Daniel Hauser – Page 3

Let’s get Chipperfield on the 40 at 16 list . . . WJC in Edmonton has its dates . . . Mateychuk sets up six for Warriors

Hey, WHL, gotta add another name to the list of 16-year-olds in your 40-Goal Club.

That’s right. And, no, I didn’t figure it out by myself. I received an email on WHL Saturday pointing out that F Ron Chipperfield of the Brandon Wheat Kings struck 40 times in 64 games in 1970-71.

He was born in Brandon — his home actually was in Minnedosa, just up No. 10 highway — on March 28, 1954, so, yes, he was 16 for the 1970-71 season.

Could Chipper score? Hey, does a bear, well, you know . . .

He went on to play three more seasons with the Wheat Kings, scoring 59, 72 and 90 goals.

Chipperfield finished with 470 points, including 261 goals, in 252 games. Yes, he averaged more than one goal per game over a four-season career. In his final season, 1973-74, he counted for 90 of Brandon’s 305 goals. Add his 72 assists and he was in on 162 goals, or 53 per cent of them.

Amazing!

When you consider that the Wheat Kings were anything but a powerhouse in those days — they won 20, 35, 29 and 27 games during Chipperfield’s four seasons with them — his accomplishments are all the more amazing.

So let’s add Chipperfield to the list that also features Glen Goodall, Jeff Friesen, Mark Pederson, Dave Pasin and Bedard.

The WHL had Kimbi Daniels on the list when it was posted, but it turns out that he was 17 years of age when he hit the 40-goal mark. As a 16-year-old, he scored 30 goals for the 1988-89 Swift Current Broncos.

Diner

So . . . the Minnesota State Mavericks thought they had won the CCHA championship on Saturday night in Mankato, Minn. In fact, they were in their locker room celebrating what they thought was a 2-1 OT victory over the Bemidji State Beavers. However, well after the game, officials reviewed the winning goal and decided that it shouldn’t have counted. The CCHA said in a statement that “additional TV production camera angles made available to the officials provided conclusive evidence that the goal net was elevated and the puck entered underneath the frame.” . . . After the game, Don Lucia, the CCHA commissioner, told reporters: “I don’t want to end someone’s career on a goal that is not a goal.” . . . The game was restarted from 3:02 of OT, more than an hour after it had ended. The ice was resurfaced, teams had a five-minute warmup and then away they went. . . . After all that, the Mavericks got a goal from Jack McNeely at 5:11 to end it for a second time.

A big first period save for @gascon_eve! 🙅🏻‍♀️@OlympiquesGAT | #QMJHL pic.twitter.com/w2bbzF1pNb

— QMJHL (@QMJHL) March 19, 2022

G Ève Gascon became the third woman to play in a QMJHL game on Saturday when her Gatineau Olympiques dropped a 5-4 OT decision to the visiting Rimouski Oceanic. . . . Gascon, 18, stopped 18 shots. . . . F Xavier Cormier scored the winner, his 20th goal of the season, at 1:10 of OT. . . . Gascon’s presence helped the Olympiques set a single-game attendance record (4,700) in their new facility — the Slush Puppie Centre. . . . Two other female goaltenders — Manon Rheaume and Charline Labonté — have played in the QMJHL, while Shannon Szabados, also a goaltender, had a taste of WHL action with the Tri-City Americans in September 2002. . . . Wayne Scanlan has more on Gascon’s day right here.

Spelling

My wife, Dorothy, who underwent a kidney transplant on Sept. 23, 2013, is taking part in her ninth kidney walk, albeit virtually, on June 5. She has been involved in every walk since she had her transplant. If you would like to sponsor her, you are able to do that right here.

We have dates! The 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship now is scheduled for Aug. 9-20 with it all to be played at Rogers Place in Edmonton. You will recall WJC2022 that the tournament actually got started in Red Deer/Edmonton on Dec. 26 but was cancelled four days later because of positive tests among players and on-ice officials. . . . All players who were eligible to play in December will be eligible for August. . . . Latvia has been added to the 10-team field, replacing the Russians, who were turfed after their dictator attacked Ukraine. . . . Group A will comprise Austria, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland and the U.S. Canada is in Group B, with Czechia, Finland, Latvia and Slovakia. . . . The tournament will start from scratch on Aug. 9, meaning results from December won’t count for anything. . . .

The IIHF also revealed on Saturday that the U18 Women’s World Championship is to be played in June in the U.S. It was to have been played in January in Sweden — Linkoping and Mjolby — but was scrubbed because of the pandemic. Dates and locations for June have yet to be announced. . . .

The men’s U18 Worlds will be held in Germany — Landshut and Kaufbeuren — from April 23 through May 1. Canada, Czechia, Germany and the U.S. will be Group A, with Group B comprising Finland, Latvia, Sweden and Switzerland. . . .

Martin Merk has more on the IIHF and various tournaments and schedule changes right here.

SATURDAY IN THE WHL:

The Moose Jaw Warriors got six assists from D Denton Mateychuk as they dropped the visiting Regina Pats, 10-4. . . . Regina had a 45-33 edge in shots. . . . The Warriors got singletons from 10 players. . . . Mateychuk has 56 points, including 47 assists, in 57 games. . . . Regina F Connor Bedard scored his 41st goal as he ran his point streak to 20 games, the longest in the WHL this season. . . .

F Briley Wood scored in the 11th round of a shootout to give the Lethbridge Hurricanes a 3-2 victory over the Rebels in Red Deer. . . . The Rebels forced OT when F Arshdeep Bains scored his 34th goal at 16:09 of the third period, via the PP. . . .

F Reece Vitelli scored twice and added an assist to lead the host Prince Albert Raiders to a 4-1 victory over the Saskatoon Blades. . . . Vitelli has 22 goals this season. . . .

G Daniel Hauser stopped 19 shots to help the Winnipeg Ice to a 5-0 victory over the Wheat Kings in Brandon. . . . Hauser has a WHL-leading seven shutouts. His other numbers this season: 24-2-1, 2.07, .913. . . . F Skyler Bruce had two goals, giving him 16, and an assist. . . . Winnipeg, which has clinched the East Division pennant, won the season series, 8-1-1. Brandon was 2-7-1.

G Isaac Poulter turned aside 19 shots as the Swift Current Broncos beat the Tigers, 2-0, in Medicine Hat. . . . F Josh Filmon’s 22nd goal, at 3:50 of the first period, stood up as the winner. . . . Poulter has four shutouts this season and five in his career. . . .

F Bailey Peach scored all three goals as the host Victoria Royals beat the Prince George Cougars, 3-0. . . . Peach, who has 33 goals, counted once in each period, the final one into an empty net. . . . The Royals got 35 saves from freshman G Tyler Palmer, who earned his third shutout of this season. . . .

F Sasha Mutala and F Parker Bell each scored twice and added an assist as the Tri-City Americans got past the Chiefs, 6-3, in Spokane. . . . Mutula and Bell each has 16 goals. . . . Tri-City scored four of the game’s final five goals. . . . F Yannick scored two goals — he’s got 11 — and added an assist for Spokane. . . .

F Niko Huuhtanen had two goals and two assists to lead the Everett Silvertips to a 5-2 victory over the visiting Vancouver Giants. . . . Huuhtanen, who has 32 goals, gave the Silvertips a 2-0 lead by scoring at 2:22 and 16:39 of the first period. . . . Everett also got three assists from D Olen Zellweger. . . . The Giants were without F Adam Hall, who was hit with a three-game suspension for a hit on Everett D Ronan Seeley at 2:17 of the second period of Friday’s game. Hall was given a minor for boarding on the play in which Seeley suffered an apparent shoulder injury. He left the game and didn’t return. Hall later scored the Giants’ second and fourth goals in the Giants’ 5-3 victory. . . . Seeley didn’t play in this one. . . .

F Logan Stankoven scored twice and Dylan Garand recorded the shutout as the Kamloops Blazers beat the visiting Kelowna Rockets, 4-0. . . . Kamloops has won eight in a row, with five of those victories over Kelowna. . . . Stankoven, who has 35 goals, opened the scoring at 2:41 of the first period and that was all the offence Garand would need. . . . He finished with 33 saves as he posted his third shutout this season and the 11th of his career. This season, Garand is 29-7-0, 2.04, .926. . . . F Fraser Minten added his 18th goal and two assists. . . . After the game, Regan Bartel, the Rockets’ radio voice, tweeted: “When you play each other four straight games, tempers flare. Coaches doing some shouting at one another late in the third.” . . . They’ll go home-and-home again next weekend, too. . . .

@SeattleTbirds will have to dig deep tonight. Seven players out of the lineup. Ludwig and Gottfried join the injury list. Ludwig hurt last night. Gottfried aggravated a lower body injury. They join Bauer, Rybinski, Davidson, Rempe and Ciona on the sidelines.

— Thom Beuning (@ThomBeuning) March 19, 2022

F Jaydon Dureau scored Portland’s first three goals as the Winterhawks skated to a 4-1 victory over the Seattle Blades in Kent, Wash. . . . Dureau, who has 17 goals, scored three times on the PP — 22 seconds into the first period for a 1-0 lead, 59 seconds into the third for a 2-0 lead and at 3:27 for a 3-1 edge. . . . Portland was 3-for-5 on the PP; Seattle was 0-for-4. . . . Seattle was able to dress only 16 skaters, two under the maximum allowed.

Scraps

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.

Couples

As we enjoy Bedard’s season, let’s not forget about Goodall . . . NHL’s Oilers to honour Prokop today . . . 2022 WJC to be played in Edmonton in August

There was lots of chatter after Regina Pats F Connor Bedard scored his 40th goal of the season on Wednesday night.

“Bedard became just the second 16-year-old in the past 30 years, and sixth in WHL WHL history, to reach the 40-goal mark during a regular season,” reads a piece posted on the league’s website.

“As far as the elite company is concerned, Bedard joins longtime NHLer Jeff Friesen (himself a former Pat) as 16-year-olds to score 40 or more goals in the past three decades. Friesen put up 45 markers with Regina during the 1992-93 season,” the story continues. “Bedard is the sixth 16-year-old to do it in league history, joining the likes of Glen Goodall, who fired in 63 goals in his 16-year-old season with the Seattle Thunderbirds in 1986-87, and a trio of Memorial Cup champions in Kimbi Daniels (43 goal with Swift Current in 1989-90), Mark Pederson (42 goals with Medicine Hat in 1984-85) and Dave Pasin (40 goals with Prince Albert in 1982-83).”

Yes, Glen Goodall, who had one of the most remarkable stints in WHL history, struck for 63 goals as a 16-year-old. He really did. Think about that for a few moments . . . that’s a whole lot of goals at any age. But to do it at 16. Yikes!

Of course, Goodall had scored 13 goals in 65 games as a 15-year-old. Oh, and he had five goals in 59 games as a 14-year-old. Yes, the pride of Thompson, Man., got into 59 games at 14. He had been on Seattle’s protected listed since he was 12.

Before he was done, Goodall had played six full seasons in the WHL, totalling 399 regular-season games. Now that’s one WHL career record that won’t ever be broken.

For the record, Goodall finished with 573 points, including 262 goals, in those 399 games. He holds the WHL regular-season career records for games played and goals. He is fifth in assists (311) and second in points (573).

The Detroit Red Wings selected Goodall in the 10th round of the 1988 NHL draft, but he never did get to play in the big league. He went on to a pro career that included a 100-point season with the ECHL’s Erie Panthers and five 100-point seasons in Europe. But the NHL never did beckon, likely because he went about 5-foot-8 and 175 pounds.

Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post has a piece right here from June 2020 about the connection between Goodall and Bedard.

Andy Eide had another good piece on Goodall on the nhltoseattle.com site and that story is right here.

G Ève Gascon, 18, is scheduled to make her first start for the QMJHL’s Gatineau Olympqiques today(Saturday) against the visiting Rimouski Oceanic. Gascon qmjhlnew was been 9-5-0 with the CÉGEP St-Laurent Patriotes in the Quebec Collegiate Hockey League (Division 1). . . . She will become the third woman to play in the QMJHL, after Manon Rheaume and Charline Labonté, who got into 26 games with the Acadie-Bathurst Titan in 1999-2000 and two in 2000-01. Rheaume played one game with the Trois-Rivieres Draveurs on 1991-92. . . . G Shannon Szabados got into four exhibition games with the WHL’s Tri-City Americans prior to the 2002-03 season. In her debut, on Sept. 4, 2002, she stopped 24 shots in a 6-4 victory over the Spokane Chiefs in a game that was played in Ladner, B.C. On Sept. 22, in a regular-season game at Vancouver’s Pacific Coliseum, she played 50 seconds early in the third period but wasn’t tested — presumably starter Tyler Weiman had an equipment issue — as the Americans dropped a 5-3 decision to the Giants. The game included 192 penalty minutes.

My, how time does fly! . . . On May 13, 2019, F Noah Gregor scored two goals and added an assist on the winner as the host Prince Albert Raiders beat the Vancouver Giants, 3-2 in OT, in Game 7 of the WHL’s championship final. . . . Because of the pandemic that is the last WHL playoff game to have been played. Yes, the Raiders have been the defending champions for almost three years now. . . . As for Gregor, well, he played in his 100th NHL game on Thursday night as his San Jose Sharks dropped a 3-0 decision to the Los Angeles Kings. Gregor, 23, has 22 points, including 11 goals, in his first 100 games.

Once again, thank you Pat Siedlecki for singing the Ukrainian Natinal Anthem tonight and to the @Troyanda_Leth Ukrainian Dance Club for joining him. pic.twitter.com/pbHXg3ZpQH

— Lethbridge Hurricanes (@WHLHurricanes) March 19, 2022

FRIDAY NIGHT IN THE WHL:

F Dylan Guenther scored twice, giving him 40 goals this season, to lead the Edmonton Oil Kings to a 4-1 victory over the visiting Calgary Hitmen. . . . Guenther scored his first goal on a penalty shot at 18:05 of the third period, then added an empty-netter at 19:28. . . . The Oil Kings (45-12-3) lead the Eastern Conference by four points over the Winnipeg Ice. . . . The Hitmen (21-30-8) are 10th, but just one point out of the last playoff spot. . . . Edmonton D Luke Prokop scored his 11th goal at 11:53 of the second and it stood up as the winner against his former club. Prokop will be back in the arena this afternoon (Saturday) as the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers honour him as part of their Pride Night as they entertain the New Jersey Devils. Prokop, who has signed with the Nashville Predators, came out as gay in July. He is the first active player under NHL contract to have done so. . . .

The host Lethbridge Hurricanes scored the game’s first three goals, all in the first period, en route to a 5-2 victory over the Red Deer Rebels. . . . D Chase Pauls scored twice for the winners, giving him four this season. It was his first two-goal game in 83 regular-season games. He now has 18 points, including five goals, in those 83 games. . . . F Ben King, the WHL’s leading goal scorer, got No. 47 for Red Deer. . . . These teams will meet again tonight, this time in Red Deer. . . . The Hurricanes (25-28-4) are seventh in the Eastern Conference, just three points ahead of the Regina Pats and Swift Current Broncos. . . . The Rebels (39-17-3) are a comfortable third in the conference. . . .

In Winnipeg, the Ice opened up a 4-1 second-period lead and hung on for a 4-3 WinnipegIce victory over the Brandon Wheat Kings, who have lost five straight. . . . F Conor Geekie’s 19th goal, at 19:34 of the second period, stood up as the winner. He needs one more goal to become the Ice’s sixth 20-goal man. As well, F Jack Finley has 18. . . . G Daniel Hauser earned the victory with 19 saves. This season, he is 23-2-1, 2.15, .911. . . . The Ice was coming off four straight home-ice shutouts. It ended up going 325 minutes 17 seconds without giving up a goal at home before F Tyson Zimmer scored his first of two goals for Brandon. . . . F Hayden Chaloner had two assists in his first career game with the Wheat Kings. Chaloner, who will turn 17 on Monday, was a seventh-round pick in the WHL’s 2020 draft. . . . The Ice leads the season series 7-1-1 with the final game tonight in Brandon. . . . Winnipeg (42-9-5) is second in the Eastern Conference and is 8-0-2 in its last 10 games. It is four points behind Edmonton and holds four games in hand. . . . Brandon (28-23-5) is sixth, nine points behind the fifth-place Saskatoon Blades and seven ahead of Lethbridge. . . .

D Sam McGinley scored twice and added an assist to lead the Swift Current SwiftCurrent Broncos to a 5-1 victory over the Medicine Hat Tigers. . . . McGinley has six goals this season. . . . He gave the Broncos a 3-0 lead at 6:03 of the second period and made it 4-1 at 18:08. . . . They’re back it tonight in Medicine Hat. . . . The Broncos (22-30-7) are tied with the Regina Pats, who hold four games in hand, for eighth in the Eastern Conference, one point ahead of Calgary. . . . The Tigers (11-42-4) won’t be in the playoffs this time around. . . .

F Lukas Svejkovsky broke a 1-1 tie with his 25th goal as the Seattle Seattle Thunderbirds beat the Tri-City Americans, 3-1, in Kennewick, Wash. . . . Svejkovsky, a midseason acquisition from the Medicine Hat Tigers, struck at 14:44 of the second period. . . . F Tanner Gould had pulled the Americans even with his first WHL goal at 10:02. . . . F Conner Roulette notched his 20th goal of the season and now has scored in four straight road games. . . . Seattle (36-15-6) is fourth in the Western Conference, three points behind the Portland Winterhawks. . . . The Americans (16-37-5) are 10th, six points out of the last playoff spot. . . .

D Devin Aubin scored his first two goals of the season, doubling his career VictoriaRoyals output in the process, and added an assist as the host Victoria Royals beat the Prince George Cougars, 6-2. . . . Aubin, who turned 19 on Thursday, went into the game with one goal in 46 games over two seasons. He now has five points in 26 games this season, one more than he scored in 21 games with the Swift Current Broncos in the 2021 development season. . . . F Tanner Scott had a goal, his 13th, and two assists for Victoria, which was outshot 42-24, including 14-2 in the third period. . . . G Tyler Palmer got the victory with 40 saves. . . . The teams will complete the doubleheader tonight in Victoria. . . . The Royals (18-34-6) are ninth in the Western Conference, one point behind the Spokane Chiefs and the Cougars (20-33-3), who are tied for seventh. . . .

F Adam Hall scored twice to help the Vancouver Giants to a 5-3 victory over the Everett Silvertips in Langley, B.C. . . . Hall has 16 goals. He scored twice in a four-goal outburst as the Giants erased a 1-0 deficit. . . . F Jackson Berezowski scored twice for Everett, giving him 40 this season. . . . Vancouver D Nicco Camazzola scored his third goal this season on his 19th birthday. He’s got three goals in 71 career games. . . . The same teams will hit the highway and play tonight in Everett. . . . Vancouver (23-29-4) holds down sixth place in the Western Conference, seven points ahead of Spokane and Prince George. . . . The Silvertips (39-10-8) are tied with the Kamloops Blazers atop the conference. . . .

F Matthew Seminoff scored the only goal of the shootout to give the visiting Kamloops Blazers a 3-2 victory over the Kelowna Rockets. . . . Seminoff led off the third round of the circus with its lone goal. . . . The Blazers have won seven in a row, four of them over the Rockets, who still lead the season series, 7-2-2. Kamloops is 4-6-1. . . . The same teams will play in Kamloops tonight. . . . F Connor Levis had pulled Kamloops into a 2-2 tie with his 14th goal at 13:38 of the second period. . . . F Colton Dach, who has 21 goals, scored both of Kelowna’s goals. He has three two-goal games this season, all against the Blazers. . . . F Andrew Cristall had two assists for Kelowna. Cristall, who turned 17 on Feb. 4, has 54 points, including 33 assists, in 49 games. . . . Kamloops G Dylan Garand had 37 saves, one more than Kelowna’s Talyn Boyko. Both are draft picks of the NHL’s New York Rangers. . . . The Blazers (42-14-2) are tied with Everett atop the Western Conference, with Kamloops holding one game in hand. . . . The Rockets (34-15-6) are fifth, four points behind Seattle.

Pizza

JUST NOTES: TSN’s Darren Dreger tweeted that the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship will be played in its entirety in Edmonton this summer. The IIHF said Friday that the tournament will be played in August. You will recall that the tournament got started in Red Deer and Edmonton in late December before being brought down by positive tests to players and on-ice officials. . . . The IIHF also announced on Friday that Latvia will be the 10th team in the tournament, replacing Russia. . . . With the IIHF having barred Belarus and Russia from various competitions, it has made adjustments to some tournaments. For example, Austria and France have replaced those two in the 2022 men’s world championship. There’s more on that and other changes right here.

Eating

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.

iPad

Blazers to bid on 2023 Memorial Cup; Gaglardi says process has changed . . . Bedard streak at 19 games . . . Blades halt Oil Kings’ 14-game tear

It used to be that WHL teams bidding to play host to a Memorial Cup tournament would make presentations before the board of governors in Kamloops1 Calgary, a vote would be held and a winner would be declared.

But it seems that process has gone the way of the dodo bird.

The Kamloops Blazers plan on bidding on the 2023 tournament and Tom Gaglardi, the team’s majority owner, says things have been redone and a host team/city now will be decided in secrecy and that it won’t involve the WHL board holding a vote. Instead, Gaglardi told Marty Hastings of Kamloops This Week, that he believes a decision will be made at the CHL level.

“It’s better,” Gaglardi said. “It should be decided by people who are, you know . . . I just think it takes biases out and the real reasons a winning team should host have got a better chance of prevailing. I’m hopeful this is a good system and a better system, but that remains to be seen.”

The WHL was to have played host to the 2020 tournament and the Blazers, Kelowna Rockets and Lethbridge Hurricanes all wanted to be the host team. Presentations were made in October 2018 and . . . the Rockets won. Bruce Hamilton, the Rockets’ owner, is chairman of the WHL’s board of governors.

Of course, COVID-19 had other plans and the tournament was scrubbed, as was the 2021 event. This year’s tournament is scheduled for Saint John, N.B.

When Hastings called Hamilton to ask if the Rockets would bid on 2023, the response was: “Thanks for the interest. The CHL is who releases that info now.”

Hastings’ story is right here.

Eggs

I got quite a chuckle out of two tweets from The Athletic’s Daniel Nugent-Bowman on Tuesday night. He covers the Edmonton Oilers, and they had just dumped the visiting Detroit Red Wings, 7-5. . . .

Part 1: Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft had lunch (Tuesday) with WHL Oil Kings bench boss Brad Lauer and his staff. Lauer said this: “The wins are pieces of art, but you don’t always hang every picture in the living room. Sometimes you hang them in the basement.”

Part 2: “I thought it was a really smart way of putting it,” Woodcroft said of Lauer’s analogy. “Brad’s a really funny guy. I’m going to steal that one. I think it adequately describes tonight’s game.”

I always enjoyed chatting with Lauer when he played for the Regina Pats and I was with the Regina Leader-Post. Later, after I had moved to Kamloops and he was an assistant coach with the WHL’s Kootenay Ice (remember them?) for five seasons, we often told talked before and after games.

The WHL hasn’t made a Media Guide and Record Book available since before the 2019-20 season, so the numbers that follow are unofficial.

Including Wednesday’s games, Lauer and Dennis Williams, the head coach of the Everett Silvertips, are neck-and-neck as to who has the highest percentage of games won among those who have coached at least four seasons.

Williams, who is in his fifth season in Everett, has won 189 of 272 games, which works out to .695.

Lauer is into his fourth season as Edmonton’s head coach. He has been the head coach for 214 games and the Oil Kings have won 149 of those. That is a winning percentage of .692.

Lauer’s Oil Kings dropped a 5-3 decision to the visiting Saskatoon Blades on Wednesday. He went into the game trailing Williams by .00001 — .69485-.69484.

I know. I know. You’re asking: What about Ken Hitchcock, who had such a great run with the Kamloops Blazers. In six seasons, he won 291 of 431 games (.675).

Bury

WEDNESDAY NIGHT IN THE WHL:

Bedard is one of 6 @CHLHockey players in the last 25 years to score 40 goals in a season as a 16-year-old.

The others:
Sidney Crosby (03-04)
John Tavares (05-06 & 06-07)
Steven Stamkos (06-07)
Taylor Hall (07-08)
Alexis LaFreniere (17-18)#CHLStats | #CB98 https://t.co/ZZK6CABLF3

— Regina Pats (@WHLPats) March 17, 2022

F Connor Bedard ran his point streak to 19 games as the Regina Pats took down the Hurricanes, 6-4, in Lethbridge. . . . Regina won on the strength of three third-period goals after F Justin Hall, who has 33, struck at 7:23 and 7:50 to give Lethbridge a 4-3 lead. . . . Bedard finished with two goals and an assist, giving him 79 points, including 40 goals, in 49 games. . . . His 19-game point streak ties him with F Logan Stankoven of the Kamloops Blazers, who had a 19-gamer end on Feb. 19. Bedard has 41 points, 20 of them goals, on his streak; Stankoven finished with 17 goals and 22 assists. . . .

F Tristen Robins scored three times to lead the visiting Saskatoon Blades to a 5-3 victory over the Edmonton Oil Kings. The loss snapped Edmonton’s 14-game winning streak. . . . Robins, who broke a 1-1 tie with three straight goals, has 30 this season. He scored at 4:22 and 15:18 of the second period and 4:55 of the third. . . . The Blades got 43 saves from G Nolan Maier, who posted his 118th career victory, just two shy of the WHL record. Maier stopped F Dylan Guenther on a penalty shot at 3:14 of the third period with the Blades leading 3-1. Robins scored his third goal just 1:41 later. . . .

In Langley, B.C., Czech F Petr Moravec scored at 1:37 of OT to give the Tri-City Americans a 2-1 victory over the Vancouver Giants. . . . Moravec, who turned 19 on Feb. 24, has 14 goals. . . . G Tomas Suchanek, an 18-year-old Czech, stopped 35 shots to earn the victory. . . . F Samuel Huo (26) gave the Americans a 1-0 lead with his second shorthanded goal in as many games at 7:27 of the first period. . . . D Alex Cotton (14) pulled the Giants even on the PP at 9:26 of the first. . . .

In Prince Albert, the Swift Current Broncos erased a 2-1 first-period deficit with the next five goals en route to a 6-3 victory over the Raiders. . . . F Karson King scored his fifth and sixth goals 11 seconds apart early in the second period to break a 2-2 tie. The Broncos also got a big game from G Isaac Poulter, who stopped 39 shots. . . .

F Blake Stevenson scored twice, giving him 22, to help the Calgary Hitmen to a 5-2 victory over the Wheat Kings in Brandon. . . . Calgary had lost seven in a row. . . . F Zac Funk added his 18th goal and two assists for Calgary, which broke a 1-1 tie with three straight goals, one late in the second period and two in the third. . . . The Wheat Kings were without top-end forwards Nate Danielson, Ridly Greig and Marcus Kallionkieli, all injured, for a third straight game. . . .

G Daniel Hauser blocked 24 shots to help the Winnipeg Ice to a 4-0 victory over the visiting Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . One night earlier, G Dawson Cowan, in his first WHL appearance, stopped 23 shots as the host Ice blanked the Calgary Hitmen, 4-0. . . . Hauser has a WHL-leading six shutouts in 27 appearances this season. He now is 22-2-1, 2.12, .913 this season. . . . The Ice got goals from F Connor McClennon (38), F Matthew Savoie (28), F Mike Milne (30) and F Conor Geekie (18).

Thanks a bunch to those of you who have clicked on the link and given generously. Much appreciated. . . . My wife, Dorothy, who underwent a kidney transplant on Sept. 23, 2013, is taking part in her ninth kidney walk, albeit virtually, on June 5. She has been involved in every walk since she had her transplant. If you would like to sponsor her, you are able to do that right here.

Walmart

The BCHL’s Alberni Valley Bulldogs and general manager/head coach Joe Martin have agreed on a five-year contract extension that will take him through the 2026-27 season. . . . Martin is completing his third season with the Bulldogs after spending eight seasons with the Merritt Centennials, the last four as GM/head coach. . . . This season, the Bulldogs, with two games remaining, are 34-14-4 and leading the nine-team Coastal Division by seven points over the Langley Rivermen.

The NAHL announced Wednesday that the Minnesota Magicians, who played out of Richfield, have been sold and are on the move to Eagle River, Wis. The Magicians had been in Richfield for nine seasons. . . . Wisconsin is home to two other NAHL franchises — the Chippewa Steel in Chippewa Falls and the Janesville Jets in Janesville.

ApplePie

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.

GoFundMe

Scattershooting on a Sunday night after watching a terrific Brier final . . .

Before leaving her apartment in Kiev she plays the piano for the last time.. pic.twitter.com/i1AmkGhKZX

— Lord Ashcroft (@LordAshcroft) March 13, 2022

It’s not too late for you to tell me why you no longer go to WHL games, or why you cut back on the number you attend. Or if you’re one who attends regularly, let me know why you think other folks should be going. . . . Thanks to those who already have contacted me. I hope to put something together at some point in the next week or 10 days. . . . If you want to, you are able to DM me via Twitter or email me at greggdrinnan@gmail.com.

Who was the last goaltender in professional hockey to play without a mask? Was it Andy Brown of the WHA’s Indianapolis Racers or Gaye Cooley of the NAHL’s Philadelphia Phantoms? What about Joe Daley of the WHA’s Winnipeg Jets? . . . Rob Vanstone of the Regina Leader-Post decided to try and find out, and settle the age-old argument in the process. Was he successful? You are able to find out right here in the best thing you will read today. . . . You should know, too, that Vanstone is writing a book about goaltenders and their love/hate relationship with facial protection. Can’t wait to read that one.

Stuart Kemp has led quite a life, going from professional wrestling announcer to being an active wrestler — yes, he has taken a chair or two to the noggin — to the president of the Portland Winterhawks Booster Club, one of the most successful organizations of its kind in junior hockey. . . . He also has experienced some serious health problems over the past few years but really is persevering as he continues to put one foot in front of the other. . . . Kemp was the latest guest on Hartley Miller’s Cat Scan podcast out of Prince George. Give it a listen right here. You won’t be sorry that you did.

Bacon

“Atlanta Falcons receiver Calvin Ridley has been suspended for the 2022 season for betting on NFL games,” writes Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times. “Evidently he didn’t get the express written consent of the NFL’s official betting partners, Caesars, DraftKings and FanDuel.”

——

Winnipeg ices playoff spot . . . Raiders, Chaika blank Hurricanes . . . Royals put hurt on Winterhawks

https://t.co/60UFvx6lVI pic.twitter.com/bfbfURttGY

— Michael de Adder (@deAdder) March 8, 2022

You have to wonder if we will be seeing any new Russian or Belarusian players headed this way for the next season — or longer — because of the decision by Vladimir Putin, the Russian dictator, to invade Ukraine.

On Monday, the NHL revealed that it has suspended a Memorandum of KHL Understanding that it had with the KHL, the Russia-based professional league that involves a number of Putin friends and Russian oligarchs.

As Aaron Vickers of the Daily Hive reported, the move effectively ends communication between the KHL and NHL.

Frank Seravalli of Daily Face-off obtained a memo that went from the NHL to its teams, in which teams were told to “immediately cease all dealings (direct or indirect) with the KHL and KHL clubs (and all representatives of both), as well as with player agents who are based in and continue to do business in Russia.”

Meanwhile, the CHL, which oversees the 60 major junior teams in the OHL, QMJHL and WHL, met last week and one of the items on the agenda was the 2022 import draft. There was speculation that the CHL would ban Russian and Belarusian players from the draft. However, after the meeting, the CHL announced that “the date and format for the 2022 CHL import draft have yet to be determined and will be announced at a later date.”

The CHL and its leagues often operate in lockstep in a lot of ways, so it will be interesting to see the end result of the major junior deliberations, especially in light of the NHL’s decision to at least temporarily sever relationships with the KHL.

It also will be interesting to see how NHL teams deal with Russian and Belarusian players who are eligible for the 2022 draft. Considering the uncertainty surrounding those two countries at the moment, how many NHL teams will even consider drafting Russians or Belarusians? And should the CHL choose to include those players in the annual import draft, will major junior teams shy away from selecting them?

If you are wondering, there presently are six Belarussians and three Russians listed on WHL team rosters.

Good morning from Kelowna!! ⛽️ pic.twitter.com/us6pHhZlZQ

— Regan Bartel (@Reganrant) March 8, 2022

TUESDAY NIGHT IN THE WHL: G Daniel Hauser stopped 14 shots to earn the shutout as the host Winnipeg Ice beat the Calgary Hitmen, 2-0. Hauser has four career shutouts, all of them this season. In 32 appearances over two seasons, he is 26-2-2, 2.48, .904. . . . The Ice became the seventh WHL team to clinch a playoff spot. . . . F Evan Herman scored twice, giving him 21 goals, and G Tikhon Chaika stopped 23 shots as the Prince Albert Raiders beat the visiting Lethbridge Hurricanes, 4-0, for their third straight victory. Chaika, an 18-year-old freshman from Belarus, has two shutouts this season. He is 16-15-2, 2.92, .902. . . . The Raiders (22-28-3), Calgary (20-26-7) and Swift Current Broncos (20-28-78) are tied for the Eastern Conference’s eight and final playoff spot. . . . F Bailey Peach scored his 30th goal of the season on a penalty shot and added two assists as the host Victoria Royals dumped the Portland Winterhawks, 5-3. Victoria closed to within one point of the Spokane Chiefs, who hold down the Western Conference’s eighth and final playoff spot. The Winterhawks had won five in a row. They remain three points behind the conference-leading Kamloops Blazers and Everett Silvertips, each with 80 points.

The Swift Current Broncos have made Devan Praught the ninth head coach in the franchise’s history. Praught, a native of Summerside, P.E.I., had been the interim head coach since Oct. 14 when Dean Brockman resigned as general manager and head coach. The Broncos are 18-25-7 under Praught. . . . There is a news release right here. . . . The Broncos named Chad Leslie as their general manager on Jan. 31 when they removed the interim from his title.

Doug Ford really likes his junior hockey. Is it not enough that his government already lets OHL teams skirt minimum-wage laws? That's $176,470.59 of public money going to each for-profit OHL team. If you're a taxpayer in Ontario, you should be livid. https://t.co/eUiJI5V3xi

— Ken Campbell (@Ken_Campbell27) March 9, 2022

The QMJHL has suspended F Lou-Félix Denis of the Shawinigan Cataractes for qmjhlnew five games for remarks he made in the direction of Russian D Evgenii Kashnikov of the Gatineau Olympiques during a game on Sunday. The incident occurred late in the first period, referee Pascal Saint-Jacques heard the comments, and Denis was handed a game misconduct for, according to the online game sheet, “discriminatory taunts, gestures and slurs.” Denis also will have to take part in a workshop about the QMJHL’s anti-discrimination policy. . . . Denis is the third QMJHL player to have been suspended under that policy this season.

Meanwhile, the OHL investigated allegations of inappropriate comments OHL having been made by a member of the Sudbury Wolves towards a player with the North Bay Battalion on March 3. On Tuesday, the OHL issued a statement that read, in part: “The league has done a thorough investigation of the allegation, including speaking to players and team officials of both teams in addition to the on-ice officials, and the allegation cannot be substantiated.”

The OHL also said it “will treat any discrimination against Russian and Belarusian players as we would with all allegations in accordance with our Harassment & Abuse/Diversity Policy. Further, last week we advised all of our on-ice officials to be aware of any inappropriate conduct among players including any anti-Russian/Belarusian discrimination and are working with the Canadian Mental Health Association through our Talk Today program to ensure supports are in place for our Ukrainian, Russian and Belarusian players.”

What time is it? HOGLE TIME

The Edmonton Riverhawks baseball club is excited to announce the hiring of Steve Hogle as their first General Manager!

Read more:https://t.co/2eS5Sq6vlc #yeg #KAKAWW pic.twitter.com/cJZL6ZKDJF

— Edmonton Riverhawks (@EdmRiverhawks) March 7, 2022

Steve Hogle isn’t going to settle the dispute between MLB and the MLBPA, but he is getting into baseball. The West Coast League’s Edmonton Riverhawks have announced that they have hired Hogle, a former president of the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades, as their first general manager. Prior to working with the Blades, he was vice-president communications and broadcast with the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers. Since returning to Edmonton from Saskatoon, Hogle had been working with Hockey Edmonton.

If you are a Seahawks fan, and you are driving, and you are listening to the radio, and you hear about Russell Wilson. …please don't drive off the road. Calmly pull over, and then react. pic.twitter.com/kObNgIJYPr

— Washington State DOT (@wsdot) March 8, 2022

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.

Peanuts

Visiting the time capsule and discovering the time Jim Harrison was in goal for the Estevan Bruins and a whole lot more . . .

I’m a trucker and I’ll be on the job tomorrow at 5am as per my regular routine. I’m double vaccinated, and I haven’t contracted Covid once throughout the entire pandemic. Don’t believe the hype. Most of us wheelmen are also needlemen 💉 #KarenConvoy 🚛

— FreddiePhelps (@PhelpsPhelps17) January 24, 2022

It is time to let your imagination run wild for a few minutes. OK?

Just imagine that NHL teams only carried one goaltender. And let’s imagine that one team’s goaltender was injured during a pre-game warmup, played the first two periods, but then couldn’t continue.

If that team was the Pittsburgh Penguins, would Sidney Crosby go in goal for the third period? If it was the Edmonton Oilers, would it be Connor McDavid?

Because that’s exactly what happened with the Estevan Bruins during a game in 1967-68, the second season of what is now the WHL.

I had never heard this story from the annals of WHL history until stumbling on it while doing some research on Saturday.

I was looking for a goaltender, any goaltender, who might have started his WHL career by going 20-plus games without a regulation-time loss.

The Bruins — Scotty Munro was the general manager and Ernie (Punch) McLean the coach — had opened the 1967-68 season with a 22-game winning streak, so I started there.

Gord Kopp was Estevan’s goaltender — teams only carried one goaltender — so he had opened the season with 22 straight victories.

Unfortunately, WHL statistics from the early seasons are embarrassingly scarce. So I was relying on newspapers.com where a subscriber is able to access a whole lot of newspapers, including the Brandon Sun, Edmonton Journal and Regina Leader-Post.

Through these newspapers, I was able to ascertain that the Bruins won their 22nd straight game on Dec. 10, 1967, beating the host Swift Current Broncos, 9-6.

However, Kopp was injured in the warmup, suffering a broken nose and a bad facial cut. I think it’s safe to assume that Kopp took a puck to the face. I don’t know whether he wore a mask with the Bruins, although I did find a photo of him wearing one of those form-fitting Fibreglas masks from a time in his brief minor pro career.

Anyway, he played the first two periods in Swift Current before apparently deciding that he couldn’t continue.

This is where things get interesting because it was F Jim Harrison, perhaps the Bruins’ best player, who donned the pads and played the third period. Not only that, but Harrison had scored three goals through 40 minutes. While I wasn’t able to find out how many saves he made in the third, the Bruins did hold period leads of 5-3 and 7-3. So the Broncos outscored the visitors 3-2 with Harrison in goal.

(Harrison finished that season with 75 points, including 32 goals, in 46 games. F Gregg Sheppard led the team with 81 points, 35 of them goals, in 58 games.)

But when is the last time a WHL player — or any junior player for that matter — had a hat trick and played goal in the same game?

Still, the Bruins came out of that game boasting a 22-0-0 record.

And then came Dec. 12, 1967, and a game in Saskatoon against the Blades.

“You have to concede the Bruins win No. 23 tonight when they take on the Blades in Saskatoon,” wrote Ron Campbell in that day’s Regina Leader-Post.

With Kopp unavailable, the Bruins brought in Ed Dyck, who had turned 17 on Oct. 29, from the junior B North Battleford Beaver-Bruins. With Dyck in goal, the Bruins dropped a 4-3 decision to the Blades before 1,410 fans.

Estevan took a 2-0 lead on first-period goals from Harrison and D Dale Hoganson, but F Orest Kindrachuk got the Blades to within one before the period ended. F Ron Fairbrother pulled Saskatoon into a 2-2 tie with the only goal of the second period, then gave his guys a 3-2 lead at 5:46 of the third.

F Greg Polis scored for Estevan at 6:18, only to have F Jim Nicholls score what proved to be the winner, at 10:59, as the Blades improved to 7-12-3.

“Those Blades played a whale of game,” Munro told Jack Cook of the Saskatoon Star-Phoenix. “We were bound to lose one eventually, and I’m glad we didn’t give it away. Blades were good enough to take it tonight.”

BTW, Cook reported that “there was no shortage of professional scouts at the game with five NHL clubs represented by nine men . . . including Dennis Ball, Danny Summers, Lorne Davis, Metro Prystai, Johnny Walker, Bud Quinn and Rudy Migay.”)

Cook also wrote: “Young Dyck, playing in his first junior A game, was remarkably calm and had little chance on the four shots that beat him.”

Dyck played four straight games with the Bruins. He beat the Oil Kings, 5-3, in Edmonton on Dec. 13, then dropped a 2-1 decision to the Buffaloes in Calgary the next night. (The Buffaloes had been 0-17-2 in their previous 19 outings.) On Dec. 16, Dyck beat the visiting Buffaloes, 7-4.

Dyck would go on to a couple of stellar seasons with the Calgary Centennials, and would spend three seasons in the NHL and one in the WHA.

Kopp returned for a Dec. 17 game against the visiting Brandon Wheat Kings, and stopped 23 shots in a 5-0 victory for his 23rd straight triumph.

However, Kopp’s run ended four nights later with a 4-1 loss in Brandon. The Wheat Kings outshot the Bruins, 28-20 in that one, as Brandon head coach Elliott Chorley chose to use only six forwards and four defencemen for most of the game. Yes, it was a different game in those days.

Chorley had Larry Romanchych between Jack Wells and Bob Young, although Young was injured early on and Gerald Canart slid into that spot. The other forward unit featured Jack Borotsik between Ray Brownlee and Bob Clyne, who scored twice. The defence pairings had Bill Mikkelson with Mark Kennedy, and Jack Criel with Jim Wilton.

At that point, the Bruins were 25-3, with Kopp at 23-1 and Dyck at 2-2.

In the end, however, it turned out that Kopp didn’t start his WHL career in 1967-68. As I learned with more digging, Kopp played some in 1966-67 when Prince George native Pete Neukomm was the Bruins’ starter. (Kopp actually lost his final appearance of 1966-67, 3-2, to the visiting Regina Pats.)

All told, Kopp got into 103 games with Estevan over the 1967-68 (55) and 1968-69 (48) seasons. In 1967-68, he played in 55 of the team’s 60 regular-season games, with a 2.76 GAA, .902 save percentage and six shutouts. He was 3.33 and .900 without a shutout in 1968-69. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to find any statistics from 1966-67.

——

All of this was necessary because the WHL wasn’t able to confirm whether G WinnipegIce Daniel Hauser of the Winnipeg Ice had set a record or was near a record when he went into Saturday’s game in Saskatoon with a career mark of 22-0-2.

Hauser, who turned 18 on Jan. 29, was 7-0-1 with Winnipeg in the development season of 2021. This season, he was 13-0-1 before the Blades beat the Ice, 7-2, on Saturday night.

It would seem that Hauser does indeed hold the record for longest unbeaten streak by a goaltender to begin his WHL career, at 22-0-2. Perry Bergson of the Brandon Sun pointed out that Scott Olson, a native of Bloomington, Minn., who spent parts of three seasons (1977-80) with the Wheat Kings, started his career on a 15-0-3 run. We will assume, unless we hear differently, that Olson held the record before Hauser’s arrival.

The 5-foot-11, 160-pound Hauser, from Chestermere, Alta., was a sixth-round selection by Winnipeg in the WHL’s 2019 draft.

——

When you go down a rabbit hole like I did in chasing Gord Kopp and the Estevan Bruins, you stumble on things like this . . .

The Bruins beat the visiting Weyburn Red Wings, 5-1, for their 20th straight victory on Dec. 5. The next day, The Leader-Post reported: “The Bruins moved one step closer to the all-time junior hockey win streak mark set at 25 by the now-defunct Portage Terriers of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League in 1942.”

Of course, the Bruins didn’t quite get there.

glass

Tweet of the week — Sunaya Sapurji (@sunayas), after Green Bay Packers QB Aaron Rodgers repeated the nonsense about the validity of U.S. President Joe Biden’s election victory in a Friday interview with ESPN: “Has anyone gone from ‘He could host Jeopardy!’ to ‘Legit horse paste conspiracy loon’ faster than Aaron Rodgers!?!”

John Stockton, the NBA Hall of Fame guard who starred at Gonzaga, has had his season tickets suspended by the school because he refuses to wear a mask at men’s basketball games. In an interview, Stockton, a devout anti-vaxxer, told Theo Lawson of the Spokane Spokesman-Review: “I think it’s highly recorded now, there’s 150 I believe now, it’s over 100 professional athletes dead — professional athletes — the prime of their life, dropping dead that are vaccinated, right on the pitch, right on the field, right on the court.” . . . Lawson also wrote: “During the interview, Stockton asserted that more than 100 professional athletes have died of vaccination. He also said tens of thousands of people – perhaps millions – have died from vaccines.” . . . Yes, we are in this for a long time yet.

Ducks

Dwight Perry, in the Seattle Times: “Robot umpires — or ABS, the Automated Ball and Strike System — will be used in Triple-A games this season, Major League Baseball announced. So now players will be subjected to a whole different kind of annoying robocalls.”

——

A reminder from Perry: “Only 22 days till pitchers and catchers don’t report.”

The Fredonia State Blue Devils are an NCAA Division III team that plays out of the State University of New York in Fredonia. . . . And here’s a goalie goal from the Blue Devils’ Logan Dyck, a 22-year-old from Calgary . . .

No, it's not a typo. Logan Dyck made 38 saves… Oh, and he scored a goal. #goalies #renaissanceman @FredBlueDevsHky pic.twitter.com/rzJbgzi5Hf

— Fredonia State Athletics (@FredBlueDevils) January 22, 2022

Headline at fark.com: Seahawks uninstall Norton.

Following consultation between @theSJHL, @mjhlhockey, and the respective governmental bodies, the 2022 SJHL/MJHL Showcase, scheduled for Jan. 25-26 in Winnipeg, MB, has been cancelled due to the Covid-19 Pandemic.https://t.co/QFhFNHlr1h

— SJHL (@theSJHL) January 22, 2022

Fishing

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.

Abducted

Scattershooting on a Saturday night while waiting for another football Sunday . . .

Scattershooting2

Ice Cube, the actor and not the thing at the bottom of your glass of Chivas, bailed on a movie project the other day. He chose not to get vaccinated so really didn’t have any choice. Not taking the inoculation cost him US$9 million. As Mike Lupica of the New York Daily News tweeted: “He can shoot hoops with Kyrie.”

Another sign the apocalypse is upon us: TMZ reported that “PETA is urging MLB to stop using the term ‘bullpen’ to describe the place where pitchers warm up.” . . . Seriously. The good folks at PETA must have been having a slow Thursday. Apparently, they issued a news release suggesting a change to “arm barn.”

Halloween

“PETA wants baseball to stop using the term ‘bullpen,’ saying it is a holding place for cattle about to be butchered and no place for pitchers,” notes Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times. “But still passing muster, for now: ducks on the pond, dying quail, gopher ball and dog days of summer.”

——

One more from Perry: “The Braves’ Ozzie Albies won Americans free tacos when he stole second base in the first inning of Game 1 of the World Series. How come Jorge Soler’s homer that same inning didn’t earn us free tater tots?”

Headline from @TheOnion: Poll Finds Most Americans Would Swap Democracy For $100 Best Buy Gift Card.

One more headline from @TheOnion: Texas School Censors All Of ‘Huck Finn’ Except The N-Words.

I saw two numbers this week that about knocked me out of the recliner, and I don’t know which one was more shocking. . . . First, The New York Times reported that Roger Goodell, the NFL commissioner, “made $128 million the last two fiscal years.” . . . And then I saw this headline on Entertainment Weekly’s website: “Here’s when all 136 new Christmas movies will premiere.” . . . OK . . . 136 “new” Christmas movies wins. I’m old enough to remember when there were about six Christmas movies out there. A Charlie Brown Christmas. Miracle on 34th Street. Home Alone. It’s A Wonderful Life. Love Actually. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. . . . Better make it seven because we can’t leave Die Hard off the list. . . . And now we get 136 new ones in a single year. Yikes! . . . BTW, if you aren’t aware, the Christmas movies have been available on your TV since Oct. 22. Enjoy!

BREAKING: Deaths from COVID-19 pandemic reach 5 million

— BNO News (@BNOFeed) October 30, 2021

There were nine WHL games on Saturday night. The Winnipeg Ice responded WHL rather well after having suffered their first loss of the season one night earlier . . .

In Kelowna, F Jake Poole’s OT goal gave the Rockets a 5-4 victory over the Victoria Royals. . . . Poole’s third goal of the season came at 4:45 of extra time. . . . F Pavel Novak scored three times for the Rockets (3-3-0). He’s got five, all of them against Victoria. . . . F Mark Liwiski helped Kelowna with his first goal this season and two assists. . . . The Royals, 1ho are 1-11-0 and have lost 10 in a row, got two goals from F Riley Gannon. . . .

In Prince George, F Matthew Seminoff had a goal and two assists to lead the Kamloops Blazers to a 4-1 victory over the Cougars. . . . Seminoff, who has four goals, had scored twice on Friday in a 7-1 victory over the visiting Victoria Royals. . . . The Blazers (8-1-0) have won four straight. . . . The Cougars (5-4-0) had won their previous five games, all against the Royals. . . .

In Spokane, the Everett Silvertips skated to a 3-0 lead en route to a 4-1 victory over the Chiefs. . . . Everett (7-0-1) has yet to lose in regulation time. . . . The Chiefs are 3-6-1. . . . F Michal Gut (3) scored twice, with F Austin Roest’s second goal of the season, at 8:36 of the second period, standing up as the winner. . . . Everett had a 29-15 edge in shots. . . .

In Kennewick, Wash., F Gabe Ludwig’s OT goal gave the Seattle Thunderbirds a 3-2 victory over the Tri-City Americans. . . . Ludwig’s second goal of the season came at 2:01 of extra time. . . . Tri-City F Ethan Ernst forced OT with a goal at 16:29 of the third period. . . . The Thunderbirds, who had a 51-21 edge in shots, are 7-2-1 and have won five straight. . . . The Americans (2-5-1), who were 1-for-8 on the PP, have lost six in a row. . . .

In Brandon, F Keaton Sorensen scored the game’s first two goals and the Prince Albert Raiders went on to a 3-1 victory over the Wheat Kings. . . . Sorensen, who has three goals, scored at 10:45 and 17:06 of the first period. . . . The Raiders (3-7-1) had lost their previous three games (0-2-1). . . . Brandon slid to 5-7-0. . . .

In Lethbridge, G Daniel Hauser recorded his first career shutout with 29 saves to help the Winnipeg Ice to a 7-0 victory over the Hurricanes. . . . The Ice (12-1-0) had lost its first game of the season in Edmonton on Friday night. . . . Hauser, 17, is from Chestermere, Alta. He now is 7-0-0, 1.72, .929. . . . The Ice got a goal and two assists from each of Conor Geekie (5) and Mikey Milne (9). . . . The Hurricanes (5-4-0) had won their previous two games. . . .

In Red Deer, F Ben King scored a PP goal in OT to give the Rebels a 4-3 victory over the Edmonton Oil Kings. . . . The Rebels finished 2-for-9 on the PP. . . . King scored twice, giving him seven, and added an assist. . . . The Rebels (7-4-1) took a 3-1 lead into the third period, only to have Edmonton tie it on two goals from F Jalen Luypen (5), the second one at 16:50. . . . The Oil Kings (7-2-2) have points in four straight (3-0-1). . . . The Rebels are scheduled to play their next seven games on the road as the Canadian Finals Rodeo takes over their home arena. . . .

In Regina, F Connor Bedard had two goals and an assist as the Pats dumped the Swift Current Broncos, 7-3. . . . The highly touted Bedard has six goals and four assists in 11 games. . . . F Logan Nijhoff scored twice (4) for Regina, with D Ryker Evans adding a goal (2) and two assists. . . . The Pats improved to 4-7-0. . . . The Broncos (2-7-2) have lost nine straight (0-7-2). . . . The Pats had won, 4-1, in Swift Current on Friday. . . .

In Medicine Hat, F Kyle Crnkovic scored twice to lead the Saskatoon Blades to a 4-2 victory over the Tigers. . . . Crnkovic came out of the night tied for the WHL lead in goals. He and F Connor McClennon of the Winnipeg Ice are at 10. . . . Saskatoon F Tristen Robins had two assists. He leads the WHL in assists (14) and points (21). . . . The Blades (8-2-1) were 4-for-6 on the PP. . . . The Tigers (4-5-2) have lost three in a row (0-2-1).

CarNut

When last we checked in with the ECHL’s Newfoundland Growlers, the City of St. John’s had punted them from Mile One, their home arena that actually now is Mary Brown’s Centre, and they were headed for Toronto. The Maple Leafs’ ECHL affiliate was going to play its first six home games in the Coca-Cola Centre. . . . But wait! . . . Now comes word that the Growlers aren’t going to leave The Rock. Instead, they will play at least their first six home games at the Conception Bay South Arena in, yes, Conception Bay South.

JUST NOTES: The San Jose Sharks put head coach Bob Boughner and seven players into COVID-19 protocol on Saturday. The players are F Andrew Cogliano, F Jonathan Dahlen, D Erik Karlsson, D Jake Middleton, F Matt Nieto, D Radim Simek and D Marc-Edouard Vlasic. F Noah Grego of the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda also went into protocol. . . . The Tennessee Titans will be without defensive assistant coach Jim Schwartz when they meet the Indianapolis Colts today due to COVID-19 protocols. . . . G Dryden McKay set an NCAA record for career shutouts on Saturday as the Minnesota State Mavericks’ 7-0 victory over the Northern Michigan Wildcats. That was McKay’s 27th career shutout and broke the record he had shared with Ryan Miller, who played 106 games over three seasons (1999-2002) at Michigan State. McKay has played in 105 games for the Mavericks over three-plus seasons. He has three shutouts in eight games this season.

Pancakes

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.

Poll

Canucks to return on Sunday vs. Leafs . . . Wheat Kings get new GM . . . BCIHL may add some Heat

OK. We think that the Vancouver Canucks’ schedule has been settled on . . . at least for now.

The Canucks, who last played on March 24 and have been in the midst of a Canucks COVID-19 outbreak since March 30, are to play host to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday and Tuesday nights. Earlier in the week, the schedule called for the Edmonton Oilers to visit Vancouver on Friday with the Maple Leafs there on Saturday.

The schedule, as it now sits, has the Canucks concluding their 56-game season by playing 19 games in 32 nights. They actually began the season by playing 19 times in 34 nights.

F Bo Horvat, the Canucks’ captain, addressed the media on Friday and provided some insight into what the club has been through.

“I’ve had the flu before,” he said, “and this doesn’t hit you like a normal flu. It’s not something you want to get, it’s not something you want your family go through either. I can’t stress enough to follow the protocols.”

Horvat also said that he had passed the virus on to his wife, Holly, and that “it hit her a little harder than it hit me.”

“I’m one of the lucky ones,” he said. “My symptoms were fairly mild . . . I’m not going to lie. It was tough to know my family got it from me.”

At the same time, Jim Benning, the Canucks’ general manager, confirmed that the team had been hit by the P.1 variant that originated in Brazil. It is more aggressive than the original virus, which explains why the Canucks, as a group, had so much more illness than any of the other teams that have been hit this season.

Benning also said that the Canucks have three or four players who may not be ready to return on Sunday, while head coach Travis Green, who also tested positive, has yet to return to the practice ice. The team is hopeful that he will be on the ice today.

Iain MacIntyre of Sportsnet has more right here.

And there’s a story right here from Karen Larsen of CBC News.

Ever since Kelly McCrimmon accepted the job in Vegas, change has been a constant for the Wheat Kings. Here's a look at the movement since Aug. 2, 2016 when McCrimmon announced he was joining the Golden Knights. https://t.co/VLtbcJuyL5 pic.twitter.com/1LEAaT361r

— Perry Bergson (@PerryBergson) April 16, 2021

Before Kelly McCrimmon left to join the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights, he had been the Brandon Wheat Kings’ general manager since 1989, or for 27 seasons.

With Friday’s announcement that Darren Ritchie is leaving, the club promoted Brandon Doug Gasper, making him its third general manager since McCrimmon’s departure.

Grant Armstrong, who had been the Victoria Royals’ assistant GM, player personnel, succeeded McCrimmon as Brandon’s GM on Aug. 23, 2016.

The Wheat Kings announced on May 7, 2019, that they wouldn’t be renewing Armstrong’s contract.

On July 12, 2019, Ritchie was promoted to general manager. He will be leaving after the completion of this season to join the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs as an amateur scout. He spent 14 seasons with Brandon, moving up from assistant coach (2007-16) to director of scouting (2016-19) and then into the GM’s office.

Gasper, a familiar face in WHL circles, joined the Wheat Kings as assistant GM on Aug. 15, 2019. From Rosetown, Sask., he had been scouting for the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks before joining the Wheat Kings. He also spent six seasons with the Moose Jaw Warriors, including a stint as their director of scouting (2015-17). Gasper also has scouted for the Prince Albert Raiders.

Ritchie will work for Toronto out of Brandon; Gasper will be relocating to Brandon from Saskatoon at some point in May.

The Wheat Kings’ news release is right here.

McCrimmon sold the franchise in September to the Brandon-based J&G Group of Companies, headed up by Jared Jacobson, the president and CEO.

The BCHL announced Friday that the Nanaimo Clippers “have been cleared to Nanaimo resume team activities.” The organization had been shut down Thursday to allow for further analysis of a COVID-19 test. It was found to be a negative, so the shackles have been removed. . . . The Clippers are scheduled to play the Victoria Grizzlies this afternoon in Port Alberni. Nanaimo’s Thursday night game against the Alberni Valley Bulldogs had been postponed because of the COVID-19 scare. . . . In that cohort on Friday night, Victoria beat the Cowichan Valley Capitals, 10-0.

The B.C. Intercollegiate Hockey League is exploring adding an expansion franchise in Kelowna — the UBCO Heat, which would call UBC’s Okanagan campus home. . . . The Heat has put together a committee that, according to its Facebook page, “now is recruiting marketing staff and potential student-athletes to help build a new team for the BCIHL in Kelowna.” . . . The BCIHL is down to three active teams, with the Trinity Western Spartans moving to USport’s Canada West conference and Selkirk College having cancelled its hockey program. . . . You know that expansion will be on the agenda when the BCIHL holds is annual general meeting virtually on May 18 and 19.

Donuts

Made my broadcasting debut today for New Brunswick’s peewee AAA championship game two. Only ~4000 more to go to catch up to @BobRidley_CHAT pic.twitter.com/OqxJYfPTA9

— Mark Rassell (@Mark_Rassell) April 16, 2021

It would appear that Mark Rassell, a former WHLer, is thinking about a new career! A native of Calgary, he played four seasons (2014-18) with the Medicine Hat Tigers, then spent two seasons at the U of New Brunswick. . . . He doesn’t mention here whether he knows how to drive a bus, though.

The Kelowna Rockets are scheduled to return to game action tonight in Kamloops against the Prince George Cougars. The Rockets have played only two games in this developmental season, having been sidelined since March 28 because of a COVID-19 outbreak. While the original schedule had the Rockets playing 24 games, the one now on the WHL website has them with 13 games remaining. . . .

Meanwhile, there were four games played on Friday night . . .

Daniel Hauser starts WHL career 6-0-0-0 including 5 wins as the home goaltender. Stops career best 40 and at 17 yrs, 2 mos., 27 days becomes the youngest ICE goaltender to turn away at least that number of pucks since Nathan Lieuwen's 44 (OT) on 1/22/08 (16 yrs, 5 mos., 14 days) https://t.co/Mv2x1hujAn

— Geoffrey Brandow (@GeoffreyBrandow) April 17, 2021

F Owen Pederson broke a 3-3 tie at 10:27 of the third period and F Michael Milne added another at 12:30 as the Winnipeg Ice beat the Swift Current Broncos, 5-4, in Regina. . . . Pederson, who has 10 goals, and Milne, who has three, each scored twice in this one. . . . D Owen Williams (4) got the Broncos’ last goal at 15:57 of the third. . . . While the Ice improved to 13-5-0, the Broncos (3-14-1) have lost seven in a row. . . . Winnipeg F Peyton Krebs had his point streak snapped at 16 games. Krebs put up nine goals and 21 assists over that stretch. . . . Winnipeg F Connor McClennon, who had his 12th goal and an assist, ran his streak to 11 games. He has 12 goals and 15 assists in 18 games and has only been blanked twice. . . . G Daniel Hauser stopped 40 shots for Winnipeg. . . . Swift Current was presented with the only PP opportunities of the game, and went 1-for-5. . . . The Ice went into the game with a PP that was running at a 34.6 efficiency rate (27-for-78), behind only to the Medicine Hat Tigers (41.8). . . .

The Medicine Hat Tigers scored the game’s last four goals and beat the visiting Tigers Red Deer Rebels, 4-2. . . . F Ben King scored both Red Deer goals, at 10:14 of the first period and 4:36 of the second. He has seven goals, and has put up four goals and five assists over his past five games. All told, he’s got seven goals and 10 assists in 15 games for a Red Deer team that now is 2-13-2 and has lost 10 in a row. . . . F Corson Hopwo (12) scored twice for the Tigers, getting them started at 13:34 of the second period and adding the insurance goal at 13:08 of the third. . . . Hopwo has goals in seven straight games. . . . F Brett Kemp (9) tied the game, at 3:29 of the third, and D Eric Van Impe (3) snapped the tie just 33 seconds later. . . . The Tigers, with points in seven straight (6-0-1), now are 10-3-1. . . . Medicine Hat was 3-for-5 with the man advantage. . . .

The Everett Silvertips scored three goals in the second half of the third period to Everett beat the host Seattle Thunderbirds, 5-3. . . . Everett, which had lost two in a row, improved to 10-3-0. . . . Seattle, which had won its previous two games, now is 7-6-0. . . . F Gage Goncalves gave Everett a 1-0 lead at 17:20 of the third period and F Cole Fonstad made it 2-0 just 50 seconds later. . . . Seattle F Henry Rybinski (4) scored in his third straight game, getting his guys on the board at 10:03 of the second period. . . . F Jared Davidson (5) put Seattle out front with goals at 13:48 of the second and 9:25 of the third. Davidson also assisted on Rybinski’s goal. . . . The Silvertips tied it on F Jacob Wright’s fifth goal, at 10:15. . . . Goncalves, who has 10 goals, broke the tie at 11:17 and Fonstad, now with 10 goals, got the empty-netter. He also had an assist. . . . Goncalves also had two assists. He has 19 points in 13 games. . . . Everett G Dustin Wolf stopped 34 shots. He’s 9-2-0, 1.81, .938. . . . Seattle dressed 17 skaters, one under the maximum, with F Payton Mount sitting out this one. He was taken to hospital following a game on Tuesday after being struck on the head by a puck that glanced off the wall behind the Seattle bench. He was checked over and released on Wednesday morning. . . .

In Kelowna, F Jonny Hooker broke a 2-2 tie at 18:08 of the second period and the Prince George Cougars went on to a 5-2 victory over the Victoria Royals. . . . Victoria (1-8-1), which has lost five straight, led 1-0 after one period on a PP goal by F Brayden Tracey (6). . . . D Majid Kaddoura (1) pulled the Cougars even at 2:09 of the second period and D Keaton Dowhaniuk (1) gave them the lead just 1:14 later. . . . Dowhaniuk, the third overall pick in the 2019 bantam draft, scored his first WHL goal. . . . F Trentyn Crane, a fifth-round pick in 2018, got the Royals into a tie at 11:40 with his first WHL score. . . . Hooker broke the tie, and F Kuren Gronick (2) and F Tyson Upper (1) added insurance in the last minute of the period. . . . Prince George (4-3-2) outshot Victoria, 41-21, and had a 39-16 edge in the face-off circle.

Carpenter

My wife, Dorothy, who had a kidney transplant more than seven years ago, will take part in her eighth straight Kamloops Kidney Walk on June 6. Unfortunately, it will be a virtual walk for a second straight year, but that won’t keep her from fund-raising on behalf of the Kidney Foundation. If you would like to help her out, you are able to make a donation right here.

——

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.

JUST NOTES: Gaelan Patterson is leaving the SJHL’s La Ronge Ice Wolves to take over as director of hockey operations for the Nanaimo Minor Hockey Association. Patterson, 30, who played four seasons (2006-10) with the Saskatoon Blades, joined the Ice Wolves prior to the 2018-19 season. From La Ronge, he had been the Ice Wolves’ associate GM/associate head coach. . . . Blaine Gusdal won’t be returning for a 14th season as the head coach of the U of Alberta-Augustana Vikings. The school made the announcement on March 31. Gusdal, 53, is from Erickson, Man. He played two WHL seasons (1984-86), splitting time between the Prince Albert Raiders (one game), Moose Jaw Warriors (59) and Saskatoon Blades (34).

Brunch

No offer, Loewen now free agent. . . . 11 other ex-WHLers don’t get signed. . . . NYT with more on Boogaard, concussions

MacBeth

F Dustin Boyd (Moose Jaw, 2002-06) has signed a one-year contract extension with Barys Nur-Sultan (Kazakhstan, KHL). This season, he had six goals and nine assists in 51 games. He started the season with Dynamo Moscow (Russia, KHL), going pointless in five games. He was released by Dynamo on Sept. 26 and signed with Barys on Sept. 27. . . .

F Ryan Harrison (Prince Albert, Medicine Hat, Everett, 2007-13) has signed a one-year contract extension with Jegesmedvék Miskolc (Hungary, Slovakia Extraliga). This season, he had six goals and 23 assists in 57 games. . . .

F Geordie Wudrick (Swift Current, Kelowna, 2005-11) has signed a one-year contract with Adendorf (Germany, Regionalliga Nord). This season, with Harzer Falken Braunlage (Germany, Oberliga), he had one goal in seven games. . . .

G Garret Hughson (Spokane, 2012-16) has signed a one-year contract with Acélbikák Dunaújváros (Hungary, rest Liga). This season, with U of Lethbridge (USports, Canada West), he got into 25 games, going 8-13-1-0, 3.73, .909, with one shutout and one assist. . . .

F Vitali Karamnov (Everett, 2007-08) has signed a one-year contract with Saryarka Karaganda (Kazakhstan, Vysshaya Liga). This season, in 17 games with Ugra Khanty-Mansiysk (Russia, Vysshaya Liga), he had two goals and eight assists.

ThisThat

With help from @CapFriendly, it's confirmed that the Dallas Stars did not send prospect Jermaine Loewen a bonafide offer by June 1 and no longer own his rights, letting him go.

Loewen was the first Jamaican-born player drafted into the NHL in the 7th round in 2018. #GoStars

— Brennan Klak (@nhlupdate) June 2, 2019

The Dallas Stars selected F Jermaine Loewen from the Kamloops Blazers in the seventh Kamloops1 round of the NHL’s 2018 draft and he then attended their development camp.

However, Loewen now is an unrestricted free agent.

Ray Petkau, Loewen’s agent, confirmed to Taking Note on Sunday that the Stars chose not to make an offer to Loewen prior to Saturday’s deadline, thus making him an unrestricted free agent.

“We do have AHL offers,” Petkau told Taking Note. “(There is) interest at the NHL level, but not sure yet where it’ll go.”

Loewen, now 21, has been one of the WHL’s best stories in recent years, having come all the way from a Jamaican orphanage to captain the Blazers.

He played five seasons with the Blazers, scoring 36 goals in 2017-18 and adding 28 more this season.

The 6-foot-4, 225-pound Loewen grew up in Arborg, Man., after being adopted by Tara and Stan Loewen. He didn’t play organized hockey until he was 10.

A true power forward who loves to drive to the opposition’s net off the left wing, Loewen finished his WHL career with 78 goals in 295 regular-season games, which isn’t bad when you consider that he didn’t get No. 1 until Game No. 85.

After not being selected in the NHL’s 2016 draft, he attended the San Jose Shark’s development camp. He also wasn’t picked in the 2017 draft.

——

At least 11 others players with WHL ties weren’t signed prior to June 1 by the NHL teams NHL who held their rights. . . . Nine of those players were selected in the NHL’s 2017 draft . . .

D Daniel Bukac, a seventh-round pick by the Boston Bruins, played this season with the OHL’s Niagara IceDogs. Bukac, 20, spent two seasons (2016-18) with the Brandon Wheat Kings.

F Brett Davis of the Red Deer Rebels was a sixth-round pick by the Dallas Stars. Davis also has played with the Lethridge Hurricanes and Kootenay Ice. He turned 20 on Saturday, so is eligible to return to the Rebels.

D Brendan De Jong of the Portland Winterhawks was taken by the Carolina Hurricanes in the sixth round. De Jong, who played five seasons with Portland, completed his junior eligibility this season.

F Zach Fischer, who played with the Medicine Hat Tigers and Spokane Chiefs (2014-18), was selected by the Calgary Flames in the fifth round. Fischer, 21, split this season between the AHL’s Stockton Heat and the ECHL’s Kansas City Mavericks and Rapid City Rush.

G Jordan Hollett of the Medicine Hat Tigers was a fourth-round pick by the Ottawa Senators. Hollett, 20, is eligible to return for a fourth WHL season. The Tigers acquired him from the Regina Pats prior to the 2017-18 season.

F Kyle Olson of the Tri-City Americans was taken by the Anaheim Ducks in the fourth round. Olson, 20, is eligible to return to the Americans after finishing with 21 goals and 49 assists in 62 games this season.

D Jarret Tyszka of the Seattle Thunderbirds was picked by the Montreal Canadiens in the fifth round. At 20, he is eligible to return for a fifth season with the Thunderbirds.

D Scott Walford of the Victoria Royals was a third-round selection by Montreal. Walford, 20, has played four seasons with the Royals and is eligible for one more.

F Lane Zablocki was a third-round pick by the Detroit Red Wings. He doesn’t turn 21 until Dec. 27, but that means he has used up his junior eligibility. In the WHL, he played with the Regina Pats, Red Deer Rebels, Lethbridge Hurricanes, Victoria Royals and Kelowna Rockets. He finished this season, and his junior career, with the BCHL’s Vernon Vipers.

Fischer and Zablocki now are unrestricted free agents; the others will be eligible for the 2019 NHL draft, which is to be held in Vancouver on June 21 and 22.

Two other players, both of whom were drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks in 2015, also have gone unsigned. F Radovan Bondra (Vancouver Giants, Prince George Cougars, 2015-18) had been selected in the fifth round, while F John Dahlstrom (Medicine Hat Tigers, 2016-17) was taken in the seventh round.

Bondra and Dahlstrom, both 22, were drafted from clubs outside North American, so Chicago owned their rights for four years. Both players now are unrestricted free agents.

There has never been a subscription fee for this blog, but if you enjoy stopping by here, why not consider donating to the cause? Thank you very much.

The Winnipeg Ice has signed G Daniel Hauser to a WHL contract. Hauser, from Chestermere, Alta., was a sixth-round selection in the 2019 bantam draft. . . . This season, he got into 23 regular-season games with the bantam prep team at the Calgary-based Edge School. He was 3.00, .911.

The New York Times story, written by John Branch, carries this headline: The N.F.L. Has Been Consumed by the Concussion Issue. Why Hasn’t the N.H.L.? . . . “With the Stanley Cup finals underway,” Branch writes, “Joanne Boogaard and a growing group of former players worry that people have moved on to a stage of acceptance — that the N.H.L. has emerged from its concussion crisis by steadfastly denying that hockey has any responsibility for the brain damage quietly tormenting players and their families.” . . . Boogaard is the mother of the late Derek Boogaard, whose brain was found to contain chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), the disease that is caused by head trauma. . . . Branch is the author of the book Boy On Ice: The Life and Death of Derek Boogaard. . . . If you haven’t read the book, you should. . . . Branch’s latest piece on the Boogards, the NHL, concussions and all the rest is right here. You should read that, too.

Tweetoftheday

Cheapest ticket I saw this morning for Game 3 on StubHub was $772 https://t.co/veocnkI6yi

— Kevin Allen (@ByKevinAllen) June 1, 2019

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