THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Brad Schell (Spokane, 1999-2004) signed a one-month tryout contract with Dornbirn (Austria, Nationalliga). He didn’t play last season, and had 18 assists in 12 games with the Gwinnett Gladiators (ECHL) two seasons ago.
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You may have heard of the EDGE Program — or EDGE Project, as it is sometimes referred to — and wondered what it is.
In brief, it involves various WHL teams who send players to Vancouver’s downtown east side, accompanied by RCMP officers, to experience the other side of life. The players return to their communities and in school visits recount what they have seen and experienced.
What follows, however, explains it better than I could. It is from the parent of a WHL player and it arrived in my inbox on Tuesday morning. More than anything, it sheds some light on what this kind of experience can mean to a teenager who, for the most part, enjoys the good life.
“Reading your column today — re: the Blazers players who took part in the EDGE program with the Vancouver Police — reminded me of my son's experience last year doing the same thing. He was completely overwhelmed by the experience and to this day speaks about it with his friends and anyone who will listen.
“Perhaps the most amazing thing he experienced was speaking with a ‘tired old beaten up guy’ who lived on the street day to day, begging and grovelling for cash to support his crystal meth addiction.
“My son was, at first, judgmental and unable to see how someone could allow himself to fall so far into a life of despair and emptiness. He was even more stunned as the police officer, moments later and once alone with my son, spoke more about the fellow.
“As my son listened in stunned silence, the officer explained why he had spent, what seemed like an unusual amount of time speaking with the guy and just spending time.
“It turns out the guy had been the young officer's science teacher no more than four years earlier — a happily married father of two with a home, a career and a future. Out of sheer curiosity, one evening he decided to see what all the fuss was about and made a fateful, tragic decision. Immediately hooked, he spent the next few weeks sneaking about to feed the dragon. Within months, he was penniless and deeply in debt.
“Upon discovering the terrible truth when the family home was seized, his wife and children moved back in with her family and then she did everything anyone could possibly do to help him find his way back. Nothing worked.
“My son told me that this fellow is completely aware of what he has done. He is obviously bright, yet also knows that for him it is over. He has neither the ability nor strength to fight this demon. It is tragic.
“Until seeing something like that first hand, my son was like many of us. His opinion of street people was that they should just get their shit together, that there is no reason for them to be where they are. All they need to do is put their minds to it and quit bothering everyone.
“He now knows that things are not quite that simple; that it can happen to anyone, and that few ‘choose’ a life of quiet desperation.
“The EDGE Program deserves our utmost respect.”
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The Portland Winterhawks, obviously wondering how many veteran players won’t be returning from NHL camps in the next little while, have acquired F Charles Wells, 20, from the Prince Albert Raiders.
In exchange, the Winterhawks gave up a fourth-round pick in the 2013 bantam draft.
The Raiders acquired Wells from the Seattle Thunderbirds last season. All told, he put up 36 points in 63 games. He has played 234 regular-season games and has 113 points, including 41 goals.
Portland now shows six 20-year-olds on its roster, with Wells joining F Oliver Gabriel, F Riley Boychuk, D Brett Ponich, D Taylor Aronson and D William Wrenn. Of that group, only Wrenn is back with the Winterhawks after a stint at an NHL camp.
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JUST NOTES: The Prince George Cougars have signed F Carson Bolduc, a 15-year-old from Kamloops who was the 59th overall selection in the 2011 bantam draft. He had 98 points in 61 games with the bantam Tier 1 Kamloops Jardine’s Blazers. Bolduc is scheduled to make his WHL debut on Jan. 1 when the Cougars meet the Blazers in Kamloops. . . . The Regina Pats have returned D Brody Luhning, 19, to the SJHL’s Battlefords North Stars. He had three assists in three exhibition games. The Pats are down to 24 players, including two goaltenders and eight defencemen. That total doesn’t include three players at NHL camps — F Jordan Weal (Los Angeles Kings), D Brandon Davidson (Edmonton Oilers) and F Garrett Mitchell (Washington Capitals). . . . F Brenden Walker of the Brandon Wheat Kings has received medical clearance to resume workouts. He hasn’t played since suffering a concussion during the playoffs last spring.
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A few more players headed from NHL camps back to the WHL . . . D Darren Dietz, Montreal to Saskatoon; F Mark Stone, Ottawa to Brandon; D Jordan Fransoo, Ottawa to Brandon; F Kevin Sundher, from Buffalo to Victoria; D Mark Pysyk, from Buffalo to Edmonton; G Nathan Lieuwen, Buffalo to Kootenay; and F Josh Birkholz, Florida to Everett.
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“The Victoria Royals still haven’t played a regular season game,” writes Darren Kloster of the Victoria Times Colonist, “but the Western Hockey League team is already flying high on fan response and an eager corporate community willing to back them.
“In dramatic fashion Tuesday afternoon, a Harbour Air seaplane painted in Royals logo and colours deftly touched down in Victoria Harbour, unloading a dozen smiling players in freshly unwrapped uniforms.”
Check out Kloster’s story and a photo right here.
The Royals also announced that their home-opener — the Vancouver Giants come calling on Saturday night — is sold out.
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Neate Sager at Yahoo! Sports has put up an interesting piece involving David Branch, the commissioner of the OHL, and his views on fighting.
That piece is right here.
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Jeff Blair of The Globe and Mail writes about Boston Bruins centre Patrice Bergeron and his thoughts on concussions in hockey. That piece is right here.

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
     
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
     
Taking Note on Twitter

THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Tomas Hricina (Regina, 2008-10) signed a two-year (plus option) contract with Banska Bystrica (Slovakia, Extraliga) after a successful tryout. He had three assists in 19 games with Kosice (Slovakia, Extraliga) and five goals and 10 assists in 23 games on loan to Bardejov (Slovakia, 1.Liga) last season.
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JUST NOTES: G Jonny Hogue of Lethbridge will experience something of a dream come true when he skates onto the ice at the Hurricanes’ camp. Hogue, an eighth-round pick in the 2011 bantam draft, is a former Hurricanes’ stick boy. . . . D Ryan Aasman is coming home. Aasman, 19, who has played with the Prince Albert Raiders, Seattle Thunderbirds and Swift Current Broncos, is going to camp with his hometown Medicine Hat Tigers. Aasman was selected by the Raiders with the eighth overall pick of the 2007 bantam draft. He was dropped by the Broncos after last season. . . . D Justin Slobozian, 19, who spent part of three seasons (2007-10) with the Regina Pats, has been acquired by the MJHL’s Portage Terriers from the Thunder Bay North Stars of the Superior International junior league. Slobozian split last season between the MJHL’s Neepawa Natives and the North Stars. . . . The 2011 Western Canada U-16 Challenge Cup will be played at Mosaic Place in Moose Jaw, Oct. 27-30.  This tournament features the highest-rated U-16 players in the four western provinces. . . . Don Nachbaur, the head coach of the Spokane Chiefs, will go into this regular season with 479 regular-season coaching victories. . . . F Brody Luhning, 19, who has played with the Swift Current Broncos and Calgary Hitmen, will go to camp with the Regina Pats. He spent most of last season with the SJHL’s Battlefords North Stars. He is from Lumsden, Sask., which is a couple of slapshots north of Regina. . . . Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post reports that “The Pats are believed to be close to signing their top two picks from the 2011 WHL bantam draft: C Adam Brooks (second round, 25th overall) and RW Dane Schioler (second round, 36th overall). An announcement could come as early as today.” . . . Latvian D Kristaps Bazevics and Norwegian F Jonas Knutsen, the Prince Albert Raiders’ two selections in the 2011 import draft, have arrived and will take part in training camp. . . . A couple of notes from Jeff Bromley, whose blog, Ice Chips, is linked to over there on the right. He notes that the Kootenay Ice, the WHL’s defending champion, has sold more than 2,100 season tickets. “We sold 328 new season tickets, by far the most in the last number of years,” Ice president/GM Jeff Chynoweth told him. “It’s a great base and it’s going to help get the average attendance up.” . . . Bromley also reports that Kootenay F Brock Montgomery had sports hernia surgery earlier this month and won’t be back on the ice until some time in October. . . . It’s interesting that F Daniel Nachbaur, 16, will be in rookie camp with the Tri-City Americans. Daniel, who played last season in the EDGE program in Calgary, is the son of former Americans head coach Don Nachbaur, who now is the head coach of the Spokane Chiefs. . . . It’s also interesting that Tri-City’s rookie camp roster includes 19 players who are from the U.S.
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THE COACHING GAME:
Jason Christie (Saskatoon, 1986-90) has signed on as head coach of the ECHL’s Ontario Reign. That means the Central league’s Bloomington Blaze is in the market for a new head coach. Christie was the Central league’s coach of the year last season with the Bloomington PrairieThunder. He signed with the Blaze as July 13. . . .
The OHL’s Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors have added Kelly Harper to their staff as assistant GM/assistant coach, while former NHLer Brad May has signed on as an assistant coach. They will work alongside GM/head coach James Boyd, who took over from Dave Cameron when the latter joined the NHL’s Ottawa Senators as an assistant coach. Harper had been on the coaching staff of the Brampton Battalion since 2003. . . .
Former Seattle Thunderbirds assistant coach Turner Stevenson has joined the NAHL’s Wenatchee Wild as an assistant coach. He will work with head coach John Becanic, who spent a season on Seattle’s staff. Becanic is into his first full season as the Wild’s head coach. He took midway through last season.
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A WHL player has pleaded guilty to a charge of dangerous driving causing death. He pleaded guilty through his lawyer on Tuesday in provincial court in Cochane, Alta. Sentencing arguments will be held on Nov. 17. There is more right here.
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It’s called BioSteel and you’re going to be hearing a lot about it in the immediate future. What is BioSteel? It is the latest, and some hockey players say the best, in high-performance energy drinks. James Mirtle of The Globe and Mail has more right here.
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TWEET OF THE DAY . . .
From Regan Bartel, the radio voice of the Kelowna Rockets: “Is this a sign of tough economic times? 350 Rockets season tickets have been released to the public. Wow. This hasn't happened in years.”

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
     
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
     
Taking Note on Twitter

THE MacBETH REPORT:
D Bryce Lampman (Kamloops, 2002-03) has signed a contract for the rest of the season with Ingolstadt (Germany DEL). He was pointless in five games with the Houston Aeros (AHL) this season.
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Steve Ewen, who writes for the Vancouver Province and covers the Vancouver Giants, continues to make progress as he crushes the tumour with humour. You may check out his latest blog entry right here.
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The Calgary Hitmen will add D Brody Luhning, 18, to their roster as they return to action after the Christmas break. Kuhning, an eighth-round pick by the Swift Current Broncos in the 2007 bantam draft, has 23 points and 50 penalty minutes in 35 games with the SJHL’s Battlefords North Stars. Kuhning, from Lumsden, Sask., had one assist in 30 games with Swift Current last season. . . . The Hitmen are at home to the Moose Jaw Warriors on Tuesday.
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Elliott Pap of the Vancouver Sun reports that the Vancouver Giants expect to have two injured players back for tonight’s game with the visiting Kamloops Blazers. D Zach Hodder (shoulders) is expected to play his first game of the season, while F Greg Lamoure (shoulder) hasn’t played since Dec. 4. . . . The Giants may still be without D David Musil, who has a deep bone bruise on his right shin and hasn’t played since Dec. 7. That injury kept him off the ice when he joined the Czech junior team before Christmas. . . . The Giants also will be without F Matt Bellerive, who is with Team Pacific at the U-17 World Hockey Challenge in Winnipeg and Portage la Prairie. . . . The Blazers likely will have D Josh Caron (broken collarbone) back for the first time since the second game of the season. But they will be missing D Brady Gaudet and F Logan McVeigh, both of whom are with Team Western at the WHC. The Blazers are expected to have F Matt Needham of the Okanagan Hockey Academy and D Landon Cross from the midget AAA Brandon Wheat Kings in their lineup. Both were 2010 bantam draft picks. . . . The Giants and Blazers meet in Kamloops on Tuesday night.gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Taking Note on Twitter