Daily Dose

Daily Dose of the Dub: Raiders blowout Giants, Wheat Kings part ways with Armstrong

Written by Ben Dooley on

Raiders blowout Giants in Game Three

The Prince Albert Raiders took it to the Vancouver Giants on Tuesday night with a stunning 8-2 victory. The Raiders have now out-scored the Giants 12-2 in the last two games. Defenseman Max Martin took warmups and appeared to be making his return to the lineup for the Raiders after leaving Game Two with an undisclosed injury however he was a last-minute scratch for the Raiders. The Giants won’t have much time to dwell on the loss as Game Four goes Wednesday night at the Langley Events Centre.

Wheat Kings, Armstrong part ways

The Brandon Wheat Kings have decided not to extend the contract of General Manager Grant Armstrong. Armstrong joined the Wheat Kings in August of 2016 and in his first two seasons, the club made the playoffs. However, the Wheat Kings missed the playoffs this year for the first time in six years. Under Armstrong, the Wheat Kings had a 102-87-14-9 record. Prior to joining the Wheat Kings, Armstrong had spent time with the Victoria Royals as an assistant general manager and the Portland Winterhawks as director of scouting. Wheat Kings owner and governor Kelly McCrimmon said there is no timeline in place to name a replacement for Armstrong.

Graduating WHL players head to school

We’ve learned where some of the players in the graduating class from the WHL will be pursuing their post-secondary education.

Ryan Vandervlis (162 GP, 30 G, 37 A with the Lethbridge Hurricanes), Mike MacLean (104 GP, 7 G, 4 A with the Prince George Cougars and Seattle Thunderbirds) and Jeff de Wit (313 GP, 57 G, 58 A with the Red Deer Rebels, Regina Pats, Kootenay ICE and Victoria Royals) are joining Concordia University.

Nolan Yaremko (278 GP, 67 G, 92 A with the Tri-City Americans) will join Mount Royal University after a five-game stint with the AHL’s Stockton Heat.

Kody McDonald (323 GP, 95 G, 103 A with the Prince George Cougars, Prince Albert Raiders and Victoria Royals) appears likely to be heading to Ottawa to play for the Carleton Ravens to the ’19-20 season.

Josh Curtis (222 GP, 31 G, 66 A with the Prince George Cougars) is headed to Queen’s University. Curtis captained the Cougars this past season and had a career-high 13 goals in 68 games.

The University of Alberta Golden Bears program is always a strong competitor and it appears likely they will grab some of the biggest names from this year’s WHL graduating class including Dawson Davidson (301 GP, 37 G, 154 A with the Kamloops Blazers, Regina Pats, and Saskatoon Blades) and Griffen Outhouse (196 GP with the Victoria Royals) who were both named to DubNetwork’s Overage All-Star team. The Golden Bears are also expected to add Noah Philp (259 GP, 54 G, 112 A with the Kootenay ICE and Seattle Thunderbirds), Nolan Volcan (321 GP, 100 G, 131 A with the Seattle Thunderbirds) and Ryan Jevne (272 GP, 67 G, 86 A with the Medicine Hat Tigers).

Chiefs assistant coach Burt to coach BC Hockey U16 Team at WHL Cup

Spokane Chiefs assistant coach Scott Burt has been named head coach of BC Hockey’s Male U-16 team for the WHL Cup. The WHL Cup takes place in October of each year and pits the top under-16 players from British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba against each other in a round-robin tournament.

Americans renew their contract with goaltending coaches

The Tri-City Americans will be bringing back Eli Wilson and Liam McOnie as their goaltending coaches through the 2021 season. Wilson and McOnie have been with the Americans since the 2017-18 season.

Holland named GM of Oilers

Ken Holland, who played 78 games for the Medicine Hat Tigers in the 1970s, has been named General Manager and President of Hockey Operations for the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers. Holland had been with the Detroit Red Wings in various roles since the 1985-86 season.

Fix-Wolansky records first pro points

Edmonton Oil Kings forward Trey Fix-Wolansky recorded his first pro points with the Cleveland Monsters of the AHL on Tuesday night as he had a goal and assist for the Monsters in a 6-2 loss to the Toronto Marlies. With the loss, Fix-Wolansky and the Monsters were eliminated from the AHL playoffs.

Canucks to let Pouliot reach free agency

According to Sportsnet 650’s Rick Dhaliwal, the Vancouver Canucks have decided to let Derrick Pouliot (247 GP, 42 G, 163 A with the Portland Winterhawks) head to unrestricted free agency when his contract expires on July 1. Pouliot had been scheduled to be a restricted free agent but the Canucks decided not to qualify him. In 62 games with the Canucks he had three goals and nine assists.

Vipers hire former Giants Head Coach McKee

The Vernon Vipers have hired former Vancouver Giants Head Coach Jason McKee to be their new head coach and general manager. McKee coached the Giants in 2016/17 and 2017/18 before being dismissed following last season. He also has WHL experience as a player suiting up for the 1999-00 Season with the Seattle Thunderbirds. He played 69 games for the Thunderbirds and had 23 goals and 39 assists.

Three Stars of the Night:

First Star: Prince Albert’s Brett Leason had two goals and an assist. He was originally credited with a third goal but it was later given to Dante Hannoun.

Second Star: Prince Albert’s Parker Kelly had two goals and an assist.

Third Star: Prince Albert’s Dante Hannoun had a goal and two assists.

Honourable mentions:

Prince Albert’s Sergei Sapego, Aliaksei Protas and Sean Montgomery each finished the game with two assists.