The WHLâs Everett Silvertips and Seattle Thunderbirds have vacancies on their coaching staffs after the San Jose Barracudas signed Louis Mass and Kyle Hagel as assistant coaches. . . . The Barracudas are the AHL affiliate of the NHLâs San Jose Sharks. . . . Both men were on the ice with the Sharks at their development camp late last week. . . . Mass, who had been the Silvertipsâ associate coach, spent four seasons with Everett. . . . Hagel had been with Seattle for five seasons. . . . They will be working with Barracudas head coach John McCarthy. . . .
Meanwhile, a couple of former Silvertips coaches were making news on Monday.
The long and winding coaching road finally has led Jay Varady to the NHL. A former assistant coach with the Silvertips, Varady now is an assistant with the Detroit Red Wings. He spent the past four seasons in the Arizona Coyotes organization, one as an NHL assistant and three as head coach of the AHLâs Tucson Roadrunners. . . . Varady, 44, spent eight seasons (2003-11) on the Silvertipsâ staff, the last four as associate head coach. Since leaving Everett, he has coached the Ducs dâAngers in France, the USHL’s Sioux City Musketeers, the OHLâs Kingston Frontenacs and the Roadrunners. . . .
Kevin Constantine, the Silvertipsâ head coach for eight seasons, has been named the head coach of Hungaryâs national menâs team. Constantine, 63, also is the head coach of FehĂ©rvĂĄr AV19 in the Austrian-based ICE Hockey League, FehĂ©rvĂĄr AV19 plays out of SzĂ©kesfehĂ©rvĂĄr, Hungary. . . . Constantine did two stints as the Silvertipsâ head coach â 2003-07, 2013-17.
A report from Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times: âA group of farmers and unemployed youngsters have been busted for running a fake Indian Premier League, streaming staged cricket matches online and swindling Russian bettors out of thousands of dollars. But weâll never know how it turned out. The scam was detected before it reached the championship round.â
ââ
Perry, again:
No kidding â Simone Biles got reverse-carded at the airport.
The 4-foot-7 world-champion gymnast was mistaken for a child when she caught a flight home after receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom this month.
âThe flight attendant (tried) to give me a coloring book when I board . . .â she wrote on Instagram. âI said, âNo, Iâm good, Iâm 25.â
âThe other flight attendant gave me a mimosa, so weâre in the clear.â
Even better, the pilot stuck the landing.
As you no doubt are aware, the BCHL withdrew from the Canadian Junior 
Hockey League, the umbrella under which junior A leagues operate in Canada, more than a year ago. That means that BCHL teams canât compete for the Centennial Cup that was won this season by the AJHLâs Brooks Bandits at a 10-team tournament in Estevan, Sask. . . . With the BCHL on the outside of the CJHL and looking in, it is at least a bit interesting that the Wenatchee Wild will play four road exhibition games against USHL teams in September, while the Cranbook Bucks will go on the road to play games against the AJHLâs Bandits and the Okotoks Oilers. . . . If youâre wondering, the Wild will play two games against the Fargo Force and singles versus the Sioux Falls Stampede and Sioux City Musketeers.
THINKING OUT LOUD: Canadaâs womenâs soccer team had a chance to clinch a berth in the 2024 Paris Olympics on Monday night when it met the U.S. in Monterrey, Mexico, and the game wasnât on Sportsnet or TSN. There is something horribly wrong with that picture. . . . By the way, the Americans won, 1-0. . . . If you were able to watch the Winnipeg Blue Bombers beat the visiting Calgary Stampeders, 26-19, on Friday night, you were treated to the CFL at its best. . . . And then, if you were lucky, you switched over to watch the Milwaukee Brewers and the host San Francisco Giants. OF Mike Yastrzemski won it with a ninth-inning walk-off grand slam, the first time the Giants have managed that since Bobby Bonds beat the Los Angeles Dodgers with one in 1973. The best part, though, was listening to Jon Miller, Duane Kuiper and Mike Krukow call the game. . . . I donât know when/why the Saskatchewan Roughriders decided to try and become the CFLâs version of Al Davisâs Oakland Raiders but it isnât working.
There was an interesting development in the junior B Kootenay International 
Junior Hockey League on Monday when it released its regular-season schedule, one that includes the Spokane Braves. . . . Because of the pandemic, the Braves have sat out the past two seasons. . . . From the KIJHL news release: âThe Spokane Braves are scheduled to play their first KIJHL regular-season game since February 2020 when they host Osoyoos Coyotes on Sept. 23 to begin their long-awaited 50th season. The league is continuing to monitor circumstances around the Canada-U.S. border and will provide updates.â . . . Taking Note has been told that the Braves have been given until Aug. 1 to declare their intentions for 2022-23. So you have to think that the KIJHL has another schedule ready to be released, one that doesnât include Spokane. . . . With the U.S. and Canadian governments not allowing anti-vaxxers to cross their borders, the Braves donât have enough vaccinated players to ice a team. In fact, owner Bob Tobiason and head coach Darin Schumacher arenât vaccinated, either. That fact prevented Tobiason from attending the KIJHLâs annual general meeting at Fairmont Hot Springs in late June.
After the International Olympic Committee decided â finally! â to give the late Jim Thorpe back his classic pentathlon and decathlon gold medals from the 1912 Olympic Summer Games in Stockholm, comedy writer Alex Kaseberg summed things up: âIn an equally timely move, the IOC strongly feels women should be allowed to vote.â
Mike Lupica, in the New York Daily News: âPhil Mickelson keeps saying how happy he is that he went with that Blood Money Tour. And, boy, he sure looks happy these days, doesnât he?â
JUNIOR JOTTINGS:
The WHLâs Lethbridge Hurricanes revealed on Monday that F Yegor Klavdiev, 19, wonât be returning for a second season. He has decided to stay at home in 
Belarus and begin his pro career with Shakhtyor Soligorsk of the Belarusian Extraliga. . . . Lethbridge GM Peter Anholt, from a news release: âWe are really disappointed about the news of Klavdiev not returning. Itâs disappointing to lose a good player who was going to be a key 19-year-old for us this coming season and someone that we were going to count on. The timing isnât great for us, but his decision was made, and we respect that and wish him the best in his next step.â . . . Klavdiev had 21 goals and 26 assists in 61 games last season; he was one of three 20-goal scorers on the roster. . . . F Justin Hall led Lethbridge with 34 goals last season, but that was as a 20-year-old. F Jett Jones, who is to turn 20 on Aug. 27, was the other 20-goal man last season, with 20. . . . In the CHLâs 2022 import draft, the Hurricanes selected Slovakian F Alex Ciernik, who turns 18 on Oct. 8, in the first round and then passed on their second pick. The Hurricanes also hold the rights to Swiss F Liekit Reichie, 19, who had two goals and nine assists in 34 games after being claimed off waivers from the Prince George Cougars last season.
The BCHLâs Coquitlam Express is looking for a head coach with Brandon Shaw having left to join the OHLâs Niagara IceDogs as an assistant coach. Shaw, who was with Coquitlam for one season, also was the assistant general manager. . . . Shaw has been coaching in the BCHL for the past five seasons â two with the Merritt Centennials and two with the Alberni Valley Bulldogs. . . .
The OHLâs Soo Greyhounds have extended the contract of general manager Kyle Raftis for four years, taking him through the 2025-26 season. Raftis is preparing for his ninth season with the Greyhounds.
Jason Knight, a former WHL player, died on June 30 in Regina, four days after his 49th birthday. . . . Knight played 56 WHL regular-season games over three seasons (1990-93) â 26 with the Saskatoon Blades, 29 with the Lethbridge Hurricanes and one with the Tacoma Rockets. He finished with three goals and four assists. . . . From the obituary: âThere will be no Funeral Service at this time but a Celebration of Life will take place at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made, in memoriam, to the Heart and Stroke Foundation, 100 â 119 14 Street NW Calgary, AB, T2N 1Z6 or to KidSport Canada, 423 â 145 Pacific Avenue, Winnipeg, MB, R3B 2Z6.” . . . That obituary is right here.
If you are interested in being a living kidney donor, more information is available here:
Living Kidney Donor Program
St. Paulâs 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
ââ
Vancouver General Hospital Living Donor Program – KidneyÂ
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
ââ
Or, for more information, visit right here.
and head coach, to a contract extension running through the 2025-26 season. Yes, thatâs a five-year extension. He started with the Pistons as assistant coach/director of sales and marketing in prior to 2010-11. He has been head coach since taking over on an interim basis during the 2011-12 season, and added the GMâs duties over the summer of 2012. From a news release: âSince 2012-13, the Steinbach native has guided his team to three regular season titles, one Addison Division title, four league finals appearances, two Turnbull Cups in 2013 and 2018, the ANAVET Cup championship in 2018, and an appearance at the Centennial Cup in 2018.â . . . Dyck, now 50, played two WHL seasons (1989-91) with the Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . The Pistonsâ news release is 
deal as head coach and assistant general manager. Shaw, 26, was the Alberni Valley Bulldogsâ associate coach and director of player development for two seasons. He was with the Merritt Centennials for three seasons before that, working as an assistant coach/scout and then assistant coach/director of scouting. . . . Shaw takes over from interim head coach Adam Nugent-Hopkins, who stepped in in March after Dan Cioffi, who was head coach/assistant GM, left the organization. . . . Brian Wiebe has more on the Express 
victory over the Prince George Cougars. . . . The Blazers completed an 18-4-0 season with six straight victories. . . . The Cougars (9-10-3) lost their last three. . . . Garand recorded his third shutout of the season and the eighth of his career. He finished this season 15-3-0, 2.15, .921. . . . F Josh Pillar (11) opened the scoring at 3:59 of the first period. . . . D Logan Bairos (1), D Ethan Brandwood (1) and F Orrin Centazzo (7) also scored. . . . Bairos, a second-round pick in the 2018 bantam draft, got his first WHL goal in his 19th game, 17 of them this season. . . . G Taylor Gauthier stopped 34 shots for the Cougars. . . . The game was played in 2 hours 4 minutes, which I believe ties it for the fastest game in the WHL this season. The Brandon Wheat Kings beat the Swift Current Broncos, 4-1, in an April 7 game that also was clocked in 2:04. . . . The Blazers completed their season without F Connor Zary, who missed the last seven games after taking a high hit on April 28. F Jonny Hooker of the Cougars served a four-game suspension for the hit. . . . 
victory over the Victoria Royals. . . . Kelowna, which played only 16 games because of COVID-19 issues, finished 10-5-1. . . . Victoria wound up at 3-17-2. . . . F Alex Swetlikoff (6) gave the Rockets a 1-0 lead at 6:45 of the first period, with D Noah Dorey (1) making it 2-0 at 16:12. . . . Dorey, a fourth-round selection in the 2018 bantam draft, scored his first WHL goal in his ninth game. . . . F Ty Yoder (4) pulled Victoria to within a goal at 16:42. . . . D Jake Lee (3) restored Kelownaâs two-goal lead at 9:02 of the second period with what stood up as the game-winner. . . . F Brayden Tracey (9) scored the Royalsâ second goal at 19:14 of the third period. . . . The Rockets got 28 saves from G Roman Basran, while Adam Evanoff stopped 35 at the other end.
out that Finnish D Lassi Thomson wonât be back for a second season. Instead, he will play with Ilves in Liiga, Finlandâs top professional league. . . . Thomson, who is to turn 19 on Sept. 24, has signed a contract (two years plus an option for a third) with Ilves. He is from Tampere, and has played for Ilvesâ U-16, U-18 and U-20 sides. . . . The Ottawa Senators selected Thomson with the 19th-overall pick in the NHLâs 2019 draft, then signed him to a three-year entry-level contract on July 15. . . . Last season, Thomson put up 17 goals and 24 assists in 63 regular-season games with the Rockets. He was named the Western Conferenceâs rookie of the year and to the conferenceâs second all-star team. . . . Thomson is spending this week playing for a Finnish team in a U-20 tournament in Vierumaki, Finland. Teams from Czech Republic and Switzerland also are taking part. . . . 
that Don MacGillivray and Tyler Plante will return and that Mark Derlago has been added as a second assistant. . . . MacGillivray is entering his fourth season as an assistant coach, as is Plante, the goaltending coach. . . . Derlago, a former Wheat Kings captain, has signed on as the teamâs second assistant coach having chosen to end his playing career. He played last season with Esbjerg Energy in Denmark, scoring 17 goals and adding 18 assists in 36 games. . . . Plante is the son of Cam Plante, who played four seasons (1980-84) with the Wheat Kings; Derlagoâs uncle, Bill, spent three-plus seasons (1974-78) with Brandon and was one of the most-prolific scorers in WHL history. . . . The coaching staff is headed up by Dave Lowry, who was named head coach on July 18. . . . Darren Ritchie, the Wheat Kingsâ general manager, also is preparing for his first season in a new role. He was named GM on July 12. A former Wheat Kings forward, he also worked as an assistant coach for 10 seasons and was their director of scouting for the past three seasons. . . . The Wheat Kingsâ complete news release is 
TAKING NOTE 