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Coun. Hong: "I want to apologize to the community..." over heated interactions during events centre process. "This was rushed." #nanaimo— Dominic Abassi (@domabassi) March 14, 2017
Coun. Thorpe: "we will take this as a lesson," on a message sent by voters of council's poor behaviour.— Dominic Abassi (@domabassi) March 14, 2017
"It's a shame" the WHL rushed us
More than 48 hours after the taxpayers of Nanaimo resoundingly defeated a referendum that would have led to the relocation of the WHL’s Kootenay Ice to the Vancouver Island city, the WHL has yet to comment.
Presumably, the high foreheads are huddled together and studying options after that referendum — the City wanted the OK to borrow $80 million for an events centre that would house a WHL team — was soundly rejected. If you missed it, 80 per cent of the 23,885 people who voted said NO.
So . . . if places like Winnipeg, Wenatchee, Wash., Penticton and Abbotsford aren’t options, what’s left?
You may recall that it was eight months ago when Alberta’s Frog Lake First Nation announced that it wants to build a complex just west of Lloydminster, Alta., that would include an arena. It also revealed that it wanted a WHL franchise for that arena.
It seems that those plans continue to move forward but there isn’t yet a shovel in the ground. In fact, mylloydminsternow.com reports right here that it all is moving through the regulatory process with Vermilion River County and the City of Lloydminster.
The plans for the complex also include a casino and that awaits direction from Alberta Gaming and Liquor, which presently has in place a moratorium on any new casinos. With the proposed site just off Highway 16 (the Yellowhead Highway), there also is traffic-impact study in progress.
In other words, an arena there is a long ways away.
The difference between that site and Nanaimo is that the Vancouver Island community has a facility — the 2,400-seat Frank Crane Arena — that would have housed the WHL team until the new arena was ready. In Lloydminster, the Centennial Civic Centre, with 1,700 seats, likely is seen as being too small, even on a temporary basis. It is home to the AJHL’s Lloydminster Bobcats.
It’s interesting that the WHL went so far as to sign a memorandum of understanding with Nanaimo that guaranteed a team and a 20-year lease had the referendum passed and a new arena been built.
Bruce Simms, the project manager for Frog Lake, told mylloydminsternow.com:
“What we’re hearing is ‘if you build a building, and you talk to us to apply, we’ll be very interested.’
“They’re not really going to talk to you seriously until you’ve taken concrete steps to build a facility. But the fact that we are talking to them, and hearing what they have to say about arena size and equipment, etc., they understand we’re serious.”
The WHL has to hope they’re serious, because that flat, undeveloped piece of land just west of Lloydminster, Alta., may be their only hope right now.
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Coun. Bestwick says unless there is a different model, events centre discussion likely won't come up again for 10+ years in #Nanaimo— Dominic Abassi (@domabassi) March 14, 2017
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Just because Wenatchee isn’t an option for the WHL at the moment, doesn’t mean it won’t re-enter the picture at a later date.
Bliss Littler, the BCHL’s franchise’s general manager and head coach, told Taking Note on Monday evening: “We’re not there as an organization yet. We should catch up soon.”
The Wild plays out of the 4,300-seat Toyota Town Center.
The Wild had the BCHL’s best record (45-9-4) during the regular season and eliminated the Prince George Spruce Kings from a first-round series on Sunday. The Wild is preparing to face the Chilliwack Chiefs in the second round.
According to announced attendances, the Wild drew 73,837 fans to 29 home regular-season games this season, an average of 2,546 per game.
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F Mathew Barzal of the Seattle Thunderbirds has been isolated while the team waits to see if he does have mumps.
Russ Farwell, the WHL team’s general manager, said Monday morning that “we are being careful but will not know for three days. We are treating it as mumps until we learn otherwise.”
Barzal has undergone tests and it is those results which the team awaits.
If it turns out that Barzal has mumps, the Thunderbirds will become the fourth WHL team to have been stricken, along with the Brandon Wheat Kings, Medicine Hat Tigers and Swift Current Broncos.
The Victoria Royals are awaiting tests on head coach Dave Lowry and defencemen Ralph Jarratt and Mitchell Prowse, who have been isolated since late last week after showing symptoms.
There is an outbreak of mumps in the state of Washington and it has spread to the U of Washington, where at least a dozen students have been diagnosed.
According to KING 5, a Seattle TV station, the Washington State Health department has reported 563 cases of mumps, with more than 200 each in King and Spokane counties. That is quite an increase from 2016 when 154 confirmed and probable cases were reported statewide.
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The Swift Current Broncos have signed F Ethan Regnier, 16, who is a native of Prince Albert. He played this season with the midget AAA Swift Current Legionnaires, recording 18 goals and 36 assists in 44 games. Last season, he had 10 goals and eight assists in 41 games with the Legionnaires. . . . He was an 11th-round selection in the WHL’s 2015 bantam draft. . . . Regnier was on the bus with the Broncos when it left Monday for Brandon and a game tonight (Tuesday) with the Wheat Kings.
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F Tate Popple, who turned 17 on March 3, has joined the Moose Jaw Warriors for the remainder of this season. Popple, from Brandon, played the past two seasons with the midget AAA Wheat Kings. He had 30 points, including 12 goals, in 44 games last season. This season, he put up 22 goals and 32 assists in 41 games. . . . He is the son of Lavern Popple, who played 18 games with the WHL’s Wheat Kings (1977-80).
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The Kootenay Ice has shut down D Austin Wellsby and D Sam Huston for the remainder of the season, both with undisclosed injuries. . . . Wellsby, 19, had six goals and 12 assists in 60 games in what was his second full season with the Ice. From Chilliwack, B.C., he was a fourth-round pick in the WHL’s 2012 bantam draft. . . . Huston, 17, had a goal and four assists in 45 in his freshman season. From Brandon, he was a ninth-round selection in the 2014 bantam draft.
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The Everett Silvertips have added F Dawson Butt to their roster. He has been playing for the Everett Jr. Silvertips 16UAAA club (NAPHL), who are coached by former WHL/NHL F Turner Stevenson. A native of Buckley, Wash., Butt was a sixth-round selection in the WHL’s 2015 bantam draft. He has played two games with the Silvertips this season. . . . In 22 regular-season games with the Jr. Silvertips, Butt had 18 goals and 11 assists. . . . He is the son of Jamie Butt, who played four WHL seasons (1992-96) with the Tacoma/Kelowna Rockets.
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The Kamloops Blazers have added three 16-year-olds — D Devan Harrison, G Max Palaga and F Brodi Stuart — to their roster for the remainder of this season. . . . Harrison, a second-round pick in the 2015 WHL bantam draft, had five goals and 24 assists in 44 games with the midget AAA Moose Jaw Generals. . . . Palaga, who is from Kamloops, played this season with the Thompson Blazers of the B.C. Major Midget Hockey League. . . . Stuart had 44 points, including 18 goals, in 34 games with the Fraser Valley Thunderbirds of the B.C. Major Midget Hockey League.
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Dave Burkholder won’t be back for a 17th season as head coach of the Niagara U Purple Eagles. The move comes after a 5-31-3 season. That included three regular-season victories and two more in a first-round upset of RIT in an Atlantic Hockey quarterfinal series. Canisius eliminated Niagara from playoffs last weekend. . . . The school is saying the decision for change was “mutual.” . . . In a news release, athletic director Simon Gray said: "Both Dave and the university have decided that a change in leadership is best for the program.” . . . Burkholder’s record at Niagara was 247-279-68.
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If the playoffs began today . . .
Eastern Conference
Regina vs. Calgary
Medicine Hat vs. Brandon
Moose Jaw vs. Swift Current
Lethbridge vs. Red Deer
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Western Conference
Seattle vs. Tri-City
Prince George vs. Victoria
Kelowna vs. Kamloops
Everett vs. Portland
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MONDAY’S GAMES:
No Games Scheduled.
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TUESDAY’S GAMES (all times local):
Swift Current at Brandon, 7 p.m.
Edmonton vs. Kootenay, at Cranbrook, B.C., 7 p.m.
Red Deer at Medicine Hat, 7 p.m.
Prince Albert at Moose Jaw, 7 p.m.
Saskatoon at Regina, 7 p.m.
Portland vs. Tri-City, at Kennewick, Wash., 7:05 p.m.
Victoria vs. Vancouver, at Langley, B.C., 7 p.m.
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with all of them from North Vancouver and off the roster at the North Shore Winter Club. . . . F Jackson Leppard, from North Vancouver, was taken eighth overall. He had 89 points, including 46 goals, this season. . . . D Jonas Harkins, also from North Vancouver, was taken in the second round. He had 12 points, three of them goals, this season. He is the son of Cougars GM Todd Harkins and the brother of Cougars F Jansen Harkins. . . . F Tyler Ho was taken in the third round. He had 87 points, including 30 goals, this season. . . . All three players were key contributors to NSWC’s 2015 Western Canadian bantam AAA championship.
former Edmonton Oilers head coach Dallas Eakins “two weeks ago and he has strong interest in the job.” . . . Last month, it was reported that the Giants were courting Ted Nolan, who was fired as the Buffalo Sabres’ head coach when their season ended. . . . Eakins, 48, was in his second season as the Oilers’ head coach when he was fired in December. The Oilers were 36-63-14 during his time there. He had joined the Oilers from the AHL’s Toronto Marlies, having done well enough there that he was thought of as a real up-and-comer. . . . Eakins has never coached junior hockey, having moved directly from his playing career into a pro-coaching career. . . . Via text, Eakins, who has two years left on his Oilers contract, told Edmonton Journal hockey writer Jim Matheson: “Just because it’s on Twitter doesn’t mean it’s true.”. . . . It does seem that the Giants again are looking for a ‘name’ coach. Having missed the playoffs two of the last three seasons and not having been out of the first round since 2010, one wonders: Why don’t the Giants hire a young coach who can grow with a young team? Or do fans really buy tickets to watch the head coach perform?
The Edmonton Oil Kings made it official on Monday — G Alec Dillon has chosen to play for them, rather than go the NCAA route. The Los Angeles Kings selected him in the fifth round of the NHL’s 2014 draft. Dillon played this season with the USHL’s Tri-City Storm, where he was a second-team all-star. The Oil Kings had acquired his rights from the Swift Current Broncos and now will give up a 2016 fourth-round bantam draft pick. . . . Brian Swane of the Edmonton Sun has more 
The BCHL announced Monday that the Wenatchee, Wash., Wild will become its 17th franchise when the 2015-16 season begins play. The announcement was made at a news conference in Wenatchee that apparently was attended by 160 people. . . . The Wild had played in the NAHL since 2008-09. . . . From a BCHL news release: The Wild has had “a winning record in each of its seven seasons of existence and this season had six players on its roster committed to NCAA Div. I programs. Playing out of Wenatchee’s Town Toyota Center, the team averages about 3,000 fans at home games.” . . . Bliss Littler has completed three seasons as the team’s general manager and head coach. He has coached junior hockey for 22 seasons. . . . The Bellingham, Wash., Ice Hawks (1990-95) were the BCHL’s last U.S.-based team. . . . If you are wondering, Wenatchee is 236 miles from Vancouver, B.C., and 642 miles from Prince George, the home of the BCHL’s Spruce Kings. . . . Brian Wiebe has more 
The BCHL’s Penticton Vees confirmed Monday that D Dante Fabbro and F Tyson Jost, a pair of potential first-round selections in the NHL’s 2016 draft, will return for their sophomore seasons. . . . The Everett Silvertips took Jost with the seventh overall selection in the 2013 bantam draft. The Seattle Thunderbirds selected Fabbro with the next pick. . . . This season, Jost had 45 points, 23 of them goals, in 46 games and added 10 goals in 21 playoff games. . . . Fabbro had 33 points in 44 games and added 15 points in 21 playoff games.
F Andrej Kudrna (Vancouver, Red Deer, 2008-11) was assigned to Skalica (Slovakia, Extraliga) by Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia, KHL) for the rest of this season. He has one goal in 13 games for Slovan and 10 goals and three assists in 18 games for Skalica this season. . . .
F Parker Stanfield (Prince George, Everett, 2007-11) signed a contract for the rest of this season with Poprad (Slovakia, Extraliga). He had six goals and seven assists in 33 games with the Bakersfield Condors (ECHL) this season. . . .
F Marek Curilla (Kootenay, Medicine Hat, 2005-06) signed a contract for the rest of this season with Zvolan (Slovakia, Extraliga) after obtaining his release from Most (Czech Republic, 1. Liga). He had six goals and 11 assists in 40 games with Most this season.
of violations of WHL Regulations.”
are wearing new and different sweaters. Here’s how Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix described the sweaters as “featuring navy blue, royal blue and grey strips and a stylized ‘Blades’ logo where the ‘L’ is a hockey stick.” . . . These sweaters are the result of a contest in which fans were asked for design ideas. . . . Nugent-Bowman reports that there were 113 entries. Those were whittled down to five and then put to a fan vote. . . . The winning design is from Fabio Burà of Switzerland.
Bliss Littler, the head coach of the NAHL’s Wentchee Wild, has drawn a five-game suspension and assistant coach Chris Clark is gone indefinitely. That is the fallout from Clark’s turn as a blindman during a recent game in Wenatchee.
In Regina, F Lane Scheidl scored twice and added an assist to help the Regina Pats to a 3-2 victory over the Wheat Kings. . . . The Pats had lost eight straight. . . . Brandon has dropped four in a row. . . . Scheidl has 26 goals. . . . He broke a 2-2 tie at 17:28 of the third period. . . . F Jayce Hawryluk had both Brandon goals, giving him 13. . . . G Jordan Papirny, 16, the 22nd selection in the 2011 bantam draft, made his WHL debut with the Wheat Kings. They are without Corbin Boes (knee) and have been going with Curtis Honey. . . . Papirny stopped 21 shots and was returned to the midget AAA Edmonton-South Side Athletic Club Athletics after the game. . . .
In Moose Jaw, D Morgan Rielly drew four assists as the Warriors doubled the Medicine Hat Tigers, 8-4. . . . The teams combined for seven goals in the second period, with F Curtis Valk scoring three times for the Tires, two of them on the PP. . . . Moose Jaw emerged with a 5-3 lead. . . . Valk has 32 goals. . . . Moose Jaw F Bryson Gore, who went into the game with 10 points, had a goal, his seventh, and two assists. . . . The Warriors now have won four of five. . . .
In Saskatoon, G Andrey Markarov posted his WHL-leading sixth shutout as the Blades dumped the Calgary Hitmen, 6-0. . . . He has a franchise-record eight shutouts in his WHL career, having broken the record he had shared with Braden Holtby (2006-09). . . . Makarov made 42 saves as the Blades won their third in a row. He has allowed one goal in the three victories. . . . F Brenden Walker and F Nathan Burns each had two goals for Saskatoon. . . . The Hitmen are three games into a nine-game road swing. . . . F Brooks Macek of the Hitmen played in his 300th regular-season game. . . . Blades F Josh Nicholls scored his 33rd goal, to give him 286 career points. He had bee tied with Saskatoon associate coach David Struch for 12th on the Blades’ alltime list. . . . Saskatoon F Shane McColgan picked up two assists, giving him 250 career points. . . .
In Edmonton, G Laurent Brossoit stopped 23 shots as the Oil Kings beat the Swift Current Broncos, 3-0. . . . Brossoit has three shutouts this season and eight in his career. . . . Edmonton has won seven in a row and leads the Eastern Conference standings by nine points over Calgary. . . . F Curtis Lazar scored the game’s first two goals, giving him 26. . . . The Oil Kings have won 13 of 15, blanking the opposition in six of those games. . . .
In Kamloops, F Kale Kessy and F Colin Smith enjoyed five-point nights as the Blazers downed the Spokane Chiefs, 8-4. . . . Kessy had two goals and three assists in what was the first five-point game of his career. . . . Smith had a goal and four assists for his second five-point outing. . . . Smith also earned his 250th career point. . . . F Tim Bozon, the third member of that line, had two goals, giving him 31, and two assists. . . . F Mitch Holmberg had three goals for the Chiefs, giving him a career-high 30 on the season. He scored 27 last season. Holmberg also has a career-high in points (57), two more than he recorded last season. . . . Spokane D Jason Fram left the game at 8:45 of the second period. Unable to put weight on his left leg, he needed help getting off the ice and didn’t return. . . .
In Prince George, F Chase Witala scored three times to help the Cougars to a 6-2 victory over the Victoria Royals. . . . Witala scored the Cougars’ first two goals, at which point he had scored his team’s previous five goals. . . . He has 14 goals this season, six of them in his last three games. . . . Cougars D Dallas Ehrhardt had a goal and two assists. . . . The Cougars were awarded two penalty shots in this one. F Colin Jacobs beat G Coleman Vollrath t 7:14 of the second period; F Jarrett Fontaine was foiled by G Patrik Polivka at 13:38 of the third. . . . The Royals were coming off a 6-1 loss to the Rockets in Kelowna on Thursday night. Not many teams play one night in Kelowna and the next night in Prince George. . . . The Cougars are without G Brett Zarowny (concussion), so had Ty Edmonds, 16, on the bench, backing up Mac Engel. Edmonds plays for the MJHL’s Virden Oil Capitals. . . .
In Vancouver, F Colton Sissons scored twice and G Jackson Whistle stopped 32 shots as the Kelowna Rockets beat the Giants, 5-1. . . . Sissons broke a 1-1 tie at 3:19 of the first period. . . . After scoring those three early goals, the teams didn’t score again until Sissons got his 20th of the season at 2:42 of the third period. . . . Whistle was acquired by the Rockets from Giants on Sept. 7 for a 2014 third-round bantam draft pick. . . .
In Kent, Wash., F Ty Rattie had a goal and three assists as the Portland Winterhawks dumped the Seattle Thunderbirds (of Kent), 5-3. . . . Portland D Shaun MacPherson broke a 2-2 tie with his first WHL goal at 6:55 of the second period and Rattie upped the lead to 4-2, on the PP, at 17:55. . . . Portland F Nic Petan, who leads the WHL in scoring, got his 36th goal, and two assists, while F Brendan Leipsic also had a goal, his 34th, and two helpers. . . . Rattie is riding a 16-game point streak. . . . Portland was 3-10 on the PP; Seattle was 0-3. . . . Petan leads the WHL in goals, assists (57) and points (93). He has five points more than Leipsic and eight more than Kamloops F Colin Smith. . . . 
In Everett, the Tri-City Americans scored twice in the circus and beat the Silvertips, 2-1. . . . F Malte Strömwall gave the Americans a 1-0 lead just 23 seconds into the first period. . . . F Logan Aasman pulled Everett even at 4:25 of the third. . . . F Justin Feser and Strömwall scored shootout goals to win it. . . . With G Austin Lotz (foot) out, the Silvertips had Nik Amundrud, 15, on the bench in support of starter Daniel Cotton. Amundrud was a third-round selection in the 2012 bantam draft. He is playing with the midget AAA Tisdale, Sask., Trojans.
The NHL’s Minnesota Wild have returned D Mathew Dumba, 18, to the Red Deer Rebels. Dumba, the seventh selection in the NHL’s 2012 draft, was with the Wild through the abbreviated training camp and four regular-season games. But he wasn’t dressed for even one game.
In Calgary, G Mack Shields earned his second shutout of the season as the Hitmen beat the Brandon Wheat Kings, 5-0. . . . Shields stopped 16 shots. . . . The Hitmen had lost their previous two games. . . . The Hitmen went 4-0 against Brandon this season, outscoring the Wheaties, 26-6. . . . Up next for the Hitmen: A nine-game road trip. . . . Brandon G Curtis Honey faced 48 shots less than 24 hours after facing 52 in a 5-2 loss to the Oil Kings in Edmonton. . . . The game was scoreless until Calgary F Chase Lang scored his fourth goal on a shorthanded breakaway at 12:28 of the second period. . . . Sophomore F Calder Brooks, 18, played in his first game of the season with the Hitmen. After putting up 24 pints in 53 games last season, he underwent shoulder surgery and wasn’t cleared to return until recently. . . .
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