Kamloops, Lethbridge, Vancouver shuffle forwards . . . Hitmen, Oil Kings make deal . . . Rockets add Braid

The WHL trade deadline arrives today at noon MT. That’s 11 a.m. Pacific and 1 p.m. Central.
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If you follow the WHL, make sure you check out Small Thoughts At Large, the blog where Alan Caldwell tracks all the WHL bantam draft picks.
He has created a spreadsheet for each season and tracks the transfer of picks via trade, also noting what was involved in each transaction.
It’s a tough job because not all of these trades are cut and dried, but Caldwell does a terrific job of sorting through it all.
His blog is right here and the link to the spreadsheets is on the right-hand side.
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Over the last while, Todd Harkins, the first-year general manager of the Prince George Cougars, has experienced the downside of the WHL’s trade deadline and he wishes that some people would take a look at how they operate.
"What people don’t realize in social media is these are kids,” he told Regan Bartel, the radio voice of the Kelowna Rockets, earlier in the week. “They are not pros. They play like pros and I think that is the misunderstanding. They love the game at this age and they just want to play and they are doing their best. We have to be careful how we treat them in those social media rings as fans.”
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THE NUMBERS:
(Since Dec. 10)
Trades: 30.
Players: 52.
Draft picks: 38.
Conditional draft picks: 6.
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FRIDAY’S TRADES:

Moments after dropping a 2-1 shootout decision to the visiting Kelowna Rockets, the Kamloops Blazers announced two trades, both involving 20-year-old forwards. . . . The Blazers sent Mike Winther to the Lethbridge Hurricanes for an eighth-round pick in the 2017 bantam draft and acquired F Joel Hamilton from the Vancouver Giants for a sixth-round pick in 2017. . . . Both players were healthy scratches on Friday night. . . . Winther, from Trochu, Alta., has 16 points, including six goals, in 40 games with Kamloops. He also has played with the Prince Albert Raiders and Calgary Hitmen. In 271 regular-season games, he has 158 points, including 76 goals. However, he hasn’t scored since Nov. 19 and has been a healthy scratch for two straight games. The Blazers had acquired him from Calgary for a 2015 fourth-round draft pick and a seventh-rounder in 2017. Taken 16th overall by Prince Albert in the 2009 bantam draft, he was a second-round pick of the Dallas Stars in the 2012 NHL draft, but was never signed. . . . Hamilton, from Cochrane, Alta., has 27 points, 10 of them goals, in 40 games with the Giants this season. He played two seasons with the Red Deer Rebels, before moving to the Giants, where he played last season for Don Hay, now the head coach in Kamloops. In 224 career games, he has 130 points, 37 of them goals. Vancouver gave up a third-round pick in the 2014 bantam draft to get Hamilton from Red Deer. Hamilton was a fourth-round pick by Red Deer in the 2009 bantam draft.
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The acquisition of F Mike Winther left Lethbridge with four 20-year-olds, a situation that was resolved when the Hurricanes dealt F Zane Jones to the Vancouver Giants for the rights to F Johnny Wesley, 17, who is with the BCHL’s Surrey Eagles. . . . Jones, from Olds, Alta., has also played with the Everett Silvertips, Calgary Hitmen, Victoria Royals and Chilliwack Bruins. . . . The Bruins selected him in the fifth round of the 2009 bantam draft. . . . This season, he has 30 points, including 18 goals, in 36 games with Lethbridge. In 229 regular-season games, he has 134 points, including 66 goals. . . . Wesley, from White Rock, B.C., has 21 points, five of them goals, in 32 games with the Eagles. He scored one goal in his lone game with the Giants this season.
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The Kelowna Rockets added a third 20-year-old to their roster with the acquisition of F Chance Braid from the Prince George Cougars. In exchange, the Rockets gave up F Brogan O’Brien, 17, who is from Prince George. . . . The Cougars had gotten Braid from the Prince Albert Raiders over the summer. He had 13 points, including eight goals, in 35 games with the Cougars. A power forward-type, he’ll add some sandpaper to the Rockets’ roster. . . . O’Brien was a 10th-round pick by the Rockets in the 2010 bantam draft. He is playing with the BCHL’s Prince George Spruce Kings and had 15 points, including six goals, in 48 games going into weekend games.
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The Edmonton Oil Kings acquired D Marshall Donald, 19, from the Calgary Hitmen for a 2015 fourth-round draft pick. . . . Donald, from Edmonton, has eight points in 32 games in his first season with the Hitmen. He was a third-round pick by Calgary in the 2010 bantam draft. . . . Donald played the last three seasons with the AJHL’s Sherwood Park Crusaders. Prior to that, he was with the Edmonton-South Side Athletic Club program. . . . Donald is out with an undisclosed injury but is expected to join the Oil Kings early next week.
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TRADE DEADLINE DEALS:

(All draft picks in bantam draft unless otherwise noted)
Dec. 10 . . .
To Kelowna: D Josh Morrissey (95), F Gage Quinney (95).
To Prince Albert: D Jesse Lees (95), F Austin Glover (96), 2016 second-round pick, 2017 third-round pick.
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Dec. 12 . . .
To Red Deer: D Nelson Nogier (96), F Austin Adamson (96).
To Saskatoon: F Mason McCarty (97), 2015 second-round pick, 2016 first-round pick.
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Dec. 16 . . .
To Calgary: G Thatcher Demko, 19, who is at Boston College.
To Spokane: Conditional draft picks. Guy Flaming of The Pipeline Show tweeted that he had it as a second-rounder in 2015 and a second- or third-rounder in 2016.
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Dec. 27 . . .
To Swift Current: D Griffin Foulk, 19.
To Lethbridge: Conditional eighth-round pick in 2016.
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Dec. 27 . . .
To Red Deer: D Colton Bobyk, 18, and a 2016 fourth-round pick.
To Spokane: D Nick Charif, 19, a second-round 2015 pick and a conditional sixth-round 2016 selection.
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Jan. 2 . . .
To Brandon: F Morgan Klimchuk, 19.
To Regina: F Jesse Gabrielle, 17.
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Jan. 5 . . .
To Medicine Hat: D Kyle Burroughs, 19, and F Dryden Hunt, 19.
To Regina: D Connor Hobbs, 17, and two draft picks -- second-rounder in 2016 and third-rounder in 2015.
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Jan. 5 . . .
To Saskatoon: D Kolton Dixon, 19.
To Red Deer: G Trevor Martin, 18.
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Jan. 5 . . .
To Red Deer: F Connor Gay, 19, and three bantam draft picks -- a first-rounder in 2016, a second in 2015 and a seventh in 2017.
To Regina: F Jake Leschyshyn, 15, and a fourth-round pick in 2017.
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Jan. 5 . . .
To Brandon: D Reid Gow, 20.
To Spokane: A fifth-round pick, Spokane’s option for 2015 or 2016.
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Jan. 6 . . .
To Kelowna: F Leon Draisaitl, 19.
To Prince Albert: F Tomas Schmidli, 18, D Dalton Yorke, 18, and three bantam draft picks -- a first-rounder in 2015, a fourth-rounder in 2016 and a conditional fourth-rounder in 2016 or 2017.
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Jan. 6 . . .
To Prince George: D Tomas Andrlik, 19.
To Prince Albert: A 12th-round pick in 2015.
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Jan. 6 . . .
To Moose Jaw: D Connor Clouston, 18.
To Kamloops: A fifth-round pick in 2017.
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Jan. 6 . . .
To Calgary: G Brendan Burke, 19.
To Portland: G Evan Johnson, 18, and a fourth-round pick in 2016.
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Jan. 6 . . .
To Lethbridge: D Brady Reagan, 17.
To Regina: F Taylor Cooper, 19.
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Jan. 6 . . .
To Victoria: F Alex Forsberg, 19, a third-round pick in 2015 and a fourth-round pick in 2016.
To Saskatoon: F Brayden Dunn, 16, and a first-round pick in 2017.
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Jan. 6 . . .
To Portland: D Adam Henry, 20.
To Saskatoon: A second-round pick 2017.
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Jan. 6 . . .
To Moose Jaw: F Axel Blomqvist, 19, a third-round pick in 2015 and a fifth-round pick in 2017.
To Victoria: D Alexey Sleptsov, 18, G Justin Paulic, 19, and a sixth-round pick in 2015.
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Jan. 7 . . .
To Tri-City: F Tyler Sandhu, 18.
To Red Deer: Fourth-round picks in 2015 and 2016.
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Jan. 7 . . .
To Kamloops: D Marc McNulty, 19, and a 2016 sixth-round draft pick.
To Prince George: D Josh Connolly, 19, and a 2015 sixth-round draft pick.
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Jan. 7 . . .
To Saskatoon: D Brycen Martin, 18, and a conditional 2017 fifth-round draft pick.
To Swift Current: D Jordan Thomson, 18, and a 2016 first-round draft pick (originally belonged to Red Deer).
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Jan. 8 . . .
To Kootenay: D Lenny Hackman, 19.
To Lethbridge: A 12th-round pick in the 2015 draft.
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Jan. 8 . . .
To Saskatoon: F Mitch Skapski, 18, and 2015 fifth-round draft pick.
To Victoria: A 2016 fifth-round draft pick.
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Jan. 8 . . .
To Lethbridge: G Jayden Sittler, 18.
To Victoria: A 2016 seventh-round draft pick.
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Jan. 8 . . .
To Seattle: F Cory Millette, 19.
To Prince Albert: A sixth-round pick in the 2015 or 2016 bantam draft.
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Jan. 9 . . .
To Kelowna: F Chance Braid, 20.
To Prince George: F Brogan O’Brien, 17.
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Jan. 9 . . .
To Edmonton: D Marshall Donald, 19.
To Calgary: A 2015 fourth-round draft pick.
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Jan. 9 . . .
To Kamloops: F Joel Hamilton, 20.
To Vancouver: A 2017 sixth-round draft pick.
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Jan. 9 . . .
To Lethbridge: F Mike Winther, 20.
To Kamloops: A 2017 eighth-round draft pick.
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Jan. 9 . . .
To Vancouver: F Zane Jones, 20.
To Lethbridge: F Johnny Wesley, 17.


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Paging Bob Strumm . . . Winterhawks release goaltender . . . Cave quiets Hurricanes

F Sean Ringrose (Medicine Hat, 2007-09) has been released by Villach (Austria, Erste Bank Liga). He had two goals and four assists in 16 games.
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A note from sports columnist Rob Vanstone of the Regina Leader-Post:
“The Regina Pats' biggest opponent continues to be the Roughriders, even though relations between the two organizations are amicable.
The Pats have won three consecutive games to improve their record to 8-8-1-0, but most of the sporting-related chatter in the greater Regina area pertains to the Roughriders.
“Such is life at this time of year, but the Pats - who provide a consistently entertaining product - should not be overlooked.”
One more note from Vanstone:
“Promotion-wise, though, WHL teams do not do themselves any favours. Rivalries have been sanitized. Nobody utters anything that will add to the intrigue that surrounds a game. Instead, there is the usual, eyeglazing hockey-speak about ‘compete level’ and ‘getting pucks deep.' Where have you gone, Bob Strumm?”
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G Bolton Pouliot’s stay with the Portland Winterhawks was brief, indeed. Pouliot’s name disappeared from Portland’s roster sometime on Friday. In six games there, the 20-year-old Calgarian was 2-2-0/3.90/.872. . . . He had been gifted to the Winterhawks by Kamloops last month, after going 4-2-0/3.04/.899 with the Blazers. . . . The Winterhawks still have three goaltenders on that roster, in Brendan Burke, Aden Hill and Michael Bullion. . . . Bullion came up from the NAHL’s Wenatchee, Wash., Wild with Burke and Hill both injured. Last night, Bullion went the distance in a 5-4 loss to the visiting Red Deer Rebels. Burke was on the bench in a backup role. . . . Meanwhile, the Winterhawks also have released F Colton Veloso from the roster. The 17-year-old Winnipegger had one goal in eight games.
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When you have a minute or two, visit the website of the Saskatoon Express right here and find the Oct. 20 issue. Flip forward to Page 3 and check out Ned Powers’ story on Jim McIntyre, who has had a lengthy involvement with the midget AAA Saskatoon Contacts. He is 75 years of age and still is the organization’s president. These are the kind of people who are so important to minor hockey today. . . . The 2004-05 Contacts, the national champions, were inducted into the Saskatoon Sports Hall of Fame on Nov. 1.
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FRIDAY’S GAMES:

In Regina, D Michael Zipp broke a 3-3 tie in the third period and the Calgary Hitmen went on to a 5-3 victory over the Pats. . . . Zipp, who has two goals, scored at 9:51, just 1:38 after F Austin Wagner had pulled the Pats even with his fourth goal. . . . F Radel Fazleev had a goal, his eighth, and three assists for Calgary, which got two goals from F Connor Rankin, who doubled his output for this season. . . . Calgary D Ben Thomas had three assists, while F Jake Virtanen earned two. . . . Calgary F Pavel Kamaukhov scored his 10th goal on a first-period PP. . . . Calgary was 2-for-2 on the PP. . . . The Hitmen (10-8-1) have won three straight. . . . The Pats (8-9-1) had a three-game winning streak snapped. . . . Regina D James Hilsendager took a puck in the face in the first period and didn’t return. . . .

In Prince Albert, the Seattle Thunderbirds scored the game’s first five goals en route to a 6-2 victory over the Raiders. . . . The visitors, opening an East Division swing, struck for three goals in a span of 2:18 early in the first period to take control. . . . F Ryan Gropp led the Thunderbirds with his eighth goal and two assists. . . . D Evan Wardley and F Scott Eansor each had two assists for the winners. . . . G Taran Kozun stopped 33 shots for Seattle (8-6-3). . . . The Raiders (8-11-0) took 57 of the game’s 80 minutes in penalties. . . . Seattle scratched F Mathew Barzal with an undisclosed injury. Apparently, he could be out for two weeks or so. . . .

In Moose Jaw, D Ty Stanton scored at 4:20 of OT to give the Medicine Hat Tigers a 4-3 victory over the Warriors. . . . Stanton is the younger brother of former Warriors D Ryan Stanton, who now plays with the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks. . . . Moose Jaw led 2-0 by the 7:27-mark of the first period and also led 3-2 eaerly in the third period. . . . Medicine Hat F Chad Butcher scored his 11th goal at 7:07 of the third to force extra time. . . . Stanton’s third goal won it for the Tigers (13-3-1). . . . F Jack Rodewald scored twice, giving him 10 goals, for Moose Jaw (7-9-2). He’s got 17 points, including eight goals, in his last 12 games. . . . Warriors F Brayden Point had two assists, giving him 14 points over his last 11 games. . . . Medicine Hat was able to dress only 16 skaters, two under the maximum. . . . The same teams play again tonight, this time in Medicine Hat where the Warriors have lost 11 in a row. . . .

In Brandon, G Jordan Papirny turned aside 46 shots to lead the Wheat Kings to a 6-2 victory over the Saskatoon Blades. . . . Brandon (15-3-1) scored four times in the game’s opening 15 minutes as it won for the fifth straight game. . . . F Reid Duke had three assists for Brandon. . . . Wheat Kings F Jayce Hawryluk scored his 12th goal, while F Jesse Gabrielle got his 11th. . . . Brandon’s imports, F Rihards Bukarts and D Ivan Provorov, each had two assists. . . . Saskatoon’s Brett Stovin, a forward pressed into duty on the back end because of injuries, scored his second goal and added an assist. . . . The Blades (5-13-0) have lost four in a row. . . . Among Saskatoon’s scratches were G Nik Amundrud, D Adam Henry and D Jordan Thomson, all of whom have concussions. . . .

In Cranbrook, F Sam Reinhart scored 32 seconds into his first game and the Kootenay Ice went on to a 4-3 victory over the Edmonton Oil Kings. . . . Reinhart, who turned 19 on Thursday, was playing his first game after being returned by the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres. He was the second overall selection in the 2014 draft. . . . He also scored 21 seconds into the second period, giving the home side a 2-1 lead. . . . F Tim Bozon helped the Ice with his first goal of the season and an assist. He was playing his first game since re-aggravating an injury on Oct. 25. . . . D Rinat Valiev had three assists for the Ice (5-13-0), which has won two in a row for the first time this season. . . . F Austin Vetterl’s second goal of the season, on a PP at 3:53 of the third period, gave the Ice a 4-2 lead. . . . The Ice had a 30-22 edge in shots. . . . The Oil Kings (9-8-2), who were again without F Edgars Kulda, are 0-5-1 in their last six. . . . Kootenay D Tyler King returned after a four-game absence with an undisclosed injury. . . .

In Lethbridge, F Colby Cave scored the game’s last three goals to give the Swift Current Broncos a 4-3 victory over the Hurricanes. . . . The home side actually led this one 3-0 with 15 minutes to play in the third period. . . . F Tyler Steenbergen got the Broncos on the board at 5:53 of the third period. He’s got three goals. . . . Cave scored seven seconds later, then tied it at 8:11. . . . Cave’s seventh goal of the season won it for the Broncos (11-8-2) at 3:10 of OT. . . . Broncos G Travis Child stopped 27 shots, 15 fewer than Zac Robidoux of the Hurricanes. . . . Lethbridge (5-9-4) has points in its last four (1-0-3). . . .

In Prince George, F Chance Braid had a goal and an assist before being ejected as the Cougars edged the Victoria Royals, 3-2. . . . Braid scored his fifth goal to give his guys a 2-0 lead at 13:19 of the first period. He had assisted on Jari Erricson’s 11th at 8:41. . . . Braid took a charging-from-behind major and game misconduct at 12:11 of the third period so may not be eligible for tonight’s rematch. . . . Cougars F Jansen Harkins scored his fifth goal, on a PP at 5:31 of the third, for a 3-1 lead. . . . The Royals got goals from F Brandon Magee, his fifth, and F Austin Carroll, his 12th. . . . Royals G Jayden Sittler stopped 21 shots in his first WHL start. . . . Victoria (9-9-2) was 2-for-6 on the PP; the Cougars were 1-for-5. . . . The Cougars (11-8-0) have won four in a row. They also swept their last two home-ice doubleheaders, from Vancouver and Kamloops. . . . Prince George was without D Mark McNulty, who suffered an undisclosed injury in practice this week. . . .

In Portland, F Wyatt Johnson broke a 4-4 tie with 10.8 seconds left in the third period as the Red Deer Rebels dropped the Winterhawks, 5-4. . . . Johnson had two goals, giving him nine, and added an assist. . . . The Winterhawks trailed 4-2 in the second period before F Dominic Turgeon, with his fifth, and F Chase De Leo, with his 11th, scored at 15:36 and 16:51. . . . G Tylan Toth stopped 44 shots for Red Deer (9-8-2), including all 15 that were fired his way in the third period. . . . The Winterhawks (7-11-2) had won their previous two games. . . . The Rebels are 3-1-1 on a swing that wraps up tonight against the host Tri-City Americans. . . .

In Kelowna, F Rourke Chartier scored twice to help the Rockets to a 4-2 victory over the Spokane Chiefs. . . . Chartier leads the WHL with 17 goals in 17 games. Last season, he scored 24 times in 72 games. He went into this season with 37 goals in 130 games. . . . F Nick Merkley, the WHL points leader, scored his seventh goal and added an assist. He leads in assists (25) and points (32). . . . The Rockets (16-1-1) scored the game’s first three goals, before the Chiefs (7-5-3) got back in it on goals from F Liam Stewart, his seventh, at 17:52 of the second period and F Adam Helewka, on a penalty shot, 18 seconds into the third. . . . The Rockets are 6-0-1 in their last seven. . . . Kelowna was without F Tyrell Goulbourne, who served a one-game suspension he received for instigating a fight late in a Wednesday game. . . .

In Kennewick, Wash., linemates Parker Bowles and Richard Nejezchleb each had a goal and three assists to help the Tri-City Americans to a 5-2 victory over the Kamloops Blazers. . . . The Americans, who got 36 stops from G Eric Comrie, scored the game’s first three goals and its last two. . . . Bowles has seven this season. . . . Nejezchleb, a 20-year-old Czech who has two goals, was playing his second game with the Americans since being acquired from the Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . The Americans (11-8-0) had F Brian Williams and F Justin Gutierrez back from injuries, while F Cole Ully returned to the Blazers’ lineup after an illness-induced absence. . . . Gutierrez scored his third goal, while Ully had an assist. . . . Tri-City D Parker Wotherspoon scored his fifth goal and added two assists. . . . The Blazers (9-9-2) are 0-3-1 in their last four. . . . The Americans were 3-for-6 on the PP, while Kamloops was 0-for-5. . . .

In Vancouver, the Everett Silvertips scored three first-period goals and went on to dump the Giants, 5-1. . . . F Patrick Bajkov scored twice for Everett (12-1-3), which has won six in a row. . . . He’s got five goals. . . . F Graham Millar helped out with his seventh goal and two assists. . . . F Matt Fonteyne and F Logan Aasman each scored his first goal of the season for the Silvertips. . . . Everett G Carter Hart stopped 30 shots, losing his shutout when F Dalton Sward scored his fourth goal at 11:26 of the second period. . . . The Giants are 7-10-0. . . . Each team was given four minor penalties.
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Reinhart scores on his first shift, now has WHL goals at the age of 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 and 19 @WHLKootenayICE
— Jeff Hollick  (@JHollick_ICE) November 8, 2014

Ex-coach: Depression, anxiety among factors in players leaving

It happens every August as WHL teams get their training camps rolling.
Some veteran players don’t show up. For one reason or another, they decide to move on to other things.
A lot of these players would be going into their 20-year-old seasons. Are they tired of the grind? Are they concerned about getting caught up in the 20-year-old game and its uncertainties, with each team being allowed to keep only three of them?
Some of the departing players are younger, perhaps feeling the impact of injuries or not wanting to be away from home anymore.
One former WHL coach wonders if this is just a sign of the times.
“Kids in general today do not have the same character required by people who have been in the game for 20-plus years,” he said. “Players have changed; managers, owners, coaches have not.
“The idea of ‘earning’ something seems to have gone by the wayside. Once a player gets drafted, it’s expected by the player, parents and agent for the ‘team’ to make him a player. (That is) unfortunate, but very true.”
This former coach also pointed a finger at the rigours of being a major junior hockey player.
These days, hockey at this level offers little in the way of down time. As a result, he said, “Players are getting worn out by pushing themselves in the off-season. Whatever happened to playing another sport?”
He suggests that hockey’s push to being a year-round sport has taken a lot of the “fun” out of the game.
“It’s a game,” he said. “But we do not treat it like a game. It’s all or nothing. TSN thrives on the business and compete part of the game. Rogers will do the same. It’s big business in the CHL.”
The former coach also touched on a couple of things that don’t get a whole lot of play in the hockey world.
“Depression and anxiety play a huge part in all of this,” he said. “The stress and pressure for a player to reach his ‘potential’ is a lot of times insurmountable. When you have been the best from 10-15 (years of age) in a small pool, expectations become unrealistic. Jump in the big pool, and the sharks eat you.”
It all adds up to a lot of burnout and pressure, he said, adding that “I would easily say that 75 per cent of players in the entire pool of players fall because of unrealistic expectations.”
Another former WHL coach wonders if some players who leave before their 20-year-old seasons would stay if they had no-trade clauses.
“The 20-year-olds don’t want to be suitcases and would like to play but not get traded,” he suggested. “As you have seen over the years, there is that the glut of 20-year-olds at the start of the season and players get moved or dropped to junior A. The kids are smarter now and don't like it.
“If the WHL wants to change this, then they need to open up the 20-year-olds to five or maybe even seven, and then they won’t quit.”
The ex-coach also is of the opinion that such a move would only help the WHL’s product.
“It would give better value to the $20,” he reasoned. “I also think that this would help the NHL coaches coming to the WHL as they won’t have to do skills and progression drills . . . just systems.”
From time-to-time, there has been talk among WHL officials about increasing the 20-year-old roster limit. However, it won’t happen without support from the OHL and QMJHL and, to date, that support hasn’t been there.
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G Brett Zarowny didn’t report to training camp with the Prince George Cougars. Zarowny, 19, was a third-round bantam draft pick in 2010. From Edson, Alta., Zarowny played two seasons with the Cougars. He was 9-19-0/3.74/.886 in 2012-13; last season, he went 3-10-2/4.23/.885. . . . A groin injury suffered in late November limited Zarowny to 17 games last season. . . . Cougars head coach Mark Holick told Taking Note that Zarowny “has decided to go to school.”
With Zarowny gone, it would appear that the top two goaltenders on the Cougars’ depth chart would be Ty Edmonds, 18, and Adam Beukeboom, 20, with Matt Kustra, 17, perhaps third. Edmonds got into 55 games last season, going 19-19-6/3.85/.887. With Zarowny hurt, Beukeboom came on to play in 14 games, going 5-8-0/4.25/.887. Kustra was an eight-round bantam draft pick in 2012.
The Cougars’ roster shows four 1994-born players, the others being F Chance Braid, F Jari Erricson and D Wil Tomchuk.
Holick told Taking Note that Erricson is in camp and has been cleared to participate. Erricson had one assist in four games last season before suffering a season-ending brain injury during a fight with F Jessey Astles of the Tri-City Americans on Sept. 22.
In 192 career games, the first 129 with the Everett Silvertips, Erricson, who is from Prince George, has 62 points, including 26 goals.
There is more good news in Prince George as F David Soltes, a 19-year-old Slovakian, is on the training camp roster. He had his freshman season ended by a knee injury after just 15 games. He had four goals and one assist in those 15 games.
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The Lethbridge Hurricanes have signed Russian F Pavel Skumatov, 17, who was their second-round selection in the CHL’s 2014 import draft. He is from Mescherskoye. The 6-foot-0, 165-pounder played for Vityazi Chekhov in the U20 MHL last season. He was one of the youngest players on his team and had two assists in 26 games.
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Stay home, or hand over big bucks and go to the game. Scott Ostler of the San Francisco Chronicle has that argument with himself right here.
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More rosters added/updated with cuts. http://t.co/mRUqirz94K Still nothing available from Edmonton, Kelowna, Medicine Hat.
— Alan Caldwell (@smallatlarge) August 23, 2014

It's nothing new, same teams every year. Slightly disappointing that some teams make it so difficult for their fans to follow their camps.
— Alan Caldwell (@smallatlarge) August 23, 2014

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.

Blades introduce their man; Royals haven't spoken with Richardson

D T.J. Fast (Tri-City, 2006-08) has signed a one-year contract with Heilbronner Falken (Germany, DEL2). Last season, with Eispiraten Crimmitschau (Germany, DEL2), he had 34 points, including nine goals, in 49 games. In the relegation round, he added 19 points, eight of them goals, in 17 games. . . .
F Robin Figren (Calgary, Edmonton, 2006-08) has signed a two-year extension with Frölunda Gothenburg (Sweden, SEL). Last season, he had 23 points, including nine goals, in 43 games.
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Bob Woods, the Saskatoon Blades' new
GM/head coach, addresses the media
at a Monday news conference.
(Photo: Saskatoon Blades)

The Saskatoon Blades, as expected, introduced Bob Woods as their new general manager and head coach on Monday.
Woods, who had spent the last two-plus seasons as an assistant coach with the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks, replaces Lorne Molleken and David Struch with the Blades. Molleken, the team’s long-time GM/head coach, was released by the team’s new owners, Mike and Colin Priestner, after last season. Struch, a former Blades player and long-time assistant coach under Molleken, got the heave-ho after one season as head coach.
Woods got a five-year contract from the Blades.
Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix attended the news conference and, at one point, tweeted that under the terms of the contract Woods “is open to pursue NHL jobs. Terms not disclosed, but he'll one of the WHL's highest-paid people.”
Nugent-Bowman’s story is right here.
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With Bob Woods having signed on as the head coach of the Saskatoon Blades, only two of the WHL’s 22 teams are without head coaches.
The Calgary Hitmen, who fired Mike Williamson following the season, and the Vancouver Giants, who allowed Don Hay out of the final year of his contract so that he could take over the coaching duties with his hometown Kamloops Blazers, both are in the market.
Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal has reported that the Hitmen are “very interested” in Edmonton Oil Kings assistant coach Steve Hamilton.
It’s unlikely that Hamilton will make a move until the immediate future of Oil Kings head coach Derek Laxdal is confirmed one way or the other. There have been hints that perhaps the parent Oilers might add him to their staff, perhaps as an associate coach under head coach Dallas Eakins. Should that happen, Hamilton would be in line to be the Oil Kings’ head coach.
However, should the Oilers leave Laxdal in place as the Oil Kings’ head coach, perhaps Hamilton would consider a move to another WHL team as its head coach.
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1. F Evan Richardson, a sophomore forward at Boston College, won’t be returning to the Eagles. Richardson, 20, had two goals in four games last season as freshman. From Nanaimo, B.C., Richardson was selected 15th overall by the Swift Current Broncos in the 2009 WHL bantam draft. . . . On Sept. 5, 2012, the Broncos dealt his rights to the Victoria Royals for 1995-born F Justin Spagrud and a conditional second-round bantam draft pick. . . . As of late Monday night, Royals general manager Cam Hope hadn’t spoken with Richardson, who is believed to be thinking about playing junior A or transferring to another school. . . . Of course, he would be welcome to join the Royals and, as Hope told me, “fight for an overage spot with us . . . he’s a skilled player.” . . . The Royals have five 20-year-olds on their roster in D Travis Brown, F Austin Carroll, F Steven Hodges, F Brandon Magee and G Patrik Polivka. However, Hodges has signed with the NHL’s Florida Panthers, while Magee and Polivka have signed with teams in Europe.

2. The Medicine Hat Tigers have signed F James Hamblin, the 17th overall selection in the 2014 WHL bantam draft. Hamblin, from Edmonton, spent the past two seasons with the bantam AAA Edmonton-South Side Athletic Club Lions. Last season, he had 62 points, including 32 goals, in 31 games. . . . Hamblin was one of 21 prospects who attended the Tigers’ weekend orientation camp.

3. The Prince Albert Raiders have traded F Chance Braid, who turns 20 in September, and F Lance Yaremchuk, 18, to the Prince George Cougars for F Jordan Tkatch, 19, and a sixth-round selection in the 2016 bantam draft. . . . Braid, from Chauvin, Alta., has 57 points in 201 regular-season games, all with Prince Albert. . . . Yaremchuk had a goal and two assists in 15 games with the Raiders last season. He also had 31 points, 15 of them goals, in 20 games with the midget AAA Prince Albert Mintos, who went on to win the Telus Cup. Yaremchuk was a sixth-round selection by the Raiders in the 2011 bantam draft. . . .  Tkatch, a second-round pick by the Cougars in the 2010 bantam draft, put up 82 points, 33 of them goals, in 196 regular-season games. He is from Prud’Homme, which is located 110 km south of Prince Albert, where he played for the midget AAA Mintos. Last season, he had 46 points, including 16 goals, in 72 games.

4. The deal between Prince Albert and Prince George leaves the Raiders with six potential 20-year-olds on their roster -- F Calder Brooks, F Dakota Conroy, F Shane Danyluk, F Jayden Hart, D Sawyer Lange and F Carson Perreaux. . . . In Prince George, Braid joins G Adam Beukeboom, F Troy Bourke, F Jari Erricson, F Zach Pochiro, F Brett Roulston, D Joshua Smith and D Wil Tomchuk as potential 20-year-olds on the Cougars’ roster. Bourke has signed an NHL deal with the Colorado Avalanche so isn’t likely to return.

5. When a team loses, it isn’t often that fans give the other team credit. When that happens in Game 7 of a championship series, it rarely happens. More often, the officials get the blame, it seems. So I must say I was quite pleased to get the following via email from a Portland Winterhawks’ fan:
“Has there ever been a more resilient and tough-minded WHL team than this year's Oil Kings - They took multiple ‘George Foreman in his prime haymakers’ from the Hawks . . . Storm . . . and Val-d'Or:
- Fall behind the Hawks 2-0 in games / getting shaky goaltending from (Tristan) Jarry;
- Fall behind the Hawks 2-0 three minutes into Game 3;
- Blow two three-goal leads at HOME ... lose Game 6 in epic failure fashion;
- Get beaten soundly by Guelph in the round-robin;
- Multiple OT's against Val-d’Or;
- Fall behind 1-0 . . . a minute into the championship game.
Unbelievable guts and courage shown by Edmonton.”

6. F Sam Bennett of the Kingston Frontenacs is NHL Central Scouting’s top-ranked North American skater going into this month’s draft. But at the combine last weekend in Mississauga, Ont., Bennett wasn’t able to do even one pull-up. . . . Yes, that raised some eyebrows. But, as Neate Sager of Yahoo! Canada Sports writes right here: Who cares? . . . It all reminds me of an anecdote involving F Bill Derlago, one of the great scorers in WHL history, who was selected by the Vancouver Canucks with the fourth overall pick of the NHL’s 1978 draft. When players showed up for training camp, the Canucks’ braintrust put them through some dryland stuff that included sprints. Jake Milford, who had a long history with the Wheat Kings, was the Canucks’ general manager at the time. He called Brandon head coach Dunc McCallum and admitted that he was concerned because Derlago didn’t run very well. McCallum asked Milford: “Are you putting together a track team or a hockey team?”

7. D Kyle Sheen (Kootenay, Kamloops, 1999-2004) will be bringing home at least one

souvenir from the 2014 IIHF Inline Hockey World Championship that opened Sunday in Pardubice, Czech Republic. . . . Sheen’s first goal in an IIHF competition gave Canada a 1-0 lead less than a minute into Monday’s game against Finland. However, the Finns came back for a 5-3 victory. . . . Canada, bronze medalists a year ago, had opened with a 3-1 victory over Germany on Saturday. . . . Canada (1-1) will meet Sweden on Tuesday. . . . Interestingly, F Ales Hemsky of the NHL’s Ottawa Senators has joined the Czech team. His father, Petr, is the head coach of the Czech side.


8. Hockey Canada has revealed that registration for the 2013-14 season was down 5,600 from the previous season. The number of boys played hockey in Canada decreased for a third straight season. . . . Meanwhile, the number of new players involved in soccer went up by 20,000. . . . Alan Maki of The Globe and Mail delves into why that is happening right here.

9. D Andrew Alberts’ hockey career may be over, but he’s not even thinking about that. All he wants right now is to experience one day without a headache. Iain MacIntyre of the Vancouver Sun has the story right here on what he calls “the NHL’s shame.”

10. Retired NFL star Dan Marino is part of a lawsuit filed against the NFL on May 28 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Yes, it has to do with concussions. As Massachusetts-based attorney Michael McCann, who writes on legal matters for Sports Illustrated, notes right here, these lawsuits aren’t going away any time soon.
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THE COACHING GAME:
Brandon West has been promoted to head coach of the BCHL’s Salmon Arm Silverbacks. He had been the associate coach under GM/head coach Troy Mick. . . . Mick now is the franchise’s governor, president and general manager. According to the BCHL constitution, a team’s head coach isn’t allowed to serve as governor. . . . Mick and West, who has been with Salmon Arm for three seasons, have worked together through the past two seasons.
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Tom Keca won’t be back as the assistant GM/assistant coach with the AJHL’s Fort McMurray Oil Barons. Curtis Hunt, the team’s new GM and head coach, made that revelation on Monday. Keca had been with the Oil Barons for nine seasons. . . . Hunt also said that Ryan Allen, the club’s other assistant coach, will be back. . . . Robert Murray of Fort McMurray Today has more right here.
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From the Vancouver Giants (@WHLGiants): “Be a part of our 2014/15 Dance Team! Auditions will take place on June 14 at the Coliseum. http://fb.me/2V4lENzyY”
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From Giants F Joel Hamilton (@Jhamilton181): “@WHLGiants I'm out of town until about mid august... Can I audition then? #jk”
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The Giants response: “We’ll hold a spot for you!”

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