Trade May Give Chiefs Upper Hand High-Scoring Seattle Forward Joins Spokane For Stretch Run
The Spokane Chiefs on Thursday swung the balance of power in the Western Hockey League West Division their way.
That’s how one rival general manager analyzed Spokane’s the-future-is-now deal with the Seattle Thunderbirds.
The Chiefs acquired 19-year-old forward Jan Hrdina for 18-year-old forward Martin Cerven.
Hrdina, who had a goal and an assist in a 5-3 loss to Spokane on Wednesday night, is a finisher with a potent shot from the point of the power play.
In return, the T-Birds get a potential star in 18-year-old Cerven, who scored the winning goal Wednesday night in his last game for the Chiefs. The 6-4, 200-pound Slovakian may come back to haunt Spokane, but the immediate dimension Hrdina brings was affirmed throughout the league.
“I guess Tim’s deal swings the balance of power to his hockey club,” Kamloops Blazers general manager Stu MacGregor said, referring to Chiefs GM Tim Speltz. “They’re now odds-on favorites to win it. It’s a tremendous deal.”
Spokane is locked in a four-way scramble for the division lead - and the crucial home-ice advantage through the playoffs - with Tri-City, Kelowna and Kamloops.
Seattle general manager Russ Farwell described Hrdina as a star.
“He hasn’t had a great year so far because of the injury (a strained knee) and because of our slow start,” Farwell said. “But he looks like a pro. He could be the difference in the playoffs. It wasn’t an easy trade to make.”
Hrdina, who’ll play here Saturday night when the Chiefs meet the Portland Winter Hawks, can handle all three forward positions. A right-handed shooter, he accumulated 100 points - 41 goals and 59 assists - last year with the Thunderbirds.
“He’s a real sniper,” Farwell said. “He hasn’t scored this year like he’d like to, but a lot of that’s because we don’t move the puck real well. It’s been a long year for him (with Seattle in sixth place), but he’s a good kid with a good attitude. He’ll get right back on his game.”
The knee that bothered Hrdina earlier in the year is 100 percent, the Seattle GM said. Hrdina comes in with 47 points in 30 games - 19 goals and 28 helpers.
While Cerven has at least another season of junior hockey ahead, it’s unlikely that Hrdina, a fifth-round draft pick of the Pittsburgh Penguins, will return next year.
“He’s eligible to come back, but we didn’t make the trade expecting that he will,” Speltz said.In Cerven the T-Birds “got a decent replacement now and a good player for the future,” Farwell added. “Spokane has a lot of depth. They’ve done a good job with their (protected) list. They could afford to give up a little bit for a guy who could push them through the pack.”
The Chiefs waited until Thursday’s trade deadline to announce the deal that had been in the works for some time. They also sent 20-year-old defenseman Scott Fletcher to Brandon for a fourth-round pick in the bantam draft.
Farwell, who dealt left wing Shawn Gervais to Tri-City earlier in the week, was the busiest trader.
He peddled 20-year-old center Blair Manning to Medicine Hat for 16-year-old right wing Kyle Ronan and a 1996 second-round draft pick. Then he completed housecleaning by shipping center Tyler Perry to Swift Current for right wing Tyler Willis, right wing Jason Norrie to the Calgary Hitmen for a third-round draft choice and former Chief Kevin Popp to Portland for defenseman Brad Swanson.
“Hrdina is the guy we wanted,” Speltz said. “It won’t be fun playing against Martin - he’s a big, strong guy who I think will in time become a National Hockey League player. But Hrdina we feel puts us in position to take a run at it this year.”
The Chiefs were interested in Moose Jaw forward Curtis Brown but the asking price was too steep.
The Prince Albert Raiders met the price, acquiring Brown, defenseman Roman Vopat, right wing Don Halvorson and the rights to Ryan Smyth, who’s with the NHL Edmonton Oilers, for three players and two high draft picks.
Prince Albert gave up right wing Kaleb Toth, defenseman Rob Hegberg, left wing Sean Robertson, second-round picks in the bantam draft this year and next, plus future considerations.
Moose Jaw also sent center Grady Manson to Tri-City for right wing Jermey Thompson and a third-round draft pick.
Former Chiefs coach Bryan Maxwell altered the look of his Lethbridge Hurricanes, by picking up forwards Colin Cloutier and Martin Hohenberger plus a third-round ‘97 draft choice from Prince George for right wing Brad Mehalko and defenseman Dennis Mullen.
Medicine Hat picked up 20-year-old center Derek Wood, right wing John Kachur and a second-round pick in the ‘97 draft from Calgary. Calgary got winger Derek Senkow.
With the trading period over, the Chiefs turned to Saturday night’s game with the Winter Hawks, who may come in short-handed. Star left wing Richard Zednik faces possible league disciplinary action today after a Wednesday night altercation with Brad Lukowich of Kamloops.
The knee that bothered Hrdina earlier in the year is 100 percent, the Seattle GM said. Hrdina comes in with 47 points in 30 games - 19 goals and 28 helpers.
While Cerven has at least another season of junior hockey ahead, it’s unlikely that Hrdina, a fifth-round draft pick of the Pittsburgh Penguins, will return next year.
“He’s eligible to come back, but we didn’t make the trade expecting that he will,” Speltz said.In Cerven the T-Birds “got a decent replacement now and a good player for the future,” Farwell added. “Spokane has a lot of depth. They’ve done a good job with their (protected) list. They could afford to give up a little bit for a guy who could push them through the pack.”
The Chiefs waited until Thursday’s trade deadline to announce the deal that had been in the works for some time. They also sent 20-year-old defenseman Scott Fletcher to Brandon for a fourthround pick in the bantam draft.
Farwell, who dealt left wing Shawn Gervais to Tri-City earlier in the week, was the busiest trader.
He peddled 20-year-old center Blair Manning to Medicine Hat for 16-year-old right wing Kyle Ronan and a 1996 second-round draft pick. Then he completed housecleaning by shipping center Tyler Perry to Swift Current for right wing Tyler Willis, right wing Jason Norrie to the Calgary Hitmen for a thirdround draft choice and former Chief Kevin Popp to Portland for defenseman Brad Swanson.
“Hrdina is the guy we wanted,” Speltz said. “It won’t be fun playing against Martin - he’s a big, strong guy who I think will in time become a National Hockey League player. But Hrdina we feel puts us in position to take a run at it this year.”
The Chiefs were interested in Moose Jaw forward Curtis Brown but the asking price was too steep.
The Prince Albert Raiders met the price, acquiring Brown, defenseman Roman Vopat, right wing Don Halvorson and the rights to Ryan Smyth, who’s with the NHL Edmonton Oilers, for three players and two high draft picks.
Prince Albert gave up right wing Kaleb Toth, defenseman Rob Hegberg, left wing Sean Robertson, second-round picks in the bantam draft this year and next, plus future considerations.
Moose Jaw also sent center Grady Manson to Tri-City for right wing Jermey Thompson and a third-round draft pick.
Former Chiefs coach Bryan Maxwell altered the look of his Lethbridge Hurricanes, by picking up forwards Colin Cloutier and Martin Hohenberger plus a third-round ‘97 draft choice from Prince George for right wing Brad Mehalko and defenseman Dennis Mullen.
Medicine Hat picked up 20-yearold center Derek Wood, right wing John Kachur and a second-round pick in the ‘97 draft from Calgary. Calgary got winger Derek Senkow.
With the trading period over, the Chiefs turned to Saturday night’s game with the Winter Hawks, who may come in short-handed. Star left wing Richard Zednik faces possible league disciplinary action today after a Wednesday night altercation with Brad Lukowich of Kamloops.
, DataTimes