Portland finally lands Koules, also trims goaltender . . . Blazers add two coaches

Don't be looking for anything here for the next two or three days. We are heading for the hinterland where Internet coverage has been known to be awfully spotty -- in other words, keeping the laptop in the bag lowers the frustration level!
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The Seattle Thunderbirds added a key component to their roster on Sunday when the Montreal Canadiens returned D Evan Wardley, 20, to the WHL team. . . . Wardley's arrival left Seattle with four 20-year-olds, the others being F Justin Hickman, D Adam Henry and G Taran Kozun. . . . That was one over the limit, but the Thunderbirds dealt with that situation on Monday, as we shall see.
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With his Saskatoon Blades at 0-4, freshman general manager/head coach Bob Woods said on Sunday that no one in the organization is hitting the panic button. But he told Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix that the team isn't through making changes, explaining that he wanted to add a 20-year-old defenceman before Oct. 15.
On Monday, the Blades acquired that 20-year-old defenceman, getting Adam Henry from the Seattle Thunderbirds. By day's end, the Blades had traded away two defencemen, acquired one (Henry) and released two other players.
The Blades dealt D Turner Ottenbreit, 17, to Seattle for Henry.
Henry, from Winnipeg, turns 20 on Nov. 24. He was a third-round selection by the Lethbridge Hurricanes in the 2009 bantam draft. Since then, he has played 176 regular-season games and has put up 76 points, 16 of them goals. The Hurricanes traded him to Seattle early last season; he recorded 38 points, seven of them goals, in 64 games with the Thunderbirds.
Ottenbreit, from Yorkton, Sask., was a 12th-round selection by the Blades in the 2012 bantam draft. The 6-foot-4, 180-pounder was pointless in 10 games with the Blades last season. This season, he has one goal in two games. He looked wobbly on Friday night after taking two shots to the chin from Brandon Wheat Kings F Jesse Gabrielle during a scrap and then was scratched from Saturday's game in Moose Jaw against the Warriors.
Henry's arrival leaves the Blades with three 20-year-olds, the others being F Sam McKechnie, another former Hurricanes player whom Saskatoon acquired from Seattle last week, and F Brett Stovin.
F Chase Clayton, 20, who had been on the Blades' roster, was one of the players released yesterday. From Abbotsford, Clayton also has played with the Calgary Hitmen. In 245 regular-season games, he has 84 points, including 32 goals. He was pointless in four games this season, after putting up 11 goals and 11 assists in 58 games with Saskatoon last season.
Also being released by Saskatoon was D Tyler Dea, a 19-year-old from St. Albert, Alta. He has three assists in 37 career games; he was pointless in two games this season.
Meanwhile, the Blades dealt D Ayrton Nikkel, 19, to the Swift Current Broncos for D Cole Bevan, 18, and a seventh-round pick in the 2015 bantam draft.
Bevan, a 6-foot-1, 208-pounder from Cloverdale, B.C., has two assists in 18 regular-season games with the Broncos. He was a 10th-round pick in the 2011 draft.
Nikkel, from Kelowna, also has played with the Brandon Wheat Kings and Everett Silvertips. He was pointless in three games with the Blades this season. In 173 career regular-season games, he has 34 points, including eight goals. A native of Kelowna, he was a second-round pick of the Blades in the 2010 bantam draft.
On Sunday, the Montreal Canadiens released F Nikita Scherbak from their training camp roster and he joined the Everett Silvertips. That completes the deal in which Scherbak moved to Everett from the Blades. Everett gave up G Nik Amundrud, 17, a first-round pick in the 2015 bantam draft and a second-rounder in 2016. The draft picks had been conditional on Scherbak being assigned to Everett.
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The Spokane Chiefs have acquired F Calder Brooks, 20, from the Prince Albert Raiders for a fifth-round selection in the 2015 bantam draft. . . . From Emerald Park, Sask., Brooks was an eighth-round pick by the Calgary Hitmen in the 2009 bantam draft. The Raiders acquired him from Calgary midway through last season. In 144 regular-season games, he has 68 points, including 26 goals. This season, he has a goal and an assist in two games. . . . The move leaves the Raiders with three 20s -- D Sawyer Lange, F Dakota Conroy and F Jayden Hart, who turns 20 on Dec. 14. . . . The Chiefs' roster now features four 20s, with Brooks joining F Connor Chartier, F Marcus Messier and F Liam Stewart.
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The Medicine Hat Tigers have traded F Miles Koules, 20, to the Portland Winterhawks for a fourth-round selection in the 2017 bantam draft. . . . Koules, from Los Angeles, had played 141 regular-season games with the Tigers, putting up 92 points, including 45 goals. Last season, he had 51 points, 25 of them goals, in 70 games. He has one goal in two games this season. He is the son of former WHLer Oren Koules (Portland, Great Falls Americans, Medicine Hat, Spokane Flyers, Calgary, Brandon, 1979-82). . . . If you are wondering who has Koules family bragging rights, Dad had 154 points, including 60 goals, in 179 regular-season games. . . . “It’s hard," Miles told Ryan McCracken of the Medicine Hat News. "When you’re an older guy, you’re a leader and you just have to be up front and show the young guys that things are good. . . . But it’s alright, it’s good news to be going to a great team like that, but the Tigers are a great team as well.” . . . Originally, Koules's WHL rights were held by the Everett Silvertips. They dealt him to Medicine Hat for F Reid Petryk at the trade deadline during the 2011-12 season. Before that deal was made, there had been speculation that Koules would end up with Portland. . . . It is believed that Portland tried hard to acquire Koules, but that Doug Soetaert, then Everett's GM, wouldn't move him within the U.S. Division. . . . The Winterhawks now are carrying four 20s -- Koules, D Josh Hanson, F Travis McEvoy and D Joshua Smith, who turns 20 on Oct. 10. . . . It also is interesting that the Winterhawks' 27-man roster now includes 14 American-born players, although both those numbers will change on Tuesday (see next item). . . . The Tigers' roster now includes three 20s -- D Tyler Lewington, who will be 20 on Dec. 5, D Kyle Becker and G Marek Langhamer.
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The Portland Winterhawks got down to two goaltenders on Monday as they assigned Michael Bullion to the NAHL's Wenatchee, Wash., Wild. . . . Bullion, 17, is from Anchorage, Alaska. He played one regular-season game with Portland, giving up five goals on 33 shots. . . . Bullion, who split last season between the junior A Toronto Jr. Canadiens and the midget AAA Toronto Marlboros, was a ninth-round selection by the Winterhawks in the 2012 bantam draft. . . . The move leaves Portland with veteran Brendan Burke and newcomer Adan Hill, 18, as its goaltenders. Hill, from Calgary, was 4-0-0/1.65/.934 in four games last season with the Winterhawks; this season, he is 0-2-0/3.98/.905.
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The Kootenay Ice has released F Shane Allan, who turns 17 on Dec. 19, and D Mark O'Shaughnessy, 17. Allan will play for the midget AAA Calgary Royals, while O'Shaugnessy joins the BCHL's Vernon Vipers. . . . The Ice also released Russian F Alexander Chirva, 18. Chirva had six points, two of them goals, in 58 games with the Moose Jaw Warriors last season. This season, he had one goal in three games with the Ice. . . .After Chirva was released by the Warriors, the Ice selected him in the 2014 CHL import draft. . . . Kootenay is left with one import player, but Rssian D Rinat Valiev, who turns 19 on Oct. 5, is out for up to four weeks with an undisclosed injury. . . . Kootenay is carrying 23 players, including eight defencemen and 13 forwards. Included are two 20-year-olds -- F Levi Cable and F Austin Vetterl. . . . Asked about Chirva by Taylor Rocca of the Cranbrook Daily Townsman, Ice GM Jeff Chynoweth responded: "First of all, we expected more. Secondly, with some of our younger players, they might be behind him at this point, but by Christmas time they would be ahead of him and he’s taking ice time away from some of those younger players.” . . . As for having an import opening and a 20-year-old opening, Chynoweth told Rocca: “We’re just going to play it out. . . . We’ll see what happens in the next few weeks. As teams start to play more games and their numbers get set there’s going to be more players available. Whether they’re 20-year-olds or import players, there’s going to be some options to look at.” . . . The Ice also holds the rights to F Tim Bozon, 20, who is with the AHL's Hamilton Bulldogs and G Mackenzie Skapski (AHL-Hartford Wolf Pack). . . . Rocca's story is right here.
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Matthew Gourlie of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald reports that Warriors D Austin Adam, who suffered a shoulder injury in a Saturday game, doesn't need surgery, but still might miss eight weeks. . . . Gourlie's story is right here.
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Bob McKenzie of TSN takes an early look right here at some players who remain in NHL camps but still are being watched closely by Canada's national junior team. That includes F Curtis Lazar of the Edmonton Oil Kings, who is having a solid camp with the NHL's Ottawa Senators.
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Larry Brooks of the New York Post has been watching with interest as NHL teams have been hiring numbers people who specialize in analytics. But, he wonders "why there isn’t more information available to an inquiring, inquisitive and educated public than exists in any forum that hasn’t been bought and paid for by NHL teams?" . . . Could it be that hockey has its head in the sand when it comes to marketing statistics to fans? . . . Brooks' piece is right here.
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The 42nd anniversary of Paul Henderson's winning goal in Game 8 of the Summit Series came and went on Sunday. Right here is a piece that Lance Hornby of the Toronto Sun wrote two years ago, providing some inside info on the series.
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The Portland Winterhawks slipped to 0-5 as they were swept in a weekend doubleheader by the visiting Everett Silvertips. The Winterhawks are 0-5 for the first time since 1999-2000. . . .The Kamloops Blazers have added Terry Bangen and Chris Murray as part-time assistant coaches. Bangen, who also is an assistant coach with the UBC Thunderbirds, spent five seasons as an assistant coach with the Blazers under head coaches Tom Renney and Don Hay. Murray played three seasons (1991-94) with the Blazers and was on two Memorial Cup-winning teams. He works full-time as a member of the Kamloops Fire Department. . . .
The Victoria Royals have signed G Griffen Outhouse, 16, who was added to their list in 2013. Outhouse, from Williams Lake, B.C., is playing for the major midget Cariboo Cougars, who play out of Prince George. He played last season with the POE U-16 team, going 2.88/.882 in 12 appearances. . . . Kamloops Blazers D Patrik Maier has been suspended for three games for a Friday night headshot on Victoria F Axel Blomqvist. Maier sat out Saturday's rematch in Victoria, which the Royals won 4-3 in OT. Blomqvist missed that game and Sunday's 5-3 loss to the Giants in Vancouver. . . .
Victoria D Ryan Gagnon was given a two-game suspension for a charging major he incurred in Friday's game against visiting Kamloops. He served his suspension by missing Saturday and Sunday games. . . . D Riley Hillis of the Tri-City Americans will sit for two games after being hit with a clipping major and game misconduct at Spokane on Saturday, while Chiefs D Tamas Laday got a one-game suspension for a charging major and game misconduct in the same game. . . . The major midget Okanagan Rockets' Twitter account revealed Monday that D Nolan Kneen will make his WHL debut with the host Kamloops Blazers against the Swift Current Broncos on Wednesday. Kneen, from North Vancouver, was the third-overall selection in the 2014 bantam draft.
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Exciting team but still bad crowds for the #WHLGiants at the Pacific Coliseum.
— News1130 Sports (@News1130Sports) September 29, 2014

Just wondering how long owner Ron Toigo will be patient, he's lost lots of money the last 2 years.
— News1130 Sports (@News1130Sports) September 29, 2014

Can't see Toigo staying at Coliseum long term, if crowds don't improve.
— News1130 Sports (@News1130Sports) September 29, 2014

Clayton heads for Saskatoon

1. "As I sit here," writes a loyal reader and WHL observer, "I’m looking at my 1977-78 WCHL Guide (Barry Beck) and my 1978-79 WHL Guide (Ryan Walter)…remember those Seattle Breakers jerseys!
"Can’t remember how many times I sat on the toilet thumbing through these things. Do the hyper-critical, courageously anonymous, Internet snobs of the world bring their laptops in there with them these days? Maybe the times really have changed?"

2. Chris Mast is a photographer who is making quite a name for himself when it comes to shooting hockey. He was at Saturday's game between the Kamloops Blazers and host Everett Silvertips, and the results are available right here.

3. "I covered the NFL over four decades dating back to 1972," writes Leonard Shapiro in the Washington Post. "Now semi-retired myself and five years removed from day-to-day football coverage, I have one main regret: not focusing more of my reporting and writing on the absolute brutality of the sport, particularly the painful post-football lives of so many players." . . . That full piece is right here.

4. Bill Dwyre, the sports editor of the Los Angeles Times, takes a look at League of Denial, the NFL, brain injuries and hypocrisy and he does it right here. This pretty much sums up the whole situation in one package.

5. Quarterback Anthony Cavillo of the Montreal Alouettes has had his CFL season ended by a brain injury. As the quarterback, he is a prominent figure and has received a lot of publicity. But what of offensive lineman Andrew Woodruff, who hasn't played since July 4? Herb Zurkowsky of the Montreal Gazette has his story right here, and it's a scary one.

6. The Calgary Hitmen have dealt F Chase Clayton, 19, to the Saskatoon Blades for a conditional 2014 fifth-round bantam draft pick. . . . Clayton, from Abbotsford, B.C., has five points, including one goal, in 11 games this season. A first-round pick in the 2009 bantam draft, he has 62 points, 21 of them goals, in 183 career games. . . . The Blades have only one other 1994-born forward -- Brett Stovin turns 19 on Oct. 31.

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THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Ned Lukacevic (Spokane, Swift Current, 2001-06) signed a contract for the rest of this season with Sundsvall (Sweden, Allsvenskan). He had two goals and eight assists in 13 games with the Las Vegas Wranglers (ECHL) this season. . . .
F Brett McLean (Tacoma/Kelowna, Brandon, 1994-99) signed a contract for the rest of this season with Lugano (Switzerland, NL A). He had seven goals and 14 assists in 36 games for the Rockford IceHogs (AHL) . McLean also played for Canada at this season's Spengler Cup in Davos, Switzerland, where he had one goal in three games. . . .
F Ladislav Kohn (Brandon, Swift Current, 1993-95) signed a contract for the rest of this season with Ambri-Piotta (Switzerland, NL A). He had five goals and 14 assists in 37 games for Trinec (Czech Republic, Extraliga) this season. . . .
D Justin Kurtz (Brandon, 1993-97) was released by Linz (Austria, Erste Bank Liga). He had six assists in 33 games for Linz this season. . . .
D Ross Lupaschuk (Lethbridge, Prince Albert, Red Deer, 1996-2001) was released by the Vienna Capitals (Austria, Erste Bank Liga). He had 10 goals and 17 assists in 38 games for the Capitals this season. . . .
F Bernhard Keil (Kamloops, 2010-11) signed a one-year contract extension with the Straubing Tigers, (Germany, DEL). He has one goal and five assists in 32 games for Straubing and one goal and one assist in two games on loan to Regensburg (Germany, Oberliga) this season. Keil also played for the German national team at the Division 1 world junior championship in December. He had two goals and five assists in five games. . . .
F Rhett Gordon (Regina, 1992-96) signed a contract for the rest of this season with the Nottingham Panthers (England, UK Elite). He had one goal and four assists in t0 games with the Colorado Eagles (ECHL) this season.
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In the BCHL on Sunday, the Penticton Vees ran their winning streak to 25 games with a 3-1 victory over the visiting Prince George Spruce Kings. The Vees broke a 1-1 tie with two third-period goals. . . . The Vees next play Wednesday when they visit the Merritt Centennials.
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SUNDAY’S GAMES:
In Calgary, F Chase Clayton scored twice to help the Hitmen to a 4-2 victory over the Red Deer Rebels. . . . Clayton scored the game’s first two goals, one shorthanded and the other on the PP. He has 10 goals this season. . . . D Mathew Dumba got the Rebels to within one 40 seconds into the third, but F Jimmy Bubnick answered, with his 21st, less than six minutes later. . . . Bubnick has 21 goals. . . . Calgary G Chris Driedger stopped 41 shots. . . . Calgary has won 10 of its last 11 games. . . . The Hitmen are seventh in the Eastern Conference, one point out of sixth and just three out of third. . . . The Rebels are ninth, four points out of eighth. . . .

In Vancouver, F Marek Tvrdon’s third-period goal stood up as the winner as the Giants beat the Seattle Thunderbird, 3-2. . . . Tvrdon’s 18th goal, on the PP, came at 10:47 of the third and gave the home side a 3-1 lead. . . . Seattle F Chance Lund got his second of the game and 12th of the season, on the PP, at 17:12. . . . The Giants outshot the visitors 14-0 in the first period. . . . The victory lifted Vancouver to within four points of the third-place Portland Winterhawks in the Western Conference. . . . Seattle is seventh, a point ahead of the Victoria Royals. . . . Tvrdon is riding an eight-game point streak during which time he has 14 points. . . . Seattle G Calvin Pickard made 42 saves, and the last one gave him the WHL record for most career saves. He now has stopped 9,659 pucks, one more than the previous record that was held by Danny Lorenz (Seattle, 1986-90). . . . Vancouver G Payton Lee, a 15-year-old from Cranbrook, stopped 24 shots for his second victory in three nights. . . . The Giants continue to be without F Brendan Gallagher (shoulder), F Dalton Sward (shoulder), D David Musil (wrist) and G Adam Morrison (concussion). The Giants are headed into Alberta for three games, and Gallagher, Morrison and Musil apparently are to make the trip. . . . Pickard has appeared in 217 regular-season games, averaging 32 saves per 60 minutes. . . . Last night, Pickard also set a franchise record for most career minutes played by a goaltender (12,639). That is five minutes more than Lorenz played for Seattle. . . . Pickard is third in the WHL record book, behind Kurtis Mucha (13,708) and Kyle Moir (12,774). Mucha played for Portland and Kamloops (2005-10) and Moir played for Swift Current (2002-07). . . .

In Spokane, the Chiefs completed a doubleheader sweep of Portland, beating the Winterhawks, 6-1. . . . Spokane, which is 8-1-1 in its last 10, had won 5-2 at home on Saturday night. . . . F Mitch Holmberg, with two goals and an assist, and F Mike Aviani, with two goals, led the Spokane offence. Holmberg has 19 goals; Aviani has nine. . . . The Chiefs scored the game’s first five goals. . . . Chiefs F Dominik Uher continued his impressive play with three assists. . . . Spokane F Darren Kramer had two assists for the second straight game. He also got tossed for his part in a late second-period dustup. . . . The Chiefs took 61 of the game’s 114 penalty minutes. . . . Spokane won three games on the weekend, all over the two teams ahead of it in the U.S. Division. The Chiefs began the weekend with a victory over the host Tri-City Americans on Friday. . . . The Chiefs remain fifth in the Western Conference, three points behind Vancouver and 11 ahead of the Kelowna Rockets.
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TWEET OF THE DAY:
It comes courtesy of KingMaxymus23 (aka Tyler Maxwell of the Edmonton Oil Kings: “Why do I try to do so many things in between the time I start a microwave to the time it goes off?”
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Jeff Z. Klein of The New York Times offers up his take on the situation involving F Marc Savard of the Boston Bruins, who continues his recovery from post-concussion syndrome.
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Your good read today comes from Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal. Matty’s Hockey World is right here.
 
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As you make your way through today, please take a moment to think about Jack Jablonski, the 16-year-old hockey player with Benilde-St. Margaret’s High School in Minneapolis, who was badly injured in a Friday game. Tim Leighton of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press writes that Jablonski “remains in critical condition in the intensive care unit at Hennepin County Medical Center. He is immobilized with a halo and unable to move his legs.”
Leighton’s complete story is right here. If you don’t read anything else today, read this.
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A regular reader here who also is a big, big WHL fan sent me a link to a terrific column by Jack Blatherwick, a columnist at Let’sPlayHockey.com.
Included in Blatherwick’s column – it is headlined Stop the charade: Fighting in hockey is not part of the game – is a paragraph that really resonates:
“I'm not writing to dispute the theory that ‘fighting fire with fire’ is the only way to extinguish flames – that violence reduces violence. I write because we adults in hockey (fans, coaches, league commissioners) are contributing to a far worse problem for young athletes who trust us.”
Blatherwick also makes an excellent point about how the fighting issue, entangled as it is with the talk of concussions and CTE, could well turn into a recruiting issue.
Blatherwick’s entire column is right here.
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Tyler Olsen of Chilliwack Times joins the chorus in calling for a ban on fighting in hockey. He presents his case right here.
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If you are a hockey fan, you have to admire the skill level and the skating ability of the Russian national junior team. And if you are a hockey fan who was following along on Twitter on Tuesday night, well, was that hilarious or what?
One thought I had while watching the game, and it is the only tournament game I have seen, is that our players seem to be more robotic than they used to be, while the Russians kids were playing with all kinds of excitement and emotion. Remember when it used to be the other way around?
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JUST NOTES:
The Edmonton Oil Kings have added F Henrik Samuelsson, who turns 18 on Feb. 7, to their roster. Samuelsson, who was born in Scottsdale, Ariz., and is the son of former NHLer Ulf Samuelsson, has been playing for Modo in Sweden, having suited up with the U-18, U-20 and senior teams. A potential power forward-type of player, he is expected to arrive in Edmonton this week. . . . Samuelsson is eligible for the NHL’s 2012 draft. . . .
F Shayne Neigum (Medicine Hat, Edmonton, Chilliwack, Kamloops, Regina, 2006-11) has left the ECHL’s Ontario Reign and joined the U of Saskatchewan Huskies. Neigum, 21, had four assists and 36 penalty minutes in 19 games with the Reign. . . . Darren Zary of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix reports that F Kevin King (Kootenay, 2006-11), who had been with the ECHL’s Elmira Jackals, and F Spencer Edwards (Red Deer, Seattle, Moose Jaw, 2006-2011), who was with the Central league’s Allen Americans, have joined the U of Calgary Dinos. . . .
F Mark Stone of the Brandon Wheat Kings has been named the winner of the Brandon Sun’s prestigious H.L. (Krug) Crawford Memorial Award. The annual award is emblematic of sporting excellence in southwestern Manitoba. Stone finished third in the WHL scoring race last sason, with 106 points. He was leading the league in scoring early in December when he left to join the Canadian national junior team. . . . Stone is the 13th member of the Wheat Kings to win the medal, the others being Brayden Schenn, Mark Derlago, Eric Fehr, Jordin Tootoo, Cory Cyrenne, Marty Murray, Trevor Kidd, Ray Ferraro, Dunc McCallum, Glen Hanlon, Ron Chipperfield and Juha Widing. . . .
The Red Deer Rebels have added F Marc Mackenzie, 18, to their roster. MacKenzie, a 6-foot-3, 195-pounder from Sherwood Park, Alta., who played minor hockey in Kelowna, had been with the Kelowna-based Okanagan College Coyotes of the B.C. Intercollegiate league. . . . He had eight points and 51 penalty minutes in 11 games with the Coyotes. . . . If you’re a Rebels fan, there’s more on Mackenzie right here.
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TUESDAY’S GAMES:
In Victoria, the Calgary Hitmen got three goals from F Chase Clayton and two goals and two assists from F Jimmy Bubnick as they dumped the Royals, 9-4. . . . Clayton, who scored three goals in 55 games last season, went into the game with two goals and came out with five. . . . Bubnick, 20, has 16 goals. . . . Calgary D Josh Thrower, the 23rd overall selection in the 2011 bantam draft, made his WHL debut. He had an assist and was plus-2. Thrower is from North Vancouver. . . . F Logan Nelson, a freshman from Rogers, Minn., had three goals. Nelson, 18, has 17 goals. He now has 39 points in 39 games. . . . Calgary now is 20-6-3 and in eight place in the 12-team Eastern Conference, just five points out of fourth. . . . The Hitmen finished last season with just 20 victories (20-47-5). . . . It was the sixth time this season that Victoria has allowed at least eight goals. In its last three games, Victoria has been outscored 22-13 and is 0-3. . . . The Royals now have lost seven in a row. . . . Calgary was 3-for-4 on the PP. . . . Victoria F Kevin Sundher ran his point streak to nine games with an assist and also had the fifth fight of his WHL career, this one in the third period with F Brady Brassart. . . .

In Portland, F Taylor Peters scored at 3:08 of OT to give the Winterhawks a 4-3 victory over the Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . Portland F Dillon Wagner forced OT with his third goal at 11:534 of the third period. . . . Peters, who scored on a breakaway, has eight goals. . . . The Winterhawks have won 13 straight games on home ice, three shy of the franchise that was set from Oct. 1–Dec. 11, 1993. . . . Portland is 16-2-1 on home ice this season. . . . Portland had a 49-29 edge in shots. . . . Portland F Ty Rattie was held to one assist. He leads the CHL in goals (37) and the WHL in points (69). . . . Portland G Mac Carruth has 69 career regular-season victories. He is fifth on the franchise list, behind Darrell May Sr. (105), Brent Belecki (79), Scott Langkow (71) and Lanny Ramage (69). . . . One other interesting note from Graham Kendrick’s notes: “Winterhawks public address announcer Sean Norris will be appearing on Monday's episode of Jeopardy, airing at 7 p.m. on KATU. Norris was in Los Angeles in October to tape the episode.” . . . Bob Bell for $500, Alex. . . . Sorry, Scooter, couldn’t resist!
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A few more words about Taylor Peters. . . . It turns out that he has a blog (Blades of Glory) that is right here. . . . And his Jan. 2 entry explains how he and his billets’ son climbed into kayaks in the dark of night and may have saved the lives of two kayakers who had capsized. . . . This is great stuff! . . . Oh, and Peters can write a bit, too!
Portland freelance writer Scott Sepich has more on the Peters story right here.
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Hockey Canada and the CHL have started the Ed Chynoweth Internship Program, aimed at alumni of the CHL and the national men’s and women’s programs who are pursuing careers in sports administration, communications, marketing or development.
According to a news release, “Internships will be awarded annually to up to five outstanding college or university students who have completed or are working toward an undergraduate or graduate degree in a sports-related field.”
For more information, check out the WHL website or visit hockeycanada.com.

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.