THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Petr Kalus (Regina, 2005-06) signed a contract for the rest of this season with Djurgården Stockholm (Sweden, Allsvenskan) after his release by Fassa (Italy, Serie A). He had eight goals and 14 assists in 20 games with Fassa this season. . . .
F Jeremy Williams (Swift Current, 2000-04) signed a contract for the rest of this season with Eispiraten Crimmitschau (Germany, 2. Bundesliga) after being released by mutual agreement from his contract with Sierre (Switzerland, NL B). He had six goals and nine assists in 28 games with Sierre this season.
———
The Canadian Lacrosse Association has moved to get fighting out of its game.
As a result of recommendations made by a task force established by the CLA, its board of directors has approved changes to Rule 45 in the Box Lacrosse Rule and Situation Handbook.
Starting with the 2013 season, “A major penalty and game misconduct penalty shall be assessed to any player/goalkeeper who fights.”
As well, “if there is an instigator or clear aggressor in a fight, a major penalty and a game misconduct plus any other penalties shall be assessed to the offending player(s). Where an instigator or clear aggressor penalty is assessed the non-offending player shall not receive a game misconduct.”
“If an athlete, at any level, takes part in a fight, they will be removed from the game,” the CLA said in a news release. “Fighting in the sport is an unnecessary risk — it is a dangerous activity for any athlete to be a part of. Incidents of concussions can increase with every fight that happens; it is becoming more apparent that a blow to the head area has the potential to cause severe and long-term injury.
“The health and safety of all participants in Canada’s national summer sport is amongst the leading concerns of the Canadian Lacrosse Association.”
———
If you missed it, our last poll closed earlier in the week. It began with: The disciplinary measures taken by the WHL against the Portland Winterhawks were . . .
“Far too stiff” was the runaway winner, getting 44 per cent of the 278 votes that were cast. That worked out to 123 votes.
“Just right” drew 80 votes, or 28 per cent.
“Too stiff” ended up with 45 votes (16 per cent) and “not stiff enough” got 30 votes (10 per cent).
———
If you are looking for books as Christmas gifts — even if it’s a gift to yourself — here are two more suggestions, both of which are hockey related.
You absolutely can’t go wrong with Wayne Gretzky’s Ghost, a book by Roy MacGregor that is subtitled And Other Tales from a Lifetime in Hockey.
If Canada had a sports essayist emeritus, it would be MacGregor, who writes for The Globe and Mail.
This work contains a whole lot of previously published essays and it seems that every single one of them is terrific. You start reading and one just flows into another and into the one after that.
Good stuff!
Chapter One, which is titled Wayne Gretzky’s Ghost, is awfully good. I was intrigued because that chapter deals with MacGregor ghost-writing a newspaper column that carried Gretzky’s byline.
The chapter also gives the rest of the essays a tough act to follow. But MacGregor is up to the task, and we shouldn’t be surprised.
And don’t think for a moment that his book is all essays about players past and present. Because it isn’t. There is, for example, a scathing look at Hockey Night in Canada that was published in The Globe and Mail on Oct. 2, 2010. And it was as true as last season ended as it was when it first appeared in print.
If you need a hockey fix with the NHL locked out, this will get you well into 2013.
Another option is Over The Line (Wrist Shots, Slap Shots, and Five-Minute Majors), but the retired Al Strachan, who was one of the last ‘pure’ sports writers, a guy who wasn’t afraid to tell it like it is.
As he reminds us in the Introduction, he’s the guy who wrote Why the Leafs Suck “and was fired from Hockey Night in Canada as a result.”
In this book, Strachan tells story after story after story from his days covering the NHL. When he covered hockey, writers were in the dressing rooms, in the coaches’ offices and in the bars with players and coaches. So there are a lot of anecdotes here.
There also is a terrific Foreword that was written by the afore-mentioned MacGregor. “I laughed until I cried at some parts,” he writes. “And I wept for what has become of sports journalism over recent years.”
You really can’t go wrong with either book, both of which are available in soft cover.
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F Mason Wilgosh (Tri-City, 2007-12), who now plays for the U of Prince Edward Island, has drawn a 12-game suspension for a headshot during a Nov. 30 game. He won’t be eligible to return until Feb. 8, which is when UPEI plays its final regular-season game.
Monty Mosher of the Halifax ChronicleHerald has more right here.
———
G Bolton Pouliot hasn’t played in more than a month but the Red Deer Rebels will turn to him tonight against the visiting Calgary Hitmen. Patrik Bartosak, the Rebel’s starter, now is with the Czech Republic’s national junior team. . . . Spencer Tremblay will be backing up Pouliot. . . . Greg Meachem of the Red Deer Advocate also reports that F Filip Vasko (knee), F Cory Millette (facial cut) and F Jesse Miller (undisclosed) won’t play. . . . F Adam Musil, 15, will play for Red Deer. He has 22 points in 17 games with the major midget Greater Vancouver Canadians. The younger brother of Edmonton Oil Kings D David Musil, Adam was the sixth overall selection in the 2012 bantam draft.
———
TUESDAY’S GAMES:
In Brandon, the teams combined for 93 shots as the Saskatoon Blades got past  the Wheat Kings, 7-5. . . . Earlier in the season, the Blades lost 9-6 in Brandon. . . . F Matej Stransky had a goal and two assists for the Blades. . . . F Jayce Hawryluk led Brandon with a goal and three helpers. . . . Saskatoon G Alex Moodie stopped 35 shots, while Brandon’s Corbin Boes blocked 46. . . . The Blades have won three in a row. . . . F Brenden Walker, who was traded from Brandon to Saskatoon over the summer, broke a 4-4 at 15:06 of the third period. The Blades weren’t caught after that goal. . . .

In Cranbrook, F Tyson Baillie scored twice as the Kelowna Rockets got past the Kootenay Ice, 3-1. . . . The Rockets scored three times in the third period. . . . F Collin Shirley gave the Ice a 1-0 lead on an early second-period PP goal. . . . Baillie tied it on a PP at 12:42 of the third, with D Colten Martin’s second goal of the season, at 14:17, winning it. . . . The Rockets were without F Henrik Nyberg, who sat out the first of a two-game suspension handed out through supplemental discipline for something that happened against the visiting Prince George Cougars on Saturday. . . .

In Prince George, G Steve Myland earned his first WHL shutout as the Swift Current Broncos beat the Cougars, 2-0. . . . Myland, getting a start with G Eetu Laurikainen having left for the Finnish national junior team, stopped 17 shots. . . . Broncos F Adam Lowry scored his 17th goal as he ran his point streak to nine games. . . . D Reece Scarlett was back in the Broncos’ lineup after missing two games with an undisclosed injury. (Injured in Kelowna) . . . The game featured two minor penalties, both against the Cougars. . . . The Cougars had two 2013 bantam draft picks in their roster in F Brad Morrison and D Jansen Harkins. Harkins was the second overall pick, while Morrison went seventh overall. . . . The Broncos went 2-3-0 on their B.C. Division tour, with all three losses one-goal decisions. . . .

In Calgary, F Colin Smith scored twice in regulation time and once in the circus as the Kamloops Blazers came from behind to beat the Hitmen, 3-2. . . . With the Blazers trailing 2-0 in the second period, Smith scored to get his club to within one. He then tied it 19 seconds into the third period on a PP. . . . Calgary F Victor Rask scored the first goal of the shootout. Smith tied it and F Brendan Ranford won it after G Cole Cheveldave made a glove save on Calgary F Greg Chase. . . . Smith leads the WHL in goals (25), assists (36) and points (61). . . . The Blazers, who have won four straight, are 6-0-0 on the road in the Central Division this season. . . . Kamloops plays in Edmonton tonight. . . . The Blazers are back in sole possession of first-place overall, two points ahead of the idle Portland Winterhawks. But after tonight’s action the Winterhawks will hold five games in hand. . . .

In Seattle, F Alex Gogolev scored two goals and set up anotehr as the Victoria Royals dumped the Thunderbirds, 6-2. . . . The Royals scored the game’s first two goals and led 4-1 after the second period. . . . Gogolev has 13 goals this season. . . . The teams combined for 120 penalty minutes, with Seattle taking 70 of those. There were 18 roughing minors handed out. . . .

In Kennewick, Wash., F Josh Winquist scored the only goal of the circus as the Everett Silvertips beat the Tri-City Americans, 2-1. . . . Winquist was the first shooter in the shootout. . . . F Justin Feser scored for the Americans, on the PP, at 17:28 of the first period. . . . Everett F CarsonStadnyk tied it at 10:46 of the third period. . . . Everett G Austin Lotz stopped 45 shots. . . . Feser goal leaves him with 285 career regular-season points with the Americans. He is tied for eighth, with co-owner Stu Barnes, on the franchise’s all-time list. F Dylan Gyori is seventh (286).
———
CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
F Ben Walker, Victoria
F Ryan Chynoweth, Tri-City

CHECKING-TO-THE-HEAD COUNT:
None
———






From Portland D Josh Hanson (@HansoloCup4): “The next person that cuts me off without giving the courteous ‘thank you’ wave will get their tires slashed. #NotEvenJoking #HaveSomeManners”
———
From Vancouver G Liam Liston (@liamliston): “just wondering who’s gonig to refund me my 7 dollars and 1h37 mins of my time for watching ‘killing them softly’ . . . you let me down Brad.”
———
More from Liston: “And you’re lucky that it was cheap movie night or else I’d be asking for the full 15 back #joke”
———
From veteran scout Mike Fraser (@MikeFraser29), now with the Brandon Wheat Kings: “Last three games I’ve watched have each ended in ties. And you know what? There’s nothing wrong with that. @gdrinnan #shootoutssuck”

There has never been a subscription fee for this blog, but if you enjoy stopping by here, why not consider donating to the cause? Just click HERE. . . and thank you very much.

Mayor Sam Adams (centre) of Portland was at the Winterhawks' game last night
and purchased a Free Mike J t-shirt. His Honour later tweeted (@MayorSamAdams):
"I just bought one of these 'Free Mike J' t-shirts here at the #VMC from the great
@Winterhawks Boosters @PWHBC #pdx"

THE MacBETH REPORT:
Ceske Budejovice (Czech Republic, Extraliga) exercised its contract option with F Ladislav Kohn (Brandon, Swift Current, 1993-95), keeping Kohn under contract with the club through the end of this season. Kohn's contract, signed in October, was to expire at the end of December but had a club option to extend it through the end of this season. He has two goals and eight assists in 14 games this season. Last season, Kohn had five goals and 14 assists in 37 games as an alternate captain with Trinec (Czech Republic, Extraliga) and one goal and three assists in eight games with Ambri-Piotta (Switzerland, NL A).
F Kris Beech (Calgary, 1996-2001) signed a "game-by-game" contract with AIK Stockholm (Sweden, Elitserien). He had two goals and six assists in 21 games earlier this season for Pardubice (Czech Republic, Extraliga). AIK currently has eight players out with injuries, including two at Beech's centre position. Beech, released by Pardubice on Nov. 16, is expected to practice with AIK today and will play in their game Thursday, if the paperwork is completed in time. AIK,  currently in 11th place in the 12-team Elitserien halfway through its schedule, fired their head coach, Per-Erik Johnsson, on Monday and replaced him with former Vancouver Canuck D Anders Eldebrink. . . .
F Dana Tyrell (Prince George, 2004-09) signed an NHL lockout contract with Banska Bystrica (Slovakia, Extraliga). He had five assists in 26 games with the Tampa Bay Lightning and four goals and five assists in 18 games with the Norfolk Admirals (AHL) last season.
———
The Swift Current Broncos are touring B.C. with a starting goaltender, an injured backup and a No. 3 who has been brought in from the junior B North Delta Devils.
Wait! There’s more.
Eetu Laurikainen, the 19-year-old starting freshman, will be leaving for his native Finland after a Saturday game against the Royals in Victoria.
Landon Bow, a 17-year-old freshman from Thompson, Man., has been backing up Laurikainen. But Bow went down in a goal-mouth collision duriing a 5-0 victory over the visiting Brandon Wheat Kings on Saturday. Bow is hurting and wasn’t able to dress last night in Kamloops.
So they brought in Steve Myland, 18, from North Delta.
Mark Lamb, the Broncos’ general manager and head coach, said Bow wasn’t able to skate on Monday but he’s hopeful he’ll be ready by the weekend.
“We’re hoping,” Lamb said. “He’s not limping or anything so he should be all right.”
But what happens if Laurikainen is gone and Bow still can’t play?
Well, the Broncos could maybe bring in Travis Child of Killam, Alta. He was a second-round selection in the 2012 bantam draft.
“There’s a couple of of other options,” Lamb said. “Hopefully, we don’t have to get to that.”
The Broncos lost two forwards in Tuesday’s 2-1 loss to the Blazers in Kamloops. Josh Derko and Levi Bews both were taken to Royal Inland Hospital with apparent leg injuries.
After the game, Lamb allowed that “it doesn’t look good.”
———
Latvia’s preliminary 32-man roster for its national junior team includes three WHLers – D Rinalds Rosinskis of the Prince George Cougars, F Edgars Kulda of the Edmonton Oil Kings and F Roberts Lipsbergs of the Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . The Latvians will hold a camp in Broceni from Dec. 10-22. . . . Latvia is in the big tournament for the fourth time in five years. . . . G Andrey Makarov of the Saskatoon Blades is the lone WHLer on the Russian roster, while D Seth Jones of the Portland Winterhawks is the only WHLer on the U.S. roster. . . . The U.S. team will hold a camp in Tarrytown, N.Y., Dec. 16-18, and will name its final 23-man roster on Dec. 23 after it continues its camp in Helsinki, Finland. . . . When Makarov leaves Saskatoon, the Blades will bring in G Patrick Johnston to support Alex Moodie. Johnson plays for the SJHL’s Melfort Mustangs. Makarov (ill) didn’t practice Tuesday but is expected to start tonight against the visiting Spokane Chiefs. . . . Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix reports that F Brett Stovin (shoulder) will be in the Blades’ lineup after an eight-game absence.
———
D Keegan Lowe of the Edmonton Oilers is expected to miss a third straight game tonight with an ankle injury. The Oil Kings play the Hurricanes in Lethbridge tonight. . . . With D Griffin Reinhart and D David Musil to leave shortly for national team camps and with D Martin Gernat out with a shoulder problem, the Oil Kings hope to get Lowe healthy so that he can return by next week. . . . Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal also reports that F Travis Ewanyk (knee) didn’t make the bus ride to Lethbridge.
———
TUESDAY’S GAMES:
In Prince Albert, the Spokane Chiefs scored three goals in the game’s last 3:03 and beat the Raiders, 7-4. . . . F Collin Valcourt broke a 4-4 tie at 16:57, with F Liam Stewart adding insurance at 17:35 and F Connor Chartier getting the empty-netter at 19:48. . . . F Mike Aviani had three goals and an assist for Spokane, while F Todd Fiddler, who started his WHL career with the Raiders, had a goal and two assists and was plus-4. . . . The Chiefs had a 4-1 lead late in the second period, only to have the Raiders come back and tie it on F Austin Daae’s first goal and two from F Dakota Conroy. . . . It was the first hat trick of Aviani’s career. He didn’t score at all in the first nine games of November, then scored twice as the Chiefs opened their East Division swing with a 7-2 victory in Swift Current on Friday. . . . Aviani, who had 13 goals in 70 games last season, has 15 in 28 games this season. . . . The Chiefs are 3-0-0 on their East Division tour. . . . Prince Albert F Jonas Knutsen left the game after hitting his head on the ice as a first-period scrap with Spokane F Carter Proft ended. Knutsen is scheduled to leave the Raiders today and join Norway’s national junior team for the IIHF Division I Group A U20 championship in Amiens, France. He told Dave Leaderhouse of the Prince Albert Daily Herald that he was knocked out and that he received a couple of stitches, both other than that he was OK. “I have to do a skate (today), but I leave real early so I am going to see Bruno (Raiders general manager Bruno Campese) right now and see what he says,” Knutse told Leaderhouse. . . .

In Cranbrook, the Calgary Hitmen scored the game’s last six goals and beat the Kootenay Ice, 6-1. . . . F Greg Chase scored twice for the Hitmen, while F Victor Rask and F Brooks Macek each had a goal and two assists. . . .

In Prince George, G Brett Zarowny stopped 33 shots to lead the Cougars to a 2-1 victory over the Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . F Jarrett Fontaine and F Daulton Siwak scored late in the first period to give Prince George a 2-0 lead. . . . F Sam Fioretti, with his 18th, got Moose Jaw on the board at 1:57 of the second. . . . Cougars F Troy Bourke, who hadn’t played since Nov. 9 due to an undisclosed injury, returned to action with one assist. He missed nine games. . . . The Cougars ended a three-game home losing streak. . . .

In Kamloops, the Blazers scored twice in the game’s last two minutes and beat the Swift Current Broncos, 2-1. . . . F Coda Gordon scored a PP goal for the Broncos at 2:46 of the second period. . . . With G Eetu Laurikainnen putting on a 30-save show, the Broncos lost in hearbreaking fashion. . . . Kamloops G Cole Cheveldave made two brilliant saves during a Swift Current PP in the second-half of the third period to keep his team’s hopes alive. They were the first shots he saw in the period. . . . F Colin Smith then tied the game at 18:16 and D Sam Grist got the winner at 18:47. . . . As mentioned above, Swift Current forwards Josh Derko and Levi Bews both were taken to hospital with apparent leg injuries during the game. . . .

In Portland, the Winterhawks erased a 4-1 deficit and beat the Everett Silvertips, 7-5. . . . Portland has won seven in a row. It also has won 12 straight at home. . . . Portland F Brendan Leipsic, named the WHL player of the month earlier in the day, had four goals, three of them in a row. With his side trailing 4-1, he scored three times. . . .  Leipsic, who has 20 goals, ran his point streak to 16 games. . . . His first three goals came at 8:46, 16:55 and 18:37 of the second. . . . It was Portland’s second four-goal game this season. F Ty Rattie did it in Swift Current on Oct. 13. . . . Portland D Seth Jones had three assists. He’s on an six-game point streak. . . . Despite scoring seven times, Portland had only seven players with points. . . . Everett F Trent Lofthouse gave his side a 5-4 lead at 2:08 of the third. . . . Leipsic tied it at 16:09, on a PP, and D Troy Rutowski got the winner at 16:49. . . . F Reid Petryk had three assists for Everett. . . . The Silvertips are 0-3 against Portland this season. Everett has lost its last 13 games in Portland.
———
CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
None.

CHECKING-TO-THE-HEAD COUNT:
F JC Lipon, Kamooops
———







From Portland F Brendan Leipsic (@leip28), the WHL’s player of the month: “Great character win for the guys, also great seeing the best owner in the league tonight. #pesky hawks”
———
From Vancouver Giants radio voice Jeff Paterson (@patersonjeff): “#WHL named Portland Winterhawk Player of Month. League tried to call him to tell good news then remembered it had confiscated his phone”
———
And now for something completely different.
Perhaps you have wondered what WHL players do on a night when they aren’t involved in a game.
Well, on Tuesday night, many of them were gathered around TV sets. In fact, if the players had their way this particular night would be a black night on the schedule every single season.
Why?
Well, here’s a few hints from Twitter:
From Seattle Thunderbirds G Brandon Glover (@BGlover31): “Lots of talk about guys finding future ‘wives’ on Victoria Secret fashion show tonight .. They must have amazing personalities .. Yeah?? Idk”
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From Calgary Hitmen D Kenton Helgesen (@Helgesen3): “Definitely got the Victoria secret fashion show recording tonight #dimes”
———
From Seattle Thunderbirds D Griffin Foulk (@gfoulk95): “Can't wait to pick a future wife tonight #vsfashionshow #dimeshow”
———
Former WHLers are caught in the web, too. Here’s ex-Kamloops G Daryl Reaugh (@Razor5Hole): “As a service to my followers, a reminder — @VictoriasSecret: The #VSFashionShow starts at 10/9c tonight on @CBS. #stockingstuffers”
———
Saskatoon Blades F Josh Nicholls (@JNicks20): “These girls are all fine pieces of ace . . . trust me I know from experience #VSFashion Show”
———
Edmonton Oil Kings F TJ Foster (@TJFosterr): “Why does such a douche bag get to perform at the VS fashion show. Biebs needs to figure his style out. Other than that I’m enjoying it”
———
Saskatoon Blades D Graeme Craig (@craigstand6): “Is there a girl missing a tooth? #meanttobe #VSFashionShow”
———
Lethbridge Hurricanes G Ty Rimmer (@Rimms35): “This has got to be the best thing on TV since . . . ever #VSFashionShow”
———
Red Deer Rebels D Brandon Underwood (@BUND3RWOOD): “These girls are making Rihanna look like a dog #VSFashionShow”
———
Edmonton Oil Kings F Curtis Lazar (@CurtisLazar95): “Finally the #VSFashionShow is over so I can now watch the Grinch!! #christmas #featurepresentation”

There has never been a subscription fee for this blog, but if you enjoy stopping by here, why not consider donating to the cause? Just click HERE. . . and thank you very much.

THE MacBETH REPORT:
D Shawn Belle (Regina, Tri-City, 2000-05) signed a tryout contract with Adler Mannheim (Germany, DEL). He didn’t have any points in nine games with the Edmonton Oilers and Colorado Avalanche (both NHL) and six goals and 20 assists in 51 games with the Oklahoma City Barons and Lake Erie Monsters (both AHL) last season. The contract is through Sept. 22.
———
The Swift Current Broncos have suffered something of a blow with the departure of G Steffen Soberg.
Soberg, 18, is from Oslo, Norway, and was a fourth-round pick by the Washington Capitals in the 2011 NHL draft. The Broncos used the sixth overall pick in the CHL’s 2011 import draft to take Soberg.
He arrived at the Broncos’ training camp and was expected to be the Broncos’ No. 1 goaltender. Shawn Mullin, the radio voice of the Broncos, reported that Soberg “played half an exhibition game before injuring his knee and missing the Edmonton tournament.”
Soberg didn’t go to the Capitals’ camp, and the Broncos, according to Mullin, are saying that “Soberg had to leave to deal with personal issues.”
This isn’t to say Soberg won’t return to Swift Current, but his departure leaves the Broncos with Austin Smith and Steve Myland as their goaltenders.
Smith, an 18-year-old from Calgary, was a second-round pick in the 2008 bantam draft. Smith was 0-6-0, 4.86, .871 in 11 appearances with the Broncos last season.
Myland was acquired from the Kootenay Ice in the January blockbuster in which the Broncos surrendered F Cody Eakin. Myland, a 17-year-old from Cloverdale, B.C., played last season with the Valley West Hawks of the B.C. Major Midget League. The Ice selected him in the 10th round of the 2009 bantam draft.
———
On the afternoon after his side absorbed a 10-1 loss at the hands of the Medicine Hat Tigers, GM/head coach Rich Preston of the Lethbridge Hurricanes acquired a new goaltender.
The Hurricanes picked up G Damien Ketlo, 20, from the Regina Pats for a conditional fifth-round pick in the 2012 bantam draft.
The plan in Lethbridge would seem to call for Ketlo, who is entering his fourth WHL season, to partner with Brandon Anderson, 19, who has signed with the NHL’s Washington Capitals. Or perhaps the plan is to move Anderson, who would seem to be a rather valuable asset.
In speaking with Kelowna Rockets head coach Ryan Huska on Friday, he mentioned that he feels his club’s one-two punch in goal — Adam Brown, who is expected to return from the camp of the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers, and Jordon Cooke — is as good as any in the league.
Huska put it like this: “If we get Adam back, which we are expecting we will, we feel like we have a good one-two punch . . . some teams don’t have a one.”
That being the case, Anderson might become a really valuable chip.
Ketlo is one of four 20-year-olds on the Hurricanes’ roster, joining F Cam Braes, F Austin Fyten and F Brody Sutter.
The deal leaves Regina with three 20-year-olds on its roster — D Brandon Davidson, D Art Bidlevskii and F Garrett Mitchell, all of whom are at NHL camps.
The Pats are down to three goaltenders now — veteran Matt Hewitt, 19, and freshmen Teagan Sacher of Winnipeg, who turns 17 on Dec. 1, and Adam Beukeboom, 17, of Sundre, Alta.
———
A story in Coquitlam Now contained an interesting quote from Jon Calvano, the head coach of the BCHL’s Coquitlam Express.
His club recently had two players — Austin Carroll and Jason Fram — move on to WHL teams. Carroll, a ninth-round pick in the 2009 bantam draft, is with the Victoria Royals, while Fram, an eighth-round pick in 2010, went to the Spokane Chiefs.
“It's an old cliché, but it is what it is,” Calvano told the newspaper. “We are both in the position of developing players and both in it to win. I'd be foolish to say that the WHL is not a good league and won't open doors for players; we're just different options. When it's all said and done, I wish both players well.”
———
According to Cleve Dheensaw of the Victoria Times Colonist, the Victoria Royals will be without D Zach Habscheid (upper body) for “up to six weeks.” D Tyler Stahl also has an upper body injury, meaning the Royals are missing two of their top four defencemen. . . . As well, Victoria F Brendan Persley is out with mononucleosis. . . . Stahl was selected by the Carolina Hurricanes in the sixth-round of the NHL’s 2010 draft. His injury has prevented him from joining them in training camp. . . . RW Jordan DePape (hip flexor) didn’t get on the ice a whole lot in the Kamloops Blazers’ camp before leaving to join the Winnipeg Jets’ rookie team for a tournament in Penticton. The Jets kept DePape off the ice Sunday — he did work out off the ice — but hope he can play in a game today.
———
TWEET OF THE DAY:
From D Matt Dumba of the Red Deer Rebels:
“Would rather punt my dog off a bridge than lose to Calgary.”
That was after the Calgary Hitmen beat the Rebels 4-2 on Saturday.
———
And now for something completely different. . . .
Buzz Bissinger, who wrote Friday Night Lights, provides his take on remembering 9/11. You’ll find it right here.

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
     
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
     
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