September 25, 2008 in Sports

Chiefs gain Johnson, lose Glass

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When the puck drops here Saturday, the Spokane Chiefs could still be without five veterans.

When the Chiefs take the ice at the Arena for their home opener against the Tri-City Americans – the first meeting between the Chiefs (1-1-0-0) and Americans (1-0-0-0), besides a pair of preseason contests, since Spokane won the seven-game marathon Western Conference championship series in late April – they will have one veteran back and lose another.

Sophomore forward and Liberty Lake native Tyler Johnson, who scored three goals – two game-winners and a shorthanded goal – in four games and was named MVP of the Western Hockey League championship series against Lethbridge in May, has been returned to the Chiefs from the Phoenix Coyotes.

Johnson, who missed the first two games of the season, attended the Coyotes’ rookie camp as a free-agent invite and was given the opportunity to stay for an extra week and attend Phoenix’s main camp.

While Johnson’s return is a welcomed one, another Chief has earned an opportunity to join the pro ranks and will be absent from Spokane’s lineup.

Veteran defenseman Trevor Glass, who came to Spokane from Medicine Hat in a trade-deadline deal last January and played a huge role in the Chiefs’ postseason success, has been invited to attend camp with the Rockford IceHogs of the American Hockey League. The IceHogs, an affiliate of the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks, hired former Chiefs coach Bill Peters – who led Spokane to a Memorial Cup championship in May – as their new head coach in the off-season.

Glass is a five-year WHL veteran with 192 regular-season games under his belt, 59 playoff games and eight in the Memorial Cup (he played four for Spokane last year and four for Medicine Hat in the 2007 Memorial Cup tournament in Vancouver).

With Glass leaving, Spokane could be missing up to five veterans who are eligible to return.

Import forward Ondrej Roman is still waiting to be released by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) in the Czech Republic.

Defenseman Justin Falk remains at camp with the Minnesota Wild, defenseman Jared Spurgeon is still with the New York Islanders and forward Drayson Bowman is still in Carolina at Hurricanes camp. Forward Justin McCrae was at Carolina’s camp as well, but was released Wednesday and should return in time for Saturday’s game, Chiefs general manager Tim Speltz said.

That would mean last year’s third line of McCrae, Johnson and Levko Koper could be together on the ice for the game.

Bowman, who signed a contract with Carolina in the off-season and has an outside shot at making the Hurricanes’ roster, started in Carolina’s 4-1 preseason loss to the Washington Capitals on Wednesday night. Bowman was on the ice when Carolina scored its lone goal.

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