Tag: Brodie St. Jacques

Stankoven saluted by Hockey Gives Blood . . . Eight QMJHL teams need head coaches . . . Royals, Chiefs make deal

Logan Stankoven had quite a surprise awaiting shortly after he arrived home in Kamloops from a vacation in Italy.

On Tuesday night, before close to 100 people, he was saluted by Hockey Gives Blood, which presented him with the Dayna Brons Honorary Award “for his selfless contributions in support of patients who rely on Canadian Blood Services.”

Brons was the athletic therapist for the SJHL’s Humboldt Broncos. She was on the team bus when it was involved in that horrific accident on April ??, 2018, and she died five days later. She had been a committed blood donor.

Stankoven, the captain of the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers, is a Hockey Gives Blood player ambassador. He is the fifth player ambassador to receive this award. He has been a player ambassador since the age of 17 and is a blood donor. He also has joined Canadian Blood Services’ stem cell registry and has played host to community blood drives.

He also played host to the largest fundraising initiative since the inception of Hockey Gives Blood. The Logan Stankoven Charity Night helped raise

more than $41,000, with all proceeds helping fund the vital efforts of Canada’s Life line — from recruitment of more blood, plasma, stem cell and organ and tissue donors to world-class research.

As the winner of this award, Stankoven also is eligible to receive a $5,000 educational bursary.

Previous recipients of this award are Jacob Ingham (Kitchener Rangers), Matthew Welsh (Charlottetown Islanders, Braden Hache (Kingston Frontenacs) and Logan Nijhoff (Regina Pats).

There are 18 teams in the QMJHL. As of Tuesday evening, eight of them were qmjhlnewwithout a head coach. . . . The latest to fall into that category are the Halifax Mooseheads and Sherbrooke Phoenix. . . . Sylvain Favreau, the Mooseheads’ head coach, resigned Monday, citing personal reasons. He had been with Halifax through six seasons, the past two as head coach. Halifax lost the QMJHL final to the Quebec Remparts last month. . . . The Phoenix lost Stéphane Julien, their general manager and head coach, to an as yet unnamed AHL team. He had been with the Phoenix for the past 12 seasons, the last three as GM/head coach. . . . The Mooseheads and Phoenix join the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada, Cape Breton Eagles, Drummondville Voltigeurs, Gatineau Olympiques, Quebec Remparts and Rimouski Oceanic as teams now on the hunt for a head coach.

Dogpoop

If you’ve been watching MLB games of late, you will have seen or heard references to a new pitch that seems to have taken hold. Actually, it’s an old pitch. As Bruce Jenkins of the San Francisco Chronicle notes:

Nice to see the so-called ‘sweeper’ pitch absorb more ridicule from ex-players who realize it’s an analytics-created fallacy. “It’s not a ‘sweeper,’ that’s a slider,” Dave Stewart said on the A’s postgame show Thursday. “I sweep my floors with that thing, I don’t bring it into a baseball game. I can’t see any pitcher, in his bullpen between starts, working on throwing a flat breaking ball. When that pitch doesn’t have some depth to it, it gets hit pretty good. It’s a mistake that’s made, and that thing just stays up in the strike zone.”

More from Jenkins on the, uhh, ‘sweeper’:

Mike Krukow was onto the ruse early, calling it a “highschool Harry curve,” and Giants broadcast partner Duane Kuiper is equally unimpressed. Contacted via text, Kuiper responded, “I’ve never said ‘sweeper’ in my life.”

Krukow and Kuiper, both former major leaguers, work together on the San Francisco Giants’ TV crew, and they are terrific.

Victor Wembanyama was the No. 1 selection in Thursday’s NBA draft, taken by the San Antonio Spurs who will sign him to a four-year contract that will be worth somewhere around US$54.4 million. . . . QB Bryce Young, who was taken by the Carolina Panthers with the first pick of the NFL’s 2023 draft, will end up with a $38-million deal. . . . Allan Walsh, a prominent player agent, tweeted this on Friday: “The NHL’s No. 1 overall pick will have his three-year entry-level contract capped at a signing bonus of $95,000 per year, salary capped at $855,000 per year and difficult to attain performance bonuses capped at $1,000,000 per year (all minus 6 per cent escrow).” . . . Hey, folks, now you know why the NHL owners are so in love with Gary Bettman, their commissioner.

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THE COACHING GAME:

Ryan Craig is the new head coach of the Henderson Silver Knights, the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights. Craig 42, was an assistant coach with the Golden Knights since the team’s first season (2017-18). . . . He played five seasons (1998-2003) with the WHL’s Brandon Wheat Kings while Vegas general manager Kelly McCrimmon was the owner and GM. . . . Craig replaces Manny Viveiros, whose contract wasn’t renewed after three seasons. . . .

Ryan Huska and Dan Lambert are back together, this time on the coaching staff of the NHL’s Calgary Flames. Huska is the Flames’ new head coach. Lambert was named an assistant coach on Friday, after having been dropped by the Nashville Predators. He had been with the Predators for four seasons. . . . Lambert worked as an assistant under Huska for three seasons (2011-14) with the Kelowna Rockets. Lambert took over as head coach after Huska joined the Flames organization as the head coach of their AHL affiliate, then the Adirondack Flames.

JUNIOR JOTTINGS:

The Victoria Royals have acquired F Grady Lane, 20, from the Spokane Chiefs, in return for an eighth-round selection in the WHL’s 2025 draft. Lane had six goals and six assists in 66 games with the Chiefs last season. In four seasons there, he totalled eight goals and 15 assists in 129 games. . . . At 6-foot-2 and 190 pounds, Lane adds some grit to the Royals’ lineup. Earlier, the Royals acquired Justin Lies, another gritty 20-year-old, from the Saskatoon Blades. . . .

Two skaters who played out their 20-year-old seasons with the Brandon Wheat Kings are off to Italy. F Calder Anderson and F Nolan Ritchie, both of whom are from Brandon, have signed with HC Merano of the Alps Hockey League. . . . Anderson played 98 games over three seasons with the Moose Jaw Warriors before putting up 50 points, 16 of them goals, in 65 games with the Wheat Kings last season. . . . Ritchie had 70 points, 27 of them goals, in 67 games in 2022-23, after putting up 76 points, including 33 goals, in 66 games in 2021-22. After the Wheat Kings’ 2022-23 season ended, Ritchie got into five regular-season and six playoff games with the ECHL’s Utah Grizzlies, totalling two goals and three assists. . . . HC Merano’s head coach is Tom Coolen, who is prepping for his first season there. He is a veteran of the Canadian university game, having coached at Acadia U and the U of New Brunswick. He also spent two seasons with the QMJHL’s Moncton Wildcats before heading to Europe in 2001. . . .

The Vancouver Giants are looking for an equipment manager after Brodie St. Jacques left to join the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks. . . . He had been with the Giants for two seasons. . . .

Vukie Mpofu, who played one full season (2013-14) with the Red Deer Rebels, has been hired by the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins as director of hockey operations and legal affairs. Among his responsibilities will be contract negotiations and salary cap issues. . . . He had been with the Los Angeles Kings for the past two seasons. . . .

Serge Beausoleil is the new general manager of the QMJHL’s Gatineau Olympiques. Beausoleil, 56, signed a five-year contract. He had been with the Rimouski Oceanic for 12 seasons (2011-23) — three as head coach and the past nine as GM/head coach.

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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

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Vancouver General Hospital Living Donor Program – Kidney 

Gordon and Leslie Diamond Health Care Centre

Level 5, 2775 Laurel Street

Vancouver, BC V5Z 1M9

604-875-5182 or 1-855-875-5182

kidneydonornurse@vch.ca

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Or, for more information, visit right here.

Tuna

Winterhawks unveil their new look . . . Everett gets d-man from Brandon . . . Spokane, Lethbridge sign imports

Portland

The Portland Winterhawks, preparing for their first WHL season under new ownership, unveiled their new look on Wednesday, as they dumped the Indian chief logo they had worn since debuting in Portland in 1976.

Originally, the Winterhawks had been the Edmonton Oil Kings. The franchise made the move south in time for the 1976-77 season. Ownership at that time had ties to the Chicago Blackhawks and accepted the NHL team’s offer of a set of used jerseys, which is how that logo made its way to Portland.

“We are so proud to finally have our own identity,” Michael Kramer of Winterhawks Sports Group, a co-owner and managing partner, said in a news release after the unveiling. “We feel our new look is fresh and unique, one that we are excited about and believe our community will be as well.”

More from the news release:

“The club’s new primary logo, a right-facing hawk featured with a predominantly white head, also carries the tradition of former colors black and red. The new scheme adds ‘celly gold’ and also squall gray, a color distinct to the new Winterhawks brand. . . .

“Also featured on the bird head are two feathers, carrying the legacy of the franchise’s roots and serving as a subtle nod to the feathers in the previous logo. The bottom of the hawk’s head includes Mount Hood in the aforementioned new squall gray, an iconic mountain from the Cascade Range synonymous with the Portland area. Located within the Mount Hood figure are also the letters ‘W’ and ‘H,’ for further characterization of Winterhawks.”

The Winterhawks also unveiled a new secondary logo.

Again, from the news release:

“The refreshed color scheme can also be seen in the club’s new secondary logo, which features a revitalized edition of the ‘Portland P’ that the team has utilized in the past. The logo will be worn on the team’s jerseys as a shoulder patch, with the P being in gold font at the forefront of two hockey sticks in squall gray. ‘Est. 1976’ — a nod to the 45-year success of the franchise in The Rose City, one of the longest tenured in the WHL — is also included on the patch. ‘Winterhawks’ can be seen hung in a banner atop the logo.”

The complete news release is right here.

The Everett Silvertips have acquired D Jonny Lambos, 20, from the Brandon EverettWheat Kings for a seventh-round pick in the WHL’s 2023 draft. . . . Lambos, from Winnipeg, has five goals and 14 assists in 126 regular-season games, all with Brandon. He had two assists in 21 games in the Regina hub earlier this year. . . . He was selected by the Victoria Royals in the third round of the WHL’s 2016 bantam draft. Brandon picked him up in a January 2018 trade. . . . His 18-year-old brother, Carson, is a defenceman with the Winnipeg Ice and is likely to be a first-round selection in the NHL’s 2021 draft on July 23. . . . The Silvertips ended the 2021 developmental season with five 2001-born players on their roster — D Zach Ashton, F Hunter Campbell, F Gage Concalves, F Jalen Price and G Dustin Wolf. . . . Brandon still has six such players on the roster with which it finished the season — Finnish F Marcus Kallionkieli, G Ethan Kruger, F Ben McCartney, D Chad Nychuk, D Neithan Salame and D Braden Schneider. Last week, the Wheat Kings dealt D Rylan Thiessen, 20, to the Swift Current Broncos for a conditional ninth-round pick in the 2021 draft.

The Spokane Chiefs have signed D Tsimafei Kauharenia, 18, of Belarus to a WHL Spokanecontract. . . . An interesting note from the Chiefs’ news  release: “Kauharenia (previously listed as ‘Tomofei Kovgorenya’) was the Chiefs’ first-round pick in the 2021 CHL import draft.” . . . In 2020-21, Kauharenia had seven goals and nine assists in 26 games with the Minsk Bison of Vysshaya Liga. He also got into 17 games — he was pointless — with Dinoma Molodechno of Belarus’s top pro league. . . . The Chiefs now hold the rights to four import players, the other three being Czech G Lukas Parik, Czech D David Jiricek, who turns 18 on Nov. 28, and German F Yannick Proske, 18. . . . Parik has signed with the Ontario Reign, the Los Angeles Kings’ AHL affiliated. . . . Jiricek and Proske haven’t signed with the Chiefs.

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The Lethbridge Hurricanes have signed F Yegor Klavdiev of Belarus to a WHL Lethcontract. They selected him in the first round of the 2021 CHL import draft. . . . From Minsk, the 18-year-old had six goals and five assists in 24 regular-season games with his country’s U-18 team. He also played in the IIHF U-18 World Championship in Texas, putting up a goal and two assists in five games. . . . He also had two goals and two assists in 13 games with Dinamo Molodechno of the country’s top pro league, and one goal in two games with Minskie Zubry of Vysshaya. . . . The Hurricanes didn’t have any imports on the roster with which they concluded the 2021 developmental season. They did have one on their 2019-20 roster — D Danila Palivko of Belarus. He turns 20 on Nov. 30 and signed with Admiral Vladivostok of the KHL earlier this month.

Ram

So . . . when the Olympic Summer Games open on July 23 is the story going to be the competitions involving the athletes or the competition between the human race and COVID-19?

“Tokyo reported the highest number of new COVID-19 cases in almost six months on Wednesday, with the Olympics due to open in the capital in just nine days,” reads a report from Thomson Reuters.

“The city government said there were 1,149 new cases, the highest daily tally since Jan. 22, adding to evidence that a new fifth wave of infections is under way, driven by more infectious virus variants and a low vaccination rate. . . .

“Just 31 per cent of people in Japan have received at least one COVID-19 inoculation dose, among the lowest rate among wealthy countries, according to a Reuters tracker. The vaccination push finally gained steam last month, but has recently ebbed among supply and logistical snags.

“The Delta variant now accounts for more than 30 per cent of cases in Tokyo, and the rate is climbing.”

One of these days, if it hasn’t already been done, an editorial cartoonist is going to redesign the Olympic logo using colourized versions of the graphic that represents the virus.

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An Olympics-related note from Jesse Campigotto of CBC:

“In a pandemic-induced change to the traditional practice of an official placing the hardware around athletes’ necks on the medal stand, medals ‘will be presented to the athlete on a tray and then the athlete will take the medal him or herself,’ IOC president Thomas Bach said. Medallists and officials will also be required to wear masks, and no fans are allowed at any Olympic venues, so these ceremonies will look a lot different in Tokyo.”

The CFL’s Winnipeg Blue Bombers have gotten the all-clear from government and health officials to open up every CFLseat in the house for their home-opener at IG Field on Aug. 5. But you will have to be fully vaccinated — meaning you will have to have had your second shot by July 21 — and have a Manitoba immunization card in order to attend. Also, children under 12 will be allowed in, but only if accompanied by at least one fully vaccinated parent. . . . The wearing of facemasks will be optional for fans. . . . The Blue Bombers, who haven’t played since winning the 2019 Grey Cup with a 33-12 victory over Hamilton on Nov. 24 in Calgary, are to entertain the Tiger-Cats in their opener. The stadium in Winnipeg has a capacity of 33,500. . . . Interestingly, provincial governments and health officials in Saskatchewan and Alberta have said the Roughriders, Calgary Stampeders and Edmonton Elks are free to open to full capacity and that fans don’t have to be fully vaccinated.

Wile

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

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Or, for more information, visit right here.

JUST NOTES: The WHL’s Everett Silvertips have lost veteran equipment manager James Stucky to the NHL’s Seattle Kraken. Stucky had been with the Silvertips since the franchise entered the WHL in 2003. . . . The Edmonton Oil Kings have signed Josh Mallory as their video coach and hockey operations co-ordinator. Mallory, 24, spent the previous three seasons working with the Brock U Badgers women’s team. . . .

The OHL’s Kingston Frontenacs have promoted Luca Caputi to head coach. As the club’s associate coach, he was on the bench for two seasons (2018-20) before the OHL lost its 2020-21 season to the pandemic. He replaces Paul McFarland, who was hired on May 8, 2020, and left to join the NHL’s Seattle Kraken as an assistant coach earlier this month. . . . Ryan Hawes, who played 20 games over two seasons (1993-95) with the WHL’s Spokane Chiefs, has joined the expansion Okanagan Lakers of the BCIHL as an assistant coach. A veteran coach, he has been coaching at various levels in the Okanagan since 2016. . . .

Ty Valin has signed on as general manager and head coach of the junior B Fernie Ghostriders of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League. He had been an assistant coach with the AJHL’s Whitecourt Wolverines. In Fernie, Valin replaces Jeff Wagner, who now is associate coach and director of scouting with the BCHL’s Coquitlam Express. . . . Brodie St. Jacques has left the BCHL’s Salmon Arm Silverbacks to join the WHL’s Vancouver Giants as their equipment manager. He had been the Silverbacks’ trainer and equipment manager for two seasons. In Vancouver, he takes over from Shingo Sasaki, who has joined the Vancouver Canucks’ AHL affiliate, the Abbotsford Canucks. . . .

The QMJHL’s Moncton Wildcats announced Wednesday that head coach Daniel Lacroix will be back for a second full season, while assistant coach Josh Hepditch is returning for a fifth season. Moncton also has signed Antoine Samuel as its goaltending coach. Darryl Boyce and Ryan Salvis won’t be returning as assistant coaches, while Marc Theriault won’t be back as the goaltending coach.

Pacemaker