The Western Hockey League’s trade deadline is still a couple of months away but the Calgary Hitmen, who have lost six of their last eight contests, decided not to wait that long to shake things up.
Calgary sent 19-year-old forward Chase Lang and 19-year-old defenceman Ben Thomas to the Vancouver Giants in exchange for 20-year-old forward Jackson Houck, 18-year-old goalie Cody Porter and 18-year-old forward Jakob Stukel. The Hitmen will also receive a conditional third-round pick in the 2017 bantam draft.
The Hitmen weren’t done, however, and would also trade centre Terrel Draude to Saskatoon for a fifth-round draft pick.
With the addition of Houck the Hitmen had one too many over-agers and waived Elliot Peterson to get under the limit. They now have four goalies on their roster as well, so look for either rookie Laase Petersen or Kyle Dumba to be reassigned in the near future. Goaltender Brendan Burke, 20, is currently injured and would be the presumed starter when healthy.
When the smoke cleared the Hitmen got younger overall by picking up Porter and Stukel. They also picked up a scoring 20-year-old who can only help them this year and opened up a forward spot.
On the surface it would seem that by getting younger the Hitmen are looking to the future, but you have to wonder what effect Jake Virtanen has on these moves. The big winger is in Vancouver with the Canucks but there has been a lot of speculation as to whether or not he will stick in the NHL this year.
Virtanen has played in five games for Vancouver and has yet to register a point. He can appear in four more games before the first year of his entry-level contract kicks in.
Are the Hitmen trying to hedge their bets with these moves?
If Virtanen is returned, they will have picked up another scorer in Houck, which would make them considerably stronger up front and could help get them back in the race to win the Eastern Conference. If he stays in Vancouver then the Hitmen have set themselves up with two younger pieces for the future, along with Houck, who will help them stay competitive and in a playoff hunt this year.
The Hitmen might know Virtanen’s fate soon as there are indications the Canucks will make a decision in the next few days.
Will Calgary stay in the conference race? What will the Red Deer Rebels’ response be? Tuesday’s trades will make for an interesting couple of months as the trade deadline nears.
