Brendan Ranford felt the draft on Friday afternoon.
Ranford, a veteran of four seasons with the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers, wasn’t able to get a deal done with the NHL’s Philadelphia Flyers by yesterday’s deadline. Therefore, he is once again eligible for the NHL draft.
The Flyers selected Ranford in the seventh round of the NHL’s 2010 draft; in fact, he was the second-last player taken. NHL teams had until yesterday at 5 p.m. ET to sign players taken in that draft. Those not signed are eligible for this year’s draft that is scheduled for Pittsburgh, June 22 and 23.
Should Ranford not be selected in next month’s draft, he will become a free agent, eligible to sign with any team.
“Nothing got done,” Ranford said late yesterday afternoon. “There’s nothing I can do. I just have got to work hard during the summer and move on.”
The Blazers selected Ranford, who is from Edmonton, with the 15th overall selection in the WHL’s 2007 bantam draft. He has 270 points, including 115 goals, in 278 regular-season games with the Blazers. He holds down 13th spot on the Blazers’ all-time points list and is 14th in goals and 17th in assists.
This season, he had career single-season highs in goals (40) and points (92).
The writing may have been on the wall for Ranford and his agent, Mark MacKay, about 10 days ago when the Flyers signed two other forwards – Derek Mathers, who had 17 points and 177 penalty minutes with the OHL’s Peterborough Petes, and Andrew Johnston, an 81-point man with the SJHL’s Humboldt Broncos. Mathers, 18, was a seventh-round pick in the 2011 draft; Johnston, 20, was an undrafted free agent.
Asked if he was disappointed not to get signed, Ranford replied: “No, not really. I wouldn’t say disappointed. I’ve got to move on and just work harder.”
Should Ranford, who turned 20 on May 3, be selected in this month’s draft, he would be eligible to play anywhere in that team’s organization should he sign an NHL contract. He also is eligible to return for a fifth season with the Blazers.
Ranford was one of a handful of WHLers who will be going back into the draft.
The list includes defenceman Troy Rutkowski of the Portland Winterhawks, who was a fifth-round pick by the Colorado Avalanche in 2010, and winger Josh Nicholls of the Saskatoon Blades, a seventh-round pick, who wasn’t signed by the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Meanwhile, three WHL forwards who were selected in the 2011 draft signed NHL deals yesterday.
Ty Rattie of the Portland Winterhawks, a second-round pick, signed with the St. Louis Blues, while Dominik Uher of the Spokane Chiefs, a fifth-round pick, got a deal done with the Pittsburgh Penguins, and Brody Sutter, the captain of the Lethbridge Hurricanes, signed with the Carolina Hurricanes, who had taken him in the seventh round.
Rattie, 19, is eligible to return to Portland. Uher, who is from Czech Republic, wasn't likely to return to Spokane as a 20-year-old, while Sutter completed his major junior eligibility this season.
Rattie is coming off a season in which he scored 121 points, including 57 goals, in 69 regular-season games. He then added 33 points, 19 of them goals, in 21 playoff games.
Uher had 68 points, including 33 goals, in his final season with the Chiefs. He finished the season with the Penguins’ AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, but didn’t see playoff action.
Sutter had 60 points in 65 games as a 20-year-old in Lethbridge. Brody, the son of former NHLer Duane Sutter, is the third Sutter in the Carolina organization, following cousins Brandon and Brett.
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F Logan Proulx has agreed to join the Selkirk Saints of the B.C. Intercollegiate league. Proulx played this season with the BCHL’s Cowichan Valley Capitals after being acquired from his hometown Trail Smoke Eaters. He played 137 games over three seasons with the Edmonton Oil Kings. . . .
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The OHL’s Owen Sound Attack has signed former NHL D Drew Bannister as its new assistant coach. He takes over from former associate coach Terry Virtue, a former WHL assistant coach, who has left after two seasons with the Attack. . . . Bannister spent this season as a player-coach with the Braehead Clan of the British Elite league. . . .
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The Medicine Hat Mavericks of the Western Major Baseball League opened their home schedule on Friday night and Bob Ridley, the veteran play-by-play voice of the Medicine Hat Tigers was there to throw out the first pitch. . . . Don’t know if he sang Take Me Out to the Ball Game during the seventh-inning stretch. . . . There was even more WHL flavour as Shaw TV carried the game, with Cam Moon, the voice of the Red Deer Rebels, and Peter Lourbardias, who should be doing hockey play-by-play, in the booth. . . . If you’re wondering, the Okotoks Dawgs beat the Mavericks, 6-5. . . .
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F Tyler Johnson (Spokane, 2007-2011) had a goal and an assist last night, helping the host Norfolk Admirals to a 3-1 victory over the Toronto Marlies in Game 1 of the AHL’s best-of-seven final for the Calder Cup. Game 2 is tonight. . . . F Cory Conacher also had a goal and an assist for the winners. . . . C Carter Ashton (Lethbridge, Regina, Tri-City, 2006-11) had Toronto’s goal. . . . Interestingly, earlier in the season Ashton played on a line with Johnson and Conacher in Norfolk, the AHL affiliate of the Tampa Bay Lightning. . . . If you check, you may find it on TV somewhere. I stumbled on a replay of Game 1 on Leaf TV late last night. . . .
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When F Locke Muller was with the Red Deer Rebels, Dale McMullin was on their scouting staff. McMullin now is Regina’s head scout, so when Muller recently was dropped by the Saskatoon Blades, well, the Pats were quick to add him to their protected list. . . . Muller, 19, had 10 points and 87 penalty minutes in 58 games last season. He started the season with Red Deer and finished with the Blades.
Greg Harder, in the Regina Leader-Post: “The 6-foot-2, 197-pounder was a healthy scratch on a few occasions due to discipline issues, apparently working his way into the doghouse of Blades head coach/GM Lorne Molleken . . .”
Regina GM Chad Lang told Harder that the past is just that, the past.
“There’s kids that are leaders, there’s kids that are followers,” Lang said. “It’s about putting kids in an environment where they know the rules and the limitations. You hope they abide by them and if they don’t there’s consequences. From our standpoint it’s about giving kids the opportunity.”

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THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Roman Tomanek (Calgary, Seattle, 2004-06) was released by Banska Bystrica (Slovakia, Extraliga). He had eight goals and four assists in 23 games for Banska Bystrica this season. Tomanek started the season with Mlada Boleslav (Czech Republic, Extraliga), going pointless in seven games. . . .
D Aris Brimanis (Brandon, 1992-93) signed a contract for the rest of this season with Hannover Indians (Germany, 2.Bundesliga). He had six goals and 13 assists in 52 games with the Hannover Scorpions (Germany, DEL) last season.
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WHL TRADE TRACKER (trades made since Dec. 27):
Trades: 3
Players: 9
Draft picks: 3
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The Prince George Cougars dealt F Charles Inglis, 19, to the Red Deer Rebels for F Daulton Siwak and a third-round pick in the 2012 bantam draft.
Inglis had been sent home by the Cougars following a game on Dec. 2 in Kamloops. From what I understand, he was found in violation of a team rule that, while by itself may not have been considered a big deal, was the last straw.
Inglis, selected fourth overall by the Saskatoon Blades in the 2007 bantam draft, has a lot of talent but hasn’t been able to harness it off the ice. He put up 60 points, including 32 goals, in 69 games with the Cougars last season and had 16 points, nine of them goals, in 16 games when he was sent home this season. He has twice attended NHL camps, first with the Phoenix Coyotes and then with the San Jose Sharks.
Siwak, from Olds, Alta., had seven points, including five gaols, in 18 games. He was in his third season with the Rebels.
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The Saskatoon Blades have traded D Devan Fafard, 17, and a seventh-round pick in the 2012 bantam draft to the Red Deer Rebels for D Matthew Pufahl, 18, and F Locke Muller, 18.
Fafard, an eighth-round pick by Saskatoon in the 2009 bantam draft, has two assists and 38 penalty minutes in 23 games. He is from Carlyle, Sask.
Pufahl, who is from Saskatoon, has four points in 30 games. He was a fourth-round pick by Red Deer in the 2008 bantam draft.
Muller, from St. Paul, Alta., has six points in 33 games.
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JUST NOTES:
F Tyrel Seaman of the Brandon Wheat Kings played Wednesday in a 3-2 OT victory over the visiting Regina Pats. It was his first appearance after missing nine games with a concussion. Bruce Luebke, the radio voice of the Wheat Kings, reports that Seaman didn’t practice Thursday. “It appears there may have been a whiplash affect on Seaman after he was on the back end of a domino collision involving defenceman Ryley Miller and Regina forward Jordan Weal,” Luebke reported. . . . It wasn’t known Thursday whether Seaman would be able to play tonight against the visiting Edmonton Oil Kings. . . .
The Calgary Hitmen boarded their bus in Prince George on Thursday at 10 a.m., and headed south to Kamloops where they are to play the Blazers tonight.
Unfortunately, there was a serious accident on the highway and the Hitmen, along with a whole lot of other people, spent a good part of their day just sitting. The Hitmen arrived at Interior Savings Centre in Kamloops just after 7:30 p.m., what normally is about a six-hour drive turned into almost a 10-hour day.
The Cougars, who beat the Hitmen 3-1 on Wednesday, avoided the accident – they actually left after the game and headed for Vancouver, where they are to play the Giants tonight.
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It would appear that Portland Winterhawks F Sven Bartschi, who is playing for Switzerland at the World Junior Chamionship, has a concussion and is out indefinitely. Bartschi was injured when he took a hit in a 4-3 shootout loss to Sweden on Wednesday.
Swiss head coach Manuele Celio has said that he doesn’t expect Bartschi to play today against Latvia and that he isn’t sure when he might play again.
“He got a hit in the (neutral) zone,” Celio told reporters. “He wasn’t prepared for it. He didn’t feel really good after the hit. So now the doctors try to check on him, look at what’s going on in neck, head; could be like a concussion now.”
Bartschi, whose NHL rights belong to the Calgary Flames, has already put up an amazing 54 points, including 42 assists, in 25 games with the Winterhawks. . . .
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A couple of former prominent WHLer signed PTO deals on Thursday. . . . The AHL’s Abbotsford Heat signed F Judd Blackwater, who spent three seasons with the Spokane Chiefs (2005-08). He has 37 points in 31 games with the ECHL’s Las Vegas Wrangers. . . . Meanwhile, the Toronto Marlies have signed D Ray Macias, who played for the Kamloops Blazers (2003-07). The smooth-skating Macias has eight points in 19 games with the ECHL’s Reading Royals. . . .
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The Vancouver Giants have lost D Luke Fenske (hand). He was injured in a 3-1 loss to the Blazers in Kamloops on Wednesday night.
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THURSDAY’S GAMES:
In Prince Albert, F Anthony Bardaro drew two assists in his first game with the Raiders as they beat the Saskatoon Blades, 5-2. . . . The Raiders now have won five in a row to close within six points of a playoff spot. . . . The Blades scored the game’s first two goals before the first period was five minutes old. D Duncan Siemens got the first one, his fifth of the season. That matches his career high. He has five goals in 36 games this season; he had five in 72 last season. . . . The Raiders held their annual Toque Toss (fans throw toques, scarves and mitts) and D Matt Waseylenko, playing in his second WHL game, got the goal. . . . The Raiders took 60 of 106 penalty minutes. . . . Saskatoon has lost five in a row. . . .
In Red Deer, F Tyson Ness had two goals and an assist to lead the Rebels to a 4-2 victory over the Kootenay Ice. . . . Ness has 11 goals on the season. . . . His 16 points in 35 games are two more than he had in 68 games last season when he had seven goals and seven assists. . . . Both Ice goals came via the PP. . . . D Devan Fafard and F Charles Inglis, both acquired earlier in the day, were in Red Deer’s lineup. . . . Red Deer G Deven Dubyk stopped 31 shots. . . .
In Lethbridge, F Hunter Shinkaruk had a goal and two assists to help the Medicine Hat Tigers to a 4-2 victory over the Hurricanes. . . . Shinkaruk, 17, has 51 points, including 31 goals, in 38 games. Last season, he finished with 42 points, 14 of them goals, in 63 games. . . . The Hurricanes took 58 of 74 penalty minutes. The Tigers, who have won four straight, were assessed two fighting majors and three minors. . . . The Tigers were 2-9 on the PP; the Hurricanes were 0-3. . . .
In Kennewick, Wash., F Brendan Shinnimin had three goals and an assist and was plus-4 as his Tri-City Americans beat the Kelowna Rockets, 5-1, for their ninth straight victory. . . . Shinnimin broke open a 1-1 game with back-to-back shorthanded goals at 4:05 and 8:07 of the second period. . . . He added his third goal at 5:11 of the third, giving him a natural hat trick. . . . He has 20 goals now, thanks to his first regular-season three-goal game. This was his 231^st game. . . . Tri-City G Ty Rimmer stopped 33 shots. . . .
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In Tecumseh, Ont., F Sam Reinhart (Kootenay) scored twice as Team Pacific scored a 5-2 victory over Team West in the opening game for both teams at the U-17 World Hockey Challenge. . . . Macoy Erkamps (Lethbridge), Morgan Klimchuk (Regina) and Curtis Lazar (Edmonton), the latter into an empty net, also scored for the winners. . . . Nick Zajac (Saskatoon) and Remi Laurencelle replied for Team West. . . . Laurencelle plays for the midget AAA Winnipeg Wild. He was an eighth-round pick by Lethbridge in the WHL’s 2010 bantam draft. . . . Eric Comrie (Tri-City) was in goal for Team Pacific and saw only 14 shots. . . . There were 34 WHL players suited up for the game. . . . G Austin Lotz (Everett) stopped 34 shots for Team West.
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EXTRAS:Greg Wyshynski, over at the Puck Daddy blog, takes a look at the NHL and concussions, and at what the NHL is doing, and perhaps should do, to cut down on them. That piece is right here.
And, yes, there is a lot of talk among hockey people, even at the midget AAA and junior levels, about a need to slow down the game.
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Puck Daddy also has more on the Don Cherry Piano Desk right here. He talks to the guy who came up with the idea and posted it on YouTube.

Rebels know Bartosak now

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
It wasn’t that long ago when defenceman Alex Petrovic and the Red Deer Rebels didn’t know Patrik Bartosak or anything about him.
That’s not the case these days.
Bartosak, an 18-year-old freshman goaltender from Koprivnice, Czech Republic, stopped 24 shots Friday afternoon to lead the Rebels to a 5-3 WHL victory over the Kamloops Blazers before 4,496 fans at Interior Savings Centre.
The Blazers (12-6-0) now have lost three of their last four games. They are back in action tonight, this time against the Edmonton Oil Kings. The puck drops at 7 o’clock.
Bartosak, now 13-3-0, had to be especially sharp in the first period because, although he faced only nine shots, the Blazers owned the puck for the first 14 minutes.
“Our goal was to come out hard because we knew they were going to come out hard,” said Petrovic, a 6-foot-4 veteran who was a horse on Red Deer’s back end. “We didn’t do that but we weathered the storm well and Patrik played unreal in net. He saved us.”
The Blazers opened the game with a relentless forecheck and dictated play from below the faceoff dots in the Red Deer zone. The home side got one goal, forward Logan McVeigh redirecting Josh Caron’s shot from the point at 8:38.
“That’s the kind of start we want . . . that’s the kind of game we want to establish for 60 minutes,” said Kamloops centre Chase Schaber.
“We needed one more goal,” offered Kamloops winger Dylan Willick. “If we had made it 2-0 . . .”
That wasn’t to be, though. And when the Blazers took two minor penalties — Schaber roughed up defenceman Aaron Borejko and Austin Madaisky kneed forward Daulton Siwak — in the opening period’s final five minutes, it allowed Red Deer to catch its breath.
“Our power play has been great all year,” Petrovic said. “We didn’t score on it but we had some chances. It gave us some momentum, some energy.”
The Rebels also got some energy at 3:18 of the second period when Schaber, who was being penalized for a check from behind on Adam Kambeitz, fought with Locke Muller, a 6-foot-2, 190-pounder from St. Paul, Alta.
Muller caught Schaber with a hard punch to the chin that left the Blazers captain more than a little wobbly.
“It was just a hockey fight,” Schaber said. “It was a good punch by him. He’s a big boy. He caught me with one. I got back up . . . just the way it goes sometimes.”
Schaber went to the dressing room before being cleared to return by Dr. Sven Kipp. But Schaber was nowhere near the player he had been in the first period, and the Blazers weren’t nearly the same team.
And it was Kambeitz who would score the winning goal, breaking a 3-3 tie at 13:32 of the third period, stuffing the puck between the post and goaltender Cole Cheveldave, who finished with 18 saves.
The teams had gone into the third period at 2-2, John Persson and Cory Millette having given Red Deer a 2-1 lead, only to have centre Colin Smith pull the Blazers even.
Daulton Siwak gave the Rebels a 3-2 lead at 9:34 of the third period. But it didn’t last as crowd favourite Ryan Hanes banged home a Chase Souto rebound just 15 seconds later.
But, as things turned out, that only set the stage for Kambeitz, who scored his ninth of the season. Winger Turner Elson put it away with an empty-netter.
“We’re a team that can bounce back,” Kamloops head coach Guy Charron said. “We work hard. We were coming back in the third period. I thought we played well.”
Then, alluding to a 4-2 loss in Red Deer on Oct. 19, he added: “We lost the same way we lost in Red Deer. We made mistakes at the wrong time. We expected (Cheveldave) to save us . . . he’s been playing so well.
“But he’s going to have a mediocre or average night and tonight was an average night.”
That wasn’t the case with Bartosak, who has stepped in nicely for Darcy Kuemper, who played in 62 games as a 20-year-old last season.
“You know,” Petrovic said of Bartosak, “I had no idea who he was. But he’s been unreal. He’s an amazing kid. He’s very competitive and fits in well with this group.”
If Bartosak keeps playing as well as this, one thing is for certain — he’ll never have to buy lunch in Red Deer, again.
JUST NOTES: The Rebels were 0-for-5 on the power play, while the Blazers went 0-for-2. . . . Kamloops RW J.T. Barnett raised his arms, thinking he had scored at 6:30 of the second period, but the puck apparently hit a post. “I thought it went in but I don’t know,” Barnett said. “I don;t know why they didn’t review it.” . . . Look for the Blazers to start G Cam Lanigan (5-3-0) tonight against Edmonton. . . . The Daily News’ Three Stars: 1. Petrovic: big-time player; 2. Persson: a real threat; 3. F Tim Bozon, Kamloops: Solid again. . . . With the Coquihalla closed at Merritt, the Rebels took No. 8 Highway across to the Trans-Canada Highway in order to get to Tsawwassen, where they will catch the ferry to Sidney by the Sea in the morning. The Rebels are to meet the Royals in Victoria tonight and Sunday. . . . F Ryan Gropp of Kamloops played his first BCHL game last night and scored once to help the Penticton Vees to a 7-1 victory over the host Trail Smoke Eaters. Gropp, 15, was selected sixth overall by the Seattle Thunderbirds in the WHL’s 2011 bantam draft. He attends the Okanagan Hockey Academy in Trail and was recalled by the Vees for last night’s game.

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