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F J.T. Barnett (Vancouver, Kamloops, Everett, Kelowna, 2008-13) has signed a one-year contract with CSKA Moscow (Russia, KHL). Last season, with the Atlanta Gladiators (ECHL), he had five goals and eight assists in 35 games.
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Another long-time WHL executive is on his way to the NHL.
Kelly Kisio, who had been with the Calgary Hitmen for 18 years and part of the Calgary Flames for 23 years, has joined the NHL’s expansion Las Vegas franchise as a pro scout. Most recently, Kisio has
been the Hitmen’s president of hockey operations and alternate governor. For four seasons (2004-08), Kisio was Calgary’s general manager and head coach. He also is a former WHL and NHL player, who played 13 seasons in the NHL.
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| After 18 years with the Calgary Hitmen, Kelly Kisio is on his way to the NHL as a pro scout.(Calgary Hitmen photo) |
Kisio follows good friend Kelly McCrimmon, the long-time owner, general manager and head coach of the Brandon Wheat Kings, and Tim Speltz, the veteran GM of the Spokane Chiefs, to the NHL. McCrimmon now is the assistant GM with Las Vegas; Speltz is the Toronto Maple Leafs’ director of western scouting.
“There were a lot of sleepless nights deciding whether I wanted to leave after 23 years,” Kisio told Scott Fisher of the Calgary Sun. “I haven’t had a chance to sit back and reflect on it, but I’ve been thinking about (the move) quite a bit.
“I competed against (McCrimmon) here for a long, long time. And I played with (Las Vegas GM George McPhee), so it looks like it will be a great fit.”
Fisher’s story is right here.
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The Victoria Royals have signed G Brock Gould, who won’t turn 15 until Dec. 11. Gould, who is from Colorado Springs, Colo., was an eighth-round pick by the Royals in the 2016 bantam draft. Gould, 6-foot-3 and 155 pounds, played last season with the Colorado Thunderbirds (T1EH14), going 4-1-0, 1.40, .935 with two shutouts in six games.
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The Portland Winterhawks have signed F Connor Bowie, F Easton Easterson and F Ty Kolle to WHL contracts. All three are on the Winterhawks’ roster as they open their exhibition schedule at a tournament in Everett this weekend. . . . Bowie, from Fort St. John, B.C., was a seventh-round selection in the 2016 bantam draft. Last season, he had 62 points, including 39 goals, in 28 games with the Fort St. John Northern Metallic Flyers of the Edmonton Rural Bantam Hockey League. . . . Kolle, a 16-year-old from Kamloops, was a fourth-round pick in the 2015 bantam draft. Last season, with the Prince George-based Cariboo Cougars of the B.C. Major Midget League, he had 29 points, 11 of them goals, in 40 games. . . . Easterson, 16, is from Canyon Country, Calif. He was an invitee to training camp and has had a good showing. Last season, with the U-16 Los Angeles Junior Kings of the Tier 1 Elite Hockey League, he had 28 points, 20 of them goals, in 49 games.
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The Vancouver Giants have signed G Trent Miner, 15, to a WHL contract. Miner, from Brandon, was a first-round selection in the 2016 bantam draft. Last season, in 27 games with the bantam AAA Wheat Kings, he was 23-3-0, 1.52 with five shutouts. . . . As an aside, Glen Hanlon, the Giants’ first-year general manager, is from Brandon. He played his minor hockey there before going on to play in the WHL with the Wheat Kings.
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The Medicine Hat Tigers have signed D Cameron MacPhee, 17, of Edmonton to a WHL contract. Last season, the 6-foot-1, 180-pounder had one goal and four assists in 22 games with the midget AAA South Side Athletic Club Athletics.
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The Prince Albert Raiders have signed F Nikita Krivokrasov, 16, to a WHL contract. Krivokrasov, who lives in Westminster, Colo., had seven points, including two goals, in 20 games with the U-16 Rocky Mountain Roughriders last season. He will turn 16 on Dec. 23. . . . He is an undrafted list player. . . . Krivokrasov, who is a native of Moscow, Russia, played some minor hockey in North America — he moved over here at the age of 9 — so isn’t classified as an import player. He is the son of F Sergei Krivokrasov, who played in 450 NHL games after being a first-round pick by the Chicago Blackhawks in the 1992 draft.
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The MJHL’s Portage Terriers have acquired the rights to D Jordan Thomson, 20, from the SJHL’s Notre Dame Hounds for the rights to D Caleb Boman, who turns 19 on Nov. 4. . . . Thomson played 205 regular-season WHL games, split between the Kamloops Blazers, who took him fourth overall in the 2011 bantam draft, Saskatoon Blades, Swift Current Broncos and Brandon Wheat Kings. From Wawanesa, Man., Thomson played 46 regular-season and 21 playoff games with Brandon last season as the Wheat Kings won the WHL championship. Last week, before the Wheat Kings opened training camp, Thomson said he wouldn’t return, that he was working and contemplating going to school in Brandon. . . . According to portageonline.com, Thomson “is considering playing for the Terriers.”
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The Victoria Royals have added Doug Bodger as an assistant coach. From Chemainus, B.C., Bodger spent last season as an assistant coach with the Shawinigan Lake bantam prep team in the Canadian Sport School Hockey League. He also has worked as an assistant coach with the BCHL’s Cowichan Valley Capitals. Bodger, 50, played 16 years of pro hockey after playing in the WHL with the Kamloops Junior Oilers (1982-84). . . . In Victoria, he will work alongside head coach Dave Lowry and assistant coach Dan Price.
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The Seattle Thunderbirds have signed D Tyson Terretta, 16, who is from High Riverd, Alta. Last season, he had one goal and 20 assists in 37 games with the midget AAA Rockyview Raiders of the Alberta Minor Midget League. . . . He was a sixth-round pick in the 2015 bantam draft.
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The Everett Silvertips have signed D Carter Brown, F Orrin Centazzo, F Brandson Hein, D Ian Walker and D Kyle Walker to WHL deals. . . . Brown, from Edmonton, was selected by the Saskatoon Blades in the 10th round of the 2013 bantam draft. He will turn 18 on Oct. 17. He was limited to one game with the midget AAA Knights of Columbus Pats last season. In 2014-15, he had one assists in 27 games with the midget AAA Maple Leaf Athletic Club Maple Leafs. . . . Centazzo, from Marwayne, Alta., was a fifth-round pick in the 2015 bantam draft. Last season, the 16-year-old had 53 points, 30 of them goals, in 37 games with the minor midget Lloydminster, Alta., Rage. . . . Hein, from Winnipeg, had 48 points, including 23 goals, in 33 games with the midget AAA Winnipeg Thrashers last season. Hein, who will turn 18 on Sept. 27, is a listed player. . . . Ian Walker, a 16-year-old from Vancouver, was a third-round selection in the 2015 bantam draft. Last season, with the Burnaby Winter Club Elite 15s, he had 17 points, including 15 assists, in 35 games. . . . Kyle Walker, from Leduc, Alta., is a listed player who had 44 points, including four goals, in 37 games with the minor midget AAA Leduc Oil Kings. He led the Alberta Minor Midget League’s defencemen in points.
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The OHL’s Hamilton Bulldogs want in on the bidding to play host to the 2018 Memorial Cup tournament, which will celebrate the trophy’s 100th anniversary. Scott Radley of the Hamilton Spectator reports that the Bulldogs will make it official with an announcement on Thursday. . . . The WHL’s Regina Pats, who also will be celebrating 100 years, have said that they will be putting together a bid, too. . . . In the OHL, the Oshawa Generals and Ottawa 67’s have said they are interested in getting involved. . . . Radley’s story is right here.
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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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Regan Bartel, the veteran radio voice of the Kelowna Rockets, reports that the team has hired Adam Brown, 24, as its “eye in the sky in the press box at home games.” Brown also will “help out with the goaltenders.” . . . Brown, a goaltender, played four seasons (2008-12) with the Rockets before going on to a brief pro career. He retired after playing last season in Sweden. Born in Houghton, Mich., he is the son of Newell Brown, who is preparing for his 20th season as an NHL assistant coach.
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FRIDAY’S GAMES:
In Everett, F Evan Weigner had a goal and two assists to lead the Portland Winterhawks to a 4-3 victory over the Tri-City Americans. The Winterhawks built a 4-0 early second-period lead and hung on for the victory. . . . F Curtis Miske had two goals and an assist, while F Kailer Yamamoto, the team captain, drew three assists, as the Spokane Chiefs beat the Vancouver Giants, 5-3. F Thomas Foster had two goals and an assist for the Giants, who lost D Dmitry Osipov to a boarding major and game misconduct at 18:38 of the second period. . . . The Seattle Thunderbirds built a 3-0 lead en route to a 3-1 victory over the Everett Silvertips. D Jarret Tyszka and F Nick Holowko each had a goal and an assist for Seattle. . . .
In Red Deer, D Shaun Dosanjh scored at 4:59 of OT as the Prince George Cougars beat the Calgary Hitmen, 5-4. F Ethan O’Rourke had pulled the Cougars even at 15:57 of the third period. F Jesse Gabrielle had two goals for the Cougars. Hitmen F Vladislav Yeryomenko had two goals and an assist. Calgary D Jackson van de Leest left with a checking-from-behind major and game misconduct at 19:59 of the third. . . . F Michael Spacek had two goals and two assists to lead the Red Deer Rebels to a 6-1 victory over the Edmonton Oil Kings. D Alexander Alexeyev and F Brandon Hagel each added a goal and two assists. . . .
In Regina, the Saskatoon Blades scored three times in the shootout and beat the Swift Current Broncos, 4-3. The Blades trailed 3-0 after one period, but scored three times for a 3-3 tie. F Cameron Hausinger forced OT with a PP goal at 10:08 of the third period. He also had an assist. Broncos D Artyom Minulin had two assists, giving him five in two games. . . . The Regina Pats broke a 1-1 tie with five second-period goals and went on to a 7-2 victory over the Prince Albert Raiders. F Riley Woods, F Erik Gardner and D Connor Hobbs each had a goal and an assist for the Pats, who got two assists from each of F Jake Leschyshyn and F Nick Henry. . . .
In Kamloops, F Dante Hannoun scored three times, the last one into an empty net, as the Victoria Royals beat the Blazers, 5-3. The Royals took a 3-0 lead in the first period, only to have the Blazers score three second-period goals, two from F Matt Revel. Victoria F Tyler Soy broke the tie at 15:05 of the second. . . .
In Coaldale, Alta., F James Hamblin scored three times and added an assist to lead the Medicine Hat Tigers to a 7-5 victory over the Lethbridge Hurricanes. F Gary Haden had two goals for the Tigers, with F Ryan Jevne notching one goal and adding two helpers. F Jordy Bellerive scored twice for Lethbridge. . . . Prior to the game, organizers saluted former WHL/NHL player Stacy Roest, who was born in Lethridge and raised in Coaldale. Roest, 42, is the director of player development with the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning.
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#OilKings first: first time brothers have played together for the team pic.twitter.com/Ox1ju6ddiL— Edmonton Oil Kings (@EdmOilKings) September 2, 2016
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