This is posted on the Vipers website:
Vipers Add Caller From WHL’s Blazers
September 18, 2019
Vernon, BC: The Vernon Vipers are please to announce the addition of Jackson Caller.
The 20 year old Kamloops product spent last year split with his home town team and the Saskatoon Blades. In 65 games played he registered 3 goals and 3 assists.
“He’s a veteran player who really looks after his own zone. He skates well for a player of his size and can add a physical element to his game,” says Head Coach and GM of the Vipers Jason McKee.
Caller has 210 WHL games under his belt which will add to the veteran presence already in the dressing room.
Jackson will make his Vipers debut this Friday for the home opener as the Vipers take on the Victoria Grizzlies.
Jackson Caller's Player Profile:
I found these next articles/videos online,
This is posted on Kelownanow.com
Blazers release Kamloops product
Sports posted Sep 18, 2019 by John Luke Kieper
The Kamloops Blazers were making moves on Wednesday and that included cutting ties with a homegrown skater.
Kamloops-native Jackson Caller was released by the club this afternoon. The 20-year-old defenseman is expected to join the Vernon Vipers of the BCHL.
Caller was originally acquired from the Saskatoon Blades last season. In 210 WHL games, Caller scored six goals to go along with 31 points. Caller appeared in 45 games for the Blazers last season where he scored once and assisted on three goals.
“It is always tough to have to release a veteran player, but with the emergence of Baragano, Brandwood, and Thurston, we feel this move had to be made to maximize their development while also allowing Jackson the opportunity to play regularly with another team,” said General Manager, Matt Bardsley. “Jackson is a high quality person and a tremendous teammate. We thank him for his time with us in Kamloops and wish him all the best going forward.”
The Blazers roster is now at 24 players including 15 forwards, seven defensemen and two goaltenders.
This was posted on youtube
Quinton Waitzner vs Jackson Caller from the Swift Current Broncos at Saskatoon Blades game on Sep 22, 2018.
Jermaine Loewen vs Jackson Caller from the Kamloops Blazers at Saskatoon Blades game on Dec 9, 2017.
Nolan Yaremko vs Jackson Caller from the Tri-City Americans at Kamloops Blazers game on Feb 18, 2019.
Jackson Caller joins Saskatoon Blades
Feb 28, 2018
This was posted on Kamloopsthisweek.com
Caller to make debut for hometown Kamloops Blazers
Marty Hastings / Kamloops This Week
November 29, 2018
Jackson Caller’s winding hockey path has brought him back to where it all started.
The 19-year-old Kamloops product, a 6-foot-2, 189-pound defenceman, was traded to his hometown Blazers from the Saskatoon Blades earlier this week.
“I see it as a good opportunity for myself,” Caller said. “I’ve got to work for every minute and make the most of every shift and get better every day.”
The Blazers received Caller and second- and third-round picks in the 2020 WHL Bantam Draft in exchange for 19-year-old defenceman Nolan Kneen.
Caller is a Kamloops Minor Hockey Association product, but was drafted by the Portland Winterhawks in 2014 and spent his 15-year-old season with Pursuit of Excellence, playing for the Kelowna academy’s midget prep team in 2014-2015.
He also played three games for the junior A Merritt Centennials that season.
Caller broke his arm early in the pre-season before the 2015-2016 campaign.
When healthy, he enjoyed success during his 16-year-old campaign with the Revelstoke Grizzlies in the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League and made his WHL debut for Portland against Kamloops on Dec. 4, 2015.
The left-shot rearguard played eight games for the Winterhawks that season, his last contests for Portland as he was traded to the Blades in time for 2016-2017.
He recorded four assists in 67 games for the Blades in his 17-year-old season.
Caller made strides in 2017-2018, when he racked up 26 points, including three goals, in 70 games.
“Everything was clicking right from the start,” he said. “My 18-year-old year, I had a tonne of confidence going that season. That was a really good year.”
This season has not started as well, with Caller posting two points, both goals, in 20 games, to go along with a plus-1 rating.
“It was a slow start for me this year,” he said. “Not the points I like to put up. I’ve just got to keep moving forward and getting better every day.”
Blazers’ general manager Matt Bardsley was Portland’s assistant GM when the Winterhawks selected Caller in the seventh round of the 2014 draft.
“This year, he’s certainly had a different start, but maybe with a new opportunity I believe he can get back to where I believe he can get to,” Bardsley said.
Part of Caller’s dip in production can be attributed to the Blades’ acquisition of Dawson Davidson, a 20-year-old rearguard and former Kamloops Blazer who has excelled since joining Saskatoon in January.
Davidson was eating into Caller’s minutes and power-play time.
The Caller cheering section will be willing him to a fast start with his new team on Friday, when the Blazers and Blades square off at Sandman Centre.
Game time is 7 p.m.
“It feels good to be back home,” Caller said.
This was posted on Kamloopsthisweek.com
Breaking down the Kamloops Blazers' blue line
Marty Hastings / Kamloops This Week
September 4, 2019
Most folks will agree the Kamloops Blazers are entering a winning window.
How far they push this WHL season might depend greatly on their defence corps, which is seen by some to lack depth in comparison to the forward and goaltender groups.
Quinn Schmiemann, an 18-year-old left shot from Wilcox, Sask., was drafted by the Tampa Bay Lightning this summer after a breakout 17-year-old campaign, in which he improved throughout the season and peaked in the playoffs.
He is welcoming the spotlight that comes with his drafted status.
“I don’t know if it’s a different approach,” Schmiemann said. “I think it’s more responsibility to handle. But I think I can handle it.
“We’ve got a good team this year. As long as I work hard at the rink and do what I’m supposed to do, everything will fall into place.”
Montana Onyebuchi, 19, was named the Blazers’ top defenceman of 2018-2019, thanks in part to a dominant second half, and was a standout at the Calgary Flames’ development camp in July.
The undrafted right shot from Dugald, Man., is among the most intimidating players in the league — he doesn’t have to fight anymore. And he can play.
Onyebuchi and Schmiemann are at NHL camps, the former with the Flames, the latter with the Bolts, but are expected to return to Kamloops prior to the regular-season opener on Sept. 20, when Spokane comes to town.
Luke Zazula, 19, was under the microscope last season after his 17-year-old campaign, in 2017-2018, did not live up to expectations established following his impressive 16-year-old year.
Blazers’ brass saw 2018-2019 as a bounce-back season for Zazula and have him pencilled in with Schmiemann and Onyebuchi as the squad’s top-tier defencemen.
Sean Strange, 19, established himself as a dependable rearguard in the second half of 2018-2019, a quality penalty killer who will push for more ice time in 2019-2020.
Inaki Baragano, an 18-year-old right shot from Lausanne, Switzerland, might turn out to be a key acquisition, selected this summer in the CHL Import Draft.
“He’s a really good skater, makes smart plays and is not afraid to jump up in the play,” Schmiemann said. “I saw him moving the puck pretty well, too.”
How Baragano progresses and adapts to the North American game remains to be seen, but early signs point to him being a solid addition, one who would go a long way in answering depth questions.
Jackson Caller, a 20-year-old left shot from Kamloops, is a steady hand and a local player, which bodes well for him.
But the Blazers’ overage situation is not solidified and Caller, named the team’s unsung hero for 2018-2019, is among those who may feel unsettled, along with 20-year-old forwards Alec Zawatsky and Kobe Mohr.
Jostling for the one or two available roster spots for newcomers on the back end are Trevor Thurston, 17, and 16-year-olds Ethan Brandwood and Logan Bairos.
Each approach the game differently, said Blazers' associate coach Darryl Sydor, a former NHL defenceman.
"Thurston, I'm trying to figure him out, not in a bad way, what his game is," Sydor said. "He moves good enough. He's got good size. He moves the puck well. He gets underneath the other team’s skin.
"Brandwood is a little bit offensive-minded, a puck-moving guy. All of the players we are talking about, their feet are good and the puck movement [is good], as well.
"Bairos is a little bit more, and I don't want to say free-will, but it doesn't seem like he has fear in his game. He's willing to try things, willing to be patient with the puck, and there are some times when he's going to learn that maybe I should have moved the puck instead, but he has some good offence, good vision and he’s showing a lot of patience at a young age."
None of them want to go home.
“I’m trying to get into the lineup, of course,” said Thurston, a 6-foot-2, 176-pound left shot from Delta. “You battle every practice, every game that I’m in to try and make the team. It would be a dream to play here this year.”
Pre-season performance will be key to GM Matt Bardsley’s decision.
The Blazers will play three games in three days this weekend in Langley — against Prince George on Friday, Victoria on Saturday and Vancouver on Sunday.
This was posted on the CFJC website:
BLAZERS ROSTER MOVES
Blazers release Zawatsky, settle on their three overage players
Sep 11, 2019
KAMLOOPS — The Blazers have decided on who their three 20-year-olds will be going into the new season.
The team released overage forward Alec Zawatsky on Wednesday (Sept. 11), keeping forwards Zane Franklin and Kobe Mohr, as well as defenseman Jackson Caller.
“We gave [Alec] an opportunity. We thought we’d bring in some competition, which it did,” said Blazers GM Matt Bardsley. “Looking at our group, currently with our 20-year-olds and also with our younger players, we’re comfortable with what we currently have.”
Zawatsky was picked up by Kamloops on waivers after his release from Moose Jaw. He split last season between the Warriors and Swift Current Broncos.
In three preseason games with the Blazers, Zawatsky scored twice with both goals coming in a 9-1 win over Victoria.
“I think he came in and performed well, but we just feel right now that there were guys that were ahead of him,” noted Bardsley.
Bardsley says the decision didn’t have anything to do with keeping three overage forwards. He’s also wanting to give Zawatsky time to stick with another team.
1 comment:
I like the sounds of Jackson Caller. He's not a local kid, but Kamloops isn't all that far away. Playing parts of four years in the Western Hockey League with three different teams, Caller will bring size, grit, experience and leadership. Caller played three games with the Merritt Centennials during the 2014-15 season.
With the addition of Caller this puts the Vipers with five 20 yr olds, with room for one more. Vernon now has eight defencemen. Nicholas Kent has yet to play a regular season game with the Snakes, maybe this has something to do with brining in Caller? I can't see the Vipers/Jason McKee keeping 8 d-men. Which defenceman will be on his way out? If the Vipers do move a defenceman, this will drop there roster back down to 22 players, meaning they can add/bring in a forward to get to the league limit 23 man roster.
Will we see anymore roster moves before this weekend's home opener?
The Vipers didn't seem to have a lot of luck keeping cuts from the Western Hockey League last year, let's hope Caller sticks around this year.
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