Giants’ import forward reassigned. . . . Thompson heads for Dauphin. . . . Broncos get new play-by-play voice

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D Chase Harrison (Regina, 2013-17) has signed a one-year contract with Corona Brașov (Romania, Erste Liga). Last season, with the Norfolk Admirals (ECHL), he had one goal and 12 assists in 51 games. He also had one assist in nine games with the South Carolina Stingrays (ECHL). . . .

F Yannik Valenti (Vancouver, 2018-19) has been assigned by Adler Mannheim (Germany, DEL) to Heilbronner Falken (Germany, DEL2) for the 2019-20 season. Last season, with the Vancouver Giants (WHL), he had four goals and five assists in 52 games. . . . According to Mannheim’s website, Valenti signed a four-year contract with Mannheim in April 2018 and was on a loan assignment to Vancouver for last season. . . .

F Vince Loschiavo (Kootenay, Moose Jaw, Edmonton, 2014-19) has signed a one-year contract with Asiago (Italy, Alps HL). Last season, with the Edmonton Oil Kings (WHL), he had 37 goals and 25 assists in 63 games. He was tied for the team lead in goals and was second in points. . . .

F Jaroslav Kristek (Tri-City, 1998-2000) has signed a one-year contract extension with Courchevel-Méribel-Pralognan (France, Division 1). In 18 games in Division 2, he had 24 goals and 32 assists. He led Division 2 in goals, assists and points. The club won promotion from Division 2 for 2019-20.

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The Vancouver Giants may have openings for two imports with the news that German F VancouverYannik Valenti won’t be back for another season. . . . As you will have read in The MacBeth Report, Valenti was with the Giants last season on loan from Adler Mannheim of the DEL, and now has been assigned to Heilbronner Falken (Germany, DEL2). . . . Valenti had four goals and five assists in 52 regular-season games, then turned into something of a power-play force in the playoffs, scoring three times, each one with the man advantage, in 22 games as the Giants got to Game 7 of the WHL’s championship final. . . . Slovakian F Milos Roman, the Giants’ other import last season, could return for a third season. However, he would be a two-spotter as a 20-year-old import. He put up 27 goals and 33 assists in 59 games last season. . . . A fourth-round pick by the Calgary Flames in the NHL’s 2018 draft, Roman has yet to sign a pro contract. . . . The 2019 CHL import draft is scheduled for Thursday.

F Baron Thompson, who played the past three seasons with the Brandon Wheat Kings, BrandonWKregularhas signed to play with the MJHL’s Dauphin Kings in 2019-20. . . . Thompson, who is heading into his 20-year-old season, had eight goals and nine assists in 65 games with the Wheat Kings last season. In 172 career regular-season games, the 6-foot-5, 250-pounder put up 24 goals and 26 assists. . . . From Lakeville, Minn., Thompson was selected by the Victoria Royals in the third round of the WHL’s 2014 bantam draft and later traded to the Wheat Kings. . . . Without Thompson, the Wheat Kings have three 20-year-olds on their roster — F Connor Gutenberg, D Zach Wytinck and Czech G Jiri Patera.

Craig Beauchemin has joined the Swift Current Broncos as their play-by-play man. SCBroncosUnable to reach a broadcast agreement with Golden West Broadcasting, which had carried games on the Eagle 94.1, the Broncos are going it alone, with their games to be available via the Internet. . . . Beauchemin will handle the Living Sky Casino Broncos Hockey game broadcasts, and also will prepare podcasts and serve as the manager of community relations. . . . He spent the past two seasons as the director of communications and broadcasting with the BCHL’s Penticton Vees. . . . Beauchemin replaces Shawn Mullin, who is headed east where he will be the radio voice of the OHL’s Peterborough Petes.

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The BCHL’s Penticton Vees have traded F Massimo Rizzo, their captain, to the Coquitlam pentictonExpress to complete a June transaction in which the Vees got F Alex DiPaolo, 19. . . . Rizzo, 18, is from Burnaby, B.C., and has committed to the U of North Dakota Fighting Hawks for 2020-21. . . . Last season, he had 11 goals and 29 assists in 37 regular-season games. In 2017-18, He had 13 goals and 26 assists in 39 games. . . . The Carolina Hurricanes selected him in the seventh round of the NHL draft in Vancouver on Saturday. . . . Rizzo was selected by the Kamloops Blazers with the 15th-overall pick of the WHL’s 2016 bantam draft. He was beset with injury problems over his two seasons in Penticton. . . . “The past two seasons have been trying for Massimo, dealing with significant injuries which forced him to start the seasons late and miss substantial stretches of games,” Fred Harbinson, the Vees’ president, general manager and head coach, said in a news release. “We felt that with Massimo’s recent surgery, it would be best for him to rehab at home next season. Fortunately, we were able to make a hockey trade with Coquitlam that helped our team in the process.”

More undrafted WHLers who are either in or soon to attend NHL development camps:

F Logan Barlage, 18, of the Lethbridge Hurricanes, to the Colorado Avalanche;

D Nolan Kneen, 20, of the Saskatoon Blades, to Colorado;

D Wyatt McLeod, 19, of the Edmonton Oil Kings, to Colorado;

G Taylor Gauthier, 18, of the Prince George Cougars, to the Boston Bruins;

D Scott Walford, 20, of the Victoria Royals, to the Winnipeg Jets;

F Noah Philp, who completed his junior eligibility with the Seattle Thunderbirds, to Winnipeg;

F Luke Toporowski, 18, of the Spokane Chiefs, to WInnipeg;

D Clay Hanus, 18, of the Portland Winterhawks, to the Ottawa Senators;

D Conner McDonald, 20, of the Edmonton Oil Kings, to Ottawa;

D Dylan MacPherson, who played out his junior eligibility with the Medicine Hat Tigers, to the Florida Panthers;

F Jaydon Dureau, 18, of the Portland Winterhawks, to Florida;

F Ben McCartney, 18, of the Brandon Wheat Kings, to Philadelphia;

F Eli Zummack, 19, of the Spokane Chiefs, to the Tampa Bay Lightning;

F Vladimir Alistrov, 18, of the Edmonton Oil Kings, to the Toronto Maple Leafs;

F James Hamblin, 20, of the Medicine Hat Tigers, to Toronto;

F Riley Woods, who completed his junior eligibility with the Spokane Chiefs, to Toronto;

D Sergei Sapego, who is to turn 20 on Oct. 8, of the Prince Albert Raiders, to Toronto;

F Josh Williams, 18, of the Edmonton Oil Kings, to the Pittsburgh Penguins;

F Jake Gricius, who will turn 20 on Oct. 13, of the Portland Winterhawks, to the San Jose Sharks;

D Jake Lee, 18, of the Kelowna Rockets, to San Jose; and,

G Beck Warm, 20, of the Tri-City Americans, to the Washington Capitals.

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WHL’s 16th winningest head coach retires from scouting. . . . Son of Blazers co-owner commits to ASU. . . . NHL draft over, development camp invites are out

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F/D Brett Stovin (Saskatoon, 2011-15) has signed a one-year contract with the Dundee Stars (Scotland, UK Elite). Last season, with U of Manitoba (USports, Canada West), he had seven goals and seven assists in 22 games. He was the team captain. . . .

F Brodie Dupont (Calgary, 2003-07) has signed a one-year contract with the Herning Blue Fox (Denmark, Metal Ligaen). Last season, with Dornbirn (Austria, Erste Bank Liga), he had 11 goals and 24 assists in 51 games. He was an alternate captain. . . .

F Brooks Macek (Tri-City, Calgary, 2008-13) has signed a one-year contract with Avtomobilist Yekaterinberg (Russia, KHL). Last season, in 64 games with the Chicago Wolves (AHL), he had 26 goals and 34 assists. He was second on the team in goals and third in points.

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With the Winnipeg Jets on stage and poised to pick 20th overall at the NHL draft in WinnipegJetsVancouver on Friday, it was head scout Marcel Comeau who stepped forward to announce the selection. . . . Kevin Cheveldayoff, the Jets’ general manager had revealed that Comeau, the 16th winningest head coach in WHL history, was headed into retirement with the draft’s conclusion. . . . Comeau was the head scout for the Atlanta Thrashers/Jets since 2003, and he was on Atlanta’s scouting staff for five years prior to that. . . . Comeau, 67, lives in Federal Way, in the Seattle area. He was a WHL head coach with the Calgary Wranglers, Saskatoon Blades and Tacoma/Kelowna Rockets, putting up 411 regular-season victories. . . . Comeau also is one of hockey’s good guys. Here’s to a long and happy retirement.

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F Josh Doan, a ninth-round selection by the Kamloops Blazers in the WHL’s 2017 bantam draft, will be taking his game to the Arizona State Sun Devils. . . . Doan, 17, is from Scottsdale, Ariz., and is likely to start at ASU with the 2021-22 season. . . . Last season, he had 17 goals and 19 assists in 30 games with the U-16 Phoenix Jr. Coyotes. . . . He is the son of Shane Doan, the former NHLer and ex-Blazers forward who is one of the WHL team’s co-owners. . . .

F Jackson Niedermayer, the son of Scott Niedermayer, a former NHL/WHL defenceman and a Hockey Hall of Famer, also has committed to ASU. Jackson, 18, had two goals and four assists in 36 games as a freshman with the BCHL’s Penticton Vees last season. He, too, is ticketed for ASU to start the 2021-22 season.

Headline at TheOnion.com: White House Claims Iran Behind Attack On Nancy Kerrigan.

With the NHL draft having ended on Saturday in Vancouver, team representatives NHLquickly began issuing invitations to development camps.

F Jermaine Loewen, who played five seasons with the Kamloops Blazers, will go to camp with the Vegas Golden Knights, according to his agent, Ray Petkau, who was in touch with Taking Note on Saturday night. . . . The Jamaica-born, Manitoba-raised Loewen was selected by the Dallas Stars in the seventh round of the 2018 NHL draft but went unsigned. Loewen, now 21, has used up his junior eligibility.

Among other undrafted WHLers who are off to development camps are:

F Zak Smith, 18, of the Red Deer Rebels, to the Golden Knights; F Bryce Kindopp, 20, of the Everett Silvertips, to the Colorado Avalanche; D Dylan Plouffe, 20, of the Vancouver Giants, to the Montreal Canadiens; D Montany Onyebuchi, 19, of the Kamloops Blazers, to the Calgary Flames; D Brayden Pachal of the Prince Albert Raiders, who will turn 20 on Aug. 23, to the Golden Knights; F Brett Kemp, 19, of the Medicine Hat Tigers, to the New York Rangers; and F Jackson Shepard, 19, of the Vancouver Giants, to the Arizona Coyotes.

The Dallas Stars posted their camp roster a few days ago and it included D Luke Zazula, 19, and F Brodi Stuart, 19, of the Blazers, neither of whom was picked on the weekend. Also on that roster are D Dawson Barteaux, 19, of the Red Deer Rebels and D Jarret Tyszka, 20, of the Seattle Thunderbirds.

D Oleg Zaytsev of the Red Deer Rebels was at No. 66 among North American skaters in Red DeerNHL Central Scouting’s final pre-draft rankings. There was some surprise, then, when he wasn’t picked. . . . However, Brent Sutter, the Rebels’ owner, general manager and head coach, wasn’t as surprised as were some observers. . . . “Yeah, it was definitely surprising, to some degree,” Sutter told Greg Meachem of reddeerrebels.com. “But he certainly didn’t do himself any favours the way he played the last two-thirds of the year for us.” . . . Zaytsev, an 18-year-old from Moscow, had 13 goals and 30 assists in 66 games in his first WHL season. According to Meachem’s piece, which is right here, it may have been his final season in Red Deer, too. Sutter told Meachem that the Rebels should know by Tuesday whether Zaytsev will be back. . . . The CHL’s import draft is scheduled for Thursday. . . . BTW, the Rebels entered the WHL in time for the 1992-93 season. This was the first time in franchise history that they didn’t have even one player selected in the NHL draft.

The Saskatoon Blades have a new equipment manager in the person of Riley Kosmolak, who had been working as an assistant equipment manager and visiting team attendant with the AHL’s Manitoba Moose. . . . From a Blades’ news release: “The Saskatoon Blades would also like to thank Chad Scharff for his service over the past four seasons, and wish him all the best as he begins his pursuit of a career in law enforcement.”

The biggest individual story of the NHL’s 2019 draft had to be that USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program had 17 players selected. . . . After the draft had ended, Chris Dilks, the managing editor at SBN College Hockey, pointed out that “in the 1995 NHL draft, the year before the NTDP was founded, only 16 Americans total were taken in the draft.”

ICYMI, it was a special time in Regina on Saturday as folks participated in the first Adam Herald Memorial 4-on-4 Tournament. His father, Russ, played, wearing his late son’s helmet and gloves. . . . Folks also dedicated the Adam Herald Memorial Room on the upper level of the Co-operators Centre’s C2 arena. . . . Rob Vanstone of the Regina Leader-Post was there and posted this piece right here.

Hey, WHL, please take a look at the QMJHL website, check out the pre-season rosters for each team and consider doing the same thing. There is a real hunger for information among your fans and it would be great if your teams listed all players in the running for roster spots in the upcoming season. By posting this information, it also would allow you to update rosters with off-season trades.

There was an omission in this space the other night when I listed the 20-year-olds on the Edmonton Oil Kings’ roster. I inadvertently omitted F Riley Sawchuk, who was acquired from the Tri-City Americans on May 16. With Sawchuk on the roster, the Oil Kings have four 20s, the other three being G Dylan Myskiw, D Conner McDonald and D Parker Gavlas.

The line of the week, from a piece right here by Marty Hastings of Kamloops This Week: “Darryl Sydor instead accepts the associate coach position to flank Shaun Clouston, the wily veteran who becomes the zillionth head coach since the Tom Gaglardi ownership group bought the Kamloops Blazers prior to the 2007-2008 campaign.”

D Lassi Thomson, who played last season with the Kelowna Rockets, was selected by the KelownaRocketsOttawa Senators with the 19th overall pick in the NHL draft on Friday. Despite the Rockets being the host team for the 2020 Memorial Cup, Thomson has been reported as planning to play in Finland next season.

But . . . wait! It seems he could end up with the Belleville Senators, Ottawa’s AHL affiliate, or he could go back to Finland . . . or he could return for a second season in Kelowna.

“The one scenario of the American league is the most recent conversation we just had and we knew the other two options on the front end,” Ottawa head scout Trent Mann told Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun. “Most players don’t have those kinds of options. There’s a lot at play in this. The kid himself has to be comfortable with it and he’s going to refer to his agent.

“I’m sure the Kelowna Rockets will be calling to try convince him to go back. We spoke to a couple of his teammates during the combine and they talked about him going back to Finland to play in the league next season, and they were pretty upset by that because they thought he was a key piece moving into the Memorial Cup next year.”

Stay tuned . . .

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Comings, goings and happenings . . . and now back to baseball and The Border

If you’re wondering where I’ve been, well, I’ve been right here. I am taking some time away from writing, just taking a break. . . . I also have cracked open The Border, the third book in author Don Winslow’s terrific trilogy about, yes, the U.S.-Mexico border and a whole lot more. So I have been spending some time with Art Keller (hey, Google is your friend). . . . If you haven’t read the trilogy, start with The Dogs of War, then move on to The Cartel. After that you’ll be ready for The Border. . . . A warning though — this stuff is gritty. . . .

Some stuff has happened over the last few days, so what follows is a summary. No, I’m not back on a daily basis. Not yet. . . . You see, I’m only halfway through The Border. . . .

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F Radim Valchar (Portland, Lethbridge, 2007-10) has signed a one-year contract extension with Csíkszereda Miercurea Ciuc (Romania, Erste Liga). Last season, he put up 42 goals and 43 assists in 61 games. He was tied for the league lead in goals and was second in points. . . .

D Brenden Kichton (Spokane, 2008-13) has signed a one-year contract with the Vienna Capitals (Austria, Erste Bank Liga). Last season, with SaiPa Lappeenranta (Finland, Liiga), he had eight goals and 15 assists in 46 games. . . .

F Lukáš Králík (Victoria, 2011-12) has signed a one-year contract with Nový Jičín (Czech Republic, 2. Liga). Last season, in 28 games with Draci Šumperk (Czech Republic, 2. Liga), he had seven goals and four assists. . . .

D Matt Pufahl (Red Deer, Saskatoon, Everett, 2010-14) has signed a one-year contract with the Glasgow Clan (Scotland, UK Elite). Last season, with the Utah Grizzlies (ECHL), he had one assist in six games. He also had one goal and one assist in 26 games with Zvolen (Slovakia, Extraliga). . . . The Glasgow press release states that Pufahl will enrol in the MBA program at Glasgow Caledonian University while playing for the Clan. . . .

F Wacey Rabbit (Saskatoon, Vancouver, 2001-07) has signed a one-year contract with Corona Brașov (Romania, Erste Liga). Last season, with the Jacksonville IceMen (ECHL), he had 29 goals and 31 assists in 70 games. He led the team in goals and points, and was tied for the lead in assists. . . .

F Michael Burns (Edmonton, Vancouver, 2007-12) has signed a try-out contract with the Hannover Indians (Germany, Oberliga Nord). He didn’t play last season. In summer 2018, with the Sydney Bears (Australia, AIHL), he had five goals and five assists in nine games. He holds dual German-Canadian citizenship. . . .

F Kevin King (Kootenay, 2006-11) has signed a one-year contract with Cortina (Italy, Alps HL). Last season, in 45 games with the Guildford Flames (England, UK Elite), he had five goals and 13 assists. . . .

F Austin Carroll (Victoria, 2011-15) has signed a one-year contract with the Kassel Huskies (Germany, DEL2). Last season, with the Utah Grizzlies (ECHL), he had 15 goals and 20 assists in 45 games. On loan to the Manitoba Moose (AHL), he had one goal in seven games. . . .

F Michal Řepík (Vancouver, 2005-08) has signed a one-year contract with Sparta Prague (Czech Republic, Extraliga). Last season, with Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia, KHL), he had 10 goals and 11 assists in 42 games; he was an alternate captain. . . . He was traded to Vityaz Podolsk (Russia, KHL) on Dec. 26, and had five goals and four assists in 19 games. . . .

F Jim O’Brien (Seattle, 2007-09) has signed a one-year contract with the Nuremberg Ice Tigers (Germany, DEL). Last season, with the Belleville Senators (AHL), he had one goal and two assists in 11 games. . . .

F R.J. Reed (Vancouver, Prince Albert, 2010-11) has signed a one-year contract with Diez-Limburg (Germany, Regionalliga West). Last season, with the Nijmegen Devils (Netherlands, BeNeLiga), he had 33 goals and 17 assists in 19 games. He led the team in goals and was second in points. He was third in the league in goals. . . .

D Brendan Mikkelson (Portland, Vancouver, 2003-07) has signed a one-year contract with Red Bull Salzburg (Austria, Erste Bank Liga). Last season, in 47 games with Adler Mannheim (Germany, DEL), he had six goals and eight assists in 47 games.

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The Kamloops Blazers have signed Shaun Clouston as their head coach, replacing Serge Lajoie who was one-and-done. Clouston arrives in Kamloops after spending 16 seasons with the Medicine Hat Tigers. He was dismissed as general manager and head coach on Kamloops1May 30 so that the Tigers could bring back Willie Desjardins to fill both roles. . . . The Blazers also named co-owner Darryl Sydor an associate coach. He was named an assistant coach on Feb. 12. . . .

A tip of the Taking Note fedora to Clouston for not ducking questions about what happened in Medicine Hat. The Tigers announced his departure in a three-paragraph news release in which the team said they and Clouston “have parted ways.” . . . Clouston told reporters in Kamloops on Wednesday that he was in shock — he likened it to a “punch in the stomach” — when the Tigers dumped him. . . .

The Blazers didn’t announce any terms of their contract with Clouston, but you have to think it is at least four years in length. After all, they originally offered Kyle Gustafson a four-year deal, only to have him choose to remain with the Portland Winterhawks as associate coach and assistant GM. The offer to Gustafson was made before Clouston’s time ran out in The Hat. . . .

What makes things interesting in Kamloops is Sydor’s presence as associate coach. He also is one of the team’s five co-owners and hasn’t hidden his desire to be a WHL head coach. Sydor has never been a head coach, but has ample experience as an NHL assistant coach, having worked with the Minnesota Wild and St. Louis Blues. . . .

With the Blazers having hired Clouston, it leaves the Brandon Wheat Kings, Prince George Cougars and Spokane Chiefs as the only WHL teams still searching for head coaches. . . . The NHL’s Edmonton Oilers have a announced the hiring of Jim Playfair as an associate coach under head coach Dave Tippett. There continues to be speculation that Mark Lamb, presently the Cougars’ general manager, could be joining the Oilers as an assistant coach. He has a long history with Tippett.

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A couple of notes from Postmedia’s Jim Matheson:

“Connor McDavid’s junior coach Kris Knoblauch lost out for the Columbus farm team head job in Cleveland to Mike Eaves. . . . Hearing Los Angeles head coach Todd McLellan would have hired his other Oilers assistant Manny Viveiros, but there’s only room for two assistants for budgetary reasons. Viveiros is very much in running for an assistant’s job in Ottawa, though. No surprise Trent Yawney, who’ll look after L.A.’s defence, is joining McLellan again.”

I watched most of the Minnesota Twins’ 17-inning victory over the visiting Boston Red Sox on Tuesday night. One night later, Dick Bremer, the TV play-by-play voice of the Twins, passed along some interesting numbers. In a nine-inning game, he said, MLB teams will go through between six and 18 dozen baseballs. On Tuesday, in a game that included 487 pitches, they used up 27 dozen baseballs. . . . That’s a lot of souvenirs!

Shawn Mullin, the radio voice of the Swift Current Broncos for the past nine seasons, will be the new play-by-play voice of the OHL’s Peterborough Petes, according to Mike Davies of the Peterborough Examiner. . . . According to Davies, Mullin will replace Rob Snoek of Extra 90.5FM. Snoek told Davies that he won’t be back and that “it wasn’t my decision.” . . . Davies’ story is right here.

The Lethbridge Hurricanes have acquired F D-Jay Jerome, 20, from the Victoria Royals Lethbridgefor a pair of unspecified conditional bantam draft picks, one in 2021 and the other in 2022. Jerome is from Lethbridge. . . . Other 20-year-olds on Lethbridge’s roster include D Koletrane Wilson, D Ty Prefontaine, F Scott Mahovlich and F Zach Cox. F Jake Leschyshyn, F Jordy Bellerive and F Nick Henry also are 1999-born players, but are likely to begin their pro careers in the fall. . . .

The Royals also lost D Jake Kustra, 20, on waivers to the Swift Current Broncos. Kustra played under Broncos head coach Dean Brockman when both were with the Saskatoon VictoriaRoyalsBlades. . . . With Kustra, the Broncos have three 20-year-olds on their roster, the others being F Ian Briscoe and F Ethan O’Rourke. . . .

Having trade away Jerome and placed Kustra on waivers, Victoria has six 20s on its roster — D Will Warm, who was acquired from the Edmonton Oil Kings on June 13, Belarusian F Igor Martynov, F Tanner Sidaway, who is from Victoria, D Jameson Murray, D Scott Walford and G Shane Farkas, an offseason acquisition from the Portland Winterhawks. . . .

Meanwhile, the Broncos have signed F Mat Ward to a WHL contract. From Kamloops, he was the 14th overall pick in the WHL’s 2019 bantam draft.

The Edmonton Oil Kings have waived F Zach Russell, 20. He got into 36 games with them last season. Earlier, the Oil Kings had dealt D Will Warm, 20, to the Victoria Royals. . . . The Oil Kings are left with four 20s on their roster — F Riley Sawchuk, who was acquired from the Tri-City Americans on May 16, G Dylan Myskiw, D Conner McDonald and D Parker Gavlas. . . . F Trey Fix-Wolansky also is 20, but is likely to begin his pro career in the Columbus Blue Jackets’ organization.

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An interesting note from Bob Molinaro of the Hampton Roads Virginian Pilot: “Bob Molinaro in the Hampton-Roads Virginian-Pilot: “Forbes has put out another list of the highest-paid athletes. It’s the usual dull cluster of dollar signs and numbers, but with one amusing twist. Strictly by salary, Tom Brady ranks fifth on the list — among Boston athletes alone. The top paid Beantown jock is Celtics guard Kyrie Irving, followed by teammates Gordon Hayward and Al Horford. Red Sox left-hander David Price slips into fourth place. Not taken into account is the cash value of six Super Bowl rings.”

The Kamloops Blazers are down to three 20-year-olds with F Travis Walton having cleared WHL waivers and signed with the BCHL’s Nanaimo Clippers. . . . Walton had nine goals and nine assists in 48 regular-season games over three seasons with the Blazers. . . . The 20s remaining on the Blazers’ roster are F Zane Franklin, F Kobe Mohr and D Jackson Caller. . . .

Meanwhile, the Blazers announced Thursday that they have signed Colin (Toledo) Robinson, their trainer, to a contract extension. The length of the extension wasn’t revealed. . . . Robinson has been with the Blazers since then GM/head coach Dean Clark signed him in 2005. Robinson is prepping for his 25th WHL season, having also worked for the Swift Current Broncos and Vancouver Giants.

The Prince Albert Raiders named Curt Brownlee as their director of player personnel. He has been with the Raiders since 2011 when he signed on as a scout. He takes over from the late Ron Gunville, who died in December.

There is zero chance of the Tampa Bay Rays splitting their American League seasons between the Florida city and Montreal. None. Zilch. Nada. . . . This is simply a cheap way for the Rays to try and pressure their way to a new ballpark in Tampa.

If you’re wondering about the costs of operating a junior A hockey team, consider this from Michael Reeve of radio station Q101.1 from the AGM of the BCHL’s Merritt Centennials:

“Beth Nadeau, the team’s treasurer, provided an update on last (season’s) financials. While the team’s expenses came in at approximately the same amount as last (season), this (season’s) revenue was down close to $23,000. All of that resulted in the team losing $95,644.68 last (season), up from a loss of $75,329.99 the season before.”

Meanwhile, the MJHL’s Swan Valley Stampeders held their AGM on Wednesday night and reported a deficit of $6,402.95. The Stampeders had a long playoff run or it would have been a lot worse. . . . For more, check out Benny Walchuk’s blog right here.

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Wrapping up a busy week with a Friday feast of odds and ends . . .

MacBeth

D Riley Guenther (Tri-City, Prince Albert, 2010-13) has signed a one-year contract with Angers (France, Ligue Magnus). Last season, he had one goal and two assists in 28 games with the U of British Columbia (USports, Canada West). . . .

F Dávid Šoltés (Prince George, 2013-15) has signed a one-year contract extension with Banská Bystrica (Slovakia, Extraliga). Last season, he had three goals and four assists in 10 games. . . . He started the season with Košice (Slovakia, Extraliga), putting up seven goals and eight assists in 31 games. He was traded to Banská Bystrica on Jan. 25. . . .

F Nathan Burns (Vancouver, Saskatoon, Swift Current, 2009-14) has signed a one-year contract with the Kassel Huskies (Germany, DEL2). Last season, with Saale Bulls Halle (Germany, Oberliga Nord), he had 27 goals and 49 assists in 40 games. He led the team in goals, and was second in assists and points. . . .

D Dylan Wruck (Edmonton, 2008-13) has signed a one-year contract with Heilbronner Falken (Germany, DEL2). Last season, with the Straubing Tigers (Germany, DEL), he had one goal and nine assists in 38 games. He is a dual German-Canadian citizen.

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Now that F Matt Savoie has signed with the WHL’s Winnipeg Ice, you are free to wonder where he’ll play next season. I would suggest that he will end up at the Winnipeg-based Rink Hockey Academy — Ice co-owner Greg Fettes owns a piece of the action there — or, if Hockey Canada should decide to give him exceptional status, he’ll play for the Ice. . . . Savoie will be one of a few Ice prospects to play at RHA, which before long will have other WHL owners exploring how to hook their wagons to nearby academies.

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Don’t forget that 50 Below Sports + Entertainment, which owns the Ice, also owns the MJHL’s Winnipeg Blues. So you can look for an Ice prospect or three to play there, too. . . . Maybe that also will bring on a rush of other WHL franchises looking to purchase their own junior A teams.

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Having Savoie playing at RHA will allow the Ice to take advantage of the WHL rule that covers 15-year-old players and emergency recalls. By playing with a short roster and declaring an emergency situation at various points during the season, the Ice will be able to get Savoie into its lineup for far more than five games.

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There are rumours out there that claim the WHL has changed its 15-year-old rule in order to allow Savoie to play more than 30 games with the Ice in 2019-20. We know that isn’t true because the WHL surely would have informed its fans were that the case. Right?

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On Friday, the Ice acquired the WHL rights to F Dylan Holloway from the Everett Silvertips. Holloway, a Calgarian who is to turn 18 on Sept. 23, had 40 goals and 48 assists in 53 regular-season games with the AJHL’s Okotoks Oilers last season. He was honoured as the AJHL’s MVP and the CJHL’s player of the year. However, he has committed to play for the U of Wisconsin Badgers in the fall. . . . The Silvertips got a fifth-round pick in the 2021 bantam draft in the exchange, along with a conditional first-rounder in 2021 and a conditional second-rounder in 2022.

The WHL held its annual general meeting in Kelowna on Tuesday and Wednesday. When it was over, the league posted a news release on its website that contained nothing in the way of breaking news.

Included in that news release, under the headline Over $10 Million Invested in Capital Improvements to WHL Arena Facilities, was this:

“All WHL Arena Facilities across Western Canada and the Pacific Northwest United States will undergo over $10 million in capital improvements prior to the start of the 2019-20 season, including the installation of new NHL-licensed acrylic rinkboard systems, improved video scoreboards, and ugraded lighting standards. The improvements are designed to address player safety and improve the fan experience.”

The WHL forgot to thank taxpayers in various communities for their help in funding these projects. An oversight, surely.

The best part of the Toronto Raptors’ championship-winning victory on Thursday night in Oakland? Drake chose to stay in Toronto so his TV time, at least on the ABC telecast, was, well, it wasn’t.

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Look, the Raptors’ victory on Thursday night was a terrific accomplishment. But please don’t try telling me it was the greatest moment in Canadian sporting history. Because of the political situation at the time, nothing will ever top 1972 and the eight-game series between Canada and the Soviet Union that was won by Paul Henderson’s goal. . . . Put the Raptors’ championship right there with the Blue Jays’ first World Series victory, one step below Team Canada’s victory over the big, bad Russian bear.

The CFL’s regular-season opener was three plays old on Thursday night and the Saskatchewan Roughriders already had lost their No. 1 quarterback — Zach Collaros — to a headshot. This really wasn’t the start that the league or the Roughriders had wanted. Collaros has a history of concussions, so this was horrible news for the Roughriders. . . . The Hamilton Tiger-Cats were penalized 25 yards on the play, but Simoni Lawrence, who delivered the cheapshot, wasn’t ejected. . . . A four-game suspension would be about right if the CFL wants to deliver a message about such plays. That won’t happen, though. Instead, it’s likely to be one game and a stern warning.

Savoie signs with Ice, says he doesn’t know where he’ll play in 2019-20. . . . Royals get Warm from Oil Kings

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F T.J. Foster (Edmonton, 2008-13) has signed a one-year contract extension with the Guildford Flames (England, UK Elite). Last season, he had 11 goals and 30 assists in 50 games. He actually started the season on a try-out contract with Sport Vaasa (Finland, Liiga), going pointless in one game. . . .

F Braden Christoffer (Regina, 2012-15) has signed a one-year contract with Stjernen Fredrikstad (Norway, GET-Ligaen). Last season, in 47 games with the Bakersfield Condors (AHL), he had seven goals and three assists. . . .

F Evan Bloodoff (Kelowna, 2006-11) has signed a one-year contract with the Coventry Blaze (England, UK Elite). Last season, with the Fife Flyers (Scotland, UK Elite), he had 27 goals and 17 assists in 55 games. He led the Flyers in goals.

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F Matt Savoie, the first-overall selection in the 2019 WHL bantam draft, has turned his back on the U of Denver Pioneers and signed with the Winnipeg Ice.

The Ice announced Thursday that Savoie had signed a WHL contract. The move comes wpgiceafter he made a verbal commitment to Denver in March.

“Obviously, it’s a tough decision,” Savoie told Winnipeg radio station CJOB. “Both are great options. It was a long process. . . . In the end I felt Winnpeg gave me the best opportunity to develop as a player and a person.”

Savoie and family members visited Winnipeg and the Ice’s training facility and the Rink Hockey Academy after the May 2 bantam draft.

Savoie, 15, and his older brother, Carter, also spent last weekend in a spring camp that was put on by the USHL’s Dubuque Fighting Saints.

The Ice also holds the WHL rights to Carter, 17, who was the AJHL’s rookie of the year with the Sherwood Park Crusaders. Carter also has made a commitment to Denver. The Ice acquired Carter’s rights from the Regina Pats on April 3. On Thursday, Carter said in a tweet that he intends to return to the Crusaders and that he also intends to honour his commitment to Denver.

“We’re pretty close,” Matt told CJOB of his relationship with Carter, “but we know we both have different paths in our hockey careers.”

The Ice held the first two selections in the 2019 bantam draft in Red Deer on May 2. It used the picks to take Savoie and F Conor Geekie, both of whom now have signed WHL deals.

From St. Albert, Alta., Savoie had 31 goals and 40 assists in 31 regular-season games with the Northern Alberta X-Treme prep team. In five playoff games, he put up three goals and nine assists, helping his club win the league title. He later was honoured as the league’s MVP.

That came one year after he was the bantam prep league’s MVP for finishing 2017-18 with 28 goals and 69 assists in 30 regular-season games for the X-Treme.

The Savoie family applied to Hockey Canada for exceptional status late in 2018. While Hockey Canada has yet to make an official announcement, numerous reports this spring indicated that the application had been denied.

Had Savoie been granted exceptional status, he would have been eligible to be on the Ice’s roster in 2019-20. As things now rest, he is eligible to play five games before his club team has it’s season end, after which he could join the Ice on a full-time basis. He also is eligible to play games with the Ice in 2019-20 on an emergency basis, and who knows what the maximum is under that rule?

When it was suggest to him by CJOB that he could play five games with the Ice in 2019-20, Savoie responded: “That’s a question for the WHL.”

If Hockey Canada doesn’t grant him exceptional status, he could return to the X-Treme for a second season with the midget team. He also could play a number of junior A games with the Crusaders as an AP.

Asked by Winnipeg radio station CJOB where he will play in 2019-20, Savoie replied that it is “undetermined where we’re going or what we’re doing.”

In the same news release that revealed Savoie’s signing, the Ice announced that it has released 100 more seats at Wayne Fleming Arena, the rink on the U of Manitoba campus in which it will play at least its next two seasons. After renovations, that arena is expected to have a capacity of around 1,600. The Ice didn’t reveal whether Savoie will get a cut of tickets that were sold after his signing was announced.

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WHL 2019 FIRST-ROUNDERS

UNSIGNED:

3. Prince George — D Keaton Dowhaniuk

4. Prince George — F Koehn Ziemmer

7. Kamloops — D Mats Lindgren

14. Swift Current — F Matthew Ward

20. Kamloops — F Connor Levis

21. Swift Current — D Tyson Jugnauth

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SIGNED:

1. Winnipeg — F Matthew Savoie

2. Winnipeg — F Conor Geekie

5. Brandon — F Nate Danielson

6. Brandon — F Tyson Zimmer

8. Seattle — F Jordan Gustafson

9. Saskatoon — F Brandon Lisowsky

10. Seattle — D Kevin Korchinski

11. Moose Jaw — D Denton Mateychuk

12. Medicine Hat — F Oasiz Wiesblatt

13. Calgary — D Grayden Siepmann

15. Spokane — F Ben Thornton

16. Brandon — F Rylen Roersma

17. Regina — D Layton Feist

18. Edmonton — F Caleb Reimer

19. Victoria — D Jason Spizawka

22. Prince Albert — F Niall Crocker

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The Victoria Royals have acquired D Will Warm, 20, from the Edmonton Oil Kings for a VictoriaRoyalsfifth-round selection in the 2021 WHL bantam draft. . . . From Whistler, B.C., Warm played three seasons with the Oil Kings. Last season, he had two assists in 33 games. He missed a lot of time with a knee injury. . . . In 153 regular-season games, he has 10 goals and 28 assists. . . . The Oil Kings selected him in the fifth round of the 2014 bantam draft. . . . Warm also was named the WHL’s humanitarian of the year for the 2018-19 season, winning the Doug Wickenheiser Memorial Trophy. . . . Warm is one of eight 20-year-olds on Victoria’s roster, joining F D-Jay Jerome, Belarusian F Igor Martynov, F Tanner Sidaway, D Jameson Murray, D Scott Walford, D Jake Kustra and G Shane Farkas. . . . Farkas was acquired from the Portland Winterhawks on May 2. . . .

Edmonton’s roster now includes four 20-year-olds — F Zach Russell, D Parker Gavlas, D Conner McDonald and G Dylan Myskiw. F Trey Fix-Wolansky also is 20, but has signed an NHL contract and is expected to play in the Columbus Blue Jackets’ organization.

The Medicine Hat Tigers have signed D Ryan Nolan to a WHL contract. Nolan, from Calgary, was a third-round selection in the 2019 bantam draft. . . . Last season, he had eight goals and 16 assists in 31 games with the bantam AAA Calgary Northstar Sabres.

Darrell Hay is back in the coaching game, having signed on with the Boise State Broncos. Hay, 39, is the son of Don Hay, who has more victories than any head coach in WHL history. . . . Darrell, a defenceman, played four seasons (1996-2000) with the Tri-City Americans. . . . During his pro career, he spent three seasons (2004-05, 2006-08) in Boise playing for the Idaho Steelheads. He is employed by the City of Boise, working in the Parks and Recreation Department, with a focus on the Ice Pilot youth hockey program. . . . Before relocating to Boise, Hay spent one season (2016-17) as an assistant with the BCHL’s Salmon Arm Silverbacks. . . . With the Broncos, he will work alongside head coach Lloyd Ayers. . . . The Broncos play in the PAC 8, an American Collegiate Hockey Association Division II league.

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Four WHL teams looking for head coaches. . . . Wheat Kings latest to start search. . . . Anning’s contract not renewed

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F Joel Broda (Tri-City, Moose Jaw, Calgary, 2004-10) has signed a one-year contract with Innsbruck (Austria, Erste Bank Liga). This season, with Dornbirn (Austria, Erste Bank Liga), he had nine goals and nine assists in 22 games. . . .

D Mário Grman (Red Deer, Kootenay, 2014-16) has signed a one-year plus option contract with SaiPa Lappeenranta (Finland, Liiga). This season, with Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia, KHL), he had four goals and four assists in 54 games. . . .

D Travis Brown (Moose Jaw, Victoria, 2010-15) has signed a one-year contract with Esbjerg Energy (Denmark, Metal Ligaen). This season, he was pointless in one game with the San Antonio Rampage (AHL), had 10 goals and nine assists in 29 games with the Wichita Thunder (ECHL), and had five goals and eight assists in 17 games with the Indy Fuel (ECHL). . . .

Some KHL news . . . Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia) has withdrawn from the KHL due to inability to find financing to fund the club in the KHL for the 2019-20 season. All players under KHL contracts have been released. Players with WHL ties who played for Slovan this season are D Mário Grman (Red Deer, Kootenay, 2014-16), D Andrej Meszároš (Vancouver, 2004-05) and F Kyle Chipchura (Prince Albert, 2001-06). . . . The club has applied to re-join Slovakia’s Extraliga but the application hasn’t yet been accepted. Slovan must pay all outstanding salaries from this season before being accepted. Per the KHL, Slovan was more than 150 days late in paying player salaries at some point this season. . . . Slovan says that the club’s current owner has promised to pay the outstanding player salaries and fund the team in Extraliga for next season. The club also is behind on paying arena rent to the city of Bratislava and will enter into negotiations with the city on this. . . . Slovan has a coaching staff in place but no players under contract for next season.

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And then there were four . . .

The Brandon Wheat Kings joined the ranks of WHL teams without a head coach on Tuesday morning when they announced that David Anning’s contract, which expired on BrandonWKregularMay 31, won’t be renewed.

The news release didn’t mention assistant coach Don MacGillivray, whose contract also ran out on May 31.

Anning, 34, spent seven season with the Wheat Kings, first as an assistant coach and then as head coach for the past three seasons. From Winnipeg, Anning joined the Wheat Kings from the MJHL’s Steinbach Pistons.

Anning put up a 102-87-23 regular-season record as Brandon’s head coach. That has him fourth on the club’s all-time victory list, behind McCrimmon (423), Bob Lowes (363) and the late Dunc McCallum (251).

The Wheat Kings missed the playoffs this season for the first time in six years.

MacGillivray, also from Winnipeg, was a long-time MJHL coach. He just completed his third season as an assistant coach with the Wheat Kings.

Earlier this spring, Wheat Kings owner Kelly McCrimmon also relieved general manager Grant Armstrong of his duties.

There has been speculation that former Victoria Royals head coach Dave Lowry could be Brandon’s next general manager. Anning’s departure will have people wondering if Lowry could be hired to do both jobs.

However, McCrimmon has told Perry Bergson of the Brandon Sun that he is leaning towards hiring two people to fill those roles.

Lowry spent five seasons as the Royals’ head coach before joining the Los Angeles Kings as an assistant coach prior to the NHL’s 2017-18 season. The Kings dismissed Lowry on April 17 following the hiring of Todd McLellan as their new head coach.

In the WHL, the Kamloops Blazers, Prince George Cougars and Spokane Chiefs also are looking for a head coach.

Matt Bardsley, the Blazers’ general manager, is expected to meet with Shaun Clouston, the former Medicine Hat Tigers GM/head coach, this week. Kamloops is working to replace Serge Lajoie with whom it parted company after the season.

The Cougars are looking for a replacement for Richard Matvichuk, who was fired late in his third season as head coach. Muddying the waters in Prince George is that Mark Lamb, who is preparing for his second season as general manager, is rumoured to be in line for an assistant coach’s position with the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers.

The Chiefs need a replacement for Dan Lambert, who left last week after two years as their head coach. Lambert now is an assistant coach with the NHL’s Nashville Predators.

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The Tri-City Americans have signed F Jake Sloan to a WHL contract. From Leduc, Alta., Sloan was a third-round selection in the 2019 bantam draft. . . . He played this season with the bantam AAA Leduc Oil Kings, putting up 40 goals and 34 assists in 33 games, and was honoured as the league’s MVP.

Robert Petrovicky is the new head coach of Slovakia’s national U-20 team. Petrovicky replaces Ernest Bokros, the team’s head coach for the past eight years. . . . Petrovicky, 45, spent the past two seasons as an assistant coach with Slovan Bratislava of the KHL and with the Slovakian national team, which is coached by former NHL’er Craig Ramsey. As you will have seen in The MacBeth Report, Slovan Bratislava has withdrawn from the KHL due to financial issues. . . . Petrovicky is the older brother of former WHL F Ronald Petrovicky (Tri-City, Prince George, Regina, 1994-98). . . . Rastislav Stana, a former WHLer (Moose Jaw, Calgary, 1998-2000), is the Slovakian team’s goaltending coach. . . . Slovakia’s U-20 team is to gather on Sunday in Namestovo for a week-long summer camp. . . . The 2020 World Junior Championship is scheduled for Ostrava and Trinec, Czech Republic. . . .

Martin Merk of iihf.com has more right here, including news involving the Slovakian federation having taken the U-20 team out of the top Slovak league in order to focus funding on the U-18 program. . . .

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Clouston in Blazers’ coaching hunt. . . . Mikhalchuk signs with KHL team. . . . Czech U-20 team into summer camp

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F Tanner Eberle (Moose Jaw, 2010-15) has signed a one-year contract extension with the Sheffield Steelers (England, UK Elite). This season, in 57 games, he had nine goals and 17 assists. . . .

D Mitch Versteeg (Lethbridge, 2006-09) has signed a one-year contract extension with Nitra (Slovakia, Extraliga). This season, he had two goals and eight assists in 36 games. . . .

F Reid Petryk (Medicine Hat, Everett, Edmonton, 2009-14) has signed a one-year contract with Frisk Asker (Norway, GET-Ligaen). This season, with the Idaho Steelheads (ECHL), he had 19 goals and 25 assists in 52 games. On loan to the Chicago Wolves (AHL), he had one goal in seven games. . . .

D Aaron Irving (Edmonton, Everett, 2012-17) has signed a two-year contract with Örebro (Sweden, SHL). This season, in 47 games with Storhamar Hamar (Norway, GET-Ligaen), he had 12 goals and 26 assists. He led the league in goals by a defenceman. . . .

D Ben Betker (Portland, Everett, 2011-15) has signed a one-year contract with Zvolen (Slovakia, Extraliga). This season, with the Kalamazoo Wings (ECHL), he had one goal and four assists in 15 games, and he had three goals and four assists in 22 games with Detva (Slovakia, Extraliga). . . . Zvolen’s head coach is Andrej Podkonický (Portland, 1996-98). . . .

F Cody Fowlie (Everett, Kelowna, 2010-13) has signed a one-year contract with Corona Brașov (Romania, Erste Liga). This season, with the Jacksonville IceMen (ECHL), he had 20 goals and 22 assists in 71 games. . . .

F Vladislav Mikhalchuk (Prince George, 2017-19) has signed a one-year, two-way contract with Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod (Russia, KHL). This season, with the Prince George Cougars (WHL), he had 25 goals and 25 assists in 68 games. He led the team in points.

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If you are a follower of the Kamloops Blazers and you are wondering who will be their next head coach . . . well . . . you can move Shaun Clouston up near the top of the list, Kamloops1maybe even into the top slot.

Clouston, 51, was dumped by the Medicine Hat Tigers on May 30 after spending 16 years in the organization, the last seven as general manager and head coach. He was the head coach for two seasons before that, and also worked as associate coach and assistant coach.

One day after Clouston was moved out, the Tigers announced the hiring of Willie Desjardins as GM/head coach. Clouston actually worked under Desjardins before succeeding him as the Tigers’ head coach.

Taking Note has been told that Clouston, who is from Viking, Alta., will be in Kamloops to meet with Blazers general manager Matt Bardsley at some point over the next day or two.

The Blazers have been without a head coach since parting company with Serge Lajoie on April 16 after just one season. He now is the head coach of the midget prep team at OHA Edmonton.

Clouston is the winningest head coach in Medicine Hat history, with 375 regular-season victories. He broke Desjardins’ record (323) on Dec. 30, 2017. Clouston also spent time as the head coach of the Tri-City Americans and finished this season with a total of 391 regular-season victories, leaving him 18th on the WHL’s all-time list.

With Clouston as the head coach, the Tigers made the playoffs in eight of nine seasons. They twice reached the Eastern Conference final (2011 and 2014). The only time Clouston missed the playoffs with the Tigers was in 2016 when they lost a tiebreaker game to the Edmonton Oil Kings.

When Clouston left the Tigers, he is believed to have had some time left on his contract — perhaps as much as two seasons.

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F Vladislav Mikhalchuk, who led the Prince George Cougars in points this season, won’t PrinceGeorgebe returning to the WHL for his 20-year-old season. As you will have seen in The MacBeth Report, Mikhalchuk, who is to turn 20 on Oct. 16, has signed with Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod (Russia, KHL). . . . From Minsk, Belarus, Mikhalchuk played two seasons with the Cougars. He had 14 goals and 19 assists as a freshman, then added 25 of each this season. . . . Last season, the Cougars also had Czech F Matéj Toman on their roster. Toman, 18, had nine goals and 11 assists in his freshman season.

Dusty Imoo, a former WHL goaltender, is leaving the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings to work for Kunlun Red Star Beijing (KHL). Imoo worked in goaltending development with the Kings for four seasons. . . . Imoo had replaced Kim Dillabaugh, when he left the Kings to join the Philadelphia Flyers prior to the 2015-16 season. Dillabough had worked with the WHL’s Kelowna Rockets before going to the NHL. . . . Former NHLer Curt Fraser, who is a family friend of Imoo’s, is Kunlun’s head coach. . . . Imoo played for the WHL’s New Westminster Bruins, Lethbridge Hurricanes and Regina Pats (1987-91). He went on to play nine seasons with the Seibu Bears Tokyo and four wit the Oji Eagles. Imoo played for Japan in the 1998 Olympic Winter Games, and also played for Japan in three world championships.

Václav Varaďa is back for a second season as head coach of the Czech Republic’s U-20 team. Varada is a former WHL and NHL player. He skated with the Tacoma/Kelowna Rockets for two seasons (1994-96), before going on to a pro career that included 493 NHL games. He has been coaching in Czech Republic since 2013-14. . . . Former NHLer Patrik Eliáš is back as an assistant coach, also for a second season. He played 1,240 NHL games with the New Jersey Devils. . . . The Czech U-20 team gathered in Jihlava on Monday to begin a summer training camp. Included on the camp roster are D Libor Zabransky, who began this season with the Kelowna Rockets and finished with the USHL’s Fargo Force, D Simon Kubicek of the Seattle Thunderbirds, F Martin Lang of the Kamloops Blazers and F Matéj Toman of the Prince George Cougars. . . . All told, four goaltenders, 16 defencemen and 24 forwards are on the camp roster. . . . It doesn’t include F Michal Kvasnica, 19. He played with the Portland Winterhawks in 2018-19, but spent this weekend in a camp being held by the USHL’s Sioux Falls Stampede.

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Mondays With Murray: The NBA Never Had It So Good

In honor of the underdogs (Toronto Raptors) bringing it to the big dogs (Golden State Warriors), here’s Jim Murray’s column on the old days of the NBA from Feb. 26, 1992. . . . Enjoy!

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FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 1982, SPORTS

Copyright 1982/THE TIMES MIRROR COMPANY

JIM MURRAY

The NBA Never Had It So Good

  When I began to cover pro basketball about 20 or so years ago, it was a hit-and-miss sport, mostly the latter.

  Franchises were like floating crap games. The teams dropped their bags wherever they could get a basketball and a couple of hundred people to pass the hat to. If you scratched mondaysmurray2the St. Louis Hawks uniform emblem, you might see Waterloo, Iowa stencilled underneath.

 The game was played in metropolises like Sheboygan, Oshkosh, Anderson, Ind., and Providence, R.I. The Tri-Cities Blackhawks (Moline and Rock Island, Ill., and Davenport, Iowa) were the forerunners of today’s Atlanta Hawks.

  But it wasn’t only in prehistoric times that the game was part sport, part medicine show. The public thought the Harlem Globetrotters were the best team in basketball and, to sell out Madison Square Garden, the New York Knicks usually had to share a doubleheader with the Globies.

  The public was slow to warm to the game. I can remember, as late as 1961, going to a playoff game on a Sunday afternoon between the St. Louis Hawks and the Los Angeles Lakers and finding a “throng” of about 2,800 at the Sports Arena. And the floor had players on it like Bob Pettit, Cliff Hagan, Clyde Lovelette, Lenny Wilkens, Jerry West, Elgin Baylor and Rod Hundley.

  Even with that kind of talent, I recall Wilt Chamberlain was the highest paid player in the league at less than $20,000. The Lakers had been sent to L.A. by the then-owner Bob Short, with instructions to his general manager to “keep the team going into the Pacific Ocean if they lose money there, too.” The game ultimately thrived in L.A. where the population had a large number of New York expatriates who had learned the game in their youth in the boroughs of the big city, where basketball was “the poor man’s polo.”

  I bring this up because the commissioner of modern pro basketball passed through this week with a report to the media on the state of the game in this Year of Our Lord 1982.

  One thing is sure: It’s never going back to Oshkosh.

  Lawrence F. O’Brien, once the Kennedy family’s political mentor, and ex-Postmaster General of the U.S., reports that rumors of the game’s terminal status are somewhat, if not greatly exaggerated. He broke up the fast break of the doomsayers with a little fancy “D” of his own under the basket:

  Rumor No. 1 had it that the NBA was in deep financial trouble and in imminent danger of collapse from top to bottom. “Not so,” said Commissioner O’Brien. “In the NBA, one-third of the league is highly profitable, one-third is breaking even or almost, and one-third is losing money. But corrections in the league population of 23 are not contemplated because cable revenues are just over the horizon for even the most troubled franchises.”

  Rumor No. 2 had it that television, the Great White Father of sports, is disenchanted with basketball as a prime time or even Sunday afternoon attraction. “We just signed a new four-year pact with CBS for $88 million and a $5.5 million-a-year pact with cable TV (ESPN and USA). That’s $27.5 million a year we get to split evenly among our franchises. We signed for only two years with cable because we think the numbers there are going to go up substantially and soon.”

  Rumor 3 had it that affluent white fans are becoming disenchanted with the almost all-black makeup of the game. “There is no evidence of that at all. Attendance is up eight percent all over the league and some franchises are up dramatically – a 90 percent increase in New Jersey. The color of the uniform means more to the fans than the color of the player.”

  Rumor 4 had it that fat-cat owners are pricing the league out of business, as witness Magic Johnson’s $25-million contract. “The average salary in this league is $214,500, and our figures indicate that two-thirds of all team revenues go to the players,” O’Brien said. He did not say it in so many words, but he indicated that, when the league Players Association contract is up this year, the players may have to approach the bargaining table in a “give-back” frame of mind, that, like all labor, it might behoove them to sacrifice individual benefits to preserve the industry as a whole.

  Will players be apt to take such a statesmanlike view, he was asked, or will most choose not to care what happens to the goose now that they’ve gotten their golden eggs out of it? “We hold more informal discussions than other sports,” O’Brien pointed out. “I have not personally dabbled into the preliminary negotiations, but I think we have a closer sense of fraternity and purpose about our league that some of the older, more-established sports.”

  Maybe they should have. There are lots of us still around who remember when the “league” was a bus load of players riding through the cornfields of Iowa on the lookout for an empty gym and a bunch of farm workers who just got paid, when Walter Brown bought the Celtics for $2,500 and, when someone called the arena to ask what time the game would be played, the answer might be “What time would you like it?”

Reprinted with the permission of the Los Angeles Times

Jim Murray Memorial Foundation, P.O. Box 60753, Pasadena, CA 91116

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What is the Jim Murray Memorial Foundation? 

  The Jim Murray Memorial Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, established in 1999 to perpetuate the Jim Murray legacy, and his love for and dedication to his extraordinary career in journalism. Since 1999, JMMF has granted 104 $5,000 scholarships to outstanding journalism students. Success of the Jim Murray Memorial Foundation’s efforts depends heavily on the contributions from generous individuals, organizations, corporations, and volunteers who align themselves with the mission and values of the JMMF.

Like us on Facebook, and visit the JMMF website, www.jimmurrayfoundation.org.

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A dozen years ago, Linda McCoy-Murray compiled a book of Jim Murray’s columns on female athletes (1961-1998). While the book is idle waiting for an interested publisher, the JMMF thinks this is an appropriate year to get the book on the shelves, i.e., Jim Murray’s 100th birthday, 1919-2019.  

Our mission is to empower women of all ages to succeed and prosper — in and out of sports — while entertaining the reader with Jim Murray’s wit and hyperbole.  An excellent teaching tool for Women’s Studies.

Proceeds from book sales will benefit the Jim Murray Memorial Foundation, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization providing sports journalism scholarships at universities across the country.

Scattershooting on a Sunday night while thinking about buying a Game 5 ticket or two . . .

Scattershooting

Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times wonders: “If the Toronto Raptors win the Larry O’Brien Trophy, will Canada hold it hostage to get the Stanley Cup back?”

You may have heard that New York Jets running back Le’Veon Bell has claimed that two girlfriends — yes, two girlfriends — stole $500,000 worth of jewelry from him. Of course, as Jim Barach of JokesByJim.blogspot.com points out: “Although being a Jet, it’s pretty certain there were no rings missing.”

Found out Sunday evening that the LGIW and I could go to Game 5 of the NBA championship series and tickets would only cost us $120,000. That’s a deal because it’s in Canadian funds. Of course, this being 2019, the tickets cost 100 grand with 20 grand in service fees. . . . Really, that’s 120,000 reasons to watch from the comfort of the recliner.

I just finished reading Big Game: The NFL in Dangerous Times, by Mark Leibovich, and I can’t recommend it enough. Leibovich is a big fan of the New England Patriots, but that doesn’t stop him from trying to pierce The Shield.

OrganDonation

The 2019 Kamloops Kidney Walk is a little more than three months away, but it’s never too soon for Dorothy to start asking folks to join her team. While the rest of B.C. walked on June 2, we in Kamloops chose to keep our walk in September. Thus, we will be walking on Sept. 22, at which time Dorothy will be one day shy of the sixth anniversary of her transplant. This also will be her sixth straight Kidney Walk. . . . If you would like to provide her with some support and be part of Team Dorothy, you are able to do so right here.

This definitely was a weekend highlight . . .

I don’t think this is going to be the Seattle Mariners’ season. I watched a game the other night during which, with a runner on third base, the Seattle shortstop fielded a ground ball and threw home, except the catcher had left to cover first base. . . . In another game, with a runner on first, the second baseman fielded a grounder and flipped to the shortstop covering second for what should have been a routine double play. Except that the shortstop stumbled and fell before completing the throw to first base. . . . Sorry, Seattle fans, but there’s always next year.

Despite Buck Martinez continuing to yell at baseballs, I don’t think this is going to be a season to remember for the Toronto Blue Jays, either.

BobBeer

Sorry, hockey fans in Cranbrook, but you aren’t going to get a junior A or junior B team in time for the 2019-20 season. The leagues in question all are well into the scheduling process for next season, so Western Financial Place, once home to the WHL’s Kootenay Ice, won’t have a main tenant for the upcoming season.

The NHL season will come to an end on Wednesday night in Boston as the Bruins and St. Louis Blues meet in Game 7 of the NHL final. . . . The CFL regular season will open one night later with the Saskatchewan Roughriders in Hamilton to meet the Tiger-Cats. . . . Is the NHL season too long, or does the CFL season start too soon?

If you missed it, the Montreal Alouettes fired head coach Mike Sherman over the weekend. He didn’t leave much of a legacy, but . . .