Monday, September 26, 2016

Blazers release one vet, trade another . . . Winterhawks have decision to make . . . Wheaties drop Thompson brothers

F Tyler Redenbach (Prince George, Swift Current, Lethbridge, 2001-05) has signed a one-year contract with Pardubice (Czech Republic, Extraliga). Last season, he had nine goals and 16 assists in 41 games with Pardubice. However, he was without a contract and was training in Finland. He arrived back in Pardubice on Saturday evening.
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The Kamloops Blazers have moved out two players off last season’s roster. . . . F Matt Campese, who turns 19 on Dec. 10, was released, while D Cam Reagan, 19, was traded to the Prince Albert Raiders
for a conditional seventh-round selection in the 2019 bantam draft. . . . Campese was a third-round pick by the Victoria Royals in the 2012 bantam draft. He had one assist in two games with the Blazers this season, after recording eight goals and four assists in 56 games last season. In 95 career regular-season games, 16 of them with Victoria, he has 10 goals and six assists. He is the son of former WHL GM, coach and goaltender Bruno Campese, who now scouts for the NHL’s Las Vegas franchise. . . . Reagan, from Sherwood Park, Alta., was a fourth-round pick by Kamloops in the 2012 bantam draft. He had five assists in 61 games last season, but didn’t get into either of the Blazers’ first two games this season. . . . The Blazers, who next play Friday against the host Royals, now have 26 players on their roster, including three goaltenders and nine defencemen. . . . That includes three players at NHL camps — G Connor Ingram (Tampa Bay Lightning), F Garrett Pilon (Washington Capitals) and F Deven Sideroff (Anaheim Ducks).
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Among the latest players to return to the WHL from NHL teams:
Brandon Wheat Kings — F Tanner Kaspick, St. Louis Blues; D Kale Clague, Los Angeles Kings.
Kelowna Rockets — D Devante Stephens, Buffalo Sabres; D Braydyn Chizen, Minnesota Wild.
Medicine Hat Tigers — F John Dahlstrom, Chicago Blackhawks.
Moose Jaw Warriors — G Zach Sawchenko, Nashville Predators.
Portland Winterhawks — F Keegan Iverson, Minnesota Wild; F Rodrigo Abols, Vancouver Canucks.
Prince Albert Raiders — D Vojtech Budik, Buffalo Sabres.
Prince George Cougars — D Josh Anderson and F Brogan O’Brien, Colorado Avalanche; D Tate Olson, Vancouver Canucks.
Red Deer Rebels — F Brandon Hagel, Buffalo Sabres.
Vancouver Giants — F Radovan Bondra, Chicago Blackhawks; D Darian Skeoch, Anaheim Ducks.
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With the Portland Winterhawks getting back F Keegan Iverson (Minnesota Wild) and Latvian F Rodrigo Abols (Vancouver Canucks) back on Monday, they now have two 20-year-olds on their roster. . . . The Winterhawks’ roster also features two freshmen imports — F Joachim Blichfeld of Frederikshavn, Denmark, and D Henri Jokiharju of Oulu, Finland. Now that Abols is back, the Winterhawks will have to trade him or release one of the other two. . . . Teams aren’t allowed to trade first-year imports; they can only be released, in which case they are placed on waivers and can be claimed by another team. . . . You can bet that Portland GM/head coach Mike Johnston was paying attention Sunday when the Everett Silvertips gave up a third-round bantam draft pick to get Austrian F Dominic Zwerger, who also is 20, from the Spokane Chiefs.
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The Brandon Wheat Kings have dropped brothers Baron and Tyler Thompson from their roster. Neither was in the Brandon lineup for its season-opening weekend games. . . . The Thompsons are from Lakeville, Minn. . . . Tyler, 6-foot-5 and 230 pounds, had two goals and an assist in eight games with the Victoria Royals last season. He was a third-round pick by the Royals in the 2014 bantam draft. . . . The Wheat Kings acquired both Thompsons in an Aug. 31 deal with Victoria that featured five players, four bantam draft picks and a conditional pick. . . . The Wheat Kings have 21 players in town, with two others — F Reid Duke (New York Rangers) and D Ivan Provorov (Philadelphia Flyers) — at NHL camps. . . . D Kale Clague was returned by the Los Angeles Kings on Monday.
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The Prince George Cougars visit the Vancouver Giants in Langley, B.C., in Tuesday’s only WHL game. . . . Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province has a look right here at what’s in store for the two teams, who’s hurt, who’s back from the NHL and who isn’t.
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Darren Steinke, a former Medicine Hat News sports reporter who now freelances out of Saskatoon, was in attendance on Sunday as the Blades celebrated the lives of Gordie Howe and his wife, Colleen. . . . How did the Blades do? . . . “The Blades hit all the positive checkmark points,” he writes on his blog, “which included ones you didn’t even think of.” . . . His complete report is right here. . . . And a big tip of the cap to Blades president Steve Hogle for the work he put into this really special event.
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JUST NOTES:

We got the first ch-ch-ching of the season on Monday when the WHL fined the Lethbridge Hurricanes and Medicine Hat Tigers $500 apiece for the multi-fight situation (aka garage sale) they staged on Saturday night in The Hat. . . . 
The Lethbridge Hurricanes have returned F Connor Lyons, 17, to the midget AAA Hurricanes. Lyons, a list player, has signed a WHL contract. The son of former Hurricanes sniper Corey Lyons, Connor was pointless in three exhibition games and Friday’s regular-season opener. Last season, he had 23 points, seven of them goals, in 34 games with the midget AAA club. . . . The WHL Hurricanes are down to 25 players, including two goaltenders and eight defencemen. . . . 
The Tri-City Americans have signed D Tyler Jette, 18, to a WHL contract. The 6-foot-3, 190-pound Jette is from Farmington, Minn. Jette, who is expected to join the Americans today (Tuesday), is coming off three seasons with the Farmington High team of the USHSL. Last season, he had 22 points, including five goals, in 22 games. . . . Jette actually started last season with the USHL’s Bloomington Thunder. He was pointless in two games before returning to his high school team. . . . He was nominated for the 2015-16 Reed Larson Award as the top senior defenceman in Minnesota. Jette also was one of 10 finalists for the Mr. Hockey Award that goes to the state’s top high school player. . . . 
The OHL’s Erie Otters have released F Haydn Hopkins “in support of his pursuit to play out his 19-year-old season closer to home in Western Canada,” according a news release from the team. . . . Hopkins, from Victoria, was a 12th-round pick by the Saskatoon Blades in the 2012 bantam draft. He has three goals and seven assists in 53 regular-season WHL games, split among the Blades (4), Prince George Cougars (33) and Vancouver Giants (16). . . . Last season, he had a goal and three assists in 31 games with the Otters. He was pointless in the first two games of this season.
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Got a tip or some information you feel could be useful to me, feel free to email me at greggdrinnan@gmail.com.
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MONDAY GAMES:

No Games Scheduled.
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TUESDAY GAME (all times local):


Prince George vs. Vancouver, at Langley, B.C., 7 p.m.

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