Iain MacIntyre of the Vancouver Sun takes a look at that situation right here. . . . If you are wondering, Russell and analyst Bill Wilms will be back calling WHL games on Shaw TV this season.
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The Edmonton Oil Kings like to do things up in a big way. So they signed not one, not two . . . but six players on Friday. . . . They signed:F Lane Bauer, a 17-year-old from Anchorage, Alaska, who was placed on their protected list after training camp in 2011. He had 49 points, 34 of them goals, in 29 games with the AAA major midget Alaska Jr. Aces last season.
F Brayden Brown, 16, from Calgary, who is a list player. Brown had 32 points in 32 games with the minor midget AAA Calgary Rangers last season.
D Jordan Dawson, 15, a fourth-rounder in the 2013 draft, played for the bantam AAA South Delta, B.C., Storm last season.
F Garan Magnes, 16, out of Edmonton’s South Side Athletic Club’s midget program. A list player, he had 35 points, including 21 goals, in 32 games with SSAC.
D Jesse Mills, 16, a fourth-round pick in the 2012 bantam draft who stands 6-foot-5. He had seven points in 26 games with the major midget Kelowna-Okanagan Rockets last season.
D Kyle Yewchuk, 15, who was taken in the third round of the 2013 draft. Yewchuk, 6-foot-4, put up 29 points in 33 games with the bantam AAA Calgary Northstar Sabres last season.
(Thanks to Alan Caldwell at Small Thoughts at Large for the statistics.)
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The Victoria Royals have signed F Landon Welykholowa, F Matt Dykstra and F Jared Dmytriw. . . . Welykholowa, from Calgary, was a third-round selection by the Prince Albert Raiders in the 2011 bantam draft. Last season, he had 26 points in 34 games with the Calgary Buffaloes of the Alberta Midget Hockey League. . . . Dykstra, from Edmonton, was a fourth-round selection by the Royals in the 2012 bantam draft. He had 47 points in 27 games with the midget AAA Edmonton-Canadian Athletic Club (CAC) United Cycle last season. . . . Dmytriw, a native of Craven, Sask., was a fourth-round pick by Victoria in the 2013 bantam draft. He will play this season with the midget AAA Moose Jaw Generals. Last season, with the bantam AA Prairie Storm, he had 49 points in 27 games.———
The Portland Winterhawks have signed G Michael Bullion, D Carter Czaikowski and F Skyler McKenzie. . . . Bullion, 16, was a ninth-round pick by the Winterhawks in the 2012 bantam draft. From Anchorage, Alaska., he played last season for the midget AAA Vaughan Kings of the Greater Toronto Hockey League, putting up a 1.27 GAA and .930 save percentage. . . . Czaikowski, a sixth-round bantam draft selection in 2013, had 39 points in 32 games with the bantam AAA Calgary Flames last season. . . . McKenzie, an eight-round pick in 2013, had 40 points in 19 games with the bantam AAA Sherwood Park Flyers.———
F Dryden Hunt of the Regina Pats was limited to two games last season as he twice suffered brain injuries. But he’s back, he says he’s 100 per cent and he’s ready to go. Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post has more right here.———
Here’s Dave Zirin at the nation.com: “The NFL always gets away with it. Evidence abounds that the NFL has been running a concussion assembly line for decades. But now that it has settled its high-profile concussion lawsuit with 4,500 ex-player plaintiffs for $765 million, there will be no discovery process. We will never hear what the NFL knew and when it knew it. We will never hear if its top neurologists had information that might actually be worth the public’s knowing as we move forward, so we can make informed decisions about whether we want our own children playing football. We will never hear, because the Teflon dons in the NFL office now have this sealed up tighter than Ft. Knox. And all it cost was $765 million.”
Zirin’s complete piece is right here.
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Did you know: The NCAA distributed a medical handbook in 1933 that made the claim that concussions were being treated to lightly. . . . Barry Petchesky has an interesting timeline of concussion science right here.
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Leo Lewis, one of the CFL’s all-time greats, died on Friday. He was 80.
Lewis, a star running back with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, was known as the Lincoln Locomotive and has been in the Canadian Football Hall of Fame since 1973.
No, he wasn’t from Lincoln, Neb. Rather, he had gone to school and played college football at Lincoln University of Missouri (1951-54).
Upon hearing of Lewis’ death, columnist Terry Jones of the Edmonton Sun wondered via Twitter what had happened to the nicknames from days of yore. And next thing you knew these names surfaced (which one of these is a former WHL head coach?). . . .
Gluey Hughie Campbell
Earl (The Earthquake) Lunsford
Normie (China Clipper) Kwong
Sherwyn (Thumper) Thorson
Willie (The Wisp) Fleming
Moe (The Toe) Racine
Neon Leon Bright
Dieter (The Birmingham Rifle) Brock
Swervin’ Mervyn Fernandez
Jim (Long Gone) Thomas
Bill (The Undertaker) Baker
Jackie (Spaghetti Legs) Parker
Sam (The Rifle) Etcheverry
Charlie (Boom Boom) Shepard
James (Quick) Murphy
Dave (Dr. Death) Fennell
Ron (Swamp Dog) Estay
Wayne (Ragin’ Cajun) Matherne
James (Wild) West
Herm (Ham Hands) Harrison
Gerry (Kid Dynamite) James
Jim (Dirty 30) Young
Al (Dirt) Wilson
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If you have been following the story of concussions and the NFL, you won’t want to miss this piece right here by Alan Schwarz of The New York Times. The headline is: Rules Trickle Down; Money in Settlement Won’t . . .
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Here’s columnist Rick Morrissey of the Chicago Sun-Times:
“Now that the small matter of $765 million has been tentatively settled, what about the big stuff?
“What about the future of football? What about the safety of NFL players going forward? What about the high school and college players who might one day play in the pros? What about all the ones who won’t? What might their brains look like if the sport doesn’t change?
“Or are chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and ALS acceptable outcomes as long as we spectators enjoy the show?”
Morrissey’s complete column is right here.
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If you’re a regular here, you know that I am a big Elmore Leonard fan, and that he died on Aug. 20 at 87 years of age.
Right here is a great read . . . Elmore Leonard’s obituary from The Economist.
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From Haydn Hopkins (@haydn_hopkins97): “Officially signed with the Saskatoon Blades #bleedblue #stoon #blades #nolanreid”
Hopkins was a 12th-round selection in the 2012 WHL bantam draft. He had 12 points in 33 games with the major midget South Island, B.C., Royals last season.
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From Brendan Holterhus (@bholts12): “Signed with the Vancouver giants #longroadahead #marathonnotarace #keeptruckin #chipnchase”
Holterhus, 16, is a list player who had three points in 29 games with the midget AAA Edmonton CAC team last season.
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