Giants down to three 20s. . . . A retirement in P.A.

D Ray Macias (Kamloops, 2002-07) has signed a two-week tryout contract with Székesfehérvár (Hungary, Erste Bank Liga). Last season, with the Braehead Clan Glasgow (Scotland, UK Elite), he had two goals and three assists in eight games. . . .
F Martin Podlešák (Tri-City, Lethbridge, 2000-02) was granted his release by the Nottingham Panthers (England, UK Elite) for personal reasons. Last season, with Hradec Králové (Czech Republic, Extraliga), he had three goals and four assists in 23 games. He also had a goal in three games with Litoměřice (Czech Republic, 1. Liga). . . .
F Clinton Pettapiece (Tri-City, Medicine Hat, 2003-06) was released by Tingsryd (Sweden, Allsvenskan). Last season, with the Dordrecht Lions (Netherlands, Eredivisie), he had 61 points, including 22 goals, in 36 games. . . .
F Tomáš Troliga (Calgary, 2003-04) signed a one-year-plus-option contract with Hradec Králové (Czech Republic, Extraliga) after a successful tryout. Last season, with Dukla Trenčín (Slovakia, Extraliga), he had 24 points, including 13 goals, in 46 games.
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The Vancouver Giants have settled on their three 20-year-olds, at least for now. They placed F Travis McEvoy on waivers on Tuesday, leaving them with F Matt Bellerive, F Joel Hamilton and F Dalton Sward. . . . McEvoy, from Thorsby, Alta., has 49 points, 23 of them goals, in188 regular-season WHL games. He played 111 of those with the Giants, after starting his career with 77 games with the Saskatoon Blades. . . . Bellerive, from North Vancouver, is with the Giants for a second go-round. He played 98 games with them through the end of 2011-12, when he was dealt to the Red Deer Rebels. Last season, the Rebels traded him to the Kamloops Blazers, who sent him to the Giants this summer. In 227 games, he has 97 points, 43 of them goals. . . . Hamilton put up 46 points, including 13 goals, in 70 games with the Giants last season. From Cochrane, Alta., he played his first two seasons with Red Deer, recording 57 points, 14 of them goals, in 114 games. . . . Sward, from Abbotsford, is entering his fifth sesaon with the Giants. He has 96 points, including 48 goals, in 237 games.
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The Swift Current Broncos released veteran F Justin Spagrud, 19, on Tuesday. Spagrud, from Gull Lake, which is just west of Swift Current, was pointless in 39 games last season. In 2012-13, he had three goals and two assists in 39 games.
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F Carson Perreaux, who turns 20 on Dec. 28, has left the Prince Albert Raiders, choosing to end his WHL career in order “to pursue education and work opportunities,” according to a news release. . . . In 186 games with the Raiders, the Brandon native had 58 points, including 32 goals. . . . “He’s decided it’s time for him to step away,” Raiders GM Bruno Campese told Andrew Schopp of the Prince Albert Daily Herald. “He’s been a great citizen. He and his family have been very dedicated to the Raiders organization and we wish him all the best in his future endeavors.” . . . The Raiders, who now are carrying 29 players, still have four 20-year-olds on their roster -- F Calder Brooks, F Dakota Conroy, F Jayden Hart and D Sawyer Lange. . . . The Raiders also are down to two goaltenders -- Nick McBride, 17, and Rylan Parenteau, who turns 18 on Nov. 6. McBride, from Maple Ridge, B.C., was 12-7-2/2.95/.908 as a freshman last season. Parenteau, from Saskatoon, has played 69 minutes with the Raiders over the last two seasons.
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The Kamloops Blazers have signed F Garrett Pilon, 16, who has been returned to the midget AAA Saskatoon Contacts. . . . The 5-foot-10, 165-pound Pilon, the son of former NHL/WHL D Rich Pilon (Prince Albert, 1985-88), was a seventh-round pick in the 2013 bantam draft. Last season, Garrett had 29 points, including 10 goals, in 43 games with the contacts.
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If you were one of the viewers who stayed up into the wee hours of Tuesday morning to watch No. 6 Milos Raonic and No. 11 Kei Nishikori play in the U.S. Open, Juan Jose Vallejo of Rolling Stone has his take right here.
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Magnus Carlsen is a 23-year-old Norwegian who already is being billed as perhaps the best chess player in history. He’s in St. Louis these days and Dave McKenna of Deadspin takes a look right here.
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Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix reports that F Ty Mappin, who suffered a brain injury last week, has resumed skating but hasn’t been cleared for contact. . . . The Blades released F Nick Gomerich, 18, on Tuesday. Last season, as a freshman, he had five points in 44 games. From Nanaimo, B.C., he was a sixth-round pick in the 2011 bantam draft. . . . The SJHL’s Notre Dame Hounds have added Bear Trapp to their staff as an assistant coach. He will work alongside GM/head coach Clint Mylymok. Trapp is the son of former WHL F Doug Trapp (Regina, 1982-85) and the grandson of former WHL coach and longtime scout Barry Trapp.


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Fiddler lands with Cougars

THE MacBETH REPORT:



D Jeff Woywitka (Red Deer, 1999-2003) has signed for the rest of the season with Augsburger Panther (Germany, DEL). Last season, with the Peoria Rivermen (AHL), he had 11 points, including one goal, in 34 games. . . .





D Ray Macias (Kamloops, 2002-07) has been released by the Braehead Clan Glasgow (Scotland, UK Elite). He had five points, two of them goals, in eight games. Macias was signed as an injury replacement for D Kenton Smith (Calgary, 1995-2000), who was cleared to return to action on Monday.
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This story about the closing of a Waffle House will be the best thing you read today. Maybe the best story you will read this week or this month. Click right here. You won't be disappointed.
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Remember the WHL feature Ask the Commissioner? Well, the show is going on the road.
Ron Robison, the commissioner of the WHL, will be in Kelowna on Thursday where he and Bruce Hamilton, the Rockets president/general manager and the chairman of the WHL's board of governors, will take part in a question-and-answer session.
According to a Rockets news release, "seating will be open to the first 100 season-ticket holders to RSVP . . ."
Regan Bartel, the Rockets' radio voice, will serve as moderator and, on his blog, he reports that "over one hundred Kelowna Rockets season-ticket holders" will get to share in the fun.
Bartel suggests on his blog that "one of the issues that will likely surface is last year's playoffs where officiating, particularly in a second-round series with Kamloops, appeared to be one-sided."
So that's one question for Ask the Commish — why did the officiating suck in that series? With Bartel having suggested one question, here as a public service are a few more:
1. How interested is the WHL in getting a franchise into Winnipeg under the ownership of True North Sport & Entertainment?
2. Assuming the WHL wants into Winnipeg, would it prefer to put an expansion franchise in there or to move one of its existing small-market teams?
3. It seems that team expenses continue to rise while revenues appear to have gone flat. That being the case, is anything being done to help out the small-market teams?
4. Is revenue sharing in the WHL's future?
5. How much concern is there in the WHL office that attendance in Kelowna has dropped by about 1,000 per game from two seasons ago?
6. While it's nice to be able to watch WHL games on Shaw, why does the WHL feel it's important to have its games on TV, especially early in the season?
7. How much impact does having those games on live TV have on the gate for those  televised games?
8. On Oct. 30, the Kootenay Ice played in Red Deer and the game was televised on Shaw. Attendance was announced as 4,209 but anyone who watched knows there weren't nearly that many people in the building. Would the WHL consider having its teams announce true attendance figures (bums in the seats) from games, rather than number of tickets in distribution or whatever it is they announce now?
9. The chances of a franchise landing in Nanaimo appear to be slim and none. Will the WHL or the Victoria Royals consider paying travel subsidies to help teams cover the expenses incurred when having to travel to Vancouver Island?
10. How can the WHL penalize players for checking an opponent to the head — in some instances, players are even suspended for that foul — while allowing two players to stand and punch each other in the head?
11. How many brain injuries have been incurred by WHL players over the last two seasons?
12. What all went into the WHL's decision not to publish its annual Guide?
13. In this video age where teams put their highlights online, why are teams allowed to give phantom assists to players who don't deserve them?
14. Taking Ask the Commissioner on the road is a great idea. Do you have a session planned for Portland?
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Controversy over an apparent brain injury has come to British soccer after a goalkeeper was knocked unconscious during a Sunday game but was allowed to stay in the game. Sam Borden of The New York Times has more right here.
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The Regina Pats have trimmed two players from their roster and added a goaltender. . . . D Stephen Hak, 19, and F Patrick D'Amico, 19, have both been released. Hak came over from the Red Deer Rebels last season. From Winnipeg, he had 10 points in 73 games with Regina.This season, he had five assists in 16 games. D'Amico had three points, including one goal, in 13 games this season. . . . The Pats also added G Nicholas Schneider, 16, from the midget AAA Leduc, Alta., Chrysler Oil Kings. He will support Dawson MacAuley, following the release of G Mac Engel, 20.
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F Todd Fiddler, who scored 42 goals last season for the Spokane Chiefs, has been acquired by the Prince George Cougars. . . . The Moose Jaw Warriors got Fiddler from the Chiefs over the offseason, but dropped him last week. He had 10 points in 14 games with the Warriors, but had been a healthy scratch three times. . . . In 228 regular-season WHL games, split among the Medicine Hat Tigers, Prince Albert Raiders, Spokane and Moose Jaw, Fiddler, from Meadow Lake, Sask., has 153 points, including 79 goals. . . . The Cougars gave the Warriors a conditional fifth-round selection in the 2015 bantam draft. . . . Fiddler's arrival will leave the Cougars with three 20-year-olds, the others being F Klarc Wilson and D Peter Kosterman. . . . The Cougars next play Friday when they meet the Rockets in Kelowna.
Katie Brickman of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald has more on the trade right here, including Warriors general manager Alan Millar on whether a junior A team may have tampered with Fiddler.
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Former NHL D Jamie Macoun sometimes can't remember the names of his children. He can't remember his dog's name. . . . So he is all for the funding that the Canadian government announced Monday will be used for new research into brain injuries in children and youths. . . . Bill Graveland of The Canadian Press has more right here.
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The Lethbridge Hurricanes announced Monday that D Kristian Khenkel will be permitted to join the WHL team after playing for his native Belarus at the IIHF World Junior Championship (Division I Group A) in Sanok, Poland, Dec. 15-21. From Minsk, Khenkel will turn 18 on Thursday. . . . The Hurricanes selected Khenkel in the first round of the CHL's 2013 import draft. However, the IIHF had refused to approve Khenkel's international transfer, choosing to validate a contract he had signed in 2011 at 14 years of age.
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George Johnson of the Calgary Herald is one of our country's best wordsmiths. Right here is a piece on Herm (Ham Hands) Harrison, one of the greatest of all tight ends to have played in the CFL. Harrison, who starred with the Calgary Stampeders, died on Saturday.
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Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix reports that Saskatoon Blades D Aryton Nikkel, who has been out since Oct. 25, won't play until sometime after the weekend. . . . Steve Hildebrand, the Blades' athletic trainer, told Bowman that Nikkel won't play for "another week or two." . . . Nikkel, 18, suffered an undisclosed injury in a fight with Evan Polei of the Red Deer Rebels.
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F Anthony Ast of the Vancouver Giants isn't expected to play tonight against the visiting Edmonton Oil Kings. . . . According to Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province, Ast didn't practice Monday thanks to an undisclosed injury. Ast, who has six points, including three goals, in 18 games this season, missed 64 games over his first two seasons.
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From Todd Vrooman (@ToddVrooman), the play-by-play voice of the Portland Winterhawks: "The @pdxwinterhawks have trailed for a grand total of 7:15 during their entire 11-game winning streak."


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Another player forced to retire

THE MacBETH REPORT:

 D Ray Macias (Kamloops, 2002-07) signed a one-year contract with the Braehead Clan Glasgow (Scotland, UK Elite). He had nine goals and nine assists in 39 games with the Schwenninger Wild Wings (Germany, 2. Bundesliga) last season. . . .


F Levi Nelson (Swift Current, 2004-08) signed a one-year contract with Ritten/Renon (Italy, Serie A). He had 10 goals and 14 assists in 32 games with the Bakersfield Condors (ECHL), three goals and three assists in 10 games with the Greenville Road Warriors (ECHL), and one goal and one assist in 11 games with Grizzly Adams Wolfsburg (Germany, DEL) last season. . . .
F Tyler Beechey (Edmonton/Kootenay, Calgary, 1997-2002) signed a one-year contract with the Schwenninger Wild Wings (Germany, DEL). He had 14 goals and 16 assists in 34 games with the Straubing Tigers (Germany, DEL) last season., This will be Beechey’s seventh season in the DEL.
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The WHL has had another player retire due to post-concussion syndrome.
F Brent Benson, who was the sixth overall selection in the 2008 bantam draft, won’t play in his 20-year-old season.
Benson suffered at least two brain injuries last season and is believed to have had at least five during his career.
From Weyburn, Sask., Benson had 18 points in 64 games with the Saskatoon Blades as a 16-year-old. He added 44 points in 65 games as a sophomore, and 37 in 62 games in his third season.
Last season, he was dealt to the Swift Current Broncos for D Graeme Craig on Oct. 18. He had three assists in 11 games with the Blades and a pair of helpers in 10 games with the Broncos before being shut down.
Benson put up 105 points, including 35 goals, in 216 regular-season games.
Earlier this summer, Swift Current F Shea Howorko, 19, revealed that he has had to quit playing due to post-concussion syndrome.
The Broncos selected Howorko, who is from Swift Current, in the second round of the 2009 bantam draft.
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In a deal involving two 17-year-old defencemen, the Prince George Cougars have dealt Jordan Harris to the Swift Current Broncos for Zack Gonek.
Harris, who is from Prince Albert, had told the Cougars he would prefer to play closer to home. The 6-foot-1, 170-pounder was the 10th overall selection in the 2011 bantam draft. He started last season with the midget AAA Prince Albert Mintos and put up 12 assists in 21 games. However, he suffered a concussion and missed significant playing time. He joined the Cougars early in January and finally played on Feb. 6. In 17 games with Prince George, he had five assists.
Gonek, who is from St. Albert, Alta., was taken by the Broncos with the 13th pick of the 2011 bantam draft. Last season, with the midget AAA St. Albert Raiders, he had four points in 24 games.
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Shawn Mullin, the radio voice of the Swift Current Broncos, tweeted Wednesday afternoon that F Dakota Odgers “is going to be out until Nov/Dec after shoulder surgery.” Odgers, the 17-year-old son of former WHL and NHL F Jeff Odgers, was pointless in eight games with the Broncos last season. He was a second-round pick by the Broncos in the 2011 bantam draft. . . . Mullin also noted that F Ty McLean, 18, has been invited to the Broncos’ training camp. McLean, from Redvers, Sask., had one assist in 24 games with the Regina Pats last season. He was a fifth-round selection by the Pats in the 2010 bantam draft.
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The Saskatoon arena that is home to the Blades may soon be getting a new name. Kevin Menz of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix reports that the credit unions involved purchasing the naming rights to Credit Union Centre won’t be renewing the deal when it expires on Oct. 31, 2014. . . . There’s more right here.
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F Jordan Wyton, 20, has signed with the AJHL’s Brooks Bandits. Wyton, from Lethbridge, played the last three seasons with the Moose Jaw Warriors. Last season, in 35 games, he had 10 points. He spent some time on the shelf with a brain injury. In fact, he played on three games between Nov. 11 and Feb. 22 with what is believed to have been a brain injury. . . . In 173 regular-season games, he had 40 points, including 12 goals.
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Billy Moores, one of the really good guys in the game of hockey, is back with the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers, this time as the director of coaching development and special projects. . . . Joanne Ireland of the Edmonton Journal has more right here.
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Brian Cobb has been hired by the Spokane Chiefs as director of public/media relations. Cobb worked as an intern in public relations and marketing with the Seattle Thunderbirds in 2011-12. With the Chiefs, he takes over from Jay Stewart, who had held that position since 2000 and now is vice-president of sponsorships.
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One of these days, perhaps Friday, Major League Baseball will hand out some more suspensions in the Biogenesis doping scandal. But what about other sports? Should they be concerned? . . . Allen Barra of The Atlantic points out right here that there is a whole lot more to this story than baseball, but some other sports don’t seem to care.
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THE COACHING GAME:
The junior B Revelstoke Grizzlies of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League have hired James Eccles as their new general manager and head coach. For the past two seasons, Eccles has been head coach of the major midget Okanagan Rockets, who play out of Kelowna. He replaces Kevin Kraus, who now is an assistant coach with the BCHL’s Salmon Arm SilverBacks.
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From Lukas Walter (@Lukaswalter9): “Well off to @pdxwinterhawks camp in August couldn’t be more excited and would like to thank the @TCAmericans and hope to see everyone in exys”
Walter, a 20-year-old forward, had three points in 68 games with the Americans last season. The Winterhawkshave two other 20-year-olds on their roster — F Shane McColgan and D Garrett Haar.

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THE MacBETH REPORT:
D Ray Macias (Kamloops, 2003-07) signed a one-year contract with the Schwenningen Wild Wings (Germany, 2.Bundesliga). He had six goals and 14 assists in 38 games with the Reading Royals (ECHL), was pointless in two games on loan to Toronto Marlies (AHL), and had one goal and two assists in three games on loan to the Springfield Falcons (AHL) last season.
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There is a bit of a WHL angle to Strait of Dover, the winner of the 153rd Queen’s Plate on Sunday at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto.
Strait of Dover is owned by Terry and Wally Leong of Canyon Farms in Kelowna.
They are the parents of Jeff Sharples’ wife, Michelle. Sharples played for the Kelowna Wings, Spokane Chiefs and Portland Winterhawks (1984-87).
A pilot, Sharples now flies for Alaska Airlines/Horizon Air, mostly out of Seattle. Tim Wharnsby of cbc.ca has more on the Queen’s Plate right here.
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The late Fred Shero, one of the most influential coaches in hockey’s history, isn’t in the Hockey Hall of Fame? . . . Larry Brooks of the New York Post makes the case that he should be. . . . That piece is right here. . . . Oh, and Brooks is right.
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With the NHL draft having come and gone, some teams, at least those holding development camps, are in the process of signing up undrafted players.
For starters, F Brandon Magee of the Victoria Royals and F Stephane Legault of the Edmonton Oil Kings will join the Edmonton Oil Kings’ camp. . . . D Myles Bell of the Kelowna Rockets is off to New York to skate with Rangers’ hopefuls. . . . F T.J. Foster of the Edmonton Oil Kings has accepted an invitation from the Dallas Stars.

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