Hurricanes’ head coach leaves for AHL . . . OHL commish to retire after 45th season . . . Broncos, Winterhawks make interesting deal

With training camp scheduled to open on Aug. 31, the Lethbridge Hurricanes are without a head coach. . . . The team announced on Thursday that Brent Kisio, Lethbridgethe winningest head coach in franchise history, has left the organization. According to a news release, Kisio, 40, resigned “after accepting a professional coaching position.” . . . A couple of hours later, the AHL’s Henderson Silver Knights announced that Kisio had signed on as an assistant coach. . . . Kisio had been with the Hurricanes since June 4, 2015, when he joined them from the Calgary Hitmen with whom he had spent eight seasons as an assistant coach. . . . The Calgary native spent eight seasons as the Hurricanes’ head coach, going 267-176-44 in regular-season games. He is the only head coach in franchise history to reach 200 victories. He also is No. 1 in games coached. . . . The Hurricanes were 23-26 in playoff games under Kisio, twice reaching the Eastern Conference final (2017, 2018). He was the conference’s coach of the year for 2015-16. . . . In Henderson, Kisio will be working with head coach Ryan Craig, assistant coach Jamie Heward and goaltending coach Fred Brathwaite. . . . The Hurricanes’ coaching staff includes Matt Anholt, the assistant general manager and assistant coach, assistant coach Ryan Aasman and goaltending coach Kevin Swanson. . . . The team’s news release is right here. . . . The Hurricanes are one of two WHL teams without a head coach at the moment. The Vancouver Giants lost head coach Michael Dyck, who had been with them through five seasons, to the AHL’s Toronto Marlies on July 13.

David Branch, the longtime OHL commissioner, announced on Thursday that he will retire after the 2023-24 season. The approaching season will be his 45th as commissioner. . . . The OHL’s board of governors has struck a committee to search for a successor. . . . Interestingly, Ron Robison, the WHL commissioner, also has announced that 2023-24 will be his final season, while the QMJHL changed commissioners during the middle of last season following the retirement of Gilles Courteau. He had been involved in the QMJHL for 47 years, the last 37 as commissioner. Mario Cecchini was introduced as his replacement on March 17. . . . Robison is heading into his 24th season running the WHL.

The Swift Current Broncos and Portland Winterhawks got together on a deal Wednesday that featured three players and potentially five WHL draft picks changing hands. . . . The Broncos gave up F Josh Davies, 19, and F Tyson Yaremko, 18, in exchange for D Ryan McCleary, who will turn 20 on Sept. 9, and as many as five draft picks, including a sixth-rounder in 2027. Also included were four conditional selections — a fourth in 2024, a sixth in 2024, and a second and a fifth in 2027. . . .

McCleary, who is from Swift Current, played 147 regular-season games with the Winterhawks over four seasons, totalling 21 goals and 47 assists. He was a seventh-round selection by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the NHL’s 2021 draft. The Winterhawks had picked him in the fifth round of the WHL’s 2018 draft. . . . His father, Trent, played 278 regular-season games for the Broncos (1988-93) before going on to an NHL career that included 192 games. Trent now is the chairman of the community-owned Broncos’ board of directors. . . .

The Winterhawks’ roster now is down to three 20-year-olds — forwards Gabe Klassen, Jack O’Brien and James Stefan. . . .

Davies, from Airdrie, Alta., put up 42 goals and 37 assists in 149 games over four seasons with the Broncos, who selected him in the third round of the WHL’s 2019 draft. The Florida Panthers selected him in the sixth round of the NHL’s 2022 draft. . . .

Yaremko, from Saskatoon, has spent the past two seasons with the U18 AAA Saskatoon Blazers. Last season, he had 21 goals and 42 assists in 41 games.

Eve

JUNIOR JOTTINGS:

D Ronan Buckberger, a fifth-round selection by the Swift Current Broncos in the fifth round of the WHL’s 2021 draft, has committed to Ohio State U. Buckberger, 17, is slated to play for the SJHL’s Nipawin Hawks in 2023-24. His father, Ashley, played in the WHL (1990-95) with the Swift Current Broncos and Kamloops Blazers. . . .

F Fischer O’Brien, who played the past three seasons with the Prince George Cougars, has cleared WHL waivers and the 20-year-old now is a free agent. Fischer, who is from Prince George, had three goals and nine assists in 54 games last season. In 137 career regular-season games, he put up five goals and 21 assists. . . .

F Vincent Lamanna, who is preparing for his 20-year-old season, was placed on WHL waivers by the Everett Silvertips and cleared on Wednesday. He now is a free agent. . . . From Sturgeon County, Alta., Lamanna played two seasons with the Silvertips, totalling four goals and 11 assists in 78 regular-season games. . . . Everett now has three 20-year-olds on its roster — G Tyler Palmer, D Ty Gibson and F Teague Patton.

Rocks

THE COACHING GAME:

The Moose Jaw Warriors have promoted Scott King to associate coach. He has been with the organization since signing on as an assistant coach in 2016. He works alongside head coach Mark O’Leary. . . . The Warriors also have added Layne Richardson as athletic therapist and Elizabeth Black as manager of game day and special events. . . . Richardson was with the AHL’s Manitoba Moose last season, while Black has been working with the Toronto Blue Jays’ game day staff this MLB season. . . .

Andrew Doty, who spent five seasons on the Lethbridge Hurricanes’ coaching staff, has joined the NHL’s Calgary Flames as video co-ordinator. He is coming off three seasons as a video coach with the AHL’s Henderson Silver Knights. He was the video coach with the Hurricanes (2015-20). . . .

The SJHL’s Humboldt Broncos and Scott Barney, their general manager and head coach, have agreed to a five-year contract extension that will start with the 2023-24 season. . . . Barney joined the Broncos as an assistant coach prior to the 2018-19 season, and was promoted to GM/head coach during that season. . . . The Broncos are 132-55-11 under Barney and have been in the playoffs in each of his seasons as head coach. . . .

Geordie Wudrick, who spent five seasons playing in the WHL, has joined the SJHL’s Melville Millionaires as an assistant coach. He’ll be working alongside general manager/head coach Doug Johnson. . . . Wudrick, 33, is from Abbotsford, B.C. . . . He played 349 regular-season WHL games, totalling 138 goals and 95 assists, skating with the Swift Current Broncos and Kelowna Rockets. Wudrick went on to a pro career that included stops in the ECHL and SPHL, as well as Germany, France, Great Britain, Australia and Sweden.

Leigh Verstraete, who played in the WHL with the Billings Bighorns and Calgary Wranglers, died on Tuesday. He was 61. . . . Verstraete, who was from Calgary, played 32 games with the Bighorns in 1978-79, and was traded to the Wranglers 10 games into the 1979-80 season. In 222 regular-season WHL games, he had 58 goals and 57 assists, along with 1,041 penalty minutes. . . . A 10th-round selection by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the NHL’s 1982 draft, he played in eight NHL games and spent six seasons in the AHL with the St. Catharines/Newmarket Saints.

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

——

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

——

Or, for more information, visit right here.

CommonSense

Veteran scout retires from Blazers . . . Hitmen get draft picks in trades . . . Wilson returns as Smoke Eaters’ radio voice

Ken Fox, one of the Kamloops Blazers’ three head scouts, has retired after Kamloopsspending more than 30 seasons in the WHL. Fox had been with the Blazers since the summer of 2008. . . . From Holdfast, Sask., Fox left the Swift Current Broncos — he had been their assistant scouting director — to join the Blazers. His time in the WHL also included four seasons with the Vancouver Giants and nine with the Red Deer Rebels. . . . His life, Fox told Keeping Score, now “will be different after 35 years.” . . . Fox’s retirement leaves the Blazers with Scott Blakeney and Jason Pashelka as their head scouts. . . .

The WHL’s Calgary Hitmen made a couple of deals on Tuesday, sending F Brandon Whynott, 19, to the Tri-City Americans and D Trey Patterson, 20, to the Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . Calgary received a fifth-round selection in the 2024 WHL draft from Tri-City and a sixth-rounder in 2026 from Seattle. . . . Whynott, a second-round pick by the Hitmen in the 2019 draft, is from Langley, B.C. In 141 games with the Hitmen, he had 12 goals and 35 assists. . . . Patterson, from Calgary, was acquired from the Red Deer Rebels, had one goal and 14 assists in 68 games last season. In 147 career games, he has two goals and 21 assists. . . .

The Prince Albert Raiders are going to retire the No. 16 in honour of F Dan Hodgson with the Moose Jaw Warriors in town on Nov. 25. Hodgson spent three seasons (1982-85) with the Raiders, putting up 493 points, including 188 goals, in 204 regular-season games. . . . He was saluted as the CHL’s player of the year for 1984-85, after he scored 70 goals and added 112 assists in 64 games. . . . He led the Raiders to their first WHL title that season as team captain, and also helped them to the Memorial Cup championship. . . . There is a complete news release right here. . . .

The Regina Pats have hired Tristan Frei as their manager of hockey operations, Reginareplacing Landon Watson who, according to the team, “has accepted a position with a National Hockey League club.” . . . Watson, 28, had been with the Pats through seven seasons, starting as an intern in January 2016. He also worked as a video analyst and director of hockey analytics. He had been director of hockey operations for two years. . . . Frei, 27, spent the past two seasons playing with the EIHL’s Guildford Flames. From Regina, he played with the Regina Pats Canadians (2010-13) and the U of Regina Cougars (2016-21). . . .

Drew Wilson, once the radio voice of the Prince Albert Raiders, is the new-old play-by-play man for the BCHL’s Trail Smoke Eaters. Wilson is a news and sports anchor at Bounce Radio in Trail. . . . He also was the Smoke Eaters’ play-by-play voice 20 years ago before moving to Prince Albert. “It’s the exact job I did before moving to PA in 2004,” he told Taking Note. “I guess you can go home.”

Herman2

THE COACHING GAME:

The Swift Current Broncos have hired Taras McEwen, 32, as an assistant coach. He joins the Broncos after spending six seasons with the Winnipeg Ice (hey, remember them?), first as a scout and then last season as an assistant coach. . . . During his time with the Ice, he also worked as the general manager of the Winnipeg Blues, one of two MJHL teams that is owned by the Winnipeg Ice’s former owners, and took over as head coach for 2020-21. . . . Taras’s father, Brad, is a former GM/head coach of the Broncos. . . .

The Edmonton Oil Kings have added Kyle Chipchura to their staff as a development coach. Chipchura, 37, was coaching with the Northern Alberta Xtreme’s program for the past two seasons. . . . From Westlock, Alta., Chipchura played four seasons with the Prince Albert Raiders before going on to a 15-year pro career. . . . From a news release: “Chipchura joins Ladislav Smid as a development coach with the organization. Smid, who is entering his second season with the club, will oversee the development of Oil Kings prospects, while Chipchura will work with the team during practices and home games.” . . .

The SJHL’s Yorkton Terriers announced on Monday that Mat Hehr, their general manager and head coach, has left the organization “to pursue a new opportunity in coaching.” He had been with the Terriers for seven years. . . . It turns out that Hehr is joining the Northern Alberta Xtreme. Calvin Daniels of Yorkton This Week wrote that Hehr told him that the Xtreme ownership has a vision to grow the program and also to own an AJHL franchise. . . . Hehr, 34, signed on with the Terriers as an assistant coach in 2016 and was named GM/head coach during the 2017-18 season.

Einstein

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

——

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

——

Or, for more information, visit right here.

Cement

Backmeyers one step closer to home . . . Winterhawks lose pair of veteran scouts . . . Pats round out coaching staff

The Backmeyers aren’t back in Kamloops yet, but they are back in their home province of B.C.

“I just can’t even believe we did it,” Lindsey wrote on Facebook. “Eight weeks ago we left Vancouver and travelled across the country to Toronto for a kidney transplant. We left with some big hopes and dreams, sprinkled with a whole lot of fear.”

And why not? After all, Lindsey and her husband, Pat, had been told at one point in their journey that a second transplant for their youngest daughter, Ferris, 6, likely was impossible.

“We were given ‘the choice’ to just (let her) live her days out on dialysis or proceed with listing her and giving it a second shot,” Lindsey explained. “It was a no-brainer living the life Ferris was living that she needed another shot if she were to have any chance at growing up.”

So off they went in pursuit of another kidney and — guess what? — so far, so good.

“We were shocked, that things actually went as planned, that the transplant was successful and our girl was gifted a whole new life,” Lindsey wrote.

They left Toronto on Thursday, five weeks after Ferris had undergone a kidney transplant at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto.

Ferris Backmeyer, flanked by sisters Ksenia (left) and Tavia, didn’t need her stroller this time when she walked into BC Children’s Hospital in Vancouver. (Photo: Lindsey Backmeyer/Facebook)

And now they are back at BC Children’s Hospital in Vancouver, a facility with which they are quite familiar having been regulars there and at the Ronald McDonald House over the past five years.

“Walking into the hospital I had goosebumps everywhere,” Lindsey wrote.

What made things really special was . . .

“It was incredible watching Ferris just WALK into the hospital. I’m not sure she ever has before,” Lindsey explained. “She definitely hadn’t walked to a clinic appointment before.”

And it seems that Ferris received something of a warm welcome.

“It was incredibly heartwarming seeing their response to how well she’s doing. Lots of happy tears. Even as she sat in front of them . . . they just couldn’t believe she wasn’t a dialysis patient anymore . . . that she’s getting her shot!”

So now the five of them are back living at Ronald McDonald House as they wait to see what the future holds. Hopefully it means a return to Kamloops isn’t too far away.

Tavia told her mother “it felt like we were home finally. It really really did. The bigs were off with their friends until bedtime. Ferris played hard. Everyone was just so happy to be ‘home’.”

JUNIOR JOTTINGS:

The Portland Winterhawks announced on Friday that veteran scouts Brad Davis and Ray Payne have left the organization. . . . Davis, who had been the head Manitoba scout, said he is leaving “to pursue other opportunities.” He had been with the Winterhawks for 16 years. . . . Ray Payne, who was Portland’s B.C. regional scout, was preparing for his seventh season with the Winterhawks. Payne had a long history as an NHL scout, working at various times with the Minnesota North Stars, San Jose Sharks, Washington Capitals and Vancouver Canucks. He was with the Calgary Hitmen before moving over to the Winterhawks. . . .

The City of Seattle, presumably with the support of the NHL’s Seattle Kraken and the WHL’s Seattle Thunderbirds, wants to play host to the 2026 World Junior Championship. . . . Reports surfaced late last week to that effect. . . . It is believed that Las Vegas, Minneapolis/St. Paul and St. Louis also have expressed interest in playing host to the event. . . . The 2024 tournament is to be held in Gothenburg, Sweden, with the tournament moving to Ottawa for 2025. A decision on 2026 is expected to be made sometime during the 2023-24 season. . . .

It would seem that the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League has added an ‘A’ to its name. Yes, it is referred to as the Kootenay International Junior A League in a recent news release in which it announced that it now will allow each of its teams to have six 20-year-old players on its roster, up one from where it was in recent seasons. . . . “Adding an additional 20-year old roster spot provides added flexibility for our member clubs as they build their teams for the 2023/24 season and brings us closer in line with other Junior A leagues across the country,” Jeff Dubois, the league’s commissioner, said in the news release. . . . The KIJHL and two other leagues in B.C., all of which had been junior B, have been designated Junior A Tier 2 by BC Hockey.

THE COACHING GAME:

The Regina Pats have hired Evan McFeeters as an assistant coach, filling the spot created when Brad Herauf was promoted to head coach following the retirement of John Paddock. . . . McFeeters, 35, had been the head coach of the AJHL’s Sherwood Park Crusaders for one season. He also has coached with the AJHL’s Canmore Eagles and Brooks Bandits. McFeeters is from Canmore. . . . He joins assistant coach Ken Schneider and goaltending coach Daniel Wapple on the Pats’ staff.

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

——

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

——

Or, for more information, visit right here.

Curmudgeonly one gives thumbs down to ghost runner . . . Royals make two trades . . . MacGillivray, Konowalchuk back on the bench

Fawn080223
We had a visitor on Wednesday morning as this little beauty stopped by for a bite to eat. As recently as two weeks ago, there were two fawns travelling with their mother. That wasn’t the case this time, though, and here’s hoping nothing unfortunate has befallen the other one.

A note about this MLB season from old friend Jack Finarelli, aka The Sports Curmudgeon, that is 100 per cent correct:

“More people are watching games on TV and more people are going out to the stadium to see live games. It would certainly appear that the folks who kept pointing out that there wasn’t enough action in a baseball game that took three-and-a-half hours to hold fan attention had a point.

“Games are shorter on average; scoring is up; on-base percentage is up; the stolen base has returned to the game — and fans seem to like that a lot.

“Now, if MLB would only get rid of the ‘ghost runner on second base’ in extra-inning games.”

Julie K. Brown, a prominent investigative journalist with the Miami Herald, has more than 232 thousand followers and she agrees with the curmudgeonly one.

Headline at The Beaverton: Climate wondering how much it has to change before humans notice.

Purse

JUNIOR JOTTINGS:

The Victoria Royals split up the Spizawka twins on Tuesday by trading Jason, a 19-year-old defenceman, to the Calgary Hitmen for a fourth-round selection in the WHL’s 2024 draft. That draft pick originated with the Prince George Cougars. . . . Jason had one goal and five assists in 65 games with the Royals last season. . . . He was a first-round selection in the 2019 draft. In 141 games, he put up two goals and 16 assists. . . . Jason and his brother, Ryan, are from Victoria. Ryan, also a defenceman, was a seventh-round pick in the 2019 draft. In 110 games with the Royals, he has two goals and 12 assists. . . .

On Wednesday, the Royals acquired F Hayden Chaloner, 18, from the Brandon Wheat Kings for a conditional ninth-round selection in the WHL’s 2026 draft. . . . From Winnipeg, he played with three different teams last season, posting three goals and eight assists in 23 games with the MJHL’s Portage Terriers and five goals and 13 assists in 26 games with the MJHL’s Winnipeg Freeze. He was pointless in two games with the Wheat Kings, who selected him in the seventh round of the 2020 WHL draft. . . . Chaloner’s father, Kane, played for the Victoria Cougars in 1991-92, scoring seven goals and adding 13 assists in 20 games. He went on to play three seasons with the MJHL’s St. Boniface Saints. . . .

The Everett Silvertips have agreed to a lease extension that will keep them playing in the Angel Of The Winds Arena through the 2027-28 WHL season. The Silvertips have played in the arena, which has a capacity of 8,249, since their first season (2003-04). . . . There is a complete news release right here. . . .

D Jaxon Herchak, who will turn 16 on Aug. 15, has made a commitment to play for the Tigers at Colorado College beginning with the 2025-26 season. From Waldheim, Sask., Herchak was selected by the Prince Albert Raiders in the fourth round of the WHL’s 2022 draft. . . . Last season, he had nine goals and 13 assists in 38 games with the U18 AAA Warman Wildcats. He is ticketed for the SJHL’s Kindersley Klippers this season. . . . In the NCAA scheme of things, Aug. 1 is the first day that players entering their junior years in high school are able to make commitments. . . .

The Pacific Junior Hockey League has added a franchise that will begin play with the 2024-25 season. The league, now considered Junior A Tier 2 by BC Hockey, will have its 15th team operate on the Sunshine Coast out of the Gibsons and Area Community Centre. . . . The PJHL played four games in the facility last season and all four were sold out with about 500 fans in attendance at each. . . . From a PJHL news release: “A group headed up by Rick Hopper and Stu Frizzell representing local business owner Julie Reeves and investor John Hulstein approached the PJHL in late 2021 with a proposal to bring junior hockey to the Sunshine Coast. After many discussions, projections, planning, and test games the PJHL board of governors felt assured the new franchise will be a benefit to the league.”

Nose

THE COACHING GAME:

Don MacGillivray, a former head coach of the Brandon Wheat Kings, has signed on as an assistant coach with the Calgary Hitmen. He will work alongside head coach Steve Hamilton, assistant Trent Cassan and goaltending coach Theodore Zubot in Calgary. . . . MacGillivray, 58, was an assistant coach with the Wheat Kings for four seasons (2016-20), before taking over as head coach. He was fired early in the 2022-23 season. . . .

Steve Konowalchuk, who spent the past two seasons as the head coach of the Red Deer Rebels, has joined the AHL’s Colorado Eagles as associate head coach. Konowalchuk, 50, joins head coach Aaron Schneekloth and assistant coach Tim Branham with the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche. . . . Konowalchuk actually began his coaching career as an assistant with the Avalanche in 2009-10. . . . He later was the head coach of the Seattle Thunderbirds for six seasons (2011-17), guiding them to the WHL championship in his final season. . . .

Brennan Menard is the new head coach of the AJHL’s Sherwood Park Crusaders. He takes over from Evan McFeeters, whose departure was announced by the team on Monday. The Crusaders said McFeeters had left for an opportunity in the WHL, one that hasn’t yet been announced. . . . Menard, 35, is from Thunder Bay. He spent the past two seasons on the coaching staff of the OHL’s Kitchener Rangers. Prior to that, he was with the Lakehead U Thunderwolves for two seasons and the AJHL’s Spruce Grove Saints for one. . . . During his playing career, he spent 2007-08 with the Crusaders.

THINKING OUT LOUD: I continue to be amazed at the number of people who purchase vehicles without turn-signals. Hey, if the vehicles had them those drivers are smart enough to use them. Right? . . . It wasn’t that long ago when play-by-play voice Skip Caray was the world’s biggest Atlanta Braves fan. These days, he’s calling the play on St. Louis Cardinals’ TV games. On Tuesday, in a 5-1 victory over the visiting Los Angeles Angels, he referred to the Cardinals as “we” so often that I thought he might come in as a pinch-hitter. . . . If you’re into the CFL, things should be interesting tonight as the B.C. Lions (6-1) visit the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (5-2). The Lions put up a 30-6 victory in Winnipeg on June 22 and the Bombers still can feel the sting.

Wrappers

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

——

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

——

Or, for more information, visit right here.

PaperTowels

Ferris: ‘Kidneys are the best’ and fun, fun, fun in TO . . . Elks shuffle some deck chairs . . . AJHL head coach off to WHL

FerrisJays
Tavia (left), Ferris and Ksenia Backmeyer watch the host Toronto Blue Jays drop a 3-2 10-inning decision to the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday. (Photo: Lindsey Backmeyer/Facebook).

The Backmeyers didn’t have a Thunderbird, but they spent what they hope will be their final weekend in Toronto having fun, fun, fun . . . from attending a Toronto Blue Jays game to taking a dip at a clothing-optional beach.

It has been a long, long time since the family — Lindsey and Pat, and daughters Tavia, 11, Ksenia, 9, and Ferris, 6 — has been able to spend time just doin’ stuff.

FerrisLogoAs Lindsey wrote on Sunday night: “One month post-transplant . . . hard to believe! Still smilin! . . . I can only imagine where we will be six months from now.”

If you have been following Ferris’s story, you will know that the terms of her young life have been dictated by kidney disease, and her family has had to adjust accordingly.

However, Ferris underwent a kidney transplant overnight on June 29 at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto and the recovery process has been going well.

If all continues to go well, the Backmeyers, who are from Kamloops, will be moving back to Vancouver and BC Children’s Hospital on Thursday.

So . . . the family let it all hang out on the weekend.

“Jays, High Park, Toronto islands, medieval times, beaches, playgrounds, swimming pools and water parks! It was a super-sweet weekend,” Lindsey wrote, adding that “I’m sure Ksenia will have lots to say about the beach (Sunday)!”

Ah yes, the beach . . .

“Everyone was hot and sick of walking, sooooo when the first beach we got to was the ‘clothing optional’ beach, it was a (bleep) it moment. Who gives a crap anyway and in we went!” Lindsey wrote. “To avoid crowds we walk or Uber places . . . but mostly walk. And apparently we also frequent the nudey beach.”

But, as Lindsey pointed out with a laughing emoticon, that beach “was considerably less busy.”

Lindsey and Pat, both of whom work in healthcare, are well aware of the risks they are taking and that they are opening themselves to criticism. But after so many years of living as if with chains on, nothing is going to deny them and their girls these days of freedom.

“Ferris is a champ. She is so understanding with things she can and cannot do,” Lindsey explained. “We already are pretty liberal on what risks we are willing to take for quality of life and LIVING, so much so that I question sharing her adventures as one would easily be able to say she should be cooped up and isolated. They also probably aren’t wrong. She also would be miserable. Like truly miserable. We all would be.

“This hasn’t been a season . . . it’s her whole life and, well, this is just how we’ve come to navigate things!! Calculated risks . . . some feel bigger than others. We are stuck in a busy city and avoid crowds most of the time by walking places or catching Ubers. Water taxis over the incredibly crowded ferry. No indoor play spaces. No public transit. The Jays game probably should have been a ‘no’ . . . but man she had fun.

“We minimize risks in risky places and hope we don’t live to regret our decisions. We cover her line well and let her play in the splash park. Wade to her knees in their chlorinated wading pools while her sisters get to swim at the big pool She can’t go in the lake at all but happily plays in the sand.

“We only went to the rides at the end for a couple hoping the crowd would have died down and it had. She wasn’t allowed on the rollercoaster or log ride and she was cool with it. Those are her faves. She’s just been so incredibly understanding of the ‘rules.’ ”

What it all amounts to is that, Lindsey said, her youngest daughter “has just been having some of the best days!”

And you can bet that Ferris knows it, too. As she told her mother the other day, “Kidneys are the best.”

With the weekend behind them, the Backmeyers are hoping for, as Lindsey put it, “sweet labs (Monday) and a seamless transition back ‘home’ later this week.

“I’m real done with downtown Toronto!”

BigsSunset
Ksenia (left) and Tavia could have only three more sunsets before the Backmeyers are able to put Toronto behind them. (Photo: Lindsey Backmeyer/Facebook)

Blinker

The fall of the CFL’s Edmonton Elks has been amazingly incredible to watch. If EdmontonElksyou’re a follower of the CFL, I am sure you will admit that you never thought you would see the day when Edmonton fans would show up for a game with paper bags over their heads. . . . But that’s where we are today. . . . The Elks lost 27-0 to the visiting B.C. Lions on Saturday to fall to 0-8 this season. This was Edmonton’s 21st consecutive home-field loss, the longest such skid in North American sporting history. The Elks had shared the record with baseball’s St. Louis Browns, who lost 20 in a row at home in 1953. By the time the 1954 season arrived, they were in Baltimore. . . . The Lions had blanked the visiting Elks, 22-0, in Week 2. . . . This is the first time in CFL history that one team has shut out another opponent twice in the same season, and it’s the first time a CFL team has put up two shutouts in one season since 1970. . . . How bad are the Elks? In the two games against the Lions, Edmonton didn’t scrimmage inside B.C.’s 20-yard line. Not even once! . . . Jed Roberts, who played 13 seasons at defensive end and linebacker with Edmonton, tweeted about the Elks not having any red-zone plays: “Do you even know how phenomenally difficult that is to manage? I mean, this is so historically bad (that) people aren’t getting how exceedingly rare that is. You’ll never see this happen again in your lifetime.” . . . On Monday, the Elks turned offensive co-ordinator Stephen McAdoo into an advisor, giving his play-calling duties to quarterbacks coach Jarious Jackson. As well, Taylor Cornelius is out as the starting QB, with Jarret Doege or Canadian Tre Ford to start when the Elks next play, which will be on Aug. 10 against the visiting Blue Bombers.

Jaylen Brown, who isn’t even the best player on the Boston Celtics, signed a new contract last week. It calls for him to be paid at least US$60 million annually. . . . Jayson Tatum, who is Boston’s best player, will be due a new contract after the 2023-24 season. Will the Celtics be able to afford to have two $60-million players on their roster at the same time? . . . According to Sportico, the NBA has 76 players who will make at least $20 million for 2023-24. . . . The NHL salary cap for 2023-24 is US$83.5 million. . . .

Here’s Steve Simmons of Postmedia: “The Lou Lamoriello words. Every contract signed is for too much money and too many years. Jaylen Brown signs with the Boston Celtics for $60 million a season over six years. Too much and too long, from our friend Lou. . . . In other news, Brown will be paid more than the Canadian Football League next season.” . . . The CFL salary cap this season is $5,450,000 per team. There are nine teams. You do the math.

Tired

Headline at The Beaverton — Canada’s grocery companies pretending not to hear about falling inflation rate.

——

Headline at The Onion — Family has strict no smartphone rule while eating dinner in front of TV.

THE COACHING GAME:

The AJHL’s Sherwood Park Crusaders are looking for a head coach after announcing on Monday that Evan McFeeters is leaving “for a new opportunity in the Western Hockey League.” . . . McFeeters spent one season as the Crusaders’ head coach, guiding them to a 33-20-7 record, good for fourth spot in the Northern Division. They lost out in the second round of playoffs. . . . As of Monday night, there hadn’t yet been an announcement from a WHL team concerning the hiring of McFeeters.

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

——

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

——

Or, for more information, visit right here.

Headlines

Trapper calls it a career after 60-plus years . . . Ex-WHLer now Russian citizen . . . Warriors, Giants swap some assets

The man known throughout the hockey world as Trapper has announced his retirement.

Barry Trapp said on Friday that “after more than 60 years involved with fronthockey, I have decided to step away from the game I love so much. It has been a great ride for this guy from the small town of Balcarres, Sask.”

Trapp, who will turn 82 on Aug. 14, was a defenceman in his playing days and saw time in the WHL, AHL and CPHL.

But it was in the world of coaching and scouting that he really made his mark.

He got into the coaching business with the U-18 Regina Pats Capitals and the Regina Pats Canadians.

By 1981-82, he was working as the head coach of the SJHL’s Regina Pat Blues. At the same time, he was with the Regina Pats as assistant general manager and assistant coach.

He moved to the Moose Jaw Warriors as general manager and head coach for 1985-86, before spending six seasons with Hockey Canada as its director of scouting.

His scouting career also included 10 years with NHL Central Scouting, the last five as their chief scout; four years with Toronto Maple Leafs as director of amateur scouting; and one year scouting for the Phoenix Coyotes.

The last years of his career were spent scouting for the Pats.

“It is,” he wrote, “only fitting to end up where I started.”

Trapp continued:

“I have met so many great people during this time travelling Canada, the U.S., and Europe — managers, coaches, players, media, agents and, of course, fans.

“I have many great memories that I will cherish for the rest of my life, plus many lifelong friendships. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the people who were important parts of my journey.”

He went on to salute Bob Strumm, John Paddock and Dale McMullin, Regina Pats; the late Jim Gregory and Frank Bonello, NHL Central Scouting; Bob Nicholson and Denis Hainault, Hockey Canada; the late Pat Quinn and Mike Penny, Toronto Maple Leafs; and, from the media, the late Bob Hughes, Mal Isaac and Warren Woods, along with Bob McKenzie, Jim Swanson, Gregg Drinnan, Tim Wharnsby, Chris Clarke, Rob Vanstone, Glen Reid, Marc Lachapelle and Peter Loubardias.

“There are so many others,” he added, “but these are the ones who supported me the most.

Thanks to you all and may God bless.

Yours in hockey,

Trapper”

Bathroom

The Finnish newspaper Ilta-Sanomat reports that D Brennan Menell, a former WHLer, has received Russian citizenship. According to the newspaper, Vladimir Putin, Russia’s president, “granted Menell citizenship with a decree he signed” on Thursday. . . . The Moscow Times and Sport-Express also reported on the story. . . . Menell, 26, is an American from Woodbury, Minn., who signed a three-year contract with the KHL’s Dynamo Moscow in April. Menell apparently has expressed a desire to play for the Russian national team, thus the request for citizenship. . . . After signing with Dynamo, Alexei Sopin, the team’s athletic director, told RIA Novosti that Menell “really likes Russia and Moscow, so he’s ready to stay for a long time.” Sopin also said that Menell getting Russian citizenship “will be good PR for Russian sports.” . . . According to Sport-Express, Menell applied for citizenship “immediately” upon arriving in Russia early in July. The newspaper also reported that Menell is “actively” learning to speak Russian. . . . Menell played three seasons (2014-17) in the WHL, the first two with the Vancouver Giants and the third with the Lethbridge Hurricanes.  . . . Last season, he had two goals and 22 assists in 44 games with Dynamo. He split the 2021-22 season between the AHL’s Toronto Marlies and Lehigh Valley Phantoms.

The Moose Jaw Warriors and Vancouver Giants got together on Friday and cut a deal that included six assets. . . . The Warriors acquired F Ethan Semeniuk and three WHL draft picks — a first in 2024, a fifth in 2024 and a second in 2025. . . . The Giants got back D Marek Howell and a fourth-round pick in 2024. . . . Semeniuk, 18, is from Fort St. John, B.C. Last season, his second in Vancouver, he had 12 goals and 10 assists in 54 games. In 2021-22, he finished with eight goals and five assists in 56 games. . . . The Giants selected him in the third round of the 2020 WHL draft. . . . Howell, a 17-year-old from Calgary, was a freshman last season and finished with one goal and three assists in 44 games. Moose Jaw selected him 16th overall in the 2021 WHL draft. . . . Howell was one of four Warriors who sat out the final 17 games of the 2022-23 regular season for what the WHL said was violations of team rules and the league’s standard of conduct.

Contraceptive

JUNIOR JOTTINGS:

The Wenatchee Wild has acquired F Gabe Ludwig, 19, from the Prince Albert Raiders for an eighth-round selection in the WHL’s 2027 draft. The Raiders had acquired Ludwig from the Seattle Thunderbirds last season. He had two goals and seven assists in 37 games with Prince Albert. . . . The Wild also added F Luka Shcherbyna, 17, getting him from the Spokane Chiefs for a third-round pick in the 2007 WHL draft. From Vancouver, Shcherbyna played one game in each of the past two seasons with the Chiefs. He has yet to record his first WHL point. . . . Spokane selected him in the second round of the WHL’s 2021 draft. . . .

Nolan Kowal, who had been the play-by-play voice of the SJHL’s Estevan Bruins, will be calling games for the WHL’s Prince Albert Raiders in the upcoming season. Pattison Media made the announcement on Friday. Kowal, from Winnipeg, was the Bruins’ radio voice for two seasons. . . . In Prince Albert, he takes over from Rob Mahon, who now is with the Brandon Wheat Kings. . . .

F Zach Benson of the Wenatchee Wild has signed a three-year entry-level deal with the Buffalo Sabres, who selected him 13th overall in the NHL’s 2023 draft. . . . Benson, 18, had 36 goals and 62 assists in 60 games with the Winnipeg Ice in 2022-23. His 98 points left him third in the WHL’s scoring race. . . . Because he’s 18, Benson will have to be returned to the Wild unless he cracks the Sabres’ roster. . . .

The NHL has signed referee Graedy Hamilton for the 2023-24 season. He will work primarily in the AHL, but also is expected to get some NHL games early in 2024.  Hamilton, 23, has worked AHL games for the past two seasons and has been in the WHL for four seasons. He also worked in the BCHL for six seasons. . . . Hamilton, from the Cowichan Valley Minor Hockey Association, was BC Hockey’s official of the year for 2022-23.

Forget

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

——

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

——

Or, for more information, visit right here.

Grandma

Backmeyers close to wrapping up best chapter yet . . . BC Hockey keeps door open for BCHL teams . . . Rebels, Silvertips acquire 2003-born skaters

FerrisMom
Lindsey Backmeyer and her daughter, six-year-old Ferris, are enjoying the newest chapter in their lives. (Photo: Lindsey Backmeyer/Facebook)

You have to have at least some understanding of what the Backmeyer family has been through over most of the past six years to understand what they are going through right now.

Oh, things continue to go swimmingly as Ferris, 6, continues to make progress from a kidney transplant at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto four weeks ago.

FerrisLogoHowever, Lindsey, Ferris’s mother, just can’t shake that feeling that things have been going too well. With all that she, husband Pat and the three girls have dealt with they now find themselves in a whole different world.

The emotion was raw as Lindsey explained what she is going through. She admitted to being confused because things have been going so smoothly. She just isn’t used to this. Will she be able to get used to it?

“So many feelings,” Lindsey wrote on Facebook. “All the excitement over the reality that we are here. The fear of it all falling apart. It’s just been such a drastic change so fast, so unreal and truly unbelievable. With this gift comes tremendous responsibility.

“I’m anxious (and am) genuinely shocked with every set of labs. Waiting for the (other) shoe to drop. But so far nope! No complications??? I’m confused. It’s just so incredibly foreign to us for things to be smooth for this long. It’s an odd struggle to have to manage.

“Anyone who knows transplant knows that rejection meds given on time is super important. Our med schedule and life schedule (still some really late nights) are so messed up that we set alarms to give 8 a.m. meds. I don’t sleep well at all. Waking hourly most nights because I’m worried I’m gonna sleep through the alarm! Anyone who knows me knows that’s a real possibility!!”

FerrisSmile
Ferris Backmeyer has been enjoying Toronto’s playgrounds as she keeps making progress from a kidney transplant. (Photo: Lindsey Backmeyer/Facebook)

But, as she added, “Those are small potatoes for worries though these days.”

There are, as she notes, “so many reasons to be smiling these days.”

As mentioned, things are going great with Ferris, and her big sisters — Tavia, 11, and Ksenia, 9 — have returned from the trip they made to California with Lindsey’s mother. So the family is back together and preparing for the next chapter.

Now it’s a matter of having all of Ferris’s tests in order and getting the OK to head west.

“Today,” Lindsey wrote on Thursday, “we had labs and ultrasound! We knew that if results were good, we’d get the green flag to transfer back to (BC Children’s Hospital in Vancouver) next week! Labs were awesome! Ultrasound looked better!

“Unless something major develops between now and then, we are leaving Toronto next Thursday! Whoop whoop! Only disappointing thing is that we’ve been told that (Ronald McDonald House) in Vancouver is full until Aug. 15 . . . ughhhh. I’m not gonna dwell on it. Hoping we can get in sooner than that.

“I advocated hard for a suitable accommodation for us. But as of yet am unsure where we will be staying. Just throwing it out there that this sorts itself out. That we belong at (Ronald McDonald House) BC, that going home is not really home if we are moving to Vancouver and staying somewhere else. That all the good luck we’ve had recently continues and it doesn’t end up being as bad as it feels.”

In the meantime, the Backmeyers will try to make the best of what they hope will be their last weekend in Toronto.

“We had originally planned to try to escape the city for the weekend,” Lindsey wrote, “but have instead decided to stick around and cram in the last of the ‘Toronto’ things we wanted to do. One more week and hopefully we are wrapping up this chapter . . . the best one yet!”

Dejamoo

No one follows goings-on in the BCHL any closer than does Brian Wiebe who operates the BCHL Network (bchlnetwork.ca) and tweets at @Brian_Wiebe.

The piece he wrote on Tuesday after BC Hockey replaced junior B hockey with Junior A Tier 1 and Junior A Tier 2 is the best that I have seen on the subject.

You are able to read it right here, and you should if you are following all that is happening with this file.

It is evident that, from a BC Hockey perspective, all of this is a work in progress.

BCHockeyAs Cam Hope, BC Hockey’s CEO put it in Wiebe’s story: “It’s in progress right now, but I can give you the broad parameters of some of the things. Around officiating, I think all the leagues are committed to going to a four-person system. We have to watch the landscape a little bit this year, some officials have left and gone non-sanctioned with the BCHL.

“The things you might expect — standards (like) coaching certifications, some standards around player experience having to do with committed dressing rooms, facilities and most importantly around practices — practice quality, practice volume, (and) travel. (It’s) the usual check checklist for any league, but the details of it are something that we’re all working on together.

“We want to be mindful of the fact that this is pretty quick for some of these franchises, and some are far ahead of others. It’s a work in progress, but yeah, it’s a pretty long list, but it’s little by little we’re going to get there.”

The one thing that I found most interesting in Wiebe’s piece is that Hope has left the door open for any of the BCHL’s 17 teams to return to BC Hockey.

“There are some communities around B.C. that felt Junior A was maybe just a little bit out of reach,” Hope said. “There are some communities in northern B.C. with good arenas and great fan support that did not have a league to play in at a Junior A or Junior B level. And there are some clubs now that are playing non-sanctioned junior hockey this year in the BCHL and elsewhere that may want to have a place to return to sanctioned hockey.

“Getting the ecosystem set the way that we’re setting it this year I think solved all of those problems if and when they start to arrive. When I say problems, they’re good problems and that’s communities that want to come in and join what we’re trying to do here.”

There is a whole lot more to Wiebe’s piece, so give it a read and you’ll have a good understanding of just what is happening.

JUNIOR JOTTINGS:

The Red Deer Rebels have acquired F Carson Latimer, 20, from the Wenatchee Wild for a couple of WHL draft picks, a fifth in 2024 and a conditional third in 2025. . . . According to Wild, the third-rounder is conditional upon Latimer’s reporting to Red Deer. He was a fourth-round pick by the Ottawa Senators in the NHL’s 2021 draft. . . . Latimer, from White Rock, B.C., was a third-round selection by the Edmonton Oil Kings in the 2018 draft. He has put up 97 points, including 38 goals, in 143 regular-season games split among the Oil Kings, Prince Albert Raiders and Winnipeg Ice. . . . Last season, with the Ice, had had 14 goals and 26 assists in 53 games. . . . After the trade, Alan Caldwell (@smallatlarge) tweeted: “According to my spreadsheet, the 2024 5th and 2025 3rd that Wenatchee got from Red Deer for Latimer are now Wenatchee’s highest picks in both those drafts.” . . .

The Everett Silvertips have acquired 2003-born F Teague Patton from the Victoria Royals for a fourth-round selection in the WHL’s 2026 draft. . . . Patton, from Kelowna, had 16 goals and 33 assists in 68 games with the Royals last season. . . . He played in 78 games over three seasons (2019-22) with the Medicine Hat Tigers, putting up 25 points, including 12 goals. . . . After moving Patton, the Royals, according to play-by-play man Marlon Martens, still have six 20-year-olds on their roster — F Matthew Hodson, G Braden Holt, F Grady Lane, D Gannon Laroque, F Justin Lies and D Luke Rybinski. The Royals acquired Lane from the Spokane Chiefs on June 27, and got Lies from the Saskatoon Blades on June 2. . . .

F Sam Honzek of the Vancouver Giants has signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Calgary Flames, who selected him with the 16th pick of the NHL’s 2023 draft. . . . Honzek, from Slovakia, had 23 goals and 33 assists in 43 games as a freshman with the Giants last season. He also played for Slovakia in the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship. . . . Honzek, who will turn 19 on Nov. 12, will be back with the Giants for the 2023-24 season, unless, of course, he cracks the Flames’ roster. . . . Interestingly, he went by Samuel last season, but judging by the Flames’ announcement on Tuesday, he now is going by Sam. . . .

The Lethbridge Hurricanes and 106.7 ROCK have agreed to a four-year contract extension that will have the radio station as the home to game broadcasts through the 2026-27 season. . . . They have been broadcast partners for the past nine seasons, starting with 2014-15. . . .

The Seattle Thunderbirds will retire F Patrick Marleau’s No. 12 on Nov. 3 prior to a game against the Spokane Chiefs. Marleau, from Aneroid, Sask., played two seasons (1995-97) with the Thunderbirds, totalling 199 points, including 83 goals, in 143 regular-season games. He is the NHL’s all-time leader in regular-season games played (1,779) after skating with the San Jose Sharks, Toronto Maple Leafs and Pittsburgh Penguins. . . . Marleau will be the second Seattle player to have his number retired. The Thunderbirds honoured F Glen Goodall (No. 10) in 1990. . . .

The junior B Keystone Junior Hockey League has added a seventh franchise by granting one to the Waywayseecappo First Nation, which is located near Russell, Man. . . . The team will begin play in 2023-24 and will play as the Waywayseecappo Wild.

Guns

THE COACHING GAME:

The WHL’s Wenatchee Wild has rounded out its coaching staff with the hiring of Andrew Sarauer as an assistant coach. Sarauer, a 38-year-old from Saskatoon, has retired as a player after spending 15 seasons in the ECHL, AHL and Europe. . . . He played with the BCHL’s Victoria Salsa and Langley Hornets before spending four seasons at Northern Michigan U. . . . In Wenatchee, he will be working with head coach Kevin Constantine and associate head coach Chris Clark. . . . Sarauer played nine seasons with Fehérvár AV19 in Hungary. Constantine was the head coach there for the last two of those seasons.

TooSoon

——

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

——

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

——

Or, for more information, visit right here.

Ignorance

Hey, WestJet, flying shouldn’t be this much of a nasty experience, should it?

My sister and her husband flew from Brandon to Kamloops, via Calgary, with WestJet on July 15. All went well. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for the return trip that turned into a real mess. Feeling like the top was soon to blow off her head, she chose to write about the experience in an attempt to get it all out of her system. . . . The result is right here. . . .

While I normally don’t write reviews of any kind, I really felt the need to unburden myself after our unfortunate experience with WestJet on July 22 and 23.

After a wonderful week in Kamloops with my family it was time to head home to Brandon. On Saturday, July 22, my brother and sister-in-law dropped us off at the airport in Kamloops at 9:30 a.m. (PT) to catch our flight No. 3314 that was scheduled to leave at 11.

Shortly after our arrival at the airport we noticed on the departure screen our WestJetplane was going to be late. Our new departure time was going to be 11:55. This really concerned us because we had to catch our connecting flight to Brandon in Calgary at 2:30 p.m. (MT). So my husband headed to the WestJet desk to inquire about the late departure and whether we would be able to catch our connecting flight. The WestJet agent told him “there should be no problems in Calgary.”

Once we were on the plane the pilot came on the radio to let us know that our flight was delayed an hour because the aircraft needed some maintenance in Calgary due to the landing gear not working properly.

Flight No. 3314 left Kamloops at noon (PT) and landed in Calgary at 2:15 (MT). Now remember that our flight to Brandon was to leave Calgary at 2:30.

But there was some kind of hold up getting the door open and the stairs attached to the plane so we didn’t disembark until 2:30. Now we were really worried about missing our flight. Oh, and what about our luggage? As we were leaving the plane I asked the flight attendant about our bags and she said, “You’ll have to go to the baggage area and pick up your bags there.”

We had arrived in Section C of the airport. At this point I was totally confused and stressed out.

We looked at the departure screen and saw that our flight No. 3382 to Brandon had left without us. I felt sick to my stomach. We only needed the plane to wait 15 minutes for us to get there. Nobody tried to get us off the plane quicker in Calgary so we would make our flight; nobody was at the arrival gate to help us get to our next flight; nobody asked the plane to wait for us to arrive. Where was the customer service?

By this point, it really was beginning to sink in and we didn’t know what to do or what our options were.

Well, we decided that we had better go and get our luggage. We couldn’t find the baggage claim area without leaving the security area. So we headed back to the gate where we had arrived to ask someone

where to go. The agent said: “You need to go to the very end of the airport and go down the escalator to the baggage area.” So that is what we did.

We now were at the carousel waiting for our bags and . . . nothing . . . no bags. We went to the WestJet desk beside the carousel and asked about our luggage. The woman there took our tickets to search on the computer to see where they were.

Guess what? Our bags were in storage to be put on the next flight to Brandon. When would that be? Sunday, July 23). We asked who we needed to talk to and were told that would be the WestJet agent at the check-in area. So we headed over there.

This agent was very nice and helped us and printed us new tickets for the flight on Sunday, which was to leave Calgary at 9:25 a.m. Remember this is Saturday at around 3 p.m. We asked the agent what options we had. She said: “No problem, just go to the security check-in and they will scan your boarding pass.”

We headed to security in Section D now realizing that we had a very long wait ahead of us. There were two women working the gate. One of them scanned my boarding pass and said, “You’re too early to go through security, come back at 6 p.m.” She must have thought our plane was to leave at 9:25 p.m. So we explained to her that we had missed our connecting flight to Brandon, through no fault of ours, and now we were having to wait for the next flight, which would be on Sunday at 9:25 a.m.

She giggled and then said:“You can’t come through security until 6 a.m. on Sunday,” which was three hours before our flight.

Now what? I tried to explain our situation to both of them — that we just wanted to go through security and get something to eat. I told them that a WestJet agent had told us that because we had boarding passes security would let us through. So then the other woman started laughing and said: “Nobody at WestJet would say that.”

By this point she could see that I was getting upset so she called her manager over. I tried to explain the situation to him but I was starting to get emotional so my husband took over. Even the manager said “nobody at WestJet would say that.”

I started to feel as if we were being treated like criminals. Nobody believed what we were saying. I walked away because I started to cry uncontrollably. I WAS SO TIRED AND STRESSED. No one had offered us a hotel room or a meal voucher. We were on our own.

We walked through the entire front airport section looking for a good spot to rest and recharge my husband’s phone. Lucky for us we were able to find a spot but couldn’t guarantee to get it back if we left to eat. Our stomachs made that decision for us. We went looking for food. We finally found the food court but half of the places were closed. Good old Tim Hortons was open but we found out it would close at 9 p.m. We ordered subs for supper and two muffins and juice for a later snack.

We then returned to our favourite spot. But my husband couldn’t sit still. So he wandered off while I was reading a book. He came back and said he had just been talking to a WestJet employee and was told that security in Sections B and C was letting passengers through.

My immediate thought was: “Oh my God, that’s fantastic!! So do we drink our juices first or do we ask the guys at the security gate if we can get through?”

The time now is 11 p.m. We asked and were told that we aren’t allowed to proceed any further because WE ARE WAY TO EARLY FOR OUR FLIGHT. We are told to come back at 4 a.m. My husband tried to explain our circumstances but nobody was listening.

All we could do was hope that our little corner of the airport was still available. Thankfully, it was. We hunkered down and tried to get some sleep.

Have you ever tried to sleep in an airport? This was when they clean all the floors, so no sleep. I finished my book and my husband wandered. We ate our muffins and drank our juices at 2 a.m., and then just sat and waited like we had been for the previous 11 hours.

As soon as the clock read 4 a.m., we were at the security gate . . . and we got through. We were so happy . . . but we still had 5 1/2 hours to go.

We looked for the gate number on our tickets; it was C59, so we headed to that section and sat. We constantly checked the departure screen to make sure we were at the right gate.

Sometime around 6 a.m., the gate changed to B40.

Let me just say that the Calgary airport is a nightmare to navigate and their signs are useless. We now were in search of Gate B40. Shortly after we arrived at B40 the gate changed to C51 . . . are you kidding me? WTF!! So we headed back to section C.

By now we were hungry so I stood in line at Tim Hortons for muffins. It only took about 25 minutes because the lineup was so long.

I was up and down constantly checking the screen to make sure our gate didn’t change again.

At 9:05 a.m., WestJet finally announced our plane was boarding. I was too tired to be happy. I just wanted to go home. At 9:25 a.m., the plane was in the air and headed to Brandon. I tried to get some sleep but I couldn’t get comfortable because for the previous 18 hours I had been so tense that now my whole body ached, and there also was a four-year-old girl who wouldn’t listen to her Mom. Sometimes she laughed but most of the time she cried and screamed, and my nerves were shot.

We landed in Brandon at 12:15 p.m. My back, legs and feet hurt so bad I could hardly get off the plane. We finally got our luggage and were in the truck headed for home. Believe it or not, even after all this turmoil, my husband and I are still married.

Thanks, WestJet, for pooping on the last 24 hours of our vacation.

BC Hockey responds to BCHL move by designating 45 junior B teams as junior A; splits it all into two tiers. . . . Royals add associate GM

The BCHL has been operating as an independent entity outside of Hockey Canada since June 1.

On Tuesday, BC Hockey announced a restructuring of junior hockey in the BCHockeyprovince and Yukon, all of this obviously in response to the BCHL’s departure having left the jurisdiction without a junior A league.

BC Hockey’s board of directors voted unanimously to do away with junior B. The 45 teams that had been playing in the province’s three junior B leagues all will be classified Junior A Tier 2 for the 2023-24 season.

The Kootenay International Junior Hockey League features 20 teams, with 14 in the Pacific Junior Hockey League and 11 in the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League.

In time, some of those teams will be promoted to Junior A Tier 1.

One of the teams that hopes to make the jump is the Kamloops Storm.

“I think we more than meet pretty much any requirement they’re going to put KamStormnewin front of us, whether it be with our health and safety, our education, our facilities or our level of coaching,” Storm general manager Matt Kolle told Kamloops This Week.“In the last two seasons, we’ve carried 97 per cent B.C. players. In my mind, we’re meeting the criteria by a landslide.

“It’s a void that needed to be filled and I’m excited we get the opportunity to fill it. We want to embrace it. We want to run with it and make hockey a better place in Kamloops, whether it be for the players or the fans. We’re now junior A. When we see what these new enhanced standards required for Tier 1 are, we then need to start working toward those.”

According to BC Hockey, there will be “a rigorous process and analysis, conducted over the next three seasons, allowing individual teams and communities to find the level of Junior hockey most suited to them.”

Also according to BC Hockey, the newly classified teams “will take their place in Hockey Canada’s Canadian Development Model, which strengthens the game at elite levels, in partnership with the Western Hockey League (WHL) and the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL).”

In a news release, Jeff Dubois, the KIJHL commissioner, offered: “During this kijhlprocess, we looked at the number of players who have left B.C. over the past number of years to play junior A hockey elsewhere in Canada and the United States. Our goal is to provide the type of athlete experience that incentivizes those athletes to grow and develop their game without having to look outside their home province.”

Once the Tier 1 and Tier 2 situation has sorted itself out, the Tier 1 teams will “seek membership with the CJHL. Such membership would open the door to competition for the Centennial Cup . . . and eligibility for players and bench staff” for events such as the World Junior A Challenge.

“BC Hockey is committed to this new Junior A landscape,” Cameron Hope, BC Hockey’s CEO, said in a news release. “These already strong teams and leagues have earned their opportunity to fill this layer of the pathway. It is important that junior-aged players in B.C. and Yukon have opportunities to compete at a high level, and eventually at the national level as part of the CJHL.”

For now, the KIJHL, PJHL and VIJHL will carry on as usual, all the while being evaluated for a potential move up in the ranks.

The KIJHL’s Revelstoke Grizzlies are another team interesting in getting to the Junior A Tier 1 level.

““I think it’s an ideal level for Revelstoke,” Ryan Parent, the Grizzlies’ general manager and head coach, told Josh Piercey of the Revelstoke Review. “The support that we’ve garnered locally in the past 10 years here, I think hockey is really on the map in Revelstoke.”

The BC Hockey news release is right here.

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Some thoughts on BC Hockey’s announcement: Keep in mind that the BCHL has said that it doesn’t want to be referred to as junior A or by any other kind of designation. It just wants to be the BCHL. . . . BC Hockey certainly has delivered a strong message to the BCHL this week. On Monday, CEO Cam Hope told folks in no uncertain terms that on-ice officials who work BCHL games after Sept. 30 won’t be allowed to handle Hockey Canada- or BC Hockey-sanctioned events during the 2023-24 season. And then came Tuesday’s announcement. . . . It would seem that the BCHL now is a non-entity as far as BC Hockey is concerned. . . . It will be interesting to see how many B.C.-born players opt for one of the three Junior A Tier 2 leagues for 2023-24, keeping in mind that players dropped by BCHL teams after Sept. 30 won’t be eligible. . . . There is chatter that the City of Revelstoke might build a new arena that would be home to the Grizzlies. You have to wonder if any other communities might take a look at doing that with a possible move to Junior A Tier 1 on the horizon for its team. . . . It strikes me that the operating costs for BCHL teams will rise, if only because of recruiting costs and the league now having its own officiating staff. And operating costs will go up for any of the Junior A Tier 2 teams that are serious about moving up. So from where will all this money come?

Push

JUNIOR JOTTINGS:

Jake Heisinger is joining the WHL’s Victoria Royals as associate general manager. He had been with the Kootenay/Winnipeg Ice since 2017, joining the organization as hockey operations co-ordinator while it was located in Cranbrook. Most recently, he was Winnipeg’s vice-president of hockey operations and assistant GM. . . . The Winnipeg franchise has been sold and now operates out of Wenatchee, Wash., as the Wild. . . . In Victoria, Heisinger will work alongside Joey Poljanowski, the Royals’ new vice-president of hockey operations.

Thinking

THINKING OUT LOUD: If you’re a hockey fan, you will be familiar with Cap Friendly (@CapFriendly). On Tuesday, Cap Friendly tweeted: “Patrice Bergeron, who announced his retirement today, has an estimated $96,324,048 in career earnings over his illustrious 20-year career. As part of his new five-year extension, Justin Herbert will earn $100,000,000 next season alone.” One more example of why NHL owners are so in love with their commissioner. . . . Saw a photo today of Ryan Craig, who was an assistant coach with the Vegas Golden Knights, eating pierogies out of the bowl of the Stanley Cup. That got me to wondering: Does anyone sterilize the bowl considering everything that goes into it — from a baby’s butt to beer and champagne — while it’s on tour? . . . The temperature on our gizmo showed in the low- to mid-30s for most of last week. On Tuesday at 6 a.m., it showed 10 C. After being so warm for a week, 10 C felt like it might snow.

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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.

Hair

Mondays With Murray: A Peek at 1984

FormerLATimesBuilding
The former Los Angeles Times building in the city’s downtown area.

“What a sad day for sports journalism (and journalism in general). The New York Times announced it has scrapped its sports section entirely. The Los Angeles Times (with which I cut my teeth in journalism) will no long carry baseball box scores and standings. The Southern California News Group just bought the San Diego Union-Tribune, which will diminish the quality of that paper. I hate to say it, though I’ve thought it for awhile, newspapers are dead. They just don’t yet know it.”

— John Strege, veteran journalist

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Today, for your reading enjoyment, we have Jim Murray’s 1978 column that was headlined ‘A Peek at 1984’ — ”noting that “a computer programmed to crank out sports stories is just a couple of transistors away.”

ENJOY!

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WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 9, 1978, SPORTS

Copyright 1978/THE TIMES MIRROR COMPANY

JIM MURRAY

A Peek at 1984

  They changed the phone system and numbers at The Los Angeles Times for the first time since the days of the crank telephone the other day. It’s all in the name of automation, but you’ll pardon all of us ink-stained wretches if it mondaysmurraymakes us a little nervous. I mean, today the phones, tomorrow the staff. 1984 is a little nearer. Big Brother is coming. If they automate the phones, when will they automate the stories? What will become of Hildy Johnson? Will Grantland Rice be made out of tin in the future? Damon Runyon a data bank? Richard Harding Davis just a lot of circuitry with a passport?

  A computer programmed to crank out sports stories is just a couple of transistors away. Of course, it will have to be programmed. First, if they listen to us, it will have to learn a few basics. Such as the questions:

  “What kind of a pitch did he hit?” Which must be asked of a pitcher who has just lost a World Series in the bottom of the 12th, 1-0. The computer must be programmed to duck as it asks. Otherwise, the paper is stuck with the biggest hunk of scrap metal this side of the stretch at Indy.

  The computer will have to learn to enter the dressing room of a fighter who has just been carried in with (1) a broken nose, (2) broken ribs, (3) black eyes, (4) a dented Adam’s apple which will make him sound like a ransom call the rest of his life, (5) hemorrhages on both arms, (6) blood trickling out of an ear, (7) teeth trickling out of his mouth. It will have to ask: “Did he hurt you at any time, Bat?” If the fellow is still conscious, or at least alive, teach your computer to lean down and ask, “Would you like to fight him again?”

  Your computer will have to learn to be resourceful. Look for the pithy quote even when you don’t get it from the athlete. If a golfer shoots 80 and says, “I kept hitting it into sand traps,” you quote him for the headline, ‘Needed Camel, Not a Caddy’ Says One-Putt Of His 80. The quote will make all the anthologies, and within a week, One-Putt will think he actually said it.

  When you go into the locker room with a guy who just went 0-for-5 and struck out in the bottom of the ninth with the bases loaded and he says, “Get outta here, you four-eyed hunk of tin before I take a can opener and make you look like a totalled Toyota!” you make a few subtle changes. “Your headline: ‘Feeling So Strong it Frightens Me,’ Says Slugger, Despite 0 for 5.”

  Your story quotes the guy, “‘Tomorrow we turn these guys into pumpkins. Hope he throws me that knuckler one more time. He’ll be eating it for a week.’”

  Stories without quotes will be even easier. Just keep a stock of standing headlines. “Rams Blow Super Bowl to Minnesota Again” is good any December. Even the story accompanying it will just need blanks to be filled in: “The Los Angeles Rams blew their chances for the Super Bowl again this year when the Minnesota Vikings defeated them because of (choose one) a blocked field goal, intercepted pass, rainstorm, sunshine, heavy overcast, superior coaching, or all six.”

  And with baseball, remember that the fans like figures, and give them to them: “The Los Angeles Dodgers drew their 4 millionth fan, sold their 16 millionth hot dog, tapped their 5 millionth barrel of beer, sold their 3 millionth bobblehead doll and had their 2,709th straight overflowing parking lot yesterday. The message board saluted the 2 millionth septuagenarian couple from Nepal, welcomed the 150,000th Rotary Club, and announced that next Saturday will be ‘Mafia Night,’ with everyone carrying a violin case or horse’s head to be admitted free.”

  Basketball will be no problem. Keep this standing story: “The (leave blank name of franchise) today signed All-American center Tom (Treetop) Tarheeler, the all-time Atlantic Coast Conference scorer with 1,000 points a game, to a multiyear, no-cut contract believed to call for Rhode Island, downtown Dallas, parts of Wilshire Boulevard and the mineral rights to the Gulf of Mexico.

  “The deal also includes his parole officer, the judge who validated the three previous contracts he put his ‘X’ on and the playground director who taught him not to bite people on court.”

  Auto racing? Easy. Just remember death is a mar in auto racing. As in, “Leadfoot Lonergan won the 57th running of the Fireball 500 today in a race marred by the death of . . .” You just have to fill in the number of drivers and/or spectators.

  In bullfighting, remember death is not a mar, it’s a must. If the bull doesn’t die, well, he gets bad notices.

  Don’t worry about statistics. Just feed your machine a daily diet of bubble-gum cards and it will know more sports trivia than a Boston cop.

  After a year or so on the beat, though, your machine will begin to act strange. It will keep its hat on in the office. It will begin to drink. It will begin to speak of the home team as “we.” It will get sick of people asking, “What’s wrong with the Rams?” It will start to complain about box lunches, the Rams offence, and the amount of space it gets for its story. Its mate may start to hope the home team doesn’t make the playoffs so it can stay home for Christmas for a change.

  And then will come the day when it will start to write about a mark being set for right-handed, half-Portuguese, half-Italian third basemen, about the “Z-outs” run by the tight ends, and it will start storing up non-winning fractions in dual meets — and you’ll know it’s the beginning of the end.

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Jim Murray Memorial Foundation | 25 Main St, Cooperstown, NY 13326