WHL Trade Notes: Bargar, Bishop, Dumba, Henderson
While it has been relatively quiet on the NHL transaction front this week, there has been a flurry of activity in one of the main feeder leagues, the Western Hockey League. Off-season trades are not overly common in the Canadian junior leagues, but every year a few notable prospects end up on the move. Just recently, former Providence College commit Merrick Rippon was traded from one OHL squad to another, with a handful of other big OHL names potentially on the move soon. Not to be outdone, three trades have since gone down in the WHL as teams begin to sort things out ahead of the 2017-18 season.
- Yesterday, a noteworthy one-for-one swap went down, with the Seattle Thunderbirds receiving forward Blake Bargar from the Victoria Royals in exchange for defenseman Anthony Bishop. This will be the third team in three years for Barger, an undrafted small, gritty winger who was dealt by the Moose Jaw Warriors last year. Bargar hopes that the third time is the charm as he looks to finally find some consistent scoring in Seattle during his fourth junior season. He should have a good chance with the defending WHL champion Thunderbirds, where he could find himself skating alongside promising NHL prospects like Ryan Gropp or Keegan Kolesar. Meanwhile, Bishop is in the same boat as Bargar. He too is beginning the new season with a new team for the third straight year, having began his WHL career with the Saskatoon Blades. Bishop, also undrafted, did show some growth last season and is trending towards a career year in 2017-18 with the Royals.
- Another 19-year-old was on the move yesterday, as goaltender Kyle Dumba was traded to the Kamloops Blazers from the Calgary Hitmen. The team announced that they had received a conditional seventh-round pick in the WHL Bantam Draft, though the conditions were not disclosed. The team release revealed that the team believes 2016-17 starter Connor Ingram, a 2016 Tampa Bay Lightning selection, will indeed be going pro, likely joining the Lightning’s AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch, for the upcoming campaign. The team made the decision to bring in some competition for and depth behind Dylan Ferguson, who notably drafted in the seventh round by the Dallas Stars this past June, only to then be dealt to the Vegas Golden Knights not long after. Ferguson appeared in 31 games last year and is ready for the starter job, but Dumba made 28 appearances himself and will work to get his minutes in net. The younger brother of young Minnesota Wild defenseman Mathew Dumba, Kyle Dumba has something to prove in Kamloops after two tough seasons in Calgary.
- Also heading to a new home for the upcoming season in defenseman Jordan Henderson. It is strange to see Henderson on the move yet again after being traded twice last season. After more than two years with the Spokane Chiefs, during which time Henderson showed little potential, he was moved to the Saskatoon Blades early last season, who then flipped him to the Medicine Hat Tigers later on in the year. However, Henderson could not have asked for a better fit, as he exploded in Medicine Hat with 19 points and a +29 rating in 26 games – both more than the rest of his WHL career combined. Henderson is 20 years old and in the final season of his junior career, but finally seemed to be coming into his own with the Tigers. However, the 2016-17 Central Division champs made the decision that a future prospect, a 2019 conditional sixth-round Bantam Draft pick, was more valuable than one more season of an overage defender. Now, the WHL veteran will head to the Kootenay Ice, the worst team in the WHL last year. Henderson may play the largest role of his career and will certainly get some attention playing alongside promising “D” prospect Cale Fleury, but it will be difficult for him to match the production he found with his talented teammates in Medicine Hat.
- The 2018 NHL Draft is expect to have greater talent and depth than this year’s prospect crop, but the same can’t be true for the WHL’s group of upcoming talent. In fact, this may one of the smallest and least talented draft classes to ever come out of the WHL. For that reason, there is a lot riding on defensemen Jett Woo and Ty Smith, the WHL’s only surefire first-rounders at this point in time, as they head into next season. The pair has already been named to Team Canada’s Ivan Hlinka roster, which the league did not miss the opportunity to promote, but there is some question as to how much attention they can draw in this upcoming season. Smith’s Spokane Chiefs finished last in the U.S. Division in 2016-17 and missed the playoffs, and that was even with top 2017 NHL draft picks Kailer Yamamoto and Jaret Anderson-Dolan. Woo’s Moose Jaw Warriors fared much better, finishing second in the East Division. However, the team will lose starting goalie Zach Sawchenko, while captain and top prospect Brett Howden could earn an NHL roster spot with the Tampa Bay Lightning. In either case, Woo and Smith could be major trade bait this season if their teams head in the wrong direction. The players – and the league – will want to find success this season, and that could mean new homes shortly.
USA, Canada Release World Junior Camp Rosters
As national hockey programs start their development programs for this year’s World Junior Championships, rosters were revealed today for the reigning finalists. Team Canada released its development camp roster, while Team USA announced the roster for the Summer Showcase.
These are both U20 rosters, and include many players already selected by NHL teams. They also include top prospects for the upcoming entry draft, as well as some for 2018. They’ll be paired down considerably before the tournament, but even being part of the selection process is a help to a young player’s development. The teams will face off at the Showcase in a series of 12 games, also meeting squads from Finland and Sweden. The full rosters are below:
Snapshots: Jagr, Lightning, Martenet, Sharks
While he has stated that he fully plans to play next season, there have been no discussions between right winger Jaromir Jagr and the Panthers regarding a potential contract extension, reports George Richards of the Miami Herald. Instead, the two sides plan to sit down following the season to see if they can work out a new deal.
The 45 year old Jagr has been on one year contracts for the last six seasons and undoubtedly will be signing another one wherever he winds up landing. In his second season with Florida, his numbers have taken a dip but he sits fourth in team scoring with 16 goals and 27 assists in 79 games. He may have to take a pay cut to remain with the team, however, as the Panthers already have over $61MM in payroll committed for next season. Jagr is carrying a $4MM cap hit this season but has already reached an additional $1.5MM in games played bonuses.
Other notes from around the league:
- After agreeing to terms on an entry-level deal with prospect goalie Connor Ingram earlier today, the Lightning also announced (via Twitter) that they’ve inked forward prospect Dennis Yan to an amateur tryout agreement and assigned him to their AHL affiliate in Syracuse. Joining them is 2015 first rounder Brett Howden who is now eligible to be sent down after his junior team was eliminated from the postseason. The trio represent some reinforcements for a Crunch team who has been hit hard by injuries in Tampa Bay and are in a battle for top spot in the AHL’s North Division heading into the final two weeks of the season.
- Also heading to the pros for the first time is Dallas defensive prospect Chris Martenet. The AHL’s Stars announced that he has been assigned to the team following his junior team, the Ottawa 67’s, was eliminated from the playoffs. The 20 year old tied a career high in points at the OHL level with 16 in 55 games split between London and Ottawa.
- Sharks head coach Peter DeBoer provided a brief injury update on forwards Logan Couture and Joe Thornton, classifying each as day-to-day, notes CSN Bay Area’s Kevin Kurz. He wouldn’t specify when either would be back, only saying that they’re expected back “at some point”. Couture has been out since taking a puck to the mouth on March 25th while Thornton suffered a knee injury on Sunday against the Canucks.
Tampa Bay Signs Brett Howden To Entry Level Contract
The Tampa Bay Lightning continue to lock up their prospects before the calendar turns to 2017 as they announced the signing of center Brett Howden to a three year, entry level contract. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. This comes on the heels of them inking winger Mathieu Joseph to his entry level pact last week.
Howden was a first round pick of the Lightning (27th overall) in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft. He is in his third full WHL season with Moose Jaw and is off to his best start offensively with 16 goals and 16 assists through 21 games. He was recently one of the final cuts for Team Canada at the World Juniors; despite that, Tampa is more than well represented with no fewer than five prospects on the Canadian roster.
The 18 year old is the brother of Winnipeg farmhand Quinton Howden, a former first rounder himself (25th overall to Florida back in 2010).
Unless Joseph plays in ten or more games with Tampa Bay this season (an unlikely scenario), Howden’s contract will slide a year and begin in the 2017-18 season. As a result, the team will receive a small cap savings on the deal, typically one-third of the signing bonus.