The CanElson Drilling Estevan Bruins did what’s best for the hockey team today in the lead-up to the SJHL’s trade deadline on Sunday, but the moves did come with a heavy cost.
Late Sunday night, the Bruins added former WHL goaltender Daniel Wapple to the roster after the Vancouver Giants took the 20-year-old netminder off their suspended list making the Saskatoon native available. Wapple began the season as the Regina Pats starter where he posted a 3.20 goals against average (GAA) and .907 save percentage (SP) in nine contests before being shipped to the Giants.
“He’s essentially a no-brainer for us,” said Chris Lewgood, head coach and general manager of the Bruins. “He’ll be looked at as one of the top players in our league.”
The 5-foot-11 and 170-pound goaltender has appeared in 134 WHL games since entering the league with the Moose Jaw Warriors in 2012-13 posting a career 3.10 GAA and .903 SP. Lewgood said they listed him earlier in the year when it appeared Regina would need to make room for another 20-year-old on their roster, while already having a strong young goalie in Tyler Brown. Wapple began practicing with the Bruins on Monday alongside fellow Estevan netminder Nathan Alalouf.
“Tyler Fuhr has been let go,” said Lewgood, about the Bruins regular starting goalie who posted a 3.63 GAA and .888 SP in 28 games this season. “It’s just a numbers thing with 20-year-olds. We’re already going with nine 20-year-olds instead of eight. We’re only allowed to dress eight, so to have two 20-year-old goaltenders was a tough situation. Fuhr has answered the bell over the last month here and he’s been one of our best players, so it’s really hard to see him go, but at the end of the day we had to do what we thought was best for the hockey team and go with the more seasoned player.”
The Wapple pickup came on the heels of the Bruins trading 19-year-old defenceman Nathan Peabody and future considerations to the Manitoba Junior Hockey League’s Waywayseecappo Wolverines for 19-year-old forward Landon Gross. The 6-foot-2 and 190-pound Gross began the 2015-16 season with the Kindersley Klippers where he picked up 16 goals and 25 points in 25 games.
Lewgood said Peabody will be missed in the room due to his positive nature and quiet mild mannered style as well as on the ice for his steady play. However, he said the acquisition of Gross adds another high end forward to their team.
“We keep adding depth to our forward group and we’re going to score goals,” he said. “We’re going to keep teams in their defensive zone and our offensive zone and if we work hard I feel that we’re going to be hard to contain.”
The Bruins began their roster shuffle on Thursday acquiring Melville Millionaires leading scorer Tyson Predinchuk, a 20-year-old forward who paced the Millionaires with 13 goals and 28 points in 35 games, for 17-year-old prospect Turner Ripplinger and future considerations. Ripplinger has recorded 18 goals and 34 points with the Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League’s (SMHL) Regina Pat Canadians this season.
“For a long time we saw Turner Ripplinger as a big part of our future and it’s tough,” said Lewgood, noting they also released veteran forward Ryan Duret to make room for the new pieces up front. “Turner is a great kid and somebody we would really like to have here, but we have to do what’s best for the hockey team today and Turner is well entrenched in that midget AAA team and therefore Predinchuk is going to offer us a lot more today.”
The team also added 20-year-old defenceman Tyler King to the roster on Thursday after the 6-foot and 194-pound rearguard was released from the WHL’s Kootenay Ice, where he posted eight goals and 37 points in 68 games last season. King has notched 17 goals and 79 points in 232 WHL games over the past four seasons with the Ice and Spokane Chiefs.
Lewgood noted Predinchuk is a veteran forward who has seen it all over the course of his career both with the Millionaires and the WHL’s Chiefs and Portland Winterhawks. He said the 6-foot-4 and 190-pound right-winger has played in key situations, been a leader on his teams and will be a guy they can look to for additional scoring.
“We’re really excited to have King-er as a left-shot guy that can work our power play,” added Lewgood. “He’s an offensive minded guy who can help settle things down on our power play, which is going to be real big for us.”
Predinchuk, who suited up in the Bruins' past three games posting one assist and two penalty minutes, said he felt pretty good out on the ice despite the difficulty of finding his spot in his first weekend with the club. He said there is a lot of skill and speed on the team and the additions of Wapple and King, whom he’s played against in his SMHL years, should prove helpful as well.
“Wapple is a great goaltender,” said Predinchuk. “He’s been in the Western League for the last few years, so he’ll definitely be good back there. And King is a good d-man as well.”
Lewgood said the Bruins are in very good shape on the ice after the trade deadline with the various additions, but the subtractions to the roster make the day one of the hardest to go through. He said Duret and Fuhr have done a lot for the hockey team during their time in Estevan and it is difficult to see them go.
“Our dressing room has lost two very good people and, so as far as satisfied, I don’t feel satisfied today,” he said. “But in time when we get back to it (and) we get back into the swing of things, we’re more than happy with the guys that we brought in. It’s just tough to see guys like that go and Peabody was a good player for us too and a good person.”
