Scout
09-28-2008, 06:38 AM
Gregg Drinnan
Sunday, September 28, 2008
It has been eight days since the Kelowna Rockets made the first major move of this WHL season, acquiring G Kris Lazaruk, 20, from the Kootenay Ice and jettisoning G Torrie Jung, 19.
Why was this such a stunning move?
Had it happened in a month or so, it wouldn’t have raised more than an eyebrow or two. But because it happened on the opening weekend of the season, with Jung having just returned from the camp of the Tampa Bay Lightning, well, more than a few people were surprised.
The Rockets, however, feel they gave Jung ample opportunity last season to prove that he could be a No. 1 goaltender in this league. Based on what they saw then, they decided they wouldn’t hand him the starter’s job this season, but they would give him another opportunity to earn it. At the same time, though, they would be keeping their eyes on the marketplace.
Rockets GM Bruce Hamilton and Kootenay GM Jeff Chynoweth had chatted over the summer. And when Chynoweth decided on the eve of the season to go with Thomas Heemskerk, 19, and Nathan Lieuwen, 18, the Rockets were forced into making a decision in a hurry.
So they ditched Plan A and turned to Plan B -- which meant making a trade for Lazaruk, giving up a conditional fourth-round bantam pick which, by the way, Hamilton thought was a steep price to pay for a 20-year-old goaltender.
Anyway . . . the Rockets, to date, are thrilled with Lazaruk.
As for Jung, he’s at home in Nanaimo waiting to find out about his next destination. If no one in the WHL expresses interest in trading for him, he’ll go on waivers. If no one picks him up, it is believed that he will head for the OHL.
---
Speaking of the Rockets, their new bus will be ready for them this week.
The final touches will be done early in the week -- license on Monday, TVs hooked up and logos pained on the outside on Tuesday -- and they’ll be riding it Wednesday night when they
leave for Medicine Hat after entertaining the Everett Silvertips.
”I’ve seen it,” offered one Rockets employee. “It’s juicy.”
According to those in the know, it’s more than juicy and includes more leather than Pammy Anderson’s wardrobe.
---
Two WHL head coaches heard from the WHL’s Department of Justice on Saturday and it cost them $500 apiece. Rob Sumner of the Seattle Thunderbirds and Steve Pleau of the Edmonton Oil Kings were fined after getting tossed from games on Friday night. . . . D Travis Ehrhardt of the Portland Winter Hawks, who is just back from the Detroit Red Wings’ camp, was suspended
indefinitely for an elbowing major he incurred on Friday. That suspension will be determined after further investigation. . . . As well, Saskatoon Blades F Mike Reich has been hit with a $250 fine. It seems he had a thing or two to say about the eight-game suspension he was hit with on Sept. 16.
Reich has just learned that freedom of speech carries a price in the WHL.
---
JUST NOTES: D Alex Plante, who had demanded to be traded by Calgary, played for the Hitmen on Saturday night. He had been in camp with the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers, who took him in the first round of the NHL’s 2007 draft. . . . The Lethbridge Hurricanes picked up RW Brent Henke, 18, from the Edmonton Oil Kings for a 2009 seventh-round bantam draft pick. An Edmonton native, Henke was a fifth-round pick by the Kootenay Ice in the 2005 draft. He had eight points and 24 penalty minutes in 63 games with the Oil Kings last season.
---
Chilliwack Bruins sniper Oscar Moller is making quite an impression with the
Los Angeles Kings. There¹s an L.A. Times story right here.
---
SATURDAY: The Moose Jaw Warriors won their third straight game Saturday, beating visiting Brandon 5-2 for their second straight victory over the Wheat Kings. Brandon led 2-0 after one period. Brandon D Chad Erb lost four teeth after taking a puck to the face in the second period. On Friday, Moose Jaw had won 6-3 in Brandon. . . . LW Daniel Bartek had a goal and two first-period assists to lead the host Everett Silvertips to a 7-3 victory over the Seattle Thunderbirds, who have lost their first four games. Everett welcomed back D Taylor Ellington, who had been in camp with the Vancouver Canucks, but was without RW Matt Ius (concussion), who was injured Friday against Portland. . . . The Kelowna Rockets erased a 3-1 deficit by scoring three times during a major penalty to Kamloops D Nick Ross and went on to beat the visiting Blazers, 5-4. Ross drew an interference major and a game misconduct after an attempted hip check on Kelowna D Kyle Verdino. Verdino suffered an injury to his left knee and will be re-evaluated in the days ahead. . . . F Landon Ferraro’s PP goal 51 seconds into OT gave the host Red Deer Rebels a 4-3 victory over the Edmonton Oil Kings. C Brenden Dowd of Edmonton forced the OT with a goal at 19:24 of the third period. . . . G Mark Guggenberger ran his record against Saskatoon to 5-0 as the visiting Swift Current Broncos beat the Blades 4-3. Guggenberger made 26 saves after replacing starter Travis Yonkman (shoulder) early in the first period. Swift Current RW Keegan Dansereau, who is from Saskatoon, had a goal and two assists as the Broncos ran their record to 4-0-0-0. . . . The host Medicine Hat Tigers scored the game’s last five goals as they beat the Lethbridge Hurricanes, 6-3. . . . G Dustin Tokarski stopped 31 shots as the Memorial Cup-champion Spokane Chiefs won their home-opener 4-0 over the Tri-City Americans. It was his second shutout this season and the 10th of his career. That tied Jim Watt’s Chiefs’ record for career shutouts. Attendance was 10,538. . . .In Calgary, F Carson McMillan was the only one of eight shooters to score in the shootout as the Hitmen beat the Kootenay Ice, 3-2. . . . LW Brian Matte’s goal at 2:09 of OT gave the visiting Prince George Cougars a 3-2 victory over the Chilliwack Bruins. Prince George G Kevin Armstrong stopped 39 shots. . . . G Jamie Tucker stopped 19 shots to lead the visiting Vancouver Giants to a 5-0 victory over the Portland Winter Hawks. Tucker, a 17-year-old from Victoria, has put up two shutouts in his first three WHL starts.
Scout
Sunday, September 28, 2008
It has been eight days since the Kelowna Rockets made the first major move of this WHL season, acquiring G Kris Lazaruk, 20, from the Kootenay Ice and jettisoning G Torrie Jung, 19.
Why was this such a stunning move?
Had it happened in a month or so, it wouldn’t have raised more than an eyebrow or two. But because it happened on the opening weekend of the season, with Jung having just returned from the camp of the Tampa Bay Lightning, well, more than a few people were surprised.
The Rockets, however, feel they gave Jung ample opportunity last season to prove that he could be a No. 1 goaltender in this league. Based on what they saw then, they decided they wouldn’t hand him the starter’s job this season, but they would give him another opportunity to earn it. At the same time, though, they would be keeping their eyes on the marketplace.
Rockets GM Bruce Hamilton and Kootenay GM Jeff Chynoweth had chatted over the summer. And when Chynoweth decided on the eve of the season to go with Thomas Heemskerk, 19, and Nathan Lieuwen, 18, the Rockets were forced into making a decision in a hurry.
So they ditched Plan A and turned to Plan B -- which meant making a trade for Lazaruk, giving up a conditional fourth-round bantam pick which, by the way, Hamilton thought was a steep price to pay for a 20-year-old goaltender.
Anyway . . . the Rockets, to date, are thrilled with Lazaruk.
As for Jung, he’s at home in Nanaimo waiting to find out about his next destination. If no one in the WHL expresses interest in trading for him, he’ll go on waivers. If no one picks him up, it is believed that he will head for the OHL.
---
Speaking of the Rockets, their new bus will be ready for them this week.
The final touches will be done early in the week -- license on Monday, TVs hooked up and logos pained on the outside on Tuesday -- and they’ll be riding it Wednesday night when they
leave for Medicine Hat after entertaining the Everett Silvertips.
”I’ve seen it,” offered one Rockets employee. “It’s juicy.”
According to those in the know, it’s more than juicy and includes more leather than Pammy Anderson’s wardrobe.
---
Two WHL head coaches heard from the WHL’s Department of Justice on Saturday and it cost them $500 apiece. Rob Sumner of the Seattle Thunderbirds and Steve Pleau of the Edmonton Oil Kings were fined after getting tossed from games on Friday night. . . . D Travis Ehrhardt of the Portland Winter Hawks, who is just back from the Detroit Red Wings’ camp, was suspended
indefinitely for an elbowing major he incurred on Friday. That suspension will be determined after further investigation. . . . As well, Saskatoon Blades F Mike Reich has been hit with a $250 fine. It seems he had a thing or two to say about the eight-game suspension he was hit with on Sept. 16.
Reich has just learned that freedom of speech carries a price in the WHL.
---
JUST NOTES: D Alex Plante, who had demanded to be traded by Calgary, played for the Hitmen on Saturday night. He had been in camp with the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers, who took him in the first round of the NHL’s 2007 draft. . . . The Lethbridge Hurricanes picked up RW Brent Henke, 18, from the Edmonton Oil Kings for a 2009 seventh-round bantam draft pick. An Edmonton native, Henke was a fifth-round pick by the Kootenay Ice in the 2005 draft. He had eight points and 24 penalty minutes in 63 games with the Oil Kings last season.
---
Chilliwack Bruins sniper Oscar Moller is making quite an impression with the
Los Angeles Kings. There¹s an L.A. Times story right here.
---
SATURDAY: The Moose Jaw Warriors won their third straight game Saturday, beating visiting Brandon 5-2 for their second straight victory over the Wheat Kings. Brandon led 2-0 after one period. Brandon D Chad Erb lost four teeth after taking a puck to the face in the second period. On Friday, Moose Jaw had won 6-3 in Brandon. . . . LW Daniel Bartek had a goal and two first-period assists to lead the host Everett Silvertips to a 7-3 victory over the Seattle Thunderbirds, who have lost their first four games. Everett welcomed back D Taylor Ellington, who had been in camp with the Vancouver Canucks, but was without RW Matt Ius (concussion), who was injured Friday against Portland. . . . The Kelowna Rockets erased a 3-1 deficit by scoring three times during a major penalty to Kamloops D Nick Ross and went on to beat the visiting Blazers, 5-4. Ross drew an interference major and a game misconduct after an attempted hip check on Kelowna D Kyle Verdino. Verdino suffered an injury to his left knee and will be re-evaluated in the days ahead. . . . F Landon Ferraro’s PP goal 51 seconds into OT gave the host Red Deer Rebels a 4-3 victory over the Edmonton Oil Kings. C Brenden Dowd of Edmonton forced the OT with a goal at 19:24 of the third period. . . . G Mark Guggenberger ran his record against Saskatoon to 5-0 as the visiting Swift Current Broncos beat the Blades 4-3. Guggenberger made 26 saves after replacing starter Travis Yonkman (shoulder) early in the first period. Swift Current RW Keegan Dansereau, who is from Saskatoon, had a goal and two assists as the Broncos ran their record to 4-0-0-0. . . . The host Medicine Hat Tigers scored the game’s last five goals as they beat the Lethbridge Hurricanes, 6-3. . . . G Dustin Tokarski stopped 31 shots as the Memorial Cup-champion Spokane Chiefs won their home-opener 4-0 over the Tri-City Americans. It was his second shutout this season and the 10th of his career. That tied Jim Watt’s Chiefs’ record for career shutouts. Attendance was 10,538. . . .In Calgary, F Carson McMillan was the only one of eight shooters to score in the shootout as the Hitmen beat the Kootenay Ice, 3-2. . . . LW Brian Matte’s goal at 2:09 of OT gave the visiting Prince George Cougars a 3-2 victory over the Chilliwack Bruins. Prince George G Kevin Armstrong stopped 39 shots. . . . G Jamie Tucker stopped 19 shots to lead the visiting Vancouver Giants to a 5-0 victory over the Portland Winter Hawks. Tucker, a 17-year-old from Victoria, has put up two shutouts in his first three WHL starts.
Scout