D Sergei Drozd (Tri-City, 2009-10) signed a one-year extension with Dinamo Minsk (Belarus, KHL). Last season, he had two goals and one assist in 57 games. . . .
F Nigel Dawes (Kootenay, 2001-05) signed a three-year extension with Barys Astana (Kazakhstan, KHL). Last season, in 60 games, he had 32 goals and 24 assists. He led his team in goals and points, and was second in the league in goals.
F Petr Kalus (Regina, 2005-06) signed a one-year contract with Grenoble (France, Ligue Magnus). Last season, with Herning (Denmark, Metal Ligaen), he had 21 goals and 18 assists in 35 games. He led the league in penalty minutes, with 178.
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There were 17 CHL players selected in the first round of the NHL draft on Friday evening in Sunrise, Fla., the home of the Florida Panthers. Five of those 17 were from the WHL. . . . D Ivan Provorov of the Brandon Wheat Kings went to the Philadelphia Flyers at No. 7, followed by F Jake DeBrusk of the Swift Current Broncos to the Boston Bruins at No. 14, F Mathew Barzal of the Seattle Thunderbirds to the New York Islanders at No. 16, D Noah Juulsen of the Everett Silvertips to the Montreal Canadiens at No. 26, and F Nick Merkley of the Kelowna Rockets to the Arizona Coyotes at No. 30. . . . The draft concludes today. . . . The Vancouver Canucks selected F Brock Boeser with the 23rd selection. Boeser’s WHL rights belong to the Seattle Thunderbirds. He is from Burnsville, Minn., and has committed to North Dakota, something he reiterated after being drafted by Vancouver. Last season, he had 68 points, including 35 goals, in 57 games with the USHL’s Waterloo Black Hawks. . . . Four Russian-born players were selected in the first round, something that hadn’t happened since 2001.
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The sale of the OHL’s Erie Otters came to a screeching halt on Friday as the league asked James A. Waters to cover US$175,000 in legal fees. Waters had agreed Thursday to buy the franchise out of bankruptcy for US$7,225,000. . . . Valerie Myers has the story right here.
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Dallas Eakins is the new head coach of the San Diego Gulls, the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks. The Gulls are preparing for their first season in San Diego, after relocating from Norfolk, Va., where they were the Admirals. . . . Eakins spent more than one season as head coach of the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers, going 36-63-14 before he was fired last season. Prior to that, he was the head coach of the AHL’s Toronto Marlies, with whom he was 157-114-41. . . . Eakins is believed to have interviewed with the WHL’s Vancouver Giants, who are searching for a head coach. In fact, there has been speculation that the Giants’ three-candidate short list included Eakins, Ryan McGill and Lorne Molleken.
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Darrin McKechnie is the new head coach of the midget AAA Regina Pat Canadians. He replaces Brad Herauf, who now is an assistant coach with the Regina Pats. . . . McKechnie spent last season as an assistant coach with the Pats, but left in order to focus on his responsibilities with the Regina Police Service. He also coached the midget AA Regina Capitals, who won the South Saskatchewan league championship.
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Got a tip or some information you feel could be useful to me, send an email to greggdrinnan@gmail.com.
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Today... the ice comes out of the arena for the final time with the logos. #bestbarninthedub #historic pic.twitter.com/Qn9Qyw9DqG
— Medicine Hat Tigers (@tigershockey) June 26, 2015
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reasons. The Spruce Kings went 27-24-1-6 (one tie, six OT losses) and finished third in the Mainland Division. They beat the Langley Rivermen in six games in a first-round series, then lost to the Chilliwack Chiefs in four. . . . Dupas had been the Spruce Kings’ head coach since Nov. 25, 2010. . . . Dupas has a home in West Kelowna. His wife and two sons stayed there while he coached in Prince George. . . . “I have some potential replacements in mind and I’m going to make some calls over the next few days and have some conversations with guys that I feel would be a good fit,” GM Mike Hawes said in a news release. “We’re in no rush to fill the spot but that being said I would like to fill the vacancy sooner than later so that the new coach can be heavily involved in the recruiting and building of next season’s team.”
In Edmonton, F Riley Sheen scored two goals and set up another as the Red Deer Rebels beat the Oil Kings, 6-2. . . . Attendance on Fan Appreciation Night was announced at 16,104, the third-largest in franchise history. . . . Sheen has 24 goals. . . . Red Deer D Nelson Nogier broke a 2-2 tie with his third goal at 3:30 of the third period. . . . Rebels F Wyatt Johnson upped the lead to 4-2 with his 25th goal, shorthanded, at 7:43. . . . F Brooks Maxwell scored his 27th goal, also shorthanded, and added two assists for Red Deer, while F Scott Feser scored his 17th goal and had an assist. . . . The Oil Kings got two assists from each of F Andrew Koep and D Ashton Sautner. . . . Edmonton was 1-for-7 on the PP; Red Deer was 0-for-1. . . . The Rebels (38-22-11) are 1-1-1 in their last three. . . . The Oil Kings (33-31-7) have lost two in a row. . . . The teams meet again tonight, this time in Red Deer. The Rebels expect to have F Conner Bleackley, their captain, in the lineup for the first time since Feb. 6. . . . Brian Swane of the Edmonton Sun has a game story 
In Regina, F Kris Schmidli scored the only goal of a three-round shootout to give the Prince Albert Raiders a 5-4 victory over the Pats. . . . The Raiders trailed 3-1 in the second period and 4-2 with less than five minutes to play in the third period. . . . D Brendan Guhle scored his fifth goal at 15:17 of the third period and Schmidli tied it at 18:37 with his 12th. . . . F Jayden Hart had two assists for the Raiders, who got 33 saves from G Nick McBride. . . . Regina D Colby Williams, who was named the team’s player of the year prior to the game, scored his 11th goal and added two assists, while F Taylor Cooper also had two assists. . . . Pats G Daniel Wapple stopped 42 shots. . . . The Raiders were 1-for-7 on the PP; the Pats were 1-for-4. . . . The Raiders (30-37-4) won’t make the playoffs. . . . The Pats (37-24-10) have lost three in a row (0-2-1). . . . 
In Moose Jaw, F Jack Rodewald and F Jesse Shynkaruk scored shootout goals to give the Warriors a 7-6 victory over the Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . The Wheat Kings held a 3-1 lead early in the second period when the Warriors exploded for three goals in 28 seconds. F Tanner Eberle got his 33rd goal at 4:43; F Jayden Halbgewachs scored his fourth at 5:04; F Axel Blomqvist got No. 25 at 5:11. . . . Brandon D Kale Clague tied it with his third goal at 14:13. . . . The Warriors took the lead on Rodewald’s 34th goal 23 seconds into the third period. . . . F Nolan Patrick pulled Brandon back even with his 29th goal at 1:20. . . . F Brett Howden put Moose Jaw back in front with his 22nd goal at 1:47. . . . Brandon D Macoy Erkamps scored his second goal, at 7:05, to force OT. . . . Brandon G Alex Moodie stopped 25 shots, five fewer than Moose Jaw’s Zach Sawchenko. . . . Warriors F Brayden Point scored his 37th goal and added two assists. Eberle also had two assists. . . . F Braylon Shmyr scored twice for Brandon, giving him 18, while F John Quenneville and F Morgan Klimchuk each had two assists. . . . Moose Jaw was 0-for-4 on the PP; Brandon was 0-for-1. . . . Moose Jaw F Jaimen Yakubowski, 20, had shoulder surgery Friday, so his WHL career is over. . . . The Warriors (32-34-5) have won three in a row. . . . Brandon (52-11-8) had won its previous five games. . . . Matthew Gourlie of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald has a game story 
In Cranbrook, Calgary G Brendan Burke stopped 29 shots to help the Hitmen to a 2-1 victory over the Kootenay Ice. . . . Calgary D Loch Morrison scored his fourth goal at 9:19 of the second period and F Jordy Stallard got his fifth at 14:57 as the visitors went ahead 2-0. . . . Ice F Tim Bozon got his 35th goal at 14:36 of the third, on a PP. . . . Ice G Wyatt Hoflin stopped 29 shots. . . . The Ice was 1-for-4 on the PP; the Hitmen were 0-for-1. . . . The Hitmen (44-22-5) have won four in a row. . . . The Ice (37-30-4) had a four-game winning streak end. . . . Taylor Rocca of the Cranbrook Daily Townsman has a game story 
In Saskatoon, F Chad Butcher broke a 1-1 tie at 16:55 of the second period and the Medicine Hat Tigers went on to a 3-1 victory over the Blades. . . . They’ll play again tonight in the last regular-season game in the history of the Medicine Hat Arena. . . . Butcher, who missed a chunk of the season with a concussion, has 20 goals. . . . F Dryden Hunt scored his 33rd goal, on a PP, giving the Tigers a 1-0 lead at 15:40 of the first period. . . . F Nick Zajac tied it with his 11th goal at 17:47. . . . Tigers F Trevor Cox provided insurance with his 28th goal at 17:49 of the second. . . . Medicine Hat F Matt Bradley left in the first period with an undisclosed injury. . . . Tigers G Marek Langhamer stopped 21 shots, 23 fewer than Brock Hamm of the Blades. . . . The Blades scratched D Brycen Martin with an undisclosed injury. . . . Saskatoon also scratched G Nik Amundrud (groin), The Blades had Joel Grzybowski on the bench. An 11th round pick in the 2014 bantam draft, he played for the midget AAA Saskatoon Blazers but has yet to sign with the Blades. . . . Attendance was announced as 8,929 and the 50-50 draw was worth $60,207.50. It was claimed by Ross and Carly Wiebe, who are father and daughter. Merry Christmas to them! . . . The Tigers (44-23-4) are 3-0-1 in their last four games. . . . The Blades (19-48-4) have lost eight straight. . . . Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix has a game story 
In Prince George, G Ty Edmonds turned aside 36 shots to lead the Cougars to a 3-1 victory over the Kamloops Blazers. . . . The 4,570 fans in attendance gave the Cougars a standing ovation at game’s end after they had clinched their first playoff spot since the spring of 2011. . . . F David Soltes gave the Cougars a 1-0 lead with his 13th goal at 2:01 of the second period. . . . F Kody McDonald upped that to 2-0 with his ninth goal 35 seconds into the third. . . . Kamloops F Cole Ully scored his 34th goal at 8:22. . . . Cougars F Colby McAuley added insurance with his fifth goal at 18:28. . . . Kamloops G Connor Ingram stopped 38 shots. . . . The Cougars were 0-for-6 on the PP; the Blazers were 0-for-3. . . . The Cougars (31-35-5) have won three in a row. . . . The Blazers (27-37-7) have lost three straight. . . . Prince George is in Kamloops tonight. The Cougars are 5-2-0 against the Blazers; the Blazers are 2-4-1 against the Cougars. . . . 
In Spokane, F Ryan Gropp struck four times to lead the Seattle Thunderbirds to a 7-2 victory over the Chiefs. . . . Gropp, who has 28 goals, scored once in the first period and three times in the third when Seattle struck five times. . . . F Mathew Barzal had three assists for the Thunderbirds. . . . F Adam Helewka scored his 42nd goal for Spokane. . . . Seattle G Taran Kozun stopped 29 shots. . . . Seattle D Sahvan Khaira took a kneeing major and game misconduct at 5:12 of the second period. The Chiefs weren’t able to score on the five-minute PP. . . . Spokane was 0-for-3 on the PP; the Thunderbirds were 0-for-2. . . . The Chiefs had F Hudson Elyniuk back in their lineup. He hadn’t played since Dec. 28. . . . “For me, we weren't committed,” Chiefs head coach Don Nachbaur told Chris Derrick of the Spokane Spokesman-Review. “I mean, it looked to me, and it was apparent with the end result, that you're not going to win games unless you outwork the other team and we got outworked in everything we did. We were second to every puck and that was the choice we made. We chose not to play the game the right way and those are the results you get when you play like that.” . . . The Thunderbirds (37-25-9) have won three in a row. . . . The Chiefs (34-32-4) have dropped three straight. . . . 
In Kennewick, Wash., G Eric Comrie turned aside 43 shots to lead the Tri-City Americans to a 4-2 victory over the Portland Winterhawks. . . . Tri-City F Tyler Sandhu broke a 2-2 tie with his second goal of the game, and 16th of the season, at 10:15 of the third period. . . . F Beau McCue added his 26th goal, into an empty net, at 18:46. . . . The Americans got two assists from each of F Jordan Topping and F Richard Nejezchleb. . . . F Miles Koules scored his 27th goal and added an assist for Portland. . . . G Adin Hill stopped 29 shots for the Winterhawks. . . . Tri-City is 1-8-0 against Portland this season. . . . The Americans (30-37-3) had lost their previous two games. . . . The Winterhawks (42-22-6) had been 2-0-1 in their previous three games. . . . 
In Victoria, the Everett Silvertips erased a 2-1 deficit with three straight goals and beat the Royals, 4-3. . . . F Austin Carroll’s 38th goal of the season gave the Royals a 2-1 lead at 12:38 of the second period. . . . Everett F Brayden Low tied it with his 15th at 14:45 and F Remi Laurencelle, who had two assists, got No. 22 at 17:02 to give the visitors the lead. . . . D Noah Juulsen got his eighth goal at 10:27 of the third period. . . . Victoria F Tyler Soy got his guys to within one with his 28th at 15:01. . . . F Nikita Scherbak had two assists for the Silvertips. . . . Everett G Carter Hart stopped 18 shots, six fewer than Victoria’s Coleman Vollrath. . . . Everett was 1-for-2 on the PP; Victoria was 1-for-3. . . . The Silvertips (42-20-8) are 2-0-1 in their last three. . . . The Royals (38-29-4) have lost two in a row. . . . 
In Vancouver, D Madison Bowey scored on the PP at 1:05 of OT to give the Kelowna Rockets a 4-3 victory over the Giants. . . . The Giants’ playoff hopes had ended a few minutes earlier when the host Tri-City Americans beat the Portland Winterhawks, 4-2. . . . Bowey, who also had an assist, has 17 goals. . . . Kelowna F Leon Draisaitl forced OT with his 17th goal, on a PP, at 15:54 of the third period. . . . Draisaitl also had three assists. . . . Giants F Dawson Holt, playing in his second WHL game, scored his first goal to pull the Giants into a 2-2 tie at 2:59 of the third. . . . The Giants took a 3-2 lead on F Alex Baer’s 13th goal at 10:14, via a PP. . . . Vancouver D Brennan Menell had two assists. . . . Attendance on Fan Appreciation Night was 11,644. . . . The Rockets are 7-0-0 against the Giants this season. . . . Kelowna was 3-for-5 on the PP; Vancouver was 2-for-5. . . . Kelowna G Michael Herringer, who is 5-0-0 against the Giants, stopped 23 shots. . . . Vancouver G Cody Porter made 22 saves. . . . Kelowna D Josh Morrissey is in a walking boot and isn’t expected to be ready for the opening round of the playoffs. He hasn’t played since Feb. 28. . . . This game was televised by Sportsnet and intermission panellists John Shannon and Todd Warriner were all over the Rockets for what they perceive as a lack of veteran leadership. They were echoing the comments made by owner/GM Bruce Hamilton in the Kelowna Daily Courier earlier in the week. . . . The Rockets (52-13-6) are 2-0-1 in their last three games. . . . The Giants are 27-40-4.
In Kennewick, Wash., F Oliver Bjorkstrand scored twice and F Nic Petan had four assists as the Portland Winterhawks beat the Tri-City Americans, 6-4. . . . Bjorkstrand, with goals in nine straight games, has 45 goals, one off the WHL lead. . . . Petan has eight assists over his last two games. In fact, in his last six games, he has a goal and 13 assists. . . . Portland F Miles Koules broke a 4-4 tie with his 24th goal at 14:32 of the third period. . . . That came after F Beau McCue had pulled the Americans into a 4-4 tie with a shorthanded goal at 10:09. . . . G Nicholas Sanders made 41 saves for the Americans, 17 more than Portland’s Adin Hill. . . . Tri-City was 2-for-4 on the PP; the Winterhawks were 0-for-3. . . . The Winterhawks (36-20-4) have points in six straight (5-0-1). . . . The Americans (27-31-3) have lost two in a row. . . . 
In Regina, F Jesse Gabrielle scored twice to help the Pats to a 4-2 victory over the Spokane Chiefs. . . . F Riley Whittingham gave the Chiefs a 1-0 lead at 1:12 of the first period. He’s got 10 goals. . . . Gabrielle then scored twice, at 10:37 of the first on a PP and at 9:42 of the second, to give his guys the lead. . . . He’s got 17 goals. . . . Regina F Sam Steel added his 14th at 9:17 of the third. . . . Spokane F Adam Helewka got his 28th, shorthanded, at 14:14. . . . Regina had F Jake Elmer, a 16-year-old from Calgary, in their lineup and he picked up an assist. It was his first WHL point and came in his third game. . . . Pats G Daniel Wapple stopped 29 shots, seven more than Spokane’s Garret Hughson. . . . Regina (30-17-6) has points in five straight (4-0-1). . . . The Chiefs (25-23-4) are 1-1-0 on a six-game East Division swing. They are fourth in the U.S. Division, six points behind Seattle. But the Chiefs hold down the Western Conference’s first wild-card spot. . . . 
In Cranbrook, G Jordan Papirny stopped 31 shots to lead the Brandon Wheat Kings to a 4-1 victory over the Kootenay Ice. . . . The Wheat Kings lost D Ivan Provorov to an undisclosed injury early in the third period. . . . Brandon scored the game’s first three goals. . . . F Tim McGauley had a goal, his 34th, and an assist for Brandon, as did F Nolan Patrick, who has 25 goals. . . . Brandon F Morgan Klimchuk scored his 21s goal and F Rya Duke got his 18th, both striking on the PP. . . . Brandon was 2-for-4 on the PP; the Ice was 0-for-4. . . . The Wheat Kings had beaten the Ice 5-3 on Friday. . . . Brandon (40-9-5) is 11-0-1 in its last 12 games. It leads the Eastern Conference by 12 points over Medicine Hat. . . . The Ice (27-26-1) has lost three straight and holds down the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card berth, one point behind Edmonton. . . . The Ice and Wheat Kings will complete their four-game season series in Brandon, Feb. 27 and 28. . . . The Wheat Kings play their fourth game in five days in Lethbridge today. . . . Taylor Rocca of the Cranbrook Daily Townsman has a game story from Saturday’s game 
In Prince George, F Cole Benson scored off his own rebound at 2:12 of OT to give the Edmonton Oil Kings a 2-1 victory over the Cougars. . . . Cougars F David Soltes scored his 10th goal, on the PP, at 2:31 of the first period. . . . The home side nursed that lead into the third period when Edmonton D Ashton Sautner scored his 12th goal, on the PP, at 5:58. . . . On Friday night, the Cougars had ended a 12-game losing streak with a 5-2 victory over the Oil Kings. . . . Last night, Edmonton G Patrick Dea stopped 15 shots, while Prince George’s Ty Edmonds turned aside 37. . . . Among Prince George's scratches were D Josh Connolly and F Aaron Macklin, both out with concussions. . . . Edmonton (25-24-6) had lost is previous three games. It now holds down the Eastern Conference’s first wild-card spot. The Oil Kings will play in Victoria on Monday afternoon. . . . The Cougars (21-31-3) are tied for fourth with Vancouver in the B.C. Division, one point behind Kamloops. It is looking more and more as though only one of those three teams will make the playoffs. . . . The Cougars play in Kelowna on Monday afternoon. . . . 
In Victoria, F Tyler Soy scored three times and added an assist to lead the Royals to a 6-2 victory over the Red Deer Rebels. . . . It was the first WHL hat trick for Soy, who has 20 goals. . . . He scored the game’s first goal, on a PP, at 6:58 of the first period. Then he got the game’s last two goals, the final one shorthanded into an empty net. . . . The Royals were 2-for-7 on the PP and scored two shorties. . . . Red Deer F Austin Adamson scored his fifth goal at 17:33 of the second period to get the Rebels to within one, at 3-2. . . . Victoria F Brandon Magee scored his 16th goal, shorthanded, at 19:43 to restore the two-goal lead. . . . The Rebels were without F Conner Bleackley, their captain, who suffered an undisclosed injury on Friday in Vancouver. . . . D Alexey Slepstov made his debut with the Royals. He was acquired from Moose Jaw at the trade deadline but was injured at the time. . . . The Royals (29-20-4), who are at home to Edmonton on Monday afternoon, have won three in a row and are a comfortable second in the B.C. Division. . . . The Rebels (28-17-8) have lost two straight. They went 1-2-0 in a three-game trip into B.C., and now are third in the Central Division, one point behind Calgary. . . . 
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