Under a week remains until the trade deadline for the Western Hockey League, and the biggest mover so far has been the Wenatchee Wild, who made it clear that an overhaul is needed for the organization to move forward.
Wenatchee retools
During their time playing for Team Canada at the IIHF World Junior Championship in Gothenburg, Sweden, rumors began to circulate that the Wild would be looking to trade away their phenom forwards Conor Geekie (ARI) and Matthew Savoie (BUF) to regain the draft picks they lost from previous years. Wenatchee had no first- or second-round selections in the WHL Bantam Draft for the next five seasons.
As Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek began reporting early last week, trades with the Swift Current Broncos for Geekie, and the Moose Jaw Warriors for Savoie were in line, with the only questions being what would be the return packages.
In recent years, trades in the CHL have been far more off the rails than before, the types of trades you would make with your friends in fantasy football. One example from last season was when the hosts of the Memorial Cup, the Kamloops Blazers, gave the Everett Silvertips four roster players and 10 Bantam Draft selections (14 totals assets) for Olen Zellweger and Ryan Hofer. So with Geekie and Savoie both being top NHL Draft selections a couple seasons ago, the return for them was bound to be steep.
The trades were finalized Thursday, Geekie to Swift Current in exchange for three players and four picks including two first-rounders, while Savoie to Moose Jaw brought the Wild seven picks in return, including two first-round selections.
Additionally, the Wild traded defenseman Ashton Cumby to the Seattle Thunderbirds for a sixth-rounder in 2024.
Put bluntly by Wild general manager Bliss Littler, “These are tough decisions – we do not want to be in a position, nor do we want our fans to see us in a position, where we would likely win seven to 10 games a year for the next five years.” Wenatchee needed to balance the present team with future stability, and the way to do that was by offloading their higher-value, expiring assets.
Wenatchee may not be done either. Rumors are swirling about them looking to move some more of their roster pieces, including names like captain and defenseman Graham Sward (NSH), Zach Benson’s WHL rights (BUF), and goaltender Daniel Hauser.
While trading away Geekie and Savoie does hinder Wenatchee’s chase for the division title, scoring isn’t entirely depleted. The Wild will continue to rely on the production from Kenta Isogai and the aforementioned Sward if he stays put.
With 10 points in Isogai’s last three games, including his first career WHL hat trick against the Kelowna Rockets on Saturday, and Sward becoming the first WHL defenseman to 50 points this season, the Wild will look for more players like them to step into the roles played by Geekie and Savoie for the rest of the season and into the playoffs.
Top teams meet in the Rose City
The two other horses battling with Wenatchee atop the U.S. Division met in Portland on Friday night.
Everett Silvertips and Portland Winterhawks alternated the scoring in a back-and-forth game. Everett had the lead towards the back half of the third before a last-minute, shorthanded, game-tying goal from Portland’s Marcus Nguyen forced overtime and eventually a shootout.
Despite Everett goalie Tyler Palmer (CGY) and his 51-save performance on the night, it wasn’t enough. The Silvertips were defeated 5-4.
Everett has had noteworthy struggles in Portland for a while now. Including playoffs, the Silvertips losing streak at Veterans Memorial Coliseum extended to 13 games, with their last win there coming on Nov. 16, 2021.
With the win, the Winterhawks moved into sole possession of first place in the U.S. Division and became the first U.S. team to 50 points on the year.
Everett salvages week
Despite the loss on Friday, the Silvertips came home to energetic crowds for the rest of the weekend, starting Saturday against the Seattle Thunderbirds, when Everett pelted T-birds netminder Scott Ratzlaff (BUF) with 57 total shots on net. Despite the 54-save performance from Ratzlaff, two goals from Julius Miettinen and one from Ben Hemmerling (VGK) were enough to down the Thunderbirds, 4-2.
The next night was much of the same formula for the Tips. Welcoming in the top team in the Western Conference in Prince George, Everett displayed yet again why it’s a force to be reckoned with on home ice. Two early first-period strikes from Hemmerling and another from Miettinen to begin the second had Everett in the driver’s seat.
A lengthy glass maintence delay halted the Silvertips momentum a bit, as the Cougars would eventually pull within one goal, but it was too little, too late. With the 4-2 victory, Everett clinches the season series over Prince George, winning three out of four, as well as taking five out of a possible six points on the weekend.
“Even though we let one slip away on Friday, we really battled back on Saturday and Sunday in front of our home crowd,” Hemmerling said. “Once we get our team healthier and continue to build off of games like we just played against Prince George, it’ll all come around.”
The Silvertips continue to jockey position with Portland and Wenatchee. With the win on Sunday, they sit tied for second place with the Wild at 51 points and one point back of the Winterhawks for first place. “We’re right there,” Field said. “If we play the way we know we are capable of, hopefully by the end of the year we’ll be the last team standing.”
Bolstering their blue line
On New Year’s Eve, the Silvertips swapped overage defensemen with the Regina Pats, trading Ty Gibson and a 2025 second-rounder for Parker Berge.
Following the game on Sunday, I asked Berge about his transition to the City of Smokestacks. “It takes a little bit to get used to playing with all new guys, as well as the different systems in place,” Berge said. He has three assists in the games he’s played with Everett thus far. “It was a quick turnaround from being told I was traded to then playing with a brand new team the next night, but going from a team that’s not doing very well to a team that’s in contention has been pretty cool.”
“Berge fits in really well with this group,” Field said. “He has a presence to him that no matter what is going on, he tends to settle the group down, make simple yet smart plays.”
Jagger Firkus
Bringing it back to the Moose Jaw Warriors, Jagger Firkus (SEA) returned to the WHL following his abbreviated call up to Team Canada at the World Junior Championship. With seven points in his first two games back, Firkus boosted his season point total to 66, ranking first in total points in the Eastern Conference and third in the league overall, as well as collecting his 250th career WHL point Saturday night in Swift Current.
Those in the Pacific Northwest wishing to see Firkus and the Warriors will have the opportunity to do so Feb. 23 through Mar. 3, as they make their journey through the U.S. Division and visit Tri-City, Spokane, Portland, Everett, Seattle, and Wenatchee.
The WHL trade deadline is set for this Wednesday, Jan. 10.
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