Tentative agreement in The Hat . . . Elite League loses Stingrays . . . Broncos forward retires

F Justin Kelly (Prince Albert, Spokane, Saskatoon, 1997-2002) signed a one-year extension with the Bietigheim Steelers (Germany, DEL2). Last season, he had 13 goals and 11 assists in 15 games. . . .
F Roman Pšurný (Medicine Hat, 2004-06) signed a one-year contract with Přerov (Czech Republic, 1. Liga). Last season, with Karlovy Vary (Czech Republic, Extraliga), he had five goals and an assist in 40 games.
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The Medicine Hat Tigers announced late Wednesday afternoon that they and SMG “have reached a tentative agreement on a framework of understanding for a lease agreement.” . . . SMG will manage the new Canalta Centre, which is scheduled for an August opening and in which the Tigers will play. . . . Having reached a tentative agreement, the Tigers went ahead and released their 2015-16 schedule yesterday and the team says that season-ticket information will be available in the near future. . . . On Monday, Bob Ridley, the legendary voice of the Tigers on CHAT radio, tweeted: “Just returned from 2 weeks r-ving with my wife. Wonderful time.” On Wednesday, the Tigers announced a tentative agreement on a lease. . . . Coincidence?
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The 2015 U-17 World Hockey Challenge will be held in the northeastern B.C. communities of Dawson Creek and Fort St. John, from Oct. 30 through Nov. 7. . . . The tournament will feature three Canadian teams -- Black, Red and White -- along with teams from the Czech Republic, Finland, Russia, Sweden and the U.S. . . . The 2016 tournament is scheduled to be held in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.
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Great Britain’s Elite League has lost a franchise with the collapse of the Hull Stingrays. Owner Bobby McEwan folded the team when he wasn’t able to find a buyer to take it off his hands. . . . The Elite League has admitted the Manchester Storm, thus staying at 10 teams. . . . There is more right here on the Stingrays’ situation.
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THE COACHING GAME:

The OHL’s Oshawa Generals have hired Bob Jones, 45, as their newest head coach. Jones, who had been an assistant coach with the Windsor Spitfires, replaces DJ Smith, who now is on staff with the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs. . . . Smith also had been a Windsor assistant coach when the Generals hired him. With Jones and Smith as assistant coaches, the Spitfires won the 2009 and 2010 Memorial Cup titles. . . . Smith and the Generals won the 2015 Memorial Cup last month. . . . Jones has coached in the OHL for 20 years, also working with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, Brampton Battalion, Toronto St. Michael’s Majors and Sudbury Wolves.
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F Zac Mackay has chosen to retire, rather than return to the Swift Current Broncos for his 20-year-old season. Mackay, a fourth-round selection in the 2010 bantam draft, is from Swift Current. He had 37 points, including 19 goals, in 229 games with the Broncos. . . . The Broncos announced Mackay’s decision one day after they released three 20-year-olds — F Tanner LeSann, F Linden Penner and D Ayrton Nikkel, each of whom now is a free agent. . . . The Broncos roster now includes four 20-year-olds — G Landon Bow, D Griffin Foulk, D Dillon Heatherington and D Brent Lernout, although the latter two are expected to at least start the season the pro ranks.
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You no doubt are aware that Jordan Spieth won the U.S. Open golf title on Sunday. What you may not be aware is that Spieth became the next big thing in pro golf despite the fact that his parents wouldn’t allow him to focus strictly on golf when he was younger. Yes, Spieth played multiple sports. . . . For more, give this right here a read.
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I'm out. Out of the sports department, that is. After 15 years of covering the @Kelowna_Rockets & @TheWHL I'm sliding over to the news side

— Doyle Potenteau (@Doyle_Potenteau) June 25, 2015

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Warriors' coach on move? . . . Nachbaur not going anywhere

D Logan Pyett (Regina, 2003-08) has signed a one-year extension with Admiral Vladivostok (Russia, KHL). Last season, Pyett started with Vityaz Podolsk (Russia, KHL) and was traded to Admiral in December for Mathias Porseland. In 50 games, Pyett had 16 points, six of them goals. . . .
F Justin Kelly (Prince Albert, Spokane, Saskatoon, 1997-2002) has signed a one-year contract with the Bietigheim Steelers (Germany, DEL2). Last season, with the Ravensburg Towerstars (Germany, DEL2), he had 90 points, including 32 goals, in 54 games. He tied for the league lead in points and was No. 1 in assists.
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1. Happy Canada Day, and a Merry Christmas in July to NHL unrestricted free agents.

2. It seems that the Moose Jaw Warriors may be about to join the WHL teams that are searching for head coaches. Jon Rosen, the former radio voice of the Everett Silvertips who now blogs for the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings, tweeted Friday: “Getting the sense that the next Manchester head coach will be Mike Stothers. Coached WHL-Moose Jaw last three seasons. Not official.” . . . The Manchester Monarchs are the Kings’ AHL affiliate. . . . On Monday, there were a few reports stating that Stothers is headed to the Monarchs. . . . That being the case, it will leave the Warriors, Portland Winterhawks, Regina Pats and Vancouver Giants each needing a head coach.

3. During the NHL draft, I came upon a piece at sbnation.com that does a great job of explaining what a crap shoot this process really is. Written by Adam Gretz, it includes a chart that breaks down the draft from 1995 to 2005, showing what percentage of picks appeared in the NHL and what percentage played 100 or more games. It’s really interesting and it’s right here.

4. The Spokane Chiefs and head coach Don Nachbaur have signed a two-year contract extension that takes him through the 2016-17 season. Nachbaur is preparing for his fifth season with the Chiefs, which will be his 16th season as a WHL head coach. . . . He has 598 regular-season coaching victories, trailing only Ken Hodge (742), Don Hay (609) and Lorne Molleken (603) in the WHL record book. . . . Nachbaur is a three-time winner of the WHL’s coach-of-the-year award, having won it with three different teams (Spokane, Tri-City and Seattle). . . . Only Pat Ginnell, with four, has been saluted more often as coach of the year.

5. Bob Stauffer, the analyst on the Edmonton Oilers’ radio broadcast crew and host of Oilers Now on 630 CHED, tweeted that “a Pacific Division (NHL) team requested permission to interview @EdmOilKings Head Coach Derek Laxdal for an AHL HC job.” . . . That led to speculation that the Pittsburgh Penguins were about to sign Travis Green as an assistant coach, leaving the AHL’s Utica Comets without a head coach. The Comets are the Vancouver Canucks’ top affiliate.

6. Earlier, Dave Molinari of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette had tweeted that Penguins GM Jim Rutherford had said the Penguins hadn’t yet hired Travis Green but “we’re hoping he comes on board.”

7. The Kamloops Blazers won’t have D Edson Harlacher back for a second season. Harlacher, 18, is a native of Zurich and has chosen to stay in Switzerland. He is expected to play for the Kloten Flyers of the National League A. . . . Harlacher was the only European on the Blazers’ roster, meaning they are likely to take two players in Wednesday’s CHL import draft. . . . He had nine assists in 71 games last season, then was passed over in last weekend’s NHL draft. . . . Harlacher played for Switzerland at the IIHF’s U-18 World championship in April.

8. The Saskatoon Blades won’t have Czech D David Nemecek, 19, back for a second season. Nemecek had 15 points, five of them goals, after being selected in the first round of the 2013 CHL import draft. . . . F Nikita Scherbak, a Russian, was the Blades’ best player last season and was a first-round selection by the NHL’s Montreal Canadiens on Friday. . . . That means that Saskatoon GM/head coach Bob Woods is able to select one or two players in Wednesday’s import draft. They hold the ninth and 69th selections. . . . Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix has more right here.

9. A couple of NHL draft notes provided by Mike Morreale (@mikemorrealeNHL): “The @USHL saw a record # of players picked at the '14 NHL Draft; 35 players who played this season were chosen by NHL clubs; 12 from NTDP.” . . . “There were 65 Americans picked at '14 NHL Draft. Not since 1991 (67) have more Americans been selected at the draft.”

10. Another late draft note: A total of 21 goaltenders were selected, none from the WHL. Eleven European goaltenders were taken, with six others from the U.S., and four from Canada.

11. The Everett Silvertips have acquired F Graham Millar, 18, from the Saskatoon Blades for either a conditional fifth-round selection, or a conditional fourth-round selection, in the 2015 bantam draft. . . . Everett’s news release said a conditional fifth-rounder was involved; Saskatoon’s news release said it was a conditional fourth-rounder. . . . Last season, as a freshman, Millar had 13 points, including seven goals, in 61 games. He is from Penticton, B.C.

12. Nick Patterson of the Everett Herald takes a look right here at the Silvertips’ import situation going into Wednesday’s draft. He also explains some of the rules involving the import draft and, please, try not to laugh while you’re reading. The headline could have been” Rules, rules and more rules.
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The Tri-City Americans have signed Zachary Fournier as their new athletic therapist. He has degrees from the U of Tampa and Ohio U in Athens, Ohio. He started last season with the ECHL’s San Francisco Bulls. When the franchise folded in mid-season, he joined the San Francisco Giants as a minor league trainer in Scottsdale, Ariz. . . . The Regina Pats have signed F Jacob Elmer, a Calgarian who was born on Dec. 31, 1998. Elmer was a sixth-round selection in the 2013 bantam draft. He had 71 points, including 37 goals, in 52 games with the EDGE Mountaineers (Elite 15s) last season.
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THE COACHING GAME:
The Edmonton Oilers have signed Todd Nelson to a three-year contract extension. Nelson has completed four seasons as the head coach of the Oklahoma City Barons, the Oilers’ AHL affiliate, and they have reached the playoffs each season. Nelson, from Prince Albert, played four seasons (1986-90) with the Raiders.
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@hawkeyblog Dear Abbey, Our WHL coach/GM signed w/ an NHL team I really dislike. What do I do? Cheer,or continue to wish failure on them?
— Michael Welch (@bonzosa) June 28, 2014

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THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Justin Kelly (Prince Albert, Spokane, Saskatoon, 1997-2002) signed a one-year contract with Ravensburg Towerstars (Germany, 2. Bundesliga). He had 21 goals and 19 assists in 46 games to lead Troja-Ljungby (Sweden, Allsvenskan) in scoring this season.
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1. What happened to Cullen Finnerty? One of the most successful quarterbacks in the history of U.S. college football, Finnerty was married with two children when he went missing on the weekend of May 26. His body was found facedown in an open field in Michigan and many unanswered questions have followed. Greg Bishop of The New York Times has more, a whole lot more, right here. . . . You should read this one, so pour some coffee and settle in.
2. F Dylan Willick, who captained the Kamloops Blazers this season, flew to Fredericton on Wednesday for a visit to the U of New Brunswick. On Saturday, Willick — or, rather, his mother, Melissa — announced via Twitter that he will attend UNB and play for the Varsity Reds, the defending CIS champions, next season. . . . Willick, who has used up his junior eligibility, played four seasons in Kamloops, putting up 157 points, 80 of them goals, in 266 games.
3. The hockey gods really haven’t taken much of a shine to fans of the Toronto Maple Leafs. How else to explain that their beloved Leafs were so close to eliminating the Boston Bruins – holding a three-goal lead in the third period of Game 7 in a first-round series – who now have swept aside the Pittsburgh Penguins to reach the NHL’s Stanley Cup final?
4. And just to make matters worse for Maple Leafs fans, Boston goaltender Tuukka Rask, who is likely the leading candidate for the Conn Smythe Trophy, was Toronto’s first-round round selection, taken 21st overall, in the NHL’s 2005 draft. . . . Rask was traded to Boston for G Andrew Raycroft on June 25, 2006. . . . The Leafs, under then-GM John Ferguson Jr., chose to keep G Justin Pogge over Rask. Pogge was the 90th overall selection in the 2004 NHL draft.
5. There seem to be a lot of folks calling for massive change to the Penguins before another season gets here. I’m just wondering how many of those prognosticators picked Pittsburgh to get swept by the Bruins and to score only two goals in the process?
6. And let’s not forget that the Chicago Blackhawks trailed the Detroit Red Wings 3-1 in games in that second-round series. I’m sure someone, somewhere had Chicago head coach Joel Quenneville and his staff walking the plank had the Blackhawks lost that series.
7. There has been speculation that Matt Erhart will be joining the Vancouver Giants’ coaching staff, filling the vacancy created when Glen Hanlon left for the head-coaching position with the Belarussian national team. Erhart has been the GM and head coach of the Surrey Eagles, who won the BCHL championship this season.
8. It’s the dog days in Vancouver, it seems, where the police are getting heat for handing out tickets for panhandling and jaywalking in the Downtown Eastside. Shelley Fralic, a columnist with the Vancouver Sun, must be about to go on sabbatical or vacation, because she wrote in Saturday’s paper all about the silly season. . . . She also wonders “how, why and when . . . did animals become more important than humans?” . . . Give this right here a read and then join me in hoping that she shares her mail with us over the next few days. There already were more than 100 comments on the end of the column as of 9:48 p.m. on Saturday. More good reading!
9. Unless my eyes and ears were deceiving me, there were 53,679 people having a great time at the MLS game in Seattle last night. . . . It was a rousing game, too, as the short-staffed Sounders erased a 2-1 Vancouver lead and beat the Whitecaps, 3-2. . . . With attendance like that, you’ve got to wonder if that could translate to an NHL franchise. If there was a facility in which to play, of course.
10. The Stanley Cup final opens with games in Chicago on Wednesday and Saturday. Then it’ll be Monday (June 17) and Wednesday (June 19) in Boston, Saturday (June 22) in Chicago, Monday (June 24) in Boston and Wednesday (June 26) in Chicago. . . . All games will begin at 5 p.m PT. . . . If you’re watching on CBC, you’ll get Jim Hughson and Craig Simpson in the booth, with a studio crew of Elliotte Friedman, Glenn Healy, Ron MacLean, Scott Oake, Andi Petrillo, P.J. Stock and Grapes. . . . With NBC-TV, it’s likely to be Doc Emrick, Ed Olczyk and Pierre McGuire, along with Liam McHugh, Mike Milbury and Keith Jones.
11. This will be the second time that teams from Boston and Chicago have met for a major sporting championship. . . . The Red Sox and Cubs played in the 1918 World Series, with Boston winning, 4-2. . . . If you count the New England Patriots as being from Boston — they play out of Foxborough — they lost 46-10 to the Chicago Bears in the 1986 Super Bowl.
12. The visiting Grand Rapids Griffins opened the AHL final — they play for the Calder Cup — with a 3-1 victory over the Syracuse Crunch last night. . . . Game 2 is tonight in War Memorial Arena in Syracuse. . . . F Mitch Callahan (Kelowna, 2008-10) scored the game’s first goal for the Griffins, the AHL affiliate of the Detroit Red Wings. . . . Yes, someone tossed an octopus onto the ice during the game. . . . Attendance was 6,333.
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From Terry Massey (@TerryMassey): “NHL was founded in 1917 the "Original Six" came to be in 1942… Only original NHL team is Montreal Canadiens.”
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From Iain MacIntyre (@imacVanSun): “Wait, Ralph Krueger got fired?! Works half his life for NHL HC job and gets 48 gms. Tough business. Eakins about to find out.”

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The home of the Kootenay Ice now has a new name.

THE MacBETH REPORT:
D Travis Ehrhardt (Moose Jaw, Portland, 2004-09) signed a try-out contract with TPS Turku (Finland, SM-Liiga). He had one goal and six assists in 41 games with the Grand Rapids Griffins (AHL) last season. The contract lasts until the start of the regular season (Sept. 13) and rolls into a one-year contract should Ehrhardt's try-out be a success. TPS play their first exhibition game on Friday. . . .
D Dustin Friesen (Swift Current, 2000-04) signed a one-year contract
with the Fischtown Pinguins Bremerhaven (Germany, 2. Bundesliga). He had one goal and two assists in 19 games with the Chicago Wolves (AHL) and one assist in one game on loan to the Missouri Mavericks (CHL) last season. Friesen is due to arrive in Bremerhaven in the middle of next week to begin practices with the club. The Pinguins play their first exhibition game on Aug. 31 and begin their regular season on Sept. 21. . . .
F Justin Kelly (Prince Albert, Spokane, Saskatoon, 1997-2002) signed a one-year contract with Troja/Ljungby (Sweden, Allsvenskan), returning to the club after a 10-year absence. He had two assists in 14 games with Dusseldorf (Germany, DEL) during an injury-plagued 2011-12 season. The contract contains a clause in which either party can terminate the agreement at anytime prior to the end of September. Kelly is to arrive in Ljungby on Sunday and the team opens its exhibition season on Aug. 10. Sweden's Allsvenskan begins its regular season on Sept. 12. . . .
G Alexander Fomitchev (Calgary, Seattle, 1997-2000) signed a one-year contract with THK Tver (Russia, Vysshaya Liga). He had a 2.94 GAA and a .916 save percentage in nine games with Sarov (Russia, Vysshaya Liga) last season.
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The Cranbrook RecPlex is no more. Under a 10-year deal, the home of the Kootenay Ice will be called Western Financial Place. . . . According to a news release, “Western Financial Group, an insurance and financial services company based in Alberta, won naming rights for the next 10 years and plans to work with the City of Cranbrook, the facility operators, and the company's regional partner, Falkins Insurance Group, to build on the longstanding tradition of providing the residents of Cranbrook and surrounding areas a first-class destination for entertainment, recreation, and community involvement.” . . . The 10-year deal that includes naming rights and other sponsorship and usage commitments, is worth $750,000, “including an advance of $500,000.” . . . The facility opened Oct. 13, 2000, and also includes a lap and wave pool, and racquet ball/squash courts.
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Dan Mulhausen has had the ‘interim’ removed from his title as he has been named the Tri-City Americans’ vice-president of business operations and marketing communications. He had been in that role since the departure of Brian Sandy in December. . . . Mulhausen, 30, joined the Americans seven years ago as an account executive. For the last four seasons, he worked as the club’s director of marketing, media relations and game operations.
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The Everett Silvertips have signed D Kevin Davis, the 11th overall selection in the WHL’s 2012 bantam draft. Davis, from Kamloops, had 46 points in 49 games with the bantam AAA Jardine’s Blazers last season.
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D Paul Bonar (Moose Jaw, Everett, 2008-10) has committed to attend the U of Regina and play for the Cougars. Bonar, who is from Brandon, spent the last two seasons with the MJHL’s Winnipeg Blues. He played 44 games with the Moose Jaw Warriors in 2008-09 and two with the Everett Silvertips in 2009-10.
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Grant Armstrong is the Victoria Royals’ new director of player personnel. Armstrong spent the last four seasons as the Portland Winterhawks’ head scout. Armstrong, 50, is from North Vancouver. For the last two seasons, he was head coach of the junior B North Delta Devils, who played in the Pacific International league. He also was the North Vancouver Minor Hockey Association’s director of hockey operations since 2010. . . . Armstrong’s signing doesn’t affect the status of Garry Pochipinski, who remains the Royals’ director of scouting.
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The Portland Winterhawks have had two recent departures from their scouting department, what with Garry Davidson having stepped down as director of player personnel to join the Everett Silvertips as general manager and now Grant Armstrong leaving for Victoria. . . . “With the departures of Grant and Garry we now have two key scouting positions to fill, and we will begin that process immediately,” Portland GM/head coach Mike Johnston said in a news release.
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The Lethbridge Hurricanes will be without D Adam Henry until at least January. According to the Hurricanes, Henry has been diagnosed with myocarditis, “a condition that’s an inflammation of the heart muscle and while there are various causes, it’s most often due to common virus infections.” . . . Henry, who will turn 18 on Nov. 24, had 21 points and 47 penalty minutes in 60 games as a freshman last season.
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THE COACHING GAME:
The Victoria Royals have confirmed that assistant coaches Enio Sacilotto, Ben Cooper and Brady Robinson will be back for another season, as will Jeff Compton, the strength and conditioning coach. Robinson works with their goaltenders. . . . They will be working with new head coach Dave Lowry. . . . The Royals’ staff also will include Geoff Grimwood, the head coach of the major midget South Island Royals. He will work with the WHL team when available. . . .
Jim Mollard (Brandon, Winnipeg Warriors, 1981-83) has signed a three-year deal as the new head coach of the MJHL’s OCN Blizzard. He actually signed a couple of weeks and I somehow missed this one. Mollard, 48, has been away from the game for 13 years, but he has coaching experience with the now-defunct Brandon U Bobcats and in Europe. He replaces Jomar Cruz, who resigned in May.

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