Tuesday . . . early

F Matt Calvert is on his way back to the Brandon Wheat Kings from the camp of the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets. Calvert, 20, was a fifth-round pick by the Blue Jackets in the 2008 NHL draft apparently had a fine camp with Columbus – he had four points, including two goals, in four exhibition games -- and was offered a contract. But he passed it up in order to return to his hometown and play in the Memorial Cup with the Wheat Kings, who are the host team for the 2010 tournament. He has 131 points in 130 regular-season games with the Wheat Kings, including 67 points in 58 games last season. . . . Calvert’s arrival will leave Brandon with four 20-year-olds, the others being F Del Cowan, F Jay Fehr and F Aaron Lewadniuk. The deadline for teams to be down to three 20-year-olds is Oct. 15.
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The Kelowna Rockets are starting to put things back together after one devastating period in a weekend in which they split two games with the Kamloops Blazers. In the first period of Friday’s 4-1 loss in Kamloops, the Rockets lost three players. The team now expects that D Tyson Barrie (knee) will miss up to three weeks, D Mitchell Chapman (shoulder) will be out a week or two, and F Max Adolph (ankle) will sit for a month. The Rockets also are without F Evan Bloodoff (knee) for up to six months and G Mark Guggenberger (pelvis) indefinitely. As well, D Tyler Myers remains with the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres. . . . Which is why the Rockets traded for Tyler Matheson on Monday, giving up a conditional seventh-round bantam pick in order to get him from the Saskatoon Blades. Matheson, 19, can play up front or on the back end. “With the injuries we suffered on the weekend, we needed to acquire someone who could play,” general manager Bruce Hamilton told Warren Henderson of the Kelowna Capital News.
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The Vancouver Giants, who appear likely to lose two underage players to the NHL, acquired F Cass Mappin from the Red Deer Rebels on Tuesday. Mappin, who turns 19 on Dec. 20, had 46 points in 56 games last season and has four points in four games this season. He is expected to play for the Giants tonight (Tuesday) against the visiting Lethbridge Hurricanes. . . . In exchange for Mappin, the Giants gave up F Andrej Kudrna, an 18-year-old sophomore from Slovakia. Kudrna, who had 38 points in 67 games last season, is pointless in five games this season. . . . Vancouver appears likely to lose F Evander Kane, the fourth overall pick in the 2009 NHL draft to the Atlanta Thrashers, while F James Wright has signed with the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning. At one point, Wright, 19, was headed back to Vancouver but the Lightning changed its mind and called him back. A fourth-round pick in the 2008 NHL draft, it would seem the Lightning will at least keep him through nine games, which is what the Thrashers plan to do with Kane. . . . The Giants are 3-1-0-1 and obviously concerned about the size and grit factor up front. Their schedule is front-loaded with home games because they will be out of the Pacific Coliseum for about two months due to the Olympic Winter Games that open in February.
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Having acquired Kudrna left the Rebels with three import players, so they have released D Jindrich Barak, an 18-year-old Czech newcomer. . . . And trading away Kudrna leaves the Giants an import short. Of course, the Saskatoon Blades have been trying to find a spot for F Hampus Gustafsson, 18, who was selected in the 2009 CHL import draft. He lost his spot when F Milan Kytnar, 20, and D Jyri Niemi, 19, were returned to the Blades by NHL teams. . . . By the way, the Rebels, having released Barak, are down to five healthy defencemen because Alex Petrovic (high ankle sprain) is on the shelf. So it could be that Rebels’ brass is still on the phone.