F Lukáš Vantuch (Calgary, Lethbridge, 2005-07) signed a contract through Nov. 5 with Landshut (Germany, DEL2). Last season, with Landshut, he had 49 points, including 17 goals, in 53 games. He had been on a tryout with Dusseldorf (Germany, DEL) in August but didn't win a contract. . . .
F Antonín Honejsek (Moose Jaw, 2009-11) has been assigned on loan by the Espoo Blues (Finland, Liiga) to Kiekko-Vantaa (Finland, Mestis). This season, with the Blues, he had one goal in two games while averaging nine minutes of ice time per game. . . .
D Patrik Vrána (Moose Jaw, Prince George, 2006-07) was released by Cracovia Krakow (Poland, Ekstraliga) by mutual agreement. Last season, with Polonia Bytom (Poland, Ekstraliga), he had four goals and seven assists in 32 games.
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The Kamloops Blazers have added Mike Needham to their coaching staff, replacing associate coach Mark Ferner, who resigned this week and now is the general manager and head coach with the BCHL's Vernon Vipers. . . . Ferner was in his second season back with the Blazers. . . . Needham, who has been working at the Okanagan Hockey Academy in Penticton. For the past three seasons, he has been the head coach of OHA's bantam prep team. . . . At the same time, Needham has worked as the Blazers' skills coach. . . . Needham played three seasons (1987-90) with the Blazers and is the father of Blazers captain Matt Needham. . . . OHA commitments will keep Mike from joining the Blazers until Monday. . . . Ferner, meanwhile, is a familiar face in Vernon where he coached the Vipers to three straight BCHL titles and won the 2009 and 2010 RBC Cups as national champions. . . . Any chance of Ferner becoming the Blazers' head coach went by the wayside in January when the team brought back Guy Charron as head coach following the departure of Dave Hunchak. If there was any doubt after that, it disappeared when Don Hay returned to Kamloops as the Blazers' head coach over the summer. Hay had spent the past 10 seasons as head coach of the Vancouver Giants. . . . In Vernon, Ferner takes over from Jason Williamson, who resigned as GM/head coach citing personal reasons. . . .
The Kamloops Blazers' roster is at 26 after they released F Mitch Friesen, 18, on Wednesday. From Surrey, B.C., Friesen had a goal and two assists in 21 games last season. He has a goal and three assists in 68 regular-season games. . . . He was a fourth-round selection in the 2011 bantam draft. . . . Kamloops now is carrying three goaltenders, eight defencemen and 15 forwards. . . . That number includes F Mike Winther, 20, who was acquired from the Calgary Hitmen for a fourth-round pick in the 2015 bantam draft and a sixth-rounder in 2017. Winther was selected by the Prince Albert Raiders with the sixth-overall pick of the 2009 bantam draft. He was later dealt to Calgary and now is into his fifth WHL season. . . . In 231 regular-season games, the native of Trochu, Alta., has 142 points, including 70 goals. Last season, injuries limited him to 31 games. He had 26 points, including seven goals. A second-round pick by the Dallas Stars in the NHL's 2012 draft, Winther didn't sign and now is a free agent. . . . The Blazers also have D Brady Gaudet and G Bolton Pouliot as 20s. They also own the WHL rights to veteran F Chase Souto, 20, but his career is in doubt because of concussion-related issues. . . .
The Everett Silvertips have traded F Zane Jones, 20, to the Lethbridge Hurricanes for a fourth-round pick in the 2015 bantam draft. Jones, from Olds, Alta., was a fifth-round selection by the Chilliwack Bruins in the 2009 bantam draft. He has 104 points, including 48 goals, in 192 regular-season games split between Everett, the Calgary Hitmen, Victoria Royals and Chilliwack. Last season, he had 24 points, 11 of them goals, in 42 games with Calgary and two goals and two assists in 11 games with Everett. . . . The deal leaves Lethbridge with four 20-year-olds, the others being D Tyler Bell and D Nick Walters and F Riley Sheen, who turns 20 on Dec. 21. . . . WHL teams have to declare a maximum of three 20-year-olds by Oct. 15. . . . The Silvertips are down to three -- D Ben Betker, who turns 20 on Sept. 29, F Brayden Low and F Kohl Bauml, who will be 20 on Nov. 25. . . .
The Regina Pats acquired Ukrainian F Pavel Padakin, 20, from the Calgary Hitmen for a third-round selection in the 2017 bantam draft. Padakin is a two-spotter -- a 20-year-old import. To make room for him, Regina released sophomore F Max Kammerer, who is from Germany. . . . Padakin was to have played in the KHL this season, but after he signed with HC Donbass Donetsk, it took a leave from the league due to the political situation there. . . . Last season, Padakin had 54 points, 27 of them goals, with the Hitmen. The previous season, as a freshman, he had 22 goals and 16 assists in 70 games. He scored in his only game with Calgary this season. . . . Regina also has four other 20s on its roster -- F Logan McVeigh, F Chandler Stephenson, F Braden Christoffer and F Patrick D'Amico. Stephenson is expected to play in the Washington Capitals' organization. . . . Regina's other import is Russian D Sergey Zborovskiy, a 17-year-old freshman. . . . Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post has written a terrific feature on Padakin in which he talks about the situation in Ukraine. As this is written, the feature isn't on the newspaper's website, but it should be right here sometime Thursday morning. . . .
The Hitmen are left with three 20-year-olds -- F Connor Rankin, F Adam Tambellini and D Kenten Helgesen. . . . After the New York Rangers returned Tambellini, Alan Caldwell of Small Thoughts At Large tweeted: "If I'm not mistaken, the return of Adam Tambellini to the WHL means the Hitmen owe the Winterhawks a 2015 4th round pick." . . . Calgary also is down to two imports in sophomore Russian F Radel Fazleev, 18, and freshman Pavel Karnaukhov, a 17-year-old Belarussian. . . .
On Wednesday night, the Calgary Hitmen announced that they have dealt F Linden Penner, 19, to the Moose Jaw Warriors for a conditional sixth-round selection in the 2016 bantam draft. From Sherwood Park, Alta., Penner was a 10th-round selection by the Saskatoon Blades in the 2010 bantam draft. He has four goals and four assists in 41 regular-season WHL games. All the points came in 39 games with Calgary last season. He also has played one game with the Everett Silvertips. He was pointless in one game with the Hitmen this season. . . .
The Warriors had two veteran players -- F Scott Cooke, 20, and F Brandon Potomak, 19 -- leave them after spending a lot of Saturday's home-opener on the team's fourth line. Matthew Gourlie of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald has that story right here. . . . Cooke's departure leaves the Warriors with three 20-year-olds -- F Tanner Eberle, F Jack Rodewald and F Jaimen Yakubowski. . . . Eberle still is in camp with the Montreal Canadiens. . . .
The Prince Albert Raiders are expected to announce the signing of a new assistant coach on Thursday. That moves follows the announcement on Wednesday that Tim Leonard has stepped down for personal reasons. He was into his third season with the Raiders. Leonard, who had a long and successful run as head coach of the midget AAA Prince Albert Mintos, joined the Raiders in March 2012. He now has rejoined the Mintos' coaching staff. . . .
The Saskatoon Blades dealt Russian F Nikita Scherbak, their leading scorer from last season, to the Everett Silvertips for G Nik Amundrud, 17, and two conditional bantam draft picks -- a first-rounder in 2015 and a second-rounder in 2016. Scherbak is in camp with the Montreal Canadiens, who selected him with the ?? pick of the NHL's 2014 draft. If Scherbak doesn't end up in Everett, the Silvertips keep both draft picks. . . . Had Scherbak been returned to the Blades, it would have left them with three imports. They added Russian F Nikita Soshnin, 17, and Swedish D Amil Krupic, 19, in the 2014 CHL import draft. CHL rules allow each team to keep two import players, but a team is allowed to draft a third if one of their imports is a first-round NHL selection. However, those same rules don't allow the trading of freshmen imports, so in order to keep Scherbak, the Blades would have had to release Soshnin or Krupic. . . . The Silvertips may find themselves in the same kind of jam, as they also have D Marco Mueller, who is in camp with the San Jose Sharks. He was the 18th overall pick in the 2013 NHL draft. Right now, Russian F Ivan Nikolishin, an 18-year-old sophomore, is the only import in Everett. . . . Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix has more right here. . . . Should Scherbak end up in Everett, it would shed a whole different light on the Western Conference. The Silvertips have been wondering from where the goals will come; thus, they made the move on Scherbak. There's more right here from Nick Patterson of the Everett Herald.
If you missed it, Elliotte Friedman's latest blog posting, 30 Thoughts, is right here. The top is especially interesting because it deals with the fact that NHL teams are starting to wonder if players are spending too much off-season time working out.
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The Kootenay Ice will be without D Rinat Valiev for up to four weeks. He was in camp with the NHL's Toronto Maple Leafs when he suffered an undisclosed injury and underwent surgery. Apparently, the injury isn't considered to be overly serious. . . . Three WHL teams have each been fined $500 for becoming involved in multiple-fight situations. The Seattle Thunderbirds and the Winterhawks went at it on Sept. 19 in Portland. The host Tri-City Americans drew a fine, while the Prince George Cougars didn't, for an incident in Kennewick Wash., on Sunday. . . . F Tyler Wong of the Lethbridge Hurricanes was hit with a three-game suspension for incurring a headshot major and game misconduct on Saturday in Medicine Hat. . . .
The Saskatoon Blades will be without F Ryan Graham, 18, after he was found to have mononucleosis while in camp with the NHL's Minnesota Wild. He won't play until sometime in October. . . . Matthew Liebenberg of the Prairie Post has an in-depth look right here at the financial picture presented by the Swift Current Broncos during the franchise's annual general meeting.
The Everett Silvertips announced Wednesday that they have signed G Carter Hart, an eighth-round selection in the 2013 bantam draft. The announcement came a few days after Hart announced on his Twitter account that he had signed. . . . The Silvertips are expected to have Hart on the bench this weekend as they have suspended G Daniel Cotton and F Darcy DeRoose indefinitely for violating team rules. Nick Patterson of the Everett Herald tweeted news of the suspensions yesterday afternoon. . . . According to a Silvertips news release, Hart “will serve as the club’s backup goaltender through a set of three games in three days this weekend.” . . . Hart has been playing for the Sherwood Park Squires of the Alberta minor midget league. From Sherwood Park, he is 13-3-3, 1.92, .937 with the Squires. . . . Everett is at home to the Vancouver Giants on Friday and the Seattle Thunderbirds on Saturday, before meeting the Chiefs in Spokane on Sunday.
The Kamloops Blazers have added F Mitch Friesen, 17, to their lineup for three weekend games. Friesen, who started the season with the Blazers, has been with the junior B Kamloops Storm of the Kootenay International junior league. . . . While D Connor Clouston is ready to return to the Kamloops lineup, the Blazers will be without F Tyson Ness and F Luke Harrison, both of whom have been shut down for the season, along with G Justin Myles (indefinite), F Chase Souto (1-2 weeks) and F Matt Needham (day-to-day). . . . The Blazers, who have lost 10 in a row, are at home to the Portland Winterhawks on Friday and the Prince George Cougars on Saturday, then visit the Vancouver Giants on Sunday. 
The BCHL’s Prince George Spruce Kings have signed head coach Dave Dupas to a two-year contract extension that runs through 2015-16. The contract also includes a club option on 2016-17. . . . The Spruce Kings have qualified for the playoffs in each of his three seasons behind the bench. . . . As well, the Spruce Kings signed assistant coaches Colton Buffie and Jason Garneau to two-year extensions running through 2015-16.
In Regina, G Daniel Wapple stopped 27 shots to help the Pats to a 3-2 victory over the Kootenay Ice. . . . The Ice had won six straight games. . . . Ice G Mackenzie Skapski, who had won his last 10 starts, stopped 28 shots. . . . Regina F Dyson Stevenson gave his side a 3-1 lead with his 25th goal at 4:41 of the second. . . . Ice F Luke Philp got his 24th at 7:33 of the second but that was it for the visitors. . . . Ice F Sam Reinhart ran his point streak to 15 games with an assist on his club’s first goal. . . . After that goal, Jeff Hollick, the radio voice of the Ice, tweeted: “Reinhart ties team record with 8-game assist streak, done 5 times in Ice history, 3 times by Reinhart, 2nd time this season.” . . . The Pats (29-22-5) are tied for sixth with the Brandon Wheat Kings in the Eastern Conference, but they are only one point behind the idle Swift Current Broncos, who lead the East Division. . . . The Ice is fifth in the conference, five points behind the Medicine Hat Tigers. . . .
In Lethbridge, F Taylor Cooper scored 20 seconds into OT to give the Lethbridge Hurricanes a 3-2 victory over the Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . It was the first meeting between these teams since the Nov. 16 deal in which Brandon landed D Ryan Pilon and F Colt Conrad in exchange for Cooper, D Nick Walters and D Tanner Browne. . . . Pilon, Walters and Cooper all played last night. . . . Cooper also had an assist and was plus-3. . . . The goal was Cooper’s 11th of the season. . . . Brandon F Quintin Lisoway forced OT with his seventh goal of the season at 15:44 of the third period. . . . F Richard Nejezchleb opened the scoring for Brandon, getting his 29th of the season via the PP, at 18:30 of the first. . . . Lethbridge went ahead on third-period goals from F Riley Sheen, his 15th, at 8:40 and F Brady Ramsay, his 13th, at 11:43. . . . Ramsay also had two assists. . . . Brandon was without F Rihards Bukarts (undisclosed injury) for a third straight game. . . . The Wheat Kings finished 0-2-1 on a three-games swing; they are 3-5-2 in their last 10 overall. . . . The Hurricanes (12-41-5) now have 29 points, leaving the Kamloops Blazers (11-41-5) alone in the WHL basement. . . . The Wheat Kings (28-22-7) are tied for sixth in the Eastern Conference. . . .
In Red Deer, D Tyler Lewington drew three assists to help the Medicine Hat Tigers to a 4-1 victory over the Rebels. . . . Medicine Hat G Marek Langhamer stopped 27 shots. . . . Tigers F Curtis Valk needed 2:39 to run his point streak to 16 games, the longest in the WHL today. He drew an assist on F Dylan Bredo’s first-period PP goal. . . . Valk also scored a goal, his 31st. . . . F Anthony Ast also scored for the winners, giving him three in his last two games and five in seven. He‘s got 12 goals this season, seven in 15 games with the Tigers, who acquired him from the Vancouver Giants. . . . Medicine Hat has won five of its last six games. . . . The Tigers (34-20-3) are a comfortable fourth in the Eastern Conference. . . . The Rebels (27-26-4) have lost seven in a row and are eighth in the conference, three points ahead of the Prince Albert Raiders. . . .
In Edmonton, the Prince Albert Raiders built up a 4-1 lead and hung on for a 4-3 victory over the Oil Kings. . . . Raiders G Cole Cheveldave stopped 39 shots, 21 more than Edmonton‘s Tristan Jarry. . . . Edmonton had won its previous 11 games. . . . F Collin Valcourt, playing in his 250th regular-season WHL game, scored twice for the Raiders, giving him 19. He also had an assist. . . . Raiders F Leon Draisaitl gave his guys a 4-1 lead with his 23rd goal, via the PP, at 3:56 of the third. . . . The Oil Kings made it close with two goals from F Henrik Samuelsson, who has 26 goals. Both goals came via the PP. . . . Prince Albert F Dakota Conroy scored his 21st goal and added two assist. . . . The Raiders were 3-for-5 on the PP; the Oil Kings were 2-for-4. . . . The Oil Kings were without D Griffin Reinhart, who was ill. . . . The Raiders (26-27-3) are three points behind Red Deer, which holds down the conference’s last playoff spot. . . . The Oil Kings (40-14-1) lead the Eastern Conference by three points over the Calgary Hitmen. Edmonton holds two games in hand. . . .
In Victoria, D Jordan Fransoo scored at 2:26 of OT to give the Royals a 3-2 victory over the Tri-City Americans. . . . Fransoo has four goals this season. . . . Victoria F Steven Hodges had forced OT with his 17th goal, on the PP, at 2:42 of the third. . . . That goal came just 1:23 after F Parker Bowles had given the visitors the lead, on the PP, with his fifth goal. . . . Tri-City, which got two assists from F Beau McCue, was 2-for-5 on the PP. . . . Victoria G Coleman Vollrath stopped 37 shots, 12 more than Tri-City’s Eric Comrie. . . . Victoria G Patrik Polivka was backing up Vollrath after missing five games with an undisclosed injury. . . . The Royals ran an Olympic-themed promotion for this one. Because Canada had won 10 medals in Sochi, if you wore red to the game you could get $10 off a ticket. . . . Attendance was announced at 4,501. . . . The Royals (39-16-4) clinched a playoff spot with the victory. They are third in the Western Conference, three points behind the Portland Winterhawks. Victoria has won four in a row and is 9-0-2 in its last 11 games. . . . The Royals, who have won six in a row on the road, leave Thursday on an East Division swing. . . . Tri-City (27-24-6) is eighth in the conference, five points ahead of the Prince George Cougars. . . .
In Prince George, Portland F Nic Petan took over the lead in the WHL scoring race as the Winterhawks skated to a 6-4 victory over the Cougars. . . . Portland, which clinched a playoff spot with the victory, has won 14 straight games. It can tie the franchise’s single-season record with a victory in Kamloops on Friday. . . . Petan had a goal, his 30th, and two assists, giving him 95 points, two more than Spokane Chiefs F Mitch Holmberg. . . . Petan, who now has 251 points in 183 career regular-season games, also leads the WHL in assists, with 65. . . . As well, Petan has at least one assist in 10 straight games. . . . Petan shared last season’s WHL scoring title with teammate Brendan Leipsic, each with 120 points. . . . F Keegan Iverson added two goals for Portland, giving him 18. . . . F Troy Bourke scored twice and added an assist for the Cougars. He’s got 23 goals. . . . The Cougars took a 2-1 lead into the second period, only to have the Winterhawks scored three times to take control. Petan scored shorthanded just 33 seconds into the period. . . . The Winterhawks were without G Brendan Burke, who is ill. In his absence, Corbin Boes stopped 20 shots. . . . The Cougars scratched F Jari Erricson, F Alex Forsberg, D Peter Kosterman, F Brett Roulston, F David Soltes, F Chase Witala and G Brett Zarowny. . . . The Winter hawks (40-12-5), with points in each of their last 16 games, have won at least 40 games in five straight seasons now. They are second in the Western Conference, nine points behind the Kelowna Rockets. . . . The Cougars (24-28-7) are five points out of a playoff spot. . . . 
In Spokane, F Cole Linaker scored his eighth goal of the season at 19:33 of the third period to give the Kelowna Rockets a 2-1 victory over the Chiefs. . . . The Rockets nursed a 1-0 lead into the third period, thanks to a goal by F Myles Bell, his 38th, via the PP, at 14:47 of the first. . . . Spokane D Reid Gow tied it with his fifth goal at 1:02 of the third. . . . Kelowna G Jordon Cooke stopped 29 shots, while Eric Williams of the Chiefs turned aside 32. . . . The Rockets (45-8-4) lead the overall standings by nine points over Portland. . . . The Chiefs (32-20-5) are fifth in the Western Conference, six points behind the Seattle Thunderbirds and six ahead of the Vancouver Giants.
1. The Vancouver Giants revealed on Tuesday that F Tyler Benson, the first overall pick in the 2013 bantam draft, will make his WHL debut on Nov. 16 against the visiting Tri-City Americans. . . . Benson, 15, has 34 points, including 15 goals, in 16 games with the Pursuit of Excellence U-18 Prep team. . . . Veteran WHL referee Steve Papp has been selected to work the World Junior Championship that begins Dec. 26 in Malmo, Sweden. . . .
2. The Kamloops Blazers' roster stands at 22 after the club dropped F Mitch Friesen, 17, on Tuesday. . . . A native of Surrey, B.C., Friesen had two assists in 55 games with the Blazers over last season and this one. This season, he had one assist in nine games. . . .
3. The QMJHL's Saint John Sea Dogs fired Mike Kelly, their general manager and head coach, on Tuesday. . . . At 5-10-2, the Sea Dogs have the WHL's second-poorest record and are winless in eight. . . . Kelly, a former head coach of the Brandon Wheat Kings, was the Sea Dogs' associate coach when they had three straight 50-win seasons (2009-12) and also won a Memorial Cup. He had been head coach since the summer of 2012. . . . A new coach is expected to be introduced within days.
4. The Everett Silvertips will be without G Austin Lotz for up to four weeks. It seems he suffered an ankle injury during a 7-6 overtime victory over the Blazers in Kamloops on Saturday -- he apparently was injured in regulation time and he did finish the game -- and now is encumbered with a walking boot. . . . Lotz started his 11th straight game on Saturday. . . . With Lotz injured, Daniel Cotton, 19, moves up the depth chart, while the Silvertips have brought in Nik Amundrud, 16, to back him up. Amundrud, who is from Melfort, Sask., was a third-round pick in the 2012 bantam draft.
7. If you're a regular here, you will recall that yesterday I had a bit about Vancouver Canucks head coach John Tortorella and the way he is playing his top three forwards well over 20 minutes per game. . . . That led me to wonder whether an NHL coach really needs 12 forwards at his disposal. . . . In Tuesday's Vancouver Sun, columnist Iain MacIntyre pointed out that the Caucks had gone into Monday's game against the visiting Washington Capitals not having practised in 10 days. Seriously. . . . The Canucks didn't practise while on a seven-game road trip and when the trek was over Tortorella gave his side two days off. That led them into Monday's game, which they won, 3-2. . . . The Canucks, who are 9-4-2 going into tonight's game against the visiting Detroit Red Wings, played nine of their first 15 games on the road. . . . Prior to Monday's game, Tortorella promised that "we'll practice (Tuesday). Win or lose." . . . They did. . . . But 10 days without a practice. Sacrilege, surely.
8. Matthew Gourlie of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald reports that the Moose Jaw Warriors are concerned that an unnamed junior A team may have tampered with F Todd Fiddler, 20, before he was dropped from the WHL team's roster on Monday. . . . That story is right here.
In Prince Albert, the Medicine Hat Tigers unleashed a 50-shot attack and beat the Raiders, 3-1. . . . G Cole Cheveldave stopped 47 shots for the Raiders, 26 more than Marek Langhamer of the Tigers. . . . The Tigers were without F Hunter Shinkaruk (hip) for a second straight game. . . . F Mike Winther of the Raiders sat out Game 2 of a four-game suspension for a headshot. . . . This was the 10th time the Clouston brothers opposed each other as WHL coaches. Cory, who has coached the Kootenay Ice, Brandon Wheat Kings and Prince Albert, is 5-4-1, while Shaun, the Tigers' head coach, is 5-5. . . .
In Kent, Wash., F Seth Swenson had a goal and two assists to lead the Seattle Thunderbirds to a 4-2 victory over the Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . Seattle is 11-3-2 and now leads the Western Conference, by one point over the Portland Winterhawks. . . . The Wheat Kings are 0-3 on their swing through the U.S. Division. . . . Swenson scored his fourth goal in three games, this one coming on a second-period penalty shot. . . . F Sam Mckechnie scored in his first game with the Thunderbirds. He and F Jaimen Yakubowski were acquired last week from the Lethbridge Hurricanes. Yakubowski made his Seattle debut on the weekend; Mckechnie hadn't had as much opportunity to skate after he and Yakubowski were sent home to await a trade, so his debut had to wait. . . . Meanwhile, Yakubowski got a major and game misconduct in the first period for a headshot on D Taylor Green. . . .
In Lethbridge, F Connor Sanvido's shootout goal gave the Swift Current Broncos a 3-2 victory over the Hurricanes. . . . Sanvido was the only one of six shooters to score. . . . The Hurricanes have lost three in a row and have won once in their last 10 outings. . . . F Riley Sheen, acquired last week from the Seattle Thunderbirds, scored in his first game with the Hurricanes. 
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