A busy Wednesday . . .

So . . . you’ve been wondering: Come the Jan. 10 trade deadline, will the Regina Pats be buyers or sellers? And what of the Lethbridge Hurricanes? Buy? Sell?
The questions were answered Wednesday when the teams got together on a trade that involved four players and three bantam draft picks.
To Regina: F Carter Ashton, 18, F Craig Orfino, 19, and a 2010 third-round draft pick.
To Lethbridge: F Graham Hood, 17, F Tayler Balog, 15, a 2010 second-round draft pick and a 2011 first-round draft pick.
(Just to make things even more interesting, the Pats are scheduled to play in Lethbridge on Saturday night.)
The best player in the deal is Ashton, who was a first-round pick by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the NHL‘s 2009 draft after picking up 50 points, including 30 goals, in 70 games last season. He went to camp with the Lightning prior this season and has signed with them. This season, he has 26 points, 13 of them goals, in 28 games. Ashton, the son of former WHLer Brent Ashton, is from Saskatoon, which means there will be Blades fans who will have been hoping he would have ended up with their favourite team.
Orfino, who is from Edmonton, has 12 points in 30 games with Lethbridge this season. In his third WHL season, he went into this season with 22 points in 134 games.
Ashton and Orfino are expected to be in Regina’s lineup on Friday when they meet the Tigers in Medicine Hat. That will be the first of nine straight road games for Regina, which lost 9-5 to the visiting Kelowna Rockets on Wednesday night.
Hood was Regina’s second pick, 23rd overall, in the 2007 bantam draft and has eight points in 21 games this season. Last season, he finished with 13 points in 60 games.
You can’t look at this trade right now and pick a winner. A verdict will depend on whether Ashton returns to the Pats for his 19-year-old season and what becomes of the draft picks.
Obviously, Lethbridge made this deal for a few seasons down the road.
The message from Regina GM Brent Parker to his coaching staff and players, and to the fans, is that there is a certain sense of urgency to get things done before players like F Jordan Eberle, D Colten Teubert and now Ashton leave for the pro ranks.
At the same time, the Hurricanes, who were 12 points out of a playoff spot when the deal was made, obviously have all but given up on this season. So let the bidding for D Luca Sbisa begin . . .
Well . . . maybe not.
Here’s what Preston told Dale Woodard of the Lethbridge Herald: “I know the perception is Lethbridge is dumping. But that’s not the case. I know everybody is going to ask. (The players) that teams keep asking about is obvious, it’s (Luca) Sbisa and (Carter Bancks), but in no way does that mean they’re going anywhere. If you look at those two guys, those are your leaders, no question. Basically, they’re your role models, leaders and two guys that come to play every night. They do such a good job for our younger players. Those are guys you have to build around.”
Of course, what else could he say?
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Like so many of the recent trades in the WHL, this one between Regina and Lethbridge was made between general managers who are quite familiar with each other.
Rich Preston, the first-year GM/head coach in Lethbridge, was the head coach in Regina for a couple of seasons (1995-97) so he and Parker know each other well.
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A tip of the cap to the Seattle Thunderbirds for this effort:
The Seattle Thunderbirds are pleased to announce their fans have raised in excess of $23,000 for the Lakewood Police Independent Guild through two separate fundraising events.
The T-Birds held a 12-hour sale from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. (Wednesday) where they donated 100 per cent of all revenue from tickets purchased online to the game against the Tri- City Americans on Friday, Dec. 11, to the Guild. The T-Birds generated $13,212 in ticket sales that will be donated to the Guild.
At the game against the Everett Silvertips on Saturday, Dec. 5, the Lakewood Police Independent Guild raised over $10,000 in donations from fans to support the children of the four slain Lakewood police officers.
The T-Birds partnered with the City of Kent, the Kent Police Department, ShoWare Center and radio stations Q-Country 102.9 FM (KNBQ) and Funky Monkey 104.9 FM (KFNK) during the 12-hour sale.
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No one has been playing any better on home ice of late than the Spokane Chiefs, who have blanked the opposition in three of their last four home games. In fact, the Chiefs have given up only three goals in their last five home games, which shows in the fact they have surrendered a WHL-low 66 goals. They beat the Kamloops Blazers 6-1 on Nov. 14, blanked the visiting Kelowna Rockets 1-0 the next night, shut out the visiting Regina Pats 4-0 on Nov. 28, doubled visiting Seattle Thunderbirds of Kent 4-2 on Dec. 4 and then dropped the visiting Prince George Cougars 3-0 on Tuesday. . . . The Chiefs meet the Bruins in Chilliwack on Friday and then return home to face the Swift Current Broncos on Saturday in their Teddy Bear game presented by The Spokesman-Review Christmas Fund.
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It is too early to say how Portland Winterhawks LW Luke Walker’s facial injury will impact his status with the U.S. national junior team. Walker, who underwent surgery Wednesday, has been invited to the selection camp that opens Dec. 17 in Grand Forks, N.D.. . . . However, Portland F Nino Niederreiter, who scored two goals, including the OT winner, on Tuesday, will attend Switzerland’s tryout camp. It opens Dec. 19 in Saskatchewan and the team will play two exhibition games before declaring its roster on Dec. 24. Niederreiter will miss two games next weekend, against the visiting Swift Current Broncos and Tri-City Americans, and could miss as many as five after Christmas should he be selected. . . . He leads the Winterhawks with 19 goals and is second with 36 points. . . . Portland also has F Gasper Kopitar with the Slovenia entry at the IIHF U-20 Division 1 championship that opens Monday in Megève and Saint-Gervais, France. The winner of that event will be promoted to the A Group for 2011. . . . As well, F Ty Rattie and D Tyler Wotherspoon of the Winterhawks will play with Team Pacific at the U-17 World Hockey Challenge in Timmins, Ont., Dec. 29 to Jan. 4.
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For a comprehensive list of WHL players who have been invited to participate in various international activities over the next while, check this out right here.
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Former Portland D David Babych (1977-80) has signed on with the Vancouver Canucks. He will work in a part-time role as an assistant to director of player personnel Dave Gagner. Babych will spent his time working with the Canucks’ prospects, primarily young defencemen like Kevin Connauton of the Vancouver Giants.
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D Michael Stone of the Calgary Hitmen has signed a three-year deal with the Phoenix Coyotes, who selected him in the third round of the 2008 NHL draft. Stone, in his fourth WHL season, has 34 points in 32 games this season. He had 61 points in 69 games last season.
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The ECHL’s Victoria Salmon Kings have signed F Brady Leavold (Swift Current, Kelowna, 2003-08). He started this season with the Tilburg Trappers in the Netherlands. He had one goal in two games before returning to North America for personal reasons. He spent last season with the Salmon Kings, putting up 14 points in 31 games.
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They’re talking about a $60-million arena for Thunder Bay, Ont. That story is right here.
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The OHL’s Barrie Colts won their 18th straight game on Wednesday, beating the Owen Sound Attack, 5-4, in overtime. Barrie (26-4-0) hasn’t lost since Oct. 22 and has at least a point in 20 straight games. The OHL record for longest winning streak is 25 and was set by the Kitchener Rangers of 1983-84.
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Two former WHL defenceman -- Michael Funk and Matt McCue -- are battling concussion-related problems as they try to get back into the lineup with the AHL’s Manitoba Moose. There’s a story right here.
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WEDNESDAY:
In Saskatoon, F Brayden Schenn scored at 2:03 of overtime to give the Brandon Wheat Kings a 5-4 victory over the Blades. . . . Schenn, who also had two assists, is from Saskatoon. He has 14 goals. He also has 27 points in a 14-game point streak. . . . D Mark Schneider’s goal at 2:47 of the second period gave Brandon a 4-0 lead. . . . F Matt Calvert had scored the game’s first three goals, the third one coming at 19:23 of the first period. He scored the first one at even strength, the second on the PP and the third one shorthanded. He has 24 goals on the season. . . . F Braeden Johnson got the Saskatoon comeback started with his firsdt goal at 18:12 of the second, via the PP. . . . The Blades forced OT on D Tyler Kizuik’s first goal at 8:11 of the third. . . . Attendance was 3,580. . . . Brandon started G Andrew Hayes, who stopped 17 of 20 shots before being replaced by Jacob De Serres at 4:04 of the third period. De Serres stopped eight of nine. . . . Saskatoon G Steven Stanford stopped 21 shots. . . . Brandon (21-11-0-2) has won four straight and eight of nine. The Wheat Kings have won three of four games with the Blades this season. . . . Saskatoon (21-6-1-3) has lost four of five and now is two points ahead of Brandon. . . . The Blades were without D Jyri Niemi (shoulder), who should return next week, and F Curtis Hamilton (collarbone), who should return early next month. Niemi has been invited to the Finnish national junior team’s selection camp in Calgary. It opens Dec. 21.
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In Cranbrook, F Dustin Sylvester drew four assists as the Kootenay Ice dropped the Edmonton Oil Kings, 5-2. . . . D Brayden McNabb had a goal and two helpers for the Ice (16-14-1-1), which was 3-for-4 on the PP. . . . This was Kootenay’s first home game since it went 4-1 on a five-game B.C. Division swing. . . . Attendance was 2,434. . . . The Oil Kings (8-17-4-4) have lost nine in a row. . . . D Hayden Rintoul scored his second and third goals of the season for the Ice. . . . Edmonton G Torrie Jung was replaced by Cam Lanigan at 3:38 of the third period, having stopped three of six shots. . . . Ice G Todd Mathews stopped 24 shots. . . . Edmonton head coach Steve Pleau scratched D Adrian Van de Mosselaer, F Rhett Rachinski, who is the team captain, and F Robin Soudek, all veteran players.
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In Prince Albert, F Brandon Herrod scored twice, giving him 20, and G Garrett Zemlak stopped 38 shots as the Raiders dumped the Moose Jaw Warriors, 5-1. . . . F Colin Reddin broke a 1-1 tie at 18:37 of the first period and the Raiders went on from there. . . . Raiders F Craig McCallum set up three goals, while D Ryan Button got his first goal of the season as did F Garrett Taylor. . . . Button was a third-round draft pick of Boston and Bruins assistant GM Don Sweeney and one of their scouts, former WHL D Dean Malkoc (Swift Current, Kamloops, 1989-91) were in the building. . . . The Raiders (18-14-1-2) were 2-for-5 on the PP; the Warriors (16-13-1-1) were 0-for-2 in losing for the seventh time in eight games. . . . Attendance was 1,781.
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In Red Deer, G Tyler Bunz stopped 36 shots through OT and two more in the shootout as the Medicine Hat Tigers got past the Rebels, 2-1. . . . The Tigers (18-10-2-4) got the only goals of the circus, from F Tristan King and D Jace Coyle. . . . F Bretton Cameron scored his 24th goal on the PP at 7:04 of the second period for the Tigers. . . . The Rebels (15-14-0-1) forced OT when F Ryan Nugent-Hopkins got his 17th with 29.2 seconds left in the third on the PP. . . . Bunz stopped 24 shots in the third period and OT as the Tigers were outshot 25-3. . . . Attendance was 4,040. . . . This was Medicine Hat GM/head coach Willie Desjardins’ last game with the Tigers until early January. He is the head coach of Canada’s national junior team and it opens camp in Regina on Saturday. In Desjardins’ absence, associate coach Shaun Clouston will run the Tigers, with help from assistant coach Darren Kruger. It is the same scenario as a year ago when Desjardins was an assistant coach with Canada.
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In Regina, freshman F Shane McColgan enjoyed his first WHL three-goal game and also set up two goals, leading the Kelowna Rockets to a 9-5 victory over the Pats. . . . The game came just hours after the Pats made a blockbuster deal with the Lethbridge Hurricanes. . . . The Rockets (17-15-1-0) were 6-for-8 -- yes, 6-for-8 -- on the power play. . . . Regina (16-15-3-0) was 2-for-6. . . . Kelowna had won four of its last five and has won five straight on the road. It has opened its six-game East Division swing with two victories. . . . McColgan, a contender as the WHL rookie of the year, has 14 goals. . . . His second goal, at 10:19 of the second period, gave the Rockets a 6-0 lead. Five of those goals came via the PP, with the other, from F Max Adolph, shorthanded. . . . Kelowna D Tyson Barrie drew four assists, while F Geordie Wudrick had two goals and two assists, F Brandon McMillan had two goals, and F Mitchell (Dirty Harry) Callahan had three assists. . . . The Pats got three goals from F Matt Strueby, who has 21. . . . Kelowna G Mark Guggenberger dressed for the first time this season. He backed up Adam Brown, who made 39 saves. . . . Attendance was 4,191. . . . Rockets F Kyle St. Denis didn’t dress. He was just back from a concussion when he took a hit in Tuesday’s 3-2 victory over the Broncos in Swift Currrent. . . . Kelowna F Curt Gogol sat t his one out as he completed a five-game WHL suspension. . . . D Damon Severson, a ninth-round pick in the 2009 bantam draft, made his debut with the Rockets. He has 22 points in 26 games with the midget AAA Yorkton Harvest. "When we drafted him we figured he would be a pretty good player," said Rockets assistant general manager Lorne Frey in a press release. "But when he came to camp he had really developed. He was probably our best player of his age group at camp and he's having a really good year in Saskatchewan. He was our biggest surprise out of our draft no question."
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In Kennewick, Wash., F Johnny Lazo was held to one assist as the Tri-City Americans downed the Prince George Cougars, 4-1. . . . Lazo was coming off back-to-back three-goal games for which he was named the CHL’s player of the week. . . . The Americans (22-8-0-0) got two goals from F Brendan Shinnimin, who has 19 on the season. . . . Attendance was 3,820. . . . The Cougars (5-24-1-1) have lost 15 road games. . . . Dean Clark, the Cougars’ head coach, has said that F Brett Connolly (hip) won’t play again before Christmas. The Cougars also are without F Marek Viedensky, who has come down with strep throat. . . . Prince George D Art Bidlevskii, the team captain, is back after recovering from an illness that cost him 10 pounds.
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In Vancouver, G Mark Segal stopped 17 shots for his first WHL shutout as the Giants beat the Chilliwack Bruins, 5-0. . . . On Sunday, the Bruins, playing at home, had beaten the Giants, 4-0. In their previous meeting before that one, the Bruins had won, 6-1. . . . Segal was making his fourth straight start and his sixth in eight games since joining the Giants from the BCHL’s Nanaimo Clippers. . . . The Giants have record three shutouts this season, each one by a different goaltender. . . . The Bruins have been blanked twice. . . . F Brendan Gallagher scored twice and added an assist. He has 22 goals on the season and has 26 points in his last 17 games. . . . Vancouver G J.T. Barnett, who had such a hot start to the season, scored his first goal in 10 games. . . . Attendance was 6,871. . . . The Giants (20-11-1-2) had lost three of four. They are 14-8-0-0 at home. Yes, they already have played 22 home games. Because of the Vancouver Olympics, the Giants will spend the bulk of the season’s second half on the road. . . . G Braden Gamble stopped 29 of 33 shots through two periods for the Bruins (13-16-1-4). Cole Holowenko played the third period and saw just one shot. Vancouver‘s F Garry Nunn scored on that shot. . . . Chilliwack G Lucas Gore (shoulder) didn’t play. Bruins GM/head coach Marc Habscheid told Marc Weber of the Vancouver Province on Tuesday that Gore is “going to get an MRI and see the doctor.” . . . The Giants were without F Milan Kytnar (shoulder) and F Cass Mappin (Game 1 of two-game WHL suspension).