THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Richard Mueller (Brandon, Saskatoon, Calgary, 1998-2003) signed a one-year contract with Lausitzer Fuchse Weisswasser (Germany, 2. Bundesliga). He had no points in seven games with the Straubing Tigers (Germany, DEL) and seven goals and 11 assists in 41 games with Tingsryd (Sweden, Allsvenskan) last season. . . .
D Keith Seabrook (Calgary, 2007-09) signed a one-year contract with Val Pusteria (Italy, Serie A). He had three goals and 10 assists in 45 games with the San Antonio Rampage (AHL) and two goals and one assist in nine games with the Cincinnati Cyclones (ECHL) last season. . . .
F Kris Hogg (Kamloops, Lethbridge, 2002-07) signed a one-year contract with the Fife Flyers (England, UK Elite). He had 13 goals and 11 assists in 50 games with the Missouri Mavericks (CHL) last season. There is more on the Hogg signing right here.
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Teams throughout the WHL are on tenterhooks as they watch, like the rest of us, as the NHL and NHLPA continue to negotiate a CBA.
But it looks more and more as though that deal won’t be reached by the Sept. 15 deadline, at which time the NHL has said it will lockout its players.
But what happens to WHL teams and their drafted players if there is a lockout?
The Vancouver Giants, for example, have four drafted players — D David Musil, D Brett Kulak (Calgary), F Marek Tvrdon (Detroit) and F Jordan Martinook (Phoenix).
Of that bunch, only Martinook, who is 20, is able to play anywhere other than the NHL or the WHL.
Here’s Giants GM Scott Bonner, talking to Elliott Pap of the Vancouver Sun: “The scariest scenario for us could be if, let’s say, Jordan Martinook starts the season with us, then the NHL starts up Dec. 1 and some of Phoenix’s players in the American League go back up to the NHL. Then Phoenix has to fill their Springfield roster and we might lose Marty. That would be a tough blow. Here’s your first-line centre . . . see you later. So there is definitely some grey area there.”
Pap’s story is right here.
Or consider the case of the Kamloops Blazers. They have four 20-year-olds on their roster at the moment — D Austin Madaisky, F Jordan DePape, F Brendan Ranford and F Dylan Willick.
Of those four, only Madaisky is tied to an NHL team; in fact, he has signed with the Columbus Blue Jackets.
So what happens if there is a lockout and Madaisky ends up back with the Blazers? Obviously, they would keep him as he would be one of the WHL’s top defencemen. So let’s say they keep him and trade one of the three forwards.
And, as Bonner suggested in his example, let’s say the lockout ends on Dec. 1 and the Blue Jackets decide to assign Madaisky to their AHL affiliate, the Springfield Falcons.
All of a sudden, Kamloops is out its top defenceman and a top-six forward who was traded away to make room for Madaisky.
Scenarios like this are certain to be played out across the WHL over the next few weeks.
It almost makes you wonder why the WHL doesn’t allow teams to carry five 20-year-olds throughout the season.
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It really was no surprise Monday when Brent Sutter, who owns the Red Deer Rebels, announced that he was moving back into the general manager’s office. Hey, when Willie Nelson had his own golf course, par was whatever he wanted it to be. This is Sutter's team so he can be whatever he wants to be.
Seriously, you had to know that if he wasn’t coaching somewhere in the NHL, he would be back with the Rebels.
Jesse Wallin, who had been GM/head coach, will stay on as head coach, with Bryce Thoma as his assistant.
Sutter was the club’s GM/head coach from 1999-2007 before going on to the NHL and coaching stints with the New Jersey Devils and Calgary Flames. His contract wasn’t renewed by the Flames after last season.
Wallin, one of the game’s bright young coaches, is preparing for his fifth season as head coach.
Here, from a news release, is Sutter’s explanation:
“After an evaluation of our hockey operations department throughout the summer, it became evident to me that we needed a separate general manager and head coach. Jesse Wallin will continue to be our head coach. After going through this portion of the evaluation, there were two options: Bring in someone from outside the organization to be the general manager, or I do it myself. With the familiarity I have with the coaching staff, scouting staff, players, and all other personnel inside hockey operations, I made the decision that I was the right person to take over this position at this point in time.”       
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F Keegan Iverson of the Portland Winterhawks plans on sticking with the WHL team this season at the age of 16. And he also plans on wearing No. 13 to honour his friend Jack Jablonski. Interestingly, according to the Winterhawks’ media guide, no player in franchise history has ever worn No. 13.
Paul Buker of The Oregonian has more right here.
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The Swift Current Broncos have apparently signed F Tanner LeSann, 17, who played the last two seasons with the midget AAA Yorkton Harvest. Last season, he had 42 points and 100 penalty minutes in 40 games. . . . LeSann announced his signing via Twitter (@TLeSann12): “officially signed with the swift current broncos #greatfeeling”
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The community-owned Lethbridge Hurricanes held their annual general meeting on Monday night, with more than 120 people in attendance.
The team announced a loss of $602,284 for 2011-12. The biggest chunk of that came from a lack of ticket sales — they had budgeted for $1.5 million, but, in fact, the number ended up being $984,000. . . . For 2012-13, the Hurricanes’ board is budgeting for a loss of $179,000. . . . For more on the meeting, check out Pat Siedlecki’s blog over there on the right.
I would like to thank Dylan Purcell of the Lethbridge Herald for his tweets from the Hurricanes’ annual meeting. Reading those was better than being there.
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The OHL’s Mississauga Steelheads have hired veteran coach Jason Nobili, 38, as assistant GM and assistant coach. He’ll work with GM/head coach James Boyd. . . . Nobili has been coaching for 16 years.

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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.

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When the WHL’s weekly injury list is released today or tomorrow, the Portland Winterhawks likely will show F Oliver Gabriel as being out with an upper body injury. His left shoulder apparently popped out twice in Friday’s 7-6 victory over the visiting Victoria Royals. . . . An observer tells me: “The first time was in a fight early in the game; he basically had to give up the fight and he skated straight to the locker-room. He came back for a couple of shifts at the end of the period, then on the first shift of the second period, he just collapsed in a heap on the ice in obvious pain. He eventually got up and his left arm was just dangling as he skated off. From what I can tell, there was no contact at all the second time.” . . . Gabriel had his 2010-11 season come to a premature end when he needed surgery on his right shoulder. . . . He has signed with the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets – he was a free-agent signing – and began this season with the AHL’s Springfield Falcons. If he is gone for any length of time, it could be a devastating loss for a Portland team that needs his grit up front.
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D Tyler Bortsmayer, 18, is back with the SJHL’s Weyburn Red Wings after a brief stint with the Regina Pats. . . . He joined the Pats in mid-December and was pointless in four games. . . .
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MONDAY’S GAME:
In Lethbridge, the Hurricanes broke a 2-2 tie with five goals and beat the Kootenay Ice, 5-2. . . . F Reid Duke, the fifth overall pick in the 2011 bantam draft, scored his first WHL goal for Lethbridge. . . . F Max Reinhart scored twice for the Ice. He’s got 18 this season. . . . Lethbridge D Daniel Johnston had three assists. . . . Lethbridge G Damien Ketlo stopped 31 shots. . . . Lethbridge F Russell Maxwell’s ninth goal broke a 2-2 tie at 12:53 of the second period. . . . The Hurricanes were 3-for-9 on the PP; the Ice was 1-for-5.
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MONDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
F Albin Blomqvist, Lethbridge.
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Team Pacific went into Monday’s play at the U-17 World Hockey Challenge riding high atop the B Group with a 3-0 record. But then it lost 4-2 to the United States and now finds itself playing for fifth place against Quebec. . . . The U.S., Russia and Team Pacific all finished 3-1. According to the tiebreaking procedure, a sub-group is created “of the three teams that have the same record. The tie-break between the three teams is the goal differential in the games played amongst each other. The seeded teams then are: USA in first (+1), Russia in second (even), Pacific in third (-1).” . . . F Torrin White (Moose Jaw) and F Morgan Klimchuk (Regina) scored for Team Pacific. . . . Team West, meanwhile, lost 6-3 to Russia and now is 0-4, the first Canadian team to go winless since Quebec went 0-4 in Lethbridge in 2005. . . . F Denis Bosc (MJHL-Steinbach Pistons), F Cory Millette (Red Deer) and F Jordan Tkatch (Prince George) scored for Team West, which will play Germany in the ninth-place game. . . . Today’s semifinals feature Sweden against the U.S., and Russia versus defending-champion Ontario.
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WHL TRADE TRACKER (trades made since Dec. 27):
Trades made: 4
Players: 11
Draft picks: 4
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JUST NOTES:
The Chicago Blackhawks announced the signing of F Mark McNeill of the Prince Albert Raiders on Monday. McNeill, the 18th overall pick in the 2011 NHL draft, has 39 points in 37 games with the Raiders this season. Capgeek.com actually reported this deal on Sunday, noting that the three-year deal calls for AHL salaries of US$70,000, annual NHL salaries of $1.175 million and a signing bonus of $277,500 payable over the three years. . . .
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Grant Thomas, a former QMJHL defenceman (Montreal Rocket, Cape Breton Screaming Eagles, Halifax Mooseheads, 2001-04), is the proud father of Langley, B.C.’s New Years baby. His wife, Katie, gave birth to Blake Colton Thomas at 8:10 a.m. He weighed nine pounds six ounces and already is 22 inches tall. “He’s thick,” Grant told Troy Landreville of the Langley Advance. “He’ll definitely be finishing his bodychecks.”
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Andrew Podnieks takes a look right here at linesman Kiel Murchison, who works WHL games while also serving as a Vancouver police officer. Murchison has been working the lines at the World Junior Championship.
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Jack Jablonski, a 16-year-old high school hockey player from the Minneapolis area, was left paralyzed after taking a hit from two opposing players on Friday night. According to his coach, Jablonski has no movement in his legs and minimal movement in his hands and figures. Dan Browning of the Minneapolis Star Tribune has more right here.
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Dave Paul of the Sarnia Observer talks with Alex Galchenyuk Sr., an assistant coach with the OHL’s Sarnia Sting, and Sherry Bassin, the Erie Otters’ general manager, about the Punchup in Piestany that took place 25 years ago. That story is right here and, boy, have we come a long ways since that day.

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