Could be an interesting night in Kamloops

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
Yes, Tyler Shattock, a winger with the Calgary Hitmen, is looking forward to
Saturday night. Yes, he has been looking forward to it since Jan. 10.
“I’m pretty excited,” Shattock, a 19-year-old from Salmon Arm, said. “It’s
going to be a different feeling going into that arena, though.”
He is hardly alone.
The Kamloops Blazers are to meet the visiting Seattle Thunderbirds tonight
at Interior Savings Centre. But let’s be honest — the Thunderbirds are only
a minor impediment on the way to Saturday when the Calgary Hitmen are to
provide the opposition.
It was Jan. 10 when the Blazers dealt Shattock, who was their captain,
forward Jimmy Bubnick and defenceman Zak Stebner to the Calgary Hitmen in
exchange for centre Chase Schaber and defenceman Austin Madaisky.
You can bet that all five players didn’t waste much time before checking the
schedule and circling Saturday, Feb. 20.
“A day . . . not even,” said a smiling Madaisky, who turned 18 on Jan. 30.
“Right away, actually,” responded Schaber, who celebrated his 19th birthday on Jan. 3.
When the Blazers made that deal, it was a crystal-clear signal that the
organization was focussing its rebuilding attentions on next season and the
season after that.
After all, Madaisky and Schaber will be back for one more season and perhaps
two. There are no such guarantees with Shattock and Bubnick, both of whom
were selected in the 2009 NHL draft. Stebner and defenceman Giffen Nyren,
who was acquired from the Blazers on Nov. 23, are 20 so are in their final WHL
seasons.
At the same time, the message from the Hitmen was that management felt this
team now was good enough to challenge for a championship.
Since Jan. 10, Calgary is 13-5-0-0. The Hitmen, who meet the Rockets in
Kelowna tonight, had won eight straight games before they dropped a 4-2 decision to the visiting Brandon Wheat Kings on Monday.
“We had a pretty good streak going until then,” said Shattock. “It’s good.
I’ve never really been in this spot where we’re battling for first in the
Eastern Conference. It’s a lot of fun.”
The Hitmen (41-17-1-1) go into the weekend atop the Central Division and just two points behind Brandon, which leads the WHL’s overall standings. Calgary also has the Eastern Conference’s best defensive record.
Shattock admits, however, that it wasn’t fun early on, not when the Hitmen
were whacked in their first two games after the deadline — 8-1 by the
Raiders in Prince Albert and 4-1 in Saskatoon by the Blades.
“Those were rough,” Shattock said. “I think it was just with everything that
happened with the trade deadline. I talked to (Joel) Broda, too, and he said
the same thing happened when he got traded there. Trying to find chemistry
with different guys. But after those two games we got on a pretty good roll
so it’s working out well right now.
Of late, Shattock has found himself on a line with Broda, who led the WHL with 53 goals after being acquired last season from the Moose Jaw Warriors, and Bubnick, who sat out a 5-1 victory over the visiting Prince George Cougars on Wednesday with what the team said was an “upper body” injury.
Shattock said his role is “pretty much the same as in Kamloops.” He’s among
the top six forwards and plays on both specialty teams. The big difference,
he said, is that there is less pressure to score.
“We’ve got three lines that can score on any given night,” he said. “It’s
nice to know that if you don’t score — that if some guys aren’t going on any
given night — that other guys will probably be going.”
Shattock also said that he is quite enjoying the winning atmosphere in
Calgary.
“We almost expect to win every night,” he stated. “You get that vibe when
you’re in the room so you kind of just get used to it. It doesn’t really
take much to have that attitude.”
The trade also has turned out well for Madaisky and Schaber, both of whom
are playing bigger roles here than they were in Calgary.
“It’s been great,” said Madaisky, who is from Surrey. “Everyone has been
extremely welcoming. I feel right at home. I have great billets, great
teammates.
“And it’s nice to play a little bigger role, especially on a team this young.”
Madaisky fits nicely in the Blazers’ top two defensive pairings and has been playing
on special teams. With him being eligible for the 2010 NHL draft, that is a big deal.
As he said, when a player is in his draft season, “minutes are pretty important.”
And, he added, he is playing “a fair amount” more than he did in Calgary.
As for Saturday’s game, Madaisky said he expects to hear from two good
friends — defenceman Matt MacKenzie and forward Tyler Fiddler — during the
game.
“I do have friends there,” Madaisky said, “but during the game there will be
no friends. Both me and Chase will be playing for keeps.”
Schaber, a Red Deer native, is looking at it as “just another game.”
“It’ll be a big deal,” he said, “but it’s just another game that you have
to get prepared for. The hype isn’t going to take me out of it. I’m going to
play my game. I’ll bring whatever I have . . . I’m just oging to let it play
out and hopefully it goes well for me and for us as a team.
“I have a good feeling about it.”
Schaber, who said MacKenzie is his best friend on the Hitmen, admitted that
“it’ll be kind of weird playing against old teammates.”
“But,” he added, “that’s their team and I’m on my team now.”
JUST NOTES: Game time tonight and Saturday is 7 o’clock. . . . Kamloops is 8-9-0-1 since Jan. 10. . . . During his season and half with the Hitmen, Madaisky car-pooled with the 19-year-old Fiddler. . . . Madaisky’s parents, Dolores and Pat, would have been here Saturday except for one thing. “They’ve got Olympic hockey tickets,” Madaisky said. . . . After Saturday’s game, the Blazers head into the Central Division for three games, stopping in Edmonton (Wednesday), Lethbridge (Feb. 26) and Medicine Hat (Feb. 27).

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com

SEATTLE THUNDERBIRDS at KAMLOOPS BLAZERS
Today, 7 p.m., Interior Savings Centre (Radio NL 610)

SEATTLE (14-34-6-4): The Thunderbirds, who lost 1-0 in overtime to the Bruins in Chilliwack on Tuesday, arrive on a 15-game losing skid. . . . They last won on Jan. 9 when they beat the visiting Prince George Cougars, 4-1. . . . The Thunderbirds last won a road game on Dec. 18 when they went to OT before beating the Chiefs 3-2 in Spokane. Since then, the T-birds are 0-7-3-0 away from the ShoWare Centre in Kent, Wash. . . . The Thunderbirds are ninth in the Western Conference. They are 20 points out of a playoff spot with 14 games remaining. . . . Were they in possession of a playoff berth, G Calvin Pickard might very well be the league’s MVP. He leads the WHL in minutes played (2,969) and has appeared in 50 games. He also has a respectable 3.03 GAA and a .913 save percentage. His record is 12-28-6-4. . . . F Prab Rai, one of the WHL’s best skaters, leads Seattle in goals (32) and points (54), while D Jeremy Schappert has a team-high 33 assists. . . . All told, 36 players have suited up for the Thunderbirds this season. . . . Injuries: F Brennan Tutt (elbow, out).
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KAMLOOPS (27-29-2-4): This is the second of three home games in four nights for the Blazers. The Calgary Hitmen visit on Saturday night. . . . The Blazers dropped a 7-0 decision to the Spokane Chiefs on Wednesday night. . . . The was the worst home-ice shutout inflicted on the Blazers in franchise history. They have been beaten 5-0 at home on three occasions, most recently by the Thunderbirds on Dec. 10, 2006. Jacob De Serres, now with the Brandon Wheat Kings, got the shutout that night. . . . G Kurtis Mucha played in his 238th game Wednesday, although he was lifted early in the second period. He already holds the WHL record for most career appearances by a goaltender, and now is one shy of the CHL record held by the QMJHL’s Ryan Mior (P.E.I., Gatineau, 2003-08). . . . The Blazers are 1-2-0-0 against Seattle, which put up a 7-2 victory here on Nov. 13. The Thunderbirds have outscored the Blazers 12-6 in the three games. . . . Injuries: D Ryan Funk (ankle, out); F Jordan DePape (ribs, doubtful).
— GREGG DRINNAN