F Zack Ostapchuk, the Vancouver Giants’ captain, apparently suffered an undisclosed injury while in camp with the NHL’s Ottawa Senators. He definitely 
won’t play tonight (Friday) against the visiting Seattle Thunderbirds. Steve Ewen of Postmedia reports that Ostapchuk “reportedly will be sidelined two to three weeks” and that GM Barclay Parnetta said he “wasn’t expecting to see Ostapchuk . . . back for as many as four weeks.” . . . Ostapchuk was a second-round selection by the Senators in the NHL’s 2021 draft. . . . On Wednesday, the Giants dealt F Cole Shepard, 20, to the Lethbridge Hurricanes for a third-round pick in the 2023 WHL draft. Shepard, who has struggled with injuries for the past few seasons, had seven goals and 13 assists in 28 games last season with Vancouver. Shepard is in camp with the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks.
The Edmonton Oil Kings have placed three players on what the team said in a 
news release is “Long-Term Injury Reserve.” F Jakub Demek, 19, D Graydon Gotaas, 18, and F Tyler Horstmann, 20, all went on LTIR as they continue to recover from offseason surgery to repair undisclosed injuries. . . . With Horstmann on the shelf, the Oil Kings claimed F Reid Jacobson, 20, off waivers from the Spokane Chiefs. Jacobson put up 35 points, including 12 goals, in 114 games over three seasons with the Chiefs. . . . The Oil Kings now have four 20-year-olds on their roster, with Jacobson joining D Logan Dowhaniuk, F Carson Golder and F Jaxsen Wiebe.
Hartley Miller, among other things the colour analyst on broadcasts of Prince George Cougars’ home games, is back with his Cat Scan podcast. And this week he discovered that Mark Lamb, the club’s general manager and head coach, has a new three-year contract extension. Lamb is entering his fourth season with the Cougars.
ONE MORE SIGN OF THE APOCALYPSE —The fact that this was news on Wednesday: “Bengals QB Joe Burrow has decided to remove Twitter and Instagram from his phone.”
THINKING OUT LOUD — Is it just me or has anyone else noticed that it is impossible to avoid gravel trucks on our streets and highways these days? . . . If you scurry over to Entertainment Weekly’s website, you will be able to find a story on all the new Hallmark Christmas movies that are on the way. . . . If you’re hoping to watch Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees hit No. 61 tonight (Friday) against the visiting Boston Red Sox, you’ll have to do it via Apple TV.
JUNIOR JOTTINGS — The 2023 CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game is to be played at the Langley Events Centre — that is the home arena of the Vancouver Giants — on Jan. 25. From a news release: The game “showcases top NHL Draft eligible talent from across the Ontario Hockey League, Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and Western Hockey League competing before hundreds of NHL scouts in attendance.” . . . Yes, hundreds! . . . The game also was held in the Lower Mainland of B.C. in 2005 and 2016. . . . Don’t forget that the 2022 World U-17 Challenge is scheduled for the Langley Events Centre and the Sungod Arena in North Delta, from Nov. 5-12. . . . The Prince George Coliseum, the home of the BCHL’s Spruce Kings, is to be called the Kopar Memorial Arena under the terms of a four-year naming deal. Kopar Administration Ltd. is to pay $15,000 per year for the naming rights. Kopar also will be on the hook for new signage. . . .
Two junior B leagues — the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League and the Pacific Junior Hockey League — have formed a partnership that they are calling the British Columbia Hockey Conference. According to a news release that is right here, the BCHC’s “inaugural season includes two major projects: the creation of a Department of Player Safety that will oversee enhanced supplementary disciplinary procedures for its members, as well as a Prospects Game that will highlight its top young players.” The KIJHL has 19 active franchises in the province’s Interior, while the PJHL has 13 teams centred on the Lower Mainland.
If you are interested in being a living kidney donor, more information is available here:
Living Kidney Donor Program
St. Paul’s Hospital
6A Providence Building
1081 Burrard Street
Vancouver, BC V6Z 1Y6
Tel: 604-806-9027
Toll free: 1-877-922-9822
Fax: 604-806-9873
Email: donornurse@providencehealth.bc.ca
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Vancouver General Hospital Living Donor Program – Kidney
Gordon and Leslie Diamond Health Care Centre
Level 5, 2775 Laurel Street
Vancouver, BC V5Z 1M9
604-875-5182 or 1-855-875-5182
kidneydonornurse@vch.ca
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Or, for more information, visit right here.
TAKING NOTE 