Never have words like “low-key” and “boring” been as exciting as when they appear in postings from Lindsey Backmeyer, whose daughter Ferris, 6, continues to recover from a kidney transplant.
The Backmeyers — Pat, Lindsey’s husband, and their two other daughters, Tavia and Ksenia — are from Kamloops. They have been in Toronto for a month. Ferris, who was diagnosed with kidney disease early in her young life, underwent a transplant overnight on June 29 at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto.
“Things have been pretty low-key and incredibly boring . . . just the way we like it,” Lindsey wrote on Facebook on Monday. “Happy birthday to my ma yesterday!! We couldn’t be doing this right now as a family if it weren’t for her!! The bigs are definitely keeping her young and busy!!!”
Lindsey’s mother, Leslie Maydaniuk, also is in Toronto, and she has been instrumental in helping with the two oldest girls (aka the bigs).
As for Ferris, it seems she isn’t likely to be discharged from hospital for a few days. She has been experiencing some urine leakage, so the medical team had to put in a catheter.
“Urology is pretty adamant the catheter stays in until Friday so we have a week still at least before a potential discharge,” Lindsey wrote. “Her drain isn’t outputting anything and her kidney is still very happy. I’m cool with waiting if that’s what they think is best.
“It just feels a little dreamy to expect we will get through to discharge without any drama. She threatens it a bit at times but for the most part is behaving herself. Maybe boring is our new jam!!”
Boring hasn’t really been part of the Backmeyer family’s lives for more than five years, so it’s understandable if it’s hard to get used to at this point. Ferris, like most, if not all, six-year-olds, doesn’t do boring well at all.
“Ferris is the least impressed with being bored but the hospital does a decent job of trying to keep her busy,” according to Lindsey. “The days are loooong yet going by quickly. We’ve been here a month now already!! It’s exactly where we need to be right now so settling into that idea and just accepting where we are at.”
Meanwhile, Grandma and the bigs are in for a treat — like 10 days in California, starting on Friday.
Lindsey’s brother “has offered to bring the girls and grandma to California for a visit,” Lindsey wrote. “It was super sweet that the girls were worried about Ferris and felt sad for her, but I reminded them that their lives are super important too and this is an opportunity they won’t want to miss out on!! Hanging out with their auntie, uncle and cousins!! Should be a blast!! They are incredibly excited and I’m super excited for them!”
If anyone deserves a trip like this, it is Tavia and Ksenia. It’s easy to forget about them in all that has gone on around this family over the past five-plus years. But they’ve been part-and-parcel of the entire adventure, too, and they have shown an inordinate amount of bravery, courage and love through it all. So it’s good to see something like this happen for them.
After having spent 52 of his 69 years in junior or pro hockey, John Paddock announced his retirement on Monday in Regina. He had been the Regina Pats’ vice-president of hockey operations and head coach.
Paddock, a native of Brandon, will help the organization as a senior advisor.
He joined the Pats prior to the 2014-15 season. He has been the senior VP of hockey operations, VP of hockey operations, general manager and/or head coach at various times.
Alan Millar, most recently with Hockey Canada after a stint with the Moose Jaw Warriors, has taken over from Paddock as VP of hockey operations. Millar said the Pats’ coaching staff may be in place later this week.
“When I signed a new contract in ’18 after the Memorial Cup, it was for this length of time,” Paddock told a news conference. “That was in the back of my mind that it would be time at age 69.
“I don’t want to talk too much about it but the health issues I had a year-and-a-half ago . . . probably cinched it that this would be the time.”
Early in 2022, while he was being treated for lymphoma, Paddock tested positive for COVID-19. Because of the lymphoma treatments, he was immuno-compromised. All of this led him to a nasty place.
“I got sick,” Paddock told Rob Vanstone of the Regina Leader-Post in September 2022, “and then got really sick.”
As a result, Paddock wasn’t able to coach the Pats for the final 10 weeks of the 2021-22 season.
While with the Pats, Paddock twice was named the WHL’s coach of the year (2015, 2017) , and he was the executive of the year in 2017.
He is a former NHL player, assistant coach and head coach. He played in the AHL, winning two Calder Cups, then won three more as a head coach. He is in the AHL Hall of Fame.
Millar, 56, had been working as Hockey Canada’s director of player personnel. He was responsible for Canada’s U18 and national junior teams for the past two seasons. The U18 team won two gold medals during Millar’s time — the 2021 IIHF World Championship and the 2022 Hlinka Gretzky Cup — and the national junior team won the 2022 and 2023 championships.
Before joining Hockey Canada, Millar was with the Warriors for 11 seasons — the first two as director of hockey operations and the last nine as general manager.
JUNIOR JOTTINGS:
Mat Barrett has joined the Swift Current Broncos as their broadcast and community relations manager. Yes, he will handle their play-by-play. Barrett spent the past six seasons doing play-by-play with the SJHL’s Melfort Mustangs. For the past two seasons, Barrett, who is from Edmonton, also was their manager of marketing, business and office administration. . . . In Swift Current, Barrett will take over from Craig Beauchemin, who left in May after four years with the Broncos. . . .
The QMJHL’s Sherbrooke Phoenix has hired Philippe Sauvé as its new general manager, and Gilles Bouchard as head coach. . . . Sauvé is a former player agent who played in the NHL as a goaltender. Of late, he worked as a player agent with his father Robert. . . . Bouchard, who got a four-year deal, spent the past five seasons as an assistant coach with the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch. . . . They take over from Stéphane Julien, who now is an assistant coach with the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins. . . .
The BCHL’s Salmon Arm Silverbacks and Tyler Shattock, their head coach and assistant general manager, have agreed to a two-year contract extension. Shattock, who is from Salmon Arm, has been the head coach since stepping up from assistant coach during the 2019-20 season. He joined the organization as an assistant coach in October 2018. . . . With Shattock as head coach, the Silverbacks are 81-47-20 in the regular season. In 2022-23, Salmon Arm reached the Interior Conference final for the first time since 2008-09. . . . He played four seasons (2006-10) in the WHL — three-plus with the Kamloops Blazers and the last 30 games with the Calgary Hitmen as they won the 2009-10 WHL title. . . .
The BCHL’s Penticton Vees have promoted Matt Miller, who had been an assistant coach/video coach, to director of hockey operations. Miller, who is from Penticton, has been with the Vees since 2020. Earlier, he spent a couple of seasons with the West Kelowna Warriors. . . . The Vees also added Matthew Vanden Berg to their staff as an assistant coach. For the past two seasons he was a volunteer assistant coach at the U of Maine. . . . Former WHL D Cam Barker has left the Vees after two seasons as an assistant coach. The Vees won two BCHL titles while he was with them. Barker played four seasons (2002-06) with the Medicine Hat Tigers. . . .
Eric Labrosse is the new general manager and head coach of the MJHL’s OCN Blizzard, a team that plays out of The Pas. According to a news release, Labrosse “has many years of coaching experience ranging from France2, USports and most recently serving as the assistant coach for the Moncton Wildcats in the QMJHL.” . . . Labrosse replaces Doug Johnson, who spent one season with the Blizzard and now is general manager and head coach with the SJHL’s Melville Millionaires.
Headline at The Beaverton (@TheBeaverton) — Driver chasing 15-minute traffic delay by parking in middle of road put flashers on so it’s totally fine.
JUST NOTES:
The ECHL added its 29th franchise on Monday with the announcement that there will be a team playing out of Lake Tahoe when the 2024-25 season arrives. Tim Tebow, the former college and NFL quarterback, is part of the ownership. The as-yet unnamed franchise will play out of the soon-to-be completed Tahoe Blue Event Center, which is located in Stateline, Nev., and will seat more than 4,200 for hockey.
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If you are interested in being a living kidney donor, more information is available here:
Living Kidney Donor Program
St. Paul’s Hospital
6A Providence Building
1081 Burrard Street
Vancouver, BC V6Z 1Y6
Tel: 604-806-9027
Toll free: 1-877-922-9822
Fax: 604-806-9873
Email: donornurse@providencehealth.bc.ca
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Vancouver General Hospital Living Donor Program – Kidney
Gordon and Leslie Diamond Health Care Centre
Level 5, 2775 Laurel Street
Vancouver, BC V5Z 1M9
604-875-5182 or 1-855-875-5182
kidneydonornurse@vch.ca
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Or, for more information, visit right here.
me last week, stating his wife is unable to continue to work her current job in Alaska while moving to Calgary as originally planned. As a father to two young girls he does not want to live apart from his family again this (season). We respect this decision, supporting that family comes first and wish Dallas all the best in the future.”
hockey operations, is leaving the organization “at the end of July.”
TAKING NOTE 