As I'm sure you're well aware of now, the trade ended up being a swap of picks between Brandon and Red Deer, with the Rebels bringing on 20 year-old F Nathan Green.
Green will slide right into the Rebels top six, and is coming off a very good 19 year old season (24 goals, 59 points in 71 games) and an even better playoffs (14 points in 12 games).
Considering the strange process that is the Import Draft, it's an even better deal for Red Deer in the sense that they probably selected the player (John Persson) that they would have selected anyways, while adding an overager from a very good Wheat Kings squad.Heading into training camp, it leaves the Rebs with Cullen Morin and Nathan Green as likely 20 year-olds, with Cody Esposito, Jordie Deagle, and Cody Gross as the other candidates for number three. At this point, I would peg Deagle as the front-runner for various reasons, but we'll see how it shakes down in August/September.
As for the imports: Throw a dart at a board, and you have as good of an idea as I do as to what they'll bring.
Both are draft eligible (NHL) next season, so both are relatively young.
John Persson is a 6'2'' Swedish forward who played with Mora IK last season (1st round - 41st overall)
Jindra Barak (Good luck to P.A. announcer Troy Gillard with that one!) is a 6 foot defenseman out of the Czech Republic. (2nd round, 69th overall)
John Persson is a 6'2'' Swedish forward who played with Mora IK last season (1st round - 41st overall)
Jindra Barak (Good luck to P.A. announcer Troy Gillard with that one!) is a 6 foot defenseman out of the Czech Republic. (2nd round, 69th overall)
The second pick was probably one that Red Deer hadn't planned on using, seeing as though they had Tommi Kivisto pencilled in for the next two years...but we all know how that ended.
1 comments:
I like this deal. We address a big weakness with the team (skilled overage players), and like you say, select a guy that we were likely going to take anyways.
After watching Gross play last season, I can't imagine that he is even still on the protected list, and I think that if all the planets align right, and Persson and McKenzie show up here, I think that we might see neither Esposito or Deagle back--opting for another overage defenseman or backup goalie instead.
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