Canes' Sign Prospects....Pre-Season Roster

Lethbridge Hurricanes Training Camp may have come to an end but the Canes are proud to announce the beginning of several young prospects WHL careers. Lethbridge Hurricanes General Manager and Head Coach Rich Preston announced this morning that the club has signed 92-born forward Neal Tarnasky, 93-born defensemen Reid Jackson and Drew Graham, 93-born forward Michael Sofillas and 94-born Ryley Bennefield and Adam Henry.

Tarnasky, the younger brother of former Hurricanes forward and current Florida Panther Nick Tarnasky is a 6’0, 200 pound 92-born forward from Caroline, AB. He was selected by the Hurricanes in the 8th round (163rd overall) in the 2007 WHL Bantam draft. In 2008-09, the rugged winger tallied 24 points (11G, 13A) and 90 PIMs in 32 games with the Leduc AAA Midget Oil Kings of the AMHL.

Jackson and Graham, a pair of 93-born defensemen, were the Hurricanes 2nd and 3rd round selections in the 2008 WHL Bantam Draft respectively. In 08-09, Jackson played in Minnesota for the Shattuck St.Mary’s U16 Sabres. The 6’2” 175 pound native of Weyburn, SK notched 15 assists and 40 penalty minutes in 35 games. In 07-08, Jackson helped anchor the blueline of the Weyburn Wings of the South Saskatchewan Bantam Hockey League. Graham, a 6’0, 195 pound d-man played last season for the Fraser Valley Bruins in BC Major Midget where he posted 11 points (4G, 7A) in 16 games with 26 PIMs. He was originally drafted from the Chilliwack Coyotes Bantam AAA club of the Pacific Coast Amateur Hockey Association with the Canes third round pick (62nd overall) of the draft.

Sofillas, a skilled centre and list player from Morden, MB rounds out this group of 93-born players. Sofillas showed this weekend that he has a “knack for the net” during the Canes scrimmages showing off some of the talent which garnered him 37 points (18G, 19A) in 44 games with the Manitoba AAA Midget Pembina Hawks.

Hurricanes fans also may have gotten their first peek at the future this past weekend as the Canes signed a pair of 94-born players in Bennefield and Henry. Bennefield was drafted from the Leduc Bantam AAA Oil Kings with the Canes first selection – 33rd overall in the second round of the 2009 WHL Bantam Draft. Bennefield is a 5’10” 160 pound forward who tallied 32 goals and 25 assists for 57 points and 59 Pims in 30 games last year in the AMBHL. Bennefield then wrapped up his season with an excellent showing at the Alberta Cup in Calgary where he competed with a broken collarbone. Henry played last season for the Bantam AAA Winnipeg Hawks and was selected 55th overall in the 2009 Draft. Henry ended the 08-09 campaign with 17 points (4G, 13A) and 52 Pims in 30 games and was the first defenseman chosen by the Hurricanes in the 2009 draft. This follows in the footsteps of Brennan Yadlowski (2006) and Ben Wright (2003) as the Canes first defenseman chosen in their Bantam draft year.

The Canes hope to have all six of these new Hurricanes in action this weekend as the Canes open their WHL exhibition season on the road with a pair of games in the Crowsnest Pass against the Calgary Hitmen and Kootenay Ice. All the action starts at 7:00 PM Saturday (September 5th) from the Crowsnest Sports Complex in Coleman (Crowsnest Pass), AB.

The Canes then line up against their rivals from the other side of the pass, the Kootenay Ice at 4:00 PM Sunday (September 6th) again from the Crowsnest Sports Complex in Coleman.

Tickets in Coleman are $12 per person, per game and are available at the door on game night or in advance from the following locations: Crowsnest/Coleman Sports Complex, Coleman HuskyCrocket's Trading in Bellevue, Blairmore Car Wash

Tickets are also available by email or phone through Crowsnest Minor Hockey! These tickets will be held and can be paid for at will-call in the arena until 15 minutes prior to game time. To email (preferred): crowsnestpassminorhockey@hotmail.com To order by phone: 1-403-563-0100

Information Courtesy of Ryan Ohashi, Hurricanes Director of Communications

Also, here is the list of players the Hurricanes have for the pre-season. These players are either still practicing with the club or will rejoin the Canes' during the exhibition season:

Goaltenders (3)
Michael Tadjdeh 91 Calgary, AB Hurricanes - WHL
Brandon Anderson 92 Langley, BC Columbia Valley - KIJHL
Ville Kolppanen 92 Tampere, Finland Ilves. Tampere

Defencemen (9)
Max Ross 90 Lethbridge, AB Hurricanes - WHL
Eric Mestery** 90 Winnipeg, MB Hurricanes - WHL
Brennan Yadlowski**91 Edmonton, AB Hurricanes - WHL
Derek Ryckman 92 Red Deer, AB Hurricanes - WHL
Cody Castro 92 Peoria, AZ Hurricanes - WHL
Drew Graham 93 Chilliwack, BC Bruins - BCAHA
Reid Jackson 93 Weyburn, SK Shattuck St Marys - US
Brandyn Hulit 93 Coutts, AB Hurricanes - SAML
Adam Henry 94 Winnipeg, MB AAA Winnipeg Hawks

Forwards (19)
Carter Bancks** 89 Marysville, BC Hurricanes - WHL
Kyle Beach** 90 Kelowna, BC Hurricanes - WHL
Brent Henke 90 Edmonton, AB Hurricanes - WHL
Craig Orfino 90 Edmonton, AB Hurricanes - WHL
Carter Ashton** 91 Saskatoon, SK Hurricanes - WHL
Cam Braes 91 Shawnigan Lake, BC Hurricanes - WHL
Taylor Elliot 91 Pincher Creek, AB AAA Titans - AMHL
Austin Fyten** 91 Sundre, AB Hurricanes - WHL
Brody Sutter 91 Calgary, AB Hurricanes - WHL
Garrett Taylor 91 San Diego, CA Hurricanes - WHL
Brandon Brossoit 92 Los Alamitos, CA Cali. Wave - US AAA
Ryon Moser 92 Calgary, AB AAA Buffs - AMHL
Mark Reners 92 Pincher Creek, AB AAA Titans - AMHL
Neil Tarnasky 92 Caroline, AB AAA Leduc - AMHL
Jordan Baillie 93 Ft.Sask. , AB Ft. SK Rangers - AMHL
Michael Sofillas 93 Morden, MB Pembina Hawks AAA
Philip Tot 93 Calgary, AB AAA Buffs - AMHL
Ryley Bennefield 94 Wetaskiwn, AB AAA Leduc - AMBHL Mitchell Guiel 94 Langley, BC Langley - BC Bantam Samuel McKechnie 94 Airdrie, AB Airdrie Xtreme - AMBHL

*Indicates Rookie
**Indicates Player may be attending Pro Camp


Thanks,
Pat