So Far, Chiefs Trade Rumors Only Commodity Moving

REPLAY: 1-22-99; C2 The Spokane Chiefs play at Tri-Cities on Saturday at 7:05 p.m. A date listed in Thursday’s edition was incorrect.

The All-Star break is rumor time in the Western Hockey League.

The juiciest talk here, until Friday anyway, centered on the future of defenseman Brad Ference. A Ference-to-Calgary deal seemed enticing to both sides.

But the attraction was blunted if not eliminated Friday when the Calgary Hitmen acquired the defenseman they wanted in Brad Stuart, the third pick in last summer’s NHL draft.

The Hitmen sent 17-year-old goaltender Donald Choukalos, left wing Ryan Geremia and third and fourth-round bantam draft picks to Regina for Stuart, who had the hardest slap shot in Tuesday’s WHL All-Star skills competition in Lethbridge, Alberta.

Stuart’s shot was clocked at nearly 97 miles an hour. His career seems to be taking off just as rapidly.

If the Stuart deal sent ripples through the Chiefs offices, possibly for spoiling a deal involving Ference, you wouldn’t know it by talking with Chiefs coach Mike Babcock.

“Ference was never on his way to Calgary anyway,” Babcock said Wednesday.

If Calgary’s no longer - or never was - in the market for Ference, who is?

Maybe nobody.

It may be a buyer’s market. Another top-drawer defenseman potentially available for the right price is Scott Hannan in Kelowna. Ference and Hannan are quality blue-liners on second-division teams who would help a Memorial Cup contender.

But with this year’s bantam crop said to be sub-par, draft picks may not be as attractive as usual. GMs this year may not be as quick to deal for futures. And in Portland as well as Spokane, a couple of home dates in the playoffs can mean a windfall of $250,000 or more.

So, there is a reluctance in Spokane to give up a playoff-making talent such as Ference, whose slap shot (over 94 mph) was second only to Stuart’s in the skills competition.

The Chiefs escaped the WHL West cellar just prior to the break. If the season ended today, they’d be the No.6 seed in the playoffs. With Derek Schutz finally playing with the impact expected of him before a series of shoulder injuries, the club as presently constituted might be one to watch in the postseason.

How far it could go - vs. how much better it might become next year by trading veteran talent - is a question for general manager Tim Speltz.

Speltz was in Lethbridge for Wednesday night’s All-Star game. Nothing in the trade area has come down yet, Speltz said.

There are offers on the table for Spokane winger Ty Jones, who like Ference is a signed player and at 19 probably is in his final months of junior hockey.

“I’m not involved in trade talks, but you would assume that if you’re (a contender) looking to take guys from Spokane, he (Jones) has got to be one of them,” Babcock said.

Of course, there’s a flip side.

“Jonesy has been good for us the last little bit here,” Babcock said. “He’s a big part of the damage we could do in the playoffs.”

This much is certain. The Chiefs will take a hit when four 16-year-old players head off for the world under-17 tournament in Corner Brook, Newfoundland. They’ll miss nine games from Feb. 16 through March 10, Babcock said.

Tim Krymusa, Mason Wallin, Jeremy Farr and Kris Callaway will play for their provincial teams in the under-17 tournament, which normally doesn’t impact the Chiefs in their stretch drive.

This is not a normal year.

“Usually, you don’t look to your 16-year-olds as guys who play a lot,” Babcock said. “But Krymusa and Wallin are big parts of our team, and either Farr or Callaway play every night, and play well. So yes, it’s a hit, no question.”

The emergence of Mike Lencucha as the starter in goal has left 20-year-old David Haun open to trade speculation. Haun was brilliant last year through the playoffs.

Babcock deflected trade talk involving Haun.

“For one thing, it’s easier to get it done with two guys,” the coach said. “Haun has been the guy here. The other guy got hot and is playing. That doesn’t mean David won’t get another opportunity. You know he will.”

The one negative in the Chiefs’ improved play on the road prior to the break involves forward Cam Severson.

Severson is an annual target in the trade market. The 20-year-old forward has moved from Kamloops to Swift Current to Lethbridge to Prince Albert and last year to Spokane.

He’s been slowed most of the season by ankle injuires.

“It’s too bad,” Babcock said. “He’s playing for a contract and he’s such a factor for us when he’s healthy. We just have to follow what the doctor and therapists tell us. Time and rest is what he needs, but we’re not in the time and rest business.”

Notes

Former Chiefs tough guy Kris Graf was released Monday by the Medicine Hat Tigers… . The highest-rated Chief in the latest rankings from the NHL Central Scouting Bureau is the club’s leading scorer, center Daniel Bohac. And he isn’t ranked that highly. Bohac is listed 125th among draft-eligible players, 10 spots ahead of Spokane’s Lynn Loyns… . Overlooked by central scouting is Chiefs center Brandin Cote, who has had an ankle problem… . Tri-City Americans goaltender Jeff Blair took a hit in the collarbone in practice Tuesday and was hit again Tuesday night in the All-Star skills competition. His availability this week may be in question… . D.J. Hoover, a goaltender on the Chiefs’ 50-player protected list, will play in the world under-17 tournament. … Tri-City’s Dylan Gyori was the fastest skater in the skills competition.

Friday, 7:05 p.m.