F Dylan Gyori (Tri-City, 1994-99) signed a one-month contract with the Hannover Indians (Germany, 2.Bundesliga). He had four goals and 14 assists in 48 games with the Indians last season. Gyori has been training in Munich while waiting for his German naturalization papers. He has played in Germany since 2004.
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The WHL season got rolling Thursday night in Edmonton as the Oil Kings beat the Kootenay Ice 5-3 in front of 10,976 fans. . . . The 50-50 draw was worth $10,287. . . . The Oil Kings have won their last 12 reegular-season games. . . . Edmonton went 6-0 against the Ice last season and later swept Kootenay from a playoff series. . . . Edmonton went on to win the WHL championship last season; Kootenay won the title in 2010-11.
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Over at huffingtonpost.com, Nancy Armour has written an enthralling piece about Head Games, the documentary movie that is to be released today.
"We've got to get past this, ‘Little kids involved in a pillow fight' mentality," concussion guru Chris Nowinski tells Armour. "If parents knew what I knew, they would not be tolerating a lot of things in the sports world that they are. We are clearly exposing children to needless risk, and we're not upset about it. And we should be."
That story is right here.
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JUST NOTES: The Prince George Cougars have released F John Odgers, 19. Odgers, from Spy Hill, Sask., is the son of former NHLer Jeff Odgers, who scouts for the Cougars. Odgers had one goal and 18 penalty minutes in eight games with the Cougars last season before a wrist injury ended his season in January. . . . F Dominick Favreau, 20, who was released earlier in the week by the Brandon Wheat Kings, has joined the MJHL’s Dauphin Kings. . . .
F Adam Rossignol, 19, who was dropped Wednesday by the Swift Current Broncos, tweeted last night: “Excited to be a Regina Pat!” . . . Regina F Patrick D’Amico will miss up to two months after being stepped on during a drill in practice. Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post reports that D’Amico, 18, had surgery Wednesday to “re-attach a severed tendon in the foot.” The 6-foot-0, 200-pound D’Amico was an 11th-round selection by the Seattle Thunderbirds in the 2009 bantam draft. . . . Regina F Dryden Hunt (concussion) won’t play on opening weekend. He is listed as being out indefinitely. . . .
The WHL issued its first upper body/lower body report of this season earlier in the week. Among the key early injuries: Kelowna D Mitchell Chapman (LB), one month; Kootenay F Drew Czerwonka (UB), two-to-three weeks; Moose Jaw F Tanner Eberle (UB), two-to-three weeks; and Spokane F Marek Kalus (UB), one month-plus. . . . F Victor Rask of the Calgary Hitmen has left the club for the training camp of the Charlotte Checkers, the Carolina Hurricanes’ AHL affiliate. Rask, 19, was a second-round selection by the Hurricanes in the 2011 NHL draft. Rask has signed with Carolina and, because he was drafted out of Sweden, he is eligible to play in the AHL despite his age. He had 63 points, including 33 goals, for the Hitmen last season so would be a big loss should he not return. . . .
D Ryan Dech, 19, who was released this week by the Edmonton Oil Kings, had his MJHL rights traded on Thursday. The Portage Terriers acquired his rights from the Virden Oil Capitals for F Cody Nelson, 18. . . . The Lethbridge Hurricanes have assigned G Tanner Kovacs, 18, to the AJHL’s Whitecourt Wolverines. Kovacs played last season with the AJHL’s St. Albert Steel. The team relocated to Whitecourt over the summer. The move leaves the Hurricanes with Chris Tai, who turns 17 on Dec. 1, backing up veteran Ty Rimmer, 20. Tai is from Delta, B.C.
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Former WHL G David Reekie (Regina, Everett, 2004-07) will miss the start of the U of Saskatchewan Huskies season after being in a car accident a short time ago. Darren Zary of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix reports that “Reekie is out another four to six weeks with cracked ribs and a bruised sternum.” . . . Head coach Dave Adolph told Zary: "It all depends on how he recovers, but he's got some internal injuries. He smacked his car pretty good. He's on the road to recovery." . . . Reekie was preparing for his fourth season with the Huskies. . . . With Reekie gone, Ryan Holfeld (Medicine Hat, 2006-10) will assume the No. 1 role and head coach Dave Adolph has brought in Blake Voth as the backup. Voth, a U of S student, played last season with the SJHL’s Melville Millionaires. He backstopped the BCHL’s Vernon Vipers to a Royal Bank Cup in the spring of 2010 and got them to the league final in 2010-11. . . . Zary’s complete story is right here.
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TWEET OF THE DAY:
From former Kelowna Rockets F Mitch Callahan (@emcy1five), as he leaves home to join the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins: “After 5 years of leaving home to play hockey, my mom still cries every time I leave.”
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THE SOME PEOPLE WILL NEVER LEARN DEPT.: WHEC-TV of Rochester, N.Y., has reported that the State University of New York at Geneseo has dumped its women’s volleyball season after eight new players were hazed in an alcohol-related incident. On top of that, 11 players are facing criminal charges. . . . Meanwhile, Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ont., has suspended its men’s baseball team for four games after freshmen players were hazed at an alcohol-fuelled team gathering on the weekend. “We’re talking about humiliating, dehumanizing activity as well as alcohol involved,” Laurier athletics director Peter Baxter told Joseph Hall of the Toronto Star. A hearing involving the players will be held Sunday amid concerns that the school still may end the team’s season.
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