Monday, July 20th: Winterhawks News and Notes

Hawks Prospect Kim Competing at U.S. Boys Select 15 Camp:
-2015 10th Round Bantam Draft Pick: Defenseman Noah Kim has been competing in the Select 15 camp for USA hockey and after playing 4 of the 5 games, his Team (Team Gold) is 3-1 overall. He has so far notched 1 assist as Team Gold is tied for 1st place in the American Division at the camp. Kim and Team Gold have one more game which is tomorrow vs. Team White. Everett Silvertips Bantam Draft Pick: Ryan Savage is Team Gold's 2nd leading scorer with 5 pts in 4 games.

Tips and Broncos Prospects Sign In Austria:
-Speaking of Ryan Savage; he apparently has agreed to play with EC Red Bull Salzburg this coming season, making it unlikely that he will ever play for the Silvertips. He was taken in the 4th round of the 2015 Bantam Draft. Joining him in signing with EC Salzburg was fellow Silvertip's Draft Pick: Forward Carson Dimoff (7th Round: 2014), as well as, Swift Current Bronco's Draft Pick: Forward Riley Stotts (1st Round: 2015). According to Gregg Drinnan's: Taking Notes, the Stotts signing is only "rumored" thus far. Since EC Salzburg has U-16, U-17, U-18 and U-20 squads it's likely that these three will not be playing in the WHL, unless an NHL team drafted them and requested that they play in the Dub.

Pouliot

Pouliot Impresses at Penguin's Development Camp:
-Former Winterhawk: Derrick Pouliot was reportedly, quite impressive at Pittsubrgh Penguin's development camp. His team shut out the other squad 6-0 and Pouliot stood out defensively. If he continues to improve in his own end, he will be locked in as a top 4 D-man for the Pens and will be relied upon to play heavy minutes, especially since they just lost Paul Martin to San Jose in Free Agency. Pouliot also showed toughness during the scrimmage by playing through a cut he received from a teammate's stick.

Kompon #23 on Canzano's List:
-Oregonian writer: John Canzano is compiling a list of the top 25 most influential people in the Oregon sports scene and Portland Head Coach: Jamie Kompon made the list for the first time at #23. One of the reasons listed for having Kompon in the top 25 was the fact that he will be coaching Canada's U-17 team.

Schedule Ahead for Winterhawks at Lake Placid Camp:
-Dominic Turgeon, Paul Bittner and Caleb Jones are 3 of the 39 USA World Juniors hopefuls that will be present in Lake Placid for Evaluation Camp, starting August 1st. Here is the schedule for their "Team Blue" and the later schedule when the two teams are combined:

• August 1st, 2pm: Team Blue vs. Team White Practice.
• August 2nd, 1pm Team Blue vs. Team Sweden.
• Agusut 3rd, 10am Team Blue vs. Team Finland.
• August 5th, 1pm Team USA (Whole Team) vs. Finland.
• August 6th, 10am Team USA (Whole Team) vs. Sweden.
• August 8th, 10am Team USA (Whole Team) vs. Finland.

Friday, July 17th: Winterhawks News and Notes

Turgeon

Turgeon, Bittner and Jones on Same USA Squad
-Today it was announced that Dominic Turgeon, Paul Bittner and Caleb Jones will all be playing for "Team Blue" at the USA World Junior Evaluation Camp in Lake Placid, N.Y. from August 1st-8th. The three Winterhawks are attempting to impress at Lake Placid and earn an invite to World Juniors main camp this winter. All but one of the members of Team Blue have been drafted by NHL teams. Protected list D-man: Jack Dougherty (Playing at the University of Wisconsin) will be among those playing with the 3 Hawks. Seattle's Scott Eansor and Tri City's Evan Sarthou and Brandon Carlo will all be playing for "Team White" at camp.Turgeon is actually attending his 2nd Lake Placid Evaluation Camp, as he was invited last year.

Aronson Extended by Nashville:
-Former Winterhawk D-man Taylor Aronson(2009-11) was signed to a 1 year, 2 way contract extension by the Nashville Predators yesterday. Aronson was Nashville AHL affiliate: the Milwaukee Admirals leading scoring D-man with 32 points in 73 games. The 23 year old blue liner is hoping to make his NHL debut for the Preds this year.

DeBrusk with a Slick Shootout Move at Camp:
-Swift Current Broncos forward and recent 1st round pick by the Boston Bruins: Jake DeBrusk pulled a very nifty shootout move at Bruins camp and it's definitely worth watching. DeBrusk notched 81 points for the Broncs last season and could be in the hunt to be the WHL's leading scorer this coming season. Here are all 42 goals he scored last year.

Speaking of the hunt for next year's scoring title, in the table below are the (likely) returning leading point getters from 2014/15. Of note is the fact that Medicine Hat should return three of the top 7 returning leading scorers, but all of them are over-agers, so tough decisions may need to be made. Portland mined the Tigers for Miles Koules last year and could try and acquire one of these three.

The leading scorers from last year that won't be returning are Oliver Bjorkstrand (1st, Portland), Cole Ully (5th, Kamloops), Nic Petan (7th, Portland), Chase De Leo (12th, Portland) and Nikita Scherbak (16th, Everet) who are all turning pro and Adam Tambellini (10th, Calgary) and Jack Rodewald (11th, Moose Jaw), who aged out.

Trevor Cox

Player (Team)	G P	Goals	Assists	Points	Birth Year
Trevor Cox (Med Hat)	69	29	80	109	1995
Tim McGauley (Brandon)	72	42	63	105	1995
Cole Sanford (Med Hat)	72	50	45	95	1995
Nick Merkley (Kelowna)	72	20	70	90	1997
Adam Helewka (Spokane)	69	44	43	87	1995
Brayden Point (Moose Jaw)	60	38	49	87	1996
Dryden Hunt (Med Hat)	71	33	50	83	1995
Rourke Chartier (Kelowna)	58	48	34	82	1996
Luke Philp (Kootenay)	71	30	52	82	1995

Crunk Picked Up by Vancouver
-Over age Forward Taylor Crunk was placed on waivers by the Victoria Royals and quickly picked up by the rival Vancouver Giants. Crunk is 6'1" and 220 lbs and played the enforcer/fighter role for Victoria last year, notching 103 penalty minutes and only 14 points in 71 games. Crunk, together with Forward: Carter Popoff and D-man Arvin Atwal, will likely be the Giant's three over-age players. Crunk may miss some time though while attending to his off the ice legal concerns, stemming from a fight at a New Year's Eve party last year. His court appointment is on September 21st.
 

Kylington

Flames Trying to Get Kylington to Wheat Kings:
-2nd round NHL draft pick: D-man: Oliver Kylington could be inching closer to playing in the WHL next season, especially if the Calgary Flames have their way. Kylington is currently under contract to play for a tier 2 Swedish professional team, but Calgary is apparently checking into an "out clause" that may be in his contract. One would think that it would serve him better to play in the WHL, especially for a team like Brandon that's expected to contend for the WHL title, rather than a lesser division in his native Sweden. If Oliver does come over, Brandon will easily have the best top 4 D-men in the WHL. Kylington would join New York Islander's 5th round pick: Ryan Pilon, Philadelphia Flyer's 1st round pick: Ivan Provorov and top 2016 NHL Draft prospect: Kale Clague. 

 

Tuesday, July 14th: Winterhawks News and Notes

McManus Lights Up U.S. Select 16 Camp; Named to U-17 Team:
-2014 4th round Bantam Draft Pick: Brannon McManus was the leading scorer at the U.S. Select 16 six day camp recently, notching 11 points in just 5 games. McManus was rewarded by being named to the U.S. U-17 roster right after camp ended. He played for Shattuck St. Mary's last year and is committed to play for the University of Minnesota. Another Winterhawks prospect: Cole Guttman (2014 Bantam Draft: 8th round) was a leading scorer at the Select 16 camp (Tied for 3rd with 8 pts). Guttman is far more likely to end up in Portland, as he has not committed to a college and was an attendee at last year's Neely Cup. Guttman is a 5'9" 161 lb, 1999 born Center from L.A. Jr. Kings U-16 program.

 U.S. Division Team's Overage Situations:
-Tim Pigulski wrote a piece looking at the Seattle Thunderbirds' overage situation for the 2015/16 season. Seattle is one of two U.S. Division teams that appear to have three pretty clear players for the 1995 born spots. Seattle has Defensemen: Jared Hauf and Jerret Smith and recently acquired (from Lethbridge for fellow over-age Forward Cory Millette) Forward: Jamal Watson. Tri City also recently cleared up their O/A situation by trading away Center Justin Gutierrez to Lethbridge for a Bantam pick. T.C. now has Forwards: Parker Bowles and Beau McCue, as well as, D-man: Tyler Morrison as their three 20 year olds.

Heinrich

Everett started out with five '95 born players, but announced that Logan Aasman has left the team to play the 2015/16 season with the AJHL's Brooks Bandits. They now have Forwards: Carson Stadnyk and Remi Laurencelle, D-man: Cole MacDonald and Goalie: Austin Lotz. I would guess that Lotz will be traded at soem point, though it can be difficult to move an O/A Goalie. Of note is the fact that both Stadnyk (St. Louis Blues) and Lotz (Buffalo Sabres) were at Prospect Development Camps and could receive pro. deals (at some level) at some point.

Spokane's O/A situation is the most crowded of the U.S., as they have Forwards: Adam Helewka, Riley Whittingham, Blair Oneschuk and Devon McAndrews, D-men: Jason Fram and Nick Charif and Goalie: Garrett Hughson. That's six 1995 born players for only three spots. In my opinion, Oneschuk and McAndrews are out as they are more bottom six Forwards then top six (They combined for only 17 pts last season). Helewka was recently drafted by San Jose and was at their Development Camp. Fram was an invitee to Calgary Flames Development Camp and could be invited back for camp in September. Likely though, they will both return, meaning the Chiefs will likely have to decide between Charif (who they traded for last season), Whittingham (5th highest returning scorer with 33 pts last year) and Hughson (who started 53 games for them last season), for just one spot. I would tend to think that the leftover two will play elsewhere in the WHL.

Finally, due to players leaving because of signed professional contracts, Portland will likely be left with under the maximum of O/A players again. Currently it looks like the San Jose Sharks will not sign Alex Schoenborn before the season starts (though I could be wrong). Add him in with Blake Heinrich, whom Washington decided not to sign, making him a free agent and you've got two of the three spots filled. I would like to see Portland shore up this 3rd spot before the Neely Cup, unlike last year.

Bartschi Refusing 2-Way Contract?:
-Former Winterhawk: Sven Bartschi has yet to be signed by the Vancouver Canucks, who traded a 2nd round pick for him during last year's trade deadline. According to Hockey Buzz, Bartschi is refusing to sign a 2-way contract, as he's hoping to play the whole season at the NHL level for the first time in his career. With all the talk around Vancouver, being that they are looking at him in a top 6 forward role, I get why he thinks he has the leverage to secure his role.

Herbers

Oilers Steal Rockets Top Choice for Head Coach:
-Edmonton hired Ian Herbers, who coached the CIS' University of Alberta Golden Bears to a title last season, as an Assistant Coach, meaning that one of Kelowna's top choices for their vacant Head Coach position, is unavailable. The Rockets now seem to have former Kootenay Ice Coach Ryan McGill at the top of their list.

Johnston Signs Deal with the ECHL's Idaho Steelheads:
-Former Winterhawk D-man Daniel Johnston (2007-09) will play his 3rd season in the ECHL and this one will be in Idaho. In a strange twist he played against Idaho last season during a 4-OT epic playoff game last season while with Evansville. Idaho won that game, the series and now have signed Johnston over to their side.

Quenneville Signs with New Jersey:
-Brandon's John Quenneville signed a 3 year Entry Level Contract with New Jersey Monday. This means that 8 of the 9 WHL players selected in the first round of the 2014 draft have signed ELCs. The one remaining player who hasn't is Colorado Avalanche pick (23rd overall) and current Red Deer Rebel: Conner Bleackley. A bad sign for Bleackley is the fact that Avs Coach: Patrick Roy was critical of his conditioning at training camp last season and may've soured on the Forward. A positive for Bleackley is that he will be a leader on the Rebel's team, which is hosting the 2016 Memorial Cup, so he will have plenty of chances to impress Colorado or maybe even another NHL team, willing to trade for his rights.

Monday, July 13th: Winterhawks News and Notes

Turgeon at camp

Turgeon Impresses Wing's Head Coach:
-New Detroit Red Wings Coach Jeff Blashill, who coached Detroit's AHL affiliate: Grand Rapids for 3 seasons before being promoted after former Spokane Chief's Head Coach left to take over the Toronto Maple Leafs, was impressed by Dominic Turgeon's performance at Prospects Camp. Of note from the interview is that Blashill feels like Turgeon could improve his confidence when carrying the puck. I would agree with this statement completely, as Turgeon has shown signs the last couple of years of elite puck handling skills, but very rarely does he try to carry the puck into the zone on his own. It certainly looks like he's going to be Portland's top line Center next season and will be relied on a lot to carry the offensive play. Gone are Nic Petan and Chase De Leo, who along with Oliver Bjorkstrand (also gone), were Portland's best players at possessing the puck and driving play. I believe, Turgeon has the skills to do this, but we will definitely see this coming season, whether I am right.

Koules Hunting an NHL Deal with Washington:
-Former Winterhawk, Miles Koules has apparently turned down several AHL deals, in order to try and ink a 2 way NHL deal with the Washington Capitals. He, apparently had a great development camp and will likely be invited back in September.

Goulbourne and Leier

Leier a Big Goulbourne Fan:
-Former Hawk Taylor Leier was at Philadelphia Flyers development camp with former Kelowna Rocket: Tyrell Goulbourne and apparently the two are close friends. Leier had a good camp and is looking to possibly make his NHL debut at some point this coming season, after scoring 31 points last season for the Flyers AHL affiliate the Adirondack Phantoms. Of note is the fact that Leier tied as the 3rd fastest skater at camp.

Kevin Young Continuing Hockey Career:
-Former Winterhawk's D-man Kevin young (1999-2001) signed a contract extension with the ECHL's Allen Americans. Young notched 44 points last year as his team won the Kelly Cup as champions of the ECHL.

Jost and Fabbro

Jost and Fabbro Top Rated Prospects:
-Tyson Jost, whose WHL rights are owned by Everett and Dante Fabbro, whose rights are held by Seattle, could be just the 3rd BCHL duo to be drafted in the first round. According to "Dub From Above": Kyle Turris and Riley Nash (2007) and Travis Zajac and Kris Chucko (2004) are the other two duos. Speaking of Jost, he was part of The Pipeline Shows in studio segment and talked about how he feels about the possibility of going to Everett. All 3 segments can be found here. Regina Pat: Sam Steel was also in studio. Lets just say it's really not looking likely that Jost will wear Everett's green and white.

Penguins Really High on Pouliot:
-The full breakdown of the Toronto-Pittsbugh Phil Kessel deal can be found here. According to this writer, Toronto really wanted Pit to include former Winterhawk: Derrick Pouliot, but the Penguins were unwilling to do so. This caused talk of the deal to take much longer than originally thought. This goes a long way to show you how much Pittsburgh thinks of Pouliot and probably means he will start the season in a top 4 rotation role and might mean he will see some power play time.

Winterhawks Notes: Thursday, July 9th

Getting caught up on a few things that happened over the past few days:

Petan

Petan Talks About Mindset After Being Sent Back to the Dub:
-A really good Winnipeg Free Press piece goes into the mindset Petan had after being sent back to the WHL, despite a strong camp last year. While I would not necessarily disagree with this piece saying that he "didn't give up," I believe that there was a noticeable drop in his effort level until the World Juniors in late December. He had 33 points in first 26 games last season, but a lot of these could be attributed to just passing the puck to Oliver Bjorkstrand and letting him do his thing. Multiple times, I noticed him skate, very slowly, to the bench after his shift. After the WJC's, however, he was incredible and earned the "C" that had been given to him at the start of the season. He finished the season with 56 points in his last 28 games and then scored at least once in the 17 playoff games, totaling 28 and carrying the team offensively. I would look for Petan to make his debut for Winnipeg at some point this season. It would be really cool if he were playing for the Jets, when they visit his hometown Vancouver Canucks in mid-March.
-A blog post looking at Winnipeg Jets prospects, has Petan as their 4th best prospect and Chase De Leo as their 15th best. I have not seen Kyle Connor play, but cannot see how he could be rated over Nik Ehlers (2nd), Josh Morrissey (3rd) and Petan on their list.

De Leo's Versatility Sets Him Apart:
-Article about Chase De Leo talks about his growth while with the Hawks and even mentions that Coach Jamie Kompon would put struggling players with De Leo in order to get them out of their slumps. He definitely had my vote last year for the "Most Consistent Winterhawk" honor. Another interesting part in this interview is how former Hawk coach Mike Johnston pointed out Tyler Johnson, when Chase was 16 and Tyler was an over-age with Spokane, as someone he should model his game after. This was years before Tyler broke Tampa Bay's playoff goal scoring record and became the go to player for smaller players to point at as a reason they could succeed in the NHL. With the way Chase plays day in and day out, I could really see him being the next Tyler Johnson.

McLeod

McLeod Talks Abut His Time in Portland:
-Former Winterhawk and current Colorado Avalanche pugilist Cody McLeod was interviewed by Mile High Sticking and he talked about how he decided to change his playing style while in Portland and became more of a fighter, leading to his long career in the NHL. Here's a quote from the article:

 “With the Portland Winter Hawks, I knew that I would have to be a tougher player and stick up for my teammates if I wanted to have a career. I definitely took a lot of poundings in juniors before I got the hang of it. I still do, because you’re not going to win them all. It’s part of the game and I’ll just keep it going.”
I've always admired how great a teammate Cody appears to be and how much he gives back to the community.

Turgeon Finishes with 3 Total Pts in Two Red Wing's Scrimmages:
-Dominic Turgeon added an assist in the 2nd and last scrimmage at Detroit Red Wing's Development Camp Tuesday afternoon. He also played a great diving play defensively that was all for naught, as "Team Lindsay" tied "Team Howe" late in the scrimmage, setting up a 3 on 3 OT period. In the video at the link,  Turgeon's assist is at the 5:43 mark.
-Then during a shoot out, Turgeon pulled a nifty move in beating the Goalie. The goal is at the 0:35 second mark of the video.

Cederholm Helps Pull a Bus:
-Anton Cederholm is at Vancouver Canuck's Development Camp and he and his teammates used a rope to pull a bus up the hill. This was seemingly to demonstrate how as a team you can accomplish much more, than you can individually.

Bellows on CSS "Futures" List:
-Winterhawks prospect and 2015/16 USNTDP Forward Kieffer Bellows was listed on NHL Central Scouting's Futures List. Bellows is looking like a lock to be a first round pick in the 2016 NHL draft. What happens after he's drafted, could be interesting as some NHL teams have encouraged their draftees to abandon their college commitment to play in the CHL. Columbus being the most notorious.
Some Bellows highlights are shown in this video.

Switzerland Out for Matthews But Europe Still Possible:
-Possible #1 overall 2016 NHL Draft pick Auston Matthews appears to not be able to get clearance to play in Switzerland, but Europe is still looking like a possibility, according to the Hockey News. It looks like one of the potential landing spots for Auston is in the DEL with Munich. This whole thing does not look good for Everett, who owns his CHL rights, as he seems to be looking at any possible avenue to play professionally, even if it could damage his draft stock, by having him play in a lower league. One has to think that if they can land Matthews, Tyson Jost would follow suit and leave Penticton of the BCHL.

Winterhawks Notes: Monday, July 6th

I am hoping to do these as frequently as I can.

Turgeon Impresses at Red Wings Development Camp:
-Hawks Center: Dominic Turgeon has been attending Detroit Red Wings Development Camp, which goes July 3rd-7th. During the first scrimmage of camp, Turgeon was the top line Center on "Team Howe" and centered a line with top prospects: Anthony Mantha and Tyler Bertuzzi. In a 6-5 loss to "Team Lindsay," Turgeon potted a goal and an assist. In this piece form the SB Nation blog: "Winging it in Motown," Turgeon apparently has grown leaps and bounds in his play-making ability. This is something, Portland will rely heavily upon next season, as he and Paul Bittner are the only two of Portland's top 7 scorers likely to return. The Wings were impressed with him enough during Portland's playoff run to sign him to an Entry Level Contract and they could keep him in the main training camp long enough to see some preseason action this September/October.

Koules Joins Texeira at Capital's Camp:
-Former Winterhawk Miles Koules was added to the Washington Capital's development camp roster; joining current Hawk's D-man Keoni Texeira. Koules was invited to Washington's main training camp last fall and is hoping to earn himself at least an AHL contract. As an over-age last season, Koules showcased several elite level skills, including his shot and his ability to possess the puck for long periods of time in the other team's zone. Hopefully, Washington likes the California native enough to give him a pro deal. Capital's camp goes July 7th-11th.

Reilly

Johansen and Dubinsky Bitter:
-Former Winterhawks and current Columbus Blue Jacket's: Brandon Dubinsky and Ryan Johansen took to twitter over College Free Agent and current University of Minnesota Golde Gopher D-man Mike Reilly choosing to sign with the Minnesota Wild instead of CBJ. Johansen tweeted that: "we didn't want him anyways," while Dubinsky tweeted using the hashtag: "burnt bridges." To me it's a little refreshing to see two players speak their mind, instead of the robot like answers they give to most questions from the media. It also shows that these two players are really invested in what their team does in the offseason, rather than not caring who they paly with and just cashing a check.

Dan Lambert Leaves Kelowna:
-The first Rocket's Head Coach to actually beat Portland in a playoff series has left to become an assistant coach under Dan Bylsma with the Buffalo Sabres. This means that Kelowna will have their 3rd Head Coach in about 13 months. Ryan Huska had been the Kelowna Head Coach for 7 seasons, before leaving to become the Head Coach of the AHL's Adirondack Flames. Lambert was Huska's assistant for 3 of those 7 seasons and he was the natural fit for the job. His coaching job after Portland took a 2-1 series lead in the WCF was fantastic. He was able to get his team to adjust and come together to overcome the Winterhawks. An interesting note from this is that of the 5 new Western Conference Coaches hired just last year, only Don Hay (Kamloops), Jamie Kompon (Portland) and Mike Williamson (Tri City) are still coaching their teams.

Wheaton

Wheaton Traded to Saskatoon:
-Veteran D-man Mitch Wheaton was traded from Kelowna to Saskatoon for a 4th round, 2017 Bantam Draft pick today. Wheaton had 28 points in 2013/14 and was coming off being drafted in the 5th round by the Detroit Red Wings in 2013, but had injuries derail his 19 year old season, to the extent that he played in only 13 games all of last year. With Goalie Jackson Whistle and Forwards: Tyson Baillie Gage Quinney and Cole Linaker all likely to be back and vying for the 3 over-age spots, Wheaton was the odd man out. If Wheaton recovers nicely, he could very well earn himself a free agent AHL or NHL contract this season, as he's a very good shutdown D-man.

Links to Must Read Pieces:
-If you haven't read it yet, NHL veteran and former CHLer (with the Barrie Colts of the OHL) wrote a fascinating article about his battle with drug addiction. It really opens your eyes to the interpersonal struggles that a lot of hockey players are going through. I second his closing thoughts in regards to getting immediate help if you are struggling with any mental health problems.
-A pretty good argument by "The Hockey Writers," for not rushing 18 year old D-men into the NHL. This piece centers around Brandon Wheat King's D-man Ivan Provorov signing an ELC with the Philadelphia Flyers and comments made by Flyer's management that could mean they are looking at keeping him around for the regular season. While it's mainly about Provorov, this could have applied to Portland's Seth Jones several years ago.

Winterhawks Notes: Thursday, July 2nd

A lot of noteworthy Winterhawks related items today.

Rossini

Three Winterhawks Prospects Named to USA U-18 Team:
-Forwards Garrett Wait (2013 draft:8th round pick) and Henry Crone (Protected List Addition) and D-man Sam Rossini (Protected List Addition) were all named to the U-18 USA roster for the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Cup. This is the premier tournament for the U-18s and all three 1998 born players will be representing the U.S. in an attempt to get the States their first Gold Medal since 2003. Wait and Rossini are both committed to the University of Minnesota and will play together for the Waterloo Blackhawks in 2015/16. Crone is committed to Boston University and will also play in the USHL in 15/16 for the Omaha Lancers.

The Ivan Hlinka Cup usually takes place in mid-August and is considered the first premier scouting opportunity for the 2016 NHL draft. Spokane's Kailer Yamamoto was also named to the U.S. roster.

Texeira Invited to Capital's Development Camp:
-D-man Keoni Texeira was passed over in last week's NHL draft, which was a little surprising, but he's been handed an invited to Washington Capital's Development Camp and will try to put himself on the Cap's radar for next year's draft or maybe even their rookie camp this fall. Washington has had an interesting history with Portland D-men recently. They drafted Garrett Haar in the 7th round of the NHL draft, then decided to not sign him to an NHL contract, but rather to an AHL one for the Hershey Bears in 2014. In an awkward turn, Haar ended up playing last year in the ECHL for the South Carolina Stingrays and notching 16 points in 35 games.

Texeira

Then in 2013 Washington drafted Blake Heinrich, who also ended up later playing for Portland. Heinrich was not signed by the Caps and is officially a  free agent. As of the writing of this piece, he has not been invited to any development camps and is slated to return to the Hawks for his over-age season in 15/16.

Texeira has shown flashes of talent in his two years and rebounded after a rocky start, when Heinrich returned from a concussion related absence. Capitals camp is July 7th-11th.

-Hawks prospect Nic Nonis(Protected List Addition) was invited to Anaheim Ducks development camp.

-Other Hawks who were drafted recently (Paul Bittner, Adin Hill, Caleb Jones, Dominic Turgeon, Alex Scheonborn, Chase De Leo, Nic Petan, Oliver Bjorkstrand, Keegan Iverson and Anton Cederholm) will assuredly be at their team's development camps.

Open Door for Rattie:
-Mount Vernon, Washington native T.J. Oshie was traded from the St. Louis Blues to the Washington Capitals today. This is huge for former Winterhawk Ty Rattie who looks to have a chance to nab a possible top 6 winger role with the Blues. Rattie has yet to score an NHL goal for St. Louis, despite scoring 52 over most of 2 seasons in the AHL. St. Louis reportedly wants to get younger and faster and moving Rattie up the depth short will certainly help that.

LaBarbera's Career Still Going:
-Former Winterhawk Jason LaBarbera has signed a 1 year, 2 way contract at the age of 35 with Philadelphia, meaning he will be battling for a backup Goalie spot in training camp. He has spent parts of 14 seasons in the NHL for 6 NHL clubs, Philly being his 7th.
-Former Winterhawk Center Cam Reid also signed a contract extension with the ECHL's Reading Royals. Reid scored 59 points in 59 games last year for the Royals.

Dates for Blue Jackets Rookie Camp:
-Portland got a good idea of how long they might be without new Columbus Blue Jacket: Paul Bittner when they released their Traverse City Schedule. It's looking like it will go from 9/11 to 9/15, with main camp starting the 18th and the first preseason game being the 20th of September. Bittner would likely miss the last 4 preseason and probably at most the first two regular season games (9/25 and 9/26 @Victoria).