Showing posts with label Kelowna Rockets. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kelowna Rockets. Show all posts

Wednesday, June 28, 2017

Seattle head coach off to NHL ... Change the import draft? Why not? ... Portland got "a stud"


F Roman Tománek (Calgary, Seattle, 2004-06) has signed a one-year contract with Freiburg (Germany, DEL2). Last season, with Banská Bystrica (Slovakia, Extraliga), he had one goal and three assists in 17 games. He was loaned to Dukla Trenčín (same) on Jan. 3, and had a goal and three assists in nine games. . . .
F Jacob Doty (Seattle, Medicine Hat, 2009-14) has signed a one-year contract with the Braehead Clan Glasgow (Scotland, UK Elite). Last season, with the Chicago Wolves (AHL), he had one assist in four games; he also had five goals and six assists in 11 games with the Missouri Mavericks (ECHL).
———

STEVE KONOWALCHUK
The WHL-champion Seattle Thunderbirds are looking for a new head coach after the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks announced on Wednesday that they have signed Steve Konowalchuk as an assistant coach.
Konowalchuk, 44, was the Thunderbirds’ head coach for six seasons. The Thunderbirds reached the WHL final in 2016, where they lost to the Brandon Wheat Kings. In 2017, the Thunderbirds won the Ed Chynoweth Cup, beating the Regina Pats, 4-2, in the best-of-seven final. That was the Thunderbirds’ first WHL title.

Konowalchuk was 219-176-37 in regular-season games with Seattle. He joined the Thunderbirds on June 16, 2011, after spending two seasons as an assistant coach with the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche. He also played in the NHL, with the Washington Capitals and Colorado, after spending two seasons (1990-92) with the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks.
Of the U.S. Division’s five teams, only Portland (Mike Johnston) and the Tri-City Americans (Mike Williamson) will return with the same head coach as last season.
The Everett Silvertips, who finished on top of the division, didn’t renew head coach Kevin Constantine’s contract. He will coach in South Korea next season. Dennis Williams is Everett’s new head coach.
The Spokane Chiefs have hired Dan Lambert, a former WHL star defenceman who coached in Kelowna, to replace Don Nachbaur, the head coach for the previous seven seasons. Nachbaur now is an assistant coach with the NHL’s Los Angeles.
The Kings also signed Dave Lowry, the head coach of the Victoria Royals for the previous five seasons, as an assistant coach. The Royals have since promoted assistant coach Dan Price to head coach.
At the moment, Seattle and the Calgary Hitmen are the only two of the WHL’s 22 teams without head coaches. The Hitmen are looking to replace Mark French, who left after three seasons to coach in Switzerland.
Meanwhile, the Ducks also added Mark Morrison to their staff as an assistant coach. Morrison, 54, is a former WHL player (Victoria Cougars, 1979-83). He spent four seasons (2007-11) as the GM/head coach of the ECHL’s Victoria Salmon Kings. For the past six seasons, he has been assistant coach in the Winnipeg Jets’ organization, first with the St. John’s IceCaps and for the past two seasons with the Manitoba Moose.

——
The CHL’s 2017 import draft was held Wednesday and I posted a lengthy look at the WHL teams and their selections a short while after it ended.
Included in that report was a link to a Saskatoon StarPhoenix story in which Blades general manager Colin Priestner commented on the intricacies of this draft.
Shortly after I posted that piece, I heard from Jeff Hollick, a former long-time radio voice of the Kootenay Ice. Hollick sent me a link to a piece that he had written for dubnetwork.ca on how to provide teams with a more level playing field in the import draft. That piece is right here.
As the Ice’s play-by-play voice, Hollick would have spent a lot of time around Jeff Chynoweth, then the team’s general manager. While not necessarily opposed to the draft, Chynoweth wasn’t reluctant in voicing his objections to the way it is conducted.
In the WHL, most owners and general managers look upon it as a necessary evil. But few, if any, enjoy it.
So why not do away with it? Why not just pull the plug on it? Teams no longer are allowed to draft European goaltenders, so why not just dump the draft altogether?
(If you’re wondering, USHL teams are allowed to use import goaltenders, but each one counts as two imports. USHL teams are allowed six import players, but two of them must be Canadians.)
In place of the draft, why not allow teams to list players, just like they do with North American players? Why not allow teams to start listing European players at 16 years of age?
The only difference would be that each team would be allowed to list only a set number of Europeans, say three. There are a gazillion European skaters available, so numbers wouldn’t be an issue.
That would allow teams to scout players, list them and then try to sell them on the organization. If that doesn’t work, the team could simply drop the player from its list and move on.
That also might do away with the messy system now in place where teams can end up with three or four import skaters in their training camp, knowing full well that two of them will have to go.
Seriously, almost anything is better than the system now in place.
However, nothing will change. Why not?
Because, as one general manager told Taking Note, “The OHL and QMJHL would never agree. They like their dominance in that draft.”
——

IMPORT DRAFT NOTES:

The Portland Winterhawks selected one player, taking Swedish F Samuel Fagemo, 17, with the 28th pick. One WHL general manager told Taking Note that Fagemo is “a stud,” but that he doesn’t expect Portland to bring him over until 2018-19. That’s because Portland’s roster already includes two solid imports in Finnish D Henri Jokiharju and Danish F Joachim Blichfeld. . . . Jokiharju was selected by the Chicago Blackhawks in the first round of the NHL draft on Friday. . . . Blichfeld was taken by the San Jose Sharks in the seventh round of the 2016 draft. . . . Each WHL team is allowed to keep two import players. Were Portland to have Fagemo and Blichfeld in camp and then have Jokiharju come back, they would have two weeks from his return to trade one of the veterans or release Fagemo. “And,” said the GM, “they aren’t going to trade Blichfeld.” . . .
The Vancouver Giants selected Slovakian F Milos Roman with the fifth pick and are hoping that he slots into their top six forwards. They took German F Yannik Valenti in the second round, 56th overall, but Steve Ewen of Postmedia reports they don’t plan on having him here until 2018-19. “Their thinking,” Ewen writes, “is that they’ll need a boost offensively then, with (Brad) Morrison and (Ty) Ronning graduated and (Tyler) Benson likely playing in the Edmonton Oilers’ system as a 20-year-old. Valenti put up 20 goals and 23 assists in 40 games last season with Jungadler Mannheim, a team in the German Junior League.” . . . Ewen’s story is right here. . . .
A year ago, the Giants had the fourth overall pick and took Czech F Filip Zadina. As Ewen points out, Zadina chose not to report and the Giants dropped him. On Wednesday he was selected by the QMJHL’s Halifax Mooseheads with the 10th pick and quickly tweeted that he is “really excited to be part of great organization.” . . . 
Meanwhile, the OHL’s Flint Firebirds and the QMJHL’s Charlottetown Islanders both selected Nikita Alexandrov in the first round of the CHL import draft. . . . Flint took Russian D Nikita Alexandrov and, a few picks later, Charlottetown took F Nikita Alexandrov, who has played the past five seasons in Germany. . . . Flint’s Alexandrov, who apparently is 6-foot-5 and 155 pounds, is 18. The Islanders’ Alexandrov, who is 5-foot-11 and 165 pounds, will turn 17 on Sept. 16.  
——
G Michael Herringer, who played out his junior eligibility with the Kelowna Rockets last season, has decided to attend the U of Regina and play for the Cougars. . . . From Comox, B.C., Herringer began his WHL career by playing two games with the Victoria Royals in 2012-13. He played three seasons (2014-17) with the Royals and was their starter each of the past two seasons. In 115 career regular-season appearances, he was 71-29-5, 2.88, .904.
——
If you’re a regular here, and even if you aren’t, feel free to make a donation to the cause. You are able to do so by clicking on the DONATE button and going from there.
BTW, if you want to contact me with some information or just feel like commenting on something, you may email me at greggdrinnan@gmail.com.
I’m also on Twitter (@gdrinnan).
———
Coaching

 The KHL is only a few days from the opening of training camps for the 2017-18 season. Patrick Conway of Conway’s Russian Hockey Blog has been filling us in on the KHL’s coaches, and he’s back right here with a look at the Chernyshyov Division. This is where veteran coach Mike Keenan is hanging his hat this season.
——
Trent Cull is the new head coach of the Utica Comets, the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks. Cull takes over from Travis Green, who now is the Canucks’ head coach. . . . Cull, 43, had been an assistant coach with the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch. In fact, he spent eight of the previous 11 seasons with the Crunch. . . . He also spent three seasons (2010-13) as the head coach of the OHL’s Sudbury Wolves.
———



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.
PhotobucketPhotobucketPhotobucket
Posted by Gregg Drinnan at 11:17 PM
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Tuesday, June 27, 2017

Silvertips lose import to HPK ... Ferguson cancels fishing trip ... Royals sign assistant coach


F Josh Nicholls (Saskatoon, 2008-13) has signed a one-year contract with Litvínov (Czech Republic, Extraliga). Last season, with the Colorado Eagles (ECHL), he had 11 goals and 21 assists in 30 games. He also had a goal and three assists in six games with the Straubing Tigers (Germany, DEL). . . .
G Kevin Nastiuk (Medicine Hat, 2001-05) has signed a one-year contract with the Coventry Blaze (England, UK Elite). Last season, with Dresden (Germany, DEL2), he was 16-6-0, 1.99, .938 with one shutout in 25 games. He led the league in GAA and save percentage. . . . Nastiuk will attend Coventry University Business School while playing for the Blaze. . . .
F Petr Vala (Seattle, 1997-98) has signed a one-year contract with Zell am See (Austria, Alps HL). Last season, with Lustenau (Austria, Alps HL), he had 17 goals and 25 assists in 38 games. He led his team in goals and points. . . .
D Vladimír Mihalik (Red Deer, Prince George, 2005-07) has signed a one-year extension with Banská Bystrica (Slovakia, Extraliga). Last season, he had two goals and nine assists in 52 games.
———

 The WHL released its 2017-18 regular-season schedule on Tuesday. Check your favourite team’s website for more info.
As usual, there are some quirks . . . 
For example, the Portland Winterhawks will play four straight games against the Kelowna Rockets in a span of eight days (Oct. 14-21). Those are the only times the teams, who are projected as two of the
Western Conference’s top clubs, will play each other during the regular season. . . . They’ll play in Portland on Oct. 14 and 15, before heading for Kelowna and games on Oct. 20 and 21. In between, the Rockets will stop in Kennewick, Wash., for a single with the Tri-City Americans on Oct. 17.
Later, the Winterhawks and Kamloops Blazers will play three of their four games on consecutive nights (Jan. 26-28). They will play in Kamloops on Friday and Saturday nights, then head for Portland and a Sunday game.
That nifty bit of scheduling brought this response from a Portland follower:
“I give up — it is so evident that common sense left the scheduling process years ago. . . . As far as the three-game set against the Blazers . . . does the league know this is hockey and not baseball where three-game series are common? . . . It’s obvious that the league doesn’t care two cents about their customer base . . . and more importantly doesn’t care two cents about the quality of play that those customers are going to be watching.”
—
The Regina Pats, the host team for the 2018 Memorial Cup, are looking at two eight-game road swings, one from Nov. 18 through Dec. 6 when the Canadian Western Agribition takes over the Brandt Centre in late November, and the other from Feb. 19 through March 8 when the Canadian men’s curling championship is in the house. The Pats will play three games in three days on two occasions, which is nine fewer than the Everett Silvertips.
The Silvertips’ schedule calls for them to play three games in three nights on 11 occasions. That includes three in January, three in February and one in March.
One fan from the Pacific Northwest tells me that Everett will play three games in three nights in three different cities on three occasions, while the Seattle Thunderbirds, the reigning champions, do that four times.
“That produces bad hockey,” the fan wrote. “It’s not good for the players or the fans.”
Keep in mind that three games in three nights actually means three games in fewer than 48 hours.
—
The Saskatoon Blades will open the season with four straight home games — in 15 days. Les Lazaruk, the veteran radio voice of the Blades, tweeted that the only other time Saskatoon played its first four games at home was 1972. The Blades will open on Sept. 22 against the Swift Current Broncos, but then won’t play again until Sept. 29 when they entertain the Medicine Hat Tigers.
——


F Eetu Tuulola won’t be back for a second season with the Everett Silvertips. Instead, he will be playing for HPK in his native Finland.
Last season, as an 18-year-old freshman, Tuulola had 18 goals and 13 assists in 62 games while on loan
EETU TUULOLA
to the Silvertips from HPK with whom he had signed a three-year contract.
The Calgary Flames selected Tuulola in the sixth round of the NHL’s 2016 draft. The Flames have yet to sign Tuulola, but because they drafted him out of Europe — and not off a CHL team’s roster — they hold his rights for four seasons.
With two seasons left on that HPK contract, Tuulola will return to Finland and play there. For him to remain in Everett, the Flames would have had to buy out the deal with HPK and then sign him. With Calgary choosing not to do that, HPK has brought him home.
This means that the Silvertips will select two players in today’s CHL import draft. F Dominic Zwerger, their other import last season, has played out his junior eligibility.
The draft is scheduled to begin at 8 a.m. PT, with the OHL’s Barrie Colts making the first selection. They are expected to take Russian F Andrei Svechnikov, who is seen by observers as a possible No. 1 selection in the NHL’s 2018 draft.
From Barnaul, Russia, the 6-foot-2, 185-pound Svechnikov had 29 goals and 29 assists in 48 games with the USHL’s Muskegon Lumberjacks last season.
The Kootenay Ice, the first WHL team on the board, hold the third selection.
——
Here are a few more WHL players who are in NHL development camps as undrafted free agents:
D Jonathan Smart, 18, of the Regina Pats has been invited to the Toronto Maple Leafs’ camp, as has F Ethan McIndoe of the Spokane Chiefs. McIndoe will turn 18 on July 22.
D Aaron Irving, who completed his junior eligibility with the Everett Silvertips last season, is with the Vancouver Canucks. He was selected by the Nashville Predators in the sixth round of the 2014 NHL draft but went unsigned.
F Giorgio Estephan of the Lethbridge Hurricanes will skate with the Minnesota Wild. Estephan, 20, was selected by the Buffalo Sabres in the sixth round of the NHL’s 2015 draft. The Sabres didn’t sign him, then he went undrafted last weekend.
D Nolan Kneen, 18, of the Kamloops Blazers was invited to camp by the Florida Panthers.
——
So much for the fishing trip! Instead of going fishing with his family, G Dylan Ferguson of the Kamloops Blazers found himself in Las Vegas on Tuesday. That’s because the NHL’s expansion Las Vegas franchise picked him up from the Dallas Stars in a trade on Monday and now he’s at the Golden Knights’ development camp. . . . There’s more right here.
——
The Vancouver Giants have signed G Todd Scott to a WHL contract. Scott, 17, was a 10th-round selection in the WHL’s 2015 bantam draft. From Albertville, Minn., he played last season with the NAHL’s Coulee Region Chill and the USHL’s Sioux City Musketeers. He was 3.56, .904 in 15 appearances with the Chill, and 2.51, .903 in seven games with the Musketeers. He also was 2.00, .912 in three games with the U-16 Omaha AAA Lancers. . . . The Giants finished last season with two goaltenders on their roster — Ryan Kubic, now 19, and David Tendeck, who won’t turn 18 until Nov. 25. Also on their depth chart: Trent Miner, 16, of Souris, Man., who was a first-round selection in the 2016 bantam draft; and Jacob Wassermann, 17, of Humboldt, Sask., who was taken in the eighth round of the 2015 bantam draft.
——
Trevor Redden is the new play-by-play man for the Prince Albert Raiders. . . . Redden had been the business manager and radio voice of the AJHL’s Lloydminster Bobcats. . . . Drew Wilson, the team’s radio voice on CKBI, moved to Saskatoon following last season and now is part of the sports department of the Saskatoon Media Group, which is headed up by Les Lazaruk, who does the Saskatoon Blades’ games.
——
There was a time when F Kyle Beach may have been the most-despised player in the WHL. Beach played for the Everett Silvertips, Lethbridge Hurricanes and Spokane Chiefs. He could score and scrap and stick and all of that stuff. Oh, he was disliked. The complete package was enough for the Chicago Blackhawks to select him 11th overall in the 2008 NHL draft. Now playing in Austria, Beach has yet to get into even one NHL game. With last weekend’s draft in Chicago, David Haugh spoke with Beach filed this piece right here to the Chicago Tribune.
——

A tip of the cap to Bobby Pillote of Awful Announcing for this piece on the silliness of ranking drafts immediately after they are held. . . . He writes: “Draft grades are also almost entirely meaningless; a single set of draft grades is about as likely to predict the future as Stephen A. Smith is likely to correctly pick the winner of the NBA Finals.” . . . He also provides a number of NBA- and NFL-related examples. No, he doesn’t mention the NHL, but the tweet above is self-explanatory.
——
If you’re a regular here, and even if you aren’t, feel free to make a donation to the cause. You are able to do so by clicking on the DONATE button and going from there.
BTW, if you want to contact me with some information or just feel like commenting on something, you may email me at greggdrinnan@gmail.com.
I’m also on Twitter (@gdrinnan).
———
Coaching Game


 The Victoria Royals have signed J.F. Best, 33, as an assistant coach. Last season, the Ottawa native was an assistant coach with the CCHL’s Kanata Lasers and their U-18 AAA affiliate. . . . On the Royals’ staff, he will fill the vacancy created when Dan Price moved up to head coach after Dave Lowry signed on as an assistant coach with the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings. . . . Best has worked in performance analysis with the Danish Ice Hockey Federation since 2015, including at the 2017 World Junior Championship in Montreal and Toronto, and at the 2017 Worlds in Cologne and Paris. . . . He spent one season (2015-16) as director of performance analysis with the OHL’s Ottawa 67’s. In 2013-14, he was on staff with the Tri-City Americans as performance analyst and hockey operations assistant.
Meanwhile, the Vancouver Canucks revealed Tuesday that Ben Cooper, their video assistant coach, no longer is with the team. Cooper is a former Royals assistant coach.
——
Rod Aldoff has left the Pensacola Ice Flyers after a second stint as the SPHL team’s head coach. Aldoff, who is from Lethbridge, began last season as the head coach of the AHL’s Norfolk Admirals, but was fired on Nov. 29 after a 2-11-4 start. He was hired to coach the Ice Flyers on Feb. 14 -- there were 20 games left in the regular season -- after Kevin Hasselberg was fired. The Ice Flyers went on to lose out in the second round of the playoffs. . . . Through all of this, Aldoff has been under contract to the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers. . . . Earlier in his coaching career, Aldoff guided the Ice Flyers to a pair of SPHL titles.
———


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.
PhotobucketPhotobucketPhotobucket
Posted by Gregg Drinnan at 9:14 PM
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Friday, May 26, 2017

The WHL and its Memorial Cup nightmare: What to do?


What’s going on here?
In the nine Memorial Cup tournaments from 2000 through 2008, WHL teams were 22-19 against teams from the OHL and QMJHL. As well, five different WHL teams won the tournament.
The Vancouver Giants, as the host team, won the title in 2007. The WHL-champion Spokane Chiefs won it in 2008. The WHL was skating in high clover.
Since then, well, if you’re a WHL fan the numbers are ugly.
Since then, there have been nine Memorial Cup tournaments and only one has been won by a WHL team — the 2014 Edmonton Oil Kings. Don’t forget, too, that three of the tournaments in that stretch were played in WHL cities. That means that only one of 12 WHL teams to have played in the tournament over that time has brought home the loot.
If you take a look at those 12 teams, only four won more games than they lost in the round-robin portion of the tournament — the 2016 Red Deer Rebels, who were the host team, the 2013 Portland Winterhawks, 2010 Calgary Hitmen and 2009 Kelowna Rockets.
In the past two tournaments, the WHL champions — the Brandon Wheat Kings in 2016 and Seattle Thunderbirds this time around — went a combined 0-6 and were outscored 34-8 — yes, 34-8! — in six round-robin games. The Thunderbirds went 0-3 and were outscored 18-3 in the tournament that is ongoing in Windsor, Ont.
So . . . what’s going on?
The easy thing is to say, well, junior hockey is cyclical and this is all part of the cycle.
But that is supposed to be a three- or four-year cycle. Could this be deeper than that?
As one long-time observer suggested to me on Sunday, after the host Windsor Spitfires had whipped the Thunderbirds, 7-1: “Too many teams, not enough players.”
The WHL has 22 teams. There are 20 in the OHL and 18 in the QMJHL. In the past nine years, the OHL has won four Memorial Cup titles, the QMJHL three, with the 2017 event yet to be decided, but likely headed for an OHL team.
The WHL faces stiff competition from junior A teams in recruiting talent. This season, there were 56 junior A teams operating in Western Canada — 11 in the MJHL, 12 in the SJHL, 16 in the AJHL and 17 in the BCHL.
Of course, a player in junior A maintains his NCAA eligibility, while a player who signs a WHL contract loses his. With 22 teams, the WHL has to find a way to attract more of the better players. It needs to raise the talent level on the bottom half its rosters, which is where the OHL teams have an edge.
Then there is the issue of travel.
The WHL’s regular-season schedule — each team plays 72 games — with all of the travel that comes with it, works against it as it limits practice time, something that is invaluable in what is a development league. It’s worth noting that the OHL and QMJHL regular seasons are 68 games in length.
During Tuesday’s game, Sportsnet put up a graphic showing the playoff travel of each of the four
Memorial Cup teams. The Spitfires, who played only one round, were at 1,146 km. The OHL-champion Erie Otters finished at 5,376, with the QMJHL-champion Saint John Sea Dogs at 10,320. The Thunderbirds travelled 13,724 km. Keep in mind, too, that of all the CHL playoff series this spring, the one between Seattle and the Everett Silvertips featured the two teams in the closest proximity to each other. Yes, the Thunderbirds did some serious travelling in the other three series.
But . . . the Thunderbirds won the WHL title in Regina on a Sunday night, flew to Abbotsford, B.C., the next day and rode the bus home. Two days later, they flew to Windsor. Could they not have cut down on some of the travel by staying in Regina and flying from there to Windsor?
I wondered the same thing a year ago when the Wheat Kings won the championship in Seattle, bussed to Abbotsford, flew home for a couple of days and then drove to Red Deer, only to go 0-3 and be outscored 16-5.
The WHL needs to work harder to get its players more rest and more practice time. When the teams returned from their Christmas break this season, each of the 22 teams, with minimal if any practice time, promptly played three games in four nights. The WHL needs a schedule with a minimum of three games in three nights and no more four in fives. Oh, and one other thing — if a team plays on a Saturday night it shouldn’t have to play a Sunday game that starts before 6 p.m.
Of course, none of this would guarantee a WHL victory in the Memorial Cup, but surely it would make life at least a bit easier for its players, which can only be good for the product.
Meanwhile, a former WHL coach told Taking Note that there is one other thing involved in all of this. It seems that not all teams are able to come down from the high of winning a WHL championship and then scale the heights again a few days later at the Memorial Cup.
“It's really hard to reset your team mentally after you win your league title because of the grind it takes to win,” he said. “Then you have to get ready mentally for a one-win tourney format . . . not all young players can do it.”
Just more food for thought . . .

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.
PhotobucketPhotobucketPhotobucket
Posted by Gregg Drinnan at 12:02 PM
Labels: , , , , , , ,

Wednesday, May 24, 2017

Spitfires have spot in Memorial Cup final ... Hitmen move two veteran scouts ... Rockets' top pick commits to UND


F Michal Hlinka (Moose Jaw, Prince Albert, 2010-12) has signed a one-year extension with Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia, KHL). This season, he had seven goals and four assists in 43 games. Hlinka also spent time with Dukla Trenčín (Slovakia, Extraliga) this season, scoring three goals and adding an assist in 13 games.
———
The host Windsor Spitfires claimed the first berth in the Memorial Cup final with a 4-2 victory over the OHL-champion Erie Otters on Wednesday night. The Otters (2-1) will play in Friday’s semifinal, where they will meet the QMJHL-champion Saint John Sea Dogs (1-2). The winner of that game will meet the Spitfires (3-0) in Sunday’s final. . . . The WHL-champion Seattle Thunderbirds went 0-3 and were eliminated on Tuesday when they lost 7-0 to Saint John. . . . 
OHLLast night, F Jeremiah Addison, who finished with three goals, got Windsor started with a pair of first-period goals, at 5:50 and 15:28. F Gabriel Vilardi earned the primary assist on both goals en route to a four-assist game. . . . F Mikhail Sergachev upped it to 3-0 with his first goal, on a PP, just 43 seconds into the second period. . . . F Kyle Maksimovich got Erie on the scoreboard when he scored off a rebound at 8:10 of the third period. . . . Addison completed his hat trick at 13:31. . . . F Taylor Raddysh’s third goal of the tournament got Erie to within two goals at 17:34, on a PP. . . . 
The Spitfires got a big game from G Michael DiPietro, with 33 saves. At the other end, Troy Timpano turned aside 15 shots. . . . Erie was 1-3 on the PP; Windsor was 1-4. . . . Erie F Alex DeBrincat, who scored 65 goals in the regular season, was helped from the ice late in the second period after taking a hit from Addison. However, DeBrincat was back for the third period. . . . Announced attendance: 6,136.
Terry Koshan of the Toronto Sun has a game story right here.
——
The Calgary Hitmen moved Mike Moore from general manager and vice-president of business operations to vice-president and alternate governor last week. The announcement was made by Ken King, the president and CEO of Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corporation. . . . Taking Note was told Wednesday night that the Hitmen also jettisoned Dan Bonar and Roy Stasiuk, although those moves weren’t included in the announcement. . . . Bonar, 60, had been with the Hitmen since 2003, starting as a scout. He was named head scout on July 11, 2011, and took over as director of player personnel prior to the 2013-14 season. Bonar, from Deloraine, Man., played three seasons (1974-77) with the Brandon Wheat Kings before going on to a pro career that included 169 NHL games with the Los Angeles Kings. . . . Stasiuk, from Edmonton, was named Calgary’s Prairie scouting director on July 31, 2015. Before joining Calgary, he spent six seasons scouting for the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs. Prior to that, Stasiuk, 54, spent 20 seasons in the WHL, working with the Prince Albert Raiders, Red Deer Rebels, Edmonton Oil Kings, Kootenay Ice and Lethbridge Hurricanes.
——
F Ethan Bowen, whose WHL rights belong to the Kelowna Rockets, has committed to North Dakota, for 2020-21, while saying he will play for the BCHL’s Chilliwack Chiefs in 2018-19. Bowen, who turned 15 on May 14, is from Chilliwack. He played this season at the Yale Hockey Academy in Abbotsford, B.C., putting up 33 goals and 29 assists in 29 games with the bantam prep team. . . . Had there not been doubts about which route he would take, Bowen would have been an early first-round selection in the WHL’s 2017 bantam draft. The Rockets took him with their first pick, which happened to be in the second round. 
——
The NHL’s Arizona Coyotes have signed Craig Cunningham, 26, to a two-year contract as a pro scout. He also will work in player development. Cunningham, from Trail, B.C., played in the WHL with the Vancouver Giants and Portland Winterhawks (2006-11). He was the captain of the Tucson Roadrunners, the Coyotes’ AHL affiliate, when his playing career ended this season when he suffered a cardiac emergency prior to a game on Nov. 19. Doctors later had to amputate part of his left leg.
——
If you enjoy stopping off here and would care to make a donation to the cause, please feel free to do so by clicking on the DONATE button and going from there.
If you have some information you would like to share or just a general comment, feel free to email me at greggdrinnan@gmail.com.
If interested, you also are able to follow me on Twitter at @gdrinnan.
———
Coaching

 Darryl Sydor is back in the NHL. The St. Louis Blues announced Wednesday that Sydor has been signed to a three-year contract as an assistant coach. Sydor, 45, will work alongside Blues head coach Mike Yeo. . . . Sydor, a co-owner of the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers, was an assistant coach with the Minnesota Wild for five seasons during Yeo’s time there as head coach. . . . This season, Sydor was an assistant coach with the AHL’s Chicago Wolves. . . . Sydor, from Edmonton, played four seasons (1988-92) in Kamloops.
——
Arnie Caplan is the new general manager and head coach of the MJHL’s Waywayseecappo Wolverines. Caplan, 49, most recently was the head coach of the Portage College Voyageurs of the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference. As a goaltender, he made brief stops in the MJHL and the WHL, before spending four years with the Acadia Axemen. . . . With the Wolverines, Caplan replaces Barry Butler, who had been the GM/head coach for all but two seasons since 1999-2000, when the franchise joined the MJHL.
——
Kirk MacDonald has been named director of hockey operations and head coach of the ECHL’s Reading Royals, who have a working agreement with the NHL’s Philadelphia Flyers. MacDonald signed a three-year contract. MacDonald took over as interim head coach on April 3, replacing Larry Courville, who was fired with a week left in the regular season. He had revealed in February that he wouldn’t be returning for another season. MacDonald, who is from Victoria, had been an assistant coach since July 2014. 
———



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.
PhotobucketPhotobucketPhotobucket
Posted by Gregg Drinnan at 10:14 PM
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Monday, May 8, 2017

Final resumes tonight in Kent . . . Pats forward gets NHL deal . . . Rockets re-sign two coaches


D Tamás Láday (Spokane, Medicine Hat, 2014-16) has signed a two-year extension with Fehérvári Titánok Székesfehérvár (Hungary, MOL Liga). This season, he had six goals and 17 assists in 38 games. He also was pointless in nine games with Székesfehérvár (Hungary, Erste Bank Liga). . . . Fehérvári Titánok was known as Székesfehérvár II and is the ‘second’ or farm club to Székesfehérvár. . . .
F Mikhail Fisenko (Vancouver, Calgary, 2008-11) has been traded by Admiral Vladivostok to Avangard Omsk (both Russia, KHL). Fisenko had signed a one-year extension with Admiral on Sunday, and now has signed a two-year contract with Avangard.
———

The WHL’s championship final for the Ed Chynoweth Cup resumes tonight (Tuesday) in Kent, Wash., with the Regina Pats visiting the Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . The teams split the first two games in Regina, the Thunderbirds winning 2-1 in OT on Friday and the Pats bouncing back to take Game 2, 4-3, also in OT on Saturday. . . . The Thunderbirds announced Monday afternoon that Game 3 is sold out. Jon Ryan the veteran punter with the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks, is scheduled to take part in the ceremonial faceoff. Ryan is from Regina. . . . They’ll stay in Kent for Game 4 on Wednesday night and Game 5 on Friday. . . . Regina F Sam Steel, who won the regular-season scoring title, goes into Game 3 with 27 points, one off F Reid Gardiner of the Kelowna Rockets, who holds the lead. . . . Regina F Austin Wagner has 14 goals, with Gardiner leading the playoffs with 15. . . . Steel holds the lead in assists, with 18, three more than Seattle F Mathew Barzal and Regina D Connor Hobbs. . . . Barzal has played in 12 playoff games this spring and has at least a point in each of them. . . . A note from columnist Rob Vanstone of the Regina Leader-Post: “The superlative work of Cal Filson is one reason why the Seattle Thunderbirds are in their second consecutive league final. The Regina-based Filson spent eight years scouting for the Thunderbirds before being named their director of player personnel in 2015.” . . . 
Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post reported Monday from Kent, Wash., that Pats F Dawson Leedahl, who is in his final season of junior, has signed a three-year entry-level contract with the NHL’s New York Rangers. The NHL later confirmed the signing. . . . Leedahl, from Saskatoon, signed as an undrafted free agent. . . . The Pats acquired Leedahl from the Everett Silvertips last summer. He had played four seasons in Everett. This season, with the Pats, he put up 89 points, including 35 goals, in 71 games. In 19 playoff games, he has 11 goals and 12 assists.
——
Travis Crickard and Kris Mallette, assistant coaches with the Kelowna Rockets, have signed two-year contract extensions. They just completed their third seasons with the Rockets. They spent their first season under head coach Dan Lambert, their second season with Brad Ralph and this season with Jason Smith. . . . With Crickard and Mallette on staff, the Rockets hold a regular-season record of 146-55-15. In 54 playoff games, the Rockets are 34-20. . . . Smith, who just finished his first season as a WHL head coach, also is signed through two more seasons.
——
The Prince Albert Raiders expect to sign D Kaiden Guhle, the first overall selection in the WHL’s 2017 bantam draft, on Saturday during an open house at the Art Hauser Centre. The open house is part of a move by the Raiders to have 2,000 season-ticket holders in place when the 2017-18 season arrives. . . . The Raiders average announced attendance this season was 2,133. . . . From a news release: “Players such as Cole Fonstad, Carson Miller, Brayden Pachal and Rhett Rhinehart will be in attendance. Also, members of the 2017 WHL bantam draft class — including first-overall selection Kaiden Guhle — will be signing their WHL (contracts) in person at 1:30 p.m.” . . . The open house is to run from noon through 4 p.m.
——
In the OHL, the host Mississauga Steelheads beat the Erie Otters, 4-3, on Monday night. The Otters hold a 2-1 lead in the series that resumes with Game 4 in Mississauga on Wednesday. . . . Last night, Mississauga led 2-0 early in the second period, only to have Erie score the next three goals to take a 3-2 lead into the third period. . . . The Steelheads tied it 3-3 at 9:03 of the third, on a goal from F Nathan Bastian (7). F Michael McLeod (10) scored on a PP, at 14:52, to break the tie. . . . Announced attendance at Game 3 was 3,514.
——
If you enjoy stopping off here and would care to make a donation to the cause, please feel free to do so by clicking on the DONATE button and going from there.
If you have some information you would like to share or just a general comment, feel free to email me at greggdrinnan@gmail.com.
If interested, you also are able to follow me on Twitter at @gdrinnan.
———


———

MONDAY’S GAME:

No Game Scheduled.
——

TUESDAY’S GAME (all times local):

Regina vs. Seattle, at Kent, Wash., 7:05 p.m. (Series tied, 1-1)

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.
PhotobucketPhotobucketPhotobucket
Posted by Gregg Drinnan at 10:12 PM
Labels: , , , , , , , ,

Sunday, April 30, 2017

Regina, Seattle in WHL final ... Pats last won in 1980 . . . T-Birds chasing first championship


F Brett Breitkreuz (Kelowna, Edmonton, Vancouver, 2006-10) has signed a one-year extension with Löwen Frankfurt (Germany, DEL2). This season, in 50 games, he had 17 goals and 16 assists. . . . 
F Richard Mueller (Brandon, Saskatoon, Calgary, 1998-2003) has signed a two-year contract with Riessersee Garmisch-Partenkirchen (Germany, DEL2). This season, he had 28 goals and 17 assists in 45 games with Löwen Frankfurt (Germany, DEL2).
———

The WHL’s championship final will feature the Regina Pats, who won the Eastern Conference title, versus the Seattle Thunderbirds, the champions of the Western Conference for a second straight season. . . . The Pats have two WHL championships to their credit — 1974, when they also won the Memorial Cup, and 1980. Regina last was in the WHL final in 1984. . . . The Thunderbirds have twice been to the final — 1997 and 2016 — but have yet to win it all. . . . The WHL final will feature a 2-3-2 format, opening with games in Regina on Friday and Saturday. . . . Portland freelancer Scott Sepich points out that seven of the last eight Western Conference champions have come from the U.S. Division, but only one of those — the 2012-13 Portland Winterhawks — won the Ed Chynoweth Cup. . . . This marks the first time either Regina or Seattle has been to back-to-back championship finals. . . . The Thunderbirds may open the final without F Keegan Kolesar, who was ejected from last night’s game in Kelowna with a checking-from-behind major at 16:08 of the first period. He plays on what arguably is the WHL’s top forward line, alongside F Ryan Gropp and F Mathew Barzal. . . . The championship final will be televised by Shaw. The WHL on Shaw will end a 13-season run with the final game of the series.
——
A Sunday night note from Hartley Miller of 94.3 The Goat in Prince George updates the home-ice numbers to this date in the WHL and NHL playoffs.
In the first round of the WHL playoffs, home teams were 22-22. That was 13-10 in the second round, then 6-6 in the third round, with the visiting team wrapping up both conference finals on Sunday.
After three rounds, then, the home team is 41-38.
In the NHL, the home team was 19-23 in the first round, and is 4-6 in the second round. Through 52 NHL games, then, the home team is 23-29.
As Miller put it: “Just more examples of home ice not being as large an advantage in hockey as many might believe.”
——
The Erie Otters won the OHL’s Western Conference title on Sunday, beating the host Owen Sound Attack, 7-2, to take the series, 4-2. The Otters, under head coach Kris Knoblauch, a former WHL player and coach, will meet the Mississauga Steelheads in the championship final. That series is to open on Thursday in Erie. . . . 

In the QMJHL, the Saint John Sea Dogs and Blainville-Boisbriand Armada will meet in the championship final. That series is scheduled to open Friday in Saint John.
——
If you enjoy stopping off here and would care to make a donation to the cause, please feel free to do so by clicking on the DONATE button and going from there.
If you have some information you would like to share or just a general comment, feel free to email me at greggdrinnan@gmail.com.
If interested, you also are able to follow me on Twitter at @gdrinnan.
———
Coaching

 John Depourcq will be back for a sixth season as head coach of the junior B Summerland Steam of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League. The team made the announcement on Sunday. . . . Mike Rigby, the director of player development and assistant GM for five seasons, has been named general manager. . . . Tim Hogg, the voice of the Steam, has more right here.
———


———

SUNDAY’S GAMES:


At Kelowna, the Seattle Thunderbirds won the Western Conference championship with a 3-1 victory over the Rockets. . . . Seattle won the series, 4-2, to advance to the WHL final for a second straight season. A
CARL STANKOWSKI
year ago, the Thunderbirds lost to the Brandon Wheat Kings in five games. . . . Last night, the Rockets got off to a 1-0 lead at 15:57 of the first period when F Nolan Foote (2) scored a PP goal. . . . Seattle D Austin Strand (4) tied it at 4:56 of the second period. . . . Seattle went ahead at 9:30 when F Alexander True (8) scored his third goal in two games. this one came via the PP. . . . The game included a rarity in the second period when the Rockets had a goal disallowed because the puck struck referee Steve Papp on its way into the net. . . . Kelowna F Calvin Thurkauf put the puck in the Seattle net from a scrum, but Papp, in the area as he tried to track the puck, had the misfortune of having an arm get in the way. The veteran official immediately waved off the goal. . . . On the next shift, the Thunderbirds got insurance from F Mathew Barzal (5) at 15:14. . . . F Donovan Neuls had two assists for Seattle, with Barzal adding one. Barzal now is riding a 10-game point streak. . . . Seattle G Carl Stankowski stopped 17 shots as he ran his record to 12-2 in these playoffs. He moved into the starting role as the playoffs began when Rylan Toth, the team’s No. 1 goaltender through the regular season, was taken out by an undisclosed injury. . . . The Rockets got 19 saves from G Michael Herringer. . . . Seattle was 1-5 on the PP; Kelowna was 1-7. . . . The Thunderbirds lost F Keegan Kolesar at 16:08 of the first period when he was ejected with a checking-from-behind major for a hit on Kelowna D Devante Stephens, who didn’t return. The Rockets held a 1-0 lead at the time, but weren’t able to add to the lead on the five-minute PP, something that no doubt provided Seattle with some motivation. . . . The Rockets already were without D James Hilsendager, who was scratched with an undisclosed injury for a second straight game. As well, D Braydyn Chizen, who was injured in the second round, didn’t play a game in the conference final. . . . Seattle D Ethan Bear, with a soft cast on his left hand, took the pregame warmup for a second straight game, but was scratched for a third consecutive game. . . . F Dillon Hamaliuk, a 16-year-old from Red Deer, made his playoff debut with the Thunderbirds. A sixth-round pick in the 2015 WHL bantam draft, the 6-foot-1, 200-pounder had one goal in 17 early-season games with Seattle. He had finished up with the midget AAA Leduc, Alta., Oil Kings before rejoining Seattle. . . . Announced attendance: 5,846. . . . Andy Eide of 710 ESPN Seattle has a game story from the Thunderbirds’ perspective right here. . . . Larry Fisher of the Kelowna Daily Courier has a game story right here.
——

At Lethbridge, the Regina Pats won the Eastern Conference championship with a 7-4 victory over the Hurricanes. . . . Regina won the series, 4-2, and now will meet the Seattle Thunderbirds for the Ed
SERGEY ZBOROVSKIY
Chynoweth Cup. . . . Last night, the Pats erased 3-0 and 4-2 deficits, winning the game by scoring its last five goals. . . . The Hurricanes led 3-0 before the first period was nine minutes old. . . . F Egor Babenko (10) got it started at 1:43, with F Jordy Bellerive (7), on a PP, at 6:56, and F Ryan Vandervlis (8), also on a PP, at 8:02, upping the lead to 3-0. . . . The Pats cut the deficit to one on goals from F Robbie Holmes (2), at 8:25, and D Josh Mahura (4), at 10:46. . . . F Giorgio Estephan (11) scored on a PP, at 1:05 of the second period, to give the host team a 4-2 lead. . . . It was all Regina after that. . . . F Filip Ahl (4), on a PP, got the Pats to within a goal, at 15:47, and F Nick Henry (4) tied it at 17:20. . . . The Pats took the lead for the first time when F Jeff de Wit (4) scored at 8:41 of the third period. . . . F Austin Wagner (14) added insurance at 9:41, and F Wyatt Sloboshan (4) got the empty-netter at 19:19. . . . It says something about the Pats’ depth that they scored seven goals and their top two scorers, Adam Brooks and Sam Steel, combined for one assist, that by Brooks. . . . D Sergey Zborovskiy and Sloboshan each had two assists, with Ahl, de Wit and Mahura each adding one. Zborovskiy also was plus-5. . . . The Hurricanes got two assists from each of F Zak Zborosky and D Brennan Menell, with Babenko adding one to his goal. . . . This game feature the rarity of one player being awarded two penalty shots during the same stoppage of play. . . . With Regina leading 6-4 with 69 seconds left in the third period, Hurricanes F Tyler Wong was awarded a penalty shot because Pats D Connor Hobbs was ruled to have knocked the net off its moorings. Wong didn’t score on the attempt, but was given a redo when Regina G Tyler Brown knocked the net off during the penalty shot. On the second attempt, Wong missed the net. . . . Brown finished with 24 saves, 20 fewer than Lethbridge’s Stuart Skinner. . . . The Hurricanes were 3-3 on the PP; the Pats were 1-3. . . . The Hurricanes scratched, among others, F Matt Alfaro, who missed the entire series, and F Ryan Bowen. Lethbridge also was without F Josh Tarzwell, who scored his first playoff goal in Game 5 and left shortly after with and undisclosed injury. . . . Regina continues to play without F Jake Leschyshyn and D Dawson Davidson, both of whom have long-term injuries. . . . Announced attendance: 5,098. . . . Dale Woodard of the Lethbridge Herald has a game story right here. . . . Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post has a game story right here.
——

MONDAY-THURSDAY GAMES (all times local):

No Games Scheduled.
——

FRIDAY’S GAME (all times local):

Seattle at Regina, 7 p.m.

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.
PhotobucketPhotobucketPhotobucket
Posted by Gregg Drinnan at 11:03 PM
Labels: , , , , , , , , , ,

  © Design byThirteen Letter

Back to TOP