Every summer top prospects in the CHL are moved around to various teams as the franchises work in a dance of preparing for Memorial Cup hosting opportunities while trying to maintain relevancy in the interim. Timing your team to be a powerhouse when the tournament is coming to your city is a big part of junior hockey, and can help build your fan base. Since the home team gets automatic admission to the tournament regardless of their season record, fans don’t want to see their home squad get pummeled by the other powerhouses of the leagues.
This year, Windsor loaded up for the tournament and despite not doing well in the OHL playoffs, won the Memorial Cup with a rested and exciting squad. They took down an Erie Otters team that was widely considered the favorite, boasting a top line of Taylor Raddysh, Dylan Strome and Alex DeBrincat. Now, as Jeff Marek of Sportsnet reports several moves are being made to prepare teams for the upcoming season and beyond.
- The Kitchener Rangers have traded Merrick Rippon to the Mississauga Steelheads for two seconds (2018, 2021) and one conditional third-round pick (2023) in the bantam draft. Rippon has already committed to Providence College for 2018-19, so it’s unclear if he’ll now suit up for the Steelheads instead. The NCAA considers the CHL a “pro” league because some of its players have already signed NHL contracts, meaning if Rippon suited up for even a single game he would lose college eligibility. The smooth skating defenseman is eligible for the 2018 NHL draft.
- The Windsor Spitfires are likely moving top Winnipeg Jets prospect Logan Stanley after he returned just in time from injury to help the team win the Memorial Cup. Stanley was selected 18th-overall by the Jets in 2016, but missed most of the season to a knee injury and will return to junior hockey to continue to develop his 6’7″ frame. Marek believes Stanley is heading to Kitchener, a place where he could immediately be inserted on the top pairing.
- Ivan Lodnia may be on the move from Erie, where he had been stuck in a shutdown role behind the older offensive weapons. Lodnia dropped to the Minnesota Wild in the fourth round this draft after disappearing in the OHL playoffs and Memorial Cup, but still has tremendous talent and could break out this season if given a larger role.
- The Sudbury Wolves are expected to trade Owen Lalonde, a 17-year old defenseman who already has a chance to go in the late first/early second round at next year’s draft. Lalonde was picked second-overall in the 2016 bantam draft, but was a little over-matched in his first season in the league. That should change this year as his body grows and he’s given a bigger opportunity, as he possesses some incredible offensive instincts and could be a powerplay quarterback as soon as this year.