Tag: Manny Viveiros

Maglio takes over Chiefs’ bench as Viveiros leaves for AHL . . . No fans for 2021 WJC? . . . Gorges joins BCHL’s Warriors

Adam Maglio is the new head coach of the WHL’s Spokane Chiefs, taking over SpokaneChiefsfrom Manny Viveiros, who now is the first head coach of the Henderson Silver Knights, an AHL expansion team that is owned by the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights. . . . Viveiros leaves Spokane after one season with the Chiefs. . . . Maglio, 34, is the WHL’s youngest head coach. He joined the Chiefs as an assistant coach for the 2019-20 season. Prior to that, he was with the BCHL’s Prince George Spruce Kings, as an assistant (2015-17) and then head coach (2017-19). . . . Viveiros was an assistant coach with the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers in 2018-19, after two seasons as head coach and director of player personnel with the Swift Current Broncos. He guided the Broncos to the 2017-18 WHL championship. . . . Viveiros, 54, was 41-18-5 with the Chiefs when the 2020-21 season was halted by COVID-19. . . . Maglio is the Chiefs’ third head coach since 2017. Viveiros replaced Dan Lambert, who left after two seasons to join the NHL’s Nashville Predators as an assistant coach. . . . Lambert took over from Don Nachbaur, who spent seven seasons in Spokane before his contract wasn’t renewed after 2016-17.

COVID-19 CHRONICLES . . .

The 2021 World Junior Championship is scheduled for Edmonton and Red Deer, starting on Dec. 26 and concluding on Jan. 5. . . . The tournament is to include 10 teams. . . .

The above tweet appeared on Monday. Here was Hockey Canada’s response on Tuesday:

“At present time, there has been no change to the traditional hosting model for the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship . . . Hockey Canada continues to engage in daily communication with the IIHF, the host communities of Edmonton and Red Deer, and the appropriate health authorities to examine all options for hosting the World Junior Championship in December and January. The health and safety of all participants and the community at large remains a priority for Hockey Canada, and our organization will continue to work towards hosting a safe, successful event on behalf of the IIHF.” . . .

The Quebec International Pee-Wee Tournament, which had been scheduled for Feb. 10-21, has been cancelled. The 2021 event was expected to include about 2,500 players. . . .

The NFL and NFLPA revealed Tuesday that there were 10 positive tests — four players and six staffers — from Aug. 21-29. These results come a week after zero players and six team personnel tested positive. . . . The NFL season is scheduled to open on Sept. 10. . . .

Memphis RB Kenneth Gainwell, one of the college game’s best all-purpose offensive players, has opted out of the 2020 season. He has lost four family members to the virus. . . . LSU WR Ja’Marr Chase, another top-end player, also has opted out. However, he didn’t cite the virus for his decision, saying instead that he wants to focus on becoming an NFL player. He is eligible for the NFL’s 2021 draft. . . . The Auburn Tigers are scheduled to practice Tuesday without at least 16 players — nine have tested positive and seven are considered high risk. . . . Josh Heupel, the U of Central Florida Knights’ head coach, said Tuesday the team has had 10 players opt out of this season, all of citing the virus. . . .

The Oakland A’s spent Monday holed up in a Houston hotel after having a Sunday game there postponed by a positive test. Later tests all were negative, but a three-game series that they were to have played against the host Seattle Mariners through Thursday was  postponed. . . .

The virus has started to leave its mark on the 2020-21 season for winter sports. The International Skating Union has cancelled a World Cup speed skating meet in Calgary, Dec. 11-13, along with two short-track events — Montreal, Nov. 6-8, and Laval, Nov. 13-15. . . . Also cancelled are meets in Tomaszow-Mazowiecki, Poland, Nov. 13-15; Stavanger, Norway, Nov. 20-22; and Salt Lake City, Dec. 4-6. . . .

The Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) announced Monday that it has postponed all competition until January 2021. From a news release: “The MIAC previously announced the postponement of all medium- and high-contact risk fall sports (cross-country, football, soccer, and volleyball) to the spring season on July 28. This latest decision will push competition in golf and tennis back to the second halves of their split-season schedules, while the basketball, hockey, indoor track and field, and swimming and diving competition seasons are now planning to begin in January. The MIAC Golf Championships, previously set for October, will be rescheduled for Spring 2021. All MIAC teams will maintain the institutional autonomy to practice, train, and conduct other athletic-related activities throughout the academic year in accordance with NCAA and campus protocols.” . . . There are 13 NCAA Division III schools in the MIAC.

Devil

If you have any interest at all in how the NBA got from where it once was, with playoff games shown on tape delay late at night, to where it is today, with players leading a movement to, among other things get out the vote, Dan Le Batard of ESPN has a great piece that is right here.

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Sticking with ESPN, Emily Kaplan and Greg Wyshynski have produced a piece that looks at the NHL and raises all sorts of questions about the 2020-21 regular-season. When might it start? Might it be played in four bubbles? How will the U.S.-Canada being closed to non-essential travel impact it? And on and on. . . . That is all right here.

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

Living Kidney Donor Program

St. Paul’s Hospital

6A Providence Building

1081 Burrard Street

Vancouver, BC V6Z 1Y6

Tel: 604-806-9027

Toll free: 1-877-922-9822

Fax: 604-806-9873

Email: donornurse@providencehealth.bc.ca

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Vancouver General Hospital Living Donor Program – Kidney 

Gordon and Leslie Diamond Health Care Centre

Level 5, 2775 Laurel Street

Vancouver, BC V5Z 1M9

604-875-5182 or 1-855-875-5182

kidneydonornurse@vch.ca

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Or, for more information, visit right here.

JUST NOTES: Former WHL/NHL D Josh Gorges has joined the BCHL’s West Kelowna Warriors as their director of player development. Gorges, who played with the Kelowna Rockets (2000-04), played 13 seasons in the NHL (San Jose Sharks, Montreal Canadiens, Buffalo Sabres, 2005-18). . . . The Swift Current Broncos, one of four community-owned WHL franchises, will hold their annual general meeting on Sept. 29. . . . Aaron Spotts is the new head coach of the junior B Westshore Wolves of the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League. He takes over from Ian Birnie, the head coach for the previous two seasons.

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Chiefs welcome Viveiros back to WHL. . . . One team left without head coach. . . . Cougars prospect commits to Chilliwack

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The Spokane Chiefs made it official on Tuesday — Manny Viveiros is their new head SpokaneChiefscoach. He takes over from Dan Lambert, who left after two seasons to sign on as an assistant coach with the NHL’s Nashville Predators. . . . Viveiros, 53, spent last season as an assistant coach with the Edmonton Oilers, but was released when Dave Tippett was hired as the NHL team’s new head coach. . . . Prior to that, Viveiros spent two seasons as the director of player personnel and head coach of the Swift Current Broncos, who won the WHL championship in 2017-18. . . . Viveiros will be introduced to Spokane at a news conference today.

With the Spokane Chiefs having hired Manny Viveiros as their head coach, it leaves the BrandonWKregularBrandon Wheat Kings as the only one of the WHL’s 22 teams still looking for one. The Wheat Kings chose not to renew head coach David Anning’s contract after last season. . . . Anning had been with the Wheat Kings though seven seasons — four as an assistant coach and three as head coach. . . .

The Wheat Kings also are without a general manager after having dropped Grant Armstrong after three seasons. Armstrong wasn’t out of work long as the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning has added him to its scouting staff. He will work as an amateur scout under Darryl Plandowski, the team’s head amateur scout.

JUST NOTES:

J.J. Daigneault is the new head coach of the QMJHL’s Halifax Mooseheads. He takes over from Eric Veilleux, who signed on as an assistant coach with the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch after one season in Halifax. Daigneault, 53, was an assistant coach with the AHL’s San Antonio Rampage last season, after spending six seasons as an assistant coach with the Montreal Canadiens. . . .

D Hudson Thornton has agreed to play for the BCHL’s Chilliwack Chiefs in 2019-20. Thornton, who won’t turn 16 until Nov. 4, was a second-round pick by the Prince George Cougars in the WHL’s 2018 bantam draft. . . . From Winnipeg, he played last season with the Rink Hockey Academy’s prep team.

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Report: Chiefs have signed a coach. . . . Cozens, Krebs scratched from camp. . . . Cougars ink first-rounders. . . . Harden hot on half-mile of hell

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F Rudolf Červený (Regina, 2007-09) has signed a four-year contract with Hradec Králové (Czech Republic, Extraliga). Last season, with Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia, KHL), he had 11 goals and 12 assists in 57 games. He also had one goal and four assists in 11 games with Brynäs Gävle (Sweden, SHL). . . .

F Masi Marjamäki (Red Deer, Moose Jaw, 2002-06) has signed a one-year contract with the Cardiff Devils (Wales, UK Elite). Last season, in 45 games with Piráti Chomutov (Czech Republic, Extraliga), he had eight goals and eight assists. . . .

F Adam Rossignol (Kootenay, Swift Current, Regina, Portland, 2010-14) has signed a one-year contract with HK Budapest (Hungary, Erste Liga). Last season, he had five goals and eight assists in 28 games with U of British Columbia (USports, Canada West). . . .

D James Bettauer (Chilliwack, Prince Albert, Medicine Hat, 2008-09, 2010-12) has signed a one-year contract with the Sheffield Steelers (England, UK Elite). Last season, in 49 games with the Krefeld Pinguine (Germany, DEL), he had five goals and 13 assists.

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It seems that Manny Viveiros is coming back to the WHL, this time as the head coach of SpokaneChiefsthe Spokane Chiefs. . . . Jason Gregor, the host of The Jason Gregor Show on TSN1260 in Edmonton, tweeted the news on Monday evening. . . . Viveiros, who played four seasons in the WHL (Prince Albert, 1982-86), returned from Europe to spend two seasons as the director of player personnel and head coach with the Swift Current Broncos. After winning the WHL championship for 2017-18, he left the WHL for a job as an assistant coach with the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers. That ended after last season, when Dave Tippett was hired as the Oilers’ head coach. . . . A month ago, he told Postmedia’s Jim Matheson that he didn’t have any interest in returning to the WHL. “It’s not really a place for me to go back to and no disrespect to that league,” Viveiros said. “I’ve won in Europe (in Austria) multiple times, I’ve won in the Western League. I had choices last year but (Edmonton) is home, my family, my wife’s parents are here.” . . . In Spokane, Viveiros will replace Dan Lambert, who left after two seasons as head coach to join the NHL’s Nashville Predators as an assistant coach. . . . With Viveiros in Spokane, it leaves the Brandon Wheat Kings as the only one of the WHL’s 22 teams without a head coach. The Wheat Kings also need a general manager.

Hockey Canada has scratched two injured WHL forwards from its summer development Canadacamp for the national junior team. . . . F Dylan Cozens of the Lethbridge Hurricanes and F Peyton Krebs of the Winnipeg Ice both are injured and won’t be on the ice during the camp, which is to run July 7 through Aug. 3 in Plymouth, Mich. . . . Cozens had surgery last week after suffering an injury to his left thumb in the Buffalo Sabres’ development camp. He is expected to be sidelined for up to three months. The Sabres had picked him seventh overall in the NHL’s 2019 draft. . . . Krebs suffered a partially torn left Achilles tendon during a workout and later underwent surgery. He attended the NHL draft and was taken 17th overall by the Vegas Golden Knights. A timeline hasn’t yet been established for his return. . . . F Connor McMichael of the OHL’s London Knights has been added to the camp roster. He was a first-round pick by the Washington Capitals in the NHL’s 2019 draft.

F Kirby Dach of the Saskatoon Blades has signed a three-year entry-level contract with Saskatoonthe Chicago Blackhawks, who selected him third overall in the NHL’s 2019 draft. . . . Dach had 25 goals and 48 assists in 62 games with the Blades last season. He added five goals and three assists in 10 playoff games. . . . In 2017-18, as a WHL freshman, he had seven goals and 39 assists in 52 games. . . . Under terms of the CBA between the NHL and the NHLPA, Dach, 18, will have to play with the Blackhawks or the Blades in 2019-20.

Here’s what was reported here on June 27 . . .

The Vancouver Giants are poised to announce the signing of F Cole Shepard, a Vancouversource familiar with the situation has told Taking Note. . . . Shepard, 17, was a second-round pick by Vancouver in the WHL’s 2017 bantam draft. . . . Last season, he had seven goals and 17 assists in 53 games with the BCHL’s Penticton Vees. . . . Prior to that, he played at the Delta Hockey Academy. . . . Shepard made a verbal commitment to Harvard U on April 17, 2018, to start with the 2021-22 season. . . . Signing with the Giants will give him the opportunity to play with his brother Jackson, 19, who was acquired from the Lethbridge Hurricanes on May 25.

The Prince George Cougars have signed D Keaton Dowhaniuk and F Koehn Ziemmer, PrinceGeorgeboth of whom were selected in the first round of the 2019 bantam draft, to WHL contracts. . . . Dowhaniuk, from Sherwood Park, Alta., was the third-overall selection. He had eight goals and 27 assists in 25 games with the OHA Edmonton bantam prep team last season. . . . The Cougars took Ziemmer with the fourth-overall selection. From Mayerthorpe, Alta., he also played with the OHA Edmonton bantam prep team, putting up 37 goals and 39 assists in 29 games. . . .

There now are only two of the 22 first-round selections who haven’t signed WHL contracts. F Connor Levis, the 20th overall pick, hasn’t signed with the Kamloops Blazers. D Tyson Jugnauth, taken 21st overall, has yet to sign with the Swift Current Broncos. . . . Levis, from Vancouver, won’t turn 15 until Oct. 5. Last season, he had 24 goals and 38 assists in 26 games with the bantam prep team at St. George’s School. He also has made a verbal commitment to the U of Michigan for the 2022-23 season. . . . Jugnauth, from Kelowna, had eight goals and six assists in 16 games with a bantam AA team there.

If it’s the second week in July, it means the Calgary Stampede is in high gear, and that means Chad Harden is driving in the half-mile of hell — aka the Rangeland Derby. . . . Harden, who scouts for the WHL’s Calgary Hitmen, is a regular on the chuckwagon racing circuit in Alberta and Saskatchewan. . . . On Monday, he won the first heat in 1:13.73 and won $2,700. For the evening, he was 15th of 36 entries. He goes into Tuesday’s action in fifth place in the aggregate and has won $13,300. . . . Laurence Heinen of Postmedia has more on Harden, aka The Prankster, and the chuckwagons right here.

Seattle has an NHL franchise that is scheduled to begin play for the 2021-22 season. While the team doesn’t yet have a nickname, its owner has a vision. Jerry Bruckheimer has told Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times that he would like to see a USHL franchise and a western version of USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program in the area, both playing out of what will be the Seattle team’s training facility. . . . Bruckheimer and CEO Tod Leiweke also would love to see the World Junior Championship tournament played in Seattle, too. . . . Baker’s complete piece is right here.

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JUST NOTES:

Bill Rotheisler has joined the AJHL’s Drayton Valley Thunder as assistant general manager and associate coach. He had been the AGM and associate coach with the St. Stephen Aces of the Maritime Junior Hockey League — the franchise has moved to Fredericton and now is the Red Wings. . . . Prior to moving east, Rotheisler spent five seasons coaching in the junior B Kootenay International Junior Hockey League, the last two as GM and head coach of the Castlegar Rebels. . . .

Barry Dewar no longer is involved in the ownership of the junior B Kamloops Storm of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League. Dewar had owned 51 per cent of Storm before selling to Tracy Mero, who now owns 100 per cent of the franchise. . . . “This is what I wanted,” Dewar told Marty Hastings of Kamloops This Week. “It’s been 18 years. The suspension was the final kicker. The league is moving in a direction that I’m not happy with.” . . . Prior to last season, Dewar was suspended for tampering, a decision with which he didn’t agree. . . . Matt Kolle now is the Storm’s governor, business manager, hockey operations manager and general manager. . . . Hastings’ story is right here.

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Comings, goings and happenings . . . and now back to baseball and The Border

If you’re wondering where I’ve been, well, I’ve been right here. I am taking some time away from writing, just taking a break. . . . I also have cracked open The Border, the third book in author Don Winslow’s terrific trilogy about, yes, the U.S.-Mexico border and a whole lot more. So I have been spending some time with Art Keller (hey, Google is your friend). . . . If you haven’t read the trilogy, start with The Dogs of War, then move on to The Cartel. After that you’ll be ready for The Border. . . . A warning though — this stuff is gritty. . . .

Some stuff has happened over the last few days, so what follows is a summary. No, I’m not back on a daily basis. Not yet. . . . You see, I’m only halfway through The Border. . . .

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F Radim Valchar (Portland, Lethbridge, 2007-10) has signed a one-year contract extension with Csíkszereda Miercurea Ciuc (Romania, Erste Liga). Last season, he put up 42 goals and 43 assists in 61 games. He was tied for the league lead in goals and was second in points. . . .

D Brenden Kichton (Spokane, 2008-13) has signed a one-year contract with the Vienna Capitals (Austria, Erste Bank Liga). Last season, with SaiPa Lappeenranta (Finland, Liiga), he had eight goals and 15 assists in 46 games. . . .

F Lukáš Králík (Victoria, 2011-12) has signed a one-year contract with Nový Jičín (Czech Republic, 2. Liga). Last season, in 28 games with Draci Šumperk (Czech Republic, 2. Liga), he had seven goals and four assists. . . .

D Matt Pufahl (Red Deer, Saskatoon, Everett, 2010-14) has signed a one-year contract with the Glasgow Clan (Scotland, UK Elite). Last season, with the Utah Grizzlies (ECHL), he had one assist in six games. He also had one goal and one assist in 26 games with Zvolen (Slovakia, Extraliga). . . . The Glasgow press release states that Pufahl will enrol in the MBA program at Glasgow Caledonian University while playing for the Clan. . . .

F Wacey Rabbit (Saskatoon, Vancouver, 2001-07) has signed a one-year contract with Corona Brașov (Romania, Erste Liga). Last season, with the Jacksonville IceMen (ECHL), he had 29 goals and 31 assists in 70 games. He led the team in goals and points, and was tied for the lead in assists. . . .

F Michael Burns (Edmonton, Vancouver, 2007-12) has signed a try-out contract with the Hannover Indians (Germany, Oberliga Nord). He didn’t play last season. In summer 2018, with the Sydney Bears (Australia, AIHL), he had five goals and five assists in nine games. He holds dual German-Canadian citizenship. . . .

F Kevin King (Kootenay, 2006-11) has signed a one-year contract with Cortina (Italy, Alps HL). Last season, in 45 games with the Guildford Flames (England, UK Elite), he had five goals and 13 assists. . . .

F Austin Carroll (Victoria, 2011-15) has signed a one-year contract with the Kassel Huskies (Germany, DEL2). Last season, with the Utah Grizzlies (ECHL), he had 15 goals and 20 assists in 45 games. On loan to the Manitoba Moose (AHL), he had one goal in seven games. . . .

F Michal Řepík (Vancouver, 2005-08) has signed a one-year contract with Sparta Prague (Czech Republic, Extraliga). Last season, with Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia, KHL), he had 10 goals and 11 assists in 42 games; he was an alternate captain. . . . He was traded to Vityaz Podolsk (Russia, KHL) on Dec. 26, and had five goals and four assists in 19 games. . . .

F Jim O’Brien (Seattle, 2007-09) has signed a one-year contract with the Nuremberg Ice Tigers (Germany, DEL). Last season, with the Belleville Senators (AHL), he had one goal and two assists in 11 games. . . .

F R.J. Reed (Vancouver, Prince Albert, 2010-11) has signed a one-year contract with Diez-Limburg (Germany, Regionalliga West). Last season, with the Nijmegen Devils (Netherlands, BeNeLiga), he had 33 goals and 17 assists in 19 games. He led the team in goals and was second in points. He was third in the league in goals. . . .

D Brendan Mikkelson (Portland, Vancouver, 2003-07) has signed a one-year contract with Red Bull Salzburg (Austria, Erste Bank Liga). Last season, in 47 games with Adler Mannheim (Germany, DEL), he had six goals and eight assists in 47 games.

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The Kamloops Blazers have signed Shaun Clouston as their head coach, replacing Serge Lajoie who was one-and-done. Clouston arrives in Kamloops after spending 16 seasons with the Medicine Hat Tigers. He was dismissed as general manager and head coach on Kamloops1May 30 so that the Tigers could bring back Willie Desjardins to fill both roles. . . . The Blazers also named co-owner Darryl Sydor an associate coach. He was named an assistant coach on Feb. 12. . . .

A tip of the Taking Note fedora to Clouston for not ducking questions about what happened in Medicine Hat. The Tigers announced his departure in a three-paragraph news release in which the team said they and Clouston “have parted ways.” . . . Clouston told reporters in Kamloops on Wednesday that he was in shock — he likened it to a “punch in the stomach” — when the Tigers dumped him. . . .

The Blazers didn’t announce any terms of their contract with Clouston, but you have to think it is at least four years in length. After all, they originally offered Kyle Gustafson a four-year deal, only to have him choose to remain with the Portland Winterhawks as associate coach and assistant GM. The offer to Gustafson was made before Clouston’s time ran out in The Hat. . . .

What makes things interesting in Kamloops is Sydor’s presence as associate coach. He also is one of the team’s five co-owners and hasn’t hidden his desire to be a WHL head coach. Sydor has never been a head coach, but has ample experience as an NHL assistant coach, having worked with the Minnesota Wild and St. Louis Blues. . . .

With the Blazers having hired Clouston, it leaves the Brandon Wheat Kings, Prince George Cougars and Spokane Chiefs as the only WHL teams still searching for head coaches. . . . The NHL’s Edmonton Oilers have a announced the hiring of Jim Playfair as an associate coach under head coach Dave Tippett. There continues to be speculation that Mark Lamb, presently the Cougars’ general manager, could be joining the Oilers as an assistant coach. He has a long history with Tippett.

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A couple of notes from Postmedia’s Jim Matheson:

“Connor McDavid’s junior coach Kris Knoblauch lost out for the Columbus farm team head job in Cleveland to Mike Eaves. . . . Hearing Los Angeles head coach Todd McLellan would have hired his other Oilers assistant Manny Viveiros, but there’s only room for two assistants for budgetary reasons. Viveiros is very much in running for an assistant’s job in Ottawa, though. No surprise Trent Yawney, who’ll look after L.A.’s defence, is joining McLellan again.”

I watched most of the Minnesota Twins’ 17-inning victory over the visiting Boston Red Sox on Tuesday night. One night later, Dick Bremer, the TV play-by-play voice of the Twins, passed along some interesting numbers. In a nine-inning game, he said, MLB teams will go through between six and 18 dozen baseballs. On Tuesday, in a game that included 487 pitches, they used up 27 dozen baseballs. . . . That’s a lot of souvenirs!

Shawn Mullin, the radio voice of the Swift Current Broncos for the past nine seasons, will be the new play-by-play voice of the OHL’s Peterborough Petes, according to Mike Davies of the Peterborough Examiner. . . . According to Davies, Mullin will replace Rob Snoek of Extra 90.5FM. Snoek told Davies that he won’t be back and that “it wasn’t my decision.” . . . Davies’ story is right here.

The Lethbridge Hurricanes have acquired F D-Jay Jerome, 20, from the Victoria Royals Lethbridgefor a pair of unspecified conditional bantam draft picks, one in 2021 and the other in 2022. Jerome is from Lethbridge. . . . Other 20-year-olds on Lethbridge’s roster include D Koletrane Wilson, D Ty Prefontaine, F Scott Mahovlich and F Zach Cox. F Jake Leschyshyn, F Jordy Bellerive and F Nick Henry also are 1999-born players, but are likely to begin their pro careers in the fall. . . .

The Royals also lost D Jake Kustra, 20, on waivers to the Swift Current Broncos. Kustra played under Broncos head coach Dean Brockman when both were with the Saskatoon VictoriaRoyalsBlades. . . . With Kustra, the Broncos have three 20-year-olds on their roster, the others being F Ian Briscoe and F Ethan O’Rourke. . . .

Having trade away Jerome and placed Kustra on waivers, Victoria has six 20s on its roster — D Will Warm, who was acquired from the Edmonton Oil Kings on June 13, Belarusian F Igor Martynov, F Tanner Sidaway, who is from Victoria, D Jameson Murray, D Scott Walford and G Shane Farkas, an offseason acquisition from the Portland Winterhawks. . . .

Meanwhile, the Broncos have signed F Mat Ward to a WHL contract. From Kamloops, he was the 14th overall pick in the WHL’s 2019 bantam draft.

The Edmonton Oil Kings have waived F Zach Russell, 20. He got into 36 games with them last season. Earlier, the Oil Kings had dealt D Will Warm, 20, to the Victoria Royals. . . . The Oil Kings are left with four 20s on their roster — F Riley Sawchuk, who was acquired from the Tri-City Americans on May 16, G Dylan Myskiw, D Conner McDonald and D Parker Gavlas. . . . F Trey Fix-Wolansky also is 20, but is likely to begin his pro career in the Columbus Blue Jackets’ organization.

Bart

An interesting note from Bob Molinaro of the Hampton Roads Virginian Pilot: “Bob Molinaro in the Hampton-Roads Virginian-Pilot: “Forbes has put out another list of the highest-paid athletes. It’s the usual dull cluster of dollar signs and numbers, but with one amusing twist. Strictly by salary, Tom Brady ranks fifth on the list — among Boston athletes alone. The top paid Beantown jock is Celtics guard Kyrie Irving, followed by teammates Gordon Hayward and Al Horford. Red Sox left-hander David Price slips into fourth place. Not taken into account is the cash value of six Super Bowl rings.”

The Kamloops Blazers are down to three 20-year-olds with F Travis Walton having cleared WHL waivers and signed with the BCHL’s Nanaimo Clippers. . . . Walton had nine goals and nine assists in 48 regular-season games over three seasons with the Blazers. . . . The 20s remaining on the Blazers’ roster are F Zane Franklin, F Kobe Mohr and D Jackson Caller. . . .

Meanwhile, the Blazers announced Thursday that they have signed Colin (Toledo) Robinson, their trainer, to a contract extension. The length of the extension wasn’t revealed. . . . Robinson has been with the Blazers since then GM/head coach Dean Clark signed him in 2005. Robinson is prepping for his 25th WHL season, having also worked for the Swift Current Broncos and Vancouver Giants.

The Prince Albert Raiders named Curt Brownlee as their director of player personnel. He has been with the Raiders since 2011 when he signed on as a scout. He takes over from the late Ron Gunville, who died in December.

There is zero chance of the Tampa Bay Rays splitting their American League seasons between the Florida city and Montreal. None. Zilch. Nada. . . . This is simply a cheap way for the Rays to try and pressure their way to a new ballpark in Tampa.

If you’re wondering about the costs of operating a junior A hockey team, consider this from Michael Reeve of radio station Q101.1 from the AGM of the BCHL’s Merritt Centennials:

“Beth Nadeau, the team’s treasurer, provided an update on last (season’s) financials. While the team’s expenses came in at approximately the same amount as last (season), this (season’s) revenue was down close to $23,000. All of that resulted in the team losing $95,644.68 last (season), up from a loss of $75,329.99 the season before.”

Meanwhile, the MJHL’s Swan Valley Stampeders held their AGM on Wednesday night and reported a deficit of $6,402.95. The Stampeders had a long playoff run or it would have been a lot worse. . . . For more, check out Benny Walchuk’s blog right here.

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Ice’s Krebs suffers Achilles injury. . . . Viveiros in no hurry to return to WHL. . . . Dyck moves to U-18 team

MacBeth

D Valtteri Kakkonen (Kootenay, 2018-19) has signed a two-year contract with JYP Jyväskylä (Finland, Liiga). This season, with the Kootenay Ice (WHL), he had one goal and nine assists in 52 games. . . .

G Riku Helenius (Seattle, 2007-08) has signed a contract through the November international break with JYP Jyväskylä (Finland, Liiga). This season, with Ilves Tampere (Finland, SM-Liiga), he made 32 appearances, going 12-11-8, 2.69,.885, with two shutouts and two assists. . . .

F Ryon Moser (Lethbridge, Swift Current, 2008-13) has signed a one-year contract with the Kassel Huskies (Germany, DEL2). This season, with Freiburg (Germany, DEL2), he had 18 goals and 19 assists in 47 games. He was second on the team in goals and points.

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F Peyton Krebs of the Winnipeg Ice, who is expected to be a first-round selection in this wpgicemonth’s NHL draft, has undergone surgery to repair a partially torn Achilles tendon.

Krebs, an 18-year-old from Okotoks, Alta., was injured on Tuesday when another player’s skate cut him during a workout. He had surgery in Calgary on Friday and now is in a walking boot.

A timeline hasn’t been established for his return to the ice.

The Kootenay Ice selected Krebs with the first overall pick in the WHL’s 2016 bantam draft. Two seasons ago, he had 17 goals and 37 assists in 67 games as a freshman. This season, he finished with 19 goals and 49 assists in 64 games.

With the Ice missing the playoffs, Krebs played for Canada at the IIHF U-18 World Championship, putting up six goals and four assists in seven games.

The Ice moved from Cranbrook, B.C., to Winnipeg after the season ended.

NHL Central Scouting has Krebs ranked No. 10 among North American skaters eligible for the NHL’s 2019 draft, which is scheduled to be held in Vancouver, June 21 and 22. TSN’s Craig Button had Krebs at No. 8, with TSN’s Bob McKenzie putting him at No. 9.

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Manny Viveiros is out of work at the moment, but he has told Jim Matheson of Postmedia that he doesn’t want to go back to the WHL. Viveiros, who guided the Swift Current Broncos to the Ed Chynoweth Cup a year ago, lasted one season as an assistant coach with the Edmonton Oilers before being fired shortly after Dave Tippett was signed as head coach. . . . Viveiros told Matheson that the WHL isn’t “really a place for me to go back to and no disrespect to that league. I’ve won in Europe (in Austria) multiple times, I’ve won in the Western League. I had choices last year but this is home, my family, my wife’s parents are here.” . . . Viveiros, who has two years left on his Edmonton contract, is from St. Albert, Alta.

D Valtteri Kakkonen won’t be returning to the WHL for a second season. From Finland, Kakkonen, now 19, had one goal and nine assists in 52 games as a freshman with the Kootenay Ice. . . . As you will have noticed in The MacBeth Report, Kakkonen has signed a two-year contract with JYP Jyväskylä of Finland’s Liiga. . . . Slovakian D Martin Bodak played this season as a 20-year-old so isn’t eligible to return to the Ice. . . . The Ice also had Swiss F Gillian Kohler on its roster when the season started. However, Kohler, now 19, was released as the Ice got down to the mandated limit of two imports. He returned home and played for Biel-Bienne’s U-20 team, scoring five goals and adding 23 assists in 26 games. . . . The Ice holds the fourth-overall selection in the CHL import draft that is scheduled for June 27.

Hockey Canada announced on Friday that Michael Dyck, the head coach of the CanadaVancouver Giants, has taken over as head coach of the U-18 team that will play in the 2019 Hlinka Gretzky Cup. . . . Dyck replaces Dan Lambert, who left his position as the head coach of the Spokane Chiefs to join the NHL’s Nashville Predators as an assistant coach. . . . Dyck’s assistant coaches are Mario Duhamel of the OHL’s Ottawa 67’s and Dennis Williams, the head coach of the Everett Silvertips. . . . In his first season as the Giants’ head coach, Dyck guided his club to Game 7 of the WHL’s championship final where they lost to the host Prince Albert Raiders. . . . The 2019 Hlinka Gretzky Cup is set for Breclav, Czech Republic, and Piestany, Slovakia, Aug. 5-10. . . . Earlier, Dyck had been named head coach of Team Canada White at the U-17 World Hockey Challenge that is to be played in Medicine Hat and Swift Current, Nov. 2-9. With Dyck now involved with the U-18 program, Hockey Canada is looking for a replacement for Team Canada White.

Might there be a hockey team anchored in Cranbrook’s Western Financial Place in time for the 2019-20 season? According to a news release placed on the City’s website on Friday, “The City expects a significant announcement around the future of hockey in Cranbrook and Western Financial Place over the coming weeks.” . . . According to the news release: “An official tender was issued by the City of Cranbrook inviting submissions from potential hockey teams to locate in the community, which officially closed on Wednesday, June 5, 2019, at 4:30 p.m. The tender garnered substantial interest from many hockey organizations from a variety of leagues at a variety of playing levels. The tender process was designed to qualify various interested parties and assess whether any groups bidding had a cohesive plan that met the expectations of the City to be a strong, long-term tenant at Western Financial Place. As of the tender closing, the local ownership group working to bring a KIJHL hockey club to Cranbrook was not able to provide all the necessary details around their proposal needed to set up a team in Western Financial Place. Additionally, the sublease proposal through the Kootenay ICE would have expired in 2023. The City is looking for a longer-term lease than four years.”

The Charlotte Checkers won the AHL championship — the Calder Cup — on Saturday, beating the visiting Chicago Wolves, 5-3. The Checkers won the best-of-seven final, 4-1, winning the last four games. . . . F Morgan Geekie, who played last season with the WHL’s Tri-City Americans, scored his eighth goal of the playoffs and added an assist for the winners. Geekie, who finished his first pro regular season with 46 points, including 19 goals, in 73 games, had 18 points in 19 playoff games. . . . The Charlotte roster included a number of other former WHLers — D Jake Bean, F Stelio Mattheos, D Haydn Fleury and G Dustin Tokarski. . . . Included on the Wolves roster were seven former WHLers — F Cody Glass, D Griffin Reinhart, F Tyler Wong, F Gage Quinney, F Dylan Coghlan, F Brooks Macek and F Keegan Kolesar. Rocky Thompson, another former WHLer, is the Wolves’ head coach.

Dave Hnatiuk is the new head coach of the Selkirk College Saints of the B.C. Intercollegiate Hockey League. Hnatiuk has spent the past three seasons as an assistant coach with the U of Regina Cougars of Canada West. . . . The Saints, who play out of Castlegar, B.C., needed a new head coach after Brent Heaven left after four seasons. Heaven left with a 62-25-0-10 record and one championship, that in 2016. . . . A complete news release is right here.

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Cranbrook says ‘no’ to KIJHL team. . . . It’s official! Willie’s back in The Hat. . . . Scooter scoots into retirement. . . . Ice, Wheaties sign first-round picks

MacBeth

D Linden Springer (Prince George, Portland, 2010-13) has signed a one-year contract with the Glasgow Clan (Scotland, UK Elite). This season, with the Manchester Storm (England, UK Elite), he had four goals and nine assists in 51 games. . . .

D Jason Fram (Spokane, 2011-16) has signed a two-year contract with Kunlun Red Star Beijing (China, KHL). This season, in 28 games with the U of Alberta (USports, Canada West), he had nine goals and 21 assists. . . .

F Justin Maylan (Moose Jaw, Prince George, Prince Albert, 2007-12) has  signed a one-year contract with the Dundee Stars (Scotland, UK Elite). This season, with Villach (Austria, Erste Bank Liga), he had two goals and three assists in seven games. He didn’t sign with Villach until Feb. 9. . . .

F Carter Ashton (Lethbridge, Regina, Tri-City, 2006-11) has signed a one-year contract with Dinamo Riga (Latvia, KHL). This season, with Severstal Cherepovets (Russia, KHL), he had nine goals and five assists in 36 games.

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A hearty welcome to all the new readers who have found us here over the past day or two. . . . Hope you enjoy what you find here and that you will spread the word. . . . Enjoy!

It would seem that the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League won’t be setting up kijhlshop in Cranbrook, at least not in time for the 2019-20 season. . . . Taking Note was told on Thursday that a group of 10 investors had reached a deal in principle to purchase the junior B Kelowna Chiefs and move the franchise to Cranbrook. . . . The team would have played out of Western Financial Place, which had been home to the WHL’s Kootenay Ice until that franchise moved to Winnipeg after its 2018-19 season ended. . . . The Ice’s lease with the City of Cranbrook runs through the 2022-23 season and a settlement hasn’t yet been negotiated. So the group had cut a deal with the Ice to sublease and, according to a source, the deal “guaranteed the city WHL rent for the next four years.” . . . However, the city rejected the sublease proposal late Thursday night, meaning the arena is one step close to not having a primary tenant for the 2019-20 season. . . .

“Our deadline for any relocation is May 31,” KIJHL president Larry Martel told Jeff Johnson of The Drive FM in Cranbrook. “Because of the medical situation in Kelowna, we’re still looking at a possibility, but we need to get our scheduling done so the league is moving on as of (Friday).”

Grant Sheridan, the Chiefs’ president and general manager, was admitted to hospital late in March after being diagnosed with bacterial meningitis.

As for a KIJHL team moving into Cranbrook, Martel said that isn’t likely to happen in the near future.

“There’s an existing rink deal with the former team, the Western Hockey League’s Kootenay Ice,” he said. “So until that’s been negotiated and cleared up, no other junior team will be moving into Cranbrook as far as I’ve been told. But I have not been involved with any talk with the City of Cranbrook or anybody involved with that.”

Johnson’s story, along with a statement from The Chiefs, is all right here.

As expected, the Medicine Hat Tigers introduced Willie Desjardins as their new general manager and head coach on Friday morning, less than 24 hours after announcing that Tigers Logo Officialthey had parted company with Shaun Clouston. . . . Clouston, 51, had been with the Tigers since 2003-04, working as an assistant coach and associate coach before succeeding Desjardins as head coach prior to the 2010-11 season. Clouston had been GM and head coach since 2012-13. . . . Desjardins’ contract terms weren’t revealed but you get the feeling that he has the job for as long as he wants. . . .

Desjardins, 62, spent three seasons (2002-05) as the Tigers’ head coach and five (2005-10) as GM/head coach. With Desjardins running things, the Tigers won WHL championships in 2004 and 2007. They also won four straight Central Division titles, two Eastern Conference championships and one Scotty Munro Trophy as the top regular-season team. . . . After leaving the Tigers, Desjardins spent two seasons (2010-12) as an assistant coach with the NHL’s Dallas Stars, two as head coach of the AHL’s Texas Stars, three as head coach of the Vancouver Canucks, and one with Team Canada. This season, he took over as the interim head coach of the Los Angeles Kings in November, but was released at season’s end. . . .

One of Desjardins’ responsibilities may be to stop the bleeding at the gate. When the Tigers played in The Arena, regular-season games were sold out (4,006) for a number of seasons. The Tigers moved into the 7,100-seat Canalta Centre in time for the 2015-16 season. They average 4,248 fans for that season, but in subsequent seasons the attendance declined to 3,586, 3,295 and 3,121.

This season, the Tigers had announced attendances of fewer than 3,000 for 16 of their 34 homes games.

The Tigers finished 35-27-6 in what turned out to be Clouston’s final season as head coach. They made the playoffs as the Eastern Conference’s first wild-card team and lost a first-round series, 4-2, to the Edmonton Oil Kings.

In the previous three seasons in the Canalta Centre, the Tigers went 30-37-5, 51-20-1 and 36-28-8. They missed the playoffs in 2015-16, lost in the second round in 2016-17, and were ousted in the first round in 2017-18.

Dean (Scooter) Vrooman ended his 32-year career with the Portland Winterhawks on Friday by strolling off into retirement. . . . Vrooman joined the team in 1982 as its play-Portlandby-play voice and primary sponsorship salesperson, roles he held for 25 years. He left the organization briefly in 2007 to work in the banking industry. He returned to the Winterhawks in 2012 as the director of corporate sponsorships. . . . As the voice of the Winterhawks, Vrooman handled more than 2,000 games, including the 1982-83 and 1997-98 Memorial Cup championship seasons. . . . Of course, retirement doesn’t mean Vrooman won’t be somewhere near the Winterhawks at times. As he put it in a news release: “Overall, I have been a part of the organization for 32 years and I am going to be 66 years old in December so I thought this was the right time to move out of the realm of working full time in corporate sponsorships. I absolutely love the team and the WHL and will still be coming to a lot of games, perhaps helping out with some broadcasting occasionally, and working with the Winterhawks alumni and other isolated projects as they arise. I am so fortunate to have worked with so many great people, players, sponsors and fans for so many years.  It has been a lot of work, but it has also been a lot of fun.”

The NHL’s Edmonton Oilers released two assistant coaches on Friday, both of them former WHL players and coaches. . . . Manny Viveiros spent one season with the Oilers Oilersafter working for two seasons as the Swift Current Broncos director of player personnel and head coach. He helped lead the Broncos the WHL championship a year ago. Viveiros played four seasons (1982-86) with the Prince Albert Raiders. . . . Trent Yawney, a veteran coach, also spent just one season with the Oilers, after working as an assistant coach with the Anaheim Ducks for four seasons. There is speculation that he could be joining the Los Angeles Kings as an assistant coach. Todd McLellan, who was fired by the Oilers early this season, is the Kings’ new head coach. . . . Yawney played three seasons (1982-85) with the Saskatoon Blades. . . . Glen Gulutzan will be staying with the Oilers as an assistant under new head coach Dave Tippett. Gulutzan has completed one season with the Oilers and working as the Calgary Flames’ head coach for two seasons. As a player, he skated for two seasons (1989-91) with the Brandon Wheat Kings and one (1991-92) with the Saskatoon Blades. . . . There is speculation that Jim Playfair will be joining the Oilers’ staff as an assistant coach. Playfair worked with Tippett for six seasons (2011-17) when the latter was the head coach of the Phoenix/Arizona Coyotes.

The Regina Pats have signed Dale McMullin, their director of scouting, to an extension. The length of the contract wasn’t revealed, other than to report that it is a “multi-year extension.” . . . McMullin has been the Pats’ director of scouting for eight seasons. . . . Before joining the Pats, McMullin was part of the Red Deer Rebels’ scouting staff for nine seasons. . . . McMullin is a former WHL player, having put up 418 points, including 168 goals, in 309 games (1971-76) with the Brandon Wheat Kings.

The Winnipeg Ice has signed F Conor Geekie to a WHL contract. Geekie, from Strathclair, Man., was the second-overall selection in the 2019 bantam draft. . . . This season, he had 49 goals and 37 assists in 31 regular-season games with the bantam AAA Yellowhead Chiefs. . . . His older brother Morgan played three seasons (2015-18) with the Tri-City Americans and now is in the AHL’s Calder Cup final with the Charlotte Checkers. Their father, Craig, played two seasons (1991-93) with the Brandon Wheat Kings and one (1993-94) with the Spokane Chiefs.

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The Brandon Wheat Kings owned three first-round selections in the WHL’s 2019 bantam draft that was held in Red Deer on May 2. On Friday, the Wheat Kings announced the signings of all three players — F Nate Danielson, who was the fifth-overall pick, F Tyson Zimmer, who went sixth, and F Rylen Roersma, who was No. 16. . . . Danielson, from Red Deer, had 26 goals and 33 assists in 29 games with the bantam AAA Red Deer Rebels and was named the Alberta league’s top forward and MVP. . . . Zimmer, from Russell, Man., played for the OHA bantam prep team in Penticton, putting up 22 goals and 30 assists in 26 games. . . . Roersma, from Raymond, Alta., had 23 goals and 21 assists in 29 games with the bantam AAA Lethbridge Golden Hawks.

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With the signings announced Friday by the Winnipeg Ice and Brandon Wheat Kings, WHL teams have signed 12 of the 22 first-round selections from the 2019 bantam draft. Here’s a look at who has signed and who hasn’t . . .

UNSIGNED:

1. Winnipeg — F Matthew Savoie

3. Prince George — D Keaton Dowhaniuk

4. Prince George — F Koehn Ziemmer

7. Kamloops — D Mats Lindgren

11. Moose Jaw — D Denton Mateychuk

14. Swift Current — F Matthew Ward

15. Spokane — F Ben Thornton

19. Victoria — D Jason Spizawka

20. Kamloops — F Connor Levis

21. Swift Current — D Tyson Jugnauth

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SIGNED:

2. Winnipeg — F Conor Geekie

5. Brandon — F Nate Danielson

6. Brandon — F Tyson Zimmer

8. Seattle — F Jordan Gustafson

9. Saskatoon — F Brandon Lisowsky

10. Seattle — D Kevin Korchinski

12. Medicine Hat — F Oasiz Wiesblatt

13. Calgary — D Grayden Siepmann

16. Brandon — F Rylen Roersma

17. Regina — D Layton Feist

18. Edmonton — F Caleb Reimer

22. Prince Albert — F Niall Crocker

The Kelowna Rockets have signed D Elias Carmichael to a WHL contract. From Langley, B.C., Carmichael was a second-round selection in the 2018 bantam draft. . . . This season, he had three goals and 11 assists in 27 regular-season games with the Burnaby Winter Club’s prep team.

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Do Broncos have their man to take over from Manny? . . . Giants, Tigers part ways with veteran scouts . . . Blades get goalie from Thunderbirds

MacBeth

F Peter Mueller (Everett, 2005-07) signed a one-year contract with Brno (Czech Republic, Extraliga). Last season, with Red Bull Salzburg (Austria, Erste Bank Liga), he had 14 goals and 28 assists in 38 games. . . .

F Shane Harper (Everett, 2005-10) signed a two-year contract with Örebro (Sweden, SHL). Last season, with Lada Togliatti (Russia, KHL), he had four goals and seven assists in 36 games.

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The WHL’s head-coaching picture is starting to sort itself out.

Taking Note has been told that Dean Brockman will be joining the Swift Current Broncos, the WHL’s reigning champions, as general manager and head coach. He will take over SCBroncosfrom Manny Viveiros, who left after two seasons to sign on as an assistant coach with the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers.

Viveiros had been the director of hockey operations and head coach. Jamie Porter remains with the Broncos, at least for now, as the director of player personnel.

Brockman, 51, spent the previous four seasons on the staff of the Saskatoon Blades, the past two as head coach. He was fired following the 2017-18 season.

Before joining the Blades, Brockman spent 17 seasons with the SJHL’s Humboldt Broncos. Many observers thought he would end up back in Humboldt, where he would have taken over from the late Darcy Haugan, the team’s general manager and head coach who was killed in the crash involving the Broncos’ bus on April 6.

The Broncos also are believed to have had Serge Lajoie, the former U of Alberta Golden Bears head coach, and Ryan Smith in their final three. Smith has been the Broncos’ associate coach for three seasons.

Lajoie is expected to sign on as head coach of the Kamloops Blazers, if he hasn’t already.

Lajoie, 49, moved from NAIT to the U of Alberta when Golden Bears head coach Ian Herbers left to spend three years as an assistant coach with the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers.

In Kamloops, Lajoie would take over from Don Hay, who now is in an advisory role with the Blazers. Hay has more regular-season and playoff coaching victories than any coach in WHL history. He has said that he is interested in continuing his coaching career.

Taking Note also has been told that the Edmonton Oil Kings were in on Lajoie, but things may have been slowed their because they don’t yet have a general manager in place.

The Oil Kings and general manager Randy Hansch went their separate ways on May 28, the same day the team fired head coach Steve Hamilton. He had been there through eight seasons, the last four as head coach.

The Oil Kings are expected to name Kirt Hill as their director of hockey operations, but have yet to make that official.

Meanwhile, the Medicine Hat Tigers and Vancouver Giants have parted company with veterans of the WHL scouting scene.

The Tigers have parted company with Carter Sears, who was hired as their director of Tigers Logo Officialplayer personnel on Oct. 5. Before joining the Tigers, he spent five seasons as a pro scout with the NHL’s Winnipeg Jets. He also worked as the Red Deer Rebels’ head scout for 13 seasons, and also has been a scouting consultant with the Kootenay Ice.

The Giants have split with Dan Bonar, their director of scouting since Aug. 21. Bonar had been with the Calgary Hitmen for the previous 14 seasons, the last Vancouverfour as head scout.

Bonar and former Vancouver general manager Glen Hanlon were teammates for three seasons (1974-77) with the Brandon Wheat Kings. Hanlon left the Giants after the season and has since been replaced by Barclay Parneta, who fired head coach Jason McKee on Friday.

The Saskatoon Blades have reacquired G Dorrin Luding, 19, from the Seattle Thunderbirds, giving up a conditional seventh-round selection in the WHL’s 2020 Saskatoonbantam draft in exchange.

The Blades selected Luding, who is from Prince George, in the third round of the 2014 bantam draft. They dealt him to the Everett Silvertips on Dec. 5, 2016, getting back a sixth-round selection in the 2019 bantam draft.

Seattle acquired him from Everett on Nov. 24, sending a ninth-round pick in the 2018 bantam draft the other way.

In 30 games split among the Blades, Everett Silvertips and Thunderbirds, Luding is 9-15-1, 3.75, .886, with one shutout.

In Saskatoon, Luding likely slides into the depth chart behind sophomore Nolan Maier, 17.

The Thunderbirds, meanwhile, had two 19-year-old goaltenders on their roster, in Luding and Liam Hughes, who played in 36 regular-season games in 2017-18.

“We had two 19-year old goalies heading into this season and this trade will give Dorrin the chance to play more,” Bil La Forge, Seattle’s general manager, said in a news release.

It remains to be seen whether G Carl Stankowski is able to play for Seattle in 2018-19. You may recall that he missed all of 2017-18 with hip and health issues after starring in Seattle’s run to the WHL championship in the spring of 2017.

The Kamloops Blazers and Seattle Thunderbirds have cut ties with import players from last season, moves that will allow each team to pick twice in next week’s CHL import draft.

Jon Keen, the radio voice of the Blazers, tweeted on Thursday that the Blazers won’t be bringing back F Justin Sigrist, 19, who had three goals and seven assists in 50 games last season.

The Blazers’ other import last season was Czech D Ondrej Vala, who was traded to the Everett Silvertips in January.

Meanwhile, Andy Eide, who covers the Thunderbirds for 710 ESPN, reports that Russian F Nikita Malukhin won’t be back in Seattle. Malukhin, who will turn 18 on July 15, had five goals and four assists in 52 games last season.

F Sami Moilanen, who is from Finland, won’t be back in Seattle, either. Moilanen, 19, had 22 goals and 23 assists in 50 games last season, but has signed to play with Tappara in Finland’s top pro league, Liiga.

The CHL import draft is scheduled to be held on Thursday (June 28).

Although there hasn’t yet been an ‘official’ announcement, Willy Palov of the Halifax Chronicle Herald tweeted Thursday that “I’m hearing goalies are eligible again for the CHL import draft, effective immediately.” That is a move that had been rumoured since earlier this year.

The CHL chose to ban European goaltenders following the 2013 import draft.

Paul Danzer of the Portland Tribune has provided us with a Winterhawks-related notebook in which he touches on a number of things, including the organization’s work towards building a two-sheet practice facility in Beaverton, the purchase of NHL-related domain names and where D Henrik Jokiharju might play in 2018-19. That’s all right here.

The Brandon Wheat Kings announced Wednesday that they have sold 1,850 season-BrandonWKregulartickets for 2018-19, including 500 that were purchased in the past week as the club held its annual ‘Seat Moving Day’ at the Keystone Centre. According to a news release from the team: “This year’s sales numbers are well ahead of last year and represent the second-highest number of early-bird season-tickets in the past seven years.” The news release didn’t include any figures to back up those statements. . . . Last season, the Wheat Kings sold around 2,500 season-tickets and had an announced average attendance of 3,858.

TheCoachingGame

The Winnipeg Jets have signed assistant coach Jamie Kompon to a two-year contract extension, according to a report Wednesday from Jeff Hamilton of the Winnipeg Free Press. . . . Kompon, 51, has spent two seasons on the Jets’ coaching staff after working as the general manager and head coach of the Portland Winterhawks for two seasons (2014-16).

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Parneta moves into GM’s office in Vancouver . . . Rockets release an import . . . Season ends for WHL champions

MacBeth

F Vladimír Sičák (Medicine Hat, 1998-2000) signed a one-year contract extension with Karlovy Vary (Czech Republic, Extraliga). An alternate captain, he had four goals and 18 assists in 49 games. Karlovy Vary was in 1. Liga this season and won promotion to Extraliga for next season. . . .

D Patrik Maier (Kamloops, Moose Jaw, 2014-16) signed a one-year contract extension with Liberec (Czech Republic, Extraliga). This season, he was pointless in 20 games. He had six assists in 41 games while on loan to Benátky nad Jizerou (Czech Republic, 1. Liga).

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The Vancouver Giants introduced Barclay Parneta as their general manager on Wednesday morning. Parneta, 47, takes over from Glen Hanlon, who left the Giants earlier this month after two seasons as GM. . . . The Giants’ news release is right here. . . . Steve Ewen, who covers the Giants for Postmedia, has a piece right here.

The Kelowna Rockets have released Czech F Marek Skrvne, who turns 19 on Aug. 6, after KelownaRocketsjust one season. He had four goals and nine assists in 69 games as a freshman last season. . . . The Rockets will make one selection in the CHL’s 2018 import draft, as Czech D Libor Zabransky, 18, will return for a second season. . . . “Marek did nothing to cause the direction we are headed except for the fact that I think we need a defenceman back there as we are trying to build a team for 2020,” Bruce Hamilton, the Rockets’ owner, president and general manager, told Regan Bartel, the team’s radio voice. . . . The Rockets are preparing to bid on the 2020 Memorial Cup. . . . According to the WHL Guide, the import draft will be held on June 26 or 27.

The men who own the Regina Pats are going to take at least a $2-million bath on the 2018 ReginaPats100Memorial Cup, which is being played in their city. Not only that, but they aren’t at all surprised; in fact, they expected it. . . . They ended up handing the CHL a $3-million hosting fee and another $650,000 to cover some expenses. . . . “If every seat had been sold for the Eagles concert — part of the gala opening ceremony at Mosaic Stadium — and for every game of the tournament, the owners would still have been staring at a seven-figure shortfall,” writes Rob Vanstone of the Regina Leader-Post. . . . You have to wonder what’s going on in the world of major junior hockey when one of the CHL’s partners is forced into taking this kind of bath? . . . Vanstone’s piece is right here and it more than adequately explains the financial situation surrounding this Memorial Cup.

The Memorial Cup schedule (all times local):

Game 1, Friday – Regina 3, Hamilton 2 (5,678)

Game 2, Saturday – Acadie-Bathurst 4, Swift Current 3 (OT) (6,237)

Game 3, Sunday – Acadie-Bathurst 8, Regina 6 (5,832)

Game 4, Monday – Hamilton 2, Swift Current 1 (5,820)

Game 5, Tuesday – Hamilton 3, Acadie-Bathurst 2 (6,072)

Game 6, Wednesday – Regina 6, Swift Current 5 (6,484)

Thursday — Day off.

Friday’s Semifinal – Regina vs. Hamilton, 8 p.m.

Sunday’s Final — Acadie-Bathurst vs. Regina/Hamilton winner, 5 p.m.

Speculation has been running wild in Edmonton regarding the likelihood that the NHL’s Oilers will add Glen Gulutzan and Trent Yawney to head coach Todd McLellan’s coaching staff. . . . Gulutzan was fired as head coach of the Calgary Flames after the season, while Yawney was let go by the Anaheim Ducks. . . . The Oilers have room for one more assistant coach and those same speculators are betting on Manny Viveiros, the director of hockey operations and head coach of the WHL’s Swift Current Broncos. The Broncos won the WHL’s playoff championship, but went 0-3 at the Memorial Cup, bowing out Wednesday night with a 6-5 loss to the host Regina Pats.

TheCoachingGame

Clint Mylymok has signed on with the NAHL’s Maryland Black Bears as the first general manager and head coach in the franchise’s history. He had been the GM/head coach of the SJHL’s Notre Dame Hounds for the previous four seasons. The Hounds play out of the Athol Murray College of Notre Dame in Wilcox, Sask. . . . The Black Bears will play out of Odenton, Maryland, using the Piney Orchard Ice Arena as their home base. It once was a training centre for the NHL’s Washington Capitals.

Geoff Grimwood has resigned as general manager and head coach of the SJHL’s Kindersley Klippers. Grimwood spent three seasons with the Klippers. He had been an assistant coach with the WHL’s Victoria Royals for three seasons (2012-15) before signing on with Kindersley.

Broncos win first WHL title since ’93 . . . Take out Silvertips in six games . . . Skinner ties shutout record; Gawdin is MVP

MacBeth

D Dan Gibb (Prince George, 2009-13) signed a one-year contract with Gap (France, Ligue Magnus). This season, with the University of Calgary (Canada West), he had two goals and six assists in 19 gams. He was the team captain. . . .

F Alexander Chirva (Moose Jaw, Kootenay, 2013-15) signed a two-year contract extension with Bars Kazan (Russia, Vysshaya Liga). This season, he had two assists in eight games. . . .

F Vitali Karamnov (Everett, 2007-08) signed a one-year contract extension with Dynamo St. Petersburg (Russia, Vysshaya Liga). The team captain, he had seven goals and 21 assists in 38 games. . . .

F Chase Witala (Prince George, 2010-16) signed a one-year contract extension with Starbulls Rosenheim (Germany, Oberliga). He signed with Rosenheim on Jan. 22, and put up six goals and 11 assists in 12 games. . . . This season, prior to signing with Rosenheim, he had three goals and seven assists in 11 games with the Atlanta Gladiators (ECHL); was pointless in five games with the Norfolk Admirals (ECHL); and was pointless in two games with Zilina (Slovakia, Extraliga).

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The Swift Current Broncos scored two first-period goals, the second one with 0.6 seconds remaining, en route to a 3-0 victory over the visiting Everett Silvertips on Sunday night. SCBroncosThe Broncos won the best-of-seven WHL final, for the Ed Chynoweth Cup, 4-2. . . . This was the third championship in Swift Current’s history. The Broncos won it all in 1989, then went on to win the Memorial Cup in Saskatoon, beating the Blades in the final 29 years ago. In 1993, they won their second WHL title, but didn’t fare as well at the Memorial Cup in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. This also was the first time since 1993 that a Saskatchewan-based team has won the WHL championship. . . . This was Everett’s second trip to the WHL final. It first got that far in 2004, which was its first season — yes, it’s first season — in the WHL. That time, it was swept by the Medicine Hat Tigers. . . . Last night, F Giorgio Estephan (13) gave the Broncos a 1-0 lead, on a PP, at 6:41 of the first period. . . . F Aleksi Heponiemi, who drew the primary assist on Estephan’s goal, made it 2-0 with his fifth goal at 19:59. . . . F Beck Malenstyn added the empty-netter with 6.4 seconds remaining in the third period. . . . G Stuart Skinner stopped 31 shots as he recorded his sixth shutout of these playoffs and his second in the last three games of the final. He now shares the WHL record for shutouts in one playoff with Dustin Slade (Vancouver, 2006). . . . Everett got 22 stops from G Carter Hart. . . . Broncos F Glenn Gawdin, the team captain, was named the playoff MVP. He finished with 32 points, including 14 goals. . . . F Brad Morrison of the Lethbridge Hurricanes led all playoff scorers with 37 points. F Morgan Geekie of the Tri-City Americans was No. 1 in goals (17) and Heponiemi was tops in assists (25). . . . Swift Current was 1-5 on the PP; Everett was 0-2. . . . The referees were Chris Crich and Reagan Vetter. . . . The attendance was 2,890.

Two of the men who coached in the WHL final may be on the move shortly.

There is speculation in NHL circles that the Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers and Vancouver Canucks all have at least some interest in Manny Viveiros, the Broncos’ director of player personnel and head coach. All three NHL teams are, or will be, looking to fill assistant coach vacancies.

Viveiros is the WHL’s reigning coach of the year. His situation is certain to be a big story during the Memorial Cup in Regina.

Meanwhile, sources indicate that Mitch Love, who has been on Everett’s coaching staff since 2011-12, has been interviewed by the Saskatoon Blades, who are looking to replace Dean Brockman, who was fired when their season ended.

The Blades also have shown interest in Serge Lajoie, who spent the past three seasons as head coach of the U of Alberta Golden Bears. This season, Lajoie guided the Golden Bears to the Canadian university championship.

Lajoie is looking now because Ian Herbers has returned to the U of A after being dropped by the Oilers. Herbers had been on sabbatical while with the Oilers.

Lajoie’s son, Marc, a defenceman, was selected by the Tri-City Americans with the 14th overall selection of the WHL’s 2018 bantam draft.

The four teams are set for the 100th running of the Memorial Cup tournament that opens Friday in Regina. Interestingly, none of the four teams won its league’s regular-season title.

The Regina Pats, of course, are the host team. They finished seventh in the WHL’s overall standings. The Moose Jaw Warriors were first overall, then lost out to the Swift Current Broncos in the second round. The Broncos, who were second overall, six points behind the Warriors, won the WHL title at home on Sunday night.

In the OHL, the Hamilton Bulldogs, who were second overall, beat out the No. 1 Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds on Sunday, winning Game 6, 5-4, on Sunday. In the 68-game regular season, the Greyhounds finished 13 points ahead of the Bulldogs.

In the QMJHL, the Acadie-Bathurst Titan beat the visiting Blainville-Boisbriand Aramada, 2-1, in Game 6 on Sunday night. In the regular season, the Armada finished first overall, with 107 points, 11 more than the second-place Titan.

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The Memorial Cup schedule (all times local):

Game 1, Friday – Hamilton vs. Regina, 8 p.m.

Game 2, Saturday – Swift Current vs. Acadie-Bathurst, 2 p.m.

Game 3, Sunday – Regina vs. Acadie-Bathurst, 5 p.m.

Game 4, Monday, May 21 – Swift Current vs. Hamilton, 6 p.m.

Game 5, Tuesday, May 22 – Acadie-Bathurst vs. Hamilton, 8 p.m.

Game 6, Wednesday, May 23 – Regina vs. Swift Current, 8 p.m.

Tiebreaker (if necessary) – Thursday, May 24, 6 p.m.

Semifinal – Friday, May 25, 8 p.m.

Final — Sunday, May 27, 5 p.m.

The legendary Clare Drake, who was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in November, died on Sunday morning. He was 89. Drake was a long-time coach of the U of Alberta Golden Bears, and his coaching tree is as large as anyone who has ever been involved in hockey. . . . Jim Matheson, the hall-of-fame hockey writer, has more right here.

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Skinner, Sissons get Broncos to within one victory of title. . . . Can end it all on Friday . . . VIJHL to give three points for regulation win

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F Marcin Kolusz (Vancouver, 2003-04) signed a one-year contract extension with Podhale Nowy Targ (Poland, PHL). The team captain, he had 11 goals and 20 assists in 38 games. . . .

D Max Ross (Lethbridge, 2008-11) signed a one-year contract with Poprad (Slovakia, Extraliga). This season, with Gap (France, Ligue Magnus), he had five goals and 12 assists in 36 games. He was the team captain.

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The Swift Current Broncos are one victory away from their third WHL championship after beating the host Everett Silvertips, 1-0, on Wednesday night. . . . The Broncos lead SCBroncosthe best-of-seven championship final, 3-1, and can wrap up the Ed Chynoweth Cup on Friday night in Everett. . . . If the Silvertips win on Friday, they’ll head back to Swift Current for games on Sunday and, if necessary, Monday. . . . Last night, G Stuart Skinner stopped 32 shots to record the shutout, while D Colby Sissons scored the game’s only goal. . . . Sissons scored his fifth goal of the playoffs, on a PP, at 14:35 of the second period, beating G Carter Hart from the left side of the high slot. . . . Hart finished with 18 saves. . . . Skinner has faced 139 shots in four games, and has stopped 132 of them, for a .950 save percentage. . . . Referees Mike Campbell and Chris Crich gave the Broncos six of the game’s 11 minor penalties. Swift Current was 1-4 on the PP; Everett was 0-5. . . . Everett scored on its first PP of this series, but is 0-13 since then. . . . The announced attendance was 5,081. . . . The Broncos also won the WHL championship in 1989, when they went on to win the Memorial Cup, and 1993.

In his second season as the head coach of the Swift Current Broncos, Manny Viveiros has his club one victory away from winning the Ed Chynoweth Cup as WHL champions. The Broncos hold a 3-1 lead over the Everett Silvertips in the WHL’s best-of-seven championship final. . . . Robert Tychowski of Postmedia takes a look at Viveiros and his career right here.

Meanwhile, back in Swift Current, fans have gathered in the pews at the Credit Union iPlex to watch the game on the big screen. The fans were there for Game 3 on Tuesday night and again for Game 4 on Wednesday night. Of course, it wouldn’t be game without having fresh ice for each period. As you can see from the above tweet, the Zamboni driver has been taking care of that, and you can bet he and the fans will be back on Friday night.

The Young Stars Classic, the annual preseason tournament that takes place in Penticton, B.C., each September, will have a markedly different look this year. In the past, it has included prospect teams from four NHL teams. This time around, it will feature two games between prospects from the Vancouver Canucks and Winnipeg Jets, along with a two-game series between the UBC Thunderbirds and U of Alberta Golden Bears. . . . The Classic is scheduled to run Sept. 7-9 at the South Okanagan Events Centre, the home of the BCHL’s Penticton Vees. . . . The collegians are scheduled to meet on Sept. 7 (4 p.m.) and Sept. 8 (6 p.m.), with the Canucks and Jets facing each other on Sept. 7 (7:30 p.m.) and Sept. 9 (2 p.m.).

A tip of the Taking Note cap to the junior B Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League. Starting in 2018-19, it will award three points for a regulation-time victory. An overtime victory will be worth two points with a loss in overtime garnering one point. . . . The nine-team VIJHL plays two OT periods and now will go back to using a shootout if there isn’t a decision.