The Battlefords North Stars made a pair of moves with Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League teams Tuesday during the Canadian Junior Hockey League’s trade deadline.
Their first move came in the morning as they acquired forward Jared Blaquiere and Zach Nedelac from the La Ronge Ice Wolves in exchange for Austin Shumanski, MacKenzie Donovan, Shane Hounsell, a 1st round pick in the 2017 SJHL Bantam Draft and a player development fee.
Blaquiere, a 20-year-old from Edam, led the Ice Wolves in scoring with 23 points in 31 games and had 50 points last year.
Nedelec, who is also from Edam and 20 years of age, had four points in 26 games in his third campaign with the Ice Wolves.
The three players the North Stars gave up were all prospects.
Shumanski, a 17-year-old defenceman from Hafford, has five points for the Yorkton Maulers of the SMAAAHL and had two points in four games with the North Stars this season.
Donovan, who is from Lashburn, is a 17-year-old forward and has 14 points for the Battleford AAA Stars.
Hounsell is a 17-year-old forward from Meadow Lake who plays for the Saskatoon Blazers and has 12 points.
The other trade happened late in the evening as the North Stars dealt forward Brett Horn to the Humboldt Broncos for Mathew Fletcher, a 3rd round draft pick in 2017 and a player development fee.
The 20-year-old Horn, who is from Greensboro, N.C., was acquired from the CCHL’s Pembroke Lumber Kings prior to the North Stars’ season opener and had 23 points in 35 games.
Fletcher is a 17-year-old defenceman from Saskatoon who has 10 points this year for the Blazers.
Blaquiere and Nedelac are both expected to make their North Stars debuts at the Civic Centre Friday night when the Weyburn Red Wings come to town.
According to the SJHL’s website, a total of 14 moves were made by teams in the league Tuesday.
One of the biggest deals involved the Notre Dame Hounds, as they dealt blueliner Tyler Podgorenko to the Alberta Junior Hockey League’s Bonnyville Pontiacs for defenceman Riley Perka and a player development fee.
The 20-year-old from Nelson, B.C. was third in team scoring for the Hounds and led all SJHL defenders with 36 points in 36 games.
Meanwhile, Tuesday’s Western Hockey League trade deadline saw a former Battlefords Stars player get dealt, as Macklin’s Spencer Bast was acquired by the Moose Jaw Warriors from the Kamloops Blazers.
