F Jakub Klepiš (Portland, 2001-02) has been released by Färjestad Karlstad (Sweden, SHL) by mutual agreement. An alternate captain, he had six goals and five assists in 21 games.
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WATCHING THE WINTERHAWKS:
It is obvious that the Portland Winterhawks are a team in transition, and not only from general manager/head coach Mike Johnston to GM/head coach Jamie Kompon.The Winterhawks are coming off four straight appearances in the WHL’s championship series, having won the Ed
Chynoweth Cup in 2012-13.Last spring, the Winterhawks lost a seven-game final to the Edmonton Oil Kings.
Now the Winterhawks are scuffling. As they go into a Friday-Saturday doubleheader in Kelowna against the Rockets, the Winterhawks are 9-12-3, which leaves them tied for seventh in the Western Conference with the Spokane Chiefs (9-7-3) and Seattle Thunderbirds (9-10-3). Quick math shows that the Chiefs hold five games in hand and the Thunderbirds two.
The Winterhawks reached those four straight championship series in no small part because they had the likes of Derrick Pouliot, Troy Rutkowski and Tyler Wotherspoon on the back end. You also can’t forget Garrett Haar, who was there last season, and Mathew Dumba, who was there for 26 games in last season’s second half.
The Winterhawks’ transition game and their short, quick passing game began with the puck on the stick of one of those defencemen, each of whom was good for close to a point per game.
Today, that dynamism is missing from Portland’s back end.
Watching the Winterhawks drop a 4-1 decision to the host Kamloops Blazers on Wednesday night, it was quite evident that the Portland forwards, especially the veterans, haven’t yet adapted to that fact.
Far too often, when a defenceman gained possession of the puck deep in Portland’s zone, the forwards were too quick to leave the zone. Full credit to the Blazers for taking advantage of that and getting a quick and heavy forecheck going. On more than one occasion that resulted in a turnover and a Kamloops scoring chance. In fact, there were two or three times when, after just such a sequence of events, a Kamloops forward found himself all alone with the puck on his stick in front of G Brendan Burke.
While it’s easy to point a finger at Burke and say that he needs to be more aggressive, his confidence likely would be higher if he could look up and see more than two teammates trying to ward off three opposing forwards.
The Winterhawks, after 24 games, are allowing 3.88 goals per game. That is exactly one goal more per game than they surrendered all of last season.
You aren’t going to win consistently in this league if you are giving up almost four goals a game.
For the Winterhawks to find their game again, the forwards are going to have to come back deeper with a purpose and visit a while longer, thus helping the defencemen clear the zone and cutting down on the opposing team’s scoring chances.
At the same time, the Blazers, who were 0-4-3 in their previous seven games, played awfully well in beating the Winterhawks on Wednesday night.
F Cole Ully, who is the straw that stirs the Blazers’ drink, looks to be back to his old self after a rough stretch battling an illness that, at one point, had him briefly in hospital.
He was the best player on the ice in Wednesday’s game and proved again that he is most deserving of an invitation to the Canadian national junior team’s selection camp next month.
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The Prince George Cougars have added D Kirk Bear, 19, to their roster. He had been with the SJHL’s Melville Millionaires, where he put up two goals and eight assists in 23 games. . . . Bear, from Whitewood, Sask., was pointless in 35 games with the Red Deer Rebels last season. . . . The Cougars also released D Kobe Eagletail, 17, from their roster. He will join the Banff Bears of the Heritage junior league. Eagletail was pointless in two games with the Cougars. (Hey, gotta think there are worse places to play hockey than Banff!)---
Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix reports that G Nik Amundrud, 17, who has been out with a concussion since Oct. 31, has been cleared to return to action. With that, the Blades are expected to move one of their other two goaltenders -- Alex Moodie, 19, or Trevor Martin, 18 -- in the immediate future, perhaps even before they play host to the Swift Current Broncos on Saturday. . . . According to Nugent-Bowman, Blades F Alex Forsberg, who missed a 4-1 loss to the Hitmen in Calgary on Sunday with an undisclosed injury, is probable for Saturday, as is D Ryan Coghlan (shoulder), while F Wyatt Sloboshan (broken jaw) won’t play until mid-December at the earliest. . . . D Jordan Thomson (concussion) is away from the team but is expected back sometime next week.---
Parts of Buffalo will have experienced about nine feet of snow by this morning. Apparently, it’s all because of something call a “localized lake effect.” . . . If you are wondering what that’s all about, National Geographic explains it right here, with the usual terrific photos, of course.
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The Prince Albert Raiders have acquired F Cory Millette, 19, from the Saskatoon Blades for a fifth-round pick in the 2016 bantam draft. That selection originally belonged to the Blades. . . . Millette, from Storthoaks, Sask., had 14 points, including five goals, in 22 games with the Blades. He was their second-leading scorer. . . . Last season, he was pointless in two games with the Red Deer Rebels, then put up 34 points, 17 of them goals, in 61 games with Saskatoon. . . . He was a second-round selection by Red Deer in the 2010 bantam draft. In 186 regular-season games, he has 86 points, 40 of them goals. . . . As Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix explains right here, the deal frees ice time for one of the Blades’ younger players.
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The Moose Jaw Warriors have acquired F Jesse Shynkaruk, 18, from the Kamloops Blazers for a bantam draft pick. . . . According to the Blazers, it’s a fourth-round bantam draft pick in 2015 or 2017. According to the Warriors, it‘s a fourth-round pick in 2017. The WHL website says it’s a conditional fifth-round pick in 2015 or 2017. . . . He had eight points in 18 games with the Blazers this season. Shynkaruk, from Saskatoon, didn’t play in the Blazers’ 4-1 victory over the visiting Portland Winterhawks on Wednesday night. . . . The Blazers selected Shynkaruk in the seventh round of the 2011 bantam draft. . . . Matthew Gourlie of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald has more right here.
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The Vancouver Giants have acquired F Dakota Odgers, 18, from the Swift Current Broncos for a fifth-round pick in the 2015 bantam draft. Odgers, the son of former WHL/NHL F Jeff Odgers, is from Spy Hill, Sask. He was a second-round selection in the 2011 bantam draft. . . . In 65 regular-season games over two seasons, he has three goals and three assists. . . . This season, Odgers had two goals and an assist in 25 games with the Broncos. . . . Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province points out right here that the Giants are looking for some toughness and an improvement in their competitiveness. . . . Odgers is expected to be in the lineup tonight against the visiting Regina Pats. . . . Vancouver F Tyler Benson also is expected to be in the lineup. He hasn’t played since suffering an undisclosed injury at the U-17 World Hockey Challenge.
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Alan Caldwell, over at Small Thoughts At Large, is working hard as he tries to chart all of the bantam draft picks that have changed hands. You can check that out right here.
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F Mitch Holmberg, who won last season’s WHL scoring title while with the Spokane Chiefs, was involved in a trade on Thursday. . . . When the Vancouver Canucks dealt F Kellan Lain to the Edmonton Oil Kings for F Will Acton, the deal also included Holmberg’s rights. Holmberg, who had one assist in eight games with the ECHL’s Bakersfield Condors, now may be joining the Utica Comets, the Canucks’ AHL affiliate. . . . Last season, Holmberg had 118 points, including 62 goals, as a 20-year-old with the Chiefs. . . .
Admiral Vladivostok of the KHL has dumped head coach Dusan Gregor and replaced him with Sergei Shepelev. Interestingly, Gregor is to remain on the coaching staff, along with the team’s other assistant coaches -- Alexander Selivanov, Andrei Matytsyn and Konstantin Vlasov. . . .
The National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association has selected Mike Boyle, the radio voice of the Spokane Chiefs, as one of three finalists for Washington Sportscaster of the Year. The winner is to be announced in mid-January. . . . Boyle has been the Chiefs’ play-by-play voice since 2002.
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It looks like its dress like a seat night at the Subway Super Series game in @QMJHL Fans and players have had enough of that useless event
— Brent Parker (@Patguy65) November 21, 2014
The WHL begins its final week of play with seven games tonight. Perhaps surprisingly, there are 11 teams still with four games left to play, meaning they will finish up by playing four games in six nights or four in five. Here’s a look at what teams are playing for between now and Sunday, with teams listed in order of winning percentage:
1. Kelowna Rockets, .824 -- With 112 points, the Rockets need one point to clinch first place overall. They visit the Blazers in Kamloops on Wednesday. The Rockets appear headed for a first-round matchup with G Eric Comrie and the Tri-City Americans. . . . Rockets G Jordon Cooke goes into the last four games with 38 victories, three fewer than Edmonton’s Tristan Jarry, who leads the WHL.
3. Victoria Royals, .721 -- The Royals, who spent part of Monday loading up on food in downtown Merritt, B.C., have flown under the radar for much of this season but are the best defensive team in the league, having allowed 168 goals, one fewer than the Edmonton Oil Kings and two fewer than Kelowna. This is a team that has made the commitment to defence and it shows. . . . Victoria will finish third in the Western Conference, so the Royals will want to keep everyone healthy as they prepare to meet the Spokane Chiefs or Everett Silvertips in the first round.
4. Edmonton Oil Kings, .713 -- The Oil Kings are tied with the Calgary Hitmen atop the Eastern Conference, each with 97 points. Edmonton has four games remaining: against visiting Kootenay tonight and in Medicine Hat on Wednesday, then a Saturday-Sunday home-and-home with the Red Deer Rebels that begins in Red Deer. . . . The first tiebreaker is victories and Edmonton leads Calgary by two, 47-45. . . . First place in the conference means a first-round date with the eighth-place team -- Prince Albert, Red Deer or Brandon, teams that will end up about 30 points off the pace. Third place in the conference likely means Swift Current in the first round, although Kootenay still is a possibility.
5. Calgary Hitmen, .703 -- The Hitmen, who are 7-2-1 in their last 10 (Edmonton is 5-4-1), have three games remaining if they are to catch the Oil Kings. Calgary is at home to Lethbridge tonight, in Cranbrook against Kootenay on Friday and at home to the Ice on Saturday. 
6. Medicine Hat Tigers, .638 -- Hands up if you saw the Tigers finishing with as many as 45 victories after F Hunter Shinkaruk, a potential 50-goal, 100-point man, had his season ended by hip surgery. . . . The Tigers, who finish up with two games against the Lethbridge Hurricanes, are headed to a fourth-place finish in the Eastern Conference. They will get Kootenay or Swift Current in the first round.
7. Seattle Thunderbirds, .632 -- The Thunderbirds have 40 victories for the first time since 2007-08, when they won 42. . . . Last season, in going 24-38-10, Seattle allowed 286 goals. With four games remaining, that number is 230. . . . Shea Theodore leads all WHL defencemen in assists (55) and points (75). . . . Seattle is fourth in the Western Conference, four points ahead of Spokane and five up on Everett. The Thunderbirds are at home to Spokane tonight and then finish with three in three -- at home to Portland on Friday, in Portland and in Kennewick, Wash., against the Tri-City Americans.
8. Kootenay Ice, .603 -- The Ice is in the playoffs for a 16th consecutive season and needs to win one more game for its ninth 40-victory season its 16 winters in Cranbrook. . . . In fifth place with four games to play, three of them on the road, the Ice is six points behind Medicine Hat and three ahead of Swift Current. Kootenay, which is 21-9-1 since the Christmas break, finishes with four games in five nights, playing in Edmonton tonight, in Red Deer on Wednesday, at home to Calgary on Friday and in Calgary on Saturday. . . . With teammate Tim Bozon in a Saskatoon hospital, you can bet these are emotional times in the Kootenay dressing room. . . . D Tanner Faith won’t play again this season, while D Landon Cross and D Landon Peel are out for up to two weeks. The Ice needs the latter two back if it hopes to make a run. . . . A playoff opponent will have to deal with the high-flying line of Sam Reinhart (97 points in 56 games), Jaedon Descheneau (94 in 66) and Zach Franko (21 in 24 since coming over from Kelowna).
9. Spokane Chiefs, .603 -- The Chiefs, who are fifth in the Western Conference, have won their last two games as they try to ward of the oncoming Everett Silvertips. . . . F Mitch Holmberg, who played in all 68 of the Chiefs’ games, leads the WHL in goals (60) and points (113). The last Spokane skater to lead the WHL in goals was F Tyler Johnson (53, 2010-11); the last to lead in points was F Ray Whitney (185, 1990-91). . . . D Reid Gow is second among defencemen with 54 assists, one behind Seattle’s Shea Theodore. . . . The Chiefs visit the Seattle Thunderbirds tonight, then are at home to Everett on Wednesday, at home to Tri-City on Friday and at the Americans on Saturday.
10. Everett Silvertips, .596 -- No one is hotter than the Silvertips right now. They’ve won eight straight and have points in nine in a row (8-0-1). . . . That allowed them to distance themselves from the eighth-place Vancouver Giants in the Western Conference and close to within a point of Spokane. . . . The Silvertips will finish with four games in five nights, with three of those on the road. They are in Spokane on Wednesday, in Victoria on Friday, at home to Victoria on Saturday and in Portland on Sunday.
11. Regina Pats, .594 -- The Pats got their game together in 2014 and that allowed them to take control of the East Division race. They lead the division by three points over the Swift Current Broncos, with each team having three games to play. First place in the division means the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference and a first-round meeting with Prince Albert, Red Deer or Brandon. . . . G Daniel Wapple is fighting an ankle sprain, leaving Dawson MacAuley to carry the mail, at least in the short term.
12. Swift Current Broncos, .572 -- The Broncos are 6-3-1 in their last 10 games after encountering a late-season slump just prior to that. With three games remaining, they are sixth in the Eastern Conference but still could finish first in the East Division, which would give them the No. 2 seed. They are three points behind Kootenay in the conference and three points behind Regina in the division. . . . The Broncos have a favourable last three games as they finish with two non-playoff teams. They are at home to Saskatoon on Wednesday and then go home-and-home with Moose Jaw on Friday and Saturday, opening in Swift Current. . . . D Julius Honka is second among freshmen in assists (39) and points (55). He leads all freshmen defencemen in goals (16), assists and points.
13. Vancouver Giants, .529 -- After going 1-3 in their first four games this season, the Giants ventured into the East Division where they went 0-4-2. Today, with three games remaining, they are 31-27-11 and anchored in seventh place in the Western Conference. They lead the WHL in loser points (11). . . . G Jared Rathjen, who has had a pretty good season (13-8-5, 2.98, .898), has appeared once since Feb. 21. . . . D Dalton Thrower (ankle), their best player and their captain, hasn’t played since Jan. 24. . . . As the No. 7 seed, they will meet Portland in the opening round of playoffs.
14. Prince Albert Raiders, 522 -- It wasn’t that long ago when the Raiders were losing faster than someone sitting in front of a slot machine. Of late, though, they have won four in a row and are 7-2-1 in their last 10. That has lifted them into a tie for seventh in the Eastern Conference, alongside Red Deer and Brandon. The Raiders, with four games left, have a game in hand on each of those teams. The Raiders will finish with four in five nights: in Moose Jaw tonight, in Regina on Wednesday, at home to Saskatoon on Friday and in Saskatoon on Saturday. . . . D Josh Morrissey leads all defencemen in goals (26), five more than Brandon’s Ryan Pulock. . . . F Leon Draisaitl, the German sophomore, has 97 points, including 62 assists, in 60 games. Since Feb. 1, he has 12 multi-point outings in 17 games. In the Raiders’ four-game winning streak, he has 11 points, including six goals. Yes, he will be a top five selection in the NHL’s 2014 draft.
15. Red Deer Rebels, .514 -- The Rebels have been treading water of late, witness 5-4-1 in their last 10. With three games left, they are tied for the Eastern Conference’s last playoff spot, with Prince Albert and Brandon. . . . The Rebels are at home to Kootenay on Wednesday, then go home-and-home with Edmonton, playing at home Saturday and on the road Sunday.
16. Brandon Wheat Kings, .514 -- The Wheat Kings will finish without F Jayce Hawryluk, their leading scorer, who has three games left in a season-ending four-game WHL suspension. . . . F Peter Quenneville, who has 45 points in 42 games since joining the team from Quinnipiac U, hasn’t played since Feb. 17. . . . Brandon finishes at home to Saskatoon tonight, in Regina on Friday and at home to the Pats on Saturday.
17. Tri-City Americans, .471 -- The Americans need one point to wrap up the Western Conference’s last playoff spot. The prize? A first-round series with the Kelowna Rockets, who will finish atop the overall standings. . . . The Americans (28-32-8) are in a reloading mode. They last finished below .500 in 2005-06 when they went 30-35-7. They then won at least 40 games in each of the next seven seasons. . . . F Phil Tot hasn’t played since Feb. 1. He has 36 points, 15 of them goals, in 49 games, so getting him back would really help. . . . The Americans are in Portland tonight, go home-and-home with Spokane on Friday and Saturday, and finish up against visiting Seattle on Sunday.
18. Prince George Cougars, .429 -- With Tri-City having lost three in a row and having gone 1-7-2 in its last 10, the Western Conference’s last playoff spot was there for the taking. The Cougars, however, have lost five in a row and are just 2-7-1 in their last 10, so remain four points back. . . . They were swept at home by Spokane last weekend and that may have been the final nail. . . . The Cougars have only two games left -- they are in Kamloops on Friday and play host to the Blazers on Saturday. . . . Should Tri-City lose each of its last four games and Prince George sweep the Blazers, the Americans and Cougars would be tied after 72 games. Because they would be tied for the last playoff spot, it would necessitate a tiebreaker game.
19. Moose Jaw Warriors, .355 -- The Warriors (20-40-9) have won three in a row, but that only ensured a 10th-place finish in the Eastern Conference. This will be two straight seasons without a playoff appearance.
20. Saskatoon Blades, .272 -- A year ago, the Blades were preparing for the playoffs knowing that they would appear in the Memorial Cup, as the host team. Today, the Blades, who won at least 40 games in each of the last five seasons, are 16-47-5, have lost eight straight and last season is but a distant memory. . . . F Nikita Scherback leads all first-year players in assists (47) and points (74) and is tied with Brandon F Rihards Bukarts in goals (27).
21. Kamloops Blazers, .225 -- A year ago, the Blazers made a run to the Western Conference final, where they lost in five games to the Portland Winterhawks. . . . Today, the Blazers are 13-51-5 and have set a Kamloops franchise futility record for victories. The franchise record for most losses in a season (53) is also right there, as is the mark for fewest points (35). . . . The fact that the Blazers, who have lost seven in a row, have three players out with broken jaws may sum up their season better than anything else. Three other players -- F Chase Souto, G Justin Myles and D Austin Douglas -- aren’t likely to play again this season, either. Myles, who came over from Seattle at the trade deadline, has yet to play for the Blazers.
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