an assistant under Habscheid. When Habscheid left, Truitt took over and was the head coach for three seasons.
Huska, an assistant under Habscheid and Truitt, was the head coach for seven seasons.
One thing is for certain — neither of the Rockets’ present assistant coaches will be the next head coach. Travis Crickard, 27, and Kris Mallette, 26, are preparing for their second seasons with Kelowna. Hamilton has stressed that the next head coach will have to work with Crickard and Mallette on his staff.
Larry Fisher of the Kelowna Daily Courier has more right here on the search for a new head coach.
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The Sleepy Hollow Wildfire has done a huge amount of damage in the Wenatchee, Wash., area. So the Tri-City Americans are doing their bit to help provide some aid for victims. . . . Today, from 12:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., the Americans are asking their fans to drop off donations of new and gently used items. Just head for the Toyota Center and make you donations on the Main 1 foyer. . . . They are looking for items like non-perishable food, Costco or Fred Meyer gift cards, pet food, cups and silverware, batteries, flashlights, bottled water, towels and toiletries. . . . If your donation is valued at more than $10, the Americans will give you one adult ticket to an Oct. 4 game against the visiting Seattle Thunderbirds.
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Got a tip or some information you feel could be useful to me, feel free to send an email to greggdrinnan@gmail.com.
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The Saskatoon Blades have acquired D Mitchell Wheaton, 20, from the Kelowna Rockets for a fourth-round selection in the 2017 bantam draft. . . . The 6-foot-5, 215-pound Wheaton, from Sherwood Park, Alta., missed almost all of his third WHL season with injuries. In the end, he played in only four regular-season and nine playoff games. . . . In 100 regular-season career games with the Rockets, he had 37 points, including eight goals. He was a fifth-round selection by the Detroit Red Wings in the NHL’s 2013 draft. . . . The Rockets had selected him in the 10th round of the 2010 bantam draft. . . . The Rockets still are left with a number of options as 20-year-olds, including G Jackson Whistle, F Cole Linaker, F Tyson Baillie and G Gage Quinney. D Madison Bowey, D Josh Morrissey and F Leon Draisaitl are likely to open the season in the pro ranks. . . . The Blades have F Nick Zajac, D Ryan Coghlan, D Isaac Schacher, D Kolton Dixon and F Connor Gay as 20-year-olds on their roster.
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Richard Seeley is the new head coach of the ECHL’s Manchester Monarchs. Seeley (Lethbridge, Prince Albert, 1996-99) played four seasons in Manchester (2001-04, 2005-06) when it was in the AHL and, in fact, was the second captain in team history. . . . The Monarchs are preparing for their first ECHL season after the AHL franchise moved to Ontario, Calif. . . . Seeley, 36, will be introduced in Manchester this afternoon.
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The NHL’s Carolina Hurricane have hired Mark Morris, 57, as the head coach of their AHL affiliate, the Charlotte Checkers. . . . Geordie Kinnear has been re-signed as assistant coach. . . . Morris was an assistant coach with the NHL’s Florida Panthers last season. Prior to that, he spent eight seasons as head coach of the AHL’s Manchester Monarchs, who are affiliated with the Los Angeles Kings.
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Among those players in the Calgary Flames’ development camp are F Tyson Baillie (Kelowna), D Jason Fram (Spokane), F Tomas Soustal (Kelowna) and G Rylan Toth (Red Deer). . . . F Miles Koules and D Keoni Texeira, both of whom played with Portland last season, are in camp with the Washington Capitals. Koules played out his eligibility last season. . . . Included on the Minnesota Wild’s developmental camp roster are F Jared Bethune (Prince George), F Ryan Graham (Saskatoon), F Carter Rigby (Swift Current) and F Jack Walker (Victoria). Rigby played as a 20-year-old last season. . . . F Beau McCue (Tri-City) is with the New York Islanders as he prepares for his 20-year-old season.
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F Carson Focht, selected seventh overall by the Tri-City Americans in the WHL’s 2015 bantam draft, is in Finland this week for a male hockey development camp and Youth Olympic Games skills challenge qualification event. . . . There’s more right here on Focht and what’s in store for him in the camp. . . . Focht signed with the Americans in May. . . . The camp, in Vierumki, Finland, runs July 4-11.
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D Landon Cross (Kamloops, Kootenay, 2011-14) will continue his hockey career at the U of Regina with the Cougars. Cross, who is from Brandon, played last season as a 20-year-old with the MJHL’s Steinbach Pistons.
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Three members of the Victoria Royals hockey staff have been added to hockey operations staff with Hockey Canada teams. . . . Matt Auerbach, the Royals head equipment manager, will work with the U-20 team as its assistant equipment manager, while athletic therapist Khore Elliott will help the U-18 side as one of its athletic therapists, and medical director Dr. Michael Conrad is to work with the U-17 team.
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F Shane Harper (Everett, 2005-10) has signed a two-way deal with the NHL’s Florida Panthers, whose AHL affiliate now is the Portland Pirates. Harper played the past two seasons with the AHL’s Chicago Wolves. Last season, he had 32 goals and 18 assists in 50 games. . . . D Sena Acolatse (Seattle, Saskatoon, Prince George, 2006-11) also signed a two-way deal with the Panthers. He had 19 points, including six goals, in 38 games with the AHL’s Adirondack Flames. Before that, he played three seasons with the AHL’s Worcester Sharks.
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F Pavel Padakin, who played out his eligibility with the Regina Pats last season, has signed a one-year AHL deal with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. . . . Padakin, from Kiev, Ukraine, had 54 points, including 26 goals, last season with Regina. He also had one goal in one game with the Calgary Hitmen before being dealt to the Pats. He played the previous two seasons in Calgary. . . . Regina general manager/head coach John Paddock is a former Phantoms’ head coach. . . . Padakin will be in the parent Philadelphia Flyers’ development camp this week.
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Dean Moisan is the new head scout for the AJHL’s Lloydminster Bobcats. He spent the past two seasons as the head scout for the SJHL’s Humboldt Broncos. . . . He spent seven seasons scouting for the Broncos. . . . Moisan grew up in Humboldt but has lived in Lloydminster for more than 14 years. With the Bobcats, he replaces Tom Keca, who now is GM and head coach of the AJHL’s Fort McMurray Oil Barons.
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Steve Ewen, who covers the Vancouver Giants for the Vancouver Province, has been honoured as the National Lacrosse League’s Media Person of the Year. He will be presented with the Tom Borrelli Award for his work covering the NLL and the Vancouver Stealth. . . . There’s more right here.
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Two nice plays so far by Tigers SS Jose Iglesias. He's dedicated them to all the girls he's loved before.

— Larry Stone (@StoneLarry) July 7, 2015

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THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Codey Burki (Brandon, 2002-07) signed a one-year contract extension with Lausanne (Switzerland, NL A). Burki, who holds dual Canadian-Swiss citizenship, had 12 goals and 17 assists in 39 games this season. Lausanne won the NL B Championship and promotion to NL A for next season. . . .
D Vladimir Mihalik (Red Deer, Prince George, 2005-07) signed a two-year contract extension with Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia, KHL). He had two goals in 15 games with Slovan this season.
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A little of this and some of that . . .
1. The line of the night goes to Les Lazaruk, the veteran play-by-play voice of the Saskatoon Blades. It was the middle of the second period when Lazaruk commented that the fans were really into the game “complaining about everything.” . . . Pause . . . Then he added: “I’d swear it was Moose Jaw.”
2. Bob Wilkie, who won a Memorial Cup in Saskatoon the last time the tournament was played in Saskatoon, is the new director of player development and scouting for the AJHL’s Calgary Canucks. Wilkie, who is from Calgary, was a defenceman with the Swift Current Broncos when they beat the Blades in the final of the 1989 tournament.
3. There will be a lot of talk about the hit by Saskatoon D Dalton Thrower on Portland F Taylor Leier in the first period. . . . If you haven’t seen it, it’s right here.
4. At this point of the Memorial Cup, all disciplinary situations are handled by the NHL’s Hockey Operations department. The people there will be taking a whole lot of looks at Thrower’s hit and will make a decision (suspend or not) early today. . . . Meanwhile, I would be surprised if Leier, who was awfully woozy as he left the ice, plays again in this tournament.
5. The Winterhawks filled Leier’s spot on their second line, alongside Chase De Leo and Oliver Bjorkstrand, with Paul Bittner, a 6-foot-4, 195-pounder from Crookston, Minn. And he was a factor in Portland’s second goal, De Leo’s score that put the Winterhawks up 2-1 at 4:08 of the third period. . . . This really spotlights Portland’s depth. Don’t forget that the Winterhawks lost three of their top four scorers from last season (F Sven Baertschi, F Brad Ross and D Joe Morrow) and really didn’t miss a beat.
6. I’m thinking that Portland F Brendan Leipsic was kind of busy in the second intermission, because that’s when word broke on Twitter that he had signed with the NHL’s Nashville Predators. Must have faxed the contract in from the Winterhawks’ dressing quarters. . . . He then came out and scored his first goal of the tournament at 6:27 of the third period, and that one proved to be the winner. . . . (Neate Sager of Yahoo! Sports reported later that Leipsic actually signed on Sunday.)
7. Attendance was 9,239, so cue the groans. . . . The London Knights, the host team for the 2014 tournament, have announced that ticket packages will sell for between $600 and $680. They play in the 9,100-seat Budweiser Gardens. If they are able to create a demand for tickets, they’ll sell out. The Blades, who play in the 15,195-seat Credit Union Centre, aren’t able to create a demand for tickets.
8. After Portland F Ty Rattie scored his fourth goal of the tournament in the third period, WHL Facts (@WHLFacts) tweeted: “450 — If you count up his reg season, playoff, & MC points.. You'll see that @pdxwinterhawks Ty Rattie just recorded the 450th of his career.”
9. The Blades meet the London Knights in the tiebreaker game tonight, with the winner moving on to play the Winterhawks in the semifinal game on Friday. . . . The Halifax Mooseheads are into Sunday’s final.
10. Driving home from work on Wednesday night, I noticed two gas stations charging $1.41.9 for a litre of regular gasoline. That’s up seven cents a litre from earlier in the day and 30 cents from February.
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The Vancouver Giants have placed D Tyler Nanne, 17, on their protected list and are working hard in an attempt to land the grandson of former Minnesota North Stars icon Lou Nanne. . . . Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province has more right here.
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Well, Wenatchee, Wash., wasn’t without the NAHL for long. Just a few days after the Wild announced that it was relocating to Hidalgo, Texas, the Fresno Monsters have revealed that they will be moving to Wenatchee. . . . One of the reasons the Wild left was an inability to reach a lease agreement with the Town Toyota Center; the Monsters apparently had no such problem. . . . Michelle McNiel of the Wenatchee World reports that the NAHL board of governors is to meet today and Friday, and approval for the move is expected to be granted.
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THE COACHING GAME:
Geoff Grimwood is return for a second season as the head coach of the B.C. Major Midget League’s South Island Royals, who play out of Victoria. The Royals were 11-22-7 last season. . . . Grimwood also is an part-time assistant coach with the WHL’s Victoria Royals. . . . Rob Milliken has signed on as an associate coach alongside Grimwood. Milliken coached the major midget team from 2005-10.

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THE MacBETH REPORT:
D Vladimir Mihalik (Red Deer, Prince George, 2005-07) was loaned for the rest of the season by Lev Poprad (Slovakia, KHL) to Timrå (Sweden, Elitserien). He had one goal and three assists in 34 games for Lev Poprad this season.
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ASK THE COMMISSIONER:
Late last week, the WHL launched an Ask The Commissioner feature. . . . I have had a couple of readers forward questions to this blog, so here they are:
1. I wonder if Mr. Robison will address any questions regarding the Chilliwack situation from last year, and will admit the league handled it poorly? (From a fan who hopes the WHL returns to Chilliwack.)
2. Why so much travel? Aren’t you able to schedule fewer games or more doubleheaders in one location, maybe even hold some round-robin events (4-6 teams) in one location across three days (tournaments within your division or conference)?
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SUNDAY’S GAMES:
In Calgary, the Hitmen erased a 1-0 deficit with two goals 29 seconds apart and they went on to a 4-1 victory over the Tri-City Americans. . . . F Brian Williams gave the Americans a 1-0 lead at 4:21 of the second period. . . . F Brady Brassart tied it at 16:21, via the PP, and F Danny Gayle gave Calgary the lead at 16:50. . . . Calgary G Chris Driedger stopped 16 shots, 15 fewer than Tri-City’s Ty Rimmer. . . . Driedger and teammates D Brock Sutherland, D Spencer Humphries and F Brooks Macek all are former Americans. Macek sat this one out with an undisclosed injury. . . . The Hitmen have won six in a row and 14 of their last 15. . . . “The boys are hot right now,” Driedger told Scott Fisher of the Calgary Sun, adding that veterans Jimmy Bubnick and Cody Sylvester “have said the team we had two years ago showed the same kind of energy, work ethic and skill that we’re showing right now. I would say we’re definitely a threat. When all four of our lines are going, there’s no competing with us. We have so much depth. I would hate to play against us right now.” . . . This was the Americans’ first visit to Calgary since Game 5 of the 2009-10 championship final, which the Hitmen own in five games. . . . Calgary lost F Victor Rask to a checking-from-behind major and game misconduct at 2:35 of the third period. . . . The Americans have lost three of their last four outings and are two points behind the Kamloops Blazers, who lead the WHL’s overall standings. . . . The Hitmen now are third in the Eastern Conference, one point ahead of the Medicine Hat Tigers. . . .

In Kent, Wash., the Kelowna Rockets scored four second-period goals and beat the host Seattle Thunderbirds, 4-3. . . . Seattle D Cason Machacek gave his side a 2-1 lead at 5:59 of the second, only to have Kelowna come back with three straight goals. . . . F Cody Chikie scored his 12th at 10:50, F Colton Sissons got his 26th on the PP at 11:59 and F Brett Lyon added his 13th at 19:56. . . . Seattle has lost six straight home games. . . . Kelowna G Jordon Cooke stopped 25 shots, while Seattle’s Calvin Pickard turned aside 40. . . . The Rockets appear headed to a sixth-place finish in the Western Conference as they are 11 points behind the Vancouver Giants and 12 ahead of Seattle. . . . The Thunderbirds are one point up on the Victoria Royals.
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Check out this right here and see what F Taylor Vause of the Swift Current Broncos does in his spare time. I guarantee you will be impressed.
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If you happened to catch the TV show on Joe Namath that was shown on HBO on Saturday night, you will enjoy this piece right here. It’s written by David Gonzalez at The New York Times blog titled Lens and deals with Barton Silverman, a legendary photographer, and his wonderful career. Silverman will shoot his 41st Super Bowl on Sunday.
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For today’s good read, we take you to the Columbia Journalism Review. It is the story of Ivan G. Goldman, who writes about the demise of The Ring, the legendary boxing magazine. . . . It seems the once venerable boxing bible isn’t of that stature these days. That story is right here.

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THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Sean Selmser (Moose Jaw, Red Deer, 1991-95) signed a one-year contract with Dornbirn (Austria, Nationalliga). He had 16 goals and 25 assists in 58 games for the Coventry Blaze (UK Elite) last season. . . .
D Mark Isherwood (Medicine Hat, 2005-10) signed a one-year contract with Cortina (Italy, Serie A). He had 15 goals and 20 assists in 70 games for the ECHL-champion Alaska Aces last season. Isherwood was also named to the ECHL All-Rookie team. . . .
D Vladimir Mihalik (Red Deer, Prince George, 2005-07) signed a one-year contract with Lev Poprad (Slovakia, KHL). He had one goal and eight assists in 66 games with the Norfolk Admirals (AHL) last season.
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Peter Loubardias hasn’t had time to change the message on his voice mail, which indicates that he is employed by Rogers Sportsnet.
Unfortunately, that no longer is true.
Loubardias, who knows as much, if not more, about major junior hockey than anyone else in this country, lost his job Wednesday.
Loubardias, 43, told Vicki Hall of the Calgary Herald that he is “devastated. Heartbroken. Hurt.”
Major junior hockey has no greater friend — or fan — than Loubardias, who was Sportsnet’s play-by-play voice at the Memorial Cup. He also called the play of Calgary Flames’ games for three seasons.
But you can bet that not getting to call games at the Memorial Cup has cut him to the bone.
"I have treasured the opportunity to cover eight Memorial Cups," he told Hall. "That's hard for me to even talk about. I have been so lucky to be involved with the national broadcast of that tournament.
"To think next year in Shawinigan that's going to be somebody else, that one really hurts. That one really stings."
Hall’s complete story is right here.
What is rather strange about the Loubardias story is that Bruce Dowbiggin, who keeps an eye on the sports media for The Globe and Media, wrote Wednesday that there is a “shortage of available sports TV talent.”
Scott Woodgate, Rogers’ vice-president of news and information, told Dowbiggin: “There are all these rumours of an implosion at Sportsnet. I don’t know where they’re coming from. We’re building our team at the moment. We haven’t got enough people to do all the things we want to do.”
You figure it out!
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Back in the day, I spent a couple of WHL seasons working alongside Loubardias on broadcasts of Regina Pats’ games.
I don’t know what amazed me more — his photographic memory (I don’t know that he ever misidentified a player, and he knew every player on both teams) or his love for the game of junior hockey.
I would suggest that the number of hockey games he saw over the course of any one season rivalled the total witnessed by any NHL scout.
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F Brendan Ranford of the Kamloops Blazers acknowledges that he fought weight and conditioning problems in the second half of last season. There’s more on his story right here.
The Blazers will open 2011-12 by playing four straight home games. Ranford will miss the first three of those as he completes a WHL-issued suspension. You may recall that he drew a six-game suspension after cross-checking linesman Kris Hartley in a late-season game.
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F Max Reinhart of the Kootenay Ice has signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the NHL’s Calgary Flames. Reinhart had 79 points, including 34 goals, in 71 games with the WHL-champion Ice last season. He had 27 points, 15 of them goals, in 19 playoff games. He was Calgary’s first selection in the 2010 NHL draft — the Flames didn’t have a first- or second-round pick, and took him in the third round (64th overall). . . . He is one of three brothers expected to play in the WHL in 2011-12. . . . Griffin, a defenceman, is heading into his second season with the Edmonton Oil Kings. . . . Sam, a forward, will join Max with the Ice.
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F Craig Cunningham, who played out his WHL eligibility last season, has signed a three-year entry-level deal with the Boston Bruins. They selected him in the fourth round of the 2010 NHL draft. He played more than four seasons with the Vancouver Giants before he was traded to the Portland Winterhawks in December. . . . Cunningham finished his WHL career with 264 points in 330 regular-season games. Over his last four seasons, he played in 67, 72, 72 and 71 games.
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D Josh Hanson of the Portland Winterhawks is the lone WHL player (and one of three CHLers) to have been selected to play for the U.S. U-18 team at the 2011 Ivan Hlinka Memorial tournament in Breclav, Czech Republic, and Piestany, Slovakia, from Aug. 8-13. . . . He had three points in 43 games with Portland last season. . . . Canada’s selection camp runs July 30 through Aug. 2.
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THE COACHING GAME:
The yet-to-be nicknamed AHL team in St. John’s, Nfld., has named Keith McCambridge (Swift Current, Kamloops, 1991-95) as its head coach. McCambridge was an assistant coach with the AHL’s Manitoba Moose for the last two seasons. Prior to that, he spent two seasons as head coach of the ECHL’s Anchorage Aces. . . . With the relocation of the NHL’s Atlanta Thrashers to Winnipeg, the Moose has moved to St. John’s, Nfld. The Moose will be the AHL affiliate to the Jets.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
     
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