Kamloops school ends hockey program

F Alexander Gogolev (Calgary, Victoria, 2011-13) has been assigned by Lada Togliatti (Russia, KHL) to Ariada Volzhsk (Russia, Vysshaya Liga). Gogolev signed a one-year contract with Lada in June. Last season, with Severstal Cherepovets (Russia, KHL), he had a goal and two assists in 24 games.
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You go to bed on Monday night and you’re part of a hockey team in your hometown.
You wake up Tuesday morning and find out that team is gone. Kaput!
So, Ryan Hanes, how do you feel?

Sad day getting told your not aloud to lace the skates back up in your hometown, really disappointing! Was excited to get back out there.
— Ryan hanes (@HANESR13) July 29, 2014

Hanes, who played in the WHL (Kamloops, Prince George, 2008-13), was planning on playing for the Kamloops-based Thompson Rivers University (TRU) WolfPack this season.
However, TRU announced Tuesday morning that it was dropping its support of the WolfPack hockey team after six seasons.
The hockey program was operated by a society and was a ‘club’ team that played with the support of the athletic department but wasn’t a varsity team. There are baseball and swimming teams that operate under the same system at TRU. Golf and badminton programs were dropped earlier this year.
The hockey program was established “for student/athletes who wanted to continue to play competitive hockey while pursuing their education,” Ken Olynyk, TRU’s athletics and recreation director, said in a news release. “They made every effort possible to maintain the program to this point, but due to economics and a lack of a sustainable model, we have no choice but to dissolve the program.”
A source familiar with the situation has told Taking Note that the hockey program is more than $50,000 in debt.
The WolfPack played in the B.C. Intercollegiate Hockey League, which is left with five  teams -- the Eastern Washington U Eagles, who play out of Cheney, Wash.; the Selkirk College Saints (Castlegar, B.C.); Simon Fraser U (Burnaby, B.C.); the Trinity Western U Spartans (Langley, B.C.); and the U of Victoria.
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F Tyler Mosienko (Kelowna, 2000-05) says he is working to rebuild his life and his career after becoming involved in a gambling scandal while playing in Denmark last season. Mosienko has signed with the Sheffield Steelers (Great Britain, Elite). The Sheffield Star has more right here.---
Former NHLer Jon Rohloff has filed a concussion-related lawsuit against the NHL. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court in the District of Minnesota. . . . According to the filing, Rohloff, who played for the Boston Bruins (1994-97), “suffered multiple head traumas during his NHL career that were improperly diagnosed and treated by the NHL. Mr. Rohloff was never warned by the NHL of the negative health effects of head trauma.“ . . . It’s all right here.
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The Spokane Chiefs have signed F Hayden Ostir of Winnipeg, a second-round selection in the 2014 bantam draft. Earlier, the Chiefs signed F Jaret Anderson-Dolan, their first-round selection. . . . Ostir had 75 points, including 35 goals, in 47 games with the bantam AAA-1 team at the Pursuit of Excellence in Kelowna last season.
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Unifor, the labour union that is working to organize major junior hockey players, has met with the Ontario’s labour and sports ministers. Rick Westhead of TSN reports that the government may strike a task force “to examine working conditions for players in the Ontario Hockey League,” according to the Unifor president. . . . Westhead’s report is right here.
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The Vancouver Giants have signed Jason Ripplinger, the director of player personnel, and Terry Bonner, the club’s scouting director, to multi-year contract extensions. No other details were released. Both men have been with the organization since 2001. Bonner is the father of Giants general manager Scott Bonner and Kamloops Blazers GM Craig Bonner. . . . Don’t forget that Alan Caldwell, over there at Small Thoughts at Large, is taking a team-by-team look at WHL prospects. There’s a link over there on the right.
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THE COACHING GAME:
If video killed the radio star, it is doing nothing but bolstering the Portland Winterhawks’ coaching staff. The Winterhawks have added Keith McKittrick to their coaching staff as an assistant under GM/head coach Jamie Kompon. . . . McKittrick comes to Portland with an extensive history in the video side of the game, including the last two as assistant coach -- video. . . . Interestingly, Kompon also has a history as a video coach; in fact, he has two Stanley Cup rings as the video assistant with the Los Angeles Kings and Chicago Blackhawks. . . . As well, Kyle Gustafson, who is preparing for his 11th season as a Winterhawks assistant, also is a veteran of the video game.
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To the @FedEx guy who delivered this package I love the passion but this ain’t ‘94. @lakings #champs pic.twitter.com/kQvaXCgJFj
— dustin brown (@DustinBrown23) July 29, 2014

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As Kamloops Blazers forward Chase Souto scores, Prince George defenceman
Michael Mylchreest pushes him towards Cougars goaltender Mac Engel.
Souto ended up on top of Engel, who was taken to hospital with a
possible neck injury.
(Murray Mitchell / Kamloops Daily News)

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports EditorOne team has 46 victories; the other has 42 losses.
They played like it Friday night at Interior Savings Centre.
The Kamloops Blazers, even with something of a patchwork lineup, dropped the Prince George Cougars 5-2, a decision that ended any hopes the boys from the north had of getting into the WHL playoffs.
The odds were long, but the Cougars (21-42-8), who have been on the road since the night of March 6, did have a shot at the playoffs when this game began.
They needed to beat the Blazers last night and again tonight in Prince George when both teams will conclude their regular-season schedules. At the same time, the Cougars needed the Everett Silvertips to lose each of their three remaining games in regulation time. That would have left the two teams tied for the Western Conference’s last playoff spot and set up a sudden-death play-in game in Everett on Tuesday.
All of that went for naught, though, as the Blazers, playing the elephant to Prince George’s mosquito, easily swatted aside the visitors.
The Blazers (46-20-5) scratched five regulars, including defenceman Joel Edmundson and forwards JC Lipon, Matt Needham and Joe Kornelsen, but not even that could slow them down. With 15-year-old forwards Deven Sideroff of Summerland, who made his WHL debut, and Nick Chyzowski of Kamloops, who played in his third game, seeing ample ice time, the Blazers had little trouble winning this one.
“I thought we played well under the circumstances,” Kamloops head coach Guy Charron said. “They aren’t easy games to get motivated for . . . you have to have pride in those kinds of situations.
“You’re playing in front of your fans . . . there are scouts in the building . . . we owe it to ourselves to be the kind of team that we were all season.”
Left-winger Tim Bozon, who has struggled with consistency of late, scored two goals and added two assists. He had been pointless in two losses to the Kelowna Rockets after picking up three points in a 6-0 victory over the visiting Victoria Royals.
“This week I tried to work hard in practice. I wanted to be one of the leaders and the hardest-working guy on the ice to get ready for the playoffs,” Bozon said. He added that he spoke with some people from the Montreal Canadiens, who selected him in the third round of the 2012 NHL draft, and also to his father, former NHLer Philippe Bozon. The message Tim heard was “to work hard in practice.”
He felt he did that and was able to carry it over into this game.
“I know I didn’t play my best hockey during the regular season,” added Bozon, who has 88 points in 68 games. “It was our last game at home and everybody wants to make an impression. For me, it was more getting the confidence back for the playoffs. I really want to have a huge playoff to make the team win.”
Centre Brendan Ranford added a goal and two assists for the Blazers, while Chase Souto and Kale Kessy also scored.
Souto’s goal, at 10:45 of the first period, gave the Blazers a 2-0 lead. In scoring, he ended up on top of Prince George goaltender Mac Engel, who left the game and was taken to Royal Inland Hospital with a possible neck injury.
“He turned the wrong way and our guy shoved their guy into him,” explained Cougars head coach Mark Holick. “They’re just being really cautious. I don’t think it’s real serious but you never know.”
Asked via email if Engel would be on the team bus when it headed north, Cougars general manager Dallas Thompson replied: “He will be.”
Engel finished with seven saves on nine shots. Brett Zarowny relieved him and surrendered three goals on 18 shots.
Kamloops goaltender Cole Cheveldave appeared headed for his seventh shutout of the season until the Blazers took a couple of third-period penalties and gave up power-play goals to Ryan Hanes, who was playing his final WHL game in his hometown, and Tanner Lishchynsky.
Hanes was a popular member of the Blazers during his three seasons here. He lost his roster spot in the 20-year-old numbers game prior to the start of this season. His goal resulted in one of the night’s louder reactions, and he got another loud cheer when he saluted the fans with his stick at game’s end.
“It was definitely cool,” Hanes said. “The fans here are unbelievable. I can’t say enough about them.”
Hanes will be returning home Monday and it sounds as though he will be in attendance when the Blazers begin the playoffs against the visiting Victoria Royals on Friday.
“You’re going to meet a new Blazers fan in the playoffs,” a grinning Hanes said.
JUST NOTES: The attendance was 5,442. . . . Ranford wore a full cage after having had some dental work done this week. . . . Hanes said he plans on attending university in the fall; he just doesn’t yet know where. . . . The Daily News Three Stars: 1. Bozon: Looking like old self; 2. Ranford: Dipsy doodle dandy; 3. F Colin Smith, Kamloops: Two assists and always around the net. . . . Prior to the game, the Blazers handed out their regular-season individual awards with Smith, who has 105 points, being saluted as the most valuable player. . . . The Blazers also honoured Ranford for having broken the franchise’s career games played record and saluted the three 20-year-olds — F Dylan Willick, Kessy and Ranford — who were playing their final regular-season home games.
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Individual awards handed out by the Blazers prior to Friday’s game:
Most improved player — Ryan Rehill, Cole Ully.
Diamond in the rough — Jordan Thomson.
Three-star award — Colin Smith.
Best defenceman — Joel Edmundson.
Most dedicated player — Brendan Ranford, Colin Smith.
Community involvement — Tyler Hansen, Taran Kozun.
Grinder of the year — JC Lipon, Chase Souto.
Excellence in hockey and education — Matt Needham.
Rookie of the year — Taran Kozun.
Unsung hero award — Tyler Hansen, Matt Needham.
Inspirational leadership — Tyler Hansen, Dylan Willick.
Top scorer — Colin Smith.
Most valuable player — Colin Smith.

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Blazers make big move

By MARK HUNTER
Daily News Sports Reporter
The Kamloops Blazers traded away part of their future for some veteran leadership on Thursday.
The Blazers acquired defenceman Joel Edmundson, 19, from the Moose Jaw Warriors, along with a fourth-round pick in the 2015 WHL bantam draft. Kamloops gave up defenceman Tyler Bell, 18, forward Jayden Halbgewachs, 15, and a first-round pick in 2015.
Edmundson was to fly into Kamloops last night and is expected to play tonight, 7 o’clock, against the Prince George Cougars at Interior Savings Centre.
“He’s a veteran guy, a drafted player,” said Blazers head coach Guy Charron. “We’ve added more experience at the back end.”
At 6-foot-4 and 208 pounds, Edmundson will bring size to a Blazers’ defence corps that already includes 19-year-olds Tyler Hansen, who goes 6-foot-3 and 202 pounds, and the 6-foot-4, 200-pound Sam Grist.
Edmundson is in his third WHL season, and has picked up eight points, six of them assists, and 70 penalty minutes in 29 games. Last season, he played in 56 games, scoring four goals, assisting on 19 others and earning 91 penalty minutes.
After his first season, 2010-11, the St. Louis Blues selected the Brandon native in the second round, 46th overall, of the NHL draft.
And while he isn’t known for his offensive side, Edmundson stands to see some time on the power play, according to Charron.
“He’s got a great shot,” Charron said. “Right now, we’ve experimented with everyone at the top end of the power play, so I’m sure he’ll get an opportunity.”
The trade shows that the Blazers are all-in this season. Kamloops is 22-7-3 and tied for first in the 22-team WHL with the Portland Winterhawks, who hold four games in hand.
But Kamloops gave up a lot to get Edmundson, who, if he signs with the Blues, likely wouldn’t return next season.
Bell, a Regina native, was in his second season with the Blazers, and was taking on a bigger role all the time. Through 29 games, he had a goal and three assists, to go along with 36 penalty minutes. As a rookie in 2011-12, Bell had 12 points, 11 of them assists, and was plus-19 in 54 games.
On top of Bell, Kamloops basically gave up two first-round picks, with Halbgewachs, a native of Emerald Park, Sask., having been its first-round pick, 19th overall, in May’s draft. Halbgewachs is in his first season with the midget AAA Regina Pat Canadians, and has eight goals and six assists in 19 games.
“Through our evaluation, we feel we have good, young prospects,” Charron said. “But getting a chance to get a veteran player like (Edmundson) will only make us better.”
The WHL’s Christmas trade moratorium will run Dec. 16-26.
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Forwards Charles Inglis and Chase Souto sat out Thursday’s practice as they recover from a bug that is going through the Kamloops dressing room.
“We’ve got quite a few guys who are sick,” Charron said. “No use being here to spread the germs.”
The coach said he wasn’t sure if either would be available tonight, but seemed optimistic.
“Usually the guys who have been sick have had a 24- or 48-hour thing,” Charron said. “We’re hopeful they’re ready to go (tonight).”
To help fill out the roster, the Blazers had Devin Oakes, a list forward who plays for the junior B Kamloops Storm, at practice. He will be back with the Storm for its game against the host Princeton Posse tonight.
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Cougars head coach Dean Clark announced that former NHLer Todd Harkins will serve as an assistant coach for a few weeks after Christmas.
Harkins, who coached the Vancouver Northwest Giants to the 2011 B.C. Major Midget League title, will replace Jason Becker temporarily. Becker, the head coach of Team Pacific, will be in Quebec for the 2013 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge, which ends Jan. 4.
Harkins, whose 10-year NHL career included stops with the Calgary Flames and Hartford Whalers, will start his tenure with the Cougars on Dec. 28, when they play the Royals in Victoria.
Harkins’ son, Jansen, was selected in the first round, second overall, by the Cougars in May’s bantam draft. He currently plays for Vancouver Northwest, with which he has 30 points in 17 games.
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Ryan Hanes, a former Blazers forward, will be making his second appearance in Kamloops with the Cougars, and will be sporting an ‘A’ on his jersey.
Hanes, a 20-year-old Kamloops native, was named an assistant captain Wednesday, after Cougars captain Brock Hirsche retired due to shoulder programs. Hirsche was replaced as captain by defenceman Daniel Gibb, with Hanes taking on the vacant assistant-captain role.
Hanes, who scored in the Cougars’ 5-4 shootout loss in Kamloops on Nov. 17, has four goals in eight games with Prince George.
He started the season with the Blazers, but got caught up in the 20-year-old numbers game and was released. He spent a stretch with the BCHL’s Cowichan Valley Capitals, before the Cougars picked him up last month.


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Injured Willick named Blazers' captain

When Dylan Willick (left) returns from a broken ankle, the Kamloops
Blazers will have sewn a 'C' onto his sweater.
(Murray Mitchell / Kamloops Daily News)

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports EditorAll Dylan Willick wants is to play hockey again.
The 20-year-old Willick is in his fourth season with the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers, but hasn’t played since breaking his right ankle on Nov. 2.
But now, after being named the team’s captain on Wednesday, he wants to get back in the lineup even more than before, if that’s possible.
“I didn’t know if I could want to get back any quicker,” Willick said last night, “but today I found a new spark.”
The Blazers, who will entertain the Prince George Cougars on Friday, didn’t name a captain prior to the start of the season as they weren’t certain whether they would get defenceman Austin Madaisky, 20, back from the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets. He recently underwent wrist surgery and may not play again until at least March, so the Blazers made the move to put the ‘C’ on Willick’s chest.
“It’s an honour. It’s not a small step,” Willick said. “There have been a lot of captains in this organization. It’s something pretty special to me. It’s something I don’t take lightly.”
Veterans Tyler Hansen, Brendan Ranford and Colin Smith, each of whom is in his fourth or fifth season here, are the alternate captains.
Willick, a native of Prince George, won’t play again until after Christmas. He said if things go perfectly he would return Dec. 29 against the visiting Vancouver Giants.
“I’m able to do a little bit of weight bearing with a walking cast on,” he said. “But it’ll still be after Christmas.”
The Blazers return from the Christmas break with a game against the host Kelowna Rockets on Dec. 27.
“I will need a couple of practices, some full contact, to make sure I’m game ready before I jump into something like,” said Willick, who has 14 points in 19 games and also is the team’s best penalty-killing forward.
He added that the Dec. 29 game is “the best-case scenario.”
If that doesn’t happen, “I’m pretty much for sure after the new year unless I fall down the stairs at some point,” he said with a laugh.
For the past month he has watched from on high as the Blazers, who won 14 straight games just before he was injured, have gone 5-6-2 without him in the lineup.
“I’m still seeing the effort,” he said. “There are moments when we’ve been showing our frustration. But in our last game (a 2-1 victory over the visiting Swift Current Broncos on Tuesday) the frustration wasn’t there. The guys kept on doing what they were supposed to do, what we are told to do, and it paid off in the long run.
“We haven’t been playing bad; it’s just that the pucks aren’t doing what they were at the start of the season.”
For now, then, Willick will continue to watch from on high and perhaps pass on the odd observation. He has had some support, too, from people like former teammates Chase Schaber, who was the captain the last two seasons and now is at the U of Lethbridge, and Jordan DePape. Both have known the bite of injury, Schaber having had last season halted prematurely by a skate cut to a leg and DePape having left the club due to shoulder problems on Nov. 17.
“As long as I can still be part of the team in whatever way I can . . . that’s all that matters,” Willick said.
Meanwhile, in Prince George, the Cougars also announced a new captain with defenceman Dan Gibb taking over from forward Brock Hirsche.
Hirsche, a 20-year-old from Lethbridge, has had to retire due to shoulder problems. He had surgery Tuesday to repair a torn labrum, his second major procedure in the last two years.
The Cougars have told Hirsche he is welcome to stay with the club as an assistant coach, a role he has filled while on the shelf the last two seasons. He said he will decide what he’s going to do during the Christmas break.
Gibb had been an alternate captain, but that letter now belongs to former Blazers winger Ryan Hanes, who is from Kamloops.
Willick admitted being quite pleased for Hanes, who joined the Cougars in mid-November. He got caught up in the 20-year-old numbers game with the Blazers and had been with the BCHL’s Cowichan Valley Capitals.
“The guy in the dressing room, as far as what I know, he deserves something like that,” Hanes said. “He doesn’t take that lightly either.”
Gibb and Willick, the WHL’s newest captains, were teammates on the major midget Cariboo Cougars, who play out of Prince George, in 2008-09.
JUST NOTES: The Broncos are likely to be without forwards Josh Derko and Levi Bews until after Christmas. Both were taken to Royal Inland Hospital with leg injuries during Tuesday’s game. Derko apparently has some damage to his left ankle, although it’s not broken, and is on crutches. Bews has a sprained right knee. . . . The Broncos took a 3-2 lead into the third period last night in Kelowna, but ran out of gas and ended up losing 6-5. 

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Here we have Bob Tory, the general manager of the
Tri-City Americans, and rock star Alice Cooper,
the newest member of the team's fan club. You can
figure out who's who, can't you?

The Everett Silvertips have dealt D Griffin Foulk, 17, to the Seattle Thunderbirds for a couple of bantam draft picks. Everett gets a 2014 fourth-round selection and it gets back the sixth-round pick that it gave Seattle for G Daniel Cotton, 18, in October. . . . Put it all together and Everett gets Cotton and a 2014 fourth-rounder for Foulk. . . . Cotton is 6-5-0, 2.77, .914 with Everett. . . . Foulk, from Broomfield, Colo., is pointless in 14 games with Everett this season. Everett had acquired Foulk and a third-round pick from the Edmonton Oil Kings for F Tyler Maxwell, 20, on Nov. 24, 2011. . . .
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JUST NOTES: D Mirco Müller, 17, of the Everett Silvertips is on Switzerland’s roster for the World Junior Championship. The Swiss will play in Group A, along with Sweden, Finland, Czech Republic and Latvia. The Swiss open Dec. 27 against Latvia. . . . F Sean Monahan of the OHL’s Ottawa 67’s has been suspended for 10 games for an elbow to the head of Plymouth Whalers D Colin MacDonald on Sunday. There wasn’t a penalty called on the play. Monahan is expected to be invited to the Canadian national junior team’s selection camp.
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The junior B Kimberley Dynamiters of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League have announced the general manager/head coach Roman Vopat has resigned. . . . Vopat (Moose Jaw, Prince Albert, 1994-96) apparently resigned after being asked to step back from his coaching duties, at least for a bit. . . . Jordan Foreman has stepped in as interim head coach, with help from former Kootenay Ice head coach Kris Knoblauch, who was working as an assistant coach with Vopat. . . . The Dynamiters were 14-9 this season under Vopat. They are 14-11 going into the weekend. . . .
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Former WHLer Victor Gervais (Seattle, 1986-90) has stepped down as head coach of the junior B Westshore Wolves, an expansion team in the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League. He has been replaced by assistant coach Rob Doyle. . . . "Unfortunately, he's got a young family at home and his decision threw us all for a loop," Doyle told the Victoria Times Colonist. "He just walked into the room after our game last week and said, 'This is it.' " . . . The Wolves were 12-10-0 under Gervais.
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FRIDAY’S GAMES:
In Kamloops, the Saskatoon Blades erased a 2-0 third-period deficit and beat the Blazers, 3-2. . . . F Nathan Burns broke a 2-2 tie at 18:59 of the third period with his first goal since joining the Blades from the Vancouver Giants. It was Burns’ seventh game with Saskatoon. . . . G Andrey Makarov stopped 41 shots for Saskatoon. . . . Kamloops F Brendan Ranford picked up an assist for his 300th career regular-season point. He is 10th on the Blazers’ all-time scoring list. All of his points have come with the Blazers. The last Kamloops skater to get to 300 points was Hnat Domenichelli in 1995-96. . . . Kamloops was 0-6 on the PP; the Blades were 0-5. . . . Since winning 14 in a row, the Blazers are 3-6-1. . . .

In Kennewick, Wash., Malte Strömwall scored 43 seconds into OT to give the Tri-City Americans a 5-4 victory over the Spokane Chiefs. . . . Tri-City F Mitch Messier had forced OT with a goal at 19:43 of the third period with G Eric Comrie on the bench for the extra attacker. . . . Comrie, who made 35 stops, had been winless in five career starts against the Chiefs. . . . The Americans also scored in the final minute of the second period, as D Mitch Topping’s goal left his side trailing 3-2 going to the third. . . . Strömwall also had two assists. . . . The Americans have won four in a row. . . . Spokane head coach Don Nachbaur was behind the bench as a WHL head coach for 999th time. He will get to 1,000 tonight when the teams meet in Spokane. It is only fitting that it happen against the Americans because he spent six seasons, and 423 games, as their head coach. . . . Ken Hodge (Edmonton, Portland, 1,411), Ernie McLean (Estevan, New Westminster, 1,067) and Lorne Molleken (Moose Jaw, Regina, Saskatoon, 1,017) are the only other coaches in WHL history to get to 1,000. . . .

In Edmonton, D Griffin Reinhart’s PP goal in the second period was the winner as the Oil Kings dumped the Moose Jaw Warriors, 5-1. . . . Reinhart broke a 1-1 tie. . . . F Henrik Samuelsson and F Dylan Wruck each had two assists for Edmonton. . . . The Oil Kings were 2-for-4 on the PP with their first two goals coming with the man advantage. . . .

In Portland, the Winterhawks got two third-period goals from F Nic Petan and beat the Kootenay Ice, 4-2. . . . Portland F Brendan Leipsic had an empty-net goal and an assist to run his point streak to 12 games. He also has 10 straight multi-point games. . . . The Winterhawks (19-4-1) have won 15 of their last 16 games and are on point behind the Kamloops Blazers (19-6-2) for first in the WHL’s overall standings. . . . Ice G Wyatt Hoflin stopped 45 shots. . . . The Ice led 2-1 until Petan tied it at 11:37 of the third period and then broke the tie at 17:34. . . . Portland F Ty Rattie had two assists. He’s got points in 17 of his last 18 games, with 34 points over that stretch. . . . Petan, who has 15 goals, is riding a seven-game point streak. . . .

In Calgary, F Cody Sylvester scored two goals and set up another as the Hitmen dumped the Medicine Hat Tigers, 4-1. . . . Sylvester drew an assist on the game’s first goal, then scored the next two, giving him 16. . . . F Victor Rask added a goal, his first since returning from the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers, and added an assist for Calgary. . . . The Hitmen have won four in a row and nine of 10. . . . Calgary G Chris Driedger, who has won seven in a row, stopped 24 shots. He is 14-3-2. . . .

In Brandon, G Luke Siemens kicked out 18 shots to lead the Prince Albert Raiders to a 6-0 victory over the Wheat Kings. . . . Siemens has two shutouts this season and eight in his career. . . . F Davis Vandane had a goal and two assists for the Raiders. . . . Brandon D Ryley Miller took a kneeing major and game misconduct at 18:35 of the third period. . . . F Carson Perreaux, who is from Brandon, had Prince Albert’s second goal. . . . F Richard Nejezchleb (shoulder) was in Brandon’s lineup for the first time since Oct. 13. . . . Brandon played without F Alessio Bertaggia and D Ryan Pulock, its leading scorers, both of whom have undisclosed injuries. . . . The teams play again tonight, this time in Prince Albert. . . .

In Red Deer, F Matt Bellerive scored the only goal of the circus and the Rebels beat the Lethbridge Hurricanes, 2-1. . . . The Rebels are 4-0 since owner/president/general manager Brent Sutter took over as interim head coach, replacing Jesse Wallin. . . . Lethbridge is winless in its last five games. . . . F Conner Bleackley of Red Deer forced OT with a goal at 19:11 of the second period. . . . Lethbridge G Ty Rimmer stopped 44 shots. . . .

In Victoria, the Prince George Cougars got two goals from each of Brett Roulston and Ryan Hanes and beat the Royals, 5-4. . . . F Alex Forsberg had three assists for the Cougars. . . . Victoria F Tim Traber missed his fifth straight game with an undisclosed injury. . . . This was the first of four straight meetings between these teams. They’ll play in Victoria again tonight and then twice in Prince George next weekend. . . . The Cougars continue to be without F Troy Bourke. . . .

In Kelowna, F J.T. Barnett came back from a knee injury to score two goals as the Rockets beat the Regina Pats, 5-1. . . . Barnett, 20, came over from the Everett Silvertips during training camp but suffered a knee injury on the first shift of his first game, on Sept 21, and hadn’t played since then. . . . The Rockets had lost their last two games, both in Kennewick, Wash., to the Tri-City Americans. . . . F Myles Bell, a defenceman when he played for the Pats, had three assists. . . . Kelowna has won seven in a row. . . . The Pats went 2-1-2 on their B.C. Division swing, meaning they lost three times in five games but picked up six points.
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CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
F Victor Rask, Calgary
D Brady Gaudet, Red Deer

CHECKING-T0-THE-HEAD COUNT:
D Joel Edmundson, Edmonton
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From Hockey Business (@HockeyBusiness): “NHL cancelled games thru Dec 14 & All-Star Wknd Jan. 26-27 in Columbus...in other news, fans in Columbus said, "We had the All-Star Game?"
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From Thom Beuning (@ThomBeuning), the radio voice of the Seattle Thunderbirds: “First 9 yrs; ZERO trades between Tbirds & 'Tips. Last 2 months, 2 trades.”


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First victory, then heartbreak

Jordan DePape, No. 17 at lower right, won't take part in any pregame whooping
with the Kamloops Blazers now that should problems have forced him to end
his WHL career. He left Kamloops on Sunday morning and headed home to Winnipeg.
(KAMLOOPS DAILY NEWS PHOTO)

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports EditorA pall hung over the Kamloops Blazers’ dressing room at Interior Savings Centre on Saturday night, despite the fact the local WHL team had just posted a 5-4 shootout victory over those pesky Prince George Cougars.
Shortly after game’s end, right-winger Jordan DePape, a member of the Blazers since Dec. 13, 2009, when he was acquired from the Brandon Wheat Kings, walked out of the room, having just informed his teammates that his WHL career was over.
DePape had reconstructive surgery on his left shoulder on Nov. 4, 2011, which limited him to 14 regular-season games in 2011-12. He came back to finish with 14 points in 14 games, then added 13 in 11 playoff games.
This season, he tweaked his right shoulder early and missed six games. Then, on Nov. 11, during a 3-1 loss to the Winterhawks in Portland, he stood up forward Ty Rattie in the neutral zone — it wasn’t hard contact — and hurt the shoulder again. This time it was a subluxation — a temporary separation that could lead to more problems.
“It was a freak accident,” the 20-year-old Winnipegger said. “I never had (shoulders) problems until last season and now this season.”
DePape didn’t think it was fair to himself or his teammates to be in and out of the lineup all season. So . . .
“An MRI showed there is work that needs to be done. . . . I think it’s the best decision for me at this time,” he said.
What made it that much tougher is that the Blazers (19-5-1) own the WHL’s best record.
“I was so looking forward to this season,” DePape said. “I knew we would have a really good team and we should probably go far in the playoffs and that was the way I wanted to go out.
“Unfortunately . . . I don’t know what it is . . . the hockey gods just haven’t been on my side. I haven’t been able to catch a break.”
Immediately after the game, which the Blazers won on right-winger JC Lipon’s shootout goal, DePape informed his teammates of the decision.
“That was definitely the hardest part,” said DePape, who took in the pregame warmup from the bench area because he knew it would be his last one. “The past couple of days I’ve known and the staff has known I was going to be getting the surgery. It was my choice not to let the guys know. I didn’t want it to be a distraction because I knew these two games were huge to get back on track.
“After this game, it was emotional for me. I was tearing up; the guys were tearing up. They’re family to me and I’m going to really miss them.”
The feeling is mutual.
“We’re friends. We’re very close,” said a teary-eyed Brendan Ranford, who now has lost both his linemates to injury. Dylan Willick is out, likely until after Christmas, with a broken ankle.
“This is really tough,” Ranford continued. “He’s such a great guy.”
“It’s a pretty sad thing,” Kamloops head coach Guy Charron said, “when you have to face those kind of decisions, especially when you’re a young man and you feel you have all this energy to give.
“But I know that being an ex-player you can’t control injuries. It’s a sad one for him, but there’s lots of life ahead of him.”
A Type 1 diabetic who wears an insulin pump, DePape also did a lot of work with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation while in Kamloops, where he said “I met a lot of people and made a lot of good friends . . . who will be my friends for life.”
DePape had six points, four of them goals, in 17 games this season. He finishes his WHL career with 106 points, including 48 goals, in 142 regular-season games.
Meanwhile, Lipon, who had 19 goals in 69 games last season, ran his WHL-leading total to 21 with two goals against the Cougars. His second goal, at 15:25 of the third period, forged a 4-4 tie. Then he won it with a goal in the fourth round of the shootout.
When it went to a shootout, Lipon said he looked back at associate coach Dave Hunchak.
“He was like, ‘You got one?’ I was like, ‘Yeah, I’ll go,’ ” Lipon said. “I was going to shoot and I ended up deking. You’ve kind of got to adapt at times.”
Lipon also became the WHL’s first 50-point man this season, while linemate Colin Smith had two assists to stay within a point of the lead.
Cole Ully also scored twice for Kamloops, ending a 10-game drought.
“It is amazing how if you shoot the puck you have the potential of scoring,” Charron said. “And if you don’t shoot, don’t expect to score. He shot twice and he got two goals.”
Asked if he had been urging Ully to shoot more, Charron replied: “Everyone. Not just him.”
The Cougars, who held 2-0 and 4-3 leads, got goals from Jari Erricson, Colin Jacobs, Chase Witala and Ryan Hanes. The latter, a former Blazers player in his second game with the Cougars, put the visitors ahead at 12:56 of the third period.
“I wasn’t nervous,” said Hanes, who is from Kamloops and heard loud cheers when he scored. “I was more excited to get going.”
While the Blazers (19-5-1) remain four points clear atop the WHL’s overall standings, the Cougars (7-11-4) are tied for the Western Conference’s last playoff spot.
“That’s the way we play all the time,” Cougars head coach Dean Clark said. “We’ve played a lot of good games where we’ve found a way not to win.”
Charron added: “They have our number as far as how they play us. They play hard and you have to give them credit. I give them credit for the effort they put out every time they play us.”
JUST NOTES: The attendance was 4,692. . . . Blazers G Cole Cheveldave stopped 27 shots, five fewer than Prince George’s Mac Engel. . . . Engel made the game’s best stop when he came across to get a glove on a hard shot Tim Bozon thought was into an open side in the second period. Bozon was left gritting his teeth and muttering to himself. . . . The Daily News Three Stars: 1. Lipon: Scoring leader comes through when needed; 2. F Jarrett Fontaine, Prince George: Mr. Hustle; 3. Ully: Blazers need more of that secondary scoring. . . . Former Blazers D Austin Madaisky is on the shelf with the ECHL’s Evansville IceMen. He has a wrist injury and is to be in Columbus today to see the Blue Jackets’ medical staff. Doctors in Evansville have indicated that he may have a torn ligament (scapholunate). He now wants to get a second opinion. Madaisky said it’s something that has been bothering him since he was in training camp with the AHL’s Springfield Falcons. Madaisky, 20, who is under contract to the Blue Jackets, has five points, including one goal, in eight games with the IceMen.


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The Prince George Cougars will be looking for this kind of play from
Ryan Hanes (13), here with the Kamloops Blazers and taking out defenceman
Shea Theodore of the Seattle Thunderbirds during a game in Kent, Wash.,
last season.
(CHRISTOPHER MAST / MASTIMAGES.COM)

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
The Kamloops Blazers’ Saturday night date with the Prince George Cougars just got a whole lot more interesting.
That’s because Kamloops Minor Hockey Association product Ryan Hanes, who played the last three seasons with the Blazers, has been added to the Cougars’ roster.
The Portland Winterhawks, who are 16-3-1 and on a 12-game winning streak, are scheduled to visit Interior Savings Centre on Friday night, with the Cougars (7-10-3) here on Saturday night. Both games are to begin at 7 o’clock.
The Cougars are 2-6-2 in their last 10 outings and are hoping that Hanes, an agitator of the first order, will be able to provide them with a jumpstart.
Hanes, a right-winger, was released by the Blazers in August as they moved towards the WHL maximum of three 20-year-old players per team. He put up 40 points, including 16 goals, and 316 penalty minutes in 181 regular-season games with the Blazers. Last season, he had career highs in goals (8), assists (14) and points.
After being dropped by Kamloops, he joined the BCHL’s Cowichan Valley Capitals, for whom he put up 25 points, including 12 goals, in 20 games. He was seventh in the BCHL scoring race, just three points off the lead.
“Personally, things were going really well but our team was struggling to get wins,” Hanes said. “I was playing probably the best hockey I’ve played. It was a lot of fun.”
Hanes was making dinner early Tuesday evening when his phone rang. It was Dean Clark, the Cougars’ head coach, with an offer. Hanes quickly accepted and left early yesterday.
“I got out of there fast,” Hanes said with a laugh.
Hanes drove to Kamloops yesterday and is to head north early this morning. He is scheduled to practise with the Cougars this afternoon and should be in the lineup — wearing No. 13 — against the visiting Saskatoon Blades on Friday.
The Cougars had room for a third 20-year-old after putting veteran forward Brock Hirsche on the 30-day injured list with what is believed to be a long-term shoulder injury. Hirsche, who was limited by injuries to just eight games last season, had shoulder surgery in December. He now is dealing with doctors in an attempt to learn the exact seriousness of this most-recent injury.
Hanes was quick  to admit that he is really excited to be back in the WHL and that, until Tuesday evening, he “never” thought of playing for the Cougars.
As for Saturday night’s game, he said: “I’m looking forward to it, that’s for sure.”
Asked who on the Blazers is likely to chirp at him the most, Hanes paused, chuckled and said: “I don’t know if anyone will chirp me. I don’t know.”
Then he added: “Everyone will talk to me . . . there’ll be some joking.”
It was during the second round of last spring’s playoffs when, with the Blazers ensconced in a bitter seven-game series with Portland, Hanes spent the warmup prior to Game 3 at the ISC patrolling the centre red-line, yapping and snarling at visiting players.
So . . . will he be doing that on Saturday?
“Oh yeah, for sure,” Hanes said. Then he laughed. “No, definitely not.”
One of the most popular Blazers in recent years, Hanes was overwhelmed with the response from fans yesterday.
At one point, he turned to Twitter with exclamation-point fever: “I just wanna retweet everyone’s tweets right now! But there’s about 50 of em! Thanks everyone! Appreciate it! I’m one excited kid!”
He later said he had received more than 60 tweets.
“I was sitting on the ferry having a Caesar salad and scrolling through them all,” he said. “There were a lot of them.”
Meanwhile, the Blazers, who have lost four straight games and five of six, slipped to fourth in the CHL rankings that were released Wednesday. Two weeks ago, they were No. 1; last week they were No. 2. Now, the QMJHL’s Halifax Mooseheads (17-2-1) are first, followed by Portland (16-3-1) and the OHL’s Owen Sound Attack (14-3-3).
JUST NOTES: Team WHL beat Russia 1-0 in a shootout in Vancouver last night in Game 5 of the Subway Super Series. Linemates Colin Smith and JC Lipon of the Blazers, who are 1-2 in the WHL scoring race, were spectators. They are scheduled to play against the Russians tonight in Victoria but are to return to Kamloops in time to play Friday against the Winterhawks. . . . The Red Deer Rebels fired head coach Jesse Wallin yesterday. Brent Sutter, the franchise’s owner, president and general manager, installed himself as the interim head coach. He also signed Jeff Truitt, a former Kelowna Rockets head coach, as associate coach. Truitt was working as an assistant coach with the U of Lethbridge Pronghorns. . . . The Rebels also sent F Charles Inglis, 20, home to await a trade. Inglis led the Rebels in goals (11) and points (14). Red Deer acquired him on Dec. 29 after the Cougars had sent him home.

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Blazers preparing for another hectic weekend

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
After unwinding for a couple of days, the Kamloops Blazers, fresh off a 5-0-0 road trip and riding a 10-game WHL winning streak, will get their noses back to the grindstone today.
The Blazers played five games in seven days on their swing into the Central Division. They now are preparing to play three games in three nights and four in six nights.
The Brandon Wheat Kings will be at Interior Savings Centre on Friday night, with the Victoria Royals here on Saturday. The Blazers then will visit the Seattle Thunderbirds on Sunday and head coach Mark Ferner’s Everett Silvertips on Tuesday.
“We’re good to go,” Kamloops head coach Guy Charron said Tuesday. “We’ve got a tough schedule again. That’s why we gave them a little bit of time this week. We might as well try to save as much energy as we can.”
With right-winger Jordan DePape (shoulder) having received the green light after a six-game absence, it should be all hands on deck come Friday. DePape skated with assistant coach Ed Patterson yesterday and is to return to full practise today.
Left-winger Chase Souto, a healthy scratch for the last two games, also is expected back in the lineup.
“He has to realize what he needs to do on a consistent basis,” Charron said of Souto, a third-year skater who has three points in nine games. “Hopefully, he understands now. He’s a capable young man. I respect his skill level and everything but he has to do it our way.
“Once he buys into that and plays the way he can, I think he’ll give us some dividends.”
The Blazers take a 12-0-1 record into the weekend. They are the only one of the CHL’s 60 teams not to have lost in regulation time.
The 10-game winning streak is the franchise’s longest since 1998-99 and just three off the franchise record (1986-87, 1989-90).
When a team gets on a roll like this, especially early in the season, the number can sometimes be overwhelming.
For example, the Blazers’ 24-man roster includes four of the WHL’s five leading scorers — linemates JC Lipon (32 points), Colin Smith (28), Tim Bozon (21) and left-winger Brendan Ranford also at 21.
Smith also is riding a 13-game point streak. He is the only player in the WHL to have at least one point in each of his team’s games this season.
Goaltender Cole Cheveldave, who is expected to start against Brandon, is 8-0-0 and leads the WHL with a 2.06 GAA. Only Eric Comrie of the Tri-City Americans, who is 9-3-2, has more victories than does Cheveldave.
JUST NOTES: Smith is the WHL’s player of the week after picking up 10 points, including seven assists, in four games. Lipon won it each of the previous two weeks. . . . The CHL’s weekly rankings will be released today and the Blazers will be No. 1 for a second straight week. . . . D Austin Madaisky, 20, remains with the AHL’s Springfield Falcons. He has signed with the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets but is eligible to return to the Blazers. After having been a healthy scratch through the Falcons’ first four games, he should get into the lineup this weekend as Springfield, which continues to carry 10 defencemen, plays three games in three days. . . . F Ryan Hanes, who was released by the Blazers in August as they worked to get down to three 20-year-olds, has rediscovered his offensive touch with the BCHL’s Cowichan Valley Capitals. He had a goal and four assists in a 9-5 victory over the visiting Trail Smoke Eaters on Sunday and is tied for fourth in the BCHL points derby, with 18 in 13 games. Last season, he had 22 points in 55 games with the Blazers.

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A humorous text exchange with a WHL coach on Tuesday morning after he had seen the photo from inside the Whitney Forum that was posted here . . .
COACH: Just read your blog this a.m. Flin Flon was a tough place to play. Had a chuckle to myself this morning. Some good memories.
ME: Long bus rides to Flin Flon for some players!
COACH: And coaches! I did both.
———
Marty Aalto of Port Orchard, Wash., with a note on the toughest rink debate:
“What about Queen's Park in New West? I only went there once in the Big Bad Bruins era but it scared the heck out of me. . . .  It's tough for anyone to really appreciate the Bruins of the mid-’70s if you weren't actually there to see it.”
———
THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Radek Meidl (Seattle, Tri-City, 2006-08) signed a try-out contract with Berounsti Medvedi (Czech Republic, 1.Liga). Meidl had no points in seven games with Michalovce (Slovakia, 1.Liga) and two goals in seven games with Prostejov (Czech Republic, 2.Liga) last season. . . .
D Jordan Henry (Moose Jaw, Red Deer, 2003-07) signed a three-week try-out contract with Södertälje (Sweden, Allsvenskan). He had two goals and nine assists in 68 games with the Abbotsford Heat (AHL) and the Chicago Wolves (AHL) last season.
———
Troy Mick, a former WHL player and coach, has stepped aside as head coach of the BCHL’s Salmon Arm SilverBacks. He will stay on as the club’s general manager and will retain his status as a minority owner.
“This was a very tough decision but the right one for the players and the franchise,” Mick said in a statement issued by the club. “I needed to be a full-time coach for the players and I could not fulfil those commitments as my other duties were always getting in the way.”
The new head coach is Scott Robinson, a former Salmon Arm assistant coach and a two-time BCHL coach of the year.
Robinson, a native of Salmon Arm, spent the last two seasons as head coach of the NAHL’s Dawson Creek Rage. The franchise folded after last season.
The SilverBacks, who are 0-2 after the opening weekend of regular-season play, hold their home-opener Friday against the Vernon Vipers.
———
Ryan Hanes is a defenceman trying to crack the roster of the OHL’s Kitchener Rangers. No, Ryan Hanes used to play with the WHL’s Kamloops Blazesrs and now is a forward with the BCHL’s Cowichan Valley Capitals. . . . Yes, there are two Ryan Hanes, and both are 20 years of age. . . . Josh Brown of the Kitchener-Waterloo Record has more right here.
———
Ron Robison, the commissioner of the WHL, has told Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post that the WHL’s 20-year-old rule isn’t about to change.
Harder writes:
“That’s the official word from WHL commissioner Ron Robison, who said Tuesday the league won’t increase its three-player overage limit to accommodate the potential for an influx of talent from an NHL work stoppage.”
Robison also told Harder that the league won’t change its approach to import players.
Pats head coach Pat Conacher had told Harder he would like to see teams given five 20-year-old/import slots to use as they see fit.
“There has not been any discussion at this point in time,” Robison told Harder. “We’re continuing on with the same ratios of three overage players and two import players. We’re comfortable overall in where we are in that regard. The whole thing is subject to change from time to time. But we’re happy with the complement the way it is right now.”
What this means is that the WHL continues to see its role as a developmental league first and an entertainment vehicle second.
Harder’s complete story is right here.
———
D Mitchell Wheaton, 17, is to return to the Kelowna Rockets this week after having committed to the WHL team. The 6-foot-5 Wheaton was a 10th-round selection in the 2010 bantam draft. He opened camp with the Rockets, but then returned to the AJHL’s Spruce Grove Saints. . . . Last season, he had 14 points and 62 penalty minutes in 45 games with the Saints.
———
The Portland Winterhawks appear to be down to four goaltenders now that Jarrod Schamerhorn, a 17-year-old from Kelowna, has been assigned to the BCHL’s Nanaimo Clippers.
Schamerhorn, who has signed with the Winterhawks, played last season with the major midget Kootenay Ice.
That leaves the Winterhawks with returnees Mac Carruth,, 20, and Brendan Burke, 17, along with Cam Lanigan, 20, and Brendan Jensen, 19. Carruth, however, has signed with the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks and is expected to start the season in their organization.
———
D Ryan Murray, who was selected by the Columbus Blue Jackets with the second pick of the 2012 NHL draft, will begin making his way to Everett today.
Murray, 18, is the captain of the Everett Silvertips and, without an NHL labour dispute, would have been given a good shot to make the Blue Jackets’ roster.
Instead, it would seem that he will start the season in the WHL.
But what happens if top prospects start their season in major junior and then there is a settlement between the NHL and the NHLPA?
Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch takes a look right here.
———
The AJHL’s Fort McMurray Oil Barons swung a deal Tuesday that landed them F Danny Gayle, 20, who was released earlier by the Calgary Hitmen. . . . Gayle had 39 points in 61 games with the Hitmen last season but lost out in the 20-year-old numbers game. . . . The Oil Barons sent F Jessey Touchette, an 18-year-old from Fort McMurray, to the Lloydminster Bobcats for Gayle’s rights.
———
The Medicine Hat Tigers have their roster at 29 players after assigning G Keelan Williams, 16, to the midget AAA Calgary Rangers; D Nathyn Mortlock, 16, and F Alex Mowbray, 16, also were assigned. Mortlock played last season with the midget AAA UFA Bisons who play out of Strathmore, Alta., while Mowbray was with the midget AAA Calgary Buffaloes. . . . The Tigers are carrying three goaltenders, 10 defencemen and 16 forwards. That includes Czech G Marek Langhamer, 18, who arrived in Medicine Hat late last week. He was a seventh-round selection by the Phoenix Coyotes in the 2012 NHL draft. . . . The other goaltenders on the roster are Kenny Cameron and Dawson MacAuley. Cameron, 19, got into 14 games with the Tigers last season, while MacAuley, 18, played in one.
———
The ECHL’s Bakersfield Condors have offered an amateur tryout deal to RW Justin Bieber.
"Very rarely do you see this combination of skill and toughness," said Condors head coach Matt O'Dette in a press release. “We share a common Canadian heritage since we both hail from Ontario. I've scouted some video of him online skating with my hometown team, the Toronto Maple Leafs, and I think he could provide some elusive speed up front for us. Plus, he's a right-handed shot which we've been looking to add.”
The Bakersfield Californian has more right here.
Bieber is 18 years of age, which makes you wonder why a junior team hasn’t offered him a contract and guaranteed him a spot on the roster. Sheesh, the guy has 17 million Twitter followers so you have to think having him on the roster would be worth an immediate boost to attendance. It might not do much for beer sales, though.
And, sheesh, just imagine Bieber Bobblehead Night!

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Hanes takes WHL's best muzzy to BCHL

By MARK HUNTER
Daily News Sports Reporter
Ryan Hanes is heading into uncharted territory.
Hanes, 20, has decided to move to Duncan to play for the BCHL’s Cowichan Capitals. He made the decision 10 days after his hometown Kamloops Blazers, with whom he had spent three seasons, put him on WHL waivers.

RYAN HANES

 Before now, Hanes’s hockey career had been based solely in Kamloops.
He went through the Kamloops Minor Hockey Association — the Blazers took him in the fifth round, 99th overall, of the 2007 bantam draft. He spent time with the major-midget Thompson Blazers and the KIJHL’s Kamloops Storm before joining the Blazers in 2009-10.
On Sunday, he’ll head to Duncan.
“I’ve only been over there to play in Victoria last season,” Hanes said Thursday, of the Blazers games against the WHL’s Royals. “I don’t know a whole lot about it.”
He does know that the Capitals had his rights, and convinced him to come play.
“They protected my rights . . . I didn’t even know they could do that, but they did,” Hanes said. “The called and asked me to come. It sounded good.”
Hanes played 181 regular-season games for the Blazers, scoring 16 goals and adding 24 assists. He also had 316 penalty minutes as he became a fan favourite for his feisty play.
Last season, as a 19-year-old, Hanes set career highs in goals (8), assists (14) and points (22) in playing 55 games. He was plus-12. He also appeared in 11 playoff games, ending with a goal and an assist, as the Blazers took the Portland Winterhawks to Game 7 in the second round.
But he was one of five 20-year-olds on the Blazers’ roster, so fell victim to the numbers game.
Kamloops still has forwards Jordan DePape, Brendan Ranford and Dylan Willick and defenceman Austin Madaisky to battle for the three 20-year-old spots. Madaisky, a Columbus Blue Jackets prospect, may play with the AHL’s Springfield Falcons this season, but an NHL lockout could affect that.
Hanes said he has talked with Jim Ingram, the Capitals’ general manager and head coach, but doesn’t know much, if anything, about his role on the team.
“I haven’t really had time to think about that,” he said. “It’s all happened so fast.”
The Capitals have been on the ice already, and will open their exhibition season tonight against the Grizzlies in Victoria. Cowichan also will take on the host Alberni Valley Bulldogs on Saturday.
Hanes will arrive Sunday and practice with the Capitals on Monday and Tuesday, before heading to Nanaimo for a Wednesday exhibition game against the Clippers.
It’s a quick turnaround for Hanes, who won’t have the benefit of a training camp.
“I’m not worried,” he said.
JUST NOTES: The Capitals’ leading scorer last season was F Devin Gannon, a Kamloops native who was playing his final junior season. In 59 games, Gannon had 79 points, including 51 assists. . . . F Brandon Mistal, another Kamloops product, had 32 points, 13 of them goals, in 61 games with the Capitals last season. He has since been traded to the Salmon Arm Silverbacks, with whom he played from 2009-2011.
———
A couple of Thursday tweets:
From former Seattle Thunderbirds G Calvin Pickard (@cpickard1): “@HANESR13 you were always a treat to play against!!! One of the biggest beauties in the league and obviously the best muzz #allthebestbud”
———
From Portland Winterhawks F Taylor Peters (@thepistolpete25): “Sorry to see @HANESR13 go. The dub loses one of the great mustaches of our era.”

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N-H-L L-O-C-K-O-U-T!
That is just in case anyone asks if you know how to spell lockout.
Because it is coming and it’s coming in a big hurry.
The Detroit Red Wings’ annual eight-team prospects tournament that is held in Traverse City, Mich., was cancelled on Thursday. Every year, dozens of junior-aged prospects played for rookie teams in the tournament. But not this year.
The Traverse City wing-ding . . . the five-team Penticton Young Guns tournament that had become a fixture over the last few years . . . a handful of NHL exhbition games in Europe . . . have I missed anything on the list of cancellations.
For what it’s worth, I’m not expecting to see NHL teams in action at all in 2012-13. The gulf between the NHL and NHLPA right now is best described as an abyss. In the end, all you have to do is follow the money, and the biggest stumbling block is going to involve revenue sharing, something the richest franchises don’t even want mentioned.
How bizarre is all of this? Consider that Ed Snider is a big wheel in the NHL. He is the chairman of Comcast Spectacor, a company that owns, among other things, the Philadelphia Flyers and Comcast SportsNet. The first offer made by Snider and the owners to the players called for cap length of five years on player contracts. The Flyers — Snider’s Flyers — signed forward Wayne Simmonds to a new contract this week that is six years in length.
You figure it out!
One other thing . . . the NHLPA has never been led by someone like Donald Fehr. The NHL and its team owners are about to find out what baseball learned a long time ago – Fehr is the real deal.
There won’t be any capitulating by the players this time around.
Gary Bettman, the NHL commissioner, has never been one to capitulate.
So, hockey fans, get ready to take another one you know where.
———
F Brad Hoban, who played 325 games with the Swift Current Broncos, has decided to attend the U of British Columbia (UBC) and play for the Thunderbirds. Hoban put up 176 points, including 69 goals, while with Swift Current. Last season, in 69 games, he had a 53 points, 21 of them goals.
———
The Brandon Wheat Kings added some toughness on the back end and firmed up their 20-year-old situation, at least for now, by acquiring D Tyler Yaworski from the Prince Albert Raiders on Thursday. . . . Brandon sent a fifth-round selection in the 2013 bantam draft the other way. . . . Yaworski, who has three WHL seasons under his belt, had 23 points and 188 penalty minutes in 71 games last season. . . . Brandon’s other 20s are D Ryley Miller and F Dominick Favreau. . . . The Raiders, meanwhile, are down to three 20-year-olds — F Anthony Bardaro and D Antoine Corbin, along with G Luke Siemens, who was acquired earlier from the Moose Jaw Warriors.
The Wheat Kings also revealed that D Dylan Kuczek, an 18-year-old Winnipegger, “has informed the club that he will not be returning.” Kuczek, a second-round pick in the 2009 bantam draft, had two points and 27 penalty minutes in 33 games last season.
———
The Everett Silvertips have added D Landon Oslanski, 20, to their roster after claiming him on waivers from the Lethbridge Hurricanes.
Oslanski was selected by the Spokane Chiefs in the third round of the 2007 bantam draft. He played one game with the Chiefs before being dealt to Lethbridge as part of the swap that moved F Kyle Beach to Spokane.
In 207 career games, Oslanski has 70 points, including 16 goals, and 239 penalty minutes.
The addition of Oslanski leaves Everett with five 20s on its roster, the others being G Brandon Anderson, who has signed with the NHL’s Washington Capitals and could open the season in their organization, and forwards J.T. Barnett, Cody Fowlie and Ryan Harrison. Anderson’s rights were acquired from the Brandon Wheat Kings last month.
The Hurricanes’ roster still includes five 20-year-olds — D Daniel Johnston, D Tyler Kizuik, F Graham Hood, F Nick Buonassisi and G Ty Rimmer, the latter having been acquired from the Tri-City Americans in May.
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Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix reports here that G Andrey Makarov of the Saskatoon Blades “has accepted an invitation to the Buffalo Sabres’ training camp next month.” The move was confirmed by Jay Grossman, Makarov’s agent. . . . Makarov, one of Russia’s top junior-aged goaltenders, was selected in the NHL’s 2012 draft, despite being ranked seventh among draft-eligible goaltenders by NHL Central Scouting. . . . After the draft, Makarov, 19, was in the Florida Panthers’ development camp.
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F Ryan Hanes, a 20-year-old who was placed on waivers by the Kamloops Blazers, hadn't heard from any team or teams as of Thursday evening. "Hopefully, I can go somewhere and play," he wrote in a text last night. . . . With the Blazers a week from training camp, Hanes found himself fifth on the Blazers' 20-year-old depth chart. Assuming he cleared WHL waivers, Hanes now is a free agent.
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David Robinson, who played two-plus seasons with the Chilliwack Bruins (remember them?), is getting into the coaching game. After spending last season at the U of Calgary, Robinson is returning to his hometown of Vernon and will work as an assistant coach with the BCHL’s Vipers. After leaving the Bruins, Robinson finished the 2009-10 season with the Vipers and captained the team the following season.
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And, finally, a tip of the cap in the direction of the Danbury Whalers of the Federal Hockey League. The Whalers have made a key signing in the person of Dan Barletta. There aren’t a whole lot of hockey teams who employ organists, but the Whalers now are one of them. There’s more right here.


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The Kamloops Blazers are expected to place Ryan Hanes (13) on WHL
waivers today. Other teams will have 48 hours to claim him.
(Photo by Murray Mitchell/Kamloops Daily News)

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
Ryan Hanes’ days with his hometown WHL team appear to be over.
“Was a great 4 years and chapter in my life!” Hanes tweeted on Monday night. “Loved every minute of it and the friends I made! Gunna miss everyone! Now what do I do #sadday”
Hanes, who spent last week instructing at the Blazers’ annual hockey school, couldn’t be reached for comment last night.
However, a source familiar with the situation confirmed to The Daily News that Hanes, a 20-year-old left winger, will be placed on waivers today. Other teams have 48 hours to make a claim. The waiver cost is $1,000, but only if a player goes on to play for the claiming team. If no one claims Hanes, he will become a free agent.
His departure from the Blazers comes four years after the club announced his signing on Aug. 15, 2008. A product of the Kamloops Minor Hockey Association, Hanes was a fifth-round selection, 99th overall, in the 2007 WHL bantam draft. He played with the major midget Thompson Blazers and the junior B Kamloops Storm before joining the WHL Blazers early in 2009-10.
Hanes played in 181 regular-season games with the Blazers, totalling 40 points, including 16 goals, and 316 penalty minutes.
Last season, Hanes had career highs in goals (8), assists (14) and points (22) in only 55 games. He sat out 15 games after suffering a concussion when he was involved in an altercation at Cactus Jack’s Saloon during the Christmas break. He later missed two games with a leg injury.
Hanes, a grinding player with a tonne of character, earned the reputation as one of the WHL’s best trash-talkers. He also was one of the most popular players in the Kamloops dressing room. He fought 21 times in 2010-11 when the Blazers had the third-most fights (96) in the WHL. Last season, with the Blazers taking a more-disciplined approach, he fought just six times. He also took penalties resulting in only 13 opposition power plays on which two goals were scored.
In the end, though, Hanes becomes an early victim of the WHL’s 20-year-old game. Each of the 22 teams is allowed to dress three 20-year-old players per game, with teams having to declare their three in mid-October
Without Hanes, the Blazers’ roster still includes four 20-year-olds – defenceman Austin Madaisky and forwards Jordan DePape, Brendan Ranford and Dylan Willick.
Madaisky has signed with the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets and likely is ticketed for the AHL’s Springfield Falcons. However, an NHL lockout could change all that.
DePape was limited to 14 games by early-season shoulder surgery, but still put up 14 points, including six goals. He added 13 points in 11 playoff games.
Ranford set career highs with 40 goals and 92 points. He has 270 points in 278 career games with the Blazers. He is 63 games shy of C.J. Stretch’s franchise record for career regular-season games played (341). A seventh-round selection by Philadelphia in the NHL’s 2010 draft, Ranford didn’t sign with the Flyers and wasn’t taken in the 2012 draft. He is an NHL free agent.
Willick reached career highs in goals (28), assists (26) and points (54) last season, his third with Kamloops, and is the club’s top defensive forward.

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Hanes proves he's Tough Mudder

Brothers Randy (left) and Ryan Hanes sport the Tough Mudder
headbands they received after completing the challenge.
(Photo courtesy Ryan Hanes)

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor

A weary Ryan Hanes rests after finishing
the Tough Mudder in Whistler.
(Photo courtesy Ryan Hanes)

Ryan Hanes, who is to opposing WHL players what fingernails are to chalkboards, has been called a lot of things during his three seasons with the Kamloops Blazers.
Tough Mudder likely isn’t one of them.
No matter. Because Hanes took time over the weekend to prove that, yes, he is a Tough Mudder.
Hanes was among the thousands of people who participated in the Tough Mudder at Whistler’s Olympic Park on the weekend.
Tough Mudder?
According to one website, “Tough Mudder is not your average lame-ass mud run or spirit-crushing ‘endurance’ road race.”
“It was unreal,” Hanes, 20, said. “It was pretty tough. I thought it was going to be tougher but it was definitely a challenge.”
Fashioned after military fitness/obstacle courses, the only thing missing from Tough Mudder is a Clint Eastwood-type drill sergeant standing over the participants and barking at them the whole time.
It all began as an entry in a business plan contest drawn up by Will Dean while he was a student at Harvard Business School. Tough Mudder reached the final, Dean brought in Guy Livingstone, and the first endurance challenge was held in Allentown, Pa., on May 2, 2010. (Dean is the chief executive officer; Livingstone is president and COO. The Tough Mudder website lists 42 personnel.)
Since 2010, hundreds of thousands of people have taken up the challenge and, in the process, raised more than US$3 million for the Wounded Warrior Project.
Hanes said he was among 14,000 people on the course in Whistler on Saturday and that another 15,000 were to take up the challenge on Sunday.
It took place on a 16-kilometre course that included 24 challenges, or obstacles, things like the Swamp Stomp, where you wade through waist-deep mud; the Boa Constrictor, which involves crawling through tubes that are partially full of rather muddy water; the Arctic Enema, which features ice water in a dumpster; the self-described Fire Walker, Berlin Wall and Glacier, and . . . well, you get the idea.
“You’d run for like three miles, do a couple obstacles, run for a mile, do an obstacle, run . . .,” Hanes said.
One of the major attractions of Tough Mudder is that it isn’t a timed race. The object isn’t to win; it is to finish.
The organization’s website points out that “Mudders do not take themselves too seriously” and “You cannot complete a Tough Mudder course alone.”
Hanes was part of a team that included his two brothers — Mike, 23, who instigated the whole thing a few months ago, and Randy, 21.
“(Mike) called me in February,” Ryan related, “and said ‘I’m doing this Tough Mudder thing. Do you want to do it with me?’ I signed up in February and just did it.
“Mike and me and Randy did it. Mainly, Mike got us three to do it and we got some friends.”
Being part of a team also is an important factor. As Hanes pointed out, “If you did it by yourself, you wouldn’t want to do it. But with all the support, it was fun.”
He also pointed out, while laughing, that with his older brother there, “I had to keep up.”
When the big day finally arrived, they were on the course at 11:15 a.m., and off it about three and a half hours later.
“We all stuck together the whole way,” Hanes said. “It took us quite a while. We had a couple of girls on the team so we would wait for them and then go as a team the whole way.”
Asked to describe what he went through, Hanes replied:
“There was a Berlin Wall thing — I don’t know how high it was — but you have to boost up and get them over. It was pretty tough. . . .
“You’d crawl under barbed wire that’s 12 inches off the ground. Crawl in about five inches of mud for about 20 feet. . . .
“There was this huge ice bath. Jump in and swim under a gate that’s at the bottom of the bath. You have to dive in, swim under in freezing cold water and come out the other side. . . .
“You run four miles up the hill and there’s a glacier that’s like a lake. You slide down this big snow bank and you have to go 10 feet swimming in the water and you get out and you have to run 15 minutes on the snow. Half of the lake was still frozen still. . . .
“There were a couple of outhouses and water stations. Grab a water, go to the bathroom and keep going.”
Crazy?
As Ashley Ellefson, Tough Mudder’s events director, told Jeff Green of the Vancouver Province: “They might be a little bit mentally unstable.” She apparently was laughing at the time.
When it was all over, those who finish, which statistically averages about 75 per cent, get are given an orange Tough Mudder headband — these are special as they aren’t for sale.
You also can choose to get a tattoo of a Tough Mudder logo. The Hanes gang opted out of the ink, primarily because the lineup was so long the wait was about four hours.
Meanwhile, Hanes was back home on Sunday.
“I’m really tired and sore,” he said, “and I think I’m going to be worse (Monday).“
So . . . would he do it again?
He didn’t hesitate.
“Oh yeah,” he gushed. “It was a lot of fun.”

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