A-Rod vs. Yanks: The rich eating the super-rich

D Ryley Miller, who played most of five seasons with t he Barndon Wheat Kings, has signed with the ECHL’s Wheeling Nailers. Miller, who completed his junior eligibility last season, wrapped up last season with the MJHL’s Dauphin Kings. In 241 WHL games, he had 37 points and 537 penalty minutes. . . .

The Brandon Wheat Kings are down to three 20-year-olds with the decision by F Jason Swyripa not to return for a fourth season. Instead, Swyripa, a Calgary native who played 200 games with the Wheat Kings, will activate his WHL scholarship and plans on attending Brandon University. He had 61 career points, including 23 last season. . . . Swyripa’s decision leaves Brandon with F Jens Meilleur and Chad Robinson and D Rene Hunter as its 20-year-olds, at least for now. . . .

The Medicine Hat Tigers have signed D David Quenneville, the 10th overall selection in the WHL’s 2013 bantam draft, to a contract. Quenneville, whose brother John plays for the Brandon Wheat Kings, has spent the last two seasons with the Edmonton-South Side Athletic Club Lions in the Alberta Major Bantam Hockey League. Last season, he had 72 points, including 34 goals, in 32 games. . . .

F Taylor Makin, who played three seasons in the WHL (Prince George, Vancouver, 2009-12), has decided to continue his hockey career with the Acadia Axemen of Wolfville, N.S. . . . Makin, now 21, played one game with the Vancouver Giants last season before joining the AJHL’s Brooks Bandits and helping them to the national junior A championship. . . .


The Kelowna Rockets are anticipating that 180 prospects will attend their rookie camp that begins Wednesday at Prospera Place. Of the 12 players selected by the Rockets in the 2013 WHL bantam draft, it’s beieved that only D Cal Foote, a late 1998, won’t be in attendance. He was the 43rd overall pick in the 2013 bantam draft. Foote, the son of former NHL D Adam Foote, is sidelined by injury.
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The Everett Silvertips, who open camp on Thursday, have three European skaters in town already. D Mirco Mueller of Switzerland, who was a freshman last season, and F Waltteri Hopponen and F Ivan Nikolishin of Russia all are in Everett and ready to go. . . . Mueller was first-round selection by the San Jose Sharks. Because he was a first-round pick, the Silvertips were allowed to make two selections in the 2013 CHL import draft. They now will have to wait until the Sharks decide on Mueller’s future before making a decision on which two will play in Everett this season. . . . Nick Patterson of the Everett Herald has more right here.
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The OHL’s Guelph Storm has hired former NHLer Todd Harvey as an assistant coach, while moving assistant coach Chris Hajt into the post of assistant general manager. . . . Harvey will work with head coach Scott Walker, while Hajt will assist general manager Mike Kelly.
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SOME GOOD READING:
Sarah Lyall's stint as a foreign correspondent for The New York Times is up after 18 years in London. She has written a crackling good piece reflecting on it all and that is right here.
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Nathaniel Penn has written a terrific piece for GQ, titled: The Violent Life and Sudden Death of Junior Seau. It is terrific and it is right here.
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Even if you are tired of the A-Rod saga and all that goes with it, you should give Bruce Arthur of the National Post a read.
“Some people say they’re bored of the A-Rod saga, which is understandable but misguided,” Arthur writes. “This is delicious. This is the rich eating the super-rich. This is the Yankees, who have missed the playoffs once since 1995, bumbling along with a lineup so strange that Lyle Overbay is third on the team in total bases and playing a series of vagrants and character actors at third base, and also A-Rod.”
Arthur’s piece is right here.

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1. It seems I am not the only person to be at least a bit concerned with the WHL's penchant for secrecy. . . . Small Thoughts At Large has a bone to pick with the WHL and it has to do with more apparent secrecy by the league and its teams. The last straw was the trade made Thursday by the Red Deer Rebels and Saskatoon Blades. It was announced as one player having been swapped for another player and two bantam draft picks. But it turns out that really wasn’t the case. Or was it? . . . Check out Small Thoughts At Large over there on the right.
smallatlarge.blogspot.ca/

2. The Tri-City Americans have named the Toyota Center locker-room used by the on-ice officials in honour of Alfred (Fred) Vallee, a long-time goal judge who died on June 6 at the age of 71. Vallee had been a goal judge since the Americans’ first game in 1988. . . . It is moves like this that keep the Americans at the top of the class.

3. Todd Harkins is the Prince George Cougars’ new head scout and director of player personnel. . . . Harkins, a former NHLer, replaces Wade Klippenstein, who resigned prior to the 2013 bantam draft citing philosophical differences with management. . . . Harkins is the father of  F Jansen Harkins, who was taken second overall in the 2012 bantam draft by the Cougars. . . . Todd Harkins has scouted for the Cougars in the Vancouver area and worked a few games as an assistant coach last season while Jason Becker was with Team Pacific at the U17 World Hockey Challenge. . . . As head coach of the Vancouver-Northwest Giants, Harkins won two B.C. Major Midget Hockey League championships. . . . The Cougars also announced that, according to a news release, “Western-area scout Ron Gunville and Pacific-area scout Bob Simmonds will have expanded roles as scouting directors in their respective territories."

4. F Taylor Makin, who played three WHL seasons (Prince George, Vancouver, 2009-12), has committed to attend Acadia University in Wolfville, N.S., and play for the Axemen. . . . Makin played out his junior eligibility this season with the AJHL’s Brooks Bandits, putting up 50 points in 50 regular-season games and then helping them win the RBC Cup as national champions.

5. It seems that Alain Vigneault, who was deposed as head coach of the Vancouver Canucks following the season, is going to be the next head coach of the New York Rangers. . . . He withdrew from consideration for that post with the Dallas Stars on Friday. . . . Larry Brooks of the New York Post reported late last night that Vigneault has the “inside track” on the head-coaching position with the New York Rangers and that a contract “offer may be forthcoming.” . . . Katie Strang of ESPNNewYork.com reports right here that the Rangers “have zeroed in on” Vigneault.

6. “Does every truck commercial claim to be ‘Truck of the year’?” wonders Prince Albert Raiders D Josh Morrissey in a Friday night tweet. . . . Ain’t that the truth!


7. The AHL final, with the Calder Cup on the line, isn’t over. The Syracuse Crunch scored a 3-2 victory over host Grand Rapids on Friday night, leaving the Griffins with a 3-1 edge in the best-of-seven series. . . . Game 5 is scheduled for tonight in Grand Rapids.



8. The Vancouver Canucks have cut a deal to operate their AHL affiliate in Utica, N.Y., as the Comets. . . . Chris Creamer at sportslogos.net has more right here, including a look at logos and sweaters. . . . The Canucks AHL affiliate had been the Chicago Wolves. However, Vancouver purchased the Peoria Rivermen franchise from the St. Louis Blues and has moved it to Utica. . . . That will kill, at least for now, the rumours of the Canucks taking their AHL farm team to Abbotsford, B.C., which is home to the Heat, a franchise hooked up with the Calgary Flames.

9. A body was recovered Friday from the Daugava River in Riga, Latvia, and, while a positive identification isn’t expected until early next week, it seems it most likely is that of Kristians Pelss, the former Edmonton Oil Kings forward who went missing this week. Bruce McCurdy of the Edmonton Journal has more right here.

10. Scott Winkler, the 23-year-old Dallas Stars prospect who was found dead at his family’s home in Norway on Wednesday, was the son of Rod Winkler, a former Brandon University Bobcats hockey player. . . . Rod, who is from Milestone, Sask., played for the Bobcats under head coach Andy Murray and then went on to play in Norway.
On Friday morning, Rod posted this message on this story by Joe Paisley that appeared on the Colorado Spring Gazette’s website:
“My family would like to thank everyone for their very kind thoughts. Seeing all the messages from Scott’s team mates, friends and the players he played against truly shows what a great and wonderful hockey world we live in.
“Scott we love you with all our hearts!

“Rod, Anne Karin and Karina Winkler”
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THE COACHING GAME:
The OHL’s Sarnia Sting has promoted associate coach Trevor Letowski into the position as head coach. . . . Letowski, 36, signed a three-year contract. He replaces Jacques Beaulieu, who was fired late last month. . . . Letowski is a former Sting player who had a nine-season NHL career. . . . Beaulieu had been general manager and head coach. The team is operating without a GM now, preferring to do it by committee, at least for now. . . . Neate Sager of Yahoo! Sports has more right here.


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I have known Glen Erickson for a long time. We first met in the late 1980s when I was the sports editor at the Regina Leader-Post and he was running a hotel in Saskatoon.
Years later, I ended up in Kamloops and Glen wound up in Kelowna where he has worked in the golf industry and written about junior hockey. He is a familiar face in the arenas and on the golf courses in this part of the world. And he has never forgotten Saskatchewan, where he has been known to play the odd round of golf when he visits.
I hadn’t seen Glen since the last hockey season when he was hale and hearty.
So imagine my shock on Tuesday when I discovered that Glen has been diagnosed with cancer, all of which began with a lump on his neck.
Anyway . . . he has started radiation and chemo treatments and is documenting it all on a blog titled It’s A Mental Game.
Meanwhile, in Regina, Shelley Lowes continues to take on the big C with the courage of a champion.
She, too, is documenting the battle and, yes, I am a regular visitor to her blog.
Shelley is the wife of Bob Lowes, a former WHLer player and coach who now scouts for the NHL’s Ottawa Senators.
Shelley’s blog is titled We can . . . with love!
And she is proving that, yes, we can. In her most-recent posting, on Tuesday morning, Shelley writes: “WAAAAAHOOO!! 11 of 12 is today! The light is getting brighter!”
You are able to find both blogs over there on the right. Please stop and visit them both and keep Shelley, Glen and their families in your thoughts.
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THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Mike Bayrack (Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, Prince George, 1995-99) signed a one-year contract with the Coventry Blaze (England, UK Elite). He had 29 goals and 37 assists in 47 games with the Braehead Clan (Scotland, UK Elite) last season. . . .
F Ty Morris (Swift Current, Vancouver, Red Deer, 2003-05) was released by the Ravensburg Towerstars (Germany, 2.Bundesliga) after his try-out contract had expired. He had one goal in two games during his try-out. Last season, Morris, who holds dual German-Canadian citizenship, had five goals and 24 assists in 31 games with the Bietigheim Steelers (Germany, 2. Bundesliga). . . .
D Michal Rozsival (Swift Current, 1996-98) signed a lockout contract with Plzen (Czech Republic, Extraliga). He had one goal and 12 assists in 54 games with the Phoenix Coyotes last season. Rozsival signed a one-year, $2-million contract with the Chicago Blackhawks on Sept. 11.
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One year after revealing a loss of $197,226 for the 2010-11 season, the community-owned Swift Current Broncos announced Tuesday night that they are showing a profit of $4,238 on the 2011-12 season.
If there any doubts in your mind about how hard organizations like the Broncos, who play in the smallest market in all of the CHL, have to work in order to survive, consider that the hockey operation lost $964,064.
According to a news release from the Broncos, “Additional revenues from drafted NHL players, the World Junior Hockey Championship and increases in Corporate Sponsorship, Corporate Suites and Fundraising provided enough monetary support.”
For 2010-11, the hockey operation’s deficit was $882,587. I can’t find the story at the moment, but I believe the hockey operation’s deficit was more than $800,000 for 2009-10, as well. This really does show just how hard the good folks of Swift Current work to keep their Broncos.
Here’s more from Tuesday night’s news release:
“Income from ticket sales and per game attendance was slightly greater than the previous year with average attendance at 2,204 (up from 2,136 the previous year). Fundraising events continued to grow this past season as revenue from these events increased from $42,865 to $77,063 this past year. Concession and souvenir sales stayed relatively the same from the previous year. The club also announced that they recorded 797 hours of community service last year (up from recent years).”
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The NHL has cut a deal with the CHL under which players could be recalled from major junior teams should the NHL lockout come to an end.
These would be players who aren’t in their 20-year-old season. These players, all of whom have been drafted, could be recalled and go through training camp with their NHL teams. They then would have to stay with the NHL teams or be returned to their junior teams, as per present regulations.
Bob McKenzie of TSN reported Tuesday that WHL players on that list include D Mathew Dumba, Red Deer Rebels (Minnesota Wild); D Ryan Murray, Everett Silvertips (Columbus Blue Jackets); D David Musil, Vancouver Giants (Edmonton Oilers); D Derrick Pouliot, Portland Winterhawks (Pittsburgh Penguins); F Ty Rattie, Portland (St. Louis Blues); D Morgan Rielly, Moose Jaw Warriors (Toronto Maple Leafs); D Griffin Reinhart, Edmonton Oil Kings (New York Islanders); and F Matej Stransky, Saskatoon Blades (Dallas Stars).
The NHL and CHL will monitor the situation as the lockout continues. Should it run into January, you can bet there will be adjustments made.
Don’t forget that Calgary Hitmen F Victor Rask, 19, is eligible to play in the AHL because the Carolina Hurricanes drafted him out of Sweden.
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The Regina Pats have traded D Brandon Underwood, 20, to the Red Deer Rebels for a fourth-round selection in the 2013 bantam draft. . . . Underwood began his career with the Kamloops Blazers, who traded him to Regina prior to last season. He had 13 points and 76 penalty minutes in 54 games with Regina last season. A broken foot from a blocked shot resulted in his missing a chunk of games. . . . In 205 regular-season games, the native of San Marcos, Calif., has 30 points, five of them goals, and 349 penalty minutes. . . . The move leaves Red Deer with four 20-year-olds — Underwood and forwards Turner Elson, who is under contract to the NHL’s Calgary Flames, Charles Inglis and Adam Kambeitz. . . . Regina, meanwhile, also has four on its roster — G Matt Hewitt, D Colton Jobke, F Andrew Rieder and F Lane Scheidl. Jobke, however, is going to camp with the AHL’s Houston Aeros, so his future is up in the air, while Rieder continues to recover from offseason shoulder surgery. . . . The Rebels are scheduled to visit Regina on Oct. 5.
“It’s unfortunate we have to make decisions based on the kid’s age,” Regina general manager Chad Lang told Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post. “This one was even a little more difficult in the fact that I truly believe the acquisitions of him and Jobke early in the season were huge contributing factors to our success. They really played a significant role in changing the culture of our dressing room and the dynamics of our hockey club. It’s always hard to have to part with those guys. For what (Underwood) has done for our organization it’s almost a bit of reward to find him a spot and ensure he can play out his 20-year-old year in the WHL.”
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TWEET OF THE DAY:
Charles Inglis (@CharlesInglis) of the Red Deer Rebels: “Tweeter feed just got littered with suspensions from the whl, I guess open ice hits arnt apart of the game anymore.”
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JUST NOTES:
The Regina Pats will be without head coach Pat Conacher as they play three games over the next four nights. Conacher has left the team to tend to an undisclosed family matter. Assistant coaches Malcolm Cameron and Josh Dixon will handle the coaching duties. . . . The Pats visit the Swift Current Broncos tonight, the Kootenay Ice on Friday and the Medicine Hat Tigers on Saturday. . . .

Barclay Parneta

The Tri-City Americans have extended the contract of Barclay Parneta, their prospect development coach and head scout, through 2014-15. Parneta has been with the Americans since August 2010. Before that, he spent seven seasons as an NHL scout, with the St. Louis Blues and Phoenix Coyotes. . . .
The Saskatoon Blades have assigned F Drake Bodie, 17, to an unnamed team. Brodie, from Thompson, Man., played in four exhibition games and one regular-season game before the move. He was a seventh-round selection in the 2010 bantam draft. . . . The Blades now are carrying 23 players, including seven defencemen and 14 forwards. . . .
F Jayce Hawryluk, 16, has been medically cleared and was back taking part in a full practice with the Brandon Wheat Kings on Tuesday. He suffered a concussin the Wheat Kings’ intrasquad game. . . . Brandon F Geordie Maguire isn’t expected to play tonight against the visiting Saskatoon Blades. He has the dreaded lower-body injury. . . .
Two players who lost out in the 20-year-old game have, as expected, surfaced in the junior A ranks. F Christian Magnus, who was dropped by the Swift Current Broncos, is with the SJHL’s Melville Millionaires, while F Taylor Makin, released by the Vancouver Giants, has joined the AJHL’s Brooks Bandits. . . .
D Dylan Kuczek, who had two points in 33 games with the Brandon Wheat Kings last season, has joined the MJHL’s Portage Terriers. Kuczek, 18, is from Winnipeg.
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THE COACHING GAME:
With a new season about to start, the U of Alabama-Huntsville Chargers have announced a coaching change, with Kurt Kleinendorst replacing Chris Luongo. . . . The school didn’t give a reason for Luongo’s departure, other than to say that he resigned. . . . Kleinendorst spent the last two seasons as head coach of the AHL’s Binghamton Senators. . . . Luongo was the head coach for the last two seasons, going 6-53-3. . . . UAH is the lone independent in U.S. college hockey.
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Might the OHL’s Brantford Battalion be on the move, perhaps to North Bay? Dave Pollard of the Toronto Sun thinks so and his reasoning is right here.


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THE MacBETH REPORT:
D Roman Polak (Kootenay, 2004-05) signed a lockout contract with Vitkovice Ostrava (Czech Republic, Extraliga). He had 11 assists in 77 games with the St. Louis Blues last season.
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After being a healthy scratch twice on the weekend, F Matt Bellerive has requested a trade and left the Vancouver Giants.
Bellerive, who turns 18 on Dec. 7, didn’t play in either of the Giants’ first two games — a 6-4 loss to the visiting Victoria Royals on Friday and a 3-2 setback in Victoria on Saturday.
Bellerive, a second-round selection in the 2009 bantam draft, is from North Vancouver. He had 14 points, including six goals, in 46 games last season. In his freshman season (2010-11), he had six points, four of them goals, in 50 games.
The Giants were 1-3-2 in the exhibition season, before opening with the two losses against victory.
They now have dropped three forwards off last season’s team, as F Taylor Makin, 20, was assigned to the AJHL’s Brooks Bandits sometime after Saturday’s game, while D Kiefer McNaughton, 19, joined the BCHL’s Chilliwack Chiefs earlier this month.
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SUNDAY’S NOTES:
The Edmonton Oil Kings ran their regular-season winning streak to 13 games as they beat the visiting Red Deer Rebels, 6-2. . . . Edmonton F Curtis Lazar scored three times for the first time in a WHL game. . . . The Rebels lost F Turner Elson, 20, in the second period with an undisclosed injury. . . .
The Portland Winterhawks went into Kennewick, Wash., and beat the Tri-City Americans, 4-2. . . . Tri-City, which lost 5-2 to the visiting Spokane Chiefs on Saturday, last lost its first two home games in 2005-06. . . . The Winterhawks were without F Ty Rattie (suspended) and F Taylor Leier, who has the dreaded lower body injury. . . . F Patrick Holland earned one assist for the Americans as he played what may have been his final WHL game. He now leaves to join the AHL’s Hamilton Bulldogs for training camp. He has 209 points, including 63 goals, in 206 games with the Americans. . . . Portland D Troy Rutkowski had three assists and perhaps someday someone will explain why an NHL team didn’t sign him over the summer. . . .
In Everett, the Prince George Cougars erased a 6-3 third-period deficit and beat the Silvertips, 7-6, in a shootout. . . . The seven-round shootout featured seven goals with F Jordan Tkatch finally winning it. . . . The Cougars scratched F Chase Witala, who was injured in Saturday’s 6-0 victory in Everett, and then lost F Jari Erricson to a headshot major and game misconduct.
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Everett F Jari Erricson is one of at least nine players who were involved in weekend incidents that will get a serious look from Richard Doerksen, the WHL’s vice-president, hockey. As part of his duties, Doerksen handles the WHL’s discipline.
And you have to think that he will be quite concerned with an opening weekend on which nine players got tossed from games with majors and game misconducts:
D Joel Edmundson, Moose Jaw, major, fighting off faceoff
F Josh Nicholls, Saskatoon, major, charging
D Mathew Dumba, Red Deer, major, check to head
F Justin Kirsch, Moose Jaw, major, checking from behind
F Andrew Johnson, Moose Jaw, major, charging
F Kale Kessy, Medicine Hat, major, check to head
D Spencer Galbraith, Lethbridge, major, check to head
F Ty Rattie, Portland, major, cross-checking
F Jari Erricson, major, headshot
Of that bunch, Rattie, Edmundson, Kirsch, Dumba and Nicholls all received ‘tbd’ suspensions on the weekend. Rattie and Dumba already have sat out one game.
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TWEET OF THE DAY:
Sunaya Sapurji (@sunayas), of Yahoo! Sports: “Red Wings Sr. VP Jim Devellano is at the Hershey Centre this afternoon to watch the young calves before they become full-grown cattle. #NHL”


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THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Shayne Toporowski (Prince Albert, 1991-95) signed a tryout contract with Villach (Austria, Erste Bank Liga). He had 16 goals and 17 assists in 58 games for Tappara Tampere (Finland, SM-Liiga) last season. . . .
F Pat Iannone (Kootenay, Try-City, Regina, 1999-2003) signed a one-year contract with Pontebba (Italy, Serie A). He had 11 goals and 26 assists in 38 games for Valpellice (Italy, Serie A) last season.
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It is quite possible that Alberta fans will never get to watch Everett Silvertips D Ryan Murray in the comfort of their favourite team’s arena. The Silvertips open an Alberta swing against the Edmonton Oil Kings on Wednesday, but Murray didn’t make the trip. He’s at home nursing a sprained ankle that could keep him sidelined for up to five weeks.
As Nick Patterson of the Everett Herald reports:
“This isn't the first time Murray has had to stay behind while his teammates headed to Alberta. Two years ago, Murray suffered a broken thumb just before the team departed to visit the Central Division, home of all five of the WHL's Alberta-based teams. He was left behind then, too. Given that Everett only goes to Alberta every other year, it seems unlikely the 18-year-old Murray will ever play a WHL game in Alberta as a Silvertip.”
Murray is projected as an early first-round selection in the NHL’s 2012 draft and might very well be playing in The Show a year from now.
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The Portland Winterhawks have been without F Sven Bartschi for the start of their monster 17-day, nine-game road trip. After the team bus arrived in Edmonton, he hopped a plane and flew back to Portland to get what is believed to be a hip injury examined. He already has missed the trek’s first two games and won’t play tonight against the Hitmen in Calgary. But he was to rejoin the Winterhawks on Monday night and it could be that the Flames’ medical staff will take a look at him, too. The Flames selected him in the first round, 13th overall, of the 2011 NHL draft and he sparkled in their training camp. Bartschi, 18, is a Swiss sophomore. . . .
The Vancouver Giants have added free-agent F Taylor Makin, 19, to their roster. Makin, from Blairmore, Alta., played one game with the Cougars this season before being released. He had 14 points and 43 penalty minutes in 48 games with the Cougars last season, and 17 points and 82 Pms in 70 games in 2009-10. . . . The Giants are at home to the Cougars tonight; the teams play a weekend doubleheade in Prince George. . . . Vancouver D Neil Manning (back), who hasn’t played since late September, may get back into the lineup on Friday in Prince George. . . .
The Medicine Hat Tigers have dealt F Kellan Tochkin, 20, to the Prince Albert Raiders for D James Bettauer, 20, and a sixth-round pick in the 2013 bantam draft. . . . Tochkin, who has signed with the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks, had eight assists in 10 games with the Tigers this season, and had just returned to their lineup after suffering a concussion on Oct.10. He has 214 points in 227 regular-season games, most of that with the Everett Silvertips, who dealt him to Medicine Hat last season. . . . Bettauer had nine points, including five goals, in 15 games with the Raiders this season. He has 39 points in 153 career games. . . .
The Swift Current Broncos have assigned D Bobby Zinkan, 16, to the midget AAA Calgary Northstars. A fourth-round pick by the Broncos in the 2010 bantam draft, the Calgary native had gotten into just one game with the Broncos. . . .
 F Brendan Gallagher of the Vancouver Giants is the WHL’s player of the week. He had seven points, three of them goals, in three games last week. . . . Eric Comrie of the Tri-City Americans is the WHL’s goaltender of the week. Comrie, 16, put up back-to-back 1-0 shutouts as the Americans swept the Cougars in Prince George on the weekend. . . .
Matthew Gourlie of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald fills us in on the Warriors’ injury situation. . . . The Warriors are at home to the Prince Albert Raiders on Wednesday night. . . . D Dylan McIlrath didn’t practice Monday. He took an elbow to the head in a Saturday game, but head coach Mike Stothers told Gourlie that McIlrath was having a “maintenance day” and that he also had a touch of the flu. . . . D Kendall McFaull (lower body) didn’t finish Monday’s practice. He has missed two games. . . . D Joel Edmundson (ankle) may play Wednesday for the first time this season. He was injured in camp with the NHL’s St. Louis Blues. . . . F Quinton Howden (concussion) is day-to-day, while F Sebastian Svendsen (knee) remains sidelined.
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An interesting note in the weekly blog from Hockey Night in Canada’s Elliotte Friedman:
“Anaheim/Phoenix played Sunday night with only one referee, as Steve Kozari's eyes swelled up due to an allergic reaction. (Ugh, sounds gross. Get well, Steve.) As a result, Brad Watson did the game alone. Apparently, the players loved it.”
Friedman’s complete blog entry is right here.

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
     
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
     
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