Monday, August 27, 2012

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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