Weekend of partying is over ... Tri-City d-man gets NHL deal ... More changes with Ice

One of these two special girls just turned one; the other is young
at heart (and kidney).

I’m back after a weekend in Burnaby where one of my two favourite girls celebrated her first birthday. Yes, a grand time was had by all.

But the traffic . . . oh my, the traffic! No, not the traffic on the Lower Mainland; the traffic on the Coquihalla Highway. We were heading west on Friday and everyone else seemed to be going east. On Sunday afternoon, things were reversed.

But if that is normal traffic volume for a summer weekend, I don’t like our chances of weaning ourselves off fossil fuels at any point in the next few years, if we don’t burn down between now and then, that is.

Anyway . . . back to hockey . . .

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D Landon Oslanski (Spokane, Lethbridge, Everett, 2009-13) has signed a one-year contract with the Braehead Clan Glasgow (Scotland, UK Elite). Last season, he had two goals and 15 assists with the Wichita Thunder (ECHL), and two goals and two assists in 12 games with the Toledo Walleye (ECHL). . . .

D Taylor Aronson (Portland, 2009-11) has signed a one-year contract with the Nuremberg Ice Tigers (Germany, DEL). Last season, with Lada Togliatti (Russia, KHL), he had two goals and 13 assists in 41 games. . . .

D Jesse Craige (Lethbridge, Chilliwack, 2004-10) has signed a one-year contract with the Guildford Flames (England, UK Elite). Last season, with Gap (France, Ligue Magnus), he had three goals and 21 assists in 42 games. . . .

D Giffen Nyren (Moose Jaw, Kamloops, Calgary, 2006-10) has signed a one-year contract with Sterling/Vipiteno (Italy, Alps HL). Last season, he was pointless in one game with the Colorado Eagles (ECHL), and had three goals and 12 assists in 19 games with Dijon (France, Ligue Magnus). . . .

G Barry Brust (Spokane, Calgary, 2000-04) has signed a one-year contract with Fribourg-Gottéron (Switzerland, NL A). Last season, in 42 games with Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia, KHL), he was 19-15-5, 2.42, .918 with three shutouts, two assists and 106 penalty minutes. He finished sixth in the league in penalty minutes. . . . 

F Michal Řepík (Vancouver, 2005-08) was released by Fribourg-Gottéron (Switzerland, NL A) at his request. Řepík wants to play for a team where he will get the "maximum amount of ice time . . . and thus put all the chances on his side for the ultimate goal of playing the next Olympic Games in Pyeongchang with the Czech national team,” according to Fribourg-Gottéron's press release. . . . Řepík then signed a signed one-year contract with Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia, KHL). Last season, he was pointless in two games with Traktor Chelyabinsk (Russia, KHL), and had seven goals and nine assists in 22 games with Sparta Prague (Czech Republic, Extraliga). . . .

F Jordan Knackstedt (Red Deer, Moose Jaw, 2004-08) has signed a one-year contract with Eispiraten Crimmitschau (Germany, DEL2). Last season, he had 12 goals and 19 assists in 32 games with Herlev (Denmark, Metal Ligaen), and three goals and two assists in four games with Esbjerg (Denmark, Metal Ligaen).

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D Juuso Valimaki of the Tri-City Americans has signed a three-year entry-level contract with the NHL’s Calgary Flames. They selected him in the first round of the NHL’s 2017 draft. . . . From Nokia, Finland, Valimaki had 61 points, including 19 goals, in 60 games with the Americans last season. In 2015-16, his freshman season, he had seven goals and 25 assists in 56 games. . . . Valimaki, who turns 19 on Oct. 6, will have to be returned to the Americans if he doesn’t crack the Flames’ roster out of training camp.

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Nathan Lieuwen has signed on as the Kootenay Ice’s video coach. The former Ice goaltender announced his retirement as a player earlier this year. He was forced out by vision problems that are a direct result of a concussion he suffered in one of seven NHL games he played with the Buffalo Sabres. . . . From Abbotsford, B.C., he played on 14 games last season — two with the AHL’s San Antonio Rampage and 12 with the ECHL’s Colorado Eagles. . . . Lieuwen was 85-59-15 in 178 regular-season appearances (2007-12) with the Ice. He backstopped the Ice to the 2011 Ed Chynoweth Cup when he was named the WHL’s playoff MVP. . . . James Patrick, the Ice’s freshman head coach, was an assistant coach in Buffalo when Lieuwen was in the Sabres’ organization.

The Ice also has hired Adam Douglas as its sports performance consultant. According to a news release, he “will he responsible for athlete testing, programming, training schedules and utilizing data to provide feedback to the Ice coaching staff on rest and recovery.”

Douglas also works with Hockey Canada as manager, sports performance for the men’s high performance teams, and he also is involved with strength and conditioning with the women’s teams. He also is the head strength-and-conditioning coach at York U in Toronto. In the past, he has worked in that area with the NHL’s Ottawa Senators.

Meanwhile, a source told Taking Note last week that the Ice had dropped “a whole bunch of scouts.”

The Ice, of course, changed hands earlier this off-season, with Winnipeggers Greg Fettes and Matt Cockell purchasing the franchise from the Chynoweth family. Cockell, who serves as the Ice’s president and general manager, hasn’t responded to a request for comment.

The WHL’s 2016-17 Guide, which came out late in the season, listed Carter Sears as scouting consultant with Wayne Dougherty, Peter Dubbeldam, Ward Edwards, Scott Frizzell, Chad Harden, Zenon Herasymiuk, Scott Perry and Tim Schick shown as scouts.

The Ice’s website once included a listing of scouts, but it no longer is there. The website does indicate that Garnet Kaziuk remains the director of scouting, a position he has filled since 2007.

In search of confirmation, I contacted someone familiar with the organization last week. The response: “I am not in a position to comment.”

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Jake Grimes has replaced Todd Harvey on the coaching staff of the OHL’s Guelph Storm. … Harvey, 42, has left the Storm, telling Tony Saxon of guelphtoday.com that he will be scouting for an NHL team in 2017-18. Harvey had been a Storm assistant coach for four seasons. . . . Grimes, 44, will be working alongside George Burnett, the Storms’ general manager and head coach, as associate coach. Grimes was an assistant coach for 11 seasons in Belleville when Burnett was the head coach. Grimes spent the past two seasons as an assistant coach with the Peterborough Petes. . . . Saxon’s story is right here.

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Silvertips lose import to HPK ... Ferguson cancels fishing trip ... Royals sign assistant coach

F Josh Nicholls (Saskatoon, 2008-13) has signed a one-year contract with Litvínov (Czech Republic, Extraliga). Last season, with the Colorado Eagles (ECHL), he had 11 goals and 21 assists in 30 games. He also had a goal and three assists in six games with the Straubing Tigers (Germany, DEL). . . .

G Kevin Nastiuk (Medicine Hat, 2001-05) has signed a one-year contract with the Coventry Blaze (England, UK Elite). Last season, with Dresden (Germany, DEL2), he was 16-6-0, 1.99, .938 with one shutout in 25 games. He led the league in GAA and save percentage. . . . Nastiuk will attend Coventry University Business School while playing for the Blaze. . . .

F Petr Vala (Seattle, 1997-98) has signed a one-year contract with Zell am See (Austria, Alps HL). Last season, with Lustenau (Austria, Alps HL), he had 17 goals and 25 assists in 38 games. He led his team in goals and points. . . .

D Vladimír Mihalik (Red Deer, Prince George, 2005-07) has signed a one-year extension with Banská Bystrica (Slovakia, Extraliga). Last season, he had two goals and nine assists in 52 games.

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The WHL released its 2017-18 regular-season schedule on Tuesday. Check your favourite team’s website for more info.

As usual, there are some quirks . . . 

For example, the Portland Winterhawks will play four straight games against the Kelowna Rockets in a span of eight days (Oct. 14-21). Those are the only times the teams, who are projected as two of the

Western Conference’s top clubs, will play each other during the regular season. . . . They’ll play in Portland on Oct. 14 and 15, before heading for Kelowna and games on Oct. 20 and 21. In between, the Rockets will stop in Kennewick, Wash., for a single with the Tri-City Americans on Oct. 17.

Later, the Winterhawks and Kamloops Blazers will play three of their four games on consecutive nights (Jan. 26-28). They will play in Kamloops on Friday and Saturday nights, then head for Portland and a Sunday game.

That nifty bit of scheduling brought this response from a Portland follower:

“I give up — it is so evident that common sense left the scheduling process years ago. . . . As far as the three-game set against the Blazers . . . does the league know this is hockey and not baseball where three-game series are common? . . . It’s obvious that the league doesn’t care two cents about their customer base . . . and more importantly doesn’t care two cents about the quality of play that those customers are going to be watching.”

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The Regina Pats, the host team for the 2018 Memorial Cup, are looking at two eight-game road swings, one from Nov. 18 through Dec. 6 when the Canadian Western Agribition takes over the Brandt Centre in late November, and the other from Feb. 19 through March 8 when the Canadian men’s curling championship is in the house. The Pats will play three games in three days on two occasions, which is nine fewer than the Everett Silvertips.

The Silvertips’ schedule calls for them to play three games in three nights on 11 occasions. That includes three in January, three in February and one in March.

One fan from the Pacific Northwest tells me that Everett will play three games in three nights in three different cities on three occasions, while the Seattle Thunderbirds, the reigning champions, do that four times.

“That produces bad hockey,” the fan wrote. “It’s not good for the players or the fans.”

Keep in mind that three games in three nights actually means three games in fewer than 48 hours.

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The Saskatoon Blades will open the season with four straight home games — in 15 days. Les Lazaruk, the veteran radio voice of the Blades, tweeted that the only other time Saskatoon played its first four games at home was 1972. The Blades will open on Sept. 22 against the Swift Current Broncos, but then won’t play again until Sept. 29 when they entertain the Medicine Hat Tigers.

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Calgary didn't sign Eetu Tuulola by June 15 deadline, so he returns to HPK of the Finnish league https://t.co/BgTsG5RTuT

— Jesse Geleynse (@JesseGeleynse) June 27, 2017

F Eetu Tuulola won’t be back for a second season with the Everett Silvertips. Instead, he will be playing for HPK in his native Finland.

Last season, as an 18-year-old freshman, Tuulola had 18 goals and 13 assists in 62 games while on loan

EETU TUULOLA

to the Silvertips from HPK with whom he had signed a three-year contract.

The Calgary Flames selected Tuulola in the sixth round of the NHL’s 2016 draft. The Flames have yet to sign Tuulola, but because they drafted him out of Europe — and not off a CHL team’s roster — they hold his rights for four seasons.

With two seasons left on that HPK contract, Tuulola will return to Finland and play there. For him to remain in Everett, the Flames would have had to buy out the deal with HPK and then sign him. With Calgary choosing not to do that, HPK has brought him home.

This means that the Silvertips will select two players in today’s CHL import draft. F Dominic Zwerger, their other import last season, has played out his junior eligibility.

The draft is scheduled to begin at 8 a.m. PT, with the OHL’s Barrie Colts making the first selection. They are expected to take Russian F Andrei Svechnikov, who is seen by observers as a possible No. 1 selection in the NHL’s 2018 draft.

From Barnaul, Russia, the 6-foot-2, 185-pound Svechnikov had 29 goals and 29 assists in 48 games with the USHL’s Muskegon Lumberjacks last season.

The Kootenay Ice, the first WHL team on the board, hold the third selection.

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Here are a few more WHL players who are in NHL development camps as undrafted free agents:

D Jonathan Smart, 18, of the Regina Pats has been invited to the Toronto Maple Leafs’ camp, as has F Ethan McIndoe of the Spokane Chiefs. McIndoe will turn 18 on July 22.

D Aaron Irving, who completed his junior eligibility with the Everett Silvertips last season, is with the Vancouver Canucks. He was selected by the Nashville Predators in the sixth round of the 2014 NHL draft but went unsigned.

F Giorgio Estephan of the Lethbridge Hurricanes will skate with the Minnesota Wild. Estephan, 20, was selected by the Buffalo Sabres in the sixth round of the NHL’s 2015 draft. The Sabres didn’t sign him, then he went undrafted last weekend.

D Nolan Kneen, 18, of the Kamloops Blazers was invited to camp by the Florida Panthers.

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So much for the fishing trip! Instead of going fishing with his family, G Dylan Ferguson of the Kamloops Blazers found himself in Las Vegas on Tuesday. That’s because the NHL’s expansion Las Vegas franchise picked him up from the Dallas Stars in a trade on Monday and now he’s at the Golden Knights’ development camp. . . . There’s more right here.

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The Vancouver Giants have signed G Todd Scott to a WHL contract. Scott, 17, was a 10th-round selection in the WHL’s 2015 bantam draft. From Albertville, Minn., he played last season with the NAHL’s Coulee Region Chill and the USHL’s Sioux City Musketeers. He was 3.56, .904 in 15 appearances with the Chill, and 2.51, .903 in seven games with the Musketeers. He also was 2.00, .912 in three games with the U-16 Omaha AAA Lancers. . . . The Giants finished last season with two goaltenders on their roster — Ryan Kubic, now 19, and David Tendeck, who won’t turn 18 until Nov. 25. Also on their depth chart: Trent Miner, 16, of Souris, Man., who was a first-round selection in the 2016 bantam draft; and Jacob Wassermann, 17, of Humboldt, Sask., who was taken in the eighth round of the 2015 bantam draft.

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Trevor Redden is the new play-by-play man for the Prince Albert Raiders. . . . Redden had been the business manager and radio voice of the AJHL’s Lloydminster Bobcats. . . . Drew Wilson, the team’s radio voice on CKBI, moved to Saskatoon following last season and now is part of the sports department of the Saskatoon Media Group, which is headed up by Les Lazaruk, who does the Saskatoon Blades’ games.

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There was a time when F Kyle Beach may have been the most-despised player in the WHL. Beach played for the Everett Silvertips, Lethbridge Hurricanes and Spokane Chiefs. He could score and scrap and stick and all of that stuff. Oh, he was disliked. The complete package was enough for the Chicago Blackhawks to select him 11th overall in the 2008 NHL draft. Now playing in Austria, Beach has yet to get into even one NHL game. With last weekend’s draft in Chicago, David Haugh spoke with Beach filed this piece right here to the Chicago Tribune.

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5 years ago Nail Yakupov & Mikhail Grigorenko were considered the 2 "best" players in the draft. Today they didn't get qualifying offers.

— Bill Hoppe (@BillHoppeNHL) June 27, 2017

A tip of the cap to Bobby Pillote of Awful Announcing for this piece on the silliness of ranking drafts immediately after they are held. . . . He writes: “Draft grades are also almost entirely meaningless; a single set of draft grades is about as likely to predict the future as Stephen A. Smith is likely to correctly pick the winner of the NBA Finals.” . . . He also provides a number of NBA- and NFL-related examples. No, he doesn’t mention the NHL, but the tweet above is self-explanatory.

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The Victoria Royals have signed J.F. Best, 33, as an assistant coach. Last season, the Ottawa native was an assistant coach with the CCHL’s Kanata Lasers and their U-18 AAA affiliate. . . . On the Royals’ staff, he will fill the vacancy created when Dan Price moved up to head coach after Dave Lowry signed on as an assistant coach with the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings. . . . Best has worked in performance analysis with the Danish Ice Hockey Federation since 2015, including at the 2017 World Junior Championship in Montreal and Toronto, and at the 2017 Worlds in Cologne and Paris. . . . He spent one season (2015-16) as director of performance analysis with the OHL’s Ottawa 67’s. In 2013-14, he was on staff with the Tri-City Americans as performance analyst and hockey operations assistant.

Meanwhile, the Vancouver Canucks revealed Tuesday that Ben Cooper, their video assistant coach, no longer is with the team. Cooper is a former Royals assistant coach.

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Rod Aldoff has left the Pensacola Ice Flyers after a second stint as the SPHL team’s head coach. Aldoff, who is from Lethbridge, began last season as the head coach of the AHL’s Norfolk Admirals, but was fired on Nov. 29 after a 2-11-4 start. He was hired to coach the Ice Flyers on Feb. 14 -- there were 20 games left in the regular season -- after Kevin Hasselberg was fired. The Ice Flyers went on to lose out in the second round of the playoffs. . . . Through all of this, Aldoff has been under contract to the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers. . . . Earlier in his coaching career, Aldoff guided the Ice Flyers to a pair of SPHL titles.

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Don Cherry is going to be so mad when we announce our incoming freshmen later today and only sees one Canadian…

— Dartmouth Hockey (@Dartmouth_MIH) June 27, 2017

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Go West, young men, go West!

It was in the early 1980s when the late Ed Chynoweth, then the WHL’s leader, admitted that his greatest fear had to do with NHL teams moving affiliate teams into Western Canada and setting up a new league.

At the time, he said he could see the day when pro teams were in Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, Regina and Saskatoon, just for starters.
The Saskatoon Blades are near the end of lease negotiations with the SaskTel Centre. When the papers are signed, the Blades will again have hockey exclusivity in the building. That is something that Chynoweth, all those years ago, felt was of the utmost importance and something that most, if not all, WHL teams insist upon in their leases.
Now here we are more than 30 years later and NHL teams are moving affiliates west, just not into Canada.
The AHL made it official on Thursday — it will have a five-team Pacific Division next season, with all teams located in California.
The Anaheim Ducks will move the Norfolk, Va., Admirals to San Diego; the Calgary Flames will move the Adirondack Flames from Glens Falls, N.Y., to Stockton; the Edmonton Oilers will move the Oklahoma City Barons to Bakersfield; the Los Angeles Kings are moving the Manchester, N.H., Monarchs to Ontario; and the San Jose Sharks are taking the Worcester, Mass., Sharks and relocating them to, yes, San Jose.
The Adirondack Flames are in their first season in Glens Falls, after relocating from Abbotsford, B.C. Adirondack head coach Ryan Huska left the Kelowna Rockets after last season to sign with the Flames.
Mike Stothers, who left the Moose Jaw Warriors after last season, is the first-year head coach of the Monarchs.
San Jose will play its AHL affiliate out of its home building — the SAP Center. Interestingly, San Jose is planning on scheduling Saturday doubleheaders, with the AHL team playing matinees and the NHL team playing at night.
The primary reason for the moves is to get affiliate players closer to the parent clubs to make it that much easier for recalls. Scheduling details are scarce but the five Pacific Division teams will play fewer games than other AHL teams. That and less travel should result in more practice time, all of which should make for happy coaches and better development.
There also is speculation that more NHL teams will get involved in moving their AHL teams in the near future.
The Vancouver Canucks are in their second season with the AHL’s Utica, N.Y., Comets. Pat Conacher, a former head coach of the Regina Pats, is the Comets’ director of hockey operations, with Travis Green, the former assistant GM and assistant coach with the Portland Winterhawks, the head coach.
There is speculation that the Canucks will move the franchise to Abbotsford or Langley, B.C. The Abbotsford Centre seats 7,046 and no longer is home to a hockey team. The 5,276-seat Langley Events Centre is home to, among other things, the BCHL’s Langley Rivermen and the National Lacrosse League’s Vancouver Stealth.
Jim Benning, the Canucks’ general manager, told TSN Radio Vancouver on Thursday that his organization will continue to monitor the situation.
“We're really happy in Utica — players love it there,” Benning said. “We'll continue to monitor it.”
The Winnipeg Jets’ AHL affiliate is in St. John’s, Nfld. There have been rumours since the Atlanta Thrashers relocated to Winnipeg that the Jets would like to have that franchise in Thunder Bay, Ont. That’s hardly close to the Pacific Northwest or California, but it’s closer than Newfoundland.
The Arizona Coyotes, who are hooked up with the AHL’s Portland, Me., Pirates, also are said to be interested in having a team closer to Phoenix.
Some of the communities being vacated by AHL teams are expected to end up being home to ECHL franchises. There also is speculation that the QMJHL would like to expand by two teams and is looking at the vacant arenas.
What impact, if any, will this have as far as the WHL is concerned?
I doubt that there will be any immediate impact, but it certainly could have repercussions down the road.
When these AHL teams get relocated and organized, you can bet that they will be pouring resources into minor hockey programs as they attempt to attract fans. Eventually, that will mean more and better hockey players coming out of those areas.
It all could lead to a WHL team with a completely American roster. Don't scoff. The Portland Winterhawks have 12 players on their 23-man roster right now.


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The NHL’s Calgary Flames signed F Ryan Howse of the Chilliwack Bruins to a three-year deal on Tuesday. Capgeek.com reports that the contract calls for NHL salaries of US$615,000, $615,000 and $690,000, with AHL salaries of $65,000, $67,500 and $67,500. The signing bonus is three annual payments of $90,000. . . . Howse was a third-round pick in the 2009 NHL draft.
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Mike Boyle, the radio voice of the Spokane Chiefs, will be the new radio voice of baseball’s Spokane Indians. He replaces Bob Robertson, a legend in the Pacific Northwest who handled the job for 12 years but has left in order to spend more time with his family. Boyle is in his ninth season of calling Chiefs’ games. For the last four baseball seasons, Boyle has done play-by-play of Tri-City Dust Devils games. . . . The Indians are a Class A short-season affiliate of the Texas Rangers.
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When the break is over, Edmonton and Swift Current will announce a deal that will have the rights to F Graham Black, 17, move from the Oil Kings to the Broncos. Black, who is from Regina, is playing for the midget AAA Regina Pat Canadians. He leads the Saskatchewan midget AAA league in goals (32) and points (51), in 27 games. . . . The Broncos would like to add Black to their roster this season but are prepared to wait until next season. . . . For a neat look at the multi-talented Black, check out this story right here from the Regina Leader-Post. . . .
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Mandi Schwartz, the native of Wilcox, Sask., who has been battling acute myeloid leukemia, continues the battle. Tim Switzer of the Regina Leader-Post has the latest right here.

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Taking Note on Twitter

The WHL has extended the Christmas break for four of its players by hitting them with brief suspensions for infractions that occurred in Saturday games.
Defenceman Sena Acolatse of the Prince George Cougars and forward Kale Kessy of the Medicine Hat Tigers each will sit out two games. Acolatse incurred a match penalty for attempt to injury at the end of a 3-2 victory over the visiting Kamloops Blazers, while Kessy was hit with a double minor for checking from behind during a 5-3 victory over the visiting Lethbridge Hurricanes.
Defenceman Brandon Underwood of the Blazers will sit for one game after taking a kneeing major and game misconduct against the Cougars, while Lethbridge D Cason Machacek also got one game, his for a warmup violation against the Tigers.
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D Matt Delahey (Regina, Chilliwack, 2004-10) has left the ECHL’s Ontario Reign and will enrol at the U of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon. Delahey, 21, was a fourth-round pick of the New Jersey Devils in the NHL’s 2008 draft. . . . F Jonathan Parker of the Prince Albert Raiders is the CHL’s player of the week. He had nine points in three games last week. . . . The MJHL’s Neepawa Natives have extended GM/head coach Bryant Perrier’s contract through 2012-13. Perrier is in his second season with the Natives. . . . The NHL’s Calgary Flames have signed F Ryan Howse of the Chilliwack Bruins to a three-year contract. Howse, who is from Prince George, was a third-round pick in the NHL’s 2009 draft. In his fourth season with the Bruins, Howse has 39 points, including 23 goals, in 32 games.

Denim and Tweed tonight in 'Toontown

There isn’t any doubt about the game of the night.
On this evening, it’s in Saskatoon where the Blades will be the latest team to try and derail the Portland Winterhawks express.
The Blades are 13-5-1, including 7-1-1 at home.
The Winterhawks have the WHL’s best record (16-2-1) and have won 10 straight games. Portland already has won twice on its East Division swing, beating the Swift Current Broncos 4-2 and the Regina Pats, 5-4 in overtime.
“You’ve got two really good teams and obviously there’s a lot of pride
involved in a game like this,” Lorne Molleken, the Blades’ GM/head coach, told Cory Wolfe of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix. “Our guys have worked
extremely hard leading up to this game but our approach is not going to be
any different than other game.”
Mike Johnston, Portland’s GM/head coach, told Steve Brandon of the Portland Tribune that his guys know this one is special.
"Yeah, they do, for sure," Johnston said. "This is one game they're definitely looking forward to.
"Saskatoon has been a good team for two or three years. A lot of people picked them as the (league) favorite last year, but they didn't make it through. They're well-coached, they've got talent, and I expect to see their best."
Last season, the Blades visited Portland on Jan. 2 and came away with a 6-5 OT victory.
Also tonight, the Blades will be showing off their denim look, with their third jerseys, as they help promote the Professional Bull Riders Canadian Finals that will be held in Saskatoon, Nov. 19-20.
On top of that, Shannon Tweed and Gene Simmons, who are in Saskatoon doing some filming, will be on hand. (By the way, Tweed went to high school in Saskatoon.)
Attendance is expected to be well over 6,000.
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The Moose Jaw Warriors made two trades Thursday.
First, they dealt D Connor Cox, 18, to the Saskatoon Blades, getting back a second-round pick in the 2011 bantam draft. Cox, who is from Lethbridge, had six points in 18 games with the Blades. Two seasons ago, he had four points in 38 games. Last season, he put up 15 points in 42 games. Cox was a fourth-round pick in the 2007 bantam draft.
Later in the day, the Warriors sent F Brendan Rowinski, 20, to the Vancouver Giants for a 2011 third-round draft pick and a sixth-rounder in 2012.
Rowinski, who is from Winnipeg, is just back playing after undergoing offseason knee surgery. His return to the Warriors’ lineup left the club with four 20-year-olds, one over the maximum. The deal leaves the Warriors with G Thomas Heemskerk, F Spencer Edwards and F Dylan Hood as its 20s.
And now the Giants have four 20-year-olds, as Rowinski, who scored 30 goals last season, joins F Craig Cunningham, F Matt MacKay and F Randy McNaught.
McNaught is out with an ankle injury and would appear headed to the injury list. That would free up a spot for Rowinski. The Giants then wouldn’t have to make a decision until two weeks after McNaught’s return from the injury.
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The NHL season really is still in its infancy, but it seems that Willie Desjardins is making an impact. Desjardins, the longtime general manager and head coach of the Medicine Hat Tigers, now is the associate coach with the Dallas Stars. Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News has more right here.
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The Calgary Herald is reporting that F Brett Sutter (Kootenay, Red Deer, 2003-07) was “arrested and charged with assault following an alleged bar fight” on Thursday morning in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Sutter, 23, was charged after an incident outside a bar called American Junkie. He is alleged to have punched a bar patron outside the bar.
Sutter is the son of Calgary GM Darryl Sutter and a nephew of head coach Brent Sutter. Brett, who hasn’t played in a game since Oct. 16, was on the ice for Thursday’s practice.
The Herald story is right here.
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A note from a column written by James Shewaga, the sports editor of the Brandon Sun:
“Friends of Brandonite Ron Popplestone will be holding a Bud, Spud & Steak night Wednesday at Canad Inns for the former Wheat Kings goaltender, who underwent the controversial liberation surgery in Mexico last week to help treat his multiple sclerosis.
“Popplestone, who returned to the Wheat City on Tuesday after the successful surgery, has been feeling much better following the procedure, which helped reduced the numbness and tingling in his hands and face. “Unfortunately, the surgery, which costs between $10,000 and $15,000, is not currently covered by Manitoba Health.
“Wednesday’s event — tickets are $20 and available from Peter Gerlinger, Mike Brolund and Ken Schneider — will serve as a fundraiser, but most importantly will offer a show of support for the Popplestone family.”
Popplestone played his entire WHL career with the Wheat Kings, with the exception of one game.
During the 1979-80 season, Pat Ginnell, then the head coach of the Medicine Hat Tigers, ran out of goaltenders and borrowed Popplestone from the Wheat Kings. Popplestone turned in a 54-save effort in his only appearance with the Tigers who, if memory serves, beat the Regina Pats, 5-4, in overtime.
I also seem to recall the Pats not being too happy with the Tigers’ goaltending arrangement.
Perhaps someone with a better memory than mine can recall the particulars.
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The WHL has added F Brendan Ranford of the Kamloops Blazers to the Team WHL lineup for the Subway Super Series game that is to be played in Kamloops on Nov. 17. Ranford has scored 17 goals in 19 games with the Blazers. . . . Saskatoon Blades G Steven Stanford (concussion) is back practising but won’t play for a few days yet. . . .
In Brandon, the Wheat Kings got two goals from each of F Shayne Wiebe and F Mark Stone and bet the Medicine Hat Tigers 5-2 on Thursday. F Scott Glennie and D Brodie Melnychuk had three assists each for Brandon. . . . F Hunter Shinkaruk had both Medicine Hat goals. . . . The host Chilliwack Bruins went 2-for-11 on the PP in beating the Vancouver Giants, 5-1. . . . Vancouver D Wes Vannieuwenhuizen was ejected with a checking-from-behind major for a second-period hit on Chilliwack F Robin Soudek. Soudek left on a stretcher and was taken to hospital. There was no official word late Thursday night, but he is believed to have checked out OK. A more thorough prognosis should be available today. . . . Vannieuwenhuizen can expect a suspension to be issued, perhaps by Saturday evening when the Giants are scheduled to face the visiting Prince George Cougars. . . . In Calgary, the Kootenay Ice dropped the Hitmen, 4-2. The Ice has won nine of 10, while the Hitmen now have lost 11 in a row. . . . Calgary hasn’t won since it scored a 3-2 OT victory over the Thunderbirds in Seattle on Oct. 16. . . . The Hitmen don’t play until Sunday when they meet, yes, the Ice in Calgary. The Ice plays the Oil Kings in Edmonton on Saturday. . . . For a look at the jerseys the Chilliwack Bruins wore on Thursday, take a trip to right here.
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THURSDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
Two minors:
Kootenay D Hayden Rintoul
Medicine Hat F Kale Kessy
One major:
Vancouver D Wes Vannieuwenhuizen

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
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Taking Note on Twitter

Thursday . . .

This is the design of the jerseys being auctioned off by the Everett Silvertips.

The Everett Silvertips are at home to the Tri-City Americans tonight and it’s Pink the Rink night.
There will be a whole lot of things happening, with proceeds going to the Providence General Foundation.
Included will be a chuck-a-puck promotion; a ticket package that includes an upper-level ticket, an ‘I Pinked the Rink’ Silvertips t-shirt, and a $6 donation to the PGF, all for $20; and, an online auction involving commemorative pink-trimmed Silvertips jerseys.  Bids on each jersey start at $150 — email bids to auctions@everettsilvertips.com.
Notes from a Silvertips release: “In the subject line please place the name of the player that you are bidding on and in the body of the email please include your bid amount as well as a day-time phone number that we can use to contact you should you be the highest bidder. If you are submitting an online bid and will be in attendance please indicate that in your email.” Email bids will be accepted until today at 3 p.m.; bidding resumes in-person once the doors open on Friday at 6:30 p.m., and will continue through the end of the second period. Winning bids will be posted in the third period.
After the game, jerseys will be presented to the highest bidders.
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The Kamloops Blazers will conclude their Pink Power Play fund-raiser on Saturday as they play host to the Seattle Thunderbirds.
It’s all part of their efforts to support Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
As well, the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation will continue its WestJet Raffle through the second period, with the winner announced during the third period.
The Blazers are auctioning off specially designed Bauer Vapor x60 Composite Sticks. Bid sheets will be out for Saturday's game, with the auction ending as the second period begins. Email bids will be accepted at aneuls@blazerhockey.com. For more info, or to check on bids, visit the Blazers’ website or the team’s Facebook page.
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The Saskatoon Blades are on the road this weekend and may not have the services of G Steven Stanford, 20, who left Thursday’s practice with a possible concussion.
As a result, the Blades have recalled G Adam Todd, a fourth-round pick in the 2009 bantam draft. Todd is to join the Blades in time for a Saturday game against the Rebels in Red Deer. The Blades then will meet the Hitmen on Sunday afternoon in Calgary.
Todd is in his first season with the major midget Okanagan Rockets. He is 3-2-0, 3.01, .894.
With Todd on the move, the Rockets plan on giving two weekend starts to freshman Connor De Melo, 15, who is 3-2-0, 3.04, .871. The Rockets have a weekend doubleheader with the Cariboo Cougars.
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The Kamloops Blazers have assigned F Jesse Sinatynski, 18, to junior A. He is expected to play somewhere in the AJHL. Sinatynyski, who is from Fort Saskatchewan, Alta., was acquired Oct. 14 from the Brandon Wheat Kings for a fifth-round pick in the 2011 bantam draft. He played three games with the Blazers, scoring once, and was a healthy scratch for one game. . . . Kamloops now is carrying 24 players, including two goaltenders and eight defencemen. That includes D Josh Caron, who is out for another month with a broken collarbone.
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Head coach Craig Hartsburg has returned to the practice ice with the Everett Silvertips. But he won’t be on the bench Friday when the Tri-City Americans are in town. Hartsburg underwent a heart catheterization last week and will undergo open hart surgery on Wednesday in Everett to repair an ascending aortic aneurysm. . . . Hartsburg will attend Friday’s game, but associate coach Jay Varady and assistant coach Chris Hartsburg will work the bench, as they did for three games last week. . . . After the surgery, Hartsburg won’t be back coaching until sometime in the new year. . . . The Americans lost three road games without Hartsburg -- 2-0 to the Portland Winterhawks, 4-3 to the Kelowna Rockets and 3-1 to the Vancouver Giants.
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It was a busy day for the Portland Winterhawks. First, they got F Nino Niederreiter back from the NHL’s New York Islanders. Then they announced that G Ian Curtis, 20, had cleared WHL waivers.
Niederreiter should play for the Winterhawks in a weekend doubleheader against the Kelowna Rockets. They’ll play twice at Memorial Coliseum tonight and Saturday night.
The fifth overall pick in the NHL’s 2010 draft,  Niederreiter, 18, had a goal and an assist in nine games with the Islanders. Because of his age and the fact that he was drafted off a CHL team’s roster, Niederreiter, who is from Switzerland, either had to play with the Islanders or be returned to Portland.
Last season, his first in the WHL, Niederreiter had 60 points, including a team-high 36 goals. He added 16 points, eight of them goals, in the playoffs. And, of course, he got a lot of pub during the World Junior Championship when he led Switzerland into the semifinals and was named a tournament all-star. And he played for Switzerland at the 2010 IIHF world championship.
It will be interesting to see how GM/head coach Mike Johnston and assistant Travis Green fit in Niederreiter among their top six forwards. He also is the third forward on the roster with an NHL contract as F Ryan Johansen, the fourth pick in the 2010 NHL draft, and F Oliver Gabriel, a free agent, have signed with the Columbus Blue Jackets. (D Brett Ponich, a second-round pick by St. Louis in 2009, has signed with the Blues.)
Later in the day, the Winterhawks announced that Curtis would be on the move as they have decided to go with their two 18-year-old goaltenders — Mac Carruth and Keith Hamilton.
The original plan was to go with Curtis and Carruth. But when both of them went down with injuries, Hamilton carried the mail through the season’s first couple of weeks and was outstanding.
Curtis is 2-0, 3.50, .909 this season. Last season, he went 27-21-3, 3.39, .906. He also has played with the Swift Current Broncos and Prince George Cougars.
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The Calgary Flames had a guest — F Ryan Howse of the Chilliwack Bruins — at their Thursday night game against the visiting Colorado Avalanche. Howse, a third-round selection by the Flames in the 2009 NHL draft, watched the Flames fall, 6-5. . . . Chilliwack plays the Hitmen in Calgary tonight. . . . The BCHL’s Langley Chiefs recently have added three former WHLers to their roster. D Brad Haber, who was released by the Red Deer Rebels, is with the Chiefs, as are the Scholten brothers, Dillon and Brandon, both of whom had been with the Vancouver Giants. Haber is 20, as is Dillon Scholten, a defenceman. Brandon Scholten, 18, is a forward. . . . Calgary Hitmen F Kris Foucault (shoulder) is questionable for a game tonight against the visiting Chilliwack Bruins. He was injured during Wednesday’s 3-0 loss to visiting Kootenay when he absorbed a clean hit from Ice D Brayden McNabb.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
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Tuesday's over

The SPHL’s Augusta RiverHawks have signed D Bryan Nathe (Brandon, Everett, 2002-04) for their inaugural season. Nathe has played in the ECHL, Central league, and the IHL. He split last season between the IHL’s Dayton Gems, Flint Generals and Port Huron IceHawks, picking up 12 points in 68 games.
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The Saskatoon Blades got down to four goaltenders on Tuesday by reassigning Adam Todd, 16, to the major midget Okanagan Rockets, who play out of Kelowna. . . . The Blades are to meet the Pats in Regina on Wednesday night, after which one of two 17-year-old goaltenders -- Adam Iwan or Tyler Oswald -- will be reassigned. Iwan and Oswald, both 2008 bantam draft picks, are scheduled to play a half apiece tonight. . . . The Blades also have two veteran goaltenders on their roster in Steven Stanford, 20, and Adam Morrison, 19.
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Still with goaltenders, the Vancouver Giants have three of them and observers are watching and waiting to see what happens. Mark Segal, the starter late last season and through playoffs, is expected to open the season as the starter. The 19-year-old will be backed up by either Derek Tendler, 18, who joined the Giants last season from the SJHL’s Estevan Bruins but didn’t get much playing time, and Brendan Jensen, 17, who started with the Giants but finished with the NAHL’s Wenatchee Wild. . . . Conspiracy theorists might wonder whether the Bonner brothers might get together on a deal. The Giants, of GM Scott Bonner, have three goaltenders, each with at least some experience in the WHL. The Kamloops Blazers, of GM Craig Bonner, have two goaltenders on their roster -- Jon Groenheyde, a 19-year-old who is preparing for his third season but first as a starter, and Troy Trombley, 16, who has played half a game in the Blazers’ first four exhibition assignments.
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I was watching the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers in a prospects game from Penticton last night. Interesting moment in the third period when Calgary’s Lance Bouma delivered a big hit in the neutral zone and Edmonton’s Nolan Toigo roared in to challenge Bouma. They exchanged blows in what was pretty much a draw. Toigo and Bouma were teammates with the Vancouver Giants. . . . The Oilers won 5-3, with an empty-netter, in what was an entertaining game. D Alex Plante scored twice for Edmonton, including the empty-netter. Edmonton G Tyler Bunz was terrific.
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The BCHL’s Nanaimo Clippers have triplets on their roster this season. That story is right here. Bill Gallacher, who owns the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks, also owns a piece of the action in Nanaimo.
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David Haas is the new head coach of the AJHL’s Calgary Mustangs. He replaces Jeff Peters, who resigned earlier this month. Haas, 42, was a fifth-round pick by the Edmonton Oilers in the 1992 NHL draft. He finished his playing career with a number of seasons in Germany.
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F Brennan Tutt, who was released by the Seattle Thunderbirds, now is in camp with the Regina Pats. Tutt, the son of former WHL F Brian Tutt (Calgary, 1979-82), told Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post that he asked the Thunderbirds for his release. He then asked half-a-dozen teams for a tryout before landing in Regina where head coach Curtis Hunt said he would take a look at Tutt, 18. . . . He had an assist in Regina’s 7-3 loss to the visiting Brandon Wheat Kings on Saturday. He was pointless in 17 games with Seattle last season but spent a lot time battling the injury bug. . . . Harder’s story is right here.
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F Craig Cunningham, 20, has had an impact in the Boston Bruins’ rookie camp. Cunningham, a fourth-round pick by the Bruins in the NHL’s 2010 draft, is eligible to return for a fifth season with the Vancouver Giants and hasn’t signed an NHL contract. But, as Rob Murray, the head coach of the AHL’s Providence Bruins, told Fluto Shinzawa of the Boston Globe: “Maybe I’ve noticed him more this week than I did at the prospects camp. I’ve liked him more this week than at the prospects camp. I’ve seen more of what he might bring. He’s got a certain edge to him, that grittiness that you look for in a player of his stature. He’s not a really big guy. But it looks like he plays with an edge. We’ll see.” . . . If the Bruins sign Cunningham, he can play in the AHL. If he returns to the Giants, he will be their captain.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
     
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