Don Hay isn’t going anywhere.
Hay will turn 63 on Feb. 13. He has his health. He loves what he’s doing. He’s back in his hometown of Kamloops, surrounded by family and friends. There is more family, including grandchildren, in Salmon Arm, about an hour to the east, where son Darrell is cutting his teeth in the coaching game as an
assistant with the BCHL’s Salmon Arm Silverbacks.
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| DON HAY |
Add it all up and it means the head coach of the Kamloops Blazers is quite content with his life at this moment.
“I’d like to go as long as I can,” Hay said after his Blazers had beaten the visiting Kelowna Rockets 3-1 on Friday night. “I really enjoy coming to work every day . . . I enjoy it.”
Asked if the end of his career is in sight, Hay replied: “It’s something that we play by ear each year.”
If you missed it, it was thought that Hay posted his 700th victory as a WHL head coach on Friday. However, in the post-game conversation between Hay and reporters, it was discovered that there might be a few victories missing.
Hay was of the belief that his first victory came on Sept. 26, 1992, when the Blazers beat the host Tacoma Rockets, 8-7 in OT.
However, the WHL office had told Earl Seitz, the sports director at CFJC-TV in Kamloops, that victory No. 1 happened on Dec. 13, 1991, when the Blazers beat the visiting Spokane Chiefs, 7-4.
At the time, Hay was an assistant under head coach Tom Renney, who had left for a stint as an assistant coach with Canada’s national junior team. With Renney away, the Blazers went 6-4-0 under Hay.
“I didn’t know they added those ones on,” said Hay, who then pointed out that “I took over for Hitch when he went to the world juniors, too.”
Yes, indeed. Blazers head coach Ken Hitchcock was an assistant coach under Dave Chambers with Team Canada at the 1988 World Junior Championship. With Hitchcock gone, Hay was in charge of a WHL team for the first time.
The Blazers went 2-4-1 with Hitchcock gone and Hay in charge, meaning that his first victory as a WHL head coach actually occurred on Dec. 18, 1987, when the Blazers beat the Thunderbirds, 5-2, in Seattle.
With those two victories added to his total, it means that Hay’s 700th coaching victory actually came on Dec. 30 when the Blazers beat the Vancouver Giants, 4-2, in Langley, B.C.
So . . . when the Blazers beat the Rockets on Friday night, it left Hay with 702 victories, 40 behind Ken Hodge, the only other person with 700 WHL coaching triumphs. (This also means that Hitchcock’s record will lose two victories, leaving him with 289.)
“I can remember coaching against Portland when we were assistant coaches,” Hay said, “and Hodge was the head guy. He obviously did a great job in Portland for a lot of years.”
Hay has been coaching for a lot of years, too. He got started with the senior Kamloops Cowboys after a brief pro career that includes IHL stops with the Columbus Owls and Flint Generals.
Hay returned home to Kamloops and began what he thought would be a career as a firefighter. That all changed thanks to one angry coach.
“I got the opportunity to be player-coach when the head coach was mad at us and didn’t come to a game,” Hay said. “Everybody was kind of looking around and asking who wants to coach. I put up my hand and it’s something I’ve really enjoyed ever since.”
He has made NHL coaching stops with the Calgary Flames, Phoenix Coyotes and Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. He has coached with the AHL’s Utah Grizzlies. In the WHL, he also has worked with the Tri-City Americans and Vancouver Giants.
The circle was completed in the summer of 2014 when Hay left the Giants — he had been with them for 10 seasons and had one year left on his contract — to come home to the Blazers.
When it was suggested on Friday that he might end his career in his hometown, he replied: “I hope so . . . I’m happy here.”
But like the coach he is, he also admitted that, well, the NHL is always there.
“If there’s an offer . . . well . . . never say never,” he said. “But I’m really enjoying my time here.”
How much is he enjoying it?
“I’m excited every day to come to work. I show up here every day in the summertime,” he said. “It’s my routine.”
——
Here’s a look at WHL head coaches who have more than 500 regular-season victories to their credit (after games of Jan. 6):
1. Ken Hodge (Edmonton, Portland), 742
2. Don Hay (Kamloops, Tri-City, Vancouver) 702
3. Don Nachbaur (Seattle, Tri-City, Spokane) 682
4. Lorne Molleken (Moose Jaw, Saskatoon, Regina) 626
5. Ernie McLean (Estevan, New Westminster) 548
6. Pat Ginnell (Flin Flon, Victoria, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, New Westminster) 518
7. Mike Williamson (Portland, Calgary, Tri-City) 516
7. Mike Williamson (Portland, Calgary, Tri-City) 516
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In Brandon, F Nolan Patrick scored two goals and added an assist to help the Wheat Kings to a 6-4 victory over the Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . Patrick, 16, isn’t eligible for the NHL draft until 2017. He’s got 42 points in 45 games this season. . . . Patrick got the game’s first goal, at 3:26 of the first period, then added an empty-netter at 18:27 of the third for his 22nd goal this season. . . . Brandon led this one 3-0 going into the second period. The Warriors then scored four times in 13:06, with F Tanner Eberle getting his 26th, F Jack Rodewald getting his 23rd and F Brayden Point getting No. 21. . . . Warriors F Torrin White broke the 3-3 tie with his 11th at 14:57. . . . Brandon F Morgan Klimchuk tied it with his 19th goal at 17:20 of the second. . . . Wheat Kings F Peter Klimchuk snapped the tie at 9:51 of the third, on a PP. He’s got 13 goals. . . . D Ivan Provorov and F Rihards Bukarts each had two assists for Brandon. . . . Brandon D Eric Roy played in his 300th regular-season game. He had one assist. . . . Brandon head coach Kelly McCrimmon won his 400th game, the 14th coach in WHL history to get there. Ken Hodge (742), Ernie McLean (548) and McCrimmon are the only members of the 400 club who got there with one franchise. . . . It was John Quenneville bobblehead night. The Brandon forward was back after missing one game with an undisclosed injury. He scored his 16th goal. . . . Warriors F Tanner Jeannot returned after being out since Dec. 10. He missed 18 games with an undisclosed injury. . . . The Wheat Kings (36-9-5) are 7-0-1 in their last eight and remain three points behind Kelowna, which leads the overall standings. . . . The Warriors (20-26-4) have lost two in a row. . . . The Wheaties and Warriors meet again tonight, this time in Moose Jaw. . . .
In Calgary, F Adam Tambellini scored two goals and added two assists as the Hitmen whipped the Prince Albert Raiders, 10-1. . . . Tambellini has 35 goals this season, with nine of them coming over his last five games. He has 12 points in a six-game point streak. . . . Hitmen F Kenton Helgesen also scored twice, giving him 16, as did F Radel Fazleev, who also has 16 goals. . . . Calgary scored 10 times on 35 shots. . . . Hitmen G Brendan Burke stopped 23 shots. . . . Calgary D Jake Bean had two assists. The 16-year-old from Calgary has 29 points, including 26 assists, in 39 games. He had one point, an assist, in his first 15 games. . . . D Travis Sanheim had three assists for Calgary and was plus-5. . . . Calgary F Pavel Karnaukhov scored his 17th goal and added two assists, while F Jordy Stallard, F Jake Virtanen and F Connor Rankin each had two assists. . . . The Raiders lost D Mackenze Stewart to a cross-checking major and game misconduct at 8:22 of the third period. . . . The Hitmen were 3-for-5 on the PP; the Raiders were 0-for-6. . . . Calgary (28-17-5), which entertains Edmonton this afternoon, has won five straight, outscoring its opposition 25-5 in the process. The afternoon game is part of a hockey doubleheader, with the NHL’s Oilers and Flames playing in the evening. The same thing happened in Edmonton last season on March 1. . . . Calgary has moved into a tie with Red Deer for second in the Central Division. . . . The Raiders slipped to 20-28-1. They will visit Red Deer tonight. . . .
In Red Deer, G Tristan Jarry stopped 20 shots to lead the Edmonton Oil Kings to a 4-0 victory over the Rebels. . . . That was Jarry’s third shutout of the season and the sixth of his career. . . . Edmonton F Andrew Koep, playing his first game since Jan. 2, opened the scoring, with his 11th goal, at 4:49 of the third period. . . . F Lane Bauer had three assists and D Dysin Mayo had two. . . . Edmonton got two goals from Brett Pollock, who has 24. . . . The Oil Kings (24-21-6), who have won two in a row, hold down the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card spot, a point behind Kootenay. . . . Edmonton is in Calgary today for a matinee. . . . The Rebels (27-15-7), who are at home to Prince Albert tonight, were 7-0-2 in their last nine. . . . 
In Cranbrook, D Rinat Valiev banged home a rebound to give the Kootenay Ice a 4-3 OT victory over the Regina Pats. . . . This was victory No. 700 for the Ice franchise, dating back to 1996-97. . . . Valiev’s seventh goal of the season came at 3:27 of extra time. . . . The Ice took a 3-0 lead in the latter stages of the second period, only to have the Pats come back and tie it. . . . Regina F Pavel Padakin scored his 16th goal of the season at 14:01 of the third period to force OT. . . . Regina F Austin Wagner had scored his 14th just 31 seconds earlier. . . . Regina G Daniel Wapple stopped 40 shots. . . . Ice D Tyler King had two assist, while F Sam Reinhart also had a goal, his 12th, and an assist on the winner. He is on a 10-game point streak. . . . Regina D Connor Hobbs drew two assists. . . . The Ice began a seven game homestand with this one. . . . The Pats have brought in F Adam Berg, 17, from the AJHL’s Calgary Mustangs. . . . Kootenay (27-23-1) is at home to Kelowna tonight. . . . The Pats (26-17-6) are 0-3-3 in their last six outings. They are second in the East Division, seven points ahead of Swift Current. . . . Regina is in Lethbridge tonight. . . . Taylor Rocca of the Cranbrook Daily Townsman has a game story 
In Lethbridge, F Leon Draisaitl scored the game’s first two goals and the Kelowna Rockets skated to a 6-3 victory over the Hurricanes. . . . Draisaitl, who also had an assist, has six goals. . . . Kelowna F Gage Quinney also scored twice, giving him 12. . . . The Rockets got a goal, his 18th, and two assists from F Justin Kirkland, with F Rourke Chartier and F Tyson Baillie getting two assists each. . . . F Giorgio Estephan scored his 12th goal and added an assist for the Hurricanes. He had 24 points, including 12 goals, in 64 games last season. This season, he has 31 points, 11 of them goals, in 40 games. . . . Kelowna had a 51-25 edge in shots. . . . G Michael Herringer went the distance for the Rockets in his sixth appearance of the season and his first appearance since Jan. 16. He stopped F Jamal Watson on a second-period penalty shot. . . . The Rockets (38-8-4) are 4-0-1 in their last five and will visit the Kootenay Ice tonight. . . . The Hurricanes now are 12-30-6 with Regina coming to town tonight. . . . 
In Portland, F Oliver Bjorkstrand scored once and added two assists, all in the first period, as the Winterhawks posted a 6-2 victory over the Kamloops Blazers. . . . Bjorkstrand has 32 goals. His 32nd allowed Portland to take a 4-0 lead into the second period. . . . Portland F Chase De Leo scored twice, giving him 24, while D Adam Henry and D Layne Viveiros each had two assists. . . . Portland G Adin Hill stopped 29 shots, five more than Cole Kehler of the Blazers. . . . With D Michael Fora and D Patrik Maier injured and D Ryan Rehill serving a one-game suspension, the Blazers had D Conner McDonald, 15, in their lineup. A second-round pick in the 2014 bantam draft, McDonald plays for the Delta, B.C., midget prep team. . . . The Winterhawks (29-19-3) have won seven straight as they entertain Everett tonight. . . . The Blazers (19-26-6) remain alone in third place in the B.C. Division, two points ahead of Vancouver and Prince George. The Blazers are in Vancouver tonight. . . . 
In Prince George, the Seattle Thunderbirds scored four times in each of the first two periods en route to a 9-2 victory over the Cougars. . . . Seattle F Ryan Gropp broke a 1-1 tie with his 19th goal at 15:16 of the first period and the Thunderbirds ended up taking a 4-1 lead into the second. . . . F Roberts Lipsbergs got his fourth goal at 16:06 and F Scott Eansor scored his seventh at 19:08. . . . Lipsbergs finished with two goals, giving him five, and two assists, while F Mathew Barzal had four assists. . . . F Keegan Kolesar helped out with two goals, giving him 17, and an assist. . . . Eansor also had two assists. . . . The Cougars could have two players suspended for tonight’s rematch, as D Josh Connolly took a slashing major and game misconduct at 2:59 of the second period and D Josh Anderson left with a headshot major and game misconduct at 16:23. . . . Seattle G Logan Flodell made his third career start, all against the Cougars. He is 2-1-0, including a victory in his only Seattle start last season. He stopped 21 shots in this one. . . . Flodell came in from the SJHL’s Nipawin Hawks earlier in the week after G Danny Mumaugh chose to retire. . . . Seattle D Jared Hauf sat out a one-game suspension for getting into a staged fight nine seconds into Wednesday’s game in Kamloops. . . . Hauf had played in 193 straight regular-season games. . . . Cougars D Sam Ruopp completed a five-game suspension by sitting out this one. . . . After the game, Tbird Tidbits tweeted: “Winning tonight, TBirds are 3-0 this season when Ryan Gibbons works game and is lower-numbered linesman. They are 0-2 when his number is higher.” . . . The Thunderbirds now are 24-19-6 and are third in the U.S. Division, four points ahead of Spokane and Tri-City. . . . The Cougars (20-30-2) have lost 11 in a two (0-9-2). . . . They’ll play again tonight in Prince George. . . . 
In Spokane, G Coleman Vollrath stopped 29 shots as the Victoria Royals blanked the Chiefs, 3-0. . . . Spokane has been shut out in three straight games and has been outscored 18-1 in their last five outings. . . . Portland freelancer Scott Sepich tweeted: “Spokane has 1 goal on 134 shots in its last 5 games. Seattle has 9 goals on 26 shots tonight.” . . . Vollrath has four shutouts this season and five him his career. . . . The Royals got two goals and an assist from F Tyler Soy. The sophomore has 17 goals. . . . G Greg Chase had two assists. . . . Spokane got D Evan Fiala back from an undisclosed injury, but still had seven regulars out of action with undisclosed injuries. They also scratched G Tyson Verhelst (ill). . . . The Royals (27-20-4) are comfortably ensconced in second place in the B.C. Division. . . . The Chiefs (23-21-4) have lost seven in a row (0-6-1) for the first time since 2006-07. . . . The Royals visit the Tri-City Americans tonight, while the Chiefs are at home to Medicine Hat. . . . 
In Kennewick, Wash., F Curtis Sanford took over the WHL goal-scoring lead as his Medicine Hat Tigers got past the Tri-City Americans, 4-1. . . . Sanford, who also had an assist, has 41 goals, one more than Kelowna F Rourke Chartier. . . . Tigers F Trevor Cox, who leads the WHL scoring race with 85 points, got his 22nd goal and added an assist. . . . F Tyler Sandhu gave the Americans a 1-0 lead with his 12th goal, via the PP, at 4:18 of the first period. . . . Tigers F Matt Bradley tied it with his 11th goal, on a PP, at 9:51. He also had an assist. . . . Cox broke the tie at 19:53 of the first. . . . Tigers G Nick Schneider made 27 saves. . . . Eric Comrie was back in goal for the Americans. Evan Sarthou had made 20 consecutive starts while Comrie was with Canada’s national junior team and then out with an injury. . . . Comrie made 35 saves. . . . The Tigers continue to be without F Steven Owre (jaw), F Anthony Ast (concussion), F Kyle Becker (concussion) and D Kyle Burroughs (suspension), while G Marek Langhamer is nursing a wonky hip. . . . Because of that, the Tigers have D Brad Forrest and F Caleb Fantillo with them on the U.S. trip. Forrest, 17, plays for the AJHL’s Calgary Mustangs. The Calgary native was an eighth-round pick in the 2012 bantam draft. Fantillo, 16, was taken in the sixth round of the 2013 bantam draft. He plays for the major midget Vancouver North East Chiefs. . . . The Tigers (35-12-2) are on a six-game winning streak. . . . The Americans (24-24-2) have lost two in a row. . . . The Americans are at home tonight against Victoria, while the Tigers visit Spokane tonight. . . .
In Everett, F Patrick Bajkov scored three times to lead the Silvertips to a 7-1 victory over the Vancouver Giants. . . . A sophomore from Nanaimo, B.C., Bajkov has 20 goals this season. He has 38 points in 49 games. Last season, he put up 19 points, nine of them goals, in 56 games. . . . After the game, Bajkov told Nick Patterson of the Everett Herald that his first goal may end up going to D Tristen Pfeifer, who has yet to score a WHL goal. . . . F Ivan Nikolishin scored his 13th goal and drew three assists for Everett, while F Carson Stadnyk scored twice, giving him 20, and added an assist. . . . Everett D Noah Juulsen had three assists and F Matt Fonteyne had two. . . . With G Payton Lee (hand) on the shelf, Vancouver brought in Griffin Baillie to back up Cody Porter. Baillie, an 18-year-old from Merritt, B.C., plays for the junior B Aldergrove Kodiaks. . . . Vancouver also scratched F Matt Bellerive, who was ill. . . . The Silvertips (31-14-4) had lost their previous two games. . . . The Giants (20-28-2) have lost three in a row. . . . The Silvertips are in Portland tonight. Everett leads the U.S. Division by three points over Portland, which has won seven in a row. . . . The Royals are in Kennewick, Wash., to meet Tri-City.
concussion of his WHL career.
season. Don't expect the trapezoid behind the nets to be expanded or for the area between the hash marks at faceoff circles to be widened, a la the NHL. No doubt the WHL would like to use both rules, but there isn't time to change the paint schemes in all of the arenas before the season opens on Friday. . . . I experienced the dry scrape before overtime for the first time on Friday night. I would hope the WHL dumps that idea before the regular season begins. There are times when there is a real buzz in a building as everyone prepares for OT. But the time it takes to do a dry scrape sucks the atmosphere right out of the building. At least, that was the case last night in Kamloops, where the Blazers scored at 18:53 of the third period to forge a 3-3 tie and force OT with the Prince George Cougars.
Kamloops F Matt Needham needs to have a lot of games just like that one for the Blazers to have success this season. The Blazers’ captain had the winning goal, on the PP, and two assists. He set up the tying goal by winning a faceoff in the Cougars’ zone. . . . Kamloops D Patrik Maier, a Slovakian freshman, had a goal and an assist and showed some flair. He slammed his gun into its holster after rifling a shot through a screen for a third-period goal. He also showed a sharp stick and some feistiness in front of his net. . . . Blazers F Jake Kryski, 16, was the best player on the ice. The kid has a lot of game for someone that young. It’ll be interesting to see how he handles the grind of a WHL schedule. . . . The Cougars had a few veterans who played like it was the last 
exhibition game, which it was. At this level, coaches shouldn’t have to be yelling at players to skate hard on the way back into their zone. . . . Prince George D Dominic Thom looks like one of those players you hate to play against but love to have on your team. . . . Cougars F Jari Erricson, 20, has some rust after playing only four games last season thanks to a brain injury. . . . The Cougars scratched F Jansen Harkins, meaning he finishes the exhibition season with nine points, including four goals, in three games.
It’s hard to believe, but F Tim Bozon is in camp with the Montreal Canadiens. It was only in March when Bozon, then with the WHL’s Kootenay Ice, was in the intensive care unit of a Saskatoon hospital, deathly ill with Neisseria meningitis. He has come a long way since then, though, and Pat Hickey of the Montreal Gazette has the story 
The OHL has handed out its first major suspension of the season, hitting F Noah Bushnell of the Sarnia Sting with a 10-game sentence for a headshot -- an elbow to the an opponent’s chin -- during a preseason game. . . . There’s more, including video, 
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