A pair of teams suffering through difficult seasons underwent overhauls last week, though in decidedly different manners.
The Kamloops Blazers made changes from the top, firing general manager and head coach Dean Clark.
Meanwhile, the Portland Winter Hawks took a different tack, turning over nearly half their roster in a series of trades.
Kamloops was expected to be one of the Western Hockey League’s elite teams this season. However the Blazers stumbled to an early 6-9-1-1 record, prompting Kamloops’ new ownership group to part ways with Clark, who was in his fifth season with the team.
“I think Dean would admit his disappointment as to the recent performance of the club,” Kamloops principal owner Tom Gaglardi told the Kamloops Daily News. “I think he’s as disappointed as anyone.”
Greg Hawgood, a former Blazers defenseman with no coaching experience, was hired on an interim basis for the remainder of the season. The vacant general manager position won’t be filled until the offseason.
Kamloops responded well to the change, winning its first two games under Hawgood.
Portland was hoping to improve after a disasterous 2006-07 season, in which a youthful Winter Hawks team compiled the worst record in the league. However, Portland has been equally hapless this season, again mired at the bottom of the standings.
With the team just 3-15, the Winter Hawks made two major trades in one day. First they sent 18-year-old forward Colton Sceviour, 20-year-old forward Nick Hotson and 18-year-old defenseman Lucas Alexiuk to Lethbridge for 20-year-old forward Jacob Dietrich, 18-year-old forward Nick Dietrich, 18-year-old defenseman Ryan Kerr, 17-year-old defenseman Travis Bobbee and a fifth-round pick in the 2008 bantam draft. Then Portland shipped 20-year-old forward Frazer McLaren, 17-year-old defenseman Ty Ariss and the fifth rounder received from Lethbridge to Moose Jaw for 20-year-old forward Keith Voytechek, 18-year-old defenseman Travis Ehrhardt and 17-year-old forward Jason Grecica.
Later in the week Portland traded 19-year-old defenseman Todd Panchyson to Seattle for a conditional draft pick, sent 18-year-old goaltender Mark Guggenberger home for disciplinary reasons, and had 17-year-old forward Tayler Jordan leave the team.
“We know that we’re in a very difficult spot, but we didn’t want to wave goodbye to the season,” Portland general manager Ken Hodge told the Oregonian. “Certainly, the players that we have coming in are going to address future needs, but more importantly they are going to address the present.”
Unlike Kamloops, Portland continued its struggles after the moves, losing its next two games.
Around the WHL: Following the dismissal of Clark, the Blazers traded underachieving 19-year-old defenseman Keaton Ellerby, the 10th-overal selection in this year’s NHL draft by the Florida Panthers, to Moose Jaw in exchange for 19-year-old right wing Brady Calla, a former Everett Silvertip. … Lethbridge acquired 19-year-old defenseman Paul MacDonald from Kootenay in exchange for a seventh-round pick in the 2009 bantam draft. … The Ice then acquired 17-year-old forward Kris Foucault from Swift Current for a sixth-rounder in 2008. … The league created the WHL Alumni Association for assisting with the operation and promotion of the league, as well as giving former personnel a way to reconnect with one another. … Vancouver’s Spencer Machacek was named the WHL Player of the Week. Machacek had four goals and three assists as the Giants went 3-0.
League leaders: Points — Mark Santorelli (Chilliwack) 37; goals — Oscar Moller (Chilliwack) 20; assists — Santorelli 30; penalty minutes — Kyle Beach (Everett) 84; wins — Tyson Sexsmith (Vancouver) 16; goals against average — Dustin Tokarski (Spokane) 1.88; save percentage — Tokarski .919.
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