With Junior A teams across Canada looking to cut down their roster to have 25 current and open players cards Friday ahead of next month’s trade deadline, the Battlefords North Stars made a quartet of roster moves.
The most notable transaction came as a result of a trade with the Alberta Junior Hockey League’s Calgary Canucks as the North Stars dealt netminder Kolby Matthews, a player development fee and future consideration in exchange for forward Dylan Williamson.
Matthews, an 18-year-old from Coquitlam, B.C., had a 9-1 record with a 2.46 goals against average in his rookie campaign at the Junior A level.
As a result of the trade, the defending Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League champions now have the same goaltenders from last year’s title run with third-year netminder Taryn Kotchorek again teaming up with Joel Grzybowski, who has returned to the club full time after starting the campaign with the Western Hockey League’s Saskatoon Blades.
The 19-year-old Williamson, who is a native of Calgary, had 21 points in 26 games this year for his hometown Canucks and was second in team scoring at the time of the deal.
He also played for the WHL’s Prince Albert Raiders from 2015 to 2016, where he had eight points in 68 games over the course of two seasons.
The North Stars also parted ways with forwards Ryan Gil and Braydon Nelson Friday, along with defenceman Ryan Rosenberg.
Rosenberg, a 20-year-old from Dix Hills, NY, rejoined his home for the last two seasons in early November after starting the season with the PAL Junior Islanders and the Rochester Monarchs of the National Collegiate Development Conference, but never suited up for the North Stars as his transfer to the squad wasn’t approved by Hockey Canada and the Saskatchewan Hockey Association.
Gil, a 19-year-old from Torrence, Calif., also didn’t have his transfer from the Monarchs approved by both sanctioning bodies, but he was allowed to suit up for four games where he had two goals and two assists.
Nelson, an 18-year-old from Duncan, B.C., had an assist in nine games for the North Stars after being acquired from the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League’s Kerry Park Islanders last month.
As a result of Friday’s moves, the North Stars have some more roster flexibility ahead of the Canadian Junior Hockey League’s trade deadline on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2018.
The team is on the road this weekend to face the Estevan Bruins Friday and the Notre Dame Hounds Saturday in Wilcox.
They’ll return to the Civic Centre Tuesday to host the Humboldt Broncos at 7:30 p.m.
