THE MacBETH REPORT:
D Clayton Stoner (Tri-City, 2002-05) signed a lockout contract with Banska Bystrica (Slovakia, Extraliga). He had one goal and four assists in 51 games with the Minnesota Wild last season. . . .
D David Hajek (Spokane, 1998-99) signed a contract extensio with Dresdner Eislwen (Germany, 2. Bundesliga) through the end of this season. He has three goals and four assists in 16 games for Dresden this season. Hajek had originally signed a try-out contract with Dresden in August. This was converted into a 3 1/2-month contract after one exhibition game and was set to expire on Dec. 15.
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The OHL’s Erie Otters have named Kris Knoblauch as their new head coach, replacing Robbie Ftorek, 60, who was fired on Thursday. The Otters, whose roster includes 15-year-old phenom Connor McDavid, were 7-15-5, which has them in last place in the Western Conference. Knoblauch, 34, will work his first game tonight against the Hounds in Sault Ste. Marie. . . . Peter Sidorkiewicz remains as the Otters’ assistant coach. . . . Knoblauch was dismissed by the Kootenay Ice over the summer after he applied for the U of Alberta Golden Bears’ head-coaching position while still under contract. Knoblauch had been helping out as an assistant coach with the junior B Kimberley Dynamiters of the Kootenay International Junior League.
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JUST NOTES:
The Saskatoon Blades have decided to keep D Nelson Nogier for the remainder of the season. Nogier, a fourth-round selection in the 2011 bantam draft, started the season with the midget AAA Saskatoon Contacts. Nogier was brought in prior to the Blades leaving on a B.C. Division swing. They are said to be especially enamoured with his leadership abilities, but don’t want to put too big a load on a 16-year-old freshman. . . . Nogier is the son of former WHL G Pat Nogier. . . . The Blades are in Calgary tonight and expect to have F Shane McColgan (concussion) back in their lineup after a three-game absence. . . .
The Prince Albert Raiders have signed F Austin Daae, 19, who was playing for the SJHL’s Estevan Bruins. Daae, who is from Estevan, had 16 points, including five goals, in 21 games. Daae had six points in 52 games with the Prince George Cougars last season. . . . The Raiders are looking for depth as they begin to prepare to lose a number of players to Christmas tournaments.
The Red Deer Rebels have acquired F Filip Vasko, who turns 19 on Dec. 10, from the Kelowna Rockets for a conditional sixth-round selection in the 2013 bantam draft. Vasko, a Slovakian sophomore, has 10 points, including three goals, in 19 games this season. Last season, in 51 games, he had 12 assists. The draft pick is payable if Vasko is on the Rebels’ roster after the Jan. 10 trade deadline.
A note from Alan Caldwell of Small Thoughts At Large about this trade: “Kelowna already owned Red Deer's 2013 6th round bantam pick from another conditional deal, the one that sent Austin Ferguson to Red Deer a month ago. Since Red Deer sent Ferguson home 2 weeks ago to decide if he wants to be a hockey player, I guess it's now safe to say the Ferguson trade has been nullified, Red Deer got the pick back and promptly traded it to Kelowna again for Vasko now.”
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In an interesting piece in The Globe and Mail, Alan Maki reports:
A season-long medical study like no other has examined head injuries among university hockey players and determined there is “significant underreporting” of concussions in both men’s and women’s hockey.
That story is right here.
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If you aren’t aware of it, there is an interesting story unfolding on a blog that carries the title The Myles McCauley Story. It is right here.
As the blog’s subtitle reads: “This is a story of Myles McCauley. Myles is hockey player from Sterling Heights, Michigan and this is the story of his journey in the OHL and a detour to Penticton, BC and the BCHL.”
The story includes emails and, well, you should check it out because someone, as they say, is going to have some splaining to do.

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.

Saturday . . .

A Canadian has never won an Olympic shot put medal. Dylan Armstrong of Kamloops is planning on becoming the first as he has his sights set on London and the 2012 Olympic Summer Games. This season, he already has had a six-meet victory string and he’s ranked No. 1 on the Diamond League and No. 3 in the world.
Allan Maki of The Globe and Mail has that story right here.
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Later Saturday, Armstrong broke his own Canadian senior shot put record with a throw of 22.21 metres. That also is the best throw in the world this season. . . . Prior to Saturday, his most-recent Canadian record throw was 21.72m at a meet in San Diego on April 23. Armstrong surpassed that mark four times in Calgary on Saturday.
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Clayton Stoner remembers looking at his cell phone and having a "bad feeling."
That’s how Michael Russo of the Minneapolis StarTribune began a story on the Minnesota Wild defenceman who played in the WHL with the Tri-City Americans.
Stoner’s brother, Luke, had been killed in a logging accident on B.C. Island.
The complete story is right here.
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SOME NHL DRAFT NOTES: The first round took almost four hours. Rounds 2-7 were completed in less than that. . . . The Edmonton Oilers selected F Ryan Nugent-Hopkins of the Red Deer Rebels with the draft’s first pick. He is the first WHL player to be selected first overall since Prince Albert D Chris Phillips was taken by the Ottawa Senators in 1996. . . . D Keegan Lowe of the Edmonton Oil Kings had asked the Edmonton Oilers not to select him. He was taken by the Carolina Hurricanes in the third round. His father, Kevin, is the Oilers’ president, hockey operations. . . . Laurent Brossoit of the Oil Kings was the first WHL goaltender selected when he was taken by the Calgary Flames in the sixth round. Interestingly, former Oil Kings head coach Steve Pleau scouts for the Flames. Brossoit played three games for Pleau, one in 2008-09 and two in 2009-10. . . . G Nathan Lieuwen of the Kootenay Ice, who was the WHL’s playoff MVP, was taken by the Buffalo Sabres in the sixth round. . . . Brossoit was taken 164th overall; Lieuwen was No. 167. . . . The Oilers took Vancouver D David Musil with the first pick of the second round. His father, Frank, is a former NHLer who now scouts for the Oilers. . . . The Anaheim Ducks used a sixth-round pick on D Josh Manson of the BCHL’s Salmon Arm Silverbacks. He is the son of Dave Manson, a former Prince Albert defenceman and coach. . . . The Carolina Hurricanes grabbed the last WHL player selected when they took F Brody Sutter of the Lethbridge Hurricanes in the seventh round, 193rd overall. He is the son of former NHLer Duane Sutter, who now is the Calgary Flames’ director of player personnel. . . .
The St. Louis selected F Demitrij Jaskin in the second round. He is from Omsk, Russia, but has played internationally for the Czech Republic's U-18 side. He was taken by the Calgary Hitmen in the 2010 CHL import draft. Sibir Novosibirsk selected him with the first pick of the KHL's 2010 draft. If he comes over here, chances are he'll end up with the AHL's Peoria Rivermen. . . . According to the USHL, “A total of 28 players who skated in the USHL during the 2010-11 season had their names called by NHL clubs.” . . . According to Skip Berry, the director of broadcasting and media relations for the Tri-City Storm, “The impact of the USHL overall on the draft is around 41 players, drafted out of the USHL/played in the USHL, just five players behind the OHL.” . . . The WHL had 33 players selected, with 22 taken from the QMJHL. . . . A year ago, there were 43 WHL players taken in the draft. . . .
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WHL teams and the number of 2011 draft picks:
4 — Edmonton, Portland, Saskatoon.
3 — Spokane, Swift Current.
2 — Prince Albert, Red Deer, Seattle, Vancouver.
1 — Brandon, Kelowna, Kootenay, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, Moose Jaw, Tri-City.
0 — Calgary, Everett, Kamloops, Prince George, Regina, Victoria.
By division:
East — 11
U.S. — 10
Central — 9
B.C. — 3
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Best tweet from the draft came from F Rocco Grimaldi:”I have decided to take my talents to South Beach and join the Florida Panthers. haha.”
Grimaldi, who is listed at 5-foot-6, was taken 33rd overall by Florida. He is out of the U.S. National Team Development Program; his WHL rights belong to the Portland Winterhawks.
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THE COACHING GAME: Michael Russo of the Minneapolis StarTribune reported Saturday afternoon that the Houston Aeros, the AHL affiliate of the Minnesota Wild, were down to a shortlist of four in a search for a new head coach. According to Russo, that list included Gary Agnew, Ryan McGill, Kirk Muller and Trent Yawney. . . . An hour later, Nick Kypreos of Sportsnet reported that Muller is expected to be named head coach of the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals, who are hooked up with the Nashville Predators. . . . The Aeros are looking to replace Mike Yeo, now the head coach of the Wild. . . . The Admirals need to replace Lane Lambert, now an assistant coach with the Predators. . . . While all this was going on, both Vancouver papers are reporting that Muller is in the running — and perhaps the leading candidate — for the position of head coach of the Vancouver Canucks’ AHL affiliate, which it seems will be the Chicago Wolves. . . . The AHL’s Abbotsford Heat also is in need of a head coach, although I’m told assistant Troy Ward has the inside track there. The Heat is looking for a replacement for Jim Playfair, who now is on the Phoenix Coyotes’ staff. . . . The AHL’s Providence Bruins have signed Bruce Cassidy as their head coach. The Boston Bruins affiliate made the announcement Saturday. Cassidy, 46, is the 10th head coach in Providence history. He has been an assistant coach there through three seasons and replaces Rob Murray. . . . Kevin Dineen, the new head coach of the NHL’s Florida Panthers, has said that assistant coach Gord Murphy and goaltender coach Robb Tallas will return. Dineen told George Richards of the Miami Herald that he will hire one more assistant.
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Today’s good read comes from Jason Gay of The Wall Street Journal. It involves the Boston Bruins, a Stanley Cup celebration and a $100,000 bottle of champagne.
It’s right here.

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
     
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Taking Note on Twitter

Monday . . .

It’s game night in the WHL, with Game 3 of the championship final scheduled for Cranbrook.
The series is tied 1-1, with the Portland Winterhawks having opened with a 4-3 OT victory on home ice. The visiting Kootenay Ice won the second game, 7-5, after opening up a 6-1 lead.
The Winterhawks, of course, ran into some penalty problems in that game and now will be without two veteran forwards tonight.
F Tayler Jordan has been suspended for one game after taking a checking-from-behind major for a hit on Ice F Steele Boomer in Game 2.
F Brad Ross drew one of those ‘tbd’ suspensions under supplemental discipline, following a collision with Ice F Matt Fraser. Fraser needed help getting off the ice and was unable to put any weight on his left leg.
If you haven’t seen them already, the Jordan-Boomer hit is right here, with the Ross-Fraser collision right there.
It seems the league has decided not to suspend Portland F Riley Boychuk, who drew an elbowing major and game misconduct for a hit on Ice D Hayden Rintoul. That check is right here.
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Condolences to the family of former WHL D Clayton Stoner (Tri-City, 2002-05), whose brother Luke, 30, was killed Friday morning in a logging accident near Mahatta River on Vancouver Island. . . . According to a press release issued by the Port Alice RCMP, the death is being attributed to a workplace incident. . . . The Stoners are from Port McNeill. . . . Teresa Bird of the North Island Gazette has more right here. . . . Clayton Stoner, 26, spent this season with the NHL's Minnesota Wild.
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D Jared Cowen left the Spokane Chiefs when their season ended and joined the Binghamton Senators, the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Ottawa Senators. . . . He played for Binghamton on Friday night and earned an assist on the first shift of his professional career. Binghamton went on to beat the Portland, Me., Pirates, 3-0, to win a playoff series 4-2. . . . Binghamton will meet the Charlotte Checkers in the Eastern Conference final. . . . Former Seattle Thunderbirds C Jim O’Brien scored one of the Senators’ goals in that victory.
In an AHL game on Monday night, F Dustin Boyd (Moose Jaw, 2002-06) scored six seconds into the third OT period to give the host Hamilton Bulldogs a 2-1 victory over the Manitoba Moose. It was Game 7 of a Western Conference semifinal. Boyd won the period-opening faceoff, dumped the puck off the end boards, beat a defender to it and whacked it past G Eddie Lack for the winner. Hamilton F Nigel Dawes (Kootenay, 2001-05) forced the OT with a goal at 6:24 of the third period. . . . Boyd and Dawes both are from Winnipeg.
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F Sven Bartschi of the Portland Winterhawks is the WHL’s player of the week. He had seven points, including five goals, in three games last week. . . . All signs point to the BCHL’s Quesnel Millionaires being sold and on the move to Chilliwack where they will be rebranded as the Chiefs. Tyler Olsen of the Chilliwack Times has that story right here.
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Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun has an interesting piece right here on the OHL draft that was held on Saturday.
“The changing face of hockey in this province made startling history on Saturday,” Simmons writes, “when three of the first six selections — four of the first 12 players picked — in the Ontario Hockey League priority draft were players of colour.”
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In the QMJHL final, G Jacob DeSerres stopped 17 shots to help the visiting Saint John Sea Dogs to a 5-0 victory over the Gatineau Olympiques in front of 4,000 fans. . . . Saint John, which has won eight straight road games in these playoffs, leads the series 2-1 with Game 4 in Gatineau on Wednesday night. . . . DeSerres (Seattle, Brandon, 2005-10) is 10-2 in the playoffs.

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