Friday 31 March 2017

TRADE TREE: The Roadmap of John Lammers to Jadon Joseph

If one thing's for certain, it's that WHL teams trade fifth-round bantam draft picks like they're Oprah giving away free cars on her show. And nowhere is that more prevalent than with this latest trade tree, which I think might classify as one of the longest I could find that involves the Lethbridge Hurricanes Hockey Club. It all starts in 2001, when the Hurricanes walked up to the podium to use their own third-round pick to select John Lammers. He spent more than three seasons with the Hurricanes, but was traded ahead of the 2005-2006 season to Everett Silvertips Hockey Club. And that set in motion a bunch of dominos that is still affecting the Hurricanes to this day. As I always say, buckle up kids because this one's a fun ride.

LISTEN: Episode #32 of Canes This Week That Hurricanes-Silvertips trade saw Lammers and a fourth-round pick in '06 sent to Everett for Curtis Billston, Keegan Bourelle and a fifth-round pick in '06. That fifth-rounder, 97th overall, was used by the Hurricanes to select Brennan Yadlowski. He, like Lammers, spent more than three seasons with the Hurricanes, before an interesting twist of fate, as he was essentially sent back to Everett for a couple of draft picks. One was a second-rounder in 2011, who the Hurricanes used to pick Carter Amson. The other was a fifth-rounder in 2012. The thing with the fifth-round in 2012 was that the Hurricanes seemingly had their pawprints all over that round. Their actual pick in that round was 94th overall, which was traded to The Regina Pats Official Page for Damien Ketlo. Who did Regina pick up? Austin Wagner, the LA Kings prospect who has had himself a heck of a run with the Pats. The Hurricanes also acquired the 103rd overall pick from The Official Vancouver Giants Page in the Mark Reners deal, which they used to select Kade Jensen. Back to that fifth-rounder picked up in the Yadlowski deal. The Hurricanes packaged that pick up in October 2011 with Reid Jackson to grab Nick Buonassisi from Prince George Cougars Hockey Club. The Cougars did keep that pick, and selected Ethan Waitzner. The key cog here becomes Buonassisi, who didn't spend a lot of time in Lethbridge before he was shipped off to Brandon Wheat Kings Hockey Club (WHL) for, yes, a fifth-round pick in 2014. That pick was the 98th overall selection. Lethbridge kept that pick and they finally got to see him in action this year, picking up 15 points in 68 games. Yes, that pick was Jadon Joseph.

Friday 10 March 2017

#HurricanesWatch - Nolan Jones

It could be interesting to see what happens in the Jones home in Moose Jaw if the hometown Warriors face the Lethbridge Hurricanes Hockey Club. 15-year-old Nolan grew up in Moose Jaw, plays for the hometown Generals in the Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League, but was drafted by the Hurricanes. He says if the two teams are to meet, he knows what will happen if he's sitting in the stands. "That'd be pretty cool to see," Jones said over the phone. "I'd most definitely be cheering for Lethbridge."



Jones is coming off a strong year with the Generals, picking up six goals and 14 assists in 41 games. But the playoffs didn't end the way he was hoping, as they were knocked out by the Tisdale Trojans in five games.
"When the team gets eliminated first round, you're kind of devastated about that because you can't get on the ice about that," he admitted. But he knows the work is only just beginning if he wants to make the Hurricanes next season.
Jones is pushing 6'1" now, and he's put on some weight, now listed at 170 pounds, compared with 150 pounds when he was drafted. At that time, GM Peter Anholt believed the youngster was a two-way player with a defensive undertone but good puck-moving and skating skills.
Jones will be focusing on those, but also his weaknesses, over the coming months. But he has a better idea of what to expect at the WHL level, after three games with the Hurricanes earlier in the year, and was taken aback by how welcoming everyone was.
"Honestly, I don't even know if I could single anyone out, all the guys, they're really welcoming to you to the team," Jones said, going on to say the defensemen did stick together. "All those guys really took me and made it a really comfortable experience for me."

Friday 3 March 2017

TRADE TREE: Luca Sbisa to Portland

In case you haven't noticed, when you break down a trade involving WHL bantam draft picks, it tends to have ramifications for years to come. And I've found another major deal made by the Lethbridge Hurricanes Hockey Club, which did exactly that. Only this time, it sent me down some crazy rabbit hole that is still kind of going. Back in 2010, the Hurricanes sent defenseman Luca Sbisa, a 1st round pick in the 2010 CHL Import Draft and a 5th round 2011 bantam pick to Portland Winterhawks for Daniel Johnston, Jacob Berglund and their first round import pick.

LISTEN: Episode #28 of Canes This Week Buckle up kids because the breakdown on this is something else. We all know what happened with Sbisa. The 1st round import pick the Winterhawks acquired became Sven Baertschi. He was pretty good for Portland as they went to the WHL championship both years he was there. The 5th round bantam pick turned into Michael Fortin, whose career fizzled out with the Swan Valley Stampeders. Johnston and Berglund finished out their WHL careers with the Hurricanes, which leaves us with that import pick. The Hurricanes ended up trading it to The Regina Pats Official Page for a 6th round bantam pick in 2012. The Pats went on to select Ricard Blidstrand, who spent a year and a little with the Pats before he was packaged up with a bunch of picks to Prince George Cougars Hockey Club for Martin Marincin and picks. I'll get back to that deal in a second. What did the Hurricanes do with that 6th rounder in '12? They selected goaltender Eric Szudor. He didn't see the light of day in the WHL. But he kicked off a run of three straight goalies in that round. Brandon took Logan Thompson, who is still there, while Kamloops grabbed Cole Kehler, who played a few games with the Blazers. So here's how that deal basically works out:
To Lethbridge Daniel Johnston ---> done after 2013 Jacob Berglund ---> done after 2011 1st Round Import Pick ---> Regina (who picks Ricard Blidstrand) for 6th Round Bantam in 2011 ---> Eric Szudor
To Portland Luca Sbisa ---> done after 2010 1st Round Import Pick ---> Sven Baertschi 5th Round Bantam Pick '11 ---> Michael Fortin Now, back to the Blidstrand-Marincin deal. Regina used their picks to select Brendan Kallis and Colton Kroeker, who obviously ended up in Lethbridge before too long. The other pick ended up getting traded to Calgary, who selected current backup goaltender Kyle Dumba. On the other side, Prince George picked up the 11th overall selection in 2012, which was flipped to Everett in a blockbuster, and the Silvertips picked Kevin Davis. The 2nd pick was actually a Tri-City pick, which the Cougars turned into Aaron Boyd. For those with long memories, this was actually a selection moved in the Carter Ashton deal between the Pats and Americans. READ MORE: Breaking Down the Ashton Blockbuster The last pick was a 5th rounder in 2013, which was originally a Kelowna Rockets pick. Regina had grabbed it in the Myles Bell deal, where they got Colton Jobke, a 2nd in '12 and a 5th in '13. That 2nd in '12 became Brady Reagan, who we've already linked to Ryan Pilon deal (go to the above link), which was linked to the Ashton deal. As for that 5th in '13, the Cougars turned that pick into Lane Zablocki, who ended being traded back to Regina in the massive Jesse Gabrielle deal. Essentially, here's how the Blidstrand to Portland deal shook down: To Portland Ricard Blidstrand 1st Round Bantam Pick '12 ---> sent to Everett in Kharia/Erricson blockbuster ---> Everett picks Kevin Davis 2nd Round Bantam Pick '12 (previously acquired by REG from TC in Carter Ashton blockbuster) ---> PG picks Aaron Boyd 5th Round Bantam Pick '13 (previously acquired by REG from KEL in Myles Bell blockbuster) ---> PC picks Lane Zablocki
To Regina Martin Marincin 4th Round Bantam Pick '12 ---> Brendan Kallis 7th Round Bantam Pick '12 ---> Colton Kroeker 4th Round Bantam Pick '13 ---> sent to Calgary in Dawson MacAuley deal ---> CGY picks Kyle Dumba So if you follow the chart, you can link the Luca Sbisa deal to Sven Baertschi, Ricard Blidstrand, Martin Marincin, Carter Ashton, Myles Bell, Ryan Pilon, Lane Zablocki, Colton Kroeker and Jesse Gabrielle, amongst a few. Six-degrees of separation, indeed.

Honouring the Overagers

The abrupt end of the 2019-2020 Western Hockey League season was undoubtedly needed, given the ever-evolving situation around the world wit...