The rights to another 20-year-old goaltender are on the move within the WHL with the Portland Winterhawks having claimed veteran Cam Lanigan off waivers from the Kamloops Blazers.
The move was confirmed Wednesday night by Mike Johnston, the Winterhawks' general manager and head coach.
Lanigan, who had been acquired by Kamloops from the Edmonton Oil Kings for goaltender Jon Groenheyde during 2010-11, went into training camp in August with the opportunity to be the Blazers' starter. However, Cole Cheveldave, then 18, won the job and kept it until he suffered a concussion during a second-round series with the Winterhawks.
Cheveldave went down in Game 2 as the Blazers lost 4-1 to fall behind 2-0 in the best-of-seven series.
Lanigan stepped in as the starter and the series went seven games, with Portland winning the last game, 2-0.
Lanigan becomes the second 20-year-old goaltender on the Portland roster, along with Mac Carruth. However, Carruth has signed with the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks and could play in their organization.
The Winterhawks would seem to be looking for a veteran goaltender to provide support until Brendan Burke, 17, the son of former NHL goaltender Sean Burke, is ready to take over as No. 1.
Assuming Lanigan reports to camp with the Winterhawks, he will find other competition in Jarrod Schamerhorn, a 17-year-old from Kelowna who played last season with the junior B Golden Rockets, and Brendan Jensen, a 19-year-old from La Granada, Calif. Jensen has played in 40 WHL games, all of them with the Vancouver Giants, who dealt his rights to Portland in January. Jensen played most of last season with the AJHL's Spruce Grove Saints.
The Blazers, meanwhile, will go to camp with Cheveldave, 19, and Taran Kozun, 18, as their top two goaltenders.
The Blazers began last season with Cheveldave, Lanigan and Kozun on their roster. Early in the season, Kozun was sent to the SJHL's Nipawin Hawks.
There now have been five 20-year-old goaltenders change teams this season. Earlier this week, the Brandon Wheat Kings dealt Brandon Anderson's WHL rights to the Everett Silvertips. Earlier, Luke Siemens moved from the Moose Jaw Warriors to the Prince Albert Raiders, Ty Rimmer went from the Tri-City Americans to Lethbridge, and Brandon Glover was traded by the Calgary Hitmen to the Seattle Thunderbirds.
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The Portland Winterhawks are back on the radio, having signed a multi-year deal (specifics not revealed) with KPAM 860 AM. According to a news release, the station will broadcast all regular-season and playoff games live, with exceptions when the Winterhawks play day games. . . . The deal also includes a weekly hour-long show on Northwest Sports Tonight that will include the taking of phone calls. . . . The team will continue to operate its Winterhawks Radio Network at winterhawks.com. According to a news release, "The Winterhawks Radio Network will continue to broadcast all games, along with exclusive interviews, podcasts and shows for fans eager for more team-related content 24 hours a day, seven days a week." . . . Todd Vrooman will be the play-by-play voice of the Winterhawks on KPAM.
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F Brendan Hurley, 19, has signed with the MJHL's Dauphin Kings. Hurley has played with the Kootenay Ice and Medicine Hat Tigers. He was with the Ice when it won the WHL championshp in 2010-11. Hurley was the 15th overall selection in the 2008 bantam draft. . . . In 173 games, he had 24 points and 278 penalty minutes. . . . The Tigers acquired Hurley from the Ice in January for a third-round pick in the 2012 bantam draft.
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Geoff Grimwood has been named head coach of the junior B South Island Royals, who play in the Vancouver Island junior league. The franchise, formerly the South Island Thundebirds, has been renamed under a partnership deal with the WHL's Victoria Royals. . . . For the last two seasons, Grimwood was an assistant coach with the BCHL's Powell River Kings. . . . Under terms of the agreement with the WHL team, Victoria GM Cameron Hope said in a news release that "Geoff will also have a role with the Victoria Royals as a member of head coach Dave Lowry's staff."
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The Prince Albert Raiders D Tyler Hart and F Austin Bourhis, both of whom are 20 years of age. . . . Hart, who was acquired from the Vancouver Giants in September, had six points and 96 penalty minutes in 43 games with the Raiders. . . . Bourhis had nine assists and 274 penalty minutes in 112 games over two seasons with the Raiders. . . . Both players have cleared WHL waivers and are free agents.
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Brad Priestlay, a former WHL player (Portland, Prince Storm George, 2000-04) , has been named head coach of the junior B Kamloops of the Kootenay International junior league. Priestlay takes over from Geoff Smith, who has moved on after one season as head coach. Smith has taken a new job that won't allow him the time to work as the team's head coach.

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Monday . . .

THE MacBETH REPORT:
D David Turon (Portland, 2002-03) signed a one-year contract with Fassa (Italy, Serie A). He had two goals and one assist in 25 games with Dukla Trencin (Slovakia, Extraliga) and five goals and three assists in 28 games for Lausitzer Fuche Weisswasser (Germany, 2.Bundesliga) last season.
———
The Kamloops Blazers have added to their stable of experienced WHL defencemen.
The Blazers acquired Marek Hrbas, an 18-year-old sophomore from the Czech Republic, from the Edmonton Oil Kings on Monday. In exchange for Hrbas and the 27th selection in the 2011 CHL import draft that is to be held Wednesday, the Blazers surrendered the 18th pick in the import draft and a fifth-round selection in the 2012 WHL bantam draft.

MAREK HRBAS

Hrbas, 5-foot-10 and 180 pounds, had 17 points, including five goals, and 30 penalty minutes in 64 games with the Oil Kings last season. He was pointless in four playoff games. The Oil Kings selected him fourth overall in the CHL’s 2010 import draft.
Hrbas spent 2009-10 with the USHL’s Fargo, N.D., Force, earning 15 points, four of them goals, in 40 games. That season, he played for Czech Republic in the U-17 World Hockey Challenge at Timmins, Ont., and was the tournament’s highest-scoring defenceman with seven points in five games.
He played for the Czech Republic — he was the team captain — at the U-18 World Junior Championship in Germany in April, recording four assists in six games.
The acquisition of Hrbas leaves the Blazers with seven defencemen on their roster, each of whom has played at least one WHL season. Two of them — Josh Caron and Bronson Maschmeyer — are 20 years of age, while Austin Madaisky and Brandon Underwood are 19 and have played three WHL seasons. Tyler Hansen, at 18, is heading into his third season. Brady Gaudet, 17, is preparing for his second season.
Prior to trading for Hrbas, the Blazers were eligible to make two selections in the import draft, having chosen not to bring back Slovakian forward Dalibor Bortnak or German forward Bernhard Keil.
Now, Kamloops is scheduled to pick 27th, which should happen Wednesday at 10:20 a.m.
The OHL’s London Knights hold the first pick, having acquired it Monday from the Barrie Colts. London is to open the draft at 6 a.m.
———
Check out Alan Caldwell’s blog, Small Thoughts At Large, over there on the right for a team-by-team look at the WHL heading into the import draft. . . . Between analysis like that and his statistical look at all of the WHL teams’ prospects that Caldwell has posted over the last while, you have to wonder why the WHL doesn’t offer him some big money to join their staff as the Minister of Information.
———
JUST NOTES: Among the undrafted free agents attending the New York Rangers’ development camp that opened Monday are F T.J. Foster of the Edmonton Oil Kings, F Austin Fyten of the Lethbridge Hurricanes and F Jordan Hickmott of the Oil Kings. . . . The IIHF announced Monday that the 2014 World Junior Championship will be played in Malmö, Sweden. The 2012 event is scheduled for Calgary and Edmonton, with the 2013 tournament to be played in Ufa, Russia. . . . The Calgary Flames have said they won’t renew the contract of Duane Sutter, their director of player personnel. The Flames have signed John Weisbrod, who had been the director of pro and amateur scouting for the Boston Bruins, as assistant GM.
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An email from Ryan Ohashi, the Lethbridge Hurricanes’ communications and events manager, provides us with what he calls Ryan’s Really Random factoid of the day.
He points out quite a link between his Hurricanes and the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes . . .
Brody Sutter became the third Lethbridge Hurricanes player the NHL Hurricanes have drafted (they took him in the seventh round) and the fifth if you include the Hartford Whalers years.
The previous picks:
2008 – Zach Boychuk (Drafted by Carolina – 1st round, 14th overall)
1997 – Shane Willis (Drafted by Carolina – 4th round, 88th overall)
1995 – Byron Ritchie (Drafted by Hartford – 7th round, 165th overall)
1990 – Mark Greig (Drafted by Hartford – 1st round, 15th overall)
When Greig was drafted by Hartford, he became Lethbridge’s highest NHL draft pick, which lasted until 2003 when Brent Seabrook was selected 14th overall by the Chicago Blackhawks. That was matched in 2008 when Carolina selected Boychuk.
———
It’s worth noting, too, that Carolina now has three Sutters in its organization. Brody has two cousins, Brandon and Brett, with the Hurricanes. Brandon is on the NHL roster, while Brett finished the season with the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers.
Brody is the son of Duane Sutter, who was the Calgary Flames’ director of player personnel until being relieved of his duties on Sunday.
Brandon is the son of Brent Sutter, who owns the Red Deer Rebels and is the Flames’ head coach.
Brett’s father is Darryl, formerly the Flames’ general manager.
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THE COACHING GAME: Jason Herter, the head coach of the USHL’s Fargo Force, is leaving to sign on as an assistant coach with the U of Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs, who are the reigning NCAA champions. . . . Fargo assistant coach Byron Pool is the Force’s interim head coach while management searches for what will be the fourth coach in as many seasons. . . .
A source told me late Monday night that “Dave Barr is the new guy in Moose Jaw.” . . . Barr spent the last two seasons as an assistant coach with the NHL’s Minnesota Wild and was an assistant with the Colorado Avalanche for the previous season. . . . Before that, he spent four seasons as GM and head coach of the OHL’s Guelph Storm. . . . Barr, who played 614 regular-season NHL games over 13 seasons, will take over from Dave Hunchak, who was relieved of his duties after last season. He had been head coach of the Warriors for four seasons and now is the associate coach with the Kamloops Blazers. . . .
Former NHL F Kirk Muller has been named head coach of the Milwaukee Admirals, the NHL affiliate of the Nashville Predators. . . .
The NHL’s Vancouver Canucks, having lost their AHL affiliate, the Manitoba Moose, have hooked up with the Chicago Wolves on a two-year deal. . . . Wolves head coach Don Lever and assistant Ron Wilson won’t be returning. . . . Other AHL teams needing head coaches are the Abbotsford Heat, Houston Aeros, San Antonio Rampage, Texas Stars and St. John’s, the latter formerly the Manitoba Moose. . . .
The Portland Pirates have become affiliated with the Phoenix Coyotes, announcing a multi-year deal on Monday. The teams then announced that Ray Edwards would be head coach. . . . Brad Treliving, the Coyotes’ assistant GM, will serve as the Pirates’ GM. . . . The Coyotes had been affiliated with the San Antonio Rampage. . . . Edwards was 70-56-16 in two seasons as the Rampage’s head coach. . . . Portland was affiliated with the Buffalo Sabres for the last three seasons. However, the Sabres have purchased the Rochester Americans. . . . With Edwards gone, the Rampage, which seems to be headed for a hookup with the NHL’s Florida Panthers, coaching staff comprises assistants Brian Pellerin and Jeff Truitt. . . .
Geoff Smith, a former NHL D who had been an assistant coach with the Kamloops Blazers, has signed on as head coach of the junior B Kamloops Storm, a team that plays in the Kootenay International junior league. . . . Smith and fellow assistant Scott Ferguson were dropped by the Blazers after last season. . . .
Brent Heaven is the new GM/head coach of the KIJHL’s Creston Valley ThunderCats. He takes over from Joe Martin, who left to become assistant GM/assistant coach with the BCHL’s Merritt Centennials.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
     
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
     
Taking Note on Twitter

What about Bob Brown for president?

The Kamloops Blazers began their WHL offseason by scuttling assistant coaches Scott Ferguson and Geoff Smith on Saturday.
Hey, stuff happens when you finish up the creek. Ferguson and Smith both understood the risks when they signed on three years ago, and neither is the least bit interested in slinging mud.
Of course, only time will tell whether those moves are to be followed by more personnel changes.
Obviously, when you miss the playoffs and lose your last eight games changes happen, and when a franchise hasn’t been out of the first round of playoffs since the spring of 1999 — American Beauty won the Academy Award as best picture — there is much work to be done.
Here then is a six-pack of suggestions for those who call the shots for a franchise that is struggling to get up off the canvas . . .
1. Hire a team president.
That someone will live here and oversee every aspect of the operation, thus becoming a face of this franchise.
That was the original plan when the present owners purchased the club in the late summer of 2007.
In October 2007, majority owner Tom Gaglardi said: “I sat down with the league and discussed how the club should be run and that is the advice they have given us — get someone to run the business on a day-to-day basis. We’ll be looking at someone to run the business.”
That, however, never happened.
The new owners separated the hockey and business sides, as they should have, hiring Craig Bonner as general manager over the summer of 2008 and naming Angie Mercuri the executive director of business operations.
Gaglardi is the franchise’s governor and president, but doesn’t live here, rarely attends home games and has more than enough on his plate with his other business interests.
While Bonner runs the hockey operation and Mercuri the business side, there is no one in the office on a daily basis who is at the top of the organizational pyramid. The franchise needs someone there to ask questions — “Why are we doing this? Why aren’t we doing that?” — and make suggestions and to be a sounding board.
Hello, Bob Brown.
The former Blazers general manager, who was fired when the organization chose to go in a different direction after winning three Memorial Cups in four years, scouts for the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers and lives in the Lower Mainland. Find out what he wants and give it to him. He may resist at first, but you know he would be intrigued by the opportunity to help restore the franchise to some semblance of past glories.
2. Hire some help for the marketing and communications departments.
The personable Dave Chyzowski, whose title is director of sales and marketing, and Tim O’Donovan, the media and communications co-ordinator who also is the video coach, hardly have time to come up for air.
Chyzowski, who came into the position without any experience, is busier than the legendary one-armed paper hanger.
With so much competition for the entertainment dollar and for leisure time, the marketing department should be treated like fine China. A lot of the time, the marketing people are the face of your product in the community, but they need help in numbers in order to fill that role.
3. Ditch the five-year plan.
I don’t know where it came from — perhaps its genesis was in the five-year contract Bonner signed — but this is not a good idea.
Hey, it’s good to have objectives within an organization. But going public with the fact that you have a five-year plan simply isn’t a good idea. After all, what happens if the franchise still is treading water — or worse, wallowing in the mud — when the five years is up?
Do you clean house and start over? With another five-year plan?
Better to have a series of one-year plans and work to improve at the end of each one-year segment.
4. Change the organization’s approach to 20-year-old players.
Each WHL team is allowed to use a maximum of three 20-year-olds. The rule doesn’t say you have to use three. And a wise man once said that good 20-year-olds are harder to find than hen’s teeth. That’s because many players that age have had their NHL dream die and now are starting to think about life after the WHL.
When your team is battling to restore its competitive credibility, when you know you’re not going to finish in the upper echelon, why trade for 20-year-olds who are going to take playing time away from younger players who need to play in all situations?
The Blazers finished ninth with three 20-year-olds. How much worse could it have been with younger players filling one or more of those spots and getting that experience?
5. Stop trying to trade for leadership.
A team needs to draft character and, as those players mature, the leadership will manifest itself. Those players will grow into the Blazers of the future and, by the time they get here, will know the Blazers way.
For too many years now, this franchise has tried to acquire leadership through trades, something that is virtually impossible to do in the WHL. If a player is strong of character and a leader, why would his original team trade him away?
Finding leaders is kind of like getting potatoes — if you want the best, grow your own.
6. Hire a sports psychologist.
Integrate this individual into the program and make regular use of him/her. Make the sports psychologist available to the players on a 24/7 basis. Hey, if it’s good enough for teams like the Everett Silvertips and Kelowna Rockets, it should be good enough for the Blazers.
Oh . . . one other thing.
Y’er welcome.

(Gregg Drinnan is sports editor of The Daily News. He is at gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca and gdrinnan.blogspot.com, or you may follow him at twitter.com/gdrinnan.)

Ferguson: It's just one of those things . . .

The Kamloops Blazers' bench will have a new look next season,
now that the WHL team has decided not to bring back assistant
coaches Geoff Smith (left) and Scott Ferguson (right) to work
alongside head coach Guy Charron.
(Photo courtesy Kamloops Daily News)

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
It was one day in January when the writing on the wall started to become larger and more legible.
That was the day when Scott Ferguson, the Kamloops Blazers’ fulltime assistant coach, went home and talked with his wife, Val, with whom he has three children.
“You know what?” Ferguson told her. “We better start preparing just in case. Because if the team doesn’t make the playoffs . . . potentially there could be changes.”
Well, the Blazers didn’t make the WHL playoffs and Ferguson now is out of work after the Blazers announced Saturday that neither he nor part-time assistant Geoff Smith would be back for a fourth season. Both men are former Blazers defencemen.
“It wasn’t a surprise to me. . . . I could see the writing on the wall,” Ferguson said late Sunday morning. “Now I’m just letting it all sink in.
“It’s just one of those things. You don’t make the playoffs and everybody’s accountable and I’m no different.”
Ferguson, a 38-year-old native of Camrose, Alta., played three seasons with the Blazers (1991-94) and was part of two Memorial Cup winners. During a lengthy professional career, he split 218 NHL games between the Edmonton Oilers, Anaheim Mighty Ducks and Minnesota Wild. Ferguson played in Germany in 2007-08, and joined the Blazers’ coaching staff the following season.
Ferguson said his three seasons here could best be described by one word.
“It was really disappointing,” he said. “Not just this season, but when I came here I had high hopes. To lose eight straight (playoff games over) the first two years and then not make the playoffs this year, I was really frustrated.
“I think we had a really good team and we just underachieved.”
Asked if that represented failure by the coaching staff under head coach Guy Charron, Ferguson replied: “From my point, I always think I could have done more. We couldn’t get the players to understand or buy in with what we were trying to get them to do.
“Dealing with young players, it’s our responsibility to get them to buy in. We’re telling them, we’re showing them, but obviously something wasn’t working. So it’s a matter of finding a way for them to understand . . . so they can have success.”
When Ferguson and Smith were hired, they worked under head coach Barry Smith. When Smith was fired on Oct. 26, 2009, Ferguson was installed as interim head coach.
At that point, general manager Craig Bonner said the plan was to finish that season with Ferguson and Geoff Smith at the controls. However, majority owner Tom Gaglardi and Bonner travelled to Calgary where they met with Charron, who shortly thereafter was signed as head coach for the remainder of the season. Charron later signed a two-year deal that runs through 2011-12.
The Blazers went 3-6-1 under Ferguson, who feels he and Smith did a good job of getting
“I learned a lot in that month,” Ferguson said. “It was quite a different team. When they let Barry go, there was a lot of uncertainty. It was a matter of getting the guys back believing they were a team. I thought Smitty and I did a pretty good job for the 10 games we had. I would have liked to have gone a little bit further but it wasn’t meant to be.”
One thing Ferguson and Smith did was get defenceman Josh Caron turned around. Caron was ready to walk away from the team, when Ferguson sat down with him and told him, among other things, to relax and have fun with the game.
“It was really nice to see where he went to from that point on,” Ferguson said. “He was a force and he earned his chance with Minnesota.”
Caron went to camp with the Minnesota Wild as a free agent and signed an NHL contract.
This season, Ferguson and Smith got to work with defenceman Brady Gaudet, the 10th pick in the WHL’s 2009 bantam draft.
“Gaudet improved by leaps and bounds. He’s a great talent . . . it was fun working with those young guys,” Ferguson said. “I’m definitely going to miss working with the Blazers. There’s a lot of good people in the organization. I had fun going to the rink every day.
“Obviously, I would have liked to have been able to produce more on the ice. It’s too bad it didn’t work out.”
His stint as an interim head coach gave Ferguson enough of a taste that he would love an opportunity to run his own show at some level. And if that level is the WHL, that would be great.
“I would like to try coaching in this league,” he said. “That’s why I came here, to hopefully get a chance to be a head coach. It didn’t work out. It’s something that definitely interests me but it’s something as a family we’ll have to sit down and discuss.
“With a wife and three young kids, it’s only fair to sit back as a family and try and figure out where we want to go. If that means coaching minor hockey, then so be it. I’d love to help kids that way.
“There’s always an avenue to try and help people out through hockey. Now it’s just a matter of seeing what’s in my heart and what my family wants to do and kind of go on from there.”

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

Smith hoping to keep on coaching

When they joined the Kamloops Blazers' coaching staff, Geoff Smith (left)
and Scott Ferguson were hoping for better results than they got.
(Photo courtesy Kamloops Daily News)

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
Geoff Smith spent Sunday afternoon playing soccer in the backyard.
The day after the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers announced that Smith wouldn’t be back for a fourth season as a part-time assistant coach was for family.
He and girlfriend Kari have four children, ages five to eight, in their blended family, and they will play a part in whatever is in his future.
“I don’t think so,” Smith said when asked if he is done with coaching. “I like to coach. I’d like to keep coaching. Whether something else pops up out of town or not, I’ll have to make some decisions because it’s important to be around my family.”
Smith said he “would have come back” to the Blazers, but “when you miss the playoffs, there need to be some changes made.”
The Blazers, of course, finished tied for ninth and out of the Western Conference playoffs.
“Coaching-wise, it could have been better. It had to be,” Smith said in looking back at the season. “I think we had a very good team on paper. For us to miss the playoffs, we’ve got to take the brunt of the blame.
“The players have responsibility, too . . . making sure they put their best foot forward every night with effort and concentration on the systems and stuff like that. We’re all in it together.
“We’re all responsible . . . sometimes some of us pay the price, or whatever. But we’re all responsible so I totally accept them changing it up.
“I’ve seen it lots in pro hockey and all sorts of different levels of hockey.”
Smith, who turned 42 on March 7, is from Edmonton. A third-round pick by the Edmonton Oilers in the 1987 NHL draft, he left the U of North Dakota Fighting Sioux and played 32 games with the Blazers in 1988-89. He went on to a professional career that included 462 NHL games split among the Oilers, who won the Stanley Cup in his first season, Florida Panthers and New York Rangers.
Smith has been involved at the ownership and management level in various restaurant and nightclub ventures in Kamloops, although he no longer is part of that scene. He has lived in Kamloops for more than 10 years now and was coaching a local bantam team when he joined the Blazers’ coaching staff.
“I really liked it. I liked coaching the young kids.” he said. “I liked being a head coach, too. You have to make all the decisions and planning and all that kind of stuff. It was fun.”
Still, knowing he isn’t tied down by businesses here, he is going to explore his options.
“I’d love to see what’s out there, for sure,” he said. “The higher levels you go, the more competitive it is andI like that challenge.”
And, no matter what happens, he will take the high road.
“I enjoyed my time with the Blazers and I’ll really miss it,” Smith said. “I loved working with the players and I love the game of hockey. I’ll miss it a lot.
“In the end, I have no hard feelings towards the Blazers organization. They treated me fair. And, as I say, we have to take the blame.”
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
     
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
     
Taking Note on Twitter

Saturday . . .

Boom! Boom! Out go the lights!!!
If you haven’t seen/heard this, check it out right here.
———
The Kamloops Blazers announced Saturday afternoon that their two assistant coaches won’t be back.
Here is the Blazers’ press release, in its entirety:
“The Kamloops Blazers have announced that Assistant Coaches Scott Ferguson and Geoff Smith will not be returning behind the bench this upcoming season.
“Ferguson has decided to pursue Head Coaching opportunities. While part-time Assistant Coach Geoff Smith has decided not to return due to other time considerations.
“Smith and Ferguson were both hired by the hockey club in July 2008 and spent the past three seasons with the Blazers.
“The Kamloops Blazers organization would like to thank Scott and Geoff for their efforts and wish them nothing but success in their future endeavours.”
———
SATURDAY’S PLAYOFF GAMES:
In Chilliwack, G James Reid stopped 26 shots for the shutout as the Spokane Chiefs dropped the Bruins, 5-0. . . . The Chiefs lead the series 2-0 with Game 3 in Spokane on Wednesday night. . . . The arena in Spokane was booked for an NCAA women’s basketball region this weekend, thus the series opened in Chilliwack even though the Chiefs hold home-ice advantage. . . . The series is following a 2-3-1-1 format. . . . Chilliwack G Lucas Gore stopped 42 shots. . . . Spokane F Darren Kramer, who scored twice including the winner in Friday’s 3-2 OT victory, added another goal. . . . Chilliwack F T.C. Cratsenberg drew a charging major and game misconduct at 19:33 of the third period. . . . Attendance was 3,217. . . .
In Portland, G Mac Carruth stopped 32 shots as the Winterhawks opened a first-round series with a 4-0 victory over the Everett Silvertips. . . . Game 2 will be played in Portland today. . . . Everett remains without G Kent Simpson (ankle), so Luke Siemens started and made 41 stops. . . . Portland had a 19-3 edge in shots in the first period. . . . Attendance was 8,363. . . . F Ryan Johansen had a shorthanded goal and two assists. . . .
In Kennewick, Wash., D Tyler Schmidt drew three assists as the Tri-City Americans scored a 5-4 victory over the Vancouver Giants. . . . The Americans lead the series 2-0 with Games 3 and 4 in Vancouver on Tuesday and Wednesday nights. . . . F Justin Feser had a goal and two assists for the Americans. . . . Vancouver was 2-for-9 on the PP; the Americans were 1-for-5. . . . Attendance was 3,927. . . .
In Kelowna, the Rockets scored the game’s last four goals, all in the third period, and beat the Prince George Cougars, 7-4. . . . The Rockets take a 2-0 lead into Prince George for Games 3 and 4 on Tuesday and Wednesday. . . . The Cougars led 4-2 when Kelowna D Tyson Barrie scored at 16:20 of the second. . . . F Cody Chikie made it 4-4 at 7:04 of the third on the PP and F Jessey Astles got the eventual winner at 9:55. . . . Chikie also had two assists, while F Shane McColgan set up three goals. . . . Attendance was 6,085. . . . The Cougars were without F Brett Connolly, their leading scorer and a 2010 first-round draft pick of the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning. He was injured early in the first period of Game 1 on Friday. Dean Clark, the Cougars’ head coach, said before the second game that Connolly will be evaluated on a daily basis. There is speculation that Connolly has a separated shoulder. . . .
In Red Deer, F Adam Kambeitz had two goals and an assist to lead the Rebels to a 5-1 victory over the Edmonton Oil Kings. . . . The Rebels take a 2-0 lead into Game 3 in Edmonton on Monday. . . . F Brett Ferguson had three assists for Red Deer. . . . Attendance was 6,207. . . .
In Cranbrook, the Kootenay Ice took a 3-0 lead into the third period and went on to beat the Moose Jaw Warriors 5-2 to tie their series 1-1. . . . They’ll play Game 3 in Moose Jaw on Tuesday. . . . F Max Reinhart’s second-period shorthanded goal stood up as the winner. . . . Moose Jaw cut the deficit to 3-2 on goals from F Spencer Edwards and F Quinton Howden. . . . The Ice put it away when F Joe Antilla and F Brock Montgomery scored empty-netters. . . . Moose Jaw D Dylan McIlrath picked up a charging major and game misconduct at 5:52 of the third period. Warriors assistant coach Trevor Weisgerber also was ejected at that time. . . . Attendance was 2,467. . . .
In Saskatoon, the regular season-champion Blades opened the playoffs with a resounding 8-1 victory over the Prince Albert Raiders. . . . They’ll play in Saskatoon again today. . . . The Blades got two goals from D Dalton Thrower and singles from six others. . . . F Matej Stransky had a goal and three assists, while linemate Chris Collins drew three assists. . . . Saskatoon G Steven Stanford, who once played for the Raiders, stopped 33 shots. He is 7-0 against his former club. . . . Attendance was 8,144. . . . Saskatoon F Brayden Schenn scored once amid speculation that he might be one injury away from joining the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings, who selected him fourth overall in the 2009 draft. . . . The Kings have lost F Justin Williams (shoulder) and F Anzi Kopitar (broken ankle) to serious injuries. Were the Kings to experience one more serious injury, they would be able, under emergency recall rules, to recall Schenn. . . . The Raiders will have D Antoine Corbin back for Game 2. He sat out Game 1 as he completed a two-game WHL suspension. . . . The Blades scratched F Ryan Olsen (upper body). . . .
In Medicine Hat, G Deven Dubyk started in place of the injury Tyler Bunz and backstopped the Tigers to a 5-2 victory over the Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . The series is 1-1 and heads to Winnipeg for Games 3 and 4 on Monday and Thursday. . . . Brandon’s Westman Place, the home of the Wheat Kings, is occupied by the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair. . . . Dubyk made 38 saves as his side was outshot 40-23. . . . Bunz, who didn’t finish Brandon’s 7-2 victory on Friday, sat this one out with an upper body injury. . . . Medicine Hat D Sebastian Owuya, who didn’t have a goal in 66 regular-season games, scored the game’s first goal at 4:59 of the first period. . . . Attendance was 3,952.
———
SATURDAY’S CFB COUNT:
Four minors:
Medicine Hat F Kale Kessy (double minor)
Vancouver F Brendan Gallagher (double minor)

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca

     

gdrinnan.blogspot.com

     

Taking Note on Twitter

Blazers like their Guy

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
It was late October and Guy Charron was enjoying semi-retirement.
A former NHL player and a veteran of the coaching wars, Charron, at 60, was keeping busy with things like the Calgary Flames alumni group. He also was inquiring about various coaching vacancies as they arose.
And as he has done for years, Charron was maintaining his routine of going to a gym six days a week. Which is where he was when his life in hockey took another turn.
“An old neighbour of mine from my previous marriage . . . he came to the gym and said there’s another job that just came available,” Charron said Wednesday.
Which is how Charron found out that the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers had fired Barry Smith, who was in his second season as their head coach.
Charron called Kelly Kisio, the general manager of the Calgary Hitmen, to get Kamloops general manager Craig Bonner’s phone number and the rest, as they say, is history.
“We couldn’t be more excited and happier with the job he has done to date,” Bonner said Wednesday in announcing that Charron has signed a two-year contract that will take him through 2011-12. “He has brought a real veteran leadership to our group.”
Charron’s original deal took him through the end of this season, with both parties having agreed to talk about the future depending on how things progressed.
Unlike many major junior coaching contracts, this one doesn’t include a window allowing Charron to leave for a professional job.
“I really don’t believe that Guy is interested in moving,” Bonner said. “If an NHL head-coaching opportunity arose, I’m sure he would look at it. And I would never hold him back.”
The Blazers, one of the WHL’s youngest teams after Bonner traded away a number of veteran players, are 21-19-0-3 under Charron, who took over on Nov. 23. The Blazers were 8-7-2-0 when Smith was fired on Oct. 26, and they went 3-6-0-1 under interim head coach Scott Ferguson.
Ferguson is signed through 2010-11, with the club holding an option on his services for 2011-12. Geoff Smith, the other assistant coach, and goaltending coach Dan De Palma are on one-year contracts that will expire with the end of this season.
Charron is the 16th head coach in franchise history and one of two French-Canadians to have filled the role. The other, Ron Harris, was the franchise’s second coach, taking over from Lyle Moffat during 1981-82 and going 12-32-0.
Charron and Harris both grew up in Verdun, Que., and later played together with the NHL’s Detroit Red Wings.
“He’s a really super guy,” Charron said of Harris.
It became apparent early on in Charron’s tenure that he is a good fit here so, as Bonner said, signing him to a longer contract “was a very easy decision for us.”
Bonner especially liked the way Charron dealt with the player moves.
“We made a lot of changes and he was very receptive,” Bonner explained. “He said, ‘You bring in the players and it’s my job to work with them.’ The result has been very positive and we are very encouraged. The dynamics and the attitude of our team have changed for the positive.”
What made signing Charron a whole lot easier was the willingness — nay, the eagerness — of Charron and his wife, Michele, who is from Regina, to become a part of the community.
In fact, Bonner admitted, Michele’s role in Charron’s life played a large role in negotiations in November and again over the last few weeks.
“It was one of the main questions — one of the first things I asked — in the interview,” Bonner said. “I told him it was very important that his wife be part of it and that she be here in Kamloops.”
That discussion took place in November, shortly after Bonner had fired Smith, whose wife and family stayed in Whitefish, Mont., rather than relocate to Kamloops.
“As much as the stress is on him and the stress is on all of us to do well, it’s important to have someone to go home to,” Bonner said. “I think it’s tremendous (that the Charrons want to live here year-around). I think the people in Kamloops appreciate that the coach wants to live here and wants to be part of Kamloops. It’s critical from the Blazers’ point of view because it’s nice to have your coach around if there are events or things we need to do in the community.
“He and his wife have become Kamloopsians and I know that their plan is to be full-time Kamloopsians. We’re excited.”
Charron said that he wouldn’t have it any other way.
“One of the interests I had in pursuing something in the WHL was to be close to my kids and grandkids,” he said. “And Michele is a big part of that.”
Charron’s two children from a previous marriage — Erik and Renee — and Renee’s three children live in Calgary.
“Craig indicated he was hoping that Michele would join me, versus being here by myself,” Charron said. “Of all the time I’ve been involved in hockey . . . I think you need your family next to you.
“Michele is very excited, probably more so than I am, because finally we’ll be able to think about settling somewhere. She has really enjoyed the city.”
Shortly after the announcement was made, Charron had to leave the boardroom that is located off the Blazers’ office at Interior Savings Centre. With the Blazers preparing to play host to the Prince George Cougars on Friday, he had a practice to run. Just don’t call it work.
“I’ve been very fortunate throughout all of my career. . . . I don’t think I’ve ever worked a day in my life because I’ve always been doing something I enjoy doing,” he said.
And it looks like he’ll be doing it here for at least two more seasons.

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com

Blazers' Caron going from enforcer to defenceman

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
Josh Caron, who is threatening to become the WHL’s heavyweight champion, has presented the Kamloops Blazers with something of a conundrum.
Caron, a defenceman who struggled to get ice time last season and early this, has improved so much that he has become more than just another tough cookie.
Head coach Guy Charron “had a pretty good comment,” assistant coach Scott Ferguson said Monday after practice at Interior Savings Centre. “You want your scrapper and physical guy to be a winger. You look at Josh . . . he’s the guy who fights for us but he’s also playing against top lines.”
A native of Campbell River who turned 19 on Feb. 10, the 6-foot-4, 210-pound Caron was a healthy scratch in 11 of the Blazers’ first 29 games this season. However, he has been scratched from the lineup just twice since Charron took over on Nov. 23 and one of those was with a one-game WHL-issued suspension.
“He certainly has made some major strides,” Charron said, adding that Caron definitely is one of his club’s most improved players.
These days, the coaching staff has Caron paired with highly touted Austin Madaisky as the team’s No. 1 shutdown pairing, meaning they usually are on the ice against the opposition’s top offensive line.
That will be the case tonight when the Blazers play host to the Everett Silvertips. Game time at Interior Savings Centre is 7 o’clock.
So what happened to turn Caron from a one-dimensional player into one who just may end up hearing his name called during the NHL draft in June?
“It just comes down to confidence and him getting a chance to play,” Ferguson said. “At the start of the season, most of our back end was trying to find their game and he was included. I remember him sitting in my office and wondering if he belonged.
“He wasn’t playing with the edge he needs to play with. I told him it starts in practice, play aggressive, play mean . . . start playing like that in a game. He took off from there.”
Boy, did he!
Caron has only four points in 55 games, and yet he leads the team in plus/minus, at plus-4. That is all the more impressive when you consider that the Blazers have allowed 45 more goals than they have scored. He also is second in the WHL with 184 penalty minutes — although his penalties have resulted in only 21 opposition power-play opportunities. And he and Saskatoon Blades winger Randy McNaught lead the WHL in fighting majors, each with 20.
“We all know he can fight,” Ferguson said. “That same aggression he brings into scraps he has to bring into one-on-one battles, defensive zone coverage and that kind of stuff. But he has really stepped up his game for us.”
As Caron has developed, Ferguson said he has had to deliver a different kind of message to the player.
“There are nights when I tell him you can’t fight and he’s been good at that,” Ferguson explained. “He’s starting to undersrtand there’s a time to fight and there’s a time to play hockey.”
Like most hockey enforcers, Caron enjoys that part of the game.
“I was playing more of the role of enforcer, which I like to do,” he said. “I like to bring that to the game. But I think I’ve come a long way. My footwork has come a long way. I can keep up with the guys.”
Caron’s progress may well have been set back by a broken ankle he suffered that needed surgery, only to have him break it again. That cost him one season of hockey and helped limit him to 21 games with the Blazers last season.
This season, however, he has worked diligently with Ferguson and fellow assistant coach Geoff Smith, both of whom were NHL defencemen.
“They have helped a lot,” Caron said. “Fergy works with me every day. After practice, we do (defensive) drills, simple passing plays, moving my feet, footwork.”
As much as he enjoys his role as a shutdown defenceman, Caron’s eyes light up when the conversation turns to fistic activity.
“I like to throw the fists a bit, get the crowd going and get pumped up,” he said.
It is a talent that the Blazers’ coaches and players appreciate.
“He’s definitely one of the toughest players in the league,” Charron said. “That has a major impact on your team and on the team you’re playing. Not too many guys are going to want to challenge him. They may, because that’s their role so they have to. But I’m sure that’s a situation they’d be thinking twice about doing because he can hurt them.”
Asked who is the toughest hombre he has encountered this season, Caron replied: “Corbin Baldwin is a tough customer.”
He and Baldwin, a 6-foot-5, 210-pounder who is five days older than Caron, have fought three times this season, including two bouts here on Feb. 17.
In his most recent scrap, Caron went with winger Cameron Abney of the host Edmonton Oil Kings on Wednesday.
Caron said the 6-foot-4, 195-pound Abney “got me right here on the lip with the first punch. That was probably the hardest punch I’ve taken this year.”
The Oil Kings acquired Abney from Everett in January, meaning the Silvertips don’t really have a hired gun in their lineup these days.
Which means Caron likely will stick to playing hockey tonight.
“Good for him,” Ferguson said. “He wanted to get to a spot where he wasn’t just fighting, he was playing, and that’s what he’s doing now. He’s doing both.”
———
Meanwhile, defenceman Ryan Funk, the Blazers’ captain, continues to work towards a return from a sprained ankle.
Funk, 20, has missed eight games and won’t play tonight. There has been speculation that he might play Friday against the visiting Vancouver Giants, but it’s more likely that he could return Sunday or March 12. The Prince George Cougars will play here on both of those nights.
The Blazers were beaten 5-3 by the visiting Kelowna Rockets on the night Funk was injured. Since then, Kamloops is 4-4-0-0, with two overtime victories and one via the shootout.
“He’s a big loss, on and off the ice,” Charron said. “He took on such a leadership role with our team. When things slipped, he would do everything he could to turn it around. You miss your captain. Any time your captain is gone for a period of time, you know it’s a loss.”
Charron said they will make sure Funk is healthy before he returns because “you don’t want him to start and he plays a game and then he takes one step forward and two steps back.”
JUST NOTES: According to the WHL website, the Blazers scratched F Jake Trask on Saturday night. However, that is in error. Trask played; F Matej Bene was a healthy scratch. . . . The Blazers have three home games left after tonight, with the next one Friday against the Vancouver Giants.

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com