One of these days, Kelly McCrimmon, the owner of the Brandon Wheat Kings, will get around to announcing a new general manager. That is expected to be Grant Armstrong, the Victoria Royals’ assistant GM, player personnel. . . . McCrimmon, who has signed on assistant GM with the NHL’s Las Vegas franchise, had been the Wheat Kings’ GM since 1989. The GM in Brandon prior to McCrimmon? Bill Shinske.

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In Spokane, Tim Speltz is leaving his post as GM to join the Toronto Maple Leafs as the NHL team’s head western scout. Speltz had been the Chiefs’ GM since 1990. The last Spokane GM before Speltz took over? Vic Fitzgerald, who owned the Chiefs before selling the franchise to Bobby Brett.

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With training camps about to open, it would seem that all of the post-Memorial Cup speculation involving Brent Sutter’s future as the head coach of the Red Deer Rebels was nothing but hot air. Thankfully.

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Let’s be honest. The star of the Rio Olympics was the Tongan flag bearer in the opening and closing ceremonies. . . . BTW, I realized the Olympics were over when I scanned the TV listings on Sunday evening and the World Poker Tour was on four of the Rogers Sportsnet channels.

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The Portland Timbers were in Seattle on Sunday evening for an MLS game with the Sounders. At one point, a Portland player went down, perhaps injured. According to a tweet from Paige Cornwell (@pgcornwell), Seattle fans chanted: “Let him die! Let him die!” . . . That’s like something out of a Monty Python skit, isn’t it? . . . We will hope that kind of stuff doesn’t reach the rivalry between Portland and Seattle WHL fans.

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The Medicine Hat News reported last week that Tigers F Matt Bradley suffered a separated shoulder in the first period of his first game at the Montreal Canadiens’ development camp in July. Bradley, 19, who had 23 goals and 28 assists with the Tigers last season, hasn’t yet been cleared for contact so may miss the start of training camp. Remind me again why these players need to be in camps during the summer months?

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Yes, it’s time for the WHL to get out in front of things by attaching an automatic game misconduct to a fighting major, so long as an opponent didn’t get an instigating minor. It’s the right thing to do if, that is, player safety really is paramount.

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Is there a bigger tire fire in the sporting world these days than the Saskatchewan Roughriders? They were 3-15 a year ago; today, their offence is bad, their defence is worse — for starters, they can’t pressure the QB because the secondary can’t cover — and they are taking their 1-7 record into Edmonton for a Friday date with the high-flying Eskimos.

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On Aug. 7, Drew Wilson, the radio voice of the Prince Albert Raiders, completed the Frank Dunn Triathlon at Waskesiu in Prince Albert National Park. On Aug. 14, he completed a 100-kilometre bike ride in Saskatoon. On Aug. 21, he completed Ryder Hesjedal’s Tour de Victoria, which covered 140 km. . . . Any question as to which WHL play-by-play guy is most ready for the grind of another season?

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D Ben Carroll, who played the past three seasons with the Edmonton Oil Kings, will attend the U of Alberta and play this season for the Golden Bears. From Sherwood Park, Alta., he played out his junior eligibility last season. . . . There also is speculation that the Golden Bears will get D Ryan Rehill (Kamloops Blazers), F Luke Philp (Kootenay Ice, Red Deer Rebels), F Tyson Baillie (Kelowna Rockets) and D Jason Fram (Spokane Chiefs) if they aren’t able to earn pro contracts at NHL camps. The latter four also played in the WHL as 20-year-olds last season. . . . That would be some kind of recruiting class should Alberta add those four to its roster.

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My wife, Dorothy, is to be one of the co-honourees — along with her friend Margaret Thompson — of the 2016 Kamloops Kidney Walk. Each year, the walk salutes someone who has worked to shine a light on kidney transplants and organ donorship. Dorothy, who had a kidney transplant almost three years ago, will take part in her third straight Kidney Walk on Sept. 25. If you would like to sponsor her, please click right here.

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To all my WHL friends. Travel safe to camp. Enjoy the experience. Good luck to you all. #scoutsfraternity #greatestsportintheworld

— Moults (@Moults_23) August 21, 2016

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.

Dmitri Uchaykin died on Sunday.
A player with HC Eris-Pavlodar in Kazakhstan’s top professional league, Uchaykin, 32, died of a cerebral hemorrhage after having taken a headshot during a game.
For some reason, this hasn’t received a whole lot of attention — certainly not the attention it is due — in the mainstream media. But Stu Hackel of SI.com has put together an excellent look at what happened, including two video links. That package is right here.
This incident is just more proof that the people who control hockey at all levels need to do everything in their power to get any and all contact with the head out of the game.
The death of a player in Kazakhstan, while a long way from North America, is proof that the time has come. It is time to penalize all contact to the head at all levels of hockey. And it is time to stop handing out inconsequential suspensions for deliberate headshots.
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JUST NOTES:
D Harrison Ruopp of the Prince Albert Raiders has signed a three-year, entry-level deal with the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins. Ruopp had 16 points and 132 penalty minutes in 65 games this season. Ruopp, who turned 20 on March 17, was selected by the Phoenix Coyotes in the second round of the 2011 NHL draft. . . . The Penguins acquired the Zehner, Sask., native at the 2012 draft, along with a 2012 third-round pick, for D Zbynek Michalek.

Drew Wilson, the radio voice of the Raiders on CKBI, reports that Prince Albert F Leon Draisatl, who just completed his freshman WHL season, will play for his native Germany at the IIHF U-18 world championship in Sochi, Russia, April 18-28. . . . Draisatl, the Eastern Conference’s rookie of the year, told Wilson: "It's going to be another big tournament and as always our goal is not to play with the big guys (Canada, Russia and USA), it's just to avoid relegation." . . . Prince Albert D Josh Morrissey will be playing for Canada. . . . Wilson has more right here.

G Laurent Brossoit of the Edmonton Oil Kings has signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Calgary Flames. A sixth-round pick in the 2011 NHL draft, Brossoit put up 33 victories this season, along with a 2.25 GAA and a .917 save percentage. . . . He will lead the Oil Kings against the Medicine Hat Tigers in a second-round playoff series that opens tonight in Edmonton. . . .

F Adam Lowry of the Swift Current Broncos has signed an ATO with the St. John’s IceCaps, the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Winnipeg Jets. Lowry, who turned 20 on March 29, was a third-round selection in the NHL’s 2011 draft. . . . He had 88 points, including 45 goals, in 72 games this season. Lowry’s father, Dave, is the head coach of the WHL’s Victoria Royals.

According to Evan Daum of the Edmonton Journal, Oil Kings F T.J. Foster is back skating and could play during the second round. He has been out with a foot injury and hasn’t played since Feb. 9.


If you’re on the sofa tonight, you should know that Game 2 between the visiting Red Deer Rebels and Calgary Hitmen will be televised by Sportsnet. . . . There’ll be Davis Cup tennis from Vancouver on Sportsnet One, followed by the WHL game. The other Sportsnet channels will show the baseball game between the host Toronto Blue Jays and Boston Red Sox, with the hockey game on when it ends.

Some interesting numbers going into the series between the Spokane Chiefs and Portland Winterhawks. . . . In the regular-season series, Spokane G Eric Williams was 2-5, 4.34, .884, while Portland G Mac Carruth was 6-1, 2.11, .937. . . . Carruth, by the way, has 37 career playoff victories, one fewer than Cam Ward, who won 38 games with the Red Deer Rebels (2001-04).
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The WHL’s playoff situation:
EASTERN CONFERENCE
SECOND ROUND
Edmonton (1) vs. Medicine Hat (7)
(Game 1, tonight, in Edmonton)
Calgary (3) vs. Red Deer (4)
(Calgary leads series, 1-0; Game 2, tonight, in Calgary)
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WESTERN CONFERENCE
SECOND ROUND
Portland (1) vs. Spokane (4)
(Game 1, tonight, in Portland, Veterans Memorial Coliseum)
Kelowna (2) vs. Kamloops (3)
(Game 1, Saturday, in Kelowna)
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THURSDAY’S GAME:
In Calgary, F Brady Brassart scored three times and F Cody Sylvester had three assists as the Hitmen opened with a 4-2 victory over the Red Deer Rebels. . . . It was the second playoff hat trick of Brassart’s WHL career, both of them coming this spring. He had three goals on March 21 when the Hitmen opened with a 6-5 OT victory over the Swift Current Broncos. . . . The Hitmen scored four goals on Red Deer G Patrik Bartosak in the game’s first half; in the first round, the Prince Albert Raiders beat Bartosak five times in four games. . . . Calgary was 2-for-5 on the PP; Red Deer was 0-for-3.
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CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT (12):
None

CHECKING-TO-THE-HEAD COUNT (4):
None
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From WHLFacts (@WHLFacts): “Apr. 4, 2001 — 12 years ago today, Billy Thompson saved 34 of 37 and Derek Boogaard scored the OT winner as @PGCougars defeated Portland 4-3”
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One more from WHL Facts: “1 — FYI, Boogaard’s OT winner for Prince George was the only playoff goal he scored in his hockey career (WHL, ECHL, AHL, NHL)”

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:
Södertälje (Sweden, Allsvenskan) announced that D Jason Strudwick (Kamloops, 1993-1995) has informed the team he has retired from hockey. Strudwick had three goals and six assists in 29 games this season for Södertälje. . . .
F Todd Dutiaume (Brandon, 1991-94) signed a one-year contract extension as player/head coach of Fife Flyers (England, UK Elite). He had four goals and nine assists in 44 games for the Flyers this
season, their first in the UK Elite league. . . . Dutiaume just completed an especially horrible season — his wife, Kelly, 38, who was eight months pregnant with twins, died in late February after suffering a heart attack.
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After the piece that appeared here this week on the retirement of Kelowna Rockets F Max Adolph due to post-concussion syndrome, a former WHL coach sent along an interesting email.
“Sad story but one that is being repeated far too often and don't get reported — unless YOU hear about them!
“Coincidentally, I was in a car accident in mid-April and suffered whiplash/concussion. I was stopped behind a van and and was rear-ended . . . driving me into the van ahead. . . .
“I am feeling lots better, but still going to physio and massage 3-4 times/week for 1.5-2 hours per time to improve my neck mobility. . . .
“I haven't been concussed since I finished playing in the mid-1980s. I had a few doozies and lots more minor bell ringers. Time tends to make one forget how you feel at the time — maybe it is a side effect of the concussions?
“All I know is it sure sucks sitting in a dark room . . . music, voices, loud sounds, certain lights, etc., set me off into brutal headaches (and I never get headaches!), dizziness, nausea! I couldn't even count to 10.
“Pretty sure the WHL would have considered me as having 'an upper body injury!'
“So as passionate as I was prior about fighting, stupid penalties (checking to the head) and the overall declining/complete absence of respect (behaviour reinforced by no penalties or mere slaps on the wrist and hidden as 'upper body injuries' by the WHL) . . . now I am really pissed! Nothing like experiencing a concussion (in an environment where I won't feel pressured to get back; like a young, impressionable kid trying to climb the ladder) to add further passion to my mandate.”
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Drew Wilson, the veteran radio voice of the Prince Albert Raiders, filed an interesting piece to paNOW.ca earlier this week.
“The Prince Albert Raiders,” he writes, “could soon have substantial financial backing from a $1.5 million line of credit. The money is being offered by successful businessman and team Vice President Gord Broda.”
Wilson’s complete story is right here.
Broda is the president of Broda Construction. He also is the father of Joel Broda, who scored more than a few WHL goals with the Tri-City Americans, Moose Jaw Warriors and Calgary Hitmen (2004-10). Joel played this season with the AHL’s Houston Aeros.Anyway . . . Raiders president Dale McFee has told Wilson that the franchise will remain under its community ownership structure. McFee also said that the Raiders, who missed the playoffs this season, may break even on the season.
But when a community-owned and -operated team needs a $1.5-million line of credit as an insurance policy, alarm bells have to go off. After all, there isn’t any kind of expense cap in the WHL and, at least in some organizations, there doesn’t seem to be any desire to spend less money.
As time goes on, then, it is going to be really interesting to see how the small-market teams like the Raiders and Swift Current Broncos are able to survive.
Revenue-sharing anyone?
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JUST NOTES:
A shoutout to Jason Berger, a former equipment manager with the Seattle Thunderbirds who now fills that role with the ECHL’s Florida Everblades. They won the Kelly Cup on Wednesday night. . . .
The OHL’s Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors are no more. The franchise, which changed hands earlier this month, now is known as the Mississauga Steelheads. Landmark Sport Group, under Elliott Kerr, held a name-the-team contest and Steelheads came up a winner. According to a news release, the new nickname is “in reference to the steelhead trout that inhabit the Credit River,” . . . There were more than 1,400 entries, with Hurricanes the runner-up. . . . Logo and colours are to be released later this summer. . . .
The Winnipeg Jets have decided not to sign D Kendall McFaull, the captain of the Moose Jaw Warriors. McFaull, who is heading into his 20-year-old season, was selected by the Atlanta Thrashers in the sixth round of the 2010 draft. The Thrashers, of course, moved to Winnipeg prior to this season. The Jets had until June 1 to sign McFaull. He now will go back into the NHL draft. . . .
The Prince George Cougars have signed F Zach Pochiro, 18, a Las Vegas native who played this season with the NAHL’s Wichita Falls Wildcats. The 6-foot-2, 165-pound Pochiro had 34 points, including 18 goals, and 154 penalty minutes in 52 games with the Wildcats. Interestingly, Cougars owner Rick Brodsky is the majority owner of the Wildcats. Pochiro is the first player to have played for the Wildcats to sign with the Cougars. . . . In 2010-11, Pochiro had 34 points in 31 games with the midget Los Angeles Jr. Kings. . . .
F Chris Wilkie, the son of former WHL D David Wilkie (Seattle, Kamloops, Regina, 1990-94), has committed to the U of North Dakota. Chris was a fourth-round selection by the Victoria Royals in the WHL’s 2011 bantam draft.
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THE COACHING GAME:
The USHL’s Dubuque Fighting Saints are in the market for an assistant coach after Bobby Kinsella, who also worked as director of scouting, signed on with the NHL’s Montreal Canadiens as an amateur scout working out of Chicago. . . .
The University of Alberta Golden Bears are getting closer to hiring a head coach to replace interim coach Gord Marple, who now is the program’s general manager and assistant coach. . . . On Thursday, the selection committee interviewed Gord Thibodeau, the veteran GM and head coach of the Fort McMurray Oil Barons. . . . There has been speculation that Kris Knoblauch, like Thibodeau a former Golden Bears player, is in the mix but I have been told that is not the case. In fact, with interviews being conducted this week, Knoblauch apparently is visiting family in Saskatchewan. . . . Knoblauch, who just completed his second season as the Ice’s head coach, has a year left on his contract and I was told last night that president/GM Jeff Chynoweth has given him a one-year extension.

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THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Petr Kalus (Regina, 2005-06) was released by Jokerit Helsinki (Finland, SM-Liiga) at the end of his tryout contract. He had one
goal in three exhibition games for Jokerit this month. . . .
F Shay (Red Deer, 2000-04) and D Logan (Tri-City, 2001-06)
Stephenson each signed one-year contracts with Vålerenga Oslo (Norway, GET-Ligaen). Logan had two goals and three assists in 43 games for the Adirondack Phantoms (AHL) last season, while older brother Shay didn’t play. Two seasons ago, Shay had six goals and 13 assists in 36 games with the Las Vegas Wranglers (ECHL) and four goals and two assists in seven games with Vålerenga. . . .
F Josh Bonar (Kamloops, Vancouver, Regina, 2000-03) signed a one-year contract extension with Miskolci Jegesmedve JSE (Hungary, Interliga). He had 29 goals and 30 assists in 31 games for Miskolc during MOL Liga play last season, leading the league in goals and scoring. In Hungarian league play (OB I. Bajnoksag), Bonar had 10 goals and 10 assists in 14 games. The MOL Liga, comprising teams from Hungary and Romania, was renamed Interliga this summer.
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JUST NOTES: The Regina Pats and Evraz Place announced Tuesday that they have agreed on a five-year lease for the Brandt Centre. If you have followed this story, you know that this is like The Rock and Stone Cold reaching a truce back in the day. . . . "We are pleased that we are able to announce a longer term lease agreement with Evraz Place. The process has been long and at times frustrating for both parties but with the help of our legal counsel Neil Tulloch and the co-operation of Neil Donnelly from Evraz we were able to find some common ground," Pats president Brent Parker said in a news release. . . . The previous deal expired on May 31. . . . Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post has more right here. . . .
The staff at the Okanagan Hockey Academy in Penticton includes some names that will be familiar to WHL fans. Blake Wesley, a former Portland Winterhawks defenceman is the director of hockey operations. . . . Robert Dirk, a former Regina Pats defenceman, is the GM and head coach of the junior B team, the Penticton Lakers. . . . Brian Pellerin, who played with the Prince Albert Raiders and has worked as an assistant coach with Portland, is the prep team head coach. . . . Tim Hunter, who played in the WHL with the Seattle Breakers, is the head coach of the varsity Red team. . . . Mike Needham, who was a sniper with the Kamloops Blazers and is on their staff as skills coach, is head coach of the OHA’s bantam Tier 1 team. . . . Former Blazers head coach Barry Smith is head coach of the bantam Tier 2 team. . . .
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The Saskatoon Blades will travel to Prince Albert for an exhibition game against the Raiders tonight. Drew Wilson has all the action on CKBI and you can find it on the Internet.
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A tip of the hat to general manager/head coach Jesse Wallin and the Red Deer Rebels.
D Matt Dumba has yet to skate in the Rebels’ training camp, which is exactly what happened a year ago with F Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.
“Like Ryan, Mathew played hockey all of August,” Wallin told Greg Meachem, the Red Deer Advocate’s sports editor. “After returning from overseas (with the Canadian national under-18 team), he flew to Toronto (for an NHL developmental/orientation camp). We’ll give him a week off to catch his breath and get him skating Friday.”
With the amount of time young players are spending in the gym and on skates during the summer months, more teams should be providing some of these players with more time off.
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Curtis Lazar, the second overall pick in the 2010 bantam draft, is working to make a name for himself with the Edmonton Oil Kings. Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal has more right here on the player they call The Czar.
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For today's good read, we send you to the Sporting News, where Craig Custance has written an entertaining read that carries the headline: NHL watches as colleges wage war with Canadian junior hockey. . . . This is as entertaining a look at the 'war' as I have read. It's right here.

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

Whether you care to admit it, fighting in major junior hockey is on its last legs.
Sooner, rather than later, junior hockey operators are going to realize that the evidence showing the destructiveness that can be caused by blows to the head continues to mount, and that they are going to have to act to get pugilism out of the game.
It has been noted many times that boxers aren’t allowed to punch each other in the groins, but punches to the head are acceptable.
In hockey, the powers-that-be are working to get checks to the head out of the game but, at the same time, if you are playing major junior or above in North America, you are allowed to punch an opponent in the head during a fight.
It just doesn’t make sense.
Perhaps Neate Sager of Yahoo! Sports summed it up best on Monday when he wrote: “. . . one wonders how much longer fighting can exist in the Canadian Hockey League when the medical evidence and wider public awareness of a disease such as CTE each continue to mount. There is a chicken-and-egg element to it, wondering if it would take the NHL to act first before its longest-standing feeder system takes decisive action. But saying the NHL permits fighting is not enough of a reason to justify having it in the CHL.”
It is one thing for the NHL to allow fighting. After all, the combatants in that league are, for the most part, adults who are presumed capable of making their own informed decisions.
But it’s an entirely different story in the CHL where oftentimes there are physically immature and physically mature players on the ice at the same time, and where players often fight purely because of peer pressure.
At some point in time, someone is going to have to make a decision to protect these young people from themselves.
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One also hopes that major junior owners and operators are paying attention to developments south of the 49th parallel where three lawsuits have been filed by former players against the National Football League, all of them dealing with concussions.
The most recent filing occurred Monday in Los Angeles Superior Court with 18 former players involved. According to an Associated Press report, “The suit claims the NFL, Riddell Sports Group and its parent company, Easton-Bell Sports, knew the long-term effects of brain injury from trauma suffered by the players and purposefully hid it from them.”
The AP story adds that “more than 75 current and former NFL players filed a similar suit in Los Angeles in July and another group did so earlier this month in Philadelphia.”
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Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province reports on goaltending, imports and 20-year-olds as they concern the Vancouver Giants. How close did the Giants come to landing G Eric Comrie and/or G Drew Owsley? Check it out right here.
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As well, if you haven’t seen Ewen’s latest blog entry at Crush the Tumour with Humour, it’s right here.
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The Moose Jaw Warriors have signed three of their 2011 bantam draft picks. F Brayden Point, the 12th overall selection, Miles Warkentine, who was taken 14th overall, and Josh Uhrich, the 33rd pick, signed WHL contracts on Monday. All three are expected to play tonight as the Warriors’ rookie take on the host Swift Current Broncos’ rookies. . . . Point put up 102 points for the Calgary Bisons to lead the Alberta Bantam Hockey League scoring race last season. Warkentine played for the bantam AA Prince Albert Pirates, picking up 70 points in 21 games. Uhrich, who had 48 points in 23 games with the bantam AA Notre Dame Hounds, expects to play this season with the midget AAA Saskatoon Contacts. . . .
The Portland Winterhawks are in camp without forwards Ryan Johansen and Nino Niederreiter, who are waiting for the Columbus Blue Jackets and New York Islanders, respectively, to open camps. All told, the Winterhawks will have 15 players off last season’s roster going to NHL training camps. Also headed that way will be D Taylor Aronson (Nashville), F Sven Bartschi (Calgary), F Riley Boychuk (Boychuk), G Mac Carruth (Chicago), G Oliver Gabriel (Columbus), D Joe Morrow (Pittsburgh), F Taylor Peters (Minnesota), D Brett Ponich (St. Louis), F Ty Rattie (St. Louis), F Brad Ross (Toronto), D Troy Rutkowski (Colorado), D Tyler Wotherspoon (Calgary) and D William Wrenn (San Jose). . . . You have to think some young Portland prospects are going to get a good look this exhibition season. . . .
The Calgary Hitmen opened camp with 81 players on hand. However, two goaltenders — Chris Driedger (ankle) and Michael Snider (wisdom teeth) — will watch for a few days and may not get on the ice until after the long weekend. . . . The Hitmen do have both their 2011 import draft picks on hand — Russian F Alex Gogolev and Swedish F Victor Rask. Rask was a second-round selection of the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes and could be an impact player in the WHL. However, because he was drafted out of Europe, he could sign with the Hurricanes and play in the NHL or elsewhere in their organization.
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A couple of items that showed up Monday provide a bit of insight into the business of major junior hockey.
Drew Wilson, the radio voice of the Prince Albert Raiders, wrote on his blog about how the team’s board of directors “has determined they will need 2,100 season-ticket subscribers in the next few years to remain a financially viable franchise.”
Wilson pointed out that this “is not being laid out as a scare tactic.”
Bruce Vance, the Raiders’ business manager, told Wilson that the goal of 2,100 season tickets “isn’t just a goal; it’s a must.”
Wilson reported that the Raiders’ budget for this season is “a little more than $2 million.”
According to Wilson, the Raiders, who have lost $300,000 over the last four seasons, have sold about 1,450 season tickets, an increase of 200 over last season.
Wilson’s complete blog entry is right here.
Meanwhile, in the OHL, the Kitchener Rangers showed a profit of $341,871 for 2010-11 — the 16th straight year in which the team has made money.
Josh Brown of the Kitchener Record reported that the subscriber-rn Rangers’ profit was up from the profit of $324,152 from the previous season.
According to Brown, revenues were $5.38 million; in 2009-10, revenues were $4.9 million.
Brown’s complete story is right here.

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

Monday . . .

THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Gal Koren (Kelowna, 2010-11) signed a one-year contract with Medvescak Zagreb (Croatia, Austria Erste Bank Liga). He had one goal and two assists in 36 games for the Kelowna Rockets (WHL) last season.
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It seems the good folks of Medicine Hat are going to have to wait a while longer for a new arena.
Despite the owners of the Medicine Hat Tigers throwing their weight behind the proposed $94.5-million Regional Event Centre, Medicine Hat's city council voted Monday to reject a funding model for the project.
However, as Amanda Stephenson of the Medicine Hat News reports, the project may not be dead, although it might well be on life support.
Her story is right here.
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Bill Shaw is the new head coach of the Eastern Washington University Eagles, who have joined the B.C. Intercollegiate Hockey League. Gary Braun, a former WHL coach, decided to step aside, with Shaw, an assistant coach for three seasons, moving up as head coach. Braun went 115-29-8 in five seasons with the Eagles. At the same time, the Eagles named J.C. Thomas as their assistant coach. He spent the last two seasons as an assistant coach with the junior B Spokane Braves of the Kootenay International junior league. Thomas played for Braves from 2001-07. . . . The MJHL’s Selkirk Steelers have signed Chris Poponick as their general manager/director of business operations. The Selkirk native replaces Ken Petrash. Poponick spent 12 seasons as an assistant coach with the junior B Selkirk Fishermen.
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The Chilliwack Bruins now officially are the Victoria Royals. The WHL’s newest franchise, which was sold and relocated to the B.C. capital from Chilliwack, announced its nickname and colours on Monday.
Cleve Dheensaw of the Victoria Times Colonist has the story right here.
Dheensaw also reports on the Royals and school, billets and training camp right here.
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Rocker Rod Stewart’s son Liam, 17, played last season in the Los Angeles Junior Kings program. He has since been selected by the Lincoln Stars in the USHL draft. But he was born in London and is hoping to play for Great Britain. There’s more right here.
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Drew Wilson, the radio voice of the Prince Albert Raiders on CKBI, is already preparing for the 2011-12 season. He ran 10 kilometres in the annual Prince Albert Road Race on Sunday. How did he do? Well, as he puts it: “My motto was slow and steady finishes the 10k.”
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Mark Recchi announced his retirement from the NHL on Wednesday night, in the aftermath of the Boston Bruins’ victory in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final.
Is the 43-year-old Recchi a cinch to be elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame?
There’s more on that right here.
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While Tom Gaglardi, the majority owner of the Kamloops Blazers, works to purchase the NHL’s Dallas Stars, he also has been buying up hotels. There's more right here.
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It’s safe to say that the NHL — and, by association, the sport of ice hockey — has an image problem.
The good folks at EA Sports, who this week will reveal the name of the player whose likeness will grace the cover of NHL 12, have issued a news release heralding the announcement.
NHL 12, they say, will reignite “the beloved fighting engine that first appeared in NHL 10 with all-new goalie battles. When the action gets heated, send a message by leaving the net, dropping the gloves, and trading punches with rivals during fights.”
As Jeff Blair wrote in The Globe and Mail: “There really is a special place in hell for these people, no? No report on whether you can pick a city of your choice to burn after your team craps the bed in the playoffs.”
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Yes, it’s NHL draft week, with the first round scheduled for Friday and the last six on Saturday. It’ll be held in the Xcel Energy Center, the home arena of the NHL’s Minnesota Wild.
As usual, TSN will be all over the draft. It’s live coverage begins Friday at 4 p.m. PT.
Veteran analyst Bob McKenzie has released his top 30 draft prospects and here they are:
According to a TSN news release: “Over the past seven years, McKenzie has an 84 per cent accuracy rate in projecting the 30 players selected in the first round. Last year, 25 of McKenzie’s top 30 players were selected in the first round of the draft.”
Six of McKenzie’s top 30 are from the WHL, with three of those being from the Portland Winterhawks, who also own the WHL rights to C Rocco Grimaldi, who is in the USA Hockey National Team Development Program.
Here is McKenzie’s top 30:
1. C Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Red Deer (WHL)
2. D Adam Larsson, Skelleftea (Sweden)
3. C/LW Jonathan Huberdeau, Saint John (QMJHL)
4. LW Gabriel Landeskog, Kitchener (OHL)
5. C Sean Couturier, Drummondville (QMJHL)
6. D Dougie Hamilton, Niagara (OHL)
7. C Ryan Strome, Niagara (OHL)
8. D Ryan Murphy, Kitchener (OHL)
9. C Mika Zibanejad, Djurgarden (Sweden)
10. D Jonas Brodin, Farjestad (Sweden)
11. D Nathan Beaulieu, Saint John (QMJHL)
12. C Mark Scheifele,  Barrie (OHL)
13. D Duncan Siemens,  Saskatoon (WHL)
14. RW Joel Armia, Assat (Finland)
15. RW Tyler Biggs, US U-18
16. LW Sven Bartschi, Portland (WHL)
17. D Jamie Oleksiak, Northeastern (NCAA)
18. LW J.T. Miller, US U-18
19. C Mark McNeill, Prince Albert (WHL)
20. D Joe Morrow, Portland (WHL)
21. D Oscar Klefbom, Farjestad (Sweden)
22. LW Brandon Saad, Saginaw (OHL)
23. C Rocco Grimaldi, US US-18
24. RW Nicklas Jensen, Oshawa (OHL)
25. RW Ty Rattie, Portland (WHL)
26. C Boone Jenner, Oshawa (OHL)
27. LW Matt Puempel, Peterborough (OHL)
28. C Zack Phillips, Saint John (QMJHL)
29. RW Tomas Jurco, Saint John (QMJHL)
30. D Connor Murphy, US U-18

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Bartley gets deal with Preds

THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Jordan Krestanovich (Calgary, 1997-2001) signed a one-year contract extension with Braehead Clan Glasgow (Scotland, UK Elite). He had 16 goals and 34 assists in 43 games for the Clan this season. . . .
D Robby Sandrock (Spokane, Swift Current, Medicine Hat, Kelowna, 1994-99) and F Jonathan Filewich (Prince George, Lethbridge, 1999-2005) signed one-year contract extensions with Medvescak Zagreb (Croatia, Austria Erste Bank Liga). Sandrock had 11 goals and 13 assists in 50 games, while Filewich had 13 goals and 10 assists in 44 games for Zagreb this season. . . .
D Jakub Cutta (Swift Current, 1998-2001) signed a one-year contract with Mlada Boleslav (Czech Republic, Extraliga). He had three goals and eight assists in 49 games with Karlovy Vary (Czech Republic, Extraliga) this season. . . .
F Daniel Bohac (Spokane, 1998-2000) signed a two-year-plus-option contract with Slovan Usti nad Labem (Czech Republic, 1.Liga). He had nine goals and 10 assists in 52 games with Mlada Boleslav (Czech Republic, Extraliga) this season. . . .
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VICTOR BARTLEY

MORE FROM THE MacBETH REPORT:
D Victor Bartley (Kamloops, Regina, 2003-09) has signed a two-year, two-way contract with the NHL’s Nashville Predators.
According to a Malmö hockey blog:
“Djurgården confirmed that it loses Vic Bartley to the NHL, nothing is official. But tonight, Vic Bartley himself confirms it to MrMadhawk.se. ‘I don't know how you always know my club address,’ laughs Vic. ‘But the deal is now entirely done and I have signed a two-year contract with Nashville and it is a two-way contract.’ ”
From Djurgården's website:
“D-man Victor Bartley leaves Djurgården to play in the NHL — without having played a game with the club. Djurgarden earlier signed a contract with Rögle defenseman Victor Bartley. NHL clubs showed an interest in the Canadian and Bartley has now informed Djurgarden that he will sign with an NHL club in the near future. The agreement between the NHL and Swedish hockey gives NHL clubs the right to solicit even contracted players within certain time limits, as used in this case. ‘We were very pleased with the recruitment of Victor Bartley, but we have to accept the rules of the game and there is nothing we can do to prevent this. This changes the requirements of our defense and now we wonder how we can remedy the situation,’ said Djurgården Hockey's general manager Janne Järlefelt.”
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The Los Angeles Kings have signed F Linden Vey of the Medicine Hat Tigers to a three-year NHL contract. Vey, who won the WHL’s scoring race this season, was a fourth-round selection in the NHL’s 2009 draft. He had 116 points, including 46 goals, as he won the scoring crown in his fourth season with the Tigers. He added 25 points, 12 of them goals, in 15 playoff games.
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The Prince Albert Raiders held a membership meeting last week and Drew Wilson, the team’s play-by-play voice, was there. His report, from paNOW.com, is right here. Of particular interest is that the organization has a $2 million budget for next season with a projected profit of $30,318.

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
     
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Taking Note on Twitter