Panthers get Barzal . . . Nylund joins Eagles . . . Monarchs win AHL final opener

There isn’t any doubt that a community that loses its daily newspaper is poorer for it. And I don’t say that just because I worked at the Kamloops Daily News prior to its death.
It has been 17 months since The Daily News last published and, whenever I am around and about, I still have people asking me what happened.
Even today, I am unable to provide an answer, although I firmly believe it all began when newspapers started giving away their product via the Internet.
What I do know is that I am constantly hearing just how important a daily newspaper is to a community and the important role it plays in the lives of its citizens.
On Saturday, in a conversation with someone who works with the elderly among us, I learned something else about daily newspapers and their role.
This person told me that there are elderly people in Kamloops who struggle with knowing what day of the week it is. Why? Because they no longer have a daily newspaper arrive in their home six days a week. That newspaper always had the day and date in the Page 1 masthead.
Meanwhile, other newspapers continue to fight for survival.
Dave Perry, the editor of the Aurora, Colo., Sentinel has written a really good piece explaining a lot of what is going on. If you care about the newspaper industry, or wonder how it got to this point, give it a read. It’s right here.
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For a while on Saturday, I was the general manager of the NHL’s Florida Panthers. It was part of a mock NHL draft held by the gang at TSN 1260, an Edmonton radio station.
Selecting 11th overall, I took F Mathew Barzal of the Seattle Thunderbirds for the Panthers, who should be so fortunate come June 26 when the first round of the draft is held in their home arena.
If you are curious about how it went, click right here.
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THE COACHING GAME:

The BCHL’s Surrey Eagles, who are preparing for the 25th season, have added Gary Nylund to their coaching staff. Nylund also was on the team’s coaching staff from 2010-12. As an assistant coach, he will work with Blaine Neufeld, the director of hockey operations and head coach. Nylund, who is from Surrey, was the third overall selection by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the NHL’s 1982 draft. He went on to play 608 NHL games, also seeing time with the Chicago Blackhawks and New York Islanders. He had played three seasons (1979-82) with the Portland Winterhawks. . . . Nylund has been with the Delta, B.C., Fire Department for 22 years now. He presently is a captain.
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Our latest poll closed yesterday. The question asked about the next head coach of the Vancouver Giants.
There were 117 votes, with 41 (35 per cent) selecting Ryan McGill. Dallas Eakins drew 20 votes (17 per cent), with Ted Nolan and John Tortorella tied with 19 (16 per cent). . . . Ian Herbers, the head coach of the CIS-champion, drew 12 votes (10 per cent), while Elliott Pap, who retired from the Vancouver Sun’s sports department last week, got six votes (5 per cent).
Feel free to take a look over there on the right and check out our new poll. It has to do with the Brandon Wheat Kings.
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In the AHL, F Michael Mersch scored in OT to give the host Manchester Monarchs a 3-2 victory over the Utica Comets in Game 1 of the Calder Cup final. . . . Game 2 is scheduled for tonight in Manchester. . . . Mersch had two goals and an assist, the winner coming 4:10 into OT. . . . The winner withstood a video review as officials checked to see if the net come off its moorings before the puck crossed the goalline. . . . F Jordan Weal, who played for the Regina Pats (2008-12), had two assists, giving him 26 career playoff points, a Monarchs’ franchise record. The previous record (25) was held by F Bud Holloway (Seattle Thunderbirds, 2004-08). . . . F Sven Baertschi had one of Utica’s goals but left later with an undisclosed injury. . . . Jon Rosen, the Los Angeles Kings’ Insider, has more right here.
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My money is on either Molleken or McGill. RT @Arpannnnn: @SteveEwen anyother q. any word on who giants next coach will be?

— Steve Ewen (@SteveEwen) June 6, 2015

Piers Morgan writes that I didn't recognise him in a restaurant in New York.I did.I just didn't want to speak to someone I truly detest

— John Cleese (@JohnCleese) June 5, 2015

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Winterhawks to introduce new man today . . . Three teams still looking

F Brandon Segal (Calgary, 1999-2004) has signed a two-year contract with Medveščak Zagreb (Croatia, KHL). Last season, he had 44 points, 17 of them goals, in 63 games with the Hershey Bears (AHL).
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1. The Portland Winterhawks are scheduled to introduce Jamie Kompon as their new general manager and head coach at a news conference today. Mike Johnston, who had been GM/head coach since October 2008, will be on hand to do the introduction. Johnston now is the head coach of the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins. . . . Kompon spent the past two seasons as an assistant coach with the Chicago Blackhawks. He has two Stanley Cup rings, from the 2012 Los Angeles Kings and the 2013 Blackhawks. . . . Tommy Gorman, the head coach of the Blackhawks and Montreal Maroons (1934-36), was the last person to win back-to-back Stanley Cups with different teams. . . . Almost a year ago, Cory Smith of the Niagara Falls Review wrote a neat story about Kompon taking the Stanley Cup to visit family. That story is right here.

2. With Portland having its head coach in place, that leaves three other WHL teams still in the hunt. . . . The Moose Jaw Warriors are looking to replace Mike Stothers, who now is head coach of the AHL’s Manchester Monarchs. . . . The Regina Pats need a head coach and two assistants after the franchise’s new owners fired Malcolm Cameron and lost two assistants to resignations. . . . The Vancouver Giants will replace Don Hay, who left after 10 seasons to return to Kamloops and coach the Blazers.

3. If you’ve lost track, here’s a look at WHL teams that have signed new head coaches for the upcoming season:
Calgary Hitmen (Mark French; replaces Mike Williamson, who was fired after last season).
Edmonton Oil Kings (Steve Hamilton; promoted to replace Derek Laxdal, now head coach of the AHL’s Texas Stars).
Kamloops Blazers (Don Hay; replaces interim head coach Guy Charron).
Kelowna Rockets (Dan Lambert; promoted to replace Ryan Huska, now head coach of the AHL’s Adirondack Flames).
Portland Winterhawks (Jamie Kompon; replaces Mike Johnston, now head coach of the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins).
Saskatoon Blades (Bob Woods; replaces David Struch, who was fired after last season).
Tri-City Americans (Mike Williamson; replaces Jim Hiller, whose contract wasn’t renewed after last season).

4. Germany 7, Brazil 1. . . . If you are old enough to remember the 1972 Summit Series, that is about all to which I can compare Tuesday’s World Cup result. At the World Cup, like in that 1972 Canada-Russia series, it wasn’t one team against another; it was country versus country. If you can remember the feeling in Canada when a nation realized that the Great Russian Bear had quite a hockey team, well, multiply that by 10 and you will know what it’s like in Brazil today. . . . Brazilians waited a long time to play host to this World Cup and no one, absolutely no one, anticipated the dream ending the way it did. . . . Of course, if you’re ESPN, you equate Brazil’s loss to LeBron and the Miami Heat losing the NBA final to the San Antonio Spurs. Seriously!

5. The Seattle Thunderbirds have signed F Matthew Wedman, an Edmontonian who was a second-round selection in the 2014 bantam draft. Last season, he had 72 points, including 32 goals, in 33 games with the Edmonton-South Side Athletic Club bantam AAA side. . . . His brother, Cole, 20, played three seasons with the Spokane Chiefs before being dealt to the Moose Jaw Warriors this offseason. Another brother, Dan, has played two seasons with the AJHL’s Bonnyville Pontiacs and has committed to Cornell.

6. NHL Central Scouting has released its “2014-15 Futures North American list.” Included on the list are 19 WHL players, including three members of the Seattle Thunderbirds. If you’re into such rankings, the complete list is right here.

7. The Russian Hockey Federation and the Russian Ministry of Sport are putting together a 10-team women’s hockey league. According to a report right here, each team will be allowed three foreign players “and the FHR is thinking about not allowing foreign goalkeepers starting from the 2015-16 season.” Gee, that sounds familiar. . . . Former NHLer Alexei Yashin, who is the general manager of the Russian national women’s team, will run this new league.

8. Ken Campbell of The Hockey News offers up his opinion right here on the latest move to unionize major junior hockey players. This, he writes, is good news for the players and bad news for the owner/operators.

9. With another move afoot to attempt to unionize major junior hockey players, Ryan Kennedy of The Hockey News talked to a few players in an attempt to measure the level of interest. His column is right here, and it’s worth a read, if only for the line about players paying for Subway sandwiches with change.

10. Blaine Neufeld is the new head coach of the BCHL’s Surrey Eagles, replacing Peter Schaefer, who had been general manager and head coach. Neufeld, a goaltender who played in the WHL with the Medicine Hat Tigers, Saskatoon Blades and Vancouver Giants (2004-07), is from Winkler, Man. He  had joined the Eagles in April as director of hockey operations. . . . Schaefer, who had a year left on his contract, will continue to work with the Eagles in a consulting role. Schaefer told Nick Greenizan of the Peace Arch News that he and the Eagles had agreed to a “mutual” parting of the ways. . . . Greenizan’s complete story is right here.
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F Mitch Barker, a 10th-round selection of the Spokane Chiefs in the 2011 bantam draft, says he will play next season with the BCHL’s Victoria Grizzlies. Barker, who is from Kamloops, turns 18 on Oct. 12. He had four points in 24 games with the BCHL’s Prince George Spruce Kings last season. In 2012-13, he put up 39 points, 19 of them goals, in 48 games with the junior Kelowna Chiefs of the Kootenay International Junior League. . . . The AHL’s Manchester Monarchs have signed Chris Hajt as their new assistant coach. Hajt, 36, spent the last six seasons with the OHL’s Guelph Storm, most recently as assistant GM. He is the son of former NHL D Bill Hajt.
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Haven't seen anything so utterly helpless since Man shot Bambi's mother and he was alone in the forest.
— George Johnson (@GeorgejohnsonCH) July 8, 2014

Attention Brazil soccer writers: don't answer phone or e-mail. Editors calling with orders for 12-pt series on what's wrong with your game.
— David Shoalts (@dshoalts) July 8, 2014

Haven't seen defence this bad by Brazil since 13-4 Oilers rout NJ in 80s where Gretzky called NJ Mickey Mouse
— Jim Matheson (@NHLbyMatty) July 8, 2014

Of all the sports, I didn't think id miss 3 goals in soccer while peeing
— Peter Holland (@PeterHolland13) July 8, 2014

If this were baseball, Germany would not be allowed to steal bases, according to the unwritten rules.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) July 8, 2014

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Buddy Bodman, who coached the ill-fated Spokane Flyers of the WHL for 26 games in 1980-81, died Wednesday morning at his home in Spokane. He was 75. . . . Bodman was best known in the Spokane area for his career as a player – he played for the senior Spokane Flyers, Comets and Jets. Aside from his stint as the WHL Flyers’ head coach – they were 4-21-1 under him – he coached the senior Jets and junor B Braves, Flames and Rockets. . . . Bodman resigned as the Flyers’ coach and the team went through two more coaches (Tom Gauthier, 3-8-0, and Wayne Coxworth, 10-25-0) before season’s end. The following season, the Flyers started 3-22-1 under Ron Harris before folding. . . . Bodman was a native of Saskatoon. He and his wife, Judy, had five children.
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Chris Hartsburg, an assistant coach with the Everett Silvertips, has been added to the coaching staff of the U.S. team that will play at the U-17 Five Nations tournament in Czech Republic next week. Hartsburg will be the team’’s video co-ordinator. Barry Smith, the former Kamloops Blazers head coach who will coach in Tilburg, Netherlands, this season, is Team USA’s head coach. . . . The Five Nations tournament runs Aug. 7-11 in Chomutov, Kadan and Klasterec, Czech Republic. Team USA, which flew to Europe on Wednesday, will play an exhibition game against Czech Republic on Sunday before opening tournament play Wednesday against Germany. . . .
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The MJHL’s Steinbach Pistons have signed David Anning as assistant general manager and assistant coach. Anning had been the GM/head coach of the Winnipeg Saints. However, he lost that position when the franchise was sold and relocated to Virden, with the Oil Capitals hiring Troy Leslie as GM/head coach. . . . In Steinbach, Anning will work alongside GM/head coach Paul Dyck.
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The MJHL’s Winkler Flyers have signed Blaine Neufeld as their goaltending coach. Neufeld played for the Flyers and was an all-star in 2004-05. In 2006-07, he was part of the Memorial Cup-champion Vancouver Giants. Neufeld also played in the WHL (2004-07) with the Medicine Hat Tigers and Saskatoon Blades. . . . Neufeld also is an assistant coach with the midget AAA Pembina Valley Hawks, who play out of Morden, Man.
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The New York Islanders have signed D Griffin Reinhart, who was the 20th overall selection in the NHL’s 2012 draft. Reinhart has 61 points in 105 games with the Edmonton Oil Kings over the last two seasons. . . . He had 36 points in 58 games last season as the Oil Kings won the WHL championship. . . . He is the son of former NHL D Paul Reinhart. . . . Griffin has two brothers who also play in the WHL. Max, a 20-year-old forward who has played four seasons with the Kootenay Ice, has signed with the NHL’s Calgary Flames and finished last season with their AHL affiliate, the Abbotsford Heat. . . . Sam, who turns 17 on Nov. 6, also plays in Kootenay. He is projected as an early pick in the NHL’s 2014 draft. . . .
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A Thursday evening tweet from F Henrik Samuelsson of the Edmonton Oil Kings: “I would like to thank @Griffin Reinhart in advance for all the things he is going to buy me now that he’s a show guy #congrats.”

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