THE MacBETH REPORT:
D Jaroslav Obsut (Swift Current, Medicine Hat, 1995-97) signed a one-year contract with Dynamo Minsk (Belarus, KHL). He had four goals and 13 assists in 50 regular-season games with Spartak Moscow (Russia, KHL) and Atlant Mytishchi (Russia, KHL) and had five goals and five assists in 24 playoff games with Atlant this season. . . .
F Randall Gelech (Kelowna, 2000-04) signed a one-year contract extension with Vipiteno (Italy, Serie A). He had 19 goals and 17 assists in 28 regular-season games and 15 goals and six assists in 17 playoff games for Vipiteno this season, helping the club win promotion from Serie A2. From the Vipiteno website: "This mix of good hands, clear head, hard shoulders, and dedication to the team made him a favorite with the fans, not just with the team board of directors." . . .
F Alex Leavitt (Swift Current, Everett, 2003-05) signed a one-year contract with HPK Hämeenlinna (Finland, SM-Liiga). He had 32 goals and 55 assists in 48 regular-season games for Ravensburg Towerstars (Germany 2.Bundesliga) this season. Leavitt added five goals and 14 assists in 12 playoff games. Ravensburg won the 2.Bundesliga championship and Leavitt led the league in scoring and assists. HPK head coach Harri Rindell: "Leavitt sees the ice well. He is a creative and skillful center, just the kind we've been looking for at the start of the summer." . . .
F Radek Duda (Regina, Lethbridge, 1998-2000) signed a one-year contract with Plzen (Czech Republic, Extraliga). He had eight goals and 16 assists in 20 regular-season games and four goals and eight assists in 12 playoff games for Chomutov (Czech Republic, 1.Liga) this season. Duda also had 16 goals and 13 assists in 25 regular-season games on loan to Plzen. . . .
———
F Kris Foucault of the Calgary Hitmen has signed a three-year deal with the NHL’s Minnesota Wild. . . . Capgeek.com has the details right here.
———
WHL TRANSACTIONS
PRINCE ALBERT RAIDERS — Sign Dale Derkatch, director of player personnel, to contract extension, length undisclosed. Also name him skills development coach.
VANCOUVER GIANTS — Name Paul Fricker goaltending coach.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Taking Note on Twitter
Monday, May 30, 2011
Fifty years ago, the Los Angeles Times first ran on the front page of the sports section the words of Jim Murray. Until Jim's passing in 1998, his prose graced the same spot on the left side of the front sports page more than 10,000 times.
We thought you might like to take a look back to where it all began.
Happy Memorial Day and enjoy the first column from Jim Murray . . . the words that launched a million laughs.
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 1961, SPORTS
Copyright 1961/THE TIMES MIRROR COMPANY
JIM MURRAY
In This Corner, With the Pen, is the New Guy
I have been urged by my friends — all of whom mean well — to begin writing in this space without introducing myself, as if I have been standing here all the while only you haven't noticed. But I don't think I'll do that. I think I'll start off by telling you a little about myself and what I believe in. That way, we can start to fight right away.
First off, I am against the bunt in baseball — unless they start bunting aginst the ball John McCraw batted against. The last time the bunt won a game, Frank Chance was a rookie.
I think the eight-point touchdown has had it. It's added nothing to the game unless, of course, you count the extra bookkeeping.
I'm glad the Rams traded Billy Wade. I won't say Billy was clumsy, but on the way back from the line of scrimmage with the ball he bumped into more people than a New York pickpocket. I have seen blockers make ballcarriers look bad. Wade was the only ballcarrier I ever saw make the blockers look bad. Those poor guys were getting cross-eyed trying to look for him out of both corners of their eyes. They never knew which way he went.
The play usually ended up with some mastodon of a defensive end holding Billy upside down by the heels and shaking him. Like a father with a kid who's just swallowed a quarter. Billy gave up more ground, faster, than Mussolini at the end of the war. The Chicago Bears better put his shoes on backward or he'll dance right out of that little ballpark of theirs. I expect him to be the only quarterback ever tackled for a loss in the seats.
I think Jim Brosnan is the best writer in baseball. I think Cincinnati would be gladder if he were the best pitcher.
I know what's wrong with Eisenhower's golf swing but I'll be cussed if I can figure out what to do with that spasm of mine. (Ike lifts his left leg; I think I leave my feet altogether.).
I'd like once more (if Jimmy Cannon will pardon me) to see Elroy Hirsch and Tommy Fears going out on a pass pattern and looking back for a Waterfield pass. Throw in Jimmy David on defense and I'll pay double. David was the only guy I ever saw who could maim a guy while pretending to help him up.
I hope Steve Bilko has lost weight. The last time I saw him in the Coliseum, the front of him got to the batter's box full seconds before the rest of him. If he were batting left-handed, part of him would be halfway to first base before the pitch came in. Even then, the umpire could beat him down there.
I don't think anyone should be surprised at the disappointing showing of our Olympians in the '60 Games. There is an old adage, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do." So our boys did. The coaches didn't like it, but the girls did.
I think almost every pitcher in the big leagues has a good spitball but I prefer to see Lew Burdette load one up for the batter in a tight situation and then make believe he's only wiping his chin. The only way you can be sure the ball is wet is if the ump calls for it and Lew rolls it to him.
I think the Washington Huskies football players were more enterprising than a bunch of Dead-End Kids in an empty candy store. But I still think the guys who are beating Minnesota over the head for claiming (correctly) that it had an edge in the second half in the Rose Bowl are the same guys who would be crying "Washington was robbed" if the roles were reversed in that game.
I have been held up to you as somewhat of a joke athletically, but I want you to know I had one superlative season as a college freshman baseball player. I was the most nervous right fielder our team ever had. Our coach, Ralph Erickson, had only four fingers on his right hand and the prevailing theory was he had the regulation five until he saw us and started biting his nails. I caught a fly once and got so carried away I almost decapitated our first baseman on the throw-in. As I remember the first baseman, it wouldn't have affected his play much. He didn't use his head a great deal.
I won't say the kids today are softies but I'd like to see them learn to play Little League with the ball I had to play with. This was a "dime rocket," the cover of which came off after the first solid hit and it had to be wrapped in thick friction tape. I'd like to see Duke Snider throw it out of the Coliseum. In fact, I'd like to see him hit it past the pitcher's mound on the fly. I have bowled with lighter balls.
I was gratified by the reaction to the announcement Jim Murray was to write a sports column, an immediate and interested "Who??!" Mel Durslag did throw a bouquet, though. I'll read the card as soon as I take the brick out.
I came to Los Angeles in 1944 (the smog and I hit town together and neither one of us has been run out, despite the best efforts of public-spirited citizens) and my biggest sports disappointment was the 1955 Swaps-Nashua race, which I helped arrange. I have never believed Bill Shoemaker was property tied on his mount that day when they sprang the barrier. But I will ask Bill — and believe what he says because his next lie will be his first.
I really don't understand why the Angels haven't signed up Bob Kelley to do their broadcasts. He's the only guy in town who can prevent Vin Scully from throwing a shutout.
I hope Bill Hartack, the jockey, continues to take himself off sore horses. I know it irks the stewards but I'd rather have them sore than the horses — especially if I'm betting on the race because if there's one sore horse in the field, I'm usually on him, handicapping it all the way.
I couldn't tell from that letter of Billy Wade's whether Don Paul wanted Waterfield's job or just wanted him to eat in his restaurant.
Every sports writer is expected to make a prediction and because I would like to leave the game ahead, I will predict the Angels will not win the pennant — this year, anyway. On the other hand, the way they have been messing around with baseball, they just might change the game to loball. Then, the Angels would be a threat. Just my luck.
Reprinted with permission by the Los Angeles Times.
Jim Murray Memorial Foundation | P.O. Box 995 | La Quinta | CA | 92247
Segal moving on
 |
| MARK SEGAL |
Segal has informed the Giants that he is leaving to attend McGill University in Montreal, where he will play for the Redmen.
Segal, a Vancouverite who turns 20 on Aug. 31, played in 91 regular-season and 20 playoff games with the Giants over the last two seasons. This season, he went 27-18-4, 3.07, .891 in 55 games.
Brendan Jensen, an 18-year-old from El Granada, Calif., played in 30 games with the Giants, going 8-13-1 in support of Segal.
The Giants’ website shows three goaltenders on their list who are eligible to play in 2011-12 — Jackson Whistle, who turns 16 on June 9, of Kelowna; Scott legault, who will be 17 on Sept. 25; and, Stephen Heslop, who turns 16 on Sept. 15, of Victoria.
———
Today’s good read comes from Bucky Gleason of the Buffalo News.
It’s almost a week old, but I just discovered it Sunday morning.
Yes, it is about pro hockey and the impact of concussions.
Gleason leads with the difficulties faced by former NHL tough guy Matthew Barnaby, who now wonders how badly he damaged his brain during this playing career and whether that is the reason for the changes he has noticed in his personality.
It isn’t all about Barnaby, though. At one point, Dr. Robert Cantu is quoted on the subject of former Buffalo Bills great O.J. Simpson:
"There's a brain I would love to study. I don't know, but I really wonder. With his inability to handle frustrating circumstances, violence and all that stuff, it could be.
"It's hard to know. I'm not suggesting I know the answer, but if and when the time comes I would give anything for him to be on our registry."
Dr. Cantu is a clinical professor neurosurgery at Boston University School of Medicine, which is home to Sports Legacy Institute, where a lot of the research into CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy) is taking place.
Pour yourself a cup of coffee and sit down for today’s good read. It’s long and worthwhile. And it’s right here.
———
THE COACHING GAME: Wanting experience as a head coach, former WHLer Brad McCrimmon, 52, has signed on with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl of the Kontinental Hockey League. McCrimmon, an all-star defenceman with the Brandon Wheat Kings (1976-79) and the head coach of the Saskatoon Blades (1998-2000), was an assistant coach with the Detroit Red Wings for the last three seasons. . . . Cole Zahn has signed on as assistant coach with the SJHL’s Estevan Bruins. Keith Cassidy, the Bruins’ new GM/head coach, worked together on the coaching staff of the MJHL’s Selkirk Steelers and got that squad to the RBC Cup in 2007. Zahn will continue to scout for the Vancouver Giants. . . . Ron Holloway, the head coach of the junior B Ochapowace Thunder of the Prairie Junior league, has signed on as an assistant coach with the SJHL’s La Ronge Ice Wolves. He will work alongside head man Bob Beatty as the Ice Wolves chase a third straight SJHL championship.
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F Byron Froese, who turned 20 on March 12, has signed a three-year deal with the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks. Capgeek.com reports that his salaries will be US$67,500 in the AHL and $590,000 in the NHL. . . . He got a $195,000 signing bonus over three years. . . . Froese was selected in the fourth round of the 2009 NHL draft off the Everett Silvertips’ roster. They traded him to the Red Deer Rebels last summer for F Landon Ferraro.
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Michael Traikos of the National Post writes about the week that was at the Memorial Cup. The headline sums it up: Memorial Cup a flop everywhere but the box office. . . . Of course, the CHL knew that would happen when it awarded the tournament to Mississauga, which makes one ask: Why did they award it to Mississauga? . . . That piece is right here.———
You have to feel good for G Jacob DeSerres, who backstopped the QMJHL-champion Saint John Sea Dogs to a 3-1 victory over the host Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors in the final game of the Memorial Cup on Sunday evening. . . . DeSerres, who played in the Memorial Cup with the host Brandon Wheat Kings a year ago and then was waived through the WHL, stopped 34 shots in what was his final game of major junior hockey. . . . He wasn’t named to the tournament all-star team, nor was he selected as the tournament’s top goaltender. No matter, though. He got the ring. . . . The Sea Dogs, the CHL’s top-ranked team through much of the regular season, are the first team from the Maritimes to win major junior hockey’s top prize.
———
By the way, a fan of the Portland Winterhawks has a request: Would members of the media please stop referring to the Memorial Cup as a national championship. . . . There are eight Americans teams in the CHL so, as this fan points out, it is more than a national championship. . . . The fan asks: “Had Portland somehow advanced and won the Cup this year, would the Winterhawks have been national champions of Canada . . . or the U.S.?”
Joe Fan has a point, eh?
———
Dave Cameron, Mississauga’s head coach, and Majors’ captain Casey Cizikas have suffered three heart-breaking losses in a five-month period. . . . Both were on Canada’s national junior team when it surrendered a 3-0 lead and lost 5-3 to Russia in the championship game at the World Junior Championship in Buffalo in January. . . . The Majors lost the OHL championship series in seven games to the Owen Sound Attack. Mississauga held 2-0 and 3-2 leads in that series, then lost Game 7 in OT. "They say losing toughens you," Cameron said Sunday night. "Well, right now, I feel like a 10-cent steak, to tell you the truth.” . . . Cameron is almost certain to land on the coaching staff of the NHL’s Ottawa Senators. Eugene Melnyk, who owns the Senators, also owns the St. Michael’s Majors.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Taking Note on Twitter
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Hockey Canada votes for zero tolerance!
Hockey Canada did it!
The governing body of hockey — other than major junior — in Canada came out strongly against headshots as its annual general meeting wrapped up in Calgary on Saturday.
Hockey Canada’s board of directors decided that there will be “zero tolerance” for headshots — meaning all and any contact with the head — in minor, female and senior hockey.
According to a Hockey Canada news release that was issued upon the AGM’s conclusion:
“In minor and female hockey, a minor penalty shall be assessed for all accidental hits to the head, while a double minor penalty, or a major and game misconduct at the discretion of the referee based on the degree of violence of impact, shall be assessed for any intentional contact to the head;
“In junior (Junior A, B, C, D) and senior hockey, a minor and a misconduct or a major and a game misconduct shall be assessed for all checks to the head, at the discretion of the referee;
“A major penalty and a game misconduct, or match penalty, shall be assessed to any player who injures an opponent under this rule.”
This is exciting news because it means that at least some of the people who call the shots for the game of hockey are paying attention and realize what is going on in terms of head injuries and the impact they are having.
The fact that Hockey Canada has made this decision means it immediately will begin educating the youngest minor hockey players and they should move through the system playing the game the right way.
Hopefully there will come a time when we look back on May 28, 2011, as the day the tide turned.
———
It sounds as though the IIHF also will be taking a long, hard look at the issue of head contact.
IIHF vice-president Murray Costello told Kristen Odland of the Calgary Herald:
“President (Rene) Fasel of the IIHF has said from the beginning that there’s no such thing as a clean hit to the head.
“One of the worrisome things in all of our consultations was to get head injuries out of our game. There’s no room for it. But we have to come down hard and fast in a zero tolerance way.
“This will be welcomed that Canada is taking a stronger initiative. That will cause the (IIHF) to consider getting more serious and making tougher rules there, too.”
———
Also of note from the Hockey Canada AGM:
The host communities were named for various events, with Langley, B.C., getting the 2011 World Junior A Challenge.
During the 2012-13 season, the WJAC will be held in Yarmouth, N.S., with the Esso Cup in Burnaby, B.C., the TELUS Cup in Sault Ste. Marie, and the RBC Cup in Summerside, P.E.I.
———
Over the last two weeks, Rob Vanstone of the Regina Leader-Post has written extensively about Derek Boogaard and his death on May 13.
For one story, Vanstone spoke with a professor of neurology at the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Here is the start of that story:
The kind of blows that led to Derek Boogaard's final concussion should be eradicated, according to an authority on head trauma.
"I think fighting should be eliminated," states Dr. David Dodick, a professor of neurology at the Mayo Clinic and the president of the American Headache Association.
"How can I say that when you elbow me in the head you're going to be suspended for 10 games with a $100,000 fine, yet I can drop the gloves and you can drop the gloves and I can punch you 10 times in the head? There's an incongruence there. It's mutually contradictory that you can eliminate head hits, but you can implicitly condone fighting."
Vanstone’s complete story is right here.
———
Terry Koshan of the Toronto Sun takes a look at Friday night’s Memorial Cup semifinal game between the host Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors and the WHL-champion Kootenay Ice right here.
———
Koshan also touched base with Robert Savard, who remains the only player to win back-to-back-to-back Memorial Cups, a feat that F Justin Shugg of the St. Michael’s Majors hopes to equal today. That story is right here.
———
Three WHL players were selected in the KHL draft on Saturday. F Marek Tvrdon of the Vancouver Giants was taken in the second round, 26th overall, by the Slovakian club Poprad. He was Poprad’s first pick. . . . D Matt Dumba of the Red Deer Rebels was selected in the third round, 60th overall, by Vityaz Chekhov, which took Prince Albert Raiders F Mark McNeil in the fifth round, 112th overall. Vityaz Chekhov used the fifth overall selection to take F Jonathan Huberdeau of the QMJHLs Saint John Sea Dogs.
If you’re so inclined, there is a translated version of the draft right here.
———
Terry Jones of the Edmonton Sun was in Red Deer on Friday night as the 1963 and 1966 Edmonton Oil Kings were inducted into the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame. That story is right here.
———
I first met Tom Thompson in the mid-1970s when I was working at the late, great Winnipeg Tribune and he was involved with the Manitoba Junior Baseball League. We still run into one another from time to time, and always have a grand conversation.
An aspiring lawyer, he also was dabbling in hockey. Eventually, hockey would win out and he has since worked with the Calgary Flames, Minnesota Wild and New York Rangers. These days, he scouts for the Rangers.
What I didn’t know until now is that he also has entered the blogosphere. If you weren’t aware, he has been blogging for The Hockey News, and you should check him out right here.
His most recent entry, on the gathering of the hockey community to say goodbye to Derek Boogaard, is most poignant.
———
In Houston on Saturday, F Jim O’Brien (Seattle, 2007-09) scored on a delayed penalty at 7:54 of OT to give the Binghamton Senators a 2-1 victory over the Aeros. . . . The AHL’s championship final for the Calder Cup is 1-1 — the Aeros won 3-1 on Friday — with Game 3 in Binghamton on Wednesday. . . . O’Brien was selected 29th overall by the Ottawa Senators in the 2009 NHL draft. . . . Attendance at the Toyota Center was 9,002, a franchise record for a playoff game. . . . The Aeros are the AHL affiliate of the Minnesota Wild. . . . They’ll play Games 4 and 5 in Binghamton on Friday and Saturday. . . . If they need to continue beyond that, Game 6 is scheduled for Houston on Tuesday, June 7, with Game 7 there on Thursday, June 9.
———
If you have access to SiriusXM Satellite Radio, you’re in luck.
Games 4, 6 and 7 are scheduled for Sirius 207 and XM 92. Game 4 is to start at 4 p.m. PT, with Game 6 and 7 both at 5 p.m. PT.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Taking Note on Twitter
The governing body of hockey — other than major junior — in Canada came out strongly against headshots as its annual general meeting wrapped up in Calgary on Saturday.
Hockey Canada’s board of directors decided that there will be “zero tolerance” for headshots — meaning all and any contact with the head — in minor, female and senior hockey.
According to a Hockey Canada news release that was issued upon the AGM’s conclusion:
“In minor and female hockey, a minor penalty shall be assessed for all accidental hits to the head, while a double minor penalty, or a major and game misconduct at the discretion of the referee based on the degree of violence of impact, shall be assessed for any intentional contact to the head;
“In junior (Junior A, B, C, D) and senior hockey, a minor and a misconduct or a major and a game misconduct shall be assessed for all checks to the head, at the discretion of the referee;
“A major penalty and a game misconduct, or match penalty, shall be assessed to any player who injures an opponent under this rule.”
This is exciting news because it means that at least some of the people who call the shots for the game of hockey are paying attention and realize what is going on in terms of head injuries and the impact they are having.
The fact that Hockey Canada has made this decision means it immediately will begin educating the youngest minor hockey players and they should move through the system playing the game the right way.
Hopefully there will come a time when we look back on May 28, 2011, as the day the tide turned.
———
It sounds as though the IIHF also will be taking a long, hard look at the issue of head contact.
IIHF vice-president Murray Costello told Kristen Odland of the Calgary Herald:
“President (Rene) Fasel of the IIHF has said from the beginning that there’s no such thing as a clean hit to the head.
“One of the worrisome things in all of our consultations was to get head injuries out of our game. There’s no room for it. But we have to come down hard and fast in a zero tolerance way.
“This will be welcomed that Canada is taking a stronger initiative. That will cause the (IIHF) to consider getting more serious and making tougher rules there, too.”
———
Also of note from the Hockey Canada AGM:
The host communities were named for various events, with Langley, B.C., getting the 2011 World Junior A Challenge.
During the 2012-13 season, the WJAC will be held in Yarmouth, N.S., with the Esso Cup in Burnaby, B.C., the TELUS Cup in Sault Ste. Marie, and the RBC Cup in Summerside, P.E.I.
———
Over the last two weeks, Rob Vanstone of the Regina Leader-Post has written extensively about Derek Boogaard and his death on May 13.
For one story, Vanstone spoke with a professor of neurology at the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Here is the start of that story:
The kind of blows that led to Derek Boogaard's final concussion should be eradicated, according to an authority on head trauma.
"I think fighting should be eliminated," states Dr. David Dodick, a professor of neurology at the Mayo Clinic and the president of the American Headache Association.
"How can I say that when you elbow me in the head you're going to be suspended for 10 games with a $100,000 fine, yet I can drop the gloves and you can drop the gloves and I can punch you 10 times in the head? There's an incongruence there. It's mutually contradictory that you can eliminate head hits, but you can implicitly condone fighting."
Vanstone’s complete story is right here.
———
Terry Koshan of the Toronto Sun takes a look at Friday night’s Memorial Cup semifinal game between the host Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors and the WHL-champion Kootenay Ice right here.
———
Koshan also touched base with Robert Savard, who remains the only player to win back-to-back-to-back Memorial Cups, a feat that F Justin Shugg of the St. Michael’s Majors hopes to equal today. That story is right here.
———
Three WHL players were selected in the KHL draft on Saturday. F Marek Tvrdon of the Vancouver Giants was taken in the second round, 26th overall, by the Slovakian club Poprad. He was Poprad’s first pick. . . . D Matt Dumba of the Red Deer Rebels was selected in the third round, 60th overall, by Vityaz Chekhov, which took Prince Albert Raiders F Mark McNeil in the fifth round, 112th overall. Vityaz Chekhov used the fifth overall selection to take F Jonathan Huberdeau of the QMJHLs Saint John Sea Dogs.
If you’re so inclined, there is a translated version of the draft right here.
———
Terry Jones of the Edmonton Sun was in Red Deer on Friday night as the 1963 and 1966 Edmonton Oil Kings were inducted into the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame. That story is right here.
———
I first met Tom Thompson in the mid-1970s when I was working at the late, great Winnipeg Tribune and he was involved with the Manitoba Junior Baseball League. We still run into one another from time to time, and always have a grand conversation.
An aspiring lawyer, he also was dabbling in hockey. Eventually, hockey would win out and he has since worked with the Calgary Flames, Minnesota Wild and New York Rangers. These days, he scouts for the Rangers.
What I didn’t know until now is that he also has entered the blogosphere. If you weren’t aware, he has been blogging for The Hockey News, and you should check him out right here.
His most recent entry, on the gathering of the hockey community to say goodbye to Derek Boogaard, is most poignant.
———
In Houston on Saturday, F Jim O’Brien (Seattle, 2007-09) scored on a delayed penalty at 7:54 of OT to give the Binghamton Senators a 2-1 victory over the Aeros. . . . The AHL’s championship final for the Calder Cup is 1-1 — the Aeros won 3-1 on Friday — with Game 3 in Binghamton on Wednesday. . . . O’Brien was selected 29th overall by the Ottawa Senators in the 2009 NHL draft. . . . Attendance at the Toyota Center was 9,002, a franchise record for a playoff game. . . . The Aeros are the AHL affiliate of the Minnesota Wild. . . . They’ll play Games 4 and 5 in Binghamton on Friday and Saturday. . . . If they need to continue beyond that, Game 6 is scheduled for Houston on Tuesday, June 7, with Game 7 there on Thursday, June 9.
———
If you have access to SiriusXM Satellite Radio, you’re in luck.
Games 4, 6 and 7 are scheduled for Sirius 207 and XM 92. Game 4 is to start at 4 p.m. PT, with Game 6 and 7 both at 5 p.m. PT.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Taking Note on Twitter
Congratulations for still being here. But now we've got Oct. 21 to which to look forward. Can't we just get it over with and be rid of the accompanying angst? . . . Greg Cote of the Miami Herald, on the supposed big day that was to have occurred a week ago: “Saturday's doomsday proclamation was the media campaign of a Christian radio broadcaster named Harold Camping, 89. It might have been a weird mix-up, though. Perhaps, instead of the world ending, he meant to proclaim that the Oprah Winfrey Show was ending.” . . . If you missed it, Friday night's NHL game ended early in the first period after the linesmen threw all 40 players out of a faceoff. . . .
Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun, on the impending move of the NHL's Atlanta franchise to Winnipeg: “One thing to be thankful for: There are few married veteran players on the Thrashers; when the Flames moved to Calgary in 1980, the divorce rate among players was crazy high.” . . . He didn't cite any examples, but that is an interesting sidebar. . . . The next time you run into Tony Parker in our town, thank him for all he does for amateur sport. Without him, there are some organizations in this town that wouldn't have a voice. . . . And, no, Tony doesn't know where Eva is right now. . . . “I don't know what happened there,” analysed Phil Esposito, the Tampa Bay Lightning's astute radio analyst after the Boston Bruins scored their fourth goal in Game 6 on Wednesday night. . . . Hey, at least he's honest. . . .
Outfielder Tyson Gillies of Kamloops, who has yet to play a game this season because of hamstring problems, is getting close to returning to action with the Class AA Reading Phillies. He has been taking BP and doing some pregame work, while getting in a lot of running. "The report was he was running at 100 and 110 per cent," general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. told phillies.com. "I don't know how you get to 110 per cent, but that's what our trainer wrote.” . . . How goofy is life in and around the NFL lockout? Dallas owner Jerry Jones had to get special permission in order to attend quarterback Tony Romo's wedding this weekend. . . . Hey, Kamloops, it's one thing for Target to snub us in favour of Kelowna. But, sheesh, Prince George and Vernon get stores and we don't! What's with that? . . .
Mike Lupica of the New York Daily News figures cycling's Lance Armstrong is in a spot of trouble because “the feds will be much tougher to outrun than the rest of the field in the Tour de France. But watching this play out, you do have to say that the mob has more honor than cycling, a sport that seems to be overrun with snitches and cheats.” . . . You've got all those Vancouver Canucks flag thingies hanging all over your vehicle. So if you're such a big fan why are you out driving around while your favourite team is on TV? . . . Ian Hamilton, in the Regina Leader-Post, after people hit the streets of Winnipeg to celebrate the impending arrival of an NHL team: “Those fans know the team (supposedly) on its way to Winnipeg is the Thrashers, right? Not the Detroit Red Wings? Just making sure.” . . .
For some reason, Len Berman of thatssports.com broke me up with this: “(Tuesday) was 'Tribute to Bacon' night at the minor league Richmond Flying Squirrels' game. Kevin Bacon threw out the first pitch. Actually, it wasn't that Kevin Bacon. It was a local police detective with the same name. One lucky fan won a year's supply of bacon. The president of the team said the whole idea of the night was to 'ham it up.' ” . . . One more from Berman: “Tiger Woods is now ranked 12th in the world. It's the first time he hasn't been in the top 10 in 14 years. It must be an interesting computer program. He's still No. 12 despite not winning a PGA tournament since 2009.” . . .
You know a team will never win a Stanley Cup when it gets five straight power plays, doesn't score and then gets burned on three consecutive 5-on-3s in a span of 1:55. Hey, San Jose Sharks, thanks for coming. Again. . . . The Vancouver Canucks scored one 5-on-3 goal during all of the regular season. They got three in less than two minutes on Sunday. Combine that with defenceman Kevin Bieksa's OT goal in Game 5 and, sorry Ovie, but it means the Cup will be theirs. . . . These NHL playoffs have taken so long to complete that Michael Buble has gotten married three times since they started. . . .
Former Detroit Tigers outfielder Willie Horton, talking about the late Harmon Killebrew with the Detroit Free Press: “He, Richie Allen and Frank Howard hit the high balls that just kept going. It looked like it would be a pop-up. You'd come in for it. Then you'd have to look in the upper deck for it.” . . . Mike Bianchi, in the Orlando Sentinel: “Three signs that you might be naïve: (1) You believe that if you send them your credit card number, the National Bank of Nigeria really will transfer US$47 million into your account; (2) You think your favorite politician is going to actually keep his campaign promises; (3) You still believe Lance Armstrong is clean.”
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Taking Note on Twitter
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Hockey Canada’s annual general meeting is being held in Calgary this weekend.
Bob Nicholson, the organization’s president, addressed delegates on Friday and, as outlined by Allan Maki of the Globe and Mail, he “made an impassioned speech . . . outlining the need for a rule amendment to address all head contact” in minor and female hockey.
Maki’s piece is right here but, in essence, Nicholson has called for penalties for any contact, intentional or accidental, with an opponent’s head.
What this is is a start, although Hockey Canada has had a rule dealing with headshots since 2004. A more thorough rule, as proposed by Nicholson, would be firmer and give referees more latitude in terms of handing out penalties.
This also might be the first step towards zero tolerance and that, more than anything, is what is needed.
Understand that this is all about eliminating head injuries in hockey — not finding better ways to treat them. There always will be head and facial injuries in hockey, witness the puck to the face that was absorbed by Steven Stamkos of the Tampa Bay Lightning on Friday night.
But the concussions that are a result of hits to the head or hits from behind or checks on unsuspecting opponents have to be eliminated. Which, of course, means fighting has to go.
———
I wrote a column that appeared in the Kamloops Daily News and on this blog on Thursday (May 26). It dealt with concussions and some of the potential after-effects.
Early on Thursday I received a note from the parent of a minor hockey player.
“Great article on concussions,” it read. “My 13-year-old is going to play house next season for that reason. Too many injuries in rep.”
I also heard from someone who holds two season tickets with the Kamloops Blazers:
“A quick note to tell you how much I appreciate the series you have been doing on head injuries related to some of the violent aspects of hockey. I'm encouraged by your criticism of the stay-put attitude of the WHL regarding their lack of initiative to institute any rules to mitigate the possibilities of players suffering concussive-type injuries.
“My wife and I have been Blazers season-ticket holders for more than 15 years. We enjoy the games and we delight in watching the young men who play develop their skills both on and off the ice. As former educators we are aware of the social building skills the WHL experience offers them.
“The aspect of Blazers games that is our greatest concern is the needless violence associated with fighting and the sometimes brutal punishment that is meted out in attempts to ‘stop’ opposition players. We cannot watch young men flailing away at each other while so-called fans stand and scream encouragement, only to have the whole debacle replayed on the jumbo screen immediately following.
“We can only think that these boys are somebody's children who seem to be duking it out solely for the satisfaction of an encouraging crowd who, in all likelihood, wouldn't want their kids to be out there running the same risks of debilitating injuries.
“I long for the day that fighting and undisciplined, injurious plays are eliminated from the game.”
This is an issue that simply isn’t going to go away.
You can bet that the WHL’s board of governors and its general managers will be discussing headshots at the league’s annual meeting in Calgary in mid-June.
As much as the neanderthals among us call for fighting and extreme physicality to be left in the game, changes are going to have to be made.
Only time will tell how far the WHL will go. But here’s hoping it is paying attention to what is going on at Hockey Canada’s AGM in Calgary this week.
Because all this talk on concussions isn’t going to go away. In fact, it only will pick up steam as more and more stories are heard and more and more evidence comes out.
If you haven’t already, make sure to read the piece by Toronto Star reporters Rob Cribb and Randy Starkman. The headline is: What killed NHL’s Bill Masterton?
If anything, it shows that concussions aren’t a new problem to the sport of ice hockey.
That piece is right here.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Taking Note on Twitter
Bob Nicholson, the organization’s president, addressed delegates on Friday and, as outlined by Allan Maki of the Globe and Mail, he “made an impassioned speech . . . outlining the need for a rule amendment to address all head contact” in minor and female hockey.
Maki’s piece is right here but, in essence, Nicholson has called for penalties for any contact, intentional or accidental, with an opponent’s head.
What this is is a start, although Hockey Canada has had a rule dealing with headshots since 2004. A more thorough rule, as proposed by Nicholson, would be firmer and give referees more latitude in terms of handing out penalties.
This also might be the first step towards zero tolerance and that, more than anything, is what is needed.
Understand that this is all about eliminating head injuries in hockey — not finding better ways to treat them. There always will be head and facial injuries in hockey, witness the puck to the face that was absorbed by Steven Stamkos of the Tampa Bay Lightning on Friday night.
But the concussions that are a result of hits to the head or hits from behind or checks on unsuspecting opponents have to be eliminated. Which, of course, means fighting has to go.
———
I wrote a column that appeared in the Kamloops Daily News and on this blog on Thursday (May 26). It dealt with concussions and some of the potential after-effects.
Early on Thursday I received a note from the parent of a minor hockey player.
“Great article on concussions,” it read. “My 13-year-old is going to play house next season for that reason. Too many injuries in rep.”
I also heard from someone who holds two season tickets with the Kamloops Blazers:
“A quick note to tell you how much I appreciate the series you have been doing on head injuries related to some of the violent aspects of hockey. I'm encouraged by your criticism of the stay-put attitude of the WHL regarding their lack of initiative to institute any rules to mitigate the possibilities of players suffering concussive-type injuries.
“My wife and I have been Blazers season-ticket holders for more than 15 years. We enjoy the games and we delight in watching the young men who play develop their skills both on and off the ice. As former educators we are aware of the social building skills the WHL experience offers them.
“The aspect of Blazers games that is our greatest concern is the needless violence associated with fighting and the sometimes brutal punishment that is meted out in attempts to ‘stop’ opposition players. We cannot watch young men flailing away at each other while so-called fans stand and scream encouragement, only to have the whole debacle replayed on the jumbo screen immediately following.
“We can only think that these boys are somebody's children who seem to be duking it out solely for the satisfaction of an encouraging crowd who, in all likelihood, wouldn't want their kids to be out there running the same risks of debilitating injuries.
“I long for the day that fighting and undisciplined, injurious plays are eliminated from the game.”
This is an issue that simply isn’t going to go away.
You can bet that the WHL’s board of governors and its general managers will be discussing headshots at the league’s annual meeting in Calgary in mid-June.
As much as the neanderthals among us call for fighting and extreme physicality to be left in the game, changes are going to have to be made.
Only time will tell how far the WHL will go. But here’s hoping it is paying attention to what is going on at Hockey Canada’s AGM in Calgary this week.
Because all this talk on concussions isn’t going to go away. In fact, it only will pick up steam as more and more stories are heard and more and more evidence comes out.
If you haven’t already, make sure to read the piece by Toronto Star reporters Rob Cribb and Randy Starkman. The headline is: What killed NHL’s Bill Masterton?
If anything, it shows that concussions aren’t a new problem to the sport of ice hockey.
That piece is right here.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Taking Note on Twitter
What really killed Bill Masterton?
Let’s start off with today’s good read.
It’s from the Toronto Star and written by Rob Cribb and Randy Starkman, who try to answer the question: What really killed Bill Masterton?
Masterton is the only player in NHL history whose death has been linked to an on-ice incident during a game.
Here is one paragraph from the story:
“A Star investigation has uncovered evidence that an earlier, untreated concussion was likely responsible for Masterton’s death at the age of 29.”
If you read one story today, make it this one. It is riveting. And given the prominence of concussions in today’s dialogue, it is terribly relevant.
It’s right here.
———
During the 17 years I spent in Regina, I always looked forward to running into Ed Staniowski, who was the goaltender when the Regina Pats won the 1974 Memorial Cup. He always had a smile on his face and a story to tell, usually from his latest military-based trip. No one has a better understanding of the history of the Memorial Cup than does Staniowski. Bob Duff of the Windsor Star caught up with Staniowski and filed this column.
———
THE COACHING GAME: Ron Choules is the new head coach of the QMJHL’s Cape Breton
Screaming Eagles. GM Pierre Roux made the announcement on Friday. Choules replaces Mario Durocher, who was fired as GM/head coach early in April. Choules is no stranger to the QMJHL, having served as head coach of the Acadie-Bathurst Titan. He was an assistant coach with the Canadian team that won the 2010 Ivan Hlinka Memorial U-18 tournament. . . . The BCHL’s Merritt Centennials have signed Joe Martin to a two-year deal as assistant GM/assistant coach. Martin, who will work under Luke Pierce, the GM and head coach, had been GM/head coach of the junior B Creston Valley Thundercats, who play in the Kootenay International junior league.
———
In case you missed it, it would seem that the Everett Silvertips might soon be in the market for a head coach.
The rather well-connected Bob McKenzie of TSN tweeted Friday afternoon: “Lots of talk out there that Craig Hartsburg will be leaving Everett of WHL to return to NHL bench, likely alongside Brent Sutter in CGY.”
Earlier in the month, Hartsburg’s name came up with regards to the head-coaching vacancy with the Minnesota Wild.
Should Hartsburg leave — he has been the head coach for two seasons — it would leave three WHL teams with head-coaching vacancies. The Moose Jaw Warriors and Seattle Thunderbirds are both in the process of making changes.
———
JUST NOTES: F Kris Foucault of the Calgary Hitmen has signed a three-year contract with the NHL’s Minnesota Wild. Foucault played out his junior eligibility this season, earning 48 points in 65 games. He was a fourth-round pick in the 2009 NHL draft. . . . There were reports Friday evening that the QMJHL’s Lewiston Maineiacs’ franchise will be dissolved next week as the league holds its annual draft. The franchise would then be relocated to Sherbrooke, Que.
———
Steve Buffery of the Toronto Sun sums up this year’s Memorial Cup with one word — “whacked.” Read about it right here.
———
The carriage turned into a pumpkin for the Kootenay Ice on Friday as its Memorial Cup dream ended with a 3-1 loss to the host team, the Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors.
The Majors got their first goal, via the PP, in the game’s first two minutes and never trailed. F Devante Smith-Pelly scored the Majors’ first two goals.
The CHL will hand out its awards today.
The tournament final, featuring the QMJHL-champion Saint John Sea Dogs and the Majors will be played Sunday. Game times if 7 p.m. ET.
———
In Houston, the host Houston Aeros scored three third-period goals and beat the
Binghamton Senators in Game 1 of the AHL’s best-of-seven Calder Cup final. F Colton Gillies (Saskatoon, 2004-08) had two assists, with F Warren Peters (Saskatoon, 1997-2003) putting it away with the empty-netter. . . . Binghamton went into the game having won eight straight on the road. . . . Game 2 is tonight in Houston.
———
In the Central league, the host Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs got a goal from former WHLer Steven Crampton and beat the Colorado Eagles 2-1 in Game 7 of the final. . . . That gave the Mudbugs the CHL championship and the Presidents’ Cup. . . . The Eagles have been in five of the last seven finals, winning in 2005 and 2007, but losing in 2008 and 2009. . . . Crampton opened the scoring at 2:58 of the first period. . . . Adam Chorneyko, another former WHLer, scored for the Eagles with 1:04 left in the third period. . . . Scott Muscutt, the Mudbugs' coach for 11 seasons, said after the game that he won't return for a 12th season.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Taking Note on Twitter
It’s from the Toronto Star and written by Rob Cribb and Randy Starkman, who try to answer the question: What really killed Bill Masterton?
Masterton is the only player in NHL history whose death has been linked to an on-ice incident during a game.
Here is one paragraph from the story:
“A Star investigation has uncovered evidence that an earlier, untreated concussion was likely responsible for Masterton’s death at the age of 29.”
If you read one story today, make it this one. It is riveting. And given the prominence of concussions in today’s dialogue, it is terribly relevant.
It’s right here.
———
During the 17 years I spent in Regina, I always looked forward to running into Ed Staniowski, who was the goaltender when the Regina Pats won the 1974 Memorial Cup. He always had a smile on his face and a story to tell, usually from his latest military-based trip. No one has a better understanding of the history of the Memorial Cup than does Staniowski. Bob Duff of the Windsor Star caught up with Staniowski and filed this column.———
THE COACHING GAME: Ron Choules is the new head coach of the QMJHL’s Cape Breton
Screaming Eagles. GM Pierre Roux made the announcement on Friday. Choules replaces Mario Durocher, who was fired as GM/head coach early in April. Choules is no stranger to the QMJHL, having served as head coach of the Acadie-Bathurst Titan. He was an assistant coach with the Canadian team that won the 2010 Ivan Hlinka Memorial U-18 tournament. . . . The BCHL’s Merritt Centennials have signed Joe Martin to a two-year deal as assistant GM/assistant coach. Martin, who will work under Luke Pierce, the GM and head coach, had been GM/head coach of the junior B Creston Valley Thundercats, who play in the Kootenay International junior league.———
In case you missed it, it would seem that the Everett Silvertips might soon be in the market for a head coach.
The rather well-connected Bob McKenzie of TSN tweeted Friday afternoon: “Lots of talk out there that Craig Hartsburg will be leaving Everett of WHL to return to NHL bench, likely alongside Brent Sutter in CGY.”Earlier in the month, Hartsburg’s name came up with regards to the head-coaching vacancy with the Minnesota Wild.
Should Hartsburg leave — he has been the head coach for two seasons — it would leave three WHL teams with head-coaching vacancies. The Moose Jaw Warriors and Seattle Thunderbirds are both in the process of making changes.
———
JUST NOTES: F Kris Foucault of the Calgary Hitmen has signed a three-year contract with the NHL’s Minnesota Wild. Foucault played out his junior eligibility this season, earning 48 points in 65 games. He was a fourth-round pick in the 2009 NHL draft. . . . There were reports Friday evening that the QMJHL’s Lewiston Maineiacs’ franchise will be dissolved next week as the league holds its annual draft. The franchise would then be relocated to Sherbrooke, Que.
———
Steve Buffery of the Toronto Sun sums up this year’s Memorial Cup with one word — “whacked.” Read about it right here.
———
The carriage turned into a pumpkin for the Kootenay Ice on Friday as its Memorial Cup dream ended with a 3-1 loss to the host team, the Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors.The Majors got their first goal, via the PP, in the game’s first two minutes and never trailed. F Devante Smith-Pelly scored the Majors’ first two goals.
The CHL will hand out its awards today.
The tournament final, featuring the QMJHL-champion Saint John Sea Dogs and the Majors will be played Sunday. Game times if 7 p.m. ET.
———
In Houston, the host Houston Aeros scored three third-period goals and beat the
Binghamton Senators in Game 1 of the AHL’s best-of-seven Calder Cup final. F Colton Gillies (Saskatoon, 2004-08) had two assists, with F Warren Peters (Saskatoon, 1997-2003) putting it away with the empty-netter. . . . Binghamton went into the game having won eight straight on the road. . . . Game 2 is tonight in Houston.———
In the Central league, the host Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs got a goal from former WHLer Steven Crampton and beat the Colorado Eagles 2-1 in Game 7 of the final. . . . That gave the Mudbugs the CHL championship and the Presidents’ Cup. . . . The Eagles have been in five of the last seven finals, winning in 2005 and 2007, but losing in 2008 and 2009. . . . Crampton opened the scoring at 2:58 of the first period. . . . Adam Chorneyko, another former WHLer, scored for the Eagles with 1:04 left in the third period. . . . Scott Muscutt, the Mudbugs' coach for 11 seasons, said after the game that he won't return for a 12th season.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Taking Note on Twitter
Friday, May 27, 2011
Sheesh, if you had arrived fresh on the Twitterverse on Thursday afternoon you might have thought Seattle had an NHL franchise and that it was going to begin play in 
September.
Fresh out of cities to use as leverage (thank you, Winnipeg), could it be that the NHL has turned its lonely eyes to Seattle?
You remember Seattle? It used to be home to a WHL franchise that now is located in Kent, Wash., even though it still calls itself the Seattle Thunderbirds.
The Thunderbirds, you may recall, vacated the KeyArena and moved into new digs in Kent. The KeyArena, you will remember, also at one time was home to an NBA franchise, one that now is the Oklahoma City Thunder.
So why would the NHL be interested in moving into a city where there obviously isn’t an arena that would meet its standards, and where there isn’t a plan anywhere in sight for a new building? After all, even though baseball’s Mariners and football’s Seahawks have new homes, no one stepped up to build a new facility and save the SuperSonics.
“We’ve had discussions with a group in Seattle,” NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly told Seattle TV station KING5. “Certainly (there are) people who are interested in having NHL hockey in Seattle. I would rather not get into specifics to be fair to that group, or the process.”
In speaking with the TV station, Daly also questioned whether KeyArena would be a proper venue for an NHL franchise, pointing out that there are “obstructed view” seats for hockey.
But that didn’t stop people from jumping all over this story and running with it. Part of that is likely because a Seattle franchise presumably would have some kind of rivalry with the Vancouver Canucks and, these days, the Canucks are kind of a hot topic on the West Coast.
Of course, a skeptic might suggest that with the Phoenix Coyotes staying put, at least for now, and with the Atlanta Thrashers’ move to Winnipeg to be finalized whenever TSN and Rogers Sportsnet quit fighting over the date of the official announcement, the NHL simply is searching for another lever. So that the next time it is suggested that a particular team is struggling financially, well, Seattle will be in the conversation as an option.
Nah . . .
———
THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Daniel Vorab (Saskatoon, 2001-03) signed a one-year contract with the Basingstoke Bison (England, Premier). He had eight goals and 15 assists in 44 games for Hradec Kralove (Czech Republic 1.Liga) this season. Bison director of ice hockey Steve Moria: "I am obviously very happy to sign a player of this calibre. This is a player who could have been playing in the NHL right now if things went differently seven or eight years ago. His excellent overall game will suit us perfectly. His vision and awareness wil create scoring opportunities for his wingers."
F Igor Revenko (Prince Albert, 2008-11) signed a one-year contract with Yunost Minsk (Belarus, Open). He had 23 goals and 28 assists in 57 games for the Raiders this season. . . .
F Kyle Wanvig (Edmonton/Kootenay, Red Deer, 1997-2001) signed a one-year contract with Villach (Austria, Erste Bank Liga). He had five goals and 10 assists in 37 games for Augsburger Panther (Germany, DEL) and two goals and two assists in five games for Poprad (Slovakia, Extraliga) this season.
———
John MacNeil of the Brandon Sun has written extensively this week on concussions and their impact on people. Right here is a look at Jace Miller, a 14-year-old minor hockey player, and what he and his family went through.
———
A note from a sidebar written by MacNeil is worth posting here:
Hockey Brandon is polling its members for input on a gameplan to tackle and manage concussions.
"We've taken a proactive approach to offer a non-contact division for peewee-aged and older children who don't want to play (contact hockey)," said Hockey Brandon third vice-president Don Wilson. "A lot of larger centres are going to that, with very good success and their numbers are going up and kids are staying involved in the sport. We've sent out an email to all families to see if that is something they'd at all be interested in, just to get a gauge on interest."
Brandon will host an open concussion symposium June 8 at the Victoria Inn at 7 p.m.
———
D Victor Bartley, who played in Europe this season, signed a two-year deal with the NHL’s Nashville Predators earlier this week. According to capgeek.com, Bartley, 23, will get US$67,500 in the AHL and $537,5000 in the NHL. He got a $25,000 signing bonus over two years. . . . The Minnesota Wild has signed Red Deer Rebels G Darcy Kuemper to a three-year contract. Kuemper, who played out his junior eligibility this season, was a sixth-round selection in the 2009 NHL draft. He is coming off a season in which he was the WHL’s player and goaltender of the year. Capgeek.com reports that Kuemper’s AHL salary will be US$67,500 for each of the three seasons, with NHL salaries of $690,000, $740,000 annd $900,000. He got a $270,000 signing bonus over three years. . . .
As expected, Don Hay, the head coach of the Vancouver Giants, has been named head coach of Canada’s national junior team. Assistant coaches will be George Burnett (Belleville Bulls), Ryan Huska (Kelowna Rockets) and Pascal Vincent (Montreal Juniors). The 2012 World Junior Championship is scheduled to open in Calgary and Edmonton on Dec. 26. . . . Steve Spott of the Kitchener Rangers was named head coach of the Canadian U-18 team that will play in the Ivan Hlinka Memmorial tournament in Czech Republic and Slovakia, Aug. 8-13. His assistants will be Don Nachbaur (Spokane Chiefs) and Mario Duhamel (Drummondville Voltigeurs).
———
The Saskatoon Blades aren’t going anywhere.
According to saskatoonhomepage.com, the Blades have signed a three-year lease with Credit Union Centre. The lease gives them
hockey exclusivity, meaning you can forget about the AHL (hello, there, Manitoba Moose) showing up in ‘Toontown.
The Blades will celebrate their 50th anniversary in 2013-14 and this lease takes them through there.
The Blades also are hoping to serve as the host team for the 2013 Memorial Cup. Of course, at this point, so are the Kelowna Rockets, Lethbridge Hurricanes, Prince George Cougars and Red Deer Rebels.
With five of the WHL’s most-successful franchises located in the U.S. Division, when does the Memorial Cup go south again?
———
There really weren’t any surprises out of the news conference held Thursday by the Victoria ?????, who used to be the Chilliwack Bruins. Marc Habscheid has relocated and remains the GM/head coach. Pat Conacher also has made the move and is the assistant GM/assistant coach. . . . No, they didn’t announce a nickname. . . . Cleve Dheensaw of the Victoria Times Colonist was at the newser. His story is right here.
———
TWEET OF THE DAY, Part 1:
Comedian and TV host Bill Maher: “Looks like Palin is running! Thank u Jesus!”
———
TWEET OF THE DAY, Part 2:
Comedian, actor and banjo picker Steve Martin: “I’ve decided I want to get to know Cher on a first-name basis.”
———
The Kootenay Ice has lived to play another day.
The Ice won its second straight elimination game at the MasterCard Memorial Cup on Thursday, beating the OHL-champion Owen Sound Attack, 7-3.
The Ice, which trailed 2-0 after one period, got two goals from each of F Matt Fraser and F Cody Eakin. The Ice also got key shorthanded goals from F Joe Antilla and F Max Reinhart.
The Attack, which had beaten the Ice 5-0 in the round-robin, was without captain Garrett Wilson and leading scorer Joey Hishon, both of whom suffered concussions during the tournament.
Attendance was 4,916, the first game of the tournament’s first seven that wasn’t sold out.
And so it’s on to the semifinal for the Ice, which will play the host Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors tonight. When they met in the round-robin, the Majors beat the Ice 2-1. That was on Sunday, before the Ice rediscovered its scoring touch.
The semifinal winner will meet the QMJHL-champion Saint John Sea Dogs in Sunday’s final.
On Tueday, the Ice completed its portion of the round-robin with a 5-4 victory over the Sea Dogs. A loss would have eliminated the Ice, which had lost its first two games.
The only team to have won the Memorial Cup after starting the tournament 0-2 was the 2009 Windsor Spitfires.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Taking Note on Twitter
September.Fresh out of cities to use as leverage (thank you, Winnipeg), could it be that the NHL has turned its lonely eyes to Seattle?
You remember Seattle? It used to be home to a WHL franchise that now is located in Kent, Wash., even though it still calls itself the Seattle Thunderbirds.
The Thunderbirds, you may recall, vacated the KeyArena and moved into new digs in Kent. The KeyArena, you will remember, also at one time was home to an NBA franchise, one that now is the Oklahoma City Thunder.So why would the NHL be interested in moving into a city where there obviously isn’t an arena that would meet its standards, and where there isn’t a plan anywhere in sight for a new building? After all, even though baseball’s Mariners and football’s Seahawks have new homes, no one stepped up to build a new facility and save the SuperSonics.
“We’ve had discussions with a group in Seattle,” NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly told Seattle TV station KING5. “Certainly (there are) people who are interested in having NHL hockey in Seattle. I would rather not get into specifics to be fair to that group, or the process.”
In speaking with the TV station, Daly also questioned whether KeyArena would be a proper venue for an NHL franchise, pointing out that there are “obstructed view” seats for hockey.
But that didn’t stop people from jumping all over this story and running with it. Part of that is likely because a Seattle franchise presumably would have some kind of rivalry with the Vancouver Canucks and, these days, the Canucks are kind of a hot topic on the West Coast.
Of course, a skeptic might suggest that with the Phoenix Coyotes staying put, at least for now, and with the Atlanta Thrashers’ move to Winnipeg to be finalized whenever TSN and Rogers Sportsnet quit fighting over the date of the official announcement, the NHL simply is searching for another lever. So that the next time it is suggested that a particular team is struggling financially, well, Seattle will be in the conversation as an option.
Nah . . .
———
THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Daniel Vorab (Saskatoon, 2001-03) signed a one-year contract with the Basingstoke Bison (England, Premier). He had eight goals and 15 assists in 44 games for Hradec Kralove (Czech Republic 1.Liga) this season. Bison director of ice hockey Steve Moria: "I am obviously very happy to sign a player of this calibre. This is a player who could have been playing in the NHL right now if things went differently seven or eight years ago. His excellent overall game will suit us perfectly. His vision and awareness wil create scoring opportunities for his wingers."
F Igor Revenko (Prince Albert, 2008-11) signed a one-year contract with Yunost Minsk (Belarus, Open). He had 23 goals and 28 assists in 57 games for the Raiders this season. . . .
F Kyle Wanvig (Edmonton/Kootenay, Red Deer, 1997-2001) signed a one-year contract with Villach (Austria, Erste Bank Liga). He had five goals and 10 assists in 37 games for Augsburger Panther (Germany, DEL) and two goals and two assists in five games for Poprad (Slovakia, Extraliga) this season.
———
John MacNeil of the Brandon Sun has written extensively this week on concussions and their impact on people. Right here is a look at Jace Miller, a 14-year-old minor hockey player, and what he and his family went through.
———
A note from a sidebar written by MacNeil is worth posting here:
Hockey Brandon is polling its members for input on a gameplan to tackle and manage concussions.
"We've taken a proactive approach to offer a non-contact division for peewee-aged and older children who don't want to play (contact hockey)," said Hockey Brandon third vice-president Don Wilson. "A lot of larger centres are going to that, with very good success and their numbers are going up and kids are staying involved in the sport. We've sent out an email to all families to see if that is something they'd at all be interested in, just to get a gauge on interest."
Brandon will host an open concussion symposium June 8 at the Victoria Inn at 7 p.m.
———
D Victor Bartley, who played in Europe this season, signed a two-year deal with the NHL’s Nashville Predators earlier this week. According to capgeek.com, Bartley, 23, will get US$67,500 in the AHL and $537,5000 in the NHL. He got a $25,000 signing bonus over two years. . . . The Minnesota Wild has signed Red Deer Rebels G Darcy Kuemper to a three-year contract. Kuemper, who played out his junior eligibility this season, was a sixth-round selection in the 2009 NHL draft. He is coming off a season in which he was the WHL’s player and goaltender of the year. Capgeek.com reports that Kuemper’s AHL salary will be US$67,500 for each of the three seasons, with NHL salaries of $690,000, $740,000 annd $900,000. He got a $270,000 signing bonus over three years. . . .As expected, Don Hay, the head coach of the Vancouver Giants, has been named head coach of Canada’s national junior team. Assistant coaches will be George Burnett (Belleville Bulls), Ryan Huska (Kelowna Rockets) and Pascal Vincent (Montreal Juniors). The 2012 World Junior Championship is scheduled to open in Calgary and Edmonton on Dec. 26. . . . Steve Spott of the Kitchener Rangers was named head coach of the Canadian U-18 team that will play in the Ivan Hlinka Memmorial tournament in Czech Republic and Slovakia, Aug. 8-13. His assistants will be Don Nachbaur (Spokane Chiefs) and Mario Duhamel (Drummondville Voltigeurs).
———
The Saskatoon Blades aren’t going anywhere.
According to saskatoonhomepage.com, the Blades have signed a three-year lease with Credit Union Centre. The lease gives them
hockey exclusivity, meaning you can forget about the AHL (hello, there, Manitoba Moose) showing up in ‘Toontown.The Blades will celebrate their 50th anniversary in 2013-14 and this lease takes them through there.
The Blades also are hoping to serve as the host team for the 2013 Memorial Cup. Of course, at this point, so are the Kelowna Rockets, Lethbridge Hurricanes, Prince George Cougars and Red Deer Rebels.
With five of the WHL’s most-successful franchises located in the U.S. Division, when does the Memorial Cup go south again?
———
There really weren’t any surprises out of the news conference held Thursday by the Victoria ?????, who used to be the Chilliwack Bruins. Marc Habscheid has relocated and remains the GM/head coach. Pat Conacher also has made the move and is the assistant GM/assistant coach. . . . No, they didn’t announce a nickname. . . . Cleve Dheensaw of the Victoria Times Colonist was at the newser. His story is right here.
———
TWEET OF THE DAY, Part 1:
Comedian and TV host Bill Maher: “Looks like Palin is running! Thank u Jesus!”
———
TWEET OF THE DAY, Part 2:
Comedian, actor and banjo picker Steve Martin: “I’ve decided I want to get to know Cher on a first-name basis.”
———
The Kootenay Ice has lived to play another day.
The Ice won its second straight elimination game at the MasterCard Memorial Cup on Thursday, beating the OHL-champion Owen Sound Attack, 7-3.
The Ice, which trailed 2-0 after one period, got two goals from each of F Matt Fraser and F Cody Eakin. The Ice also got key shorthanded goals from F Joe Antilla and F Max Reinhart.The Attack, which had beaten the Ice 5-0 in the round-robin, was without captain Garrett Wilson and leading scorer Joey Hishon, both of whom suffered concussions during the tournament.
Attendance was 4,916, the first game of the tournament’s first seven that wasn’t sold out.
And so it’s on to the semifinal for the Ice, which will play the host Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors tonight. When they met in the round-robin, the Majors beat the Ice 2-1. That was on Sunday, before the Ice rediscovered its scoring touch.The semifinal winner will meet the QMJHL-champion Saint John Sea Dogs in Sunday’s final.
On Tueday, the Ice completed its portion of the round-robin with a 5-4 victory over the Sea Dogs. A loss would have eliminated the Ice, which had lost its first two games.
The only team to have won the Memorial Cup after starting the tournament 0-2 was the 2009 Windsor Spitfires.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Taking Note on Twitter
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Dumont going from ice to front office
THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Kris Beech (Calgary, 1996-2001) signed a one-year contract with Lukko Rauma (Finland, SM-Liiga). He had 14 goals and 17 assists in 48 games for HV71 Jönköping (Sweden, Elitserien) this season. Lukko director of player personnel Hannu Vanhatalo: "Beech is a large, strong, and skillful player who plays every night for the team. His strength is his overall game play, but he is also a very good player on the power play with a great shot. Beech is also a very popular guy with his teammates. He has shown himself to be a winner in many different categories and we are very pleased to have this level of player on our team next season."
———
Here are the first three paragraphs to Bob Duff’s column in today’s Windsor Star:
In his third National Hockey League game, Windsor’s Barry Potomski, then with the Los Angeles Kings, dropped the gloves and fought with Toronto Maple Leafs forward Ken Baumgartner, who was among the league’s most feared tough guys.
“You have to have one of those in your first five games,” suggested former Detroit Red Wings tough guy Darren McCarty of Leamington at the time. “It’s your initiation to the club.”
The Essex County Enforcers Association.
———
Potomski died Tuesday. Duff’s column, in its entirety, is right here.
———
Wondering what it’s like when you’re 16 years of age and your hockey season is cut in half by a concussion? John MacNeil of the Brandon Sun has the story of Moose Jaw Warriors F Brayden Cuthbert right here.
———
If you want more, or even if you don’t, MacNeil also has a piece on Brandon Wheat Kings G Liam Liston. He took a puck off the mask in practice during the playoffs and didn’t play again. That story is right here.
———
One of the great careers in modern minor pro hockey history came to an end this week with the retirement of F Louis Dumont of the Central league’s Mississippi RiverKings.
Dumont, 38, has been named general manager of the Southern Professional league’s Louisiana IceGators.
Dumont played the last five seasons of his pro career with the RiverKings, who were based out of Memphis in the first of those seasons. He also played three seasons (1996-99) with the IceGators, who were then in the ECHL.
After playing in the WHL (Regina, Kamloops, 1990-94), hockeydb.com shows that the native of Calgary, went on to play for the Wheeling Thunderbirds (ECHL), Tallahassee Tiger Sharks (ECHL), Syracuse Crunch (AHL), Louisiana IceGators (ECHL), Manitoba Moose (IHL), Ayr Scottish Eagles (BISL), Augusta Lynx (ECHL), Lowell Lock Monsters (AHL), Pensacola Ice Pilots (ECHL), Mississippi Sea Wolves (ECHL), Utah Grizzlies (ECHL) and Mississippi River Kings (Central).
———
The tide may come rolling in this morning in Victoria where the WHL’s newest franchise — remember the Chilliwack Bruins? — is expected to reveal its nickname and introduce its general manager and head coach. Hello, there, Marc Habscheid.
Cleve Dheensaw of the Victoria Times Colonist has more right here.
———
JUST NOTES: Multiple reports Wednesday night have Don Hay being named today as head coach of Canada’s national junior team. Hay, the head coach of the Vancouver Giants, was Canada’s head coach in 1995 when it won the World Junior Championship in Red Deer. The 2012 tournament is to be played in Calgary and Edmonton. . . . Team Canada will hold its summer camp in Edmonton, Aug. 3-6. . . . As well, reports indicate that Steve Spott, head coach of the OHL’s Kitchener Rangers, is to be named head coach of the Canadian under-18 team that will compete in the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament in Czech Republic and Slovakia in August. . . .
The Edmonton Capitals of baseballs North American league announced Wednesday that all residents of the fire-ravaged community of Slave Lake will be admitted free of charge to any home game in June. According to a press release: “Slave Lake residents who wish to capitalize on this offer can simply show valid identification at the Capitals Ticket Office at TELUS Field and may redeem up to six complimentary tickets for any game in the month of June.” . . . And when the Capitals play their home-opener on Tuesday, F T.J. Foster of the Edmonton Oil Kings, who is from Slave Lake, will throw out the ceremonial first pitch.
Joanne Ireland of the Edmonton Journal has more right here on Foster and what he and his family have been through of late.
———
THE COACHING GAME: The Central league’s Tulsa Oilers have signed head coach Bruce Ramsay to a two-year extension through 2012-13. He his heading into his third season with the Oilers.
———
The host Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors scored a 3-1 victory over the OHL-champion Owen Sound Attack at the Memorial Cup on Wednesday. That puts the Attack into the third-place tiebreaker against the Kootenay Ice tonight. . . . The winner of that game advances to Friday’s semifinal against Mississauga. . . . The QMJHL-champion Saint John Sea Dogs have clinched a berth in Sunday’s final.
One of the big stories at this Memorial Cup has been the officiating. Terry Koshan of the Toronto Sun has more right here.
———
Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal has written a good piece about the Morrow men — father Dave and sons Josh and Joe. That piece is right here.
———
And now for something completely different . . .
Is America a great country, or what?
If you haven’t already, check out the American Shifter website and take a look at the latest shift knob. It’s called Osama bin Hidin’ Shift Knob, and you can take it all in right here.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Taking Note on Twitter
F Kris Beech (Calgary, 1996-2001) signed a one-year contract with Lukko Rauma (Finland, SM-Liiga). He had 14 goals and 17 assists in 48 games for HV71 Jönköping (Sweden, Elitserien) this season. Lukko director of player personnel Hannu Vanhatalo: "Beech is a large, strong, and skillful player who plays every night for the team. His strength is his overall game play, but he is also a very good player on the power play with a great shot. Beech is also a very popular guy with his teammates. He has shown himself to be a winner in many different categories and we are very pleased to have this level of player on our team next season."
———
Here are the first three paragraphs to Bob Duff’s column in today’s Windsor Star:
In his third National Hockey League game, Windsor’s Barry Potomski, then with the Los Angeles Kings, dropped the gloves and fought with Toronto Maple Leafs forward Ken Baumgartner, who was among the league’s most feared tough guys.
“You have to have one of those in your first five games,” suggested former Detroit Red Wings tough guy Darren McCarty of Leamington at the time. “It’s your initiation to the club.”
The Essex County Enforcers Association.
———
Potomski died Tuesday. Duff’s column, in its entirety, is right here.
———
Wondering what it’s like when you’re 16 years of age and your hockey season is cut in half by a concussion? John MacNeil of the Brandon Sun has the story of Moose Jaw Warriors F Brayden Cuthbert right here.
———
If you want more, or even if you don’t, MacNeil also has a piece on Brandon Wheat Kings G Liam Liston. He took a puck off the mask in practice during the playoffs and didn’t play again. That story is right here.
———
 |
| LOUIS DUMONT |
Dumont, 38, has been named general manager of the Southern Professional league’s Louisiana IceGators.
Dumont played the last five seasons of his pro career with the RiverKings, who were based out of Memphis in the first of those seasons. He also played three seasons (1996-99) with the IceGators, who were then in the ECHL.
After playing in the WHL (Regina, Kamloops, 1990-94), hockeydb.com shows that the native of Calgary, went on to play for the Wheeling Thunderbirds (ECHL), Tallahassee Tiger Sharks (ECHL), Syracuse Crunch (AHL), Louisiana IceGators (ECHL), Manitoba Moose (IHL), Ayr Scottish Eagles (BISL), Augusta Lynx (ECHL), Lowell Lock Monsters (AHL), Pensacola Ice Pilots (ECHL), Mississippi Sea Wolves (ECHL), Utah Grizzlies (ECHL) and Mississippi River Kings (Central).
———
The tide may come rolling in this morning in Victoria where the WHL’s newest franchise — remember the Chilliwack Bruins? — is expected to reveal its nickname and introduce its general manager and head coach. Hello, there, Marc Habscheid.
Cleve Dheensaw of the Victoria Times Colonist has more right here.
———
JUST NOTES: Multiple reports Wednesday night have Don Hay being named today as head coach of Canada’s national junior team. Hay, the head coach of the Vancouver Giants, was Canada’s head coach in 1995 when it won the World Junior Championship in Red Deer. The 2012 tournament is to be played in Calgary and Edmonton. . . . Team Canada will hold its summer camp in Edmonton, Aug. 3-6. . . . As well, reports indicate that Steve Spott, head coach of the OHL’s Kitchener Rangers, is to be named head coach of the Canadian under-18 team that will compete in the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament in Czech Republic and Slovakia in August. . . .
The Edmonton Capitals of baseballs North American league announced Wednesday that all residents of the fire-ravaged community of Slave Lake will be admitted free of charge to any home game in June. According to a press release: “Slave Lake residents who wish to capitalize on this offer can simply show valid identification at the Capitals Ticket Office at TELUS Field and may redeem up to six complimentary tickets for any game in the month of June.” . . . And when the Capitals play their home-opener on Tuesday, F T.J. Foster of the Edmonton Oil Kings, who is from Slave Lake, will throw out the ceremonial first pitch.
Joanne Ireland of the Edmonton Journal has more right here on Foster and what he and his family have been through of late.
———
THE COACHING GAME: The Central league’s Tulsa Oilers have signed head coach Bruce Ramsay to a two-year extension through 2012-13. He his heading into his third season with the Oilers.
———
The host Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors scored a 3-1 victory over the OHL-champion Owen Sound Attack at the Memorial Cup on Wednesday. That puts the Attack into the third-place tiebreaker against the Kootenay Ice tonight. . . . The winner of that game advances to Friday’s semifinal against Mississauga. . . . The QMJHL-champion Saint John Sea Dogs have clinched a berth in Sunday’s final.One of the big stories at this Memorial Cup has been the officiating. Terry Koshan of the Toronto Sun has more right here.
———
Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal has written a good piece about the Morrow men — father Dave and sons Josh and Joe. That piece is right here.
———
And now for something completely different . . .
Is America a great country, or what?
If you haven’t already, check out the American Shifter website and take a look at the latest shift knob. It’s called Osama bin Hidin’ Shift Knob, and you can take it all in right here.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Taking Note on Twitter
Hockey enforcers paying horrible price
By now it is rather apparent that Derek Boogaard, the New York Rangers’ enforcer, was a troubled young man.
Boogaard was 28 years of age when his body was discovered in his Minneapolis apartment on May 13 at 6:30 pm. One season into a four-year, US$6.5-million contract with the New York Rangers, Boogaard hadn’t played since suffering a concussion in a fight during a game on Dec. 9.
It was the 66th and final bout of his NHL career.
According to the Hennepin County Medical Examiners’ Office, which issued its report on Friday, “Cause of death is mixed alcohol and oxycodone toxicity.”
Oxycodone is used to treat moderate to severe pain. It is a narcotic pain reliever and is highly addictive. It has, in fact, been compared to heroin; in some corners, it is referred to as Hillbilly Heroin. It is evil.
What was especially chilling, however, was one sentence in an ensuing statement from Boogaard’s family.
“After repeated courageous attempts at rehabilitation and with the full support of the New York Rangers, the NHLPA, and the NHL,” the statement read, “Derek had been showing tremendous improvement but was ultimately unable to beat this opponent.”
Boogaard, the 6-foot-7, 270-pounder who had laid out many an opposing player, lost his last fight.
On the heels of that statement came a story by Allan Maki in The Globe and Mail in which Kurt Walker, another former NHL enforcer, talked of gobbling pain killers — especially Xanax and Valium — like Christmas candy. It took an intervention and rehab to save Walker.
Boogaard wasn’t so fortunate.
When the Rangers sent Boogaard home in March, it was reported that they wanted him to begin working on his conditioning for next season. However, Larry Brooks of the New York Post reported Sunday that “management essentially staged an intervention with Boogaard at the club's practice rink in late March that resulted in (his) re-entry into the NHL/NHLPA Substance Abuse and Behavioral Health Program.”
And we now know how that turned out.
What we don’t know is how many concussions Boogaard suffered during a hockey career that, according to hockeyfights.com, included 184 bouts since the fall of 1999, or how much those fights impacted Boogaard’s abbreviated life.
But the fact that he was using Oxycodone is frightening, as is the story that Walker told Maki.
It turns out that a lot of this will be familiar to medical professionals working with patients who are trying to deal with chronic pain.
One such professional, who has been working in the acute side of a B.C. hospital while following the concussions-in-hockey debate, wrote via email:
“I am seeing patients whose lives have been ruined by chronic pain treated with narcotics and then having to deal with the impact of addictions. Many of them having emotional or cognitive issues going into it. Lots of post-traumatic stress and abuse and psychiatric diagnoses.”
In other words, people like Derek Boogaard and Kurt Walker are hardly alone out there. The question, however, is how many former and present-day hockey players are fighting this same battle?
The evidence proving concussions are a horrible hockey problem now is so one-sided as to be laughable. (See the latest issue of Macleans or visit macleans.ca for even more evidence, including the case of Eric Lindros, who had what should have been a hall-of-fame career short-circuited by concussions. In this same story, former WHLer Kevin Kaminski explains how he believes post-concussion syndrome cost him his marriage.)
Boogaard, meanwhile, was working on a book — Meet the Boogey Man: Fighting My Way to the Top — with author Ross Bernstein. Appearing on Puck Daddy Radio last week, Bernstein told of being on a golf course one day last summer when Boogaard called him.
“I need you to come get me,” Boogaard told Bernstein, who promptly asked: “Well, where are you?”
Boogaard’s response was: “I don’t know.”
Devin Wilson, a former teammate of Boogaard’s with the Prince George Cougars, was in the process of purchasing a New York condo with his buddy. Thus, Wilson was able to watch Boogaard as he attempted to deal with his latest concussion.
"It was frustrating because we couldn't go out without his head spinning again,” Wilson told Jason Peters of the Prince George Citizen. “One thing that nobody knows is that riding in cabs through New York, he would just start spinning. He'd have his hands on his head and he'd say, 'I need to get out right now' and we'd end up walking like 60 blocks home. I knew (the concussion) was bad.”
Boogaard’s family has turned his brain over to Boston University's Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy. If, as anticipated, Boogaard’s brain shows signs of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) it will mean that the veritable flood of evidence has moved closer to the WHL’s doorstep.
At the time of his death, Boogaard was only eight years removed from having played in the WHL, where he was involved in 70 fights in 172 regular-season games.
All of this should be enough to make any parent wonder about sending a child off to play in a league that outlaws neither fighting nor headshots.
Stu Grimson, a former WHL/NHL enforcer who practises law in Nashville and also works as an analyst on Predators’ broadcasts, admitted to Maki that recent developments have him feeling conflicted.
“Part of me says, ‘How does a sport so bent on cutting down blows to the head still allow two players to throw bare-fisted punches at one another's head?’ How do you reconcile that?” Grimson said. “But part of me also says the way the sport is played, if you have someone like me on the bench, the other team knows it could be held accountable. It's a tough issue.”
There is no denying that it is a tough issue.
But is it any tougher than what Boogaard went through? Or what Kurt Walker and who knows how many others are going through?
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Taking Note on Twitter
Boogaard was 28 years of age when his body was discovered in his Minneapolis apartment on May 13 at 6:30 pm. One season into a four-year, US$6.5-million contract with the New York Rangers, Boogaard hadn’t played since suffering a concussion in a fight during a game on Dec. 9.
It was the 66th and final bout of his NHL career.
According to the Hennepin County Medical Examiners’ Office, which issued its report on Friday, “Cause of death is mixed alcohol and oxycodone toxicity.”
Oxycodone is used to treat moderate to severe pain. It is a narcotic pain reliever and is highly addictive. It has, in fact, been compared to heroin; in some corners, it is referred to as Hillbilly Heroin. It is evil.
What was especially chilling, however, was one sentence in an ensuing statement from Boogaard’s family.
“After repeated courageous attempts at rehabilitation and with the full support of the New York Rangers, the NHLPA, and the NHL,” the statement read, “Derek had been showing tremendous improvement but was ultimately unable to beat this opponent.”
Boogaard, the 6-foot-7, 270-pounder who had laid out many an opposing player, lost his last fight.
On the heels of that statement came a story by Allan Maki in The Globe and Mail in which Kurt Walker, another former NHL enforcer, talked of gobbling pain killers — especially Xanax and Valium — like Christmas candy. It took an intervention and rehab to save Walker.
Boogaard wasn’t so fortunate.
When the Rangers sent Boogaard home in March, it was reported that they wanted him to begin working on his conditioning for next season. However, Larry Brooks of the New York Post reported Sunday that “management essentially staged an intervention with Boogaard at the club's practice rink in late March that resulted in (his) re-entry into the NHL/NHLPA Substance Abuse and Behavioral Health Program.”
And we now know how that turned out.
What we don’t know is how many concussions Boogaard suffered during a hockey career that, according to hockeyfights.com, included 184 bouts since the fall of 1999, or how much those fights impacted Boogaard’s abbreviated life.
But the fact that he was using Oxycodone is frightening, as is the story that Walker told Maki.
It turns out that a lot of this will be familiar to medical professionals working with patients who are trying to deal with chronic pain.
One such professional, who has been working in the acute side of a B.C. hospital while following the concussions-in-hockey debate, wrote via email:
“I am seeing patients whose lives have been ruined by chronic pain treated with narcotics and then having to deal with the impact of addictions. Many of them having emotional or cognitive issues going into it. Lots of post-traumatic stress and abuse and psychiatric diagnoses.”
In other words, people like Derek Boogaard and Kurt Walker are hardly alone out there. The question, however, is how many former and present-day hockey players are fighting this same battle?
The evidence proving concussions are a horrible hockey problem now is so one-sided as to be laughable. (See the latest issue of Macleans or visit macleans.ca for even more evidence, including the case of Eric Lindros, who had what should have been a hall-of-fame career short-circuited by concussions. In this same story, former WHLer Kevin Kaminski explains how he believes post-concussion syndrome cost him his marriage.)
Boogaard, meanwhile, was working on a book — Meet the Boogey Man: Fighting My Way to the Top — with author Ross Bernstein. Appearing on Puck Daddy Radio last week, Bernstein told of being on a golf course one day last summer when Boogaard called him.
“I need you to come get me,” Boogaard told Bernstein, who promptly asked: “Well, where are you?”
Boogaard’s response was: “I don’t know.”
Devin Wilson, a former teammate of Boogaard’s with the Prince George Cougars, was in the process of purchasing a New York condo with his buddy. Thus, Wilson was able to watch Boogaard as he attempted to deal with his latest concussion.
"It was frustrating because we couldn't go out without his head spinning again,” Wilson told Jason Peters of the Prince George Citizen. “One thing that nobody knows is that riding in cabs through New York, he would just start spinning. He'd have his hands on his head and he'd say, 'I need to get out right now' and we'd end up walking like 60 blocks home. I knew (the concussion) was bad.”
Boogaard’s family has turned his brain over to Boston University's Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy. If, as anticipated, Boogaard’s brain shows signs of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) it will mean that the veritable flood of evidence has moved closer to the WHL’s doorstep.
At the time of his death, Boogaard was only eight years removed from having played in the WHL, where he was involved in 70 fights in 172 regular-season games.
All of this should be enough to make any parent wonder about sending a child off to play in a league that outlaws neither fighting nor headshots.
Stu Grimson, a former WHL/NHL enforcer who practises law in Nashville and also works as an analyst on Predators’ broadcasts, admitted to Maki that recent developments have him feeling conflicted.
“Part of me says, ‘How does a sport so bent on cutting down blows to the head still allow two players to throw bare-fisted punches at one another's head?’ How do you reconcile that?” Grimson said. “But part of me also says the way the sport is played, if you have someone like me on the bench, the other team knows it could be held accountable. It's a tough issue.”
There is no denying that it is a tough issue.
But is it any tougher than what Boogaard went through? Or what Kurt Walker and who knows how many others are going through?
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Taking Note on Twitter
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
THE MacBETH REPORT:
D Kenton Smith (Calgary, 1995-2000) signed a one-year contract extension with the Cardiff Devils (Wales, UK Elite). He had 10 goals and 30 assists in 53 games for the Devils this season.
———
Tyler Olsen of the Chilliwack Times has the latest on the BCHL’s return to Chilliwack right here. . . . Among other things, Olsen asked Moray Keith, a former minority owner of the WHL’s Chilliwack Bruins and one of the BCHL franchise’s owners, about a possible return by the WHL should the opportunity arise. . . . "Judging by the way we were treated by the WHL,” Keith said, “we're not very anxious to be involved with those folks again.”
———
THE COACHING GAME: The SJHL’s Kindersley Klippers have signed Rockie Zinger to a one-year deal as head coach. He hired on as an assistant coach prior to this season, then was named interim head coach when Larry Wintoneak was fired on Dec. 13. . . . The NAHL’s Kenai River Brown Bears have signed head coach Oliver David to a two-year extension. David, from L.A., just completed his first full season as head coach, after moving up from assistant to interim head coach in October 2009. . . . The QMJHL’s P.E.I. Rocket announced that Corrado Micalef and Jamie Blanchard will return as assistant coaches under new head coach Gordie Dwyer.
———
JUST NOTES: D Mike Reddington, a veteran of five-plus WHL seasons, has decided to attend the U of Lethbridge and play for the Pronghorns of head coach Greg Gatto. Reddington, from Port Coquitlam, B.C., was the Lethbridge Hurricane’s captain last season. He played 196 regular-season games with the Spokane Chiefs before being dealt to the Hurricanes early in the 2009-10 season. He played 133 games with the Hurricanes, completing his major junior eligibility this season. Reddington had 23 points in 68 games this season, along with 99 penalty minutes. After the WHL season, he played four games with the ECHL’s Utah Grizzlies. . . . F Evan Richardson, a first-round pick in the 2009 WHL bantam draft, has committed to Boston College. Richardson, from Nanaimo, B.C., had 42 points in 55 games with the BCHL’s Victoria Grizzlies this season. The Swift Current Broncos selected him with the 15th pick of the 2009 draft.
———
According to capgeek.com, F Linden Vey of the Medicine Hat Tigers, who has signed a three-year deal with the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings, will get an AHL salary of US$67,500 in each of the three seasons, with an NHL salary of $790,000 each season. He got a $270,000 signing bonus over three years. Vey, who won the WHL scoring title this season, was a fourth-round selection in the 2009 NHL draft.
———
The Kootenay Ice finally scored some goals — and took advantage of a break — to stay alive at the Memorial Cup. The Ice beat the Saint John Sea Dogs 5-4 in OT — F Matt Fraser got the winner — and now will play in a tiebreaker on Thursday in Mississauga. . . . Tonight, it’s the Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors and the Owen Sound Attack, in a rematch of the OHL final which the Attack won in seven games. The winner goes on to Friday’s semifinal; the loser gets the Ice on Thursday. . . . The winning goal came after the Ice gained the offensive zone on a play that was offside. . . . It was the second time in the tournament that an offside play preceded a game-winning goal. On Friday, the Sea Dogs got past Mississauga 4-3 with the winning goal coming off an offside entry into the offensive zone.
———
In Houston, Aeros team captain Jon DiSalvatore scored with 1:13 left in the third period to give his side a 4-3 victory over the Hamilton Bulldogs. It was Game 7 of the AHL’s Western Conference final. . . . The Aeros, who are affiliated with the NHL’s Minnesota Wild, will meet the Binghamton Senators in the AHL final. . . . The final, which will follow a 2-3-2 format, opens with games Friday and Saturday in Houston.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Taking Note on Twitter
D Kenton Smith (Calgary, 1995-2000) signed a one-year contract extension with the Cardiff Devils (Wales, UK Elite). He had 10 goals and 30 assists in 53 games for the Devils this season.
———
Tyler Olsen of the Chilliwack Times has the latest on the BCHL’s return to Chilliwack right here. . . . Among other things, Olsen asked Moray Keith, a former minority owner of the WHL’s Chilliwack Bruins and one of the BCHL franchise’s owners, about a possible return by the WHL should the opportunity arise. . . . "Judging by the way we were treated by the WHL,” Keith said, “we're not very anxious to be involved with those folks again.”
———
THE COACHING GAME: The SJHL’s Kindersley Klippers have signed Rockie Zinger to a one-year deal as head coach. He hired on as an assistant coach prior to this season, then was named interim head coach when Larry Wintoneak was fired on Dec. 13. . . . The NAHL’s Kenai River Brown Bears have signed head coach Oliver David to a two-year extension. David, from L.A., just completed his first full season as head coach, after moving up from assistant to interim head coach in October 2009. . . . The QMJHL’s P.E.I. Rocket announced that Corrado Micalef and Jamie Blanchard will return as assistant coaches under new head coach Gordie Dwyer.
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JUST NOTES: D Mike Reddington, a veteran of five-plus WHL seasons, has decided to attend the U of Lethbridge and play for the Pronghorns of head coach Greg Gatto. Reddington, from Port Coquitlam, B.C., was the Lethbridge Hurricane’s captain last season. He played 196 regular-season games with the Spokane Chiefs before being dealt to the Hurricanes early in the 2009-10 season. He played 133 games with the Hurricanes, completing his major junior eligibility this season. Reddington had 23 points in 68 games this season, along with 99 penalty minutes. After the WHL season, he played four games with the ECHL’s Utah Grizzlies. . . . F Evan Richardson, a first-round pick in the 2009 WHL bantam draft, has committed to Boston College. Richardson, from Nanaimo, B.C., had 42 points in 55 games with the BCHL’s Victoria Grizzlies this season. The Swift Current Broncos selected him with the 15th pick of the 2009 draft.
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According to capgeek.com, F Linden Vey of the Medicine Hat Tigers, who has signed a three-year deal with the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings, will get an AHL salary of US$67,500 in each of the three seasons, with an NHL salary of $790,000 each season. He got a $270,000 signing bonus over three years. Vey, who won the WHL scoring title this season, was a fourth-round selection in the 2009 NHL draft.
———
The Kootenay Ice finally scored some goals — and took advantage of a break — to stay alive at the Memorial Cup. The Ice beat the Saint John Sea Dogs 5-4 in OT — F Matt Fraser got the winner — and now will play in a tiebreaker on Thursday in Mississauga. . . . Tonight, it’s the Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors and the Owen Sound Attack, in a rematch of the OHL final which the Attack won in seven games. The winner goes on to Friday’s semifinal; the loser gets the Ice on Thursday. . . . The winning goal came after the Ice gained the offensive zone on a play that was offside. . . . It was the second time in the tournament that an offside play preceded a game-winning goal. On Friday, the Sea Dogs got past Mississauga 4-3 with the winning goal coming off an offside entry into the offensive zone.
———
In Houston, Aeros team captain Jon DiSalvatore scored with 1:13 left in the third period to give his side a 4-3 victory over the Hamilton Bulldogs. It was Game 7 of the AHL’s Western Conference final. . . . The Aeros, who are affiliated with the NHL’s Minnesota Wild, will meet the Binghamton Senators in the AHL final. . . . The final, which will follow a 2-3-2 format, opens with games Friday and Saturday in Houston.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Taking Note on Twitter
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Bartley gets deal with Preds
THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Jordan Krestanovich (Calgary, 1997-2001) signed a one-year contract extension with Braehead Clan Glasgow (Scotland, UK Elite). He had 16 goals and 34 assists in 43 games for the Clan this season. . . .
D Robby Sandrock (Spokane, Swift Current, Medicine Hat, Kelowna, 1994-99) and F Jonathan Filewich (Prince George, Lethbridge, 1999-2005) signed one-year contract extensions with Medvescak Zagreb (Croatia, Austria Erste Bank Liga). Sandrock had 11 goals and 13 assists in 50 games, while Filewich had 13 goals and 10 assists in 44 games for Zagreb this season. . . .
D Jakub Cutta (Swift Current, 1998-2001) signed a one-year contract with Mlada Boleslav (Czech Republic, Extraliga). He had three goals and eight assists in 49 games with Karlovy Vary (Czech Republic, Extraliga) this season. . . .
F Daniel Bohac (Spokane, 1998-2000) signed a two-year-plus-option contract with Slovan Usti nad Labem (Czech Republic, 1.Liga). He had nine goals and 10 assists in 52 games with Mlada Boleslav (Czech Republic, Extraliga) this season. . . .
———
MORE FROM THE MacBETH REPORT:
D Victor Bartley (Kamloops, Regina, 2003-09) has signed a two-year, two-way contract with the NHL’s Nashville Predators.
According to a Malmö hockey blog:
“Djurgården confirmed that it loses Vic Bartley to the NHL, nothing is official. But tonight, Vic Bartley himself confirms it to MrMadhawk.se. ‘I don't know how you always know my club address,’ laughs Vic. ‘But the deal is now entirely done and I have signed a two-year contract with Nashville and it is a two-way contract.’ ”
From Djurgården's website:
“D-man Victor Bartley leaves Djurgården to play in the NHL — without having played a game with the club. Djurgarden earlier signed a contract with Rögle defenseman Victor Bartley. NHL clubs showed an interest in the Canadian and Bartley has now informed Djurgarden that he will sign with an NHL club in the near future. The agreement between the NHL and Swedish hockey gives NHL clubs the right to solicit even contracted players within certain time limits, as used in this case. ‘We were very pleased with the recruitment of Victor Bartley, but we have to accept the rules of the game and there is nothing we can do to prevent this. This changes the requirements of our defense and now we wonder how we can remedy the situation,’ said Djurgården Hockey's general manager Janne Järlefelt.”
———
The Los Angeles Kings have signed F Linden Vey of the Medicine Hat Tigers to a three-year NHL contract. Vey, who won the WHL’s scoring race this season, was a fourth-round selection in the NHL’s 2009 draft. He had 116 points, including 46 goals, as he won the scoring crown in his fourth season with the Tigers. He added 25 points, 12 of them goals, in 15 playoff games.
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The Prince Albert Raiders held a membership meeting last week and Drew Wilson, the team’s play-by-play voice, was there. His report, from paNOW.com, is right here. Of particular interest is that the organization has a $2 million budget for next season with a projected profit of $30,318.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Taking Note on Twitter
F Jordan Krestanovich (Calgary, 1997-2001) signed a one-year contract extension with Braehead Clan Glasgow (Scotland, UK Elite). He had 16 goals and 34 assists in 43 games for the Clan this season. . . .
D Robby Sandrock (Spokane, Swift Current, Medicine Hat, Kelowna, 1994-99) and F Jonathan Filewich (Prince George, Lethbridge, 1999-2005) signed one-year contract extensions with Medvescak Zagreb (Croatia, Austria Erste Bank Liga). Sandrock had 11 goals and 13 assists in 50 games, while Filewich had 13 goals and 10 assists in 44 games for Zagreb this season. . . .
D Jakub Cutta (Swift Current, 1998-2001) signed a one-year contract with Mlada Boleslav (Czech Republic, Extraliga). He had three goals and eight assists in 49 games with Karlovy Vary (Czech Republic, Extraliga) this season. . . .
F Daniel Bohac (Spokane, 1998-2000) signed a two-year-plus-option contract with Slovan Usti nad Labem (Czech Republic, 1.Liga). He had nine goals and 10 assists in 52 games with Mlada Boleslav (Czech Republic, Extraliga) this season. . . .
———
 |
| VICTOR BARTLEY |
D Victor Bartley (Kamloops, Regina, 2003-09) has signed a two-year, two-way contract with the NHL’s Nashville Predators.
According to a Malmö hockey blog:
“Djurgården confirmed that it loses Vic Bartley to the NHL, nothing is official. But tonight, Vic Bartley himself confirms it to MrMadhawk.se. ‘I don't know how you always know my club address,’ laughs Vic. ‘But the deal is now entirely done and I have signed a two-year contract with Nashville and it is a two-way contract.’ ”
From Djurgården's website:
“D-man Victor Bartley leaves Djurgården to play in the NHL — without having played a game with the club. Djurgarden earlier signed a contract with Rögle defenseman Victor Bartley. NHL clubs showed an interest in the Canadian and Bartley has now informed Djurgarden that he will sign with an NHL club in the near future. The agreement between the NHL and Swedish hockey gives NHL clubs the right to solicit even contracted players within certain time limits, as used in this case. ‘We were very pleased with the recruitment of Victor Bartley, but we have to accept the rules of the game and there is nothing we can do to prevent this. This changes the requirements of our defense and now we wonder how we can remedy the situation,’ said Djurgården Hockey's general manager Janne Järlefelt.”
———
The Los Angeles Kings have signed F Linden Vey of the Medicine Hat Tigers to a three-year NHL contract. Vey, who won the WHL’s scoring race this season, was a fourth-round selection in the NHL’s 2009 draft. He had 116 points, including 46 goals, as he won the scoring crown in his fourth season with the Tigers. He added 25 points, 12 of them goals, in 15 playoff games.
———
The Prince Albert Raiders held a membership meeting last week and Drew Wilson, the team’s play-by-play voice, was there. His report, from paNOW.com, is right here. Of particular interest is that the organization has a $2 million budget for next season with a projected profit of $30,318.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Taking Note on Twitter
Monday, May 23, 2011
The 100th running of the Indianapolis 500 is scheduled for Sunday. Thirty-three drivers will climb into their cars and line up at the Brickyard for the race — 200 lapts of the 2.5-mile track.
Jim Murray covered many a 500-mile race at Indianapolis, and not always with the best of receptions. He once was asked to never return to the fabled Brickyard Sports after penning the memorable line “Gentlemen, Start Your Coffins."
Good thing that ban didn't stick or we never would have gotten today's classic from the Jim Murray archives.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 23, 1973, SPORTS
Copyright 1973/THE TIMES MIRROR COMPANY
JIM MURRAY
Round Trip to Nowhere
INDIANAPOLIS — I'd appreciate it if this could be kept from the prying eyes and ears of the National Safety Council, Motor Vehicle Bureau, the Indiana State Police, Ralph Nader and the Auto Club, but 33 holiday motorists here are conspiring to break the law on Memorial Day.
They plan to break the speed limit by as much as 130 m.p.h. in cars that don't have lights, direction signals, reverse gears, windshield wipers, horns, defoggers, license plates, registration or roofs. They don't even have axles.
Talk about lemons! They cost $200,000 apiece. And they don't even have self-starters. They can't run in the rain, turn right or hold passengers. They are built to go only 500 miles but most of them won't even do that. You can't get insurance on them because Lloyd's of London would rather insure the Japanese fleet going into the Battle of Midway.
Of the 33 that start the Memorial Day rip, maybe five will complete it. The rest will finish on fire, on top of somebody, on a wall or on a tow-truck. They break every anti-noise ordinance ever passed. They've punctured more eardrums than Krupp’s cannon.
The safety factor is about what it would be on a U-boat under the British fleet. They consume more fuel, faster, than the Luftwaffe in the Blitz. You get just under two miles to the gallon. They spill more oil than a grounded tanker.
You would think they would put a net over a guy who wanted to spend Memorial Day on a 500-mile round trip to nowhere (for some, of course, it may be a one-way trip). The least a guy ought to want to do driving 500 miles is cross a state line or two. These guys not only stay in the same state, they stay in the same maze, a corridor of death not wide enough for three cars abreast if one turns sideways.
The drivers wear ear-plugs, bandana scarves, helmets and flame-proof suits. But no one has found a way to flame-proof lungs.
They like to think of Indianapolis Speedway and the Memorial Day race as an automotive proving ground. But its history is one of resisting change like a medieval landowner. Seat belts came, not out of an Indy cockpit where they should have, but from an Air Force rocket sled. Not even the roll-bar came from Indy's drawing boards, but from sports car rallies.
All that Indy pioneered in the way of tire wear was that, if you don't mind spending $200 a tire and maintaining a pit crew of seven to change them for you periodically, you can get 500 miles per new set of rubber.
They went lumbering about here in clumsy old overheating front-engine cars for almost two decades after European race drivers proved rear engines were more efficient. They changed only when the Europeans came over and beat them at their own game.
Style-wise, Indy cars are about as aesthetic as a camel. They are 200-m.p.h. billboards with air scoops and tail wings. They look like some amphibious half-tracks put together, in the dark, out of leftover pats in a military junkyard.
To win this race you first have to survive it. It's a trick 42 guys never got the hang of. And that's only the guys who got killed in cars. One guy got killed (by a wheel) eating a hot dog 1,000 feet from the track.
All the National Safety Council, state police, FBI, Ralph Nader and Blue Cross can make them do is fence off the customers.
At least, they don't have to worry about pedestrians. Those kooks in the fire poof suits have their own suicide club going. And so there'll be 33 moving violations (unless one of them won't start as usual) going around Indianapolis this Monday back home in Indiana.
It's too late to give them a traffic ticket. It might be better to give them a fire extinguisher. Besides, if a motorcycle cop pulled one of these cars over to the side of the road and said, "Where do you think you're going — to a fire?" the answer would probably be, "Probably."
Reprinted with permission by the Los Angeles Times.
Jim Murray Memorial Foundation | P.O. Box 995 | La Quinta | CA | 92247
Sunday . . .
The horrible stories of hockey players and their attempts to deal with concussions continue to flow like fine wine at one of those team dinners where the rookies pick up the tab. Cathy Gulli of Macleans magazine has more devastating life experiences right here. Her story includes former NHLer Eric Lindros telling some of his story, and it is devastating. It also includes former WHLer Kevin Kaminski, who talks of how he believes his problems with post-concussion syndrome cost him his marriage.
———
Adam Micheletti is the director of hockey and business operations for the USHL-champion Dubuque Fighting Saints, the expansion franchise that won the league title on Saturday night. But there more to his story than that. It involves three concussions in 18 months, the last of which ended his hockey career. . . . His father is former NHLer Joe Micheletti, and this is a story to which ever parent should pay attention.
Kevin Paul Dupont of the Boston Globe has that story right here.
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While Kootenay struggles to score at the Memorial Cup, former Ice star Nigel Dawes scored twice Sunday to lead the visiting Hamilton Bulldogs to a 5-3 double OT victory over the Houston Aeros in an AHL playoff game. The Bulldogs, who once trailed this series 3-0, have forced Game 7 and will that one Tuesday in Houston. . . . Dawes got the winner at 9:11 of the second OT. . . . In AHL history, two teams — Rochester Americans (1960) and Adirondack Red Wings (1989) — have come back from a 0-3 deficit, and both teams won Game 7. . . . Dawes also set a franchise record for most goals (14) in a single playoff season.
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They’re calling it The Hit at the Mastercard Memorial Cup in Mississauga, Ont., and Steve Buffery of the Toronto Sun examines its impact right here.
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James Mirtle of The Globe and Mail was at Sunday’s Memorial Cup game. His game story is right here.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Taking Note on Twitter
———
Adam Micheletti is the director of hockey and business operations for the USHL-champion Dubuque Fighting Saints, the expansion franchise that won the league title on Saturday night. But there more to his story than that. It involves three concussions in 18 months, the last of which ended his hockey career. . . . His father is former NHLer Joe Micheletti, and this is a story to which ever parent should pay attention.
Kevin Paul Dupont of the Boston Globe has that story right here.
———
While Kootenay struggles to score at the Memorial Cup, former Ice star Nigel Dawes scored twice Sunday to lead the visiting Hamilton Bulldogs to a 5-3 double OT victory over the Houston Aeros in an AHL playoff game. The Bulldogs, who once trailed this series 3-0, have forced Game 7 and will that one Tuesday in Houston. . . . Dawes got the winner at 9:11 of the second OT. . . . In AHL history, two teams — Rochester Americans (1960) and Adirondack Red Wings (1989) — have come back from a 0-3 deficit, and both teams won Game 7. . . . Dawes also set a franchise record for most goals (14) in a single playoff season.
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They’re calling it The Hit at the Mastercard Memorial Cup in Mississauga, Ont., and Steve Buffery of the Toronto Sun examines its impact right here.
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James Mirtle of The Globe and Mail was at Sunday’s Memorial Cup game. His game story is right here.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Taking Note on Twitter
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Saturday . . .
Jeff Z. Klein of The New York Times offers more insight into Derek Boogaard as he speaks with former Medicine Hat Tigers GM/head coach Willie Desjardins and Doris Sullivan, a billet mom from Medicine Hat.
How big was Boogaard?
Sullivan remembers Boogaard coming home after one game leaning against the refrigerator.
“He rested his arm on top of the refrigerator,” she said. “On top — that’s how big he was.”
Klein’s piece is right here.
———
Jennifer Graham of The Canadian Press attended Derek Boogaard’s funeral in Regina on Saturday. Her report is right here.
———Robin Short of the St. John’s Telegram reports that the deal is done and the AHL’s Manitoba Moose will be relocating to the Newfoundland capital. That story is right here. (It should be noted that the Moose owners have denied that a deal is in place.)
———Terry Koshan of the Toronto Sun field a Day 1 notebook from the Memorial Cup. He opens with criticism of the on-ice officials. That piece is right here.
If you missed it, the Owen Sound Attack beat the Kootenay Ice 5-0 on Saturday in the Memorial Cup opener for both teams. Ice G Nathan Lieuwen kept this one from being worse than it was, especially in the game's second half.
To make matters worse, the Ice lost D Brayden McNabb, the team captain, to an elbowing major for a hit on F Joey Hishon. McNabb almost certainly will draw at least a one-game suspension, meaning he wouldn't play tonight against the host Mississauga St. Michael's Majors.
If the Portland Winterhawks were watching this one, they had to be wondering why that Ice team didn't show up for any of the games in the WHL final.
———
From Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal:
Hockey Canada may announce a world junior head coach shortly after the Memorial Cup. Don Hay of the Western Hockey League’s Vancouver Giants is the leading candidate. One junior coach who has definitely popped onto Hockey Canada’s radar for future junior assignments is Swift Current Broncos coach-GM Mark Lamb, who assisted Mike Williamson (Calgary Hitmen) on Canada’s world under-18 squad in Germany last month. “I was really impressed with Mark’s preparation and how he related to the kids,” said Hockey Canada chief scout Kevin Prendergast. Leduc’s Williamson is definitely an up-and-comer, too. Don’t be surprised if he’s coaching somebody’s American Hockey League team soon.
Read more of Matheson’s hockey world right here.
———JUST NOTES: The Alaska Aces won the ECHL’s Kelly Cup on Saturday night, beating the host Kalamazoo Wings 5-3 to take the championship final, 4-1. F Chris Langkow (Spokane, Saskatoon, Everett, 2005-2010) had two goals for the Aces. . . . Brett Larson will be introduced Monday as the head coach of the USHL’s Sioux City Musketeers. He had been an associate coach at the U of Minnesota-Duluth. . . . The Dubuque Fighting Saints won the USHL’s Clark Cup on Saturday, beating the visiting Green Bay Gamblers, 6-1, to win the best-of-five final, 3-1. What is nifty about this story is that the Fighting Saints were an expansion franchise when the season began.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Taking Note on Twitter
How big was Boogaard?
Sullivan remembers Boogaard coming home after one game leaning against the refrigerator.
“He rested his arm on top of the refrigerator,” she said. “On top — that’s how big he was.”
Klein’s piece is right here.
———
Jennifer Graham of The Canadian Press attended Derek Boogaard’s funeral in Regina on Saturday. Her report is right here.
———Robin Short of the St. John’s Telegram reports that the deal is done and the AHL’s Manitoba Moose will be relocating to the Newfoundland capital. That story is right here. (It should be noted that the Moose owners have denied that a deal is in place.)
———Terry Koshan of the Toronto Sun field a Day 1 notebook from the Memorial Cup. He opens with criticism of the on-ice officials. That piece is right here.
If you missed it, the Owen Sound Attack beat the Kootenay Ice 5-0 on Saturday in the Memorial Cup opener for both teams. Ice G Nathan Lieuwen kept this one from being worse than it was, especially in the game's second half.
To make matters worse, the Ice lost D Brayden McNabb, the team captain, to an elbowing major for a hit on F Joey Hishon. McNabb almost certainly will draw at least a one-game suspension, meaning he wouldn't play tonight against the host Mississauga St. Michael's Majors.
If the Portland Winterhawks were watching this one, they had to be wondering why that Ice team didn't show up for any of the games in the WHL final.
———
From Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal:
Hockey Canada may announce a world junior head coach shortly after the Memorial Cup. Don Hay of the Western Hockey League’s Vancouver Giants is the leading candidate. One junior coach who has definitely popped onto Hockey Canada’s radar for future junior assignments is Swift Current Broncos coach-GM Mark Lamb, who assisted Mike Williamson (Calgary Hitmen) on Canada’s world under-18 squad in Germany last month. “I was really impressed with Mark’s preparation and how he related to the kids,” said Hockey Canada chief scout Kevin Prendergast. Leduc’s Williamson is definitely an up-and-comer, too. Don’t be surprised if he’s coaching somebody’s American Hockey League team soon.
Read more of Matheson’s hockey world right here.
———JUST NOTES: The Alaska Aces won the ECHL’s Kelly Cup on Saturday night, beating the host Kalamazoo Wings 5-3 to take the championship final, 4-1. F Chris Langkow (Spokane, Saskatoon, Everett, 2005-2010) had two goals for the Aces. . . . Brett Larson will be introduced Monday as the head coach of the USHL’s Sioux City Musketeers. He had been an associate coach at the U of Minnesota-Duluth. . . . The Dubuque Fighting Saints won the USHL’s Clark Cup on Saturday, beating the visiting Green Bay Gamblers, 6-1, to win the best-of-five final, 3-1. What is nifty about this story is that the Fighting Saints were an expansion franchise when the season began.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Taking Note on Twitter
Saturday, May 21, 2011
The world-champion Finnish hockey team, having beaten Sweden for the gold medal, was flying home from Slovakia on Monday when Juha Hiitela, a Finnish journalist, tweeted: “Charter plane of Team Finland will take a quick turn to Sweden's airspace before Air Force f-18 escort will carry them to Helsinki.” . . . Now that’s a rivalry! . . . Mike Lupica, in the New York Daily News: “It's funny how these things work out, but I'm not missing Manny Ramirez nearly as much as I thought I would.” . . . Another tweet, this one from Jeff Blair of The Globe and Mail, in reference to a certain Toronto Blue Jays infielder: “I don’t want to say Edwin Encarnacion is, you know, useless, but Stephen Harper just named him to the Senate.” . . .
After a gimpy Tiger Woods walked off the course and withdrew after nine holes of The Players Championship last week, the New York Post went with this headline: Tiger Goes Limp. . . . Over at SI.com, Joe Posnanski has it figured that the Los Angeles Lakers, realizing they were toast, packed it in early in their series with the Dallas Mavericks. “Hey,” Posnanski wrote, “they’ve won their championships. Quit happens.” . . . Headline at SportsPickle.com: Yankees bat Jorge Posada 10th behind Derek Jeter. . . . In 2008, Major League Baseball experienced 18 rainouts. In 2009, that figure was 19. Last season, there were eight. This season, there already have been 30. . . . Climate change anyone? . . .
 |
| The Cope twins, Amber and Angela, will drive into history on Sunday. |
Someone at the Denver Post thought to ask Mike Ditka, the former NFL player and head coach and pitchman: How are things going? Ditka, who is 71, replied: “I’ve had four hip replacements. I probably need a shoulder replacement right now. . . . My mind, I think I’m OK, but I find myself going from one room to the next sometimes and wondering why the hell I went. Other than that, I think I’m OK.” . . . If we’re not already, we should be giving some love to Chevron in these parts, shouldn’t we? . . . The Kamloops sporting world is a whole lot poorer these days, having lost Fred Nicholson and Stan Baric, a couple of tireless volunteers, to cancer over the last while. . . . It’s true. Sometimes life really isn’t fair. . . . The WHL will next play host to the Memorial Cup in 2013. So far, the Kelowna Rockets, Lethbridge Hurricanes, Red Deer Rebels and Saskatoon Blades have said they will place bids to serve as host team. . . .
Sorry, Hockey Canada, but you missed the boat when you gave the 2013 World Women’s Championship to Ottawa and not Kamloops. Especially if it was all about the money that can be generated by playing some of the games in Ottawa’s NHL facility. If the development of female hockey was the thing, the tournament would be coming here, because it would have given the sport in Western Canada a tremendous shot in the arm. . . . Of the 48 female players invited to Hockey Canada’s U-18 camp, three each are from B.C., Manitoba and Saskatchewan, with six from Alberta. . . . On its home page, the Ottawa Sun ran a poll, asking: “Are you excited that the (WWC) is coming to Ottawa?” While it didn’t reveal the number of respondents, No was leading 57 per cent to 42 in midafternoon Thursday. . . .
“As seen on Versus’ Stanley Cup coverage,” writes Phil Mushnick in the New York Post, “the visitors’ penalty box in San Jose is sponsored by — we kid you not — Bad Boys Bail Bonds.” . . . Jumbo Joe Thornton of the San Jose Sharks says he is able to ignore his many critics. "I don't really read what you guys write,” he explains. “I read Playboy and things like that." . . . Hey, TSN, how could you show so many IIHF World Championship games live and then tape-delay the gold-medal game? . . .
Paul Romanuk, a former TSN play-by-play voice who now lives near Liz and Phil in London, tweeted this earlier in the week: “Place: London. Task: repair a bridge. Time Taken: 2 years. I kid you not. You could have built a new one. I'm sure the Olympics will go well.” . . . And then there is Toronto Maple Leafs forward Colby Armstrong, who tweeted Thursday: “People wanna hear my comment on (Ben) Eagers hilarious game last night. I'm to much of a pro to comment on another players awful awful game.” . . .
Gregg Drinnan is sports editor of The Daily News. Email him at gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca, follow him at twitter.com/gdrinnan, or visit his blog at gdrinnan.blogspot.com. Keeping Score appears Saturdays.
Friday . . .
THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Andreas Lövdahl (Calgary, Moose Jaw, 1999-2000) signed a one-year contract with Falu IF Falun (Sweden, Division 1). He had 15 goals and 36 assists in 35 games for Borlänge (Sweden, Division 1) this season. Lövdahl was captain of Borlänge this season.
———
The Hennepin County Medical Examiners’ Office released a report Friday on the death of former WHL and NHL enforcer Derek Boogaard. Boogaard was found dead in his Minneapolis apartment on May 13. The report indicates that “cause of death is mixed alcohol and oxycodone toxicity.”
Michael Russo of the Minneapolis StarTribune has a thorough report right here.
———
Allan Maki of The Globe and Mail has a stunning piece in today’s paper. He has spoken with Kurt Walker, Stu Grimson and Georges Laraque, all of them former NHL enforcers.
Walker's story is mind-numbing; you get the feeling he knows exactly what Derek Boogaard went through. Grimson is conflicted, wondering how a game that is in the process of banning headshots still allows fighting. Laraque talks of how he disliked his role.
Don’t miss giving this a read. It’s right here.
———
As the opening game of the Memorial Cup began on Friday, Damien Cox of the Toronto Star tweeted:
“Big problem for all those who said MemCup in GTA wud be a disaster; Hershey Centre jammed, joint is rockin', game hasn't even started.”
However, with the first period nearing a conclusion, Terry Koshan of the Toronto Sun tweeted:
“By the way, more than a few empty seats @ Hershey Centre for host team's first game.”
———
Tyler Olsen of the Chilliwack Times has the latest on the situation regarding a facility in need of a team and the BCHL’s Quesnel Millionaires, who seem headed that way.
———
Jeff Marek on Hockey Night in Canada’s iDesk reported in the second intermission of last night’s NHL game that if/when the Atlanta Thrashers relocate to Winnipeg, the Manitoba Moose franchise no longer will be the AHL affiliate of the Vancouver Canucks. Marek didn’t offer an explanation, but presumably that’s because the Moose are owned by the same people who are buying the Atlanta franchise and relocating it. . . . The Thrashers affiliates are the AHL’s Chicago Wolves and the ECHL’s Gwinnett Gladiators. . . . Obviously, this whole story has a ways to go yet before it has played itself out.
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THE COACHING GAME: John Olver, a former WHL coach, has joined the ECHL’s Bakersfield Condors as director of player personnel and assistant to the head coach. Olver, who will work with head coach Marty Raymond, is a veteran of the minor league wars, including stints in the front offices of the Fresno Falcons, Tacoma Sabercats and Idaho Steelheads. . . . Casey Jones, who spent this season as the associate head coach with the Cornell Big Red, is the new head coach of the Clarkson Golden Knights. Jones, a former Clarkson assistant coach, is an alumnus of Cornell and once captained the Big Red. He replaces the fired George Roll. . . . Joe Paterson, who took over as head coach of the AHL’s Adirondack Phantoms, has had the interim removed from his job title. The Phantoms are the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Philadelphia Flyers. Assistant coach Riley Cote will be back for a second season with the Phantoms.
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JUST NOTES: F Scott Burt (Seattle, Swift Current, Edmonton Ice, Red Deer, 1994-1998) of the Alaska Aces has set an ECHL record for most career playoff games played. He played in No 103 on Friday, breaking the record that had been held by D Chris Valicevic. . . . The Aces beat the host Kalamazoo Wings 7-5 on Friday to take a 3-1 lead in the ECHL final for the Kelly Cup. Game 5 is tonight in Kalamazoo. . . . In the Central league final, F David Rutherford (Vancouver, Spokane, 2004-2008) had three goals to lead the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs to a 7-2 victory over the visiting Colorado Eagles on Friday. The Mudbugs hold a 3-2 edge in the Ray Miron Presidents’ Cup final, with Game 6 Wednesday in Loveland, Colo.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Taking Note on Twitter
F Andreas Lövdahl (Calgary, Moose Jaw, 1999-2000) signed a one-year contract with Falu IF Falun (Sweden, Division 1). He had 15 goals and 36 assists in 35 games for Borlänge (Sweden, Division 1) this season. Lövdahl was captain of Borlänge this season.
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The Hennepin County Medical Examiners’ Office released a report Friday on the death of former WHL and NHL enforcer Derek Boogaard. Boogaard was found dead in his Minneapolis apartment on May 13. The report indicates that “cause of death is mixed alcohol and oxycodone toxicity.”
Michael Russo of the Minneapolis StarTribune has a thorough report right here.
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Allan Maki of The Globe and Mail has a stunning piece in today’s paper. He has spoken with Kurt Walker, Stu Grimson and Georges Laraque, all of them former NHL enforcers.
Walker's story is mind-numbing; you get the feeling he knows exactly what Derek Boogaard went through. Grimson is conflicted, wondering how a game that is in the process of banning headshots still allows fighting. Laraque talks of how he disliked his role.
Don’t miss giving this a read. It’s right here.
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As the opening game of the Memorial Cup began on Friday, Damien Cox of the Toronto Star tweeted:
“Big problem for all those who said MemCup in GTA wud be a disaster; Hershey Centre jammed, joint is rockin', game hasn't even started.”
However, with the first period nearing a conclusion, Terry Koshan of the Toronto Sun tweeted:
“By the way, more than a few empty seats @ Hershey Centre for host team's first game.”
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Tyler Olsen of the Chilliwack Times has the latest on the situation regarding a facility in need of a team and the BCHL’s Quesnel Millionaires, who seem headed that way.
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Jeff Marek on Hockey Night in Canada’s iDesk reported in the second intermission of last night’s NHL game that if/when the Atlanta Thrashers relocate to Winnipeg, the Manitoba Moose franchise no longer will be the AHL affiliate of the Vancouver Canucks. Marek didn’t offer an explanation, but presumably that’s because the Moose are owned by the same people who are buying the Atlanta franchise and relocating it. . . . The Thrashers affiliates are the AHL’s Chicago Wolves and the ECHL’s Gwinnett Gladiators. . . . Obviously, this whole story has a ways to go yet before it has played itself out.
———
THE COACHING GAME: John Olver, a former WHL coach, has joined the ECHL’s Bakersfield Condors as director of player personnel and assistant to the head coach. Olver, who will work with head coach Marty Raymond, is a veteran of the minor league wars, including stints in the front offices of the Fresno Falcons, Tacoma Sabercats and Idaho Steelheads. . . . Casey Jones, who spent this season as the associate head coach with the Cornell Big Red, is the new head coach of the Clarkson Golden Knights. Jones, a former Clarkson assistant coach, is an alumnus of Cornell and once captained the Big Red. He replaces the fired George Roll. . . . Joe Paterson, who took over as head coach of the AHL’s Adirondack Phantoms, has had the interim removed from his job title. The Phantoms are the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Philadelphia Flyers. Assistant coach Riley Cote will be back for a second season with the Phantoms.
———
JUST NOTES: F Scott Burt (Seattle, Swift Current, Edmonton Ice, Red Deer, 1994-1998) of the Alaska Aces has set an ECHL record for most career playoff games played. He played in No 103 on Friday, breaking the record that had been held by D Chris Valicevic. . . . The Aces beat the host Kalamazoo Wings 7-5 on Friday to take a 3-1 lead in the ECHL final for the Kelly Cup. Game 5 is tonight in Kalamazoo. . . . In the Central league final, F David Rutherford (Vancouver, Spokane, 2004-2008) had three goals to lead the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs to a 7-2 victory over the visiting Colorado Eagles on Friday. The Mudbugs hold a 3-2 edge in the Ray Miron Presidents’ Cup final, with Game 6 Wednesday in Loveland, Colo.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Taking Note on Twitter
Friday, May 20, 2011
Thursday . . .
THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Marcin Kolusz (Vancouver, 2003-04) signed a two-year contract with Sanok (Poland, Ekstraliga) for next season. He had seven goals and 14 assists in 24 games for Podhale Nowy Targ (Poland, Ekstraliga) this season and also was an assistant captain of the Polish national team at this year's Division 1 World Championship. Kolusz had two goals and four assists in five games to lead Poland in scoring. . . .
G Riku Helenius (Seattle, 2007-08) signed a two-year plus option contract with JyP Jyväskylä (Finland, SM-Liiga). He had a 3.03 GAA and a .884 save percentage in 18 games for Södertälje (Sweden, Elitserien) this season.
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They were playing street hockey at Portage and Main last night, which must mean the NHL’s Atlanta Thrashers are headed to Winnipeg.
Which means, of course, that the Manitoba Moose, the AHL affiliate of the Vancouver Canucks, will need a new home.
Let’s see. There is an arena in Chilliwack that has yet to land a hockey team as a tenant. The WHL’s Chilliwack Bruins, you’ll recall, were sold and have relocated to Victoria. Vancouver-based RG Properties, which purchased the Bruins, has since killed off its other team, the ECHL’s Victoria Salmon Kings.
Negotations aimed at bringing the BCHL’s Quesnel Millionaires to Chilliwack are on-going. But you have to wonder if they won’t be slowed by news that the Moose suddenly are available. If for no other reason than to let this sort itself out.
Or what of Regina, where the Pats again are embroiled in lease negotiations with their landord, Evraz Place? A few weeks ago, when the Phoenix Coyotes-to-Winnipeg rumours were running rampant, I was told that Evraz Place people had at least touched base with the AHL.
So . . . what if the Moose ended up in Regina? Could the Pats pack up and move to Chilliwack?
John Shannon, a hockey analyst with Rogers Sportsnet, tweeted Thursday night that he has heard that a destination for the Moose might well be St. John’s, Nfld., or Thunder Bay.
Or, hey, how about the Chilliwack Moose?
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THE COACHING GAME: Steve Hartley has signed on as an assistant coach with the QMJHL’s Halifax Mooseheads. He is the son of former NHL coach Bob Hartley. Steve will work under Dominique Ducharme, the Mooseheads’ new head coach. Hartley, 25, is a former goaltender who played at Miami-Ohio. He spent the last two seasons coaching the in the Quebec Junior AAA league. . . . Two former WHL head coaches, both of whom also played in the league, are out of work. Terry Ruskowski, who coached the Saskatoon Blades (1989-91), has stepped down as president, general manager and head coach of the Central league’s Laredo Bucks. He had been there for nine seasons, winning championships in 2004 and 2006. “My first instinct was to make sure hockey stays in Laredo,” Ruskowski told Pro 8 Sports-TV, “so I sacrificed my contract to make sure hockey stays in Laredo.” . . . Kenny Ryan of the Laredo Morning Times has more right here. . . . Serge Dube, who has played for the Bucks since 2002, is the Bucks’ new head coach. . . . Brad McCrimmon, another former Blades head coach (1998-2000), has resigned after three seasons as an assistant coach with the Detroit Red Wings. McCrimmon, who has head-coaching aspirations, also has worked as an assistant with the Atlanta Thrashers, Calgary Flames and New York Islanders.
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Management of the Central leagues Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees say the franchise is still alive; however, the office is closed because the team can’t make payroll. Brian Sandalow of Valley Freedom Newspapers has the story right here.
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D Brayden McNabb of the Kootenay Ice signed a three-year deal with the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday. According to capgeek.com, his AHL salary each of the seasons will be US$67,500 with NHL salaries of $615,000, $690,000 and $740,000. McNabb, a second-round pick in the NHL’s 2009 draft, got a $270,000 signing bonus over the three years. . . . Gotta think McNabb will be buying lunch for the boys sometime during Memorial Cup week.
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Medicine Hat Tigers F Emerson Etem has signed a three-year deal with the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks. He was the 29th player selected in the 2010 NHL draft. Last season, his second in the WHL, he had 80 points, including 45 goals, in 65 games. Etem who is scheduled to turn 19 on June 16, also was plus-41.
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The Max Gardiner watch is on. Gardiner, a forward who was selected by the St. Louis Blues in the third round of the 2010 NHL draft, has left the U of Minnesota after one season with the Gophers. The Dubuque Fighting Saints hold his USHL rights, but he could be ticketed for the WHL’s Tri-City Americans, who have him on their college list. . . . The 6-foot-2, 187-pound Gardiner, who turned 19 on May 7, is from Minnetonka, Minn. He had a miserable season at Minnesota, though, getting just three points in 17 games.
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The Tri-City Americans have listed F Justin Gutierrez, who played for the Alaska All-Stars midget AAA (U-16) team this season. He had 35 points, including 17 goals, and 40 penalty minutes in 39 games. The 6-foot-3, 170-pound Gutierrez is a late birthday; he’ll turn 16 on Dec. 22. He is a younger brother to former WHLer Moises Gutierrez.
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Wade Klippenstein, the assistant GM and director of player personnel with the Prince George Cougars, scored what is believed to be the first journalist scoop of his life Wednesday night when he tweeted congratulations to Brian Chow as the SJHL’s new president.
The SJHL made the formal announcement Thursday.
Chow, 52, has been with the Prince Albert Police Service for 29 years, while also scouting for the Spokane Chiefs.
Chow signed a three-year contract. He replaces Laury Ryan, who resigned in March after spending eight years in the office.
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TWEET OF THE DAY:
From Edmonton Oil Kings D Keegan Lowe: “i dont like the sound of 7 canadian NHL teams. whats gonna happen on hockey day in canada? 1 gets left out.”
If you’re on Twitter, you are able to follow him at @Klowe4.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Taking Note on Twitter
F Marcin Kolusz (Vancouver, 2003-04) signed a two-year contract with Sanok (Poland, Ekstraliga) for next season. He had seven goals and 14 assists in 24 games for Podhale Nowy Targ (Poland, Ekstraliga) this season and also was an assistant captain of the Polish national team at this year's Division 1 World Championship. Kolusz had two goals and four assists in five games to lead Poland in scoring. . . .
G Riku Helenius (Seattle, 2007-08) signed a two-year plus option contract with JyP Jyväskylä (Finland, SM-Liiga). He had a 3.03 GAA and a .884 save percentage in 18 games for Södertälje (Sweden, Elitserien) this season.
———
They were playing street hockey at Portage and Main last night, which must mean the NHL’s Atlanta Thrashers are headed to Winnipeg.
Which means, of course, that the Manitoba Moose, the AHL affiliate of the Vancouver Canucks, will need a new home.
Let’s see. There is an arena in Chilliwack that has yet to land a hockey team as a tenant. The WHL’s Chilliwack Bruins, you’ll recall, were sold and have relocated to Victoria. Vancouver-based RG Properties, which purchased the Bruins, has since killed off its other team, the ECHL’s Victoria Salmon Kings.
Negotations aimed at bringing the BCHL’s Quesnel Millionaires to Chilliwack are on-going. But you have to wonder if they won’t be slowed by news that the Moose suddenly are available. If for no other reason than to let this sort itself out.
Or what of Regina, where the Pats again are embroiled in lease negotiations with their landord, Evraz Place? A few weeks ago, when the Phoenix Coyotes-to-Winnipeg rumours were running rampant, I was told that Evraz Place people had at least touched base with the AHL.
So . . . what if the Moose ended up in Regina? Could the Pats pack up and move to Chilliwack?
John Shannon, a hockey analyst with Rogers Sportsnet, tweeted Thursday night that he has heard that a destination for the Moose might well be St. John’s, Nfld., or Thunder Bay.
Or, hey, how about the Chilliwack Moose?
———
THE COACHING GAME: Steve Hartley has signed on as an assistant coach with the QMJHL’s Halifax Mooseheads. He is the son of former NHL coach Bob Hartley. Steve will work under Dominique Ducharme, the Mooseheads’ new head coach. Hartley, 25, is a former goaltender who played at Miami-Ohio. He spent the last two seasons coaching the in the Quebec Junior AAA league. . . . Two former WHL head coaches, both of whom also played in the league, are out of work. Terry Ruskowski, who coached the Saskatoon Blades (1989-91), has stepped down as president, general manager and head coach of the Central league’s Laredo Bucks. He had been there for nine seasons, winning championships in 2004 and 2006. “My first instinct was to make sure hockey stays in Laredo,” Ruskowski told Pro 8 Sports-TV, “so I sacrificed my contract to make sure hockey stays in Laredo.” . . . Kenny Ryan of the Laredo Morning Times has more right here. . . . Serge Dube, who has played for the Bucks since 2002, is the Bucks’ new head coach. . . . Brad McCrimmon, another former Blades head coach (1998-2000), has resigned after three seasons as an assistant coach with the Detroit Red Wings. McCrimmon, who has head-coaching aspirations, also has worked as an assistant with the Atlanta Thrashers, Calgary Flames and New York Islanders.
———
Management of the Central leagues Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees say the franchise is still alive; however, the office is closed because the team can’t make payroll. Brian Sandalow of Valley Freedom Newspapers has the story right here.
———
D Brayden McNabb of the Kootenay Ice signed a three-year deal with the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday. According to capgeek.com, his AHL salary each of the seasons will be US$67,500 with NHL salaries of $615,000, $690,000 and $740,000. McNabb, a second-round pick in the NHL’s 2009 draft, got a $270,000 signing bonus over the three years. . . . Gotta think McNabb will be buying lunch for the boys sometime during Memorial Cup week.
———
Medicine Hat Tigers F Emerson Etem has signed a three-year deal with the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks. He was the 29th player selected in the 2010 NHL draft. Last season, his second in the WHL, he had 80 points, including 45 goals, in 65 games. Etem who is scheduled to turn 19 on June 16, also was plus-41.
———
The Max Gardiner watch is on. Gardiner, a forward who was selected by the St. Louis Blues in the third round of the 2010 NHL draft, has left the U of Minnesota after one season with the Gophers. The Dubuque Fighting Saints hold his USHL rights, but he could be ticketed for the WHL’s Tri-City Americans, who have him on their college list. . . . The 6-foot-2, 187-pound Gardiner, who turned 19 on May 7, is from Minnetonka, Minn. He had a miserable season at Minnesota, though, getting just three points in 17 games.
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The Tri-City Americans have listed F Justin Gutierrez, who played for the Alaska All-Stars midget AAA (U-16) team this season. He had 35 points, including 17 goals, and 40 penalty minutes in 39 games. The 6-foot-3, 170-pound Gutierrez is a late birthday; he’ll turn 16 on Dec. 22. He is a younger brother to former WHLer Moises Gutierrez.
———
Wade Klippenstein, the assistant GM and director of player personnel with the Prince George Cougars, scored what is believed to be the first journalist scoop of his life Wednesday night when he tweeted congratulations to Brian Chow as the SJHL’s new president.
The SJHL made the formal announcement Thursday.
Chow, 52, has been with the Prince Albert Police Service for 29 years, while also scouting for the Spokane Chiefs.
Chow signed a three-year contract. He replaces Laury Ryan, who resigned in March after spending eight years in the office.
———
TWEET OF THE DAY:
From Edmonton Oil Kings D Keegan Lowe: “i dont like the sound of 7 canadian NHL teams. whats gonna happen on hockey day in canada? 1 gets left out.”
If you’re on Twitter, you are able to follow him at @Klowe4.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Taking Note on Twitter
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