No offer, Loewen now free agent. . . . 11 other ex-WHLers don’t get signed. . . . NYT with more on Boogaard, concussions

 

MacBeth

F Dustin Boyd (Moose Jaw, 2002-06) has signed a one-year contract extension with Barys Nur-Sultan (Kazakhstan, KHL). This season, he had six goals and nine assists in 51 games. He started the season with Dynamo Moscow (Russia, KHL), going pointless in five games. He was released by Dynamo on Sept. 26 and signed with Barys on Sept. 27. . . .

F Ryan Harrison (Prince Albert, Medicine Hat, Everett, 2007-13) has signed a one-year contract extension with Jegesmedvék Miskolc (Hungary, Slovakia Extraliga). This season, he had six goals and 23 assists in 57 games. . . .

F Geordie Wudrick (Swift Current, Kelowna, 2005-11) has signed a one-year contract with Adendorf (Germany, Regionalliga Nord). This season,  with Harzer Falken Braunlage (Germany, Oberliga), he had one goal in seven games. . . .

G Garret Hughson (Spokane, 2012-16) has signed a one-year contract with Acélbikák Dunaújváros (Hungary, rest Liga). This season, with U of Lethbridge (USports, Canada West), he got into 25 games, going 8-13-1-0, 3.73, .909, with one shutout and one assist. . . .

F Vitali Karamnov (Everett, 2007-08) has signed a one-year contract with Saryarka Karaganda (Kazakhstan, Vysshaya Liga). This season, in 17 games with Ugra Khanty-Mansiysk (Russia, Vysshaya Liga), he had two goals and eight assists.


ThisThat

The Dallas Stars selected F Jermaine Loewen from the Kamloops Blazers in the seventh Kamloops1round of the NHL’s 2018 draft and he then attended their development camp.

However, Loewen now is an unrestricted free agent.

Ray Petkau, Loewen’s agent, confirmed to Taking Note on Sunday that the Stars chose not to make an offer to Loewen prior to Saturday’s deadline, thus making him an unrestricted free agent.

“We do have AHL offers,” Petkau told Taking Note. “(There is) interest at the NHL level, but not sure yet where it’ll go.”

Loewen, now 21, has been one of the WHL’s best stories in recent years, having come all the way from a Jamaican orphanage to captain the Blazers.

He played five seasons with the Blazers, scoring 36 goals in 2017-18 and adding 28 more this season.

The 6-foot-4, 225-pound Loewen grew up in Arborg, Man., after being adopted by Tara and Stan Loewen. He didn’t play organized hockey until he was 10.

A true power forward who loves to drive to the opposition’s net off the left wing, Loewen finished his WHL career with 78 goals in 295 regular-season games, which isn’t bad when you consider that he didn’t get No. 1 until Game No. 85.

After not being selected in the NHL’s 2016 draft, he attended the San Jose Shark’s development camp. He also wasn’t picked in the 2017 draft.

——

At least 11 others players with WHL ties weren’t signed prior to June 1 by the NHL teams NHLwho held their rights. . . . Nine of those players were selected in the NHL’s 2017 draft . . .

D Daniel Bukac, a seventh-round pick by the Boston Bruins, played this season with the OHL’s Niagara IceDogs. Bukac, 20, spent two seasons (2016-18) with the Brandon Wheat Kings.

F Brett Davis of the Red Deer Rebels was a sixth-round pick by the Dallas Stars. Davis also has played with the Lethridge Hurricanes and Kootenay Ice. He turned 20 on Saturday, so is eligible to return to the Rebels.

D Brendan De Jong of the Portland Winterhawks was taken by the Carolina Hurricanes in the sixth round. De Jong, who played five seasons with Portland, completed his junior eligibility this season.

F Zach Fischer, who played with the Medicine Hat Tigers and Spokane Chiefs (2014-18), was selected by the Calgary Flames in the fifth round. Fischer, 21, split this season between the AHL’s Stockton Heat and the ECHL’s Kansas City Mavericks and Rapid City Rush.

G Jordan Hollett of the Medicine Hat Tigers was a fourth-round pick by the Ottawa Senators. Hollett, 20, is eligible to return for a fourth WHL season. The Tigers acquired him from the Regina Pats prior to the 2017-18 season.

F Kyle Olson of the Tri-City Americans was taken by the Anaheim Ducks in the fourth round. Olson, 20, is eligible to return to the Americans after finishing with 21 goals and 49 assists in 62 games this season.

D Jarret Tyszka of the Seattle Thunderbirds was picked by the Montreal Canadiens in the fifth round. At 20, he is eligible to return for a fifth season with the Thunderbirds.

D Scott Walford of the Victoria Royals was a third-round selection by Montreal. Walford, 20, has played four seasons with the Royals and is eligible for one more.

F Lane Zablocki was a third-round pick by the Detroit Red Wings. He doesn’t turn 21 until Dec. 27, but that means he has used up his junior eligibility. In the WHL, he played with the Regina Pats, Red Deer Rebels, Lethbridge Hurricanes, Victoria Royals and Kelowna Rockets. He finished this season, and his junior career, with the BCHL’s Vernon Vipers.

Fischer and Zablocki now are unrestricted free agents; the others will be eligible for the 2019 NHL draft, which is to be held in Vancouver on June 21 and 22.

Two other players, both of whom were drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks in 2015, also have gone unsigned. F Radovan Bondra (Vancouver Giants, Prince George Cougars, 2015-18) had been selected in the fifth round, while F John Dahlstrom (Medicine Hat Tigers, 2016-17) was taken in the seventh round.

Bondra and Dahlstrom, both 22, were drafted from clubs outside North American, so Chicago owned their rights for four years. Both players now are unrestricted free agents.


There has never been a subscription fee for this blog, but if you enjoy stopping by here, why not consider donating to the cause? Thank you very much.


The Winnipeg Ice has signed G Daniel Hauser to a WHL contract. Hauser, from Chestermere, Alta., was a sixth-round selection in the 2019 bantam draft. . . . This season, he got into 23 regular-season games with the bantam prep team at the Calgary-based Edge School. He was 3.00, .911.


The New York Times story, written by John Branch, carries this headline: The N.F.L. Has Been Consumed by the Concussion Issue. Why Hasn’t the N.H.L.? . . . “With the Stanley Cup finals underway,” Branch writes, “Joanne Boogaard and a growing group of former players worry that people have moved on to a stage of acceptance — that the N.H.L. has emerged from its concussion crisis by steadfastly denying that hockey has any responsibility for the brain damage quietly tormenting players and their families.” . . . Boogaard is the mother of the late Derek Boogaard, whose brain was found to contain chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), the disease that is caused by head trauma. . . . Branch is the author of the book Boy On Ice: The Life and Death of Derek Boogaard. . . . If you haven’t read the book, you should. . . . Branch’s latest piece on the Boogards, the NHL, concussions and all the rest is right here. You should read that, too.


Tweetoftheday

Advertisement

Wrapping up Deadline Day . . . Teams close with 11 deals involving 16 players . . . Raiders involved in three trades

tradewire

THE DEADLINE IS GONE

(WHL trade deadline: Thursday, 3 p.m. MT)

Thursday’s action:

No. of trades: 11.

Players: 16.

Bantam draft picks: 10.

Conditional draft picks: 4.

——

Total deals (since Nov. 26):

No. of trades: 44.

Players: 77.

Bantam draft picks: 63.

Conditional draft picks: 15.

(Note: On Nov. 30, Kelowna traded F Jack Cowell, 19, to Kootenay for a third-round selection in the 2020 bantam draft. Cowell chose not to report and the deal was voided, so isn’t included in these totals.)

——

The Prince Albert Raiders did some last-minute shopping on Thursday as the WHL’s annual trade deadline passed us by.

The Raiders completed three deals, all before noon their time, after which management PrinceAlbertpresumable went snow golfing.

In all, the Raiders added three depth players — a goaltender, a defenceman and a forward.

The Raiders added G Boston Bilous, 17, from the Edmonton Oil Kings, giving up a conditional sixth-round selection in the 2022 WHL bantam draft.

Bilous, from Langley, B.C., was a fourth-round pick by the Oil Kings in the 2016 bantam draft. At the time, he had committed to the U of Denver Pioneers, but later changed his mind and signed with the Oil Kings.

The 6-foot-3, 175-pounder appeared in 10 games for Edmonton this season, going 3-4-1, 3.56, .859. Last season, he was 0-10-1, 4.72, .838.

Bilous has been hampered by injuries, missing two weeks in early November. He returned to play two games, but now hasn’t been in a game since Nov. 24.

Last season, he also missed couple of weeks in November, returned for three games and then was out until late February.

Bilous is eligible for the NHL’s 2019 draft and, in fact, is on NHL Central Scouting’s watch list where he is projected as a potential late-round selection.

After making the deal, the Raiders had three goaltenders on their roster — Bilous, starter Ian Scott and Donovan Buskey, who was acquired from the Spokane Chiefs on Aug. 31 for a sixth-round pick in the 2020 bantam draft.

Later in the day, Prince Albert dropped Buskey from its roster. He is expected to join the BCHL’s Trail Smoke Eaters.

Scott, 20, is 24-4-1, 1.73, .939. Buskey, who is to turn 19 on Jan. 29, had gotten into 11 games, going 9-1-0, 3.15, .870.

While the Raiders may be looking for some competition at the backup position, they also are looking to next season when Scott no longer will be part of their organization. It could be that a change in scenery will help Bilous kick the injury thing and get things back on track. After all, in his bantam draft season he was the CSSHL’s top goaltender while player at the Delta Hockey Academy.

Bilous’s departure leaves the Oil Kings with veterans Dylan Myskiw, 19, and Todd Scott, 18, as their goaltenders.

Earlier in the day, the Raiders acquired D Loeden Schaufler, 18, from the Seattle Thunderbirds for an eighth-round pick in the 2019 bantam draft.

From De Winton, Alta., Schaufler was a third-round selection by the Kootenay Ice in the 2015 bantam draft.

The Ice dealt him to Seattle on Oct. 9, along with a conditional ninth-round pick in the 2019 bantam draft, for F Eric Fawkes, 17, a Winnipegger who is with the MJHL’s Winkler Flyers and has committed to RPI (Rensselaer Polytech Institute) for 2020-21.

The 6-foot-1, 185-pound Schaufler has eight assists in 57 regular-season games, 37 of them with the Ice, including 32 last season. This season, he had two assists in 20 games with Seattle.

Schaufler only recently returned to action after being injured on Dec. 8 when he was on the receiving end of a hit by F Sean Richards, then of the Everett Silvertips. Richard drew a boarding major and game misconduct on the play and subsequently was suspended for eight games. While serving that suspension, he found himself traded to Seattle in a deal that had F Zack Andrusiak go to Everett. Schaufler returned to the lineup on Jan. 4 against the Wheat Kings in Brandon.

Later in the day, the Raiders dropped D Lane Kirk, 18, from their roster. Kirk, from Swan River, Man., was a fifth-round pick by the Raiders in the 2015 bantam draft. However, he has been injured and has yet to play this season. He now is expected to join the MJHL’s Swan Valley Stampeders, who play out of Swan River.

The Raiders began the day by sending F Quinn Olson, 17, to the Calgary Hitmen for F Bryce Bader, 17. The teams also swapped conditional sixth-round bantam draft picks — the year wasn’t revealed — in the deal.

From Sherwood Park, Alta., Bader, 6-foot-1 and 200 pounds, has played 14 games with Calgarythe Hitmen over three seasons. This season, he has four goals in 10 games, with three of them coming over his past three games. Bader was injured in Calgary’s final exhibition game  and didn’t get back into game action until Nov. 9. He played the previous two seasons with the midget AAA Sherwood Park Kings, putting up 21 goals 23 assists in 58 games.

The Hitmen selected him in the second round of the 2016 bantam draft.

The Raiders selected Olson, who is from Calgary, in the sixth round of that same draft. The 5-foot-10, 155-pounder has committed to the U of Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs for 2020-21, and has played the past two seasons with the AJHL’s Okotoks Oilers. This season, he has 17 goals and 25 assists in 35 games; last season, he put up 14 goals and 39 assists in 53 games.

The Raiders are back on home ice, where they have lost three of their last four games, against the Portland Winterhawks tonight.

——

The Tri-City Americans acquired F Samuel Huo, 17, from the Seattle Thunderbirds for a conditional fifth-round selection in the WHL’s 2020 bantam draft.

A 6-foot-4, 185-pounder from Richmond, B.C., was added to Seattle’s protected list in 2017.

This season, Huo has three goals and six assists in 34 games. Last season, as a freshman, he had three goals and three assists in 67 games.

“Samuel is a young, experienced forward with good upside,” Tri-City general manager Bob Tory said in a news release. “After the departure of Isaac Johnson and recent injuries we felt it was necessary to add another forward to our roster.”

Tory told Taking Note on Wednesday night that Johnson, who had been a point-a-game player this season, has retired for personal reasons.

Huo is expected to be in the Americans’ lineup on Friday night when they visit the Everett Silvertips.

——

The Saskatoon Blades acquired F Ryan Hughes, 19, from the Saskatoon Blades for F Josh SaskatoonPaterson, 19, and two bantam draft picks — a second-rounder in 2020 and a fourth-rounder in 2021. . . . The second-round pick originally belonged to the Swift Current Broncos. They sent it and a fifth-rounder in 2019 to the Blades for G Logan Flodell on Sept. 20, 2017.

The 5-foot-8, 155-pound Hughes, who is from Edmonton and was listed by Portland, has played 223 regular-season games with the Winterhawks, putting up 64 goals and 87 assists. This season, Hughes has 17 goals and 23 assists in 36 games.

The Blades selected the 6-foot-2, 205-pound Paterson, who also is from Edmonton, in the second round of the 2014 bantam draft. He has played 246 regular-season games with Saskatoon, totalling 74 goals and 64 assists. This season, Paterson, an alternate captain, has 14 goals and 18 assists in 41 games.

The Winterhawks and Blades are in second place in their respective divisions, Portland Portlandtrailing the Everett Silvertips by 11 points in the U.S. Division and Saskatoon 14 points in arrears of the Prince Albert Raiders in the East Division.

The Winterhawks obviously feel they need more size in order to get to Everett’s level, while Blades’ management is of the opinion that they must have more speed and offence in order to compete with Prince Albert.

Portland also is able to add a couple of bantam draft picks in this deal, one day after sending six selections to the Broncos for G Joel Hofer.

The Blades are to entertain the Calgary Hitmen on Friday night. On Saturday night, the Winterhawks, who play in Prince Albert on Friday, will visit Saskatoon.

——

The Moose Jaw Warriors have acquired F Carson Denomie, 18, from the Kamloops MooseJawWarriorsBlazers for a seventh-round selection in the WHL’s 2019 bantam draft.

The 6-foot-0, 195-pound Denomie is from Regina. The Blazers selected him in the fifth round of the 2015 bantam draft.

This season, he has one goal and three assists in 36 games. Last season, he recorded six goals and 13 assists in 66 games.

In 2016-17, Denomie helped the midget AAA Regina Pat Canadians to a league championship, putting up 16 goals and 30 assists in 44 regular-season games.

The trade was made while the Blazers were in Victoria, where they are to meet the Royals on Friday night after dropping a 5-3 decision on Wednesday.

Interestingly, the Warriors will be in Kamloops to meet the Blazers on Tuesday.

——

Moose Jaw and Swift Current got together on a buzzer-beater, with the Warriors landing F Alec Zawatsky, 19, in exchange for F Tyler Smithies, 18, and two bantam draft picks — a fourth-rounder in 2020 and a fifth in 2021.

Zawatsky, from Yorkton, led the Broncos in goals (13) and points (26), in 39 games. Last season, he had three goals and five assists in 43 games with the Saskatoon Blades, under head coach Dean Brockman. After the Blades fired Brockman, he ended up joining the Broncos and he found a spot for Zawatsky on the roster.

Smithies, from Beaumont, Alta., has two goals and an assist in 19 games with the Warriors this season. Last season, he had a goal and four assists in 36 games.

The Warriors are at home to the Seattle Thunderbirds on Friday night, while the Broncos will entertain the Thunderbirds on Saturday.

——

The Kootenay Ice have acquired D Chase Hartje, 19, from the Brandon Wheat Kings for a Kootenaynewthird-round selection in the 2019 WHL bantam draft. The pick originally belonged to the Red Deer Rebels.

Hartje, from Bemidji, Minn. has four goals and eight assists in 35 games with Brandon this season. Last season, he had 17 assists in 31 games with the Moose Jaw Warriors, then added three goals and five assists in 27 games with the Wheat Kings.

This was the second deadline day in a row on which Hartje changed teams. A year ago, Moose Jaw dealt him to Brandon as part of the trade in which the Warriors landed D Kale Clague and the Wheat Kings got F Luka Burzan.

The Ice next plays Saturday when it visits the Lethbridge Hurricanes.

——


The Vancouver Giants added D Nic Draffin, 17, from the Red Deer Rebels in exchange for a seventh-round selection in the 2021 WHL bantam draft.

Michael Dyck, the Giants’ first-year head coach, is most familiar with Draffin, having Vancouvercoached him bantam AAA and midget AAA in Lethbridge. While there, Draffin also was teammates with D Bowen Byram, who now stars for Vancouver.

This season, Draffin has one goal and four assists in 35 games with the AJHL’s Calgary Mustangs.

The Rebels selected Draffin in the third-round of the 2016 bantam draft.

The 6-foot-3, 205-pound Draffin, who is from Lethbridge, is expected to join the Giants in time for home games against the Kamloops Blazers on Saturday and Victoria Royals on Sunday.

After Alan Caldwell posted the above tweet, the Kelowna Rockets claimed D Matt Barberis, 20, on waivers from the Giants, then released F Lane Zablocki, 20, who has joined the BCHL’s Vernon Vipers.

Barberis, from Surrey, B.C., has played only nine games this season due to injury. This KelownaRocketswould have been his fourth full season with the Giants; in the previous three, he played 49, 48 and 56 games. In 168 regular-season games, he has 21 goals and 64 assists. The Giants selected him with the 20th overall pick of the 2013 bantam draft.

The 5-foot-11, 185-pound Barberis joins D Dalton Gally and D Schael Higson as 20-year-olds on Kelowna’s roster.

Bruce Hamilton, the Rockets’ general manager, said in a news release that Barberis has medical clearance to play, but “he probably won’t play until next weekend.”

Zablocki had four goals and eight assists in 22 games with the Rockets, who acquired him from the Victoria Royals on Sept. 28, giving up a seventh-round bantam draft pick in 2019 and a fourth-rounder in 2021. He has 62 goals and 72 assists in 223 career regular-season WHL games.

——

In a one-for-one exchange that was made right before the trading deadline, the Medicine Tigers Logo OfficialHat Tigers sent F Josh Williams, 17, to the Edmonton Oil Kings for F Brett Kemp, 18.

Williams, who has been selected to play in the Top Prospects Game in Red Deer on Jan. 23, has nine goals and

Williams, from Langley, B.C., was selected by the Tigers with the fifth-overall pick in the WHL’s 2016 bantam draft.

The 6-foot-1, 185-pounder has nine goals and 12 assists in 41 games this season, after putting up 11 goals and nine assists in 47 games last season. He had five goals and an EdmontonOilKingsassist in five games with Canada’s U-18 team at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup in Red Deer and Edmonton in August.

Kemp, from Yorkton, Sask., was selected by the Everett Silvertips in the second round of the 2015 bantam draft. The Oil Kings acquired Kemp and F Graham Millar, along with a 2018 first-round bantam draft pick from Everett on Jan. 4, 2017, for D Aaron Irving and a seventh-rounder in the 2017 draft.

The 6-foot-1, 160-pound Kemp has 43 goals and 46 assists in 146 regular-season games, all but 17 of them with Edmonton. This season, he has 22 goals and 17 assists in 40 games. He had been the Oil Kings’ second-leading point producer.

Kemp is expected to be in the Tigers’ lineup on Friday against the visiting Regina Pats, while Williams should be Edmonton’s lineup when it visits the Lethbridge Hurricanes. On Saturday, the Tigers are at home to the Oil Kings, meaning Kemp and Williams will be going up against their former teammates.

——

The Everett Silvertips added size to their roster, and they hope they got some offence, Everetttoo, with the acquisition of F Robbie Holmes, 19, from the Regina Pats.

In exchange for the 6-foot-2, 185-pound Holmes, from Sherwood Park, Alta., the Pats get F Sloan Stanick, 15, who hasn’t signed a WHL contract, and two WHL bantam draft picks — a second-rounder in 2020 and a sixth in 2022.

An 11th-round pick in the 2014 bantam draft, Holmes has 29 goals and 27 assists in 148 regular-season games with Regina. This season, he has nine goals and seven assists in 24 games.

Stanick, from Rapid City, Man., was selected by Everett in the seventh round of the 2018 bantam draft.

This season, he has 12 goals and 12 assists in 31 games with the Yellowhead Chiefs of the Manitoba AAA Midget Hockey League. Last season, with the bantam AAA Chiefs, he finished with 28 goals and 31 assists in 36 games.

Stanick’s twin brother, Slade, also plays for the midget AAA Chiefs. Slade is on Everett’s protected list.

The Silvertips are at home to the Tri-City Americans on Friday night.

Rockets deal for 20-year-old from Royals . . . Oil Kings win again . . . Brandon’s Burzan fills the net


ThisThat

The Kelowna Rockets have acquired F Lane Zablocki, who is to turn 20 on Dec. 27, from the Victoria Royals. In exchange, the Royals got a conditional seventh-round selection in KelownaRocketsthe 2019 WHL bantam draft and a conditional fourth-round pick in the 2021 bantam draft. . . . The Royals’ news release indicated that both draft picks were conditional; the Rockets’ news release didn’t use the word ‘conditional.’ . . . The Royals got Zablocki from the Lethbridge Hurricanes at last season’s trade deadline, giving up a second-round pick in the 2018 bantam draft, a conditional third-rounder in 2019 and a sixth-rounder in 2018. . . . He recorded one goal and five assists in 25 regular-season games with the Royals, then added two goals and an assist in 10 playoff games. . . . Zablocki also has played with the Regina Pats and Red Deer Rebels. In 201 regular-season games, he has 58 goals and 64 assists. . . . Zablocki, from Wetaskiwin, Alta., was a fifth-round pick by the Prince George Cougars in the 2013 bantam draft. The Detroit Red Wings selected him in the third round of the NHL’s 2017 draft. . . .

The Rockets were down to one 20-year-old for two weekend games in Prince George. They have been carrying two, but F Ryan Bowen was ill and didn’t play on the weekend. That left D Braydyn Chizen as the team’s lone 20-year-old. . . .

Bruce Hamilton, the Rockets’ president and general manager, said that Zablocki isn’t expected to play “for another two weeks” as he recovers from an undisclosed injury. “He is just arriving back home to Regina from Detroit’s training camp where he was all summer,” Hamilton added, “and he will report to us on Monday.”

The Royals, meanwhile, have settled on F Dante Hannoun, D Ralph Jarratt and G Griffen Outhouse as their three 20s.

The Rockets snapped their season-opening four-game losing streak with a 5-2 victory over the Cougars in Prince George on Saturday night. Kelowna went into this game having lost 12 straight — four playoff games, four exhibition games and the first four games of this regular season.


Steve Ewen of Postmedia reported Friday night that D Bailey Dhaliwal had one arm in a sling after injuring a shoulder during a 3-1 loss to the visiting Seattle Thunderbirds. Dhaliwal, 19, left the game in the first period. . . . He has a history of shoulder woes. He was limited to six games last season because of surgery. In 2016-17, he was able to play in only 29 games. . . . “We’re going to see where he’s at . . . but obviously I’m concerned,” Michael Dyck, the Giants’ head coach, told Ewen. “Anytime that shoulder is injured there’s a concern.” . . . Ewen has more on the Giants’ situation right here.


G Carl Stankowski is back in action after sitting out all of last season. You’ll recall that Stankowski, as a 16-year-old, was the story of the 2016-17 playoffs as he backstopped the Seattle Thunderbirds to the Ed Chynoweth Cup. But he didn’t play at all last season due to injury and illness. Now he’s back and playing with the Calgary Hitmen. . . . Todd Saelhof of Postmedia has more right here.


SATURDAY NIGHT STUFF:

The Washington Capitals have signed F Riley Sutter of the Everett Silvertips to a three-year entry-level NHL deal. He is to turn 19 on Oct. 25. Sutter, who is back with the Silvertips, was a third-round pick by the Capitals in the NHL’s 2018 draft. His father, Ron, played 19 seasons in the NHL. . . . Last night, Sutter scored twice and added an assist to lead the visiting Silvertips to a 3-2 victory over the Tri-City Americans. . . . Each team scored twice via the PP. . . .

D Igor Merezhko of the Lethbridge Hurricanes was given a two-game suspension after he got tossed from Friday’s 8-4 victory over the Pats in Regina. Merezhko didn’t play in Lethbridge’s 8-4 loss to the Wheat Kings in Brandon and won’t play Friday against the visiting Prince Albert Raiders. . . . The Wheat Kings got four goals and an assist from F Luka Burzan as they built up a 7-0 second-period lead; he later added an empty-netter for a five-goal night, the first in the WHL this season. . . .

F Riley McKay scored in the 10th round of a shootout to give the host Saskatoon Blades a 4-3 victory over the Medicine Hat Tigers. The Blades are 3-0-0 for the first time since 2011-12. Danish G Mads Søgaard, who stands 6-foot-7, made his first WHL start for the Tigers by stopping 39 shots. . . . The Blades had F Josh Paterson back in the lineup after he missed two games last weekend after taking a high hit from D Parker Gavlas of the visiting Regina Pats in an exhibition game on Sept. 13. When Paterson sat out the first game, it ended a streak of 145 straight regular-season games played. Gavlas was hit with a six-game suspension for the hit. . . . Paterson had two assists and was chosen the game’s first star. . . .

D Jared Freadrich, playing in his 200th regular-season game, had a goal and three assists as the Portland Winterhawks scored three PP goals and won their home-opener, 4-2, over the Seattle Thunderbirds. The Winterhawks got three assists from F Cody Glass, with linemate  Joachim Blichfeld getting a goal and two assists. . . . The Winterhawks next play on Wednesday (and Friday) when they visit the Blazers in Kamloops. This will be the return of Portland assistant coach Don Hay, the winningest head coach in WHL history who spent the previous four seasons with the Blazers. . . .

F Parker Kelly scored the game’s last two goals as the visiting Prince Albert Raiders erased a 5-2 deficit late in the third period and beat the Moose Jaw Warriors, 6-5. Moose Jaw D Brandon Schuldaus completed a three-game suspension left over from last season. He was suspended after taking a match penalty in a playoff game against Swift Current on April 16. . . . F Brayden Tracey, the 21st overall selection in the 2016 bantam draft, scored his first two WHL goals for the Warriors. Tracey, 17, is from Calgary. He had two assists in five games last season. This season, he had been pointless in two games. . . .

The host Victoria Royals erased 2-0 and 3-1 deficits, the latter in the second period, en route to a 6-3 victory over the Kamloops Blazers. The Royals had beaten the Blazers, 3-2, on Friday night. Victoria G Griffen Outhouse stopped 71 of 76 shots (.934) in the two victories. . . . Kamloops scratched sophomore F Connor Zary (ill) last night. . . . The Royals went 4-0-0 on a season-opening four-game homestand. . . .

The Swift Current Broncos, the WHL’s reigning champions, avoided a third straight shutout as they slipped to 0-4-0 by losing 5-2 to the Rebels in Red Deer. The Broncos have been outscored, 20-3. . . .

The Spokane Chiefs won their home-opener, getting two goals and an assist from Riley Woods in a 6-3 victory over the Kootenay Ice. One night earlier, the Chiefs came out of Cranbrook with a 7-4 victory over the Ice. . . . D Ty Smith had one assist and was plus-3 in his first game with the Chiefs since returning from the camp of the NHL’s New Jersey Devils with a three-year entry-level deal in his hip pocket. . . .

The visiting Edmonton Oil Kings skated to a 6-3 victory over the Calgary Hitmen, improving to 5-0-0 in the process. This is the first time in the franchise’s modern history, starting in 2007-08, that the Oil Kings have opened with five straight victories. . . . The Hitmen, who were 6-0-0 in the exhibition season, are 0-3-0. . . . This was the first meeting between these teams this season. During the offseason, the Oil Kings fired head coach Steve Hamilton and the Hitmen hired him.


If you are a WHL fan and are on Twitter, you should be following Geoffrey Brandow (@GeoffreyBrandow). He regularly tweets interesting notes and stats involving WHL teams and players.


Tweetoftheday

Heponiemi leads Broncos to sweep . . . Swift Current takes 50/50, too . . . Johnston gets 300th victory . . . Dewar sparks Silvertips


MacBeth

D Stefan Ulmer (Spokane, 2007-10) has been assigned on loan by Lugano (Switzerland, NL A) to Ticino (Switzerland, NL B). The length of the loan wasn’t announced. He had three assists in 13 games with Lugano this season.


A LITTLE OF THIS . . .

Chris Dilks (@Chris Dilks), who closely follows U.S. college hockey, tweeted Saturday afternoon that “on the NTDP line chart . . . Erik Middendorf is no longer showing a commitment to Denver.” . . . Middendorf, a 17-year-old forward, is from Scottsdale, Ariz. The Moose Jaw Warriors selected him in the fourth round of the WHL’s 2015 bantam draft. . . . Middendorf, who is in the U.S. National Team Development Program, committed to the U of Denver on Sept. 20, 2016. . . . He is a nephew to former NHL F Max Middendorf.


The Los Angeles Ramblers played in the Western International Hockey League in 1946-47, flying to road games in Trail, Nelson, Kimberley and Spokane. Greg Nesteroff has more on the Ramblers right here, and if you care at all about hockey history you don’t want to miss this story.


Scoreboard

SUNDAY:

At Regina, F Aleksi Heponiemi had a goal and two assists to lead the Swift Current Broncos to a 4-1 victory over the Pats. . . . Swift Current (35-12-4) had won two in a row. It SCBroncosis second in the overall standings, seven points behind Moose Jaw. The Broncos are 4-0-0 in the season series with the Pats, including a 3-1 victory on home ice on Saturday afternoon. . . . Regina (25-22-5) has lost two in a row. It holds down the Eastern Conference’s first wild-card spot. . . . The Broncos scored the game’s first three goals. . . . F Beck Malenstyn (5) and F Matteo Gennaro (31), who were acquired in a pre-Christmas deal with Calgary, got the first two. Malenstyn scored at 18:45 of the first period. Gennaro counted at 9:00 of the second. . . . Heponiemi (24) added a PP goal at 5:31 of the third. . . . D Cale Fleury (9) got Regina’s goal at 16:02 of the third. . . . Broncos F Glenn Gawdin (40) closed out the scoring, on a PP, at 16:02. . . . Gennaro also had an assist. . . . Heponiemi now has 93 points, three shy of F Brayden Burke of Moose Jaw, who leads the scoring derby. . . . Swift Current was 2-4 on the PP; Regina was 0-3. . . . G Stuart Skinner stopped 41 shots for Swift Current, while G Ryan Kubic turned aside 31 at the other end. . . . Swift Current scratched F Kaden Elder, F Kole Gable and D Sahvan Khaira. . . . To complete Swift Current’s grand weekend, Jamie LeBlanc’s wife won the 50/50 draw. He is the Broncos’ athletic trainer. . . . Announced attendance: 6,484.


At Red Deer, F Jordy Bellerive tied the game in the third period and won it in OT as the LethbridgeLethbridge Hurricanes beat the Rebels, 2-1. . . . Lethbridge (23-21-6) had lost its previous four games (0-2-2). The Hurricanes are second in the Central Division, six points behind Medicine Hat and three in front of Kootenay. . . . Red Deer (12-25-12) had won its previous two games. . . . F Reese Johnson (17) put the home side ahead 1-0, while shorthanded, at 10:16 of the second period. . . . Bellerive tied it at 9:42 of the third period and won it with his 33rd goal of the season at 2:57 of OT. . . . Each team was 0-5 on the PP. . . . G Logan Flodell earned the victory with 22 saves. . . . Red Deer G Ethan Anders stopped 42 shots. . . . Announced attendance: 4,382.


At Everett, F Connor Dewar scored the game’s last two goals as the Silvertips beat the Spokane Chiefs, 6-5, in overtime. . . . Everett (32-16-3) has points in 10 straight games (9-0-Everett1). The Silvertips lead the Western Conference by one point over Kelowna. . . . The Silvertips were playing their third game in fewer than 48 hours, having split with Seattle, winning 3-1 at home and losing 3-2 in a shootout on the road. . . . Spokane (26-19-5) has points in six straight (4-0-2). It is tied with Tri-City for the Western Conference’s two wild-card spots. . . . The Chiefs scored two goals early in the third period — F Kailer Yamamoto (9), on a PP, at 2:16, and F Jaret Anderson-Dolan (27), at 4:38 — to take a 5-3 lead. . . . Everett got to within a goal when D Wyatte Wylie (5) scored at 5:08. . . . Dewar tied it at 19:36, then won it with his 27th goal at 1:10 of OT. Wylie had the primary assist on the winner for a three-point evening. . . . Dewar enjoyed a five-goal weekend. . . . F Jake McGrew had given Spokane a 1-0 lead, on a PP, at 10:15 of the first period. . . . F Matt Fonteyne (30) pulled Everett event at 15:07. . . . F Luke Toporowski (4) put the Chiefs back out front at 17:22. . . . F Spencer Gerth scored for Everett at 2:52 of the second period, but Anderson-Dolan put the Chiefs back out front at 5:58. . . . Wylie, on a PP, tied it at 10:30. . . . The Silvertips got two assists from F Patrick Bajkov, who now has 262 career points, tying F Zach Hamill (2003-08) for the franchise record. . . . F Garrett Pilon also had two assists for Everett, with Dewar adding one. . . . Yamamoto also had three assists, with Ty Smith getting two, and Anderson-Dolan one. . . . Spokane was 2-3 on the PP; Everett was 1-3. . . . G Carter Hart stopped 37 shots for the Silvertips. . . . The Chiefs got 42 saves from G Dawson Weatherill. . . . Announced attendance: 4,187.


At Portland, Mike Johnston got his 300th regular-season coaching victory as the Winterhawks beat the Kamloops Blazers, 4-2. . . . Johnston is the 23rd coach in WHL Portlandhistory to get 300 victories. . . . Portland (29-17-4) had lost two games — 5-2 and 3-1 — in Kamloops earlier in the weekend. It is second in the U.S. Division, five points behind Everett. . . . Kamloops (23-24-3) had won its previous five games. It is eight points away from a playoff spot. . . . The teams played in Kamloops on Friday and Saturday nights. They left for Portland immediately after Saturday’s game. . . . Last night, the Winterhawks had a 3-0 lead early in the third period on goals from D Henri Jokiharju (8), on a PP, at 4:46 of the second; F Jake Gricius (12), on a PP, at 14:32; and D Keoni Texeira (7), at 3:28 of the third. . . . Portland lost F Joachim Blichfeld to a cross-checking major and game misconduct at 4:12 of the third period. That was for a hit on Kamloops D Nolan Kneen, who wasn’t injured on the play. . . . The Blazers scored twice on the ensuing power play, with F Luc Smith (15) and F Quinn Benjafield (18) getting the goals. . . . Portland iced it when F Mason Mannek (8) got the empty-netter at 19:43. . . . Blichfeld, Gricius, Texeira and Jokiharju each added an assist. . . . Kamloops was 2-3 on the PP; Portland was 2-4. . . . G Cole Kehler earned the victory with 33 saves, five more than Max Palaga of the Blazers. . . . Portland again was without F Kieffer Bellows and F Cody Glass. . . . D Matthew Quigley of the Winterhawks completed a two-game suspension from a Friday night hit on F/D Tylor Ludwar of the Blazers. Ludwar was injured on the play and now has missed two games. . . . Announced attendance: 7,818.


At Kennewick, Wash., F Riley Sawchuk scored twice to help the Tri-City Americans to a 3-2 victory over the Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . Tri-City (25-16-7) has points in five straight TriCity30games (3-0-2). The Americans and Spokane are tied for fourth in the U.S. Division, one point behind Seattle. . . . Seattle (26-18-6) was playing for the third time in fewer than 48 hours, having split a home-and-home series with Everett. The Thunderbirds are third in the U.S. Division, four points behind Portland. . . . The Thunderbirds took a 1-0 lead on F Matthew Wedman’s 11th goal at 3:43 of the second period. . . . The Americans scored three times in the third period. . . . Sawchuk tied the score at 7:16, and F Morgan Geekie (17) gave the home side the lead, on a PP, at 12:50. . . . Sawchuk (8) added an empty-netter at 18:51. . . . F Zack Andrusiak (23) got Seattle to within a goal at 19:32. . . . Tri-City was 1-5 on the PP; Seattle was 0-4. . . . G Patrick Tea stopped 29 shots for the Americans. . . . G Dorrin Luding turned aside 32 at the other end. . . . Announced attendance: 2,848.


At Victoria, the Royals erased a 1-0 deficit with four goals en route to a 7-3 victory over the Calgary Hitmen. . . . Victoria (30-17-4) has won three in a row, including a 4-1 victory VictoriaRoyalsover Calgary on Saturday night. . . . Calgary (15-28-6) is 0-2-0 on a seven-game road trip. . . . F Luke Coleman (11) scored while shorthanded to give the Hitmen a 1-0 lead at 3:38 of the first period. . . . Victoria F Noah Gregor (17) tied it at 16:57, then drew the primary assist one minute later as D Kade Jensen (3) broke the tie. . . . F Lane Zablocki (12) made it 3-1 at 2:30 of the second period with his first goal since being acquired from Lethbridge. . . . The Royals went ahead 4-1 at 6:14 when F Tyler Soy (23) scored on a PP. . . . Calgary got to within two goals, at 10:46, when F Tristen Nielsen (9) scored. . . . The Royals put it away with the next three goals — from F Braydon Buziak (4), F Andrei Grishakov (16) and F Dante Hannoun (21). . . . F Jakob Stukel (23) had Calgary’s third goal. . . . Soy, Hannoun and Zablocki had an assist each for the winners. . . . Coleman also had an assist for Calgary. . . . Victoria was 2-8 on the PP; Calgary was 0-3. . . . Victoria G Dean McNabb stopped 28 shots. . . . Calgary starter Nick Schneider stopped 15 of 19 shots in 26:14. Matthew Armitage finished up with 18 saves on 21 shots in 33:45. . . . Announced attendance: 5,785.


MONDAY (all times local):

No Games Scheduled.


TUESDAY (all times local):

Red Deer at Prince Albert, 7 p.m.

Prince George at Swift Current, 7 p.m.

Medicine Hat at Kelowna, 7:05 p.m.


TWEET OF THE DAY

Wednesday’s WHL trades, Part I: Blades, Pats get together, again … Gerlach’s on the move … Giants, Oil Kings agree on Koch

WHEELING AND DEALING …

NUMBER OF TRADES (since Nov. 13): 48

PLAYERS: 91

BANTAM DRAFT PICKS: 61

CONDITONAL BANTAM DRAFT PICKS: 12

THE DEADLINE: It came and went on Wednesday, Jan. 10.


THE DEAL: The Regina Pats acquired F Cam Hebig, 20, and G Ryan Kubic, who turned 20 on Jan. 7, from the Saskatoon Blades for G Tyler Brown, 20, F Bryan Lockner, 17, a first- ReginaPats100and second-round selections in the WHL’s 2020 draft, and third-round picks in the 2019 and 2021 bantam drafts.

THE NUMBERS: The 6-foot-0, 180-pound Hebig has 30 goals and 28 assists in 48 games. In 238 career games, he has 193 points, including 87 goals. . . . Kubic, 5-foot-11 and 185 pounds, was 8-11-1, 3.96, .871 with the Blades this season. In 129 career appearances, the first 109 of those with the Vancouver Giants, he is 40-69-13, 3.59, .892. . . .

Brown, a list player, was in his fourth season with the Pats. He has made 152 career appearances, going 76-47-16, 3.02, .904, with seven shutouts. He was Regina’s starter last season as it reached the WHL’s championship final. In that playoff run, he was 14-9 (five of the losses came in OT), 2.56, .915. . . . This season, Brown was 15-13-3, 3.31, .891 with the Pats. . . . This season, Lockner has seven goals and five assists in 39 games. In 101 career games, he has recorded 11 goals and 14 assists.

THE INFO: Including the first five rounds of the bantam draft, Alan Caldwell, who tracks such things at smallatlarge.blogspot.ca, believes Regina cupboard includes only a third-Saskatoonround pick in 2018, a fourth- and two fifth-rounders in 2019, and a fourth- and a fifth-rounder in 2020. . . .

Hebig, from Saskatoon, had been with the Blades since the age of 16. He was an NHL free agent until signing a three-year entry-level contract with the NHL Oilers on Dec. 28. He missed all of last season with an injury that was first believed to be a concussion but Hebig has since indicated that he never did get a clear-cut diagnosis. . . . The Blades selected Hebig in the third round of the 2012 bantam draft. . . . Kubic, from St. Andrews, Man., has made one appearance with the Blades since returning from an injury that had kept him out since Dec. 16. He was selected by Vancouver in the second round of the 2013 bantam draft. They dealt him to the Blades on Sept. 21, getting back a second-round pick in the 2019 bantam draft. The Pats also have two other goaltenders — Max Paddock, 17, and Jacob Wassermann, who turned 18 on Tuesday — on their roster. Paddock has been injured, so Wassermann was brought in from the SJHL’s Humboldt Broncos to back up Brown. . . . While Kubic has yet to play even one minute of playoff hockey in the WHL, Brown helped the Pats to the WHL’s championship final last season. . . . Brown, from Winnipeg, was listed by the Pats before the 2014-15 season. . . . Lockner is from Windsor, which is in the northern part of Colorado. he was a third-round pick by the Pats in the 2015 bantam draft.

WHY: The Pats are the host team for the 2018 Memorial Cup — it is the team’s 100th season and it will be the 100th anniversary of the Memorial Cup — so Regina is more than all-in. They wanted Hebig’s offence, and in adding a 20-year-old had to give up one, which turned out to be Brown. . . . The Blades got Lockner, and then, in adding a sniper to their lineup, flipped him to the Medicine Hat Tigers.


THE DEAL: The Saskatoon Blades acquired F Max Gerlach, 18, from the Medicine Hat Tigers for F Bryan Lockner, 17, Saskatoon’s first-round selection in the 2020 WHL bantam draft and a second-round pick in 2021.

THE NUMBERS: In 2015-16, as a freshman, the 5-foot-11, 175-pound Gerlach had 30 goals Tigers Logo Officialand 15 assists in 72 games. Last season, he recorded 34 goals and 28 assists in 72 games. This season, he has 16 goals and 19 assists in 35 games. . . . Add it all up and Gerlach has 80 goals and 62 assists in 179 career games. . . . For Lockner’s numbers, see the previous trade.

THE INFO: From Flower Mound, Texas, Gerlach was a sixth-round selection by the Tigers in the 2013 bantam draft. He played in the Colorado Thunderbirds organization before joining the Tigers.

WHY: The Blades got a pure scorer in Gerlach and that’s what they wanted. They expect him back next season as a 20-year-old. “Players like (Gerlach) do not come available very often,” Blades GM Colin Priestner said in a news release, “and the fact he can play for this year and next year as an overage made this decision easy for us.” . . . Gerlach was one of eight 19-year-olds on the Tigers’ roster, so they get younger with this deal.


THE DEAL: The Everett Silvertips acquired D Jameson Murray, 18, from the Calgary EverettHitmen for a conditional sixth-round selection in the WHL’s 2019 or 2020 bantam draft.

THE NUMBERS: Murray had one goal and five assists in 28 games with Calgary this season. Last season, his first in the WHL, he had a goal and two assists in 35 games. In 2015-16, he had 14 goals and 36 assists in 56 games with the major midget Okanagan Rockets, who are based in Kelowna.

THE INFO: The 6-foot-3, 185-pounder is from Kelowna. He is a right-hand shot, always a valuable commodity among defencemen.

WHY: Everett adds some size and depth to its back end. . . . The rebuilding Hitmen add another draft pick to their collection.


THE DEAL: The Victoria Royals acquired F Lane Zablocki, who turned 19 on Dec. 27, from the Lethbridge Hurricanes for second- and sixth-round selections in the 2018 WHL VictoriaRoyalsbantam draft and a conditional third-round pick in the 2019 bantam draft.

THE NUMBERS: This season, the 6-foot-0, 190-pound Zablocki has 11 goals and 14 assists in 40 games split between the Hurricanes and Red Deer Rebels. In 176 career games, he has 57 goals and 59 assists.

THE INFO: Zablocki, from Wetaskiwin, Alta., joins his third team this season and the fourth in two seasons. . . . The Prince George Cougars selected Zablocki in the fifth round of the 2013 bantam draft. He never played for the Cougars, who dealt him to theRegina Pats on Aug. 11, 2015. The Pats moved him to Red Deer on Jan. 10, 2017, and the Rebels traded him to Lethbridge on Dec. 9. . . . The Detroit Red Wings picked him in the third round of the NHL’s 2017 draft.

WHY: The Royals continue the attempt to remake their image by adding size and grit. They will be looking for that and some offence from Zablocki, who just might be back as a 20-year-old. . . . Lethbridge adds three draft picks to its coffers, something GM Peter Anholt no doubt will be able to use.


THE DEAL: The Saskatoon Blades acquired F Eric Florchuk, who was traded on his 18th birthday, from the Victoria Royals for first-round selections in the 2019 and 2021 WHL bantam drafts and a fourth-round selection in 2018.

THE NUMBERS: The 6-foot-1, 165-pound Florchuk, a WHL sophomore, had seven goals and 21 assists in 43 games with the Royals. In 94 career games, he has 10 goals and 27 assists.

THE INFO: From Fort Saskatchewan, Alta., Florchuk was selected by the Royals in the first round, 13th overall, of the 2015 bantam draft. In 2014-15, he had 24 goals and 22 assists in 33 games for the bantam AAA Fort Saskatchewan Rangers.

WHY: The Blades added to their roster of young forwards whom they feel have lots of upside. . . . The Royals moved out a forward whose ice time may have decreased with the trade additions they have made and you can’t scoff at a return that included two first-round draft picks.


THE DEAL: The Tri-City Americans acquired D Austin King-Cunningham, 17, from the TriCity30Vancouver Giants for a conditional fifth-round selection in the WHL’s 2019 bantam draft.

THE NUMBERS: King-Cunningham was pointless in five games with the Giants this season. Last season, he had one assist in three games. . . . he has been playing with the SJHL’s Estevan Bruins for whom he has three assists in 16 games.

THE INFO: The 6-foot-4, 195-pound King-Cunningham is from Pilot Butte, Sask. . . . He was an undrafted bantam who was added to Vancouver’s protected list.

WHY: Tri-City adds a prospect who will provide some depth in their organization while staying in Estevan. . . . The Giants get a draft pick for a player who wasn’t able to crack their roster.


THE DEAL: The Vancouver Giants acquired F Davis Koch, 19, and an conditional third-round pick in the WHL’s 2019 bantam draft from the Edmonton Oil Kings for F Brendan VancouverSemchuk, 18, G Todd Scott, 17, and a third-round selection in the 2018 bantam draft.

THE NUMBERS: The 6-foot-0, 165-pound Koch has 18 goals and 21 assists in 40 games this season. In 225 career games with Edmonton, he has 59 goals and 99 assists. Last season, he put up 21 goals and 49 assists in 72 games. . . . Semchuk, 6-foot-0 and 185 pounds, had 17 goals and 24 assists in 127 games over three seasons with the Giants. This season, he had eight goals and 11 assists in 33 games. . . . Scott, a WHL freshman, was 8-7-4, 4.11, .869 with the Giants.

THE INFO: Koch, from Surrey, B.C., requested a trade from the Oil Kings. He was a EdmontonOilKingssecond-round pick by Edmonton in the 2013 bantam draft and was an alternate captain this season. . . . Semchuk, from Kamloops, was on Vancouver’s suspended list after leaving the team in a dispute over playing time. He was a first-round selection, 10th overall, in the 2014 bantam draft. . . . The 5-foot-11, 190-pound Scott, from Albertville, Minn., joins Boston Bilous, 16, Josh Dechaine, 19, and Travis Child, 20, as goaltenders on Edmonton’s roster. However, Child is injured and hasn’t played since Dec. 15. . . . With Scott gone, Vancouver added G Trent Miner, 16, to their roster for the remainder of the season. From Souris, Man., Miner was a first-round pick in the 2016 bantam draft. This season, he was 17-3-0, 1.64, .941 in 30 games with the midget AAA Brandon Wheat Kings.

WHY: In a news release, Vancouver GM Glen Hanlon described Koch as “dynamic” and a “game-changer.” The Giants also expect Koch to be excited about returning to the Lower Mainland and playing in front of friends and family. . . . The Oil Kings appear to have done OK, considering Koch had asked for a trade, something that sometimes puts the squeeze on the team. They will need Semchuk to live up to his potential and for Scott to continue to grow as a goaltender.


LOTS MORE TO COME . . .

%d bloggers like this: