The Estevan Bruins announced a trio of roster moves Wednesday night.
The team has acquired 20-year-old goalie Matt Gibney from the AJHL's Camrose Kodiaks for futures. Gibney, a Watrous native, has put up strong numbers in his two years with Camrose, sporting a 2.83 goals-against average and .905 save percentage in 39 appearances last year, and a 2.49 GAA and .917 save percentage in 25 starts in 2011-12.
Bruins head coach and GM Chris Lewgood said the knee issues plaguing Steven Glass the last two years factored into the trade. He has known Gibney for a few years and knows what he can bring to the table.
"Absolutely, and that's just another example of where you need to have some depth in goal. We're excited about (Brett) Lewchuk coming up from midget and we know that Glass is capable, when healthy, of being as good as anyone in our league," said Lewgood.
"(Gibney is) a big body, he's athletic, he's very positive in the room and a good leader."
Meanwhile, the Bruins dealt 19-year-old forward Brett Dumaine to the AJHL's Calgary Canucks for futures. The 6-four-4, 190-pound winger, who can also play defence, had only five points last season but added some grit in a depth role.
Lewgood said the Canucks went hard after Dumaine, and that the Calgary native may have been on the bubble to make the roster.
"It was a combination of a couple of things. Calgary was very eager to get him. They saw some value in a local product and that leads me to believe they're going to give him a pretty good opportunity," said Lewgood.
"I saw Brett as being a wild card for us. I thought he was capable of having a better season as a 19-year-old, but at some point we have to start making room for the young guys coming in. That's not to say Brett would've been the odd man out, but Calgary seemed like a good fit for him."
Finally, the team has signed 1996-born left winger Carter Folk. Last year, the 6-foot, 180-pound Regina native scored nine goals and 18 points in 42 games for the Pat Canadians. It was his first year of midget AAA after playing the previous year with the Regina Flames in midget AA.
Folk, who was acquired from Battlefords last October, is headed to the Seattle Thunderbirds' camp and Lewgood isn't expecting to see him in Estevan.
"Let me go on record as saying I do not believe he will be with us this fall. I think he's going to be in the Western League," said Lewgood. "If, for some reason, he does come back, he's a player that can step in and play right now. He's a good two-way player. He's got a lot of learning and growing to do as a positional player, but I think he can contribute with physical play and leadership. You don't often get a player with that skill set who's willing to go to the dirty areas like Carter is."
See full story in next week's Mercury
