THE MacBETH REPORT:
The Augsburger Panther (Germany, DEL) announced the retirement of D Christian Chartier (Saskatoon, Prince George, 1996-2001). Chartier, an assistant captain of the Panther, had five goals and 15 assists in 52 games this season. . . .
G Marek Schwarz (Vancouver, 2004-05) signed a three-year contract with Sparta Prague (Czech Republic, Extraliga). He had a 2.91 GAA and a .894 save percentage in 35 games with TPS Turku (Finland, SM-Liiga) this season. . . .
F Jeremy Boyer (Seattle, Saskatoon, 2005-10) signed a one-season contract with the Newcastle North Stars (Australia, AIHL). He had 16 goals and 16 assists in 62 games for the Quad City Mallards (Central Hockey League) this season. The AIHL regular season is 24 games long, starting April 28 and ending Aug. 26, and the playoffs are the first weekend in September. Other ex-WHL players playing in Australia include Sydney Bears captain and Australia national team F Michael Schlamp (Saskatoon, 1997-99) and Gold Coast Blue Tongues F Adam Geric (Saskatoon, 2005-07). In addition, the league commissioner is Tyler Lovering (Moose Jaw, 1987-88, 1991-92).
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Pat Hickey of the Montreal Gazette has written a couple of interesting pieces this week, both of which point out the problem  the NHL is having dealing with concussions. The first, which is right here, deals with what the ‘c’ word means in NHL circles.
The second, which is right here, points out that if players won’t own up to not feeling well, there isn’t much the teams can do.
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Rob Daum, a former WHL coach, has signed a four-year contract with the Black Wings Linz, who have won the Austrian championship for the first time in nine seasons. . . . The contract was announced Wednesday as the Black Wings and their fans celebrated their championship in the city’s main square.
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There is an interesting sidebar to the Austrian league playoffs.
Here it is from a piece on the IIHF website:
“Olimpija Ljubljana was waiting in the second round. The Slovenian team didn’t make new friends and suffered drastic suspensions after deliberately losing a game in the last round of the regular season. The team pulled goalkeeper Matija Pintaric during a shootout in the last game against Red Bull Salzburg so it could avoid playing Salzburg in the quarterfinals.
“The coach and goalie were suspended for several games and the club fined €10,000 for this unsportsmanlike conduct, but their plan seemed to work out as the underdog team faced the supposedly easier team in the first playoff round, Hungarian club Fehervar AV19, and defeated it 4-2.”
Think about that for a moment or two. A team actually pulled its goaltender in the shootout. Amazing!
The Linz story is right here.
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Popeye Jones, the father of Seth Jones, says he expects his son to make a decision on his immediate future once the IIHF U18 world championship is completed later this month in the Czech Republic.
Seth Jones, a highly touted 17-year-old defenceman, is seen as an early first-round pick in the 2013 NHL draft. He played this season with USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program. His WHL rights are held by the Everett Silvertips and he has said he will play in Everett or at the U of North Dakota next season.
“It’s still very much up in the air right now,” Popeye Jones told Ryan Clark of the Fargo, N.D., Forum. “He wants to focus on the U-18 worlds and he’s been focusing and preparing very hard for that. His decision will probably come after the U-18 worlds. It’s his life and he’s still young. But he’s a pretty mature kid and it’s a decision he needs to make.”
Clark also writes the Slightly Chilled blog and there’s more on this story there. The link is over there on the right.
A few sidebars to the Seth Jones story:
F Miles Koules, a teammate of Jones’ with the USNTDP, also has committed to North Dakota. Koules’ WHL rights moved from Everett to the Medicine Hat Tigers at the trade deadline in January. Koules turns 18 on June 25.
Everett general manager Garry Davidson and head coach Mark Ferner have spent a lot of time on the Jones file in recent weeks. Doug Soetaert, who was fired as Everett’s general manager on Feb. 2, selected Jones with the 11th overall selection in the 2009 bantam draft and had done a lot of work building a relationship with Jones and his family.
One source familiar with the situation has told me that Tri-City Americans general manager Bob Tory tried to cut a deal with Everett that would have given him a 72-hour window in which he would have been allowed to speak with the Jones family. Tory’s attempt was rebuffed. There also are rumours that the Portland Winterhawks are quite interested in acquiring Seth Jones’ WHL rights. (However, the Winterhawks tried hard to land Koules’ rights but Soetaert didn’t want to move him within the U.S. Division.)
Should Everett land Jones and should D Ryan Murray, who is certain to be an early NHL draft pick in June, return to the Silvertips, head coach Mark Ferner would be the happiest man in the world.
In one of the better quotes of this spring, Ferner, in talking with Nick Patterson of the Everett Herald about Murray’s possible return, said:
"The one thing that keeps me optimistic about it is the rumor of a (NHL) lockout. He being 19, he can't go play in the minors. Do I want Ryan to play pro next season? Absolutely. Am I keeping my fingers crossed a little bit and selfishly hoping there's a lockout? Yeah.”
So what does it all mean?
Well, the final words go to a source familiar with the situation, who told me: “Seth is 50-50.”
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When Kometa Brno finished eighth in the Czech Extraliga’s regular season, organizers of the IIHF U18 world championship didn’t give it a second thought. But now Kometa Brno has advanced all the way to the playoff final, so the U18 world championship has undergone a schedule adjustment. According to the IIHF, “Some games will be moved to the other venue, Znojmo, and a third facility in Breclav.” Breclav is located 52 km south of Brno and has a 4,200-seat arena that is home to the U18 Ivan Hlinka Memorial tournament every summer.
Here’s more info from an IIHF news release:
Game No. 5 (Czech Republic vs. Denmark) on Friday, 13 April will be moved from Brno to Znojmo, new game time: 15:00.
Game No. 6 in Znojmo (Switzerland vs. Latvia), will start at 19:00 instead of 18:00.
The games scheduled in Brno on Saturday, 14 April – No. 7 USA vs. Czech Republic (16:00) and No. 9 Canada vs. Finland (20:00) – will be moved to Breclav. The game times stay the same.
The quarterfinal games on Thursday, 19 April, will be moved from Brno to Breclav: Game No. 21 (A2 vs. B3, at 15:00) and No. 23 (B2 vs. A3, at 19:00). The game times stay the same.
The games of the preliminary round on the opening day (12 April), from 15 to 17 April, the semifinals (20 April), the fifth-place game (21 April) and the medal games (22 April) will be played at the Kajot Arena in Brno as planned.
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The WHL had seven players named to the Canadian team that will play at the aforementioned IIHF U18 world championship. D Damon Severson (Kelowna Rockets), D Josh Morrissey (Prince Albert Raiders), D Mathew Dumba (Red Deer Rebels), F Branden Troock (Seattle Thunderbirds), F Mike Winther (Prince Albert), F Troy Bourke (Prince George Cougars) and F Sam Reinhart (Kootenay Ice) all will play for Canada. . . . The Canadian head coach is Jesse Wallin of Red Deer, while Chris Chisamore, an assistant coach with the Lethbridge Hurricanes, is the video coach, and Jamie LeBlanc, the Swift Current Broncos’ athletic therapist, is the team’s equipment manager. As well, Roger Castle of the Edmonton Oil Kings is serving as Canada’s education consultant. . . . The Canadian team leaves for Europe today. It will play two pre-tournament games — vs. Germany in Prague on Sunday and vs. the Czech Republic in Brno on Monday.
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The annual Subway Super Series will wrap up in Victoria and Vancouver next season. The series will begin with two games in QMJHL centres on Nov. 5 and 7, then continue in OHL cities on Nov. 8 and 12. Those four host cities have yet to be announced. . . . The game in Victoria is scheduled for Nov. 14, with the series finale in Vancouver on Nov. 15.
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WHL PLAYOFF NOTES:
The Moose Jaw Warriors may have D Travis Brown back for Game 1 against the visiting Medicine Hat Tigers on Friday. He missed the last three games of Moose Jaw’s five-game first-round victory over the Regina Pats. . . . Medicine Hat F Rhyse Dieno has missed 14 games with a shoulder injury. While he is practising, he hasn’t been cleared to play. D Kale Kessy missed the last two games of the Tigers’ first-round sweep of the Saskatoon Blades and is questionable, as are F Jayden Hart and F Gavin Broadhead, who have yet to play in these playoffs. . . . The last two times the Warriors and Tigers met the scores were 6-0 and 6-0, with each side winning at home. . . .
Rob Henderson of the Brandon Sun points out that the WHL office handed out 13 suspensions in the first round; last season, there were 14 suspensions doled out through the entire playoff season. . . . There is a message there somewhere. . . . Henderson also points out that in the first round, home teams held a 21-15 edge. But the Brandon Wheat Kings earned three of those ‘home’ victories while playing in Winnipeg. So you could make a case for home teams being ahead only 18-15. . . .
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D Griffin Reinhart of the Edmonton Oil Kings has tweaked younger brother Sam again. With Sam having been named to the Canadian U18 team, Griffin tweeted:
“Congrats to my little bro Sam for making the U18 team. Keep your head up though because mom can't protect you anymore.”

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THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Ben Ondrus (Swift Current, 1998-2003) signed a one-year contract with the Krefeld Pinguine (Germany, DEL). He had eight goals and 14 assists in 80 games with the Oklahoma City Barons (AHL) last season. . . .
F David Svagrovsky (Seattle, 2002-04) was released after his one week tryout with Nitra (Slovakia, Extraliga).
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It finally happened!
A WHL team ran out of players.
The Portland Winterhawks, with an unheard of 15 players away at NHL camps, have had to cancel a Friday night exhibition game against the Seattle Thunderbirds. Unfortunately for the Winterhawks, they also have had to cancel a Street Fair that was scheduled for Saturday.
“It is a shame about the Street Fair, but we have a lot of player meet and greets coming up this year,” Graham Kendrick, Portland’s director of media and public realtions, told me via email. “Our success the last couple of seasons has seen sponsorship go way up, and they all want player appearances. Our guys will be busy this season.”
The Winterhawks played in a preseason tournament in Kennewick, Wash., on the weekend and were able to dress only 16 skaters. According to a press release, they “lost one player to injury over the weekend and a second to a waiver claim from another team. . . .”
Thus it was felt that they wouldn’t have enough players to compete safely in the exhibition game against Seattle. (The Thunderbirds will play host to the Everett Silvertips on Saturday, 7 p.m., at the ShoWare Center in Kent.)
While the Street Fair has been cancelled, the news release states that “the organization decided to move many of planned Street Fair attractions and events to the opening night game on Friday, Sept. 23.”
With somewhere around 150 WHL players at NHL camps, you can bet there are other teams dangerously low on numbers.
For starters, the Kelowna Rockets, with eight players away, and the Kamloops Blazers, with seven gone, were under the 18-skater limit for a home-and-home weekend series.
The Blazers, also with C Logan McVeigh (concussion) and D Landon Cross (groin) injured, dressed just 15 skaters on Saturday in Kelowna, and lost LW Ryan Hanes to injury early on. The Rockets also had only 15 skaters in uniform for that one.
One night earlier, in Kamloops, the Rockets started with 16 skaters, but lost D Madison Bowey to a knee injury early in the first period. The Blazers went with 15 skaters for that one.
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The player the Winterhawks lost on waivers? It was F Lukas Walter, 18, who was claimed by the Tri-City Americans. He had one goal in three exhibition games with Portland.
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THE COACHING GAME:
The Moose Jaw Warriors have hired Jamie Hodson as their goaltending coach. Hodson, from Lenore, Man., was a third-round pick of the Toronto Maple Leafs in the NHL’s 1998 draft after a four-year career with the Brandon Wheat Kings. He went on to play nine seasons of pro hockey, in the AHL and ECHL.
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F Killian Hutt, 20, has joined the AJHL’s Fort McMurray Oil Barons. Hutt had his 2010-11 season ended by a concussion in December and wasn’t able to return to the Swift Current Broncos. Then they released him prior to training camp as they trimmed the number of 20-year-olds on their roster. . . . RW Jordan DePape of the Kamloops Blazers, who is from Winnipeg, joined the NHL’s Jets for the Young Guns tournament in Penticton, B.C. However, a hip flexor problem that has bothered him since early in training camp has kept him off the ice and out of the Jets’ lineup. He didn’t play in Monday night’s 4-0 victory over the Calgary Flames. . . . D Morgan Rielly of the Moose Jaw Warriors is back skating after having his appendix removed on Sept. 1. . . .
Kootenay Ice F Jonathon Martin, a 16-year-old from Winnipeg, drew a four-game suspension for a charging major and game misconduct in a game against the Portland Winerhawks in Kennewick, Wash., on Saturday. This would seem to indicate that the WHL has stepped it up in terms of the suspension game. . . . The Everett Silvertips have reassigned G Andy Desautels, 17, who got into one game last season. A native of White City, Sask., he is expected to play in the SJHL this season. That leaves Everett with three goaltenders on its roster — veterans Kent Simpson, 19, and Luke Siemens, 19, and Austin Lotz, 16, who is from St. Adolphe, Man. Simpson is recovering from arthroscopic surgery on a knee and won’t be completely ready for another couple of weeks. It also means the Silvertips will open the season with Siemens and Lotz as their goaltenders as they wait for Simpson to get healthy. . . . 
The Central league’s Quad City Mallards have signed F Jeremy Boyer (Seattle, Saskatoon, 2006-10), who played out his junior eligibility last season with the SJHL’s Humboldt Broncos and Yorkton Terriers. He put up 87 points in 50 SJHL games. . . . The Prince Albert Raiders have placed F Andrew Herle, 20, on waivers. He put up 24 points in 135 games with the Raiders. . . . If Herle isn’t claimed by another team, he is expected to join the SJHL’s Humboldt Broncos. . . . That leaves the Raiders with four 20-year-olds on their roster — D James Bettauer, F Brandon Herrod, F Justin Maylan, F Jonathon Parker and F Charles Wells. Herrod (Phoenix) and Parker (Buffalo) are in NHL camps.
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Where is he now? Tim Preston (Seattle, Saskatoon, 1997-2002) no longer plays the game but he still is involved. Gary Ahuja of the Langley Times has his story right here.

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
     
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Taking Note on Twitter

Kootenay, Victoria cut a deal

THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Todd Dutiaume (Brandon, 1991-94) signed a one-year contract extension as player-head coach with the Fife Flyers (UK Elite). He had six goals and 12 assists in 14 games for the Flyers last season as they played in the UK Northern Ice Hockey League. . . .
F Igor Valeev (Lethbridge, Saskatoon, Swift Current, 1998-2000) signed a one-year contract with Kazzinc-Torpedo Ust-Kamenogorsk (Kazakhstan, Russia Vysshaya Liga). He had no goals and three assists in 24 games for Molot-Prikamie Perm (Russia, Russia Vysshaya Liga) and two goals and three assists in nine games with Arystan Temirtau (Kazakhstan, Kazakhstan Vysshaya Liga) last season. . . .
D Darrell Hay (Tri-City, 1996-2000) signed a one-year contract with Liberec (Czech Republic, Extraliga). He had five goals and 10 assists in 52 games for Mlada Boleslav (Czech Repoublic, Extraliga) last season. Liberec GM Ctibor Jech: "Last year in Mlada Boleshla, he was one of the best defencemen. After the season, we decided to make him an offer and we are very pleased that he accepted. We expect that in addition to the typical Canadian style, as a right-hander, he will also contribute on the power play." . . .
F Jeremy Boyer (Seattle, Saskatoon, 2005-10) signed a one-year contract with Valence (France, Division 1). He had 42 goals and 45 assists in 50 games with the Humboldt Broncos and Yorkton Terriers (both SJHL) last season.
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The Kootenay Ice, with a glut of potential 20-year-olds on their roster, have made a move to at least partially alleviate that situation. They dealt D Hayden Rintoul, 20, and an undisclosed conditional bantam draft pick to the Victoria Royals for F Dylen McKinlay, 19.
The Ice, the WHL’s reigning champion, still has six 20-year-olds on that roster, but Kootenay isn’t expecting D Brayden McNabb (Buffalo Sabres) or F Cody Eakin (Washington Capitals) to return.
The other four 20s are F Joe Antilla, F Jesse Ismond, G Nathan Lieuwen and D James Martin.
“Victoria wanted a puck-moving d-man and we wanted a forward who could possibly play in our top six,” Jeff Chynoweth, the Ice’s president and general manager, told me via text message. “We have liked him for a long time and inquired about him two years ago.”
McKinlay, from Langley, B.C., is heading into his fourth WHL season. His first three all were with the Chilliwack Bruins. He had a break-through season in 2009-10, with 43 points, including 20 goals, in 72 games. Last season, he struggled with some injuries and finished with 20 points, six of them goals, in 55 games. He also has some sandpaper in his game and you can bet B.C. Division teams won’t be sad to see him in another division.
McKinlay was a seventh-round selection by the Minnesota Wild in the NHL’s 2010 draft but wasn’t made a qualifying offer, so is a free agent.
Rintoul, from Calgary, also is going into his fourth WHL season. He played his first three seasons with the Ice, totalling 93 points, including 19 goals, in 188 regular-season games. Last season, the 6-foot-1, 190-pounder had 26 points, eight of them goals, in 67 games. He had four points in the Ice’s 19-game run to the championship.
The Royals, then in Chilliwack, carried two 20-year-old defencemen — Jeff Einhorn and Brandon Manning — last season, so were looking for some experience on the back end.
Included among eligible 20-year-olds on the Bruins’ season-ending roster were G Braden Gamble, F Curt Gogol and F Robin Soudek.
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Cleeve Dheensaw of the Victoria Times Colonist has more on the trade right here.
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Jeff Hollick, the radio voice of the Ice, reported later Thursday that Kootenay has added Russian F Alex Kuvaev, 18, to its protected list. Kuvaev had 24 points, including 11 goals, with the Lethbridge Hurricanes last season but was dropped by them prior to the CHL’s 2011 import draft.
The Ice won the WHL championship last season with a roster that didn’t include any import players. As well, president/GM Jeff Chynoweth chose not to take part in the import draft for a second straight year.
Asked if Kuvaev would report, Chynoweth told me, again via text: “Don’t know that for sure. All indications are he is, but I have not been able to confirm everything with his new agent.”
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THE COACHING GAME:
Murray Baron, who played 988 regular-season NHL games, has signed on as an assistant coach with the junior B Kamloops Storm of the Kootenay International junior league. Baron, 44, will work alongside new head coach Geoff Smith, who joined the Storm after his contract wasn’t renewed by the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers. . . . Also on the Storm’s coaching staff are Brent Fritz and Brad Priestlay. . . .
Dave King, a one-time head coach of the WHL’s Billings Bighorns, has stepped aside as an assistant coach with the Phoenix Coyotes and has been named the NHL team’s development coach. . . . Jeff Truitt, another former WHL head coach (Kelowna, Moose Jaw) was on the ice helping run the Coyotes’ development camp on Thursday. Truitt was an assistant coach with the AHL’s San Antonio Rampage, which was affiliated with the Coyotes last season but now is hooked up with the Florida Panthers.
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F Brett Connolly of the Prince George Cougars has moved to Toronto and is working with a personal trainer as he tries to shake the injury bug that has plagued him the last two seasons. Erik Erlendsson of the Tampa Tribune has that story right here. These days, Connolly, the sixth overall pick in the 2010 NHL draft, is in camp with the Tampa Bay Lightning prospects.
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Brad Elliott Schlossman of the Grand Forks Herald is reporting that an official announcement is expected Wednesday regarding a new conference for some of the NCAA’s top college hockey schools.
That story is right here.
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Remember the Detroit Red Wings fan who was charged for taking part in the age-old tradition of tossing octopi during the playoffs?
Well, he was back in court on Thursday.
Greg Wyshynski of Yahoo! Sports has the latest on the Puck Daddy blog right here.

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

Acolatse on the move

The Saskatoon Blades have dealt F Sena Acolatse, 20, to the Prince George Cougars for a third-round pick in the 2011 bantam draft. He is in his fifth WHL season. The Blades acquired him from the Seattle Thunderbirds last season.
Acolatse, 5-foot-11 and 207 pounds, is versatile and can also play defence. He had 35 last season. In 256 career games, he has 152 points and 373 penalty minutes.
The deal gets the Blades down to three 20-year-olds -- G Steven Stanford, D Teigan Zahn and F Marek Viedensky.
(The Blades put F Jeremy Boyer, 20, on waivers last week. He now is with the SJHL’s Humboldt Broncos. Thanks to the anonymous poster who pointed out that Boyer had four points for the Broncos on Saturday.)
The Cougars, meanwhile, now have four 20-year-olds -- Acolatse, G Morgan Clark, F James Dobrowolski and F Parker Stanfield. The Cougars, like all teams, have until Oct. 14 to get down to three.
Acolatse is expected to practice with the Cougars on Monday and make his debut Wednesday in Cranbrook against the Kootenay Ice.
This was the second deal between these teams in the last while. Earlier, the Blades dealt F Charles Inglis, 18, to the Cougars for a second-round pick in the 2011 bantam draft.

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
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Taking Note on Twitter