Chiefs swap D-men with Calgary
It was pretty much dead at the Western Hockey League trading deadline.
There were no major deals for the period that ended Wednesday at 2 p.m., although the Spokane Chiefs made a move to get slightly younger on defense.
Spokane sent veteran defenseman Dan Mercer, 19, to the Calgary Hitmen in exchange for blueliner Curtis Kelner, 18, in their only trade.
Kelner is a 6-foot-2, 215-pounder who is expected to see more ice time in Spokane than he did in Calgary and be allowed to develop.
The Chiefs had somewhat of a logjam of 1989-born players and the trade helps to alleviate the issue.
Spokane’s 25-man roster consists of: three 20-year-olds, seven 19-year-olds, five 18-year-olds, six 17-year-olds, three 16-year-olds and one 15-year-old (Jared Cowen, who can play only five regular-season games).
On defense, Spokane has a solid core of Sean Zimmerman, Evan Haw, Justin Falk, Jared Spurgeon, Mike Reddington, Stephane Lenoski, Kelner and Cowen.
“He’s still got a ways to go, but he’s a big-bodied kid that skates well and doesn’t back down from anybody,” Chris Moulton, Chiefs director of player personnel, said of Kelner.
Moulton came to the Chiefs from the Calgary franchise and had scouted Kelner as a 15-year-old. Kelner is a product of Peoria, Ariz., giving Spokane four American players.
In another deal, former Spokane Chief Myles Stoesz won’t be making his return to the Spokane Arena on Friday. He was traded by Chilliwack to Regina for defenseman Brayden Metz.
Among U.S. Division teams, Tri-City and Portland each made two deals, while Seattle and Everett made one minor trade apiece.
Tri-City sent defensemen Ryan Gillen and Nicholaus Knudsen to Calgary and Lethbridge, respectively. Earlier in the day, the Ams announced that list player T.J. Fast, a 19-year-old D-man, left the University of Denver to join the team. The 6-1, 190-pounder was a second-round draft pick of the Los Angeles Kings in 2005.
Portland, which recently sent away captain Michael Sauer, traded leading scorer Robert Klinkhammer (to Brandon) and forward Sasha Golin (to Kamloops).
In other notable transactions:
“Kelowna traded forward Craig Cuthbert to Saskatoon for a draft pick.
“Lethbridge and Vancouver exchanged forwards and draft picks: Michael Wuchterl (a former Everett Silvertip) going to Vancouver and Kyle Lamb going to Lethbridge.
“Overage goaltender Scott Bowles cleared Ontario Hockey League waivers and was returned to Prince George.