Wednesday Quick Hits

There was a lot of little newsworthy notes put out today by various media outlets, so it's time to do a little compiling of all these stories. It's not just going to be NHL coverage today as there are stories from the WHL, some U SPORTS news, and more. On days where there is a lot of small news stories being generated, I usually pick one and expand on it if you've been following this blog for any length of time. Normally, there's something I feel needs more in-depth examination, but today's multiple quick hits really are just information hits that require neither explanation nor examination. With that being said, let's get into it.

• JETS JERSEY NUMBERS: Newly-signed free agent defenceman Anthony Bitetto will wear #2.
• JETS JERSEY NUMBERS: Newly-signed free agent forward Mark Letestu will wear #22.
• JETS JERSEY NUMBERS: I've never seen anyone with one of his jerseys, but defenceman Dmitry Kulikov will swap his #5 for #7 this season.
• JETS JERSEY NUMBERS: Sami Niku, who wore #83 with the Jets, opts to go with #8 this season with the big club just as he wore with the Manitoba Moose last season. Of course, Jacob Trouba of the NY Rangers wore #8 last season with the Jets.
• PAPERLESS: The University of Alberta announces today that all Golden Bears and Pandas game tickets will be completely digital through an agreement with Ticketmaster. The agreement will also provide key metrics for the institution when it comes to ticket sales. This partnership is the first of its kind for a Canadian university.
• 
  EMOJI ME: As you can see to the right, there was some quiet celebration at Bisons Sports at the University of Manitoba as their social media team discovered that a Bison emoji is included in the new emoji proposals for Unicode 13.0. If you're really interested, you're welcome to read the entire proposal for the Bison's inclusion in the emojis.
• SWISS TIME: Former Oiler, Canuck, and Bruin Ryan Spooner has decided to head over to the Swiss League to continue his career as he signed with HC Lugano. Spooner appears to be the replacement for Lugano regarding the recently-departed Maxim Lapierre from the club.
• OFF TO CHINA: David Bondra, son of former Capitals great Peter Bondra, agreed to a tryout contract with the KHL's Kunlun Red Star. The junior Bondra played with Poprad in the Slovak Extraliga last season after a rather non-descript four years with Michigan State in the NCAA.
• LANDING IN PHILLY: The Philadelphia Flyers announced that former NHL player Chris Stewart, who played with the EIHL's Nottingham Panthers, will come to camp on a tryout agreement as well. Stewart last played in the NHL in 2017-18 with both Minnesota and Calgary, amassing ten goals and six assists in 54 games. He has 321 points in 652 career NHL games.
• INTO THE NEST: The AHL's Bakersfield Condors announced a one-year contract today for former Winnipeg Jet Anthony Peluso. Peluso, signed by the Flames last season, appeared in just four games with the NHL club and spent 35 games with the Stockton Heat where he scored three goals and added five helpers. The 30 year-old has played in just six NHL games since 2015-16, and it appears he'll be a full-time Condor this season after putting his signature on this contract.
• NEW SCREENS: The Brandon Wheat Kings announced that the Keystone Center will be getting a brand-new video scoreboard in time for next season. Their current scoreboard was installed in 2010 prior to the Memorial Cup, but this new one will have 9'x16.5' video boards on all four sides along with a free floating LED video ring. The scoreboard will be able to be retracted into the rafters easier to allow for additional shows to call the Keystone Center home this year and in future years. Looks like both Manitoba-based WHL teams will have new scoreboards above their rinks!
• MIC'D UP: KHL referees will follow the same protocol as NHL referees next season as they'll be required to announce their decisions via microphone over the public address system. No word yet on which Russian official will play the role of Wes McCauley in the KHL.
• SOCIAL MEDIA BAN: KHL officials will also be banned from using social media next season. While there weren't any incidents this season that I can recall, I suspect this may have to do with officials moving into a higher-profile role within the game next season.

There are all the quick hits from the last couple of days that really are just small snippets of information as opposed to bigger stories.