Daily Dose

Daily Dose of the Dub: ICE sign Geekie, Wheat Kings sign three first round picks, Desjardins returns to Tigers,

Written by Ben Dooley on

ICE sign second overall pick Conor Geekie

The Winnipeg ICE announced the signing of second overall pick Conor Geekie to a standard WHL Player Agreement at the team’s development camp on Friday.

Geekie is a big forward, already standing at six-foot-three at just 15 years of age and weighing in at 170 pounds. He is a Manitoba native, hailing from the locality of Strathclair. He played last season in the WBAAA with the Yellowhead Chiefs Bantam AAA team. In 31 games, he scored 49 goals and 37 assists, leading the league in both goals and points. He is the younger brother of Tri-City Americans alumni Morgan Geekie, who is set to play in the Calder Cup Final with the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers which kicks off tonight.

Wheat Kings sign three first round picks 

The Brandon Wheat Kings made headlines on Friday announcing that they have signed all three of their 2019 first round picks to Standard Player Agreements.

Fifth overall pick Nate Danielson joins the team from Red Deer, Alberta. He stands at six-foot and weighs in at 160 pounds and played the 2018-19 season in the AMBHL with the Red Deer Rebels Bantam AAA team. Danielson registered 26 goals and 33 assists in just 29 games. He was one of two players awarded the AMBHL Top Forward prize and was also one of three players to be named the AMBHL Most Valuable Player.

The Wheat Kings also held the sixth overall pick in this year’s bantam draft which they used to select Tyson Zimmer of Russell, Manitoba. Although he’s a Manitoba native, Zimmer played last season in the Okanagan with the Okanagan Hockey Academy Bantam Prep team. The five-foot-eleven, 170 pounds forward played 26 games last season and put up 22 goals with 30 assists.

The Wheat Kings’ final pick of the first round was Rylen Roersma, who they selected with the 16th overall pick. Roersma is a native of Raymond, Alberta and played his bantam hockey with the Lethbridge Golden Hawks Bantam AAA team in the AMBHL. In 29 games, the five-foot-ten, 168 pounds forward scored 23 goals and added 21 assists. He was also one of three players named AMBHL Most Valuable Player of the year, along with Danielson.

Desjardins officially returns to Tigers

As many predicted, the Medicine Hat Tigers officially announced on Friday that Willie Desjardins is returning to the club as the team’s new Head Coach and General Manager after the team parted ways with Shaun Clouston. Desjardins spent eight years as the team’s head coach from 2002-2010, five of which he also served as General Manager. He left the team following the 2009-10 season to take a position with the Dallas Stars as an assistant coach. You can read full coverage of the Tigers’ announcement from our colleague Glen Erickson here.

Rockets sign Carmichael 

The Kelowna Rockets have signed 2018 second-round pick Elias Carmichael to a Standard Player Agreement. Carmichael is a defenseman from Langley, BC and played in the CSSHL with the Burnaby Winter Club Prep Team. The six-foot-one 185 pounds defenseman played 27 games and had three goals and 11 assists. He also played one game with the BCHL’s Langley Rivermen but was held off the scoresheet. As a 2003-born player, Carmichael will be eligible to join the Rockets this season.

Pats sign Director of Scouting to a multi-year contract extension

The Regina Pats have signed Director of Scouting Dale McMullin to a multi-year contract extension. McMullin has been the Pats’ Director of Scouting since the 2011 season, previously serving with the Red Deer Rebels as a scout. He played 309 games in the WHL with the Brandon Wheat Kings scoring 168 goals and 250 assists. He is 4th in assists in Wheat Kings’ history and is also inside the Top 10 in both goals and games played.

Winterhawks announce retirement of Dean Vrooman

The Portland Winterhawks announced the retirement of Dean “Scooter” Vrooman after 32 seasons with the Club. He originally joined the team in 1982 as the play-by-play broadcaster and primary sponsorship salesperson. He served in that role for 25 years and called over 2,000 Winterhawks games before leaving the team in 2007 for a position in the banking industry. He returned to the Winterhawks in 2012 as the team’s Director of Corporate Partnerships, a role which he held until his retirement. On behalf of everyone here at DubNetwork, we’d like to wish Dean all the best in retirement.

Edmonton Oilers part ways with WHL alumni Yawney and Viveiros

 The NHL’s Edmonton Oilers have announced that they have parted ways with WHL alumni Trent Yawney and Manny Viveiros who had been with the team as assistant coaches.

Yawney played 209 games in the WHL scoring 36 goals and adding 128 assists with the Saskatoon Blades. He went on to have an 11-year pro career which saw stops with the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks, Calgary Flames and St. Louis Blues. He retired after playing just 20 games in the 1998-99 season to join the Blackhawks as an assistant coach for the following season.

Viveiros got his start in the WHL with the Prince Albert Raiders where he scored 60 goals and added 261 assists in 251 games. He played 21 seasons of pro hockey including 29 games in the NHL with the Minnesota North Stars. He returned to the WHL in the 2016-17 season with the Swift Current Broncos as Head Coach and Director of Player Personnel. Under Viveiros, the Broncos posted an 87-40-17 record and won a WHL Championship before he left the team to join the Oilers this season.