Hitmen deal Trzonkowski

The Calgary Hitmen have hooked up with the Kamloops Blazers sending 18-year-old forward Rob Trzonkowski to the Kamloops Blazers in exchange for a fourth round pick in the 2014 WHL Bantam Draft.

Trzonkowski, a former eighth round pick of the Hitmen, played two seasons in Calgary totaling 16 points (4g 12a) in 111 games to go along with 200 penalty minutes.

The reality for Trzonkowski was when Jake Virtanen arrived at the end of the season he saw very little playoff time, appearing in just two games.  I think it's safe to say with the depth the Hitmen have at forward, Trzonkowski would have found it difficult to play his way into the top nine on a regular basis.

I am sure by giving up a fourth round pick, the Blazers feel he can fill that role for them.  Kamloops also acquires a character individual who will be missed by many teammates in Calgary.

All the best with the Blazers Rob!

P.S.  Among his many posts about the trade Rob (@RobertT33) had this to say on twiiter:  Made so many great friendships in the past two years. Gonna miss the boys! Good luck to all of you, but watch out fellas, I'll be coming!

Hitmen deal Glover to Seattle

The Calgary Hitmen have traded 20-year-old goalie Brandon Glover to the Seattle Thunderbirds in exchange for a third round pick in the 2013 WHL Bantam Daft.

The move reduces the potential number of overage options for the Hitmen to six for the upcoming season while sending Glover into a starting situation.  This deal also means Chris Driedger will take over as the number one goalie in Calgary. 

It's a win-win trade for both teams and players in my mind.

I'll post an interview with GM Kelly Kisio on this deal tomorrow.

2012 WHL Bantam Draft

The Calgary Hitmen opened the draft by taking a puck moving defenceman with their first round pick, 17th overall, in 6'1" 160 pound Brennan Riddle.  Riddle, who doesn't turn 15 until July, played AA Bantam in Saskatchewan with the Prairie Storm.  The Balgonie product had 17 points (11g 6a) in 22 regular season games adding eight more (3g 5a) in nine post season appearances.

Hitmen Head Scout Dan Bonar on Riddle:  "Brennan has good size and skates well. We expect him to come in and play as a 16 year-old"

Riddle captured the Allstar defenceman award in Regina at the Bantam AA Challenge Tournament in November
                                             Hitmen first round pick Brennan Riddle

        
In the second round the Hitmen turned back to Saskatchewan to select the top scorer from the Saskatchewan Bantam AA League in Terrell Draude.  The just turned 15 year-old had a monster season with the Sask Valley Diamond Pharmacy Vipers racking up 94 points (54g 40a) in only 24 games.  The 6'2" 180 pound centre added another 15 points (9g 6a) in five playoff games.  

                   Terrell Draude Photo Credit:  http://westernelitehockeyprospects.blogspot.ca/

The Hitmen did not have a third round pick, traded to Tri-City in the Chris Driedger trade but had a pair of fourth round selections.  With their first, at 83rd overall, they drafted: Jordan Stallard, a 5'9" 140 pound Centre from Brandon Bantam AAA Div. 1.  Stallard had 37 points (10g 27a) in 30 regular season games to lead the Brandon A & W Wheat Kings in scoring, finishing fifth overall in league scoring.

                              Jordy Stallard Photo Credit:  http://www.hockeymanitoba.ca/

With the 84th overall over pick the Hitmen drafted 5'10" 160 pound right winter Cal Babych from the North Shore Winter Club Winterhawks AAA Bantam.  Cal is the son of former NHLer Dave Babych who played almost 1,200 regular season games.  No stats available.

Calgary had acquired that pick in this October 26th, 20011 Trade: 
-To MJ: 20-year-old Kenton Miller and 19-year-old Justin Kirsch. 
To Calgary: 20 year-old Collin Bowman, 18-year-old Joey Kornelsen and a 4th round pick in the 2012 Bantam Draft.

With the 105th overall selection the Hitmen took 5'10" 159 pound centre Scott Petkau from Steinbach, Manitoba.  He played this past season with the Southeast Blizzards Bantam AA.  He had 11 points (4g 7a) in 11 games at the Hockey Manitoba Bantam AAA Showcase for the Eastman Selects.  However his regular season numbers are not available.

                                                              Scott Petkau

In Round 6, 127th overall the Hitmen took their first goalie of the draft in 5'11" 158 lbs Carson Franks from Red Deer Black Bantam AAA.  His team won only six of 33 regular season games this season with Franks posting a 4.32 goals against average and .873 save percentage.  He turned in a brilliant Alberta Cup posting a 1.99GAA and .909 save percentage in 150 minutes of work.

                                                             Carson Franks

In Round 7, 149th overall, the club took 5'11" 188 pound right defenceman Lochlan Morrison from the Prince Albert Bantam AA Venice House Raiders. He finished fifth in the league in points for a defenceman with 30 (11g 19a).

                                         Lochlan Morrison Photo Credit: PA Herald

In Round 8, 171st overall the Hitmen drafted left defenceman Alex McGovern of Vernon, B.C. who split time between the Notre Dame Bantam AA Hounds and Notre Dame Midget AA Hounds.  On the midget squad McGovern had 11 assists in 31 games.

In Round 9, 193rd overall Calgary selected 5'7" 169lbs left defenceman James Shearer from Brandon AAA Bantam.  He was the captain of the A and W Wheat Kings this season and picked up 29 points (9g 20a) in 30 games.

                                                             James Shearer

In Round 10 at 215th overall the Hitmen drafted 5'9" 145lbs centre Grady McInnes from the Campbell River Bantam A Tyees.  However his regular season numbers are not available.

Four Hitmen catch NHL eye

NHL Central Scouting has released its final rankings leading up to June's NHL Entry Draft.  Four members of the Calgary Hitmen, three players and a goalie, have caught the attention of scouts.

North American Skaters Final Rankings
#64 HELGESEN, KENTON CALGARY WHL 6' 3.0" 186 D
#135 RISSLING, JAYNEN CALGARY WHL 6' 4.0" 223 D
#181 BRASSART, BRADY CALGARY WHL 6' 1.25" 189 RW

North American Goalies Final Rankings
#13 DRIEDGER, CHRIS CALGARY WHL 6' 2.75" 187

The 2012 NHL Entry Draft will be held at the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from June 22nd to 23rd

Post series thoughts of Mike Williamson

The Calgary Hitmen cleaned out their lockers for another season on Saturday with many of the players saying their final goodbyes and hopping in their cars today for the drive back to their respective hometowns.

Ken Thrower and I had a chance to sit down with Hitmen Head Coach Mike Williamson to get his thoughts on the season and the playoff loss to the Brandon Wheat Kings.

Click here to listen

                                              Photo Credit:  Brad Watson

Brandon 3 Calgary 2 OT

The 2012 Calgary Hitmen playoff run is over, ending at the hands of the Brandon Wheat Kings Thursday night in Winnipeg.

Paul Ciarelli scored his scored goal of the game at 8:26 of overtime giving the Wheat Kings a 3-2 victory and lifting Brandon to a 4-1 series win.

After a scoreless first period Wheat Kings import Alessio Bertaggia scored the lone goal of the second period, tipping home a point shopping while jumping about a foot off the ice. 

Calgary bounced back with a strong start to the third period getting goals from Alex Gogolev and Chase Clayton 33 second apart to give the Hitmen their first lead of the night at 2-1. 

However the advantage was short lived as Ciarelli notched the tying goal less than three minutes later.

Sorry for the delay in posting this, but I didn't have any internet access until arriving back in Calgary this afternoon.  I'll add some more post series reaction in the days ahead.  But for now upon returning home I had a chance to catch up with the three graduating 20-year-olds, Collin Bowman, Jimmy Bubnick and Brock Sutherland.

Click here to listen to the interview

Calgary Hitmen 2 at Brandon Wheat Kings 3 (OT)Thursday, March 29, 2012 - MTS Centre - Winnipeg, MB

Calgary 0 0 2 0 - 2
Brandon 0 1 1 1 - 3

1st Period
No Scoring.
Penalties-No Penalties

2nd Period
1, Brandon, Bertaggia 3 (Roy, Sundher), 0:36.
Penalties-Kosterman Cal (tripping), 1:50; Cheek Cal (hooking), 11:39.

3rd Period
2, Calgary, Gogolev 3 (Bubnick, Bowman), 1:12.
3, Calgary, Clayton 1 (Macek, Cheek), 1:45.
4, Brandon, Ciarelli 1 (Dziurzynski, Meilleur), 4:14.
Penalties-No Penalties

OT Period
5, Brandon, Ciarelli 2 (Dziurzynski, Meilleur), 8:26.
Penalties-Kosterman Cal (tripping), 4:46.

Shots on Goal-Calgary 14-10-12-8-44. Brandon 9-15-17-2-43.
Power Play Opportunities-Calgary 0 / 0; Brandon 0 / 3.
Goalies-Calgary, Glover 1-1-1-0 (43 shots-40 saves). Brandon, Boes 4-1-0-0 (44 shots-42 saves).
A-4,002
Referees-Brett Montsion (54), Reagan Vetter (79).
Linesmen-Bryden Hutlet (114), Darrell Surminski (37).

Game 5: Calgary at Brandon

For the first time this season the Calgary Hitmen face a must win hockey game.  Sure there have been other big games but none bigger than tonight.  It's game 5 as the Hitmen meet the Brandon Wheat Kings trailing the Best-of-Seven Eastern Conference Quarter-Final Series 3-1.  Game time is 6:00 p.m. (MDT) at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg.  Radio Broadcast on Sportsnet 960 The Fan also begins at six o'clock.

                                              Photo Credit:  Bruce Fedyck

SERIES RECAP:  Brandon, leading the series 3-1, has outscored Calgary by a combined 13-8.
-Game 1: Brandon 6 Calgary 2.  After Mark Stone snapped a 2-2 tie with less than four minutes remaining in the second period the Wheat Kings never looked back scoring four straight.
-Game 2: Calgary 4 Brandon 0.  Trevor Cheek picked up his first career playoff hat-trick while Brandon Glover made 20 saves for hist first career post season shutout.
-Game 3: Brandon 4 Calgary 1.  Michael Ferland broke a 1-1 second period tie just past the eight minute mark.  Kevin Sundher 1g 1a.
-Game 4: Brandon 3 Calgary 1.  Mark Stone had 1g 1a while Corbin Boes made 32 saves.
                                                      INSIDE THE SERIES
Shots on goal: Cal 137 Bdn 123 Powerplays: Cal 2-11 (18.2%) Bdn 2-14 (14.3%)

SERIES TRENDS:  The team scoring first has won all four games....Neither team has given up the lead....Of the 240 minutes played, the Hitmen have only led for 58 minutes and 35 seconds....Brandon has outshot the Hitmen in seven of the 12 periods.  However Calgary has outshot the Wheat Kings by a per game average of 34.3 to 30.8

PERIOD SCORING:  Of Calgary's eight goals in the series they have scored three in the first period, two in the second and three in the third.  Of Brandon's 14 goals in the series they have scored five in the first period, four in the second and four in the third period. 

SCORING DEPTH:  17 Wheat Kings have at least one point in the series while Calgary has points from 11 different players.

IN NEED OF A STREAK:  The Hitmen need a three game winning streak to avoid elimination from the 2012 WHL Playoffs.  During the regular season seven times the Hitmen put together winning streaks of three games or more.

BOES BLOCKADE:  Brandon goaltender Corbin Boes, who finished the regular season with the third best save percentage in the WHL, has turned in a strong performance this series.  The 18-year-old from Saskatoon has stopped 129 of 137 shots for a .942 save percentage.

DID YOU REMEMBER?  The last time the Hitmen faced a 3-1 series deficit was in the opening round against Moose Jaw in the 2010 WHL post season.  The Hitmen rattled off three straight wins to take the series in seven.

PLAYOFF RECORD: Calgary has a lifetime playoff record of 109-77.  The Hitmen have competed in 33 series prior to this one and have won 22 and lost 11.  Calgary is 18-15 in post season overtime games.

TOP SCORERS:

Calgary
Collin Bowman 0g 4a 4pts
Trevor Cheek 3g 0a 3pts
Alex Gogolev 2g 1a 3pts
Alex Roach 1g 2a 3pts

Brandon
Alessio Bertaggia 2g 3a 5pts
Mark Stone 2g 3a 5pts
Michael Ferland 2g 1a 3pts

REMAINING SCHEDULE:
* Game 6 Apr 1 Brandon at Calgary 4:00 PM MDT
* Game 7 Apr 3 Brandon at Calgary 7:00 PM MDT
*If necessary

HITMEN ALUMNUS:  Paul Postma who played parts of four seasons in Calgary (2007-08 to 2008-09) is in the AHL with the St. John's Ice Caps.  The 24-year-old is currently third among AHL defencemen in scoring with 13 goals and 31 assists for 44 points in 55 games.

Brandon 3 Calgary 1

A third period push fell short as the Calgary Hitmen dropped a 3-1 decision to the Brandon Wheat Kings Tuesday night at MTS Centre in Winnipeg.

The loss pushes the Hitmen to the brink of elimination as they now trail the Best-of-Seven Eastern Conference Quarter-Final Series 3-1.

Ryan Pulock on the powerplay and Mark Stone even strength scored first period goals to give Brandon a 2-0 lead after the opening period.

Stone's goal was a thing of beauty and brought back memories of Mario Lemieux's playoff goal for the Pittsburgh Penguins against the Minnesota North Stars in the 1991 Stanley Cup Final.  The only difference for Stone was he finished shooting high glove side instead of a deek.

Alessio Bertaggia extended the lead to 3-0 early in the second period spelling the end of the night for Hitmen starter Chris Driedger who stopped 13 of 16 shots.

Alex Gogolev scored the lone Hitmen goal in the third period, a frame where they out shot the Wheat Kings 13-3 and also got a goal post from Collin Bowman.

The series resumes Thursday night in Winnipeg with Game 5.

Click here to listen to the post game thoughts of Hitmen forward Danny Gayle

Calgary Hitmen 1 at Brandon Wheat Kings 3
Tuesday, March 27, 2012 - MTS Centre - Winnipeg, MB

Calgary 0 0 1 - 1
Brandon 2 1 0 - 3

1st Period
1, Brandon, Pulock 1 (Walker, Stone), 10:53 (PP).
2, Brandon, Stone 2 (Pulock, Melnychuk), 15:25.
Penalties-Brassart Cal (hooking), 10:18; Virtanen Cal (roughing), 13:41; Seaman Bdn (roughing), 13:41.

2nd Period
3, Brandon, Bertaggia 2   1:53.
Penalties-Humphries Cal (cross checking), 3:58; Dziurzynski Bdn (boarding), 4:43; Meilleur Bdn (boarding), 10:48; Bowman Cal (hooking), 13:13; Miller Bdn (roughing), 18:02; Gayle Cal (high sticking), 19:13.

3rd Period
4, Calgary, Gogolev 2 (Gayle, Clayton), 8:22. Penalties-Miller Bdn (tripping), 12:35; Roach Cal (cross checking), 19:56.

Shots on Goal-Calgary 9-11-13-33. Brandon 13-13-3-29.
Power Play Opportunities-Calgary 0 / 4; Brandon 1 / 5.
Goalies-Calgary, Driedger 0-2-0-0 (16 shots-13 saves); Glover 1-1-0-0 (13 shots-13 saves). Brandon, Boes 3-1-0-0 (33 shots-32 saves).
A-3,563
Referees-Chris Crich (80), Jeff Ingram (82).
Linesmen-Kelsey Mahoney (138), Darrell Surminski (37).

Game 4: Calgary at Brandon

The Calgary Hitmen meet the Brandon Wheat Kings in Winnipeg tonight for Game 4 of their Eastern Conference Quarter-Final Series.  The Wheat Kings lead the Best-of-Seven 2-1 after a 4-1 win in Game 3 Sunday evening. 

Radio Broadcast tonight on Sportsnet 960 The Fan starts at 6:00 p.m.  (Mountain Daylight Time).

                                            Photo Credit:  Bruce Fedyck

SERIES RECAP:  Brandon, leading the series 2-1, has outscored Calgary by a combined 10-7.
-Game 1: Brandon 6 Calgary 2.  After Mark Stone snapped a 2-2 tie with less than four minutes remaining in the second period the Wheat Kings never looked back scoring four straight.
-Game 2: Calgary 4 Brandon 0.  Trevor Cheek picked up his first career playoff hat-trick while Brandon Glover made 20 saves for hist first career post season shutout.
-Game 3: Brandon 4 Calgary 1.  Michael Ferland broke a 1-1 second period tie just past the eight minute mark.  Kevin Sundher 1g 1a.
                                                      INSIDE THE SERIES
Shots on goal: Cal 104 Bdn 94 Powerplays: Cal 2-7 (28.6%) Bdn 1-9 (11.1%)

SERIES TRENDS:  The team scoring first has won all three games....Neither team has given up the lead....Of Calgary's seven goals in the series they have scored three in the first period, two in the second and two in the third.  Of Brandon's 11 goals in the series they have scored three in the first period, three in the second and four in the third period.

PLAYOFF RECORD: Calgary has a lifetime playoff record of 109-76.  The Hitmen have competed in 33 series prior to this one and have won 22 and lost 11.  Calgary is 18-15 in post season overtime games.

QUOTEABLE: 
-Brandon forward Mark Stone on Game 4 - "We know that Calgary's going to have a huge push, they are going to be a desperate hockey team and we need to match that desperate play"
-Calgary defenceman Brock Sutherland on Game 4 - "It's a crucial game for us, we want to even up the series.  We feel that in the two games we lost we didn't play our best so we'll give our selves a better chance if we come out and play our best tonight."

TOP SCORERS:
Calgary:
Collin Bowman 0g 4a 4pts
Trevor Cheek 3g 0a 3pts
Alex Roach 1g 2a 3pts

Brandon:
Alessio Bertaggia 1g 3a 4pts
Michael Ferland 2g 1a 3pts
Mark Stone 1g 2a 3pts

REMAINING SCHEDULE:
Game 5 Mar 29 Calgary vs. Brandon at Winnipeg 7:00 PM CDT
* Game 6 Apr 1 Brandon at Calgary 4:00 PM MDT
* Game 7 Apr 3 Brandon at Calgary 7:00 PM MDT
*If necessary

Brandon 4 Calgary 1

Kevin Sundher scored once and set up another as the Brandon Wheat Kings beat the Calgary Hitmen Sunday evening at MTS Centre in Winnipeg.

The win gives Brandon a 2-1 lead in their Best-of-Seven Eastern Conference Quarter-Final Final series.

Greg Chase, with his first career playoff goal, had the lone marker for the Hitmen who were tied 1-1 after one, but trailed 3-1 after forty minutes.

Brandon out shot the Hitmen 42-27.

                                            Photo Credit:  Bruce Fedyck

Click to listen to Brandon forward and Flames prospect Michael Ferland

Click to listen to Hitmen goaltending coach Darcy Wakaluk

Calgary Hitmen 1 at Brandon Wheat Kings 4
Sunday, March 25, 2012 - MTS Centre - Winnipeg, MB

Calgary 1 0 0 - 1
Brandon 1 2 1 - 4

1st Period
1, Brandon, Mraz 1 (Bertaggia, Sundher), 4:32.
2, Calgary, Chase 1 (Kosterman), 19:09.
Penalties-Chase Cal (tripping), 7:51; served by Macek Cal (too many men), 13:03; Brassart Cal (roughing), 20:00.

2nd Period
3, Brandon, Ferland 2 (Walker, Stone), 8:01 (PP).
4, Brandon, Roy 1 (Swyripa, Seaman), 19:41.
Penalties-Brassart Cal (tripping), 7:53.

3rd Period
5, Brandon, Sundher 1 (Bertaggia, Nikkel), 4:56.
Penalties-Ciarelli Bdn (tripping), 2:01; Chase Cal (holding), 6:41; Seaman Bdn (roughing), 6:41; Cheek Cal (slashing), 7:52; Cheek Cal (10-minute misconduct), 15:19; Roy Bdn (10-minute misconduct), 15:19; Trzonkowski Cal (roughing), 17:41; Melnychuk Bdn (roughing), 17:41.

Shots on Goal-Calgary 9-5-13-27. Brandon 12-15-15-42.
Power Play Opportunities-Calgary 0 / 1; Brandon 1 / 5.
Goalies-Calgary, Glover 1-1-0-0 (42 shots-38 saves). Brandon, Boes 2-1-0-0 (27 shots-26 saves).
A-3,578
Referees-Trevor Hanson (19), Pat Smith (12).
Linesmen-Bryden Hutlet (114), Kelsey Mahoney (138).