Showing posts with label Eric Johansson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Eric Johansson. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 29, 2016

Canada names selection camp roster . . . 'Canes change 20s . . . Tigers perfect 10!


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D Jace Coyle (Spokane, Medicine Hat, 2007-11) has signed a contract for the rest of this season with the Sheffield Steelers (England, UK Elite). This season, he had two goals and two assists in 14 games with the Quad City Mallards (ECHL). Coyle played with Sheffield last season. . . .
F Eric Johansson (Tri-City, 1997-2002) has signed a contract for the rest of this season with Amiens (France, Ligue Magnus). This season, he had one assist in four games with the Herning Blue Fox (Denmark, Metal Ligaen) before being released by mutual agreement on Friday.
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There are 12 WHLers on the national junior team selection camp roster that Hockey Canada unveiled Tuesday.
That roster features 32 players — three goaltenders, 10 defencemen and 19 forwards.
The selection camp is to run in Blainville, Que., Dec. 10-14, with the 2017 World Junior Championship set for Toronto and Montreal, Dec. 26 through Jan. 5. A year ago, in Finland, Canada didn’t advance past the quarterfinals.
The WHLers on Canada’s selection camp roster are G Carter Hart, Everett Silvertips; G Connor Ingram, Kamloops Blazers; D Jake Bean, Calgary Hitmen; D Kale Clague, Brandon Wheat Kings; D Noah Juulsen, Everett; F Mathew Barzal, Seattle Thunderbirds; F Dillon Dube, Kelowna Rockets; F Brett Howden, Moose Jaw Warriors; F Nick Merkley, Kelowna; F Nolan Patrick, Brandon Wheat Kings; and F Sam Steel and F Austin Wagner, Regina Pats.
The Canadian roster includes five returnees from a year ago: Barzal; D Thomas Chabot, Saint John Sea Dogs; F Julien Gauthier, Val-d’Or Foreurs; F Mitchell Stephens, Saginaw Spirit; and F Dylan Strome, Erie Otters.
The selection camp will include three exhibition games — against a team of Canadian university starts on Dec. 12 and 13, and against the Czech Republic on Dec. 14.
The goaltending competition will be as interesting as anything in the selection camp. Team Canada will keep two of the three. Ingram has a 2.19 GAA and .932 save percentage, while Hart is at 1.67, .937, and Michael McNiven of the OHL’s Owen Sound Attack is 2.29, .920.
There are nine players on the Canadian roster from each of the OHL and QMJHL, and two from NCAA schools. D Dante Fabbro of Boston University and F Tyson Jost of North Dakota both played with the BCHL’s Penticton Vees.
Fabbro’s WHL rights belong to Seattle, which selected him eighth overall in the 2013 bantam draft.
Jost’s WHL rights belong to Regina, the Pats having acquired them from the Everett Silvertips, who took him seventh overall in that 2013 bantam draft. With the Pats the odds-on favourite to be the host team for the 2018 Memorial Cup, you are free to wonder if Steel and Wagner, the two Regina players on the selection camp roster, will be whispering in Jost’s ear.
Team Canada will play in Group B, along with Latvia, Russia, Slovakia and Team USA. Canada will open the tournament against Russia on Boxing Day in Toronto.
Group A comprises Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Sweden and Switzerland.
Three of the WHL players on the roster — Patrick, Bean and Steel — are injured.
Patrick, the consensus No. 1 pick for the NHL’s 2017 draft, has played in only six games and hasn’t played since Oct. 11. He is listed as being out week-to-week on the WHL’s Nov. 29 roster report. Patrick, who has been bothered by the after-effects of July surgery for a sports hernia, told Perry Bergson of the Brandon Sun on Monday that “I think my injury is turning a corner.” If Patrick, or any other injured player, doesn’t take part in the camp, he won’t be on the final roster.
Bean, a first-round pick (13th overall) by the Carolina Hurricanes in the NHL’s 2016 draft, has two assists in three games this season. He hasn’t played since suffering a hand injury on Oct. 14, but is expected to return at some point this weekend.
Steel, the WHL’s leading scorer, has missed the Pats’ last two games with a shoulder injury. He was injured in the second period of a 5-2 loss to the Cougars in Prince George on Nov. 22 and sat out Regina’s next two games. He went into this week with 41 points, tops in the WHL.
Meanwhile, two other players — Dube and Howden — have just returned from the injury list.
Dube has seven points, including six assists, in six games since coming back from a knee injury suffered while in camp with the NHL’s Calgary Flames.
Howden has played in two games since returning from a hip injury that cost him a month. He has two goals and four assists in those two games, giving him 20 points, including 11 goals, in 13 games this season.
JUST NOTES: There are a number of tournament-eligible players in the NHL and Team Canada is free to add to its roster until Dec. 19. . . . Among the WHLers who may have been close to being selected: D Connor Hobbs, Regina; D Brendan Guhle and F Jansen Harkins, Prince George Cougars; F Tyler Soy, Victoria Royals; F Tyler Benson, Vancouver Giants; and D Ethan Bear, Seattle. . . . D Cal Foote of Kelowna, who is from Englewood, Colo., has declared for Canada but was ruled ineligible under the IIHF’s residency rules. Foote, whose father is former NHL D Adam Foote, is in his second WHL season. . . . Jon Keen, the radio voice of the Blazers, reports that freshman F Rudolfs Balcers has been named to the Latvian national junior team. He has 28 points, including 15 goals, in 27 games with the Blazers.
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Peter Anholt, the general manager of the Lethbridge Hurricanes, continued to shake up things with a team that he obviously feels is under-achieving.
Earlier this month, Anholt dealt F Brayden Burke, the team’s leading scorer, to the Moose Jaw Warriors. On Tuesday, Anholt placed D Kord Pankewicz on 20-year-old waivers, and filled that roster spot with D Shaun Dosanjh.
Dosanjh began this season with the Prince George Cougars, before being claimed off waivers by the Kamloops Blazers when they lost D Dallas Valentine, 20, to an elbow injury. Valentine returned from a 19-game absence on Friday, so the Blazers placed Dosanjh on waivers.
The Hurricanes had acquired Pankewicz from the Brandon Wheat Kings in September 2014. This season, he has a goal and eight assists in 24 games. In 155 regular-season games with Lethbridge, he put up 97 points, including 85 assists. Including his 88 games with Brandon, Pankewicz has 112 points, 99 of them assists. Brandon selected him 11th overall in the 2011 bantam draft.
Dosanjh was a third-round pick by the Vancouver Giants in that 2011 bantam draft. This season, he has a goal and three assists in 18 games. In 142 career regular-season games, Dosanjh has three goals and seven assists.
The Hurricanes (11-11-3) have won four straight games. They hold down the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card spot, but are just one point behind the third-place Edmonton Oil Kings in the Central Division.
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Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet filed his weekly 30 Thoughts essay on Tuesday and, as usual, it is highly readable. In this instance, he takes a look at the changes with the Florida Panthers. . . . And if you look hard enough you might even find my name in there somewhere. It’s still a great read and it’s right here.
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If you’ve got a comment, some information you would like to pass along, or if you just want to say hello, feel free to contact me at greggdrinnan@gmail.com.
If you would like to donate to the cause, please visit the bottom of this post and go right ahead.
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Coaching
The ECHL’s Norfolk Admirals have fired head coach Rod Aldoff and brought in Robbie Ftorek, a former NHL head coach, as the replacement. . . . The Admirals were 2-11-4 at the time of the change. . . . Aldoff, who is from Lethbridge, was hired in June to replace Eric Veilleux, now an assistant coach with the AHL;’s San Antonio Rampage. Aldoff had guided the Pensacola Ice Flyers to last season’s SPHL title. . . . Ftorek, 64, last coached in 2013-14 when he was an assistant coach with the AHL’s Abbotsford, B.C., Heat.
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JUST NOTES:

The Kootenay Ice won’t have D Troy Murray in the lineup tonight when they meet the Silvertips in Everett tonight. Murray drew a TBD suspension after taking a checking-from-behind major and game misconduct for a hit on Edmonton F Artyom Baltruk in a 5-3 loss to the visiting Oil Kings on Sunday. Baltruk is shown on this week’s roster report as being out TBD with an upper-body injury.
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TUESDAY’S GAMES:


At Medicine Hat, F Zach Fischer had a goal and two assists to help the Tigers to a 4-1 victory over the
ZACH FISCHER
Prince Albert Raiders. . . . The Tigers (21-5-1) have won 10 in a row and now lead the overall standings by three points over the Everett Silvertips and Prince George Cougars. . . . The Tigers are scheduled to play in Everett on Friday. . . . The Raiders (5-19-1) have lost eight straight and have the 22-team league’s poorest record. . . . F Chad Butcher (12) got the Tigers started at 9:28 of the first period. . . . Fischer, who has 17 goals, added to the lead at 10:54 of the second period. . . . F Cole Fonstad (5) got Prince Albert’s goal at 12:04. . . . The Tigers put it away on goals from F John Dahlstrom (13) at 17:17 of the second and F Steve Owre (7) at 9:02 of the third. . . . D Clayton Kirichenko and D David Quenneville each had two assists for Medicine Hat, while Butcher and Owre each had one. . . . G Nick Schneider stopped 28 shots in posting his 12th straight victory. He leads the WHL with 19 of them. . . . The Raiders got 32 stops from Ian Scott. . . . Medicine Hat was 0-3 on the PP; Prince Albert was 0-5. . . . F Matt Bradley, one of the Tigers’ five 30-point men, was among the scratches. . . . Announced attendance: 3,167.

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At Langley, B.C., F Brad Morrison’s goal at 1:58 of OT gave the Prince George Cougars a 4-3 victory
BRAD MORRISON
over the Vancouver Giants. . . . D Brendan Guhle had tied the game, with his fifth goal, at 19:18 of the third period. Morrison, who has 10 goals, got the lone assist on Guhle’s goal. . . . F Jansen Harkins had given the visitors a 1-0 lead, with his sixth goal, at 10:27 of the first period. . . . Vancouver F Ty Ronning (10) tied it at 16:33. . . . The Cougars went back out front on F Jesse Gabrielle’s 13th goal, at 18:17, with Harkins getting the assist. . . . The Giants took the lead with second-period goals from D Matt Barberis (4), at 2:34, on a PP, and F Radovan Bondra (17), at 16:28. . . . Bondra and Ronning each had an assist for Vancouver. . . . Gabrielle also added an assist to his goal. . . . G Ty Edmonds stopped 19 shots for the Cougars. . . . The Giants got 42 stops from G Ryan Kubic. . . . Vancouver was 1-6 on the PP; Prince George was 0-5. . . . The Cougars (19-6-2) had lost their previous two games. They are three points behind the WHL-leading Medicine Hat Tigers. . . . The Giants (10-16-2) have lost six straight (0-4-2). . . . Announced attendance: 2,870.
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WEDNESDAY’S GAMES (all times local):

Kootenay at Everett, 7:05 p.m.
Seattle at Kamloops, 7 p.m.
Prince Albert at Lethbridge, 7 p.m.
Saskatoon at Red Deer, 7 p.m.
Portland at Spokane, 7:05 p.m.
Kelowna vs. Tri-City, at Kennewick, Wash., 7:05 p.m.
Brandon at Victoria, 7:05 p.m.

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Posted by Gregg Drinnan at 9:55 PM
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Wednesday, November 9, 2016

Islanders return Barzal to Seattle . . . Broncos, Oil Kings swing deal . . . Three left in hunt for 2018 Memorial Cup

F Roman Tvrdoň (Spokane, 1999-2001) has signed a contract for the rest of this season with Landshut (Germany, Oberliga). Last season, with Piešťany (Slovakia, Extraliga), he had three goals and four assists in 27 games. . . .
F Eric Johansson (Tri-City, 1997-2002) has signed a contract for the rest of this season with Herning (Denmark, Metal Ligaen). Last season, he had seven goals and 19 assists in 23 games with Riessersee Garmisch-Partenkirchen (Germany, DEL2). . . .
D David Hájek (Spokane, 1998-99) has signed a contract for the rest of this season with Weiden (Germany, Oberliga). Last season, he had three goals and one assist with Heilbronner Falken (Germany, DEL2).
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The NHL’s New York Islanders returned F Mathew Barzal, 19, to the Seattle Thunderbirds on Wednesday. Barzal, the 16th overall selection in the 2015 NHL draft, had played in only two of the
MATHEW BARZAL
Islanders’ first 13 games this season, seeing a grand total of 19 minutes 30 seconds in ice time. Last week, he was said to be battling strep throat.
Barzal will be playing in his fourth WHL season. He put up 88 points, including 27 goals, in 58 games last season.
The Thunderbirds next play Friday in Kent, Wash., against the Calgary Hitmen.
Barzal’s return will give Seattle head coach Steve Konowalchuk the option to reunite one of the WHL’s top lines pf last season — Barzal between Ryan Gropp and Keegan Kolesar. However, that may not happen until some time in January.
Kolesar had surgery to repair a supraumbilical hernia while with the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets and isn’t expected back for another week or two.
Meanwhile, Barzal is certain to be invited to attend the Canadian national junior team’s selection camp. That list is to be released on Nov. 29. Should Barzal be on Team Canada’s final roster, he would be lost to the Thunderbirds until after the 2017 World Junior Championship, which is to conclude on Jan. 5.
Barzal had two goals and an assist for Canada at the 2016 WJC.
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KOLE GABLE
The Swift Current Broncos have acquired F Kole Gable, 18, from the Edmonton Oil Kings for a conditional seventh-round selection in the 2018 WHL bantam draft. . . . Gable, from Fort McMurray, Alta., had six goals and five assists in 53 games as a freshman last season. This season, he has one goal in eight games. . . . The 5-foot-10, 170-pounder was a ninth-round selection by Edmonton in the 2013 bantam draft. . . . In 2014-15, Gable had 22 goals and 22 assists for the midget AAA Fort Saskatchewan Rangers. . . . “We have injuries and a stretch of games against divisional rivals. We can’t afford to be short any bodies,” Manny Viveiros, the Broncos‘ director of player personnel and head coach, said in a news release. “We’re really ecstatic that we have a young man here who could be a two-and-a-half year player that we didn’t have to give up any players or prospects for.”
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The Oshawa Express is reporting that there are three teams left in contention to play host to the 2018 Memorial Cup, which will be mark the 100th anniversary of the trophy. Joel Wittnebel of the Express writes that “according to sources, (the) list now has been narrowed down to three possible host teams who have submitted bids: the Hamilton Bulldogs, Regina Pats and Oshawa Generals.” . . . RoccoTullio, the Generals’ owner, said: “That’s what we’ve been told.” . . . Wittnebel’s story is right here. . . . The Pats are the oldest junior hockey team in North America; they will mark their 100th season in 2017-18. However, they are embroiled in nasty negotiations on a new lease, something that may well end up knocking the city out of the bidding.
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Coaching Game
The BCHL’s Salmon Arm Silverbacks fired head coach Brandon West on Wednesday. Troy Mick, the franchise’s president and general manager, made the announcement. . . . West was in his fifth season with the organization, the third as head coach. The Silverbacks were 91-83-20, with eight ties, under West. This season, the Silverbacks are 8-14-0, good for sixth in the six-team Interior Division. They are three points out of fifth place and four out of third. . . . Assistant coaches Brooks Christensen and Darrell Hay are running things on an interim basis while a search continues for a new head coach. . . . Last season, the Silverbacks finished 29-20-5-4. They wound up third in the division and made the playoffs for the first time since 2012-13. . . . On June 6, West was signed to a contract extension, the duration of which wasn’t revealed.
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The SJHL’s Yorkton Terriers have added Mat Hehr to their staff as an assistant coach. He had been the assistant general manager and associate coach with the SJHL’s La Ronge Ice Wolves before leaving following the firing of GM/head coach Shawn Martin last month. . . . With the Terriers, Hehr will work alongside GM/head coach Casey O’Brien.
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JUST NOTES:

The Edmonton Oil Kings, who are at home to the Saskatoon Blades tonight, have brought in G Boston Bilous, 15, from the Fraser Valley Thunderbirds of the B.C. Major Midget League. A native of Langley, B.C., he was a fourth-round selection in the 2016 bantam draft. . . . As a 15-year-old, Bilous is eligible to play five WHL games before theThunderbirds’ season concludes. The Oil Kings have two other goaltenders — veteran Patrick Dea, 19, and freshman Liam Hughes, 17 — on their roster. . . .
The Swift Current Broncos will be without freshman F Riley Stotts, 16, for up to six weeks. Stotts, the 10th overall selection in the 2015 bantam draft, had his skates off in the Canada Red dressing room during last week’s U-17 World Hockey Challenge when he was stepped on by a teammate. The resulting damage to one foot has put Stotts on the shelf. He has four goals in 12 games this season. . . . 
Last week, a Vancouver radio station (News 1130 Sports) reported that D Tyler Brown had left the Vancouver Giants. The roster report released this week by the WHL lists Brown as having retired. . . . Brown, from East Olympia, Wash., was a fifth-round pick by the Moose Jaw Warriors in the 2012 bantam draft. This season, he had two assists in 16 games with the Giants, who acquired him from Moose Jaw last season. . . . In 167 career regular-season games, he has three goals and 27 assists.
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WEDNESDAY’S GAMES (all times local):

No Games Scheduled.
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THURSDAY’S GAMES (all times local):

Saskatoon at Edmonton, 7 p.m.
Regina at Moose Jaw, 7 p.m.
Prince George vs. Vancouver, at Langley, B.C., 7 p.m.

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Posted by Gregg Drinnan at 10:15 PM
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Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Change in Raiders' office . . . Attempt to save team is over . . . Montador had CTE

BOOK REVIEW:

Remember when hockey cards were the thing?
It really wasn’t that long ago, like in the 1990s and for a while after the turn of the century.
But the real feeding frenzy was in the 1990s. In fact, while I was the Regina Leader-Post’s sports editor, I came to know one person who paid off his mortgage
through hockey cards. He built up a supply — at one time, he had more than one million cards in his basement — and spent many weekends a year at card shows in southern and central Saskatchewan.
For most collectors, though, it isn’t about paying off a mortgage. Early on in He Shoots, He Saves: The Story of Hockey’s Collectible Treasures, author Jon Waldman quotes Hersh Borenstein, president of the Toronto-based memorabilia company Frozen Pond:
“More than anything it’s the pursuit . . . it’s not about the value.”
You will be aware of that if you have ever been a collector of anything. Yes, it’s about the chase.
In this book, Waldman goes back in time to the beginning of hockey-based collectibles. He also looks at everything from autographs — what to get autographed; what not to get autographed — to game-worn jerseys to programs and tickets and everything in between.
Still, cards are at the heart of hockey collectibles. Early on, Waldman provides a timeline of the history of hockey cards that shows just how crazy the industry was as it built to a peak and then came down the other side.
In chronicling the collectible industry, Waldman also provides something of a history of professional hockey, especially at the NHL level. He offers up a team-by-team look, including expansion and defunct franchises, always pointing out unique collectibles.
Should you give this book a look, it will bring back a million memories. It may even cause you to go on the hunt in your own home. Perhaps you have an H.M. Cowan painted tile or two hanging around somewhere. It could be that you had no idea what they were, other than small paintings of former players like, say, Harry Howell and Tom Johnson. Maybe you will find them, go on the Internet and find out that they are worth more than a few dollars.
But you won’t even attempt to sell them. No. Because it isn’t about the money, is it?
(He Shoots, He Saves: The Story of Hockey’s Collectible Treasures; ECW Press, 274 pages, soft cover, $19.95)
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F Eric Johansson (Tri-City, 1997-2002) signed a one-year contract with Riessersee (Germany, DEL2). This season, with Ritten/Renon (Italy, Serie A), he had 25 goals and 19 assists in 37 games. He led the team in goals and points while it won the Italian championship. . . .
D Jace Coyle (Spokane, Medicine Hat, 2007-11) signed a one-year contract with the Sheffield Steelers (England, UK Elite). He had two goals and 17 assists in 36 games with Aalborg (Denmark, Metal Ligaen) this season. . . .
F Marcin Kolusz (Vancouver, 2003-04) signed a two-year extension with Tychy (Poland, PHL). He had 40 points, including 16 goals, in 42 games this season. His club won the Poland championship. Kolusz captained Poland at the World Championship Division 1A, where he was named to the all-star team and named best player on his team.
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TUESDAY’S GAME:

No Game Scheduled.

The Kelowna Rockets get their first chance to win this season’s WHL championship when they meet the visiting Brandon Wheat Kings tonight. The Rockets hold a 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven final for the Ed Chynoweth Cup. . . . The Rockets have won their last six games, beating the Portland Winterhawks three straight to close out the Western Conference final and now having opened the league final with three victories. . . . Wondering why the teams didn’t play on back-to-back nights when the series headed to Kelowna? Diana Krall was playing Prospera Place last night.
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Bruce Vance is leaving the Prince Albert Raiders after 14 years with the WHL franchise. Vance, who has been involved in the WHL for 21 years, is leaving the Raiders to work as the City of Prince Albert’s marketing and sponsorship co-ordinator. Vance joined the Raiders as director of marketing, and has been the Raiders’ business manager for the past four years. . . . Michael Scissons will replace Vance as the Raiders’ business manager, effective June 1. Scissons has been with the Saskatoon Blades through 12 seasons, most recently as their vice-president of business operations.
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The attempt at resuscitating the men’s hockey program at Thompson River University in Kamloops is dead. Trevor Bast of Victoria, who had been attempting to revive a program that was discontinued by TRU prior to this season, tells Taking Note that “I have stopped working towards reviving TRU hockey.” . . . With the TRU athletic department having said it no longer was interested in a hockey program, Bast approached the TRU Students’ Union in an attempt to form a link there. However, the TRUSU didn’t get back to him. At the same time, a deadline imposed by the B.C. Intercollegiate Hockey League went by, so Bast feels he has no choice but to walk away. . . . Don Schulz, the head coach of the WolfPack when the program collapsed, is preparing for his first season as head coach of the Kamloops-based Thompson Blazers, who play in the B.C. Major Midget Hockey League.
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The junior B Kimberley Dynamiters, champions of the Kootenay International Junior League, have changed the responsibilities of assistant coach Mike Reid and general manager Dave Smith. . . . Reid will take over as GM/director of player personnel, with Smith move to assistant GM-hockey operations. . . . “We’ve just taken the workload and divided it into two,” team president Chad Koran explained to Taylor Rocca of the Cranbrook Daily Townsman. “It’s a pretty demanding and time-consuming job. We’re just trying to divide it between the two guys and lighten the load for the both of them.” . . . Head coach Jerry Bancks is set for another season, with Reid, Jeff Keiver and Todd White all back on staff, too. . . . Rocca's story is right here.
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Does the NFL really concern itself more with deflated footballs and artificially inflated players? In light of Tom Brady’s suspension and Deflategate, Jere Longman of The New York Times examines the NFL and a history of deceit in sports right here.
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THE COACHING GAME:

The Prince Albert Raiders have re-signed associate coach Dave Manson and assistant coach Kelly Guard. Contract terms weren’t released. They will work under head coach Marc Habscheid, who signed a four-year contract earlier this spring. . . . The Raiders have yet to reveal whether they will retain general manager Bruno Campese, whose contract is soon to expire. . . . Manson, who is from Prince Albert, will be entering his 11th season on the Raiders’ coaching staff. He also is a former Raiders defenceman (1983-86). . . . Guard, who also is from Prince Albert, is preparing for his fourth season with the Raiders. He started as the team’s goaltending coach, then was promoted to assistant coach prior to this season. . . . Both men have been part of Memorial Cup championship teams, Manson with the 1984-85 Raiders and Guard with the 2003-04 Kelowna Rockets.
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Former NHLer Jeremy Roenick, who now is in the broadcast business, said Tuesday that Travis Green, the former Portland Winterhawks assistant GM/assistant coach, should be considered for the head-coaching vacancy with the NHL’s Philadelphia Flyers. . . . "He is a no-nonsense coach and I think a coach that's ready for the National Hockey League and that's waited for a National Hockey League job," Roenick said Tuesday on Comcast SportsNet's Breakfast on Broad. "He turned down an assistant job in Pittsburgh last year because of his craving to be a head coach. If there's a young guy out there that's ready for that jump, I think Travis Green would be that guy.” . . . Green now is the head coach of the Utica Comets, the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks. . . . There’s more right here on Roenick and Green. . . . The Comets hold a 2-1 lead over the Oklahoma City Barons in a second-round series with Game 4 tonight in Oklahoma City.
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D Mackenze Stewart of the Prince Albert Raiders has signed with the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks. Stewart, who turns 20 on Aug. 10, is from Calgary. The Canucks selected him in the seventh round of the NHL’s 2014 draft. The 6-foot-4, 215-pound Stewart had 11 points, five of them goals, with the Raiders this season. . . . The Canucks apparently plan on turning Stewart into a left winger. . . .
The best baseball book you’ve never read? In a piece written for Rolling Stone, Dan Epstein makes a case for Joe, You Coulda Made Us Proud. That is the story of former Major League first baseman Joe Pepitone, and it was on bookshelves before Jim Bouton’s Ball Four. The good news is that Joe, You Could Made Us Proud is being reissued. . . . Epstein’s piece is right here.
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“The family of Steve Montador is planning to launch a lawsuit against the NHL in the wake of news the late defenceman suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy, widely known as CTE,” writes Rick Westhead of TSN. “The Krembil Neuroscience Centre’s Canadian Sports Concussion Project announced results on Tuesday of autopsies conducted on Montador, former CFL player John Forzani, and an anonymous donor. CTE was detected in the brains of Montador and the anonymous donor, but not Forzani, a former lineman with the Stampeders.” . . . Montador, who was 35 when he died in February. As a hockey player, he had a long history of concussions. . . . Westhead’s piece is right here.
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Posted by Gregg Drinnan at 11:56 PM
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Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Winterhawks get assistant coach . . . or do they?

SMOKE ON THE WATER: Somewhere through all the smoke over the South
Thompson River near Kamloops stands Mount Martin. Yes, it's been smokin' hot
in Kamloops for the past few days.








D Rory Rawlyk (Medicine Hat, Vancouver, Prince Albert, Red Deer, 2000-03) has signed a one-year contract with the Coventry Blaze (England, UK Elite). Last season, with the Dundee Stars (Scotland, UK Elite), he had 40 points, including 32 assists, in 43 games. He was named to the Elite League’s second all-star team. . . . Rawlyk’s season was cut short by a freak training accident in which he suffered a broken nose, fractured cheekbone and cracked eye socket, which required surgery. . . .
F Eric Johansson (Tri-City, 1997-2002) has signed a one-year extension with Ritten/Renon (Italy, Serie A). Last season, Johansson had 50 points, 14 of them goals, in 38 games with the Italian champions. He led the team in assists and points.
D Garnet Exelby (Saskatoon, Regina, 1998-2001) has signed a one-year contract with Dornbirn (Austria, Erste Bank Liga). Last season, as the captain of the Norfolk Admirals (AHL), he had 18 points, all of them assists, in 72 games.
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“What we’ve got here is failure to communicate.”
When you hear that, you think of that great movie Cool Hand Luke.
Well, we ran into a communication problem on Wednesday.
Under the headline ‘Charlottetown native to be an (sic) WHL assistant’, a website that goes by hockeyscene.com reported that “Brad MacKenzie of Charlottetown and the Portland Winterhawks of the Western Hockey League have agreed to terms that will see MacKenzie become an assistant coach with the team.”
MacKenzie is quoted in the story as saying: “It is what I want to do. It is a good first step with a terrific organization.”
I tweeted out a link to the 10-paragraph story that didn’t carry a byline.
Moments later, I got an email from a Winterhawks’ official.
“I think there was a miscommunication with the writer of the article,” the official wrote. “He is not an assistant coach, but from what I understand will be an intern or assistant of some sort working with the staff.
“Not sure exactly what his title will be but he won't be our new assistant coach.”
The hockeyscene.com story is right here.
The Winterhawks are looking for an assistant coach to replace Karl Taylor, who left Portland to become an assistant coach with the AHL’s Texas Stars.
The Winterhawks introduced Jamie Kompon as their new GM/head coach last week. He replaces Mike Johnston, now head coach of the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins.
Kyle Gustafson, the club’s other assistant coach, is back and is preparing for his 11th season with the Winterhawks.
---



1. The Vancouver Giants are scheduled to introduce Troy Ward as their head coach this morning. (Yesterday, in this space, I erred in writing that the news conference was to be held Wednesday morning.) . . . Ward spent the last three seasons as the head coach of the Abbotsford Heat, the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Calgary Flames. In Vancouver, he will replace Don Hay, the Giants’ head coach for the past 10 seasons. Hay now is head coach of the Kamloops Blazers.

2. The Moose Jaw Warriors also will be introducing a new head coach today. They have been looking to fill the void created when Mike Stothers signed on as head coach of the Manchester Monarchs, the AHL farm team of the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings. . . . There has been speculation that Malcolm Cameron, who was fired last month by the new owners of the Regina Pats, is the No. 1 candidate in Moose Jaw. Cameron guided the Pats to the East Division’s regular-season pennant last season. . . . This is a big day for the Warriors as the organization’s annual meeting is scheduled for tonight at the Heritage Inn.

3. It’s safe to say that the Lethbridge Hurricanes raised some eyebrows on Tuesday with the announcement that they were adding Bryan Maxwell to their coaching staff, as an assistant under head coach Drake Berehowsky. . . . Dale Woodard of the Lethbridge Herald has more on Maxwell right here, including what he’s been doing the last couple of years and how he hopes to help the Hurricanes.

4. The Edmonton Oilers have added Rocky Thompson to their coaching staff. During games, he will serve as their eye in the sky. . . . Thompson, 36, has been an assistant coach with the AHL’s Oklahoma City Barons for the past four seasons. . . . A former WHL defenceman (Medicine Hat, Swift Current, 1993-97), Thompson also worked as an assistant coach with the Edmonton Oil Kings (2007-10).

5. No matter where Yvon Barrette roams -- he’s in Prince Albert for a celebrity golf tournament -- he gets the question: “Who own the Chiefs?” . . . Yes, you know the movie. . . . Andrew Schopp of the Prince Albert Daily Herald has more right here.

6. F Casey Pierro-Zabotel, who won the WHL scoring title in 2008-09 while with the Vancouver Giants, has signed on with the ECHL’s Gwinnett Gladiators. . . . Pierro-Zabotel, 25, started last season with the Lausitzer Foxes in Germany (DEL2). He joined the Gladiators in January and put up 28 points, including seven goals, in 36 games. . . . In 2008-09, he had 115 points, including 36 goals, in 72 games with the Giants.

7. Arland Bruce III has filed a concussion-related lawsuit against the CFL that is believed to be the first of its kind filed in Canada. This lawsuit was filed in B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver. . . . There is more right here.

8. The big story after Tuesday’s MLB All-Star Game involved NL starter Adam Wainwright. Did he, or did he not, groove a fastball for AL shortstop Derek Jeter? And, if he did, does it matter? . . . Richard Justice of mlb.com has more right here.

9. Don’t forget to vote in the Memorial Cup poll over there on the right. Just click on where you think the 2016 tournament should be played.


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Posted by Gregg Drinnan at 11:20 PM
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Friday, August 16, 2013

What's his name? Seriously!

THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Layne Ulmer (Swift Current, 1997-2001) signed a one-year contract extension with Asiago (Italy, Serie A). He had 29 goals and 29 assists in 44 games last season. This will be Ulmer’s fifth season with Asiago, which won the Italian championship last season on Ulmer's goal with 22 seconds gone in the first overtime period in Game 6 of the final against Valpellice. The game-winner completed Ulmer's hat trick. . . .

D Martin Grundling (Moose Jaw, 2005-07) signed a one-year contract with Arystan Temirtau (Kazakhstan, Vysshaya Liga). He had one goal in 48 games with Karlovy Vary (Czech Republic, Extraliga) last season. . . .

Czech-ELH
F Stepan Novotny (Kelowna, Swift Current, 2008-11) signed a one-year contract with Plzen (Czech Republic, Extraliga). He had no points in six games with Liberec (Czech Republic, Extraliga) and 15 goals and seven assists in 38 games with Kosice (Slovakia, Extraliga) last season. . . .


F Eric Johansson (Tri-City, 1997-2002) signed a one-year contract with Ritten/Renon (Italy, Serie A). He had six goals and 23 assists in 41 games with Alba Volan Szekesfehervar (Hungary, Austria Erste Bank Liga) and three goals and two assists in 13 games with Västerås (Sweden, Allsvenskan) last season.
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Jeff Battah is back with the Lethbridge Hurricanes as their goaltender coach. Battah filled that role with the Hurricanes from 2004-08. Last season, he worked with the BCHL’s Nanaimo Clippers. He also has been an assistant coach with the UBC Thunderbirds since 2010. Battah is co-owner of Pro Goal Development. . . .

The Everett Silvertips announced Friday that F Jujhar Khaira, 19, will be in training camp when it opens next week. Khaira was a third-round selection by the Edmonton Oilers in the NHL’s 2012 draft. The Silvertips acquired his rights from the Prince George Cougars at the 2013 bantam draft. Khaira will leave Everett’s camp to play for the Oilers’ team at the Young Stars Classic tournament in Penticton, B.C. Because Khaira was drafted out of junior (BCHL’s Prince George Spruce Kings), he has to play in the NHL or Everett. He played last season for the Michigan Tech Huskies, putting up 25 points in 37 games. . . . Nick Patterson of the Everett Herald has more right here.

The Arena Football League just may announce today that it has sold a franchise to the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers. The AFL team would play out of the Moda Center, the facility formerly known as the Rose Garden. . . . John Canzano of The Oregonian has more right here.

And now for something completely different.
Beezow Doo-Doo Zopittybop-Bop-Bop is in trouble with the law. Seriously. . . . That’s his name, and there’s more right here. (A tip of the hat to Chris Peters for the tweet.)

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Posted by Gregg Drinnan at 11:25 PM
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Monday, January 21, 2013

THE MacBETH REPORT:
DELF Eric Schneider (Tri-City, 1995-96) signed a contract for the rest of this season with the Hamburg Freezers (Germany, DEL). He had two goals and 10 assists in 10 games with the Bentley Generals (Alberta, Chinook Senior) this season. Last season, Schneider had 16 goals and 30 assists in 52 games with Munich (Germany, DEL), where he was an alternate captain. . . .

F Eric Johansson (Tri-City, 1997-2002) signed a contract for the rest of this season with Västerås (Sweden, Allsvenskan) after being released a few days ago by Alba Volan Szekesfehervar (Hungary, Austria Erste Bank Liga). He had six goals and 23 assists in 41 games with Alba Volan this season. Västerås GM Niklas Johansson (no relation): “He's a two-way centre with a good drive and lovely set-up skills who can also play wing. We need to lift our offensive game and therefore it feels good to be able to snag a player like Eric.” Johansson has dual Canadian and Swedish citizenship so he doesn’t count as an import.
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On my list of today’s best sports writers, two names are atop the list. There are Thomas Boswell of the Washington Post and Roy MacGregor of The Globe and Mail, and then there is everyone else.
They are essayists, wordsmiths . . . who regularly provide readers with the best they’ve got.
I mention this because Boswell spent a lot of time covering Earl Weaver when he really was the Earl of Baltimore. Weaver died Saturday at the age of 82, and Boswell came up with this piece right here.
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The headline reads: Las Vegas Hooker Rear Ended.
The story, involving a player from a Mountain West Hockey League team, is right here.
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SUNDAY’S GAMES:
In Edmonton, F Trevor Cheek and F Curtis Lazar each scored his 20th goal as the Oil Kings beat the Prince George Cougars, 6-1. . . . The Oil Kings erased a 1-0 first-period deficit with the game’s next three goals — they scored at even strength, on the power play and shorthanded — and took a 3-1 lead into the third period. . . . The first two periods included a combined 13 power-play opportunities. There was one minor penalty called in the third. . . . Edmonton F Edgars Kulda scored his fifth goal. His folks from Latvia were in the crowd. . . . F Henrik Samuelsson scored twice for Edmonton, giving him 24 goals. . . . Among the Cougars scratches was D Marc McNulty (undisclosed). . . . The Oil Kings, who had lost their previous two games, are back atop the Eastern Conference, one point ahead of the idle Calgary Hitmen. . . .

In Vancouver, F Josh Winquist scored three times to lead the Everett Silvertips to a 4-0 victory over the Giants. . . . Winquist, who also had an assist, has 21 goals. . . . Everett G Daniel Cotton stopped 31 shots for his second shutout of the season, both against Vancouver. . . . The Silvertips swept a three-game weekend; earlier, they beat Seattle and Lethbridge at home. . . . Everett is 5-0-0 against Vancouver this season. . . . Everett F Manraj Hayer drew three assists. He’s from Vancouver and was celebrating his 19th birthday. . . .

In Kent, Wash., Lethbridge G Ty Rimmer stopped 54 shots through OT but gave up a goal in the circus and his Lethbridge Hurricanes dropped a 6-5 decision to the Seattle Thunderbirds (of Kent). . . . Seattle F Luke Lockhart, who shot first, scored the only goal of the shootout. . . . Seattle has won twice in as many nights after losing 15 in a row. . . . Lethbridge led 3-1 in the second period, only to have Seattle come back with four straight goals. . . . The Hurricanes trailed 5-3 in the third period. D Adam Henry got them to within one at 6:45. F Jaimon Yakubowski forced OT with his 26th goal at 16:18 of the third. . . . Seattle lost F Branden Troock late in the second period with an apparent shoulder injury after he went heavily into the boards. He didn’t return. . . . Lethbridge was playing its third game in as many nights and dressed only 16 skaters. It was missing six regulars. D Albin Blomqvist, D Dan Johnston, F Reid Duke, F Josh Derko and F Russell Maxwell all are hurt, while D Joel Topping was writing exams. . . .

In Medicine Hat, G Cam Lanigan stopped 26 shots as the Tigers beat the Red Deer Rebels, 3-0. . . . Lanigan, 20, has three career shutouts, all of them this season. He had one with Portland before joining the Tigers. . . . F Hunter Shinkaruk scored the game’s first goal, his 26th, at 10:51 of the second period. . . . Shinkaruk had sat out for a week with the flu. F Miles Koules now is ill and didn’t play. . . . F Curtis Valk, with his 27th, and F Logan McVeigh, with his 13th, also scored. . . .  The Tigers swept a three-game weekend, as they also won in Edmonton and beat visiting Calgary. The Tigers beat Edmonton 2-1 and Calgary 4-0. . . . Medicine Hat is seventh in the Eastern Conference, but just six points behind the fourth-place Rebels. . . . Edmonton, Calgary and Red Deer are running 1-2-3 in the Central Division.
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CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
D Martin Gernat, Edmonton
F Alex Delnov, Seattle
F Tyler Wong, Lethbridge

CHECKING-TO-THE-HEAD COUNT:
F Brandon Baddock, Edmonton
———


From Portland F Brendan Leipsic (@leip28): “I eat because I’m unhappy, I’m unhappy because I eat.”


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Posted by Gregg Drinnan at 12:56 AM
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