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F Jakub Rumpel (Medicine Hat, 2006-07) has signed a one-year extension with Preussen Berlin (Germany, Oberliga). This season, he had eight goals and 15 assists in 12 games. He started the season on a tryout with Schönheide (Germany, Oberliga). He had a goal and two assists in four games, then was released on Nov. 23. He signed with Preussen on Jan. 20. . . .
F Jan Eberle (Seattle, 2006-08) has signed a one-year extension with Olomouc (Czech Republic, Extraliga). He had seven goals and 10 assists in 51 games this season.
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#WHL @WHLPats (353) and @tigershockey (350) are League's first teams to have 350+ goals in a season since Brandon (369) in 1995-1996.— Geoffrey Brandow (@GeoffreyBrandow) March 21, 2017
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Here’s a look at the 22 WHL head coaches who have more than 300 regular-season victories to their credit (following 2016-17):
1. Ken Hodge (Edmonton, Portland), 742
2. Don Hay (Kamloops, Tri-City, Vancouver) 720
3. Don Nachbaur (Seattle, Tri-City, Spokane) 692
4. Lorne Molleken (Moose Jaw, Saskatoon, Regina) 626
5. Ernie McLean (Estevan, New Westminster) 548
6. Mike Williamson (Portland, Calgary, Tri-City) 534
7. Pat Ginnell (Flin Flon, Victoria, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, New Westminster) 518
8. Peter Anholt (Prince Albert, Seattle, Red Deer, Kelowna, Lethbridge) 466
Jack Shupe (Medicine Hat, Victoria) 466
10. Dean Clark (Calgary, Brandon, Kamloops, Prince George) 465
11. Kelly McCrimmon (Brandon) 456
12. Bob Lowes (Seattle, Brandon, Regina) 453
13. Brent Sutter (Red Deer) 441
14. Marc Habscheid (Kamloops, Kelowna, Chilliwack, Victoria, Prince Albert) 424
15. Doug Sauter (Calgary, Medicine Hat, Regina, Brandon) 417
16. Marcel Comeau (Calgary, Saskatoon, Tacoma, Kelowna) 411
17. Bryan Maxwell (Medicine Hat, Spokane, Lethbridge) 397
18. Graham James (Moose Jaw, Swift Current, Calgary) 349
19. Bob Loucks (Lethbridge, Tri-City, Medicine Hat) 340
20. Willie Desjardins (Saskatoon, Medicine Hat) 333
21. Kevin Constantine (Everett) 326
22. Shaun Clouston, Medicine Hat 320
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#WHL Kootenay is first in "Internet Era" to suffer from 10 overtime losses in a single season. RD and EVT were at 9, most since SEA in 2004— Geoffrey Brandow (@GeoffreyBrandow) March 21, 2017
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Colin Priestner, the general manager of the Saskatoon Blades, says the team’s coaching staff will be back for another go-round next season.
When Taking Note queried Priestner on that subject, he quickly responded: “For sure. They did an
Dean Brockman was in his first season as head coach, after spending two seasons working with Bob Woods, the previous head coach, who now is an assistant with the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres. Bryce Thoma and Ryan Keller completed their first seasons as Saskatoon’s assistant coaches. Of course, Jerome Engele, the other assistant coach, is a Blades lifer.
The Blades have yet to appear in the postseason during the Priestner era. Mike Priestner, who is based in Edmonton, purchased the team prior to the 2013-14 season. The Blades had been the host team for the 2013 Memorial Cup tournament.
This season, they dealt with a number of long-term injuries, but were in the playoff chase right to the final weekend.
Meanwhile, Steve Ewen of Postmedia points out that “Jason McKee is the longest-serving (head) coach that the Vancouver Giants have had among the past four bench bosses. He’s lasted an entire season.”
The Giants missed the playoffs in McKee’s first season behind their bench, but they went all-in for the future at the trade deadline and also paid the price when F Tyler Benson and D Darian Skeoch, two key performers, had their seasons cut short by injuries.
Vancouver is on the outside looking in for a third straight season, and the fourth time in five springs,
Still, as Ewen writes, “By all accounts, owner Ron Toigo is bringing back McKee, 37, and general manager Glen Hanlon, 60, for a second season. There’s a calm. They need to capitalize on that.”
Ewen’s piece is right here.
McKee has two seasons left on his contract.
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#WHL @EdmOilKings sets new @TheWHL record for most wins in overtime with 11, passing '04-05 BDN, '89-'90 POR (9), 47.8% of wins came in OT.— Geoffrey Brandow (@GeoffreyBrandow) March 21, 2017
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The Spokane Chiefs joined the Vancouver Giants as the other Western Conference team not to make the playoffs. Don Nachbaur, the Chiefs’ head coach and the third-winningest coach in WHL regular-season history, has one season left on his contract.
In the Eastern Conference, the other non-playoff teams are the Edmonton Oil Kings, Kootenay Ice and Prince Albert Raiders.
Steve Hamilton, the Oil Kings’ head coach, signed what was announced as a “multi-year” deal in July 2014, and you would think he isn’t going anywhere. He spent four seasons as an assistant under Derek Laxdal and moved up when Laxdal left for a job with the AHL’s Texas Stars. Hamilton has Oil Kings bloodlines — his father, Al, is a former team captain who also captained the Oilers. The Oil Kings committed to a rebuild when they dealt D Aaron Irving and F Lane Bauer, two key 20-year-olds, at the deadline.
The future of Luke Pierce, who has completed two seasons as head coach of the Kootenay Ice, may hinge on what appears to be the impending sale of the franchise. Pierce signed a three-year contract, so has a year left on his deal. The Ice went young two seasons ago and has paid a steep price, going 26-99-19 during Pierce’s stint in Cranbrook.
In Prince Albert, veteran WHL coach Marc Habscheid has a contract that runs through 2018-19. He took over from the fired Cory Clouston on Nov. 1, 2014.
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#WHL 5 players (Wong, Steenbergen, Steel, Halbgewachs, Phillips) record 50+ goals this season, most in League since 1997-1998 (8).— Geoffrey Brandow (@GeoffreyBrandow) March 21, 2017
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Rick Westhead, a senior reporter with TSN, has filed his latest piece on the proposed class-action lawsuits that more than 400 present and former major junior players have filed. The lawyers were in a Calgary courtroom last month and, while there hasn’t been a decision rendered from there just yet, the scene now has shifted to Toronto.
“The Ontario Hockey League says its teams may have to pare back their drug education, anti-doping, concussion management, and medical and dental programs if the league loses a minimum-wage lawsuit, according to a new court filing,” Westhead writes.
“The OHL made the claims days before it appears in Ontario Superior Court on Tuesday to begin a hearing into whether a lawsuit filed against the league by former players should be certified as a class action.”
According to a rebuttal filed by the plaintiffs: “. . . The vast majority of the benefits which the defendants claim are threatened are not true player benefits. It would be impossible for the league to operate without coaches, away games, billeting, equipment, etc. Accordingly, the likelihood of these ‘benefits’ being cut is virtually nil.”
Westhead’s latest story is right here.
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MONDAY-THURSDAY GAMES:
No Games Scheduled.
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FRIDAY GAMES (all times local):
(Game 1, best-of-seven series)
Swift Current at Moose Jaw, 7 p.m.
Brandon at Medicine Hat, 7:30 p.m.
Calgary at Regina, 7 p.m.
Kamloops at Kelowna, 7:05 p.m.
Victoria at Everett, 7:35 p.m.
Tri-City vs. Seattle, at Kent, Wash., 7:35 p.m.
Portland at Prince George, 7 p.m.
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SATURDAY GAMES (all times local):
(Game 2, best-of-seven series)
Red Deer at Lethbridge, 7 p.m.
Swift Current at Moose Jaw, 7 p.m.
Brandon at Medicine Hat, 7:30 p.m.
Calgary at Regina, 7 p.m.
Kamloops at Kelowna, 7:05 p.m.
Victoria at Everett, 7:05 p.m.
Tri-City vs. Seattle, at Kent, Wash., 7:05 p.m.
Portland at Prince George, 7 p.m.
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In Calgary, the Hitmen won their seventh Central Division banner with a 3-2 victory over the Kootenay Ice. . . . The same teams will open a first-round playoff series in Calgary on Friday night. . . . The Hitmen were 4-2-1 in the season series; the Ice was 3-4-0. . . . Calgary’s victory means the Medicine Hat Tigers finished second in the division. They draw the Red Deer Rebels in the opening round. That series opens Saturday in Medicine Hat. . . . On Sunday, Calgary D Travis Sanheim broke a 2-2 tie with his 15th goal at 15:43 of the third period. . . . F Levi Cable gave the Ice a 1-0 lead with his 28th goal at 3:15 of the second period. . . . Calgary F Kenton Helgesen got No. 21 at 12:41, on a PP. . . . Calgary took the lead on F Jody Stallard’s sixth goal at 1:43 of the third. . . . Ice F Sam Reinhart tied it with his 19th goal at 9:16. . . . Calgary G Brendan Burke stopped 23 shots; two fewer than the Ice’s Wyatt Hoflin. . . . Calgary was 1-for-5 on the PP; Kootenay was 0-for-3. . . . Calgary (45-22-5) has won five in a row. . . . Kootenay (37-31-4) has lost two in a row, both against Calgary. . . . 
In Portland, F Oliver Bjorkstrand scored two goals and added an assist, leading the Winterhawks to a 5-3 victory over the Tri-City Americans. . . . Bjorkstrand led the WHL in goals (63) and points (118). . . . Portland F Chase De Leo broke a 2-2 tie with his 39th goal at 12:06 of the third period. . . . F Nic Petan added his 15th, into an empty net, at 18:54. . . . Tri-City F Max James then scored his fifth, on a PP, at 19:17 to get the Americans to within one. . . . Bjorkstrand wrapped it up with an empty-netter at 19:41. . . . Tri-City F Richard Nejezchleb scored his 20th goal. . . . Portland G Evan Johnson stopped 18 shots, while Tri-City’s Evan Sarthou turned aside 49. . . . The Winterhawks (43-23-6) had lost their previous two games. . . . The Americans (31-38-3) had won their previous two games. . . . 
In Spokane, G Austin Lotz stopped 39 shots to help the Everett Silvertips to a 5-4 victory over the Spokane Chiefs. . . . These two teams will open a first-round series in Everett on Friday. . . . The Silvertips snapped a 2-2 tie with three goals in the first 15:13 of the third period. . . . D Noah Juulsen got his ninth goal at 3:35. F Jake Mykitiuk got his fourth, on a PP, at 11:19. F Brayden Low scored No. 16 at 15:13. . . . The Chiefs got close with two late goals as F Riley Whittingham scored his 19th and F Adam Helewka got No. 44. . . . Everett F Gunnar Wegleitner scored his first WHL goal in his 43rd game. . . . F Logan Aasman, D Cole MacDonald and D Kevin Davis each had two assists for Everett. . . . Helewka finished with two goals and an assist for Spokane, while F Hudson Elyniuk had two assists. . . . Everett scratched F Kohl Bauml, D Ben Betker, F Nikita Scherbak and F Carson Stadnyk, while dressing D Alex Astasiewicz, 16, D Jantzen Leslie, 15, and F Bryce Kindopp, 15. . . . Astasiewicz made his WHL debut. Leslie played in his sixth game; Kindopp was in his third. . . . Among the Chiefs scratches were F Liam Stewart, D Jason Fram and F Calder Brooks. . . . Everett (43-20-9) has points in five straight (3-0-2). . . . The Chiefs (34-34-4) have lost five in a row.
In Prince Albert, D Sawyer Lange had a goal and three assists as the Raiders bounced the Saskatoon Blades, 5-2. . . . The game was the first for the Raiders under head coach Marc Habscheid, whose signing was announced earlier in the day. . . . Lange has 16 points, three of them goals, in 17 games. He also has 100 regular-season points in 216 games. . . . F Craig Leverton added a goal, his ninth, and two assists for the Raiders, who scored the game's last four goals. . . . D Thomas Andrlik broke a 2-2 tie with his second goal of the game at 15:36 of the second period. . . . Saskatoon F Alex Forsberg scored his eighth goal. . . . Blades G Alex Moodie kicked out 43 shots. . . . 
In Cranbrook, F Jaedon Descheneau scored 10 seconds into overtime to give the Kootenay Ice a 6-5 victory over the Lethbridge Hurricanes. . . . The Ice actually led this one 4-0 but needed a goal from F Levi Cable with 52.9 seconds left in the third period to force OT. Cable scored with two Hurricanes in the penalty box and Ice G Wyatt Hoflin on the bench for the extra attacker. . . . The Ice had lost its previous seven games. . . . F Zane Jones scored three times for the Hurricanes, who erased a 4-0 deficit in the second period. . . . Jones has nine goals this season. . . . F Taylor Cooper gave the visitors a 5-4 lead at 12:48 of the third. . . . Cable had two goals, giving him five, and an assist, while Descheneau, F Luke Philp and D Rinat Valiev each had a goal and two helpers. . . . The Ice was without D Tanner Faith, who apparently was injured during a fight with Red Deer D Devan Fafard on Friday night. . . . Ice F Tim Bozon remains out with an undisclosed injury, while F Sam Reinhart, returned by the NHL's Buffalo Sabres on Friday morning, wasn't in the lineup, either. . . . Lethbridge F Ryley Lindgren didn't play after suffering an undisclosed injury on Friday night. . . . The Hurricanes have at least a point in six of their last seven games. . . . 
In Medicine Hat, G Jordan Papirny turned aside 34 shots to spark the Brandon Wheat Kings to a 4-0 victory over the Tigers. . . . The Wheat Kings were playing their seventh game in 11 nights. They finished 6-1-0 on the seven-game road swing, including a 4-1-0 run through the B.C. Division. . . . That was Papirny's first shutout of the season and second of his career. . . . F Jesse Gabrielle had a goal, his 10th, and an assist for Brandon. . . . Wheat Kings F Tim McGauley got the game's first goal, his seventh, just 33 seconds into the first period. . . . Brandon F Rihards Bukarts had one assist and now is tied with Kamloops F Cole Ully for the WHL scoring lead. Each has 26 points, including nine goals, in 16 games. . . . Rob Henderson of the Brandon Sun has a game story 
In Kent, Wash., G Cody Porter stopped 38 shots to lead the Vancouver Giants to a 1-0 victory over the Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . Porter, a 17-year-old from North Vancouver, earned his first victory and first shutout in his fourth appearance. . . . F Alex Baer scored the game's lone goal, his sixth, on a PP at 12:46 of the third period. . . . It was the Giants' first road victory of the season. It came in their seventh game away from home. . . . Thunderbirds D Evan Wardley returned to the lineup, having served a seven-game WHL suspension. . . . Before the game, the Thunderbirds released G Logan Flodell, 17, from their roster. Flodell, who made one appearance with Seattle, is expected to join the SJHL's Nipawin Hawks. Flodell, from Regina, was a third-round pick in the 2012 bantam draft. . . . That leaves the Thunderbirds with Taran Kozan, 20, and Danny Mumaugh, 18, as their goaltenders. . . . 
In Moose Jaw, D Spenser Jensen drew two assists to help the Warriors snap a five-game losing skid with a 2-1 victory over the Calgary Hitmen. . . . F Kolten Olynek, with his second goal of the season, opened the scoring shorthanded at 4:07 of the first. . . . F Jack Rodewald, with his eighth, gave the hosts a 2-0 lead at 14:38 of the second. He also had an assist. . . . Calgary F Radel Fazleev, with his fifth, got the Hitmen to within one at 17:10 of the third. . . . Moose Jaw G Zach Sawchenko stopped 20 shots, eight fewer than Mack Shields of Calgary. . . . The Hitmen have lost four in a row. . . . Moose Jaw was playing its sixth game in nine nights. . . .
In Regina, the Pats got shootout goals from F Morgan Klimchuk and F Connor Gay to beat the Swift Current Broncos, 2-1. . . . Klimchuk, with his fourth goal of the season, opened the scoring at 15:33 of the first period. . . . Broncos F Colby Cave, with his fourth, via the PP, pulled the Broncos even at 6:49 of the second. . . . Broncos G Landon Bow stopped 43 shots through OT. . . . Regina G Daniel Wapple made 29 saves. . . . The Pats were without F Dryden Hunt, who drew a 'tba' suspension for a high hit on Saskatoon Blades D Adam Henry on Friday night. . . . 
In Prince George, the Cougars scored three first-period goals and went on to a 4-1 victory over the Kamloops Blazers. . . . They'll play again this afternoon in Prince George. . . . Cougars D Mark McNulty broke a 1-1 tie with his second goal of the season at 17:49 of the first period. . . . McNulty also had an assist. . . . Cougars G Ty Edmonds stopped 23 shots. . . . D Ryan Rehill scored for Kamloops at 15:16 of the first. . . . Prior to the game, the Cougars named D Sam Ruopp as the 22nd captain in franchise history. . . .The Blazers were without F Cole Ully (flu), their leading scorer, for a second straight game. . . .
In Spokane, G Taz Burman kicked out 38 shots to help the Red Deer Rebels to a 2-1 victory over the Chiefs. . . . The Rebels have won five in a row. . . . F Tyler Sandhu gave Red Deer a 1-0 lead at 14:11 of the second period and F Evan Polei made it 2-0 with a PP score at 12:55 of the third. . . . F Markson Bechtold, with his first goal, got the Chiefs to within one at 17:20 of the third. . . . The Chiefs held a 19-2 edge in second-period shots. . . . Red Deer F Scott Feser had an assist to run his point streak to eight games. . . . The Chiefs were without Hungarian D Tamas Laday, who got a two-game WHL suspension for a kneeing major and game misconduct he incurred Wednesday against the visiting Edmonton Oil g Kings. . . . 
In Victoria, F Axel Blomqvist scored twice to help the Royals to a 4-1 victory over the Tri-City Americans. . . . Blomqvist, who has seven goals, broke a 1-1 tie at 1:05 of the second period and made it 3-2 on the PP at 2:52 of the third. . . . The Americans have lost four in a row. . . . The teams meet in Victoria again this afternoon. When that game ends, the Americans already will have played 11 of their scheduled 36 road games. . . . Tri-City is without F Justin Gutierrez, who is out with an undisclosed injury. He didn't make the trip to Victoria. 
F Ned Lukacevic (Spokane, Swift Current, 2001-06) has signed a one-year extension with the Fife Flyers (Scotland, UK Elite). Lukacevic started this season with Tohoku Free Blades Hachinohe (Japan, Asia HL), putting up seven points, two of them goals, in 10 games. . . . He signed with the Bakersfield Condors (ECHL) on Oct. 22 and was pointless in one game. He was claimed on waivers on Oct. 28 by the Reading Royals (ECHL) and scored twice in nine games. He signed with Fife on Dec. 14 and had 44 points, 15 of them goals in 34 games. . . . The Fife head coach is Todd Dutiaume (Brandon, 1991-94), who has been at Fife as a player, player-coach, or coach since 1998-99.
Jay Wells has joined the OHL’s Saginaw Spirit as an assistant coach. Wells, a veteran of 18 seasons as an NHL defenceman, spent the last three seasons as an assistant coach with the OHL’s Barrie Colts. . . . Wells and Spirit head coach Greg Gilbert played together on the 1993-94 New York Rangers, who won the Stanley Cup. . . . The Spirit, which earlier added former NHLer Phil Myre as its goaltending coach, also announced that associate coach John Kisil is returning.
Head coach Brad Ralph and the ECHL’s Idaho Steelheads have reached agreement on a two-year contract extension that will take him through 2016-17. The 33-year-old Ralph, who also is director of hockey operations, has been with Idaho for two seasons, reaching the playoffs in both. The Steelheads got into the second round this season, after losing out in the Western Conference final a year ago.
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