WHL teams monitoring mumps situation . . . Rebels add key d-man from Blades . . . Hitmen are rolling

F Jim O'Brien (Seattle, 2007-09) has been released by Metallurg Novokuznetsk (Russia, KHL). He had two goals and 10 assists in 22 games.
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THE MUMPS SITUATION:

Officials with WHL teams aren’t overly concerned about the mumps, a viral disease that has hit at least 14 NHL players.
The latest NHLers to be diagnosed are Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby and forward Derick Brassard of the New York Rangers. Interestingly, the Rangers assigned F Anthony Duclair to Canada’s national junior team on the weekend.
The mumps issue hasn’t been discussed, at least not officially, at the league level inside the WHL. However, teams are watching closely from afar and monitoring the situation.
Bob Tory, the general manager of the Tri-City Americans, told Taking Note on Sunday evening that he isn’t at all concerned “because most younger people have been vaccinated.”
Tory also pointed out that WHL teams already are quite health conscious.
“We have always taken extra care in our room since the last virus scare,” he noted, “and even purchased a hospital-grade ionizer that they use in intensive care. I think a few teams bought them a few years ago.”
Hospitals use ionizers to combat infections.
Jeff Chynoweth, the president and general manager of the Kootenay Ice, told Taking Note that his club hasn’t “done anything officially in dealing with the mumps.”
“But, he added, “between our doctors and athletic therapist we are monitoring the situation with all of our players.”
Colin Priestner, the Saskatoon Blades’ managing partner, says his organization has “no concerns.”
“Most outbreaks have been in U.S. markets,” he notes, “and our kids have been vaccinated.”
Bruno Campese, the general manager of the Prince Albert Raiders, spoke with a team doctor on Sunday.
“He wasn’t concerned,” Campese told Taking Note.
Cam Hope, the general manager of the Victoria Royals, admitted that “viral infections of all kinds are always a concern in a team setting, where guys spend so much time in close contact.”
Still, he added, “it is really about being smart and diligent” and the Royals are always on high alert.
“Hygiene is given extremely high importance,” he told Taking Note, “and we require immediate reporting of any symptoms that are cold/flu like -- to make sure we isolate any ill player right away.”
The present outbreak of mumps, he pointed out, “gives us another opportunity to stress these things with the team, and every new case in the NHL is another reminder to them to take the steps they can to minimize the risk.”
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Eric Duhatschek of The Globe and Mail takes a look at the NHL and its response to the mumps situation right here.
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Two WHL teams going in opposite directions at the moment got together Sunday on a deal that involved three players and two early bantam draft selections.
The Red Deer Rebels, who have been one of the league’s hotter teams of late and are the host team for the 2016 Memorial Cup, acquired D Nelson Nogier, 18, and F Austin Adamson, 18, from the Saskatoon Blades, who are in the early days of a complete rebuild.
In exchange, the Blades get F Mason McCarty, 17, a second-round draft pick in 2015 and a first-round selection in 2016.
The Blades now hold four first-round selections, three seconds and four thirds through the 2015 and 2016 bantam drafts. (For more on what teams hold what draft picks, check out Small Thoughts At Large right here.)
The key to the deal from a Red Deer perspective is Nogier, a Saskatoon native who is the son of former WHL G Pat Nogier. Nelson was a fourth-round pick by the Winnipeg Jets in the NHL’s 2014 draft. Nogier, an alternate captain with the Blades, is a responsible defender who can bang bodies. In 128 games with the Blades, he had 18 points, two of them goals.
“He’s a player we’ve had our eyes on for well over a year now, and yet we knew there would be a price,” Brent Sutter, the Rebels’ owner, GM and head coach, told Greg Meachem of the Red Deer Advocate. “Those are the stakes in poker. It takes a first-round and a second-round pick to get a player like that.”
This season, Nogier, who played for the Blades in the 2013 Memorial Cup in Saskatoon as a 16-year-old, has a goal and seven assists in 32 games.
Nogier was a fourth-round pick by Saskatoon in the 2011 bantam draft. He was limited to 37 games last season because of a shoulder injury.
Nogier’s addition leaves the Rebels with 10 defencemen on their roster, meaning there could be more activity between Dec. 26 and Jan. 10.
Adamson, from Richmond, B.C., had five goals and five assists in 84 games over two seasons with the Blades. This season, he has three goals and two assists in 31 games. He is an undrafted list player.
McCarty, a fourth-round selection by the Rebels in the 2012 bantam draft, has two assists in nine games this season. From Blackie, Alta., he played last season with the midget AAA UFA Bisons, who play out of Strathmore, Alta. He had 42 points, 22 of them goals, in 32 games.
The Blades, who have lost 10 straight games, are 7-24-3 and know already that they won’t make the playoffs. They play their last game before the Christmas break on Wednesday when they travel to Swift Current to meet the Broncos.
Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix has more on the trade right here.
Greg Meachem of the Red Deer Advocate has more right here.
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The WHL’s Christmas trade moratorium went into effect at midnight and runs through Dec. 26.
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A BLOG NOTE:

The blog master in these parts is in need of a new computer. If you are a regular in these parts and enjoy this blog, you may want to consider making a donation in order to help make this happen. . . . Thank you, in advance.
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George Burnett won his 600th victory as an OHL head coach on Saturday when the host Belleville Bulls beat the Ottawa 67’s, 4-1. . . . Burnett, in his 19th season as an OHL head coach, is fourth on the league’s all-time list. . . . Burnett trails Brian Kilrea (1,193), the late Bert Templeton (907) and Larry Mavety (658). . . .
In the QMJHL, G Francois Brassard of the host Cape Breton Screaming Eagles scored a goal Saturday in an 8-5 victory over the Quebec Remparts. . . . Brassard scored the game’s last goal, firing the puck from behind his net off the left-side boards and into the empty goal at the other end. He is the first goaltender in franchise history to score a goal. . . . It came in his first appearance against the team that traded him away during the off-season.
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SUNDAY’S GAMES:

In Brandon, G Jordan Papirny stopped 22 shots to lead the Wheat Kings to a 4-0 victory over the Red Deer Rebels. . . . Papirny has two shutouts this season and three in his career. . . . F Tim McGauley scored twice, giving him 20 this season. He now is riding an 11-game point streak, with 12 goals and nine assists over that stretch. . . . F John Quenneville scored the game’s first goal, his 11th, on a PP, at 10:15 of the first period. . . . McGauley’s second goal, at 14:43 of the third, was shorthanded. . . . Wheat Kings F Ty Lewis, who is from Brandon, made his WHL debut. A third-round pick in the 2013 bantam draft, he had been on the shelf with a broken arm. . . . Among Brandon’s scratches were F Jayce Hawryluk and F Jesse Gabrielle, both out with undisclosed injuries. . . . D Nelson Nogier and F Austin Adamson, acquired earlier in the day from the Saskatoon Blades, weren’t in Red Deer’s lineup. . . . The Wheat Kings (24-7-3) are 3-0-1 in their last four games. They lead the East Division by 12 points over the Regina Pats. . . . The Rebels (18-12-4) had a four-game winning streak end. They are third in the Central Division, one point behind Calgary. . . .

In Calgary, the Hitmen ran their winning streak to five games with a 4-1 victory over the Kelowna Rockets. . . . The Hitmen scored the game’s first three goals, two of them coming in the second period following a scoreless first. . . . F Beck Malenstyn scored his fifth at 6:13 of the second period and F Layne Bensmiller got his first at 19:28. . . . Calgary F Adam Tambellini made it 3-0 with his 19th goal at 6:02 of the third. He is on a five-game goal-scoring streak. . . . Kelowna F Dillon Dube scored his fifth on a PP at 15:46 of the third. . . . D Jake Bean of the Hitmen, a 16-year-old from Calgary, ran his point streak to seven games with an assist. He has 11 of his 12 assists in those seven games. . . . Calgary G Mack Shields, who made 17 saves, drew his fifth assist this season, breaking the franchise record of four that he set last season. . . . D Keegan Kanzig, a healthy scratch the night before, was back in Calgary’s lineup. . . . The Hitmen improved to 19-11-3 and jumped past Red Deer into second place in the Central Division. . . . The Rockets (26-5-3) lead the B.C. Division by 19 points over the Victoria Royals. . . .

In Lethbridge, the Kamloops Blazers broke open a scoreless game with three goals in 46 seconds and went on to a 4-2 victory over the Hurricanes. . . . F Collin Shirley scored his 10th and 11th goals, at 18:58 and 19:44 of the first period, with F Cole Ully getting No. 16 at 19:30. The first two of those goals came via the PP. . . . Lethbridge F Zane Jones scored twice, giving him 15, as the Hurricanes cut into the lead in the second period. . . . Kamloops D Ryan Rehill got his third goal, at 12:35 of the second, for insurance. . . . Blazers D Josh Connolly had his third straight two-assist game. He’s got 28 points, including 24 assists, in 33 games. . . . Lethbridge D Lenny Hackman was among the Lethbridge scratches. He had played in 174 consecutive games. . . . The game was the first behind the Hurricanes’ bench for new head coach Peter Anholt. . . . The Blazers (13-18-5) snapped a five-game losing skid and moved back into fourth place in the B.C. Division, a point ahead of the Vancouver Giants. . . . The Hurricanes (6-20-5), with one victory in their last 16 games, have lost six in a row. . . .

In Kennewick, Wash., F Evan Weinger broke a 2-2 tie at 11:15 of the second period and the Portland Winterhawks went on to a 4-3 victory over the Tri-City Americans. . . . Weinger has five goals. . . . Tri-City F Jordan Topping had tied it 2-2 with his second goal at 18:31 of the first. That goal came 43 seconds after F Alex Overhardt had scored his first goal to give Portland the lead. . . . Earlier, the teams shared goals 20 seconds part, F Dominic Turgeon scoring his 11th for Portland and F Beau McCue getting his 13th for the Americans. . . . Portland F Alex Schoenborn gave his side a 4-2 lead with an empty-netter at 18:51 of the third. . . . McCue then got his second of the game at 19:44. . . .  Winterhawks F Chase De Leo had an assist to run his point streak to 12 games. . . . Portland F Skyler McKenzie had two assists. . . . Portland G Adin Hill stopped 45 shots, 15 more than Tri-City’s Evan Sarthou. . . . Portland was 0-for-4 on the PP; Tri-City was 0-for-1. . . . The Winterhawks (19-14-3) have won two straight and are one point behind the U.S. Division-leading Everett Silvertips, who hold five games in hand. . . . The Americans (17-15-1) have lost two straight and are tied for third with the Spokane Chiefs in the U.S. Division.
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Just one referee tonight - Steve Papp. All 3 other WHL games have 2. Big division showdown here ... @TheWHL needs to do a better job.
— Annie Fowler (@TCHIceQueen) December 15, 2014

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Hockey Canada votes for zero tolerance!

Hockey Canada did it!
The governing body of hockey — other than major junior — in Canada came out strongly against headshots as its annual general meeting wrapped up in Calgary on Saturday.
Hockey Canada’s board of directors decided that there will be “zero tolerance” for headshots — meaning all and any contact with the head — in minor, female and senior hockey.
According to a Hockey Canada news release that was issued upon the AGM’s conclusion:
“In minor and female hockey, a minor penalty shall be assessed for all accidental hits to the head, while a double minor penalty, or a major and game misconduct at the discretion of the referee based on the degree of violence of impact, shall be assessed for any intentional contact to the head;
“In junior (Junior A, B, C, D) and senior hockey, a minor and a misconduct or a major and a game misconduct shall be assessed for all checks to the head, at the discretion of the referee;
“A major penalty and a game misconduct, or match penalty, shall be assessed to any player who injures an opponent under this rule.”
This is exciting news because it means that at least some of the people who call the shots for the game of hockey are paying attention and realize what is going on in terms of head injuries and the impact they are having.
The fact that Hockey Canada has made this decision means it immediately will begin educating the youngest minor hockey players and they should move through the system playing the game the right way.
Hopefully there will come a time when we look back on May 28, 2011, as the day the tide turned.
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It sounds as though the IIHF also will be taking a long, hard look at the issue of head contact.
IIHF vice-president Murray Costello told Kristen Odland of the Calgary Herald:
“President (Rene) Fasel of the IIHF has said from the beginning that there’s no such thing as a clean hit to the head.
“One of the worrisome things in all of our consultations was to get head injuries out of our game. There’s no room for it. But we have to come down hard and fast in a zero tolerance way.
“This will be welcomed that Canada is taking a stronger initiative. That will cause the (IIHF) to consider getting more serious and making tougher rules there, too.”
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Also of note from the Hockey Canada AGM:
The host communities were named for various events, with Langley, B.C., getting the 2011 World Junior A Challenge.
During the 2012-13 season, the WJAC will be held in Yarmouth, N.S., with the Esso Cup in Burnaby, B.C., the TELUS Cup in Sault Ste. Marie, and the RBC Cup in Summerside, P.E.I.
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Over the last two weeks, Rob Vanstone of the Regina Leader-Post has written extensively about Derek Boogaard and his death on May 13.
For one story, Vanstone spoke with a professor of neurology at the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Here is the start of that story:
The kind of blows that led to Derek Boogaard's final concussion should be eradicated, according to an authority on head trauma.
"I think fighting should be eliminated," states Dr. David Dodick, a professor of neurology at the Mayo Clinic and the president of the American Headache Association.
"How can I say that when you elbow me in the head you're going to be suspended for 10 games with a $100,000 fine, yet I can drop the gloves and you can drop the gloves and I can punch you 10 times in the head? There's an incongruence there. It's mutually contradictory that you can eliminate head hits, but you can implicitly condone fighting."
Vanstone’s complete story is right here.
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Terry Koshan of the Toronto Sun takes a look at Friday night’s Memorial Cup semifinal game between the host Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors and the WHL-champion Kootenay Ice right here.
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Koshan also touched base with Robert Savard, who remains the only player to win back-to-back-to-back Memorial Cups, a feat that F Justin Shugg of the St. Michael’s Majors hopes to equal today. That story is right here.
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Three WHL players were selected in the KHL draft on Saturday. F Marek Tvrdon of the Vancouver Giants was taken in the second round, 26th overall, by the Slovakian club Poprad. He was Poprad’s first pick. . . . D Matt Dumba of the Red Deer Rebels was selected in the third round, 60th overall, by Vityaz Chekhov, which took Prince Albert Raiders F Mark McNeil in the fifth round, 112th overall. Vityaz Chekhov used the fifth overall selection to take F Jonathan Huberdeau of the QMJHLs Saint John Sea Dogs.
If you’re so inclined, there is a translated version of the draft right here.
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Terry Jones of the Edmonton Sun was in Red Deer on Friday night as the 1963 and 1966 Edmonton Oil Kings were inducted into the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame. That story is right here.
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I first met Tom Thompson in the mid-1970s when I was working at the late, great Winnipeg Tribune and he was involved with the Manitoba Junior Baseball League. We still run into one another from time to time, and always have a grand conversation.
An aspiring lawyer, he also was dabbling in hockey. Eventually, hockey would win out and he has since worked with the Calgary Flames, Minnesota Wild and New York Rangers. These days, he scouts for the Rangers.
What I didn’t know until now is that he also has entered the blogosphere. If you weren’t aware, he has been blogging for The Hockey News, and you should check him out right here.
His most recent entry, on the gathering of the hockey community to say goodbye to Derek Boogaard, is most poignant.
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In Houston on Saturday, F Jim O’Brien (Seattle, 2007-09) scored on a delayed penalty at 7:54 of OT to give the Binghamton Senators a 2-1 victory over the Aeros. . . . The AHL’s championship final for the Calder Cup is 1-1 — the Aeros won 3-1 on Friday — with Game 3 in Binghamton on Wednesday. . . . O’Brien was selected 29th overall by the Ottawa Senators in the 2009 NHL draft. . . . Attendance at the Toyota Center was 9,002, a franchise record for a playoff game. . . . The Aeros are the AHL affiliate of the Minnesota Wild. . . . They’ll play Games 4 and 5 in Binghamton on Friday and Saturday. . . . If they need to continue beyond that, Game 6 is scheduled for Houston on Tuesday, June 7, with Game 7 there on Thursday, June 9.
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If you have access to SiriusXM Satellite Radio, you’re in luck.
Games 4, 6 and 7 are scheduled for Sirius 207 and XM 92. Game 4 is to start at 4 p.m. PT, with Game 6 and 7 both at 5 p.m. PT.

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
     
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
     
Taking Note on Twitter

Monday . . .

It’s game night in the WHL, with Game 3 of the championship final scheduled for Cranbrook.
The series is tied 1-1, with the Portland Winterhawks having opened with a 4-3 OT victory on home ice. The visiting Kootenay Ice won the second game, 7-5, after opening up a 6-1 lead.
The Winterhawks, of course, ran into some penalty problems in that game and now will be without two veteran forwards tonight.
F Tayler Jordan has been suspended for one game after taking a checking-from-behind major for a hit on Ice F Steele Boomer in Game 2.
F Brad Ross drew one of those ‘tbd’ suspensions under supplemental discipline, following a collision with Ice F Matt Fraser. Fraser needed help getting off the ice and was unable to put any weight on his left leg.
If you haven’t seen them already, the Jordan-Boomer hit is right here, with the Ross-Fraser collision right there.
It seems the league has decided not to suspend Portland F Riley Boychuk, who drew an elbowing major and game misconduct for a hit on Ice D Hayden Rintoul. That check is right here.
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Condolences to the family of former WHL D Clayton Stoner (Tri-City, 2002-05), whose brother Luke, 30, was killed Friday morning in a logging accident near Mahatta River on Vancouver Island. . . . According to a press release issued by the Port Alice RCMP, the death is being attributed to a workplace incident. . . . The Stoners are from Port McNeill. . . . Teresa Bird of the North Island Gazette has more right here. . . . Clayton Stoner, 26, spent this season with the NHL's Minnesota Wild.
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D Jared Cowen left the Spokane Chiefs when their season ended and joined the Binghamton Senators, the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Ottawa Senators. . . . He played for Binghamton on Friday night and earned an assist on the first shift of his professional career. Binghamton went on to beat the Portland, Me., Pirates, 3-0, to win a playoff series 4-2. . . . Binghamton will meet the Charlotte Checkers in the Eastern Conference final. . . . Former Seattle Thunderbirds C Jim O’Brien scored one of the Senators’ goals in that victory.
In an AHL game on Monday night, F Dustin Boyd (Moose Jaw, 2002-06) scored six seconds into the third OT period to give the host Hamilton Bulldogs a 2-1 victory over the Manitoba Moose. It was Game 7 of a Western Conference semifinal. Boyd won the period-opening faceoff, dumped the puck off the end boards, beat a defender to it and whacked it past G Eddie Lack for the winner. Hamilton F Nigel Dawes (Kootenay, 2001-05) forced the OT with a goal at 6:24 of the third period. . . . Boyd and Dawes both are from Winnipeg.
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F Sven Bartschi of the Portland Winterhawks is the WHL’s player of the week. He had seven points, including five goals, in three games last week. . . . All signs point to the BCHL’s Quesnel Millionaires being sold and on the move to Chilliwack where they will be rebranded as the Chiefs. Tyler Olsen of the Chilliwack Times has that story right here.
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Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun has an interesting piece right here on the OHL draft that was held on Saturday.
“The changing face of hockey in this province made startling history on Saturday,” Simmons writes, “when three of the first six selections — four of the first 12 players picked — in the Ontario Hockey League priority draft were players of colour.”
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In the QMJHL final, G Jacob DeSerres stopped 17 shots to help the visiting Saint John Sea Dogs to a 5-0 victory over the Gatineau Olympiques in front of 4,000 fans. . . . Saint John, which has won eight straight road games in these playoffs, leads the series 2-1 with Game 4 in Gatineau on Wednesday night. . . . DeSerres (Seattle, Brandon, 2005-10) is 10-2 in the playoffs.

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
     
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
     
Taking Note on Twitter

Playing some catchup -- as opposed to ketchup or catsup -- after coasting through then end of 2010 . . . ---
SOME NOTES FROM FRIDAY’S GAMES:
The Portland Winterhawks got three goals from newly acquired F Craig Cunningham but were beaten 4-3 by the visiting Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . Seattle F Luke Lockhart broke a 3-3 tie at 16:27 of the third period. . . . Attendance in the Rose Garden was 10,511. . . . Cunningham was acquired Tuesday from the Vancouver Giants. . . . Portland was missing seven regulars -- F Sven Bartschi and Nino Niederreiter are withi Switzerland at the World Junior Championship; F Ryan Johansen is with Canada at the WJC; F Brendan Leipsic and D Derrick Pouliot are playing in the U1-7 World Hockey Challenge; and, F Riley Boychuk and F Adam Smith were serving WHL-issued suspensions. . . . The Winterhawks will have most, if not all, of those players back before they next play, which will be Jan. 8 when they again meet the visiting Thunderbirds. . . . You can bet the fans in Kennewick, Wash., went home in a non-celebratory move after the Tri-City Americans’ New Year’s Eve date with the Spokane Chiefs was called off early in the second period because of poor ice conditions in the Toyota Center. The teams were tied 1-1 at 2:35 of the second period when the game was halted. The WHL is expected to reschedule the game early next week. . . . Ch-ch-ching! The old year ended with a few bangs in Everett as the Vancouver Giants beat the Silvertips 6-1 in a game that featured 262 minutes in penalties. The visitors took 262 of those and now are the WHL’s most-penalized team. The Giants have taken 944 minutes in 39 games, with the Kamloops Blazers next at 910 in 38 games. . . . Want some positive news? Head coach Craig Hartsburg, who underwent open-heart surgery on Oct. 20 to repair an ascending aortic aneurysm, has last been behind the bench on Oct. 16. The Silvertips were 11-14-3 with associate coach Jay Varady and assistant Chris Hartsburg, who is Craig’s son, running things. . . . The Silvertips are at home to the Americans tonight (Jan. 1), so the WHL is likely to announce at least some disciplinary action before that game. The Giants are in Chilliwack to face the Bruins on Sunday. . . . Keep in mind that the Giants were fined $750 after the stuff hit the fan during a 9-1 loss in Kennewick on Dec. 17. . . . In Chilliwack, the Moose Jaw Warriors doubled the Bruins 4-2 with F Dylan Hood icing it with his 20^th goal of the season, into an empty net, late in the third period. The road Warriors are 3-0 on this trip, including a 2-0 start to a B.C. Division tour that continues Sunday in Prince George and Tuesday in Kamloops, before wrapping up Thursday in Kelowna. . . . In Edmonton, the Oil Kings got two goals from F Dylan Wruck and 26 saves from G Jon Groenheyde in beating the Brandon Wheat Kings, 4-2. Edmonton has won three straight and eight of 10 to move into sixth place in the Eastern Conference. . . . In Cranbrook, the Kootenay Ice dropped the Swift Current Broncos 5-3 in front of 2,822 fans, the second crowd in a row about 2,800 in the RecPlex. F Max Reinhart had a goal and two assists for the Ice. The Broncos, who have lost five straight on the road, were outshot 48-14, including 17-1 in the third period. Swift Current is 3-6-1 since last playing at home on Dec. 3. The Broncos finish up the 11-game run of road games tonight in Lethbridge before turning home to face Saskatoon on Sunday.
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FRIDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
Three minors:
Moose Jaw F Cody Beach
Chilliwack F T.C. Cratsenberg
Kootenay D Joey Leach
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The NHL’s Ottawa Senators have recalled C Jim O’Brien (Seattle, 2007-09) from the AHL’s Binghamton Senators. O’Brien was the 29^th overall pick in the 2007 NHL draft. This is his first stint in the NHL. He had 25 points in 33 games in Binghamton this season. Last season, as a freshman pro, he had 17 points in 76 games. . . . F Tristan King (Portland, Medicine Hat, 2006-10) has moved from the AHL’s Texas Stars to the ECHL’s Idaho Steelheads, who are coached by former Spokane head coach Hardy Sauter. King, 20, played in six games with Idaho early in the season. He had four points with Idaho and four in 11 games with Texas.
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F Derek Hulak (Regina, Saskatoon, 2005-10) returned to Saskatoon and joined the U of Saskatchewan Huskies on Dec. 29. Hulak is a former Saskatoon Blades captain who graduated from the WHL after last season. Hulak, now 21, had been with the Central league’s Tulsa Oilers with whom he had 14 points in 21 games. . . . He is eligible to play for the Huskies immediately. By returning from the pro ranks prior to Jan. 1, he protected his CIS eligibility.
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The Swift Current Broncos and Vancouver Giants swapped defencemen on Dec. 30. The Broncos got Dalton Reum, 18, while Joel Rogers, 19, went to the Giants. . . . The 6-foot-2, 180-pound Reum, from Camrose, Alta., had six assists in 37 games with the Giants. This is his first WHL season. . . . Rogers, from Abbotsford, B.C., was in his fourth season with the Broncos. This season, the 6-foot-1, 185-pounder had three assists in 28 games.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Taking Note on Twitter