While WHL teams were busy throwing around draft picks like candy leading up to the trade deadline, the Kootenay Ice remained relatively inactive, choosing to stick to the plan.
It may sound cliche, but Ice President and GM Matt Cockell, who took over ownership the team alongside Greg Fettes last spring, says there’s already been lots of changes to the roster with an eye on the present and the future.
“We have a plan and we got to work on that plan right away, so really, there wasn’t a lot that we were looking to get done,” said Cockell, “but — of course — if there’s a way to make our team better today, and also in the future, we’d look at it.
“But we’re happy keeping our group the way that it is.”
Kootenay wasn’t completely quiet leading up to the immediate deadline; the club dealt a fifth round draft pick to Seattle for 19-year-old netminder Matt Berlin and traded goaltender Bailey Brkin to Spokane, solidifying a goaltending tandem of Berlin and 17-year-old Duncan McGovern.
However, much of Kootenay’s wheeling and dealing occurred over the summer and into the early part of the season, as the club has made 19 transactions since May 2017.
“We had some specific age groups we were trying to build around and some specific players that we’d watched, not just this year, but over the years,” said Cockell, “whether it’s the bantam draft and beyond.
“While we’re new to the league, we certainly have a lot of experience with respect to player evaluation and getting opinions and worked hard at it and those were players that we think highly of.”
Cockell, along with Fettes, purchased the team from former owner Jeff Chynoweth, whose father, Ed, relocated the Kootenay Ice to Cranbrook from Edmonton in 1998. Chynoweth purchased the ownership stake of Rob and Scott Niedermayer in 2016 after trying to negotiate a deal to sell the franchise to a local group that would have included the two brothers.
A year later, Chynoweth and the WHL announced the sale of the club to Fettes and Cockell, the latter of whom assumed president and general management duties.
Cockell himself is a WHL alumni, a goaltender who played three seasons in the league was was drafted by the Vancouver Canucks in 1997. He also has served as goaltending coach for the Wheat Kings in the late 2000s and held the same position for the Canadian national women’s team at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games.
Before the start of the current season, the Ice had some tough years, missing the playoffs in consecutive campaigns that only saw 26 wins in 144 games.
It may seem like a daunting task to turn the ship around, but Cockell said it starts with a plan and staying disciplined to that plan.
“Part of that was an expectation that we’d be competitive,” he said. “It’s important to be in meaningful situations for a group to get better — to be up by a goal, to be behind by a goal, to battle back to fight through it, to play in some overtime games, so those are great experiences for our group.
“We’ve had a lot of those so far and we’ve handled some of them well and those have been great things we can draw from, and we’ve had to learn from others, so in the second half of the season, what you’re looking for is for the group to mature a little bit.
“Expectations will rise on our players. They’re not rookies anymore. We’re in the second half of the season and they’ve all had an opportunity to play and free to make mistakes and those expectations will rise and that’s all part of the development.”
Some big NHL-drafted names got moved at the WHL trade deadline; The Wheat Kings shipped D Kale Clague (LA Kings) to Moose Jaw, Prince George sent D Dennis Cholowski (Detriot Red Wings) to Portland and Lethbridge moved G Stuart Skinner (Edmonton Oilers) and friends to Swift Current.
Draft picks fell from the sky like manna from Heaven.
However, Kootenay’s biggest move went down months earlier when they traded captain Cale Fleury, a 3rd round pick of the Montreal Canadians, to the Regina Pats in exchange for Jonathan Smart, Cole Muir, a 2nd round draft pick, a 6th round draft pick, and a conditional pick.
“Cole Muir was a player that was a part of a real big deal for us that, at the time, we sought out and thought would be a real good fit in our ’01 group,” said Cockell, “and also Jonathan Smart, in terms of a player who brings a little bit of offence to our blue line and the way that we want to play in terms of fast, uptempo and having our D-men jump into the play.”
In December, the Ice also shipped Vince Loschiavo to the Moose Jaw Warriors for Jakin Smallwood and a conditional 3rd rounder in 2020.
Kootenay also gave up a 2nd and 3rd round pick to acquire Bradley Ginnell from the Portland Winterhawks.
“Bradley Ginnell was a player that we really liked in Portland, we thought this would be a great opportunity for him to play on a regular basis and develop and we think he’s got a really bright future and so there was a fit there,” continued Cockell.
Even though players have come and gone, Cockell says he doesn’t think all the transactions have significantly affected the psyche inside the dressing room.
“With Cale and with Vince, those were things that took a little bit longer and we were willing to be patient on, but for the most part, I think our group gets along, they’re a fantastic group, our coaching staff really enjoys the players that we have, so I don’t think it’s been a distraction,” he said.
“In fact, I think our group is pretty comfortable in their own shoes and excited to compete.”
