The Battlefords North Stars graduated nine players from the 2011-12 roster, head coach and general manager Ken Hasselberg have been hard at work piecing together another competitive Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League team.
Hasselberg has commitments from players graduating from the AAA midget ranks, but most recently made a trade earlier this week. The North Stars acquired the Canadian Junior Hockey League playing rights to 1993-born forward Brandon Long from the Trail Smoke Eaters of the British Columbia Hockey League.
In exchange, the North Stars traded future considerations to the Smoke Eaters for the Calgary product.
The 6'0? forward led the Trail Smoke in rookie scoring with eight goals and 13 assists in 52 games. Before his rookie season in the BCHL, Long served as team captain of the Calgary Midget AAA Flames where he averaged a point per game and earned a spot in the AMHL all-star game. Long also suited up with the Okotoks Oilers of the Alberta Junior Hockey League for five games during the 2010-11 season.
Long is expected to report for North Stars' training camp, which is scheduled to begin Aug. 31.
