Tag: Notre Dame Hounds

Lazaruk solves mystery surrounding scoring change . . . Struch signs on with Notre Dame . . . Truitt gets Hockey Canada gig

BEDARD
CONNOR BEDARD

THE BEDARD REPORT — You thought the Bedard Report was done just because he and his Regina Pats have been eliminated, didn’t you? Au contraire! . . . You may recall reading here about one of Bedard’s goals turning into an assist sometime on Monday, the day the host Saskatoon Blades beat the Pats, 4-1, to win Game 7 of their first-round series. . . . Bedard went into that game with 11 goals and eight assists, or so many of us thought. But after he picked up an assist on Regina’s only goal in Game 7, the WHL website showed him with 10 goals and 10 assists. . . . So what happened? . . . Det. Les Lazaruk, who doubles as the veteran radio voice of the Blades, took on the case and was able to figure it out. . . . Here’s how he explained it: “On the Pats’ first goal in Game 5, Bedard’s PP shot ticks Zack Stringer on the way in. Stringer gets credit for the goal, Bedard an assist, and Alexandre Suzdalev lost a helper on the play.” . . . That game was played on April 7 in Saskatoon. The goal in question was scored at 11:24 of the first period and cut Saskatoon’s lead to 2-1. The Blades eventually won the game, 4-2, to take a 3-2 lead in the series. . . .

——

Gino De Paoli, the radio voice of the Medicine Hat Tigers (@GDP_PXP), tweeting about Bedard: “That young man alone might’ve saved junior hockey in Western Canada post-COVID. Attendances were up and the post-Bedard buzz will hopefully continue into next season with other great talents coming in. Guy should have a statue and a couple of cars for his body of work in the WHL.” . . .

——

Ken Campbell of Hockey Unfiltered: “Take this to the bank. Both Connor Bedard and Adam Fantilli will receive invites for Canada’s World Championship team, which will have whichever team picking second beating a path to Finland. There are scouts out there — a good number of them — who believe that Russian phenom Matvei Michkov will ultimately be the second-best player after Bedard. If you’re willing to wait until 2026, when Michkov’s contract expires, it will be well worth the wait. But if you need someone to inspire and energize your fan base now, Fantilli will be a ridiculously good consolation prize.”

WHL PLAYOFF NOTES:

The Saskatoon Blades have two goaltenders on their roster who put up similar regular-season stats. Freshman Austin Elliott was 25-6-3, 2.20, .911 in 37 appearances, while sophomore Ethan Chadwick went 23-9-2, 2.61, .899. . . . So how did head coach Brennan Sonne decide who to start in Game 7 against the visiting Regina Pats on Monday night. Here’s Sonne: “Chaddy gets us to (Game 7) like a middle reliever and we had an all-star goalie that was fresh, so bring in the closer.” . . . Chadwick was 3-1, 3.23, .847 in the first round; Elliott went 1-1, 3.95, .841. . . .

From Troy Gillard (@Troy_Gillard), the play-by-play voice of the Red Deer Rebels: “Can confirm Jayden Grubbe set a Rebels playoff game record with five assists vs. Calgary on Friday. Michael Spacek had the previous record of four (vs. Lethbridge 03/30/2017).” . . .

The WHL’s second round begins on Friday on four fronts, and there are previews of all series on the league’s website. Check them out!

Ants

JUNIOR JOTTINGS:

Dave Struch is the new director of hockey at the Athol Murray College of Notre Dame in Wilcox, Sask. Struch, who steps into his new position on July 1, also will be the head coach of the Hounds male U15 prep team. . . . Struch, 52, spent this season as the associate coach with the WHL’s Everett Silvertips. Prior to that he worked with the Regina Pats for seven-plus seasons (2014-22), as assistant coach, assistant GM/assistant coach and assistant GM/head coach. He also spent eight seasons (2006-14) with the Saskatoon Blades, first as assistant coach, then associate coach and head coach. . . . While he worked in Everett, his family remained at their home in Regina. Wilcox is located a few slapshots south of Regina. . . .

Jeff Truitt, the head coach of the Prince Albert Raiders, has been named the head coach of Canada’s entry in the 2023 IIHF U18 World Championship. The tournament is scheduled to run April 20-30 in Basel and Porrentruy, Switzerland. . . . This will be Truitt’s first head-coaching position with Hockey Canada; he won gold and silver as a video coach with the 2005 and 2004 national junior teams. . . . Former WHL G Justin Pogge will be on Truitt’s staff as goaltending consultant. Pogge, who played with the Prince George Cougars and Calgary Hitmen, played this season with the DEL’s Wolfsburg Grizzly Adams. He has played professionally for the past 17 seasons. . . . Also on Team Canada’s staff will be athletic therapist Jimmy McKnight (Edmonton Oil Kings), team physician Dr. Michael Conrad (Victoria Royals) and education consultant Nic Renyard (Victoria). . . . Canada opens the tournament against Sweden on April 20. . . .

D Stanislav Svozil of the Regina Pats has joined the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets. Svozil, a 20-year-old from Czechia, was a third-round pick by Columbus in the NHL’s 2021 draft. . . . In 115 regular-season games with the Pats over two seasons, he put up 119 points, including 98 assists. This season, he finished with 11 goals and 67 assists in 56 games, then added four goals and nine assists in seven playoff games. . . . He is expected to make his NHL debut tonight (Thursday) against the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins. . . .

The NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks have assigned F Jalen Luypen of the Tri-City Americans to their AHL affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs. . . . Luypen, 20, had 18 goals and 21 assists in 38 regular-season games with the Americans after missing the start of the season following off-season shoulder surgery. . . . Chicago selected him in the seventh round of the NHL’s 2021 draft. . . .

G Bryan Thomson of the Lethbridge Hurricanes has signed an ATO with the Texas Stars, the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Dallas Stars. Thomson, 21, went 59-42-6, 3.06, .901 in 117 appearances with Lethbridge. This season, after recovering from off-season hip surgery, he was 13-8-2, 2.64, .919.

Groceries

With the 10th anniversary of her kidney transplant within in sight, Dorothy is taking part in her 10th straight Kamloops Kidney Walk. So, yes, she is fund-raising. . . . The 2023 Walk is scheduled for June 4. . . . If you would like to donate to her cause, you are able to do so right here.

——

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

Living Kidney Donor Program

St. Paul’s Hospital

6A Providence Building

1081 Burrard Street

Vancouver, BC V6Z 1Y6

Tel: 604-806-9027

Toll free: 1-877-922-9822

Fax: 604-806-9873

Email: donornurse@providencehealth.bc.ca

——

Vancouver General Hospital Living Donor Program – Kidney 

Gordon and Leslie Diamond Health Care Centre

Level 5, 2775 Laurel Street

Vancouver, BC V5Z 1M9

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

kidneydonornurse@vch.ca

——

Or, for more information, visit right here.

LeftLane

WHLer says he was subjected to racial slurs in SJHL game . . . AJHL has positive test in Calgary . . . Sasakamoose in ICU battling COVID-19

F Kishaun Gervais of the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks, who is on loan to the SJHL’s Yorkton Terriers, has said he was the subject of racial slurs during a SJHLgame against the Notre Dame Hounds in Wilcox, Sask., on Monday night. . . . “This definitely hurt,” Gervais, a 19-year-old from Kamsack, Sask., wrote in a Facebook post. “I’ve put up with a lot of racism in my life and I’ve tried to be a positive influence to bring change to it so this obviously set me off. I will never be ashamed of my Jamaican and Native descent, l am proud of who l am and l will continue to try be a positive voice for racial equality.” . . . Rob Palmarin, the school’s president, told CTV News Regina that the incident was a “one-off,” adding that “if it happened, there’s definitely no place for this type of unacceptable behaviour, period. If it happened, we’re still investigating the person or persons responsible for the action, they will be held accountable.” . . . Bill Chow, the SJHL’s president, said he spoke with Gervais’ family and “they just want to move on from here and that’s their wishes, so that’s what we’ll do.” . . . The Terriers won the game 5-4 in a shootout with Gervais scoring the only goal of the circus. He was given a misconduct immediately after scoring because, according to assistant coach Scott Musqua, he made a “shushing gesture” to the students who had been riding him. . . . Michaela Solomon and Claire Hanna of CTV Regina News have more on this story right here.

The AJHL announced Friday that it has had a player with a second team test ajhlpositive. . . . This time it was a player with the Calgary Canucks. On Thursday, the league announced that a player with the Canmore Eagles had tested positive. . . . The Canucks were to have visited the Brooks Bandits on Friday night with the Bandits in Calgary on Saturday. Both games, according to the online schedule, have been “cancelled.” . . . The Canucks last played on Monday against the visiting Okotoks Oilers, whose Sunday game at home to the Camrose Kodiaks has been “postponed.” . . . Brooks’ home-and-home series with Canmore scheduled for Nov. 27 and 28 also won’t happen. . . . Also off the schedule: A home-and-home between the Olds Grizzlys and Drumheller Dragons on Friday and Saturday. The Dragons had played visiting Canmore on Nov. 14. . . . Calgary’s home-and-home series with Olds scheduled for Nov. 27 and 28 remains on the schedule.

After receiving further clarifications regarding province-wide restrictions kijhlbeing implemented by the B.C. government and health officials, the junior B Kootenay International Junior Hockey League has chosen to suspend play through Dec. 7. . . . Clarification came in the form of a release from viaSport that included this: “Games, competitions, training and practice, such as those outlined in the viaSport Phase 3 Guidelines, can continue without spectators and restricted to your local community. Until the written order and public health guidance are released we recommend that you err on the side of caution and stay close to home for now.” . . . Six games were played on Friday night, while one other — Revelstoke Grizzlies at Golden Rockets — was postponed as Golden town officials awaited further clarification. . . . The league has 17 teams taking part this season. Those teams all will be allowed to practice in their home communities during the pause in the schedule. . . .

Meanwhile, the BCHL’s Merritt Centennials announced via Twitter on Friday night that their Saturday game against the visiting Prince George Spruce Kings has been cancelled “due to the province’s most-recent health order.” . . . According to the BCHL online schedule, the Trail Smoke Eaters’ game at the Cranbrook Bucks also won’t be played. . . . On Nov. 8, the league cancelled games involving the Chilliwack Chiefs, Coquitlam Express, Langley Rivermen, Powell River Kings and Surrey Eagles for two weeks. Those teams are located in the Vancouver Coastal and Fraser Health regions and all were placed under restrictions from health officials.

——

“Whenever an organization is the victim of theft, the impact can be deep and long lasting,” writes Jamie Strashin of CBC News. “When money is stolen by an employee or volunteer, it can take years to rebuild trust with the community.

“That’s certainly the case for youth sports organizations, which every year provide countless programs and opportunities for hundreds of thousands of Canadian families.

“An investigation by CBC Sports reveals that in the past decade nearly $8 million has been stolen from dozens of sports leagues and associations across Canada, almost all of it by someone inside the organization, leaving it and the families who participate devastated.”

Strashin has put together quite a story, all of which is right here. It includes interactive maps showing details on various incidents in which money went missing.

COVID-19 CHRONICLES . . .

Fred Sasakamoose, a beloved former NHL player, is in ICU with COVID-19, Sasakamooseaccording to Jordan Wheeler, a writer from the George Gordon First Nation in Saskatchewan. . . . Sasakamoose, who is to turn 87 on Christmas Day, was the first Canadian indigenous player to reach the NHL. After playing junior for three seasons with the Moose Jaw Canucks, he went on to play 11 games with the Chicago Blackhawks in 1953-54. . . . According to a Facebook post, Sasakamoose “had symptoms for a couple of days, was admitted (Friday) to a local hospital and confirmed that his test was positive.” . . . The post continued: “We are asking people, the hockey community and fans to think about Fred at this time. Chief Thunderstick needs your prayers at this moment for a full recovery!” . . . Sasakamoose’s biography, which is titled Call Me Indian: From the trauma of Residential School to becoming the NHL’s first Treaty Indigenous Player, is expected to be published on April 6.

——

Daily Hive Vancouver: ”A normal Christmas is, quite frankly, right out of the question” — Trudeau.

——

With the New Brunswick government having declared the Moncton health region an orange zone because of rising case numbers, the QMJHL’s Wildcats have had to postpone weekend games. They were to have played host to the Cape Breton Eagles on Friday and Saturday nights. . . . Under present restrictions, the Wildcats are allowed to practice but can’t play games. . . . Hockey New Brunswick confirmed that a  coach with a U-13 team in Greater Moncton has tested positive. The team has been shut down for two weeks while coaches and players self-isolate. . . .

Meanwhile, Saint John also had been declared an orange zone, so the QMJHL’s Sea Dogs won’t be able to resume play until there is a change in that status. . . . The Sea Dogs, of course, have paused activities due to a positive test for a staff member who, according to the team, “is sick and in isolation.” The team also reported that this case “is not travel-related. The staff member has not been outside the Atlantic bubble since prior to training camp”. . . .

CBC News: New Brunswick is reporting 9 more COVID-19 cases, one of the highest daily totals since the pandemic began; there have been eight days when the daily cases totalled 10 or more.

——

CJOB Winnipeg: A man in his 20s from Winnipeg has become Manitoba’s youngest victim of COVID. His death is one of nine reported Friday as health officials say 438 new cases have been identified.

CBC News: Manitoba announces 438 new cases of COVID-19, a jump from the previous 7-day average of 368. The province is also reporting 9 more deaths.

CBC News: Saskatchewan is reporting 153 new cases of COVID-19 and 1 new death related to the illness. The province has now seen a total of 5,804 cases, including 33 deaths and 3,626 recoveries.

Marc Smith, CTV Regina: After dropping for the first time in five days yesterday, active cases reach a new high of 2,145. . . . Hospitalizations are up to 85 in Saskatchewan, which is also a new record. Some good news is ICU patients is down two after two days of new record highs.

CBC News: Alberta is reporting a record number of new COVID-19 cases. The province has confirmed 1,155 new cases and 11 additional deaths. There are 10,655 active cases in the province. 310 people are in hospital, including 58 in intensive care.

CTV News: Alberta is the sole province without a mask mandate.

Provincial Health Services Authority of B.C.: 516 new cases for a total of 25,474 cases. There are 227 individuals currently hospitalized with COVID-19, 57 of whom are in intensive care. There has been 10 new COVID-19 related deaths, for a total of 331 deaths in British Columbia.

CBC News: Ontario is reporting 1,418 new cases of COVID-19. That surpasses the average of the previous 7 days, which was 1,370. 400 of the new cases are in Peel Region, 393 are in Toronto and 168 are in York Region. . . . Ontario reports 8 new COVID-19 deaths and 1,415 cases resolved — 48,173 tests completed. 518 people with COVID-19 in hospital, including 142 in ICU.

CBC News: 32 additional deaths in Quebec are being attributed to COVID-19. The province is also reporting 1,259 new cases, up from the previous 7-day average of 1,221.

CBC News: Nunavut reports 10 new cases of COVID-19. All are in small fly-in communities on the west coast of Hudson’s Bay. 6 are in Rankin Inlet, 3 are in Whale Cove, and 1 is in Arviat. Nunavut is now up to 84 cases, just 2 weeks after it confirmed its 1st case.

CBC News: Nova Scotia is reporting 5 new cases of COVID-19, all in the Central Zone. 2 are connected to previously reported cases; the other 3 are still being investigated. The province now has a total of 28 active cases.

CBC News: Nova Scotia announces new gathering limits for the greater Halifax area. Starting Monday, social circles will be limited to 5 people and informal events will be limited to 25 people. The measures are set to continue until Dec. 21.

CBC News: 3 new cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in Newfoundland and Labrador. 1 is a close contact of a previously announced case, 1 is travel-related and the remaining case is under investigation. All 3 are self-isolating. N.L. has 13 known active cases.

oregonlive.com, from Thursday: 20 die in record one-day coronavirus death toll for Oregon; news cases come in at highest ever: 1,225.

KATU-TV: Providence to stage temporary morgues, surge tents as Oregon sees COVID-19 spike.

KOMO News: For the third time this week Washington state added over 2,000 new COVID-19 cases in a single day, continuing an alarming trend before the holiday season.

——

The junior B Keystone Junior Hockey League, a five-team circuit in Manitoba, has decided it won’t try to start its season until hopefully Jan. 1. . . . Carter Brooks of gameonhockey.ca has more right here.

The Miami Dolphins are scheduled to play the Broncos in Denver on Sunday. On Friday, the Broncos announced that it will the last home game this season at which fans will be permitted to attend. There will be fewer than 6,000 fans at Sunday’s game. . . .

The Minnesota Golden Gophers had 20 players out with injuries or COVID-19 as they beat the visiting Purdue Boilermakers, 34-31, on Friday night. Brian Callahan, the offensive co-ordinator, and two other staff members also sat this one out after testing positive. . . . Minnesota wouldn’t specify how many of those 20 players had tested positive. . . .

The Washington State Cougars won’t be playing at the Stanford Cardinal today (Saturday). The game was cancelled on Friday after the Cougars said they would be able to have the minimum number of scholarship players available due to positive tests and contact tracing. Four of those positive tests came Friday morning, and one was starting QB Jayden de Laura. . . . The Cougars are scheduled to play the Washington Huskies in the annual Apple Cup game on Nov. 27.

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

Living Kidney Donor Program

St. Paul’s Hospital

6A Providence Building

1081 Burrard Street

Vancouver, BC V6Z 1Y6

Tel: 604-806-9027

Toll free: 1-877-922-9822

Fax: 604-806-9873

Email: donornurse@providencehealth.bc.ca

——

Vancouver General Hospital Living Donor Program – Kidney 

Gordon and Leslie Diamond Health Care Centre

Level 5, 2775 Laurel Street

Vancouver, BC V5Z 1M9

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

kidneydonornurse@vch.ca

——

Or, for more information, visit right here.

 

Report: CHL teams getting medical protocols . . . Liability huge factor in college football decisions . . . SJHL bumps openers back

Turnsignals

Rick Westhead of TSN posted a series of seven tweets on Tuesday afternoon, all of them relating to major junior hockey. Here they are, in text form and separated by dashes . . .

Major junior hockey teams are beginning to receive details of medical protocols for 2020-21 season. (If it happens.)

Some curious terms.

Players coming into Canada must quarantine for 14 days in billet home.

(What’s the point if a player’s billet family isn’t quarantining?)

——

Players, team staff will have daily temperature tests upon arrival at rink.  If temp is over 38 degrees, Covid test will be required.

——

After games, meetings with people external to the team must be scheduled in accordance with public health regulations. Visits with family will require social distancing.

(Consequences for breaching this rule are not detailed.)

——

Body checking, fighting during games are not banned. This will allow players to develop and aspire to pro hockey in addition to offering “a quality show.”

——

Teams are being discouraged from eating in restaurants and in case of buffet meals, a person must be designated to serve the food. Teams must be given a private room, or else take food to individual rooms.

——

Carpooling allowed. Players/staff must wear masks and there is a limit of 4 people/car. No consuming food/drinks in the vehicles.

On team buses, players and coaches are to receive assigned seats. These must remain same through season & masks on board the buses are mandatory.

——

Caveat: There are 3 different major junior leagues in jurisdictions w different levels of Covid infection & the 3 may have different rules.

Also important to note it’s August.

I’d expect these medical protocols will be amended many times by time teams hope to have players report.

I find it interesting that no one in major junior hockey has mentioned the issue of liability, although you have to think there has been discussion on that subject behind closed doors or on Zoom calls or however the pooh-bahs are meeting these days.

ESPN has reported that myocarditis appears to be one of the potential after-effects of COVID-19 and that it is turning up in young, previous healthy athletes.

Two of the NCAA’s five major football conferences postponed their fall seasons on Tuesday and it’s apparent that liability concerns played a major role in the decisions.

The Big Ten and the Pac-12 — two of the Power Five conferences — cancelled their fall athletic seasons, including football.

The ACC, Big 12 and SEC say they are still planning on holding fall football seasons. At least, that was the word as of Tuesday afternoon.

After the Pac-12 decision was announced, Michael Schill, the U of Oregon’s president, told a webinar that “we are science-based, we’re academics. We look at facts, not opinions.”

Paula Lavigne and Mark Schlabach of ESPN reported on Monday that “myocarditis, inflammation of the heart muscle, has been found in at least five Big Ten Conference athletes and among several other athletes in other conferences, according to two sources with knowledge of athletes’ medical care.

“The condition is usually caused by a viral infection, including those that cause the common cold, H1N1 influenza or mononucleosis. Left undiagnosed and untreated, it can cause heart damage and sudden cardiac arrest, which can be fatal. It is a rare condition, but the COVID-19 virus has been linked with myocarditis with a higher frequency than other viruses, based on limited studies and anecdotal evidence since the start of the pandemic.”

On Tuesday, DeArbea Walker of Deadspin wrote:

“If myocarditis is left undiagnosed or untreated it can lead to cardiac arrest. Heart issues connected to coronavirus have turned up in at least 50 percent of all cases in the U.S. and in 80 percent of hospitalized patients. Twenty-seven year-old Boston Red Sox ace Eduardo Rodriguez was shut down last week after testing positive for COVID-19 and receiving a myocarditis diagnosis that has pushed his MLB future into question.”

The decisions to postpone football seasons are likely to have huge impacts on campuses across the U.S. It is hard to imagine how much money this will cost schools, but football programs at a lot of these places fund so many other sports.

Ann Killion of the San Francisco Chronicle wrote that there are other sports than football getting hurt,“but it is mostly focused on football, because football is the revenue driver. The donor magnate, the alpha sport. The financial ramifications of one year without football are going to be enormous.”

On Monday, the Mountain West Conference postponed all fall sports including football. It, too, is considering a spring football season. The conference had announced just eight days earlier that its football teams would play an eight-game schedule starting on Sept. 26.\

Earlier this month, the Mid-American Conference cancelled its fall football season. It was the first FBS conference to pull the plug.

Parrot

COVID-19 CHRONICLES . . .

When the Big Ten announced the postponement of fall sports on Tuesday, its news release didn’t mention hockey. . . . Later in the day, Chris Dilks (@ChrisDilks) tweeted that the U of Michigan had “suspended practices for all sports, including hockey.” . . . No NCAA schools have made a decision on their hockey season, with some observers feeling that is five or six weeks away. . . .

Anthony Lynn, the head coach of the NFL’s San Diego Chargers, has said that he tested positive. Lynn made the revelation on the HBO show Hard Knocks. Lynn, who indicated that he had symptoms, didn’t say when he tested positive, but he has recovered. . . .

Trini Lopez, who took If I Had a Hammer to the top of the charts in 1963, died from COVID-19 on Tuesday. He was 83. . . . Lopez also was in the movie The Dirty Dozen. . . . Rolling Stone has more right here. . . .

Curling’s 2020 Canada Cup has been postponed indefinitely. It was to have been held in Fredericton, Nov. 24-29. Curling Canada hopes to hold it early in 2021 as it is a qualifier for the 2021 Roar of the Rings Olympics trials. . . . At the same time, Curling Canada has cancelled the Canadian Mixed, which was set for Canmore, Alta., Nov. 7-15, and the Canadian Curling Club Championships (Ottawa, Nov. 22-28).

The Alberta-based Heritage Junior B Hockey League is hoping to start its 24-game season on Oct. 28. It includes teams in Airdrie, Olds, Ponoka, Red Deer, Rocky Mountain House, Stettler and Sylvan Lake in the Northern Division, with a Southern Division comprising teams in Coaldale, Cochrane, High River, Lomond, Medicine Hat, Okotoks, Standoff and Strathmore. . . .

There were reports Tuesday afternoon that the SJHL has pushed back its opening date. It had said that it hoped to open on Sept. 25. . . . Clark Stork, the play-by-play voice of the Nipawin Hawks, tweeted that the league had sent an email to teams “saying the start date of the season has been pushed back by two weeks.” . . . That would take it to Oct. 9.

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

Living Kidney Donor Program

St. Paul’s Hospital

6A Providence Building

1081 Burrard Street

Vancouver, BC V6Z 1Y6

Tel: 604-806-9027

Toll free: 1-877-922-9822

Fax: 604-806-9873

Email: donornurse@providencehealth.bc.ca

——

Vancouver General Hospital Living Donor Program – Kidney 

Gordon and Leslie Diamond Health Care Centre

Level 5, 2775 Laurel Street

Vancouver, BC V5Z 1M9

604.875.5182 or 1.855.875.5182

kidneydonornurse@vch.ca

——

Or, for more information, visit right here.

The SJHL’s Notre Dame Hounds have promoted Brett Pilkington from assistant coach to Houndsgeneral manager and head coach. He takes over from Phil Roy, who has moved on to the QMJHL’s Shawinigan Cataractes as an assistant coach. . . . Pilkington, 36, is from Calgary. He was a second-round selection by the Saskatoon Blades in the WHL’s 1999 bantam draft, but chose to go the NCAA route and played four seasons at Bowling Green. . . . Last season was his first with the Hounds. . . . Roy, who is from St. Leonard, Que., spent two seasons with the Hounds.

Ralph Klassen, who played five seasons (1970-75) with the Saskatoon Blades, died on Aug. 3 after a battle with cancer. He was 64. . . . Klassen, a rugged two-way player from Humboldt, put up 275 points, including 194 assists, in 300 regular-season games with Saskatoon. He added 45 points, 11 of them goals, in 50 playoff games. . . . He won silver with Canada’s national junior team in 1975. . . . The California Golden Seals selected him with the third pick of the NHL’s 1975 draft. He went on to score 52 goals and add 93 assists in 497 regular-season games, split among the Golden Seals, Cleveland Barons, Colorado Rockets and St. Louis Blues. He retired in November 1983. . . . There is a complete obituary right here.

Ship

Three players hospitalized with burns after something goes wrong . . . Giants need head coach . . . Wheaties mourn death of Borotsik

MacBeth

F Roman Horák (Chilliwack, 2009-11) signed a one-year contract with the Växjö Lakers (Sweden, SHL). Last season, with Vityaz Podolsk (Russia, KHL), he had 10 goals and 16 assists in 54 games, while averaging 19:13 TOI per game. . . .

F Levi Nelson (Swift Current, 2004-08) announced his retirement through an interview in The Sheffield Star. Last season, with the Sheffield Steelers (England, UK Elite), he had 16 goals and 26 assists in 55 games.

ThisThat

Two members of the Lethbridge Hurricanes and a former teammate are being treated in hospital for burns received on Saturday night.

Matt Alfaro, Jordy Bellerive and Ryan Vandervlis were injured when something went awry involving a bonfire.

Lisa MacGregor of Global News reported that “sources tell Global News they were hurt in a fire in Calgary . . . and one of the players is in critical condition.”

According to a news release issued late Saturday by the Hurricanes:

“All three players are currently being treated in hospital for various injuries sustained in the incident. . . . The Hurricanes’ focus and priority is on the health of the players injured and will have no further comments at this time. More information will be provided as it becomes available.”

Alfaro, from Calgary, was acquired by the Hurricanes from the Kootenay Ice during the 2016-17 season. He completed his junior eligibility by scoring 12 goals and adding nine assists in 20 games with the Hurricanes. In 263 regular-season games, 243 of them with the Ice, he had 62 goals and 93 assists. Last season, he had three goals and nine assists in 26 games with the U of Calgary Dinos.

Bellerive, a 19-year-old from North Vancouver, B.C., is the Hurricanes’ captain. Last season, he had 46 goals and 46 assists in 71 games, and was named to the Eastern Conference’s second all-star team. In 206 regular-season games, he has 84 goals and 100 assists.

Bellerive, who wasn’t selected in an NHL draft, signed a three-year entry-level contract with Pittsburgh after attending training camp with the Penguins prior to last season.

Vandervlis, 20, is from Red Deer. In 162 regular-season games, all with the Hurricanes, he has 30 goals and 37 assists. Last season, he was limited by injuries to 19 games, and he finished with 11 goals and eight assists. He underwent season-ending shoulder surgery in early December and was hoping to be completely for his final junior season.

The Vancouver Giants fired head coach Jason McKee on Friday, making the announcement in a late-day three-paragraph news release.

McKee spent two seasons with the Giants, missing the playoffs in 2016-17, with a 20-46-6 record, and making the playoffs in 2017-18, at 36-27-9, good for third in the B.C. Division, Vancouver12 points behind the Kelowna Rockets and three behind the Victoria Royals. The Giants lost a seven-game series to the Royals in the first round of the playoffs.

Barclay Parneta, who is into his first year as the Giants’ general manager, pulled the trigger on McKee, who had one year left on his contract.

According to Steve Ewen of Postmedia, Parneta said: “For me, I’d like someone I’m more familiar with. I don’t want to be starting a (season) with someone I’m just getting to know.”

A couple of free-agent coaches with whom Parneta has at least some familiarity are Serge Lajoie and Brian Pellerin.

Lajoie just finished a three-year stint as head coach of the U of Alberta Golden Bears, guiding them to the 2017-18 Canadian championship. He took over the Golden Bears when Ian Herbers took a sabbatical to work as an assistant coach with the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers. They chose to release Herbers after last season, and he has returned to the Golden Bears.

Parneta was the Tri-City Americans’ assistant general manager before signing with the Giants. The Americans selected Lajoie’s son, Marc, a defenceman, in the WHL’s 2018 bantam draft and also signed him, all on Parneta’s watch.

Pellerin, who played four seasons (1987-91) with the Prince Albert Raiders, has been the associate coach with the Americans for four seasons. He also spent four seasons (2004-08) as an assistant coach with the Portland Winterhawks.

In between Portland and Tri-City, he coach with the Central league’s Amarillo Gorillas, the AHL’s San Antonio Rampage and the Okanagan Hockey Academy.

The Giants join the Kamloops Blazers, Edmonton Oil Kings and Swift Current Broncos as teams in search of a head coach.

You would think McKee, 39, would be of interest to the Oil Kings. From Lloydminster, Alta., he spent 10 seasons with the AJHL’s Spruce Grove Saints, the last six as general manager and head coach, before joining the Giants. Under McKee, the Saints won three AJHL titles in six seasons and he twice was the league’s coach of the year

The Oil Kings are looking for a head coach after firing head coach Steve Hamilton after four seasons on May 29. Hamilton had been an assistant coach for four seasons before moving up to head coach.

Of course, the Oil Kings also need a general manager, having parted company with Randy Hansch at the same time.

Ewen’s complete piece on McKee’s firing by the Giants is right here.

Jack Borotsik, who played two season with the Brandon Wheat Kings, died on June 8 at BrandonWKregularthe Brandon Regional Health Centre. He was 68. . . . Borotsik, who was from Brandon, played two seasons (1967-69) with the Wheat Kings when the WHL was the Western Canada Hockey League. He totalled 60 goals and 98 assists in 119 regular-season games. He got into one NHL game, that with the St. Louis Blues in 1974-75. . . . The family has asked that donations in his memory be made to a charity of one’s own choice. . . . In November 2016, Perry Bergson of the Brandon Sun featured Borotsik in one of his stories on past Wheat Kings. That story is right here.

Myles Cathcart has resigned as general manager of the MJHL’s Neepawa Natives. Cathcart, who had been in the position for seven seasons, left after the organization decided to charge each of its players a “travel fee” of $267 per month. “It’s just my philosophical view that junior hockey should be different than AAA (midget),” Cathcart told Perry Bergson of the Brandon Sun. “I’m not mad, I just decided that it would be a good time for somebody to put their stamp on whatever they wanted to do. I’m not leaving on bad terms, I just didn’t want to do it.” . . . Bergson’s complete story is right here.

TheCoachingGame

Phil Roy is the new general manager and head coach of the junior A Notre Dame Hounds, an SJHL team that plays out of Athol Murray College of Notre Dame in Wilcox, Sask. . . . Roy had been an assistant coach with the Clarkson U Golden Knights since 2011. From St. Leonard, Que., Roy takes over from Clint Mylymok, who resigned in order to sign on as GM/head coach of the NAHL’s Maryland Blackbears, an expansion team. Mylymok had been with the Hounds for four seasons.

The junior B 100 Mile House Wranglers of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League have signed Dale Hladun, their general manager and head coach, to a three-year extension. Hladun is preparing for his fourth season with the Wranglers. Under Hladun, the Wranglers won the 2015-16 KIJHL championship, as well as the Cyclone Taylor Cup and the Keystone Cup.

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).

ThisThat

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.