Tuesday Early

[Scout]

with Gregg Drinnan

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

G Tomas Vosvrda, 19, won’t be joining the Portland Winter Hawks immediately and it turns out he may never play for them. A source said this morning that Vosvrda is returning to the Czech Republic now that the World Junior Championship is over. The Medicine Hat News reported late Monday that Vosvrda, who played last season with the Medicine Hat Tigers, was on his way to the Winter Hawks. Instead, it seems the Winter Hawks have claimed Vosvrda’s rights as an insurance policy should something happen to veteran starter Kurtis Mucha, 19, or should something take place between now and Saturday’s trade deadline. Vosvrda, who was picked by Medicine Hat in the CHL’s 2007 import draft, was dropped by the Tigers after last season.
--------
JUST NOTES: The Kootenay Ice may be without F Steele Boomer for a while. He suffered his third concussion of this season Friday during a 4-1 loss to the Oil Kings in Edmonton. . . . G Dalyn Flette of the Oil Kings is back on the ice after having surgery to repair a foot injury. He hasn’t played since Oct. 17. There is no date set for his return. . . . From the how times have changed department: The Portland Winter Hawks beat the Chiefs 2-1 in Spokane on Saturday and, rather than return home, headed for Kelowna. The Winter Hawks have been doing some R and R there, while preparing to play in Kamloops on Wednesday and in Kelowna on Friday.
--------
THE TRADE FRONT: The Prince Albert Raiders have dealt F Robbie Ciolfi, 17, to the Prince George Cougars for RW Ryan Kowalski, 17. Ciolfi, from Lethbridge, is with the AJHL’s Drayton Valley Thunder and has 10 points in 13 games. Prince George assistant coach Jeff Battah was the Thunder’s GM/head coach before joining the Cougars early in December. Prince Albert acquired Ciolfi’s rights from the Lethbridge Hurricanes a year ago. Kowalski, the 35th overall selection in the 2006 bantam draft, had one assist in 35 games with the Cougars. Over two seasons, Kowalski, who is from Abbotsford, has six points and 46 penalty minutes in 98 games. . . . The Prince Albert Raiders have traded F Matt Robertson, 20, to the Regina Pats for F Michael MacAngus, 20, and a 2009 fourth-round bantam draft pick. MacAngus has 28 points, including 11 goals, in 44 games with Regina, while Robertson, who is from Prince Albert, has 34 points, 15 of them goals.
--------
WHL trades since Dec. 26:Dec. 30: Kootenay trades G Thomas Heemskerk, 18, to Everett for a 2010 third-round bantam draft pick.
Jan. 5: Saskatoon trades F Brody Sutter, 17, to Lethbridge for a 2009 fifth-round bantam draft pick.
Jan. 6: Prince Albert trades F Robbie Ciolfi, 17, to Prince George for RW Ryan Kowalski, 17.
Jan. 6: Prince Albert trades F Matt Robertson, 20, to Regina for F Michael MacAngus, 20, and a 2009 fourth-round bantam draft pick.

Scout

[Scout]

with Gregg Drinnan

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

THE MacBETH REPORT: D Rory Rawlyk (Vancouver/Prince Albert/Red Deer) signed with Herner ESV (Germany Oberliga) for the rest of the season. He was with Phoenix (ECHL), getting one goal and six assists in 14 games with the Roadrunners. . . . F Ty Morris (Swift Current/Vancouver/Red Deer) moved from Miesbach (Germany Oberliga) to Landshut (German 2.Bundesliga) for the rest of the season. Morris had 22 goals and 25 assists in 35 games this season for Miesbach, along with 105 PIM. He was leading the Oberliga in scoring. . . . D Tomas Slovak (Kelowna) has been released by Augsburg (Germany DEL). He had one goal and four assists in 28 games for the Panther this season.
———
JUST NOTES: The Kamloops Blazers will be without defenceman Brandon Underwood, 16, for as long as four weeks after he suffered a severed tendon in his left thumb in Sunday’s game with Seattle. The Blazers believe one of the linesmen stepped on Underwood’s hand in the aftermath of a scrap with Seattle’s Chris Cloud. According to Blazers general manager Craig Bonner, Underwood was fortunate that the doctor on hand was a surgeon and was able to repair the tendon right there. . . . The Regina Pats are looking at playing F Matt Robertson, 20, on a line with winger Jordan Eberle and centre Jordan Weal. Robertson was acquired Tuesday from the Prince Albert Raiders. . . . The Pats have assigned RW Cody Hanson, 18, to the SJHL’s Melville Millionaires. He had three assists in 48 penalty minutes in 28 games with the Pats.
F Robbie Ciolfi, the 17-year-old acquired Tuesday by the Prince George Cougars from the Prince Albert Raiders will join his new team later this week. He was hampered early in the season by a broken scaphoid with the AJHL’s Drayton Valley Thunder, but has 10 points in 13 games since returning. He is scheduled to fly into Prince George today and should play Friday against the Silvertips in Everett. “I’ve always wanted to play in the WHL, that’s what I’ve wanted to do from the very start,” he told Jim Swanson, the Prince George Citizen’s sports editor. . . .
The Chilliwack Bruins thought they might get F Oscar Moller, 19, back from the NHL’s Los Angeles after he played for Sweden at the World Junior Championship. But Moller, who has 13 points in 30 games with the Kings, returned to Los Angeles on Tuesday. Still, Chilliwack GM Darrell May told Marc Weber of the Vancouver Province that he hopes to speak with Kings’ management Wednesday. “(General manager) Dean Lombardi was traveling (today),” May said. “They’re going to talk about Oscar in the morning and I’ll talk to them after that. I’m not holding my breath.” . . . The Tri-City Americans have added Russian RW Maxim Trunev, 18, to their list. A fifth-round selection by the Montreal Canadiens in the 2008 NHL draft, the Winter Hawks selected Trunev in the CHL’s 2008 import draft but recently dropped him from their list. The Americans are hoping to convince Trunev to play for them next season. He has four points in 24 games with Severstal Cherepovets of the Continental Hockey League.
The Everett Silvertips are trying to trade G Shayne Barrie, 19, meaning they will go with Thomas Heemskerk, 18, who was acquired last week from the Kootenay Ice and freshman Kent Simpson, 16. Barrie is 10-10-3-0, 3.08, .905 with Everett this season.
———
C Brett Connolly, in his first game back after a stint with Team Pacific at the U-17 World Hockey Challenge in Port Alberni, B.C., scored with 38.4 seconds left in OT on Tuesday to give the host Prince George Cougars a 3-2 victory over the Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . Connolly, a 16-year-old freshman who is playing in his hometown, has 17 goals this season. . . . The goal snapped a five-game P.G. losing streak, which occurred while Connolly was away. . . . Moose Jaw C Joel Broda scored his WHL-leading 36th goal. He has 10 goals in his last five games. . . . Attendance was announced at 1,889, the smallest crowd to watch the Cougars play in the CN Centre. . . . Moose Jaw was 1-for-3 on the PP; the Cougars were, uhh, 0-for-0. That’s right. They weren’t awarded even one PP.
———
In Swift Current, F Jay Fehr scored twice, running his point streak to nine games, as the Brandon Wheat Kings beat the Broncos, 3-1. . . . Brandon has won five in a row and is 8-1-1-0 in its last 10. . . . The hot streak has carried Brandon to within four points of the Saskatoon Blades for the Eastern Conference’s second seed. . . . The Blades are in Brandon on Friday. . . . Brandon is 4-0 versus the Broncos. . . . Brandon F Scott Glennie (flu) sat this one out. He has an eight-game point streak on the go. . . . Fehr has 17 points in his last nine games.
———
In Edmonton, T.J. Foster’s goal at 9:25 of the third period gave the Oil Kings a 3-1 lead and they hung on to beat the Medicine Hat Tigers, 3-2. . . . It was the 14th time these teams have met over the last two seasons and the first time Edmonton has won. . . . Edmonton G Torrie Jung stopped 24 shots.
———
WHL trades since Dec. 26:
Dec. 30: Kootenay trades G Thomas Heemskerk, 18, to Everett for a 2010 third-round bantam draft pick.
Jan. 5: Saskatoon trades F Brody Sutter, 17, to Lethbridge for a 2009 fifth-round bantam draft pick.
Jan. 6: Prince Albert trades F Robbie Ciolfi, 17, to Prince George for RW Ryan Kowalski, 17.
Jan. 6: Prince Albert trades F Matt Robertson, 20, to Regina for F Michael MacAngus, 20, and a 2009 fourth-round bantam draft pick.
Jan. 6: Everett trades LW Kyle Beach, 18, and D Mike Alexander, 19, to Lethbridge for D Alex Theriau, 16, LW Daniel Iwanski, 18, and a 2009 first-round bantam draft pick.

Scout