The Western Hockey League trade deadline isn’t until Tuesday, Jan. 10, but teams in the East Division aren’t wasting any time in trying to build for a the present or for the future.
Wyatt Sloboshan’s time away from Saskatchewan was brief as the former Saskatoon captain was dealt to the Regina Pats along with a third round pick from Spokane in exchange for RW Rykr Cole and LW Riley Woods. The 19-year-old Sloboshan only played one game with the Chiefs. The Pats currently only have 12 forwards on their roster but now their top-nine is better than anyone else’s top three lines in the league. The Pats have undisputed high-end talent with Sam Steel, Adam Brooks and Austin Wagner, but now they also can put out a third line with Sloboshan and some combination of Nick Henry, Jake Leschyshyn or Lane Zablocki that will be tough to match in the post-season.
Down the road the Moose Jaw Warriors turned some heads Thursday when they dealt six-foot-five Russian sniper Nikita Popugaev to the Prince George Cougars. It’s hard to part with a player who has 22 goals and 51 points in 40 games, but the Warriors received a princely sum in return: 18-year-old Russian RW Jan Khomenko, former fifth overall bantam pick, centre Justin Almeida plus a fifth round pick this year and a second round pick in 2018.
Popugaev spent time in head coach Tim Hunter’s dog house in his rookie season, but was off to a strong start in his sophomore campaign. Almeida has 13 points in 36 games this season and Khomenko has 10 goals and 20 points.
By dealing Popugaev, who played on the left wing in Moose Jaw, the Warriors don’t have any right-handed shots in their forward group.
In other deals, Regina dealt defenceman Brady Poteau to Lethbridge for a seventh round pick in 2018; Swift Current traded forward Cole Johnson to Saskatoon for a seventh rounder in 17 and a fifth in 2018; and Saskatoon traded Jordan Henderson to Medicine Hat for a fifth round pick in 17.
Brandon Wheat Kings captain Nolan Patrick denied any rumours that he asked from a trade at practice earlier this week, hopefully putting to rest any speculation about his future.
Pats out-class opposition
On the ice, the Regina Pats (26-3-6-1) continue to amaze. The Pats beat Prince Albert 8-0 and 7-2 and then went into Medicine Hat and disposed of the Tigers 6-2, turning a marquee match-up into a rout as they chased Nick Schneider 6:18 into the game after scoring three goals on five shots.
Speaking of shots, the Pats took 72 of them in their home win over the Raiders. Max Paddock made 30 saves in that game to record his first WHL win in goal for the Pats.
Austin Wagner had four goals and seven points this week and Sam Steel and Adam Brooks remain tied for the WHL scoring lead with 65 points.
Hats flying for Warriors
The Moose Jaw Warriors (23-9-6-1) picked up at least a point in each of their four games this week. They opened with a pair of overtime losses to Brandon before beating Prince Albert 6-5 in a shootout. They ended the week with a solid 4-1 win over Lethbridge that saw Jayden Halbgewachs net a hat trick. He now has a league-best 34 goals.
Brayden Burke picked up his first hat trick with the Warriors in their win in Prince Albert.
Those points keep the Warriors two points ahead of the Swift Current Broncos (22-11-3-4) with a game in hand.
Wheat Kings and Broncos big in OT
The Broncos had a strong week, winning three one-goal games including a sweep of a weekend home-and-home with the Blades. Kaden Elder scored the overtime-winner Friday and Artyom Minulin scored in overtime on New Year’s day in a 5-4 Broncos win over the Blades. Travis Child won all three games and made 38 stops in Saskatoon.
The Broncos capped their week with a 5-4 win over Lethbridge.
Similarly, the Brandon Wheat Kings (18-16-4-0) opened their week with a pair of overtime wins against a division rival. Brandon beat Moose Jaw 4-3 at home and 2-1 on New Year’s eve with Reid Duke and James Shearer ending each game. The Wheat Kings finished the week with a 4-2 loss to the Saskatoon Blades (15-20-5-1) that saw them out-shot 42-27.
Blades keeping pace in playoff chase
That was a big win for the Blades who are four points behind Brandon and Edmonton for the final wild card playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The Blades picked up a point at least in each of their four games this week as they try to close ground.
They beat Prince Albert 3-2 before their overtime losses to Swift Current and their win against the Wheat Kings.
Braylon Shmyr was red hot this week as he potted five goals in four games. Jesse Shynkaruk had two goals and seven points as he rides a four-game scoring streak.
Raiders persistent effort yields point
The Prince Albert Raiders (8-29-1-2) earned a point against Moose Jaw after trailing four different times during the game. Curtis Miske scored in his Raiders debut.
The effort was a positive after their disheartening loss to the Pats that saw Nicholas Sanders put in a heroic 65-saves performance.
