THE MacBETH REPORT:
G Brett Jaeger (Medicine Hat, Vancouver, Saskatoon, 2001-04) signed a one-year contract extension with the Fischtown Pinguins Bremerhaven (Germany, 2.Bundesliga). Jaeger started last season with Copenhagen Hockey (Denmark, AL-Bank Liga), where he had a 3.12 GAA and a .908 save percentage in 27 games, before transferring to the Fischtown Pinguins. With the Pinguins, he had a 3.00 GAA in seven games. . . .
F Mike Wirll (Brandon, Prince Albert, Prince George, Lethbridge, 1997-2003) signed a one-year contract with the Dundee Stars (Scotland, UK Elite). He had four goals and 13 assists in 20 games with the Braehead Clan Glasgow (Scotland, UK Elite) last season. . . .
D Brett Festerling (Tri-City, Vancouver, 2001-07) signed a two-year contract with the Nuremberg Ice Tigers (Germany, DEL). He had three goals and 15 assists in 52 games with St. John's Ice Caps (AHL) and was pointless in five games with the Winnipeg Jets (NHL) last season.
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Another 20-year-old goaltender is on the move with the Brandon Wheat Kings having sent Brandon Anderson to the Everett Silvertips. . . . The Wheat Kings moved Anderson and a 2013 fifth-round bantam draft pick to the Silvertips for F Geordie Maguire, 17, who played last season for the Winnipeg Wild and led the Manitoba midget AAA league in scoring. . . . Maguire, a fifth-round selection by Everett in the 2010 bantam draft, put up 77 points, 40 of them goals, in 42 games with the Wild. . . . Anderson has signed with the NHL’s Washington Capitals; should he be assigned to Everett, the Wheat Kings would get back the fifth-round pick. . . .
Anderson finished up each of the last two seasons with the Hershey Bears, Washington’s AHL affiliate, but didn’t see any game action. . . . Anderson was a free agent when he went to camp with the Capitals two years ago and came away with a contract. The Lethbridge Hurricanes later dealt him to Brandon, where he was 13-14-2, 3.96, .889 in 31 games last season. In six games with Lethbridge before the trade, he went 2-3-1, 3.78, .894. He also missed part of the season as he left the Wheat Kings and went home for reasons that never were disclosed. In 2010-11, after signing with the Capitals, he was 17-26-12, 3.77, .888. . . . Everett is looking for a goaltender to take over from Kent Simpson, 20, who has signed with the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks and is expected to open in their organization. If neither Anderson nor Simpson is back, Austin Lotz, 17, will get first crack at starting. . . . Should Anderson end up in Everett, he would become the fourth 20-year-old on the roster, along with F J.T. Barnett, F Cody Fowlie and F Ryan Harrison.
The deal leaves the Wheat Kings with Corbin Boes, 19, as the starter going into training camp, which is no surprise. Chances are he’ll be supported by Curtis Honey, 18, although Jordan Papirny, 16, may well be in the picture, too, before all is said and done. . . .
Anderson is the fourth 20-year-old goaltender to be traded this offseason. . . . Luke Siemens, who turns 20 on Nov. 6, went from the Moose Jaw Warriors to the Prince Albert Raiders, while Ty Rimmer moved from the Tri-City Americans to Lethbridge, and Brandon Glover, who will be 20 on Aug. 21, was dealt by the Calgary Hitmen to the Seattle Thunderbirds.
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Neate Sager of Yahoo! Sports has the story right here of the Memorial Cup and the beating it has taken at the hands of the QMJHL’s Shawinigan Cataractes. Hey, don’t sweat it because the Cataractes weren’t partying with the real thing.
But, geez Louise, just because you are passing around a replica is not reason to use it and abuse it.
After all, the Memorial Cup has some history behind it and deserves to be shown a bit more respect than it apparently has been getting.
With all the money a lot of these major junior teams are making, perhaps it’s time the CHL assigned an employee to babysit the Memorial Cup in these situations.
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D Paul Sohor (Everett, Tri-City, 2007-11) played out his junior eligibility last season with the MJHL’s Selkirk Steelers and now has decided to attend York University and play for the Lions. . . . He had 32 points in 50 games last season in Selkirk.
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Robbie Ftorek, the 60-year-old head coach of the OHL’s Erie Otters, and his family are in shock after the death Saturday of Anna Ftorek, a 23-year-old daughter. She died suddenly at the family home in Wolfeboro, N.H. There is more right here.
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THE COACHING GAME:
Jared Bednar has signed on with the Springfield Falcons, the AHL affiliate of the NHL's Columbus Blue Jackets, as an assistant coach. Bednar spent the last two seasons as head coach of the AHL’s Peoria Rivermen. In Springfield, he’ll work alongside head coach Brad Larsen and assistant coach Nolan Pratt. . . . Bednar played in the WHL with the Prince Albert Raiders, Medicine Hat Tigers, Spokane Chiefs and Saskatoon Blades (1990-1993). . . . The Falcons announced that Bednar got a “multi-year” deal. They also announced that Pratt has received a “contract extension beyond the 2012-2013 season.” He is heading into his second season on the Falcons’ staff. . . .
Barry Smith is headed for the Netherlands where he will work as head coach of the Tilburg Trappers, who play in the country’s top league. Smith, who coached the Kamloops Blazers (2008-10), replaces Theo van Gerwen, who was named technical director of the Dutch Hockey Association after two seasons with the Trappers. Smith signed a one-year deal with Tilburg. (This signing actually happened late in May and I somehow missed it. Apologies for that.)
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If you’ve got 20 or 30 minutes to invest in a great read, give this right here a look. Jason Schwartz of Boston Magazine takes a look at 38 Studios, the video-game company owned by former MLB pitcher Curt Schilling that imploded and left behind quite a mess.

There has never been a subscription fee for this blog, but if you enjoy stopping by here, why not consider donating to the cause? Just click HERE. . . and thank you very much.

The Swift Current Broncos held a news conference on Tuesday and introduced Dianne Sletten as their new assistant general manager — business operations. . . . According to a news release from the Broncos: “Dianne will be the first female Assistant General Manager in the Western Hockey League.” . . . “That is what we believe,’’ Sletten told Rob Vanstone of the Regina Leader-Post. “So far, nobody has been able to tell us differently. I was really surprised, to be honest. I guess it’s always nice to be first at something. I never, ever thought that was the case.’’ . . . There are other women in WHL front offices. For example, Brandi Brodsky is the vice-president of the Prince George Cougars. In Kamloops, Angie Mercuri is the executive director of business operations with the Blazers. . . . And in the WHL office, Yvonne Bergmann is the vice-president, operations. . . . Interestingly, Sletten used to work for Swift Current radio station CKSW as a reporter and, in fact, was involved in coverage of the Dec. 30, 1986 crash of the Broncos’ bus in which four players died. . . . In recent years, she has worked in communications, sales, program development and project management in the public and private sectors. And she has been a Broncos’ season-ticket holder.
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JUST NOTES:
F Kevin Sundher of the Brandon Wheat Kings is off the join the Rochester Americans, the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres. Sundher was selected by the Sabres in the third round of the 2010 NHL draft and has since signed with them. . . . Meanwhile, Wheat Kings G Brandon Anderson will finish the season with the Hershey Bears, the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Washington Capitals. Anderson attended the Capitals’ 2011 training camp as a free agent and earned a contract with the NHL team. . . .
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William Wise, who once owned the OHL’s Cornwall Royals, has surrendered to authorities and is in San Francisco to face charges involving conspiracy, mail and wire fraud, and money laundering. It’s all part of an alleged US$129.5-million Ponzi scheme.
Betsy Powell of the Toronto Star has that story right here.


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The Brandon Wheat Kings have lost G Corbin Boes indefinitely with a broken hand. Boes, 18, was injured in Thursday’s 7-3 loss to the Oil Kings in Edmonton. Boes is 11-5-1, 3.00, .908 this season. . . . G Brandon Anderson now will do the bulk of the Brandon goaltending — he went the distance in a 5-3 victory over the Rebels in Red Deer on Friday night. Jordan Papirny, a first-round pick in the 2011 bantam draft, is backing up Anderson this weekend. Papirny plays for the midget AAA Edmonton-South Side Athletic Club Athletics. . . .
F Sven Bartschi of the Portland Winterhawks will join the Swiss national junior team for its camp prior to the World Junior Championship that opens on Boxing Day in Calgary and Edmonton. . . .
D Colin Archer (Red Deer, 2007-11) has joined the Conception Bay North CeeBee Stars, who play in the Avalon East senior league. They are based in Harbour Grace, Newfoundland and Labrador. . . . Archer, the Rebels’ captain for the last three seasons, transferred from McGill University to Acadia University but has to sit out a year before returning to the CIS level.
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FRIDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS . . .
In Swift Current, the Broncos overcame a 3-1 third-period deficit and beat the Kelowna Rockets, 4-3, in a shootout. . . . Broncos F Taylor Vause scored his side’s last two goals, the first one shorthanded at 8:17, and the second at 15:48. He has 18 goals. . . . Going into the game, the Broncos had but one victory in 18 tries when trailing after two periods. . . . In the six-round shootout, F Adam Lowry scored to give the home side a 2-1 edge. . . . Broncos G Austin Smith relieved starter Jon Groenheyde (ill) at 11:52 of the first period and got the victory. Smith stopped 14 of 15 shots. . . . Kelowna D MacKenzie Johnston, who is from Swift Current, beat Groenheyde shorthanded from inside the Rockets’ blue-line. . . . The Broncos had an 18-2 edge in third-period shots. . . .

In Moose Jaw, F Lane Scheidl’s goal at 2:57 of OT gave the Regina Pats a 3-2 victory over the Warriors. . . . It was interesting that the Pats emptied their bench and celebrated right in front of the Moose Jaw bench. . . . The Pats, who had lost 10 straight in Moose Jaw, trailed this one 2-0 going into the third period. . . . F Chandler Stephenson, at 3:18, and D Ricard Blidstrand, at 2:57, got Regina even. . . . Regina F Jordan Weal drew assists on the first and third goals. . . . F Eric Arnold scored the Teddy Bear goal at 10:22 of the first period. . . . Regina was without D Brandon Underwood, who has an ankle injury and won’t play again until after Christmas. He was injured blocking a shot in a 2-0 victory over the Wheat Kings in Brandon on Sunday. . . .

In Calgary, the Hitmen erased a 3-0 deficit and beat the Prince Albert Raiders, 5-4, but they had to go to a shootout to get it done. . . . F Cody Sylvester, Calgary’s captain, got the winner. . . . Prince Albert F Mark McNeill forced OT when he scored on a penalty shot at 7:43 of the third. McNeill will stay in Calgary for the Canadian national junior team’s selection camp. . . . McNeill scored on the penalty shot after the Hitmen counted four straight goals to take a 4-3 lead. . . . Sylvester was the last shooter in the three-rounder and the only one to score. . . . The Hitmen swept the four-game season series from the Raiders. . . .

In Cranbrook, F Scott McKay scored twice as the Medicine Hat Tigers dumped the Kootenay Ice, 6-4. . . . McKay has five goals. . . . F Hunter Shinkaruk got his 27th for Medicine Hat. . . . The Ice has lost four in a row. . . . The Tigers are 2-0 against the Ice, having won 2-1 at home on Oct. 18. . . . The teams will meet again tonight in Medicine Hat in the Tigers’ Teddy Bear game. . . . Medicine Hat was without F Boston Leier (concussion) for a second game. He was injured Dec. 3 against the visiting Spokane Chiefs. . . .

In Red Deer, the Brandon Wheat Kings erased a 2-0 deficit and beat the Rebels, 5-3. . . . Brandon got two goals and an assist from F Mark Stone, who leads the WHL with 65 points. Stone has played 33 games so is dangerously close to two-points-a-game territory. . . . Brandon G Brandon Anderson stopped 40 shots. . . . The Rebels have lost 12 in a row. . . . Red Deer led 2-0 on two early PP goals when Stone scored his 26th and 27th goals. . . . Brandon went on to take a 4-2 lead. . . . Red Deer G Bolton Pouliot, the starter with Patrik Bartosak injured, stopped 24 shots. . . . The Rebels got all three of their goals on the PP. . . . Rebels D Alex Petrovic had a goal and two assists. . . .

In Victoria, F Jamie Crooks scored three times to help the Royals to an 8-5 victory over the Lethbridge Hurricanes. . . . The Hurricanes led 2-0, trailed 3-2, led 4-3, were tied 4-4, and led 5-4 before giving up the game’s last four goals. . . . Victoria F Brandon Magee broke a 5-5 tie at 1:17 of the third, just 31 seconds after Crooks tied it on the PP. . . . Victoria F Kevin Sundher had two goals and two assists. He now has 21 goals. . . . Victoria F Steven Hodges scored the game’s last goal on a penalty shot. . . . Crooks has 15 goals in 33 games, after scoring 19 last season and 21 in 2009-10, both with the Chilliwack Bruins. . . . It was Crook’s second hat trick of the season and second of his career. . . . Victoria F Zane Jones scored the Teddy Bear goal. . . .

In Everett, F Anthony Bardaro had two goals and an assist, leading the Chiefs to a 5-2 victory over the Silvertips, who have lost eight in a row. . . . Everett D Ryan Murray (high ankle sprain) played for the first time since Oct. 19. He missed 19 games. Murray took a regular shift and drew an assist. . . . He is to head to Calgary today for the Canadian national junior team’s selection camp. . . . Bardaro has 16 goals. . . . Spokane F Liam Stewart, the son of you know who and you know who, scored his second goal. . . . Silvertips F Josh Birkholz took a checking-to-the-head major and game misconduct at 2:30 of the first period in Kamloops on Wednesday, but wasn’t suspended. He is Everett’s leading scorer and opened the scoring with his 12th goal of the season. . . .

In Kent, Wash., G Drew Owsley stopped 24 shots to carry the Prince George Cougars to a 1-0 victory over the Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . Owsley has three shutouts this season — two by 1-0 counts — and 12 in his career. . . . The game’s only goal came from D Cody Carlson, his fourth, on a PP at 21 seconds of the second period. . . . Seattle G Calvin Pickard stopped 37 shots. . . . Seattle took 53 of 105 penalty minutes. . . . Cougars F Campbell Elynuik will be hearing from the WHL office after taking a boarding major and game misconduct at 3:11 of the third period. . . . Seattle F Branden Troock was back for the first time since suffering a non-displaced fracture of his first rib on Nov. 26 in Kamloops. . . . Seattle also had F Colin Jacobs in the lineup for the first time this season. He suffered an undisclosed injury while in the Buffalo Sabres’ prospects camp. . . .

In Vancouver, F Jordan Martinook scored three times to help the Giants to a 5-3 victory over the Portland Winterhawks. . . . Martinook’s third goal, into an empty net, was his 20th of the season. . . . Martinook has 20 goals in 32 games. Last season, he had 11 in 72 games. . . . He also has 26 points, two fewer than he finished with last season. . . . Martinook, a 19-year-old from Leduc, Alta., has two career hat tricks, both this season. . . . Vancouver G Adam Morrison stopped 46 shots. . . . Martinook left the game late in the second period after stopping a shot on the inside of his left knee. He was back to start the third period. . . . Portland F Sven Bartschi ran his point streak to nine with an assist. He has 21 points over those nine games. . . . Assistant coach Glen Hanlon picked up his first WHL coaching victory. He’s running the Giants with head coach Don Hay in Calgary. Hay is head coach of the Canadian national junior team. . . . Hanlon, a goaltender back in the day, was asked about Morrison’s performance. “It’s his job to stop the first 50, isn’t it?” a laughing Hanlon told Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province. . . . D Brett Kulak scored the Teddy Bear goal at 2:54 of the first period. . . . Vancouver D Wes Vannieuwenhuizen  completed a three-game WHL suspension by sitting last night.
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The Victoria Times Colonist has used its editorial page to call for an end to fighting in hockey. That editorial is right here.
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Brett Popplewell has the story of The Team That Disappeared and it’s right here, from Sportsnet Magazine. Popplewell tells the story of Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, the team that was lost in a plane crash on Sept. 7. This has been a week of devastating reads and this is one more from that category.
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There has never been a subscription fee for this blog, but if you enjoy stopping by here, why not consider donating to the cause? Just click HERE. . . and thank you very much. And have a Merry Christmas.

A note about fighting majors from a follower of this blog . . .
“Kerry Toporowski had 58 fighting majors in 90-91 in Spokane. He had 506 PIMs going into the last game in Portland. Brantt Myhres was 16 and wanted to fight him and he declined. At the time he didn’t want the record of 511 by Brent Gogol. Years later, he told me he wished he had.
“Remember . . . Gogol’s numbers included misconducts which Topper’s didn’t include. If you did, he would have had that year 871 PIMs. My source . . . you! You wrote it several years ago! LOL!!!”
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JUST NOTES: The 2013 Ford World men’s curling championship will be decided in the Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre in Victoria. The event runs from March 30 through April 7, 2013, so the WHL’s Victoria Royals will be out of their home arena for a couple of weeks should they qualify for the playoffs next season. . . . The Everett Silvertips have promoted Zoran Rajcic, their longtime director of business operations, to assistant general manager. Rajcic is in his ninth season with Everett. Yes, he has been with the Silvertips since Day 1. . . . The Silvertips now have company in Comcast Arena in Everett. The Everett Raptors, an Indoor Football League team, will play out of the facility in the 2012 season. The league schedule should be released in the near future. . . . Rich Preston, the GM/head coach of the Lethbridge Hurricanes, has been nicked by the WHL office for a grand for “comments to officials” after a 2-1 loss to the host Kootenay Ice on Friday. The referees were Chris Crich and Pat Smith. . . .
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D Austin Connor, who was acquired by the Vancouver Giants from the Prince Albert Raiders on Monday, has a shoulder injury. He was injured Oct. 7 as the Raiders beat the host Seattle Thunderbirds 5-0. Elliott Pap of the Vancouver Sun reports that Connor will be examined Friday by the Giants’ medical staff and that, if he is hurt badly enough, the deal may have to be redone. Pap’s story is right here.
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D Dane Phaneuf, who was released by the Prince George Cougars prior to this season starting, is skating with the QMJHL’s P.E.I. Rocket. Marcel Vander Wier of the Charlottetown Guardian has the story right here.
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SOME TUESDAY HIGHLIGHTS:
In Swift Current, F Victor Rask scored three times to lead the Calgary Hitmen to a 7-1 victory over the Broncos. . . . Tickets were $2. Hamburgers were $2. Soft drinks were $2. And beer $2.25. . . . There were 2,521 people in the 2,879-seat iPlex. . . . The Broncos gave up the game’s first goal for the seventh straight game. . . . Swift Current t6ook 86 of the game’s 142 penalty minutes. . . .
In Medicine Hat, F Emerson Etem scored his WHL-leading 14th goal and G Tyler Bunz stopped 31 shots as the Tigers edged the Kootenay Ice, 2-1. . . . Etem gave the Ice a 2-0 lead at 12:16 of the first period. . . .
In Portland, the Winterhawks scored three times in the shootout and beat the Saskatoon Blades, 7-6. . . . The Blades, who got four goals and two assists out of F Josh Nicholls, held a 6-4 lead with 10 minutes left in the third period. . . . Portland D Troy Rutkowski scored on the PP at 10:33 and D Joe Morrow tied it at 14:31. . . . F Brad Ross had two goals and two assists for Portland. . . . Nicholls, who also had the Blades’ lone shootout goal, had never had four goals or six points in a game; in fact, he had never scored more than two goals in a game. He had five points in one game last season. . . . The Winterhawks leave today on a nine-game road trip. They’ll play six games in the Central Division, then stop in Kamloops for one and Kelowna for a doubleheader. Portland won’t play at home again until Nov. 11. . . .
In Kent, Wash., G Brandon Anderson stopped 31 shots and F Darian Dziurzynski had a goal as the Brandon Wheat Kings beat the Seattle Thunderbirds 4-1. . . . Both players were acquired in trades on Sunday and were making their first appearances with their new team. . . . Brandon F Mark Stone had an assist to run his season-opening point streak to 10 games. . . . Seattle G Daniel Cotton stopped 45 shots in his first WHL start. . . . Seattle had won three in a row. . . . Brandon lost F Bruno Mraz to a suspected head injury in the second period.
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So . . . you’re wondering how things are doing in Chilliwack, the former home of the WHL’s Bruins and now the home of the BCHL’s Chiefs.
Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province has that story right here.

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
     
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
     
Taking Note on Twitter

THE MacBETH REPORT:
D Steve McCarthy (Edmonton/Kootenay, 1996-2000) signed a tryout contract with ZSC Zurich (Switzerland, NL A) that runs through Nov.  5. He was pointless in 32 games with TPS Turku (Finland, SM-Liiga) last season. Bob Hartley, who coached McCarthy in Atlanta (NHL), is ZSC's head coach.
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Less than 24 hours after being on the wrong end of a 9-3 score at home against the Swift Current Broncos, Rich Preston, the general manager and head coach of the Lethbridge Hurricanes got out the broom.
Before Sunday dinner had been served, Preston, his squad winless in eight games, had made three trades and there very well may be more to come.
At the same time, the Brandon Wheat Kings made two deals as owner/general manager Kelly McCrimmon left no doubt as to whether he feels he has a contender on his hands.
In the biggest deal, Preston dealt G Brandon Anderson, 19, along with third- and sixth-round picks in the 2012 bantam draft to the  Wheat Kings for G Liam Liston, 18, and D Spencer Galbraith, 18.
Anderson, who is from Langley, B.C., attended the Washington Capitals’ training camp a year ago as a free agent and ended up signing an NHL contract with them.
Negotiations involving the Hurricanes’ decision to move Anderson heated up Saturday night and, for a time, it was thought he had been traded to the Spokane Chiefs.
However, Lethbridge G Damien Ketlo, 20, left the loss to the Broncos early in the first period with a groin strain and Preston chose not to make a move at that time.
On Sunday, however, it was full speed ahead.
Anderson, a third-round pick by Lethbridge in the 2007 bantam draft, is 2-3-1, 3.78, .894 this season. He has played 107 career games in Lethbridge, going 31-49-15, 3.63, .890.
Liston, a third-round pick by Brandon in the 2008 bantam draft, is 2-1-0, 4.77, .864 this season. Last season, he was 20-16-1, with a 3.77 GAA, in 41 games.
Galbraith, a 12th-round pick in 2008, had nine points and 99 penalty minutes in 49 games last season. He has 12 penalty minutes in seven games this season.
Preston also dealt D Reid Jackson, 18, and a 2012 fifth-round bantam pick to the Prince George Cougars for F Nick Buonassisi, 19.
Jackson, the son of veteran NHL scout Les Jackson, who once coached the WHL’s Great Falls Americans and then the Brandon Wheat Kings, had 20 points and 64 penalty minutes in 50 games last season. This season, he has one assist and 10 PMs in seven games.
Buonassisi, in his fourth season with the Cougars, has four points in 10 games this season.
Earlier in the day, the Hurricanes sent D Derek Ryckman, 19, to the Tri-City Americans for a fourth-round pick in the 2012 bantam draft.
Ryckman, 6-foot-4 and 205 pounds, had 29 points and 211 penalty minutes in 164 games with Lethbridge. He was a sixth-round selection in the sixth round of the 2007 bantam draft.
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As the sun began to set on Sunday, the Wheat Kings made another deal, this time getting F Darian Dziurzynski, 20, from the Saskatoon Blades for three draft picks — second-rounders in 2012 and 2013 and a third-rounder in 2014.
Dziurzynski had 57 points, including 35 goals, in 72 games with the Blades last season. He was a fifth-round selection by the Phoenix Coyotes in the 2011 NHL draft.
Dziurzynski was late rejoining the Blades from pro camp and has three goals — two of them game-winners — and four PMs in four games. In 243 career games, the has 118 points, including 65 goals, and 395 PMs.
The Wheat Kings’ roster now contains the maximum three 20-year-olds, the others being F Paul Ciarelli and D Brodie Melnychuk.
The Blades also are down to three — F Jake Trask, who has missed four games with an undisclosed injury, F Jesse Paradis and F Michael Burns.
Saskatoon will be the host team for the 2013 Memorial Cup; this trade gives Blades GM/head coach Lorne Molleken three early draft picks to use as assets as he works to ensure Saskatoon has a contender next season.
"The way the game is today, nobody's trading their young, top prospects for the most part," Molleken told Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix. "Draft picks become very valuable. It was a situation where the players I was offered, I wasn't excited about them. So this affords us with the opportunity to make some trades as we move forward using draft picks."
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It wasn’t long after being dealt to Lethbridge that G Liam Liston tweeted:
“Want to take this oppurtunity to publicly thank the @bdnwheatkings organization, the city of Brandon, and especially my billets for everything they've done for me, disappointed to be leaving so many great friends.”
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SOME SUNDAY NOTES:
In Kamloops, freshman G Cole Cheveldave ran his record to 4-0-0 as the Blazers edged the Kelowna Rockets, 3-2. Cheveldave was the first of the Blazers’ three goaltenders to start in back-to-back games. . . . They are expected to get down to two goaltenders before leaving Tuesday on a three-game Alberta swing. . . .
In Calgary, F Alex Gogolev and F Brady Brassart each scored twice and F Jimmy Bubnick drew three assists as the Hitmen beat the Swift Current Broncos, 5-1. . . .
In Everett, F Tyler Maxwell scored twice, set up another and was plus-5 as the Silvertips doubled the Tri-City Americans, 6-3. . . . Maxwell now holds Everett’s franchise record, with 102 career goals, two more than F Shane Harper. . . . F Josh Birkholz iced the victory with two empty-netters as Everett ended a four-game losing streak.
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While Don Cherry may have apologized on Coach’s Corner on Saturday night, not all is well in Stu Grimson’s world.
Grimson, Chris Nilan and Jim Thomson, former NHL toughies who were drawn and quartered by Cherry, have accepted Cherry’s apology.
However, Grimson felt he had to get a few things off his chest.
Check it out right here.

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
     
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
     
Taking Note on Twitter

Saturday . . .

The exodus of WHL players to the pro ranks has begun now that some teams have had their seasons come to an end.
G Brandon Anderson of the Lethbridge Hurricanes has been recalled by the NHL’s Washington Capitals and assigned to the AHL’s Hershey Bears.
Anderson, 18, was an undrafted free agent when he attended Washington’s training camp last fall. By the time his stint there ended, he had signed a three-year contract with the Capitals.
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The Capitals added another WHLer to their stable on Saturday when they announced the signing of F Garrett Mitchell of the Regina Pats.
Mitchell, 19, was a sixth-round pick in the 2009 NHL draft. He played in his 264^th regular-season game with the Pats on Saturday night in Saskatoon.
Mitchell finished this season with career highs in goals (18), assists (34) and points (52) in 70 games.
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F Max Domi, the son of former Toronto Maple Leafs toughie Tie Domi, has told OHL teams not to bother drafting him because he is headed south. Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun reports that Max, 15, will play next season in the USHL. He was expected to be an earlier selection in the OHL’s 2011 draft.
“I played junior but (Max’s mother) Leanne and I want our kid to go to college,” Tie Domi told Simmons. “It wasn’t an easy decision to make, but for us, it was the right decision.”
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There are four regular-season games remaining.
Here’s what is left to be decided:
1. Who will finish fifth and sixth in the Western Conference? The Chilliwack Bruins are fifth and are out of games. The Vancouver Giants, with one game left, are one point behind the Bruins. The Giants are at home to the Everett Silvertips tonight. . . . The fifth-place finisher plays the No. 4 Tri-City Americans in the first round; the sixth-place finisher draws the No. 5 Spokane Chiefs. . . . Whichever team gets Spokane will open with two games at home as the Chiefs’ home arena isn’t available next weekend.
2. Who will finish ninth and 10^th in the Western Conference? The Kamloops Blazers are out of games and have 64 points. The Seattle Thunderbirds are a point back with one game left. They are at home to the Tri-City Americans tonight. The Americans are 8-0-0 against Seattle this season.
Here are the matchups that have been decided:
EASTERN CONFERENCE:
1. The Saskatoon Blades, who finished on top of the WHL’s overall standings, will face the Prince Albert Raiders, who wound up eighth in the conference. The Blades are 9-0-1 in their last 10; the Raiders have won three straight, including a weekend sweep of the 11^th-place Swift Current Broncos.
2. The Red Deer Rebels finished atop the Central Division so are the conference’s No. 2 seed. They get the Edmonton Oil Kings in the first round. The Rebels took two from the Oil Kings on the weekend, winning 4-3 on the road Friday and 3-1 at home Saturday.
3. The Medicine Hat Tigers have one game left but have clinched the conference’s third seed. They will play the Brandon Wheat Kings in the first round. . . . Brandon finished strong, going 7-2-1 in its last 10, but will have to play its first-round home games in the MTS Centre in Winnipeg as the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair takes over the Keystone Centre. . . . The Tigers finish up this afternoon in Calgary. . . . Medicine Hat F Linden Vey goes into the final day leading the scoring race by two points over Spokane F Tyler Johnson.
4. The Kootenay Ice will finish fourth in the conference, which means a first-round matchup with the Moose Jaw Warriors. The Ice has been red hot, going 6-0-1 in its last seven.
WESTERN CONFERENCE:
1. The Portland Winterhawks clinched first place in the U.S. Division and the conference last night as they ran their winning streak to five. They will meet the Everett Silvertips in the first round.
2. The Kelowna Rockets finished atop the B.C. Division so are the No. 2 seed for the first round. Remember that the survivors are reseeded by points after the first round. The Rockets will go up against the No. 7 Prince George Cougars in the first round.
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It’s worth noting that two key players were ejected with major fouls on Saturday night, and their cases will be on the desk of Richard Doerksen, the WHL’s disciplinarian, in the morning.
F Shayne Wiebe of the Brandon Wheat Kings took a boarding major during an 8-4 victory over the visiting Moose Jaw Warriors. Before leaving, Wiebe scored his 44^th goal.
In Kelowna, Rockets F Evan Bloodoff, one of their heart-and-soul guys, was tossed with a charging major during a 4-3 loss to the Vancouver Giants.
Neither Brandon nor Kelowna has any regular-season games remaining, so any suspensions would mean playoff games lost. A suspension to either of those players could turn into a key factor in a first-round series.
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In Brandon last night, F David Toews had two goals and two assists as the Wheat Kings doubled the Moose Jaw Warriors, 8-4. . . . G Hampus Gustafsson had four assists for Brandon. . . . The Wheat Kings lost F Shayne Wiebe, their captain and a 44-goal man, with a boarding major and game misconduct at 19-01 of the first period. . . . Toews reached the 20-goal mark with his two scores. . . .
In Cranbrook, F Cody Eakin scored two goals and set up another as the Kootenay Ice dropped the visiting Lethbridge Hurricanes, 7-1. . . .
In Swift Current, F Igor Revenko’s 23^rd goal at 19:54 of the third period broke a 3-3 tie and gave the Prince Albert Raiders a 4-3 victory over the Broncos. . . .
In Saskatoon, F Marek Viedensky had a goal and an assist, leading the Blades to a 4-2 victory over the Regina Pats. . . . Blades G Steven Stanford picked up the victory to finish at 40-5-0. . . .
In Medicine Hat, G Deven Dubyk stopped 27 shots to help the Tigers to a 1-0 victory over the Calgary Hitmen. . . . F Curtis Valk scored the game’s only goal, his eighth, at 3:14 of the first period. . . . That was Dubyks’ first career shutout. . . . G Mike Snider stopped 30 shots for the Hitmen. . . . F Linden Vey drew an assist on Valk’s goal, giving him 115 points this season. He leads the WHL scoring race by two points over F Tyler Johnson of the Spokane Chiefs. . . . The Tigers are in Calgary today, while the Chiefs play in Portland. . . .
In Red Deer, F Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored twice as his Rebels got past the Edmonton Oil Kings, 3-1. . . . Nugent-Hopkins finished with 31 goals. . . .
In Chilliwack, the Lucas Gore Show continued its run as the Bruins goaltender stopped 37 shots in a 3-0 victory over the Everett Silvertips. . . . Earlier in the week, Gore established WHL records with 72 saves through three periods and 77 saves through OT in a 2-1 shootout loss to the Chiefs in Spokane. . . . He has five shutouts this season and 10 in his career. . . . Everett has been blanked nine times this season. . . . F Kevin Sundher scored twice for the Bruins -- he has 24 -- and added an assist. . . .
In Prince George, D Sena Acolatse had a goal and three assists as the Cougars dumped the Kamloops Blazers, 5-1. . . . Cougars F Brett Connolly added a goal, his 46^th, and two assists. . . . The Blazers, who were eliminated from playoff contention on Friday night when they lost 3-2 in a shootout to the visiting Cougars, finished the season on an eight-game losing streak (0-6-2). . . . Kamloops had Cam Lanigan in goal, ending Jeff Bosch’s run of 23 straight starts. . . . Attendance was 4,770. . . .
In Kelowna, the Vancouver Giants snapped their eight-game losing streak with a 4-3 victory over the Rockets. . . . F Andrej Stastny won it with his 10^th goal, breaking a 3-3 tie at 10:48 of the third period. . . . Stastny also had two assists. . . . The Rockets lost F Evan Bloodoff at 10:22 of the first period when he was ejected with a charging major and game misconduct. . . . Bloodoff’s hit was on D Joel Rogers, who recently returned from a concussion. Rogers was taken off the ice on a stretcher and checked out at hospital. . . . Doyle Potenteau has lots more on that game right here at DubNation. . . .
In Kent, Wash., the Portland Winterhawks overcame a 3-2 deficit with three straight goals and then hung on to beat the host Seattle Thunderbirds, 5-4. . . . Seattle G Calvin Pickard stopped 48 shots. . . . The Winterhawks will meet the Everett Silvertips in the first round. Portland won nine of 10 games from Everett in the regular season. . . . F Pearce Eviston scored for Portland in his WHL debut. Eviston, 18, signed with the Winterhawks after putting up 38 points in 44 games with the BCHL’s Victoria Grizzlies. . . .
In Kennewick, Wash., F Kruise Reddick and F Brendan Shinnimin each had two goals and two assists to lead the host Tri-City Americans to a 6-4 victory over the Spokane Chiefs. . . . The Americans had lost five straight games to the Chiefs. . . . F Tyler Johnson had a goal and an assist for the Chiefs, giving him 113 points, two off the league lead. Medicine Hat F Linden Vey has 115 points. . . . Spokane had a nine-game winning streak end. . . . Johnson and the Chiefs are in Portland tonight; Vey and the Tigers finish up in Calgary. Johnson has a WHL-high 52 goals.
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SATURDAY’S CFB COUNT
Six minors:
Moose Jaw F Antonin Honejsek
Kootenay D Joey Leach
Calgary D Alex Roach
Everett F Ryan Harrison
Portland F Brendan Leipsic
Tri-City F Jordan Messier

Tuesday . . .

Carlos Sosa, a well-known lawyer and player agent who works out of the Seattle area, wasn’t on a recruiting trip when he was in Lethbridge watching the Hurricanes’ training camp a few weeks ago.
He was there because his son, Daniel, was in the camp. Daniel, a defenceman, had been selected by the Hurricanes in the 11th round of the WHL’s 2010 bantam draft.
“I wasn’t there looking for clients,” Sosa says. “I was watching their scrimmages and noticed this goalie was playing pretty well . . . but it was a scrimmage.”
He later learned that the goaltender he was watching was Brandon Anderson, an 18-year-old out of Langley, B.C., who was preparing for his second season in Lethbridge.
“I knew who he was; I might have seen him play once,” Sosa says.
Anderson, as it turned out, hadn’t been selected in the 2010 NHL draft but late in August had accepted a free-agent tryout deal with the NHL’s Washington Capitals.
“I was told he didn’t have representation and that he was going to Washington’s camp,” Sosa says. “I had a brief chat with him there; he had just gotten the tryout around Aug. 20.”
They spoke briefly in Lethbridge and Sosa gave a business card to Anderson. Sosa later wrote a letter “about what we do” to Anderson.
And so it was that Sosa ended up signing on to represent Anderson as he trundled off to Washington’s camp. Anderson came back earlier this week . . . with a contract in his hip pocket.
“He goes to the camp and three or four days into the camp they want to sign him,” Sosa says. “It’s a great story.”
He’s right. It is a great story.
Here’s an undrafted goaltender who, between Aug. 20 and Sept. 20, went from being the No. 1 goaltender with the Hurricanes to signing a three-year NHL contract.
“Especially for a goaltender . . . it’s so hard for guys to get spots,” Sosa said.
As for Sosa, well, as he says: “For me, it was awesome . . . but I just stumbled into it.”
Last season, Anderson went 12-19-1-1 with a 3.49 GAA and a .892 save percentage. He was a third-round pick in the WHL’s 2007 bantam draft.
Daniel Sosa, meanwhile, is at Notre Dame in Wilcox, Sask., where he is expected to play for the midget AAA Hounds.
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The Hurricanes are carrying 25 players. They had three players in NHL camps and all have returned, although F Brody Sutter (Florida) has a shoulder injury. Also back are G Brandon Anderson (Washington) and F Cam Braes (San Jose). . . . Lethbridge opens the season Friday in Calgary against the Hitmen.
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Mark Miller, who won the WHL’s Marketing/Public Relations Award in 1993-94 while with the Portland Winterhawks, has died. His body was found Saturday morning in the bathroom of his home in Monte Rio, Calif. He apparently died of a heart attack. . . . “I have never worked with anyone who had a more profound economic impact on a business than him,” Dean (Scooter) Vrooman, the former radio voice and public relations guru with the Winterhawks, told me in an email. “In the early 1990s, he was incredible for the ’Hawks when the team was also very marketable. Those were quite the days for hockey in Portland, and Mark was instrumental in developing a ticketing system that was very convenient for the fans. It was in the years right before the Rose Garden opened in 1995 that the Hawks were often turning away as many as 3,000 on Saturday nights because the 10,000 plus Memorial Coliseum was full to the rafters. He also worked with me in maximizing selling sponsorships. He was rightfully recognized at the league level for marketing excellence in those days. Overall, we worked together from 1985 (he started with the Hawks to help organize the 1986 Memorial Cup in Portland) through about 2000, as I recall.”
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F Nino Niederreiter of the Portland Winterhawks has signed a three-year contract with the NHL’s New York Islanders. He was the fifth overall pick in the 2010 NHL draft. It is anticipated that Niederretier, 18, will at least start the season with the Islanders. If he is able to stay among the club’s top six forwards, he will stay there all season. . . . F Ryan Johansen of the Winterhawks, who was taken fourth overall, signed earlier with the Columbus Blue Jackets. It is anticipated that Johansen, 18, will be returned to Portland, perhaps as early as next week. But, in the meantime, he is scheduled to make his NHL debut Wednesday night against the visiting Washington Capitals. Johansen is expected to start the night on a line with Rick Nash and R.J. Umberger, which is pretty good company for an 18-year-old rookie to be keeping. . . . D Austin Madaisky of the Kamloops Blazers is one of eight defencemen listed on the Columbus lineup for Wednesday’s game. He told me Tuesday night he expects to take the warmup but doesn’t expect to play in the game.
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F Casey Pierro-Zabotel, who won the WHL’s scoring championship in 2008-09 while with the Vancouver Giants, will miss up to four weeks with a broken finger. That injury pretty much ends his training camp with the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins. . . . Pierro-Zabotel had 41 points in 49 games with the ECHL’s Wheeling Nailers last season. He also got into nine games with the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.
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The Kelowna Rockets’ roster is at 27 after three moves were made Tuesday. . . . The Rockets assigned F Tyrell Goulbourne to the midget AAA CAC Canadians in Edmonton. He was a fifth-round pick in the 2009 bantam draft. . . . The Rockets also released two veteran forwards -- Codey Ito, who turns 19 on Nov. 11, and Sean Aschim, who turns 18 on Dec. 30. . . . If the Rockets aren’t able to move Ito and Aschim within the WHL, it’s expected both players will join SJHL teams. . . . Ito had seven points in 62 games last season, his first in the WHL. Aschim had six points in 26 games with the Prince Albert Raiders and zero points in 21 games with Kelowna.
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G Brandon Glover, 18, left the Moose Jaw Warriors on Tuesday and asked for a trade. The Moose Jaw Times-Herald reports that Glover, who was preparing for his second season in Moose Jaw, has returned to his home in Victoria. . . . Last season, Glover, a sixth-round pick in the 2007 bantam draft, had a 3.40 GAA and a .890 save percentage while backing up Jeff Bosch. . . . On Friday, the Warriors acquired G Thomas Heemskerk, 20, from the Everett Silvertips and then dealt Bosch to the Kamloops Blazers. . . . The Warriors now are left with two goaltenders -- Heemskerk and freshman Brandon Stone, 17, who played last season with the major midget Fraser Valley Bruins in B.C.
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The Everett Silvertips will open the season with two goaltenders -- veteran Kent Simpson and Luke Siemens, 18 -- after reassigning Andy Desautels, 16, to the midget AAA Regina Pat Canadians. . . . The Silvertips have released D Jeff Regier, 19. Regier is expected to join the BCHL’s Surrey Eagles. . . . The moves left Everett with 25 players on its roster. . . . D Rasmus Rissanen, 19, is expected back from the camp of the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes before the weekend.
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F Jeff Nelson (Prince Albert, 1988-92) sat out last season but now has signed with the Central League’s Evansville IceMen. Nelson, 37, had 58 points with the Central league’s Mississippi RiverKings in 2008-09, but didn’t play last season. There’s more on Nelson’s signing right here. . . . Nelson still holds the WHL record for longest single-season point-scoring streak. In 1990-91, he put up 108 points in a 56-game streak.
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Among the players returning to the WHL from NHL camps on Tuesday: G Calvin Pickard, to Seattle from Colorado; D Troy Rutkowski, to Portland from Colorado; D Sebastian Owuya, to Medicine Hat from Atlanta; F Byron Froese, to Red Deer from Chicago; G Kent Simpson, to Everett from Chicago; F Steele Boomer, to Kootenay from Chicago; F Mark Stone, to Brandon from Ottawa; F Garrett Mitchell, to Regina from Washington.
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The OHL has decided to do away with its annual all-star game. That story is right here. . . . Now if the CHL would only dump the series with the touring Russian side that isn’t the national junior team.
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Ryan Walter (Kamloops Chiefs, Seattle Breakers, 1974-78) has been named head coach of the women’s hockey team that will represent Canada at the 4 Nations Cup in St. John’s and Clarenville, Nfld., Nov. 9-13. Hockey Canada made the announcement on Tuesday. The tournament features Canada, the U.S., Sweden and Finland. Walter, 52, most recently was an assistant coach with the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
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