Here is a clip from today’s media session with Regina Pats’ HC/GM John Paddock, who was asked a few questions about the potential for a Connor Bedard trade. More to come on Kamloops This Week, Kamloops Last Week, CBC Radio Kamloops.
South Kamloops Titans won first senior boys VB B.C. high school title in city history yesterday. They drove home today from Langley and went to site of the accident that took life of
@GoTRUWolfPack
men’s VB player Owyn McInnis and left two of his teammates in critical condition.
First week on the job. Can’t thank the
@CFJC_Today
team enough for the warm welcome. I’ll be telling
#TourneyCap
stories in print, on TV and on the radio. Lots to learn. Big time. Thankful for my time at
#KTdubya
. KLW was a blast. Love the
@CBCKamloops
crew. Pumped for new era.
Background: Domenico missed last szn with concussion. On Friday, while his team played in the QF round, he was in crowd, leading chants on a megaphone. Healthy scratch. He was activated when captain Pirretas was hurt and subbed in tonight. Scores winning penalty. From Kamloops.
Positive news tonight on Owen Waterhouse, the
@GoTRUWolfPack
volleyball player from Kelowna who suffered severe brain trauma in motor-vehicle accident in November in Kamloops. He is in hospital in Kelowna, out of coma and breathing on his own. Info from family, via HC Hennelly.
Logan Stankoven surprised this evening by Stu Middleton of Hockey Gives Blood with Dayna Brons Honourary Award. Room full of friends, family. The
@DallasStars
prospect Stankoven has been a Hockey Gives Blood ambassador since he was 17, advocating for stem cell and blood donation
.
@EarlCFJCsports
, you are a complete and total legend. Congratulations to you on your Hall-of-Fame career. The impact you’ve had on this town’s sports scene — and people in it — is immeasurable. You’ll deserve every accolade you receive in the coming days. Enjoy retirement :)
They placed one of the team’s gold medals and flowers at the site. McInnis was among WolfPack players who helped coach Titans and Kamloops Volleyball Association players. There were personal relationships. A classy tribute. Will have more tmrw for
@CBCKamloops
and
@CastanetKam
.
Logan Stankoven fought off tears during an interview. Still said yes to this photo op. Lots of emotion, as you would expect. Dejected. Classy from the co-captain.
#Kamloops
Word on Fraser Minten this a.m. from the Blazers is they expect him back in Kamloops this weekend and hope is he'll be good to play in time for Oct. 21/22 weekend. For now, he is rehabbing wrist with
@MapleLeafs
.
Just off phone with Bobby and Lori Sopotyk, Kyrell's parents. Heartbreaking call. Will share a few of their words this morning. They are in shock. Doctors told Kyrell he is paralyzed from belly button down and will never walk again. Family not giving up on him walking again.
Next Wednesday is final edition of KTW. We’re going to run memories from readers throughout paper. Maybe a story touched you. Maybe you delivered paper. Anything. Send in your memories. Include your name. We’ll run them all online, some in paper. Sports
@kamloopsthisweek
.com
Had an absolute blast last night. Here's the piece.
'I’ve never felt this happy before' — underdog Westsyde Whundas win first-ever senior boys' provincial basketball title (with slideshow)
We're taking ownership of Kamloops Last Week, aiming to grow. Thanks to
@MineerBrett
,
@RadioNLNews
for invite to talk about show. I don’t know exactly what future holds for KLW, but I’m fired up to see what we can accomplish.
.
@FarhanLaljiTSN
talks football, HS sports in Q&A — 'It doesn’t make sense that youth sports are being played and high school sports are not. I really think this all comes down to optics and liability. It doesn’t come down to health and safety.' ...
The Mittons :) TRU signed Jude this year. He was in the team championship pic and was brought onto field by captain Josh Banton. Suffers from Duchenne muscular dystrophy. One of the most compelling nights in Kamloops sports history.
Whoa. Hadn't seen this one from
@ADouglasPhotos
. Kamloops kid Alesandro Comita (right) full-sending celebration after his go-ahead goal in front of hometown sellout crowd in extra-time of national final. He may want a copy of this one ...
#AllyD
@GoTRUWolfPack
68-68 with 26.6 secs left in Q4 when Caleb Ezedebego hit this shot he’ll remember for the rest of his life. He added two free throws to make it 73-68. Alex Moch of Lambrick Park made a three with 2.9 secs left. Whundas hung on to win first senior boys BC hoops title. 73-71 final.
I felt zero emotion walking into booth last night w/
@JonKeenNLSports
. Triggered damn quick. Here's our chat about closure of
@KamThisWeek
, my time covering sports/
@blazerhockey
, what co-workers/boss mean to me, gratitude toward community, what's next —
On a personal note, I'll join the choir of people singing Don Moores' praises. Always answered the call. Always offered you respect and a smile. I spoke to him on Monday night. He was coy about the Blazers' GM search and we shared a laugh. Very sad.
Today's story, with quotes from Bobby and Lori Sopotyk.
"We still want to see him walking and hoping,” Lori said. “We realize he had big dreams. We all had big dreams, and he was pursuing. You know what, he’s going to have different dreams now.”
The Kamloops Blazers will have two players on Team Canada’s roster for the third consecutive year at world juniors. Logan Stankoven and Caedan Bankier, both 19-year-old forwards, have cracked the national junior team squad.
Kamloops This Week newspaper is dead. So we send it off properly on Kamloops Last Week. This is what it looks, sounds and feels like when work families are gutted. Some great memories shared among current and former employees.
#KamloopsLastWake
Logan Stankoven, 19, already has a Kamloops Sports Hall of Fame resume. He is aiming to pad it by becoming first from Kamloops to win two World Junior Hockey Championship gold medals. Blazers will have six medals from last three world juniors. Colour count to be determined soon.
Seattle Thunderbirds' HC Matt O'Dette looks ahead to Kamloops Blazers, potential classic Western Conference final. Talks pressure, loaded rosters, Zellweger, Hofer, goaltending, Iginla, much more.
Complete interview audio/transcript of Q and A ...
Players will try to say “the right things” when asked about attendance, as they have during these playoffs. But the likes on this tweet tell a bit of a story. I understand these can be hard times financially. Still, my feel is the city can do better for the WC final.
Will dive deeper into trade tmrw. Did talk to Drew Englot this eve. 20 F. Last year. Split from Memorial Cup-host team. Not an easy time for him. Handling with class. Spent day with teammates, had dinner. Said goodbyes. A quote on leaving his billet parents, Val and Les Davidson:
“I had my mind set on playing in this league,” said Nick McCarry, a 5-foot-9, 165-pound forward from Calgary. “It was never ‘You’re going back to play junior A.’ I still thought I could play in this league and I still have a lot to prove.”
Put together a mini-doc-type-thing for Episode 67 of Kamloops Last Week to chronicle the
@GoTRUWolfPack
run to the
@USPORTS_Soccer
title. Here's a little clip. Tons more up-close-and-personal video, commentary, right here, at 21:32:
Damn cool story.
@kyrellsopotyk
has won bronze in 1,500-metre wheelchair racing at Canada Summer Games. He will compete later this week in 100m and 400m. Former Kamloops Blazer was paralyzed from waist down in snowboarding accident in Jan. 2021. We're planning to have him ...
Greg Stewart of Kamloops to compete in shot put today at Paralympics. 6:33 p.m. start
#Kamloops
time. Here's a look into the 7-foot-2, 350-pound big fella's mindset —
Raiya Matonovich, who turns 14 in June, is posting middle-distance running times that rank among world's best in her age category this year. Sister, Jayse, 16, is pegged among top 15 female B.C. high school AAA basketball players to watch in 2021-2022 ...
Semi-pro soccer team Rivers FC coming soon to League1 BC, one of seven league clubs. Much more to come.
@GoTRUWolfPack
reps here, including AD Atkinson. Keith Liddiard is GM. TRU’s Antulov, Pennington will coach men’s, women’s Rivers sides.
@1BCSoccer
Stankoven averaging 15:36 of ice time and leading tournament in faceoff percentage, winning 29 of 35 faceoffs for a mark of 85.37 per cent. Matyas Sapovaliv of Czechia is second in the category (32-for-59, 68.6 per cent) ...
"I'm on a high right now," said Tyson Galloway, a 6-foot-3, 220-pound defenceman who toils for the Calgary Hitmen in the WHL. "I'm living on a cloud."
(Also, Logan Stankoven seems just a wee bit motivated by the Round 1 snub) ...
Kamloops Last Week rolls into new era ...
We’re loving diving into everything local — politics, business, sports, arts, entertainment and general city news — and believe we’re only just scratching the surface of what's possible for the
#LastWeekClique
:)
Found this old gem in the KTW files. That’s Don Moores, along with
@patodonovan
and Shane Zulyniak, among others, on McHappy Day in 2007. Trademark Mooresy smile.
@blazerhockey
#Kamloops
resident Dunstone in reach of
#Brier
Tankard, $100,000, a berth at Tim Hortons Curling Trials, right to represent Canada at world championship and ending Saskatchewan drought that dates back to 1980. Yeah, it's a big day for
@TeamMDunstone
...
Penalty-kick hero Jackson Gardner,
@GoTRUWolfPack
keeper whose diving stop was only save of shootout. Perhaps caught cheating a touch on McMaster goal. Made up for it with save of his life to date.
Sage words and a great quote from former NHLer Jan Ludvig, who has been around the game for a long time. Now HC of
@StormKamloops
, his club fell in Game 7 in Round 1 KIJHL series.
In both the QF and SF penalty shootouts at
@USPORTSca
men’s soccer championship, Patrick Izett has shot fifth and scored to seal victory for
@GoTRUWolfPack
. It’s taken years off his life, he said, but he’d gladly do it again on Sunday in final …
.
@SKSS_Titans
came home from Langley yesterday, a day after winning historic gold, drove to crash site where a friend of their team, Owyn McInnis of
@GoTRUWolfPack
, lost his life last week. They left medal, talked about Owyn. Thx to
@CastanetKam
for space:
Minnesota Wild general manager Bill Guerin today announced the National Hockey League club has signed Kamloops Blazers' forward Caedan Bankier to a three-year, entry-level contract, starting with the 2023-24 season. — Per
@mnwild
Meet Team Canada! 🇨🇦
2⃣5⃣ players – representing six provinces from British Columbia to New Brunswick – will wear the 🍁 at the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship.
ROSTER ⏩
#WorldJuniors
|
#OurGameIsBack
Wasn't sure how the Englot parents were reacting to me calling their son a farm boy in articles. Answer came quick when they, with no prompting, entered the Zoom call from their tractor on the family farm in Candiac, Sask. This was fun. Complete interview:
ASTOUNDING wealth of talent to feature in KAM-SEA
@TheWHL
Western Conference final (see pic for details) — 19 NHL-drafted players, eight players listed in
@NHL
Central Scouting final rankings ahead of 2023 NHL Draft and nine players who won gold for Canada at 2023 world juniors.
Work duties have kept B.C. champion curler Erin Pincott from attending the
#Brier
in Kingston. Here are her thoughts on her boyfriend Matt Dunstone's run at the
#Brier
. Watching from afar not easy. Mental work paying off for the
#Kamloops
resident and Team Sask ...
Logan Stankoven of Kamloops Blazers is WHL player of month for January.
@DallasStars
prospect led all WHL skaters with 24 points, including 10G, in nine games. Three or more points in six of those games. Nearly half (27) of his 56 points tallied on current 10-game point streak.
Logan Stankoven tallied 5 points, including 1G, for Cyclone Hydrovac Flyers on Thursday in 7-1 win over Rivershore Kings in Kamloops Ball Hockey League action. Does this solidify his position as Round 1 pick in tonight's NHL Draft? 😅 Spoke to him yesterday. Story online soon.