Tag: Winnipeg Jets

Larry Hornung to join son Brad on Wall of Honour

The Western Canada Professional Hockey Scouts Foundation’s second annual Wall of Honour induction dinner is scheduled to be held in Okotoks, Alta., on July 29. . . . Tickets are available at tickets.hockeyscoutsfoundation.com. . . . All told, we will induct 29 scouts — three Pioneers of Scouting, seven from the Early Era (1968-80), 17 from the Modern Era (1981-Present) and two from the world of major junior hockey. . . . In the lead up to the dinner, we are introducing the Class of ’25. So let’s get to know the late Larry Hornung, who will be honoured alongside his late son, Brad.

LARRY HORNUNG

(Nov. 10, 1945 — May 8, 2001)

Born in Gravelbourg, Sask., he grew up in Glenbain, Sask. . . . Went on to play junior hockey with the Weyburn Red Wings and Flin Flon Bombers, before embarking on a professional career that would take him to the NHL and WHA. . . . Played 48 NHL games with the St. Louis Blues over two seasons (1970-72) and split 371 WHA games over six seasons (1972-78) between the Winnipeg Jets, Edmonton Oilers and San Diego Mariners. . . . Began his scouting career with the Jets in 1995. Relocated with them to Phoenix and scouted for the Coyotes through 1997-98. . . . Spent three seasons (1998-2001) with the Toronto Maple Leafs. . . . Worked for 13 years at Pine Lodge, a drug and alcohol counselling and rehabilitation centre in Indian Head, Sask. Was facility director before joining Leafs.

Sears among 2025 Wall of Honour inductees

The Western Canada Professional Hockey Scouts Foundation’s second annual Wall of Honour induction dinner is scheduled for July 29 in Okotoks, Alta. . . . It’s being billed as A Night With the Sutters — there will be hot stove sessions involving the hockey-playing brothers — and will feature the induction of 29 past and present-day scouts into the Wall of Honour. Tickets for the dinner are available at hockeyscoutsfoundation.com. . . . As the big night draws closer, we are introducing the 2025 inductees, like Carter Sears. . . .

CARTER SEARS

(Aug. 17, 1953 — )

Born in Estevan, Sask., he has had a scouting career of more than 30 years split between major junior and the NHL. . . . Spent 14 seasons (1990-2004) as director of player personnel with the WHL’s Red Deer Rebels, winning a Memorial Cup in 2001. . . . Served as a scouting consultant with the WHL’s Kootenay Ice (2005-17), winning a WHL championship in 2011. At the same time, he worked as a part-time pro scout with the New York Rangers, starting in 2004. . . . Was a pro scout with the Winnipeg Jets for six seasons (2010-16). . . . Joined the Medicine Hat Tigers as director of player personnel for 2017-18. . . . Added to the St. Louis Blues’ scouting staff in November 2019.

Meet five more inaugural inductees to WCPHSF’s Wall of Fame

The non-profit Western Canada Professional Hockey Scouts Foundation will hold its inaugural Wall of Honour induction dinner in Okotoks on July 30. . . . Tickets to the general public are available at the Foundation’s website (hockeyscoutsfoundation.com). . . . Meanwhile, here’s a chance for you to meet five of the scouts who are part of the Class of 2024. . . . For more bios, visit the Foundation website and click on Wall of Honour.

BARTON (BART) BRADLEY

(July 29, 1930 — Sept. 16, 2006)

From Fort William, Ont., he joined the Boston Bruins’ scouting staff in 1968 and spent 30 years with them. He was head scout and director of player evaluation from the late-1970s into the early ’90s. . . . In a 10-season career as a pro player, nine of them in Boston’s organization, he got into one NHL game with the Bruins, that in 1949-50. . . . Shared in the Bruins’ 1970 and 1972 Stanley Cup triumphs. . . . During his playing career, he won a Memorial Cup with the Port Arthur West End Bruins (1948), an Allan Cup with the Belleville McFarlands (1958) and a World championship with Belleville (1959). . . . His son, Scott, has been with the Bruins since 1993 when he started as a scout.

SCOTT BRADLEY

(Aug. 29, 1963 —)

From Delta, B.C., he joined the Boston Bruins on a full-time basis in 1993 as a western scout. . . . Was promoted to head scout in 1996, a position he filled for 11 seasons. . . . Named director of player personnel in 2008 and assistant general manager in 2014. . . . Promoted to senior adviser to the general manager in 2019, a position he presently holds. . . . Career highlight was winning Stanley Cup (2011) with the Bruins. . . . Began his scouting career by spending four seasons (1990-94) with the WHL’s Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . Was a goaltender during a playing career that topped out at junior A. . . . His late father, Bart, spent more than 30 seasons with the Bruins as a player and scout.

TONY FELTRIN

(Dec. 6, 1961 —)

TONY FELTRIN

Raised in Nanaimo, B.C., he began his scouting career with the New York Rangers in 1986 and was part of a Stanley Cup winner there in 1994. . . . After 10 seasons as an amateur scout with the Rangers, he joined the New York Islanders and spent 11 seasons as their head amateur scout. . . . Moved on to the St. Louis Blues in 2007 and has worked for them as a pro scout, amateur scout, and their director of amateur scouting. He was part of their 2019 Stanley Cup-championship team. . . . As a player, he won a WHL championship with the 1980-81 Victoria Cougars. . . . Split 48 NHL regular-season games between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Rangers.

BRUCE FRANKLIN

(Sept. 16, 1963 —)

From Winnipeg, he has been a scout since 1982 when he got his start in the WHL. . . . Spent 10 seasons as a WHL scout, four with the Prince Albert Raiders and six with the Swift Current Broncos, five as director of player personnel. . . . Started in the NHL as a part-time scout with the Montreal Canadiens in 1986. . . . Was with the Chicago Blackhawks for 24 seasons, starting as an amateur scout in 1992. Was Chicago’s chief scout for his last six seasons there. . . . Joined the the Anaheim Ducks as the director of player evaluation in 2016. . . . Was in on three Stanley Cup titles with Chicago (2010, 2013, 2015), after winning Memorial Cup championships with Prince Albert (1985) and Swift Current (1989).

PETER SULLIVAN

(July 25, 1951 —)

Peter Sullivan retired prior to the start of this NHL season. (Photo: Mike Morreale, nhl.com)

From Toronto, Sullivan retired in 2023, ending scouting career that began in Switzerland. . . . Spent 27 years with NHL Central Scouting, having started in 1996. . . . Began scouting as part-timer for the NHL’s Winnipeg Jets in 1986 while coaching in Switzerland. . . . Joined the Jets as full-time amateur scout in 1988. . . . Nicknamed “Silky,” he was a terrific minor and junior player but career was slowed by thyroid cancer. Drafted by the Montreal Canadiens and played three seasons with their AHL affiliate, the Nova Scotia Voyageurs, who held a night for him. . . . Signed with the WHA’s Jets in 1975, winning three Avco Cups there. . . . Played four WHA seasons and two more with the Jets in the NHL. Concluded his playing career in Switzerland. . . . His father, Frank, won 1921 Grey Cup with the Toronto Argonauts and 1928 Olympic gold with Canada’s hockey team.

Blades, Pats runnin’ back to Saskatoon all even . . . Three WHL teams have seasons end . . . Cougars tie it up in Kennewick

Some Twitter tidbits from Tuesday’s WHL playoff games, thanks to Geoffrey WHLBrandow (@GeoffreyBrandow) . . .

F Parker Bell had a goal and two assists in the Tri-City Americans’ 4-2 victory over the Prince George Cougars in Kennewick, Wash. It was his “sixth 3-point game of season, 3 in Dec., 3 since.”

The Seattle Thunderbirds beat the Rockets, 4-1, in Kelowna. The Thunderbirds “claim a 2nd straight 4-1 win and 3-0 series lead. 2nd win in series when trailing after 2, after 4 in season. . . . F Jordan Gustafson scores in return after missing 11 (and 29 of 31).”

The Kamloops Blazers beat the host Vancouver Giants 5-0 as they rolled “to 2nd shutout of the series with Dylan Ernst matching clean sheet number from regular season. F Caedan Banker closes with final two goals . . . is up to 22 points vs. Vancouver this season.”

The Saskatoon Blades beat the host Regina Pats, 4-3 in OT. “F Egor Sidorov kickstarts comeback and finishes with winner 5 minutes in. Struck twice in OT during the regular season.”

In Medicine Hat, the Winnipeg Ice beat the Tigers, 7-2. “The Ice is scoring at nearly a 21 per cent rate through three games. . . . D Ben Zloty adds another three helpers to total, up to combined 76 this season.”

The visiting Moose Jaw Warriors beat the Lethbridge Hurricanes, 6-2. “F Jagger Firkus figures in four goals, including a natural hat trick to outscore Lethbridge. Up to 10 goals, 20 points in playoff career. Team’s first natural hat trick in Internet area, 4th total.”

Office

The Thursday WHL schedule features only one game. It has the Kamloops KamloopsBlazers, with a 3-0 series lead, in Langley, B.C., for Game 4 with the Vancouver Giants. . . . All you really need to know is that Kamloops G Dylan Ernst is 3-0, 0.33, .983. . . . On Wednesday, Chad Klassen of CFJC-TV in Kamloops tweeted: “Just checked with the WHL and since 2006 the lowest goals-against in a series is two (Vancouver vs. Everett, 2006 Western Conference final). The Kamloops Blazers have a chance to tie or break that mark in Game 4 on Thursday.” . . . Yes, the Blazers have outscored the Giants, 19-1, in the three games. . . . Remember, though, that the WHL doesn’t seem to have any records handy from the 30 years prior to 2006. So who knows what the league record might be.

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WEDNESDAY IN THE WHL PLAYOFFS:

THE BEDARD REPORT — F Connor Bedard continued his terrific playoff run as he scored two goals. . . . However, his Regina Pats dropped a 4-3 OT decision to the visiting Saskatoon Blades. . . . Bedard got his guys into a 1-1 tie at 19:35 of the second period, then gave them a 2-1 lead 13 seconds into the third. . . . But for the second night in a row the Pats weren’t able to hold a third-period lead. . . . Through two periods, Bedard had six of Regina’s 12 shots on goal. He finished with 10 of his team’s 26 shots. . . . The Pats have scored 18 goals in the four games; Bedard has eight goals and five assists. . . . He leads the WHL playoffs in goals and points (13). . . . The game drew a second straight sellout crowd (6,499) to Regina’s Brandt Centre.

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EASTERN CONFERENCE

Winnipeg (1) at Medicine Hat (8) — F Ty Nash broke a 2-2 tie in the third period as the Winnipeg Ice beat the Medicine Hat Tigers, 3-2. . . . The Ice, winners of the Eastern Conference title, swept the first-round series against the No. 8 Tigers. . . . Nash scored his second goal of the series at 1:10 of the third period. . . . F Matt Savoie’s sixth goal of the series, shorthanded, gave the Ice a 1-0 lead at 1:14 of the first period. . . . D Dru Krebs (1) of the Tigers tied it just 16 seconds later while on a PP. . . . F Owen Pederson (1) put Winnipeg back out front at 10:50 of the second period. . . . Medicine Hat tied it at 14:59 when F Hunter St. Martin (1) scored. . . . The Tigers outshot the Ice in each game of the series, including 32-21 in Game 4. . . . Winnipeg G Daniel Hauser was 2.25, .925 in the four games. In 90 regular-season appearances over last season and this, he is 90-9-3. . . . Winnipeg lost F Zack Ostapchuk to a cross-checking major and game misconduct just 55 seconds into the game. . . .

Red Deer (2) at Calgary (7) — The Red Deer Rebels scored twice while shorthanded and three times on the PP en route to a 6-1 victory over the Calgary Hitmen. . . . The Rebels lead the series, 3-1. They’ll now head for Red Deer and Game 5 on Friday. . . . Red Deer broke a 1-1 tie with shorthanded goals from F Ollie Josephson (1), at 9:07 of the second period, and F Jhett Larson (1), at 18:31. . . . F Ben King scored his first two goals of these playoffs for the Rebels, both on the PP, and added an assist. . . . D Mats Lindgren earned four assists; F Jayden Grubbe had three. . . . F Kai Uchacz got his fourth goal of the series on a third-period PP. . . . The teams combined to take 23 minor penalties, 13 of them to Red Deer. . . . Red Deer was 3-for-7 on the PP; Calgary was 1-for-11. . . . Rebels G Kyle Kelsey continued his stellar play with 36 saves. . . . The Rebels had F Craig Armstrong back after he served a two-game suspension for slew-footing. . . . The Hitmen continued to be without F Riley Fiddler-Schultz, who didn’t finish the second game of the series. They also scratched F Sean Tschigerl, who didn’t finish Game 3. . . . Fiddler-Schultz, with 75 points in 64 games, and Tschigerl, with 57 in 60, were two of Calgary’s top three scorers in the regular season. . . .

Saskatoon (3) at Regina (6) — F Jake Chiasson’s OT goal gave the Saskatoon Blades a 4-3 victory over the Regina Pats. . . . The series is tied, 2-2, with Game 5 in Saskatoon on Friday and Game 6 back in Regina on Saturday. . . . The road team has won all four games in this series. . . . This was the third straight game in the series to go to OT. The Blades won Games 3 and 4 in Regina by erasing 3-1 third-period deficits. . . . Last night, Saskatoon F Egor Sidorov, who scored the OT winner in Game 3, opened the scoring, on a PP, at 7:18 of the second period. . . . Regina took a 3-1 lead with three goals 1:18 apart. F Connor Bedard (8) scored twice — at 19:35 of the second period and 13 seconds into the third — and F Tanner Howe got his first of the series at 0:53. . . . The Blades pulled even on goals from F Jayden Wiens (3), at 2:42, and D Charlie Wright (1), at 10:01. . . . Chiasson, who was acquired from the Brandon Wheat Kings in January, won it at 7:20 of extra time. . . . The Blades got 23 saves from G Ethan Chadwick, with G Drew Sim stopping 33 shots for the Pats. . . . Who wins on Friday? Including the regular season, the road team has won seven of 10 games between these teams. . . .

Moose Jaw (4) at Lethbridge (5) — The Moose Jaw Warriors struck for three third-period goals as they beat the Lethbridge Hurricanes, 5-2. . . . The Warriors swept the first-round series. . . . F Tyson Zimmer (1) gave Lethbridge a 1-0 lead at 8:50 of the first period. . . . F Brayden Yager (1), at 13:56 of the first, and D Max Wanner (1), at 5:15 of the second, gave the Warriors the lead. . . . F Hayden Smith (1) pulled the hosts even at 19:00 of the second. . . . The Warriors put it away with third-period goals from F Lynden Lakovic (1), D Denton Mateychuk (2) and Yager (2), the latter into an empty net. . . . Yager also had an assist for a three-point night. . . . G Connor Ungar stopped 28 shots for Moose Jaw. . . . Interestingly, three of the four Warriors who served 17-game WHL-issued suspensions to end the season got on the scoresheet in this one. Wanner had a goal and two assists, Lakovic scored once, and Ungar again was solid in goal. In the four games, Ungar was 4-0, 1.29, .953. . . . The Warriors lost F Robert Baco with a major and game misconduct for goaltender interference at 7:35 of the second period.

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WESTERN CONFERENCE

Seattle (1) at Kelowna (8) — G Thomas Milic stopped 19 shots as the Seattle Thunderbirds beat the Kelowna Rockets, 3-0. . . . The Thunderbirds, who finished atop the Western Conference, swept the series, outscoring the Rockets, 17-4. . . . F Lucas Ciona (3) scored Seattle’s first goal, at 8:42 of the second period, and that’s all Milic would need. . . . F Dylan Guenther (5) and F Jordan Gustafson (2) added third-period goals. . . . Milic went 4-0, 1.00, .958 in the series. . . . After G Jari Kykkanen played the first three games, the Rockets turned to Talyn Boyko for Game 4. Boyko, a fourth-round pick by the New York Rangers in the NHL’s 2021 draft who is signed, stopped 35 shots. For the fourth straight game, the Rockets were very much in the game in the third period but just couldn’t close it out. . . .

Prince George (4) at Tri-City (5) — F Koehn Ziemmer and F Jaxsen Wiebe each scored twice as the Prince George Cougars beat the Tri-City Americans, 6-2, in Kennewisk, Wash. . . . The series is tied, 2-2. This is the lone first-round series to be using a 2-3-2 format, which is why Game 5 will be played in Kennewick on Friday, with Game 6 scheduled for Prince George on Sunday. A seventh game, if needed, would be played in Prince George on Tuesday. . . . Ziemmer’s second goal of the game and the series gave the Cougars a 3-0 lead at 1:50 of the second period and they were never headed. . . . Wiebe has three goals. . . . G Ty Young got the start for the Cougars after Tyler Brennan left Game 3 with an undisclosed injury. Young made 26 stops. . . . Brennan wasn’t dressed, so the Cougars had Madden Mulawka on the bench in support of Young. Mulawka, who turned 17 on March 8, is from Edmonton. He was a fifth-round pick by the Cougars in the WHL’s 2021 draft. He got into three games with Prince George earlier in the season.

Cow

JUNIOR JOTTINGS:

Lee Stone is the new general manager and head coach of the junior B Nanaimo Buccaneers of the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League. . . . He spent the previous 10 seasons with the VIJHL’s Campbell River Storm. . . . Stone takes over from Andy Hellweger, whose mother, Nicole Brandbenburg, purchased the Buccaneers in April 2022. . . . This season, Nanaimo finished 5-41-2. . . .

The BCHL’s Penticton Vees beat the Smoke Eaters, 5-1, in Trail on Wednesday night to sweep their best-of-seven first-round playoff series. Penticton, the BCHL’s defending champion, has won 20 straight playoff games going back to last season.

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

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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

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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

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Or, for more information, visit right here.

Phone

Rebels put Mayo on that victory . . . Roest fills hat for Silvertips . . . Ams’ Dragicevic keeps on rolling

Dorothy and I have a dear, dear friend who left Manila for Canada on July 20, 1967. She was 22 years of age and had a bachelor of science and medical technology degree, with majors in microbiology and chemistry, to her credit.

She also had decided that she wanted to live in Canada because that is where she wanted to raise any children that might be in her future. That, by the way, is exactly what happened, and a daughter and a son have blessed her with five grandchildren.

She worked in Toronto as a medical lab technologist until 1971, when it was off to Winnipeg and Grace Hospital. After that there was a stretch in Fort McMurray and then Kamloops.

Anyway . . . we love nothing more than to take our friend out for a drive that always seems to include lunch or ice cream.

That is how we came to be sitting in a downtown food emporium the other day, slurping down ice cream and sipping on coffee, when our friend started telling us what it means to her to be Canadian.

She got quite emotional, too.

“You know,” she said, “if I’m laying on the couch and a baseball game comes on the TV and O Canada starts to play . . . I get up and stand at attention and sing. Sometimes I even cry . . . sometimes there are tears in my eyes.”

With that, she stood up to show us exactly what she meant, using an index finger to simulate tears running down her cheeks.

“It just means so much to me to be Canadian. I am so blessed,” she said with a glowing smile.

So . . . the next time you feel like bitching and moaning about how tough you have it here in Canada, take a moment and think about our dear friend and what being one of us means to her.

Headline at The Beaverton (@TheBeaverton) — Alberta premier mandates that all students must have at least 2 infectious diseases at all times.

ICYMI, the Winnipeg Jets held a three-goal lead in a game against the host Carolina Hurricanes a week ago. Carolina pulled its goaltender and scored three times. Yes, three times! . . . Four nights later, the Jets were in Dallas and held a late two-goal lead on the Stars. The home side pulled its goaltender and scored twice. . . . From the Jets’ perspective, it’s got to be hard to give up five extra-attacker goals, doesn’t it? . . . Interestingly, the Jets won both games in OT, both on goals from D Josh Morrissey.

Drunk

SUNDAY IN THE WHL:

D Hunter Mayo scored in OT to give the Red Deer Rebels a 3-2 victory over the RedDeerHitmen in Calgary. . . . The Rebels (18-4-3) have points in three straight (2-0-1). . . . The Hitmen are 12-7-3. . . . Mayo scored twice in the game, tying things 1-1 at 6:26 of the second period and winning it with his 10th goal, on a PP, at 3:51 of OT. . . . F Kalan Lind (6) had a goal and two assists for the Rebels. . . . Mayo has 17 points in 25 games this season. He finished last season with 17 points, three of them goals, in 65 games. . . . Calgary F Jacob Wright (5) forced OT when he scored at 7:24 of the third period. . . . G Kyle Kelsey, an 18-year-old freshman, stopped 37 shots for Red Deer. He is 12-2-3, 2.08, .926. . . .

The Prince Albert Albert Raiders erased a 1-0 deficit with four second-period PrinceAlbertgoals as they dumped the host Medicine Hat Tigers, 4-2. . . . Prince Albert is 10-13-2. . . . Medicine Hat (8-12-5) has lost two in a row. . . . F Oasiz Wiesblatt (10) gave the Tigers a 1-0 lead at 1:49 of the second period. . . . The Raiders took control with the next four goals — from F Cole Peardon (2), at 9:16; F Sloan Stanick, on a PP, at 14:33; F Evan Herman (6), at 17:55; and Stanick (8), at 19:35. . . . Stanick also had an assist for a three-point outing. . . . Herman, who scored his 50th career goal on Friday, reached the 100-point mark for his career with his sixth goal of the season last night. . . .

F Austin Roest scored three times to help the Everett Silvertips to an 8-3 victory Everettover the Chiefs in Spokane. . . . Everett (13-9-1) had lost its previous five games (0-4-1). . . . Spokane (4-16-1) has lost five in a row. . . . Roest, who has 16 goals, completed his first WHL hat trick at 10:11 of the second period. He had scored his second goal just 46 seconds earlier. . . . Roest, who also had an assist, had 13 goals and 19 assists in 59 games last season. This season, in 23 games, he has 35 points, including 19 assists. . . . Roest’s father, Stacy, is a former WHL/NHL player has been in the Tampa Bay Lightning’s front office since 2013-14. These days, he is assistant GM and director of player development. . . . F Ryan Hofer’s 13th goal gave the visitors a 7-0 lead at 11:13 of the second period. . . . F Jackson Berezowski drew four assists for Everett, with F Jesse Heslop (4) adding a goal and two assists. . . . Spokane got two goals from F Ty Cheveldayoff (11). . . . F Julien Maze, a first-round pick in the WHL’s 2022 draft, picked up his first WHL point, an assist, on Roest’s third goal. Maze, from Edmonton, was playing his fourth game with Everett. He will turn 15 on Dec. 7. . . . The Silvertips held a 47-32 edge in shots, including 26-8 in the second period. . . .

D Lukas Dragicevic’s shorthanded goal early in the third period stood up as the Tri-Citywinner as the Tri-City Americans got past the Seattle Thunderbirds, 4-3, in Kennewick, Wash. . . . The Americans (10-13-0) have won two straight. . . . The Thunderbirds (15-4-1) had points in their previous six games (5-0-1). . . . Dragicevic, whose goal came at 2:27 of the third, also had an assist as he extended his point streak to 17 games. He leads all WHL defencemen in assists (24) and points (32). . . . F Ethan Ernst (15) also scored a shorthanded goal for the winners. . . . F Lucas Ciona (9) ended an 11-game drought with two Seattle goals. . . . Tri-City got a terrific start out of G Nick Avakyan, who finished with 42 stops in posting his first victory in five decisions this season. . . .

In Langley, B.C., the Vancouver Giants scored two shorthanded goals en route to Vancouvera 3-1 victory over the Portland Winterhawks. . . . Vancouver improved to 9-10-4. . . . The Winterhawks (17-3-2) have lost two in a row for the first time this season. . . . D Ryan McCleary (5) gave Portland a 1-0 lead, on a PP, at 5:19 of the first period. . . . The Giants took the lead on unassisted shorthanded goals from F Ty Thorpe (10) at 5:00 of the second period and F Samuel Honzek (14) just 37 seconds into the third. . . . Thorpe (11) added insurance at 4:55. . . . Vancouver held a 38-24 edge in shots.

Gravy

Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times, who has graciously allowed me to steal items from his Sideline Chatter column for a whole lot of years, is retiring on Dec. 3. He has been in the newspaper business for more than 51 years, with more than 23 of those years spent with the Times, so it’s not like he’s leaving early. Here’s to a happy and healthy retirement, Dwight. . . .

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“This is what you call a bad plus/minus,” Perry writes in his most recent Sideline Chatter. “Evander Kane’s bankruptcy filing is being challenged by his leading creditor, Centennial Bank, which wants to know how the Edmonton Oilers forward came to have $10.2 million in assets but $26.8 million in debt.”

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Perry, again: “KHOU-TV, Houston’s CBS affiliate, cut away from the Bills-Lions game on Thursday with 23 seconds to play to air a tornado warning in the area — so viewers missed the winning 45-yard field goal by Tyler Bass. Somewhere, Heidi was giggling — and taking cover.”

JUNIOR JOTTINGS:

Jeff Ingram was honoured Sunday afternoon as the WHL presented him with a Milestone Award. Ingram, who has been an on-ice official for 14 seasons, is from Langley, B.C., and he was presented with the award by Kevin Muench, the league’s senior director, officiating, prior to a game in Langley between the Portland Winterhawks and Vancouver Giants. . . . According to the WHL, Ingram has worked more than 650 regular-season games and 99 playoff games. He also has been on the ice in six WHL finals and two Memorial Cups.

THINKING OUT LOUD — They tell me that the Toronto Maple Leafs are 9-1-4 in their past 14 games. So I’m wondering if the clowns are still wanting head coach Sheldon Keefe’s head on a platter? Sometimes patience really is a virtue. . . . The early reviews are in on the FIFA World Cup and it really is amazing how many of social media’s anonymous hockey experts also turn out to be soccer experts.

NoseHair

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.

Yoda

All Ice’s Hauser does is win games . . . Thunderbirds, Oil Kings make deal involving Prokop . . . Hall doors swing open for Russell

G Daniel Hauser of the Winnipeg Ice posted his 50th regular-season WHL victory on Saturday night, stopping 33 shots as the Ice beat the host Kelowna Rockets, 5-4.

The Ice, which has yet to play a home game, has a WHL-leading record of 11-1.

Hauser, an 18-year-old from Chestermere, Alta., is 9-0-0, 2.09, .927 this season.

The red-hot start to his season follows an off-season incident that resulted in a broken ankle.

“I was running and I just stumbled on it and rolled it up pretty bad but I didn’t think much of it,” Hauser told Mike Sawatzky of the Winnipeg Free Press during training camp.“And so a few days afterwards, it started swelling pretty badly and started hurting quite a bit and I got it looked at, got some X-rays and (they) found a break.”

He underwent surgery and spent some time in an air boot before getting back to walWinnipegIceking and skating.

Hauser now has played in 57 regular-season games over three seasons with the Ice, going 50-3-2, 2.17, .914.

That’s right . . . he is 50-3-2. He actually won his first 19 decisions and was 20-0-2 when he suffered his first regulation-time loss.

He went 7-0-1 in the 2020-21 development season, then was 34-3-1 last season.

That 2020-21 loss came in Regina when the Brandon Wheat Kings beat the Ice, 5-4 in OT, on a goal by D Braden Schneider at 1:56.

Hauser’s first regulation-time setback occurred in Saskatoon on Jan. 22 when the Blades posted a 7-2 victory, scoring seven times on 24 shots. On Feb. 21, he was in goal for a 6-3 loss to the Oil Kings in Edmonton. And he and the Ice were beaten, 3-1, by the host Moose Jaw Warriors on April 2. The Warriors won that one with two goals in the third period’s final 30 seconds.

Hauser, whose first 19 career decisions all were victories, also was the goaltender of record in a 4-3 OT loss to the visiting Prince Albert Raiders on Nov. 28.

The 5-foot-11, 160-pound Hauser was a sixth-round selection in the WHL’s 2019 draft. He was eligible for the NHL’s 2022 draft but wasn’t selected.

You might think an NHL team might take a chance on him at some point in the 2023 draft. Wouldn’t it be worth using a mid- or late-round selection on Hauser? After all, it seems that all he does is win.

The Ice concludes its season-opening road trip on Friday in Brandon, then plays its home-opener on Saturday against, yes, those same Wheat Kings.

The Edmonton Oil Kings won the WHL championship last spring, beating the Seattle Thunderbirds in six games in the final. On Tuesday, the two teams got Seattletogether on a trade that had the playing rights to D Luke Prokop, 20, move from Edmonton to Seattle. . . . In return, the Oil Kings got three conditional draft picks — a third-rounder in 2023, and first- and third-rounders in 2025. According to a news release from the Thunderbirds, “All draft picks are conditional on Prokop returning to the WHL.” . . . The Oil Kings acquired Prokop, 6-foot-6 and 220 pounds, from the Calgary Hitmen early last season and played a big role in the championship season, putting up 35 points, 11 of them goals, in 58 games with Edmonton. He added four goals and 12 assists in 19 playoff games. . . . The Nashville Predators selected Prokop in the third round of the NHL’s 2020 draft and have signed him. At present, he is with the ECHL’s Norfolk Admirals with whom he is pointless (and minus-5) in three games. . . . The Thunderbirds are carrying two 20-year-olds on their roster — F Jared Davidson and F Kyle Crnkovic — so wouldn’t have to make a move should Nashville choose to send Prokop back to the WHL. . . . The Thunderbirds already are seen as a title contender, so Prokop definitely would fit right in there. They are 8-0-0 to this point in the season as they head into Prince George for a Friday-Saturday doubleheader with the Cougars.

Peppers

Dan Russell, the former voice of the WHL on Shaw-TV, is among the 2023 inductees to the B.C. Sports Hall of Fame. Russell is best-known as the host of Sportstalk, a nightly radio show that held listeners throughout B.C. for 30 years. The inductees will enter the hall during an induction gala in June, with a specific date yet to be announced. . . . At one point in his career, Russell was the radio voice of the WHL’s Seattle Thunderbirds. He also called the play of WHL games on Shaw TV. . . . He has written a book — Pleasant Good Evening — A Memoir: My 30 Wild and Turbulent Years of Sporstalk. . . . Yes, there are a number of WHL-related anecdotes told between the covers. . . . Steve Ewen of Postmedia has more on that story right here.

IT’S STILL HERE — You may recall that Rick Bowness, in his first season as COVIDhead coach of the Winnipeg Jets, missed four road games last week after testing positive for COVID-19. He returned for the Jets’ home-opener, a 4-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday, and had planned on being behind the bench for a Monday night visit by the St. Louis Blues. But he took ill early in the day, as he was experiencing dizzy spells, so was at home resting as the Jets, with associate coach Scott Arniel running the bench, beat the Blues, 3-0. . . . The Jets leave Wednesday on a three-game road swing and it will be interesting to see if Bowness is well enough to go along.

Ted Wyman, in the Winnipeg Sun: “Bowness tried to get through his media availability on Monday but appeared to be having difficulty, at one point stopping, mid-sentence to try to shake something off.”

Beef

JUNIOR JOTTINGS:

F Ben King of the Red Rebels, who led the WHL with 52 goals last season, suffered an undisclosed injury in Saturday’s 3-0 victory over the visiting Prince Albert Raiders. The Rebels announced on Tuesday that King, 20, will be out “for approximately six to eight weeks.” . . . King, who attended training camp with the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks, has five goals and five assists in five games this season. . . .

F Dallyn Peekeekoot has left the Prince Albert Raiders. The team announced Monday that he left “to pursue education endeavours.” Peekeekoot, an 18-year-old from Saskatchewan’s Ahtahkakoop First Nation, had two assists in 11 games. Last season, he finished with four goals and two assists in 62 games, the same numbers he had put up in 15 games in the 2020-21 development season. . . . The Raiders played three games in fewer than 48 hours on the weekend. He didn’t play in a 2-1 loss to the Edmonton Oil Kings on Friday, was pointless in a 3-0 loss to the Red Deer Rebels on Saturday and then was scratched again on Sunday as the Raiders dropped a 6-2 decision to the Calgary Hitmen. . . .

The Tri-City Americans acquired D Nicco Camazzola, 19, from the Vancouver Giants on Monday, sending a 2024 fifth-round WHL draft pick the other way. He had one assist in games with the Giants this season. In 91 games over four seasons, all with the Giants, had put up nine points, including three goals. . . . His father, Tony, and uncle Jim, both are former WHL players. Tony, a defenceman, played 130 games with the Brandon Wheat Kings over three seasons (1979-82). Jim, a forward, spent three seasons (1982-85) in the WHL, spending time with the Kamloops Junior Oilers, Seattle Breakers and New Westminster Bruins. . . .

G Nicholas Cristiano, 18, who began the season with the WHL’s Kelowna Rockets, has signed with the BCHL’s West Kelowna Warriors. The Rockets released Cristiano after G Talyn Boyko, 20, was returned by the NHL’s New York Rangers. . . . The Warriors followed the signing by placing G Cayden Hamming, 18, on injured reserve.

THINKING OUT LOUD — Who is taking things better on social media these days, fans of the Vancouver Canucks or followers of the New York Yankees? . . . On Monday night, when F Phil Kessel of the Vegas Golden Knights tied an NHL record by playing in his 989th consecutive game, the attendance in Las Vegas was 17,989. Hmmm. . . . Kessel now owns the record by himself after playing against the host San Jose Sharks on Tuesday night. . . . If you were wondering, the World Series doesn’t open until Friday in Houston. By waiting until Friday, MLB and TV can push the series between the Astros and Philadelphia Phillies over two weekends should it go seven games.

Amazon

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.

Recipe

Things are sparking in Riderville . . . Rebels (8-0-0) set franchise record . . . Bjarnason, Wheat Kings enjoy Kelowna stop

MondayMorning
This was the scene from our deck in Campbell Creek at 8 o’clock on Monday morning, looking east down the South Thompson River valley. The picture, taken with my cheap phone, really doesn’t show how pink the sun was as it fought through some smoke and, yes, that’s a fog bank over the river.

There is stuff going on in and around the Saskatchewan Roughriders and it isn’t going to end well for someone. The Roughriders are 6-10 — 2-9 in their last 11 Ridersoutings — as they come out of a bye week and prepare to meet the visiting Calgary Stampeders on Saturday. . . . The fun began on Tuesday when Cody Fajardo, the starting quarterback, didn’t take an active role in practice. Head coach Craig Dickenson, whose job would seem to be on the line, said that Fajardo was taking a “vet” day and that he would start on Saturday. Headline at leaderpost-com — Cody Fajardo given ‘vet day’; will start Saturday against Calgary. . . . On Wednesday, however, Dickenson said that backup Mason Fine will start. On top of which, Fajardo told the newshounds that he had been told five days previous that he wouldn’t be starting. . . . “Cody Fajardo has absorbed more than his fair share of hits during the 2022 CFL season,” writes Murray McCormick of The Leader-Post, “but even he was blindsided by his demotion from starting quarterback to second string with the Saskatchewan Roughriders.” . . . As for Fajardo, he told those same newshound: “I hope there’s somebody out there that might still want me. I don’t think this is the end of the Cody Fajardo book. But it might be the end of this chapter.” . . . With two games remaining — they finish up next weekend in Calgary — the Roughriders haven’t yet been eliminated from the playoff picture, but time is of the essence. . . . “We need a spark,” Dickenson said in giving his reason for the QB switch. . . . Well, take a trip around social media and check out the Saskatchewan fans. I think Dickenson’s spark has started a fire. Yes, they do take their football seriously on the flatlands.

Beer

G Talyn Boyko, 20, was back on the ice with the Kelowna Rockets on Wednesday night. Unfortunately for him, things didn’t go particularly well as they were Kelownabeaten, 3-0, by the visiting Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . The Rockets find themselves with three goaltenders on their roster after the NHL’s New York Rangers returned Boyko on Monday. Boyko, selected in the fourth round of the NHL draft, has signed with the Rangers, who had assigned him to the ECHL’s Jacksonville Icemen. . . . The Rockets acquired the 6-foot-8 Boyko from the Tri-City Americans early last season. With Kelowna, he was 28-12-4, 2.79, .913 in 46 games. In 102 career WHL regular-season games, he is 43-43-8, 3.56, .899. . . . The other two goaltenders on the Rockets’ roster are both 18-year-old freshmen — Nicholas Cristiano of Langley, B.C., and Jari Kykkanen of Lloydminster, Alta. Kykkanen, a sixth-round pick in the WHL’s 2019 draft, is 3-3-1, 3.71, .883 in seven appearances; Cristiano, who has been in three games, is 0-1-0, 2.61, .879. . . . The Rockets now are carrying two 20-year-olds — Boyko and F Adam Kydd. . . .

The Rockets also announced that they have placed F Colton Dach, their captain, in concussion protocol, although I can’t find anything on the WHL website that indicates exactly what that means. Dach, who has experienced two concussions in about a month, is shown on the WHL roster report as being out week-to-week. The first of those two concussions came while he was in camp with the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks.

JUNIOR JOTTINGS:

The Red Deer Rebels ran their record to 8-0-0 on Wednesday night with a 5-2 victory over the visiting Calgary Hitmen. . . . The Rebels set a franchise record with the victory. The 2000-01 team, which won the Memorial Cup in Regina, opened 7-0-0 before dropping a 9-2 decision to the Warriors in Moose Jaw. Red Deer will try to run its record to nine in a row when it meets the Tigers in Medicine Hat on Friday. . . . F Ben King, 20, had two goals and an assist in last night’s victory; he’s got four goals and four assists in three games since returning from the camp of the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks. . . .

The WHL has two other unbeaten teams, with the Portland Winterhawks and Seattle Thunderbirds both at 7-0-0. The Winterhawks are scheduled to visit the Tri-City Americans on Saturday. That same night, the Thunderbirds are to entertain the Spokane Chiefs. . . .

D Andrei Malyavin scored his first WHL goal for the Brandon Wheat Kings as they dumped the host Kelowna Rockets, 3-0, on Wednesday night. He also has five assists in 10 games. . . . Last season, Malyavin, an 18-year-old Russian, scored twice and added 11 assists in 44 games with the OHL’s Sarnia Sting. . . . The Wheat Kings got 29 saves from G Carson Bjarnason, who record his first WHL shutout. A 6-foot-4 sophomore who is eligible for the NHL’s 2023 draft, he is 5-2-1, 2.12, .942 this season. . . . Lucas Punkari of the Brandon Sun reports that the Wheat Kings last won a game in Kelowna on Oct. 26, 2010. He adds: “Brandon blanks the Rockets for the first time since the franchise moved from Tacoma in 1995.” . . .

F Kyle Bochek of the Vancouver Giants ended up with a four-game suspension for the hit that resulted in F Ben Thornton of the Brandon Wheat Kings ending up in Royal Columbian Hospital in New Westminster, B.C., on Friday night. Thornton, who suffered a concussion and a hip injury, is listed on the WHL roster report as being out week-to-week. He was released from hospital on Monday and is at home with family in Chilliwack. . . . F Brett Hyland of the Wheat Kings was given a three-game suspension for a high hit on Vancouver D Mazden Leslie in that same game. Leslie wasn’t injured on the play and, in fact, scored once and added an assist as the Giants dropped a 4-3 decision to the Winnipeg Ice in Langley, B.C., on Wednesday night. . . .

The Medicine Hat Tigers released F Alex Drover, 20, on Wednesday after acquiring D Kurtis Smythe, 20, from the Portland Winterhawks for an eight-round pick in the WHL’s 2023 draft. Drover had two goals and two assists in six games with the Tigers after being released by the QMJHL’s Rimouski Oceanic. . . . Smythe played 121 games over four seasons with the Winterhawks, putting up two goals and 29 assists. . . . Smythe joins F Dallon Melin and F Brendan Lee as the Tigers’ 20-year-olds. . . . The Winterhawks have only two 20-year-olds on their roster — G Dante Giannuzzi and F Robbie Fromm-Delorme — so it could be that another move is imminent. . . . FYI: These aren’t overage players — if they were overage, they wouldn’t be eligible; they are 20-year-old players and each team is allowed to have a maximum of three on its roster.

Gnome

Headline at fark.com — “What are you in for? Bank robbery. You? Murder. You? Cheating at fishing.”

——

Headline at The Onion (@TheOnion) — Study Links Binge Eating to Stress, Contentment, Depression, Joy, Boredom, Anger, Relaxation.

YOU THOUGHT IT WAS OVER — From Reuters: China’s capital, Beijing, has dialled up measures to stop COVID, strengthening public checks and locking down some residential compounds after a quadrupling of its case load in recent weeks, just as a key Communist Party congress entered full swing. The city of 21 million people on Thursday reported 18 new locally transmitted cases for the previous day, bringing the tally for the past 10 days to 197. That is four times more than the 49 infections detected in the previous 10-day period.

Clowns

THE COACHING GAME:

Rick Bowness, in his first season as the head coach of the NHL’s Winnipeg Jets, remains MIA after testing positive for COVID-19 last week. He wasn’t with the club on Wednesday for a 4-3 OT victory over the Colorado Avalanche in Denver, and he’ll be missing again tonight when the Jets meet the host Vegas Golden Knights. The team is hopeful that Bowness will back on the bench for the home-opener on Saturday against the Toronto Maple Leafs. . . .

Former NHL D Ladislav Smid has been hired by the Edmonton Oil Kings as a development coach. Smid, 36, has retired after 17 seasons as a pro, the last five in his home country of Czechia. He also played 474 NHL games with the Edmonton Oilers, whose parent company owns the Oil Kings. . . . Smid was a guest coach during the Oil Kings’ training camp prior to the start of this season.

THINKING OUT LOUD — OK, Sportsnet, we get it . . . you’ve put together a new set for Sportsnet Central, featuring Evanka Osmak and Ken Reid. We’ve seen the spot a few times by now, and I have a question: Why does Reid refer to her by her last name, while she calls him by his first name? . . . Sorry, fans of the New York Yankees, but your guys are done. Seventeen strikeouts! Yikes!! And Josh Donaldson looks completely lost, like a thirsty man wandering in the Gobi Desert. . . . BTW, the Houston Astros struck out twice in that game. Yes, twice! . . . The Vancouver Canucks have lost their first four games. They are the first team in NHL history to hold a multi-goal lead in each of its first four games and lose them all. They will go against the host Minnesota Wild tonight, and here’s hoping Vancouver wins so that Canucks Nation finally can get some sleep. Hey, it’s been ugly. Four games in and the fans want everyone replaced, from the owner to the head coach to F J.T. Miller, who signed to a seven-year extension a couple of months ago.

Universe

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.

http://www.transplant.bc.ca/health-info/organ-donation/living-donation

Bears

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.

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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.

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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.

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Truitt takes over Raiders’ bench . . . Oil Kings lose Lauer to Jets . . . Is Pierce up next in Edmonton?

The Prince Albert Raiders introduced veteran WHL coach Jeff Truitt as their new head coach on Friday morning. He takes over from Marc Habscheid, who has signed on as the head coach of Pioneers Vorarlberg of the Austrian-based ICE Hockey League. . . . Truitt, 57,was an assistant coach alongside Habscheid for the previous four seasons. . . . A Moose Jaw native, Truitt has won WHL titles as a coach with the Lethbridge Hurricanes (1997), Kelowna Rockets (2003, 2005) and the Raiders (2019). . . . Interestingly, he moved up to head coach of the Rockets, replacing Habscheid, after the 2002-03 season. . . . He spent four seasons (1993-97) as an assistant coach with Lethbridge and was an assistant in Kelowna for four seasons (2000-04). He then spent two seasons as the Rockets’ head coach. . . . In 2009-10, Truitt was the director of hockey operations with the Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . Before joining the Raiders, he spent five-plus seasons as the Red Deer Rebels’ associate coach. . . . According to the WHL, Truitt has a regular-season record of 136-94-23 as a head coach. He is 29-21 in playoff games. . . . BTW, if you’re new to the WHL, that’s general manager Curtis Hunt to the right of Truitt in the above tweet.

After a four-year interlude in Edmonton, Brad Lauer is back in the NHL. Lauer, the head coach of the WHL’s Edmonton Oil Kings for the past four seasons has signed on with the Winnipeg Jets as an assistant coach. . . . Under Lauer, the Oil Kings are the reigning WHL champions. . . . Lauer, 55, began his coaching career by spending five seasons (2002-07) as an assistant coach with the Kootenay Ice (remember them?). . . . Before joining the Oil Kings, Lauer spent eight-plus seasons as an NHL assistant coach with the Tampa Bay Lightning, Anaheim Ducks and Ottawa Senators. . . . As a player, Lauer was with the Regina Pats for three seasons (1983-86) before going on to a pro career that included 323 regular-season NHL games. . . .

If you’re wondering who might succeed Lauer with the Oil Kings, perhaps we need look no further than Luke Pierce, who has worked as an assistant in Edmonton for four seasons. Pierce, 38, spent six seasons with his hometown BCHL-Merritt Centennials, the last five-plus as general manager and head coach. He then was the head coach of the Kootenay Ice (remember them?) for two seasons (2015-17). . . .

The Jets also added former Kamloops Blazers D Nolan Baumgartner, 46, to their organization. Baumgartner, who played four seasons (1992-96) in Kamloops, will work as an assistant coach with the AHL’s Manitoba Moose. He also is a former Moose player and team captain. Baumgartner spent the past four-plus seasons as an assistant coach with the Vancouver Canucks.

PianoBar

Jack Finarelli, aka The Sports Curmudgeon, had this in his daily missive on Thursday:

“Having mentioned Russell Westbrook, I ran across an interesting stat about him and his contract with the Lakers.

“Assuming Westbrook plays the entire 2022-23 season with Los Angeles, he will have made a total of $91.3M in salary from the Lakers.

“In 1979, Jerry Buss bought the Lakers franchise PLUS the Los Angeles Kings franchise PLUS The Forum from Jack Kent Cooke for a total of only $67.5M.”

The Saskatchewan Roughriders showed 11 players out with “illness” on the injury list released by the CFL team on Friday. They were to have played the visiting Toronto Argos today (Saturday), but the game has been moved to Sunday. . . . Some players appear to have recovered, because the team had said 13 players and three staff members tested positive.

You may recall prior to the past NBA season when Andrew Wiggins, a Canadian, caused consternation in the camp of the Golden State Warriors when he was refusing to get vaccinated. Of course, he eventually reconsidered and now that he has a championship to his credit how does he feel? “I still wish I didn’t get (vaccinated), to be honest with you,” he said. . . . To which Janice Hough, aka the Left Coast Sports Babe, responded: “About a million Americans would offer a rebuttal if they weren’t like, you know, dead.”

Dan Shaughnessy of the Boston Globe on a certain Kansas City Royals outfielder: “Andrew Benintendi played the dense card when asked about his anti-vax status at the All-Star Game. ‘I’m just here to answer baseball questions,’ said the former Red Sox outfielder. The natural follow-up should be, ‘But this IS a baseball question.’ When you choose to make yourself unavailable to your team, it’s a baseball issue. Benintendi’s intransigence may prevent him from being traded to a contender. The Yankees reportedly backed off when they learned Benintendi is a personal freedom fighter.”

THINKING OUT LOUD: The folks at Mount Allison U in Sackville, N.B., get it. They have stated that the school“will be maintaining mandatory indoor masking into the fall term. We will also be asking new students and staff to upload vaccination status and will provide testing kids.” . . . Anyone else just itching to see that Sleeman 2.0 commercial one more time? . . . Terry Mosher, aka Aislin, the Montreal Gazette’s brilliant editorial cartoonist, is the latest to produce a book in conjunction with what will be the 50th anniversary of the Summit Series. From Montreal to Moscow will be available in late August.

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THE COACHING GAME:

The AJHL’s Lloydminster Bobcats have signed Nigel Dube, their general manager and head coach, to a five-year contract extension. He has been with Lloydminster since November 2018. There is a complete news release right here.

Headline at The Beaverton (@TheBeaverton): Hockey Canada’s NDA forbids TSN from disclosing final score for all games.

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.

ColdCase