Daily Dose

Daily Dose of the DUB: USA Hockey names National Junior Team Evaluation Camp invitees, and more

Written by Paul Figler on

 

USA Hockey names National Junior Team Evaluation Camp invitees

USA Hockey selected 39 players to participate in its 2021 National Junior Team Evaluation Camp set for Plymouth, Michigan October 8-13. Of those players, two have been on WHL rosters, Dustin Wolf (Everett) and Lukas Svejkovsky (Vancouver / Medicine Hat). Three other players are draft picks of teams in the Western Hockey League; Michael Gildon (Kelowna), Jake Sanderson (Kootenay), and Cameron York (Red Deer). Dustin Wolf and Cameron York were on the team that went to the 2020 IIHF World Junior Championships and lost in the quarterfinals.

Thrower signs with Icemen

Dalton Thrower (285GP, 42G, 105A with Saskatoon and Vancouver ’09-’14) has signed for a second season with the Jacksonville Icemen of the ECHL. A 2012 second-round draft pick of the Montreal Canadiens, Thrower has spent the last six seasons playing mainly in the ECHL. Last season with the Icemen, the Squamish, BC native scored three times and added five assists in 35 games.

Erkamps signs with Bears

Macoy Erkamps (341GP, 30G, 158A with Lethbridge and Brandon ’11-’16) has signed with the Hershey Bears of the AHL. Erkamps is an Ed Chynoweth Cup champion, having won the WHL Final with Brandon in 2015-16. Undrafted, the Delta, BC defenseman has split the last four seasons between the AHL and ECHL. Last season, Erkamps played three games with the Wheeling Nailers (ECHL) earning an assist. He also played 36 games with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, totaling four assists.

Vallimaki loaned to Tampereen Ilves

Juuso Valimaki (159GP, 40G, 98A with Tri-City ’15-’18) has been loaned by the Calgary Flames to Tampereen Ilves of Finland’s Liiga. Valimaki won a gold and a silver medal at the Gretzky Hlinka Cup in 2014-15 & 2015-16. Drafted in the first round of the 2017 NHL Draft by the Flames, the Nokia, FIN native spent the entire 2019-20 season unable to play due to injury.

Hagel loaned to HC Thurgau

Brandon Hagel (259GP, 103G, 176A with Red Deer’15-’19) has been loaned by the Chicago Blackhawks to HC Thurgau of SL (Swiss league). Originally a 2016 third-round NHL Draft pick of the Buffalo Sabres, Hagel went unsigned. The Blackhawks signed him to an entry level contract in 2018. Last season Hagel split between the Rockford IceHogs (59GP, 19G, 12A) and the Chicago Blackhawks (1GP, 0G, 0A).

Broncos hold Annual General Meeting

The Broncos held their annual meeting in Swift Current. Three new board members were elected, and two former members were thanked for their service. The big news included in their release is that the team experienced a loss of $791,000 in part due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Also playing into the loss was expected cycle of development following their WHL Championship run, the class action lawsuit, a reevealuation of the accounting for scholarship liability, and losing key supplementary revenue streams. More information can be found on the Broncos Website.

Swan traded in MJHL

Sequoia Swan, a 2017 sixth-round WHL Bantam Draft pick of the Tri-City Americans has been traded from the OCN Blizzard to the Winkler Flyers of the MJHL. Swan has played in four WHL games for the Americans posting zero points.