Yowza....when was the last time you saw an overage player traded for a first round bantam pick, let alone a first AND a second round pick? Well, it happened today.
Portland trades overage forward Spencer Bennett and 18 year old forward Teal Burns, plus a 2011 first round pick and a 2012 2nd round pick, to Vancouver for overage forward Craig Cunningham and a 2011 6th round pick.
So Cunningham just netted the Giants two players and two very high picks in return - and as an overager, Cunningham is definitely only a half-season player. Huge price paid by the Hawks but clearly they believe this is their year to go for it. Interesting also that they included Bennett in the deal even though they did not have to move an overager to add Cunningham. They still have an overage spot open now and can still add another overage player before the deadline.
For Vancouver, the deal recoups the first round pick they gave up to get David Musil, so they are back in the first round and they have a number of 2nd round picks in 2011 too, so this could be a draft that sets them up for years to come if they hit on all these picks.
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Thursday notes
Few things today....
First, the CHL has named the rosters of players who will play in this year's Top Prospects game in January. 13 WHLers have been named to participate; the list can be found here.
I notice that press release says the game takes place January 18-19. Apparently they have expanded the game from its usual 60 minutes and it now runs so long that, like a cricket match, it takes place over two days.
Next note; despite the WHL having a trade freeze in effect, the Oil Kings and Broncos completed a trade yesterday which saw the Oil Kings send the rights to 17 year old forward Graham Black to the Broncos for a conditional 2011 8th round bantam pick. The trade freeze is only for WHL roster players and since Black is currently playing in the Saskatchewan midget league, it is allowed to take place.
Black is actually leading the SMHL in scoring by a big margin, so perhaps the Broncos will attempt to add him to their roster after the Christmas break.
Speaking of trades, in the WHL a first round pick gets you a forward like Carter Ashton, an NHL first round pick. In the QMJHL, a first round pick gets you an undrafted forward with 40 points in three seasons. I don't pretend to be an expert on the QMJHL but to me that looks like a bad, bad trade.
Lastly, the Saskatchewan Hockey Association has finally named its team for the Canada Winter Games in February. B.C., Alberta, and Manitoba named their rosters (also chock-full of WHL prospects) previously. As I did with the other provinces, here's Saskatchewan's roster, with WHL affiliation:
G Brett Lewchuk - Spokane - 2010 5th rd
G Daniel Wapple - Moose Jaw - 2010 4th rd
D Kayle Doetzel - Red Deer - 2010 1st rd
D Tanner Faith - Kootenay - 2010 2nd rd
D Colby Harmsworth - Calgary - 2010 3rd rd
D Tyler King-Cunningham - Spokane - 2010 1st rd
D Branden Scheidl - Portland - 2010 4th rd
D Colby Williams - Regina - 2010 4th rd
F Austin Calladine - Calgary - 2010 2nd rd
F Jarrett Fontaine - Prince George - 2010 3rd rd
F Alex Forsberg - Prince George - 2010 1st rd
F Carter Hansen - Moose Jaw - 2010 1st rd
F Craig Leverton - Lethbridge - 2010 2nd rd
F Tim McGauley - Saskatoon - 2010 1st rd
F Zac MacKay - Swift Current - 2010 4th rd
F Ty McLean - Regina - 2010 5th rd
F Cory Millette - Red Deer - 2010 2nd rd
F Tyson Predinchuk - Spokane - 2010 6th rd
F Justin Spagrud - Tri City - 2010 3rd rd
F Jordan Tkatch - Prince George - 2010 2nd rd
First, the CHL has named the rosters of players who will play in this year's Top Prospects game in January. 13 WHLers have been named to participate; the list can be found here.
I notice that press release says the game takes place January 18-19. Apparently they have expanded the game from its usual 60 minutes and it now runs so long that, like a cricket match, it takes place over two days.
Next note; despite the WHL having a trade freeze in effect, the Oil Kings and Broncos completed a trade yesterday which saw the Oil Kings send the rights to 17 year old forward Graham Black to the Broncos for a conditional 2011 8th round bantam pick. The trade freeze is only for WHL roster players and since Black is currently playing in the Saskatchewan midget league, it is allowed to take place.
Black is actually leading the SMHL in scoring by a big margin, so perhaps the Broncos will attempt to add him to their roster after the Christmas break.
Speaking of trades, in the WHL a first round pick gets you a forward like Carter Ashton, an NHL first round pick. In the QMJHL, a first round pick gets you an undrafted forward with 40 points in three seasons. I don't pretend to be an expert on the QMJHL but to me that looks like a bad, bad trade.
Lastly, the Saskatchewan Hockey Association has finally named its team for the Canada Winter Games in February. B.C., Alberta, and Manitoba named their rosters (also chock-full of WHL prospects) previously. As I did with the other provinces, here's Saskatchewan's roster, with WHL affiliation:
G Brett Lewchuk - Spokane - 2010 5th rd
G Daniel Wapple - Moose Jaw - 2010 4th rd
D Kayle Doetzel - Red Deer - 2010 1st rd
D Tanner Faith - Kootenay - 2010 2nd rd
D Colby Harmsworth - Calgary - 2010 3rd rd
D Tyler King-Cunningham - Spokane - 2010 1st rd
D Branden Scheidl - Portland - 2010 4th rd
D Colby Williams - Regina - 2010 4th rd
F Austin Calladine - Calgary - 2010 2nd rd
F Jarrett Fontaine - Prince George - 2010 3rd rd
F Alex Forsberg - Prince George - 2010 1st rd
F Carter Hansen - Moose Jaw - 2010 1st rd
F Craig Leverton - Lethbridge - 2010 2nd rd
F Tim McGauley - Saskatoon - 2010 1st rd
F Zac MacKay - Swift Current - 2010 4th rd
F Ty McLean - Regina - 2010 5th rd
F Cory Millette - Red Deer - 2010 2nd rd
F Tyson Predinchuk - Spokane - 2010 6th rd
F Justin Spagrud - Tri City - 2010 3rd rd
F Jordan Tkatch - Prince George - 2010 2nd rd
Suspensions for clean hits?
Both these plays happened a short while back but I've been meaning to comment on this.....the WHL has recently suspended a couple of players for what in my opinion are clean hits.
First was a much-publicized hit by Brandon's Ryley Miller on Everett's Kellan Tochkin on December 8. You can see the video of that hit here. A less publicized hit was one by Adrian Van de Mosselaer of Edmonton on Brad Hoban of Swift Current on December 15. Video of that hit is here.
Both Miller and Van de Mosselaer got two game suspensions for those hits. I don't see why though....Miller was just a good clean open ice hit on a guy going through center ice with his head down. In Van de Mosselaer's case, watch Hoban at 1:03 - he sees the hit coming and instead of doing something about that, he turns his head and shoulders back towards the boards to look for the puck.
In both cases, if the recipients of the hits had protected themselves and kept their heads up, they probably don't get hurt on what are otherwise clean hits. Near as I can tell, the only reason anyone got suspended in either case is because somebody got hurt.....IMO that's not good enough. Clean hits are clean hits whether somebody gets hurt or not. Have we gone so far in trying to clean up dirty hits and head shots that we're now starting to take hitting out of the game altogether?
First was a much-publicized hit by Brandon's Ryley Miller on Everett's Kellan Tochkin on December 8. You can see the video of that hit here. A less publicized hit was one by Adrian Van de Mosselaer of Edmonton on Brad Hoban of Swift Current on December 15. Video of that hit is here.
Both Miller and Van de Mosselaer got two game suspensions for those hits. I don't see why though....Miller was just a good clean open ice hit on a guy going through center ice with his head down. In Van de Mosselaer's case, watch Hoban at 1:03 - he sees the hit coming and instead of doing something about that, he turns his head and shoulders back towards the boards to look for the puck.
In both cases, if the recipients of the hits had protected themselves and kept their heads up, they probably don't get hurt on what are otherwise clean hits. Near as I can tell, the only reason anyone got suspended in either case is because somebody got hurt.....IMO that's not good enough. Clean hits are clean hits whether somebody gets hurt or not. Have we gone so far in trying to clean up dirty hits and head shots that we're now starting to take hitting out of the game altogether?
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
U.S. World Junior roster set
USA Hockey made their cuts and named their final 22 man roster for the World Juniors this morning. Two WHLers - forwards Emerson Etem and Mitchell Callahan - were trying out for the team and both of them have made the cut.
The USA roster:
Goaltenders - Jack Campbell, Andy Iles
Defensemen - Brian Dumoulin, Justin Faulk, Derek Forbort, Nick Leddy, Jon Merrill, John Ramage, Patrick Wey
Forwards - Nick Bjugstad, Ryan Bourque, Chris Brown, Mitch Callahan, Charlie Coyle, Jerry D'Amigo, Emerson Etem, Chris Kreider, Jeremy Morin, Brock Nelson, Kyle Palmieri, Drew Shore, Jason Zucker
Bjugstad (Everett), Brown (Calgary), Faulk (Tri-City), Forbort (Everett), Leddy (Tri-City), Nelson (Tri-City), Shore (Chilliwack), and Zucker (Seattle) are also on the protected lists of WHL clubs. So a strong western flavour on the USA team even if only a couple are actually in the WHL.
The USA roster:
Goaltenders - Jack Campbell, Andy Iles
Defensemen - Brian Dumoulin, Justin Faulk, Derek Forbort, Nick Leddy, Jon Merrill, John Ramage, Patrick Wey
Forwards - Nick Bjugstad, Ryan Bourque, Chris Brown, Mitch Callahan, Charlie Coyle, Jerry D'Amigo, Emerson Etem, Chris Kreider, Jeremy Morin, Brock Nelson, Kyle Palmieri, Drew Shore, Jason Zucker
Bjugstad (Everett), Brown (Calgary), Faulk (Tri-City), Forbort (Everett), Leddy (Tri-City), Nelson (Tri-City), Shore (Chilliwack), and Zucker (Seattle) are also on the protected lists of WHL clubs. So a strong western flavour on the USA team even if only a couple are actually in the WHL.
Monday, December 20, 2010
B-pool World Junior results
The two "b-pool" world junior championships wrapped up on the weekend, and it was big news for a couple of WHLers who were taking part. Latvia (featuring Edmonton Oil King Kristian Pelss) won one tournament, while Denmark (with Brandon's Mark Mieritz) won the other tournament.
As a result, Latvia and Denmark have qualified for the 2012 World Juniors, which are being held in Edmonton & Calgary.
Mieritz had 3 points (2g-1a) in 5 games for the Danes. Pelss had 4 points (2g-2a) in 5 games for the Latvians.
Mieritz and Denmark finished tied for first with Slovenia but won the tournament because of head-to-head result. Slovenia featured Kelowna's Gal Koren (who had 8 points - 3g, 5a - in 5 games), and former Winterhawk Gasper Kopitar, who had 4 points - 2g, 2a - in the 5 games.
As a result, Latvia and Denmark have qualified for the 2012 World Juniors, which are being held in Edmonton & Calgary.
Mieritz had 3 points (2g-1a) in 5 games for the Danes. Pelss had 4 points (2g-2a) in 5 games for the Latvians.
Mieritz and Denmark finished tied for first with Slovenia but won the tournament because of head-to-head result. Slovenia featured Kelowna's Gal Koren (who had 8 points - 3g, 5a - in 5 games), and former Winterhawk Gasper Kopitar, who had 4 points - 2g, 2a - in the 5 games.
Friday, December 17, 2010
Friday notes
Just a couple things on my notepad today....
First, a question from a reader who is wondering if the current group of young defencemen in the WHL - specifically those eligible for the 2012 NHL draft - is the best group ever for one draft. Of course these things are impossible to measure until many years from now, but the evidence is certainly compelling that this is going to be a truly remarkable NHL draft class of blueliners from the WHL.
There are currently 14 defencemen in the WHL this year who are eligible for the 2012 NHL draft. There will be more next year of course - most 2012 draft eligible players are only 16 this year and many of those kids won't crack WHL rosters until next season, and some of those will become stars as well. But looking only at the kids who are in the league right now, it's looking like a very, very good group.
The 14 currently in the WHL, with size and current stats (GP-G-A-PTS, +/-):
Matt Dumba (Red Deer Rebels) - 6'0", 172 lb, 34-9-3-12-58, +4
Reid Gow (Spokane Chiefs) - 5'11", 182 lb, 24-2-5-7-12, +3
Brady Gaudet (Kamloops Blazers) - 5'11", 172 lb, 24-4-2-6-19, -8
Lucas Grayson (Red Deer Rebels) - 6'0", 171 lb, 19-0-1-1-41, -1
Josh Hanson (Portland Winterhawks) - 6'2", 195 lb, 22-1-0-1-8, +3
Keaton Lubin (Calgary Hitmen) - 5'11", 175 lb, 14-0-0-0-4, -5
Ryan Murray (Everett Silvertips) - 6'0", 185 lb, 33-2-11-13-27, +16
Derrick Pouliot (Portland Winterhawks) - 5'11", 170 lb, 34-4-14-18-27, +6
Griffin Reinhart (Edmonton Oil Kings) - 6'4", 202 lb, 31-4-12-16-24, +11
Morgan Rielly (Moose Jaw Warriors) - 6'0", 190 lb, 32-4-14-18-17, -1
Jaynen Rissling (Calgary Hitmen) - 6'3", 215 lb, 30-2-9-11-59, -15
Damon Severson (Kelowna Rockets) - 6'1", 175 lb, 31-4-7-11-25, +1
Dalton Thrower (Saskatoon Blades) - 5'11", 178 lb, 33-3-6-9-42, +1
Nicholas Walters (Everett Silvertips) - 6'1", 185 lb, 19-0-1-1-29, -8
Just looking at that list, I can see at least 5 players (Dumba, Murray, Pouliot, Reinhart, Rielly) who at this point are anywhere from "sure-thing" to "pretty good chance" bets at being NHL first round picks in 2012. A couple of those guys are probably even looking at possibly being top ten picks.
Three or four others on the list are a bit back of the calibre of those top five, but they all have another year and a half in the WHL to keep improving yet before the draft.
Just for comparison purposes, the number of WHL defencemen picked in the first round of recent NHL drafts:
2010: 2
2009: 1
2008: 4
2007: 6
2006: 1
2005: 0
What do you think? Could the 2012 group potentially be the WHL's best ever, both in number of high picks and in (super)star potential?
Secondly today, read this article about a minor hockey coach in Ontario who has been seriously shafted, if you ask me.
I get that the guy broke the rules and maybe could have handled things a little differently. But I don't think there's any question that morally he is completely in the right here. The punishment is grossly disproportionate to the crime - can the people in charge not see that? A few games suspension, that's fine...but this is ridiculous, especially in light of how the real perpetrator of the whole situation, the player who made the racist remarks, was suspended for only three games. His coach was given no punishment at all.
First, a question from a reader who is wondering if the current group of young defencemen in the WHL - specifically those eligible for the 2012 NHL draft - is the best group ever for one draft. Of course these things are impossible to measure until many years from now, but the evidence is certainly compelling that this is going to be a truly remarkable NHL draft class of blueliners from the WHL.
There are currently 14 defencemen in the WHL this year who are eligible for the 2012 NHL draft. There will be more next year of course - most 2012 draft eligible players are only 16 this year and many of those kids won't crack WHL rosters until next season, and some of those will become stars as well. But looking only at the kids who are in the league right now, it's looking like a very, very good group.
The 14 currently in the WHL, with size and current stats (GP-G-A-PTS, +/-):
Matt Dumba (Red Deer Rebels) - 6'0", 172 lb, 34-9-3-12-58, +4
Reid Gow (Spokane Chiefs) - 5'11", 182 lb, 24-2-5-7-12, +3
Brady Gaudet (Kamloops Blazers) - 5'11", 172 lb, 24-4-2-6-19, -8
Lucas Grayson (Red Deer Rebels) - 6'0", 171 lb, 19-0-1-1-41, -1
Josh Hanson (Portland Winterhawks) - 6'2", 195 lb, 22-1-0-1-8, +3
Keaton Lubin (Calgary Hitmen) - 5'11", 175 lb, 14-0-0-0-4, -5
Ryan Murray (Everett Silvertips) - 6'0", 185 lb, 33-2-11-13-27, +16
Derrick Pouliot (Portland Winterhawks) - 5'11", 170 lb, 34-4-14-18-27, +6
Griffin Reinhart (Edmonton Oil Kings) - 6'4", 202 lb, 31-4-12-16-24, +11
Morgan Rielly (Moose Jaw Warriors) - 6'0", 190 lb, 32-4-14-18-17, -1
Jaynen Rissling (Calgary Hitmen) - 6'3", 215 lb, 30-2-9-11-59, -15
Damon Severson (Kelowna Rockets) - 6'1", 175 lb, 31-4-7-11-25, +1
Dalton Thrower (Saskatoon Blades) - 5'11", 178 lb, 33-3-6-9-42, +1
Nicholas Walters (Everett Silvertips) - 6'1", 185 lb, 19-0-1-1-29, -8
Murray, Rissling, and Thrower are all 17 year olds this year, but are late-1993 birthdate players who aren't NHL eligible until 2012. The rest are all 16 year olds this year.
Just looking at that list, I can see at least 5 players (Dumba, Murray, Pouliot, Reinhart, Rielly) who at this point are anywhere from "sure-thing" to "pretty good chance" bets at being NHL first round picks in 2012. A couple of those guys are probably even looking at possibly being top ten picks.
Three or four others on the list are a bit back of the calibre of those top five, but they all have another year and a half in the WHL to keep improving yet before the draft.
Just for comparison purposes, the number of WHL defencemen picked in the first round of recent NHL drafts:
2010: 2
2009: 1
2008: 4
2007: 6
2006: 1
2005: 0
What do you think? Could the 2012 group potentially be the WHL's best ever, both in number of high picks and in (super)star potential?
Secondly today, read this article about a minor hockey coach in Ontario who has been seriously shafted, if you ask me.
I get that the guy broke the rules and maybe could have handled things a little differently. But I don't think there's any question that morally he is completely in the right here. The punishment is grossly disproportionate to the crime - can the people in charge not see that? A few games suspension, that's fine...but this is ridiculous, especially in light of how the real perpetrator of the whole situation, the player who made the racist remarks, was suspended for only three games. His coach was given no punishment at all.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Macs Midget tournament lineups
The Macs Midget Tournament (website here) people named their 2010 team lineup today. This is one of the top midget tournaments in the world and something that almost every midget team in western Canada looks forward to being invited to play in.
For WHL fans, the tournament (held in Calgary from December 26 through January 1 every year) is a chance to catch many future WHL stars before they crack WHL rosters, and this year's tournament looks very strong in that regard. By my count, there are 178 WHL-listed players playing in this year's tournament - including 17 of the 22 first round picks from the 2010 bantam draft. When you consider that there's only about 750 WHL-listed prospects in total (players who are not on WHL teams rosters), this tournament represents a chance to see almost 25% of those players in one setting. That's a lot of future WHLers there.
This year's tournament also features the return of some good international competition - in addition to the 22 western Canadian clubs, there are also top AAA midget teams from San Jose, North Carolina, and the Russian team Severstal HC.
The WHL-listed players in the tournament this year are:
Beardys Blackhawks:
Brett Boehm (C-94) - Everett (listed player)
Alex Forsberg (C-95) - Prince George (2010 1st rd)
Brett Lewchuk (G-95) - Spokane (2010 5th rd)
Tanner Moar (D-94) - Kelowna (2009 7th rd)
Elliott Peterson (LW-95) - Calgary (2010 11th rd)
Landon Robin (C-94) - Edmonton (2009 7th rd)
Jaryd Watson (C-95) - Kelowna (2010 9th rd)
Two other WHL-listed players from Beardys are not playing in the Macs as they are playing at the U-17 Challenge instead:
Jared Iron (C-94) - Kootenay (2009 8th rd)
Jaimen Yakubowski (LW-94) - Lethbridge (2009 4th rd)
Calgary Buffaloes:
Cameron Barnes (G-94) - Kelowna (listed player)
Morgan Klimchuk (C-95) - Regina (2010 1st rd)
Nik Kosman (D-94) - Calgary (listed player)
Jay Merkley (C-95) - Lethbridge (2010 1st rd)
Blake Orban (D-94) - Vancouver (2009 3rd rd)
Braeden Salverda (C-95) - Calgary (2010 10th rd)
Coleman Vollrath (G-95) - Chilliwack (2010 3rd rd)
Calgary Flames:
Jared Hauf (D-95) - Seattle (2010 1st rd)
Dillon Heatherington (D-95) - Swift Current (2010 1st rd)
Cole Ully (LW-95) - Kamloops (2010 2nd rd)
Jamal Watson (RW-95) - Lethbridge (2010 5th rd)
Calgary Northstars:
Riley Guenther (D-94) - Tri-City (2009 3rd rd)
Andrew Guglielmin (G-94) - Spokane (listed player)
Chad Labelle (C-95) - Medicine Hat (2010 6th rd)
Jesse Lees (D-95) - Kelowna (2010 1st rd)
Mitchell Moroz (LW-94) - Edmonton (2009 2nd rd)
Cade Owad (C-95) - Spokane (2010 7th rd)
Riley Whittingham (RW-95) - Spokane (2010 3rd rd)
Bobby Zinken (D-95) - Swift Current (2010 4th rd)
Calgary Royals:
Geoff Crisfield (D-93) - Chilliwack (listed player)
Josh Morrissey (D-95) - Prince Albert (2010 1st rd)
Bolton Pouliot (G-94) - Red Deer (2009 7th rd)
Joel Rogers (D-94) - Spokane (listed player)
Cariboo Cougars:
Josh Connolly (D-95) - Kamloops (2010 3rd rd)
Luke Gordon (C-94) - Calgary (listed player)
Raymond Grewal (D-95) - Prince George (2010 5th rd)
Brett Harris (LW-95) - Regina (2010 5th rd)
Eli Jarvis (C-95) - Prince George (2010 12th rd)
Jared Rathjen (G-94) - Chilliwack (listed player)
Brett Roulston (C-94) - Kamloops (listed player)
Chase Witala (C-95) - Prince George (2010 5th rd)
Edmonton S.S.A.C.:
Cole Benson (C-95) - Edmonton (2010 9th rd)
Dakota Conroy (LW-94) - Brandon (2009 3rd rd)
Marshall Donald (D-95) - Calgary (2010 3rd rd)
Devin McAndrews (C-95) - Medicine Hat (listed player)
Marc McCoy (C-94) - Red Deer (2009 5th rd)
Dane Phaneuf (D-94) - Prince George (2009 3rd rd)
Adam Tambellini (RW-94) - Portland (listed player)
Cole Wedman (D-94) - Spokane (2009 6th rd)
Greater Vancouver Canadians:
Anthony Ast (C-95) - Vancouver (2010 1st rd)
Arwin Atwal (D-95) - Prince Albert (2010 8th rd)
Brodie Burdeny (G-94) - Calgary (2009 4th rd)
Macoy Erkamps (D-95) - Lethbridge (2010 2nd rd)
Garrett Forster (RW-95) - Calgary (2010 9th rd)
Jason Fram (D-95) - Spokane (2010 8th rd)
Demico Hannoun (C-95) - Regina (2010 9th rd)
Tristan Jarry (G-95) - Edmonton (2010 3rd rd)
Trevor Lima (D-95) - Vancouver (2010 6th rd)
Brodyn Nielsen (C-94) - Vancouver (listed player)
Nicolas Petan (C-95) - Portland (2010 1st rd)
Carter Popoff (C-95) - Seattle (listed player)
Leduc Oil Kings:
Colten Cassidy (D-94) - Swift Current (2009 8th rd)
Hayden Dawes (RW-94) - Calgary (2009 5th rd)
Jaedon Descheneau (RW-95) - Kootenay (2010 3rd rd)
Braiden Doucette (D-95) - Moose Jaw (2010 4th rd)
Moose Jaw Generals:
Austin Daae (LW-93) - Saskatoon (listed player)
Zach Douglas (D-95) - Seattle (2010 5th rd)
Matthew Gibney (G-93) - Seattle (listed player)
Carter Hansen (D-95) - Moose Jaw (2010 1st rd)
Tyler King-Cunningham (D-95) - Spokane (2010 1st rd)
Cory Millette (RW-95) - Red Deer (2010 2nd rd)
Tyler Mueller (D-94) - Regina (2009 12th rd)
Dayton Picard (C-94) - Saskatoon (listed player)
TJ Reeve (RW-94) - Regina (listed player)
Ashton Sautner (D-94) - Edmonton (2009 8th rd)
Hunter Smith (RW-95) - Brandon (2010 9th rd)
Zach Walker (D-93) - Seattle (2008 5th rd)
Sean Whelan (D-94) - Regina (2009 11th rd)
Okanagan Rockets:
Alexander Fraser (D-95) - Kelowna (listed player)
Luke Harrison (C-95) - Chilliwack (2010 3rd rd)
Brent Lashuk (LW-94) - Kelowna (2009 4th rd)
Adam Todd (G-94) - Saskatoon (2009 4th rd)
Prince Albert Mintos:
Brennen Bosovich (LW-93) - Tri-City (listed player)
Tyson Dallman (C-93) - Tri-City (listed player)
Tad Kozun (LW-93) - Red Deer (listed player)
Taran Kozun (G-94) - Kamloops (listed player)
Sawyer Lange (D-94) - Prince Albert (2009 4th rd)
Dawson MacAuley (G-94) - Medicine Hat (2009 2nd rd)
Bryden Serafini (LW-94) - Regina (listed player)
Mike Statchuk (D-94) - Saskatoon (2009 5th rd)
Jordan Tkatch (C-95) - Prince George (2010 2nd rd)
Red Deer Rebels:
Stefan Danielson (D-95) - Swift Current (listed player)
Tanner Jailett (G-93) - Red Deer (listed player)
Joel Topping (D-95) - Lethbridge (2010 2nd rd)
Saskatoon Contacts:
Kohl Bauml (C-94) - Everett (2009 3rd rd)
Austin Calladine (C-95) - Calgary (2010 2nd rd)
Kayle Doetzel (D-95) - Red Deer (2010 1st rd)
Colby Harmsworth (D-95) - Calgary (2010 3rd rd)
Taylor Leier (RW-94) - Portland (2009 2nd rd)
Craig Leverton (C-95) - Lethbridge (2010 2nd rd)
Cody Pettapiece (D-94) - Edmonton (2009 6th rd)
Branden Scheidl (D-95) - Portland (2010 4th rd)
Mack Shields (G-95) - Calgary (2010 4th rd)
Carson Stadnyk (C-95) - Everett (2010 8th rd)
Sherwood Park Kings:
Greg Chase (C-95) - Calgary (2010 1st rd)
Adam Clark (G-93) - Moose Jaw (2008 4th rd)
Bowen Croft (RW-94) - Edmonton (2009 9th rd)
Adam DeChamplain (C-94) - Portland (2009 10th rd)
Mason Geertsen (D-95) - Edmonton (2010 1st rd)
Tyler Lewington (D-94) - Medicine Hat (listed player)
Tyler Morrison (D-95) - Vancouver (listed player)
Matt Tomkins (G-94) - Swift Current (listed player)
Mitch Wheaton (D-95) - Kelowna (2010 10th rd)
Dakota Zaharichuk (LW-94) - Medicine Hat (listed player)
South Island Thunderbirds:
Steen Cooper (C-95) - Portland (2010 4th rd)
Nolan DeJong (D-95) - Regina (2010 7th rd)
Spencer Loverock (D-95) - Portland (listed player)
Jack Palmer (C-95) - Brandon (2010 8th rd)
St. Albert Raiders:
Nelson Gadoury (C-95) - Edmonton (2010 5th rd)
Jayden Hart (C-94) - Medicine Hat (2009 3rd rd)
Wyatt Hoflin (G-95) - Kootenay (2010 2nd rd)
Tanner Kovacs (G-94) - Lethbridge (listed player)
Brett Kulak (D-94) - Vancouver (2009 9th rd)
Luke Mahura (RW-95) - Prince Albert (2010 2nd rd)
Carter Proft (C-94) - Brandon (2009 5th rd)
Carson Samoridny (RW-94) - Everett (listed player)
Ty Stanton (D-95) - Medicine Hat (2010 2nd rd)
Kaiden Tobin (D-95) - Prince Albert (2010 7th rd)
Matt Waseylenko (D-93) - Prince Albert (2008 5th rd)
Tisdale Trojans:
Sheldon Argent (C-94) - Prince Albert (listed player)
Taylor Balog (LW-94) - Lethbridge (2009 2nd rd)
JJ Coleshaw (C-94) - Edmonton (listed player)
Tanner Eberle (C-94) - Moose Jaw (2009 7th rd)
Jarrett Fontaine (C-95) - Prince George (2010 3rd rd)
Dylan Frey (RW-95) - Kamloops (2010 6th rd)
Jeff Hubic (D-94) - Kootenay (2009 4th rd)
Ty Mclean (C-95) - Regina (2010 5th rd)
Spencer Wand (D-95) - Kootenay (2010 4th rd)
UFA (Strathmore) Bisons:
Cody Brown (D-93) - Seattle (listed player)
Mason Burr (RW-94) - Red Deer (2009 2nd rd)
Connor Chartier (RW-94) - Spokane (2009 2nd rd)
Shayne Gwinner (D-94) - Moose Jaw (2009 2nd rd)
Darian Henry (D-94) - Everett (2009 7th rd)
Spencer Jensen (D-95) - Medicine Hat (2010 1st rd)
Sam Johnson (C-94) - Kootenay (listed player)
Samuel McKechnie (RW-94) - Lethbridge (2009 3rd rd)
Luke Philp (C-95) - Kootenay (2010 3rd rd)
Torrin White (RW-95) - Moose Jaw (2010 1st rd)
One other WHL-listed player from UFA is not playing in the Macs as he is playing at the U-17 Challenge instead:
Devon Fordyce (G-94) - Prince George (2009 6th rd)
Valley West Hawks:
Adam Austin (D-95) - Everett (2010 4th rd)
Kyle Becker (D-94) - Medicine Hat (2009 7th rd)
Kyle Burroughs (D-95) - Regina (2010 3rd rd)
Latrell Charleson (D-95) - Moose Jaw (2010 7th rd)
Scott Cooke (RW-94) - Vancouver (2009 5th rd)
Trevor Cox (LW-95) - Medicine Hat (listed player)
Kevan Kilistoff (LW-95) - Vancouver (2010 9th rd)
Jordan Klimek (D-95) - Tri-City (listed player)
Trent Lofthouse (LW-94) - Everett (listed player)
Steven Myland (G-94) - Kootenay (2009 10th rd)
James Neil (RW-95) - Seattle (2010 3rd rd)
Austin Vetterl (C-94) - Vancouver (listed player)
Vancouver NW Giants:
Joseph Carvalho (D-95) - Prince George (2010 4th rd)
Daniel Cotton (G-94) - Seattle (listed player)
Dexter Dancs (LW-95) - Vancouver (2010 12th rd)
Mitchell Fyffe (RW-94) - Regina (listed player)
Jackson Houck (RW-95) - Vancouver (2010 3rd rd)
Alex Kerfoot (C-94) - Seattle (2009 12th rd)
Scott Legault (G-94) - Vancouver (listed player)
Cam Marks (D-95) - Vancouver (listed player)
Bo Pellah (D-95) - Spokane (2010 6th rd)
Sam Reinhart (C-95) - Kootenay (2010 1st rd)
Winnipeg Wild:
Madison Bowey (D-95) - Kelowna (2010 2nd rd)
Travis Brown (D-94) - Moose Jaw (2009 4th rd)
Danys Chartrand (D-94) - Red Deer (listed player)
Patrick D'Amico (RW-94) - Prince George (listed player)
Kurt Keats (C-95) - Moose Jaw (2010 5th rd)
Remi Laurencelle (C-95) - Lethbridge (2010 8th rd)
Ryan McDonald (RW-94) - Everett (listed player)
Matt Miller (D-94) - Edmonton (2009 4th rd)
Cory Nygaard (G-93) - Regina (2008 6th rd)
Paul Stoykewych (D-95) - Portland (2010 2nd rd)
Spencer Tremblay (G-94) - Moose Jaw (listed player)
Two other WHL-listed players from Winnipeg are not playing in the Macs as they are playing at the U-17 Challenge instead:
Daniel Asham (C-94) - Brandon (2009 8th rd)
Justin Hamonic (D-94) - Tri-City (2009 5th rd)
Prospects in the tournament, by WHL affiliation:
Vancouver: 13
Calgary: 12
Regina: 12
Edmonton: 11
Medicine Hat: 10
Moose Jaw: 10
Spokane: 10
Lethbridge: 9
Prince George: 9
Seattle: 9
Everett: 8
Kelowna: 8
Kootenay: 8
Portland: 8
Red Deer: 8
Prince Albert: 7
Kamloops: 5
Swift Current: 5
Brandon: 4
Chilliwack: 4
Saskatoon: 4
Tri-City: 4
For WHL fans, the tournament (held in Calgary from December 26 through January 1 every year) is a chance to catch many future WHL stars before they crack WHL rosters, and this year's tournament looks very strong in that regard. By my count, there are 178 WHL-listed players playing in this year's tournament - including 17 of the 22 first round picks from the 2010 bantam draft. When you consider that there's only about 750 WHL-listed prospects in total (players who are not on WHL teams rosters), this tournament represents a chance to see almost 25% of those players in one setting. That's a lot of future WHLers there.
This year's tournament also features the return of some good international competition - in addition to the 22 western Canadian clubs, there are also top AAA midget teams from San Jose, North Carolina, and the Russian team Severstal HC.
The WHL-listed players in the tournament this year are:
Beardys Blackhawks:
Brett Boehm (C-94) - Everett (listed player)
Alex Forsberg (C-95) - Prince George (2010 1st rd)
Brett Lewchuk (G-95) - Spokane (2010 5th rd)
Tanner Moar (D-94) - Kelowna (2009 7th rd)
Elliott Peterson (LW-95) - Calgary (2010 11th rd)
Landon Robin (C-94) - Edmonton (2009 7th rd)
Jaryd Watson (C-95) - Kelowna (2010 9th rd)
Two other WHL-listed players from Beardys are not playing in the Macs as they are playing at the U-17 Challenge instead:
Jared Iron (C-94) - Kootenay (2009 8th rd)
Jaimen Yakubowski (LW-94) - Lethbridge (2009 4th rd)
Calgary Buffaloes:
Cameron Barnes (G-94) - Kelowna (listed player)
Morgan Klimchuk (C-95) - Regina (2010 1st rd)
Nik Kosman (D-94) - Calgary (listed player)
Jay Merkley (C-95) - Lethbridge (2010 1st rd)
Blake Orban (D-94) - Vancouver (2009 3rd rd)
Braeden Salverda (C-95) - Calgary (2010 10th rd)
Coleman Vollrath (G-95) - Chilliwack (2010 3rd rd)
Calgary Flames:
Jared Hauf (D-95) - Seattle (2010 1st rd)
Dillon Heatherington (D-95) - Swift Current (2010 1st rd)
Cole Ully (LW-95) - Kamloops (2010 2nd rd)
Jamal Watson (RW-95) - Lethbridge (2010 5th rd)
Calgary Northstars:
Riley Guenther (D-94) - Tri-City (2009 3rd rd)
Andrew Guglielmin (G-94) - Spokane (listed player)
Chad Labelle (C-95) - Medicine Hat (2010 6th rd)
Jesse Lees (D-95) - Kelowna (2010 1st rd)
Mitchell Moroz (LW-94) - Edmonton (2009 2nd rd)
Cade Owad (C-95) - Spokane (2010 7th rd)
Riley Whittingham (RW-95) - Spokane (2010 3rd rd)
Bobby Zinken (D-95) - Swift Current (2010 4th rd)
Calgary Royals:
Geoff Crisfield (D-93) - Chilliwack (listed player)
Josh Morrissey (D-95) - Prince Albert (2010 1st rd)
Bolton Pouliot (G-94) - Red Deer (2009 7th rd)
Joel Rogers (D-94) - Spokane (listed player)
Cariboo Cougars:
Josh Connolly (D-95) - Kamloops (2010 3rd rd)
Luke Gordon (C-94) - Calgary (listed player)
Raymond Grewal (D-95) - Prince George (2010 5th rd)
Brett Harris (LW-95) - Regina (2010 5th rd)
Eli Jarvis (C-95) - Prince George (2010 12th rd)
Jared Rathjen (G-94) - Chilliwack (listed player)
Brett Roulston (C-94) - Kamloops (listed player)
Chase Witala (C-95) - Prince George (2010 5th rd)
Edmonton S.S.A.C.:
Cole Benson (C-95) - Edmonton (2010 9th rd)
Dakota Conroy (LW-94) - Brandon (2009 3rd rd)
Marshall Donald (D-95) - Calgary (2010 3rd rd)
Devin McAndrews (C-95) - Medicine Hat (listed player)
Marc McCoy (C-94) - Red Deer (2009 5th rd)
Dane Phaneuf (D-94) - Prince George (2009 3rd rd)
Adam Tambellini (RW-94) - Portland (listed player)
Cole Wedman (D-94) - Spokane (2009 6th rd)
Greater Vancouver Canadians:
Anthony Ast (C-95) - Vancouver (2010 1st rd)
Arwin Atwal (D-95) - Prince Albert (2010 8th rd)
Brodie Burdeny (G-94) - Calgary (2009 4th rd)
Macoy Erkamps (D-95) - Lethbridge (2010 2nd rd)
Garrett Forster (RW-95) - Calgary (2010 9th rd)
Jason Fram (D-95) - Spokane (2010 8th rd)
Demico Hannoun (C-95) - Regina (2010 9th rd)
Tristan Jarry (G-95) - Edmonton (2010 3rd rd)
Trevor Lima (D-95) - Vancouver (2010 6th rd)
Brodyn Nielsen (C-94) - Vancouver (listed player)
Nicolas Petan (C-95) - Portland (2010 1st rd)
Carter Popoff (C-95) - Seattle (listed player)
Leduc Oil Kings:
Colten Cassidy (D-94) - Swift Current (2009 8th rd)
Hayden Dawes (RW-94) - Calgary (2009 5th rd)
Jaedon Descheneau (RW-95) - Kootenay (2010 3rd rd)
Braiden Doucette (D-95) - Moose Jaw (2010 4th rd)
Moose Jaw Generals:
Austin Daae (LW-93) - Saskatoon (listed player)
Zach Douglas (D-95) - Seattle (2010 5th rd)
Matthew Gibney (G-93) - Seattle (listed player)
Carter Hansen (D-95) - Moose Jaw (2010 1st rd)
Tyler King-Cunningham (D-95) - Spokane (2010 1st rd)
Cory Millette (RW-95) - Red Deer (2010 2nd rd)
Tyler Mueller (D-94) - Regina (2009 12th rd)
Dayton Picard (C-94) - Saskatoon (listed player)
TJ Reeve (RW-94) - Regina (listed player)
Ashton Sautner (D-94) - Edmonton (2009 8th rd)
Hunter Smith (RW-95) - Brandon (2010 9th rd)
Zach Walker (D-93) - Seattle (2008 5th rd)
Sean Whelan (D-94) - Regina (2009 11th rd)
Okanagan Rockets:
Alexander Fraser (D-95) - Kelowna (listed player)
Luke Harrison (C-95) - Chilliwack (2010 3rd rd)
Brent Lashuk (LW-94) - Kelowna (2009 4th rd)
Adam Todd (G-94) - Saskatoon (2009 4th rd)
Prince Albert Mintos:
Brennen Bosovich (LW-93) - Tri-City (listed player)
Tyson Dallman (C-93) - Tri-City (listed player)
Tad Kozun (LW-93) - Red Deer (listed player)
Taran Kozun (G-94) - Kamloops (listed player)
Sawyer Lange (D-94) - Prince Albert (2009 4th rd)
Dawson MacAuley (G-94) - Medicine Hat (2009 2nd rd)
Bryden Serafini (LW-94) - Regina (listed player)
Mike Statchuk (D-94) - Saskatoon (2009 5th rd)
Jordan Tkatch (C-95) - Prince George (2010 2nd rd)
Red Deer Rebels:
Stefan Danielson (D-95) - Swift Current (listed player)
Tanner Jailett (G-93) - Red Deer (listed player)
Joel Topping (D-95) - Lethbridge (2010 2nd rd)
Saskatoon Contacts:
Kohl Bauml (C-94) - Everett (2009 3rd rd)
Austin Calladine (C-95) - Calgary (2010 2nd rd)
Kayle Doetzel (D-95) - Red Deer (2010 1st rd)
Colby Harmsworth (D-95) - Calgary (2010 3rd rd)
Taylor Leier (RW-94) - Portland (2009 2nd rd)
Craig Leverton (C-95) - Lethbridge (2010 2nd rd)
Cody Pettapiece (D-94) - Edmonton (2009 6th rd)
Branden Scheidl (D-95) - Portland (2010 4th rd)
Mack Shields (G-95) - Calgary (2010 4th rd)
Carson Stadnyk (C-95) - Everett (2010 8th rd)
Sherwood Park Kings:
Greg Chase (C-95) - Calgary (2010 1st rd)
Adam Clark (G-93) - Moose Jaw (2008 4th rd)
Bowen Croft (RW-94) - Edmonton (2009 9th rd)
Adam DeChamplain (C-94) - Portland (2009 10th rd)
Mason Geertsen (D-95) - Edmonton (2010 1st rd)
Tyler Lewington (D-94) - Medicine Hat (listed player)
Tyler Morrison (D-95) - Vancouver (listed player)
Matt Tomkins (G-94) - Swift Current (listed player)
Mitch Wheaton (D-95) - Kelowna (2010 10th rd)
Dakota Zaharichuk (LW-94) - Medicine Hat (listed player)
South Island Thunderbirds:
Steen Cooper (C-95) - Portland (2010 4th rd)
Nolan DeJong (D-95) - Regina (2010 7th rd)
Spencer Loverock (D-95) - Portland (listed player)
Jack Palmer (C-95) - Brandon (2010 8th rd)
St. Albert Raiders:
Nelson Gadoury (C-95) - Edmonton (2010 5th rd)
Jayden Hart (C-94) - Medicine Hat (2009 3rd rd)
Wyatt Hoflin (G-95) - Kootenay (2010 2nd rd)
Tanner Kovacs (G-94) - Lethbridge (listed player)
Brett Kulak (D-94) - Vancouver (2009 9th rd)
Luke Mahura (RW-95) - Prince Albert (2010 2nd rd)
Carter Proft (C-94) - Brandon (2009 5th rd)
Carson Samoridny (RW-94) - Everett (listed player)
Ty Stanton (D-95) - Medicine Hat (2010 2nd rd)
Kaiden Tobin (D-95) - Prince Albert (2010 7th rd)
Matt Waseylenko (D-93) - Prince Albert (2008 5th rd)
Tisdale Trojans:
Sheldon Argent (C-94) - Prince Albert (listed player)
Taylor Balog (LW-94) - Lethbridge (2009 2nd rd)
JJ Coleshaw (C-94) - Edmonton (listed player)
Tanner Eberle (C-94) - Moose Jaw (2009 7th rd)
Jarrett Fontaine (C-95) - Prince George (2010 3rd rd)
Dylan Frey (RW-95) - Kamloops (2010 6th rd)
Jeff Hubic (D-94) - Kootenay (2009 4th rd)
Ty Mclean (C-95) - Regina (2010 5th rd)
Spencer Wand (D-95) - Kootenay (2010 4th rd)
UFA (Strathmore) Bisons:
Cody Brown (D-93) - Seattle (listed player)
Mason Burr (RW-94) - Red Deer (2009 2nd rd)
Connor Chartier (RW-94) - Spokane (2009 2nd rd)
Shayne Gwinner (D-94) - Moose Jaw (2009 2nd rd)
Darian Henry (D-94) - Everett (2009 7th rd)
Spencer Jensen (D-95) - Medicine Hat (2010 1st rd)
Sam Johnson (C-94) - Kootenay (listed player)
Samuel McKechnie (RW-94) - Lethbridge (2009 3rd rd)
Luke Philp (C-95) - Kootenay (2010 3rd rd)
Torrin White (RW-95) - Moose Jaw (2010 1st rd)
One other WHL-listed player from UFA is not playing in the Macs as he is playing at the U-17 Challenge instead:
Devon Fordyce (G-94) - Prince George (2009 6th rd)
Valley West Hawks:
Adam Austin (D-95) - Everett (2010 4th rd)
Kyle Becker (D-94) - Medicine Hat (2009 7th rd)
Kyle Burroughs (D-95) - Regina (2010 3rd rd)
Latrell Charleson (D-95) - Moose Jaw (2010 7th rd)
Scott Cooke (RW-94) - Vancouver (2009 5th rd)
Trevor Cox (LW-95) - Medicine Hat (listed player)
Kevan Kilistoff (LW-95) - Vancouver (2010 9th rd)
Jordan Klimek (D-95) - Tri-City (listed player)
Trent Lofthouse (LW-94) - Everett (listed player)
Steven Myland (G-94) - Kootenay (2009 10th rd)
James Neil (RW-95) - Seattle (2010 3rd rd)
Austin Vetterl (C-94) - Vancouver (listed player)
Vancouver NW Giants:
Joseph Carvalho (D-95) - Prince George (2010 4th rd)
Daniel Cotton (G-94) - Seattle (listed player)
Dexter Dancs (LW-95) - Vancouver (2010 12th rd)
Mitchell Fyffe (RW-94) - Regina (listed player)
Jackson Houck (RW-95) - Vancouver (2010 3rd rd)
Alex Kerfoot (C-94) - Seattle (2009 12th rd)
Scott Legault (G-94) - Vancouver (listed player)
Cam Marks (D-95) - Vancouver (listed player)
Bo Pellah (D-95) - Spokane (2010 6th rd)
Sam Reinhart (C-95) - Kootenay (2010 1st rd)
Winnipeg Wild:
Madison Bowey (D-95) - Kelowna (2010 2nd rd)
Travis Brown (D-94) - Moose Jaw (2009 4th rd)
Danys Chartrand (D-94) - Red Deer (listed player)
Patrick D'Amico (RW-94) - Prince George (listed player)
Kurt Keats (C-95) - Moose Jaw (2010 5th rd)
Remi Laurencelle (C-95) - Lethbridge (2010 8th rd)
Ryan McDonald (RW-94) - Everett (listed player)
Matt Miller (D-94) - Edmonton (2009 4th rd)
Cory Nygaard (G-93) - Regina (2008 6th rd)
Paul Stoykewych (D-95) - Portland (2010 2nd rd)
Spencer Tremblay (G-94) - Moose Jaw (listed player)
Two other WHL-listed players from Winnipeg are not playing in the Macs as they are playing at the U-17 Challenge instead:
Daniel Asham (C-94) - Brandon (2009 8th rd)
Justin Hamonic (D-94) - Tri-City (2009 5th rd)
Prospects in the tournament, by WHL affiliation:
Vancouver: 13
Calgary: 12
Regina: 12
Edmonton: 11
Medicine Hat: 10
Moose Jaw: 10
Spokane: 10
Lethbridge: 9
Prince George: 9
Seattle: 9
Everett: 8
Kelowna: 8
Kootenay: 8
Portland: 8
Red Deer: 8
Prince Albert: 7
Kamloops: 5
Swift Current: 5
Brandon: 4
Chilliwack: 4
Saskatoon: 4
Tri-City: 4
Regina/Kamloops trade
The Blazers and Pats completed a trade last night, following the conclusion of Regina's game.
The Pats have sent overage forward Thomas Frazee to the Blazers, in exchange for overage forward Shayne Neigum, 17 year old forward Lyndon Martell, and Kamloops' 2012 3rd round bantam pick.
The deal continues the Pats' rebuild process, hot on the heels of moving out Carter Ashton last week. Frazee was 2nd on the Pats in scoring with 13 goals and 37 points, and his size and skill will be a big plus to the Blazers, who are trying to stay afloat in the ultra-competitive Western Conference.
The happiest guy in the league about these two Pats deals has to be Lethbridge G.M. Rich Preston. Lethbridge owns Regina's 2011 first round bantam pick, and as the Pats ship out their veterans and rebuild, they are going to stay at the bottom of the league. Which means that pick the Canes own could very well be a top 2 or 3 overall pick.....maybe even #1 overall.
The Pats have sent overage forward Thomas Frazee to the Blazers, in exchange for overage forward Shayne Neigum, 17 year old forward Lyndon Martell, and Kamloops' 2012 3rd round bantam pick.
The deal continues the Pats' rebuild process, hot on the heels of moving out Carter Ashton last week. Frazee was 2nd on the Pats in scoring with 13 goals and 37 points, and his size and skill will be a big plus to the Blazers, who are trying to stay afloat in the ultra-competitive Western Conference.
The happiest guy in the league about these two Pats deals has to be Lethbridge G.M. Rich Preston. Lethbridge owns Regina's 2011 first round bantam pick, and as the Pats ship out their veterans and rebuild, they are going to stay at the bottom of the league. Which means that pick the Canes own could very well be a top 2 or 3 overall pick.....maybe even #1 overall.
Final cuts made
Team Canada made their final cuts this morning and now have the 22 player roster for the World Juniors.
All 3 17 year olds at the camp are going home, including Red Deer forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Everett defenceman Ryan Murray. Two other WHLers were cut - Seattle goaltender Calvin Pickard and Edmonton defenceman Mark Pysyk.
So, there are 9 WHLers on this year's 22 player team - defencemen Tyson Barrie and Jared Cowen, and forwards Carter Ashton, Brett Connolly, Cody Eakin, Curtis Hamilton, Quintin Howden, Ryan Johansen, and Brayden Schenn. That means that of the 13 forwards on the team, 7 are from the WHL, so clearly the WHL boys are being counted on to provide a good chunk of Canada's offence.
I was really surprised to see Ryan Murray got cut - everything I heard suggested that he had a fantastic camp and even though Canada almost never takes 17 year old defencemen, he had to have come very close to making the team. At this point you'd have to figure him to be a lock to make next year's team. Pickard and Pysyk are also eligible to try again next year when they'll be 19. Lots of guys don't make this team at 18 but do make it at 19.
Nugent-Hopkins could find himself in a slightly different boat - he'll be a high NHL pick next June and if he sticks in the NHL next season, he'll never play at the WJCs. But that has happened before too - most recently with Tyler Seguin, who was cut at last year's WJC camp and is now in the NHL.
All 3 17 year olds at the camp are going home, including Red Deer forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Everett defenceman Ryan Murray. Two other WHLers were cut - Seattle goaltender Calvin Pickard and Edmonton defenceman Mark Pysyk.
So, there are 9 WHLers on this year's 22 player team - defencemen Tyson Barrie and Jared Cowen, and forwards Carter Ashton, Brett Connolly, Cody Eakin, Curtis Hamilton, Quintin Howden, Ryan Johansen, and Brayden Schenn. That means that of the 13 forwards on the team, 7 are from the WHL, so clearly the WHL boys are being counted on to provide a good chunk of Canada's offence.
I was really surprised to see Ryan Murray got cut - everything I heard suggested that he had a fantastic camp and even though Canada almost never takes 17 year old defencemen, he had to have come very close to making the team. At this point you'd have to figure him to be a lock to make next year's team. Pickard and Pysyk are also eligible to try again next year when they'll be 19. Lots of guys don't make this team at 18 but do make it at 19.
Nugent-Hopkins could find himself in a slightly different boat - he'll be a high NHL pick next June and if he sticks in the NHL next season, he'll never play at the WJCs. But that has happened before too - most recently with Tyler Seguin, who was cut at last year's WJC camp and is now in the NHL.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Draft pick charts, updated
Got an email from a reader yesterday, wondering what bantam draft picks each team has in their possession for possible trading, with the deadline approaching and whatnot.
So, based on what has been reported in trades, etc, this is what I have come up with - the number of picks in each of the first 10 rounds that each team in the league has in the 2011 and 2012 drafts.
The 2011 draft:
And the 2012 draft:
Corrections are welcome, if you have any. And if you have questions about which picks teams own and how they may have acquired/lost certain picks, just ask (either in the comments or in e-mail) and I'll give you what details I have.
I don't guarantee that this is accurate, as it is only based on reported details of trades and is no doubt missing some tranfers of "conditional" picks, etc. But it should be reasonably accurate, in the early rounds anyway.
So, based on what has been reported in trades, etc, this is what I have come up with - the number of picks in each of the first 10 rounds that each team in the league has in the 2011 and 2012 drafts.
The 2011 draft:
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | |
| Brandon | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Calgary | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Chilliwack | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Edmonton | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Everett | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Kamloops | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Kelowna | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Kootenay | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Lethbridge | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Medicine Hat | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Moose Jaw | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Portland | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Prince Albert | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Prince George | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Red Deer | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Regina | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Saskatoon | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Seattle | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Spokane | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Swift Current | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Tri-City | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Vancouver | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
And the 2012 draft:
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | |
| Brandon | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Calgary | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Chilliwack | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Edmonton | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Everett | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Kamloops | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Kelowna | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Kootenay | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Lethbridge | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Medicine Hat | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Moose Jaw | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Portland | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Prince Albert | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Prince George | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Red Deer | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Regina | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Saskatoon | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Seattle | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Spokane | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Swift Current | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Tri-City | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Vancouver | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Corrections are welcome, if you have any. And if you have questions about which picks teams own and how they may have acquired/lost certain picks, just ask (either in the comments or in e-mail) and I'll give you what details I have.
I don't guarantee that this is accurate, as it is only based on reported details of trades and is no doubt missing some tranfers of "conditional" picks, etc. But it should be reasonably accurate, in the early rounds anyway.
First cuts
Team Canada released nine players this morning, and five of them were from the WHL. Gone are WHL forwards Brad Ross, Brendan Gallagher, Linden Vey, and Ryan Howse, and defenceman Brayden McNabb.
Full cuts can be found here.
There's now 31 players remaining to compete for 22 spots, so there will be 9 more cuts made tomorrow morning after the exhibition game tonight against a Canadian university all-star team.
Of the remaining 31 players, 13 are from the WHL: goaltender Calvin Pickard, defencemen Tyson Barrie, Jared Cowen, Ryan Murray, and Mark Pysyk, and forwards Carter Ashton, Brett Connolly, Cody Eakin, Curtis Hamilton, Quintin Howden, Ryan Johansen, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and Brayden Schenn.
There are 17 forwards, 10 defencemen, and 4 goaltenders remaining in camp, so the final cuts will be two goalies, 2 or 3 defencemen, and 4 or 5 forwards - the forward/defencemen numbers depend on whether they go with 7D-13F or 8D-12F. Usually Canada goes with 7D & 13F so I would look for that to be the case again.
Full cuts can be found here.
There's now 31 players remaining to compete for 22 spots, so there will be 9 more cuts made tomorrow morning after the exhibition game tonight against a Canadian university all-star team.
Of the remaining 31 players, 13 are from the WHL: goaltender Calvin Pickard, defencemen Tyson Barrie, Jared Cowen, Ryan Murray, and Mark Pysyk, and forwards Carter Ashton, Brett Connolly, Cody Eakin, Curtis Hamilton, Quintin Howden, Ryan Johansen, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and Brayden Schenn.
There are 17 forwards, 10 defencemen, and 4 goaltenders remaining in camp, so the final cuts will be two goalies, 2 or 3 defencemen, and 4 or 5 forwards - the forward/defencemen numbers depend on whether they go with 7D-13F or 8D-12F. Usually Canada goes with 7D & 13F so I would look for that to be the case again.
As returning players, Schenn and Cowen are locks for the team and probably won't even play tonight in the exhibition game. Usually 8 or 9 "safe" players are given the final exhibition game off while the coaches analyze the remaining players.....
Friday, December 10, 2010
First blockbuster of the season is in....
The first major, major trade of the trade deadline run-up is in, and once again Carter Ashton is involved. Last year one of the first big pre-deadline deals saw him move from Lethbridge to Regina, and now he is on the move again, from Regina to Tri-City.
Ashton and a 2012 3rd round pick go from Regina to Tri-City for forwards Nils Moser and Tanner Olstad, a 2011 first round pick, and 2012 2nd and 5th round picks.
For the Ams, they just paid a big price to acquire one of the top players available and take a big step towards competing with Portland in the West.
For Regina, the deal recoups the first round pick they gave up to get Ashton and also gives them some other younger players and picks to use as building blocks.
So now that the first domino has tumbled, who's next to act? Which buyers now need to keep pace with the Ams? Who else is a seller besides Regina and (almost certainly) Calgary?
Ashton and a 2012 3rd round pick go from Regina to Tri-City for forwards Nils Moser and Tanner Olstad, a 2011 first round pick, and 2012 2nd and 5th round picks.
For the Ams, they just paid a big price to acquire one of the top players available and take a big step towards competing with Portland in the West.
For Regina, the deal recoups the first round pick they gave up to get Ashton and also gives them some other younger players and picks to use as building blocks.
So now that the first domino has tumbled, who's next to act? Which buyers now need to keep pace with the Ams? Who else is a seller besides Regina and (almost certainly) Calgary?
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Thursday notes
Trade to report today, Lethbridge has dealt 18 year old forward Mark Reners to Vancouver for a 2012 5th round bantam pick. Seems like a decent pickup for the Giants since Reners was a first round pick in 2007.
Getting a 5th round pick for Reners makes Lethbridge's 2006 trade of Colton Yellow Horn look even worse....the pick the Canes used on Reners was their principal return from Tri-City for Yellow Horn, who scored 88 goals in two seasons for the Americans. Reners didn't even make it to 88 games with the Hurricanes.
One other thing to mention today; three of the four western provinces have announced their rosters for the 2011 Canada Winter Games, which goes in February in Nova Scotia. The mens's hockey portion of the tournament is restricted to 15 year olds (born in 1995) so there is no effect on WHL rosters for this tournament, but many of the WHL's best 15 year old prospects will be taking part in the tournament. The Alberta, B.C., and Manitoba rosters, with WHL affiliations:
Alberta:
G Eric Comrie - Tri-City - 2010 1st rd
G Brett Zarowny - Prince George - 2010 3rd rd
D Braiden Doucette - Moose Jaw - 2010 4th rd
D Mason Geertsen - Edmonton - 2010 1st rd
D Jared Hauf - Seattle - 2010 1st rd
D Spencer Jensen - Medicine Hat - 2010 1st rd
D Keegan Kanzig - Chilliwack - 2010 1st rd
D Jesse Lees - Kelowna - 2010 1st rd
D Josh Morrissey - Prince Albert - 2010 1st rd
F Tyson Baillie - Kelowna - 2010 3rd rd
F Cole Benson - Edmonton - 2010 9th rd
F Greg Chase - Calgary - 2010 1st rd
F Ryan Chynoweth - Everett - 2010 2nd rd
F Jaedon Descheneau - Kootenay - 2010 3rd rd
F Nelson Gadoury - Edmonton - 2010 5th rd
F Morgan Klimchuk - Regina - 2010 1st rd
F Jay Merkley - Lethbridge - 2010 1st rd
F Luke Philp - Kootenay - 2010 3rd rd
F Cole Ully - Kamloops - 2010 2nd rd
F Torrin White - Moose Jaw - 2010 1st rd
B.C.:
G Tristan Jarry - Edmonton - 2010 3rd rd
G Jackson Whistle - Vancouver - 2010 4th rd
D Dylan Bowen - no WHL affiliation
D Kyle Burroughs - Regina - 2010 3rd rd
D Josh Connolly - Kamloops - 2010 3rd rd
D Macoy Erkamps - Lethbridge - 2010 2nd rd
D Ayrton Nikkel - Saskatoon - 2010 2nd rd
D Shea Theodore - Seattle - 2010 3rd rd
F Luke Bertolucci - Edmonton - 2010 10th rd
F Brennan Clark - Chilliwack - 2010 7th rd
F Steen Cooper - Portland - 2010 4th rd
F Brett Harris - Regina - 2010 5th rd
F Luke Harrison - Chilliwack - 2010 3rd rd
F Jackson Houck - Vancouver - 2010 3rd rd
F Curtis Lazar - Edmonton - 2010 1st rd
F Matthew Needham - Kamloops - 2010 1st rd
F Nicolas Petan - Portland - 2010 1st rd
F Brandon Potomak - Moose Jaw - 2010 2nd rd
F Sam Reinhart - Kootenay - 2010 1st rd
F Cole Sanford - Medicine Hat - 2010 6th rd
Manitoba:
G Alex Moodie - Saskatoon - 2010 5th rd
G Justin Paulic - Moose Jaw - 2010 8th rd
D Dylan Betteridge - no WHL affiliation
D Denis Bosc - Swift Current - 2010 6th rd
D Madison Bowey - Kelowna - 2010 2nd rd
D Garrett Bruce - Brandon - listed player
D Kevin Pochuk - Red Deer - 2010 5th rd
D Bradley Reichardt - Saskatoon - listed player
D Paul Stoykewych - Portland - 2010 2nd rd
F Drake Bodie - Saskatoon - 2010 7th rd
F Daylon Creasy - Calgary - 2010 5th rd
F Kurt Keats - Moose Jaw - 2010 5th rd
F Remi Laurencelle - Lethbridge - 2010 8th rd
F Taeron Lewis - Tri-City - 2010 7th rd
F Braydon MacDonald - Moose Jaw - 2010 6th rd
F Geordie Maguire - Everett - 2010 5th rd
F Jonathon Martin - Kootenay - 2010 7th rd
F Derek Mulvena - no WHL affiliation
F Christian Stockl - Saskatoon - 2010 4th rd
F Nick Zajac - Saskatoon - 2010 8th rd
15 of the 22 2010 first round bantam picks are already named to the tournament. Of the remaining 7, five of them are from Saskatchewan and so they could/should be included when the SHA names its team. The other two (defenceman Dillon Heatherington from Alberta - Swift Current's pick - and forward Anthony Ast from B.C. - Vancouver's pick) are not named to their provinces' teams.
One of the discussions being generated by these selections revolves around the naming of Eric Comrie to the Alberta team. Comrie was born in Edmonton but has lived the last several years in California, where the family moved. I'm not sure why he remains eligible for the Alberta team, unless his family still has a home in Edmonton too and that somehow counts. Comrie hasn't played minor hockey in Alberta for several years though, to the best of my knowledge anyway. So should he still be named to the team, whether he's technically eligible or not? There's probably little question that he is the best '95 goalie out there who is "from Alberta", but isn't the real point that he doesn't live there anymore? Thoughts?
Getting a 5th round pick for Reners makes Lethbridge's 2006 trade of Colton Yellow Horn look even worse....the pick the Canes used on Reners was their principal return from Tri-City for Yellow Horn, who scored 88 goals in two seasons for the Americans. Reners didn't even make it to 88 games with the Hurricanes.
One other thing to mention today; three of the four western provinces have announced their rosters for the 2011 Canada Winter Games, which goes in February in Nova Scotia. The mens's hockey portion of the tournament is restricted to 15 year olds (born in 1995) so there is no effect on WHL rosters for this tournament, but many of the WHL's best 15 year old prospects will be taking part in the tournament. The Alberta, B.C., and Manitoba rosters, with WHL affiliations:
Alberta:
G Eric Comrie - Tri-City - 2010 1st rd
G Brett Zarowny - Prince George - 2010 3rd rd
D Braiden Doucette - Moose Jaw - 2010 4th rd
D Mason Geertsen - Edmonton - 2010 1st rd
D Jared Hauf - Seattle - 2010 1st rd
D Spencer Jensen - Medicine Hat - 2010 1st rd
D Keegan Kanzig - Chilliwack - 2010 1st rd
D Jesse Lees - Kelowna - 2010 1st rd
D Josh Morrissey - Prince Albert - 2010 1st rd
F Tyson Baillie - Kelowna - 2010 3rd rd
F Cole Benson - Edmonton - 2010 9th rd
F Greg Chase - Calgary - 2010 1st rd
F Ryan Chynoweth - Everett - 2010 2nd rd
F Jaedon Descheneau - Kootenay - 2010 3rd rd
F Nelson Gadoury - Edmonton - 2010 5th rd
F Morgan Klimchuk - Regina - 2010 1st rd
F Jay Merkley - Lethbridge - 2010 1st rd
F Luke Philp - Kootenay - 2010 3rd rd
F Cole Ully - Kamloops - 2010 2nd rd
F Torrin White - Moose Jaw - 2010 1st rd
B.C.:
G Tristan Jarry - Edmonton - 2010 3rd rd
G Jackson Whistle - Vancouver - 2010 4th rd
D Dylan Bowen - no WHL affiliation
D Kyle Burroughs - Regina - 2010 3rd rd
D Josh Connolly - Kamloops - 2010 3rd rd
D Macoy Erkamps - Lethbridge - 2010 2nd rd
D Ayrton Nikkel - Saskatoon - 2010 2nd rd
D Shea Theodore - Seattle - 2010 3rd rd
F Luke Bertolucci - Edmonton - 2010 10th rd
F Brennan Clark - Chilliwack - 2010 7th rd
F Steen Cooper - Portland - 2010 4th rd
F Brett Harris - Regina - 2010 5th rd
F Luke Harrison - Chilliwack - 2010 3rd rd
F Jackson Houck - Vancouver - 2010 3rd rd
F Curtis Lazar - Edmonton - 2010 1st rd
F Matthew Needham - Kamloops - 2010 1st rd
F Nicolas Petan - Portland - 2010 1st rd
F Brandon Potomak - Moose Jaw - 2010 2nd rd
F Sam Reinhart - Kootenay - 2010 1st rd
F Cole Sanford - Medicine Hat - 2010 6th rd
Manitoba:
G Alex Moodie - Saskatoon - 2010 5th rd
G Justin Paulic - Moose Jaw - 2010 8th rd
D Dylan Betteridge - no WHL affiliation
D Denis Bosc - Swift Current - 2010 6th rd
D Madison Bowey - Kelowna - 2010 2nd rd
D Garrett Bruce - Brandon - listed player
D Kevin Pochuk - Red Deer - 2010 5th rd
D Bradley Reichardt - Saskatoon - listed player
D Paul Stoykewych - Portland - 2010 2nd rd
F Drake Bodie - Saskatoon - 2010 7th rd
F Daylon Creasy - Calgary - 2010 5th rd
F Kurt Keats - Moose Jaw - 2010 5th rd
F Remi Laurencelle - Lethbridge - 2010 8th rd
F Taeron Lewis - Tri-City - 2010 7th rd
F Braydon MacDonald - Moose Jaw - 2010 6th rd
F Geordie Maguire - Everett - 2010 5th rd
F Jonathon Martin - Kootenay - 2010 7th rd
F Derek Mulvena - no WHL affiliation
F Christian Stockl - Saskatoon - 2010 4th rd
F Nick Zajac - Saskatoon - 2010 8th rd
15 of the 22 2010 first round bantam picks are already named to the tournament. Of the remaining 7, five of them are from Saskatchewan and so they could/should be included when the SHA names its team. The other two (defenceman Dillon Heatherington from Alberta - Swift Current's pick - and forward Anthony Ast from B.C. - Vancouver's pick) are not named to their provinces' teams.
One of the discussions being generated by these selections revolves around the naming of Eric Comrie to the Alberta team. Comrie was born in Edmonton but has lived the last several years in California, where the family moved. I'm not sure why he remains eligible for the Alberta team, unless his family still has a home in Edmonton too and that somehow counts. Comrie hasn't played minor hockey in Alberta for several years though, to the best of my knowledge anyway. So should he still be named to the team, whether he's technically eligible or not? There's probably little question that he is the best '95 goalie out there who is "from Alberta", but isn't the real point that he doesn't live there anymore? Thoughts?
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Two trades tonight
Two deals in the WHL tonight, both of them involving the Tri-City Americans and - coincidentally - both spelling bad news for Tri-City players named Zach.
In the first deal, the Ams have dealt '93 forward prospect Zach McPhee to the Everett Silvertips for 19 year old defenceman Paul Sohor. McPhee started the year in the Tri-Cities but was reassigned after 8 games. Sohor also started the year in Everett but had gone home to wait for a trade after being unhappy with his ice time in Everett.
In the second deal, Tri-City resolved their overage problem by trading overage defenceman Zach Stebner to the Kelowna Rockets. The Americans also sent the Rockets a 2011 7th round bantam pick, and in return they get a 2011 4th round pick and a 2012 8th round pick from the Rockets.
The deal gave the Rockets four overage players, and they have solved that problem by releasing 20 year old defenceman Brendan Wall.
For the Americans, they only acquired Stebner six weeks ago from the Hitmen, and gave up a 3rd round pick in that deal. They only got a 4th round pick in return, and they had to swap a 7th for an 8th in order to get that 4th rounder too. So, clearly the Ams take a bit of a loss on the Stebner deals when all is said and done. I'm guessing they may not have expected Neal Prokop to be able to return and play as an overager this year?
In the first deal, the Ams have dealt '93 forward prospect Zach McPhee to the Everett Silvertips for 19 year old defenceman Paul Sohor. McPhee started the year in the Tri-Cities but was reassigned after 8 games. Sohor also started the year in Everett but had gone home to wait for a trade after being unhappy with his ice time in Everett.
In the second deal, Tri-City resolved their overage problem by trading overage defenceman Zach Stebner to the Kelowna Rockets. The Americans also sent the Rockets a 2011 7th round bantam pick, and in return they get a 2011 4th round pick and a 2012 8th round pick from the Rockets.
The deal gave the Rockets four overage players, and they have solved that problem by releasing 20 year old defenceman Brendan Wall.
For the Americans, they only acquired Stebner six weeks ago from the Hitmen, and gave up a 3rd round pick in that deal. They only got a 4th round pick in return, and they had to swap a 7th for an 8th in order to get that 4th rounder too. So, clearly the Ams take a bit of a loss on the Stebner deals when all is said and done. I'm guessing they may not have expected Neal Prokop to be able to return and play as an overager this year?
USA WJC camp roster named
USA Hockey has named the 29 players invited to try out for their 22-player World Junior team today. Camp roster can be found here
There are only two WHLers on the invitation list - forwards Emerson Etem of the Medicine Hat Tigers and Mitch Callahan of the Kelowna Rockets. Tyler Pitlick of the Tigers was not invited.
There's a huge number of WHL list players invited as well though:
F Nick Bjugstad (Everett)
F Chris Brown (Calgary)
D Justin Faulk (Tri-City)
D Derek Forbort (Everett)
F Rocco Grimaldi (Portland)
D Nick Leddy (Tri-City)
F Brock Nelson (Tri-City)
F Matt Nieto (Tri-City)
D Philip Samuelsson (Edmonton)
F Drew Shore (Chilliwack)
F Jason Zucker (Seattle)
Those guys are all NCAA players (or AHL, in Leddy's case) though and we'll probably never see them in the WHL....
There are only two WHLers on the invitation list - forwards Emerson Etem of the Medicine Hat Tigers and Mitch Callahan of the Kelowna Rockets. Tyler Pitlick of the Tigers was not invited.
There's a huge number of WHL list players invited as well though:
F Nick Bjugstad (Everett)
F Chris Brown (Calgary)
D Justin Faulk (Tri-City)
D Derek Forbort (Everett)
F Rocco Grimaldi (Portland)
D Nick Leddy (Tri-City)
F Brock Nelson (Tri-City)
F Matt Nieto (Tri-City)
D Philip Samuelsson (Edmonton)
F Drew Shore (Chilliwack)
F Jason Zucker (Seattle)
Those guys are all NCAA players (or AHL, in Leddy's case) though and we'll probably never see them in the WHL....
Monday, December 6, 2010
Monday notes
Two big bits of news this afternoon...
First, Rogers Sportsnet has announced their schedule of CHL games that they'll carry this winter. You can find the complete schedule here but the short of it is that there's only 5 WHL games on the list of 18 regular season games they're going to cover from now through the end of the season.
Of course they will add some playoff games and also cover the entire Memorial Cup as always, but only five WHL games - and only one of those is being covered nationally, the rest are all Sportsnet West regional games - is really giving short shrift to the juniors. Just once it would be nice to see a major network take a real interest in the CHL.
The WHL games they're showing are:
Jan 11: Prince George at Vancouver
Feb 16: Medicine Hat at Saskatoon
Feb 23: Kootenay at Red Deer
Feb 28: Calgary at Edmonton
Mar 13: Red Deer at Calgary
Only the March 13 game is on the national network and shown coast-to-coast.
The other bit of news is a huge one for USA hockey fans, as USA Hockey announced today that four players currently in the pros have been released to play for USA at the World Juniors. They are forwards Kyle Palmieri, Jeremy Morin, and Jerry D'Amigo (who I somehow missed on my list of eligible players in the pros from last week), and defenceman Nick Leddy. So far, only defenceman Cam Fowler has not been released to the USA squad and since he's one of the leading ice-time getters on the Anaheim Ducks, it's pretty unlikely that he's going to be released anyway.
Certainly a big boost for Team USA as they look to defend their gold medal from last year.
USA Hockey will announce the full roster of players invited to their tryout camp tomorrow morning.
First, Rogers Sportsnet has announced their schedule of CHL games that they'll carry this winter. You can find the complete schedule here but the short of it is that there's only 5 WHL games on the list of 18 regular season games they're going to cover from now through the end of the season.
Of course they will add some playoff games and also cover the entire Memorial Cup as always, but only five WHL games - and only one of those is being covered nationally, the rest are all Sportsnet West regional games - is really giving short shrift to the juniors. Just once it would be nice to see a major network take a real interest in the CHL.
The WHL games they're showing are:
Jan 11: Prince George at Vancouver
Feb 16: Medicine Hat at Saskatoon
Feb 23: Kootenay at Red Deer
Feb 28: Calgary at Edmonton
Mar 13: Red Deer at Calgary
Only the March 13 game is on the national network and shown coast-to-coast.
The other bit of news is a huge one for USA hockey fans, as USA Hockey announced today that four players currently in the pros have been released to play for USA at the World Juniors. They are forwards Kyle Palmieri, Jeremy Morin, and Jerry D'Amigo (who I somehow missed on my list of eligible players in the pros from last week), and defenceman Nick Leddy. So far, only defenceman Cam Fowler has not been released to the USA squad and since he's one of the leading ice-time getters on the Anaheim Ducks, it's pretty unlikely that he's going to be released anyway.
Certainly a big boost for Team USA as they look to defend their gold medal from last year.
USA Hockey will announce the full roster of players invited to their tryout camp tomorrow morning.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
The lineup for Schenn forms to the right
L.A Kings beat writer Rich Hammond is saying on his L.A. Kings Insider blog that the Kings are about to return Brayden Schenn to the Brandon Wheat Kings, probably tomorrow.
But, in all probability, Schenn is unlikely to play more than a couple more games for the Wheat Kings in his career. For starters, Hockey Canada is going to jump all over this and name Schenn to the World Junior team about two seconds after his reassignment from the NHL is official. That will keep Schenn out of the WHL from December 12 through January 5 at least.
Then, the WHL trade deadline comes January 10, just a few days after the WJCs wrap up. I think the smart money would have to be on the Wheat Kings dealing Schenn to a contender by that deadline date. Brandon gave up a number of high picks and prospects last season in their moves to beef up for the Memorial Cup run, and moving Schenn would almost certainly allow them to recoup those picks and prospects, plus more. A guy like Schenn would probably fetch the Wheaties, at a minimum, a first round bantam pick and either a blue-chip 16/17 year old or a second high pick.
And in the total fantasy speculation world, here's something to chew on. I know this will never happen, but it's an interesting idea anyway - back in 05-06, three of the best prospects for the bantam draft were a trio of forwards from Saskatoon who were all good friends and had been playing together for years in minor hockey - Schenn, Carter Ashton, and Jimmy Bubnick. All three of them were picked in the first round of that bantam draft and have gone on to varying degrees of success in the WHL. Coincidentally, all three of them are now playing for teams who are not contenders this season and who are probably very to somewhat willing to deal those players. Wouldn't it be something if one contender acquired all three and reunited the friends to finish their WHL careers?
And another twist - a good friend of those three is another Saskatoon '91-born player and 2006 first round bantam pick, defenceman Jared Cowen of the Chiefs. He also played with those guys during his minor hockey days....and if the Chiefs decide they aren't going to get out of the Western Conference playoffs alive this year - what with Portland there and all - maybe Cowen could be on the block as well.
And while we're dreaming, maybe the team that acquires all four of these players could be one of the top contenders in the Eastern Conference - their hometown Saskatoon Blades. The Blades have all their bantam picks plus a fair bit of young talent on their roster and protected list to offer up.
But it'll never happen.
One other note to mention this afternoon - Spokane defenceman Garrett Leedahl retired yesterday after consulting with doctors about his concussion problems of the last couple years.
But, in all probability, Schenn is unlikely to play more than a couple more games for the Wheat Kings in his career. For starters, Hockey Canada is going to jump all over this and name Schenn to the World Junior team about two seconds after his reassignment from the NHL is official. That will keep Schenn out of the WHL from December 12 through January 5 at least.
Then, the WHL trade deadline comes January 10, just a few days after the WJCs wrap up. I think the smart money would have to be on the Wheat Kings dealing Schenn to a contender by that deadline date. Brandon gave up a number of high picks and prospects last season in their moves to beef up for the Memorial Cup run, and moving Schenn would almost certainly allow them to recoup those picks and prospects, plus more. A guy like Schenn would probably fetch the Wheaties, at a minimum, a first round bantam pick and either a blue-chip 16/17 year old or a second high pick.
And in the total fantasy speculation world, here's something to chew on. I know this will never happen, but it's an interesting idea anyway - back in 05-06, three of the best prospects for the bantam draft were a trio of forwards from Saskatoon who were all good friends and had been playing together for years in minor hockey - Schenn, Carter Ashton, and Jimmy Bubnick. All three of them were picked in the first round of that bantam draft and have gone on to varying degrees of success in the WHL. Coincidentally, all three of them are now playing for teams who are not contenders this season and who are probably very to somewhat willing to deal those players. Wouldn't it be something if one contender acquired all three and reunited the friends to finish their WHL careers?
And another twist - a good friend of those three is another Saskatoon '91-born player and 2006 first round bantam pick, defenceman Jared Cowen of the Chiefs. He also played with those guys during his minor hockey days....and if the Chiefs decide they aren't going to get out of the Western Conference playoffs alive this year - what with Portland there and all - maybe Cowen could be on the block as well.
And while we're dreaming, maybe the team that acquires all four of these players could be one of the top contenders in the Eastern Conference - their hometown Saskatoon Blades. The Blades have all their bantam picks plus a fair bit of young talent on their roster and protected list to offer up.
But it'll never happen.
One other note to mention this afternoon - Spokane defenceman Garrett Leedahl retired yesterday after consulting with doctors about his concussion problems of the last couple years.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Holiday departures
With World Junior camp rosters being named now, I've put together a list of the roster players that each current WHL team is looking at being without due to WJCs and the U-17 Challenge.
Players named to U-17 rosters are final....they're definitely away from December 29th through January 4th.
Players named to WJC camps need to make their country's team first in order to take part in the tournament, which runs December 26th through January 5th. Those players will need to attend selection camps, which start in mid-December. Canada's camp is December 12 - 15, so players who make Team Canada will be gone from their WHL clubs from December 12 though January 5 at least.
Brandon Wheat Kings:
Tyrel Seaman (F): World U-17 - Western
Juraj Holly (G): WJC - Slovakia (camp)
Keaton Lubin (D): World U-17 - Pacific
Robert Trzonkowski (F): World U-17 - Pacific
Brandon Magee (F): World U-17 - Pacific
Griffin Reinhart (D): World U-17 - Pacific
Ryan Murray (D): WJC - Canada (camp)
Nicholas Walters (D): World U-17 - Pacific
Brady Gaudet (D): World U-17 - Western
Colton Heffley (F): World U-17 - Western
Gal Koren (F): WJC II - Slovenia (this is the B-pool WJCs and goes Dec 12 - 18 in Slovenia)
Damon Severson (D): World U-17 - Western
Andreas Stene (F): WJC - Norway (no camp, Stene has been named to the roster)
Linden Vey (F): WJC - Canada (camp)
Morgan Rielly (D): World U-17 - Pacific
Ryan Johansen (F): WJC - Canada (camp)
Brendan Leipsic (F): World U-17 - Western
Nino Niederreiter (F): WJC - Switzerland (camp)
Derrick Pouliot (D): World U-17 - Western
Brad Ross (F): WJC - Canada (camp)
Mike Winther (F): World U-17 - Pacific
Brett Connolly (F): WJC - Canada (camp)
Martin Marincin (D): WJC - Slovakia (camp)
Josh Smith (D): World U-17 - Pacific
Lucas Grayson (D): World U-17 - Pacific
Andrej Kudrna (F): WJC - Slovakia (camp)
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (F): WJC - Canada (camp)
Chandler Stephanson (F): World U-17 - Western
Curtis Hamilton (F): WJC - Canada (camp)
Ryan Olsen (F): World U-17 - Pacific
Marcel Noebels (F): WJC - Germany (camp)
Calvin Pickard (G): WJC - Canada (camp)
Dave Sutter (D): WJC - Switzerland (camp)
Reid Gow (D): World U-17 - Western
Shea Howorko (F): World U-17 - Western
Brendan Gallagher (F): WJC - Canada (camp)
Players named to U-17 rosters are final....they're definitely away from December 29th through January 4th.
Players named to WJC camps need to make their country's team first in order to take part in the tournament, which runs December 26th through January 5th. Those players will need to attend selection camps, which start in mid-December. Canada's camp is December 12 - 15, so players who make Team Canada will be gone from their WHL clubs from December 12 though January 5 at least.
Brandon Wheat Kings:
Mark Mieritz (F): WJC II - Denmark (this is the B-pool WJCs and goes Dec 12 - 18 in Slovenia)
Ryan Pulock (D): World U-17 - Western
Tyrel Seaman (F): World U-17 - Western
Calgary Hitmen:
Chase Clayton (F): World U-17 - PacificJuraj Holly (G): WJC - Slovakia (camp)
Keaton Lubin (D): World U-17 - Pacific
Robert Trzonkowski (F): World U-17 - Pacific
Chilliwack Bruins:
Steven Hodges (F): World U-17 - PacificRoman Horak (F): WJC - Czech Republic (camp)
Ryan Howse (F): WJC - Canada (camp)Brandon Magee (F): World U-17 - Pacific
Robin Soudek (F): WJC - Czech Republic (camp)
Edmonton Oil Kings:
Marek Hrbas (D): WJC - Czech Republic (camp)
Kristian Pelss (F): WJC-II - Latvia (this is the B-pool WJCs and goes Dec 13 - 19 in Belarus)
Mark Pysyk (D): WJC - Canada (camp)Marek Hrbas (D): WJC - Czech Republic (camp)
Kristian Pelss (F): WJC-II - Latvia (this is the B-pool WJCs and goes Dec 13 - 19 in Belarus)
Griffin Reinhart (D): World U-17 - Pacific
Everett Silvertips:
Jari Erricson (F): World U-17 - PacificRyan Murray (D): WJC - Canada (camp)
Nicholas Walters (D): World U-17 - Pacific
Kamloops Blazers:
Dalibor Bortnak (F): WJC - Slovakia (camp)Brady Gaudet (D): World U-17 - Western
Bernhard Keil (F): WJC - Germany (camp)
Logan McVeigh (F): World U-17 - WesternKelowna Rockets:
Tyson Barrie (D): WJC - Canada (camp)Colton Heffley (F): World U-17 - Western
Gal Koren (F): WJC II - Slovenia (this is the B-pool WJCs and goes Dec 12 - 18 in Slovenia)
Damon Severson (D): World U-17 - Western
Andreas Stene (F): WJC - Norway (no camp, Stene has been named to the roster)
Kootenay Ice:
Brayden McNabb (D): WJC - Canada (camp)Medicine Hat Tigers:
Hunter Shinkaruk (F): World U-17 - PacificLinden Vey (F): WJC - Canada (camp)
Moose Jaw Warriors:
Brayden Cuthbert (F): World U-17 - WesternAntonin Honejsek (F): WJC - Czech Republic (camp)
Quinton Howden (F): WJC - Canada (camp)Morgan Rielly (D): World U-17 - Pacific
Portland Winterhawks:
Sven Bartschi (F): WJC - Switzerland (camp)Ryan Johansen (F): WJC - Canada (camp)
Brendan Leipsic (F): World U-17 - Western
Nino Niederreiter (F): WJC - Switzerland (camp)
Derrick Pouliot (D): World U-17 - Western
Brad Ross (F): WJC - Canada (camp)
Prince Albert Raiders:
Shane Danyluk (F): World U-17 - PacificMike Winther (F): World U-17 - Pacific
Prince George Cougars:
Troy Bourke (F): World U-17 - PacificBrett Connolly (F): WJC - Canada (camp)
Martin Marincin (D): WJC - Slovakia (camp)
Josh Smith (D): World U-17 - Pacific
Red Deer Rebels:
Matt Dumba (D): World U-17 - PacificLucas Grayson (D): World U-17 - Pacific
Andrej Kudrna (F): WJC - Slovakia (camp)
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (F): WJC - Canada (camp)
Regina Pats:
Carter Ashton (F): WJC - Canada (camp)Chandler Stephanson (F): World U-17 - Western
Saskatoon Blades:
Levi Bews (F): World U-17 - PacificCurtis Hamilton (F): WJC - Canada (camp)
Ryan Olsen (F): World U-17 - Pacific
Seattle Thunderbirds:
Justin Hickman (F): World U-17 - PacificMarcel Noebels (F): WJC - Germany (camp)
Calvin Pickard (G): WJC - Canada (camp)
Dave Sutter (D): WJC - Switzerland (camp)
Spokane Chiefs:
Jared Cowen (D): WJC - Canada (camp)Reid Gow (D): World U-17 - Western
Swift Current Broncos:
Cody Eakin (F): WJC - Canada (camp)Shea Howorko (F): World U-17 - Western
Tri-City Americans:
Chris Driedger (G): World U-17 - WesternVancouver Giants:
Matt Bellerive (F): World U-17 - PacificBrendan Gallagher (F): WJC - Canada (camp)
David Musil (D): WJC - Czech Republic (camp)
USA Hockey will announce their tryout camp invites on December 7. The camp takes place December 16 to 23. Emerson Etem of Medicine Hat should be a lock to get an invite to try out, and his Tiger teammate Tyler Pitlick could have a shot as well. Colin Jacobs of Seattle and Shane McColgan of Kelowna are good up-and-coming USA Hockey prospects but they're also only 17 so maybe they have to wait until next year since this is usually an 18/19 year old tournament. How about Tyler Maxwell of Everett, could he get an invite?
I have not found Denmark's roster for the B-pool tournament Dec 12 - 18 in Slovenia, but I would certainly think that the Danes would be interested in having Prince Albert's Sebastien Svendsen play for them in that tournament. They have already invited Brandon's Mark Mieritz.
No camp rosters announced yet (that I've seen anyway) for the Finns, Russians, or Swedes. Not sure that there's any WHLers that they will be interested in though?
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Scum of the earth report
An appalling story out of Montreal today....apparently somebody broke into Pat Burns' widow's car following his funeral yesterday, and stole quite a bit of stuff, from signed NHL team jerseys right down to a suitcase of his clothes.
Not just that it was Burns, it's the principle; who steals from the dead - on the day of the funeral even?
Wouldn't bother me one bit if, after the cops catch this guy, if he tripped and fell down the stairs at the police station. Three or four flights of them perhaps. You know how dangerous those stairs can be....
Not just that it was Burns, it's the principle; who steals from the dead - on the day of the funeral even?
Wouldn't bother me one bit if, after the cops catch this guy, if he tripped and fell down the stairs at the police station. Three or four flights of them perhaps. You know how dangerous those stairs can be....
WJC eligibles in the NHL
Another comment on the World Juniors, while we're on the subject here....there are 17 players who are eligible to play in this tournament who are currently playing in the NHL or AHL and have not (to date anyway) been released by their NHL club to play in the tournament. They are:
Canada (8):
F Kyle Clifford (Los Angeles)
F Matt Duchene (Colorado)
F Taylor Hall (Edmonton)
F Evander Kane (Atlanta)
F Ryan O'Reilly (Colorado)
F Brayden Schenn (Los Angeles)
F Tyler Seguin (Boston)
F Jeff Skinner (Carolina)
Russia (1):
F Alexander Burmistrov (Atlanta)
Sweden (4):
D Oliver Ekman-Larsson (Phoenix - AHL)
F Jacob Josefson (New Jersey)
G Robin Lehner (Ottawa - AHL)
F Magnus Paajarvi (Edmonton)
USA (4):
D Cam Fowler (Anaheim)
D Nick Leddy (Chicago - AHL)
F Jeremy Morin (Chicago - AHL)
F Kyle Palmieri (Anaheim - AHL)
17 players....that's just short of one full WJC roster's worth of the world's best U-20 players who will not (or possibly not) be in this year's tournament. How much better would the tournament be with these 17 players in it? I mean, Canada could fill almost three forward lines with guys who are currently in the NHL. And USA's best defenceman won't be there either since he's in the NHL.
In the case of the five guys who are currently in the AHL, I can see no reason why their NHL clubs wouldn't release them for the three weeks to play in this tournament. I've not seen a lot of AHL hockey but the calibre of play at the World Juniors (in the big games anyway) has got to be better than some sleepy midseason AHL games.
Canada (8):
F Kyle Clifford (Los Angeles)
F Matt Duchene (Colorado)
F Taylor Hall (Edmonton)
F Evander Kane (Atlanta)
F Ryan O'Reilly (Colorado)
F Brayden Schenn (Los Angeles)
F Tyler Seguin (Boston)
F Jeff Skinner (Carolina)
Russia (1):
F Alexander Burmistrov (Atlanta)
Sweden (4):
D Oliver Ekman-Larsson (Phoenix - AHL)
F Jacob Josefson (New Jersey)
G Robin Lehner (Ottawa - AHL)
F Magnus Paajarvi (Edmonton)
USA (4):
D Cam Fowler (Anaheim)
D Nick Leddy (Chicago - AHL)
F Jeremy Morin (Chicago - AHL)
F Kyle Palmieri (Anaheim - AHL)
17 players....that's just short of one full WJC roster's worth of the world's best U-20 players who will not (or possibly not) be in this year's tournament. How much better would the tournament be with these 17 players in it? I mean, Canada could fill almost three forward lines with guys who are currently in the NHL. And USA's best defenceman won't be there either since he's in the NHL.
In the case of the five guys who are currently in the AHL, I can see no reason why their NHL clubs wouldn't release them for the three weeks to play in this tournament. I've not seen a lot of AHL hockey but the calibre of play at the World Juniors (in the big games anyway) has got to be better than some sleepy midseason AHL games.
Monday, November 29, 2010
Canadian World Junior camp named
Hockey Canada named the players invited to try out for the Canadian World Junior team today.
Excellent showing by the WHL this year - there are WHLers amongst the total players invited - 11 of 23 forwards, 5 of 12 defencemen, and 1 of 4 goaltenders. There is certain to be a strong WHL flavor on the final roster, with 17 of 39 total invitees from the WHL.
Complete roster at the link above. WHLers invited are:
G Calvin Pickard (Seattle)
D Tyson Barrie (Kelowna)
D Jared Cowen (Spokane)
D Brayden McNabb (Kootenay)
D Ryan Murray (Everett)
D Mark Pysyk (Edmonton)
F Carter Ashton (Regina)
F Brett Connolly (Prince George)
F Cody Eakin (Swift Current)
F Brendan Gallagher (Vancouver)
F Curtis Hamilton (Saskatoon)
F Quinton Howden (Moose Jaw)
F Ryan Howse (Chilliwack)
F Ryan Johansen (Portland)
F Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (Red Deer)
F Brad Ross (Portland)
F Linden Vey (Medicine Hat)
Also, D Dylan Olsen is a Medicine Hat list player who is playing NCAA, while forward Jaden Schwartz is a Tri-Cities list player who is also playing NCAA.
Only three 17 year old players were invited to what is usually an 18/19 year olds tournament - Ryan Murray and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins of the WHL were two of those three 17 year olds. They might be in tough to make the team since Canada has taken very few 16 & 17 year olds over the years, but you never know.
Brayden Schenn of the Wheat Kings was not named to the camp as he has not been released to the tournament by the Los Angeles Kings. If the Kings do decide to release him before camp starts, you can be sure he'll be added to the roster. Of all the eligible players who are currently in the NHL, you'd have to think that Schenn is the most likely to be released to play for Canada, since L.A. doesn't seem to have much use for him in the NHL right now.
Excellent showing by the WHL this year - there are WHLers amongst the total players invited - 11 of 23 forwards, 5 of 12 defencemen, and 1 of 4 goaltenders. There is certain to be a strong WHL flavor on the final roster, with 17 of 39 total invitees from the WHL.
Complete roster at the link above. WHLers invited are:
G Calvin Pickard (Seattle)
D Tyson Barrie (Kelowna)
D Jared Cowen (Spokane)
D Brayden McNabb (Kootenay)
D Ryan Murray (Everett)
D Mark Pysyk (Edmonton)
F Carter Ashton (Regina)
F Brett Connolly (Prince George)
F Cody Eakin (Swift Current)
F Brendan Gallagher (Vancouver)
F Curtis Hamilton (Saskatoon)
F Quinton Howden (Moose Jaw)
F Ryan Howse (Chilliwack)
F Ryan Johansen (Portland)
F Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (Red Deer)
F Brad Ross (Portland)
F Linden Vey (Medicine Hat)
Also, D Dylan Olsen is a Medicine Hat list player who is playing NCAA, while forward Jaden Schwartz is a Tri-Cities list player who is also playing NCAA.
Only three 17 year old players were invited to what is usually an 18/19 year olds tournament - Ryan Murray and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins of the WHL were two of those three 17 year olds. They might be in tough to make the team since Canada has taken very few 16 & 17 year olds over the years, but you never know.
Brayden Schenn of the Wheat Kings was not named to the camp as he has not been released to the tournament by the Los Angeles Kings. If the Kings do decide to release him before camp starts, you can be sure he'll be added to the roster. Of all the eligible players who are currently in the NHL, you'd have to think that Schenn is the most likely to be released to play for Canada, since L.A. doesn't seem to have much use for him in the NHL right now.
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Three WHLers to Swiss WJC team
The preliminary rosters for World Junior team camps are starting to come out these days. Latest to announce their roster is the Swiss team, and they have a good WHL flavour, with three WHLers amongst the 28 players named to the camp.
The players are forwards Nino Niederreiter and Sven Bartschi, both of Portland, and defenceman Dave Sutter of the Thunderbirds.
Six players will need to be cut from the 28 player list but you'd have to think Niederreiter and Bartschi are locks to make the team, and Sutter should have a decent chance at the Swiss team as well.
Canada will announce their camp roster tomorrow.
The players are forwards Nino Niederreiter and Sven Bartschi, both of Portland, and defenceman Dave Sutter of the Thunderbirds.
Six players will need to be cut from the 28 player list but you'd have to think Niederreiter and Bartschi are locks to make the team, and Sutter should have a decent chance at the Swiss team as well.
Canada will announce their camp roster tomorrow.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Notes
Tri-City will add another overager to its roster tonight, as veteran forward Neal Prokop makes his return from a badly broken leg he suffered back in March.
Prokop gives the Americans four overagers (the current three are forward Kruise Reddick and defencemen Tyler Schmidt and Zak Stebner), and they now have two weeks to make a decision on which three to keep and move out the fourth guy. Portland is the only team in the league with room to add an overager, but there are probably other teams who would consider any of those four guys above to be an upgrade over somebody currently on their roster....
And another overage note, Vancouver acquired forward Brendan Rowinski from Moose Jaw two weeks ago but he has still not played a game for the Giants because the Giants doctors have not cleared him to return from his knee injury. Just one catch there - Rowinski played two games for Moose Jaw before the trade. So, it would appear that Moose Jaw's doctors felt his knee was ready to play, but Vancouver's see things differently. Funny how opinion on medical issues can vary from doctor to doctor, isn't it.
One last thing, I was unaware it had been quite so long, but news reports from the Calgary/Edmonton game last night say that the Hitmen's win was their 16th consecutive win over the Oil Kings, a streak that includes a 4 game playoff sweep in 2009. Edmonton has not beaten the Hitmen since September 20, 2008. Are there any other teams out there that have similar (and active) consecutive-wins streaks against one opponent?
(And Edmonton plays Calgary again tonight at home, so they can end the streak with a win...or Calgary will push it to 17 with a win)
Prokop gives the Americans four overagers (the current three are forward Kruise Reddick and defencemen Tyler Schmidt and Zak Stebner), and they now have two weeks to make a decision on which three to keep and move out the fourth guy. Portland is the only team in the league with room to add an overager, but there are probably other teams who would consider any of those four guys above to be an upgrade over somebody currently on their roster....
And another overage note, Vancouver acquired forward Brendan Rowinski from Moose Jaw two weeks ago but he has still not played a game for the Giants because the Giants doctors have not cleared him to return from his knee injury. Just one catch there - Rowinski played two games for Moose Jaw before the trade. So, it would appear that Moose Jaw's doctors felt his knee was ready to play, but Vancouver's see things differently. Funny how opinion on medical issues can vary from doctor to doctor, isn't it.
One last thing, I was unaware it had been quite so long, but news reports from the Calgary/Edmonton game last night say that the Hitmen's win was their 16th consecutive win over the Oil Kings, a streak that includes a 4 game playoff sweep in 2009. Edmonton has not beaten the Hitmen since September 20, 2008. Are there any other teams out there that have similar (and active) consecutive-wins streaks against one opponent?
(And Edmonton plays Calgary again tonight at home, so they can end the streak with a win...or Calgary will push it to 17 with a win)
Friday, November 19, 2010
Friday night
Interesting tidbit I just read - the Hitmen and Wheat Kings play tonight in Brandon in their first meeting since Brandon beat Calgary in the Memorial Cup semi-final back in May. But of the 38 players who played in that game, only 15 will play tonight - 7 for Calgary and 8 for Brandon. That's some significant turnover these two teams have had....
The game is on Shaw and if the Hitmen lose, it will be their 13th consecutive loss, which will set a new franchise record. The 1995-96 expansion edition of the team lost 12 in a row twice that year.
The game is on Shaw and if the Hitmen lose, it will be their 13th consecutive loss, which will set a new franchise record. The 1995-96 expansion edition of the team lost 12 in a row twice that year.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Rockets/Raiders deal
Trade to report this morning, Kelowna has dealt 18 year old defenceman Antoine Corbin to the Prince Albert Raiders for a 2012 3rd round bantam pick.
Corbin was kind of the odd man out in Kelowna, having been passed on the depth chart there by other players. The move should give him a chance to play some more minutes than he has been thus far.
Corbin was kind of the odd man out in Kelowna, having been passed on the depth chart there by other players. The move should give him a chance to play some more minutes than he has been thus far.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Pacific roster
British Columbia and Alberta named their 11 players each that make up Team Pacific for the World U-17s today. Unlike the Team Western roster, Pacific has only 2 players out of 22 who are not in the WHL this year. The roster, with WHL affiliation where needed:
Goaltenders:
Devon Fordyce - UFA Bisons (AMHL) - property of Prince George Cougars
Mackenzie Skapski - Ridge Meadows Flames (PIJHL) - property of Kootenay Ice
Defencemen:
Matt Dumba - Red Deer Rebels (WHL)
Lucas Grayson - Red Deer Rebels (WHL)
Keaton Lubin - Calgary Hitmen (WHL)
Morgan Reilly - Moose Jaw Warriors (WHL)
Griffin Reinhart - Edmonton Oil Kings (WHL)
Joshua Smith - Prince George Cougars (WHL)
Nicholas Walters - Everett Silvertips (WHL)
Forwards:
Matt Bellerive - Vancouver Giants (WHL)
Levi Bews - Saskatoon Blades (WHL)
Troy Bourke - Prince George Cougars (WHL)
Chase Clayton - Calgary Hitmen (WHL)
Shane Danyluk - Prince Albert Raiders (WHL)
Jari Erricson - Everett Silvertips (WHL)
Justin Hickman - Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL)
Steven Hodges - Chilliwack Bruins (WHL)
Brandon Magee - Chilliwack Bruins (WHL)
Ryan Olsen - Saskatoon Blades (WHL)
Hunter Shinkaruk - Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL)
Robert Trzonkowski - Calgary Hitmen (WHL)
Mike Winther - Prince Albert Raiders (WHL)
Goaltenders:
Devon Fordyce - UFA Bisons (AMHL) - property of Prince George Cougars
Mackenzie Skapski - Ridge Meadows Flames (PIJHL) - property of Kootenay Ice
Defencemen:
Matt Dumba - Red Deer Rebels (WHL)
Lucas Grayson - Red Deer Rebels (WHL)
Keaton Lubin - Calgary Hitmen (WHL)
Morgan Reilly - Moose Jaw Warriors (WHL)
Griffin Reinhart - Edmonton Oil Kings (WHL)
Joshua Smith - Prince George Cougars (WHL)
Nicholas Walters - Everett Silvertips (WHL)
Forwards:
Matt Bellerive - Vancouver Giants (WHL)
Levi Bews - Saskatoon Blades (WHL)
Troy Bourke - Prince George Cougars (WHL)
Chase Clayton - Calgary Hitmen (WHL)
Shane Danyluk - Prince Albert Raiders (WHL)
Jari Erricson - Everett Silvertips (WHL)
Justin Hickman - Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL)
Steven Hodges - Chilliwack Bruins (WHL)
Brandon Magee - Chilliwack Bruins (WHL)
Ryan Olsen - Saskatoon Blades (WHL)
Hunter Shinkaruk - Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL)
Robert Trzonkowski - Calgary Hitmen (WHL)
Mike Winther - Prince Albert Raiders (WHL)
So combining Western and Pacific together, the number of 16 year olds each WHL team will be missing for that week after Christmas:
Calgary: 3
Brandon: 2 (plus 2 other non-roster prospects)
Everett: 2 (plus 1 other non-roster prospect)
Prince George: 2 (plus 1 other non-roster prospect)
Saskatoon: 2 (plus 1 other non-roster prospect)
Chilliwack: 2
Kamloops: 2
Kelowna: 2
Moose Jaw: 2
Portland: 2
Prince Albert: 2
Red Deer: 2
Regina: 1 (plus 1 other non-roster prospect)
Swift Current: 1 (plus 1 other non-roster prospect)
Tri-City: 1 (plus 1 other non-roster prospect)
Edmonton: 1
Medicine Hat: 1
Seattle: 1
Spokane: 1
Vancouver: 1
Kootenay: 0 (2 other non-roster prospects though)
Lethbridge: 0 (1 other non-roster prospect though)
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Hitmen/Warriors big deal
After 12 straight losses in Calgary, you knew something had to change, and tonight it did. The Hitmen and Warriors have swung a five-player deal, with the Hitmen sending forwards Cody Beach and Mackenzie Royer to the Warriors for forwards Nathan MacMaster and Danny Gayle, and goaltender Brandon Glover.
All five players involved in the deal are 1992's, or 18 year olds.
With the deal, the Hitmen now have three goaltenders, so something is probably going to happen in the next few days involving either Michael Snider or Juraj Holly. Neither one has been particularly impressive this year so it's hard to say who is more likely to stay. Snider can come back next year as an overager so maybe they keep him for that reason, but on the other hand Holly is hard to move in the league due to his import status so maybe they keep him because of that. We'll see.
All five players involved in the deal are 1992's, or 18 year olds.
With the deal, the Hitmen now have three goaltenders, so something is probably going to happen in the next few days involving either Michael Snider or Juraj Holly. Neither one has been particularly impressive this year so it's hard to say who is more likely to stay. Snider can come back next year as an overager so maybe they keep him for that reason, but on the other hand Holly is hard to move in the league due to his import status so maybe they keep him because of that. We'll see.
Tuesday stuff
Bunch of notes this morning....
First, Red Deer and Regina swung a trade yesterday, the Pats sending 18 year old goalie Dawson Guhle to the Rebels for 18 year old forward Lane Scheidl. The move cleared up the Pats' three-goalie logjam and created one in Red Deer, which the Rebels promptly resolved by assigning 16 year old backup Bolton Pouliot back to AAA midget in Calgary.
If nothing else, it's a move by the Rebels that shows their intention of competing for a title this season. Now they have an older backup with 30+ games experience, in the event that starter Darcy Kuemper goes down.
With Regina resolving their situation, only one team in the league still has three goaltenders on the roster now, and that is Swift Current.
Still with Red Deer and Swift Current goaltenders, - or former Rebels and Broncos goaltenders anyway - the QMJHL's Rimouski Oceanic recently added overage goalie Morgan Clark to their roster. Clark played four years in the WHL for Red Deer, Swift Current, and Prince George before becoming a victim of the overage numbers in Prince George last month. With the addition of Clark, the QMJHL now has three former WHL goalies playing as overagers there - Jacob DeSerres and Andrew Hayes being the other two. The QMJHL is also using three former OHL goalies as well....but some people used to think the QMJHL was a goalie factory and anglophone kids were inferior at that position....look who's taking the jobs of those "superior" QMJHL goalies these days.
The WHL has ruled on that hit by Vancouver's Wes Vannieuwenheuizen last week (see below). The verdict is a 7 game suspension, which seems a little light to me. I would have liked to see a few more games, maybe an even 10, but we'll live with 7.
One thing is for sure though, the league cannot ever go back to 2 or 3 game suspensions for serious hits from behind again....those days have to be long gone. There is still a lack of respect being shown to opponents by some players in the league (and in all leagues, to be fair) and I think at this point, only tougher discipline is going to make some players realize that there are certain points in a game where you don't need to make a hit - or can ease up on a hit - on a vulnerable opponent. "Finishing your check" be damned, if the guy is in a bad position then you don't hit him if you can help it. Next time it might be you in that bad position.
Lastly, the Saskatchewan and Manitoba hockey associations yesterday named their 11 players each who will make up "Team Western" for the annual World U-17 Hockey Challenge which starts December 29 in Winnipeg and Portage La Prairie, Manitoba.
Here's the roster, with WHL affiliation for the players not in the WHL right now:
Goaltenders:
Andy Desautels - Regina Pat Canadians (SMAAAHL) - property of Everett Silvertips
Chris Driedger - Tri City Americans (WHL)
Defencemen:
Brady Gaudet - Kamloops Blazers (WHL)
Reid Gow - Spokane Chiefs (WHL)
Justin Hamonic - Winnipeg Wild (MMHL) - property of Tri-City Americans
Landon Peel - Swan Valley Stampeders (MJHL) - property of Regina Pats
Derrick Pouliot - Portland Winterhawks (WHL)
Ryan Pulock - Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)
Damon Severson - Kelowna Rockets (WHL)
Forwards:
Daniel Asham - Winnipeg Wild (MMHL) - property of Brandon Wheat Kings
Bryaden Cuthbert - Moose Jaw Warriors (WHL)
Brendan Harms - Portage Terriers (MJHL) - property of Brandon Wheat Kings
Colton Heffley - Kelowna Rockets (WHL)
Shea Howorko - Swift Current Broncos (WHL)
Jared Iron - Beardy’s Blackhawks (SMAAAHL) - property of Kootenay Ice
Brendan Leipsic - Portland Winterhawks (WHL)
Logan McVeigh - Kamloops Blazers (WHL)
Sutton Olson - Southwest Cougars (MMHL) - property of Swift Current Broncos
Tyrel Seaman - Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)
Chandler Stephanson - Regina Pats (WHL)
Brett Stovin - Interlake Lightning (MMHL) - property of Saskatoon Blades
Jaimen Yakubowski - Beardy’s Blackhawks (SMAAAHL) - property of Lethbridge Hurricanes
First, Red Deer and Regina swung a trade yesterday, the Pats sending 18 year old goalie Dawson Guhle to the Rebels for 18 year old forward Lane Scheidl. The move cleared up the Pats' three-goalie logjam and created one in Red Deer, which the Rebels promptly resolved by assigning 16 year old backup Bolton Pouliot back to AAA midget in Calgary.
If nothing else, it's a move by the Rebels that shows their intention of competing for a title this season. Now they have an older backup with 30+ games experience, in the event that starter Darcy Kuemper goes down.
With Regina resolving their situation, only one team in the league still has three goaltenders on the roster now, and that is Swift Current.
Still with Red Deer and Swift Current goaltenders, - or former Rebels and Broncos goaltenders anyway - the QMJHL's Rimouski Oceanic recently added overage goalie Morgan Clark to their roster. Clark played four years in the WHL for Red Deer, Swift Current, and Prince George before becoming a victim of the overage numbers in Prince George last month. With the addition of Clark, the QMJHL now has three former WHL goalies playing as overagers there - Jacob DeSerres and Andrew Hayes being the other two. The QMJHL is also using three former OHL goalies as well....but some people used to think the QMJHL was a goalie factory and anglophone kids were inferior at that position....look who's taking the jobs of those "superior" QMJHL goalies these days.
The WHL has ruled on that hit by Vancouver's Wes Vannieuwenheuizen last week (see below). The verdict is a 7 game suspension, which seems a little light to me. I would have liked to see a few more games, maybe an even 10, but we'll live with 7.
One thing is for sure though, the league cannot ever go back to 2 or 3 game suspensions for serious hits from behind again....those days have to be long gone. There is still a lack of respect being shown to opponents by some players in the league (and in all leagues, to be fair) and I think at this point, only tougher discipline is going to make some players realize that there are certain points in a game where you don't need to make a hit - or can ease up on a hit - on a vulnerable opponent. "Finishing your check" be damned, if the guy is in a bad position then you don't hit him if you can help it. Next time it might be you in that bad position.
Lastly, the Saskatchewan and Manitoba hockey associations yesterday named their 11 players each who will make up "Team Western" for the annual World U-17 Hockey Challenge which starts December 29 in Winnipeg and Portage La Prairie, Manitoba.
Here's the roster, with WHL affiliation for the players not in the WHL right now:
Goaltenders:
Andy Desautels - Regina Pat Canadians (SMAAAHL) - property of Everett Silvertips
Chris Driedger - Tri City Americans (WHL)
Defencemen:
Brady Gaudet - Kamloops Blazers (WHL)
Reid Gow - Spokane Chiefs (WHL)
Justin Hamonic - Winnipeg Wild (MMHL) - property of Tri-City Americans
Landon Peel - Swan Valley Stampeders (MJHL) - property of Regina Pats
Derrick Pouliot - Portland Winterhawks (WHL)
Ryan Pulock - Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)
Damon Severson - Kelowna Rockets (WHL)
Forwards:
Daniel Asham - Winnipeg Wild (MMHL) - property of Brandon Wheat Kings
Bryaden Cuthbert - Moose Jaw Warriors (WHL)
Brendan Harms - Portage Terriers (MJHL) - property of Brandon Wheat Kings
Colton Heffley - Kelowna Rockets (WHL)
Shea Howorko - Swift Current Broncos (WHL)
Jared Iron - Beardy’s Blackhawks (SMAAAHL) - property of Kootenay Ice
Brendan Leipsic - Portland Winterhawks (WHL)
Logan McVeigh - Kamloops Blazers (WHL)
Sutton Olson - Southwest Cougars (MMHL) - property of Swift Current Broncos
Tyrel Seaman - Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)
Chandler Stephanson - Regina Pats (WHL)
Brett Stovin - Interlake Lightning (MMHL) - property of Saskatoon Blades
Jaimen Yakubowski - Beardy’s Blackhawks (SMAAAHL) - property of Lethbridge Hurricanes
British Columbia and Alberta, who combine to form Team Pacific for the tournament, should announce their rosters any day now.
Friday, November 12, 2010
Another big suspension coming up?
No sooner does Tri-City's Brendan Shinnimin return from his 12 game suspension this weekend, than the league may have another double-digit suspension on its hands.
Watch this video of a hit by Vancouver's Wes Vannieuwenhuizen on Chilliwack's Robin Soudek last night. You can't really see what happens until about the 1:40 mark of the video, but that is a brutal, vicious hit from behind by Vannieuwenhuizen. I don't see how the league can give Shinnimin 12 games for his hit on Josh Nicholls (entirely deserved, IMO) and not give Vannieuwenhuizen something similar for this hit.
Soudek is extremely fortunate he suffered "only" a concussion on the play, since it could have been far worse when you look at how he hit the boards and how hard.
When are players going to learn to have more respect for their opponents on the ice?
Watch this video of a hit by Vancouver's Wes Vannieuwenhuizen on Chilliwack's Robin Soudek last night. You can't really see what happens until about the 1:40 mark of the video, but that is a brutal, vicious hit from behind by Vannieuwenhuizen. I don't see how the league can give Shinnimin 12 games for his hit on Josh Nicholls (entirely deserved, IMO) and not give Vannieuwenhuizen something similar for this hit.
Soudek is extremely fortunate he suffered "only" a concussion on the play, since it could have been far worse when you look at how he hit the boards and how hard.
When are players going to learn to have more respect for their opponents on the ice?
Reminder tonight
Just a reminder that tonight's game between Portland and Saskatoon is on Shaw in Canada...if you don't have other plans, are able to watch this game and don't, you might as well turn in your WHL fan card right now.
What more could you possibly want out of a game?
- Portland is #1 overall in the league and the hottest team in the league, riding a 10-0 streak into the game.
- Saskatoon is #3 overall in the league, only 1 point behind Kootenay. So there's a better-than-usual chance that this game could be a preview of the 2010-11 WHL Finals.
- Saskatoon is going to wear what might be the dumbest looking uniforms the WHL has seen since Cooperalls went extinct.
- Shannon Tweed is going to perform the ceremonial faceoff. Lock up your sons.
- Tweed's husband Gene Simmons will be in attendance. Lock up your daughters.
- depending on who you talk to, Simmons may or may not do something really stupid between periods. If he goes through with it, maybe Shaw will skip the talking heads between periods and show it...
What more could you possibly want out of a game?
Thursday, November 11, 2010
And another deal
Looks like Moose Jaw didn't need any more time to make their overage decision after all - they dealt forward Brendan Rowinski to Vancouver this afternoon for a 2012 3rd round pick and a 2013 6th round pick.
The Giants now have four overagers, since they already have McNaught, Cunningham, and MacKay, so there must be another move afoot here....probably not until McNaught is off the injured list though.
The Giants now have four overagers, since they already have McNaught, Cunningham, and MacKay, so there must be another move afoot here....probably not until McNaught is off the injured list though.
Warriors-Blades deal
Trade this afternoon, Moose Jaw has sent 18 year old defenceman Connor Cox to the Blades for a 2011 2nd round bantam pick.
A trade that makes sense for both teams, I think....Moose Jaw is making way for wunderkid Morgan Rielly to get even more playing time, and they get a valuable high pick back in return that they can use as bait if they decide to load up come January. Saskatoon gets a 2-year veteran defenceman to add to a defence group that has only two players with more than 1 year of experience.
Moose Jaw still needs to move an overager in the next 8 days as well, so another deal coming there soon.
A trade that makes sense for both teams, I think....Moose Jaw is making way for wunderkid Morgan Rielly to get even more playing time, and they get a valuable high pick back in return that they can use as bait if they decide to load up come January. Saskatoon gets a 2-year veteran defenceman to add to a defence group that has only two players with more than 1 year of experience.
Moose Jaw still needs to move an overager in the next 8 days as well, so another deal coming there soon.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
NHL All-Star changes
I was reading the sports news tonight when this NHL story caught my eye.
Basically, it sounds like the NHL is about to change the format of their All-Star game, with the changes to be in effect for this season already. Fans will vote on six starters like always, but NHL brass will pick the other 36 players. From those 42 players, two captains will be chosen, and those captains will proceed to pick their teams from the player pool, one at a time.
Of course, this scenario is completely familiar to anyone who ever played on a frozen pond - or even a sandlot ball diamond, soccer field, or playground half-court - anywhere in the world. Two captains - the two best players, biggest players, whatever - pick teams and you play. Which is what makes this idea kinda cool, when you think about it. We've all been there, and probably at some point, most of us have been picked first....and we've also been somebody's tag-along kid brother, getting picked last. I can't wait to watch these NHLers staring at the ground and shuffling their feet as it gets down to the last few players up for grabs.
Boy, am I dating myself by referencing this.....but who will be the NHL's "Albert"?
Basically, it sounds like the NHL is about to change the format of their All-Star game, with the changes to be in effect for this season already. Fans will vote on six starters like always, but NHL brass will pick the other 36 players. From those 42 players, two captains will be chosen, and those captains will proceed to pick their teams from the player pool, one at a time.
Of course, this scenario is completely familiar to anyone who ever played on a frozen pond - or even a sandlot ball diamond, soccer field, or playground half-court - anywhere in the world. Two captains - the two best players, biggest players, whatever - pick teams and you play. Which is what makes this idea kinda cool, when you think about it. We've all been there, and probably at some point, most of us have been picked first....and we've also been somebody's tag-along kid brother, getting picked last. I can't wait to watch these NHLers staring at the ground and shuffling their feet as it gets down to the last few players up for grabs.
Boy, am I dating myself by referencing this.....but who will be the NHL's "Albert"?
Monday, November 8, 2010
Monday notes
Couple notes this morning....
First, Moose Jaw got overage forward Brendan Rowinski back from the injury list on the weekend, which means the Warriors now have four overage players on their roster - goaltender Thomas Heemskerk and forwards Rowinski, Dylan Hood, and Spencer Edwards. If I am not mistaken, the rules give the Warriors two weeks to make a decision on which three to keep. So, By November 20th they must either trade or release one of those four. Heemskerk is the #1 goalie there and his backup - Brandon Stone - has 90 minutes of career WHL experience so it seems very unlikely that Heemskerk is going anywhere. The three forwards, it's probably a toss-up....Edwards is the team captain which you would think might protect him a bit, but I guess anything can happen.
The other note, I got an email from a reader about the Hitmen's poor start to the season. After being 4-4 after 8 games, the Hitmen have now lost 9 in a row and are dead-last in the league at 4-13 - a .235 pace. Anyway, I was asked whether I thought they would still make the playoffs; I know I never made any predictions here on the blog but back in training camp I figured the Hitmen would be in 7th-8th-9th by season's end. In other words, scrapping for one of the last playoff spots.
Well, it's now November and regardless of what I might have thought before, it is looking very bad for the team with the WHL's longest streak of consecutive years in the playoffs (the last time the Hitmen missed the postseason was 1996-97). Last season you needed 78 points to make the playoffs in the Eastern conference. If we assume that number is true again this year, then the Hitmen need 70 points in their last 55 games to get into the playoffs. That requires them to play .636 hockey from now through the end of the season in order to make the playoffs. You don't have to be an expert on anything to realize the extreme improbability of a team that is .235 after 17 games - and at their best point were only .500 this season - suddenly playing .636 for 55 games.
As the saying goes, you can't win the title at the start of the season - but you can sure lose it.
I don't think anyone else in the league is in the same boat as Calgary quite yet - nobody else is more than 4 points out of a playoff spot in their conference at the moment anyway.
First, Moose Jaw got overage forward Brendan Rowinski back from the injury list on the weekend, which means the Warriors now have four overage players on their roster - goaltender Thomas Heemskerk and forwards Rowinski, Dylan Hood, and Spencer Edwards. If I am not mistaken, the rules give the Warriors two weeks to make a decision on which three to keep. So, By November 20th they must either trade or release one of those four. Heemskerk is the #1 goalie there and his backup - Brandon Stone - has 90 minutes of career WHL experience so it seems very unlikely that Heemskerk is going anywhere. The three forwards, it's probably a toss-up....Edwards is the team captain which you would think might protect him a bit, but I guess anything can happen.
The other note, I got an email from a reader about the Hitmen's poor start to the season. After being 4-4 after 8 games, the Hitmen have now lost 9 in a row and are dead-last in the league at 4-13 - a .235 pace. Anyway, I was asked whether I thought they would still make the playoffs; I know I never made any predictions here on the blog but back in training camp I figured the Hitmen would be in 7th-8th-9th by season's end. In other words, scrapping for one of the last playoff spots.
Well, it's now November and regardless of what I might have thought before, it is looking very bad for the team with the WHL's longest streak of consecutive years in the playoffs (the last time the Hitmen missed the postseason was 1996-97). Last season you needed 78 points to make the playoffs in the Eastern conference. If we assume that number is true again this year, then the Hitmen need 70 points in their last 55 games to get into the playoffs. That requires them to play .636 hockey from now through the end of the season in order to make the playoffs. You don't have to be an expert on anything to realize the extreme improbability of a team that is .235 after 17 games - and at their best point were only .500 this season - suddenly playing .636 for 55 games.
As the saying goes, you can't win the title at the start of the season - but you can sure lose it.
I don't think anyone else in the league is in the same boat as Calgary quite yet - nobody else is more than 4 points out of a playoff spot in their conference at the moment anyway.
Friday, November 5, 2010
The report of my death was an exaggeration
I am back....apologies for going so long between posts but I've been extremely busy in my "real" life the last few weeks and haven't had much free time to do this. I can't promise that I'm going to be updating every day from here on but the frequency should probably be a lot closer to what it used to be.
Just one note for today - I see Edmonton and Kamloops swapped goalies yesterday, the Oil Kings getting 19 year old Jon Groenheyde and the Blazers getting 18 year old Cam Lanigan. The deal means that Kamloops is now using two veteran goalies who were not on the team at the start of training camp.
Which makes me think - is there any team in the league whose goaltending has been more unsettled in recent years than Kamloops? It seems (to me anyway) that ever since Devan Dubnyk left for the pros, that the Blazers have had a steady stream of goalies running through their dressing room in the search for that night-in, night-out starter that every team covets. Every team has some periods of uncertainty at the position but it just seems to me like Kamloops' has gone on for quite a few years now.
That being said though, I like this trade for the Blazers. Having seen Lanigan a bit over the last couple years, I think he's a very promising goalie and I'm not sure why Edmonton gave up on him. Yeah, he was struggling this year....but he did play very well last year and even got himself an NHL camp invite from it. For giving up on that potential, the Oil Kings get Groenheyde, who at 19 and after 2-plus years in the WHL, still hasn't proven that he is more than a backup calibre goaltender. He has good nights and bad nights and has just been consistently inconsistent so far in his career. Edmonton already had that in Lanigan, only Lanigan is younger and theoretically has more upside, more room to improve. So I don't get this trade from Edmonton's POV.
Just one note for today - I see Edmonton and Kamloops swapped goalies yesterday, the Oil Kings getting 19 year old Jon Groenheyde and the Blazers getting 18 year old Cam Lanigan. The deal means that Kamloops is now using two veteran goalies who were not on the team at the start of training camp.
Which makes me think - is there any team in the league whose goaltending has been more unsettled in recent years than Kamloops? It seems (to me anyway) that ever since Devan Dubnyk left for the pros, that the Blazers have had a steady stream of goalies running through their dressing room in the search for that night-in, night-out starter that every team covets. Every team has some periods of uncertainty at the position but it just seems to me like Kamloops' has gone on for quite a few years now.
That being said though, I like this trade for the Blazers. Having seen Lanigan a bit over the last couple years, I think he's a very promising goalie and I'm not sure why Edmonton gave up on him. Yeah, he was struggling this year....but he did play very well last year and even got himself an NHL camp invite from it. For giving up on that potential, the Oil Kings get Groenheyde, who at 19 and after 2-plus years in the WHL, still hasn't proven that he is more than a backup calibre goaltender. He has good nights and bad nights and has just been consistently inconsistent so far in his career. Edmonton already had that in Lanigan, only Lanigan is younger and theoretically has more upside, more room to improve. So I don't get this trade from Edmonton's POV.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Deadline day
Today is overage deadline day - teams must declare their three overagers by 3pm Calgary time and after that there will be a "draft" to allow teams around the league to pick up the players who have been released.
We have one trade already this morning - Calgary has sent overage defenceman Zak Stebner to Tri-Cities for a 2011 3rd round bantam pick. The Americans' next game is on Tuesday when Calgary is in Tri-Cities to play them, so Stebner's first game for the Ams will be against his old team.
That move gets Calgary down to 3 overagers, but bumps Tri-Cities up to five, so the Ams will be making two more moves in the next 3 hours for sure. The only other teams that need to make moves today are Chilliwack (must move one of goaltender Lucas Gore, defencemen Jeff Einhorn and Brandon Manning, or forward Shayne Neigum) and Kootenay (must move one of goaltender Todd Mathews or forwards Steele Boomer, Matt Fraser, and Kevin King.)
UPDATE: Tri-City has gotten down to the limit by releasing forward Mike Brown and goaltender Alex Pechurskiy. They also released 18 year old import defenceman Nikita Kardashev, so at the moment they have zero imports.
Brown and Pechurskiy will be available in the overage draft later this afternoon.....right now only Kamloops is eligible to claim players in that draft so they'll have their pick of who they want.
UPDATE #2: Kootenay has waived goaltender Todd Mathews, and Chilliwack waived forward Shayne Neigum.
Kamloops then claimed Neigum, and that's the end of the day's festivities. Mathews, Mike Brown, and Alex Pechurskiy are free agents now.
We have one trade already this morning - Calgary has sent overage defenceman Zak Stebner to Tri-Cities for a 2011 3rd round bantam pick. The Americans' next game is on Tuesday when Calgary is in Tri-Cities to play them, so Stebner's first game for the Ams will be against his old team.
That move gets Calgary down to 3 overagers, but bumps Tri-Cities up to five, so the Ams will be making two more moves in the next 3 hours for sure. The only other teams that need to make moves today are Chilliwack (must move one of goaltender Lucas Gore, defencemen Jeff Einhorn and Brandon Manning, or forward Shayne Neigum) and Kootenay (must move one of goaltender Todd Mathews or forwards Steele Boomer, Matt Fraser, and Kevin King.)
UPDATE: Tri-City has gotten down to the limit by releasing forward Mike Brown and goaltender Alex Pechurskiy. They also released 18 year old import defenceman Nikita Kardashev, so at the moment they have zero imports.
Brown and Pechurskiy will be available in the overage draft later this afternoon.....right now only Kamloops is eligible to claim players in that draft so they'll have their pick of who they want.
UPDATE #2: Kootenay has waived goaltender Todd Mathews, and Chilliwack waived forward Shayne Neigum.
Kamloops then claimed Neigum, and that's the end of the day's festivities. Mathews, Mike Brown, and Alex Pechurskiy are free agents now.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
James is going to jail again.....we hope
Good news about a bad situation this morning; the Winnipeg police have finished their investigation into Theoren Fleury's allegations of sexual abuse at the hands of Graham James while playing for the St. James Canadians Jr A team in the mid-80s. As a result of the investigation, a Canada-wide warrant has been issued for James' arrest.
As of 4 months ago, James was known to be living in Guadalajara, Mexico, so I imagine Canada will have to ask Mexico to extradite him if he is to stand trial in Canada on the Fleury charges.
Hopefully the Canadian courts get it right this time. James' 1997 trial was one of the worst travesties of justice I have ever heard about in this country - he pled guilty to 350 counts of sexual assault (which carry a maximum sentence of 10 years) and for that was sentenced to three and a half years in prison. For 350 admitted sexual assaults, he served less than four days in prison for each one.
The article also says that at least three other men have either approached the police in Manitoba and Calgary about James, or are considering doing so. Hopefully this all adds up to James spending a long stretch in the big house when all is said and done.
As of 4 months ago, James was known to be living in Guadalajara, Mexico, so I imagine Canada will have to ask Mexico to extradite him if he is to stand trial in Canada on the Fleury charges.
Hopefully the Canadian courts get it right this time. James' 1997 trial was one of the worst travesties of justice I have ever heard about in this country - he pled guilty to 350 counts of sexual assault (which carry a maximum sentence of 10 years) and for that was sentenced to three and a half years in prison. For 350 admitted sexual assaults, he served less than four days in prison for each one.
The article also says that at least three other men have either approached the police in Manitoba and Calgary about James, or are considering doing so. Hopefully this all adds up to James spending a long stretch in the big house when all is said and done.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Tuesday stuff
The WHL has made its' decision on Tri-City forward Brendan Shinnimin, and the verdict is a 12 game suspension for his dirty hit on Saskatoon's Josh Nicholls. Personally I think the league got it right, this is just about the right length of time IMO. Hopefully this signals a move by the WHL towards longer suspensions for the cheapest, dirtiest plays.
Now, catching up on what has happened over the (Canadian anyway) long weekend....
Regina and Swift Current made two trades on Friday that worked out to actually be one trade: first the Pats traded 19 year old forward Killian Hutt to the Broncos for a 6th round bantam pick. Hours later, the Pats sent that pick back to the Broncos for 18 year old import forward Juraj Roznik. So essentially it was Hutt for Roznik, done as two trades for the same draft pick.
The reason for the two trades? The Pats already had two imports and couldn't acquire Roznik until they moved one out, which they did by sending 19 year old forward Hampus Gustafsson to Brandon for a 2013 6th round pick. This deal happened between the Hutt deal and the Roznik deal and allowed the Roznik deal to take place.
Few more moves were made in the overage department, including two by Brandon. First the Wheat Kings traded overage defenceman Mark Schneider to Regina for 18 year old forward Dominik Favreau, and then the Wheat Kings got down to their final three overagers by waiving goaltender Jake DeSerres.
The acquisition of Schneider by Regina gets the Pats up to three overagers and means the only team in the league not at 3 (or more) right now is Kamloops.
As for DeSerres, he was picked up later in the day by the Saint John Sea Dogs of the QMJHL. Not a bad arrangement for DeSerres since Saint John is one of the better teams in that league and he'll get a chance to take another team to the Memorial Cup. It just shows the depth of overagers in the WHL this year though, that a goalie of DeSerres' abilities cannot stick in the WHL. He is better than the goaltenders some WHL teams have right now....just not significantly better enough to make anyone want to also sacrifice one of their other overagers in return.
Two other overagers were released over the weekend as well - Prince George waived goaltender Morgan Clark, and Calgary waived defenceman Kyle Aschim. The Hitmen could have waited with Aschim since he is still rehabbing a shoulder injury and doesn't count against their overager limit until he is ready to play, but he clearly wasn't going to be in their top three and probably doesn't have any trade value in this overage market, so no point in waiting any longer I guess.
Also, overage forward Neal Prokop has rejoined the Tri-City Americans as he rehabs a broken leg he suffered last season. This gives the Ams five overagers now, although Prokop does not count until he's ready to play of course.
Two other veterans reassigned over the weekend too - Everett's D. Jay McGrath and Regina's Tyler Borstmayer, both of them headed to the Saskatchewan Junior A ranks. Not sure if this is the end for McGrath with Everett, but I think Borstmayer may have a chance to get back with the Pats next season if he gets some playing time this year in Jr A.
And lastly, I have to concede that there might not be any season predictions coming from me this year....there is just so much going on for me right now that I barely have time to update the blog at all, let alone time to write any kind of serious predictions. And the longer I wait, the less point there is in doing it at all, right....so I guess I could just do a quick first-to-last order prediction for each division, with no writeups, or I could just do nothing at all.
Now, catching up on what has happened over the (Canadian anyway) long weekend....
Regina and Swift Current made two trades on Friday that worked out to actually be one trade: first the Pats traded 19 year old forward Killian Hutt to the Broncos for a 6th round bantam pick. Hours later, the Pats sent that pick back to the Broncos for 18 year old import forward Juraj Roznik. So essentially it was Hutt for Roznik, done as two trades for the same draft pick.
The reason for the two trades? The Pats already had two imports and couldn't acquire Roznik until they moved one out, which they did by sending 19 year old forward Hampus Gustafsson to Brandon for a 2013 6th round pick. This deal happened between the Hutt deal and the Roznik deal and allowed the Roznik deal to take place.
Few more moves were made in the overage department, including two by Brandon. First the Wheat Kings traded overage defenceman Mark Schneider to Regina for 18 year old forward Dominik Favreau, and then the Wheat Kings got down to their final three overagers by waiving goaltender Jake DeSerres.
The acquisition of Schneider by Regina gets the Pats up to three overagers and means the only team in the league not at 3 (or more) right now is Kamloops.
As for DeSerres, he was picked up later in the day by the Saint John Sea Dogs of the QMJHL. Not a bad arrangement for DeSerres since Saint John is one of the better teams in that league and he'll get a chance to take another team to the Memorial Cup. It just shows the depth of overagers in the WHL this year though, that a goalie of DeSerres' abilities cannot stick in the WHL. He is better than the goaltenders some WHL teams have right now....just not significantly better enough to make anyone want to also sacrifice one of their other overagers in return.
Two other overagers were released over the weekend as well - Prince George waived goaltender Morgan Clark, and Calgary waived defenceman Kyle Aschim. The Hitmen could have waited with Aschim since he is still rehabbing a shoulder injury and doesn't count against their overager limit until he is ready to play, but he clearly wasn't going to be in their top three and probably doesn't have any trade value in this overage market, so no point in waiting any longer I guess.
Also, overage forward Neal Prokop has rejoined the Tri-City Americans as he rehabs a broken leg he suffered last season. This gives the Ams five overagers now, although Prokop does not count until he's ready to play of course.
Two other veterans reassigned over the weekend too - Everett's D. Jay McGrath and Regina's Tyler Borstmayer, both of them headed to the Saskatchewan Junior A ranks. Not sure if this is the end for McGrath with Everett, but I think Borstmayer may have a chance to get back with the Pats next season if he gets some playing time this year in Jr A.
And lastly, I have to concede that there might not be any season predictions coming from me this year....there is just so much going on for me right now that I barely have time to update the blog at all, let alone time to write any kind of serious predictions. And the longer I wait, the less point there is in doing it at all, right....so I guess I could just do a quick first-to-last order prediction for each division, with no writeups, or I could just do nothing at all.
Friday, October 8, 2010
Friday notes
Bunch of moves to note yesterday in the league...
Vancouver resolved their 3-goalie logjam by sending 18 year old Derek Tendler to the Swift Current Broncos for a 2011 6th round bantam pick. That leaves the Giants with 19 year old Mark Segal and 17 year old Brendan Jensen as their goalies this year. Tendler's acquisition puts the Broncos into a similar 3-goalie pickle though, as they already had overager Mark Friesen and 17 year old rookie Austin Smith as their goalies. So now what do they do? Friesen's numbers are not very good through his first six starts (1 win, 3.82 GAA, .876 sv%) and there are some good forward and defencemen overage options out there if they want to let go of Friesen and go with a Tendler-Smith goalie tandem. On the other hand, Tendler is on his 3rd team in the last 9 months and is the owner of a career 4.30 GAA and .859 sv% over 13 games, so there's a lot of doubt that he's starting material. That probably means Smith is going down to Jr A and they use a Friesen-Tendler combo. Guess we'll see.
In other goalie news, Saskatoon reassigned 17 year old Adam Iwan, which means they're going with overager Steven Stanford and 19 year old Adam Morrison this year. Should Morrison be signed by the Philadelphia Flyers - who drafted him in the 3rd round in 2009 and gave him a long stay at camp this fall - then the Blades would be looking at having two rookie goaltenders next year. Barring trades of course.
Two overage notes as well, the main one being a trade between Prince George and Everett that sees overage forward Parker Stanfield heading from the Cougars to the Silvertips for a 2012 6th round bantam pick. That move gets the Cougars down to 4 overagers and gets the Silvertips up to the limit of 3. Only Regina and Kamloops still have openings to add an overager now without also having to move one out. Overage deadline is one week from today.
Two other overage notes as Kelowna has waived overage tough guy Tyler Matheson, a move which gets them down to three. I don't think there will be any takers for Matheson, so he is probably headed back to the BCHL to play Junior A. Portland has also released overage forward Liam Darragh, who was trying to get back into the league after previous stints in Chilliwack and Swift Current. Guess that didn't work out and now he is probably headed for the BCHL as well.
And one more deal from Wednesday which I had not mentioned until now; Prince George and Regina swapped 19 year old defencemen in a straight-up deal, the Pats getting Art Bidlevskii and the Cougars getting Cody Carlson. Kind of a deal intended to help both teams address specific needs since the players are quite different - Carlson is a smallish offensive-minded defenceman while Bidlevskii is your tough stay at home type.
One more thing I have to comment on as well; Tri-City forward Brendan Shinnimin has been suspended indefinitely, pending a WHL ruling on his brutal hit from behind on Saskatoon forward Josh Nicholls on Wednesday night. WHL fans with long memories may agree with me that this hit is not very different in appearance from a 1987 hit by Troy Edwards of the Warriors on Brad Hornung of the Pats - forward going to the net, gets a shove from the defender, flies headfirst into the boards behind the net. Except that Nicholls will be OK, while we all know the outcome of the Hornung hit. That is how close many of these serious hits from behind are to becoming tragedies.
I don't think there was any intent to injure on Shinnimin's part; you'd like to think that there is very little actual "intent to injure" anywhere in hockey. But what it was, was reckless and careless and there is far too much of that in the game today, and it's not getting better.
If this were the OHL, based on the punishments they have handed down for serious cheap shots over the last few years, I think Shinnimin would be looking at a suspension in the 10-20 game range for that hit. The WHL, unfortunately, hasn't taken that hard line yet (how long will we have to wait for that to start, I wonder) and so I suspect that what they give Shinnimin will probably be around 5 games, maybe 6 or 7. I would be very surprised if he got more, and not surprised at all (sadly) if he got less. The WHL really needs to start lowering the boom on these reckless plays before somebody else gets seriously hurt....because the players are not getting the message right now.
Vancouver resolved their 3-goalie logjam by sending 18 year old Derek Tendler to the Swift Current Broncos for a 2011 6th round bantam pick. That leaves the Giants with 19 year old Mark Segal and 17 year old Brendan Jensen as their goalies this year. Tendler's acquisition puts the Broncos into a similar 3-goalie pickle though, as they already had overager Mark Friesen and 17 year old rookie Austin Smith as their goalies. So now what do they do? Friesen's numbers are not very good through his first six starts (1 win, 3.82 GAA, .876 sv%) and there are some good forward and defencemen overage options out there if they want to let go of Friesen and go with a Tendler-Smith goalie tandem. On the other hand, Tendler is on his 3rd team in the last 9 months and is the owner of a career 4.30 GAA and .859 sv% over 13 games, so there's a lot of doubt that he's starting material. That probably means Smith is going down to Jr A and they use a Friesen-Tendler combo. Guess we'll see.
In other goalie news, Saskatoon reassigned 17 year old Adam Iwan, which means they're going with overager Steven Stanford and 19 year old Adam Morrison this year. Should Morrison be signed by the Philadelphia Flyers - who drafted him in the 3rd round in 2009 and gave him a long stay at camp this fall - then the Blades would be looking at having two rookie goaltenders next year. Barring trades of course.
Two overage notes as well, the main one being a trade between Prince George and Everett that sees overage forward Parker Stanfield heading from the Cougars to the Silvertips for a 2012 6th round bantam pick. That move gets the Cougars down to 4 overagers and gets the Silvertips up to the limit of 3. Only Regina and Kamloops still have openings to add an overager now without also having to move one out. Overage deadline is one week from today.
Two other overage notes as Kelowna has waived overage tough guy Tyler Matheson, a move which gets them down to three. I don't think there will be any takers for Matheson, so he is probably headed back to the BCHL to play Junior A. Portland has also released overage forward Liam Darragh, who was trying to get back into the league after previous stints in Chilliwack and Swift Current. Guess that didn't work out and now he is probably headed for the BCHL as well.
And one more deal from Wednesday which I had not mentioned until now; Prince George and Regina swapped 19 year old defencemen in a straight-up deal, the Pats getting Art Bidlevskii and the Cougars getting Cody Carlson. Kind of a deal intended to help both teams address specific needs since the players are quite different - Carlson is a smallish offensive-minded defenceman while Bidlevskii is your tough stay at home type.
One more thing I have to comment on as well; Tri-City forward Brendan Shinnimin has been suspended indefinitely, pending a WHL ruling on his brutal hit from behind on Saskatoon forward Josh Nicholls on Wednesday night. WHL fans with long memories may agree with me that this hit is not very different in appearance from a 1987 hit by Troy Edwards of the Warriors on Brad Hornung of the Pats - forward going to the net, gets a shove from the defender, flies headfirst into the boards behind the net. Except that Nicholls will be OK, while we all know the outcome of the Hornung hit. That is how close many of these serious hits from behind are to becoming tragedies.
I don't think there was any intent to injure on Shinnimin's part; you'd like to think that there is very little actual "intent to injure" anywhere in hockey. But what it was, was reckless and careless and there is far too much of that in the game today, and it's not getting better.
If this were the OHL, based on the punishments they have handed down for serious cheap shots over the last few years, I think Shinnimin would be looking at a suspension in the 10-20 game range for that hit. The WHL, unfortunately, hasn't taken that hard line yet (how long will we have to wait for that to start, I wonder) and so I suspect that what they give Shinnimin will probably be around 5 games, maybe 6 or 7. I would be very surprised if he got more, and not surprised at all (sadly) if he got less. The WHL really needs to start lowering the boom on these reckless plays before somebody else gets seriously hurt....because the players are not getting the message right now.
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