WHL notes: Sam Reinhart sets Kootenay scoring record
Sam Reinhart never intended to return to the Western Hockey League, but playing again with the Kootenay Ice provided one big benefit.
Reinhart’s goal at Saskatoon on Saturday night gave him a franchise-record 287 career points, one more than former Ice player Jarret Stoll of the Los Angeles Kings.
“Obviously, (Stoll is) an exceptional player in the National Hockey League,” Reinhart told Taylor Rocca of the Cranbrook Daily Townsman. “To be able to have my name up there with his is pretty special.”
Reinhart, the second overall selection in the 2014 NHL draft, played nine games with the Buffalo Sabres this season before the team sent him back to Kootenay.
“To be here and see the maturity and improvement in (Reinhart’s) game since I got here three years ago, I’m not sure I know a word to describe it other than ‘awesome,’ ” Ice head coach Ryan McGill said.
Rankings released
The Regina Pats have a WHL-best five players listed by NHL Central Scouting in its midterm rankings for the 2015 NHL draft, released Tuesday.
Fifty-one WHL players are listed among the rankings, broken down as 44 skaters and seven goaltenders. Seattle center Mathew Barzal, ranked ninth, is the top-rated skater among WHL players. The top-ranked goalie is eighth-ranked Nick Schneider of Medicine Hat.
Seattle, with four, has the most ranked players among U.S. Division team. Brandon, Prince George, Red Deer and Prince Albert also have four ranked players.
The Spokane Chiefs are one of five WHL teams without a ranked player.
Comrie comes back
Tri-City Americans goalie Eric Comrie returned to the ice at Toyota Center for the first time in a month.
Comrie, a second-round selection by the Winnipeg Jets in the 2013 NHL draft, aggravated a lower-body injury while with gold-medal-winning Team Canada at the World Junior Championship.
Although he went through a light workout Monday in Kennewick, Comrie is waiting for the medical approval to return to his duties in net.
Evan Sarthou filled in admirably for Comrie, with back-to-back shutouts over Vancouver and Spokane last weekend and a current streak of not allowing a goal in 120 minutes, 49 seconds.
“Experience is a wonderful thing,” Comrie told Annie Fowler of the Tri-City Herald. “(Sarthou) needed to play. It has been awesome for him.”
Around the league
Brandon forward Tim McGauley was named WHL Player of the Week after registering six points and a plus-seven rating during three Wheat Kings victories. The 19-year-old has 27 goals, 29 assists and a plus-17 rating in 46 games this season. … Connor Ingram of the Kamloops Blazers was selected WHL Goaltender of the Week after stopping 60 of 62 shots during two wins, including a 1-0 shutout over Vancouver on Saturday. … The Calgary Hitmen honored Anaheim Ducks star Ryan Getzlaf on Sunday afternoon as his No. 15 became the inaugural member of the “Forever a Hitmen” program. The 29-year-old compiled 215 points in 233 games with Calgary and has 657 points in 678 games in the NHL. “My time in Calgary was such a blessing and it was a great time,” Getzlaf told Scott Fisher of the Calgary Sun. “I played with so many great guys and we experienced so many things together – the bus rides and all those kinds of things that made me who I am today.” … Victoria’s Brandon Magee became the all-time leading scorer in franchise history (including Chilliwack) with an assist Sunday that gave him 242 points, one more than Kevin Sundher.