More time for James . . . Americans deal forward to 'Canes . . . Aasman signs with Bandits

F Chris Francis (Portland, 2006-10) signed a three-month tryout contract with Székesfehérvár (Hungary, Erste Bank Liga). Last season, with the Alaska Aces (ECHL), he had 26 goals and 36 assists in 69 games. . . .
D Mike Card (Kelowna, 2002-06) signed a one-year contract with Löwen Frankfurt (Germany, DEL2). He is a dual Canadian-German citizen. Last season, with Eispiraten Crimmitschau (Germany, DEL2), he had five goals and 30 assists in 50 games. The Löwen Frankfurt general manager is Rick Chernomaz (Saskatoon, Victoria Cougars, 1979-83), who has been the head coach of Hungary’s national team for three seasons. . . .
D Tomáš Kundrátek (Medicine Hat, 2008-10) signed a one-year contract with Dinamo Riga (Latvia, KHL). Last season, with the Hershey Bears (AHL), he had five goals and 22 assists in 59 games.
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Graham James, already in jail in Laval, Que., for sexually abusing hockey players, pleaded guilty to another charge on Friday and was sentenced to two more years. The latest victim, whose identity is being protected by a publication ban, was in a Swift Current courtroom on Friday, as were Sheldon Kennedy and Todd Holt, both of them victims of James when he was the general manager and head coach of the WHL’s Swift Current Broncos. . . . Holt and Kennedy were there to show support for the latest victim to come forward. . . . There is more on Friday’s happenings right here and right here.
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The Lethbridge Hurricanes have acquired F Justin Gutierrez, 20, from the Tri-City Americans for a fourth-round selection in the 2017 bantam draft. . . . Gutierrez, from Anchorage, had 29 points, including 11 goals, in 67 games last season. In four seasons with the Americans, he had 59 points, 18 of them goals, in 186 games. At 6-foot-4 and 200 pounds, he brings size and experience to a young Lethbridge roster. . . . Gutierrez is the younger brother of former Kamloops Blazers and Everett Silvertips F Moises Gutierrez. . . . Justin Gutierrez joins F Cory Millette as the 20-year-olds on Lethbridge’s roster. Millette was acquired last month from the Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . The Americans, as of now, likely are looking at F Parker Bowles, F Beau McCue and F Brian Williams as their 20-year-olds. They also have D Ty Morrison, who was acquired from the Vancouver Giants during last season, on their roster.
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F Logan Aasman, who spent three seasons with the Everett Silvertips, has signed with the AJHL’s Brooks Bandits. Aasman is heading into his 20-year-old season. . . . Aasman’s 2014-15 season was interrupted by concussion issues that limited him to 40 games. He had 11 points, two of them goals. . . . Aasman is from Medicine Hat. . . . With Aasman no longer in the picture, Silvertips would appear to have five candidates for their three 20-year-old spots — D Cole MacDonald, F Remi Laurencelle, G Austin Lotz, F Jake Mykitiuk and F Carson Stadnyk.
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THE COACHING GAME:

Dwayne Gylywoychuk, a former Brandon Wheat Kings player and coach, has been named the head coach of Canada’s national women’s development team for 2015-16. . . . Gylywoychuk lives in Winnipeg. (If you are wondering, that was him and his two daughters in yesterday’s Tweet of the Day.) . . . Delaney Collins of Pilot Mound, a former national team player, will work as his assistant coach. . . . From a Hockey Canada news release: “Gylywoychuk is no stranger to the national program, having piloted the development team to gold at the 2014 Nations Cup. Gylywoychuk also won gold as an assistant coach with Canada’s National Women’s Team at the 2014 Four Nations Cup and gold again at the 2014 IIHF Ice Hockey Women’s World Under-18 Championship in the same capacity.” . . . Collins played for 12 seasons with the national women’s team. She also is an assistant coach at Mercyhurst U. . . . The NDT will hold a selection camp in Calgary in August, before playing exhibition games against the U.S. U-22 team in Lake Placid, N.Y. . . . The Canadian women are preparing for the Nations Cup in Germany in January. . . . It’s worth noting that Collins’ father, Rod, is opening a hockey academy in Pilot Mound. Scott Billeck of the Winnipeg Free Press has more on that story right here.
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Former NHLer Mike Van Ryn is the new head coach of the OHL’s Kitchener Rangers. Van Ryn spent the past two seasons with the Rangers, last season as associate coach. . . . He replaces Troy Smith, who was fired after last season. . . . The Rangers also announced that Jay McKee, like Van Ryn a former NHL defenceman, has been signed as associate coach. He had been an assistant with the Erie Otters. Also coming on board, as an assistant coach, is Daniel Tkaczuk, who was with the Owen Sound Attack for the past three seasons. . . . Meanwhile, Mike McKenzie has moved up from assistant coach to assistant GM, although he also will have some coaching duties.
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Roy Sommer will make the move to San Jose to coach the Barracuda, the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s San Jose Sharks. The franchise is moving west from Worcester, Mass. . . . Sommer (Calgary Centennials, 1975-77) is preparing for his 18th season as head coach of the Sharks’ AHL affiliate. A native of Oakland, Calif., he holds the AHL record for most games coached (1,344). He has 617 regular-season coaching victories, second only to Hockey Hall of Famer Fred (Bun) Cook’s 636. . . . The Sharks also announced that Ryan Mougenel will return as an assistant coach with the Barracuda and that Charlie Townsend will be back as video coach.
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Rich McKenna has left the USHL’s Muskegon Lumberjacks to take over as head coach of the NAHL’s New Jersey Titans. He had been an assistant coach for two seasons with the Lumberjacks. . . . Former NHL G John Vanbiesbrouck is the Lumberjacks’ GM and director of hockey operations.
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The Grand Rapids Griffins, the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Detroit Red Wings, made it official on Friday — Todd Nelson is their head coach. Nelson, 46, takes over from Jeff Blashill, who moved up as the Red Wings’ head coach following the departure of Mike Babcock. . . . Nelson had finished last season as the interim head coach of the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers. He had joined the Oilers from the AHL’s Oklahoma City Barons, where he was head coach. . . . Nelson, a former Grand Rapids player and assistant coach, signed a three-year deal with the Griffins. From Prince Albert, he played four seasons (1986-90) with the Raiders.
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The Hershey Bears, the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Washington Capitals, have rewarded head coach Troy Mann and assistant coaches Bryan Helmer and Ryan Murphy with multi-year contracts, the length of which weren’t revealed. . . . The Bears finished atop the AHL’s East Division last season.
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Ryan Kennedy of The Hockey News tweeted Friday night that “2016 draft prospect Tyson Jost (BCHL Penticton) has narrowed down his NCAA school choice to North Dakota and Denver.” . . . Jost, a 17-year-old forward, is from St. Albert, Alta. The Everett Silvertips selected him with the seventh overall pick in the WHL’s 2013 bantam draft. He will captain the BCHL’s Penticton Vees in 2015-16, his second season with the team. He had 45 points, including 23 goals, in 46 games last season.


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Hunchak, Barrett on Team B.C. . . . Leafs fill out staff . . . Raiders sign two

F Patrick Holland (Tri-City, 2008-13) signed a one-year contract with HPK Hämeenlinna (Finland, Liiga). Last season, with the St. John's Ice Caps (AHL), he had two assists in 21 games. He also had a goal and three assists in four games with the Ontario Reign (ECHL). . . .


F Colin Fraser (Red Deer, 2001-05) signed a one-year contract with the Nuremburg Ice Tigers (Germany, DEL). Last season, he was pointless in one game with the St. Louis Blues (NHL) 1 GP. He spent most of the season with the Chicago Wolves (AHL). An alternate captain, he had nine goals and eight assists in 59 games.
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Brendan Hunchak, the son of former Moose Jaw Warriors and Kamloops Blazers head coach Dave Hunchak, has been selected to play for Team B.C. at the peewee box lacrosse nationals in Whitby, Ont., later this summer. . . . The winner of peewee nationals, for players ages 11 and 12, will receive the E.G. Dopp Trophy. . . . Brendan Hunchak, who is a goaltender, and Connor Barrett, both of Kamloops, made Team B.C. . . . The tournament in Whitby runs from Aug. 1-9. . . . In Kamloops, the 2003 age group in lacrosse is said to be perhaps the strongest the city has seen, with much of the credit belonging to the likes of coaches Sean Campbell, Doug Clarke, Geoff Krug, Neill Steed and Brook Webster. . . . As an aside, it’s worth noting that Barrett’s mother, Eryn Bulmer Barrett, was a world-class diver who was on Canada’s national team for 11 years, and is a two-time Olympian. She recently worked as Kate Upton’s stunt double during the filming in Vancouver of The Layover, a film that is scheduled for release in 2016.
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F Riley Sheen (Medicine Hat, Seattle, Lethbridge, Red Deer, 2011-15) has committed to attend NAIT in Edmonton and play for the Ooks, under head coach Serge Lajoie. Sheen, from Edmonton, played out his eligibility last season as he split 71 games between the Lethbridge Hurricanes and Red Deer Rebels. He totalled 71 points, 24 of them goals, in 71 games.
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THE COACHING GAME:

The Toronto Maple Leafs announced Tuesday that they have hired Jim Hiller, DJ Smith and Andrew Brewer as assistant coaches under head coach Mike Babcock. Hiller, who coached in the WHL with the Chilliwack Bruins (remember them?) and Tri-City Americans, spent last season with Babcock in Detroit, as did Brewer. Smith was the head coach of the Memorial Cup-winning Oshawa Generals. . . . Smith spent six seasons as an assistant coach with the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires, winning two Memorial Cups, before joining the Generals in June 2012.
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On Tuesday evening, Elliotte Friedman of Hockey Night in Canada tweeted that he is “hearing Todd Nelson will be the next coach at AHL Grand Rapids — Detroit's affiliate.” . . . Nelson, a defenceman, played four seasons with his hometown Prince Albert Raiders (1986-90). . . . Nelson, 46, has been coaching since 2001-02 when he was a player-assistant with the United league’s Muskegon Fury. He split last season between the AHL’s Oklahoma City Barons and the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers. . . . Grand Rapids is without a head coach because Jeff Blashill now is head coach of the parent Detroit Red Wings.
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The Prince Albert Raiders have signed their two first-round selections from the 2015 bantam draft — F Cole Fonstad and F Carson Miller. . . . Fonstad, from Estevan, Sask., was the fifth overall selection. He had 67 points, including 36 goals, in 29 games with the bantam AA Estevan Bruins last season. He had 10 points, six of them goals, in 10 playoff games. . . . Miller, from Yorkton, Sask., was the 21st overall pick. He played for the bantam AA Yorkton Terriers, putting up 107 points, including 49 goals, in 31 games. He had 21 points, seven of them goals, in nine playoff games. He was the Saskatchewan Bantam AA League’s leading scorer in the regular season and in the playoffs.
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Sheldon Kennedy actually turned 46 on Monday, so we’re a couple of days late. But . . . Happy Birthday!

Happy 46th to dedicated child abuse advocate & experienced rollerblader Sheldon Kennedy (@ShelKenn). @RespectGroup pic.twitter.com/rHQwt8ToZT

— O-Pee-Chee Stars (@opeecheestars) June 16, 2015

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Warriors' coach on move? . . . Nachbaur not going anywhere

D Logan Pyett (Regina, 2003-08) has signed a one-year extension with Admiral Vladivostok (Russia, KHL). Last season, Pyett started with Vityaz Podolsk (Russia, KHL) and was traded to Admiral in December for Mathias Porseland. In 50 games, Pyett had 16 points, six of them goals. . . .
F Justin Kelly (Prince Albert, Spokane, Saskatoon, 1997-2002) has signed a one-year contract with the Bietigheim Steelers (Germany, DEL2). Last season, with the Ravensburg Towerstars (Germany, DEL2), he had 90 points, including 32 goals, in 54 games. He tied for the league lead in points and was No. 1 in assists.
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1. Happy Canada Day, and a Merry Christmas in July to NHL unrestricted free agents.

2. It seems that the Moose Jaw Warriors may be about to join the WHL teams that are searching for head coaches. Jon Rosen, the former radio voice of the Everett Silvertips who now blogs for the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings, tweeted Friday: “Getting the sense that the next Manchester head coach will be Mike Stothers. Coached WHL-Moose Jaw last three seasons. Not official.” . . . The Manchester Monarchs are the Kings’ AHL affiliate. . . . On Monday, there were a few reports stating that Stothers is headed to the Monarchs. . . . That being the case, it will leave the Warriors, Portland Winterhawks, Regina Pats and Vancouver Giants each needing a head coach.

3. During the NHL draft, I came upon a piece at sbnation.com that does a great job of explaining what a crap shoot this process really is. Written by Adam Gretz, it includes a chart that breaks down the draft from 1995 to 2005, showing what percentage of picks appeared in the NHL and what percentage played 100 or more games. It’s really interesting and it’s right here.

4. The Spokane Chiefs and head coach Don Nachbaur have signed a two-year contract extension that takes him through the 2016-17 season. Nachbaur is preparing for his fifth season with the Chiefs, which will be his 16th season as a WHL head coach. . . . He has 598 regular-season coaching victories, trailing only Ken Hodge (742), Don Hay (609) and Lorne Molleken (603) in the WHL record book. . . . Nachbaur is a three-time winner of the WHL’s coach-of-the-year award, having won it with three different teams (Spokane, Tri-City and Seattle). . . . Only Pat Ginnell, with four, has been saluted more often as coach of the year.

5. Bob Stauffer, the analyst on the Edmonton Oilers’ radio broadcast crew and host of Oilers Now on 630 CHED, tweeted that “a Pacific Division (NHL) team requested permission to interview @EdmOilKings Head Coach Derek Laxdal for an AHL HC job.” . . . That led to speculation that the Pittsburgh Penguins were about to sign Travis Green as an assistant coach, leaving the AHL’s Utica Comets without a head coach. The Comets are the Vancouver Canucks’ top affiliate.

6. Earlier, Dave Molinari of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette had tweeted that Penguins GM Jim Rutherford had said the Penguins hadn’t yet hired Travis Green but “we’re hoping he comes on board.”

7. The Kamloops Blazers won’t have D Edson Harlacher back for a second season. Harlacher, 18, is a native of Zurich and has chosen to stay in Switzerland. He is expected to play for the Kloten Flyers of the National League A. . . . Harlacher was the only European on the Blazers’ roster, meaning they are likely to take two players in Wednesday’s CHL import draft. . . . He had nine assists in 71 games last season, then was passed over in last weekend’s NHL draft. . . . Harlacher played for Switzerland at the IIHF’s U-18 World championship in April.

8. The Saskatoon Blades won’t have Czech D David Nemecek, 19, back for a second season. Nemecek had 15 points, five of them goals, after being selected in the first round of the 2013 CHL import draft. . . . F Nikita Scherbak, a Russian, was the Blades’ best player last season and was a first-round selection by the NHL’s Montreal Canadiens on Friday. . . . That means that Saskatoon GM/head coach Bob Woods is able to select one or two players in Wednesday’s import draft. They hold the ninth and 69th selections. . . . Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix has more right here.

9. A couple of NHL draft notes provided by Mike Morreale (@mikemorrealeNHL): “The @USHL saw a record # of players picked at the '14 NHL Draft; 35 players who played this season were chosen by NHL clubs; 12 from NTDP.” . . . “There were 65 Americans picked at '14 NHL Draft. Not since 1991 (67) have more Americans been selected at the draft.”

10. Another late draft note: A total of 21 goaltenders were selected, none from the WHL. Eleven European goaltenders were taken, with six others from the U.S., and four from Canada.

11. The Everett Silvertips have acquired F Graham Millar, 18, from the Saskatoon Blades for either a conditional fifth-round selection, or a conditional fourth-round selection, in the 2015 bantam draft. . . . Everett’s news release said a conditional fifth-rounder was involved; Saskatoon’s news release said it was a conditional fourth-rounder. . . . Last season, as a freshman, Millar had 13 points, including seven goals, in 61 games. He is from Penticton, B.C.

12. Nick Patterson of the Everett Herald takes a look right here at the Silvertips’ import situation going into Wednesday’s draft. He also explains some of the rules involving the import draft and, please, try not to laugh while you’re reading. The headline could have been” Rules, rules and more rules.
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The Tri-City Americans have signed Zachary Fournier as their new athletic therapist. He has degrees from the U of Tampa and Ohio U in Athens, Ohio. He started last season with the ECHL’s San Francisco Bulls. When the franchise folded in mid-season, he joined the San Francisco Giants as a minor league trainer in Scottsdale, Ariz. . . . The Regina Pats have signed F Jacob Elmer, a Calgarian who was born on Dec. 31, 1998. Elmer was a sixth-round selection in the 2013 bantam draft. He had 71 points, including 37 goals, in 52 games with the EDGE Mountaineers (Elite 15s) last season.
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THE COACHING GAME:
The Edmonton Oilers have signed Todd Nelson to a three-year contract extension. Nelson has completed four seasons as the head coach of the Oklahoma City Barons, the Oilers’ AHL affiliate, and they have reached the playoffs each season. Nelson, from Prince Albert, played four seasons (1986-90) with the Raiders.
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@hawkeyblog Dear Abbey, Our WHL coach/GM signed w/ an NHL team I really dislike. What do I do? Cheer,or continue to wish failure on them?
— Michael Welch (@bonzosa) June 28, 2014

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THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Jesse Schultz (Tri-City, Prince Albert, Kelowna, 1999-2003) signed a one-year plus option contract with Milano Rossoblu (Italy, Serie A). He had 24 goals and 40 assists in 49 games with Rapid City Rush (CHL) last season. . . .
D Kyle Cumiskey (Kelowna, 2003-06) signed a one-year contract with MoDo Örnsköldsvik (Sweden, Elitserien). He had six goals and 23 assists in 57 games with Syracuse Crunch (AHL) last season. . . .
D Ross Lupaschuk (Lethbridge, Prince Albert, Red Deer, 1996-2001) signed a one-year contract with Red Bull Salzburg (Austria, Erste Bank Liga). He had 10 goals and 17 assists in 38 games last season with the Vienna Capitals (Austria, Erste Bank Liga) before transferring to Jokerit Helsinki (Finland, SM-Liiga), where he had one goal and three assists in 15 games. . . .
Karlovy Vary (Czech Republic, Extraliga) announced the signing of D Dustin Kohn (Calgary, Brandon, 2003-07) and F Matt Keith (Spokane, Red Deer, 1998-2003) to one-year contracts. Kohn and Keith both played for Örebro (Sweden, Allsvenskan) last season; Kohn had five assists in 38 games, while Keith notched 11 goals and 16 assists in 52 games. . . .
F Joni Lindlöf (Kelowna, Lethbridge, 2002-04) signed a one-year plus option contract with Nyköping (Sweden, Allsvenskan). In 33 games with Kristianstad (Sweden, Allsvenskan) last season, Lindlöf had eight goals and four assists.
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Remember that story from last week that appeared in the Michigan Daily that claimed the OHL’s Kitchener Rangers had cut a $200,000 deal to land D Jacob Trouba?
Well, it seems that the Rangers have filed suit against the Daily and reporter Matt Slovin.
"It's not a threat anymore," Rangers chief operating officer and governor Steve Bienkowski told the Waterloo Region Record on Monday. "We served the newspaper and the writer there to either back it up or retract it."
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THE COACHING GAME:
Chad Kletzel is the new assistant coach with the Kootenay Ice. Kletzel signed a two-year contract with a club option for a third season. He replaces Todd Johnson, who left to take over as head coach of the U of Regina Cougars. . . . Kletzel is a former WHL player (Edmonton Ice, 1996-97; Lethbridge Hurricanes, 1997-99). Ryan McGill, the Ice’s new head coach, was on Edmonton’s coaching staff in 1996-97. . . . Kletzel, 32, later played three seasons with the U of Lethbridge Pronghorns while earning two degrees (bachelor of arts in kinesiology and a bachelor of education). . . . Last season, he was the head coach of a midget AAA team in Lethbridge. . . . The Ice also announced that assistant coach Jerry Bancks is returning for a third season. . . .
The Oklahoma City Barons, the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers, has re-signed head coach Todd Nelson and assistant coaches Gerry Fleming and Rocky Thompson. . . . All three are former WHL players and all are going into their third seasons with the Barons. . . .
Ross Yates has signed on as an assistant coach with the QMJHL’s Saint John Sea Dogs. Yates, 53, is a former head coach of the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch. . . . In Saint John, he will work alongside GM/head coach Mike Kelly.


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