Rebels add two to roster . . . 2019 WJC to Vancouver/Victoria . . . Check out Lynn's book

F Bud Holloway (Seattle, 2003-08) has signed a contract for the rest of this season with Skellefteå (Sweden, SHL). He was released by CSKA Moscow (Russia, KHL) on Nov. 18 after recording three goals and six assists in 12 games. . . . Holloway has played three seasons (2011-14) for Skellefteå. He was the SHL’s leading scorer with 71 points, including 51 assists, in 55 games, and won the league’s MVP award in 2012-13.

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The Red Deer Rebels have added F Matt Campese and D Jacob Herauf to their roster.

Campese, who will turn 19 on Dec. 10, was released by the Kamloops Blazers early this season and has been with the BCHL’s West Kelowna Warriors. He has 17 points, including six goals, in 15 games with

the Warriors. A third-round pick of the Victoria Royals in the 2012 WHL bantam draft, he has 10 goals and six assists in 95 career regular-season games — 16 with the Royals and 79 with Kamloops. He is the son of former WHL goaltender/coach/general manager Bruno Campese, who now scouts for the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights.

Herauf, 16, has been with the midget AAA Sherwood Park, Alta., Kings. The Rebels selected him with the 16th overall pick of the 2015 bantam draft. He already has played nine games with the Rebels this season, recording one assist.

Why the additions? Perhaps because Red Deer GM/head coach Brent Sutter is looking for more out of his roster.

When Greg Meachem of reddeerrebels.com asked Sutter about his club’s play after a 4-3 OT victory over the visiting Saskatoon Blades on Wednesday, the response was: “Truthfully? I’m not a very happy camper right now. I wasn’t happy at all with the way we played the second period. We took some dumb penalties. We do self-inflicted things that hurt us and we don’t stick to what allows us to be a good team.

“We played well in the first period and did some good things in the third. When we keep the game simple, play straight lines, do things right and have a good transition where we’re getting pucks back up the ice, we play well and we’ve proven it at different times this (season).”

The Rebels’ inconsistent play has been bothering Sutter for some time now. It would seem he is going to try and fix it by bringing in competition for the players on his roster.

The addition of Campese also provides some depth should the Rebels lost F Michael Spacek and/or F Adam Musil to the Czech Republic’s national junior team.

The Rebels (13-11-4) got into the weekend in second place in the Central Division. They are 4-4-2 in their previous 10 games. They also are 13 points behind the Medicine Hat Tigers (21-5-1), but just three ahead of the Lethbridge Hurricanes (12-11-3), who have won five in a row.

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Hockey Canada and the CHL announced on Thursday afternoon that a bid from Vancouver and Victoria to play host to the 2019 World Junior Championship has been selected.

Included in the bid are the cities of Vancouver and Victoria, along with Sport Hosting Vancouver, Sport Host Victoria, Tourism Victoria, the Vancouver Canucks, Vancouver Giants and Victoria Royals, and BC Hockey.

The Vancouver/Victoria bid won out over others from Calgary/Edmonton, Saskatoon/Winnipeg and London/Windsor.

The tournament last was played in B.C. in 2006 when there were games in Kamloops, Kelowna and Vancouver. Attendance totalled 325,138 for that event. The 2019 tournament will be played in Vancouver and Victoria. Whichever pool includes Canada will play out of Rogers Place in Vancouver; the other pool will play in the Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre in Victoria.

The Vancouver/Victoria organizing committee will be co-chaired by Ron Toigo, the managing director of Shato Holdings and the majority owner of the Giants, and Barry Petrachenko, the CEO of BC Hockey.

The 2017 tournament opens on Boxing Day and will be played in Toronto and Montreal. Those cities also played host in 2015, while last year’s tournament was held in Helsinki, Finland. The 2018 tournament is to be played in Buffalo.

The awarding of the 2019 tournament to Vancouver/Victoria means that the tournament will have been played in North America four times in a five-year stretch.

This also will signal to smaller markets — once and for all — that they need not waste their time or money getting involved in the bidding process. It’s all about the guarantee and having a guarantor in place to cover losses if that guarantee isn’t met.

The decision to award the 2019 event to Vancouver/Victoria is “another rejection for London and Windsor — and all smaller junior hockey markets who still hold increasingly diminishing hopes they’ll ever get to stage a world junior hockey championship,” writes Morris Dalla Costa of the London Free Press. . . .That piece is right here.

The 2021 WJC also is to be played in Canada, and you can bet everything you own that it will go to Calgary and Edmonton.

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The Kelowna Rockets will have two of their players in the 2017 World Junior Championship. F Calvin Thukauf is to join Team Switzerland in Oshawa as it prepares for the tournament that opens Boxing Day in Toronto and Montreal. F Tomas Soustal will join Czech Republic in Montreal. Both players are scheduled to leave Kelowna on Dec. 12. . . . Team Russia released its preliminary roster on Thursday and it included one WHLer — D Sergey Zborovskiy of the Regina Pats. He is one of 12 defencemen on the preliminary roster. The Russians will hold a pre-tournament camp in Kingston, Ont. Zborovskiy is to leave Regina on Dec. 18.

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12 hours after this goalie's 14th shutout, it's 15 minutes of new friends and recess.

📍 Seattle Hill Elementary pic.twitter.com/esh6qDgU5W

— Everett Silvertips (@WHLsilvertips) December 1, 2016

G Carter Hart of the Everett Silvertips has posted three straight shutouts, meaning he is one shy of the WHL record that has been held by Chris Worthy of the Flin Flon Bombers for almost 50 years. Worthy put up four in a row from Dec. 29, 1967, through Jan. 13, 1968. . . . Hart has gone 187 minutes 1 second without allowing a goal. Worthy holds that record, too, at 265:13. . . . Hart’s next test comes tonight, assuming that he is Everett’s starter, when the Silvertips play host to the Medicine Hat Tigers. This game matches the WHL’s highest-scoring team, the Tigers, against the stingiest, the Silvertips. . . . The Tigers (21-5-1) have won 10 in a row and lead the overall standings by one point over the Silvertips (19-3-4), who have won four straight.

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As you no doubt are aware, the NHL will have a new franchise in play next season — the Vegas Golden Knights. Their front office is full of men with ties to the WHL, including Kelly McCrimmon, Bob Lowes, Vaughn Karpan, Erin Ginnell, Bruno Campese, Murray Craven and Jim McKenzie. . . . If you are interested in what goes into putting an NHL expansion team together and getting it on the ice, get a copy of Tom Lynn’s book How to Bake an NHL Franchise from Scratch: The First Era of the Minnesota Wild. . . . It’s an entertaining and informative look at one of the NHL’s most-recent expansion franchises. . . . Lynn was an executive with the Wild; he now is an agent with Veritas Hockey.

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If you’ve got a comment, some information you would like to pass along, or if you just want to say hello, feel free to contact me at greggdrinnan@gmail.com.

If you would like to donate to the cause, please visit the bottom of this post and go right ahead.

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JUST NOTES:

D Cam Reagan, 19, who was released by the Prince Albert Raiders on Monday has signed to play with his hometown AJHL team, the Sherwood Park Crusaders. . . . He had two assists in 18 games with the Raiders. In 117 regular-season WHL games, 99 of those with the Kamloops Blazers, he put up 10 assists. . . . 

The AJHL’s Sherwood Park Crusaders have acquired the rights to F Jesse Zaharichuk, 19, from the Drumheller Dragons for future considerations. Zaharichuk, who is from Sherwood Park, had 17 points, including eight goals, in 17 games with the Lethbridge Hurricanes. He was assigned to Drumheller early in November, but he hadn’t yet played there. . . .

The AJHL’s Brooks Bandits have signed D Kord Pankewicz, 20, who was placed on waivers by the WHL’s Lethbridge Hurricanes earlier this week. He had a goal and eight assists in 24 games with Lethbridge this season. Pankewicz is from Drayton Valley, Alta. . . .

The Portland Winterhawks have dropped F Ty Kolle, 16, from their roster and he is returning to the Prince George-based Cariboo Cougars of the B.C. Major Midget Hockey League. Kolle had three assists in 13 games with Portland. From Kamloops, he was a fourth-round pick by Portland in the 2015 WHL bantam draft.

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Our @ianaterry may have captured the most Everett Silvertips photo of all time last night: pic.twitter.com/bVJNGhrbrQ

— Jesse Geleynse (@JesseGeleynse) December 1, 2016

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THURSDAY’S GAMES:

No Games Scheduled.

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FRIDAY’S GAMES (all times local):

Saskatoon at Edmonton, 7 p.m.

Medicine Hat at Everett, 7:35 p.m.

Red Deer at Lethbridge, 7 p.m. (TBG)

Moose Jaw at Prince Albert, 7 p.m.

Victoria at Prince George, 7 p.m.

Kootenay vs. Seattle, at Kent, Wash., 7:35 p.m.

Kelowna at Spokane, 7:05 p.m.

Calgary at Swift Current, 7 p.m. (TBG)

Portland vs. Tri-City, at Kennewick, Wash., 7:05 p.m.

Brandon vs. Vancouver, at Langley, B.C., 7:30 p.m.

TBG: Teddy Bear Game.

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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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