BCHL Today: BCHL trade floodgates open, Lane commits to NMU, and much more!

 

Spruce Kings, Express, Clippers, and Chiefs hook up for massive deals

The Coquitlam Express, Prince George Spruce Kings, Chilliwack Chiefs, and Nanaimo Clippers are all part of a series of trades that sees eight players involved in changing teams.

The deals, which were announced by the Clippers, Express, and Spruce Kings on Tuesday, came on the first day that BCHL clubs were permitted to officially make trades ahead of the 2021-22 season.

The first domino to fall was Prince George’s acquisition of 2004-born forward Jaeger Murdock from Nanaimo in exchange for 2002-born forward Austin Spiridakis.

Next, the Spruce Kings packaged Murdock, 2002-born forward Carter Cochrane, and the BC Hockey League list rights to 2001-born goaltender Jesse Makaj to the Express for 2004-born forward Andrej Kovacevic and 2003-born forward Austin Fraser.

Finally, Prince George moved Kovacevic and future considerations to Chilliwack for 2002-born defenseman Brody Gagno and 2003-born forward Ty Gagno.

A full breakdown of the trades is available here.

Eagles, Spruce Kings, and Kings play “Let’s Make A Deal”

The Surrey Eagles, Powell River Kings, and Prince George Spruce Kings connected on what amounts to essentially a three-way trade to jumpstart the BC Hockey League off-season on Tuesday.

First, the Eagles sent 2002-born Ian Kern to Powell River to complete future considerations from a Feb. 25 transaction. That deal saw Kern go from the Kings to Surrey.

Then, Powell River shipped Kern to the Prince George Spruce Kings for 2001-born defenseman Zach Gabruch and future considerations.

A detailed breakdown of these two trades is available here.

Vees move McEachern to Melville

The Penticton Vees have completed a trade with Melville of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League that sees 2001-born goaltender Kaleb McEachern return to the Millionaires.

The Vees acquired the Pentictonite on loan from Melville on Feb. 25. McEachern was stellar during the BCHL pod season, finishing with a 3-0-1 record, a 0.73 goals-against-average, a .960 save percentage, and one shutout in four games.

He also had an 0-2 record with a 4.53 goals-against-average and an .888 save percentage in two games with the Mills this season.

Chiefs send Krahn back to Melville

The Chilliwack Chiefs have sent 2001-born Jonathan Krahn to the Melville Millionaires of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League.

This trade completes a loan agreement of future considerations from Feb. 25 which saw Krahn join his hometown team for the 2020-21 pod season.

Krahn played 14 games for the Chiefs during the pod season and posted one assist. He had four goals and six points in six games with the Millionaires this season.

Bulldogs bunt Wruck back to Steinbach

The Alberni Valley Bulldogs have traded 2002-born defenseman Eduard Wruck to the Manitoba Junior Hockey League’s Steinbach Pistons.

The transaction completes the future considerations from the Feb. 24 deal which saw Wruck loaned to the Bulldogs for the 2020-21 BCHL pod season.

Wruck got into four games with Alberni Valley during the pod season but didn’t register any points. He played five games with the Pistons to start 2020-21 and the North Vancouverite posted a pair of assists.

Warriors trade Suppin back to Canmore

The West Kelowna Warriors have sent 2002-born forward Isaac Suppin to the Canmore Eagles of the Alberta Junior Hockey League.

The trade completes the future considerations from a Feb. 24 deal which saw the Kelowna, BC product head to the Warriors.

Suppin finished the pod season with no points in seven games for West Kelowna. As a rookie, he had an assist in two games with the Eagles to start the 2020-21 season.

Caps dispatch Calder back to Portage

The Cowichan Valley Capitals have traded 2002-born defenseman Kian Calder to the Portage Terriers of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League.

The deal completes future considerations from the Feb. 23 transaction that saw the Portage la Prairie, MB product head to Cowichan Valley.

Calder finished the BC Hockey League pod season with an assist in eight games for the Capitals. He also had four goals and five points in eight games with the Terriers in 2020-21.

Warriors wave Sinclair back to OCN

The West Kelowna Warriors have traded 2001-born defenseman Bryden Sinclair to the OCN Blizzard of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League.

The deal completes future considerations from the Feb. 19 trade that saw the Peguis, MB product join the Warriors. Sinclair finished the BC Hockey League pod season with a pair of assists in 17 games for West Kelowna.

Capitals deliver Rands back to Virden

The Cowichan Valley Capitals have traded 2001-born defenseman Logan Rands to the Virden Oil Capitals of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League.

The deal completes future considerations from the Feb. 22 trade that saw the Portage la Prairie, MB product added to the BCHL’s Capitals.

Rands finished the BC Hockey League pod season with a goal and six points in 20 games for Cowichan Valley. He also had one goal and eight points in eight games with Virden to begin the 2020-21 season.

Express get Devlin and Howe back from Grande Prairie

The Coquitlam Express has acquired 2002-born defenseman Ian Devlin and 2001-born goaltender Joe Howe from the Grande Prairie Storm of the Alberta Junior Hockey League for future considerations.

Devlin and Howe were traded to the Storm on Feb. 20 as a loan for the AJHL season while the status of the BC Hockey League season was up in the air due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Devlin ended the season with one assist in 13 games with Grande Prairie. Howe was 7-3-0 with a 2.27 goals-against-average, a .921 save percentage, and one shutout in 10 games with the Storm.

Lane commits to Northern Michigan University

2001-born Penticton Vees goaltender Kaeden Lane has committed to Northern Michigan University to play NCAA Division I hockey this September.

Lane, who’s from Burnaby, BC, had a sparkling 15-1-0 record with a 1.13 goals-against-average, a .951 save percentage, and five shutouts in 16 games with the Vees this past season.

Finlay signs a deal with Tingsryds AIF

Forward Liam Finlay (40 goals, 74 assists in 109 games for Penticton and Vernon from 2014-16) has signed a contract with Tingsryds AIF of HockeyAllsvenskan, which is the second tier of pro hockey in Sweden.

The 24-year-old Kelowna, BC product had six goals and 14 assists in 16 games with KOOVEE in Mestis, the second level of hockey in Finland this season. He also played 20 games with HK Nitra in Slovakia to end the season and finished with a dozen points there.

Shaw goes from Denmark to Hungary

Forward Brady Shaw (71 goals, 68 assists in 113 games with Penticton, Coquitlam, and Surrey from 2011-13) has signed with Fehérvár AV19 of the ICE Hockey League in Hungary.

The native of Ottawa, ON had 34 goals and 72 points in 47 games with Esbjerg Energy in Denmark during the 2020-21 season.

Puffer signs an extension in Denmark

Forward Craig Puffer (29 goals, 29 assists in 58 games with Chilliwack in 2014-15) has signed an extension for the 2021-22 season with Esbjerg Energy of Metal Ligaen in Denmark.

The 26-year-old from Greenwich, CT had 17 goals and 48 points in 47 games with Esbjerg Energy this past season.

Newhook commits to Connecticut College for 2021-22

Defenseman Devan Newhook (five assists in 31 games with Salmon Arm in 2019-20) has committed to Connecticut College to play NCAA Division III hockey this fall.

The 2000-born blueliner had two goals and 18 points in 12 games with the Fredericton Red Wings of the Maritime Junior Hockey League in 2020-21. The St. John’s, NL product added eight assists in six MHL playoff games.