Former WHL D retires; Tigers promote Kruger

G Daniel Spence (Calgary, 2004-09) has signed a one-year contract with Asplöven Haparanda (Sweden, Allsvenskan). This season, with Jokipojat Joensuu (Finland, Mestis), Spence was 2.28 and .922 in 38 games. . . .
Brandon F Jesse Gabrielle was drafted by Medveščak Zagreb (Croatia) in the fourth round, 156th overall, of Thursday’s KHL Junior Draft.
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1. If it really does get darkest just before the dawn, it may be a while before the sun rises over the Lethbridge Hurricanes. . . . In the latest chapter to the saga of the Hurricanes, Clear Sky Radio has announced that it won’t bid on the team’s broadcast rights when its contract expires May 31. . . . 94.1 CJOC has been home to Hurricanes’ broadcasts since 2007. . . . There is more on all of this on Pat Siedlecki’s blog right here. He had been the Hurricanes’ radio voice; now he has been named Clear Sky Radio’s corporate news director.

2. An observer sits and watches goings-on in the NHL where Brad Treliving now is the general manager of the Calgary Flames and Ron Hextall is the GM with the Philadelphia Flyers, and where the Vancouver Canucks and Washington Capitals have vacancies for that position. Some organizations -- Vancouver, the Colorado Avalanche, Philadelphia and Toronto Maple Leafs, for starters -- have created a new layer of management by hiring a president to fill a slot on the organizational tree that is a step above the general manager. . . . An observer wonders why NHL teams don’t look into the WHL when looking to fill some of these vacancies. Who is more qualified to be the president or GM of an NHL franchise than someone who has run every aspect of a major junior franchise and been successful doing it, someone like Kelly McCrimmon of the Brandon Wheat Kings, Tim Speltz of the Spokane Chiefs or Bob Tory of the Tri-City Americans, just to name three?
The Canucks put former captain Trevor Linden into the president’s office, even though he had never worked in an NHL team’s front office and had been away from the game for six years. If you are going to give the keys to the Bentley to someone like that, it says here that you could do a lot worse than turn to someone like McCrimmon, who has all the hockey qualifications and an MBA.

3. D Dean Arsene has chosen to retire, ending his 13-season professional career. Arsene played this season with the AHL’s Abbotsford Heat. Troy Ward, the Heat’s head coach, said: “Whether you want to say he was a crusher or a rusher, he wasn't either one. He made it just on hard work, and just being a really good man. That was the part that was most encouraging – you can still do something you really love just by being a really good human being. That's pretty cool." . . . Arsene (Regina, Edmonton, Kootenay, 1996-2001) always carried himself like a professional, even in the early days of his WHL career with the Pats. . . . Dan Kinvig has more on Arsene right here.

4. It’s doubtful that there is a better analyst on TV today than Hubie Brown, who does NBA telecasts for ABC/ESPN.

5. At 14 years of age, James Priestner was seen as perhaps the best goaltender in Canada in his age group. He played in the WHL (Kamloops, Brandon, Prince George, 2006-11) but the hockey career didn’t work out. Now he’s into music as the lead vocalist with a group called The Lunas. . . . Check it out right here.

6. Who is having a better playoff season, F Lars Eller of the Montreal Canadiens or his brother, Mads, with the Edmonton Oil Kings? Perhaps one day the story will be told about how Mads came this close () to being the property of the WHL’s Victoria Royals.

7. F Matt Fraser (Red Deer, Kootenay, 2006-11), playing in his first NHL playoff game, scores in OT and the Boston Bruins beat the host Montreal Canadiens, 1-0. It is moments like that prove live sporting events are the best of reality TV. . . . As Thomas Boswell of the Washington Post tweeted: “Ha Ha Clinton-Dix gets drafted before Johnny Football. And you say you don't love sports?”

8. A tweet from WHL Facts (@WHLFacts): “17 - The number of goals Matt Fraser scored during the 2011 Playoffs... Including the Game Winner in the WHL Championship clinching Game 5.”
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The Saskatoon Blades have acquired G Trevor Martin, 18, from the Spokane Chiefs for a conditional seventh-round pick in the 2015 bantam draft. Martin, a ninth-round pick by Spokane in 2011, played this season for the midget AAA Leduc Oil Kings, going 9-4-1, 2.41, .925. . . . Earlier, the Blades dealt G Alex Moodie, 19, to the Chiefs for a fourth-round pick in the 2016 bantam draft.
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F Leon Draisaitl of the Prince Albert Raiders will play for his native Germany in the IIHF World championship tournament that opens today in Minsk, Belarus. Draisaitl, from Cologne, had 105 points, including 38 goals, with the Raiders this season. He is expected to be on of the first players selected in the NHL’s 2014 draft. . . . Playing for Germany will be quite a thrill for Draisaitl because his father, Peter, played 49 games for Germany over seven World championships. . . . Germany opens against Kazakhstan on Saturday. Also in that group are Belarus, Finland, Latvia, Switzerland and the U.S.
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THE OHL FINAL:
Friday: North Bay Battalion at Guelph Storm. Guelph leads 3-1.
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THE QMJHL FINAL:
Friday: Val-d’Or Foreurs at Baie-Comeau Drakkar. Series tied 2-2.
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THE COACHING GAME:
The Medicine Hat Tigers have promoted assistant coach Darren Kruger to senior director, player development. According to a news release from the Tigers, Kruger “will be responsible for advance scouting WHL teams along with overseeing the development of Tigers’ prospects playing at various levels in western Canada and the northwest United States.” . . . The position has been vacant for about two years, or since Rick Carriere left to join the Edmonton Oilers organization. . . . Kruger, a puck-moving defenceman in his playing days (Swift Current, 1986-89), has been with the Tigers for nine years.
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Two WHL coaches will be involved with Canadian teams at the U-17 World Hockey Challenge that is scheduled for Oct. 31 to Nov. 8 at a site that has yet to be determined. Hockey Canada will have three teams in the tournament (Black, Red and White), rather than the five regional teams as in past seasons. . . . Dan Lambert, an assistant coach with the Kelowna Rockets, will be one of the head coaches, while Josh Dixon, an assistant coach with the Regina Pats, will be an assistant coach with one of the Canadian teams.
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The NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets have picked up the option year on the contract of Brad Larsen, the head coach of their AHL affiliate, the Springfield Falcons. . . . Larsen (Swift Current, 1993-97) has been the head coach in Springfield for two seasons, after spending two seasons as an assistant coach. . . . Assistant coaches Nolan Pratt (Portland, 1991-95) and Jared Bednar (Saskatoon, Spokane, Medicine Hat, Prince Albert, 1990-93) also will be back with the Falcons.
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The Calgary-based Mount Royal Cougars have named Bert Gilling as their new head coach. Gilling, a native of Alexander, Man., has been an assistant coach with the Bemidji State Beavers for 11 seasons. . . . Gilling takes over from Jean LaForest, who stepped down after six seasons as head coach, the first four in the ACAC and the last two in Canada West. . . . The Cougars also have announced that F Rob Trzonkowski (Calgary, Kamloops, Vancouver, 2010-14) has committed to their program. Trzonkowski, 20, is coming off two injury-ravaged WHL seasons. This season, he had four points, three of them goals, in 36 games with the Giants.
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Tom Spencer, the B.C. Major Midget Hockey League’s coach of the year with the Valley West Hawks, is stepping up to the BCHL. Spencer has signed on as an assistant coach with the Surrey Eagles, where he will work alongside GM/head coach Peter Schaefer. Spencer spent three seasons as the Hawks’ head coach.
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Gord Thibodeau, fired last month as GM/head coach of the AJHL’s Fort McMurray Oil Barons, has landed with that league’s Lloydminster Bobcats. . . . Thibodeau will be part of a coaching staff that is headed up by GM/head coach Garry VanHereweghe. . . . Thibodeau was the head coach in Lloydminster for three seasons (1997-2000) before he went to Fort McMurray. . . . Thibodeau signed a multi-year contract that is effective immediately.
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THE FOURTH ROUND (best-of-seven; all times local):
WHL final, for the Ed Chynoweth Cup
(x - if necessary)
(All games televised live by Shaw)
(All games televised on delayed basis by Root Sports)
PORTLAND (2, West) vs. Edmonton (1, East)
(Series tied, 2-2)
Season series: Portland, 0-0-1; Edmonton, 1-0-0.
Saturday: Edmonton 2 at Portland 5 (10,947)
Sunday: Edmonton 1 at Portland 3 (10,645)
Tuesday: Portland 2 at Edmonton 3 (6,799)
Wednesday: Portland 0 at Edmonton 2 (7,859)
Friday: Edmonton at Portland, 7 p.m. (Moda Center)
Sunday: Portland at Edmonton, 4 p.m.
x-Monday: Edmonton at Portland, 7 p.m. (Memorial Coliseum)
INJURIES
Portland: None.
Edmonton: None.
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THURSDAY’S GAME:
No game scheduled.
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From Paul Kingsmith (@paulkingsmith): “Pat Siedlecki (@radiopat258) will not return as @WHLHurricanes play-by-play voice. A crushing blow for Canes fans, Pat is a true pro.”
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One more from Kingsmith: “@radiopat258 & @FreddieJack643 raised the bar for local broadcast adding a full pregame & weekly show. Huge shoes for Hurricanes to fill.”
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From WHL Facts (@WHLFacts): “27 - Number of times the @pdxwinterhawks shut out opponents between Dec 18, 2011 & May 6, 2014. PORT scoring at least 1 goal in all 247 games.”
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From Thomas Hickey (@thomas_hickey14): “Could you imagine if guys did the cool handshake/hug combo with Bettman after they got drafted? #NFLDraft2014”


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Saturday . . .

In Portland on Saturday, the Kootenay Ice scored four straight PP goals, in a span of 5:45 in the second period, and went on to beat the Winterhawks, 7-5. . . . That ties the WHL’s championship final at 1-1 with Games 3 and 4 in Cranbrook on Tuesday and Wednesday. . . . This was a wild and crazy game. . . . The Winterhawks ran into some horrific penalty trouble and the Ice took advantage by going 4-for-7 on the PP. . . . The teams were 1-1 going into the second period. The Ice killed off a tripping penalty to D Hayden Rintoul and then F Matt Fraser broke the tie with his second goal of the game and 15th of the spring. . . . Portland then took two minors and two majors over a nine-minute stretch and the floodgates opened. "We took 18 penalty minutes in a row," Mike Johnston, Portland’s GM/head coach, told reporters. "I've never seen that. I've coached 25 years and never seen that many calls in a row on one team." . . . The Ice then got the four PP goals — F Max Reinhart (8:47), F Cody Eakin (10:15), F Steele Boomer (13:04) and F Kevin King (14:32) — to take a 6-1 lead. . . . Portland F Sven Bartschi, who had two goals in Portland’s 4-3 victory in Game 1 on Friday, then struck twice, shorthanded at 19:19 of the second and on the PP at 6:12 of the third. . . . F Taylor Peters, at 8:01, and D Joe Morrow, at 8:14, got the home team to within one but the comeback fell short. . . . King iced it with an empty-netter at 19:50. . . . Ice G Nathan Lieuwen stopped 39 shots and that included stopping Bartschi on a penalty shot with the score 1-1 at 2:40 of the second period. . . . Portland G Mac Carruth turned aside 23 of 29 shots, with Keith Hamilton coming on at 4:31 left in the second period and stopping all 13 shots he faced. . . . Referees Matt Kirk and Reagan Vetter hit Portland with 46 of the 60 minutes they handed out. While the Ice took seven minors, Portland picked up eight minors, two majors and two game misconducts. . . . The WHL is certain to look at two Portland penalties and maybe three. F Tayler Jordan took a checking-from-behind major at 7:48 of the second for a hit on Boomer. F Riley Boychuk was hit with an elbowing major at 15:59 for a check on Rintoul. Both penalties carry with them automatic game misconducts and will be looked at by the WHL office. . . . Portland F Brad Ross took roughing and tripping minors at 7:25 of the second period. Ross and Fraser, who was involved in the play, both left the game. Fraser, who appeared to suffer an injury to his left leg, didn’t return. Ross returned to the Portland bench but didn’t play again. . . . Attendance was 10,947. The Rose Garden, in its hockey configuration, was sold out. . . . The Winterhawks scratched D Tyler Wotherspoon (undisclosed) and inserted D Josh Hanson, 16, who played his first playoff game. . . . Game 5 is scheduled for Portland on Friday.
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SATURDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
One major:
Portland F Tayler Jordan
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Jim Beseda of The Oregonian was at the game and his story is right here.
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Jason Vondersmith of the Portland Tribune also covered the game, and his story is right here.
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Tribune columnist Kerry Eggers also was in the house, and his piece is right here.
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An interesting note from the blog (Between The Lines) of Jeff Hollick, who calls the Ice play-by-play: In their history, the Ice have faced eight penalty shots in playoff games, while they have never been awarded one. . . . Ice goalies have stopped seven of the eight.
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In the QMJHL final, the visiting Gatineau Olympiques got 38 saves form G Maxime Clermont as they beat the Saint John Sea Dogs 3-2 to even the series at 1-1. . . . Saint John G Jacob DeSerres stopped 21 shots. . . . Games 3 and 4 are Monday and Wednesday in Gatineau.
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ELSEWHERE:
Jim Matheson, the Edmonton Journal’s hall of fame hockey writer, notes today that “Ryan McGill, the former Oilers defenceman and Calgary Flames assistant coach, might catch on with the Phoenix Coyotes now that Ulf Samuelsson has departed for a head coaching job with MoDo of the Swedish Elite League.” . . . Matheson also notes that the Minnesota Wild have until June 1 to sign Red Deer Rebels G Darcy Kuemper or he becomes a free agent. The Wild selected Kuemper, the WHL’s player of the year, in the sixth round of the NHL’s 2009 draft. Matheson notes that “the trouble is that Kuemper . . . wants first-round draft money.”
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Steve Simmons, in today’s Toronto Sun: “The Memorial Cup is coming to the so-called centre of the hockey universe and all indications are this event is in some trouble.
Staff from both the Ottawa Senators and the Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors — two teams owned by Eugene Melnyk — have been desperately working the phones of late trying to offer up discounted and single-game tickets, for the Canadian junior hockey championship.”
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Cleve Dheensaw of the Victoria Times Colonist has a couple of interesting tidbits in a story he wrote on the folding by RG Properties of the ECHL’s Victoria Salmon Kings. RG Properties, of course, purchased the Chilliwack Bruins and is moving the WHL team to Victoria’s Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre.
1. Dave Dakers, the president of RG Properties’ sports and entertainment division, told Dheensaw that an announcement on a general manager and head coach “is a couple of weeks away.” Marc Habscheid, the Bruins’ GM/head coach for two seasons, ran the Bruins’ bantam draft on Thursday in Calgary.
2. RG Properties purchased the video scoreboard panels from Prospera Centre in Chilliwack when it bought the Bruins. It doesn’t seem certain that they will end up in the Victoria arena, though.
3. The Victoria franchise is working on a deal involving radio play-by-play.
Dheensaw’s story is right here.

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
     
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
     
Taking Note on Twitter

Sunday . . .

Doug Soetaert, the general manager of the Everett Silvertips, says there won’t be anymore reloading. Starting now, he says, the Silvertips are rebuilding. "We can't continue to bring other people's players in to win a championship every year," Soetaert told the Everett Herald‘s Nick Patterson. "It catches up to you. You have to get back to creating your identity and bringing your players through your system."
Patterson’s story is right here.
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The QMJHL’s Halifax Mooseheads are looking for a new coaching staff, reports Willy Panov of the Halifax Chronicle-Herald. Former NHLer Bobby Smith, who is the club’s majority owner, is out as head coach, as is associate coach Chris Donnelly. Cam Russell, who started the season as general manager/head coach before Smith took over as coach, remains the GM but won’t be on the bench. Assistant coach Jason Troini has returned to the major midget Dartmouth Ice Dawgs as GM and head coach. Only goaltender coach Eric Raymond will be returning. . . . The Mooseheads were 4-9-1 when Smith moved in; they went 16-34-4 under him, and were swept by the Montreal Juniors in the first round of playoffs.
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The gang from NHL Central Scouting has been in meetings, working to compile their final list before the June draft. There won’t be an official release with players ranked numerically until April 12, but Mike G. Morreale of NHL.com has a look right here at the top 10 from each of the three major junior leagues, as well as some other areas.
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THE PLAYOFF PICTURE:
Seven of the eight first-round series are dust, with only the Medicine Hat Tigers versus Brandon Wheat Kings still on the go. The Tigers, who have won the last two games, take a 3-2 edge into Game 6 tonight in Winnipeg.
The Saskatoon Blades and Kootenay Ice advanced with victories on Sunday night.
Should Medicine Hat win its series, the second-round matchups will be Saskatoon against Kootenay and the Red Deer Rebels versus the Tigers. A Brandon victory, would put the Wheat Kings against the Blades, with the Rebels meeting the Ice.
Should the Wheat Kings win tonight to force a Game 7, that series will be decided Wednesday in Medicine Hat.
The Blades will open the second round at home on Friday night.
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SUNDAY’S GAMES:
In Prince Albert, the Saskatoon Blades beat the Raiders 2-1 in overtime to win that series, 4-2. . . . F Matej Stransky took advantage of a turnover by Raiders G Jamie Tucker behind his net to score the winner at 4:24 of OT. . . . Cory Wolfe of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix reports that Blades F Marek Viedensky duped Tucker into passing him the puck. “I just heard my name ‘Tucks’ get called,” a teary-eyed Tucker told Wolfe. “I was on my backhand, so I thought it was my guy but I guess it was him.” . . . Viedensky flipped the puck out front to Stransky, who promptly scored the series winner. . . . Moments earlier, Tucker had robbed Saskatoon F Josh Nicholls with a huge glove save. . . . D Antoine Corbin gave the Raidersd a 1-0 lead at 2:43 of the first period. . . . Saskatoon F Brent Benson tied it at 12:21 of the second. . . . Stransky, who has three playoff goals, drew an assist on Benson’s goal. . . . Tucker finished with 35 saves, six more than Saskatoon’s Steven Stanford. . . . Attendance was 3,366 as the Art Hauser Memorial Centre was sold right out. . . .
In Moose Jaw, the Kootenay Ice jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first period and went on to beat the Warriors 5-4. . . . The Ice won the series 4-2. . . . This was the final WHL game in the Moose Jaw Civic Centre (aka the Crushed Can) as the Warriors are scheduled to move into a new multiplex in time for next season. . . . D Brayden McNabb gave the visitors a 1-0 lead just 1:36 into the first period. . . . F Max Reinhart and F Matt Fraser upped it to 3-0 with goals 1:04 apart later in the period. . . . The Warriors got back to within 3-2 and 4-3 and 5-4 but weren’t able to equalize. . . . Fraser finished with three goals, giving him five in the series. He gave the Ice a 4-2 lead at 9:12 of the second and a 5-3 edge at 9:22 of the third. . . . Reinhart also had three assists. . . . F Quinton Howden had a goal, his fifth, and an assist for the Warriors. . . . Attendance was 2,727.
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SUNDAY’S CFB COUNT:
None.
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And now for something completely different. . . .
This is every team’s worst nightmare . . . its season over before it really gets started. But, in truth, it happens a lot because there always are teams in a league that don’t have a chance of winning the championship.
But check this out right here to see what happened to the New York Mets the other day. (Hint: It involves a clip from Family Guy.)

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
     
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
     
Taking Note on Twitter

Thursday . . .

The WHL playoffs are here.
They officially arrived courtesy of a quote from Kootenay Ice F Matt Fraser, 20, who told Matt Coxford of the Cranbrook Daily Townsman:
"We've all been frantically trying to dye our hair (black) the past couple of days to get everything in place, and we've told all our girlfriends that we're not going to be talking to them for a while because we've got business to take care of.”
When hockey players tell their girlfriends to take a timeout, you know things are serious!
It will be interesting to watch goings-on with the Ice in these playoffs, too.
General manager Jeff Chynoweth made the big deal on Jan. 9 to land F Cody Eakin. It will be interesting to see now how the Ice and its fan respond with the playoffs here.
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Some numbers, courtesy of capgeek.com:
F Garrett Mitchell of the Regina Pats signed a three-year deal with the Washington Capitals, who selected him in the sixth round of the NHL’s 2009 draft. He gets a US$67,500 salary in the AHL, an NHL salary of $575,000 each season, and a $150,000 signing bonus, payable over three years.
G Calvin Pickard of the Seattle Thunderbirds has signed a three-year contract with the Colorado Avalanche, which grabbed him in the second round of the 2010 draft. His AHL salary each season is locked in at $67,500, with NHL salaries of $790,000, $840,000 and $900,000. His signing bonus totals $270,000 over three season.
D Dylan McIlrath of the Moose Jaw Warriors, the 10th overall pick in the NHL’s 2010 draft, signed a three-year deal with the New York Rangers. His AHL salary would be $67,500 each season, with NHL salaries of $650,000, $650,000 and $900,000. Like Pickard, he got a $270,000 signing bonus, payable over three years.
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With Portland having finished atop the Western Conference and about to open a first-round series with the Everett Silvertips, Kerry Eggers of the Portland Tribune take a look at how far the Winterhawks have come since ‘those’days. . . . And it is quite interesting to read about the plans the Winterhawks have for Memorial Coliseum.
That piece is right here.
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D Mike Reddington of the Lethbridge Hurricanes has joined the ECHL’s Utah Grizzlies. Reddington, 20, signed a tryout agreement after putting up 23 points and 99 penalty minutes in 68 games with the Hurricanes this season. . . . D Antoine Corbin of the Prince Albert Raiders will sit out Saturday’s opener of their series with the Saskatoon Blades. That’s the second game of a two-game suspension he incurred for a kneeing major last weekend. He plans on being back for Game 2 in Saskatoon on Sunday. . . . F Justin Dowling of the Swift Current Broncos has signed an amateur tryout contract with the Abbotsford Heat, the AHL affiliate of the Calgary Flames. Dowling, 20, had 67 points in 63 games with the Broncos this season. . . .
Matthew Gourlie of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald reports that the Warriors may not have F Cody Beach (knee) or F Jordan Wyton (undisclosed) for tonight’s opener in Cranbrook against the Kootenay Ice. Also missing will be F Brayden Cuthbert (concussion) and F Brett Lyon (WHL suspension). . . . The Ice is without D Luke Paulsen (shoulder), but F Brock Montgomery (hip) is back after missing 11 games. Montgomery will be anxious for this serious because he is from Moose Jaw. . . . Dale Saip, the Vancouver Giants’ vice-president of business development, won’t be running for the federal Conservatives in Delta-Richmond, after all. After a story broke on the Lower Mainland detailing past financial difficulties, the Conservatives revoked Saip’s nomination. Martin van den Hemel of the Richmond Review has that story right here.
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Today’s good read comes from Gene Collier of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, who has noticed that some game officials are so empowered that they can even create time.
Check it out right here.

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
     
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
     
Taking Note on Twitter