F Carsen Germyn (Kelowna, Red Deer, 1998-2003) has been loaned to AIK Stockholm (Sweden, SHL) by the Straubing Tigers (Germany, DEL) for the rest of this season. With Straubing this season, Germyn has 37 points, including 16 goals, in 49 games. Straubing is in 12th place in the DEL, and with three games left can't finish 10th and make the playoffs. AIK is last in the SHL with five games left and can't finish higher than 11th. It will play in SHL Kvalserien in an attempt to keep its place in the SHL for next season.
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The WHL is taking the recruiting war with junior A and the NCAA to another level by launching a series of what it calls “combine camps.”
These camps, according to a news release, are “designed to assist minor hockey players with their skill
development by participating in a new state of the art testing system.”The WHL has forged partnerships with Okanagan Hockey Schools of Penticton, B.C., and Sport Testing Inc., in order to hold these camps throughout Western Canada and the
Each camp will comprise one day of on- and off-ice testing, instructional tips, a player development seminar, and a presentation on the WHL player experience, according to the WHL.
In the beginning, camps will be open to bantam- and midget-aged players, with all 22 WHL teams having access to all test results.
Okanagan Hockey Schools will provide instructors and testing personnel for each camp, with Toronto-based Sport Testing Inc., providing the testing systems.
Camps will run this year, from April through August, in Victoria, Vancouver, Kelowna, Calgary, Edmonton, Saskatoon, Regina, Brandon, Winnipeg, Minneapolis, Denver, Dallas, Phoenix and Anaheim.
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John Branch of The New York Times reports: “Chronic traumatic encephalopathy, the degenerative brain disease linked to repeated blows to the head, has been found posthumously in a 29-year-old former soccer player, the strongest indication yet that the condition is not limited to athletes who played sports known for violent collisions, like football and boxing.” . . . Branch’s complete story is right here.
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F Nolan Volcan, a second-round selection in the 2013 bantam draft, has joined the Seattle Thunderbirds. Volcan played for the midget AAA Maple Leaf Athletic Club United Cycle Maple Leafs, whose season has ended. . . . Volcan’s father, Marty, is a former WHLer, having played for the Portland Winterhawks, Seattle Breakers and Victoria Cougars (1984-86).---
The Portland Winterhawks will be chasing their 21st straight victory when they meet the Chiefs in Spokane on Friday night. The WHL record for longest winning streak in one season (22 games) belongs to the Estevan Bruins of 1967-68. . . . The Winterhawks have won all seven games with Spokane this season; in fact, Portland has won its last 15 meetings with the Chiefs. . . . The Winterhawks are scheduled to play the Seattle Thunderbirds in Kent, Wash., on Saturday and then visit the Tri-City Americans in Kennewick, Wash., on Wednesday.---
First place in the Eastern Conference will be on the line Saturday when the Edmonton Oil Kings play host to the Calgary Hitmen in the opener of a Battle of Alberta doubleheader. . . . The two WHL teams will play at 2 p.m., at Rexall Place, with the NHL’s Calgary Flames to meet the Edmonton Oilers there that evening.
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IF THE PLAYOFFS BEGAN TODAY:
Eastern Conference
Edmonton (1) vs. Red Deer (8)
Regina (2) vs. Brandon (7)
Calgary (3) vs. Swift Current (6)
Medicine Hat (4) vs. Kootenay (5)
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Western Conference
Kelowna (1) vs. Tri-City (8)
Portland (2) vs. Vancouver (7)
Victoria (3) vs. Everett (6)
Seattle (4) vs. Spokane (5)
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THURSDAY’S WHL GAMES (all times local):
No games scheduled.
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FRIDAY’S WHL GAMES (all times local):
Lethbridge at Moose Jaw, 7 p.m.
Swift Current at Regina, 7 p.m.
Kootenay at Saskatoon, 7:05 p.m.
Kamloops at Calgary, 7 p.m.
Medicine Hat at Red Deer, 7 p.m.
Victoria at Prince George, 7 p.m.
Vancouver at Kelowna, 7:05 p.m.
Portland at Spokane, 7:05 p.m.
Tri-City at Everett, 7:35 p.m.
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WEDNESDAY’S GAMES:
In Brandon, F Jayce Hawryluk scored twice and set up another to lead the Wheat Kings to a 6-2 victory over the Lethbridge Hurricanes. . . . Brandon broke a 1-1 tie with four second-period goals. . . . Hawryluk has 57 points, including 20 goals, in 55 games. Last season, he totalled 43 points, 18 of them goals, in 61 games as a freshman. . . . Brandon D Ryan Pilon, playing at home against his former club for the first team, drew two assists, as did D Ryan Pulock and F John Quenneville. . . . Lethbridge F Tyler Wong, playing his second game after being out since Jan. 11, scored his 14th goal. . . . Brandon G Curtis Honey stopped 36 shots, four fewer than Jonny Hogue of Lethbridge. . . . Brandon D Eric Roy picked up 29 penalty minutes in one foul sweep, as he got nailed with minors for instigating and unsportsmanlike conduct, a fighting major, a misconduct and game misconduct at 3:51 of the third period. . . . The Hurricanes took 24 minutes in penalties. . . . Brandon (30-26-8) is seventh in the Eastern Conference, two points behind the Swift Current Broncos. . . . The Hurricanes (12-48-5) have lost seven in a row. . . .
In Moose Jaw, F Sam Reinhart scored twice and added an assist as the Kootenay Ice dropped the Warriors, 5-1. . . . The teams were tied 1-1 going into the third period. . . . Reinhart is on a 21-game point streak and a 14-game assist streak, both the longest in the WHL this season. . . . Reinhart, who has 34 goals this season, has tied the franchise record (F Mike Comrie, Sept. 23 to Nov. 10, 2000) for longest point streak in one season. . . . F Tim Bozon also had two goals and an assist for the Ice. He’s got 32 goals. . . . F Jaedon Descheneau added his 39th goal and also had an assist. . . . Reinhart has 93 points, while Descheneau has 88. . . . Bozon has 68 points, with 61 of those coming in 49 games with the Ice after he came over from the Kamloops Blazers. . . . Ice G Mackenzie Skapski stopped 22 shots. . . . G Zach Sawchenko of the Warriors turned aside 37. . . . The Ice dressed 16 skaters, two under the maximum, then lost F Zach Franko in the second period. . . . The Ice (36-23-4) is a comfortable fifth in the Eastern Conference, five points behind the Medicine Hat Tigers and six ahead of the Swift Current Broncos. . . . The Warriors (16-38-9) are 10th in the 12-team conference. . . .
In Swift Current, F Jake DeBrusk scored twice to help the Broncos to a 6-2 victory over the Regina Pats. . . . DeBrusk, a 17-year-old freshman from Edmonton, has 27 points, 12 of them goals, in 63 games. This was his first multi-goal game. . . . F Coda Gordon had a goal, his 23rd, and two assists for the Broncos, who scored the game’s first five goals, three of them in the first period. . . . Swift Current got two assists from each of F Graham Black and F Nathan Burns. . . . The Broncos were 3-for-7 on the PP; the Pats were 0-for-5. . . . F Rykr Cole, a third-round selection in the 2012 bantam draft, made his WHL debut with the Pats. He has 45 points, including 23 goals, in 41 games with the midget AAA Moose Jaw Generals. . . . Regina scratched F Morgan Klimchuk and D Dmitry Sinitsyn, both of whom were ill. They still are without injured F Boston Leier. . . . The Broncos have won all five games with the Pats this season. . . . Regina (35-23-6) went into this one leading the East Division by eight points over the Broncos (31-24-8). That lead, of course, now is six points. . . . While the Pats, as East Division leaders, are the Eastern Conference’s No. 2 seed, the Broncos are sixth. . . .
In Edmonton, F Blake Penner’s goal at 3:00 of OT gave the Medicine Hat Tigers a 4-3 victory over the Oil Kings. . . . The Tigers, who clinched a playoff spot with the victory, erased a 3-1 deficit with two third-period goals. . . . F Chad Butcher scored his fifth goal at 3:20 and F Curtis Valk tied it, with his 37th, at 6:36. . . . Penner has 10 goals this season. . . . Valk had two goals, while D Dylan Bredo had two assists. . . . Edmonton F Edgars Kulda had a goal, his 25th, and an assist. He scored shorthanded at 1:33 of the second to give his guys a 1-0 lead. . . . Medicine Hat G Marek Langhamer stopped 37 shots, eight more than Tristan Jarry of Edmonton. . . . Edmonton had won 5-2 in Medicine Hat on Tuesday. . . . The Tigers were without F Markus Eisenschmid. The German freshman drew a ‘tbd’ suspension for a boarding major and game misconduct he incurred against the visiting Oil Kings on Tuesday. . . . The Tigers (39-22-3) are fourth in the Eastern Conference, eight points behind the Calgary Hitmen and five in front of the Kootenay Ice. . . . The Oil Kings (44-15-3) are atop the Eastern Conference, two points in front of the Hitmen. . . . 
In Red Deer, G Patrik Bartosak stopped 32 shots as the Rebels blanked the Kamloops Blazers, 2-0. . . . Bartosak has six shutouts this season, but this was the first on home ice. He also has 12 in his career. . . . Red Deer F Vukie Mpofu scored his eighth goal at 12:12 of the first period and F Rhyse Dieno got his 22nd at 14:24. . . . Kamloops G Bolton Pouliot stopped 34 shots. . . . The Blazers are 3-16-2 since Guy Charron replaced Dave Hunchak behind the Blazers’ bench. . . . The Blazers are 1-4-0 as they play 10 in a row away from the home. The Tim Hortons Brier, the Canadian men’s curling championship, begins in Interior Savings Centre on Saturday. . . . The victory lifted the Rebels (30-30-4) back into eighth in the Eastern Conference, one point ahead of the Prince Albert Raiders. . . . The Blazers (13-46-5) need seven points in their last eight games to avoid the worst record in franchise history (Kamloops Jr. Oilers, 18-53-1, 1981-82). . . .
In Everett, the Silvertips scored the game’s last five goals and beat the Prince Albert Raiders, 5-1. . . . F Shane Danyluk gave the visitors a 1-0 lead with his seventh goal at 4:58 of the first, but it was all Silvertips after that. . . . F Brayden Low tied it at 12:13 of the first, with his seventh goal, and D Noah Juulsen, a 16-year-old from Abbotsford, B.C., scored his first WHL goal at 16:15. The goal came in his 52nd career game, 51 of which have been played this season. . . . Everett F Josh Winquist scored his 39th goal, while F Ivan Nikolishin had two assists. . . . Everett was 3-for-6 on the PP. . . . The Raiders went 3-2-1 on this road swing. . . . The Silvertips (31-23-9) moved into sixth in the Western Conference, one point ahead of the Vancouver Giants. . . . The Raiders (29-30-5) slid into ninth in the Eastern Conference, a point behind the Red Deer Rebels. . . . 
In Kennewick, Wash., F Myles Bell scored the only goal of the shootout as the Kelowna Rockets bet the Tri-City Americans, 4-3. . . . The Rockets led this one 2-0 after one period, but had to come back from a 3-2 deficit to force OT. . . . F Marek Tvrdon, with his eighth goal, and Bell, with his 40th, shorthanded, gave the Rockets the first-period lead. . . . F Brian Williams, with his 35th, got the Americans on the board in the second period. . . . F Beau McCue scored his 19th to get Tri-City even at 2:19 of the third and D Michal Plutnar, with his third, tied it at 3:35, on the PP. . . . Tvrdon forced OT at 14:45 of the third. . . . Kelowna G Jackson Whistle stopped 25 shots, 14 fewer than Tri-City’s Eric Comrie. . . . The Rockets, who were 52-16-4 last season, have won 50 games in back-to-back seasons for the first time in franchise history. The WHL record is three, held by the 1989-92 Kamloops Blazers. . . . The Americans are without F Taylor Vickerman, 17, whose season is over, thanks to a knee injury. He was scheduled for surgery on Wednesday. Vickerman, a native of Kennewick, was acquired from the Vancouver Giants but played just 30 games as a shoulder injury cut into the first half of his season. . . . Also missing from Tri-City lineup last night were F Jessey Astles, who has three games left on a seven-game WHL suspension, and F Phil Tot, who hasn’t played since Feb. 1. . . . The Rockets (50-9-4) lead the overall standings by seven points over the Portland Winterhawks. Each team has nine games remaining. . . . The loser point lifted the Americans (27-28-8) two points clear of the ninth-place Prince George Cougars in the Western Conference. ---
From Brandon Sun sports editor James Shewaga (@JamesShewaga): “The @bdnwheatkings list RW Peter Quenneville, who was in a walking boot last weekend, out week-to-week with a lower-body injury.”
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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.”
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