F Alessio Bertaggia (Brandon, Spokane, 2011-13) was traded with Calle Andersson by Zug to Lugano (both Switzerland, NL A) for Dominik Schlumpf and Sandro Zangger. This season, with Zug, Bertaggia had one assist in 18 games. He grew up in Lugano and played his minor hockey there.
---
THE RIGHT HAND:
It being almost that time of the year, I spent a few hours wandering the hallways of the Orchard Park Mall in Kelowna on Wednesday afternoon. Yes, Christmas carols were in the air, Remembrance Day having been over for -- what? -- 12 hours or so.You may find it hard to believe, but not once did I hear Connor McDavid's name spoken, not even under someone's breath. Mind you, I didn't stroll into Jersey City.
The OHL's Erie Otters revealed Wednesday that McDavid has a broken bone in his right hand that could keep him out of action for six weeks, give or take a few days. That would seem to indicate that he won't be available for the Canadian junior team's selection camp that will precede the 2015 World Junior Championship that is scheduled to open on Dec. 26 in Toronto and Montreal.
Still, unless McDavid is a slow healer, you can bet Hockey Canada will keep a roster spot open for him.
McDavid, of course, was injured on Tuesday night when he inadvertently punched the boards or glass during a fight, the first of his OHL career that involved actual fisticuffs. He is a scorer, not a fighter and now has proved it.
It should come as no surprise that the debate -- to fight, or not to fight -- has raged on since word of McDavid's decision to fight lit up the world of social media.
But, really, there is no debate. To fight or not to fight is no longer the question. Fighting is on the way out of the game hockey; there can be no doubting that.
The fourth-line enforcer has all but disappeared from the NHL and is a thing of the past in major junior hockey. I can't think of coach at the junior level and above who, given his druthers, doesn't want to play a four-line game.
And there isn't a coach out there who wants his best player to be fighting for fear of the same thing happening that happened to McDavid. An injury like that to such a player could be the difference between making the playoffs and going golfing for some teams. It could be the difference between coaching and having to find a real job for some men.
As TSN's Craig Button, a former NHL general manager, writes right here, "McDavid should not be fighting, ever."
"The argument that he is standing up for himself doesn't hold when you consider the impact he has in the game," Button writes. "That impact is lost when he isn't available whether it is for five minutes or for weeks if he suffers an injury."
If McDavid isn't able to play for Canada in the WJC, the impact of his hand meeting the wall could be incalculable.
After all, as Button points out, Team Canada may be without Aaron Ekblad, Sam Bennett, Jonathan Drouin, Anthony Duclair, Bo Horvat, Curtis Lazar and Nate McKinnon, all of whom are eligible but with NHL teams. Add McDavid to that list and the news could be devastating for Team Canada.
However, there still is time for McDavid to recover and, with all the various forms of therapy available, you have to think the chances are good that he'll be there for the opening faceoff come Boxing Day.
You can bet that McDavid's absence will be noted tonight when Sportsnet televises Game 3 of the Super Series, this one from Peterborough, Ont. It was be noted again Friday when Sportsnet shows a game that features the McDavid-less Otters agains the Niagara IceDogs.
Meanwhile, the fighting debate will rage on.
Unfortunately, many of those who take part in that debate are missing the point. The disappearance of fighting from hockey hasn't anything to do with an anti-fighting stance taken by writers who never played the game.
Rather, it is disappearing because neurologists and others who are researching brain injuries have discovered the painful toll that athletes (and others) who have suffered such injuries can end up paying, some of them immediately and others later in life. It is disappearing because lawyers are filing lawsuits and more are surely to come.
I dare you to read Tough Guy, the biography of the late Bob Probert, or Boy on Ice: The Life and Death of Derek Boogaard, by John Branch of The New York Times, and then make the argument that there is room in the game for fighting.
Without fighting, the onus will be on the leagues and their referees to make sure that the rules are enforced, especially when it comes to the superstar players. You don't see the best players in the NBA getting mugged on a nightly basis, if for no other reason than it realizes which players are its meal tickets.
BTW, the Toronto Maple Leafs have had two fights this season. Two!
---
The Red Deer Rebels have added D Austin Shmoorkoff, 17, to their roster. Shmoorkoff, from Edmonton, had been with the AJHL's Calgary Canucks, joining them after a sting with the Okotoks Oilers. In 10 AJHL games, he had four assists and 33 penalty minutes. . . . Last season, he played with the midget AAA Edmonton-Canadian Athletic Club, and also got into six games with the Rebels. . . . Shmoorkoff fills a roster spot created when the Rebels waived Latvian D Hugo Jansons, 17, who was Red Deer's first pick in the CHL's 2014 import draft. Jansons suffered an undisclosed injury early in the season and never did get into a game with the Rebels. He may end up playing in the USHL. . . . “It’s a situation where he came in and had a real tough camp,” Brent Sutter, the Rebels' owner, general manager and head coach, told Greg Meachem, the sports editor of the Red Deer Advocate. “To be quite honest, we were certainly expecting more after listening to his agent and other people (scouts) over there. That’s just the way it works sometimes, that there’s a misconception regarding the level of play in the CHL."---
D Evan Wardley of the Seattle Thunderbirds now has been suspended six times for a total of 21 games over the past two-plus seasons. . . . His latest suspension was handed down Wednesday, this one for five games after he took a checking-from-behind major and game misconduct during a game against the host Saskatoon Blades on Saturday. . . . On that night, he was playing in his fourth game since serving a seven-game suspension for a headshot major and game misconduct in an Oct. 11 game in Portland. . . . Last season, he drew a four-game sentence for a charging major against Portland on Nov. 1 and a two-game suspension for a boarding major against Kamloops on Dec. 31. . . . In 2012-13, he sat out one game after picking up his third game misconduct on Jan. 5 against Spokane and two games after collecting his fourth game misconduct of the season against Everett on March 9.
---
Having played two games for Team WHL against a Russian side in the Subway Super Series, F Greg Chase has returned home to await a trade. The Calgary Hitmen are working to do just that. Whether that happens, or when it happens, apparently won't have anything to do with Chase's Team Canada fortunes. "We had Greg at our summer camp and I've got a real good feeling for Greg watching him play a lot with the Hitmen," Hockey Canada head scout Ryan Jankowski old Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix. "I'm comfortable knowing what I know right now." . . . Chase was a healthy scratch from a game in Saskatoon on Nov. 3. He left the Hitmen and now is awaiting a trade. . . . He didn't hurt his cause with two solid performances with team WHL. . . .
G Bolton Pouliot, 20, who has had stints with the Kamloops Blazers and Portland Winterhawks already this season, now is with the AJHL's Calgary Canucks. Pouliot, who is from Calgary, was released by the Winterhawks last week. . . .
Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province hits the nail squarely on its head right here, as he writes that young hockey players, like G Eric Comrie of the Tri-City Americans, are being asked to play far too much hockey.
---
WEDNESDAY'S GAMES:
In Prince Albert, the Regina Pats erased a 1-0 deficit with eight straight goals, six of them in the second period, as they beat the Raiders, 8-3. . . . F Pavel Padakin led the Pats with two goals, giving him five, and two assists. . . . Pats F Austin Wagner added his fifth goal and two assists. . . . Regina G Daniel Wapple stopped 41 shots. . . . Regina F Morgan Klimchuk scored his fifth goal to give his side a 2-1 lead at 15:49 of the first period. The goal came while the Pats were shorthanded; it was the only special teams goal in the game. . . . The Raiders have lost three in a row. . . .In Moose Jaw, G Justin Paulic turned aside 31 shots to lead the Warriors to a 6-2 victory over the Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . With G Zach Sawchenko out with an undisclosd injury, Paulic was backed up by Brody Wilms, an eighth-round pick in the 2013 WHL bantam draft. Wilms, from Coquitlam, B.C., plays at the Okanagan Hockey Academy in Penticton, B.C. . . . Paulic, 19, went 12-29-8 last season with Moose Jaw, but Sawchenko grabbed the starting job this season. As a result, Paulic won his first game of the season last night and now is 1-4-1. . . . After Seattle scored the game's first goal, the Warriors took control with four goals in a row. . . . D Tyler Brown was back in Moose Jaw's lineup after sitting out with an undisclosed injury. . . . The Thunderbirds were without F Mathew Barzal, who has been on crutches due to an undisclosed injury. I didn't see the game on Shaw-TV last night, but there were reports that the telecast crew reporting Barzal could be out for two months. . . . Matthew Gourlie of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald has a game story right here.
In Vancouver, F Carter Popoff scored twice in 36 seconds and the Giants went on to a 6-2 victory over the Tri-City Americans. . . . Popoff's goals, at 15:04 and 15:40 of the second period, gave the Giants a 3-0 lead. He's got 10 goals. . . . Vancouver F Johnny Wesley, added to the lineup from the BCHL's Surrey Eagles, scored 10 seconds into the first period. . . . Interestingly, each of Vancouver's goals included just one assist. . . . Among Tri-City's scratches was F Richard Nejezchelb. . . . Vancouver G Cody Porter stopped 19 shots, 18 fewer than Tri-City's Evan Sarthou.
---
I fought two times last week and nobody said anything.
— Conner Bleackley (@Bleacks9) November 12, 2014
The AHL’s Manchester Monarchs have signed G Ty Rimmer to an ATO (amateur tryout agreement). Rimmer played out his junior eligibility with the Lethbridge Hurricanes, leading the WHL in miutes played (2,310) and saves (2,106). He finished 24-30-10, 3.19, .912. . . . Rimmer, who turns 21 today, is represented by Turning Point Sports Management. . . . The Monarchs are affiliated with the NHL's Los Angeles Kings.
The Edmonton Oilers have signed F Travis Ewanyk to a three-year, entry-level NHL contract. Ewanyk, 19, was a third-round selection in the NHL’s 2011 draft. He was limited to 11 games last season because of shoulder problems, but came back in time for the Oil Kings’ championship playoff run. This season, he put up 23 points and had 119 penalty minutes in 58 games.
In Saskatoon, G Cam Lanigan stopped 42 shots as the Medicine Hat Tigers beat the Blades, 3-0. . . . The Tigers hold a 2-0 lead in the series after sweeping the Blades in a first-round series a year ago. . . . Lanigan has stopped 84 of 85 shots over two games. . . . Saskatoon now has lost 10 straight playoff games. . . . F Trevor Cox got his second goal in two nights, this one on the PP at 3:32 of the second, and it stood as the winner. . . . Medicine Hat F Mile Koules had a goal and an assist. . . . The Blades were without F Jessey Astles, who drew a ‘tbd’ suspension under supplemental discipline for a first-period hit on Medicine Hat F Matt Staples, who left the game and didn’t return. Staples, who has concussion-like symptoms, was scratched from Game 2, with F Steven Owre taking his place in the lineup. The length of Astles’ suspension is expected to be finalized on Monday. . . . The Blades inserted F Ryan Graham in Astles’ spot. Saskatoon also dressed D Kyle Schmidt and took out D Nelson Nogier. . . . Saskatoon was without F Erik Benoit (undisclosed) for the first two games. . . .
In Edmonton, F Stephane Legault had a seven-point night as the Oil Kings whipped the Kootenay Ice, 9-0. . . . Legault scored three times, added four assists and was a plus-4. . . . The WHL record for most points in a playoff game is eight, shared by F Dave Chartier of the Brandon Wheat Kings (March 27, 1981) and F Alfie Turcotte of the Portland Winterhawks (March 26, 1983). Chartier had five goals and three assists in a 13-4 victory over the visiting Regina Pats. Turcotte was four and four in a 13-4 victory over the host Seattle Breakers. . . . Edmonton G Laurent Brossoit stopped 28 shots for his third career playoff shutout. . . . Edmonton struck for five goals in the last 12 minutes of the first period. . . . F Michael St. Croix had a goal and two assists, F Trevor Cheek had two goals and an assist — and was plus-5 — and D Martin Gernat had three assists. . . . 
In Calgary, G Chris Driedger turned aside 39 shots to lead the Hitmen to a 3-1 victory over the Swift Current Broncos. . . . The Hitmen led 3-0 before F Adam Lowry ruined Driedger’s shutout bid at 10:19 of the third on a PP. . . . F Cody Sylvester, F Greg Chase and F Victor Rask scored for Calgary, the first two in the second period, the latter in the third. . . . 
In Red Deer, G Patrik Bartosak stopped 31 shots to lead the Rebels to a 3-0 victory over the Prince Albert Raiders. . . . Bartosak was the Eastern Conference’s first-team all-star goaltender. . . . F Brooks Maxwell scored 25 seconds into the game — he tipped in a point shot by D Brady Gaudet — and the Rebels were never caught. . . . F Rhyse Dieno scored Red Deer’s second goal, at 19:04 of the first. Just before that, at 16:19, Dieno came up short on a penalty shot attempt. . . . Prince Albert G Luke Siemens made 27 saves. . . .
In Spokane, F Alessio Bertaggia broke a 1-1 tie at 11:15 of the first period and the Chiefs went on to a 4-1 victory over the Tri-City Americans. . . . F Mitch Holmberg scored twice for the Chiefs, while D Brenden Kichton and D Reid Gow each had two assists. . . . Spokane G Eric Williams stopped 26 shots. . . . D Brandon Carlo, a 16-year-old from Colorado Springs playing his first WHL game, scored for the Americans. He tied the game at 6:36 of the first period. Carlo is in the lineup replacing the injured Mitch Topping. . . .
In Portland, G Austin Lotz stopped 55 shots to lead the Everett Silvertips to a 4-3 victory over the Winterhawks. . . . Lotz, who was making his first career playoff start, has performed this kind of larceny at least one other time. On Feb. 7, he turned aside 65 shots in a 4-3 OT loss in Kamloops. . . . The Silvertips had lost their previous 10 playoff games. . . . F Kohl Bauml scored twice for the Silvertips. His first goal, at 3:25 of the third, gave Everett a 3-1 lead. His second goal, at 12:46, gave Everett a 4-2 lead. . . . Portland fired 22 shots at Lotz in the third period and finally got a PP goal from F Nic Petan with 16 seconds remaining. . . . Portland G Mac Carruth turned aside 27 shots. . . .
In Kamloops, F JC Lipon broke a 2-2 tie at 4:37 of the third period and the Blazers went on to beat the Victoria Royals, 3-2. . . . Lipon scored twice, while F Steven Hodges had two goals for Victoria. . . . Kamloops G Cole Cheveldave stopped 22 shots, with 11 of those coming in the third period. He made four game-saving stops in the third period. . . . G Patrik Polivka, who hadn’t played since March 5, was back in goal for the Royals. He made 33 saves. . . . The Royals were without F Alex Gogolev, their leading scorer. He is out long-term after undergoing surgery to repair damage to a leg from a skate cut. . . . Victoria also was without D Tyler Stahl, its captain. Originally, the Royals had him in the lineup, with question marks beside D Ryan Gagnon and D Isaac Schacher. Stahl took the warmup and then was scratched, with Gagnon and Schacher both staying in and playing. . . .
In Kelowna, F Luke Lockhart scored the game’s last two goals as the Seattle Thunderbirds beat the Rockets, 5-4. . . . The Rockets took a 4-3 lead by scoring in the last minute of the second period (F Tyson Baillie on a PP at 19:02) and in the first minute of the third period (F Myles Bell at 0:59). . . . Lockhart scored at 13:30 to force OT and then won it at 19:09 of the first extra-time period. . . . Seattle G Brandon Glover stopped 35 shots, 10 fewer than Kelowna’s Jordon Cooke. . . . D Jesse Forsberg and F Roberts Lipsbergs each had a goal and two assists for Seattle. . . . Lipsbergs assists came on Lockhart’s goals. . . . D Damon Severson scored once and added two assists for Kelowna.
Hunt, D Tye Hand, D Luke Fenske and D Colby Williams all have been out with “upper-body injuries.” Each of the players is believed to be concussed, with Hunt and Williams both out with their second concussions of this season. . . . The Pats have gone over the 300-game mark for man-games lost to injury and illness.
The Everett Silvertips have signed head scout Bil La Forge through the 2014-15 season. La Forge is in his fifth season with Everett and his second as the organizations’s head scout. La Forge, 38, also has worked for the Tri-City Americans and Lethbridge Hurricanes. La Forge, who is from Edmonton, is the son of the late Bill La Forge, who was a well-known junior hockey coach and coached in the WHL with the Regina Pats, Kamloops Blazers and Tri-City Americans.
In Kennewick, Wash., F Connor Rankin scored three times and added two assists as the Tri-City Americans got past the Kootenay Ice, 6-4. . . . The victory was the 40th of the season for the Americans, the seventh straight season in which they have done that. That equals the WHL record that is shared by the Kamloops Blazers (1989-96) and Regina Pats (1979-86). . . . The Americans are the only franchise to accomplished it with all seven seasons coming since the institution of the bantam draft. . . . “It’s a pretty special night,” Tri-City GM Bob Tory told me, “considering all the injuries this season. I am very proud of my players and our program.” . . . In reference to Tory, head coach Jim Hiller told Annie Fowler of the Tri-City Herald: “I’m pretty happy for the guy who has done more work than anyone to make it happen.” . . . F Tyler Fraser made his WHL debut with the Americans, the ninth affiliated player to get into their lineup this season. . . . The Ice held a 3-2 lead halfway through the game. . . . Rankin, who got his 30th goal into an empty net, tied the score at 10:13 of the second and F Mitch Messier broke the tie 17 seconds into the third period. . . . Rankin scored at 14:56, before F Jaedon Descheneau got his 25th goal at 18:42. . . . Descheneau also had two assists. . . . Tr-City got a goal and two assists from each of Rankin’s linemates, Brian Williams and F Parker Bowles. . . . Ice G Mackenzie Skapski, who set a single-season franchise record with his 58th appearance on March 1, played in his 61st game. The previous record had been shared by Clayton Pool (1998-99), Jeff Glass (2003-04) and Nathan Lieuwen (2011-12). . . . Tri-City G Troy Trombley stopped 33 shots in running his record to 8-2-0. . . . The Americans remain fourth in the Western Conference, one point ahead of the Spokane Chiefs. . . . The Ice is eighth in the Eastern Conference, three points behind the Medicine Hat Tigers and six ahead of the Lethbridge Hurricanes, who have five games left. . . .
In Kamloops, F Cole Linaker broke a 2-2 tie at 9:15 of the third period to give the Kelowna Rockets a 3-2 victory over the Blazers. . . . Linaker has two goals this season. He scored his first on one on Dec. 30 in a 5-1 victory over the visiting Everett Silvertips. . . . The Blazers, who had won their previous four games, led 2-0 at 6:09 of the first period but didn’t score again. . . . Kamloops F Brendan Ranford scored his 20th goal and it was his 350th career point, leaving him sixth in franchise history. . . . Kelowna F Myles Bell, who sat out a game after suffering a leg injury in Kamloops on Sunday, scored his 37th goal. . . . Kamloops continues to be without F Matt Needham, who hasn’t played since Feb. 15. . . . The Rockets can wrap up first place in the B.C. Division with a regulation-time victory over the Blazers tonight in Kelowna. . . . The Rockets, with 100 points, hold a five-point leave and Kamloops has three games remaining. . . . 
In Victoria, F Jack Walker broke a 3-3 tie at 4:26 of the third period as the Royals dropped the Vancouver Giants, 5-3. . . . The Royals had lost their previous 11 games. . . . Walker’s eighth goal of the season came off an assist from his older brother, Ben. . . . F Brandon Magee got his 30th goal for Victoria when he scored shorthanded at 7:36 of the first period. . . . Vancouver F Alex Baer, a Minnesota high school star playing in his third WHL game, scored his first goal at 17:00 of the second period, pulling his side into a 3-3 tie. . . . Giants F Cain Franson had his 28th goal and two assists. . . . Victoria got two goals and an assist from Steven Hodges. He’s got 27 goals. . . . The Royals are sixth in the Eastern Conference and appear headed to a first-round matchup with Kamloops. . . .
In Saskatoon, F Josh Nicholls scored two shorthanded goals and added an assist as the Blades dropped the Medicine Hat Tigers, 6-3. . . . Nicholls has 44 goals. . . . The Blades scored the game’s first four goals. . . . F Boston Leier scored twice for the Tigers, giving him 17. . . . Saskatoon G Andrey Makarov turned aside 40 shots. . . . The Blades will win the East Division pennant and are one point behind the Calgary Hitmen, who are second in the Central Division and third in the Eastern Conference. The teams are reseeded by points after the first round. . . .
In Moose Jaw, Swift Current F Adam Lowry scored two first-period goals and the Broncos beat the Warriors, 2-1. . . . Lowry’s second goal, at 15:58, was his 200th career point. . . . Broncos F Coda Gordon drew two assists. . . . Moose Jaw G Justin Paulic stopped 17 shots in his 22nd consecutive start. . . . Broncos G Eetu Laurikainen turned aside 25 shots. . . . 
In Regina, the Pats scored six times in the second period and dumped the Prince Albert Raiders, 6-2. . . . F Lane Scheidl scored twice for Regina, giving him 37. . . . Regina F Mogan Klimchuk scored his 35th goal. . . . Regina G Matt Hewitt stopped 28 shots. . . . Although he didn’t play last night, the Pats have added D Sean Whelan to their roster. He had been with the SJHL’s Kindersley Klippers and their season is over. . . . The Raiders, who have lost four in a row, can finish no higher than fifth in the Eastern Conference. They now are three points ahead of Swift Current. . . . Regina, which won’t make the playoffs, has won four of five. . . . 
In Kent, Wash., F Jake Mykitiuk scored in the circus to give the Prince George Cougars a 2-1 victory over the Seattle Thunderbirds (of Kent). . . . D Taylor Green got his second goal of the season for Seattle, via the PP, at 15:30 of the first. . . . Cougars F Troy Bourke tied it with his 14th at 4:42 of the second. . . . Mykitiuk scored in the fifth round of the shootout. . . . The Thunderbirds are seventh in the Western Conference, three points ahead of Everett.
The Tri-City Americans have signed F Fraser Bulbuc, 17, and he will spend the next week with the club. Bulbuc, 6-foot-0 and 180 pounds, is from Sherwood Park, Alta., and plays for the AJHL’s Sherwood Park Crusaders. He has seven points and 127 penalty minutes in 43 games this season. Last season, with the midget AAA Sherwood Park Kings, he had 14 points and 16 penalty minutes in 25 games.
The Vancouver Giants have signed Alec Baer, a forward who, according to a Giants’ news release, is “the No. 1-rated player” from Minnesota. Baer, 15, had been playing high school hockey with Benilde-St. Margaret's. According to the news release, “Baer was rated as the #1 Freshman in Minnesota by Western College Hockey SB Nation.” . . . He had 16 points in 19 games as a freshman with Benilde-St. Margaret's. . . . More from the Giants’ news release: “Baer participated in the Giants' Rookie Training Camp last August and finished camp as the leading scorer. The numbers Baer put up at camp haven't been seen at a Giants' camp since Gilbert Brule.”
In Brandon, F Jayce Hawryluk broke a 2-2 tie at 15:56 of the third period, on the PP, and the Wheat Kings beat the Kootenay Ice, 3-2. . . . Hawryluk, who has points in each of his last seven games, had sat out Brandon’s last game for school-related issues. . . . He has 16 goals. . . . F Tim McGauley had two assists for Brandon. . . . D Ryan Pulock scored his 13th goal and added an assist for Brandon. . . . Brandon G Jordan Papirny stopped 27 shots for his first WHL victory. . . . The Ice is three points behind the Lethbridge Hurricanes, who hold down the Eastern Conference’s last playoff spot. . . . 
In Medicine Hat, the Tigers ran their winning streak to five games with a 5-3 victory over the Prince George Cougars. . . . Prince George has lost five of six. . . . F Curtis Valk had a goal and two assists for the winners, who erased a 3-2 second-period deficit. . . . Valk broke a 3-3 tie with his 36th goal 28 seconds into the third period. . . . F Colin Jacobs scored three times for the Cougars, giving him 21. . . . With G Brett Zarowny (concussion) still out of action, the Cougars had Matt Kustra, a 15-year-old from Yorkton, Sask., on the bench in support of starter Mac Engel. Kustra, a 2012 draft pick of the Cougars, plays for the midget AAA Notre Dame Hounds in Wilcox, Sask. . . . Medicine Hat G Marek Langhamer stopped 37 shots. . . . 
Posts
