D Ryan Gaucher (Saskatoon, 1996-99) signed a one-year contract with Val Gardena (Italy, Serie A2). He had three goals and 18 assists in 31 games with Starbulls Rosenheim (Germany, 2. Bundesliga) last season.
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The Prince George Cougars dealt D Jesse Forsberg and a pair of draft picks to the Seattle Thunderbirds for F Colin Jacobs, 19. . . . Forsberg, from Waldheim, Sask., will turn 19 on Aug. 13. . . . The Cougars also included two 2013 draft picks, fifth- and seventh-rounders, in the trade. . . . Jacobs, who is from Coppell, Texas, had asked for a trade as he looks for a fresh start. He gives the Cougars some size up front, at 6-foot-2 and 205 pounds. He has 89 points in 188 games with Seattle. Last season, he had 19 points in 44 games but was troubled by shoulder woes. . . . Jacobs was a fourth-round pick by the Buffalo Sabres in the NHL’s 2011 draft. Seattle took him in the fourth round of the 2008 bantam draft. . . . Forsberg, the Cougars’ captain last season, brings the Thunderbirds some veteran leadership on the back end. He was the 11th overall selection in the 2008 bantam draft. He has 45 points and 379 penalty minutes in 170 games with the Cougars. . . . Forsberg didn't want to return to Prince George, despite the fact his brother, Alex, 17, also is on the Cougars’ roster.
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The Spokane Chiefs have made an addition to their exhibition schedule, adding a game against the visiting Kelowna Rockets. They’ll play Sept. 13, 7 p.m., at Eagles Ice-A-Rena. That means the Chiefs will play six preseason games.
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Mark Brennan is the new equipment manager for the Portland Winterhawks. He replaces Rob Gagne, who left the team to move back to Cleveland, his hometown, to be closer to family. Brennan assisted Gagne and Portland’s equipment staff last season, and brings nearly 25 years of experience to the position. Brennan is not your average WHL equipment slinger. He began his career in the WHL with the New Westminster Bruins (1983-85). He worked as the Detroit Red Wings’ head equipment manager from 1986 through 1994, then spent 10 years with the Florida Panthers. He moved to Portland to open a hockey equipment repair business. Brennan has been a member of the Trainers and Equipment Managers Wall of Honor at the Hockey Hall of Fame since 2010.
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D Morgan Rielly of the Moose Jaw Warriors has signed a three-year deal with the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs. They selected him fifth overall in the NHL’s 2012 draft. Rielly, 18, had 18 points in 18 games with the Warriors last season, his season shortened by knee surgery, although he did return late in the playoffs. As an 18-year-old, Rielly either plays with the Maple Leafs or has to be returned to Moose Jaw.
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F Pearce Eviston, who played in 18 games with the Portland Winterhawks last season, has signed with the BCHL’s Vernon Vipers. Eviston, who will be 20 on Nov. 4, had one goal in 18 games with Portland.
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The B.C. Intercollegiate Hockey League has lost a team with the collapse of the Kelowna-based Okanagan College Coyotes. The Coyotes played three seasons in the league. The BCIHL now has six teams – the Thompson River U WolfPack (Kamloops), Selkirk College Saints (Castlegar), Eastern Washington U Eagles (Cheney, Wash.), Simon Fraser University, Trinity Western U and U of Victoria.
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It has been almost 11 months since the KHL team Lokomotiv Yaroslavl was wiped out in a plane crash. The organization now is back on its feet and the team has played an exhibition game. Andy Potts has more right here.
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