Carter Ashton.

BY PATRICK KING
sportsnet.ca

The trade deadline may still be weeks away, but it didn't stop the Regina Pats from undergoing a roster makeover.

Size and skill was at the forefront in the retooling of the Pats with the acquisitions of Carter Ashton and Cass Mappin in separate deals with Lethbridge and Vancouver. Regina shipped out promising youth and draft picks for the two talented forwards in pursuit of a run at the title this season.

"We've felt all along that we weren't very far away," general manager Brent Parker said. "I don't think it changes anything from what we've been talking about all year, that we believe we're a good team and we felt that by adding a couple players to our lineup it would just give us a better opportunity to compete with some of the elite teams."

Regina sits in the bottom of the East Division standings with a record of 16-17-3-0, but admittedly isn't playing up to potential this season. Added to that is the fact they're playing in the league's toughest division, as all five other teams boast records with a winning percentage above .500.

Among the East Division combatants are the Memorial Cup host Brandon Wheat Kings and the Saskatoon Blades. Both teams were pegged as contenders prior to the season and haven't disappointed.

For Regina, the moves should help them better compete down the stretch with those teams.

"There's no question we have some of the elite teams in the country in our division," Parker said. "We've played pretty well against Brandon and Saskatoon, but we think now we're in a better position to match up with them."

Parker feels the trade should also benefit the Pats next season, where they were going to lose some top talent, most notably Canadian world junior players Jordan Eberle and Colten Teubert.

Trading Ashton added fuel to the fire that the Hurricanes could be in a rebuilding mode, after also shipping out Kyle Beach early this season.

As Hurricanes head coach and general manager, Rich Preston, says, moving Ashton had more to do with his possible departure next season. Ashton would be unable to play in the American Hockey League, but Preston believes he could play in the National Hockey League with the Tampa Bay Lightning, the team that drafted him in the first round.

"It was a move that we thought would bring us good return with the uncertainty with Carter being here next year," Preston said.

The key to the deal for the Hurricanes is prospect Taylor Balog. A second round pick by Regina last May, Balog projects as a power-forward with mobility and a scoring touch.

The trading of Ashton and Beach earlier in the season signals a rebuilding team, but as Preston says, the perception isn't entirely accurate. Many teams have inquired about the availability of Swiss defenceman Luca Sbisa. The 19-year-old played 47 games in the NHL for both Philadelphia and Anaheim the past two seasons, and will likely play in both the world juniors and Olympics.

"Those types of players you like to keep around your organization and be a good role model for your young defence," Preston said. "You have to think he's more valuable to your franchise to keep and lead the young players."

The Western Hockey League's trade deadline is Jan. 10.

SEA DOGS' STREAK SNAPPED

The Moncton Wildcats did something no other team had done in two months - beat the Saint John Sea Dogs.

Moncton snapped Saint John's 22-game winning-streak Sunday with a 7-3 win over their Atlantic Division rival. The Sea Dogs' streak is third best in Québec Major Junior Hockey League history, three wins shy of tying the record set by the 1973-74 Sorel Éperviers.

"It was a different feeling, definitely," head coach Gerard Gallant said of the loss. "We hadn't lost a game in two full months so we were getting pretty used to winning. Time was going to run out sooner or later."

The Sea Dogs simply had nothing left in the tank against the Wildcats, their third opponent in as many nights. Saint John's last previous loss was to P.E.I. on Oct. 13.

As much as the team hoped to top the league record, Gallant says the team's priority has always been to win the league championship.

"You don't really set your goals on records like that but any time you get a chance to get the record it would have been really nice," he said. "But to win 22 games in a row in any league you're playing in - it's a great accomplishment so I think the guys are going to take pride in that."

The Hull, now Gatineau, Olympiques are the only other team to have come close to tying Sorel's record. The 1995-96 Olympiques won 24 consecutive games, one win away from tying the Éperviers' mark.

Sorel went on to tie their next two games, giving them a then league record 27 game undefeated-streak. Sidney Crosby's 2004-05 Rimouski Océanic did one better, going without a loss in 28 games to close the season. Rimouski won the next seven playoff games, giving them a record of 35 games without a loss through the regular season and playoffs.

Saint John will have the opportunity to start a new streak beginning Thursday in the first game of a home-and-home with the Halifax Mooseheads.

QMJHL DRAFT SANCTIONS

The QMJHL announced an initiative to eliminate unlawful draft practices within the league.

The league will police the draft more closely after some teams have drafted players who originally said they had no intentions in playing in the QMJHL. Those same players withdrew from attending the Central Scouting Challenge, the Telus Top Prospects Presentation and the draft, but ended up playing in the league once drafted by the team they wished to play for.

Sources say the teams guilty of luring talent and slanting the draft in their favour are bigger market teams, particularly those in the Atlantic Division. Any team be found guilty of doing so will be fined up to $100,000 and forfeit all draft picks in the next two drafts.

SPITFIRES, PETES DISCIPLINE PLAYERS

The defending league and Memorial Cup champion Windsor Spitfires sent home veterans Dale Mitchell and Mark Cundari during the second intermission of Sunday's game against the Kitchener Rangers.

Citing their play and missing curfew, head coach Bob Boughner told the players to leave during the game. The players and team have mended the relationship after meeting on Monday, as both Mitchell and Cundari were on the ice at practice on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Peterborough Petes general manager Jeff Twohey suspended team captain, Zack Kassian, one game for missing curfew on Thursday.

COACHING CHANGE IN LEWISTON

The Lewiston MAINEiacs fired head coach and president Don MacAdam and assistant coach Jamie Dumont on Thursday. MacAdam was in his first full season behind the bench in Lewiston after taking over for Ed Harding midway through last season.

The announcement came on the heels of the team's 5-1 defeat to the defending league champion Drummondville Voltigeurs, their 14th loss in a row. The MAINEiacs are in last place in the Telus Central Division standings and hold the league's second-worst record, ahead of only Halifax.

Lewiston is hoping Jean-Francois Houle can revive the struggling franchise as the team's new head coach. Houle is the son of former Montreal Canadiens player and general manager, Réjean Houle. He was previously an assistant coach with Clarkson University in the NCAA.

Notes: Québec Remparts owner and head coach Patrick Roy became the franchises' leader in wins last week after passing Guy Chouinard. Roy has 196 career wins heading into the weekend … Owen Sound forward and top prospect for this summer's NHL draft, Joey Hishon, is set to return from a broken foot which has sidelined him since mid-October … The Portland Winterhawks pledged to collaborate with the National Basketball Association's Portland Trail Blazers to revitalize the Memorial Coliseum. Among the upgrades proposed will be a new state-of-the-art scoreboard … The Saginaw Spirit acquired 18-year-old defenceman Peter Hermenegildo from the Sudbury Wolves … The Kamloops Blazers traded Curtis Kulchar to Everett and Shayne Wiebe to Brandon … Red Deer acquired defenceman Brad Haber from the Seattle Thunderbirds.