Kisio latest to head for Vegas . . . Royals add assistant coach . . . More signings, exhibition games

F J.T. Barnett (Vancouver, Kamloops, Everett, Kelowna, 2008-13) has signed a one-year contract with CSKA Moscow (Russia, KHL). Last season, with the Atlanta Gladiators (ECHL), he had five goals and eight assists in 35 games.

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Another long-time WHL executive is on his way to the NHL.

Kelly Kisio, who had been with the Calgary Hitmen for 18 years and part of the Calgary Flames for 23 years, has joined the NHL’s expansion Las Vegas franchise as a pro scout. Most recently, Kisio has

After 18 years with the Calgary Hitmen, Kelly Kisio is
on his way to the NHL as a pro scout.(Calgary Hitmen photo)

been the Hitmen’s president of hockey operations and alternate governor. For four seasons (2004-08), Kisio was Calgary’s general manager and head coach. He also is a former WHL and NHL player, who played 13 seasons in the NHL.

Kisio follows good friend Kelly McCrimmon, the long-time owner, general manager and head coach of the Brandon Wheat Kings, and Tim Speltz, the veteran GM of the Spokane Chiefs, to the NHL. McCrimmon now is the assistant GM with Las Vegas; Speltz is the Toronto Maple Leafs’ director of western scouting.

“There were a lot of sleepless nights deciding whether I wanted to leave after 23 years,” Kisio told Scott Fisher of the Calgary Sun. “I haven’t had a chance to sit back and reflect on it, but I’ve been thinking about (the move) quite a bit.

“I competed against (McCrimmon) here for a long, long time. And I played with (Las Vegas GM George McPhee), so it looks like it will be a great fit.”

Fisher’s story is right here.

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The Victoria Royals have signed G Brock Gould, who won’t turn 15 until Dec. 11. Gould, who is from Colorado Springs, Colo., was an eighth-round pick by the Royals in the 2016 bantam draft. Gould, 6-foot-3 and 155 pounds, played last season with the Colorado Thunderbirds (T1EH14), going 4-1-0, 1.40, .935 with two shutouts in six games.

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The Portland Winterhawks have signed F Connor Bowie, F Easton Easterson and F Ty Kolle to WHL contracts. All three are on the Winterhawks’ roster as they open their exhibition schedule at a tournament in Everett this weekend. . . . Bowie, from Fort St. John, B.C., was a seventh-round selection in the 2016 bantam draft. Last season, he had 62 points, including 39 goals, in 28 games with the Fort St. John Northern Metallic Flyers of the Edmonton Rural Bantam Hockey League. . . . Kolle, a 16-year-old from Kamloops, was a fourth-round pick in the 2015 bantam draft. Last season, with the Prince George-based Cariboo Cougars of the B.C. Major Midget League, he had 29 points, 11 of them goals, in 40 games. . . . Easterson, 16, is from Canyon Country, Calif. He was an invitee to training camp and has had a good showing. Last season, with the U-16 Los Angeles Junior Kings of the Tier 1 Elite Hockey League, he had 28 points, 20 of them goals, in 49 games.

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The Vancouver Giants have signed G Trent Miner, 15, to a WHL contract. Miner, from Brandon, was a first-round selection in the 2016 bantam draft. Last season, in 27 games with the bantam AAA Wheat Kings, he was 23-3-0, 1.52 with five shutouts. . . . As an aside, Glen Hanlon, the Giants’ first-year general manager, is from Brandon. He played his minor hockey there before going on to play in the WHL with the Wheat Kings.

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The Medicine Hat Tigers have signed D Cameron MacPhee, 17, of Edmonton to a WHL contract. Last season, the 6-foot-1, 180-pounder had one goal and four assists in 22 games with the midget AAA South Side Athletic Club Athletics.

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The Prince Albert Raiders have signed F Nikita Krivokrasov, 16, to a WHL contract. Krivokrasov, who lives in Westminster, Colo., had seven points, including two goals, in 20 games with the U-16 Rocky Mountain Roughriders last season. He will turn 16 on Dec. 23. . . . He is an undrafted list player. . . . Krivokrasov, who is a native of Moscow, Russia, played some minor hockey in North America — he moved over here at the age of 9 — so isn’t classified as an import player. He is the son of F Sergei Krivokrasov, who played in 450 NHL games after being a first-round pick by the Chicago Blackhawks in the 1992 draft.

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The MJHL’s Portage Terriers have acquired the rights to D Jordan Thomson, 20, from the SJHL’s Notre Dame Hounds for the rights to D Caleb Boman, who turns 19 on Nov. 4. . . . Thomson played 205 regular-season WHL games, split between the Kamloops Blazers, who took him fourth overall in the 2011 bantam draft, Saskatoon Blades, Swift Current Broncos and Brandon Wheat Kings. From Wawanesa, Man., Thomson played 46 regular-season and 21 playoff games with Brandon last season as the Wheat Kings won the WHL championship. Last week, before the Wheat Kings opened training camp, Thomson said he wouldn’t return, that he was working and contemplating going to school in Brandon. . . . According to portageonline.com, Thomson “is considering playing for the Terriers.”

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The Victoria Royals have added Doug Bodger as an assistant coach. From Chemainus, B.C., Bodger spent last season as an assistant coach with the Shawinigan Lake bantam prep team in the Canadian Sport School Hockey League. He also has worked as an assistant coach with the BCHL’s Cowichan Valley Capitals. Bodger, 50, played 16 years of pro hockey after playing in the WHL with the Kamloops Junior Oilers (1982-84). . . . In Victoria, he will work alongside head coach Dave Lowry and assistant coach Dan Price.

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The Seattle Thunderbirds have signed D Tyson Terretta, 16, who is from High Riverd, Alta. Last season, he had one goal and 20 assists in 37 games with the midget AAA Rockyview Raiders of the Alberta Minor Midget League. . . . He was a sixth-round pick in the 2015 bantam draft.

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The Everett Silvertips have signed D Carter Brown, F Orrin Centazzo, F Brandson Hein, D Ian Walker and D Kyle Walker to WHL deals. . . . Brown, from Edmonton, was selected by the Saskatoon Blades in the 10th round of the 2013 bantam draft. He will turn 18 on Oct. 17. He was limited to one game with the midget AAA Knights of Columbus Pats last season. In 2014-15, he had one assists in 27 games with the midget AAA Maple Leaf Athletic Club Maple Leafs. . . . Centazzo, from Marwayne, Alta., was a fifth-round pick in the 2015 bantam draft. Last season, the 16-year-old had 53 points, 30 of them goals, in 37 games with the minor midget Lloydminster, Alta., Rage. . . . Hein, from Winnipeg, had 48 points, including 23 goals, in 33 games with the midget AAA Winnipeg Thrashers last season. Hein, who will turn 18 on Sept. 27, is a listed player. . . . Ian Walker, a 16-year-old from Vancouver, was a third-round selection in the 2015 bantam draft. Last season, with the Burnaby Winter Club Elite 15s, he had 17 points, including 15 assists, in 35 games. . . . Kyle Walker, from Leduc, Alta., is a listed player who had 44 points, including four goals, in 37 games with the minor midget AAA Leduc Oil Kings. He led the Alberta Minor Midget League’s defencemen in points.

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The OHL’s Hamilton Bulldogs want in on the bidding to play host to the 2018 Memorial Cup tournament, which will celebrate the trophy’s 100th anniversary. Scott Radley of the Hamilton Spectator reports that the Bulldogs will make it official with an announcement on Thursday. . . . The WHL’s Regina Pats, who also will be celebrating 100 years, have said that they will be putting together a bid, too. . . . In the OHL, the Oshawa Generals and Ottawa 67’s have said they are interested in getting involved. . . . Radley’s story is right here.

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Got a tip or some information you feel could be useful to me, feel free to email me at greggdrinnan@gmail.com.

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Regan Bartel, the veteran radio voice of the Kelowna Rockets, reports that the team has hired Adam Brown, 24, as its “eye in the sky in the press box at home games.” Brown also will “help out with the goaltenders.” . . . Brown, a goaltender, played four seasons (2008-12) with the Rockets before going on to a brief pro career. He retired after playing last season in Sweden. Born in Houghton, Mich., he is the son of Newell Brown, who is preparing for his 20th season as an NHL assistant coach. 

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FRIDAY’S GAMES:

In Everett, F Evan Weigner had a goal and two assists to lead the Portland Winterhawks to a 4-3 victory over the Tri-City Americans. The Winterhawks built a 4-0 early second-period lead and hung on for the victory. . . . F Curtis Miske had two goals and an assist, while F Kailer Yamamoto, the team captain, drew three assists, as the Spokane Chiefs beat the Vancouver Giants, 5-3. F Thomas Foster had two goals and an assist for the Giants, who lost D Dmitry Osipov to a boarding major and game misconduct at 18:38 of the second period. . . . The Seattle Thunderbirds built a 3-0 lead en route to a 3-1 victory over the Everett Silvertips. D Jarret Tyszka and F Nick Holowko each had a goal and an assist for Seattle. . . .

In Red Deer, D Shaun Dosanjh scored at 4:59 of OT as the Prince George Cougars beat the Calgary Hitmen, 5-4. F Ethan O’Rourke had pulled the Cougars even at 15:57 of the third period. F Jesse Gabrielle had two goals for the Cougars. Hitmen F Vladislav Yeryomenko had two goals and an assist. Calgary D Jackson van de Leest left with a checking-from-behind major and game misconduct at 19:59 of the third. . . . F Michael Spacek had two goals and two assists to lead the Red Deer Rebels to a 6-1 victory over the Edmonton Oil Kings. D Alexander Alexeyev and F Brandon Hagel each added a goal and two assists. . . . 

In Regina, the Saskatoon Blades scored three times in the shootout and beat the Swift Current Broncos, 4-3. The Blades trailed 3-0 after one period, but scored three times for a 3-3 tie. F Cameron Hausinger forced OT with a PP goal at 10:08 of the third period. He also had an assist. Broncos D Artyom Minulin had two assists, giving him five in two games. . . . The Regina Pats broke a 1-1 tie with five second-period goals and went on to a 7-2 victory over the Prince Albert Raiders. F Riley Woods, F Erik Gardner and D Connor Hobbs each had a goal and an assist for the Pats, who got two assists from each of F Jake Leschyshyn and F Nick Henry. . . . 

In Kamloops, F Dante Hannoun scored three times, the last one into an empty net, as the Victoria Royals beat the Blazers, 5-3. The Royals took a 3-0 lead in the first period, only to have the Blazers score three second-period goals, two from F Matt Revel. Victoria F Tyler Soy broke the tie at 15:05 of the second. . . .

In Coaldale, Alta., F James Hamblin scored three times and added an assist to lead the Medicine Hat Tigers to a 7-5 victory over the Lethbridge Hurricanes. F Gary Haden had two goals for the Tigers, with F Ryan Jevne notching one goal and adding two helpers. F Jordy Bellerive scored twice for Lethbridge. . . . Prior to the game, organizers saluted former WHL/NHL player Stacy Roest, who was born in Lethridge and raised in Coaldale. Roest, 42, is the director of player development with the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning.

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#OilKings first: first time brothers have played together for the team pic.twitter.com/Ox1ju6ddiL

— Edmonton Oil Kings (@EdmOilKings) September 2, 2016

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Merry Christmas to all . . .

Dorothy's Christmas Village.

Allow me to tell you a 2014 Christmas story . . .
It was the afternoon of Dec. 8.
Dorothy, aka Wonder Woman, was undergoing some tests at Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops.
I was doing some Christmas shopping at Aberdeen Mall.
Upon arrival, I pulled into a parking spot on the mall’s south side. I wandered the mall for about 90 minutes, stopped for coffee in the food court, then decided to return to our car.
As I walked toward it, I noticed a woman preparing to get into the passenger side of a car parked beside it. But something told me she was standing further from our car than she should have been.
Upon further review, it was evident that our car was in the spot at about a 35-degree angle.
“Hmm,” I thought, “I don’t remember parking like that.”
Puzzled, I got into the car and started it. But the more I thought about it, the more I knew I hadn’t parked like that. So I got out and did a walk-around.
Sure enough. The right front corner had been drilled. Hard. There was hole right through the bumper. The headlight assembly was out of whack, with the headlight now pointing down and to the right. There also was a huge scratch across it. Clips that hold the quarter panel to the bumper were broken, so the panel was hanging loose. There was a hole in the black guard over the tire in the wheel well.
I looked around at cars parked near me, but there was nothing that pointed to anything. The woman beside me asked if something was wrong. I told her someone had hit the car but that there wasn’t much I could do about it.
There wasn’t a note on the windshield. Nothing. Which meant that I would be on the hook for the insurance deductible.
You’re right. I was not a happy Christmas shopper.
Later, upon arriving home, I called ICBC (for non-Left Coasters, that is the Insurance Corporation of B.C.). Because it was a hit-and-run, it had to be phoned in; it couldn’t be dealt with via the Internet.
The pleasant voice on the other end of the phone led me through the procedure, starting a claim file and asking all of the right questions. Near the end, she said she would place me on hold while she checked to see if anyone had called it in.
I have a feeling that she could feel my scepticism bubbling as she assured me that sometimes happens.
Moments later, she was back.
“I have some good news for you,” she said.
Indeed, a woman had called ICBC to report that she had hit two cars in the mall parking lot, one of those being mine. In calling, she apparently said that she had neither pen nor paper so wasn’t able to leave notes on the cars involved.
Suddenly, the day had gotten a whole lot brighter even though darkness had long since settled over the South Thompson River valley. Yes, there are people out there who will do the right thing.
Our car has since been in for an estimate -- at least $2,500 and likely more once they take the bumper, headlight assembly and quarter panel off -- and repairs will take place starting on Jan. 19.
In the meantime, we are able to drive it, although I wouldn’t think about taking it over the Coquihalla Highway to Vancouver.
So if you see a car coming your way with a headlight pointing down and to the right, feel free to wave.
In the meantime, may the spirit of Christmas shine on you and yours.
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From the Dec. 25, 1986 edition of the Los Angeles Times comes another wonderful Christmas column. This one, by Al Martinez, is all about a little boy, a city editor and some peaches. . . . It’s right here.
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It was a Merry Christmas for Kelly Kisio 27 years ago as he was named captain of the @NYRangers. pic.twitter.com/lprPTKn8A7
— O-Pee-Chee Stars (@opeecheestars) December 24, 2014

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The CHL made it official on Tuesday.
Teams will be allowed to select European goaltenders born in 1994 or 1995 only in the first round of its 2013 import draft. And they won’t be allowed to select them at all, beginning in 2014.
This is just wrong on so many fronts, not the least of which is the competition factor.
Major junior hockey is seen as being one step below the NHL. For 40 years, coaches have talked about the need for competitive training camps and wanting competition at the goaltending position. The theory being that competition only pushes elite athletes to be better.
If you are one level below the NHL, and if you are charging admission to your games, you absolutely should be trying to give your fans the best talent for their entertainment dollar.
But that’s not the case any more. The CHL cannot look its fans in the eye and, with a straight face, make the claim that it is working to ice the best possible product.
Someone should be embarrassed.
As someone pointed out, it’s a good thing that Canadian centremen aren’t being embarrassed by Euros in the faceoff circle.
And someone else mentioned that this is like Major League Baseball banning Dominican shortstops because there aren’t enough Americans in the big leagues at that position.
Yes, it is absolutely ridiculous and really, really short-sighted.
Like so many other things in Canadian hockey, goaltender development has to start in minor hockey.
With Hockey Canada’s decision to ban body checking in peewee hockey and below, perhaps it’s time to take a long, hard look at what is going on in Canadian minor hockey.
Perhaps it’s time to make a concerted effort to get rid of checking from behind and headshots.
Perhaps it’s time to make a concerted effort to get back to skill development. Fewer games. Fewer road trips. Fewer tournaments. More practices.
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Perhaps it’s time for Hockey Canada to share some of its wealth with the parents of aspiring goaltenders. Sunaya Sapurji of Yahoo! Sports details right here what it costs to outfit a minor hockey goaltender. Hey, my son wouldn’t be playing goal, not at that cost.
There also are some great comments in here from Detroit Red Wings goaltender coach Jim Bedard. Including this: “How about be better? Be better than them. In the NHL we can’t have import goalies eventually because we want to make sure that Timmy and Tommy and Bobby and Billy get a chance to play? If you’re not good enough, you’re not good enough. That’s the way it goes.”
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Kevin Woodley of InGoalMag.com takes a look right here at the CHL’s decision to get European goaltenders off its teams’ rosters. . . . There are a few statements here that just jumped off the computer screen as I was reading. . . . 1. “The Swedes and Finns both have a comprehensive national goaltending development plans. Canada has none.” . . . 2. “Goaltenders who have attended recent (Hockey Canada Program of Excellence) goalie camps said afterwards they were often told to do something one way at one station, and then the opposite way by a different coach at another station.” . . . 3. “The national models in Finland and Sweden are not just designed to develop better goalies, but also to develop better goaltending coaches right down to the grassroots level. It is about sharing knowledge and ideas to consistently improve and evolve, ideals that are hard to replicate in a Canadian system dominated by private, often insular, goalie schools.” . . . 4. “InGoal also had one former WHL goalie coach say that he learned a lot working with a European goalie that came over to the WHL years ago.”
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Chris Peters, over at The United States of Hockey, has his take on the CHL’s decision to rid itself of European goaltenders, too. That piece is right here.
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Just a thought, but goal scoring hasn’t been what it used to be for a number of years now. Perhaps the CHL could ban all coaches who employ anything that resembles a trapping defence.
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The Calgary Hitmen have restructured part of their front office. . . . Kelly Kisio, who had been vice-president, alternate governor and general manager, now is president of hockey operations and alternate governor. . . . Mike Moore, who had been director of business operations, has been promoted to general manager and vice-president of business operations. . . . Kisio had been the club’s GM since 1998, during which time the team has averaged 42 victories per season and won two Ed Chynoweth Cups (1999, 2010). . . . Moore, a former GM with the Kamloops Blazers and Medicine Hat Tigers, has been with the Hitmen since 2008. (He actually rejoined them, having served as assistant GM in 1997-98 before moving on to Kamloops.) . . . If you’re a WHL general manager and want to make a trade with the Hitmen, you call Moore. He’s now the man.
Scott Fisher of the Calgary Sun has more right here.
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THE COACHING GAME:
The Everett Silvertips have called a news conference for Thursday, 2 p.m. PT, at which time a new head coach will be introduced. . . . That coach is expected to be Kevin Constantine, who will be returning for a second go-round with the Silvertips.

Aaron Wilbur has been named head coach of the Burnaby Winter Club’s Hockey Academy prep team. Among other interests, Wilbur spent this season as head coach of the junior B Richmond Sockeyes, who won the Pacific International junior league championship. . . . Wilbur also co-founded The Coaches Site – there is a link over there on the right – and is the head instructor at the Vancouver Hockey School. . . . The BWC’s academy teams – the prep team and the elite 15 team coached by Leland Mack – are scheduled to play in the Canadian Sports Schools Hockey League.
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From Mark Edwards (MarkEdwardsHP): “CHL goalie import rule is ridiculous. You can't claim to be the best junior league in the world without the best players.”
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From TSN’s Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger): “I'm all for developing North American goalies. However, if I were a CHL owner I would want freedom to utilize global resources to win games.”
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From WHL Facts (@WHLFacts): “15.08% - The percentage of the total minutes played this season by Import Goaltenders in the WHL (14,432 of 95,694)”
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More from WHL Facts: “3.06 - The WHL's combined GAA for the 2012-13 reg season... If you removed the Import Goaltender stats, that number would increase to 3.12”
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From Shawn Mullin (@shawnmullin), the radio voice of the Swift Current Broncos: “I'm very disappointed to hear the CHL's decision on European goaltenders. It won't help Canadian goalies... just hurt the leagues involved.”
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More from Shawn Mullin: “If they think moving a few Jr A goaltenders up to the CHL every year will fix our national goaltending problem they're kidding themselves”
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From Adam Lowry (@ALowsyPlayer17) of the Swift Current Broncos: “Disappointed with the news about Import goalies being phased out of the CHL. We were privileged to have one of the best @eetu41 #suomi”
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From Red Deer Rebels G Patrik Bartosak (@PBartosak35), who is from Czech Republic: “@eetu41 it´s interesting how they talk about being the best, but when it comes to battleing with Euros, they want to ban us. Interesting”
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From Swift Current Broncos G Eetu Laurikainen (@eetu41), who is from Finland: “@PBartosak35 Yeap I don't how many people even want this rule to #CHL.. Well I don't that's for sure.”


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THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Josiah Anderson (Kelowna, 2005-06) signed a contract for the rest of this season with Bad Nauheim (Germany, Oberliga) after a successful two-week tryout. He was pointless in two games during the tryout. Anderson last played in 2009-10, when he had one goal and four assists in 49 games with the Hannover Indians (Germany, 2. Bundesliga).
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Chris Clark, the assistant coach with the NAHL’s Wenatchee Wild, is all over the Internet after his Saturday night live performance.
Right here is a look at what Deadspin came up with, and make sure you check the comments.
Meanwhile, Chris Dilks, over at westerncollegehockeyblog.com, posted a link on his blog, too. If you visit there, you also will find a a link to what he refers to as “the greatest coach-on-the-ice moment ever.”
A cursory glance shows that Clark made it on sites belonging to USA Today, The Guardian, CBS Sports, diehardsports.com, ESPN, The Daily Mail and on and on.
And you just know that we’ll see this clip again and again when December arrives and the TV people are doing their year-in-review shows. Which means we’ll get to laugh all over again.
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D Ayrton Nikkel of the Everett Silvertips will be gone for up to two months after suffering ligament damage in a hand during a scrap with F Ryan Hanes of the host Prince George Cougars on Saturday. . . . Nikkel was acquired from the Brandon Wheat Kings at the Jan. 10 trade deadline. . . . The Silvertips also are without veteran D Austin Adams (concussion). . . . Nick Patterson of the Everett Herald also reports that Everett F Ryan Harrison suffered a concussion last week and won’t play tonight against the visiting Portland Winterhawks.
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The WHL has suspended D Tyler Stahl, the captain of the Victoria Royals, for eight games. That comes after he took a headshot major in a 6-4 victory over the visiting Vancouver Giants on Friday night. . . . This is Stahl’s third suspension this season. When it’s over, he will have sat out 16 games while under suspension. Earlier, he sat out six games for a headshot.
Stahl missed Saturday’s rematch with the Giants and won’t play tonight against the visiting Prince Albert Raiders. Cleve Dheensaw of the Victoria Times Colonist reports that F Alex Gogolev, the reigning WHL and CHL player of the week, didn’t practise on Monday but that head coach Dave Lowry “quipped to reports that he may just be keeping his leading scorer ‘rested and fresh.’ ” . . . Victoria F Ben Walker (concussion) may return tonight after missing 11 games.
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There is some ch-ch-ching on the WHL’s disciplinary site, too. . . . Calgary GM Kelly Kisio got touched for $500 after exchanging post-game greetings with the on-ice officials following a 6-4 loss to the Hurricanes in Lethbridge on Friday. . . . The Moose Jaw Warriors and Swift Current Broncos each tossed $500 into the pot for a line brawl that took place in Swift Current on Saturday night. The Warriors won that game, 5-2. . . . There could still be more coming, too, because there’s nothing there from Sunday’s game in which Lethbridge lost 7-1 to the Oil Kings in Edmonton. That one included a line brawl that featured battling goaltenders.
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MONDAY’S GAME:
In Kamloops, the Blazers scored the game’s last three goals, all on the PP, and beat the Kelowna Rockets, 6-5. . . . Kamloops F Colin Smith tied the game with 21.4 seconds left in the third period and F Chase Souto won it on a re-direction with 15 seconds left in OT. . . . Smith, F Brendan Ranford and F JC Lipon each had a goal and two assists for Kamloops. . . . F Myles Bell scored twice for the Rockets, who are 14-0-2 in their last 16 games. . . . It was Kelowna’s first appearance in Kamloops since Opening Night.
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From Swift Current Broncos F Denis Bosc (@DenisBosc): “Had the pleasure of getting yelled at today by legend himself #tiger Williams for not passing the puck hard enough #stillhas it”

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Blazers to see both sides now

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
The Kamloops Blazers are going to get a taste of the best and the worst the WHL’s Eastern Conference has to offer this weekend.
For starters, the Blazers will face the high-flying Saskatoon Blades tonight at Interior Savings Centre.
The Blades come in with a 20-6-1 record. They lead the Eastern Conference by one point, over the Kootenay Ice, and are just four points behind the Portland Winterhawks, who have the WHL’s best record.
Saskatoon, 8-1-1 in its last 10 outings, also has won three straight games, including a 2-1 victory over the Giants in Vancouver on Tuesday and a 7-3 triumph over the Bruins in Chilliwack on Wednesday.
At the other end of the WHL’s spectrum are the Calgary Hitmen, who visit Interior Savings Centre on Saturday. They are the WHL’s defending champions, but have fallen on hard times — really hard times — this season.
One year ago, the Hitmen were on their way to a WHL-leading 117-point regular season. They went into last night at 6-20-1. They are the first team to 20 losses this season and already are 11 points out of a playoff spot.
Calgary opened this road trip by falling 4-3 to the Prince George Cougars on Wednesday. Tonight, the Hitmen, who have lost four in a row, are in Vancouver to play the Giants. After Saturday, Calgary is to head home for a Wednesday game against the Edmonton Oil Kings.
"I don't sleep very well even when we're winning,'' Kelly Kisio, Calgary’s general manager, told columnist George Johnson of the Calgary Herald the other day. "So now, with what's been happening this season . . .
"Ask my wife, I'm spending a lot of nights on the couch watching TV because I can't drift off. I'll watch anything. Gawd, there's a lot of rotten stuff on late-night TV these days. People selling frying pans and all sorts of things.
"I'm actually kind of surprised I haven't called up and bought anything yet.''
If he was able to buy a scorer, you can’t bet Kisio would have pulled out his credit card. The Hitmen have scored 69 goals in 27 games and only the Everett Silvertips (68 in 27) have been worse on offence.
And then you have the Blazers who, after winning three in a row in Alberta (Oct. 20-23), have gone 6-7-0, with two of the victories coming via the shootout and another in overtime.
That leaves them at 13-13-1 which, going into Friday’s games, had them tied for eighth place in the 10-team Western Conference. However, nine of the 10 teams are within six points of each other.
The Blazers didn’t gain any ground in November, as they went 5-6-0 despite getting big-time production from the line of Chase Schaber between Brendan Ranford and Jordan DePape.
Ranford, who leads the WHL with 24 goals, put up 22 points in 10 games — he missed one game with a suspension. Included in Ranford’s November were six three-point outings.
Schaber, who sat out a three-game suspension, picked up 14 points in eight games and takes an 11-game point streak into tonight’s game. That is the longest active streak in the league today.
DePape, who is showing all the signs of being an offensively streaky player, earned 16 points in the month’s 11 games, with 14 of those points coming in five games.
That line scored 21 of the Blazers’ 38 goals in November, so you know where the Blades and Hitmen will be putting their defensive focus this weekend.
JUST NOTES: The puck drops for both games at 7 p.m. . . . Kamloops D Josh Caron, who hasn’t played since breaking his collarbone on Sept. 25, won’t play this weekend. He may return Dec. 10 against the visiting Swift Current Broncos. . . . G Jeff Bosch (9-4-0, 3.59, .892) is expected to start in goal for the Blazers tonight. . . . Kamloops F JC Lipon is eligible to return tonight after serving a four-game WHL-issued suspension for his part in an incident in Portland on Nov. 20. . . . The Blazers have given up one shorthanded goal in each of their last three games. . . . Saskatoon F Lukas Sutter has three goals in four games since Saskatoon StarPhoenix sports writer Cory Wolfe did a story on what was then a 23-game drought. . . . The Blades have been without F Marek Viedensky, who is one of their top forwards. The 20-year-old, who has missed six games with a concussion, has 31 points, including 13 goals, in 21 games. Whether he plays tonight will be a game-time decision.

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

ALESSIO BERTAGGIA

It seems there is a second WHL team with a roster that doesn’t include even one player who was acquired via the trade route.
A note from Dave Trimmer of the Spokane Spoksman-Review points out that the Spokane Chiefs are carrying 23 players, with 12 of them acquired in the bantam draft, two in the CHL import draft and nine by being listed.
When the season began, D Bruin McDonald was on the Chiefs’ roster and he had been acquired from the Prince George Cougars. However, he was released early in the season and now is with the BCHL’s Victoria Grizzlies.
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F C.J. Stretch (Kamloops, 2005-10) is with the ECHL’s Ontario Reign, waiting for the opportunity to get more playing time and working on his defensive play and playing without the puck. There’s more right here.

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Alessio Bertaggia is back in the news (thanks to @ukrainetzd for the tweet). . . . With the Swiss Ice Hockey Federation having released the names of the 28 players it is considering for its national junior team roster, I was interested only in forwards Sven Bartschi and Nino Niederreiter of the Portland Winterhawks. Yes, both of them are on that roster, as expected. . . . But I forgot all about Alessio Bertaggia, who was the subject of some attention in these parts about three months ago. . . . You may recall that it was Bertaggia who somehow, despite not having been selected in the CHL import draft, made his way to Portland and was on the ice during the Winterhawks’ training camp. . . . In the end, the WHL disciplined the Winterhawks, thus ending another colourful chapter in league history, The Saga of Red No. 23. . . . Anyway, Bertaggia is on that 28-player roster. . . .
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Some countries have released national junior team preliminary rosters that include WHL players. . . .
The Czech Republic roster includes Marek Hrbas (Edmonton Oil Kings) and David Musil (Vancouver Giants) among its 13 defencemen. The preliminary roster also features 21 forwards, including Antonin Honejsek (Moose Jaw Warriors), Roman Horak (Chilliwack Bruins) and Robin Soudek (Chilliwack). . . .
Slovakia will open a camp in Bratislava on Monday. The 23-player roster for this camp doesn’t include any WHL players. The Slovaks will trim that number to 15 and open another selection camp in Jamestown, N.Y., on Dec. 16. . . . The Slovaks will add eight CHL players to their roster for that camp, and then will play pre-tournament games against Norway (Dec. 21) and Russia (Dec. 23). . . .
Germany’s preliminary roster includes F Marcel Noebels (Seattle) and F Bernhard Keil (Kamloops). Germany will open a short camp in Fussen on Dec. 15 and then set up shop in Buffalo/Niagara Falls, on Dec. 18. . . .
Finland will open a camp in Vierumaki, Dec. 12-16, before moving to Toronto on Dec. 18. . . .
F Mark Mieritz of the Brandon Wheat Kings will play for Denmark at the IIHF Division 1, Group B U-20 championship in Slovenia, Dec. 12-18. Mieritz, who has six points in 27 games with the Wheat Kings, will play two games this weekend and then leave for home.
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The 2012 World Women’s curling championship will be played in Lethbridge, March 17-25. That will put the Hurricanes on the road as the WHL regular season winds down or early in the first round of the playoffs. You may recall that the World championship was decided in Swift Current last spring, with the Broncos playing first-round ‘home’ games in Regina. . . . The Vancouver Giants and Kamloops Blazers will meet in Whitehorse on Feb. 12. The Whitehorse Star reports that tickets for that game will go on sale Saturday. They’re priced at $30 a pop with a limit of two per customer. . . . Bogdan Rudenko, a former OHL player who bounced around the minor pro leagues for a few years, is facing a murder charge in North Carolina. That story is right here. . . . F Randy McNaught, 20, of the Vancouver Giants had surgery on an ankle Monday. He was injured Oct. 9 during a game in Kamloops. He isn’t expected back before February. He got into only eight games with the Giants, who acquired him from the Saskatoon Blades.
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CH-CH-CHING! Just about missed this one. Kelly Kisio, the general manager of the Calgary Hitmen, was dinged for $500 for “comments to officials following game at Edmonton on Nov. 24.” . . . Not sure what was said or two whom, but the Hitmen were on the short end of a 4-3 count with the Oil Kings.
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SOME TUESDAY GAME HIGHLIGHTS:
There were three games played, all in the homes of Western Conference teams, and Eastern Conference visitors won all three. . . .
In Vancouver, G Adam Morrison’s 23 saves sparked the Saskatoon Blades to a 2-1 victory over the Giants. . . . The Blades were opening a B.C. Division swing that continues tonight in Chilliwack. . . . F Chris Colins, at 18:53 of the first, and F Josh Nicholls, with his 12th on the PP at 6:17 of the second, gave the visitors a 2-0 lead. . . . Vancouver got closer when F Brendan Rowinski, while shorthanded, got his first goal with the Giants at 17:51 of the second. . . . Rowinski had been acquired from the Moose Jaw Warriors earlier in November. . . . The Giants have lost three in a row, meaning head coach Don Hay is stalled at 499 WHL coaching victories. . . . The Giants meet the visiting Calgary Hitmen on Friday night. . . . Attendance was 5,649. . . .
In Kent, Wash., the Medicine Hat Tigers ran their winning streak to eight games with a 3-1 victory over the Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . The Tigers, who meet the Tri-City Americans in Kennewick, Wash., tonight, took a 3-0 lead on F Emerson Etem’s 18th goal, shorthanded in the first, and third-period goals from F Hunter Shinkaruk and D Matthew Konan. . . . F Marcel Noebels of Seattle ruined Tyler Bunz’s shutout bid at 12:41 on a penalty shot. Bunz finished with 28 saves, 12 fewer than Calvin Pickard. . . . Medicine Hat F Linden Vey had one assist. He leads the WHL with 48 points, four more than F Brendan Ranford of the Kamloops Blazers. . . . Attendance was 2,726. . . . The Thunderbirds meet the Rockets in Kelowna tonight and then head for Prince George and Friday and Saturday dates with the Cougars. . . .
In Everett, F Kevin King and F Steele Boomer each set up two goals as the Kootenay Ice beat the Silvertips, 3-1. . . . Ice G Nathan Lieuwen made 26 saves. . . . Ice F Max Reinhart broke a 1-1 tie with his 10th goal just 28 seconds into the second period. . . . Ice F Jesse Ismond added insurance with his ninth at 1:15 of the third. . . . Everett F Landon Ferraro (concussion) was back in the lineup for the first time since Nov. 12. He had an assist. . . . Attendance was 3,663. . . .
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TUESDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
One minor:
Everett D Rasmus Rissanen
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Jim Kelley lost his battle with pancreatic cancer on Tuesday.
Kelley, 61, is in the Hockey Hall of a Fame, mostly for his work with the Buffalo News. Of late, he wrote for sportsnet.ca and worked for Toronto all-sports radio station The Fan 590. There was a time when he often appeared on Hockey Night in Canada.
Kelley, who always had an opinion, filed a column to sportsnet.ca on Tuesday at 1:30 a.m. It would be his last one.
That column is right here.

The Portland Winterhawks are big and talented and the best team in the WHL. They know that. And they know they have a target on their backs but it doesn’t seem to bother them one little bit. Hey, they’re already talking Memorial Cup. If you want more, check out this right here from Kerry Eggers in the Portland Tribune. . . . The Everett Silvertips, one of the Winterhawks says, were intimidated by Portland’s skill. Seriously! . . . Of course, all of this was said and written before the Winterhawks went into Chilliwack on Friday night.
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How is Calgary Hitmen general manager Kelly Kisio dealing with the rotten start his club has gotten off to this season? Well, it seems he is watching a lot of late-night TV. George Johnston of the Calgary Herald details all of that right here.
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The AJHL set a single-game attendance record Friday as the host Fort McMurray Oil Barons doubled the Drayton Valley Thunder 4-2 in a game that was played outdoors. The game drew 5,726 fans, breaking the previous record of 4,400. . . .
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Some Friday highlights from the WHL:
In Swift Current, the Broncos won their fourth straight home game, beating the Lethbridge Hurricanes, 4-2. . . . F Jordan Peddle had a goal and an assist for the Broncos, with F Cody Eakin getting two assists. . . . Swift Current D Graeme Craig, a 17-year-old from Red Deer, scored his first WHL goal. It came in his 89th career regular-season game. . . . The Broncos had a 48-19 edge in shots, including 16-1 in the third period. . . . Attendance was 2,035. . . . The Broncos had F Taylor Vause (hamstring) back in the lineup, while F Dillon Wagner played his first game of the season after having undergone offseason knee surgery. . . .
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In Moose Jaw, Mackenzie Royer scored a PP goal with 9.2 seconds left in the third period as the Warriors beat the Brandon Wheat Kings, 5-4. . . . Royer has scored in each of four games since he was acquired from the Calgary Hitmen earlier this month. . . . The Wheat Kings led 3-1 midway through the game, but couldn’t hang on. . . . The Warriors took a 4-3 lead on goals by D Collin Bowman, F Quinton Howden and F Cody Beach. . . . Brandon tied it on F Mark Stone’s second goal of the game at 10:27 of the third. . . . Stone has 16 goals this season. . . . F Brayden Cuthbert scored his first WHL goal for the Warriors. He just happens to be from Brandon. It was his 24th game. . . . Moose Jaw F A.J. Johnson drew three assists. . . . Brandon has lost six in a row. . . . The start of the game was delayed when a pane of glass was broken during the warmup. . . . Attendance was 2,522. . . . The teams will meet tonight in Brandon. . . . Matthew Gourlie of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald reports that Warriors head coach Dave Hunchak “sat 20-year-old Dylan Hood and 19-year-olds Antonin Honejsek and Jesse Paradis for the first 10 minutes of the third period. Paradis didn’t earn a shift in the third period and will be scratched tonight.” . . . Hunchak told Gourlie: “We didn’t get efforts from a handful of guys. It’s not acceptable and as a result a 20-year-old and two 19-year-olds sit for the better part of 20 minutes of the hockey game.”
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In Prince Albert, F Brandon Herrod scored twice to help the Raiders to a 3-1 victory over the Saskatoon Blades. . . . Herrod, who has 11 goals, broke a 1-1 tie at 16:59 of the first period. . . . F Lukas Sutter scored his first WHL goal for the Blades. It came in his 31st game, the 24th this season. . . . Sutter scored after Cory Wolfe of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix wrote a story on how the freshman still was looking for his first goal. . . . F Jonathan Parker added his 16th for the Raiders. . . . Attendance was 2,891. . . . The start of the game was delayed by some issues with the playing surface. Perhaps it hasn’t yet been cold enough to make ice in Prince Albert? Hey, just kidding. . . .
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In Calgary, Red Deer F Adam Kambeitz scored at 19:58 of the third period to give the Rebels a 4-3 victory over the Hitmen. . . . Calgary F Kris Foucault had tied the score on the PP at 17:09 of the third. . . . Red Deer had a 25-15 edge in shots, including 14-3 in the third. . . . Foucault scored twice, giving him seven. . . . Calgary D Matt MacKenzie had two assists. . . . Attendance was 7,710. . . .
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In Edmonton, the Oil Kings broke a 4-4 tie with two goals 43 seconds apart late in the third period and beat the Vancouver Giants, 6-4. . . . F Josh Laswoski broke a 4-4 tie with his second goal of the game at 16:06 and F. T.J. Foster provided insurance at 16:49. . . . F Brendan Gallagher scored twice for Vancouver and now has 22 goals. He is tied for the WHL lead with F Brendan Ranford of the Kamloops Blazers. . . . The Oil Kings, who came into the WHL for the 2007-08 season, had never beaten the Giants. . . . Edmonton F Michael St. Croix had two assists and now has 26 points in 25 games. . . . Edmonton D Mark Pysyk and F Kristians Pelss also had two assists each. . . . Attendance was 4,726. . . . Vancouver head coach Don Hay has 499 career regular-season coaching victories. He now will go after No. 500 tonight in Red Deer against the Rebels. . . . F Brennan Rowinski, who was acquired by Vancouver from the Moose Jaw Warriors earlier in the month, played his first game with the Giants. He had offseason knee surgery and played two games with the Warriors before the trade. But the Vancouver medical staff didn’t clear him for game action until now. . . .
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In Kamloops, the Blazers got two goals in the shootout and beat the Spokane Chiefs, 4-3. . . . The Chiefs had beaten the Blazers 10-1 in Spokane on Wednesday. . . . The Blazers had a 2-0 lead on two goals by F Jordan DePape. . . . Spokane got two goals from F Tyler Johnson, one of them while his side was down two men, to tie it. . . . D Jared Cowen, who had scored three times Wednesday, put Spokane ahead 3-2 as he finished off a 3-on-2 rush at 5:51 of the third. . . . Kamloops F Dylan Willick forced OT at 18:40. . . . F Brendan Ranford and D Austin Madaisky of Kamloops scored the shootout goals. . . . Ranford finished with three assists and now has 41 points, two behind scoring leader Linden Vey of the Medicine Hat Tigers. . . . The Chiefs lost G James Reid to a leg injury at 9:23 of the second period. He needed help getting off the ice. At the end of the period, he went onto the ice but wasn’t able to put any weight on the leg. He wasn’t on the bench for the third period. . . . Mac Engel replaced Reid and stopped 16 of 17 shots but was 0-for-2 in the shootout. . . . The shootout never looked worse than it did in this game. After the Zamboni scraped the ice, a problem with one net delayed things about 15 minutes. Finally, both teams were allowed to shoot at the same net. . . . Attendance was 3,974. . . .
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In Prince George, F Troy Bourke scored three times to lead the Cougars to a 5-3 victory over the Regina Pats. . . . Bourke, 16, was the 26th pick in the 2009 bantam draft. He has nine goals this season. He scored three in five games last season. . . . Yes, it was his first WHL hat trick. . . . Prince George D Sena Acolatse had two assists and now has 25 points in 21 games. . . . The Pats finished their B.C. Division tour at 1-2-2. . . . The Cougars held a 5-0 lead, with Regina scoring three times in the third period. . . . Pats D Brandon Davidson set up two of those goals. He has 15 points in his last 12 games. . . . Attendance was 2,098. . . .
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In Kennewick, Wash., G Drew Owsley stopped 35 shots to lead the Tri-City Americans to a 4-0 victory over the Kootenay Ice. . . . It was his second shutout of the season and the seventh of his career. . . . F Brendan Shinnimin scored twice. . . . Attendance was 4,455. . . .
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In Chilliwack, the Bruins scored five times in the third period in spanking the Portland Winterhawks, 7-2. . . . Portland led 2-0 in the second period on goals by its Swiss players, Nino Niederreiter and Sven Bartschi. Niederreiter has seven goals; Bartschi has 17. . . . The Bruins tied it on second-period goals by D Brandon Manning and D Jeff Einhorn. . . . Einhorn’s goal was his first of the season and his eighth in 220 career games. . . . Chilliwack F Kevin Sundher had two of the third-period goals. He also had two assists. . . . Chilliwack G Lucas Gore stopped 30 shots. . . . F Ryan Howse scored his 19th goal of the season for Chilliwack. . . . Attendance was 3,256. . . .
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In Everett, F Burke Gallimore’s two goals led the Seattle Thunderbirds to a 4-1 victory over the Silvertips. . . . Gallimore, who has 14 goals, gave Seattle a 2-0 lead early in the second period. . . . D Ryan Murray got Everett within one on a late second-period PP. . . . Seattle got insurance from F Marcel Noebels, with his seventh goal, just 17 seconds into the third. . . . Gallimore iced it with an empty-netter. . . . Attendance was 7,027.
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FRIDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
Six minors:
Lethbridge F Cason Machacek
Moose Jaw D Collin Bowman
Moose Jaw F Jordan Wyton
Red Deer D Matthew Pufahl
Kamloops D Austin Madaisky
Portland F Oliver Gabriel

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