A wild fire-fuelled night in B.C. ... Glass signs with Vegas ... MJHL players to pay development fee

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— Terry Massey (@TerryMassey) July 6, 2017

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It’s been a wild and unpleasant night in the fire-ravaged areas of B.C. — north and west of Kamloops and in Lake Country, just a bit north of Kelowna.

Our thoughts and prayers are with those people who lost their homes and/or were forced to flee from the fires. 

As for Kamloops, the city is teeming with evacuees. There already were lots of evacuees here, including those from the Ashcroft, Cache Creek and 100 Mile House areas, when Williams Lake was hit with an evacuation order last night. Many of those people registered at the Sandman Centre upon arrival but, with Kamloops fairly bursting at the seams, others were to have been directed to Chilliwack.

Some of Saturday’s rogue fire activity was caused by winds from a cold front moving in off the Pacific Ocean. Who knows what awaits B.C. in the morning? The forecast is for cooler temperatures, perhaps in the low 20s, and higher humidity. It ain’t rain, but it will help.

In Kamloops, there were a couple of scares from grass fires last night, but quick action by fire crews got things under control.

We live 20 kilometres east of Kamloops, on the north side of the South Thompson River and haven’t been threatened. We also have had only two days of heavy smoke; in fact, the last three days have been sunny and warm with nothing but blue skies.

Yes, we are among the fortunate ones, at least to this point, and we know it.

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Couldn't be more excited to sign with @GoldenKnights, thanks to everyone who helped me along the way! @TheHockeyAgency @pdxwinterhawks pic.twitter.com/GFp0gNNPKR

— Cody Glass (@Cody12Glass) July 15, 2017

F Cody Glass of the Portland Winterhawks has signed his first professional contract — a three-year entry-level deal with the Vegas Golden Knights, who selected him sixth overall in the 2017 NHL draft. . . . Glass, 18, is from Winnipeg and is expected to return for a third season with the Winterhawks. He is eligible to play with the Golden Knights, but because of his age can’t be assigned to their AHL affiliate, the Chicago Wolves. . . . Last season, Glass had 94 points, 32 of them goals, in 69 games with Portland. That followed a freshman season in which he totalled 10 goals and 17 assists in 27 games. . . . The Winterhawks selected him in the first round of the WHL’s 2014 bantam draft. . . . The Golden Knights had three first-round selections in the 2017 NHL draft; they signed the other two selections on Saturday, too. F Nick Suzuki of the OHL’s Owen Sound Attack and D Erik Brannstrom. Suzuki is expected to return to the Attack, while Brannstrom, who won’t turn 18 until September, will play for HV71 in Sweden’s Elite League.

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Players wanting to play in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League will have to pay starting in 2017-18. Scott Billeck of the Winnipeg Sun reports that the league will be implementing a player development fee. . . . “It’s a move sources say that will allow for the league to better advertise itself during its annual showcase, bringing in more scouts and more attention to the event. The move will also help provide better health and dental benefits for the league’s 250-plus players,” Billeck reports. “The league has yet to officially announced the development fees, which are said to be set at $500 per player, but sources say it is a move that has been in the works for a while. The league will take in just under $130,000.” . . . Billeck’s story is right here.

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The MJHL’s Steinbach Pistons have signed Paul Dyck, their general manager and head coach, to a contract extension that runs through 2020-21. Dyck, who is from Steinbach, has been with the pistons since 2010-11 when he was an assistant coach under Rich Gosselin. Dyck stepped in as head coach during 2011-12 and has been the GM/head coach since the summer of 2012. . . . Here’s Grant Lazaruk, the president/governor of the community-owned team’s board of directors, in a news release: “Paul’s coaching ability and what he has done for the club on and off he ice has been tremendous. I look at it as this ownership group has owned this club now for five seasons. In those five seasons, he has led the team to an MJHL championship, two appearances in the final, and two semi-final appearances, so in regards to his on-ice team performance, he has done a tremendous job.” . . . Dyck, 46, played two seasons (1989-91) with the Moose Jaw Warriors.

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The AJHL’s Calgary Canucks announced Saturday morning that James Poole, their general manager and head coach, is leaving the organization “to pursue other opportunities.” . . . Poole spent one season with the Canucks, going 37-19-4, the first time the team finished above .500 since 2009-10. . . . Anyone interested should send a resume to Pat Loyer at phloyer@shaw.ca.

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From Jamaica with gloves and sticks

Jermaine Loewen can hardly wait to start his WHL career.
(Jonathan Kozub/Point Shot Photography)

 By SCOTT BILLECK

WINNIPEG — Stories of hockey success usually don’t start in the Caribbean country of Jamaica. In fact, only one player from Jamaica, Graeme Townshend, has ever played in the NHL.
Jermaine Loewen of Arborg, Man., by way of Jamaica, hopes to change the total to two.
Loewen’s life began in Jamaica when Stan and Tara Loewen, his parents, were there doing short-term volunteer work at a children’s home.
“That is where we met him,” Stan says. “We didn’t go down there with the intent to adopt, but we met this little boy there, three years old at the time, and we said we’ve got to give him a family.  And so we started the process of adopting.”
The rest, as they say, is history.
Jermaine first strapped on a pair of skates a year after he came to Canada. He started playing organized hockey at the age of 10.
“This upcoming fall will be five years since he first started playing hockey,” Stan says. “When he started playing organized hockey he picked up on it fairly quickly. He was obviously rough around the edges, including all the rules. He didn’t understand the lines on the ice and icings and offsides, but he was a very athletic kid.”
These days, Loewen is a highly touted prospect. In fact, the Kamloops Blazers selected him with the 48th pick of the WHL’s 2013 bantam draft last month.
“We really like his size, for a big guy he is a very good skater,” says Matt Recchi, the Blazers’ director of player personnel. “His work ethic is top of the charts. He is a complete player with how hard he works offensively and defensively.”
At just 15 years of age, the 6-foot-2, 175-pound left winger possesses vision and a knack for scoring goals, as well as the grittiness to be effective in the WHL. This season, Loewen recorded 55 points, including 31 goals, in 31 games with the bantam AAA Interlake Lightning.
“He has very good skill set,” Recchi says. “He knows how to score goals. He knows how to make plays. He is the captain of the Interlake Lightning and he leads by example every night. We envision him as a player who could push to make our roster at the age of 16.
“In how far he has come, the fact he has played hockey for only four or five years, our projection on him is he is going to continue to improve and be a very good player for us in a few years.”
Jermaine’s parents couldn’t be more thrilled for their son.
“We are obviously very happy for him,” Stan says. “It is Jermaine’s goal and dream to play at an elite level. He is a very hard-working kid, very self-motivated. He works out very hard at home in the offseason. So it is good to see him rewarded.
“It makes all the travel, the thousands of miles driven, worth it as well.”
Like any parents of an adolescent, Stan and Tara have the normal thoughts about having their child move forward with hockey.
“We have the normal parent concerns of a 16-year-old moving away from home,” Stan says. “If he did move away we ask questions about how is the organization, not the winning or losing record, but is it a stable organization with good management and also a good billet family and good schooling, as well.”
With the help of friends, coaches and advisors, the Loewens are confident in the team that drafted their son.
“We are certainly happy with the organization in Kamloops,” Stan says. “We have heard nothing but good things from multiple people, so we have been assured that there is a good ownership group and a good organization.”
Strong coaching has been an invaluable asset to Loewen’s development over the last five seasons. However, Dwayne Swanson, his coach with the Lightning, gives Loewen all of the credit.
“His best attribute is his strength in general,” Swanson says. “There were times where he basically carried our team on his shoulders. His competitiveness is just outstanding.
“His work ethic is second to none as well, even with being the most-talented kid on the team. He is always looking for more, trying to push harder every drill.  He has got this thirst to learn . . . a good, good hockey player.”
Loewen is excited about his opportunities.
“I was really stoked. I’m really happy to be drafted by the Kamloops organization,” he says. “I was hoping that I got drafted and when I saw my name there I was really happy.”
When it comes to his future, Loewen makes no qualms about where he wants to be and what he wants to achieve.
“I want to play in the NHL,” he says.

(Scott Billeck writes for ManitobaHockeyNews.com. He’s at twitter.com/scottbilleck.)


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