A number of WHL management types made themselves available to media on Monday to expound upon the brief news release issued by the league on Friday afternoon.
The league, at that time, said it was “committed” to playing a 24-game 
schedule, but that it didn’t have a starting date, something that won’t be established until health officials in various jurisdiction give the OK.
“It is anticipated the approvals will be received soon,” the WHL news release read, hinting that perhaps it had received some inside information.
Three things are readily apparent: 1. There won’t be any fans in attendance at games; 2. Teams will play geographical/divisional rivals in weekend double- or tripleheaders in one venue; 3. The league hasn’t completely moved away from using some kind of bubble format.
Oh, and there likely won’t be anything resembling a championship playoff.
“There could be a divisional playoff,” Collin Priestner, the Saskatoon Blades’ president and general manager, told Pat McKay of CTV Saskatoon, “but I don’t think we have the ability to have a league championship at this point, given that we’ve got teams in different countries and the travel is going to be severely restricted.”
If the WHL is able to get a season started, then, it all will be about giving its players a chance to strut their stuff for the scouts.
Don Moores, the president of the Kamloops Blazers, told Radio NL in Kamloops: “We are going to bring our players in at the appropriate time. They will be part of a program to develop, which really is our mandate. We’ll figure it out based on what health authorities allow us to do.
“We are a development hockey league. We are the elite hockey development program in the world. That’s what our responsibility is.”
But, as Priestner pointed out to McKay, there remain many unanswered questions.
“From protocols, safety, insurance, logistics,” Priestner said. “How big rosters can be, or how do we bring in players if there’s injuries? How do we get a season in? What do we do if things get shut down in the provinces?”
Meanwhile, the Prince George Cougars, the most remotely located of the WHL’s 22 teams, doesn’t even know where it will be playing.
“I think it’s wide open to see if we will be playing games here or on the road or in a bubble format,” Mark Lamb, the Cougars’ general manager and head coach, told local reporters in a Zoom call. “We don’t have an exact date yet as to when we are going to start playing so that is still up in the air, but we do have a commitment from the league that we do have a 24-game schedule.”
And if you’re wondering who will be footing the bill for a return to play, Andy Beesley, the Cougars’ vice-president of business, had the answer.
“(The owners) are shouldering the entire cost,” he said. “For sure, when the players come to Prince George they will be put up with billet families, which we pay for, there is a tremendous amount of PPE and testing that we are on the hook for and, assuming that we are going into a bubble-type concept, wherever that may be, there will likely be hotel rooms, meal costs, player equipment, and staffing.”
Multiply that by 22 teams and, well, red ink is going to flowing like the South Thompson River in spring time.
So . . . what’s next?
Willie Desjardins, the general manager and head coach of the Medicine Hat Tigers, told Scott Roblin of CHAT-TV that there will be an update coming from the WHL on Jan. 22.
McKay’s complete story is right here.
Brendan Pawliw of myprincegeorgenow.com took part in a Zoom call in that city and his story is right here.
Who says you can’t go home again?
Cam Moon, a native of Edmonton, is leaving Red Deer after 22 years as the radio voice of the WHL’s Rebels, to handle play-by-play duties on Edmonton Oilers’ regional broadcasts.
Moon had been with the Rebels since 1998, through 1,753 consecutive games — regular-season, playoff and Memorial Cup. He joined the Rebels after spending three seasons with the BCHL’s Nanaimo Clippers.
“Central Alberta hockey fans have had the pleasure of listening to his energetic spirit for 22 seasons,” Brent Sutter, the Rebels’ owner, general manager and head coach, said in a news release, “and we’re honoured we’ll continue to hear him on Alberta’s airwaves. This truly is a dream come true for Mooner.”
Moon, an immensely popular figure on the WHL media circuit, told Troy Gillard of rdnewsNOW: “It’s overwhelming, for sure. It’s a team I grew up watching in my hometown so I very much look forward to the opportunity, the challenge. I never thought this day would come, I really didn’t, nor was I really looking for it, but here it is . . .
“It’s exciting and I look forward to the next chapter, but it’s also a little sad in that one chapter’s closing. It’s definitely a dream job. If I had the ability to pick a radio play-by-play job with any of the National Hockey League teams, this would be my No. 1 choice.”
With the Oilers, Moon moves into the seat vacated by Jack Michaels, who now will call the play of Edmonton regional TV games for Sportsnet, replacing Kevin Quinn. Michaels will return to radio for Oilers games that are national and for Edmonton playoff games.
Louie DeBrusk is the analyst on TV games, with Bob Stauffer doing the same on radio.
Quinn and Drew Remenda no longer are part of Oilers’ telecasts or broadcasts.
You are able to tune into 630 CHED in Edmonton to hear Moon call his first Oilers game on Wednesday night as they play host to the Vancouver Canucks.
THE COVID-19 CHRONICLES . . .
CBC News: Manitoba announces 133 new cases of COVID-19. That’s the lowest total in 6 days but still pushes the province’s 7-day average up slightly to 172. Health authorities are also reporting 3 more deaths.
CBC News: A big jump in the number of new daily COVID-19 cases in Saskatchewan with 412. The previous day’s total, which hadn’t been reported, was 307. The average for the 7 previous days was 290. The province is also reporting 8 additional deaths and hospitalizations are at an all-time high.
CTV Regina: Saskatchewan’s 7-day average for daily COVID-19 has doubled over the past 13 days. The weekly average dropped to 152 on Dec. 30, but it has increased each day since, hitting an all-time high of 307 Monday.
CBC News: Alberta reports 639 new COVID-19 cases and 23 more deaths. Across the province there were 13,917 active cases, with 811 people are being treated in hospitals for the illness, including 130 in ICU beds.
Richard Zussman, Global BC: There are 1,475 new cases of COVID-19, from Fri to Sat 538 new cases, Sat to Sun 507 new cases, Sun to Mon 430 new cases. There are now a total of 58,107 positive cases in BC. . . . There are 5,220 active cases of COVID in BC. There are 358 people in hospital with COVID, of whom 72 are in ICU. There are 7,313 people in active monitoring. . . . There have been 22 new COVID deaths over the weekend. There have been 1,010 COVID deaths in BC in total.
CBC News: Ontario is reporting 3,338 new cases of COVID-19, the 8th straight day above 3,000. The hot spots are Toronto (931), Peel Region (531) and York Region (241). The province is expected to announce new restrictions tomorrow to help curtail the spread.
CBC News: 21 new COVID-19 cases today in New Brunswick. The province has experienced a significant surge over the past week with 164 new cases, for a daily average of 23. For the previous 7 days, the total number of cases was 26, with a daily average of 3.7.
CNN, Monday, 2 p.m. PT: 375,000 people in the United States have died from coronavirus.
CNN, Monday, 7 p.m. PT: 376,000 people in the United States have died from coronavirus.
CNN, Monday, 1:30 p.m. PT: 22.5 million people in the United States have tested positive for coronavirus.
CNN, Monday, 7 p.m. PT: 22.6 million people in the United States have tested positive for coronavirus.
Anna Cabrera, CNN: At least two gorillas at San Diego Zoo test positive for COVID-19, first known cases among great apes. The zoo says three animals are currently showing symptoms and it is suspected that the primates were infected by an asymptomatic staff member.
——
The Vancouver Canucks, who cancelled all Sunday team activities because of COVID-19 protocols, were back on the ice on Monday morning. It seems that Sunday’s episode was the result of a false positive. . . . The Canucks are scheduled to open their regular season with games against the host Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday and Thursday. . . . The Dallas Stars, who shut things down last week after eight positive tests — six players and two staffers — are to return to the practice ice Tuesday. They also announced that practices will be closed to the media until further notice. . . . The Stars’ first three scheduled regular-season games have postponed, leaving them to open at the Tampa Bay Lightning on Jan. 19. . . .
The NBA’s coronavirus nightmare continues. Having postponed one game on Sunday, it had to do the same to a Monday night game and another scheduled for Tuesday. . . . There now have been a total of four games postponed. . . . The Miami Heat-Boston Celtics game scheduled for Sunday didn’t come off; neither did Monday’s game between the New Orleans Pelicans and host Dallas Mavericks. The visiting Celtics and Chicago Bulls won’t play tonight (Tuesday). . . . Ann Killion of the San Francisco Chronicle writes: “The NBA started its season in the worst part of the pandemic, as post-Thanksgiving numbers surged, deaths spiked, and hospitals and frontline health care workers were absolutely overwhelmed. What we have seen in recent weeks makes last summer seem calm.” . . . We now wait to see if the same fate awaits the NHL. . . .
The Air Force Falcons have shut down their hockey program for at least two weeks after five players tested positive following a road trip during which the team played five games in seven days on the East Coast. Their home games for the next two weekends are off the schedule. . . .
Skate Canada has cancelled the 2021 National Skating Championships because of the “evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic across Canada.” . . . The Canadians were scheduled for Vancouver, Feb. 8-14. . . .
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.
Friday that “all close contacts of the players, including Vees players and staff” have tested negative. . . . All close contacts will remain in quarantine until early next week when their 14 days will be up. . . . The BCHL, which is on pause right now, has had two positive tests to date. A player with the Surrey Eagles tested positive in October. . . . The league had hoped to resume play on Dec. 8, but those plans will have to change after restrictions that were handed down by the Provincial Health Office this week.
that it has dropped all regular-season games through Dec. 31 due to “ongoing provincial restrictions limiting game play, team practices and participation of players over the age of 18.” . . . The 17 teams that are taking part this season are free to “conduct on-ice activities that abide by the Provincial Health Order” until Dec. 19, which signals the start of the league’s Christmas break. . . . The KIJHL had just gotten its regular season started — teams have played two, three or four games — when it had to shut things down.
MacGillivray to head coach, replacing Dave Lowry, who has joined the NHL’s Winnipeg Jets as an assistant coach. . . . On Friday, the Wheat Kings announced that they have added Todd Miller and Daniel Johnston to their coaching staff. . . . Miller, 42, is on board as an assistant coach and will be on the bench with MacGillivray. He was an assistant coach with the OHL’s Barrie Colts for 11 seasons and stepped in as head coach after Warren Rychel was fired in January. . . . Johnston, 28, is the Wheat Kings’ first video coach. He played 253 games over six seasons in the WHL (Portland, Lethbridge, 2007-13) before going on to play five seasons in the ECHL. . . . Mark Derlago remains on staff as an assistant coach and Tyler Plante is the goaltending coach.
play games “effective immediately.” Teams will be permitted to have a maximum of 150 fans at games, all of whom must wear masks. The league released a 24-game exhibition schedule Saturday night, with the first game scheduled for Thursday when the La Ronge Ice Wolves are to visit the Flin Flon Bombers. The two teams will meet four times in 10 days. Exhibition games will be played through Nov. 1.
as they prepare to open the regular season on Dec. 1. The exception is the Wenatchee, Wash., Wild, which isn’t involved because of U.S.-Canada border restrictions. . . . Instead, the Wild has scheduled a series of six scrimmages in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho about a three-hour drive from Wenatchee. . . . According to the Wild, the scrimmages will include “10-16 Western Hockey League players joining the Wild camp on a limited basis to participate in the scrimmages.” . . . Those scrimmages are scheduled for Oct. 22, 12:15 p.m.; Oct. 23, 7:15 p.m.; Nov. 6 and 7, and Nov. 13 and 14. Times for the latter four are TBA.
agreement for the CN Centre. The lease is retroactive to July 31, so it covers the recently completed season, and will run through the 2023-24 WHL season. . . . With the Kootenay Ice having left Cranbrook for Winnipeg, there had been whispers that perhaps the Cougars, who have struggled to draw fans in recent seasons, might at least contemplate a move. . . . Here’s Andy Beesley, the Cougars’ vice-president of business: “We’ve never wavered once, behind closed doors or out in public, we’ve never talked about moving, we’re all in it for the long haul, from our owners on down, we’re committed to Prince George and we don’t just talk about being committed, we’ve proven it.” . . . Ted Clarke of the Prince George Citizen has more 
anything to say about all the speculation.
a 4-3 victory over the Wheat Kings in Brandon. . . . Portland (24-11-5) has points in nine straight (6-0-3), and is 3-0-0 on its East Division swing. . . . Brandon (16-16-6) has lost two in a row. . . . F Ben McCartney (11) gave Brandon a 2-0 lead with goals at 1:14 and 3:45 of the first period. . . . The Winterhawks tied it before the period ended on goals from F Michal Kvasnica (7) and F Seth Jarvis (10). . . . F Jaydon Dureau (9) broke the tie at 14:39 of the second period. . . . F Joachim Blichfeld upped Portland’s lead to 4-2, shorthanded, at 10:03 of the third period. He leads the WHL in goals (37) and points (76). . . D Braden Schneider (5) got the Wheat Kings to within a goal at 14:53. . . . Portland had a 51-35 edge in shots, including 22-9 in the first period. . . . Brandon G Jiri Patera blocked 47 shots, 15 more than Portland’s Shane Farkas. . . . Portland D Nick Cicek, an 18-year-old freshman from Winnipeg, had one assist in his first 16 games. He had one assist last night, and now is on a six-game point streak, with nine helpers in that stretch. . . . Portland had F Cody Glass back in the lineup after his stint with Canada’s national junior team. He was held off the scoresheet. . . . The Winterhawks were without D Matthew Quigley (suspended) and D Brendan De Jong (concussion).
victory over the Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . Saskatoon (25-12-5) has won two in a row. . . . Seattle (12-21-4) is 1-2-0 on its East Division trip. . . . Crnkovic, a 16-year-old from Chestermere, Alta., was the 10th-overall selection in the 2017 bantam draft. In 27 games, he has four goals and nine assists, with three goals and six assists having come in his past nine games. Yes, this was his first multi-point WHL game. . . . D Zach Ashton, who moved from Saskatoon to Seattle in a deal last week, gave the Thunderbirds a 1-0 lead with his first WHL goal, at 6:35 of the first period. The goal came in his 14th WHL game, the third with Seattle. . . . Crnkovic tied it at 15:24, and F Josh Paterson (14) gave the Blades the lead, on a PP, at 17:30. . . . Seattle F Nolan Volcan, playing in his 300th regular-season game, tied it with his 15th goal, at 19:24. . . . The Thunderbirds went ahead 3-2 when F Matthew Wedman (13) accord at 4:36 of the second period. . . . Saskatoon reclaimed the lead before the period ended, on goals from F Chase Wouters (8), at 13:49, and F Eric Florchuk (11), at 17:20. . . . Volcan, 20, is from Edmonton. He was a second-round pick by Seattle in the 2013 bantam draft. He has 213 points, including 88 goals, in those 300 regular-regular-season games. . . . F Cyle McNabb, acquired Monday from the Kootenay Ice, wasn’t in Saskatoon’s lineup. . . . The Blades remain without F Kirby Each and D Nolan Kneen. . . . F Sean Richards was in Seattle’s lineup for the first time since being acquired last week from the Everett Silvertips. He had to complete an eight-game WHL suspension before suiting up with the Thunderbirds. . . . Seattle was without D Cade McNelly, who completed a three-game suspension.
over the Tri-City Americans in Kennewick, Wash. . . . Prince George (14-21-3) has won two in a row. The Cougars are 3-7-0 on an 11-game swing that began with a doubleheader in Portland on Dec. 7 and 8, and included the Christmas break. The trip wraps up tonight against the Spokane Chiefs, then the Cougars have to hustle home for games with the Kelowna Rockets on Friday and Saturday nights. . . . Tri-City (20-15-2) has lost two straight. . . . Last night, Cougars F Ethan Browne scored the game’s only goal, his sixth, at 16:05 of the second period. . . . Gauthier, a 17-year-old sophomore from Calgary, was the ninth-overall selection in the WHL’s 2016 bantam draft. He has two shutouts in his career both of them this season. This season, he is 10-14-2, 3.08, .904. . . . Tri-City got 28 stops from G Beck Warm.
Tigers, and Plouffe, who skates for the Vancouver Giants scored the night’s only PP goals.
were invited to throw stuffed toys onto the ice when the Cougars scored their first goal.
as insurance in case starter Dylan Ferguson isn’t able to play. . . . Ferguson, 20, who was involved in a goal-mouth collision, left after the second period of a 3-1 loss to the Chiefs in Spokane on Saturday. . . . Ramsay, 17, is from Saskatoon and has been playing with the SJHL’s Humboldt Broncos. He made two appearances with the Blazers earlier in the season, going 0-1-0, 1.99, .931. . . . The Blazers are likely to start Dylan Garand (2-1-1, 2.46, .914) against the visiting Saskatoon Blades on Friday. The Seattle Thunderbirds are to visit Kamloops on Saturday.
BCHL’s Surrey Eagles following the firing of Peter Schaefer. . . . Schaefer was hired as an assistant coach under head coach Brandon West on July 26. However, West and the Eagles came to one of those mutual agreements to part company on Aug. 28 and Schafer was named head coach. . . . Saip had been an assistant coach under West and then Schaefer. . . . The Eagles also hired Lee Stone as an assistant coach. . . . Associate coach Brad Tobin remains on staff. . . . Saip, 27, is in his second season with Surrey. He is a former Eagles player (2010-12), who played in the who with the Vancouver Giants and Kamloops Blazers before going on to player with the UBC Thunderbirds. . . . Stone spent six years with the junior B Campbell River Storm of the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League. He is a Surrey native. . . . The Eagles (7-23-1) are last in the five-team Mainland Division, 12 points out of fourth. . . . There is more on these moves 
5-1 victory over the Broncos in Swift Current. . . . The Wheat Kings (11-7-6) had lost their previous three games. . . . The Broncos slipped to 4-19-2. . . . F Cole Reinhardt (3) gave Brandon a 2-1 lead at 7:57 of the second period, and F Ridly Greig (5) added insurance at 18:57. . . . Burzan, who has 15 goals, opened the scoring at 3:16 of the first period and closed it at 12:22 of the third. . . . G Jiri Patera stopped 31 shots to earn the victory. . . . F Nolan Ritchie, 16, made his debut with the Wheat Kings. Ritchie, who is from Brandon, was a third-round pick in the 2017 bantam draft and is in his second season with the midget AAA Wheat Kings. This season, he has 14 goals and 21 assists in 19 games. His father, Darren, is a former Wheat Kings player and assistant coach who now is the organization’s director of scouting.
Kings in Edmonton. . . . The Raiders (25-1-0) next are scheduled to play Saturday when the meet the Pats in Regina. . . . Prince Albert had won a franchise-record eight straight road games. . . . The Oil Kings (14-10-4) have lost three in a row (0-1-1). . . . The Raiders took a 3-0 lead into the second period and stretched it to 5-1 when F Aliaksei Protas (6) scored at 6:12. . . . F Parker Kelly scored two of Prince Albert’s first three goals. He’s got 13. . . . The game featured the WHL’s two leading scorers. . . . F Brett Leason of the Raiders drew three assists and maintained his lead atop the WHL scoring race. . . . F Trey Fix-Wolansky scored all three of Edmonton’s goals, given him 18. . . . Leason leads the WHL in goals (26) and points (59). Fix-Wolansky is second in points (55) and leads in assists (37).
in Cranbrook, B.C. . . . The Warriors (13-5-4) have points in eight straight (7-0-1). . . . The Ice (7-17-4) has lost six in a row (0-5-1). . . . F Keenan Taphorn (6), who was acquired by the Warriors from the Ice, got the game’s first goal, at 7:46 of the first period. . . . D Josh Brook (8) made it 2-0 at 3:35 of the second period, and D Jett Woo (3) upped it to 3-0 at 1:55 of the third. . . . F Peyton Krebs (7) got the Ice’s goal, at 10:21. . . . The Warriors got 26 saves from G Adam Evanoff. With G Brodan Salmond out with an undisclosed injury, Moose Jaw had Jackson Berry backing up. Berry, who will turn 16 on Dec. 6, is from Chestermere, Alta. A sixth-round pick in the WHL’s 2017 bantam draft, he plays for the Edmonton-OHA midget prep team. . . . The Ice had Krebs and D Valtteri Kakkonen back from injuries, but were missing F Cam Hausinger and F Connor McClennon.
to a 6-2 victory over the Red Deer Rebels. . . . The Tigers (12-12-3) have won two in a row. . . . The Rebels (16-8-1) have lost three in a row. . . . D Trevor Longo (3) gave the Tigers a 3-2 lead at 1:48 of the third period, with F James Hamblin (11) making it 4-2 at 7:48. . . . Jevne, who had scored the game’s first goal, completed the scoring with the last two scores, at 11:59 and 18:43. He’s got 10 goals. . . . G Mads Søgaard, the Danish freshman, stopped 21 shots for the Tigers with his father, Brian, in the stands. . . . Medicine Hat held a 47-23 edge in shots. . . . The Rebels were without D Alex Alexeyev for a second straight game.
Royals in Victoria. . . . Saskatoon (16-9-2) is 2-1-0 on a B.C. Division tour that continues Friday in Kamloops. . . . Victoria (12-9-0) has lost three in a row. . . . Luding, who usually backs up Nolan Maier, was making his seventh appearance of the season, his first start since Nov. 3. . . . F Kristian Roykas Marthinsen (8) put Saskatoon ahead 1-0 at 12:39 of the second period. . . . D Scott Walford (2) scored for Victoria at 1:00 of the third. . . . F Zach Huber won it for Saskatoon with his fifth goal of the season, at 3:45. . . . The Royals lost F Kaid Oliver, their leading scorer, to a headshot major and game misconduct at 17:45 of the second period. The penalty came for a hit on Blades D Dawson Davidson.
Winterhawks, 4-1. . . . Everett (20-7-1) has points in six straight (5-0-1). . . . Portland (14-10-2) has lost two in a row. . . . F Cross Hanas (3) gave the Winterhawks a 1-0 lead at 10:22 of the first period. . . . F Reece Vitelli (3) pulled Everett even at 14:40 of the second, and F Sean Richards (8) snapped the tie at 15:27. . . . F Martin Fasko-Rudas (7) and F Connor Dewar (22) had third-period goals, the latter into an empty net. . . . Everett G Dustin Wolf blocked 34 shots, three fewer than Portland’s Shane Farkas. . . . F Cody Glass was among Portland’s scratches. . . . The Silvertips were without D Gianni Fairbrother, who completed a two-game suspension. . . . These teams already have met seven times this season, with Everett having won five times. They will face each other three more times before season’s end.
TAKING NOTE 