Stat Stuff

Didn't get to do as much as I'd like here, but here's some random and probably not all that interesting stats from the WHL this year....

Average attendance so far this year:

Team	Games	Avg Att.
Calgary	11	6674
Vancouver	7	6545
Kelowna	7	6105
Spokane	7	6014
Everett	7	5741
Red Deer	10	5372
Regina	10	4594
Edmonton	11	4363
Tri-City	5	4221
Kamloops	10	4169
Seattle	3	4110
Saskatoon	8	4084
Medicine Hat	8	4006
Lethbridge	10	3926
Brandon	8	3926
Chilliwack	9	3716
Prince George	6	2911
Portland	5	2659
Kootenay	11	2644
Moose Jaw	7	2390
Swift Current	9	2248
Prince Albert	9	2118

Fighting major leaders:

Player	Team	# Fights
Tyler Halliday	Prince George	6
John Stampohar	Medicine Hat	6
Devon LeBlanc	Seattle	6
Partik Bhungal	Chilliwack	6
Brayden McNabb	Kootenay	5
Ian Schultz	Calgary	5
Cody Esposito	Red Deer	5
Scott Ramsay	Chilliwack	5
Rigby Burgart	Calgary	5
Jesse Pearson	Edmonton	5

PIM leaders when you count misconducts: (the official WHL totals don't include misconducts, rendering their historical records in this category useless)

Player	Team	PIM
Partik Bhungal	Chilliwack	78
Matt Tassone	Swift Current	75
Devon LeBlanc	Seattle	68
Ryan Kerr	Portland	66
Lucas Bloodoff	Kelowna	62
Dustin Donaghy	Spokane	61
Garrett Mitchell	Regina	60

Ever wonder how many times a player's penalties have put his team shorthanded? Here's the leaders at that this year, along with the number of goals that were scored against their team on those powerplays:

Player	Team	# PPs	# Goals
Ian Schultz	Calgary	14	1
Thomas Frazee	Moose Jaw	14	5
Evander Kane	Vancouver	13	3
Matt Meropoulis	Chilliwack	13	3
Colten Teubert	Regina	12	1
Tyler Schmidt	Tri-City	12	1
Ryan Funk	Saskatoon	12	1
Jordan Rowley	Kamloops	12	5
Ryley Grantham	Moose Jaw	11	0
Tyler Myers	Kelowna	11	3
Cass Mappin	Red Deer	11	1
Milan Kytnar	Saskatoon	11	1

Dowzak back

As per Regan Bartel's blog, the New York Rangers are returning overage defenceman Tysen Dowzak to the Kelowna Rockets from their AHL affiliate.

He ain't Luke Schenn but you can bet the Rockets are pleased as punch to have Dowzak back in their lineup and taking some of the minutes off the shoulders of the team's younger defencemen.

Thursday notes

More Portland news tops the list today. Jason Vondersmith of the Portland Tribune has a very good story in today's paper featuring an interview with new owner Bill Gallacher and a look at the team's lease issues, among other things.

One quote I found very interesting was that the team could have been given Memorial Coliseum for free last year and still would have lost money. If that's not very telling about how good of a businessman previous owner Jim Goldsmith must be, then I don't know what is. He ran the team such that even completely removing one of the biggest single expenses from the books couldn't make the team turn a profit.....and this is the guy who ranted for two years about the team's lease, even calling the people who hold the lease "pigs".

From the on-ice side of things, three new "old" faces at Portland's first practice under new coach Mike Johnston yesterday, according to Andy Kemper. Defenceman Brock Cornish and forward Chris Francis, who both left the team earlier this month, are back and they were joined by forward Taylor Jordan, who played for the Hawks in 06-07 but went home early last season. So, that's good news for Hawks fans already, that some disgruntled players are now willing to rejoin the fold. I wonder if Johnston has phone numbers for Bo Montgomery and Tyler Swystun....

To other WHL news; hot on the heels of the Rockets' Luke Schenn playing his 10th game of the Maple Leafs' NHL season last night comes the news that Lethbridge's Luca Sbisa will play his 10th game for Philadelphia tonight and that the Flyers will not be sending him back to the WHL. Decision time is coming up pretty quick for Oscar Moller of Chilliwack (with the L.A. Kings, game #10 is Saturday), and Colton Gillies of the Blades (with Minnesota, game #10 is next Tuesday). For the Rebels' Brandon Sutter, with Carolina, game #10 is up in the air since he is currently injured and not likely to play anytime soon.

Lastly, apparently my Winter Hawks joke yesterday so upset at least one Portland fan enough that he felt it necessary to leave a comment calling me a child molester. I think most regular readers of this blog probably understood it to be more of a crack at the team's previous ownership/management who ran the team into the ground, and not at the players or the fans, who I always have 100% supported. I'm not a Portland fan but I'm as happy as anyone who is to see new faces taking over the team because the league needs 22 strong members, and loyal Hawks fans deserve it after 33 years of supporting their team. I just want to emphasize that I am in no way making fun of the fans, players, team employees, etc.....just the idiots who ran the team the last few years. Sorry if anyone took it the wrong way.

So.....child molester? Sigh.

I'm going to have some fun with useless stats later today....just gotta update the database first.

Minor trade

Minor trade today between Calgary and Tri-City.....the Hitmen send 19 year old defenceman Scott Maetche to the Americans for a conditional 2009 7th round bantam pick. The condition is probably that Maetche still be in the WHL past the January 10 roster deadline, or some such date.

Maetche made the Hitmen this year on a tryout after spending 06-07 with Chilliwack but being cut by the Bruins early in 07-08. 6th/7th defenceman at best at this level probably. Not a bad deal for both teams as Tri-City gets a guy who adds some depth to their blueline and the Hitmen get a draft pick for a surplus player who cost them nothing.

Wednesday notes

Q: What's red, white & black and lives in the basement?
A: The Portland Winter Hawks!

Funny, eh....but it's a new regime in Portland now and they're going to change that. It's not going to happen overnight, and these are the same kind of things everyone says when they take over a team in a situation like Portland's, but at least the guys coming in do to the job have heavyweight resumes.

One thing I gotta mention though, I've seen in travels around the internet that some Portland fans apparently expect to see a dozen or more of the current players traded or released in short order. Come on folks, that's not going to happen. Sure, there might be two or three guys who are traded or let go in the next month or so, and maybe some more deals around the trade deadline after Johnston has been in charge for a couple months, but they're not going to dump half the team right away. For starters, who are they going to bring in to replace anyone they cut? If Portland's protected list was so strong that they had guys on it who could play in the WHL right now, those guys would probably be wearing Hawks uniforms right now. The new scouting team needs time to restock the cupboard, and it's not like there's a dozen WHL-calibre players laying around in midget and Jr A, free for the taking. Most WHL-calibre players who aren't already in the WHL are currently the property of other WHL teams.

In other WHL news, it looks like Torrie Jung may be just what the doctor ordered for the Edmonton Oil Kings. He shut out the Kootenay Ice last night and is now 2-0-0-1 in three games for Edmonton (all against opponents in the top eight overall, and two of them on the road), with a 1.62 GAA and a .947 sv%. He probably can't keep up that pace but those are amazing numbers nonetheless.

As reported by Gregg, the Warriors and Bruins may have to re-work their trade from a few weeks back which saw the Warriors send overagers Brett Ward and Evan Fuller to the Bruins for Brayden Metz and two draft picks. Turns out Fuller reported to Chilliwack with a bad groin and has now decided to retire from hockey as a result. If Fuller reported injured, then the Bruins might have a case against the Warriors for additional compensation. Perhaps the Warriors can just return one or both of the draft picks. Either way, the Bruins have room for an overager again now.

Sale official / minor trade

A minor trade this morning, Brandon sending 18 year old defenceman Alexander Grill-Donovan (who they sent home last week) to Chilliwack for a conditional 2010 6th round pick. No doubt the pick is conditional on Grill-Donovan sticking in the WHL past a certain date.

The real big news is that the sale of the Winter Hawks is official today, and the expected purge has taken place. Mike Johnston is the new head coach & General Manager, which means Rich Kromm and Ken Hodge are out. Kromm has been offered another, unspecified, position within the organization. Nothing about Hodge. Assistant coach Brian Pellerin and the previously-mentioned Innes Mackie as trainer are also gone. Travis Green has been hired as the new assistant coach and assistant G.M., and Rich Campbell is the new trainer.

This has to be a very stressful time for the players on that team, as Johnston will no doubt have his own ideas about what the roster should look like, so we could see some trades or releases coming up in the next few weeks.

Axe starts falling in Portland

According to Gregg Drinnan, the first casualty of the new regime in Portland has occurred, and it's a big one - trainer Innes Mackie, one of the original 33-year employees of the team - got the first pink slip.

The only more significant name they could have chosen to be the first one to go would have been Ken Hodge himself. If this doesn't scream "cleaning house" from the rooftops, then I don't know what does.

Monday notes

Not much to report in the WHL from the weekend apart from Rich Kromm and Ken Hodge probably having overseen their last Portland game in the 6-2 loss to Swift Current on Saturday. The Hawks do not play again until Friday and the sale of the team is expected to have closed by then, which means the new guys will probably be in charge for that game.

That game is on Halloween too.....how fitting as the new group tries to exorcise the demons that have plagued the team the last three years.

One other junior hockey note, the 2011 World Juniors have been awarded to Buffalo. This basically means four straight years of home ice advantage for Canada, since the 2009, 2010, and 2012 tournaments are IN Canada, and Buffalo is so close to the border that Canadian fans can almost walk there.

To a couple things in the NHL now....first, the hit on Carolina's Brandon Sutter has Hurricanes G.M. Jim Rutherford in a tizzy. I respect Rutherford's concern over hits to the head, but in this case at least he really should shut up with this "the league should quit saying it's concerned about hits to the head" nonsense. That was a clean hit. Weight is three or four inches shorter than Sutter and if Sutter had stood up straight and respected the oncoming opponent instead of trying for the cutesy poke-the-puck-ahead-for-a-breakaway move, there is no way Weight's shoulder could have reached Sutter's head without Weight standing on a stool. I guess Rutherford thinks Weight should have let Sutter go in for the breakaway instead of hitting him.

I'm 100% behind the league coming down like a ton of bricks on guys who intentionally and unnecessarily target opponents' heads. If the guy is in a vulnerable position and you have a 2nd option to make the play, you should do that instead of hitting someone who can get badly hurt as a result. But sometimes a clean hit is the only good option and when that happens, if the opponent gets hurt, that's hockey. Leave the game alone.

The same can be said for Bob Gainey's harebrained idea to make it illegal for players to block shots unless they keep at least one skate on the ice. Only the G.M. of a team with a roster full of Euro-pansies would think this was a good idea. Seriously....where did this idea come from? Who actually complains about guys blocking shots? It's a great part of the game, watching guys put their bodies in front of 90-100mph slapshots. Gainey was one of the best defensive forwards the sport has ever seen and he really should appreciate this skill more than he obviously does.

Spence to OHL

Former Hitmen goaltender Dan Spence, who couldn't find work as an overage goalie in the WHL, has landed in the OHL with the Sarnia Sting.

The Sting (who are 5-6-0-1) released their current overage goalie after picking up Spence, and their second goalie is a 16 year old, so we can assume Spence is going to be the #1 in Sarnia now.

Coaches & helmets

The debate over whether coaches should wear helmets on the ice in practice just got a big armful of fuel thrown on it. Strathmore UFA Bisons AAA midget assistant coach Ron Ebbesen fell and hit his head on the ice during a practice last week, and apparently passed away in hospital yesterday. (For WHL relevance here, amongst the players on that team are some top WHL prospects like Ty Rattie, Jason Swyripa, etc)

Thanks to a reader for pointing out this story to me.....I'm almost embarrassed to say I had not heard the story until now. Ebbesen's is not a new name to Calgary-area minor hockey followers.

So this begs the question, again: why don't coaches have to wear helmets on the ice during practices? Sure, they're not skating hard and doing the drills like the players are (not usually anyway) but accidents happen - they can lose their balance, or get accidentally hit by a player, or by a puck, or whatever. And now somebody has died....is it time for Hockey Canada to take this issue seriously and mandate that coaches wear helmets during practices? I think so.

Trade

Kind of an odd move, but Lethbridge has traded 19 year old goalie Torrie Jung to Edmonton for a 2010 6th round pick. The Canes had just acquired Jung last week from Kelowna for a 6th round pick and he had not played for the Canes yet.

Guess Lethbridge is feeling better about using Michael Tadjdeh as their backup. God knows Edmonton needed a guy like Jung though so this is a big move for them. He might not be a world-beater but he's better than what they have/had. I think this has to be the end of the line for Dalyn Flette in the WHL, as the Oil Kings will probably keep 16 year old Cam Lanigan as Jung's backup, I would think.

Pighin/Team Travel

Gregg Drinnan has more on the Evan Pighin story on his blog......sounds like Hockey Canada's decision upheld the WHL's suspension of Pighin from playing in the BCHL, but the two sides then negotiated an agreement allowing Pighin to continue playing in for Victoria. I think Darrell May and the Chilliwack Bruins may not be all that happy with what transpired since they have the league's 2nd-worst offence and could have used Pighin....but if he wasn't going to play there, he wasn't going to play there.

For my second item today, this one took some work but it answers a question I was asked a week or so back: which WHL team does the most travelling during the season? So what I did was I took each team's schedule and added up the distance they travelled to get to each game. To illustrate what I did, here's a snippet of Brandon's schedule, just picked at random. The date, the game, and how many kilometers Brandon had to travel to get there:

Sat Dec 27	Regina @ Brandon	0
Tue Dec 30	Brandon @ Lethbridge	1033
Wed Dec 31	Brandon @ Kootenay	315
Sat Jan 3	Brandon @ Regina	970
Sun Jan 4	Regina @ Brandon	378
Tue Jan 6	Brandon @ Swift Current	630
Fri Jan 9	Saskatoon @ Brandon	630
Sat Jan 10	Edmonton @ Brandon	0

ie, to get to the Lethbridge game on the 30th, they drive 1033 km from where they are on the 27th (at home), then 315 km more to Kootenay from Lethbridge for the game on the 31st. Then 970 km from Kootenay to Regina for the game on the 3rd, etc - although in that case, the total distance might actually be more because they probably go home first and then back to Regina a couple days later. But it's far too much work to try and account for all those possibilities, so I'm just basing this on the travel from a game-to-game basis.

So without any further blathering, here's the league-wide totals for the season....I've included a miles conversion as well, for American readers who are probably more comfortable working with that.

	Kms	Miles
Brandon	30170	18102
Kootenay	26562	15937
Prince George	26552	15931
Edmonton	26270	15762
Red Deer	24520	14712
Spokane	24417	14650
Kamloops	24225	14535
Prince Albert	23957	14374
Portland	23762	14257
Kelowna	23225	13935
Lethbridge	23192	13915
Tri-City	22955	13773
Swift Current	22485	13491
Moose Jaw	22417	13450
Chilliwack	22412	13447
Calgary	22325	13395
Saskatoon	21707	13024
Everett	21698	13019
Vancouver	21625	12975
Medicine Hat	21513	12908
Seattle	21293	12776
Regina	19953	11972

No surprise that Brandon - the league's easternmost team - and Prince George - the northernmost and most remote - are at or near the top of the list. Kootenay being #2 did surprise me a bit since geographically they are pretty centralized in the league, but when you think about it, they are pretty far away from even some of their divisional opponents (Kootenay to Edmonton = 708 km) who they have to visit a lot.

And Regina has the cushiest schedule....it's shorter for all the Eastern division teams this year because they don't have to make the U.S. trip (and longer for Central teams, who do) but even at that, I was surprised to see Regina does the least travelling. Guess it helps to be no more than 415 km from any of your divisional foes.

Tuesday notes

Well, I was wrong about the outcome of the Evan Pighin hearing with Hockey Canada: he has been cleared to play for Victoria of the BCHL. Hopefully we'll hear the story of how this decision was reached soon, because unless the WHL agreed at the meeting to release Pighin to the BCHL, this is a very, very bad precedent for the WHL. Players at the WHL (or any level) who sign agreements to play for a certain team or in a certain league shouldn't be free to walk away and switch teams without getting a release....it will be chaos if they are. So hopefully this decision was reached after a negotiated release of Pighin from his WHL commitment. We'll see.

In other WHL news, the Regina Pats have sent overage forward Scott Doucet home for "conduct unbecoming of the team" over the weekend. Apparently he got into a verbal dispute with the coaching staff, and his Pats career is now over. The Pats will try to trade him to another team, as he has some value. He's an excellent faceoff man and probably good for 40-50 points so there's going to be some interest out there despite this dustup with the Pats, I'm sure.

After he's gone, (and if the Pats don't get another overager back in return) I wonder if the Pats will be interested in trying to bring back Kirt Hill. Doucet beat out Hill for an overage spot on the Pats after Hill suffered a broken wrist in a fight with Doucet in the Pats' intrasquad game. Hill is currently in the USHL but maybe he'd be interested in returning to the WHL.

Monday notes

Three notes from the WHL this morning....

First, overage forward Blair Macaulay has apparently declined to join the Portland Winter Hawks, who picked him up in the overage draft last Thursday after Tri-City was forced to release him. I'm not sure why (I mean, who WOULDN'T want to play for the Hawks?) or what Macaulay's plans are (drop down to Jr A, hope the Hawks trade his rights, etc) but it's another kick in the teeth for the Portland franchise.

And on top of that, Hawks forward Chris Francis has left the team. Again, no idea why or what his plans are, but he had just one point in eight games this year so he clearly wasn't having a good season.

And the third note is that Hockey Canada has upheld the WHL's suspension of Evan Pighin, and ordered the BCHL's Victoria Grizzlies to stop using Pighin until the dispute between the two leagues can be resolved. The issue will be heard today at Hockey Canada meetings in Ottawa, after which a decision may be made which will resolve things one way or another. My gut feeling is that Pighin is going to be ordered to get his release from the WHL before he can play in the BCHL, which means he's going to have to tuck his tail between his legs and go back to Chilliwack. We'll see.

Friday notes

Couple notes from yesterday's WHL doings. First, I am surprised Kelowna did nothing and therefore still only have one overager. I wonder if they are holding out hope that they might get Tysen Dowzak back from the AHL. Either way though, look for them to be at three overagers by the trade deadline....contenders almost always have the full complement of older players. But are they contenders after all if they don't get Schenn back? I mean, they've played 11 games now and only beaten one team that had a winning record.

The Rockets did trade Torrie Jung to Lethbridge yesterday though for a 2010 6th round pick. The pick becomes a 5th rounder if Jung plays in the league as an overager in 2009-10. Interesting move by the Hurricanes, who must not be comfortable with unproven 17 year old Michael Tadjdeh as their backup goalie in a year when they're looking to win a title. Jung should definitely give the Canes a solid backup and should also push Juha Metsola for the #1 job, which is a good thing all around. Tadjdeh will probably be reassigned somewhere in Jr A and he can come back next year when Metsola will be gone.

Still surprised nobody wanted Dan Spence. He's a better goalie than the guys some teams in this league are using. But his age works against him.....that's just the way it is in junior hockey, it's not fair but it's the way it is. I heard Spence has some interest from the OHL so we'll see if he ends up there like so many former WHLers seem to when they can't find WHL jobs as overagers.

Speaking of the Hitmen, they killed 7 more powerplays last night and are now 56-for-58 on the penalty kill this season - an amazing 96.6% kill rate, considering that a good penalty kill is usually anything over 85%. No doubt that PK success is a huge part of the reason they are #1 overall right now in what was supposed to be a bit of a rebuilding year in Calgary.

And lastly today, how about the Blackhawks firing Denis Savard just four games into the season? What marketing genius said, "hey, let's fire a team legend who coached us to 40 wins last year and replace him with a guy who just got charged with DUI"?

Overage dealings

Two moves made this morning so far - Lethbridge has traded Adam Chorneyko to Saskatoon for a 5th round pick, and Brandon has traded Matt McCue to Medicine Hat for a 6th round pick.

These two moves leave all four teams with three overagers.

Calgary and Tri-City still have one O/A too many. Portland, Kamloops, Moose Jaw, and Kelowna still have room for one more each. In Kelowna's case, two more.

UPDATE: the cut-down draft is over. Portland has claimed Blair Macauley from Tri-City, and that was the only move. Nobody was claimed from the Hitmen so you can assume Dan Spence is now a free agent.

Thursday notes

Couple notes this morning....

First, I found it quite interesting the way things played out at the Memorial Cup bid presentations yesterday. Apparently Brandon presented first, and when they were done, Kelowna and Everett decided not to present their bids and instead endorsed Brandon. Which means that saying that Brandon was approved "unanimously" is a little misleading since there wasn't really a choice for anyone to make, they were the ONLY team to submit a bid and so they got the tournament by default whether they were the best bid or not. (I'm sure they were - 100% sure - but it still would have been nice for the other two cities to bid as well, just to give some options)

Portland's sale was approved but the deal has not closed yet (the actual transfer of the money, etc, etc) and so the current Hawks staff will remain in place until that happens. New owner Bill Gallacher was not available for comment yesterday, which I thought a bit odd and not a good way to start things off....why wouldn't he schedule some time to do some interviews with Portland media, etc, and start getting the word out there that things are going to change (hopefully for the better!) in the Rose City? It's free publicity.

Overage cutdown draft goes today....Brandon Calgary, Lethbridge, and Tri-City need to get one off their rosters. Contrary to reports elsewhere, Calgary did NOT release Dan Spence earlier this week, and Spence's fate will be decided today like the rest of the overagers. He is obviously going to be the odd man out in Calgary.

In Lethbridge, G.M. Roy Stasiuk says that Adam Chorneyko will be the odd man out there and that a trade will be announced today. There are two teams competing for Chorneyko's services.

No word on what's going to happen in Brandon or Kennewick....I'm pretty sure one of the defencemen (Erb/McCue) is going to be out in Brandon but the Americans could go a few different ways.

One other note, Kamloops has lost forward Devon Kalinski, who has left the team after being unhappy with his ice time and role on the team. Kalinski was acquired by the Blazers from the Hitmen last winter for Brock Nixon.

Press conference

Brandon is awarded the 2010 Memorial Cup....no surprise there.

Portland sale is approved too, according to Andy Kemper on his blog. Good news for the Hawks. Probably not so good news for Rich Kromm and Ken Hodge but this team needs to be turned around.

BoG day

Big day at WHL head offices today as the WHL's Board of Governors hold meetings today. They are expected to approve the sale of the Portland Winter Hawks to Calgary oilman Bill Gallacher, and they will also award the 2010 Memorial Cup hosting duties to Brandon. (I'm just guessing on that last one but it seems pretty likely)

Two trades yesterday, Kamloops sent 18 year old defenceman Mark Schneider to Brandon for a 2009 7th round draft pick, and Brandon sent 19 year old goalie Joe Caliguiri to Prince George for a 2009 7th round pick. Prince George then sent backup goalie Ian Curtis to the BCHL.

P.G.'s goalies are now overage Kevin Armstrong, and Caliguiri. Unless they think Caliguiri is good enough to be their starter as an overager next year, the cupboard is looking a little bare in net in Cougarland these days.

Lastly, tomorrow is overage deadline day and four teams (Brandon, Calgary, Lethbridge, and Tri-City) still have one too many on their rosters. With the G.M.'s all together in Calgary yesterday and today, don't be surprised if we see more deals today.....

Tuesday stuff

I'm back after taking the long weekend off for Canadian Thanksgiving.....apparently the WHL didn't take any time off though because there was a boatload of player moves and news while I was gone. None of this will be news to you though unless, like me, you've been in a cave for the last three days.

Bunch of players released or reassigned: overage goalie Jordan White (Portland), goalie Kyle Birch (Moose Jaw), defenceman Chris Vanduynhoven (Chilliwack), overage forward Jared Jagow (Seattle), and defenceman Brendan Stephen (Everett). Vanduynhoven might find another home in the WHL before too long....the others, I think they are done at this level and probably headed to Junior A.

Three more players gone home to await trades too - Brandon sent goalie Joe Caligiuri home, while Prince George sent home forward Dale Hunt, both to await trades. In Portland, defenceman Brock Cornish left the team by his choice, also requesting a trade. Caliguiri is just the odd man out in Brandon, with the Wheaties choosing to go with Andrew Hayes and James Priestner as their goalies. I think Caliguiri can play in this league but he might be in the same boat as ex-Rockets goalie Torrie Jung - there's not much of a market for 19 year olds who are not proven everyday #1 goalies. Hunt was the #3 overall pick in the 2005 bantam draft and has put up decent numbers, he just isn't seeing eye-to-eye with the Cougars coaching staff. Somebody will deal for him and give him another chance. Cornish wants a trade to a B.C. team....I wonder if Bruce Hamilton is listening. The Rockets need veteran defencemen badly, by their own admission.

One trade that was made over the weekend saw the Calgary Hitmen cut their overage number down to four, by sending forward Ian Duval to Moose Jaw for the rights to BCHL forward Derek Grant and a conditional 2010 3rd round draft pick. I would imagine the pick becomes Calgary's only if Grant has not reported to the Hitmen by a specific date, such as trade deadline 2010 or something like that. Grant is 18, a 6'3" forward who was Ottawa's 4th round pick in the 2008 NHL draft and is committed to Michigan State for 09-10. He's averaging about two and a half points a game in the BCHL so far this year and with that size, you would think he would be a star in the WHL as well if he came here, so this is a home run swing by the Hitmen. They do get the 3rd round pick if it doesn't work out with Grant, so overall it's a pretty decent return for Duval.

Moose Jaw still has one more overage slot open since forward Jordan Knackstedt has signed a contract with the Boston Bruins and will not be returning from the AHL.

The sale of the Portland Winter Hawks will (presumably) be approved tomorrow when the WHL's Board of Governors meet in Calgary to vote on it. The WHL is recommending that the governors approve the sale, and the league has apparently already scheduled a press conference for tomorrow afternoon to discuss the vote (read: announce the sale and introduce the new owner).

Amidst all this, you have to feel for guys like coach Rich Kromm and G.M. Ken Hodge, who are probably going to be unemployed by the end of the week, if not right away after the sale is finalized tomorrow. They are "good people" who are simply going to get the short end of the stick when the new owner exercises his right to hire his own staff. You might argue about whether the game has passed Ken Hodge by, but he has put several decades into that team and this league, and it looks like it might be about to end. A good article with he and Kromm and their assistants pondering their fates is here, and another one featuring some players discussing the effects of the ownership uncertainty on them is here. (I love the quote from Hodge, calling some other G.M.'s in the league "piranhas" who will look to fleece the new Hawks staff as soon as they take office)

And a final note today, very sad to hear about the passing of Rangers prospect Alexei Cherepanov during a Russian league game yesterday. No word on what caused his death but like a few other incidents we've seen lately, Cherepanov collapsed and died on the bench after a shift. Seems like we've had a run of these lately, starting with Jiri Fischer of the Red Wings (although fortunately Fischer didn't die!)....Sergei Zholtok, ex-WHLer Darcy Robinson, Mickey Renaud, former WHLer Darren Lefebvre (which happened during a WHL game, although Lefebvre did not die, fortunately) even former NHLer Stephane Morin if you want to go back a few more years. All heart-related, and all except Renaud happened on the ice or on the bench during a game. Why are we seeing more of this these days? Are players' hearts being stressed more than they used to, by year-round training, etc - in some players, exposing heart conditions or defects that previously might have gone unnoticed?

Roster moves

Two roster moves to mention....first, Saskatoon has given up on 2006 first round bantam pick Mitch Berg. They have released the 17 year old defenceman, pending a reassignment to the SJHL. Berg's lack of footspeed did him in at the WHL level; perhaps he could be back in another year if he shows some improvement in that area.

Second, and most significantly, Lethbridge has been given a huge gift with the return of overage forward Mitch Fadden. Fadden is a serious candidate to win the WHL scoring title unless he has missed too many games to catch the leaders already.

But the question that needs to be answered now is whether Fadden will take his run at the scoring title with Lethbridge, or somewhere else. At the end of last season, 'Canes G.M. Roy Stasiuk suggested in an interview that it might be time for Fadden to move on and make way for younger players like Carter Ashton, similar to how the 'Canes moved out Colton Yellow Horn two years ago to make room for Fadden's emergence, etc. So we'll see now whether that's still Stasiuk's plan or whether Fadden will stick around in the 'bridge. The Hurricanes now have four overagers (forward Adam Chorneyko and defencemen Ben Wright and Mitch Versteeg are the other three) so one of them has to be moved out by next Thursday for sure.

No more posts over the weekend, until Tuesday....I'm off to watch hockey and eat turkey. Might take in tonight's Lethbridge-Calgary game, should be a gooder, especially if Fadden is back.

Roster numbers

Just a little table showing some stats on the players on the current team rosters....basically total number of players on the team right now, then breakdowns by # of forwards, defensemen, and goaltenders, plus the average age at those positions and the total number of WHL games (or minutes, for goalies) played in the WHL prior to this season.

Then the 2nd table is the average age of the team as a whole, plus the number of rookies and overagers on the roster.

		Forwards			Defense			Goaltenders
	Players	#	Avg Age	Games	#	Avg Age	Games	#	Avg Age	Minutes
Brandon Wheat Kings	27	15	18.27	1144	9	18.11	759	3	18.00	7069
Calgary Hitmen	26	15	18.27	1558	8	18.13	777	3	18.33	12682
Chilliwack Bruins	25	14	17.86	827	9	18.00	736	2	18.00	2011
Edmonton Oil Kings	25	15	17.93	729	8	17.63	281	2	17.00	2220
Everett Silvertips	26	15	17.60	909	9	18.33	843	2	17.50	1204
Kamloops Blazers	24	14	17.71	1045	8	17.88	582	2	18.00	7466
Kelowna Rockets	22	14	17.86	1086	6	17.33	386	2	18.50	6520
Kootenay Ice	22	13	17.85	1123	7	18.00	662	2	17.50	1563
Lethbridge Hurricanes	24	14	18.14	1673	8	17.63	430	2	18.00	2806
Medicine Hat Tigers	25	14	18.50	1257	9	18.22	433	2	17.50	3842
Moose Jaw Warriors	24	13	18.00	1023	8	17.25	366	3	17.67	1644
Portland Winter Hawks	28	15	17.93	660	10	18.00	789	3	18.33	10775
Prince Albert Raiders	26	15	18.13	1340	9	17.67	552	2	18.50	3500
Prince George Cougars	25	15	17.93	1015	8	18.13	540	2	19.00	8002
Red Deer Rebels	24	14	17.93	1041	8	17.63	456	2	18.00	3528
Regina Pats	25	15	17.93	1307	7	17.86	718	3	18.00	9709
Saskatoon Blades	25	15	17.73	989	8	18.25	761	2	18.00	6416
Seattle Thunderbirds	26	16	18.38	1869	8	17.88	704	2	17.00	3470
Spokane Chiefs	25	14	18.00	1569	9	17.89	792	2	18.50	5933
Swift Current Broncos	24	14	17.71	1010	8	18.13	732	2	19.50	6850
Tri-City Americans	25	16	17.88	1398	6	18.33	701	3	17.67	7656
Vancouver Giants	24	14	17.79	776	8	18.25	1087	2	18.00	9353

	Team Totals
	Avg Age	Rookies	O/As
Brandon Wheat Kings	18.19	7	4
Calgary Hitmen	18.23	7	5
Chilliwack Bruins	17.92	10	3
Edmonton Oil Kings	17.76	11	3
Everett Silvertips	17.85	13	3
Kamloops Blazers	17.79	10	2
Kelowna Rockets	17.77	7	1
Kootenay Ice	17.86	9	3
Lethbridge Hurricanes	17.96	7	4
Medicine Hat Tigers	18.32	8	2
Moose Jaw Warriors	17.71	9	1
Portland Winter Hawks	18.00	11	3
Prince Albert Raiders	18.00	7	3
Prince George Cougars	18.08	7	3
Red Deer Rebels	17.83	9	3
Regina Pats	17.92	9	3
Saskatoon Blades	17.92	9	2
Seattle Thunderbirds	18.12	6	4
Spokane Chiefs	18.00	9	3
Swift Current Broncos	18.00	8	3
Tri-City Americans	17.96	8	4
Vancouver Giants	17.96	8	3

All about the D

Another hit to the Rockets blueline yesterday....as if losing Luke Schenn to the NHL (maybe permanently, maybe not) already wasn't enough, the Rockets yesterday found out that potential overage defenceman Tysen Dowzak has signed a pro contract with the New York Rangers and is starting the season with their AHL club in Hartford.

Suddenly a Rockets blueline that looked like it could have been one of the best the WHL has seen in a while - Schenn, Myers, Dowzak, Barrie, Bowman- looks a little more ordinary. Still good, mind you, but you can't take veteran guys like Schenn and Dowzak off a team and not have them feel it. That's 400 games of WHL experience missing from Kelowna's lineup there.

Kelowna does have two open overage spots if Dowzak doesn't return, but there's not a lot of help available on the blueline amongst overagers - to an outside observer anyway. Brandon has the only 20 year old d-man definitely available, as they will likely be parting with either Matt McCue or Chad Erb by next Thursday. Calgary might have Keith Seabrook available, depending on whether they want to keep him or forward Ian Duval. Not a sure thing there though. Lethbridge might have Mitch Versteeg available IF they get Mitch Fadden back from the AHL. Swift Current might have Spencer McAvoy or Jesse Dudas available, but it won't be until Dudas is healthy again, which might be another month or more yet. It's a tough year to be trying to add overage d-men.

Oh, and one other defence note - Tyler Kieffer still has not reported to the Tigers, which means so far the Tigers have given up Shayne Brown to Everett for nothing. There has to be something going on here since the Tigers were under the impression at the time of the trade that Kieffer would be reporting after a quick trip home to Minnesota to get his stuff.

Might have some stats later....we'll see how the day goes.

More overage notes

Seattle now has a surplus of overagers after Greg Scott was returned to them from the Toronto Maple Leafs organization. One of Derek LeBlanc, Chris Cloud, or Jared Jagow is going to have to be sent elsewhere now. I would think Jagow might be the odd man out there but if they're looking to trade one, then LeBlanc or Cloud would have more trade value.

Getting Scott back is a pretty big boost for the Birds, who are off to a terrible 1-5 start this season and have managed only 13 goals in 6 games. Getting back Scott, who was a point-a-game player last year and the team's 2nd leading scorer, is going to be a big help in that area.

And the more I think about it, the more I don't understand why Chilliwack traded for Evan Fuller and Brett Ward. A lot of G.M.'s use a rule of thumb that if an overager can't be your #1 goalie, top-4 defenceman, or top-6 forward, he's probably not worth keeping on the team because you can always find 16, 17, 18 year olds with the ability to be backup goalies, depth defencemen, or checking forwards, and those guys usually have future upside that 20 year olds do not. Well, I would suggest that Ward and Fuller could not meet those top-4 and top-6 criteria on many (most?) of the teams in the league. For that matter, neither could Partik Bhungal, Chilliwack's third overager. Why are they going with sub-par overagers when there's better options out there? They just gave up an 18 year old forward and two mid-round draft picks for Ward & Fuller, so it's not like those guys were dirt cheap.

Warriors/Bruins deal

The league overage picture just shifted a bit, with this trade between Moose Jaw and Chilliwack. Chilliwack sends 18 year old forward Brayden Metz and two draft picks to Moose Jaw for overage forward Evan Fuller and overage defenceman Brett Ward.

The move fills up Chilliwack's two open overage spots, while creating two open spots in the Jaw. Could Moose Jaw be making room for Jordan Knackstedt to return? Planning to acquire an overage from somebody else and needed to make room? Stay tuned, I guess....

Tuesday notes

Few notes for a Tuesday....

Another rookie import has been sent home after failing to make the grade; 18 year old Calgary forward Edgars Ulescenko has been returned to Latvia after being a healthy scratch in 6 of the Hitmen's first 8 games. Ulescenko was pointless in the two games he did play and was apparently not adjusting well to the North American game or to life on this side of the pond. The move leaves the Hitmen with only sophomore forward Bostjan Golicic for imports.

The Hitmen also reassigned 16 year old forward Cody Beach to his midget team in Kelowna, getting the Hitmen down to 26 players. Once they pare two overagers from the roster, they'll probably be close to their final roster for the season. Beach getting reassigned means there will be no Beach vs Beach matchup when the Hitmen meet the Silvertips this season. Everett's Beach was returned to them by Chicago yesterday.

With Beach coming back to Everett, there are now 6 junior-aged WHL players remaining in NHL camps, and all six of them look like they're going to be there to start the season. The six are Chilliwack forward Oscar Moller (L.A. Kings), Kelowna defenceman Luke Schenn (Toronto), Lethbridge forward Zach Boychuk (Carolina) and defenceman Luca Sbisa (Philadelphia), Red Deer forward Brandon Sutter (Carolina), and Saskatoon forward Colton Gillies (Minnesota). Gillies has apparently been told he has made the Wild for the season and won't be coming back. The rest of them, whether they come back probably depends on how they do in the first few games of the NHL season. Once they've played 10 NHL games, their contract kicks in for the full season, so once they hit that mark it's less likely they would be sent back since the NHL club would basically be losing a year of their three-year rookie deals. They CAN still be sent back after ten games (contrary to some reports out there - I can name you several players who were sent back to junior past the ten game mark) but it's probably a heckuva lot less likely.

One of the 07-08 WHLers that most observers felt was a sure bet to be in the NHL this season, won't be - at least to start the year. Washington has sent defenceman Karl Alzner to the AHL in what they say is purely a salary cap move and not based on his play. With this potentially being the last year of the CBA, there is no performance bonus cushion in this year's cap and since Alzner's rookie contract is probably loaded with performance bonuses, he probably represents a $2 or $3 million or so cap hit for the Capitals instead of the $600,000 or $700,000 he would in a normal year. (If I'm not making sense, Bob McKenzie of TSN explains it a lot better than me). Sucks for Alzner, and this is another issue that could be a factor for some of those above WHLers trying to stick in the NHL.

One minor trade in the WHL yesterday, Prince George sending 19 year old rookie forward Cody Rainaldi to Portland for future considerations. I'd guess the futures are dependant on whether Rainaldi sticks with the Hawks for a specified period of time.

Still with Portland, it's sounding like Tweedledee and Tweedledum could be in their last week of owning the Winter Hawks. WHL commish Ron Robison says he's going to recommend that the sale of the team to Calgary oilman Bill Gallacher be approved at the WHL Board of Governors meeting next Wednesday. Gallacher is expected to clean house in the hockey operations department (new coach, new G.M.) once he owns the team so these have to be tough times for Rich Kromm et al.

And lastly, I can't be the only one who, while watching Jim Vandermeer get pummeled by Steve MacIntyre on the weekend, was wondering who Donovan Rattray was cheering for....

Overage ramblings

The overage cut-down deadline is just under two weeks away now. Here's a look at which O/A's are still in play for the various teams, with their 08-09 stats (if they have some) and some empty-headed blatherings from me on each team as well.

Brandon:

Current O/As: (4)
Andrew Clark (F) - 4-3-1-4-2
Chad Erb (D) - 2-0-0-0-7
Matt Lowry (F) - 3-2-2-4-0
Matt McCue (D) - 3-0-1-1-16

Clark and Lowry are leading the Wheaties in scoring, so they're not going anywhere. Erb is out for a while after stopping a slapshot with his face but that shouldn't be a factor in the team's decision. Hard to pick between McCue and Erb but I think they'll go with Erb, so McCue will be the odd man out. One other note - McCue is -5 in three games while Erb is a +2. Not sure where McCue might end up....does Kamloops want him for muscle now that they've let Matt Wray go?


Calgary:

Current O/As: (5)
Kyle Bortis (F) - 7-4-6-10-4
Ian Duval (F) - out with mono
Carson McMillan (F) - 3-2-2-4-11
Keith Seabrook (D) - 5-0-4-4-8
Dan Spence (G) - 6gp 4w 2l 1.98gaa .933sv%

Tough decisions for the Hitmen. Bortis is 2nd in league scoring, he's not going anywhere. McMillan has been a game star in all three of his games so he is cementing a spot on this team, possible captain material too. Spence is probably gone despite his excellent numbers to start the year playing behind 2-3 rookies on defence every night. Duval vs Seabrook for the 3rd spot, this is a pretty tough call. Duval's case is hurt by being out with mono right now but he'll be back in a couple weeks so that shouldn't be a factor. I think they'll keep Seabrook and move Duval, perhaps to Chilliwack or Saskatoon, a couple teams who could use some offence. I wonder if Chilliwack is also interested in Spence....they have overage openings and Mark Friesen hasn't been up to standards so far this year.


Chilliwack:

Current O/As: (1)
Partik Bhungal (F) - 4-0-0-0-11

Bhungal's a decent role player, good team guy, etc, etc, but I maintain he's not a good use of an overage spot when he's a 3rd line talent at best. But he's probably not going anywhere. As for the two open spots, there's options available that would provide help in some areas that can use it. Expect to see the Bruins pick up at least one, maybe two guys. As mentioned, I think they might like Spence from Calgary but with not much of a market for him they can probably wait to the deadline when Calgary has to release him, and then have him for nothing.


Edmonton:

Current O/As: (3)
Brandon Lockerby (D) - 7-1-0-1-4
Brenden Dowd (F) - 7-4-5-9-4
Jeff Lee (F) - 7-4-3-7-6

Probably no changes coming here. The three guys they have are playing well enough.


Everett:

Current O/As: (3)
Daniel Bartek (F) - 5-1-5-6-0
Graham Potuer (D) - 5-1-1-2-12
Taylor Ellington (D) - 2-0-1-1-6

Probably no changes coming here either. Maybe they could upgrade in net from Barrie to Spence or White but probably won't, I don't think.


Kamloops:

Current O/As: (2)
Kenton Dulle (F) - 6-1-4-5-2
Scott Wasden (F) - 6-1-1-2-7

These two guys are probably sticking around but I do expect to see the Blazers add another overage to fill the empty slot. I think this team wants to make the playoffs and having three good O/As helps that goal. Maybe another veteran top-four defenceman? Or do they need scoring depth more?


Kelowna:

Current O/As: (1)
Kris Lazaruk (total) (G) - 5gp 3w 2l 3.01gaa 0.881sv%
Tysen Dowzak (D) - in AHL camp

Only one guy here now since Dowzak is at AHL camp and might not come back - although I think he probably will. Lazaruk's a keeper, and since the Rockets are contenders I would expect to see them pick up a quality forward to fill the third spot. Maybe a defenceman if Schenn doesn't come back, but more likely a forward.


Kootenay:

Current O/As: (3)
Andrew Bailey (F) - 7-1-3-4-10
Eric Frere (D) - 7-0-1-1-5
Ian Barteaux (D) - 4-1-1-2-19

Probably no changes coming here. Bailey's a good sniper and Frere/Barteaux add stability to a young blueline.


Lethbridge:

Current O/As: (3)
Adam Chorneyko (F) - 5-1-1-2-2
Ben Wright (D) - 4-1-1-2-18
Mitch Versteeg (D) - 5-1-1-2-4
Mitch Fadden (F) - in AHL camp

Probably no changes coming if Fadden doesn't return - which is IMO about a 50/50 bet. If he does come back, cue the intrigue since the Canes insinuated during the summer that he & his problems weren't wanted back that badly and would be traded if he returned. He's a potential scoring champion (if he's back soon) though so it's pretty hard to trade a guy like that. We'll see.


Medicine Hat:

Current O/As: (2)
Brennan Bosch (F) - 5-2-3-5-2
Sean Ringrose (F) - 5-0-1-1-2

Those two guys are staying provided Ringrose starts producing at some point. I think the Tigers could use another veteran for some depth though, either up front or on defence.


Moose Jaw:

Current O/As: (3)
Brett Ward (D) - 6-1-1-2-10
Evan Fuller (F) - 6-0-4-4-9
Ryley Grantham (F) - 6-2-1-3-23
Jordan Knackstedt (F) - in AHL camp

Knackstedt is the question, as he's also maybe a slightly better than 50/50 shot to return. If he doesn't come back, the Tribe might not do anything despite this being, at a glance, not a very strong group.


Portland:

Current O/As: (3)
Jordan White (G) - 3gp 1w 2l 3gaa 0.904sv%
Matt Schmermund (F) - 4-0-0-0-4
Scott Gabriel (D) - out with concussion symptoms

The Hawks are not going to keep both White and Mucha this year so one of them is going to go. Given that Mucha is probably in the WHL for another year after this year, I think they have to keep Mucha which means White is not going to be here. I'm not sure there's a big market for him either, given that not many teams want/need O/A goalies and Calgary is also shopping an O/A goalie who is better than White. Gabriel and Schmermund are probably sticking around. Look for the Hawks to fill White's spot with (my guess) a forward.


Prince Albert:

Current O/As: (3)
Justin Bernhardt (F) - 5-2-5-7-4
Matt Robertson (F) - 5-1-5-6-4
Ryan McDonald (F) - 5-2-1-3-6

No changes coming here, I don't think. This is a good group.


Current O/As: (3)
Brian Matte (F) - 4-2-3-5-2
Cameron Cepek (total) (D) - 2-1-0-1-0
Kevin Armstrong (G) - 4gp 3w 1l 2.8gaa 0.914sv%

Probably no changes coming here either.


Current O/As: (3)
Brennen Wray (F) - 6-0-4-4-11
Carter Smith (F) - 6-0-0-0-6
Luke Egener (D) - 6-0-1-1-2

The Rebels might not do anything even though this is not the best group of overagers they've ever had.


Current O/As: (3)
Michael MacAngus (F) - 5-1-3-4-4
Scott Doucet (F) - 5-3-2-5-19
Victor Bartley (D) - 5-1-3-4-11
Kirt Hill (F) - out with broken thumb

I don't think there will be any changes to MacAngus-Doucet-Bartley, so the question here is whether Hill will be healthy enough that the Pats could trade him and get something for him before the deadline. They've already removed him from their roster but are hanging onto his rights for now.


Current O/As: (2)
Colin Joe (D) - 5-0-0-0-0
Mike Reich (F) - serving suspension

I think the Blades could probably use a defenceman in that open spot....Joe and Reich aren't going anywhere.


Seattle:

Current O/As: (3)
Chris Cloud (F) - ----
Devon LeBlanc (F) - 4-2-1-3-11
Jared Jagow (F) - 4-0-0-0-2

How far can you get on three Raider rejects? Well, 0-4 is apparently the answer, so now it's two Raider rejects and one Giant reject. In all seriousness, I think this is actually a decent trio they have here now....but I wouldn't rule out more upgrades either, especially if the team doesn't start winning.


Spokane:

Current O/As: (3)
Justin McCrae (F) - 1-0-1-1-0
Seth Compton (F) - 5-1-0-1-8
Trevor Glass (D) - 2-0-1-1-2
Justin Falk (D) - at NHL camp

McCrae could be out for a while with a knee injury but there won't be any changes made to this group until/unless Falk comes back, which I think is also about 50/50. If he does, then probably Compton is going to be gone unless McCrae is out for an extended period of time.


Swift Current:

Current O/As: (3)
Keegan Dansereau (F) - 5-4-3-7-6
Spencer McAvoy (D) - 5-2-1-3-0
Travis Yonkman (G) - 3gp 2w 0l 1.89gaa .918sv%
Jesse Dudas (D) - knee injury

I would suspect that Dudas is going to get put on the 60 day injured list which will allow the Broncos to wait until he is healthy before doing anything with him. Yonkman is also currently hurt and could be out a while but he's not going anywhere. Nothing will happen here until Dudas is healthy, then the team will have to make a decision.


Tri-City:

Current O/As: (4)
Blair Macaulay (F) - 2-0-1-1-2
Drew Hoff (F) - 1-0-0-0-0
Jason Reese (F) - 3-4-1-5-0
Taylor Procyshen (F) - 3-0-3-3-2

Reese and Procyshen are keepers for sure. I think Hoff is probably the odd man out ahead of Macaulay but Hoff should be able to find a spot in the league somewhere.


Vancouver:

Current O/As: (3)
Casey Pierro-Zabotel (F) - 5-1-5-6-7
Craig Schira (D) - 5-2-3-5-4
Mike Berube (D) - 5-0-0-0-9

Probably no changes coming here....good group. I don't think they really want to have two O/A defencemen though when they're already losing Blum and Regner to the pros after this season though, so having two O/A d-men means they lose probably four of their top five defencemen, plus their #1 goalie, after this season. Could be ugly for next year. So we'll see if they stick with this or whether they swap one of Schira/Berube for a forward?