WHL PLAYERS IMPRESS IN TRAVERSE CITY

The 12th annual Traverse City Prospects tournament wrapped up yesterday in Traverse City, Michigan, with top prospects from eight NHL Clubs taking part in the five-day event.

This year’s edition of the tournament boasted a heavy WHL influence, with 68 current WHL players or recent WHL graduates suiting up for action.

The Minnesota Wild’s roster for the tournament features a whopping 14 current or former WHL players, including 2010 NHL draft picks Brett Bulmer of the Kelowna Rockets and Dylen McKinlay of the Chilliwack Bruins.  Also on the Wild’s roster is recent Calgary Hitmen graduate Joel Broda, a free agent invitee, who notched a pair of goals and an assist through four games of the tournament.

The Dallas Stars prospects roster features 12 WHL names including 2010 draft pick Alex Theriau of the Everett Silvertips and 2009 first-rounder Scott Glennie of the Brandon Wheat Kings.  Through four tournament games, the Stars’ top point-getters are all from the WHL, with former Medicine Hat Tiger Tristan King leading the way with four points and former Vancouver Giant and Edmonton Oil King Tomas Vincour pacing the team with two goals.

Portland Winterhawks center Ryan Johansen has put up a goal two assists in three games for the Columbus Blue Jackets.  Johansen was the first WHL player chosen in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, selected 4th overall by the Blue Jackets. 

The Tampa Bay Lightning’s roster boasts Prince George Cougars star Brett Connolly, whom the Lightning selected 6th overall in the 2010 NHL draft.  Connolly has impressed with two goals and four points at the tournament.  Also on Tampa Bay’s roster is Vancouver Giants center James Wright, who finished third in tournament scoring with three goals and six points in four games.

Former Calgary Hitmen star Brett Sonne, the 2008-09 WHL Player of the Year, lead the St. Louis Blues prospects with three goals and five points in the tournament, while Tri-City Americans forward Brooks Macek has turned heads with three points from four games for the Detroit Red Wings prospects. 

Here’s a look at the WHL players participating in the 2010 Traverse City Prospects tournament:
(* Active WHL player )

CAROLINA HURRICANES
D – Tommi Kivisto (Red Deer Rebels)
D – Derek Claffey (Swift Current Broncos)
F – Chris Collins (Chilliwack Bruins)*
D – Rasmus Rissanen (Everett Silvertips)*
D – Tyler Stahl (Chilliwack Bruins)*

COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS
F – Matt Calvert (Brandon Wheat Kings)
F – Justin Feser (Tri-City Americans)*
F – Chris Francis (Portland Winterhawks)
F – Oliver Gabriel (Portland Winterhawks)*
F – Ryan Johansen (Portland Winterhawks)*
D – Austin Madaisky (Kamloops Blazers, Calgary Hitmen)*
F – Jordan Messier (Tri-City Americans)*

DALLAS STARS
D – Antoine Corbin (Kelowna Rockets)*
D – Jace Coyle (Medicine Hat Tigers, Spokane Chiefs)
F – Thomas Frazee (Moose Jaw Warriors, Portland Winterhawks)*
F – Scott Glennie (Brandon Wheat Kings)*
F – Cole Grbavac (Medicine Hat Tigers, Kamloops Blazers)*
F – Kevin King (Kootenay Ice)*
F – Tristan King (Medicine Hat Tigers, Portland Winterhawks)
F – Ondrej Roman (Spokane Chiefs)
F – Colton Sceviour (Lethbridge Hurricanes, Portland Winterhawks)
F – Matt Tassone (Swift Current Broncos)
D – Alex Theriau (Everett Silvertips, Lethbridge Hurricanes)
F – Tomas Vincour (Vancouver Giants, Edmonton Oil Kings)

DETROIT RED WINGS
F – Mitchell Callahan (Kelowna Rockets)*
F – Willie Coetzee (Red Deer Rebels)*
D – Travis Ehrhardt (Portland Winterhawks, Moose Jaw Warriors)
F – Landon Ferraro (Everett Silvertips, Red Deer Rebels)*
F – Antonin Honejsek (Moose Jaw Warriors)*
D – Brenden Kichton (Spokane Chiefs)*
F – Brooks Macek (Tri-City Americans)*
F – Brent Raedeke (Brandon Wheat Kings, Edmonton Oil Kings)

MINNESOTA WILD
F – Cody Almond (Kelowna Rockets)
F – JT Barnett (Kamloops Blazers, Vancouver Giants)*
F – Joel Broda (Calgary Hitmen, Moose Jaw Warriors, Tri-City Americans)
F – Brett Bulmer (Kelowna Rockets)*
D – Josh Caron (Kamloops Blazers)*
F – Jay Fehr (Brandon Wheat Kings)
F – Kris Foucault (Calgary Hitmen, Kootenay Ice, Swift Current Broncos)*
D – Colton Jobke (Kelowna Rockets)*
F – Tyler Johnson (Spokane Chiefs)*
G – Darcy Kuemper (Red Deer Rebels, Spokane Chiefs)
F – Matt MacKay (Vancouver Giants, Medicine Hat Tigers, Moose Jaw Warriors)*
F – Dylen McKinlay (Chilliwack Bruins)*
F – Carson McMillan (Calgary Hitmen)
D – Jared Spurgeon (Spokane Chiefs)

NEW YORK RANGERS
F – Jason Bast (Moose Jaw Warriors)
F – Roman Horak (Chilliwack Bruins)*
D – Sam Klassen (Saskatoon Blades)
D – Tomas Kundratek (Medicine Hat Tigers)
D – Brandon Manning (Chilliwack Bruins)*
D – Dylan McIlrath (Moose Jaw Warriors)*
F – Randy McNaught (Saskatoon Blades, Chilliwack Bruins)*
D – Jyri Niemi (Saskatoon Blades)
F – Brendan Shinnimin (Tri-City Americans)*

ST. LOUIS BLUES
F – Cody Beach (Calgary Hitmen)*
D – Mark Isherwood (Medicine Hat Tigers)
D – Brett Ponich (Portland Winterhawks)*
F – Tyler Shattock (Calgary Hitmen, Kamloops Blazers)*
F – Brett Sonne (Calgary Hitmen)

TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING
F – Carter Ashton (Regina Pats, Lethbridge Hurricanes)*
F – Brett Connolly (Prince George Cougars)*
F – Mitch Fadden (Tri-City Americans, Lethbridge Hurricanes, Seattle Thunderbirds)
D – Radko Gudas (Everett Silvertips)*
G – Dustin Tokarski (Spokane Chiefs)
F – Dana Tyrell (Prince George Cougars)
F – James Wright (Vancouver Giants)*
D – Teigan Zahn (Saskatoon Blades)

For more on the Traverse City Prospects tournament, visit RED WINGS CENTRAL

Photo courtesy Sarah Lindenau / RedWingsCentral.com