Minimum-wage exemption on way? . . . Hickman gets NHL deal . . . Golden Bears dominate opener

D Nick Ross (Regina, Kamloops, Vancouver, 2004-09) has signed a one-year extension with Innsbruck (Austria, Erste Bank Liga). This season, he has eight goals and 26 assists in 54 games. . . .
F Mark Santorelli (Chilliwack, 2006-08) has signed a one-year extension with Villach (Austria, Erste Bank Liga). In 40 games this season, he has eight goals and 24 assists.
———


The WHL was featured in a story on the front page of Thursday’s Seattle Times. That would be the front page of the newspaper, not the front sports page.
The story, by Walker Orenstein of the Times, details the WHL’s dealings with Washington state politicians as it attempts to get an exemption from some labor laws, such as having to pay minimum wage to its players.
“In Olympia, discourse has been one-sided,” Orenstein writes. “House Bill 1930 and Senate Bill 5893 — backed by a bipartisan coalition that includes pro-labor Democrats — passed the House Labor Committee unanimously and the Senate’s Commerce and Labor Committee without any ‘no’ votes. No opponents testified at either committee hearing. SB 5893 won Senate approval Tuesday by a 47-0 vote.”
It would seem, then, that the WHL will end up getting the exemption it wants.
In an interview with Orenstein, WHL commissioner Ron Robison said: “The new bill will provide the clarity that will remove the uncertainty for our clubs moving forward.”
Orenstein added: “Robison had no estimate of how much paying minimum wage would cost the league. He said at a Senate hearing that before factoring in the cost of paying players, WHL teams are already ‘very challenged to be in a position to continue to operate.’ ”
Orenstein’s complete story is right here.
———
WHL commissioner Ron Robison has told Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix that there isn’t much, if anything, wrong with the game the way it’s played in his league.
“We like our game the way it is,” Robison said in an interview. “It's very entertaining and great for the players' development. The quality of our on-ice product is outstanding and continues to get better each season.”
When asked by Nugent-Bowman about attendance being “down in most markets,” Robison replied: “There are markets where attendance is down. But we're pleased overall. All leagues, regardless of the sport, are challenged with attracting fans in-venue. Our teams have done an exceptional job under the circumstances.”
The interview, as it appeared on the newspaper’s website, is right here.
If you’re a stats geek, be forewarned. The WHL is in the dark ages in terms of feeding the modern fan even individual shots on goal and it seems unlikely to change in the near future.
———
F Tim Traber, who played five full seasons in the WHL (Chilliwack, Victoria, Vancouver, 2009-14), played last season in Switzerland, even though he could have returned to the WHL as a 20-year-old. At the time, Traber says someone from the WHL told him that playing in Switzerland wouldn’t jeopardize his education package. Now, however, Traber has told Rick Westhead that something has changed because he has been told that he no longer is eligible for that education package. . . . Westhead’s story is right here.
———
Not that long ago, the Vancouver Giants were third in the B.C. Division and it appeared as though they just might there, putting them into a first-round series with the second-place Victoria Royals. However, the Giants now have lost four straight games and have been blanked in three of those. . . . Vancouver has been shutout 12 times in 64 games. . . . Tonight, the Giants are at home to the Western Conference’s top team, the Kelowna Rockets. . . . The game is available via Shaw TV at 7:30 p.m.
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F Justin Hickman of the Seattle Thunderbirds has signed an entry-level contract with the NHL’s Boston Bruins. Hickman, 20, played more than four seasons with the Thunderbirds and was their captain this season and last. Hickman, from Kelowna, played only 31 games this season before shoulder problems resulted in his needing surgery. He had 28 points, including nine goals, this season. In 285 games, he had 132 points, 55 of them goals. . . . A free agent, his signing with the Bruins wasn’t a surprise as it was heavily rumoured to have happened in January. . . .
The buzz in the junior B Kootenay International Junior League has Ty Davidson as the next head coach of the Sicamous Eagles. Davidson announced in February that he would be leaving the KIJHL’s Golden Rockets after five seasons as general manager and head coach. At the time, Davidson said he wanted to work closer to his family in Salmon Arm. . . . The Eagles dropped long-time head coach Blair Davidson four games into what turned out to be a five-game first-round playoff loss to the Kamloops Storm. . . .
If the Kootenay Ice is to finish third in the Central Division, it will have to get past the Red Deer Rebels, who visit Cranbrook tonight. The Ice goes into the game seven points in arrears and time is running out. . . . Taylor Rocca of the Cranbrook Daily Townsman has more right here. . . .
F Tim McGauley of the Brandon Wheat Kings takes a 20-game point streak into tonight’s game against the Raiders in Prince Albert. It’s the longest such streak in the WHL this season and the second-longest active streak in the CHL. F Connor McDavid of the Erie Otters is on a 25-game run. . . .
The U of Alberta Golden Bears opened the CIS Canada West’s best-of-three final with a 5-2 victory over the Calgary Dinos on Thursday night. It was Alberta’s 27th straight playoff victory over Calgary. . . . The game included 156 penalty minutes, 110 of those emanating from 11 misconducts. . . . According to the online game sheet, the Dinos had only nine shots on goal, with Golden Bears G Kurtis Mucha stopping seven of those. . . . Calgary starter Kris Lazaruk stopped 22 of 26 shots, with reliever Jacob DeSerres turning aside 12 of 13. . . . The rosters of both teams are full of ex-WHLers. . . . They’ll play again tonight in Edmonton.
———

THE WHL PLAYOFF PICTURE:

EAST DIVISION: Brandon (8 games remaining) has clinched first place in the Eastern Conference for the first time since 1995-96. The Wheat Kings are tied with Kelowna (8) in the race for first place overall. . . . Regina (9) will finish second in the division. . . . Swift Current (8) is third, six points ahead of Moose Jaw (8). . . . The Warriors also are eight points behind Edmonton (7), which holds down the conference’s second wild-card berth. . . . Prince Albert (9) is six points behind Moose Jaw and 12 points out of a playoff spot.
CENTRAL DIVISION: Calgary (7) is atop the division, two points ahead of Medicine Hat (7). . . . Red Deer (8) is third, seven points behind Medicine Hat and seven ahead of Kootenay (8), which holds the Eastern Conference’s first wild-card spot. . . . Edmonton (7) is two points behind Kootenay.
B.C. DIVISION: Kelowna (8) has clinched first place in the Western Conference. . . . Victoria (8) will finish second. . . . Prince George (8) is third, three points ahead of Vancouver (8) and Kamloops (8). . . . Vancouver and Kamloops are four points behind Tri-City (8), which holds down the conference’s second wild-card berth.
U.S. DIVISION: Everett (8) sits atop the division, four points ahead of Portland (10). . . . Seattle (8) is third, six points behind Portland and seven ahead of Spokane (10). . . . Spokane holds the conference’s first wild-card spot. . . . Spokane is seven points ahead of Tri-City (8), which holds down the conference’s second wild-card spot.
———

IF THE PLAYOFFS BEGAN TODAY:

Eastern Conference
Brandon vs. Edmonton
Calgary vs. Kootenay
Regina vs. Swift Current
Medicine Hat vs. Red Deer
——
Western Conference
Kelowna vs. Tri-City
Everett vs. Spokane
Victoria vs. Prince George
Portland vs. Seattle
(NOTE: Team with home-ice advantage shown first.)
———

THURSDAY’S GAMES

(all times local)
No Games Scheduled.
———

FRIDAY’S GAMES

(all times local)
Brandon at Prince Albert, 7 p.m.
Swift Current at Moose Jaw, 7 p.m.
Lethbridge at Saskatoon, 7:05 p.m.
Red Deer vs. Kootenay, at Cranbrook, 7 p.m.
Regina at Edmonton, 7 p.m.
Victoria at Prince George, 7 p.m.
Seattle at Portland, 7 p.m.
Spokane at Kamloops, 7 p.m.
Everett vs. Tri-City, at Kennewick, Wash., 7:05 p.m.
Kelowna at Vancouver, 7:30 p.m.


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Pats busy with trades . . . Tigers add veterans . . . Wheaties add experienced d-man . . . T-birds busy

World Champs! !!! pic.twitter.com/MKtqaVAsQD

— Joe Hicketts (@Hicksy_2) January 6, 2015

THE TRADE WIRE:

If the WHL was a high-stakes poker game with four seats, two of those would belong to the Brandon Wheat Kings and Kelowna Rockets, both of whom have brought in high-profile players in the last while.
Now you can deal in the Medicine Hat Tigers, too.
The Tigers have acquired D Kyle Burroughs and F Dryden Hunt, a pair of 19-year-olds, from the Regina Pats in exchange for D Connor Hobbs, who turned 18 on Sunday, and two bantam draft picks -- a second-rounder in 2016 and a third-rounder in 2015.
Burroughs, from Langley, B.C., was the Pats’ captain. Hunt, who lead Regina in assists (33) and points (47), is from Nelson, B.C.
Hunt has 47 points, including 14 goals, in 37 games, leaving him tied for 11th in the points derby. He has 97 points, 40 of them goals, in 163 regular-season games.
Burroughs has 22 points, including five goals, in 36 games. A seventh-round selection by the New York Islanders in the 2013 NHL draft, Burroughs is a WHL-leading plus-31. In 220 regular-season games, he has 103 points, 20 of them goals.
Burroughs and Hunt are expected to be in the Tigers’ lineup when they visit the Victoria Royals on Wednesday.
Hobbs was born in Regina but now calls Saskatoon home. He was in his first season with the Tigers -- he had a goal and an assist in 12 games -- when he left them on Oct. 29 and asked to be traded. Shortly after, he joined the SJHL’s Nipawin Hawks for four games. He then played for Canada West at the World Junior A Challenge in Kindersley, Sask., but hasn’t been in a game since it ended on Dec. 20.
As for his decision to leave the Tigers, Hobbs told Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post: “Some bad communication between me and certain people led to me needing to leave. There are a lot of factors that I took into consideration before asking for a trade. I love the guys there and love my billets and the town. It’s just really too bad it didn’t work out there but I’m excited to go to Regina.”
Hobbs was a fourth-round selection by the Prince Albert Raiders in the 2012 bantam draft. He was dealt to the Tigers on Jan. 1, 2013. In that exchange, the Raiders acquired D Dylan Busenius, F Jayden Hart and a sixth-round pick in the 2014 bantam draft, with the Tigers acquiring D Zach Hodder, F Logan McVeigh, Hobbs and a second-round pick in the 2013 bantam draft.
“There’s been a lot of time spent looking at things ever since Hobbs left the team,” Shaun Clouston, the Tigers’ GM and head coach, told the Medicine Hat News. “When something didn’t materialize shortly after that, we believed it would probably be closer to a deadline type of a deal.
“This (trade) didn’t take one guy out of our lineup or off our current roster. We were able to add two veteran players, two players that have played hard and have proven over the years that they’re legitimate high-end players and they both have something to prove.”
---
Later Monday, the Pats traded F Connor Gay, 19, to the Red Deer Rebels for F Jake Leschyshyn, 15. Regina also got a fourth-round pick in the 2017 bantam draft, while giving up three picks -- a first in 2016, a second in 2015 and a seventh in 2017.
The Rebels will be the host team for the 2016 Memorial Cup.
Gay, from Saskatoon, had a team-high 20 goals in 39 games with the Pats and was second in points (44). In 135 regular-season games over three seasons, he has 92 points, including 40 goals.
Leschyshyn was the sixth overall selection in the 2014 bantam draft. He is the son of former NHL defenceman Curtis Leschyshyn, who played for the Saskatoon Blades. Jake is playing for the midget AAA Saskatoon Blazers. He leads the team with 24 points in 25 games.
By making this trade, Brent Sutter, the Rebels’ owner, general manager and head coach, was able to restock his draft cupboard after he gave up a 2016 first-round pick and a 2015 second-round selection in acquiring D Nelson Nogier and F Austin Adamson from the Saskatoon Blades on Dec. 14.
“Your bring those two assets (Nogier and Gay) back to your team and now you’re dealing from an area of strength again going into the summer and next season where we have all our picks and them some,” Sutter told Greg Meachem, the Red Deer Advocate’s sports editor. “Also, adding a player like Connor to our hockey team is significant.
“Again, this wasn’t an easy thing to do, but it’s a responsibility that I have . . . a part of the stakes involved when you’re hosting the Memorial Cup. When you’re going to be the host you have to make sure you have to team that gives you the opportunity to be very competitive and a chance to be very successful in league play and during the tournament, too. It’s just the way it is. These are the types of things you have to do and we were in a position where we could do it.”

One more thing - by my count, the Pats currently have 20 players left on their roster. Got to be more moves coming for them yet.

— Alan Caldwell (@smallatlarge) January 5, 2015

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Also on Monday, the Saskatoon Blades dealt G Trevor Martin, 18, to Red Deer for D Kolton Dixon, 19.
The Rebels sent Martin to the SJHL’s Melville Millionaires. In 19 games with the Blades, he was 3-10-2, 4.16, .886. He is from Ardrossan, Alta.
Dixon, from Red Deer, had a goal and two assists in 32 games this season. In 138 regular-season games, the first 43 with the Victoria Royals, he has 12 points, including 11 assists.
With Martin gone, the Blades have brought in Brock Hamm, 17, from the SJHL’s Humboldt Broncos to back up Nik Amundrud. Hamm, from Saskatoon, was 9-10-0, 2.72, .918 with Humboldt.
---
Meanwhile, the Wheat Kings made another move on Monday as they added D Reid Gow, 20, to their roster. Brandon acquired his rights from the Spokane Chiefs for a fifth-round bantam draft pick.
According to the Chiefs, they will have the option of using that selection in 2015 or 2016.
The Wheat Kings had room to add one 20-year-old and Gow, who is from the nearby community of Killarney, made a whole lot of sense. He played four seasons with the Chiefs, before leaving them over the summer and enrolling at the U of Manitoba in Winnipeg where he has been playing with the Bisons. He had seven points, two of them goals, in 18 games with the Bisons.
As a youngster, Gow dreamed of playing for the Wheat Kings, but the Chiefs selected him with the 16th overall pick in the 2009 bantam draft.
“It’s going to be awesome,” Gow told James Shewaga, the Brandon Sun’s sports editor. “I’m very excited. There’s lots going on here in Brandon and I’m really happy to be here . . . They have unbelievable players in all positions and it’s a special team and I hope to add to that in any way I can, in a leadership role and helping out the young guns and just being the kind of player that I am with them. . . .
“It’s very exciting to be a Wheat King. I never thought it would happen. When you are young, you dream about being a Wheat King, so it’s very exciting for me and I can’t wait.”
Last season in Spokane, Gow had 62 points, including 56 assists, in 65 games. In 229 career regular-season games, all with the Chiefs, he had 146 points, including 129 assists.
Gow, who plans on returning to the Bisons next season, practised with the Wheat Kings on Monday and is expected to make his debut with them tonight against the visiting Everett Silvertips.
“Originally, Reid Gow chose not to play his overage year in Spokane because he wanted to be closer to home and family in Manitoba,” Tim Speltz, the Chiefs’ general manager, said in a news release.“Reid enrolled and played the first half of this season at the University of Manitoba.”
Speltz added that the Wheat Kings were given permission to talk to Gow “after the Christmas break to discuss the option of Reid playing in Brandon.Joining the Wheat Kings will allow Reid to be closer to home and family, which is important to him, while also enabling Reid to continue studies at the U of M.”
With Gow on the roster, Brandon is carrying nine defenceman. That includes Kale Clague, the terrific 16-year-old freshman who is out with an undisclosed injury. Clague is listed as being out week-to-week.
---
The Seattle Thunderbirds made three roster changes on Monday as they added Latvian F Roberts Lipsbergs, a 20-year-old from Denmark, to their roster.
Lipsbergs, who played the previous two seasons with Seattle, had been with the ECHL’s Stockton Thunder. He had a goal and two assists in 15 games with the Thunder.
Lipsbergs is a two-spotter -- a 20-year-old import -- and will fill spots that had belonged to F Justin Hickman, 20, and Austrian F Florian Baltram, 17.
Hickman’s season is over as he is scheduled to have surgery on a shoulder. Seattle’s captain had 28 points, including nine goals, in ?? games this season. In five seasons with the Thunderbirds, he played in 285 games, recording 132 points, 55 of them goals.
Baltram had a goal and four assists in 34 games. As a first-year import, he couldn’t be traded, so had to be released. Seattle also has Danish F Alexander True, 17, on its roster. True has 10 points, including five goals, in 31 games.
Last season, with Seattle, Lipsbergs had 52 points, including 33 goals, in 68 games. In 2012-13, as a freshman, he put up 58 points, 30 of them goals, in 64 games.
Lipsbergs is expected to be in the Thunderbirds’ lineup Friday and Sunday when they go home-and-home with the Tri-City Americans. They’ll open the weekend in Kennewick, Wash., on Friday and finish the series Sunday in Kent, Wash. The latter game was scheduled for Saturday but was moved to Sunday to avoid a conflict with the Seattle Seahawks’ NFL playoff game.
---



Tom Renney, the president of Hockey Canada, met with the media in Toronto on Monday and, yes, he chose his words carefully. Of course, Renney wasn’t with Hockey Canada when the decisions were made that haunted the 2015 World Junior Championship. Ken Campbell of The Hockey News was there and he blogged about it right here.
—-
A Monday evening tweet from Matthew Gourlie of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald reports that “Dawson Davidson has been called up by Kamloops for the rest of the season from the Moose Jaw Generals.”
Davidson, a third-round pick in the 2013 bantam draft, is from Moosomin, Sask., and had been playing with the midget AAA Generals.
Davidson joined the Blazers after Christmas and has two goals in four games. A terrific skater, he’s slight but a gifted offensive talent and has been seeing playing time on the point on the first PP unit.
---
Taylor Rocca of the Cranbrook Daily Townsman reports that Kootenay Ice D Tanner Faith may not play again this season.
“The Minnesota Wild prospect, who only suited up in 10 games last season due to an upper-body injury, has likely seen his 2014-15 WHL campaign come to an end after sustaining an upper-body injury Dec. 6 in Spokane,” writes Rocca. “Faith has only suited up in 19 games for the Ice so far this season.”
Rocca’s story is right here.
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Don't accuse Coach Constantine of having no sense of humor. His stylish new hat looks perfect for this roadie! pic.twitter.com/gXlfrnJuMu
— Everett Silvertips (@WHLsilvertips) January 5, 2015

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TRADE DEADLINE DEALS:

Dec. 10 . . .
To Kelowna: D Josh Morrissey (95), F Gage Quinney (95).
To Prince Albert: D Jesse Lees (95), F Austin Glover (96), 2016 second-round pick, 2017 third-round pick.
---
Dec. 12 . . .
To Red Deer: D Nelson Nogier (96), F Austin Adamson (96).
To Saskatoon: F Mason McCarty (97), 2015 second-round pick, 2016 first-round pick.
---
Dec. 16 . . .
To Calgary: G Thatcher Demko, 19, who is at Boston College.
To Spokane: Conditional draft picks. Guy Flaming of The Pipeline Show tweeted that he had it as a second-rounder in 2015 and a second- or third-rounder in 2016.
---
Dec. 27 . . .
To Swift Current: D Griffin Foulk, 19.
To Lethbridge: Conditional eighth-round pick in the 2016 bantam draft.
---
Dec. 27 . . .
To Red Deer: D Colton Bobyk, 18, and a 2016 fourth-round bantam draft pick.
To Spokane: D Nick Charif, 19, a second-round pick in the 2015 bantam draft and a conditional sixth-round selection in 2016.
---
Jan. 2 . . .
To Brandon: F Morgan Klimchuk, 19.
To Regina: F Jesse Gabrielle, 17.
---
Jan. 5 . . .
To Medicine Hat: D Kyle Burroughs, 19, and F Dryden Hunt, 19.
To Regina: D Connor Hobbs, 17, and two bantam draft picks -- second-rounder in 2016 and third-rounder in 2015.
---
Jan. 5 . . .
To Saskatoon: D Kolton Dixon, 19.
To Red Deer: G Trevor Martin, 18.
---
Jan. 5 . . .
To Red Deer: F Connor Gay, 19, and three bantam draft picks -- a first-rounder in 2016, a second in 2015 and a seventh in 2017.
To Regina: F Jake Leschyshyn, 15, and a fourth-round pick in the 2017 bantam draft.
---
Jan. 5 . . .
To Brandon: D Reid Gow, 20.
To Spokane: A fifth-round bantam draft pick, Spokane’s option for 2015 or 2016.

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Bozon, Virtanen back in action . . . Tigers' defence rules . . . Wheaties scoring and scoring some more

D Tomáš Mojžíš (Moose Jaw, Seattle, 2000-03) has signed a one-year contract with TPS Turku (Finland, Liiga). He played for TPS in 2011-12. This season, with Pardubice (Czech Republic, Extraliga), he had a goal and an assist in six games. Last season, with Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia, KHL), he had five goals and eight assists in 50 games.
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Should the Edmonton Oilers keep C Leon Draisaitl, 18, or should the NHL team return him to the Prince Albert Raiders? Mark Spector of Sportsnet offers up his opinion right here. . . . Spector offered his opinon before a Friday night game in which Draisaitl scored his first NHL game as he Oilers beat the visiting Carolina Hurricanes, 6-3.
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Eric Duhatschek of The Globe and Mail takes a look right here at the Alberta coaching tree and how idea sharing is such a big part of the way the men on that tree approach the game. He also points out how it all started with Clare Drake, a legend who somehow isn’t yet in the Hockey Hall of Fame.
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FRIDAY'S REPORT:

In Red Deer, F Wyatt Johnson scored twice to help the Rebels to a 6-3 victory over the Prince George Cougars. . . . Johnson, who has five goals, broke a 2-2 tie at 12:12 of the second period and made it 4-2 at 16:54. . . . F Grayson Pawlenchuk scored once and set up two others for Red Deer, which was 2-for-2 on the PP. . . . F Conner Bleackley drew three assists for the Rebels. . . . F Jari Erricson scored his ninth goal of the season for the Cougars. . . . F Tyler Sandhu, acquired by Red Deer from the Everett Silvertips earlier in the week, had a goal and an assist in his first game with the Rebels. . . .

In Cranbrook, defenceman-turned-forward Kenton Helgesen and F Greg Chase each scored twice as the Calgary Hitmen rattled the Kootenay Ice, 9-2. . . . Calgary held period leads of 2-0 and 5-1 as it outshot its hosts, 42-21. . . . The Hitmen broke open a 2-1 game with three goals in 2:07 late in the second period. . . . Calgary D Colby Harmsworth and F Terrell Draude each was plus-5. . . . Calgary had 13 skaters with at least one point. . . . Two of the WHL’s top offensive players returned to action for the first time this season. Calgary F Jake Virtanen had yet to play because of off-season shoulder surgery; Kootenay F Tim Bozon, who went through that battle with Neisseria meningitis in March, was out with an undisclosed injury. . . . Virtanen and Bozon each had one assist. . . . The Ice also had D Renat Valiev back in the lineup. He came back from the camp of the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs with an injury and had yet to play. . . .

In Swift Current, the Broncos scored two power-play goals and beat the Regina Pats, 3-1. . . . F Carter Rigby snapped a 1-1 tie with his eighth goal, via the PP, at 1:37 of the second period and F Coda Gordon added another PP goal, his seventh goal this season, at 17:29. . . . Swift Current G Landon Bow stopped 32 shots. . . . The Broncos were 2-for-5 on the PP. . . . F Sam Steel got his third goal for the Pats. . . . Regina has recalled D Ryan Krushen, 16, from the minor midget Sherwood Park, Alta., Kings and he was in the lineup for this one. Krushen played in three exhibition games with the Pats before being released from their roster. . . .

In Prince Albert, the Portland Winterhawks scored three times in the third period and beat the Raiders, 5-2. . . . The Winterhawks are 3-2-0 on a six-game East Division swing that wraps up tonight in Saskatoon. . . . Portland D Layne Viveiros, whose father Emanuel starred on the Raiders' back end in the mid-1980s, had a goal and two assists, all in the third period. . . . F Mile Koules added a goal, his fourth, and two assists for Portland. . . . Portland G Bolton Pouliot stopped 29 shots. G Michael Bullion of the NAHL's Wenatchee, Wash., Wild was on the bench backing up Pouliot. . . . The Winterhawks lost F Alex Schoenborn to a headshot major and game misconduct at 10:06 of the third period for a hit on Raiders F Reid Gardiner, who left with a cut to his forehead and didn't return. . . . Jeff D'Andrea of panow.com has a gamer right here.

In Saskatoon, F Carter Folk scored three times to lead the Lethbridge Hurricanes to a 7-2 victory over the Blades. . . . The Hurricanes have won two in a row, both on the road. . . . The Blades had won their past three. . . . F Riley Sheen had three assists for the Hurricanes, while F Zane Jones scored twice and added an assist. . . . Lethbridge G Stuart Skinner stopped 33 shots. . . . Lethbridge was 2-for-6 on the PP; Saskatoon was 0-for-6. . . . It was a costly loss for the Blades as they lost F Wyatt Sloboshan to a broken jaw suffered when he took a puck to the face in the first period. He'll be gone for up to two months. As well, F Alex Forsberg was injured in the first period and went for X-rays, but his status was unknown after the game. . . . Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix reported that the Blades, who are at home to the Portland Winterhawks tonight, are expected to call up F Luke Gingras, 16, from the major midget Valley West Hawks. Gingras, a fourth-round pick in the 2012 WHL bantam draft, is second in the B.C. Major Midget League scoring race, with 20 points in eight games. . . .

In Medicine Hat, the Tigers scored the game’s first two goals, both on the PP, and went on to beat the Moose Jaw Warriors, 3-1. . . . The Tigers, the WHL’s top defensive club to this point, have allowed 18 goals in 12 games. . . . The Warriors have dropped 11 straight regular-season games in Medicine Hat. . . . D Tommy Vannelli scored his fifth goal at 3:04 of the second period and D David Quenneville added his second at 8:35 of the third. . . . Tigers F Chad Butcher got his 10th goal of the season late in the third period. . . . Medicine Hat was 2-for-7 on the PP; Moose Jaw was 0-for-4. . . . Moose Jaw F Jack Rodewald had one assist to run his point streak to nine games. . . . Tigers G Nick Schneider stopped 24 shots to run his record this season to 4-0-0. Schneider, a 17-year-old from Leduc, Alta., was 6-0-0 with the Tigers last season, after being acquired from the Regina Pats. . . .

In Victoria, the Royals scored two PP goals and beat the Vancouver Giants, 2-1. . . . The Royals have won three straight. . . . D Travis Brown, at 12:52 of the first period, and F Brandon Magee, at 4:32 of the second, gave the home side a 2-0 lead. . . . F Carter Popoff scored for the Giants, at 3:02 of the third. . . . Victoria G Coleman Vollrath stopped 28 shots, one more than Vancouver’s Payton Lee. . . . The teams meet in Victoria again tonight. . . .

In Everett, F Nikita Scherbak broke a 1-1 tie with a PP goal at 8:30 of the third period as the Silvertips got past the Tri-City Americans, 3-1. . . . Scherbak added an empty-netter, his seventh goal in eight games, at 18:28. . . . Tri-City G Eric Comrie stopped 35 shots, including all 21 he faced in the first period. The Americans were outshot 21-3 that period. . . . Everett D Kevin Davis, the 11th overall pick in the 2012 bantam draft, had two assists. Davis is from Kamloops. . . . Everett G Carter Hart stopped 12 shots. . . . The game almost didn’t come off as the Silvertips gave serious consideration to postponing it following a shooting earlier in the day at Marysville-Pilchuck High School. The Silvertips have a number of season-ticket holders from Marysville. According to Nick Patterson of the Everett Herald: “Silvertips executive vice president Zoran Rajcic said the team was leaning toward postponing Friday's game at Xfinity Arena. However, after consulting with leaders in the community, including representatives from the Tulalip Tribes and the Marysville School District, the Tips decided to play the game as scheduled.” . . . Patterson also reported that the Silvertips “planned several steps to honor the victims during Friday's game. A moment of silence was scheduled prior to the singing of the national anthem; game operations were to be toned down, including not using the goal horn during pregame introductions; and staff members wore red jerseys, which is Marysville-Pilchuck's primary color.” . . .

In Kent, Wash., F Justin Hickman scored twice and added two assists as the host Seattle Thunderbirds beat the Spokane Chiefs, 5-3. . . . D Jason Fram gave the Chiefs a 1-0 first period lead, but Seattle scored three times in 4:46 in the second period, with two of those coming via the PP. . . . Hickman’s goals were his first of the season. . . . His second goal, 29 seconds into the third period, proved to be the winner. . . . F Mathew Barzal had a goal, his sixth, and two assists for Seattle. . . . Seattle D Ethan Bear returned from a three-game absence. He sat out after suffering a nasty cut during a fight. . . .

In Kamloops, F John Quenneville returned from injury to score a goal and add three assists as the Brandon Wheat Kings dumped the Blazers, 8-5. . . . The Wheat Kings have won four straight games, scoring, in order, 8, 10, 7 and 8 goals. . . . Quenneville took part in his first full practice on Thursday in Kamloops after missing six games with an undisclosed injury. . . . F Jayce Hawryluk got his 10th goal and three assists for the Wheat Kings. . . . Brandon got a goal and two assists from F Rihards Bukarts, giving him 23 points in 13 games, while D Ryan Pilon and F Jayce Hawryluk each had three assists. . . . Pilon was plus-5, as was his partner, Russian freshman Ivan Provorov, who ran his goal-scoring streak to four games with his seventh goal. . . . Bukarts has goals in five straight games and points in nine straight. . . . F Cole Ully drew four assists for the Blazers, leaving him with 26 points, tops in the WHL. . . . Ully came out of the game atop the scoring race, three points ahead of Bukarts. . . . F Deven Sideroff, who plays on a line with Ully, scored three times, while F Matt Needham, the centre on the line, had three assists. . . . Sideroff, a freshman from Summerland, B.C., has eight goals. . . . Brandon G Logan Thompson stopped 29 shots in his second start of the season. You can bet that Brandon will go back to starter Jordan Papirny tonight in Kelowna against the Rockets. . . . The Blazers, meanwhile, rode the bus all night to Kennewick, Wash., where they will play the Tri-City Americans tonight. . . . Rob Henderson of the Brandon Sun has a gamer right here.
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We grow them tough in Brandon. Didn't miss a shift!!! @mattcalvert11 @bdnwheatkings alum #bdnmb pic.twitter.com/OrMnWgb1Xh
— Bruce Luebke (@wheatkingsvoice) October 24, 2014

Another player at home with brain injury . . . To dry scrape, or not to dry scrape

G Leland Irving (Everett, 2003-08) has signed a one-year contract with Salavat Yulaev Ufa (Russia, KHL). He was invited to the Tampa Bay Lightning’s training camp on a tryout basis on Sept. 9. Last season, with Jokerit Helsinki (Finland, Liiga), he was 2.14 and .922 in 55 games. . . .
F Karel Hromas (Everett, 2004-06) has been released by Kadaň (Czech Republic, 1. Liga). Last season, he had one assist in seven games with Chomutov (Czech Republic, Extraliga). He had 11 points, including six goals, in 29 games on loan to Kadaň.
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CONCUSSION REPORT:

Veteran F Chase Souto, 20, no longer is with the Kamloops Blazers. Souto, who is hoping to play in his fifth season with the Blazers, has returned to his California home as he tries to recover from at least the fourth concussion of his WHL career.
Souto suffered his latest concussion on Feb. 7 and still wasn’t feeling well when he reported to the Blazers training camp in late August.
“He took part in the first two days of training camp,” Blazers head coach Don Hay told Earl Seitz of CFJC-TV in Kamloops. “He came to us and said he wasn’t feeling quite right. Our doctors looked at him and shut him down.
“We’ve given him some time to go home, get well rested, then have the possibility of coming back and joining us at a future date.”
Souto finished last season with 31 points, including 20 goals, in 47 games. He suffered a broken hand during a fight in Moose Jaw on Dec. 15 and didn’t play again until Jan. 17.
His latest concussion came in a game against the visiting Victoria Royals on Feb. 7. He tried to play again, on Feb. 28 in Calgary, but it didn’t work and his season was over.
Now there isn’t any time frame for a return.
“The doctor feels he’s not at 100 per cent right now,” Hay said,
“and wants to give him a little more time to recover.”
Souto incurred two concussions as a 16-year-old freshman, the first coming four games into the season on an open-ice hit in Chilliwack, the second occurring when he was on the receiving end of a heavy check in Cranbrook.
Then, on Sept. 10, 2011, he took an elbow to the head during an exhibition game against Kelowna and that resulted in brain injury No. 3.
Three years ago, after Souto suffered that third brain injury, I talked with him and wrote this piece right here. The interesting part is how he kept playing after the hit and intentionally got into a fight. That way, he got tossed with the automatic game misconduct and was able to buy some time as he tried to determine whether he might be able to keep the brain injury from training Colin Robinson and the coaching staff.
With Souto gone, the Blazers are down to two 20-year-olds -- G Bolton Pouliot and D Brady Gaudet.
Will Souto be back in time to fill that third spot.
“That is open right now,” Hay told Seitz, “but there’s always the possibility it might get filled.”
The Blazers also need Souto’s offence. With him on the roster, they return 106 goals from a team that had the second-poorest offence in the WHL last season.
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Sometime during the next week, the WHL will issue a news release covering rule changes for the 2014-15 regular season. Don't expect the trapezoid behind the nets to be expanded or for the area between the hash marks at faceoff circles to be widened, a la the NHL. No doubt the WHL would like to use both rules, but there isn't time to change the paint schemes in all of the arenas before the season opens on Friday. . . . I experienced the dry scrape before overtime for the first time on Friday night. I would hope the WHL dumps that idea before the regular season begins. There are times when there is a real buzz in a building as everyone prepares for OT. But the time it takes to do a dry scrape sucks the atmosphere right out of the building. At least, that was the case last night in Kamloops, where the Blazers scored at 18:53 of the third period to forge a 3-3 tie and force OT with the Prince George Cougars.
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Some impressions from that game:
Kamloops F Matt Needham needs to have a lot of games just like that one for the Blazers to have success this season. The Blazers’ captain had the winning goal, on the PP, and two assists. He set up the tying goal by winning a faceoff in the Cougars’ zone. . . . Kamloops D Patrik Maier, a Slovakian freshman, had a goal and an assist and showed some flair. He slammed his gun into its holster after rifling a shot through a screen for a third-period goal. He also showed a sharp stick and some feistiness in front of his net. . . . Blazers F Jake Kryski, 16, was the best player on the ice. The kid has a lot of game for someone that young. It’ll be interesting to see how he handles the grind of a WHL schedule. . . . The Cougars had a few veterans who played like it was the last exhibition game, which it was. At this level, coaches shouldn’t have to be yelling at players to skate hard on the way back into their zone. . . . Prince George D Dominic Thom looks like one of those players you hate to play against but love to have on your team. . . . Cougars F Jari Erricson, 20, has some rust after playing only four games last season thanks to a brain injury. . . . The Cougars scratched F Jansen Harkins, meaning he finishes the exhibition season with nine points, including four goals, in three games.
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The Medicine Hat Tigers are waiting to find out exactly what is wrong with G Jared Rathjen. Shaun Clouston, the Tigers’ GM and head coach, has told Ryan McCracken of the Medicine Hat News that Rathjen, 20, has yet to get medical clearance to play. . . . “In his medical, (Rathjen) had some abnormalities appear on some testing, and so basically until those are investigated and looked into, our doctor has said he can’t participate,” Clouston told McCracken. “So he’s been just kind of waiting. He’s going to see a specialist next week and hopefully he’ll be back to normal.” . . . For now, then, Nick Schneider will be the Tigers’ starting goaltender, with Cole Schafer from the junior B Medicine Hat Cubs backing up. That means Schneider starts tonight against the Red Deer Rebels in Stettler, with Schafter on the bench. . . . McCracken also reports that F Anthony Ast (wrist) and F Chad Labelle (knee) are hobbled.
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It’s hard to believe, but F Tim Bozon is in camp with the Montreal Canadiens. It was only in March when Bozon, then with the WHL’s Kootenay Ice, was in the intensive care unit of a Saskatoon hospital, deathly ill with Neisseria meningitis. He has come a long way since then, though, and Pat Hickey of the Montreal Gazette has the story right here.
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The OHL has handed out its first major suspension of the season, hitting F Noah Bushnell of the Sarnia Sting with a 10-game sentence for a headshot -- an elbow to the an opponent’s chin -- during a preseason game. . . . There’s more, including video, right here.
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It sounds like Tim Hunter, the first-year head coach of the Moose Jaw Warriors, got welcomed to the WHL on Friday night. His club was outshot 42-20 en route to a 6-2 loss to the host Brandon Wheat Kings. Afterwards, Hunter told Katie Brickman of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald: “I never trust the shot clock on the road. I don’t think it was quite as bad as it was but, still, they did outshoot us and outwork us.” . . . Ah, yes, the shot clock on the road in the WHL. There isn‘t a coach in the league who hasn‘t walked the same ground as Hunter. . . .
An interesting note from Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix, after the Blades’ 3-2 shootout victory over the visiting Swift Current Broncos last night: “The 1,134 fans who attended Friday’s game got a taste of what the setup will look like at the rink this season. The upper bowl will be curtained off for almost all games in an effort to create a better atmosphere and stronger demand for tickets. The lower bowl holds approximately 6,000 people.” . . . During that game, Nugent-Bowman tweeted: “Broncos D Jordan Harris dumped to the side of the SC net. He skates off the ice with his left shoulder dangling down.” . . .
F Justin Hickman of the Seattle Thunderbirds was to have joined the Winnipeg Jets team at the Young Guns tournament in Penticton, B.C., but those plans were ruined by an undisclosed injury suffered in practice this week. . . . The Toronto Maple Leafs revealed Friday that D Rinat Valiev of the Kootenay Ice won’t participate in their camp because of an undisclosed injury. . . .
F Kristian Ferletak of the Victoria Royals drew a one-game suspension for the goaltender interference major and game misconduct he incurred Thursday against the visiting Vancouver Giants. He won't play tonight in Kelowna against the Rockets. . . . Victoria D Joe Hicketts wasn’t selected in the NHL’s 2014 draft, but is with the Detroit Red Wings’ rookie team in a tournament at Traverse City, Mich. Last night, he scored in OT and also drew an assist as the Red Wings beat the St. Louis Blues, 6-5.
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Please @TheWHL, no dry scrapes before overtime.
— Daniel Nugent-Bowman (@DNBsports) September 13, 2014

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Oil Kings into third straight conference final

The CHL announced details of the 2014 Subway Series on Thursday. That annual series involves a touring Russian team playing two games each against all-star teams from the WHL, OHL and QMJHL.
One reader of this blog saw the information posted here yesterday and sent along this query:
“Can you tell me how Canada is supporting the people in the Ukraine vs Russia as we still host the Subway Series? Why host them when Russia is still going at Ukraine?”
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The aftershocks from some ugliness during Game 5 between the Victoria Royals and the Winterhawks in Portland on Thursday night will be heard for a while yet. The WHL has suspended two of the Royals -- F Steven Hodges, for a game misconduct he incurred, and F Brandon Magee, for a match penalty he was given for attempt to injure. . . . The Winterhawks won the game, 5-1, and the series, 4-1, to advance to the Western Conference final. . . . There is concern in the Portland camp that Magee cross-checked Winterhawks F Nic Petan in the back of the head at 15:10 of the third period as retribution from an earlier incident. . . . Tempers had flared at the end of the second period and, during the ensuing melee, Portland D Derrick Pouliot punched Victoria D Joe Hicketts, who is believed to have been rendered unconscious, at least briefly. Pouliot, Hicketts and Hodges all were ejected at that point.
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“I probably had 17 or 18 concussions through my career, five or six documented,” former NHLer Dan LaCouture, 36, told Jeff Z. Klein of The New York Times. “Just after you have a concussion, you think you’re going to lose your job. So you try to play through it.” . . . LaCouture is part of a concussion-related lawsuit that was filed against the NHL this week. . . . Klein’s story is right here.
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Glenn (Chico) Resch, one of hockey’s really great guys, announced his retirement from broadcasting during the first intermission of the New Jersey Devils’ game on Friday night. . . . A lot of people forget that Resch, a native of Moose Jaw, did a stint as the general manager and then the head coach of the Tri-City Americans. That was in 1991-92. The Americans were 9-13-2 when his coaching career ended on Nov. 22, 1991. . . . Randy Miller of NJ.com has an interview with Resch right here.
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F Justin Hickman of the Seattle Thunderbirds will finish the season with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s New York Islanders. Hickman, who turned 20 on March 18, had 45 points, 22 of them goals, and 154 penalty minutes in 67 games with the Thunderbirds this season. A second-round pick in the 2009 bantam draft, Hickman played four seasons with Seattle. He hasn’t been selected in the NHL draft.
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A Pacific Division in the AHL that would be centred in Arizona? There’s more right here from the Prescott Daily Courier.
According to that report, “Fox Sports Arizona reported that multiple NHL sources with knowledge of the situation said several western-based NHL franchises, including the Phoenix Coyotes, want to form a Pacific Division for their affiliates in the American Hockey League (AHL).”That’s interesting because there was a time when the late Ed Chynoweth, then the WHL’s commissioner, was concerned that western NHL teams might set up AHL franchises in WHL cities such as Saskatoon, Lethbridge, Regina and Medicine Hat.
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Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post reported early Friday evening that F Chandler Stephenson of the Regina Pats has signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the NHL’s Washington Capitals. They selected him in the third round of the NHL’s 2012 draft. . . . Stephenson, who turns 20 on April 22, is from Saskatoon. He played four seasons with the Pats, putting up 195 points, including 73 goals, in 230 games. This season, he had career highs in goals (30), assists (59) and points (89), all in 69 games. . . . Ross Mahoney, Washington’s head amateur scout, is from Regina, so you know he’s most familiar with Stephenson, who will finish the season with the AHL’s Hershey Bears. . . . From Harder: “According to the terms of his contract, Stephenson has the opportunity (if he achieves certain bonuses) to earn the maximum salary under the rookie cap ($925,000 per season) when he reaches the NHL. He received the maximum signing bonus ($92,500 per season) and max AHL salary ($70,000) allowed by the CBA, meaning he will earn $162,500 per season as an AHLer.”
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The London Knights, the host team for next month’s Memorial Cup tournament, will have five weeks to prepare after they were eliminated from the OHL playoffs last night. The Guelph Storm dropped the Knights 5-4 to win the second-round series, 4-1. . . . The Memorial Cup runs from May 16 through May 25.
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If you are into the Masters, this is for you:
“Prepare to see more, much more, of what’s already in progress — a three-ring circus of birdies, glorious saves and single-car crashes. Rory McIlroy, one of the count-on-your-fingers-favorites, thought he was playing well after an opening 71. His Friday was one long GIF of jitters. At the second, he lost his drive, and almost himself, in flora to the left. At the 210-yard fourth, he was so long that fans lost sight as he searched for his ball in the kind of abandoned shrub-shrouded shed where the body dump is always found on ‘CSI.’ At the 13th, he was trapped by vegetables up to his neck. Normally, you’d say they were large azaleas, but this year, since they’ve barely bloomed, perhaps they don’t deserve the name.”
That is from the always excellent Thomas Boswell of the Washington Post, and his complete column is right here.
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THE SECOND ROUND (best-of-seven; all times local):
(x - if necessary)
EASTERN CONFERENCE
EDMONTON (1) vs. BRANDON (7)
(Edmonton wins, 4-1)
Season series: Edmonton, 3-1-0; Brandon, 1-2-1.
Thursday: Brandon 0 at Edmonton 5 (5,899)
Saturday: Brandon 0 at Edmonton 3 (7,115)
Tuesday: Edmonton 5 at Brandon 2 (3,522)
Wednesday: Edmonton 2 at Brandon 5 (3,246)
Friday: Brandon 1 at Edmonton 5 (6,356)
INJURIES
Edmonton: D Blake Orban, day-to-day.
Brandon: F Jayce Hawryluk, day-to-day; G Curtis Honey, day-to-day; F Ryley Lindgren, day-to-day.
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MEDICINE HAT (4) vs. KOOTENAY (6)
(Kootenay leads, 3-1)
Season series: Medicine Hat, 3-3-0; Kootenay, 3-3-0.
Saturday: Kootenay 4 at Medicine Hat 2 (3,750)
Sunday: Kootenay 2 at Medicine Hat 5 (3,755)
Wednesday: Medicine Hat 1 at Kootenay 3 (2,461)
Thursday: Medicine Hat 4 at Kootenay 7 (2,578)
Saturday: Kootenay at Medicine Hat, 7:30 p.m.
x-Monday: Medicine Hat at Kootenay, 7 p.m.
x-Wednesday: Kootenay at Medicine Hat, 7 p.m.
(NOTE: Kootenay plays home games in Cranbrook, B.C.)
INJURIES
Medicine Hat: F Gavin Broadhead, day-to-day; F Hunter Shinkaruk, indefinite.
Kootenay: F Tim Bozon, indefinite; F Ryan Chynoweth, indefinite; D Tyler King, day-to-day; D Tanner Faith, 3-5 months.
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WESTERN CONFERENCE
KELOWNA (1) vs. SEATTLE (4)
(Kelowna wins, 4-0)
Season series: Kelowna, 2-1-1; Seattle, 2-1-1.
Thursday: Seattle 2 at Kelowna 6 (4,581)
Saturday: Seattle 3 at Kelowna 6 (5,675)
Tuesday: Kelowna 5 at Seattle 4 (5,029)
Wednesday: Kelowna 5 at Seattle 2 (2,219)
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PORTLAND (2) vs. VICTORIA (3)
(Portland wins, 4-1)
Season series: Portland, 1-1-2; Victoria, 3-1-0.
Friday: Victoria 2 at Portland 8 (6,152)
Saturday: Victoria 3 at Portland 6 (10,947)
Monday: Portland 1 at Victoria 2 (6,505)
Tuesday: Portland 4 at Victoria 3 (6,745)
Thursday: Victoria 1 at Portland 5 (8,083)
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THE THIRD ROUND (best-of-seven; all times local):
(x - if necessary)

WESTERN CONFERENCE
KELOWNA (1) vs. PORTLAND (2)
Season series: Kelowna, 4-0-0; Portland, 0-4-0.
Friday: Portland at Kelowna, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, April 19: Portland at Kelowna, 7 p.m.
Tuesday, April 22: Kelowna at Portland, 7 p.m.
Wednesday, April 23: Kelowna at Portland, 7 p.m.
x-Friday, April 25: Portland at Kelowna, 7 p.m.
x-Sunday, April 27: Kelowna at Portland, 5 p.m.
x-Tuesday, April 29: Portland at Kelowna, 7 p.m.
INJURIES
Kelowna: F Myles Bell, week-to-week.
Portland: None.
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EASTERN CONFERENCE
EDMONTON (1) vs. MEDICINE HAT (4)/KOOTENAY    (6)
Season series: Edmonton, 5-0-1; Medicine Hat, 1-5-0.
Season series: Edmonton, 4-2-0; Kootenay, 2-2-2.
Friday: Medicine Hat/Kootenay at Edmonton, 7 p.m.
Sunday, April 20: Medicine Hat/Kootenay at Edmonton, 4 p.m.
Other dates TBA.
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FRIDAY’S GAME:
In Edmonton, the Oil Kings scored three times in a span of 2:08 late in the first period and sent on to beat the Brandon Wheat Kings, 5-1. . . . The Oil Kings won the second-round series, 4-1, and now await the winner of the other Eastern Conference semifinal, which resumes tonight in Medicine Hat. The Kootenay Ice lead the Tigers 3-1 in that one. . . . Edmonton is into the conference final for a third straight season. . . . Edmonton F Henrik Samuelsson opened the scoring at 15:26 of the first period, with F Brett Pollock scoring his fifth goal at 17:11 and F Reid Petryk making it 3-0 at 17:34. . . . D Eric Roy scored a 5-on-3 PP goal for Brandon at 2:55 of the third period. That was Brandon’s first road goal of the series. . . . Edmonton put it away with goals from D Cody Corbett, at 8:44, and F Mitch Moroz, at 11:09. . . . Oil Kings G Tristan Jarry stopped 19 shots. In the three home games in this series, he had a .984 save percentage and a GAA of 0.33. . . . Overall in these playoffs, he is 8-1, 1.78, .933. . . . Brandon G Jordan Papirny stopped 33 shots. . . . Edmonton was 1-for-5 on the PP; Brandon was 1-for-4. . . . Brandon F Richard Nejezchleb was given a clipping major and game misconduct at 16:12 of the third period. That may be worthy of a WHL suspension, but he would be a 20-year-old next season so perhaps Nejezchleb, who is Czech, won’t be back. . . . The Wheat Kings, as it turned out, suffered a blow at practice on Thursday when F Jayce Hawryluk, their top offensive forward, was injured. With him out, Roy saw some time on a forward line. . . . The Oil Kings had F Brandon Baddock back in their lineup for the first time since Feb. 19.
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From Hodges Heroes (@hodgersheroes): “With Rattie's debut tonight, 6 players from the 2010-11 #Winterhawks team have played an NHL game this season.”
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From Adam Proteau (@Proteautype) of The Hockey News: “It's always been a privilege and a pleasure to talk hockey with Chico Resch. Hockey needs more guys named Chico and like Chico. Happy retirement.”

There has never been a subscription fee for this blog, but if you enjoy stopping by here, why not consider donating to the cause? Just click HERE. . . and thank you very much.