Goaltender heads for Austria . . . Blades add a scout . . . Portland lands defenceman from Preds

F David Hájek (Spokane, 1998-99) signed a one-year contract with Heilbronner Falken (Germany, DEL2). Last season, with Bad Nauheim (Germany, DEL2), he had two goals and five assists in 12 games, and in 16 games with Löwen Frankfurt (Germany, DEL2), he had two goals and six assists. . . .
F Igor Baček (Tri-City, 2005-06) signed a one-year contract with the Hannover Scorpions (Germany, Oberliga). Last season, with Rostock (Germany, Oberliga), he put up 14 goals and 56 assists in 30 games. He led his team and division (Oberliga North) in assists. . . .
F Grant Toulmin (Swift Current, 2005-07, 2008-09) signed a one-year contract with the Manchester Storm (England, UK Elite). Last season, with Heilbronner Falken (Germany, DEL2), he had nine goals and 15 assists in 45 games.
F Jerred Smithson (Calgary, 1995-2000) signed a one-year contract with Herning (Denmark, Metal Ligaen). Smithson didn’t play last season. In 2013-14, with the Toronto Maple Leafs (NHL), he was pointless in 19 games. He had two goals and nine assists in 51 games with the Toronto Marlies (AHL).
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Another American-born player is headed for Austria and the EC Red Bull Salzburg organization.
On Friday, G Nick Vilardo tweeted: “Excited to announce I've signed with EC Red Bull Salzburg organization in Austria. Thankful for the opportunity. All glory to Jesus #RedBull”
Vilardo is an 18-year-old from Clarence, N.Y., who played last season with the U-18 Buffalo Jr. Sabres. In 50 games, he was 1.93 and .923. He also was 2.30 and .901 with the U-18 Jr. Sabres. This season, he appeared ticketed for the NAHL’s Topeka Roadrunners, until choosing to head for Austria.
Earlier this month, it was revealed that F Ryan Savage and F Carson Dimoff, both of Scottsdale, Ariz., had agreed to join the Red Bulls organization.
Meanwhile, F Riley Stotts of Winnipeg, a first-round-selection by the Swift Current Broncos in the 2015 bantam draft, is pondering an offer to join Red Bull but apparently has yet to make a decision.
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The Saskatoon Blades have added Cody Nickolet to their scouting staff. This is an excellent more for the Blades and, of course, for Nickolet, but likely not for WHL fans.
Nickolet, whose Twitter handle is @CodyNickolet, had a banner 2014-15 hockey season. An avid WHL follower, he took it upon himself to make available line combinations and defence pairings for both teams in every regular-season game. He also has tweeted all kinds of WHL-related.
And anyone who took a look at his 2015 NHL draft rankings, well, was there anything available to the general public that was more comprehensive?
One day, Nickolet will be working for an NHL team. Bet on it being sooner than later.
In the meantime, the Blades will be the beneficiaries of his expertise.
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The Portland Winterhawks received an enormous boost on Friday with the news that D Jack Dougherty, 19, had signed with the NHL’s Nashville Predators. Dougherty, a second-round pick by Nashville in the NHL’s 2014 draft, played last season with the U of Wisconsin Badgers.
Upon signing Dougherty, the Predators announced that he is expected to start the season in Portland. Because he was drafted off an NCAA team’s roster, and not a major junior team, Dougherty is eligible to play in the AHL at 19.
Dougherty, from St. Paul, Minn., had nine points, two of them goals, in 33 games during his freshman season with the Badgers.
In 2013-14, he was in the U.S. National Team Development Program. In 23 USHL games, he had 12 points, including four goals, in 23 games. In 55 games with the U-18 national team, he had 22 points, including six goals, in 55 games. He is a candidate to play for the U.S. national junior team this time around.
Here’s Future Considerations on Dougherty: “Dougherty is an intelligent defenseman who tries to blend strong positioning while trying to inflict a physical dimension on his opponent. He isn't the fleetest of foot, but does get where he needs to go. He also makes a strong first pass and has solid offensive instincts.”
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Got a tip or some information you feel could be useful to me, feel free to send an email to greggdrinnan@gmail.com.
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Dave Dupas, 53, has signed on as an assistant coach with the AJHL’s Fort McMurray Oil Barons. Dupas, who is from Burnaby, B.C., was the head coach of the BCHL’s Prince George Spruce Kings for the previous four-plus seasons. . . . In Fort McMurray, he will work with GM/head coach Tom Keca.
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Schloß Schönbrunn | Schloss Schönbrunn | Vienna, Austria #whlcanes #travelingpuck pic.twitter.com/4R6ycYZZw7

— Kathy Hong (@kayyhong) July 25, 2015

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Good Friday . . .

ADAM TAYLOR

In Victoria, F Adam Taylor scored his third goal of the playoffs 48 seconds into the second overtime period Friday night to give the Salmon Kings a 2-1 victory over the Utah Grizzlies. . . . The Salmon Kings, who are dead things walking, swept the second-round ECHL series and now will meet the Alaska Aces in the Western Conference final. . . . F Simon Ferguson gave Utah a 1-0 lead at 2:44 of the first period on a PP. . . . F Keil McLeod pulled Victoria into a tie at 18:55 of the second period. . . . Victoria G David Shantz stopped 40 shots, 10 fewer than Utah’s Jean-Philippe Lamoureux. . . . Attendance was 6,095. . . . The Salmon Kings went into these playoffs as the Western Conference’s seventh seed. The top-seeded Aces beat the host Idaho Steelheads 4-0 on Friday to sweep that series. . . . The Salmon Kings, of course, are in their final season, at least in Victoria, after the WHL made it official this week that the Chilliwack Bruins are on their way to the B.C. capital.
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Cleve Dheensaw of the Victoria Times Colonist started his game story:
“It took seven years, news of their demise and even comparisons to the movie Slap Shot, for the Victoria Salmon Kings to finally capture the imagination of the city.
“A season-high crowd of 6,295, attracted by cheap tickets, a Marty the Marmot mascot bobblehead giveaway, and the playoff success of the Salmon Kings, was electric with excitement during Friday night's tension-laden ECHL playoff game at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre. The Salmon Kings won 2-1 in overtime.”
Dheensaw’s story is right here.
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The Nashville Predators beat the host Anaheim Ducks 4-3 in an NHL playoff game Friday night. And you can bet that the winning goal brought a smile to the face of Prince George Cougars head coach Dean Clark. . . . The winner came off the stick of F Jerred Smithson after a nifty pass from F Jordin Tootoo. . . . Smithson was a member of the 1998-99 WHL-champion Calgary Hitmen, with Clark as the head coach. Tootoo played four seasons with the Brandon Wheat Kings and Clark was the head coach for two of those (2001-03).
Clark just happened to be in Anaheim on Friday, too. The WHL is holding its annual California camp and Clark is there as one of the coaches. He did see the winning goal, but it wasn’t live. Rather, he was at the ESPN Zone. . . . The other coaches at the Anaheim camp are Bruno Campese (Prince Albert Raiders), Don Hay (Vancouver Giants) and Derek Laxdal (Edmonton Oil Kings).
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Paul Kelly, the executive director of College Hockey Inc., brought a few NCAA Division I coaches to Spruce Grove, Alta., recently. While there, there were presentations to players and their families. Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal has the story right here.
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THE COACHING GAME: Paul Baxter has joined the NAHL’s Wichita Falls Wildcats as head coach, general manager of hockey operations and partner. The deal is effective May 1. Baxter had been with the NAHL’s Wenatchee Wild from 2008 until he was released midway through this season. That position later was filled by former WHL coach John Becanic, who left his spot as assistant coach with the Vancouver Giants to join the Wild. With the Wildcats, Baxter replaces Mark LeRose whose contract wasn’t renewed. LeRose was an assistant coach with the Everett Silvertips in 2009-10. . . . Rick Brodsky, who owns the Prince George Cougars, is the president/owner of the Wildcats. . . . Nate Leaman is the new head coach of the Providence College Friars. Leaman, who was the head coach at Union College, was named the NCAA Division 1 coach of the year by the American Hockey Coaches Association last week. He replaces Tim Army, who resigned after six seasons with the Friars. Rick Bennett, associate head coach under Leaman, has been named the head coach at Union. . . .
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Capgeek.com reports that Kelowna Rockets F Brett Bulmer, who has signed a three-year deal with the NHL’s Minnesota Wild, will get US$67,500 as an AHL salary, with NHL salaries of $740,000, $790,000 and $900,000. His signing bonus is $270,000 over three years. . . . Bulmer has joined the AHL’s Houston Aeros for the duration of the season. . . . The Aeros, meanwhile, signed Kelowna D Colton Jobke to an amateur tryout. . . . Houston swept the Peoria Rivermen from the first round of playoffs and is waiting for the winner of a series between the Milwaukee Admirals and Texas Stars. Milwaukee won 2-1 in overtime on the road Friday and takes a 3-2 series lead back home for Game 6 on Monday.
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An interesting email hit the inbox today, and here it is, in its entirety:
Conspiracy theory — Were the owners of the Calgary Hitmen "encouraged" by the WHL executive to place their AHL farm team within a 30-minute drive of Chilliwack, so that there would be "plausible cause" to move the Bruins to Victoria? I have always wondered why one of the league's members would do such a thing. Remember that the WHL said in February 2009 that it was looking to move an established team into Victoria. Sixteen months later, there is a building in Abbotsford and an AHL team playing in it. . . .”
Hmmm . . .
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FRIDAY’S PLAYOFF GAMES:





In Medicine Hat, F Cody Eakin scored in OT to give the Kootenay Ice a 6-5 victory over the Tigers. . . . It was the first game of the Eastern Conference final, with Game 2 set for tonight in Medicine Hat. . . . Eakin scored his fourth goal of these playoffs at 5:59. . . . This was a wild one, with the Ice leading 2-0 at 11:01 of the first period and 3-1 after one. . . . The Tigers then scored the next three goals, two of them by F Emerson Etem. . . . Ice F Matt Fraser tied it at 7:13 of the third. . . . Medicine Hat F Wacey Hamilton gave his side a 5-4 lead on the PP at 10:03. . . . Fraser forced OT with a PP goal at 18:05. . . . Fraser now has 12 goals. He had two goals and two assists on this night. . . . Ice F Max Reinhart had a goal, his eighth, and two helpers. . . . The Tigers got two goals and an assist from F Linden Vey. . . . Vey has a WHL-leading 24 points. He and Fraser lead in goals, each with 12. . . . Ice D Brayden McNabb had one assist. He leads the WHL with 13. . . . The Ice now is 8-0 in these playoffs when it scores the game’s first goal. . . . It’s worth noting, too, that Ice F Drew Czerwonka and F Erik Benoit each scored his first goal of these playoffs. . . . Injuries have limited Czerwonka, who had 14 regular-season goals among his 43 points, to six playoff games. Benoit had four goals in 52 regular-season games. . . . Ice G Nathan Lieuwen stopped 30 shots, one fewer than Medicine Hat’s Tyler Bunz. . . . The Tigers were 2-for-6 on the PP; the Ice was 1-for-5. . . . Attendance was 4,006. . . . You can bet that this was one to remember for Ice GM Jeff Chynoweth. It was the third anniversary of the death of his father, former WHL commissioner Ed Chynoweth.
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In Portland, F Levko Koper’s second-period goal stood up as the winner as the Spokane Chiefs opened the Western Conference final with a 2-1 victory over the Winterhawks. . . . The second game will be played Sunday in Portland. . . . Spokane F Brady Brassart, who had eight goals in 65 regular-season games, scored his first of the playoffs at 2:11 of the first period. . . . Brassart scored off a rebound of a shot by F Marek Kalus. Brassart hadn’t played since the first game of the Chiefs’ series against the Tri-City Americans; Kalus last played in Game 5 of a first-round series against the Chilliwack Bruins. . . . Koper made it 2-0 at 4:25 of the second on the PP. . . . Portland F Ryan Johansen got his side to wthin one at 19:36 of the third period. . . . Spokane G James Reid stopped 27 shots, 14 fewer than Portland’s Mac Carruth. . . . Spokane was 1-for-4 on the PP; Portland was 0-for-3. . . . Attendance was 7,642. . . . The Chiefs played without F Tyler Johnson, the WHL’s second-leading regular-season scorer. He sat out a one-game suspension for a kneeing major in Game 6 of their series with the Americans. . . . With Johnston out, Spokane head coach Don Nachbaur also scratched F Mitch Holmberg, and went with Brassart and Kalus.
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FRIDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
None.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
     
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