G Thomas Heemskerk (Kootenay, Everett, Moose Jaw, 2007-11) has signed a one-year contract with Miskolci Jegesmedvék (Hungary, MOL Liga). Last season, with the Quad City Mallards (CHL), he was 2.73 and .907 in 31 games. . . .
D Richie Regehr (Kelowna, Portland, 1998-2004) has signed a one-year contract with Red Bull Munich (Germany, DEL). Last season, with MoDo Örnsköldsvik (Sweden, SEL), he had 22 points, including six goals, in 52 games. He was an alternate captain. . . .
F Alexander Delnov (Seattle, 2012-14) signed a two-year, two-way contract with Yugra Khanty-Mansiysk (Russia, KHL). Last season, with Seattle, he had 63 points, including 29 goals, in 71 games.
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1. With G Dustin Tokarski having gotten the call with the Montreal Canadiens, Elliotte Friedman got to wondering: Whatever happened to Devan Dubnyk? . . . Friedman, of HNIC fame, answers that question and more in his latest 30 Thoughts. It’s all right here.
2. The Lethbridge Hurricanes have a new 15-year lease from the City of Lethbridge for the Enmax Centre. The lease, which runs through 2028-29, actually is for 17 years as it covers two seasons retroactively. Yes, negotiations actually began in April 2011. According to a news release from the City: “The new agreement includes a limited risk-reward structure that will result in fluctuating annual lease payments to the City based on 12 per cent of net ticket revenues each season. Also included is a commitment by the Hurricanes to pay the remainder of the club’s $2.5-million capital contribution to the (facility) renovations in 13 annual installments of $166,667, beginning in 2016. Two initial installments have already been paid.”
3. The AJHL held its annual meeting on the weekend in Red Deer and came up with a couple of interesting rule changes. It has the adopted the rule that prohibits a team that ices the puck from making any player substitutions. It also has decided that it won’t allow player substitutions by an offending team when “any player, excluding the goaltender, shoots or bats the puck directly out of the playing surface while in the defensive zone.” . . . After striking a committee to study whether to hold a player draft, and after hearing from that committee, the AJHL’s board of governors voted not to move forward in that area. . . . Each of the AJHL’s 16 teams will play 60 games in a regular season that will open on Sept. 5.
4. The junior B Port Moody Panthers, who play in the Pacific Junior Hockey League, made it official on Monday. They have hired the ubiquitous Brian Wiebe as their director of media and communications. According to a news release, he “volunteered with the Panthers in the same role in 2013-14, but will expand his duties in the upcoming season.” . . . Here’s more from that news release: “In addition to working with Port Moody, Wiebe is the assistant instructor and admissions co-ordinator for the Radio Arts and Entertainment Program at BCIT. He is also the play-by-play voice for SFU men's hockey, media relations director for BC Superweek, media manager for the Odlum Brown VanOpen and podcast host for the BC Intercollegiate Hockey League.” . . . As a writer, Wiebe contributes to the BCHL’s Smart Hockey magazine and has a blog, Brian’s Banter, that covers a whole lot of hockey. There’s a link to it over there on the right.
5. The Swift Current Broncos have signed D Dominic Schmiemann, who was the 12th overall selection in the WHL’s 2014 bantam draft. The 6-foot-3, 170-pound Schmiemann, from James River Bridge, Alta., had 15 points, three of them goals, in 33 games with the bantam Notre Dame Hounds last season.
6. The Regina Pats have signed F Luc Smith, a 6-foot-5, 202-pounder who was taken in the third round of the WHL’s 2013 bantam draft. Smith had 11 points, including eight goals, with the midget AAA St. Albert Sports Raiders last season. Smith took part in the Pats spring prospects camp on the weekend.
7. The BCHL’s Alberni Valley Bulldogs are hoping the city will give them a break in the cost of renting ice so that they can at least get into a breakeven situation over the next couple of seasons. Eric Plummer of the Alberni Valley Times has a piece right here that includes some numbers, if you are wondering what it costs to operate a junior A franchise.
8. It was a tough day for the New York Mets, who lost a game, their hitting coach, a veteran reliever and a top pitching prospect. First, the Mets were beaten, 5-3, by the Pittsburgh Pirates. Then, New York fired its hitting coach, Dave Hudgens, and released reliever Jose Valverde, who gave up four runs over the final two innings in what was a horrible collapse. As well, Noah Syndergaard, a top prospect, was diagnosed with a strained elbow. Tim Rohan of The New York Times has more right here on what was not a good day for the Mets.
9. On Jan. 9, 2011, F Brayden Schenn was with the Brandon Wheat Kings and was one of the top skaters in the WHL. The next day, the Wheat Kings dealt him to the Saskatoon Blades. . . . How did that trade work out? More than three years later, Alan Caldwell of Small Thoughts At Large has an intriguing look at it right here.
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D Jordan Thomson is joining the Saskatoon Blades, at least for three games. The Kamloops Blazers selected Thomson, now 17, with the fourth overall selection of the 2011 bantam draft. He left the Blazers earlier this season and subsequently was traded to the Blades, along with F Mitch Lipon and a first-round pick in the 2015 bantam draft for F Matt Revel, a third-round pick in 2016 and a conditional second-rounder in 2014. . . . After the trade, Thomson joined the MJHL’s Dauphin Kings, for whom he has two points in 13 games. He is expected to finish this season with the Kings, who are the host team for the Western Canada Cup. . . . Thomson, who hasn’t said he will join the Blades next season, is expected to practise with Saskatoon today and play Friday against the visiting Kootenay Ice. . . .
The Seattle Thunderbirds announced Tuesday that their 16th annual Hockey Challenge raised $200,000 for Ronald McDonald House Charities of Western Washington and Alaska. The Hockey Challenge was held Saturday, featuring six different games plus one between the Thunderbirds and Kamloops Blazers. . . . The event now has raised more than $4.5 million in its 16 years of existence. . . .
Nick Vitucci has resigned after almost five years as head coach of the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye. . . . The resignation is effective immediately. . . . Vitucci will remain with the organization, while assistant coach Dan Watson will serve as head coach through the rest of this season. . . . Toledo, which has lost eight in a row, is 16-31-4 and is fifth in the five-team North Division. Toledo’s 36 points leave it 13th in the 13-team Eastern Conference. 
In Regina, F Dyson Stevenson scored the game’s first three goals, all in the first period, and finished with four as the Pats drubbed the Lethbridge Hurricanes, 8-0. . . . Stevenson scored his first three goals in a span of 6:08, then added a fourth in the third period. . . . He has 33 goals this season. . . . F Morgan Klimchuk had a goal, his 26th, and four assists, while F Chandler Stephenson drew three assists. . . . Klimchuk has 14 points, including seven goals, in his last five games. . . . F Patrick D’Amico scored twice, giving him five this season. . . . Regina G Dawson MacAuley stopped 29 shots for his fourth shutout this season and the fourth of his career. . . . The Hurricanes have lost six in a row and been outscored 42-8 in the process. . . . Lethbridge F Seth Swenson played in his 300th regular-season game. He has played 19 games with Lethbridge, after suiting up 149 times with the Seattle Thunderbirds and 132 times with the Portland Winterhawks. . . . The Pats (35-22-6) are 8-0-1 in their last nine games and now lead the East Division by eight points over the Swift Current Broncos. . . . The Hurricanes (12-47-5) have the WHL’s poorest record. . . .
In Saskatoon, F Sam Fioretti broke a 2-2 tie in the third period and the Moose Jaw Warriors went on to a 5-2 victory over the Blades. . . . Fioretti scored his 15th goal of the season at 1:41. Teammate Josh Uhrich got his ninth at 2:35 and D Alexey Slepstov added his third, via the PP, at 3:48 as the Warriors put it away. . . . Warriors F Brayden Point had three assists. . . . Saskatoon F Nikita Scherback had one assist, running his assist and point streaks to 10 games. . . . F Logan Harland scored twice, giving him 10 goals, for the home side. . . . The Warriors and Blades hadn’t met since they went home-and-home on Nov. 8 and 9. They will meet again on March 7 in Saskatoon. . . . The Warriors (16-37-9) are 10th in the Eastern Conference, four points ahead of the Blades (16-42-5). . . .
In Medicine Hat, the Edmonton Oil Kings scored the game’s last four goals and beat the Tigers, 5-2. . . . Edmonton F Riley Kieser tied the game 2-2 with his 12th goal, shorthanded, at 7:14 of the second period. . . . Edmonton F Mads Eller gave his guys the lead, with his sixth goal, at 17:08 of the second. . . . F Henrik Samuelson of the Oil Kings got his 30th just 1:06 after that. He also had an assist, giving him 81 points in 55 games. Last season, he finished with 80 points, including 33 goals, in 69 games. . . . Edmonton D Ashton Sautner scored his eighth goal and drew three assists. In each of his first two seasons, Sautner, a 19-year-old from Flaxcombe, Sask., had two goals and 10 assists. This season, he has 39 points, including 31 assists. . . . Tigers F Markus Eisenschmid took a boarding major and game misconduct for a hit on F Ben Carroll at 15:47 of the third period. Before leaving, he fought Edmonton F Curtis Lazar, who took the instigating minor and a game misconduct. . . . These two teams meet again tonight in Edmonton. . . . The Oil Kings (44-15-2) are back atop the Eastern Conference, one point ahead of the idle Calgary Hitmen. . . . The Tigers (38-22-3) are fourth in the conference, five points ahead of the Kootenay Ice. . . .
In Kelowna, the Rockets scored six times in the second period and went on to beat the Prince George Cougars, 9-5. . . . The Rockets scored nine goals for the second time this season. They also did it in beating the host Portland Winterhawks 9-3 on Dec. 31. . . . The Cougars and Rockets were tied 1-1 after the first period. . . . The Rockets then took a 4-1 lead, before the Cougars scored two PP goals to get to within a goal. . . . The Rockets closed the period by scoring three times in 4:18. . . . F Tyrell Goulbourne scored three times for the Rockets; it was his first WHL hat trick. He’s got 15 goals this season. . . . F Marek Tvrdon added a goal, his seventh, and three assists for Kelowna. Tvrdon, 20, is playing on a line with Nick Merkley, 16, and Rourke Chartier, 17. Merkley had two goals, giving him 18, and Chartier added three assists. . . . F Todd Fiddler scored his 42nd goal and added three assists for the Cougars, while F Troy Bourke helped out with his 26th goal and two assists. . . . This was the third straight game (and fourth in 10 days) between these teams. They split a weekend doubleheader in Prince George. . . . When the Cougars won 2-1 on Saturday, it ended a 13-game losing skid versus the Rockets. . . . The Rockets went 7-1-0 against the Cougars this season, including 4-0-0 at home. . . . Kelowna (49-9-4) leads the overall standings by five points over the Portland Winterhawks. . . . The Cougars (26-32-8) are one point behind the Tri-City Americans, who hold down the Western Conference’s last playoff spot. The Americans hold four games in hand as the Cougars have only six games remaining. . . .
F Cameron Hughes of Edmonton, who was selected by the Swift Current Broncos in the ninth round of the 2011 bantam draft, has made a verbal commitment to attend the U of Wisconsin and play for the Badgers. It hasn’t yet been decided whether he will make the jump next season or in 2015-16. . . . Andy Johnson of buckys5thquarter.com writes: “Hughes was widely regarded as the top uncommitted forward in Western Canada. Early reports consider the elite-skating center a potential top-two round draft pick for the 2015 NHL draft.” . . . Hughes has 44 points, 17 of them goals, in 44 games with the AJHL’s Spruce Grove Saints.
The Kamloops Blazers apparently have decided to shut down F Tyson Ness and allow him to go home to Grande Prairie, Alta., to recover from a broken jaw suffered last month. . . . Jon Keen, the radio voice of the Blazers, tweeted this on Tuesday: “Despite a report injured Blazer F Tyson Ness would try and come back to play final wknd of the season, the decision has been made for Tyson to return home to Grande Prairie to recover from a broken jaw, ending his WHL career.” . . . The day after Ness was hurt, I reported that he had told people within the Blazers organization that he badly wanted to return to play one last game in order to end his career on his terms. That apparently won’t happen.
The SPHL’s Fayetteville FireAntz have named Emery Olauson as their head coach. Olauson, 32, is from Canmore, Alta., and played two seasons with the FireAntz. He replaces Greg McAuley, who resigned late last month in order to spend more time with his ailing mother. . . . Assistant coach Sean Edwards ran the bench for the last three games and will stay on under Olauson, who had been working as an assistant coach with the SJHL’s Flin Flon Bombers.
F Curtis Valk had a goal and two assists to lead the Medicine Hat Tigers to a 4-1 victory over the host Regina Pats. . . . Valk, who has 29 goals, ran his point streak to 11 games. . . . Medicine Hat G Marek Langhamer stopped 41 shots. . . . Regina’s lone goal came from F Chandler Stephenson, his 25th, on a second-period penalty shot. . . . The Tigers (30-19-3) are fourth in the Eastern Conference and visit the Eastern Division-leading Brandon Wheat Kings (27-19-6) tonight. . . . The Pats (27-22-5) are seventh. . . . 
In Prince Albert, the Raiders scored the game’s last four goals and beat the Swift Current Broncos, 5-2. . . . Raiders F Leon Draisaitl scored three times and added an assist, completing his first WHL hat trick into an empty net at 19:52 of the third period. He’s got 22 goals. . . . Draisaitl, a sophomore from Cologne, Germany, has 64 points in 44 games. Last season, he finished with 58 points, including 21 goals, in 64 games. . . . F Coda Gordon scored his 20th goal for the Broncos. . . . Prince Albert D Josh Morrissey drew three assists, giving him 48 points in 39 games. Last season, as a sophomore, he finished with 47 points in 70 games. Morrissey has a career-high 17 goals and his 31 assists are one shy of last season‘s career high. . . . F Collin Valcourt added a goal, his 17th, and two assists for the Raiders. . . . The start of the game was delayed after the Broncos encountered some minor bus problems en route. . . . Referees Jon Stephenson and Colin Watt called only two minor penalties, both to the Broncos. . . . Raiders G Cole Cheveldave stopped 34 shots. . . . The Raiders (24-25-3) are seven points out of a playoff spot. . . . The Broncos (26-20-8) are tied for fifth in the Eastern Conference but have lost two in a row and are 3-5-2 in their last 10. . . .
In Cranbrook, the Saskatoon Blades couldn’t handle Kootenay’s big line as the Ice skated to a 6-3 victory. . . . Jaedon Descheneau, Sam Reinhart and Zach Franko combined for 16 points as they scored all five Ice goals. . . . Descheneau had his third WHL three-goal game -- he’s got 34 goals -- and added three assists. . . . Franko scored twice, giving him 17 goals, and added three assists. . . . Reinhart picked up his 25th goal and drew four assists as he ran his point streak to 11 games. . . . Descheneau has 71 points in 51 games; Reinhart has 70 points in 41 games; Franko has 12 points in nine games since joining the Ice from the Kelowna Rockets at the trade deadline. On the season, he’s got 30 points in 48 games. . . . Reinhart has 20 points, nine of them goals, in eight games since rejoining the Ice from Canada’s national junior team. . . . D Tyler King was the only other Kootenay player with a point as he drew an assist on Franko’s empty-netter at 19:25 of the third period. . . . The Ice led this one 3-0 before the first period was half over. . . . Blades D Dylan Busenius, who played in his 299th regular-season game, had two assists. . . . The Ice (28-21-4) has won three in a row and seven of 10, and has moved into a fifth-place tie with Swift Current. . . . The Blades (14-37-4) have lost four in a row. . . .
In Vancouver, F Cain Franson scored his 21st goal of the season at 4:20 of OT as the Giants beat the Red Deer Rebels, 3-2. . . . Red Deer F Conner Bleackley forced OT with his 24th goal at 15:47 of the third period, via the PP. . . . The Giants led 2-0 in the second period. . . . Vancouver started a four-game homestand with the victory; Red Deer, which has lost three in a row, opened a four-game road trip. . . . F Aspen Sterzer had a goal, his 22nd, and an assist for the Rebels. . . . Russian D Dmitry Osipov, the first selection in the 2013 CHL import draft, got his second goal of the season for Vancouver. Osipov, 17, has two points, both goals, in 38 games. . . . Vancouver head coach Don Hay posted his 604th WHL coaching victory, moving him past Lorne Molleken and into second place on the all-time list. He trails only Ken Hodge (742). . . . Vancouver (27-19-9) is sixth in the Western Conference, four points behind the Spokane Chiefs. . . . Red Deer (27-22-4) holds down the Eastern Conference’s final playoff spot, seven points ahead of Prince Albert. . . . 
In Victoria, the Royals erased a 2-1 deficit with two goals 51 seconds apart late in the second period and went on to beat the Calgary Hitmen, 7-2. . . . Victoria F Austin Carroll, who scored three times for his second hat trick this season, tied it 2-2 at 18:46 and F Logan Nelson made it 3-2 at 19:37. . . . Carroll, who had scored just twice in his previous 13 games, now has 25 goals this season; Nelson has 17. . . . Carroll, a 19-year-old from Scottsdale, Ariz., scored 15 goals last season and seven as a rookie. He has 41 points in 52 games this season; last season, he finished with 42 in 67. . . . Victoria got two assists from each of D Jordan Fransoo, F Steven Hodges and F Tyler Soy. . . . Royals F Braden Oleksyn, a 17-year-old from Saskatoon who came to Victoria in a swap with Calgary, scored his first WHL goal. It came in his 11th game, four of which have been with the Royals. . . . Calgary F Brady Brassart reached the 100-goal mark in his 304th regular-season game. . . . Victoria G Coleman Vollrath stopped 24 shots. . . . The teams meet again tonight in Victoria. . . . The Royals (35-16-3) tied the franchise record set last season for victories in one season. They are 3-0-1 in their last four games and are third in the Western Conference, two points ahead of Seattle. . . . The Hitmen (32-15-6) have lost their last two and are 3-6-1 in their last 10. They are a comfortable third in the Eastern Conference. . . . 
In Kent, Wash., the host Seattle Thunderbirds scored the game’s last two goals and beat the Everett Silvertips, 5-3. . . . Seattle F Alexander Delnov broke a 3-3 tie with his 21st goal at 9:31 of the third period, with F Justin Hickman getting his second of the game and 15th this season at 14:55. . . . Hickman also had an assist. . . . F Mathew Barzal had a goal, his ninth, and two assists for Seattle, with F Ryan Gropp and B Branden Troock each getting two assists. . . . Seattle G Danny Mumaugh turned aside 34 shots. . . . Seattle (33-16-5) is 8-2-0 in its last 10. . . . Everett (26-20-8) is seventh, three points ahead of the Tri-City Americans. But while the Americans are 7-2-1 in their last 10, the Silvertips, who are battling injuries and a flu bug, are 2-7-1. 
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