Great news from Ewen . . . Babcock: Road hockey by candlelight? . . . Canucks going to P.G.

#ThanksDave pic.twitter.com/eDS6gcWsiH

— Rolling Stone (@RollingStone) May 21, 2015

F Waltteri Hopponen (Everett, 2013-14) signed a two-year-plus-option contract with HPK Hämeenlinna (Finland, Liiga). This season, with the Sioux City Musketeers (USHL), he had two goals and eight assists in 28 games; in 31 games with the Lincoln Stars (USHL), he had four goals and 14 assists. . . .
F Riley Holzapfel (Moose Jaw, 2004-08) signed a one-year contract with Karlskrona (Sweden, SHL). This season, with HV71 Jönköping (Sweden, SHL), he had seven goals and six assists in 49 games. Karlskrona won promotion to SHL from Allsvenskan this season.

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The really big news on Wednesday — yes, even bigger than Mike Babcock or David Letterman — came from long-time friend Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province.
It arrived via email:
“Today marks my four-year anniversary of being discharged from GF Strong. I also saw the cancer doctors this morning and I'm now officially four and a half years cancer free.
“I believe that the support Carol-Ann and I have received has been instrumental in what's been achieved to date. Thanks again.
“As a reminder, if you're free on Aug. 5, we're throwing a Ride To Conquer Cancer fundraiser at the Earls on Fir Street. There's a silent auction, plus we get a portion from some drinks and appetizers that night.”
It just doesn’t get any better than that.
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F Tyler Johnson of the Tampa Bay Lightning is the hot story, to date, of these NHL playoffs. Johnson was a free-agent signing by the Lightning after a terrific career with the WHL’s Spokane Chiefs. Johnson stands 5-foot-8 and has had to overcome that throughout his career. It’s why no NHL team signed him until after his 20-year-old season. Al Murray, the Lightning’s head scout, had a lot to do with that, and Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post has more on that right here.
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Meanwhile, Ed Willes of the Vancouver Province talked with Spokane Chiefs general manager Tim Speltz and, yes, the subject was Tampa Bay Lightning F Tyler Johnson. . . . That piece is right here.
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We just witnessed two more days of social media at its best.
You might recall that on Tuesday, free-agent head coach Mike Babcock wasn’t going to Toronto, was negotiating with Buffalo, and perhaps was talking with San Jose, but almost certainly was going to stay in Detroit. Oh, and St. Louis might be interested.
So what happens?
Of course, he signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs. (The news conference is scheduled for today, which means another day of Twitter exploding.)
This is great news for hockey fans who have long wondered just how much impact a coach can have on a team.
The Leafs have been, well, the Leafs for a long time now. It is going to be interesting to see how much of an impact Babcock has on them. After all, instead of dealing with Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg, he now has Phil Kessel and Joffrey Lupul. Instead of Niklas Kronwall, he’s got Dion Phaneuf.
You have to think that the Leafs will hold the course with their rebuild, meaning there won’t be any huge free-agent signings in an attempt to speed up the process.
If they are going to contend for the Stanley Cup, they need to find a top-end goaltender and a minute-eating defenceman who will quarterback the PP. Perhaps Morgan Rielly will become capable of filling the latter role, but is there a big-time goaltender on the roster?
Anyway . . . Babcock, who once was fired by the Moose Jaw Warriors, now is by far the highest-paid coach in the NHL. His eight-year deal with Toronto averages out at $6.25 million per season. That is quite a bit more than the man who is No. 2 on the list. Joel Quenneville of the Chicago Blackhawks is paid $2.75 million per season. . . . Babcock spent two seasons (1991-93) in Moose Jaw, going 33-36-3 and 27-42-3. He was dumped after that second season and replaced by Al Tuer, who now is a pro scout for the Florida Panthers. . . . Babcock had been in Detroit for 10 seasons. The only active NHL head coaches who have been in position for more than four seasons are Claude Julien (Boston), Quenneville, Dave Tippett (Arizona) and Jack Capuano (New York Islanders). . . . Julien just completed his eighth season with the Bruins, while Quenneville is in his eighth season with the Blackhawks. Tippett has been the Coyotes’ head coach through seven seasons. Capuano has been the Islanders’ head coach since Nov. 15, 2010. . . . BTW, Babcock spent some of his childhood in Leaf Rapids, Man., which is a couple of slapshots from my hometown of Lynn Lake. Babcock has told stories of Leaf Rapids not having street lights so he and his friends put candles in the snowbanks in order to play road hockey at night. I don’t know about that, but I do know that my first skate every fall was on Eden Lake, which is right by Leaf Rapids. That first ice of the year on Eden Lake was the best I ever skated on.
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Here is the Memorial Cup schedule (all games on Sportsnet; all times Eastern):
Friday, May 22: Kelowna vs. Quebec, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, May 23: Rimouski vs. Oshawa, 4:30 p.m.
Sunday, May 24: Quebec vs. Oshawa, 4:30 p.m.
Monday, May 25: Rimouski vs. Kelowna, 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday, May 26: Oshawa vs. Kelowna, 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday, May 27: Quebec vs. Rimouski, 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, May 28: Tiebreaker, if necessary, 7:30 p.m.
Friday, May 29: Semifina, 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, May 31: Championship game, TBA
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In the AHL, the host Utica Comets beat the Oklahoma City Barons 1-0 on Wednesday night in Game 7 of a second-round series. . . . The Comets are affiliated with the Vancouver Canucks, the Barons with the Edmonton Oilers. . . . F Alexandre Grenier won it with his fourth goal at 7:11 of the third period. Here’s hoping he gets free Slurpees for life! . . . Utica G Jakob Markstrom stopped 35 shots. . . . Attendance was 3,835. . . . The Comets, under head coach Travis Green, will meet the Grand Rapids Griffins in the Western Conference final. Green, the former Portland Winterhawks assistant GM and assistant coach, is seen as one of the best young coaches in the game. . . . Griffins head coach Jeff Blashill may be the next head coach of the parent Detroit Red Wings. . . . That series, with a 2-3-2 format, opens with games in Utica on Sunday and Monday. . . . The Eastern Conference final features the Manchester Monarchs, under former Moose Jaw Warriors head coach Mike Stothers, against the Hartford Wolf Pack of head coach Ken Gernander. The Monarchs are hooked up with the Los Angeles Kings; the Wolf Pack with the New York Rangers. That series opens tonight in Manchester.
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Admit it. There are nights when you lay awake and wonder: What are Arnold Schwarzenegger’s 10 best movies?
Well, Rolling Stone has the list and it’s right here.
Did you know that a studio originally had O.J. Simpson tabbed as the Terminator, and not Arnold? That’s what it says in this story. . . . Check it out, and sleep well.
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THE COACHING GAME:

Jamie Kompon, the general manager and head coach of the Portland Winterhawks, will coach at the U-17 World Hockey Challenge later this year. Kompon has been named head coach of one of three Canadian teams that will play in the tournament, a host city and dates for which have yet to be announced. . . . Kompon will be head coach of Canada White. . . . Former Kootenay Ice coach Kris Knoblauch, now the head coach of the OHL’s Erie Otters, will be the head coach of Canada Red, with Marco Pietroniro, the head coach of the QMJHL’s Baie-Comeau Drakkar, running Canada Black. . . . Kompon’s assistant coaches will be Jamie Heward, who is an assistant with the Swift Current Broncos, and Serge Lajoie, the head coach of the Edmonton-based NAIT Ooks. . . . Wade Klippenstein, the Brandon Wheat Kings’ director of scouting, will be involved in team selection as he is Hockey Canada’s western regional scout.
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The Lethbridge Hurricanes have signed D Tyler Strath, who was a third-round selection in the 2015 bantam draft. . . . The 6-foot-2, 160-pound Strath, who is from Carseland, Alta., had 23 points, four of them goals, in 31 games with the bantam AAA Rocky Mountain Raiders this season. . . .


The Vancouver Canucks and Prince George Cougars announced Wednesday that the NHL team will hold its training camp at the CN Centre in Prince George, Sept. 18-20. . . . Medicals will take place Sept. 17 at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, with on-ice work starting in Prince George on Sept. 18. . . . Canucks president Trevor Linden said in a news release that the team is “committed to holding future training camps in communities throughout B.C.” . . . Canucks D Dan Hamhuis is a part-owner of the Cougars.
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In case you've had a bad day pic.twitter.com/yw79sdU7b9

— GuyCodes (@GuyCodes) May 20, 2015

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McLellan gold and new job . . . Former Chiefs star on fire . . . Rimouski wins QMJHL title

This is the first time a country has held the Olympic, World Junior and the World Championship gold at the same time👌 pic.twitter.com/BOWPTUFEeH

— Hockey Posts™ (@HockeyPosts) May 18, 2015

With apologies to Blackie Sherrod, we’re scattershooting on a Monday evening:

1. O Canada!

2. It was great to see head coach Todd McLellan guide Canada to a gold medal at the IIHF World championship in Czech Republic over the past few weeks. Hockey can be a cruel business but, even by those standards, he really got stiffed by the San Jose Sharks. He’ll get over it as the head coach of Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers (aka Young Guns).

3. It also was great to see Bill Peters win gold in Czech Republic too. Peters, always a straight shooter, is a former head coach of the Spokane Chiefs, who now is head coach of the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes.

4. How do you feel if you’re a season-ticket holder with the Prince Albert Raiders? First, a couple of the WHL’s premier players moved from the Raiders to the Kelowna Rockets, with thanks to the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers. The Rockets then went on to win the WHL championship, with one of those players named the playoff MVP. The Raiders, of course, didn’t make the playoffs and, on top of all that, the WHL commissioner has told the world that “in order for the Prince Albert Raiders to be viable long term, a new facility is required.” . . . Other than that, Raiders fans, how has your month been?

5. This WHL offseason just might be worth watching, what with the Medicine Hat Tigers not yet having a lease to play in that city’s new building, the Regina Pats’ owners scrapping with their landlord, the WHL hinting that Prince Albert needs a new arena or else, the WHL leaning on Lethbridge Hurricanes’ shareholders to sell to private interests, the WHL pretty much telling Kootenay Ice fans to show up in 2015-16 or else. . . .

6. If Canadian hockey fans ever wondered how much respect the NHL has for them, it was most evident when the Eastern Conference final opened with a Saturday day game. To the NHL, the tradition of Hockey Night in Canada is nothing more than chopped liver.

7. If you are watching an NHL playoff game, please don’t start whining about the number of penalties being called. Please don’t start begging the referees to “let them play.” Please plead with the referees to call the game by the rule book.

8. In Tyler Johnson’s last two seasons with the Spokane Chiefs, he was the best faceoff man and best penalty killer I had seen in a long while. But who knew the Tampa Bay Lightning star would be able to score like this at the NHL level? . . . If you missed it, he had the first playoff hat trick in Lightning history last night in a 6-2 victory over the Rangers in New York. He leads all playoff scorers in goals (11) and points (16). His 11 goals are four more than anyone else.

9. Chris Peters, the hockey writer at cbssports.com, has a good piece right here on Tyler Johnson and all that went on last night.

10. With the governor of Washington state having signed a bill designating WHL players as amateur athletes and non-employees, someone is going to have to explain to me how that works. After all, hasn’t the NCAA proclaimed WHL players as professionals? . . . Hey, perhaps things would be different if WHL players employed advisors and not agents.
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D Nolan Yonkman (Kelowna, Brandon, 1996-2001) signed a one-year contract with JYP Jyvaskyla (Finland, Liiga). This season, with the Adirondack Flames (AHL), he had two goals and 10 assists in 65 games. He was the team captain.
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It was a long weekend in Canada — thank you, Queen Victoria — and still no decision from F Auston Matthews. Matthews, who turns 18 on Sept. 17, is from Scottsdale, Ariz., and he is a game-changer. . . . His WHL rights belong to the Everett Silvertips, who selected him in the third round of the 2012 bantam draft. . . . Matthews is said to be deciding between Everett, the ZSC Lions, a Swiss pro team based in Zurich, and an NCAA school. I’m thinking the NCAA is out, so it’s between Everett and Lions. . . . One thing is for certain: Everett GM Garry Davidson says that, regardless of what you may have heard, the Matthews camp hasn’t asked the Silvertips to trade his WHL rights. . . . Nick Patterson of the Everett Herald has more right here.
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Jay Inslee, the governor of Washington state, signed Senate Bill 5893 on Monday. That bill designates players on the WHL’s four Washington teams as amateur athletes and non-employees. That exempts the players from laws requiring employees be paid at least the minimum wage.
Jim Camden of the Spokane Spokesman-Revew has more right here.
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The second-round AHL series between the Utica Comets and Oklahoma City Barons will be decided in Game 7 on Wednesday. The Barons won 2-1 at home last night, so Game 7 will be in Utica. . . . F Jake Virtanen of the Calgary Hitmen made his pro debut with the Comets in that game. The Vancouver Canucks selected him with the sixth overall pick in the NHL’s 2014 draft.
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The host Rimouski Oceanic won the QMJHL championship on Monday, beating the Quebec Remparts 2-1 in double OT. . . . F Michael Joly’s 12th goal of the playoffs, via a PP, won the game, at 2:13 of the second OT period before 5,062 fans. . . . Rimouski G Philippe Desrosiers stopped 47 shots. . . . The Oceanic also won Game 6 in OT, that one by a 5-4 count. . . . With the Remparts as the host team for the Memorial Cup, both teams knew prior to the start of the series that both teams would play in the tournament.
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Here is the Memorial Cup schedule (all games on Sportsnet; all times Eastern):
Friday, May 22: Kelowna vs. Quebec, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, May 23: Rimouski vs. Oshawa, 4:30 p.m.
Sunday, May 24: Quebec vs. Oshawa, 4:30 p.m.
Monday, May 25: Rimouski vs. Kelowna, 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday, May 26: Oshawa vs. Kelowna, 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday, May 27: Quebec vs. Rimouski, 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, May 28: Tiebreaker, if necessary, 7:30 p.m.
Friday, May 29: Semifina, 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, May 31: Championship game, TBA
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THE COACHING GAME:

The NHL’s Colorado Avalanche lost two assistant coaches on Monday with the resignations of Mario Duhamel and André Tourigny. . . . Duhamel, the video coach, completed two seasons under head coach Patrick Roy with the Avalanche. Prior to that, Duhamel was the head coach of the QMJHL’s Drummondville Voltigeurs for four seasons. . . . Tourigny, who handled the defence, also spent two seasons with Colorado. Before that, he spent 10 seasons as head coach of the QMJHL’s Rouyn-Noranda Huskies.
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The U of North Dakota promoted assistant coach Brad Berry to head coach on Monday, just moments after the NHL’s Philadelphia Flyers announced that Dave Hakstol would be their next head coach. Hakstol had been UND’s head coach for 11 seasons . . . Berry and Kamloops Blazers GM Craig Bonner are friends and it wasn’t that long ago when Berry was in the running to be the Blazers’ head coach. Before it got to that, however, Berry asked that his name be taken out of consideration.
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The NHL’s Phoenix Coyotes cleaned house in Portland, Me., on Monday, as they dumped a whole lot of people from hockey operations with their AHL affiliate, the Pirates. . . . Chris Roy of Maine Hockey Journal reported that Ray Edwards, the GM and head coach, has been fired, along with assistant coaches John Slaney and Trent Whitfield. . . . The Pirates, who lost out in the first round of the playoffs, also dumped athletic therapist Bike Booi, equipment manager John Krouse, video coach Alex Loh and assistant equipment manager Joe Morse. . . . The Pirates are to move to Springfield, Mass., before the start of next season.
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I believe Tyler Johnson is 5'8, he just scored his 3rd goal of the game, all G's a combined distance of 2 feet from the crease #gotothenet

— Chris Clark (@clarkyhockey) May 19, 2015

There has never been a subscription fee for this blog, but if you enjoy stopping by here, why not consider donating to the cause? Just click HERE. . . and thank you very much.

Johnson a giant with Lightning . . . De Leo takes streak to Kamloops . . . Reinhart closing on Stoll

Is there a better story being written in the NHL this season than the one being penned by F Tyler Johnson of the Tampa Bay Lightning?
A native of Spokane, Johnson played four seasons with the WHL’s Chiefs, who selected him in the 11th round of the 2005 bantam draft.
He was a terrific WHL player, too, putting up 282 points, including 128 goals, in 266 regular-season games. In 2010-11, as a 20-year-old, he finished second in the scoring race, his 115 points leaving him one point behind F Linden Vey of the Medicine Hat Tigers. Johnson led the WHL in goals that season, with 53.
I can remember watching Johnson in his final WHL season and thinking he was as good a centre as I had seen in quite some time. On top of his offensive ability, he was lights out on defence and practically unbeatable in the faceoff circle. He also may have been the WHL’s best penalty-killer at the time.
Tim Speltz, the Chiefs’ general manager, has watched Johnson for a long time.
“Johnny has always exceeded expectations and he's a great person who was always an excellent skater and had an amazing understanding of the game,” Speltz told Taking Note via email. “By the end of his 19-year-old year he gave you the feeling he would find a way to play in the NHL. His (20-year-old season), he finished second in league scoring and he was always our most responsible defensive player.”
Johnson, now 24, wasn’t selected in the NHL draft — at 5-foot-9, he is one of those players who has had to live with being too small. But he was able to sign a free-agent deal with the Lightning.
Al Murray, Tampa Bay’s head amateur scout, lives in Regina so had ample opportunity to watch Johnson during his WHL career. It was on Murray’s recommendation that the Lightning signed Johnson.
He played two seasons in the AHL and now is in his second full NHL season.
He got his first taste of the NHL in 2012-13 when he had three goals and three assists in 16 games.
Last season, he played 82 games with the Lightning and showed a hint of what he was about when he put up 50 points, including 24 goals.
Still, who saw this season coming?
He leads the Lightning in points, with 45, 17 of them goals, in 42 games. On Sunday, he was named to the NHL all-star game.
Unfortunately, he left in the second period of Monday’s 7-3 loss to the Flyers in Philadelphia with an undisclosed injury. Tampa Bay head coach Jon Cooper didn’t know whether Johnson would be able to play tonight against the host Boston Bruins.
Before leaving the game, Johnson set up Tampa Bay sniper Steven Stamkos for a goal with as nifty a pass as you will see.
Johnson first skated at the age of 18 months.
His mother, Debbie, taught power-skating; his father, Ken, coached minor hockey for a long time. Yes, he coached Tyler during his minor hockey career.
Don’t think for a minute that just because Johnson now is 2,316 miles from Spokane, as the crow flies, that the Chiefs’ followers have forgotten him.
“There are lots of Johnson jerseys in our crowd, both Chiefs and Lightning,” Speltz noted. “Spokane is very proud of their hometown hockey hero.
“All that said, who Tyler is is what makes him special . . . a great young man who is a fantastic role model you cannot say enough about.”
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The Portland Winterhawks meet the Blazers in Kamloops on Wednesday night and then are in Prince George to face the Cougars on Friday and Saturday. This is the Winterhawks’ last regular-season trip outside the U.S. Division. . . . Portland F Chase De Leo goes into Kamloops on a 17-game point streak. He has two goals and 18 assists in the 17 games. . . . F Oliver Bjorkstrand, who is tied with Petan for the team scoring lead, with 48 points, has seven points, three of them goals, over his last two games. He has points in 15 of his last 16 games, with multiple points in 12 of those contests. . . . F Sam Reinhart of the Kootenay Ice has 282 career regular-season points. That leaves him four points behind F Jarret Stoll, who holds the franchise record (286). . . . The Ice next plays Wednesday in Moose Jaw.
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Happy 61st to Dennis Sobchuk who was never same after a shoulder injury. Dennis scored 191 in 200 games w/ @WHLpats. pic.twitter.com/m94qafgHRv
— O-Pee-Chee Stars (@opeecheestars) January 13, 2015

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Giants' Osipov traded in KHL . . . Uher gets to NHL . . . WHL webcasts free

D Jakub Čutta (Swift Current, 1998-2001) has signed a contract for the rest of this season with Pardubice (Czech Republic, Extraliga). Last season, with Liberec (Czech Republic, Extraliga), he had three goals and four assists in 29 games. He also had one assist in 10 games with SaiPa Lappeenranta (Finland, Liiga). . . .
Amur Khabarovsk (Russia, KHL) has traded the rights to D Dmitri Osipov (Vancouver, 2013-present) to Sochi (Russia, KHL) for F Rafael Akhmetov. Osipov was selected first overall by Khabarovsk in the 2013 KHL junior draft. He was the first overall selection, by Vancouver, in the CHL’s 2013 import draft. . . . This season, with the Giants, Osipov, 18, has a goal and six assists in 33 games.
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F Brendan Woods, the son of Bob Woods, the general manager and head coach of the Saskatoon Blades, made his NHL debut on Tuesday night. Brendan played 6:10 for the Carolina Hurricanes as they beat the host New Jersey Devils, 2-1. . . . Yes, Bob was in attendance. . . . Brendan had one hit and one shot, and was minus-1. . . . He was a fifth-round selection by Carolina, out of the U of Wisconsin, in the 2012 NHL draft. . . . This season, the 6-foot-4, 210-pounder has five goals and three assists in 42 games with the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers. He was returned to the Checkers following last night‘s game. . . . Brendan now has played one more NHL game than his father, although Bob spent five season as an NHL assistant coach before joining the Blades.
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The Pittsburgh Penguins, with 11 or 12 players out with illness, mostly the mumps, or injuries, recalled F Dominik Uher on Tuesday. He had been with the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre Penguins. . . . Uher, who played three seasons with the WHL’s Spokane Chiefs, was selected by the Penguins in the 11th round of the NHL’s 2011 draft. He made his NHL debut last night as the Penguins lost 4-3 to the host Tampa Bay Lightning. . . . Uher played 7:17, including 27 seconds shorthanded, had one hit, and was minus-1. . . . F Tyler Johnson, who played with Uher for two seasons in Spokane, scored three times for Tampa Bay. Johnson has 13 goals this season.
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A note from Rob Vanstone of the Regina Leader-Post:
“The best part of the 2014-15 Pats: Win or lose, they play an exciting style. The players are encouraged to be creative. The coaches do not respond punitively if an attempt at a picturesque play is unsuccessful. Head coach John Paddock and his predecessor, Malcolm Cameron, helped to usher in a welcome departure from the chip-and-chase, get-pucks-deep horror.”
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When the WHL resumes play, its Saturday and Sunday webcasts will be free at whl.neulion.com. Use WHLHOLIDAYS as the promo code.
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Rob Friend of Kelowna had a terrific soccer career that included stops in Norway, Germany and The Netherlands. He played this season with the L.A. Galaxy as it won the MLS championship. However, he wasn’t able to play in the championship game. In fact, he had already announced his impending retirement thanks to post-concussion syndrome. . . . Neil Davidson of The Canadian Press has Friend’s story right here.
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There are lists and there are lists, and then there is Rolling Stone’s list of the biggest sports controversies of 2014. Written by Jeb Lund, it is rather scathing, and it is right here.
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Email convo with Kelowna Rockets' owner Bruce Hamilton...on Draisaitl's WHL rights being traded "Nothing going on. All talk. No action."
— John Shannon (@JSportsnet) December 24, 2014

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Brendan Ranford felt the draft on Friday afternoon.
Ranford, a veteran of four seasons with the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers, wasn’t able to get a deal done with the NHL’s Philadelphia Flyers by yesterday’s deadline. Therefore, he is once again eligible for the NHL draft.
The Flyers selected Ranford in the seventh round of the NHL’s 2010 draft; in fact, he was the second-last player taken. NHL teams had until yesterday at 5 p.m. ET to sign players taken in that draft. Those not signed are eligible for this year’s draft that is scheduled for Pittsburgh, June 22 and 23.
Should Ranford not be selected in next month’s draft, he will become a free agent, eligible to sign with any team.
“Nothing got done,” Ranford said late yesterday afternoon. “There’s nothing I can do. I just have got to work hard during the summer and move on.”
The Blazers selected Ranford, who is from Edmonton, with the 15th overall selection in the WHL’s 2007 bantam draft. He has 270 points, including 115 goals, in 278 regular-season games with the Blazers. He holds down 13th spot on the Blazers’ all-time points list and is 14th in goals and 17th in assists.
This season, he had career single-season highs in goals (40) and points (92).
The writing may have been on the wall for Ranford and his agent, Mark MacKay, about 10 days ago when the Flyers signed two other forwards – Derek Mathers, who had 17 points and 177 penalty minutes with the OHL’s Peterborough Petes, and Andrew Johnston, an 81-point man with the SJHL’s Humboldt Broncos. Mathers, 18, was a seventh-round pick in the 2011 draft; Johnston, 20, was an undrafted free agent.
Asked if he was disappointed not to get signed, Ranford replied: “No, not really. I wouldn’t say disappointed. I’ve got to move on and just work harder.”
Should Ranford, who turned 20 on May 3, be selected in this month’s draft, he would be eligible to play anywhere in that team’s organization should he sign an NHL contract. He also is eligible to return for a fifth season with the Blazers.
Ranford was one of a handful of WHLers who will be going back into the draft.
The list includes defenceman Troy Rutkowski of the Portland Winterhawks, who was a fifth-round pick by the Colorado Avalanche in 2010, and winger Josh Nicholls of the Saskatoon Blades, a seventh-round pick, who wasn’t signed by the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Meanwhile, three WHL forwards who were selected in the 2011 draft signed NHL deals yesterday.
Ty Rattie of the Portland Winterhawks, a second-round pick, signed with the St. Louis Blues, while Dominik Uher of the Spokane Chiefs, a fifth-round pick, got a deal done with the Pittsburgh Penguins, and Brody Sutter, the captain of the Lethbridge Hurricanes, signed with the Carolina Hurricanes, who had taken him in the seventh round.
Rattie, 19, is eligible to return to Portland. Uher, who is from Czech Republic, wasn't likely to return to Spokane as a 20-year-old, while Sutter completed his major junior eligibility this season.
Rattie is coming off a season in which he scored 121 points, including 57 goals, in 69 regular-season games. He then added 33 points, 19 of them goals, in 21 playoff games.
Uher had 68 points, including 33 goals, in his final season with the Chiefs. He finished the season with the Penguins’ AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, but didn’t see playoff action.
Sutter had 60 points in 65 games as a 20-year-old in Lethbridge. Brody, the son of former NHLer Duane Sutter, is the third Sutter in the Carolina organization, following cousins Brandon and Brett.
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F Logan Proulx has agreed to join the Selkirk Saints of the B.C. Intercollegiate league. Proulx played this season with the BCHL’s Cowichan Valley Capitals after being acquired from his hometown Trail Smoke Eaters. He played 137 games over three seasons with the Edmonton Oil Kings. . . .
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The OHL’s Owen Sound Attack has signed former NHL D Drew Bannister as its new assistant coach. He takes over from former associate coach Terry Virtue, a former WHL assistant coach, who has left after two seasons with the Attack. . . . Bannister spent this season as a player-coach with the Braehead Clan of the British Elite league. . . .
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The Medicine Hat Mavericks of the Western Major Baseball League opened their home schedule on Friday night and Bob Ridley, the veteran play-by-play voice of the Medicine Hat Tigers was there to throw out the first pitch. . . . Don’t know if he sang Take Me Out to the Ball Game during the seventh-inning stretch. . . . There was even more WHL flavour as Shaw TV carried the game, with Cam Moon, the voice of the Red Deer Rebels, and Peter Lourbardias, who should be doing hockey play-by-play, in the booth. . . . If you’re wondering, the Okotoks Dawgs beat the Mavericks, 6-5. . . .
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F Tyler Johnson (Spokane, 2007-2011) had a goal and an assist last night, helping the host Norfolk Admirals to a 3-1 victory over the Toronto Marlies in Game 1 of the AHL’s best-of-seven final for the Calder Cup. Game 2 is tonight. . . . F Cory Conacher also had a goal and an assist for the winners. . . . C Carter Ashton (Lethbridge, Regina, Tri-City, 2006-11) had Toronto’s goal. . . . Interestingly, earlier in the season Ashton played on a line with Johnson and Conacher in Norfolk, the AHL affiliate of the Tampa Bay Lightning. . . . If you check, you may find it on TV somewhere. I stumbled on a replay of Game 1 on Leaf TV late last night. . . .
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When F Locke Muller was with the Red Deer Rebels, Dale McMullin was on their scouting staff. McMullin now is Regina’s head scout, so when Muller recently was dropped by the Saskatoon Blades, well, the Pats were quick to add him to their protected list. . . . Muller, 19, had 10 points and 87 penalty minutes in 58 games last season. He started the season with Red Deer and finished with the Blades.
Greg Harder, in the Regina Leader-Post: “The 6-foot-2, 197-pounder was a healthy scratch on a few occasions due to discipline issues, apparently working his way into the doghouse of Blades head coach/GM Lorne Molleken . . .”
Regina GM Chad Lang told Harder that the past is just that, the past.
“There’s kids that are leaders, there’s kids that are followers,” Lang said. “It’s about putting kids in an environment where they know the rules and the limitations. You hope they abide by them and if they don’t there’s consequences. From our standpoint it’s about giving kids the opportunity.”

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THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Jared Aulin (Kamloops, 1997-2002) signed a two-year contract extension with Örebro (Sweden, Allsvenskan). Aulin finished third in Allsvenskan scoring with 25 goals and 33 assists in 49 games this season. . . .
F Derek Ryan (Spokane, 2003-07) and D Harlan Pratt (Seattle, Red Deer, Prince Albert, Regina, Portland, 1994-99) each signed one-year contract extensions with Alba Volan Szekesfehervar (Hungary, Austria Erste Bank Liga). Ryan had 25 goals and 24 assists in 50 games, good enough for ninth place in the league scoring race, while Pratt had five goals and 14 assists in 48 games. Club director Gabor Ocskay: "Derek Ryan and Harland Pratt were the pillars of this year's team, and a similar role is expected in the 2012-13 season. We are delighted to have signed them." . . .
F Kirill Starkov (Red Deer, 2006-2007) signed a one-year contract with Oskarshamn (Sweden, Allsvenskan). He had three goals and 12 assists in 39 games with Rögle Ängelholm (Sweden, Allsvenskan) and four goals and five assists in six games with SønderjyskE Vojens (Denmark, AL-Bank Liga) this season.
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Shawn Mullin, the radio voice of the Swift Current Broncos, reports that a move is afoot to erect a monument alongside the Trans-Canada Highway that would be in memory of the four players who died there on Dec. 30, 1986 when the WHL team’s bus crashed while en route to Regina. There is more right here.
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So how were things in Chilliwack after the Bruins left town and the BCHL’s Chiefs moved into Prospera Centre. Well, they say they had 1,100 season-ticket holders and averaged 2,000 sold tickets per game. That’s enough for president Glen Ringdal to say the season with an unqualified success. Tyler Olsen of the Chilliwack Times has more right here.
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The Tri-City Americans and Spokane Chiefs open their second-round series on Friday in Kennewick, Wash. That game won’t be televised but the next three games definitely will be. The teams have announced that their flagship stations, KVEW/KXLY and KHQ/SWX, will carry Game 2 from Kennewick on Saturday and Games 3 and 4 from Spokane on Wednesday, April 11, and Friday, April 13. Kevin Uretsky will call the play with Kevin Sawyer handling the analysis. KVEW-TV’s My Network in the Tri-City area has the option on Games 5, 6 and 7, as well.
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Columnist John Blanchette of the Spokane Spokesman-Review takes a look at the move that put Eric Williams in as the Spokane Chiefs’ starter after two games of these playoffs. That piece is right here.
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The Prince George Cougars have signed D Sam Ruopp, who was a fourth-round pick in the 2011 bantam draft. Ruopp, from Zehner, Sask., is the younger brother of Prince Albert Raiders D Harrison Ruopp. . . . Sam played this season with the midget AAA Regina Pats Canadians, picking up 10 assists in 41 games.
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F Tyler Johnson of the Norfolk Admirals is the AHL’s player of the month for March. He had a league-high 22 points, 11 of them goals, and was plus-13 in 12 games. Johnson, in his first AHL season, is a product of the WHL’s Spokane Chiefs. . . . If you aren’t aware, the Admirals have won their last 23 games. That’s right . . . 23 straight games. . . . Johnson signed as a free agent with the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning.
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The Spokane Spokesman-Review reports that Vern Kneeshaw died Sunday at the age of 90. Kneeshaw was a goaltender with the 1948-49 Spokane Flyers, who won the U.S. national senior amateur championship. . . . Kneeshaw also was an off-ice official with the Spokane Chiefs. . . . According to the newspaper, “A memorial service for Kneeshaw will be held on Friday at 1 p.m. at the First Assembly of God church in Spokane.”
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THE COACHING GAME:
Former Everett Silvertips associate head coach coach Jay Varady has signed on for two more seasons with Les Ducs d’Angers of France’s Ligue Magnus. In his first season, Varady guided Les Ducs to an 18-8 record, second only to the rival Les Dragons de Rouen. . . . Angers won two playoff series, taking out Caen 3-0 and Briancon 3-1, before losing in four games (3-1) to Rouen.
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PLAYOFF ODDS AND ENDS:
The Spokane Chiefs and Tri-City Americans are about to go head-to-head for the sixth time, and the second time in as many years. The Chiefs won a second-round series in six games last season. . . . The teams staged one of the great series in WHL history in the spring of 2008 when the Chiefs won in seven games, five of which went into OT. And three of those went to double OT. . . . These teams are no strangers to extra time. A year ago, the last three games of that six-game series needed OT. In fact, 11 of the last 16 playoff games between these teams have gone to OT. So if you’re going to Friday’s opener, you best tell the babysitter that you’ll be late getting home. . . .
In Brandon, the Wheat Kings are into the second round for the eighth time in 11 seasons. This time, they’ll meet the Edmonton Oil Kings in a series that opens Friday in the Alberta capital. Amazingly, this will be the first playoff meeting – at least in a best-of series – between these teams. Brandon and Edmonton were in the league from 1967 through 1976, after which the Oil Kings relocated to Portland. They never once met in the playoffs during that time. . . . Brandon and Edmonton did play in one of those round-robin series in 1978-79. The Flin Flon Bombers moved to Edmonton for that season and the Oil Kings were eliminated after a first-round round-robin series in which Brandon (7-1) and Saskatoon (3-5) advanced and Edmonton was eliminated. (That’s right it was a double home-and-home round-robin!). . . . By the next season, the Oil Kings were the Great Falls Americans, who lasted 28 games before folding. . . .
F Ryan Harrison of the Everett Silvertips took a charging major and game misconduct in Game 4 of their series loss to the visiting Tri-City Americans on March 28. His suspension now has been set at four games, so he will miss the first four games of next season, assuming he is back in the WHL. . . . Harrison, an NHL free agent, is finishing up the season with the AHL’s Lake Erie Monsters, who are affiliated with the Colorado Avalanche. . . . Shaw-TV announced Tuesday that its series of choice in the second round will feature the Moose Jaw Warriors and Medicine Hat Tigers. That series opens Friday at Mosaic Place in Moose Jaw.
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And now for something completely different . . .
Taliah Aquilini and her soon-to-be ex-husband, Franceso, are well on their way to a divorce. Francesco, of course, owns the Vancouver Canucks. Taliah says that Canucks fans needn’t worry about any of this harming their beloved team. That story is right here. . . . Meanwhile, if you haven’t seen it already, there is something right here about a couple of hockey players’ girlfriends having some kind of scrap. . . . Only in Vancouver, you say. You may be right. . . .

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