Schmaltz Bros. United, Two Sioux Hall of Famers, Frattin Back With Leafs, Etc.

• Sioux recruit Jordan Schmaltz was involved in a blockbuster USHL trade yesterday, as Sioux City sent the All-USHL defenseman to the Green Bay Gamblers. Green Bay also added Jordan's younger brother Nick to their roster. Nick, who is also a Sioux recruit, most recently played for the Chicago Midget Minor (Under-16) team and is widely considered to be one of the top 1996 birth-year forwards in the US. Because the trade involved such a highly-coveted NHL prospect, it has garnered a sizable amount of media attention. Here's a selection of some of the trade's coverage: Chris Peters at United States of Hockey, Ryan Clark at Slightly Chilled, The Sioux City Journal, and Kevin Allen at The USA Today. 
• Jordan is currently participating in the World Junior A Challenge (Langley, BC, Canada) with fellow Sioux recruit Zane Gothberg. Team USA opened regulation play last night, dropping a 1-0 heartbreaker that saw Sweden score with just six seconds remaining in regulation. Gothberg got the start and stopped 23 of the 24 shots he faced, but Swedish goaltender Oscar Dansk did him one better by stopping 44 of 44. Team USA returns to action Wednesday night at 9:30 PM CST, when they will face Canada West.
• Yesterday the Minnesota Hockey Coaches Association announced that former Sioux player and current Associate Head Coach Cary Eades will be inducted into the MHCA Hall of Fame. Eades coached Warroad High School to three Minnesota Class A titles in his eleven seasons as head coach. The induction ceremony will take place in March, in conjunction with the Minnesota state high school hockey tournament.
• It was announced this past summer that former Sioux goaltender Ed Belfour would be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. That ceremony takes place next Monday, November 14th at 6:30 PM CST. It will be aired live on The NHL Network.
• Toronto Maple Leaf centerman Tim Connolly suffered another injury over the weekend, and Matt Frattin received the call to fill his roster spot. The call-up led to Frattin narrowly missing out on the earthquake and severe weather that his teammates endured in Oklahoma City. Frattin played three games with the Maple Leafs' AHL affiliate, the Toronto Marlies, recording three points (2G, 1A).
• Drew Stafford recently gave a postgame interview while wearing a golden helmet. The story behind the shiny lid is an interesting one, and here is the interview with the golden dome:

• After a string of healthy scratches, defenseman Brian Lee has now played in the Ottawa Senators' last two games. The blog SenShot recently asked Sens GM Bryan Murray if Lee's recent playing time was meant to serve as a showcase for a potential trade, and Murray answered no. SenShot earlier raised the question of what should be done with Lee if he continues to be a healthy scratch, while The Hockey Writers feel that keeping Lee in Ottawa has been one of the positives through the Sens' recent rebuilding efforts.
• While it's obviously too early to nail an exact date for Travis Zajac's return to action, New Jersey Devils' head coach Pete DeBoer has a rough time-frame in mind, and he expects his top centerman to be back by Christmas.
• Due to some injuries upfront, Mike Commodore spent some time skating as a winger at Red Wings' practice yesterday. As always, Commodore provided some worthwhile quotes (the Commodore info is toward the bottom of the article).