Blazers, Bruins clash this weekend

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
The Kamloops Blazers go into the second weekend of the WHL exhibition season with 28 players on their roster and lots at stake for a few players.
And with that much on the line you can bet the Blazers’ brass wants to take a long, hard look at the players who are left.
General manager Craig Bonner has said there may not be any changes until after his club has played out its exhibition schedule.
The Blazers meet the Chilliwack Bruins tonight at Interior Savings Centre and then travel to Chilliwack on Saturday. Game time both nights is 7 o’clock. Kamloops closes out its exhibition schedule with a home-and-home series with the Prince George Cougars, here on Sept. 12 and there the next night, and then opens the regular season against the visiting Everett Silvertips on Sept. 19.
Part of the reason for not making any changes is that four players are soon to leave for NHL camps – defenceman Nick Ross (Phoenix Coyotes) and forwards Brady Calla (Florida Panthers), Tyler Shattock (San Jose Sharks) and Scott Wasden (Minnesota Wild).
But, more importantly, Bonner and the coaching staff want a longer look at what’s here, especially in the forward ranks.
The Blazers are down to three goaltenders and head coach Barry Smith has said he doesn’t have a problem opening the season in that situation. James Priestner was “just OK” Smith said in a 4-1 loss to the Vancouver Giants in Ladner, although the head coach allowed that his team had too many defensive miscues. Jon Groenheyde was terrific Saturday in beating the visiting Giants, 4-2. Veteran Justin Leclerc is expected to go the distance tonight.
At the same time, there are only eight defencemen on the roster – it’ll be seven when Ross leaves for Phoenix – so there isn’t any room for moves there. Of those seven, however, four – Daniel Midland-Marchen, Linden Saip, Michal Siska and Brandon Underwood – weren’t here last season.
Up front, there are 17 skaters in the chase for 13 or 14 spots – that doesn’t include centre Mark Hall who is out for six months with a knee injury. All told, 10 of those 17 players, including Calla who is expected to open with the AHL’s Rochester Americans, were here last season. Considering that the Blazers finished last season by losing 18 of 19 games, you have to think there will be lots of new faces in the forward ranks.
Which is why Bonner, Smith and Co. won’t mind a prolonged look at the players still here.
Meanwhile, the Bruins, who went 2-1 in the Everett Silvertips’ tournament last weekend, have 29 players on their roster, including G Lucas Gore of Kamloops.
Gore, who spent most of last season with the BCHL’s Vernon Vipers, will turn 18 on Oct. 22. He is one of two goaltenders left on the Bruins’ roster, the other being Mark Friesen, 18, who ended last season as the starter. Matt Esposito, 19, who was the starter early last season, chose not to return to the Bruins and is at home in Edmonton.
Earlier this week, the Bruins reassigned G Luke Siemens, 16, of Delta to the junior B Summerland Sting. He was a seventh-round pick in the 2007 bantam draft.
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Last weekend, the Bruins beat the Silvertips 3-2 as veteran forward Oscar Moller had three assists, lost 5-3 to the Tri-City Americans, and beat the Seattle Thunderbirds 4-2 as F Kevin Sundher, 16, struck, for three goals early in the third period. Moller, who will go to camp with the Los Angeles Kings, played only the one game in the tournament.
Gore went the distance, making 27 saves in victory over Seattle.
Moller, 19, has a new Swedish teammate in Alexander Wiklund, who was the 21st pick in the CHL’s 2008 import draft. The two are expected to play together Saturday in Chilliwack and Blazers fans just may get a look at them tonight. Wiklund had a goal and an assist in the 3-2 victory over Everett. In that game, sophomore Jadon Potter was the third member of the line.
JUST NOTES: D Spencer Fraipoint, 20, who finished last season with the Blazers but was released before training camp, is with the BCHL’s Cowichan Valley Capitals as is F Matt Riley, 17, who was cut by the Blazers in training camp. . . . The Everett Silvertips are down to 24 players and GM Doug Soetaert says he doesn’t anticipate any changes between now and Sept. 19 when they open the season in Kamloops. That means C Paul Van de Velde, 18, who was taken 46th overall by the Blazers in the 2005 entry draft, has made their roster. He was in camp with the Blazers a year ago but left when requested guarantees by him and his father weren’t forthcoming. Subsequently, he was dropped from their list.

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca