Andy Devlin
Central Division

Daily Dose of the Dub: Team Canada releases U17 roster; Nielsen requests trade; Giants set franchise record

Written by DUBNetwork on

Team Canada has announced their 66-man roster for the upcoming World U17 tournament, and the list features 16 current WHL players.

The tournament starts on November 1st with some pre-tournament games and takes place in Quispamis and Saint John, New Brunswick.

Player Position WHL Team Camp Stats
Garin Bjorklund G Medicine Hat (Playing in the AMHL) 4.56 GAA, 0.887 Save %
Sebastian Cossa G Edmonton (injured) 3.08 GAA, 0.826 Save %
Dylan Garand G Kamloops 3.53 GAA, 0.884 Save %
Aidan de la Gorgendiere D Saskatoon 0-0-0 pts
Kaiden Guhle D Prince Albert 2-0-2 pts
Ryan Helliwell D Portland (unsigned) 0-0-0 pts
Daemon Hunt D Moose Jaw 1-0-1 pt
Luke Prokop D Calgary 0-1-1 pt
Ronan Seeley D Everett 0-0-0 pts
Kyle Crnkovic F Saskatoon 1-0-1 pt
Jack Finley F Spokane 0-2-2 pts
Ridly Greig F Brandon 1-2-3 pts
Seth Jarvis F Portland 2-0-2 pts
Connor McClennon F Kootenay 2-0-2 pts
Payton Mount F Seattle 1-1-2 pts
Jake Neighbours F Edmonton 2-1-3 pts
Cole Shepard F Vancouver (unsigned) 2-0-2 pts
Justin Sourdif F Vancouver 0-1-1 pt
Ozzy Wiesblatt F Prince Albert 1-1-2 pts

 

Players who participated in the camp during the summer but did not make the three Hockey Canada teams:

-Gage Alexander – Kootenay – G – AMHL

-Bryan Thomson – Lethbridge – G – SMHL

-Noah Boyko – Lethbridge – F

-Ben King – Swift Current – F

-Ethan Bowen – Kelowna – F – Unsigned.

-Joel Sexsmith – Vancouver – D

-Tom Cadieux – Tri-City – D

-Anthony Kehrer – Brandon – D – Unsigned.

-Vincent Iorio – Brandon – D

-Josh Pillar – Kamloops – F

-Ethan Ernst – Kelowna – F

Nielsen asks for trade out of Calgary

Calgary Hitmen 2000-born centre Tristen Nielsen has asked for a trade. Nielsen enjoyed a breakout campaign in 2017-18, scoring 19 goals and adding 16 assists over 45 games, but has gone pointless over five games this season. Calgary’s first-round pick in the 2015 WHL Draft, Nielsen has spent his entire WHL career with the Hitmen.

Hunter, Kisio named as coaches for Canada/Russia series

Moose Jaw Warriors’ Tim Hunter has been named the head coach for the WHL squad in the annual Canada/Russia series, while Lethbridge’s Brent Kisio will be the top assistant coach. The two-game tournament begins in Kamloops on Monday, November 5 and concludes the next day, November 6, in Langley.

Kelowna Rockets bench boss Jason Smith will also be an assistant.

Giants pelt Broncos, set new franchise record

The Vancouver Giants have set a new franchise record after registering 71 shots in Tuesday’s victory over the Swift Current Broncos. In what was expected to be a lopsided contest, the Giants outshot the Broncos 26-4, 20-7 and 25-5 over the game’s three periods.

Warriors tease third jersey

Weekly Report musings:

-Some new information again released in the WHL’s Weekly Report.

Of note:

  • Everett – 2002-born goalie Blake Lyda is listed as being our injured with an upper-body ailment for three-to-six weeks. Danton Belluk appears to have been recalled from the Eastman Select Midget AAA team.
  • Kelowna – 1998-born forward Ryan Bowen has been released. With the Rockets acquiring Lane Zablocki from the Victoria Royals, there appears to have been no room for Bowen who had zero points through seven games this year.
  • Moose Jaw – 2000-born forward Brecon Wood is no longer on the Warriors roster. Wood had one goal through seven games this year. Without Wood, the Warriors have 13 forwards on the roster. Forwards Tyler Smithies and Ryan Peckford are both listed as being out day-to-day with an illness.
  • Portland – 1999-born defenseman Matt Quigley is now listed as out day-to-day with an upper-body injury. He was hit with a high hit by Jermaine Loewen on October 5th.
  • Prince Albert – 1998-born forward Kody McDonald is still listed as out indefinitely after reportedly catching an edge against the Calgary Hitmen on October 8th.
  • Swift Current – 1998-born defenseman Artyom Minulin is now listed on the injury report as he nears return. He is listed as out for two weeks with an upper-body injury. When Minulin comes back, the Broncos will have to make some decisions. They have three other overage players in forwards Tanner Nagel and Andrew Fyten and defenman Matthew Stanley. They also have two other import players in forward Joona Kiviniemi and defenseman Roope Pynnonen. They will have to get down to three overage players and two imports.

Three Stars of the Night:

  1. Brett Leason (Prince Albert) – Recorded two goals and two assists in his team’s 8-4 win over Calgary. Now leads WHL in goals (15), assists (11) and points (26).
  2. Bowen Byram (Vancouver) – Registered an assist and a pair of goals, including the game winner as he picks up his second career multi-goal game in the Vancouver Giants 6-2 win.
  3. Joel Hofer (Swift Current) – It’s not often that a goalie will look impressive after allowing six goals, but that was the case on Tuesday, as Hofer stopped 65-of-71 shots faced in his team’s 6-2 loss in Vancouver.

Honorable mentions:

–Eli Zummack and Jack Finley recorded two-goal games as the Spokane Chiefs edged the Brandon Wheat Kings 6-4… Nolan Volcan had two goals and two assists for four points as the Seattle Thunderbirds beat the Tri-City Americans 5-4… Jordy Bellerive had two goals as the Lethbridge Hurricanes took down the Kootenay ICE 6-3.