The Victoria Grizzlies made a pair of moves at the sa国际传媒 Hockey League trade deadline on Thursday, not that club executives could tell you just how the club may have improved itself.
League rules stipulated that teams could not release trade information until this morning at 11, but Garrett Skrbich confirmed he was dealt to the Cowichan Valley Capitals as he left Bear Mountain Arena in the afternoon.
Coming the other way is Keyler Bruce.
The Grizzlies also outright released Duncan native Chase Kaiser, who was left to scramble to find his place on another junior team as he made cellphone calls in the parking lot after he received word.
According to his Twitter account, Pearce Eviston, of the Vernon Vipers, was also headed to Victoria.
Sources from the Interior said he was on his way to the Grizzlies as part of a future considerations deal from last season.
Bruce, of Magrath, Alta., is a five-foot-11, 190-pound forward who had seven goals and 14 assists and 65 penalty minutes in 31 games with the Capitals. The 20-year-old had four power-play goals.
Eviston, of Vancouver, is a six-foot-one, 190-pound forward who had nine goals and 15 assists with 56 PIMs in 34 games and is also 20.
Both should assist with size, grit and some added scoring punch.
The Grizzlies also recently moved Brett Hartskamp to the affiliated list as he continues to nurse an injury.
Kaiser (three goals and 10 assists) was in his last year of junior, while Skrbich (three goals and seven assists) is 19, but is heading to Princeton University next season, so the deals don鈥檛 affect the future of the Grizzlies.
Grizzlies general manager and head coach Bill Bestwick would not confirm nor deny any of the deals since he would be slapped with a league fine.
It was exactly a year ago that Mark McLellan鈥檚 world was thrown a curveball, as he was traded from the Penticton Vees to the Grizzlies at the deadline. It will long be remembered in these parts as the Fire Sale of 2012 as Len Barrie chose to rip apart his team and build for the future.
McLellan was part of a trade that sent Victoria native Wade Murphy to the Vees, which turned out to be a pretty big piece of the puzzle for that BCHL club, which went on to capture the Royal Bank Cup.
McLellan has played an integral part this season in Victoria, especially on the penalty kill.
鈥淚t was a big shocker and I was still in school so that made it all confusing, but it happens in hockey and you have to deal with it,鈥� said McLellan. 鈥淚t was disappointing not being a part of that run, but I can say I was a part of that team for 33 games.
鈥淏ut the guys we got back in the trades have helped us this year, so it鈥檚 all worked out for the better. Those last 21 games or so were pretty difficult, but we got through them and we鈥檙e better for it now.鈥�
The Grizzlies 鈥� who should have the newcomers in the lineup 鈥� travel to Alberni Valley today to face a revamped Bulldogs lineup before returning to play host to the Chilliwack Chiefs on Saturday at 7:15 p.m. at Bear Mountain Arena.
Defenceman Eric Walker has rejoined the Bulldogs after eight games with the Portland Winterhawks of the Western Hockey League. Alberni also acquired 20-year-old forward Chase Paylor from the Olds Grizzlys of the Alberta Junior Hockey League for future considerations.
