World Champs! !!! pic.twitter.com/MKtqaVAsQD
— Joe Hicketts (@Hicksy_2) January 6, 2015
THE TRADE WIRE:
If the WHL was a high-stakes poker game with four seats, two of those would belong to the Brandon Wheat Kings and Kelowna Rockets, both of whom have brought in high-profile players in the last while.Now you can deal in the Medicine Hat Tigers, too.
The Tigers have acquired D Kyle Burroughs and F Dryden Hunt, a pair of 19-year-olds, from the Regina Pats in
exchange for D Connor Hobbs, who turned 18 on Sunday, and two bantam draft picks -- a second-rounder in 2016 and a third-rounder in 2015.Burroughs, from Langley, B.C., was the Pats’ captain. Hunt, who lead Regina in assists (33) and points (47), is from Nelson, B.C.
Hunt has 47 points, including 14 goals, in 37 games, leaving him tied for 11th in the points derby. He has 97 points, 40 of them goals, in 163 regular-season games.
Burroughs has 22 points, including five goals, in 36 games. A seventh-round selection by the New York Islanders in the 2013 NHL draft, Burroughs is a WHL-leading plus-31. In 220 regular-season games, he has 103 points, 20 of them goals.
Burroughs and Hunt are expected to be in the Tigers’ lineup when they visit the Victoria Royals on Wednesday.
Hobbs was born in Regina but now calls Saskatoon home. He was in his first season with the Tigers -- he had a goal
and an assist in 12 games -- when he left them on Oct. 29 and asked to be traded. Shortly after, he joined the SJHL’s Nipawin Hawks for four games. He then played for Canada West at the World Junior A Challenge in Kindersley, Sask., but hasn’t been in a game since it ended on Dec. 20.As for his decision to leave the Tigers, Hobbs told Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post: “Some bad communication between me and certain people led to me needing to leave. There are a lot of factors that I took into consideration before asking for a trade. I love the guys there and love my billets and the town. It’s just really too bad it didn’t work out there but I’m excited to go to Regina.”
Hobbs was a fourth-round selection by the Prince Albert Raiders in the 2012 bantam draft. He was dealt to the Tigers on Jan. 1, 2013. In that exchange, the Raiders acquired D Dylan Busenius, F Jayden Hart and a sixth-round pick in the 2014 bantam draft, with the Tigers acquiring D Zach Hodder, F Logan McVeigh, Hobbs and a second-round pick in the 2013 bantam draft.
“There’s been a lot of time spent looking at things ever since Hobbs left the team,” Shaun Clouston, the Tigers’ GM and head coach, told the Medicine Hat News. “When something didn’t materialize shortly after that, we believed it would probably be closer to a deadline type of a deal.
“This (trade) didn’t take one guy out of our lineup or off our current roster. We were able to add two veteran players, two players that have played hard and have proven over the years that they’re legitimate high-end players and they both have something to prove.”
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Later Monday, the Pats traded F Connor Gay, 19, to the Red Deer Rebels for F Jake Leschyshyn, 15. Regina also got a fourth-round pick in the 2017 bantam draft, while giving up three picks -- a first in 2016, a second in 2015 and a seventh in 2017.
The Rebels will be the host team for the 2016 Memorial Cup.Gay, from Saskatoon, had a team-high 20 goals in 39 games with the Pats and was second in points (44). In 135 regular-season games over three seasons, he has 92 points, including 40 goals.
Leschyshyn was the sixth overall selection in the 2014 bantam draft. He is the son of former NHL defenceman Curtis Leschyshyn, who played for the Saskatoon Blades. Jake is playing for the midget AAA Saskatoon Blazers. He leads the team with 24 points in 25 games.
By making this trade, Brent Sutter, the Rebels’ owner, general manager and head coach, was able to restock his draft cupboard after he gave up a 2016 first-round pick and a 2015 second-round selection in acquiring D Nelson Nogier and F Austin Adamson from the Saskatoon Blades on Dec. 14.
“Your bring those two assets (Nogier and Gay) back to your team and now you’re dealing from an area of strength again going into the summer and next season where we have all our picks and them some,” Sutter told Greg Meachem, the Red Deer Advocate’s sports editor. “Also, adding a player like Connor to our hockey team is significant.
“Again, this wasn’t an easy thing to do, but it’s a responsibility that I have . . . a part of the stakes involved when you’re hosting the Memorial Cup. When you’re going to be the host you have to make sure you have to team that gives you the opportunity to be very competitive and a chance to be very successful in league play and during the tournament, too. It’s just the way it is. These are the types of things you have to do and we were in a position where we could do it.”
One more thing - by my count, the Pats currently have 20 players left on their roster. Got to be more moves coming for them yet.
— Alan Caldwell (@smallatlarge) January 5, 2015---
Also on Monday, the Saskatoon Blades dealt G Trevor Martin, 18, to Red Deer for D Kolton Dixon, 19.The Rebels sent Martin to the SJHL’s Melville Millionaires. In 19 games with the Blades, he was 3-10-2, 4.16, .886. He is from Ardrossan, Alta.
Dixon, from Red Deer, had a goal and two assists in 32 games this season. In 138 regular-season games, the first 43 with the Victoria Royals, he has 12 points, including 11 assists.
With Martin gone, the Blades have brought in Brock Hamm, 17, from the SJHL’s Humboldt Broncos to back up Nik Amundrud. Hamm, from Saskatoon, was 9-10-0, 2.72, .918 with Humboldt.
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Meanwhile, the Wheat Kings made another move on Monday as they added D Reid Gow, 20, to their roster. Brandon
acquired his rights from the Spokane Chiefs for a fifth-round bantam draft pick.According to the Chiefs, they will have the option of using that selection in 2015 or 2016.
The Wheat Kings had room to add one 20-year-old and Gow, who is from the nearby community of Killarney, made a whole lot of sense. He played four seasons with the Chiefs, before leaving them over the summer and enrolling at the U of Manitoba in Winnipeg where he has been playing with the Bisons. He had seven points, two of them goals, in 18 games with the Bisons.
As a youngster, Gow dreamed of playing for the Wheat Kings, but the Chiefs selected him with the 16th overall pick in the 2009 bantam draft.
“It’s going to be awesome,” Gow told James Shewaga, the Brandon Sun’s sports editor. “I’m very excited. There’s lots going on here in Brandon and I’m really happy to be here . . . They have unbelievable players in all positions and it’s a special team and I hope to add to that in any way I can, in a leadership role and helping out the young guns and just being the kind of player that I am with them. . . .
“It’s very exciting to be a Wheat King. I never thought it would happen. When you are young, you dream about being a Wheat King, so it’s very exciting for me and I can’t wait.”
Last season in Spokane, Gow had 62 points, including 56 assists, in 65 games. In 229 career regular-season games, all with the Chiefs, he had 146 points, including 129 assists.
Gow, who plans on returning to the Bisons next season, practised with the Wheat Kings on Monday and is expected to make his debut with them tonight against the visiting Everett Silvertips.
“Originally, Reid Gow chose not to play his overage year in Spokane because he wanted to be closer to home and family in Manitoba,” Tim Speltz, the Chiefs’ general manager, said in a news release.“Reid enrolled and played the first half of this season at the University of Manitoba.”
Speltz added that the Wheat Kings were given permission to talk to Gow “after the Christmas break to discuss the option of Reid playing in Brandon.Joining the Wheat Kings will allow Reid to be closer to home and family, which is important to him, while also enabling Reid to continue studies at the U of M.”
With Gow on the roster, Brandon is carrying nine defenceman. That includes Kale Clague, the terrific 16-year-old freshman who is out with an undisclosed injury. Clague is listed as being out week-to-week.
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The Seattle Thunderbirds made three roster changes on Monday as they added Latvian F Roberts Lipsbergs, a 20-year-old from Denmark, to their roster.
Lipsbergs, who played the previous two seasons with Seattle, had been with the ECHL’s Stockton Thunder. He had a goal and two assists in 15 games with the Thunder.
Lipsbergs is a two-spotter -- a 20-year-old import -- and will fill spots that had belonged to F Justin Hickman, 20, and Austrian F Florian Baltram, 17.
Hickman’s season is over as he is scheduled to have surgery on a shoulder. Seattle’s captain had 28 points, including nine goals, in ?? games this season. In five seasons with the Thunderbirds, he played in 285 games, recording 132 points, 55 of them goals.
Baltram had a goal and four assists in 34 games. As a first-year import, he couldn’t be traded, so had to be released. Seattle also has Danish F Alexander True, 17, on its roster. True has 10 points, including five goals, in 31 games.
Last season, with Seattle, Lipsbergs had 52 points, including 33 goals, in 68 games. In 2012-13, as a freshman, he put up 58 points, 30 of them goals, in 64 games.
Lipsbergs is expected to be in the Thunderbirds’ lineup Friday and Sunday when they go home-and-home with the Tri-City Americans. They’ll open the weekend in Kennewick, Wash., on Friday and finish the series Sunday in Kent, Wash. The latter game was scheduled for Saturday but was moved to Sunday to avoid a conflict with the Seattle Seahawks’ NFL playoff game.
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Tom Renney, the president of Hockey Canada, met with the media in Toronto on Monday and, yes, he chose his words carefully. Of course, Renney wasn’t with Hockey Canada when the decisions were made that haunted the 2015 World Junior Championship. Ken Campbell of The Hockey News was there and he blogged about it right here.
—-
A Monday evening tweet from Matthew Gourlie of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald reports that “Dawson Davidson has been called up by Kamloops for the rest of the season from the Moose Jaw Generals.”
Davidson, a third-round pick in the 2013 bantam draft, is from Moosomin, Sask., and had been playing with the midget AAA Generals.
Davidson joined the Blazers after Christmas and has two goals in four games. A terrific skater, he’s slight but a gifted offensive talent and has been seeing playing time on the point on the first PP unit.
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Taylor Rocca of the Cranbrook Daily Townsman reports that Kootenay Ice D Tanner Faith may not play again this season.
“The Minnesota Wild prospect, who only suited up in 10 games last season due to an upper-body injury, has likely seen his 2014-15 WHL campaign come to an end after sustaining an upper-body injury Dec. 6 in Spokane,” writes Rocca. “Faith has only suited up in 19 games for the Ice so far this season.”
Rocca’s story is right here.
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Don't accuse Coach Constantine of having no sense of humor. His stylish new hat looks perfect for this roadie! pic.twitter.com/gXlfrnJuMu
— Everett Silvertips (@WHLsilvertips) January 5, 2015
---TRADE DEADLINE DEALS:
Dec. 10 . . .To Kelowna: D Josh Morrissey (95), F Gage Quinney (95).
To Prince Albert: D Jesse Lees (95), F Austin Glover (96), 2016 second-round pick, 2017 third-round pick.
---
Dec. 12 . . .
To Red Deer: D Nelson Nogier (96), F Austin Adamson (96).
To Saskatoon: F Mason McCarty (97), 2015 second-round pick, 2016 first-round pick.
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Dec. 16 . . .
To Calgary: G Thatcher Demko, 19, who is at Boston College.
To Spokane: Conditional draft picks. Guy Flaming of The Pipeline Show tweeted that he had it as a second-rounder in 2015 and a second- or third-rounder in 2016.
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Dec. 27 . . .
To Swift Current: D Griffin Foulk, 19.
To Lethbridge: Conditional eighth-round pick in the 2016 bantam draft.
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Dec. 27 . . .
To Red Deer: D Colton Bobyk, 18, and a 2016 fourth-round bantam draft pick.
To Spokane: D Nick Charif, 19, a second-round pick in the 2015 bantam draft and a conditional sixth-round selection in 2016.
---
Jan. 2 . . .
To Brandon: F Morgan Klimchuk, 19.
To Regina: F Jesse Gabrielle, 17.
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Jan. 5 . . .
To Medicine Hat: D Kyle Burroughs, 19, and F Dryden Hunt, 19.
To Regina: D Connor Hobbs, 17, and two bantam draft picks -- second-rounder in 2016 and third-rounder in 2015.
---
Jan. 5 . . .
To Saskatoon: D Kolton Dixon, 19.
To Red Deer: G Trevor Martin, 18.
---
Jan. 5 . . .
To Red Deer: F Connor Gay, 19, and three bantam draft picks -- a first-rounder in 2016, a second in 2015 and a seventh in 2017.
To Regina: F Jake Leschyshyn, 15, and a fourth-round pick in the 2017 bantam draft.
---
Jan. 5 . . .
To Brandon: D Reid Gow, 20.
To Spokane: A fifth-round bantam draft pick, Spokane’s option for 2015 or 2016.
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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.
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.
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
The Spokane Chiefs took a hit Sunday when D Jeremy McIntosh informed general manager Tim Speltz that he won’t be returning. . . . “Jeremy contacted me Sunday evening to inform me of his decision to move on," Speltz said in a news release. “He said he has lost his passion for the game and is not as committed as he feels is necessary to play in the WHL.” . . . A native of Calgary, McIntosh had four goals and six assists in 70 games last season. In his freshman season, 2012-13, he had a goal and four helpers in 65 games. . . . “I am hoping he reconsiders his position and as an organization we will be as patient as possible should he have a change of heart,” Speltz added. "We expected Jeremy to be a big part of our defensive core this season and his decision is a total surprise." . . . McIntosh was a sixth-round selection by the Chiefs in the 2010 bantam draft. . . . Two other veteran defencemen who finished last season with the Chiefs also are gone from the WHL. Reid Gow, the Chiefs’ captain last season, has chosen not to return for his 20-year-old season, while Cole Wedman, 20, was dealt to the Moose Jaw Warriors and has since decided to attend the U of Alberta.
F Bryson Gore won’t be returning for a third season with the Moose Jaw Warriors. Gore, 19, is from Milo, Alta. . . . According to the Warriors, Gore “has decided to remain at home near Lethbridge and is considering his future hockey and academic opportunities.” . . . Last season, Gore had 18 points, including 11 goals, in 68 games. The previous season, he had nine goals and seven assists in 69 games. . . . He was a 10th-round selection by the Portland Winterhawks in the 2010 WHL bantam draft. He was listed by the Warriors after being dropped from Portland’s protected list.
According to Shawn Mullin, the radio voice of the Swift Current Broncos, F Maxim Letunov won’t be reporting to the WHL team. Letunov, an 18-year-old from Moscow, was selected by the Broncos in the CHL’s 2014 import draft. He was a second-round pick by the St. Louis Blues in the NHL’s 2014 draft, after playing last season with the USHL’s Youngstown Phantoms. He had 43 points, including 19 goals, in 60 games with the Phantoms. Mullin tweeted that “there have been discussions and the door remains open. Looks like he will play in the USHL still.” . . . Letunov also has committed to Boston U, so that may have figured in his decision not to journey to Swift Current.
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.
2. Portland Winterhawks, .772 -- The Winterhawks would need to win their last four games and have Kelowna lose its last four in order to finish first overall. That isn’t going to happen. Therefore, the Winterhawks will be trying to get their two veteran goaltenders back on track. Brendan Burke has been out with mononucleosis and hasn’t played since Feb. 10. Corbin Boes was shaken up in a goalmouth collision on Friday and didn’t play Saturday. . . . F Nic Petan leads the WHL in assists (74) and is five points off the scoring lead. But he has only two points, both assists, in his last five games. . . . A first-round series with the Vancouver Giants awaits.
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).
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.
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.
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.
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