Friday

[Scout]

with Gregg Drinnan

Friday, January 9, 2009

The Swift Current Broncos traded F Matt Ius, 18, to the Chilliwack Bruins for F Liam Darragh, 18.
Darragh, from Quesnel, B.C., has six points and 60 penalty minutes in 39 games with the Bruins and will give Broncos GM/head coach Dean Chynoweth a bit more size and grit in his lineup.
Ius began the season with Everett but was dealt to Swift Current after expressing unhappiness with his role with the Silvertips. He didn’t return to the Broncos after Christmas and has been at home – he’s from Pitt Meadows, B.C. -- awaiting a trade. All told, he has four points in 21 games this season.
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Unofficially, WHL teams have swapped 24 players and 10 bantam draft picks since returning from the Christmas break. . . . In the QMJHL, teams have moved 56 players, 62 draft picks and three import draft picks.
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JUST NOTES: D Tyler Hansen, a 6-foot-3, 185-pounder from the midget AAA team in Lethbridge, has signed with the Blazers, who selected him in the third round of the 2008 bantam draft. He has 13 points and eight penalty minutes in 23 games with Lethbridge. . . . F Tyler Penny, 19, has left the Red Deer Rebels and will play for the SJHL’s Weyburn Red Wings under head coach Dwight McMillan. Penny totaled 11 points in 103 games with the Rebels.
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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.
Jan. 7: Spokane trades C Seth Compton, 20, and a 2010 third-round bantam draft pick to Kamloops for RW Brady Calla, 20.
Jan. 8: Moose Jaw trades LW Ryley Grantham, 20, and a 2011 fifth-round bantam draft pick to Kelowna for F Dylan Hood, 18.
Jan. 8: Kamloops trades D Nick Ross, 19, and F Alex Rodgers, 19, to Vancouver for D Curtis Kulchar, 18, and three bantam draft picks – third- and fourth-rounders in 2009 and a second-rounder in 2010.
Jan. 8: Kootenay trades LW Kris Foucault, 18, to Calgary for RW Ryan Fox, 18.
Jan. 8: Moose Jaw trades C Joel Broda, 19, and LW Tomas Karpov, 19, to Calgary for C Brendan Rowinski, 18, and second- and seventh-round 2009 bantam draft picks.
Jan. 9: Swift Current trades F Matt Ius, 18, to Chilliwack for F Liam Darragh, 18.

Scout

[Scout]

with Gregg Drinnan

Saturday, January 10, 2009

The WHL trade deadline arrives today . . . at 2 p.m. Pacific time, which is 3 p.m. in the WHL office in Calgary . . .
The Swift Current Broncos were involved in Friday’s only three trades. . . . They started by sending F Matt Ius, 18, to the Chilliwack Bruins for F Liam Darragh, 18. . . . The Broncos later dealt D Jesse Dudas, 20, to the Regina Pats for a 2010 fourth-round bantam draft pick. . . . Swift Current also acquired G Morgan Clark, 18, from the Red Deer Rebels for a 2010 fifth-round draft pick. . . . Dudas, who was acquired last season from the Prince George Cougars, hasn’t played this season after injuring a knee in the Edmonton Oilers’ camp. It was thought he would report to the Broncos after Christmas, but he chose not to and requested a trade instead. . . . With the Broncos having acquired Clark, it leads one to speculate that another deal is in the works, one that will have one of Swift Current’s goaltenders — either Travis Yonkman, 20, or Mark Guggenberger, 19 — on the move. . . .
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JUST NOTES: F Michael St. Croix, 15, scored his first WHL goal for Edmonton as the Oil Kings beat the Warriors 3-1 in Moose Jaw. St. Croix, a son of former NHL goaltender Rick St. Croix, was the fourth overall selection in the 2008 bantam draft. . . . Moose Jaw G Jeff Bosch, who was acquired earlier from the Regina Pats, underwent an ultrasound on an injured hip Friday. His return is uncertain. . . . In Cranbrook, F Evander Kane scored twice and added an assist to lead the Vancouver Giants to a 4-1 victory over the Kootenay Ice. The game was Kane’s first since returning from Team Canada. . . . D Nick Ross scored the Giants’ first goal in his first game since being acquired Thursday from the Kamloops Blazers. . . . Giants F Casey Pierro-Zabotel had three assists. . . . Vancouver was without D Jon Blum (dental surgery). . . .
C C.J. Stretch scored in the shootout to give the host Kamloops Blazers a 4-3 shootout victory over the Chilliwack Bruins. The Blazers tied the game 3-3 on RW Jimmy Bubnick’s 20th goal of the season in the third period. It came off a faceoff win by C Seth Compton, who was acquired Wednesday from the Spokane Chiefs. . . . F Colby Robak scored a PP goal 24 seconds into overtime as the host Brandon Wheat Kings edged the Saskatoon Blades 4-3. That moved the second-place Wheat Kings to within three points of the Blades, who are the Eastern Conference’s second seed. . . . Brandon got two goals from F Andrew Clark and one from D Keith Aulie, who was playing his first game since playing for Team Canada and then signing with the NHL’s Calgary Flames. . . . Saskatoon held a 3-1 lead in the third period. Brandon tied it on a PP goal by Clark 30 seconds into the third and Aulie tied it at 7:10. . . . Brandon has won six in a row and is 9-0-1-0 in its last 10 games. . . .
In Kelowna, F Brandon McMillan scored the shootout winner after setting up three goals in regulation time as the Rockets got past the Portland Winter Hawks, 5-4. . . . C Cody Almond had two goals for the Rockets. . . . F Radim Valchar forced OT with a Portland goal with 52 seconds left in the third period. The Rockets had taken a 4-3 lead with PP goals eight seconds apart. . . . G Adam Brown, 17, made 24 saves in his second straight start for Kelowna. . . . G Kurtis Mucha, 19, stopped 32 shots for Portland. . . . F Adam Hughesman was the only one of eight shootout shooters to score, giving the visiting Tri-City Americans a 4-3 victory over the Seattle Thunderbirds of Kent. It was Seattle’s first home-ice loss in their new facility, in which it had won its first two games. . . . Attendance was 3,508. . . . C Mitch Fadden, who began his WHL career in Seattle, scored twice for Tri-City, including the OT-forcing goal at 6:39 of the third period. . . . F Greg Scott scored twice for the Thunderbirds. . . .
The Everett Silvertips, who are 0-5 in OT this season, ran their shootout record to 3-0 with a 3-2 victory over the visiting Prince George Cougars. . . . F Shane Harper won it in the fifth round of the circus. . . . F Brian Matte scored twice in regulation time for Prince George. . . . In Regina, the Pats fell 5-3 to the Swift Current Broncos. The loss, combined with other results on the night, knocked the Pats into ninth spot in the Eastern Conference. The top eight teams make the playoffs. . . . Regina has lost six in a row. . . . The Pats led this one 2-0 before giving up five straight goals. . . . Broncos F Liam Darragh, who was acquired earlier in the day from Chilliwack, earned one assist and got into a scrap with Regina D Colten Teubert. . . .
In Lethbridge, the Prince Albert won for the seventh time in 11 games, beating the Hurricanes 3-2. Lethbridge now has lost seven in a row. . . . The Hurricanes, who reached the championship final last spring, now are 10th in the 12-team Eastern Conference. The Raiders, Kootenay Ice and Edmonton Oil Kings are tied for sixth. . . . Lethbridge G Juha Metsola was back after his stint with Finland at the World Junior Championship. . . .
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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.
Jan. 7: Spokane trades C Seth Compton, 20, and a 2010 third-round bantam draft pick to Kamloops for RW Brady Calla, 20.
Jan. 8: Moose Jaw trades LW Ryley Grantham, 20, and a 2011 fifth-round bantam draft pick to Kelowna for F Dylan Hood, 18.
Jan. 8: Kamloops trades D Nick Ross, 19, and F Alex Rodgers, 19, to Vancouver for D Curtis Kulchar, 18, and three bantam draft picks — third- and fourth-rounders in 2009 and a second-rounder in 2010.
Jan. 8: Kootenay trades LW Kris Foucault, 18, to Calgary for RW Ryan Fox, 18.
Jan. 8: Moose Jaw trades C Joel Broda, 19, and LW Tomas Karpov, 19, to Calgary for C Brendan Rowinski, 18, and second- and seventh-round 2009 bantam draft picks.
Jan. 9: Swift Current trades F Matt Ius, 18, to Chilliwack for F Liam Darragh, 18.
Jan. 9: Swift Current trades D Jesse Dudas, 20, for a 2010 fourth-round bantam draft pick.
Jan.9: Red Deer trades G Morgan Clark, 18, to Swift Current for a 2010 fifth-round bantam draft pick.

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