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The Prince George Cougars are in the market for an assistant coach, general manager Todd Harkins confirmed to Taking Note on Sunday. They have a vacancy after Michael Hengen left the team after two seasons. . . . "We have had quite a few resumes come in and are slowly sifting through them,” Harkins said. . . . A new assistant coach will work alongside head coach Richard Matvichuk and associate coach Steve O’Rourke, both of whom are starting their first seasons with the Cougars. . . . As for Hengen, he told Taking Note that he has “decided to move on from coaching.” It was, he added, “an absolute dream come true to coach in the WHL.” He had to make a “tough decision,” he continued, “but it’s a very necessary choice that I had to make.” . . . Brent Arsenault, who had been with the organization since 2005 and also was the education advisor, has left the Cougars, too. Harkins said that the Cougars have added Mary LaMarre as the education advisor. She “was Brent’s contact and right-hand person at Prince George Secondary School,” Harkins said.
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 With two of the WHL’s Big Three having left for the NHL over the past month, what about the one who remains? Bruce Hamilton, the majority owner, president and governor of the Kelowna Rockets, told Larry Fisher of the Kelowna Rockets: “I’m 59 and I’m not so sure that’s in line for me right now. I’m happy here right now. We want to win again — that’s the most important thing for us, and to continue to have one of the better franchises in the Canadian Hockey League.” . . . Kelly McCrimmon, the owner of the Brandon Wheat Kings, has signed on with the NHL’s Las Vegas expansion franchise as assistant general manager. Tim Speltz, the long-time general manager of the Spokane Chiefs, is leaving to join the Toronto Maple Leafs as a western scout. . . . Hamilton? Well, he added: “If the right thing came along that interested me, yeah, I would listen. You’d be stupid not to listen.” . . . Fisher’s story is right here. |
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The Everett Silvertips are being ‘Trumped’ on Tuesday. . . . Donald Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, has Everett’s Xfinity Arena booked for the entire day, so the Silvertips will be on the outside looking in. Unless, of course, they plan on attending The Donald’s rally, which begins at 7 p.m., although the doors apparently open at 4. . . . The Silvertips wrapped up their main camp with the annual Green vs. Grey intrasquad game on Sunday afternoon.
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The Saskatoon Blades have signed F Brady Nicholas, who was a fifth-round selection in the 2016 bantam draft. From St. Albert, Alta., the 6-foot-0, 178-pound Nichols had 43 points, 14 of them goals, in 30 games with the bantam AAA St. Albert Saints last season.
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The Moose Jaw Warriors announced the signings of four players, each of them taller than 6-foot-0, following their intrasquad game on Sunday night. . . . D Matthew Benson of Surrey, B.C., played last season with the Delta Hockey Academy Elite 15s. The 6-foot-1, 187-pound Benson recorded one goal and 12 assists in 33 games. He will turn 16 on Nov. 24. . . . D Matthew Sanders of Calgary was a fifth-round selection in the 2016 bantam draft. Sanders, 6-foot-2 and 191 pounds, played last season with the bantam AAA Calgary Bisons, scoring seven goals and adding 10 assists in 36 games. . . . F Kale Clouston, 6-foot-4 and 177 pounds, is from Rockyview, Alta. He was a fifth-round pick in the 2015 bantam draft. Last season, with the minor midget AAA Rockeyview Raiders, he had 39 points, including 14 goals, in 62 games. . . . F Brecon Wood of Edmonton also signed. The 6-foot-2, 168-pounder was selected in the seventh round of the 2015 bantam draft. He will turn 16 on Dec. 5. Last season, he had 15 points, four of them goals, in 23 games with the OHA-Edmonton team in the Canadian Sports School Hockey League.
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Want to thank the @MJWARRIORS for their continued support of mental awareness and the honoring of my son Ethan Williams. #SickNotWeak— Chris Williams (@chriswwms) August 28, 2016
When the Moose Jaw Warriors held their intrasquad game on Sunday night, admission was by donation with all proceeds going to the Canadian Mental Health Association in memory of Ethan Williams. . . . It is important that people like Williams not be forgotten. . . . Two years ago, Williams, a Warriors prospect from Winnipeg, took his own life at 16 years of age. . . . Mike McIntyre of the Winnipeg Free Press explored Williams’ story right here.
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The SJHL has announced that all of its players will wear No. 9 patches this season in honour of the late Gordie Howe, who died on June 20, 2016. Born in Floral, Sask., Mr. Hockey grew up in Saskatoon. . . . “As a league from Mr. Howe’s home province, from what he did for hockey in Saskatchewan and the world, the SJHL’s governors wanted to recognize him somehow,” SJHL president Bill Chow said. “It was decided a No. 9 patch would be worn on the sweaters. Mr. Howe meant a lot to hockey and the Saskatchewan people. He is the epitome of what Saskatchewan hockey is all about — heart, soul, character, dedication and commitment.”
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Got a tip or some information you feel could be useful to me, feel free to email me at greggdrinnan@gmail.com.
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Monument unveiled honouring the dear departed Matroska, arena cat at Admiral Vladivostok: pic.twitter.com/LrNZB0BNnS— Patrick C (@ChunkletsHockey) August 28, 2016
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process of hiring a head coach to replace the one-and-done Dan Lambert.
it yet, but you can bet it will be going to 3-on-3 overtime in the upcoming season. Why? Because it mirrors the NHL, that’s why.”
Greg Ireland has resigned as head coach of the OHL’s Owen Sound Attack in order to accept a coaching position elsewhere. However, no one is saying just where that position is. . . . Ireland had been with the Attack since 2011-12. . . . Ireland’s departure leaves the Attack with at least three vacancies on its coaching staff. Earlier this summer, assistant coach Drew Bannister left to become head coach of the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds and assistant coach Daniel Tkaczuk now is on the Kitchener Rangers’ coaching staff.
Dave Brown is the new general manager of the OHL’s Erie Otters. He replaces long-time GM Sherry Bassin, who was moved out as the franchise changed hands. . . . Brown has been with the Otters for four seasons, serving most recently as director of hockey operations. . . . The Otters also are working on a contract extension with head coach Kris Knoblauch, whose current deal runs through 2015-16.
the U of Alberta Golden Bears, as an assistant coach.
The Vancouver Giants made it official on Monday morning -- they have hired Tyler Kuntz to work as an assistant coach under new head coach Lorne Molleken. . . . Kuntz, 36, is from Lumsden, Sask. He spent the last five seasons with the UBC Thunderbirds, serving as head coach last season. . . . The Giants also said that Matt Erhart, who came on board as an assistant coach two years ago, “will remain on staff.”
It isn’t often that WHL team officials get involved in civic politics, at least not in a fashion that would be visible to the public.
Bill Muckalt was introduced Monday as the new general manager and head coach of the USHL’s Tri-City Storm, which plays out of Kearney, Neb. Muckalt, who played two seasons with the BCHL’s Merritt Centennials before going on to Michigan and then to a pro career, has spent the past four seasons as an assistant coach at Michigan Tech. . . . With the Storm, he replaces Jim Hulton, now the head coach of the QMJHL’s Charlottetown Islanders.
series, for the Ed Chynoweth Cup, 2-0. . . . The next three games, if needed, are scheduled for Kelowna — on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. . . . As they did in Game 1 on Friday, the Rockets scored key goals late in one period and early in another. . . . Merkley broke a 1-1 tie at 19:57 of the first period and F Gage Quinney stretched the lead to 3-1 just 27 seconds into the second period. . . . Brandon tied it on two goals by F Peter Quenneville, at 2:49 and 6:37, in the third. He’s got 10 playoff goals. . . . Merkley got the winner, his fourth goal of these playoffs, at 10:16 while skating shorthanded. . . . Moments earlier, Brandon had come up empty on a 2-on-1 break. . . . Kelowna F Leon Draisaitl closed it out with an empty-netter at 19:39. . . . F Dillon Dube had two assists for Kelowna, with Draisaitl and F Rourke Chartier each with a goal and an assist. . . . F Morgan Klimchuk had two assists for Brandon. . . . Kelowna G Jackson Whistle stopped 38 shots, 12 more than Brandon’s Jordan Papirny. . . . Brandon was 1-for-4 on the PP; Kelowna’s PP never got on the ice. . . . The referees were Jeff Ingram and Reagan Vetter. . . . At one point in the first period, the Wheat Kings had a 5-1 edge in shots on goal. At period’s end, the Rockets led, 16-8. . . . There weren’t any lineup changes from Game 1. . . . Attendance, for the second night in a row, was 5,502. . . . Bruce Luebke, who calls Wheat Kings games on CKLQ, has a game story 
F Auston Matthews isn’t eligible for the NHL draft until 2016, but there already is a lot of buzz around the phenom from Scottsdale, Ariz. As things now sit, he is considered by most observers to be the favourite as the top pick in that 2016 NHL draft. . . . Matthews is coming off a tremendous season in the U.S. National Team Development Program. . . . Now the $64,000 question is this: Where will Matthews play in 2015-16? . . . To date, the options have been seen as the NCAA (Boston College, Boston University, Denver, Michigan or North Dakota) and the WHL. The Everett Silvertips selected him in the third round of the 2012 bantam draft. . . . But perhaps there is another option. On Saturday, Ryan Kennedy of The Hockey News reported that Matthews’ advisors have said he is “fielding offers from the Swiss League.” . . . Kennedy’s piece is 
F Dominic Turgeon of the Portland Winterhawks has signed a three-year entry-level contract with the NHL’s Detroit Red Wings. Turgeon, the son of former NHLer Pierre Turgeon, turned 19 on Feb. 25. He was a third-round pick by the Red Wings in the NHL’s 2014 draft. . . . This season, he had 43 points, including 18 goals, in 67 games. In three seasons, he has 82 points., 31 of them goals, in 187 games. He scored eight times in Portland’s 17 playoff games this spring. . . . Turgeon has joined the Grand Rapids Griffins, Detroit’s AHL affiliate, for the remainder of the playoffs.
In the OHL, the host Oshawa Generals scored a 5-1 victory over the Erie Otters to take a 2-0 lead in the championship series. . . . F Matt Mistele scored twice for Oshawa, giving him 10 goals in these playoffs. . . . Erie F Connor McDavid had his 16-game playoff point streak snapped. He has 43 points, including 19 goals, in 17 games. . . . Attendance was 6,085. . . . They’ll play in Erie on Monday and Wednesday nights.
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