Cal Hammond, who spent three seasons as a goaltender with the WCHL’s Flin Flon Bombers, died Saturday at the Health Sciences Centre in Winnipeg. He was 71. . . . Hammond, a Flin Flon native, played in 93 regular-season games with the Bombers from 1968-71. He retired after a couple of pro seasons. He also spent one seasons (2000-01) as an assistant coach with the Bombers, who by then were in the SJHL. . . . Hammond was selected by the Montreal Canadiens in the NHL’s 1970 draft; in 1972, he signed with the NHL’s Minnesota North Stars. . . . While he never got into an NHL game, he did spend four games on the North Stars’ bench backing up Cesare Maniago with Gump Worsley and Gilles Gilbert both injured. . . . Hammond’s son Evan is the play-by-play voice of the BCHL’s Alberni Valley Bulldogs.
F Jake Neighbours of the Edmonton Oil Kings has told Hockey Canada that he won’t be playing in the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship that is scheduled 
to be played next month. This is the tournament that got underway in Red Deer and Edmonton in December before being cancelled following a number of positive COVID-19 tests. . . . Neighbours, 20, told Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic: “I’ve made the decision I’m not going to go. With how long my season went and how my body is feeling right now, I’ve made Hockey Canada aware of that. We had a good discussion about it.” . . . The Oil Kings won the WHL championship and went on to play in the Memorial Cup in Saint John, N.B. . . . The St. Louis Blues selected Neighbours in the first round, 26th overall, of the NHL’s 2020 draft. He opened the 2021-22 season with them, scoring one goal and adding two assists in nine games. Back with the Oil Kings, he totalled 17 goals and 28 assists in 30 games. . . . Neighbours has turned 20 but is eligible to play in the WJC because the IIHF has chosen to allow those who were on rosters in December to play in Edmonton next month. . . . The tournament is scheduled to run Aug. 9-20.
The Philadelphia Phillies, who lost 6-1 to the Cardinals in St. Louis on Monday night, are to open a two-game series against the host Toronto Blue Jays tonight 
(Tuesday). Prior to the series opener, the Phillies will place four players on the restricted list because they aren’t vaccinated so won’t be allowed into Canada. . . . Catcher J.T. Realmuto, 3B Alec Bohm and starters Aaron Nolan and Kyle Gibson won’t be making the trip to Toronto. Bohm may not have played anyway, after suffering a hand injury on Monday while sliding into second base. Nolan started Monday and Gibson on Saturday, so they likely wouldn’t have pitched in Toronto had they been eligible. . . . The Athletic’s Matt Gelb tweeted: “J.T. Realmuto said he consulted with doctors he knew and decided he did not need a COVID vaccine. He will forfeit close to $260,000. ‘I’m not going to let Canada tell me what I do and don’t put in my body for a little bit of money,’ Realmuto said. ‘It’s just not worth it.’ ” . . . One would hope that someone explained to Realmuto that the U.S. has the same restriction as Canada — you have to be vaccinated to get into the country, which is why Novak Djokovic isn’t likely to play in tennis’s U.S. Open. He would have to get vaccinated to play and says that isn’t going to happen. . . . The Phillies apparently have more than four players who aren’t vaccinated, as Gelb also tweeted that “other potential absences were mitigated through demotions to minors/injuries.”
THE COACHING GAME:
Rebecca Johnston, who has earned three gold medals as a member of the Canadian women’s Olympic team, is in Calgary this week as a guest coach at the development camp being held by the NHL’s Flames. . . . According to Wes Gilbertson of the Calgary Sun: “Johnston, who ranks in the top-10 in all-time scoring for Canada’s national women’s program, will be on the ice for practice and skills sessions, will participate in meetings and will be asked for her feedback on player evaluation.” . . . You are free to wonder if Johnston might surface as a WHL coach at some point down the road. Johnston, 32, already has a WHL connection. Her uncle, Mike, is the longtime general manager and head coach of the Portland Winterhawks. . . .
Josh Green and Keith McCambridge, both assistant coaches in the WHL last season, have moved on to the Bakersfield Condors, the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers. . . . Green, 44, spent five seasons (1993-98) in the WHL, playing with the Medicine Hat Tigers, Swift Current Broncos and Portland Winterhawks. He has spent the past two-plus seasons as an assistant coach with the Winnipeg Ice. . . . McCambridge, 48, played four seasons (1991-95) in the WHL, starting with Swift Current and finished his career with the Kamloops Blazers, helping them win the 1995 Memorial Cup. He has been the Vancouver Giants’ associate coach for the past two seasons. . . .
The Ice filled the vacancy created by Green’s departure by moving Taras McEwen into that spot on the coaching staff. McEwen, 31, has been in the Ice organization for the past five seasons. He started out as the Ice’s manager of scouting in 2017, and also has been general manager and head coach of the MJHL’s Winnipeg Blues for the past two seasons. The Blues, like the Ice, are owned by 50 Below Sports + Entertainment Inc. . . . McEwen’s father, Brad, is a veteran WHL and NHL coach and scout. He now is on the scouting staff of the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights. . . . In Winnipeg, Taras will work with Ice head coach James Patrick, who is preparing for his sixth season. Assistant coaches Byron Spriggs and Larry Woo also are returning. Spriggs is heading into a third season; Woo is back for a second season. . . . The Ice’s complete news release is right here.
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hammer on the Sicamous Eagles “for violations under (its) COVID-19 vaccination policy.” The league explained in a news release: “The sanctions stem from the participation of an Eagles player in team activities, including KIJHL regular-season games, at a time when they did not meet the KIJHL’s requirement of being fully vaccinated.” . . . The team has been fined an undisclosed amount, while general manager Ron Sleeman was suspended for 45 days and head coach Gerald Bouchard drew an eight-game sentence. . . . Sleeman is out until Jan. 23; Bouchard can return to the bench on Jan. 14. . . . The Eagles went into Friday’s action with a 5-13-1 record, good for sixth place in the six-team Doug Birks Division. . . . Here’s Sheila Devost, the Eagle’s president: “The KIJHL has policies and rules for teams to follow . . . when they are not adhered to, there are consequences. We broke the rules and now must respect we have to face the consequences.” . . .
— he’s an assistant coach — associate coach Keith McCambridge ran the Vancouver bench on Wednesday night as the Giants dropped a 7-1 decision to the Blazers in Kamloops. It was a homecoming of sorts for McCambridge, who was acquired by the Blazers from the Swift Current Broncos during 1994-95. He played 21 regular-season and 21 playoff games for the Blazers as they won the WHL title and the Memorial Cup. . . . McCambridge was joined behind the bench by former WHL/NHL D Brent Seabrook, who is helping out as a volunteer assistant in Dyck’s absence. . . . BTW, McCambridge is from Thompson, Man., the hometown of former WHL coach-of-the-year Jack Sangster and also F Glen Goodall, who holds the WHL record for most regular-season career games played.
general manager/head coach Gord Thibodeau had “mutually agreed to part ways.” According to a two-paragraph news release, Thibodeau, 58, the winningest regular-season coach in AJHL history, resigned for “personal reasons.” . . . At the time of Thibodeau’s departure, the Oil Barons were 26-6-0 and atop the Viterra North Division. . . . “The team is doing well this year and we positioned ourselves at the top of the North Division here,” David Fitzgerald, the team president, told Laura Beamish of Fort McMurray Today, “and he’s a big part of that. So from that perspective we were moving in the right direction. We had to look at things outside of the ice and he’s had to make a decision from a personal perspective and we respect that.” . . . Beamish’s story is 
season, have added an assistant coach and a goaltender over the past few days. . . . With head coach Michael Dyck on the coaching staff for Canada’s national junior team, the Giants are bringing in former WHL/NHL D Brent Seabrook to help associate coach Keith McCambridge behind the bench. Seabrook, who is from Delta, B.C., won three Stanley Cups while with the Chicago Blackhawks. . . . The Giants also cut a deal with the Seattle Thunderbirds, acquiring G Connor Martin, 18, for an eighth-round pick in the 2024 bantam draft. As Steve Ewen of Postmedia reports, Vancouver G Jesper Vikman, 19, is expected to be on the roster of Sweden’s national junior team when it is announced today. If that’s the case, the Giants will use Martin and Will Gurski, 19, while the World Junior Championship is being played in Edmonton and Red Deer, from Dec. 26 through Jan. 5. . . . This was the second trade of the season for Martin. On Nov. 4, Seattle got him from the Victoria Royals for an eight-rounder in the 2022 draft. . . . Ewen’s piece is 
newest acquisition in action. On Monday, the Ice acquired F Jack Finley, 19, and a seventh-round pick in the 2024 WHL draft from the Spokane Chiefs for F Chase Bertholet, 18, F James Form, 19, and a second-round pick in 2024. . . . Before reporting to the Ice, Finley, 6-foot-6 and 225 pounds, will attend the selection team for the Canadian team that will compete in the World Junior Championship. The tournament runs from Dec. 26 through Jan. 5, so should he make the team, he won’t be in Winnipeg for about a month. . . . Finley was the Chiefs’ captain. The Tampa Bay Lightning has signed him to a contract after selecting him in the second round of the 2020 NHL draft. His father, Jeff, played three seasons (1984-87) with the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks before going on to a lengthy pro career. After two seasons as an assistant coach with the Kelowna Rockets, he spent 10 seasons as an amateur scout with the Detroit Red Wings. He now is in his third season as an amateur scout with the NHL’s Winnipeg Jets. . . . Although they hadn’t been added the Spokane’s online roster as of Tuesday night, Bertholet and Form could play Friday in Portland.
of the KHL. His club has won its last two games, both of them in OT, by using an innovative tactic that has yet to reach the NHL. . . . On Dec. 1, Fedorov exchanged his goaltender, Ivan Fedotov, for the extra attacker in the middle of OT and F Mikhail Grigorenko scored to give CSKA Moscow a 1-0 victory over Yaroslavl Lokomotiv. . . . Then, on Monday, Fedorov did it again. This time D Nikita Nesterov scored for a 3-2 victory over Moscow Dynamo. . . . When you think about it, why not? The 3-on-3 OT has turned into a game of puck possession. So why not outnumber the other guys in their zone and run plays as though you’re on the PP? . . . Now we will watch to see which NHL coach has the jam to be the first. Or would someone — hello, Mike Johnston — give it a whirl in the WHL?
coach, replacing Jamie Heward, who left “to pursue a different hockey opportunity.” . . . Heward, who spent two seasons with the Giants, is expected to join the AHL’s Henderson Silver Knights as an assistant coach under Manny Viveiros. . . . McCambridge, a native of Thompson, Man., the hometown of former WHL coach of the year Jack Sangster, played four seasons in the WHL (Swift Current, Kamloops, 1991-95). He was a defenceman on the Blazers team that won the 1994 Memorial Cup. . . . The 46-year-old McCambridge coached in the AHL for 10 seasons, most recently as the head coach of the Hartford Wolf Pack (2016-19). The Wolf Pack is the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s New York Rangers, who chose to let McCambridge go after the 2018-19 season. . . . In Vancouver, McCambridge will work with head coach Michael Dyck, who leaves this weekend for Red Deer to join Canada’s national junior team for its selection camp. He is an assistant coach so will be gone until the World Junior Championship ends on Jan. 5. . . . WHL teams plan on bringing players in for brief training camps right after Christmas, and then hope to open their season on Jan. 8. . . . Steve Ewen of Postmedia has more on the Giants’ story 
like” the Flin Flon Bombers to play out of Creighton, Sask., which is located two km west of the Manitoba city. . . . The Bombers have put their season on hold because of Manitoba being on a province-wide lockdown. The Bombers were to have played a weekend doubleheader against the visiting Kindersley Klippers. When the restrictions came in this week, the Bombers announced that they would play the two games in Kindersley. However, they announced Thursday that the games would be postponed. . . . Travis Rideout, the Bombers’ president, says the organization is “still looking at all the possibilities to continue our season.” . . . Brent Roussin, Manitoba’s chief medical officer of health, doesn’t like the Creighton option at all. “Sanitation measures were put in place for a reason. They save lives,” he said. “I encourage all Manitobans to play by the rules and not try to bend them.” . . . Houde-Hébert’s story is 
TAKING NOTE 