Tuesday's early news

WHL TRADE DEADLINE: Thursday, 3 p.m. Calgary time.

ON THE MOVE (since Jan. 1):
Players: 23
Bantam draft picks: 5
Conditional bantam draft picks: 2

The Tri-City Americans have acquired D Nolan Toigo, 18, from the Vancouver Giants for a conditional sixth-round pick in the 2009 bantam draft. Toigo is a nephew of Vancouver Giants majority owner Ron Toigo. Nolan played 47 games with the Giants over two seasons before leaving the club earlier this season. He has been with the BCHL’s Surrey Eagles and will remain there. The Americans plan to use the 6-foot-1, 180-pound Toigo as an affiliate player, bringing him in if they have injury problems and also during the playoffs. He has 10 points and 35 penalty minutes in 22 games with Surrey. . . .

The Kamloops Blazers will be without RW Tyler Shattock for up to six weeks. It was thought Shattock had suffered a sprained left ankle during a 6-1 loss to the Rockets in Kelowna on Saturday. However, further tests have shown he has a broken lower left tibia. Shattock, 17, has 20 points in 41 games. . . . The Blazers have recalled LW Matt Riley, 16, from the junior B Port Moody Black Panthers. The 67th pick in the 2006 bantam draft, he has two assists in 16 games with Port Moody. He was with the Blazers for a bit after the Christmas break and went pointless in two games. . . .

A NOTE: If you happen to be a person who reads the messages that are sometimes posted at the ends of postings, you will have noticed that a handful of recent ones have been deleted. No, it isn't censorship. Someone, perhaps a spammer of some sort, got through and was posting blorf. So I have been deleting them. . . . Please feel free to leave messages. Remember that you are entitled to your opinion, even if it is wrong. . . . Just kidding. Come on, lighten up . . .

THE COURT DOCKET: RW Garet Hunt of the Vancouver Giants drew a seven-game sentence for a Jan. 4 high hit on Seattle Thunderbirds RW Bud Holloway who came out of it with a concussion. . . . C Chris Bruton of the Spokane Chiefs got three games for a checking-from-behind major and game misconduct against the Tri-City Americans in Kennewick, Wash., on Jan. 5. Also out of Jan. 5 games, Spokane D Dustin Donaghy got one game for a checking-from-behind major and game misconduct, and Regina Pats RW J.D. Watt got hit with a game for an elbowing major and game misconduct against the visiting Lethbridge Hurricanes. . . . Hunt's suspension is the longest in the WHL this season; Watt drew a six-game sentence for an infraction while with the Red Deer Rebels. . . . Watt now has been suspended three times this season for a total of nine games. . . . As well, two more head coaches — Rob Sumner of Seattle and Dave Hunchak of the Moose Jaw Warriors — have made their first contributions to the coaches' benevolent fund. Both were fined $500 for recent game misconducts. As the chart below shows, both are first-time donators, at least for this season. The donations aren't believed to be tax deductible. . . .

A list of coaches and general managers who have been disciplined by the WHL this season, showing games suspended, number of times fined and amount fined:
Games Fines/Total
Don Hay, Vancouver 0 2/$1,000
Dean Chynoweth, Swift Current 2 1/$500
John Becanic, Everett 0 1/$500
Greg Hawgood, Kamloops 0 1/$500
Dave Hunchak, Moose Jaw 0 1/$500
Curtis Hunt, Regina 0 1/$500
Wade Klippenstein, Prince George 0 1/$500
Steve Pleau, Edmonton 0 1/$500
Roy Stasiuk, Lethbridge 0 1/$500
Turner Stevenson, Seattle 0 1/$500
Rob Sumner, Seattle 0 1/$500
TOTALS 2 12/$6,000