Candice Ward/Calgary Hitmen

Hitmen release Reagan

Someone was going to be the odd man out eventually.

When the Calgary Hitmen broke training camp in late August, there were two main questions circling the team like a tornado: the goaltending depth and the 20-year-old situation.

The Hitmen opened camp with four 20-year-old players; Matteo Gennaro, Jakob Stukel, Nick Schneider and Brady Reagan.

None of the four players competing for the three over-ager spots were original Hitmen draft picks.

Gennaro led the Hitmen in scoring last year in his first full season with the club. He was acquired via trade with the Prince Albert Raiders during the 2015-16 season. With Gennero, the Hitmen also received then 16-year-old defenceman Ty Prefontaine and a sixth-round selection in the 2016 draft, in exchange for Layne Bensmiller and Loch Morrison.

Last November, the Hitmen beefed up their defensive core by sending a fourth-round pick in the 2017 WHL draft to the Lethbridge Hurricanes for the right-handed blue liner Reagan.

In a stretch that saw the Hitmen lose five-of-seven games, the Hitmen made a move, sending a pair of 19-year-olds to the Vancouver Giants for Jackson Houck, Cody Porter and Jakob Stukel back on Oct. 27, 2015.

Goaltender Schneider was a listed player that debuted with the Regina Pats as a 16-year-old. That same season, he was traded to the Medicine Hat Tigers in exchange for 19-year-old forward Logan McVeigh and 18-year-old goaltender Daniel Wapple.

Three seasons later, Schneider was dealt again, from the Tigers to the Hitmen for a fourth-round pick in the 2019 Bantam Draft.

“We tried not to talk about it too much,” said Gennaro when asked about if there was any awkwardness in a dressing room with four over-agers. “We are all in the same boat, so it can be stressful at times, it was always in the back of your mind.”

Impacting the Hitmen’s decision was the trickle down effect from the NHL.

Stukel (Vancouver Canucks), Gennaro (Ottawa Senators) and Schneider (Calgary Flames) each attended NHL training camps earlier this fall, leaving Reagan as the lone veteran with the WHL club.

Stukel and Schneider participated in the Young Stars tourney in Penticton, B.C. Despite their best efforts, all three hopefuls returned to Hitmen camp. Schneider is the only one currently with an NHL contract.

From the outside, it was relatively safe to assume the Schneider’s spot on the roster was safe. It wouldn’t seem logical to trade for an over-age goaltender and not play him, effectively leaving two open spots.

If Gennaro was to return from Sens’ camp, it would be also be safe to say that the leading scorer from a team that finished fourth-last in goals for last season had a spot with the Hitmen.

That left Stukel and Reagan to compete for the last roster spot leading up to the Oct. 10 deadline.

Stukel’s biggest weapon is his speed: he accelerates like a Porsche up the ice. In his first season with the Hitmen before the Canucks selected him in the sixth round, he led the league with 18 power play goals, exactly half of his goal production. He also finished tied for second in the WHL with eight game-winners.

Last season was a bit of a set back for Stukel, from a plus-2 rating, he plummeted to a minus-13, as his power play goals shrunk down to eight.

Reagan entered this season with 234 career games with three different clubs, the Pats, Hurricanes and Hitmen.

Reagan netted a career-high seven goals last season, ending with 27 points, but wound up with a minus-18 rating.

He brought a certain level of experience into this season, having played in nine post-season games with the Hurricanes and Hitmen. He earned two assists in the four-game sweep by the hands of the Pats last season, but again, finished with a minus-5.

With the over-age deadline looming after the Canadian Thanksgiving long weekend, the Hitmen made up their mind.

On Oct. 2, the Hitmen placed the High River Reagan native on waivers.

“It’s never easy,” said Hitmen General Manager Jeff Chynoweth. “For a player like Brady, who is in his fifth year in the league and a proven vet, it was tough to let him go — it’s tough to let any player go. Unfortunately, we can only keep three 20-year-olds. We will not be the only team making tough decisions on their 20-year-olds.”

Reagan was placed on waivers eight days before the Oct. 10 deadline. A move made with a purpose, according to Chynoweth.

“We wanted to be fair to Brady. He’s played in this league a long time, he’s earned the right and it wouldn’t be fair to him and it wouldn’t be fair to our team to have him hang around, keep him waiting and keep that elephant in the room,” said Chynoweth.

It came as a bit of a surprise that there wasn’t a market in the trade winds for a serviceable defenceman. It recently cost the Hitmen a future draft pick for 19-year-old defenceman Ryely McKinstry, who brings along with an injury-riddled past.

“We always look to see if there is an option to move him. Unfortunately, there is an abundance of 1997 players and a lot of teams are waiting for the Oct. 10 deadline and the waiver instead of paying the price in a trade ahead of time,” said Chynoweth.

In the week leading up to the Hitmen’s decision, they acquired McKinstry from the Vancouver Giants and learned that 19-year-old blue liner Jake Bean would return from Carolina Hurricanes camp.

“It kind of sucks, you know? I wanted to come into this year, work hard and show them what I can bring to the table, but it wasn’t enough,” said Reagan.

The other 20s were off to a running start and producing early.

In four regular season games this year, Gennaro leads the team with three goals and six points. Stukel has supplied a pair of goals ad a plus-three rating and Schneider has started three games and stopped 76 of 86 shots.

Despite the early productivity by the three other vets, Chynoweth claimed it had no further impact in Reagan’s release.

“(Stukel and Gennaro’s) start played nothing into it. We new they were good players. They have a track record and have proven seasons under their belt. Their strong start was not a factor in the decision,” said Chynoweth.

Reagan departs a program where he put up his best offensive numbers, scoring 22 points in 50 games last season.

He leaves the Hitmen and creates a canyon-sized gap in the experience department. Without him, the seven remaining defencemen — Bean withstanding — only total a combined 204 games of WHL experience, well shy of Reagan’s 235. Bean will help absorb that blow, having appeared in 162 games.

One of Reagan’s closest friends on the team, Schneider, carried the kiss of death this season.

“It was tough for all of us 20s. We would all hangout together, but we all knew that one of us wouldn’t be around much longer,” said Schneider. “Brady was a great friend of mine, but so was Jakob LaPointe, who isn’t here anymore. Unfortunately decisions had to be made. He’s a great person and I hope he gets what he wants.”

Even after being released, Reagan occasionally meets up with former teammates as general managers from around the league fill up his voicemail inbox.

Released Monday, he was claimed in the waiver draft by the Kamloops Blazers Tuesday afternoon. A deal hasn’t been finalized yet, as Reagan is still weighing offers from teams in the B.C. Hockey League and Alberta Junior Hockey League.

The Blazers currently have three 20-year-olds on their roster, in Nick Chyzowski, Nic Holowko and defenceman Joe Gatenby.

“Playing in Calgary was always my first choice this year, but things change. I’ve heard from a couple different teams from two different levels and I’m just weighing my options. It’ll be good to meet new people, play with new teammates, work with new coaches and make new friends,” said the journeyman defenceman.

The releasing of Reagan was necessary and eases the minds of three other players in the locker room. The moves, however, are not done, as the Hitmen try to get over the .500 mark this weekend at the Scotiabank Saddledome.

Possibly up next for Chynoweth, is finding a way to work with a young blue line and making up his mind on the three-deep goaltending depth chart.