Early January is among the most strikingly active in junior hockey. Not only is the annual world junior championship decided during this period, but at the club level it is also the trade deadline, which this year is on Tuesday.
The WHL this week celebrated its 17 current or former players who were part of the 2023 world junior gold-medal game Thursday in Halifax, 11 with champion sa国际传媒, and six with runner-up Czechia.
WHL play was ongoing through the world tournament with players now filtering back to their club teams. That includes Robin Sapousek of the Victoria Royals, who arrived in Spokane on Friday night via plane to Vancouver and car to eastern Washington state, but did not play in Victoria’s 6-3 victory against the Chiefs. The Czech forward is expected to make his Royals debut tonight in Tri-City, Washington, against the Americans, where he would be facing a couple of world silver-medallist Czechia teammates who play for Tri-City — goaltender Tomas Suchanek and centre Adam Mechura.
The other part of the junior equation this time of year, the trade deadline, was also evident as the Royals faced a depleted Spokane team Friday with three affiliate-player call-ups after trading veteran forward Blake Swetlikoff to the contending Lethbridge Hurricanes for a second-round selection in the 2026 WHL prospects draft, a fifth-round selection in the 2025 and the rights to 16-year-old prize-prospect and Las Vegas native Jack Lackas, the second overall selection in the 2021 WHL U.S. prospects draft.
“[This] will give us added flexibility to continue to build our team in our goal to achieve division and conference championships over the next couple of years,” Spokane GM Matt Bardsley said in a statement. That follows an earlier trade in which Spokane sent their starting goaltender and San Jose Sharks prospect, Mason Beaupit, to the 2023 championship-minded Winnipeg Ice for three draft picks.
The Chiefs are 10th and last in the WHL Western Conference and Victoria is one spot above that. The biggest question facing the Royals ahead of Tuesday is whether they will blow up the roster to build for the future or stand pat to drive for the eighth and final playoff spot this year. And what would snatching one of the last playoff berths really achieve in the end, anyways, with other current lowly rivals such as the Chiefs practically pulling the cord on this season and now seemingly far better poised for their futures because of it?
Victoria GM and head coach Dan Price has held his cards close to his chest, describing the days leading up to the trade deadline as annually “very fluid and things [happening] in real time.”
If, indeed, they are all in for this season, the Royals did what they needed to Friday in Spokane against the future-looking Chiefs. Tanner Scott and Danish junior national-team import Marcus Almquist scored twice each for Victoria. Riley Gannon and Matthew Hodson also scored for the Royals, whose power play went 2-2. Braden Holt took the win in goal as Spokane (7-25-3) outshot Victoria 34-29.
Victoria (10-24-4) has won seven of its last 11 games, a stretch in which the Royals have earned points in eight games, as they look for a playoff berth.
