Neither Kody McDonald nor Carson Miller are claiming it wasn鈥檛 jarring being traded from the No. 1 major-junior hockey team in the country, Prince Albert Raiders, to the mid-pack Victoria Royals in the biggest trade so far in the Western Hockey League season.
The forwards make their home debuts in Royals colours tonight when Victoria meets the Kamloops Blazers (15-19-3) at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre.
The 20-year-old McDonald and 18-year-old Miller were acquired Jan. 2, along with a third-round bantam draft selection, in return for career top-five all-time Royals points-getter Dante Hannoun.
McDonald and Miller went from a Raiders squad that is 35-4-1 to a Royals team that is 20-15-1. While Victoria鈥檚 record is decent, it鈥檚 hardly generating Memorial Cup buzz like Prince Albert鈥檚.
鈥淚t was a tough first couple of days,鈥� admitted the six-foot-one McDonald, who is no stranger to the sa国际传媒 Division as a bruising former Prince George Cougars player, with career WHL totals of 81 goals and 174 points in 297 games with 513 penalty minutes.
鈥淏ut it鈥檚 a business. I am going to make the most of it. Victoria is a good squad that is a little under-rated and is going to make a good push in the stretch. I feel I will really help this team.鈥�
The native of Lethbridge, Alta., already has. McDonald scored the game winner in the fifth round of the shootout Saturday in Red Deer to give the Royals a 3-2 victory. People only look at the penalty minutes but forget McDonald had 34 goals in a 2017-18 season split between the Cougars and Raiders.
Victoria has won both its games so far with McDonald and Miller in the lineup.
鈥淧rince Albert is a great team and I didn鈥檛 expect it [trade],鈥� said Miller, the shock only wearing off now.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been a roller-coaster with packing up and all. But the [Royals] guys here have welcomed me with open arms.鈥�
Both new players represent different aspects of the deal for Victoria. McDonald, like Hannoun, is 20 and will age out of junior at the end of this season. But the acquisition of the veteran McDonald is a signal to the Victoria dressing room that Royals GM Cam Hope didn鈥檛 go all in for the future in unloading Hannoun for bantam draft picks while waving a white flag and abandoning this season.
Still, Miller is the key to the deal with a potential of up to 21脷2 more seasons of service to give the Royals. In many ways, he makes up for trading former Royals forward Eric Florchuk to the Saskatoon Blades last season. Both Miller and Florchuk, the latter the last player selected in the 2018 NHL draft, are former first-round WHL bantam draft picks who are perhaps perceived as underachievers so far in their junior careers.
鈥淚鈥檝e had a lot of injuries and it鈥檚 definitely been hard at times but I鈥檝e learned from the experience,鈥� said Miller, who had 10 goals and 18 points this season for the Raiders.
鈥淚鈥檝e had a lot of success in my younger years [as a high-scoring Midget player]. I鈥檓 18 now and looking forward to proving myself,鈥� added the five-foot-10 native of Yorkton, who is also a provincial-level athlete in Saskatchewan field lacrosse and track and field.
Meanwhile, the WHL trade deadline is Thursday. If the likes of Hannoun and Canucks-prospect and Canadian junior national team goaltender Mike DiPietro were traded, the latter from Windsor to Ottawa in the OHL, every major-junior player knows nobody is safe.
鈥淚鈥檓 sleeping, breathing, eating all-right,鈥� said Royals鈥� star 20-year-old veteran goaltender Griffen Outhouse, about the speculation and pressure that will only be alleviated after Thursday.
Anything could happen but this is a guy who can compartmentalize and just puts it out of his mind and concentrates on the ice. However, the reverberations from the Hannoun trade are still being felt in the Royals鈥� dressing room.
鈥淗e was one of my best friends it was sad to see Dante leave,鈥� said Outhouse.
鈥淗e will excel in Prince Albert, the top team in the country. While in the process, we picked up more depth and are a bigger and more physical team that will be hard to play against. Kody [McDonald] is a feisty player. We were always a smaller, faster team. There鈥檚 a different feel to it now.鈥�
One thing is for sure: McDonald, Miller and Hannoun have Jan. 22 circled on the calendar, when the Raiders land on Blanshard to play the Royals for the only time in the regular season.
ICE CHIPS: Returning to the Royals lineup tonight is forward Phillip Schultz following Denmark鈥檚 winless run through the 2019 IIHF world junior championship and relegation to Tier 1 while Germany is promoted to the elite tier.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not at all what we wanted. But when you only score in one of six games, and only get three goals in the entire tournament, it鈥檚 hard to win games. We didn鈥檛 execute on our chances,鈥� said Schultz, who played in his second WJC.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a step down [relegation] with financial implications because your national team gets more money by being in the top tier. Hopefully, Denmark regroups and earns promotion next year.鈥�
But even in defeat 鈥� maybe especially in defeat 鈥� you come away with something learned.
鈥淧ersonally, it鈥檚 always a good experience to play against the best players in the world in your age group,鈥� said Schultz.
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