Wednesday was a busy day across the SJHL, as the trade deadline had all the teams looking to make a move or two to shore up their rosters heading into the final half of the season. The Richardson Pioneer Weyburn Red Wings were no exception, as they made a number of moves.
One of the biggest trades announced by the Red Wings was the acquisition of 20-year-old blueliner Colin Doherty. Originally from Gurnee, Illinois, he was with the Amarillo Wranglers of the NAHL.
“We’re excited about him,” said Red Wings head coach and general manager Cody Mapes. “He’s an unbelievable teammate. He’s a workhorse, he’s big and physical, skates well, so I mean that’s going to be a big addition on the backend.”
While the Doherty trade was one of the biggest, it wasn’t the first of the day for the Wings. Mapes said the first deal they got ironed out was a trade involving 04-born forward Elijah Anderson, as they traded him to the Battlefords North Stars, with the rights for goaltender Justen Maric, a player development fee and future considerations coming back to Weyburn.
“Being able to acquire a goaltender like Justen Maric, even though he’s in the Western League, he’s a big piece, and so whatever his future looks like, he’ll be important to the future of our organization,” Mapes said of the deal. “We’re excited to add a piece like that, and then the futures is exciting for us too, so that’s good, and we wish Elijah nothing but the best in Battleford.”
Mapes was also working the phones outside of the province as well, as they concluded a three-way deal that involved the Calgary Canucks and the Fort McMurray Oil Barons. Earlier in the day, Calgary traded forward Sam Callahan to Fort Mac. Then, the oil Barons closed a deal with Weyburn that would see Callahan coming here in exchange for a player development fee.
“He’s physical,” Mapes said of Callahan’s playstyle. “He’s a drive-the-net kind of guy. We’re excited about that. He’s a big guy that’s got a pretty good skill set on him, and so we’re excited to be able to add a guy like him as well.”
Another deal was made involving not necessarily a payer for right now, but definitely in the future for the Red Wings, with the rights for Simon Martin, who plays with the U18 AAA Tisdale Trojans, coming to Weyburn from Humboldt in exchange for a player development fee.
“He’s captain in Tisdale right now,” Mapes noted about the player. “We spoke with him lots before the draft. He was signed in Humboldt at the beginning of the year and ends up going back to AAA. He’s putting up some good numbers. He’s a very good skating, skilled defenseman, and so we’re excited to potentially add a guy like that to our picture for next year.”
One other deal the Red Wings made was Tuesday when they acquired the SJHL rights of Matthew Hodson, a 20-year-old forward who had been skating with the Victoria Royals of the WHL. In exchange for the rights, Weyburn sent to the Melville Millionaires 03-born forward Bradley Banach, 07-born forward Lucas Hvidston, a 1st round and 3rd round pick in this year's 09 Draft, and a player development fee.
As for when the players can be expected to be part of the lineup, Mapes said Callahan and Doherty will both be dressed for the games this weekend as La Ronge comes to Crescent Point Place on Friday, and Yorkton on Saturday. For Hodson, the situation is still fluid, with no word if he will be released by Victoria. As for Maric, he is currently out with a lower-body injury, but Mapes isn’t necessarily expecting him to be sent down to the SJHL by the Portland Winterhawks any time soon.