GWMHL

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Draft Day is Almost Here

In SSR, Transactions on September 15, 2018 at 11:18 am

The 2018 GWMHL Rookie Draft is set to take place Sunday, September 16. While not boasting quite as deep a pool as 2017, 2018 still promises plenty of intrigue.

Who Goes First?

This year’s draft class is headlined by young blue-chip talent like Nico Hischier, Nolan Patrick, Charlie McAvoy, Alex DeBrincat, and Pierre-Luc Dubois, plus a host of interesting wild-card prospects. Unlike the previous two years, which saw Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews go first overall, 2018 is much tougher to predict.

Big Names on the Move?

Rumours are swirling that some teams have already agreed to deals involving all-star calibre players. Deals involving 2019 picks can’t be made official until the draft begins, so expect a flurry of transactions Sunday morning. Plus, there’s always jockeying in the later rounds as GMs vie for hidden gems.

4 High Picks for South Side

Barring trades, the rebuilding South Side Renegades are poised to make the most noise at the draft table: they have 4 first round picks, including #1 (their own), #9, #16, and #20. That kind of stockpile gives the Renegades the freedom to take a couple of safe picks, then swing for the fences on longshots. They’ll almost certainly walk away with a new-look roster.

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Lynx Add Centre, Defense Depth

In EDH, SSR, Transactions, VAN on September 10, 2018 at 1:34 pm

In a pair of moves, the El Dorado Lynx have signalled that they’re going all-in on the upcoming season. First, the Lynx acquired veteran rearguard Alex Edler from the Vancouver Night Train, along with a 4th round pick (70th overall), for El Dorado’s 2nd round rookie pick in 2018 (29th overall). Edler leaves as the third highest-scoring defenseman in Vancouver franchise history.

Then, the Lynx swung an even bigger move, sending their 1st round pick in 2018 (9th overall) and forward Teuvo Teravainen to the rebuilding South Side Renegades for centre Ryan O’Reilly, defenseman Jonas Brodin, and South Side’s 2nd round pick (21st overall). The move simultaneously solidifies El Dorado’s shaky blueline but also provides a top-line centre to fill in for injury-plagued Ryan Kesler.

Salem Acquires Fleury

In SAL, SSR, Transactions on May 9, 2018 at 9:31 am

The Salem Sabercats, 2018 Gump Cup Champions, have acquired a potential new starter in veteran netminder Marc-Andre Fleury. In exchange, Fleury’s former club, the South Side Renegades, receive young winger Sonny Milano.

The move signals the rebuilding Renegades’ desire to move forward with goaltender Connor Hellebuyck as its starter. On the Sabercats’ end, it seems likely that the defending champs will let Fleury battle with Frederik Andersen for the starter job. That means veteran Craig Anderson could be on the outside looking in.

Fleury joins his third franchise after 12 seasons with South Carolina (now Parry Sound) and then South Side. He played 35 games in 2017-18, struggling to a 3.65 GAA and .901 save percentage, with one shutout, on a last-place South Side team. Milano did not suit up for the Sabercats.

Minor Move: Kevan Miller to Boston

In BOS, Transactions, VAN on April 25, 2018 at 10:05 am

In a minor move to shore up its bottom pairing, the Boston Banshees have acquired steady defenseman Kevan Miller from the Vancouver Night Train in exchange for Ice Harbor’s 4th round rookie pick in 2018.

Vancouver had acquired Miller from Parry Sound at the 2017-18 trade deadline in a move that saw Derek Forbort going the other way. He put up one goal and 13 points in 58 regular season games this past season, along with 2 assists in 12 playoff games.

Delta Acquires Muzzin from South Side

In BOS, DEL, SSR, Transactions on April 22, 2018 at 10:43 am

The Delta Sturgeon continue their arms race with divisional rival Ice Harbor, acquiring defenseman Jake Muzzin from the South Side Renegades for Cody Ceci. The Sturgeon hope Muzzin will be able to QB a powerplay that will likely feature shooters like Kucherov, MacKinnon, and Hall. Ceci, five years Muzzin’s junior, better fits the Renegades’ nascent youth movement.

Ceci had 1 goal and 15 assists in 79 games last season. Muzzin had 6 goals and 20 assists in 82 and was a league-worst -50 for the rebuilding Renegades.

In another minor deal, the Renegades acquired 24-year-old defenseman Jake Dotchin and Baltimore’s 3rd round rookie pick (57th) from the Boston Banshees for San Jose’s 3rd rounder (42nd).

Orrsmen Acquire Rinne

In PAR, Transactions, VAN on April 22, 2018 at 10:41 am

After 9 seasons with the Vancouver Night Train, veteran netminder Pekka Rinne is heading to a contender. The Parry Sound Orrsmen have acquired Rinne, along with its own 3rd round rookie pick in 2018, for goaltender Anders Nilsson, forward prospect Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson, and Denver’s 2nd round rookie pick in 2018.

Rinne played 434 games with the Night Train and backstopped the club through its best years. But with Sergei Bobrovsky taking the reins in 2017-18 and the team getting younger, his days in Vancouver turned out to be numbered. He leaves as the franchise leader in games, wins, and shutouts.

The Orrsmen, whose 3-man platoon in the 2018 Gump Cup Playoffs fell flat, will be able to enter the 2018-19 season with a workhorse between the pipes to complement one of the league’s best young forward cores.

Trading Opens with Boston-Ice Harbor Swap

In BOS, IHS, Transactions on April 11, 2018 at 11:38 am

With the Gump Cup awarded, trading opened for the 2018 offseason — and one of the usual suspects was ready to pounce. The Boston Banshees were involved in the first move of the trading period for the fourth year running, sending defender Nick Leddy to the Ice Harbor Storm in exchange for centre Martin Hanzal and the Storm’s 2nd and 4th round picks in the 2018 Rookie Draft.

For Boston, who acquired Leddy just last season, the move may signal the beginning of a retool aimed at getting younger. The Storm, meanwhile, may have finally solved their long-standing need for a left-handed top-pairing defenseman.

Star D-men Highlight Trade Deadline Action

In Transactions on December 19, 2017 at 8:56 am

With another busy offseason for player moves, including several blockbusters, 2017 gave us a pretty quiet trade deadline. But the moves that were made

Most active by far was Parry Sound. Just months since drafting first overall, the Orrsmen are suddenly contenders, with a high-octane offense and great goaltending from white-hot Aaron Dell.

But with Dell done for the year, the Orrsmen wanted to add some pieces to stay competitive. In four deals, they added, among others, a PP quarterback in Kevin Shattenkirk, a top defensive winger in Colton Sceviour, and an experienced goalie in Jimmy Howard: exactly the kind of moves designed to propel a team to postseason success.

Meanwhile, the Ice Harbor Storm tried to shore up the left side of its blueline, picking up Marco Scandella and a late pick for righty Erik Johnson, and division rival Delta went all-in too, acquiring vets Dan Hamhuis and Rick Nash for a playoff push.

Here are all the deals as they went down:

Read the rest of this entry »

Matthews, Laine, Marner Headline 2017 Draft

In News, Transactions on September 9, 2017 at 3:04 pm

The rookie pool was one for the ages — consensus among GMs seemed to be that the 2017 GWMHL Rookie Draft was the deepest group of young players available in some seasons.

Parry Sound kicked things off with the selection of Auston Matthews, who joins Connor McDavid in what will hands-down be one of the league’s most feared duos for years to come. West Virginia took Patrik Laine second overall while San Jose added Mitch Marner at third. Zach Werenski was the first defenseman chosen, by Adirondack at #4.

As rich as the rookie crop was, it was unusually weak in goaltenders. The first goalie chosen didn’t go until #56 (Jon Gillies to Ice Harbor) and only three netminders were drafted in 80 picks.

See the complete list of 2017 draftees here

Big Names Change Teams on Draft Day Trades

In News, Transactions on September 9, 2017 at 2:59 pm

Rookie Draft day is always a chance for GMs to come together and make some big moves. This year featured the usual assortment of pick-for-pick trades, mostly teams going all in on the 2017 draft at the expense of ’18. But several big-name players (and some less big) changed teams, too.

The biggest of the day was undoubtedly star defenseman Erik Karlsson, whose tenure with South Side proved to be short-lived. He headed to Denver, along with centre Mike Fisher and a 4th round pick for defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk, young forward Curtis Lazar, and Denver’s 1st and 2nd round picks in 2018.

Salem and Portland made a swap to solve specific depth problems, with the Sabercats sending centre David Krejci and a 3rd in 2017 to the Winterhawks for winger Ondrej Palat and a 3rd and 4th in 2018. With Portland, Krejci can expect to line up next to newly acquired Phil Kessel and one of the team’s high-flying left wingers.

Meanwhile, Charleston got a little younger when it shipped winger Justin Williams off to Boston in exchange for Marcus Foligno and a 4th in 2018. And Parry Sound continued to shore up its once-shaky D with the acquisition of Andy Greene, who became redundant on Pittsburgh when young Ivan Provorov surprisingly fell to the Hornets’ pick. In return, Pittsburgh gets a 2nd rounder in 2018.