Swift Current’s Graham Black is an awesome story. He’s lucky to be playing hockey at all. At age 14, he became sick and lost 30 pounds. He was bed ridden and couldn’t even consider playing hockey. It took doctors a while to diagnose a thyroid issue. Drafted by the Edmonton Oil Kings, and later traded to Swift, Black stopped taking his thyroid medication to see if his body learned to regulate itself. It didn’t work and he was hospitalized, losing significant weight again. He’s currently back on the meds and playing at about 80 per cent while still down a few pounds. He’ll have surgery to help better manage the thyroid issue at season’s end.

In speaking with Regina Pats head coach Pat Conacher, he brought up an interesting idea: how about each CHL team gets the option of having five players on their roster that can be filled with a combination of Europeans and 20-year-olds. Think about it, for those teams that can’t traditionally attract/recruit top-end European players; they would get the option to keep an extra two over-age players. It also makes sense in that such a rule would give more Canadian kids an extra year of CHL play.

Is there anyway Andrey Makarov can wear the Russian jersey for Blades games the rest of the season?

And just when you thought the Subway Super Series was dead…

Although it has been juggled around, be sure to check out the first episode of the “On The Edge.” It documents the Saskatoon Blades’ season. Be sure to check your local listings to see when it airs on your regional Sportsnet channel.

Another great event put on by the Victoria. This time around it was the Royals doing the honours. When the Subway Super Series was in Victoria three years ago, the event was well received and foreshadowed the eventual return to the WHL. There’s no doubt Victoria would be a perfect host for the MasterCard Memorial Cup in the future.

Hearing whispers that the Vancouver Giants are interested in hosting the MasterCard Memorial Cup once again when it returns to the WHL in 2016.

Lack of attendance in Kootenay is becoming an issue. What more can you ask for in a franchise? They’ve had solid ownership, great coaches, and are regular playoff contenders. Mastercard Memorial Cup champs in ’02, returned to the Big Dance 10 years later, and the list goes on and on….

By the way, the Ice won all three of its games this week, including two shutouts by Mackenzie Skapski.

When Brent Sutter didn’t pick up a job with an NHL team, it was only a matter of time before Sutter took over behind the bench in Red Deer.

Jesse Wallin is too good a coach and works way too hard to be out of work for an extended period.

In fact, if I was Lorne Molleken, I’d consider hiring Wallin to coach the Blades while I focussed on player procurement. That’s not to say Molleken is a bad coach, or that Dave Struch can’t do the job, but a completely different voice might help turn things around.

The Rebels are 2-0 under Brent Sutter.

JC Lipon is a world class wakeboarder, and the WHL’s leading scorer.

Great piece right here on Jordan DePape by one of my favourite writers.

The Portland Winterhawks’ 12-game win streak came to an end in Kamloops Friday.

Brendan Leipsic has multi-point efforts in 9 of the Winterhawks’ last 10 games.

Speaking of the Winterhawks, they will be in the news at some point this week, and it won’t be good news.

Eric Comrie is going to be a stud in goal. He should’ve started the Vancouver game of the Subway Super Series. Along with ’95 born keepers Zachary Fucale in Halifax and Spencer Martin in Mississauga, the future of Canadian goaltending is looking up, way up.

Ryan Murray may miss an extended period of time after leaving Everett’s game Friday thanks to a check from Victoria forward Logan Nelson.

Nice to run into Oilers GM Steve Tambellini in Victoria. He was mum on the topic of RNH being released to represent Canada at the World Juniors. If I was a betting man, I’d say he’ll be there if the NHL is still not back to work.

The Kitchener Rangers lost for the first time in the new and improved Memorial Auditorium Sunday. Leave it to the London Knights to get that done.

In that game, Matt Rupert suffered a nasty facial cut. He was unintentionally hit in the face by Kitchener’s Ryan Murphy’s skate.

There is no other player in the CHL like Jonathan Drouin. While he may not be the best player in the CHL, he brings things to the table that others simply can’t.

Worst-case scenario for Hockey Canada: the NHL settles and camp starts anywhere from Dec. 3 to Jan. 5.

Check back in this space next week for my predictions for who will be invited to the World Junior Selection camp which begins in Calgary on Dec. 10.

A breakdown of the top 1995 born goalies in the CHL:

*Denotes born in 1995 but not eligible for the NHL draft until 2014

Don’t know if the Blue Jays considered Dave Martinez or Juan Samuel for the recently-filled manager position, but both should’ve been if they weren’t. Martinez has been mentored by the best manager in baseball, while Samuel has had some managerial experience with the Baltimore Orioles. And both were former Blue Jays.

As mentioned last week in this space, it was a lot more than whispers on the Brampton Battalion moving to North Bay. Battalion president Mike Griffin is from North Bay which made negotiations smooth and easy.

Is it possible that fans from Brampton will head the seven kilometres down the road to get their OHL fix?

National Hockey League scouts are sad to see the Battalion on the move. A Sunday afternoon affair at the Bunker is centrally located and still gets you into Oshawa or Kitchener for an evening start, the scouts’ version of the day-night doubleheader.

The Russian team in the Subway Super Series is the real deal. In fact, many NHL scouts adjusted travel plans to check out a cast of draft eligible players from both sides. But remember, the Russians did not dress Valeri Nichushkin or Bogdan Yakimov in Game 1 while Nathan MacKinnon, Anthony Mantha, William Carrier and Nikolas Brouillard all played for Team QMJHL in its loss.

Nail Yakupov actually made it over to Canada for the Subway Super Series. There was a prevailing thought he would not as he had been playing in the KHL.

Yakupov has been known for his celebrations after goals. He scored in Game 1, and it looked as if even he was shocked, thus no celly for the fans.

It’s been a half season since seeing Jonathan Drouin and he was simply magical in Saturday’s 5-1 win over Drummondville. Drouin has scouts thinking of Patrick Kane, Claude Giroux and John Tavares with his stick skills. He scored one of the best goals I’ve ever seen, but surely this video won’t do it justice:

— Condolences to the Veilleux family. Baie Comeau’s head coach Eric lost his father to cancer this past weekend.

— An impressive victory by the Guelph Storm on Friday Night Hockey. A 1-0 Oshawa lead was erased by the Storm with four third-period goals.

— Oddly enough, while scouting with the Phoenix Coyotes and dealing with Guelph head coach Scott Walker, Oshawa GM Jeff Twohey went outside the box when he hired DJ Smith. Smith and Walker are similar personalities.

— Despite renovations in Erie, there’s still a thought that the Otters are courting Hamilton.

— On Saturday, Andre Tourigny (just 38-years-old) coached his 657th game with the same team to set a QMJHL record. He’s spent 11 straight years at the helm of the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies.

— Old school: After Saint John’s 3-2 loss to Shawinigan Sunday, head coach Mike Kelly bag-skated his team with some fans still on their way out of the building.

— Tough break for Rimouski, literally, losing Frederik Gauthier to a broken jaw and in the same game Jan Kostalek to a broken collarbone.

— Congrats to BC’s U-16 team that took the Western Canada Challenge Cup over the weekend thanks to a 9-3 win over Alberta. It’s a marquee event for WHL teams to track drafted players.

— Many NHL people are getting the sense that this lockout thing will come to an end by the end of the week.

Only twice since 1974 has there been two players selected in the first three picks that came from the same team. The Sedins were drafted out of Modo in 1999.

And in 2012, Nail Yakupov (1st overall to Edmonton) and Alex Galchenyuk (3rd overall to Montreal) both spent the 2011-12 season in Sarnia.

Since the inception of the draft, it has occurred six times including the Sarnia duo from last year.

Thanks to Scott Carruthers and Terry Baak for that one.