Daily Dose

Daily Dose of the DUB: Seabrook retires, Rebels name leadership group, and lots more

Written by Paul Figler on

Brent Seabrook retires

After 15 seasons of professional hockey defenseman Brent Seabrook has called it a career following a trio of surgeries and setbacks that ultimately made the decision for him. Seabrook played four-plus seasons for the Lethbridge Hurricanes that added up to 264 games. He also scored 39 times and added 137 assists. Seabrook was drafted 14th overall by the Chicago Blackhawks at the 2003 NHL Draft and went on to play 1114 games in the NHL. Seabrook retires with 103 goals and 361 assists as well as three Stanley Cup championships, an Olympic gold medal, a U18 gold medal, a U20 gold and silver medal.

Central Division Schedule extended three weeks

The Central Division schedule was released for three more weeks on Friday. The teams will move into three games in three days scheduling for the next three weekends. More of the Central Division schedule will be released in early April.

ICE announce 2020-21 roster

The Winnipeg ICE unveiled their 2020-21 roster with nine rookies and three 20-year-olds. Those 20-year-olds are goaltender Carl Stankowski (34GP, 14-12-4, 3.45GAA, .884sv% with Seattle and Calgary), and forwards Jackson Leppard (228GP, 47G, 58A with Prince George and Winnipeg) and Anderson MacDonald (196GP, 85G, 57A in the QMJHL). There is one 2005-born rookie, three 2004-born rookies, and five 2003-born rookies. The ICE season gets underway on Saturday, March 13 against the Brandon Wheat Kings.

Wheat Kings name leadership group

The Brandon Wheat Kings named the rest of their leadership group following the naming of Braden Schneider as captain. The assistants for this season will be forwards Lynden McCallum (110GP, 22G, 18A), Ridly Greig (123GP, 40G, 56A), Marcus Sekundiak (190GP, 16G, 17A), and Ben McCartney (181GP, 48G, 66A).

Rebels name leadership group

The Red Deer Rebels announced that 18-year-old forward Jayden Grubbe (60GP, 7G, 25A) will serve as team captain for the 2020-21 season. So far this season, Grubbe has scored a goal and added two assists in three games. Also named to the leadership group are assistant captains; Arshdeep Bains (169GP, 26G, 51A), Ben King (120GP, 25G, 48A with Swift Current and Red Deer), Chris Douglas (230GP, 38G, 49A), Josh Tarzwell (240GP, 56G, 46A with Lethbridge and Red Deer), and Zak Smith (143GP, 25G, 22A).

McCleary signs with Winterhawks

The Portland Winterhawks fifth-round selection at the 2018 WHL Draft, Ryan McCleary, has signed a WHL Standard Player Agreement. McCleary had been playing with the Swift Current Broncos U15 AA team when he was drafted. With the Broncos in 2017-18, McCleary scored 11 goals and added 30 assists over 31 games. This season with the Yorkton Terriers, McCleary was held pointless in three games.

Huska to run Flames bench for the weekend

Former Kelowna Rockets Head Coach Ryan Huska will make his NHL Debut as the temporary head coach of the Calgary Flames. Darryl Sutter was hired as the Flames’ new full-time head coach but must complete quarantine requirements as well as tying up some loose ends at the farm. Huska was a Rockets coach for 12 seasons beginning in 2002-03, taking on the head coaching duties in 2007-08. Huska also played in the WHL for the Kamloops Blazers where he scored 71 goals and added 91 assists in 247 games.

Warm signs with Hurricanes

Goaltender Beck Warm (150GP, 71-56-13, 3.15GAA, .908sv% with Tri-City and Edmonton ’14-’20) has been signed by the Carolina Hurricanes. As a free agent, Warm was playing on a contract with the Chicago Wolves, where he posted a 4-0-0 record, 2.25 goals-against average and a .940 save percentage. Warm had not been drafted into the WHL or the NHL.

Bears sign Nielsen

Defenseman Andrew Neilsen (131GP, 25G, 69A with Lethbridge ’13-’16) has signed a professional tryout with the AHL’s Hershey Bears. Neilsen has played 15 games with the Black Wings 1992 of the ICEHL, registering one goal and two assists. Neilsen was a 2015 third-round draft pick of the Toronto Maple Leafs and played parts of four seasons with their AHL affiliate, Toronto Marlies, where he won a Calder Cup championship in 2017-18.

Jeannot recalled by Predators

Forward Tanner Jeannot (267GP, 77G, 93A with Moose Jaw ’14-’18) has been recalled by the Nashville Predators from the Chicago Wolves to join the team’s taxi squad. Jeannot made his NHL debut on March 2ndand was held pointless. In six games with the Wolves, he has registered three goals and five assists.

Rassmussen returned to Griffins

Forward Michael Rassmussen (161GP, 81G, 76A with Tri-City ’14-’18) has been reassigned to the Grand Rapids Griffins by the Detroit Red Wings. In 10 games with the Red Wings, Rassmussen had three assists. In seven games with the Griffins, he scored two goals and added four assists. Rassmussen also played for Graz99ers of the ICEHL, where he had five goals and 11 assists in 18 games. Rassmussen is a ninth overall pick of the Red Wings from the 2017 NHL Draft.

Machacek signs extension with DEL team

Forward Spencer Machacek (203GP, 77G, 91A with Vancouver ’05-’08) has signed a contract extension with Wolfsburg Grizzlys through 2022. Currently, Machacek leads the team with nine goals and two assists through 20 games. Machacek was a seventh-round 2007 NHL Draft pick of the Atlanta Thrashers and has 25 games of NHL experience with Thrashers / Jets. He was also a member of the 2005-06 WHL Champion and 2006-07 Memorial Cup Champion Vancouver Giants.

No positive test results for WHL players and team staff

There were 602 tests administered for the week of February 27 to March 5 and none returned a positive result. This means that through the first four weeks of testing, there have been 1,099 tests without a single positive result. The results in the East Division meant that players and staff were able to commence on ice activities.