Ex-WHLer eligible for NCAA hockey . . . Steel pens note to young fan . . . Rebels win sixth in row

It doesn’t indicate it in F Brayden Gelsinger’s bio on the Lake Superior State Lakers’ website, but the Regina native did play 14 games with the Kamloops Blazers.

Gelsinger was pointless in two playoff games in the spring of 2012 and pointless in 12 regular-season

BRAYDEN GELSINGER

games in 2012-13. He later played with the BCHL’s Cowichan Valley Capitals, West Kelowna Warriors and Victoria Grizzlies, putting up 51 goals and 104 assists in 169 games.

Now he’s a freshman forward, wearing No. 11, for the Lakers. He’s contributing, too, with three goals and four assists in four games.

That’s right. Gelsinger, now 21, signed a WHL contract and played in the WHL, and now he’s playing for an NCAA Division I hockey team.

You’re thinking . . . hmmmm, I thought signing a WHL contract meant a player lost his NCAA eligibility. I thought playing a WHL game meant a player no longer was eligible to play in the NCAA.

Well . . .

Gelsinger was playing with the BCHL’s Victoria Grizzlies on Jan. 7, when he accepted a scholarship to Lake Superior State, which is based in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.

It turns out that Gelsinger and his family worked with the NCAA and its Eligibility Center to get him on the Lakers’ roster.

“The NCAA Eligibility Center is responsible for determining a student-athlete's initial eligibility status based on their pre-enrollment athletic history,” Jen Constantino, LSSU’s NCAA compliance officer and deputy Title IX co-ordinator,” told Taking Note via email. “Brayden and his family worked with the Eligibility Center prior to his enrolment at Lake Superior State University to answer the NCAA's questions and provide them with the information they needed to make their decision.

“The NCAA made the determination that Brayden Gelsinger would be immediately eligible for competition. Our athletic department has followed the direction given to us by the NCAA.”

So it would seem that signing a WHL contract and even playing a handful of games need not be the death knell for a young man should the opportunity arise to go to a U.S. school.

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The story of the WHL, the governing B.C. Liberals and how the cabinet moved to exempt the league from minimum-wage legislation may not be finished. Ian Mulgrew of the Vancouver Sun reports that, according to the B.C. Office of the Registrar of Lobbyistys, the league “did not register as a lobbyist before leaning on B.C.’s cabinet to exempt major junior players from the minimum wage law.” . . . Ron Robison, the WHL commissioner, told Mulgrew that such a move wasn’t necessary. . . . According to Mulgrew, the regulator now is taking a look at the situation. . . . Mulgrew’s story is right here.

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You can bet that F Sam Steel of the Regina Pats has a fan for life in the person of Benson Broda.

Benson’s mother, Krista, posted his on Facebook:

SAM STEEL

“Benson started skating lessons a few weeks ago and was so frustrated that he couldn't stop falling, he just wanted to just be able to go out and skate like a hockey player. He told me when he got home that he never sees Sam Steel (his absolute favourite Regina Pat ever) fall. He basically thought you either could skate or you couldn't, and he couldn't, so he wanted to give up. The lessons were expensive, so I did what any crazy mom would do and emailed the Pats asking if there was any way Sam Steel could somehow tell him he used to fall too. I got a reply from the Pats office saying that he was at Anaheim Ducks training camp, but asked for my address and said they would try and get something out for him when he got back. . . . I assumed they forgot (because it was a totally weird request and he's pretty busy scoring goals) but we opened the mail to this on Friday.”

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D Duncan Campbell has cleared WHL waivers and now is a free agent. Campbell was placed on waivers as the Wheat Kings got down to the maximum three 20-year-olds. They chose to go with F Tyler Coulter, F Reid Duke and G Jordan Papirny. . . . Campbell, a Brandon native, now is free to move to the OHL or QMJHL, should the opportunity arise. Or, should he choose, he is free to play junior A. . . . The Penticton Vees hold his BCHL rights and it wouldn’t be surprising to see him end up with them. . . . Campbell was pointless in six games with Brandon this season. In his previous two seasons, he totalled 22 goals and 21 assists in 140 regular-season games.

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JUST NOTES:

The Portland Winterhawks have dropped F Brett Clayton, who is to turn 18 on Nov. 22, from their roster. He is expected to join the AJHL’s Brooks Bandits. From Abbotsford, B.C., Clayton had a goal and two assists in 57 games with Portland last season. This season, he was pointless in three games. The Saskatoon Blades selected him in the 10th round of the 2013 WHL bantam draft. . . . 

The Russian team that will meet Team WHL in the CIBC Canada-Russia series has revealed its tentative roster — three goaltenders, 13 defencemen and 20 forwards. . . . Included are a few WHLers — D Artyom Minulin (Swift Current Broncos), D Dmitriy Zaitsev (Moose Jaw Warriors), D Sergey Zborovskiy (Regina Pats), F Nikita Popugaev (Moose Jaw). The roster also includes F Klim Kostin, who was selected by the Kootenay Ice with the first overall pick in the CHL’s 2016 import draft. Kostin chose not to join the Ice and has played this season with Dynamo Moscow of the KHL and the VHL’s Dynamo Balashikha. . . . 

Dale McFee has stepped aside after 10 years as president of the Prince Albert Raiders. McFee, who is a former Raiders player (1982-86), cited time constraints in making his decision. Long-time board member Gord Broda has been elected president of the community-owned franchise, with McGee as vice-president.

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Got a tip or some information you feel could be useful to me, feel free to email me at greggdrinnan@gmail.com.

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WEDNESDAY’S GAMES:

Congratulations to @Kelowna_Rockets Nick Merkley. The 19 year old's assist on Tomas Soustal's goal was his 200th point of his WHL career.

— Regan Bartel (@Reganrant) October 27, 2016

At Kelowna, F Kole Lind had a goal and three assists to lead the Rockets to a 6-4 victory over the Victoria

KOLE LIND

Royals. . . . The Rockets held a 3-2 lead midway through the second period when they took control by scoring the next three goals. . . . F Rod Southam and F Calvin Thurkauf each scored twice for Kelowna. Southam gave the Rockets a 4-2 lead at 13:13 of the second, with Thurkauf scoring at 17:26 of the second and 3:25 of the third. . . . Southam has three goals; Thurkauf has six. . . . Lind’s sixth goal, at 4:03 of the first period, tied the game 1-1. F Ryan Peckford’s fourth goal had opened the scoring at 3:24. . . . D Jonathan Smart and D Lucas Johansen had two assists each for the Rockets, with F Tomas Soustal getting a goal and an assist. . . . G Michael Herringer turned aside 25 shots for the Rockets. . . . Victoria starter Griffen Outhouse surrendered five goals on 23 shots through two periods. Dylan Myskiw played the third, stopping 10 of 11 shots. . . . Kelowna was 3-8 on the PP; Victoria was 2-7. . . . The Rockets have won four in a row to get their record to .500 (7-7-0). . . . The Royals are 8-7-0. . . . Announced attendance: 4,570.

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At Cranbrook, B.C., F Jansen Harkins scored two goals and added an assist to help the Prince George

JANSEN HARKINS

Cougars to a 5-2 victory over the Kootenay Ice. . . . F Brogan O’Brien, who also had two goals, got the visitors started at 8:05 of the first period. . . . F Austin Wellsby pulled the Ice even with his first goal at 14:04. . . . Harkins scored on a PP, giving the Cougars the lead at 7:01 of the second. . . . O’Brien made it 3-1 with his fourth goal of the season at 16:40. . . . F Brad Morrison added a goal, his seventh, and an assist for the winners, with F Jesse Gabrielle and F Colby McAuley each getting two assists. . . . G Nick McBride stopped 33 shots for the Cougars, while the Ice got 28 saves from Jakob Walter. . . . The Cougars were 1-1 on the PP; the Ice was 0-2. . . . The Cougars (12-2-1) have points on five straight (4-0-1) and now are 7-0-0 on the road. . . . The Ice (1-8-4) has lost seven straight (0-5-2). . . . Announced attendance: 1,542.

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The 6 game win streak is now longer than any streak last year for @Rebelshockey. 2 win streaks of 5 games in 2015-16.

— Paul Figler (@RDFigs19) October 27, 2016

At Red Deer, the Rebels scored the game’s first three goals, all in the second period, en route to a 5-2

MICHAEL SPACEK

victory over the Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . F Brandon Hagel snapped the scoreless tie with his fourth goal at 9:32, with F Grayson Pawlenchuk getting his third at 15:48, and D Jared Freadrich scoring his first, on a PP, at 19:10. . . . Brandon F Stelio Mattheos got Brandon on the board, with his fifth goal, on a PP, at 1:30 of the third period. . . . D Alexander Alexeyev got that one back for Red Deer, scoring his second goal at 5:39. . . . F Tyler Coulter’s PP goal pulled the Wheat Kings to within two at 8:40, but D Josh Mahura’s fourth goal, on a PP, put it out of reach at 17:59. . . . F Michael Spacek had three assists for the Rebels, running his point streak to nine games, while Alexeyev, Hagel and Mashura each added an assist to his goal. . . . G Riley Lamb stopped 22 shots for the home team, with Brandon’s Logan Thompson blocking 51. . . . The Wheat Kings have been outshot 101-40 over their past two games. The beat the host Edmonton Oil Kings, 5-3, on Tuesday. . . . Red Deer was 2-4 on the PP; Brandon was 2-5. . . . The Rebels (8-3-2) have won six in a row. . . . The Wheat Kings (6-4-2) had been 4-0-1 in their previous five games. . . . Brandon F Reid Duke missed a second game in as many nights as he tended to a family matter. . . . Announced attendance: 4,025.

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At Saskatoon, the Spokane Chiefs scored the game’s first three goals and went on to a 6-2 victory over

KAILER YAMAMOTO

the Blades. . . . F Ethan McIndoe’s second goal, on a PP, got the Chiefs on the board first, at 10:43 of the first period. . . . They made it 3-0 in the second on goals from D Trent Huitema, his first, at 3:07 of the second period, and F Kailer Yamamoto, at 9:51. . . . Saskatoon F Gage Ramsay scored his first goal — a native of Saskatoon, he was acquired from the Vancouver Giants last week — at 17:01, but Yamamoto got that one back just 42 seconds into the third period. . . . Yamamoto has 10 goals. . . . F Riley McKay’s first goal, at 2:17, made it 5-1 and school was out. . . . F Taylor Ross and F Curtis Miske each had two assists for the Chiefs, while McKay and McIndoe added one apiece. . . . D Bryton Sayers had two assists for the Blades. . . . The Chiefs got 27 saves from G Dawson Weatherill. . . . Saskatoon G Brock Hamm turned aside 24 shots. . . . The Chiefs were 1-2 on the PP; the Blades were 0-9. . . . Spokane (5-6-2) is 2-2-0 on its East Division trip. . . . The Blades (6-6-1), fresh off a five-game B.C. Division trip, have lost three in a row. . . . Announced attendance: 3,178.

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THURSDAY’S GAME (all times local):

Tri-City at Everett, 7:05 p.m.

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By MARK HUNTER
Daily News Sports Reporter
Chase Schaber had no idea he was bleeding, and he certainly had no idea his WHL career was over.
Schaber, the Kamloops Blazers’ captain for the past two seasons, won’t be with the team when it opens the second round of the WHL playoffs later this week. The Blazers will head to Portland late Wednesday to open a best-of-seven series with the Winterhawks on Friday night, with Game 2 scheduled for Saturday.
Schaber’s junior career is over after the back of his left leg was cut during Game 3 of the Blazers’ opening-round series sweep over the Victoria Royals.
The injury happened during an innocuous play in the first period of the March 27 game, when Schaber and Victoria’s Zane Jones bumped near the boards. One of Jones’s skates happened to flip up and catch Schaber right behind his left knee.
Doctors performed exploratory surgery at Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops on Thursday, and determined that there was damage to the hamstring and a tendon.
“I didn’t know I was cut — it felt like someone punched me in the back of the leg,” Schaber said Monday. “Then it got warm and tingly, and I was like, ‘What the hell?’ ”
Schaber returned to the Blazers’ bench, where trainer Colin (Toledo) Robinson was waiting.
“Toledo asked, ‘What’s wrong?’ ” Schaber said. “I’m standing there, and blood starts to spill out of my hockey sock.”
Training staff at Victoria’s Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre contained the bleeding, and Schaber was taken to hospital. He flew back to Kamloops prior to Wednesday’s 4-1 victory in Game 4.
The cut itself wasn’t particularly long, measuring about two inches, according to Schaber, but it was deep, and it did some damage.
Schaber isn’t sure as to how many stitches he has in the back of the knee — “the doctor lost count . . . it took an hour to sew me back up” — but he knows it’s going to take a long time for him to get back on his feet.
Since the surgery, Schaber has been stapled to a couch, his left leg in a brace. The only time he gets up is to use the washroom.
He figures he’ll be off his feet for at least three weeks, and will be in the brace for at least three weeks following that. After those six weeks, he should be able to start to walk again, and hopes to start physiotherapy in three months.
It sounds awful, but Schaber is glad there’s even an opportunity for recovery.
“I was a little upset when I learned, but I’m also happy and thankful nothing worse came out of it,” said Schaber, a 21-year-old Red Deer native. “It was a couple of millimetres from nicking an artery, so it could have been much worse.”
The loss is a huge blow to the Blazers, on and off the ice.
Schaber spent much of the past two seasons centring the team’s top line — in 2010-11, he was between Brendan Ranford and Jordan DePape on a productive line, and skated alongside Ranford and a variety of other wingers this season while DePape missed nearly five months with a shoulder injury.
And although Schaber missed 11 games due to injury, he had 52 points, including 23 goals, and 71 penalty minutes in 61 games. He started the playoffs on a line with Dylan Willick and Matt Needham, and had two goals and two assists in the first two games of the Blazers’ series against Victoria.
He’s also defensively responsible, and an emotional leader. That last part is where Schaber’s injury might hurt the Blazers most.
He misses being at practice with his teammates, but they’re never too far away.
“They come over every day, a good pack of them anyway,” he said. “They’re always texting . . . and most of them came and visited me in the hospital.
“This is the best group of guys I’ve ever played with.”
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The Blazers announced Monday that they have added 15-year-old defenceman Jordan Thomson and 16-year-old forward Brayden Gelsinger for the remainder of the playoffs.
Thomson, the Blazers’ first selection (fourth overall) in the 2011 WHL bantam draft, had 29 points, including 23 assists, in 35 games with the midget AAA Southwest Cougars of Souris, Man. The Cougars’ season ended Sunday with a 5-1 loss to the Saskatoon Contacts in the final of a Telus Cup West Regional qualifier.
Gelsinger spent the season with the midget AAA Tisdale, Sask., Trojans. The list player had 22 goals and 20 assists in 41 games.
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The Blazers are to leave late Wednesday night for Portland, where the first two games will be played at Veterans Memorial Coliseum, which has the ability to hold 10,407 people.
If Game 5 is needed, it will be played April 14 at the Rose Garden, which the NBA’s Trail Blazers call home. The Rose Garden can hold as many as 17,544 people for hockey events. Game 7 would be back at Memorial Coliseum.
Games 3 and 4 — are scheduled for April 10 and 11 at Interior Savings Centre.

THE MATCHUPS
Eastern Conference
Edmonton (1) vs. Kootenay (8)
Moose Jaw (2) vs. Regina (7)
Calgary (3) vs. Brandon (6)
Medicine Hat (4) vs. Saskatoon (5)
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Western Conference
Tri-City (1) vs. Everett (8)
Kamloops (2) vs. Victoria (7)
Portland (3) vs. Kelowna (6)
Vancouver (4) vs. Spokane (5)
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The WHL playoffs open tonight with the Brandon Wheat Kings in Calgary to meet the Hitmen. The other seven series will begin Friday night.
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The Seattle Thunderbirds came out of the WHL’s draft lottery with the first pick on Wednesday.
The lottery involved the six non-playoff teams and when it was over, the WHL released this first-round order:
1. Seattle Thunderbirds
2. Prince Albert Raiders
3. Prince George Cougars
4. Lethbridge Hurricanes
5. Swift Current Broncos
6. Red Deer Rebels
7. Everett Silvertips
8. Victoria Royals
9. Kelowna Rockets
10. Kootenay Ice
11. Regina Pats
12. Brandon Wheat Kings
13. Saskatoon Blades
14. Spokane Chiefs
15. Vancouver Giants
16. Medicine Hat Tigers
17. Calgary Hitmen
18. Moose Jaw Warriors
19. Kamloops Blazers
20. Portland Winterhawks
21. Tri-City Americans
22. Edmonton Oil Kings
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The first-round order as released by the WHL doesn't include the four picks that have been traded. Here, courtesy of Alan Caldwell of Small Thoughts At Large, is the first round including trades:
1. Seattle
2. Prince Albert
3. Prince George
4. Lethbridge
5. Swift Current
6. Red Deer
7. Everett
8. Victoria
9. Kelowna
10. Kootenay
11. Prince George (from Regina in Marincin/Blidstrand deal, Jan. 10/12)
12. Brandon
13. Victoria (from Brandon in Kevin Sundher deal, Jan. 9/12; Brandon had acquired the selection from Saskatoon in Brayden Schenn deal, Jan. 10/11)
14. Spokane
15. Vancouver
16. Medicine Hat
17. Calgary
18. Lethbridge (from Moose Jaw in Cam Braes deal, Jan. 9/12)
19. Kamloops
20. Seattle (from Portland in Marcel Noebels deal, Jan. 10/12)
21. Tri-City
22. Edmonton
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The bantam draft is scheduled to be held on May 3.
Keep in mind that the order for the other rounds reverts to the reverse order of the final regular-season standings.
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The WHL also announced some of its Eastern Division individual award winners and its first and second all-star teams. For those, check out the WHL’s website.
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Earlier in the week, I reported here that D Cody Carlson of the Prince George Cougars was headed to the Central league’s Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees. . . . I was told last night that Carlson and Prince George G Drew Owsley, both of whom completed their junior eligibility this season, are headed for the Central league’s Missouri Mavericks. . . . Meanwhile, F Spencer Asuchak, who was the Cougars’ third 20-year-old this season, apparently may be headed for the ECHL’s Ontario Reign.
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F John Persson of the Red Deer Rebels made his AHL debut last night with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, who lost 3-0 to the host Binghamton Senators. Persson had four shots on goal, all in the first period. . . . Persson, a 19-year-old from Mora, Sweden, was selected by the New York Islanders in the fifth round of the NHL’s 2011 draft.
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F Justin Maylan, who played out his eligibility with the Prince Albert Raiders, has signed a tryout deal with the AHL’s Portland Pirates. Maylan is an undrafted free agent. He is joined in Portland by D Harrison Ruopp of the Raiders, who was a third-round selection by the Phoenix Coyotes in the NHL’s 2011 draft.
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The Kamloops Blazers have announced the signings of two players, including the son of Medicine Hat Tigers head coach Shaun Clouston.
D Connor Clouston was a third-round selection in the 2011 WHL bantam draft. He had nine points and 90 penalty minutes in 29 games with the midget AAA Medicine Hat Tigers.
F Brayden Gelsinger, 16, ws listed by the Blazers in September. He had 42 points, including 22 goals, in 41 games with the midget AAA Tisdale, Sask., Trojans.
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There is an interesting line in a story written by Cleve Dheensaw of the Victoria Times Colonist that appears in today’s paper and on the newspaper’s website.
Dheensaw, who has covered the Royals all season, noted that F Brandon Magee “appeared in good spirits as he leaned on the glass and offered playful encouragement to his teammates during practice Wednesday at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre.”
Three paragraphs later, Dheensaw writes:
“The Royals prohibit media from interviewing injured players.”
What we do know is that Magee was injured in the third period of the Royals’ final regular-season game and isn’t expected to play in their first-round series against the Kamloops Blazers.
The Royals may also be without F Robin Soudek and D Zach Habscheid, both of whom missed late-season games with injuries.
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There can be no doubting that the best coaching matchup of the first round is in the series between the Spokane Chiefs and Vancouver Giants.
The two head coaches have combined for 1,073 WHL coaching victories – Don Hay of the Giants is No. 2 on the alltime list, with 556, while Spokane’s Don Nachbaur is sixth, at 517.
Nachbaur has been the WHL’s coach of the year three times, once each with Seattle, Tri-City and Spokane. You know he would trade those for Hay’s three Memorial Cup championships.
According to a Chiefs’ news release: Despite the two having coached against each other for the better part of the last 20-years, “they have met in the WHL playoffs just once – a 3-1 series win in the 1999 Western Conference semi-finals for Hay's Tri-City Americans over Nachbaur's Seattle Thunderbirds.”
The series opens Friday in Vancouver.

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