WHL TRADE DEADLINE: Thursday, 3 p.m. Calgary time.
The Ty Wishart Sweepstakes are over with the Prince George Cougars having dealt the veteran defenceman to the Moose Jaw Warriors, who ended up paying quite a price. . . . Moose Jaw general manager Chad Lang, never shy about pulling the trigger on a blockbuster, acquired Wishart, 19, C Evan Fuller, 19, and a 2008 third-round bantam draft pick from the Cougars for RW Brad Riege, 18, C Justin Maylan, 16, and a 2008 first-round draft pick. . . . A first-round selection, 16th overall, by the San Jose Sharks in the NHL’s 2006 draft, Wishart, 6-foot-5 and 205 pounds, leads WHL defencemen with 40 points, including 12 goals, in 40 games. . . . Lang told the Moose Jaw Times-Herald: “We thought if we could add another piece of the puzzle that would give us a serious legitimate opportunity to compete and to be where we ultimately want to be — and that’s in the league final. He’s a 6-foot-5, 205-pound defenceman who moves well. He brings size, he brings leadership and playoff experience. He’s a guy who is going to anchor the power-play and we feel adding him to our power-play unit . . . he’s going to elevate that.” . . . Fuller has 14 points in 24 games and should add some grit to the Warriors’ frontline ranks. . . . The price was steep, as Maylan, who turns 17 on Jan. 20, was the 17th overall pick in the 2006 draft. He has six points in 20 games. . . . Riege, a gritty guy, has seven points and 59 penalty minutes in 35 games. The Warriors acquired him from the Lethbridge Hurricanes on Sept. 2, 2006, for a 2007 third-round draft pick. He was the 26th overall pick in the 2004 draft. . . . Prince George GM Dallas Thompson, who dealt his first-round pick to the Saskatoon Blades in landing RW Devon Setoguchi a year ago, wanted to get back into the first round and he has accomplished that. . . .
The Saskatoon Blades traded away their captain, dealing C Justin McCrae, 19, to the Spokane Chiefs for C Chris Langkow, 18, RW Burke Gallimore, 16, and a conditional third-round pick in the 2009 bantam draft. That pick likely depends on whether McCrae plays in Spokane as a 20-year-old. . . . McCrae is in his fourth season with the Blades. This season he has 24 points, 11 of them goals, and 22 penalty minutes in 35 games. In 241 games, McCrae has 133 points and 224 penalty minutes. McCrae was selected by the Carolina Hurricanes with the 102nd pick of the 2007 NHL draft. There is some history between McCrae and Spokane head coach Bill Peters – the two won silver medals with Team Pacific at the 2005 U-17 World Hockey Challenge. . . . Langkow, a fifth-round bantam pick in 2004, has 15 points, including seven goals, and 14 penalty minutes in 39 games. . . . Gallimore is the gem in this deal. The 23rd pick in the 2006 draft, he is fourth in the Alberta Midget Hockey League scoring race. Playing on a line with C Brendan Ranford, the 15th pick in the 2007 draft by the Kamloops Blazers, on the Edmonton Canadian Athletic Club (Gregg Distributors), Gallimore has 39 points in 25 games. Ranford leads the scoring race with 60 points. Gallimore, 5-foot-11 and 190 pounds, has 15 goals and 24 assists. . . .
The Chilliwack Bruins have acquired D Matt Strong, 17, from the Red Deer Rebels for LW Colby Kulhanek, 18. . . . Strong, 6-foot-2 and 200 pounds, turns 18 on Thursday. It is the second time Strong has been dealt this season. On Nov. 12, Strong and LW Brennan Sonne, 20, were sent by the Everett Silvertips to Red Deer for LW Clayton Bauer, 20, and a sixth-round pick in the 2008 bantam draft. . . . Strong, taken 50th overall by Everett in the 2005 draft, has played 32 games this season, with one goal and 55 penalty minutes. . . . Kulhanek has 22 points, including 11 goals, in 40 games. However, he has cooled a bit since striking for four goals in his first five games. . . .
TRADE BANTER: With the Wishart sweepstakes over, it could be that Chilliwack D Nick Holden, 20, has become the most valuable chip out there. Holden, the Bruins’ captain, is available. . . . The Regina Leader-Post’s Greg Harder is reporting that the Pats have “a tentative agreement” with the Edmonton Oil Kings for RW Robin Figren, 19. Figren, who had 27 points and 54 penalty minutes in 62 games with Calgary last season, went to Edmonton in the expansion draft. He has 25 points and 30 penalty minutes in 26 games with the Oil Kings. And he shone with Sweden at the World Junior Championship, totaling seven points and a team-leading five goals in seven games. . . . At one time, it was speculated that the Hitmen would be interested in reacquiring Figren. Calgary has an open import spot after releasing Slovakian LW Martin Stepan. But it seems the price went up after Figren excelled at the WJC. Still, the Hitmen may be interested in LW Ondrej Fiala, who is with Saskatoon. However, Fiala is a two-spotter – a 20-year-old import – which means Calgary would have to drop a 20-year-old to accommodate such a move. Calgary GM Kelly Kisio told the Calgary Sun he is interested in Fiala “but then we’d have to move one of our overagers out. If there’s something out there that wouldn’t cost us an arm and a leg, I might consider it.” Calgary’s 20-year-olds are C Brock Nixon, acquired Saturday from Kamloops, D Ryan Gillen and D Dan Mercer. . . .
MORE TRADE BANTER: Saskatoon GM/head coach Lorne Molleken has told the Saskatoon StarPhoenix that he won’t be moving C Colton Gillies, 18, who played for Canada at the WJC. The Blades are 18 points out of a playoff spot and have dealt their captain, C Justin McCrae, to Spokane, but Molleken said: “We’re not trading Colton Gillies. There’s absolutely no way. He’s a young guy who has played extremely hard and he’s only 18, so that’s probably why he’s untouchable right now.” . . . The Kamloops Blazers, who made big noise on the weekend, were quiet Monday. But having traded away two 20-year-olds – D Ryan Bender, to Regina, and C Brock Nixon, to Calgary – the Blazers are in the market for two players to fill those spots. They are hopeful of landing a defenceman and a centre. . . . Kamloops co-owner Mark Recchi told me Monday night that the Blazers aren’t interested in moving Finnish RW Juuso Puustinen, 19. . . . The Lethbridge Hurricanes could announce a move or two on Tuesday. GM Roy Stasiuk has said he isn’t interested in leaving things to the last moment. And he has a couple of holes to fill, having D Paul MacDonald (broken wrist) and RW Luke Wiens (shoulder) during a recent road trip. Wiens, 20, may be gone for the season, which means Lethbridge could add a 20-year-old before Thursday. . . .
THE MacBETH MOMENT: Garth MacBeth, our man on the European scene, reports that F Jan Fadrny (Brandon/Kelowna) has signed with Sumperk (Czech 1.Liga, the second level league). . . . D Troy Neumeier (Prince Albert) has gone from Coventry to Hull in the UK Elite League. . . . D Kevin Young (Medicine Hat/Portland/Kelowna) and F Ty Morris (Swift Current/Vancouver/Red Deer) signed with Landsberg (Germany 2.Bundesliga). Young had not played with any team this season (he was with Hull last season). Morris had been with Bad Nauheim in the German Oberliga. . . .
NOTEBOOK: The Saskatoon Blades have recalled F Darian Dziurzynski, 16, from the midget AAA Lloydminster Bobcats and he’ll stay with the big club for the rest of this season. The 5-foot-11, 165-pounder, who is from Lloydminster, had 35 points, including 20 goals, and 100 penalty minutes in 26 games with the Bobcats. . . . G David Reekie, who made WHL stops in Kamloops, Regina and Everett, is the USHL’s goaltender of the week. Reekie, 20, was 3-0-0 with a 1.33 GAA and a .960 save percentage for the Lincoln Stars. . . . Kootenay Ice F Josh Gionfriddo is out indefinitely after breaking a bone in a hand during a Friday night fight with Calgary F Ian Schultz.
The WMJHWA poll, which ranks WHL teams, showing this week’s ranking, last week’s ranking, first-place votes and total points (22 for a first, 21 for a second, etc.):
1. (1) Spokane Chiefs (12) 327
2. (3) Vancouver Giants (2) 314
3. (T4) Calgary Hitmen (1) 304
4. (2) Tri-City Americans 284
5. (T4) Brandon Wheat Kings 261
6. (6) Lethbridge Hurricanes 249
7. (10) Kelowna Rockets 236
8. (9) Regina Pats 222
9. (7) Kootenay Ice 217
10. (11) Medicine Hat Tigers 202
11. (8) Moose Jaw Warriors 175
12. (13) Seattle Thunderbirds 154
13. (14) Everett Silvertips 147
14. (12) Swift Current Broncos 145
15. (15) Chilliwack Bruins 138
16. (16) Kamloops Blazers 100
17. (17) Edmonton Oil Kings 86
18. (18) Prince Albert Raiders 77
19. (19) Saskatoon Blades 61
20. (21) Red Deer Rebels 44
21. (20) Prince George Cougars 37
22. (22) Portland Winter Hawks 15
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