Doing some scattershooting ... Dahlstrom returns to Sweden ... Nachbaur off to NHL

The Vancouver Canucks fired John Tortorella and now he’s the NHL’s coach of the year. The Canucks fired Mike Sullivan and now he’s the head coach of back-to-back Stanley Cup winners. I’m thinking things look good for Willie Desjardins.

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Does anyone know what’s going on with the NHL’s Arizona Coyotes? That’s what I thought.

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Hey, Alberta and B.C., you should get rid of those highway signs that encourage drivers to stay right and allow others to pass. Why? Because it seems there are a lot of drivers out there who can’t read.

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With the news that Floyd Mayweather will scrap with Conor McGregor in Las Vegas on Aug. 26, Vancouver comic Torben Rolfsen pointed out: “It will also be P.T. Barnum Bobblehead Night.”

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Jeff Pearlman, a well-known author, has penned a book on the USFL, which, of course, involved Donald Trump. Notes Pearlman: “One thing I can say with authority: Donald Trump is the biggest liar I’ve ever written about. Zero integrity.”

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From Cam Hutchinson of the Saskatoon Express: “Buck Martinez is a decent broadcaster when he is sitting beside Dan Shulman.” . . . I caught some of the Toronto Blue Jays game on Thursday afternoon and noted that analyst Pat Tabler has dropped any pretence of independence and now sprinkles “we” into  his chattering.

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Greg Cote, in the Miami Herald: “Want the exact definition of ‘your football career is over’? Comeback-attempting Vince Young got cut by the Saskatchewan Roughriders.”

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You take a look at the roster of the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights and you realize that US$500 million doesn’t buy much these days.

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Did you chuckle the other day when NHL commish Gary Bettman said the NHL isn’t ready for another expansion just yet? Hey, wave US$500 million in front of Bettman’s face and you’ll have a franchise lickety-split.

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Headline at SportsPickle.com: Kevin Durant silences all the critics who said he could never help a 73-9 team win a championship. . . . Headline at TheKicker.com: Durant to spend offseason travelling around booing Rihanna’s concerts.

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Dwight Perry, in the Seattle Times: “With another NBA season coming to an end, commissioner Adam Silver gets to return to his other job: Holding the pitchfork in American Gothic.”

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F John Dahlstrom, 20, won’t be returning to the Medicine Hat Tigers for a second season. He has

signed a two-year contract with Almtuna in his native Sweden. Almtuna plays in the Allsvenskan, which is one level below the SHL. . . . Dahlstrom, a seventh-round pick by the Chicago Blackhawks in the NHL’s 2015 draft, had 30 goals and 29 assists in 63 games with the Tigers last season. . . . He will attend a Chicago prospects camp next month. . . . Had Dahlstrom returned to the Tigers, he would have been a two-spotter — a 20-year-old import. Latvian D Kristians Rubins, the Tigers’ other import last season, also is a two-spotter. . . . Including Rubins, Medicine Hat still has seven 20s on its roster, the others being G Michael Bullion, D Jordan Henderson, D Ty Schultz, D Brad Forrest, F Zach Fischer and F Mark Rassell.

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The Swift Current Broncos have revealed that as of Thursday morning they had sold 1,493 season-ticket packages, “including 137 new season-ticket holders.” . . . The Broncos have stated that their goal is 1,700 before the start of the 2017-18 WHL season. . . . The Broncos have a number of prizes up for grabs, all tied into season-ticket sales, and one fan will receive a season-ticket for life if the goal of 1,700 is reached.

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D Shaun Dosanjh, who played with four different WHL teams last season, will attend York U and play for the Lions in 2017-18. Dosanjh, now 21, is from Richmond, B.C. He began his WHL career with the Vancouver Giants, and finished it up last season with stints with the Prince George Cougars, Kamloops Blazers, Lethbridge Hurricanes and Portland Winterhawks. . . . In 173 regular-season games, he put up four goals and 10 assists. . . . Dosanjh was a third-round pick by the Giants in the WHL’s 2011 bantam draft. . . . Victor Findlay (@Finder_24) reports that the Lions also have landed G Keelan Williams, 21, of Calgary. He played 13 games with the Kootenay Ice over two seasons (2014-16). Last season, he was with the BCHL’s Surrey Eagles.

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The Kamloops Blazers have signed D Trevor Thurston to a WHL contract. Thurston, from Delta, B.C., was a fourth-round selection in the 2017 bantam draft. Last season, Thurston had nine goals and 11 assists in 20 games with a bantam prep team at the Delta Hockey Academy, where he will play again in 2017-18. . . . Trevor is the son of Brent Thurston, who played for the Victoria Cougars and Spokane Chiefs (1988-92). . . . The Blazers now have signed their top three picks from the 2017 bantam draft.

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I’m also on Twitter (@gdrinnan).

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Travis Green has accomplished his goal of becoming a head coach in the NHL. But Green, who is preparing for his first season as the Vancouver Canucks’ head coach, knows that the work is just beginning. Kerry Eggers of the Portland Tribune has spoken with Green and they talked about that and a whole lot more. It’s all right here.

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Don Nachbaur, the third-winningest coach in WHL regular-season history, has joined the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings as an assistant coach. Nachbaur spent the previous seven seasons as the head coach of the WHL’s Spokane Chiefs, but they parted company after the 2016-17 season despite there being one year left on his contract. . . . Nachbaur, who also coached the Seattle Thunderbirds (1994-2000) and Tri-City Americans (2003-09), has 692 regular-season victories, behind only Ken Hodge (742) and Don Hay (720). . . . Nachbaur and Stevens have a history, having played together with the NHL’s Philadelphia Flyers and AHL’s Hershey Bears and coached together with the AHL‘s Philadelphia Phantoms (2000-02). . . . In Los Angeles, Nachbaur joins head coach John Stevens, who was promoted on April 24, and assistant coach Dave Lowry, who joined the Kings after being the head coach of the WHL’s Victoria Royals.

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Stu Barnes, a former WHL/NHL player who owns a piece of the Tri-City Americans, has been added to the Dallas Stars’ coaching staff. Barnes, 46, spent the previous two seasons on the coaching staff at the Okanagan Hockey Academy in Penticton, B.C. In 2016-17, he was the head coach of the one of the academy’s midget prep teams. . . . Barnes also was an assistant coach in Dallas from 2008-12. . . . He played 16 seasons in the NHL after spending three seasons (1987-90) in the WHL with the New Westminster Bruins and the Americans. . . . In Dallas, he will work alongside head coach Ken Hitchcock. The Stars also have added Rick Wilson to their coaching staff as an assistant. Wilson, a career assistant, was with the St. Louis Blues last season. Wilson spent 15 seasons (1993-2004, 2005-09) on the Stars’ staff. He is a former assistant coach and head coach of the Prince Albert Raiders (1980-88).

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Trevor Letowski, the new head coach of the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires, has been named an assistant coach with Canada’s national junior team. With Team Canada, he replaces Kris Knoblauch, the former head coach of the OHL’s Erie Otters, who now is an assistant with the NHL’s Philadelphia Flyers. In Windsor, Letowski took over from Rocky Thompson, who now is head coach of the AHL’s Chicago Wolves. . . . Dominique Ducharme of the QMJHL’s Drummondiville Voltigeurs is back as Canada’s head coach, with Tim Hunter of the Moose Jaw Warriors returning as the other assistant coach.

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The 2019 RBC Cup will be held in Brooks, Alta., May 11-19. The AJHL’s Brooks Bandits will be the host team. This will be the seventh time the event has been held in Alberta. It was in Lloydminster in 2016. The Bandits, who won the RBC Cup in 2013, are the AJHL’s defending champions. The 2018 RBC Cup is scheduled to be played in Chilliwack, B.C. . . . 

Tickets for the seventh annual Young Stars Classic in Penticton, B.C., will go on sale on July 7. The six-game preseason tournament will run from Sept. 8-11, featuring teams of prospects from the host Vancouver Canucks, Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers and Winnipeg Jets.

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Ex-WHLer gets AHL head-coaching job

THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Duncan Milroy (Swift Current, Kootenay, 1998-2003) signed a contract (one year with a club option for another year) with the Krefeld Pinguine (Germany DEL) after obtaining his release from Mlada Boleslav (Czech Republic Extraliga). He had three goals and three assists in 20 games for Mlada Boleslav this season. Last season, Milroy had 12 goals and 24 assists in 74 games for Houston Aeros (AHL). . . .
G Ian Gordon (Swift Current, Saskatoon, 1992-95) signed a one-year contract extension with Ingolstadt (Germany DEL). He has a 2.49 GAA and a .924 save percentage in 16 games with Ingolstadt this season. This is Gordon's 11th season in the DEL.
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The Tri-City Americans have sold more than 2,500 season tickets for what is believed to be the first time in franchise history. The shut off season-ticket sales last week with the total at 2,525, which is up five per cent over last season. . . . Records kept by some of the team’s previous owners are a bit sketchy, but it’s believed that this constitutes a new high. . . . “Our staff has done a tremendous job developing a solid season-ticket base,” Americans’ governor/general manager Bob Tory said in a news release. “Credit also needs to go to our fans who have jumped on board and helped us enjoy some tremendous hockey.  And to our players, who have given more than just a solid on-ice effort, but have been actively involved in the community to add to the quality of life in the Tri-Cities.” . . . The Americans are in their 23rd season in the Tri-Cities. They are owned by Tory, Stu Barnes, Olaf Kolzig and Dennis Loman. . . . Last season, the team averaged 4,480 fans, its highest number since 1990-91. . . . The Americans meet the Bruins in Chilliwack on Friday, then hurry home to meet the Spokane Chiefs on Saturday and the Everett Silvertips on Sunday.
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The Calgary Hitmen have lost 12 straight games to equal a franchise record. In 1995-96, the Hitmen endured two 12-game losing streaks but that was their first season in the WHL. . . . The Hitmen next play Friday when they visit the Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . When Calgary lost 6-2 to the visiting Kootenay Ice on Sunday, it was without F Tyler Fiddler (upper body), D Jaynen Rissling (lower body) and D Alex Roach (leg). During the game, the Hitmen lost D Matt MacKenzie (flu) and D Peter Kosterman (injury), so moved F Cody Sylvester back to defence. . . .
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On Monday, the Regina Pats dealt G Dawson Guhle, 18, to the Red Deer Rebels for LW Lane Scheidl, 18. . . . Scheidl, from Saskatoon, was acquired by Red Deer from the Vancouver Giants. He has six points in 20 games this season with the Rebels. . . . Guhle was 1-1-1, 6.25, .825 with the Pats, who are going with Damien Ketlo, 19, and freshman Matt Hewitt, who turns 18 on Dec. 11. . . . The Pats actually issued a press release last week saying they had assigned Guhle to the SJHL’s Melville Millionaires, but it was pulled back a couple of hours later. Could be this deal has been in the works since then. . . . With Red Deer, Guhle will back up veteran Darcy Kuemper as the Rebels have assigned Bolton Pouliot, 16, to the midget AAA Calgary Royals. . . .
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The Kamloops Blazers swept the WHL’s player-of-the-week awards. . . . LW Brendan Ranford was named player of the week after picking up six points, including three goals, in two games. He became the first skater to 20 goals this season when he scored once in Sunday’s 3-1 victory over the visiting Everett Silvertips. . . . Kamloops G Jeff Bosch is the WHL nominee as the CHL’s goaltender of the week. He was 2-0-0 with a 0.50 GAA and a .984 save percentage last week.
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Pat Bingham (Kamloops, New Westminster, 1985-89) is the new head coach of the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s New York Islanders. The Islanders fired head coach Scott Gordon on Monday, replacing him with Bridgeport head coach Jack Capuano. . . . Bingham, who is from Vancouver, has been an assistant coach with the Sound Tigers since 2007-08. He has been in the Islanders organization since 2005. He also has coached in the Central and United leagues and in the ECHL.
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The Moose Jaw Warriors were without two key performers when they dropped a 6-3 decision to the visiting Portland Winterhawks on Monday night. . . . F Quinton Howden sat out a one-game suspension for a cross-checking major he incurred in Saturday’s 3-0 victory over the visiting Lethbridge Hurricanes. . . . The Warriors filled that spot with F Carter Hansen, the 10th overall pick in the 2010 bantam draft. He playes for the midget AAA Moose Jaw Generals. . . . The Warriors also were without D Dylan McIlrath, who suffered a right knee injury on Saturday. McIlrath was selected 10th overall by the New York Rangers in the 2010 NHL draft and the Rangers are flying him into the Big Apple on Wednesday where he is scheduled to undergo an MRI. . . . “I remember battling in the faceoff circle for the puck,” McIlrath told Matthew Gourlie of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald. “I watched the video and it looked like the guy fell on the outside of my right knee.” . . . .According to Gourlie, “When McIlrath went down he was in obvious distress and his pained scream could be heard all the way to the Civic Centre rafters.” . . . “I heard a noise you shouldn’t hear and went down in a lot of pain,” said McIlrath. “I knew right away it was pretty serious. I’m not the one to lay on the ice if it wasn’t serious.” . . . McIlrath actually is walking better and swelling has gone down, so he is thinking the injury may not be as bad as first feared. The MRI will reveal whether that is wishful thinking.
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As expected, the WHL doled out some suspensions Monday.
D Wes Vannieuwenhuizen of the Vancouver Giants got hit with seven games for that hit from behind on F Robin Soudek of the host Chilliwack Bruins on Thursday. The Bruins have yet to update the world on Soudek’s condition. . . . This was a nasty, nasty hit but, for whatever reason, was worth five games less than what F Brendan Shinnimin of the Tri-City Americans got for his hit on F Josh Nicholls of the Saskatoon Blades. . . . Shinnimin is eligible to return Saturday when the Americans play the Chiefs in Spokane. . . . Vannieuwenhuizen will be eligible to return Dec. 7 when the Giants are at home to the Kamloops Blazers.
Meanwhile, D Adrian Van de Mosselaer of the Edmonton Oil Kings got a two-game sentence for a kneeing major in Saturday’s 1-0 loss to the host Kootenay Ice; Moose Jaw Warriors F Quinton Howden got hit with one game for a cross-checking major in a 3-0 victory over the visiting Lethbridge Hurricanes on Saturday; and, F Brad Ross of the Portland Winterhawks got two games for a game misconduct he picked up during a 5-4 loss to the Blades in Saskatoon on Friday. . . . It isn’t true that Ross got tossed so that he could go and sit with Shannon Tweed and Gene Simmons.
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F Igor Revenko of the Prince Albert Raiders is in Edmonton today to undergo an MRI. He felt a pop in his groin area in a recent game and tried to play through it, but with no luck. Revenko, 20, had 55 points, including 27 goals, last season and you can bet the struggling Raiders are feeling his absence. . . . Raiders D Nathan Deck also is said to be at least a week away from returning. . . . Revenko and Deck are two of the Raiders’ three 20-year-olds. . . . The Portland Winterhawks have their Teddy Bear Toss scheduled for Dec. 11 when the Prince George Cougars are in town. The Winterhawks say they already have sold nearly 8,000 tickets for that game. . . . The Spokane Chiefs have added D Tim Krzyzaniak, 18, to their roster. He has played two WHL games in his career — one in each of the last two seasons with the Brandon Wheat Kings. He is from Neepawa, Man., which is just north of Brandon. He had three points in 12 games with the MJHL’s Dauphin Kings this season. The Chiefs are with D Garrett Leedahl, who is hurt, and anticipate losing D Jared Cowen to Canada’s national junior team so have been looking for some depth. . . . The Chiefs are in for quite a weekend as they go on the road to play Seattle, Tri-City and Portland, in that order, starting Friday. . . . Cowen has been named captain of Team WHL for Wednesday’s Super Series game in Kamloops. F Chase Schaber of the Kamloops Blazers and F Curtis Hamilton of the Saskatoon Blades will serve as alternates. Calgary D Matt MacKenzie was to have been an alternate for both games, but he has the flu and has been replaced by D Alex Petrovic of the Red Deer Rebels. . . . The WHL also announced that Kamloops F Brendan Ranford will replace F Brendan Gallagher of the Vancouver Giants for the game in Kamloops. Gallagher will play in Prince George on Thursday. . . . F Cody Eakin of the Swift Current Broncos will wear the ‘C’ for Team WHL on Thursday in Prince George, with D Tyson Barrie of the Kelowna Rockets and F Brett Connolly of the hometown Cougars as the alternates. . . .
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In Moose Jaw, F Ty Rattie had two goals and two assists to lead the Portland Winterhawks to a 6-3 victory over the Warriors. . . . Rattie has 14 goals. He also has 38 points, just two behind Vancouver Giants F Craig Cunningham, who leads the league. . . . The Winterhawks scored three times in the second period after the teams played to a 2-2 draw in the opening 20 minutes. . . . Portland F Sven Bartschi had his 17th goal and an assist to run his points streak to 16 games. He has 33 points on the season. . . . Portland lost F Tayler Jordan to a charging major and game misconduct at 6:10 of the third period. . . . Portland is 4-1-0 on its East Division swing, which wraps up tonight in Brandon. Immediately after the game, most of the Winterhawks will start the 24-hour bus ride back to Portland. F Ryan Johansen, D Brett Ponich, Rattie and F Brad Ross, however, will miss the bus ride. Altogether now . . . awwwwww! They will fly to Prince George where they will play for Team WHL in Wednesday’s final game of the Subway Super Series. . . . Ross didn’t play last night in Moose Jaw. He drew a two-game suspension for receiving a game misconduct during Friday’s 5-4 loss to the Blades in Saskatoon. He served the first game of that suspension Saturday as the Winterhawks won 8-2 in Prince Albert.
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In Regina, F Hampus Gustafsson had a goal and two assists to lead the Brandon Wheat Kings to a 5-2 victory over the Pats. . . . Brandon acquired Gustafsson from the Pats earlier this season. . . . The Wheat Kings also got a goal and assist from F Jason Swyripa. . . . Brandon has won three straight and became the 17th of 22 teams to get to the .500 mark. . . . If you’re a Wheat Kings fan on the Brayden Schenn, well, the Los Angeles Kings made him a healthy scratch for a fifth straight game last night. . . . Jason Clermont, who caught the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ winning TD in Sunday’s thrilling victory over the B.C. Lions, and teammate Chris Getzlaf took part in the ceremonial faceoff prior to the game. . . . The Pats now head into the B.C. Division for a five-game tour that opens Friday in Vancouver.
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MONDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
Zero.
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WHL teams at .500 or better: 17-of-22 (.773).

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
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