The Prince Albert Raiders welcomed back C Andy Smith in Friday’s 3-2 loss to the visiting Kelowna Rockets. Smith, an 18-year-old from Rosetown, Sask., had been out since Oct. 18 with a knee injury originally incurred during the exhibition season. Smith dressed for six games early in the season but ended up having knee surgery. He had 33 points as a freshman last season. . . . The Raiders won’t get D Jeff May, their captain, or C Bryce Lamb back until after the Christmas break. Lamb is aiming for a Dec. 27 visit by the Saskatoon Blades, while May (shoulder) has his eyes on a Jan. 5 game with the visiting Medicine Hat Tigers. . . .
D Jon Blum of the Vancouver Giants has signed an entry-level contract – Merry Christmas, Jon – with the NHL’s Nashville Predators. He was the 23rd pick in the 2007 NHL draft. He got the rookie maximum allowed under the CBA and that calls for $875,000 a year in the NHL. . . . Blum is the WHL’s highest-scoring defencemen. He had 39 points in 34 games going into Saturday’s games. . . .
If you were wondering, the WHL’s Christmas trade moratorium runs from Dec. 19 through Boxing Day (Dec. 26). . . . The trade deadline is Jan. 10 at 3 p.m. Mountain time. . . .
The Czech roster has been finalized for the World Junior Championship, which opens Dec. 26 in the Czech cities of Pardubice and Liberec. Included on the roster are 10 players from CHL teams -- G Michal Neuvirth (Windsor), G Jakub Kovar (Oshawa), D Jan Piskacek (Cape Brenton), D Michal Jordan (Plymouth), D Martin Paryzek (Ottawa), D Patrik Prokop (Shawinigan), F Jakub Voracek (Halifax), F Michal Frolik (Rimouski), F Martin Latal (P.E.I.) and F Daniel Bartek (Brandon). . . . Not on the roster are F Vladimir Ruzicka, the son of the former NHLer of the same name, and F Michal Repik of Vancouver. The younger Ruzicka has a broken thumb; Repik has a concussion. . . .
The Kelowna Rockets will finish up their Prairie swing tonight in Saskatoon and they’ll likely do it without team captain James McEwan. He was taken to hospital after a hard hit Friday in Prince Albert, but tests were negative. There was concerned about cracked or broken ribs. . . . With McEwan out, F Myles MacRae, 19, may get back in. He’s been a healthy scratch for the last two games. . . . Also listed as possible is F Kyle St. Denis (concussion). . . . Interesting sidelight to tonight’s game in Saskatoon is that Blades freshman LW Curtis Hamilton, who turned 16 on Dec. 4, is the son of Kelowna governor, president and GM Bruce Hamilton.
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