Thursday . . .

THE MacBETH REPORT: F Kirill Starkov (Red Deer, 2006-07) signed a contract for the rest of the season with Timrå (Sweden Elitserien). He had been on a tryout contract with Timrå that was set to expire at the end of October. He is pointless in six games this season. Last season, Starkov had a goal and two assists in nine games with Syracuse (AHL) and a goal and two assists in 18 games with Central Red Army Moscow (Russia KHL).
D Kamil Vavra (Regina, 2003-04) has been released by the Romford Raiders (England Premier). He had one assist in five games with the Raiders this season.
And now here’s one that is completely different: Bålsta (Sweden Division 1) signed F Texas-Kid Egertz to a one-year contract. Egertz, who will be 21 in November, was born and raised in Sweden and, by all accounts, Texas-Kid is his given name.
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A tip of the Taking Note fedora to Cory Flett, the WHL’s director of communications who really is a jack of all trades. If you haven’t noticed, Flett went to work on cleaning up the part of the WHL website where transactions are reported. . . . Now it’s clean, simple and includes all trade details, including draft picks. Well done!
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Thanks to the Portland Winterhawks for the publicity. If you haven’t seen it, scoot on over to the Winterhawks’ website and check the banner at the top of the page. . . . I’ll be sending them an invoice early next week.
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The Brandon Wheat Kings trimmed their roster by one on Thursday when they assigned D Kyle Krzyzaniak, 17, to the MJHL’s Portage Terriers. He had appeared in one game with Brandon, which now has 28 players on its roster, including eight defencemen and two goaltenders.
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The Chilliwack Bruins have dealt D Scott Ramsay, 18, to the Swift Current Broncos for a 2010 seventh-round bantam draft pick. The Broncos then shipped Ramsay, who is in his third WHL season, to the Seattle Thunderbirds for F Robbie Newton, 16. . . . The Bruins selected Ramsay with the 64th pick in the 2007 bantam draft. He had 13 points and 182 penalty minutes in 94 games with the Bruins. . . . Newton, a fourth-round selection by Seattle in the 2008 bantam draft, has eight points in four games with the midget AAA Saskatoon Contacts.
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Chilliwack also placed F Andy Smith, 20, on waivers. That leaves the Bruins with three 20-year-olds — D Jesse Craige, D Mitch McColm and F Colton Grant, who was acquired Wednesday from the Medicine Hat Tigers. . . . Smith had 32 points in 58 games with the Bruins after being acquired from the Prince Albert Raiders in November. . . . The Bruins are down to 24 players, including 14 forwards and eight defencemen.
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An interesting note arrived Thursday from Bayne Pettinger, the brother of former WHLer Matt Pettinger (Calgary, 1999-2001). Matt’s name was in the ECHL transactions earlier this week as having signed with the Victoria Salmon Kings. It turns out he is skating with Victoria as he works at finding a place to play. In order to skate with the Salmon Kings, he had to sign a waiver for insurance papers. So he really hasn't signed with the Salmon Kings.
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The Tri-City Americans have signed G Chris Driedger, a fourth-round pick in the 2009 bantam draft. The Americans now have signed their top four selections, the others being Connor Rankin, Marcus Messier and Riley Guenther. . . . Driedger, who played last season for the bantam Winnipeg Monarchs and now is with the midget Monarchs, will play for the Manitoba team at the Western Canada U16 tournament in Blackfalds, Alta., later this month.
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Medicine Hat F Joey Frazer will sit out games Friday (in Chilliwack) and Saturday (in Vancouver) with a WHL suspension. That’s for a checking-from-behind major and game misconduct incurred for a hit on Kelowna D Kyle Verdino in the Rockets’ 6-5 shootout victory on Wednesday.
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Headline in the Providence Journal: Regan shipped to Reading . . . Immediate thought: Who will be doing the Rockets’ play-by-play? . . . Actually, the story wasn’t about Regan Bartel; it was about a goaltender named Kevin Regan.
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The Edmonton Oil Kings have recalled F Mitchell Moroz, 15, and he is expected to make his WHL debut on Friday when the play the Hurricanes in Lethbridge. . . . Moroz was the 30th overall pick in the 2009 bantam draft and is playing in the Calgary Edge Mountaineers program. . . . The Oilers have six players on the injury list — D Jesse Pearson (concussion, indefinite), F TJ Foster (concussion, indefinite), F Rhett Rachinski (shoulder, 2-3 weeks), D Henrik Tervonen (shoulder, 2-3 weeks), F Tomas Vincour (forearm, day-to-day), and F Clayton Cumiskey (concussion, day-to-day).