Last season, the Alberni Valley Bulldogs were preparing for a deep playoff run and on January 5, 2022, made a trade with the Coquitlam Express.
The Bulldogs acquired 2001-born forward Arlo Merritt from the Coquitlam Express for 2004-born forward Mirko Buttazzoni and future considerations.
For both teams, the trade served its purpose – on the surface. The Bulldogs were preparing for the immediate future and Coquitlam was preparing for further ahead.
This article is about examining the trade. It’s about the players involved and the trade’s effects on either team. To begin, I’ll trace each player’s path.
Buttazzoni’s path
Before entering the BC Hockey League, Buttazzoni started at the Okanagan Hockey Academy. During the 2017-18 season, Buttazzoni played 29 games for the OHA U15 Varsity team.
The following season, Buttazzoni played at the Burnaby Winter Club, spending 27 games with the U15 Prep squad. After the 2018-19 season, Buttazzoni moved to West Van Academy.
For the 2019-20 season, the Langley, BC product played 33 games for the West Van Academy Elite 15s. He also got into four games for West Van Academy Prep as an affiliate player. That prep team featured a 14-year-old Connor Bedard as its leading scorer.
Buttazzoni returned to the Burnaby Winter Club for 2020-21, but COVID-19 restrictions shortened the season and he only played four games.
Before the 2021-22 season, the Bulldogs recruited Buttazzoni and he posted seven goals and 14 points in 24 games prior to the trade to Coquitlam.
Merritt’s path
As for Merritt, he played for the Halifax ACCEL Hawks Major Bantam team from 2014 to 2016. After that, the Halifax, NS product attended Kimball Union Academy in Meriden, NH to play US High School prep hockey.
Across three seasons, Merritt played 106 games at Kimball, including as an alternate captain in 2018-19. During his final year with the Wildcats, he made his junior hockey debut with the US Hockey League’s Lincoln Stars as an affiliate, getting into four games.
In June 2019, Merritt was recruited by the Chilliwack Chiefs and played 48 games for them during the 2019-20 season. The following October, Merritt was part of a big trade that saw him and future considerations go to the Coquitlam Express for 2019 Carolina Hurricanes seventh-round draft pick Massimo Rizzo.
Like Buttazzoni, Merritt’s 2020-21 season was affected by COVID-19 restrictions. Instead of staying in BC, Merritt departed for the Sioux Falls Stampede of the USHL.
For the 2021-22 season, Merritt rejoined the Express and became its captain. Before the trade to Alberni Valley, he played 25 games in Coquitlam, scoring 12 goals and eight assists.
After the trade
Alberni Valley did not get the deep playoff run it wanted and the Bulldogs were eliminated in the second round by the Langley Rivermen. As for Coquitlam, it was eliminated in the first round by Chilliwack.
The Bulldogs came up against a Langley team that stifled Matthew Wood, Ellis Rickwood, and the Victoria Grizzlies’ offense in the first round. As for Coquitlam, its first-round series against Chilliwack went to seven games. For reference, the Chiefs finished second in the Coastal Conference behind Alberni Valley.
Merritt aged out of junior hockey after the season and now attends Bentley University. Meanwhile, Buttazzoni is in his final season with Coquitlam as he heads to Clarkson University this September. As for the future considerations part of the trade, it’s likely that was a player development fee.
Final thoughts
Because of their second-round exit, I don’t believe the trade worked out for Alberni Valley. The intent was to have a deep playoff run but the Bulldogs loss to the Langley Rivermen prevented this.
For Coquitlam, the trade worked out very well. The Express got Buttazzoni for an additional season after the 2022 playoffs and he has become a key offensive contributor.
