 |
| Brenden Dillon, a defenceman with the Seattle Thunderbirds, has signed a three-year contract with the NHL’s Dallas Stars. (Photo by Kyle Scholzen/Seattle Thunderbirds) |
Here is the press release that was issued Tuesday by the Thunderbirds:Kent, March 1, 2011 - Seattle Thunderbirds defenseman Brenden Dillon signed a three-year entry level contract this afternoon with the Dallas Stars of the NHL.
"I have appreciated the attention and interest from NHL teams," said Dillon. "I am excited and looking forward to being a part of the Stars organization."
Dillon, a 20-year-old, is in his fourth season with the T-Birds. He is currently second on the team in scoring with 50 points on six goals and 44 assists. Dillon also has 128 penalty minutes this season. Dillon will remain with the T-Birds until the end of the 2010-11 season.
"We are happy to hear Brenden has finalized his contract with Dallas," said T-Birds general manager Russ Farwell. "He has worked very hard over his junior career to earn his chance and it is great to see him rewarded by signing an NHL contract. He has matured a great deal this year and is ready to move on to pro hockey and the next step in his career."
Dillon has played in 271 games in his four seasons with the T-Birds and has nine goals and 76 assists for 85 points with 365 penalty minutes.
"It was a tough decision for Brenden with so many quality teams interested" said Dillon's agent Jarret Bousquet, of Titan Sports Management. "This was the right decision at the right time for Brenden."
And here is the release that was issued by the Stars:
The Dallas Stars announced today that the club has signed defenseman Brenden Dillon to a three-year entry level contract, beginning with the 2011-12 season. Dillon will remain with his current club, the Seattle Thunderbirds of the Western Hockey League (WHL), for the rest of the 2010-11 season.
Dillon, 21, spent the last four seasons with the Thunderbirds, collecting 85 points (9g, 76a) in 271 games. The Surrey, British Columbia, native has appeared in 63 games this season for Seattle with 50 points (6g, 44a), setting career highs in both goals and assists in a single season. Dillon currently leads the Thunderbirds in assists and is second in overall points.
The 6-3, 209-pound defenseman participated in the Pittsburgh Penguins’ 2009 training camp. Prior to his four seasons with Seattle, Dillon played with the Hope Icebreakers of the Pacific International Junior Hockey League (PIJHL), a junior league team in British Columbia during the 2006-07 season and scored four goals and 27 assists along with 54 penalty minutes.
———
One of the week’s best hockey reads comes from Elliotte Friedman of Hockey Night in Canada. This week’s offering is right here.
———
F Brayden Schenn of the Saskatoon Blades is the WHL’s player of the month for February. Schenn, 19, had 32 points, including 13 goals, in 13 games. . . . As Cory Wolfe of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix tweeted: “(Schenn) also solved the Caramilk secret.” . . . The WHL’s goaltender of the month is Mac Engel of the Spokane Chiefs. Engel, 17, got his chance to play when James Reid went out with an injury. In February, Engel was 9-2-0, 1.83, .930, and he had two shutouts. . . . The 13th annual Hockey Challenge, which was held last weekend at the ShoWare Centre in Kent, Wash., raised $170,000 for Ronald McDonald House charities of Western Washington and Alaska. The Seattle Thunderbirds and RMHC made the announcement Tuesday. The Hockey Challenge has raised more than $4 million over 13 years. . . . In Swift Current, the Prince Albert Raiders, with F Justin Maylan enjoying a five-point night, posted a 6-2 victory over the Broncos, who have lost eight in a
row. . . . Raiders F Jonathan Parker scored twice, giving him 41. . . . The victory lifted the eighth-place Raiders two points ahead of the Lethbridge Hurricanes. . . . The Broncos now are eight points out with seven games left. . . . Shawn Mullin, the radio voice of the Swift Current Broncos, reports that F Killian Hutt may return to action next week. Hutt hasn’t played since suffering a concussion during a game in Kamloops on Dec. 10. According to Mullin, Hutt finally is symptom free and has rejoined the Broncos. . . . F Dylan Hood scored three goals to lead the host Moose Jaw Warriors to a victory
over the Regina Pats. The Pats lost G Damien Ketlo in the second period when he took a Spencer Edwards shot off the mask. Ketlo stayed in the game for a few minutes, but then skated to the Pats’ bench and was replaced by Matt Hewitt. . . . The Warriors erased 2-0 and 3-2 deficits. . . . Hood has 28 goals. His 27th broke a 3-3 tie at 11:03 of the third period. . . . Moose Jaw head coach Dave Hunchak (ill) sat this one out, meaning assistant coach Mike Vandenberghe ran the bench. . . . The Warriors clinched a playoff spot with the victory; they are fifth and likely will finish there. . . . Regina, with eight games to play, is five points behind Prince Albert. . . . The Pats will be back in Moose Jaw on March 12 for their final regular-season appearance in the Crushed Can. Perhaps former Pats radio voice Kevin Gallant could put in an appearance wearing that Donald Duck costume. Ahh, the memories from the Crushed Can. . . . .G Tyler Bunz stopped 40 shots as the Medicine Hat Tigers skated out of Red Deer with
a 4-2 victory over the Rebels. It was the Tigers’ 40th victory and lifted them to within four points of the Central Division-leading Rebels. . . . Medicine Hat came out of the first period with a 2-0 lead, despite being outshot 21-9. . . . Medicine Hat F Linden Vey had a goal, his 41st, and an assist. He leads the WHL with 107 points, three more than Spokane Chiefs F Tyler Johnson. . . . Medicine Hat is within four points of the Central Division-leading Rebels. The Tigers have a game in hand. . . The Seattle Thunderbirds got two goals and two assists from F Burke Gallimore, who now has 30, and beat the visiting Vancouver Giants, 4-2. . . . The Thunderbirds move into a tie for ninth with the Chilliwack Bruins, five points out of the Western Conference’s last playoff spot. . . . The Giants remained two points behind the B.C. Division-leading Kelowna Rockets. . . .
In Kennewick, Wash., the Portland Winterhawks got four points from each of their
Swiss imports, F Nino Niederreiter and F Sven Bartschi, as they got past the Tri-City Americans, 6-5. . . . The Winterhawks, who top the Western Conference, now are three points ahead of the Spokane Chiefs and 11 up on the Americans. . . . Niederreiter had two goals and two assists; Bartschi was one and three. . . . The Americans dressed 16 skaters as they have F Adam Hughesman (knee), F Mason Wilgosh (knee), F Jordan Messier (shoulder), F Neal Prokop (charley horse) and G Drew Owsley (knee) all listed as being out week-to-week.———
TUESDAY’S CFB COUNT:
One minor:
Regina D Brandon Davidson
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Taking Note on Twitter
Posts
