Examining the Surrey Eagles trade deadline moves

Before the BCHL’s February trade deadline, the Surrey Eagles completed two trades and signed one player. The first trade involved the Cranbrook Bucks and the second trade involved the Coquitlam Express.

First, the Eagles moved future considerations to the Bucks for forward Evan Brown. Later, the Eagles acquired future considerations from the Langley Rivermen for forward Ryan Schelling.

Related: Examining the Surrey Eagles’ three RBC Cup runs

Around the same time, the Eagles signed forward Micah Berger from the U.S. Hockey League’s Sioux Falls Stampede. All three roster moves occurred before the BCHL trade deadline.

The first two deals

Brown is a 2003-born forward in his final year of junior hockey. The Little Silver, New Jersey product started the season with the Coquitlam Express before being traded to Cranbrook for future considerations.

Brown played 51 games for the Express between this season and last, compiling seven goals and 25 assists. He had five points in five playoff games for Coquitlam last spring. Before being traded to Surrey, he played 25 games for the Bucks and tallied a respectable three goals and 12 assists. As of this writing, Brown has yet to secure a college commitment.

In the second deal, the Eagles traded Schelling for future considerations. Schelling, from Airmont, New York, posted seven goals and 13 assists in 35 games with Surrey. He added six goals and 11 assists in 15 games for the Rivermen. The 2004-born forward is committed to Providence College and will start his NCAA Division I career this September.

Adding Berger to a stacked roster

As stated above, Berger came from the Sioux Falls Stampede of the USHL. The native of Bethesda, Maryland is a B.C. Hockey League veteran. He played 42 games for the Wenatchee Wild in 2022-23, finishing with 26 goals and 28 assists. Berger added two goals and five assists in 10 games with the Wild during last season’s BCHL playoffs.

Berger has played for Sioux Falls on and off over the last three seasons. In 2021-22, Berger got into two games as an affiliate player. The following season, Berger played six games with the Stampede before joining Wenatchee. He returned to Sioux Falls to start 2023-24 and notched seven goals and nine assists in 41 games before leaving for Surrey.

After this season, Berger will attend the University of Miami in Oxford, Ohio to start his NCAA Division I career.

Analyzing the roster moves

Each roster move does something different for the Eagles. Signing Berger gives them a veteran forward and prolific scorer for their playoff push.

During his time in the BCHL, Berger has 79 points in 61 games, which is 1.3 points per game. He adds offense to a prolific Eagles forward group where six players had more than 30 points. Eagles forward Caden Cranston led the BCHL in scoring with 86 points while Aaron Schwartz was second with 81 points.

As for the first trade, Brown is a veteran BCHL forward with two seasons under his belt who should help the Eagles during their playoff push.

Then there’s the Schelling trade. The Eagles cleared a roster spot to add Berger while the Rivermen added Schelling without giving up a player in return. As for the future considerations the Eagles acquired, it’s unclear what they will be. Future considerations could mean a player to be named later or simply a player development fee.

The playoff push

The Eagles were the top team in the BCHL during the regular season and competed for the number-one spot in the league with the Penticton Vees. Surrey finished atop the Coastal Conference with 90 points while the Vees claimed the Interior Conference crown, compiling 82 points.

Right now, the Eagles stand the best chance of defeating the Vees in the playoffs. Penticton has won the BCHL championship two seasons in a row.

The last time Surrey made the Fred Page Cup final was in 2013, when the Eagles knocked off the Vees in six games.