All WHL teams make hospital visits or drop in an chat with people who, for one reason or another, are shut-ins, unable to get out to hockey games like the rest of us. Right here is the story of one such visit.
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Two WHL teams were involved in some deal-making Wednesday, with three players and a bantam draft pick changing hands. Not that it matters a whole lot, but the Moose Jaw Warriors report that they made two separate trades with the Medicine Hat Tigers, who report that it was one trade. . . . Anyway, here is what went on. . . . According to the Warriors, they dealt F Matt MacKay, 19, to the Tigers for F Mike Forsyth, 17. And, in a separate deal, they sent G Deven Dubyk, 18, to the Tigers for a 2010 sixth-round bantam draft pick. . . . According to the Tigers, the whole thing was one transaction. . . . MacKay is the son of former Warriors F Mark MacKay. Matt left a Calgary junior A in the middle of last season to join the Warriors and had nine points in 31 games with Moose Jaw. Forsyth was an eighth-round pick in the 2007 bantam draft. Forsyth, who played one game with the Tigers last season, is with the AJHL’s Camrose Kodiaks. . . . Dubyk is with the SJHL’s Notre Dame Hounds. He played in 35 games with Moose Jaw last season, putting up a 4.57 GAA and a .866 save percentage. The Brandon Wheat Kings selected him in the 11th round of the 2006 bantam draft. . . . The Tigers, with an inordinate number of 16- and 19-year-old players, along with five 20-year-olds, including G Ryan Holfeld, would appear to be on the verge of a few more moves.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Tuesday . . .
The Regina Pats will be without F Garrett Mitchell for five or six weeks with a broken thumb. He was injured while blocking a shot from D Jyri Niemi last week in a 4-3 victory over the visiting Saskatoon Blades. X-rays showed a fracture near the base of the thumb and he will have surgery in order to have a pin put in place. The pin will be removed after about four weeks. . . . He was a sixth-round pick by the Washington Capitals in the 2009 NHL draft. . . . Meanwhile, F Killian Hutt practised with the Pats on Tuesday but it’s not known if he will play Wednesday night against the Raiders in Prince Albert. Hutt was acquired Monday from the Portland Winterhawks. . . . With G Damien Ketlo (groin) having recovered, G Derek Tendler, 17, was returned by the Pats to the SJHL’s Estevan Bruins.
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The Brandon Wheat Kings have also lost a forward to a broken thumb. F Mark Stone, 17, will be out indefinitely after breaking a thumb on Friday. Unlike Regina F Garrett Mitchell, Stone won’t need surgery so might be back in four weeks. . . . Brandon F Toni Rajala still isn’t involved in contact drills so isn’t likely to play until next week at the earliest. . . . Brandon F Jordan DePape (bruised foot) didn’t practise Tuesday.
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G Thomas Heemskerk, 19, of the Everett Silvertips has signed a three-year deal with the NHL’s San Jose Sharks. Heemskerk, who was acquired from the Kootenay Ice in December, attended the Sharks’ rookie camp as an undrafted free agent.
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The Vancouver Giants have added Russ Smart, who is based in Red Deer, to their scouting staff. Smart spent 18 years working with the Prince George Cougars and was their director of scouting until being released in July.
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TUESDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS:
In Vancouver, the Giants beat the Lethbridge Hurricanes 5-1 in a game that featured 175 penalty minutes. . . . Referees Ryan Benbow and Sean Raphael had their hands full in a game that included one line brawl and post-whistle scrum after scrum after scrum. . . . Attendance was 5,533. . . . F Brendan Gallagher had a goal and two assists for the Giants, who were 3-for-12 on the PP; Lethbridge was 0-for-5. . . . The Hurricanes are 0-5 on the season, the only winless team in the league. . . . Lethbridge meets the Blazers in Kamloops on Wednesday. . . . Vancouver F J.T. Barnett had his five-game goal-scoring streak snapped when he got tossed for his part in the second-period line brawl. . . . Vancouver held a 41-18 edge in shots. . . . F Cass Mappin, acquired by Vancouver from t he Red Deer Rebels earlier in the day, made his Giants debut. He had one assist and one minor penalty. It turns out, too, that Mappin asked the Rebels to trade him. “I believed it was time for new scenery, for both me and the Rebels,” Mappin told Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province. “I believe it would make me a better player and the Red Deer Rebels a better hockey team. I wish the best for them.”
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With the NHL on the verge of opening its regular season, four underage WHLers remain in the show. When camps opened, there were 138 WHL players with NHL teams. . . . D Tyler Myers (Kelowna Rockets) is with the Buffalo Sabres. D Luca Sbisa (Lethbridge Hurricanes) is with the Anaheim Ducks. F Evander Kane (Vancouver Giants) is with the Atlanta Thrashers and F James Wright (Vancouver) is with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
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The Brandon Wheat Kings have also lost a forward to a broken thumb. F Mark Stone, 17, will be out indefinitely after breaking a thumb on Friday. Unlike Regina F Garrett Mitchell, Stone won’t need surgery so might be back in four weeks. . . . Brandon F Toni Rajala still isn’t involved in contact drills so isn’t likely to play until next week at the earliest. . . . Brandon F Jordan DePape (bruised foot) didn’t practise Tuesday.
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G Thomas Heemskerk, 19, of the Everett Silvertips has signed a three-year deal with the NHL’s San Jose Sharks. Heemskerk, who was acquired from the Kootenay Ice in December, attended the Sharks’ rookie camp as an undrafted free agent.
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The Vancouver Giants have added Russ Smart, who is based in Red Deer, to their scouting staff. Smart spent 18 years working with the Prince George Cougars and was their director of scouting until being released in July.
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TUESDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS:
In Vancouver, the Giants beat the Lethbridge Hurricanes 5-1 in a game that featured 175 penalty minutes. . . . Referees Ryan Benbow and Sean Raphael had their hands full in a game that included one line brawl and post-whistle scrum after scrum after scrum. . . . Attendance was 5,533. . . . F Brendan Gallagher had a goal and two assists for the Giants, who were 3-for-12 on the PP; Lethbridge was 0-for-5. . . . The Hurricanes are 0-5 on the season, the only winless team in the league. . . . Lethbridge meets the Blazers in Kamloops on Wednesday. . . . Vancouver F J.T. Barnett had his five-game goal-scoring streak snapped when he got tossed for his part in the second-period line brawl. . . . Vancouver held a 41-18 edge in shots. . . . F Cass Mappin, acquired by Vancouver from t he Red Deer Rebels earlier in the day, made his Giants debut. He had one assist and one minor penalty. It turns out, too, that Mappin asked the Rebels to trade him. “I believed it was time for new scenery, for both me and the Rebels,” Mappin told Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province. “I believe it would make me a better player and the Red Deer Rebels a better hockey team. I wish the best for them.”
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With the NHL on the verge of opening its regular season, four underage WHLers remain in the show. When camps opened, there were 138 WHL players with NHL teams. . . . D Tyler Myers (Kelowna Rockets) is with the Buffalo Sabres. D Luca Sbisa (Lethbridge Hurricanes) is with the Anaheim Ducks. F Evander Kane (Vancouver Giants) is with the Atlanta Thrashers and F James Wright (Vancouver) is with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Grbavac feeling the pain of new rule
By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
The evidence is right there as plain as, uhh, the nose on his face.
A four-stitch cut on the bridge of that nose. Cuts on his right hand. One knuckle that looks as though it has been through a deli’s meat-grinder.
If you’re thinking that forward Cole Grbavac of the Kamloops Blazers took a few shots to the nose and that he delivered a few blows the other night, well, you would be half right.
The WHL implemented some new rules regarding fighting this season. For starters, players who are about to engage in fisticuffs now are prohibited from removing their helmets.
“It’s a new rule. There’s nothing I can do about it,” Grbavac, an 18-year-old sophomore from Calgary, said after practice Tuesday at Interior Savings Centre. “There’s no sense complaining about it because I know I’m not going to change it. But right now I’m not liking it too much.”
On Friday, with the Blazers on their way to a 4-1 victory over the visiting Kelowna Rockets, Grbavac accepted defenceman Curt Gogol’s invitation to dance.
The Rockets were trailing 2-0 at the time, so Grbavac said he expected Gogol, also an 18-year-old Calgarian, to try to start something in an attempt to light a fire under the Rockets.
“He likes to yip at everyone,” Grbavac said. “I know him a bit from Calgary. We grew up playing minor hockey together. I knew he was looking to get something going.”
And so it was that immediately after a faceoff the two came together.
Grbavac went on to land at least 16 right-hand punches to Gogol’s helmet-protected noggin. Gogol delivered eight or nine blows himself, one of them landing squarely on Grbavac’s visor, causing it to fold inward and slice the bridge of his nose.
Shortly afterward, Grbavac’s helmet came off. By then, however, the damage was done and he was leaking. Gogol’s helmet stayed firmly in place through the entire bout.
Grbavac was involved in 13 fights last season and estimated that both fighters would have doffed their helmets in “probably more than half of those.”
Had both fighters been permitted to remove their helmets before Friday’s fight, Grbavac said, at the very least, the fight would have been shorter.
“It would have been a lot different . . . that’s how I feel,” Grbavac said. “It would have been a bit of a different fight if that was the case. But that’s the rule.”
And does he like the rule?
“Right now,” he said with a rueful chuckle, “I got a cut up nose because of it and my hand hurts because of it. But who knows? It could have been different if my helmet was off and I fell on my head. I don’t know.”
He added that he has never fallen on his head during or after a fight and has never been injured — at least not seriously — in a scrap.
And, prior to Friday, he said he had never been sliced open by his own visor.
The 6-foot-2, 190-pounder feels, like so many other players, that fighting is part of the game. This season, however, he now realizes that things are going to be different.
“Last season there were guys who were just taking off their helmets and squaring off,” he said. “That definitely separates players . . . you know a guy is pretty tough if he is going to square off and take off his helmet. That can be quite intimidating to other players on the ice when they see that. So I think a bit of the intimidation factor is gone now that guys can’t to that.”
He also wondered if the keep-your-helmet-on rule might lead to more fighting.
“More guys might be out to fight now that they know they have to leave their helmets on,” he said.
That definitely will be something worth watching as the season wears on.
“Obviously (fighting) is dying down,” Grbavac said. “But I still think it’s part of the game.”
The Blazers, who have been involved in five fights through their four games this season, play host to the Lethbridge Hurricanes tonight, 7 o’clock, at Interior Savings Centre.
Grbavac will be keeping his helmet and his gloves on . . . at least for now.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Daily News Sports Editor
The evidence is right there as plain as, uhh, the nose on his face.
A four-stitch cut on the bridge of that nose. Cuts on his right hand. One knuckle that looks as though it has been through a deli’s meat-grinder.
If you’re thinking that forward Cole Grbavac of the Kamloops Blazers took a few shots to the nose and that he delivered a few blows the other night, well, you would be half right.
The WHL implemented some new rules regarding fighting this season. For starters, players who are about to engage in fisticuffs now are prohibited from removing their helmets.
“It’s a new rule. There’s nothing I can do about it,” Grbavac, an 18-year-old sophomore from Calgary, said after practice Tuesday at Interior Savings Centre. “There’s no sense complaining about it because I know I’m not going to change it. But right now I’m not liking it too much.”
On Friday, with the Blazers on their way to a 4-1 victory over the visiting Kelowna Rockets, Grbavac accepted defenceman Curt Gogol’s invitation to dance.
The Rockets were trailing 2-0 at the time, so Grbavac said he expected Gogol, also an 18-year-old Calgarian, to try to start something in an attempt to light a fire under the Rockets.
“He likes to yip at everyone,” Grbavac said. “I know him a bit from Calgary. We grew up playing minor hockey together. I knew he was looking to get something going.”
And so it was that immediately after a faceoff the two came together.
Grbavac went on to land at least 16 right-hand punches to Gogol’s helmet-protected noggin. Gogol delivered eight or nine blows himself, one of them landing squarely on Grbavac’s visor, causing it to fold inward and slice the bridge of his nose.
Shortly afterward, Grbavac’s helmet came off. By then, however, the damage was done and he was leaking. Gogol’s helmet stayed firmly in place through the entire bout.
Grbavac was involved in 13 fights last season and estimated that both fighters would have doffed their helmets in “probably more than half of those.”
Had both fighters been permitted to remove their helmets before Friday’s fight, Grbavac said, at the very least, the fight would have been shorter.
“It would have been a lot different . . . that’s how I feel,” Grbavac said. “It would have been a bit of a different fight if that was the case. But that’s the rule.”
And does he like the rule?
“Right now,” he said with a rueful chuckle, “I got a cut up nose because of it and my hand hurts because of it. But who knows? It could have been different if my helmet was off and I fell on my head. I don’t know.”
He added that he has never fallen on his head during or after a fight and has never been injured — at least not seriously — in a scrap.
And, prior to Friday, he said he had never been sliced open by his own visor.
The 6-foot-2, 190-pounder feels, like so many other players, that fighting is part of the game. This season, however, he now realizes that things are going to be different.
“Last season there were guys who were just taking off their helmets and squaring off,” he said. “That definitely separates players . . . you know a guy is pretty tough if he is going to square off and take off his helmet. That can be quite intimidating to other players on the ice when they see that. So I think a bit of the intimidation factor is gone now that guys can’t to that.”
He also wondered if the keep-your-helmet-on rule might lead to more fighting.
“More guys might be out to fight now that they know they have to leave their helmets on,” he said.
That definitely will be something worth watching as the season wears on.
“Obviously (fighting) is dying down,” Grbavac said. “But I still think it’s part of the game.”
The Blazers, who have been involved in five fights through their four games this season, play host to the Lethbridge Hurricanes tonight, 7 o’clock, at Interior Savings Centre.
Grbavac will be keeping his helmet and his gloves on . . . at least for now.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
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.
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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.
Monday, September 28, 2009
More from Monday . . .
THE MacBETH REPORT: F Jesse Schultz (Tri-City, Prince Albert, Kelowna, 1999-2003) signed a six-month artist’s contract with Björklöven Umeå (Swedish Allsvenskan). He had 21 goals and 31 assists in 75 games with the Houston Aeros (AHL) last season. . . . D Perry Johnson (Regina, Spokane, 1993-1998) signed a one-year contract with Mörrum (Sweden Division 1). He had three goals and eight assists in 43 games for Rødovre (Denmark AL-Bank Liga) last season. . . . D Doug Lynch (Red Deer, Spokane, 1998-2003) signed a one-year contract with Salzburg (Austria Erste Bank Liga). He had 13 goals and 16 assists in 52 games for Vienna Capitals (Austria Erste Bank Liga) last season.
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The Regina Pats acquired F Killian Hutt, 18, from the Portland Winterhawks for a fourth-round pick in the 2010 bantam draft and an undisclosed conditional pick in the 2011 bantam draft. Kutt had 35 points in 57 games for the Winterhawks last season. According to a Winterhawks’ release: “Prior to the start of this season he was assigned to the St. Albert Steel of the Alberta Junior Hockey League for conditioning following offseason surgery to remove a cyst from his lower body.” . . . The Pats also assigned D Dominic Perrault, 18, to the SJHL’s Battlefords North Stars and sent F Lucas Froese, 17, to the MJHL’s Winnipeg Saints. . . . All of this leaves the Pats with 24 players on their roster, including 14 forwards and eight defencemen.
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The Lethbridge Hurricanes, having acquired G Linden Rowat, 20, from the Regina Pats on Sunday, have sent home G Michael Tadjdeh, 18, to await a move. Rowat’s acquisition left the Hurricanes with four goaltenders on their roster. Also on the roster are Ville Kolppanen, a 17-year-old from Finland, and Brandon Anderson, another 17-year-old who is injured.
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The Prince Albert Raiders will add three names to their Wall of Honour on Nov. 14. They will honour former players Eric Ponath and Rich Pilon, as well as former treasurer Don Wickens. . . . Ponath put up 343 points with the junior A Raiders from 1975-79. In 1978-79, the season in which the Raiders won their second Centennial Cup (it’s now the Royal Bank Cup), Ponath had 134 points, including 63 goals, with 29 of them coming on the PP, and 144 penalty minutes. Yes, this guy had game. . . . Pilon played with the Raiders from 1985-88, totaling 72 points and 369 penalty minutes. Of the nine Raiders selected in the 1986 NHL draft, he had the longest NHL career, including 509 games with the New York Islanders. . . . Wickens was the Raiders’ treasurer from their first season, 1971-72, through 1980. According to a Raiders’ released, Wickens “initially backed five individuals with a personal guarantee in the amount of $5,000 to secure a franchise in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League.”
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The Saskatoon Blades had a busy Monday. First, as posted here earlier, they acquired F Jeremy Boyer, 19, from the Seattle Thunderbirds for F Stefan Burzan, 15, and a 2010 third-round bantam pick. . . . Then, the Blades dealt F Tyler Matheson, 19, to the Kelowna Rockets for a 2010 seventh-round bantam draft pick. Matheson was Rockets’ property once before but they let him go when he chose to play last season for the BCHL’s Victoria Grizzlies. He is from Victoria. . . . The Blades also assigned D Woody Klassen, 18, to the SJHL’s Battlefords North Stars. He is the younger brother of Blades D Sam Klassen, 20, who was returned to the team last week by the New York Rangers.
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From the department of discipline: F Matej Bene of the Kamloops Blazers drew a one-game suspension for a charging major and game misconduct in Kelowna on Saturday night. . . . Spokane F T.C. Cratsenberg will sit for a game after incurring a match penalty against visiting Tri-City on Saturday. . . . F Greg Fraser of the Prince George Cougars also was suspended one game after he took a kneeing major in Chilliwack on Saturday. . . . The Cougars also were fined $250 for becoming involved in a line brawl Friday in Vancouver.
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I don’t know when the WHL was last mentioned at deadspin.com, but it’s there today. You can catch it right here.
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Two WHL cities – Kennewick, Wash., and Spokane – will have franchises in Arena Football 1, as the league is to be known, when it kicks off in the spring of 2010. According to officials, the league will begin play in late March or early April and continue into the summer. There also are expected to be teams in Milwaukee; Salt Lake City; Chicago; Phoenix; Orlando, Fla.; Little Rock, Ark.; Fresno, Calif.; Des Moines, Iowa; Jacksonville, Fla.; Shreveport, La.; Lexington, Ky.; Oklahoma City; Huntsville, Ala.; and Tulsa, Okla.
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There were a lot of NHL teams making moves Monday and that included former Calgary Hitmen D Karl Alzner getting the shaft once again. The National Post has a look at it all right here.
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The Regina Pats acquired F Killian Hutt, 18, from the Portland Winterhawks for a fourth-round pick in the 2010 bantam draft and an undisclosed conditional pick in the 2011 bantam draft. Kutt had 35 points in 57 games for the Winterhawks last season. According to a Winterhawks’ release: “Prior to the start of this season he was assigned to the St. Albert Steel of the Alberta Junior Hockey League for conditioning following offseason surgery to remove a cyst from his lower body.” . . . The Pats also assigned D Dominic Perrault, 18, to the SJHL’s Battlefords North Stars and sent F Lucas Froese, 17, to the MJHL’s Winnipeg Saints. . . . All of this leaves the Pats with 24 players on their roster, including 14 forwards and eight defencemen.
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The Lethbridge Hurricanes, having acquired G Linden Rowat, 20, from the Regina Pats on Sunday, have sent home G Michael Tadjdeh, 18, to await a move. Rowat’s acquisition left the Hurricanes with four goaltenders on their roster. Also on the roster are Ville Kolppanen, a 17-year-old from Finland, and Brandon Anderson, another 17-year-old who is injured.
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The Prince Albert Raiders will add three names to their Wall of Honour on Nov. 14. They will honour former players Eric Ponath and Rich Pilon, as well as former treasurer Don Wickens. . . . Ponath put up 343 points with the junior A Raiders from 1975-79. In 1978-79, the season in which the Raiders won their second Centennial Cup (it’s now the Royal Bank Cup), Ponath had 134 points, including 63 goals, with 29 of them coming on the PP, and 144 penalty minutes. Yes, this guy had game. . . . Pilon played with the Raiders from 1985-88, totaling 72 points and 369 penalty minutes. Of the nine Raiders selected in the 1986 NHL draft, he had the longest NHL career, including 509 games with the New York Islanders. . . . Wickens was the Raiders’ treasurer from their first season, 1971-72, through 1980. According to a Raiders’ released, Wickens “initially backed five individuals with a personal guarantee in the amount of $5,000 to secure a franchise in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League.”
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The Saskatoon Blades had a busy Monday. First, as posted here earlier, they acquired F Jeremy Boyer, 19, from the Seattle Thunderbirds for F Stefan Burzan, 15, and a 2010 third-round bantam pick. . . . Then, the Blades dealt F Tyler Matheson, 19, to the Kelowna Rockets for a 2010 seventh-round bantam draft pick. Matheson was Rockets’ property once before but they let him go when he chose to play last season for the BCHL’s Victoria Grizzlies. He is from Victoria. . . . The Blades also assigned D Woody Klassen, 18, to the SJHL’s Battlefords North Stars. He is the younger brother of Blades D Sam Klassen, 20, who was returned to the team last week by the New York Rangers.
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From the department of discipline: F Matej Bene of the Kamloops Blazers drew a one-game suspension for a charging major and game misconduct in Kelowna on Saturday night. . . . Spokane F T.C. Cratsenberg will sit for a game after incurring a match penalty against visiting Tri-City on Saturday. . . . F Greg Fraser of the Prince George Cougars also was suspended one game after he took a kneeing major in Chilliwack on Saturday. . . . The Cougars also were fined $250 for becoming involved in a line brawl Friday in Vancouver.
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I don’t know when the WHL was last mentioned at deadspin.com, but it’s there today. You can catch it right here.
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Two WHL cities – Kennewick, Wash., and Spokane – will have franchises in Arena Football 1, as the league is to be known, when it kicks off in the spring of 2010. According to officials, the league will begin play in late March or early April and continue into the summer. There also are expected to be teams in Milwaukee; Salt Lake City; Chicago; Phoenix; Orlando, Fla.; Little Rock, Ark.; Fresno, Calif.; Des Moines, Iowa; Jacksonville, Fla.; Shreveport, La.; Lexington, Ky.; Oklahoma City; Huntsville, Ala.; and Tulsa, Okla.
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There were a lot of NHL teams making moves Monday and that included former Calgary Hitmen D Karl Alzner getting the shaft once again. The National Post has a look at it all right here.
Monday . . . early
G Andrew Hayes of the Brandon Wheat Kings is the Boston Pizza WHL player of the week. He went 2-0 with two shutouts and actually has a string of three straight shutouts going. He also has been nominated for the CHL’s goaltender-of-the-week award.
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The Swift Current Broncos have assigned D Andrew Hewett, 19, top the MJHL’s Winnipeg South Blues. He had three points in 36 games with the Broncos last season. . . . The Broncos are carrying 24 players, including seven defencemen and 15 forwards.
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The Saskatoon Blades have acquired F Jeremy Boyer, 19, from the Seattle Thunderbirds for F Stefan Burzan, 15, and a 2010 third-round bantam draft pick. . . . Boyer, who played three seasons with the Thunderbirds, has asked to be traded. He is from Saskatoon. . . . Boyer had 92 points, including 38 goals, in 199 regular-season games with Seattle. Last season, he had 56 points, including 21 goals, in 71 games. . . . Burzan, from Surrey, B.C., was a sixth-round pick in the 2009 bantam draft. He had one assist in two exhibition games with the Blades.
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The NHL’s Los Angeles Kings have returned F Brayden Schenn, 18, to the Brandon Wheat Kings. Schenn, the fifth overall pick in the NHL’s 2009 draft, had two goals in five exhibition games with the Kings. With Brandon, he has 159 points in 136 games. He is expected to be in the Brandon lineup Friday when the Red Deer Rebels visit.
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The Swift Current Broncos have assigned D Andrew Hewett, 19, top the MJHL’s Winnipeg South Blues. He had three points in 36 games with the Broncos last season. . . . The Broncos are carrying 24 players, including seven defencemen and 15 forwards.
---
The Saskatoon Blades have acquired F Jeremy Boyer, 19, from the Seattle Thunderbirds for F Stefan Burzan, 15, and a 2010 third-round bantam draft pick. . . . Boyer, who played three seasons with the Thunderbirds, has asked to be traded. He is from Saskatoon. . . . Boyer had 92 points, including 38 goals, in 199 regular-season games with Seattle. Last season, he had 56 points, including 21 goals, in 71 games. . . . Burzan, from Surrey, B.C., was a sixth-round pick in the 2009 bantam draft. He had one assist in two exhibition games with the Blades.
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The NHL’s Los Angeles Kings have returned F Brayden Schenn, 18, to the Brandon Wheat Kings. Schenn, the fifth overall pick in the NHL’s 2009 draft, had two goals in five exhibition games with the Kings. With Brandon, he has 159 points in 136 games. He is expected to be in the Brandon lineup Friday when the Red Deer Rebels visit.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Mondays with Murray
Here is another edition of Monday’s With Murray. . . . If you’re new here, the late Jim Murray was one of the legends of sports journalism. He won a Pulitzer Prize, which pretty much says it all. . . . Anyway, I try to bring you one column a week, courtesy of The Jim Murray Memorial Foundation, which is dedicated to helping future journalists get the proper training. . . . With that in mind, why don’t you shimmy on over to this spot right here and check out one of the best-looking t-shirts on the market?
———
The column that follows first appeared in the Los Angeles Times of Sept. 18, 1961.
Copyright 1961/THE TIMES MIRROR COMPANY
All Hail the Pros
BALTIMORE — Baltimore is a body of land surrounded on three sides by water, warmed by gusts of hot air from Congress and cooled regularly by the New York Yankees. It is so old it thinks of Washington as a swamp that got lucky. It is a nice place to catch a cold.
It is also, as it happens, the current citadel of pro football. It achieved this considerable eminence by the simple expedient of placing an 80-cent person-to-person phone call to a party named John Unitas, one of the most important uses of the instrument since Don Ameche invented it. If Mrs. Unitas had been on the line, like any other self-respecting wife, Johnny might still be driving a steam shovel and Baltimore would just be a town where crabs spend the summer.
As this is written in a breezy press box, Lenny Moore, a halfback for Baltimore, has just run 38 yards for a touchdown against the Rams. The Rams are trying to scramble even and on my right, Ram coach Hamp Pool is in the terminal stages of St. Vitus Dance.
———
Dialogue of a Ram Coach
"Shinnick is wide, watch the trap. What's going on? That tackle was made by the outside man. Hey, Vic, Vic, Boeke pulls," he shouts into a microphone. His hand trembles, his cigarette is a stub that burns his fingers. He will not relax until sometime Tuesday morning.
"Get it way down there," he pleads on the Ram kick-off. The kicker cannot hear him. Only Don Paul, who is a coach and on crutches, can. Hamp doesn't care. He would shout to himself if he were in a padded cell. "Oh, he got him, he got him! LoVetere!" He shouts as though everyone in the ballpark couldn't see.
This is professional football — 1961. The big time. The high stakes. "What do you want, a limp or a career?" is a jest beginning to rattle in baseball's throat. There is a capacity house in Memorial Stadium. Signs, "Love Our Colts," festoon the stands with hearts in place of "O's." A braided horse gallops around the field with each touchdown. When Unitas is right his fractions are as slow as Silky Sullivan's by the fourth quarter. He is so pooped. Even the press roots. "Take 'em in, John," pleads a writer whose fingers tremble like Hamp Pool's in his anxiety for the home team.
———
Evolution of Pro Football
Pro football was not always like this. Not so many years ago it was just a floating football crap game — a few high rollers but mostly a refuge of a lot of last-chance characters shooting for the moon with their last C-note.
The pros always picked the biggest, roughest guys it could find, put them on a bus and hit the road till they found a level piece of ground. There, they got out, chose up sides and if anybody showed up, passed the hat.
Today, they still pick the biggest, roughest of the race. Only now, it picks them 'neath the elms of dear old State instead of under the drop forges. It doesn't pass the hat. There are 54,259 here Sunday and they paid $5 apiece. Some of them paid $6. The game has been sold out since Eisenhower was President.
Pro football has arrived. It is a game as precise as chess, as taut as surgery. But it still makes a low bow to its carnival past in its exhibition schedule. The pros used to play a whopping seven of them. It is now down to five — but versus a league schedule of 14 games the effect is a little like the New York Yankees showing up at the stadium in February for a 60-game spring training schedule — at mid-season prices.
Some coaches treat exhibition games simply as full-uniform scrimmages. The public winds up paying clubhouse prices to watch Swaps breeze the rent money for amateur night or $5 to see Paul Brown get a line on his 26th draft choice.
The point is, the public doesn't mind. Pro football is the filet mignon of sport at the moment and its fans will take it cold if that's the only way they can get it.
The game is for keeps. Hamp Pool is not courting a heart attack and shredding his nerve endings for a pot with pennies in it.
Bobby Kennedy is at the game. So is Milton Eisenhower. Cary Middlecoff, the golfer, is on hand with binoculars. They may not be rooting as hard as Hamp Pool whose seat in the box adjoining the camera recording every play looks like a command post in a hot war. But their interest is apparent.
The Rams think they can win this game. The coaches are as keyed up as kids at Christmas Eve. This is a game they have plotted for, traded for, run more film than Radio City Music Hall. This game is a crucible for them. If they can hobble the sideline colt for this one afternoon they may be in the hunt.
———
Nobody Surprised by Unitas
But first they have to hobble Johnny Unitas. At the half he took his team for a touchdown in less than three minutes. No one was surprised including the Rams.
The kick-off is in the air for the second half. "Fumble!" begs Hamp Pool. It is on again, 30 more minutes of a cold hand squeezing the aorta. "Our ball! Our ball!" he goats as Charley Britt intercepts. One hour's litany of hope and despair. "It's a doggie," he shouts to nobody as the Colts thunder in like rodeo steers when the fence is pulled.
Win or lose, the team piles into a bus and a plane immediately. It will be either the shortest or longest ride of the season, depending on the score. I'll be sitting next to Hamp Pool. He'll be the one wearing the jacket with the belt in the back — and the arms folded into it.
Reprinted with permission by the Los Angeles Times
Jim Murray Memorial Foundation | P.O. Box 995 | La Quinta | CA | 92247
———
The column that follows first appeared in the Los Angeles Times of Sept. 18, 1961.
Copyright 1961/THE TIMES MIRROR COMPANY
All Hail the Pros
BALTIMORE — Baltimore is a body of land surrounded on three sides by water, warmed by gusts of hot air from Congress and cooled regularly by the New York Yankees. It is so old it thinks of Washington as a swamp that got lucky. It is a nice place to catch a cold.
It is also, as it happens, the current citadel of pro football. It achieved this considerable eminence by the simple expedient of placing an 80-cent person-to-person phone call to a party named John Unitas, one of the most important uses of the instrument since Don Ameche invented it. If Mrs. Unitas had been on the line, like any other self-respecting wife, Johnny might still be driving a steam shovel and Baltimore would just be a town where crabs spend the summer.
As this is written in a breezy press box, Lenny Moore, a halfback for Baltimore, has just run 38 yards for a touchdown against the Rams. The Rams are trying to scramble even and on my right, Ram coach Hamp Pool is in the terminal stages of St. Vitus Dance.
———
Dialogue of a Ram Coach
"Shinnick is wide, watch the trap. What's going on? That tackle was made by the outside man. Hey, Vic, Vic, Boeke pulls," he shouts into a microphone. His hand trembles, his cigarette is a stub that burns his fingers. He will not relax until sometime Tuesday morning.
"Get it way down there," he pleads on the Ram kick-off. The kicker cannot hear him. Only Don Paul, who is a coach and on crutches, can. Hamp doesn't care. He would shout to himself if he were in a padded cell. "Oh, he got him, he got him! LoVetere!" He shouts as though everyone in the ballpark couldn't see.
This is professional football — 1961. The big time. The high stakes. "What do you want, a limp or a career?" is a jest beginning to rattle in baseball's throat. There is a capacity house in Memorial Stadium. Signs, "Love Our Colts," festoon the stands with hearts in place of "O's." A braided horse gallops around the field with each touchdown. When Unitas is right his fractions are as slow as Silky Sullivan's by the fourth quarter. He is so pooped. Even the press roots. "Take 'em in, John," pleads a writer whose fingers tremble like Hamp Pool's in his anxiety for the home team.
———
Evolution of Pro Football
Pro football was not always like this. Not so many years ago it was just a floating football crap game — a few high rollers but mostly a refuge of a lot of last-chance characters shooting for the moon with their last C-note.
The pros always picked the biggest, roughest guys it could find, put them on a bus and hit the road till they found a level piece of ground. There, they got out, chose up sides and if anybody showed up, passed the hat.
Today, they still pick the biggest, roughest of the race. Only now, it picks them 'neath the elms of dear old State instead of under the drop forges. It doesn't pass the hat. There are 54,259 here Sunday and they paid $5 apiece. Some of them paid $6. The game has been sold out since Eisenhower was President.
Pro football has arrived. It is a game as precise as chess, as taut as surgery. But it still makes a low bow to its carnival past in its exhibition schedule. The pros used to play a whopping seven of them. It is now down to five — but versus a league schedule of 14 games the effect is a little like the New York Yankees showing up at the stadium in February for a 60-game spring training schedule — at mid-season prices.
Some coaches treat exhibition games simply as full-uniform scrimmages. The public winds up paying clubhouse prices to watch Swaps breeze the rent money for amateur night or $5 to see Paul Brown get a line on his 26th draft choice.
The point is, the public doesn't mind. Pro football is the filet mignon of sport at the moment and its fans will take it cold if that's the only way they can get it.
The game is for keeps. Hamp Pool is not courting a heart attack and shredding his nerve endings for a pot with pennies in it.
Bobby Kennedy is at the game. So is Milton Eisenhower. Cary Middlecoff, the golfer, is on hand with binoculars. They may not be rooting as hard as Hamp Pool whose seat in the box adjoining the camera recording every play looks like a command post in a hot war. But their interest is apparent.
The Rams think they can win this game. The coaches are as keyed up as kids at Christmas Eve. This is a game they have plotted for, traded for, run more film than Radio City Music Hall. This game is a crucible for them. If they can hobble the sideline colt for this one afternoon they may be in the hunt.
———
Nobody Surprised by Unitas
But first they have to hobble Johnny Unitas. At the half he took his team for a touchdown in less than three minutes. No one was surprised including the Rams.
The kick-off is in the air for the second half. "Fumble!" begs Hamp Pool. It is on again, 30 more minutes of a cold hand squeezing the aorta. "Our ball! Our ball!" he goats as Charley Britt intercepts. One hour's litany of hope and despair. "It's a doggie," he shouts to nobody as the Colts thunder in like rodeo steers when the fence is pulled.
Win or lose, the team piles into a bus and a plane immediately. It will be either the shortest or longest ride of the season, depending on the score. I'll be sitting next to Hamp Pool. He'll be the one wearing the jacket with the belt in the back — and the arms folded into it.
Reprinted with permission by the Los Angeles Times
Jim Murray Memorial Foundation | P.O. Box 995 | La Quinta | CA | 92247
Sunday . . .
The Tri-City Americans have acquired D Cody Castro, 17, from the Lethbridge Hurricanes on Sunday, surrendering a 2010 sixth-round bantam draft pick in exchange. . . . Castro, from Peoria, Ariz., is scoreless and minus-1 in three games this season. Last season, he had three points and 65 pernalty minutes in 49 games with the Hurricanes. He was an 11th-round pick by Lethbridge in the 2007 draft. . . . The Americans’ roster now is at 27, including 14 forwards and 10 defencemen.
———
The Prince Albert Raiders will be without freshman D Emerson Hrynyk for as long as four weeks with the dreaded abdominal strain. Hrynyk, 17, is from Okanagan Falls, B.C. He is pointless in three games this season.
———
The Brandon Sun is reporting that F Matt Calvert is in contract negotiations with the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets and may not be returning to the Wheat Kings. Calvert, who turns 20 on Dec. 24, picked up four points in four exhibition games with the Blue Jackets. He was a fifth-round selection in the NHL’s 2008 draft. . . . The Sun also reports that the Los Angeles Kings are “leading towards returning” F Brayden Schenn, 18, to the Wheat Kings. He is one of 15 forwards still on the L.A. roster. Schenn was the fifth overall pick in the 2009 NHL draft.
———
A note from the QMJHL where the Halifax Mooseheads drew 4,457 fans to a 4-2 loss to the Victoriaville Tigres on Sunday. Matthew Wiest of metronews.ca/halifax reports that this was the first time attendance was below 5,000 “since single-game attendance started being recorded in 2003-04.” Wiest continued: “(Sunday’s crowed) was a stunning 645 fewer than the previous low, set (less than) 24 hours earlier in Saturday’s 5-2 loss to the Gatineau Olympiques. It’s the 12th time the Mooseheads have set a single-game low in attendance since the start of last season.”
———
SUNDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS:
In Calgary, F Joel Broda returned to the Hitmen and scored the winner in a 3-2 victory over the Red Deer Rebels. . . . Broda, who scored a WHL-leading 53 goals last season, had been skating with the Hershey Bears, the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Washington Capitals. Broda also had 11 goals and 13 assists in 18 playoff games last spring. . . . Attendance was 7,416. . . . Red Deer led this one 2-1 going into the third period, only to have Calgary F Tyler Fiddler tie it at 2:55, with his fifth goal of the season, and Broda win it on the PP, at 14:14. . . . Interestingly, Broda and Fiddler both are from Prince Albert. . . . Red Deer, outshot 25-15 in the game, was outshot 6-1 in the first period and 9-2 in the third. . . . The Hitmen have won all four of their games to date. . . . Red Deer D Alex Petrovic will miss at least a month with a high ankle sprain suffered in practice. . . . Broda, who is unsigned, was a fifth-round selection by Washington in the 2008 NHL draft. “You can never have enough 53-goal scorers,” Calgary forward Ian Schultz told the Calgary Herald’s John Down. . . . The Hitmen went with Michael Snider in goal after starter Martin Jones suffered an ankle injury in Friday’s 5-4 shootout victory over the Tigers in Medicine Hat. Jones could be sidelined for up to 10 days.
———
In Portland, the Winterhawks went 4-for-6 on the power play and beat the Prince George Cougars, 5-1. . . . Attendance was 1,552. . . . The Winterhawks got their first goal — from F Riley Boychuk — just 23 seconds into the first period. . . . G Kurtis Mucha stopped 21 shots for Portland. . . . Mucha has won back-to-back starts for the first time since Dec. 31 and Jan. 2 when he posted home-ice victories over the Seattle Thunderbirds and Everett Silvertips. . . . Portland D Troy Rutkowski drew two assists and now has five points in four games. . . . Portland F Luke Walker had a goal, his fifth, and a helper. . . . Walker’s goal, at 16:29 of the first period, was Portland’s third straight on the PP and gave the hosts a 4-0 lead. At that point, Portland held a 19-3 edge in shots.
———
In Regina, the Saskatoon Blades scored three third-period goals and beat the Pats, 4-1. . . . The Blades got a goal and two assists from F Josh Nicholls as he was in on all three third-period goals. . . . Attendance was 3,340. . . . The Pats learned after the game that the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers were returning F Jordan Eberle to them. Eberle, a pure sniper, is expected to play Wednesday against the Raiders in Prince Albert. . . . According to Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post: “The Pats used three defencemen up front (Myles Bell, Justin Slobozian and Dominic Perrault) to replace RW Garrett Mitchell (hand) and LWs Graham Hood and Michal Poletin (both healthy).”
———
The Prince Albert Raiders will be without freshman D Emerson Hrynyk for as long as four weeks with the dreaded abdominal strain. Hrynyk, 17, is from Okanagan Falls, B.C. He is pointless in three games this season.
———
The Brandon Sun is reporting that F Matt Calvert is in contract negotiations with the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets and may not be returning to the Wheat Kings. Calvert, who turns 20 on Dec. 24, picked up four points in four exhibition games with the Blue Jackets. He was a fifth-round selection in the NHL’s 2008 draft. . . . The Sun also reports that the Los Angeles Kings are “leading towards returning” F Brayden Schenn, 18, to the Wheat Kings. He is one of 15 forwards still on the L.A. roster. Schenn was the fifth overall pick in the 2009 NHL draft.
———
A note from the QMJHL where the Halifax Mooseheads drew 4,457 fans to a 4-2 loss to the Victoriaville Tigres on Sunday. Matthew Wiest of metronews.ca/halifax reports that this was the first time attendance was below 5,000 “since single-game attendance started being recorded in 2003-04.” Wiest continued: “(Sunday’s crowed) was a stunning 645 fewer than the previous low, set (less than) 24 hours earlier in Saturday’s 5-2 loss to the Gatineau Olympiques. It’s the 12th time the Mooseheads have set a single-game low in attendance since the start of last season.”
———
SUNDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS:
In Calgary, F Joel Broda returned to the Hitmen and scored the winner in a 3-2 victory over the Red Deer Rebels. . . . Broda, who scored a WHL-leading 53 goals last season, had been skating with the Hershey Bears, the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Washington Capitals. Broda also had 11 goals and 13 assists in 18 playoff games last spring. . . . Attendance was 7,416. . . . Red Deer led this one 2-1 going into the third period, only to have Calgary F Tyler Fiddler tie it at 2:55, with his fifth goal of the season, and Broda win it on the PP, at 14:14. . . . Interestingly, Broda and Fiddler both are from Prince Albert. . . . Red Deer, outshot 25-15 in the game, was outshot 6-1 in the first period and 9-2 in the third. . . . The Hitmen have won all four of their games to date. . . . Red Deer D Alex Petrovic will miss at least a month with a high ankle sprain suffered in practice. . . . Broda, who is unsigned, was a fifth-round selection by Washington in the 2008 NHL draft. “You can never have enough 53-goal scorers,” Calgary forward Ian Schultz told the Calgary Herald’s John Down. . . . The Hitmen went with Michael Snider in goal after starter Martin Jones suffered an ankle injury in Friday’s 5-4 shootout victory over the Tigers in Medicine Hat. Jones could be sidelined for up to 10 days.
———
In Portland, the Winterhawks went 4-for-6 on the power play and beat the Prince George Cougars, 5-1. . . . Attendance was 1,552. . . . The Winterhawks got their first goal — from F Riley Boychuk — just 23 seconds into the first period. . . . G Kurtis Mucha stopped 21 shots for Portland. . . . Mucha has won back-to-back starts for the first time since Dec. 31 and Jan. 2 when he posted home-ice victories over the Seattle Thunderbirds and Everett Silvertips. . . . Portland D Troy Rutkowski drew two assists and now has five points in four games. . . . Portland F Luke Walker had a goal, his fifth, and a helper. . . . Walker’s goal, at 16:29 of the first period, was Portland’s third straight on the PP and gave the hosts a 4-0 lead. At that point, Portland held a 19-3 edge in shots.
———
In Regina, the Saskatoon Blades scored three third-period goals and beat the Pats, 4-1. . . . The Blades got a goal and two assists from F Josh Nicholls as he was in on all three third-period goals. . . . Attendance was 3,340. . . . The Pats learned after the game that the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers were returning F Jordan Eberle to them. Eberle, a pure sniper, is expected to play Wednesday against the Raiders in Prince Albert. . . . According to Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post: “The Pats used three defencemen up front (Myles Bell, Justin Slobozian and Dominic Perrault) to replace RW Garrett Mitchell (hand) and LWs Graham Hood and Michal Poletin (both healthy).”
Blazers fall back to earth
By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
The learning continued for the Kamloops Blazers on Saturday as they absorbed their first loss in four WHL games.
As the Blazers were losing 5-0 to the Rockets in Kelowna on Saturday night, a couple of 20-year-old veterans — defenceman Giffen Nyren and centre C.J. Stretch — found themselves parked on the bench.
“Those are the guys who I just didn’t think got it done,” Kamloops head coach Barry Smith explained Sunday. “”Some (other) guys got limited ice time because they weren’t very good, but everybody wasn’t very good.”
Benching players in such a fashion hasn’t been a regular occurrence in these parts of late, but Smith feels his roster now has the depth to afford him that option.
“It does without a doubt,” Smith stated. “And I have to set that standard early, whether you’re C.J. Stretch or (sophomore forward) Brett Lyon or (freshman forward) JC Lipon. If you don’t play well, you’re not going to play.”
And, as Smith pointed out, the plot will thicken more a month from now. Two of the team’s top forwards — Dalibor Bortnak and Colin Smith — are out with injuries and due back in mid- to late-October.
“I told the guys that today,” Smith said. “We’re going to have eight defencemen and 15 forwards. You will sit in games if you’re not doing the right things.”
The Blazers didn’t do many right things on Saturday as their record slipped to 3-1-0-0.
“Kelowna had its back against the wall,” Smith said, referring to the fact the defending WHL champions went into the game at 0-2-1-0. “I knew their effort was going to be there, that they were going to come out hard.”
The Blazers had beaten the Rockets 4-1 in Kamloops on Friday and, as Smith said, he “thought we would have a bit of an emotional hangover but we would figure it out. And we didn’t.
“We just didn’t go in and compete hard enough and we didn’t work hard enough.”
The Rockets got 23 saves from goaltender Adam Brown, as the sophomore earned his third career shutout, this one before 6,102 fans at Prospera Place.
Forward Stepan Novotny, who hadn’t scored since notching four in a 6-5 overtime loss to the visiting Vancouver Giants on opening night, had two power-play goals for the Rockets.
Kamloops goaltender Jon Groenheyde, making his third straight start, stopped 43 shots. But the Rockets, no doubt having noticed a couple of emotional outbursts Friday, crowded him and he took a slashing penalty at 11:24 of the second period. Novotny scored his first goal a minute later to give the home side a 3-0 lead.
“Jon gets too emotional,” Smith said of the18-year-old sophomore. “He started out well. He was great early and he kept us in it. But that’s a dumb penalty.
“That doesn’t change the fact that I love his competitivenes and I love his compete, but . . . he has to control that.”
With all teams having video access to every game now, you can bet that Groenheyde is going to find that his crease is a high-traffic area.
“Exactly,” Smith said. “For the first couple of games he didn’t let that bother him but that’s easy to do when you’re playing well and you’re winning. You have to be able to do that when you’re losing.”
Newcomers Brett Bulmer and Cody Chikie scored their first WHL goals for Kelowna, while Lucas Bloodoff had the other goal.
The Blazers, who are at home to the Lethbridge Hurricanes on Wednesday, had allowed six goals in winning their first three games.
The Blazers were back on the ice yesterday to begin preparations for Lethbridge (0-4-0-0), which plays the Giants in Vancouver on Tuesday.
“It is part of the learning process,” Smith said. “We did real well the first three games because we did the right things. . . . not as consistent as I wanted to, but we did them. (Saturday) night, it just wasn’t good enough . . . our level of compete and our willingness to do the right things weren’t there.”
JUST NOTES: The Blazers scratched Bortnak (spleen), Smith (broken arm), D Josh Caron, D Tyler Hansen and F Ryan Hanes. . . . The Rockets were without D Mitchell Chapman (shoulder), F Max Adolph (ankle) and D Tyson Barrie, all of whom were injured in the first period of Friday’s game. . . . Barrie, who is believed to have knee and shoulder issues, is scheduled for an MRI today. . . . The Blazers were shut out three times last season, including a 5-0 blanking by the visiting Rockets on Nov. 15. Kelowna G Kris Lazaruk stopped 16 shots that night, while Groenheyde turned aside 34. . . . Former Blazers F Matt Kassian was assigned by the Minnesota Wild to the AHL’s Houston Aeros on Saturday, while the AHL’s Texas Stars released Jarret Lukin, another former Blazers forward. . . . F Troy Ofukany of Kamloops also was released by Texas on Saturday.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Daily News Sports Editor
The learning continued for the Kamloops Blazers on Saturday as they absorbed their first loss in four WHL games.
As the Blazers were losing 5-0 to the Rockets in Kelowna on Saturday night, a couple of 20-year-old veterans — defenceman Giffen Nyren and centre C.J. Stretch — found themselves parked on the bench.
“Those are the guys who I just didn’t think got it done,” Kamloops head coach Barry Smith explained Sunday. “”Some (other) guys got limited ice time because they weren’t very good, but everybody wasn’t very good.”
Benching players in such a fashion hasn’t been a regular occurrence in these parts of late, but Smith feels his roster now has the depth to afford him that option.
“It does without a doubt,” Smith stated. “And I have to set that standard early, whether you’re C.J. Stretch or (sophomore forward) Brett Lyon or (freshman forward) JC Lipon. If you don’t play well, you’re not going to play.”
And, as Smith pointed out, the plot will thicken more a month from now. Two of the team’s top forwards — Dalibor Bortnak and Colin Smith — are out with injuries and due back in mid- to late-October.
“I told the guys that today,” Smith said. “We’re going to have eight defencemen and 15 forwards. You will sit in games if you’re not doing the right things.”
The Blazers didn’t do many right things on Saturday as their record slipped to 3-1-0-0.
“Kelowna had its back against the wall,” Smith said, referring to the fact the defending WHL champions went into the game at 0-2-1-0. “I knew their effort was going to be there, that they were going to come out hard.”
The Blazers had beaten the Rockets 4-1 in Kamloops on Friday and, as Smith said, he “thought we would have a bit of an emotional hangover but we would figure it out. And we didn’t.
“We just didn’t go in and compete hard enough and we didn’t work hard enough.”
The Rockets got 23 saves from goaltender Adam Brown, as the sophomore earned his third career shutout, this one before 6,102 fans at Prospera Place.
Forward Stepan Novotny, who hadn’t scored since notching four in a 6-5 overtime loss to the visiting Vancouver Giants on opening night, had two power-play goals for the Rockets.
Kamloops goaltender Jon Groenheyde, making his third straight start, stopped 43 shots. But the Rockets, no doubt having noticed a couple of emotional outbursts Friday, crowded him and he took a slashing penalty at 11:24 of the second period. Novotny scored his first goal a minute later to give the home side a 3-0 lead.
“Jon gets too emotional,” Smith said of the18-year-old sophomore. “He started out well. He was great early and he kept us in it. But that’s a dumb penalty.
“That doesn’t change the fact that I love his competitivenes and I love his compete, but . . . he has to control that.”
With all teams having video access to every game now, you can bet that Groenheyde is going to find that his crease is a high-traffic area.
“Exactly,” Smith said. “For the first couple of games he didn’t let that bother him but that’s easy to do when you’re playing well and you’re winning. You have to be able to do that when you’re losing.”
Newcomers Brett Bulmer and Cody Chikie scored their first WHL goals for Kelowna, while Lucas Bloodoff had the other goal.
The Blazers, who are at home to the Lethbridge Hurricanes on Wednesday, had allowed six goals in winning their first three games.
The Blazers were back on the ice yesterday to begin preparations for Lethbridge (0-4-0-0), which plays the Giants in Vancouver on Tuesday.
“It is part of the learning process,” Smith said. “We did real well the first three games because we did the right things. . . . not as consistent as I wanted to, but we did them. (Saturday) night, it just wasn’t good enough . . . our level of compete and our willingness to do the right things weren’t there.”
JUST NOTES: The Blazers scratched Bortnak (spleen), Smith (broken arm), D Josh Caron, D Tyler Hansen and F Ryan Hanes. . . . The Rockets were without D Mitchell Chapman (shoulder), F Max Adolph (ankle) and D Tyson Barrie, all of whom were injured in the first period of Friday’s game. . . . Barrie, who is believed to have knee and shoulder issues, is scheduled for an MRI today. . . . The Blazers were shut out three times last season, including a 5-0 blanking by the visiting Rockets on Nov. 15. Kelowna G Kris Lazaruk stopped 16 shots that night, while Groenheyde turned aside 34. . . . Former Blazers F Matt Kassian was assigned by the Minnesota Wild to the AHL’s Houston Aeros on Saturday, while the AHL’s Texas Stars released Jarret Lukin, another former Blazers forward. . . . F Troy Ofukany of Kamloops also was released by Texas on Saturday.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Sunday . . . early
The Lethbridge Hurricanes, 0-4 and having surrendered 26 goals, have acquired G Linden Rowat, 20, from the Regina Pats for a conditional 2010 fifth-round bantam draft pick. Rowat spent four season with the Pats and won 85 regular season games. He is the franchise's all-time shutout leader and was especially good in 2007-08 when the Pats won the East Division pennant. . . . Rowat got caught up in the 20-year-old numbers game with the Pats, who chose to go with D Matt Delahey, F Brett Leffler and F Matt Strueby. . . . The Hurricanes are on an eight-game season-opening road trip because the Enmax Centre, their home arena, is undergoing renovations. . . . They have been carrying three goaltenders, in veteran Michael Tadjdeh, an 18-year-old from Calgary, sophomore Brandon Anderson, 17, from Langley, B.C., who played in only five games last season, and newcomer Ville Kolppanen, 17, from Tampere, Finland. . . . Rowat's arrival will leave them with three 20-year-olds, the others being F Carter Bancks and F Radim Valchar. . . . The Hurricanes, 7-2 losers to the Broncos in Swift Current on Saturday, play the Giants on Tuesday in Vancouver and then meet the Blazers in Kamloops on Wednesday. Lethbridge then travels to Prince George for a Friday-Saturday doubleheader with the Cougars. The Hurricanes will play their first home game Oct. 9 against the Edmonton Oil Kings. . . . Lethbridge also has reassigned F Garrett Taylor, 18, to the AJHL's Canmore Eagles. Taylor, from San Diego, had 10 points in 45 games last season and was pointless in two games this season. The Hurricanes also have returned F Michael Sofillas, 16, to a midget AAA team in Manitoba. He is from Morden, Man., so is likely to join the Pembina Valley Hawks. He was pointless in two games this season.
Saturday . . .
In 2006, F Cole Penner was the fourth overall selection in the WHL bantam draft. He was seen as a power forward-type of player with potential to the nth degree. . . . Today, the WHL’s Prince Albert Raiders, who drafted him, would seem to have lost interest in him. He has played in 17 games with the Raiders – 14 in 2007-08 and three last season – and has one goal, one assist and 56 penalty minutes. . . . He played last season with the AJHL’s Brooks Bandits, but they dealt his junior A rights to the SJHL’s Melfort Mustangs on Sept. 5. He reported to the Mustangs, took part in training camp then suffered a concussion in the only preseason game he played with them. He went home the next day and thus ended another chapter in Penner’s hockey career. . . . On Tuesday, the Mustangs traded his junior A rights to the AJHL’s Grande Prairie Storm and GM/head coach Mike Vandekamp promptly flipped those rights to the BCHL’s Merritt Centennials in exchange for D Matt Cumming, an 18-year-old who spent the last two seasons with the Prince George Cougars but was released by the Kamloops Blazers late in training camp. . . . The Centennials are 1-4 this season. They went 1-2 on a three-game season-opening homestand and opened a road swing with an 8-2 loss to the Kings in Powell River on Friday and a 7-2 loss to the Express in Burnaby on Saturday. Penner was not in Merritt's lineup for either game.
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The BCHL’s Cowichan Capitals have signed F Sanfred King, 19, who was the 17th pick in the 2005 WHL bantam draft. He was selected by his hometown Brandon Wheat Kings and played two seasons there but was never able to show an offensive touch. He suffered a badly broken leg last season and was released earlier this month. . . . King had two assists Friday in a 4-3 loss to the Victoria Grizzlies and a goal in a 4-3 loss to the visiting Langley Chiefs on Saturday.
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Going into training camp, the Vancouver Giants at least half-expected F Evander Kane, the fourth overall pick in the NHL’s 2009 draft, to stick with the Atlanta Thrashers. They didn’t expect to lose F James Wright, too. But that’s just what may happen. Wright, who was headed back to Vancouver last week only to be called back by Tampa Bay, has signed a three-year contract with the Lightning. Wright, 19, now is expected to stay with the Lightning at least through nine regular-season NHL games. Wright was a fourth-round selection by the Lightning in the NHL’s 2008 draft.
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The Lightning has returned F Carter Ashton to the Lethbridge Hurricanes. He was the 29th overall selection in the NHL’s 2009 draft.
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SATURDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS:
In Kelowna, G Adam Brown stopped 23 shots as the Rockets dropped the Kamloops Blazers, 5-0. . . . F Stepan Novotny had two power-play goals and an assist for the Rockets. . . . Kelowna, the WHL’s defending champion, won for the first time this season and now is 1-2-1-0. . . . The Blazers lost for the first time this season and are 3-1-0-0. . . . Attendance was 6,102. . . . The shutout was the first of the season for Brown, a sophomore, and the third of his career. . . . Kelowna held a 49-23 edge in shots. . . . The Rockets were without D Mitchell Chapman (shoulder), F Max Adolph (ankle) and D Tyson Barrie, all of whom were injured in the first period of a 4-1 loss in Kamloops on Friday. While not being specific about Barrie’s injury or injuries, head coach Ryan Huska said Barrie could be gone for a few weeks. Barrie was injured when he got the worst of a shoulder-to-shoulder check by Kamloops F Shayne Wiebe and went awkwardly into the boards.
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In Spokane, F Kyle Beach, in his first game with the Chiefs, scored twice and set up another in a 5-2 home-opening victory over the Tri-City Americans. . . . Attendance was 9,504. . . . Beach, acquired earlier in the week from the Lethbridge Hurricanes, took a hooking penalty just 46 seconds into the first period and Tri-City D Tyler Schmidt scored on the resulting PP. . . . Beach later scored the Chiefs’ last two goals. . . . Spokane also got goals from F Mitch Wahl and D Jared Cowen, both of whom returned from NHL camps recently. . . . Spokane D Stefan Ulmer set up three goals. . . . The Chiefs, outshot 14-5 in the first period, had a 15-4 edge in the second and a 17-7 edge in the third. . . . Tri-City F Brendan Shinnimin had two assists after a four-assist game Friday. Shinnimin, who had 25 points in 64 games last season, has nine points in three games this season. Including last season’s playoffs, however, he has 14 points in as many games, so perhaps we should have seen this coming.
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In Cranbrook, D Mark Isherwood had a goal and two assists and F Emerson Etem had two goals as the Medicine Hat Tigers beat the host Kootenay Ice, 4-2. . . . Attendance was 2,668. . . . Medicine Hat D Jace Coyle didn’t earn a point but was plus-3. . . . Medicine Hat GM/head coach Willie Desjardins earned his 300th victory as a WHL head coach. Desjardins put up 10 victories as the head coach of the Saskatoon Blades in the latter part of 1997-98; the other 290 came with the Tigers. He is the 16th coach in WHL history to put up 300 victories. . . . The Tigers learned Saturday that D Tomas Kundratek, who turns 20 on Dec. 26, is on his way back from the NHL’s New York Rangers. His arrival will leave the Tigers with five 20-year-olds, the others being G Ryan Holfeld, Isherwood, F Bretton Cameron and F Colton Grant. Grant was a healthy scratch on Saturday. . . . Bruce Hamilton, the president and general manager, of the Kelowna Rockets and Lorne Frey, the team’s head scout and director of player personnel, were among the spectators.
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In Moose Jaw, G Andrew Hayes stopped 25 shots for his third straight shutout as the Brandon Wheat Kings beat the Warriors, 4-0. . . . Hayes started his streak by winning 3-0 in Regina on Sept. 19 and then blanked the visiting Swift Current Broncos 3-0 on Friday night. He has pushed his shutout streak to 188 minutes 10 seconds. . . . Hayes has nine career shutouts, second on Brandon’s all-time list. He is one ahead of Jamie Hodson and Glen Hanlon. Only Tyler Plante, with 12, had more shutouts during his Wheat Kings career. . . . Chris Worthy set the WHL consecutive shutout record with four with the Flin Flon Bombers in 1967-68. . . . Worthy also holds the WHL record for longest shutout streak, at 265 minutes 13 seconds. . . . Brandon next plays Friday when it plays host to the Red Deer Rebels. . . . On Saturday, Brandon got a goal and two assists from F Aaron Lewadniuk. . . . Attendance was 2,147. . . . Brandon lost freshman F Jordan DePape when he blocked a first-period shot and didn’t return. Brandon scratched F Mark Stone (hand), who was injured Friday.
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In Prince Albert, the Edmonton Oil Kings won their second road game in as many nights, beating the Raiders, 3-2. . . . Edmonton beat the Blades in Saskatoon, 4-2, on Friday. . . . Edmonton G Torrie Jung stopped 44 shots. . . . Edmonton F Brent Raedeke broke a 2-2 tie at 15:39 of the third period with his fourth goal of the season. . . . F Tomas Vincour, who drew an assist on the winner, finished with a goal and two helpers. . . . Prince Albert F Craig McCallum, who was acquired from Edmonton prior to the season, had a goal and an assist against his former team. . . . Prince Albert G Steven Stanford stopped 24 shots in his first appearance since taking a puck to the neck late in the exhibition season.
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In Swift Current, F Cody Eakin had two goals and two assists as the Broncos dropped the Lethbridge Hurricanes, 7-2. . . . F Geordie Wudrick also had two goals for the Broncos. . . . D Reece Scarlett, D Derek Claffey and Eakin each was plus-4. . . . Attendance was 2,066. . . . The Hurricanes, who are halfway through a season-opening eight-game road trip, are 0-4 and have been outscored 26-8.
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In Chilliwack, Prince George beat the Bruins 7-6 in what was the 700th game behind a WHL team’s bench for Cougars’ head coach Dean Clark. . . . The Cougars scored four goals in a five-minute span of the first period and then were forced to hold on for the victory. . . . Prince George F Brett Connolly scored three times, his third goal giving his club a 7-3 edge eight minutes into the third period. . . . Connolly now has 10 goals in nine games against the Bruins. . . . The Bruins lost F David Robinson in the third period after he took a knee from Cougars F Greg Fraser. Robinson left the game, unable to put any weight on his right leg. Fraser was hit with a kneeing major and a game misconduct. . . . Attendance was 2,960.
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In Everett, F Zack Dailey tied the game with a minute left in the third period and the Silvertips went on to beat the Vancouver Giants, 4-3, in a shootout. . . . F J.T. Barnett scored twice for Vancouver, giving him six goals in five games.
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In Portland, G Kurtis Mucha returned to the Winterhawks and stopped 17 shots in a 6-1 victory over the Seattle Thunderbirds of Kent. . . . Mucha, who is into his fifth WHL season, had been in camp with the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers. He was offered a minor-league contract but chose to return to Portland. . . . The Winterhawks broke a 1-1 tie with five third-period goals. . . . The Winterhawks have beaten the Thunderbirds twice this season, outscoring them 11-1 in the process. . . . D Daniel Johnston had two assists and was plus-3 for Portland. . . . Seattle D Stefan Warg was minus-5. . . . Attendance for the Winterhawks’ home-opener was 4,232.
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The BCHL’s Cowichan Capitals have signed F Sanfred King, 19, who was the 17th pick in the 2005 WHL bantam draft. He was selected by his hometown Brandon Wheat Kings and played two seasons there but was never able to show an offensive touch. He suffered a badly broken leg last season and was released earlier this month. . . . King had two assists Friday in a 4-3 loss to the Victoria Grizzlies and a goal in a 4-3 loss to the visiting Langley Chiefs on Saturday.
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Going into training camp, the Vancouver Giants at least half-expected F Evander Kane, the fourth overall pick in the NHL’s 2009 draft, to stick with the Atlanta Thrashers. They didn’t expect to lose F James Wright, too. But that’s just what may happen. Wright, who was headed back to Vancouver last week only to be called back by Tampa Bay, has signed a three-year contract with the Lightning. Wright, 19, now is expected to stay with the Lightning at least through nine regular-season NHL games. Wright was a fourth-round selection by the Lightning in the NHL’s 2008 draft.
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The Lightning has returned F Carter Ashton to the Lethbridge Hurricanes. He was the 29th overall selection in the NHL’s 2009 draft.
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SATURDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS:
In Kelowna, G Adam Brown stopped 23 shots as the Rockets dropped the Kamloops Blazers, 5-0. . . . F Stepan Novotny had two power-play goals and an assist for the Rockets. . . . Kelowna, the WHL’s defending champion, won for the first time this season and now is 1-2-1-0. . . . The Blazers lost for the first time this season and are 3-1-0-0. . . . Attendance was 6,102. . . . The shutout was the first of the season for Brown, a sophomore, and the third of his career. . . . Kelowna held a 49-23 edge in shots. . . . The Rockets were without D Mitchell Chapman (shoulder), F Max Adolph (ankle) and D Tyson Barrie, all of whom were injured in the first period of a 4-1 loss in Kamloops on Friday. While not being specific about Barrie’s injury or injuries, head coach Ryan Huska said Barrie could be gone for a few weeks. Barrie was injured when he got the worst of a shoulder-to-shoulder check by Kamloops F Shayne Wiebe and went awkwardly into the boards.
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In Spokane, F Kyle Beach, in his first game with the Chiefs, scored twice and set up another in a 5-2 home-opening victory over the Tri-City Americans. . . . Attendance was 9,504. . . . Beach, acquired earlier in the week from the Lethbridge Hurricanes, took a hooking penalty just 46 seconds into the first period and Tri-City D Tyler Schmidt scored on the resulting PP. . . . Beach later scored the Chiefs’ last two goals. . . . Spokane also got goals from F Mitch Wahl and D Jared Cowen, both of whom returned from NHL camps recently. . . . Spokane D Stefan Ulmer set up three goals. . . . The Chiefs, outshot 14-5 in the first period, had a 15-4 edge in the second and a 17-7 edge in the third. . . . Tri-City F Brendan Shinnimin had two assists after a four-assist game Friday. Shinnimin, who had 25 points in 64 games last season, has nine points in three games this season. Including last season’s playoffs, however, he has 14 points in as many games, so perhaps we should have seen this coming.
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In Cranbrook, D Mark Isherwood had a goal and two assists and F Emerson Etem had two goals as the Medicine Hat Tigers beat the host Kootenay Ice, 4-2. . . . Attendance was 2,668. . . . Medicine Hat D Jace Coyle didn’t earn a point but was plus-3. . . . Medicine Hat GM/head coach Willie Desjardins earned his 300th victory as a WHL head coach. Desjardins put up 10 victories as the head coach of the Saskatoon Blades in the latter part of 1997-98; the other 290 came with the Tigers. He is the 16th coach in WHL history to put up 300 victories. . . . The Tigers learned Saturday that D Tomas Kundratek, who turns 20 on Dec. 26, is on his way back from the NHL’s New York Rangers. His arrival will leave the Tigers with five 20-year-olds, the others being G Ryan Holfeld, Isherwood, F Bretton Cameron and F Colton Grant. Grant was a healthy scratch on Saturday. . . . Bruce Hamilton, the president and general manager, of the Kelowna Rockets and Lorne Frey, the team’s head scout and director of player personnel, were among the spectators.
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In Moose Jaw, G Andrew Hayes stopped 25 shots for his third straight shutout as the Brandon Wheat Kings beat the Warriors, 4-0. . . . Hayes started his streak by winning 3-0 in Regina on Sept. 19 and then blanked the visiting Swift Current Broncos 3-0 on Friday night. He has pushed his shutout streak to 188 minutes 10 seconds. . . . Hayes has nine career shutouts, second on Brandon’s all-time list. He is one ahead of Jamie Hodson and Glen Hanlon. Only Tyler Plante, with 12, had more shutouts during his Wheat Kings career. . . . Chris Worthy set the WHL consecutive shutout record with four with the Flin Flon Bombers in 1967-68. . . . Worthy also holds the WHL record for longest shutout streak, at 265 minutes 13 seconds. . . . Brandon next plays Friday when it plays host to the Red Deer Rebels. . . . On Saturday, Brandon got a goal and two assists from F Aaron Lewadniuk. . . . Attendance was 2,147. . . . Brandon lost freshman F Jordan DePape when he blocked a first-period shot and didn’t return. Brandon scratched F Mark Stone (hand), who was injured Friday.
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In Prince Albert, the Edmonton Oil Kings won their second road game in as many nights, beating the Raiders, 3-2. . . . Edmonton beat the Blades in Saskatoon, 4-2, on Friday. . . . Edmonton G Torrie Jung stopped 44 shots. . . . Edmonton F Brent Raedeke broke a 2-2 tie at 15:39 of the third period with his fourth goal of the season. . . . F Tomas Vincour, who drew an assist on the winner, finished with a goal and two helpers. . . . Prince Albert F Craig McCallum, who was acquired from Edmonton prior to the season, had a goal and an assist against his former team. . . . Prince Albert G Steven Stanford stopped 24 shots in his first appearance since taking a puck to the neck late in the exhibition season.
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In Swift Current, F Cody Eakin had two goals and two assists as the Broncos dropped the Lethbridge Hurricanes, 7-2. . . . F Geordie Wudrick also had two goals for the Broncos. . . . D Reece Scarlett, D Derek Claffey and Eakin each was plus-4. . . . Attendance was 2,066. . . . The Hurricanes, who are halfway through a season-opening eight-game road trip, are 0-4 and have been outscored 26-8.
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In Chilliwack, Prince George beat the Bruins 7-6 in what was the 700th game behind a WHL team’s bench for Cougars’ head coach Dean Clark. . . . The Cougars scored four goals in a five-minute span of the first period and then were forced to hold on for the victory. . . . Prince George F Brett Connolly scored three times, his third goal giving his club a 7-3 edge eight minutes into the third period. . . . Connolly now has 10 goals in nine games against the Bruins. . . . The Bruins lost F David Robinson in the third period after he took a knee from Cougars F Greg Fraser. Robinson left the game, unable to put any weight on his right leg. Fraser was hit with a kneeing major and a game misconduct. . . . Attendance was 2,960.
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In Everett, F Zack Dailey tied the game with a minute left in the third period and the Silvertips went on to beat the Vancouver Giants, 4-3, in a shootout. . . . F J.T. Barnett scored twice for Vancouver, giving him six goals in five games.
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In Portland, G Kurtis Mucha returned to the Winterhawks and stopped 17 shots in a 6-1 victory over the Seattle Thunderbirds of Kent. . . . Mucha, who is into his fifth WHL season, had been in camp with the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers. He was offered a minor-league contract but chose to return to Portland. . . . The Winterhawks broke a 1-1 tie with five third-period goals. . . . The Winterhawks have beaten the Thunderbirds twice this season, outscoring them 11-1 in the process. . . . D Daniel Johnston had two assists and was plus-3 for Portland. . . . Seattle D Stefan Warg was minus-5. . . . Attendance for the Winterhawks’ home-opener was 4,232.
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Keeping Score
We haven’t nearly heard the end of the palace coup within the NHLPA that cost executive director Paul Kelly his job. As one NHL player told me: “Ninety per cent of the players are not happy with the process of how it happened.” . . . It happened in Chicago at 3 a.m., which should tell you something. . . . As Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane can attest, nothing good happens at that time of the day. . . . Still with Chitown, here is the Chicago Tribune’s Steve Rosenbloom, wondering whether the Cubbies will be able to unload the suspended Milton Bradley and the US$21 million left on his contract: “Who’d want this guy? Which general manager would choose to infect his clubhouse with the M.B. coli virus? Cubs general manager Jim Hendry would need to find someone who’s a bigger sap than he is, and because Al Davis is a football guy, I don’t think there’s much hope.” . . . Maybe Milton Bradley could take his game to the NHLPA?
Defenceman Wes McLeod, a Kamloopsian who plays for the BCHL’s Prince George Spruce Kings, has been named to an evaluation camp for Team Canada West that will play in the 2009 World Junior A Challenge. McLeod will attend a three-day camp in Okotoks, Alta., that begins Sunday. . . . Also invited was forward Grayson Downing of the BCHL’s Westside Warriors. Downing was a fourth-round selection by the Kamloops Blazers in the 2007 WHL bantam draft but has committed to the U of New Hampshire. . . . Phil Mushnick, in the New York Post: “The continuing, often race-based debate as to whether Serena Williams’ $10,000 fine was a proper response to her vulgar menacing of a lineswoman during her last singles match in this year’s U.S. Open, has omitted the tale of Jeff Tarango, white American male. His verbal abuse of an ump during his third-round match at Wimbledon in 1995 caused his disqualification, a $63,000 fine and banishment from two Grand Slam events, including the next Wimbledon.”
Former Blazers defenceman Darryl Sydor signed a one-year deal with the NHL’s St. Louis Blues on Friday. Sydor, one of the Blazers’ co-owners, got a deal just in time to head for Sweden. The Blues play Linkoping of the Swedish Elite League on Tuesday. . . . A huge thank you to those responsible for putting the netting up high on the backside of Interior Savings Centre. It certainly is nice to walk towards the building without pigeons using you for target practice. . . . And the clean sidewalks are nice, too.
Murray Owen, who once did time as president of the Blazers, played for the 65-plus oldtimers team that won gold at the B.C. Senior Games in Richmond last weekend. And it sounds like he’s still got game. “Reminds me of Bill Mosienko when I saw him play with Winnipeg at the Snoopy tourney in California a few years ago,” a teammate told me, referencing a late, great NHLer. “Just a natural born skater and puckhandler who never seems to tire out there.” . . . Too bad Owen couldn’t have come down from the boardroom to play for the Blazers a time or two during his reign. . . . Cam Hutchinson, in the Saskatoon StarPhoenix: “When Brandt Snedeker four-putted the 18th hole at the BMW tournament, he lost at least $400,000, as well as invitations to the Masters, and British and U.S. Opens next year. Nobody has lost so much so quickly since my wife said, ‘I do.’ ”
I love the NFL on CTV but if I see one more CSI promo, I think I’ll puke. . . . By the way, why isn’t there a CSI: Kamloops? . . . They seem to have every other city covered, don’t they? . . . Jeff Blair, in The Globe and Mail: “Mikhail Prokhorov, the Russian billionaire and the 40th wealthiest man in the world, is reportedly prepared to finance the NBA Nets’ move to Brooklyn by acquiring a stake in the club issuing a bond through his investment firm to fund arena construction. The New York Daily News also reports he was arrested in 2007 on suspicion he was involved in a prostitution ring, which makes me wonder: How did the NHL miss out on this guy?” . . . One has to think the pecking order of hockey teams in Kamloops runs like this: Blazers, Storm, WolfPack, Thompson Blazers. There are only four of them. I realize that ice availability sometimes dictates things but, still, how is it that all four end up playing at home on the same night, which is what happened one week ago?
Headline at SportsPickle.com: Leodis McKelvin spray-paints ‘I FORGIVE U’ onto vandal’s car. . . . The social event of the weekend goes Sunday when Lamar Odom of the Los Angeles Lakers weds Khloe Kardashian. As Dan Le Batard put it on Pardon the Interruption this week: “Third-best Laker, meet third-best Kardashian.” . . . Scott Ostler, in the San Francisco Chronicle: “Usain Bolt won his final race and says he’ll take a long vacation. When you live in Jamaica, where do you vacation? Akron?” . . . Guard Delonte West of the Cleveland Cavaliers was arrested last week after police in Maryland pulled over his three-wheel motorcycle and found that he had a loaded handgun stuffed in the waistband of his pants, another strapped around a leg and a loaded shotgun in a guitar case that was slung over his back. Sheesh, the only thing missing was Salma Hayek. . . . As Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times put it: “Looks like he was ready to shoot a three.”
Gregg Drinnan is sports editor of The Daily News. He is at gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca and gdrinnan.blogspot.com. Keeping Score appears Saturdays.
Defenceman Wes McLeod, a Kamloopsian who plays for the BCHL’s Prince George Spruce Kings, has been named to an evaluation camp for Team Canada West that will play in the 2009 World Junior A Challenge. McLeod will attend a three-day camp in Okotoks, Alta., that begins Sunday. . . . Also invited was forward Grayson Downing of the BCHL’s Westside Warriors. Downing was a fourth-round selection by the Kamloops Blazers in the 2007 WHL bantam draft but has committed to the U of New Hampshire. . . . Phil Mushnick, in the New York Post: “The continuing, often race-based debate as to whether Serena Williams’ $10,000 fine was a proper response to her vulgar menacing of a lineswoman during her last singles match in this year’s U.S. Open, has omitted the tale of Jeff Tarango, white American male. His verbal abuse of an ump during his third-round match at Wimbledon in 1995 caused his disqualification, a $63,000 fine and banishment from two Grand Slam events, including the next Wimbledon.”
Former Blazers defenceman Darryl Sydor signed a one-year deal with the NHL’s St. Louis Blues on Friday. Sydor, one of the Blazers’ co-owners, got a deal just in time to head for Sweden. The Blues play Linkoping of the Swedish Elite League on Tuesday. . . . A huge thank you to those responsible for putting the netting up high on the backside of Interior Savings Centre. It certainly is nice to walk towards the building without pigeons using you for target practice. . . . And the clean sidewalks are nice, too.
Murray Owen, who once did time as president of the Blazers, played for the 65-plus oldtimers team that won gold at the B.C. Senior Games in Richmond last weekend. And it sounds like he’s still got game. “Reminds me of Bill Mosienko when I saw him play with Winnipeg at the Snoopy tourney in California a few years ago,” a teammate told me, referencing a late, great NHLer. “Just a natural born skater and puckhandler who never seems to tire out there.” . . . Too bad Owen couldn’t have come down from the boardroom to play for the Blazers a time or two during his reign. . . . Cam Hutchinson, in the Saskatoon StarPhoenix: “When Brandt Snedeker four-putted the 18th hole at the BMW tournament, he lost at least $400,000, as well as invitations to the Masters, and British and U.S. Opens next year. Nobody has lost so much so quickly since my wife said, ‘I do.’ ”
I love the NFL on CTV but if I see one more CSI promo, I think I’ll puke. . . . By the way, why isn’t there a CSI: Kamloops? . . . They seem to have every other city covered, don’t they? . . . Jeff Blair, in The Globe and Mail: “Mikhail Prokhorov, the Russian billionaire and the 40th wealthiest man in the world, is reportedly prepared to finance the NBA Nets’ move to Brooklyn by acquiring a stake in the club issuing a bond through his investment firm to fund arena construction. The New York Daily News also reports he was arrested in 2007 on suspicion he was involved in a prostitution ring, which makes me wonder: How did the NHL miss out on this guy?” . . . One has to think the pecking order of hockey teams in Kamloops runs like this: Blazers, Storm, WolfPack, Thompson Blazers. There are only four of them. I realize that ice availability sometimes dictates things but, still, how is it that all four end up playing at home on the same night, which is what happened one week ago?
Headline at SportsPickle.com: Leodis McKelvin spray-paints ‘I FORGIVE U’ onto vandal’s car. . . . The social event of the weekend goes Sunday when Lamar Odom of the Los Angeles Lakers weds Khloe Kardashian. As Dan Le Batard put it on Pardon the Interruption this week: “Third-best Laker, meet third-best Kardashian.” . . . Scott Ostler, in the San Francisco Chronicle: “Usain Bolt won his final race and says he’ll take a long vacation. When you live in Jamaica, where do you vacation? Akron?” . . . Guard Delonte West of the Cleveland Cavaliers was arrested last week after police in Maryland pulled over his three-wheel motorcycle and found that he had a loaded handgun stuffed in the waistband of his pants, another strapped around a leg and a loaded shotgun in a guitar case that was slung over his back. Sheesh, the only thing missing was Salma Hayek. . . . As Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times put it: “Looks like he was ready to shoot a three.”
Gregg Drinnan is sports editor of The Daily News. He is at gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca and gdrinnan.blogspot.com. Keeping Score appears Saturdays.
Friday . . .
F Travis Dunstall, 20, who was released by the Everett Silvertips, has joined the AJHL’s Grande Prairie Storm and was expected to play Friday night. Dunstall skated with the Storm after the Medicine Hat Tigers, for whom he played last season, told him not to report as they were trying to move him.
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FRIDAY’S GAMES:
In Kent, Wash., F Ryan Howse scored two goals and set up another as the Chilliwack Bruins beat the host Seattle Thunderbirds, 4-1. . . . Chilliwack (1-2-0-0) won for the first time this season with Marc Habscheid behind the bench. . . . Attendance was 2,239. . . . Seattle (1-3-0-0) was 0-for-6 on the PP. . . . The Bruins scored the game’s last four goals. . . . F Isak Quakenbush, who played 112 games for Seattle over the previous two seasons, scored Chilliwack’s first goal. . . . Chilliwack G Mark Friesen stopped 31 shots.
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In Brandon, G Andrew Hayes put up his second straight shutout as the Wheat Kings beat the Swift Current Broncos, 3-0. . . . Attendance for Brandon’s home-opener was 5,280. . . . Hayes stopped 16 shots in running his shutout streak to 128 minutes 10 seconds. . . . Swift Current G Alexandre Sirard, in his WHL debut, stopped 22 shots. . . . According to the Brandon Sun’s James Shewaga, the Broncos hadn’t been blanked in 153 straight regular-season games. That was the WHL’s longest such streak going into Friday’s games. . . . Brandon F Mark Stone left with a jammed wrist in the third period and will be re-evaluated on Saturday. . . . Finnish F Toni Rajala arrived in Brandon on Thursday and skated with the Wheat Kings on Friday morning. He is rehabbing a knee injury and is believed to be seven to 14 days away from playing. . . . D Alexander Urbom was scheduled to arrived in Brandon late Friday night and is expected to play Saturday in Moose Jaw against the Warriors. . . . Fans in Brandon were treated to the unveiling of the facility’s new $1.5-million video scoreclock with replay screens.
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In Regina, the Moose Jaw Warriors won Game 1 of the Trans-Canada battle, 5-4, over the Pats. . . . The Warriors had lost six straight in Regina, since Nov. 2, 2007. . . . Moose Jaw twice held t wo-goal leads and took a 4-3 lead into the third period when it had to kill of four consecutive minors. . . . The Warriors went up 5-3 when F Quinton Howden scored on a penalty shot awarded while they were shorthanded. . . . Attendance was 4,189. . . . F Spender Edwards scored twice for Moose Jaw, which got 28 saves from G Jeff Bosch. . . . The Pats are at home to the Saskatoon Blades on Sunday, the third time in 10 days these teams will have met.
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In Red Deer, the Rebels doubled the Lethbridge Hurricanes, 4-2. . . . D Justin Weller’s first career WHL goal — it was his 84th game — broke a 2-2 tie at 11:10 of the third period. Furthermore, it was a shorthanded score. . . . Weller also was plus-3. . . . Red Deer F Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, the first overall pick in the 2008 bantam draft, scored again. He has one goal in each of the season’s first three games. In his career, he has five goals in eight games. . . . Red Deer G Darcy Kuemper stopped 35 shots, including 18 in the third period. . . . F Radim Valchar scored both Lethbridge goals. Valchar, 20, was acquired from the Portland Winterhawks earlier in the week. . . . The Hurricanes, who play their first eight games on the road while their home arena undergoes renovations, are 0-3.
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In Vancouver, F J.T. Barnett scored his fourth goal in as many games as the Giants edged the Prince George Cougars, 2-1. . . . Last season, Barnett scored once in 38 games. . . . Vancouver G Jamie Tucker stopped 22 shots, losing his shutout when F Jesse Forsberg scored with 1:05 left in the third period. . . . D Kevin Connauton, the Vancouver Canucks’ draft pick who left Western Michigan to play for the Giants this season, scored his second goal of the season. The Canucks selected him in the third round of the NHL’s 2009 draft.
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In Kamloops, F Tyler Shattock scored twice to help the Blazers to a 4-1 victory over the Kelowna Rockets. . . . The Rockets have beaten the Blazers 14 straight times — nine last regular season, four in the playoffs and one in the just-completed exhibition season. . . . Shattock leads the WHL with five goals. . . . Kelowna lost three players to injuries in the first period. D Mitchell Chapman (shoulder), D Tyson Barrie, whom head coach Ryan Huska said was “sore all over,” and F Max Adolph (leg) are doubtful for tonight’s rematch in Kelowna. Barrie was injured on what appeared to be a clean check by Kamloops F Shayne Wiebe. . . . Attendance was 4,080.
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In Medicine Hat, F Brandon Kozun scored the lone goal of the shootout as the Calgary Hitmen edged the Tigers, 5-4. . . . That means Medicine Hat GM/head coach Willie Desjardins will have to wait to get his 300th WHL head-coaching victory. The Tigers meet the Kootenay Ice in Cranbrook on Saturday. . . . Yes, attendance was 4,006. . . Kozun had a goal and two assists in regulation time and now leads the WHL with eight points.
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In Saskatoon, Edmonton G Torrie Jung stopped 36 shots as the Oil Kings beat the Blades, 4-2. . . . Edmonton D Tyler Hlookoff broke a 2-2 tie with a PP goal at 7:38 of the third period. . . . F Tomas Vincour iced it with an empty-netter. . . . Each team finished the night at 1-1-0-1 in the standings. . . . Attendance was 3,667. . . . Saskatoon, with four 20-year-olds, dressed D Sam Klassen, F Milan Kytnar and F Derek Hulak, and scratched F Walker Wintoneak.
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In Kennewick, Wash., F Brendan Shinnimin set up four goals as the Tri-City Americans got past the Portland Winterhawks, 4-3. . . . Shinnimin, who had 25 points in 64 games last season, had seven points in two games this season. . . . F Johnny Lazo and F Adam Hughesman each scored twice for the Americans, who banged in three goals after giving up the game’s first goal. Hughesman also drew an assist. . . . Tri-City G Drew Owsley stopped 28 shots. . . . F Luke Walker scored all of Portland’s goals. . . . Attendance was 3,725. . . . After the game, the Americans assigned F Max Moline to a midget AAA team in Lethbridge and F Zach McPhee to a major midget team in B.C. Moline was a fifth-round pick in the 2008 bantam draft, while McPhee went in the sixth round. . . . Tri-City now is down to 26 players, including 14 forwards and nine defencemen.
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FRIDAY’S GAMES:
In Kent, Wash., F Ryan Howse scored two goals and set up another as the Chilliwack Bruins beat the host Seattle Thunderbirds, 4-1. . . . Chilliwack (1-2-0-0) won for the first time this season with Marc Habscheid behind the bench. . . . Attendance was 2,239. . . . Seattle (1-3-0-0) was 0-for-6 on the PP. . . . The Bruins scored the game’s last four goals. . . . F Isak Quakenbush, who played 112 games for Seattle over the previous two seasons, scored Chilliwack’s first goal. . . . Chilliwack G Mark Friesen stopped 31 shots.
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In Brandon, G Andrew Hayes put up his second straight shutout as the Wheat Kings beat the Swift Current Broncos, 3-0. . . . Attendance for Brandon’s home-opener was 5,280. . . . Hayes stopped 16 shots in running his shutout streak to 128 minutes 10 seconds. . . . Swift Current G Alexandre Sirard, in his WHL debut, stopped 22 shots. . . . According to the Brandon Sun’s James Shewaga, the Broncos hadn’t been blanked in 153 straight regular-season games. That was the WHL’s longest such streak going into Friday’s games. . . . Brandon F Mark Stone left with a jammed wrist in the third period and will be re-evaluated on Saturday. . . . Finnish F Toni Rajala arrived in Brandon on Thursday and skated with the Wheat Kings on Friday morning. He is rehabbing a knee injury and is believed to be seven to 14 days away from playing. . . . D Alexander Urbom was scheduled to arrived in Brandon late Friday night and is expected to play Saturday in Moose Jaw against the Warriors. . . . Fans in Brandon were treated to the unveiling of the facility’s new $1.5-million video scoreclock with replay screens.
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In Regina, the Moose Jaw Warriors won Game 1 of the Trans-Canada battle, 5-4, over the Pats. . . . The Warriors had lost six straight in Regina, since Nov. 2, 2007. . . . Moose Jaw twice held t wo-goal leads and took a 4-3 lead into the third period when it had to kill of four consecutive minors. . . . The Warriors went up 5-3 when F Quinton Howden scored on a penalty shot awarded while they were shorthanded. . . . Attendance was 4,189. . . . F Spender Edwards scored twice for Moose Jaw, which got 28 saves from G Jeff Bosch. . . . The Pats are at home to the Saskatoon Blades on Sunday, the third time in 10 days these teams will have met.
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In Red Deer, the Rebels doubled the Lethbridge Hurricanes, 4-2. . . . D Justin Weller’s first career WHL goal — it was his 84th game — broke a 2-2 tie at 11:10 of the third period. Furthermore, it was a shorthanded score. . . . Weller also was plus-3. . . . Red Deer F Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, the first overall pick in the 2008 bantam draft, scored again. He has one goal in each of the season’s first three games. In his career, he has five goals in eight games. . . . Red Deer G Darcy Kuemper stopped 35 shots, including 18 in the third period. . . . F Radim Valchar scored both Lethbridge goals. Valchar, 20, was acquired from the Portland Winterhawks earlier in the week. . . . The Hurricanes, who play their first eight games on the road while their home arena undergoes renovations, are 0-3.
———
In Vancouver, F J.T. Barnett scored his fourth goal in as many games as the Giants edged the Prince George Cougars, 2-1. . . . Last season, Barnett scored once in 38 games. . . . Vancouver G Jamie Tucker stopped 22 shots, losing his shutout when F Jesse Forsberg scored with 1:05 left in the third period. . . . D Kevin Connauton, the Vancouver Canucks’ draft pick who left Western Michigan to play for the Giants this season, scored his second goal of the season. The Canucks selected him in the third round of the NHL’s 2009 draft.
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In Kamloops, F Tyler Shattock scored twice to help the Blazers to a 4-1 victory over the Kelowna Rockets. . . . The Rockets have beaten the Blazers 14 straight times — nine last regular season, four in the playoffs and one in the just-completed exhibition season. . . . Shattock leads the WHL with five goals. . . . Kelowna lost three players to injuries in the first period. D Mitchell Chapman (shoulder), D Tyson Barrie, whom head coach Ryan Huska said was “sore all over,” and F Max Adolph (leg) are doubtful for tonight’s rematch in Kelowna. Barrie was injured on what appeared to be a clean check by Kamloops F Shayne Wiebe. . . . Attendance was 4,080.
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In Medicine Hat, F Brandon Kozun scored the lone goal of the shootout as the Calgary Hitmen edged the Tigers, 5-4. . . . That means Medicine Hat GM/head coach Willie Desjardins will have to wait to get his 300th WHL head-coaching victory. The Tigers meet the Kootenay Ice in Cranbrook on Saturday. . . . Yes, attendance was 4,006. . . Kozun had a goal and two assists in regulation time and now leads the WHL with eight points.
———
In Saskatoon, Edmonton G Torrie Jung stopped 36 shots as the Oil Kings beat the Blades, 4-2. . . . Edmonton D Tyler Hlookoff broke a 2-2 tie with a PP goal at 7:38 of the third period. . . . F Tomas Vincour iced it with an empty-netter. . . . Each team finished the night at 1-1-0-1 in the standings. . . . Attendance was 3,667. . . . Saskatoon, with four 20-year-olds, dressed D Sam Klassen, F Milan Kytnar and F Derek Hulak, and scratched F Walker Wintoneak.
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In Kennewick, Wash., F Brendan Shinnimin set up four goals as the Tri-City Americans got past the Portland Winterhawks, 4-3. . . . Shinnimin, who had 25 points in 64 games last season, had seven points in two games this season. . . . F Johnny Lazo and F Adam Hughesman each scored twice for the Americans, who banged in three goals after giving up the game’s first goal. Hughesman also drew an assist. . . . Tri-City G Drew Owsley stopped 28 shots. . . . F Luke Walker scored all of Portland’s goals. . . . Attendance was 3,725. . . . After the game, the Americans assigned F Max Moline to a midget AAA team in Lethbridge and F Zach McPhee to a major midget team in B.C. Moline was a fifth-round pick in the 2008 bantam draft, while McPhee went in the sixth round. . . . Tri-City now is down to 26 players, including 14 forwards and nine defencemen.
Blazers solve Rockets
By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
The Kamloops Blazers have served notice that the days of the Kelowna Rockets kicking sand in their faces are over. The 98-pound weakling who got bounced all over the beach a season ago is no more.
The Blazers, who had lost 14 straight games to the defending-champion Rockets, gave more than they took Friday night as they stayed unbeaten with a 4-1 victory before 4,080 fans at Interior Savings Centre.
The teams meet again tonight in the Little Apple, with the Blazers looking for victory No. 4 and the Rockets (0-2-1-0) trying for their first.
The Rockets likely will be without forward Max Adolph (leg) and defencemen Mitchell Chapman (shoulder) and Tyson Barrie for the rematch. All three left in the first period, Chapman following his first shift, Barrie at 6:02 after a hit from Shayne Wiebe, and Adolph at 15:10 after crashing hard into the end boards in the Kamloops zone.
Ryan Huska, the Rockets’ head coach, said that Barrie, who may be Kelowna’s most important player, was “sore all over.”
The Blazers, meanwhile, were anything but sore. After all, the Rockets had won seven straight games in Kamloops and were starting to look at our city the way a tourist looks at a spa.
“I think so,” Kamloops captain Tyler Shattock said when asked if a message had been delivered, “but I think we can be even better. I thought we were pretty undisciplined. We took far too many penalties. They got 15 shots or something in the second period; in that sense, we can be better.”
The Rockets, trailing 1-0 after a Jimmy Bubnick power-play goal, were the beneficiaries of four second-period power plays, one of them a carry-over.
But while Kelowna held an 18-8 edge in second-period shots, the Blazers scored the only goal, with Shattock one-timing home a C.J. Stretch pass.
Forward Lucas Bloodoff pulled the Rockets to within one, bouncing the puck off goaltender Jon Groenheyde’s left pad as he went post-to-post and back again during a messy situation nine minutes into the third. Groenheyde, though, was strong, making 36 saves and earning tonight’s start — his third straight — in the process.
Shattock, with a second goal, this one on the power play at 12:35, and Dylan Willick, with his first WHL score at 13:32, put it away.
“We had some good opportunities,” said Huska, who credited Groenheyde’s good play and the Blazers’ shot-blocking. “Some were tipped and some were deflections that went wide. Maybe on another night they go in. That’s the way it works some times.”
“We were really good in the third period,” said Shattock, who leads the WHL with five goals. “We made a goal for ourselves never to let a team come back in the third. That’s what all the good teams in this league do.”
Blazers head coach Barry Smith, too, liked the third period.
“I thought we managed the third period real well,” he said. “Even after they got that one, I thought we really managed it from there and brought it home. Those last 11 minutes . . . that’s when we played our best hockey.”
At one point in the game, Smith said that Shattock was expressing power-play frustration on the bench.
“He was getting frustrated as I used the other guys more,” Smith said. “I told him, ‘Three out of 10 is good. Don’t get frustrated. It’ll come.’
“And it did. I went back to those guys because they’re our veteran leaders and they scored at the right time. That was a huge goal right there.”
Shattock wrote off the frustration to his wanting to score on every power play.
“Our unit expects to score,” he said. “Every power play is a chance to win a game so we have to take it as a chance to win a game when we go out there.”
That Kamloops power-play unit is 6-for-18 in its last two games.
“That’s good,” Shattock said, “but we want more.”
JUST NOTES: The Blazers were 2-for-8 on the power play; Kelowna was 0-for-8. . . . Brett Kissel, a rising country star from the Edmonton area, did a great job on O Canada. He’s at the Kamloops Convention Centre tonight, 7 o’clock.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Daily News Sports Editor
The Kamloops Blazers have served notice that the days of the Kelowna Rockets kicking sand in their faces are over. The 98-pound weakling who got bounced all over the beach a season ago is no more.
The Blazers, who had lost 14 straight games to the defending-champion Rockets, gave more than they took Friday night as they stayed unbeaten with a 4-1 victory before 4,080 fans at Interior Savings Centre.
The teams meet again tonight in the Little Apple, with the Blazers looking for victory No. 4 and the Rockets (0-2-1-0) trying for their first.
The Rockets likely will be without forward Max Adolph (leg) and defencemen Mitchell Chapman (shoulder) and Tyson Barrie for the rematch. All three left in the first period, Chapman following his first shift, Barrie at 6:02 after a hit from Shayne Wiebe, and Adolph at 15:10 after crashing hard into the end boards in the Kamloops zone.
Ryan Huska, the Rockets’ head coach, said that Barrie, who may be Kelowna’s most important player, was “sore all over.”
The Blazers, meanwhile, were anything but sore. After all, the Rockets had won seven straight games in Kamloops and were starting to look at our city the way a tourist looks at a spa.
“I think so,” Kamloops captain Tyler Shattock said when asked if a message had been delivered, “but I think we can be even better. I thought we were pretty undisciplined. We took far too many penalties. They got 15 shots or something in the second period; in that sense, we can be better.”
The Rockets, trailing 1-0 after a Jimmy Bubnick power-play goal, were the beneficiaries of four second-period power plays, one of them a carry-over.
But while Kelowna held an 18-8 edge in second-period shots, the Blazers scored the only goal, with Shattock one-timing home a C.J. Stretch pass.
Forward Lucas Bloodoff pulled the Rockets to within one, bouncing the puck off goaltender Jon Groenheyde’s left pad as he went post-to-post and back again during a messy situation nine minutes into the third. Groenheyde, though, was strong, making 36 saves and earning tonight’s start — his third straight — in the process.
Shattock, with a second goal, this one on the power play at 12:35, and Dylan Willick, with his first WHL score at 13:32, put it away.
“We had some good opportunities,” said Huska, who credited Groenheyde’s good play and the Blazers’ shot-blocking. “Some were tipped and some were deflections that went wide. Maybe on another night they go in. That’s the way it works some times.”
“We were really good in the third period,” said Shattock, who leads the WHL with five goals. “We made a goal for ourselves never to let a team come back in the third. That’s what all the good teams in this league do.”
Blazers head coach Barry Smith, too, liked the third period.
“I thought we managed the third period real well,” he said. “Even after they got that one, I thought we really managed it from there and brought it home. Those last 11 minutes . . . that’s when we played our best hockey.”
At one point in the game, Smith said that Shattock was expressing power-play frustration on the bench.
“He was getting frustrated as I used the other guys more,” Smith said. “I told him, ‘Three out of 10 is good. Don’t get frustrated. It’ll come.’
“And it did. I went back to those guys because they’re our veteran leaders and they scored at the right time. That was a huge goal right there.”
Shattock wrote off the frustration to his wanting to score on every power play.
“Our unit expects to score,” he said. “Every power play is a chance to win a game so we have to take it as a chance to win a game when we go out there.”
That Kamloops power-play unit is 6-for-18 in its last two games.
“That’s good,” Shattock said, “but we want more.”
JUST NOTES: The Blazers were 2-for-8 on the power play; Kelowna was 0-for-8. . . . Brett Kissel, a rising country star from the Edmonton area, did a great job on O Canada. He’s at the Kamloops Convention Centre tonight, 7 o’clock.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Friday, September 25, 2009
Friday . . . early
Teams visiting the Toyota Center in Kennewick, Wash., will notice improvements to their dressing room (see picture above). The work was done over the summer. Craig West of the Tri-City Americans says: “Color Tile provided carpet, ProBuild the wood and finish, and Thomas Burnett Construction the carpentry. This is a very giving area. You ask and they do it. I’ve never lived anywhere else where people are willing do step up like they do here. It never ceases to amaze me.”
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How about a shout out to Les Karpluk? He has been a member of the Prince Albert Raiders’ board of directors since 2007. He also is the chief of Prince Albert’s Fire and Emergency Services Department. Earlier this week, Karpluk was named the Fire Chief of the Year by the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs at their annual conference in Winnipeg. . . . My late father was a volunteer fire chief and at one time served as the president of the Manitoba Association of Fire Chiefs. Yes, being named the Fire Chief of the Year is a big deal. Congratulations!
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The Everett Silvertips have assigned F Brett Miller, 18, to the SJHL’s Battlefords North Stars. Everett acquired him last week from the Red Deer Rebels for a conditional draft pick. He was pointless in two games last weekend. Miller was the 14th overall pick in the 2006 bantam draft, taken by the Regina Pats. . . . Everett is down to 24 players, including 14 forwards and eight defencemen.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Blazers hoping to make points
By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
Tyler Shattock, the captain of the Kamloops Blazers, would love nothing better than to pull off a two-game sweep this weekend.
Should that happen, it would mean that the Blazers (a) had opened the WHL season with four victories, and (b) finally had beaten those dastardly Kelowna Rockets.
You may have heard by now that the Rockets beat the Blazers 13 times last season. Yes, the teams met on the same sheet of ice on 13 occasions — nine in the regular season and four in the playoffs — and the Rockets won each and every time.
The teams will play tonight at Interior Savings Centre and Saturday in Kelowna’s Prospera Place. Game time both nights is 7 o’clock.
“Hopefully, we can win these next two,” Shattock said. “I don’t think a team has gone 4-0 for a while here. I know I haven’t.”
Shattock is in his fourth season here. His four-game starts, beginning with his first season, have gone 1-2-0-1, 1-2-1-0 and 2-1-0-1.
The Blazers haven’t opened a season with four straight victories since 2002-03 when they finally lost in Game 5.
“It would be nice to go 4-0,” Shattock said.
Having said that, he knows it won’t be easy. He knows the Rockets will be ugly like a wounded bear because they have lost their first two games, albeit the first one in overtime.
“We have to concern ourselves with what we do,” Shattock said. “But I think we have a lot of motivation for this series. . . . We have a bit of payback for them.”
All of which is fine with head coach Barry Smith, but he would prefer his bunch not get too caught up in it.
“Guys are looking at it,” Smith said. “How can you not? People bring it up and talk about it. It’s just another hurdle you have to overcome. It’s part of the growing process.”
Smith said this weekend is a matter of his team imposing its will on the opposition.
“We have to worry about ourselves and how well we play,” he stated. “Take care of your own house and make other teams have to adjust to you.”
Defenceman Zak Stebner agreed and added that the Blazers will need to get off to a good start.
“The start is important in every game, but obviously (tonight) is big because we’re starting off a season series with a new team,” he said. “You want to prove yourself to the other guys. You have to play them eight times, so . . .”
Smith added: “We have to come out and play right off the bat. You have to try to win hockey games in the first period with that mindset. You go out and play that first strong period . . . you set the tone . . . Saturday night was one where you don’t win it in the first period but you do. And then the rest of the game, we controlled it. We emphasized that.”
Stebner also admitted that the Blazers feel they have something to prove to Kelowna.
“Oh yeah . . . definitely,” he said. “You’re going to want to win these ones more than some other ones because of the rivarly and these guys beat us in the playoffs.”
If the Blazers are to win, they will do it with sophomore Jon Groenheyde in goal. Smith has decided to give him his second straight start — he beat the visiting Chilliwack Bruins 4-2 on Saturday after Justin Leclerc went the distance in a 4-3 victory in Chilliwack one night earlier.
“I thought (Groenheyde) played a strong game,” Smith explained. “Was there a huge differnce? No. My feeling was that it was better. It’s an A-plus versus an A.”
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
SCOUTINGREPORT
KELOWNA ROCKETS at KAMLOOPS BLAZERS
Today, 7 p.m., Interior Savings Centre (Radio NL 610)
KELOWNA (0-1-1-0): The defending-champion Rockets have given up 12 goals in their two losses, which explains why they spent a lot of practice time this week on defensive zone play. . . . They lost 6-5 in OT to the visiting Vancouver Giants and then dropped a 6-1 decision to the host Tri-City Americans. . . . The Rockets have surrendered 75 shots in two games. . . . D Tyler Myers, 19, is with the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres, while high-scoring F Colin Long, 20, hasn’t signed but is with the San Antonio Rampage, the AHL affiliate of the Phoenix Coyotes. . . . F Stepan Novotny, the Rockets’ lone import, scored four goals in the loss to Vancouver. He has five points, while F Mitchell (Dirty Harry) Callahan has three. . . . G Adam Brown likely will make his third straight start. . . . The Rockets are carrying a dozen freshmen among the 28 players on their roster. . . . Injuries: G Mark Guggenberger (pelvis, out); F Evan Bloodoff (knee, out).
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KAMLOOPS (2-0-0-0): The Blazers are off to a 2-0 start for the first time since 2002-03. . . . They will play the Rockets in Kelowna on Saturday night. . . . The Blazers have lost 13 straight games to the Rockets — nine in the regular season and four in the playoffs. . . . G Jon Groenheyde makes his second straight start tonight. . . . Kamloops scored four power-play goals in beating the visiting Bruins 4-2 on Saturday night. . . . The Blazers are carrying eight defencemen, which means there will be two healthy scratches. . . . One forward also will be a healthy scratch. . . . F Tyler Shattock leads the team in goals (3) and points (5), while F Shayne Wiebe has a team-high four assists. . . . After tonight, Kamloops is next at home Wednesday against the Lethbridge Hurricanes. . . . Injuries: F Dalibor Bortnak (spleen, out); F Colin Smith (broken arm, out).
— GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
Tyler Shattock, the captain of the Kamloops Blazers, would love nothing better than to pull off a two-game sweep this weekend.
Should that happen, it would mean that the Blazers (a) had opened the WHL season with four victories, and (b) finally had beaten those dastardly Kelowna Rockets.
You may have heard by now that the Rockets beat the Blazers 13 times last season. Yes, the teams met on the same sheet of ice on 13 occasions — nine in the regular season and four in the playoffs — and the Rockets won each and every time.
The teams will play tonight at Interior Savings Centre and Saturday in Kelowna’s Prospera Place. Game time both nights is 7 o’clock.
“Hopefully, we can win these next two,” Shattock said. “I don’t think a team has gone 4-0 for a while here. I know I haven’t.”
Shattock is in his fourth season here. His four-game starts, beginning with his first season, have gone 1-2-0-1, 1-2-1-0 and 2-1-0-1.
The Blazers haven’t opened a season with four straight victories since 2002-03 when they finally lost in Game 5.
“It would be nice to go 4-0,” Shattock said.
Having said that, he knows it won’t be easy. He knows the Rockets will be ugly like a wounded bear because they have lost their first two games, albeit the first one in overtime.
“We have to concern ourselves with what we do,” Shattock said. “But I think we have a lot of motivation for this series. . . . We have a bit of payback for them.”
All of which is fine with head coach Barry Smith, but he would prefer his bunch not get too caught up in it.
“Guys are looking at it,” Smith said. “How can you not? People bring it up and talk about it. It’s just another hurdle you have to overcome. It’s part of the growing process.”
Smith said this weekend is a matter of his team imposing its will on the opposition.
“We have to worry about ourselves and how well we play,” he stated. “Take care of your own house and make other teams have to adjust to you.”
Defenceman Zak Stebner agreed and added that the Blazers will need to get off to a good start.
“The start is important in every game, but obviously (tonight) is big because we’re starting off a season series with a new team,” he said. “You want to prove yourself to the other guys. You have to play them eight times, so . . .”
Smith added: “We have to come out and play right off the bat. You have to try to win hockey games in the first period with that mindset. You go out and play that first strong period . . . you set the tone . . . Saturday night was one where you don’t win it in the first period but you do. And then the rest of the game, we controlled it. We emphasized that.”
Stebner also admitted that the Blazers feel they have something to prove to Kelowna.
“Oh yeah . . . definitely,” he said. “You’re going to want to win these ones more than some other ones because of the rivarly and these guys beat us in the playoffs.”
If the Blazers are to win, they will do it with sophomore Jon Groenheyde in goal. Smith has decided to give him his second straight start — he beat the visiting Chilliwack Bruins 4-2 on Saturday after Justin Leclerc went the distance in a 4-3 victory in Chilliwack one night earlier.
“I thought (Groenheyde) played a strong game,” Smith explained. “Was there a huge differnce? No. My feeling was that it was better. It’s an A-plus versus an A.”
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
SCOUTINGREPORT
KELOWNA ROCKETS at KAMLOOPS BLAZERS
Today, 7 p.m., Interior Savings Centre (Radio NL 610)
KELOWNA (0-1-1-0): The defending-champion Rockets have given up 12 goals in their two losses, which explains why they spent a lot of practice time this week on defensive zone play. . . . They lost 6-5 in OT to the visiting Vancouver Giants and then dropped a 6-1 decision to the host Tri-City Americans. . . . The Rockets have surrendered 75 shots in two games. . . . D Tyler Myers, 19, is with the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres, while high-scoring F Colin Long, 20, hasn’t signed but is with the San Antonio Rampage, the AHL affiliate of the Phoenix Coyotes. . . . F Stepan Novotny, the Rockets’ lone import, scored four goals in the loss to Vancouver. He has five points, while F Mitchell (Dirty Harry) Callahan has three. . . . G Adam Brown likely will make his third straight start. . . . The Rockets are carrying a dozen freshmen among the 28 players on their roster. . . . Injuries: G Mark Guggenberger (pelvis, out); F Evan Bloodoff (knee, out).
————————
KAMLOOPS (2-0-0-0): The Blazers are off to a 2-0 start for the first time since 2002-03. . . . They will play the Rockets in Kelowna on Saturday night. . . . The Blazers have lost 13 straight games to the Rockets — nine in the regular season and four in the playoffs. . . . G Jon Groenheyde makes his second straight start tonight. . . . Kamloops scored four power-play goals in beating the visiting Bruins 4-2 on Saturday night. . . . The Blazers are carrying eight defencemen, which means there will be two healthy scratches. . . . One forward also will be a healthy scratch. . . . F Tyler Shattock leads the team in goals (3) and points (5), while F Shayne Wiebe has a team-high four assists. . . . After tonight, Kamloops is next at home Wednesday against the Lethbridge Hurricanes. . . . Injuries: F Dalibor Bortnak (spleen, out); F Colin Smith (broken arm, out).
— GREGG DRINNAN
Some late Thursday notes . . .
Willie Desjardins of the Medicine Hat Tigers, goes for his 300th victory as a WHL head coach Friday against the visiting Calgary Hitmen. Desjardins has spent his WHL career — with the exception of 39 games — as the Tigers’ head coach. Those other games were with the Saskatoon Blades at the end of 1997-98. . . . With G Damien Ketlo day-to-day with a groin injury, the Regina Pats have recalled Derek Tendler from the SJHL’s Estevan Bruins just in case a backup is needed. If Ketlo can’t answer the bell, freshman Dawson Guhle will start Friday against the visiting Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . The Vancouver Giants hope to hear something Friday about F James Wright’s immediate future. Wright played for the Tampa Bay Lightning in an exhibition game against the Edmonton Oilers in Winnipeg. A fourth-round pick in the 2008 NHL draft, Wright has yet to sign an NHL contract. . . . Vancouver D Dillon Scholten, 19, is to have wrist surgery Oct. 6 and won’t play until sometime in November. The surgery will be a follow-up to a procedure he underwent during the offseason. . . . The Kelowna Rockets have deleted F Brady Poulsen, 17, who was pointless in their first two games. He was a sixth-round pick in the 2007 bantam draft. . . . The Portland Winter Hawks have deleted F Adam Basford, 20, meaning they will go with F Chris Francis, G Kurtis Mucha and F Stefan Schneider as their three 20-year-olds.
More from Thursday . . .
The Regina Pats have solved their 20-year-old situation by putting F Mitch Czibere on waivers. They acquired Czibere and a 2009 fourth-round bantam draft pick from the Vancouver Giants on Sept. 11, 2008, for D Curtis Kulchar and F Todd Kennedy. . . . Czibere had 29 points in 53 games last season. . . . The Pats are left with three 20-year-olds – D Matt Delahey, F Brett Leffler and F Matt Strueby. They also are hoping to find a place for G Linden Rowat, 20, to play. . . . The Pats also announced that F Garrett Mitchell’s thumb injury will keep him out indefinitely. He was injured while blocking a shot in Wednesday’s 4-3 shootout victory over the visiting Saskatoon Blades. He will have more X-rays next week. . . . It’s the Pats and the Moose Jaw Warriors on Friday night in Game 1 of the battle for the Mayor’s Cup. A Pats’ press release notes that the Pats are the Cup holders, having won five of six games last season.
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The NHL’s New Jersey Devils have assigned Swedish D Alexander Urbom, 19, to the Brandon Wheat Kings. Urbom, who has signed an NHL contract, should arrive in Brandon on Friday but isn’t likely to play that night against the visiting Swift Current Broncos. He was a third-round pick by the Devils in the NHL’s 2009 draft. . . . The Wheat Kings learned earlier Thursday that Finnish F Toni Rajala, who has been rehabbing a knee injury in the camp of the Edmonton Oilers, will head for Brandon after watching his NHL team meet the Tampa Bay Lightning in an exhibition game in Winnipeg. . . . The Wheat Kings still have two other forwards in NHL camps, as Brayden Schenn is with the Los Angeles Kings and Matt Calvert is with the Columbus Blue Jackets.
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The NHL’s New Jersey Devils have assigned Swedish D Alexander Urbom, 19, to the Brandon Wheat Kings. Urbom, who has signed an NHL contract, should arrive in Brandon on Friday but isn’t likely to play that night against the visiting Swift Current Broncos. He was a third-round pick by the Devils in the NHL’s 2009 draft. . . . The Wheat Kings learned earlier Thursday that Finnish F Toni Rajala, who has been rehabbing a knee injury in the camp of the Edmonton Oilers, will head for Brandon after watching his NHL team meet the Tampa Bay Lightning in an exhibition game in Winnipeg. . . . The Wheat Kings still have two other forwards in NHL camps, as Brayden Schenn is with the Los Angeles Kings and Matt Calvert is with the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Thursday . . . early
The Saskatoon Blades are back up to four 20-year-olds now that the New York Rangers have returned D Sam Klassen. He signed with the Rangers as a free agent in July. Klassen attended their camp and was assigned to the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack before being returned to the Blades, for whom he played the last three seasons. . . . Klassen joins F Derek Hulak, F Milan Kytnar and F Walker Wintoneak as 20-year-olds on the Blades’ roster. . . . That roster is at 27, including 10 defencemen and 15 forwards.
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F Toni Rajala has been assigned to the Brandon Wheat Kings by the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers and is expected to arrive in the Wheat City on Thursday night. A fourth-round pick by the Oilers in the NHL’s 2009 draft, Rajala has been out with a knee injury. He is back skating and working to get used to wearing a brace. It isn’t yet known when he will make his debut with the Wheat Kings, who are at home to the Swift Current Broncos on Friday.
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F Toni Rajala has been assigned to the Brandon Wheat Kings by the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers and is expected to arrive in the Wheat City on Thursday night. A fourth-round pick by the Oilers in the NHL’s 2009 draft, Rajala has been out with a knee injury. He is back skating and working to get used to wearing a brace. It isn’t yet known when he will make his debut with the Wheat Kings, who are at home to the Swift Current Broncos on Friday.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Wednesday . . .
THE MacBETH REPORT: F Justin Mapletoft (Red Deer, 1996-2001) signed a two-month contract with Straubing (Germany DEL). The club has an option to extend the contract for the entire season. He had 20 goals and 38 assists in 52 games for Villach (Austria Erste Bank Liga) last season and led the league in plus/minus with a +21 rating.
———
F Ashton Rome (Moose Jaw, Red Deer, Kamloops, 2002-06) has signed with the ECHL’s Idaho Steelheads. Ashton, 23, had 44 points in 52 games with the Phoenix Roadrunners last season. He also played nine AHL games.
———
Dean Clark, the head coach of the Prince George Cougars, will be behind a WHL team’s bench for the 700th time when his bunch meets the Bruins in Chilliwack on Saturday. He was head coach of the Calgary Hitmen, Brandon Wheat Kings and Kamloops Blazers before signing a five-year contract with the Cougars prior to this season.
———
The Kootenay Ice and Red Deer Rebels were fined $250 apiece for the line brawl they staged Saturday night in Red Deer. That was the first discipline handed down by the WHL office in this regular season.
———
The Kootenay Ice has assigned G Dylan Tait, 17, to the AJHL’s Bonnyville Pontiacs. Tait, who played with the junior B Kimberley Dynamiters last season, was acquired from the Kelowna Rockets during the offseason. . . . Tait’s departure leaves the Ice with sophomore Nathan Lieuwen, 18, and Todd Matthews, 19.
———
The Lethbridge Hurricanes have signed F Mitch Maxwell, who turns 19 on Dec. 3. Maxwell, a nephew to former WHL GM and head coach Bryan Maxwell, spent last season with the AJHL’s Olds Grizzlies, totaling 44 points and being named to the South Division all-star team. . . . Lethbridge also designated D Brandyn Hulit, 16, and D Drew Graham, 16, for assignment.
———
WEDNESDAY’S GAMES:
In Prince Albert, F Igor Revenko had two goals and an assist to lead the Raiders to a 3-1 victory over the Swift Current Broncos. . . . Attendance was 1,741. . . . Revenko is a sophomore from Belarussia.
———
In Regina, G Dawson Guhle won his first WHL start as the Pats beat the Saskatoon Blades 4-3 in a shootout. . . . With Damien Ketlo (groin) out of action, the Pats turned to Guhle, who stopped 29 shots through OT and made two more saves in the circus. . . . Attendance was 3,740. . . . The Blades were 0-for-10 on the power play; the Pats were 0-for-2. . . . F Matt Strueby scored twice for the Pats through OT and added another in the shootout. . . . The Blades came back from a 3-1 deficit to force OT on goals by F Derek Hulak and F Burke Gallimore, the latter scoring with 19.5 seconds left in regulation time. . . . Gallimore scored twice and drew an assist on Hulak’s goal. . . . Regina F Garrett Mitchell suffered an injury to his left thumb when he blocked a shot in the first period. He will be re-evaluated Thursday. . . . The Blades were without F Milan Kytnar, 20, whose IIHF paperwork didn’t arrive in time. . . . Saskatoon F Charles Inglis (mononucleosis) is out indefinitely.
———
In Cranbrook, F Jesse Ismond had the only goal of the shootout as the Kootenay Ice beat the Edmonton Oil Kings, 3-2. . . . The Oil Kings led this one 2-0 at 3:20 of the first period but didn’t score again. . . . F Steele Boomer had a goal and an assist for the Ice. . . . Ice F Brock Montgomery, younger brother of former WHL D Bo Montgomery, forced the OT with his first goal at 9:52 of the third period. . . . Ice G Nathan Lieuwen stopped 27 shots through OT and added three more saves in the circus. . . . Edmonton’s Torrie Jung stopped 36 shots. . . . Attendance was 2,439. . . . The Ice was without F Christian Magnus, 17, who will be out for up to six weeks with a broken finger suffered in practice this week. . . . Jeff Bromley reports that Ice F Drew Czerwonka left in the first period with a laceration to one leg and was being “evaluated” at East Kootenay Regional Hospital. Ice head coach Mark Holick told Bromley that it could be a “long-term” injury.THE MacBETH REPORT: F Justin Mapletoft (Red Deer, 1996-2001) signed a two-month contract with Straubing (Germany DEL). The club has an option to extend the contract for the entire season. He had 20 goals and 38 assists in 52 games for Villach (Austria Erste Bank Liga) last season and led the league in plus/minus with a +21 rating.
———
F Ashton Rome (Moose Jaw, Red Deer, Kamloops, 2002-06) has signed with the ECHL’s Idaho Steelheads. Ashton, 23, had 44 points in 52 games with the Phoenix Roadrunners last season. He also played nine AHL games.
———
Dean Clark, the head coach of the Prince George Cougars, will be behind a WHL team’s bench for the 700th time when his bunch meets the Bruins in Chilliwack on Saturday. He was head coach of the Calgary Hitmen, Brandon Wheat Kings and Kamloops Blazers before signing a five-year contract with the Cougars prior to this season.
———
The Kootenay Ice and Red Deer Rebels were fined $250 apiece for the line brawl they staged Saturday night in Red Deer. That was the first discipline handed down by the WHL office in this regular season.
———
The Kootenay Ice has assigned G Dylan Tait, 17, to the AJHL’s Bonnyville Pontiacs. Tait, who played with the junior B Kimberley Dynamiters last season, was acquired from the Kelowna Rockets during the offseason. . . . Tait’s departure leaves the Ice with sophomore Nathan Lieuwen, 18, and Todd Matthews, 19.
———
The Lethbridge Hurricanes have signed F Mitch Maxwell, who turns 19 on Dec. 3. Maxwell, a nephew to former WHL GM and head coach Bryan Maxwell, spent last season with the AJHL’s Olds Grizzlies, totaling 44 points and being named to the South Division all-star team. . . . Lethbridge also designated D Brandyn Hulit, 16, and D Drew Graham, 16, for assignment.
———
F Erik Christensen, who won the WHL scoring title for 2002-03, was back on the ice and taking part in contact drills on Tuesday with the Anaheim Ducks. There is more right here.
———
WEDNESDAY’S GAMES:
In Prince Albert, F Igor Revenko had two goals and an assist to lead the Raiders to a 3-1 victory over the Swift Current Broncos. . . . Attendance was 1,741. . . . Revenko is a sophomore from Belarussia.
———
In Regina, G Dawson Guhle won his first WHL start as the Pats beat the Saskatoon Blades 4-3 in a shootout. . . . With Damien Ketlo (groin) out of action, the Pats turned to Guhle, who stopped 29 shots through OT and made two more saves in the circus. . . . Attendance was 3,740. . . . The Blades were 0-for-10 on the power play; the Pats were 0-for-2. . . . F Matt Strueby scored twice for the Pats through OT and added another in the shootout. . . . The Blades came back from a 3-1 deficit to force OT on goals by F Derek Hulak and F Burke Gallimore, the latter scoring with 19.5 seconds left in regulation time. . . . Gallimore scored twice and drew an assist on Hulak’s goal. . . . Regina F Garrett Mitchell suffered an injury to his left thumb when he blocked a shot in the first period. He will be re-evaluated Thursday. . . . The Blades were without F Milan Kytnar, 20, whose IIHF paperwork didn’t arrive in time. . . . Saskatoon F Charles Inglis (mononucleosis) is out indefinitely.
———
In Cranbrook, F Jesse Ismond had the only goal of the shootout as the Kootenay Ice beat the Edmonton Oil Kings, 3-2. . . . The Oil Kings led this one 2-0 at 3:20 of the first period but didn’t score again. . . . F Steele Boomer had a goal and an assist for the Ice. . . . Ice F Brock Montgomery, younger brother of former WHL D Bo Montgomery, forced the OT with his first goal at 9:52 of the third period. . . . Ice G Nathan Lieuwen stopped 27 shots through OT and added three more saves in the circus. . . . Edmonton’s Torrie Jung stopped 36 shots. . . . Attendance was 2,439. . . . The Ice was without F Christian Magnus, 17, who will be out for up to six weeks with a broken finger suffered in practice this week. . . . Jeff Bromley reports that Ice F Drew Czerwonka left in the first period with a laceration to one leg and was being “evaluated” at East Kootenay Regional Hospital. Ice head coach Mark Holick told Bromley that it could be a “long-term” injury.
———
F Ashton Rome (Moose Jaw, Red Deer, Kamloops, 2002-06) has signed with the ECHL’s Idaho Steelheads. Ashton, 23, had 44 points in 52 games with the Phoenix Roadrunners last season. He also played nine AHL games.
———
Dean Clark, the head coach of the Prince George Cougars, will be behind a WHL team’s bench for the 700th time when his bunch meets the Bruins in Chilliwack on Saturday. He was head coach of the Calgary Hitmen, Brandon Wheat Kings and Kamloops Blazers before signing a five-year contract with the Cougars prior to this season.
———
The Kootenay Ice and Red Deer Rebels were fined $250 apiece for the line brawl they staged Saturday night in Red Deer. That was the first discipline handed down by the WHL office in this regular season.
———
The Kootenay Ice has assigned G Dylan Tait, 17, to the AJHL’s Bonnyville Pontiacs. Tait, who played with the junior B Kimberley Dynamiters last season, was acquired from the Kelowna Rockets during the offseason. . . . Tait’s departure leaves the Ice with sophomore Nathan Lieuwen, 18, and Todd Matthews, 19.
———
The Lethbridge Hurricanes have signed F Mitch Maxwell, who turns 19 on Dec. 3. Maxwell, a nephew to former WHL GM and head coach Bryan Maxwell, spent last season with the AJHL’s Olds Grizzlies, totaling 44 points and being named to the South Division all-star team. . . . Lethbridge also designated D Brandyn Hulit, 16, and D Drew Graham, 16, for assignment.
———
WEDNESDAY’S GAMES:
In Prince Albert, F Igor Revenko had two goals and an assist to lead the Raiders to a 3-1 victory over the Swift Current Broncos. . . . Attendance was 1,741. . . . Revenko is a sophomore from Belarussia.
———
In Regina, G Dawson Guhle won his first WHL start as the Pats beat the Saskatoon Blades 4-3 in a shootout. . . . With Damien Ketlo (groin) out of action, the Pats turned to Guhle, who stopped 29 shots through OT and made two more saves in the circus. . . . Attendance was 3,740. . . . The Blades were 0-for-10 on the power play; the Pats were 0-for-2. . . . F Matt Strueby scored twice for the Pats through OT and added another in the shootout. . . . The Blades came back from a 3-1 deficit to force OT on goals by F Derek Hulak and F Burke Gallimore, the latter scoring with 19.5 seconds left in regulation time. . . . Gallimore scored twice and drew an assist on Hulak’s goal. . . . Regina F Garrett Mitchell suffered an injury to his left thumb when he blocked a shot in the first period. He will be re-evaluated Thursday. . . . The Blades were without F Milan Kytnar, 20, whose IIHF paperwork didn’t arrive in time. . . . Saskatoon F Charles Inglis (mononucleosis) is out indefinitely.
———
In Cranbrook, F Jesse Ismond had the only goal of the shootout as the Kootenay Ice beat the Edmonton Oil Kings, 3-2. . . . The Oil Kings led this one 2-0 at 3:20 of the first period but didn’t score again. . . . F Steele Boomer had a goal and an assist for the Ice. . . . Ice F Brock Montgomery, younger brother of former WHL D Bo Montgomery, forced the OT with his first goal at 9:52 of the third period. . . . Ice G Nathan Lieuwen stopped 27 shots through OT and added three more saves in the circus. . . . Edmonton’s Torrie Jung stopped 36 shots. . . . Attendance was 2,439. . . . The Ice was without F Christian Magnus, 17, who will be out for up to six weeks with a broken finger suffered in practice this week. . . . Jeff Bromley reports that Ice F Drew Czerwonka left in the first period with a laceration to one leg and was being “evaluated” at East Kootenay Regional Hospital. Ice head coach Mark Holick told Bromley that it could be a “long-term” injury.THE MacBETH REPORT: F Justin Mapletoft (Red Deer, 1996-2001) signed a two-month contract with Straubing (Germany DEL). The club has an option to extend the contract for the entire season. He had 20 goals and 38 assists in 52 games for Villach (Austria Erste Bank Liga) last season and led the league in plus/minus with a +21 rating.
———
F Ashton Rome (Moose Jaw, Red Deer, Kamloops, 2002-06) has signed with the ECHL’s Idaho Steelheads. Ashton, 23, had 44 points in 52 games with the Phoenix Roadrunners last season. He also played nine AHL games.
———
Dean Clark, the head coach of the Prince George Cougars, will be behind a WHL team’s bench for the 700th time when his bunch meets the Bruins in Chilliwack on Saturday. He was head coach of the Calgary Hitmen, Brandon Wheat Kings and Kamloops Blazers before signing a five-year contract with the Cougars prior to this season.
———
The Kootenay Ice and Red Deer Rebels were fined $250 apiece for the line brawl they staged Saturday night in Red Deer. That was the first discipline handed down by the WHL office in this regular season.
———
The Kootenay Ice has assigned G Dylan Tait, 17, to the AJHL’s Bonnyville Pontiacs. Tait, who played with the junior B Kimberley Dynamiters last season, was acquired from the Kelowna Rockets during the offseason. . . . Tait’s departure leaves the Ice with sophomore Nathan Lieuwen, 18, and Todd Matthews, 19.
———
The Lethbridge Hurricanes have signed F Mitch Maxwell, who turns 19 on Dec. 3. Maxwell, a nephew to former WHL GM and head coach Bryan Maxwell, spent last season with the AJHL’s Olds Grizzlies, totaling 44 points and being named to the South Division all-star team. . . . Lethbridge also designated D Brandyn Hulit, 16, and D Drew Graham, 16, for assignment.
———
F Erik Christensen, who won the WHL scoring title for 2002-03, was back on the ice and taking part in contact drills on Tuesday with the Anaheim Ducks. There is more right here.
———
WEDNESDAY’S GAMES:
In Prince Albert, F Igor Revenko had two goals and an assist to lead the Raiders to a 3-1 victory over the Swift Current Broncos. . . . Attendance was 1,741. . . . Revenko is a sophomore from Belarussia.
———
In Regina, G Dawson Guhle won his first WHL start as the Pats beat the Saskatoon Blades 4-3 in a shootout. . . . With Damien Ketlo (groin) out of action, the Pats turned to Guhle, who stopped 29 shots through OT and made two more saves in the circus. . . . Attendance was 3,740. . . . The Blades were 0-for-10 on the power play; the Pats were 0-for-2. . . . F Matt Strueby scored twice for the Pats through OT and added another in the shootout. . . . The Blades came back from a 3-1 deficit to force OT on goals by F Derek Hulak and F Burke Gallimore, the latter scoring with 19.5 seconds left in regulation time. . . . Gallimore scored twice and drew an assist on Hulak’s goal. . . . Regina F Garrett Mitchell suffered an injury to his left thumb when he blocked a shot in the first period. He will be re-evaluated Thursday. . . . The Blades were without F Milan Kytnar, 20, whose IIHF paperwork didn’t arrive in time. . . . Saskatoon F Charles Inglis (mononucleosis) is out indefinitely.
———
In Cranbrook, F Jesse Ismond had the only goal of the shootout as the Kootenay Ice beat the Edmonton Oil Kings, 3-2. . . . The Oil Kings led this one 2-0 at 3:20 of the first period but didn’t score again. . . . F Steele Boomer had a goal and an assist for the Ice. . . . Ice F Brock Montgomery, younger brother of former WHL D Bo Montgomery, forced the OT with his first goal at 9:52 of the third period. . . . Ice G Nathan Lieuwen stopped 27 shots through OT and added three more saves in the circus. . . . Edmonton’s Torrie Jung stopped 36 shots. . . . Attendance was 2,439. . . . The Ice was without F Christian Magnus, 17, who will be out for up to six weeks with a broken finger suffered in practice this week. . . . Jeff Bromley reports that Ice F Drew Czerwonka left in the first period with a laceration to one leg and was being “evaluated” at East Kootenay Regional Hospital. Ice head coach Mark Holick told Bromley that it could be a “long-term” injury.
Blazers liking Hansen's pitch
By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
Tyler Hansen has been kind of like the last gift left unopened under the Christmas tree . . . you know, the one from your favourite aunt.
You aren’t sure what’s in there. You know it will be something good; you just aren’t sure how good. And, in the end, it turns out that you saved the best for last.
There can be little doubt that Hansen, 16, has been the biggest surprise of the Kamloops Blazers’ young WHL season.
In fact, Hansen’s performance has pretty much forced the Blazers to keep eight defencemen and, furthermore, has led to an intense competition for playing time.
In each of their first two games, the Blazers dressed six defencemen, including Hansen, which means two veterans were scratched. The Blazers won both games and likely will be sitting two veterans again Friday when the Kelowna Rockets visit Interior Savings Centre.
“It’s hard sometimes because it’s hard to get guys into the lineup but, at the same time, it gives us some competition among the back end,” assistant coach Scott Ferguson said Wednesday of carrying eight defencemen. “And we want to do that with the forwards as well, where we’re pushing each other for ice time. Last season, sometimes guys got to play because they had to. We want to get the guys pushing each other for ice time.
“When they had success here back in the day, guys pushed each other for that ice time. You knew if you had a so-so game, that there was someone champing at the bit ready to step in and try to take that spot from you. That’s where we’re trying to get to this season and so far it’s been working.
“It’s healthy. These guys have to realize that when they push each other they make themselves better and they make the team better and as a result everybody succeeds.”
It’s working among the defencemen because Hansen, a second-round selection in the 2008 bantam draft, has been everything the Blazers had hoped for and then some.
“I knew they had a lot of returning defencemen but I also knew they had a spot open for me,” said Hansen, who is from Magrath, Alta., which is 32 kilometres south of Lethbridge. “So I just came with the mindset that I was going to play as hard as I could and work to that one open spot. So far it’s worked out pretty good in my favour and hopefully it keeps going.”
Hansen got off to a slow start in training camp, something Ferguson, a former NHL and Blazers defenceman, attributes to baseball.
“He started camp slow but I think that was partly because he was playing baseball most of the summer, while a lot of guys were on the ice all summer,” Ferguson explained.
A pitcher, Hansen is quite proficient at baseball, something Ferguson said translates to hockey.
“He’s a very composed young player,” Ferguson said. “He’s a guy who is an all-star in baseball in Lethbridge. He’s played in big games; I believe he was on a provincial champion. As a pitcher he has been in pressure situations.
“He’s very composed. He’s good with the puck, sees the ice very well. Obviously, he’s got some growing pains because he’s only 16, but he’s a good all-around athlete and it shows on the ice.”
To date, Hansen’s composure has been such that the coaching staff has been using him in all situations.
“They’ve been giving me power-play time,” he said, “which has been good and, hopefully, they can keep showing confidence in me because I feel like I can develop if I get the chance.”
It is ice time, Ferguson said, that Hansen has earned.
“He’s soaking it up but he’s contributing right away, too. It’s nice to seen in a guy that young,” the coach explained. “He does make mistakes but then he’ll turn around and make a really good play that is beyond his years. That’s an attribute to his being good in baseball and being good in other sports and playing in pressure situations that he’s able to apply to hockey.
“He’s got that quick mind to be able to read plays.”
Just don’t start thinking that the transition from midget AAA — he played in Lethbridge last season — has been that easy.
“It’s a lot different,” the 6-foot-3, 185-pounder said. “Everything is a lot faster. You have to have your head up and know where the play is before you even make it.”
It also is important, he said, to “make sure you are always checking over your shoulder and you know where the guys around you are. If you’re not aware, they’ll definitely finish you in the corners.”
JUST NOTES: Former Blazers captain Jared Aulin is continuing his comeback attempt with the Syracuse Crunch, the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets. Aulin, who is attempting a comeback after being away from the pro game since early in 2006-07, was released by the Blue Jackets on Sunday. As an unsigned player, he is free to go elsewhere; instead, he reported to the Crunch. . . . C Scott Wasden, who captained the Blazers last season, scored three times and added an assist Sunday to lead the host UBC Thunderbirds to a 7-2 victory over the NAIT Ooks in an exhibition game.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Daily News Sports Editor
Tyler Hansen has been kind of like the last gift left unopened under the Christmas tree . . . you know, the one from your favourite aunt.
You aren’t sure what’s in there. You know it will be something good; you just aren’t sure how good. And, in the end, it turns out that you saved the best for last.
There can be little doubt that Hansen, 16, has been the biggest surprise of the Kamloops Blazers’ young WHL season.
In fact, Hansen’s performance has pretty much forced the Blazers to keep eight defencemen and, furthermore, has led to an intense competition for playing time.
In each of their first two games, the Blazers dressed six defencemen, including Hansen, which means two veterans were scratched. The Blazers won both games and likely will be sitting two veterans again Friday when the Kelowna Rockets visit Interior Savings Centre.
“It’s hard sometimes because it’s hard to get guys into the lineup but, at the same time, it gives us some competition among the back end,” assistant coach Scott Ferguson said Wednesday of carrying eight defencemen. “And we want to do that with the forwards as well, where we’re pushing each other for ice time. Last season, sometimes guys got to play because they had to. We want to get the guys pushing each other for ice time.
“When they had success here back in the day, guys pushed each other for that ice time. You knew if you had a so-so game, that there was someone champing at the bit ready to step in and try to take that spot from you. That’s where we’re trying to get to this season and so far it’s been working.
“It’s healthy. These guys have to realize that when they push each other they make themselves better and they make the team better and as a result everybody succeeds.”
It’s working among the defencemen because Hansen, a second-round selection in the 2008 bantam draft, has been everything the Blazers had hoped for and then some.
“I knew they had a lot of returning defencemen but I also knew they had a spot open for me,” said Hansen, who is from Magrath, Alta., which is 32 kilometres south of Lethbridge. “So I just came with the mindset that I was going to play as hard as I could and work to that one open spot. So far it’s worked out pretty good in my favour and hopefully it keeps going.”
Hansen got off to a slow start in training camp, something Ferguson, a former NHL and Blazers defenceman, attributes to baseball.
“He started camp slow but I think that was partly because he was playing baseball most of the summer, while a lot of guys were on the ice all summer,” Ferguson explained.
A pitcher, Hansen is quite proficient at baseball, something Ferguson said translates to hockey.
“He’s a very composed young player,” Ferguson said. “He’s a guy who is an all-star in baseball in Lethbridge. He’s played in big games; I believe he was on a provincial champion. As a pitcher he has been in pressure situations.
“He’s very composed. He’s good with the puck, sees the ice very well. Obviously, he’s got some growing pains because he’s only 16, but he’s a good all-around athlete and it shows on the ice.”
To date, Hansen’s composure has been such that the coaching staff has been using him in all situations.
“They’ve been giving me power-play time,” he said, “which has been good and, hopefully, they can keep showing confidence in me because I feel like I can develop if I get the chance.”
It is ice time, Ferguson said, that Hansen has earned.
“He’s soaking it up but he’s contributing right away, too. It’s nice to seen in a guy that young,” the coach explained. “He does make mistakes but then he’ll turn around and make a really good play that is beyond his years. That’s an attribute to his being good in baseball and being good in other sports and playing in pressure situations that he’s able to apply to hockey.
“He’s got that quick mind to be able to read plays.”
Just don’t start thinking that the transition from midget AAA — he played in Lethbridge last season — has been that easy.
“It’s a lot different,” the 6-foot-3, 185-pounder said. “Everything is a lot faster. You have to have your head up and know where the play is before you even make it.”
It also is important, he said, to “make sure you are always checking over your shoulder and you know where the guys around you are. If you’re not aware, they’ll definitely finish you in the corners.”
JUST NOTES: Former Blazers captain Jared Aulin is continuing his comeback attempt with the Syracuse Crunch, the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets. Aulin, who is attempting a comeback after being away from the pro game since early in 2006-07, was released by the Blue Jackets on Sunday. As an unsigned player, he is free to go elsewhere; instead, he reported to the Crunch. . . . C Scott Wasden, who captained the Blazers last season, scored three times and added an assist Sunday to lead the host UBC Thunderbirds to a 7-2 victory over the NAIT Ooks in an exhibition game.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Wednesday . . . early
F Kyle Beach is on the move again and he’s going back to the U.S. Division. Beach, the 10th overall pick in the 2005 bantam draft, has been traded by the Lethbridge Hurricanes to the Spokane Chiefs. In return, the Hurricanes get D Mike Reddington, 19, and D Landon Oslanski, 17. Beach, the WHL’s rookie of the year in 2006-07 with Everett, was dealt by the Silvertips to Lethbridge last season. He finished with 66 points and 165 penalty minutes in 54 games. . . . Reddington is beginning his fourth WHL season. A second-round pick in the 2005 bantam draft, he had 17 points last season. . . . Oslanski, who played for the midget AAA Sherwood Park, Alta., Kings last season, was a third-round pick in the 2007 bantam draft. He had an assist Friday in his first WHL game, a 6-3 victory over the Cougars in Prince George.
---
On Saturday night, with his Chilliwack Bruins carrying nine defencemen, Marc Habscheid, the GM and head coach, suggested changes would be coming sooner rather than later. On Tuesday, he dropped sophomore Carter Berg, 17, who was the 26th pick in the 2007 bantam draft.
---
On Saturday night, with his Chilliwack Bruins carrying nine defencemen, Marc Habscheid, the GM and head coach, suggested changes would be coming sooner rather than later. On Tuesday, he dropped sophomore Carter Berg, 17, who was the 26th pick in the 2007 bantam draft.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Tuesday . . .
The Saskatoon Blades have dealt F Chris Langkow, 20, to the Everett Silvertips for two bantam draft picks – a 2010 sixth-round selection and a third-rounder in 2011. . . . Langkow, who is from Vegreville, Alta., was acquired by the Blades from the Spokane Chiefs at the 2007-08 trade deadline. He had 49 points, including 15 goals, in 70 games last season.
------
Langkow’s acquisition left the Silvertips with five 20-year-olds, the others being F Zack Dailey, F Travis Dunstall, F Shane Harper and D Colin Scherger. . . . Everett promptly got down to three by releasing Dunstall, who had been picked up off waivers from the Medicine Hat Tigers, and Scherger, who was taken off waivers from the Prince George Cougars. . . . So the Silvertips appear prepared to go with Dailey, Harper and Langkow as their 20-year-olds.
------
The Blades, meanwhile, cleared up their 20-year-old logjam, but have yet to deal with their import situation. . . . They are left with F Derek Hulak, who is the team captain, F Milan Kytnar and F Walker Wintoneak as their 20-year-olds. . . . They weren’t expecting to get back Kytnar, a Slovak who has signed with the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers. His return also leaves the Blades with three imports, one over the limit. They will go with Kytnar and D Jyri Niemi, who has returned from the camp of the New York Islanders, while trying to move freshman Swedish F Hampus Gustafsson.
------
The Regina Pats, who play host to the Blades on Wednesday night, also have a 20-year-old situation developing. D Matt Delahey, 20, has returned from the camp of the NHL’s New Jersey Devils. He joins F Mitch Czibere, F Brett Leffler and F Matt Strueby to give the Pats four 20-year-olds. . . . They, and all the other teams, have to be down to three as of Oct. 15. . . . The Pats are also continuing to try to trade G Linden Rowat, another 20-year-old. But they may end up placing him on waivers as there doesn’t seem to be much of a market for 20-year-old goaltenders at the moment.
------
The Pipeline Show is reporting that G Kurtis Mucha, 20, will be leaving the camp of the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers and rejoining the Portland Winterhawks in time for their game Friday against the host Tri-City Americans. Mucha, in the Oilers’ camp as a free agent, got a long, long look. The Pipeline gang reports that “the Oilers have an exclusive window to negotiate a deal with the goalie which expires on Sept 30.” . . . Mucha’s return will leave the Winterhawks with three goaltenders, the other two being Ian Curtis, 19, and Keith Hamilton, 17. . . . It also will leave them with four 20-year-olds, the others being F Adam Basford, F Chris Francis and F Stefan Schneider.
------
The Brandon Wheat Kings had F Scott Glennie (Dallas Stars) back on the ice with them at practice on Tuesday. He didn’t do a whole lot of skating in the Stars’ main camp after suffering a groin injury in that prospects tournament in Traverse City, Mich. Glennie likely will play Friday when the Wheat Kings stage their home-opener Friday against the Swift Current Broncos. . . . There still are four Wheat Kings with NHL teams – F Matt Calvert (Columbus), F Toni Rajala (Edmonton), F Alexander Urbom (New Jersey) and F Brayden Schenn (Los Angeles). Rajala, who has been rehabbing a knee injury, is expected in Brandon on Friday but likely is at least 10 days away from playing.
------
The Prince Albert Raiders have designated D David Dotan, 18, for assignment. Dotan is expected to play junior A in the BCHL. He played in 44 games with the Raiders last season, recording two assists and 15 penalty minutes. He played in their home-opener Friday, picking up two minors. . . . The Raiders are carrying 25 players, including three goaltenders and 14 forwards.
------
D Matt Strong has cleared waivers and is on his way to the OHL. Strong, 19, was released by the Vancouver Giants during the exhibition season. They had given up an 2010 eighth-round bantam draft pick to acquire him from the Chilliwack Bruins. Now he has joined the OHL’s Brampton Battalion.
------
The Ottawa Senators have returned D Jared Cowen, 18, to the Spokane Chiefs. Cowen, the ninth pick in the 2009 NHL draft, played two exhibition games, including one in Regina on Monday, before heading for Spokane. Cowen suffered a serious season-ending knee injury with the Chiefs on Jan. 30.
------
The Chicago Blackhawks have returned F Kyle Beach, 19, to the Lethbridge Hurricanes. Beach, selected 11th overall by the Blackhawks in the NHL’s 2008 draft, was acquired by Lethbridge from the Everett Silvertips in January.
------
Red Fisher of the Montreal Gazette has the perfect take on the NHL’s exhibition season. That column is right here.
------
Langkow’s acquisition left the Silvertips with five 20-year-olds, the others being F Zack Dailey, F Travis Dunstall, F Shane Harper and D Colin Scherger. . . . Everett promptly got down to three by releasing Dunstall, who had been picked up off waivers from the Medicine Hat Tigers, and Scherger, who was taken off waivers from the Prince George Cougars. . . . So the Silvertips appear prepared to go with Dailey, Harper and Langkow as their 20-year-olds.
------
The Blades, meanwhile, cleared up their 20-year-old logjam, but have yet to deal with their import situation. . . . They are left with F Derek Hulak, who is the team captain, F Milan Kytnar and F Walker Wintoneak as their 20-year-olds. . . . They weren’t expecting to get back Kytnar, a Slovak who has signed with the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers. His return also leaves the Blades with three imports, one over the limit. They will go with Kytnar and D Jyri Niemi, who has returned from the camp of the New York Islanders, while trying to move freshman Swedish F Hampus Gustafsson.
------
The Regina Pats, who play host to the Blades on Wednesday night, also have a 20-year-old situation developing. D Matt Delahey, 20, has returned from the camp of the NHL’s New Jersey Devils. He joins F Mitch Czibere, F Brett Leffler and F Matt Strueby to give the Pats four 20-year-olds. . . . They, and all the other teams, have to be down to three as of Oct. 15. . . . The Pats are also continuing to try to trade G Linden Rowat, another 20-year-old. But they may end up placing him on waivers as there doesn’t seem to be much of a market for 20-year-old goaltenders at the moment.
------
The Pipeline Show is reporting that G Kurtis Mucha, 20, will be leaving the camp of the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers and rejoining the Portland Winterhawks in time for their game Friday against the host Tri-City Americans. Mucha, in the Oilers’ camp as a free agent, got a long, long look. The Pipeline gang reports that “the Oilers have an exclusive window to negotiate a deal with the goalie which expires on Sept 30.” . . . Mucha’s return will leave the Winterhawks with three goaltenders, the other two being Ian Curtis, 19, and Keith Hamilton, 17. . . . It also will leave them with four 20-year-olds, the others being F Adam Basford, F Chris Francis and F Stefan Schneider.
------
The Brandon Wheat Kings had F Scott Glennie (Dallas Stars) back on the ice with them at practice on Tuesday. He didn’t do a whole lot of skating in the Stars’ main camp after suffering a groin injury in that prospects tournament in Traverse City, Mich. Glennie likely will play Friday when the Wheat Kings stage their home-opener Friday against the Swift Current Broncos. . . . There still are four Wheat Kings with NHL teams – F Matt Calvert (Columbus), F Toni Rajala (Edmonton), F Alexander Urbom (New Jersey) and F Brayden Schenn (Los Angeles). Rajala, who has been rehabbing a knee injury, is expected in Brandon on Friday but likely is at least 10 days away from playing.
------
The Prince Albert Raiders have designated D David Dotan, 18, for assignment. Dotan is expected to play junior A in the BCHL. He played in 44 games with the Raiders last season, recording two assists and 15 penalty minutes. He played in their home-opener Friday, picking up two minors. . . . The Raiders are carrying 25 players, including three goaltenders and 14 forwards.
------
D Matt Strong has cleared waivers and is on his way to the OHL. Strong, 19, was released by the Vancouver Giants during the exhibition season. They had given up an 2010 eighth-round bantam draft pick to acquire him from the Chilliwack Bruins. Now he has joined the OHL’s Brampton Battalion.
------
The Ottawa Senators have returned D Jared Cowen, 18, to the Spokane Chiefs. Cowen, the ninth pick in the 2009 NHL draft, played two exhibition games, including one in Regina on Monday, before heading for Spokane. Cowen suffered a serious season-ending knee injury with the Chiefs on Jan. 30.
------
The Chicago Blackhawks have returned F Kyle Beach, 19, to the Lethbridge Hurricanes. Beach, selected 11th overall by the Blackhawks in the NHL’s 2008 draft, was acquired by Lethbridge from the Everett Silvertips in January.
------
Red Fisher of the Montreal Gazette has the perfect take on the NHL’s exhibition season. That column is right here.
Valchar on the move
The Portland Winterhawks have traded F Radim Valchar to the Lethbridge Hurricanes in exchange for a conditional sixth-round pick in the 2010 WHL bantam draft. That leaves the Winterhawks with forwards Nino Niederreiter and Jacob Berglund as their two imports. Both were selected in the CHL's 2009 import draft. Valchar, 20, had 41 points, including 21 goals, last season. He is expected to join the Hurricanes immediately and be in their lineup Friday when they meet the Rebels in Red Deer in Game 3 of a season-opening eight-game road trip.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Monday . . .
THE MacBETH REPORT: D Brandon Smith (Portland, 1989-94) signed a one-year contract with Straubing (Germany DEL). He had one goal and five assists in 17 games for Eisbären Berlin (Germany DEL) last season.
———
When Portland G Ian Curtis blanked the host Seattle Thunderbirds of Kent on Saturday, it marked the second time in Winterhawks’ history that they had opened a regular-season with a shutout. The last time? On Sept. 28, 1978, the Winterhawks beat the Seattle Breakers, 5-0.
———
The Winterhawks have won six straight games now and, yes, five of them were exhibition games. More impressive than winning six in a row, then, is the fact that they have scored at least five times in each of their last five games.
———
Portland plays the Tri-City Americans in Kennewick, Wash., on Friday and then returns home to meet the Thunderbirds on Saturday. The Winterhawks have won 20 of their 32 home-openers.
———
Andrew Walker, over there at the Red Deer Scene, reports that Rebels ace Landon Ferraro isn’t as seriously injured as was first believed. Ferraro suffered a knee injury when he was cross-checked in a Saturday night game. He had an MRI on Monday and, according to Walker, it “showed that it's barely injured at all.” . . . In fact, there’s a chance Ferraro could play Friday against the Lethbridge Hurricanes.
———
The Saskatoon Blades have welcomed back two players from NHL camps. F Milan Kytnar returned from the Edmonton Oilers and D Jyri Niemi is back from the New York Islanders who, of course, held camp in Saskatoon. . . . The Blades’ roster is at 27, including nine defencemen and 16 forwards. . . . Complicating matters is the fact that Kytnar is a two-spotter — a 20-year-old import.
———
F Jason Beeman (Tri-City, 20001-05) has signed with the Central league’s Arizona Sundogs, who play out of Prescott Valley. Beeman, who is from Los Angeles, played in the ECHL, with the Long Beach Ice Dogs, Texas Wildcatters, Stockton Thunder and Mississippi Sea Wolves, after leaving Tri-City.
———
F Tyler Fiddler of the Calgary Hitmen is the season’s first Boston Pizza WHL player of the week. He had five points, four of them goals, in two games. Fiddler scored three goals in 64 games last season; in his first game this season, he struck for three goals in less than nine minutes. . . . Ian Curtis of the Portland Winterhawks has been nominated as the ADT CHL goaltender of the week. He posted his first career shutout in beating the host Seattle Thunderbirds of Kent on Saturday.
———
F Scott Glennie has been returned to the Brandon Wheat Kings by the Dallas Stars. Glennie hasn’t been on the ice of late as he ended up with a groin injury that he has been rehabbing with the Dallas medical staff.
———
The Spokane Chiefs, who are into their 25th anniversary season, stage their home-opener on Saturday. The Tri-City Americans will provide the opposition for the 18th time in the last 20 openers.
———
The Americans have assigned G Joel Danyluk, 19, to the SJHL’s Yorkton Terriers. Danyluk is from Yorkton. . . . The move leaves the Americans with the two goaltenders who backed up the departed Chet Pickard for all of last season — Brett Martyniuk and Drew Owsley, both of whom are 18.
———
So . . . how are things in Lethbridge where the Hurricanes have started an eight-game season-opening road trip with two losses, by scores of 8-1 and 7-3?
Well, here’s how Dylan Purcell of the Lethbridge Herald started his story that appears in Tuesday’s newspaper:
“Lethbridge Hurricanes players must have been amazed to see Adams Ice Arena still standing Monday morning, as they gathered for practice.
“They must have gawked in utter disbelief that the High Level Bridge had not collapsed, that Lethbridge Centre Tower was not a steel husk and and that Lethbridge itself was not destroyed, leaving the scattered remains of a once-proud city. Bodies, covered in ash like some modern-day Pompeii were not strewn through the coulees.
“Surely the Hurricanes realized that after 8-1 and 7-3 losses to open the Western Hockey League season on the weekend, they would be facing a post-apocalyptic wasteland?”
Read Purcell’s story right here.
———
And now for a terrific story . . .
Through the magic of email I often hear from WHL fans who are located around the globe. I have heard more than once or twice from a gentleman, who is an avid WHL fan and whose nine-year-old son is even more of a WHL fan.
The other day, the father wrote to tell me how much the WHL and its players mean to his son . . .
“My son has autism and he’s absolutely fascinated with the WHL.
“Every summer we go to Everett to attend all nine games of the Everett tournament over the three days . . . and he would stay for nine more if he could.
“My son meets some amazing people down there each summer. He has a particular fascination with goaltenders so he knows where they all played, where they were born, their stats . . . I swear he knows what their weight was at birth.
“The players are all very accommodating to him and we’ve yet to encounter any ‘attitudes’ from any of the players that he has met. . . . absolutely first-class individuals ranging from coaches to players and support staff.
“Really all he wants to do is say hi, shake their hand and get a picture with some of his favourites.”
And then Dad added a little story from this year’s tournament . . .
“There must be close to 200 players milling around in the concourse area at varying times over the three days and they all pretty much wear the same suit . . . have the same haircut.
“He was able to pick (Tri-City goaltenders) Brett Martyniuk and Drew Owsley out of the crowd of people in the concourse. I know they’re goalies and I couldn’t pick them out of a crowd, but he sure did.
“And they were accommodating. These are good people.”
———
When Portland G Ian Curtis blanked the host Seattle Thunderbirds of Kent on Saturday, it marked the second time in Winterhawks’ history that they had opened a regular-season with a shutout. The last time? On Sept. 28, 1978, the Winterhawks beat the Seattle Breakers, 5-0.
———
The Winterhawks have won six straight games now and, yes, five of them were exhibition games. More impressive than winning six in a row, then, is the fact that they have scored at least five times in each of their last five games.
———
Portland plays the Tri-City Americans in Kennewick, Wash., on Friday and then returns home to meet the Thunderbirds on Saturday. The Winterhawks have won 20 of their 32 home-openers.
———
Andrew Walker, over there at the Red Deer Scene, reports that Rebels ace Landon Ferraro isn’t as seriously injured as was first believed. Ferraro suffered a knee injury when he was cross-checked in a Saturday night game. He had an MRI on Monday and, according to Walker, it “showed that it's barely injured at all.” . . . In fact, there’s a chance Ferraro could play Friday against the Lethbridge Hurricanes.
———
The Saskatoon Blades have welcomed back two players from NHL camps. F Milan Kytnar returned from the Edmonton Oilers and D Jyri Niemi is back from the New York Islanders who, of course, held camp in Saskatoon. . . . The Blades’ roster is at 27, including nine defencemen and 16 forwards. . . . Complicating matters is the fact that Kytnar is a two-spotter — a 20-year-old import.
———
F Jason Beeman (Tri-City, 20001-05) has signed with the Central league’s Arizona Sundogs, who play out of Prescott Valley. Beeman, who is from Los Angeles, played in the ECHL, with the Long Beach Ice Dogs, Texas Wildcatters, Stockton Thunder and Mississippi Sea Wolves, after leaving Tri-City.
———
F Tyler Fiddler of the Calgary Hitmen is the season’s first Boston Pizza WHL player of the week. He had five points, four of them goals, in two games. Fiddler scored three goals in 64 games last season; in his first game this season, he struck for three goals in less than nine minutes. . . . Ian Curtis of the Portland Winterhawks has been nominated as the ADT CHL goaltender of the week. He posted his first career shutout in beating the host Seattle Thunderbirds of Kent on Saturday.
———
F Scott Glennie has been returned to the Brandon Wheat Kings by the Dallas Stars. Glennie hasn’t been on the ice of late as he ended up with a groin injury that he has been rehabbing with the Dallas medical staff.
———
The Spokane Chiefs, who are into their 25th anniversary season, stage their home-opener on Saturday. The Tri-City Americans will provide the opposition for the 18th time in the last 20 openers.
———
The Americans have assigned G Joel Danyluk, 19, to the SJHL’s Yorkton Terriers. Danyluk is from Yorkton. . . . The move leaves the Americans with the two goaltenders who backed up the departed Chet Pickard for all of last season — Brett Martyniuk and Drew Owsley, both of whom are 18.
———
So . . . how are things in Lethbridge where the Hurricanes have started an eight-game season-opening road trip with two losses, by scores of 8-1 and 7-3?
Well, here’s how Dylan Purcell of the Lethbridge Herald started his story that appears in Tuesday’s newspaper:
“Lethbridge Hurricanes players must have been amazed to see Adams Ice Arena still standing Monday morning, as they gathered for practice.
“They must have gawked in utter disbelief that the High Level Bridge had not collapsed, that Lethbridge Centre Tower was not a steel husk and and that Lethbridge itself was not destroyed, leaving the scattered remains of a once-proud city. Bodies, covered in ash like some modern-day Pompeii were not strewn through the coulees.
“Surely the Hurricanes realized that after 8-1 and 7-3 losses to open the Western Hockey League season on the weekend, they would be facing a post-apocalyptic wasteland?”
Read Purcell’s story right here.
———
And now for a terrific story . . .
Through the magic of email I often hear from WHL fans who are located around the globe. I have heard more than once or twice from a gentleman, who is an avid WHL fan and whose nine-year-old son is even more of a WHL fan.
The other day, the father wrote to tell me how much the WHL and its players mean to his son . . .
“My son has autism and he’s absolutely fascinated with the WHL.
“Every summer we go to Everett to attend all nine games of the Everett tournament over the three days . . . and he would stay for nine more if he could.
“My son meets some amazing people down there each summer. He has a particular fascination with goaltenders so he knows where they all played, where they were born, their stats . . . I swear he knows what their weight was at birth.
“The players are all very accommodating to him and we’ve yet to encounter any ‘attitudes’ from any of the players that he has met. . . . absolutely first-class individuals ranging from coaches to players and support staff.
“Really all he wants to do is say hi, shake their hand and get a picture with some of his favourites.”
And then Dad added a little story from this year’s tournament . . .
“There must be close to 200 players milling around in the concourse area at varying times over the three days and they all pretty much wear the same suit . . . have the same haircut.
“He was able to pick (Tri-City goaltenders) Brett Martyniuk and Drew Owsley out of the crowd of people in the concourse. I know they’re goalies and I couldn’t pick them out of a crowd, but he sure did.
“And they were accommodating. These are good people.”
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