an inside look at the western hockey league u u Return Jonathon howeVictoria Royals Royal Dave Lowry is back in the WHL. This time, as Victorias new coach. Three seasons ago, he led Calgary to the WHL final. Can he repeat that showing on Vancouver Island this issue season PreView u nhl in seattle u ReMeMBeRinG 87
the First word teaM PreViews 3240 Doyle Potenteau What a long, strange summer and autumn its been. With the NHL and NHLPA at loggerheads over a new collective bargaining agreement, and the possibility of the 201213 season being wiped out, along with the sudden, and strange, news of a players union for the Canadian Hockey League, theres been no shortage of news concerning the sport during the past three months. With the NHL, its getting increasingly hard to support one side or the other. Yes,
uprising with Victorias second whl season now under way, writers and pundits are predicting a great season ahead for the gang from B.c.s capital city. capital By LARRY FISHER D ave Lowry and Cameron Hope casually strolled into Prospera Place on a sunny September afternoon for a WHL exhibition game. The opposition would be provided by the Kelowna Rockets, a franchise with which Lowry is all too familiar. As we were coming in here, he said he still had some ghosts left in this barn, said Hope
After that series, Lowry went on to join the NHLs Calgary Flames as an assistant coach, spending three seasons working under Brent Sutter. That chapter came to a close after the 201112 season when Sutters contract wasnt renewed. That meant Lowry also found himself out of work. At least until Hope came calling. Despite representing a new city one that didnt have a majorjunior franchise during Lowrys previous WHL stint the latest stop in Kelowna brought back a flood of memories. Suffice it to sa
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DAVELOWRY PositionLeft wing Shoots Left Born Feb. 14, 1965, Sudbury, ont. height6foot1 weight 200 lbs. Drafted 6th round, 110th overall, by the Vancouver Canucks in 1983 ReGULaRSeaSon StatIStICS Season, team, League GP G a Pts. PIM 198283, London Knights, OHL 42 11 16 27 48 198384, London Knights, OHL 66 29 47 76 125 198485, London Knights, OHL 61 60 60 120 94 Junior totals 169 100 123 223 267 198586, Vancouver Canucks, NHL 73 10 8 18 143 21 198687, Vancouver Canucks, NHL 70 8 10 18 176 23 1
Jonathon howeVictoria Royals Victoria Royals head coach Dave Lowry looks up during a 42 victory against the Vancouver Giants during exhibition action in Victoria at SaveOneFoods Memorial Arena on Saturday, Sept. 15. Victoria finished preseason play with a 42 record, then swept its opening weekend series against the Giants, winning 64 in Vancouver, then 32 at home. Time will tell how this newly forged tandem fares in what projto do to get there. He has tons of experience and hes good at ects to
ok, so seattle isnt exactly rinkless. But it doesnt have an nhl franchise. that could change, though, and soon, if the city builds a multipurpose venue in the stadium, or sodo, neighbourhood. Rinkless in Seattle By DOYLE POTENTEAU T he next time Mayor Stephen Mandel of Edmonton steps up to a microphone and starts talking hockey, heres hoping hes done his homework. Its been a crazy two weeks in Edmonton and Seattle, with the mayor and city council in the former winning a onesided publicrelat
Proposed site for new arena Originally built in 1962 and refurbished as the Key in 199495, the transformation was great for basketball but terrible for hockey. And by terrible, I mean horrific. Normally, scoreclocks hang above centre ice. But not at the Key, where it almost hung over one blueline. Normally, all players from both teams are seated on their respective benches. But not at the Key, where the visiting teams spare goalie was forced to sit by himself, on a folding chair to the left, be
According to ezbordercrossing.com, each day between 3,500 and 4,800 cars pass through just the Peace Arch crossing that connects B.C.s Lower Mainland with Washington state. Perhaps Mandel thinks theres some magical barrier at the 49th parallel that prevents Canadians from visiting Seattle. Or that hockeymad fans in greater Portland pop 2.2 million wont travel two hours north on I5 to visit Seattle. Think there arent hockey fans in Oregon Prior to Hansen wanting to build an arena in Seattle, talk
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REBOUND Victoria Royals goaltender Patrik Polivka eyes a rebound after stopping a slapshot during WHL exhibition action against the Kelowna Rockets at Prospera Place on Saturday, Sept. 8, 2012. Victoria won 32 in a shootout. Polivka, an 18yearold rookie from Plzen in the Czech Republic whose style somewhat resembles Dominik Haseks crazy, alloverthemap ways, stopped all 28 shots he faced in relief. Photography Dubnation 12 duBnation
MEMORIAL CUP HOSTS With the Saskatoon Blades playing host to the 2013 Memorial Cup in May, most of this editions photo gallery will be focusing on the Blades. Here, goalie Andrey Makarov focuses on an incoming shot during Saskatoons 63 homeice loss to the Kamloops Blazers on Tuesday, Dec. 14, 2011. Makarov stopped 32 shots. Photography SteVe HISCoCKSaskatoon Blades duBnation 13
LOOKING UP Darren Dietz, left, and Connor Cox of the Saskatoon Blades watch the puck during WHL regularseason action against the Regina Pats in Saskatoon on Saturday, Dec. 10, 2011. The Blades, outshot 4225, won 42. Below is Reginas Dyson Stevenson, while in goal for Saskatoon is Andrey Makarov. Photography SteVe HISCoCKSaskatoon Blades 14 duBnation
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LOOKING DOWN Saskatoons Darren Dietz, bottom left, stickchecks Reginas Lane Scheidl while Connor Cox checks Dyson Stevenson in front of Blades goaltender Andrey Makarov during Saskatoons 42 victory over the Regina Pats on Dec. 10. Makarov made 40 saves for the winners. Photography SteVe HISCoCKSaskatoon Blades duBnation 17
BALANCING ACT Saskatoon Blades goaltender Andrey Makarov makes a precarious blocker save while Blades defenceman Connor Cox and Regina forward Dyson Stevenson fight for position in the crease on Dec. 10 in Saskatoon. Photography SteVe HISCoCKSaskatoon Blades 18 duBnation
GOAL Saskatoons Lukas Sutter, top left, circles behind Reginas net while the puck crosses the goalline during the Blades 42 win over the Pats on Dec. 10. Sutter closed out the games scoring with an insurance marker at 1839 of the third. Below, Pats defenceman Colton Jobke slides into his goaltender, Matt Hewitt, who finished with 21 saves, while Brandon Davidson tries keeping close tabs on Sutter. Photography SteVe HISCoCKSaskatoon Blades duBnation 19
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CELEBRATION Saskatoons Lukas Sutter celebrates his late thirdperiod goal, which doubled as an insurance marker, in the Blades 42 win over the Regina Pats on Dec. 10. Photography SteVe HISCoCKSaskatoon Blades duBnation 21
VICTORY Saskatoons Andrey Makarov, top, and Lukas Sutter celebrate the Blades 42 victory over the Regina Pats on Dec. 10. Photography SteVe HISCoCKSaskatoon Blades 22 duBnation
PASSING PLAY Medicine Hat goaltender Tyler Bunz stretches across to stop Saskatoon rightwinger Matej Stransky from scoring during the Tigers 43 shootout loss to the Blades in Saskatoon on Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2011. Neither Stransky nor Darren Dietz, left, reached the scoresheet during regulation time, though Stransky did score in the shootout, which Saskatoon won 20. Bunz made 27 saves. Photography SteVe HISCoCKSaskatoon Blades duBnation 23
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ON TARGET Saskatoons Darren Dietz fires a slapshot during the Blades seasonopening game against the Prince Albert Raiders at Credit Union Centre in Saskatoon on Friday, Sept. 23, 2011. The Blades, who outshot the Raiders 4433, won 43. Trying to block Dietzs shot from reaching goalie Eric Williams was defenceman Josh Morrissey. Photography SteVe HISCoCKSaskatoon Blades duBnation 25
FIRST STAR Saskatoon defenceman Darren Dietz steps onto the ice after being named the first star in the Blades 73 win over the visiting Swift Current Broncos on Friday, Feb. 17, 2012. The Blades received a 44save effort from goalie Andrey Makarov in a game that saw the two sides combine for 89 shots Saskatoon 45, Swift Current 44. Dietz scored 4 goals for the Blades. Photography DereK MortenSenwww.derekmortensen.ca 26 duBnation
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SURROUNDED Saskatoons Lukas Sutter reaches for the puck while surrounded by a trio of Medicine Hat Tigers in winger Emerson Etem, left, defenceman Dylan Busenius and goaltender Tyler Bunz at Credit Union Centre in Saskatoon on Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2011. The Blades won 43 in a shootout. Saskatoon went 2for3 in the shootout, while the Tigers went 02. Bunz made 27 saves as the Tigers were outshot 3026. Photography SteVe HISCoCKSaskatoon Blades duBnation 29
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GLOVE SAVE Swift Current leftwinger Ryon Moser, left, is foiled by Saskatoon goaltender Andrey Makarov during the first period of the Blades 31 win over the Broncos at Credit Union Centre on January 31, 2012. Photography SteVe HISCoCKSaskatoon Blades duBnation 31
BlaZerMania Season Preview DubNation Guess which team is favoured to run away with the B.C. Division title this season Following a decade of mediocrity, the Blazers finally returned to the franchises former winning ways last season, and are projected to do the same again in 201213. The Kamloops Blazers will, once again, be good this season. As in really good. But will they be good enough to run with the reloaded Portland Winterhawks in the West, and the Edmonton Oil Kings and Memorial Cuphos
42A are two of the WHLs top offensive defencemen C Tyrel Seaman is a power forward looking to bounce back from an injuryplagued season. New faces Buonassisi and Yaworski provide experience, while Nejezchleb could replace some of the lost offence D Colton Waltz has been arguably the best rookie, while a deep group of young forwards including former firstround bantam picks C Tim McGauley and CD Kord Pankewicz will try to make an impact. Watch for A more balanced attack than the offence that revolv
The 20yearolds G Luke Siemens, C Anthony Bardaro and D Antoine Corbin. The imports This is where all the buzz is around the Raiders this year as 16yearold German Leon Draisaitl, the second pick overall in the 2012 import draft, has led the team in preseason scoring. The other import is returnee Jonas Knutsen of Norway. Key returnees Captain Mark McNeill is entering his fourth season with the Raiders and D Harrison Ruopp is anchoring the blueline for a third campaign. C Mike Winther, who was draf
rikainen first, Finland. Fans excited with Laurikainens potential. He had a 1.91 GAA and .923 save percentage in preseason. Key returnees LW Adam Lowry, C Graham Black, LW Coda Gordon and D Reece Scarlett need to lead. New faces Some solid drafts starting to pay off with C Zac Mackay, C Dakota Odgers, and D Brycen Martin. Local product LW Justin Spagrud, acquired from Victoria, trying to crack lineup. G Steven Myland and G Landon Bow. Watch for Lowry should have a monster season. He could be a d
Just notes Sam Reinhart wore No. 10 last year, while elder brother Max wore No. 23. This season, the younger Reinhart will ditch his old digits and take over his brothers mantle. Did you know This is Ryan McGills second stint with the Kootenay Ice. McGill coached the team from 19972002, winning two WHL championships and a Memorial Cup. The prognosis The Ice have made the playoffs for 14 consecutive years and keeping that streak alive will be the goal for this young team. Trevor CrawleyCranbrook
B.C. DIVISION KAMLOOPS BLAZERS Last season 472023, third in Western Conference, first in B.C. Division. Lost in second round. General manager Craig Bonner. Head coach Guy Charron third full season. Associate coach Dave Hunchak second season. Assistant coaches Ed Patterson, Mike Needham skills, Dan De Palma goaltenders. Key losses F Brandon Herrod and F Chase Schaber both graduated. D Austin Madaisky signed with the NHLs Columbus Blue Jackets and should open with the AHLs Springfield Falcons. The
The 20yearolds D Dan Gibb, D Dallas Ehrhardt, C Brock Hirsche. The imports Lativian D Rinalds Rosinskis, selected 65th overall in the 2012 CHL import draft. Finnish G Joonas Korpisalo, selected 5th overall and in the third round of 2012 NHL draft by Columbus has decided to play in Finland to start the season. Key returnees LW Troy Bourke, 18, was drafted in the third round of the 2012 NHL entry draft by Colorado and should a leader on and off the ice heading into his third season. C Alex Forsber
New faces G Cole Holowenko was acquired from Prince Albert just before the season began. Mueller and D Ben Betker, acquired when Everett was forced to trade superstar prospect Seth Jones to Portland, will have to play big minutes in a depleted defence. C Ty Mappin, Everetts firstround pick in the 2011 bantam draft, is expected to provide offense. Watch for Everett to give plenty of ice time to the youngsters as it builds toward the next two seasons. Just notes Everett has four players, Mappin, C
Did you know Theodore won a gold medal for Team Canada at the U18 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament in August. The prognosis A young corps of defencemen will have to be solid for the Tbirds to break their threeyear playoff drought. Jim RileySeattle Times SPOKANE CHIEFS Last season 382554, 85 points fifth in the Western Conference, third in U.S. Division. Lost in the Western Conference quarterfinals to TriCity. General manager Tim Speltz. Head coach Don Nachbaur third season. Assistants Jon Klemm
ernie Mclean The history of the WHL Legendary Coach By GREGG DRINNAN H e won four consecutive Western Hockey League championships, something no other coach ever did, or ever will do again. He won backtoback Memorial Cups, something that has been accomplished only a halfdozen times. He was a legend during a 16year WHL coaching career. And if you dont believe that, just walk into a coffee shop, an arena, a restaurant somewhere, anywhere, in western Canada and drop his name. Ernie McLean. Ernie
Hey, it aint boastin ifn you can do the roastin. And theres no probably about it. When McLeans big, bad, burly New Westminster Bruins came riding into town, it was time to hide the women and children. I remember Scotty Munro calling up to Bill Hunter one time, recalls McLean. He said, Bill, weve got to do something. I think weve created a monster out there. But were getting ahead of ourselves here. McLean, a hale and hearty Saskatchewan lad through and through, was born and raised in Estevan. He
Regina would return two seasons later, for the 197071 season. But Moose Jaw hockey fans would have to wait until the summer of 1984 to get back into the league. And Weyburn, well, it never did return. The Bruins played what would be their last season in Estevan in 197071. They finished atop the East Division but couldnt get past Winnipeg in a firstround series. And that spring, on the night of Sunday, April 18, McLean went missing. Ernest V. Punch McLean, 36, Estevan businessman and coach of the
We were leading 21 with a minute and a half left in the game and goldarn if they didnt tie the game, McLean says, pointing out that a tie wasnt much good to the Bruins and that there was no regularseason overtime in those days. So I pulled the goaltender with the faceoff at centre ice. I had Dougie Derkson at centre ice. I put two guys on the left side one of them was John Paul Kelly with that great acceleration. I had him come back like a halfback and Derkson pumped the puck through. The defenc
I stayed on and I worked for him for two months, says McLean, who acted as the clubs general manager, while Muzz MacPherson, a son of legendary Winnipeg broadcaster Stew MacPherson, coached. But there was no possible way that I could see that it was going to work out. Muzz stayed and I left and Tracy Pratt came in to my spot. As it turned out, that was the franchises last season in New Westminster. The Edmonton Oilers, of owner Peter Pocklington, bought it and moved it to Kamloops. New Westminst
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sePteMBer reMeMBer to Canadas Wayne Gretzky, left, hugs Mario Lemieux after Lemieux scored what proved to be the game and serieswinning goal on Soviet Union goalie Sergei Mylnikov during Game 3 of the 1987 Canada Cup in Hamilton, Ont., on Sept. 15, 1987. Canadas Larry Murphy, right, and Dale Hawerchuk skate towards Gretzky and Lemieux. 48 duBnation Gary Hershorn Reuters
It certainly helped my career a lot and also prolonged it in the sense that you know youre looked at as one of the top players and you keep your game at that level as long as you can. By GREG MEACHEM In preparing for the 87 Canada Cup, the Canadian squad gaththe Red Deer advocate ered in Toronto, Aug. 1, for a oneweek training camp. The players then trained in Montreal for another week before t was 25 years on Tuesday, Sept. 15, hitting the road for exhibition games across Canada. that Canada an
k.c.s corner Getting interactive with practices and drills CONCEPTS FROM TOTAL HOCKEYS PRACTICES AND DRILLS DISC Philosophy of Practice Stated Objectives At the beginning of each season, the coach must institute a team philosophy concerning practice. He must discuss with his team the importance of practice. He must communicate the fact that players must practice at a pace fast enough that playing games becomes easy. He must state his rules regarding meetings before practice, attendance at prac
This checklist may not work for every coach, but it is recommended that a coach use some sort of checklist when preparing for practice. 1. Number of players Find out from the training staff, or from the players, who is available for practice, and factor this into which drills you choose and how the drills are organized. Require that players communicate when they are going to miss a practice. 2. Line combinations and defence pairings Generally, players will need to know what line combinations or
the last word Hockey fans wont be able to find any Chicoutimi Cucumbers here appeared in the Kamloops Daily News shows nicknames like Needs, Gels, Papper, Goody, Cons, Willy, Crosser, Hanny, Souts,Chevy, Sterz and on and on. Oh, there are a couple of exceptions goaltender Taran Kozun is sometimes called Tarzan but he also answers to Kozy, while leftwinger Brendan Ranford will respond if you call him Billy. He is a nephew to former NHL goaltender Bill Ranford. But, sheesh, wheres the imaginatio
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