G Barry Brust (Spokane, Calgary, 2000-04) has exercised his NHL out clause with Medveščak Zagreb (Croatia, KHL). The Medveščak press release doesn’t name the NHL club. This season, in 19 games, Brust had a 2.25 GAA, a .933 save percentage and two shutouts. He was sixth in the KHL in save percentage.
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The Brandon Wheat Kings cleared up their import situation on Tuesday, trading Czech F Richard Nejezchleb, 20, to the Tri-City Americans for two third-round draft picks, one in 2015 and the other in 2017.
Nejezchleb, who led Brandon with 32 goals last season, was a fifth-round selection by the New York Rangers in the 2014 NHL draft. He went to camp with the Rangers and then was sent to the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack. He was returned to Brandon two weeks ago.
His arrival left the Wheat Kings with three imports. They have chosen to go with Latvian F Rihards Bukarts, 19, and Russian D Ivan Provorov, 17.
Bukarts is the Wheat Kings’ leading scorer, with 26 points in 16 games. In fact, he is one point off the WHL scoring lead.
Provorov, a freshman, is making a huge impact and has 19 points, including eight goals, in 18 games.
Brandon now has 24 players on its roster, including eight defencemen and 14 forwards.
The Wheat Kings (14-3-1) returned home Sunday after going 6-1-0 on a road swing that took them through the B.C. Division. They are home to the Saskatoon Blades on Friday and the Calgary Hitmen on Sunday.
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The Tri-City Americans acquired F Richard Nejezchleb, a 20-year-old Czech, from the Brandon Wheat Kings on Tuesday.
They released freshman F Semyon Krasheninnikov, 17, and veteran F Jackson Playfair, 20.
Krasheninnikov, from Ufa, Russia, had one goal in eight games.
Playfair, from Fort St. James, B.C., was acquired last season from the Spokane Chiefs. He has seven points, including four goals, in 16 games this season. Playfair scored in overtime on Sunday to give the Americans a 5-4 victory over the Royals in Victoria. In 135 regular-season games, he has 26 points, 10 of them goals.
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The Americans made another deal on Tuesday as they sent F Rodney Southam, 18, to the Kelowna Rockets for a conditional fifth-round pick in the 2016 bantam draft.
“This gives Rodney a chance to play more, and for us to get some of our younger guys in the lineup on a more consistent basis,” Tri-City general manager Bob Tory told Annie Fowler of the Tri-City Herald. “It also gives us a chance to recoup some of the draft picks we sent to Brandon.”
Southam, from Saskatoon, had two goals and three assists in 10 games with the Americans. Last season, he had eight points, five of them goals, in 52 games. He had been a sixth-round selection by the Red Deer Rebels in the 2011 bantam draft.
Acquiring Southam gives the Rockets some much needed depth at forward. They have run into some injuries that resulted in them using defencemen to fill in up front.
Southam is expected in Kelowna in time to play against the visiting Victoria Royals tonight.
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Meanwhile, Sunaya Sapurji of Yahoo! Sports Canada has written a piece headlined: Saying sorry not nearly good enough for OHL players’ abusive language. . . . Yes, she hits the nail on the head with this essay right here.
Why is it that when executives with major junior hockey teams start talking about how they are dealing with something “internally” the antennae go up?
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The Moose Jaw Warriors, who are at home to the Medicine Hat Tigers on Friday, have recalled D Dustin Perillat, 17,
Perillat, a native of Saskatoon, has been playing with the SJHL’s Flin Flon Bombers. He was a fourth-round pick by the Warriors in the 2012 bantam draft.
Paradis, from Sherwood Park, Alta., has been playing for the midget AAA Sherwood Park Kings. The Warriors selected him in the fourth round of the 2014 bantam draft.
The Warriors will be without D Tyler Brown, who has an undisclosed injury, and D Reid Zalitach. The Warriors tweeted Tuesday that Zalitach isn’t with the team for personal reasons. A source told Taking Note that Zalitach has left the Warriors. That being the case, he would be at least the fourth player to have left the team since the season started.
Zalitach, a native of Winnipeg, was one of four second-round selections by the Vancouver Giants in the 2011 bantam draft. The Warriors acquired him on Oct. 28, 2013, giving up a fourth-round pick in the 2015 draft and a third-rounder in 2016. Zalitach has 14 points, including one goal, in 103 regular-season games. This season, he is pointless in 13 games with Moose Jaw.
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TUESDAY’S GAMES:
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No matter what happens in life, if you have family you will always have a shoulder to lean on.
— jackson playfair (@jackplayfair) November 5, 2014
Tickets for next Monday's Subway Super Series opener can be purchased at a two-for-one rate at the SaskTel Centre box office tonight.
— Daniel Nugent-Bowman (@DNBsports) November 5, 2014
I guess there are plenty of good seats still available.
— Daniel Nugent-Bowman (@DNBsports) November 5, 2014