Let me guess? You are wondering: What’s the latest on the Winnipeg Ice situation?
Well, I really don’t know anything, but a spy in Chilliwack tells me that he has heard that the “Aquilinis are working out a deal with the city to buy the building — or possibly get the city to manage it — and buy the Chiefs.”
The Aquilinis, of course, own the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks and the AHL’s Abbotsford Canucks, along with assorted real estate properties and blueberry farms.
If you’re new to this situation, there has been ample speculation for a few months now that the Winnipeg Ice will be on the move at some point this 
summer. The move apparently has become necessary, or so the speculation goes, because the Ice’s owners, who moved the franchise from Cranbrook after the 2018-19 season, have failed to deliver on a promise to build a new arena, thus they are stuck in the 1,600-seat Wayne Fleming Arena on the U of Manitoba campus. The WHL, ’tis said, has had enough of that particular situation. (BTW, I believe there still is a lawsuit kicking around somewhere involving the City of Cranbrook versus the WHL and the Ice’s owners. Something about a lease.)
And so it is that Chilliwack is in the forefront of the rumour mill. Chilliwack, of course, once was home to the Bruins, who were sold and allowed to move to Victoria where they now are the Royals. That move, of course, meant that the WHL and its franchise owners didn’t get to divvy up the money they could have gotten had an expansion franchise been sold to someone eager to get into Victoria.
But we digress. . . .
The Chilliwack mole also tells me that Ron Toigo, the majority owner of the Vancouver Giants, “wants a WHL team in Chilliwack, and he may be the mastermind behind all of this.”
If Toigo, indeed, is pushing for the Ice to end up in Chilliwack it makes all kinds of sense. For starters, having his Giants match up with the Chilliwack TBAs for 10 games a season would certainly cut a chunk out of travel expenses.
It also could be the start of a beautiful rivalry. If you think back to 2010-11, the Bruins’ last season in Chilliwack, they were just at the point where they could compete hard with the Giants, something that only would have been good for attendance. In 2009-10, the Giants had beaten the Bruins in seven of 10 meetings. In 2010-11, they evenly split the season series — 5-5-0.
While the rumour mill is working overtime, the BCHL’s Chilliwack Chiefs just go about their business, signing players and doing whatever is involved in being part of an outlaw, er, independent league. (Back in the day, when the fathers of the WHL — Bill Hunter and Scott Munro and their gang — left the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association, they were dubbed outlaws. In these days of political correctness, or maybe it’s because they haven’t robbed any stage coaches, the BCHL is referred to as being “independent.”)
BTW, the 5,000-seat Chilliwack Coliseum opened in 2004 as Prospera Centre. It is home to the Chiefs and is owned and operated by the Chiefs Development Group. Moray Keith, one of the Chiefs’ three owners, is the president of the Chiefs Development Group.
According to the Chilliwack mole, there already is a name being bandied about as the likely head coach should the Ice be sold to the Aquilinis and relocate. That would be Harvey Smyl, who, although he hasn’t coach in more than 10 years, has long ties to the Chilliwack hockey scene, having spent a bunch of seasons on the Chiefs’ bench back in the day. Oh yes, he also has at least one tie to the Aquilinis. That would be through his brother, Stan, one of the most popular Canucks of all time. Stan now is the Canucks’ vice-president of hockey operations.
Harvey Smyl as head coach in Chilliwack “is farfetched to me,” the mole told me. “But who knows these days?”
Who knows, indeed?
The Kelowna Rockets have acquired 2006-born F Tij Iginla from the Seattle Thunderbirds for 2005-born F Grady Lenton and two WHL draft picks — a first in 2024 and a second in 2027, the latter of which originated with Seattle. . . . That second-rounder was acquired by the Rockets from Seattle during the 2023 draft for third- and fifth-round selections in that draft. . . . Iginla is the son of former WHL/NHL star F Jerome Iginla, a Hockey Hall of Famer who now is a co-owner of the Kamloops Blazers. . . . Tij had six goals and 12 assists in 48 regular-season games with Seattle in 2022-23. He had one assist in three playoff games, all of them in the first round against Kelowna. . . . Seattle selected Iginla ninth overall in the 2021 WHL draft. . . . Lenton has four goals and four assists in 60 regular-season games with the Rockets. From Delta, B.C., he was selected by the Rockets in the eighth round of the 2020 WHL draft.
Three days after backstopping the QMJHL’s Quebec Remparts to a Memorial 
Cup championship in Kamloops, G William Rousseau was dealt to the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies on Wednesday. . . . In return, the Remparts got a first- and a second-round draft pick, both in 2024. . . . The 2003-born Rousseau picked up the shutout on Sunday as the Remparts blanked the Seattle Thunderbirds, 5-0, in the winner-take-all championship game. . . . During the regular season, he was 35-11 with a 2.22 GAA. . . . Rousseau had been selected by the Remparts in the fifth round of the QMJHL’s 2019 draft. . . .
Also on Wednesday, the Remparts dealt 2003-born D Jérémy Langlois to the Huskies for two draft picks — a fourth in 2023 and a second in 2024. He had two assists in four games during the Memorial Cup. After three-plus seasons with the Cape Breton Eagles, the team captain was dealt to the Remparts 27 games into the 2022-23 season. He had 33 points, 25 of them assists in 34 regular-season games with Quebec. . . . Langlois was a first-round pick by the Eagles in 2019, and was taken by the Arizona Coyotes in the third round of the NHL’s 2022 draft. . . .
Quebec also traded D Charle Truchon, 20, to the Rimouski Océanic for F Simon Maltais, 20, and two draft picks — a third in 2023 and a fifth in 2024. He had a goal and an assist in four Memorial Cup games, after putting up 10 points in 16 playoff games and 24 in 68 regular-season games. . . .
Those trades were among numerous deals that took place in a QMJHL trading window that ran Wednesday, from 9 a.m. to noon. Another window is set for Friday, from 9 to 10 a.m. . . . BTW, the Remparts were honoured at Quebec City Hall on Tuesday and were at the National Assembly on Wednesday.
JUNIOR JOTTINGS:
Les Lazaruk may be the longtime play-by-play voice of the Saskatoon Blades, but deep at heart he’s a baseball guy. If you weren’t aware, he was half of the radio crew for baseball’s Winnipeg Goldeyes in their first season. And he was back in Winnipeg on Tuesday, having a reunion with Peter Young, the other half of that broadcast team, and watching the Goldeyes. . . . Paul Friesen of the Winnipeg Sun has that neat story right here. . . .
Nathan MacDonald, the Swift Current Broncos’ executive vice-president of business operations, has left the organization after five seasons there. He will be joining the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers in an unspecified front-office position.
THINKING OUT LOUD: When I entered the newspaper business more than 50 years ago, one of the first lessons I learned was that it’s always about the money. And when they say it isn’t about the money, you absolutely know that it’s about the money. Hey, Saudi Golf Tour — er, PGA Tour — you crossed the line, so I’m out. . . . Is there anything more irritating than the yelling by Seattle Mariners’ play-by-play voices when one of their favourites hits a home run? Sheesh, guys, it’s still June. How loud would you go for a World Series blast? . . . ICYMI, the Coachella Valley Firebirds are into their first AHL final. The Firebirds are the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Seattle Kraken. Did I mention that the Firebirds are in their first season? Yes, they are. They will open the best-of-seven final tonight against the visiting Hershey Bears, the AHL’s oldest franchise. Rich Franklin, who spent more than 10 years in the Portland Winterhawks’ front office, is the Firebirds’ senior director of corporate partnerships. . . . Rob Vanstone, who left the Regina Leader-Post’s sports department earlier this year, received a Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Medal on Wednesday “for his extraordinary leadership and service to local sports and the community.” These days, after spending years and years covering, among other things, the WHL and Regina Pats, Vanstone is churning out stories and more as the senior journalist and historian for the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders.
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Chiefs, says his club isn’t going anywhere and the WHL isn’t moving into the Chilliwack Coliseum.
allowing unvaccinated foreigners into the country. Despite all that, Djokovic wants in so that he can play tournaments in in California and Florida in March.
Kelowna Rockets, was traded to the Seattle Thunderbirds on Saturday morning. . . . Dach, who suffered an injury to his right shoulder in a game against Sweden on Dec. 31, won’t play for Seattle for perhaps eight weeks. The good news is that it doesn’t appear that he will need surgery to repair the damage. . . . The Rockets also gave up a fifth-round selection in the WHL’s 2024 draft, while getting back F Ty Hurley, D Ethan Mittelsteadt, a first-rounder in 2024 — it originated with the Regina Pats — two conditional picks, a second-rounder in 2025 and a fourth-rounder in 2023. The latter originally belonged to the Everett Silvertips. . . . 
Saskatoon Blades selected him in the first round, sixth overall, of the WHL’s 2018 draft. He had 22 goals and 27 assists in 82 games over two seasons with the Blades. . . . The Rockets acquired him from the Blades on Sept. 28, 2021, in exchange for F Trevor Wong. Last season, Dach put up 29 goals and 50 assists in 61 games with Kelowna. This season, he had nine goals and eight assists in 14 games. . . . He missed time early in the season because of two concussions, one incurred in training camp with the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks. Chicago picked him in the second round of the 2021 NHL draft. These days, the Blackhawks’ medical staff will be keeping close tabs on Dach and his shoulder. . . . 
suspended for the remainder of the 2022-23 regular season and the playoffs. . . . The suspension amounts to the regular-season’s final 15 games and whatever playoff games the Leafs end up playing. . . . The move followed a New Year’s Eve line brawl between the host Leafs and Beaver Valley Nitehawks. . . . Earlier in the week, the KIJHL issued 35 games in suspension to Nelson players and eight to the Nitehawks. . . . Later Friday, the Leafs, who won’t appeal any of the disciplinary decisions, announced that they had accepted DiBella’s resignation. . . . “Our investigation determined that the incident in Saturday’s game was instigated by the Leafs at Mr. DiBella’s direction,” Jeff Dubois, the KIJHL commissioner, said in a news release. “The KIJHL has zero tolerance for these types of actions by any team staff member, and the severity of Mr. DiBella’s suspension reflects the seriousness that we place on leadership and player safety.” . . . Should DiBella want to coach in the KIJHL in the future, he will have to apply to the 
commissioner for reinstatement. . . . The KIJHL also ruled that DiBella won’t be allowed in “any KIJHL facility for a period beginning one hour before and ending one hour after any Nelson Leafs game. He may not travel on the team bus and he may not be present on the ice, players’ bench, dressing room or office immediately before, during or after team practices. He is not to conduct any official business as a representative of the Nelson Leafs, such as player meetings, trade negotiations and athlete recruitment.” . . . As well, the Leafs were fined $5,000 “and instructed to take proactive steps to ensure all team staff are sufficiently trained and educated in the standards of conduct required under KIJHL regulations. A written report outlining steps taken by the organization in these areas must be submitted to the Commissioner no later than June 1, 2023.” . . . 
hasn’t played for the Red Deer Rebels since Oct. 22 due to an undisclosed injury. Brent Sutter, the Rebels’ owner and general manager, told Greg Meachem of 
The NAHL has approved a franchise for Greeley, Colo. The Colorado Grit will begin play in the Greeley Ice Haus in time for the 2023-24 season. The Grit will play out of the South Division. One of the team’s three owners is former NHLer David Clarkson. . . . There’s more right here.
be quick to salute Calder Anderson, Jake Chiasson, Nolan Ritchie and Ben Thornton of the Brandon Wheat Kings as this site’s sportsmen of the year. . . . In case you missed it, in the words of the Brandon Sun’s Perry Bergson, they “successfully interceded to help a distressed man who was contemplating suicide on the First Street Bridge” on the evening of Nov. 29. . . . “We’re very happy that we were able to save him and get him some help,” Thornton told Bergson, who added: “They also learned another lesson when 30 or 40 vehicles drove by without stopping in the short span they were trying to help the man. Yet they never considered leaving until the man was safe.” . . . Gentlemen, I salute you. . . . Bergson’s complete story is 
abysmal record unless being selfish and uncaring is the objective. Really, had you told me four years ago that the time was coming when our children would by dying, when our children would be unable to get much-needed surgical procedures, when our hospital’s emergency rooms would be over-run and that society would refuse to help by doing something as simple as masking up, well, I would have told you that you were crazy. . . . But, well, here we are.
in NHL history. So stop trying to tell me that he is. He’s still 88 behind Wayne Gretzky. Have people already forgotten just how great Gretzky was? . . . Allow me to point out that Gretzky also scored 92 goals in the WHA, which was a better league than many of those same people seem to recall. As for Gordie Howe, well he scored 801 NHL goals and another 174 in the WHA. . . . But when Ovechkin puts in No. 895, then you can call him the greatest goal scorer in NHL history. OK?
Canada beat Sweden, 5-1 — and left the game in obvious discomfort thanks to an injury to his right shoulder area. Dach, who turns 20 on Wednesday, has 17 points, nine of them goals, in 14 games with the Rockets this season. Earlier, he missed some time with a concussion. . . . The Rockets (12-18-3), who have lost five in a row, are eighth in the conference, seven points ahead of the Victoria Royals (8-24-4). . . . 
suffered a skate cut to the back of his left leg on Wednesday as his Slovakian side beat the U.S., 6-3. The 18-year-old Honzek, who is expected to be out as long as six weeks, leads the Giants in assists (26) and points (43) in 31 games. . . . Vancouver (14-16-6) is tied for fourth in the conference with the Tri-City Americans, who hold two games in hand. They are one point ahead of the Everett Silvertips. . . .
personal reasons, was dealt to Everett in exchange for Braden Holt. . . . Palmer, from Fernie, B.C., was in his second season with Victoria. He left the Royals sometime after a 7-4 loss to the visiting Portland Winterhawks on Nov. 12. . . . Holt, from Bozeman, Mont., was in his fourth season with Everett. In his first start with Victoria, he stopped 35 shots in a 3-0 victory over the host Vancouver Giants. . . . Having acquired Holt, the Royals then traded G Logan Cunningham, a 17-year-old from Sherwood Park, Alta., to the Edmonton Oil Kings for a fifth-round pick in the 2025 WHL draft. . . . After adding Cunningham to their roster, the Oil Kings dropped G Ronin Geraghty, 18. From Burnaby, B.C., he was 0-5-0, 6.48, .819 in seven games with Edmonton. . . .
Kootenay International Junior Hockey League took time out from chasing a puck to exchange Happy New Year greetings as they began the second period on Saturday evening. . . . The Leafs are the team in white in the above video, and the video evidence would seem to indicate that they were first off the mark. . . . The puck now has been passed to Jeff Dubois, the KIJHL commissioner. . . . Happy New Year, Mr. Dubois.
year-old F Dayce Derkatch. “It’s what you always dream of,” Derkatch told Rob Vanstone of the Regina Leader-Post. “It’s so special. I’m so honoured and so proud.” . . . He was a third-round selection by the Pats in the 2022 WHL draft. . . . His father, Dale, is in the books as one of the best and most-exciting players in WHL history. Playing with the Pats, he put up 491 points, including 222 goals, in 204 regular-season games. In 54 playoff games, he scored 30 goals and added 73 assists. Add it up — 252 goals, 342 assists, 594 points, all accomplished in 258 games. . . . Vanstone wrote: “Dayce’s ground-breaking goal was scored nearly 41 years after his father registered his first pre-season tally. In his exhibition debut with Regina, Dale had a goal — and two fights — in a 9-4 loss to the host Saskatoon Blades on Sept. 15, 1981. He went on to enjoy a 62-goal, 142-point rookie season.” . . . Dayce signed with the Raiders on Monday and is expected to spend this season with his hometown Regina Pat Canadians of the Saskatchewan Male AAA Hockey League. . . . Vanstone’s story is 
coach. He takes over from Dan Lambert, who left after two seasons to sign on as an assistant coach with the NHL’s Nashville Predators. . . . Viveiros, 53, spent last season as an assistant coach with the Edmonton Oilers, but was released when Dave Tippett was hired as the NHL team’s new head coach. . . . Prior to that, Viveiros spent two seasons as the director of player personnel and head coach of the Swift Current Broncos, who won the WHL championship in 2017-18. . . . Viveiros will be introduced to Spokane at a news conference today.
Brandon Wheat Kings as the only one of the WHL’s 22 teams still looking for one. The Wheat Kings chose not to renew head coach David Anning’s contract after last season. . . . Anning had been with the Wheat Kings though seven seasons — four as an assistant coach and three as head coach. . . . 
to the Blazers from the U of Alberta Golden Bears with Lajoie. They had helped the Golden Bears win the U Sports national title for 2017-18.
the Blades. Fans are claiming they had beer and macaroni thrown at them in the SaskTel Centre. . . . “I could feel something on the back of my neck, something really hard,” Raiders fan Matt Herbert told Jeff D’Andrea of paNOW.com. “We discovered it was macaroni later, but they were just pelting it down on us. Next thing you know, I could feel some beer coming down my back. The guy beside me was soaked.” . . . The macaroni had been given to fans as part of a promotion. . . . D’Andrea wrote: “The Blades did not wish to comment on the record. The SaskTel Centre did not respond to multiple requests for comment. The Raiders issued a response. . . . In it, they confirm that they’ve been told the occurrence is being examined by SaskTel Centre, and they hope nothing like this repeats itself for Game 5 Friday at the Art Hauser Centre.” . . . D’Andrea’s complete story is 
on The Eagle 94.1 since the late 1980s, the Broncos announced on Thursday that they are beginning “a new era of audio content production and distribution.” . . . According to the news release, “This will include streaming game-day broadcasts, podcasts and interviews that will provide Broncos Nation with leading in-depth coverage and access that we believe our fans will truly appreciate. . . . Further details are set to be released at a future date that is considerate of the parties involved and after a proper process has been completed.”
about to be sold, perhaps for as much as $12.8 million. According to reports, Dr. Azim Parekh is negotiating a deal that will end with him buying the Spitfires from a group that includes Warren Rychel and Bob Boughner. On Saturday, the Spitfires selected D Isa Parekh in the fifth round of the OHL draft. On Wednesday, the OHL held its U-18 draft, and the Spitfires, with the fifth overall pick, took D Aydin Parekh. . . . Yes, they both are sons of Dr. Parekh. . . . Dave Jewell of The Hockey Writers has a whole lot more on this story 
in Victoria. . . . The Giants swept the series and will meet either the Everett Silvertips or Spokane Chiefs in the conference final. The Giants, who finished atop the conference standings, will have the home-ice advantage, so the series will begin with two games in Langley, B.C., on April 19 and 20. . . . Last night, the Giants took control with three first-period goals, from F Lukas Svejkovsky (3), at 10:04; D Bowen Byram (4), at 16:19; and D Dallas Hines (3), at 16:37. . . . F Owen Hardy (3) made it 4-0 at 9:39 of the second period, before F D-Jay Jerome (2) got Victoria’s lone goal at 11:58. . . . F Brayden Watts (3) and F Jared Dmytriw (4) had the Giants’ other goals, both in the third period. . . . Dmytriw, who played the first three seasons (2014-17) with the Royals, also had two assists. He also is Vancouver’s captain. . . . Vancouver was 1-1 on the PP; Victoria was 0-1. . . . G David Tendeck stopped 17 shots for Vancouver, while G Griffen Outhouse completed his WHL career with a 27-save effort. . . . The Giants held a 157-63 edge in shots in the series, but, because of Outhouse’s superb play, needed OT to win Games 3 and 4. . . . Victoria D Ralph Jarratt, who missed Game 3, was back in the lineup. Royals F Phillip Schultz, who left Game 3 in OT with an apparent injury to his left arm, also was in the lineup. . . . F Kaid Oliver, the Royals’ leading scorer in the regular season, missed all of the playoffs with a shoulder injury. F Kody McDonald, who has used up his junior eligibility, completed a six-game suspension by sitting last night, while D Jake Kustra sat out the second of a two-game suspension. F Tanner Sidaway missed all of this series with a hand injury.
the tournaments. Fans also are guaranteed to see some of the best teams in major junior and junior A hockey, so the games mostly are competitive and, as such, entertaining.
contracts. . . . Tschigerl, from Whitecourt, Alta., was the fourth overall selection in the WHL’s 2018 bantam draft. He had 70 points, including 31 goals, in 30 games with the OHA Edmonton bantam prep team. . . . Galloway, from Kamloops, played for the bantam prep team at the Yale Hockey Academy in Abbotsford, B.C. He had three goals and 11 assists in 29 games. Galloway was a second-round selection in the 2018 bantam draft.
the Ed Chynoweth Cup, beating the host Swift Current Broncos, 2-1, on Friday night. . . . Everett F Connor Dewar (10) broke a 1-1 tie at 1:49 of the third period. . . . F Patrick Bajkov (14) gave the visitors a 1-0 lead, on a PP, at 14:43 of the first period. . . . The Broncos tied it at 11:26 of the second period on a goal by F Aleksi Heponiemi (4). . . . F Garrett Pilon had two assists for the winners, who got 34 saves from G Carter Hart. . . . G Stuart Skinner blocked 23 shots for Swift Current. . . . The referees were Chris Crich and Steve Papp. . . . The Broncos took three of the game’s five minors. . . . Everett was 1-2 on the PP; Swift Current was 0-1. . . . Announced attendance: 2,890. . . . They’ll play Game 2 in Swift Current tonight (Saturday). . . . Everett now is 8-0 on the road in these playoffs.
victory over the host Spruce Grove Saints, the AJHL champions, on Friday night. . . . The Wild won the best-of-seven Doyle Cup series, 4-1, and now advance to the Royal Bank Cup that opens in Chilliwack on May 12. . . . F Logan Ganie’s second goal of the game, at 1:00 of the second period, pulled the Saints into a 2-2 tie. . . . Wild F August Von Ungern broke the tie at 1:57 and the Wild never looked back. . . . Wenatchee will be the second U.S.-based team to play in the Royal Bank Cup; the Minnesota Wilderness of the Superior International Junior Hockey League got there in 2013.
and took a 2-1 victory over the SJHL-champion Hawks on Friday night. . . . The Pistons hold a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series for the ANAVET Cup and a berth in the Royal Bank Cup. . . . The teams now head back to Steinbach for Game 6 on Monday and, if needed, Game 7 on Tuesday. . . . Last night, F Brandan Arnold gave the Hawks a 1-0 lead at 17:05 of the first period. That was his sixth goal — and 11th point — of the series. . . . The Pistons pulled even on F Drew Worrad’s goal at 3:58 of the third period. . . . F Jack Johnson broke the tie at 12:22 with his first goal of the series. . . . Steinbach G Matthew Thiessen stopped 24 shots, while Nipawin’s Declan Hobbs turned aside 34.
TAKING NOTE 