THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Derek Dorsett (Medicine Hat, 2004-07) signed a lockout contract with Red Bull Salzburg (Austria, Erste Bank Liga). He had 12 goals and eight assists in 77 games with the Columbus Blue Jackets last season. The contract with Red Bull is for the rest of this season with a release clause should the lockout end before the end of the season. . . .
F Zack Smith (Swift Current, 2004-08) signed a lockout contract with Frederikshavn (Denmark, AL-Bank Liga). He had 14 goals and 12 assists in 81 games with the Ottawa Senators last season. The contract is for the rest of this season with a release clause should the lockout end before the end of the season.
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D Seth Jones of the Portland Winterhawks is likely to be the first or second player chosen in the NHL’s 2013 draft in June, assuming the lockout doesn’t kill that, too. But what does it mean? What would be the impact if Jones was the No. 1 selection?
Jon Paul Morosi of Fox Sports takes a look at that right here.
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The Red Deer Rebels have added G Spencer Tremblay, 18, to their roster as a third goaltender. He joins Patrik Bartosak, 19, and Bolton Pouliot, 18. . . . Brent Sutter, the Rebels’ owner, general manager and interim head coach, told Greg Meachem of the Red Deer Advocate that he’s looking down the road a month or so. . . . “We have a situation here where there’s a good possibility Bartosak is going to leave for the world junior championship, which means he’d be gone for a month,” Sutter told Meachem. “During that time we’re going to need two goaltenders who can give us opportunities to win games. I didn’t want to take a 15- or 16-year-old out of a midget program, I just felt it was best if we could get a more experienced guy to come in here and compete with Bolton for the backup job for the rest of the (calendar) year.” . . . Tremblay got into 20 games with the Moose Jaw Warriors last season. They released him prior to the start of this season and after clearing WHLwaivers he joined the QMJHL’s Moncton Wildcats. They let him go earlier this month after he played in three games. . . . Tremblay practised with the Rebels on Monday. The Rebels next play Friday when they entertain t he Medicine Hat Tigers.
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F Alessio Bertaggia might be back in Brandon’s lineup tonight as the Wheat Kings visit the Broncos in Swift Current. Bertaggia missed weekend games with an undisclosed injury. Brandon D Ryan Pulock isn’t likely to play tonight, while F Jens Meilleur and F Tyrel Seaman are out. They, too, have undisclosed injuries. . . . The Wheat Kings and Broncos will play each other three times over the next five nights. They’ll play again Wednesday in Brandon and then meet Saturday in Swift Current. . . .
D Martin Gernat of the Edmonton Oil Kings skated Monday for the first time this season. He had shoulder surgery in his native Czech Republic in September. Gernat, 19, isn’t expected to play again until after Christmas. On Monday, he skated for a few minutes but was only wearing sweats. He had 55 points in 60 games as a freshman last season. . . .
The Saskatoon Blades returned home Sunday from a five-game B.C. Division swing. But there isn’t much chance to rest as they play host to the Lethbridge Hurricanes tonight. . . . Saskatoon F Adam Kambeitz (flu) missed practice on Monday. If he can’t play tonight, the Blades will be able to dress only nine forwards. . . . “If you look at some our players’ faces, there are lots of bruises and lots of stitches,” Lorne Molleken, the Blades general manager and head coach, told Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix. “Obviously, we had lots of upper-body injuries out there.” . . . The Blades expect to have D Duncan Siemens back in the lineup. He missed the last two games while spending time with his ill father, Errol, in Sherwood Park, Alta. . . .
The WHL’s top six scorers as the week begins all come from two forward lines — the Kamloops unit that features Colin Smith between Tim Bozon and JC Lipon, and the Portland line that has Brendan Leipsic playing between Ty Rattie and Nic Petan. . . . Lipon has 53 points, followed by Smith (52), Petan (44), and Bozon, Leipsic and Rattie ( each 38). . . .
As I sit here pounding on the keyboard, I am listening to Holiday Favourites (GXY36). And, hey, it’s Liam Stewart’s dad and Dolly Parton with Baby, It’s Cold Outside. . . .
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From Prince Albert Raiders D Josh Morrissey (@Morrissey_10): “Really hoping the NHL gets back on because I’m tired of my twitter feed being full of NHL Legal stuff I don’t get . . . And tweets like this”

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.

Saturday . . .

“Brantt Myhres has been to the dark side . . . again and again and again and again . . . and again.
And now the 34-year-old former National Hockey League tough guy wants to give back, wants to share his knowledge, wants to help players who are struggling with substance abuse.”
So begins a solid story by John Down of the Calgary Herald. The entire story is right here and it’s a good read, providing yet more insight into the lives led by professional hockey’s enforcers.
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If you are wondering what happened to the QMJHL’s Lewiston Maineiacs, Kalle Oakes of the Lewiston Sun Journal has the story right here. It’s a column and it’s a good one. If you live in a city that has a WHL franchise, you definitely will want to read this piece.
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In Binghamton, N.Y., F Zack Smith (Swift Current, 2004-08) scored twice on Saturday night, leading the Senators to a 4-2 victory over the Houston Aeros in Game 5 of the AHL final. . . . The Senators lead the best-of-seven series 3-2, with Game 5 in Houston on Tuesday. . . . A seventh game, if needed, will be played in Houston on Thursday. . . . Binghamton G Robin Lehner posted a 3-0 shutout on Friday and stopped 41 shots one night later. . . . Attendance was 4,727. . . . Smith scored the game’s last two goals, breaking a 2-2 tie on the PP with nine seconds left in the second period and adding insurance at 15:56 of the third. . . . The Aeros were without F Cody Almond (Kelowna, 2005-09), who suffered a leg injury Friday, and then lost D Jared Spurgeon (Spokane, 2005-10) in Game 5. He didn’t return after taking a check in the second period.
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“Knowing your stance on WHL officiating it’s not surprising this has snuck by,” started the comment from an anonymous reader of this blog. He/she went on to point out that “former WHL referees Kelly Sutherland (Vancity product) and Steve Kozari (Penticton product) made the SCF and SCSF respectively.”
Honestly, I don’t know what to make of the start of the comment because it’s been a long, long time since I was critical of any WHL referee or linesman.
In the late 1970s/early 1980s I was often harshly critical of WHL referees. As a young sports journalist I likely thought it was the thing to do . . . the power of the pen and all that, I suppose.
And then one day the phone rang. It was Ed Chynoweth calling. The man who ran the WHL didn’t sound upset or angry, but it was obvious that this was a time for me to listen. He explained the WHL officiating system, pointing out how the league works to develop officials the same way it develops players.
More than that, though, Chynoweth reminded me that these on-ice officials are out there giving it their all. Sure, some of these guys have bad nights, but don’t you ever have a bad day/night at work?
Now . . . if the anonymous commenter — are there any other kind? — was referring to my opinion of the WHL’s two-man referee system, well, that’s entirely different.
I don’t like the two-man system, but, hey, I’m hardly alone. In fact, I would suggest that the vast majority of WHL general managers and head coaches are in the same boat.
I have long felt that the WHL would develop better referees quicker if it went back to the one-man system. That, however, is beating a dead horse because it won’t happen, at least it won’t as long as the NHL uses the two-man system.

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
     
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
     
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