Hitmen Announce 2019-20 Opening Night Roster
September 20, 2019 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Calgary Hitmen News Release
Calgary, AB - The Calgary Hitmen Hockey Club today announced their 27-player opening night roster for the 2019-20 Western Hockey League regular season. The lineup of 16 forwards, eight defencemen and three goaltenders includes 17 returning players from the 2018-19 club.
The Hitmen will open their 25th anniversary season Saturday, September 21 in Swift Current against the Broncos.
ROSTER BREAKDOWN (27):
'99-born (3): Kastelic (C), Krebs (D), Malm (LW)
'00-born (9): Focht (C), J. Prokop (RW), Stankowski (G), Stotts (C), Toder (D), Viggars (D/LW), Wiesblatt (LW), Woo (D), Zamula (D)
'01-born (7): Carriere (C), Campbell (RW), Klassen (RW), McNaughton (G), Peterek* (RW), van de Leest (D), Zimmerman (LW)
'02-born (6): Fiddler-Schultz (C), Krajc* (RW), Kydd* (LW), Peters* (G), L. Prokop (D), Toth* (D)
'03-born (2): Funk* (LW), Tschigerl* (LW)
*Denotes rookie
All seven Hitmen who attended NHL Training Camps have returned to the team with the exception of Mark Kastelic who remains with the Ottawa Senators. Both James Malm and Cael Zimmerman will miss the season opener with injuries. Malm is week-to-week with a lower body injury while Zimmerman is out indefinitely after off-season hip surgery.
Following Saturday's season opener, Calgary returns to action next weekend for a trio of games beginning with the Home Opener on Friday, Sept. 27 against the Edmonton Oil Kings. Game time is 7:00 p.m. at Scotiabank Saddledome.
The Hitmen then head to Red Deer for a date with the Rebels on Saturday, Sept. 28 before returning to the 'Dome on Sunday, Sept. 29 against the Medicine Hat Tigers in a 4:00 p.m. puck drop. It's also Super Sunday Funday presented by Ricky's All Day Grill. Activities include a pre-game kid's festival on the west tarmac with inflatables, games, face painters, giveaways and a post-game family skate that is FREE with a game ticket. Sunday Funday features a specially priced $9.99 ticket for kids 12 and under and a $15.99 ticket for adults (plus applicable fees and taxes).
2019/20 CALGARY HITMEN REGULAR SEASON ROSTER
NO FORWARDS (16) POS SH HT WT HOMETOWN DOB 18-19 SEASON LEAGUE GP G A PTS PIM DRAFT
7 Klassen, Devan RW R 6'1.5" 210 Crooked Creek, AB May 17/01 Calgary Hitmen WHL 36 1 3 4 21 Eligible 2020
10 Prokop, Josh RW R 5'10.75" 183 Edmonton, AB Jan. 30/00 Calgary Hitmen WHL 65 9 19 28 21 Eligible 2020
11 Zimmerman, Cael C L 5'10.5" 182 Englefeld, SK Jan. 17/01 Calgary Hitmen WHL 60 7 19 26 28 Eligible 2020
12 Kastelic, Mark C R 6'3.5" 221 Phoenix, AZ Mar. 11/99 Calgary Hitmen WHL 66 47 30 77 122 OTT Rd. 5 '19
14 Malm, James LW L 5'9" 165 Langley, BC June 25/99 Giants/Hitmen WHL 64 34 43 77 26 Free Agent
15 Peterek, Jonas* RW R 6'2.25" 179 Havirov, Czech Republic Feb. 19/01 Frydek-Mistek CzeD 41 2 9 11 4 Eligible 2020
17 Campbell, Hunter RW R 6'1" 189 Everett, WA Jan. 27/01 Calgary Hitmen WHL 46 3 10 13 27 Eligible 2020
18 Stotts, Riley C L 6'0" 185 Winnipeg, MB Jan. 5/00 Calgary Hitmen WHL 62 19 38 57 54 TOR Rd. 3 '18
19 Focht, Carson C L 6'1" 176 Regina, SK Feb. 4/00 Calgary Hitmen WHL 68 26 38 64 68 VAN Rd. 5 '19
21 Fiddler-Schultz, Riley C L 5'11" 190 Fort Saskatchewan, AB May 13/02 Calgary Hitmen WHL 53 4 7 11 22 Eligible 2020
23 Kydd, Adam* LW L 5'11.5" 168 Regina, SK Apr. 19/02 Regina Pat Canadians SMHL 51 16 25 41 50 Eligible 2020
25 Funk, Zac* LW L 5'11" 194 Vernon, BC July 20/03 Fraser Valley Thunderbirds BCMML 38 34 24 58 58 Eligible 2021
26 Krajc, Samuel* RW R 6'1.75" 210 Martin, Slovakia Feb. 6/02 HK Dukla Trencin Slovakia U20 27 11 8 19 20 Eligible 2020
27 Carriere, Tye C R 6'1.5" 186 Red Deer, AB Mar. 21/01 Calgary Hitmen WHL 41 6 2 8 10 Eligible 2020
28 Wiesblatt, Orca LW R 5'10" 185 Calgary, AB June 2/00 Portage Terriers MJHL 16 6 9 15 42 Eligible 2020
29 Tschigerl, Sean* LW L 6'0" 179 Whitecourt, AB April 11/03 OHA Edmonton Midget Prep CSSHL 28 21 26 47 44 Eligible 2021
NO DEFENCE (8) POS SH HT WT HOMETOWN DOB 18-19 SEASON LEAGUE GP G A PTS PIM DRAFT
2 Krebs, Dakota D R 6'4.5" 213 Okotoks, AB Mar. 26/99 Calgary Hitmen WHL 61 4 21 25 86 Free Agent
3 Toth, Evan* D L 6'2" 190 Winnipeg, MB June 13/02 Winnipeg Wild Midget AAA MMHL 48 3 20 23 20 Eligible 2020
4 Toder, Layne D L 5'11.75" 188 Elkhorn, MB Jan. 2/00 Calgary Hitmen WHL 67 2 11 13 48 Eligible 2020
5 van de Leest, Jackson D L 6'7" 229 Kelowna, BC June 15/01 Calgary Hitmen WHL 67 1 20 21 75 Eligible 2020
6 Prokop, Luke D R 6'4.25" 219 Edmonton, AB May 6/02 Calgary Hitmen WHL 62 1 9 10 12 Eligible 2020
8 Viggars, Andrew D L 6'3" 202 Calgary, AB Jan. 3/00 West Kelowna Warriors BCHL 44 1 9 10 54 Eligible 2020
9 Zamula, Egor D L 6'4.5" 170 Chelyabinsk, Russia Mar. 30/00 Calgary Hitmen WHL 61 10 46 56 27 PHI-Signed FA
22 Woo, Jett D R 6'0" 189 Winnipeg, MB July 27/00 Moose Jaw Warriors WHL 62 12 54 66 70 VAN Rd. 2 '18
NO GOALTENDERS (3) POS CA HT WT HOMETOWN DOB 18-19 SEASON LEAGUE GP MP GAA SAV% SO DRAFT
1 Stankowski, Carl G L 5'10" 169 Laguna Hills, CA Mar. 9/00 Calgary Hitmen WHL 24 1,269 3.83 0.879 0 Eligible 2020
31 McNaughton, Jack G L 6'1" 180 Calgary, AB Oct. 30/01 Calgary Hitmen WHL 46 2,661 3.25 0.888 2 Eligible 2020
33 Peters, Brayden* G L 6'1.25" 201 Taber, AB May 22/02 Lethbridge Hurricanes AMHL 15 846 1.49 0.944 5 Eligible 2020
*Denotes rookie As of Sept. 20, 2019
HOCKEY OPERATIONS PRONUNCIATION GUIDE
Vice Chairman:Â Ken M. King #3Â Evan Toth: Tawth
President / CEO:Â John Bean #4Â Layne Toder: Toe-der
Vice President / Alternate Governor:Â Mike Moore #9Â Egor Zamula: Yay-gor zuh-MOO-lah
General Manager:Â Jeff Chynoweth #12Â Mark Kastelic: CAST-uh-lick
Director of Player Personnel:Â Dallas Thompson #15Â Jonas Peterek: PETTER-ick
Head Coach:Â Steve Hamilton #19Â Carson Focht: Foke
Assistant Coaches:Â Trent Cassan, Joel Otto #23Â Adam Kydd: Kidd
Assistant/Goaltending Coach:Â Jason LaBarbera #26Â Samuel Krajc: CRY-ch
Skill Development Coach:Â Wayne Dougherty #27Â Tye Carriere: Carry-er
Athletic Therapist:Â Nathan Hollinger #28Â Orca Wiesblatt: Wise-blatt
Equipment Manager:Â Darien Engelhardt #29Â Sean Tschigerl: SHUH-gal
Video Coaches:Â Troy Norcross, Cass Bruni General Manager Jeff Chynoweth: Shuh-nowth
Strength & Conditioning Coach:Â Sean Hope-Ross Assistant Coach Trent Cassan: Kuh-SAN
Education Advisor / Billet Coordinator:Â Bernie Bajnok
Western Hockey League Stories from September 20, 2019
- Barteaux Back from Dallas Stars Camp, Primed to Lead Young Rebels - Red Deer Rebels
- Johnny Ludvig Named Winterhawks Captain - Portland Winterhawks
- Ethan Regnier Named Broncos Captain - Swift Current Broncos
- Rockets ready to open season with a clean slate - Kelowna Rockets
- Oil Kings Announce Leadership Group for 2019-20 Season - Edmonton Oil Kings
- Hitmen Announce 2019-20 Opening Night Roster - Calgary Hitmen
- Team WHL Coaching Staff Announced for 2019 CIBC Canada Russia Series - WHL
- Winnipeg ICE Begin Inaugural Season against Provincial Rival Wheat Kings - Winnipeg Ice
- Cougars Sign Davin Griffin to a WHL Standard Player Agreement - Prince George Cougars
- WHL to Open 2019-20 Season this Evening - WHL
- Game 1 at Lethbridge - Medicine Hat Tigers
- 2019-2020 Season Preview - Moose Jaw Warriors
- Wheat Kings Host Provincial Rivals in Opener - Brandon Wheat Kings
- Game Preview: Blades Open 2019-20 in Prince Albert Tonight - Saskatoon Blades
- Game Day Preview: Pats Kick off the New Season at Home to Moose Jaw Friday - Regina Pats
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