The old adage about not being able to tell the players without a program is apropos every January in the Western Hockey League.
It is no different this season, as a dizzying array of player moves has changed the landscape of the league. And it鈥檚 not over yet. The trade deadline doesn鈥檛 end until Wednesday.
鈥淭he busiest people have been the equipment managers who have had to make so many new name bars,鈥� Victoria Royals general manager Cameron Hope said.
鈥淭he phones are still ringing.鈥�
There have been some blockbuster deals.
Colorado Avalanche-prospect blueliner Josh Anderson of Duncan went from the Prince George Cougars, a 2017-18 after-thought team, to the contending Swift Current Broncos. But Swift Current had to cough up a chunk of its future in handing the Cougars the Broncos鈥� first-round selections in both the 2018 and 2019 WHL bantam drafts.
The Regina Pats, hosting the Memorial Cup this year, added second-round Tampa Bay Lightning draft pick Libor Hajek from the Saskatoon Blades for two young players and the Pats鈥� first-round pick in the 2019 bantam draft. Hajek, from the Czech Republic, finished in a tie for leading scorer among blueliners in the world junior championships in Buffalo that ended Friday.
Carolina Hurricanes first-rounder Jake Bean, among eight WHL players on the 2018 world junior gold-medallist Canadian team, went from the blueline of the also-ran Calgary Hitmen to the contending Tri City Americans for two young prospects and first- and second-round bantam draft picks.
The Everett Silvertips added third-round Washington Capitals draft pick Garrett Pilon and Dallas Stars-signed blueliner Ondrej Vala, who played for the Czech Republic in the world juniors, from the Kamloops Blazers in exchange for four young prospects and Everett鈥檚 first and fourth picks in the 2019 bantam draft.
There are two sides to every trade.
鈥淭here are definitely buyers, who feel they are capable of contending now, and sellers, who are loading up for the future,鈥� Hope said.
Neither Pilon nor Vala were in the lineup Sunday in Everett as the Silvertips (24-16-2) buried the Royals 9-4 to avenge the 5-0 loss to the Royals in Victoria on Friday night.
The depleted Blazers (17-20-3) 鈥� who have pretty much traded away this season for a hoped-for brighter future 鈥� visit Blanshard Street on Friday and Saturday for a two-game set. The flagging Royals (23-16-4, but 3-6-1 over the last 10) are hoping for a tantalizing four-point weekend sweep.
Pilon had a goal and assist on Saturday, in his last game for Kamloops, as the Royals rallied for a 5-4 overtime win against the Blazers.
The Royals, meanwhile, have eschewed the big-name deals yet have been involved in a flurry of recent moves that has made over the team. With forwards Jared Dmytriw, Jared Legien, Regan Nagy, Ryan Peckford and defenceman Jeremy Masella gone, this hardly looks like the team that began the season so promisingly in September before the recent swoon in the standings.
But make no mistake, said Hope: The Royals are looking to win this season. They are, however, not willing to give away the farm to do it.
鈥淲e have our first- and second-round picks in the bantam draft this year and for the following three years. But the teams that are selling are asking in return for not only those, but also for young 16-17-18-year-old current-roster players,鈥� Hope said.
鈥淚 am surprised at the prices being paid. Yet we all know what one key veteran player addition can do. It鈥檚 the key piece that can put a contending team over the top, like Leon Draisaitl did for Kelowna [when Prince Albert traded him in 2015 to the Rockets, who went on that year to win the 2015 WHL championship and came within an overtime goal of taking the Memorial Cup].鈥�
The Royals鈥� moves at trade deadlines have been numerous under Hope in six seasons, but not quite as grand. Yet don鈥檛 mistake that with timidity.
鈥淲hile we are in position with assets [bantam draft picks and young roster players], we may not have been as impactful in this year鈥檚 trades as some of the other contenders,鈥� Hope admitted.
鈥淏ut we feel we have carefully put the pieces into place.鈥�
The recent Royals additions are forwards Noah Gregor, Braydon Buziak, Andrei Grishakov, D-Jay Jerome and defenceman Kade Jensen.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a testament to the parity in the league that so many teams feel they are in position to be successful in the playoffs,鈥� said Royals coach Dan Price, about the volume and dramatic nature of this year鈥檚 trades.
鈥淭eams are making moves because they feel they have a chance.鈥�
The Royals believe they are in that group, despite their recent bad patch of results.
鈥淲e have had key players injured and can鈥檛 seem to catch a break in that regard,鈥� Hope said.
The team, however, is slowly returning to health, he said.
鈥淲e will begin to see, sometime in January, what the Royals really look like,鈥� Hope said.
But bring a program to identify the players.
