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Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix reports that the Saskatoon Blades are without four players due to injuries. G Alex Moodie (hamstring) is expected to sit for up to 10 days, while F Shane McColgan (knee) is out for a week or so. They join D Dalton Thrower (groin) and D Ryan Graham (back) on the shelf. Nugent-Bowman’s story is right here.
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The Saskatoon Blades on Tuesday dropped two 18-year-old veterans – D Tommy Stipancik and G Adam Todd. . . . Stipancik was given his release after playing in 46 games over the last two seasons. His development was hampered by concussion problems over the previous two seasons. Stipancik, from Vancouver, was the 60th overall pick in the 2010 bantam draft. . . . He is expected to join the BCHL’s Surrey Eagles. . . . Todd, from Courtenay, B.C., has been in 12 games with the Blades over the last two seasons. The 86th selection in the 2009 bantam draft, he is expected to play for the BCHL’s Alberni Valley Bulldogs.
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The Regina Pats signed six players on Tuesday — D Rob Fulton, G Patrick Gora, D Griffin Mumby, F Bryar Ortynski, F Austin Wagner and F Rylee Zimmer.
Fulton, a sixth-round pick in the 2012 bantam draft, picked up 16 points and 57 penalty minutes in 23 games with the bantam AAA Camrose, Alta., Vikings last season. He stands 6-foot-2 and weighs more than170 pounds.
Gora was a ninth-round pick in the 2011 bantam draft. He played last season for the minor midget AAA St. Albert, Alta., Flyers, going 12-3-5, 2.02, .931. He went home after the Pats’ intrasquad game.
Mumby, a third-round pick in the 2011 bantam draft, had 18 points in 31 games with the midget AAA Calgary Flames last season. He remains on the Pats’ roster.
Ortynsky was a second-round selection in the 2011 bantam draft. He had 14 points in 33 games with the midget AAA Edmonton-South Side Athletic Club last season. He also remains on the Pats’ roster.
Wagner, a fifth-round selection in the 2012 bantam draft, had 27 points and 94 penalty minutes in 32 games with the bantam AAA Calgary Northstar Sabres.
Zimmer, a fifth-round pick in the 2012 bantam draft, put up 30 points in 35 games with the midget AA Notre Dame Hounds in Wilcox, Sask., last season. He is from Winnipeg.
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With WHL teams getting closer to their final rosters, there may be an opportunity for a veteran goaltender in the QMJHL. Don Campbell of the Ottawa Citizen reports that Gatineau Olympiques G Robert Steeves, 19, is to have knee surgery in the next few days and will be out for up to seven months. . . . The Olympiques acquired Steeves from the Acadie-Bathurst Titan over the summer. Without Steeves, the Olympiques have two goaltenders, Eric Brassard and Simon Bergeron, neither of whom has any QMJHL experience. . . . The Olympiques open the season on Sept. 20. . . . Campbell’s story is right here.
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F Spencer Main has left the Kelowna Rockets, bringing to a close his WHL career.
Main, 20, missed the final 60 games of last season with post-concussion syndrome and, after getting medical clearance to return to play, the symptoms returned in training camp.
From a Rockets news release: “Main suffered a concussion early in the 2011-12 WHL season and sat out the Rockets final 60 games. In the off-season he was medically cleared to work out and return to the ice but his symptoms returned after participating in games at Rockets training camp.”
A second-round pick in the 2007 bantam draft, Main, from North Vancouver, played 197 games with the Rockets over the last four seasons. However, he got into only 12 games last season.
Veteran F Zach Franko (@Franky_939) tweeted this: “Would like to congratulate spencer main on a great 5 years with the @Kelowna_Rockets. Gonna miss you not only as a teammate but as a friend.”
Prior to the start of last season, the Rockets lost F Max Adolph to post-concussion syndrome. He played 97 games over three seasons with them.
Kelowna also lost F Kyle St. Denis to post-concussion syndrome after 2009-10, although he later played as a 20-year-old with the BCHL’s Victoria Grizzlies.
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