Brian Liesse
Central Division, Draft Geek, Insight, U.S. Division, USA Hockey

Daily Dose of the Dub: Blades add McKay; Chiefs bring in Michael King

Written by Brandon Rivers on

Blades trade with the Chiefs

The Saskatoon Blades announced today that they had acquired 1999-born forward Riley McKay from the Spokane Chiefs for a fourth round bantam pick in 2019 and a seventh round selection in 2020.

McKay, who is listed as 5-foot-11 and 215 pounds is no stranger to the rough stuff as he piled up 123 penalty minutes in 2016-17 and 152 last year. McKay also scored seven goals and added 15 assists for 22 points in 113 games over the two seasons. McKay played a depth role for the Chiefs, mostly on the team’s fourth line.

McKay joins a strong group of 1999-born forwards with the Blades and should give them a gritty winger to protect some of their smaller players. McKay weighs in at more than any forward they had on the roster a year ago.

Chiefs get regal

At around the same time as they were dealing McKay, the Chiefs were bringing in 2000-born forward Michael King from the Kootenay ICE. King was a former seventh round pick by the ICE back in 2015 and he played two seasons for them. King notched nine points in 66 game sin 2016-17 and had 15 points a season ago.

As outlined in the press release, one of the reasons the Chiefs brought in King was for his ability to play center. With only Jaret Anderson-Dolan and Eli Zummack experienced at the center position in the WHL, Spokane was looking at the possibility of having to put a 16-year-old in Jack Finley in a third-line center role. The addition of King gives them the ability to ease Finley into the WHL a little slower.

Spokane traded a conditional fifth round pick in 2020 for the rights to King.

This is the second trade they have made with Kootenay this summer as they brought in defenseman Bobby Russell from there last month.

More Spokane news

The Chiefs also announced that they had signed their CHL Import pick, defenseman Yegor Arbuzov. Spokane drafted him with the 50th pick in the CHL Import draft. Arbuzov is a 2001-born Russian who played in the Russian U17 and U18 leagues last year and is eligible for the 2019 NHL draft. He won the U16 title in 2016-17. Arbuzov is six-foot and 187 pounds. He gives them their second 2001-born blue liner as Tyson Feist is the same age.

With the release of forward Milos Fafrak, Spokane had the ability to make an import selection and used that to bring there second import d-man in to go along with Filip Kral.

This is what I have the updated Spokane Chiefs depth chart as looking like:

LW Center RW
Riley Woods (98)^ Jaret Anderson-Dolan (99) Ethan McIndoe (99)
Luke Toporowski (01) Eli Zummack (99) Jake McGrew (99)
Sean Gulka (00) Michael King (00) Cedric Chenier (00)
Jeff Faith (98)^ Jack Finley (02) Carter Chorney (01)
Adam Beckman (01) Cordel Larson (01)

 

Left Defense Right Defense
Ty Smith (00) Nolan Reid (98)^
Filip Kral (99)# Matt Leduc (00)
Dalton Hamaliuk (98)^ Luke Gallagher (00)
Yegor Arbuzov (01)#* Bobby Russell (00)
Tyson Feist (01)

 

Goalie
Dawson Weatherill (99)
Bailey Brkin (99)
Donovan Buskey (00)
Campbell Arnold (02)

^=overage player

#=import player

*=has not played a regular season or playoff game in the WHL.

Regina signs both imports

The Regina Pats signed both of the imports they drafted this year on the same day. One was Russian forward Sergei Alkhimov who was taken with the 47th overall pick in the CHL Import Draft. He played last seasons with the Colorado Evolution U16 team after playing in 2016-17 with Russia’s U16, U17 and U18 teams.

The six-foot-one, 194 pound forward piled up 23 points in 13 games last year for the Evolution.

The Pats also signed Russian defenseman Nikita Sedov, who they took with the 107th pick in the draft. Sedov also played with the Colorado Evolution U16 team last year and played for their U15 team the season before. Sedov had three goals and eight assists with Colorado last year.

Both Alkhimov and Sedov are attempting to make Russia’s U18 team for the Hlinka Gretzky Cup that takes place in August.

 

Oil Kings ink Alistrov

Edmonton also got into the signing frenzy when they officially brought in Vladimir Alistrov, a forward from Belarus that they took with the second overall pick in the CHL Import Draft. The 2001-born Alistrov played for Belarus’ U17 and U18 teams last year, piling up 70 points in 50 games.

He played for his country at the U18 World Junior Championships and was named a top-three player on the team.

The Oil Kings have gone to Belarus three straight times now in the draft after taking forward Artyom Baltruk in 2016 and forward Andrei Pavlenko in 2017.

Americans sign Greenway

Tri-City inked a 2018 WHL Bantam Draft pick in forward Tyson Greenway on Wednesday. The 2003-born native of St. Albert, Alberta scored 47 points in 34 games last year for the St Albert Sabres Bantam AAA team.

The six-foot, 161 pound Greenway was taken in the fourth round of the Bantam Draft. He is the fourth player from that draft to be signed by Tri-City after Marc Lajoie and Matt Dorsey previously signed. Their top-three picks have now been signed.

Dmitri Zaitsev signs with KHL team

Metallurg Magnitogorsk of the KHL announced that they had signed Moose Jaw Warriors 1998-born import defenseman Dmitri Zaitsev. Using Google Translate I was able to deem that this appears to be equivalent to the professional try-out contracts that NHL teams sometimes sign players to. He is a 2017 NHL-draft pick of the Washington Capitals but has not signed with them. Moose Jaw selected drafted him 34th overall in the 2016 CHL Import Draft.

As an overage, Zaitsev would have taken up two spots this year, so it was unlikely he would be back anyways. The Warriors made two selections in the 2018 draft anticipating not having Zaitsev and Oleg Sosunov who is also 20 and is signed by Tampa Bay.

Hanas continues strong play at Select 16 camp

Portland Winterhawks 2002-born center Cross Hanas has had quite the Select 16 Development Camp with USA Hockey. He finished strong in the main camp with two assists in Team Red’s 3-1 victory over Team Black on Wednesday and then added another assist in their 2-1 loss to Team Forest today. In five games at the camp, which is used to select a roster for the U-17 Five Nations Tournament in Piestany, Slovakia in August, Hanas had two goals and eight assists for 10 points. This made him the overall scoring leader at the camp.

The last game on camp is Friday and it will be between two different all star teams picks from the 180 players. Hanas seems destined to make one of these rosters.

Swift Current sees more moves among it’s personnel

Other links and notes:

-Former Winterhawks and Wheat Kings goalie Corbin Boes signed a deal in the ECHL.

-Matthew Phillips is trying to build off a strong development camp with the Flames.

-Ian Henry brings us another episode of Top Shelf with Russ Farwell. This time they talked about seventh round WHL Bantam Draft pick Noah Barlage.

-Swift Current Broncos Head Coach and General Manager Dean Brockman looked back on some great advice.