2010-11 prospects: Vancouver

The voters have spoken, and the Giants are next.....

As always, skater stats are GP-G-A-PTS-PIM, and goalie stats are GP-GAA-W-L-SV%.

Anthony Ast -- Acquired: 2010 1st round bantam pick
Center, 5'8", 170lb, 2010-11 age: 15
Burnaby Winter Club Bruins (St. Albert AAA bant. tourn.)	6	6	5	11	4
Burnaby Winter Club Bruins (Western bant. champ.)	5	0	3	3	2

Matt Bellerive -- Acquired: 2009 2nd round bantam pick
Right Wing, 5'10", 170lb, 2010-11 age: 16
Vancouver NW Giants (BCAHA AAA midg.)	35	17	18	35	50
Vancouver NW Giants (BCAHA AAA midg. - PLF)	5	5	0	5	2
Vancouver NW Giants (Macs midg. tourn.)	7	3	4	7	8
Vancouver Giants (WHL)	2	0	0	0	0

Joey Benik -- Acquired: listed player
Center, 5'10", 150lb, 2010-11 age: 18
St. Francis H.S. (Minn. H.S.)	25	53	37	90	14
-- committed to St.Cloud State for 2011-12 season

Scott Cooke -- Acquired: 2009 5th round bantam pick
Right Wing, 5'11", 152lb, 2010-11 age: 16
Valley West Hawks (BCAHA AAA midg.)	39	4	13	17	22

Carson Cooper -- Acquired: listed player
Center, 6'0", 170lb, 2010-11 age: 18
Spruce Grove Saints (AJHL Jr A)	51	6	15	21	41
Spruce Grove Saints (AJHL Jr A - PLF)	16	2	5	7	6
-- committed to Yale for 2011-12 season

Dexter Dancs -- Acquired: 2010 12th round bantam pick
Left Wing, 5'10", 150lb, 2010-11 age: 15
NSWC Winterhawks (BCAHA AAA bant.)	58	18	22	40	n/a
NSWC Winterhawks (St. Albert AAA bant. tourn.)	5	1	3	4	6
NSWC Winterhawks (Western bant. champ.)	5	0	0	0	16
Avalanche (U-16 B.C. Cup)	4	1	3	4	0

Sean Dupras -- Acquired: listed player
Defense, 6'1", 175lb, 2010-11 age: 16
Edmonton MLAC (AMMHL midg. 15 y.o.)	32	5	8	13	18
Edmonton MLAC (AMHL AAA midg.)	5	0	0	0	0

Cain Franson -- Acquired: 2008 3rd round bantam pick
Center, 5'11", 149lb, 2010-11 age: 17
Sicamous Eagles (KIJHL Jr B)	49	14	18	32	20
Sicamous Eagles (KIJHL Jr B - PLF)	7	3	3	6	2
-- Franson is the brother of former WHLer Cody Franson

Aaron Hadley -- Acquired: 2008 10th round bantam pick
Right Wing, 6'1", 175lb, 2010-11 age: 17
Beaver Valley Nitehawks (KIJHL Jr B)	47	25	22	47	94
Beaver Valley Nitehawks (KIJHL Jr B - PLF)	7	1	2	3	20
Pacific (World U-17 Challenge)	5	2	0	2	2

Tyler Hart -- Acquired: listed player
Defense, 6'1", 200lb, 2010-11 age: 18
Spruce Grove Saints (AJHL Jr A)	41	1	1	2	73
Spruce Grove Saints (AJHL Jr A - PLF)	6	0	2	2	2
Vancouver Giants (WHL)	2	0	0	0	0

Zach Hillhouse -- Acquired: 2008 8th round bantam pick
Defense, 6'2", 167lb, 2010-11 age: 17
Grandview Steelers (PIJHL - Jr B)	45	4	7	11	77
Grandview Steelers (PIJHL - Jr B - PLF)	4	0	0	0	16

Jackson Houck -- Acquired: 2010 3rd round bantam pick
Right Wing, 6'0", 180lb, 2010-11 age: 15
NSWC Winterhawks (BCAHA AAA bant.)	55	51	53	104	n/a
NSWC Winterhawks (St. Albert AAA bant. tourn.)	5	4	6	10	10
NSWC Winterhawks (Western bant. champ.)	5	2	2	4	10
Bruins (U-16 B.C. Cup)	4	1	3	4	10

Brayden Jaw -- Acquired: listed player
Right Wing, 6'0", 180lb, 2010-11 age: 18
Nanaimo Clippers (BCHL Jr A)	58	13	21	34	41
Nanaimo Clippers (BCHL Jr A - PLF)	12	5	4	9	8

-- committed to Harvard for 2011-12

Brendan Jensen -- Acquired: 2008 6th round bantam pick
Goaltender, 6'1", 185lb, 2010-11 age: 17
Wenatchee Wild (NAHL Jr A)	17	2.09	10	3	.917
Wenatchee Wild (NAHL Jr A - PLF)	4	1.63	3	0	.942
Vancouver Giants (WHL)	6	2.97	3	2	.865

Nolan Kaiser -- Acquired: listed player
Defense, 6'0", 185lb, 2010-11 age: 18
Camrose Kodiaks (AJHL Jr A)	56	10	25	35	82
Camrose Kodiaks (AJHL Jr A - PLF)	13	1	5	6	39
-- committed to Alaska-Fairbanks for 2011-12 season

Kevan Kilistoff -- Acquired: 2010 9th round bantam pick
Left Wing, 5'11", 160lb, 2010-11 age: 15
Langley Eagles (BCAHA AAA bant.)	36	27	23	50	12
Wild (U-16 B.C. Cup)	4	3	2	5	2

Brett Kulak -- Acquired: 2009 9th round bantam pick
Defense, 5'9", 150lb, 2010-11 age: 16
Spruce Grove Saints (AMMHL midg. 15 y.o.)	32	4	34	38	42

John Lidgett -- Acquired: listed player
Center, 5'8", 165lb, 2010-11 age: 17
Calgary Royals (AJHL Jr A)	52	15	20	35	28
Calgary Royals (AJHL Jr A - PLF)	5	1	2	3	4
-- committed to Colgate for 2011-12 season

Trevor Lima -- Acquired: 2010 6th round bantam pick
Defense, 5'10", 170lb, 2010-11 age: 15
NSWC Winterhawks (BCAHA AAA bant.)	58	8	27	35	n/a
NSWC Winterhawks (St. Albert AAA bant. tourn.)	5	0	3	3	10
NSWC Winterhawks (Western bant. champ.)	5	0	2	2	0
Wild (U-16 B.C. Cup)	4	0	1	1	2

Tanner Lishchynsky -- Acquired: 2010 10th round bantam pick
Defense, 5'9", 140lb, 2010-11 age: 15
Saskatoon Generals (GSHL AA bant.)	46	8	19	27	82
Saskatoon Generals (Saskatoon bant. tourn.)	4	0	4	4	10
Saskatoon (Sask First)	4	0	1	1	n/a

Curtis Loik -- Acquired: listed player
Left Wing, 5'11", 190lb, 2010-11 age: 17
Vancouver NW Giants (BCAHA AAA midg.)	33	37	24	61	26
Vancouver NW Giants (BCAHA AAA midg. - PLF)	5	6	5	11	4
Vancouver NW Giants (Macs midg. tourn.)	7	6	3	9	19

Mark MacMillan -- Acquired: listed player
Left Wing, 6'0", 150lb, 2010-11 age: 18
Alberni Valley Bulldogs (BCHL Jr A)	59	26	54	80	44
Alberni Valley Bulldogs (BCHL Jr A - PLF)	13	5	9	14	16

-- committed to North Dakota for 2010-11

Jordan Martinook -- Acquired: listed player
Left Wing, 6'1", 175lb, 2010-11 age: 18
Drayton Valley Thunder (AJHL Jr A)	59	21	19	40	48

Tyler Morrison -- Acquired: listed player
Defense, 5'10", 160lb, 2010-11 age: 15
Sherwood Park Flyers (AMBHL AAA bant.)	31	6	20	26	31
Sherwood Park Flyers (St. Albert AAA bant. tourn.)	4	1	4	5	2
Northeast Flyers (Alberta Cup)	5	0	3	3	2
Sherwood Park Squires (AMMHL midg. 15 y.o.)	3	1	0	1	0

Cody Nicolay -- Acquired: listed player
Goaltender, 6'1", 195lb, 2010-11 age: 16
Red Deer Northstar Chiefs (AMMHL midg. 15 y.o.)	17	4.27	3	6	.899

Blake Orban -- Acquired: 2009 3rd round bantam pick
Defense, 5'11", 197lb, 2010-11 age: 16
Calgary Buffaloes (AMHL AAA midg.)	31	2	13	15	78
Calgary Buffaloes (AMHL AAA midg. - PLF)	6	0	1	1	2
Calgary Buffaloes (Macs midg. tourn.)	4	0	1	1	0
Olds Grizzlys (AJHL Jr A)	1	0	0	0	0

Tanner Posch -- Acquired: 2010 13th round bantam pick
Right Wing, 6'0", 175lb, 2010-11 age: 15
Leduc Oil Kings (AMBHL AAA bant.)	32	7	10	17	58
Leduc Oil Kings (Edmonton AAA bant. tourn.)	4	1	0	1	4
Leduc Oil Kings (St. Albert AAA bant. tourn.)	3	1	1	2	2
Edmonton South Bruins (Alberta Cup)	5	3	2	5	2

RJ Reed -- Acquired: listed player
Left Wing, 6'1", 155lb, 2010-11 age: 18
Brooks Bandits (AJHL Jr A)	56	22	17	39	84
Brooks Bandits (AJHL Jr A - PLF)	9	4	9	13	5

Landon Robin -- Acquired: 2009 7th round bantam pick
Center, 5'10", 158lb, 2010-11 age: 16
Beardy’s Blackhawks (SMHL AAA midg.)	44	6	5	11	23
Beardy’s Blackhawks (SMHL AAA midg. - PLF)	6	1	2	3	12
Beardy's Blackhawks (Macs midg. tourn.)	4	0	1	1	2

Marlon Sabo -- Acquired: listed player
Defense, 6'1", 185lb, 2010-11 age: 16
Semiahmoo Ravens (BCAHA AA midg.)	no stats
Valley West Hawks (BCAHA AAA midg.)	5	2	0	2	0

Scott Savage -- Acquired: 2010 9th round bantam pick
Defense, 5'11", 150lb, 2010-11 age: 15
L.A. Selects (USA AAA bant.)	no stats
L.A. Selects (Nike/Bauer AAA bant. tourn.)	4	0	2	2	0
L.A. Selects (St. Albert AAA bant. tourn.)	6	3	0	3	6
L.A. Selects (U.S. Nationals)	6	1	5	6	2

Jessie Siemens -- Acquired: listed player
Left Wing, 5'10", 211lb, 2010-11 age: 17
Greater Vancouver Canadians (BCAHA AAA midg.)	39	18	17	35	48
Greater Vancouver Canadians (BCAHA AAA midg. - PLF)	5	4	0	4	2
Vancouver Canadians (Macs midg. tourn.)	4	1	1	2	4
Richmond Sockeyes (PIJHL - Jr B)	1	0	0	0	0

Dalton Sward -- Acquired: 2009 1st round bantam pick
Center, 5'10", 170lb, 2010-11 age: 16
Fraser Valley Bruins (BCAHA AAA midg.)	40	12	17	29	82
Abbotsford Pilots (PIJHL - Jr B)	3	2	2	4	0
Abbotsford Pilots (PIJHL - Jr B - PLF)	3	2	1	3	0
Vancouver Giants (WHL)	1	0	0	0	0

Derek Tendler -- Acquired: trade with Regina
Goaltender, 6'0", 211lb, 2010-11 age: 18
Estevan Bruins (SJHL Jr A)	38	2.99	n/a	n/a	.907
Regina Pats (WHL)	1	0.00	0	0	1.000
Vancouver Giants (WHL)	9	3.77	4	2	.868

Justin Toomey -- Acquired: 2010 7th round bantam pick
Defense, 6'2", 195lb, 2010-11 age: 15
Leduc Oil Kings (AMBHL AAA bant.)	33	2	6	8	40
Leduc Oil Kings (Edmonton AAA bant. tourn.)	4	0	2	2	4
Leduc Oil Kings (St. Albert AAA bant. tourn.)	4	0	0	0	0

Daniel Urbani -- Acquired: 2010 11th round bantam pick
Goaltender, 5'9", 145lb, 2010-11 age: 15
NSWC Winterhawks (BCAHA AAA bant.)	n/a	1.66	28	4	.922
NSWC Winterhawks (St. Albert AAA bant. tourn.)	2	4.00	1	1	.914
NSWC Winterhawks (Western bant. champ.)	2	3.78	1	1	.800

Wes Vannieuwenhuizen -- Acquired: 2007 6th round bantam pick
Defense, 6'3", 205lb, 2010-11 age: 18
Surrey Eagles (BCHL Jr A)	57	1	4	5	119
Surrey Eagles (BCHL Jr A - PLF)	6	0	1	1	8
Vancouver Giants (WHL)	4	0	1	1	0
Vancouver Giants (WHL - PLF)	6	0	0	0	5

Austin Vetterl -- Acquired: listed player
Center, 5'9", 145lb, 2010-11 age: 16
Valley West Hawks (BCAHA AAA midg.)	40	7	20	27	40
Delta Ice Hawks (PIJHL - Jr B)	3	0	1	1	0

Eric Walker -- Acquired: listed player
Defense, 6'1", 187lb, 2010-11 age: 17
Trail Smoke Eaters (BCHL Jr A)	59	4	7	11	60
Trail Smoke Eaters (BCHL Jr A - PLF)	5	0	1	1	4
-- committed to Northern Michigan for 2011-12 season

Jackson Whistle -- Acquired: 2010 4th round bantam pick
Goaltender, 5'9", 151lb, 2010-11 age: 15
Kelowna P.O.E. (BCAHA bant. AAA)	25	n/a	22	3	n/a
Kelowna P.O.E. (Jardine AAA bant. tourn.)	2	3.50	2	0	n/a
Kelowna P.O.E. (St. Albert AAA bant. tourn.)	n/a	4.13	2	0	.919

2010-11 prospects: Everett

Everett was the favourite with the voters, and so the Silvertips prospects shall go first....

All skater stats are GP-G-A-PTS-PIM, and all goalie stats are GP-GAA-W-L-SV%.

Corrections or provision of missing info is always appreciated. I did my best but there are bound to be some things I missed or messed up on.

Austin Adam -- Acquired: 2010 4th round bantam pick
Defense, 6'3", 160lb, 2010-11 age: 15
Cloverdale Colts (BCAHA AAA bant.)	14	2	3	5	2
Cloverdale Colts (PoCo tourn.)	5	1	1	2	0
Bruins (U-16 B.C. Cup)	4	0	1	1	4

Mark Alt -- Acquired: listed player
Defense, 6'4", 185lb, 2010-11 age: 19
Cretin-Derham Hall H.S. (Minn. H.S.)	22	6	9	15	12

-- committed to Minnesota for 2010-11 season
-- Alt was also a sought-after football recruit (QB) but chose hockey

Trevor Bauer -- Acquired: trade with Prince George
Defense, 6'2", 181lb, 2010-11 age: 20
Everett Silvertips (WHL)	did not play

Kohl Bauml -- Acquired: 2009 3rd round bantam pick
Center, 5'7", 140lb, 2010-11 age: 16
Saskatoon Contacts (SMHL AAA midg.)	42	17	19	36	30
Saskatoon Contacts (SMHL AAA midg. - PLF)	11	2	2	4	2
Saskatoon Contacts (Macs midg. tourn.)	4	1	0	1	0

Michael Bell -- Acquired: 2010 7th round bantam pick
Center, 6'1", 170lb, 2010-11 age: 15
Ridge Meadows Rustlers (BCAHA AAA bant.)	24	19	25	44	41
Stars (U-16 B.C. Cup)	4	0	0	0	4

Josh Birkholz -- Acquired: listed player
Right Wing, 6'1", 182lb, 2010-11 age: 19
U. of Minnesota (NCAA)	36	5	1	6	20

Nick Bjugstad -- Acquired: listed player
Right Wing, 6'5", 200lb, 2010-11 age: 18
Blaine H.S. (Minn. H.S.)	25	29	31	60	24
-- committed to Minnesota for 2010-11 season

Brett Boehm -- Acquired: listed player
Center, no ht/wt, 2010-11 age: 16
Martensville (SK AA midg.)	no stats

Jordyn Boyd -- Acquired: 2009 6th round bantam pick
Left Wing, 5'11", 155lb, 2010-11 age: 16
Winnipeg Hawks (WMHA AA midg.)	36	27	35	62	40
Winnipeg Thrashers (MMHL AAA midg.)	1	0	0	0	0

-- Boyd is the brother of former WHLer (and now NHLer) Dustin Boyd.

Chandler Bruyckere -- Acquired: 2010 9th round bantam pick
Defense, 6'0", 150lb, 2010-11 age: 15
Notre Dame Hounds (SSMHL AAA bant.)	24	4	18	22	10
Notre Dame Hounds (Nike/Bauer AAA bant. tourn.)	4	1	0	1	0
Notre Dame Hounds (St. Albert AAA bant. tourn.)	4	0	1	1	2
Stars (U-16 B.C. Cup)	4	1	0	1	8

Ryan Chynoweth -- Acquired: 2010 2nd round bantam pick
Center, 5'11", 170lb, 2010-11 age: 15
Lethbridge Golden Hawks (AMBHL AAA bant.)	32	21	39	60	78
South Senators (Alberta Cup)	5	1	1	2	2

-- Chynoweth is the son of Kootenay Ice G.M. Jeff Chynoweth

Taylor Cote -- Acquired: listed player
Right Wing, 6'1", 180lb, 2010-11 age: 17
Grande Prairie Storm (AJHL Jr A)	22	2	2	4	21

Cody DePourcq -- Acquired: 2010 10th round bantam pick
Center, 5'6", 135lb, 2010-11 age: 15
Penticton Vees (BCAHA AAA bant.)	64	116	90	206	36
Sabres (U-16 B.C. Cup)	4	1	2	3	0

Andy Desautels -- Acquired: 2009 5th round bantam pick
Goaltender, 6'2", 185lb, 2010-11 age: 16
Regina Pat Canadians (SMHL AAA midg.)	21	3.65	7	10	.884

Jari Erricson -- Acquired: 2009 2nd round bantam pick
Center, 5'11", 168lb, 2010-11 age: 16
Cariboo Cougars (BCAHA AAA midg.)	36	17	19	36	22
Cariboo Cougars (BCAHA AAA midg. - PLF)	4	2	0	2	8
Cariboo Cougars (Macs midg. tourn.)	5	3	3	6	2

Derek Forbort -- Acquired: listed player
Defense, 6'4", 195lb, 2010-11 age: 18
Team USA Juniors (USHL Jr A)	26	4	10	14	26
-- committed to North Dakota for 2010-11 season

Cody Fowlie -- Acquired: listed player
Center, 6'0", 170lb, 2010-11 age: 18
UFA Bisons (AMHL AAA midg.)	35	16	29	45	44
UFA Bisons (AMHL AAA midg. - PLF)	2	0	0	0	2
UFA Bisons (Macs midg. tourn.)	7	3	3	6	8
Brooks Bandits (AJHL Jr A)	2	0	1	1	0

Tyler Giebel -- Acquired: 2008 2nd round bantam pick
Center, 5'9", 166lb, 2010-11 age: 17
Regina Pat Canadians (SMHL AAA midg.)	41	17	38	55	39
Everett Silvertips (WHL)	3	0	0	0	0

Rhys Gilbert -- Acquired: 2009 10th round bantam pick
Left Wing, 6'1", 185lb, 2010-11 age: 16
NSWC Winterhawks (BCAHA AA midg.)	no stats

Tye Hand -- Acquired: 2010 2nd round bantam pick
Defense, 6'1", 167lb, 2010-11 age: 15
Kelowna P.O.E. (BCAHA bant. AAA)	42	2	14	16	70
Kelowna P.O.E. (Jardine AAA bant. tourn.)	5	0	3	3	18
Kelowna P.O.E. (South Delta tourn.)	3	0	2	2	10
Kelowna P.O.E. (St. Albert AAA bant. tourn.)	5	0	1	1	20

Matthew Hansen -- Acquired: listed player
Center, no ht/wt, 2010-11 age: 17
Russell Stover (Tier 1 Elite midg. AA)	38	19	31	50	36

Manraj Hayer -- Acquired: listed player
Center, 5'9", 155lb, 2010-11 age: 17
Surrey Eagles (BCHL Jr A)	38	5	10	15	16
Surrey Eagles (BCHL Jr A - PLF)	4	0	4	4	0

Darian Henry -- Acquired: 2009 7th round bantam pick
Defense, 6'1", 170lb, 2010-11 age: 16
Keystone Raiders (AMMHL midg. 15 y.o.)	32	4	11	15	68

Christian Isackson -- Acquired: listed player
Right Wing, 6'0", 175lb, 2010-11 age: 18
St. Thomas Academy H.S. (Minn. H.S.)	25	24	33	57	26
-- committed to Minnesota for 2010-11 season

Seth Jones -- Acquired: 2009 1st round bantam pick
Defense, 6'3", 180lb, 2010-11 age: 16
Dallas Stars (Tier 1 Elite midg. AAA)	42	5	13	18	20

-- Jones is the son of former NBA player Popeye Jones

Miles Koules -- Acquired: listed player
Right Wing, 5'11", 172lb, 2010-11 age: 16
Shattuck St. Mary's (USA AA midg.)	49	18	35	53	24

-- Koules is the son of former WHLer and former Tampa Bay Lightning co-owner, Oren Koules.

Mitchell Loose -- Acquired: listed player
Left Wing, 6'3", 190lb, 2010-11 age: 17
Edmonton K of C (AMHL AAA midg.)	33	5	5	10	66

Austin Lotz -- Acquired: 2010 7th round bantam pick
Goaltender, 6'0", 180lb, 2010-11 age: 15
Southwest Jets (MB bant. AA)	no stats
Eastman (Manitoba Games)	4	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a

Geordie Maguire -- Acquired: 2010 5th round bantam pick
Left Wing, 5'11", 145lb, 2010-11 age: 15
Winnipeg Warriors (WMHA AAA bant.)	29	20	25	45	16
Winnipeg Blue (Manitoba Games)	5	5	4	9	n/a

Ryan McDonald -- Acquired: listed player
Right Wing, 5'9", 145lb, 2010-11 age: 16
Winnipeg Monarchs (WMHA AA midg.)	36	25	12	37	14

Michael McNicholas -- Acquired: listed player
Center, 5'10", 161lb, 2010-11 age: 16
L.A. Selects (Tier 1 Elite midg. AA)	38	20	27	47	16

Kyle Messervey -- Acquired: 2010 9th round bantam pick
Center, 6'0", 158lb, 2010-11 age: 15
Red Deer Rebels White (AMBHL AAA bant.)	33	4	19	23	56
Central Thrashers (Alberta Cup)	5	0	1	1	4

Gabe Minville -- Acquired: 2007 2nd round bantam pick
Defense, 6'3", 217lb, 2010-11 age: 18
Everett Silvertips (WHL)	12	0	0	0	0

Evan Morden -- Acquired: 2008 7th round bantam pick
Defense, 6'2", 202lb, 2010-11 age: 17
Swan Valley Stampeders (MJHL Jr A)	54	1	14	15	12
Swan Valley Stampeders (MJHL Jr A - PLF)	8	0	1	1	11
Western (World U-17 Challenge)	5	0	0	0	0

Brett Mulcahy -- Acquired: listed player
Center, 5'10", 170lb, 2010-11 age: 17
Okanagan Rockets (BCAHA AAA midg.)	40	21	35	56	24
Okanagan Rockets (BCAHA AAA midg. - PLF)	2	1	2	3	0
Okanagan Rockets (Macs midg. tourn.)	4	1	1	2	4
North Okanagan Knights (KIJHL Jr B)	3	0	0	0	2
Westside Warriors (BCHL Jr A)	3	0	0	0	0

Dale Nerland -- Acquired: 2009 9th round bantam pick
Defense, 6'3", 180lb, 2010-11 age: 16
Keystone Raiders (AMMHL midg. 15 y.o.)	32	0	7	7	0

Max Nicastro -- Acquired: trade with Prince Albert
Defense, 6'2", 190lb, 2010-11 age: 20
Boston University (NCAA)	37	3	12	15	26

Casey Parker -- Acquired: 2010 10th round bantam pick
Goaltender, 5'8", 120lb, 2010-11 age: 15
Notre Dame Hounds (SSMHL AAA bant.)	12	1.32	12	0	n/a
Notre Dame Hounds (Nike/Bauer AAA bant. tourn.)	2	2.00	1	1	n/a
Notre Dame Hounds (St. Albert AAA bant. tourn.)	n/a	8.33	0	1	.688
Regina (Sask First)	4	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a

-- Parker is the son of former Regina Pats G.M. Brent Parker

Shawn Pauly -- Acquired: listed player
Center, 5'11", 173lb, 2010-11 age: 18
Wenatchee Wild (NAHL Jr A)	50	17	19	36	28
Wenatchee Wild (NAHL Jr A - PLF)	6	1	3	4	2
-- committed to Air Force for 2011-12 season

Josh Racek -- Acquired: 2009 8th round bantam pick
Left Wing, 6'0", 175lb, 2010-11 age: 16
Colorado Thunderbirds (Tier 1 Elite midg. AA)	30	4	3	7	2

Alec Rounds -- Acquired: listed player
Goaltender, 6'1", 167lb, 2010-11 age: 16
Colorado Rampage (Tier 1 Elite midg. AA)	15	2.92	2	7	.894
L.A. Kings (Tier 1 Elite midg. AA)	6	6.30	0	4	.820

Jordan Schroeder -- Acquired: listed player
Right Wing, 5'9", 180lb, 2010-11 age: 20
U. of Minnesota (NCAA)	37	9	19	28	14
Manitoba Moose (AHL)	11	4	4	9	0
Manitoba Moose (AHL - PLF)	6	3	3	6	4

Luke Siemens -- Acquired: trade with Chilliwack
Goaltender, 5'11", 170lb, 2010-11 age: 18
Quesnel Millionaires (BCHL Jr A)	25	3.70	9	12	.887
Quesnel Millionaires (BCHL Jr A - PLF)	1	11.30	0	0	.500
Prince George Cougars (WHL)	1	4.00	0	1	.857

-- Siemens was "lent" to Prince George for one game last season

Carson Stadnyk -- Acquired: 2010 8th round bantam pick
Center, 5'9", 130lb, 2010-11 age: 15
Saskatoon Maniacs (GSHL AA bant.)	55	66	50	116	86
Saskatoon Maniacs (Saskatoon bant. tourn.)	4	5	3	8	10
Saskatoon (Sask First)	4	2	1	3	n/a

Nicholas Walters -- Acquired: 2009 1st round bantam pick
Defense, 6'1", 170lb, 2010-11 age: 16
St. Albert Raiders (AMHL AAA midg.)	30	5	13	18	89
St. Albert Raiders (AMHL AAA midg. - PLF)	5	1	1	2	16
St. Albert Raiders (Macs midg. tourn.)	4	0	0	0	26

Andrew Weich -- Acquired: 2010 11th round bantam pick
Defense, 6'3", 180lb, 2010-11 age: 15
Calgary Bisons (AMBHL AAA bant.)	33	2	15	17	22
Calgary Bisons (Western bant. champ.)	5	0	2	2	2
Calgary Blackhawks (AMMHL midg. 15 y.o.)	1	0	0	0	0

Prospects reports coming

OK....the prospects reports are going to start coming later today. First up will be Everett since their fans have them at the head of the poll, and by quite a bit, I might add.

I'm going to aim for one team per day, maybe two.

Couple things to keep in mind....

• These lists will be every player that WHL team owns the rights to, who did NOT play at least 20 games in the WHL last year. So you're going to see some guys there who played for your team last year. They just didn't play that many games.

• I do not have stats for every player. I tried, but some leagues/teams do not make that info available. However, if anyone has stats for any player that I do not, please send them to me and I will update the post. I promise. Ditto for players missing their heights or weights. And ditto again for cases where I am just plain wrong - there may be cases where I have given a player some stats that actually belong to another player with the same name. It would be rare, but it might have happened. Definitely point that out. Corrections are always, always welcome.

• Also keep in mind that in some cases, my height/weight numbers are going to be out of date. Many of them are what the player was recorded at last fall, and of course many of them have grown since then. Can't be helped. Extrapolate those numbers accordingly if you believe them to be old.

Red Line Report reviews

Red Line Report scout Michael Remmerde has begun posting his reviews of 2010 draft-eligible WHLers and western Jr A players on his blog.

I always enjoy reading Remmerde's comments on players....check it out for some honest assessments of your favourite WHLers, from the perspective of somebody who does this for a living....

Poll time

It's that time of year again - I'm preparing to post the team-by-team prospect lists, as I have done for the last couple years. I should be ready to start posting stuff in a couple days; in the meantime I have put up the poll - as I have done in the past as well - so you can vote for which team you want to see first/next.

All teams will be done so don't worry if "your" team is lagging behind; it just means you might have to wait a little longer. I don't care what order I post them in so this is just a fun way to involve my readers is all....

2010-11 overagers, early speculation

The Memorial Cup is in the books and that means that the 2010-11 season is now over a week old already. Or so us fans think of it anyway.....so, to kick things off for the new season, how about some speculation about who the overagers might be next year for each of the WHL's clubs?

Remember that obviously this is bound to change due to trades, releases, pro contract signings, retirements, etc, etc. So take it for what it's worth - early June speculation.

Brandon:
Eligible returnees: Darren Bestland (D), Jacob DeSerres (G), Jordan Hale (F), Travis Hamonic (D), Andrew Hayes (G), Brent Raedeke (F), Colby Robak (D), Mark Schneider (D), David Toews (F), Alexander Urbom (D), Shayne Wiebe (F)

My take: Hamonic, Raedeke, Robak, and Urbom move on to the pro ranks for sure. That leaves Bestland, DeSerres, Hale, Hayes, Schneider, Toews, and Wiebe for three spots. So, there's going to be some trades here for sure. They definitely don't need both goalies so one of those guys is gone for sure with the other one staying to mentor top prospect Liam Liston. I pick Hayes to be gone, with DeSerres staying since he was the #1 in the playoffs for them. Wiebe is definitely a keeper, they are losing a lot of offence next year and they need him for that. And they really need to keep a defenceman too since they only have two returning defencemen otherwise. So, I would keep Bestland in that case....Schneider's a good pick too though if they go that way. The money wrench in all this is David Toews, who could potentially be the best of the lot. They could keep him instead of Wiebe, or perhaps they could deal him for a better defenceman than Bestland/Schneider. So many options here, it's hard to pick.

Calgary:

Eligible returnees: Kyle Aschim (D), Rigby Burgart (F), Tyler Fiddler (F), Mikhail Fisenko (F), Kris Foucault (F), Martin Jones (G), Brandon Kozun (F), Ian Schultz (F), Tyler Shattock (F), Zach Stebner (D), Michael Stone (D)

My take: Jones, Kozun, Schultz, Shattock, and Stone are signed and move on to the pros for sure. Foucault could join that group, but the Minnesota Wild do have another year to sign him yet so he could be back the way Joel Broda was this year. Fisenko is probably welcome back in Calgary but I think he's likely to get pro offers in Russia that he'll find more attractive than the WHL monthly stipend. That leaves Aschim, Burgart, Fiddler, and Stebner, plus maybe Foucault. Fiddler and Stebner are locks for spots IMO, as is Foucault if he returns. If no Foucault, then I think the Hitmen are buyers for the 3rd spot as Burgart isn't what they need (top-six forward help) and Aschim will probably move on to life after the WHL due to concussion problems.

Chilliwack:

Eligible returnees: Jeff Einhorn (D), Lucas Gore (G), Brandon Manning (D), Shayne Neigum (F), Alexander Wiklund (F)

My take: I believe Wiklund has already determined not to be back next year and will play in Sweden instead. Some possibility that Manning could get a pro contract and be gone. The rest - Einhorn/Gore/Neigum - should all be back. If Manning does come back, then Einhorn is going to be the odd man out.

Edmonton:

Eligible returnees: Tyler Hlookoff (D), Mike Piluso (F), Adrian Van de Mosselaer (D)

My take: That's the three. They do need more veteran help up front next year than on the back end though so one of Hlookoff or Van de Mosselaer could be swapped for a forward?

Everett:

Eligible returnees: Clayton Cumiskey (F), Chris de la Lande (D), Radko Gudas (D), Thomas Heemskerk (G), Daniel Iwanski (F), Curtis Kulchar (D)

My take: Gudas probably moves on to the pro ranks. Heemskerk has signed with San Jose and is probably gone. The other four are probably all coming back although I think only Cumiskey and maybe de la Lande are certainties to stay. Iwanski and Kulchar, I think they are more depth players and maybe not the kind of guys who normally get overage jobs in the WHL. One of them may stick in Everett though if they don't upgrade.

Kamloops:

Eligible returnees: Corey Fienhage (D), Mark Hall (F)

My take: Those two are there by default although I think Mark Hall is probably a weak choice for an O/A spot. Look for the Blazers to add two more guys to go with Fienhage.

Kelowna:

Eligible returnees: Evan Bloodoff (F), Tyler Matheson (F), Brandon McMillan (F), Kyle St. Denis (F), Geordie Wudrick (F)

My take: McMillan will move on to the pros. Matheson is in no way good enough for another year in the WHL. Bloodoff, St. Denis, and Wudrick are a pretty good trio, although St. Denis may retire due to injury problems. If he does, then the Rockets have an opening to add a player.

Kootenay:

Eligible returnees: Steele Boomer (F), Matt Fraser (F), Kevin King (F), Todd Matthews (G), Dominik Pacovsky (F)

My take: Pacovsky will not be back. Boomer, Fraser, and King are a pretty good forward trio, but you have to consider Matthews for a job too since he took the #1 spot from Nathan Lieuwen last year. If Lieuwen looks like he is ready to reclaim the starters job, then Matthews moves out....otherwise the Ice will have to keep Matthews and move out one of the three forwards (and Lieuwen too, probably).

Lethbridge:

Eligible returnees: Mitch Maxwell (F), Mike Reddington (D), Max Ross (F)

My take: That's the three. Maxwell and Reddington are easy keepers; Ross can play both forward and defence which increases his value but if there are better options out there available to the Canes, I'd look for them to upgrade Ross' spot.

Medicine Hat:

Eligible returnees: Thomas Carr (D), Jace Coyle (D), Joey Frazer (F), Taylor Gal (F), Wacey Hamilton (F), Tristan King (F), Matt MacKay (F), Zdenek Okal (F)

My take: King is signed and won't be back. Okal probably won't be back as a two-spotter - although I thought he was an underrated player. The other six guys should all be back though, which creates a big logjam for the Tigers to sort out since all six of them can probably play somewhere in the league as overagers. Hamilton is the captain so I think he stays put. I also think Coyle is one of the more anonymously very good players in the league so I would keep him too. The last spot is probably for a forward, one of Gal or MacKay. Pick one...they all had similar numbers. I'll take MacKay. That means Carr, Frazer, and Gal are available and should all play somewhere else. That will give the Tigers a few more mid-round picks in the 2011 draft for sure....

Moose Jaw:

Eligible returnees: Jeff Bosch (G), Spencer Edwards (F), Thomas Frazee (F), Dylan Hood (F), Brendan Rowinski (F), Chad Suer (D)

My take: All six of those guys are going to be in the WHL next year, but only three of them in Moose Jaw obviously. In other words, the Warriors are going to be getting a few extra 4th/5th round picks in the 2011 draft too. I think they keep Bosch and Rowinski for sure...they don't need Suer on defence (six other returning 18/19 year old d-men) so it's one of Frazee/Hood/Edwards for the third spot. I think I keep Hood but you can't go wrong with one of the others either. 

Portland:

Eligible returnees: Spencer Bennett (F), Ian Curtis (G), Tayler Jordan (F), Luca Sbisa (D), Luke Walker (F)

My take: Sbisa is long gone to the pros. Bennett could go to the pros too although his NHL club has another year to sign him yet and could leave him in Portland another year. Luke Walker could/should get an NHL contract as well whether he gets drafted or not. 50/50 on those two guys being back, I think. So it's quite possible that the Hawks could have none of those guys listed above on their team next year. Jordan is a one-dimensional player who's not usually considered for overage spots, and Curtis' job is not needed if they plan to go with Mac Carruth as their starter. Perhaps they keep Curtis though if there is nobody in the system ready to partner up with Carruth next year. So their trio could be Bennett-Walker-Curtis, or it could be ???-???-???.....

Prince Albert:

Eligible returnees: Nathan Deck (D), Jordan Hickmott (F), Colin Reddin (F), Igor Revenko (F), Jordan Rowley (D), Brendon Wall (D), Stefan Warg (D)

My take: Warg should move on to the pros, either in the AHL or back in Europe. Same with Revenko, although I suspect he'd be welcome back as a two-spotter if he wanted to come back. Assuming he doesn't return, I think Rowley, Deck and Hickmott are probably the top three here. Reddin just didn't produce enough after the trade, and Wall is clearly 3rd-best of the three defencemen. 

Prince George:

Eligible returnees: James Dobrowolski (F), Kyle Jahraus (G), Taylor Orser (F), Parker Stanfield (F), Kurt Torbohm (D), Alex Wright (G)

My take: Dobrowolski is an easy keeper. Stanfield was 3rd on the team in scoring last year so he probably stays too. The rest....can we choose "None Of The Above"? Obviously neither of those goalies is going to be back since they have Stremmel as the #1 and Jahraus/Wright were just fill-ins anyway. Orser is not good enough to play as an O/A in the league and so Torbohm probably has the edge on the 3rd spot by default even though he was a -37 last year. 

Red Deer:

Eligible returnees: Colin Archer (D), Kraymer Barnstable (G), Nick Bell (D), Willie Coetzee (F), Brett Ferguson (F), Brad Haber (D), Darcy Kuemper (G)

My take: All of these guys could/should be back, although I expect Barnstable to be in Jr A next year since they don't need both him and Kuemper both as O/A goalies. Kuemper (who has another year before the NHL's Wild need to sign him) is a keeper as they need him to get a guy like Cam Gorchynski ready to take over in net in 2011-12. Willie Coetzee is another guy who's a no-brainer to keep. That means the last spot is probably between Archer, Bell, Ferguson, and Haber. I think you have to keep Archer from that group, he's the captain and one of those unsung hero type guys. Ferguson should find a home somewhere else in the league. Bell and Haber, less certain for those guys.

Regina:

Eligible returnees: Jordan Eberle (F), Tomas Hricina (F), Cass Mappin (F), Craig Orfino (F), Colten Teubert (D)

My take: Eberle is but a memory, as is Teubert. Mappin and Orfino will be back although they're going to have to prove they can have career years offensively in order to justify keeping their spots. Hricina won't be back as a two-spotter. So the Pats have at least one opening to add a player, maybe more than one opening if they decide Mappin/Orfino doesn't/don't bring enough to the table.

Saskatoon:

Eligible returnees: Sena Acolatse (D), Jeremy Boyer (F), Randy McNaught (F), Jyri Niemi (D), Gaelan Patterson (F), Steven Stanford (G), Travis Toomey (F), Marek Viednesky (F), Teigan Zahn (D)

My take: Niemi and Viedensky are signed and will not be back. The other seven guys though should all be back since Chicago did not sign Zahn and the Flames have another year to sign Patterson. I think Patterson and Zahn should be locks for spots here; the third spot is up in the air between Acolatse (brings toughness and versatility since he can play both F & D), Boyer (brings offence, was better in the 2nd half of last season), McNaught (maybe the toughest guy in the league, improved a lot as a player too), and Stanford (was Blades' #1 goalie but they might not need him as an O/A since they still have Adam Morrison). I don't think Travis Toomey is going to make the grade as an O/A in Saskatoon due to their depth of choices, but maybe he might find work somewhere else in the league.

Seattle:

Eligible returnees: Brenden Dillon (D)

My take: They'll keep Dillon. Other than that, they're going to have to be buyers for the other two spots since they have nobody else.

Spokane:

Eligible returnees: Kyle Beach (F), Tyler Johnson (F), Levko Koper (F), James Reid (G), Stefan Ulmer (D), Mitch Wahl (F)

My take: Beach and Wahl are gone for sure, and I suspect Ulmer will have pro options in Europe, the Swiss league pays pretty well. That leaves Johnson, Koper, and Reid, which is an altogether pretty good group. No changes needed here really.

Swift Current:

Eligible returnees: Travis Bobbee (D), Morgan Clark (G), Justin Dowling (F), Mark Friesen (G), Stepan Novotny (F)

My take: Novotny is unlikely to be back as a two-spot player. Dowling and Bobbee should be, as well as one of the two goalies, either Clark or Friesen. I'm betting they keep Friesen and trade Clark.

Tri-City:

Eligible returnees: Mike Brown (F), Sergei Drozd (F), Eric Mestery (D), Alexander Pechurski (G), Neal Prokop (F), Kruise Reddick (F), Tyler Schmidt (D)

My take: Todd Kennedy and Riley McIntosh were already released, which is why they're not on the list. Pechurski is probably moving on to the AHL with Pittsburgh. I don't see Mike Brown playing in the league as an overager. Drozd is a possibility as a two-spot player but the Ams have a deep group of other potential O/As here with Mestery, Prokop (if he recovers from that badly broken leg), Reddick, and Schmidt all likely to be in the league as 20's next year. If Prokop is forced to retire then a Mestery, Schmidt, Reddick trio would give the Ams one of the league's best groups of overagers. That makes it less likely they're interested in a two-spot player like Drozd in the first place.

Vancouver:

Eligible returnees: Lance Bouma (F), Kevin Connauton (D), Craig Cunningham (F), Brent Henke (F), Dillon Scholten (D), Tomas Vincour (F), James Wright (F)

My take: Bouma, Connauton, Vincour, and Wright have pro contracts and are gone. That leaves Cunningham, Henke, and Scholten as the Giants' three overagers. Cunningham is an obvious keeper but I'm not sure that Henke and Scholten are the kind of guys who usually play as overagers, especially not in Vancouver, where they always seem to have a trio of top guys. So, look for the Giants to upgrade those spots.

Import situations

The CHL Import draft goes later this month (June 29, I believe), so here's a quick breakdown of each WHL team's current import situation....ages given are next year's ages.

Brandon:
Current imports: F Toni Rajala (19), D Alexander Urbom (20)
Maybe a tough decision for the Wheat Kings - with Urbom moving to the overage list, they can draft one import for sure. The decision comes with what to do with Rajala. He is obviously a top-line player but there's a lot of questions about whether he'll be back in the WHL next year as a 19 year old. The Edmonton Oilers can place him somewhere in the minor pros, or Rajala can also choose to return to Finland next year - where he has a year of compulsory military service to fulfill yet. Do you drop his rights in order to pick a second Euro who might contribute next year? Or hang onto him on the slim chance he comes back?

Calgary:
Current imports: F Mikhail Fisenko (20)
The Hitmen still own the rights to last year's import pick, F Erik Haula (19) who did not report to Calgary and is slated to play for the University of Minnesota this fall after a good year in the USHL. Yes, a Finn in the NCAA. With Fisenko being an overager, the Hitmen can pick one import for sure; if they choose to give up on Haula then they can pick two.

Chilliwack:
Current imports: F Roman Horak (19), F Robin Soudek (19), Alexander Wiklund (20)
Wiklund has already been determined not to be back next year, so t
he Bruins would seem set with Horak and Soudek, especially since they traded for Soudek from Edmonton after the season ended.
They also don't have a first round pick anyway since they traded it to Edmonton at the 2009 bantam draft.
They can't make a pick without dropping/trading one of Horak/Soudek first so I would not expect them to make a pick at all.

Edmonton:
Current imports: F Sebastien Svendsen (19)
After trading Soudek, it seems more likely that the Oil Kings will keep Svendsen for another year, especially since he didn't play that badly for them after they got him from Vancouver. He is the only import on their roster so they have an open space to draft one more. But then it was pointed out to me that the Oil Kings have Chilliwack's first round pick this year as well, so they have two very high first rounders in this import draft. If they use both, then Svendsen is gone. Or they could keep Svendsen and trade one of the import first rounders....

Everett:
Current imports: D Radko Gudas (20), D Rasmus Rissanen (19)
I would think Rissanen is welcome back, which means the Silvertips will probably draft only one player, to replace Gudas - who likely isn't going to be back.

Kamloops:
Current imports: F Dalibor Bortnak (19)
The Blazers already released F Matej Bene, so likely they will draft one more player to replace him and pair up with Bortnak as next year's two Euros.

Kelowna:
Current imports: none
The Rockets have no imports on their current roster but they do still own the rights to
F Teemu Pulkkinen (18), last year's import pick. When he was drafted he was touted as a 2010-11 player, so if that still holds true then likely the Rockets only draft one more, and hold onto Pulkkinen as well.

Kootenay:
Current imports: F Dominik Pacovsky (20)
I believe the Ice have already stated that Pacovsky will not be back, which means they're drafting two guys.

Lethbridge:
Current imports: F Jacob Berglund (19), G Ville Kolppanen (18)
The Hurricanes have two import players eligible to return, and they have also already traded their very high first round import pick to Portland in the Sbisa/Berglund deal. They got Portland's pick back in that deal but it's a lot lower down in the first round. I think Berglund is a keeper for them but they need to make a decision on whether to bring Kolppanen back or whether to drop/trade him and pick a new player in the first round. Based on last year it looks like Brandon Anderson is the future in net for the Hurricanes so that probably means they do not need Kolppanen. Look for them to deal his rights to a WHL team needing a goaltender, and pick a new import.

Medicine Hat:
Current imports: F Zdenek Okal (20)
Last year's other import, Tomas Kundratek, was an overager and has graduated. I suspect Okal might be welcome back as a two-spotter (I thought he was an underrated player) but either way, the Tigers will be able to pick two new imports and then sort things out in the fall.

Moose Jaw:
Current imports: F Antonin Honejsek (19)
Last year's other import, F Jakub Herman, has already been released. Honejsek will be back, so the Warriors will draft one new player.

Portland:
Current imports: F Nino Niederreiter (18), D Luca Sbisa (20)
Sbisa is long gone, and Niederreiter is obviously a keeper even if you're slightly worried he might end up in the NHL. So the Hawks will draft one new player with that 7th overall pick they got from Lethbridge. If they get another Niederreiter.....they'll have the best pair of imports in the WHL next year by a mile.

Prince Albert:
Current imports: F Igor Revenko (20), D Stefan Warg (20)
I suspect the Raiders would welcome Revenko back as a two-spot player if he were so inclined. Warg probably moves on to the Anaheim Ducks system. Either way though, the Raiders can draft two new players and I'd expect them to do just that.

Prince George:
Current imports: F Jaroslav Vlach (18)
The Cougars have already released D Petr Senkerik (19), who they acquired last year from the Ice. They also still own the rights to F Jerome Flaake (20) but he will probably not show up for an overage season. Which means they can draft one player for sure, two if they decide to part ways with Vlach as well. I suspect they may keep Vlach though and hope he improves on his so-so totals (8g, 8a) as a 17 year old.

Red Deer:
Current imports: F Andrej Kudrna (19), F John Persson (18)
Kudrna is a for-sure keeper. Persson, the Rebels will have to assess whether they can get a better player in the first round of the import draft than they would get by bringing Persson (7g, 4a) back for another year. If they want to keep Persson, then they can trade their picks.

Regina:
Current imports: F Hampus Gustafsson (19), F Tomas Hricina (20)
Gustafsson is a keeper, he should only be better with a 2nd year. Hricina is probably gone since he was pretty average and not worth an overage spot. Problem for the Pats is that they have no first round import pick, they traded it to Vancouver in the Cass Mappin trade. So they either trade for a pick, or they wait until the 2nd round and get whatever's left there. Or they could trade for an existing import off somebody's roster.....

Saskatoon:
Current imports: D Jyri Niemi (20), F Marek Viedensky (20)
Both these guys were good players, but they have both signed NHL contracts. They're gone. Either way though the Blades could draft two new players, and certainly will.

Seattle:
Current imports: F Mikhail Senturin (18)
The Birds played the 2nd half of last season with only Senturin, after trading Warg to the Raiders, so they can pick one player for sure. Senturin only managed 5 points in 41 games as a 17 year old though, so is he coming back? Can they expect to get somebody better with their 2nd round pick? That's a decision they will have to make in the next few weeks I guess.

Spokane:
Current imports: F Dominik Uher (18), D Stefan Ulmer (20)
I suspect they'll keep Uher for a 2nd season, he wasn't terrible as a 17 year old rookie. Ulmer moves on and the Chiefs will pick one new player.

Swift Current:
Current imports: F Stepan Novotny (20)
The Broncos also own the rights to last year's first round pick, G Joni Ortio (19), who did not report last year but may do so this year. With Mark Friesen though, the Broncos don't really need Ortio for next year which means they may look around for somebody who wants a 19 year old NHL-drafted goalie who played pro in Finland last year. I can think of one team off the top of my head that might be interested. If they deal Ortio's rights, they can draft two new players. If they keep him, only one.

Tri-City:
Current imports: F Sergei Drozd (20), G Alexander Pechurski (20)
The Americans can (and almost certainly will) draft two new imports. Pechurski seems very unlikely to be back, while Drozd may be more likely. Either way though, look for them to draft two new guys and then see who are the best two at camp in the fall.

Vancouver:
Current imports: F Tomas Vincour (20)
Last year's other import, F Milan Kytnar, was an overager and has graduated. Vincour is also unlikely to be back, having signed with the NHL's Dallas Stars. So, the Giants will pick two new players and they can get them both in the first round since they have Regina's first round pick as well as their own.

More NCAAers to the WHL

North Dakota Fighting Sioux defenceman Corey Fienhage signed on with the Kamloops Blazers today, bringing to three the number of NCAA players who have defected to the WHL for next season.

Besides Fienhage, there is also North Dakota forward David Toews (WHL rights owned by Brandon), and Minnesota State forward Tyler Pitlick, who is joining Medicine Hat. Pitlick will be 19 next year while the other two will both be overagers.

And we're not even into June yet - there could be more after the NHL draft in a month's time.

Cup over

So....not the result that many WHL fans wanted to see on Sunday, but probably the one that most of us expected to see. Windsor was just too strong, too good for anyone else at this tournament.

It will be interesting to see how Windsor does next year after they lose Hall, Henrique, Nemisz, Cundari, Mitchell, Timmins, Wellwood, Young, etc. Maybe Cam Fowler too, depending on who drafts him. They have some top-notch talent coming in but that's still a lot of losses there.

Same goes for Calgary and Brandon too - both those teams are going to be rebuilding next year when you go down the list of players who are definitely (or at least very likely) gone from those teams:

Calgary: Broda (O/A), Cowan (O/A), Nyren (O/A), Kozun (pro with L.A.), Schultz (pro with St. Louis), Shattock (pro with St. Louis), Stone (pro with Phoenix), Jones (pro with L.A.), Foucault (maybe pro with Minnesota), Fisenko (probably pro in Russia), Burgart (not going to be an O/A).

Brandon: Calvert (O/A), Fehr (O/A), Lewadniuk (O/A), Raedeke (pro with Detroit), Robak (pro with Florida), Hamonic (pro with NY Islanders), Urbom (pro with New Jersey), Rajala (maybe pro with Edmonton), DeSerres (maybe pro with Philadelphia), Schenn (maybe pro with L.A.), and then on top of that there's five other undrafted 20 year olds for next year (Wiebe, Schneider, Hale, Bestland, Hayes) and they can only keep three of those as O/A's.

That's 10, maybe 11 players gone from the Hitmen, and 9 to maybe as many as 12 players gone from Brandon. And both teams gave up some younger players in deals this year, players who would help them next year. Headed for a drop in the standings next year, both those teams.

2010-11 starts now - or at least the speculating does.....

Go Brandon

Didn't get a chance to post after the semi-final last night....

As a Hitmen fan, that was a tough loss. Especially when you know that it's highly likely that Calgary is the better team of the two; they played seven times between the WHL playoffs and the Memorial Cup and the Hitmen won five of the seven.

But one thing there is no doubt about: Brandon deserved to win last night. They may have been a little shaky in the first period but starting with the 2nd period, the Wheat Kings owned that game. Calgary fans can bitch all they want about who the better team really was but it all comes down to this: both teams knew they had to win last night. Only one of them played like it.

And I see WHL people saying they'll cheer for Windsor now tomorrow because they don't want a "backdoor" team to win. Please....stop with the "backdoor" stuff and the criticisms of the host team format the tournament uses. It's not Brandon's fault the tournament is this way. It's not their players' fault. And it's not like they are some collection of chumps; I firmly believe that had they beaten the Hitmen in the WHL playoffs, they would have been the WHL champs. They are probably the 2nd-most qualified team to represent the WHL. So let's support them and cheer for them to bring the Memorial Cup back to the best junior hockey league in the world tomorrow.

As for the Memorial Cup format....yeah, it has some flaws. But you know what? Every year we debate this and nobody has yet come up with a better idea. You can't just have the three league champs in a (possibly) neutral site and still expect to sell all these tickets. And you can't have three league champs in one of them's building and still have the tournament be the big event that it is; you can't put together a party like that in one week or two weeks. For the Memorial Cup to have the kind of big party atmosphere that we all love and expect, you need the predetermined host city, and you need their team to be in the tournament if you want the local interest that is also required. It's not perfect but it is the best format that we have to choose from.

Back to life

Sorry for no posts this last week or so - I've been in the middle of moving to a new house and haven't had time to update the blog.

I did see the Brandon/Windsor game last Friday, the Calgary/Brandon game last night, and most of the Calgary/Moncton game on Saturday. Saw none of the Brandon/Moncton, Calgary/Windsor, or Windsor/Moncton games, unfortunately although I saw the highlights.

I posted about the Brandon/Windsor game already. Some thoughts on the rest of the Memorial Cup....

I thought Moncton was better than an 0-3 team. They very nearly beat Calgary and they didn't look terribly out of place against Brandon or Windsor. Granted, Calgary and Windsor could have played better for portions of those games against Moncton. Was it just me or did the Windsor/Moncton game look like Windsor would have been OK with a loss? They were already guaranteed a spot in the Sunday final and a Moncton win would have forced a tiebreaker game tonight between Moncton and the loser (Brandon) of last night's Calgary/Brandon game.

Windsor looks awfully good and it's going to take a heckuva effort by Calgary/Brandon to beat them on Sunday. Whoever the WHL rep in the game is, they will need better goaltending than they got in their round-robin games with the Spitfires. If they're going to beat a team like that, they can't give up any freebies.

Calgary has gotten better as the tournament progressed. Poor first 40 minutes against Moncton. Better effort against Windsor but still not as good as they can play. Good effort against Brandon.

The game last night may have been almost meaningless in the standings picture (Calgary's win gives them last line change tomorrow night, and that's about it) but are the psychological implications more important for the Hitmen? They have now beaten the Wheat Kings five straight times, including three straight times in Brandon's rink. The last two meetings have a combined score of 11-2 for the Hitmen and have both seen Brandon's play get chippier and chippier as their frustration built. Methinks Calgary is in Brandon's collective heads right now...."can we beat this team or not?".

Question for the Hitmen right now: do they play Brandon Kozun tomorrow night against the Wheat Kings? So far his sprained ankle has not allowed him to play more than a few shifts in the tournament, in the game against Moncton. So do you dress him tomorrow night in the first do-or-die game of the tournament? Or do you take the chance that you can beat Brandon without him, just like you did last night? That would allow his ankle two more days of rest and hopefully allow him to play on Sunday against Windsor. But of course, the risk is that if you don't beat Brandon tomorrow night, then there is no game to play on Sunday. Tough call, I think....what would you do?

Message Sent

Well, that was Ugly. Capital-U ugly, if you're a Brandon or WHL fan. Windsor, considered by many/most to be the pre-tournament favourite to repeat as Memorial Cup champs, went out and whacked the Wheat Kings 9-3 in the opener of the tournament tonight.

The score would have been much worse if Windsor hadn't taken the third period off. They were dominant and the Wheat Kings looked powerless to do anything to stop the onslaught of Spitfire attackers. It probably didn't help that Brandon hadn't played a game in three weeks but I doubt even a game-ready Wheaties squad would have fared significantly better. Windsor was making a statement tonight....consider the message sent.

Next up, the Hitmen take on the Moncton Wildcats tomorrow afternoon. We saw tonight how strong Windsor is; tomorrow's game should give us a measuring stick to gauge the QMJHL entry by.

P.S. - am I the only one who thought it was pretty much impossible to read the numbers on the backs of those Brandon uniforms? They are nice looking jerseys but clearly there wasn't any testing done to see whether anyone could make out the numbers....

Memorial Cup set

The Moncton Wildcats downed the Saint John Sea Dogs last night to win the QMJHL title 4 games to 2. So with that, the field and schedule for the Memorial Cup is set:

Fri May 14: Brandon Wheat Kings (host) vs Windsor Spitfires (OHL champ), 7pm
Sat May 15: Calgary Hitmen (WHL champ) vs Moncton Wildcats (QMJHL champ), 2pm
Sun May 16: Brandon vs Moncton, 2pm
Mon May 17: Calgary vs Windsor, 7pm
Tue May 18: Moncton vs Windsor, 7pm
Wed May 19: Brandon vs Calgary, 7pm
Thu May 20: 3rd/4th place tiebreaker game (only if necessary), 7pm
Fri May 21: Semi-final (2nd vs 3rd), 7pm
Sun May 23: Final, 2pm
(all times Central)

As usual, the two teams from the host league have the best schedule. Neither Brandon nor Calgary need to play on back-to-back days this year - something Moncton and Windsor will need to do once each.

Despite my pro-WHL bias, I think the pre-tournament favourite probably has to be Windsor. They are the defending champs and their roster boasts 12 players who were on last year's team - a year older, better, and with that winning experience. And in those 10 or so players that weren't there last year, they have added a couple big-time players like Cam Fowler and Zack Kassian. I think they have to be favoured.

That said, this tournament is all about one-game showdowns. I might pick Windsor to take Brandon or Calgary out in a best-of-seven series but for the Wheaties and Hitmen, beating Windsor is just about being the best in one game on Friday or Sunday. And I think both Brandon and Calgary stack up well enough that they can beat the Spitfires for 60 minutes.

I don't know much about Moncton....what I do know though is that it seems like the QMJHL has a boom-or-bust history when it comes to the Memorial Cup. Their team is either good enough to win, or bad enough for last. The "Q" has only won one of the last nine Memorial Cups and haven't been in the Sunday final since 2006, but before that they did have a stretch of putting at least one team into the final for seven straight years. We'll have to wait until Saturday to see how the Wildcats stack up against the Hitmen before we'll have a feel for how good they'll be this year.

One last thing: the last seven times the WHL has hosted the Memorial Cup, a WHL team has won the title. Not since 1986 has a WHL-hosted Memorial Cup seen the champion come from another league; the WHL champ has won five times and the WHL host has won three times (Kamloops in 1995 was both the WHL champ AND the host). So, good karma for Brandon and Calgary? Let's hope so.....

Monday notes

Couple things this morning...

It sounds like the Brandon Wheat Kings will have another candidate for their overage spots next year. The Grand Forks (N.D.) Herald is reporting that forward David Toews (younger brother of Jonathan Toews) will leave the University of North Dakota and play major junior next year. The Wheat Kings own his rights and he is from Winnipeg, so presumably he's headed for Brandon.

Toews is a 1990 born player so he'd be an overager next year. The Wheat Kings have probably six players on their current roster who would be in contention for overage jobs next year - forwards Jordan Hale and Shayne Wiebe, defencemen Mark Schneider and Darren Bestland, and goaltenders Jacob DeSerres and Andrew Hayes - so Toews makes seven guys competing for three spots. (I'm assuming that Brent Raedeke, Colby Robak, Alexander Urbom, and Travis Hamonic - who have all signed pro contracts - will not be back next year)

The 2011 Memorial Cup, which will be held in the OHL, is expected to see its hosting honours be awarded today to the Mississauga St. Michael's Majors. This is kind of a surprise considering that the Majors are near the bottom of the OHL in attendance. I suppose being owned by Eugene Melnyk - the guy who owns the Ottawa Senators - doesn't hurt them though. I wonder how many zeros are in the "profits" figure the Majors promised to share with the rest of the league?

I think most of us were expecting the Windsor Spitfires to win the bid. The Spits won last year's Memorial Cup, are probably the favourites going into this year's Memorial Cup, and will still have a heckuva team next year too. But I guess they'll have to win the OHL for a 3rd straight year if they want to be in the Memorial Cup next year as well.

Still with the Memorial Cup, the QMJHL plays game six of their final series tonight. The Moncton Wildcats lead the Saint John Sea Dogs 3 games to 2 and can book their ticket to Brandon with a win tonight in Moncton. A Saint John win means they'll play game seven tomorrow night in Saint John.

Lastly, the BCHL's Vernon Vipers won their 2nd consecutive Royal Bank Cup yesterday, emblematic of Canadian Jr A hockey champions. There were three former WHLers on the Vipers - former Blazer/American Kevin Kraus, former Silvertip/Winterhawk Jonathan Milhouse, and David Robinson, who voluntarily walked away from the WHL in January after playing two and a half years for Chilliwack. They also have several players who were WHL prospects but chose the NCAA route - Sahir Gill (Kamloops), Dan Nycholat (Spokane), Curtis Gedig (Calgary), etc.

Ex-Dubber make good

If you were a fan of the WHL this season, you'll want to check out the three star selections from this AHL playoff game.

What do all three of those stars have in common? Yes, they all played in the WHL this season and only joined the AHL after their WHL seasons ended. Pretty impressive....from playing junior to being game stars in an AHL playoff game in just a few weeks.

Saturday notes

The hangover has worn off enough to post....

The Hitmen won the 2010 WHL championship last night, beating Tri-City 4-1 in game five at the Saddledome in Calgary. I thought the Americans put in a pretty good effort in this game but the Hitmen won the second period 3-0 and played the Americans fairly even throughout the game otherwise and that was the difference.

So Calgary wins their 2nd WHL title in franchise history, and will now represent the WHL at the Memorial Cup in Brandon starting next weekend. In their 1999 Memorial Cup appearance, the Hitmen lost the championship final in overtime to the Ottawa 67's. You can't get any closer than that without actually winning....so this year's team will hope to be just that one goal better than the 1999 team.

With Windsor and Calgary now having been crowned OHL and WHL champs, the QMJHL representative is the only team left to be determined. The Moncton Wildcats beat the Saint John Sea Dogs tonight in game five of the QMJHL final, so the Wildcats now lead that series 3-2 and can wrap it up with a win in game six on Monday night. A Saint John win on Monday will force a game seven on Tuesday.

One other bit of WHL news - longtime Regina Pats G.M. Brent Parker has announced that he is resigning his G.M. position effective immediately, and the team will hire a new G.M.....I think a lot of Pats fans have been waiting for this day for a while, as the criticism of Parker has been building and building over the last few years. I guess now Pats fans will get their chance to have a new person at the reins of the team for the first time in a long, long, long time....

Thursday notes

Tri-Cities avoided elimination last night with a 4-2 win over the Hitmen. I thought the game was actually not much different from game three; it was a good-paced, close game for 60 minutes. The difference in this one was that Tri-City got the bounces they didn't get in the earlier games - their good scoring chances went in instead of wide or saved by Jones, and this time it was Calgary that was snakebitten around the net, unable to finish on several chances that would have been goals in the first three games.

The league will now fly both teams back to Calgary for game 5 on Friday night. If you believe in karma, it's worth noting that Friday's date is May 7th. The Hitmen's previous WHL championship, against Kamloops in 1999, was also won at home on Friday, May 7th, 1999 - and it was also a game 5.

Wednesday thoughts

The Hitmen can clinch the WHL title tonight in the Tri-Cities. Looking at the situation they are in right now, it's really hard to believe that six weeks ago today they were down 3-1 to Moose Jaw in the first round and facing elimination unless they could win three straight against the Warriors.

One other bit of WHL news from yesterday - the Spokane Chiefs announced that they will not bring Hardy Sauter back as their coach next year. Sauter's dismissal means there are now two coaching vacancies in the WHL at the moment - Spokane and Edmonton.

And in the OHL, the defending Memorial Cup champion Windsor Spitfires booked their return ticket to the big tournament by finishing the 4-0 sweep of the Barrie Colts in the OHL finals. So two of the four teams in this year's Memorial Cup are set now.

In the QMJHL, the Saint John Sea Dogs got back into the QMJHL final with a win over the Moncton Wildcats. The Wildcats still lead that series 2-1 with game four in Moncton on Friday. That series is also using the unusual 1-1-1-1-1-1-1 format; but, the two cities are only about 200 km apart so the travel is pretty easy as far as league finals go. 

Hitmen up 3-0

It was the must-win game of the series for the Tri-City Americans tonight, and despite a decent effort from them, the outcome of the game was the same as the first two games of the series: a Calgary win.

The Hitmen now lead the series 3-0 and can clinch their 2nd ever WHL title (1999 was the first) tomorrow night in game four in Kennewick.

The Ams played well enough tonight but as in the first two games, they are not able to penetrate to the net to get scoring chances. Meanwhile Calgary kept executing their game plan - shut down the Tri-City attack and take advantage of their scoring chances when they get them. Alexander Pechurskiy started in net for the Americans tonight and he was....OK. Two of the goals - the 2nd and 3rd goals - were a little on the weak side. But he did keep Calgary off the scoreboard in the 2nd and 3rd periods, giving his team a chance to mount a comeback. The fact that they didn't isn't his fault.

As I said last year after the Rockets got up 3-0 on the Hitmen: we all know it's is over and Calgary will be the 2009-10 WHL champions. It is so hard to come back from down 3-0 even when the series has been close; in this series, the Americans have 2 goals in 3 games and have yet to even have a lead at any point in the series. Logic suggests they aren't going to win 4 in a row. They have a reasonably young team though, perhaps they can do what Calgary did - use this loss as a learning/motivational tool and come back stronger next year.

Tuesday

The WHL final resumes tonight in Kennewick with game three between the Hitmen and Americans.

I don't think it's a stretch to say that tonight is the most important game of the series....a Hitmen win will put the Americans down 3-0 and we know that almost nobody ever digs out of that hole - combined in the histories of the NHL, NBA, and MLB, teams leading a series 3-0 are 275-3 in the series, so they win the series 98.9% of the time. So realistically, if the Ams want to have any chance of winning the series, they NEED to win tonight. And if they do win, now it's a 2-1 series, they have a little momentum and they have game four in their rink tomorrow night. Calgary probably really wants to avoid that scenario. So yeah, tonight is critically important to both teams, I would think.

One thing we haven't seen much of in this series is anything that resembles the emotion of a rivalry. It hasn't been a nasty series at all....no big hits on star players (Shinnimin on Kozun excepted), no goalies being run, and only two fights - and both fights were in the last few minutes of decided games. That may change as things go along, but I think we're unlikely to see anything approaching the animosity of the current OHL final.

You may have already seen this video of Barrie forward Darren Archibald running Windsor's goaltender in the last minute of the game three loss that put Barrie down 3-0 in the series. Archibald has been suspended indefinitely by the OHL for that. But there's some off-ice stuff going on too between the two teams that may be sparking even deeper emotional reactions.

Seems Barrie used their first round pick in the OHL draft on the weekend to take Windsor G.M. Warren Rychel's son Kerby. Windsor had been hoping to draft Kerby in the 2nd round; apparently most other OHL teams were fine with that since most of them projected Kerby as a 2nd round talent. But not Barrie.....they took him late in the first round and now they own the rights to the son of the G.M. of the team they are playing for the OHL title. It's probably safe to say that there's not a lot of love for the Barrie Colts in the Rychel house right now.....

Hitmen now up 2-0

Much, much better effort from the Americans tonight resulted in a closer score, but ultimately the same result - a 4-1 Hitmen victory gives them a 2-0 lead in the WHL championship series.

Unlike game one, the Americans were able to create some pressure in tonight's game and got a fair number of scoring chances as a result. But, they were only able to get one puck past Martin Jones.

Calgary also played well though and outshot the Americans almost 2:1 on the night. For the second straight game Ams starter Drew Owsley got the hook, this time after 3 goals on 15 shots in 24 minutes of play. He was replaced by Alexander Pechurskiy again, and Pechurskiy was solid in stopping 25 of the next 26 Hitmen shots. Owsley is 0-2 with a 12.09 GAA and .708 SV% in two games in this series; I think it's a no-brainer that Pechurskiy should start game 3 on Tuesday. Owsley didn't have a chance on goals #1 and #3 tonight but goal #2 - the eventual game-winner - was a weak one, high short side from a bad angle. (That goal was also the first career WHL goal for Hitmen defenceman Peter Kosterman....tough to top a gamewinner in the Final for your first career goal).

It'll also be interesting to see whether the Americans have to play game three without leading scorer Brendan Shinnimin, who was tossed from the game in the 2nd period for a textbook dirty hit from behind on league scoring champ Brandon Kozun. If this were the regular season, Shinnimin would for sure be getting a game or three for that hit....but it's the WHL Final so maybe cheap shots are punished less severely here when the offender is a star - remember Tyler Myers on Craig Schira last year. I think Shinnimin should get one game. We'll see if the league agrees. 

Tri-City needs to get their powerplay working. Prior to the series much was made of the Americans powerplay prowess and how the Hitmen would need to stay out of the box. The Ams had 7 powerplays tonight and while they were able to get some pressure on some of them, they got no goals and are now 0-for-12 in the series with the man advantage. A couple PP goals tonight and it could be a different outcome.

Game 3 on Tuesday will be pivotal. We all know the grim statistics for teams that go down 3-0 in a playoff series so it is an absolute must-win for the Americans. Their rink, their fans, they should be pumped up. We'll see if that makes the difference for them....