At the SJHL Trade Deadline, Josh Ellis was playing Junior B back home in North Okanagan, not expecting a trade, then his coach brought him in for a chat. "Honestly I found out a day before the deadline, my coach informed me of the Terriers interest and them being a contending team I was excited for the opportunity" said Ellis.
Now Ellis is #39 for the SJHL's best team and will be counted on to bring versatility and two way depth to the forward position for the Terriers down the final stretch of the regular season and the playoffs. But this year was not all that was kept in mind when adding the forward mentioned coach Trent Cassan. "When we looked at what we had at the deadline we decided that we wanted to stock up on the 1994 age group and get a two way forward and we accomplished both of our goals with that deal," said Cassan.
Ellis' age will be an asset for the Terriers as he will gain valuable experience this season playing in a supporting role before looking to shoot up the depth chart next year. A supporting role is something Ellis embraces as he mentioned he is here to make the most of his ice time and take everything as it comes, "There is a great group of guys here and I am just looking to play my best to help the team win, playing Junior A hockey was obviously a step I wanted to make in my career and I'm grateful for the opportunity."
Having a young player who will fill in a role was one of the main reasons Cassan keyed on the 1994 age group at the deadline over adding a veteran last year player lamenting, "Often when you add an older aged player they are going to want to see a top line role and want to be a top guy right away, whereas we can work on a player like Ellis for the future in addition to having him contribute right away."
Ellis brings a wealth of versatility to the Terriers that has already been shown in his two home appearances for the Terriers, taking crucial faceoffs deep in the defensive zone, stepping in on the powerplay and playing on the Terriers checking lines. Adding that extra role player that does the little things you don't notice on the scoreboard with a very high hockey IQ. Something Cassan links to his previous coaches, "He obviously has been well coached throughout his live in minor, midget, and Junior hockey, because he knows how to play within his role and his ability and can go out and do a variety of things we ask him to do which is huge for us and was a big factor in why we brought him in and used one of our roster spots on him." A move that is supposed to be for the future already has paid off in a win for the Terriers as Ellis was in on the lone assist in Dylan Johnson's game winner Tuesday night against the Red Wings, a glimpse of a potential future line pairing paying off as two 1994 aged players were on a game winning goal late in the third period.
With aspirations of winning the Canalta Cup crown this season and making a run at the RBC Cup the Terriers have made one of the most shrewd moves at the deadline. While most contenders were stocking up on last year players and giving up young talent, the Terriers gave up virtually nothing for a player for the future that is going to contribute big minutes throughout the final couple of months of the season and playoffs before coming back for next year. Terriers front office and coaching staff should be happy with accomplishing their goals at the deadline, and for now Josh Ellis couldn't be more happy to be breaking into Junior A hockey with a chance to contribute for a championship run.
