More trades
TRADE ? ALERT
Winterhawks add @TheWHL Champion Goaltender Joel Hofer from the @SCBroncos!
Welcome to the Hawks, Joel!
?️ || https://t.co/6csGLM3IZv pic.twitter.com/o0HNR3J8Az
— Portland Winterhawks (@pdxwinterhawks) January 9, 2019
Wednesday morning started out with a bang with the Broncos sending ’00 goalie Joel Hofer to Portland for six draft picks including a ’19 first round pick, a ’21 first round pick, ’20 second round pick, and a fourth and fifth rounder in ’20. Hofer had been one of the few bright spots on a struggling Bronco team having put up a 4.02 GAA and a.904 SV%. DUBNetwork’s Josh Critzer wrote a piece breaking down the trade further:
Winterhawks acquire Joel Hofer from Swift Current – by Joshua Critzer (@jjcritzer) – https://t.co/1WSaHNXxRX #DUBNetwork #WHL pic.twitter.com/sES7mCZklq
— DUBNetwork (@dub_network) January 9, 2019
Brandon gets Chizen
?TRADE ALERT?: The Brandon Wheat Kings have acquired Defenceman Braydyn Chizen from the Kelowna Rockets in exchange for Defenceman Schael Higson. The #BWK also receive a 5th round pick in the 2019 WHL Bantam Draft. #bdnmb
RELEASE ?: https://t.co/MmqzMWehHr pic.twitter.com/9itEoYF2vU
— Brandon Wheat Kings (@bdnwheatkings) January 9, 2019
The Wheat Kings and Rockets made the second deal of the day with Kelowna sending ’98 Braydyn Chizen to Brandon for ’98 Schael Higson.
Chizen is a former Minnesota Wild prospect has played in 211 WHL games, all in Kelowna, producing 34 points.
Higson goes to Kelowna just 18 games away from 300 and has split time between Brandon and Saskatoon, having a career year this season with 17 points in 20 games.
ICE gets ’00 defenseman
TRADE: Warriors have traded defenceman Brenden Kwiatkowski to the Kootenay ICE for a 9th round pick in 2019 pic.twitter.com/m0KzaRJ0vC
— Moose Jaw Warriors (@MJWARRIORS) January 9, 2019
The Moose Jaw Warriors sent ’00 Brenden Kwiatkowski to Kootenay for a 2019 ninth round pick. The Grande Prairie native has appeared in 34 WHL games where he has three assists.
Overage goalies find teams
ROSTER ADDITION: #SCB add 1998 goaltender Riley Lamb. Lamb has played 29 games in the @theSJHL this season with @weyburnredwings and most recently @SJHLTerriers. .910 save % and a 3.42 GAA. Lamb is also a veteran of 2 @TheWHL seasons with @Rebelshockey appearing in 73 games. pic.twitter.com/qFv3kK77dp
— SC Broncos (@SCBroncos) January 9, 2019
After trading Hofer to Portland, the Broncos didn’t take long to find a replacement with the team signing ’98 goalie Riley Lamb. The 20-year-old is a veteran of 73 WHL games all with Red Deer and has spent time in the SJHL this season between Weyburn and Yorkton putting up a 3.42 GAA and a 910 SV%.
ICE sign '98-born goaltender Curtis Meger (@CurtisMeger37), will join team for remainder of season
READ ➡️ https://t.co/tfHR4qWMtJ
? ➡️ Lucas Chudleigh/Apollo Multimedia pic.twitter.com/ciIFhLlO6o
— Kootenay ICE (@WHLKootenayICE) January 9, 2019
Kootenay has added ’98 goalie Curtis Meger to their active roster from Llyodminster of the AJHL. He has some WHL experience having appeared in 27 games with Prince Albert putting up a 3.43 GAA and a .886 SV%. He will join the team immediately.
Giants drop out of top 10
#KiaCHLTop10 Rankings in Week 16:
35 wins has @PARaidersHockey ☝️
1-PA, 2-ROU, 3-OTT, 4-EVT, 5-DRU, 6-LDN, 7-HAL, 8-BAC, 9-NIAG, 10-CHA.
Honours: SSM, SAG, MJ. pic.twitter.com/cWDaqF6HJv
— CanadianHockeyLeague (@CHLHockey) January 9, 2019
The Vancouver Giants dropped out of the CHL Top 10 for the first time this season after just holding onto #10 last week. The Giants are 4-6-0-0 in their last ten including a Central Division trip where they went 2-4. Prince Albert and Everett come in at #1 and #4 respectively with Moose Jaw listed as an honourable mention.
Three Stars of the Night
1st Star: Seattle’s Jaxan Kaluski scored a hat trick in a 4-1 win over Prince Albert.
2nd Star: Everett captain Connor Dewar had a goal and two assists in the ‘Tips 4-2 win in Kelowna.
3rd Star: Portland’s Jack Gricius had a goal and two assists in a 5-2 win over Regina.
Honourable Mentions
Calgary’s Jack McNaughton had 33 saves in a 3-2 OT win over Moose Jaw….Red Deer’s Zak Smith scored the game winning goal in the Rebels’ 3-2 win over Swift Current….Kootenay’s Jesse Makaj stopped 51 of 54 shots in a losing effort….Spokane’s Ty Smith had a goal and an assist in a 4-2 win over Prince George….Victoria’s Kody McDonald scored twice in his Royals home debut….