ESTEVAN - The Eagle Sky Estevan Bruins pulled off seven trades during the SJHL's trade deadline day on Friday. Head coach and general manager Jason Tatarnic said they didn't expect the club would be so busy.
Tatarnic said the flurry of activity started when the Bruins learned that two 2007-born players, forward Steven Steranka and defenceman Caleb Potter, had been reassigned to the Black and Gold. Steranka had been playing with the Red Deer Rebels of the Western Hockey League (WHL), while Potter had been with the WHL's Swift Current Broncos.
"Once we found out they were coming down for sure, we started looking at what would be offered to us for our 20-year-olds, and we entertained the offers, and we made the ones that we thought were good deals," said Tatarnic.
As for the trades, captain Cade Kennedy, a 20-year-old forward, was shipped to the Humboldt Broncos for a player development fee (PDF). Kennedy had five goals and seven assists in 30 games for the Bruins this season while playing a key role in all situations.
They also shipped another 20-year-old, defenceman Michael Carter, to the Battlefords North Stars for a PDF. Carter had two goals and six assists in 24 games, and was a physical presence for the club.
Tatarnic said it was tough to deal Kennedy and Carter. As for the team's other 20-year-olds, Tatarnic said there wasn't a trade with a suitable return.
The other trades on the day were:
*Estevan acquired 2005-born defenceman Ethan Andrews from the Notre Dame Hounds for defenceman Luke Lawford ('06). Andrews had two goals and nine assists in 32 games, while Lawford had one goal in 16 games.
*Forward Cole Robertson ('05) was dealt to the Virden Oil Capitals of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League for a PDF. Robertson had two goals and two assists in 16 games.
*Goaltender Beck Boiteau ('06) was acquired from the Whitecourt Wolverines of the Alberta Junior Hockey League for a PDF. In four games this season, Boiteau had a 2-1 record with a 2.99 goals against average and a .906 save percentage.
*Forward Rylan Ringor ('04) was acquired from the Dauphin Kings of the MJHL for a PDF. Ringor had three goals and 11 assists in 26 games split between three teams this season.
*Forward Kanye Huang ('06) was acquired from the Golden Rockets of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League for a PDF. He had 11 goals and 10 assists in 29 games with Golden this season.
In other roster news, 2006-born goaltender Benjamin Polhill, who spent the past two months as the Bruins' No. 1 goaltender, has left the team to join the Prince George Spruce Kings of the B.C. Hockey League. Polhill had a 5-10-2 record with a 3.30 goals against average and a .898 save percentage. Tatarnic said Polhill's departure was unexpected.
And forward Cody Polumbus ('06) has gone to play in the U.S. in what Tatarnic said is an unsanctioned league. Polumbus had a goal and two assists in 17 games.
With Kennedy's departure, Brady Wilson will be the Bruins' captain for the rest of the season, while Kaelen Whittingham and Hayden Pimm will be the alternates. Tatarnic said they were selected for the roles by their teammates.
"You have a few different things that you have to do as a leader now, and it's probably even more entailing than before, like communication - how the communication's done - and leading by example. I think that's the biggest thing. For me, a leader, you have to lead by example with your work ethic. If you don't work hard, then it's hard to get anyone to follow you. I think that's the key thing. You can't ask players to do something you're not willing to do yourself."
