|
|
|
|
|
|
|
April 26, 2024: Three WHL Recruits
Thus far there are no official announcement at GoBisons.ca. However, Elite Prospects lists three new Bisons, all with WHL experience. There are not many other recruits in the CW. In fact, there are more announcements of players departing for pro careers thus far. Here we go!
DEXTER WHITTLE - D - Everett (WHL)
Whittle is just 5' 9" and is one of two Virden boys recruited to the roster. As a bonus, he shoots right. He is unfortunately known for being on the receiving end of a vicious hit-from-behind which cost him most of last season. He played just two games after a lengthy hospital stay. His assailant received a 25-game suspension. There are several linked stories and videos of the incident.
Links:
➤ Elite Prospects: Dexter Whittle Career Stats
➤ CHL.ca: 2023-24 Player Profile
➤ Brandon Sun: WHL NOTEBOOK: Dexter Whittle makes his way back
➤ BVM Sports: 2023-24 Player Profile
➤ Hockey Unplugged: Player suspended 25 games after putting opponent in hospital for 3 days with dirty hit
➤ Hockey Feed: WHL forward suspended 25 games for hit that sends opponent to hospital
➤ Victoria News: Victoria Royals forward suspended 25 games for hockey hit from behind
➤ Empire Advance: Whittle has gone from Wheat Kings fan to foe
➤ YouTube: Edwards hit on Whittle - Tough Call Breakdown
➤ YouTube: Alex Edwards drives Dexter Whittle into the glass
GRADY LANE - F - Victoria (WHL)/Virden (MJHL)
Lane played three seasons for the Spokane Chiefs in the WHL, and wore an “A” in his final season there. He then split his overage season between the Victoria Royals in the Dub, and his hometown Virden Oil Capitals in the MJHL. He is a 6' 2", 192 lbs winger, shoots left, and apparently likes to scrap. The offensive numbers in the WHL aren’t much (137 GP, 8-15-23, 250 PIMS), but his junior denouement in the MJHL was better (41 GP, 14-16-30, 155 PIMS). The Bison shopping list has two big items up front: scoring and grit. Lane appears to cover the latter fairly well.
Links:
➤ Elite Prospects: Grady Lane Career Stats
➤ Empire Advance: Lane excited to play for WHL’s Royals
➤ Empire Advance: [url=Lane helps hometown team in many ways] Lane helps hometown team in many ways
➤ CHL.ca: Player Profile
➤ RoyalsFan.ca: Grady Lane, Hockey’s Swiss Army Knife
➤ Facebook Video: rady Lane (03) puts home the nice feed from Braeden Lewis (03)
➤ BVM Sports: Royals Acquire Grady Lane in exchange for an 8th Round Pick
CADE ZAPLITNY - F - Everett (WHL)
Zaplitny is a Winnipeg boy, coming home from the west coast. He is 6' 1" and 190 lbs and shoots left. After splitting 2021-22 between the Winnipeg Blues and Everett Silvertips, he then played two full seasons in Everett with decent enough numbers (101 GP, 23-22-45, 92 PIMS). So a bit of scoring and a bit of grit.
Links:
➤ Elite Prospects: Cade Zaplitny Career Stats
➤ CHL.ca: 2023-24 Player Profile: Cade Zaplitny
➤ Winnipeg Blues: CADEN ZAPLITNY STAYING WITH SILVERTIPS IN WHL
➤ Our Sports Central: 2023-24 Player Profile: Cade Zaplitny |
|
kicksave856
Philadelphia Flyers |
|
 |
Location: i love how not saying dumb things on the internet was never an option.
Joined: 09.29.2005
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
May 4, 2024: One More WHL Recruit
I checked the LOI Registry and found that Bison Hockey has four names, the three from the prior post and one more. Here's the details.
SKYLER BRUCE - RW - Vancouver/Edmonton (WHL)
Bruce is 5' 10" and 168 lbs with a track record of goal-scoring prowess. I thought I remembered the name from Team Manitoba at the NAHC (the National Aboriginal Hockey Championship), but the tournament was cancelled in 2020 and 2021 when he would have been eligible. (Bruce is generally a Metis surname in Manitoba.) So this is not the player I was thinking of.
After partial seasons split between AAA and the Kootenay/Winnipeg Ice, he played a full season for the Winnipeg Ice in 2021-22 (68 GP, 16-21-37). He then split 2022-23 between the Ice and Vancouver Giants (63 GP, 15-31-46) and 2023-24 between the Giants and Edmonton Oil Kings (43GP, 15-24-39). His AAA stats were always better than a point per game, even better than two points per game on occasion. Another goal-scorer or three and the Bisons could be on their way in 2024-25!
This signing is not confirmed at Elite Prospects. No recruiting announcements have been released by the Bisons at GoBisons.ca.
Links:
➤ Elite Prospects: Skyler Bruce Career Stats
➤ USports: Letter of Intent
➤ CHL.ca: Oil Kings acquire forward Skyler Bruce from Vancouver
➤ CHL.ca: Skyler Bruce Player Profile
➤ BVM Sports: Oil Kings acquire forward Skyler Bruce from Vancouver
➤ Winnipeg Free Press: Ice forward has the magic touch - Skyler Bruce is on the small side, but he posts big numbers
➤ YouTube: WHL Hat-Tricks – Skyler Bruce |
|
kicksave856
Philadelphia Flyers |
|
|
Location: i love how not saying dumb things on the internet was never an option.
Joined: 09.29.2005
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
May 9, 2024: Teams Are Posting Stories
Although some teams have posted recruitment announcements (linked below) Elite Prospects has the most consistent early news across websites. Here are the links for all teams (some have yet to add a link for 2024-25.).
Links:
➤ Elite Prospects: USports Transfers
➤ Elite Prospects: Manitoba Bisons (4)
➤ Elite Prospects: Alberta Golden Bears (2)
➤ Elite Prospects: Calgary Dinosaurs (0)
➤ Elite Prospects: MacEwan Griffins (4)
➤ Elite Prospects: Mount Royal Cougars (0)
➤ Elite Prospects: Regina Cougars (4)
➤ Elite Prospects: Saskatchewan Huskies (1)
➤ Elite Prospects: Trinity Western Spartans (3)
➤ Elite Prospects: U.B.C. Thunderbirds (0)
The Bisons have started updating their website with recruiting announcements. So far, nothing anywhere about schedules. The two stories cover the four players previously announced in this thread.
Links:
➤ GoBisons.ca: Men's hockey announce commitment of local standouts Cade Zaplitny, Grady Lane and Dexter Whittle
➤ GoBisons.ca: Local standout Skyler Bruce announced as newest men's hockey commit
The Family Guys lead the league in posted stories, with four. All about their recruits, with a heavy local Junior A flavour.
Links:
➤ MacEwan: AJHL scoring champion, Lloydminster Bobcats captain Cabana joining Griffins in 2024-25
➤ MacEwan: AJHL all-star defenceman, Canmore Eagles captain Tallman joining Griffins in 2024-25
➤ MacEwan: Veteran goaltender Epp returns home to join Griffins for final season of eligibility
➤ MacEwan: Eastman returns home to join Griffins after capping junior career with prolific scoring season in P.E.I.
The Banjo-Cats have just one story, but have four recruits.
Links:
➤ Regina: Men's hockey signs defenceman Chase Friedt-Mohr
Holy Trinity has one recruiting announcement and a fund-raising announcement.
Links:
➤ TWU: Complete Champion Challenge Set for May 25th
➤ TWU: Men’s Hockey New Recruit - Sammy May
The Banjo-Mutts have no recruiting announcements, but they do have a unique ticket program. In addition to the usual types of perks, they also offer discounts on CFL tickets to watch the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
Links:
➤ Saskatchewan: Ticketing Details 2024-25 |
|
kicksave856
Philadelphia Flyers |
|
|
Location: i love how not saying dumb things on the internet was never an option.
Joined: 09.29.2005
|
|
|
|
|
|
kicksave856
Philadelphia Flyers |
|
|
Location: i love how not saying dumb things on the internet was never an option.
Joined: 09.29.2005
|
|
|
|
|
|
kicksave856
Philadelphia Flyers |
|
|
Location: i love how not saying dumb things on the internet was never an option.
Joined: 09.29.2005
|
|
|
penguininnevada
Pittsburgh Penguins |
|
 |
Location: member of the honor roll, assistant to the assistant manager of the movie theater
Joined: 09.01.2008
|
|
|
kicksave856
Philadelphia Flyers |
|
|
Location: i love how not saying dumb things on the internet was never an option.
Joined: 09.29.2005
|
|
|
|
..
- penguininnevada
ty, penguininnevada. |
|
|
|
|
kicksave856
Philadelphia Flyers |
|
|
Location: i love how not saying dumb things on the internet was never an option.
Joined: 09.29.2005
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
June 1, 2024: News Has Slowed
As we enter a new month, the early off-season activity from May has slowed, albeit to somewhat normal levels for this time of year.
Regarding recruitment, the main sources are Elite Prospects and the USports Letters of Intent page. At Elite Prospects there was a steady stream of additions across USports until May 17th. After that, there have been just seven USports transactions, and four of those were departures. The former link to the USports Letters of Intent page is now a 404. Search engines do not disclose a new link for that page. The last update I saw for it was on May 21st.
The MJHL has a linked recruitment page. A lot of players have gone to the NCAA or various other leagues. I suspect that the Bisons have a lot of yet unannounced recruits from the MJHL and other Junior A leagues. Most students will have by now completed their registrations for the 2024-25 academic year, perhaps subject to a pending fee payment.
Coach Gord Burnett gave a talk at the MJHL’s prospects camp. So I assume that he was talking to players for this year and down the road.
Links:
➤ Elite Prospects: USports Transactions
➤ USports: Former Letter of Intent Page
➤ Instagram: MJHL Hockey IG Post May 31st
➤ MJHL: 2024 Prospects Camp
➤ MJHL: Player Advancements
The Evil Monkeys still have no recruiting announcements on their website. However, they have announced their 2023-24 award winners!
W.D. Smith Trophy (Golden Bears Most Improved Player) - Konrad Belcourt
University of Alberta President's Award (Student-Athlete's career contribution to the team and program as an outstanding athlete, leader and role model) - Matt Berlin
Andy Purcell Hockey Trophy (Golden Bears Most Valuable Player) - Eric Florchuk
Golden Bears Hockey Alumni Three-Star Award (Most Three Star Selections) - Eric Florchuk
The Captain's Trophy (Golden Bears Outstanding Contribution with the Least Recognition) - Adam Hall
Gord Thibodeau Trophy (Awarded to the Golden Bear who best displays perseverance and courage) - Jacob Herauf
Vic Dzurko Memorial Trophy (Golden Bears Outstanding Defensive Player) - Wyatt McLeod
Bill Moores Trophy (Golden Bears Outstanding Freshman) - Alex Thacker
President's Trophy (Bear who best combines sportsmanship, leadership & integrity) - Jakin Smallwood
Links:
➤ Alberta: Bears announce 2023/24 team award winners
The Banjo-Cats have just one previously linked recruitment story. However, they now have five recruits listed at Elite Prospects. All five are defencemen, mostly players with a junior career blended between Junior A and the WHL.
Ashton Fishley split his time between the Portage Terriers and Swan Valley Stampeders of the MJHL. The rest had blended careers.
Aiden Brook played a total of 35 WHL games and 24 MJHL games in 2020-21 and 2021-22. He spent the last two years with the Dauphin Kings and Portage Terriers of the MJHL
Three others were WHL vets who went to Junior A for their overage season.
Chase Friedt-Mohr was mostly in the WHL, dividing time with the Spokane Chiefs, Edmonton Oil Kings, and Tri-City Americans before he spent last year with the Melfort Mustangs of the SJHL.
Blake Heward was with the Edmonton Oil Kings and Calgary Hitmen of the WHL then spent last year with the Estevan Bruins of the SJHL.
Adam McNutt was with the Prince Albert Raiders, Regina Pats, and Swift Current Broncos of the WHL before playing with the Flin Flon Bombers of SJHL last year.
That’s basically a brand new blue-line for the Kittens.
Links:
➤ Elite Prospects: Regina Cougars (5)
|
|
kicksave856
Philadelphia Flyers |
|
|
Location: i love how not saying dumb things on the internet was never an option.
Joined: 09.29.2005
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
June 3, 2024: Sirant to Glasgow
Former Bison coach Mike Sirant is off to Scotland to be an assistant coach for the Glasgow Clan in the EIHL. The Bisons played them once-upon-a-time, even back when they were called the Braehead Clan. Sirant coached over there before joining the Bisons.
Links:
➤ Glasgow Clan: NEWS: SIRANT LINKS UP WITH NEILSON ON THE BENCH
|
|
kicksave856
Philadelphia Flyers |
|
|
Location: i love how not saying dumb things on the internet was never an option.
Joined: 09.29.2005
|
|
|
kicksave856
Philadelphia Flyers |
|
|
Location: i love how not saying dumb things on the internet was never an option.
Joined: 09.29.2005
|
|
|
|
|
that's my best one ever, hollywood. |
|
|
|
|
|
June 7, 2024: Recruiting Updates
Nothing new from the Bisons, in fact the only new story posted is at Alberta. The Elite Prospects pages have been updated with new recurits listed for Regina, Mount Royal, and UBC.
The UBC recruit is Carson Latimer, previously noted in this thread sourced to a news story from UBC.
MRU's recruit is Leith Olafson, a defenceman from the Melfort Mustangs of the SJHL.
Regina recruited their 6th player, and first forward. Noah Willis is a small forward (5'9" 157 lbs) with a good Junior A scoring touch. He finished with the Sherwood Park Crusaders, one of the AJHL teams which switched to the BCHL mid-season. He had 83 points in 67 games last year.
Links:
➤ Elite Prospects: USports Transfers
➤ Elite Prospects: Manitoba Bisons (6)
➤ Elite Prospects: Alberta Golden Bears (2)
➤ Elite Prospects: Calgary Dinosaurs (0)
➤ Elite Prospects: MacEwan Griffins (5)
➤ Elite Prospects: Mount Royal Cougars (3)
➤ Elite Prospects: Regina Cougars (6)
➤ Elite Prospects: Saskatchewan Huskies (2)
➤ Elite Prospects: Trinity Western Spartans (3)
➤ Elite Prospects: U.B.C. Thunderbirds (1)
The Evil Monkeys' story is about the grads who have gone from eating bananas to cometing for the Stanley Cup. There is a total of 22 on-ice and off-ice personnel in that category. Those who played for the Apes are Derek Ryan, Kris Knoblauch, Dustin Schwartz, and Joel Jackson.
Links:
➤ Alberta: Abundance of UofA connections on display in 2024 Stanley Cup Final |
|
kicksave856
Philadelphia Flyers |
|
|
Location: i love how not saying dumb things on the internet was never an option.
Joined: 09.29.2005
|
|
|
|
June 7, 2024: Recruiting Updates
Nothing new from the Bisons, in fact the only new story posted is at Alberta. The Elite Prospects pages have been updated with new recurits listed for Regina, Mount Royal, and UBC.
The UBC recruit is Carson Latimer, previously noted in this thread sourced to a news story from UBC.
MRU's recruit is Leith Olafson, a defenceman from the Melfort Mustangs of the SJHL.
Regina recruited their 6th player, and first forward. Noah Willis is a small forward (5'9" 157 lbs) with a good Junior A scoring touch. He finished with the Sherwood Park Crusaders, one of the AJHL teams which switched to the BCHL mid-season. He had 83 points in 67 games last year.
Links:
➤ Elite Prospects: USports Transfers
➤ Elite Prospects: Manitoba Bisons (6)
➤ Elite Prospects: Alberta Golden Bears (2)
➤ Elite Prospects: Calgary Dinosaurs (0)
➤ Elite Prospects: MacEwan Griffins (5)
➤ Elite Prospects: Mount Royal Cougars (3)
➤ Elite Prospects: Regina Cougars (6)
➤ Elite Prospects: Saskatchewan Huskies (2)
➤ Elite Prospects: Trinity Western Spartans (3)
➤ Elite Prospects: U.B.C. Thunderbirds (1)
The Evil Monkeys' story is about the grads who have gone from eating bananas to cometing for the Stanley Cup. There is a total of 22 on-ice and off-ice personnel in that category. Those who played for the Apes are Derek Ryan, Kris Knoblauch, Dustin Schwartz, and Joel Jackson.
Links:
➤ Alberta: Abundance of UofA connections on display in 2024 Stanley Cup Final
- Hollywood2
ty, hollywood. |
|
|
|
|
|
June 13, 2024: Bisons Add to Bumper Crop
The Bisons have a 7th new recruit, and we have stories from Portage la Prairie, Flin Flon, and Saskatown.
ERIC ALARIE - LW/C - Moose Jaw & Seattle (WHL), Adirondack (ECHL)
This commitment was found on the LOI Registry. It is not yet on Elite Prospects, nor on the Bisons’ site. FWIW, there are no further announcements on the MJHL Player Advancements Page.
Here we have a Winnipeg lad coming home. He’s 6'1" 196 lbs. He does not have the massive stats of other recruits, but a couple years back was recruited by the Los Angeles Kings after not being drafted into the NHL. He also went to a camp with the Florida Panthers. In 2021 he was rated 51st by Central Scouting (of North American players) and 71st by McKeen’s. Here’s the scouting report from the Hockey Writers site:
At just 18 years old, Alarie has already grown into his six-foot-one frame, weighing in at 198 pounds entering the draft. He is a big winger built like a power forward and has some offensive scoring ability to add to that. In four career playoff games in the WHL, he notched one goal and has managed to play a clean game, staying out of the box for the most part and registering just eight penalty minutes during his juniors career.
While Alarie might not have made his way on to many prospects rankings heading into the 2021 draft, he has upside as a prospect and is built like an NHL player needs to be to succeed in today’s NHL.
His WHL career was based with the Moose Jaw Warriors until he was traded early last year to the Seattle Thunderbirds. After the season was over he went to the Adirondack Thunder of the ECHL for 8 games. In 280 career WHL games he had 79-108-187.
Now the Bisons just need a handful of defencemen to balance the recruiting class. I’d be happy with a WHL grad with some offensive touch, and a big country boy from the MJHL who can clear the slot.
Links:
➤ Elite Prospects: Eric Alarie Career Stats
➤ NHL.com: Eric Alarie Career
➤ CHL.ca: WHL Next Generation: Eric Alarie
➤ Hockey Writers: Eric Alarie – 2021 NHL Draft Prospect Profile
➤ Moose Jaw Today: Warriors’ Alarie looking forward to NHL opportunity after being passed over in Entry Draft
➤ Moose Jaw Today: Warriors welcome back Rysavy from Columbus, trade Alarie to Seattle for picks
➤ Elite Prospects: Forward Eric Alarie set to play for Los Angeles Kings
➤ CHL.ca: T-Birds acquire forward Eric Alarie from the Moose Jaw Warriors
➤ YouTube: WHL Hat Tricks – Eric Alarie
➤ ECHL Thunder: Thunder Sign Forward Eric Alarie
➤ ECHL.com: Game-By-Game Stats
Five Flon Flon Bombers are moving on to university hockey, and three of those are headed to the CW. The Mount Royal Cougars have recruited forward Justin Lies and goaltender Harmon Laser-Hume. Meanwhile, the Banjo-Cats have recruited defenceman Adam McNutt. All three of those movements were already on Elite Prospects.
Links:
➤ The Reminder: Five former Bombers commit for college, university hockey
This is one of those nice off-season community stories on three Calder brothers from Portage la Prairie.
Logan, the oldest brother, plays for Salve Regine University, in Rhode Island in NCAA Division III. Kian played his first season with the Bisons last year. Evan played in the KIJHL with the Castlegar Rebels. Kian sounds positive about the Bison recruiting.
Kian: "The season was good. We didn't get a lot of the results we wanted win-wise, but I think the team took a big step in the right direction. Looking into next season, a lot of the guys are motivated, and the coaching staff has recruited some top-end players, so I think next year is going to be even better for us."
Links:
➤ Portage Online: The Calder Brothers: Hockey, Homecomings, and Summer Plans
There is still no official word on recruits from the Banjo-Mutts. However, former coach Dave Adolph got some more recognition, this time at a USports level. He is the recipient of the Jean Marie De Koninck Coaching Excellence Award.
Links:
➤ UofS: Dave Adolph Honoured at 2024 U SPORTS Conference and Annual General Meetings
|
|
kicksave856
Philadelphia Flyers |
|
|
Location: i love how not saying dumb things on the internet was never an option.
Joined: 09.29.2005
|
|
|
|
|
|
