February 6, 2024
The Western Canada Professional Hockey Scouts Foundation will be honouring someone close to the scouting fraternity with the Ace Award.
The foundation announced today that the Ace Award, in honour of the late Garnet (Ace) Bailey, will be presented annually to a member of the scouting fraternity or someone involved with the scouting community for contributions above and beyond what may have been expected.
The first recipient will be honoured at the Foundation’s inaugural Wall of Honour banquet that is scheduled for Okotoks, Alta., on July 29.
Glen Sather, who had a long association with Bailey while both were in the
Edmonton Oilers’ organization, will make the presentation. Sather, now a senior advisor and alternate governor with the New York Rangers, also will speak to the induction of former Edmonton scouts Lorne Davis, Barry Fraser and Kevin Prendergast into the Foundation’s Wall of Honour.
Sather was the head coach of the WHA’s Oilers in 1978-79; Bailey played 38 games for the Oilers that season. Bailey later was a pro scout for the NHL Oilers for 13 seasons (1981-94), while Sather was president, GM and head coach.
Bailey, a native of Lloydminster, Sask., was a former NHL player who had a 20-year scouting career, split between the Oilers and Los Angeles Kings. He was the Kings’ director of pro scouting when he died aboard the plane that crashed into the South Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City on Sept. 11, 2001. He was 53.
“There are a lot of people inside and outside the scouting community who go above and beyond to not only do the job but assist in ways that make the job a lot easier,” said Foundation president Erin Ginnell. “We want to honour those people and who better to name such an award after than Ace Bailey?
“Ace went above and beyond not only at the rink but also away from the game. He gave the ultimate sacrifice to the job on 9/11 and we’d like to honour him for that and who he was, not only as a scout but as the person he was.”
Bailey’s playing career included 568 regular-season NHL games over 10 seasons split between the Boston Bruins, Detroit Red Wings, St. Louis Blues and Washington Capitals. He also played one season with the WHA’s Oilers when his roommate on the road was a freshman centre named Wayne Gretzky.
“He reminded me so much of my dad,” Gretzky told The Athletic’s Dan Robson on the 20th anniversary of Bailey’s death. “He was like my best friend. Like a brother. My second dad.”
Bailey won two Stanley Cups as a player (Bruins, 1970, 1972) and five while scouting with the Oilers (1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1990). He also won a Memorial Cup (1966) with the Edmonton Oil Kings.
He joined Edmonton’s scouting staff in 1981, then moved to the Kings in 1994. He had been their director of pro scouting for seven years.
Since its formation more than a year ago, the Foundation has been working to make the Ace Award a big part of its platform.
“Ace enjoyed spending time with his hockey scout family,” his widow, Kathy, said. “I’m sure he would be honoured to know that the award will be presented in his name.”
The Bailey family has kept his name alive through Ace’s Place, a playroom at Tufts Children Hospital in Boston.
“Kathy Bailey wanted her husband to be remembered for the heart he had for others — especially children,” Robson wrote. “He was the one with the hilarious Daffy Duck impressions, which always amused his nieces and nephews. He was Santa Claus at Christmas and the Easter Bunny each spring. He visited sick children often during his days as a beloved member of the Bruins.”
There also is an Ace’s Place in the paediatric emergency room at Tufts.
Bailey also was immensely popular throughout the scouting fraternity.
“Ace was undoubtedly one of the most popular individuals within our fraternity during his years of scouting at the NHL level,” said Garth Malarchuk, the chairman of the Foundation’s board of directors. “He was very respected for his accomplishments and successes within the hockey world. There was always lots of humour and laughter when Ace was around; he was such a fun person to be around.
“No question that it tore a piece out of everyone who knew Ace on the day we lost him during the terrorist attacks. That was a sad, sad day and a tragic loss.”
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The Western Canada Professional Hockey Scouts Foundation in a non-profit organization comprising NHL scouts from Western Canada and a group of committed individuals from the hockey community. It feels a strong obligation to honour scouts, past and present, and a commitment to give back to charities, communities and individuals who could benefit from the support and financial assistance.
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Erin Ginnell, WCPHSF president
eginnell@vegasgoldenknights.com
Garth Malarchuk, WCPHSF chairman of the board
gmalarchuk@torontomapleleafs.com
Gregg Drinnan, WCPHSF editor and historian
greggdrinnan@gmail.com
Stockton, Calif., to Calgary. . . . The AHL announced on Monday that its board of governors has approved the relocation of the franchise in time for next season. . . . With the exception of the 2020-21 season that was impacted by the pandemic, the Heat had been in Stockton since 2015. . . . The Flames and Heat are owned by the Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corp., which also owns the WHL’s Calgary Hitmen and the National Lacrosse League’s Calgary Roughnecks. . . . All four teams play out of the Scotiabank Saddledome. . . . “At this point,” wrote Danny Austin of the Calgary Sun, “it remains unclear whether the Heat will play at the Scotiabank Saddledome. It’s already a busy rink, so one of the CSEC tenants may need to move.” . . . Former WHL player and coach Mitch Love is the Heat’s head coach and has them in the third round of the AHL playoffs. They opened a best-of-five Pacific Division final against the visiting Colorado Eagles on Monday night. The Heat won that game, 5-0, behind 23 saves from G Dustin Wolf and two goals from F Justin Kirkland.
After taking Sunday off, the WHL playoffs resumed on Monday night with the Winnipeg Ice meeting the Oil Kings in Edmonton in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference final. They will play Game 4 in Edmonton on Wednesday and Game 5 there on Friday. . . . The Western Conference final will be back on the ice tonight with the Kamloops Blazers and Seattle Thunderbirds tied, 1-1, in Kent, Wash.
55-21 edge in shots, have a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven conference final. . . . They’ll play Games 4 and 5 in Edmonton on Wednesday and Friday. Because of the distance between the cities, this series is following a 2-3-2 format. . . . This was the second game in the series to be decided in OT; the Oil Kings won Game 1, 5-4, in Winnipeg on Friday. F Tyler Horstmann scored the winner at 1:07 of the first OT period. . . . Last night, the teams were tied 1-1 after the first period for the third time in as many games. . . . The home side went ahead 1-0 when F Dylan Guenther (12) struck at 14:28, with F Jack Finley (7) pulling Winnipeg even, on a PP, at 18:02. . . . The Oil Kings went back in front at 2:12 of the second period when D Kaiden Guhle (4) scored. . . . The visitors scored a pair of third-period goals — by F Connor McLennon (7), at 9:00, and F Zach Benson (9), at 16:14 — to take a 3-2 lead. . . . But Edmonton F Jayden Luypen (4) tipped in a Guhle shot at 18:42 to force extra time. . . . Sourdif scored the winner off a rush through the neutral zone. He split two defencemen at the top of the circles in the Ice zone and sent in to beat G Gage Alexander at 8:04 of OT. . . . F Jake Neighbours, Edmonton’s captain, drew an assist on each of his club’s last two goals. . . . Alexander finished with 51 saves, 33 more than Edmonton’s Sebastian Cossa. . . . Winnipeg was 1-for-2 on the PP; Edmonton was 0-for-4. . . . The Oil Kings were without F Jaxsen Wiebe, who also will sit out Game 4. He was suspended for two games after being tossed from Game 2 for a headshot on Winnipeg D Max Streule, who wasn’t injured on the play. . . . Winnipeg had McClennon in the lineup, but F Matt Savoie was scratched with an undisclosed injury. Neither player finished Game 2. . . . The Ice had to scratch F Owen Pederson, who drew a one-game suspension under supplemental discipline for high-sticking D Luke Prokop. Pederson was given a double minor on the play at 17:25 of the first period.
has received government approval to resume its season. Specific dates apparently haven’t yet been set, but the league said training camps are to open “at the start of March” with games to begin at some point after that. If all goes well, games will be played on weekends through the end of May. . . . The news release didn’t mention a format but there have been reports that teams play be placed in three-game cohorts and play 24 games. . . . The league says that “players, coaches and support staff are currently self-isolating in preparation” for training camps. Players will be free to move on to camps after two negative tests. After that, a positive test will sideline a team for at least 14 days. . . . At this point, there won’t be any fans allowed to attend games. . . . The last line of the AJHL news release reads: “An update league schedule and a list of participating teams will be announced shortly.” By Saturday afternoon there was speculation that as many as three teams may opt out
the next while, the BCHL revealed that “multiple members” of the Prince George Spruce Kings have tested positive. . . . “At this point,” the BCHL news release reads, “the affected team members and all close contacts have been placed in a 14-day quarantine and anyone showing symptoms will be tested as soon as possible.” . . . The BCHL closed off with: “For the privacy of the people affected, we will have no further comment at this time.” . . . Brendan Pawliw of 
TAKING NOTE 