Chiefs Take Aim At Future, Ship Mccabe To Brandon

The Spokane Chiefs traded the franchise for the future Thursday.

All-star defenseman and captain Bryan McCabe was sent to the Brandon Wheat Kings, just beating Thursday’s Western Hockey League trade deadline.

In return, the Chiefs get 18-yearold defenseman Adam Magarrell and future considerations.

Spokane also gets 16-year-old left wing Trevor Chernecki, who’s in AAA midget hockey in Winnipeg, and Brandon’s first and secondround picks in this year’s bantam draft.

Chernecki, nephew of Wayne Chernecki, a WHL star 24 years ago, will play in the Canada Winter Games in Grande Prairie, Alberta Feb. 19 to March 4.

“He’s one of the better younger players in Manitoba,” Chiefs general manager Tim Speltz said.

As for the draft selections, Spokane coach Mike Babcock said, “Any time you get a first and second-round pick you’re talking about a lot of value.

“It’s an outstanding trade,” Babcock added. “We would have had Bryan McCabe for the rest of the year and however far we go in the playoffs. You assess it not in what McCabe has done for the organiza tion - because he has done an unbelievable amount - but what he could do in the time he had left here.

“By departing he has done more for the organization than he could have done by staying.”

Magarrell, a stay-at-home blueliner, has no goals, three assists and 102 penalty minutes in 41 games. He was a fourth-round pick by the Philadelphia Flyers in last year’s National Hockey League draft.

“He’s not offensive one bit but he’s a quality player - very good in his own zone,” Babcock said.

McCabe, among the Chiefs’ leading scorers, has 14 goals and 39 assists in 42 games. Informed of the trade at his parents’ home in Calgary, where he’s staying over the Canadian Hockey League all-star break, McCabe said he was “a little disappointed leaving Spokane.”

“It’s hard, leaving the guys,” McCabe said. “We talked about it before I left - I didn’t ask for a trade - but this gives me an opportunity to win a Memorial Cup with Brandon.”“I think we can make a run for it.”

McCabe, voted the top defenseman at the World Junior Championship last month, called the trade “a good move for the (Chiefs) organization.

“This isn’t the year (for Spokane),” McCabe said. “It’s more of a rebuilding season. They can go for the Cup in the next couple of years. It was good for both of us.”

“McCabe was a great team captain,” Speltz said. “It’s hard to give up a great player.”

Kamloops and Tri-City muscled up in the days leading to Thursday’s deadline, but no team did more than Brandon, particularly if a longshot deal for defenseman Brendan Witt materializes.

Witt, 19, failed to come to terms with the NHL Washington Capitals and has sat out the season. The Wheat Kings acquired the rights to Witt from Seattle for considerations contingent on his reporting to Brandon.

The Kamloops Blazers on Wednesday added a veteran defenseman and some scoring pop in a deal with Swift Current.

Kamloops acquired right winger Ashley Buckberger and 20-year-old defenseman Keith McCambridge

The Blazers sent center Cam Severson, 16, and 17-year-old defenseman Jeff Henkleman to Swift Current. Kamloops also parted with a player on its protected list and a fourth-round pick in this year’s bantam draft.

Swift Current, shopping for a replacement for McCambridge, picked up right winger Jesse Rezansoff from the Regina Pats for much-traveled defenseman Travis Stevenson and forward Jan Vasilev.

Swift Current also traded left wing Bill Hooson to Medicine Hat for a sixth-round pick in the ‘95 bantam draft. Upset over lack of playing time, Hooson left the Broncos on Jan. 19.

Portland acquired left winger Judd Casper, 19, from Regina for futures. Also, Tri-City swapped defenseman Cadrin Smart to Swift Current for a fourth-round pick in the bantam draft.