Nyren producing for Blazers

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
Barry Smith, the head coach of the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers, called his boss a
thief on Thursday.
No, Smith’s Nissan 250Z didn’t disappear from the Interior Savings Centre
Parking lot.
Rather, Smith was referring to the club’s preseason acquisition of
defenceman Giffen Nyren, 19, from the Moose Jaw Warriors.
On Sept. 15, Blazers general manager Craig Bonner gave up 2009 fourth- and
fifth-round bantam draft picks, both of which originated with the Warriors,
in exchange for Nyren and a 2010 fifth-round pick.
“What a deal that was!” Smith said as practice wound down at The ATM
yesterday. “People are shaking their heads. (Bonner) was the thief on that
one.”
Nyren goes into tonight’s game against the visiting Kelowna Rockets with
five assists — one off the league lead — in three games. Nyren, who is from
Calgary, also is plus-2. He had two power-play assists in Wednesday’s 4-3
shootout victory over the visiting Vancouver Giants.
“He’s a great puck mover,” Smith said, “and he doesn’t have any heat in his
kitchen.”
In other words, Nyren has displayed a high panic point; as a rule, he
doesn’t cough up the puck under pressure.
“He’s going to turn some pucks over and piss you off a little bit,” Smith
added, “but more often than not he’s going to make a great play.”
Nyren’s ability to jump up into the play has proven to be key for the
Blazers, because that’s the way Smith likes to attack the oppostion’s
neutral zone trap. Smith wants his defencemen to get into the neutral zone
because it causes “problems and confusion.”
In fact, the coaching staff has been working with third-year D Jordan Rowley
and sophomore Kurt Torbohm to get them jumping into the play “a bit more.”
“Those guys can get up there and make something happen,” Smith said.
p p p
Smith was quite pleased with the play of D Nick Ross on Wednesday. Ross
returned to Kamloops earlier in the day after a stint with the NHL’s Phoenix
Coyotes. A first-round pick by the Coyotes in the NHL’s 2007 draft, Ross has
signed an NHL contract.
While Ross didn’t pick up any points, he did take two minor penalties, one
of them for clipping in overtime, but he redeemed himself with two key
blocked shots late in overtime.
“I thought Nicky was real good,” Smith said. “It was one of his better
games. He blocked those two shots at the end and you don’t see a lot of that
from Nicky Ross.
“I think he’s in the right frame of mind. He didn’t have too much casualness
about his game and that’s usually what you’re moaning about when he plays.”
As for RW Tyler Shattock, who was playing his first game since returning
from the San Jose Sharks, Smith said he thought he saw some fatigue.
“I thought he was a little bit tired and trying to do too much fancy stuff,”
said Smith, who agreed that Shattock was better on the penalty kill where he
had “a good stick and was in good position.”
“We talked a bit,” Smith said, “and he said, yeah, he was a little tired. .
. . I expect more out of him.”
* * *
The only player on the Blazers’ roster who has yet to play in the regular
season is D Brandon Underwood, a 16-year-old from San Marcos, Calif.
Smith said he is thinking about dressing seven defencemen tonight, which
would get Underwood into the lineup.
Smith said after practice that he hadn’t determined what lineup changes he
would make tonight. On Wednesday, he sat Underwood, veteran centre Devon
Kalinski, 18, who was acquired from the Calgary Hitmen in January in the
deal in which Kamloops gave up fifth-year C Brock Nixon, D Mark Schneider
and RW Jake Trask.
* * *
Smith did say that he will be going back to G Justin Leclerc tonight and may
come back with him again Saturday in Kelowna.
Leclerc, 19, who is in his fourth WHL season, went the distance in the first
two games and backed up Jon Groenheyde, 17, on Wednesday.
“Jonny played well and that’s where we wanted him,” Smith said. “We’ll see
how it goes. If I think Justin is worn out or I think it’s that kind of game
and I need to come back with a fresh goalie to go into Kelowna then I will.
“If not, it’s Justin for both games.”
* * *
Bonner spent at least part of Thursday attempting to trade G James
Priestner, 17, who returned home to Edmonton on Wednesday.
However, Bonner wasn’t able to get anything done, so is sure to be on the
phone again today.
* * *
The announced attendance at Wednesday’s game was 4,114, which was four fewer
than last season’s smallest crowd. That was on Dec. 4 when 4,118 fans
watched the Blazers beat the Portland Winter Hawks, 6-4.
The ISC opened in the fall of 1992 — it was Riverside Coliseum — and in that
first season there were 19 crowds smaller than 4,114. The smallest
regular-season crowd in this building was 2,988 on Jan. 3, 1993. That night,
the Tri-City Americans beat the Blazers, 7-4.
* * *
Spike Wallace, the Blazers’ community liaison, wants to remind the young
fans out there that the first Blueliner Breakfast is scheduled for Nov. 23,
8:30 a.m., in the ISC’s Sports Action Lounge. There are four breakfasts
scheduled, with the fourth one, on Feb. 22, the 100th of this program.
For more info, call Spike at 250-828-1144.
* * *
The Rockets acquired G Kris Lazaruk, 20, from the Kootenay Ice on Saturday,
giving up a conditional 2010 fourth-round bantam draft pick in exchange. As
a result, Rockets veteran G Torrie Jung, 19, has gone home to Nanaimo to
await a trade.
Tonight, you will notice that Lazaruk is wearing his Ice equipment — he has
black pads with gold trim — while backup Adam Brown, 17, has white and green
gear that comes from the midget team he played with in Dallas last season.
Brown’s father, Newell, is a former pro defenceman who now is an assistant
coach with the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks.
* * *
One of the Rockets’ newcomers is D Curt Gogol, an eighth-round pick in the
2006 WHL bantam draft. He is the son of Brent Gogol, who holds the WHL
record for most penalty minutes in a single season (1977-78). Back when the
WHL counted misconducts and game misconducts in its totals, Papa Gogol
scrapped his way to 511 penalty minutes, 46 with the Victoria Cougars and
465 with the Billings Bighorns.
Lorne Frey, the Rockets’ assistant GM and director of player personnel, can
take a bow because the younger Gogol is one of five defencemen taken in the
2006 draft who are on the Kelowna roster. While Frey took Gogol with the
165th pick, he also took Tyson Barrie (18), Collin Bowman (39), Aaron
Borejko (102) and Kyle Verdino (123).
* * *
Another of the Rockets’ rookies is F Spencer Main, 16, of North Vancouver.
He was the 27th pick in the 2007 bantam draft and spent last season with the
major midget Northwest Giants. His grandfather, Stuart McNeill, played 10
games over three seasons (1957-60) with the NHL’s Detroit Red Wings.

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca