Portland finally lands Koules, also trims goaltender . . . Blazers add two coaches

Don't be looking for anything here for the next two or three days. We are heading for the hinterland where Internet coverage has been known to be awfully spotty -- in other words, keeping the laptop in the bag lowers the frustration level!
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The Seattle Thunderbirds added a key component to their roster on Sunday when the Montreal Canadiens returned D Evan Wardley, 20, to the WHL team. . . . Wardley's arrival left Seattle with four 20-year-olds, the others being F Justin Hickman, D Adam Henry and G Taran Kozun. . . . That was one over the limit, but the Thunderbirds dealt with that situation on Monday, as we shall see.
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With his Saskatoon Blades at 0-4, freshman general manager/head coach Bob Woods said on Sunday that no one in the organization is hitting the panic button. But he told Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix that the team isn't through making changes, explaining that he wanted to add a 20-year-old defenceman before Oct. 15.
On Monday, the Blades acquired that 20-year-old defenceman, getting Adam Henry from the Seattle Thunderbirds. By day's end, the Blades had traded away two defencemen, acquired one (Henry) and released two other players.
The Blades dealt D Turner Ottenbreit, 17, to Seattle for Henry.
Henry, from Winnipeg, turns 20 on Nov. 24. He was a third-round selection by the Lethbridge Hurricanes in the 2009 bantam draft. Since then, he has played 176 regular-season games and has put up 76 points, 16 of them goals. The Hurricanes traded him to Seattle early last season; he recorded 38 points, seven of them goals, in 64 games with the Thunderbirds.
Ottenbreit, from Yorkton, Sask., was a 12th-round selection by the Blades in the 2012 bantam draft. The 6-foot-4, 180-pounder was pointless in 10 games with the Blades last season. This season, he has one goal in two games. He looked wobbly on Friday night after taking two shots to the chin from Brandon Wheat Kings F Jesse Gabrielle during a scrap and then was scratched from Saturday's game in Moose Jaw against the Warriors.
Henry's arrival leaves the Blades with three 20-year-olds, the others being F Sam McKechnie, another former Hurricanes player whom Saskatoon acquired from Seattle last week, and F Brett Stovin.
F Chase Clayton, 20, who had been on the Blades' roster, was one of the players released yesterday. From Abbotsford, Clayton also has played with the Calgary Hitmen. In 245 regular-season games, he has 84 points, including 32 goals. He was pointless in four games this season, after putting up 11 goals and 11 assists in 58 games with Saskatoon last season.
Also being released by Saskatoon was D Tyler Dea, a 19-year-old from St. Albert, Alta. He has three assists in 37 career games; he was pointless in two games this season.
Meanwhile, the Blades dealt D Ayrton Nikkel, 19, to the Swift Current Broncos for D Cole Bevan, 18, and a seventh-round pick in the 2015 bantam draft.
Bevan, a 6-foot-1, 208-pounder from Cloverdale, B.C., has two assists in 18 regular-season games with the Broncos. He was a 10th-round pick in the 2011 draft.
Nikkel, from Kelowna, also has played with the Brandon Wheat Kings and Everett Silvertips. He was pointless in three games with the Blades this season. In 173 career regular-season games, he has 34 points, including eight goals. A native of Kelowna, he was a second-round pick of the Blades in the 2010 bantam draft.
On Sunday, the Montreal Canadiens released F Nikita Scherbak from their training camp roster and he joined the Everett Silvertips. That completes the deal in which Scherbak moved to Everett from the Blades. Everett gave up G Nik Amundrud, 17, a first-round pick in the 2015 bantam draft and a second-rounder in 2016. The draft picks had been conditional on Scherbak being assigned to Everett.
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The Spokane Chiefs have acquired F Calder Brooks, 20, from the Prince Albert Raiders for a fifth-round selection in the 2015 bantam draft. . . . From Emerald Park, Sask., Brooks was an eighth-round pick by the Calgary Hitmen in the 2009 bantam draft. The Raiders acquired him from Calgary midway through last season. In 144 regular-season games, he has 68 points, including 26 goals. This season, he has a goal and an assist in two games. . . . The move leaves the Raiders with three 20s -- D Sawyer Lange, F Dakota Conroy and F Jayden Hart, who turns 20 on Dec. 14. . . . The Chiefs' roster now features four 20s, with Brooks joining F Connor Chartier, F Marcus Messier and F Liam Stewart.
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The Medicine Hat Tigers have traded F Miles Koules, 20, to the Portland Winterhawks for a fourth-round selection in the 2017 bantam draft. . . . Koules, from Los Angeles, had played 141 regular-season games with the Tigers, putting up 92 points, including 45 goals. Last season, he had 51 points, 25 of them goals, in 70 games. He has one goal in two games this season. He is the son of former WHLer Oren Koules (Portland, Great Falls Americans, Medicine Hat, Spokane Flyers, Calgary, Brandon, 1979-82). . . . If you are wondering who has Koules family bragging rights, Dad had 154 points, including 60 goals, in 179 regular-season games. . . . “It’s hard," Miles told Ryan McCracken of the Medicine Hat News. "When you’re an older guy, you’re a leader and you just have to be up front and show the young guys that things are good. . . . But it’s alright, it’s good news to be going to a great team like that, but the Tigers are a great team as well.” . . . Originally, Koules's WHL rights were held by the Everett Silvertips. They dealt him to Medicine Hat for F Reid Petryk at the trade deadline during the 2011-12 season. Before that deal was made, there had been speculation that Koules would end up with Portland. . . . It is believed that Portland tried hard to acquire Koules, but that Doug Soetaert, then Everett's GM, wouldn't move him within the U.S. Division. . . . The Winterhawks now are carrying four 20s -- Koules, D Josh Hanson, F Travis McEvoy and D Joshua Smith, who turns 20 on Oct. 10. . . . It also is interesting that the Winterhawks' 27-man roster now includes 14 American-born players, although both those numbers will change on Tuesday (see next item). . . . The Tigers' roster now includes three 20s -- D Tyler Lewington, who will be 20 on Dec. 5, D Kyle Becker and G Marek Langhamer.
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The Portland Winterhawks got down to two goaltenders on Monday as they assigned Michael Bullion to the NAHL's Wenatchee, Wash., Wild. . . . Bullion, 17, is from Anchorage, Alaska. He played one regular-season game with Portland, giving up five goals on 33 shots. . . . Bullion, who split last season between the junior A Toronto Jr. Canadiens and the midget AAA Toronto Marlboros, was a ninth-round selection by the Winterhawks in the 2012 bantam draft. . . . The move leaves Portland with veteran Brendan Burke and newcomer Adan Hill, 18, as its goaltenders. Hill, from Calgary, was 4-0-0/1.65/.934 in four games last season with the Winterhawks; this season, he is 0-2-0/3.98/.905.
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The Kootenay Ice has released F Shane Allan, who turns 17 on Dec. 19, and D Mark O'Shaughnessy, 17. Allan will play for the midget AAA Calgary Royals, while O'Shaugnessy joins the BCHL's Vernon Vipers. . . . The Ice also released Russian F Alexander Chirva, 18. Chirva had six points, two of them goals, in 58 games with the Moose Jaw Warriors last season. This season, he had one goal in three games with the Ice. . . .After Chirva was released by the Warriors, the Ice selected him in the 2014 CHL import draft. . . . Kootenay is left with one import player, but Rssian D Rinat Valiev, who turns 19 on Oct. 5, is out for up to four weeks with an undisclosed injury. . . . Kootenay is carrying 23 players, including eight defencemen and 13 forwards. Included are two 20-year-olds -- F Levi Cable and F Austin Vetterl. . . . Asked about Chirva by Taylor Rocca of the Cranbrook Daily Townsman, Ice GM Jeff Chynoweth responded: "First of all, we expected more. Secondly, with some of our younger players, they might be behind him at this point, but by Christmas time they would be ahead of him and he’s taking ice time away from some of those younger players.” . . . As for having an import opening and a 20-year-old opening, Chynoweth told Rocca: “We’re just going to play it out. . . . We’ll see what happens in the next few weeks. As teams start to play more games and their numbers get set there’s going to be more players available. Whether they’re 20-year-olds or import players, there’s going to be some options to look at.” . . . The Ice also holds the rights to F Tim Bozon, 20, who is with the AHL's Hamilton Bulldogs and G Mackenzie Skapski (AHL-Hartford Wolf Pack). . . . Rocca's story is right here.
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Matthew Gourlie of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald reports that Warriors D Austin Adam, who suffered a shoulder injury in a Saturday game, doesn't need surgery, but still might miss eight weeks. . . . Gourlie's story is right here.
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Bob McKenzie of TSN takes an early look right here at some players who remain in NHL camps but still are being watched closely by Canada's national junior team. That includes F Curtis Lazar of the Edmonton Oil Kings, who is having a solid camp with the NHL's Ottawa Senators.
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Larry Brooks of the New York Post has been watching with interest as NHL teams have been hiring numbers people who specialize in analytics. But, he wonders "why there isn’t more information available to an inquiring, inquisitive and educated public than exists in any forum that hasn’t been bought and paid for by NHL teams?" . . . Could it be that hockey has its head in the sand when it comes to marketing statistics to fans? . . . Brooks' piece is right here.
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The 42nd anniversary of Paul Henderson's winning goal in Game 8 of the Summit Series came and went on Sunday. Right here is a piece that Lance Hornby of the Toronto Sun wrote two years ago, providing some inside info on the series.
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The Portland Winterhawks slipped to 0-5 as they were swept in a weekend doubleheader by the visiting Everett Silvertips. The Winterhawks are 0-5 for the first time since 1999-2000. . . .The Kamloops Blazers have added Terry Bangen and Chris Murray as part-time assistant coaches. Bangen, who also is an assistant coach with the UBC Thunderbirds, spent five seasons as an assistant coach with the Blazers under head coaches Tom Renney and Don Hay. Murray played three seasons (1991-94) with the Blazers and was on two Memorial Cup-winning teams. He works full-time as a member of the Kamloops Fire Department. . . .
The Victoria Royals have signed G Griffen Outhouse, 16, who was added to their list in 2013. Outhouse, from Williams Lake, B.C., is playing for the major midget Cariboo Cougars, who play out of Prince George. He played last season with the POE U-16 team, going 2.88/.882 in 12 appearances. . . . Kamloops Blazers D Patrik Maier has been suspended for three games for a Friday night headshot on Victoria F Axel Blomqvist. Maier sat out Saturday's rematch in Victoria, which the Royals won 4-3 in OT. Blomqvist missed that game and Sunday's 5-3 loss to the Giants in Vancouver. . . .
Victoria D Ryan Gagnon was given a two-game suspension for a charging major he incurred in Friday's game against visiting Kamloops. He served his suspension by missing Saturday and Sunday games. . . . D Riley Hillis of the Tri-City Americans will sit for two games after being hit with a clipping major and game misconduct at Spokane on Saturday, while Chiefs D Tamas Laday got a one-game suspension for a charging major and game misconduct in the same game. . . . The major midget Okanagan Rockets' Twitter account revealed Monday that D Nolan Kneen will make his WHL debut with the host Kamloops Blazers against the Swift Current Broncos on Wednesday. Kneen, from North Vancouver, was the third-overall selection in the 2014 bantam draft.
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Exciting team but still bad crowds for the #WHLGiants at the Pacific Coliseum.
— News1130 Sports (@News1130Sports) September 29, 2014

Just wondering how long owner Ron Toigo will be patient, he's lost lots of money the last 2 years.
— News1130 Sports (@News1130Sports) September 29, 2014

Can't see Toigo staying at Coliseum long term, if crowds don't improve.
— News1130 Sports (@News1130Sports) September 29, 2014

Import draft has two agents seething . . . In the NHL, it's only money

F Chuck Kobasew (Kelowna, 2001-02) has signed a two-year contract with Bern (Switzerland, NL A). Last season, with the Pittsburgh Penguins (NHL), he had two goals in 33 games, and in 12 games with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (AHL), he had 13 points, 11 of them goals, in 12 games. . . .
F Willie Coetzee (Red Deer, 2007-10) has signed tryout contract with the Graz 99ers (Austria, Erste Bank Liga). Coetzee was with the Grand Rapids Griffins (AHL) last season, but hurt a knee in training camp and missed the season. In 2012-2013, with the Toledo Walleye (ECHL), he had 68 points, including 28 goals, in 64 games. He led the Walleye in goals, assists and points. He also was pointless in one game with Grand Rapids. . . .
F Oscar Möller (Chilliwack, 2006-08) was released by Skellefteå (Sweden, SHL) in order for him to sign a two-year contract with Ak Bars Kazan (Russia, KHL). Last season, with Skellefteå, he had 45 points, 27 of them goals, in 48 games. He led his team in goals, led the league in PPG (15) and finished sixth in the league scoring race. Under the terms of his release, Möller will return to Skellefteå in 2016-17 to complete the remaining three years on a contract he signed in February 2013.
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The CHL’s import draft has always been driven by agents; in fact, you could make the case that it is owned by agents.
When the CHL decided to ban the picking of goaltenders in the import draft there are people out there who were surprised that the agents seemed to let it slide by with nary a peep.
Which brings us to Wednesday and the 2014 import draft.
For starters, it seems there are some new rules governing the draft. As Mark Staudinger (@MarkStaudz), who scouts the WHL for Red Line Report, tweeted: “Not only are Euro Goaltenders no longer allowed, but also major financial changes. Teams now penalized for signing players to huge packages.”
No, I don’t know what he meant by “huge packages.” Wink! Wink!!
And so it was that the OHL’s Sarnia Sting selected Czech F Pavel Zacha with the first pick of Wednesday’s draft. It was a move that brought howls of protestation from Allan Walsh, one of the most outspoken agents in the hockey world.
Walsh (@walsha) tweeted:
1. “Sarnia was advised that Pavel Zacha has a professional contract in Czech Republic for 2 more years and has no interest in playing for them.”
2. "Sarnia just wasted the #1 overall pick in the CHL Import Draft on a player who's not coming and has a professional contract. #RookieGM.”
3. “Looking forward to Sarnia's statement on how pleased they are to draft Pavel Zacha. #Wasted#1Pick.”
The 6-foot-3, 220-pound Zacha is projected as a top-10 selection in the NHL’s 2015 draft. The Hockey News reported in April that Zacha had signed a three-year contract with Liberec of the Czech Extraliga.
Nick Sinclair, the Sting’s first-year general manager, told Brent Boles of the Sarnia Observer: “With the import draft there's always some uncertainty with the players coming over here. It's a calculated risk that we took. . . . We're optimistic that Sarnia can be a place that will really enhance his draft status.”
Sinclair also said he took Zacha because he was seen as the best player available.
“Skates very well, very skilled, good hockey sense – he's got all the tools to be a real good NHL player,” said Sinclair. “Hopefully, Pavel will be wearing our jersey come September.”
A team took the best player available. Isn’t that the way drafts are supposed to work? Well, not when the agents are used to running the show.
Which brings us to the 13th selection of the 2014 import draft, where the OHL’s Mississauga Steelheads picked Swedish F William Nylander, who had been selected by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round of the NHL’s 2014 draft.
It wasn’t long after Mississauga had taken Nylander that journalist/author Gare Joyce was tweeting about another “pissed” agent.
Joyce (@GareJoyceNHL) tweeted three times:
1. “agent 4 @MapleLeafs 1st-rounder Nylander sez he ‘had no communication w Mississauga Steelheads’ who picked client 13th in CHL import draft.”
2. “Agent Theofanous pissed that Steelheads jumped in. ‘I would not have made the pick w/o talking to agent or client.’ ”
3. “Theofanous: ‘It's William's intention to play for @MapleLeafs next yr, not junior.’ ”
That would be agent Paul Theofanous of Theofanous Management International.
So there were at least two angry agents when the CHL’s latest import draft drew to a close. You can bet there were more than that many CHL general managers giggling about it.
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1. The WHL’s 22 teams combined to select 29 players, 20 of them in the first round, in Wednesday’s import draft. The Prince George Cougars, who held the 15th pick, and Portland Winterhawks, who had No. 59, both passed as each already has two imports, none of whom are NHL first-round draft picks, on its roster. With teams now prohibited from trading import draft selections, the Cougars and Winterhawks simply passed. . . . All told, nine of the CHL’s 60 teams passed in the first round, and only 20 players were taken in the second round. When it was all over, 51 teams had taken 71 players from 12 countries.

2. The Prince Albert Raiders held the 24th pick in the first round, but that moved up No. 20 due to teams passing in front of them. With that selection, the Raiders took Czech F Simon Stransky, who turns 17 on Dec. 21. He is the younger brother of former Saskatoon Blades F Matej Stansky (2010-13). . . . The Raiders have two other imports on their roster, the other two being German F Leon Draisaitl and Czech D Tomas Andrlik. Draisaitl was taken third overall by the Edmonton Oilers in the 2014 NHL draft, so the Raiders are allowed to keep three imports on their roster until his immediate future is decided.

3. The Kootenay Ice took Russian F Alexander Chirva, 18, in the first round. He played last season with the Moose Jaw Warriors, putting up six points, two of them goals, in 58 games. . . . Kootenay’s roster also includes Swiss/French F Tim Bozon, 20, who is expected to play professionally if sufficiently recovered from his bout with Neisseria meningitis, and Russian D Rinat Valiev, 19.

4. The Seattle Thunderbirds used the 42nd selection on Danish F Alexander True, who turns 17 on July 17. His father, Soren, was a 12th-round selection by the New York Rangers in the NHL’s 1986 draft. He later played three seasons in the now-defunct IHL with teams in Flint, Mich., Albany, N.Y., San Diego and Phoenix. . . . Alexander also is a cousin to F Nikolaj Ehlers, who was taken ninth overall by the Winnipeg Jets in the NHL’s 2014 draft. Ehlers played last season with the QMJHL’s Halifax Mooseheads, putting up 104 points in 63 games.

5. The Brandon Wheat Kings used the 25th pick on Russian D Ivan Provorov, 17. He played last season with the USHL’s Cedar Rapids RoughRiders, picking up 19 points, including six goals, in 56 games. Provorov spent the 2012-13 season with a midget team in Wilkes-Barre Scranton, earning 97 pints in 51 games. . . . Provorov joins Latvian F Rihards Bukarts, who turns 19 on Dec. 31, and Czech F Richard Nejezchleb, 20, on Brandon’s roster. . . . Teams are allowed to have two imports on their rosters, but Brandon was allowed to make one selection because Nejezchleb is entering his final year of junior eligibility and could turn pro. The New York Rangers took him in the fifth round of the NHL’s 2014 draft.

6. The Spokane Chiefs, with the 36th pick, took D Tamás Láday of Hungary. According to the Chiefs, he is 6-foot-7 and 212 pounds. “Tamás’s size allows us to get bigger as a team, an area which we felt we needed to improve on,”Chris Moulton, the Chiefs’ director of player personnel, said in a news release. “He is not afraid to engage physically. . . . He has a good skill set for a player with a very large frame. He moves well for a big man, so he does a great job of transitioning the puck. He looks to have a lot of upside and will make our team better in the future.”

7. The Swift Current Broncos used their first-round selection on Russian F Maxim Letunov, who played last season with the USHL’s Youngstown Phantoms, earning 43 points, 19 of them goals, in 60 games. The St. Louis Blues selected him 52nd overall in the NHL’s 2014 draft. . . . Because D Julius Honka was a first-round selection (Dallas Stars) in the NHL’s 2014 draft, the Broncos are allowed to carry three imports for now. So they selected Swedish F Andreas Schumacher in the second round. His brother, Michael, played two seasons (2011-13) with the OHL’s Soo Greyhounds before splitting last season between the AHL’s Lake Erie Monsters and the Central league’s Denver Cutthroats. He was selected by Los Angeles Kings in the seventh round of the NHL’s 2011 draft.

8. In the second round, the Kamloops Blazers took Swiss D Michael Fora, who turns 19 on Oct. 31. His agent is Hnat Domenichelli, a former Blazers forward (1992-96) who played 11 pro seasons in Switzerland. Domenichelli retired after the 2013-14 season.

9. The Red Deer Rebels used their first-round selection to take Latvian D Eduards Jansons, who turns 17 on Sept. 7. Jansons’ is represented by Hockey Hall of Famer Igor Larionov. “His agent . . . absolutely loves the player,” Brent Sutter, the Rebels’ owner, GM and head coach, told Greg Meachem of the Red Deer Advocate. “Igor thinks he’s going to be a real good pro.”

10. In chasing around Tuesday and reading about the NHL’s signing frenzy, I found this lead to a column by the Vancouver Sun’s always astute Iain MacIntyre on the Canucks’ signing of G Ryan Miller:
“Forget about the money because it’s Francesco Aquilini’s money and he has lots of it.”
Which is about when it finally hit me. The NHL has gotten to the same level of insanity as the NBA and much of Major League Baseball when it comes to paying players. In other words, forget about the money because it’s only money and there’s lots more where that came from.
So when you hear that the New York Islanders have signed F Nikolai Kulemin for four years at $4,187,500 per and F Mikael Gravovski for four years at $5 million you don’t need to roll your eyes. Remember: It’s only money.

11. The San Jose Sharks signed enforcer John Scott for one year at $700,000. This comes one day after the Calgary Flames signed D Deryk Engelland for three years and $8,750,000. Last season, Scott, with the Buffalo Sabres, made $750,000; Engelland, with the Pittsburgh Penguins, earned $575,000.

12. Capgeek.com’s latest figures for the NHL and its two-day-old free-agent feeding frenzy: 72 signings totalling US$550,300,000. . . . And the teams aren’t done yet.
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The Edmonton Oil Kings have re-signed head equipment manager Rogan Dean and head athletic therapist Brian Cheeseman. Dean, who is from Fort Saskatchewan, Alta., is preparing for his eighth season with the Oil Kings, while Cheeseman, from Mount Pearl, Nfld., is going into his fifth season in Edmonton. Cheeseman also spent one season with the Tri-City Americans. . . . F Brendan Ranford, who played five seasons (2009-13) with the Kamloops Blazers, has signed a three-year entry-level deal with the NHL’s Dallas Stars. Ranford, 22, played his first pro season in 2013-14, picking up 33 points, 12 of them goals, in 65 games with the AHL’s Texas Stars. He added 16 points, including eight goals, as the Stars won the Calder Cup in 21 games. . . .
F Jamie Lewis of the OHL’s North Bay Centennials has been hit with an eight-game suspension for an anti-doping rule violation. According to a news release from the CHL and the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport, the violation “resulted from a urine sample collected during in-competition doping control in May 2014 which revealed the presence of methylhexaneamine, a prohibited stimulant. Under the rules of the CHL Anti-Doping Policy . . . Lewis was assessed an eight-game suspension for a first violation for using a prohibited substance.” . . . From the same news release: “Methylhexaneamine is banned in competition by the World Anti-Doping Agencies Prohibited List which is recognized by the CHL. In Canada, methylhexaneamine is not an ingredient in medications licensed by Health Canada, but can be found in supplements.” . . .
Kaleb Toth (Prince Albert, Moose Jaw, Lethbridge, 1993-98) went on to a legendary pro lacrosse career after leaving the WHL. In fact, he scored 346 goals in 206 National Lacrosse League games. Toth, 36, now has been named an assistant coach with the NLL’s Vancouver Stealth. He also coaches the Nanaimo Timbermen of the Western Lacrosse Association.
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THE COACHING GAME:
Troy Mann is the new head coach of the Hershey Bears, the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Washington Capitals. Mann was an assistant coach with the Bears (2009-13), but spent last season as head coach of the ECHL’s Bakersfield Condors. . . Bryan Helmer, who played with the Bears and is the AHL’s all-time leading scorer among defenceman, signed on in Hershey as an assistant coach. He had been an assistant with the OHL’s Peterborough Petes. . . . Hershey’s head-coaching job opened up when Mike Haviland left to become the head coach at Colorado College.
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Way to go islanders!!!! Making a 40pt guy a 5 million dollar player!!! Grabovski?? 5 million??? I'm going back to the gym!! Good god
— Jeremy Roenick (@Jeremy_Roenick) July 2, 2014

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Seaman not expected in Brandon camp

THE MacBETH REPORT:
G Leland Irving (Everett, 2003-08) signed a one-month try-out contract with Jokerit Helsinki (Finland, SM-Liiga). He had a 3.33 GAA and a .883 save percentage in six games with the Calgary Flames (NHL) and a 3.40 GAA and a .884 save percentage in 12 games with the Abbotsford Heat (AHL) last season. . . .

F Brad Schell (Spokane, 1999-2004) signed a one-year contract with Milan Rossoblu (Italy, Serie A). He had 15 goals and 49 assists in 44 games with Lillehammer (Norway, GET-Ligaen) last season to finish fifth in league scoring and second in the league in assists. . . .

F Ales Kilnar (Vancouver, 2012-13) signed a one-year plus option contract with Orli Znojmo (Czech Republic, Austria Erste Bank Liga) after a successful tryout. He had two goals and one assist in five exhibition games during his two-week trial. Last season, Kilnar had no points in one game with the Vancouver Giants, no points in three games with Jokipojat Joensuu U20 (Finland, A-Junior SM-Liiga), four goals and seven assists in 15 games with Vitkovice Ostrava U20 (Czech Republic, Extraliga U20), and three goals and three assists in seven games on loan to Poruba (Czech Republic, 2. Liga). . . .

F Jaroslav Kristek (Tri-City, 1998-2000) signed a one-year contract extension with Neman Grodno (Belarus). He had 21 goals and 33 assists in 42 games last season to finish second in league scoring for the league champions from Grodno.
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Rob Henderson of the Brandon Sun reports that F Tyrel Seaman won’t be with the Brandon Wheat Kings when they open camp on Aug. 28.
Henderson writes: “Wheat Kings head coach/GM Kelly McCrimmon said . . . Seaman, who hasn’t played since Nov. 18, 2012 due to concussion issues, won’t be at training camp next week.”
Seaman, a 19-year-old from Choiceland, Sask., had eight points in 24 games last season, after putting up 19 points in 32 games as a sophomore. In 2010-11, he had eight points in 52 games.
Seaman suffered a brain injury in late November 2011, came back after the Christmas break and was re-injured in his first game back. He returned to play in the regular-season’s last four games.
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The Moose Jaw Warriors selected two Russian players — D Alexei Sleptsov and F Alexander Chirva — in the CHL’s 2013 import draft. They expect Sleptsov to arrive today, but Chirva’s arrival has been delayed. It seems a strike by Canada’s foreign service workers is causing problems with the visa process.
Matthew Gourlie of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald has more right here.
Gourlie also has reported that F Jordan Wyton, 20, won’t be returning to the Warriors, choosing instead to play for the AJHL’s Brooks Bandits. That leaves the Warriors with two 20-year-olds on their roster — F Todd Fiddler and F Sam Fioretti.
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The Moose Jaw Warriors have traded D Spencer Morse, 18, to the Red Deer Rebels for an undisclosed conditional selection in the 2016 WHL bantam draft. Morse, from Calgary, was a second-round selection by Moose Jaw in the 2010 bantam draft. The 6-foot-4, 200-pounder had five points in 46 games with the Warriors last sesaon. The pick starts out as a 10th-rounder and can improve from there, depending on what Morse brings to Red Deer.
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Kevin Sawyer is back with the Spokane Chiefs, this time as a part-time assistant coach working in the areas of player development and player evaluation. Sawyer, a former Chiefs captain (1994-95) and assistant coach, will work on a monthly basis. Last season, he filled a similar role while Spokane head coach Don Nachbaur was away as an assistant coach with Canada’s national junior team. Sawyer also was an assistant with the Chiefs from 2004-06. He also has worked on Chiefs’ broadcasts on SWX and WHL telecasts on Root Sports.
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Elmore Leonard died Tuesday at the age of 87. If you don’t know Leonard’s writing, it isn’t too late. . . . Right here is The New York Times obituary on Leonard.
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Steve Fainaru and John Barr of ESPN.com have written another incisive piece that involves a doctor, former NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue and the concussion-related lawsuit filed by more than 4,800 retired players against the NFL. That piece is right here.
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The Philadelphia Phillies fired manager Charlie Manuel earlier this week, replacing him with Ryne Sandberg (who really should be managing the Chicago Cubs, shouldn’t he?). . . . Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes right here about what it was like covering Manuel’s Phillies.
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From Corey Graham (@CoreyGraham): “Oil Kings have scheduled a presser with GM Randy Hansch and HC Derek Laxdal for (today). Just speculation, contract extension for HC?”

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