The WHL’s championship final, featuring the Edmonton Oil Kings and Seattle 
Thunderbirds, will open in the Alberta capital with games on Friday and Sunday.
The series will follow a 2-2-3 format — yes, you read that correctly. Due to building availability issues — the arena is booked for graduation ceremonies from June 9-15 — in Kent, Wash., the Thunderbirds will get only two home games, although they will be designated as the home team for one of the possible five games in Edmonton.
They will play Games 3 and 4 in Kent on Tuesday and Wednesday (June 8), before returning to Edmonton, if necessary, to finish up. Those games would be played on June 11, 13 and 14, with the Thunderbirds the ‘home’ team for Game 6. TSN will televise the series, beginning with Game 3.
The Oil Kings, the Eastern Conference’s second seed, advanced to the final by taking out the No. 1 Winnipeg Ice in five games. Edmonton has been sitting and waiting for an opponent since eliminating the Ice on Friday.
The Thunderbirds, the Western Conference’s fourth seed, ousted the No. 2 Kamloops Blazers, winning Game 7, 3-2, on the road on Tuesday night.
The Oil Kings last reached the WHL final in 2014 when they beat the Portland Winterhawks in seven games en route to winning the Memorial Cup. That was the third of three straight WHL finals to feature Edmonton and Portland — the Oil Kings won in 2012 and 2014.
Edmonton is 12-1 in these playoffs, having swept the No. 7 Lethbridge Hurricanes and No. 3 Red Deer Rebels before taking out the No. 1 Winnipeg Ice in five games.
Seattle last appeared in the WHL final in 2017 when it won the championship by taking out the Regina Pats in six games. One year earlier, the Thunderbirds lost the final, 4-1, to the Brandon Wheat Kings.
In these playoffs, Seattle now is 12-7, having eliminated the Kelowna Rockets, 4-1, and then gone seven games with both Portland and Kamloops.
Interestingly, the Thunderbirds won Game 6 in both those series by a 2-1 count at home, then went on the road to win Game 7. In the process, they became the first team in WHL history — which begins in 1966-67 — to win two Game 7s on the road in the same playoff season.
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TUESDAY IN THE WHL:
Western Conference
In Kamloops, F Jared Davidson scored twice and linemate Lukas Svejkovsky drew three assists as the No. 4 Seattle Thunderbirds beat the Blazers, 3-2, in 
Game 7 of the conference final. . . . It was the fifth time the Thunderbirds faced elimination in these playoffs and they now are 5-0 in such games. . . . The Blazers opened the scoring for the sixth time in the series when F Fraser Minten (6) struck at 8:34 of the opening period. . . . Seattle F Lucas Ciona drilled the left post behind G Dylan Garand a few minutes later. . . . The Thunderbirds pulled even at 15:47 when Davidson (10) snapped one home from the right face-off dot just seven seconds into the game’s first PP opportunity. That would be the only PP by either team on this night. . . . Davidson (11) shot Seattle into the lead at 2:27 of the second period following another face-off win in the Kamloops zone. . . . The Thunderbirds went ahead 3-1 at 14:56 as F Henrik Rybinski (4) beat Garand by tipping in a shot by D Jeremy Hanzel. . . . Seattle G Thomas Milic preserved the two-goal lead with a big stop off Kamloops F Logan Stankoven through traffic to start the third period. . . . The Blazers finally got to within a goal, but there were only 7.4 seconds left to play when F Daylan Kuefler (10) scored. . . . Milic finished with 33 saves, four fewer than Garand. . . . What was the key to Seattle’s series victory? Over the last four games of the series, the Thunderbirds held Stankoven, who leads the playoffs with 30 points, to three assists, while shutting out linemate Luke Toporowski, who finished with 23 points. Stankoven had scored hat tricks in Games 1 and 3, with Toporowski recording six helpers. . . . Meanwhile, Svejkovsky put up two goals and eight assists in six games, while Davidson had five goals and three assists in seven games, and Rybinsky, the third member of that line, played in only four games but had a goal and four assists.
The Minnesota Twins will be in Toronto for a weekend series with the Blue Jays, 
but shortstop Carlos Correa, a two-time all-star with the Houston Astros, won’t be with them. He was placed on the COVID-19 restricted list on Tuesday after exhibiting symptoms on Sunday and getting worse on Monday. Also on that list are Joe Ryan, a right-handed started, and backup OF Gilberto Celestino. . . . According to Sportsnet, the Twins, who began the week in Detroit against the Tigers, “have already said they’ll have ‘a few’ players on the restricted list not travelling to Toronto. This generally means players unvaccinated against COVID-19.”
My wife, Dorothy, a kidney transplant recipient in 2013, will take part in the 2022 #kamloops Kidney Walk for a ninth straight year on Sunday. Yes, it’s virtual again. You are able to sponsor her right here.
JUNIOR JOTTINGS: Beau McCue won’t be back as an assistant coach with the WHL’s Tri-City Americans, but he will be remaining with the organization. According to a news release, McCue, who played four seasons (2012-16) with the Americans, “will remain with the club in a supportive role within hockey operations.” . . . BTW, I asked American’s general manager Bob Tory, who is one of four co-owners, a while back if Stu Barnes would be back as head coach. The one-word response was: “Absolutely.” . . . Barnes, who also owns a piece of the Americans, now is preparing for his second season as the club’s head coach. . . .
The BCHL’s Surrey Eagles have added Matt Dawson as an assistant coach. A former Eagles defenceman, he played five seasons (2015-20) at the U of New Hampshire. In 2022-23, he was an assistant coach with the junior B Delta Ice Hawks of the Pacific Junior Hockey League. . . .
The junior B Westshore Wolves of the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League have signed general manager and head coach Derek Sweet-Coulter to a three-year contract extension. He is preparing for his second season with the club. . . .
The junior B Revelstoke Grizzlies, the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League’s defending champions, have promoted Jiri Novak to assistant general manager and associate head coach. He is going into is fourth season on the coaching staff. . . .
Alex Mandolidis has signed on as the general manager and head coach of the MJHL’s Winnipeg Blues. He is coming off three seasons as an assistant coach with the Calgary-based Mount Royal U Cougars men’s hockey team. Before that, he was an assistant coach with the AJHL’s Calgary Mustangs for one season. . . . With the Blues, he takes over from Taras McEwen, who now is the director of hockey operations. . . . The Blues are owned by 50 Below Sports + Entertainment, which also owns, among other things, the WHL’s Winnipeg Ice and the MJHL’s Winnipeg Freeze.
If you are interested in being a living kidney donor, more information is available here:
Living Kidney Donor Program
St. Paul’s Hospital
6A Providence Building
1081 Burrard Street
Vancouver, BC V6Z 1Y6
Tel: 604-806-9027
Toll free: 1-877-922-9822
Fax: 604-806-9873
Email: donornurse@providencehealth.bc.ca
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Vancouver General Hospital Living Donor Program – Kidney
Gordon and Leslie Diamond Health Care Centre
Level 5, 2775 Laurel Street
Vancouver, BC V5Z 1M9
604-875-5182 or 1-855-875-5182
kidneydonornurse@vch.ca
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Or, for more information, visit right here.
personnel. He will work alongside general manager Doug Gasper. . . . Moulton spent 14 seasons (2005-19) with the Spokane Chiefs, filling the roles of director of scouting, director of player personnel and assistant general manager at one time or another. . . . He also spent three seasons (2012-15) as an amateur scout with the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres. . . . Moulton also scouted for the Calgary Hitmen in the franchise’s early days. . . . Moulton left the Chiefs in July 2019 to join the Wasserman hockey division as Western Canada player recruitment and development advisor. Wasserman is a Los Angeles-based sports marketing and talent management company.
with the OHL’s Saginaw Spirit. Flynn, 26, spent the previous three seasons as an assistant coach with the WHL’s Red Deer Rebels. Prior to that he worked in the NAHL (Corpus Christi Ice Rays), QMJHL (Acadie-Bathurst Titan) and MJHL (Swan Valley Stampeders). . . . According to a Spirit news release: “Brad and his father, Danny, are the first ever father and son to coach in all three leagues of the Canadian Hockey League.” . . . Danny, a highly successful major junior coach, spent one season (2017-18) as an assistant coach with the Portland Winterhawks. He now scouts for the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets. . . . That news release is 
have been sold, with Shawn Vincent buying the franchise from a group headed by Ken Carson. . . . Vincent has hired Derek Sweet-Coulter as general manager and head coach. Sweet-Coulter, who is from Victoria, spent the previous two seasons as the GM and head coach of the BCHL’s Merritt Centennials. . . . Ian Birnie will be staying on as assistant GM and director of player development. He has been with the Wolves for three years.
and head coach, to a contract extension running through the 2025-26 season. Yes, that’s a five-year extension. He started with the Pistons as assistant coach/director of sales and marketing in prior to 2010-11. He has been head coach since taking over on an interim basis during the 2011-12 season, and added the GM’s duties over the summer of 2012. From a news release: “Since 2012-13, the Steinbach native has guided his team to three regular season titles, one Addison Division title, four league finals appearances, two Turnbull Cups in 2013 and 2018, the ANAVET Cup championship in 2018, and an appearance at the Centennial Cup in 2018.” . . . Dyck, now 50, played two WHL seasons (1989-91) with the Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . The Pistons’ news release is 
deal as head coach and assistant general manager. Shaw, 26, was the Alberni Valley Bulldogs’ associate coach and director of player development for two seasons. He was with the Merritt Centennials for three seasons before that, working as an assistant coach/scout and then assistant coach/director of scouting. . . . Shaw takes over from interim head coach Adam Nugent-Hopkins, who stepped in in March after Dan Cioffi, who was head coach/assistant GM, left the organization. . . . Brian Wiebe has more on the Express 
victory over the Prince George Cougars. . . . The Blazers completed an 18-4-0 season with six straight victories. . . . The Cougars (9-10-3) lost their last three. . . . Garand recorded his third shutout of the season and the eighth of his career. He finished this season 15-3-0, 2.15, .921. . . . F Josh Pillar (11) opened the scoring at 3:59 of the first period. . . . D Logan Bairos (1), D Ethan Brandwood (1) and F Orrin Centazzo (7) also scored. . . . Bairos, a second-round pick in the 2018 bantam draft, got his first WHL goal in his 19th game, 17 of them this season. . . . G Taylor Gauthier stopped 34 shots for the Cougars. . . . The game was played in 2 hours 4 minutes, which I believe ties it for the fastest game in the WHL this season. The Brandon Wheat Kings beat the Swift Current Broncos, 4-1, in an April 7 game that also was clocked in 2:04. . . . The Blazers completed their season without F Connor Zary, who missed the last seven games after taking a high hit on April 28. F Jonny Hooker of the Cougars served a four-game suspension for the hit. . . . 
victory over the Victoria Royals. . . . Kelowna, which played only 16 games because of COVID-19 issues, finished 10-5-1. . . . Victoria wound up at 3-17-2. . . . F Alex Swetlikoff (6) gave the Rockets a 1-0 lead at 6:45 of the first period, with D Noah Dorey (1) making it 2-0 at 16:12. . . . Dorey, a fourth-round selection in the 2018 bantam draft, scored his first WHL goal in his ninth game. . . . F Ty Yoder (4) pulled Victoria to within a goal at 16:42. . . . D Jake Lee (3) restored Kelowna’s two-goal lead at 9:02 of the second period with what stood up as the game-winner. . . . F Brayden Tracey (9) scored the Royals’ second goal at 19:14 of the third period. . . . The Rockets got 28 saves from G Roman Basran, while Adam Evanoff stopped 35 at the other end.
where things are with the suspension of play that was put in place on Thursday in reaction to the COVID-19 virus and also to take a look ahead. . . . “The plan is to pause, not cancel, not do anything other than that and see if the wave slows down a little bit for everybody,” Bruce Hamilton, the chairman of the board of governors and owner of the Kelowna Rockets, told David Trifunov of the Kelowna Daily Courier. “If we end up with a number of players with it, then it’s a bigger concern. We’ve got a couple of weeks to play with here, because we’ve got two weeks left in our season, really, and then we can make plans from there.” . . . At the same time, preparations are continuing for the Memorial Cup, which is scheduled for Kelowna, May 21-31. Hamilton told the Vancouver Province on Thursday that organizers are checking to see if Prospera Place, the home of the Rockets, might be available in June should the schedule need to be adjusted.
Friday — the Division II, Group A event that was to have been held in Zagreg, Croatia; the Division II, Group B event in Reykjavik, Iceland; the Division III, Group A tournament in Kockelscheuer, Luxembourg; and the Division III, Group B event in Cape Town, South Afrida. . . . The first three were to have run from April 19-25, with the one in Cape Town going from April 20-23. . . . 
TAKING NOTE 