F Radek Meidl (Seattle, Tri-City, 2006-08) has been released by Polonia Bytom (Poland Ekstraliga) by mutual agreement. In nine games, he had four goals and three assists. According to Polish reports, Meidl has an offer from a club in the Czech Republic Extraliga.
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Immediately following the completion of Wednesday’s games, the Victoria Royals and Calgary Hitmen announced that they had swapped two players and three draft picks.
The Royals get F Greg Chase, 19, a fifth-round pick in the 2015 bantam draft and an eighth-round selection in 2016 for D Keegan Kanzig, 19, and a second-round pick in 2016.
It became evident that a trade was imminent when the Royals made Kanzig a healthy scratch before taking the ice against the visiting Kelowna Rockets last night.
Chase, from Sherwood Park, Alta., was a first-round pick, 22nd overall, in the 2010 bantam draft.
This season, before leaving the Hitmen and asking to be traded, Chase had two goals and 13 assists in 15 games. Last season, he totalled 85 points, including 35 goals, in 70 games. In 219 career regular-season games, Chase has 177 points, including 60 goals.
A seventh-round pick by the Edmonton Oilers in the 2013 NHL draft, Chase signed a three-year entry-level contract in September.
After leaving the Hitmen, Chase played for the WHL that met a touring Russian side in the two-game Subway Super Series. Chase played well in those games; Dave Lowry, the Royals’ head coach, was the WHL’s head coach in the two games.
Chase is expected to be in Victoria’s lineup against the visiting Everett Silvertips on Friday night.
The 6-foot-6, 240-pound Kanzig, from Athabasca, Alta., is in his fourth WHL season. In 217 regular-season games, he has 23 points, including three goals. Kanzig was the seventh overall pick in the 2010 bantam draft. The Calgary Flames, who own the Hitmen, selected him in the third round of the NHL’s 2013 draft. He signed a three-year entry-level NHL contract in December.
“Keegan is a stay-at-home defenceman who will immediately make us a stronger team,” Hitmen general manager Mike Moore said in a news release. “We have a young blueline that will benefit from his experience, leadership and on-ice presence.”
The Hitmen next play on Friday against the visiting Moose Jaw Warriors. Kanzig is expected to be in Calgary’s lineup.
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On Tuesday evening, D Kevin Davis of the Everett Silvertips tweeted: “Wear your mouth guards.”
That’s it. Four words. Simple.On Wednesday afternoon, Nick Patterson of the Everett Herald posted an explanation:
“Davis was wearing a full bubble on his helmet during Wednesday's practice at the Comcast Community Rink. That's because during practice Tuesday he took a puck to the mouth on a deflected pass, and now his smile is a little different for the time being -- he was looking pretty gnarly in the aftermath. Davis ended up losing two teeth, and he could end up losing two more.”
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Russ Farwell, the general manager of the Seattle Thunderbirds, has told Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province that F
Mathew Barzal could rejoin his team early in January.Barzal had surgery on Nov. 13 after suffering a fractured kneecap.
Farwell told Ewen via email that Barzal “has a recovery process to go through and is scheduled to be back with the team in early January.”
Asked how Barzal was injured, Farwell replied: “Prior to a practice in Saskatoon on our East Division road trip, Matt was roughhousing with some of his teammates in the locker room and tripped over a stick.”
Barzal, who put up 54 points in 59 games as a freshman last season, has 18 points in 16 games this season. He is expected to be an early selection in the NHL’s 2015 draft.
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The Medicine Hat Tigers remain without D Connor Hobbs, 17, who left the team Oct. 29 and asked for a trade. He has since been added to the roster of the SJHL’s Nipawin Hawks. . . .
D Jordan Thomson, who has been sidelined with a concussion, has left the Saskatoon Blades and returned home to Wawanesa, Man., to deal with some personal business. He is expected back with the Blades sometime next week.
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WEDNESDAY’S GAMES:
At Swift Current, G Landon Bow stopped 25 shots to help the Broncos to a 5-0 blanking of the Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . Bow has a WHL-leading five shutouts in 22 appearances this season. . . . Broncos F Coda Gordon had a goal, his 12th, and an assist as he ran his point streak to 15 games, best in the WHL this season. He also finished plus-4. . . . F Calvin Leth’s first goal of the season, and fourth in 73 career games, stood up as the winner. . . . Brandon was 0-for-5 on the PP; the Broncos were 0-for-2. . . . The Broncos (13-8-4) have points in five straight (3-0-2) and closed to within five points of the East Division-leading Wheat Kings (17-5-1). . . . Brandon continues to play without D Kale Clague, who returned from the U-17 World Hockey Challenge with an undisclosed injury. . . . The Broncos meet the Raiders in Prince Albert on Friday, while the Wheat Kings return home to face the Edmonton Oil Kings. . . . 
At Moose Jaw, F Brett Pollock scored the game’s last two goals to give the Edmonton Oil Kings a 3-2 victory in OT over the Warriors. . . . Pollock tied the game at 18:21 of the third period and won it at 4:14 of OT. He’s got nine goals this season. . . . F Brayden Point scored both Moose Jaw goals, his 13th of the season, on the PP, giving it a 2-1 lead at 4:23 of the third. . . . Edmonton G Tristan Jarry stopped 30 shots, five fewer than Moose Jaw’s Justin Paulic. . . . The Oil Kings (12-8-3) have points in four straight (3-0-1) as they head for Brandon and a weekend doubleheader. . . . The Warriors (9-10-3), who meet the Hitmen in Calgary on Friday, had won their previous two games. . . . 
At Cranbrook, F Trevor Cox scored three times and added an assist to lead the Medicine Hat Tigers to a 7-3 victory over the Kootenay Ice, which had its five-game winning streak come to an end. . . . The Tigers (16-4-2) took a 5-0 lead into the third period. . . . Cox, who has five goals, scored in the first and last minutes of the second period and completed his first WHL hat trick at 15:26 of the third. . . . Tigers D Tommy Vannelli scored his ninth goal and added two assists. . . . The Ice got a goal and two assists from each of F Tim Bozon and F Sam Reinhart. . . . Reinhart tied F Jarret Stoll’s franchise record for career assists, with 162. . . . The Tigers have points in their last three games (2-0-1). . . . Taylor Rocca of the Cranbrook Daily Townsman has a game story right here. . . . The Tigers visit the Red Deer Rebels on Friday, while the Ice is at home to the Lethbridge Hurricanes. . . .
At Kamloops, the Blazers ended a seven-game losing skid with a 4-1 victory over the Portland Winterhawks. . . . The Blazers (10-10-4), who were 0-4-3 on that slide, got 41 saves from G Connor Ingram. . . . Kamloops F Cole Ully scored his 10th goal and added an assist, while F Colin Shirley had two assists. . . . The Blazers were missing F Matthew Campese, who was acquired Tuesday from the Victoria Royals, and veteran D Brady Gaudet. According to Jon Keen, the radio voice of the Blazers, Gaudet has a shoulder injury and will be out indefinitely. . . . The Winterhawks (9-12-3) had been 2-0-1 in their previous three games. . . . Trailing 2-0 early in the second period, the Winterhawks had two 3-on-1 breaks and a 2-on-1 and came up empty each time. . . . The Winterhawks will meet the Rockets in Kelowna on Friday and Saturday, while the Blazers entertain the Prince George Cougars on Friday. . . . 
At Prince George, F Chase Witala and F Cal Babych each scored twice as the Cougars dumped the Vancouver Giants, 6-1. . . . Vancouver had won 6-4 on Tuesday night. . . . Babych broke a 1-1 tie at 16:03 of the first period and made it 3-1 at 14:17 of the second. He’s got three goals. He went into the game with a goal and an assist in 12 games. . . . Witala has 13 goals this season. . . . F Haydn Hopkins helped the Cougars’ cause with three assists. . . . F Zach Pochiro, who was returned to the Cougars by the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday, had one assist. With him in the lineup, the Cougars scratched G Jared Rathjen to stay at the mandate three 20-year-olds. The other two are F Jari Erricson and F Chance Braid. The latter had a goal, his sixth, and an assist. . . . The Cougars (12-12-0), who visit Kamloops on Friday, had lost their previous four games. . . . The Giants slipped to 9-13-0. They are at home to the Regina Pats on Friday. The Pats arrived in Vancouver on Wednesday, while the Giants were playing in Prince George. . . .
At Victoria, D Jesse Lees scored twice and added an assist to lead the Kelowna Rockets to a 5-3 victory over the Royals. . . . The Rockets led 3-0 when Lees scored his second goal, and fifth of the season, at 10:14 of the first period. . . . D Joe Hicketts, who scored his sixth goal and added two assists, cut the Royals’ deficit to 4-3 at 18:17 of the third period, but Kelowna F Nick Merkley scored an empty-netter at 19:44. . . . Rockets F Rourke Chartier scored his WHL-leading 24th goal. . . . Kelowna G Michael Herringer, whose rights belong to the Royals when this season began, stopped 30 shots. . . . The Royals (12-11-2) had won their previous two games. . . . The Rockets (21-1-2) are 11-0-2 over their last 13 outings. . . . The game ended with something of a melee that could result in fines and/or suspensions. As well, Victoria F Brandon Magee picked up a spearing major and game misconduct. Magee missed the start of this season as he waited out a 12-game suspension left over from a playoff series with the Portland Winterhawks last spring. . . . The Royals are at home to the Everett Silvertips on Friday. . . . The Rockets, who went 4-0-1 on a five-game road trip, will meet visiting Portland on Friday and Saturday nights.---
Kevin Constantine fined $500 for getting the boot in PDX. The WHL is going to have a great holiday party funded by US Div coaches!
— Andy Eide (@AndyEide) November 19, 2014
tiebreaker with more victories. However, the Hitmen weren't able to get out of the first round of the playoffs, losing in six games to the Kootenay Ice. 
Brian Sandy, who spent six seasons in the front office of the Tri-City Americans, has been named president and alternate governor of the ECHL’s Stockton Thunder. . . . Sandy was the Americans’ chief marketing officer and senior vice-president, business operations with the Americans (2005-11). . . . Most recently, he served IMG College as associate general manager for the athletic department of the University of Arizona. . . . Sandy replaces Dan Chapman, who has accpeted the associate athletic director’s position with the University of the Pacific.
Swedish F Andre Burakovsky was selected by the Washington Capitals in the first round of the 2013 NHL draft. And he was taken by the OHL’s Erie Otters with the fifth pick of the CHL’s 2013 import draft. But he apparently isn’t too happy about that. In fact, he seems he might prefer to play for the Windsor Spitfires. Too bad. “This isn’t free agency,” Erie general manager Sherry Bassin tells Sunaya Sapurji of Yahoo! Sports. “This is a draft.”
The Victoria Royals have five players in NHL development camps this week. . . . F Austin Carroll, 19, is with the Calgary Flames as a free-agent invitee. . . . F Steven Hodges, 19, was selected by Florida in the third round of the NHL’s 2012 draft, and is in the Panthers’ development camp. . . . D Keegan Kanzig, 18, taken by the Flames in the third round of last month’s draft, is in Calgary’s camp. . . . F Logan Nelson, who is preparing for his 20-year-old season, is with the Buffalo Sabres. hey took him in the fifth round of the 2012 NHL draft. . . . F Ben Walker, who turned 20 on June 21, is from Edina, Minn., and is in the Minnesota Wild’s camp as a free-agent invitee.
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