Earlier in the week, there was a link her to a blog post from Gregg Sutch, a former OHL player who detailed how he came to lose his love for hockey. . . . John Matisz of QMI Agency has spoken with Sutch and follows up the blog post quite nicely. That report is right here.
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The Saskatoon Blades have signed F Chasetan Braid, who has been on their list since early 2013. He first attended their training camp in 2012. From Chauvin, Alta., Braid has 47 points, including 15 goals, in 35 games with the Lloydminster Bobcats of the Alberta Midget AAA League.
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An NHL team in Seattle in time for the 2015-16 season? Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times reports that there soon will be talks between the NHL and various parties on expansion fees. That piece is right here.
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THURSDAY’S WHL GAMES (all times local):
No games scheduled.
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FRIDAY’S WHL GAMES (all times local):
Medicine Hat at Moose Jaw, 7 p.m.
Victoria at Regina, 7 p.m.
Calgary at Brandon, 7:30 p.m.
Swift Current at Edmonton, 7 p.m.
Spokane at Kootenay, 7 p.m.
Vancouver at Red Deer, 7 p.m.
Kamloops at Portland, 7 p.m.
Kelowna at Prince George, 7 p.m.
Prince Albert at Tri-City, 7:05 p.m.
Seattle at Everett, 7:35 p.m.
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WEDNESDAY’S GAMES:
In Moose Jaw, the Calgary Hitmen ran their winning streak to a season-high eight games with a 6-4 victory over the Warriors. . . . Calgary F Pavel Padakin had two goals and an assist, while F Jake Virtanen scored twice. Padakin has 24 goals; Virtanen has 38. . . . Calgary F Brady Brassart ran his point streak to 11 games with three assists. . . . With the victory, the Hitmen clinched a playoff spot for the 16th time in their 19-year history. . . . D Jaynen Rissling, Calgary’s captain, was back after serving a two-game suspension. . . . F Colton McCarthy scored twice for Moose Jaw, giving him four, while F Brayden Point got his 27th goal and added two assists. . . . Ice G Mack Shields started his sixth straight game -- he‘s 6-0-0. G Chris Driedger, who missed three games with a team-issued suspension, was on the bench for a second straight game. He hasn’t played since beat the Giants 5-0 in Vancouver on Feb. 7. . . . The Hitmen (40-15-6) are tied with the Edmonton Oil Kings for first place in the Central Division and the Eastern Conference. The Oil Kings have the tiebreaker with more victories (42-40) and have three games in hand. . . . The Warriors (15-35-9) have lost three in a row. . . .
In Brandon, the Victoria Royals scored four first-period goals and went on to beat the Wheat Kings, 5-3. . . . The Royals have won seven straight games now; they also have won nine straight on the road, including the first three stops on this five-game East Division swing. On top of that, they have at least a point in 14 straight games. . . . The Wheat Kings have lost seven in a row. . . . Brandon D Ryan Pulock opened the scoring with his 18th goal at 4:42 of the first. . . . Victoria F Logan Nelson got his 20th 16 seconds later and F Tyler Soy, with his 12th, gave the Royals their first lead at 8:50. . . . F Steven Hodges, with his 19th, and F Austin Carroll, with his 31st, added Victoria goals before the period ended. . . . Hodges also had two assists, while D Brett Cote had two helpers, too. . . . The Royals held a 49-26 edge in shots. . . . Victoria G Patrik Polivka went the distance in his second straight start after not playing since Jan. 31. . . . The Wheat Kings dressed only 16 skaters, two under the maximum. Brandon was without D Colten Waltz, who is sitting out a suspension. . . . Brandon also was without the Quenneville brothers, Paul and John, and F Jayce Hawryluk, all with injuries. D Rene Hunter and F Rihards Bukarts were back, though. . . . Victoria, 24-3-3 since Dec. 12, is third in the Western Conference, three points behind the Portland Winterhawks, who almost certainly will be the second seed because they are comfortably atop the U.S. Division. . . . The Wheat Kings (28-25-8) are seventh in the Eastern Conference, two points behind the Swift Current Broncos. . . . 
In Saskatoon, F Logan McVeigh broke a 2-2 tie at 16:41 of the third period as the Regina Pats beat the Blades, 4-2. . . . McVeigh has 10 goals this season. . . . Regina F Morgan Klimchuk scored the game’s first two goals as the Pats grabbed the lead early in the second period. . . . The Blades tied it early in the third on goals by D Ayrton Nikkel, his fifth, and F Chase Clayton, his 10th. . . . Klimchuk completed his hat trick, getting his 23rd goal into an empty net at 19:55 of the third period. . . . Prior to the game, the Blades honoured Les Lazaruk, their longtime radio voice, for having worked his 1,500th game on the weekend. . . . The Blades, who were the host team for the 2013 Memorial Cup, were eliminated from the playoff race; this will be the first time since 2008 that they aren’t in the postseason. After the game, WHL Facts (@WHLFacts)t weeted: “2 - This will be the 2nd straight season that a Memorial Cup host missed the playoffs the following season (Shawinigan).” . . . Regina went 8-0-0 against Saskatoon this season. . . . The Pats (32-22-6) are 5-0-1 in their last six and lead the East Division by four ponts over Swift Current. . . . The Blades (16-40-5) are 11th in the Eastern Conference. . . .
In Cranbrook, F Sam Reinhart had a goal and three assists to lead the Kootenay Ice to a 5-2 victory over the Medicine Hat Tigers. . . . Reinhart ran his point streak to 18 games. . . . F Curtis Valk of the Tigers had his point streak snapped at 18 games. . . . Reinhart has 32 goals. He also has 88 points in 48 games, three more than he totalled in 72 games last season. . . . In Reinhart’s 18-game tear, he has a five-point game, a four-point outing and seven three-pointers. He has multiple points in 12 of those games. He has 26 points in nine February games. . . . The Ice ended this game with two empty-netters, one from Reinhart and the other from Tim Bozon, who got his 29th. . . . Ice F Jaedon Descheneau had a goal, his 38th, and two assists. . . . The Tigers led this one 2-1 with five minutes left in the third period. . . . Ice F Luke Philp tied it, getting his 26th goal at 15:51. Descheneau broke the tie at 17:37. . . . Ice G Mackenzie Skapski stopped 40 shots. . . . The Ice (34-22-4) has won three in a row; it’s fifth in the conference, three points behind Medicine Hat (36-21-3). Each team has 12 games remaining. . . .
In Lethbridge, F Jackson Houck drew three assists to help the Vancouver Giants to a 5-2 victory over the Hurricanes. . . . The Giants opened a three-game Alberta swing by getting goals from five players. . . . Vancouver F Cain Franson scored his 25th goal and added an assist, while F Dominik Volek had two assists. . . . The Giants outshot the Hurricanes, 48-29. . . . Vancouver (29-23-10) is sixth in the Western Conference, five points behind the Spokane Chiefs. . . . The Hurricanes (12-45-5) have the WHL’s poorest record. They have lost four straight. . . . 
In Red Deer, the Edmonton Oil Kings unleased a 54-shot attack as they beat the Rebels 4-1. . . . Edmonton F Curtis Lazar scored his 33rd goal, while F Henrik Samuellson notched No. 29. . . . Edmonton D Griffin Reinhart was back on the ice after missing three games with the flu. . . . Edmonton G Tristan Jarry stopped 14 shots. . . . The Oil Kings (42-14-2) are tied with Calgary atop the Central Division and the Eastern Conference. Edmonton owns the tiebreaker by virtue of more victories (42-40). . . . Red Deer (28-29-4) is tied with the Prince Albert Raiders for the Eastern Conference’s last playoff spot. . . . The Rebels, 1-8-1 in their last 10, have lost three in a row. . . .
In Kelowna, the Rockets scored three first-period goals en route to a 5-1 victory over the Tri-City Americans. . . . The Rockets outshot the visitors 51-16, including 20-5 and 19-5 in each of the first periods. . . . Kelowna F Myles Bell scored his 39th goal. . . . Kelowna G Jordon Cooke lost his shutout bid when Tri-City F Rodney Southam scored his third goal at 18:42 of the third period. . . . Kelowna (47-8-4) leads the overall standings by seven points over Portland. . . . The Americans (27-27-6) are eighth in the Western Conference, two points ahead of the Prince George Cougars. Tri-City holds three games in hand. . . .
In Spokane, F Shane Danyluk scored two second-period goals to spark the Prince Albert Raiders to a 4-1 victory over the Chiefs. . . . Danyluk, who turned 20 on Jan. 19, is from Salmon Arm, B.C. He was playing in his 236th regular-season game and has 23 goals. This was his third career two-goal game. . . . Raiders G Cole Cheveldave stopped 36 shots. . . . D Dakota Conroy also had two goals for the visitors, his second, No. 24 this season, into an empty net at 17:29 of the third. . . . Raiders F Chance Braid had two assists. . . . The Raiders (28-28-4) moved into a tie with Red Deer for the Eastern Conference’s last playoff spot. . . . The Chiefs (34-21-5) are a comfortable fifth in the Western Conference.---
From WHL Facts (@WHLFacts): “15 - With tonight's victory, the @WHLKootenayICE have guaranteed themselves a 15th straight .500+ season... A new WHL record (KAM 1982-96).”
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Also from WHL Facts: “7 - After tonight's loss, the @TCAmericans’ WHL record-tying streak of 7 consecutive 40+ win seasons will come to an end this year.”
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