He's baaack!
Just when you thought you'd seen the last of Kyle Beach, the Lethbridge Hurricanes on Wednesday traded the WHL's bad boy to the Spokane Chiefs for defensemen Mike Reddington and Landon Oslanski.
So in other words, when the Americans play their U.S. Division rival, it will no longer be just the Spokane Chiefs, but the Chiefs and Mr. Beach. Buy your tickets now -- the circus comes to town Oct. 3.
The Hurricanes picked up Beach at the trade deadline last season from the Everett Silvertips, and the 6-3, 210-pound native of Kelowna was the second leading scorer for Lethbridge with 24 goals and 63 points, even though 30 of those points came while he was with Everett. In his three-year career, he's been an impressive point-a-game player with 187 points in 179 games.
But with the good comes the bad. Beach had 165 penalty minutes last season -- fourth in the league -- in just 54 games. He also was suspended by the WHL for seven games. In three seasons, Beach has 583 penalty minutes in 179 career games.
It's not too clear whether Lethbridge was shopping the talented forward, but Spokane GM Tim Speltz said he was in the buying mood for one of the top forwards in the league -- a list that included Mr. Beach, who was the 11th overall pick in the 2008 NHL draft by the Chicago Blackhawks.
"I think we knew with our D numbers we would have to move a guy or two," Speltz said. "We had 10 who could play. We felt we needed to add to our front end depth and get bigger, and he helps with that.
"It's really tough to lose a guy like Mike, when you look at what he's put in. In three years we had a lot of success with him, but he's always been one of the more underappreciated players on our team playing behind guys like Jared Cowen, (Justin) Falk, (Jared) Spurgeon and (Trevor) Glass. I think there (Lethbridge) he can be a key guy, if not the key guy."
Speltz said Beach was expected to be in Spokane for practice Thursday, but was hesitant to say whether he thought Beach might be the key piece to the puzzle that could lead to a division title.
"It's too early to project or predict what will happen," Speltz said. "The division will be close this year and a player here or there could make a difference, but it's too early to tell if one guy will make the difference."
When the puck drops, there are two things that are a given: 1. Mr. Beach is a talented player who can score. 2. Mr. Beach can't score from the penalty box.
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The Tri-City Americans will get their first taste of the Central Division tonight when they take on the Kootenay Ice in Cranbrook, British Columbia.
The Medicine Hat Tigers (14-5-1-0) lead the Central Division with 29 points, while the Ice (12-3-1-2) is just two points back.
The Americans (12-5-0-0, 24 points) will play at Medicine Hat on Friday and at Lethbridge on Saturday.
Game Day: Chiefs at Americans
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For those of you brave enough to venture out in this weather, I applaud you. For those of you who stayed home to watch on ROOT Sports, you may be smarter than the rest of us.
Me, I couldn’t get out of my driveway this morning to go to the gym. Once my son got a good path to the real world for me, my class was long over. But he’s a good kid and pizza was on me.
Now that we’re all here, the Spokane Chiefs are here tonight. According to Spokane radio man Mike Boyle, they left at 2 p.m. today. I talked to Spokane coach Don Nachbaur last night. He told me that Spokane had a foot of snow and the roads were dangerous. It took him quite a while to get home from the rink last night, and by the time he could call me back, I’d already filed my story. Glad to see they got here in one piece.
T-Birds hope to change luck vs. Ams
T-Birds hope to change luck vs. Ams
One of the hottest teams in the Western Hockey League will face one of the best goaltenders in the league tonight when the Tri-City Americans hit the road to take on Calvin Pickard and the Seattle Thunderbirds.
The Americans (15-5-0-0) have had their way with the Thunderbirds lately, winning their last 10 meetings, including the last four in Kent.
"We haven't seen Seattle all year, not even in the preseason," Tri-City coach Jim Hiller said. "It will be new for everyone. Twenty games into the season and a new opponent.
Ams welcome aboard new faces
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KENNEWICK -- The puck is going in the net and the penalty kill has taken a turn for the better, but Bob Tory still felt his team could be better.
The Tri-City Americans general manager acquired two players over the last 11 days, adding forward Nate MacMaster and defenseman Derek Ryckman to the fold, while reassigning 16-year-old forward Justin Gutierrez.
MacMaster, 19, was brought over from the Calgary Hitmen in the Brock Sutherland trade. He has played five games for the Americans, with one assist.
'Ironman' West calls them as he sees them
'Ironman' West calls them as he sees them
The first game Craig West called in the Western Hockey League was a win.
So was his 1,000th game with the Tri-City Americans.
The Americans radio man reached the milestone Saturday at Lethbridge as Tri-City beat the Hurricanes 7-3.
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