Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia, KHL) recalled F Andrej Šťastný (Vancouver, 2010-11) from Dukla Trenčín (Slovakia, Extraliga). This season, with Slovan Bratislava, he had three goals and two assists in 29 games. In two games with Dukla Trenčín, he had one assist. . . .
Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia, KHL) recalled F Andrej Kudrna (Vancouver, Red Deer, 2008-11) from Banská Bystrica (Slovakia, Extraliga). This season, he had one assist in seven games with Slovan Bratislava and 12 goals and 15 assists with Banská Bystrica.
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THE LAST ON LEON . . .
Maybe it's just me, but I'm thinking there are some terrible optics surrounding the trade that got German F Leon Draisaitl, 19, to the Kelowna Rockets.By now, you will be aware that Draisaitl, the third overall pick in the NHL’s 2014 draft, had been with the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers after spending the last two seasons with the WHL’s Prince Albert Raiders.
At the moment, the Rockets are one of the WHL’s top two or three teams, while the Raiders are outside the playoff picture.
As a result, when the Oilers finally decided to return Draisaitl to the WHL, they dictated that it wouldn’t be with the Raiders. In fact, they pretty much told Prince Albert GM Bruno Campese that they wanted Draisaitl in Kelowna.
“I had a real specific destination in mind for Leon and I talked to Bruno Campese many times throughout the year, saying it was very unlikely that he’d be reassigned back to P.A.,” Oilers GM Craig MacTavish told Oilers Today. “. . . I think for obvious reasons, Kelowna was the destination for Leon and I think this is going to be extremely important for his development.”
Campese, meanwhile, was putting a positive spin on all of this.
“To have been able to get into a position to acquire assets at this time for us, it’s almost a gift,” Campese told Jeff D’Andrea of panow.com. “People can look at it in any way they want but, up to several days ago, we had nothing for Leon Draisaitl. Today, we’re sitting here announcing that we got two, we feel, quality players, plus a couple of draft picks which include the first-round pick.
“When you add all that to the mix, we feel we’ve been very fortunate.”
D’Andrea’s piece is right here.
Don’t forget, too, that Bruce Hamilton, who is the president and general manager of the Rockets, also is the chairman of the WHL’s board of governors. He also is on Hockey Canada’s management committee. He is, without a doubt, the most powerful man in the WHL today. At the same time, he is tight with a number of people in the Oilers’ front office, making you wonder if there was even one other team in the WHL that had a shot at landing Draisaitl. What if a team just outside the top four felt Draisaitl could push it over the top so offered up a couple of players and two first-round draft picks? Would that offer have been taken seriously? Or was this a one-way street with an NHL team operating as the traffic cop?
And if that was the case, as it certainly appears to have been, was it all OK with the other 21 teams?
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Meanwhile, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, in his weekly 30 Thoughts piece, writes that a European team actually inquired about acquiring Draisaitl’s services.
“Before Edmonton sent Leon Draisaitl back to the WHL,” Friedman writes, “a European team reached out about sending him there, a la William Nylander and Toronto. It appears that club was Adler Mannheim of the German Elite League. Draisaitl has a history in the city and the team is coached by Geoff Ward, who won a Stanley Cup as a Boston assistant in 2011. Might have been a nice fit, but obviously didn’t happen.”
Friedman’s latest 30 Thoughts piece is right here.
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The Lethbridge Hurricanes have claimed Austrian F Florian Baltram off waivers from the Seattle
Thunderbirds. Baltram, 17, was released Monday by the Thunderbirds after Danish F Roberts Lipsbergs, 20, returned from the ECHL’s Stockton Thunder. . . . Baltram had a goal and four assists in 35 games with the Thunderbirds. . . . The Hurricanes also dropped F Dexter Bricker, 19, from their roster. He is expected to join the SJHL’s Melfort Mustangs. Bricker, from Saskatoon, had three goals and an assist in 38 games.---
The Medicine Hat Tigers are having a tough time getting to Victoria, so tonight’s game against the Royals has been postponed until Thursday, 7 p.m. . . . It will be televised by Shaw-TV. . . . The Interior of B.C. was hit hard by snow from Sunday morning through early Tuesday morning. Kamloops, for example, experienced the largest single-event snowfall since 1927. As a result, a number of highways have been closed, mostly for avalanche control. . . . The Tigers arrived in Revelstoke on Tuesday at 1 a.m., only to find the highway ahead of them closed for avalanche control. In late afternoon, they decided to spend the night in Revelstoke. . . . Shortly after that decision was made, it was revealed that the highway may not open until at least noon today, which wouldn’t leave the Tigers nearly enough time to get over the Coquihalla Highway to the ferry. . . . Instead of playing three games in four nights in the B.C. Division, the Tigers now will play three-in-three as they are scheduled to meet the Giants in Vancouver on Friday and the Rockets in Kelowna on Saturday. . . . BTW, on Tuesday, there was a lot of freezing rain in the Interior.—
In lieu of the postponed game tonight, the Royals have invited fans to the Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre for a meet-and-greet with head coach Dave Lowry and D Joe Hicketts, both of whom were part of Canada’s victory at the WJC in Toronto on Monday night. . . . The rest of the Royals also will be on hand. . . . It all starts at Gate 1, 6 p.m., with a 90-minute free skate to start at 6:30 p.m.---
With Tanner Faith’s season over thanks to a shoulder injury, the Kootenay Ice are in the market for a veteran defenceman, but general manager Jeff Chynoweth isn’t about to trade away any of his aces. . . . Taylor Rocca of the Cranbrook Daily Townsman has more right here.---
The Regina Pats named F Braden Christoffer, 20, as their new captain on Tuesday. A new captain was needed after D Kyle Burroughs was dealt to the Medicine Hat Tigers on Monday. . . . Christoffer, from Sherwood Park, Alta., is in his third season with the Pats. . . . The Pats will go with F Patrick D’Amico, F Pavel Padakin and D Colby Williams as alternates.
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F Keegan Iverson of the Portland Winterhawks drew a two-game suspension for a match penalty he received on Sunday against the visiting Seattle Thunderbirds. Iverson had tape on a hand during a fight in which an opponent was injured. . . . He will sit out games tonight and Friday in Spokane. . . .
F Garrett Armour of the Saskatoon Blades got a two-game suspension for a boarding major and game misconduct he incurred for a hit on F Jantzen Leslie of the visiting Everett Silvertips on Saturday. . . . The Blades’ next two games are Friday in Lethbridge and Saturday in Cranbrook.
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TUESDAY’S GAMES:
In Brandon, the Everett Silvertips struck for three second-period goals and went on to beat the Wheat Kings, 5-0. . . . Everett G Austin Lotz, a native of St. Adolphe, Man., had family and friends on hand as he made his first career start in his home province a great one. He made 39 saves, including 21 in the first period. . . . He has three shutouts this season and nine in his career. . . . Everett was 3-for-7 on the PP, gettings its first two goals with the man advantage. . . . F Carson Stadnyk scored twice, giving him 15, while F Ivan Nikolishin had two assists. . . . F Remi Laurencelle added his eighth goal and an assist, while F Patrick Bajkov got his 13th goal and also had an assist. . . . D Reid Gow, who left the U of Manitoba Bisons to join the Wheat Kings, made his Brandon debut. . . . The Wheat Kings scratched F Rihards Bukarts with an undisclosed injury and D Ivan Provorov, who played for Russia at the WJC. . . . The Silvertips remain without D Kevin Davis, who has an undisclosed injury. . . . Everett (24-11-4) is 3-0-0 on a six-game East Division swing that continues tonight in Regina. . . . The Wheat Kings (29-8-4) had won five straight and had points in each of their previous 10 games (8-0-2). . . . 
In Moose Jaw, the Calgary Hitmen scored three first-period goals and went on to a 6-1 victory over the Warriors. . . . F Connor Rankin scored his 19th goal, on a PP, at 3:07 of the first and F Carsen Twarynski got his third 1:14 later as the Hitmen got off to a hot start. . . . F Adam Tambellini upped the lead to 3-0, with his 23rd, at 16:29. . . . Tambellini finished with two goals and an assist, while F Chase Lang got his 17th goal and added an assist. . . . Calgary D Jake Bean, 16, had three assists. He’s got 18 points, all assists, in 29 games. . . . G Brendan Burke, acquired from Portland on Tuesday, hadn’t yet joined the Hitmen, so they had Thomas Spence of Moose Jaw backing up Mack Shields. It was the fourth time that Spence, 18, has served as an emergency backup in a WHL game. . . . D Reid Zalitach, 18, who left the Warriors for personal reasons early in November, has returned to the team. He was a scratch from this one and likely won’t play for a week as he works on his conditioning. . . . D Connor Clouston, acquired by the Warriors from the Kamloops Blazers earlier in the day, wasn’t in Moose Jaw in time to play. . . . Moose Jaw F Brayden Point, part of the golden Canadian team at the WJC, was to have played, but his equipment didn’t arrive in time. . . . Calgary F Jake Virtanen, who also played for Canada, wasn’t scheduled to play. . . . The Hitmen lost F Taylor Sanheim to a headshot major and game misconduct at 15:02 of the second period. . . . The Hitmen (22-15-3) have won two in a row. . . . The Warriors slipped to 16-21-4. . . . Matthew Gourlie of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald has a game story right here. . . . He also has a story right here on the Warriors’ Tuesday trades.
In Prince George, the Cougars scored five times in the third period and beat the Tri-City Americans, 8-4. . . . The Americans took a 4-3 lead into the third period. . . . Cougars F Zach Pochiro tied it with his eighth goal at 2:57 of the third period and F Colby McAuley gave his guys the lead with his third of the season at 6:56. . . . F Brad Morrison had two goals, giving him 14, and two assists for the Cougars. He also was plus-5. . . . F Chase Witala, playing his 200th regular-season game with Prince George, got his 22nd goal. . . . Cougars F Jansens Harkins had three assists. . . . The Americans got two goals from F Beau McCue, giving him 16. . . . The Americans had D Mark Drohan in their lineup. A 16-year-old from Calgary, he plays for the AJHL’s Fort McMurray Oil Barons. He is expected to return to Fort McMurray after the Americans and Cougars play in Prince George again tonight. The Cougars (20-21-0) had lost their previous two games. . . . The Americans (18-19-2) have lost four in a row (0-3-1).---
Compete is not a noun. I'm looking at you, athletes, coaches and scouts. I cringe every time someone says, "His compete is... blah, blah."
— Cory Wolfe (@corywolfe) January 7, 2015
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20, from the NHL's Los Angeles. . . . Roach played three games with the ECHL's Ontario Reign, earning three assists. . . . The Kings signed him as an undrafted free agent. . . . Roach, from Quesnel, B.C., has 83 points, 23 of them goals, in 184 games with the Hitmen. . . . His return leaves the Hitmen with four 20-year-olds, one over the roster limit. They will have 14 days to move Roach, D Jesse Zgraggen, F Brady Brassart or D Jaynen Rissling.
In Lethbrige, F Jessey Astles had two goals and two assists as the Tri-City Americans dropped the Hurricanes, 8-1. . . . The Hurricanes have played 17 games this season and won only two of them. They are 2-12-3 and already nine points out of a playoff spot. . . . Astles, who has a career-high four goals this season, went into the game with two assists in 16 games. He also was plus-4. . . . Going into this season, Astles had seven goals in 179 games. . . . F Devon McAndrews, who joined the Americans from the AJHL this week, had a goal, his first, and two assists. He also finished plus-4. He had two assists in 13 games with the AJHL's Spruce Grove Saints. . . . Tri-City G Eric Comrie stopped 24 shots for the victory; his brother Ty, 16, scored his first WHL goal. . . . The Americans have points in five straight (4-0-1). . . . F Parker Bowles scored for a second straight game for the Americans. He had missed the season's first 18 games as he recovered from offseason shoulder surgery. . . .
In Prince George, the Kelowna Rockets scored the game's last three goals and beat the Cougars, 4-1. . . . Kelowna F Carter Rigby picked up an assist in his first game this season after recovering from shoulder woes. . . . The Rockets had beaten the host Cougars 7-6 in a shootout on Friday night. . . . Kelowna (11-2-2) has won four straight and leads the B.C. Division by three points over the Victoria Royals (10-8-1), who have played three more games. . . . F Tyrell Goulbourne was scratched by the Rockets after suffering an undisclosed injury on Friday. . . .
In Victoria, the Royals scored the game's first three goals and beat the Red Deer Rebels, 3-1. . . . Victoria F Steven Hodges, who played his first game of the season on Friday, drew two first-period assists. He had been recovering from offseason shoulder surgery. . . . This was the first time in four opportunities that Victoria head coach Dave Lowry had earned the victory over Red Deer GM/head coach Brent Sutter. Lowry was an assistant under Sutter for three seasons with the NHL's Calgary Flames. . . .
In Swift Current, the Broncos scored six third-period goals and beat the Saskatoon Blades, 7-6. . . . Saskatoon actually took a 5-1 lead into the third period. . . . Swift Current F Graham Black tied it at 11:36 of the third period and F Connor Sanvido won it at 19:15. . . . Black finished with two goals and two assists, getting a goal and two helpers in the third period. . . . Saskatoon F Matt Revel scored a natural hat trick, getting three goals in 10:53, the first coming in the first period and last two in the second. . . . Swift Current had a 23-7 edge in third-period shots. . . . Saskatoon F Nikita Scherbak, a Russian freshman, ran his point streak to 11 games with a first-period assist. . . . Tweet from Blades radio voice Les Lazaruk (@Bladesvoice): "I believe it was the late, great Jack Buck who said it, but I can't believe what I just saw. @bladeshockey L 7-6 in Swift. Led 5-1 after 40." . . . The Broncos have won four in a row; the Blades have lost four straight. . . .
In Moose Jaw, F Dakota Conroy scored at 2:53 of OT to give the Raiders a 3-2 victory over the Warriors. . . . Raiders D MacKenzie Johnston had forced extra time with a goal at 16:47 of the third period. It was his first goal of the season. . . . Johnston, 20, who was acquired last month from the Kelowna Rockets, has nine goals in 246 career games. . . . The Raiders (11-6-1) lead the East Division and are one point behind the Eastern Conference-leading Medicine Hat Tigers (11-3-2). . . .
In Everett, G Daniel Cotton stopped 16 shots as the Silvertips blanked his old club, the Seattle Thunderbirds, 5-0. . . . Cotton has three career shutouts, one this season. . . . All of his shutouts have been with Everett. He played 18 games with Seattle -- one in 2010-11 and 17 in 2011-12 -- before he ended up in Everett. . . . F Josh Winquist scored twice, giving him 13 on the season. . . . Everett held a 12-2 edge on shots in the first period and 11-5 in the second. . . . The Silvertips (11-3-2) are three points off the U.S. Division lead. . . . The Silvertips have added F Darcy DeRoose, 18, to their roster, although he didn't play in this one. A native of Weyburn, Sask., he had been with the SJHL's Estevan Bruins, for whom he had 12 points, eight of them goals, in 14 games. Earlier in his career, he played three games with the Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . Everett F Dawson Leedahl didn't play as he is awaiting word on a suspension after a checking-from-behind major in Friday's 6-3 loss to the visiting Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . Seattle was without F Roberts Lipsbergs (undisclosed injury) and D Evan Wardley, who is awaiting word on a suspension after he took out Portland F Adam De Champlain one night earlier during a 5-2 loss in Kent, Wash. . . . 
In Kamloops, D Brett Kulak's shootout goal gave the Vancouver Giants a 4-3 victory over the Blazers. . . . The Giants have won four of five, with the victories all coming on the road. In the last week, they won twice in Kamloops and twice in Prince George. . . . Blazers F Nick Chyzowski, 16, scored his first two WHL goals, pulling his side into 2-2 and 3-3 ties in the third period. He is the son of former Blazers F Dave Chyzowski. . . . F Aspen Sterzer had three assists for Kamloops. . . .
In Spokane, the Portland Winterhawks ran their winning streak to 11 games with a 3-1 victory over the Chiefs. . . . The defending-champion Winterhawks have the WHL's best record, at 14-3-1. . . . Portland has won six in a row on the road. . . . Portland F Oliver Bjorkstrand scored the game's first goal to run his point streak to 12 games. . . . Portland F Nic Petan drew an assist on that goal and is riding an 11-game point streak. . . . Petan finished with three assists. . . . Spokane F Mitch Holmberg had his season-opening point streak stopped at 17 games. He put up a league-leading 42 points over that stretch. . . . The Winterhawks next play Wednesday against the visiting Tri-City Americans. . . . The Chiefs (12-5-0) are three points in back of the Winterhawks.
The NHL had one of its dimmer moments Saturday when it announced that Philadelphia Flyers G Ray Emery wouldn't be suspended for his Friday night assault on Washington Capitals G Braden Holtby. . . . Apparently, the NHL doesn't have a rule that covers an assault on an unwilling dance partner. . . . John MacKinnon of the Edmonton Journal gives the NHL a few jabs 
F Andrej Kudrna (Vancouver, Red Deer, 2008-11) was assigned to Skalica (Slovakia, Extraliga) by Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia, KHL) for the rest of this season. He has one goal in 13 games for Slovan and 10 goals and three assists in 18 games for Skalica this season. . . .
F Parker Stanfield (Prince George, Everett, 2007-11) signed a contract for the rest of this season with Poprad (Slovakia, Extraliga). He had six goals and seven assists in 33 games with the Bakersfield Condors (ECHL) this season. . . .
F Marek Curilla (Kootenay, Medicine Hat, 2005-06) signed a contract for the rest of this season with Zvolan (Slovakia, Extraliga) after obtaining his release from Most (Czech Republic, 1. Liga). He had six goals and 11 assists in 40 games with Most this season.
of violations of WHL Regulations.”
are wearing new and different sweaters. Here’s how Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix described the sweaters as “featuring navy blue, royal blue and grey strips and a stylized ‘Blades’ logo where the ‘L’ is a hockey stick.” . . . These sweaters are the result of a contest in which fans were asked for design ideas. . . . Nugent-Bowman reports that there were 113 entries. Those were whittled down to five and then put to a fan vote. . . . The winning design is from Fabio Burà of Switzerland.
Bliss Littler, the head coach of the NAHL’s Wentchee Wild, has drawn a five-game suspension and assistant coach Chris Clark is gone indefinitely. That is the fallout from Clark’s turn as a blindman during a recent game in Wenatchee.
In Regina, F Lane Scheidl scored twice and added an assist to help the Regina Pats to a 3-2 victory over the Wheat Kings. . . . The Pats had lost eight straight. . . . Brandon has dropped four in a row. . . . Scheidl has 26 goals. . . . He broke a 2-2 tie at 17:28 of the third period. . . . F Jayce Hawryluk had both Brandon goals, giving him 13. . . . G Jordan Papirny, 16, the 22nd selection in the 2011 bantam draft, made his WHL debut with the Wheat Kings. They are without Corbin Boes (knee) and have been going with Curtis Honey. . . . Papirny stopped 21 shots and was returned to the midget AAA Edmonton-South Side Athletic Club Athletics after the game. . . .
In Moose Jaw, D Morgan Rielly drew four assists as the Warriors doubled the Medicine Hat Tigers, 8-4. . . . The teams combined for seven goals in the second period, with F Curtis Valk scoring three times for the Tires, two of them on the PP. . . . Moose Jaw emerged with a 5-3 lead. . . . Valk has 32 goals. . . . Moose Jaw F Bryson Gore, who went into the game with 10 points, had a goal, his seventh, and two assists. . . . The Warriors now have won four of five. . . .
In Saskatoon, G Andrey Markarov posted his WHL-leading sixth shutout as the Blades dumped the Calgary Hitmen, 6-0. . . . He has a franchise-record eight shutouts in his WHL career, having broken the record he had shared with Braden Holtby (2006-09). . . . Makarov made 42 saves as the Blades won their third in a row. He has allowed one goal in the three victories. . . . F Brenden Walker and F Nathan Burns each had two goals for Saskatoon. . . . The Hitmen are three games into a nine-game road swing. . . . F Brooks Macek of the Hitmen played in his 300th regular-season game. . . . Blades F Josh Nicholls scored his 33rd goal, to give him 286 career points. He had bee tied with Saskatoon associate coach David Struch for 12th on the Blades’ alltime list. . . . Saskatoon F Shane McColgan picked up two assists, giving him 250 career points. . . .
In Edmonton, G Laurent Brossoit stopped 23 shots as the Oil Kings beat the Swift Current Broncos, 3-0. . . . Brossoit has three shutouts this season and eight in his career. . . . Edmonton has won seven in a row and leads the Eastern Conference standings by nine points over Calgary. . . . F Curtis Lazar scored the game’s first two goals, giving him 26. . . . The Oil Kings have won 13 of 15, blanking the opposition in six of those games. . . .
In Kamloops, F Kale Kessy and F Colin Smith enjoyed five-point nights as the Blazers downed the Spokane Chiefs, 8-4. . . . Kessy had two goals and three assists in what was the first five-point game of his career. . . . Smith had a goal and four assists for his second five-point outing. . . . Smith also earned his 250th career point. . . . F Tim Bozon, the third member of that line, had two goals, giving him 31, and two assists. . . . F Mitch Holmberg had three goals for the Chiefs, giving him a career-high 30 on the season. He scored 27 last season. Holmberg also has a career-high in points (57), two more than he recorded last season. . . . Spokane D Jason Fram left the game at 8:45 of the second period. Unable to put weight on his left leg, he needed help getting off the ice and didn’t return. . . .
In Prince George, F Chase Witala scored three times to help the Cougars to a 6-2 victory over the Victoria Royals. . . . Witala scored the Cougars’ first two goals, at which point he had scored his team’s previous five goals. . . . He has 14 goals this season, six of them in his last three games. . . . Cougars D Dallas Ehrhardt had a goal and two assists. . . . The Cougars were awarded two penalty shots in this one. F Colin Jacobs beat G Coleman Vollrath t 7:14 of the second period; F Jarrett Fontaine was foiled by G Patrik Polivka at 13:38 of the third. . . . The Royals were coming off a 6-1 loss to the Rockets in Kelowna on Thursday night. Not many teams play one night in Kelowna and the next night in Prince George. . . . The Cougars are without G Brett Zarowny (concussion), so had Ty Edmonds, 16, on the bench, backing up Mac Engel. Edmonds plays for the MJHL’s Virden Oil Capitals. . . .
In Everett, the Tri-City Americans scored twice in the circus and beat the Silvertips, 2-1. . . . F Malte Strömwall gave the Americans a 1-0 lead just 23 seconds into the first period. . . . F Logan Aasman pulled Everett even at 4:25 of the third. . . . F Justin Feser and Strömwall scored shootout goals to win it. . . . With G Austin Lotz (foot) out, the Silvertips had Nik Amundrud, 15, on the bench in support of starter Daniel Cotton. Amundrud was a third-round selection in the 2012 bantam draft. He is playing with the midget AAA Tisdale, Sask., Trojans.
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