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.
city when the 2014-15 WHL season gets here?
Oil Kings skated to a 4-2 victory before 11,339 fans. . . . It was Hockey Hooky in Edmonton, so the game, which started at 11:30 a.m., was attended by a whole lot of students. . . . F Brett Pollock scored twice for Edmonton, giving him 19. . . . Edmonton F Henrik Samuelsson had two assits. He’s got 65 points, including 42 helpers, in 43 games. . . . Brandon F Jayce Hawryluk got his 14th goal; he hadn’t scored in his previous 12 games. . . . The Oil Kings (35-13-1) have won six straight. They lead the Central Division by three points over the Calgary Hitmen (31-12-6). . . . Brandon (26-18-5) is fifth in the Eastern Conference, two points behind the Medicine Hat Tigers and two ahead of the Regina Pats. . . . Alicja Siekierska of the Edmonton Journal reports that Pollock and teammates Dysin Mayo and Aaron Irving “woke up at 6 a.m. to write exams.” Her game story is 
In Kamloops, F Mitch Holmberg scored his WHL-leading 44th and 45th goals to help the Spokane Chiefs to a 6-3 victory over the Blazers. . . . Holmberg scored on a first-period 5-on-3 PP at 15:55. . . . F Dominic Zwerger got the Chiefs’ second goal just 1:31 later, the goal coming just as the second PP expired. . . . Spokane F Mike Aviani was ejected in the second period for a headshot on Kamloops D Connor Clouston, who didn’t return. . . . The Chiefs scored two shorthanded goals on the Aviani penalty, the first coming via a penalty shot by F Liam Stewart. . . . The Chiefs lead the WHL with 14 shorthanded goals. . . . F Cole Ully and F Chase Souto each scored his 20th goal of the season for Kamloops. . . . D Sam Grist, who likely leads the Blazers in minutes played, left in the first period and didn’t return after absorbing a hit from Aviani. . . . The Blazers already were without F Matt Needham, F Luke Harrison and F Tyson Ness, all veterans who are injured. . . . With the injuries to Grist and Clouston, the Blazers, who were down to five defenceman, announced after the game that they had added D Cameron Reagan, 16, to their roster. Reagan, a fourth-round bantam draft pick in 2012, plays for the midget AAA Sherwood Park J. Ennis Kings, for whom he has 20 points, including three goals, in 31 games. He will make his WHL debut tonight in Vancouver against the Giants. . . . The Blazers wrapped up a seven-game homestand at 1-5-1. . . . The Blazers meet the Giants in Vancouver tonight, then go home-and-home with the Kelowna Rockets on Friday and Saturday, before opening a six-game homestand. Kamloops then will play 10 in a row on the road as the Tim Hortons Brier -- the Canadian men’s curling championship -- takes over the Interior Savings Centre. . . . The Chiefs (30-15-4) have won three in a row. They are fifth in the Western Conference, three points behind the Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . The Blazers, with three straight losses, are 11-34-5 and last in the Western Conference. 
D Brent Sopel (Saskatoon, Swift Current, 1992-97) was traded by Metallurg Novokuznetsk (Russia, KHL) to Salavat Yulaev Ufa (Russia, KHL) for "monetary compensation." Metallurg is out of the playoffs and Salavat Yulaev have clinched a playoff spot. Both teams have four games left in the regular season. Sopel had four goals and six assists in 47 games with Metallurg this season. A short message from Sopel thanking the fans of Metallurg is 
D Shaone Morrisonn (Kamloops, 1999-2002) was traded by Spartak Moscow (Russia, KHL) to CSKA Moscow (Russia, KHL) for "monetary compensation." He had one goal and three assists in 44 games for Spartak. Spartak also is out of the playoff race while CSKA has clinched a playoff spot with four games left for each team. You can see pictures of Morrisonn being welcomed to CSKA by general manager Sergei Fedorov 
D Jordan Henry (Moose Jaw, Red Deer, 2003-07) signed a contract for the rest of this season with HPK Hämeenlinna (Finland, SM-Liiga). Henry started the season on a tryout contract with Södertälje (Sweden, Allsvenskan), where he had one goal and one assist in seven games. After his release form the try-out, he signed with the Stockton Thunder (ECHL) and was loaned to the Oklahoma City Barons (AHL) on a tryout five days afterwards. Henry had two assists in 20 games with the Barons but was released from his tryout loan and returned to Stockton on Jan. 21. He played two games with the Thunder and had two assists. . . .
The Tri-City Americans are expected to have a pair of prospects make their WHL debuts tonight in Everett against the Silvertips. . . . D Parker Wotherspoon, the Americans’ first-round selection in the 2012 bantam draft, and F Justin Marreck, who has been on the Americans’ list for two years, have been brought in for the weekend. . . . Wotherspoon, the younger brother of Portland Winterhawks D Tyler Wotherspoon, plays for the major midget Fraser Valley Hawks. . . . Marreck, 16, plays for the major midget Okanagan Rockets. . . . Both plays also are to play Saturday when the Americans are to meet the Seattle Thunderbirds in Kent, Wash., and then return to their club teams.
The WHL has suspended D Joel Edmundson of the Kamloops Blazers for four games, while Tri-City Americans F Tyson Dallman has been hit with a three-game sentence. . . . Both suspensions are the result of infractions in Wednesday games. . . . Edmundson received a headshot major and game misconduct for an open-ice hit on Portland Winterhawks F Adam De Champlain, who left the game afer the first-period hit and didn’t return. . . . Dallman was given an interference major and game misconduct after a collision with Prince George Cougars G Brett Zarowny, who also left the game.
In Red Deer, F Turner Elson and F Ryhse Dieno each had two goals to lead the Rebels to a 6-2 victory over the Kootenay Ice. . . . Dieno also had two assists, while Elson had one. . . . Dieno has 33 points, including 17 goals, since joining the Rebels from the SJHL’s La Ronge Ice Wolves. . . . Ice F Sam Reinhart scored his 27th goal as he ran his point streak to 15 games. . . . With F Joel Hamilton having suffered an undisclosed injury in practice Wednesday, the Rebels brought in F Vukie Mpofu, a fourth-round pick in the 2011 bantam draft. Mpofu has 55 points in 34 games with the midget AAA Saskatoon Contacts. That’s good for second place in the league scoring race. . . .
In Kelowna, the Rockets scored the game’s first four goals, three of them in the first period, and went on to a 6-1 victory over the Victoria Royals. . . . F Tyson Baillie scored the game’s first and last goals, giving him 18. . . . The Rockets ran their home-ice winning streak to 22 games. The franchise record (24) is held by the 1994-95 Tacoma Rockets. . . . Kelowna F Dylen McKinlay had two assists in his 300th regular-season game. . . . With the victory, the Rockets became the second WHL team to clinch a playoff spot this season.
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