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December 22, 1995
The Hockey News has been providing the most comprehensive coverage of the world of hockey since 1947. In each issue, you'll find news, features and opinions about the NHL and leagues across North America and the world.
Flichel intends to prove he belongs with the best
The World Junior Championship is a novel experience for Kelowna Rockets’ right winger Marty Flichel. But the climate will not be totally unfamiliar. Rockets’ coach Marcel Comeau will call the shots for Canada at the upcoming WJC. Flichel was one of 32 players-including 15 Western League products-invited to try out for the Canadian entry. “Maybe (Comeau) had to push a bit to get me there,” said Flichel, 19. “If so, I appreciate him doing that. I don’t want to say that’s why I’m there, but it might have had a bit to do with it.” Canada’s training camp is Dec. 13-18 in Campbellton, N.B. The roster will be pared to 22 for the WJC, which runs Dec. 26-Jan. 4 in the Boston area. “I’m going to show people I’m there because of the way I…
Vallieres heroic again for native Seawolves
David Vallieres was once a heroic hockey player in Alaska. After a brief exile, he’s becoming a star again. A junior center at Alaska-Anchorage, Vallieres was among the Western Collegiate Hockey Association top scorers this season, averaging a goal a game in 15 outings. That’s the kind of output Anchorage coach Brush Christiansen has been anticipating for a while. Vallieres was Alaska’s high school player of the year when, in his junior season, he led Chugiak to the 1991 state championship. He left Alaska for his final year of high school to play in the United States League. After two seasons in the USHL, including one where he led the Dubuque Fighting Saints to a U.S. Jr. A title, he returned home to play for the Seawolves. Frustration followed. Vallieres didn’t score in his…
Life tough at the bottom for Wichita Thunder
For two seasons, the Wichita Thunder was the model of consistency in the Central League. The team was physical, high-scoring, intimidating and, well, invincible. And it had back-to-back league titles to show for it. But that seems like ages ago. This season, the Thunder is the league’s doormat. The Thunder had been in last place since the first week of the season. Coach Don Jackson, a former coach of the International League’s Cincinnati Cyclones in his first season at Wichita, was fervently trying to make deals to upgrade his roster. But as one coach said, “He doesn’t have anything anybody wants.” Actually, teams were willing to deal for the popular and tough winger Rob Weingartner, and Jackson dealt him to the San Antonio Iguanas for right winger Dave Shute. The move drew the ire…
Spinal injury ends career
A young American player was faced with the prospect of being confined to a wheelchair the rest of his life after falling into the boards during a game in Switzerland’s top league. Pat Schafhauser, of St. Paul, Minn., had light feeling in his neck, shoulders and arms, but nothing below his rib cage, three days after the Dec. 5 accident. The 24-year-old Lugano defenseman was chasing a puck in his end when he collided with Davos fore-checker Oliver Roth. The helmeted Schafhauser lost his balance and slid six feet head-first into the boards. After being transported to a hospital in Davos, Schafhauser was airlifted to a spinal clinic in Nottwill, Switz., where it was determined he had a dislocation of the sixth and seventh cervical vertebra, near the shoulder blades. His spinal cord…
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