F Vitali Karamnov (Everett, 2007-08) was reassigned by Sibir Novosibirsk (Russia, KHL) to Yermak Angarsk (Russia, Vysshaya Liga). He was pointless in two games during his recall with Novosibirsk. In seven games with Angarsk, he has two assists. . . .
D Renat Mamashev (Moose Jaw, 2000-01) has signed a one-year contract with Sibir Novosibirsk (Russia, KHL). Mamashev was in training camp with New Jersey (NHL), but was never offered a contract. Last season, with Traktor Chelyabinsk (Russia, KHL), he was pointless in four games; he had one assist in two games with Chelmet Chelyabinsk (Russia, Vysshaya Liga); and he had 12 points, five of them goals, in 32 games with Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk. . . .
F Lukáš Vantuch (Calgary, Lethbridge, 2005-07) has been released by Landshut (Germany, DEL2). He was under contract through Nov. 4. He had three assists in six games. Last season, with Landshut, he had 49 points, including 17 goals, in 53 games.
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THE EMAIL BAG:
When all is said and done, the class-action lawsuit that was filed against the CHL on Friday may well come down to the legality of the drafts that are held by the CHL's three leagues -- the OHL, QMJHL and WHL -- and the legality of their standard player contracts.For now, though, people are talking about the money. The lawsuit claims that CHL players are underpaid in that they
don't earn the minimum wage, whatever that might be in each jurisdiction. The CHL, meanwhile, claims that its players are student-athletes and that there is far more to their pay than money. On Tuesday, I received an email from a former WHL player who has taken advantage of his education package. Here are a few thoughts from this player, who I found to be mature beyond his years when he was in the WHL:
"I don't see why the CHL can't pay the players a bit more. When I was 16, I got $160 a month, so $40 a week. C'mon. Really? I would like to see a breakdown of something like $200 a month for gas (or make it dependent on which city you play in, Seattle driving vs. Moose Jaw driving is obviously way different).
"Players don't get a per diem on the road so give them like $200 a month for food/snacks on the long bus trips, and then, say, $200 a month for entertainment (movies and other stuff).
"I'd start 16-year-olds at $600 a month and then go up $100 per age so 20-year-olds get $1,000 a month.
"As has been documented, junior life isn't always that great if you aren't a top NHL prospect. You miss out on a lot of family/life events, deal with crappy coaches, stress . . . all that stuff. I feel there should be more compensation to put up with that or at least enough to break even and not have to constantly go to parents for money . . . especially when the owners make lots of money.
"I know some teams lose money for sure, so they would have to do a revenue-sharing model of some sort like the NHL, which would piss off the successful owners.
"I was fortunate. Once my gas money was up, my parents gave me a MasterCard and I'd fill up the tank with their money. They'd let me use it for some meals and whatnot once my monthly stipend was gone.
"I'm sure if increased wages come up then the CHL will want to scrap the education packages (which truly are amazing and helpful), but then the CHL vs. NCAA tilts towards the NCAA possibly?
"It's a tough subject to figure out IMO. The players need more money to live. They don't need thousands of dollars a month, just give them enough so they can enjoy life as teenagers and not always have to awkwardly ask people for money and whatnot.
"I don't know where this will go, but for anyone to deny that $160 a month is enough to live on and enjoy your time is delusional."
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F Colton McCarthy, 18, left Prince Albert last week and the Raiders are claiming that there was some tampering involved. Head coach Cory Clouston is saying that the BCHL's Vernon Vipers were involved in McCarthy's decision. "If that happens in our league, it's tampering," Clouston said on radio station CKBI's Faceoff. . . . Mark Ferner, the Vipers' GM and head coach, told Jeff D'Andrea of panow.com that he had talked with Raiders GM Bruno Campese. . . . D'Andrea's story is right here.
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TUESDAY'S REPORT:
In Regina, the Portland Winterhawks scored two PP goals and another shorthanded as they beat the Pats, 3-1. . . . The Winterhawks were 2-4 on the PP. . . . F Skyler McKenzie gave the visitors a 2-0 lead with his first goal, shorthanded, at 12:30 of the first period. . . . McKenzie ended up with a charging major at 19:49 of the third period. . . . The Winterhawks are 2-1-0 on their East Division swing. . . . The Winterhawks, who play the Broncos tonight in Swift Current, may be in a bit of a quandary with their goaltending. Starter Brendan Burke left in the third period last night after appearing to tweak something while make a save. Bolton Pouliot, who came over from Kamloops last week, came off the bench to finish up. Aden Hill, Portland's other goaltender, showed up on the injured list Tuesday; he's out week-to-week with an undisclosed injury. . . . Burke finished with 24 saves on 25 shots and was selected as second star. Pouliot, who came on at 3:42 of the third period, stopped 10 shots. . . . 
In Prince Albert, the Raiders scored the game's last three goals and beat the Kootenay Ice, 3-2. . . . F Jayden Hart got the winner at 13:43 of the third period. . . . The Ice led 2-0 on F River Beattie's first goal at 8:10 of the first period. . . . Raiders G Nick McBride stopped 28 shots. . . . The Raiders have won two straight after losing five in a row. . . . The Ice remains without F Tim Bozon, who is sidelined with an undisclosed injury, but did get F Vince Loschiavo back after a four-game absence with an undisclosed injury. . . . With F Colton McCarthy and F Dakota Conroy having left the team, Raiders head coach Cory Clouston had to do some line juggling. Left with 11 forwards, he also had to move a defenceman up front. . . . Jeff D’Andrea of panow.com has the game story right here . . .
In Edmonton, G Stuart Skinner stopped 47 shots through OT and added three more in the shootout as the Lethbridge Hurricanes got past the Oil Kings, 2-1. . . . Skinner, who is from Edmonton, won't turn 16 until Nov. 1. He was the 17th overall selection in the 2013 bantam draft. . . . Edmonton had won four in a row. . . . The Hurricanes snapped a six-game losing skid. . . . F Tyler Wong of Lethbridge broke a scoreless tie at 1:50 of the third. . . . Edmonton F Andrew Koep tied it with his sixth goal of the season at 10:53. . . . Lethbridge F Jamal Watson scored in the shootout to win it. ---
Nick Patterson of the Everett Herald reports that the Silvertips are without F Dawson Leedahl (knee). He has had an MRI and the team is awaiting the results. According to Patterson, Leedahl will be out either four to six weeks or four to six months. He’s a big part of the Silvertips’ shutdown line. . . . The Medicine Hat Tigers came out winners
on Friday at the Chamber of Commerce’s Business Awards gala. The Tigers were presented with the the 2014 Medicine Hat Chamber of Commerce Southeast Alberta Shines Award, an award that used to be known as the Tourism Award of Distinction. The award, according to a news release, “recognizes a business, organization or group that has demonstrated outstanding achievement in putting Medicine Hat and/or Southeast Alberta 'on the map' as a great place to live, work and/or visit.” Dave Andjelic, the Tigers’ senior director, marketing and public relations, accepted the award on behalf of the organization.---
A 6 year old today told me I look like Justin Bieber... Not sure whether to take that as a compliment or an insult
— Isaac Schacher (@ShockDoctor27) October 21, 2014
The Medicine Hat Tigers were without G Jared Rathjen when they beat the Calgary Hitmen 4-2 in High River, Alta., on Saturday night. Apparently, Rathjen, 20, isn’t injured. . . . “He’s not injured. He’s just not healthy,” Shaun Clouston, the Tigers’ general manager and head coach, told Ryan McCracken of the Medicine Hat News. “He’s got a further evaluation, he just hasn’t been cleared.” . . . Uhh, OK. Thanks for clearing that up. . . . G Marek Langhamer, the Czech 20-year-old, was to play last night. He will go to camp with the NHL’s Arizona Coyotes and could play in their organization. The Tigers, then, are likely to open the season with Rathjen, who was acquired from the Victoria Royals over the summer, and Nick Schneider, 17, as their goaltenders. . . . Assuming that Rathjen regains his health, that is.
Steve O’Rourke used to play for the Tri-City Americans. These days, the 40-year-old is an assistant coach with the Red Deer Rebels. This weekend, he was back in Kennewick, Wash., with the Rebels, who are playing in the Red Lion Hotel tournament. Annie Fowler of the Tri-City Herald reminisces with O’Rourke 
The Kamloops Blazers have named Peter Soberlak as their mental performance coach. Soberlak, 45, is a Kamloops native who had been working with the Kelowna Rockets. He played with the Blazers as a 16-year-old (1985-86), before being dealt to the Swift Current Broncos early the next season. He was on the Broncos’ bus that crashed on Dec. 30, 1986, and later was on the Swift Current team that won the 1989 Memorial Cup. These days, Soberlak is the chair of the physical education department at Thompson Rivers U in Kamloops. He has a bachelor’s degree in psychology from UBC and a master’s degree in sport and exercise psychology at Queen’s U in Kingston, Ont. . . . I wrote this piece 
The Moose Jaw Warriors have signed F Tanner Jeannot, a 17-year-old from Oxbow, Sask. Jeannot, a list player, had 36 points, including 15 goals, with the midget AAA Yorkton Harvest last season. The 6-foot-2, 190-pounder was the Harvest’s rookie of the year, most dedicated player and scholastic player of the year. . . . Jeannot made his WHL debut on Saturday night, going pointless in Moose Jaw's 5-2 victory over the visiting Swift Current Broncos.
The Regina Pats have added F Sam Steel to their roster for the remainder of this season. Steel, the second overall selection in the 2013 WHL bantam draft, spent the season with the midget AAA Sherwood Park, Alta., J. Ennis Kings. Their season ended earlier this week, freeing him up to join the Pats. . . . The Pats will use Steel, too, as they have been hit by injuries and illness. He played last night as the Pats beat the visiting Swift Current Broncos 4-3 in a shootout. . . . Regina was again without F Boston Leier and F Dryden Hunt, both of whom have concussions. F Morgan Klimchuk and D Dmitry Sinitsyn, both of whom missed a game this week due to illness, were back.
File this under the best laid plans. . . . Nick Patterson of the Everett Herald had hoped to get video of a post-game celebration between G Austin Lotz and D Ben Betker of the Everett Silvertips, and then post it on his blog. Well, the stars were aligned the other night, except that a bear got in the way. . . . Read all about it 
F Tanner MacMaster of the AJHL’s Camrose Kodiaks had signed a letter of intent to attend Boston College and play for the Eagles. However, it seems he has changed his mind and now has committed to Quinnipiac, which is in Hamden, Conn., where he will play for the Bobcats. . . . The Spokane Chiefs selected MacMaster with the 19th overall pick of the 2011 bantam draft. This season, with the Kodiaks, MacMaster, who turned 18 on Jan. 8, has 40 points, including 11 goals, in 47 games. Last season, he finished with 48 points, 24 of them goals, in 56 games. . . . Tanner is the younger brother of Nathan MacMaster (Moose Jaw, Calgary, Tri-City, 2007-12).
In Regina, F Connor Gay’s second goal of the game, at 4:13 of OT, gave the Pats a 4-3 victory over the Swift Current Broncos. . . . Gay has 15 goals this season. . . . The Broncos scored twice in the first period and took a 2-0 lead into the second period. . . . Gay tied the score at 3:29 of the third, with F Patrick D’Amico giving the Pats their first lead, with his sixth goal, at 6:03. . . . Broncos F Coda Gordon forced OT with his 24th goal at 12:24. . . . The Pats, who went 10-2-1 in February, are 36-23-6 and atop the East Division, seven points ahead of the Broncos (31-24-9). . . .
In Saskatoon, the Kootenay Ice scored the game’s last four goals and beat the Blades, 4-2. . . . Ice F Sam Reinhart had one assist, running his point streak to a franchise-record 22 games and his assist streak to 15 games, which already was a franchise record. Former Ice F Mike Comrie had set the previous points record of 21 games in 2000-01. . . . Saskatoon F Cameron Hebig, assigned the task of checking Reinhart, scored his 12th goal. . . . The Ice is 9-2-0 in its last 11. . . . The Blades have lost four in a row; they also have lost seven straight on home ice. . . . Ice F Luke Philp tied the score 2-2 with his 27th goal at 4:06 of the second period. . . . Kootenay D Landon Peel scored his fourth goal at 8:36 of the third to give his side its first lead. . . . Ice D Landon Cross iced it with a shorthanded empty-netter, his second goal this season, at 18:42. . . . Ice G Wyatt Hoflin stopped 31 shots. . . . It was Critters Pucks and Paws Night. There were 158 dogs in the audience, along with 4,517 folks. . . . Blades F Nikita Scherbak had his 10-game point streak snapped. . . . D Jordan Thomson made his debut with the Blades. Thomson, the fourth overall pick in the 2011 bantam draft, was acquired from the Kamloops Blazers in January. He will play two more games with the Blades this weekend and then return to the MJHL’s Dauphin Kings. . . . The Ice (37-23-4) is fifth in the Eastern Conference, five points behind the Medicine Hat Tigers. . . . The Blades (16-43-5) won’t be in the playoffs. . . .
In Calgary, F Brady Brassart scored twice and added an assist to help the Hitmen to a 5-1 victory over the Kamloops Blazers. . . . Brassart, who has 33 goals, ran his point streak to 14 games. . . . Calgary F Adam Tambellini opened the scoring with his 16th goal just 31 seconds into the second period. He has goals in three straight games. . . . Calgary F Pavel Padakin scored his 25th goal on a third-period penalty shot. . . . The Hitmen are 10-0-1 in their last 11. . . . The Blazers have lost three in a row. . . . Kamloops had veteran F Chase Souto back in the lineup. He hadn’t played since Feb. 8. . . . The Hitmen (42-15-7) are tied with the Edmonton Oil Kings atop the Central Division. . . . The Blazers (13-47-5) are 10th in the 10-team Western Conference. . . .
In Prince George, D Travis Brown scored at 15:09 of the third period to break a 3-3 tie and help the Victoria Royals a 5-3 victory over the Cougars. . . . Brown, who came over from the Moose Jaw Warriors in January, has 13 goals this season. . . . The Royals led 2-0 in the second period and 3-1 in the third, only to have the Cougars tie it on goals 13 seconds apart from F Zach Pochiro, his 27th, and F Todd Fiddler, his 44th. . . . Fiddler, who scored twice, now is riding a 17-game point streak. . . . The Royals are 9-1-1 in their last 11. . . . The Cougars had F Brett Roulston back in the lineup after he missed eight games with a concussion. Earlier in the season, he missed 13 games with a broken foot. . . . The Royals and Cougars play again tonight in P.G. . . . Victoria is 6-1-0 against Prince George this season. . . . The Royals (44-17-4) are third in the Western Conference and likely to finish there. . . . The Cougars (26-33-8) are two points out of the conference’s last playoff spot but have only five games left. . . . 
In Kelowna, G Jordon Cooke stopped 31 shots to lead the Rockets to a 6-0 victory over the Vancouver Giants. . . . They’ll play again tonight in Vancouver. In fact, four of the Giants’ final eight games are scheduled to be against the Rockets. . . . Cooke has three shutouts this season and eight in his career. . . . F Nick Merkley, a 16-year-old from Calgary, scored twice, giving him 20 goals. He’s got 49 points in 58 games. . . . D Damon Severson drew three assists,. . . . The Rockets scored four times in the third period. . . . Kelowna (51-9-4) leads the overall standings. . . . The Giants (30-25-10) are seventh in the Western Conference, three points behind the Everett Silvertips. . . .
In Everett, the Silvertips took a 3-0 lead and then hung on for a 3-2 victory over the Tri-City Americans. . . . The Silvertips clinched a playoff spot for the 11th consecutive season. This is their 11th season in the WHL. . . . F Carson Stadnyk, with his 18th, and F Jujhar Khaira, with his 15th, gave the Silvertips a 2-0 first-period lead. . . . Everett had a 16-3 edge in shots in the first period. . . . F Manraj Hayer, with his 14th, upped that to 3-0 at 1:19 of the third. . . . The Americans got back in it on goals from F Lucas Nickles, at 10:51, and F Parker Powles, his 10th, at 17:53. . . . F Kohn Bauml had two assists for Everett. . . . F Brian Williams had two assists for Tri-City. . . . Americans G Eric Comrie stopped 32 shots, seven more than Everett’s Austin Lotz. . . . The Silvertips are 4-0-1 in their last five. . . . The Americans are 0-5-3 in their last eight. . . . Everett (32-23-9) is sixth in the Western Conference, three points ahead of Vancouver. . . . The Americans (27-29-8) are eighth in the conference, two points ahead of Prince George.
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