Tag: Al Tuer

Tuer to join father as Wall of Honour inductee

The Western Canada Professional Hockey Scouts Foundation is to hold its second annual Wall of Honour induction dinner in Okotoks, Alta., on July 29. On that evening, we will honour 29 scouts, from past and present — three Pioneers of Scouting, seven from the Early Era (1968-80), 17 from the Modern Era (1981-Present) and two from the world of junior hockey. . . . Tickets for the dinner — the evening is being billed as A Night With the Sutters and will include a hot stove session or two with members of hockey’s first family — are available at hockeyscoutsfoundation.com. . . . In the leadup to the dinner, we are introducing folks to each of the honourees. So let’s meet Al Tuer. . . .

AL TUER

(July 19, 1963 —)

Born in North Battleford, Sask., he began his scouting career (1999-2000) with NHL Central Scouting. . . . He joined the Calgary Flames as an amateur scout (2001-10). . . . Followed that with 11 seasons with the Florida Panthers as a pro scout, then head pro scout and director of professional scouting. . . . Has been a pro scout with the New York Rangers since 2021. . . . As a player, spent two-plus seasons with the WHL’s Regina Pats, racking up 486 penalty minutes in 1981-82. . . . A 12-season professional playing career included one goal in 57 games split between Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota North Stars and Hartford Whalers. . . . After retiring as player, spent five seasons (1993-98) as GM/head coach of Moose Jaw Warriors and one with Tri-City Americans. . . . His father, the late Graham Tuer, was a 2024 Wall of Honour inductee.

WCPHS Foundation announces 2025 Wall of Honour inductees

OKOTOKS, Alta. (Jan. 7, 2025) — The Western Canada Professional Hockey Scouts Foundation will add 29 names to its Wall of Honour when it holds its second induction dinner this summer.

The foundation announced today that the 2025 class will include three pioneers of scouting, seven from the early era (1968-80), 17 from the modern era, and two from the major junior ranks.

The 2024 class featured 44 inductees — five Pioneers, 17 from the modern era, 20 from the modern era, and two major junior scouts.

The Wall of Honour, which features a rolling video display with a brief bio of each inductee, is located in the Viking Rentals Centre in Okotoks, Alta. The induction dinner will be held there at a date yet to be announced.

“It’s a difficult process,” said Scott Bradley, who is a member of the Wall of Honour selection committee. “It’s an honour to be one involved in the Foundation and the process.”

Bradley is in his 32nd season with the Boston Bruins and now is in his sixth season as senior advisor to the general manager. His father, Bart, was a long-time Bruins’ scout who was inducted into the Wall of Honour in 2024.

“A lot of us have worked with all of these guys,” Scott added. “I come from a scouting family. The founding fathers . . . the pioneers . . . these men are legends to me.”

The three pioneers to be inducted this summer spent more than 70 years in the scouting business. Denis Ball, Jeep George and Jimmy Walker, all deceased, were true legends of the game.

The early era inductees feature Dennis McIvor, Tom McVie and Doug Overton Sr., along with the late Larry Hornung, Jim Pedersen, Larry Popein and George Wood.

The modern era scouts to be inducted are Darwin Bennett, Jim Benning, Shane Churla, the late Glen Cochrane, Milt Fisher, Ernie Gare Jr., Erin Ginnell, Brian Gross, Dennis Holland, the late Brad Hornung, Tim Lenardon, Stu MacGregor, Ray Payne, Brad Robson, Carter Sears, Marty Stein and Al Tuer.

The major junior scouts to be honoured in 2025 are Keith Wilson and the late Al Macpherson.

“It’s exciting to be included in the Wall of Honour,” said Gare Jr., who wrapped up his scouting career by spending 15 seasons with the New York Rangers.

The Hornungs, Larry and Brad, are father and son. Ginnell is the Foundation’s president; his late father, Pat (Paddy), was part of the inaugural induction class in 2024, as were Tuer’s late father, Graham, and Benning’s late father, Elmer.

“I was very surprised and honoured when Ron Delorme called me with the news,” said Payne, who has been scouting for more than 30 years.“I wasn’t aware of how the selection process worked, or who was part of the selection group. It was nice to know that it was something that was voted on by peers.” 

Stein, who won four Stanley Cups while scouting for the Detroit Red Wings for 25 years, said: “I’m very honoured to receive this accolade on the Wall of Honour.”

Stein, who now is with the Buffalo Sabres, added that he really wanted “to thank the Wall of Honour committee for this tribute.”

The inductees are chosen by the foundation’s selection committee, which comprises Dennis Beyak, Scott Bradley, Ron Delorme, Gregg Drinnan, Erin Ginnell, Ross Mahoney, Garth Malarchuk, Shane Malloy, Mike Penny and Blair Reid, all of whom are on the board of directors or act as advisors to the board.

In making its choices, the committee looks at such things as longevity and dedication within the industry.

“Scouting is a tough and demanding job that requires a lot of travel and time away from your family,” said Mahoney, the Foundation’s vice-president who is an assistant general manager with the Washington Capitals. “I had the privilege of knowing most of the honourees from this 2025 class of inductees. They all were committed and dedicated individuals who represented their respective teams in a professional and classy manner.”

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WCPHSF adds five more to Hot Stove roster for Wall of Honour dinner

The Western Canada Professional Hockey Scouts Foundation has added five more Hot Stove participants to the roster for its inaugural Wall of Honour induction dinner — Tales From The Road — in Okotoks, Alta., on July 30.

The latest group is led by John Davidson, president of hockey operations, alternate governor and interim general manager of the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets, and also features Dr. Hayley Wickenheiser, a seven-time World champion who is an assistant general manager with the Toronto Maple Leafs and a practising physician.

Rounding out those taking part in the Hot Stove sessions are Mike Penny, who has scouted for more than 50 years; Brian Skrudland, a former NHL player who turned to scouting; and Al Tuer, who got into scouting in 2000.

Earlier, it was announced that Ken Holland, the Edmonton Oilers’ president of hockey operations and general manager; Craig Button, a former NHL executive who now is TSN’s director of scouting; long-time scout Archie Henderson, who retired in 2022; and former NHL player, coach and general manager Craig MacTavish would be involved in Hot Stove conversations.

The inaugural dinner also will include the induction of 45 past and present scouts into the Wall of Honour, which will feature three video screens and is to be unveiled in its permanent home in the the foyer of the Okotoks Centennial Arena.

Individual tickets and tables of eight will go on sale off the Foundation’s website (hockeyscoutsfoundation.com) on May 1.

JOHN DAVIDSON

A goaltender in his playing days, Davidson played eight-plus seasons in the NHL, split between the St. Louis Blues and New York Rangers. The Blues selected him fifth overall in the NHL’s 1973 draft, from the WCHL’s Calgary Centennials, and he became the first goaltender in NHL history to make the jump directly from major junior hockey to the NHL. After his playing career, he turned to broadcasting, a career that included a 30-year stint with the MSG Network as the analyst on Rangers’ telecasts. He was awarded the Hockey Hall of Fame’s Foster Hewitt Memorial Award for his contributions in 2009.

Davidson is in his second stint in the Blue Jackets’ front office, and also has been president of the Blues and Rangers.

DR. HAYLEY WICKENHEISER

As a player, Dr. Wickenheiser, a native of Shaunavon, Sask., won seven World titles with Canada’s national women’s hockey team. She also played in five Olympic Winter Games, winning four golds and a silver, and twice was named the tournament’s most valuable player. In 2019, she was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame and the IIHF Hall of Fame.

After retiring in 2017, Dr. Wickenheiser earned a degree in kinesiology from the U of Calgary and then went to medical school there. She has done a residency in the department of family and community medicine at the U of Toronto’s Temerty Faculty of Medicine. She continues her career in medicine, while working for the Maple Leafs.

A native of Montreal, Penny is one of the true legends in the scouting game. He got his start in 1969 by working for the NHL’s New York Rangers and their junior affiliate, the Kitchener Rangers, at the same time. He moved to the Vancouver Canucks in 1980 — he was responsible for their drafting Pavel Bure 113th overall in 1989 — before signing on with the Maple Leafs as their director of player personnel in 2000. He still is with the Maple Leafs, now as a pro scout.

Skrudland, a native of Peace River, Alta., who holds the NHL record for the fastest playoff overtime goal, retired as a player after the 1999-2000 season. He later spent six seasons with the Florida Panthers, five as director of player development and one as an assistant coach. He won two Stanley Cups as a player, with the 1985-86 Montreal Canadiens and the 1998-99 Dallas Stars.

Tuer, who was born in North Battleford, Sask., has been scouting since 2001, following a lengthy career as a player, coach and general manager. As a scout, he has worked with the Calgary Flames, Florida Panthers and New York Rangers. He is in his third season as a pro scout with the Rangers. His late father, Graham, will be inducted into the Foundation’s Wall of Honour on July 30.

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The Western Canada Professional Hockey Scouts Foundation is a non-profit organization comprising NHL scouts from Western Canada and a group of committed individuals from the hockey community. It feels a strong obligation to honour scouts, past and present, and a commitment to give back to charities, communities and individuals who could benefit from the support and financial assistance.

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Gregg Drinnan, WCPHSF editor and historian

greggdrinnan@gmail.com

Struch pays price in Regina; Paddock back behind Pats’ bench . . . Bedard due to break out? . . . USHL’s Lancers in disarray

Dave Struch became the second head-coaching casualty of this WHL season when the Regina Pats fired him on Thursday morning.

John Paddock, a veteran of the coaching game and twice the winner of the Dunc PatsMcCallum Memorial Trophy as the WHL’s coach of the year, has taken over and now is the organization’s vice-president of hockey operations, general manager and head coach. Paddock ran the Pats’ practice in Regina on Thursday.

According to Pats’ owner/governor Shaun Semple, Paddock “will assume the role of head coach for the remainder of this season and next.”

Struch, 50, was in the final year of his contract. He had been with the Pats since 2014-15. He started as an assistant coach working alongside Paddock, then took over as head coach after the Pats were the host team for the 2018 Memorial Cup.

Prior to joining the Pats, Struch spent eight seasons on the Saskatoon Blades’ coaching staff, the last one (2013-14) as head coach.

“Not much to say, as this is what I signed up for as a coach,” Struch told the Regina Leader-Post via text on Thursday afternoon. “I’m sad for my family. Disappointed that I couldn’t help the team get more wins. Expectations are high for this group of young men to be at the top of the conference and I couldn’t make that happen.”

Struch exits with the Pats at 6-10-0, their most-recent appearance a 6-1 loss to the visiting Lethbridge Hurricanes that left them with three straight losses. The Pats’ season has been streaky — two victories, seven losses, four victories, three losses.

Assistant coaches Brad Herauf, who is in his seventh season, and Ken Schneider, in his first, were retained.

“I’m positive that with John, Brad and Ken, they will get (the Pats) back to the top where they should be this season,” Struch told The Leader-Post. “I am grateful to the organization for everything they have done for my family and I over the last seven years.”

Paddock, 67, makes his first appearance back behind the bench on Saturday as the Pats begin a six-game road trip against the Moose Jaw Warriors.

He has extensive head-coaching experience that includes stints in the NHL with the Winnipeg Jets and Ottawa Senators. He was the WHL’s coach of the year following the 2014-15 and 2016-17 seasons.

Rob Vanstone of the Regina Leader-Post has his thoughts on the Pats’ situation right here.

The other coach to depart since this season got started? Dean Brockman left the Swift  Current Broncos on Oct. 14.

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With the Regina Pats having stumbled through the first part of the WHL’s regular season, there are those who are wondering about the first 16 games of F Connor Bedard’s season.

Bedard, the first player to have been granted exceptional status allowing him to play in the WHL as a 15-year-old, put up 12 goals and 16 assists in 15 games in the developmental season that was played in the Regina hub last spring.

This season, Bedard, now 16, has eight goals and four assists in 16 games.

However, as Ken Campbell wrote Thursday at Hockey Unfiltered, better numbers are likely to be in Bedard’s immediate future.

“The temptation might be to wonder what is going on with Connor Bedard these days,” Campbell wrote. “There also might be a temptation to think that the WHL’s first exceptional player and top prospect for the 2023 NHL draft is lagging behind his competition, namely Adam Fantilli and Matvei Michkov.

“Yes, Bedard has only eight goals and 12 points in 16 games for the Regina Pats after scoring 28 points in just 15 games last season and leading Canada to a gold medal at the World Under-18 Championship. And he has yet to score a single goal on the power play. But there are a couple of mitigating circumstances at play. First, Bedard leads the Western Hockey League in shots with 85, which means he’s been the victim of some terribly bad luck. People in analytics tell us all the time that, particularly with elite players who generate a lot of chances, that luck is bound to change and his shooting percentage will get way above 9.4 percent. Last season, it was 17.4 percent.”

Campbell’s complete piece, which includes notes on a lot more than just Bedard, is right here.

If you are one of those people who puts stock in power polls or rankings or whatever they might be called, consider this from Mike McIntyre of the Winnipeg Free Press . . .

“ESPN calls itself the worldwide leader in sports, but it’s more like the worldwide leader in hot takes (and arguably clickbait) following Wednesday’s release of their weekly NHL ‘power rankings.’

“In case you missed it, the new U.S. rightsholder for league telecasts has seen fit to demote the Winnipeg Jets down to 20th, a drop of eight spots from the No. 12 position they occupied last Wednesday.

“This, despite the fact the Jets just went a perfect 3-0-0 over the past seven days, including a dominating 5-2 win over Edmonton on Tuesday night. That would be the same Oilers team ESPN has ranked No. 1. Seriously. “You couldn’t make this up.

“Winnipeg has just one regulation loss in the last dozen games (9-1-2), and if it keeps up this impressive pace I suspect the Jets are going to drop all the way to dead-last in the rankings rather quickly.”

BTW, the Jets dropped a 2-1 shootout decision to the host Oilers on Thursday night. Yes, Edmonton F Connor McDavid scored another one of “THOSE” goals.

Monopoly

The schedule has been released for the 2022 Memorial Cup and it comes with a real change. The tournament, which is to be held in Saint John, N.B., from June 4 through June 13, will begin on a Saturday night, rather than Friday, and the championship final is scheduled for Monday night, rather than Sunday. . . . All games will begin at 4 p.m. PT (7 p.m. ET) with one exception — the game on June 5 between the QMJHL and WHL champions is to start at 1 p.m. PT (4 p.m. ET). . . . There is a news release right here, and it includes ticket-buying information.

Some crazy stuff has been going down with the USHL’s Omaha Lancers. Let’s Lancersstart with some Thursday tweets from Brad Elliott Schlossman, the Grand Forks Herald’s superb hockey writer . . .

On Wednesday, he had tweeted:

“Four months after Omaha (USHL) hired Chadd Cassidy as head coach and GM, and after an 8-4-2 start to this season, the Lancers have pushed him out, per multiple sources.”

These followed on Thursday (all times Pacific):

10:53 a.m.: Situation in Omaha escalating: Lancers have been cutting budgets, everything from video software to some postgame player meals; after ousting Cassidy, Omaha asked him to coach last weekend’s games (per @THNRyanKennedy); Omaha discussed having an injured player be asst coach.”

10:57 a.m.: “Remaining Omaha Lancers staff members are currently resigning. I’m not sure if there will be anyone left when this is done. Players are threatening to boycott upcoming games.”

11:11 a.m.: “Assistant general manager Jeff Cox, acting head coach Sean Walsh, assistant coach Tate Maris and trainer Nick Hart have all resigned from the Omaha Lancers.”

11:49 a.m.: “The remaining Lancers staff was willing to stay for the sake of the players. Then, this morning, team president David DeLuca lost his temper with acting HC Sean Walsh. Assistant coach Tate Maris resigned. Players opted to walk out. Remaining staff backed players and resigned.”

12:30 p.m.: “The Lancers say Chadd Cassidy ‘stepped down as head coach to pursue other opportunities.’ . . . Yeah, and I bench pressed 500 pounds this morning.”

Schlossman later filed this story right here.

And right here is a story from Chris Peters of dailyfaceoff.com who also has been all over this story.

On the subject of crazy stuff, it’s hard to believe that it has been 27 years since one of the highlights of my time around the WHL. Yessss, those were the days! . . . Regina versus Moose Jaw was so much fun. Play-by-play guys in Donald Duck outfits. Coaches battling. . . . Kevin Shaw, the Regina Pats’ unofficial historian, reminds us of what happened 27 years ago with this tweet . . .

Bigfoot

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Toll free: 1-877-922-9822

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——

Vancouver General Hospital Living Donor Program – Kidney 

Gordon and Leslie Diamond Health Care Centre

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Or, for more information, visit right here.

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