The Tri-City Americans have signed F Justin Marreck to a WHL contract. Marreck, 16, is from West Kelowna, B.C. He played last season with the major midget Okanagan Rockets, picking up 33 points in 40 games. The Americans placed him on their list in June 2011. . . . Marreck will be with the Americans at this weekend’s tournament in Everett. He then will return home and play a second season with Okanagan. . . . The Americans are without F Jesse Mychan, who continues to recover from surgery to repair a severed Achilles tendon. He was injured in the first round of last season’s playoffs. . . . Also missing is F Malte Strömwall. “Mychan is ahead of schedule and we are happy with his progress,” Americans GM Bob Tory told the Tri-City Herald. “Malte will get here when his visa is approved. You have to follow government regulations.”
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The Swift Current Broncos have signed G Travis Child, the 29th overall pick in the 2012 bantam draft. Child, from Killam, Alta., played last season with the bantam Camrose Vikings, going 7-8-4, 3.46, .910. He stopped nine of 10 shots during a stint on Tuesday night as the Broncos dropped a 3-1 decision to the Moose Jaw Warriors.
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The Portland Winterhawks have signed G Adin Hill, 16, and F Joe Mahon, 18. . . . Hill was was added to Portland’s protected list after training camp a year ago. Hill, 6-foot-1 and 156 pounds, is from Calgary. He played for the minor midget AAA Calgary Rangers last season (8-6-2, 3.37, .927). . . . Mahon, 6-foot-5 and 210 pounds, is another list player out of Calgary. He played for the AJHL’s Calgary Mustangs, putting up eight points and 90 penalty minutes in 35 games.
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The Regina Pats have signed D Brady Reagan, their first pick in the 2012 bantam draft. Reagan, from Blackie, Alta., was taken 31st overall. Last season, Reagan, 6-foot-2 and 197 pounds, had 65 points in 52 games at the Okanagan Hockey Academy in Penticton, B.C.
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The Victoria Royals may have established a record by announcing 11 player signings in one day. . . .
The Royals have signed F Tyler Soy, F Regan Nagy, F Matthew Campese and D Chaz Redekopp, all of them 1997-born players. . . . Soy was the eighth overall pick in the 2012 bantam draft. From Surrey, he played last season with the bantam A-1 Cloverdale Colts, picking up 65 points in 20 games. In the 46 games he played last season, he had 159 points, including 106 assists. . . . Reddekopp, from West Kelowna, was the 13th overall selection in the 2012 bantam draft. He played for the bantam 1 team at Pursuit of Excellence in Kelowna last season, putting up 59 points in 62 games. . . . Nagy, the 27th overall pick in the 2012 bantam draft, is from Ogema, Sask. He played for the bantam AA Weyburn Energy Wings, putting up 46 points in 23 games. . . . Campese, from Prince Albert, is the son of Prince Albert Raiders general manager Bruno Campese. Matthew played for the bantam AA Venice House Raiders. He had 53 points and 98 penalty minutes in 23 games. He was picked in the third round of the 2012 bantam draft. . . .
The Royals also signed four 1996-born players — F Michael Bell, F Brandon Fushimi, D Ryan Gagnon and G Michael Herringer. . . . Bell, from Kitimat, B.C., was a third-round pick in the 2011 bantam draft. He played last season with the Prince George-based Cariboo Cougars of the B.C. major midget league. He had 12 points in 34 games. . . . Fushimi, a list player, is from Thornton, Colo. He had 23 points for the Rocky Mountain RoughRiders, a Tier 1 midget minor team last season. . . . Gagnon, from Quesnel, B.C., had 24 points in 38 games with the major midget Cariboo Cougars last season. He was a third-round pick in the 2011 bantam draft. . . . Herringer, from Comox, B.C., was taken in the ninth round of the 2011 bantam draft. He was the lone goaltender selected by Victoria in that draft. He played for the major midget North Island Silvertips, putting up a 3.63 GAA in 22 games. . . . Turning Point Sports Management had announced the signings of Fushimi and Herringer via Twitter on Wednesday. . . .
Also signing with the Royals were D Kolton Dix, 17, and F Logan Fisher, 17, both of whom played on the Red Deer Optimist Rebels who won the 2012 Telus Cup as national midget champions. . . . Fisher, a list player since last September, had 31 points in 34 games. . . . Dixon, who had 10 assists in 30 games, has been on the Royals’ list since September 2010. . . .
The Royals also have signed G Patrik Polivka, the 14th overall selection in the CHL’s 2012 import draft. Polivka, from Plzen, Czech Republic, started 31 games for HC Plzen’s U-20 team (3.20, .917). He also saw playing time with the HC Plzen U-18 team and with the Czech Republic’s U-18 and U-19 teams.
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Before meeting the visiting Victoria Royals in an exhibition game last night, the Kamloops Blazers signed three players. . . . F Mitch Friesen of Surrey, B.C., was selected in the fourth round of the 2011 bantam draft. Friesen, 6-foot-3 and 171 pounds, played last season for the major midget Valley West Hawks, picking up 56 points in 40 games. . . . F Jesse Shynkaruk of Saskatoon was a seventh-round pick in the 2011 bantam draft. The 5-foot-8, 152-pound Shynkaruk had 57 points in 39 games with the midget AA Saskatoon Steel. . . . F Aaron Macklin of High River, Alta., is a list player who played last season with the midget AAA UFA Bisons. Macklin, 6-foot-2 and 189 pounds, had 20 points and 57 penalty minutes in 29 games.
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Tim Cheveldae is back with the Saskatoon Blades. So is Daryl Lubiniecki. . . . Cheveldae, who played goal for the Blades (1985-88) and also worked as an assistant coach (1998-2000) has signed on as the team’s goaltending coach. He takes over from John Stevenson, who isn’t with the team. . . . The Blades also announced that assistant coach Dave Struch has been promoted to associate coach. Struch has been on the Blades’ coaching staff since 2006. . . . Lubiniecki, a former Blades general manager and head coach who also has worked with the Prince George Cougars, has joined Saskatoon’s scouting staff. You can bet that news has put smiles on a lot of faces belonging to other WHL scouts. Yes, the master storyteller is back!
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Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post reports that the Pats are missing some familiar faces as training camp opens. . . . Regina has released F Nils Moser, 20, who is with the AJHL’s Canmore Eagles, and F Tyler Bortsmayer, 19. . . . F Dominik Volek, 18, chose to play in the Swedish Junior Elite League, while F Lyndon Martell, 19, has been assigned to the BCHL’s Prince George Spruce Kings. . . . D Landon Peel, 18, has been assigned to the MJHL’s Swan Valley Stampeders. . . . F Locke Muller, 19, who played with the Red Deer Rebels and Saskatoon Blades and was added by the Pats in the off-season, has told Regina he has lost his desire.
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The U.S. national junior team may have suffered a blow Wednesday. According to Michael Russo of the Minneapolis StarTribune, “Mario Lucia . . . said he broke his left fibula and suffered ligament damge in his left ankle when a teammate fell on him during a battle drill.” . . . Lucia, a second-round selection by the Minnesota Wild in the 2011 NHL draft, is a freshman at Notre Dame after playing last season with the BCHL’s Penticton Vees. . . . Early speculation is that Lucia could be out for three months. . . . “Hopefully I'll get back quicker than three months, but I'm in a cast for seven weeks, so there's not much I can do about that," Lucia told Russo.

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Older Blazers power to victory

Forward Rob Trzonkowski of the Kamloops Blazers and defenceman
Joe Hicketts of the Victoria Royals compete for a loose puck.
(Murray Mitchell / Kamloops Daily News)

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
The Victoria Royals may have known they were in for a long night of it when the Kamloops Blazers started their No. 1 line.
Tim Bozon, Colin Smith and J.C. Lipon, who combined last season for 221 points, including 90 goals, owned the puck on practically every shift through two periods and the Blazers, with an older lineup, skated to a 4-2 victory in a WHL exhibition game played at Interior Savings Centre.
It was the exhibition opener for both teams. They are scheduled to play again tonight in Maple Ridge.
The Royals announced 11 signings earlier in the day and had eight of those players in their lineup, including Czech goaltender Patrik Polivka, 18, who perhaps felt like he was in a beehive the way the home boys buzzed around him in the first period.
The Blazers dressed 11 players who are at least 18 years of age, with six of those 19 or 20. The Royals had just one 19-year-old in their lineup.
It was somehow fitting that the Blazers’ goals came from four players who have played a combined 505 regular-season games, while Victoria got both of its goals from a centre in his first WHL game.
Guy Charron, the Blazers’ head coach, said he actually made up lineups for both games after Tuesday’s intrasquad game.
“I’m old-school,” he said, explaining that he wanted a solid, veteran lineup playing before the home fans.
Still, last night’s opening 20 minutes, which was penalty-free and over in 25 minutes, was scoreless, despite the Blazers holding a 15-4 edge in shots and having directed at least 40 pucks in Polivka’s direction.
Left-winger Tim Bozon finally solved the Czech netminder, scoring on a backdoor play with the Blazers enjoying a two-man advantage early in the second period.
The Royals changed goaltenders at 11:50 of the second period, with Coleman Vollrath, a 16-year-old from Calgary, coming on to face the onslaught. He was beaten twice, by veteran wingers Jordan DePape and Chase Souto, 41 seconds apart late in the period.
Kamloops goaltender Cole Cheveldave went the distance, stopping 21 shots, 11 of them in the final period. His best save may have come in the second period when he got a blocker on a shot by Regan Nagy, a 15-year-old from Ogema, Sask., who had gotten loose off the right wing. Then again, maybe it was the right pad he got on Austin Carroll’s attempt to score off a rebound late in the third period. No, it was the right pad save he made in the last minute of the game to deny centre Tyler Soy his third goal of the third period.
No matter. The point is that Cheveldave looks in midseason form.
Kamloops took its foot off the pedal in the third period, some individual play taking over for team play that had been so prevalent for two periods.
“Unfortunately, players tend to see sometimes the opposition being vulnerable and you get away from the things you need to do to be successful in a consistent way,” Charron said. “We addressed it after the game.”
The Royals took full advantage with two goals from Soy, one of yesterday’s signees. He’s a 15-year-old from Surrey who was the eighth overall pick in the 2012 bantam draft.
Smith restored the Blazers’ two-goal lead just 20 seconds after Soy scored his second goal.
After the game, the Blazers returned centre Jayden Halbgewachs to the midget AAA Regina Pat Canadians. Halbgewachs, the Blazers’ first pick in the 2012 bantam draft, didn’t get to play against his brother last night. Brandon Halbgewachs, 18, had been in camp with the Royals but was reassigned after their Wednesday intrasquad game. He is likely to play for the SJHL’s Estevan Bruins.
JUST NOTES: Blazers D Jordan Thomson, the fourth overall pick in the 2011 bantam draft, had a solid night and even fired a shot off the crossbar. He made some good decisions while manning a point on the power play. . . . Kamloops F Dylan Willick and D Austin Madaisky didn’t play but will be in the lineup tonight, while Smith and F Brendan Ranford, to name two, will get the night off. . . . Before the game, the Blazers announced the signings of three forwards — Mitch Friesen of Surrey, Jesse Shynkaruk of Saskatoon and Aaron Macklin of High River, Alta. Friesen was a fourth-round pick in the 2011 bantam draft, with Shynkaruk being taken three rounds later. Macklin is a list player. . . . All three were scratched from last night’s game but are  likely to get into the lineup tonight. . . . The Royals’ lineup included F Matthew Campese, who won’t turn 15 until Dec. 10, the son of Prince Albert Raiders general manager Bruno Campese. The younger Campese signed with the Royals yesterday. . . . The Blazers are at home again Wednesday with the Vancouver Giants providing the opposition. Game time is 7 p.m. . . . Kamloops’ other home exhibition game is set for Sept. 14 against the Prince George Cougars. . . . The Blazers open the regular season against the visiting Kelowna Rockets on Sept. 21.

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The Swift Current Broncos have acquired F Chance Lund, 20, from the Seattle Thunderbirds for a sixth-round pick in the 2013 bantam draft. . . . Lund had 32 points, including 15 goals, in 32 games last season. In 258 career games, he has 57 points, 27 of them goals. . . . At 6-foot-5 and 223 pounds, Lund adds a good chunk of size to the Broncos’ forward ranks. . . . They also now have four 20-year-olds, as Lund joins F Christian Magnus, F Ryon Moser and D Dalton Reum. . . . Meanwhile, the Thunderbirds are down to D Brad Deagle, G Brandon Glover, F Luke Lockhart and F Brendan Rouse.
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The Portland Winterhawks have signed D Kirill Vorobev, 17, their second selection in the CHL’s 2012 import draft. Vorobev, a Russian, has been with the Winterhawks since Sunday. Last season, he played two games with the USHL’s Sioux City Musketeers and then joined the NAHL’s New Mexico Mustangs. He had three assists and 12 penalty minutes in 35 games with the Mustangs. . . . The Winterhawks’ first selection in that 2012 draft was Danish F Oliver Bjorkstrand, 17. He signed with the Winterhawks late in July.
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JUST NOTES: The Medicine Hat Tigers have signed F Steven Owre, who was a sixth-round pick in the 2011 bantam draft. Last season, he had 39 points in 38 games with the Chicago Fury, a U16 elite midget club. He is from Edmonton. . . . Owre’s signing was tweeted by Scott Deady (@scott_deady) of International Sports Agency. . . . Paul Buker of The Oregonian revealed via Twitter (@Pnbuker) that “Taylor Leier (Flyers) pick rehabbing from abdominal tear, prob. out six weeks; F Nic Petan (shoulder) prob. out for another week.” Both are forwards with the Portland Winterhawks. . . .
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Dave Leaderhouse of the Prince Albert Daily Herald has a good piece right here about former WHLer Craig McCallum and how much he is enjoying being a role model.
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The Victoria Royals have signed G Michael Herringer and F Brandon Fushimi. . . . Herringer, from Comox, B.C., played last season with the major midget North Island Silvertips. He was a ninth-round pick in the 2011 bantam draft. . . . Fushimi, a list player, had 23 points in 40 games with the Rocky Mountain Roughriders, a Tier 1 Elite midget minor team. He also had 20 points in 24 games with a CAHA U16 side. . . . Fushimi’s coach with the midget minor team was John Paris Jr., one of the Royals’ scouts. . . . Fushimi, 16, is from Thornton, Colo. . . . Both signings were announced on Twitter by Turning Point Sports Management.
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Thanks to Alan Caldwell from over there at Small Thoughts at Large for the statistics of recent WHL signees. If you aren’t aware, Small Thoughts at Large is an invaluable resource for WHL-related numbers.
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By now, you will be well aware of the number of concussion-related lawsuits filed by former NFL players against the NFL.
But what are college athletes to do when there really isn’t a league involved.
In the case of one athlete, he has launched a lawsuit against the university for which he was playing.
There’s more right here.

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Blazers ready for Royal visit

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
There weren’t a lot of surprises during the Kamloops Blazers’ training camp that wrapped up with Tuesday night’s intrasquad game.
Shortly after the game ended, the WHL team’s braintrust trimmed the roster to 31 players, including two forwards — Jayden Halbgewachs and Nick Chyzowski — who are too young to play this season. They are likely to be re-assigned after playing in tonight’s exhibition game against the visiting Victoria Royals.
Game time at Interior Savings Centre is 7 o’clock.
The latest round of cuts left the Blazers with two goaltenders, 10 defencemen and 17 forwards, not including the two aforementioned 15-year-olds.
The goaltending situation isn’t at all surprising as head coach Guy Charron and associate coach Dave Hunchak, with input from goaltending coach Dan De Palma, have chosen to go with sophomore Cole Cheveldave and freshman Taran Kozun, an 18-year-old from Nipawin, Sask., who actually started last season in a Blazers uniform.
On defence, the 10 skaters include six veterans and four newcomers, all of whom were mentioned by Hunchak last week as being capable of competing for roster spots. It is likely that Jordan Thomson, the fourth overall pick in the 2011 bantam draft, Josh Connolly, whose high-risk, high-reward game was in evidence on Tuesday, and stay-at-home guys Ryan Rehill and Connor Clouston will have some say before the regular season opens.
Up front, the Blazers are going to take long looks at Mitch Friesen, a 16-year-old left winger from Surrey who, at 6-foot-3 and 171 pounds, brings some much-needed size to the lineup. The same holds for 6-foot-2, 189-pound Aaron Macklin, a 17-year-old left winger out of High River, Alta., and right-winger Devin Oakes, who is 6-foot-1 and 207 pounds. Oakes, from Prince Rupert, is recovering from off-season surgery and has yet to see action.
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During Tuesday night’s intrasquad game, veteran left-winger Brendan Ranford had the opportunity to play a few shifts with Halbgewachs, the Blazers’ first pick in the 2012 bantam draft.
Ranford, who was a first-round pick in 2007, was impressed.
“We’re six years apart,” he said. “He’s almost the exact same player I was. Maybe he’s a little more finesse. He’s a helluva hockey player.
“That goal he scored shorthanded was . . . patience. The pass he gave to me was pretty exceptional. Not a lot of guys in the WHL can make that pass let alone a kid who just came up.”
Halbgewachs and Ranford combined on two goals, the former scoring a nifty goal when he waited for goaltender Cole Kehler to go down and then put it upstairs, the latter scoring, also shorthanded, after getting a big league pass from the kid.
Halbgewachs may end up facing his older brother, Brandon, in tonight’s game. Brandon, 18, is in camp with the Royals.
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The game will be a homecoming of sorts for Victoria defenceman Joe Hicketts, 16, who is from Kamloops. He was the 12th overall selection in the 2011 bantam draft and spent last season at the Okanagan Hockey Academy in Penticton.
Hicketts signed with the Royals a year ago and, in fact, played an exhibition game against the Blazers at the McArthur Island Sport and Event Centre.
However, he knew then that a WHL rule prohibiting 15-year-old players would keep him off the Royals’ roster. That isn’t the case this time.
“I’m ready,” the 5-foot-8, 180-pound Hicketts told Mario Annicchiarico of the Victoria Times Colonist late last week. “I’m just going to let the expectations slide and just perform my best, that’s my mindset coming in. I’m just going to let my on-ice performance do the talking.
“I’m really looking forward to it. I’ve been working hard for the last year and a half for this. I got drafted and this is the year I want to do something.”
Grant Armstrong, the Royals’ director of player personnel, said Hickett has a bright future with the club.
“He’s going to be, at some point, a huge contributor to the group in terms of being the leader and the kind of guy that runs your power play and does good things from the offensive-side of defence,” Armstrong said.
“He does a good job of positioning himself to eliminate that big guy from getting to the net. He’s going to be a good one — a real good junior hockey player, who when he leaves Victoria at age 21, he’s going to have a nice junior hockey career behind him.”
JUST NOTES: The Blazers and Royals also will play Friday night, this time in Maple Ridge. . . . The Blazers’ next home game is Wednesday, 7 p.m., against the Vancouver Giants. . . . Ranford arrived at training camp at 181 pounds. He said his weight hasn’t been in that vicinity since he arrived at camp as a 16-year-old weighing 182. “I’m a lot faster and I’m a lot quicker,” said Ranford, who is working with a nutritionist.
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Priestlay brewing up Storm in Kamloops

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
After a lengthy playing career, Brad Priestlay is in his first season as a head coach.
He already has the language down pat.
Priestlay, the head coach of the junior B Kamloops Storm, has lost the Kootenay International league's top three scorers to graduation. Colten DeFrias, Chase Edwards and Tyler Jackson accounted for 111 of the 236 goals the Storm scored last season.
So where will the goals come from this time around?
“I think it's going to be more of a score-by-committee,” Priestlay said Wednesday night. “Obviously, losing those three top guys is big for any team. I feel with the returning guys and the guys coming in, everybody is going to have a bigger role this season.
“That's where guys who didn't have such a big role last season get a chance to step up and see what they can do.”
Priestlay, 28, has been an assistant coach with the Storm each of the previous two seasons. That move came after a playing career that included four seasons in the WHL and five with the Lakehead University Thunderwolves in Thunder Bay.
He has taken over as head coach of the Storm from Geoff Smith, who stepped aside because of work commitments.
Priestlay and the Storm are into their third day of training camp at Brock Arena and the new coach said he likes what he has seen.
“It's shaping up to be a good team,” he said. “We've got a good mix of returning guys and new guys at camp. It's showing a lot of promise. I think we'll be very competitive, much like we were last season.”
Last season, the Storm finished 35-10-1-6, good for second place in the Doug Birks Division, just one point behind the pennant-winning Revelstoke Grizzlies. The Storm then bowed out in the second round of playoffs, losing in seven games to the Sicamous Eagles.
Priestlay said he's looking for the likes of Blake Culbert, Josh Rasmussen and Briar McNaney to lead the way up front, with Daniel Buchanan and Ryan Skinner doing the same from the back end.
Culbert, who suffered a knee injury late last season, finished with 15 goals, while Rasmussen had eight and McNaney had seven.
Buchanan, however, put up 42 points from the blue-line, while Skinner had 26.
Of course, with WHL and junior A teams just into their training camps, the pipeline of players hasn't really opened up.
“The Western league cuts their guys and the junior A cuts their guys and we get the rest of them,” Priestlay explains. “But as of right now I don't really see a whole lot of change.
“I think by the time the end of exhibition season rolls around we should have a general idea of who we're going to have and what kind of roster we'll have for the home opener.”
The Storm opens its exhibition season on Saturday against the host Chase Heat. Game time at the Art Holding Memorial Arena is 7 p.m.
The regular season is to open Sept. 14 with the Spokane Braves here. The new head coach can hardly wait.
“I'm very happy with the way things are going,” he said. “The tempo has been good and I'm excited to get into some exhibition game and get the season underway.”
JUST NOTES: Veteran Marcus Beesley, 20, is the Storm's No. 1 goaltender. He was 9-3 with a 2.49 GAA last season. . . . The Storm plays its first home exhibition game on Tuesday against the Princeton Posse. Game time at Brock Arena will be 7:30 p.m. . . . A game scheduled for Sept. 9 between the Golden Rockets and the Storm at Brock Arena has been cancelled. . . . Sophomore D Tyson Harvey, 17, hasn't been feeling well and was to see a doctor yesterday. For now, he is being kept away from teammates. . . . The Storm is on the ice today, 8 a.m. to noon, at Brock Arena, but won't skate Friday.

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THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Ivan Dornic (Portland, 2003-05) signed a one-year contract with VEU Feldkirch (Austria, Inter-National Liga). He had nine goals and seven assists in 25 games with Metallurg Zhlobin (Belarus, Extraliga) and six goals and six assists in 10 games with Aalborg (Denmark, AL-Bank Liga) last season. . . .
F Layne Ulmer (Swift Current, 1997-2001) signed a one-year contract extension with Asiago (Italy, Serie A). He had 19 goals and 22 assists in 45 games with Asiago last season. . . .
F Ryan Watson (Lethbridge, 1998-2000) signed a one-year contract with Pontebba (Italy, Serie A). He had eight goals and eight assists in 18 games with Val Pusteria (Italy, Serie A) last season.
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F Andrew Rieder, who had off-season shoulder surgery, has not yet been cleared to return to action so won’t be on the ice when the Regina Pats open camp on Friday. . . . Rieder told Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post that he hopes to be ready by opening night (Sept. 21). . . . Rieder was injured in the playoffs and had surgery on May 11. . . . Harder has more on Rieder right here.
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D Wes Vannieuwenhuizen is the new captain of the Vancouver Giants. Vannieuwenhuizen, 20, is in his third season with the Giants. He takes over as captain from Brendan Gallagher, who is expected to play in the Montreal Canadiens’ organization this season.
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The Kamloops Blazers signed D Cameron Reagan on Tuesday. He was a fourth-round pick in the 2012 bantam draft. . . . Kamloops now has signed its top three 2012 bantam picks. F Jayden Halbgewachs, a first-rounder from Emerald Park, Sask., and F Nick Chyzowski of Kamloops, who was taken in the second round, signed earlier in the summer. . . . Regan, from Sherwood Park, Alta., played bantam in his hometown last season and likely will play midget AAA there this season. He had 27 points in 30 games with the bantam team last season.
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The Moose Jaw Warriors announced the signings of nine players on Tuesday.
D Logan Hermus, from Big Valley Alta., played for the midget AAA Red Deer Northstar Chiefs last season. The Warriors selected him in the fourth round of the 2011 bantam draft.
D Dustin Perillat played for his hometown Saskatoon Outlaws, a bantam AA team, last season. He was a fourth-round selection in the 2012 antam draft.
D Dallas Valentine, a 16-year-old list player, spent last season with the midget AAA Red Deer IROC Chiefs.
F Ben Duperreault, from Wilcox, Sask., was an eighth-round pick in the 2011 bantam draft. If he doesn’t stick with the Warriors, he’ll play for the midget AAA Moose Jaw Generals.
F Brandon Del Grosso, a ninth-round pick in the 2011 draft, spent last season with the major midget Vancouver-North West Giants.
F Ethan Lazaro of St. Albert, Alta., was selected in the seventh round of the 2012 draft. He played for the bantam AAA St. Albert Sabres.
F Colton McCarthy was born in Moose Jaw but grew up in Salmon Arm, B.C. He is expected to play for the junior B Nelson Leafs in the Kootenay International junior league. Last season, he played at the Pursuit of Excellence in Kelowna.
They also announced the signings of D Tyler Brown and F Ethan Williams, two fifth-round selections from the 2012 draft. The signings of both players actually got out earlier in the week.
Brown, from Olympia, Wash., will play this season for the U-16 AAA Omaha Lancers. He played at Pursuit of Excellence in Kelowna last season. Williams, from Winnipeg, also was at PoE last season. This season, he’ll play midget AAA in Winnipeg.
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It would appear that F Taylor Leier of the Portland Winterhawks is somewhere on the U.S.East Coast seeking medical treatment for an injury.
Leier tweeted Tuesday afternoon that he was in “Carolina” to have surgery today, but that he expects to be back in Portland rather quickly.
The tweet, it should be noted, disappeared shortly after being posted.
Leier was selected by the Philadelphia Flyers with the 117th pick of the 2012 NHL draft. He apparently came out of a Flyers’ summer camp with an abdominal injury. Leier, who had 37 points in 72 games last season, may be ,
Leier, 18, had 37 points, including 13 goals, in 72 games as a freshman last season.

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By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
If by chance the Kamloops Blazers were at all concerned about sophomore goaltender Cole Cheveldave, those doubts were erased Tuesday night.
Cheveldave, playing for Team Blue, stopped 26 of 27 shots in the first half of the annual Blue-White intrasquad game, although his side went on to drop a 5-3 decision to Team White before about 400 fans.
This was Cheveldave’s first ‘game’ action since he suffered a concussion late in Game 1 of a second-round WHL playoff series with the Portland Winterhawks on April 6.
“I just wanted to get going,” the 19-year-old Calgary native said. “I can’t wait for the season to start.”
Cheveldave was injured when he was run over by Portland forward Oliver Gabriel late in a game the Blazers would lose 5-3. Cheveldave, who had been the Blazers’ starting goaltender since early in the season, didn’t play again.
“I felt good tonight,” he said. “I trained hard all summer and I got quicker. I always work to get better.”
This was only an intrasquad game but Cheveldave looked sharp for a team that was badly outworked.
“Chevy kept us in the game for the first two periods,” offered winger Brendan Ranford, who had a goal and an assist for Team Blue. “(Brayden) Krogfoss played well for us, as well.
“It was a good game but it was a little bit scrambly. You’re going to get that in an intrasquad game but, hey, it was a good hockey game.”
The score was 1-1 after two periods, despite Team White holding a 30-18 edge in shots.
The dam finally broke in the third period as the teams combined for six goals, three of them shorthanded and two on the power play.
Jordan DePape, Tim Bozon, Mitch Lipon, the younger brother of veteran J.C. Lipon, Colin Smith and Charlie Gawlicki scored for the winners, with Smith’s shorthanded goal breaking a 3-3 tie at 14:50 of the third period.
Matt Needham and Jayden Halbgewachs also scored for Team Blue.
This was more shinny than intense hockey, as these games have a tendency to be, although Team White’s Chase Souto tried to inject some feistiness late in the second period. But other than exchanging words and shoves with Blue’s J.C. Lipon and Jaiden Focht, it didn’t amount to much.
Souto was one of the better players, too, as he continually went to the net and created havoc if not chances.
JUST NOTES: After the game, the Blazers trimmed their roster to 31 players. . . . Dan De Palma, the Blazers’ goaltending coach, handled Team White, while assistant coach Ed Patterson ran Team Blue. . . . Three veterans sat out last night — F Dylan Willick (lower body), D Tyler Hansen and D Austin Madaisky. With the latter two not dressing, it gave younger defencemen the opportunity to show their stuff. . . . Willick said he expects to take part in practice today. . . . The Blazers have signed D Cameron Reagan of Sherwood Park, Alta., who was a fourth-round pick in the 2012 bantam draft. He had 27 points in 30 games with a bantam team in Sherwood Park last season. He is likely to play there with a midget AAA team this season. . . . Kamloops now has signed its first three 2012 draft picks, having earlier signed F Jayden Halgbewachs, a first-round selection from Emerald Park, Sask., and F Nick Chyzowski of Kamloops, who was taken in the second round. . . . Halbgewachs picked up a goal and an assist last night. . . . Bozon added two assists to his goal for Team White. . . . The only thing close to a scrap occurred late in the game when veterans Aspen Sterzer and Tyler Bell roughed it up a bit. . . . The Blazers play their first exhibition game on Thursday when the Victoria Royals visit Interior Savings Centre. Game time is 7 p.m. . . . The same teams meet Friday in Maple Ridge.

Roster (31)
(x – veteran; y – injured; year of birth in parentheses)
Goal (2) — x-Cole Cheveldave (93), Calgary; Taran Kozun (94), Nipawin, Sask.

Defence (10) — x-Tyler Bell (94), Regina; Connor Clouston (96), Medicine Hat; Josh Connolly (95), Prince George; x-Landon Cross (94), Brandon; x-Brady Gaudet (94), Redvers, Sask.; x-Tyler Hansen (93), Magrath, Alta; x-Marek Hrbas (93), Plzen, Czech Republic; x-Austin Madaisky (92), Surrey; Ryan Rehill (95), Edmonton; Jordan Thomson (96), Wawanesa, Man.

Forwards (19) — x-Brock Balson (93), Kamloops; x-Tim Bozon (94), Lugano, Switzerland; Nick Chyzowski (97), Kamloops; x-Jordan DePape (92), Winnipeg; Mitch Friesen (96), Surrey; Brayden Gelsinger (95), Regina; Jayden Halbgewachs (97), Emerald Park, Sask.; x-J.C. Lipon (93), Regina; Aaron Macklin (95), High River, Alta.; x-Matt Needham (95), Penticton; y-Devin Oakes (95), Prince Rupert; x-Brendan Ranford (92), Edmonton; Jesse Shynkaruk (96), Saskatoon; x-Colin Smith (93), Edmonton; x-Chase Souto (94), Yorba Linda, Calif.; x-Aspen Sterzer (94), Canal Flats; x-Rob Trzonkowski (94), Calgary; x-Cole Ully (95), Calgary; xy-Dylan Willick (92), Prince George.

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THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Richard Mueller (Brandon, Saskatoon, Calgary, 1998-2003) signed a one-year contract with Lausitzer Fuchse Weisswasser (Germany, 2. Bundesliga). He had no points in seven games with the Straubing Tigers (Germany, DEL) and seven goals and 11 assists in 41 games with Tingsryd (Sweden, Allsvenskan) last season. . . .
D Keith Seabrook (Calgary, 2007-09) signed a one-year contract with Val Pusteria (Italy, Serie A). He had three goals and 10 assists in 45 games with the San Antonio Rampage (AHL) and two goals and one assist in nine games with the Cincinnati Cyclones (ECHL) last season. . . .
F Kris Hogg (Kamloops, Lethbridge, 2002-07) signed a one-year contract with the Fife Flyers (England, UK Elite). He had 13 goals and 11 assists in 50 games with the Missouri Mavericks (CHL) last season. There is more on the Hogg signing right here.
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Teams throughout the WHL are on tenterhooks as they watch, like the rest of us, as the NHL and NHLPA continue to negotiate a CBA.
But it looks more and more as though that deal won’t be reached by the Sept. 15 deadline, at which time the NHL has said it will lockout its players.
But what happens to WHL teams and their drafted players if there is a lockout?
The Vancouver Giants, for example, have four drafted players — D David Musil, D Brett Kulak (Calgary), F Marek Tvrdon (Detroit) and F Jordan Martinook (Phoenix).
Of that bunch, only Martinook, who is 20, is able to play anywhere other than the NHL or the WHL.
Here’s Giants GM Scott Bonner, talking to Elliott Pap of the Vancouver Sun: “The scariest scenario for us could be if, let’s say, Jordan Martinook starts the season with us, then the NHL starts up Dec. 1 and some of Phoenix’s players in the American League go back up to the NHL. Then Phoenix has to fill their Springfield roster and we might lose Marty. That would be a tough blow. Here’s your first-line centre . . . see you later. So there is definitely some grey area there.”
Pap’s story is right here.
Or consider the case of the Kamloops Blazers. They have four 20-year-olds on their roster at the moment — D Austin Madaisky, F Jordan DePape, F Brendan Ranford and F Dylan Willick.
Of those four, only Madaisky is tied to an NHL team; in fact, he has signed with the Columbus Blue Jackets.
So what happens if there is a lockout and Madaisky ends up back with the Blazers? Obviously, they would keep him as he would be one of the WHL’s top defencemen. So let’s say they keep him and trade one of the three forwards.
And, as Bonner suggested in his example, let’s say the lockout ends on Dec. 1 and the Blue Jackets decide to assign Madaisky to their AHL affiliate, the Springfield Falcons.
All of a sudden, Kamloops is out its top defenceman and a top-six forward who was traded away to make room for Madaisky.
Scenarios like this are certain to be played out across the WHL over the next few weeks.
It almost makes you wonder why the WHL doesn’t allow teams to carry five 20-year-olds throughout the season.
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It really was no surprise Monday when Brent Sutter, who owns the Red Deer Rebels, announced that he was moving back into the general manager’s office. Hey, when Willie Nelson had his own golf course, par was whatever he wanted it to be. This is Sutter's team so he can be whatever he wants to be.
Seriously, you had to know that if he wasn’t coaching somewhere in the NHL, he would be back with the Rebels.
Jesse Wallin, who had been GM/head coach, will stay on as head coach, with Bryce Thoma as his assistant.
Sutter was the club’s GM/head coach from 1999-2007 before going on to the NHL and coaching stints with the New Jersey Devils and Calgary Flames. His contract wasn’t renewed by the Flames after last season.
Wallin, one of the game’s bright young coaches, is preparing for his fifth season as head coach.
Here, from a news release, is Sutter’s explanation:
“After an evaluation of our hockey operations department throughout the summer, it became evident to me that we needed a separate general manager and head coach. Jesse Wallin will continue to be our head coach. After going through this portion of the evaluation, there were two options: Bring in someone from outside the organization to be the general manager, or I do it myself. With the familiarity I have with the coaching staff, scouting staff, players, and all other personnel inside hockey operations, I made the decision that I was the right person to take over this position at this point in time.”       
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F Keegan Iverson of the Portland Winterhawks plans on sticking with the WHL team this season at the age of 16. And he also plans on wearing No. 13 to honour his friend Jack Jablonski. Interestingly, according to the Winterhawks’ media guide, no player in franchise history has ever worn No. 13.
Paul Buker of The Oregonian has more right here.
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The Swift Current Broncos have apparently signed F Tanner LeSann, 17, who played the last two seasons with the midget AAA Yorkton Harvest. Last season, he had 42 points and 100 penalty minutes in 40 games. . . . LeSann announced his signing via Twitter (@TLeSann12): “officially signed with the swift current broncos #greatfeeling”
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The community-owned Lethbridge Hurricanes held their annual general meeting on Monday night, with more than 120 people in attendance.
The team announced a loss of $602,284 for 2011-12. The biggest chunk of that came from a lack of ticket sales — they had budgeted for $1.5 million, but, in fact, the number ended up being $984,000. . . . For 2012-13, the Hurricanes’ board is budgeting for a loss of $179,000. . . . For more on the meeting, check out Pat Siedlecki’s blog over there on the right.
I would like to thank Dylan Purcell of the Lethbridge Herald for his tweets from the Hurricanes’ annual meeting. Reading those was better than being there.
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The OHL’s Mississauga Steelheads have hired veteran coach Jason Nobili, 38, as assistant GM and assistant coach. He’ll work with GM/head coach James Boyd. . . . Nobili has been coaching for 16 years.

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Smith answers whispers with hard work

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
Colin Smith heard the whispers last season.
Even while enjoying the best of his three seasons with the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers, even while becoming one of the league’s elite players, he heard them.
“A lot of people were saying I wasn’t quick enough and things like that,” Smith said Monday following the final scrimmage of training camp at Interior Savings Centre. “I wanted to get better, quite simply, so I did a lot of work. I tried to revamp my skating a bit and to get stronger.”

COLIN SMITH

He worked on power skating at Quantum Speed in his hometown of Edmonton. The fact that he also was employed there allowed him to get extra ice time. And he hit the gym at Body by Bennett.
“I feel pretty good,” the 5-foot-11, 175-pound Smith said. “This probably was one of the most useful summers I’ve had.”
Smith, who last season had career highs in goals (35), assists (50) and points (85), looked good in that final scrimmage, scoring once and setting up another as Team Orange dumped Team White, 5-1. It is safe to say that he was the best player on the ice.
“It’s nice to get back,” he said. “You can only train for so long. Eventually you want to get on the ice.”
Smith, 19, got something of a boost when the Colorado Avalanche selected him in the seventh round of the NHL’s 2012 draft in June. However, the way he sees it, he learned more a year earlier when he didn’t get drafted.
“I learned not to get so sucked into it . . . and to focus on what I needed to do,” he explained. “I thought I did that last season and so did everyone. We took some strides forward.”
But, he added, getting drafted “was nice at the time. It was nice to share it with everyone who helped me along the way, and it’s obviously an honour to get picked.”
All of that is in the past, though, as the focus has shifted to the approaching season. Smith was here through two seasons of so-so hockey, which means he really enjoyed being part of last spring’s run to the top of the B.C. Division and into the second round of playoffs.
“The standards have been raised and everyone knows that coming in,” he said. “In the fitness testing, everyone did well. Everyone’s ready. Everyone learned a lot.”
The bar, he said, has been raised, especially after Game 6 of that second-round series with the Portland Winterhawks when the Blazers, down 5-2 in the third period at home, rallied for a 7-6 victory. That allowed the Blazers, who had lost the first three games of the series, to force a Game 7, which they lost, 2-0.
“Playing in that Game 6,” Smith said, “I think it was a turning point. Everyone realizes that’s where we want to be. Players, fans, everybody as an organization . . . that’s where you want to be, playing in those big games.”
JUST NOTES: The Blazers trimmed their roster to 46 after yesterday’s final scrimmage. . . . Two players left that last scrimmage with minor injuries. LW Brendan Ranford was sent to a dentist after chipping a tooth, while D Jordan Thomson needed a handful of stitches to close a cut just below his lower lip. . . . F Dylan Willick (lower body) didn’t scrimmage and won’t play in tonight’s Blue-White game. He hopes to return to practice on Wednesday and to be in the lineup Thursday against the visiting Victoria Royals. . . . D Tyler Hansen and D Austin Madaisky, both veterans, will sit out tonight to allow younger players into the lineup. . . . Game time tonight and Thursday, at ISC, is 7 o’clock. . . .
D Kevin Davis of Kamloops, the 11th overall pick in the WHL’s 2012 bantam draft, is in camp with the Everett Silvertips and will see game action during a weekend tournament in Everett. At 15, he isn’t old enough to make a WHL roster this season. . . . Troy Trombley, 6-foot-7 and 205 pounds, is one of four goaltenders left in Everett’s camp. Trombley, an 18-year-old from Sherwood Park, Alta., was selected by the Blazers in the third round of the 2009 draft. He later signed with the Blazers and got into one game with them in 2010-11. He was in camp with them a year ago but it didn’t work out. . . .
Former Blazers F Kris Hogg (2002-05), who is from Sicamous, has signed to play with the Fife Flyers of Great Britain’s Elite League. Hogg played last season with the Central league’s Missouri Mavericks, picking up 24 points, including 13 goals, in 50 games. He played the previous four seasons at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay.

Main Training Camp Roster (46)
(x – veteran; y – injured; year of birth in parentheses)
Goal (4) — x-Cole Cheveldave (93), Calgary; Cole Kehler (97), Altona, Man.; Taran Kozun (94), Nipawin, Sask.; Braden Krogfoss (95), Cloverdale.

Defence (16) — x-Tyler Bell (94), Regina; Connor Clouston (96), Medicine Hat; Josh Connolly (95), Prince George; x-Landon Cross (94), Brandon; Mackenzie Ferner (95), Vernon; Jaiden Focht (96), Saskatoon; x-Brady Gaudet (94), Redvers, Sask.; Connor Hamonic (96), Winnipeg; x-Tyler Hansen (93), Magrath, Alta; x-Marek Hrbas (93), Plzen, Czech Republic; Riley Hummitsch (96), Anaheim Hills, Calif.; x-Austin Madaisky (92), Surrey; Cole McCaskill (96), Kamloops; Cameron Reagan (97), Sherwood Park, Alta.; Ryan Rehill (95), Edmonton; Jordan Thomson (96), Wawanesa, Man.

Forwards (26) — x-Brock Balson (93), Kamloops; x-Tim Bozon (94), Lugano, Switzerland; Nick Chyzowski (97), Kamloops; x-Jordan DePape (92), Winnipeg; Rylan Freed (96), Melfort, Sask.; Mitch Friesen (96), Surrey; Charlie Gawlicki (97), Edmonton; Brayden Gelsinger (95), Regina; Jayden Halbgewachs (97), Emerald Park, Sask.; Eric Krienke (96), Calgary; x-J.C. Lipon (93), Regina; Mitchell Lipon (96), Regina; Aaron Macklin (95), High River, Alta.; Tyson McLellan (96), San Jose, Calif.; Kyler Nachtigall (96), Calgary; x-Matt Needham (95), Penticton; y-Devin Oakes (95), Prince Rupert; x-Brendan Ranford (92), Edmonton; Jesse Shynkaruk (96), Saskatoon; x-Colin Smith (93), Edmonton; x-Chase Souto (94), Yorba Linda, Calif.; x-Aspen Sterzer (94), Canal Flats; Evan Tordiff (96), Fort Smith, NWT; x-Rob Trzonkowski (94), Calgary; x-Cole Ully (95), Calgary; xy-Dylan Willick (92), Prince George.

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The Lethbridge Hurricanes have dealt F Nick Buonassisi, 20, to the Brandon Wheat Kings for a fifth-round pick in the 2014 bantam draft. Buonassisi came over from the Prince George Cougars last season in exchange for D Reid Jackson. Buonassisi had 45 points, including 14 goals, in 45 points with Lethbridge. He had put up four points in 10 games with the Cougars. As he goes into his fifth WHL season, he has 137 points in 270 regular-season games. . . . The move gets the Hurricanes down to three 20-year-olds — G Ty Rimmer, D Daniel Johnston and F Graham Hood. . . . The Wheat Kings will open camp with four 20-year-olds in town — Buonassisi, D Tyler Yaworski, who was acquired earlier in the month from the Prince Albert Raiders, D Ryley Miller and F Dominick Favreau.
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The Tri-City Americans have signed G Evan Sarthou to a WHL contract. He was a third-round pick, 65th overall, in the 2012 bantam draft. . . . Sarthou, from Black Diamond, Wash., played last season with the bantam AAA L.A. Selects, going 2.33 and .910 in 47 games. . . . He was in the Americans’ rookie camp and stopped all 15 shots he faced in helping Team White to a 5-2 victory over Team Blue in the Blue-White game. . . . Sarthou will play for the U-16 L.A. Jr. Kings this season. . . . The Americans have signed four of their first five 2012 draft picks.
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The Americans’ bus is getting a facelift, with a whole lot of help from Kyle Weibold and Noah’s Ark at Getaway Charters.
According to a news release, “The bus, which becomes a second home to the players as they cover over 13,000 miles each season, will feature a striking Canadians Red paint job, with the Americans' primary stars and bars logo printed on both sides of the bus along with the team's website.”
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The Moose Jaw Warriors have signed F Ethan Williams and D Tyler Brown, both of whom are represented by Turning Point Sports Management. . . . Both were fifth-round selections by the Warriors in the WHL’s 2012 bantam draft. . . . Williams, from Winnipeg, played last season at Pursuit Of Excellent in Kelowna. This season, he will play midget AAA in Winnipeg. . . . Brown also played at PoE last season. This season, he will play for the U-16 AAA Omaha Lancers, who are coached by former WHLer David Wilkie. . . . Interestingly, Carlos Sosa of Turning Point once represented Wilkie, a defenceman with the Kamloops Blazers. In fact, Wilkie was Sosa’s initial first-round NHL draft pick when he was taken by the Montreal Canadiens with the 20th overall selection in 1992. . . . Turning Point also is acting as family advisor for Wilkie’s son, Chris, who has joined USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program. Chris was selected by the Victoria Royals in the fourth round of the WHL’s 2011 bantam draft.
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Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province reports that F Ty Ronning will be out for a couple of weeks with “a hairline fracture in his forearm.” . . . Ronning, who will turn 15 on Oct. 20, was selected by the Vancouver Giants with the 15th overall pick of the 2012 bantam draft. According to Ewen, Ronning, the son of former NHLer Cliff Ronnig, “was injured in a collision along the boards at training camp.” . . . “Stuff happens,” Ty Ronning told Ewen. “I’ll be fine.” . . . Later, Ronning plans on going to camp with the major midget North West Giants.
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A Sunday tweet from James Shewaga, the sports editor at the Brandon Sun:
“Wheat Kings F prospect Geordie Maguire, 17, looks ready to commit. He tweeted today he is heading to Brandon on Monday to meet his billets.”
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Team Red beat Team White 5-1 in the Spokane Chiefs’ annual intrasquad game on Sunday. Veterans Mike Aviani and Collin Valcourt each had a goal and two assists. . . . However, the biggest number was 2,877. That was the attendance at the Spokane Arena. . . . The Chiefs are holding out three veterans with undisclosed injuries — G Mac Engel, F Marek Kalus and F Liam Stewart.
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F Brayden Point had three goals and two assists to lead Team Black to a 10-2 victory over Team White in the Moose Jaw Warriors’ final rookie scrimmage of camp. Team White won the Hamonic Cup with the victory. . . . Point will be fun to watch this season. He’s only 16 but is coming off a playoff run in which hs put up 10 points in 14 games. . . . “Confidence is everything,” Point told Matthew Gourlie of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald. “I feel I have a lot more confidence after playing in the playoffs. To be able to come here and have a little bit of success just gives me more confidence.” . . . Gourlie reports that everyone left in camp played in the game, with the exception of F Brayden Cuthbert (concussion), F Tanner Eberle (shoulder) and D Morgan Rielly.
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The Prince George Westcana Electric Axemen, the host team, won the Canadian senior men’s baseball championship Sunday night, beating the Windsor Stars 9-5 before 1,015 fans. . . . The Axemen were managed by Jim Swanson, who spent a number of years covering the WHL’s Prince George Cougars as sports editor of the Prince George Citizen.
Swanson has left the Citizen and now works for Telus in Prince George.
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OK. Enough is enough.
I’m referring to the CHLPA, which I don’t think has any toes left.
The CHLPA has no clothes. It has no credibility. It has nothing. It certainly doesn’t have one good reason as to why David Branch, the CHL president, should give it even the time of day.
And it won’t have any credibility until the people involved in it start telling the world exactly who they are and why they’re doing what they’re doing.
Neate Sager of Yahoo! Sports has the latest right here.
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Three players from the OHL’s Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds were charged Saturday with sexual assault.
Brian Nicholas Cousins of Belleville, Ont., Andrew Douglas Fritsch of Brantford, Ont. and American Mark Anthony Petaccio were charged by Sault Ste. Marie police.
Cousins, 19, was selected by the Philadelphia Flyers in the NHL’s 2011 draft, while Fritsch, 19, went to the Phoenix Coyotes in the
The Philadelphia Flyers drafted Cousins, 19, with the 68th pick in the 2011 NHL draft, while the Phoenix Coyotes took Fritsch, also 19, in the sixth round. Pettaccio, 18, is undrafted.
Randy Miller of the Cherry Hill Courier-Post, a newspaper in New Jersey, has a story right here.

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