Provorov shines for Wheaties . . . Oil Kings win on road . . . Thunderbirds fly high at home

As you will be aware, the WHL’s trade deadline slipped by on Saturday. . . . Alan Caldwell, the blogmaster at Small Thoughts At Large, sat down and took a trade-by-trade look at things. . . . That analysis is right here.
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The Red Deer Rebels have dropped D Austin Shmoorkoff, 17, from their roster. He is expected to join the junior B Beverly Warrior, who play in the Edmonton-based Capital Junior Hockey League. From Edmonton, he had gotten into only one game with the Rebels this season. Last season, he played in six games with Red Deer.
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Mark Rogers, a co-worker at the late Kamloops Daily News, now writes a regular column for The Armchair Mayor News, a Kamloops-centric website operated by Mel Rothenburger, a former KDN editor and a two-term mayor of the city. In his latest column, Rogers writes of the pressures faced by journalists and he points out that it doesn’t always involve violence. . . . That column is right here.
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SUNDAY’S GAMES:

In Calgary, the Brandon Wheat Kings erased a 2-0 second-period deficit and went on to beat the Hitmen, 5-4. . . . F Peter Quenneville pulled Brandon into a 2-2 tie at 16:14 of the second with his 10th goal. . . . Wheat Kings D Ivan Provorov gave his guys the lead with his 11th goal, on a PP, at 5:57 of the third. . . . Calgary F Connor Rankin tied it with his 21st goal at 7:02 of the third. . . . Brandon then took a 5-3 lead on goals from F John Quenneville, his 14th, at 8:11 and F Rihards Bukarts, his 15th, at 15:12 on a PP. . . . Provorov also had two assists, as did Patrick. . . . Rankin also had two assists for the Hitmen. . . . Brandon was 2-for-4 on the PP; Calgary was 1-for-2. . . . The Wheat Kings (30-9-4) had lost their previous two games. . . . The Hitmen (23-16-4) had points in each of their previous four games (3-0-1). . . .

Seen thousands of junior hockey goals in my life but Provorov's for wheat kings today one of the best. #justlikeorr
— Bruce Penton (@Bruceomin) January 11, 2015

WATCH: #BWK Defenceman Ivan Provorov scored an end to end beauty tonight --> http://t.co/jnyTT2lNF0 #goprovogo #bdnmb
— Brandon Wheat Kings (@bdnwheatkings) January 12, 2015

In Swift Current, the Edmonton Oil Kings scored the game’s first four goals en route to a 4-1 victory over the Broncos. . . . F Tyson Gruninger got Edmonton the board with his second goal at 3:19 of the first period. . . . It was the ninth straight game in which the Broncos surrendered the first goal. . . . Shawn Mullin, the Broncos’ radio voice, points out that they are 3-5-1 in those games. . . . Edmonton F Lane Bauer’s 13th goal, at 15:33 of the first, proved to be the winner. . . . D Ashton Sautner had two assists for the Oil Kings, giving him 101 career points, including 22 goals, in 236 regular-season games. . . . F Brett Pollock also had two assists for the Oil Kings. . . . Edmonton G Tristan Jarry stopped 31 shots, losing his shutout when D Max Lajoie scored his sixth goal, on a PP, at 15:30 of the third period. . . . Broncos F Jake DeBrusk was unsuccessful on a second-period penalty shot. . . . The Oil Kings improved to 21-17-5. . . . The Broncos (20-19-5) have lost three in a row (0-2-1). . . .

In Kent, Wash., the Seattle Thunderbirds took a 4-0 lead into the third period and went on to beat the Tri-City Americans, 4-2. . . . Originally, this game was to have been played on Saturday night. It was rescheduled to avoid a conflict with the Seattle Seahawks’ playoff game. . . . D Shea Theodore scored his fifth goal and added an assist for Seattle, which was 2-for-6 on the PP. . . . Tri-City was 0-for-1 on the PP. . . . F Cory Millette scored his ninth goal and added an assist for Seattle. He was playing his first game since being acquired from Prince Albert prior to the trade deadline. . . . Seattle G Taran Kozun stopped 31 shots, 11 fewer than Tri-City’s Evan Sarthou. . . . F Justin Gutierrez had two assists for the Americans. . . . A tweet from Thom Beuning, the radio voice of the Thunderbirds: In their last 9 games, the Thunderbirds have scored the first goal eight times, going 7-0-0-1.  The one game they didn't score first, they lost. . . . The Thunderbirds (20-16-5) had lost their previous two games (0-1-1). . . . The Americans (20-20-2) had won their previous two games.
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TWEET OF THE DAY:
This actually was from a Saturday game, but it's so good to see some fire that it's worth seeing a day late . . . 

.@SCBroncos bench boss Mark Lamb was not a fan of a few of the calls/non-calls during tonight's 3-1 loss to Everett pic.twitter.com/gAdQxp6wOw
— swbooster (@swbooster) January 11, 2015

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Rebels drop an import . . . Wardley gets five . . . More on McDavid

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.
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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!
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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.
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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.
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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.
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I fought two times last week and nobody said anything.
— Conner Bleackley (@Bleacks9) November 12, 2014

Blades, Warriors deal . . . A few veterans get releases

I realize that this blog is almost always about hockey. But allow me today to spend some space on the subject of domestic abuse.
I have been involved in the founding of two charities, one at the Regina Leader-Post and the other at the now-dead Kamloops Daily News, that worked to help shelters for abused women and their children.
That has at least something to do with why I didn’t understand when Roger Goodell, the boss of all things NFL, chose to whisper in the ear of Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice seven months ago, rather than suspend him for a long, long time.
The NFL, as you will have heard by now, indefinitely suspended Rice on Monday. The Ravens then released him.
Seven months ago, a video surfaced of Rice dragging his unconscious soon-to-be wife out of an elevator in a New Jersey casino. That video was taken from outside the elevator. Eventually, Goodell suspended Rice for the first two games of this regular season.
On Monday, TMZ released video from inside the elevator. It shows, among other things, Rice dropping his soon-to-be wife with a hard left hand.
Why Goodell didn’t suspend Rice indefinitely immediately upon seeing the first video is the $64-billion question. After all, as Goodell was watching that first video, how did he think Rice’s soon-to-be wife came to be in that condition?
Anyway . . .
There is some good reading available on this issue today.
Sally Jenkins of the Washington Post wonders about the NFL’s claim that no one in its office had seen the video from inside the elevator until Monday morning.
“That is almost surely not the truth, unless the NFL wanted it that way,” she writes. “This is a league that works with Homeland Security, confers with the Drug Enforcement Agency, collaborates with law enforcement and has its own highly equipped and secretive private security arm. You’re telling me it couldn’t get a hold of a grainy tape from an Atlantic City casino elevator? But TMZ could?”
Her column is right here.
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In light of the indefinite suspension handed to Rice, Christine Brennan of USA TODAY wonders why players like Ray McDonald of the San Francisco 49ers, Greg Hardy of the Carolina Panthers and Terrell Suggs of the Ravens, each of whom has been involved or is alleged to have been involved in a domestic abuse situation, haven’t been suspended in the same fashion. “(Suggs) played Sunday for the Ravens in their loss to the Cincinnati Bengals,” Brennan writes. “Why? Was it because there's no video? Of course it was. And he'll be playing this Thursday night on national television against the Pittsburgh Steelers, even though he shouldn't be, at least according to the NFL's new Rice standards, as of today.” . . . Brennan’s column is right here.
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Cam Cole of the Vancouver Sun writes that “to understand what did happen, you have to understand the public relations power, and influence, and the almost unbelievable tone-deafness of one of the most intimidating sports leagues in the world. Until TMZ leaked the surveillance tape Monday morning, that is.” . . . His column is right here.
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Cathal Kelly of The Globe and Mail:
“The NFL will try to quickly move the focus back onto the field. That will probably work. A lot of people howl about the NFL’s wobbly moral compass, and most of them watch 12 hours of football every Sunday.
“What won’t survive is our presumption of the league’s basic goodness. We assume that most right-minded people would watch that video and be shocked into action.
“Apparently, the NFL was not.”
Kelly’s column is right here.
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THE DEAL: The Saskatoon Blades get F Josh Uhrich, 18, from the Moose Jaw Warriors for a fourth-round selection in the 2015 bantam draft.
THE SKINNY: Uhrich, from Rosetown, Sask., played for the midget AAA Saskatoon Contacts, who finished third at the TELUS Cup national tournament in 2012. He had 10 goals and 14 assists in 126 regular-season games over two seasons with the Warriors. Uhrich was a second-round draft pick of the Warriors in 2011.
THE ANALYSIS: The 5-foot-11, 195-pound Uhrich hasn’t shown much offensive flair, but he brings sandpaper to the Blades’ lineup as they strive to become more difficult to play against. . . . The Warriors, who also dealt F Colton McCarthy, 18, to the Prince Albert Raiders on the weekend, have cleared room for some younger forwards. . . . A stick tap to the Warriors, too, for giving a couple of players who weren’t going to make their roster opportunities to stay in the WHL despite having to trade within their own division to do so.

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The Kamloops Blazers have their roster at 27, including three goaltenders and eight defencemen, after releasing two veterans -- D Austin Douglas, 18, and F Nathan Looysen, 18 -- on Monday. . . . The 6-foot-6, 195-pound Douglas, from Winnipeg, was acquired last season from the Seattle Thunderbirds, who had selected him in the second round of the 2011 bantam draft. Last season, he had one assist in 13 games with Seattle and one goal in 22 games with Kamloops. . . . Looysen, from Saanichton, B.C., had two goals and seven assists in 57 games as a freshman with the Blazers.
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The Kamloops Blazers don’t have a whole lot left from last season’s trade in which they sent G Taran Kozun, then 19, to the Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . Moving to Kamloops in that Jan. 10 deadline-day deal were G Justin Myles, 18, D Austin Douglas, 17, and a fourth-round pick in the 2015 bantam draft. . . . Douglas was released on Monday, while Myles, who reported to the Blazers with a brain injury, never did play in Kamloops. Instead, he was dealt to the Lethbridge Hurricanes over the summer for a fourth-round pick in the 2015 bantam draft. That pick reverted to Kamloops when Myles was forced to retire before reporting to the Hurricanes. . . . Kamloops also got a fourth-round pick in the 2015 bantam draft in the exchange with Seattle, and later, with Myles unable to play, was given a fourth-round pick in 2016 as compensation. . . . Meanwhile, Kozun, now 20, is Seattle’s starting goaltender. In 24 regular-season games with Seattle last season, he was 14-9-1/2.40/.928 with four shutouts. In 29 games with the Blazers, he had been 5-19-3/3.95/.897.
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The Prince George Cougars got down to 29 players, including three goaltenders, by releasing six players on Monday. That included veteran G Adam Beukeboom, 20, who had been acquired from the Vancouver Giants on Jan. 9 for a seventh-round pick in the 2016 bantam draft. . . . Beukeboom, who played in 19 games with the Regina Pats in 2011-12, was 5-8-0/4.25/,887 in 14 appearances with the Cougars last season. . . . As a 20-year-old this season, Beukeboom was up against it as Ty Edmonds, 18, is expected to be the Cougars’ starter. Beukeboom, who is from Sundre, Alta., played only 29 minutes in the exhibition season and stopped all 18 shots he faced. . . . The move leaves the Cougars with Edmonds, Matt Kustra, 17, and Tavin Grant, 16, as their goaltenders.
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The Vernon Vipers are looking for a general manager and head coach, having revealed that Jason Williamson has vacated both positions. Williamson, who cited personal reasons in leaving, had been GM and head coach for three seasons and had been with the Vipers for the past seven seasons. He also played three seasons with the Vipers. . . . “Jason has
decided he needs some time away from the game to get his affairs in order and I respect that,” owner Duncan Wray said in a news release. “He has been great for our hockey club and will be missed, however we must move forward.” . . . Assistant coach Kevin Kraus has been named interim head, while Eric Godard, the other assistant coach, will take a more active role. . . . The Vipers open their regular season on Sept. 27. . . . Williamson spent four seasons working alongside Mark Ferner, who was then the Vipers’ GM and head coach. When Ferner signed as head coach of the WHL’s Everett Silvertips, prior to the 2011-12 season, Williamson was promoted. . . . Ferner now is preparing for his second season as an assistant coach with the Kamloops Blazers.
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Gordon Clark works in the newsroom at the Vancouver Province. He also is the president of a minor hockey association. In Monday’s Province, Clark offered up what the headline referred to as “some humble advice for hockey parents for the new season.” . . . “Complain loudly and often about all aspects of your kids' hockey program,” Clark writes. “Nothing motivates volunteer coaches, managers and others who give hundreds of hours of their lives each year so that your son or daughter can lace 'em up to improve like a constant stream of tips, critiques and observations. Keep them on their toes!” . . . That piece is right here.
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“It doesn't matter the sport, the area of concussion is now one of the burning issues globally yet many sporting bodies appear as confused and dazed as any player on the receiving end of a blow to the head,” writes Declan Whooley at independent.ie. . . . His complete story is right here.
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“Casey Cochran's college football career is over before it really got going. A series of concussions forced him to quit,” writes Desmond Conner of the Hartford Courant. . . . Cochran had been the starting quarterback for the U of Connecticut Huskies. The school announced Monday that Cochran, who incurred his fourth concussion on Aug. 29, won’t play again. . . . Conner’s story is right here.
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D Austin Shmoorkoff of Edmonton has been assigned by the Red Deer Rebels to the AJHL’s Okotoks Oilers. Shmoorkoff, 17, was pointless in six games with Red Deer last season. The move left the Rebels with 25 players on their roster. . . . Red Deer F Evan Polei suffered a cut hand during a fight in an exhibition game on Saturday and it will prevent him from attending training camp with the NHL’s St. Louis Blues. “His injury is a day-to-day situation,” Red Deer GM/head coach Brent Sutter said in a news release, “and he should be ready for the start of our regular season.” . . .
D Reid Gow, who captained the Spokane Chiefs last season, has enrolled in business at the U of Manitoba and will play for the Bisons. Gow, who is from Killarney, Man., chose to go to school, rather than return for a fifth season with the Chiefs. Last season, he had 62 points, including 56 assists, in 65 games. . . . The Vancouver Giants are down to 26 players, including three goaltenders and 15 forwards. On Monday, they released three players, including F Matt Barberis, 16, of Surrey, B.C., who was the 20th overall selection in the 2013 bantam draft. The Giants also released D Kole Bryks, 17, who was a sixth-round pick in the 2012 bantam draft. . . . 
The Tri-City Americans have the dubious distinction of being the first team to be fined by the WHL office this season. The Americans were docked $500 for “player instigating fight in last five minutes of game vs. Spokane” on Saturday. Tri-City D Riley Hillis, who was hit with a one-game suspension, picked up an instigating minor, along with a fighting major and game misconduct, at 19:06 of the third period in that game. Spokane F Riley Whittingham was given a checking-to-the-head minor and fighting major at the time. . . . F Aaron Macklin of the Prince George Cougars won’t play Friday against his old team, the Kamloops Blazers, as he will serve a one-game suspension. He took a kneeing major and game misconduct against the visiting Edmonon Oil Kings on Saturday. . . . F Taylor Sanheim of the Calgary Hitmen was given a one-game suspension after picking up a goaltender interference major and game misconduct in a Saturday game against the Medicine Hat Tigers.
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Yes! @SeattleTbirds @PARaidersHockey We will be the big brothers for a while, but one day we are gonna be king!
— PG Cougars (@PGCougars) September 8, 2014

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THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Brock Nixon (Kamloops, Calgary, 2003-08) has been released by Kallinge/Ronneby (Sweden, Division 1). He had one goal in three games, but has been out for six weeks with a broken arm. The club reports the cast was removed Tuesday, but the arm has not healed, so is back in a cast for another six weeks. . . .
F Petr Kalus (Regina, 2005-06) signed for the rest of this season with Djurgården Stockholm (Sweden, Allsvenskan). This season, he had one assist in three games with Dukla Trencin. Djurgården's fans raised/contributed more tha 400,000 SEK (US$61,700) to help finance the signing. . . .
F Kamil Vavra (Regina, 2003-04) signed for the rest of this season with Deggerdorf (Germany, Oberliga) after a successful tryout. He had one assist in four games. . . .
F Josh Holden (Regina, 1994-98) signed a two-year extension with Zug (Switzerland, NLA). He had six points, two them goals, in six games. He now is under contract through 2015-16. Holden's deal also includes a two-year option to coach Zug's minor teams or hockey academy. The option is void if Holden plays after 2015-16.
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The Victoria Royals have returned F Regan Nagy, 16, to the midget AAA Moose Jaw Generals. He had one assist in 11 games with the Royals. Last season, he had 34 points, including 34 goals, with the Generals, who are the host team for the 2014 Telus Cup, the national midget AAA championship tournament.
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F Nikita Scherback was the third-last player selected in the CHL's 2013 import draft. But it is looking as though the Saskatoon Blades got themselves a winner. Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon Star-Phoenix has more right here on the Russian who is burning up the WHL.
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F Parker Bowles, who has yet to play this season because of a shoulder injury, is scheduled to return to the Tri-City Americans' lineup tonight as they open a Central Division swing against the Tigers in Medicine Hat. . . . “I’ve been waiting for this day way back to summer when I knew he would be delayed,” Americans head coach Jim Hiller told Annie Fowler of the Tri-City Herald. “The guys have done a good job in his absence. He is one of our top offensive players. His offensive ability will help us and it will go up and down the lineup.” . . . Tri-City has been averaging 2.5 goals per game. Bowles had 44 points, 21 of them goals, in 71 games last season.
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The Red Deer Rebels have dropped D Austin Shmoorkoff, 16, from their roster. He will join the midget AAA Edmonton-Canadian Athletic Club. He was pointless with one minor penalty in six games with the Rebels. . . . Red Deer also announced that it had returned G Rylan Toth, 17, to the midget AAA Battlefords Stars.
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Dr. Oz has been shilling on behalf of the NFL, and all it cost the league was 20 grand and a pair of Super Bowl tickets. There's more, from the Los Angeles Times, right here.
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If you are a fan of Johnny Cash, The Man in Black, you will want to click right here to learn what Rolling Stone says is 10 things you didn't know about him.
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Prior to Thursday night, I had never before been in Vancouver for Halloween. Remind me never to return. . . . Who knew fireworks were such a big part of the spookiest night of the year? There were times when I wondered if this is what it sounds like in a war zone. . . . Can only imagine what birds, cats and dogs were feeling.
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From former WHLer Matt Kassian (@kassassination), now of the Ottawa Senators: "Funny thing - during a TV timeout tonight Pierre Mcguire leaned over and told me 7 or 8 facts about my life I didnt know."


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