King back in coaching game

Dave King, who did a stint years ago as the head coach of the WHL’s Billings Bighorns, is back in the coach game. Szymon Szemberg (@Sz1909_Szemberg) tweeted late Sunday: “Lokomotiv Yaroslavl announced hiring of Dave King as their new head coach. King, 66, had a previous stint in Russia with Metallurg Magnitogorsk.” . . . When this season began, former NHLer Tom Rowe was the Lokomotiv head coach. However, he was fired on Sept. 19 and replaced by assistant coach Pyotr Vorobyov. Presumably, King is taking over from Vorobyov. . . . King has been working with the NHL’s Phoenix Coyotes as a development coach. . . . If you are looking for an interesting read, you can’t go wrong with King of Russia: A Year in the Russian Super League, the book co-authored by King and Eric Duhatschek of The Globe and Mail. The book details King’s stint with Metallurg Magnitogorsk.
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Late last month, Turkish Weekly reported that “relatives of six Russian hockey players killed in a 2011 plane crash are seeking 105 million rubles ($3 million) in compensation for moral and financial difficulties.” . . . That plane was carrying the KHL’s Lokomotiv Yaroslavl when it crashed on takeoff. Of the 45 people on the plane, only one person, a flight engineer, survived. . . . The Turkish Weekly report is right here.
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If you happened to watch Sunday afternoon’s NHL game between the visiting Winnipeg Jets and the Montreal Canadiens, you saw Habs F Brendan Gallagher at his distracting best. And if you watched the final minute, well, Pat Hickey of the Montreal Gazette has more right here.
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It has been four years since the death of Nodar Kumaritashvili, a Georgian luger, on the Olympic track at Whistler, B.C. Sam Borden of The New York Times tells that story and the story of Kumaritashvili’s family and his best friend right here. This is a wonderful read.
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TODAY’S WHL GAMES (all times local):
None scheduled.
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TUESDAY’S WHL GAMES (all times local):
Swift Current at Prince Albert, 7 p.m.
Medicine Hat at Regina, 7 p.m.
Saskatoon at Kootenay, 7 p.m.
Red Deer at Vancouver, 7 p.m.
Everett at Seattle, 7:05 p.m.
Calgary at Victoria, 7:05 p.m.
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From Carter Hart (@C_Hart70): “Blessed to have signed with @WHLsilvertips. Thank you to everyone who has helped me reach this milestone. #grateful #excited”
Hart, a 15-year-old goaltender from Sherwood Park, Alta., was an eighth-round selection by Everett in the WHL’s 2013 bantam draft.


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THE MacBETH REPORT:
Lokomotiv Yaroslavl won its VHL opener on Monday, defeating Neftenik Almentyevsk 5-1, despite being outshot 23-19 before a sell-out crowd of more than 9,000 fans in Yaroslavl — the game sold out in four hours — and a national TV audience. The game story on the Russian sports website www.championat.com started with this (pardon the rough translation): “For a long time, saying the name of the Yaroslavl team, we will remember McCrimmon, Karpovtsev, Tkachenko and Galimov, Demitra and Vasicek, Sobchenko and Urychev . . . the hockey idols of Yaroslavl did not return, but they are in our heart and never left.”
Meanwhile . . .
F Ryan Watson (Lethbridge, 1998-2000) signed a contract for the rest of this season with Val Pusteria (Italy, Serie A). He had 19 goals and 21 assists in 38 games for Ritten/Renon (Italy, Serie A) last season.
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JUST NOTES:
The Red Deer Rebels juggled goaltenders again Monday, releasing Tyler Oswald, 18, and bringing in Deven Dubyk, 20. All this is because starter Patrik Bartosak suffered a shoulder injury last week. The Czech freshman is to have surgery and will be out indefinitely. . . . Oswald was brought in from the MJHL’s Winkler Flyers and started Sunday’s 5-0 loss the visiting Prince Albert Raiders. . . . Dubyk, who was with the SJHL’s Humboldt Broncos, is expected to start tonight in Cranbrook against the Kootenay Ice. Dubyk has WHL experience with the Medicine Hat Tigers and Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . Dubyk’s arrival leaves the Rebels with four 20-year-olds, although two of them — D Aaron Borejko and F Josh Cowen — are injured. The other one is D Justin Weller. Greg Meachem of the Red Deer Advocate reports that Borejko is on the 45-day injured list, retroactive to Nov. 11, meaning he is eligible to return Dec. 26. . . .
F Zach McPhee, 18, of the Everett Silvertips has had his junior A rights traded from the BCHL’s Vernon Vipers to the Victoria Grizzlies. McPhee has four points in 12 games with Everett, but is out with an undisclosed injury and hasn’t played since Oct. 26. . . .
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F Connor Honey left the USHL’s Green Bay Gamblers and now is with the WHL’s Seattle Thunderbirds. Honey, a 17-year-old from Edmonton, actually went to camp with Seattle and then joined the Gamblers. So . . . what went into his decision to return to the Thunderbirds?
Neate Sager of Yahoo! Sports spoke with Honey and does a fine job of describing the anguish some of these young players go through in making a huge decision.
"You have so many things coming at you every day, people trying to persuade you one way or the other, you know what I mean?" Honey told Sager. "I think maybe I listened to too many people on which way to go and I didn't make the right assessment with myself. That's kind of what I have to say about it. You're a young guy, you take a lot of advice, perhaps you have to put more weight on your own decision.”
Sager’s piece is right here.
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ESPN apparently pays more than $1 billion per season for for NFL games. And for that it gets the St. Louis Rams at the Seattle Seahawks on Monday Night Football?
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THE MacBETH REPORT:
Lokomotiv Yaroslavl is scheduled to resume play in the Vysshaya Liga (VHL) today at home against Neftyanik Almetyevsk. Lokomotiv will play each VHL club once for a 22-game schedule and will then participate in the VHL playoffs, with automatic entry into the second round. Lokomotiv’s seeding will be determined by percentage of points won. . . . All KHL teams were required to submit lists of all players under contract aged 17 to 22 and each team was allowed to protect two players. Lokomotiv was then allowed to negotiate with all unprotected players on the lists. . . . The new Lokomotiv roster lists 24 players. The oldest player is 22, the youngest 17, and 12 of the 24 are 19 or younger. . . . Lokomotiv will return to the KHL, with a guaranteed place in the KHL playoffs, next season.
Meanwhile . . .
F Ladislav Scurko (Seattle, Tri-City, 2004-07) signed a contract for the rest of the season with his hometown team, Slovan Gelnica (Slovakia, 2.Liga). Scurko was released from jail in November after serving 2 1/2 years in prison for the murder of a Slovakian hockey referee. In his last season prior to his conviction, 2008-09, Scurko had seven goals and five assists in 52 games with Kosice (Slovakia, Extraliga) and nine goals and 10 assists in 11 games with Trebisov (Slovakia, 1.Liga). . . .
F Kyle Wanvig (Edmonton/Kootenay, Red Deer, 1997-2001) was released by mutual agreement by Villach (Austria, Erste Bank Liga). Villach's press release states that he has retired and is returning to Canada to become a firefighter. Wanvig was limited by injuries to just 16 games this season, getting one goal and two assists for Villach.
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F Brett Connolly of the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning, via the Prince George Cougars, is on the limp at the Canadian national junior team’s selection camp in Calgary. It appears that he first injured a calf in a Sunday morning practice, and may have irritated in the nightly scrimmage. He is to be re-examined today.
Late Sunday, Connolly sent this tweet: “Everything is okay. Just a little banged up. Not serious at all.”
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SUNDAY’S GAMES:
In Calgary, F Brady Brassart broke a 3-3 tie on the PP with 1:50 left in the third period as the Hitmen beat the Brandon Wheat Kings, 4-3. . . . F Trevor Cheek scored twice for Calgary, giving him 11. . . . F Alessio Bertaggia had two goals — he has 16 — and an assist for Brandon. . . . Calgary had a 41-25 edge in shots. . . . The Hitmen have assigned D Keaton Lubin, 17, to a team still to be named. He had one assist in 11 games but hasn’t played in 10 due to an undisclosed injury. . . .

In Regina, F Jordan Weal scored three times to lead the Pats to an 8-4 victory over the Kamloops Blazers. . . . Weal also had an assist. . . . The Blazers, now 1-1-0 on their East Division swing, had won eight in a row. . . . Regina G Adam Beukeboom stopped 32 shots to earn his first WHL victory. . . . For more on this game, check out the blog over on the right where Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post hangs his hat. . . .

In Red Deer, G Cole Holowenko stopped 39 shots to help the Prince Albert Raiders dumped the Rebels, 5-0. . . . That was Holowenko’s second victory season and the first shuout of his career. . . . Red Deer now has lost a franchise-record 13 in a row. . . . F Mike Winther and F Justin Maylan each scored twice. Each has 17 goals this season. . . . Red Deer scored three PP goals. . . . The Rebels were without seven regulars. Five of those are injured, including G Patrik Bartosak, while D Alex Petrovic and D Mathew Dumba are in Calgary at the Canadian national junior team’s selection camp. . . . The Rebels had D Haydn Fleury, 15, from the midget AAA Notre Dame Argos in the lineup. . . .

In Kennewick, Wash., G Ty Rimmer stopped 29 shots as the Tri-City Americans dumped the Portland Winterhawks, 3-0. . . . Rimmer has three shutouts this season. . . . Tri-City F Connor Rankin scored twice. . . . Tri-City F Justin Feser scored the game’s first goal, his 15th this season and the 200th point of his career. . . . The Americans are 5-0-0 against Portland this season, with Rimmer having won four of those, two by shutout. . . . Rimmer has three shutouts this season and seven in his career. . . . Tri-City has won six in a row and is the first WHL team to 50 points this season. It leads the U.S. Division five seven points over Portland and is atop the Western Conference, five points up on the Kamloops Blazers. . . . Portland has lost three in a row. . . .
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SUNDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
F Oliver Gabriel, Portland.
F Chase Clayton, Calgary.
D Colton Jobke, Regina.
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For today’s good read, we go to Larry Brooks of the New York Post. You know, Brooks . . . he is John Tortorella’s favourite sparring partner. Anyway, Brooks has a column in Sunday’s paper that is headlined: Time for NHL to give up the fighting. . . . It is right here and it is more food for thought.
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And now here’s a treat that doesn’t have much of a hockey angle, other than a mention of Brian McFarlane. But if you read The Hardy Boys back in the day, this right here is for you.
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