Blades, Warriors deal . . . A few veterans get releases

I realize that this blog is almost always about hockey. But allow me today to spend some space on the subject of domestic abuse.
I have been involved in the founding of two charities, one at the Regina Leader-Post and the other at the now-dead Kamloops Daily News, that worked to help shelters for abused women and their children.
That has at least something to do with why I didn’t understand when Roger Goodell, the boss of all things NFL, chose to whisper in the ear of Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice seven months ago, rather than suspend him for a long, long time.
The NFL, as you will have heard by now, indefinitely suspended Rice on Monday. The Ravens then released him.
Seven months ago, a video surfaced of Rice dragging his unconscious soon-to-be wife out of an elevator in a New Jersey casino. That video was taken from outside the elevator. Eventually, Goodell suspended Rice for the first two games of this regular season.
On Monday, TMZ released video from inside the elevator. It shows, among other things, Rice dropping his soon-to-be wife with a hard left hand.
Why Goodell didn’t suspend Rice indefinitely immediately upon seeing the first video is the $64-billion question. After all, as Goodell was watching that first video, how did he think Rice’s soon-to-be wife came to be in that condition?
Anyway . . .
There is some good reading available on this issue today.
Sally Jenkins of the Washington Post wonders about the NFL’s claim that no one in its office had seen the video from inside the elevator until Monday morning.
“That is almost surely not the truth, unless the NFL wanted it that way,” she writes. “This is a league that works with Homeland Security, confers with the Drug Enforcement Agency, collaborates with law enforcement and has its own highly equipped and secretive private security arm. You’re telling me it couldn’t get a hold of a grainy tape from an Atlantic City casino elevator? But TMZ could?”
Her column is right here.
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In light of the indefinite suspension handed to Rice, Christine Brennan of USA TODAY wonders why players like Ray McDonald of the San Francisco 49ers, Greg Hardy of the Carolina Panthers and Terrell Suggs of the Ravens, each of whom has been involved or is alleged to have been involved in a domestic abuse situation, haven’t been suspended in the same fashion. “(Suggs) played Sunday for the Ravens in their loss to the Cincinnati Bengals,” Brennan writes. “Why? Was it because there's no video? Of course it was. And he'll be playing this Thursday night on national television against the Pittsburgh Steelers, even though he shouldn't be, at least according to the NFL's new Rice standards, as of today.” . . . Brennan’s column is right here.
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Cam Cole of the Vancouver Sun writes that “to understand what did happen, you have to understand the public relations power, and influence, and the almost unbelievable tone-deafness of one of the most intimidating sports leagues in the world. Until TMZ leaked the surveillance tape Monday morning, that is.” . . . His column is right here.
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Cathal Kelly of The Globe and Mail:
“The NFL will try to quickly move the focus back onto the field. That will probably work. A lot of people howl about the NFL’s wobbly moral compass, and most of them watch 12 hours of football every Sunday.
“What won’t survive is our presumption of the league’s basic goodness. We assume that most right-minded people would watch that video and be shocked into action.
“Apparently, the NFL was not.”
Kelly’s column is right here.
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THE DEAL: The Saskatoon Blades get F Josh Uhrich, 18, from the Moose Jaw Warriors for a fourth-round selection in the 2015 bantam draft.
THE SKINNY: Uhrich, from Rosetown, Sask., played for the midget AAA Saskatoon Contacts, who finished third at the TELUS Cup national tournament in 2012. He had 10 goals and 14 assists in 126 regular-season games over two seasons with the Warriors. Uhrich was a second-round draft pick of the Warriors in 2011.
THE ANALYSIS: The 5-foot-11, 195-pound Uhrich hasn’t shown much offensive flair, but he brings sandpaper to the Blades’ lineup as they strive to become more difficult to play against. . . . The Warriors, who also dealt F Colton McCarthy, 18, to the Prince Albert Raiders on the weekend, have cleared room for some younger forwards. . . . A stick tap to the Warriors, too, for giving a couple of players who weren’t going to make their roster opportunities to stay in the WHL despite having to trade within their own division to do so.

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The Kamloops Blazers have their roster at 27, including three goaltenders and eight defencemen, after releasing two veterans -- D Austin Douglas, 18, and F Nathan Looysen, 18 -- on Monday. . . . The 6-foot-6, 195-pound Douglas, from Winnipeg, was acquired last season from the Seattle Thunderbirds, who had selected him in the second round of the 2011 bantam draft. Last season, he had one assist in 13 games with Seattle and one goal in 22 games with Kamloops. . . . Looysen, from Saanichton, B.C., had two goals and seven assists in 57 games as a freshman with the Blazers.
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The Kamloops Blazers don’t have a whole lot left from last season’s trade in which they sent G Taran Kozun, then 19, to the Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . Moving to Kamloops in that Jan. 10 deadline-day deal were G Justin Myles, 18, D Austin Douglas, 17, and a fourth-round pick in the 2015 bantam draft. . . . Douglas was released on Monday, while Myles, who reported to the Blazers with a brain injury, never did play in Kamloops. Instead, he was dealt to the Lethbridge Hurricanes over the summer for a fourth-round pick in the 2015 bantam draft. That pick reverted to Kamloops when Myles was forced to retire before reporting to the Hurricanes. . . . Kamloops also got a fourth-round pick in the 2015 bantam draft in the exchange with Seattle, and later, with Myles unable to play, was given a fourth-round pick in 2016 as compensation. . . . Meanwhile, Kozun, now 20, is Seattle’s starting goaltender. In 24 regular-season games with Seattle last season, he was 14-9-1/2.40/.928 with four shutouts. In 29 games with the Blazers, he had been 5-19-3/3.95/.897.
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The Prince George Cougars got down to 29 players, including three goaltenders, by releasing six players on Monday. That included veteran G Adam Beukeboom, 20, who had been acquired from the Vancouver Giants on Jan. 9 for a seventh-round pick in the 2016 bantam draft. . . . Beukeboom, who played in 19 games with the Regina Pats in 2011-12, was 5-8-0/4.25/,887 in 14 appearances with the Cougars last season. . . . As a 20-year-old this season, Beukeboom was up against it as Ty Edmonds, 18, is expected to be the Cougars’ starter. Beukeboom, who is from Sundre, Alta., played only 29 minutes in the exhibition season and stopped all 18 shots he faced. . . . The move leaves the Cougars with Edmonds, Matt Kustra, 17, and Tavin Grant, 16, as their goaltenders.
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The Vernon Vipers are looking for a general manager and head coach, having revealed that Jason Williamson has vacated both positions. Williamson, who cited personal reasons in leaving, had been GM and head coach for three seasons and had been with the Vipers for the past seven seasons. He also played three seasons with the Vipers. . . . “Jason has
decided he needs some time away from the game to get his affairs in order and I respect that,” owner Duncan Wray said in a news release. “He has been great for our hockey club and will be missed, however we must move forward.” . . . Assistant coach Kevin Kraus has been named interim head, while Eric Godard, the other assistant coach, will take a more active role. . . . The Vipers open their regular season on Sept. 27. . . . Williamson spent four seasons working alongside Mark Ferner, who was then the Vipers’ GM and head coach. When Ferner signed as head coach of the WHL’s Everett Silvertips, prior to the 2011-12 season, Williamson was promoted. . . . Ferner now is preparing for his second season as an assistant coach with the Kamloops Blazers.
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Gordon Clark works in the newsroom at the Vancouver Province. He also is the president of a minor hockey association. In Monday’s Province, Clark offered up what the headline referred to as “some humble advice for hockey parents for the new season.” . . . “Complain loudly and often about all aspects of your kids' hockey program,” Clark writes. “Nothing motivates volunteer coaches, managers and others who give hundreds of hours of their lives each year so that your son or daughter can lace 'em up to improve like a constant stream of tips, critiques and observations. Keep them on their toes!” . . . That piece is right here.
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“It doesn't matter the sport, the area of concussion is now one of the burning issues globally yet many sporting bodies appear as confused and dazed as any player on the receiving end of a blow to the head,” writes Declan Whooley at independent.ie. . . . His complete story is right here.
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“Casey Cochran's college football career is over before it really got going. A series of concussions forced him to quit,” writes Desmond Conner of the Hartford Courant. . . . Cochran had been the starting quarterback for the U of Connecticut Huskies. The school announced Monday that Cochran, who incurred his fourth concussion on Aug. 29, won’t play again. . . . Conner’s story is right here.
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D Austin Shmoorkoff of Edmonton has been assigned by the Red Deer Rebels to the AJHL’s Okotoks Oilers. Shmoorkoff, 17, was pointless in six games with Red Deer last season. The move left the Rebels with 25 players on their roster. . . . Red Deer F Evan Polei suffered a cut hand during a fight in an exhibition game on Saturday and it will prevent him from attending training camp with the NHL’s St. Louis Blues. “His injury is a day-to-day situation,” Red Deer GM/head coach Brent Sutter said in a news release, “and he should be ready for the start of our regular season.” . . .
D Reid Gow, who captained the Spokane Chiefs last season, has enrolled in business at the U of Manitoba and will play for the Bisons. Gow, who is from Killarney, Man., chose to go to school, rather than return for a fifth season with the Chiefs. Last season, he had 62 points, including 56 assists, in 65 games. . . . The Vancouver Giants are down to 26 players, including three goaltenders and 15 forwards. On Monday, they released three players, including F Matt Barberis, 16, of Surrey, B.C., who was the 20th overall selection in the 2013 bantam draft. The Giants also released D Kole Bryks, 17, who was a sixth-round pick in the 2012 bantam draft. . . . 
The Tri-City Americans have the dubious distinction of being the first team to be fined by the WHL office this season. The Americans were docked $500 for “player instigating fight in last five minutes of game vs. Spokane” on Saturday. Tri-City D Riley Hillis, who was hit with a one-game suspension, picked up an instigating minor, along with a fighting major and game misconduct, at 19:06 of the third period in that game. Spokane F Riley Whittingham was given a checking-to-the-head minor and fighting major at the time. . . . F Aaron Macklin of the Prince George Cougars won’t play Friday against his old team, the Kamloops Blazers, as he will serve a one-game suspension. He took a kneeing major and game misconduct against the visiting Edmonon Oil Kings on Saturday. . . . F Taylor Sanheim of the Calgary Hitmen was given a one-game suspension after picking up a goaltender interference major and game misconduct in a Saturday game against the Medicine Hat Tigers.
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Yes! @SeattleTbirds @PARaidersHockey We will be the big brothers for a while, but one day we are gonna be king!
— PG Cougars (@PGCougars) September 8, 2014

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Freshman roomies spark Blazers

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
Dylan Willick, the last captain of the Kamloops Blazers, no longer is with the WHL team, having played out his eligibility last season.
But you can bet there were some Blazers-related grins in the Willick family home on Sunday night.
That’s because goaltender Cole Kehler and left-winger Nathan Looysen, a pair of newcomers who are living with the Willicks, were front and centre in a 4-3 overtime victory over the Vancouver Giants at Interior Savings Centre.
Kehler, who won’t turn 16 until Dec. 17, was outstanding in making 41 saves, while Looysen got the game-winner just 53 seconds into overtime.
“Boys are super pumped and so are we!” Melissa Willick, Dylan’s mother, told The Daily News in a postgame tweet.
The goal by Looysen, a Saanichton native who will turn 17 on Nov. 24, brought to an end a rather spotty performance by a Kamloops team that dressed 10 freshmen, two more than did Vancouver.
“One thing with the young group, we have to learn to be consistent with our compete level,” Kamloops head coach Dave Hunchak said. “At times, we really pushed the pace the way we’re capable of doing. At other times, we sat back and watched and tried to think the game too much, instead of just playing the game.
“As a result, you get chasing around in your own end and once you get running around in your own end it’s a pretty tough game to play.”
On this night, whenever the Blazers got chasing their tails in their zone, the 6-foot-3, 190-pound Kehler was there to bail them out in what was his WHL debut.
“It’s a fast game out there. It’s real fast,” said Kehler, who is from Altona, Man., where he played for a high school team last season. “I felt good. I felt I was in position a lot. It didn’t feel too overwhleming.
“I won’t lie . . . I was nervous to start. But after that first one goes in . . . you just have to tell yourself ‘don’t worry about it, get your mind right, make the next save and go from there.’ ”
The first goal Kehler gave up was his fault as he went out to play a puck with his side on a first-period power play. He left it beside the net, only to have Vancouver forward Joel Hamilton pick it up and snap it past him.
Other than that one, Kehler was on his game.
“He played very well. He was excellent,” Hunchak said.
It was because of Kehler that the Blazers only trailed 1-0 at the first intermission. The home boys were outshot 17-5 as they struggled to cope with Vancouver’s forechecking game.
“For (Kehler), it’s a big confidence boost, and for our team” Hunchak said. “Our team now knows that the young guy can play.”
The Blazers roared back with three second-period goals, two from Tim Bozon and another from Aspen Sterzer.
But the Giants spent more and more time in the attacking zone as the third period wore on. Defenceman Arvin Atwal got a point shot past a screened Kehler on a Vancouver power play at 9:09 and then, with goaltender Payton Lee on the bench and fewer than 13 seconds remaining, Alec Baer forced OT when he scored from a messy scramble in the crease area.
But the game ended on the first shot of extra time.
Looysen came off the bench, took a terrific cross-ice bounce pass off the side boards from defenceman Sam Grist and went in to beat Lee high to the stick side at 0:53.
Looysen admitted to being “extremely surprised” when the puck ended up on his stick.
“I came off the bench and . . . knew I wanted to get over to the far blue line,” he said. “I saw Sam with the puck and I just took off and he gave me a great pass.
“I knew there was a guy on my tail . . . I got a good shot off . . . stick-side high. I knew I’d catch (Lee) off guard and I didn’t want to try and cut in.”
Looysen made his debut on Friday in Kelowna and, like Kehler, was struck by the speed.
“It’s a lot faster than what I’m used to,” Looysen said, nothing that he played for the junior B Peninsula Panthers on Vancouver Island last season. “It’s something I’ll definitely have to adjust to over the next couple of games.”
He isn’t alone in that department.
The Blazers are 1-1 in the exhibition season, having fallen 4-3 in Kelowna on Friday night. Kamloops next plays Friday when the Rockets visit the ISC. Game time is 7 p.m.
JUST NOTES: The Giants finished with a 44-27 edge in shots. On Friday, the Rockets outshot the Blazers, 35-17. “We have to get our shots-against down,” Hunchak said. . . . The Blazers’ roster is down to 25 after F Jake Kryski, F Quinn Benjafield and D Travis Verveda were reassigned. Kryski (Okanagan Rockets) and Benjafield (Vancouver-Northwest Giants), both 15, are expected to play in the B.C. Major Midget League. Verveda, who signed a WHL contract on Sunday, will join the midget AAA Red Deer Optimist Chiefs. . . . F Cole Ully has left for the Dallas Stars’ camp; he was selected in the fifth round of the NHL’s 2013 draft. . . . Bozon leaves Wednesday to join the Montreal Canadiens. He was a third-round pick in 2012. . . .
Among Vancouver’s scratches were F Tyler Benson, the first overall pick in the 2013 WHL bantam draft, and F Ty Ronning, the son of former NHLer Cliff Ronning. . . . Giants F Jack McClelland, a native of Wichita, Kansas, is the son of former NHLer Kevin McLelland, who did a turn as head coach of the Prince Albert Raiders (1998-2000). He now is head coach of the Central league’s Wichita Thunder.

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Signings, signings and more signings . . .

THE MacBETH REPORT:
D Kenton Smith (Calgary, 1995-2000) signed a two-week tryout contract with the Braehead Clan Glasgow (Scotland, UK Elite). He had three goals and 16 assists in 59 games with the Cardiff Devils (Wales, UK Elite) last season. According to the club, the tryout is to cover a “slight knock” picked up by D Ray Macias (Kamloops, 2002-07). . . .


D Ty Wishart (Prince George, Moose Jaw, 2004-08) signed a one-year contract with the Schwenninger Wild Wings (Germany, DEL). He had seven goals and 17 assists in 62 games with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers (AHL) last season.
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All three members of what was at times the best forward line in the WHL last season now have signed NHL contracts. RW JC Lipon of the Kamloops Blazers signed a three-year, two-way entry-level deal with the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday after being a third-round selection in the 2013 draft. . . . Lipon, from Regina, played on a line with C Colin Smith, a seventh-round pick by the Colorado Avalanche in 2012, who has signed, and LW Tim Bozon, a third-round selection by the Montreal Canadiens in 2012, who also has signed. . . . Lipon and Smith both are 20, so are eligible to play in the AHL if they don’t make an NHL roster. Lipon could end up with the St. John’s Ice Caps, while Smith would play for the Cleveland-based Lake Erie Monsters. . . . Bozon, 19, will attend Montreal’s camp, but if he doesn’t make the Canadiens he has to be returned to Kamloops. . . . Last season, Smith had 106 points, including 41 goals, in 72 games, while Bozon put up 91 points, 36 of them goals, in 69 games. Lipon, who missed some time while with Canada’s national junior team, finished with 89 points, including 36 goals, in 61 games.
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The Lethbridge Hurricanes have opened training camp without D Ryan Pilon, who turns 17 on Oct. 10, and G Corbin Boes, 20. . . . Pilon has been diagnosed with mononucleosis and the Hurricanes suggest he may miss the start of the regular season. Pilon played for Canada’s U-18 team as it won the Memorial of Ivan Hlinka earlier this month. He had 28 points in 57 games for the Hurricanes as a 16-year-old last season. . . . Boes, who was acquired from the Brandon Wheat Kings in May, has had surgery on his right hand and is expected to be out for up to three weeks.
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The Seattle Thunderbirds have signed F Kaden Elder and F Nolan Volcan to WHL contracts. . . . Elder, from Saskatoon, was selected with the 22nd pick of the 2013 bantam draft. He had 64 points in 33 games with the bantam AA Notre Dame Hounds last season. . . . Volcan, from Edmonton, was taken with the draft’s 27th selection. He had 76 points, including 40 goals, in 32 games with the bantam AAA Edmonton Maple Leaf Athletic Club team last season. His father, Marty, is a former WHLer (Portland, Seattle Breakers, Victoria Cougars, 1984-86).
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The Tri-City Americans had a busy day as they signed three players to WHL deals. . . . F Jordan Topping, from Salt Spring Island, B.C., is a 16-year-old who had 17 points in 40 games with the North Island Silvertips of the B.C. Major Midget League last season. He was an eighth-round selection in the 2012 bantam draft and is the seventh draft pick to sign with the Americans. He is not related to D Mitch Topping, who is Tri-City’s captain. . . . The Americans also signed D Dylan Coghlan of Nanaimo, B.C., to a contract. Coghlan was a third-round selection in the 2013 bantam draft. He had 40 points in 34 games with the bantam AAA Nanaimo Clippers. . . . Later in the day, the Americans announced the signing of F Michael Sauer, 16, from Bemidji, Minn. He played last season for Bemidji High School, putting up 30 points in 25 games. He has been on Tri-City’s list since March.
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The Kamloops Blazers have signed F Nathan Looysen, 17, to a WHL deal. From Saanichton, B.C., Looysen was placed on the Blazers’ protected list in November 2012. He had 23 points in 27 games with the junior B Peninsula Panthers of the Vancouver Island Junior League last season.
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The Portland Winterhawks have signed F Ethan Price, 16, who played last season with the Omaha Lancers AAA U-16 team in the North American Prospects League. He had 38 points in 22 games. . . . From Lincoln, Neb., Price was a sixth-round pick in the 2012 WHL bantam draft. . . . From the Winterhawks’ news release: “Price is the latest highly rated American-born player to join the Winterhawks in recent seasons, including current ’Hawks Paul Bittner (Minnesota), Brendan Burke (Arizona), Chase De Leo (California), Josh Hanson (Alaska), Keegan Iverson (Minnesota), Alex Schoenborn (North Dakota), Keoni Texeira (California) and Dominic Turgeon (Colorado). Apart from Hanson, each of those players has at least three years of WHL eligibility remaining.”
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The NFL and more than 4,500 players have settled a concussion-related lawsuit, with the players to get $765 million if a judge, as expected, approves the settlement. . . . Ken Belson of The New York Times offers an explanation for what happened right here.
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Jeff Blair of The Globe and Mail writes: “A lawyer specializing in class-action lawsuits believes the already-long odds of former NHL players attempting legal action against the league over the matter of concussions have become a little longer with the announcement of an imminent settlement between the NFL and more than 4,500 former players.” . . . That piece is right here.
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Daniel Engber of Slate.com writes:
“The imprecision of diagnosis means that even with all this money changing hands, we’ll still have no idea how prevalent these disabilities really are.
The settlement does almost nothing to elucidate this question, nor any other in the science of concussions. How serious is the problem of head injuries in football? No one has ever done a well-controlled, long-term study of cognitive impairment to find out. No one has ever selected a random group of athletes in advance, then followed them over time to figure out how their rates of brain pathology relate to everybody else’s. These are just the most basic questions that are yet to be answered, but there’s lots more we still don’t know.”
Engber’s complete piece is right here.
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Rob Nutter, a 55-year-old millwright from Castelgar, B.C., has undergone a heart-and-kidney transplant. Derrick Penner of the Vancouver Sun has today's feel-good story right here. 

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Lipon, Jets cut a deal

By MARK HUNTER
Daily News Sports Reporter
With less than a week remaining before JC Lipon opens his first official NHL training camp, he admitted to being "a little nervous."
The freshly signed contract in his back pocket certainly will help.
Lipon signed a two-way deal with the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday, nearly two months to the day after the Jets selected him in the third round of the NHL draft. The deal, a three-year entry-level contract, has an average annual value of $700,000, according to a Jets news release.
Lipon, 20, is still eligible to return for a fifth season with the WHL's Kamloops Blazers, although his signing makes it a little less likely. It all depends on how he performs at the Jets' prospects camp, which opens Thursday and will include the Vancouver Canucks 2013 Young Stars Classic Tournament from Sept. 6-9.
Lipon attended a Jets' development camp this summer, but never has been to a preseason camp such as next week's.
"I'm a little nervous," admitted Lipon, a right-winger. "But I gained a lot of confidence from last season and from going through the world junior camp."
You bet he did.
Lipon, a late bloomer, enjoyed a 65-point season in 2011-12, after picking up a total of 34 points the previous two seasons. But he really came into his own in 2012-13, scoring 36 goals and assisting on 53 others in only 61 games.
Although he wasn't on anyone's radar heading into the season, he made Team Canada for the world junior championship in Ufa, Russia, as Canada finished fourth. It was a wild season that ended with the Jets calling his name in the third round — this, after he was passed over in the two previous drafts.
Now, he is signed, and facing the prospect of playing professionally next season. Making the Jets is a long-shot, but it's not unreasonable to think he could end up with their AHL affiliate, the St. John's IceCaps.
He has a lot on his mind — but having the contract signed already takes some of the stress away.
"Now I'm not worried about it, not that you should be worried about it," Lipon said. "But sometimes it does creep into your mind, so I'm glad it's done with."
The Jets will play three games at the Young Stars Classic — they will meet the San Jose Sharks' prospects on Sept. 6, the Edmonton Oilers' prospects on Sept. 7, and the Vancouver Canucks' prospects on Sept. 9.
The Jets open their main camp on Sept. 11.
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No one really knows whether Lipon and Colin Smith will be back with the Blazers.
Smith, a 2012 draft pick of the Colorado Avalanche, also has signed an NHL contract, so could play in its system. Smith, 20, is off to Denver next week for rookie camp, which opens Sept. 8.
But both Smith and Lipon are eligible for another season with the Blazers.
“We’re moving forward without them,” Blazers head coach Dave Hunchak told The Daily News on Wednesday. “If we get them back, great.
“Our plan is to move forward without them. Those are big holes we need to plug somehow. Veteran guys need to step in.”
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The Blazers have made Cole Kehler their backup goaltender.
Kamloops announced after Wednesday night's Blue-White intrasquad game that it had reassigned six players, including goaltenders Liam McLeod and Cameron Pateman. That leaves Taran Kozun, the starter, and Kehler to lead the team into the preseason.
Kehler, who is to turn 16 on Dec. 17, was selected by the Blazers in the sixth round, 123rd overall, in the 2012 bantam draft. He spent 2012-13 with the Altona Aces of the Manitoba High School League, going 2-14 with a 4.27 GAA and .864 save percentage.
McLeod, a Kamloops native, spent 2012-13 with the BCHL's Prince George Spruce Kings, while Pateman played with the midget AAA Regina Pat Canadians last season.
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The Blazers also reassigned two 15-year-old players — defenceman Dawson Davidson of Moosomin, Sask., and Jermaine Loewen of Arborg, Man. Both players were third-round selections in May's bantam draft.
Cameron Trott, a 16-year-old defenceman from Burnaby, and Laramie Kostelansky, a 16-year-old forward from Fort McLeod, Alta., also were reassigned on Wednesday.
The moves leave the Blazers with 30 players on their roster, including Smith and Lipon.
Of the 28 players on the preseason roster, 17 are forwards, nine are defencemen and two are goaltenders. The Blazers likely will trim the roster to around 23 before the regular season starts on Sept. 20.
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The Blazers also announced Thursday that forward Nathan Looysen, 17, has signed a standard WHL contract.
Looysen, from Saanichton, spent last season with the junior B Peninsula Panthers of the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League. He had 23 points, including 10 goals, in 27 games. The Blazers listed the 6-foot-1, 187-pounder in November.
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The Blazers will open the preseason tonight against the Rockets in Kelowna.
Kamloops will be at home to the Vancouver Giants on Sunday, 6 p.m., at Interior Savings Centre. The Rockets and Giants will play in Ladner on Saturday night.

mhunter@kamloopsnews.ca

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