Hockey Canada juggles assignments . . . Broncos trim three . . . Are Giants close to coach?

Rapperswil-Jona (Switzerland, NL B) signed F Jared Aulin (Kamloops, 1997-2002) and F Andrew Clark (Brandon, 2005-09) to one-year contracts. . . . Last season, with Orebro (Sweden, SHL), Aulin had seven goals and 17 assists in 47 games. . . . Clark, last season with Esbjerg (Denmark, Metal Ligaen), led the league in points, with 75, including 25 goals, in 36 games. . . .
D Shaone Morrisonn (Kamloops, 1999-2002) signed a one-year extension with Medveščak Zagreb (Croatia, KHL). Last season, he had seven assists in 48 games. . . .

F Jesse Schultz (Tri-City, Prince Albert, Kelowna, 1999-2003) signed a one-year contract with Riessersee Garmisch-Partenkirchen (Germany, DEL2). Last season, with the Rapid City Rush (ECHL), he had 77 points, 34 of them goals, in 70 games. An alternate captain, he finished third in the ECHL scoring race.
———


With the move by DJ Smith from the OHL’s Oshawa Generals to the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs, Hockey Canada had to make an adjustment to the coaching staff of its national junior team. . . . Smith, who was the head coach of the Memorial Cup-champion Generals, was to have been an assistant coach under head coach Dave Lowry of the Victoria Royals. . . . Hockey Canada announced Tuesday that Kelly McCrimmon, the owner, general manager and head coach of the Brandon Wheat Kings, will move from his post as head coach of the U-18 team into Smith’s vacated position. . . . Stan Butler, the general manager and head coach of the OHL’s North Bay Battalion, has moved in as head coach of the U-18 team that will play in the Ivan Hlinka Memorial tournament in August. . . . Shaun Clouston, the general manager and head coach of the Medicine Hat Tigers, has joined the U-18 team as an assistant coach. He replaces Sheldon Keefe, who had been the head coach of the OHL’s Soo Greyhounds, but now is head coach of the AHL’s Toronto Marlies.
On Monday, McCrimmon announced that was turning down an offer to join the Toronto Maple Leafs’ front office, choosing instead to remain with the Wheat Kings. . . . With Canada’s national junior team, he will be away from the team for about a month, from its selection camp through the end of the tournament, which runs from Dec. 26 through Jan. 5 in Helsinki, Finland.
——

Canada's roster for WJC summer camp. Most interesting invite? Jake Walman who was also invited to Team USA's camp. http://t.co/Q6Gn0O1yIs

— Sunaya Sapurji (@sunayas) June 23, 2015

Hockey Canada also has announced the roster for its national junior team’s summer camp. That roster is right here.
The U-18 summer camp roster is right here.
The U-17 summer camp roster is right here.
All three camps, totalling 194 players, will be held in Calgary, July 29 to Aug. 6 in what Hockey Canada is calling its Summer Showcase.
——
The Swift Current Broncos have released three 20-year-old skaters — F Tanner LeSann, D Ayrton Nikkel and F Linden Penner. . . . LeSann, from Yorkton, Sask., had 36 points, including 16 goals, in 195 games over three seasons with the Broncos. . . . Nikkel had two goals and nine assists in 67 games with Swift Current. From Kelowna, he was acquired early last season from the Saskatoon Blades. He also has played with the Brandon Wheat Kings and Everett Silvertips. . . . Penner, from Sherwood Park, Alta., played 36 games with the Broncos last season, putting up four goals and two assists. He also played with the Calgary Hitmen and Moose Jaw Warriors last season. . . . All three have cleared WHL waivers and are free agents. . . . The Broncos now have three 20-year-olds on their roster — G Landon Bow, D Griffin Foulk and F Zac Mackay.
——
The USHL’s board of governors decided at its annual meeting in Colorado Springs on the weekend to go to seven-minute overtime periods in regular-season games. They will play 4-on-4 until the first stoppage of play after three minutes of play, then will switch to 3-on-3. If the game remains tied after that, the game will be decided in a shootout, starting with three players from each team. . . . From a USHL news release: “The USHL previously tested the hybrid overtime period during the 2013 and 2014 preseasons with 3-on-3 overtime play. Over the past five seasons, 39 per cent of games were decided during 4-on-4 overtime in the USHL. Over the past two pre-seasons, 71 per cent ended in a 3-on-3 overtime.”
———

THE COACHING GAME:

Dallas Eakins, Ryan McGill, Lorne Molleken are the #Giants Final 3. Interesting thing about Eakins, he's never Coached Jr

— JAY JANOWER (@DOUBLEJGLOBALBC) June 23, 2015

If Molleken or Eakins are 1st choice, it will be soon. McGill hasn't ruled out pro, so it will be a bit if it's him. https://t.co/1LC5qSMhCG

— Steve Ewen (@SteveEwen) June 23, 2015

Some observers are expecting the Giants to make a coaching announcement before week’s end.
Eakins was fired last season as the head coach of the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers. McGill and Molleken are veteran WHL coaches. McGill’s contract as head coach of the Kootenay Ice wasn’t renewed after last season. Molleken last coached in 2013-14 when he was the GM/head coach of the Saskatoon Blades.
Whoever signs on will be Vancouver’s fourth head coach in three seasons. The Giants let Don Hay out of his contract after 10 seasons as head coach, allowing him to return to the Kamloops Blazers in time for last season. Troy Ward, hired as Hay’s replacement, was fired early in the season and replaced by Claude Noel, whose services weren’t retained after the season ended. . . . The Giants missed the playoffs last season, the second time in three seasons that has happened.
——
Brent Heaven has moved up and taken over as head coach of the Selkirk College Saints of the B.C. Intercollegiate Hockey League. They are based in Castlegar, B.C. . . . Heaven, a 35-year-old from Kamloops, had been an assistant coach with the Saints. He takes over from Alex Evin, who now is on the staff of the BCHL’s Alberni Valley Bulldogs. . . . The Saints won the BCIHL championship last season.
———



The Saskatoon Blades have signed F Chase Wouters and D Payton McIsaac. . . .  Wouters, from Lloydminster, Alta., was the 18th overall selection in the 2015 bantam draft. Last season, with the bantam AAA Lloydminster Heat, he had 57 points, including 19 goals, in 32 games. . . . McIsaac, from Fort Saskatchewan, Alta., was a second-round pick by the Blades in the 2015 bantam draft. He had 45 points, 11 of them goals, in 33 games with the bantam AAA Fort Saskatchewan Rangers.
——

@SeattleTbirds sign their 2015 1st rd bantam pick @elijah_brown5. Earliest they've signed their 1st overall pick since @Jared_Hauf in 2010

— Thom Beuning (@ThomBeuning) June 23, 2015

The Seattle Thunderbirds have signed F Elijah Brown, who was the 15th overall selection in the 2015 bantam draft. Brown, from Edmonton, had 41 points, including 18 goals, in 31 games with the bantam AAA South Side Athletic Club team last season.
——
Got a tip or some information you feel could be useful to me, send an email to greggdrinnan@gmail.com.
——
Braeden Pistawka is the new general manager of the Okanagan Rockets of the B.C. Major Midget Hockey League. He takes over from David Michaud, who left after five years to join the BCHL’s Penticton Vees. Michard now is the Vees’ director of player personnel and corporate sales.
———

http://t.co/tleIjmGH7f is pleased to have Willie Desjardins HC @VanCanucks as our Key note speaker at the #TSCC2015 http://t.co/jdeL47BNR8

— The Coaches Site (@TheCoachesSite) June 23, 2015

There has never been a subscription fee for this blog, but if you enjoy stopping by here, why not consider donating to the cause? Just click HERE. . . and thank you very much.

Portland finally lands Koules, also trims goaltender . . . Blazers add two coaches

Don't be looking for anything here for the next two or three days. We are heading for the hinterland where Internet coverage has been known to be awfully spotty -- in other words, keeping the laptop in the bag lowers the frustration level!
---



The Seattle Thunderbirds added a key component to their roster on Sunday when the Montreal Canadiens returned D Evan Wardley, 20, to the WHL team. . . . Wardley's arrival left Seattle with four 20-year-olds, the others being F Justin Hickman, D Adam Henry and G Taran Kozun. . . . That was one over the limit, but the Thunderbirds dealt with that situation on Monday, as we shall see.
---
With his Saskatoon Blades at 0-4, freshman general manager/head coach Bob Woods said on Sunday that no one in the organization is hitting the panic button. But he told Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix that the team isn't through making changes, explaining that he wanted to add a 20-year-old defenceman before Oct. 15.
On Monday, the Blades acquired that 20-year-old defenceman, getting Adam Henry from the Seattle Thunderbirds. By day's end, the Blades had traded away two defencemen, acquired one (Henry) and released two other players.
The Blades dealt D Turner Ottenbreit, 17, to Seattle for Henry.
Henry, from Winnipeg, turns 20 on Nov. 24. He was a third-round selection by the Lethbridge Hurricanes in the 2009 bantam draft. Since then, he has played 176 regular-season games and has put up 76 points, 16 of them goals. The Hurricanes traded him to Seattle early last season; he recorded 38 points, seven of them goals, in 64 games with the Thunderbirds.
Ottenbreit, from Yorkton, Sask., was a 12th-round selection by the Blades in the 2012 bantam draft. The 6-foot-4, 180-pounder was pointless in 10 games with the Blades last season. This season, he has one goal in two games. He looked wobbly on Friday night after taking two shots to the chin from Brandon Wheat Kings F Jesse Gabrielle during a scrap and then was scratched from Saturday's game in Moose Jaw against the Warriors.
Henry's arrival leaves the Blades with three 20-year-olds, the others being F Sam McKechnie, another former Hurricanes player whom Saskatoon acquired from Seattle last week, and F Brett Stovin.
F Chase Clayton, 20, who had been on the Blades' roster, was one of the players released yesterday. From Abbotsford, Clayton also has played with the Calgary Hitmen. In 245 regular-season games, he has 84 points, including 32 goals. He was pointless in four games this season, after putting up 11 goals and 11 assists in 58 games with Saskatoon last season.
Also being released by Saskatoon was D Tyler Dea, a 19-year-old from St. Albert, Alta. He has three assists in 37 career games; he was pointless in two games this season.
Meanwhile, the Blades dealt D Ayrton Nikkel, 19, to the Swift Current Broncos for D Cole Bevan, 18, and a seventh-round pick in the 2015 bantam draft.
Bevan, a 6-foot-1, 208-pounder from Cloverdale, B.C., has two assists in 18 regular-season games with the Broncos. He was a 10th-round pick in the 2011 draft.
Nikkel, from Kelowna, also has played with the Brandon Wheat Kings and Everett Silvertips. He was pointless in three games with the Blades this season. In 173 career regular-season games, he has 34 points, including eight goals. A native of Kelowna, he was a second-round pick of the Blades in the 2010 bantam draft.
On Sunday, the Montreal Canadiens released F Nikita Scherbak from their training camp roster and he joined the Everett Silvertips. That completes the deal in which Scherbak moved to Everett from the Blades. Everett gave up G Nik Amundrud, 17, a first-round pick in the 2015 bantam draft and a second-rounder in 2016. The draft picks had been conditional on Scherbak being assigned to Everett.
---
The Spokane Chiefs have acquired F Calder Brooks, 20, from the Prince Albert Raiders for a fifth-round selection in the 2015 bantam draft. . . . From Emerald Park, Sask., Brooks was an eighth-round pick by the Calgary Hitmen in the 2009 bantam draft. The Raiders acquired him from Calgary midway through last season. In 144 regular-season games, he has 68 points, including 26 goals. This season, he has a goal and an assist in two games. . . . The move leaves the Raiders with three 20s -- D Sawyer Lange, F Dakota Conroy and F Jayden Hart, who turns 20 on Dec. 14. . . . The Chiefs' roster now features four 20s, with Brooks joining F Connor Chartier, F Marcus Messier and F Liam Stewart.
---
The Medicine Hat Tigers have traded F Miles Koules, 20, to the Portland Winterhawks for a fourth-round selection in the 2017 bantam draft. . . . Koules, from Los Angeles, had played 141 regular-season games with the Tigers, putting up 92 points, including 45 goals. Last season, he had 51 points, 25 of them goals, in 70 games. He has one goal in two games this season. He is the son of former WHLer Oren Koules (Portland, Great Falls Americans, Medicine Hat, Spokane Flyers, Calgary, Brandon, 1979-82). . . . If you are wondering who has Koules family bragging rights, Dad had 154 points, including 60 goals, in 179 regular-season games. . . . “It’s hard," Miles told Ryan McCracken of the Medicine Hat News. "When you’re an older guy, you’re a leader and you just have to be up front and show the young guys that things are good. . . . But it’s alright, it’s good news to be going to a great team like that, but the Tigers are a great team as well.” . . . Originally, Koules's WHL rights were held by the Everett Silvertips. They dealt him to Medicine Hat for F Reid Petryk at the trade deadline during the 2011-12 season. Before that deal was made, there had been speculation that Koules would end up with Portland. . . . It is believed that Portland tried hard to acquire Koules, but that Doug Soetaert, then Everett's GM, wouldn't move him within the U.S. Division. . . . The Winterhawks now are carrying four 20s -- Koules, D Josh Hanson, F Travis McEvoy and D Joshua Smith, who turns 20 on Oct. 10. . . . It also is interesting that the Winterhawks' 27-man roster now includes 14 American-born players, although both those numbers will change on Tuesday (see next item). . . . The Tigers' roster now includes three 20s -- D Tyler Lewington, who will be 20 on Dec. 5, D Kyle Becker and G Marek Langhamer.
---
The Portland Winterhawks got down to two goaltenders on Monday as they assigned Michael Bullion to the NAHL's Wenatchee, Wash., Wild. . . . Bullion, 17, is from Anchorage, Alaska. He played one regular-season game with Portland, giving up five goals on 33 shots. . . . Bullion, who split last season between the junior A Toronto Jr. Canadiens and the midget AAA Toronto Marlboros, was a ninth-round selection by the Winterhawks in the 2012 bantam draft. . . . The move leaves Portland with veteran Brendan Burke and newcomer Adan Hill, 18, as its goaltenders. Hill, from Calgary, was 4-0-0/1.65/.934 in four games last season with the Winterhawks; this season, he is 0-2-0/3.98/.905.
---
The Kootenay Ice has released F Shane Allan, who turns 17 on Dec. 19, and D Mark O'Shaughnessy, 17. Allan will play for the midget AAA Calgary Royals, while O'Shaugnessy joins the BCHL's Vernon Vipers. . . . The Ice also released Russian F Alexander Chirva, 18. Chirva had six points, two of them goals, in 58 games with the Moose Jaw Warriors last season. This season, he had one goal in three games with the Ice. . . .After Chirva was released by the Warriors, the Ice selected him in the 2014 CHL import draft. . . . Kootenay is left with one import player, but Rssian D Rinat Valiev, who turns 19 on Oct. 5, is out for up to four weeks with an undisclosed injury. . . . Kootenay is carrying 23 players, including eight defencemen and 13 forwards. Included are two 20-year-olds -- F Levi Cable and F Austin Vetterl. . . . Asked about Chirva by Taylor Rocca of the Cranbrook Daily Townsman, Ice GM Jeff Chynoweth responded: "First of all, we expected more. Secondly, with some of our younger players, they might be behind him at this point, but by Christmas time they would be ahead of him and he’s taking ice time away from some of those younger players.” . . . As for having an import opening and a 20-year-old opening, Chynoweth told Rocca: “We’re just going to play it out. . . . We’ll see what happens in the next few weeks. As teams start to play more games and their numbers get set there’s going to be more players available. Whether they’re 20-year-olds or import players, there’s going to be some options to look at.” . . . The Ice also holds the rights to F Tim Bozon, 20, who is with the AHL's Hamilton Bulldogs and G Mackenzie Skapski (AHL-Hartford Wolf Pack). . . . Rocca's story is right here.
---
Matthew Gourlie of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald reports that Warriors D Austin Adam, who suffered a shoulder injury in a Saturday game, doesn't need surgery, but still might miss eight weeks. . . . Gourlie's story is right here.
---
Bob McKenzie of TSN takes an early look right here at some players who remain in NHL camps but still are being watched closely by Canada's national junior team. That includes F Curtis Lazar of the Edmonton Oil Kings, who is having a solid camp with the NHL's Ottawa Senators.
---
Larry Brooks of the New York Post has been watching with interest as NHL teams have been hiring numbers people who specialize in analytics. But, he wonders "why there isn’t more information available to an inquiring, inquisitive and educated public than exists in any forum that hasn’t been bought and paid for by NHL teams?" . . . Could it be that hockey has its head in the sand when it comes to marketing statistics to fans? . . . Brooks' piece is right here.
---
The 42nd anniversary of Paul Henderson's winning goal in Game 8 of the Summit Series came and went on Sunday. Right here is a piece that Lance Hornby of the Toronto Sun wrote two years ago, providing some inside info on the series.
---




The Portland Winterhawks slipped to 0-5 as they were swept in a weekend doubleheader by the visiting Everett Silvertips. The Winterhawks are 0-5 for the first time since 1999-2000. . . .The Kamloops Blazers have added Terry Bangen and Chris Murray as part-time assistant coaches. Bangen, who also is an assistant coach with the UBC Thunderbirds, spent five seasons as an assistant coach with the Blazers under head coaches Tom Renney and Don Hay. Murray played three seasons (1991-94) with the Blazers and was on two Memorial Cup-winning teams. He works full-time as a member of the Kamloops Fire Department. . . .
The Victoria Royals have signed G Griffen Outhouse, 16, who was added to their list in 2013. Outhouse, from Williams Lake, B.C., is playing for the major midget Cariboo Cougars, who play out of Prince George. He played last season with the POE U-16 team, going 2.88/.882 in 12 appearances. . . . Kamloops Blazers D Patrik Maier has been suspended for three games for a Friday night headshot on Victoria F Axel Blomqvist. Maier sat out Saturday's rematch in Victoria, which the Royals won 4-3 in OT. Blomqvist missed that game and Sunday's 5-3 loss to the Giants in Vancouver. . . .
Victoria D Ryan Gagnon was given a two-game suspension for a charging major he incurred in Friday's game against visiting Kamloops. He served his suspension by missing Saturday and Sunday games. . . . D Riley Hillis of the Tri-City Americans will sit for two games after being hit with a clipping major and game misconduct at Spokane on Saturday, while Chiefs D Tamas Laday got a one-game suspension for a charging major and game misconduct in the same game. . . . The major midget Okanagan Rockets' Twitter account revealed Monday that D Nolan Kneen will make his WHL debut with the host Kamloops Blazers against the Swift Current Broncos on Wednesday. Kneen, from North Vancouver, was the third-overall selection in the 2014 bantam draft.
---

Exciting team but still bad crowds for the #WHLGiants at the Pacific Coliseum.
— News1130 Sports (@News1130Sports) September 29, 2014

Just wondering how long owner Ron Toigo will be patient, he's lost lots of money the last 2 years.
— News1130 Sports (@News1130Sports) September 29, 2014

Can't see Toigo staying at Coliseum long term, if crowds don't improve.
— News1130 Sports (@News1130Sports) September 29, 2014

Broncos put up some big numbers . . . Arling era draws to close

The Swift Current Broncos’ board of directors has revealed that the franchise showed a profit of $197,244 for 2013-14.
The announcement was made Thursday night at the team’s annual general meeting.
“It’s been a long road from where we started,” said board chairman Liam Choo Foo in a news release, noting that the starting point four years ago was a $200,000 deficit.
The Broncos play in the smallest market in the 60-team Canadian Hockey League.
“We’ve seen continual growth and we’re optimistic about where we’re going,” he continued, “but by no means are we done working towards where we need to get to”.
Later, Shawn Mullin, the radio voice of the Broncos, tweeted: “The bad news is that attendance was down (59) a game, but good walk-ups paying higher prices and higher concession sales made up for that.”
The Broncos averaged 2,119 fans per game last season, good for 21st in a 22-team league. That was down from 2,178 in 2012-13.
The Broncos have two new directors -- Shane Lacasse, an accountant/partner at Stark and Marsh Chartered Accountants LLP and former Broncos F Jeff Kirwan (1993-98). He is the crop inputs manager at SWT.
The meeting also marked the end of an era as the board announced that “Joe Arling . . . will be stepping down after almost 20 years of dedicated service.”
Say it ain’t so, Joe!
While Arling has been with the Broncos, in one role or another, including chairman, for almost 20 years, he has been around the WHL for a whole lot longer than that.
He played a bit for the Saskatoon Blades in 1970-71, but made a much bigger mark as a coach, working on the staffs of the Billings Bighorns and the Blades.
And a whole lot of hockey people know him as the owner of the Swift Motel. Oh, the stories that have been told around that table!
---
The WHL, which most times follows the suit of the NHL when it comes to rule changes, has banned the spin-o-rama move from the shootout and from penalty shots during regulation or overtime.
A spin-o-rama is defined as a “360-degree turn.”
Thankfully, the WHL also has done away with the dry scrape prior to the onset of overtime that it had experimented with during the exhibition season. Instead, a dry scrape will be done through the middle of the ice only prior to a shootout, as in recent seasons.
There also have been a number of changes regarding faceoffs that ensue from pucks ending up out of play.
Now . . . faceoffs will be held in the attacking zone if a shot at the net deflects off a post or crossbar and out of play; if a shot at the goal breaks a pane of glass; if a shot at the net goes off the side of the net and out of play; if a shot at the net goes off the dasher or glass and out of play; if a shot at the net is deflected out of play by a teammate; and if a shot at the net becomes wedged in or on the exterior of that net.
Prior to this, everything hinged on the last player to have touched the puck. If an attacking player had the last touch, the faceoff was moved outside the zone; if a defending player or the goaltender had the last touch, the faceoff was inside the zone.
Among other rule changes announced by the WHL on Thursday:
1. Teams will change ends prior to the start of the five-minute OT period.
2. Should a game need a shootout, teams again will change ends before it begins.
3. Tripping will be called if a player dives and trips an attacking player, regardless of whether he makes contact with the puck.
The complete news release is right here.
---
I had been hoping the WHL would do more to crack down on checking from behind and checks to the head. But, unfortunately . . . crickets.
I fear that checking-from-behind minors have become just another penalty, like slashing, elbowing and cross-checking.
During the 66-game exhibition season, referees handed out 29 checking-from-behind minor penalties and one major penalty. That should be considered unacceptable, and it’s time something more was done to get this nasty play out of the game.
Maybe it’s time for the WHL to do what USA Hockey has done and endorse the Look-Up Line. Jeff Z. Klein of The New York Times describes it as “an orange warning track painted on the ice designed to reduce paralyzing neck injuries that could result from collisions into the boards.” That line is 40 inches wide.
As Klein wrote, “Its goal is to warn players to use caution when giving and receiving checks in the danger area close to the boards.”
During those same WHL exhibition games, there were 13 minor penalties and one major penalty called for headshots. Again, that is just too many.
BTW, there were 30 fighting majors handed out during those 66 games. Of course, each fighting major carried with it an automatic game misconduct.
That works out to less than one fight (0.45) every two games.
Last season, according to the numbers at hockeyfights.com, there were 679 fights during the regular season, which works out to 0.86 per game.
Tack on the automatic game misconduct, then, and it would appear that fighting in the WHL is cut almost in half.
Maybe it’s time the WHL pooh-bahs gave that some thought.
---
The WHL also issued a reminder about its new playoff format, something that it first announced in June.
If you need a refresher, the news release that was issued yesterday is right here.
---


Over the past few days, The Oregonian has been counting down the 25 greatest players in the history of the Portland Winterhawks. Portland freelancer Scott Sepich unveils No. 1 right here, while a complete list is right here. . . . Lists like these are always subjective and they’re usually done in the hopes of prompting discussion. So just let me say that I would have had Perry Turnbull a lot higher than No. 13 and, yes, Troy Mick would have been higher than No. 22. If Dennis Holland is No. 2, and that’s fine, then Mick has to be in the top 10.
---
Most, if not all, WHL teams will be missing key players as the regular season opens tonight. Those players are in NHL training camps. Daniel Nugent-Bowman points out that it really isn’t fair to the WHL teams because the points on the line at this time of the season can be awfully important come March. . . . He also ponders what can be done about this situation. . . . His column is right here.
BTW, the Calgary Hitmen have nine players off their roster at NHL camps. It isn’t known if any of those players will be back as they begin the franchise’s 20th season on Saturday against the visiting Red Deer Rebels. But it’s safe to say that the Hitmen roster a month from now will look somewhat different than what it is right now.
Laurence Heinen has more right here from the Calgary Herald.
---
If you are a WHL fan, you know that there are numerous regular-season previews available in print and on the Internet. That includes the Eastern and Western Conference previews that have appeared on this blog.
But they all pale compared to the preview put together by Cody Nickolet over at the WHL From Above blog.
Give it a look right here.
---
Here’s an interesting note from James Shewaga, the sports editor of the Brandon Sun:
“The boys from Brandon give the Wheat Kings plenty of homegrown talent on this year’s roster. In fact, if they all stick this season, Brandonites could fill six of the 12 forward spots in the lineup on any given night, with Tyler Coulter, Brett Kitt, Tanner Kaspick, Duncan Campbell, Ty Lewis (currently injured) and Jesse Gabrielle, whose family moved to the Wheat City a year ago. The ‘Brandon’ Wheat Kings, indeed.”
---
While things certainly appear to be looking up in Swift Current, that’s not the case in Prince Albert where Raiders GM Bruno Campese said Wednesday that the team lost money in 2014, something that will be confirmed at the annual general meeting on Sept. 29.
Darryl Mills, the managing editor of the Prince Albert Daily Herald, addresses the Raiders’ situation right here, and he compares it when Winnipeg lost the Jets to Phoenix.
---




The Calgary Flames have returned D Eric Roy to the Brandon Wheat Kings. But he has a shoulder injury and could be out for two weeks. . . . The Saskatoon Blades were missing D Ayrton Nikkel and F Wyatt Sloboshan at practice on Thursday. Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix reports that both are ill and questionable for tonight’s opener in Prince Albert against the Raiders. . . .
With the teachers’ strike having been settled in B.C., and school scheduled to resume on Monday, the Vancouver Giants have announced “that in celebration . . . any school-aged child who is accompanied by an adult to Saturday’s season-opener against the Victoria Royals will get into the game for free.” Visit the Giants’ website for details. . . .
Bobby Henderson, the GM and head coach of the BCHL’s Langley Rivermen, has agreed to a five-year contract extension that takes him through 2018-19. Last season, his second with the Rivermen, they went 37-13-3-5, for the BCHL’s best regular-season record. . . . The Portland Winterhawks go into the regular season missing two defencemen -- Blake Heinrich has a brain injury, while Josh Hanson is nursing a broken knuckle.

Sutter staying in Switzerland

THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Boyd Kane (Regina, 1994-98) signed a one-year contract with Medvescak Zagreb (Croatia, KHL). He had 15 goals and 22 assists in 74 games as captain of the Hershey Bears (AHL) last season. . . . Kane joins former Hershey head coach Mark French with Medvescak Zagreb. Kane was the Bears’ captain for two seasons while French was the head coach. . . . Dave Sottile of pennlive.com has more right here.
D Dave Sutter (Seattle, 2010-12) signed a one-year contract with Red Ice Martigny (Switzerland, NL B). He had no points in three games with Genève-Servette (Switzerland, NL A) and had three goals and nine assists in 43 games on loan to Red Ice last season. For those who are inclined to practice their French language skills, The Red Ice press release, with picture, can be found right here.
———
The 2013 Hockey Coaches Conference, which is scheduled for Aug. 9-11 in Burnaby, B.C., has adjusted its calendar due to Hockey Canada’s decision to ban body checking from the peewee level and below. The conference now will include an on-ice presentation that will address these changes. The on-ice session will be led by Derek Popke and Yogi Svejkovsky of the Vancouver Hockey School, both of whom are well known in Lower Mainland minor hockey circles. Both also will be available in a question-and-answer session after the on-ice portion.
 . . . There is more right here.
———
The CHL held its 2013 import draft on Wednesday with the Vancouver Giants using the first overall selection on D Dmitri Osipov, a 17-year-old from Russia. His agent is Ritch Winter of Edmonton, who has told media that Osipov will report. "He could have made a lot of money in the KHL,” Winter told Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province. “Tells you all you need to know."
———
The Spokane Chiefs released F Mikulas Rimmel, an 18-year-old Czech, prior to the import draft. He had seven points in 42 games with the Chiefs last season.
———
The Portland Winterhawks released Russian D Kirill Vorobev prior to the draft, which allowed them to select Swedish D Anton Cederholm, who was a fifth-round selection by the Vancouver Canucks on Sunday. . . . Vorobev played in 53 games with Portland last season.
———
The Everett Silvertips made two selections in the import draft, despite having D Mirco Mueller on their roster. Mueller, 18, was selected by the San Jose Sharks with the 18th pick in Sunday’s NHL draft. . . . A CHL team that has a European player selected in the first round of the NHL draft is allowed to have three imports on its roster. In this instance, should Mueller return to Everett from San Jose, the Silvertips would have to drop an import. On Wednesday, Everett added the CHL rights to Finnish F Waltteri Hopponen and Russian F Ivan Nikolishin.
———
Three teams — the Everett Silvertips, Portland Winterhawks and Saskatoon Blades — were involved in Wednesday trades that will impact their 20-year-old situations.
The Blades dealt F Shane McColgan, 20, to the Winterhawks and D Matt Pufahl, 20, to the Silvertips.
McColgan was dealt for a seventh-round pick in the 2014 bantam draft and a third-rounder in 2015. From Manhattan Beach, Calif., McColgan is preparing for his fifth WHL season. He played three seasons with the Kelowna Rockets before being dealt to Saskatoon last summer. He had 66 points, including 19 goals, in 69 games last season. In 281 career regular-season games, he has 268 points, inlcuding 84 goals.
Pufahl, who is from Saskatoon, went to Everett for D Ayrton Nikkel, 18. Everett also gets a fifth-round selection in the 2015 bantam draft. Nikkel, from Kelowna, was a second-round selection by the Blades in 2010. He was dealt to the Brandon Wheat Kings as part of the deal that involved F Brayden Schenn at the 2011 trade deadline. Brandon later traded him to Everett. He had nine points and 117 penalty minutes last season. . . . Pufahl had 43 points in 69 games last season, with 25 of those points coming via the PP. He was a fourth-round selection by the Red Deer Rebels in the 2008 bantam draft.
Pufahl’s arrival leaves Everett with four 20-year-olds, the others being F Manraj Hayer, Reid Petryk and Josh Winquist.
The Blades now have four 20-year-olds to compete for the three spots — F Erik Benoit, F Nathan Burns, D Graeme Craig and F Collin Valcourt.
The defending-champion Winterhawks also announced that F Joey Baker, 20, has left the organization in order to “pursue educational opportunities.”
His departure leaves McColgan as Portland’s only 20-year-old player.
———
The CHL’s goaltender of the year will be back in the WHL for another season. The NHL’s Los Angeles Kings have told the Red Deer Rebels that G Patrik Bartosak will return for his 20-year-old season.
Bartosak was a fifth-round selection by the Kings in Sunday’s NHL draft.
“I talked to him at noon (Wednesday) and he’s good with it,” Rebels GM/head coach Brent Sutter told the Red Deer Advocate. “He understands the decision. He knew all along that this was an option.”
According to the Advocate: “The Kings have goaltenders under contract at each level of the organization and will wait a year to sign Bartosak.”
With Bartosak and F Dominik Volek on the Rebels’ roster, Sutter took a pass on yesterday’s CHL import draft.
———
The Seattle Thunderbirds were the only other WHL team not to participate in the import draft. They expect to have Russian F Alex Delnov, 19, and Latvian F Roberts Lipsbergs, 19, back for their second seasons. . . . Lipsbergs led the Thunderbirds last season in goals (30) and points (58), while Delnov had 49 points, including 20 goals.
———

The OHL’s London Knights have “agreed in principle” wih Sportsnet on a reality TV show that would be fashioned after On The Edge, the show in which cameras followed the Saskatoon Blades during the just-completed season. . . . Morris Dalla Cost of the London Free Press has more right here, but it doesn’t sound as though the cameras will have as much access to the Knights as they did with the Blades.
———

Three forwards off the roster of the Portland Winterhawks have been named to the U.S. U18 select team that will play in the Ivan Hlinka Memorial tournament next month. Paul Bittner, Keegan Iverson and Dominic Turgeon are the lone WHL players named to the 21-man roster. . . . Bittner is from Crookston, Minn., while Iverson is from St. Louis Park, Minn., and Turgeon is from Cherry Hills, Colo. . . . F Chase Phelps of Edina, Minn., who is on the Lethbridge Hurricanes’ protected list, also was named to the U.S. team. He has been at Shattuck St. Mary’s for three seasons. . . . The Ivan Hlinka tournament is scheduled for Breclav, Czech Republic, and Piestany, Slovakia, Aug. 5-10.
———
THE COACHING GAME:
Steve Spott is leaving the OHL’s Kitchener Rangers to take over as head coach of the Toronto Marlies, the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs. Spott has spent 14 seasons in the OHL, 10 with Kitchener and four with the Plymouth Whalers. . . . Spott replaces Dallas Eakins, now the head coach of the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers. . . .


Paul Fixter is the new head coach of the OHL’s Sudbury Wolves. He takes over from Trent Cull, who has signed on as an assistant coach with the Syracuse Crunch, the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning. . . . Cull had been the Wolves’ head coach for three seasons. . . . Fixter joined the Wolves this summer after five seasons on the staff of the Kitchener Rangers.
———



From Matthew Gourlie (@Matt Gourlie) of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald: “I'm not saying the CHL Import Draft is rigged, but... Niagara pick Alex Mikulovich has had his team listed as Niagara on twitter for days.”
The OHL’s Niagara IceDogs selected Mikulovich in the second round of yesterday’s CHL import draft.


There has never been a subscription fee for this blog, but if you enjoy stopping by here, why not consider donating to the cause? Just click HERE. . . and thank you very much.

THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Josiah Anderson (Kelowna, 2005-06) signed a contract for the rest of this season with Bad Nauheim (Germany, Oberliga) after a successful two-week tryout. He was pointless in two games during the tryout. Anderson last played in 2009-10, when he had one goal and four assists in 49 games with the Hannover Indians (Germany, 2. Bundesliga).
———
Chris Clark, the assistant coach with the NAHL’s Wenatchee Wild, is all over the Internet after his Saturday night live performance.
Right here is a look at what Deadspin came up with, and make sure you check the comments.
Meanwhile, Chris Dilks, over at westerncollegehockeyblog.com, posted a link on his blog, too. If you visit there, you also will find a a link to what he refers to as “the greatest coach-on-the-ice moment ever.”
A cursory glance shows that Clark made it on sites belonging to USA Today, The Guardian, CBS Sports, diehardsports.com, ESPN, The Daily Mail and on and on.
And you just know that we’ll see this clip again and again when December arrives and the TV people are doing their year-in-review shows. Which means we’ll get to laugh all over again.
———
D Ayrton Nikkel of the Everett Silvertips will be gone for up to two months after suffering ligament damage in a hand during a scrap with F Ryan Hanes of the host Prince George Cougars on Saturday. . . . Nikkel was acquired from the Brandon Wheat Kings at the Jan. 10 trade deadline. . . . The Silvertips also are without veteran D Austin Adams (concussion). . . . Nick Patterson of the Everett Herald also reports that Everett F Ryan Harrison suffered a concussion last week and won’t play tonight against the visiting Portland Winterhawks.
———
The WHL has suspended D Tyler Stahl, the captain of the Victoria Royals, for eight games. That comes after he took a headshot major in a 6-4 victory over the visiting Vancouver Giants on Friday night. . . . This is Stahl’s third suspension this season. When it’s over, he will have sat out 16 games while under suspension. Earlier, he sat out six games for a headshot.
Stahl missed Saturday’s rematch with the Giants and won’t play tonight against the visiting Prince Albert Raiders. Cleve Dheensaw of the Victoria Times Colonist reports that F Alex Gogolev, the reigning WHL and CHL player of the week, didn’t practise on Monday but that head coach Dave Lowry “quipped to reports that he may just be keeping his leading scorer ‘rested and fresh.’ ” . . . Victoria F Ben Walker (concussion) may return tonight after missing 11 games.
———
There is some ch-ch-ching on the WHL’s disciplinary site, too. . . . Calgary GM Kelly Kisio got touched for $500 after exchanging post-game greetings with the on-ice officials following a 6-4 loss to the Hurricanes in Lethbridge on Friday. . . . The Moose Jaw Warriors and Swift Current Broncos each tossed $500 into the pot for a line brawl that took place in Swift Current on Saturday night. The Warriors won that game, 5-2. . . . There could still be more coming, too, because there’s nothing there from Sunday’s game in which Lethbridge lost 7-1 to the Oil Kings in Edmonton. That one included a line brawl that featured battling goaltenders.
———
MONDAY’S GAME:
In Kamloops, the Blazers scored the game’s last three goals, all on the PP, and beat the Kelowna Rockets, 6-5. . . . Kamloops F Colin Smith tied the game with 21.4 seconds left in the third period and F Chase Souto won it on a re-direction with 15 seconds left in OT. . . . Smith, F Brendan Ranford and F JC Lipon each had a goal and two assists for Kamloops. . . . F Myles Bell scored twice for the Rockets, who are 14-0-2 in their last 16 games. . . . It was Kelowna’s first appearance in Kamloops since Opening Night.
———






From Swift Current Broncos F Denis Bosc (@DenisBosc): “Had the pleasure of getting yelled at today by legend himself #tiger Williams for not passing the puck hard enough #stillhas it”

There has never been a subscription fee for this blog, but if you enjoy stopping by here, why not consider donating to the cause? Just click HERE. . . and thank you very much.