F Brett Sonne (Calgary, 2004-09) has signed for the rest of this season with Frisk Asker (Norway, GET-Ligaen). This season, with Mora (Sweden, Allsvenskan), he had four goals and three assists in 35 games. He was released by Mora on Saturday by mutual agreement.
—-
An interesting take from Cam Hutchinson of the Saskatoon Express:
“Craig MacTavish can’t run one hockey team, so why is the incompetent general manager of the Edmonton Oilers trying to manage a whole league? His edict that the Prince Albert Raiders trade Leon Draisaitl to the Kelowna Rockets was way out of line. Raiders fans are denied the opportunity to watch a future NHL star, while MacTavish is picking favourites when it comes to the likelihood of winning the Western Hockey League championship. The Raiders should have told MacTavish to shove it.“
—-
On Friday night, the Vancouver Giants dealt F Johnny Wesley, 17, to the Lethbridge Hurricanes in exchange for F Zane Jones, 20. At the time, Wesley was with the BCHL’s Surrey Eagles. . . . Late Saturday morning, Brian Wiebe, who keeps both eyes on all things BCHL, tweeted that Wesley will be joining the Hurricanes.
—-
After Saturday’s trade deadline, the Hurricanes dropped F Brett Kitt, 18, from their roster. The Brandon native is expected to join the SJHL’s Flin Flon Bombers. Kitt was acquired from the Brandon Wheat Kings as part of the deal that had D Reid Duke and D Macoy Erkamps head east. . . . Kitt had two assists in 28 games with the Hurricanes.
—-
The Portland Winterhawks revealed Saturday that F Tyson Predinchuk, 19, and F Ethan Price, who turns 18 on Jan. 17, “have left the team to pursue hockey opportunities closer to their hometowns.” … Predinchuk, from Regina, had two goals and an assist in 20 games last season. This season, he had two goals and six assists in 33 games. He was a sixth-round selection by the Spokane Chiefs in the 2010 bantam draft. . . . Price, from Lincoln, Neb., is expected to join the USHL’s Lincoln Stars. He will be the first Lincoln native to play for the Stars. . . . He had four goals and four assists in 67 games last season. This season, he had four goals and five assists in 38 games. Portland selected him in the sixth round of the 2012 bantam draft.
—-
D Jesse Mills, 17, has left the Edmonton Oil Kings for personal reasons. The Oil Kings made the announced Saturday afternoon. . . . “Mills has chosen not to finish the 2014-15 season and has returned home to West Kelowna, B.C.,” the Oil Kings said in a news release. . . . Mills, a fourth-round selection in the 2012 bantam draft, had five assists in 35 games last season. This season, he had four assists in 29 games.
—-
It has been a year since the Kamloops Daily News died. The last edition was published on Jan. 11, 2014. . . . So what is life like in a city that includes more than 80,000 citizens but doesn’t have a daily newspaper. . . . Mel Rothenburger, a two-term mayor of Kamloops and longtime editor of The Daily News, sums it up right here.
—-
SATURDAY’S GAMES:
In Regina, F Kris Schmidli had two goals and an assist to lead the Prince Albert Raiders to a 6-5 victory over the Pats. . . . Schmidli has six points, three of them goals, in his last two games. . . . Schmidli was plus-4, as was D Dalton Yorke, who, like Schmidli, was acquired from Kelowna. Yorke had one assist. . . . The Raiders took a 4-3 lead into the second period and stretched that to 6-3 on second-period goals from F Jayden Hart, his 20th, and F Craig Leverton, his 15th. . . . The Pats got close when F Adam Brooks got his 17th at 16:44 of the third period and F Taylor Cooper completed his hat trick at 19:07. Cooper, who came over from the Lethbridge Hurricanes during the week, has 15 goals. . . . Cooper also had an assist, while Brooks and F Pavel Padakin had two each. . . . Raiders G Rylan Parenteau came on for Nick McBride after the first period and stopped 28 of 30 shots. . . . The Raiders (19-23-1) have won three in a row. . . . Regina(25-14-3) has lost two straight. . . . 
In Swift Current, the Everett Silvertips struck for three second-period power-play goals — on three consecutive PPs — and beat the Broncos, 3-1. . . . F Ivan Nikolishin, with his ninth, scored 33 seconds into the period, with D Noah Juulsen getting his fifth at 10:05 and F Patrick Bajkov getting No. 14 at 12:24. . . . Nikolishin also had two assists. . . . Broncos F Colby Cave scored his 20th goal at 15:23 of the second. . . . Everett was 3-for-6 on the PP; Swift Current was 0-for-4. . . . Everett G Carter Hart stopped 28 shots, seven more than Swift Current’s Travis Child. . . . F Carson Stadnyk had two assists for Everett. . . . Everett had D Kevin Davis back in the lineup after his missed the first five games of the trip with an undisclosed injury. . . . The Silvertips (26-12-4) went 5-1-0 on their East Division swing. . . . The Broncos, who entertain Edmonton today, slipped to 20-18-5. . . . 
In Moose Jaw, F Axel Blomqvist broke a 3-3 tie at 3:27 of the third period as the Warriors got past the Edmonton Oil Kings, 4-3. . . . The goal was Blomqvist’s 15th of the season and first with Moose Jaw since being acquired from the Victoria Royals. . . . Blomqvist also had an assist, while F Brayden Point drew two helpers. . . . The Oil Kings had successfully killed off 44 straight opposition power plays before F Brett Howden scored his 13th goal, at 16;47 of the second, to give the Warriors a 3-2 lead. . . . Edmonton F Brett Pollock tied it with his 18th goal at 2:40 of the third. . . . Edmonton D Ashton Sautner had two assists. . . . Warriors F Tanner Eberle got his 25th goal, shorthanded, at 10:17 of the second, giving his side a 2-1 lead. . . . “I’m hugely concerned with the number of penalties we take,” Edmonton head coach Steve Hamilton said on the team’s website. “We consistently have to kill off six or seven a night and I have a hard time arguing with the calls against, and we’ve been pretty lights out on our penalty kill for a good stretch here. . . . What hurt the most was the shorthanded goal against.” . . . Moose Jaw G Brody Willms made his second career start, and his first at home. He stopped 28 shots to earn his first WHL victory. . . . Edmonton F Davis Koch scored his fourth goal of the season; he’s got goals in three straight games. . . . The Warriors (17-23-4) had lost their previous three games. . . . The Oil Kings (20-17-5), who are in Swift Current for a late afternoon date, had a four-game winning streak end. . . . 
In Cranbrook, F Wyatt Sloboshan scored two second-period goals to help the Saskatoon Blades to a 6-4 victory over the Kootenay Ice. . . . Sloboshan, who has six goals, broke a 2-2 tie at 12:47. . . . Ice F Tim Bozon scored his 14th goal at 15:23 for a 3-3 tie. . . . Sloboshan then gave his side a 4-3 lead at 18:57. . . . Goals by F Cameron Hebig, his 10th, at 3:39 of the third, and F Sam McKechnie, his 15th, at 13:43, gave the visitors a 6-3 lead. . . . The teams combined for six second-period goals. . . . F Levi Cable scored twice for the Ice, giving him 19. . . . F Kolton Dixon had three assists for the Blades, while D Brycen Martin had a goal and an assist. . . . F Luke Philp had his 18th goal and two assists for the Ice. . . . Saskatoon G Brock Hamm, in his WHL debut, stopped 28 shots. . . . Ice G Keelan Williams, making his first start since Oct. 22 in Saskatoon, stopped 35 shots. G Wyatt Hoflin had appeared in a franchise-record 29 straight games. . . . Ice D Rinat Valiev (ill) missed his second straight game. . . . The Blades (10-29-3) had lost four straight. . . . The Ice (21-20-1) has lost three in a row. . . . Taylor Rocca of the Cranbrook Daily Townsman has a game story right here. . . .
In Lethbridge, F Adam Tambellini scored twice and added an assist to lead the Calgary Hitmen to a 5-3 victory over the Hurricanes. . . . Lethbridge F Brayden Burke gave his side a 2-0 lead with his first two goals, at 11:34 and 19:57 of the first period. The latter came via the PP. . . . The Hitmen then erupted for five second-period goals, with Tambellini in on three of them. He’s got 26 goals. . . . Calgary D Jake Bean, 16, scored his first goal in his 31st game. He also has 19 assists. Do they call him Mister Bean? . . . Burke, who turned 18 on Jan. 1, is from Edmonton. He also had an assist, giving him three points. In nine games with the Hurricanes, he had two goals and three assists. . . . G Giorgio Estephan scored his seventh goal and added two assists for the Hurricanes, who were outshot 42-16. . . . G Brendan Burke stopped 13 shots in his first start with Calgary since being acquired from Portland. . . . The Hitmen (23-15-4), who went 3-1-1 on a five-game trip, are 3-0-1 in their last four games. . . . The Hurricanes are 10-24-6. . . . The Hitmen are at home to Brandon this afternoon in a game that will be on Sportsnet. . . . 
In Red Deer, G Rylan Toth stopped 36 shots to spark the Rebels to a 6-1 victory over the Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . Toth turned aside 14 shots in the first period and 13 more in the second. . . . F Riley Sheen, F Preston Kopeck and F Connor Gay each scored twice for Red Deer, which scored three times in the first and three times in the third. . . . Sheen scored the game’s first two goals, giving him 12. Kopeck has 13; Gay has 22. . . . Kopeck has scored in three straight games after king 10 without a goal. . . . Gay and Kopeck added an assist apiece, while F Conner Bleackley drew two assists. . . . D Colton Waltz scored for Brandon, getting his fifth goal at 9:45 of the second period. . . . Wheat Kings G Alex Moodie stopped 20 shots. . . . Brandon had D Ivan Provorov after he missed six games while with Russia at the WJC. . . . Brandon F Rihards Bukarts returned after a one-game absence. . . . The Rebels (23-14-5) have won three in a row. . . . Brandon (29-9-4), which is in Calgary this afternoon, has lost two straight. . . . 
In Portland, F Oliver Bjorkstrand scored twice and added an assist to help the Winterhawks to a 5-3 victory over the Vancouver Giants. . . . Bjorkstrand, who has seven points over his last two games, has 25 goals. . . . F Alex Schoenborn broke a 2-2 tie for Portland with his 12th goal, on a PP, at 9:48 of the second period. . . . Bjorkstrand added insurance at 12:16, with a shorthanded score. . . . Vancouver F Zane Jones, acquired from the Lethbridge Hurricanes on Friday night, was in the Giants’ lineup and got his 19th goal at 15:47 of the second to get his guys to within one. . . . Bjorkstrand put it away at 15:23 of the third. . . . F Tyler Benson scored Vancouver’s first two goals, giving him 10. . . . Portland F Chase De Leo drew an assist to run his point streak to a career-high 17 games. . . . Portland F Evan Weinger had two assists. . . . Winterhawks G Adin Hill stopped 44 shots, 11 more than Vancouver’s Payton Lee. . . . Portland is still without F Nic Petan (ill). . . . The Winterhawks (23-18-3) have won two straight. . . . The Giants are 19-21-2. . . . 
In Kelowna, the Medicine Hat Tigers erased a 2-1 deficit with shorthanded goals 1:01 apart and went on to a 5-3 victory over the Rockets. . . . D Madison Bowey gave the Rockets a 2-1 lead with his ninth goal at 4:42 of the second period. . . . Tigers F Cole Sanford scored his 33rd goal, shorthanded, at 10:25, and F Markus Eisenschmid got his ninth, also shorthanded, at 11:26. . . . F Leon Draisaitl scored his third goal in as many games for Kelowna, this one tying the game at 3 on a 5-on-3 PP at 6:23 of the third. . . . Eisenschmid broke the tie with his 10th goal at 11:48, on a PP. . . . Sanford added insurance with an empty-netter at 19:34. . . . Eisenschmid, who played for Germany at the WJC, also had an assist, while F Trevor Cox and D Kyle Burroughs each had two. . . . Bowey also had two assists. . . . Medicine Hat G Marek Langhamer stopped 23 shots, four fewer than Kelowna’s Jackson Whistle. . . . Bowey and D Josh Morrissey were in the Rockets’ lineup together for the first time. Both played for Canada at the WJC. Morrissey made his Kelowna debut after being acquired from the Prince Albert Raiders on Dec. 10. They were presented with new golf clubs in a pregame ceremony. . . . Edmonton Oilers GM Craig MacTavish made the trip to Kelowna to watch Draisaitl. . . . The Tigers improved to 29-10-2. . . . The Rockets (33-7-3) had a four-game winning streak halted. . . . 
In Victoria, F Alex Forsberg scored three times to help the Royals to a 5-2 victory over the Prince George Cougars. . . . Forsberg was acquired from the Saskatoon Blades prior to the trade deadline. The Blades got him from the Cougars during the off-season. The Cougars selected Forsberg first overall in the 2010 bantam draft. . . . Forsberg has 16 goals this season. . . . The Royals had a 5-0 lead in the third period. . . . D Joe Hicketts and F Austin Carroll each had two assists for the Royals. . . . F Brad Morrison, with his 16th, and D Josh Connolly, with his sixth, scored for the Cougars. Connolly was playing his first game since being acquired from Kamloops. . . . Victoria was 3-for-6 on the PP; the Cougars were 1-for-7. . . . Royals G Justin Paulic stopped 27 shots, three fewer than Prince George’s Patrick Gora. . . . The Royals (22-19-3) have won two in a row. . . . The Cougars (20-23-1) have lost three straight (0-2-1). . . . 
In Spokane, the Chiefs scored the game’s first four goals and went on to a 5-2 victory over the Kamloops Blazers. . . . Spokane took a 3-0 lead into the first period with two of its early goals coming via the PP. . . . F Markson Bechtold got his fourth goal at 9:13 and F Liam Stewart got No. 15 at 18:50. . . . In between, F Devon McAndrews scored his third goal of the season. After scoring three times in his first 62 WHL games, 54 of them with the Tri-City Americans, he has three in his last two games. . . . The Blazers scored twice in the second period — F Jesse Zaharichuk, with his second, at 7:27, and F Cole Ully, with his 19th, at 9:18 — but couldn’t get closer. . . . Spokane F Adam Helewka scored his 24th goal to run his scoring streak to seven games. . . . The Blazers held a 31-21 edge in shots. . . . Kamloops F Logan McVeigh played in his 300th regular-season game. He has played 126 games with Kamloops, 28 with the Regina Pats, 76 with the Medicine Hat Tigers and 70 with the Prince Albert Raiders. He has 137 points, including 51 goals. . . . The Chiefs are 23-15-3. . . . The Blazers slid to 14-24-6.---
A message from my 8-yr-old: Dear @blazerhockey, Thank you for not trading @ColeUlly and @rehill24. From, Eddie pic.twitter.com/NAGoUGZbaI
— Spencer E Hodes (@SpeMcKBros) January 10, 2015
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.
D Kenton Smith (Calgary, 1995-2000) signed a two-week tryout contract with the Braehead Clan Glasgow (Scotland, UK Elite). He had three goals and 16 assists in 59 games with the Cardiff Devils (Wales, UK Elite) last season. According to the club, the tryout is to cover a “slight knock” picked up by D Ray Macias (Kamloops, 2002-07). . . .
All three members of what was at times the best forward line in the WHL last season now have signed NHL contracts. RW JC Lipon of the Kamloops Blazers signed a three-year, two-way entry-level deal with the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday after being a third-round selection in the 2013 draft. . . . Lipon, from Regina, played on a line with C Colin Smith, a seventh-round pick by the Colorado Avalanche in 2012, who has signed, and LW Tim Bozon, a third-round selection by the Montreal Canadiens in 2012, who also has signed. . . . Lipon and Smith both are 20, so are eligible to play in the AHL if they don’t make an NHL roster. Lipon could end up with the St. John’s Ice Caps, while Smith would play for the Cleveland-based Lake Erie Monsters. . . . Bozon, 19, will attend Montreal’s camp, but if he doesn’t make the Canadiens he has to be returned to Kamloops. . . . Last season, Smith had 106 points, including 41 goals, in 72 games, while Bozon put up 91 points, 36 of them goals, in 69 games. Lipon, who missed some time while with Canada’s national junior team, finished with 89 points, including 36 goals, in 61 games.
The Seattle Thunderbirds have signed F Kaden Elder and F Nolan Volcan to WHL contracts. . . . Elder, from Saskatoon, was selected with the 22nd pick of the 2013 bantam draft. He had 64 points in 33 games with the bantam AA Notre Dame Hounds last season. . . . Volcan, from Edmonton, was taken with the draft’s 27th selection. He had 76 points, including 40 goals, in 32 games with the bantam AAA Edmonton Maple Leaf Athletic Club team last season. His father, Marty, is a former WHLer (Portland, Seattle Breakers, Victoria Cougars, 1984-86).
The Tri-City Americans had a busy day as they signed three players to WHL deals. . . . F Jordan Topping, from Salt Spring Island, B.C., is a 16-year-old who had 17 points in 40 games with the North Island Silvertips of the B.C. Major Midget League last season. He was an eighth-round selection in the 2012 bantam draft and is the seventh draft pick to sign with the Americans. He is not related to D Mitch Topping, who is Tri-City’s captain. . . . The Americans also signed D Dylan Coghlan of Nanaimo, B.C., to a contract. Coghlan was a third-round selection in the 2013 bantam draft. He had 40 points in 34 games with the bantam AAA Nanaimo Clippers. . . . Later in the day, the Americans announced the signing of F Michael Sauer, 16, from Bemidji, Minn. He played last season for Bemidji High School, putting up 30 points in 25 games. He has been on Tri-City’s list since March.
The Portland Winterhawks have signed F Ethan Price, 16, who played last season with the Omaha Lancers AAA U-16 team in the North American Prospects League. He had 38 points in 22 games. . . . From Lincoln, Neb., Price was a sixth-round pick in the 2012 WHL bantam draft. . . . From the Winterhawks’ news release: “Price is the latest highly rated American-born player to join the Winterhawks in recent seasons, including current ’Hawks Paul Bittner (Minnesota), Brendan Burke (Arizona), Chase De Leo (California), Josh Hanson (Alaska), Keegan Iverson (Minnesota), Alex Schoenborn (North Dakota), Keoni Texeira (California) and Dominic Turgeon (Colorado). Apart from Hanson, each of those players has at least three years of WHL eligibility remaining.”
Posts
