F Riley Armstrong (Kootenay, Everett, 2002-04) has been released by Vita Hästen Norrkoping (Sweden, Allsvenskan). He had six goals and seven assists in 25 games.
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It seems that every WHL team but one holds a Teddy Bear or a Toque toss game. . . . Nick Patterson of the Everett Herald has more right here on the one team that doesn’t take part in what has become an annual tradition with most teams.
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D Hunter Warner’s first WHL season has come to an after only 24 games. The Prince Albert Raiders 19-year-old freshman from Eden Prairie, Minn., will be having surgery to repair a shoulder injury and recovery time is said to be as long as six months. . . . Warner, who signed with the Raiders in August, had three assists this season. He last played on Nov. 26 in Calgary. . . . He attended training camp with the NHL’s Minnesota Wild as an undrafted free agent and came out of it with a three-year contract. . . . The Raiders also are about to lose D Josh Morrissey, as he leaves this week to go to camp with Canada’s national junior team. . . . The Raiders are hopeful that D Raymond Grewal, 19, who was acquired Friday from the Prince George Cougars, will provide them with some depth on the back end.
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The Swift Current Broncos have added F Linden Penner, 19, to their roster. A 10th-round pick by the Saskatoon Blades in the 2010 bantam draft, Penner has played with the Everett Silvertips (one game), Calgary Hitmen (40) and Moose Jaw Warriors (24). . . . He has 12 points, including five goals, in 65 regular-season games. . . . Penner, from Sherwood Park, Alta., was to have practised with the Broncos on Monday.
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The Prince George Cougars have dropped F Jordan Ross, 18, from their roster. He is expected to join the SJHL’s Yorkton Terriers. Ross, from Kronau, Sask., played last season with the Terriers, who won the national junior A championship. . . . With the Cougars, Ross had three assists in 16 games. He was a ninth-round pick by the Seattle Thunderbirds in the 2011 bantam draft. . . . The Cougars, who are at home to the Saskatoon Blades in a Teddy Bear game tonight, now are carrying 24 players, including 15 forwards and seven defencemen.
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The Kamloops Blazers have added D Nolan Kneen, 15, to their roster for a six-game swing through the Central Division. Kneen, the third overall selection in the 2014 bantam draft, is from Kelowna and plays for the Kelowna-based Okanagan Rockets of the B.C. Major Midget League. He has seven points, three of them goals, in 22 games. . . . Kneen has one assist in an earlier game with the Blazers this season. . . . The Blazers open their trip in Edmonton on Wednesday.
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The wait was worth it! #2014MemorialCupChampions pic.twitter.com/yVglIHbaP6
— Mitchell Walter (@mitchellwalter) December 9, 2014
Two weeks before opening training camp, the Regina Pats have unveiled their new structure. As Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post reported in Wednesday’s paper, John Paddock, who signed what the team calls a “multi-year contract,” is the new head coach and will have complete control of hockey operations as he also is the senior vice-president of hockey operations. . . . Chad Lang no longer is the general manager; instead, he is senior vice-president. . . . Lang, with one year left on his contract, told Harder: “I want the organization to have success. I want to surround myself with good people and ultimately it’s about the team. I’m born and raised in Regina. I grew up watching this team. It’s a big part of my family, it’s a big part of me. I’ve taken tremendous pride in what we’ve been able to accomplish in the short term that I’ve been here. I take great pride in the tradition of this organization and being a part of it. I’ve enjoyed every minute. That won’t change.” . . . In Thursday’s paper, Harder explains how the hiring process worked and explains how the new structure is supposed to work. . . . Once The Leader-Post updates its site, you’ll find two Harder stories 
The Kootenay Ice has hired Chris Wahl as its director of sales and public relations. Wahl takes over from Kaytee Wheaton, who left to join Royal LePage East Kootenay Realty. . . . Wahl spent the past three seasons in the BCHL, with the Trail Smoke Eaters (2011-13) and Surrey Eagles (2013-14). According to an Ice news release, Wahl “will be responsible for executing corporate sales agreements as well as building on the club’s foundation of communication strategies, both through traditional and new media.” . . . At the same time, Don MacMillan, who was with the Ice from 1998-2008, has returned as a part-time sales consultant. MacMillan is a bylaws officer with the City of Cranbrook.
The Prince Albert Raiders have signed D Hunter Warner, who played last season with the USHL’s Fargo Force. Warner, who turns 19 on Sept. 21, had 12 points, two of them goals, and 125 penalty minutes in 43 games with the Force last season. The 6-foot-2, 200-pounder is from Eden Prairie, Minn., and was listed by the Raiders in 2012. . . . Andrew Schopp of the Prince Albert Daily Herald has more 
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