If you were hoping for a trade deadline like last season, where there were many NHL-signed 19-year-olds traded, do not hold your breath. The likes of Stuart Skinner, Dennis Cholowski, Beck Malenstyn, Jake Bean, Garrett Pilon, Ondrej Vala, Josh Anderson, Libor Hajek, Kale Clague and Tanner Kaspick were all moved.
Each of those players is now a professional. They got a whole lot in return for the team that moved them.
Recently, we had the most obvious NHL-signed 19-year-old moved in Regina’s Jake Leschyshyn. That he was moved along with another NHL-drafted 19-year-old Nick Henry made it likely the biggest blockbuster trade – in terms of names – that we will see.
The fact is, there are just not many NHL-signed 19-year-olds. This category of player is the most in-demand as they tend to be the most elite players. Overage players can also be in demand, but trades for them usually happen earlier in the season or even the summer before the season begins.
What NHL-signed 19-year-olds are out there:
- Cody Glass (Portland) – Center – Vegas 1st round pick
- Josh Brook (Moose Jaw) – Defense – Montreal 2nd round pick
- Jaret Anderson-Dolan (Spokane) – Center – L.A. 2nd round pick
- Jake McGrew (Spokane) – RW – San Jose 6th round pick
- Riley Sutter (Everett) – Center – Washington 3rd round pick
- Jordy Bellerive (Lethbridge) – LW – Pittsburgh free agent signee
- Alexander Alexeyev (Red Deer) – Defense – Washington 1st round pick
- Parker Kelly (Prince Albert) – Center – Ottawa free agent signee
- Jake Leschyshyn (Lethbridge) – Center – Vegas 2nd round pick
This group is missing Michael Rasmussen, whose rights are owned by he Tri-City Americans and Henri Jokihraju of the Portland Winterhawks.
So why won’t these eight be moved? Well each team they play for is comfortably in a playoff spot.
Each of Portland, Moose Jaw, Spokane, Everett, Lethbridge, Red Deer and Prince Albert is in the top-three in their division. The team with the worst win percentage is the Spokane Chiefs, who have Anderson-Dolan, McGrew and 18-year-old Ty Smith all likely not coming back next season. They are third in the U.S., but due to injuries and Anderson-Dolan starting in the NHL, they have not had all three of these key players healthy and in the lineup. With the moves they have made, it looks like they will be going all in, not trading away players like those three.
Everyone else is well over 0.600 and Red Deer, Everett and P.A. all lead their divisions.
These eight players look like they are already playing for teams looking to make deep runs, especially now that Leschyshyn has been moved to Lethbridge.
The player most likely to move from this group, outside of Leschyshyn was Josh Brook.
The right-handed d-man would fit well with any team going for it this season and since Moose Jaw was expected to be retooling after going for it last season, the return Brook could get made him being moved extremely likely.
Instead, the Warriors have shocked the WHL this season and are 16-7-4-1 through 28 games. That has them four points behind the Saskatoon Blades for second in the East Division and they have four games in hand.
That is very much in the mix. Considering the Warriors moved a whole lot of season tickets prior to the start of the season, they will be happy to ride this surprising run out under head coach Tim Hunter. Their bench boss has been rumored for a head coaching gig in the NHL and the Warriors will be happy to go for it while they still have him.
While this group is usually the one with the splashiest names, there are some other players who would draw headlines if moved.
Vegas Golden Knights drafted and signed goalie Dylan Ferguson would certainly get a big return, but Kamloops would have to fully trust Dylan Garand in net as they do not appear ready to sell off.
That may be where a lot of the issues lie, if you are wanting trade pieces. The only teams who seem willing to trade away their most accomplished players are Regina, Swift Current and Kootenay. The argument is certainly there that they have already traded away those players likely to get the biggest return.
Beyond those three, most teams are still in the mix.
Kamloops would get a lot if they were to move Ferguson and fellow NHL-drafted overage Jermaine Loewen, but they are in a playoff spot as it stands now and unless they get some players who can contribute now, I do not see them doing that.
The Calgary Hitmen are two points out of a playoff spot, but besides their overage players, the only player likely not to return is Nashville Predators pick and 19-year-old d-man Vladislav Yeryomenko. He’s an import player too though, so there would need to be other moving parts likely.
19-year-old center Mark Kastelic is in the middle of a breakout season with a team-leading 36 points, but why would they trade someone who could lead the way for them next season?
The Seattle Thunderbirds have some intriguing players when it comes to possible trades with an overage trio of forwards in Zack Andrusiak, Nolan Volcan and Noah Philp who are proven play makers. When it comes to Seattle though, they have not been healthy all season until now and likely want to see what a full lineup looks like.
So compared to last trade deadline this could be underwhelming. This lack of players available could be why Regina got such a return for Leschyshyn and Henry and Kootenay got quite a bit for Brett Davis and Cameron Hausinger.
That price might end up being too much for a team like Moose Jaw to pass up on dealing Brook, but let’s face it – it’s not likely.
