To Russia, with sticks and skates

Defenceman Marek Hrbas (13) of the Kamloops Blazers, here rubbing
out Mark McNulty of the Prince George Cougars on Saturday, hopes to
play in the World Junior Championship for a second straight year.(HUGO YUEN/KAMLOOPS DAILY NEWS)

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
Despite having been born and raised in the nearby Czech Republic, Marek Hrbas has never been to Russia.
That is something he plans on changing over Christmas.
Hrbas, a 19-year-old defenceman with the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers, will attend training camp with the Czech national junior team. Should he be selected to the team — and all signs certainly point in that direction — he will play for his country in the World Junior Championship that opens in Ufa, Russia, on Dec. 26.
“I’m excited,” Hrbas said Thursday after practice at Interior Savings Centre. “It’s a big deal.”
The Blazers were preparing for home games tonight against the Saskatoon Blades and Saturday against the Vancouver Giants.
Hrbas, who was acquired by the Blazers from the Edmonton Oil Kings prior to last season, expects to leave his teammates on Dec. 13 and fly to Rokycany, a town in the Plzen region of the Czech Republic, where the team will hold its selection camp.
“It’s about 10 minutes from my home,” said Hrbas, who is from Plzen. “I should be able to see my family.”
Hrbas, who has 11 points in 26 games with the Blazers, expects countrymate David Musil, a defenceman with the Oil Kings, to be the only other WHLer in the Czech camp, although there will be a few there from the QMJHL as well as centre Radek Faksa of the OHL’s Kitchener Rangers. Faksa was the OHL’s highest-scoring freshman last season, with 67 points.
Hrbas is especially looking forward to having a travelling partner from Edmonton.
“It would be nice,” he said. “It’s a long trip, like 20 hours.”
The Czechs will play out of the Sports Palace in Ufa, in a pool with Sweden, Finland, Switzerland and Latvia.
Before leaving for Russia, Hrbas said the Czechs will play an exhibition game against Slovakia on Dec. 17. After arriving in Russia, they will play Germany on Dec. 22.
Their first tournament game is scheduled for Dec. 26 against Sweden.
Last season, with the tournament playing out in Calgary and Edmonton, Hrbas had one assist and two penalty minutes in six games. The Czechs went 2-2 in their pool, including a 5-0 loss to Canada and a 5-2 victory over the United States. Russia then beat the Czechs 2-1 in the playoff round. Hrbas and his teammates won a fifth-place game, beating Slovakia, 5-2.
“We just want to make it through the preliminary round and then anything can happen in the quarterfinals and semifinals,” Hrbas said.
The Blazers are scheduled to meet the Hitmen in Calgary on Dec. 11 and play in Edmonton on Dec. 12.
Hrbas would play in those games before leaving. He then would miss six games before returning to face the visiting Tri-City Americans on Jan. 9.
Meanwhile, Blazers defenceman Jordan Thomson also will miss a few games over the New Year as he plays for Team West at the U17 World Hockey Challenge in Drummondville and Victoriaville, Que., Dec. 29 through Jan. 4.
Thomson, a 16-year-old freshman from Wawanesa, Man., is expected to miss four WHL games. He has six points in 19 games this season.
At the same time, right-winger JC Lipon and centre Colin Smith, who are one-two in the WHL scoring race, are waiting to hear if they will be invited to the Canadian junior team’s training camp. It opens in Calgary on Dec. 10.
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The Blazers (19-5-2) are coming off a 2-1 overtime loss to the Regina Pats on Wednesday night at ISC.
The Blazers held a 40-13 edge in shots and outchanced the Pats, 28-9, but still came up short.
On Thursday, they spent time working on the power play — it was 1-for-5 against Regina — and also watched a video prepared by associate coach Dave Hunchak.
Hunchak and head coach Guy Charron have been working hard to get the forwards to stop passing up shooting opportunities.
Hunchak put together a video showing the number of shots from the slot area that were passed up.
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Like the Pats, who were missing half a dozen regulars on Wednesday, the Blades (11-10-1) have their own M*A*S*H ward going.
Shane McColgan, their first-line centre, went home earlier in the week after suffering a suspected concussion during a 5-2 loss to the Royals in Victoria on Tuesday. McColgan, 19, has 23 points, including six goals.
Winger Nick Zajac, 17, is probable after taking a hit from Victoria defenceman Tyler Stahl, who drew a two-game suspension for the play.
The Blades may get back defenceman Matthew Pufahl, who missed their last two games. He came out of a 4-0 victory over the Cougars in Prince George a week ago after taking a hit from behind from forward Caleb Belter, who is serving a three-game suspension.
As well, Saskatoon headed west without defenceman Dalton Thrower, another player with a suspected concussion, and forwards Brett Stovin (shoulder) and Jessey Astles (wrist).
“We’ll move people around at different positions,” Lorne Molleken, the Blades’ general manager and head coach, told Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix. “We’re going to have to really dig down here and play a real strong team game.”
After playing Tuesday in Victoria, the Blades enjoyed two days off so they should be relatively fresh tonight. They are expected to start Russian Andrey Makarov in goal. After starring against Team WHL in the Super Series last week, he beat Prince George and Vancouver (5-2) before getting the hook after giving up four goals in two periods against Victoria.
JUST NOTES: Both games are to start at 7 p.m. . . . The Blazers are expected to start G Cole Cheveldave (14-4-0) after Taran Kozun played against Regina. . . . The Blazers will be without F Dylan Willick (broken ankle) and F Aspen Sterzer (undisclosed).

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Our latest poll has closed and it was no contest. They don’t call it Win-nipeg for nothing.
The question was: Were the WHL to expand or relocate, what city should be at the top of the list?
In the end, there were 243 responses, with Winnipeg an easy winner, drawing 96 votes or 39 per cent. Langley, B.C., was next, with 68 votes (27 per cent), followed by Chilliwack (40) and Fort McMurray, Alta. (39), both at 16 per cent.
The lineup to get a team into Winnipeg forms on the left.
A new poll is up over there on the right, this one dealing with the NHL lockout.
Thanks for taking part.
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According to a report in the Columbus Dispatch, D Austin Madaisky, 20, needs surgery on a wrist and could miss up to three months of action. . . . Madaisky, who is under contract to the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets and with the ECHL-Evansville IceMen, told me Saturday night that report is “a little pre-mature.” . . . Madaisky is to go to Columbus on Monday to meet with the team’s medical staff, “then see what they say.” . . . The doctors in Evansville have told him that he may have torn a ligament known as a scapholunate in one wrist but have suggested he get a second opinion. . . . Madaisky also said that he wasn’t injured while playing with the IceMen. He said the wrist has bothered him since he was in camp with the AHL-Springfield Falcons. . . . He has five points, including a goal, in eight games with Evansville.
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D Ryan Murray of the Everett Silvertips suffered a separated or dislocated shoulder — there are reports out there indicating one or the other — in Friday night’s 5-0 loss to the Royals in Victoria.
He has to undergo an MRI, something that is expected to happen in the next day or two. The extent of the damage then will be known.
Murray, the second overall pick in the NHL‘s 2012 draft, has signed with the Columbus Blue Jackets. He also is a lock for a roster spot with Canada’s national junior team.
“It’s not good news,” Blue Jackets GM Scott Howson told Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch. “Right now his arm is in a sling, held tight to his body, and he’s in a lot of pain He’ll have an MRI early this week, and then we’ll know more.
“You’ll have to see how much damage he’s done to the labrum. Does he have any broken bones from the thrust of the fall? Once it’s come out, it tends to come out easier in the future. Our doctors will take a look at the tests and we’ll decide the next step.”
Last season, Murray suffered a high ankle sprain in October and only just got back in time to play for Canada in the world junior championship.
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The Saskatoon Blades will play their second game of a B.C. Division swing today in Vancouver against the Giants. And Saskatoon has added D Matthew Pufahl to its list of walking wounded. Pufahl, 19, has an undisclosed injury after taking a hit from behind from Prince George Cougars F Caleb Belter on Friday night. Saskatoon also is without F Jessey Astles (wrist), F Brett Stovin (undisclosed) and D Dalton Thrower (undisclosed). . . . The Blades will get a look at F Nick Gomerich today and F Landyn Hickmott on Tuesday in Victoria. Both play for B.C. major midget teams -- Gomerich, a sixth-round pick in the 2011 bantam draft, is with the Nanaimo-North Island Silvertips, while Hickmott, a third-rounder in 2011, is with the Abbotsford-Fraser Valley Thunderbirds. Hickmott was the Blades’ first selection in that 2011 draft, going 66th overall.
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Former Spokane Chiefs D Jared Cowen underwent surgery Saturday and is expected to be sidelined for up to eight months. Cowen, who plays for the NHL’s Ottawa Senators but had been with the AHL-Binghamton Senators during the lockout, had a torn labrum in his left hip.
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In the AJHL on Friday night, the Grande Prairie Storm dumped the visiting Brooks Bandits, 4-1. The Bandits had gone into the game 20-0. The victory ran the Storm’s winning streak to nine games. . . . The Bandits set an AJHL record for longest winning streak from the start of a season; the Olds Grizzlies opened 1993-94 with 18 straight victories. . . . The Bandits fell one game short of tying the AJHL record for longest winning streak, though. The Calgary Canucks set that record at 21 in 1987-88.
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SATURDAY’S GAMES:
In Cranbrook, G Mackenzie Skapski stopped 28 shots to help the Kootenay Ice to a 4-0 victory over the Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . Skapski has three shutouts this season and three in his career. . . . The Wheat Kings, who have lost four in a row, were blanked for the first time this season. . . . The Ice swept the doubleheader, having beaten the visiting Wheat Kings 5-3 on Friday. . . . F Sam Reinhart scored the Ice’s first two goals. He has eight on the season. . . .

In Edmonton, G Luke Siemens stopped 50 shots and F Shane Danyluk scored in OT as the Prince Albert Raiders beat the Oil Kings, 4-3. . . . Danyluk has three goals this season. . . . The Raider led 3-0 late in the second period when the Oil Kings mounted a comeback. . . . Edmonton F Michael St. Croix forced OT when he scored at 16:17 of the third period. . . . Danyluk won it at 3:35 of OT. . . . The Raiders brought in G Rylan Parenteau from the midget AAA Saskatoon Blazers. He is 6-2-0, 2.86, .897 with the Blazers. Parenteau was a third-round pick in the 2011 bantam draft. . . . Parenteau was on the bench backing up Siemens, replacing Andy Desautels who was in that role in Friday’s 3-2 victory in Lethbridge. . . . The Raiders (15-6-2) moved into first place in the Eastern Conference, two points ahead of Edmonton (13-5-4). . . . The Raiders have beaten the Oil Kings three times this season. . . .

In Kennewick, Wash., F Justin Feser scored two shorthanded goals 1:01 apart in the first period and the Tri-City Americans celebrated their 25th anniversary with a 3-2 victory over the Kelowna Rockets. . . . Feser’s 16th and 17th goals of the season gave the Americans a 3-0 lead. . . . Feser has 128 career goals. That puts him into seventh place on the Americans’ all-time list, one ahead of F Dylan Gyori. . . . The Rockets got second-period goals from Rourke Chartier and Ryan Olsen but couldn’t equalize. . . . Tri-City G Eric Comrie stopped 42 shots. . . . One night earlier, Comrie stopped 41 shots in a 3-2 victory over those same Rockets. . . . The Rockets had won five in a row going into Friday’s game. . . .

In Victoria, F Morgan Klimchuk broke a 2-2 tie at 19:34 of the third period to give the Regina Pats a 3-2 victory over the Royals. . . . Klimchuk’s goal, his 13th, came 2:06 after D Jordan Fransoo had pulled the Royals into a 2-2 tie. . . . Regina G Teagan Sacher stopped 32 shots. . . . Pats D Luke Fenske had three assists. . . . Regina opened its B.C. Division swing with a 4-3 shootout loss in Vancouver on Friday. . . . The Pats play in Prince George on Tuesday and Kamloops on Wednesday. . . .

In Everett, the Silvertips scored the game’s last two goals to beat the Vancouver Giants, 6-5. . . . F Ty Mappin, with his second goal this season, pulled Everett into a tie at 11:13 of the third. . . . F Reid Petryk, with his second of the game, won it at 15:30. . . . The Silvertips played without D Ryan Murray (shoulder), who was injured Friday night in a 5-0 loss in Victoria. . . . The six goals were a season-high for Everett. Not only that, Everett had scored only five goals in its previous six games. . . . D Austin Adam (broken hand) returned to the Silvertips’ lineup. He was injured on the season’s opening weekend. . . .

In Portland, F Taylor Leier and F Ty Rattie had two goals apiece as the Winterhawks dumped the Medicine Hat Tigers, 5-2. . . . Portland F Brendan Leipsic had two assists, giving him eight straight multi-point games and running his point streak to 10 games. He has 23 points, including nine goals, in those 10 games. . . . The Winterhawks had their 12-game winning streak end Friday when they lost 6-4 in Kamloops. . . . F Nic Petan added three assists for Portland. . . . Medicine Hat F Hunter Shinkaruk left in the first period after taking a check from Portland D Seth Jones. Shinkaruk apparently suffered a skate cut of some kind. . . . Rattie has 14 goals, while Leier has eight. . . .

In Red Deer, F Turner Elson, the team captain, broke a 1-1 tie at 7:32 of the third period as the Rebels beat the Swift Current Broncos, 2-1. . . . It was owner/president/general manager Brent Sutter’s first game as the Rebels’ interim head coach. He removed Jesse Wallin as head coach earlier in the week. . . . F Rhyse Dieno, who was added to the Red Deer roster on Friday, had the Rebels’ other goal. . . .

In Kamloops, F JC Lipon, the WHL scoring leader, struck for two goals and the winner in the circus as the Blazers got past the Prince George Cougars, 5-4. . . . Immediately after the game, Kamloops F Jordan DePape, 20, informed his teammate that he was ending his WHL career thanks to a shoulder injury that needs surgery. There will be more on DePape and his decision right here early Monday morning. . . . The Cougars held 2-0 and 4-3 leads, the latter coming when F Ryan Hanes, a Kamloops native and former Blazers skater, scored at 12:56 of the third period on the PP. He was playing his second game with the Cougars since joining them from the BCHL’s Cowichan Valley Capitals. . . . Lipon tied it at 15:24 with his 21st goal of the season. He became the WHL’s first 20-goal man this season when he scored the Blazers’ first goal, at 12:52 of the second. . . . Last season, Lipon had 19 goals in 69 games. . . . With the second goal, Lipon became the WHL’s first 50-point scorer this season. He leads the WHL in goals (21) and points (50). . . . Linemate Colin Smith had two assists and has 49 points. . . . F Brad Morrison, 15, picked up one assist in his WHL debut with the Cougars. By the third period, Morrison, the seventh overall selection in the 2012 bantam draft, was playing on perhaps the Cougars’ best line, with Alex Forsberg and Hanes. . . . F Cole Ully also scored twice for Kamloops. . . .

In Kent, Wash., F Todd Fiddler scored three times to lead the Spokane Chiefs to a 3-1 victory over the Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . Fiddler has 15 goals in 22 this season after scoring 12 times in 73 games last season. He had four goals in 35 games with Prince Albert, before scoring eight times in 38 games after being acquired by the Chiefs. . . . He scored at 1:30 of the second period and 14:32 of the third to give the Chiefs a 2-0 lead. He later added his third goal into an empty net to complete the first hat trick of his career. . . . Fiddler finished last season with 28 points in those 73 games. He has 26 points in 22 games this season.
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CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
D Tyler Yaworski, Brandon
D Tanner Faith, Kootenay
F Rob Trzonkowski, Kamloops

CHECKING-TO-THE-HEAD COUNT:
F Lucas Grayson, Everett
F Reid Petryk, Everett
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TWEET OF THE DAY:
Jordan DePape (@papskos17): “Wow, so thankful for all this support! Can’t believe it. Thank you. My phone has literally exploded and died in a matter of 30 minutes.”
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TWEET OF THE DAY II:
From Portland Winterhawks F Brendan Leipsic (@leip28): “Congrats on a great career @papskos sorry it had to end like this. #seeyousoon”
Leipsic and DePape both are from Winnipeg.
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TWEET OF THE DAY III:
From Prince George Cougars F Brock Hirsche (@bigsexytweet10): “@papskos17 best of luck in the future. I know what you are going through.”
Hirsche is fighting shoulder woes for a second straight season. He was on the Cougars’ bench as an assistant coach last night in Kamloops.
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TWEET OF THE DAY IV:
From Prince George F Ryan Hanes (@HANESR13): “Thank you to everyone who came out tonight! Fans are amazing even when I’m a cougar now! Love it!”


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THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Roman Tomanek (Calgary, Seattle, 2004-06) was released by Banska Bystrica (Slovakia, Extraliga). He had eight goals and four assists in 23 games for Banska Bystrica this season. Tomanek started the season with Mlada Boleslav (Czech Republic, Extraliga), going pointless in seven games. . . .
D Aris Brimanis (Brandon, 1992-93) signed a contract for the rest of this season with Hannover Indians (Germany, 2.Bundesliga). He had six goals and 13 assists in 52 games with the Hannover Scorpions (Germany, DEL) last season.
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WHL TRADE TRACKER (trades made since Dec. 27):
Trades: 3
Players: 9
Draft picks: 3
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The Prince George Cougars dealt F Charles Inglis, 19, to the Red Deer Rebels for F Daulton Siwak and a third-round pick in the 2012 bantam draft.
Inglis had been sent home by the Cougars following a game on Dec. 2 in Kamloops. From what I understand, he was found in violation of a team rule that, while by itself may not have been considered a big deal, was the last straw.
Inglis, selected fourth overall by the Saskatoon Blades in the 2007 bantam draft, has a lot of talent but hasn’t been able to harness it off the ice. He put up 60 points, including 32 goals, in 69 games with the Cougars last season and had 16 points, nine of them goals, in 16 games when he was sent home this season. He has twice attended NHL camps, first with the Phoenix Coyotes and then with the San Jose Sharks.
Siwak, from Olds, Alta., had seven points, including five gaols, in 18 games. He was in his third season with the Rebels.
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The Saskatoon Blades have traded D Devan Fafard, 17, and a seventh-round pick in the 2012 bantam draft to the Red Deer Rebels for D Matthew Pufahl, 18, and F Locke Muller, 18.
Fafard, an eighth-round pick by Saskatoon in the 2009 bantam draft, has two assists and 38 penalty minutes in 23 games. He is from Carlyle, Sask.
Pufahl, who is from Saskatoon, has four points in 30 games. He was a fourth-round pick by Red Deer in the 2008 bantam draft.
Muller, from St. Paul, Alta., has six points in 33 games.
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JUST NOTES:
F Tyrel Seaman of the Brandon Wheat Kings played Wednesday in a 3-2 OT victory over the visiting Regina Pats. It was his first appearance after missing nine games with a concussion. Bruce Luebke, the radio voice of the Wheat Kings, reports that Seaman didn’t practice Thursday. “It appears there may have been a whiplash affect on Seaman after he was on the back end of a domino collision involving defenceman Ryley Miller and Regina forward Jordan Weal,” Luebke reported. . . . It wasn’t known Thursday whether Seaman would be able to play tonight against the visiting Edmonton Oil Kings. . . .
The Calgary Hitmen boarded their bus in Prince George on Thursday at 10 a.m., and headed south to Kamloops where they are to play the Blazers tonight.
Unfortunately, there was a serious accident on the highway and the Hitmen, along with a whole lot of other people, spent a good part of their day just sitting. The Hitmen arrived at Interior Savings Centre in Kamloops just after 7:30 p.m., what normally is about a six-hour drive turned into almost a 10-hour day.
The Cougars, who beat the Hitmen 3-1 on Wednesday, avoided the accident – they actually left after the game and headed for Vancouver, where they are to play the Giants tonight.
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It would appear that Portland Winterhawks F Sven Bartschi, who is playing for Switzerland at the World Junior Chamionship, has a concussion and is out indefinitely. Bartschi was injured when he took a hit in a 4-3 shootout loss to Sweden on Wednesday.
Swiss head coach Manuele Celio has said that he doesn’t expect Bartschi to play today against Latvia and that he isn’t sure when he might play again.
“He got a hit in the (neutral) zone,” Celio told reporters. “He wasn’t prepared for it. He didn’t feel really good after the hit. So now the doctors try to check on him, look at what’s going on in neck, head; could be like a concussion now.”
Bartschi, whose NHL rights belong to the Calgary Flames, has already put up an amazing 54 points, including 42 assists, in 25 games with the Winterhawks. . . .
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A couple of former prominent WHLer signed PTO deals on Thursday. . . . The AHL’s Abbotsford Heat signed F Judd Blackwater, who spent three seasons with the Spokane Chiefs (2005-08). He has 37 points in 31 games with the ECHL’s Las Vegas Wrangers. . . . Meanwhile, the Toronto Marlies have signed D Ray Macias, who played for the Kamloops Blazers (2003-07). The smooth-skating Macias has eight points in 19 games with the ECHL’s Reading Royals. . . .
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The Vancouver Giants have lost D Luke Fenske (hand). He was injured in a 3-1 loss to the Blazers in Kamloops on Wednesday night.
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THURSDAY’S GAMES:
In Prince Albert, F Anthony Bardaro drew two assists in his first game with the Raiders as they beat the Saskatoon Blades, 5-2. . . . The Raiders now have won five in a row to close within six points of a playoff spot. . . . The Blades scored the game’s first two goals before the first period was five minutes old. D Duncan Siemens got the first one, his fifth of the season. That matches his career high. He has five goals in 36 games this season; he had five in 72 last season. . . . The Raiders held their annual Toque Toss (fans throw toques, scarves and mitts) and D Matt Waseylenko, playing in his second WHL game, got the goal. . . . The Raiders took 60 of 106 penalty minutes. . . . Saskatoon has lost five in a row. . . .
In Red Deer, F Tyson Ness had two goals and an assist to lead the Rebels to a 4-2 victory over the Kootenay Ice. . . . Ness has 11 goals on the season. . . . His 16 points in 35 games are two more than he had in 68 games last season when he had seven goals and seven assists. . . . Both Ice goals came via the PP. . . . D Devan Fafard and F Charles Inglis, both acquired earlier in the day, were in Red Deer’s lineup. . . . Red Deer G Deven Dubyk stopped 31 shots. . . .
In Lethbridge, F Hunter Shinkaruk had a goal and two assists to help the Medicine Hat Tigers to a 4-2 victory over the Hurricanes. . . . Shinkaruk, 17, has 51 points, including 31 goals, in 38 games. Last season, he finished with 42 points, 14 of them goals, in 63 games. . . . The Hurricanes took 58 of 74 penalty minutes. The Tigers, who have won four straight, were assessed two fighting majors and three minors. . . . The Tigers were 2-9 on the PP; the Hurricanes were 0-3. . . .
In Kennewick, Wash., F Brendan Shinnimin had three goals and an assist and was plus-4 as his Tri-City Americans beat the Kelowna Rockets, 5-1, for their ninth straight victory. . . . Shinnimin broke open a 1-1 game with back-to-back shorthanded goals at 4:05 and 8:07 of the second period. . . . He added his third goal at 5:11 of the third, giving him a natural hat trick. . . . He has 20 goals now, thanks to his first regular-season three-goal game. This was his 231^st game. . . . Tri-City G Ty Rimmer stopped 33 shots. . . .
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In Tecumseh, Ont., F Sam Reinhart (Kootenay) scored twice as Team Pacific scored a 5-2 victory over Team West in the opening game for both teams at the U-17 World Hockey Challenge. . . . Macoy Erkamps (Lethbridge), Morgan Klimchuk (Regina) and Curtis Lazar (Edmonton), the latter into an empty net, also scored for the winners. . . . Nick Zajac (Saskatoon) and Remi Laurencelle replied for Team West. . . . Laurencelle plays for the midget AAA Winnipeg Wild. He was an eighth-round pick by Lethbridge in the WHL’s 2010 bantam draft. . . . Eric Comrie (Tri-City) was in goal for Team Pacific and saw only 14 shots. . . . There were 34 WHL players suited up for the game. . . . G Austin Lotz (Everett) stopped 34 shots for Team West.
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EXTRAS:Greg Wyshynski, over at the Puck Daddy blog, takes a look at the NHL and concussions, and at what the NHL is doing, and perhaps should do, to cut down on them. That piece is right here.
And, yes, there is a lot of talk among hockey people, even at the midget AAA and junior levels, about a need to slow down the game.
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Puck Daddy also has more on the Don Cherry Piano Desk right here. He talks to the guy who came up with the idea and posted it on YouTube.