THE MacBETH REPORT:
Val Pusteria/Brunico (Italy, Serie A) announced on its website that D Keith Seabrook (Calgary, 2007-09) has told the team he is retiring from hockey, effective immediately. He had eight goals and 10 assists in 18 games with Val Pusteria this season.
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If you scroll down a bit, you will find the Name The Line contest. Take part and win a signed copy of Sudden Death: The Incredible Saga of the 1986 Swift Current Broncos.
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F Rhett Gardner of the midget AAA Moose Jaw Generals suffered a shoulder injury during The Hockey Academy Showcase in Grand Forks, N.D. Gardner was the Spokane Chiefs’ second-round selection in the 2011 bantam draft but chose not to report to the Chiefs’ training camp prior to this season as he keeps his options open. . . . Gardner, the Generals’ leading scorer, has 23 points in 15 games, good for fourth place in the Saskatchewan Midget AAA league’s scoring race. . . . The Generals went 1-3 at that tournament, losing three games in shootouts. . . .
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SUNDAY’S GAMES:
In Calgary, D Peter Kosterman broke a 2-2 tie at 12:43 of the third period and the Hitmen beat the Swift Current Broncos, 4-2. . . . Ukrainian freshman F Pavlo Padakin scored twice, including an empty-netter, for Calgary. . . . F Graham Black scored both Swift Current goals. He’s got 12. . . . The Broncos have lost two in a row and four of six. . . . Calgary had F Victor Rask in its lineup for the first time this season. A 33-goal man last season, he had been with the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers. . . . As well, Hitmen captain Cody Sylvester returned from a two-game absence with an undisclosed injury to score the game’s first goal. . . . The Hitmen moved one point ahead of idle Edmonton and trails Eastern Conference-leading Prince Albert by one point with two games in hand. . . .

In Everett, F Carson Stadnyk scored twice to give the Silvertips a 2-1 victory over the Medicine Hat Tigers. . . . Stadnyk, 17, from Saskatoon, has three goals in 25 games. . . . He broke a 1-1 tie at 12:43 of the third period. . . . F Curtis Valk got his 16th goal for the Tigers, this one via the PP. . . . Everett G Daniel Cotton stopped 40 shots. . . . The Tigers, who have lost four straight, had a 41-18 edge in shots. . . . The Tigers scratched F Hunter Shinkaruk, who suffered a skate cut to a knee that took 14 stitches on Saturday in Portland, and F Miles Koules (ankle), who also was injured in Portland. . . . Everett was without D Ryan Murray (shoulder). The Silvertips are 2-0-0 since Murray was injured on Friday in Victoria. He should have an MRI early this week in an attempt to get a precise diagnosis. . . . Everett also remains without F Ryan Harrison (knee) and F Josh Winquist (mononucleosis). . . .

In Vancouver, the Saskatoon Blades broke a 2-2 tie with three goals in a span of 4:10 in the third period as they beat the Giants, 5-2. . . . F Nick Zajac broke a 2-2 tie at 11:27 of the third period, with F Matej Stransky scoring at 15:25, on the PP, and D Duncan Siemens scoring at 15:37. . . . D Kyle Schmidt had three assists. . . . Stransky had two goals. . . . The Blades have points in six of their last seven games. After that horrid start, they now are 10-10-1. . . . F Trevor Cheek notched his 10th goal for Vancouver; he is on a six-game goal streak. . . . The Giants were without F Cain Franson for an 11th straight game. He is believed to have a concussion. . . .

The Brandon Wheat Kings, having lost twice to the host Kootenay Ice over the previous two nights, went into Lethbridge and beat the Hurricanes, 5-3. . . . The Hurricanes led 2-1 in the second period when Brandon scored three times in 5:10. . . . Wheat Kings F John Quenneville doubled his goal count to four by scoring twice. . . . Lethbridge D Daniel Johnston had two assists. He has 18 points, including six goals, in 22 games. Last season, in 55 games, the 20-year-old had 30 points, two of them goals. . . . Brandon, which had lost four straight, scratched F Alessio Bertaggia, its leading scorer, with an undisclosed injury. . . .

In Red Deer, the Rebels won their second straight game under interim head coach Brent Sutter, this time beating the visiting Prince Albert Raiders, 6-1. . . . F Matt Bellerive had a goal and two assists for the Rebels, who got three assists from F Joel Hamilton. . . . G Rylan Parenteau made his WHL debut with the Raiders, stopping two of three shots over nine minutes in the third period. Parenteau, who turned 16 on Nov. 6, joined the Raiders earlier in the weekend from the midget AAA Saskatoon Contacts. He was a third-round selection by the Raiders in the 2011 bantam draft. . . . G Andy Desautels, who normally backs up Luke Siemens, has been nursing a broken finger and may have banged it up a bit more late last week. . . . Siemens started this one, but was given a rest after stopping 42 shots over 51:06. . . . The Raiders are 5-1-0 in Alberta this season. Last season, they went 2-8-0 in games played in Alberta. . . . Prince Albert captain Mark McNeill, who played in both Subway Super Series games last week, played in his fifth game in as many nights.
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CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
None

CHECKING-TO-THE-HEAD COUNT:
F Craig Leverton, Lethbridge
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TWEET OF THE DAY:
From Edmonton Oil Kings F Michael St. Croix (@stixy18): “Terrible news that my buddy @papskos17 has to retire from junior hockey due to injury. You are inspiration to all. See you soon!”

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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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