Portland had a tough decision to make after the return of Jaydon Dureau from his amateur tryout with the Syracuse Crunch. With four overage players now on the roster, Portland had two weeks to whittle it to just three. With Dureau as the only forward on the roster, one of three defencemen looked to be on the chopping block. In the end, it was Kade Nolan who was on the trade hook, and he ended up with Lethbridge Hurricanes for a 4th Round Bantam pick in 2023. For Nolan, who has spent the past four years in Portland, he played 118 games, collecting 5 goals with 20 assists for 25 points and 59 penalty minutes in regular season play and 2 games with 2 assists in the playoffs.
Portland will play a pair of US teams this weekend and then return home with an unheard-of 11 game homestand starting on Tuesday when they take on Everett.
The WHL has had to readjust the schedule for the Spokane Chiefs as two of their players tested positive for COVID 19. The names of the players were not released. Adjustments included a pair of games scheduled for this weekend when Spokane was to visit Victoria. Dates have not been announced for the teams in make-up games. Spokane and Everett, who were to face off Wednesday, November 10 in a rescheduled game, have now moved that game to Friday, March 11, 2022, in Everett. Spokane has paused all team activities, including off-ice practice and off-ice training, pending further test results. The WHL will provide information once it becomes available.
Five WHL teams ranked in the KIA Top Ten CHL rankings, with four in the top 5. Winnipeg Ice, who stormed out to 11 wins in a row, snagged the number top spot with a record of 15-1 and were closely followed by Kamloops Blazers at number three. Kamloops Blazers have been dominant in the BC Division with an 11-2 record. The fifth spot went Everett capturing the spot with a record of 9-0-0-1. Having played the fewest number of games thus far, the Tips have started as they finished off last season, at the top. Edmonton Oil Kings took the sixth spot at 10-3-2-1 but were recently overtaken by the Red Deer Rebels, who may capture a ranking if they do well this weekend. Entering the rankings were Seattle Thunderbirds 9-2-1-0, who shocked the Tips with a 4-3 win recently. Three teams from Quebec make the poll, and two from Ontario round out the top ten.
Portland is currently out of the rankings at 5-7 0-1 and hanging onto a playoff spot as they rank seventh. The top eight conference teams will make the playoffs.
