Nervous times for Shattock, others

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
Tyler Shattock, the captain of the Kamloops Blazers, knows that his name is out there.
Knowing it doesn’t make things any easier.
“This is always a nervous time for everyone here and in the WHL,” Shattock said Monday evening.
That’s because the WHL’s trade deadline is almost here. The moment of truth arrives Sunday, 2 p.m., and you know that players throughout the league are flinching whenever the phone rings.
“It was pretty quiet today,” Blazers general Craig Bonner said. “You get the same calls you get every year. I thought it would be busier today, but . . .”
Shattock, who said he has “no idea” what to expect, is in his fourth season with the Blazers, who are stumbling — one step forward, two backward; two steps forward, one backward — through another regular season.
They are eighth in the 10-team Western Conference going into tonight’s game against the visiting Everett Silvertips.
(Note that game time has been moved to 8 o’clock, which should allow fans the opportunity to watch the championship game from the World Junior Championship in Saskatoon. That final, featuring Canada and the U.S., is to begin at 5 p.m.)
In the four weeks prior to Christmas, Bonner moved six experienced players out of his dressing room, either by releasing them or trading them, seeming to signal that he would be a seller in January.
Shattock, 19, leads the Blazers in goals (20) and points (47) and is tied with centre C.J. Stretch for the lead in assists (27). A 6-foot-3, 200-pound power forward-type, Shattock is easily the team’s biggest asset as the deadline approaches.
But a team acquiring Shattock won’t have any assurance that the Salmon Arm native would be back next season. The St. Louis Blues selected him in the fourth round, 108th overall, of the NHL’s 2009 draft. He has yet to sign an NHL contract, but should he get a deal, as a 20-year-old next season, he would be eligible to play in the AHL or ECHL.
“It’s out of my hands so I won’t worry about it,” Shattock said. “I just want to go out and play. Everyone realizes you can’t control what’s going to happen. So you just go out there and play.”
Still, Shattock said he has no desire to leave Kamloops.
“I absolutely want to stay here,” he said. “I want to finish my career here and help this team win.
“I’ve been here for four years and we haven’t won anything . . . nothing. It kills me. A couple of years we had the potential to do something . . . it’s frustrating.”
The Blazers have played five games, four of them on the road, since returning from the Christmas break. They are 3-2-0-0 in those games, and are 17-19-2-3 overall. That leaves them one point behind the injury-riddled Kelowna Rockets (19-21-2-0), who visit Interior Savings Centre on Friday. The Blazers will play in the Little Apple on Saturday.
“We’ve been better since the Christmas break,” said Shattock, adding, in reference to a 6-3 loss to the host Giants on Dec. 28, that “we deserved a better fate against Vancouver.”
But, in the end, it seems it’s the same old bug-a-boo.
“We need to be more consistent,” he said.
And the discipline has to improve, although the WHL’s most-penalized team was hit with just one minor penalty in Saturday’s 6-4 loss to the Cougars in Prince George.
“That hasn’t happened too often,” Shattock said, with a chuckle.
“But,” he continued, “discipline has been better. I don’t think we’ve had to kill too many penalties.”
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com

SCOUTINGREPORT
EVERETT SILVERTIPS at KAMLOOPS BLAZERS
Today, 8 p.m., Interior Savings Centre (Radio NL 610)
EVERETT (21-16-2-1): The Silvertips last played Sunday when they went into Portland and beat the Winterhawks, 2-1. . . . The Silvertips are fifth in the Western Conference, four points behind the Spokane Chiefs. . . . Everett added D Paul Bonar, 18, to its roster after Christmas. Bonar, who played 44 games with the Moose Jaw Warriors last season, had been with the MJHL’s Swan Valley Stampeders. He is the son of former WHL D Jim Bonar (Brandon, Saskatoon, 1977-78) and a nephew of former WHL/NHL F Dan Bonar. . . . D Curtis Kulchar, who was acquired from Kamloops on Dec. 12 for a 2011 fifth-round bantam draft pick, has two assists in eight games. He had four assists in 26 games with the Blazers. . . . The Silvertips added F Clayton Cumiskey, 19, from the Edmonton Oil Kings last week, giving up tough guy Cameron Abney, 18, in return. . . . D Radek Gudas has been with the Czech Republic at the World Junior Championship in Saskatchewan, while D Ryan Murray was with Team West at the U-17 World Hockey Challenge in the Timmins, Ont., area. . . . Assistant coach Chris Hartsburg is the son of head coach Craig Hartsburg. . . . Injuries: F Jay McGrath (knee, doubtful).
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KAMLOOPS (17-19-2-3): The Blazers are coming off a weekend split in Prince George, where they were beaten 6-4 by the Cougars on Saturday and won 5-2 on Sunday. . . . When the 2000-01 NHL season began, Craig Hartsburg, now Everett’s head coach, was the Anaheim Might Ducks’ head coach and Kamloops head coach Guy Charron was his lead assistant. In fact, Charron replaced Hartsburg when he was fired in midseason. . . . The Blazers are 6-6-0-2 under Charron but have yet to win two in a row since he took over as head coach on Nov. 23. . . . F Colin Smith and F JC Lipon, both of whom played at the U-17 World Hockey Challenge, will be available to play tonight. . . . Freshman F Dylan Willick had gone 15 games without a goal when he scored Saturday. . . . C C.J. Stretch, who scored twice Sunday, had an eight-game point streak snapped Saturday. He had 14 points over those eight games. . . . F Jordan DePape has eight points, including five goals, in seven games since being acquired from the Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . Note that game time is 8 p.m. Doors will open at 5 p.m., with all TV sets in the building tuned to the World Junior Championship final between Canada and the U.S. . . . Injuries: F Mark Hall (concussion, doubtful).
— GREGG DRINNAN