Daily Dose

Daily Dose of the Dub: ICE sign Savoie, Royals acquire Warm, Tigers sign Nolan

Written by Ben Dooley on

ICE sign first overall pick Matthew Savoie 

After much discussion about the future of Winnipeg ICE first overall pick Matthew Savoie, we now have some clarity about what lies ahead for the St. Albert, Alberta native as he has officially signed with the ICE organization. The fifteen-year-old had previously committed to play at the University of Denver with his older brother Carter but has decided to go the WHL route instead.

The five-foot-nine 172 pound forward caught the eye of many playing with the Northern Alberta X-treme Prep team where he had 31 goals and 40 assists in just 31 games earning the CSSHL MVP Award. The family had applied to Hockey Canada for exceptional status which would have allowed Matthew to play a full season in the WHL next season. It is believed Hockey Canada denied that request, although nothing has officially been announced.

Under WHL regulations, a fifteen-year-old player is eligible to play in five regular season games before his club team’s season ends, after which he can play in the WHL on a full-time basis. However, it has been suggested the ICE will look to have Savoie play in more games next season and there are provisions in the WHL rulebook which would allow this such as emergency recalls. The most recent prominent example of this would be Saskatoon Blades forward Kirby Dach who played 19 games with the Blades in his fifteen-year-old season.

The ICE now have the potential for one of the scariest duos in the WHL in recent memory with second overall pick Connor Geekie already committed to the organization.  As for the elder Savoie, he confirmed in a tweet that he intends to return to the AJHL’s Sherwood Park Crusaders before joining the University of Denver despite the ICE acquiring his WHL rights in a trade with the Regina Pats earlier this year.

The ICE also announced the release of an additional 100 season seats for the Wayne Fleming Arena on Thursday.

Royals acquire Warm from Edmonton

The Victoria Royals have acquired overage defenseman Will Warm from the Edmonton Oil Kings in exchange for a fifth-round draft pick in 2021. Warm is coming off a season in which he only suited up for 33 games due to a knee injury, In 153 career games in the WHL, all with the Oil Kings, Warm has 10 goals and 28 assists. He was named the WHL’s Humanitarian of the Year in the 2018-19 season.

The Royals now have a total of eight overage players signed to WHL agreements for the 2019-20 season so they will have to do some maneuvering to get down to the limit of three overage players. Scott Walford was selected by the Montreal Canadiens in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft but was left unsigned. He now has the option to re-enter the NHL Entry Draft and could turn pro next season. We’ll leave it to our DubNetwork colleague Ryan Sinclair to analyze who could also be on the move from the organization.

For the Oil Kings, the departure of Warm leaves them with six overage players for the 2019-20 season. They will likely see captain Trey Fix-Wolansky depart for the Columbus Blue Jackets organization, which will bring that number down to five. Wolansky was drafted by the Blue Jackets in the seventh round of the 2018 NHL Entry Draft and signed his entry-level contract in March.

Tigers sign defenseman Ryan Nolan 

The Medicine Hat Tigers have announced the signing of 2019 3rd round pick Ryan Nolan. The five-foot-eleven, 141-pound defenseman is a native of Calgary, Alberta and played his bantam hockey with the Calgary Northstar Sabres Bantam AAA team. In 31 games the blueliner scored eight goals and had 16 assists.

Wheat Kings’ McCrimmon receives honourary diploma

Brandon Wheat Kings Owner Kelly McCrimmon was honoured by the Assiniboine Community College with an honourary diploma on Thursday. McCrimmon played three seasons in the WHL with the Prince Albert Raiders and Brandon Wheat Kings getting into 95 games and scoring 28 goals and adding 36 assists. He joined the Wheat Kings as an assistant coach in the 1988-89 season as an assistant coach and has remained connected to the organization in various roles since then.

Salmond commits to Queens

Graduating WHL Goaltender Brodan Salmond has committed to Queens University for the 2019-20 season. The Calgary native played 83 games in the WHL spending most of his career with the Kelowna Rockets before joining the Moose Jaw Warriors for the 2018-19 season.

Cougars to host summer goaltending camp

The Prince George Cougars are teaming up with alumnus Ty Edmonds to host a goaltending camp this summer. The camp will include two one-hour on-ice and off ice sessions and will cost $170 to attend. Edmonds played 213 games in the WHL with the Cougars and leads the franchise in wins with 100 victories.

Senators sign Klimchuk to a one-year contract extension

The Ottawa Senators have signed forward Morgan Klimchuk to a one-year contract extension. In 261 WHL games with the Regina Pats and Brandon Wheat Kings, Klimchuk had 118 goals and 149 assists. He was drafted by the Calgary Flames in the first round of the 2013 NHL Entry Draft but has spent most of his time in the AHL since turning pro.