More Thursday stuff . . .

I missed this, so perhaps you did, too. It’s a Sept. 11 release out of Toronto on rule changes — they are minimal and all involve faceoffs — for this CHL season:
The Canadian Hockey League and the Western Hockey League today announced that it has adopted the following two NHL rules for the 2008-09 playing season:
FACEOFFS
When players are penalized at a stoppage of play so as to result in penalties being placed on the penalty time clock to one team, the ensuing faceoff shall be conducted at one of the two faceoff spots in the offending team’s end zone. There are only four exceptions to this application:
(i) when a penalty is assessed after the scoring of a goal (faceoff at centre ice);
(ii) when a penalty is assessed at the end (or start) of a period — faceoff at centre ice;
(iii) when the defending team is about to be penalized and the attacking players enter the attacking zone beyond the outer edge of the end zone faceoff circle — faceoff in the neutral zone; and,
(iv) when the team not being penalized ices the puck — faceoff in the neutral zone outside the blue line of the team icing the puck.

PUCK OUT OF BOUNDS
When the puck hits the goal frame, goal post or crossbar and goes out of play, regardless as to which team shot the puck, the ensuing faceoff shall take place at one of the end zone faceoff spots in the zone where the puck went out of play.
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The Swift Current Broncos, who open the season Friday in Moose Jaw against the Warriors, got three players back from NHL teams on Thursday. F Keegan Dansereau, 20, had been with the Columbus Blue Jackets, while C Matt Tassone, 19, was with the Dallas Stars and D Eric Doyle, 19, was with the Minnesota Wild. . . . Swift Current still is missing LW Geordie Wudrick (Los Angeles Kings), D Ryan Molle (New Jersey Devils) and D Jesse Dudas (Edmonton Oilers).
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The Kamloops Blazers got C Scott Wasden, 20, back from the Minnesota Wild and he will play Friday against the visiting Everett Silvertips. Wasden, who was acquired last season from the Medicine Hat Tigers, finished the season as team captain and is expected to wear the ‘C’ again this season. . . . With RW Brady Calla (Florida Panthers), D Nick Ross (Phoenix Coyotes) and RW Tyler Shattock (San Jose Sharks) still at NHL camps, the Blazers didn’t name any alternates. But they are expected to be Shattock and veteran C C.J. Stretch.
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The Red Deer Rebels have name their alternate captains — D Colin Archer and D Cullen Morin, with D Luke Egener and F Brennen Wray sharing one A. A captain won’t be named until the Rebels know the status of F Brandon Sutter. He was the captain last season and will go to camp with the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes.
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F Derek Hulak, 19, has been named captain of the Saskatoon Blades. . . . Blades GM/head coach Lorne Molleken said Thursday that he had yet to decide on a starting goaltender for Friday’s game with the visiting Prince Albert Raiders. With veteran Braden Holtby in camp with the Washington Capitals, Molleken will choose between two 17-year-old freshmen — will it be Matthew Krahn or Adam Morrison?
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The Kelowna Rockets open with road games against the Tri-City Americans and Portland Winter Hawks on Saturday and Sunday. And it looks as though the Rockets, who are expected to contend for the Western Conference title, will be without six veterans, all of whom are at NHL camps — C Cody Almond (Minnesota Wild), LW Jamie Benn (Dallas Stars), D Tysen Dowzak (New York Rangers), C Colin Long (Phoenix Coyotes), D Tyler Myers (Buffalo Sabres) and D Luke Schenn (Toronto Maple Leafs). . . . LW Lucas Bloodoff (Tampa Bay Lightning), G Torrie Jung (Tampa Bay) and LW Brandon McMillan (Anaheim Ducks) have returned to the Rockets and are expected to play. . . . With the absentees, the Rockets have added F Max Adolph of Saskatoon and F Brett Bulmer of Prince George to get their roster to 18 skaters. Adolph and Bulmer, both 16, were 2007 bantam draft picks.
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RW Michael Stickland, who scored four goals in 62 games as a rookie in 2006-07, had four goals Thursday night in leading the Kootenay Ice to a season-opening 4-2 victory over the Spokane Chiefs in Cranbrook. Stickland, 19, is from Red Deer. He finished last season with 50 points, including 22 goals. . . . The Ice is without F Drew Czerwonka, who sat out Game 1 of a seven-game suspension left over from a brawl following the conclusion of a Saskatchewan midget AAA playoff series last spring. He was the 20th overall pick in the 2007 bantam draft. . . . The Ice also was without D John Negrin (Calgary Flames), F Kevin King (Minnesota Wild) and F Dustin Sylvester (hip). As well, D Ian Barteaux, 20, is serving a three-game suspension. . . . The Ice made G Kris Lazaruk, 20, a healthy scratch. With Barteaux suspended, it could only dress two 20-year-olds and went with F Andrew Bailey and F Eric Frere. . . . The Memorial Cup-champion Chiefs were without LW Drayson Bowman (Carolina Hurricanes), D Justin Falk (Minnesota), C Tyler Johnson (Phoenix Coyotes), F Justin McCrae (Carolina) and D Jared Spurgeon (New York Islanders). As well, veteran F Ondrej Roman remains in Czech Republic awaiting his IIHF transfer.
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The Tri-City Americans will hoist the first banners in franchise history on Saturday night with the Kelowna Rockets providing the opposition. That will leave only the Prince George Cougars, Chilliwack Bruins and Edmonton Oil Kings without banners. . . . The Americans finished last season with the WHL’s best regular-season record, so have league, conference and division banners to hoist. . . . Tri-City opens the season without G Chet Pickard (Nashville Predators), D Eric Mestery (Washington Capitals) and D Tyler Schmidt (Minnesota Wild). However, C Kruise Reddick (Tampa Bay Lightning) is back with the Americans.