D Sergei Drozd (Tri-City, 2009-10) signed a one-year extension with Dinamo Minsk (Belarus, KHL). Last season, he had two goals and one assist in 57 games. . . .
F Nigel Dawes (Kootenay, 2001-05) signed a three-year extension with Barys Astana (Kazakhstan, KHL). Last season, in 60 games, he had 32 goals and 24 assists. He led his team in goals and points, and was second in the league in goals.
F Petr Kalus (Regina, 2005-06) signed a one-year contract with Grenoble (France, Ligue Magnus). Last season, with Herning (Denmark, Metal Ligaen), he had 21 goals and 18 assists in 35 games. He led the league in penalty minutes, with 178.
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There were 17 CHL players selected in the first round of the NHL draft on Friday evening in Sunrise, Fla., the home of the Florida Panthers. Five of those 17 were from the WHL. . . . D Ivan Provorov of the Brandon Wheat Kings went to the Philadelphia Flyers at No. 7, followed by F Jake DeBrusk of the Swift Current Broncos to the Boston Bruins at No. 14, F Mathew Barzal of the Seattle Thunderbirds to the New York Islanders at No. 16, D Noah Juulsen of the Everett Silvertips to the Montreal Canadiens at No. 26, and F Nick Merkley of the Kelowna Rockets to the Arizona Coyotes at No. 30. . . . The draft concludes today. . . . The Vancouver Canucks selected F Brock Boeser with the 23rd selection. Boeser’s WHL rights belong to the Seattle Thunderbirds. He is from Burnsville, Minn., and has committed to North Dakota, something he reiterated after being drafted by Vancouver. Last season, he had 68 points, including 35 goals, in 57 games with the USHL’s Waterloo Black Hawks. . . . Four Russian-born players were selected in the first round, something that hadn’t happened since 2001.
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The sale of the OHL’s Erie Otters came to a screeching halt on Friday as the league asked James A. Waters to cover US$175,000 in legal fees. Waters had agreed Thursday to buy the franchise out of bankruptcy for US$7,225,000. . . . Valerie Myers has the story right here.
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Dallas Eakins is the new head coach of the San Diego Gulls, the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks. The Gulls are preparing for their first season in San Diego, after relocating from Norfolk, Va., where they were the Admirals. . . . Eakins spent more than one season as head coach of the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers, going 36-63-14 before he was fired last season. Prior to that, he was the head coach of the AHL’s Toronto Marlies, with whom he was 157-114-41. . . . Eakins is believed to have interviewed with the WHL’s Vancouver Giants, who are searching for a head coach. In fact, there has been speculation that the Giants’ three-candidate short list included Eakins, Ryan McGill and Lorne Molleken.
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Darrin McKechnie is the new head coach of the midget AAA Regina Pat Canadians. He replaces Brad Herauf, who now is an assistant coach with the Regina Pats. . . . McKechnie spent last season as an assistant coach with the Pats, but left in order to focus on his responsibilities with the Regina Police Service. He also coached the midget AA Regina Capitals, who won the South Saskatchewan league championship.
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Got a tip or some information you feel could be useful to me, send an email to greggdrinnan@gmail.com.
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Today... the ice comes out of the arena for the final time with the logos. #bestbarninthedub #historic pic.twitter.com/Qn9Qyw9DqG
— Medicine Hat Tigers (@tigershockey) June 26, 2015
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1. The Vancouver Giants revealed on Tuesday that F Tyler Benson, the first overall pick in the 2013 bantam draft, will make his WHL debut on Nov. 16 against the visiting Tri-City Americans. . . . Benson, 15, has 34 points, including 15 goals, in 16 games with the Pursuit of Excellence U-18 Prep team. . . . Veteran WHL referee Steve Papp has been selected to work the World Junior Championship that begins Dec. 26 in Malmo, Sweden. . . .
2. The Kamloops Blazers' roster stands at 22 after the club dropped F Mitch Friesen, 17, on Tuesday. . . . A native of Surrey, B.C., Friesen had two assists in 55 games with the Blazers over last season and this one. This season, he had one assist in nine games. . . .
3. The QMJHL's Saint John Sea Dogs fired Mike Kelly, their general manager and head coach, on Tuesday. . . . At 5-10-2, the Sea Dogs have the WHL's second-poorest record and are winless in eight. . . . Kelly, a former head coach of the Brandon Wheat Kings, was the Sea Dogs' associate coach when they had three straight 50-win seasons (2009-12) and also won a Memorial Cup. He had been head coach since the summer of 2012. . . . A new coach is expected to be introduced within days.
4. The Everett Silvertips will be without G Austin Lotz for up to four weeks. It seems he suffered an ankle injury during a 7-6 overtime victory over the Blazers in Kamloops on Saturday -- he apparently was injured in regulation time and he did finish the game -- and now is encumbered with a walking boot. . . . Lotz started his 11th straight game on Saturday. . . . With Lotz injured, Daniel Cotton, 19, moves up the depth chart, while the Silvertips have brought in Nik Amundrud, 16, to back him up. Amundrud, who is from Melfort, Sask., was a third-round pick in the 2012 bantam draft.
7. If you're a regular here, you will recall that yesterday I had a bit about Vancouver Canucks head coach John Tortorella and the way he is playing his top three forwards well over 20 minutes per game. . . . That led me to wonder whether an NHL coach really needs 12 forwards at his disposal. . . . In Tuesday's Vancouver Sun, columnist Iain MacIntyre pointed out that the Caucks had gone into Monday's game against the visiting Washington Capitals not having practised in 10 days. Seriously. . . . The Canucks didn't practise while on a seven-game road trip and when the trek was over Tortorella gave his side two days off. That led them into Monday's game, which they won, 3-2. . . . The Canucks, who are 9-4-2 going into tonight's game against the visiting Detroit Red Wings, played nine of their first 15 games on the road. . . . Prior to Monday's game, Tortorella promised that "we'll practice (Tuesday). Win or lose." . . . They did. . . . But 10 days without a practice. Sacrilege, surely.
8. Matthew Gourlie of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald reports that the Moose Jaw Warriors are concerned that an unnamed junior A team may have tampered with F Todd Fiddler, 20, before he was dropped from the WHL team's roster on Monday. . . . That story is right here.
In Prince Albert, the Medicine Hat Tigers unleashed a 50-shot attack and beat the Raiders, 3-1. . . . G Cole Cheveldave stopped 47 shots for the Raiders, 26 more than Marek Langhamer of the Tigers. . . . The Tigers were without F Hunter Shinkaruk (hip) for a second straight game. . . . F Mike Winther of the Raiders sat out Game 2 of a four-game suspension for a headshot. . . . This was the 10th time the Clouston brothers opposed each other as WHL coaches. Cory, who has coached the Kootenay Ice, Brandon Wheat Kings and Prince Albert, is 5-4-1, while Shaun, the Tigers' head coach, is 5-5. . . .
In Kent, Wash., F Seth Swenson had a goal and two assists to lead the Seattle Thunderbirds to a 4-2 victory over the Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . Seattle is 11-3-2 and now leads the Western Conference, by one point over the Portland Winterhawks. . . . The Wheat Kings are 0-3 on their swing through the U.S. Division. . . . Swenson scored his fourth goal in three games, this one coming on a second-period penalty shot. . . . F Sam Mckechnie scored in his first game with the Thunderbirds. He and F Jaimen Yakubowski were acquired last week from the Lethbridge Hurricanes. Yakubowski made his Seattle debut on the weekend; Mckechnie hadn't had as much opportunity to skate after he and Yakubowski were sent home to await a trade, so his debut had to wait. . . . Meanwhile, Yakubowski got a major and game misconduct in the first period for a headshot on D Taylor Green. . . .
In Lethbridge, F Connor Sanvido's shootout goal gave the Swift Current Broncos a 3-2 victory over the Hurricanes. . . . Sanvido was the only one of six shooters to score. . . . The Hurricanes have lost three in a row and have won once in their last 10 outings. . . . F Riley Sheen, acquired last week from the Seattle Thunderbirds, scored in his first game with the Hurricanes. 
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