Area roundup: Spokane Chiefs acquire Sloboshan and Reid from Saskatoon

The Spokane Chiefs announced on Wednesday that they acquired forward Wyatt Sloboshan, defenseman Nolan Reid and a third round pick in the 2017 WHL Bantam Draft from the Saskatoon Blades in exchange for forward Markson Bechtold and defenseman Evan Fiala.

“With this trade, we hope to fill a few areas that we need to improve in to give us a playoff push,” said Chiefs’ General Manager Scott Carter. “Those include more back end mobility, penalty killing and offensive production on the left wing.

“Getting a third round pick was also key for us as our third had previously been traded away. I felt it was important to get our scouts that pick for this year’s draft.”

Sloboshan, a 5-foot-10, 184-pound forward out of Vanscoy, Saskatchewan, has scored four goals and added 12 assists in 30 games with the Blades this season. The 19-year-old team captain has 33 goals and 58 assists in 145 career games. He was originally a third round pick by Swift Current in the 2012 WHL Bantam Draft.

Reid, an 18-year-old puck-moving defenseman out of Deer Valley, Saskatoon, recorded 11 assists in 34 games with the Blades so far this year. The 5-foot-10, 175-pound right-hand shot was the Blades’ second round choice in the 2013 bantam draft. He picked up two goals and seven assists in 54 games as a 16-year-old on the blue line before increasing his production to four goals and 22 assists in 72 contests last season.

Bechtold, a 20-year-old forward, was the Chiefs’ third round pick in the 2011 bantam draft. He played 211 games for the Chiefs (40th in franchise history), scoring 35 goals and 58 assists for 93 points, including five goals and three assists in 13 games this season.

Fiala, a 19-year-old defenseman out of Clavet, Saskatoon, was the Chiefs’ first round (14th overall) pick in the 2012 bantam draft. He led the Chiefs in penalty minutes during the 2014-15 (107) and 2015-16 (101) seasons, to go along with eight goals and 32 assists in 157 career games. Fiala was the Chiefs’ 2014-15 Scholastic Player of the Year as well as their 2015-16 Humanitarian of the Year and Coaches’ Award co-recipient.

Both Sloboshan and Reid are expected to be available for the Chiefs for their next game, at home on Saturday, Dec. 17 versus Prince George.

Chiefs’ Kailer Yamamoto named to prospects game

Spokane Chiefs forward Kailer Yamamoto was named Wednesday as one of 40 players who will compete in the Sherwin-Williams CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game on Jan. 30, 2017 in Quebec City, Ontario.

The annual showcase brings together the CHL’s top NHL Draft eligible players as selected by NHL clubs.

A Mead High School student and third-year player for the Chiefs, Yamamoto was originally a fifth round selection by Spokane in the 2013 WHL Bantam Draft. He has piqued the interest of NHL teams, earning an “A” rating in the NHL Central Scouting’s “Players to Watch” list, indicating a potential first-round draft choice.

In 26 games this season, he has piled up 41 points, including 20 goals. He’s been held off the scoresheet just four times and has 14 multi-point games. In 151 career games, he has scored 62 goals and 107 assists for 169 points, including 16 game-winning goals.

In the 21 years of the annual event, the Top Prospects Game has highlighted 293 players chosen in the first round of the NHL Entry Draft, including 13 players selected with the first overall pick. Last year’s game featured 12 WHL players, including four first round choices. This year, Yamamoto is one of 15 WHL prospects looking to impress.

Yamamoto is the 13th Chief to be named to the game and first since Jared Cowen and Levko Koper in 2009. Four Chiefs participants went on to become first round NHL Draft selections: Cowen, Michael Grabner, Ty Jones and Brad Ference.

Holt named All-America honorable mention

Kyra Holt, a senior outside hitter at Washington State was selected to the American Volleyball Coaches Association Division I All-America Honorable Mention Team, the AVCA announced in Lexington, Kentucky.

Holt becomes sixth-year WSU Head Coach Jen Greeny’s second DI All-America honoree, and the fifth Cougar to receive national volleyball honors all-time, joining Keri Killebrew (1992 second team), Sarah Silvernail (1996 first team, 1995 second team), Stephanie Papke (1996 second team), and Meagan Ganzer (2011 honorable mention).

Holt, from Hercules, California, was a leader in WSU’s 22-win season, the best in 14 years and tied for the fifth-most wins in a season in WSU history. She was instrumental in the Cougars receiving an at-large bid to the NCAA Championship, the first in seven years. No. 25 WSU won its first round match against Marquette and fell to No. 3 Wisconsin in the second round.

She is a two-time All-Pac-12 Volleyball First Team selection and a 2016 AVCA Pacific North All-Region first team selection. Holt became the fifth Cougar in school history to reach 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs in a career. She holds school career records in points with 2,051 and attack attempts with 5,074, is second-best all-time in kills with 1,777.

In 2016 Holt was named the MVP of the Purdue Mortar Board Premier, named the Best Attacker at Baylor Classic, and named to the Cougar Challenge All-Tournament team. She was named the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week and the espnW National Player of the Week for Sept. 19-25.

Empire announce open tryout in Spokane

The Spokane Empire have announced their final open tryout opportunity in preparation for the 2017 IFL season.

The tryout will take place on Jan. 21, 2017, from 8-10 p.m. at the Spokane Soccer Center, 7320 E. Nora Avenue in Spokane Valley.

Participants may register online for the workout at the price of $40 at Empire.Configio.com. Registration on-site the day of the event will be available beginning thirty minutes before the workout (7:30 p.m.) for $50 (cash only).

Participants will receive a t-shirt as a part of their registration fees. They will also be required to fill out a participation waiver before performing any testing or drills.

The workout will be in a pro-style combine fashion with speed and agility testing as well as field work. Participants will be led through a brief warm up and stretch routine compliments of Chamber Fitness staff. They will then test in the 40-yard dash, short shuttle, and broad jump. Offensive and defensive line positions will also be tested in the bench press (225 lbs.). There will not be a workout for kickers at this tryout.

Once the testing portion has concluded, participants will be broken up into position categories and led through individual position drills. After position drills, skill position players will go into an outdoor period including 1-on-1’s and pass skelly.

Participants are encouraged to bring both indoor training or soccer style shoes as well as cleats. Most the testing will take place on an artificial turf surface. They should also bring any other performance gear, braces, gloves, or equipment they may need to perform.