THE MacBETH REPORT:
D Patrik Vrana (Moose Jaw, Prince George, 2006-07) signed a contract for the rest of this season with Polonia Bytom (Poland, 1 Liga) after being released by Vsetin (Czech Republic, 2. Liga) for financial reasons. He started the season with Sumperk (Czech Republic, 1. Liga), where he had one goal in nine games, before transferring to Vsetin, where he had one goal and five assists in 12 games. . . .

F Dylan Gyori (Tri-City, 1994-99) signed a contract for the rest of this season with Dresdner Eislöwen (Germany, 2. Bundesliga) after his release by the Hannover Indians (Germany, 2. Bundesliga). He had one goal and three assists in seven games with the Indians. . . .

D Brent Sopel (Saskatoon, Swift Current, 1992-97) was traded by Metallurg Novokuznetsk (Russia, KHL) to Salavat Yulaev Ufa (Russia, KHL) for "monetary compensation." Metallurg is out of the playoffs and Salavat Yulaev have clinched a playoff spot. Both teams have four games left in the regular season. Sopel had four goals and six assists in 47 games with Metallurg this season. A short message from Sopel thanking the fans of Metallurg is right here. Unfortunately, it is overdubbed in Russian. . . .

G Tyson Sexsmith (Vancouver, 2004-09) signed a contract for the rest of this season with Bolzano (Italy, Serie A) after his release by Metallurg Novokuznetsk (Russia, KHL). He had a 3.28 GAA and a .873 save percentage in four games with Metallurg this season. Bolzano has three regular-season games left and currently sits in first place in Serie A Master Round. Sexsmith replaces Czech G Tomas Duba, who left Bolzano to sign with Krefeld Pinguine (Germany, DEL) two weeks ago. . . .

D Shaone Morrisonn (Kamloops, 1999-2002) was traded by Spartak Moscow (Russia, KHL) to CSKA Moscow (Russia, KHL) for "monetary compensation." He had one goal and three assists in 44 games for Spartak. Spartak also is out of the playoff race while CSKA has clinched a playoff spot with four games left for each team. You can see pictures of Morrisonn being welcomed to CSKA by general manager Sergei Fedorov right here. . . .

D Jordan Henry (Moose Jaw, Red Deer, 2003-07) signed a contract for the rest of this season with HPK Hämeenlinna (Finland, SM-Liiga). Henry started the season on a tryout contract with Södertälje (Sweden, Allsvenskan), where he had one goal and one assist in seven games. After his release form the try-out, he signed with the Stockton Thunder (ECHL) and was loaned to the Oklahoma City Barons (AHL) on a tryout five days afterwards. Henry had two assists in 20 games with the Barons but was released from his tryout loan and returned to Stockton on Jan. 21. He played two games with the Thunder and had two assists. . . .

F Lynn Loyns (Spokane, 1997-2001) was granted his release by the Ravensburg Towerstars (Germany, 2. Bundesliga) for personal reasons. He had two goals and three assists in 12 games for the Towerstars this season. . . .

F Ned Lukacevic (Spokane, Swift Current, 2001-06) signed a contract for the rest of this season with Aalborg (Denmark, AL-Bank Liga) after a successful tryout. He did not play any games during his tryout period; he just participated in practices and training sessions. Lukacevic was pointless during a two-game try-out with Eispiraten Crimmitschau (Germany, 2. Bundesliga) and had three goals and eight assists in 15 games with Banska Bystrica (Slovakia, Extraliga) earlier this season.
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The Tri-City Americans are expected to have a pair of prospects make their WHL debuts tonight in Everett against the Silvertips. . . . D Parker Wotherspoon, the Americans’ first-round selection in the 2012 bantam draft, and F Justin Marreck, who has been on the Americans’ list for two years, have been brought in for the weekend. . . . Wotherspoon, the younger brother of Portland Winterhawks D Tyler Wotherspoon, plays for the major midget Fraser Valley Hawks. . . . Marreck, 16, plays for the major midget Okanagan Rockets. . . . Both plays also are to play Saturday when the Americans are to meet the Seattle Thunderbirds in Kent, Wash., and then return to their club teams.
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The WHL has suspended D Joel Edmundson of the Kamloops Blazers for four games, while Tri-City Americans F Tyson Dallman has been hit with a three-game sentence. . . . Both suspensions are the result of infractions in Wednesday games. . . . Edmundson received a headshot major and game misconduct for an open-ice hit on Portland Winterhawks F Adam De Champlain, who left the game afer the first-period hit and didn’t return. . . . Dallman was given an interference major and game misconduct after a collision with Prince George Cougars G Brett Zarowny, who also left the game.
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THURSDAY’S GAMES:
In Red Deer, F Turner Elson and F Ryhse Dieno each had two goals to lead the Rebels to a 6-2 victory over the Kootenay Ice. . . . Dieno also had two assists, while Elson had one. . . . Dieno has 33 points, including 17 goals, since joining the Rebels from the SJHL’s La Ronge Ice Wolves. . . . Ice F Sam Reinhart scored his 27th goal as he ran his point streak to 15 games. . . . With F Joel Hamilton having suffered an undisclosed injury in practice Wednesday, the Rebels brought in F Vukie Mpofu, a fourth-round pick in the 2011 bantam draft. Mpofu has 55 points in 34 games with the midget AAA Saskatoon Contacts. That’s good for second place in the league scoring race. . . .

In Kelowna, the Rockets scored the game’s first four goals, three of them in the first period, and went on to a 6-1 victory over the Victoria Royals. . . . F Tyson Baillie scored the game’s first and last goals, giving him 18. . . . The Rockets ran their home-ice winning streak to 22 games. The franchise record (24) is held by the 1994-95 Tacoma Rockets. . . . Kelowna F Dylen McKinlay had two assists in his 300th regular-season game. . . . With the victory, the Rockets became the second WHL team to clinch a playoff spot this season.


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THE MacBETH REPORT:
D Patrik Vrana (Moose Jaw, Prince George, 2006-07) was released by mutual agreement by Sumperk (Czech Republic, 1.Liga). He had one goal in nine games with Sumperk this season. Last season, Vrana had three goals and three assists in 31 games with Piestany (Slovakia, 1.Liga) and no points in seven games with Olomouc (Czech Republic, 1.Liga). . . .
D Jordan Henry (Moose Jaw, Red Deer, 2003-07) was released at the end of his tryout contract with Södertälje (Sweden, Allsvenskan). He had one goal and one assist in seven games during his tryout. . . .
F Matt Keith (Spokane, Red Deer, 1999-2003) signed a tryout contract with Dornbirn (Austria, Erste Bank Liga). He had no points in four games with Karlovy Vary (Czech Republic, Extraliga) earlier this season. . . .
G Alexander Fomitchev (Calgary, Seattle, 1997-2000) was traded from Tver (Russia, Vysshaya Liga) to Ryazan (Russia, Vysshaya Liga) for G Andrei Shutov. Fomitchev had a 3.63 GAA and a .884 save percentage in eight games with Tver this season.
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The fur has started to fly in Saskatoon where the Blades, the host team for the 2013 Memorial Cup, are trying to put the brakes on an early-season skid.
The Blades, whose 2-5-0 start includes a 10-1 loss to the visiting Swift Current Broncos on Friday, have acquired F Adam Kambeitz, 20, who was the captain of the Red Deer Rebels.
In return for Kambeitz, the Blades surrendered F Christian Stockl, 17, and a third-round selection in the 2014 bantam draft.
That moves gets the Rebels down to the limit of three 20-year-olds — F Turner Elson, F Charles Inglis and D Brandon Underwood. Elson has been on the shelf with a lower-body injury, but might return tonight in Swift Current against the Broncos.
The deal also allows the Rebels to get back a third-round pick in the 2014 draft, as they had given one to the Vancouver Giants last month in exchange for F Matt Bellerive.
The Blades, meanwhile, will have to make another move this week, as they also are carrying F Brenden Walker, F Josh Nicholls and D Connor Cox as 20s.
Stockl, a Winnipegger, was a fourth-round pick by the Blades in the 2010 bantam draft. He had 69 points in 38 games with the midget AAA Winnipeg Wild last season. D Kevin Pochuk and F Jesse Miller, both of whom are on the Rebels’ roster, also were with the Wild lastd season.
Stockl played in five of the Blades’ seven games, scoring once.
As for Kambeitz, there’s not much doubt what the Blades are hoping to get from him.
“He’s a real intense kid that plays the game for keeps,” Lorne Molleken, the Blades’ GM/head coach, told Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix. “That’s something we need to improve on in our forward group. I think that he’ll do a real good job for us.”
Kambeitz has four points, all assists, in nine games with the Rebels this season.
Nugent-Bowman’s complete story is right here.
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D Dalton Thrower, a healthy scratch for two games, is expected back in the Saskatoon Blades’ lineup when they play host to the Portland Winterhawks on Wednesday. Thrower was a second-round selection by the Montreal Canadiens in the 2012 NHL draft.
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For today’s good read, check out the incomparable Roy MacGregor’s latest take on the NHL lockout. It’s right here.
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TWEET OF THE DAY:
From Vancouver Sun sports columnist Iain MacIntyre (@imacVanSun): “As long as Bettman insists on immediate rollback and Fehr says every $ of every contract must be paid, nothing else matters.”

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A humorous text exchange with a WHL coach on Tuesday morning after he had seen the photo from inside the Whitney Forum that was posted here . . .
COACH: Just read your blog this a.m. Flin Flon was a tough place to play. Had a chuckle to myself this morning. Some good memories.
ME: Long bus rides to Flin Flon for some players!
COACH: And coaches! I did both.
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Marty Aalto of Port Orchard, Wash., with a note on the toughest rink debate:
“What about Queen's Park in New West? I only went there once in the Big Bad Bruins era but it scared the heck out of me. . . .  It's tough for anyone to really appreciate the Bruins of the mid-’70s if you weren't actually there to see it.”
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THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Radek Meidl (Seattle, Tri-City, 2006-08) signed a try-out contract with Berounsti Medvedi (Czech Republic, 1.Liga). Meidl had no points in seven games with Michalovce (Slovakia, 1.Liga) and two goals in seven games with Prostejov (Czech Republic, 2.Liga) last season. . . .
D Jordan Henry (Moose Jaw, Red Deer, 2003-07) signed a three-week try-out contract with Södertälje (Sweden, Allsvenskan). He had two goals and nine assists in 68 games with the Abbotsford Heat (AHL) and the Chicago Wolves (AHL) last season.
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Troy Mick, a former WHL player and coach, has stepped aside as head coach of the BCHL’s Salmon Arm SilverBacks. He will stay on as the club’s general manager and will retain his status as a minority owner.
“This was a very tough decision but the right one for the players and the franchise,” Mick said in a statement issued by the club. “I needed to be a full-time coach for the players and I could not fulfil those commitments as my other duties were always getting in the way.”
The new head coach is Scott Robinson, a former Salmon Arm assistant coach and a two-time BCHL coach of the year.
Robinson, a native of Salmon Arm, spent the last two seasons as head coach of the NAHL’s Dawson Creek Rage. The franchise folded after last season.
The SilverBacks, who are 0-2 after the opening weekend of regular-season play, hold their home-opener Friday against the Vernon Vipers.
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Ryan Hanes is a defenceman trying to crack the roster of the OHL’s Kitchener Rangers. No, Ryan Hanes used to play with the WHL’s Kamloops Blazesrs and now is a forward with the BCHL’s Cowichan Valley Capitals. . . . Yes, there are two Ryan Hanes, and both are 20 years of age. . . . Josh Brown of the Kitchener-Waterloo Record has more right here.
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Ron Robison, the commissioner of the WHL, has told Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post that the WHL’s 20-year-old rule isn’t about to change.
Harder writes:
“That’s the official word from WHL commissioner Ron Robison, who said Tuesday the league won’t increase its three-player overage limit to accommodate the potential for an influx of talent from an NHL work stoppage.”
Robison also told Harder that the league won’t change its approach to import players.
Pats head coach Pat Conacher had told Harder he would like to see teams given five 20-year-old/import slots to use as they see fit.
“There has not been any discussion at this point in time,” Robison told Harder. “We’re continuing on with the same ratios of three overage players and two import players. We’re comfortable overall in where we are in that regard. The whole thing is subject to change from time to time. But we’re happy with the complement the way it is right now.”
What this means is that the WHL continues to see its role as a developmental league first and an entertainment vehicle second.
Harder’s complete story is right here.
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D Mitchell Wheaton, 17, is to return to the Kelowna Rockets this week after having committed to the WHL team. The 6-foot-5 Wheaton was a 10th-round selection in the 2010 bantam draft. He opened camp with the Rockets, but then returned to the AJHL’s Spruce Grove Saints. . . . Last season, he had 14 points and 62 penalty minutes in 45 games with the Saints.
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The Portland Winterhawks appear to be down to four goaltenders now that Jarrod Schamerhorn, a 17-year-old from Kelowna, has been assigned to the BCHL’s Nanaimo Clippers.
Schamerhorn, who has signed with the Winterhawks, played last season with the major midget Kootenay Ice.
That leaves the Winterhawks with returnees Mac Carruth,, 20, and Brendan Burke, 17, along with Cam Lanigan, 20, and Brendan Jensen, 19. Carruth, however, has signed with the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks and is expected to start the season in their organization.
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D Ryan Murray, who was selected by the Columbus Blue Jackets with the second pick of the 2012 NHL draft, will begin making his way to Everett today.
Murray, 18, is the captain of the Everett Silvertips and, without an NHL labour dispute, would have been given a good shot to make the Blue Jackets’ roster.
Instead, it would seem that he will start the season in the WHL.
But what happens if top prospects start their season in major junior and then there is a settlement between the NHL and the NHLPA?
Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch takes a look right here.
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The AJHL’s Fort McMurray Oil Barons swung a deal Tuesday that landed them F Danny Gayle, 20, who was released earlier by the Calgary Hitmen. . . . Gayle had 39 points in 61 games with the Hitmen last season but lost out in the 20-year-old numbers game. . . . The Oil Barons sent F Jessey Touchette, an 18-year-old from Fort McMurray, to the Lloydminster Bobcats for Gayle’s rights.
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The Medicine Hat Tigers have their roster at 29 players after assigning G Keelan Williams, 16, to the midget AAA Calgary Rangers; D Nathyn Mortlock, 16, and F Alex Mowbray, 16, also were assigned. Mortlock played last season with the midget AAA UFA Bisons who play out of Strathmore, Alta., while Mowbray was with the midget AAA Calgary Buffaloes. . . . The Tigers are carrying three goaltenders, 10 defencemen and 16 forwards. That includes Czech G Marek Langhamer, 18, who arrived in Medicine Hat late last week. He was a seventh-round selection by the Phoenix Coyotes in the 2012 NHL draft. . . . The other goaltenders on the roster are Kenny Cameron and Dawson MacAuley. Cameron, 19, got into 14 games with the Tigers last season, while MacAuley, 18, played in one.
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The ECHL’s Bakersfield Condors have offered an amateur tryout deal to RW Justin Bieber.
"Very rarely do you see this combination of skill and toughness," said Condors head coach Matt O'Dette in a press release. “We share a common Canadian heritage since we both hail from Ontario. I've scouted some video of him online skating with my hometown team, the Toronto Maple Leafs, and I think he could provide some elusive speed up front for us. Plus, he's a right-handed shot which we've been looking to add.”
The Bakersfield Californian has more right here.
Bieber is 18 years of age, which makes you wonder why a junior team hasn’t offered him a contract and guaranteed him a spot on the roster. Sheesh, the guy has 17 million Twitter followers so you have to think having him on the roster would be worth an immediate boost to attendance. It might not do much for beer sales, though.
And, sheesh, just imagine Bieber Bobblehead Night!

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