Tag: Hockey Gives Blood

Ferris encounters some speed bumps . . . Blades, Broncos swing deal . . . T-Birds lose director of player personnel to NHL

Ferris070223
A chipper Ferris Backmeyer, 6, continues her recovery from a kidney transplant in a Toronto hospital. (Photo: Lindsey Backmeyer/Facebook)

It seems that there almost always will be speed bumps in the recovery process after a kidney transplant.

Ferris Backmeyer encountered a couple on Saturday at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, where the six-year-old from Kamloops underwent a transplant overnight Thursday.

With all that her family has been through over the past few years, they knew that this could happen. Still, that didn’t make things any easier.

“I knew there were gonna be bumps but tonight has been way too hard for my FerrisLogomama heart!!” Lindsey wrote on Facebook early, early Saturday morning. “(Friday) night was a bit tough in that I wasn’t able to sleep at her bedside and she woke frequently asking for me. So I didn’t get even a minutes sleep. Pat and I traded out and I slept during the day.”

And then Saturday started out “pretty good” but . . .

“She required (norepinephrine) overnight but weaned off of it when she woke up,” Lindsey continued. “She slept most the morning into the early afternoon. Then was pretty good. Her urine output really slowed down. Was hardly meeting targets but everyone was happy with the bloodwork and the urine output was considered acceptable. She got moved out of ICU in the evening at shift change.

“Well it musta been the elevation because she literally got crumpy as soon as we got upstairs. So much pain. Urine output dropped to less than 10mls an hour for a couple hours and then it was zero for the next two. She had a big jump in the output from her drain. The no urine output and intense pain for hours and then vomiting was breaking me.

“I was frustrated that it didn’t feel like much was being done. We couldn’t give more pain meds yet. No labs. Then the nurse told me they would order an ultrasound for the morning. I had only spoken to the resident that had come by to assess Ferris. She wasn’t a nephrology resident even and I just got incredibly articulate!!

“Magically . . . nephro came to the bedside. Ordered all the things including a stat ultrasound. They have albumin and lasix and she had really decent output. We just nicely got back from ultrasound. The preliminary report mentioned a narrowing in the ureter but good blood flow and no obvious big collections. Sigghhhh.

“Some of her tests aren’t back yet. She could still have a urine leak. But she made pee. She’s finally comfortable and asleep. Hoping for a bit of rest myself. The nurse is pretty busy with her. I suspect she will be in here most the rest of her shift.

“This is the first real bump so far and it scared the crap outta me. Feel better my girl!”

KFC

THE COACHING GAME:

The QMJHL’s Drummondville Voltigeurs are poised to name Sylvain Favreau as their next head coach. He had resigned as the head coach of the Halifax Mooseheads a week ago. With Drummondville, he takes over from Éric Bélanger, who resigned last month after just 63 games as head coach, 54 of them in the regular season. . . . That leaves six QMJHL teams without a head coach — the Cape Breton Eagles, Gatineau Olympiques, Halifax, Quebec Remparts, Rimouski Oceanic and Sherbrooke Phoenix.

JUNIOR JOTTINGS:

The Swift Current Broncos have acquired 2005-born D Tomas Zizka from the Saskatoon Blades for a conditional sixth-round selection in the WHL’s 2026 draft. Ziska, from Zlin, Czech Republic, had two assists in 32 regular-season games with the Blades last season. Saskatoon selected him in the CHL’s 2022 import draft. . . . The trade frees up the Blades to make one pick in Wednesday’s CHL import draft. Their second import slot is filled by F Egor Sidorov, who was their leading scorer last season. . . .

Cal Filson, who had been the Seattle Thunderbirds’ director of player personnel, has left the WHL team to work for the Chicago Blackhawks as an amateur scout. He had been with the Thunderbirds for 14 seasons, the last eight as director of player personnel.

THINKING OUT LOUD: Take a few minutes out of your day and track down a Washington Post feature written by Sally Jenkins that carries this headline: Bitter rivals. Beloved friends. Survivors. . . . It’s the story of Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova, their rivalry and their friendship, their battles with cancer and a whole lot more. . . . And it’ll be the best thing you read today. I guarantee it. . . . ESPN’s NFL coverage without Suzy Kolber and Steve Young? Say it ain’t so. . . . There isn’t much better than watching the Baltimore Orioles on TV with Jim Palmer, the ol’ right-hander, working as the analyst. . . . Is the hockey season over yet?

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.

AlarmClock

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Dogpoop

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

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

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

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

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

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

Home

THE COACHING GAME:

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

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

JUNIOR JOTTINGS:

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

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

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

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

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

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If you are interested in being a living kidney donor, more information is available here:

Living Kidney Donor Program

St. Paul’s Hospital

6A Providence Building

1081 Burrard Street

Vancouver, BC V6Z 1Y6

Tel: 604-806-9027

Toll free: 1-877-922-9822

Fax: 604-806-9873

Email: donornurse@providencehealth.bc.ca

——

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.

Tuna

Ice freezes out streaking Rebels . . . Thunderbirds add Prokop to roster . . . Dreger: Everett’s Williams to be Canada’s head coach at WJC

Two WHL teams on lengthy winning streaks clashed at the Wayne Fleming Arena in Winnipeg on Tuesday night. . . . When it was all over, the Winnipeg Ice WinnipegIcehad beaten Red Deer, 3-1, halting the Rebels’ 15-game season-opening winning streak. . . . While the Rebels broke the franchise record for longest winning streak — the 2001-02 club won 14 in a row in mid-season — they fell short of the WHL record for longest winning streak to open a season. The 1967-68 Estevan Bruins opened with 22 straight victories. . . . The Ice (16-1-0) now has won 11 in a row. . . . D Ben Zloty gave the Ice a 1-0 lead, on the PP, at 8:21 of the first period. . . . F Skyler Bruce upped it to 2-0 at 13:50 of the second period, and F Matthew Savoie scored shorthanded for a 3-0 lead 13 seconds into the third period. . . . F Carson Birnie got Red Deer’s goal, at 12:52 of the third. . . . The Ice had a 29-21 edge in shots. . . . Winnipeg was 1-7 on the PP; Red Deer was 0-6. . . . G Daniel Hauser stopped 20 shots for the Ice. He is 12-0-0 (2.24, .922) this season, and 53-3-2 (2.20, .913) for his career. . . . The announced attendance was 1,411. . . . The same two teams are to meet again tonight in Winnipeg. . . .

D Max Wanner had two goals and two assists to lead the host Moose Jaw Warriors to a 7-2 victory over the Edmonton Oil Kings. . . . Wanner had missed the Warriors’ previous two games. . . . The Warriors improved to 10-6-0, while the Oil Kings now are 2-13-1. . . . F Atley Calvert helped the winners with a goal and two assists. . . . F Jaxsen Wiebe, who is from Moose Jaw, had both Edmonton goals. . . .

F Hayden Pakkala broke a 1-1 tie with a PP goal at 15:35 of the third period and the visiting Prince Albert Raiders went on to a 3-1 victory over the Medicine Hat Tigers. . . . The Raiders got a goal and two assists from F Sloan Stanick and two assists from F Niall Crocker. . . . F Carson Latimer put it away with an empty-netter. . . . The Raiders (5-11-2) had lost their previous two games. . . . The Tigers (4-9-3) have lost six in a row (0-4-2).

ID

D Luke Prokop is back in the WHL for his 20-year-old season. The Seattle Thunderbirds announced on Tuesday that Prokop has been added to their roster Seattleafter being sent to them by the NHL’s Nashville Predators. . . . “This is a huge addition for our team,” Bill La Forge, Seattle’s general manager, said in a news release. “Luke’s combination of size and talent greatly boosts our defensive core. Acquiring his rights was important to us and we will be thrilled to see him in a Thunderbirds jersey soon.” . . . The Thunderbirds are scheduled to visit the Kamloops Blazers tonight. The Thunderbirds didn’t indicate whether Prokop would in the lineup. . . . A third-round pick by Nashville in the NHL’s 2020 draft, Prokop had been with the ECHL’s Norfolk Admirals. He had one goal in eight ECHL games. . . . Last season, the 6-foot-6, 220-pounder put up 10 goals and 23 assists in 55 games with the Edmonton Oil Kings, then had four goals and 12 assists in a 19-game run to a WHL title. . . . He began his WHL career with the Calgary Hitmen, playing 153 games with them, scoring eight goals and adding 35 assists. . . . The Thunderbirds acquired his WHL rights from the Oil Kings on Oct. 25, giving up three draft picks in the exchange — a 2025 first-rounder and third-rounders in 2023 and 2025. According to a Seattle news release at the time, “All draft picks are conditional on Prokop returning to the WHL.” . . . The Thunderbirds are 10-3-0, having lost two in a row. They are in the U.S. Division chase, trailing the Portland Winterhawks (11-1-2) and Everett Silvertips (11-5-0).

JUNIOR JOTTINGS:

You will recall reading here earlier about the AJHL’s Sherwood Park Crusaders having been in a multi-vehicle accident near Ponoka on Saturday as they were en route to a game in Blackfalds. . . . The Crusaders were singing the praises of their bus driver. . . . It turns out his name is Robert Gingrich. “He did a tremendous job keeping us safe,” Evan McFeeters, the Crusaders’ associate general manager and head coach, told Taking Note on Tuesday. “We will be forever grateful for him.” . . . Great job, Robert. Thanks for all you and the other bussies do in these days of nasty and often quickly changing weather. . . .

The Red Deer Rebels have signed 2006-born D Derek Thurston to a WHL contract. He was a sixth-round selection in the WHL’s 2021 draft. Thurston, from Delta, B.C., is playing this season with the U18AAA Delta Academy team. . . . His father, Brent, played with the Victoria Cougars and Spokane Chiefs. He was with the Chiefs when they won the 1991 Memorial Cup. . . . Brent has another son, Trevor, who has played with the Kamloops Blazers, Lethbridge Hurricanes and Prince Albert Raiders. Trevor, a 20-year-old defenceman, now is with the QMJHL’s Cape Breton Eagles. . . .

With the Portland Winterhawks at 11-1-2, Andy Kemper, their historian, notes that it is the eighth time in franchise history they have put up 11 victories through 14 games. “But,” he adds, “it is the most games played with only one regulation loss — previous was 11 GP in 1982-83 and 1985-86).” . . . Kemper also notes that Portland’s 24 points is the most in team history through 14 games played. . . .

There is ample speculation as to whether the Regina Pats will trade F Connor Bedard and, if they are to do that, just how much of a bounty will they get in return. I don’t think he’ll be on the move, only because I don’t know how the Pats would sell it to their fans. . . . But if a deal is going to happen this season, it means that Bedard may have only two home games remaining in his Pats career — tonight against the Edmonton Oil Kings and Saturday against the Red Deer Rebels. . . . After playing the Rebels, the Pats hit the road for 10 straight, including a five-game SRO tour of the B.C. Division. . . . Regina won’t play at home again until Dec. 10, by which time Bedard will be in camp with Canada’s national junior team as it prepares for the 2023 World Junior Championship. . . . The WJC wraps up on Jan. 5; the WHL trade deadline arrives on Jan. 10. . . . BTW, the Canadian team’s coaching staff is expected to be announced this morning. Darren Dreger of TSN reported last night that Dennis Williams of the Everett Silvertips will be Canada’s head coach.

Notme

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.

TheTalk

Hasek speaking out against Russian invasion . . . Clouston: Pats ‘going to try to add’ . . . TWU adds Beach as assistant coach

As another hockey season arrives and dictator Vladimir Putin’s Russia continues its war on Ukraine, the impact, or lack of same, on professional hockey hasn’t been much of a story.

But former NHL goaltender Dominik Hasek is working to get it into the headlines.

Here’s a chunk from Ken Campbell of Hockey Unfiltered:

More than a decade after his Hall of Fame career, Hasek has not stopped taking the road less travelled. He’s one of the very few athletes, past or present, who has the courage to speak out against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, saying Russian NHLers should be suspended and Czech players should be barred from playing in the KHL, the league in which he played in the final season of his career. He also thinks that the government in Czechia should bar any Russians playing for the Nashville Predators (winger Yakov Trenin) and San Jose Sharks (wingers Alexander Barbanov and Evgeni Svechnikov) from playing in Prague when the two teams kick off the NHL’s regular season there Oct. 7 and 8.

“It will be a beautiful hockey celebration,” Hasek told Hockey Unfiltered in a telephone interview. “At the same time, however, I am doing everything to ensure that no Russian players can play here and that they cannot make multimillion-dollar advertisements for Russia and its war and killings in Ukraine.”

Hasek also has thoughts on Russians playing in the NHL. Campbell writes: “Hasek believes all Russian-born NHL players should be suspended by the NHL, with the suspensions lifted only if and when they denounce Russia’s actions.”

Of course, there are people in the hockey community who don’t agree with Hasek.

If you haven’t already, you should hunt up Campbell’s Hockey Unfiltered site and check out stories like this one.

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Are you waiting for the Regina Pats to trade F Connor Bedard, who is the favourite to be the No. 1 selection in the NHL’s 2023 draft? Well, perhaps you Reginashouldn’t be holding your breath. In fact, what if the Pats are working to add to their roster in the hopes of making a run this season? . . . The Kamloops Blazers will be the host team for the 2023 Memorial Cup and there has been ample speculation that they are eager to land Bedard. Shaun Clouston, the Blazers’ general manager and head coach, isn’t so sure that Bedard will come available. “I think Regina is going to evaluate things,” Clouston told Marty Hastings of Kamloops This Week. “The information we have is they’re not trading him right now. They believe they have a generational-type player and they’re going to try to add. So, right now, that’s the direction they’re going and I guess time will tell if they’re able to get to a place where they feel confident kind of going all-in at some point with Connor Bedard as the centrepiece or whether they change that mindset. But that, right now, from our understanding, is their mindset They’re looking to add right now.” . . . Hastings’ complete story is right here.

Cotton

The Medicine Hat Tigers have added F Alex Drover, 20, to their roster. Drover, from Port-aux-Basques, Nfld., spent the previous four seasons in the QMJHL. MedicineHatHe played with the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles, Saint John Sea Dogs and Rimouski Oceanic, totalling 29 goals and 48 assists in 178 regular-season games. Last season, he put up 37 points, including 14 goals, in 44 games with Rimouski. . . . Drover is one of four 20-year-olds in camp with the Tigers, the others being F Brendan Lee, F Dallon Melin and Finnish F Oskari Kuntonen, who was selected by Medicine Hat in the CHL’s 2020 import draft. Last season, he had six goals and 20 assists in 24 games with KooKoo’s U20 side. Melin is coming off four seasons with the Red Deer Rebels; he had 11 goals and 13 assist in 67 games in 2021-22. Lee was acquired from the Saskatoon Blades last season; he finished with 10 goals and 11 assists in 52 games, 22 of them with the Tigers. . . . Melin had two assists Friday in a 6-3 victory over the host Swift Current Broncos. Lee had one assist; Drover was pointless.

WillieNelson

Ann Killion of the San Francisco Chronicle, on the retirement announcement from tennis great Roger Federer:

“Once a teenage brat who would throw his racket on the court, Federer grew up and evolved and became the definition of class and sportsmanship.

“He was doing that in an era of what often seemed relentlessly boorish and unbecoming behavior by professional athletes. When star athletes too often seemed to do something to let their public down, to embarrass themselves or to fail to understand the privilege and position they have.

“Federer never did that. In a modern era of scrutiny and social media, he was a safe harbor.”

The Tofino Resort and Marina, on the west coast of Vancouver Island, is owned by a group that includes retired NHLers Willie Mitchell and Dan Hamhuis. The latter also is one of the six men who own the WHL’s Prince George Cougars. . . . Something happened at the resort on Sunday night that has resulted in a management change, the closure of the place for a week or so, and a whole lot of speculation as to what caused it all. . . . Patrick Johnston of Postmedia has that story right here.

THINKING OUT LOUD — F Nick Suzuki may have been given the captain’s ‘C’ this week, but isn’t F Brendan Gallagher really the captain? Gallagher is one of those players who doesn’t need the ‘C’ to be the captain. . . . If F Connor Bedard really is a generational talent — and all signs point to that being an accurate evaluation — how would the Regina Pats explain it to their fans were they to trade him away? . . . There looked to be a lot of empty seats at Mosaic Stadium on Friday night, but the ticket holders who did show up didn’t hesitate to let their feelings be known as their favourites dropped a 26-24 decision to the Edmonton Elks. Yes, it was ugly. . . . The Roughriders are 3-5 at home. They once were 3-0. Whoops!

THE COACHING GAME:

Former WHL F Kyle Beach has joined the Trinity Western U Spartans of the B.C. Intercollegiate Hockey League as an assistant coach. . . . From Ian Kennedy of The Hockey News: “Last fall, Beach made headlines stepping forward as ‘John Doe’ in a case in which Beach was sexually assaulted by Chicago Blackhawks video coach Brad Aldrich during the 2009-10 season. The case made international news headlines, and eventually resulted in a confidential settlement between the Blackhawks and Beach made in December of 2021.” . . . Beach, 32, is from Kelowna. He played in the WHL with the Everett Silvertips, Lethbridge Hurricanes and Spokane Chiefs (2005-10). . . . Beach and TWU head coach Ben Walter, who is in his first season, were teammates with EC Salzburg in Austria’s EBEL and won championships together in 2015 and 2016. . . . Beach spent the past two seasons with the Ten Art BlackDragons in Austria, playing in Germany’s Oberliga. In those two seasons, he totalled 110 points, including 58 goals, in 68 games.

Shifter

JUNIOR JOTTINGS:

Gino De Paoli is the new play-by-play voice of the WHL’s Medicine Hat Tigers. The team made the announcement on Friday, three days after he announced he was leaving the AJHL’s Okotoks Oilers. He had been the voice of the Oilers for 11 seasons. . . . Scott Roblin handled the Tigers’ play-by-play on CHAT last season after Bob Ridley, the only radio voice the team had known since it entered the WHL for the 1970-71 season, took time off for health-related reasons. . . . Roblin left Medicine Hat over the summer and now is covering sports for Global TV in Saskatoon. . . .

Kevin Kaminski, the general manager and head coach of the SJHL’s La Ronge Ice Wolves, begins the regular season by starting a 10-game suspension. From the Ice Wolves: “The suspension is the result of reports received by the league after the final playoff game of last season that was played March 27. The sanction is under appeal but until this is finalized, we will comply with the suspension and assistant coach Kyle Schneider will lead the bench.” . . . Playing at home on March 27, the Ice Wolves dropped a 5-3 decision to the Humboldt Broncos in Game 6. The Broncos won the series, 4-2. . . . The Ice Wolves opened their regular season on Friday night with a 7-4 victory over the visiting Nipawin Hawks.

Sales

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.

Milkshake

WHL’s Final Four all set . . . Thunderbirds complete comeback, oust Winterhawks . . . Kamloops next up for Seattle

Dan Russell, the longtime host of the Vancouver-based radio show Sportstalk, has written a book. Oh, has he! . . . While it’s the story of his life and career to this point, Russell doesn’t pull any punches. There are lots of anecdotes and a ton(ne) of behind-the-scenes stories. . . . You are able to purchase Kindle and soft-cover editions at Amazon and a hard-cover edition is on the way. . . . Full disclosure — I may have provided Russell with a helping editing hand, an ear and, at times, a shoulder. Despite all that, I guarantee you won’t be disappointed in Russell’s story.

Router

And then there were four . . .

WHLplayoffs2022The WHL’s 2022-23 playoffs are down to the Final Four — the No. 1 Winnipeg Ice and No. 2 Edmonton Oil Kings in the Eastern Conference, and the No. 2 Kamloops Blazers and the No. 4 Seattle Thunderbirds in the Western Conference. . . . The Thunderbirds beat the Winterhawks, 6-3, in Portland on Tuesday night to win that series, 4-3. Seattle trailed, 3-1, only a few days ago. . . .

So . . . the playoffs now take time off while the WHL holds a couple of its drafts. Game action is to resume on Friday with the opening games in both conference finals — the Oil Kings will be in Winnipeg and the Thunderbirds will spend some time in Kamloops.

——

TUESDAY IN THE WHL:

Western Conference

In Portland, the No. 4 Seattle Thunderbirds scored three second-period goals in a span of 2:11 and went on to beat the No. 3 Winterhawks, 6-3, in Game 7 of Seattletheir conference semifinal. . . . Seattle became the 16th team in WHL history to come back from a 3-1 deficit to win a series. . . . The Thunderbirds last appeared in a Western Conference final in 2017 when they went on to win the franchise’s first league championship. . . . They will open the conference final with games against the No. 2 Blazers in Kamloops on Friday and Saturday. . . . Games 3 and 4 are scheduled for Kent, Wash., on May 24 and 25. If necessary, they’ll play in Kamloops on May 27, in Kent on May 29 and in Kamloops, again, on May 31. . . . Last night, F Nico Myatovic (2) got Seattle started with a shorthanded goal at 19:05 of the first period. . . . The Thunderbirds really took control early in the second period with those quick goals. D Jeremy Hanzel scored his first two playoff goals at 5:48 and 7:20, and F Lucas Ciona (6) made it 4-0 at 7:59. . . . The Winterhawks halved the deficit with a pair of PP goals — F Jaydon Dureau (1) struck at 10:03 and F Robbie Fromm-Delorme (3) at 19:09. . . . Seattle F Lukas Svejkovsky (7) pretty much iced it when he upped the lead to 5-1 at 11:51 of the third period. . . . Portland brought G Taylor Gauthier to the bench as it went on the PP with 5:22 left in the third period and it paid off as Fromm-Delorme (4) scored at 15:50. . . . Seattle F Reid Schaefer (5) iced it for good with an empty-netter at 17:22. . . . G Thomas Milic, who was especially solid over the final three games, stopped 33 shots in this one, nine more than Gauthier. . . . Portland was 3-for-6 on the PP; Seattle was 0-for-4. . . .

The last time a WHL team erased a 3-1 deficit to win a series? It happened twice in the spring of 2017 — and remember that there weren’t any playoffs in 2020 or 2021. Anyway, in 2017, the Lethbridge Hurricanes beat the Red Deer Rebels, who had led 3-1, in a first-round series, and, in an Eastern Conference semifinal, the Regina Pats got past the Swift Current Broncos after trailing 3-1. . . . That same Pats squad went on to lose to the Thunderbirds in the championship final. . . .

Kamloops and Seattle met three times earlier this season, with the Blazers winning twice. . . . They faced off twice in November in Seattle, with Kamloops winning, 5-1, on the 20th and, 4-1, on the 24th. . . . They played in Kamloops on Dec. 10, with the Thunderbirds winning, 6-1.

Chris Branch, writing The Athletic Pulse for Tuesday, sums up the biggest story going into the weekend’s PGA Championship:

Terror reigns in Tulsa, Oklahoma, this week. Fans at the PGA Championship, which starts Thursday, will have to pay the following prices for beer:

Michelob Ultra: $18

Stella Artois: $19

People are understandably flabbergasted. We are used to paying more on gameday as sports fans, but this feels like too much. . . . Who’s paying $19 for a Stella anywhere?

Sadly — and as a cheap-beer lover, I don’t say this lightly — the beers are simply suffering from a branding problem. Nowhere on the menu does it say how many ounces are in that beer — they’re 25-ounce brews. Still expensive at about $9 for a 12-ounce beer, but not the rip-off you think it is. Just a little more expensive than the average beer price at NFL stadiums.

The $16 chicken caesar salad, though? That’s a bridge too far.

Bill and Denise Burke, the owners of the OHL’s Niagara IceDogs, announced on OHLTuesday that they have sold the franchise to Darren DeDobbelaer, a businessman from Brantford, Ont. . . . The transaction awaits the stamp of approval from the OHL’s board of governors. . . . DeDobbelaer owns the junior A Brantford 99ers and the junior B Brantford Bandits. . . . The Burkes had owned the franchise for 15 years. . . . The Burkes purchased the Mississauga IceDogs and moved the franchise to St. Catharines where it has operated as the Niagara IceDogs. . . . From Luke Edwards of the St. Catharines Standard: “While the team had made an impact and was visible throughout Niagara, the franchise also experienced some turbulent waters earlier this year. Billy and Joey Burke, the team’s head coach and general manager, respectively, were given two-year suspensions after the league learned about a group chat where the pair made comments that violated the league’s harassment and abuse/diversity policy. The pair are also part-owners of the team. . . .”

Needs

COVIDFrom the New York Daily News: Eric Clapton, who has railed against lockdowns and vaccines, has tested positive for COVID-19. The 77-year-old English singer has canceled two upcoming concerts, Tuesday in Zurich and Wednesday in Milan, after being diagnosed, his team announced Monday.

From The New York Times: Apple, in a blow to its efforts to restore normalcy to its operations, has suspended its requirement that employees return to the office this month for at least three days a week because of a resurgence of Covid-19 cases.

JUNIOR JOTTINGS: Ryan Ward is the new head coach of the USHL’s Youngstown Phantoms. He had been the director of player development with the USHL’s Tri-City Storm. Ward replaces Brad Patterson, who had been with the Phantoms since 2009-10, the franchise’s inaugural season, and had been head coach since 2016-17. . . .

If you have interest in being a junior hockey play-by-play voice, you should know that two BCHL teams — the Merritt Centennials and Salmon Arm Silverbacks — are looking for new radio voices. . . .

In the BCHL last night, the visiting Penticton Vees got a goal from F Stefano Bottini (3) at 2:55 of OT to beat the Nanaimo Clippers, 3-2. . . . The announced attendance was 2,332. . . . The Vees lead the series, 3-0. Game 4 is scheduled for tonight in Nanaimo.

My wife, Dorothy, is preparing to take part in her ninth Kamloops Kidney Walk. . . . It will be held on June 5, but thanks to the pandemic it again will be a virtual event. . . . If you would like to sponsor her, you are able to do so 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.

Waste

How will B.C. weather impact schedules? KIJHL first with a postponement . . . Chiefs cleared to play after positives

The nasty weather situation in B.C. is likely to play havoc with hockey schedules over the next few days.

As I write this on Monday evening, the Lower Mainland is completely cut off from the rest of the province due to numerous landslides/mudslides and sections of highways having been washed away.

The first postponement was announced late Monday afternoon when the junior B Kootenay International Junior Hockey League said the Kelowna Chiefs won’t be visiting the Posse in Princeton on Tuesday. Princeton is one of the areas that has been hit hard by flooding.

We will have to wait and see what the BCHL does with the Merritt Centennials after that entire city of more than 7,000 people was hit with an evacuation order on Monday afternoon after its wastewater treatment plant was compromised when the Coldwater River overflowed its banks.

The Centennials are scheduled to play the Vees in Penticton on Wednesday and to entertain the Vernon Vipers on Friday and the Prince George Spruce Kings on Saturday. At first blush, you would have to think that all three of those games are in jeopardy.

The WHL, meanwhile, has time on its side because it doesn’t have any B.C. teams scheduled to play until Friday when the Victoria Royals are to visit the Kamloops Blazers, the Kelowna Rockets are to be in Portland to face the Winterhawks, the Tri-City Americans are to meet the Cougars in Prince George and the Everett Silvertips play the Vancouver Giants in Langley, B.C.

In fact, the WHL has only one midweek game scheduled — the Everett Silvertips are to meet the Winterhawks in Portland tonight (Tuesday) — before Friday.

You can bet that a lot of folks around the WHL have their fingers crossed in the hopes that things improve before Thursday when some of the road teams will plan on hitting the highway.

And let’s not forget about Saskatchewan . . .

RCMP Saskatchewan tweeted Monday afternoon: “A winter storm is expected to roll through parts of Sask. tonight and will continue over the next few days. Freezing rain + heavy snow + reduced visibility + strong winds will likely make travel difficult. Please refrain from traveling if possible.”

Meanwhile, in Alberta . . .

——

The BCHL’s Coquitlam Express, who beat the Spruce Kings 3-1 in Prince George on Saturday, weren’t able to make it home. So the team is hanging out in Kamloops. The Express is next scheduled to play on Friday and Saturday, against the visiting Trail Smoke Eaters and Cowichan Valley Capitals.

While some areas of Western Canada battle the weather, let’s not forget about the pandemic.

On Monday, the Spokane Chiefs received the OK to resume normal activities Spokaneafter all players and staff members returned negative tests. The organization had been on pause since Nov. 10 when two players tested positive. That resulted in the postponement of three games.

The Chiefs are scheduled to return to action on Friday when they play host to the Seattle Thunderbirds.

The last paragraph of the WHL news release on the Chiefs reads:

“The health and safety of all WHL participants is the top priority for the WHL. In order to reduce the risk of exposure to and transmission of COVID-19, the WHL requires all WHL roster players, hockey operations staff, and other team and League office personnel to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 with a Health Canada approved vaccine.”

It’s worth noting that the WHL decided not to mandate that all eligible people in billet homes be vaccinated, choosing instead to “strongly recommend to each of its member Clubs that players reside in billet households in which all eligible individuals are fully vaccinated.”

——

The Tri-City Americans announced Monday that “in compliance with an updated mandate from Washington state, all fans age 12 and over attending Americans’ games will be required to provide proof of vaccination or proof of a negative COVID-19 test, taken in the 72 hours before the game.

“The state mandate (took effect on Monday) for all indoor events with crowds of 1,000 people or larger.”

The WHL has four franchises in Washington state, with the Everett Silvertips, Seattle Thunderbirds and Spokane Chiefs also on board.

If you are planning on attending any sporting event in these COVID-19 times, you really should check out the hosting team’s website to check on possible restrictions.

In the case of the Americans, you will find more info right here.

Rick Westhead of TSN reported on Monday that three former WHL players — James McEwan, Myles Stoesz and Rhett Trombley — are among “four former Canadian Hockey League players who have provided sworn affidavits in connection with a proposed class-action lawsuit filed in 2019 against the WHL, the Canadian Hockey League and Hockey Canada.” . . . Stoesz, who played four seasons (2003-07, Spokane Chiefs, Regina Pats, Chilliwack Bruins) in the WHL, is alleging that coaches in Spokane told him he would have to fight if he wanted playing time. “I was moulded into this rage-filled fighter,” he wrote in an affidavit that has been filed with the Supreme Court of B.C. . . . Stoesz also wrote: “I think the CHL needs to be held accountable to the current and former players for these injuries. I want the CHL to acknowledge that what we had to do to play in the CHL as teenagers was not acceptable. Looking back at my career in the CHL, I feel like I lost part of my youth. My time in Spokane was a daze of fights. I’m scared about my future because I took repeated blows to my head. I’m in my early 30s and I suffer from headaches and migraines and my right hand is disfigured with a mallet finger from punching.” . . . Westhead’s complete story is right here.

This is one of three class-action lawsuits that have are facing the CHL, including the WHL. One of the others involves alleged abuse faced by players in the form of hazing, while the other concerns whether major junior leagues should have to pay at least minimum wage to the players. The CHL and former players actually agreed on a settlement for that one, only to have two judges, one in Alberta and the other in Ontario, refuse to approve it.

As well, the City of Cranbrook sued the owners of the Winnipeg Ice and the WHL in January, claiming the team broke its lease when it left for the Manitoba capital in the spring of 2019.

The Ottawa Senators, with 10 players and one coach in COVID-19 protocol, have had their games postponed, at least through Nov. 20. For now, that includes a road game that was to have been played tonight (Tuesday) against the New Jersey Devils and home games versus the Nashville Predators on Thursday and New York Rangers on Saturday. . . . The Senators also closed all team facilities on Monday.

The Kelowna Rockets have played 12 games this regular season and have Rocketsalready used four goaltenders. That might help explain the announcement on Monday that they have hired Eli Wilson as goaltender coach. . . . It should be noted that Wilson, a veteran goaltender coach, also fills that position with the WHL’s Tri-City Americans. In the past, he has worked with the NHL’s Ottawa Senators and AHL’s Syracuse Crunch, along with the WHL’s Medicine Hat Tigers and Vancouver Giants. . . . He apparently is replacing Adam Brown, who had been with the team since 2016. Brown’s name doesn’t appear in the news release announcing Wilson’s signing, and he no longer is listed on the team’s website. . . . The Rockets went into the season with four options in goal — veterans Roman Basran and Cole Schwebius, a pair of 20-year-olds, freshman Nicholas Cristiano, 17, and Cole Tisdale, 19, who made 12 appearances over three seasons. Basran and Schwebius were released, Cristian was returned to the U18 Fraser Valley Thunderbirds, and Tisdale went to the Americans in the deal for Boyko. . . . The Rockets also acquired Colby Knight, 18, from the Edmonton Oil Kings on Oct. 12. . . . So now the Rockets will ride the 6-foot-7.5 Boyko, who was selected by the New York Rangers in the fourth round of the NHL’s 2021 draft, and Knight, with Wilson charged with getting them on the right track and keeping them there.

Masks

BACK TO WORK: Ian Henry is the new communications co-ordinator for the Mercer Island School Division. He went to work there for the first time on Monday. “I am managing all District communications platforms to tell stories about the hard-working students, dedicated staff and great schools in the District,” he tweeted. Henry had been with the Seattle Thunderbirds, most recently as media relations, communications and digital media director, director, since July 2002 before being let go because of pandemic-related cutbacks.

Tupperware

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.

Phone

Some B.C. teams cleared for 100 per cent capacity . . . Not Blazers, Cougars, Rockets . . . Want a drink at Kraken game? Bring money. Lots of money

B.C.’s NDP government and the Provincial Health Office have been guilty of mixed messaging and poor communications on more than one occasion over the last 18 or 19 months or however long we have been in this pandemic-induced mess.

That appears to have been the case again on Tuesday.

Of course, no one should have been surprised when it was announced that (some) facilities, including the home of the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks, would be allowed to go to 100 per cent capacity — up from 50 — on Oct. 25. Uhh, the Canucks’ home-opener is scheduled for Oct. 26. I know. I know. Surely, a coincidence. Right?

But there are a lot of junior hockey teams in B.C., and many of them believed that they were included in the change to 100 per cent capacity. Except it turns out they weren’t.

While the Vancouver Giants and Victoria Royals are among the 100 Club, the Kamloops Blazers, Kelowna Rockets and Prince George Cougars aren’t. Neither are the BCHL’s Chilliwack Chiefs, Cranbrook Bucks, Merritt Centennials, Penticton Vees, Prince George Spruce Kings, Salmon Arm Silverbacks, Trail Smoke Eaters, Vernon Vipers and West Kelowna Warriors. Oh, and the AHL’s Abbotsford Canucks aren’t in the 100 Club either. At least, not yet.

It took Richard Zussman of Global BC to unmuddy the waters.

If you missed it over the weekend, the family of the late Jimmy Hayes, a former nhl2NHLer, revealed that he had fentanyl and cocaine in his system when he died in August. That came after he had ended up addicted to painkillers while rehabbing an injury. . . . Rick Westhead of TSN spoke with Len Boogaard, whose son Derek, a former NHL/WHL player, died of an accidental overdose in May 2011. . . . “How many players have to die before the NHL acknowledges that there’s a problem?” Len Boogaard said. “Ten years ago, with Derek, I maintained that it was a learning experience for everybody, so that Derek didn’t die in vain. Well, we continue to just go through the same thing. After me it was Steve Montador’s dad. And now it’s Jimmy’s dad saying he wants to bring this to everyone’s attention, so it doesn’t happen to everyone else. I guess it’s going to take more players dying, maybe three or four back-to-back again, or maybe more, for the NHL to do something. Maybe it has to happen again, God forbid. I know it sounds so callous . . .” . . . Westhead’s complete story is right here. . . . And if you haven’t read the book Boy on Ice: The Life and Death of Derek Boogaard, written by John Branch of The New York Times, it’s well worth your time.

You should know that there aren’t any “overage” players in the WHL.

Merriam-Webster defines “overage” as being “too old to be useful.”

There was a time, prior to April 2, 1985, when the WHL and its teams referred to 20-year-old players as “overagers.” However, that came to an end at a board of governors’ meeting in Calgary on that sunny April day in 1985.

At that same meeting, governors voted to allow each team to dress three 20-year-olds, up from two, a rule that remains in existence today.

“I’m pleased about the move to three 20-year-olds,” WHL president Ed Chynoweth said at the time. “We also decided to eliminate the word ‘overage.’ From now on, those players will be referred to as 20-year-olds.”

——

There were 20-year-olds in action on Tuesday night as the WHL featured two games. Some highlights . . .

In Medicine Hat, F Lukas Svejkovsky, a 20-year-old, scored his league-leading seventh goal of the season at 2:17 of OT to give the Tigers a 5-4 victory over the Swift Current Broncos. . . . F Teague Patton (1) of the Tigers (3-3-1) had tied the game at 8:24 of the third period. . . . Svejkovsky also had three assists, with D Bogdans Hodass also finishing with a goal, his second, and three assists. . . . D Mathew Ward (4) had a goal and two assists for the visitors. . . . The Broncos (2-5-1) had opened the season with a home-and-home sweep of the Tigers. Swift Current now has lost six straight (0-4-2). . . .

In Kent, Wash., the Seattle Thunderbirds scored the game’s first three goals and went on to a 5-3 victory over the Spokane Chiefs. . . . F Mekai Sanders (2) scored once and added an assist for Seattle (3-2-1) which had lost it previous three games (0-2-1). . . . Seattle lost F Matthew Rempe with a charging major and game misconduct at 7:06 of the third period. . . . The Chiefs (2-4-1) got to within a goal, at 4-3, when F Blake Swetlikoff (1) scored on a PP at 9:18 but they weren’t able to equalize.

Medical

The Foo Fighters were on stage at Climate Pledge in Arena, the home of the NHL’s Seattle Kraken, on Tuesday night. . . . If you’re thinking of catching an NHL game there once the U.S. opens up its border, well, you may want to visit your banker first. . . .

If you enjoy reading hockey-related notebooks, I’ve got one for you. Ken Campbell, who spent so many years writing for The Hockey News, now is on his own and writes at Hockey Unfiltered. . . . His weekly notebook is right here, and there is an especially interesting piece on a whole lot of scouts testing positive after attending a recent event.

JUST NOTES: F Nathan MacKinnon was back in the Colorado Avalanche’s lineup on Tuesday night, his stint with COVID-19 over after a couple of negative tests. He had been asymptomatic as he missed his team’s first two games of the NHL’s regular season. MacKinnon is fully vaccinated so, under the NHL’s COVID-19 protocols, he won’t lose any pay. . . . D Jack Johnson also is back with Colorado after missing one game following a positive test. He since has had two negatives. . . . The Winnipeg Jets were without F Blake Wheeler, their captain, on Tuesday night when they visited the Minnesota Wild. He has tested positive for COVID-19 and has symptoms; the remainder of the team also tested negative on Tuesday morning. Wheeler will be in isolation for at least 10 days, so won’t play in the Jets’ home-opener on Thursday against the Anaheim Ducks.

So . . . you’re the general manager of a hockey team and you’re thinking that you had a bad day or a bad weekend. Well, let’s take a look at Derek Stuart, the GM/head coach of the junior B Kimberley Dynamiters of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League, and what he and his squad went through last weekend. . . . Leading up to a pair of weekend games, the Dynamiters had two of their top four defencemen leave the team, one of them retiring to go into firefighting at the age of 20. . . . Then, before the weekend games arrived, three players were suspended, two of them for “participating in a multiple-fight altercation.” That mean Stuart also was suspended for a game. . . . Then, on the first shift of Saturday’s game, the Dynamiters lost their captain to a broken collarbone. Later, another forward also left with an injury. . . . When he woke up on Monday and after he had his first cuppa, he told Paul Rodgers of the Kimberley Bulletin: “I’m doing better today than I was Saturday night.” . . . There’s got to be a good country song in there somewhere. Right? . . . Rodgers’s story is right here.

The junior B Summerland Steam of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League and general manager/head coach Nick Deschenes “have mutually agreed to part ways, effective immediately,” according to a three-sentence news release from the team. . . . The really interesting part of this is that the Steam is 4-1-0 to start the season. . . . Gus Cave, the associate coach, now is the interim GM/head coach. . . . Deschenes, 42, had been with the Steam since April 2020.

Oil

So . . . Washington State University’s head football coach, Nick Rolovich, who had US$10 million left on his contract, got punted from his job on Monday because he wouldn’t get vaccinated. WSU is a state school and the state mandated that all employees get vaccinated. Oh, and four assistant coaches wouldn’t comply either, and, yes, they’re gone, too. As freelancer Henry Schulman, once of the San Francisco Chronicle, tweeted: “Don’t let the door hit your anti-science Palouse cabooses on your way out.”

Here’s Kendra Woodland, the pride of Kamloops, getting things done . . .

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.

Bears

The summer of ’01: Where are the locusts? . . . SJHL keeping Chow in commish’s office . . . AJHL will look at 1-on-1 in exhibition OT

At 7:30 p.m., it was 43C in Kamloops. By 8:35, the temperature had retreated to 39C. We had hit our high at 5 p.m. — 46.4C. Hey, Jack, that’s 115.5F.

Environment Canada is calling for a high of 43C on Wednesday.

The overnight low was 24.6C at 5 a.m. You can’t even open windows and catch a fresh breeze. Our skylights are covered. The wall-to-wall windows on the east side of our kitchen are covered by vertical blinds with sheets over top of them. And still the A/C can’t keep up.

I should mention, too, that the South Thompson region, which includes Kamloops, is under a severe thunderstorm warning with the “potential for severe thunderstorms with very strong wind gusts, intense lightning and brief bursts of heavy rain.”

Did I mention there could be intense lightning?

Because the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy has issued a bulletin calling for smoky skies in the South Thompson region.

“The region is being impacted or is likely to be impacted by wildfire smoke over the next 24-48 hours,” reads a statement that was issued Tuesday at 2:49 p.m.

Yes, wildfire season also is upon us with a vengeance. As of Tuesday evening, there are two huge blazes, one of them more than 3,700 hectares, located to the west of us. 

The last thing we need at this point in time is lightning.

In what used to be normal times, we might see 40C for a day or two in July, and the fire season didn’t really get roaring until August. Now we’ve got everything at once.

And if you haven’t heard there have been have been dozens of heat-related deaths in the Lower Mainland, and you can bet that the number will rise province-wide over the next few days.

The intense heat has sped up the snowmelt in some areas so there are flood concerns.

It seems that the only thing missing right now are the locusts. But, then, the murder hornets are said to be on their way.

As a reminder that the pandemic isn’t completely behind us, Baseball Manitoba announced Tuesday that it has cancelled all of its 2021 provincial championships. . . . From a news release: “The decision was made with the safety and development of our members as the top priority. Provincial championships create environments with large gatherings with people from across the province. Also, by cancelling provincial championships, we believe that there is more opportunity for a longer season for more players, as they compete late into summer within their regions.”

Newsflash

If anyone wants it, the title of the hardest-working person in the WHL is up for grabs for the first time in years. That’s because Rick Dillabough no longer is employed by the Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . Perry Bergson of the Brandon Sun has more on Dillabough and his decision to walk away right here, and it’s great to see former owner Kelly McCrimmon singing the praises of his long-time employee and friend.

ICYMI, Bruce Springsteen was back on Broadway on Saturday night, and Peter Marks, the Washington Post’s theatre critic, was there for the district’s first full-length performance in 15 months. He wasn’t alone.

As Marks wrote, “His curation includes one of the key requirements for admission: a vaccination card. ‘It’s great,’ he remarks. ‘Unmasked, sitting next to each other.’ Bizarrely, theatergoers were greeted outside the St. James by a cadre of screaming, placard-waving anti-vaccination protesters, who feel aggrieved by the fact that the government wants to save their lives. Their rage is a bewildering counterpoint to the joy inside the theater at the freedoms the vaccines have given back to us. The demonstration is as out-of-touch as ‘Springsteen on Broadway’ feels in-touch.”

The SJHL’s board of governors and Bill Chow, the league’s commissioner, have sjhlagreed on a contract extension that will run through the 2022-23 season. Chow is preparing for his 11th season as commissioner. . . . Chow, who spent 10 seasons scouting for the WHL’s Spokane Chiefs, was announced as SJHL president in May 2011. That was after he had retired from the Prince Albert Police Service, where he had spent almost 30 years. . . . With the SJHL, Chow took over from Laury Ryan, who had been in place for eight years.

Meat

The AJHL held its AGM on Saturday and decided on a 60-game regular season ajhlthat will have each of the 16 teams playing 16 interlocking games. The addition of the expansion Blackfalds Bulldogs brings the roster to 16 teams. . . . Interestingly, the AJHL will experiment in its exhibition season with an overtime format that will end with teams playing 1-on-1. After each exhibition game, teams will play a six-minute OT period, starting with 3-on-3. At the first whistle after the four-minute mark, it will shift to 2-on-2. And it’ll be 1-on-1 at the first whistle after the two-minute mark. If there aren’t any goals, a “best-of-three” shootout will be held. . . . The AJHL’s complete news release is right here.

Peter Anholt, the general manager of the Lethbridge Hurricanes, has been named to Hockey Canada’s Program of Excellence management group. Anholt will oversee the U-18 program. . . . Philippe Boucher, the general manager of the QMJHL’s Drummondville Voltigeurs, will guide the U-17 program, with James Boyd, the general manager of the OHL’s Ottawa 67’s, doing the same for the U-20s. . . . There is a complete news release right here.

USA Hockey has invited 44 players to the 2021 World Junior Summer Showcase in Plymouth, Mich., July 24-31. None of the 44 players were on a WHL team roster in 2020-21. . . . The Showcase will feature three teams this time around, with Finland and Sweden also to appear. The event is used to evaluate players who are eligible for the 2022 IIHF World junior championship that is scheduled for Edmonton and Red Deer, from Dec. 26 through Jan. 5. . . . USA Hockey’s camp roster is right here.

Ding

The Edmonton Oil Kings announced Tuesday that Czech D Simon Kubicek has Edmontoncommitted to play for them in 2021-22. Kubicek, who will turn 20 on Dec. 19, has played 113 regular-season WHL games, all with the Seattle Thunderbirds, putting up 16 goals and 39 assists. . . . On Jan. 25, the Oil Kings acquired Kubicek from Seattle for F Vladimir Alistrov, 20, of Belarus. The teams also swapped undisclosed conditional picks in the WHL’s 2023 prospects draft. . . . Alistrov spent 2020-21 with Dinamo Minsk of the KHL. . . . Kubicek played at home in 2020-21, with Motor Ceske Budejovice of the Czech ELH. He also had a goal and an assist in four games at the IIHF World Junior Championship. . . . Kubicek is the lone import on the Oil Kings’ roster, with the CHL import draft scheduled for today (Wednesday).

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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

——

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: The SJHL’s La Ronge Ice Wolves have hired Kyle Schneider, 22, as their new assistant coach. Schneider, who played for the Ice Wolves as recently as 2019-20, takes over from Gaelan Patterson, now the head coach of the junior B Port Alberni Bombers of the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League. . . . The USHL’s Dubuque Fighting Saints have signed Greg Brown as their head coach. He takes over from Oliver David, who now is an assistant coach with EHC Biel of the Swiss National League. Brown, 53, spent the previous three seasons as an assistant coach with the NHL’s New York Rangers. . . . The BCHL’s Salmon Arm SilverBacks have signed Tyler Shattock, their assistant GM and head coach, to a two-year extension. Shattock, 31, took over as head coach in the middle of the 2019-20 season. From Salmon Arm, he has been with the team since signing on as an assistant coach in October 2018. . . . Simon Ferguson now is the general manager and head coach of the BCHL’s West Kelowna Warriors. He has signed a three-year deal that runs through June 2024. Ferguson took over as interim head coach in January 2020, not long after the franchise changed hands. The interim part of his title was dropped in March 2020. His staff includes assistant coach Ayrton Nikkel, Josh Gorges, assistant coach and player development director, goaltending coach Chad Carter and athletic therapist Michael Bois.

Open

Maine junior team putting Weiss behind bench . . . Hall of Fame beckons Recchi . . . Stringer turns 18, makes important decision

The NAHL’s Maryland Black Bears have signed Kimberly Weiss as an assistant Blackbearscoach. The NAHL is a Tier II junior league and, according to Murry N. Gunter, founder and CEO of Black Bear Sports Group, Weiss will be “the first ever female bench coach in junior hockey in North America.” . . . According to a news release, Weiss spent “almost 10 years” coaching with the Washington Pride girls program. She also was a four-year starter, and All-America, at Trinity College in Hartford, Conn. . . . Clint Mylymok, who spent five years on the coaching staff of the SJHL’s Notre Dame Hounds, is prepping for his third season as the Black Bears’ general manager and head coach. . . . The news release is right here.

Mark Recchi, who owns a chunk of the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers, is part of the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame’s class of 2021. Recchi, now an assistant coach with the NHL’s New Jersey Devils, played in 1,652 regular-season NHL games, 602 of those with the Philadelphia Flyers (1991-94, 1998-2004). He put up 232 goals and 395 assists with the Flyers, and holds their single-season points record (123, 1992-93). . . . He is scheduled to be inducted into the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame on Nov. 4. . . . Also included among others in the class of 2021 are former NBA player Richard (Rip) Hamilton, former Philadelphia Eagles star linebacker Seth Joyner and former Philadelphia Phillies manager Dallas Green. . . . Recchi was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2017.

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Recchi’s Blazers have added F Nick McCarry, 20, to their list after he was Kamloopsdropped by the Medicine Hat Tigers. . . . From Calgary, McCarry wasn’t selected in the WHL bantam draft. He played two games with the Tigers in 2017-18 and 24 in 2018-19 when Shaun Clouston was the general manager/head coach. . . . Clouston now is the Blazers’ GM/head coach. . . . In 104 regular-season games, McCarry has 23 goals and 18 assists. In the abbreviated 2020-21 season, he had seven goals and five assists in 20 games. . . . McCarry joins F Connor Zary and D Quinn Schmiemann as 20-year-olds with the Blazers at the moment. . . . The Tigers still have four 20s on their roster — D Daniel Baker, F Corson Hopwo, F Lukas Svejkovsky and D Eric Van Impe. The Tigers also hold the rights to Danish F Jonathan Brinkman, who stayed home this season. . . .

Meanwhile, D Conrad Mitchell, 20, a veteran of three WHL seasons, has joined the AJHL’s expansion Blackfalds Bulldogs. The 6-foot-5, 230-pounder played this season with the Calgary Hitmen — he was pointless in nine games — after splitting 2019-20 between the Everett Silvertips and the Hitmen. The Silvertips selected him in the seventh round of the WHL’s 2016 bantam draft. In 98 regular-season games, he scored six times and added six assists.

FiveSecond

Evan Daum is leaving the WHL’s Regina Pats with whom he had been director of Elksbrand marketing and communications. On Tuesday, he announced on Twitter that he will be finished with the Pats on July 2. “It’s bittersweet to leave ahead of what I’m sure will be some exciting years here in the Queen City,” he wrote, “but an opportunity presented itself that my family and I couldn’t pass up.” . . . The Pats had announced his hiring on Oct. 6 and he started work on Nov. 2. . . . On Wednesday, Daum revealed that he will be joining the CFL’s Edmonton Elks as their manager of communications and media relations on July 5.

Scissors

Denis Shapovalov, the highest-ranked Canadian on the ATP Tour at No. 12, won’t play at the Tokyo Olympics. Shapovalov, 22, tweeted on Monday that he’s out “due to the current situation.” . . . He added that “my team and I have decided this is the best decision for everyone’s safety.” . . . The Games are scheduled to open on July 23. The Associated Press reported Tuesday that “opposition among Japanese to holding the Games in July remains high, though may be softening, as new infections in Tokyo have begun to subside.” . . . The AP’s report also included this: “Officials say local fans will be under strict rules. They will not be allowed to cheer, must wear masks, and are being told to go straight home afterward.” . . . That story is 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: The WHL now has released its exhibition schedule and its regular-season schedule. You are able to find both at whl.ca. . . . Derek Dorsett, a former Medicine Hat player who spent part of the 2020-21 season with the Tigers as an assistant coach, has joined the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets as a developmental coach. . . . D Cam Barker has ended his playing career and joined the BCHL’s Penticton Vees as an assistant coach. The Chicago Blackhawks selected Barker third overall in the NHL’s 2004 draft. He played four seasons (2002-06) with the WHL’s Medicine Hat Tigers. He played 310 regular-season NHL games and another 191 in the KHL. Barker spent the past two seasons playing for Rouen in Ligue Magnus, France’s top league. . . . Garry Childerhose has joined the SJHL’s Battlefords North Stars as an assistant coach. A former Flin Flon Bombers’ assistant coach, he signed on as the head coach of the Kindersley Klippers in April 2020. But he stepped down before the 2020-21 season citing health reasons.

Cemetery

Who will be Blazers’ next GM? . . . Sheffield fan remembers a ‘Frankie wonderland’ . . . Tigres one victory from title

Matt Bardsley surprised a whole lot of people on May 25 when he announced that he was leaving his post as general manager of the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers. After all, the signs seem to point to the Blazers finally having returned to prominence in the B.C. Division. However, Bardsley cited family reasons in wanting to return to the U.S., so he will depart following month’s end. . . . But who will move into the GM’s office when Bardsley is gone? Marty Hastings of Kamloops This Week checks in with a handful of candidates right here.

Frank Kovacs, one of hockey’s good guys, turned 50 on Thursday. Kovacs, who played five seasons (1987-92) with the Regina Pats, also spent three seasons (1996-99) with the Sheffield Steelers of what was then the British Ice Hockey Super League. After playing with the Steelers, he finished up with four seasons in Hungary. . . . But it’s interesting the relationships that live on with some of these players and fans. . . . On Thursday, Bryan Crabtree (@BryanCrabtree) tweeted to Kovacs: “Thanks for the wonderful memories when you played for the Steelers.” . . . Crabtree closed with: “There’s only one Frankie Kovacs, skating along, singing a song, skating in a Frankie wonderland.” . . . Wonderful! . . . Kovacs, by the way, now is a member of the Regina Police Service.

The Victoriaville Tigres scored a 3-1 victory over the Val-d’Or Foreurs on Thursday night and now hold a 3-2 edge in the QMJHL’s best-of-seven championship final. . . . The entire series is being played in Quebec City. . . . Game 6 is scheduled for Saturday afternoon, with a seventh game, if necessary, to be played Sunday afternoon. . . . In Game 5, as in Game 4, the Foreurs scored a first-period goal and then didn’t score again. . . . F Olivier Coulombe pulled Victoriaville even at 18:21 of the first period and the Tigres added a pair of third-period goals, with F Nicolas Daigle counting at 0:45 and F Benjamin Tardif adding insurance at 9:07. . . . G Nikolas Hurtubise stopped 33 shots to earn the victory. . . . If you’re wondering about attendance, the series opener was played without fans, but the league received the OK to allow 2,000 fans in for each of ensuing games. The next four games drew, in order, crowds of 1,958, 2,146, 1,948 and 1,808.

Dorothy will be taking part in her eighth Kamloops Kidney Walk, albeit virtually, on Sunday. If you would like to be part of her team, you are able to make a donation right here. . . . Thanks in advance for your generosity. She just had a big day and now is having her best fund-raising Walk yet.

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: Castan Sommer, an assistant coach with the Seattle Thunderbirds since Aug. 4, 2017, has resigned. According to Bill La Forge, the Thunderbirds’ general manager, Sommer “has accepted an assistant coach position with a soon-to-be-announced team.” The Thunderbirds now are on the hunt for a replacement. Head coach Matt O’Dette’s staff includes assistant coach Kyle Hagel and goaltender coach Ian Gordon.

Jeep