The Travellin’ Bedards have two games left against the Blades in Saskatoon — 
March 19 and 24. On Thursday, the Blades posted on social media: “We’ve surpassed 10,000 tickets sold for our game against the Regina Pats on March 19 and more than 9,000 tickets sold for our final game of the regular season on March 24.” . . . Those are the Blades’ last two home games of the regular season. . . . The Pats and Blades played in front of 7,868 fans on Nov. 13, with Saskatoon winning, 5-2. That is the Blades’ largest home crowd of this season. . . . Meanwhile, Regina will entertain the Moose Jaw Warriors tonight and the Pats announced on Friday afternoon that the game is “officially SOLD OUT!” . . . The ticket-buying public, of course, is wanting to see Regina F Connor Bedard, who leads the WHL in goals (45) and points (91).
JUNIOR JOTTINGS:
The OHL’s Kitchener Rangers fired head coach Chris Dennis on Friday, with general manager Mike McKenzie choosing to go behind the bench and help out assistant coaches Brennan Menard, Brandon Merli and Dennis Wideman. . . . The Rangers were 21-24-2 and in possession of the Western Conference’s eighth and final playoff spot at the time of the move. . . . Dennis had been in his first season with the Rangers. . . .
It would appear that former WHL/NHL D Clayton Stoner has embarked on a new hockey journey, this one in the BCHL. On Thursday, he tweeted that he is “excited to be involved on the coaching and ownership side with the Cowichan Capitals.” . . . Stoner, 37, played three seasons (2002-05) with the WHL’s Tri-City Americans. He went on to a pro career that included 360 regular-season NHL games, split between the Minnesota Wild and Anaheim Ducks. He last played in 2016-17. . . . Mike Vandekamp is the general manager and head coach of the Capitals. They are 10-28-3 this season, and in last place in the nine-team Coastal Division. . . .
The schedule for the 2023 Centennial Cup has been released. The 10-team tournament featuring the host Portage Terriers and the champions from nine junior A leagues is to run in Portage la Prairie, Man., from May 11 through May 21. There will teams there from the Alberta Junior Hockey League, Ligue de hockey junior AAA du Québec, Ontario Junior Hockey League, Superior International Junior Hockey League, Central Canada Hockey League, Manitoba Junior Hockey League, Maritime Hockey League, Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League and Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League. . . . The British Columbia Hockey League doesn’t compete for the Centennial Cup. That’s because it pulled out of the governing Canadian Junior Hockey League. . . .
The BCHL’s Penticton Vees have signed Fred Harbison, their president, general manager and head coach, to a five-year extension that runs through the 2028-29 season. He had one season left on his previous contract. . . . Harbison is in his 16th season as the Vees’ head coach. This season, Penticton is 36-3-1 and atop the overall standings. . . . From a Vees news release: “Harbinson has the most wins in Vees’ franchise history and sits third all-time in the BCHL, with 640. Overall, Penticton has posted a record of 640-174-15-39-7 (W-L-T-OTL-SOL) under Harbinson. It only took him 829 games to reach 600 career wins and he owns an impressive .766 career win percentage in the BCHL. Harbinson has won an additional 144 career playoff games, which ranks him first in BCHL history.” . . . The Vees announced a crowd of 4,775 on Friday night, as they beat the Coquitlam Express, 5-2. . . .
The junior B Nelson Leafs of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League have signed head coach Briar McNaney for the 2023-24 season. McNaney joined the Leafs in January after the KIJHL suspended head coach Adam DiBella for the remainder of the season for his part in inciting a line brawl on Dec. 31. DiBella resigned his position after he was suspended.
FRIDAY’S WHL HIGHLIGHTS:
F Caleb Hadland’s first WHL goal stood up as the winner as the host Brandon Wheat Kings dumped the Edmonton Oil Kings, 4-1. . . . Hadland, a 16-year-old from Sylvan Lake, Alta., was the 22nd selection in the WHL’s 2021 draft. Playing in his 19th game, he picked up his first WHL assist on the game’s opening goal, then got his first goal at 14:59 of the second period, giving Brandon a 2-0 lead. . . . F Matthew Henry, an 18-year-old from Prince Albert, also scored his first WHL goal for the Wheat Kings. He made it 4-0 with 11 seconds left in the third period. It came in his 46th game. . . . Brandon (20-22-7) is 10th in the Eastern Conference, two points behind the eighth-place Regina Pats. . . . The Oil Kings (8-40-3) have lost three in a row. . . .
G Reid Dyck stopped 19 shots in posting his first WHL shutout as the Swift Current Broncos beat the visiting Prince Albert Raiders, 4-0. . . . Dyck, who turned 19 on Jan. 20, is from Winkler, Man. He has made 56 appearances over three seasons with the Broncos. This season, he is 10-14-1, 3.86, .880. . . . Swift Current had a 35-19 edge in shots. . . . The Broncos were 1-for-7 on the PP; the Raiders were 0-for-1. . . . F Connor Hvidston scored his 13th goal and added three assists. He has 43 points in 39 games; last season, as a freshman, he put up 13 goals and 19 assists in 58 games. This was his first four-point night; he had three times reached three points in a game, all of them this season. . . . The Broncos (24-21-3) have won two in a row. They are tied with the Calgary Hitmen for sixth in the Eastern Conference. . . . The Raiders (19-28-3) have lost three in a row and are 10 points out of a playoff spot. . . . The rematch goes tonight in Prince Albert. . . .
G Bryan Thomson turned aside 29 shots to lead the Hurricanes to a 3-0 victory over the Medicine Hat Tigers in Lethbridge. . . . F Cole Shepard’s 18th goal of the season, shorthanded at 3:28 of the second period, stood up as the winner. He also had an assist. . . . Thomas recorded his first shutout of this season — it was his 10th appearance — and the third of his career. He has made 103 appearances over five seasons, all with Lethbridge. . . . Lethbridge (28-18-5) had lost its previous two games. It is fifth in the Eastern Conference. . . . Medicine Hat (21-22-8) had been on a 6-0-2 run. It is ninth in the conference, one point behind the eighth-place Regina Pats. . . . The Hurricanes and Tigers will play again tonight, this time in Medicine Hat. . . .
In Kamloops, the Blazers snapped a 2-2 third-period tie with three goals as they dumped the Saskatoon Blades, 5-2. . . . The Blades, playing their first game on a B.C. Division tour, took a 2-1 lead into the second period. . . . D Logan Bairos (6) got Kamloops even at 15:20 of the second period, and F Daylan Kuefler (26) snapped the tie at 12:56 of the third. . . . F Matthew Seminoff scored his 20th goal into an empty net, giving the Blazers six 20-goal men. . . . Kamloops F Logan Stankoven had two assists to run his point streak to 33 games. . . . Kamloops scored the game’s first goal and now is 26-1-4 when that happens. . . . F Jayden Wiens returned to the Blades’ lineup after missing 23 games with an undisclosed injury. . . . Kamloops (32-10-6), which will win the B.C. Division, has won four straight. . . . Saskatoon (33-13-4) had won its previous three games. The Blades are third in the Eastern Conference, one point ahead of the Moose Jaw Warriors. . . .
F Cole Dubinsky enjoyed his first WHL three-goal game in leading the Prince George Cougars to a 9-2 victory over the Rockets in Kelowna. . . . This was the third straight game between these teams. The Cougars swept the series, having won 5-1 and 7-2 at home on Tuesday and Wednesday. . . . Dubinsky, 20, was playing in his second game since Jan. 14. He came back from an undisclosed injury to play on Feb. 8, but then didn’t play again until Friday night. . . . Dubinsky, who has 14 goals, also had an assist. . . . D Viliam Kmec had four assists for the Cougars, who got two goals and an assist from F Chase Wheatcroft (34) and a goal and two assists from F Caden Brown (14). . . . Wheatcroft ran his point streak to 12 games. . . . The Cougars outshot the Rockets, 45-23. . . . Prince George (24-21-4) has won five straight and is two points behind the fifth-place Everett Silvertips in the Western Conference. . . . The Rockets (17-29-3) are eighth, three points ahead of the Victoria Royals. . . .
The Seattle Thunderbirds exploded for five goals in the last seven minutes of the third period to beat the Red Deer Rebels, 6-1, in Kent, Wash. . . . F Jared Davidson (29) scored Seattle’s first two goals, providing a 1-0 lead at 6:11 of the third period and a 2-1 lead at 13:22. . . . F Nico Myatovic (20) also scored twice. . . . F Dylan Guenther scored once and added an assist in his first game with Seattle after having been assigned by the NHL’s Arizona Coyotes. . . . F Kai Uchacz scored his 40th goal of the season for Red Deer. This was Uchacz’s first game against the team with which he began his WHL career. He and F Brendan Williamson were dropped from Seattle’s roster in March 2020 after both were found to have directed racial slurs at F Mekai Sanders. Uchacz, a first-round pick by Seattle in the WHL’s 2018 draft, had to sit out the 2020-21 season, while, among other things, completing a diversity coaching program. He later was traded to Red Deer for a second-round selection in the 2021 draft. . . . Last season, he had 14 goals and 19 assists in 52 games with Red Deer; this season, he has 40 goals, which is second in the league, and 28 assists in 50 games. . . . Williamson, now 20, is playing a second season with the junior B Chilliwack Jets. . . . Seattle (37-9-2) remains tied with the Portland Winterhawks atop the Western Conference. . . . Red Deer (35-12-4) is 2-2-0 in the U.S.Division. The Rebels lead the Central Division by 13 points over the Lethbridge Hurricanes. . . .
F Jackson Berezowski’s 34th goal of the season gave the Everett Silvertips a 2-0 lead and they went on to a 2-1 victory over the Chiefs in Spokane. . . . F Ben Hemmerling (18), who also had an assist, scored for Everett at 2:59 of the first period, with Berezowski adding to the lead at 4:10 of the second. . . . F Cade Hayes (12) got Spokane’s goal at 12:01 of the third. . . . G Tyler Palmer earned the victory with 34 saves. . . . Everett (26-22-2) has points in four straight (3-0-1). It is tied with the Prince George Cougars for fifth in the Western Conference, three points behind the Tri-City Americans. . . . Spokane (9-35-5) has lost eight in a row (0-6-2). . . . The Silvertips and Chiefs will do it all over again tonight, this time in Everett. . . .
F Marcus Nguyen scored twice and added two assists to help the Portland Winterhawks to a 6-3 victory over the Tri-City Americans in Kennewick, Wash. . . . Nguyen, with 17 goals, opened the scoring at 7:55 of the first period, then gave his guys a 4-2 lead, while shorthanded, at 14:03 of the second. That goal stood up as the winner. This was his first career four-point outing. . . . F Ethan Ernst had a goal (29) and two assists for Tri-City. . . . Tri-City was 3-for-7 on the PP; Portland was 2-for-7. . . . Portland had a 48-36 edge in shots. . . . The Winterhawks (36-10-4) have points in three straight (2-0-1). They are tied with the Seattle Thunderbirds atop the Western Conference. . . . The Americans (25-19-5) have lost three in a row. They are fourth in the conference, one point ahead of the Everett Silvertips. . . .
F Ethan Semeniuk’s OT goal gave the visiting Vancouver Giants a 2-1 victory over the Victoria Royals. . . . F Teague Patton (12) had given the Royals a 1-0 lead at 15:01 of the first period. . . . F Sammy May’s first WHL goal, at 2:55 of the third, pulled the Giants into a tie. May, 19, has one goal and seven assists in 50 games this season. . . . Semeniuk won it at 3:16 of OT. . . . The Giants got 37 stops from G Jesper Vikman. . . . The Royals remain without D Gannon Laroque, F Jake Poole, who is their leading scorer, F Matthew Hodson and D Austin Zemlak. . . . Vancouver F Samuel Honzek has yet to return after suffering a badly cut leg while playing for Slovakia at the World Junior Championship. . . . Vancouver (20-24-6) is seventh in the Western Conference, six points behind the Prince George Cougars. . . . Victoria (14-32-6) has lost five in a row (0-4-1). It is ninth in the conference, three points behind the Kelowna Rockets. . . . The Royals and Giants will meet again tonight, this time in Langley, B.C.
THURSDAY’S WHL HIGHLIGHTS:
F Connor McClennon scored three times to help the Winnipeg Ice to a 7-6 victory over the visiting Calgary Hitmen. . . . The Ice, which had beaten the Hitmen, 8-2, on Wednedsay, overcame 3-1, 4-2 and 5-3 deficits en route to victory. . . . Winnipeg (39-7-1) scored four times in 3:53 early in the third period to take a 7-5 lead. . . . McClennon’s second goal, at 2:11 of the third, got the Ice to within a goal, at 5-4, and F Zack Ostapchuk (17) tied it at 3:19. . . . McClennon’s third goal of the night, his 34th of the season, gave the Ice a 6-5 at 5:57 and F Owen Peterson (23) upped it to 7-5 at 6:04. . . . McClennon now has 126 career regular-season goals, second to F Nigel Dawes (159) in franchise history. Dawes played 245 games over four seasons (2001-05) with the Kootenay Ice; McClennon, 20, has played 222 games. . . . The Hitmen got two goals and an assist from F Oliver Tulk, who turned 18 on Jan. 19. From Gibsons, B.C., Tulk has 21 goals and 24 assists in 51 games; last season, as a freshman, he finished with nine goals and 10 assists in 63 games. . . . Calgary (23-21-7) has lost eight straight (0-5-3).
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Gibson, 15, six conditional WHL draft picks and a fourth-round pick in the 2004 draft from the Seattle Thunderbirds for the rights to F Dylan Guenther, 19, the rights to F Jordan Ramsay, who will turn 16 on Jan. 24, and a 2023 eighth-round pick. . . . The conditional picks — a second in 2023, sixth in 2024, fourth in 2025, and first, fourth and fifth in 2026 — all hinge on the NHL’s Arizona Coyotes assigning Guenther to Seattle. . . . Guenther, a first-round pick by the Coyotes in the NHL’s 2021 draft, has three goals and eight assists in 22 games with Arizona this season. . . . He scored the OT goal on Thursday as Team Canada beat Czechia, 3-2, in the World Junior Championship final in Halifax. . . . The Oil Kings selected Guenther with the first overall pick of the WHL’s 2018 draft. He helped the Oil Kings to the WHL championship last season as they beat the Thunderbirds in the championship final. . . . 
CHL at the moment, acquired F Jake Chiasson, 19, from the Brandon Wheat Kings for a first-round WHL draft pick in 2023, a second-rounder in 2025 and a conditional second in 2026. . . . Chiasson, from Abbotsford, B.C., was a fourth-round pick of the Edmonton Oilers in the NHL’s 2021 draft. The Wheat Kings selected him in the first round of the WHL’s 2018 draft. . . . He was in his fourth season with Brandon, having put up 30 goals and 41 assists in 141 regular-season games. . . . This season, he has 10 goals and 18 assists in 37 games. . . . From the Saskatoon news release: “Chiasson made international news earlier this winter as he and three teammates, who were driving over a bridge in Brandon, helped save the life of a distressed man.” . . . The 2023 first-round pick was Saskatoon’s and not the one the Blades acquired from Seattle in the deal that had F Brad Lambert’s rights move to the Thunderbirds. . . .
Wiesblatt, 20, from the Prince Albert Raiders for three conditional draft picks — a first in 2025 and two seconds in 2026. . . . The picks — one of the second-round picks was acquired from Brandon earlier on Tuesday —
acquiring F Zac Funk, 19, from the Calgary Hitmen for F Carter MacAdams, 18, and three WHL draft picks — second-rounders in 2023 and 2024, and a fourth in 2024. . . . Funk, from Coldstream, B.C., had 13 goals and 19 assists in 33 games with the Hitmen this season. In 129 career games, he has 78 points, 39 of them goals. . . . He was a second-round pick by Calgary in the 2018 draft. . . . MacAdams, from South Surrey, B.C., was picked by the Cougars in the fourth round of the 2019 WHL draft. He has 18 goals and 30 assists in 117 regular-season games over three seasons with Prince George. This season, he has six goals and 15 assists in 36 games.
Swift Current Broncos for a ninth-round pick in the WHL’s 2026 draft. Weigel, from Warman, Sask., is with the SJHL’s Humboldt Broncos and, according to the Blazers, “will remain with the Broncos for the 2022-23 season and become an affiliate player.” . . . He has six goals and 18 assists in 31 games with Humboldt this season. . . . Weigel has played in 25 WHL games — one with the Regina Pats and 24 with Swift Current. He has six assists in those games. . . . Regina picked him in the sixth round of the WHL’s 2018 draft.
had passed, the Regina Pats acquired F Steel Quiring, 19, from the Everett Silvertips for a fourth-round pick in the WHL’s 2026 draft. Quiring, from Vernon, B.C., had three goals and three assists in 30 games with Everett. He also has played for the Kelowna Rockets and Calgary Hitmen. The Silvertips acquired him from the Hitmen on Sept. 30. . . . The Rockets selected him in the fifth round of the 2018 draft. . . . Alan Caldwell (@smallatlarge) pointed out on Twitter that “the Pats are Quiring’s 4th WHL team in the last
Sunday’s craziness and with the WHL’s deadline now only hours away.
Mason Ward, 20, moving to the Broncos for Kayden Sadhra-Kang, 19. . . . The Wheat Kings acquired Ward from the Red Deer Rebels prior to the 2021-22 season. From Lloydminster, the 6-foot-5 Ward had four goals and six assists in 38 games with Brandon this season. . . . The 6-foot-4 Sakhra-Kang, from Richmond, B.C., was acquired by Swift Current from the Lethbridge Hurricanes early last season. In 90 games with the Broncos, he had four goals and 19 assists. . . . 
got D Ethan Peters, 19, from the Edmonton Oil Kings for a second-round pick in the WHL’s 2025 draft. From Moose Jaw, Peters was in his third season with Edmonton. He recorded 28 points, including 24 assists, in 119 regular-season games. . . . Following last season, he was presented with the Daryl K. (Doc) Seaman Trophy as the WHL’s Scholastic Player of the Year. . . . 
one goal in five games with Finland at the WJC. . . . Seattle acquired his WHL rights from the Saskatoon Blades on June 30 for fourth- and sixth-round picks in the WHL’s 2023 draft, a conditional first-rounder in 2023 and a conditional second-rounder in 2024. . . . With Lambert having been assigned to Saskatoon, the Blades now are in possession of those two conditional draft picks. . . . Might the Blades spend some draft capital today before the trade deadline arrives?
assists in 12 games with the Moose. The Jets selected him with the 18th pick of the NHL’s 2021 draft. Portland grabbed his WHL rights in the fourth round of the 2018 bantam draft. . . . Last season, he played at the U of Minnesota, putting up 19 points, including nine goals, in 24 games. . . . Last week, he helped Team USA to a bronze medal at the WJC. He finished with seven points, five of them goals, in as many games. He had three goals, including the OT winner, as the Americans beat Sweden, 8-7, in the third-place game.
Kelowna Rockets, was traded to the Seattle Thunderbirds on Saturday morning. . . . Dach, who suffered an injury to his right shoulder in a game against Sweden on Dec. 31, won’t play for Seattle for perhaps eight weeks. The good news is that it doesn’t appear that he will need surgery to repair the damage. . . . The Rockets also gave up a fifth-round selection in the WHL’s 2024 draft, while getting back F Ty Hurley, D Ethan Mittelsteadt, a first-rounder in 2024 — it originated with the Regina Pats — two conditional picks, a second-rounder in 2025 and a fourth-rounder in 2023. The latter originally belonged to the Everett Silvertips. . . . 
Saskatoon Blades selected him in the first round, sixth overall, of the WHL’s 2018 draft. He had 22 goals and 27 assists in 82 games over two seasons with the Blades. . . . The Rockets acquired him from the Blades on Sept. 28, 2021, in exchange for F Trevor Wong. Last season, Dach put up 29 goals and 50 assists in 61 games with Kelowna. This season, he had nine goals and eight assists in 14 games. . . . He missed time early in the season because of two concussions, one incurred in training camp with the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks. Chicago picked him in the second round of the 2021 NHL draft. These days, the Blackhawks’ medical staff will be keeping close tabs on Dach and his shoulder. . . . 
suspended for the remainder of the 2022-23 regular season and the playoffs. . . . The suspension amounts to the regular-season’s final 15 games and whatever playoff games the Leafs end up playing. . . . The move followed a New Year’s Eve line brawl between the host Leafs and Beaver Valley Nitehawks. . . . Earlier in the week, the KIJHL issued 35 games in suspension to Nelson players and eight to the Nitehawks. . . . Later Friday, the Leafs, who won’t appeal any of the disciplinary decisions, announced that they had accepted DiBella’s resignation. . . . “Our investigation determined that the incident in Saturday’s game was instigated by the Leafs at Mr. DiBella’s direction,” Jeff Dubois, the KIJHL commissioner, said in a news release. “The KIJHL has zero tolerance for these types of actions by any team staff member, and the severity of Mr. DiBella’s suspension reflects the seriousness that we place on leadership and player safety.” . . . Should DiBella want to coach in the KIJHL in the future, he will have to apply to the 
commissioner for reinstatement. . . . The KIJHL also ruled that DiBella won’t be allowed in “any KIJHL facility for a period beginning one hour before and ending one hour after any Nelson Leafs game. He may not travel on the team bus and he may not be present on the ice, players’ bench, dressing room or office immediately before, during or after team practices. He is not to conduct any official business as a representative of the Nelson Leafs, such as player meetings, trade negotiations and athlete recruitment.” . . . As well, the Leafs were fined $5,000 “and instructed to take proactive steps to ensure all team staff are sufficiently trained and educated in the standards of conduct required under KIJHL regulations. A written report outlining steps taken by the organization in these areas must be submitted to the Commissioner no later than June 1, 2023.” . . . 
hasn’t played for the Red Deer Rebels since Oct. 22 due to an undisclosed injury. Brent Sutter, the Rebels’ owner and general manager, told Greg Meachem of 
The NAHL has approved a franchise for Greeley, Colo. The Colorado Grit will begin play in the Greeley Ice Haus in time for the 2023-24 season. The Grit will play out of the South Division. One of the team’s three owners is former NHLer David Clarkson. . . . There’s more right here.
This followed the decision by the WHL’s board of governors to approve the sale of the Kootenay Ice and the subsequent move to the Manitoba capital.
WHL season, with the Ice still playing out of the Wayne Fleming Arena.
indefinitely by the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League
be quick to salute Calder Anderson, Jake Chiasson, Nolan Ritchie and Ben Thornton of the Brandon Wheat Kings as this site’s sportsmen of the year. . . . In case you missed it, in the words of the Brandon Sun’s Perry Bergson, they “successfully interceded to help a distressed man who was contemplating suicide on the First Street Bridge” on the evening of Nov. 29. . . . “We’re very happy that we were able to save him and get him some help,” Thornton told Bergson, who added: “They also learned another lesson when 30 or 40 vehicles drove by without stopping in the short span they were trying to help the man. Yet they never considered leaving until the man was safe.” . . . Gentlemen, I salute you. . . . Bergson’s complete story is 
abysmal record unless being selfish and uncaring is the objective. Really, had you told me four years ago that the time was coming when our children would by dying, when our children would be unable to get much-needed surgical procedures, when our hospital’s emergency rooms would be over-run and that society would refuse to help by doing something as simple as masking up, well, I would have told you that you were crazy. . . . But, well, here we are.
in NHL history. So stop trying to tell me that he is. He’s still 88 behind Wayne Gretzky. Have people already forgotten just how great Gretzky was? . . . Allow me to point out that Gretzky also scored 92 goals in the WHA, which was a better league than many of those same people seem to recall. As for Gordie Howe, well he scored 801 NHL goals and another 174 in the WHA. . . . But when Ovechkin puts in No. 895, then you can call him the greatest goal scorer in NHL history. OK?
Canada beat Sweden, 5-1 — and left the game in obvious discomfort thanks to an injury to his right shoulder area. Dach, who turns 20 on Wednesday, has 17 points, nine of them goals, in 14 games with the Rockets this season. Earlier, he missed some time with a concussion. . . . The Rockets (12-18-3), who have lost five in a row, are eighth in the conference, seven points ahead of the Victoria Royals (8-24-4). . . . 
suffered a skate cut to the back of his left leg on Wednesday as his Slovakian side beat the U.S., 6-3. The 18-year-old Honzek, who is expected to be out as long as six weeks, leads the Giants in assists (26) and points (43) in 31 games. . . . Vancouver (14-16-6) is tied for fourth in the conference with the Tri-City Americans, who hold two games in hand. They are one point ahead of the Everett Silvertips. . . .
personal reasons, was dealt to Everett in exchange for Braden Holt. . . . Palmer, from Fernie, B.C., was in his second season with Victoria. He left the Royals sometime after a 7-4 loss to the visiting Portland Winterhawks on Nov. 12. . . . Holt, from Bozeman, Mont., was in his fourth season with Everett. In his first start with Victoria, he stopped 35 shots in a 3-0 victory over the host Vancouver Giants. . . . Having acquired Holt, the Royals then traded G Logan Cunningham, a 17-year-old from Sherwood Park, Alta., to the Edmonton Oil Kings for a fifth-round pick in the 2025 WHL draft. . . . After adding Cunningham to their roster, the Oil Kings dropped G Ronin Geraghty, 18. From Burnaby, B.C., he was 0-5-0, 6.48, .819 in seven games with Edmonton. . . .
Kootenay International Junior Hockey League took time out from chasing a puck to exchange Happy New Year greetings as they began the second period on Saturday evening. . . . The Leafs are the team in white in the above video, and the video evidence would seem to indicate that they were first off the mark. . . . The puck now has been passed to Jeff Dubois, the KIJHL commissioner. . . . Happy New Year, Mr. Dubois.
learned a long time ago not to pay a lot of attention to post-season awards.
through when asked about injuries to any of their players, especially during playoffs. . . . Take the case of Dennis Williams, the general manager and head coach of the WHL’s Everett Silvertips, who will open their first round tonight against the visiting Vancouver Giants. . . . Everett didn’t have Olen Zellweger, the WHL’s highest-scoring defenceman, for its last two games, while F Jackson Berezowski, a 46-goal man, sat out the last game. . . . Asked on Wednesday about their status, Williams told Steve Ewen of Postmedia: “You’re just going to have to wait and see on Friday. I won’t be commenting on any injuries.” . . . That came a day after Williams, when asked about Zellweger, told Nick Patterson of the Everett Herald: “Olen will be set to play.” . . . The betting here is that Berezowski and Zellweger both are in the lineup.
victory over the Lethbridge Hurricanes. . . . The Oil Kings lead the best-of-seven first-round series, 1-0, with Game 2 scheduled for Edmonton on Saturday. . . . Cossa lost his bid for his first playoff shutout when F Tyson Laventure scored, on a PP, at 18:12 of the third period. . . . Cossa has 14 regular-season shutouts in his career. But with the playoffs being cancelled each of the previous two seasons, this was his first post-season appearance. . . . F Carter Souch scored the game’s first goal, at 9:30 of the second period, with F Dylan Guenther upping the lead to 2-0 at 14:47. . . . The Hurricanes got 44 saves from G Bryan Thomson. . . . There are seven playoff games scheduled for tonight, with eight set for Saturday.
grinding regular season. . . . As an example, I used the junior B Kootenay International Junior Hockey League. . . . Well, the Nelson Leafs and Revelstoke Grizzlies will play in the KIJHL’s best-of-seven championship final, and the schedule was released on Wednesday. . . . If the series goes seven games, the teams will play seven games in nine days. Seriously! . . . The series is scheduled to open Friday in Revelstoke, with Game 2 there on Saturday. The scene shifts to Nelson for games on Monday and Tuesday. If necessary, they then will play three games in as many nights — March 31 in Revelstoke, April 1 in Nelson, April 2 in Revelstoke. . . . Just thinking out loud here but maybe it is time junior hockey players had some kind of players’ association to stand up on their behalf when things like this happen.
things out. You may recall that the BCHL no longer is part of the Canadian Junior Hockey League, so won’t take part in the Centennial Cup tournament.
Friday night. The home team also will be entertaining Kyrell Sopotyk, a teammate who was paralyzed from the waist down after a snowboarding accident on Jan. 21, 2021, near North Battleford, Sask. . . . This will be Sopotyk’s first time back in the Blazers’ home arena since before he was injured. Now in a wheelchair, Sopotyk, a 20-year-old from Aberdeen, Sask., will take part in a ceremonial opening faceoff. . . . Everett (33-7-6) leads the Western Conference by five points over Kamloops (33-12-1). The Silvertips have points in 10 straight (8-0-2); Kamloops has won two in a row and nine of 10. The Blazers are at home tonight to the Victoria Royals (12-28-5), who have one point in their last 16 outings (0-15-1).
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. . . .
TAKING NOTE 