Brad Rock of the Deseret News proved that he’s ready for NBA training camps with this:
“The NBA season is nearly here, but there’s nothing to see until the playoffs.
“Well, maybe a few things.
“Last season went like this: Kawhi Leonard dissed Gregg Popovich, Bobby Portis broke Nikola Mirotic’s face, Dwane Casey was fired before being named Coach of the Year, and Kobe Bryant won an Oscar.
“Next they’ll be telling us a player is dating a Kardashian.
“Never mind. That’s not news.”
——
Rob Vanstone, in the Regina Leader-Post:
“The hockey community as a whole should dispense with the dopey double talk and fully embrace the concept of player safety. Severe sanctions should be imposed for fighting. The pugilism is especially appalling at the major-junior level, with people paying money to watch barely compensated teenagers punch each other in the head. Hockey should have evolved far beyond that by now, but so many coaches, general managers and administrators are woefully stuck in the 1970s.”
——
You may have heard that HBO has decided boxing no longer will be a part of its programming. Larry Merchant, a long-time boxing insider with HBO, put it like this: “Once upon a time we were a promising kid. Then a challenger. Then a champion. A great champion. A long-time champion. And then a has-been who finally retired. So long, champ.”
——
Paul Gosar is a Republican candidate in Arizona who has six siblings endorsing his opponent. As Janice Hough, aka The Left Coast Sports Babe, noted: “And you think your Thanksgiving family dinner might be awkward.”
——
The Saskatoon Blades are two games into a stretch of four games in five nights and six in eight nights, with the last five of those on the road. I guess I was rather naive to think that kind of scheduling would disappear when the WHL cut its regular-season schedule from 72 games to 68.
——
“Richard Mietz of Germany broke a Guinness world record for fastest marathon by a guy dressed as a landmark,” writes RJ Currie of SportsDeke.com. “It was a monumental achievement.”
——
It would seem that Currie is a big fan of marathons. After Jamie Buckland of Great Britain broke the Guinness world record for fastest marathon by a man dressed as a French maid, Currie noted: “Not only that, he dusted the competition.”
——
Who knew there were such records? Other than Currie, that is?
——
Cam Hutchinson of the Saskatoon Express passes along this one from a fake John Gruden account on Twitter: “I’ll tell ya what. Watching Patrick Mahomes throw the football is like music to my ears, man. He reminds me of that one West Virginia song. Take Mahomes country road.”
——
Jack Todd, in the Montreal Gazette: “I’m looking for a smartphone that tells you to get off the stupid phone and get a life.”
If you were an early visitor to this site after I posted on Saturday night, you will have seen a lead item that was critical of the WHL for its focus on video at the expense of what 
I referred to as “old-fashioned news releases.”
I also posted a tweet in which there was a link to a season-opening interview with Ron Robison, the WHL commissioner.
Shortly after that post went live, I heard from Taylor Rocca, the WHL’s senior manager, communications, pointing out that the WHL did post an old-fashioned news release on its website, one that included most, if not all, of what Robison touched on in his video appearance.
Apologies to all involved for my having missed that news release, which was posted on Sept. 20.
A couple of things from that news release, which you are able to find right here . . .
On the trading of young players: “The WHL has adopted new restrictions on the trading of 15- and 16-year-old players. Effective this season, a 15- or 16-year-old player who has signed a WHL Standard Player Agreement cannot be traded under any circumstance.”
The trading of first-year import players, which has been prohibited prior to now, apparently will be allowed between Dec. 15 and the Jan. 10 trade deadline. But there isn’t any mention of this in the news release.
On new disciplinary standards: “The WHL has taken further steps to address player safety by introducing new supplemental discipline regulations and raising its standard on illegal checks to the head. The WHL Seven Point Plan was first adopted in 2011 to establish a comprehensive education and prevention plan to address player safety issues.
“In strengthening the WHL’s Player Safety Seven Point Plan, Kevin Acheson was appointed the WHL Director, Player Safety and is responsible to oversee all on-ice discipline and supplemental discipline matters during pre-season, regular season and playoff games. In addition, new standards have been implemented with a particular focus on repeat offenders and checks to the head.”
There also was a paragraph further down that I was thrilled to see. It had to do with a promotion the WHL was involved with last season and will do again in 2018-19: “The WHL is proud to give back to its communities through a number of community initiatives scheduled for throughout the 2018-19 season, including the second run of RE/MAX presents WHL Suits Up with Don Cherry to Promote Organ Donation.”
Last season, the WHL’s 17 Canadian franchises took part in this promotion and raised $265,500 on behalf of the Kidney Foundation of Canada.
The Saskatoon Blades played without F Brad Goethals, 20, as they dropped a 4-1 decision to the Raiders in Prince Albert on Sunday night. According to Les Lazaruk, the radio voice of the Blades, Goethals has left the team. . . . A native of Ile Des Chenes, Man., Goethals had one goal in three games this season after recording 15 goals and 17 assists in 69 games last season. . . . Without Goethals, the Blades are down to a pair of 20-year-olds — F Max Gerlach and D Dawson Davidson.
The Tri-City Americans are going to be without F Michael Rasmussen for a while, perhaps even for the remainder of the WHL season. Rasmussen, 19, will be on the Detroit Red Wings’ roster when they open the NHL’s regular season against the visiting Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday. . . . Rasmussen, 6-foot-6 and 220 pounds, is from Vancouver. The Red Wings selected him with the ninth overall pick of the NHL’s 2017 draft. . . . Last season, he had 31 goals and 28 assists in 58 games with the Americans. In 161 regular-season WHL games, he has 81 goals and 76 assists.
SUNDAY NIGHT NOTES:
The Prince Albert Raiders struck for three goals in 16 seconds en route to a 4-1 victory over the visiting Saskatoon Blades. . . . The Raiders broke open a scoreless game with second-period goals from F Justin Nachbaur (7:30), F Ozzy Wiesblatt (7:39) and F Parker Kelly (3) as they ran their record to 5-0-0. . . . That established a club record for fastest three goals and was four seconds off the WHL record. The Raiders’ record of 22 seconds had been set by F Wayde Bucsis, F Mike Modano and F Pat Elyniuk on Feb. 25, 1987 in Brandon. . . . The Blades went into the game at 3-0-0. . . .
F Brayden Watts tied the game at 19:15 of the third period and then won it in a shootout as the host Vancouver Giants beat the Spokane Chiefs, 5-4. . . . Watts also had two assists. . . .
F Tristin Langan scored twice to lead the visiting Moose Jaw Warriors to a 2-1 victory over the Regina Pats. . . . Langan, 20, has two goals and four assists in four games. . . . The Pats now are 0-4-0. . . . G Brodan Salmond, who played last season with the Kelowna Rockets, stopped 31 shots in winning his first start with the Warriors. . . . Moose Jaw had D Brandon Schuldhaus back in the lineup after he served a three-game suspension left over from last season. . . .
F Brandon Hagel had a goal and three assists, and D Dawson Barteaux had four assists as the Red Deer Rebels beat the host Calgary Hitmen, 6-5, in OT. . . . F Oleg Zaytsev, a Russian freshman, won the game 31 seconds into OT. Hagel and Barteaux drew assists on the winner. . . . Hagel, 20, has 10 points, including seven assists, in five games. . . . Calgary F Tristen Nielsen took a boarding major and game misconduct at 2:04 of the second period for a hit on Red Deer D Carson Sass.
Feel free to click on the DONATE button over there on the right and add to the Taking Note coffee fund.
If you are a WHL fan and are on Twitter, you should be following Geoffrey Brandow (@GeoffreyBrandow). He regularly tweets interesting notes and stats involving WHL teams and players, such as this one from Saturday night:
the 2019 WHL bantam draft and a conditional fourth-round pick in the 2021 bantam draft. . . . The Royals’ news release indicated that both draft picks were conditional; the Rockets’ news release didn’t use the word ‘conditional.’ . . . The Royals got Zablocki from the Lethbridge Hurricanes at last season’s trade deadline, giving up a second-round pick in the 2018 bantam draft, a conditional third-rounder in 2019 and a sixth-rounder in 2018. . . . He recorded one goal and five assists in 25 regular-season games with the Royals, then added two goals and an assist in 10 playoff games. . . . Zablocki also has played with the Regina Pats and Red Deer Rebels. In 201 regular-season games, he has 58 goals and 64 assists. . . . Zablocki, from Wetaskiwin, Alta., was a fifth-round pick by the Prince George Cougars in the 2013 bantam draft. The Detroit Red Wings selected him in the third round of the NHL’s 2017 draft. . . . 
elsewhere in the arena.
a conditional fourth-round selection in the WHL’s 2020 bantam draft. . . . Semchuk, who was raised in Kamloops, was pointless in two games with the Oil Kings this season. He was a healthy scratch on Wednesday when the Oil Kings beat the visiting Medicine Hat Tigers, 3-2. . . . The Vancouver Giants selected Semchuk in the first round, 10th overall, of the 2014 bantam draft. They dealt Semchuk to Edmonton on Jan. 10, along with G Todd Scott and a 2018 third-round bantam pick, for F Davis Koch and a conditional third-round 2019 bantam pick. . . . Last season, Semchuk had eight goals and 11 assists in 33 games with Vancouver, and four goals and three assists in 16 games with Edmonton. . . . In 145 career regular-season games, he has 21 goals and 27 assists. . . . Semchuk could make his Ice debut tonight (Friday) against the visiting Spokane Chiefs.
Elder from the Swift Current Broncos for a third-round pick in the WHL’s 2019 bantam draft. . . . Elder joins F Luke Coleman and F Jake Kryski as Calgary’s three 20s. . . . Elder, from Saskatoon, was a first-round selection, 22nd overall, by the Seattle Thunderbirds in the 2013 bantam draft. . . . Last season, he had 18 goals and 14 assists in 67 regular-season games, then added three goals and six assists in 26 playoff games as he helped the Broncos win the Ed Chynoweth Cup. . . . In 250 career regular-season games, the first 67 with the Thunderbirds, he has 39 goals and 30 assists. This season, he had one goal in two games with the Broncos. . . . The Hitmen meet the Rebels in Red Deer tonight (Friday), before returning home to face the Edmonton Oil Kings on Saturday and the Rebels on Sunday. . . . 
Meger. The move leaves them with Ian Scott, 18, who was a fourth-round selection by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the NHL’s 2017 draft, and Donovan Buskey, 18, who was acquired from the Spokane Chiefs on Aug. 31 for a sixth-round pick in the WHL’s 2020 bantam draft. . . . Meger, 20, is from Regina. He was a freshman with the Raiders last season, and went 8-10-6, 3.43, .886. Meger had been on the Raiders’ protected list since he was 16. . . . With Meger out of the picture, the Raiders are down to three 20-year-olds — F Parker Kelly, F Kody McDonald and F Sean Montgomery.
on Thursday for an undisclosed conditional selection in the WHL’s 2021 bantam draft. . . . Bettens was taken by Brandon in the third round of the 2015 bantam draft. . . . He was pointless in one game this season. . . . Last season, he had seven goals and seven assists in 49 regular-season games. . . . In 114 career games, he has 11 goals and eight assists.
from Edmonton, had made a commitment on Nov. 17 to attend Ohio State next season and play for the Buckeyes. . . . Prokop, who will play among Calgary’s top six forwards, was a fifth-round selection by the Swift Current Broncos in the WHL’s 2015 bantam draft. The Hitmen acquired his rights from the Broncos on Nov. 25 in a deal in which Calgary also got F Conner Chaulk, D Dom Schmiemann, F Riley Stotts, G Ethan Hein and a second-round pick in the 2018 bantam draft. In exchange, the Broncos got F Matteo Gennaro, F Beck Malenstyn and a fifth-round selection in the 2018 bantam draft. . . . Last season, Prokop had 21 goals and 15 assists in 48 games with the Vipers. He battled shoulder injuries last season, starting when he was hit from behind on Nov. 25. Then, in January, Prokop suffered a shoulder injury with four seconds left in a January game in Trail, had surgery and didn’t play again last season. This season, he had one goal and four assists in six games. . . . In Calgary, Prokop will get to be teammates with his younger brother, Luke, who is in his freshman season. . . . The last brother act to play with the Hitmen? Travis and Taylor Sanheim (2014-16). . . . The Hitmen next play Friday when they meet the Rebels in Red Deer.
Hurricanes for an eighth-round selection in the 2019 WHL bantam draft. . . . Blocker, a second-round pick by the Broncos in the 2015 bantam draft, was sent to the Hurricanes on Jan. 9 as part of the deal in which G Stuart Skinner, F Giorgio Estephan and F Tanner Nagel landed in Swift Current. . . . From Oakbank, Man., Blocker totalled two goals and five assists in 58 games last season. He added three assists in 16 playoff games with Lethbridge. . . . The deal came one day after the Broncos claimed D Matthew Stanley, 20, on waivers from the Hurricanes. Stanley also was part of that Jan. 9 exchange, moving from Swift Current to Lethbridge.
sophomore D Kelvin Hair, an 18-year-old from North Vancouver. He was a sixth-round pick by the Rockets in the 2015 WHL bantam draft. . . . Last season, he was pointless in 30 games with Kelowna. . . . The Rockets now are carrying two goaltenders, seven defencemen and 14 forwards. . . . Later on Wednesday, the Rockets fell to 0-3-0 after dropping a 4-2 decision to the visiting Prince George Cougars.
Bulldogs resume the OHL’s regular season. Matsos collapsed late in a 4-2 victory over the host Barrie Colts on Saturday and was taken to hospital by ambulance. He has since been released and spent time with players and staff on Tuesday. However, he won’t be returning to the bench while he rests and undergoes further testing. . . . In his absence, assistant coach Vince Laise will take over as head coach, with help from Ron Wilson, also an assistant coach, and Patrick Jarrett, who is an assistant coach/video coach. . . . The Bulldogs are scheduled to meet the Petes in Peterborough on Saturday, then return home to face the Ottawa 67’s on Sunday.
conditional fifth-round selection in the WHL’s 2020 bantam draft. . . . The Royals also got a ninth-round pick in the 2019 draft in the deal. . . . McNabb, from Davidson, Sask., has been in one game this season, stopping the three shots he faced in relief. Last season, as a freshman, he was 4-10-0, 4.52, .870. . . . McNabb, the younger brother of D Brayden McNabb of the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights, was a third round pick by Victoria in the 2015 bantam draft after playing two seasons with the midget AAA Regina Pat Canadians. . . . In Regina, McNabb presumably will back up starter Max Paddock, an 18-year-old sophomore from Brandon. However, Matthew Pesenti, 17, also is on the Pats’ roster. Pesenti backed up Paddock as the Pats dropped two games to the Prince Albert Raiders on the weekend. . . . Kyle Dumba, 20, had been on the Pats’ roster but his name disappeared sometime on Tuesday. . . . 
goaltender, thus the deal with the Brandon Wheat Kings for Dylan Myskiw, 19. . . . Myskiw and Boston Bilous, 17, are the Oil Kings’ two active goaltenders at the moment. . . . They also have veteran Todd Scott, 18, on the roster, but he is out week-to-week with an undisclosed injury. . . . Edmonton also had Sebastian Cossa, who turns 16 on Nov. 21, in camp and he remains on their roster, but he, too, is injured and out for up to six weeks. . . . Myskiw got off to a good start with Edmonton, stopping 28 shots as the Oil Kings beat the host Red Deer Rebels on Saturday. The Oil Kings are back in action tonight against the visiting Medicine Hat Tigers. . . . Derek Van Diest of Postmedia has more on Edmonton’s goaltenders 
made a lot of noise. He’d have to know how tough this game is. He’d never have a self-doubt or a moment’s anxiety. He’d come into a room as if he were leading a parade. Everybody would be his best friend. He’d talk to shoeshine boys, parking lot attendants. He’d sell baseball. He’d be sure God was a baseball fan. He’d know that America was the greatest country in the world, otherwise how could a poor boy like him grow up to be part of the greatest organization in the world?
Jaw Warriors, winning 2-1 in the Wheat City and 4-2 on the road. . . . G Jiri Patera, a 19-year-old rookie from Praha, Czech Republic, recorded both victories. A sixth-round pick by the Vegas Golden Knights in the NHL’s 2017 draft, Patera stopped 56 of 59 shots in the two victories. . . . Patera is the first European goaltender to play for the Wheat Kings in the franchise’s 52-year history. . . . The Wheat Kings have had at least one American-born goaltender in their history — Scott Olson, from Bloomington, Minn., got into 63 games over three seasons and was a part of the 1978-79 championship team that lost only five regular-season games.
for a hit in the corner and went awkwardly into the boards. Blocker was taken off the ice on a stretcher after a lengthy delay and did not return.” . . . However, after being checked out at hospital and released, Blocker returned to the arena and returned to Lethbridge with his teammates after the game.
showed on opening weekend that things are different now. Kamloops swept a home-and-home series, winning 4-1 at home on Friday and 3-1 in Kelowna on Saturday. . . . Serge Lajoie, the Blazers’ first-year head coach, picked up his first WHL victory on Friday and his family — wife Kelly and their children (Isabelle, 17, and Marc, 15) were there to witness it, having made the trip from their home in St. Albert, Alta. . . . “Up until (Thursday) night, I was texting with my daughter and my son and they made me believe they were both getting ready for bed and they were going to get up to go to school this morning,” Lajoie told Marty Hastings of Kamloops This Week. “It’s nice to be able to share this with them. I’m not here if it isn’t for them. I don’t lose sight of that.”
of $422,443 in 2017-18. . . . That was down from the $737,710 profit the previous season. However, the 2017-18 financials included a payment of $167,000 to the City of Lethbridge that was due after improvements were made to their home arena. . . . The Hurricanes lost out in the Eastern Conference final in each of the past two seasons. . . . There was other interesting item to come out of the annual meeting. The Hurricanes will be out of their arena early in the playoffs next spring, what with the World men’s curling championship in the ENMAX Centre from March 30 through April 7. General manager Peter Anholt told shareholders that the tentative plan is for the team to play early home playoff games, if necessary, in the Nicolas Sheran Arena. . . . According to the City of Lethbridge’s website, the Nicolas Sheran Ice Centre has a seating capacity of 978. It is home to the U of Lethbridge Pronghorns women’s and men’s hockey teams. . . . “We’ve talked to a lot of other teams that have moved from their venue to another venue outside of their city, and it doesn’t work,” Anholt said. “We’ve got the Nicolas Sheran. It’s not perfect, there’s going to be some unhappy fans and unhappy advertisers, but we’ll deal with it.” . . . Aaron Mahoney of 
with 26 players on its roster, including two goaltenders and 10 defencemen. . . . F Gunnar Wegleitner, 20, F Sebastian Streu, who turns 19 on Nov. 22, and F Eli Lieffers, 18, all were released. . . . The Ice had acquired Wegleitner from the Brandon Wheat Kings on July 20 for a conditional sixth-round selection in the WHL’s 2019 bantam draft. From Vancouver, he has also played for the Everett Silvertips and Victoria royals. In 112 regular-season games, he has 11 goals and nine assists. . . . From Neuwied, Germany, Streu had nine goals and three assists in 54 games as a freshman last season. He has dual Canadian/German citizenship so wasn’t classified as an import. . . . From Saskatoon, Lieffers was fourth-round pick by the Ice in the 2015 bantam draft. He had one goal and one assist in 11 games over three seasons with the Ice. Lieffers was pointless in two games with the Ice last season. . . . Two of the 10 defenceman on Kootenay’s roster are imports — veteran Martin Bodak, a Slovakian who will turn 20 on Nov. 28, and Finnish freshman Valtteri Kakkonen. The Ice also has sophomore F Gilian Kohler, who is from Biel, Switzerland, on its roster.
to the Burnaby Winter Club where he is expected to play for the Burnaby Winter Club’s midget prep team. A second-round pick in the 2017 WHL bantam draft, MacInnes started three exhibition games and went 3-0-0, 2.27, .929. . . . His departure leaves the Blades, as expected, with Nolan Maier, 17, atop the depth chart and Dorrin Luding, 19, as the backup, at least to open the regular season. . . . The Blades also dropped F Braden Plaschewsky, 16, from their roster. A second-round pick in that 2017 bantam draft, he is expected to play for the midget AAA Calgary Buffaloes. He had two goals in six exhibition games with the Blades. . . . Saskatoon is carrying 26 players, including two goaltenders and nine defencemen.
TAKING NOTE 