Tag: Regina Pats

Who knew the WHL had different eras? Live-puck and dead-puck? . . . Tigers bring back 14-year-old for a look . . . Ex-WHLer getting a look in QMJHL

Darlene4
The fall colours are glorious along the South Thompson River, about 14 kilometres east of Kamloops.

The WHL’s latest available Official Guide includes a category — it’s on Page 273 — with the header: LONGEST WINNING STREAK.

It shows that the Victoria Cougars hold that record, having won 24 straight games from Feb. 6, 1981, through Oct. 9, 1981. That streak obviously overlapped two seasons.

It has the 1967-68 Estevan Bruins next, with 22 straight victories, from Oct. 6, 1967, through Dec. 12, 1967. That was a season-opening streak.

In third spot are the 2013-14 Portland Winterhawks, who won 21 in a row from Jan. 11, 2014, through Feb. 28, 2014.

There is nothing in this particular entry to indicate that Victoria and Portland were playing in “modern WHL history,” while Estevan was playing in some other era. In fact, there is nothing anywhere in the WHL records to indicate that the league differentiates between records set prior to 1978 and after.

In fact, prior to Sunday night I had never heard anyone involved with the WHL refer to “modern WHL history” or “modern WHL mark” or anything else of that ilk.

And yet there was the WHL on Sunday night, tweeting that the Red Deer Rebels “improved their season-opening win streak, becoming the first team in modern WHL history (1978-present) to start a season with 13 consecutive victories.”

No, the WHL didn’t use the word ‘record,’ as in “the Rebels have set a modern WHL (1978-present) record for the longest season-opening win streak.”

However, Chris Wahl the WHL’s senior manager, communications, wrote a piece that was posted on the league’s website on Sunday. It included:

“Over the past 44 years, no Western Hockey League team had ever started a season with 13 consecutive wins.

“Until Sunday.

“The Red Deer Rebels dispatched the Edmonton Oil Kings 7-2 at Rogers Place, earning their 13th win in as many tries, setting a new, modern WHL mark in the process. . . .

“The Rebels streak unseats the 1988-89 Swift Current Broncos 12-game run as the longest season-opening winning streak since the WHL adopted its current name in 1978. . . .

“The all-time League record for consecutive wins to begin a season is 22, set by the WCHL’s Estevan Bruins in 1967.”

(In its first season, it was the Canadian Major Junior Hockey League (CMJHL). Prior to its second season, 1967-68, it changed its name to Western Canada Junior Hockey League (WCJHL). Before a third season got started, there had been another name change, this time to the Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL). That name lasted through the 1977-78 season, after which it was changed to Western Hockey League.)

It would seem, then, that the WHL has decided to split its record book into two sections — 1966-67 through 1977-78, and 1978-19 through the present.

If that’s the case, it really is too bad because this league has a whole lot of interesting history, some of it from before 1978. For example, the New Westminster Bruins won a record four straight WHL championships — 1975, 1976, 1977 and 1978. Does that now become the olden day record? If that’s the case, it would leave the Kamloops Blazers (1994, 1995) and Medicine Hat Tigers (1987, 1988) to share the ‘modern’ WHL record of two straight.

Wouldn’t it have been easier just to point out that the Rebels have the second-longest season-opening winning streak (13 games) in league history, and that the 1967-68 Estevan Bruins hold the record (22)? This doesn’t diminish what the Rebels are doing this season. Not at all. And, who knows, maybe they’ll get to 22 before they’re done.

And wouldn’t it be a terrific move for the WHL to hire a historian, provide that person with a desk, a computer and a subscription to newspapers.com, and turn her/him loose?

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The trumpeter swans are back on the South Thompson River, which means winter won’t be far behind. This was one of about 30 of the noisy birds that had gathered on the river’s south shore 20 kilometres east of Kamloops on Monday.

The Red Deer Rebels got to 13-0-0 with a 7-2 victory over the host Edmonton Oil Kings on Sunday. . . . The Rebels, who scored the game’s last six goals, got a RedDeergoal and two assists from F Kai Uchacz, who has 11 goals and three assists in 13 games. . . . The defending-champion Oil Kings went 1-11 on the PP as their record slipped to 1-12-1. . . . Troy Gillard, the Rebels’ director of broadcasts and media, tweeted on Monday that the Rebels’ winning streak “is the second-longest in team history.” In 2001-02, the Rebels put together a 14-game streak. They got it started on Jan. 6 with a 4-2 victory over the host Saskatoon Blades. On Feb. 9, Red Deer won its 14th in a row, 6-2 over the visiting Portland Winterhawks. The streak ended on Feb. 13 when the Rebels, playing at home, lost, 5-4 in OT, to the Prince Albert Raiders. Interestingly, the Rebels went on to win their next three games. . . . The Rebels take their 13-0-0 mark into Swift Current on Friday, so could equal the franchise record for longest victory streak in any era while stretching their ‘modern’ era record for longest victory streak to open a season. . . .

In Regina, F Connor Bedard scored twice and added three assists on Sunday in leading the Pats to a 7-3 victory over the Tri-City Americans, who had won four Reginain a row. . . . The Pats had lost their previous four games. . . . Bedard, who is on a 14-game point streak, enjoyed the third five-point game of his career. . . . He leads the league in goals (13), assists (16) and points (29), all in 15 games. . . . Regina D Corbin Vaughan drew a major and game misconduct for a headshot at 12:23 of the first period. He was playing in his second game after serving a four-game suspension that was issued under supplemental discipline following a game against Prince Albert on Oct. 12. . . .

In Sunday’s other game, F Riley Fiddler-Schultz gave host Calgary a 3-1 lead Calgaryover the Vancouver Giants and the Hitmen held on for a 3-2 victory. . . . Fiddler-Schultz has seven goals this season, including a five-goal outing. . . . Calgary now has won three straight. . . . The Hitmen will play their next two homes games — Wednesday against the Victoria Royals and Friday against the Medicine Hat Tigers — at the 2,000-seat Seven Chiefs Sportsplex on the Tsuut’ina Nation. The Hitmen bill the facility as “our home away from the Dome.”

Darlene2
This guy was in a field in front of hoodoos along Shuswap Road east of Kamloops on Monday afternoon. He was slowly walking east . . .

JUNIOR JOTTINGS:

F Gavin McKenna, a 14-year-old who earned four assists in the only WHL game he has played, will be in the Medicine Hat Tigers’ lineup tonight against the visiting Vancouver Giants. . . . F Cayden Lindstrom has been added to the Team White roster for the U17 World Hockey Challenge that is to run in Langley, B.C., from Thursday through Nov. 12. . . . Lindstrom got the call after F Ollie Josephson of the Red Deer Rebels was ruled out because of an undisclosed injury. . . . McKenna, who will turn 15 on Dec. 20, was the first overall selection in the WHL’s 2022 draft. From Whitehorse, he made his WHL debut by setting up four goals in a 9-1 victory over the visiting Lethbridge Hurricanes on Sept. 24. . . .

D Trevor Thurston, 20, has joined the QMJHL’s Cape Breton Eagles. He has totalled 107 WHL regular-season games, spending time with the Kamloops Blazers, Lethbridge Hurricanes and Prince Albert Raiders. He started this season with the Raiders, getting into three games before going on to the BCHL’s Merritt Centennials. . . . A fourth-round pick by Kamloops in the 2017 WHL draft, he put up 13 goals and 14 assists in those 107 games. . . . Brent Thurston, Trevor’s father, played in the WHL with the Victoria Cougars and Spokane Chiefs. He was with the Chiefs when they won the 1991 Memorial Cup in Quebec City. . . . The Thurstons are from Delta, B.C. . . .

F Lucas Ciona of the Seattle Thunderbirds has signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Calgary Flames, who selected him in the sixth round of the NHL’s 2021 NHL draft. This season, he has seven goals and 10 assists through nine games for the Thunderbirds. . . . Seattle took him in the second round of the WHL’s 2018 draft. In total, he has 92 points, including 38 goals, in 165 regular-season and playoff games with the Thunderbirds. . . . The 9-1-0 Thunderbirds, who play out of Kent, Wash., are at home to the Prince George Cougars tonight. . . .

The OHL’s Sudbury Wolves, who started 3-7-1, fired head coach Craig Duncanson on Monday, with assistant general manager Ken MacKenzie taking over on an interim basis. . . . Duncanson played three seasons (1983-86) with the Wolves. He had been the head coach since July 2021. . . . He is a former NHLer, having been a first-round pick by the Los Angeles Kings in the 1985 draft. . . . The Wolves open a seven-game homestead on Wednesday.

Darlene5
And here’s the fellow from the earlier photo, having quickly moved from a slow walk to a trot. Why? Because the ladies were a couple of hundred metres to the east. (BTW, a photographer I worked with in Regina told me that some blur in a photo denotes speed.)

THINKING OUT LOUD — If this World Series goes deep, Game 6 would be played on Thursday, which is Nov. 5. A seventh game would be played on Nov. 6. Until now, the latest ever date for a World Series game was in 2001 and 2009 when they played on Nov. 4. . . . Might be time to move the entire series to a neutral site with a dome. Just kidding. I think. . . . And let’s not forget that Thursday is going to feature the Houston Astros and the host Philadelphia Phillies in Game 5 of the World Series, while Thursday Night Football will have the Houston Texans against the visiting Philadelphia Eagles. . . . The Estevan Bruins hold the WHL record for the longest winning streak to open a season, at 22. Case closed. Unless the league wants to split its history into four eras — CMJHL, WCJHL, WCHL, WHL — and declare record-holders for each, that is. . . . Sheesh! It wasn’t that long ago that the WHL was making a big deal, and rightfully so, about its 50th anniversary season. There wasn’t any talk then about live-puck and dead-puck eras.

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.

Darlene3
This lady stopped by one afternoon last week to dine on leaves from a peach tree from which I had trimmed a few branches. She and some friends cleaned up that pile of leaves in about two days.

Milestone for Giants’ head coach . . . Rebels continuing record chase . . . BCHL’s Vees are perfect, too

JUNIOR JOTTINGS:

The Vancouver Giants opened a Central Division swing on Thursday night with a 2-1 victory over the Edmonton Oil Kings. That was Vancouver head coach Michael Dyck’s 250th head-coaching victory. . . . Dyck, who is in his fifth season with the Giants, picked up 113 victories in three seasons (2006-09) with the Lethbridge Hurricanes. . . . The defending-champion Oil Kings, obviously in the early days of a rebuild, are carrying four 20-year-olds, one over the limit, so there will be something happening there. They had F Cole Carrier, D Logan Dowhaniuk, F Carson Golden and F Jaxsen Wiebe vying for the three spots. Carrier and Wiebe were scratched last night. Wiebe is serving a four-game suspension under supplemental discipline for something dastardly that happened the other night in a game against the Saskatoon Blades. . . .

The Red Deer Rebels ran their season-opening winning streak to 11 games on Wednesday, beating the visiting Victoria Royals, 6-2. . . . The Rebels’ next game is scheduled for tonight when they are to play host to the Vancouver Giants. . . . A victory over the Giants will give the Rebels a share of the WHL record for victories to open a season; the 1988-89 Swift Current Broncos began with 12 straight on their way to a Memorial Cup title. . . . The 1978-79 Brandon Wheat Kings hold the WHL record for longest unbeaten streak to begin a season; they opened with 24 wins and five ties. . . .

The WHL’s only other unbeaten team, the Seattle Thunderbirds (8-0-0), are in Prince George for a Friday-Saturday doubleheader with the Cougars (5-5-0). . . . The Cougars are coming off road victories over the Vancouver Giants (5-1) and Kamloops Blazers (4-3 OT), the first time this season they have won consecutive games. . . . The Thunderbirds and Cougars will make it three games in a row when they meet Tuesday in Kent, Wash. . . .

Regina F Connor Bedard ran his point streak to 12 games as he picked up one assist as the Pats dropped a 2-1 decision to the visiting Moose Jaw Warriors. The game was to have been played on Sunday but was postponed due to inclement weather. . . . The Warriors scored two first-period PP goals — by F Jagger Firkus and F Brayden Yager — and got 19 saves from G Connor Ungar. . . . F Tanner Howe was back in Regina’s lineup after a one-game absence. . . . D Denton Mateychuk was among Moose Jaw’s scratches. . . . Bedard’s assist was his 150th career regular-season point, coming in his 90th game. . . . Bedard continues to lead the WHL in points (20). He and F Reid Schaefer of the Seattle Thunderbirds lead in goals (10), while Bedard and F Owen Pederson of the Winnipeg Ice each has 12 assists. . . . Bedard also has the lead in game-winning goals, with four. . . .

In the BCHL, the Penticton Vees have opened the season on a 12-game winning streak, which is the best start in franchise history. The league’s only unbeaten team improved to 12-0-0 with a 4-3 OT victory over the visiting Cranbrook Bucks on Wednesday night. . . . Remember, too, that the Vees closed out last season by winning their last 16 playoff games. Yes, Penticton is on a 28-game winning streak. . . . The Vees are back at home tonight against the West Kelowna Warriors (8-1-0).

Humans

Dwight Perry, in the Seattle Times: “It’s a full-blown five-ring circus out there. Eight months have gone by since the Tokyo Olympics, and the U.S. figure-skating team, which finished behind the Russians in the team competition, still hasn’t been awarded a medal — any medal — while the ‘investigation’ into Russian doping continues. NFL replay looks competent by comparison.”

THE COACHING GAME:

The junior A South Shore Lumberjacks of the Maritime Hockey League have signed Kirk Tomlinson as their head coach. Tomlinson, 54, played one season (1984-85) with the WHL’s New Westminster Bruins before moving on to the OHL for three seasons. . . . He takes over from Brad Tesink, who was fired last week. . . . Tomlinson was behind the bench for the first time on Wednesday as the Lumberjacks lost, 5-0, to the visiting Campbellton Tigers. The Lumberjacks now are 2-8-2.

Ice

Dan Daly of DalyOnSports.com, with a pertinent observation: “Too many NFL games this season feel like Week 4 in 1987, when the Real Players were on strike and your gym teacher was playing linebacker.”

THINKING OUT LOUD — The World Series — you do remember that the MLB season isn’t over yet, don’t you? — begins tonight in Houston with the Astros facing the Philadelphia Phillies. Terry Puhl, the pride of Melville, Sask., will throw out the ceremonial first pitch. You may remember that he was a pretty fair centre fielder for Houston back in the day. . . . ICYMI, the Vancouver Canucks won for the first time in this NHL season when they beat the host Seattle Kraken, 5-4, on Thursday night. They now are 1-5-2 and will try to make it two in a row tonight against the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins. . . . Which team is the NBA’s biggest gong show/soap opera at the moment: Los Angeles Lakers, New York Nets or Philadelphia 76ers? . . . And then there are the Toronto Maple Leafs, whose fans are calling for a coaching change. It seems that Barry Trotz is the apple of their eye these days. Of course, the New York Islanders are paying him US$4 million not to coach this season, so perhaps he won’t be in a hurry to get back into the coaching racket. . . . Don’t forget that the NHL reaches a new low tonight when the Winnipeg Jets visit the 5,000-seat Mullett Arena, the new home of the Arizona Coyotes. Hey, Saskatoon, there’s still hope!

Beatles

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.

Exercise

Has Chaos-By-The-Creek returned to Regina? . . . Bedard streak at 11, but Pats lose in Moose Jaw . . . Canucks lose fifth straight, but have points in last two

There was a time when the late Bob Hughes, then the sports editor of the Regina Leader-Post, would put a CHAOS-BY-THE-CREEK placeline on columns about the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

An example, from the paper of Oct. 3, 1983, following a 24-23 loss to the Ridersvisiting Ottawa Rough Riders (ohh for the days of Roughriders and Rough Riders) . . .

“CHAOS-BY-THE-CREEK – On the mourning after the nightmare before, in the frosty dawning of the Sabbath, the masses marvelled quietly over the curious versatility of the team that can’t win for losing.

“The Saskatchewan Roughriders, hunkering down for the stretch run to last place, have proven they can lose indoors as well as outdoors. They have shown us they can lose in good weather as well as bad weather. They have proven they can’t come from behind and Saturday evening displayed they can’t hold a 22-point lead. Versatility, here is thy child. It has, now, officially, spawned a seventh straight season out of the playoffs.”

(BTW, the creek reference was in honour of Wascana Creek, which flows through Regina.)

That brings us to this week and the goings-on with the Roughriders. Here’s a taste from Rob Vanstone, The Leader-Post’s sports columnist . . .

“Cody Fajardo would have legitimately taken a ‘vet day’ earlier this week only in the event that his prized pooch, Sulley, had required a check-up.

“Even if we presume that is not the case, the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ 2022 season has nonetheless gone to the dogs — the latest forehead-slapper being the sudden demotion of the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ most-recognizable player.” (That column is right here.)

ICYMI, Fajardo wasn’t an active participant in Tuesday’s practice, after which head coach Craig Dickenson said that his starting quarterback had been given a “vet” day. On Wednesday, Dickenson admitted that Fajardo no longer was the starter and that backup Mason Fines would be starting Saturday against the visiting Calgary Stampeders.

“After the second day of on-field preparations for the Calgary game,” Vanstone writes, “Dickenson verified what should have been obvious on Tuesday — that Fine has supplanted Fajardo as the starter.

“This just goes to show that the Roughriders, who are mired in a 2-9 tailspin, don’t play games very adeptly even when they aren’t confronted with an opponent.

“But who needs an opponent, really, when the Roughriders are their own worst enemy?”

Chaos by the Creek, it seems, is very much alive.

——

According to the Saskatchewan Roughriders and the CFL, the Grey Cup game — it is to be played in Regina on Nov. 20 — has been sold out since Sept. 28. However, Laura Sciarpelletti of CBC News reports that there are lots of tickets available for resale. Her story is right here.

Brains

THE BEDARD REPORT — The Regina Pats, featuring F Connor Bedard, are scheduled to meet the Vancouver Giants in Langley, B.C., on Nov. 25. It was revealed on Thursday morning that all 5,276 seats in the Langley Events Centre have been sold and that standing room tickets went on sale that morning. . . . Bedard, the favourite to be the No. 1 selection in the NHL’s 2023 draft, is from North Vancouver. Here’s hoping that the Pats don’t trade him before Nov. 25. Just kidding! . . . Meanwhile, Victoria Cougars Hockey Project (@victoriacougars) tweeted that “lots of end zone seats still available” when the Pats visit Victoria on Nov. 26. . . . On Wednesday, Bedard even got a mention from Tony Kornheiser on the ESPN show Pardon The Interruption (PTI). Yes, it had to do with NHL teams possibly tanking for Bedard. . . . On Thursday night, Bedard scored the game’s final goal, at 7:04 of the second period, as the Pats (6-5-1) were beaten, 5-2, by the Warriors in Moose Jaw. After being held pointless in the season-opener, Bedard has at least a point in 11 straight games. He leads the WHL in goals (10), assists (11) and points (21). . . . The Pats’ next game is Sunday against the visiting Warriors. . . .

The Pats scratched F Tanner Howe with an undisclosed injury on Thursday night as they dressed 17 skaters, one under the maximum. Howe scored once in Sunday’s 4-3 shootout loss to the visiting Lethbridge Hurricanes, and didn’t appear on this week’s WHL roster report. Howe, who won’t turn 17 until Nov. 28, skates in Bedard’s shadow, but he also is something special. He has six goals and nine assists in 11 games. Last season, he finished with 69 points, including 27 goals, in 64 games.

Chicken

NYET! NYET! — The ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating season opens with Skate America beginning tonight (Friday) in Norwood, Mass. The Russians and Belarusians won’t be be there; they were banned after Russia attacked Ukraine and the bans remain in place. Of course, that means Russian Kamila Valieva won’t be there. You will recall that she, then 15, was embroiled in scandal at the Beijing Olympics in February after a drug test she had taken on Christmas Day came back positive for a banned heart medication. You won’t be surprised to learn that the Russian Anti-Doping Agency is continuing to investigate. . . . Stop with the chuckling! . . .

Meanwhile, the World Curling Federation held its annual congress recently and upheld its decision to bar Russia and Belarus from international competition, including the European championships in Oestersund, Sweden, Nov. 19-26. A rink from Hungary will replace Russia in the women’s draw, with Spain sliding into the men’s side. The WCF had punted Russia from the 2022 women’s world championship in Prince George and the men’s event in Las Vegas.

THINKING OUT LOUD — There were three train wrecks — the New York Yankees, Vancouver Canucks and Thursday Night Football — playing on Thursday night and all were available on my TV set. Which one to watch? . . . I chose the Canucks because, well, that train wreck is closest to home. And they fell, 4-3 in OT, to Dean Evason’s Minnesota Wild. When it was over I flipped to the Yankees and the host Houston Astros, who were leading 3-2. Got there just in time to see the top of the ninth. The Yankees ended it with three strikeouts so all was normal there. . . . The Canucks finished their season-opening trek at 0-3-2 — in today’s vernacular they have points in each of their last two games. They will have their home-opener on Saturday against the Buffalo Sabres. . . . How frustrated are Canucks’ fans? After veteran Vancouver media personality Don Taylor tweeted that “nothing says a great NHL postgame show like the Grand Slam of Curling” — I think that was a shot at Sportsnet — a fan replied: “It’s nice to see a sport with intensity.” . . . Could be an interesting atmosphere inside Vancouver’s home arena on Saturday.

Limbo

YOU THOUGHT IT WAS OVER — From CBC News: Ontario is reporting 109 new COVIDCOVID-19 deaths over the past seven days — the single highest death count since early May during the sixth wave of the pandemic. The weekly death toll comes from new data released Thursday by the province’s ministry of health, which reported 67 deaths the week before. Not since May 6, when deaths numbered 112 for the week, has the province reported a death toll this high. The province’s weekly data release normally includes seven individual days’ worth of information spanning the number of newly reported COVID cases, hospitalizations, intensive care admissions and deaths. This week’s release is missing three days of data — Oct. 15, 16 and 17.

Headline at The Beaverton (@The Beaverton) — Liz Truss resigns after long, illustrious reign of power spanning two British monarchs.

Question

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.

Bike

Wheat Kings’ Thornton released from hospital, now with family at home . . . Health of Rockets’ Dach a concern . . . WHL still has three unbeaten teams

F Ben Thornton of the Brandon Wheat Kings was released from Royal Columbian Hospital in New Westminster, B.C., on Sunday afternoon and now is at home with his family in Chilliwack.

Thornton, an 18-year-old sophomore, was taken to hospital after absorbing a Brandonhard hit in a game with the Vancouver Giants at the Langley Events Centre on Friday night.

The Wheat Kings, who beat the Vancouver Giants, 4-2, tweeted on Saturday that all of “Ben’s CT scans came back clear.”

On Sunday evening, Erin Thornton, Ben’s father, told Taking Note that Ben is dealing with concussion-related issues — a bad headache and dizziness — and also has a “hip that needs attending to.”

It sounds as though Ben won’t be rejoining his team for at least a few days, and could know more after seeing a doctor today (Monday).

“We are extremely grateful the situation isn’t worse and that he will be back with the team in the near future,” added Erin, who played 52 games with the Seattle Thunderbirds over two seasons (1990-92). “The support from the team and messages from friends and family have been overwhelming.”

Vancouver F Kyle Bochek was given a charging major and game misconduct for the hit. The WHL suspended Bochek, with the length yet to be determined. At the same time, Brandon F Brett Hyland was given a TBD suspension after taking a boarding major and game misconduct for a hit on Vancouver D Mazden Leslie in Friday’s game.

The Wheat Kings, without Thornton and Hyland, surrendered the game’s last five goals in losing 5-3 to the Royals in Victoria on Saturday night. Brandon is to play the fifth game of an eight-game road swing in Kamloops against the Blazers on Tuesday.

Ted Clarke of the Prince George Citizen has taken a long look at the Cougars and their attendance woes. That includes a conversation with John Pateman, one of PrinceGeorgethe team’s six owners and the organization’s president.

At one point, Clarke wrote:

“Pateman doesn’t like to think about how much money the owners have lost since they bought the Cougars but it is substantial, and it’s getting more expensive to run a junior hockey team. Hotel rooms have doubled in price and hotel managers are refusing to cut hockey teams deals that used to allow them to check out after the pre-game nap. Restaurants are still trying to recoup their losses from the pandemic years and the higher cost of food is showing up on menus. Then there’s the price of diesel fuel for the bus, which only seems to go up.

“ ‘We’ve got to get more of the business community on board just as much as the fans,’ said Pateman. ‘In terms of dollars, we probably need 50 per cent more fans at the game and probably 50 per cent more sponsorship revenue. We think we have a playoff team and you never know what happens in the playoffs. We’d like to get to the stage of maybe breaking even in the season and then maybe getting a bit ahead of the game in the playoffs.’

“So where does that leave the Cougars? Despite their losses, there’s no indication ownership is going to move the team to greener pastures or sell it to somebody that might want to build a rink a rink in Nanaimo. The Cougars’ braintrust has faith the bleeding will stop eventually and a winning team on a lengthy playoff run would do wonders to make that happen. But it is up to the fans to show whether they want a WHL team to continue waving the P.G. flag.”

Clarke’s complete piece is right here.

Headline at The Beaverton (@TheBeaverton) — Sportsnet apologizes for interrupting gambling commercial with hockey.

The sons of two former NHLers, both of whom own chunks of the Kamloops Blazers, scored newsworthy goals on Friday night. . . . F Tij Iginla, the 16-year-old son of Jarome, counted his first WHL goal as the Seattle Thunderbirds dumped the visiting Edmonton Oil Kings, 7-0. Iginla, the ninth overall pick in the WHL’s 2021 draft, scored the game’s final goal. . . . Meanwhile, in Tempe, Ariz., F Josh Doan, the son of Shane, scored the first goal in the school’s new hockey facility — Mullett Arena — and the Sun Devils went on to a 2-0 victory over the Colgate Raiders. Doan, ASU’s captain, scored on a breakaway at 19:15 of the first period, banging in his own rebound. “I couldn’t have made it harder on myself to put it in,” Doan told Jenna Ortiz of the Arizona Republic. “A great pass from (Lukas Sillinger) and it was a pretty special moment. You get an opportunity to score the first in this rink and that’s pretty special. That goes up to a lot of guys that played in the program before me.” . . . Doan, 20, was selected by Kamloops in the WHL’s 2017 draft, but chose the NCAA route. The Arizona Coyotes grabbed him in the second round of the NHL’s 2021 draft. . . . BTW, Lukas Sillinger, 22, is the son of former WHL/NHL F Mike Sillinger.

Rick Bowness, the head coach of the Winnipeg Jets, won’t be behind the bench COVIDtonight (Monday) when they visit his former club, the Dallas Stars. Bowness tested positive for COVID-19 on Friday and missed that night’s home game, a 4-1 victory over the New York Rangers. The Jets are hopeful that Bowness will be available on Friday when they meet the Colorado Avalanche in Denver. . . . With Bowness sidelined, associate coach Scott Arniel is in charge.

Meeting

You have to think the Kelowna Rockets are concerned about the health of their captain, Colton Dach, who took a high hit during a 5-4 loss to the Silvertips in KelownaEverett on Friday night. Dach, 19, needed help getting off the ice after a hit from D Dexter Whittle, who was given a major and game misconduct. On Saturday, he was hit with a three-game suspension.

Regan Bartel, the longtime radio voice of the Rockets, wrote at rocketfan.ca: “You hope Dach suffered nothing more than a neck injury on the play when he was struck by Whittle just outside the Tips’ blueline. The concern is the injury is worse.”

Dach recently returned to Kelowna after a stint in camp with the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks. And it turns out that he missed time there after suffering a concussion during a prospects’ game with the Minnesota Wild on Sept. 16. He was placed in concussion protocol the next day.

Dach told Phil Thompson of the Chicago Tribune: “For me it’s still a mystery, I kind of just hit someone. Having just one shift I was going out there running around hitting some guys and came back to the bench and got a little headache.

“During intermission, it didn’t go away. I was going to try and just play through it but it kept getting worse and worse and never went away. (Those are the) kind of things you need to tell the training staff. . . . (It’s) pretty serious.”

As for symptoms, Dach told Thompson: “A lot of headaches, a lot of neck pain and dizziness, sensitive to the light a little bit. So everything was kind of normal. There (were) no weird things going on.”

The Rockets are scheduled to entertain the Brandon Wheat Kings on Wednesday and the Winnipeg Ice on Saturday, and then will be off until Oct. 28.

Mike Lupica, in the New York Daily News: “Phil Mickelson was in Saudi Arabia this week, singing the praises of that LIV Tour, and I was just happy to see Phil back with his people. Mickelson can’t play a lick any more, but he still can talk.”

Workout

JUNIOR JOTTINGS:

The WHL goes into a new week with three undefeated teams . . . the same three that were unbeaten when the weekend games began. . . . The Red Deer Rebels, Portland Winterhawks and Seattle Thunderbirds all are 7-0-0. . . . The Rebels went on the road and beat the Moose Jaw Warriors, 4-2, on Friday and the Swift Current Broncos, 4-3, on Saturday. This is the second time in franchise history that the Rebels have opened with seven victories. They also did it in 2000-01, a season in which they won the Memorial Cup. Red Deer next is scheduled to play Wednesday against the visiting Calgary Hitmen. . . . The Winterhawks played once on the weekend; they beat the visiting Kamloops Blazers, 5-4, in a shootout. Portland erased a 4-1 deficit with three goals in the latter half of the second period. Kamloops had won its previous four games. The Winterhawks are scheduled to visit the Tri-City Americans on Saturday. . . . Seattle, meanwhile, dumped the visiting Edmonton Oil Kings, 7-0, on Friday and then went into Everett and thrashed the Silvertips, 11-3, on Saturday. The Thunderbirds got four goals and five assists from F Lucas Ciona in the two games. Next up for the Thunderbirds will be a visit by the Spokane Chiefs on Saturday. . . . BTW, TBird Tidbits (@TBirdTidbits) points out that the Thunderbirds are the first visiting team ever to score 10 goals in Everett. The Chiefs had held the record, having scored nine in a 9-1 victory on Jan. 28, 2009. . . . It’s worth noting that the host Silvertips bounced back Sunday with a 7-3 victory over the Chiefs behind three goals from F Jackson Berezowski and three assists from F Austin Roest. . . .

The WHL’s Dept. of Discipline (whl.ca/discipline) has been busy of late. Including discipline handed down on Oct. 9, the league issued 13 games in suspensions through Sunday, with two other sentences yet to be determined. As well, the Regina Pats were fined $250 for a warmup violation against the visiting Prince Albert Raiders on Oct. 12; the Edmonton Oil Kings paid $500 for “instigator in last five minutes” of a game against the host Seattle Thunderbirds on Oct. 14. . . .

F Gabe Klassen of the Portland Winterhawks struck for seven goals in his first three games before suffering an undisclosed injury. Mike Johnston, the Winterhawks’ veep/GM/head coach told Joshua Critzer, who covers the Winterhawks for @pnwhockeytalk, that Klassen is back skating and “I would expect he’ll play next week as long as he has a good week in practice.” Sounds like he could return Saturday in Kennewick, Wash., against the Tri-City Americans.

Slugs

THE BEDARD UPDATE — F Connor Bedard scored twice on Friday — he had eight shots on goal — as the Pats beat the Broncos, 4-3, in Swift Current. Bedard, the likely No. 1 selection in the 2023 NHL draft, broke a 3-3 tie at 19:52 of the third period. The announced attendance was 1,922, the largest Swift Current crowd through four games this season. . . . On Sunday, Bedard ran his point streak to 10 games with one assist as the Pats, who erased a 3-0 deficit with three third-period goals, dropped a 4-3 shootout decision to the visiting Lethbridge Hurricanes. Bedard drew the primary assist on F Tanner Howe’s tying goal at 9:34 of the third period. Announced attendance was 3,211, the second-largest crowd through five games in Regina this season. . . . Bedard leads the WHL in goals (9) and points (20). F Austin Roest of the Everett Silvertips has 17 points; Roest, teammate Jackson Berezowski and F Reid Schaefer of the Seattle Thunderbirds each has eight goals. . . . Bedard leads the WHL in shots on goal, with 73, in 11 games. Berezowski has 43 in nine games.

Jon Runyan Jr., a guard with the Green Bay Packers, was fined US$5,215 by the NFL after leg-whipping an opponent during the 27-22 loss to the New York Giants in London on Oct. 9. The letter he got informing him of the fine read “further offenses will result in an escalation of disciplinary action, up to and including suspension.” . . . The letter was signed by Jon Runyan Sr. Yes, Junior’s father is the NFL’s vice-president of football operations. . . . “My dad and I always joked about this happening, but I never thought my style of play would ever warrant what he deemed to be unnecessary roughness, but it happened,” Junior told ESPN. “I thought since I left for college, I wouldn’t have to deal with him punishing me anymore, but I was wrong about that.”

Fateddy

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.

Urinal

Wheat Kings’ Thornton taken to hospital after “bad hit” . . . Bedard doing Bedard-like things . . . Head coach misses Jets’ first game

F Ben Thornton of the Brandon Wheat Kings and teammate Jake Chiasson were welcomed to B.C.’s Lower Mainland with a billboard when they arrived in the area on Thursday for a Friday night date with the Vancouver Giants in Langley. . . . The Wheat Kings won Friday’s game, 4-2, but things didn’t go well for Thornton, who ended up in hospital. With his parents in the stands, Thornton was hit by Giants F Kyle Bochek five minutes into the second period, and was taken off the ice on a stretcher and later to hospital. Bochek was hit with a charging major and game misconduct. . . . Perry Bergson of the Brandon Sun tweeted after the game that “Ben Thornton is in hospital but apparently has movement in his extremities.” . . . Brandon head coach Don MacGillivray told Bergson: “(Thornton) was right at our bench and turned around and took a hit that he wasn’t really expecting. It was a bad hit. He hit the ice right away. Other than that, I can’t tell you too much because I don’t know too much.” . . . MacGillivray added: “He didn’t leave the rink until probably halfway through the third period. He’s gone to hospital to get checked out. We’re not sure how serious it is but obviously it’s serious enough that he went to hospital.” . . .

At 16:05 of the second period, Brandon F Brett Hyland was given a boarding major and game misconduct for a hit on Vancouver D Mazden Leslie, who apparently wasn’t injured. . . . By game’s end, the teams had taken a total of 116 penalty minutes — 58 apiece. . . .

Meawhile, Regan Bartel, the radio voice of the Kelowna Rockets, reported via Twitter that “Colton Dach leaves game after a high hit late in third.” Everett D Dexter Whittle was given a headshot major and game misconduct on the play. . . . Before leaving, Dach had two assists as the Rockets dropped a 5-4 decision to the visiting Everett Silvertips. Dach, 19, has a goal and two assists in three games since returning from the camp of the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks. . . . Everett got two goals and an assist from F Austin Roest, 18, who has seven goals and five helpers in seven games.

DON’T LOOK NOW, BUT . . . — F Connor Bedard of the Regina Pats, who is likely to be the No. 1 selection in the NHL’s 2023 draft, has a five-Reginapoint lead atop the WHL scoring race after scoring two goals and setting up another in a 4-3 victory over the Broncos in Swift Current. Bedard has 19 points, five ahead of F Gabriel Szturc of the Kelowna Rockets. . . . In Swift Current, Bedard’s WHL-leading ninth goal broke a 3-3 tie with 7.8 seconds left in the third period. . . . The Pats are 6-4-0 and Bedard has four game-winners. . . . From Rob Vanstone of the Regina Leader-Post: “Bedard didn’t score his 19th point until his 23rd game last season, which he finished with 100 points (including 51 goals) in 62 games.”

F Ben King, who lead the WHL in goals (52) last season, scored twice and added WHLan assist to help the visiting Red Deer Rebels to a 4-2 victory over the Moose Jaw Warriors on Friday night. King, 20, was playing in his first game after being in camp with the Anaheim Ducks, who selected him in the fourth round of the NHL’s 2022 draft. The Rebels now are 6-0-0. . . . In Kennewick, Wash., F Logan Stankoven, the CHL’s player of the year for 2021-22, had two goals and an assist as the Kamloops Blazers dropped the Tri-City Americans, 7-1. Stankoven, 19, was playing in his first game since being returned to Kamloops by the NHL’s Dallas Stars. . . . A rematch of last season’s WHL final didn’t turn out to be much as the Seattle Thunderbirds (of Kent, Wash.) dumped the visiting Edmonton Oil Kings, 7-0. While the Thunderbirds ran their record to 6-0-0, the Oil Kings slipped to 1-7-1.

NO, IT’S NOT OVER — Winnipeg head coach Rick Bowness wasn’t available Friday night when the Jets played host to the New York Rangers. It was the Jets’ first game of the regular season, and this is Bowness’ first season in Winnipeg, but he had to miss the game after testing positive for COVID-19. In his absence, associate coach Scott Ariel ran things as the Jets posted a 4-1 victory.

I have seen this before, but it popped up again on Friday, and I absolutely love this story . . .

Headline at The Beaverton (@TheBeaverton) — Danielle Smith graciously admits that genocide might be as bad as antivaxxers not getting to go to the movies.

JUNIOR JOTTINGS:

F Ethan Rowland, who lost his spot with the Kamloops Blazers when he got caught up in the 20-year-old cutdown deadline on Wednesday, has joined the BCHL’s Vernon Vipers. . . .

A reminder that you should be following Geoffrey Brandow on Twitter if you’re looking for numbers on major junior hockey games. You’ll find him at @GeoffreyBrandow, and he follows the WHL, OHL and QMJHL like a hawk. Don’t believe me? Check him out.

Cow

THE COACHING GAME:

Mike Keenan is back behind a bench, this time as head coach of the Italian national men’s team. Italy is scheduled to play host to the 2026 Olympic Winter Games, so it all makes sense, doesn’t it? . . . Mike Pelino, once an assistant coach (1997-99) with the WHL’s Spokane Chiefs, will join Keenan as associate coach. . . . Keenan and Pelino will see their first tournament action in Budapest, Hungary, from Nov. 10-13, facing Ukraine, Slovenia and a final game against either Hungary, Japan or France.

THINKING OUT LOUD — Don’t know if you noticed, but the Montreal Canadiens signed D William Trudeau, 20, to a three-year entry-level contract on Friday. Trudeau, the player, will start this season with the AHL’s Laval Rocket. If the Rocket gets off to a poor start, you can bet some Canadians will blame it on Trudeau. . . . If you were in front of a TV set on Friday night, I hope you were able to catch the fourth quarter of the CFL game that had the Hamilton Tiger-Cats visiting the Calgary Stampeders. That was the CFL at its exciting best. The Tiger-Cats scored a last-minute touchdown to win in Calgary for the first time since 2004. They had lost each of their last 15 games in Calgary. . . . The end of that game followed hot on the heels of a terrific MLB playoff game in which the San Diego Padres bested the Los Angeles Dodgers, 2-1. It’s a best-of-five series and the Padres take a 2-1 edge into today’s fourth game.

Poor

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.

Text

Scattershooting on a Sunday night while continuing to wonder what hit the Blue Jays . . .

Scattershooting2

You are able to find Randy’s Vinyl Tap on a Corus radio station near you for two hours every Sunday evening. Check it out!

While watching the Toronto Blue Jays implode on Saturday, I kept seeing Vladimir Guerrero Jr. beating the visiting New York Yankees with a walk-off home run a few weeks ago and screaming something about it being “my house” as he trotted from third to home. . . . Of course, the Yankees won in Toronto the next night to clinch the AL East. And then along came Friday-Saturday and the Seattle Mariners. . . . Let’s not forget that Aaron Judge hit No. 61 there, too. . . . All of that means that the Yankees and Mariners have done a lot of celebrating in Vladdy’s house. . . . Maybe he and the rest of Toronto’s young guns will learn something about humility and the baseball gods from how this season ended . . . Oh, and get rid of that gawdawful jacket thing, too.

Amazon

Joe Posnanski, who writes baseball as well as anyone, had this after Saturday’s marathon between the visiting Tampa Bay Rays and Cleveland Guardians: “For almost five hours, under the heat of playoff baseball, we watched two teams fail to score a single run. They failed to score a single run off FIFTEEN different pitchers. Until the last batter, Cleveland hit .090 and struck out 20 times. Tampa Bay hit a stouter .122 and struck out only 19 times.”

——

And here’s Posnanski on a key point in the Seattle-Toronto game: “And Blue Jays manager John Schneider, the one who did not play in ‘Dukes of Hazzard,’ went to the mound, pulled (Kevin) Gausman, and brought in lefty Tim Mayza. It didn’t seem to make a whole lot of sense when he did it, since Gausman clearly was not gassed and (switch-hitter Carlos) Santana has, throughout his career, been a better hitter against lefties. This year, he hit just .178 and slugged .366 against righties — he hit almost 90 points better and had 150 more OPS points against lefties.

“But, he was 0-for-3 against Mayza, so maybe that’s what Schneider saw. I don’t know.”

Of course, the bases were loaded, Mayza threw a wild pitch and then Santana drilled a three-run homer. The rest, as they say, is history.

Here’s Matt Rhule, the head coach of the Carolina Panthers, after losing, 37-15, to the visiting San Francisco 49ers on Sunday: “We’re not going to win unless we score more points. I’m not going to lie to you.”

Corndogs

“Minnesota Twins pitcher Simeon Woods Richardson made major-league history by having the longest last name on the back of his jersey, supplanting ex-catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia,” reports Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times. “The team seamstress is now on the 10-day injured list with RSI.”

——

Perry also passed along this gem from Nick Canepa of the San Diego Union-Tribune after Tampa Bay QB Tom Brady threw a tantrum: “Brady broke two tablets vs. the Saints, tying the cherished 3,500-year-old world record set by Moses.”

Here’s Mike Lupica, in the New York Daily News: “Herschel Walker isn’t the one who belongs in a concussion tent. No. Anybody who’s still thinking of voting for this guy belongs in the blue tent.”

——

Lupica, again: “One more thing about Herschel. I’m really starting to worry about just the sheer logistics of what next Father’s Day are going to be like for this guy. The more you read, the more you think he hooked up with everybody except Stormy Daniels.”

There are some parts of the world of hockey that really do need to pay more attention to history and, in particular, to the people who put so much into the building of leagues and franchises. So . . . here’s hoping the decision to remove banners from the Regina Pats’ home arena is a temporary measure to accommodate the removal of dust from the rafters or some other house-cleaning item. . . . And here’s hoping, too, that there is a plan in Regina to hang more banners representing names from the Pats’ glorious past to those rafters.

Keith

JUNIOR JOTTINGS:

F Logan Stankoven, the CHL’s player of the year for 2021-22, has been returned to the Kamloops Blazers by the Dallas Stars, who selected him in the second round of the NHL’s 2021 draft. He has signed a three-year deal with the Stars. Last season, Stankoven had 104 points, including 45 goals, in 59 regular-season games, then added 17 goals and 14 assists in 17 playoff games. . . . Remember that the Blazers are to be the host team for the 2023 Memorial Cup tournament. . . . Stankoven, 19, is expected to be in the Kamloops lineup on Friday night against the host Tri-City Americans. . . . While returning Stankoven to his hometown team, the Stars kept F Wyatt Johnston, 19, who was their first pick in that 2021 NHL draft. He played the past two seasons with the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires, putting up 124 points, 46 of them goals, in 68 games last season. . . .

Meawhile, the Vancouver Giants got back F Zack Ostapchuk, their captain, from the Ottawa Senators. Ostapchuk, 19, was a second-round pick in the NHL’s 2021 draft. Last season, he had 26 goals and 17 assists in 60 regular-season games, then added 23 points, 16 of them assists, in 12 playoff games. . . . The Giants next are scheduled to play on Friday against the Brandon Wheat Kings in Langley, B.C. . . .

The Tri-City Americans, playing their home-opener, got two goals and two assists from F Jordan Gavin in beating the Edmonton Oil Kings, 7-1, on Saturday night. Gavin, from Surrey, B.C., was the second overall selection in the WHL’s 2021 draft, and has two goals and five assists in five games. He won’t turn 16 until Nov. 13. . . .

When host Kamloops dropped Victoria, 3-1, on Saturday night, it was the Blazers’ 23rd consecutive victory over the Royals. . . . Seriously! . . . The loss also left the Royals at 0-7-0, not quite the start the franchise needed. . . . Victoria is the only one of the league’s 22 teams without a victory. . . .

At the other end of the spectrum, the Portland Winterhawks and Seattle Thunderbirds remain unbeaten — the former at 5-0-0, the latter 4-0-0. They’ll go home-and-home on Nov. 4 and 5, opening in Portland and closing the series in Kent, Wash. . . . Before then, the Winterhawks are home to the Edmonton Oil Kings on Tuesday, the same night the Thunderbirds entertain the Medicine Hat Tigers. . . . According to TBird Tidbits (@TBirdTidbits), this is the first time in franchise history that the Thunderbirds have opened with four straight victories. . . . The Red Deer Rebels, meanwhile, are 5-0-0, the first time that has happened since 2000-01, according to Troy Gillard, their director of broadcasts and media.

Commas

THINKING OUT LOUD — In getting swept from a best-of-three series, the Toronto Blue Jays didn’t get even one pitch out of Jose Berrios or Yusei Kikuchi. Berrios has an average salary of US$18,714,286, while Kikuchi’s annual average is $12 million. . . . Hockey Canada didn’t make a big news dump late Friday afternoon, but Andrea Skinner, the interim chair of the board of directors, did resign on Saturday. Hey, it’s a start. . . . How come I didn’t know before Saturday evening that the Okanagan Sun has a hotshot KR/WR named Mike O’Shea, who just happens to be the son of Mike O’Shea, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ head coach? . . . BTW, the Sun just finished off a 10-0 regular season. . . . ICYMI, the Cincinnati Bengals left three points on the field Sunday night in Baltimore and lost by two to the Ravens. Could it be some of those coaches are spending too much time listening to the analytics people? Sheesh, kick the field goal!

I wish I had seen this trick on Twitter about 50 years ago. . . .

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.

Store

Broncos reveal six-figure loss for 2021-22 . . . Third straight season of red ink . . . Pats, Royals each add forward via swap shop

Neekas, Heiltsuk Territory, is located on B.C.’s central coast.

The Swift Current Broncos’ board of directors informed shareholders at the organization’s annual general meeting on Tuesday that the 2021-22 WHL SwiftCurrentseason resulted in a net loss of $349,000. . . . “The Broncos had expected to endure another challenging financial year because of the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic,” the Broncos said in a news release. “With restrictions limiting fan participation and revenue generation, the organization was required to navigate the difficult year as best as possible, and work towards positioning the club for the exciting years to come. While undesirable, the overall deficiency of revenue over expenses was better than expected, due to key support from the 2021-22 season-ticket holders, the dedicated fan base throughout the year, corporate stakeholders, government programs, and strategic cost management.” . . . The Broncos now have lost money for three straight seasons. They dropped $791,000 for 2019-20, a season that was prematurely ended by the pandemic, and $129,968 for 2020-21, a season that comprised 24 games, all played in Regina. That 2020-21 figure would have been much worse were it not for the $600,000 the Broncos got from the provincial government. . . . According to figures compiled by the WHL, the Broncos drew an average of 1,480 fans to 34 games last season, the lowest figure in the league. That was down from the 1,954 average for 32 games in 2019-20. . . . The Broncos won the WHL’s championship in 2018, but didn’t qualify for the playoffs in 2018-19 or 2021-22. There weren’t any playoffs in 2019-20 or 2020-21 because of the pandemic. . . . The Broncos play their home games in the 2,879-seat Innovation Credit Union iPlex. . . .

Four of the WHL’s 22 teams are community-owned and, as such, are required to present financial statements to shareholders at annual general meetings. The Broncos are the last of the four to hold their AGM. . . . Earlier, the Lethbridge Hurricanes announced a profit of $248,000, and the Prince Albert Raiders said they made $152,191. The Moose Jaw Warriors, meanwhile, reported a loss of $106,719.

Crypto

The Regina Pats paid a big price to bring F Sam Oremba home from the Seattle ReginaThunderbirds on Tuesday. Oremba, 17, who is eligible for the 2023 NHL draft, cost the Pats three WHL draft picks — a second-rounder in 2023, a first in 2024 and a third in 2025. . . . Regina obviously is hoping that playing in his hometown will spark Oremba’s offensive game. . . . Oremba was the seventh overall selection in the WHL’s 2020 bantam draft after putting up 133 points, including 75 goals, in 31 games with the U15 AA Regina Monarchs. . . . Last season, in 56 games with the Thunderbirds, he had four goals and 10 assists. In two games this season, he recorded two assists. . . .

Meanwhile, the Victoria Royals have five 20-year-olds on their roster — two over the limit — after acquiring F Jake Poole from the Kelowna Rockets on VictoriaRoyalsTuesday. . . . The Royals surrendered an eighth-round selection in the 2024 WHL draft in the exchange. . . . Poole, from McAuley, Man., was a sixth-round pick in the 2017 draft. He has 59 points, including 21 goals, in 124 games with Kelowna, including a goal and an assist in three games this season. . . . The Royals, in a news release, admit — with tongue planted firmly in cheek — that they will benefit from the deal simply because they won’t have to face Poole again. Last season, he totalled 14 goals and 18 assists in 48 games, with eight of the goals and 12 of the assists coming against the Royals. . . . The Royals’ other 20-year-olds are G Campbell Arnold, F Riley Gannon, D Anson McMaster and F Caleb Willms, who is out week-to-week with an undisclosed injury. . . . The Rockets show two 20-year-olds on their roster — G Talyn Boyko and F Adam Kydd. However, Boyko went to camp with the NHL’s New York Rangers and was assigned to their AHL affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack, last week. He was a fourth-round pick by the Rangers in the NHL’s 2021 draft. . . . Each of the WHL’s 22 teams is allowed to carry three 20-year-old players, with the deadline to declare arriving on Oct. 12. . . . The Royals expect to have Poole in their lineup tonight (Wednesday) when they play in Kelowna.

Costco

Mention was made here yesterday about the rough start to the existence of the junior B Ponoka Stampeders, who were trying to make a go of it in Alberta’s Heritage Junior Hockey League. . . . Well, the Twitter account Inside The HJHL (@latesthjhl) was quick to inform us that the Stampeders “have completely folded.” . . . The note added that “all stats from Ponoka games are thrown out . . . it will be a 38-game schedule this season now instead of 40 . . . no changes to divisions; six teams each now . . . no change to playoff format.”

THINKING OUT LOUD — It would be nice to see an NHL club give F Matthew Phillips a real chance. Put him on the second PP unit. Let him play in the top nine forwards. He has scored at every level, but too many NHL people only see his size — somewhere around 5-foot-7 and 140 pounds. Phillips, who had a terrific WHL career with the Victoria Royals, had 31 goals and 37 assists in 65 games last season, his fourth with the AHL’s Stockton Heat. That franchise now is the Calgary Wranglers, the Flames’ AHL affiliate, and Phillips already has been assigned there. . . . When a WHL team lists a player as being out with an “illness” are we to assume it is/isn’t COVID/19? . . . If you haven’t listened to Blackie and the Rodeo Kings, you should. . . . Hockey Canada? The reign is over; the royal court just doesn’t seem to realize it yet.

ITguy

The OHL’s Guelph Storm has a new head coach in Chad Wiseman, who moved up from associate coach with Scott Walker having left due to health concerns. . . . “In a phone interview,” Tony Saxon of guelphtoday.com, writes, “Walker made it clear that the health concerns are serious, but not critical. He said they are an extension of the health concerns that started in Vancouver when he was an assistant coach with the Canucks but had to step away, namely vertigo linked to blood pressure issues.” . . . Walker also is one of the team’s owner and serves as its president.

Josh Ciocco, an assistant coach with Merrimack College, passed away suddenly on Monday. He was 38. The school announced his death on Tuesday. . . . Ciocco, from Atco, N.J., spent three seasons (2000-03) in the BCHL, playing with the Prince George Spruce Kings (57 games), Vernon Vipers (19) and Salmon Arm Silverbacks (57). . . . He went on to play four seasons at the U of New Hampshire, captaining the team for the last two of those. . . . He was in his fifth season on Merrimack’s coaching staff. Merrimack is located in North Andover, Mass.

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.

Knee

Where did we go so wrong? . . . Are you able to help Ernie (Punch) McLean? . . . Regina’s Paddock penning quite a story

While taking time away from here to do some recharging, reflecting and, well, just re-everything, it hit me that we the people are doing a horrific job . . . just absolutely horrific.

I had always believed that one of the things foremost in our minds as we COVIDstrolled through life had to be the importance of leaving the world a better place than we found it for our children and grandchildren. Did our parents not leave us with a world that was better than it was when they came into it?

That being the case, there seems no chance of us being able to do that, what with COVID-19 continuing to run rampant; climate change occurring with frightening speed while our leaders, in business, industry and politics, refuse to act with anything close to matching urgency; the political arena having turned into a battle of us vs. them with those of different political stripes seemingly incapable of working together — but, oh my, are they good at pointing fingers! — and we won’t even get into the opioid epidemic, homelessness, mental health, the price of groceries and gasoline, and on and on . . .

Over the past few days, while pondering a lot of what is going on in our world, I got to wondering where we went wrong. If the pandemic that soon will be into its fourth year — yes, fourth! — has shown us anything it is what a horribly selfish people we have become. I don’t know where it all started but the lack of caring and respect we now hold for our neighbours is disgusting. Somehow we have decided that we won’t wear masks indoors, not even when we know that they work to protect family, friends and others. Not only that, we have decided that the elderly, the disabled, the thousands of immunocompromised who walk among us . . . all of them are expendable. Come and take them, Dr. Death. Y’er welcome!

Ed Yong, a writer with The Atlantic who has won a Pulitzer Prize for his writing on the pandemic, writes:

“Recently, after a week in which 2,789 Americans died of COVID-19, President Joe Biden proclaimed that ‘the pandemic is over.’ Anthony Fauci described the controversy around the proclamation as a matter of ‘semantics,’ but the facts we are living with can speak for themselves. COVID still kills roughly as many Americans every week as died on 9/11. It is on track to kill at least 100,000 a year — triple the typical toll of the flu. Despite gross undercounting, more than 50,000 infections are being recorded every day. The CDC estimates that 19 million adults have long COVID. Things have undoubtedly improved since the peak of the crisis, but calling the pandemic ‘over’ is like calling a fight ‘finished’ because your opponent is punching you in the ribs instead of the face.”

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As of Monday afternoon, the death toll from Hurricane Ian, which hit Florida on Wednesday, was at 101, a figure that is all over the news. Meanwhile, according to the Coronavirus Resource Center at Johns Hopkins University, there were 277 deaths attributed to COVID-19 in Florida over the past week, bringing the state’s total to 81,416 since the virus arrived on our doorstep. Hey, just saying . . .

——

Here’s more from Yong:

“In the spring of 2020, I wrote that the pandemic would last for years, and that the U.S. would need long-term strategies to control it. But America’s leaders consistently acted as if they were fighting a skirmish rather than a siege, lifting protective measures too early, and then reenacting them too slowly. They have skirted the responsibility of articulating what it would actually look like for the pandemic to be over, which has meant that whenever citizens managed to flatten the curve, the time they bought was wasted. Endemicity was equated with inaction rather than active management. This attitude removed any incentive or will to make the sort of long-term changes that would curtail the current disaster and prevent future ones. And so America has little chance of effectively countering the inevitable pandemics of the future; it cannot even focus on the one that’s ongoing.”

Read that last sentence again. Please.

Yong’s complete piece is right here, and it’s well worth your time.

ICYMI, Ringo Starr and his All Starr Band were to have opened a five-city Western Canadian tour in Winnipeg tonight (Tuesday). That won’t happen, though, because the former Beatles drummer has tested positive for COVID-19. Starr, 82, also had to call off shows scheduled for Saskatoon, Lethbridge, Abbotsford and Penticton.

FranErnie
Fran and Ernie McLean were married for 69 years. (Photo: Harold Phillipoff/Facebook)

A message from Harold Phillipoff, who played two seasons (1974-76) with the New Westminster Bruins:

“It is with heavy heart than I pass along this sad news . . . after 69 years of marriage, Fran McLean has passed away. She was always there for Ernie and ‘his boys.’

“This leaves Ernie tragically in a financial mess as the pandemic has shut down his mining business, leaving him with just his old-age benefits to pay all the bills.

“Ernie’s sons have set up a PayPal account and E-transfer account for the ‘Help Ernie McLean’ fund. The username for both accounts is PunchMclean@gmail.com.

“I would consider it a personal favour if you could share this post to your friends on Facebook and any other social media. Ernie entertained many for decades and made a huge positive impact on many lives. Let’s show him we enjoyed it and still remember him!”

“Are you ready for some . . . pickleball?” wonders Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times. “America’s fast-growing pastime is growing up — as in Major League Pickleball — with the MLP finals slated for Oct. 14-16 in Columbus, Ohio, competing for a $319,000 prize pool. The 12-team league plans to expand to 16 next year, with the likes of LeBron James and Drew Brees buying in. Now it’s just a TV contract and a steroids scandal away from official major-league status.”

——

Perry, again: “Nets guard Kyrie Irving says he turned down a four-year, $100 million-plus extension a year ago because he wanted to remain unvaccinated. Apparently it was a one-shot deal.”

Mead1

The Ponoka Stampeders are a first-year junior B team trying to find their way in Alberta’s Heritage Junior Hockey League. So far they have lost by scores of 25-1, 20-0, 23-1, 30-0 and 27-1. Yes, they continue to look for players, so if you’re of junior age and looking for ice time, you may want to check them out. . . . NOTE: A late night advisory from the Twitter account Inside the HJHL (@latesthjhl) informs that the Stampeders have folded.

If this headline — COVID, cancer can’t conquer Pats’ Paddock — can’t entice you to read a story, I can’t imagine what might do the trick. Rob Vanstone of the Regina Leader-Post recently visited with John Paddock, 68. He is coming off a season in which he stepped in as the Pats’ head coach and beat back COVID-19, something he couldn’t avoid after treatment for lymphoma left him immunocompromised. “I got sick,” Paddock told Vanstone, “and then got really sick.” Of course, what COVID-19 and lymphoma didn’t take into account is that Paddock has coaching in his blood. So the Pats’ vice-president of hockey operations and general manager also is back as the team’s head coach. . . . Vanstone’s story is right here.

Dumb

It’s early in the WHL’s regular season and the weather has been anything but hockey-like. However, you are free to wonder whether the WHL has some cracks showing when it comes to attendance.

Unfortunately, the WHL continues to have teams play afternoon games after having played the previous night, which is what happened to the Regina Pats — and F Connor Bedard — on Sunday. They dropped a 4-2 decision to the Rebels before an announced crowd of 4,806 in Red Deer on Saturday night, then were beaten, 7-3, by the Hitmen on Sunday afternoon.

Meanwhile, the Prince George Cougars have played four home games — two each against the Tri-City Americans and Kelowna Rockets — and have had announced crowds of 2,497, 2,018, 2,008 and 1,937, in that order.

Regan Bartel, the radio voice of the Kelowna Rockets, couldn’t take it anymore so he chewed a bit on the legs of the Prince George citizenry the other day. If you haven’t seen it, it’s right here.

——

BTW, if you haven’t seen the ceremonial faceoff prior to the game between Regina and Calgary on Sunday, it’s worth a head-shaking look . . .

Dogcat

JUNIOR JOTTINGS:

Stewart Kemp, the president of the Portland Winterhawks Booster Club, reports that it’s full-speed ahead for the trek east early in January. The deadline to register passed with 28 people having signed on for the 10-day jaunt that will include games in Brandon, Winnipeg, Prince Albert, Saskatoon, Moose Jaw and Regina. The contingent is to include two ladies who are 96 (Ardyce) and 94 (Neree), and who have been making these trips since Kemp took over as president in 2010. “They,” Kemp reports, “are the most enthusiastic to go. They wouldn’t miss this for the world.” . . . Then, he adds, “Oh, this is going to be fun, but really cold!” . . . Manitoba and Saskatchewan cold during the first two weeks of January? Nah. . . .

Jeff Dubois, the commissioner of the junior B Kootenay International Junior Hockey League, signed a five-year contract extension the other day. It will take him through the 2027-28 season. Dubois has been the commissioner since March 2020. . . .

Bruce Luebke, who had been the radio voice of the Brandon Wheat Kings for more than 20 years, has been acclaimed for a second term as a member of Brandon City Council. Luebke called his first Wheat Kings game in 1993-94. He and radio station CKLQ parted company in July 2016. . . . Civic elections in Manitoba are scheduled for Oct. 26. . . .

THINKING OUT LOUD — As the host Green Bay Packers were locked in a battle with the New England Patriots on Sunday, the U of Wisconsin fired its head football coach, Paul Chryst. Now that’s a smooth PR move. . . . Took a drive to Vernon and back on Monday afternoon. I am here to report that the price of gas kissing $2 a litre in B.C.’s southern interior isn’t keeping people off the road. . . . The Los Angeles Dodgers went into Monday’s games with a run-differential of plus-333. They also have some pitchers. Let’s just give them the World Series title and get on with life.

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.

Kermy

Hasek speaking out against Russian invasion . . . Clouston: Pats ‘going to try to add’ . . . TWU adds Beach as assistant coach

As another hockey season arrives and dictator Vladimir Putin’s Russia continues its war on Ukraine, the impact, or lack of same, on professional hockey hasn’t been much of a story.

But former NHL goaltender Dominik Hasek is working to get it into the headlines.

Here’s a chunk from Ken Campbell of Hockey Unfiltered:

More than a decade after his Hall of Fame career, Hasek has not stopped taking the road less travelled. He’s one of the very few athletes, past or present, who has the courage to speak out against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, saying Russian NHLers should be suspended and Czech players should be barred from playing in the KHL, the league in which he played in the final season of his career. He also thinks that the government in Czechia should bar any Russians playing for the Nashville Predators (winger Yakov Trenin) and San Jose Sharks (wingers Alexander Barbanov and Evgeni Svechnikov) from playing in Prague when the two teams kick off the NHL’s regular season there Oct. 7 and 8.

“It will be a beautiful hockey celebration,” Hasek told Hockey Unfiltered in a telephone interview. “At the same time, however, I am doing everything to ensure that no Russian players can play here and that they cannot make multimillion-dollar advertisements for Russia and its war and killings in Ukraine.”

Hasek also has thoughts on Russians playing in the NHL. Campbell writes: “Hasek believes all Russian-born NHL players should be suspended by the NHL, with the suspensions lifted only if and when they denounce Russia’s actions.”

Of course, there are people in the hockey community who don’t agree with Hasek.

If you haven’t already, you should hunt up Campbell’s Hockey Unfiltered site and check out stories like this one.

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Are you waiting for the Regina Pats to trade F Connor Bedard, who is the favourite to be the No. 1 selection in the NHL’s 2023 draft? Well, perhaps you Reginashouldn’t be holding your breath. In fact, what if the Pats are working to add to their roster in the hopes of making a run this season? . . . The Kamloops Blazers will be the host team for the 2023 Memorial Cup and there has been ample speculation that they are eager to land Bedard. Shaun Clouston, the Blazers’ general manager and head coach, isn’t so sure that Bedard will come available. “I think Regina is going to evaluate things,” Clouston told Marty Hastings of Kamloops This Week. “The information we have is they’re not trading him right now. They believe they have a generational-type player and they’re going to try to add. So, right now, that’s the direction they’re going and I guess time will tell if they’re able to get to a place where they feel confident kind of going all-in at some point with Connor Bedard as the centrepiece or whether they change that mindset. But that, right now, from our understanding, is their mindset They’re looking to add right now.” . . . Hastings’ complete story is right here.

Cotton

The Medicine Hat Tigers have added F Alex Drover, 20, to their roster. Drover, from Port-aux-Basques, Nfld., spent the previous four seasons in the QMJHL. MedicineHatHe played with the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles, Saint John Sea Dogs and Rimouski Oceanic, totalling 29 goals and 48 assists in 178 regular-season games. Last season, he put up 37 points, including 14 goals, in 44 games with Rimouski. . . . Drover is one of four 20-year-olds in camp with the Tigers, the others being F Brendan Lee, F Dallon Melin and Finnish F Oskari Kuntonen, who was selected by Medicine Hat in the CHL’s 2020 import draft. Last season, he had six goals and 20 assists in 24 games with KooKoo’s U20 side. Melin is coming off four seasons with the Red Deer Rebels; he had 11 goals and 13 assist in 67 games in 2021-22. Lee was acquired from the Saskatoon Blades last season; he finished with 10 goals and 11 assists in 52 games, 22 of them with the Tigers. . . . Melin had two assists Friday in a 6-3 victory over the host Swift Current Broncos. Lee had one assist; Drover was pointless.

WillieNelson

Ann Killion of the San Francisco Chronicle, on the retirement announcement from tennis great Roger Federer:

“Once a teenage brat who would throw his racket on the court, Federer grew up and evolved and became the definition of class and sportsmanship.

“He was doing that in an era of what often seemed relentlessly boorish and unbecoming behavior by professional athletes. When star athletes too often seemed to do something to let their public down, to embarrass themselves or to fail to understand the privilege and position they have.

“Federer never did that. In a modern era of scrutiny and social media, he was a safe harbor.”

The Tofino Resort and Marina, on the west coast of Vancouver Island, is owned by a group that includes retired NHLers Willie Mitchell and Dan Hamhuis. The latter also is one of the six men who own the WHL’s Prince George Cougars. . . . Something happened at the resort on Sunday night that has resulted in a management change, the closure of the place for a week or so, and a whole lot of speculation as to what caused it all. . . . Patrick Johnston of Postmedia has that story right here.

THINKING OUT LOUD — F Nick Suzuki may have been given the captain’s ‘C’ this week, but isn’t F Brendan Gallagher really the captain? Gallagher is one of those players who doesn’t need the ‘C’ to be the captain. . . . If F Connor Bedard really is a generational talent — and all signs point to that being an accurate evaluation — how would the Regina Pats explain it to their fans were they to trade him away? . . . There looked to be a lot of empty seats at Mosaic Stadium on Friday night, but the ticket holders who did show up didn’t hesitate to let their feelings be known as their favourites dropped a 26-24 decision to the Edmonton Elks. Yes, it was ugly. . . . The Roughriders are 3-5 at home. They once were 3-0. Whoops!

THE COACHING GAME:

Former WHL F Kyle Beach has joined the Trinity Western U Spartans of the B.C. Intercollegiate Hockey League as an assistant coach. . . . From Ian Kennedy of The Hockey News: “Last fall, Beach made headlines stepping forward as ‘John Doe’ in a case in which Beach was sexually assaulted by Chicago Blackhawks video coach Brad Aldrich during the 2009-10 season. The case made international news headlines, and eventually resulted in a confidential settlement between the Blackhawks and Beach made in December of 2021.” . . . Beach, 32, is from Kelowna. He played in the WHL with the Everett Silvertips, Lethbridge Hurricanes and Spokane Chiefs (2005-10). . . . Beach and TWU head coach Ben Walter, who is in his first season, were teammates with EC Salzburg in Austria’s EBEL and won championships together in 2015 and 2016. . . . Beach spent the past two seasons with the Ten Art BlackDragons in Austria, playing in Germany’s Oberliga. In those two seasons, he totalled 110 points, including 58 goals, in 68 games.

Shifter

JUNIOR JOTTINGS:

Gino De Paoli is the new play-by-play voice of the WHL’s Medicine Hat Tigers. The team made the announcement on Friday, three days after he announced he was leaving the AJHL’s Okotoks Oilers. He had been the voice of the Oilers for 11 seasons. . . . Scott Roblin handled the Tigers’ play-by-play on CHAT last season after Bob Ridley, the only radio voice the team had known since it entered the WHL for the 1970-71 season, took time off for health-related reasons. . . . Roblin left Medicine Hat over the summer and now is covering sports for Global TV in Saskatoon. . . .

Kevin Kaminski, the general manager and head coach of the SJHL’s La Ronge Ice Wolves, begins the regular season by starting a 10-game suspension. From the Ice Wolves: “The suspension is the result of reports received by the league after the final playoff game of last season that was played March 27. The sanction is under appeal but until this is finalized, we will comply with the suspension and assistant coach Kyle Schneider will lead the bench.” . . . Playing at home on March 27, the Ice Wolves dropped a 5-3 decision to the Humboldt Broncos in Game 6. The Broncos won the series, 4-2. . . . The Ice Wolves opened their regular season on Friday night with a 7-4 victory over the visiting Nipawin Hawks.

Sales

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.

Milkshake

Raiders make money in 2021-22 . . . Americans may not see Luypen until 2023 . . . Lazaruk back for 29th season in Saskatoon

The Prince Albert Raiders told shareholders at their annual general meeting on Wednesday night that they had a profit of $152,191 for their 2021-22 fiscal year.

That is a considerable increase from 2020-21, a season that was shortened PrinceAlbertconsiderably by the pandemic. That season, which for East Division clubs featured 24 games and was played entirely in Regina, the Raiders showed a profit of $25,891. However, that included $1,081,179 in government grants, $600,000 of that from the Saskatchewan government.

“From the start of the (2021-22) regular season,” the team said in a news release last night, “the Raiders saw a large number of ticket sales, with the primary reason being it was the first time that the team had played at the Art Hauser Centre since March 6, 2020. The organization also saw a large uptick in promotions, fundraising and advertising, thanks to the ability to host events inside the rink.”

The Raiders’ news release included only three paragraphs on the AGM.

In 2019-20, a season that was halted by the pandemic in March before the regular season was completed, the Raiders lost $331,895. That followed a 2018-19 season in which they won the WHL championship and showed a profit of $633,314.

Four of the WHL’s 22 teams are owned by local shareholders and as such are required to present profit-loss statements at annual general meetings.

The Lethbridge Hurricanes have scheduled their AGM for Sept. 19, with the Moose Jaw Warriors going on Sept. 20 and the Swift Current Broncos on Oct. 4.

The WHL’s other 18 teams all are privately owned.

The Tri-City Americans, looking to add some experience and some offence to their lineup, acquired F Jalen Luypen, 20, from the Edmonton Oil Kings on Aug. Tri-City9. The Americans also got two conditional WHL draft picks — a fifth-rounder in 2024 and a second in 2026 — while giving up F Rhett Melnyk, 18, D Bryson Andregg, 19, and a conditional 2023 second-round selection. . . . Luypen had been picked by the Chicago Blackhawks in the seventh round of the NHL’s 2021 draft and he signed a three-year entry-level deal earlier this summer. . . . But now comes the bad news. Luypen apparently suffered an injury to his left shoulder during last spring’s playoffs and tried to play through it as the Oil Kings made their run to the Memorial Cup. In the end, however, he needed more than offseason rehab, and he now has undergone rotator cuff surgery. The Blackhawks have said that he will be out for up to 18 weeks, which means he won’t be available to the Americans until after Christmas. . . . As a 20-year-old, Luypen is eligible to play in the AHL this season, but one would think the Blackhawks would much prefer him to play with the Americans once he has recovered from the surgery. . . .

Meanwhile, it will be interesting to see if the Americans and Oil Kings end up Edmontonrenegotiating any parts of what was an intricate deal. . . . As reported by Alan Caldwell shortly after the deal, here are the original conditions: Edmonton gets the 2023 second if Luypen comes back from the pros by Nov. 15. If he returns after Nov 15 but before Jan 10, it becomes a 2023 third-round pick instead. If he does not return to the WHL this year, Edmonton doesn’t get a 2023 pick at all, and Tri-City gets the Edmonton 2026 second-round pick. The 2024 pick is tied to the 2023 pick — if Edmonton gets Tri-City’s 2023 second, then Tri-City gets Edmonton’s 2024 fifth-round pick. If Edmonton gets the 2023 third-rounder instead, then Tri-City gets the 2024 sixth-rounder instead. . . .

Last season, Luypen put up 64 points, 29 of them goals, in 66 regular-season games. He added four goals and nine assist in nine playoff games as the Oil Kings won the WHL title. He followed that up with a goal and two assists in three Memorial Cup games.

Potholes

There was good — nay, great — news for fans of the WHL and, in particular, the SaskatoonSaskatoon Blades on Tuesday. That’s when Les Lazaruk revealed that he hasn’t retired, nor has he moved on to another job. Yes, he will be back for a 29th season of calling Blades’ games. . . . Lazaruk tweeted that he “did pursue a job opportunity,” but was told on Monday that he wasn’t going to be offered that position. . . . “I may be 63 years old,” he added, “but doing Blades hockey play-by-play makes me feel more like 36!” . . . You likely wouldn’t be wrong if you guessed that Lazaruk had interviewed for the play-by-play opening that TSN has on the TV crew that covers the NHL’s Winnipeg Jets. There has yet to be an announcement on who will replace Dennis Beyak, who has retired from the spot he held since 2011.

The Regina Pats erased a 2-0 deficit and beat the Swift Broncos, 4-2, in an exhibition game played in Estevan, Sask., on Tuesday night. The Pats, who got two goals from F Connor Bedard, hung around after the game to sign some autographs and visit with the fans.

Fan

THE COACHING GAME:

The Portland Winterhawks have hired Brendan Burke, one of their former goaltenders, as assistant goaltending coach. Burke, 32, will work with goaltending coach Andy Moog “to assist in the development of Winterhawks goalies and prospects,” according to a news release. . . . Burke, who is from Scottsdale, lives in the Phoenix area and also works as the goaltending director with the Jr. Coyotes program. . . . Burke spent four seasons (2011-15) with the Winterhawks, then played his 20-year-old season with the OHL’s London Knights. And think about this — he won a WHL title with the Winterhawks (2013), an OHL title and a Memorial Cup championship with the Knights (2016), and three Canada West titles and a national championship with the U of Alberta Golden Bears. . . .

The NHL’s Calgary Flames have added Rebecca Johnston, a three-time Olympic gold medal-winner with the Canadian women’s team, as a full-time member of their organization. According to the Flames, Johnston, 32, “will work within the player development team, assisting in prospect evaluations and on-ice instruction and work with (the Flames Foundation) in grassroots, growing (hockey) in our community.” . . . You may have heard of her uncle — Mike Johnston is the vice-president, general manager and head coach of the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks. . . .

The QMJHL’s Charlottetown Islanders have signed general manager and head coach Jim Hulton to a three-year contract. Hulton has been the QMJHL’s coach of the year each of the past two seasons; he was the CHL coach of the year last season. He is going into his eighth season as the Islanders’ head coach and his seventh as GM. . . . Guy Girouard, Charlottetown’s assistant GM and associate coach, signed a two-year deal, as did assistant coach Kevin Henderson, equipment manager Andrew (Spider) MacNeill and athletic therapist Devin Atkin. . . .

Former WHL F Dane Byers has joined the Prince Albert Mintos of the Saskatchewan Male AAA Hockey League as an assistant coach. Byers, 36, is from Nipawin, Sask. He played four seasons (2002-06) with the Raiders before going on to a pro career that concluded after the 2018-19 season. He spent the last four seasons in Europe. . . . With the Mintos, he’ll be working alongside Tim Leonard, who is into his second season of his second stint as the Mintos’ head coach. another former WHLer, is the Mintos’ head coach. He was the head coach from 2002-12 before joining the Raiders for two seasons as an assistant coach. . . .

The junior B Kimberley Dynamiters of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League have signed Derek Stuart, their general manager and head coach, to a five-year contract extension that will take him through the 2026-27 season. . . . Stuart has been with the Dynamiters since May 9, 2016.

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.

Minivan