Brandon:
Forwards: Daniel Bartek (88), Robert Brandis (88), Matt Calvert (89), Andrew Clark (88), Del Cowan (89), Tyler Dittmer (87), Jay Fehr (89), Scott Glennie (91), Nathan Green (89), Jordan Hale (90), Cale Jeffries (89), Sanfred King (90), Matt Lowry (88), Brayden Schenn (91)
Defence: Keith Aulie (89), Daryl Boyle (87), Chad Erb (88), Alexander Grill-Donovan (90), Mark Louis (87), Brody Melnychuk (91), Colby Robak (90), Matty Smith (89), Theran Yeo (87)
Goaltenders: Joe Caligiuri (89), Andrew Hayes (90)
Notes: 25 players total (14F-9D-2G). Includes 4 overagers.
Calgary:
Forwards: Kyle Bortis (88), Ian Duval (88), Ryan Fox (90), T.J. Galiardi (88), Bostjan Golicic (89), Devon Kalinski (90), Brandon Kozun (90), Ryan Letts (89), Carson McMillan (88), Brendan Rowinski (90), Chase Schaber (91), Ian Schultz (90), Brett Sonne (89), Martin Stepan (89), Ryan White (88)
Defence: Karl Alzner (88), Eric Frere (88), Ryan Gillen (87), Matt MacKenzie (91), Dan Mercer (87), Alex Plante (89), Paul Postma (89), Keith Seabrook (88), Michael Stone (90)
Goaltenders: Martin Jones (90), Dan Spence (88)
Notes: 26 players total (15F-9D-2G).
Chilliwack:
Forwards: Partik Bhungal (88), Matthew Cline (88), Liam Darragh (90), Colton Graf (90), Ryan Howse (91), Colby Kulhanek (89), Matt Meropoulis (89), Brayden Metz (90), Oscar Moller (89), Jadon Potter (89), Mike Proudley (89), David Robinson (90), Mark Santorelli (88), Cody Smuk (89)
Defence: Kevin Boutilier (88), Dylan Chapman (87), Jeff Einhorn (90), Cody Hobbs (89), David Hoda (89), Nick Holden (87), Scott Maetche (89), Matt McCue (88), Cam Stevens (89)
Goaltenders: Matt Esposito (89), Mark Friesen (90)
Notes: 25 players total (14F-9D-2G).
Edmonton:
Forwards: Braeden Adamyk (90), Brett Breitkreuz (89), Clayton Cumiskey (90), Brenden Dowd (88), Robin Figren (88), Brent Henke (90), Brandon Lockerby (88), Craig McCallum (89), Shayne Neigum (90), Karey Pieper (87), Brent Raedeke (90), Scott Skrudland (88), JP Szaszkewicz (88), Tomas Vincour (90)
Defence: Cameron Cepek (88), Michael Hengen (87), Tyler Hlookoff (90), Drew Nichol (89), Bretton Stamler (87), Matt Swaby (87), Adrian Van de Mosselaer (90)
Goaltenders: Alex Archibald (87), Dalyn Flette (90)
Notes: 23 players total (14F-7D-2G).
Everett:
Forwards: Kyle Beach (90), Jesse Burt (89), Brandon Campos (87), Zack Dailey (89), Eric English (88), Tyler Eskesen (90), Dan Gendur (87), Zach Hamill (88), Shane Harper (89), Matt Ius (90), Vitali Karamnov (89), Morgan MacLean (88), Jordan Mistelbacher (90), Peter Mueller (88), Ty Skauge (90), Carter Smith (88), Brennan Sonne (87), Lukas Vartovnik (89)
Defence: Mike Alexander (89), Dane Crowley (87), Chris de la Lande (90), Taylor Ellington (88), Eddie Friesen (90), Jonathan Harty (88), Graham Potuer (88), Jeff Regier (91), Matt Strong (90)
Goaltenders: Shayne Barrie (89), Leland Irving (88), David Reekie (87)
Notes: 31 players total (19F-9D-3G). Includes 4 overagers.
Away at NHL camps: Peter Mueller (Phoenix)
Kamloops:
Forwards: Jimmy Bubnick (91), Kenton Dulle (88), Travis Dunstall (89), Sasha Golin (88), Mark Hall (90), Brock Nixon (87), Juuso Puustinen (88), Alex Rodgers (89), Ivan Rohac (88), Tyler Shattock (90), C.J. Stretch (89), Shayne Wiebe (90), Matt Wray (89)
Defence: Victor Bartley (88), Ryan Bender (87), Keaton Ellerby (88), Darcy Huisman (89), Jordan Rowley (90), Mark Schneider (90), Kurt Torbohm (90), Ryan White (87)
Goaltenders: Justin Leclerc (89), James Priestner (91)
Notes: 23 players total (13F-8D-2G).
Kelowna:
Forwards: Cody Almond (89), Jamie Benn (88), Justin Bernhardt (88), Lucas Bloodoff (89), Evan Bloodoff (90), Matthew Brusciano (89), Dylan Hood (90), Milan Kytnar (89), Brady Leavold (87), Colin Long (89), Jason MacDonald (89), Myles MacRae (88), James McEwan (87), Brandon McMillan (90), Jesse Paradis (91), Kyle St. Denis (90)
Defence: Tyson Barrie (91), Collin Bowman (91), Tysen Dowzak (88), Colin Joe (88), Riley McIntosh (90), Lyon Messier (87), Tyler Myers (90), Luke Schenn (89), Kyle Verdino (91)
Goaltenders: Torrie Jung (89), Kris Westblom (87)
Notes: 27 players total (16F-9D-2G).
Kootenay:
Forwards: Joe Antilla (91), Andrew Bailey (88), Steele Boomer (90), Steve DaSilva (87), Matt Fraser (90), Trent Fussi (89), Arnaud Jacquemet (88), Kevin King (90), Ben Maxwell (88), Konrad Sander (90), Tylan Stephens (89), Michael Stickland (89), Dustin Sylvester (89)
Defence: Ian Barteaux (88), Chad Greenan (87), Paul Kurceba (87), Paul MacDonald (88), Brayden McNabb (91), John Negrin (89), Jiri Ryzuk (90), Jordan Wilkins (90)
Goaltenders: Thomas Heemskerk (90), Kris Lazaruk (88), Nathan Lieuwen (91)
Notes: 24 players total (13F-8D-3G).
Lethbridge:
Forwards: Carter Ashton (91), Carter Bancks (89), Zach Boychuk (89), Cam Braes (91), Adam Chorneyko (88), Jacob Dietrich (87), Nick Dietrich (89), Mitch Fadden (88), Yashar Farmanara (87), Josh Gionfriddo (89), Daniel Iwanski (90), Dwight King (89), Craig Orfino (90), Drew Todd (89), Luke Wiens (87)
Defence: Travis Bobbee (90), Jesse Craige (89), Ryan Kerr (89), Luca Sbisa (90), Mitch Versteeg (88), Ben Wright (88), Brennan Yadlowski (91)
Goaltenders: Michael Maniago (88), Juha Metsola (89)
Notes: 24 players total (15F-7D-2G).
Medicine Hat:
Forwards: Mikael Ahlen (88), Brennan Bosch (88), Bretton Cameron (89), Tyler Ennis (89), Thomas Frazee (90), Colton Grant (89), Wacey Hamilton (90), Jordan Hickmott (90), Josh Koper (90), Cory More (90), Sean Ringrose (88), Jerrid Sauer (87), John Stampohar (90), Daine Todd (87), Kevin Undershute (87), Linden Vey (91), Scott Wasden (88)
Defence: Jordan Bendfeld (88), Shayne Brown (89), Cody Carlson (91), Trevor Glass (88), Mark Isherwood (89), Matthew Konan (91), Zach Sim (88)
Goaltenders: Ryan Holfeld (89), Tomas Vosvrda (89)
Notes: 25 players total (16F-7D-2G).
Moose Jaw:
Forwards: Jason Bast (89), Joel Broda (89), Brady Calla (88), Terrance Delaronde (87), Martin Filo (89), Ryley Grantham (88), Jason Grecica (90), Riley Holzapfel (88), Tomas Karpov (89), Jordan Knackstedt (88), Justin Maylan (91), Neal Prokop (90), Brad Riege (89), Brian Sommers (90), Keith Voytechek (87)
Defence: Travis Ehrhardt (89), Travis Hamonic (90), Giffen Nyren (89), Kevin Smith (91), Ryan Stanton (89), Chad Suer (90), Jock Sutter (88), Brett Ward (88)
Goaltenders: Todd Matthews (90), Joey Perricone (87)
Notes: 25 players total (15F-8D-2G).
Portland:
Forwards: Matt Betker (89), Riley Boychuk (91), Chris Francis (89), Nick Hotson (87), Tayler Jordan (90), Tristan King (90), Aaron McGill (89), Frazer McLaren (87), Colton Sceviour (89), Matt Schmermund (88), Viktor Sjodin (88), Matt Sokol (89), Tyler Swystun (88), Kevin Undershute (87), Radim Valchar (89), Luke Walker (90)
Defence: Lucas Alexiuk (89), Ty Ariss (90), Brock Cornish (89), Scott Gabriel (88), Bo Montgomery (90), Lee Morrow (90), Todd Panchyson (88), Brett Ponich (91)
Goaltenders: Mark Guggenberger (89), Kurtis Mucha (89), Jordan White (88)
Notes: 27 players total (16F-8D-3G).
Prince Albert:
Forwards: Max Brandl (88), Dustin Cameron (89), Ryan DePape (88), James Dobrowolski (90), Brandon Herrod (91), Ashton Hewson (88), Bryce Lamb (89), Devon LeBlanc (88), Ryan McDonald (88), Matt Robertson (88), Mike Small (90), Andy Smith (89), Jordan Trach (90)
Defence: Kyle Aschim (90), Ryan Button (91), Nathan Deck (90), Mike Gauthier (87), Jeff May (87), Justin Palazzo (89), Colin Scherger (89), Blaine Tendler (90), Cody Vann (89), Tomas Voracek (90)
Goaltenders: David Aime (89), Dustin Butler (87), Steven Stanford (90)
Notes: 28 players total (12F-11D-3G).
Prince George:
Forwards: Jordie Deagle (89), Evan Fuller (88), Greg Gardner (87), Colin Haas (89), Chad Hohmann (89), Dale Hunt (90), Ryan Kowalski (91), Jan Kupec (90), Alex Poulter (89), Parker Stansfield (90), Dana Tyrell (89), Cory Tyrell (90), Marcus Watson (89)
Defence: Trevor Bauer (90), Art Bidlevskii (91), Jesse Dudas (88), Patrik Magnusson (88), Kalvin Sagert (87), Garrett Thiessen (89), Chris Vanduynhoven (89), Ty Wishart (88)
Goaltenders: Real Cyr (87), Joel Danyluk (90)
Notes: 23 players total (13F-8D-2G).
Red Deer:
Forwards: Clayton Bauer (87), Luke Betts (89), Willie Coetzee (90), Scott Doucet (88), Jordan Draper (89), Spencer Edwards (90), Landon Ferraro (91), Tyler Halliday (89), Mike Krgovich (90), Cass Mappin (90), Tyler Penny (89), Tomas Polak (90), Brandon Sutter (89), J.D. Watt (87), Brennen Wray (88)
Defence: Colin Archer (90), Luke Egener (88), Dallas Jackson (89), Joel Kot (90), Cullen Morin (89), Mike Scarborough (90), Zac Stebner (90)
Goaltenders: Morgan Clark (90), James Reimer (88)
Notes: 24 players total (15F-7D-2G).
Regina:
Forwards: Rudolf Cerveny (89), Jordan Eberle (90), Josh Elder (88), Cody Gross (89), Cody Hanson (90), Kirt Hill (88), Jared Jagow (88), Tim Kraus (87), Brett Leffler (89), Levi Lind (88), Michael MacAngus (88), Garrett Mitchell (91), Troy Ofukany (87), Matt Strueby (89)
Defence: Matt Delahey (89), Spencer Fraipont (88), Curtis Kulchar (90), Logan Pyett (88), Alex Pym (91), Nick Ross (89), Colten Teubert (90), Juraj Valach (89)
Goaltenders: Jeff Bosch (90), Linden Rowat (90)
Notes: 24 players total (14F-8D-2G).
Saskatoon:
Forwards: Kirk Belyk (89), Jordan Braid (89), Chris Durand (87), Ondrej Fiala (87), Colton Gillies (89), Curtis Hamilton (91), Derek Hulak (89), Michael Kaye (87), Garrett Klotz (88), Justin McCrae (88), Gaelan Patterson (90), Kevin Philp (90), Travis Toomey (90), Walker Wintoneak (89)
Defence: Stefan Elliott (91), John Flatters (87), Ryan Funk (89), Sam Klassen (89), Colton MacPherson (89), Jyri Niemi (90), Curtis Patterson (87), Brendon Wall (90), Teigan Zahn (90)
Goaltenders: Braden Holtby (89), Garrett Zemlak (89)
Notes: 24 players total (14F-9D-2G). Includes 5 overagers.
Seattle:
Forwards: Jeremy Boyer (90), Jan Eberle (89), Andre Herman (87), Bud Holloway (88), Josh Lazowski (91), Ian McKenzie (87), Lindsay Nielsen (89), Jim O’Brien (89), Isak Quakenbush (90), Prab Rai (89), David Richard (89), Josh Schappert (89), Greg Scott (88), Brenden Silvester (91), Charles Wells (91)
Defence: Sena Acolatse (90), Brad Bakken (89), Steve Chaffin (91), Brenden Dillon (90), Thomas Hickey (89), Scott Jackson (87), Benn Olson (87), Jeremy Schappert (89)
Goaltenders: Jacob DeSerres (90), Tyler Esau (89), Riku Helenius (88)
Notes: 26 players total (15F-8D-3G). Includes 4 overagers.
Spokane:
Forwards: Judd Blackwater (87), Drayson Bowman (89), Chris Bruton (87), Seth Compton (88), Dustin Donaghy (89), Cody Esposito (89), Tyler Johnson (90), Curtis Kelner (88), Levko Koper (90), Chris Langkow (89), Ondrej Roman (89), David Rutherford (87), Mitch Wahl (90)
Defence: Brett Bartman (89), Jared Cowen (91), Jace Coyle (90), Justin Falk (88), Patrick Kozyra (89), Mike Reddington (90), Jared Spurgeon (89), Stephen Ulmer (90)
Goaltenders: Kevin Armstrong (88), James Reid (90), Dustin Tokarski (89)
Notes: 24 players total (13F-8D-3G).
Swift Current:
Forwards: Mike Brown (90), Jan Dalecky (90), Keegan Dansereau (88), Justin Dowling (90), Cody Eakin (91), Erik Felde (87), Philip Gervais (90), Brad Hoban (91), Levi Nelson (88), Zack Smith (88), David Stieler (88), Matt Tassone (89), Dale Weise (88), Geordie Wudrick (90)
Defence: Derek Claffey (89), Eric Doyle (89), R.J. LaRochelle (87), Spencer McAvoy (88), Ryan Molle (89), Joel Rogers (91), Michael Wilson (87)
Goaltenders: Ian Curtis (90), Travis Yonkman (88)
Notes: 23 players total (14F-7D-2G).
Tri-City:
Forwards: Jason Gardiner (91), Travis Gorman (89), Drew Hoff (88), Adam Hughesman (91), Colan Jackson (90), Johnny Lazo (89), Blair Macauley (88), Taylor Procyshen (88), Kruise Reddick (90), Jason Reese (88), Joel Ridgeway (90), Petr Stoklasa (89), Shaun Vey (87), Mason Wilgosh (91), Colton Yellow Horn (87)
Defence: T.J. Fast (87), Kevin Kraus (89), Mitch McColm (89), Eric Mestery (90), Brett Plouffe (89), Tyler Schmidt (90), Jarrett Toll (89), Lane Werbowski (91), Joel Woznikoski (89)
Goaltenders: Kyle Birch (90), Chet Pickard (89)
Notes: 26 players total (15F-9D-2G).
Vancouver:
Forwards: Mario Bliznak (87), Lance Bouma (90), Chris Cloud (88), Craig Cunningham (90), Mitch Czibere (89), James Henry (91), Garet Hunt (87), Evander Kane (91), Spencer Machacek (88), Mike Piluso (90), Mike Reich (88), Michal Repik (88), Nolan Toigo (89), James Wright (90), Mike Wuchterl (87)
Defence: Mike Berube (88), Jonathon Blum (89), Neil Manning (91), Brent Regner (89), Stefan Schneider (89), Craig Schira (88), Dillon Scholten (90)
Goaltenders: Kraymer Barnstable (90), Tyson Sexsmith (89)
Notes: 24 players total (15F-7D-2G).
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Friday, September 28, 2007
Friday notes
Nothing new yet on the death of Darcy Robinson, but the Saskatoon Star-Phoenix tracked down his old Rebels teammate Colby Armstrong for his reaction.
Two takes on the big Vancouver-Regina trade yesterday, mostly focusing on the enigmatic Tim Kraus. First we have the Vancouver perspective from Don Hay, and then the Regina one from Brent Parker. Lots of quotes from Kraus in both pieces as well, and a few more here.
Parker has also explained his overage and import situations. The Pats have released the injured Kaspars Saulietis, who will return to Latvia and play there once he is recovered from his shoulder injury.
Hurricanes G.M. Roy Stasiuk offers his viewpoint on why he thinks using an overage spot on a one-dimensional tough guy is a good thing, as opposed to another defenceman who can get the puck to Boychuk, Fadden et al.
As I feared yesterday, it looks like Cougars rookie backup goalie Joel Danyluk is the casualty of the team's decision to acquire Tommy Tartaglione. Danyluk has apparently been assigned to the Yorkton Terriers of the SJHL.
For Brian Sutter, just as it was for previous Rebels boss Brent, it's farming first and hockey second.
UPDATE: Portland has acquired Medicine Hat overage forward Kevin Undershute in return for a 2008 4th round pick.
Looking for where some of your recent WHL favourites are playing now? The WHL site has a good look at the upcoming season in the Canada West university league. Lots of WHL alumni name-dropping in the article.
Uncharacteristically light Friday night sched in the WHL tonight, with only five games scheduled on what is usually the league's busiest night of the week. Included are battles between two unbeaten teams (Calgary visiting Brandon) and two winless ones (Kelowna in Everett), as well as a division rivalry gets renewed in Lethbridge when the Ice visit. Luke Wiens is unable to play his first game for the Hurricanes against his old team, however, as he is still suspended by the league for this game. His Canes debut will have to wait until tomorrow night.
And in response to a reader query about yesterday's list of 16 year olds in the league, here's how the remaining kids break down according to the round they were selected in the bantam draft:
1st round: Brayden Schenn (BRN), Chase Schaber (CGY), Ryan Howse (CHI), Jimmy Bubnick (KAM), Tyson Barrie (KEL), Nathan Lieuwen (KTN), Carter Ashton (LTH), Cody Carlson (MH), Justin Maylan (MJ), Riley Boychuk (POR), Landon Ferraro (RDR), Stefan Elliott (SAS), Steve Chaffin (SEA), Jared Cowan (SPO), Cody Eakin (SC), Jason Gardiner (TRI), Evander Kane (VAN)
2nd round: Scott Glennie (BRN), Matt MacKenzie (CGY), Jeff Regier (EVT), James Priestner (KAM), Collin Bowman (KEL), Brayden McNabb (KTN), Linden Vey (MH), Kevin Smith (MJ), Brett Ponich (POR), Ryan Button (PA), Ryan Kowalski (PG), Garrett Mitchell (REG), Curtis Hamilton (SAS), Adam Hughesman (TRI), Neil Manning (VAN)
3rd round: Brody Melnychuk (BRN), Cam Braes (LTH), Brandon Herrod (PA), Art Bidlevskii (PG), Alex Pym (REG), Brad Hoban (SC)
4th round: Jesse Paradis (KEL), Joe Antilla (KTN), Joel Rogers (SC)
5th round: Brennan Yadlowski (LTH), Josh Lazowski (SEA), Charles Wells (SEA)
6th round: Kyle Verdino (KEL), Lane Werbowski (TRI)
9th round: James Henry (VAN)
Not Drafted: Matthew Konan (MH), Brenden Silvester (SEA), Mason Wilgosh (TRI)
Only four first rounders are not currently in the league: Cole Penner (PA), Kellan Tochkin (EVT), Brett Miller (REG), and Mitch Berg (SAS). Penner is not there by his choice, while the other three were all sent to midget for another year by their WHL clubs.
Only six second rounders are not here too: Drew Shore (CHI), Burke Gallimore (SPO), Justin Weller (RDR) , James Martin (SC), Austin Fyten (LTH), and Zac Ashdown (SEA). Oddly enough, Shore, Gallimore, Weller, Martin, and Fyten were five of the first six picks of the 2nd round.
To me, you can't really judge a draft until three years later, so we need to wait until this time next year and see how many more kids from the 3rd and later rounds of this draft make the WHL as 17 year olds next year.
I can say this though: Every single player picked in the first three rounds is still listed by a WHL club, although two of them (Michael Burns and Cole Grbavac) have been dropped and picked up by different teams now. Two players from the 4th round are no longer listed anywhere (Jeff Pelletier and Jeff Beattie) while one other (Jessi Hilton) has been dropped by his original team and picked up by another. And in the 5th round, only four players (Adam Bellar, Darren Gillen, Erich Binner, and Bo Lenard) are not listed anywhere anymore. So for the most part, teams tend to stick to their draft picks for a few years.
Lastly, 35 years ago today was probably the most memorable moment in Canadian hockey and to this day, Canadian (and many non-Canadian) hockey fans can still tell you exactly where they were at that precise moment. Me, I watched the game from the hospital nursery, having made my entrance just one day earlier - so I could see the game, of course. I was born to be a hockey fan. ("The goal" is at around the 6:41 mark on that clip if you want to skip right to it)
Two takes on the big Vancouver-Regina trade yesterday, mostly focusing on the enigmatic Tim Kraus. First we have the Vancouver perspective from Don Hay, and then the Regina one from Brent Parker. Lots of quotes from Kraus in both pieces as well, and a few more here.
Parker has also explained his overage and import situations. The Pats have released the injured Kaspars Saulietis, who will return to Latvia and play there once he is recovered from his shoulder injury.
Hurricanes G.M. Roy Stasiuk offers his viewpoint on why he thinks using an overage spot on a one-dimensional tough guy is a good thing, as opposed to another defenceman who can get the puck to Boychuk, Fadden et al.
As I feared yesterday, it looks like Cougars rookie backup goalie Joel Danyluk is the casualty of the team's decision to acquire Tommy Tartaglione. Danyluk has apparently been assigned to the Yorkton Terriers of the SJHL.
For Brian Sutter, just as it was for previous Rebels boss Brent, it's farming first and hockey second.
UPDATE: Portland has acquired Medicine Hat overage forward Kevin Undershute in return for a 2008 4th round pick.
Looking for where some of your recent WHL favourites are playing now? The WHL site has a good look at the upcoming season in the Canada West university league. Lots of WHL alumni name-dropping in the article.
Uncharacteristically light Friday night sched in the WHL tonight, with only five games scheduled on what is usually the league's busiest night of the week. Included are battles between two unbeaten teams (Calgary visiting Brandon) and two winless ones (Kelowna in Everett), as well as a division rivalry gets renewed in Lethbridge when the Ice visit. Luke Wiens is unable to play his first game for the Hurricanes against his old team, however, as he is still suspended by the league for this game. His Canes debut will have to wait until tomorrow night.
And in response to a reader query about yesterday's list of 16 year olds in the league, here's how the remaining kids break down according to the round they were selected in the bantam draft:
1st round: Brayden Schenn (BRN), Chase Schaber (CGY), Ryan Howse (CHI), Jimmy Bubnick (KAM), Tyson Barrie (KEL), Nathan Lieuwen (KTN), Carter Ashton (LTH), Cody Carlson (MH), Justin Maylan (MJ), Riley Boychuk (POR), Landon Ferraro (RDR), Stefan Elliott (SAS), Steve Chaffin (SEA), Jared Cowan (SPO), Cody Eakin (SC), Jason Gardiner (TRI), Evander Kane (VAN)
2nd round: Scott Glennie (BRN), Matt MacKenzie (CGY), Jeff Regier (EVT), James Priestner (KAM), Collin Bowman (KEL), Brayden McNabb (KTN), Linden Vey (MH), Kevin Smith (MJ), Brett Ponich (POR), Ryan Button (PA), Ryan Kowalski (PG), Garrett Mitchell (REG), Curtis Hamilton (SAS), Adam Hughesman (TRI), Neil Manning (VAN)
3rd round: Brody Melnychuk (BRN), Cam Braes (LTH), Brandon Herrod (PA), Art Bidlevskii (PG), Alex Pym (REG), Brad Hoban (SC)
4th round: Jesse Paradis (KEL), Joe Antilla (KTN), Joel Rogers (SC)
5th round: Brennan Yadlowski (LTH), Josh Lazowski (SEA), Charles Wells (SEA)
6th round: Kyle Verdino (KEL), Lane Werbowski (TRI)
9th round: James Henry (VAN)
Not Drafted: Matthew Konan (MH), Brenden Silvester (SEA), Mason Wilgosh (TRI)
Only four first rounders are not currently in the league: Cole Penner (PA), Kellan Tochkin (EVT), Brett Miller (REG), and Mitch Berg (SAS). Penner is not there by his choice, while the other three were all sent to midget for another year by their WHL clubs.
Only six second rounders are not here too: Drew Shore (CHI), Burke Gallimore (SPO), Justin Weller (RDR) , James Martin (SC), Austin Fyten (LTH), and Zac Ashdown (SEA). Oddly enough, Shore, Gallimore, Weller, Martin, and Fyten were five of the first six picks of the 2nd round.
To me, you can't really judge a draft until three years later, so we need to wait until this time next year and see how many more kids from the 3rd and later rounds of this draft make the WHL as 17 year olds next year.
I can say this though: Every single player picked in the first three rounds is still listed by a WHL club, although two of them (Michael Burns and Cole Grbavac) have been dropped and picked up by different teams now. Two players from the 4th round are no longer listed anywhere (Jeff Pelletier and Jeff Beattie) while one other (Jessi Hilton) has been dropped by his original team and picked up by another. And in the 5th round, only four players (Adam Bellar, Darren Gillen, Erich Binner, and Bo Lenard) are not listed anywhere anymore. So for the most part, teams tend to stick to their draft picks for a few years.
Lastly, 35 years ago today was probably the most memorable moment in Canadian hockey and to this day, Canadian (and many non-Canadian) hockey fans can still tell you exactly where they were at that precise moment. Me, I watched the game from the hospital nursery, having made my entrance just one day earlier - so I could see the game, of course. I was born to be a hockey fan. ("The goal" is at around the 6:41 mark on that clip if you want to skip right to it)
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Late Thursday notes
Couple things late Thursday here....
Firstoff, some horrible news from Italy, where former WHL (Saskatoon and Red Deer) defenceman Darcy Robinson collapsed and died during a game between Asiago (his team) and Renon. He was just 26. Robinson was a member of the Rebels' 2001 Memorial Cup championship team after spending three and a half years with Saskatoon.
Cause of death is (as of this writing) undetermined, but Robinson apparently was not involved in any hits or anything on the ice at the time of his collapse.
Secondly, a trade between Lethbridge and Kootenay tonight. Kootenay sends overage tough guy Luke Wiens to the Hurricanes for a 2008 6th round pick. Wiens is currently suspended for one more game for an incident that occured while he was with the Ice, so he'll have to sit out the 'Canes' next game before he can play for them.
I personally don't see the sense behind this acquisition since by my estimation there are still at least seven other overagers around the league who will need new homes before October 11 who are better hockey players than Luke Wiens. I'm surprised that, given the Hurricanes roster, that they weren't more interested in a player like Mark Louis in Brandon, who is an Alberta boy who would give them another stable veteran on the blueline as well as provide some size and toughness (9 fights last year). Not as much toughness as Wiens obviously, but at least more than a 1 or 2 shift a period player which Wiens was in Kootenay.
Thirdly, Chilliwack veteran Donnie Glennie has decided to leave the WHL and return home to Manitoba to play Junior A.
Firstoff, some horrible news from Italy, where former WHL (Saskatoon and Red Deer) defenceman Darcy Robinson collapsed and died during a game between Asiago (his team) and Renon. He was just 26. Robinson was a member of the Rebels' 2001 Memorial Cup championship team after spending three and a half years with Saskatoon.
Cause of death is (as of this writing) undetermined, but Robinson apparently was not involved in any hits or anything on the ice at the time of his collapse.
Secondly, a trade between Lethbridge and Kootenay tonight. Kootenay sends overage tough guy Luke Wiens to the Hurricanes for a 2008 6th round pick. Wiens is currently suspended for one more game for an incident that occured while he was with the Ice, so he'll have to sit out the 'Canes' next game before he can play for them.
I personally don't see the sense behind this acquisition since by my estimation there are still at least seven other overagers around the league who will need new homes before October 11 who are better hockey players than Luke Wiens. I'm surprised that, given the Hurricanes roster, that they weren't more interested in a player like Mark Louis in Brandon, who is an Alberta boy who would give them another stable veteran on the blueline as well as provide some size and toughness (9 fights last year). Not as much toughness as Wiens obviously, but at least more than a 1 or 2 shift a period player which Wiens was in Kootenay.
Thirdly, Chilliwack veteran Donnie Glennie has decided to leave the WHL and return home to Manitoba to play Junior A.
Thursday thoughts
Big trade this morning. Vancouver sends overage forward Tim Kraus and import defenceman Juraj Valach to Regina for a pair of 19 year olds, forward Mike Reich and defenceman Craig Schira. Adding Kraus and Valach means the Pats now have three imports again, but I assume they are getting around that problem by putting Kaspars Saulietis on the long-term injured list. When Saulietis is ready to play again and comes off that list (after Christmas probably?) they will have to make some more moves. Either that or they could just release Rudolf Cerveny since he hasn't been good enough to dress for either of their first two games.
The Giants now have room for both another overager and another import. Rumour has it that Mario Bliznak may be sent back to them from the NHL's Canucks, which would fill both slots. Nothing is official there though.
UPDATE: two more players assigned back to the WHL from the Minnesota Wild. Everett gets back Ondrej Fiala (another overage import, they seem to be in the news a bit today), while Saskatoon gets back Colton Gillies.
Fiala's return just further complicates the Everett overage situation, which now sits at six (Fiala, Campos, Crowley, Gendur, Reekie, and Sonne). One way or another, three of those guys are going to be with another team or in another league by two weeks from today. Same goes for the import situation there, as they now have three - Fiala, Karamnov, and Vartovnik. By October 11, one of them needs to be somewhere else. Seems obvious that trading Fiala is a good start to solving both problems, but it's always a challenge to find homes for these overage Euros.
UPDATE #2: another trade, this one a minor one which sees the Cougars pick up 19 year old goalie Tommy Tartaglione from the Oil Kings for a 6th round pick. The move gives the Cougars three goalies now, and on the surface this doesn't look like good news for rookie backup Joel Danyluk. Which is kind of too bad since Danlyuk stopped 27 of 28 shots in 27 minutes of relief work against the Chiefs last weekend, for a very respectable 2.20 GAA and .964 save%. Now, that's only one game but you'd hope he would get a few more games yet to prove whether he can continue that rate of play.
The Blades pared their roster by one player yesterday, assigning 16 year old defenceman Mitch Berg to midget.
Blades G.M. Lorne Molleken knows he traded the wrong Crowley.
This explains it: Jason Reese wanted to come back to the western conference and the trade to the Americans fulfills that.
The Bruins' Jadon Potter has a bit of Cliff Ronning in him? G.M. Darrell May thinks so.
Story on the Hitmen's grinder-turned-aspiring-sniper Carson McMillan. Also at the bottom of the article is the suggestion that the Keegan Dansereau situation could be resolved by the time the Hitmen play in Brandon tomorrow night. Perhaps the team bus is stopping and picking him up on the way there, that would certainly resolve things.
Political correctness gone too far: the OHL has suspended a player for five games for calling an opponent a "no-name Euro". The OHL apparently considers the word "Euro" to be derogatory to Europeans. Never mind that the freakin' currency many countries there use is called that, it's a bad word apparently. Ridiculous.....it's OK in the OHL's eyes to call him a #&$% @%&#$*@^$ ^&*@%er whose $%^@#! #&*($%@!* is a #^$&@* $^*&^!, but don't you dare call him a "Euro".
Don't get me wrong, there are truly derogatory and offensive words that should not be used and players should be held accountable for using them. "Euro" is not one of them, however.
Not too much news today, so I thought I would take a look at something that has been in the back of my head for a few weeks......the # of 16 year olds in the league this year. For some reason I thought there were a lot less of them this year than last, but looking at the numbers, it's pretty much the same. There are currently 50 1991-born players on WHL rosters:
Brandon: Scott Glennie, Brayden Schenn, Brody Melnychuk
Calgary: Chase Schaber, Matt MacKenzie
Chilliwack: Ryan Howse
Edmonton: none
Everett: Jeff Regier
Kamloops: Jimmy Bubnick, James Priestner
Kelowna: Jesse Paradis, Tyson Barrie, Collin Bowman, Kyle Verdino
Kootenay: Joe Antilla, Brayden McNabb, Nathan Lieuwen
Lethbridge: Carter Ashton, Cam Braes, Brennan Yadlowski
Medicine Hat: Linden Vey, Cody Carlson, Matthew Konan
Moose Jaw: Justin Maylan, Kevin Smith
Portland: Riley Boychuk, Brett Ponich
Prince Albert: Brandon Herrod, Ryan Button
Prince George: Ryan Kowalski, Art Bidlevskii
Red Deer: Landon Ferraro
Regina: Garrett Mitchell, Alex Pym
Saskatoon: Curtis Hamilton, Stefan Elliott
Seattle: Josh Lazowski, Brenden Silvester, Charles Wells, Steve Chaffin
Spokane: Jared Cowen
Swift Current: Cody Eakin, Brad Hoban, Joel Rogers
Tri-City: Jason Gardiner, Adam Hughesman, Mason Wilgosh, Lane Werbowski
Vancouver: James Henry, Evander Kane, Neil Manning
Last year there were 51 1990-borns who spent the full season in the WHL. Now, the 50 number for this year will likely shrink a bit more as most teams have a couple cuts to make yet and some of these 16 year olds will likely be amongst the casualties of those cuts. But even so, it's probably going to be pretty close to last year's numbers.
The Giants now have room for both another overager and another import. Rumour has it that Mario Bliznak may be sent back to them from the NHL's Canucks, which would fill both slots. Nothing is official there though.
UPDATE: two more players assigned back to the WHL from the Minnesota Wild. Everett gets back Ondrej Fiala (another overage import, they seem to be in the news a bit today), while Saskatoon gets back Colton Gillies.
Fiala's return just further complicates the Everett overage situation, which now sits at six (Fiala, Campos, Crowley, Gendur, Reekie, and Sonne). One way or another, three of those guys are going to be with another team or in another league by two weeks from today. Same goes for the import situation there, as they now have three - Fiala, Karamnov, and Vartovnik. By October 11, one of them needs to be somewhere else. Seems obvious that trading Fiala is a good start to solving both problems, but it's always a challenge to find homes for these overage Euros.
UPDATE #2: another trade, this one a minor one which sees the Cougars pick up 19 year old goalie Tommy Tartaglione from the Oil Kings for a 6th round pick. The move gives the Cougars three goalies now, and on the surface this doesn't look like good news for rookie backup Joel Danyluk. Which is kind of too bad since Danlyuk stopped 27 of 28 shots in 27 minutes of relief work against the Chiefs last weekend, for a very respectable 2.20 GAA and .964 save%. Now, that's only one game but you'd hope he would get a few more games yet to prove whether he can continue that rate of play.
The Blades pared their roster by one player yesterday, assigning 16 year old defenceman Mitch Berg to midget.
Blades G.M. Lorne Molleken knows he traded the wrong Crowley.
This explains it: Jason Reese wanted to come back to the western conference and the trade to the Americans fulfills that.
The Bruins' Jadon Potter has a bit of Cliff Ronning in him? G.M. Darrell May thinks so.
Story on the Hitmen's grinder-turned-aspiring-sniper Carson McMillan. Also at the bottom of the article is the suggestion that the Keegan Dansereau situation could be resolved by the time the Hitmen play in Brandon tomorrow night. Perhaps the team bus is stopping and picking him up on the way there, that would certainly resolve things.
Political correctness gone too far: the OHL has suspended a player for five games for calling an opponent a "no-name Euro". The OHL apparently considers the word "Euro" to be derogatory to Europeans. Never mind that the freakin' currency many countries there use is called that, it's a bad word apparently. Ridiculous.....it's OK in the OHL's eyes to call him a #&$% @%&#$*@^$ ^&*@%er whose $%^@#! #&*($%@!* is a #^$&@* $^*&^!, but don't you dare call him a "Euro".
Don't get me wrong, there are truly derogatory and offensive words that should not be used and players should be held accountable for using them. "Euro" is not one of them, however.
Not too much news today, so I thought I would take a look at something that has been in the back of my head for a few weeks......the # of 16 year olds in the league this year. For some reason I thought there were a lot less of them this year than last, but looking at the numbers, it's pretty much the same. There are currently 50 1991-born players on WHL rosters:
Brandon: Scott Glennie, Brayden Schenn, Brody Melnychuk
Calgary: Chase Schaber, Matt MacKenzie
Chilliwack: Ryan Howse
Edmonton: none
Everett: Jeff Regier
Kamloops: Jimmy Bubnick, James Priestner
Kelowna: Jesse Paradis, Tyson Barrie, Collin Bowman, Kyle Verdino
Kootenay: Joe Antilla, Brayden McNabb, Nathan Lieuwen
Lethbridge: Carter Ashton, Cam Braes, Brennan Yadlowski
Medicine Hat: Linden Vey, Cody Carlson, Matthew Konan
Moose Jaw: Justin Maylan, Kevin Smith
Portland: Riley Boychuk, Brett Ponich
Prince Albert: Brandon Herrod, Ryan Button
Prince George: Ryan Kowalski, Art Bidlevskii
Red Deer: Landon Ferraro
Regina: Garrett Mitchell, Alex Pym
Saskatoon: Curtis Hamilton, Stefan Elliott
Seattle: Josh Lazowski, Brenden Silvester, Charles Wells, Steve Chaffin
Spokane: Jared Cowen
Swift Current: Cody Eakin, Brad Hoban, Joel Rogers
Tri-City: Jason Gardiner, Adam Hughesman, Mason Wilgosh, Lane Werbowski
Vancouver: James Henry, Evander Kane, Neil Manning
Last year there were 51 1990-borns who spent the full season in the WHL. Now, the 50 number for this year will likely shrink a bit more as most teams have a couple cuts to make yet and some of these 16 year olds will likely be amongst the casualties of those cuts. But even so, it's probably going to be pretty close to last year's numbers.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Wednesday notes
"Dollar" Bill Wirtz, the notoriously tight owner of the Chicago Blackhawks, died this morning. He took over the team from his father in 1966 and they won diddly-squat in 41 years since. Perhaps whoever takes over the team now will show as much interest in winning as in counting the profits.
To the WHL; only one game last night, Red Deer beating Edmonton in a shootout thanks to shootout goals from two rookies - Landon Ferraro and Dallas Jackson. Edmonton still has picked up 5 out of 6 possible points so far though. For comparision, last year it took Chilliwack 13 games to get to 5 points.
Speaking of Dallas Jackson, the Red Deer Advocate took a look at him yesterday. He is a late-bloomer story, a kid passed over in the bantam draft three years ago who later turned himself into the best defenceman in Alberta AAA midget hockey last year.
Here's a fun story: Lethbridge Hurricanes coach Michael Dyck helped deliver a baby in the Enmax Center parking lot prior to leaving for their game in Medicine Hat last Saturday. The one question that pops into my mind which isn't answered by the article is why this couple was driving to Lethbridge in a panic when there is a hospital at home in Cardston. The story has a happy ending for all concerned though, so it's all good.
The Cougars have reassigned forwards Matt Belich and defenceman Wade Epp. Belich was the 24th overall pick in the 2005 bantam draft and with him getting cut at 17 now, it's not looking good for having a career in the WHL.
Moose Jaw G.M. Chad Lang hints that it may have been off-ice issues that prompted the trade of Jason Reese to Tri-City yesterday for Joel Broda.
Story of two kids playing Jr A in Brooks who should be in the WHL. One is there by choice and the other is awaiting a trade that will get him back into the WHL.
The Raiders have redesigned their website. And they were able to do it without taking it offline for the month leading up to the season too! The Rockets should have hired those guys to do their site.
Yet another profile of the Battlin' Boogaard Boys.
You just know this guy is going to hear about this in the dressing room every day for the rest of the season. Picture of him actually wearing the shoes here. Mercer is recovering from a broken right wrist (cast is visible in the pic) and I can just see him teetering on those heels and falling.
Still with the Hitmen, forward Ryan White apparently hacked veteran NHL tough guy Chris Simon during a preseason game and lived to tell about it, although it sounds like he might have had to change his shorts during the intermission.
Back to the NHL; by my count there are five junior-aged WHLers still away at NHL camps: Alex Plante of the Hitmen (Edmonton Oilers camp), Peter Mueller of the Silvertips (Phoenix Coyotes camp), Brandon Sutter of the Rebels (Carolina Hurricanes camp), Colton Gillies of the Blades (Minnesota Wild camp) and Milan Lucic of the Giants (Boston Bruins camp). As I see it, Plante, Sutter, and Gillies should all be back for sure. Mueller probably won't be back, while Lucic has a darkhorse shot at the NHL roster but will likely be back eventually, maybe after a few games in the NHL?
UPDATE: Brandon Sutter has been returned to the Rebels this morning.
Speaking of cuts, there are 11 WHL teams still carrying more than 25 players on their rosters right now. Time to start paring things down already! The longer these eventual cuts stay in the WHL, the harder it is going to get for some of them to hook up with a junior or midget team once they are let go. Plus this just create a ripple effect - WHL cuts a kid and he joins a midget team, who then cut another kid off their roster, and where does that kid go now, etc. The Jr A leagues are already well underway and all the AAA midget leagues are either underway or getting started this week and that means rosters are being finalized. I know the last couple cuts can be tough ones but come on, Everett still has 29 freakin players on their roster and Prince Albert has 28. If their coaching staffs can't already pick at least 1 or 2 out of that group who won't make the team full-time this year....
And another note I've been forgetting to mention for a week or so now - that trade last week between Moose Jaw and Saskatoon - that saw the Warriors pick up defenceman Brett Ward from the Blades for a 2008 4th round pick - comes with a twist. You see, the Warriors don't have a 2008 4th round pick, having traded it away already in a deal I cannot recall or track down. Anyway, it seems the league allows teams to trade draft picks they don't have. So, the Warriors will be forced to acquire a 2008 4th rounder before the draft (and then send it to Saskatoon), or else they will have to give the Blades their 2009 3rd rounder instead.
The new CHL top ten ranking is out today, and it is a better showing for the WHL than last week when they only had two teams in the top ten. This week there are three - Calgary, Tri-City, and Brandon. Everett has been dropped off the list. All I can say about this ranking is, do the "NHL scouts" who pick this thing really think Brandon is the 3rd best team in the WHL right now just because they beat a very weak Blades team twice? Vancouver is also 2-0 and their wins included a road win in Everett - who the "scouts" at least had on their top ten last week. This poll just doesn't make sense at all.
The Broncos and the City of Swift Current have announced a sponsorship deal with Innovation Credit Union to rename the Centennial Civic Center to the "Credit Union i-plex". Yes, all lower-case on "i-plex". No idea why, but "i-plex" is so silly I bet nobody is still calling it that a month from now. The deal is worth $600,000 over ten years and the money will be invested into the facility.
Oh, and I love the very masculine, aggressive butterfly logo. Makes the Broncos horse look like a sissy.
UPDATE: Another veteran cut, this one in Everett where 19 year old forward Carter Smith has been reassigned to play Jr A in the SJHL. It's too bad about Smith's career....he was a 2nd round pick in the 2003 bantam draft and while he never did develop into a star, he was at least a fulltime WHLer until October 22, 2006. That was the day the car Smith was driving was hit by a drunk driver, critically injuring teammate Garrett Robinson. Only Smith can say whether the accident changed him as a player, but since then he has played just 16 games (with only 3 points), was traded by the Warriors, went home for the season shortly after the trade last year, and now has been cut altogether. Robinson's career might not be the only one that really ended that day.
To the WHL; only one game last night, Red Deer beating Edmonton in a shootout thanks to shootout goals from two rookies - Landon Ferraro and Dallas Jackson. Edmonton still has picked up 5 out of 6 possible points so far though. For comparision, last year it took Chilliwack 13 games to get to 5 points.
Speaking of Dallas Jackson, the Red Deer Advocate took a look at him yesterday. He is a late-bloomer story, a kid passed over in the bantam draft three years ago who later turned himself into the best defenceman in Alberta AAA midget hockey last year.
Here's a fun story: Lethbridge Hurricanes coach Michael Dyck helped deliver a baby in the Enmax Center parking lot prior to leaving for their game in Medicine Hat last Saturday. The one question that pops into my mind which isn't answered by the article is why this couple was driving to Lethbridge in a panic when there is a hospital at home in Cardston. The story has a happy ending for all concerned though, so it's all good.
The Cougars have reassigned forwards Matt Belich and defenceman Wade Epp. Belich was the 24th overall pick in the 2005 bantam draft and with him getting cut at 17 now, it's not looking good for having a career in the WHL.
Moose Jaw G.M. Chad Lang hints that it may have been off-ice issues that prompted the trade of Jason Reese to Tri-City yesterday for Joel Broda.
Story of two kids playing Jr A in Brooks who should be in the WHL. One is there by choice and the other is awaiting a trade that will get him back into the WHL.
The Raiders have redesigned their website. And they were able to do it without taking it offline for the month leading up to the season too! The Rockets should have hired those guys to do their site.
Yet another profile of the Battlin' Boogaard Boys.
You just know this guy is going to hear about this in the dressing room every day for the rest of the season. Picture of him actually wearing the shoes here. Mercer is recovering from a broken right wrist (cast is visible in the pic) and I can just see him teetering on those heels and falling.
Still with the Hitmen, forward Ryan White apparently hacked veteran NHL tough guy Chris Simon during a preseason game and lived to tell about it, although it sounds like he might have had to change his shorts during the intermission.
Back to the NHL; by my count there are five junior-aged WHLers still away at NHL camps: Alex Plante of the Hitmen (Edmonton Oilers camp), Peter Mueller of the Silvertips (Phoenix Coyotes camp), Brandon Sutter of the Rebels (Carolina Hurricanes camp), Colton Gillies of the Blades (Minnesota Wild camp) and Milan Lucic of the Giants (Boston Bruins camp). As I see it, Plante, Sutter, and Gillies should all be back for sure. Mueller probably won't be back, while Lucic has a darkhorse shot at the NHL roster but will likely be back eventually, maybe after a few games in the NHL?
UPDATE: Brandon Sutter has been returned to the Rebels this morning.
Speaking of cuts, there are 11 WHL teams still carrying more than 25 players on their rosters right now. Time to start paring things down already! The longer these eventual cuts stay in the WHL, the harder it is going to get for some of them to hook up with a junior or midget team once they are let go. Plus this just create a ripple effect - WHL cuts a kid and he joins a midget team, who then cut another kid off their roster, and where does that kid go now, etc. The Jr A leagues are already well underway and all the AAA midget leagues are either underway or getting started this week and that means rosters are being finalized. I know the last couple cuts can be tough ones but come on, Everett still has 29 freakin players on their roster and Prince Albert has 28. If their coaching staffs can't already pick at least 1 or 2 out of that group who won't make the team full-time this year....
And another note I've been forgetting to mention for a week or so now - that trade last week between Moose Jaw and Saskatoon - that saw the Warriors pick up defenceman Brett Ward from the Blades for a 2008 4th round pick - comes with a twist. You see, the Warriors don't have a 2008 4th round pick, having traded it away already in a deal I cannot recall or track down. Anyway, it seems the league allows teams to trade draft picks they don't have. So, the Warriors will be forced to acquire a 2008 4th rounder before the draft (and then send it to Saskatoon), or else they will have to give the Blades their 2009 3rd rounder instead.
The new CHL top ten ranking is out today, and it is a better showing for the WHL than last week when they only had two teams in the top ten. This week there are three - Calgary, Tri-City, and Brandon. Everett has been dropped off the list. All I can say about this ranking is, do the "NHL scouts" who pick this thing really think Brandon is the 3rd best team in the WHL right now just because they beat a very weak Blades team twice? Vancouver is also 2-0 and their wins included a road win in Everett - who the "scouts" at least had on their top ten last week. This poll just doesn't make sense at all.
The Broncos and the City of Swift Current have announced a sponsorship deal with Innovation Credit Union to rename the Centennial Civic Center to the "Credit Union i-plex". Yes, all lower-case on "i-plex". No idea why, but "i-plex" is so silly I bet nobody is still calling it that a month from now. The deal is worth $600,000 over ten years and the money will be invested into the facility.
Oh, and I love the very masculine, aggressive butterfly logo. Makes the Broncos horse look like a sissy.
UPDATE: Another veteran cut, this one in Everett where 19 year old forward Carter Smith has been reassigned to play Jr A in the SJHL. It's too bad about Smith's career....he was a 2nd round pick in the 2003 bantam draft and while he never did develop into a star, he was at least a fulltime WHLer until October 22, 2006. That was the day the car Smith was driving was hit by a drunk driver, critically injuring teammate Garrett Robinson. Only Smith can say whether the accident changed him as a player, but since then he has played just 16 games (with only 3 points), was traded by the Warriors, went home for the season shortly after the trade last year, and now has been cut altogether. Robinson's career might not be the only one that really ended that day.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Jackson, Starkov news
The Detroit Red Wings released defenceman Scott Jackson today. Presumably he will rejoin the Seattle Thunderbirds Of Kent-Soon, which means the T-Birds will have a decision to make by October 11 about their overagers. They have forwards Andre Herman and Ian McKenzie and defenceman Benn Olson on the roster already.
In other overage news, Columbus has assigned Kirill Starkov to their AHL affiliate. Red Deer has been hoping to get Starkov back as an overage this season, even going so far as to only pick one new import in the import draft so as to leave room for Starkov's return. NHL teams are getting down to some real cuts now though - the guys who had no hope of making the NHL this year have long since been cut in most cases - and the fact that Starkov has lasted this long may cause the Blue Jackets to think his future lies in the AHL this year instead. In the same vein, it's also bad news for the Rebels that Brett Sutter is STILL with the Flames and Mike Keenan has nothing but nice things to say about the kid's play so far. If Papa Darryl's going to cut him eventually, you gotta think he's going to the AHL and not up north to Uncle Brian.
And another addition now - the Broncos have reassigned 18 year old forward Grant Toulmin to the BCHL's Victoria Grizzlies. Toulmin has played 77 games for the Ponies over the last two years.
And yet another move this afternoon, this one a significant trade. Tri-City sends 18 year old forward Joel Broda to Moose Jaw for 19 year old forward Jason Reese. Not sure what the reasoning behind this deal is except that it moves both players a lot closer to home. They are both players who will get a point-a-game this year so in that regard the deal is a wash. Moose Jaw gets a year younger though.
The Warriors made another move right after that, resolving their overage and goalie situations by releasing Kurt Jory. That leaves them with Joey Perricone and Todd Matthews as their goaltenders, and Perricone, Keith Voytechek, and Terrance Delaronde as their overagers.
In other overage news, Columbus has assigned Kirill Starkov to their AHL affiliate. Red Deer has been hoping to get Starkov back as an overage this season, even going so far as to only pick one new import in the import draft so as to leave room for Starkov's return. NHL teams are getting down to some real cuts now though - the guys who had no hope of making the NHL this year have long since been cut in most cases - and the fact that Starkov has lasted this long may cause the Blue Jackets to think his future lies in the AHL this year instead. In the same vein, it's also bad news for the Rebels that Brett Sutter is STILL with the Flames and Mike Keenan has nothing but nice things to say about the kid's play so far. If Papa Darryl's going to cut him eventually, you gotta think he's going to the AHL and not up north to Uncle Brian.
And another addition now - the Broncos have reassigned 18 year old forward Grant Toulmin to the BCHL's Victoria Grizzlies. Toulmin has played 77 games for the Ponies over the last two years.
And yet another move this afternoon, this one a significant trade. Tri-City sends 18 year old forward Joel Broda to Moose Jaw for 19 year old forward Jason Reese. Not sure what the reasoning behind this deal is except that it moves both players a lot closer to home. They are both players who will get a point-a-game this year so in that regard the deal is a wash. Moose Jaw gets a year younger though.
The Warriors made another move right after that, resolving their overage and goalie situations by releasing Kurt Jory. That leaves them with Joey Perricone and Todd Matthews as their goaltenders, and Perricone, Keith Voytechek, and Terrance Delaronde as their overagers.
Tuesday news
The Rockets have two defencemen - Luke Schenn and Tyler Myers - who are sure to attract a lot of interest at next June's NHL draft. The Rockets' new site has an article on them.
Speaking of the Rockets' new website, it is a nice looking site. I still have to say though, the idea of bringing your website down for a month leading up to the start of the season is not the best marketing strategy anyone ever came up with. The entire preseason, if anyone wanted any info on the Rockets, they were just SOL as far as the official website was concerned. This is not the way to do redesigns. Leave the existing site up until the new one is ready, huh?
Bad luck for Pats overager Kaspars Saulietis. After beating out Marco Insam to earn a job on the team in a three-way battle for two import spots, Saulietis suffered a separated shoulder on his first shift of the team's season opener. As a result, he will be out for three months.
One game last night, the Hitmen beating the visiting Ice 5-1 in a battle of two teams going in opposite directions to start the season. The Hitmen are now 3-0 (tied with Tri-City for first overall now) while the Ice drop to 0-3. I don't know if there's some internal disciplinary thing going on, but if not, the decision by Ice coach Mark Hollick last night to scratch two overage defencemen and dress only five blueliners for the game is open to question. When you dress only two overagers despite having four available, and only five defencemen - including only two who played full seasons in the WHL last year - and then give a 16 year old goalie his first career start behind that d-corps, and proceed to lose 5-1, I'd say your decision-making is open to question. If the scratched O/A d-men - Chad Greenan and Paul Kurceba - were being disciplined for breach of team rules or something, that's a different story, but if it was just coaches decision.....
Speaking of coaches taking responsibility, to his credit rookie Rockets coach Ryan Huska accepted responsibility for his teams' loss to the Americans in the season opener on Saturday. Article on the game is here but in a nutshell, the Rockets were up 5-2 when Brandon McMillan was assessed a five-minute major penalty and also ejected. Huska chose not to put a player in the penalty box right away to serve McMillan's major; that's allowed and you can put a player in there to serve it at any stoppage prior to the penalty expiring. Except that they never did, and so when the penalty expired there was nobody allowed to come out on the ice. So they sent a player off the bench, which is another no-no. Making it worse, the Americans scored before the next whistle, and the Rockets were then dinged for too many men for having sent the player off the bench when they weren't allowed to. It gets worse - the Americans scored on that powerplay too, so a seemingly safe 5-2 lead is now 5-4 because of Huska's two mistakes. The Americans eventually tied the game and won it in overtime, 6-5. It is safe to say that there have been more successful and rewarding coaching debuts in the WHL. On the bright side, things can only get better for Huska from here on.
Keep an eye on October 20 in Vancouver on your calendar: that's the next time the Giants face the Silvertips. Giants coach Don Hay was steamed after their game on Saturday ended in a series of fights in which Hay felt the Tips were targetting Giants rookies. Both teams were fined for their actions and Hay sounds contrite now, but it'll be interesting to note the whereabouts of Garet Hunt, Mike Wuchterl and Chris Cloud when the starting lineups are announced on the 20th.
Only one game on the sched for tonight as well and it's another battle of opposites as the 2-0 Edmonton Oil Kings make the 90 minute hop down the QE2 to Red Deer to play the 0-2 Rebels. Red Deer is still without Brandon Sutter, who remains in North Carolina with the NHL's Hurricanes. In Edmonton, meanwhile, goalie Alex Archibald is enjoying this start to the season much more than he did the start last year in Chilliwack.
Last week I mentioned the Hitmen contest to design Martin Jones' goalie mask; well, here's another contest for a goalie mask on an even bigger stage. Details are yet to be released, but if it's like past years then once again Hockey Canada will take submissions from children across the country for the design of a goalie mask to be worn by Team Canada's goaltenders at the World Juniors this year.
From the NHL stupid rules department (they never run out of material), why is the Islanders' Chris Simon allowed to play preseason games despite still serving a 25 game suspension from last season that will carry over into this year? Especially preseason games against the Rangers? And when Ryan Hollweg is dressed for the Rangers? Yes, this all happened last night, and with predictable results. That's Simon running Hollweg into the boards from behind, and if you ignore the rest of the fracas that erupts and just watch those two, you'll see Simon tangle with Hollweg after Hollweg gets up, and get some more revenge for last year's incident. There's also a goalie fight between Al Montoya and Rick DiPietro. The point is though, why is Simon allowed to play at all? Shouldn't it go without saying that players with carryover suspensions can't play in preseason either? Simon's clubbing of Hollweg last year was a huge black eye for the league and yet the league seemingly can't be bothered to impose real punishments either.
Lastly, there's die-hard fans and then there's this: with the history-cursed Cubbies holding down first place in the NL Central and the playoffs approaching, a pair of big Cubs fans in Indiana - Paul and Teri Fields - have named their newborn son "Wrigley". Yes, Wrigley Fields. I guess it could be worse....they could have been Bears ("Soldier Fields"?) or Rockies ("Coors Fields"?) fans. Or Seattle Seahawks ("Meet our son, Qwest Fields").
Speaking of the Rockets' new website, it is a nice looking site. I still have to say though, the idea of bringing your website down for a month leading up to the start of the season is not the best marketing strategy anyone ever came up with. The entire preseason, if anyone wanted any info on the Rockets, they were just SOL as far as the official website was concerned. This is not the way to do redesigns. Leave the existing site up until the new one is ready, huh?
Bad luck for Pats overager Kaspars Saulietis. After beating out Marco Insam to earn a job on the team in a three-way battle for two import spots, Saulietis suffered a separated shoulder on his first shift of the team's season opener. As a result, he will be out for three months.
One game last night, the Hitmen beating the visiting Ice 5-1 in a battle of two teams going in opposite directions to start the season. The Hitmen are now 3-0 (tied with Tri-City for first overall now) while the Ice drop to 0-3. I don't know if there's some internal disciplinary thing going on, but if not, the decision by Ice coach Mark Hollick last night to scratch two overage defencemen and dress only five blueliners for the game is open to question. When you dress only two overagers despite having four available, and only five defencemen - including only two who played full seasons in the WHL last year - and then give a 16 year old goalie his first career start behind that d-corps, and proceed to lose 5-1, I'd say your decision-making is open to question. If the scratched O/A d-men - Chad Greenan and Paul Kurceba - were being disciplined for breach of team rules or something, that's a different story, but if it was just coaches decision.....
Speaking of coaches taking responsibility, to his credit rookie Rockets coach Ryan Huska accepted responsibility for his teams' loss to the Americans in the season opener on Saturday. Article on the game is here but in a nutshell, the Rockets were up 5-2 when Brandon McMillan was assessed a five-minute major penalty and also ejected. Huska chose not to put a player in the penalty box right away to serve McMillan's major; that's allowed and you can put a player in there to serve it at any stoppage prior to the penalty expiring. Except that they never did, and so when the penalty expired there was nobody allowed to come out on the ice. So they sent a player off the bench, which is another no-no. Making it worse, the Americans scored before the next whistle, and the Rockets were then dinged for too many men for having sent the player off the bench when they weren't allowed to. It gets worse - the Americans scored on that powerplay too, so a seemingly safe 5-2 lead is now 5-4 because of Huska's two mistakes. The Americans eventually tied the game and won it in overtime, 6-5. It is safe to say that there have been more successful and rewarding coaching debuts in the WHL. On the bright side, things can only get better for Huska from here on.
Keep an eye on October 20 in Vancouver on your calendar: that's the next time the Giants face the Silvertips. Giants coach Don Hay was steamed after their game on Saturday ended in a series of fights in which Hay felt the Tips were targetting Giants rookies. Both teams were fined for their actions and Hay sounds contrite now, but it'll be interesting to note the whereabouts of Garet Hunt, Mike Wuchterl and Chris Cloud when the starting lineups are announced on the 20th.
Only one game on the sched for tonight as well and it's another battle of opposites as the 2-0 Edmonton Oil Kings make the 90 minute hop down the QE2 to Red Deer to play the 0-2 Rebels. Red Deer is still without Brandon Sutter, who remains in North Carolina with the NHL's Hurricanes. In Edmonton, meanwhile, goalie Alex Archibald is enjoying this start to the season much more than he did the start last year in Chilliwack.
Last week I mentioned the Hitmen contest to design Martin Jones' goalie mask; well, here's another contest for a goalie mask on an even bigger stage. Details are yet to be released, but if it's like past years then once again Hockey Canada will take submissions from children across the country for the design of a goalie mask to be worn by Team Canada's goaltenders at the World Juniors this year.
From the NHL stupid rules department (they never run out of material), why is the Islanders' Chris Simon allowed to play preseason games despite still serving a 25 game suspension from last season that will carry over into this year? Especially preseason games against the Rangers? And when Ryan Hollweg is dressed for the Rangers? Yes, this all happened last night, and with predictable results. That's Simon running Hollweg into the boards from behind, and if you ignore the rest of the fracas that erupts and just watch those two, you'll see Simon tangle with Hollweg after Hollweg gets up, and get some more revenge for last year's incident. There's also a goalie fight between Al Montoya and Rick DiPietro. The point is though, why is Simon allowed to play at all? Shouldn't it go without saying that players with carryover suspensions can't play in preseason either? Simon's clubbing of Hollweg last year was a huge black eye for the league and yet the league seemingly can't be bothered to impose real punishments either.
Lastly, there's die-hard fans and then there's this: with the history-cursed Cubbies holding down first place in the NL Central and the playoffs approaching, a pair of big Cubs fans in Indiana - Paul and Teri Fields - have named their newborn son "Wrigley". Yes, Wrigley Fields. I guess it could be worse....they could have been Bears ("Soldier Fields"?) or Rockies ("Coors Fields"?) fans. Or Seattle Seahawks ("Meet our son, Qwest Fields").
Monday, September 24, 2007
Monday notes
OK, who thought the Oil Kings would be 2-0 after their first two games? And against a consistently strong organization like the Ice, to boot? It's early days yet and I'm still sure when the curtain falls on the season in March that the Oil Kings will be on the outside looking in, but it is certainly an impressive start. Could the home opener have had any more of a thrilling finish than that, with the winning goal coming with 1.4 seconds left? Not a classic game overall but certainly a finish that Edmonton fans will remember and hopefully come back for more. Beats the hell out of, say, getting pasted by 4 or 5 goals like what happened to a couple other teams in their home openers on the weekend.
The two losses also makes me reconsider what the Ice may want to do with their overage situation. I had them keeping DaSilva, Greenan, and Bauer before, but with the team surrendering 10 goals in two games to an expansion team, they might want to consider keeping Kurceba instead of Bauer for another veteran presence on the blueline. Bauer was a scratch both nights so maybe that's the plan anyway. I'm not sure why they bothered dressing Luke Wiens in the Saturday game when it's obvious to almost all observers that he won't earn an overage spot - and his penalty in that game resulted in the 4th (and winning) Edmonton goal on the powerplay that night.
One last note about Edmonton though - those are some seriously ugly uniforms. Who thought those shades of red and blue looked good together? And with that ugly yellow logo? Not quite as bad as the Hitmen starburst logo and pink-trimmed uniforms from 95-96 but still, ugh. Glad I don't have to watch that 36 times this year.
Some fans are talking up the Wheat Kings after their 5-1 and 6-1 whippings of the Blades on the weekend. I guess I don't see why two lopsided wins over a team with maybe the worst defence in the league is really all that unusual. If things don't improve on Saskatoon's blueline, there will be a lot more nights like those. Also note that Blades goalie Garrett Zemlak sports a GAA of 13.93 today. Ouch!
Good start to the season for the Americans - 3-0 on opening weekend. For one day at least, that gives them sole possession of first overall in the league. The Hitmen could join them at 3-0 with a win over Kootenay tonight in a rare Monday WHL game. The Ams get more good news too with the return of Colton Yellow Horn from the Tampa Bay Lightning system. The move gives the Ams four very good overagers now, which forces a trade before October 11, but that's not a bad thing when you consider that whoever they trade will fetch a nice return.
And speaking of the Hitmen, they could be better than they played in the two wins over the rebuilding Rebels. Getting Ryan White and Alex Plante back from NHL camps will be a help (I understand White is coming back today but Plante is still hurt) but even the players that are there now can play better than they did on Friday in particular. And why is Karl Alzner getting into fights? Somebody needs to wake up to the realization that the guys who are your meal tickets shouldn't be fighting.
And still with Red Deer, they may have gotten J.D. Watt back from the Flames but they probably shouldn't hold their breath about Brett Sutter. Sutter has been very impressive in Flames camp and is getting a very long look - to the point where his name has actually been mentioned once or twice as a guy who might be in contention for one of the few open forward spots on the NHL club this year. Given that, it's hard to imagine him being returned to junior instead of being sent to the AHL if he doesn't make the NHL roster. If he's really that close to being ready for the NHL, he's far better off playing in the AHL this year than junior.
Everett starting the year 0-2 must be a surprise to some people. I know it was for me. They did not have Zach Hamill for the first game and didn't have Peter Mueller for either game, although they better get used to that one. But they did have Leland Irving for both games and his numbers quite frankly suck. 5.09 GAA and .833 SV% for a first round NHL pick is just brutal regardless of how the team played in front of you. I don't care if a guy faced nothing but point-blank one-timers all night, anyone with those credentials should have better than an 83.3% success rate at stopping them. He needs to be a lot better. As for the rest of the team, getting Dane Crowley back from Tampa Bay Lightning camp yesterday should help the defence.
Here's a factoid though: when was the last time the Silvertips were two games under .500? Not since November 5, 2003 - almost four years. They were 5-7-3 on that date and have never been more than a game under .500 since. In fact, in four years the worst the team has ever been is 4 games under .500, which is what they were after an 0-4-1 start that same year.
The two losses also makes me reconsider what the Ice may want to do with their overage situation. I had them keeping DaSilva, Greenan, and Bauer before, but with the team surrendering 10 goals in two games to an expansion team, they might want to consider keeping Kurceba instead of Bauer for another veteran presence on the blueline. Bauer was a scratch both nights so maybe that's the plan anyway. I'm not sure why they bothered dressing Luke Wiens in the Saturday game when it's obvious to almost all observers that he won't earn an overage spot - and his penalty in that game resulted in the 4th (and winning) Edmonton goal on the powerplay that night.
One last note about Edmonton though - those are some seriously ugly uniforms. Who thought those shades of red and blue looked good together? And with that ugly yellow logo? Not quite as bad as the Hitmen starburst logo and pink-trimmed uniforms from 95-96 but still, ugh. Glad I don't have to watch that 36 times this year.
Some fans are talking up the Wheat Kings after their 5-1 and 6-1 whippings of the Blades on the weekend. I guess I don't see why two lopsided wins over a team with maybe the worst defence in the league is really all that unusual. If things don't improve on Saskatoon's blueline, there will be a lot more nights like those. Also note that Blades goalie Garrett Zemlak sports a GAA of 13.93 today. Ouch!
Good start to the season for the Americans - 3-0 on opening weekend. For one day at least, that gives them sole possession of first overall in the league. The Hitmen could join them at 3-0 with a win over Kootenay tonight in a rare Monday WHL game. The Ams get more good news too with the return of Colton Yellow Horn from the Tampa Bay Lightning system. The move gives the Ams four very good overagers now, which forces a trade before October 11, but that's not a bad thing when you consider that whoever they trade will fetch a nice return.
And speaking of the Hitmen, they could be better than they played in the two wins over the rebuilding Rebels. Getting Ryan White and Alex Plante back from NHL camps will be a help (I understand White is coming back today but Plante is still hurt) but even the players that are there now can play better than they did on Friday in particular. And why is Karl Alzner getting into fights? Somebody needs to wake up to the realization that the guys who are your meal tickets shouldn't be fighting.
And still with Red Deer, they may have gotten J.D. Watt back from the Flames but they probably shouldn't hold their breath about Brett Sutter. Sutter has been very impressive in Flames camp and is getting a very long look - to the point where his name has actually been mentioned once or twice as a guy who might be in contention for one of the few open forward spots on the NHL club this year. Given that, it's hard to imagine him being returned to junior instead of being sent to the AHL if he doesn't make the NHL roster. If he's really that close to being ready for the NHL, he's far better off playing in the AHL this year than junior.
Everett starting the year 0-2 must be a surprise to some people. I know it was for me. They did not have Zach Hamill for the first game and didn't have Peter Mueller for either game, although they better get used to that one. But they did have Leland Irving for both games and his numbers quite frankly suck. 5.09 GAA and .833 SV% for a first round NHL pick is just brutal regardless of how the team played in front of you. I don't care if a guy faced nothing but point-blank one-timers all night, anyone with those credentials should have better than an 83.3% success rate at stopping them. He needs to be a lot better. As for the rest of the team, getting Dane Crowley back from Tampa Bay Lightning camp yesterday should help the defence.
Here's a factoid though: when was the last time the Silvertips were two games under .500? Not since November 5, 2003 - almost four years. They were 5-7-3 on that date and have never been more than a game under .500 since. In fact, in four years the worst the team has ever been is 4 games under .500, which is what they were after an 0-4-1 start that same year.
Saturday, September 22, 2007
No news this weekend
Going to be a tough weekend for updating this.....I'll be back at it on Monday though. Sorry! :(
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Blades moves
Saskatoon trades one and cuts one. Defenceman Brett Ward is off to Moose Jaw for a 2008 4th round pick, and forward Craig Cuthbert has been sent to Jr A.
The Ward move surprises me.....the Blades blueline is young and inexperienced enough already and Ward was about the most experienced guy of the bunch.
The Ward move surprises me.....the Blades blueline is young and inexperienced enough already and Ward was about the most experienced guy of the bunch.
U.S. division preview
Everett Silvertips:
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Overagers:
In: Dane Crowley (D), Dan Gendur (F), Brennan Sonne (F)
Out: Brandon Campos (F), Ondrej Fiala (F), David Reekie (G)
Departed Players:
Damir Alic (F-87) (Reg: 56-5-10-15-54; Plf: 12-0-1-1-8) - released
Brandon Campos (F-87) (Reg: 67-10-14-24-46; Plf: 10-1-2-3-15) - trade/release (projected)
Ondrej Fiala (F-87) (Reg: 39-12-21-33-26) - trade/release (projected)
Jason Fransoo (D-86) (Reg: 71-9-34-43-76; Plf: 12-0-6-6-12) - graduated overager
Moises Gutierrez (F-86) (Reg: 61-35-20-55-110; Plf: 12-5-6-11-16) - graduated overager
Peter Mueller (F-88) (Reg: 51-21-57-78-45; Plf: 12-7-9-16-12) - turning pro (projected)
David Reekie (G-87) (Reg: 27gp, 20-6-0, 1.77gaa, .925sv%; Plf: 3gp, 0-1, 3.99gaa, .833sv%) - trade/release (projected)
Jesse Smyke (F-87) (Reg: 68-8-8-16-18; Plf: 11-1-1-2-2) - released
Jesse Zetariuk (D-86) (Reg: 40-1-5-6-32; Plf: 12-0-2-2-17) - graduated overager
Projected Returnees:
Forwards:
Kyle Beach (F-90) (Reg: 65-29-32-61-196; Plf: 11-5-6-11-19)
Jesse Burt (F-89) (Reg: 30-3-1-4-16)
Zack Dailey (F-89) (Reg: 67-2-14-16-36; Plf: 12-3-3-6-12)
Dan Gendur (F-87) (Reg: 48-20-22-42-44; Plf: 12-4-4-8-8)
Zach Hamill (F-88) (Reg: 69-32-61-93-90; Plf: 12-2-8-10-16)
Shane Harper (F-89) (Reg: 58-3-12-15-23; Plf: 8-1-2-3-0)
Carter Smith (F-88) (Reg: 21-2-2-4-20)
Brennan Sonne (F-87) (Reg: 55-5-4-9-116; Plf: 12-2-0-2-12)
Lukas Vartovnik (F-89) (Reg: 58-11-8-19-41; Plf: 10-1-2-3-7)
Defence:
Mike Alexander (D-89) (Reg: 37-1-5-6-26)
Dane Crowley (D-87) (Reg: 29-4-13-17-28; Plf: 12-0-3-3-8)
Taylor Ellington (D-88) (Reg: 60-5-8-13-65; Plf: 6-1-0-1-2)
Jonathan Harty (D-88) (Reg: 70-5-18-23-156; Plf: 12-1-0-1-13)
Graham Potuer (D-88) (Reg: 50-0-8-8-73; Plf: 12-0-1-1-18)
Goaltenders:
Leland Irving (G-88) (Reg: 48gp, 34-9-3, 1.86gaa, .929sv%; Plf: 12gp, 6-5, 2.82gaa, .887sv%)
Rookies:
Shayne Barrie (G-89) (Reg: 1gp, 0-0-0, 0.00gaa, 1.000sv%)
Chris de la Lande (D-90)
Eric English (F-88)
Tyler Eskesen (F-90) (Reg: 4-0-0-0-4)
Eddie Friesen (D-90)
Matt Ius (F-90) (Reg: 8-0-2-2-4; Plf: 1-0-0-0-0)
Vitali Karamnov (F-89) - new import
Morgan MacLean (F-88)
Jordan Mistelbacher (F-90) (Reg: 3-0-1-1-5; Plf: 9-0-2-2-2)
Jeff Regier (D-91) (Reg: 5-0-2-2-2; Plf: 6-0-0-0-2)
Ty Skauge (F-90)
Matt Strong (D-90) (Reg: 16-0-1-1-22)
Prognosis: This team is tough to make a prediction on without knowing the status of forward Peter Mueller, who seems likely to start (and perhaps finish) the season in the NHL. Mueller would be a very dominant player at the WHL level so if he were to return, that would obviously be a huge boost to the Silvertips. Even without Mueller though (and I will operate on the assumption that he is gone), this is a very respectable team which should continue the winning ways that the franchise has had in its short existence. Up front there are still Hamill, Beach, and Gendur to provide proven scoring - all three should top 30 goals this year, with 40 (Beach) and 50 (Hamill) being reachable goals. A year of experience should help Lukas Vartovnik, and expectations are there for players like Dailey, Harper, Karamnov, and Mistelbacher to help provide some secondary scoring. The defence returns five players from last year's edition, including a couple of the league's best in Crowley (I'm projecting him back anyway) and Ellington, and also add two rookies who have already played double-digit total games with the team last year. And in net they have one of the league's best goaltenders in Leland Irving, who needs to shake off the inconsistencies of last season. His backup is likely to be 18 year old rookie Shayne Barrie. Overall, team depth is probably not quite as good as it has been in other years but this is still a very good team which should be in contention come playoffs. The one big question that cannot be answered is how the team will adjust to the loss of coach Kevin Constantine behind the bench. Those are obviously big shoes to be filled there for John Becanic.
Prediction: First in the division in a close race with Seattle. 1st or 2nd in the conference.
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Seattle Thunderbirds:
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Overagers:
In: Andre Herman (F), Scott Jackson (D), Ian McKenzie (F)
Out: Benn Olson (D)
Departed Players:
Aaron Gagnon (F-86) (Reg: 59-42-38-80-58; Plf: 11-6-2-8-10) - graduated overager
Radek Meidl (F-88) (Reg: 72-16-11-27-89; Plf: 11-1-3-4-6) - released
Benn Olson (D-87) (Reg: 66-2-8-10-181; Plf: 11-1-2-3-26) - released (projected)
Brett Robertson (F-86) (Reg: 38-12-19-31-48; Plf: 11-5-7-12-10) - graduated overager
Bretton Stamler (D-87) (Reg: 72-8-24-32-135; Plf: 11-0-1-1-14) - to Edmonton in expansion draft
Derek Yeomans (G-86) (Reg: 55gp, 30-12-12, 2.12gaa, .917sv%; Plf: 11gp, 5-6, 2.50gaa, .912sv%) - graduated overager
Projected Returnees:
Forwards:
Jeremy Boyer (F-90) (Reg: 56-2-5-7-29; Plf: 3-0-0-0-0)
Jan Eberle (F-89) (Reg: 68-18-20-38-44; Plf: 11-1-4-5-10)
Andre Herman (F-87) (Reg: 31-5-6-11-16; Plf: 11-3-2-5-4)
Bud Holloway (F-88) (Reg: 71-27-38-65-50; Plf: 11-3-3-6-8)
Ian McKenzie (F-87) (Reg: 60-12-9-21-77; Plf: 11-2-1-3-17)
Lindsay Nielsen (F-89) (Reg: 53-6-6-12-24; Plf: 11-1-1-2-8)
Isak Quakenbush (F-90) (Reg: 51-1-1-2-37)
Prab Rai (F-89) (Reg: 38-5-14-19-18; Plf: 8-1-4-5-0)
David Richard (F-89) (Reg: 72-9-9-18-54; Plf: 11-0-1-1-6)
Joshua Schappert (F-89) (Reg: 72-5-11-16-36; Plf: 11-1-2-3-2)
Greg Scott (F-88) (Reg: 72-17-14-31-62; Plf: 11-0-2-2-2)
Defence:
Sena Acolatse (D-90) (Reg: 45-0-4-4-61; Plf: 11-0-0-0-8)
Brad Bakken (D-89) (Reg: 48-0-1-1-20; Plf: 6-0-0-0-0)
Thomas Hickey (D-89) (Reg: 68-9-41-50-70; Plf: 11-3-4-7-4)
Scott Jackson (D-87) (Reg: 71-4-31-35-52; Plf: 11-0-5-5-9)
Jeremy Schappert (D-89) (Reg: 39-1-5-6-15; Plf: 5-0-0-0-2)
Goaltenders:
Jacob DeSerres (G-90) (Reg: 20gp, 7-9-2, 2.79gaa, .900sv%; Plf: 2gp, 0-0, 7.67gaa, .733sv%)
Rookies:
Steve Chaffin (D-91) (Reg: 5-0-0-0-0)
Brenden Dillon (D-90)
Tyler Esau (G-89) (Reg: 11gp, 1-5-1, 5.09gaa, .843sv%) - stats with Prince Albert
Cody Hanson (F-90)
Riku Helenius (G-88) - new import
Josh Lazowski (F-91)
Jim O’Brien (F-89)
Brenden Silvester (F-91)
Charles Wells (F-91)
Prognosis: Some optimism around this team following the offseason additions of a couple of NHL first round picks. Any time you can add a couple top-flight players like that for free is a good thing. I'm not sure that the Birds are serious contenders yet but there are certainly some possibilities here. For starters, things are looking good in net, where Finnish star Riku Helenius will team with 17 year old incumbent Jacob DeSerres to provide a good tandem. The blueline certainly has a couple high-end talents in Thomas Hickey and Scott Jackson, but I wonder about the depth beyond that. Schappert's a good 2nd-pairing guy but are Bakken and Acolatse ready for similar roles? Two rookies complete the blueline. Up front the team will have to replace the lost scoring of Gagnon and Robertson somehow; in Eberle, Holloway, and Scott they have a trio of guys with the ability to step up and they'll need just that. There's also several other players here who are also capable of a lot more than what they provided last year - Herman, Rai, Richard. The addition of Jim O'Brien (when he's healthy) is a boost there too. Still obviously some questions about whether enough guys will step up but there are definitely players there with the ability to do so.
Prediction: 2nd in the division. 2nd or 3rd in the conference.
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Spokane Chiefs:
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Overagers:
In: Judd Blackwater (F), Chris Bruton (F), David Rutherford (F)
Out: Michael Grabner (F), Adam Hobson (F), David Linsley (F), Sean Zimmerman (D)
Departed Players:
Michael Grabner (F-87) (Reg: 55-39-16-55-34; Plf: 6-0-1-1-2) - turning pro
Evan Haw (D-86) (Reg: 62-3-9-12-138; Plf: 6-0-0-0-12) - graduated overager
Adam Hobson (F-87) (Reg: 43-14-18-32-59; Plf: 6-3-0-3-6) - turning pro
Stephane Lenoski (D-86) (Reg: 36-1-17-18-40; Plf: 6-0-0-0-2) - graduated overager
David Linsley (F-87) (Reg: 50-4-3-7-22; Plf: 5-0-0-0-2) - released
Derek Ryan (F-86) (Reg: 72-28-31-59-50; Plf: 6-3-2-5-2) - graduated overager
J.P. Szaszkiewicz (F-88) (Reg: 63-8-8-16-44; Plf: 6-0-0-0-10) - to Edmonton in expansion draft
Sean Zimmerman (D-87) (Reg: 60-2-12-14-69; Plf: 6-0-2-2-2) - turning pro
Projected Returnees:
Forwards:
Judd Blackwater (F-87) (Reg: 55-12-29-41-87; Plf: 3-0-0-0-5)
Drayson Bowman (F-89) (Reg: 62-24-19-43-55; Plf: 6-2-5-7-4)
Chris Bruton (F-87) (Reg: 63-9-12-21-103; Plf: 6-1-1-2-6)
Seth Compton (F-88) (Reg: 47-8-7-15-12)
Cody Esposito (F-89) (Reg: 41-2-6-8-73)
Curtis Kelner (F-88) (Reg: 28-1-2-3-45; Plf: 5-0-0-0-2)
Levko Koper (F-90) (Reg: 50-3-2-5-14; Plf: 5-0-0-0-0)
Chris Langkow (F-89) (Reg: 49-4-8-12-33; Plf: 2-0-0-0-0)
Ondrej Roman (F-89) (Reg: 70-4-44-48-42; Plf: 6-1-4-5-0)
David Rutherford (F-87) (Reg: 69-31-27-58-133; Plf: 6-2-0-2-13)
Mitch Wahl (F-90) (Reg: 69-16-32-48-50; Plf: 4-0-1-1-5)
Defence:
Justin Falk (D-88) (Reg: 62-3-12-15-88; Plf: 6-0-0-0-8)
Patrick Kozyra (D-89) (Reg: 55-1-4-5-24) - stats with Red Deer
Mike Reddington (D-90) (Reg: 64-1-2-3-75; Plf: 6-0-0-0-15)
Jared Spurgeon (D-89) (Reg: 38-4-15-19-16)
Goaltenders:
Kevin Armstrong (G-88) (Reg: 48gp, 23-17-6, 2.80gaa, .900sv%)
Dustin Tokarski (G-89) (Reg: 30gp, 13-11-2, 2.80gaa, .903sv%; Plf: 6gp, 2-4, 2.80gaa, .901sv%)
Rookies:
Brett Bartman (D-89)
Jared Cowen (D-91) (Reg: 6-0-2-2-2; Plf: 6-0-1-1-6)
Jace Coyle (D-90)
Dustin Donaghy (F-89)
Tyler Johnson (F-90)
James Reid (G-90)
Stefan Ulmer (D-90) - new import
Prognosis: Reasonably well-rounded team that is a good darkhorse contender. They have at least five forwards who could/should crack 60 points this year and a few others who should be in the 20-30 range providing depth. The goaltending is also good, with a 1A/1B rotation of Kevin Armstrong and Dustin Tokarski possible to occur again unless one is moved to make way for rookie James Reid to assume the backup role. Either way, both Armstrong and Tokaski posted similar numbers last year which they'll be looking to improve on with another year's experience. The one concern this team must have is the blueline, where depth is a little thin beyond Falk and Reddington. Jared Spurgeon is an OK 2nd/3rd pair type and there are very high hopes for #1 overall bantam pick Jared Cowen, but he is just 16 and will have a learning curve. It would be a big help if new import Stefan Ulmer adjusted quickly to the North American game. The Chiefs should improve on last year but I'm not sure it is enough to get them past Everett or Seattle in the standings.
Prediction: Third in the division. 4th or 5th in the conference.
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Tri-City Americans:
--------------------
Overagers:
In: T.J. Fast (D), Erik Felde (F), Colton Yellow Horn (F)
Out: Tanner Gillies (F), Carey Price (G), Shaun Vey (F)
Departed Players:
Alex Aldred (F-86) (Reg: 64-15-40-55-82; Plf: 6-1-0-1-8) - graduated overager
Aaron Boogaard (F-86) (Reg: 69-10-11-21-173; Plf: 5-1-0-1-14) - graduated overager
Brock Cornish (D-89) (Reg: 31-3-7-10-44; Plf: 2-0-0-0-0) - traded to Portland
Tanner Gillies (F-87) (Reg: 70-6-18-24-60; Plf: 6-0-1-1-9) - retired
Chris Inglis (F-88) (Reg: 56-1-7-8-78; Plf: 1-0-0-0-0) - traded to Lethbridge
Michael Kaye (F-87) (Reg: 53-10-17-27-79; Plf: 6-1-0-1-10) - traded to Saskatoon
Carey Price (G-87) (Reg: 46gp, 30-13-1, 2.45gaa, .917sv%; Plf: 6gp, 2-4, 2.93gaa, .912sv%) - turning pro
Zach Sim (D-88) (Reg: 43-6-6-12-32; Plf: 5-0-0-0-4) - traded to Medicine Hat
Matthew Swaby (D-87) (Reg: 62-2-18-20-90; Plf: 6-0-3-3-8) - to Edmonton in expansion draft
Roman Teslyuk (D-86) (Reg: 32-8-9-17-70; Plf: 6-0-1-1-12) - graduated overager
Juraj Valach (D-89) (Reg: 58-7-23-30-75; Plf: 6-1-1-2-12) - traded to Vancouver
Shaun Vey (F-87) (Reg: 69-23-22-45-42; Plf: 6-1-0-1-6) - trade bait (projected)
Projected Returnees:
Forwards:
Joel Broda (F-89) (Reg: 71-16-28-44-62; Plf: 6-2-0-2-0)
Erik Felde (F-87) (Reg: 72-24-28-52-38; Plf: 6-0-2-2-4)
Travis Gorman (F-89) (Reg: 21-4-0-4-49; Plf: 2-0-0-0-2)
Drew Hoff (F-88) (Reg: 70-6-9-15-41; Plf: 5-0-0-0-0)
Blair Macaulay (F-88) (Reg: 66-9-9-18-76) - stats with Saskatoon
Taylor Procyshen (F-88) (Reg: 67-33-23-56-42; Plf: 6-2-0-2-2)
Kruise Reddick (F-90) (Reg: 60-9-13-22-30; Plf: 6-0-2-2-2)
Colton Yellow Horn (F-87) (Reg: 59-40-37-77-57; Plf: 6-1-2-3-6)
Defence:
T.J. Fast (D-87) (Reg: 26-3-19-22-30; Plf: 6-0-1-1-14)
Kevin Kraus (D-89) (Reg: 36-0-3-3-57; Plf: 4-0-0-0-2) - stats with Kamloops
Eric Mestery (D-90) (Reg: 43-1-6-7-20)
Tyler Schmidt (D-90) (Reg: 47-4-15-19-72; Plf: 4-0-0-0-6)
Jarrett Toll (D-89) (Reg: 44-0-9-9-59; Plf: 6-0-0-0-2)
Goaltenders:
Chet Pickard (G-89) (Reg: 29gp, 17-10-1, 2.85gaa, .903sv%; Plf: 1gp, 0-0, 3.00gaa, .800sv%)
Rookies:
Kyle Birch (G-90)
Jason Gardiner (F-91) (Reg: 4-0-0-0-0)
Adam Hughesman (F-91) (Reg: 3-0-0-0-0)
Colan Jackson (F-90)
Johnny Lazo (F-89) (Reg: 3-0-0-0-0)
Mitch McColm (D-89) (Reg: 5-0-0-0-9)
Joel Ridgeway (F-90) (Reg: 2-0-0-0-0)
Petr Stoklasa (F-89) - new import
Lane Werbowski (D-91)
Mason Wilgosh (F-91)
Joel Woznikoski (D-89) (Reg: 4-0-0-0-9) - stats with Kamloops
Prognosis: Another team with big losses from last year, the Americans will be looking to replace 12 departed players and will have a fairly young team this year. None of the losses is as big as the departure of Carey Price, the best goaltender in the league last year. The good news is though, Chet Pickard played very well in Price's WJC absence last year and is probably ready to carry the starting job. But he is no Carey Price so there has to be a bit of a dropoff there still. The bigger concern is the blueline, where five of last year's contributors are now gone and the Ams have just 6 seasons and 263 games of WHL experience across the five remaining vets. T.J. Fast has NCAA experience on top of his half-season in the WHL but definitely this is an inexperienced group at one of the game's most critical positions. Everyone is going to have to assume much bigger roles than they have in their WHL careers up to this point. Up front the team does have the luxury of a fair bit of proven goal scoring, which should take some of the pressure off the defence. Assuming they get Colton Yellow Horn back, that should be 40-50 goals right there, plus probably anywhere from 25 to 40 goals from Procyshyn, Broda, and Felde (or Vey if they keep Vey instead of Felde as the 3rd overage). Depth is a little bit of a concern here too but that is to be expected in a rebuilding year; seven rookies will be vying to fill out the last 4-5 spots up front. All in all the Ams are going to take a drop in the standings, but probably not enough to drop them out of the playoffs.
Prediction: 4th in the U.S. division. 6th or 7th in the conference.
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Portland Winter Hawks:
--------------------
Overagers:
In: Nicholas Hotson (F), Frazer McLaren (F)
Out: - none -
Departed Players:
Cameron Cepek (D-88) (Reg: 49-1-8-9-87) - to Edmonton in expansion draft
Thomas Frazee (F-90) (Reg: 55-6-6-12-38) - traded to Medicine Hat
Max Gordichuk (D-86) (Reg: 70-5-21-26-107) - graduated overager
Stefan Langwieder (D-87) (Reg: 59-2-14-16-91) - signed in Europe
Teegan Moore (F-86) (Reg: 31-3-7-10-37) - graduated overager
Chip Petrino (F-90) (Reg: 53-1-2-3-44) - released
Chris Ward (G-89) (Reg: 14gp, 0-10-1, 6.20gaa, .817sv%) - released
Projected Returnees:
Forwards:
Matt Betker (F-89) (Reg: 64-5-5-10-83)
Chris Francis (F-89) (Reg: 69-9-8-17-14)
Nicholas Hotson (F-87) (Reg: 71-18-22-40-52)
Tayler Jordan (F-90) (Reg: 52-2-0-2-137)
Tristan King (F-90) (Reg: 64-6-9-15-26)
Frazer McLaren (F-87) (Reg: 61-19-12-31-186)
Colton Sceviour (F-89) (Reg: 49-12-26-38-38)
Matt Schmermund (F-88) (Reg: 30-3-4-7-30)
Viktor Sjodin (F-88) (Reg: 68-13-12-25-79)
Matt Sokol (F-89) (Reg: 63-6-6-12-55)
Tyler Swystun (F-88) (Reg: 70-12-24-36-45; Plf: 22-2-3-5-6) - stats with Medicine Hat
Defence:
Lucas Alexiuk (D-89) (Reg: 67-0-4-4-85)
Ty Ariss (D-90) (Reg: 30-0-1-1-56)
Scott Gabriel (D-88) (Reg: 46-1-2-3-120)
Devon Marshall (D-90) (Reg: 43-0-1-1-25)
Bo Montgomery (D-90) (Reg: 31-0-2-2-54)
Todd Panchyson (D-88) (Reg: 29-3-2-5-18) - stats with Saskatoon/Lethbridge
Goaltenders:
Kurtis Mucha (G-89) (Reg: 62gp, 17-41-2, 3.82gaa, .885sv%)
Jordan White (G-88) (Reg: 10gp, 1-5-1, 5.05gaa, .828sv%) - stats with Prince George
Rookies:
Riley Boychuk (F-91)
Mark Guggenberger (G-89)
Aaron McGill (F-89)
Lee Morrow (D-90)
Brett Ponich (D-91) (Reg: 2-0-0-0-0)
Radim Valchar (F-89) - new import
Luke Walker (F-90)
Prognosis: Things couldn't get much worse than they were last year, could they? A year of experience should definitely help avoid the multitude of blowout losses this young team suffered last year, but just how much room for improvement is there when only one of their divisional opponents is likely to make a significant drop in the standings? They need to make up minimum 43 points over last year in order to finish ahead of any of their U.S. division counterparts. In fact, with the new conference-based playoff format the best bet for the Hawks to make the playoffs this year might lie in being better than two of the B.C. teams rather than any of the U.S. teams. It's do-able if everything falls into place. For starters, they'll need a much-improved blueline over last year, and with three of last year's top six having moved on since last year, some guys are going to have to step up. Alexiuk, Ariss, Marshall, and Montgomery got their feet wet last year as rookies and must now emerge as reliable top-six WHLers. Montgomery is fine, we'll see about the others. Gabriel and Panchyson must also meet that standard, something they haven't necessarily been able to do consistently in their careers so far. Expectations are also there for rookies Lee Morrow and especially Brett Ponich, but they are still rookies. All in all I think the defence is still a concern for this team. The goaltending should be acceptable again as it was last year; Kurtis Mucha's numbers were not impressive at first glance but in light of the situation he was put in every night, they are respectable. Minnesota high schooler Mark Guggenberger joins the team to push Mucha for playing time. Up front they have ten veteran forwards, many of whom will have to improve on their totals from last year if the team is to increase scoring from last year's league-worst 144 goals. McLaren, Hotson, Sceviour, Sjodin, King, and new acquisition Swystun will need to lead this team offensively. Overall, the Hawks should be improved a fair bit points-wise but it might not be a whole lot standings-wise. We'll see if they can top two of Chilliwack, Kelowna, and Prince George and make the playoffs.
Prediction: 5th in the division. 8th/9th in the conference.
--------------------
Overagers:
In: Dane Crowley (D), Dan Gendur (F), Brennan Sonne (F)
Out: Brandon Campos (F), Ondrej Fiala (F), David Reekie (G)
Departed Players:
Damir Alic (F-87) (Reg: 56-5-10-15-54; Plf: 12-0-1-1-8) - released
Brandon Campos (F-87) (Reg: 67-10-14-24-46; Plf: 10-1-2-3-15) - trade/release (projected)
Ondrej Fiala (F-87) (Reg: 39-12-21-33-26) - trade/release (projected)
Jason Fransoo (D-86) (Reg: 71-9-34-43-76; Plf: 12-0-6-6-12) - graduated overager
Moises Gutierrez (F-86) (Reg: 61-35-20-55-110; Plf: 12-5-6-11-16) - graduated overager
Peter Mueller (F-88) (Reg: 51-21-57-78-45; Plf: 12-7-9-16-12) - turning pro (projected)
David Reekie (G-87) (Reg: 27gp, 20-6-0, 1.77gaa, .925sv%; Plf: 3gp, 0-1, 3.99gaa, .833sv%) - trade/release (projected)
Jesse Smyke (F-87) (Reg: 68-8-8-16-18; Plf: 11-1-1-2-2) - released
Jesse Zetariuk (D-86) (Reg: 40-1-5-6-32; Plf: 12-0-2-2-17) - graduated overager
Projected Returnees:
Forwards:
Kyle Beach (F-90) (Reg: 65-29-32-61-196; Plf: 11-5-6-11-19)
Jesse Burt (F-89) (Reg: 30-3-1-4-16)
Zack Dailey (F-89) (Reg: 67-2-14-16-36; Plf: 12-3-3-6-12)
Dan Gendur (F-87) (Reg: 48-20-22-42-44; Plf: 12-4-4-8-8)
Zach Hamill (F-88) (Reg: 69-32-61-93-90; Plf: 12-2-8-10-16)
Shane Harper (F-89) (Reg: 58-3-12-15-23; Plf: 8-1-2-3-0)
Carter Smith (F-88) (Reg: 21-2-2-4-20)
Brennan Sonne (F-87) (Reg: 55-5-4-9-116; Plf: 12-2-0-2-12)
Lukas Vartovnik (F-89) (Reg: 58-11-8-19-41; Plf: 10-1-2-3-7)
Defence:
Mike Alexander (D-89) (Reg: 37-1-5-6-26)
Dane Crowley (D-87) (Reg: 29-4-13-17-28; Plf: 12-0-3-3-8)
Taylor Ellington (D-88) (Reg: 60-5-8-13-65; Plf: 6-1-0-1-2)
Jonathan Harty (D-88) (Reg: 70-5-18-23-156; Plf: 12-1-0-1-13)
Graham Potuer (D-88) (Reg: 50-0-8-8-73; Plf: 12-0-1-1-18)
Goaltenders:
Leland Irving (G-88) (Reg: 48gp, 34-9-3, 1.86gaa, .929sv%; Plf: 12gp, 6-5, 2.82gaa, .887sv%)
Rookies:
Shayne Barrie (G-89) (Reg: 1gp, 0-0-0, 0.00gaa, 1.000sv%)
Chris de la Lande (D-90)
Eric English (F-88)
Tyler Eskesen (F-90) (Reg: 4-0-0-0-4)
Eddie Friesen (D-90)
Matt Ius (F-90) (Reg: 8-0-2-2-4; Plf: 1-0-0-0-0)
Vitali Karamnov (F-89) - new import
Morgan MacLean (F-88)
Jordan Mistelbacher (F-90) (Reg: 3-0-1-1-5; Plf: 9-0-2-2-2)
Jeff Regier (D-91) (Reg: 5-0-2-2-2; Plf: 6-0-0-0-2)
Ty Skauge (F-90)
Matt Strong (D-90) (Reg: 16-0-1-1-22)
Prognosis: This team is tough to make a prediction on without knowing the status of forward Peter Mueller, who seems likely to start (and perhaps finish) the season in the NHL. Mueller would be a very dominant player at the WHL level so if he were to return, that would obviously be a huge boost to the Silvertips. Even without Mueller though (and I will operate on the assumption that he is gone), this is a very respectable team which should continue the winning ways that the franchise has had in its short existence. Up front there are still Hamill, Beach, and Gendur to provide proven scoring - all three should top 30 goals this year, with 40 (Beach) and 50 (Hamill) being reachable goals. A year of experience should help Lukas Vartovnik, and expectations are there for players like Dailey, Harper, Karamnov, and Mistelbacher to help provide some secondary scoring. The defence returns five players from last year's edition, including a couple of the league's best in Crowley (I'm projecting him back anyway) and Ellington, and also add two rookies who have already played double-digit total games with the team last year. And in net they have one of the league's best goaltenders in Leland Irving, who needs to shake off the inconsistencies of last season. His backup is likely to be 18 year old rookie Shayne Barrie. Overall, team depth is probably not quite as good as it has been in other years but this is still a very good team which should be in contention come playoffs. The one big question that cannot be answered is how the team will adjust to the loss of coach Kevin Constantine behind the bench. Those are obviously big shoes to be filled there for John Becanic.
Prediction: First in the division in a close race with Seattle. 1st or 2nd in the conference.
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Seattle Thunderbirds:
--------------------
Overagers:
In: Andre Herman (F), Scott Jackson (D), Ian McKenzie (F)
Out: Benn Olson (D)
Departed Players:
Aaron Gagnon (F-86) (Reg: 59-42-38-80-58; Plf: 11-6-2-8-10) - graduated overager
Radek Meidl (F-88) (Reg: 72-16-11-27-89; Plf: 11-1-3-4-6) - released
Benn Olson (D-87) (Reg: 66-2-8-10-181; Plf: 11-1-2-3-26) - released (projected)
Brett Robertson (F-86) (Reg: 38-12-19-31-48; Plf: 11-5-7-12-10) - graduated overager
Bretton Stamler (D-87) (Reg: 72-8-24-32-135; Plf: 11-0-1-1-14) - to Edmonton in expansion draft
Derek Yeomans (G-86) (Reg: 55gp, 30-12-12, 2.12gaa, .917sv%; Plf: 11gp, 5-6, 2.50gaa, .912sv%) - graduated overager
Projected Returnees:
Forwards:
Jeremy Boyer (F-90) (Reg: 56-2-5-7-29; Plf: 3-0-0-0-0)
Jan Eberle (F-89) (Reg: 68-18-20-38-44; Plf: 11-1-4-5-10)
Andre Herman (F-87) (Reg: 31-5-6-11-16; Plf: 11-3-2-5-4)
Bud Holloway (F-88) (Reg: 71-27-38-65-50; Plf: 11-3-3-6-8)
Ian McKenzie (F-87) (Reg: 60-12-9-21-77; Plf: 11-2-1-3-17)
Lindsay Nielsen (F-89) (Reg: 53-6-6-12-24; Plf: 11-1-1-2-8)
Isak Quakenbush (F-90) (Reg: 51-1-1-2-37)
Prab Rai (F-89) (Reg: 38-5-14-19-18; Plf: 8-1-4-5-0)
David Richard (F-89) (Reg: 72-9-9-18-54; Plf: 11-0-1-1-6)
Joshua Schappert (F-89) (Reg: 72-5-11-16-36; Plf: 11-1-2-3-2)
Greg Scott (F-88) (Reg: 72-17-14-31-62; Plf: 11-0-2-2-2)
Defence:
Sena Acolatse (D-90) (Reg: 45-0-4-4-61; Plf: 11-0-0-0-8)
Brad Bakken (D-89) (Reg: 48-0-1-1-20; Plf: 6-0-0-0-0)
Thomas Hickey (D-89) (Reg: 68-9-41-50-70; Plf: 11-3-4-7-4)
Scott Jackson (D-87) (Reg: 71-4-31-35-52; Plf: 11-0-5-5-9)
Jeremy Schappert (D-89) (Reg: 39-1-5-6-15; Plf: 5-0-0-0-2)
Goaltenders:
Jacob DeSerres (G-90) (Reg: 20gp, 7-9-2, 2.79gaa, .900sv%; Plf: 2gp, 0-0, 7.67gaa, .733sv%)
Rookies:
Steve Chaffin (D-91) (Reg: 5-0-0-0-0)
Brenden Dillon (D-90)
Tyler Esau (G-89) (Reg: 11gp, 1-5-1, 5.09gaa, .843sv%) - stats with Prince Albert
Cody Hanson (F-90)
Riku Helenius (G-88) - new import
Josh Lazowski (F-91)
Jim O’Brien (F-89)
Brenden Silvester (F-91)
Charles Wells (F-91)
Prognosis: Some optimism around this team following the offseason additions of a couple of NHL first round picks. Any time you can add a couple top-flight players like that for free is a good thing. I'm not sure that the Birds are serious contenders yet but there are certainly some possibilities here. For starters, things are looking good in net, where Finnish star Riku Helenius will team with 17 year old incumbent Jacob DeSerres to provide a good tandem. The blueline certainly has a couple high-end talents in Thomas Hickey and Scott Jackson, but I wonder about the depth beyond that. Schappert's a good 2nd-pairing guy but are Bakken and Acolatse ready for similar roles? Two rookies complete the blueline. Up front the team will have to replace the lost scoring of Gagnon and Robertson somehow; in Eberle, Holloway, and Scott they have a trio of guys with the ability to step up and they'll need just that. There's also several other players here who are also capable of a lot more than what they provided last year - Herman, Rai, Richard. The addition of Jim O'Brien (when he's healthy) is a boost there too. Still obviously some questions about whether enough guys will step up but there are definitely players there with the ability to do so.
Prediction: 2nd in the division. 2nd or 3rd in the conference.
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Spokane Chiefs:
--------------------
Overagers:
In: Judd Blackwater (F), Chris Bruton (F), David Rutherford (F)
Out: Michael Grabner (F), Adam Hobson (F), David Linsley (F), Sean Zimmerman (D)
Departed Players:
Michael Grabner (F-87) (Reg: 55-39-16-55-34; Plf: 6-0-1-1-2) - turning pro
Evan Haw (D-86) (Reg: 62-3-9-12-138; Plf: 6-0-0-0-12) - graduated overager
Adam Hobson (F-87) (Reg: 43-14-18-32-59; Plf: 6-3-0-3-6) - turning pro
Stephane Lenoski (D-86) (Reg: 36-1-17-18-40; Plf: 6-0-0-0-2) - graduated overager
David Linsley (F-87) (Reg: 50-4-3-7-22; Plf: 5-0-0-0-2) - released
Derek Ryan (F-86) (Reg: 72-28-31-59-50; Plf: 6-3-2-5-2) - graduated overager
J.P. Szaszkiewicz (F-88) (Reg: 63-8-8-16-44; Plf: 6-0-0-0-10) - to Edmonton in expansion draft
Sean Zimmerman (D-87) (Reg: 60-2-12-14-69; Plf: 6-0-2-2-2) - turning pro
Projected Returnees:
Forwards:
Judd Blackwater (F-87) (Reg: 55-12-29-41-87; Plf: 3-0-0-0-5)
Drayson Bowman (F-89) (Reg: 62-24-19-43-55; Plf: 6-2-5-7-4)
Chris Bruton (F-87) (Reg: 63-9-12-21-103; Plf: 6-1-1-2-6)
Seth Compton (F-88) (Reg: 47-8-7-15-12)
Cody Esposito (F-89) (Reg: 41-2-6-8-73)
Curtis Kelner (F-88) (Reg: 28-1-2-3-45; Plf: 5-0-0-0-2)
Levko Koper (F-90) (Reg: 50-3-2-5-14; Plf: 5-0-0-0-0)
Chris Langkow (F-89) (Reg: 49-4-8-12-33; Plf: 2-0-0-0-0)
Ondrej Roman (F-89) (Reg: 70-4-44-48-42; Plf: 6-1-4-5-0)
David Rutherford (F-87) (Reg: 69-31-27-58-133; Plf: 6-2-0-2-13)
Mitch Wahl (F-90) (Reg: 69-16-32-48-50; Plf: 4-0-1-1-5)
Defence:
Justin Falk (D-88) (Reg: 62-3-12-15-88; Plf: 6-0-0-0-8)
Patrick Kozyra (D-89) (Reg: 55-1-4-5-24) - stats with Red Deer
Mike Reddington (D-90) (Reg: 64-1-2-3-75; Plf: 6-0-0-0-15)
Jared Spurgeon (D-89) (Reg: 38-4-15-19-16)
Goaltenders:
Kevin Armstrong (G-88) (Reg: 48gp, 23-17-6, 2.80gaa, .900sv%)
Dustin Tokarski (G-89) (Reg: 30gp, 13-11-2, 2.80gaa, .903sv%; Plf: 6gp, 2-4, 2.80gaa, .901sv%)
Rookies:
Brett Bartman (D-89)
Jared Cowen (D-91) (Reg: 6-0-2-2-2; Plf: 6-0-1-1-6)
Jace Coyle (D-90)
Dustin Donaghy (F-89)
Tyler Johnson (F-90)
James Reid (G-90)
Stefan Ulmer (D-90) - new import
Prognosis: Reasonably well-rounded team that is a good darkhorse contender. They have at least five forwards who could/should crack 60 points this year and a few others who should be in the 20-30 range providing depth. The goaltending is also good, with a 1A/1B rotation of Kevin Armstrong and Dustin Tokarski possible to occur again unless one is moved to make way for rookie James Reid to assume the backup role. Either way, both Armstrong and Tokaski posted similar numbers last year which they'll be looking to improve on with another year's experience. The one concern this team must have is the blueline, where depth is a little thin beyond Falk and Reddington. Jared Spurgeon is an OK 2nd/3rd pair type and there are very high hopes for #1 overall bantam pick Jared Cowen, but he is just 16 and will have a learning curve. It would be a big help if new import Stefan Ulmer adjusted quickly to the North American game. The Chiefs should improve on last year but I'm not sure it is enough to get them past Everett or Seattle in the standings.
Prediction: Third in the division. 4th or 5th in the conference.
==================================================================================
Tri-City Americans:
--------------------
Overagers:
In: T.J. Fast (D), Erik Felde (F), Colton Yellow Horn (F)
Out: Tanner Gillies (F), Carey Price (G), Shaun Vey (F)
Departed Players:
Alex Aldred (F-86) (Reg: 64-15-40-55-82; Plf: 6-1-0-1-8) - graduated overager
Aaron Boogaard (F-86) (Reg: 69-10-11-21-173; Plf: 5-1-0-1-14) - graduated overager
Brock Cornish (D-89) (Reg: 31-3-7-10-44; Plf: 2-0-0-0-0) - traded to Portland
Tanner Gillies (F-87) (Reg: 70-6-18-24-60; Plf: 6-0-1-1-9) - retired
Chris Inglis (F-88) (Reg: 56-1-7-8-78; Plf: 1-0-0-0-0) - traded to Lethbridge
Michael Kaye (F-87) (Reg: 53-10-17-27-79; Plf: 6-1-0-1-10) - traded to Saskatoon
Carey Price (G-87) (Reg: 46gp, 30-13-1, 2.45gaa, .917sv%; Plf: 6gp, 2-4, 2.93gaa, .912sv%) - turning pro
Zach Sim (D-88) (Reg: 43-6-6-12-32; Plf: 5-0-0-0-4) - traded to Medicine Hat
Matthew Swaby (D-87) (Reg: 62-2-18-20-90; Plf: 6-0-3-3-8) - to Edmonton in expansion draft
Roman Teslyuk (D-86) (Reg: 32-8-9-17-70; Plf: 6-0-1-1-12) - graduated overager
Juraj Valach (D-89) (Reg: 58-7-23-30-75; Plf: 6-1-1-2-12) - traded to Vancouver
Shaun Vey (F-87) (Reg: 69-23-22-45-42; Plf: 6-1-0-1-6) - trade bait (projected)
Projected Returnees:
Forwards:
Joel Broda (F-89) (Reg: 71-16-28-44-62; Plf: 6-2-0-2-0)
Erik Felde (F-87) (Reg: 72-24-28-52-38; Plf: 6-0-2-2-4)
Travis Gorman (F-89) (Reg: 21-4-0-4-49; Plf: 2-0-0-0-2)
Drew Hoff (F-88) (Reg: 70-6-9-15-41; Plf: 5-0-0-0-0)
Blair Macaulay (F-88) (Reg: 66-9-9-18-76) - stats with Saskatoon
Taylor Procyshen (F-88) (Reg: 67-33-23-56-42; Plf: 6-2-0-2-2)
Kruise Reddick (F-90) (Reg: 60-9-13-22-30; Plf: 6-0-2-2-2)
Colton Yellow Horn (F-87) (Reg: 59-40-37-77-57; Plf: 6-1-2-3-6)
Defence:
T.J. Fast (D-87) (Reg: 26-3-19-22-30; Plf: 6-0-1-1-14)
Kevin Kraus (D-89) (Reg: 36-0-3-3-57; Plf: 4-0-0-0-2) - stats with Kamloops
Eric Mestery (D-90) (Reg: 43-1-6-7-20)
Tyler Schmidt (D-90) (Reg: 47-4-15-19-72; Plf: 4-0-0-0-6)
Jarrett Toll (D-89) (Reg: 44-0-9-9-59; Plf: 6-0-0-0-2)
Goaltenders:
Chet Pickard (G-89) (Reg: 29gp, 17-10-1, 2.85gaa, .903sv%; Plf: 1gp, 0-0, 3.00gaa, .800sv%)
Rookies:
Kyle Birch (G-90)
Jason Gardiner (F-91) (Reg: 4-0-0-0-0)
Adam Hughesman (F-91) (Reg: 3-0-0-0-0)
Colan Jackson (F-90)
Johnny Lazo (F-89) (Reg: 3-0-0-0-0)
Mitch McColm (D-89) (Reg: 5-0-0-0-9)
Joel Ridgeway (F-90) (Reg: 2-0-0-0-0)
Petr Stoklasa (F-89) - new import
Lane Werbowski (D-91)
Mason Wilgosh (F-91)
Joel Woznikoski (D-89) (Reg: 4-0-0-0-9) - stats with Kamloops
Prognosis: Another team with big losses from last year, the Americans will be looking to replace 12 departed players and will have a fairly young team this year. None of the losses is as big as the departure of Carey Price, the best goaltender in the league last year. The good news is though, Chet Pickard played very well in Price's WJC absence last year and is probably ready to carry the starting job. But he is no Carey Price so there has to be a bit of a dropoff there still. The bigger concern is the blueline, where five of last year's contributors are now gone and the Ams have just 6 seasons and 263 games of WHL experience across the five remaining vets. T.J. Fast has NCAA experience on top of his half-season in the WHL but definitely this is an inexperienced group at one of the game's most critical positions. Everyone is going to have to assume much bigger roles than they have in their WHL careers up to this point. Up front the team does have the luxury of a fair bit of proven goal scoring, which should take some of the pressure off the defence. Assuming they get Colton Yellow Horn back, that should be 40-50 goals right there, plus probably anywhere from 25 to 40 goals from Procyshyn, Broda, and Felde (or Vey if they keep Vey instead of Felde as the 3rd overage). Depth is a little bit of a concern here too but that is to be expected in a rebuilding year; seven rookies will be vying to fill out the last 4-5 spots up front. All in all the Ams are going to take a drop in the standings, but probably not enough to drop them out of the playoffs.
Prediction: 4th in the U.S. division. 6th or 7th in the conference.
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Portland Winter Hawks:
--------------------
Overagers:
In: Nicholas Hotson (F), Frazer McLaren (F)
Out: - none -
Departed Players:
Cameron Cepek (D-88) (Reg: 49-1-8-9-87) - to Edmonton in expansion draft
Thomas Frazee (F-90) (Reg: 55-6-6-12-38) - traded to Medicine Hat
Max Gordichuk (D-86) (Reg: 70-5-21-26-107) - graduated overager
Stefan Langwieder (D-87) (Reg: 59-2-14-16-91) - signed in Europe
Teegan Moore (F-86) (Reg: 31-3-7-10-37) - graduated overager
Chip Petrino (F-90) (Reg: 53-1-2-3-44) - released
Chris Ward (G-89) (Reg: 14gp, 0-10-1, 6.20gaa, .817sv%) - released
Projected Returnees:
Forwards:
Matt Betker (F-89) (Reg: 64-5-5-10-83)
Chris Francis (F-89) (Reg: 69-9-8-17-14)
Nicholas Hotson (F-87) (Reg: 71-18-22-40-52)
Tayler Jordan (F-90) (Reg: 52-2-0-2-137)
Tristan King (F-90) (Reg: 64-6-9-15-26)
Frazer McLaren (F-87) (Reg: 61-19-12-31-186)
Colton Sceviour (F-89) (Reg: 49-12-26-38-38)
Matt Schmermund (F-88) (Reg: 30-3-4-7-30)
Viktor Sjodin (F-88) (Reg: 68-13-12-25-79)
Matt Sokol (F-89) (Reg: 63-6-6-12-55)
Tyler Swystun (F-88) (Reg: 70-12-24-36-45; Plf: 22-2-3-5-6) - stats with Medicine Hat
Defence:
Lucas Alexiuk (D-89) (Reg: 67-0-4-4-85)
Ty Ariss (D-90) (Reg: 30-0-1-1-56)
Scott Gabriel (D-88) (Reg: 46-1-2-3-120)
Devon Marshall (D-90) (Reg: 43-0-1-1-25)
Bo Montgomery (D-90) (Reg: 31-0-2-2-54)
Todd Panchyson (D-88) (Reg: 29-3-2-5-18) - stats with Saskatoon/Lethbridge
Goaltenders:
Kurtis Mucha (G-89) (Reg: 62gp, 17-41-2, 3.82gaa, .885sv%)
Jordan White (G-88) (Reg: 10gp, 1-5-1, 5.05gaa, .828sv%) - stats with Prince George
Rookies:
Riley Boychuk (F-91)
Mark Guggenberger (G-89)
Aaron McGill (F-89)
Lee Morrow (D-90)
Brett Ponich (D-91) (Reg: 2-0-0-0-0)
Radim Valchar (F-89) - new import
Luke Walker (F-90)
Prognosis: Things couldn't get much worse than they were last year, could they? A year of experience should definitely help avoid the multitude of blowout losses this young team suffered last year, but just how much room for improvement is there when only one of their divisional opponents is likely to make a significant drop in the standings? They need to make up minimum 43 points over last year in order to finish ahead of any of their U.S. division counterparts. In fact, with the new conference-based playoff format the best bet for the Hawks to make the playoffs this year might lie in being better than two of the B.C. teams rather than any of the U.S. teams. It's do-able if everything falls into place. For starters, they'll need a much-improved blueline over last year, and with three of last year's top six having moved on since last year, some guys are going to have to step up. Alexiuk, Ariss, Marshall, and Montgomery got their feet wet last year as rookies and must now emerge as reliable top-six WHLers. Montgomery is fine, we'll see about the others. Gabriel and Panchyson must also meet that standard, something they haven't necessarily been able to do consistently in their careers so far. Expectations are also there for rookies Lee Morrow and especially Brett Ponich, but they are still rookies. All in all I think the defence is still a concern for this team. The goaltending should be acceptable again as it was last year; Kurtis Mucha's numbers were not impressive at first glance but in light of the situation he was put in every night, they are respectable. Minnesota high schooler Mark Guggenberger joins the team to push Mucha for playing time. Up front they have ten veteran forwards, many of whom will have to improve on their totals from last year if the team is to increase scoring from last year's league-worst 144 goals. McLaren, Hotson, Sceviour, Sjodin, King, and new acquisition Swystun will need to lead this team offensively. Overall, the Hawks should be improved a fair bit points-wise but it might not be a whole lot standings-wise. We'll see if they can top two of Chilliwack, Kelowna, and Prince George and make the playoffs.
Prediction: 5th in the division. 8th/9th in the conference.
B.C. division preview
B.C. division now.....
Kamloops Blazers:
--------------------
Overagers:
In: Ryan Bender (D), Brock Nixon (F), Ryan White (D)
Out: - none -
Departed Players:
Dustin Butler (G-87) (Reg: 54gp, 33-19-2, 2.81gaa, .879sv%; Plf: 4gp, 0-4, 3.82gaa, .863sv%) - traded to Prince Albert
Brenden Dowd (F-88) (Reg: 47-5-10-15-24; Plf: 3-0-0-0-0) - traded to Edmonton
Terrance Delaronde (F-87) (Reg: 69-12-12-24-109; Plf: 4-2-0-2-4) - traded to Moose Jaw
Dalyn Flette (G-90) (Reg: 18gp, 5-5-3, 3.01gaa, .868sv%) - traded to Edmonton
Reid Jorgensen (F-86) (Reg: 61-39-29-68-61; Plf: 4-4-1-5-2) - graduated overager
Matt Kassian (F-86) (Reg: 72-8-10-18-162; Plf: 4-0-1-1-0) - graduated overager
Kevin Kraus (D-89) (Reg: 36-0-3-3-57; Plf: 4-0-0-0-2) - traded to Tri-City
Raymond Macias (D-86) (Reg: 70-30-40-70-58) - graduated overager
Brady Mason (F-87) (Reg: 70-8-16-24-25; Plf: 3-0-1-1-0) - released
Projected Returnees:
Forwards:
Kenton Dulle (F-88) (Reg: 48-4-7-11-51) - stats with Vancouver/Saskatoon
Travis Dunstall (F-89) (Reg: 54-12-17-29-65; Plf: 4-0-1-1-4)
Sasha Golin (F-88) (Reg: 27-5-3-8-53; Plf: 4-1-0-1-4)
Mark Hall (F-90) (Reg: 32-1-2-3-26; Plf: 2-0-0-0-4)
Brock Nixon (F-87) (Reg: 67-35-44-79-46; Plf: 4-0-1-1-4)
Juuso Puustinen (F-88) (Reg: 64-32-39-71-52; Plf: 4-0-3-3-4)
Alex Rodgers (F-89) (Reg: 41-6-11-17-19)
Ivan Rohac (F-88) (Reg: 70-9-18-27-51; Plf: 4-1-4-5-2)
Tyler Shattock (F-90) (Reg: 58-7-9-16-51; Plf: 4-0-0-0-0)
C.J. Stretch (F-89) (Reg: 72-10-26-36-92; Plf: 4-2-6-8-10)
Defence:
Victor Bartley (D-88) (Reg: 67-4-39-43-104; Plf: 4-0-2-2-8)
Ryan Bender (D-87) (Reg: 70-5-9-14-160; Plf: 4-0-0-0-2)
Keaton Ellerby (D-88) (Reg: 69-2-23-25-120; Plf: 4-1-2-3-12)
Jordan Rowley (D-90) (Reg: 49-0-6-6-49; Plf: 4-0-0-0-2)
Ryan White (D-87) (Reg: 69-5-13-18-47; Plf: 4-1-1-2-0)
Goaltenders:
Justin Leclerc (G-89) (Reg: 37gp, 15-17-3, 3.62gaa, .872sv%) - stats with Lethbridge
Rookies:
Jimmy Bubnick (F-91) (Reg: 2-0-1-1-0)
Darcy Huisman (D-89)
James Priestner (G-91) (Reg: 1gp, 0-0-1, 5.92gaa, 0.807sv%)
Mark Schneider (D-90) (Reg: 5-0-0-0-0)
Kurt Torbohm (D-90) (Reg: 4-0-0-0-0)
Shayne Wiebe (F-90) (Reg: 1-0-0-0-0)
Matt Wray (F-89)
Prognosis: Tough not to like this team to win this division. A very well-rounded team with not a lot of question marks. Up front they have two proven big guns in Nixon and Puustinen, plus Ivan Rohac is here for his 2nd season now and offensive breakout seasons should be expected from him, Travis Dunstall, C.J. Stretch, Alex Rodgers, and Tyler Shattock. There is also highly regarded rookie Jimmy Bubnick, although he is just 16. The blueline has five good returning vets who should eat up a lot of minutes between them. A trio of rookies fill the #6-#8 spots. The goaltending is perhaps the lone question mark; Justin Leclerc has emerged as the #1, beating out the now-traded Dustin Butler. But Leclerc comes with questions about consistency and his ability to be a top #1 goalie, based on his play in Lethbridge. Personally I think Leclerc is up for the job; he struggled last year under the pressure of being #1 for Lethbridge and the added weight of it being his draft year. He was only 17. Another year of maturity will help.
Prediction: This is the team to beat in BC. First in the division, 1st to 3rd in the conference.
==================================================================================
Vancouver Giants:
--------------------
Overagers:
In: Garet Hunt (F), Tim Kraus (F), Mike Wuchterl (F)
Out: Mario Bliznak (F), Cody Franson (D), Kenndal McArdle (F), Brendan Mikkelson (D)
Departed Players:
Mario Bliznak (F-87) (Reg: 47-8-14-22-20; Plf: 22-6-6-12-14) - turning pro
Brett Festerling (D-86) (Reg: 70-5-16-21-80; Plf: 22-1-6-7-24) - graduated overager
Cody Franson (D-87) (Reg: 59-17-34-51-88; Plf: 19-3-4-7-10) - turning pro
Blaine Neufeld (G-87) (Reg: 11gp, 5-4-0, 2.00gaa, .903sv%; Plf: 1gp, 1-0, 0.00gaa, 1.000sv%) - released
Kenndal McArdle (F-87) (Reg: 37-9-13-22-54; Plf: 22-11-9-20-49) - turning pro
Brendan Mikkelson (D-87) (Reg: 69-6-23-29-60; Plf: 21-3-7-10-10) - turning pro
Wacey Rabbit (F-86) (Reg: 30-11-25-36-34; Plf: 22-11-9-20-16) - graduated overager
A.J. Thelen (D-86) (Reg: 30-4-5-9-35; Plf: 22-1-7-8-18) - graduated overager
J.D. Watt (F-87) (Reg: 70-34-19-53-182; Plf: 21-2-3-5-72) - traded to Red Deer
Projected Returnees:
Forwards:
Lance Bouma (F-90) (Reg: 49-3-5-8-31; Plf: 22-3-3-6-12)
Chris Cloud (F-88) (Reg: 63-7-15-22-124) - stats with Saskatoon
Craig Cunningham (F-90) (Reg: 48-0-5-5-38; Plf: 15-0-1-1-15)
Mitch Czibere (F-89) (Reg: 69-7-15-22-27; Plf: 22-1-5-6-12)
Garet Hunt (F-87) (Reg: 57-6-5-11-156)
Tim Kraus (F-87) (Reg: 70-19-47-66-81; Plf: 20-2-8-10-33)
Milan Lucic (F-88) (Reg: 70-30-38-68-147; Plf: 22-7-12-19-26)
Spencer Machacek (F-88) (Reg: 63-21-24-45-32; Plf: 22-9-11-20-14)
Michal Repik (F-88) (Reg: 56-24-31-55-56; Plf: 22-10-16-26-24)
Nolan Toigo (F-89) (Reg: 33-0-2-2-29)
James Wright (F-90) (Reg: 48-5-7-12-31; Plf: 14-3-1-4-0)
Mike Wuchterl (F-87) (Reg: 27-4-5-9-33; Plf: 16-2-3-5-36)
Defence:
Mike Berube (D-88) (Reg: 66-4-16-20-78; Plf: 7-0-0-0-10) - stats with Red Deer
Jonathon Blum (D-89) (Reg: 72-8-43-51-48; Plf: 22-3-6-9-8)
Brent Regner (D-89) (Reg: 64-1-5-6-19; Plf: 22-0-6-6-10)
Juraj Valach (D-89) (Reg: 58-7-23-30-75; Plf: 6-1-1-2-12) - stats with Tri-City
Goaltenders:
Tyson Sexsmith (G-89) (Reg: 51gp, 31-12-8, 1.79gaa, .915sv%; Plf: 22gp, 14-7, 1.79gaa, .914sv%)
Rookies:
Kraymer Barnstable (G-90)
James Henry (F-91) (Reg: 2-0-0-0-0)
Evander Kane (F-91) (Reg: 8-1-0-1-11; Plf: 5-0-0-0-0)
Neil Manning (D-91) (Reg: 3-0-0-0-0; Plf: 1-0-0-0-0)
Mike Piluso (F-90) (Reg: 7-0-0-0-4)
Stefan Schneider (D-89)
Dillon Scholten (D-90) (Reg: 3-0-0-0-0)
Prognosis: Serious losses, but given the state of the division, the Giants should not be that bad. For starters, they have a proven starting goaltender who is just entering what should be the prime of his WHL career. They also have four significant offensive players (Kraus, Lucic, Machacek, and Repik) up front plus one of the league's top 2008 draft prospects, James Wright, and a few other talented forwards (like Bouma and Czibere) whose numbers should improve with increased ice time over last year. The big concern is on defence, where they have Jon Blum as an anchor and then a lot of questions. Valach should help, but Berube and Regner have not established themselves as better than 6th/7th defencemen so far. Beyond those four names, it's going to be a bunch of rookies. There will be some growing pains there. One other big plus for the team though is the presence behind the bench of one of the WHL's finest coaches in Don Hay.
Prediction: 2nd in the division. 3rd or 4th in the conference. I've seen them picked for first in a bunch of different places but really, I don't see how a team with a defence that looks like that can be considered for first place ahead of the top-to-bottom solid Blazers?
==================================================================================
Chilliwack Bruins:
--------------------
Overagers:
In: Dylan Chapman (D), Nick Holden (D), Ken Petkau (F)
Out: - none -
Departed Players:
Alex Archibald (G-87) (Reg: 34gp, 8-15-4, 3.71gaa, .880sv%; Plf: 5gp, 1-4, 3.38gaa, .908sv%) - traded to Edmonton
Josh Aspenlind (F-86) (Reg: 71-22-35-57-109; Plf: 5-3-3-6-4) - graduated overager
Dillon Johnstone (F-86) (Reg: 53-8-12-20-18; Plf: 4-0-0-0-2) - graduated overager
Aki Kangasmaki (F-89) (Reg: 60-4-4-8-19; Plf: 4-0-0-0-0) - released
Craig Lineker (D-86) (Reg: 68-6-16-22-114; Plf: 5-0-2-2-8) - graduated overager
Projected Returnees:
Forwards:
Partik Bhungal (F-88) (Reg: 48-1-2-3-69; Plf: 5-0-0-0-7)
Donnie Glennie (F-88) (Reg: 55-3-4-7-89; Plf: 5-1-0-1-8)
Colton Graf (F-90) (Reg: 11-1-0-1-5)
Colby Kulhanek (F-89) (Reg: 70-2-5-7-78; Plf: 5-0-1-1-0)
Matt Meropoulis (F-89) (Reg: 70-3-3-6-56; Plf: 5-0-0-0-6)
Oscar Moller (F-89) (Reg: 68-32-37-69-50; Plf: 5-0-3-3-6)
Ken Petkau (F-87) (Reg: 55-24-18-42-46; Plf: 5-1-1-2-2)
Michael Proudley (F-89) (Reg: 55-1-2-3-27; Plf: 4-0-0-0-0)
Mark Santorelli (F-88) (Reg: 72-29-53-82-46; Plf: 5-2-3-5-2)
Cody Smuk (F-89) (Reg: 72-5-11-16-80; Plf: 5-1-0-1-0)
Defence:
Kevin Boutilier (D-88) (Reg: 38-3-2-5-40; Plf: 4-0-0-0-9)
Dylan Chapman (D-87) (Reg: 63-1-6-7-84; Plf: 5-0-0-0-6)
Cody Hobbs (D-89) (Reg: 22-0-2-2-24; Plf: 5-0-1-1-6)
Nick Holden (D-87) (Reg: 67-8-23-31-62; Plf: 5-1-1-2-6)
Scott Maetche (D-89) (Reg: 64-0-3-3-60; Plf: 3-0-0-0-0)
Matthew McCue (D-88) (Reg: 32-2-5-7-71; Plf: 5-0-0-0-14)
Cam Stevens (D-89) (Reg: 47-0-2-2-30)
Goaltenders:
Matt Esposito (G-89) (Reg: 32gp, 14-14-3, 2.97gaa, .900sv%)
Rookies:
Liam Darragh (F-90) (Reg: 15-1-0-1-12)
Jeff Einhorn (D-90)
Tanner Exner (F-91)
Mark Friesen (G-90)
David Hoda (D-89) - new import
Ryan Howse (F-91) (Reg: 5-1-0-1-2; Plf: 1-0-0-0-0)
Brayden Metz (F-90) (Reg: 2-0-1-1-2)
Jadon Potter (F-89) (Reg: 3-0-0-0-2)
David Robinson (F-90)
Prognosis: After exceeding many observers' expectations last year by qualifying for the playoffs as an expansion team, the Bruins will attempt to improve on that this year, bringing back 18 players from last year's team and adding a few high quality rookies to replace the departed players. Depth is still a problem but that's to be expected from a team only in its 2nd year. Up front the Bruins have a troika of quality snipers (Moller, Santorelli, Petkau) and high hopes for rookies such Ryan Howse and Jadon Potter. Depth is an issue but they should get 100-110 goals from those top three. On the back end, things are crowded there with seven returnees from last year. Depth is again an issue though, as the ability of some of those vets to play regular shifts for some other teams in the league is questionable. With a new import defenceman forcing his way into the mix, some of those returnees may find themselves on the outside looking in. But the defence is not terrible by any means, and it is helped out by the presence of Matt Esposito in net. Esposito was a very pleasant story for the Bruins last year as he emerged as a legit #1 goalie candidate, displacing veteran Alex Archibald in the process. He'll have the #1 job to himself this year with a rookie backup, Mark Friesen.
Prediction: 3rd in the B.C. division. Probably 6th-7th in the conference.
==================================================================================
Kelowna Rockets:
--------------------
Overagers:
In: James McEwan (F), Lyon Messier (D), Kris Westblom (G)
Out: - none -
Departed Players:
Clayton Barthel (D-86) (Reg: 65-8-10-18-98) - graduated overager
Brett Breitkreuz (F-89) (Reg: 58-8-6-14-67) - to Edmonton in expansion draft
Chris Ray (F-86) (Reg: 60-19-16-35-58) - graduated overager
David Schulz (D-86) (Reg: 56-6-17-23-78) - graduated overager
Projected Returnees:
Forwards:
Cody Almond (F-89) (Reg: 68-15-28-43-72)
Justin Bernhardt (F-88) (Reg: 40-8-12-20-45)
Evan Bloodoff (F-90) (Reg: 59-4-4-8-20)
Lucas Bloodoff (F-89) (Reg: 69-10-11-21-73)
Matthew Brusciano (F-89) (Reg: 30-0-2-2-22)
Dylan Hood (F-90) (Reg: 47-0-2-2-17)
Colin Long (F-89) (Reg: 69-11-17-28-38)
Jason MacDonald (F-89) (Reg: 37-2-4-6-12)
Myles MacRae (F-88) (Reg: 64-14-13-27-54)
James McEwan (F-87) (Reg: 68-3-3-6-202)
Brandon McMillan (F-90) (Reg: 55-2-10-12-27)
Defence:
Tysen Dowzak (D-88) (Reg: 55-3-4-7-68)
Colin Joe (D-88) (Reg: 62-1-3-4-53)
Riley McIntosh (D-90) (Reg: 42-0-2-2-31)
Tyler Myers (D-90) (Reg: 59-2-13-15-78)
Luke Schenn (D-89) (Reg: 72-2-27-29-139)
Goaltenders:
Torrie Jung (G-89) (Reg: 33gp, 8-15-7, 3.46gaa, .896sv%)
Kris Westblom (G-87) (Reg: 42gp, 14-26-2, 3.05gaa, .900sv%)
Rookies:
Tyson Barrie (D-91) (Reg: 7-0-3-3-2)
Collin Bowman (D-91) (Reg: 4-0-0-0-2)
Milan Kytnar (F-89) - new import
Lyon Messier (D-87)
Jesse Paradis (F-91) (Reg: 3-0-0-0-0)
Daniel Salamandyk (G-90) (Reg: 1gp, 0-0-0, 3.00gaa, .909sv%)
Kyle St. Denis (F-90) (Reg: 4-1-1-2-2)
Prognosis: Last year was a disappointing one for the Rockets, as they failed to make the playoffs after years of being one of the best teams in the league. It was a rebuilding year though and the hope is that this can be a transitional year between rebuilding last year and contention again in 08-09. Certainly there are some good building blocks in place now but the questions for this year remain. Up front there is a dearth of proven WHL scoring, with only Cody Almond having broken the 40 point mark last year. There are definitely some promising players here though, such as Justin Bernhardt, who scored 45 points as a 17 year old with Regina in 05-06. Also the two Bloodoff brothers, Colin Long, Myles MacRae, and Brandon McMillan have the ability to improve on their numbers from last year, plus rookies Milan Kytnar and Kyle St. Denis will be expected to pot some goals as well. Still a question mark though until some of them prove they can do it. The defence is a strong point, with two NHL first round hopefuls in Myers and Schenn. McIntosh, Dowzak, and Joe provide a bit more depth, and the team is high on rookies Tyson Barrie and Collin Bowman. The biggest strength of the team is probably in net, where they have two starting-calibre goalies. Don't be surprised to see Kris Westblom moved to a contender by the trade deadline though.
Prediction: Not making the playoffs again won't be acceptable, but expectations have to be kept reasonable as well. They won't catch Kamloops or Vancouver but should be able to battle Chilliwack (again) for position in the standings. 4th in the division, 8th or 9th in the conference.
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Prince George Cougars:
--------------------
Overagers:
In: Real Cyr (G), Greg Gardner (F), Kalvin Sagert (D)
Out: Nick Drazenovic (F), Vladimir Mihalik (D), Richard Rapac (F), Devin Setoguchi (F)
Departed Players:
Scott Bowles (G-86) (Reg: 23gp, 12-9-1, 2.43gaa, .909sv%; Plf: 4gp, 1-2, 3.23gaa, .917sv%) - graduated overager
Nick Drazenovic (F-87) (Reg: 58-18-32-50-63; Plf: 15-9-10-19-6) - turning pro
Chris Durand (F-87) (Reg: 37-4-15-19-30; Plf: 15-4-10-14-14) - traded to Saskatoon
Eric Hunter (F-86) (Reg: 69-24-31-55-109; Plf: 6-2-2-4-6) - graduated overager
Steven Kajic (F-88) (Reg: 36-0-1-1-10; Plf: 3-0-0-0-0) - released
Kyle Klym (F-88) (Reg: 46-2-0-2-65; Plf: 11-0-0-0-9) - released
Vladimir Mihalik (D-87) (Reg: 53-7-19-26-91; Plf: 15-1-2-3-17) - turning pro
Curtis Patterson (D-87) (Reg: 61-1-5-6-68; Plf: 15-0-4-4-14) - traded to Saskatoon
Richard Rapac (F-87) (Reg: 35-8-7-15-51; Plf: 13-4-5-9-12) - released
Lance Redden (D-89) (Reg: 52-2-7-9-86; Plf: 1-0-0-0-0) - to Edmonton in expansion draft
Devin Setoguchi (F-87) (Reg: 55-36-29-65-55; Plf: 15-11-10-21-24) - turning pro
Jared Walker (F-86) (Reg: 70-27-28-55-105; Plf: 15-8-13-21-18) - graduated overager
Projected Returnees:
Forwards:
Jordie Deagle (F-89) (Reg: 71-5-10-15-52; Plf: 13-0-1-1-14)
Evan Fuller (F-88) (Reg: 72-8-12-20-70; Plf: 15-3-6-9-12)
Greg Gardner (F-87) (Reg: 72-16-16-32-55; Plf: 15-4-4-8-12)
Chad Hohmann (F-89) (Reg: 32-1-3-4-30; Plf: 14-0-0-0-4)
Dale Hunt (F-90) (Reg: 55-4-8-12-19; Plf: 15-0-1-1-12)
Alex Poulter (F-89) (Reg: 67-6-6-12-24; Plf: 7-0-1-1-2) - stats with Red Deer
Dana Tyrell (F-89) (Reg: 72-30-26-56-51; Plf: 15-1-6-7-4)
Defence:
Jesse Dudas (D-88) (Reg: 32-2-27-29-51)
Kalvin Sagert (D-87) (Reg: 69-3-27-30-70; Plf: 15-0-2-2-14)
Garrett Thiessen (D-89) (Reg: 35-1-3-4-58; Plf: 14-0-0-0-14)
Chris Van Duynhoven (D-89) (Reg: 52-1-10-11-71; Plf: 15-0-0-0-10)
Ty Wishart (D-88) (Reg: 62-11-38-49-59; Plf: 15-3-8-11-6)
Goaltenders:
Real Cyr (G-87) (Reg: 43gp, 20-17-6, 2.66gaa, .904sv%; Plf: 12gp, 8-4, 3.01gaa, .906sv%)
Rookies:
Trevor Bauer (D-90)
Matthew Belich (F-90)
Art Bidlevskii (D-91)
Wade Epp (D-89)
Colin Haas (F-89)
Ryan Kowalski (F-91)
Jan Kupec (F-90) - new import
Patrick Magnusson (D-88) - new import
Parker Stansfield (F-90)
Cory Tyrell (F-90)
Prognosis: The Cougars scored 220 goals last year. The roster they have now scored just 88 of them - 30 from one player (Tyrell). It is impossible to make up the loss of 132 goals and there is no doubt this team is going to take a dive in the standings. The goaltending is good as long as Real Cyr stays healthy and plays most of the games; backup Joel Danyluk was probably #4 on the depth chart but got the job by default when two other goalies declined to attend camp. He'll have to prove he can play at the WHL level in the starts he gets. The blueline actually is not too bad if glass-bodied Jesse Dudas can stay healthy, as he, Sagert, and Wishart make a good top three. Little short on blueline depth after that though and there are four rookies looking for ice time at that position. Up front there is one star sniper in Tyrell although he will likely have to work harder for his goals this year than he did last year when the team also had Hunter, Drazenovic, and Setoguchi to draw checking lines. Greg Gardner will have to take more of an offensive role this year, and Jordie Deagle and Dale Hunt will get every opportunity to showcase the bantam scoring skills that made them first round picks. It's likely that scoring is going to be difficult for this team though, which will put more pressure on Cyr and the defence. Another factor is that G.M. Dallas Thompson has not ruled out trading star defenceman Ty Wishart for future help....such a move would surely sting the team in the 2nd half of the season.
Prediction: Severe losses and likely going to move some vets for youth = last in the division, but the #8 playoff seed race could be close. 9th or 10th in the conference.
Kamloops Blazers:
--------------------
Overagers:
In: Ryan Bender (D), Brock Nixon (F), Ryan White (D)
Out: - none -
Departed Players:
Dustin Butler (G-87) (Reg: 54gp, 33-19-2, 2.81gaa, .879sv%; Plf: 4gp, 0-4, 3.82gaa, .863sv%) - traded to Prince Albert
Brenden Dowd (F-88) (Reg: 47-5-10-15-24; Plf: 3-0-0-0-0) - traded to Edmonton
Terrance Delaronde (F-87) (Reg: 69-12-12-24-109; Plf: 4-2-0-2-4) - traded to Moose Jaw
Dalyn Flette (G-90) (Reg: 18gp, 5-5-3, 3.01gaa, .868sv%) - traded to Edmonton
Reid Jorgensen (F-86) (Reg: 61-39-29-68-61; Plf: 4-4-1-5-2) - graduated overager
Matt Kassian (F-86) (Reg: 72-8-10-18-162; Plf: 4-0-1-1-0) - graduated overager
Kevin Kraus (D-89) (Reg: 36-0-3-3-57; Plf: 4-0-0-0-2) - traded to Tri-City
Raymond Macias (D-86) (Reg: 70-30-40-70-58) - graduated overager
Brady Mason (F-87) (Reg: 70-8-16-24-25; Plf: 3-0-1-1-0) - released
Projected Returnees:
Forwards:
Kenton Dulle (F-88) (Reg: 48-4-7-11-51) - stats with Vancouver/Saskatoon
Travis Dunstall (F-89) (Reg: 54-12-17-29-65; Plf: 4-0-1-1-4)
Sasha Golin (F-88) (Reg: 27-5-3-8-53; Plf: 4-1-0-1-4)
Mark Hall (F-90) (Reg: 32-1-2-3-26; Plf: 2-0-0-0-4)
Brock Nixon (F-87) (Reg: 67-35-44-79-46; Plf: 4-0-1-1-4)
Juuso Puustinen (F-88) (Reg: 64-32-39-71-52; Plf: 4-0-3-3-4)
Alex Rodgers (F-89) (Reg: 41-6-11-17-19)
Ivan Rohac (F-88) (Reg: 70-9-18-27-51; Plf: 4-1-4-5-2)
Tyler Shattock (F-90) (Reg: 58-7-9-16-51; Plf: 4-0-0-0-0)
C.J. Stretch (F-89) (Reg: 72-10-26-36-92; Plf: 4-2-6-8-10)
Defence:
Victor Bartley (D-88) (Reg: 67-4-39-43-104; Plf: 4-0-2-2-8)
Ryan Bender (D-87) (Reg: 70-5-9-14-160; Plf: 4-0-0-0-2)
Keaton Ellerby (D-88) (Reg: 69-2-23-25-120; Plf: 4-1-2-3-12)
Jordan Rowley (D-90) (Reg: 49-0-6-6-49; Plf: 4-0-0-0-2)
Ryan White (D-87) (Reg: 69-5-13-18-47; Plf: 4-1-1-2-0)
Goaltenders:
Justin Leclerc (G-89) (Reg: 37gp, 15-17-3, 3.62gaa, .872sv%) - stats with Lethbridge
Rookies:
Jimmy Bubnick (F-91) (Reg: 2-0-1-1-0)
Darcy Huisman (D-89)
James Priestner (G-91) (Reg: 1gp, 0-0-1, 5.92gaa, 0.807sv%)
Mark Schneider (D-90) (Reg: 5-0-0-0-0)
Kurt Torbohm (D-90) (Reg: 4-0-0-0-0)
Shayne Wiebe (F-90) (Reg: 1-0-0-0-0)
Matt Wray (F-89)
Prognosis: Tough not to like this team to win this division. A very well-rounded team with not a lot of question marks. Up front they have two proven big guns in Nixon and Puustinen, plus Ivan Rohac is here for his 2nd season now and offensive breakout seasons should be expected from him, Travis Dunstall, C.J. Stretch, Alex Rodgers, and Tyler Shattock. There is also highly regarded rookie Jimmy Bubnick, although he is just 16. The blueline has five good returning vets who should eat up a lot of minutes between them. A trio of rookies fill the #6-#8 spots. The goaltending is perhaps the lone question mark; Justin Leclerc has emerged as the #1, beating out the now-traded Dustin Butler. But Leclerc comes with questions about consistency and his ability to be a top #1 goalie, based on his play in Lethbridge. Personally I think Leclerc is up for the job; he struggled last year under the pressure of being #1 for Lethbridge and the added weight of it being his draft year. He was only 17. Another year of maturity will help.
Prediction: This is the team to beat in BC. First in the division, 1st to 3rd in the conference.
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Vancouver Giants:
--------------------
Overagers:
In: Garet Hunt (F), Tim Kraus (F), Mike Wuchterl (F)
Out: Mario Bliznak (F), Cody Franson (D), Kenndal McArdle (F), Brendan Mikkelson (D)
Departed Players:
Mario Bliznak (F-87) (Reg: 47-8-14-22-20; Plf: 22-6-6-12-14) - turning pro
Brett Festerling (D-86) (Reg: 70-5-16-21-80; Plf: 22-1-6-7-24) - graduated overager
Cody Franson (D-87) (Reg: 59-17-34-51-88; Plf: 19-3-4-7-10) - turning pro
Blaine Neufeld (G-87) (Reg: 11gp, 5-4-0, 2.00gaa, .903sv%; Plf: 1gp, 1-0, 0.00gaa, 1.000sv%) - released
Kenndal McArdle (F-87) (Reg: 37-9-13-22-54; Plf: 22-11-9-20-49) - turning pro
Brendan Mikkelson (D-87) (Reg: 69-6-23-29-60; Plf: 21-3-7-10-10) - turning pro
Wacey Rabbit (F-86) (Reg: 30-11-25-36-34; Plf: 22-11-9-20-16) - graduated overager
A.J. Thelen (D-86) (Reg: 30-4-5-9-35; Plf: 22-1-7-8-18) - graduated overager
J.D. Watt (F-87) (Reg: 70-34-19-53-182; Plf: 21-2-3-5-72) - traded to Red Deer
Projected Returnees:
Forwards:
Lance Bouma (F-90) (Reg: 49-3-5-8-31; Plf: 22-3-3-6-12)
Chris Cloud (F-88) (Reg: 63-7-15-22-124) - stats with Saskatoon
Craig Cunningham (F-90) (Reg: 48-0-5-5-38; Plf: 15-0-1-1-15)
Mitch Czibere (F-89) (Reg: 69-7-15-22-27; Plf: 22-1-5-6-12)
Garet Hunt (F-87) (Reg: 57-6-5-11-156)
Tim Kraus (F-87) (Reg: 70-19-47-66-81; Plf: 20-2-8-10-33)
Milan Lucic (F-88) (Reg: 70-30-38-68-147; Plf: 22-7-12-19-26)
Spencer Machacek (F-88) (Reg: 63-21-24-45-32; Plf: 22-9-11-20-14)
Michal Repik (F-88) (Reg: 56-24-31-55-56; Plf: 22-10-16-26-24)
Nolan Toigo (F-89) (Reg: 33-0-2-2-29)
James Wright (F-90) (Reg: 48-5-7-12-31; Plf: 14-3-1-4-0)
Mike Wuchterl (F-87) (Reg: 27-4-5-9-33; Plf: 16-2-3-5-36)
Defence:
Mike Berube (D-88) (Reg: 66-4-16-20-78; Plf: 7-0-0-0-10) - stats with Red Deer
Jonathon Blum (D-89) (Reg: 72-8-43-51-48; Plf: 22-3-6-9-8)
Brent Regner (D-89) (Reg: 64-1-5-6-19; Plf: 22-0-6-6-10)
Juraj Valach (D-89) (Reg: 58-7-23-30-75; Plf: 6-1-1-2-12) - stats with Tri-City
Goaltenders:
Tyson Sexsmith (G-89) (Reg: 51gp, 31-12-8, 1.79gaa, .915sv%; Plf: 22gp, 14-7, 1.79gaa, .914sv%)
Rookies:
Kraymer Barnstable (G-90)
James Henry (F-91) (Reg: 2-0-0-0-0)
Evander Kane (F-91) (Reg: 8-1-0-1-11; Plf: 5-0-0-0-0)
Neil Manning (D-91) (Reg: 3-0-0-0-0; Plf: 1-0-0-0-0)
Mike Piluso (F-90) (Reg: 7-0-0-0-4)
Stefan Schneider (D-89)
Dillon Scholten (D-90) (Reg: 3-0-0-0-0)
Prognosis: Serious losses, but given the state of the division, the Giants should not be that bad. For starters, they have a proven starting goaltender who is just entering what should be the prime of his WHL career. They also have four significant offensive players (Kraus, Lucic, Machacek, and Repik) up front plus one of the league's top 2008 draft prospects, James Wright, and a few other talented forwards (like Bouma and Czibere) whose numbers should improve with increased ice time over last year. The big concern is on defence, where they have Jon Blum as an anchor and then a lot of questions. Valach should help, but Berube and Regner have not established themselves as better than 6th/7th defencemen so far. Beyond those four names, it's going to be a bunch of rookies. There will be some growing pains there. One other big plus for the team though is the presence behind the bench of one of the WHL's finest coaches in Don Hay.
Prediction: 2nd in the division. 3rd or 4th in the conference. I've seen them picked for first in a bunch of different places but really, I don't see how a team with a defence that looks like that can be considered for first place ahead of the top-to-bottom solid Blazers?
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Chilliwack Bruins:
--------------------
Overagers:
In: Dylan Chapman (D), Nick Holden (D), Ken Petkau (F)
Out: - none -
Departed Players:
Alex Archibald (G-87) (Reg: 34gp, 8-15-4, 3.71gaa, .880sv%; Plf: 5gp, 1-4, 3.38gaa, .908sv%) - traded to Edmonton
Josh Aspenlind (F-86) (Reg: 71-22-35-57-109; Plf: 5-3-3-6-4) - graduated overager
Dillon Johnstone (F-86) (Reg: 53-8-12-20-18; Plf: 4-0-0-0-2) - graduated overager
Aki Kangasmaki (F-89) (Reg: 60-4-4-8-19; Plf: 4-0-0-0-0) - released
Craig Lineker (D-86) (Reg: 68-6-16-22-114; Plf: 5-0-2-2-8) - graduated overager
Projected Returnees:
Forwards:
Partik Bhungal (F-88) (Reg: 48-1-2-3-69; Plf: 5-0-0-0-7)
Donnie Glennie (F-88) (Reg: 55-3-4-7-89; Plf: 5-1-0-1-8)
Colton Graf (F-90) (Reg: 11-1-0-1-5)
Colby Kulhanek (F-89) (Reg: 70-2-5-7-78; Plf: 5-0-1-1-0)
Matt Meropoulis (F-89) (Reg: 70-3-3-6-56; Plf: 5-0-0-0-6)
Oscar Moller (F-89) (Reg: 68-32-37-69-50; Plf: 5-0-3-3-6)
Ken Petkau (F-87) (Reg: 55-24-18-42-46; Plf: 5-1-1-2-2)
Michael Proudley (F-89) (Reg: 55-1-2-3-27; Plf: 4-0-0-0-0)
Mark Santorelli (F-88) (Reg: 72-29-53-82-46; Plf: 5-2-3-5-2)
Cody Smuk (F-89) (Reg: 72-5-11-16-80; Plf: 5-1-0-1-0)
Defence:
Kevin Boutilier (D-88) (Reg: 38-3-2-5-40; Plf: 4-0-0-0-9)
Dylan Chapman (D-87) (Reg: 63-1-6-7-84; Plf: 5-0-0-0-6)
Cody Hobbs (D-89) (Reg: 22-0-2-2-24; Plf: 5-0-1-1-6)
Nick Holden (D-87) (Reg: 67-8-23-31-62; Plf: 5-1-1-2-6)
Scott Maetche (D-89) (Reg: 64-0-3-3-60; Plf: 3-0-0-0-0)
Matthew McCue (D-88) (Reg: 32-2-5-7-71; Plf: 5-0-0-0-14)
Cam Stevens (D-89) (Reg: 47-0-2-2-30)
Goaltenders:
Matt Esposito (G-89) (Reg: 32gp, 14-14-3, 2.97gaa, .900sv%)
Rookies:
Liam Darragh (F-90) (Reg: 15-1-0-1-12)
Jeff Einhorn (D-90)
Tanner Exner (F-91)
Mark Friesen (G-90)
David Hoda (D-89) - new import
Ryan Howse (F-91) (Reg: 5-1-0-1-2; Plf: 1-0-0-0-0)
Brayden Metz (F-90) (Reg: 2-0-1-1-2)
Jadon Potter (F-89) (Reg: 3-0-0-0-2)
David Robinson (F-90)
Prognosis: After exceeding many observers' expectations last year by qualifying for the playoffs as an expansion team, the Bruins will attempt to improve on that this year, bringing back 18 players from last year's team and adding a few high quality rookies to replace the departed players. Depth is still a problem but that's to be expected from a team only in its 2nd year. Up front the Bruins have a troika of quality snipers (Moller, Santorelli, Petkau) and high hopes for rookies such Ryan Howse and Jadon Potter. Depth is an issue but they should get 100-110 goals from those top three. On the back end, things are crowded there with seven returnees from last year. Depth is again an issue though, as the ability of some of those vets to play regular shifts for some other teams in the league is questionable. With a new import defenceman forcing his way into the mix, some of those returnees may find themselves on the outside looking in. But the defence is not terrible by any means, and it is helped out by the presence of Matt Esposito in net. Esposito was a very pleasant story for the Bruins last year as he emerged as a legit #1 goalie candidate, displacing veteran Alex Archibald in the process. He'll have the #1 job to himself this year with a rookie backup, Mark Friesen.
Prediction: 3rd in the B.C. division. Probably 6th-7th in the conference.
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Kelowna Rockets:
--------------------
Overagers:
In: James McEwan (F), Lyon Messier (D), Kris Westblom (G)
Out: - none -
Departed Players:
Clayton Barthel (D-86) (Reg: 65-8-10-18-98) - graduated overager
Brett Breitkreuz (F-89) (Reg: 58-8-6-14-67) - to Edmonton in expansion draft
Chris Ray (F-86) (Reg: 60-19-16-35-58) - graduated overager
David Schulz (D-86) (Reg: 56-6-17-23-78) - graduated overager
Projected Returnees:
Forwards:
Cody Almond (F-89) (Reg: 68-15-28-43-72)
Justin Bernhardt (F-88) (Reg: 40-8-12-20-45)
Evan Bloodoff (F-90) (Reg: 59-4-4-8-20)
Lucas Bloodoff (F-89) (Reg: 69-10-11-21-73)
Matthew Brusciano (F-89) (Reg: 30-0-2-2-22)
Dylan Hood (F-90) (Reg: 47-0-2-2-17)
Colin Long (F-89) (Reg: 69-11-17-28-38)
Jason MacDonald (F-89) (Reg: 37-2-4-6-12)
Myles MacRae (F-88) (Reg: 64-14-13-27-54)
James McEwan (F-87) (Reg: 68-3-3-6-202)
Brandon McMillan (F-90) (Reg: 55-2-10-12-27)
Defence:
Tysen Dowzak (D-88) (Reg: 55-3-4-7-68)
Colin Joe (D-88) (Reg: 62-1-3-4-53)
Riley McIntosh (D-90) (Reg: 42-0-2-2-31)
Tyler Myers (D-90) (Reg: 59-2-13-15-78)
Luke Schenn (D-89) (Reg: 72-2-27-29-139)
Goaltenders:
Torrie Jung (G-89) (Reg: 33gp, 8-15-7, 3.46gaa, .896sv%)
Kris Westblom (G-87) (Reg: 42gp, 14-26-2, 3.05gaa, .900sv%)
Rookies:
Tyson Barrie (D-91) (Reg: 7-0-3-3-2)
Collin Bowman (D-91) (Reg: 4-0-0-0-2)
Milan Kytnar (F-89) - new import
Lyon Messier (D-87)
Jesse Paradis (F-91) (Reg: 3-0-0-0-0)
Daniel Salamandyk (G-90) (Reg: 1gp, 0-0-0, 3.00gaa, .909sv%)
Kyle St. Denis (F-90) (Reg: 4-1-1-2-2)
Prognosis: Last year was a disappointing one for the Rockets, as they failed to make the playoffs after years of being one of the best teams in the league. It was a rebuilding year though and the hope is that this can be a transitional year between rebuilding last year and contention again in 08-09. Certainly there are some good building blocks in place now but the questions for this year remain. Up front there is a dearth of proven WHL scoring, with only Cody Almond having broken the 40 point mark last year. There are definitely some promising players here though, such as Justin Bernhardt, who scored 45 points as a 17 year old with Regina in 05-06. Also the two Bloodoff brothers, Colin Long, Myles MacRae, and Brandon McMillan have the ability to improve on their numbers from last year, plus rookies Milan Kytnar and Kyle St. Denis will be expected to pot some goals as well. Still a question mark though until some of them prove they can do it. The defence is a strong point, with two NHL first round hopefuls in Myers and Schenn. McIntosh, Dowzak, and Joe provide a bit more depth, and the team is high on rookies Tyson Barrie and Collin Bowman. The biggest strength of the team is probably in net, where they have two starting-calibre goalies. Don't be surprised to see Kris Westblom moved to a contender by the trade deadline though.
Prediction: Not making the playoffs again won't be acceptable, but expectations have to be kept reasonable as well. They won't catch Kamloops or Vancouver but should be able to battle Chilliwack (again) for position in the standings. 4th in the division, 8th or 9th in the conference.
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Prince George Cougars:
--------------------
Overagers:
In: Real Cyr (G), Greg Gardner (F), Kalvin Sagert (D)
Out: Nick Drazenovic (F), Vladimir Mihalik (D), Richard Rapac (F), Devin Setoguchi (F)
Departed Players:
Scott Bowles (G-86) (Reg: 23gp, 12-9-1, 2.43gaa, .909sv%; Plf: 4gp, 1-2, 3.23gaa, .917sv%) - graduated overager
Nick Drazenovic (F-87) (Reg: 58-18-32-50-63; Plf: 15-9-10-19-6) - turning pro
Chris Durand (F-87) (Reg: 37-4-15-19-30; Plf: 15-4-10-14-14) - traded to Saskatoon
Eric Hunter (F-86) (Reg: 69-24-31-55-109; Plf: 6-2-2-4-6) - graduated overager
Steven Kajic (F-88) (Reg: 36-0-1-1-10; Plf: 3-0-0-0-0) - released
Kyle Klym (F-88) (Reg: 46-2-0-2-65; Plf: 11-0-0-0-9) - released
Vladimir Mihalik (D-87) (Reg: 53-7-19-26-91; Plf: 15-1-2-3-17) - turning pro
Curtis Patterson (D-87) (Reg: 61-1-5-6-68; Plf: 15-0-4-4-14) - traded to Saskatoon
Richard Rapac (F-87) (Reg: 35-8-7-15-51; Plf: 13-4-5-9-12) - released
Lance Redden (D-89) (Reg: 52-2-7-9-86; Plf: 1-0-0-0-0) - to Edmonton in expansion draft
Devin Setoguchi (F-87) (Reg: 55-36-29-65-55; Plf: 15-11-10-21-24) - turning pro
Jared Walker (F-86) (Reg: 70-27-28-55-105; Plf: 15-8-13-21-18) - graduated overager
Projected Returnees:
Forwards:
Jordie Deagle (F-89) (Reg: 71-5-10-15-52; Plf: 13-0-1-1-14)
Evan Fuller (F-88) (Reg: 72-8-12-20-70; Plf: 15-3-6-9-12)
Greg Gardner (F-87) (Reg: 72-16-16-32-55; Plf: 15-4-4-8-12)
Chad Hohmann (F-89) (Reg: 32-1-3-4-30; Plf: 14-0-0-0-4)
Dale Hunt (F-90) (Reg: 55-4-8-12-19; Plf: 15-0-1-1-12)
Alex Poulter (F-89) (Reg: 67-6-6-12-24; Plf: 7-0-1-1-2) - stats with Red Deer
Dana Tyrell (F-89) (Reg: 72-30-26-56-51; Plf: 15-1-6-7-4)
Defence:
Jesse Dudas (D-88) (Reg: 32-2-27-29-51)
Kalvin Sagert (D-87) (Reg: 69-3-27-30-70; Plf: 15-0-2-2-14)
Garrett Thiessen (D-89) (Reg: 35-1-3-4-58; Plf: 14-0-0-0-14)
Chris Van Duynhoven (D-89) (Reg: 52-1-10-11-71; Plf: 15-0-0-0-10)
Ty Wishart (D-88) (Reg: 62-11-38-49-59; Plf: 15-3-8-11-6)
Goaltenders:
Real Cyr (G-87) (Reg: 43gp, 20-17-6, 2.66gaa, .904sv%; Plf: 12gp, 8-4, 3.01gaa, .906sv%)
Rookies:
Trevor Bauer (D-90)
Matthew Belich (F-90)
Art Bidlevskii (D-91)
Wade Epp (D-89)
Colin Haas (F-89)
Ryan Kowalski (F-91)
Jan Kupec (F-90) - new import
Patrick Magnusson (D-88) - new import
Parker Stansfield (F-90)
Cory Tyrell (F-90)
Prognosis: The Cougars scored 220 goals last year. The roster they have now scored just 88 of them - 30 from one player (Tyrell). It is impossible to make up the loss of 132 goals and there is no doubt this team is going to take a dive in the standings. The goaltending is good as long as Real Cyr stays healthy and plays most of the games; backup Joel Danyluk was probably #4 on the depth chart but got the job by default when two other goalies declined to attend camp. He'll have to prove he can play at the WHL level in the starts he gets. The blueline actually is not too bad if glass-bodied Jesse Dudas can stay healthy, as he, Sagert, and Wishart make a good top three. Little short on blueline depth after that though and there are four rookies looking for ice time at that position. Up front there is one star sniper in Tyrell although he will likely have to work harder for his goals this year than he did last year when the team also had Hunter, Drazenovic, and Setoguchi to draw checking lines. Greg Gardner will have to take more of an offensive role this year, and Jordie Deagle and Dale Hunt will get every opportunity to showcase the bantam scoring skills that made them first round picks. It's likely that scoring is going to be difficult for this team though, which will put more pressure on Cyr and the defence. Another factor is that G.M. Dallas Thompson has not ruled out trading star defenceman Ty Wishart for future help....such a move would surely sting the team in the 2nd half of the season.
Prediction: Severe losses and likely going to move some vets for youth = last in the division, but the #8 playoff seed race could be close. 9th or 10th in the conference.
Quick notes
The Calgary Flames have assigned three players back to the WHL: Leland Irving (Everett), John Negrin (Kootenay), and overager J.D. Watt (Red Deer). Watt becomes Red Deer's only overager and the Rebels are surely happy about this development. Meanwhile, Irving's return will prevent Shayne Barrie from having to carry the mail for the Silvertips on opening weekend.
Seattle also got forward Jim O'Brien back from Ottawa, although I believe he is still injured and will not be able to play for a little while yet. San Jose has also assigned two WHLers back to their teams: Prince George gets Ty Wishart back, while Portland gets Frazer McLaren back, which some Hawks fans probably weren't expecting to see happen.
Also, I am going to discontinue updating the rosters (below). The WHL site now has rosters posted for every team, so use that instead.
Seattle also got forward Jim O'Brien back from Ottawa, although I believe he is still injured and will not be able to play for a little while yet. San Jose has also assigned two WHLers back to their teams: Prince George gets Ty Wishart back, while Portland gets Frazer McLaren back, which some Hawks fans probably weren't expecting to see happen.
Also, I am going to discontinue updating the rosters (below). The WHL site now has rosters posted for every team, so use that instead.
Thursday notes
The day we've been waiting for since late May is here: the season starts tonight in Edmonton with a clash between the Oil Kings and the Kootenay Ice. The game is on Shaw in Canada.
To kick off the season, the first edition of the CHL Top Ten rankings are out. Let's see: four OHL teams, four QMJHL teams, and two WHL teams. Of course, because everyone knows the WHL is only half as good as the other two leagues, right? The 'dub has only won four of the last seven Memorial Cups after all. I am not an expert on the strength of OHL and QMJHL teams but WHL teams like Kamloops, Vancouver, and Regina can all make a pretty good case to be on that list with Calgary and Everett.
Anyways.....whole bunch of NHL cuts yesterday saw a good 10 or so WHLers returned to junior: Drayson Bowman, Justin McCrae, Spencer Machacek, Keaton Ellerby, Michal Repik, Mark Santorelli, Viktor Sjodin, Jonathon Blum and Nick Ross. By my count, this leaves only 28 players still at NHL camps - and 20 of them are Silvertips. Or so it seems anyway.
A few cuts.....Brandon cuts one defenceman. So do the Regina Pats.
The Hitmen have sent sniper Keegan Dansereau home for disciplinary reasons, and it doesn't sound very promising for him rejoining the team. Sounds more like there could be a trade brewing for the very talented but unmotivated Dansereau. Also mentioned in that article is the release of tryout forward Graham Telford.
The returning members of the Medicine Hat Tigers feel they have some unfinished business.
Lethbridge's big three forwards are looking forward to some more 21 point nights.
Good piece in the Everett Herald today about how the U.S. teams no longer have to wait until after October 1st to have their home openers. It seems the start date on the work permits non-American players require to play in the United States has been changed to be earlier than the previous October 1st date. So, the WHL will no longer have to wait until October to play games south of the border.
Regina goalie Linden Rowat knows what is expected of him this year and is ready for the season.
With the Oil Kings opening the season in Edmonton tonight, there's a slew of articles about the team in the Edmonton papers today. This is good to see, compared to the way the Ice were ignored by the media during their two seasons there. Today we have:
Want to design the goalie mask for Hitmen goaltender Martin Jones? The team is running a contest for fans to submit their designs, and Jones will pick one entry and have his currently plain black mask painted with the winning design.
Not WHL related, but the QMJHL will webcast all of their games for free this year. I have not tried watching any of them myself, but the link to do so is here. The OHL and WHL also webcast their games of course, but not for free.
More news later. And both the B.C. and U.S. division previews will be up later today.
To kick off the season, the first edition of the CHL Top Ten rankings are out. Let's see: four OHL teams, four QMJHL teams, and two WHL teams. Of course, because everyone knows the WHL is only half as good as the other two leagues, right? The 'dub has only won four of the last seven Memorial Cups after all. I am not an expert on the strength of OHL and QMJHL teams but WHL teams like Kamloops, Vancouver, and Regina can all make a pretty good case to be on that list with Calgary and Everett.
Anyways.....whole bunch of NHL cuts yesterday saw a good 10 or so WHLers returned to junior: Drayson Bowman, Justin McCrae, Spencer Machacek, Keaton Ellerby, Michal Repik, Mark Santorelli, Viktor Sjodin, Jonathon Blum and Nick Ross. By my count, this leaves only 28 players still at NHL camps - and 20 of them are Silvertips. Or so it seems anyway.
A few cuts.....Brandon cuts one defenceman. So do the Regina Pats.
The Hitmen have sent sniper Keegan Dansereau home for disciplinary reasons, and it doesn't sound very promising for him rejoining the team. Sounds more like there could be a trade brewing for the very talented but unmotivated Dansereau. Also mentioned in that article is the release of tryout forward Graham Telford.
The returning members of the Medicine Hat Tigers feel they have some unfinished business.
Lethbridge's big three forwards are looking forward to some more 21 point nights.
Good piece in the Everett Herald today about how the U.S. teams no longer have to wait until after October 1st to have their home openers. It seems the start date on the work permits non-American players require to play in the United States has been changed to be earlier than the previous October 1st date. So, the WHL will no longer have to wait until October to play games south of the border.
Regina goalie Linden Rowat knows what is expected of him this year and is ready for the season.
With the Oil Kings opening the season in Edmonton tonight, there's a slew of articles about the team in the Edmonton papers today. This is good to see, compared to the way the Ice were ignored by the media during their two seasons there. Today we have:
- profile of defenceman Michael Hengen - also includes the news that Lance Redden was cut.
- preview of the Central division and where the Oil Kings fit in
- first-game nerves for rookies and veterans alike
- a look at head coach Steve Pleau
- profile of #1 import selection and budding star Tomas Vincour
- capsule look at every player on the roster
- looks at the three overagers on the blueline
Want to design the goalie mask for Hitmen goaltender Martin Jones? The team is running a contest for fans to submit their designs, and Jones will pick one entry and have his currently plain black mask painted with the winning design.
Not WHL related, but the QMJHL will webcast all of their games for free this year. I have not tried watching any of them myself, but the link to do so is here. The OHL and WHL also webcast their games of course, but not for free.
More news later. And both the B.C. and U.S. division previews will be up later today.
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Central division preview
Now the Central division preview.....hopefully there won't be 10 trades and cuts made in the next hour after I post this like there was yesterday with the Eastern division.
Calgary Hitmen:
--------------------
Overagers:
In: Ryan Gillen (D), Dan Mercer (D), Adam Ross (F)
Out: Brodie Dupont (F), Riley Merkley (F), Fredrik Petterson (F)
Departed Players:
Steve Covington (F-86) (Reg: 70-7-22-29-70; Plf: 18-2-8-10-19) - graduated overager
Brodie Dupont (F-87) (Reg: 70-37-33-70-90; Plf: 18-9-7-16-33) - turning pro
Robin Figren (F-88) (Reg: 62-10-17-27-54; Plf: 18-4-4-8-18) - to Edmonton in expansion draft
Derek LeBlanc (F-86) (Reg: 52-17-11-28-66; Plf: 18-7-7-14-9) - graduated overager
Riley Merkley (F-87) (Reg: 50-3-11-14-46; Plf: 13-1-1-2-2) - gone to university
Fredrik Pettersson (F-87) (Reg: 52-21-29-50-50; Plf: 18-1-6-7-17) - turned pro in Sweden
Dylan Yeo (D-86) (Reg: 57-8-23-31-64; Plf: 18-4-8-12-22) - graduated overager
Projected Returnees:
Forwards:
Keegan Dansereau (F-88) (Reg: 71-28-31-59-64; Plf: 18-2-6-8-12)
Ian Duval (F-88) (Reg: 54-18-15-33-44; Plf: 18-2-5-7-12)
Devon Kalinski (F-90) (Reg: 47-4-6-10-36; Plf: 5-0-0-0-4)
Ryan Letts (F-89) (Reg: 47-3-2-5-42; Plf: 3-0-0-0-0)
Carson McMillan (F-88) (Reg: 72-7-15-22-76; Plf: 18-2-0-2-17)
Brendan Rowinski (F-90) (Reg: 20-1-7-8-16; Plf: 15-0-1-1-8)
Brett Sonne (F-89) (Reg: 71-21-9-30-65; Plf: 18-5-1-6-22)
Ryan White (F-88) (Reg: 72-34-55-89-97; Plf: 18-6-8-14-36)
Defence:
Karl Alzner (D-88) (Reg: 63-8-39-47-32; Plf: 18-1-12-13-4)
Eric Frere (D-88) (Reg: 39-0-7-7-24; Plf: 7-0-0-0-2)
Ryan Gillen (D-87) (Reg: 22-0-3-3-20; Plf: 13-0-0-0-16)
Dan Mercer (D-87) (Reg: 27-2-16-18-36; Plf: 18-3-6-9-12)
Alex Plante (D-89) (Reg: 58-8-30-38-81; Plf: 13-5-6-11-14)
Brett Plouffe (D-89) (Reg: 44-0-8-8-26; Plf: 4-0-0-0-0)
Michael Stone (D-90) (Reg: 55-2-18-20-32; Plf: 17-0-3-3-14)
Goaltenders:
Martin Jones (G-90) (Reg: 18gp, 9-4-3, 3.03gaa, .884sv%)
Dan Spence (G-88) (Reg: 56gp, 30-22-4, 2.62gaa, .905sv%; Plf: 18gp, 9-9, 2.69gaa, .899sv%)
Rookies:
Ryan Fox (F-90) (Reg: 1-0-0-0-0)
T.J. Galiardi (F-88)
Bostjan Golicic (F-89) - new import
Brandon Kozun (F-90) (Reg: 11-1-1-2-4)
Matt MacKenzie (D-91)
Adam Ross (F-87)
Chase Schaber (F-91)
Ian Schultz (F-90) (Reg: 1-1-0-1-0)
Keith Seabrook (D-88)
Martin Stepan (F-89) - new import
Prognosis: Coming off a semifinals appearance last year, the Hitmen will look to build on that with a veteran-laden and heavily experienced team at every position. The roster boasts a combined 2420 games of WHL experience, nearly 150 more games than the next highest total in the league. There have been some questions about the scoring depth on the team, but there are four 20+ goal scorers returning (White, Dansereau, Duval, Sonne) plus the addition of T.J. Galiardi, who had 14 goals in 33 games as an NCAA freshman last year. There is also two new imports with good offensive credentials and a bumper crop of 1990-born forwards to fill out the lines. The Hitmen might not have quite as much firepower as Medicine Hat, Lethbridge or Kootenay but it'll be enough. The strength of this team though is on the blueline, where they return 7 players from last year plus the addition of Keith Seabrook from the NCAA, and thus will be able to roll out three NHL top-50 picks (Alzner, Plante, Seabrook) and five guys with 150+ games in the league. Alzner-Plante-Seabrook-Stone is probably about as good of a top four as there is in the league. Goaltending is solid with the return of both of last year's goaltenders. Dan Spence should establish himself as a top-five goalie in the league and Martin Jones should push for more playing time than he did last year as a 16 year old backup. Coach Kelly Kisio has also quietly put together a coaching staff (with Dave Lowry and Joel Otto) with over 3000 games of NHL experience, which can't hurt.
Prediction: Slightly less firepower then some other teams in the division, but the experienced back end sets them apart. First place in the division and 1st or 2nd in the Eastern conference.
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Medicine Hat Tigers:
--------------------
Overagers:
In: Jerrid Sauer (F), Daine Todd (F), Kevin Undershute (F)
Out: Gord Baldwin (D), Darren Helm (F), Jakub Rumpel (F), Kris Russell (D), Michael Sauer (D), David Schlemko (D)
Departed Players:
Gord Baldwin (D-87) (Reg: 53-7-19-26-70; Plf: 23-2-6-8-32) - turning pro
Derek Dorsett (F-86) (Reg: 61-19-45-64-206; Plf: 17-8-8-16-56) - graduated overager
Darren Helm (F-87) (Reg: 59-25-39-64-53; Plf: 23-10-12-22-14) - turning pro
Matt Keetley (G-86) (Reg: 55gp, 42-11-1, 2.19gaa, .913sv%; Plf: 23gp, 16-7, 2.18gaa, .916sv%) - graduated overager
Matt Lowry (F-88) (Reg: 63-10-12-22-42; Plf: 22-0-1-1-19) - traded to Brandon
Jakub Rumpel (F-87) (Reg: 51-13-23-36-42; Plf: 7-0-2-2-9) - released
Kris Russell (D-87) (Reg: 59-32-37-69-56; Plf: 23-4-15-19-24) - turning pro
Michael Sauer (D-87) (Reg: 32-1-10-11-29; Plf: 23-1-5-6-34) - turning pro
David Schlemko (D-87) (Reg: 64-8-50-58-78; Plf: 23-3-13-16-12) - turning pro
Chris Stevens (F-86) (Reg: 71-32-25-57-87; Plf: 23-8-11-19-28) - graduated overager
Tyler Swystun (F-88) (Reg: 70-12-24-36-45; Plf: 22-2-3-5-6) - traded to Portland
Projected Returnees:
Forwards:
Brennan Bosch (F-88) (Reg: 71-22-26-48-32; Plf: 23-7-9-16-14)
Tyler Ennis (F-89) (Reg: 71-26-24-50-30; Plf: 22-8-4-12-6)
Thomas Frazee (F-90) (Reg: 55-6-6-12-38) - stats with Portland
Colton Grant (F-89) (Reg: 71-4-9-13-30; Plf: 23-2-1-3-22)
Jordan Hickmott (F-90) (Reg: 29-3-1-4-4; Plf: 2-0-0-0-2)
Jerrid Sauer (F-87) (Reg: 54-9-7-16-36; Plf: 23-4-4-8-27)
Daine Todd (F-87) (Reg: 5-3-2-5-4; Plf: 22-7-8-15-18)
Kevin Undershute (F-87) (Reg: 71-12-22-34-110; Plf: 23-5-7-12-28)
Scott Wasden (F-88) (Reg: 67-8-9-17-63; Plf: 23-1-9-10-28)
Defence:
Jordan Bendfeld (D-88) (Reg: 72-9-21-30-136; Plf: 23-0-5-5-62)
Shayne Brown (D-89) (Reg: 57-1-7-8-69; Plf: 2-0-0-0-2)
Trevor Glass (D-88) (Reg: 48-4-15-19-33; Plf: 22-2-3-5-24)
Mark Isherwood (D-89) (Reg: 44-0-3-3-27)
Zach Sim (D-88) (Reg: 43-6-6-12-32; Plf: 5-0-0-0-4) - stats with Tri-City
Goaltenders:
Ryan Holfeld (G-89) (Reg: 16gp, 8-5-2, 2.92gaa, .890sv%; Plf: 1gp, 0-0, 16.00gaa, .500sv%)
Rookies:
Michael Ahlen (F-88) - new import
Bretton Cameron (F-89) (Reg: 5-0-0-0-5)
Cody Carlson (D-91) (Reg: 2-0-0-0-2)
Wacey Hamilton (F-90)
Matthew Konan (D-91)
Josh Koper (F-90) (Reg: 2-0-0-0-2)
Cory More (F-90)
Sean Ringrose (F-88)
John Stampohar (F-90)
Adrian Van de Mosselaer (D-90)
Linden Vey (F-91) (Reg: 2-0-0-0-2)
Tomas Vosvrda (G-89) - new import
Prognosis: Not many teams can lose their top three forwards, top four defencemen, and all-star starting goalie and not take a drop in the standings the next season. The Tigers will be no exception to that - but this is still a decent team left behind here despite the losses. As with Kootenay and Lethbridge (below), the scoring is going to be there up front. Todd, Bosch and Ennis are proven scorers at this level already, while Grant, Undershute, and Frazee should improve their totals with more ice time. 19 year old newcomer Sean Ringrose was a big scorer at the Jr A level as well and should also provide some offence. The question marks are on defence and in net; the blueline lost four prominent players and while there are five others returning who played significant numbers of games in the league last year, there is obviously quite a difference in the calibre of players here. The Tigers will also be looking to several rookies to fill the #6/#7 spots so there remains a question mark there as well. And in net, last year's backup Ryan Holfeld is back to battle for the starting spot with unknown Czech rookie Tomas Vosvrda; the Tigers badly need one of them to emerge as a #1 calibre WHLer and help to patch the hole left by the departure of star goalie Matt Keetley. Perhaps the best news for the Tigers though - and what really helps to set them apart from Lethbridge and Kootenay, who are mostly in the same boat strength/weakness-wise - is that they managed to not lose coach Willie Desjardins. Desjardins' performance with the Tigers over the last five years has established him as one of the best coaches in the league and have managed to be fairly successful during past "rebuilding" years like this one is expected to be.
Prediction: 2nd in the division but could just as easily be 4th in a close race. 4th to 6th in the conference.
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Lethbridge Hurricanes:
--------------------
Overagers:
In: Jacob Dietrich (F), Yashar Farmanara (F)
Out: Nicolaus Knudsen (D), Tomas Kudelka (D), Lukas Vantuch (F)
Departed Players:
Kyle Bailey (F-86) (Reg: 26-12-18-30-39) - graduated overager
Kris Hogg (F-86) (Reg: 70-39-30-69-131) - graduated overager
Randy King (D-87) (Reg: 65-1-14-15-167) - released
Tomas Kudelka (D-87) (Reg: 59-14-27-41-74) - turning pro
Kyle Lamb (F-86) (Reg: 27-7-11-18-26) - graduated overager
Justin Leclerc (G-89) (Reg: 37gp, 15-17-3, 3.62gaa, .872sv%) - traded to Kamloops
Nicolaus Knudsen (D-87) (Reg: 21-0-3-3-22) - released
Todd Panchyson (D-88) (Reg: 23-2-2-4-18) - traded to Portland
Lukas Vantuch (F-87) (Reg: 58-6-15-21-67) - signed in Europe
Projected Returnees:
Forwards:
Carter Bancks (F-89) (Reg: 67-11-20-31-64)
Zach Boychuk (F-89) (Reg: 69-31-60-91-52)
Adam Chorneyko (F-88) (Reg: 63-6-11-17-39)
Jacob Dietrich (F-87) (Reg: 72-10-6-16-52)
Mitch Fadden (F-88) (Reg: 71-36-48-84-54)
Yashar Farmanara (F-87) (Reg: 67-18-28-46-74)
Josh Gionfriddo (F-89) (Reg: 53-2-3-5-41)
Dwight King (F-89) (Reg: 62-12-32-44-39)
Adam Matlock (F-88) (Reg: 37-1-2-3-20)
Drew Todd (F-89) (Reg: 37-1-1-2-6)
Defence:
Travis Bobbee (D-90) (Reg: 41-5-5-10-10)
Jesse Craige (D-89) (Reg: 59-9-12-21-77)
Ryan Kerr (D-89) (Reg: 61-1-14-15-158)
Mitch Versteeg (D-88) (Reg: 24-1-4-5-34)
Ben Wright (D-88) (Reg: 64-10-37-47-108)
Goaltenders:
Michael Maniago (G-88) (Reg: 37gp, 17-14-2, 3.53gaa, .877sv%)
Rookies:
Carter Ashton (F-91) (Reg: 2-0-0-0-0)
Cam Braes (F-91)
Nick Dietrich (F-89)
Daniel Iwanski (F-90)
Juha Metsola (G-89) - new import
Craig Orfino (F-90)
Luca Sbisa (D-90) - new import
Brennan Yadlowski (D-91)
Prognosis: Very similar to Kootenay and Medicine Hat in that goals will not be hard to come by on this team, but keeping them out might be a lot harder. In Boychuk and Fadden the team has two forwards who could contend for the league scoring title, and they are backed up by Farmanara, King, and Bancks, so there is some depth here. The problems are everywhere else, such as on defence where there's going to be a lot of crossed fingers that Ben Wright's decision not to have surgery on his injured shoulder was the right decision. After Wright, guys like Craige, Kerr, and Bobbee are decent 3rd/4th defencemen but depth here has to be a concern, especially with the team breaking in a 16 year old with regular ice time as well as a new import. God forbid Wright's shoulder not stand up to the season. And in net, more questions since Michael Maniago has thus far not established himself as a WHL starting goalie in either Kamloops or Lethbridge, and new import Juha Metsola offers another unknown quantity. The Canes really need one of those two to prove he can be a 50-55 game starter at this level.
Prediction: 3rd in the division but could easily be 2nd or 4th as well. 5th or 6th in the conference.
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Kootenay Ice:
--------------------
Overagers:
In: Clayton Bauer (F), Steve DaSilva (F), Chad Greenan (D)
Out: Lukas Bohunicky (D), Paul Kurceba (D), Ryan Russell (F), Luke Wiens (F)
Departed Players:
Curtis Billsten (F-86) (Reg: 70-24-40-64-96; Plf: 3-0-1-1-2) - graduated overager
Lukas Bohunicky (D-87) (Reg: 71-1-6-7-101; Plf: 7-0-2-2-14) - overage numbers
Michael Busto (D-86) (Reg: 70-20-43-63-79; Plf: 6-1-2-3-9) - graduated overager
Taylor Dakers (G-86) (Reg: 48gp, 33-10-4, 2.16gaa, .919sv%; Plf: 7gp, 3-4, 2.52gaa, .922sv%) - graduated overager
Paul Kurceba (D-87) (Reg: 71-4-12-16-108; Plf: 7-1-1-2-8) - trade bait (projected)
Ryan Russell (F-87) (Reg: 58-30-46-76-40; Plf: 7-3-6-9-2) - turning pro
Luke Wiens (F-87) (Reg: 52-3-7-10-84; Plf: 7-0-0-0-2) - overage numbers
Projected Returnees:
Forwards:
Andrew Bailey (F-88) (Reg: 72-30-42-72-79; Plf: 7-1-4-5-13)
Clayton Bauer (F-87) (Reg: 68-24-28-52-90; Plf: 7-1-0-1-9)
Steve DaSilva (F-87) (Reg: 71-38-53-91-108; Plf: 7-5-5-10-16)
Trent Fussi (F-89) (Reg: 49-6-3-9-25; Plf: 6-0-0-0-2)
Arnaud Jacquemet (F-88) (Reg: 50-13-16-29-33; Plf: 7-2-3-5-4)
Kevin King (F-90) (Reg: 65-5-9-14-23; Plf: 7-1-0-1-4)
Ben Maxwell (F-88) (Reg: 39-19-34-53-42; Plf: 7-1-4-5-21)
Tylan Stephens (F-89) (Reg: 71-9-17-26-46; Plf: 7-1-1-2-2)
Michael Stickland (F-89) (Reg: 62-4-12-16-71; Plf: 5-0-0-0-2)
Dustin Sylvester (F-89) (Reg: 72-17-25-42-53; Plf: 7-2-0-2-6)
Defence:
Ian Barteaux (D-88) (Reg: 70-3-9-12-107; Plf: 7-0-2-2-7)
Chad Greenan (D-87) (Reg: 72-12-34-46-86; Plf: 7-2-4-6-8)
Paul MacDonald (D-88) (Reg: 30-1-1-2-13; Plf: 1-0-0-0-0)
John Negrin (D-89) (Reg: 44-1-15-16-57; Plf: 7-0-2-2-8)
Jordan Wilkins (D-90) (Reg: 25-1-0-1-5)
Goaltenders:
Kris Lazaruk (G-88) (Reg: 26gp, 16-6-2, 3.04gaa, 0.904sv%)
Rookies:
Joe Antilla (F-91)
Steele Boomer (F-90)
Scott Ferguson (F-90)
Thomas Heemskerk (G-90)
Nathan Lieuwen (G-91)
Brayden McNabb (D-91) (Reg: 3-0-0-0-0)
Jiri Ryzuk (D-90) - new import
Konrad Sander (F-90)
Prognosis: The ability to score goals by the truckload can make up for some defensive shortcomings that are sure to occur, so look for the Ice to be involved in some high-scoring games this year....not a single team in the WHL has more 06-07 goals on its roster. The likely roster potted 183 goals last year, including at least three players who could/should top 40 goals this year (Bailey, DaSilva, Maxwell) and a strong supporting cast of Bauer, Jacquemet, King, Stephens, and Sylvester. Goal judges are going to have sore thumbs at the Rec Plex this year. In more ways than one though, because the Ice blueline is a work in progress as well. Chad Greenan and John Negrin are a good start but depth drops off a bit after that with the loss of three of last year's regulars. There are a couple good rookie hopefuls in Jiri Ryzuk and Brayden McNabb and the club will have to hope Paul MacDonald can stay healthy and Jordan Wilkins' skating has improved. In net, Kris Lazaruk will get the chance to be a #1 after two years as backup. He has looked decent in his backup role but we'll have to see how he handles facing the top teams in the league every start instead of only occasionally as backups usually do. His backup this year will be one of two highly-regarded rookies who may slug it out well into the season before a winner emerges there.
Prediction: Fourth in the division, but things will be very close with Lethbridge and Medicine Hat for 2nd-3rd-4th. 6th or 7th in the conference.
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Red Deer Rebels:
--------------------
Overagers:
In: - none -
Out: Martin Hanzal (F), Pierre-Paul Lamoureux (F), Jason Lynch (D), Kirill Starkov (F), Brett Sutter (F), J.D. Watt (F)
Departed Players:
Mike Berube (D-88) (Reg: 66-4-16-20-78; Plf: 7-0-0-0-10) - traded to Vancouver
Martin Hanzal (F-87) (Reg: 60-26-59-85-94; Plf: 6-2-7-9-19) - turning pro
Jordan Henry (D-86) (Reg: 72-7-25-32-162; Plf: 7-0-4-4-26) - graduated overager
Patrick Kozyra (D-89) (Reg: 55-1-4-5-24) - traded to Spokane
Pierre-Paul Lamoureux (F-87) (Reg: 55-0-6-6-113; Plf: 2-0-0-0-0) - released
Jason Lynch (D-87) (Reg: 63-1-4-5-131; Plf: 7-0-0-0-2) - going to university
Dustin Moore (F-86) (Reg: 64-20-28-48-94; Plf: 7-4-2-6-27) - graduated overager
Karey Pieper (F-87) (Reg: 63-4-5-9-101; Plf: 7-2-3-5-13) - to Edmonton in expansion draft
Evan Pighin (F-88) (Reg: 62-3-8-11-51; Plf: 7-0-1-1-8) - traded to Prince George
Alex Poulter (F-89) (Reg: 67-6-6-12-24; Plf: 7-0-1-1-2) - traded to Prince George
Kirill Starkov (F-87) (Reg: 72-34-37-71-41; Plf: 7-2-4-6-4) - turning pro
Brett Sutter (F-87) (Reg: 67-28-29-57-77; Plf: 7-3-4-7-11) - turning pro
Ted Vandermeer (F-86) (Reg: 58-12-13-25-47; Plf: 7-2-3-5-6) - graduated overager
Projected Returnees:
Forwards:
Luke Betts (F-89) (Reg: 62-2-1-3-42; Plf: 7-1-0-1-0)
Scott Doucet (F-88) (Reg: 33-8-5-13-29; Plf: 7-2-1-3-10)
Cass Mappin (F-90) (Reg: 23-1-0-1-37)
Brandon Sutter (F-89) (Reg: 71-20-37-57-54; Plf: 7-0-3-3-14)
Brennen Wray (F-88) (Reg: 37-3-12-15-35; Plf: 6-2-1-3-6)
Defence:
Luke Egener (D-88) (Reg: 70-2-10-12-76; Plf: 7-1-0-1-6)
Cullen Morin (D-89) (Reg: 35-4-13-17-34)
Mike Scarborough (D-90) (Reg: 19-0-1-1-10; Plf: 5-0-0-0-0)
Goaltenders:
Morgan Clark (G-90) (Reg: 21gp, 9-5-2, 3.25gaa, .882sv%)
James Reimer (G-88) (Reg: 60gp, 26-23-7, 2.66gaa, .912sv%; Plf: 7gp, 3-4, 3.88gaa, .871sv%)
Rookies:
Colin Archer (D-90)
Willie Coetzee (F-90)
Jordan Draper (F-89)
Spencer Edwards (F-90) (Reg: 2-0-0-0-2)
Landon Ferraro (F-91) (Reg: 4-0-0-0-0; Plf: 1-0-0-0-0)
Matt Fraser (F-90) (Reg: 3-0-0-0-2; Plf: 1-0-0-0-0)
Dallas Jackson (D-89)
Joel Kot (D-90) (Reg: 1-0-1-1-0; Plf: 7-0-1-1-2)
Mike Krgovich (F-90) (Reg: 4-0-0-0-0)
Tyler Penny (F-89)
Tomas Polak (F-90) - new import
Zak Stebner (D-90) (Reg: 1-0-0-0-0)
Prognosis: Year #4 of the rebuilding in Red Deer is the most ambitious yet, as the team cleaned house in the offseason - with the end result being a roster that features only 7 players who spent all of last year in the WHL. Added into the offseason changes is the departure of coach/GM Brent Sutter; his replacement behind the bench is brother Brian and while it is often said that all the Sutters are cut from the same cloth, Brian still has to prove he can fill his little brother's sizeable shoes in the WHL. With so few vets, Sutter will have his work cut out for him with this young bunch. Up front only Brandon Sutter is a proven scorer at the WHL level; the team has no overagers right now and are obviously hoping for the return of one or more of Kirill Starkov, Brett Sutter, and J.D. Watt to help fill the scoring roles. If one or more of those guys does return, it obviously will be a big help but there are no certainties with any of them. Without any of those guys back, scoring is going to be a big problem. The defence has basically one vet (Egener) and another guy with half a year's experience (Morin) and then five rookies. They have high hopes for some of these rookies, but lack of experience can't help but be an issue here. At least there are two veteran goaltenders standing behind the young defence, but Reimer and Clark are going to have to be sharp every night.
Prediction: This many new faces = some long nights. 5th in the division but they might be closer to Edmonton than they'd like. 10th or so in the conference.
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Edmonton Oil Kings:
--------------------
Overagers:
In: Alex Archibald (G), Michael Hengen (D), Karey Pieper (F), Bretton Stamler (D), Matt Swaby (D)
Out: - none -
Departed Players:
- none - (expansion team)
Projected Returnees:
Forwards:
Brett Breitkreuz (F-89) (Reg: 58-8-6-14-67) - stats with Kelowna
Brenden Dowd (F-88) (Reg: 47-5-10-15-24; Plf: 3-0-0-0-0) - stats with Kamloops
Robin Figren (F-88) (Reg: 62-10-17-27-54; Plf: 18-4-4-8-18) - stats with Calgary
Brandon Lockerby (F-88) (Reg: 40-1-8-9-16) - stats with Brandon
Karey Pieper (F-87) (Reg: 63-4-5-9-101; Plf: 7-2-3-5-13) - stats with Red Deer
Scott Skrudland (F-88) (Reg: 23-0-0-0-47) - stats with Kamloops and Saskatoon
J.P. Szaszkiewicz (F-88) (Reg: 63-8-8-16-44; Plf: 6-0-0-0-10) - stats with Spokane
Defence:
Karl Benke (D-88) (12-0-0-0-35) - stats with Swift Current
Cameron Cepek (D-88) (Reg: 49-1-8-9-87) - stats with Portland
Michael Hengen (D-87) (Reg: 65-8-25-33-66) - stats with Calgary & Moose Jaw
Lance Redden (D-89) (Reg: 52-2-7-9-86; Plf: 1-0-0-0-0) - stats with Prince George
Bretton Stamler (D-87) (Reg: 72-8-24-32-135; Plf: 11-0-1-1-14) - stats with Seattle
Matt Swaby (D-87) (Reg: 62-2-18-20-90; Plf: 6-0-3-3-8) - stats with Tri-City
Goaltenders:
Alex Archibald (G-87) (Reg: 34gp, 8-15-4, 3.71gaa, .880sv%; Plf: 5gp, 1-4, 3.38gaa, .908sv%) - stats with Chilliwack
Dalyn Flette (G-90) (Reg: 18gp, 5-5-3, 3.01gaa, .868sv%) - stats with Kamloops
Rookies:
Braeden Adamyk (F-90)
Clayton Cumiskey (F-90)
Brent Henke (F-90)
Tyler Hlookoff (D-90) (Reg: 9-0-1-1-6) - stats with Everett
Craig McCallum (F-89)
Shayne Neigum (F-90) (Reg: 4-0-0-0-0) - stats with Medicine Hat
Drew Nichol (D-89)
Brent Raedeke (F-90)
Tomas Vincour (F-90) - new import
Prognosis: Surprisingly for an expansion team, there are actually things to like about this roster. There are a few players up front who should be able to put the puck in the net, such as imports Tomas Vincour and Robin Figren, and rookie Craig McCallum. Things kind of thin out after that but there's several quality veterans providing some versatility, such as Szaszkiewicz, Breitkreuz, Dowd, and Pieper. Those kind of guys might not score a lot of goals but they can do a little bit of everything, providing depth there. This is a team that is really going to struggle to score goals when all is said and done though. Fortunately, the defence looks strong with four 150+ game veterans who all bring various strengths to the team. And in net there's two WHL vets in Archibald and Flette. Archibald was the #1 last year for Chilliwack so he is experienced in backstopping an expansion team and the Oil Kings should be fine in that area. Overall they aren't going to be terrible, but is it enough to avoid the basement? Especially when the temptation to trade some of those vets - particularly on the blueline - for younger prospects will be strong, and such moves could spell a long post-deadline second half to the season.
Prediction: predictions for expansion teams are so stereotypically easy: last place. Recent WHL expansions have not held true to that mould though, with Everett and Chilliwack making the postseason in their first years. I think there is a chance that the Oil Kings will not be last in the Central, but they will not make the playoffs. To do that they would have to be better than four other teams in the Eastern conference and I just can't see it. 6th in the Central, 12th in the conference.
Calgary Hitmen:
--------------------
Overagers:
In: Ryan Gillen (D), Dan Mercer (D), Adam Ross (F)
Out: Brodie Dupont (F), Riley Merkley (F), Fredrik Petterson (F)
Departed Players:
Steve Covington (F-86) (Reg: 70-7-22-29-70; Plf: 18-2-8-10-19) - graduated overager
Brodie Dupont (F-87) (Reg: 70-37-33-70-90; Plf: 18-9-7-16-33) - turning pro
Robin Figren (F-88) (Reg: 62-10-17-27-54; Plf: 18-4-4-8-18) - to Edmonton in expansion draft
Derek LeBlanc (F-86) (Reg: 52-17-11-28-66; Plf: 18-7-7-14-9) - graduated overager
Riley Merkley (F-87) (Reg: 50-3-11-14-46; Plf: 13-1-1-2-2) - gone to university
Fredrik Pettersson (F-87) (Reg: 52-21-29-50-50; Plf: 18-1-6-7-17) - turned pro in Sweden
Dylan Yeo (D-86) (Reg: 57-8-23-31-64; Plf: 18-4-8-12-22) - graduated overager
Projected Returnees:
Forwards:
Keegan Dansereau (F-88) (Reg: 71-28-31-59-64; Plf: 18-2-6-8-12)
Ian Duval (F-88) (Reg: 54-18-15-33-44; Plf: 18-2-5-7-12)
Devon Kalinski (F-90) (Reg: 47-4-6-10-36; Plf: 5-0-0-0-4)
Ryan Letts (F-89) (Reg: 47-3-2-5-42; Plf: 3-0-0-0-0)
Carson McMillan (F-88) (Reg: 72-7-15-22-76; Plf: 18-2-0-2-17)
Brendan Rowinski (F-90) (Reg: 20-1-7-8-16; Plf: 15-0-1-1-8)
Brett Sonne (F-89) (Reg: 71-21-9-30-65; Plf: 18-5-1-6-22)
Ryan White (F-88) (Reg: 72-34-55-89-97; Plf: 18-6-8-14-36)
Defence:
Karl Alzner (D-88) (Reg: 63-8-39-47-32; Plf: 18-1-12-13-4)
Eric Frere (D-88) (Reg: 39-0-7-7-24; Plf: 7-0-0-0-2)
Ryan Gillen (D-87) (Reg: 22-0-3-3-20; Plf: 13-0-0-0-16)
Dan Mercer (D-87) (Reg: 27-2-16-18-36; Plf: 18-3-6-9-12)
Alex Plante (D-89) (Reg: 58-8-30-38-81; Plf: 13-5-6-11-14)
Brett Plouffe (D-89) (Reg: 44-0-8-8-26; Plf: 4-0-0-0-0)
Michael Stone (D-90) (Reg: 55-2-18-20-32; Plf: 17-0-3-3-14)
Goaltenders:
Martin Jones (G-90) (Reg: 18gp, 9-4-3, 3.03gaa, .884sv%)
Dan Spence (G-88) (Reg: 56gp, 30-22-4, 2.62gaa, .905sv%; Plf: 18gp, 9-9, 2.69gaa, .899sv%)
Rookies:
Ryan Fox (F-90) (Reg: 1-0-0-0-0)
T.J. Galiardi (F-88)
Bostjan Golicic (F-89) - new import
Brandon Kozun (F-90) (Reg: 11-1-1-2-4)
Matt MacKenzie (D-91)
Adam Ross (F-87)
Chase Schaber (F-91)
Ian Schultz (F-90) (Reg: 1-1-0-1-0)
Keith Seabrook (D-88)
Martin Stepan (F-89) - new import
Prognosis: Coming off a semifinals appearance last year, the Hitmen will look to build on that with a veteran-laden and heavily experienced team at every position. The roster boasts a combined 2420 games of WHL experience, nearly 150 more games than the next highest total in the league. There have been some questions about the scoring depth on the team, but there are four 20+ goal scorers returning (White, Dansereau, Duval, Sonne) plus the addition of T.J. Galiardi, who had 14 goals in 33 games as an NCAA freshman last year. There is also two new imports with good offensive credentials and a bumper crop of 1990-born forwards to fill out the lines. The Hitmen might not have quite as much firepower as Medicine Hat, Lethbridge or Kootenay but it'll be enough. The strength of this team though is on the blueline, where they return 7 players from last year plus the addition of Keith Seabrook from the NCAA, and thus will be able to roll out three NHL top-50 picks (Alzner, Plante, Seabrook) and five guys with 150+ games in the league. Alzner-Plante-Seabrook-Stone is probably about as good of a top four as there is in the league. Goaltending is solid with the return of both of last year's goaltenders. Dan Spence should establish himself as a top-five goalie in the league and Martin Jones should push for more playing time than he did last year as a 16 year old backup. Coach Kelly Kisio has also quietly put together a coaching staff (with Dave Lowry and Joel Otto) with over 3000 games of NHL experience, which can't hurt.
Prediction: Slightly less firepower then some other teams in the division, but the experienced back end sets them apart. First place in the division and 1st or 2nd in the Eastern conference.
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Medicine Hat Tigers:
--------------------
Overagers:
In: Jerrid Sauer (F), Daine Todd (F), Kevin Undershute (F)
Out: Gord Baldwin (D), Darren Helm (F), Jakub Rumpel (F), Kris Russell (D), Michael Sauer (D), David Schlemko (D)
Departed Players:
Gord Baldwin (D-87) (Reg: 53-7-19-26-70; Plf: 23-2-6-8-32) - turning pro
Derek Dorsett (F-86) (Reg: 61-19-45-64-206; Plf: 17-8-8-16-56) - graduated overager
Darren Helm (F-87) (Reg: 59-25-39-64-53; Plf: 23-10-12-22-14) - turning pro
Matt Keetley (G-86) (Reg: 55gp, 42-11-1, 2.19gaa, .913sv%; Plf: 23gp, 16-7, 2.18gaa, .916sv%) - graduated overager
Matt Lowry (F-88) (Reg: 63-10-12-22-42; Plf: 22-0-1-1-19) - traded to Brandon
Jakub Rumpel (F-87) (Reg: 51-13-23-36-42; Plf: 7-0-2-2-9) - released
Kris Russell (D-87) (Reg: 59-32-37-69-56; Plf: 23-4-15-19-24) - turning pro
Michael Sauer (D-87) (Reg: 32-1-10-11-29; Plf: 23-1-5-6-34) - turning pro
David Schlemko (D-87) (Reg: 64-8-50-58-78; Plf: 23-3-13-16-12) - turning pro
Chris Stevens (F-86) (Reg: 71-32-25-57-87; Plf: 23-8-11-19-28) - graduated overager
Tyler Swystun (F-88) (Reg: 70-12-24-36-45; Plf: 22-2-3-5-6) - traded to Portland
Projected Returnees:
Forwards:
Brennan Bosch (F-88) (Reg: 71-22-26-48-32; Plf: 23-7-9-16-14)
Tyler Ennis (F-89) (Reg: 71-26-24-50-30; Plf: 22-8-4-12-6)
Thomas Frazee (F-90) (Reg: 55-6-6-12-38) - stats with Portland
Colton Grant (F-89) (Reg: 71-4-9-13-30; Plf: 23-2-1-3-22)
Jordan Hickmott (F-90) (Reg: 29-3-1-4-4; Plf: 2-0-0-0-2)
Jerrid Sauer (F-87) (Reg: 54-9-7-16-36; Plf: 23-4-4-8-27)
Daine Todd (F-87) (Reg: 5-3-2-5-4; Plf: 22-7-8-15-18)
Kevin Undershute (F-87) (Reg: 71-12-22-34-110; Plf: 23-5-7-12-28)
Scott Wasden (F-88) (Reg: 67-8-9-17-63; Plf: 23-1-9-10-28)
Defence:
Jordan Bendfeld (D-88) (Reg: 72-9-21-30-136; Plf: 23-0-5-5-62)
Shayne Brown (D-89) (Reg: 57-1-7-8-69; Plf: 2-0-0-0-2)
Trevor Glass (D-88) (Reg: 48-4-15-19-33; Plf: 22-2-3-5-24)
Mark Isherwood (D-89) (Reg: 44-0-3-3-27)
Zach Sim (D-88) (Reg: 43-6-6-12-32; Plf: 5-0-0-0-4) - stats with Tri-City
Goaltenders:
Ryan Holfeld (G-89) (Reg: 16gp, 8-5-2, 2.92gaa, .890sv%; Plf: 1gp, 0-0, 16.00gaa, .500sv%)
Rookies:
Michael Ahlen (F-88) - new import
Bretton Cameron (F-89) (Reg: 5-0-0-0-5)
Cody Carlson (D-91) (Reg: 2-0-0-0-2)
Wacey Hamilton (F-90)
Matthew Konan (D-91)
Josh Koper (F-90) (Reg: 2-0-0-0-2)
Cory More (F-90)
Sean Ringrose (F-88)
John Stampohar (F-90)
Adrian Van de Mosselaer (D-90)
Linden Vey (F-91) (Reg: 2-0-0-0-2)
Tomas Vosvrda (G-89) - new import
Prognosis: Not many teams can lose their top three forwards, top four defencemen, and all-star starting goalie and not take a drop in the standings the next season. The Tigers will be no exception to that - but this is still a decent team left behind here despite the losses. As with Kootenay and Lethbridge (below), the scoring is going to be there up front. Todd, Bosch and Ennis are proven scorers at this level already, while Grant, Undershute, and Frazee should improve their totals with more ice time. 19 year old newcomer Sean Ringrose was a big scorer at the Jr A level as well and should also provide some offence. The question marks are on defence and in net; the blueline lost four prominent players and while there are five others returning who played significant numbers of games in the league last year, there is obviously quite a difference in the calibre of players here. The Tigers will also be looking to several rookies to fill the #6/#7 spots so there remains a question mark there as well. And in net, last year's backup Ryan Holfeld is back to battle for the starting spot with unknown Czech rookie Tomas Vosvrda; the Tigers badly need one of them to emerge as a #1 calibre WHLer and help to patch the hole left by the departure of star goalie Matt Keetley. Perhaps the best news for the Tigers though - and what really helps to set them apart from Lethbridge and Kootenay, who are mostly in the same boat strength/weakness-wise - is that they managed to not lose coach Willie Desjardins. Desjardins' performance with the Tigers over the last five years has established him as one of the best coaches in the league and have managed to be fairly successful during past "rebuilding" years like this one is expected to be.
Prediction: 2nd in the division but could just as easily be 4th in a close race. 4th to 6th in the conference.
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Lethbridge Hurricanes:
--------------------
Overagers:
In: Jacob Dietrich (F), Yashar Farmanara (F)
Out: Nicolaus Knudsen (D), Tomas Kudelka (D), Lukas Vantuch (F)
Departed Players:
Kyle Bailey (F-86) (Reg: 26-12-18-30-39) - graduated overager
Kris Hogg (F-86) (Reg: 70-39-30-69-131) - graduated overager
Randy King (D-87) (Reg: 65-1-14-15-167) - released
Tomas Kudelka (D-87) (Reg: 59-14-27-41-74) - turning pro
Kyle Lamb (F-86) (Reg: 27-7-11-18-26) - graduated overager
Justin Leclerc (G-89) (Reg: 37gp, 15-17-3, 3.62gaa, .872sv%) - traded to Kamloops
Nicolaus Knudsen (D-87) (Reg: 21-0-3-3-22) - released
Todd Panchyson (D-88) (Reg: 23-2-2-4-18) - traded to Portland
Lukas Vantuch (F-87) (Reg: 58-6-15-21-67) - signed in Europe
Projected Returnees:
Forwards:
Carter Bancks (F-89) (Reg: 67-11-20-31-64)
Zach Boychuk (F-89) (Reg: 69-31-60-91-52)
Adam Chorneyko (F-88) (Reg: 63-6-11-17-39)
Jacob Dietrich (F-87) (Reg: 72-10-6-16-52)
Mitch Fadden (F-88) (Reg: 71-36-48-84-54)
Yashar Farmanara (F-87) (Reg: 67-18-28-46-74)
Josh Gionfriddo (F-89) (Reg: 53-2-3-5-41)
Dwight King (F-89) (Reg: 62-12-32-44-39)
Adam Matlock (F-88) (Reg: 37-1-2-3-20)
Drew Todd (F-89) (Reg: 37-1-1-2-6)
Defence:
Travis Bobbee (D-90) (Reg: 41-5-5-10-10)
Jesse Craige (D-89) (Reg: 59-9-12-21-77)
Ryan Kerr (D-89) (Reg: 61-1-14-15-158)
Mitch Versteeg (D-88) (Reg: 24-1-4-5-34)
Ben Wright (D-88) (Reg: 64-10-37-47-108)
Goaltenders:
Michael Maniago (G-88) (Reg: 37gp, 17-14-2, 3.53gaa, .877sv%)
Rookies:
Carter Ashton (F-91) (Reg: 2-0-0-0-0)
Cam Braes (F-91)
Nick Dietrich (F-89)
Daniel Iwanski (F-90)
Juha Metsola (G-89) - new import
Craig Orfino (F-90)
Luca Sbisa (D-90) - new import
Brennan Yadlowski (D-91)
Prognosis: Very similar to Kootenay and Medicine Hat in that goals will not be hard to come by on this team, but keeping them out might be a lot harder. In Boychuk and Fadden the team has two forwards who could contend for the league scoring title, and they are backed up by Farmanara, King, and Bancks, so there is some depth here. The problems are everywhere else, such as on defence where there's going to be a lot of crossed fingers that Ben Wright's decision not to have surgery on his injured shoulder was the right decision. After Wright, guys like Craige, Kerr, and Bobbee are decent 3rd/4th defencemen but depth here has to be a concern, especially with the team breaking in a 16 year old with regular ice time as well as a new import. God forbid Wright's shoulder not stand up to the season. And in net, more questions since Michael Maniago has thus far not established himself as a WHL starting goalie in either Kamloops or Lethbridge, and new import Juha Metsola offers another unknown quantity. The Canes really need one of those two to prove he can be a 50-55 game starter at this level.
Prediction: 3rd in the division but could easily be 2nd or 4th as well. 5th or 6th in the conference.
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Kootenay Ice:
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Overagers:
In: Clayton Bauer (F), Steve DaSilva (F), Chad Greenan (D)
Out: Lukas Bohunicky (D), Paul Kurceba (D), Ryan Russell (F), Luke Wiens (F)
Departed Players:
Curtis Billsten (F-86) (Reg: 70-24-40-64-96; Plf: 3-0-1-1-2) - graduated overager
Lukas Bohunicky (D-87) (Reg: 71-1-6-7-101; Plf: 7-0-2-2-14) - overage numbers
Michael Busto (D-86) (Reg: 70-20-43-63-79; Plf: 6-1-2-3-9) - graduated overager
Taylor Dakers (G-86) (Reg: 48gp, 33-10-4, 2.16gaa, .919sv%; Plf: 7gp, 3-4, 2.52gaa, .922sv%) - graduated overager
Paul Kurceba (D-87) (Reg: 71-4-12-16-108; Plf: 7-1-1-2-8) - trade bait (projected)
Ryan Russell (F-87) (Reg: 58-30-46-76-40; Plf: 7-3-6-9-2) - turning pro
Luke Wiens (F-87) (Reg: 52-3-7-10-84; Plf: 7-0-0-0-2) - overage numbers
Projected Returnees:
Forwards:
Andrew Bailey (F-88) (Reg: 72-30-42-72-79; Plf: 7-1-4-5-13)
Clayton Bauer (F-87) (Reg: 68-24-28-52-90; Plf: 7-1-0-1-9)
Steve DaSilva (F-87) (Reg: 71-38-53-91-108; Plf: 7-5-5-10-16)
Trent Fussi (F-89) (Reg: 49-6-3-9-25; Plf: 6-0-0-0-2)
Arnaud Jacquemet (F-88) (Reg: 50-13-16-29-33; Plf: 7-2-3-5-4)
Kevin King (F-90) (Reg: 65-5-9-14-23; Plf: 7-1-0-1-4)
Ben Maxwell (F-88) (Reg: 39-19-34-53-42; Plf: 7-1-4-5-21)
Tylan Stephens (F-89) (Reg: 71-9-17-26-46; Plf: 7-1-1-2-2)
Michael Stickland (F-89) (Reg: 62-4-12-16-71; Plf: 5-0-0-0-2)
Dustin Sylvester (F-89) (Reg: 72-17-25-42-53; Plf: 7-2-0-2-6)
Defence:
Ian Barteaux (D-88) (Reg: 70-3-9-12-107; Plf: 7-0-2-2-7)
Chad Greenan (D-87) (Reg: 72-12-34-46-86; Plf: 7-2-4-6-8)
Paul MacDonald (D-88) (Reg: 30-1-1-2-13; Plf: 1-0-0-0-0)
John Negrin (D-89) (Reg: 44-1-15-16-57; Plf: 7-0-2-2-8)
Jordan Wilkins (D-90) (Reg: 25-1-0-1-5)
Goaltenders:
Kris Lazaruk (G-88) (Reg: 26gp, 16-6-2, 3.04gaa, 0.904sv%)
Rookies:
Joe Antilla (F-91)
Steele Boomer (F-90)
Scott Ferguson (F-90)
Thomas Heemskerk (G-90)
Nathan Lieuwen (G-91)
Brayden McNabb (D-91) (Reg: 3-0-0-0-0)
Jiri Ryzuk (D-90) - new import
Konrad Sander (F-90)
Prognosis: The ability to score goals by the truckload can make up for some defensive shortcomings that are sure to occur, so look for the Ice to be involved in some high-scoring games this year....not a single team in the WHL has more 06-07 goals on its roster. The likely roster potted 183 goals last year, including at least three players who could/should top 40 goals this year (Bailey, DaSilva, Maxwell) and a strong supporting cast of Bauer, Jacquemet, King, Stephens, and Sylvester. Goal judges are going to have sore thumbs at the Rec Plex this year. In more ways than one though, because the Ice blueline is a work in progress as well. Chad Greenan and John Negrin are a good start but depth drops off a bit after that with the loss of three of last year's regulars. There are a couple good rookie hopefuls in Jiri Ryzuk and Brayden McNabb and the club will have to hope Paul MacDonald can stay healthy and Jordan Wilkins' skating has improved. In net, Kris Lazaruk will get the chance to be a #1 after two years as backup. He has looked decent in his backup role but we'll have to see how he handles facing the top teams in the league every start instead of only occasionally as backups usually do. His backup this year will be one of two highly-regarded rookies who may slug it out well into the season before a winner emerges there.
Prediction: Fourth in the division, but things will be very close with Lethbridge and Medicine Hat for 2nd-3rd-4th. 6th or 7th in the conference.
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Red Deer Rebels:
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Overagers:
In: - none -
Out: Martin Hanzal (F), Pierre-Paul Lamoureux (F), Jason Lynch (D), Kirill Starkov (F), Brett Sutter (F), J.D. Watt (F)
Departed Players:
Mike Berube (D-88) (Reg: 66-4-16-20-78; Plf: 7-0-0-0-10) - traded to Vancouver
Martin Hanzal (F-87) (Reg: 60-26-59-85-94; Plf: 6-2-7-9-19) - turning pro
Jordan Henry (D-86) (Reg: 72-7-25-32-162; Plf: 7-0-4-4-26) - graduated overager
Patrick Kozyra (D-89) (Reg: 55-1-4-5-24) - traded to Spokane
Pierre-Paul Lamoureux (F-87) (Reg: 55-0-6-6-113; Plf: 2-0-0-0-0) - released
Jason Lynch (D-87) (Reg: 63-1-4-5-131; Plf: 7-0-0-0-2) - going to university
Dustin Moore (F-86) (Reg: 64-20-28-48-94; Plf: 7-4-2-6-27) - graduated overager
Karey Pieper (F-87) (Reg: 63-4-5-9-101; Plf: 7-2-3-5-13) - to Edmonton in expansion draft
Evan Pighin (F-88) (Reg: 62-3-8-11-51; Plf: 7-0-1-1-8) - traded to Prince George
Alex Poulter (F-89) (Reg: 67-6-6-12-24; Plf: 7-0-1-1-2) - traded to Prince George
Kirill Starkov (F-87) (Reg: 72-34-37-71-41; Plf: 7-2-4-6-4) - turning pro
Brett Sutter (F-87) (Reg: 67-28-29-57-77; Plf: 7-3-4-7-11) - turning pro
Ted Vandermeer (F-86) (Reg: 58-12-13-25-47; Plf: 7-2-3-5-6) - graduated overager
Projected Returnees:
Forwards:
Luke Betts (F-89) (Reg: 62-2-1-3-42; Plf: 7-1-0-1-0)
Scott Doucet (F-88) (Reg: 33-8-5-13-29; Plf: 7-2-1-3-10)
Cass Mappin (F-90) (Reg: 23-1-0-1-37)
Brandon Sutter (F-89) (Reg: 71-20-37-57-54; Plf: 7-0-3-3-14)
Brennen Wray (F-88) (Reg: 37-3-12-15-35; Plf: 6-2-1-3-6)
Defence:
Luke Egener (D-88) (Reg: 70-2-10-12-76; Plf: 7-1-0-1-6)
Cullen Morin (D-89) (Reg: 35-4-13-17-34)
Mike Scarborough (D-90) (Reg: 19-0-1-1-10; Plf: 5-0-0-0-0)
Goaltenders:
Morgan Clark (G-90) (Reg: 21gp, 9-5-2, 3.25gaa, .882sv%)
James Reimer (G-88) (Reg: 60gp, 26-23-7, 2.66gaa, .912sv%; Plf: 7gp, 3-4, 3.88gaa, .871sv%)
Rookies:
Colin Archer (D-90)
Willie Coetzee (F-90)
Jordan Draper (F-89)
Spencer Edwards (F-90) (Reg: 2-0-0-0-2)
Landon Ferraro (F-91) (Reg: 4-0-0-0-0; Plf: 1-0-0-0-0)
Matt Fraser (F-90) (Reg: 3-0-0-0-2; Plf: 1-0-0-0-0)
Dallas Jackson (D-89)
Joel Kot (D-90) (Reg: 1-0-1-1-0; Plf: 7-0-1-1-2)
Mike Krgovich (F-90) (Reg: 4-0-0-0-0)
Tyler Penny (F-89)
Tomas Polak (F-90) - new import
Zak Stebner (D-90) (Reg: 1-0-0-0-0)
Prognosis: Year #4 of the rebuilding in Red Deer is the most ambitious yet, as the team cleaned house in the offseason - with the end result being a roster that features only 7 players who spent all of last year in the WHL. Added into the offseason changes is the departure of coach/GM Brent Sutter; his replacement behind the bench is brother Brian and while it is often said that all the Sutters are cut from the same cloth, Brian still has to prove he can fill his little brother's sizeable shoes in the WHL. With so few vets, Sutter will have his work cut out for him with this young bunch. Up front only Brandon Sutter is a proven scorer at the WHL level; the team has no overagers right now and are obviously hoping for the return of one or more of Kirill Starkov, Brett Sutter, and J.D. Watt to help fill the scoring roles. If one or more of those guys does return, it obviously will be a big help but there are no certainties with any of them. Without any of those guys back, scoring is going to be a big problem. The defence has basically one vet (Egener) and another guy with half a year's experience (Morin) and then five rookies. They have high hopes for some of these rookies, but lack of experience can't help but be an issue here. At least there are two veteran goaltenders standing behind the young defence, but Reimer and Clark are going to have to be sharp every night.
Prediction: This many new faces = some long nights. 5th in the division but they might be closer to Edmonton than they'd like. 10th or so in the conference.
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Edmonton Oil Kings:
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Overagers:
In: Alex Archibald (G), Michael Hengen (D), Karey Pieper (F), Bretton Stamler (D), Matt Swaby (D)
Out: - none -
Departed Players:
- none - (expansion team)
Projected Returnees:
Forwards:
Brett Breitkreuz (F-89) (Reg: 58-8-6-14-67) - stats with Kelowna
Brenden Dowd (F-88) (Reg: 47-5-10-15-24; Plf: 3-0-0-0-0) - stats with Kamloops
Robin Figren (F-88) (Reg: 62-10-17-27-54; Plf: 18-4-4-8-18) - stats with Calgary
Brandon Lockerby (F-88) (Reg: 40-1-8-9-16) - stats with Brandon
Karey Pieper (F-87) (Reg: 63-4-5-9-101; Plf: 7-2-3-5-13) - stats with Red Deer
Scott Skrudland (F-88) (Reg: 23-0-0-0-47) - stats with Kamloops and Saskatoon
J.P. Szaszkiewicz (F-88) (Reg: 63-8-8-16-44; Plf: 6-0-0-0-10) - stats with Spokane
Defence:
Karl Benke (D-88) (12-0-0-0-35) - stats with Swift Current
Cameron Cepek (D-88) (Reg: 49-1-8-9-87) - stats with Portland
Michael Hengen (D-87) (Reg: 65-8-25-33-66) - stats with Calgary & Moose Jaw
Lance Redden (D-89) (Reg: 52-2-7-9-86; Plf: 1-0-0-0-0) - stats with Prince George
Bretton Stamler (D-87) (Reg: 72-8-24-32-135; Plf: 11-0-1-1-14) - stats with Seattle
Matt Swaby (D-87) (Reg: 62-2-18-20-90; Plf: 6-0-3-3-8) - stats with Tri-City
Goaltenders:
Alex Archibald (G-87) (Reg: 34gp, 8-15-4, 3.71gaa, .880sv%; Plf: 5gp, 1-4, 3.38gaa, .908sv%) - stats with Chilliwack
Dalyn Flette (G-90) (Reg: 18gp, 5-5-3, 3.01gaa, .868sv%) - stats with Kamloops
Rookies:
Braeden Adamyk (F-90)
Clayton Cumiskey (F-90)
Brent Henke (F-90)
Tyler Hlookoff (D-90) (Reg: 9-0-1-1-6) - stats with Everett
Craig McCallum (F-89)
Shayne Neigum (F-90) (Reg: 4-0-0-0-0) - stats with Medicine Hat
Drew Nichol (D-89)
Brent Raedeke (F-90)
Tomas Vincour (F-90) - new import
Prognosis: Surprisingly for an expansion team, there are actually things to like about this roster. There are a few players up front who should be able to put the puck in the net, such as imports Tomas Vincour and Robin Figren, and rookie Craig McCallum. Things kind of thin out after that but there's several quality veterans providing some versatility, such as Szaszkiewicz, Breitkreuz, Dowd, and Pieper. Those kind of guys might not score a lot of goals but they can do a little bit of everything, providing depth there. This is a team that is really going to struggle to score goals when all is said and done though. Fortunately, the defence looks strong with four 150+ game veterans who all bring various strengths to the team. And in net there's two WHL vets in Archibald and Flette. Archibald was the #1 last year for Chilliwack so he is experienced in backstopping an expansion team and the Oil Kings should be fine in that area. Overall they aren't going to be terrible, but is it enough to avoid the basement? Especially when the temptation to trade some of those vets - particularly on the blueline - for younger prospects will be strong, and such moves could spell a long post-deadline second half to the season.
Prediction: predictions for expansion teams are so stereotypically easy: last place. Recent WHL expansions have not held true to that mould though, with Everett and Chilliwack making the postseason in their first years. I think there is a chance that the Oil Kings will not be last in the Central, but they will not make the playoffs. To do that they would have to be better than four other teams in the Eastern conference and I just can't see it. 6th in the Central, 12th in the conference.
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