Ferris Backmeyer continues to smile through her days as she enjoys the latest chapter in what has been a short life full of ups and downs . . . mostly the latter.
Ferris, 6, is from Kamloops and, if you’re new to her story, she underwent her second kidney transplant overnight on June 29 at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto.
She has battled kidney disease for most of her life and actually underwent a kidney transplant on March 6, 2021, at BC Children’s Hospital in Vancouver. However, there were complications and the new kidney had to be removed shortly after having been put in place.
Having travelled a whole lot of rough road, the Backmeyer family found itself in Toronto last month and it is nothing short of amazing to read what they are going through these days.
“Well,” mother Lindsey wrote on Sunday night, “I’d a never dreamed that just a few weeks post-op we’d have witnessed so many miracles . . . but here we are!”
It really does a heart good to read Lindsey’s writings and musings these days because of the positive vibe emanating from them. This is a family — including father Pat and daughters Tavia, 11, and Ksenia, 9 — that has been conditioned to expect the worst when it comes to the youngest member of their group.
These days, though, it’s an entirely different story.
“It’s been incredible to watch,” Lindsey added. “She’s the same sweet girl but just feels so much better. She’s had zero complaints of pain. She’s happy. She’s hungry. She’s got really good energy levels. She wakes up before us now and wakes me with face tickles. It’s just been such a treat to witness. I can’t wait until her sisters and grandma get back so they can see it, too!”
Tavia and Ksenia along with Lindsey’s mother have been in California for a few days, visiting with an aunt and uncle.
Meanwhile, back in Toronto, the waiting game continues. Keep in mind that the Backmeyers left their Kamloops home early in March as they moved to Vancouver because Ferris had to be transitioned from peritoneal dialysis to hemodialysis, the former having become mostly ineffective.
At that time, they had planned to head for Toronto with a transplant scheduled for April 25. However, a phone call on April 19 put the kibosh on that. But a new date was quickly settled on and the family headed to Toronto for the transplant. Now, with all of that behind them, it’s a matter of taking one day at a time . . .
“Our only appointment last week after getting discharged went fairly well,” Lindsey related. “Her fluid collection that was seen on the kidney has grown a bit in size. They will continue to watch it and she has another ultrasound this week. They are keeping us here until they are more confident no further surgical interventions will be required.
“I’m hopeful that we will be back in B.C. by mid-August at the latest!! Until then, hoping for a lot more boring hospital days and cramming in some more summer fun!”
Being back in B.C. will mean a return to Vancouver and the familiar surroundings of Ronald McDonald House and BC Children’s Hospital. If all goes well there — and, really, given the last couple of weeks, why shouldn’t it? — the Backmeyers could be back in their Kamloops home shortly after that.
Here’s hoping that they get there soon.
The BCHL, which left the Hockey Canada umbrella earlier this summer, thinks that its on-ice officials should be allowed to work in games sanctioned by Hockey Canada and BC Hockey. . . . BC Hockey says that isn’t going to happen. Cam Hope, BC Hockey’s CEO, put it this way: “The non-sanctioned policy has been in place for a long time. Leagues that have operated outside the system (have) always known that they were doing things like putting officials in a difficult spot by leaving sanctioned hockey.” . . . Steve Ewen of Postmedia has the latest on this peeing contest right here.
JUNIOR JOTTINGS:
D E.J. Emery, a third-round selection by the Saskatoon Blades in the WHL’s 2021 draft, has committed to the U of North Dakota beginning with the 2024-25 season. He is seen as a potential first-round selection in the NHL’s 2024 draft. . . . Emery played last season for the U.S. U-17 team. Born in Surrey, B.C., he played at the Yale Academy in Abbotsford before moving into the U.S. National Team Development Program. . . . Emery’s father, Eric, is an American who played linebacker in the CFL for the B.C. Lions, Calgary Stampeders and Ottawa Rough Riders (1985-87). . . .
The Kamloops Blazers have added Rebecca Kuresh to their staff as athletic therapist. Kuresh spent the past two seasons with the AJHL’s Canmore Eagles. Before that, she was with the AJHL’s Drumheller Dragons for three seasons. A native of Calgary, she will work alongside Colin Robinson, the Blazers’ longtime athletic trainer and equipment manager. . . . Kuresh takes over from Morris Boyer, who was with the Blazers for one season.
THE COACHING GAME:
The Prince George Cougars have signed Jim Playfair as their associate coach, replacing Josh Dixon who left to take over as head coach of the U of Guelph Gryphons men’s hockey team. . . . Playfair is from Fort St. James, B.C., and was a part-time coach with the Cougars for part of last season. . . . He has extensive coaching experience, including 15 seasons as a head coach or associate coach in the NHL. He also has coached in the AHL, IHL and ECHL. . . . His playing experience included time with the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks and Calgary Wranglers. He won a WHL championship (1982) and a Memorial Cup (1983) with Portland. . . . The Cougars’ news release is right here. . . .
The OHL’s Kitchener Rangers have hired Jussi Ahokas, a native of Finland, as their head coach. Ahokas, 42, has been coaching in Europe for 20 years. He made stops in Germany (Deutsche Eishockey Liga — DEL), Finland (Finnish Elite League — Liiga), Sweden (Swedish Hockey League — SHL), and Switzerland (National League — NL). . . . Under his guidance as head coach, Finland won the 2019 IIHF World Junior Championship gold medal in Vancouver and the 2016 IIHF U-18 World Championship in Grand Forks, N.D. . . . For the past four seasons, he has been coaching Finland’s Liiga, first with Turku TPS and most recently with Kouvola KooKoo. . . . The Rangers fired head coach Chris Dennis on Feb. 10 with general manager Mike McKenzie and assistant coaches Dennis Wideman, Brandon Merli and Brennan Menard taking over to finish the season. . . .
Jerrod Smith is the new head coach of the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires. He has been on the Spitfires’ coaching staff since joining as video coach in 2011. He was an assistant coach from 2013-18 and associate coach for two seasons after that. For the past two seasons, he also has been director of player personnel. . . . He takes over as head coach from Marc Savard, who left to join the NHL’s Calgary Flames as an assistant coach. . . .
Jim Midgley has returned to the QMJHL’s Halifax Mooseheads as head coach. . . . He replaces Sylvain Favreau, who left the organization last month. . . . Midgley spent six seasons (2011-17) as an assistant coach in Halifax and one season (2017-18) as head coach. He was an assistant coach when the Mooseheads won the 2013 Memorial Cup. . . . Midgley spent the past two seasons as an assistant coach with the NHL’s New York Rangers. . . . Brad MacKenzie and Liam Heelis are returning as the Mooseheads’ assistant coaches. . . .
The OHL’s Mississauga Steelheads and general manager/head coach James Richmond have agreed on a contract extension that, according to a news release, is to “carry through to the 2029-30 season.” . . . The Steelheads are 194-164-42 during Richmond’s time with them. . . .
The AJHL’s Fort McMurray Oil Barons have promoted Sara Diamond to full-time assistant coach. She also will continue as the team’s skating and skills coach, a role she started in last season. . . . With the Oil Barons, the native of Bonavista, Nfld., will work alongside general manager/head coach Adam Manah.
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.
seasons, but they now have purchased the Winnipeg Ice and have moved the franchise to the Washington city. . . . The Wild announced on Thursday that Chris Clark, who was the head coach of the BCHL team, will remain with the organization as assistant general manager and associate head coach. He has been with the Wild for all 15 years of its existence. . . . The Wild also is keeping Leigh Mendelson as director of scouting and Jarrod Boman is staying in a hockey operations role. . . . The Wild is looking for an athletic therapist and an equipment manager, with Pepe Sandoval staying on as an assistant to both positions. . . . Mendelson has been with the Wild for six years. His extensive background includes one season (2008-09) as an assistant coach with the WHL’s Spokane Chiefs. . . . On Thursday, the Wild posted this on Twitter: “With the news of our staff updates this morning, we are continuing to hunt for the right head coach and an additional assistant coach to lead us into the WHL era. All resumes can be mailed to our general manager at 
Robison, the WHL commissioner who is heading into his final season, and some members of the media on Thursday. . . . Asked what the WHL could learn from what happened in Winnipeg where the Ice’s owners weren’t able to build a promised arena, Robison responded: “That scenario was really all about the facility. In our league we have very clear requirements for facility standards and if those standards aren’t met then we have to look at alternate locations. In this particular case, we probably should have had a more firm commitment on the facility as far as construction underway, that type of thing, to make sure that we didn’t encounter the challenges we did. It’s just unfortunate that we didn’t get to a position where we had a facility . . . in Winnipeg to play in because we obviously value that market extremely high, but without that the viability of that franchise in that market just didn’t make sense to us.” . . . The complete session is available on the WHL’s website.
Hockey to have its status upgraded to junior A. The league reached the decision at its annual general meeting in Sicamous on Saturday and went public with the move on Thursday. . . . The 20-team KIJHL features 19 teams in B.C., and one, the Spokane Braves, in the U.S. . . . B.C. doesn’t have a junior A league with the decision by the BCHL to operate as an outlaw league — that sounds better than independent, doesn’t it? — outside of Hockey Canada. . . . From a KIJHL news release: “The KIJHL’s application to BC Hockey was submitted after an exhaustive consultation process with the league’s minor hockey partners that resulted in letters of support from all four of the regional minor hockey districts in which KIJHL teams operate, as well as 19 separate minor hockey associations.” . . . Brett Holt of the Columbia Valley Rockets, who is the chairman of the KIJHL’s board, offered: “We’re looking forward to further dialogue with BC Hockey on our application and our desire to further the growth of grassroots junior hockey in our province, and ultimately a vote by their Board.” . . . The KIJHL news release is 
teams buying and the bottom ones selling. But never have we seen the buyers so willing to part with rather large packages of draft picks.
Winterhawks, weighed in with some thoughts on what went down at the trade deadline and in which direction things may be moving:
gold at the World Junior Championship in Halifax, moved from the Kingston Frontenacs to the Windsor Spitfires may well be a sign of things to come to the WHL. . . . The Spitfires surrendered two players, five draft picks and two conditional picks in that exchange. The interesting thing is that not one of those seven draft picks originated with Windsor.
Sunday’s craziness and with the WHL’s deadline now only hours away.
Mason Ward, 20, moving to the Broncos for Kayden Sadhra-Kang, 19. . . . The Wheat Kings acquired Ward from the Red Deer Rebels prior to the 2021-22 season. From Lloydminster, the 6-foot-5 Ward had four goals and six assists in 38 games with Brandon this season. . . . The 6-foot-4 Sakhra-Kang, from Richmond, B.C., was acquired by Swift Current from the Lethbridge Hurricanes early last season. In 90 games with the Broncos, he had four goals and 19 assists. . . . 
got D Ethan Peters, 19, from the Edmonton Oil Kings for a second-round pick in the WHL’s 2025 draft. From Moose Jaw, Peters was in his third season with Edmonton. He recorded 28 points, including 24 assists, in 119 regular-season games. . . . Following last season, he was presented with the Daryl K. (Doc) Seaman Trophy as the WHL’s Scholastic Player of the Year. . . . 
one goal in five games with Finland at the WJC. . . . Seattle acquired his WHL rights from the Saskatoon Blades on June 30 for fourth- and sixth-round picks in the WHL’s 2023 draft, a conditional first-rounder in 2023 and a conditional second-rounder in 2024. . . . With Lambert having been assigned to Saskatoon, the Blades now are in possession of those two conditional draft picks. . . . Might the Blades spend some draft capital today before the trade deadline arrives?
assists in 12 games with the Moose. The Jets selected him with the 18th pick of the NHL’s 2021 draft. Portland grabbed his WHL rights in the fourth round of the 2018 bantam draft. . . . Last season, he played at the U of Minnesota, putting up 19 points, including nine goals, in 24 games. . . . Last week, he helped Team USA to a bronze medal at the WJC. He finished with seven points, five of them goals, in as many games. He had three goals, including the OT winner, as the Americans beat Sweden, 8-7, in the third-place game.
for the Ed Chynoweth Cup, 4-2.
the Seattle net. . . . F Jakub Demek (5) opened the scoring, on a PP at 7:15 of the first period, corralling a loose puck in the Seattle crease off a shot by F Josh Williams and tucking it home. . . . Edmonton went ahead 2-0 at 3:44 of the second period as D Kaiden Guhle set a franchise record with his eighth goal of these playoffs. The previous Oil Kings record belonged to Martin Gernát, who scored seven times in 2012. One year later, he scored six more. . . . Guhle was named the playoff MVP. . . . Guhle also played for the Prince Albert Raiders, who won the Ed Chynoweth Cup in 2019. That was the last time the WHL completed a playoff season as COVID-19 resulted in the cancellation of the 2020 and 2021 postseason. . . . F Jake Neighbours drew two assists. . . . After getting ahead 2-0, the Oil Kings went into a 1-2-2 defence that oftentimes looked more like 1-4. . . . Edmonton G Sebastian Cossa stopped 27 shots. He finished the playoffs at 16-3, 1.93, .919, with five shutouts. . . . Seattle got 34 saves from G Thomas Milic, including 20 in the first period when his guys were outshot, 21-4. . . . Edmonton was 1-for-4 on the PP; Seattle was 0-for-6. . . . Seattle was without D Tyrel Bauer, who served the second of a two-game suspension. . . . Edmonton played again without F Dylan Guenther. . . . The Oil Kings will join the host Saint John Sea Dogs of the QMJHL and the QMJHL-champion Shawinigan Cataractes at the four-team Memorial Cup tournament that opens on June 20 in New Brunswick.
Regina Leader-Post was there. No, he wasn’t competing for a spot on the Pats’ protected list; he was there in search of a story, and he found two. . . . For starters, John Paddock, the Pats’ general manager and head coach, told Vanstone that the plan is to build around F Connor Bedard, meaning that the organization is more likely to acquire players than to trade away their star. . . . That story is 
southpaw reliever Keegan Akin on the restricted list. From Sportsnet: “The moves suggest Santander and Akin could not cross the border due to an insufficient COVID-19 vaccine status. Unvaccinated people cannot enter Canada or the United States without a quarantine period.” . . .
playoffs, got past the host Edmonton Oil Kings, 3-2, on Saturday night. The Oil Kings lead the WHL’s best-of-seven championship final for the Ed Chynoweth Cup, 3-2.
(4) scored for Edmonton at 6:25 — with the game’s next three goals.
Seattle Thunderbirds in Edmonton against the Oil Kings. . . . In the OHL, the Windsor Spitfires opened in Hamilton against the Bulldogs on Friday night. Windsor won, 4-3 in OT, getting the winner from former Bulldogs D Michael Renwick at 9:30 after Hamilton had been assessed a checking-from-behind major at 6:56. Hamilton went into the game with a 12-0 record in these playoffs and, including the regular season, had won 24 in a row at home. They’ll play Game 2 on Sunday afternoon in Hamilton. . . . In the QMJHL, the Shawinigan Cataractes will face the host Charlottetown Islanders in Game 1 tonight (Saturday). . . . The QMJHL’s opening playoff rounds all were best-of-five because the league got off to a later start than its two counterparts. But it now is caught up, so the final is best-of-seven. . . .
Edmonton went into the game with a 7-0 record at Rogers Place in these playoffs. . . . They are scheduled to play Game 2 in Edmonton on Sunday, before shifting to Kent, Wash., for games on Tuesday and Wednesday. . . . Remember that because of issues with building availability in Kent, Games 5, 6 and 7, as needed, would be played in Edmonton. . . . Last night, F Matt Rempe (6) got the scoring started for Seattle, backhanding home the rebound off a shot by F Reid Schaefer at 1:59 of the second period. . . . F Conner Roulette (4), who had an assist on Rempe’s goal, upped Seattle’s lead to 2-0 at 8:55 of the third period, tipping in a shot by D Tyrel Bauer. . . . Edmonton got on the board at 11:40, on a PP, as F Carter Souch (10) found the range with a redirect of a shot by D Luke Prokop. . . . The Oil Kings were 1-for-2 on the PP; Seattle was 0-for-1. Referees Chris Crich and Fraser Lawrence handed out only three minor penalties. . . . Seattle G Thomas Milic, who was named the game’s first star, continued his strong playoff run with 43 saves. . . . Edmonton got 20 stops from G Sebastian Cossa.
$7.7 million worth of upgrades. The report, acquired by the Kelowna Daily Courier through a Freedom of Information request, was prepared by Toronto-based Stadium Consultants International. . . . The arena, which opened on March 28, 1999, is owned by GSL Group, which also owns, among other things, the WHL’s Victoria Royals and that city’s Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre. In Kelowna, an agreement between GSL Group and the city calls for ownership to be turned over to the city in 2029. . . . According to the SCI report, 6,500-seat Prospera Place should have its roof and outer walls replaced within seven years. There also should be improvements made to ventilation, vinyl and carpeted floors, among other things. . . . Ron Seymour of The Daily Courier wrote: “Issues are said to include some water leakage on the roof, outdated and undersized food and beverage facilities, small dressing rooms, and a cramped concourse. But other aspects of the building are said to be in surprisingly good condition given their age.” . . . The consultants suggest replacing the roof would have an estimated cost of $2.4 million, while upgraded lighting would come in at $1.5 million. . . .
to the Blazers from the U of Alberta Golden Bears with Lajoie. They had helped the Golden Bears win the U Sports national title for 2017-18.
the Blades. Fans are claiming they had beer and macaroni thrown at them in the SaskTel Centre. . . . “I could feel something on the back of my neck, something really hard,” Raiders fan Matt Herbert told Jeff D’Andrea of paNOW.com. “We discovered it was macaroni later, but they were just pelting it down on us. Next thing you know, I could feel some beer coming down my back. The guy beside me was soaked.” . . . The macaroni had been given to fans as part of a promotion. . . . D’Andrea wrote: “The Blades did not wish to comment on the record. The SaskTel Centre did not respond to multiple requests for comment. The Raiders issued a response. . . . In it, they confirm that they’ve been told the occurrence is being examined by SaskTel Centre, and they hope nothing like this repeats itself for Game 5 Friday at the Art Hauser Centre.” . . . D’Andrea’s complete story is 
on The Eagle 94.1 since the late 1980s, the Broncos announced on Thursday that they are beginning “a new era of audio content production and distribution.” . . . According to the news release, “This will include streaming game-day broadcasts, podcasts and interviews that will provide Broncos Nation with leading in-depth coverage and access that we believe our fans will truly appreciate. . . . Further details are set to be released at a future date that is considerate of the parties involved and after a proper process has been completed.”
about to be sold, perhaps for as much as $12.8 million. According to reports, Dr. Azim Parekh is negotiating a deal that will end with him buying the Spitfires from a group that includes Warren Rychel and Bob Boughner. On Saturday, the Spitfires selected D Isa Parekh in the fifth round of the OHL draft. On Wednesday, the OHL held its U-18 draft, and the Spitfires, with the fifth overall pick, took D Aydin Parekh. . . . Yes, they both are sons of Dr. Parekh. . . . Dave Jewell of The Hockey Writers has a whole lot more on this story 
in Victoria. . . . The Giants swept the series and will meet either the Everett Silvertips or Spokane Chiefs in the conference final. The Giants, who finished atop the conference standings, will have the home-ice advantage, so the series will begin with two games in Langley, B.C., on April 19 and 20. . . . Last night, the Giants took control with three first-period goals, from F Lukas Svejkovsky (3), at 10:04; D Bowen Byram (4), at 16:19; and D Dallas Hines (3), at 16:37. . . . F Owen Hardy (3) made it 4-0 at 9:39 of the second period, before F D-Jay Jerome (2) got Victoria’s lone goal at 11:58. . . . F Brayden Watts (3) and F Jared Dmytriw (4) had the Giants’ other goals, both in the third period. . . . Dmytriw, who played the first three seasons (2014-17) with the Royals, also had two assists. He also is Vancouver’s captain. . . . Vancouver was 1-1 on the PP; Victoria was 0-1. . . . G David Tendeck stopped 17 shots for Vancouver, while G Griffen Outhouse completed his WHL career with a 27-save effort. . . . The Giants held a 157-63 edge in shots in the series, but, because of Outhouse’s superb play, needed OT to win Games 3 and 4. . . . Victoria D Ralph Jarratt, who missed Game 3, was back in the lineup. Royals F Phillip Schultz, who left Game 3 in OT with an apparent injury to his left arm, also was in the lineup. . . . F Kaid Oliver, the Royals’ leading scorer in the regular season, missed all of the playoffs with a shoulder injury. F Kody McDonald, who has used up his junior eligibility, completed a six-game suspension by sitting last night, while D Jake Kustra sat out the second of a two-game suspension. F Tanner Sidaway missed all of this series with a hand injury.
fifth-round selection in the WHL’s 2021 bantam draft from the Broncos for F Carter Chorney, 17, F Kye Buchanan, 17, and D Devin Aubin, 15.
turn out to be 11 pieces, including Michael DiPietro, who is likely to be the starting goaltender for Canada’s national junior team at the 2019 World Junior Championship.
Kelowna Rockets on Friday, apparently has yet to join the Ice.
the visiting Medicine Hat Tigers. . . . Brandon (14-7-6) has won four in a row, outscoring the opposition 19-5 in the process. . . . Medicine Hat slipped to 13-14-3. . . . F Luka Burzan (17) gave Brandon a 1-0 lead at 18:47 of the first period. . . . F Ryan Chyzowski (11) pulled the Tigers into a tie at 14:03 of the second. . . . Brandon F Stelio Mattheos (23) broke the tie at 16:41. . . . The Wheat Kings put it away with third-period goals from F Linden McCorrister (9) and F Ben McCartney (6), the latter into an empty net. . . . The Tigers got 42 saves from G Mads Søgaard. . . . Brandon won 41 of the game’s 65 faceoffs.
Blades guaranteed a profit of $3.5 million. When all was said and done, the event fell a bit short of that, so the Saskatchewan government, which had agreed to underwrite the guarantee, shelled out $668,000 to the CHL. The 2013 tournament drew 82,503 fans to nine games, at the time the fourth-highest attendance in the event’s history.
for a fifth-round selection in the WHL’s 2019 bantam draft. Kolle, from Kamloops, was scratched on Wednesday night when the Winterhawks went on to score a 7-3 victory over the Blazers in Kamloops. . . . Kolle was picked by Portland in the fourth round of the 2015 bantam draft. In 77 regular-season games with the Winterhawks, he has seven goals and 11 assists. Last season, he put up seven goals and seven assists in 60 games. . . . Kolle could make his Lethbridge debut tonight (Friday) against the visiting Prince Albert Raiders.
with the Hitmen last season. This season, he was pointless in two games. He joined the Hitmen in late October from the AJHL’s Brooks Bandits. Prior to then, he had been committed to attend the U of Vermont and play for the Catamounts. . . . Armitage will turn 19 on Oct. 30. He got into 19 games with the Hitmen last season (4-7-1, 3.55, .890) as a freshman, and had played in one game this season (0-1-0, 5.05, .839). The Spokane Chiefs selected him in the fourth round of the WHL’s 2014 bantam draft. . . . Armitage’s departure leaves the Hitmen with two goaltenders — Carl Stankowski, 18, and freshman Jack McNaughton, who turns 17 on Oct. 30. The move also would appear to signal that the Hitmen are feeling good about Stankowski’s health. Then with the Seattle Thunderbirds, he sat out all of last season due to injury and health issues.
CHL’s 2017 import draft. The move allows the Ice to keep Slovakian D Martin Bodak, 20, and Finnish D Valterri Kakkonen, who is in his first WHL season. . . . Kohler, 18, is from Biel, Switzerland. He had eight goals and 11 assists in 55 games as a freshman last season. He had one assist in one game this season. . . . Kohler has cleared the 48-hour import waivers and is expected to return to Switzerland and play for Biel-Bienne in the Elite Jr. A League. He had eight goals and 42 assists in 43 games there in 2016-17.
TAKING NOTE 