On Feb. 26, 1986, as the Regina Pats were beating the Warriors, 4-2, at the Crushed Can in Moose Jaw, no one was thinking about that day more than 30 years down the road when Kevin Gallant’s oldest son would score two goals and set up another in one game . . . for the Warriors.
In 1986, Kevin was the radio voice of the Pats. After a Jan. 11 game, in which the Warriors beat the Pats, 4-2, there were whispers that during the post-game show Gallant might have referred to the Moose Jaw organization as — gasp! — Mickey Mouse.
On Feb. 26, then, it was Mickey Mouse Night in Moose Jaw and Gallant did his part by showing up to another game in what then was the league’s hottest rivalry in a Donald Duck outfit.
Yes, stuff like that used to happen in the WHL. It really did.
Fast forward to 2021 and we find Matthew Gallant, 17, in the Warriors’ training camp, hoping to earn a spot on their roster as a defenceman. He had been listed by the Warriors a while back and, lo and behold, he had a terrific camp and the Warriors signed him to a WHL contract.
On Saturday night, he had three points — the goals came 16 seconds apart and gave his guys a 4-1 lead — as the Warriors won, 5-2, in Regina.
And don’t you know that young Matthew was named the game’s first star.
Yes, it was only an exhibition game, but still . . . the Brandt Centre in Regina once was the Agridome and it was then when the echo of Matthew’s father’s voice owned the rafters of that building.
Kevin now lives on the Lower Mainland of B.C., with his wife, Eva, and their other son, Michael, who also is a defenceman.
“Well,” Kevin told me, “I must tell you the irony of my son playing at the Agridome or Brandt Centre and scoring two goals and getting one assist for Moose Jaw over the Pats and then being named first star is quite a moment and one that I will never forget. Sitting in my living room and watching on WHL Live was surreal and quite a proud Dad moment.”
The Warriors’ regular-season home-opener is scheduled for Friday against the Saskatoon Blades. Eva and Kevin plan to be there. I don’t think he’ll be hauling the Donald Duck suit out of the closet for this one.
But maybe the Warriors will ask Kevin to drop the ceremonial first puck. Just for old time’s sake, you know.
In his weekly Last Call column, Charles P. Pierce of Esquire began:
“We have become numb to the numbers. The pandemic continues to sicken people, and to make them die, and gradually, we’ve worked this situation into the habits of our daily being. The butcher’s bill is now as regular a part of the evening news as cold fronts and box scores. The stories even sort themselves now into iron categories: the Exhausted Nurses story, the No Beds Available story, and, most maddening of all, the Radio Talk Show Host Who Railed Against Vaccines and Masks and Died of COVID story.”
Dr. Ilan Schwartz is an infectious disease specialist at the U of Alberta in Edmonton. He told Dean Bennett of The Canadian Press that more restrictions and a vaccine card were needed in Alberta at least a month ago. Dr. Schwartz also noted:
“It’s absurd that we have (hospital) morgues that are full, we are cancelling cancer surgeries, we’re calling for the military, we’re talking about transporting patients 3,000 kilometres in order for them to find an ICU bed and we still have society going on as if nothing is the matter.”
Judging by a couple of tweets from Postmedia’s Steve Ewen, the Vancouver 
Giants won’t have their head coach at their bench when the WHL season opens:
“The WHL discipline page shows Giants coach Michael Dyck and Fs Kyle Bochek and Colton Langkow will miss the season opener Saturday on the road vs. Victoria Royals with one-game suspensions from the line brawl vs. the Prince George Cougars in preseason action on Friday in Maple Ridge.
“There were eight fighting majors, nine game misconducts and a cross-checking major assessed to Bochek at 19:03 mark of the third in Vancouver’s 3-1 win over PG. Giants have also been given a $1,000 fine. There’s no list of supplementary discipline for the Cougars.”
Keith McCambridge is the Giants’ associate coach. The team doesn’t list another assistant coach on its website.
If you’re wondering when the last time a WHL coach drew a suspension, well, according to the WHL website you have to go back more than three years. Kelly Buchberger, then the head coach of the Tri-City Americans, was suspended for one game after his team got involved in a “multiple-fight situation” with the Giants. That was on Sept. 2, 2018.
David Beard, the starting centre for the CFL’s Edmonton Elks, didn’t practise on Sunday because he was put into COVID-19 protocol. He is the 17th Edmonton player to be in protocol since this season began. The list is for those who have either tested positive or have been in close contact with someone who did. . . . Beard isn’t likely to play Tuesday against the host Ottawa Redblacks.
Here’s Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, to Rolling Stone:
“The NBA should insist that all players and staff are vaccinated or remove them from the team. There is no room for players who are willing to risk the health and lives of their teammates, the staff and the fans simply because they are unable to grasp the seriousness of the situation or do the necessary research. What I find especially disingenuous about the vaccine deniers is their arrogance at disbelieving immunology and other medical experts. Yet, if their child was sick or they themselves needed emergency medical treatment, how quickly would they do exactly what those same experts told them to do?”
The really good news is that Dwight Perry, he of Sideline Chatter fame at the Seattle Times, is back in the saddle, and he didn’t lose it while he was away. “Warriors swingman Andrew Wiggins is reportedly unvaccinated, putting his availability for some games into question,” Perry notes. “Making him the first NBA player this season to be criticized for his shot selection.”
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After that dustup between the Blue Jays and Tampa Bay, Perry wrote: “Toronto plunked the Rays’ Kevin Kiermaier with a pitch, two days after he swiped Toronto catcher Alejandro Kirk’s data card. Flummoxed scorekeepers couldn’t decide how to score it — hit by pitch or caught stealing?”
The Prairie Junior Hockey League, a 12-team junior B league based in Saskatchewan, revealed on Saturday that “team governors have voted to implement a mandatory vaccination policy. The players will be informed of the details and timeline by their individual teams.” . . . When the Heritage Junior B Hockey League in Alberta made the same decision it lost two of its 15 teams.
This one had me laughing . . .
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before they meet the Kelowna Rockets. Johnson, who is from Spokane, will be the second player to have been honoured in this fashion, after F Ray Whitney (14). Johnson won a WHL title with the Chiefs (2008), a World Junior championship with Team USA (2010), an AHL crown with the Norfolk Admirals (2012) and a pair of Stanley Cups with the Tampa Bay Lightning (2020,2021). He now is with the Chicago Blackhawks.
season. . . . Linesman Travis Toomey, who worked NHL and AHL games last season, has been promoted to a full-time NHL position. Toomey played four seasons (2007-11) in the WHL, the first three with the Saskatoon Blades and the fourth with the Seattle Thunderbirds. He then spent four seasons at the U of Alberta with the Golden Bears. . . . Cody Beach, a referee now, will split his time between the AHL and NHL. Beach, 29, played in the WHL for three seasons (2009-12), spending one-plus with each of the Calgary Hitmen and Moose Jaw Warriors.
having tested positive for COVID-19. He will be away from the team for at least 10 days, at which time the situation will be re-evaluated. . . . The Alouettes are coming off a bye week, during which time Jones travelled to his home in Surrey, B.C., and then went to Toronto where he has a daughter in university. . . . Jones was found to be positive on Sunday. Everyone with the team was tested on Monday, but no more positives were found. . . . Montreal is to play the visiting B.C. Lions on Saturday. . . . While Jones is away, assistant coach André Bolduc will be the acting head coach.
schedule is as fluid as the South Thompson River and it likely will continue that way for a while yet. . . . From a WHL news release that was issued on Wednesday: “Due to ongoing border restrictions preventing non-essential bus travel from Canada to the U.S., WHL clubs in the U.S. Division will compete exclusively against U.S. Division opponents, while WHL clubs in the B.C. Division will compete exclusively against B.C. Division opponents during the month of October.” . . . The original plan was to have teams in each conference playing only within their conferences in 2021-22. That plan remains in place for the 12 Eastern Conference teams. . . . As things now stand, the U.S. and B.C. division teams will play within their divisions until Nov. 3 when the Kamloops Blazers are scheduled to visit the Portland Winterhawks. . . . Unless COVID-19 decides otherwise, of course. . . . Fans of the 10 Western Conference teams are advised to consult online schedules for changes that have been made. . . . 
scheduling another one in Prince George against the Cougars. . . . Interior Health, which covers Kamloops, won’t allow more than 50 fans to attend indoor events. Northern Health, which governs Prince George, will allow teams to play in front of crowds that are 50 per cent of capacity. . . . Why the difference? How do they get the caramel in the Caramilk bar? . . . Anyway, Adrian Dix, B.C.’s health minister, told Radio NL in Kamloops that “this is why we’re bringing in the vaccine card. So that if we’re going to Blazer games — and there will be people going to Blazer games this year — will be able to do so safely. Knowing that everyone in the rink is vaccinated . . . vaccine cards don’t stop people from doing things, they enable people to do things.” . . . It all means that the Victoria Royals won’t play in Kamloops on Sept. 15, and the Cougars won’t visit on Sept. 17. . . . The Blazers, however, will play in Prince George on Sept. 15. Kamloops also will play in Prince George on Sept. 18 in a game that was on the original exhibition schedule.
Wenatchee, Wash., Wild play a complete season after sitting out what there was of a 2020-21 regular season. . . . The Wild is the BCHL’s only American franchise. . . . The league announced Wednesday that because the U.S.-Canada border is closed to non-essential travel going north, the Wild will play only road games “in the early part of the season.” That means its four scheduled October home games have been dropped, hopefully to be rescheduled later in the season. . . . The Wild will open the season on Oct. 9 in Penticton against the Vees. It then will play five more road games from Oct. 16 through Oct. 30 and two in Vernon against the Vipers on Nov. 5 and 6. The Wild now is scheduled to play its home-opener on Nov. 12 against the West Kelowna Warriors. . . . “The BCHL’s Return to Play Task Force continues to investigate solutions if the land border remains closed beyond October,” the league said in a news release.
Braves pulling out of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League for a second straight season. . . . If you’re a regular here, you will recall a piece I posted here on Aug. 29 that included snippets of a conversation between Bruce Hamilton, the owner of the Kelowna Rockets and chairman of the WHL’s board of governors, and Regan Bartel, the radio voice of the Rockets. In that conversation, Hamilton said that having teams cross the U.S.-Canada border remains “in question.” He added: “To have our team travel (to the U.S.), we would have to take a rapid test going down and a PCR test coming home, so you are looking at $5,000 to $6,000 each time for every trip you make across the border.” . . . Taking Note was told that KIJHL teams weren’t about to pay that kind of money to go south, and that contributed in large part to the Braves’ decision. . . . You can bet that expense will impact WHL and BCHL teams, too, if the U.S. chooses not to open the border to Canadians for non-essential travel over the next two or three months.
to have a street in the Wheat City named after him. City Council has voted unanimously to honour Dietrich by naming a street in the Bellafield development after him. . . . Dietrich was from Deloraine, a community south of Brandon. He spent three seasons with the Wheat Kings (1978-81), playing on a WHL championship team in 1978-79 and captaining the club in 1980-81. . . . According to the Brandon Sun, Coun. Shawn Berry said: “This was a man who through his life battled cancer twice and Parkinson’s disease most of his life from 30 on, and never once felt pity or sorry for himself. He went back to his hometown, gave back to the community, started a breakfast program for kids to come out and learn hockey before school started on his own time. . . . He left us way too young, but even through he wasn’t a Brandon boy, Don’s legacy in Westman is well known and I know the short time he was in Brandon here he was very well respected.” . . . Brandon also is home to other streets named after former Wheat Kings, including forwards Ray Allison, Laurie Boschman, Ron Chipperfield, Bill Fairbairn and Ray Ferraro, and G Glen Hanlon. . . . Interestingly, there doesn’t appear to be a street named after the late Brad McCrimmon. Perhaps the City of Brandon is preparing to name its next new development after the McCrimmon brothers, Brad and Kelly.
Kamloops locations. . . . Ownership is closing both restaurants from Sept. 13 through Sept. 20 for “a mental health break.”
ages 12+, attending games, concerts and events at Climate Pledge Arena to provide proof of vaccination to keep fans, staff, players and artists safe.” . . . Ian Furness of Seattle radio station KJR followed that with a tweet: “My understanding is that every other major team/school will be making the same announcement for proof of vaccinations . . .” There were the usual comments — mostly in favour, but some others, too. Nothing beat this exchange in the comments after Furness’s tweet. . . . Someone with the handle Former Seattleite wrote: “F— em. That will be the end of 4 generations of season tickets at” U of Washington football. . . . UWDawgsPod followed with: “0-12 didn’t stop him, but getting a vaccine, that’s his line in the sand.”
age 12 and older will be required to provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination” in order to attend their games at accesso ShoWare Centre. . . . “In accordance with current Washington state and King County mask mandates,” the Thunderbirds said in a news release, “fans and staff will also be required to wear masks at all times except while actively eating or drinking.” . . . Those policies will be in place on Oct. 2 when the Seattle Kraken and Calgary Flames meet in an NHL exhibition game, and on Oct. 9 when the Thunderbirds entertain the Portland Winterhawks’ in Seattle’s home-opener. . . . 
required to provide proof of vaccination against COVID-19 upon entry. . . . Your final dose of the vaccine must have been administered more than 14 days before the attending event. Those who cannot provide proof of vaccination will be allowed to show documentation of a negative PCR test taken within 72 hours of puck drop. Ticket holders with religious or medical exemptions against the vaccine must still provide documentation of a negative PCR test taken within 72 hours of puck drop. Children under the age of 12 are exempt from both the vaccine requirement and alternative testing option.” . . . As well, the Winterhawks announced that “all attendees and staff ages five and over will be required to wear masks at all times inside Veterans Memorial Coliseum, except when actively eating and drinking. This policy is per the mask mandate issued on Aug. 13 in Multnomah County.”
Eastern and Western conferences, which means, unfortunately, that fans in U.S. and B.C. division centres won’t get to see F Connor Bedard, the most-publicized prospect to enter the league in some time, live and in person. . . . Bedard is the first player to receive exceptional status in order to allow him to claim a full-time WHL roster spot as a 15-year-old. Bedard, who will turn 16 on July 17, has 12 goals and 16 assists in 15 games for the Pats in the pandemic-shortened 2020-21 season. He left the Pats mid-season in order to play for Canada at the IIHF U18 World championship in Texas, where he had seven goals and seven assists in 14 games. . . . Bedard is eligible for the NHL’s 2023 draft. . . . It also means that those same U.S. and B.C. division fans won’t get to see F Matthew Savoie of the Winnipeg Ice. He was denied exceptional status prior to the 2018-19 season, but still got into 22 games and earned seven assists. He spent 2020-21 with the USHL’s Dubuque Fighting Saints, putting up 21 goals and 17 assists in 34 games. . . . Savoie is eligible for the NHL’s 2022 draft. . . .
Monday night with a 4-1 victory over the visiting Montreal Canadiens, it seems the rest of the hockey world is learning what WHL fans have known for a long, long time. Yes, Kelly McCrimmon, the Golden Knights’ general manager, knows what he is doing.
If you are in the market for something to read, may I suggest you take a gander at Call Me Indian, a book that was published last month and tells the story of Fred Sasakamoose. What’s it all about? Well, the subtitle pretty much tells it all — From the Trauma of Residential School to Becoming the NHL’s First Treat Indigenous Player. . . . To think that Sasakamoose went from playing hockey and trying just to survive at a residential school in northern Saskatchewan to the lineup of the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks in a few short years almost beggars belief. But he did just that, and a whole lot more. . . . Considering all that is happening these days involving residential schools and their history, both here and in the U.S., this really is a timely read. . . . Sasakamoose, who died of COVID-19 on Nov. 20 so didn’t live to see his book published, doesn’t go easy on himself either. He bares his heart and soul, including his issues with alcohol and parenting. In fact, if there is a hero in this book it isn’t Sasakamoose, rather it’s his long-suffering wife Loretta with whom he had nine children. . . . Give this book a try; I guarantee it’ll stay with you for a long time after you’re finished with it.
teams begin a 14-game regular season on Aug. 5. The season is to begin with a rematch of the last Grey Cup game — the Winnipeg Blue Bombers beat the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, 33-12, in Calgary on Nov. 24, 2019. . . . The CFL hasn’t played a game since then because of the pandemic. . . . The 2021 season is to open with that rematch being played in Winnipeg. . . . The 2021 Grey Cup game is to be played in Hamilton on Dec. 12. . . . Training camps are to open on July 10, with players needing to report and go through a quarantine process that will be decided in conjunction with local health officials. . . . There won’t be any exhibition games. . . . Ted Wyman of the Winnipeg Sun takes a look at the CFL situation 
Rivières Lions, an expansion ECHL franchise that will be affiliated with the NHL’s Montreal Canadiens. . . . Bélanger, 43, spent the previous two seasons as the head coach of the midget AAA Chevaliers de Lévis. . . . His playing career included 820 NHL regular-season games split between the Los Angeles Kings, Carolina Hurricanes, Atlanta Thrashers, Minnesota Wild, Washington Capitals, Phoenix Coyotes and Edmonton Oilers. . . . In 2008-09, he was teammates with Marc-André Bergeron with the Minnesota Wild. Bergeron now is the Lions’ general manager.
said Monday that it will open its 2021-22 season on Oct. 1 and wrap things up on Feb. 20. . . . “All 20 of the KIJHL’s member clubs will complete a 42-game regular season schedule that includes eight games against divisional opponents and two games each against teams in the opposing division within the same conference,” the league said in a news release. . . . That means that the Spokane Braves will be back after not operating in 2020-21 due to the U.S.-Canada border being closed to non-essential traffic. . . . The KIJHL news release is 
that it has cancelled the remainder of its 2020-21 season. The league last had games played on Nov. 20. . . . The decision to cancel was made after B.C. provincial health officials said Friday that restrictions presently in force will remain in place at least through month’s end. . . . Here’s Jeff Dubois, the KIJHL commissioner, in a news release: “As we approach March and April, we are faced with the reality of arenas removing their ice for the spring and summer, and that leaves us unable to plan for a meaningful conclusion to our season.” . . . Also from the news release: “KIJHL clubs will have the option to continue to train under the current PHO guidelines, and the possibility remains that exhibition games may be played if restrictions are relaxed in the future.” . . . The Kamloops Storm and Kelowna Chiefs both have said they will go on training. . . . The KIJHL features 18 teams, with 17 of them in B.C. The Spokane Braves didn’t start the season because of the U.S.-Canada border being closed to non-essential travel. . . .
League announced Friday night that they “have ceased operations for the remainder of the 2020-21 season after members of the organization tested positive for COVID-19.” . . . The Grizzlies learned on Tuesday that “a potential COVID-19 contact” had occurred at a player’s work place. . . . According to a team statement, “The player . . . subsequently tested positive . . . and additional team members have also since received positive test results.” . . . Here’s Ryan Parent, the Grizzlies’ general manager and head coach: “Earlier this week we elected to temporarily cancel team activities in an effort to keep our billet families, players and greater community safe. “In light of having received multiple positive test results, we have had to make another hard decision. It is with a heavy heart that we have ceased operations for the 2020-21 KIJHL season.” . . . The team’s release is 
given the OK by the Alberta government to play a few games starting in late February. . . . If all goes well, the league’s five Alberta teams will begin playing games on Feb. 26. A schedule has yet to be announced, but it’ll be weekends only — one team will have a bye, the other four will play two games in home-and-home series, something that will mean no hotel stays. . . . Staff and players are to begin self-quarantining today and report to their teams on Feb. 6. . . . If you missed it, the WHL’s news release is 
Friday that “all close contacts of the players, including Vees players and staff” have tested negative. . . . All close contacts will remain in quarantine until early next week when their 14 days will be up. . . . The BCHL, which is on pause right now, has had two positive tests to date. A player with the Surrey Eagles tested positive in October. . . . The league had hoped to resume play on Dec. 8, but those plans will have to change after restrictions that were handed down by the Provincial Health Office this week.
MacGillivray to head coach, replacing Dave Lowry, who has joined the NHL’s Winnipeg Jets as an assistant coach. . . . On Friday, the Wheat Kings announced that they have added Todd Miller and Daniel Johnston to their coaching staff. . . . Miller, 42, is on board as an assistant coach and will be on the bench with MacGillivray. He was an assistant coach with the OHL’s Barrie Colts for 11 seasons and stepped in as head coach after Warren Rychel was fired in January. . . . Johnston, 28, is the Wheat Kings’ first video coach. He played 253 games over six seasons in the WHL (Portland, Lethbridge, 2007-13) before going on to play five seasons in the ECHL. . . . Mark Derlago remains on staff as an assistant coach and Tyler Plante is the goaltending coach.
game against the Notre Dame Hounds in Wilcox, Sask., on Monday night. . . . “This definitely hurt,” Gervais, a 19-year-old from Kamsack, Sask., wrote in a Facebook post. “I’ve put up with a lot of racism in my life and I’ve tried to be a positive influence to bring change to it so this obviously set me off. I will never be ashamed of my Jamaican and Native descent, l am proud of who l am and l will continue to try be a positive voice for racial equality.” . . . Rob Palmarin, the school’s president, told CTV News Regina that the incident was a “one-off,” adding that “if it happened, there’s definitely no place for this type of unacceptable behaviour, period. If it happened, we’re still investigating the person or persons responsible for the action, they will be held accountable.” . . . Bill Chow, the SJHL’s president, said he spoke with Gervais’ family and “they just want to move on from here and that’s their wishes, so that’s what we’ll do.” . . . The Terriers won the game 5-4 in a shootout with Gervais scoring the only goal of the circus. He was given a misconduct immediately after scoring because, according to assistant coach Scott Musqua, he made a “shushing gesture” to the students who had been riding him. . . . Michaela Solomon and Claire Hanna of CTV Regina News have more on this story 
positive. . . . This time it was a player with the Calgary Canucks. On Thursday, the league announced that a player with the Canmore Eagles had tested positive. . . . The Canucks were to have visited the Brooks Bandits on Friday night with the Bandits in Calgary on Saturday. Both games, according to the online schedule, have been “cancelled.” . . . The Canucks last played on Monday against the visiting Okotoks Oilers, whose Sunday game at home to the Camrose Kodiaks has been “postponed.” . . . Brooks’ home-and-home series with Canmore scheduled for Nov. 27 and 28 also won’t happen. . . . Also off the schedule: A home-and-home between the Olds Grizzlys and Drumheller Dragons on Friday and Saturday. The Dragons had played visiting Canmore on Nov. 14. . . . Calgary’s home-and-home series with Olds scheduled for Nov. 27 and 28 remains on the schedule.
according to Jordan Wheeler, a writer from the George Gordon First Nation in Saskatchewan. . . . Sasakamoose, who is to turn 87 on Christmas Day, was the first Canadian indigenous player to reach the NHL. After playing junior for three seasons with the Moose Jaw Canucks, he went on to play 11 games with the Chicago Blackhawks in 1953-54. . . . According to a Facebook post, Sasakamoose “had symptoms for a couple of days, was admitted (Friday) to a local hospital and confirmed that his test was positive.” . . . The post continued: “We are asking people, the hockey community and fans to think about Fred at this time. Chief Thunderstick needs your prayers at this moment for a full recovery!” . . . Sasakamoose’s biography, which is titled Call Me Indian: From the trauma of Residential School to becoming the NHL’s first Treaty Indigenous Player, is expected to be published on April 6.
TAKING NOTE 