Brandon Sun - PRINT EDITION
In essence, Brandon Wheat Kings general manager Kelly McCrimmon traded Brenden Walker for Darian Dziurzynski on Thursday.
And left a gaping hole in his lineup in the process.
In an eye-opening draft-day deal that signalled that the Wheat Kings are clearly in rebuilding mode at the forward position, McCrimmon sent his top returning scorer in Walker (26 goals, 81 points) to the Saskatoon Blades for a pricey package of draft picks (2012 and 2013 second-round picks and a 2014 third-rounder) that essentially reverses everything the Wheat Kings gave up to land Dziurzynski from the Blades at last year’s overage deadline.
For fans who love to see the Wheat Kings load up on picks and prospects and build for the future through the draft, the Walker deal will receive two thumbs-up.
For fans who wonder who the heck is going to put the puck in the net next season, get ready for a young team with a top-notch defence and great goaltending geared to grinding out 2-1 and 3-2 victories.
With Walker traded to the 2013 Memorial Cup hosts, Mark Stone, Michael Ferland and Kevin Sundher all signed and expected to play professionally next season, and Dziurzynski and Paul Ciarelli having graduated as overagers, the Wheat Kings have now lost six of their top seven scoring forwards, a group that fired a whopping 185 goals — Brandon scored 273 goals in total in 2011-12 — and amassed 451 points last season.
The deal leaves Swiss sniper Alessio Bertaggia (24 goals, 50 points) as the lone proven scorer up front and the only returning forward who reached double digits in goals. When Dominick Favreau (nine goals in 43 games and pointless in the playoffs) is your second-best goal scorer up front on the depth chart, you know you have some serious issues.
However, McCrimmon is counting on veterans like Tyrel Seaman, Daniel Asham, Jens Meilleur, Jason Swyripa and even Bruno Mraz to blossom with their added responsibility next season.
Brandon’s organization also believes it has a bevy of first-year forward prospects — six may suit up every night at this rate — ready to contribute immediately the way the rookie line of Brayden Schenn, Scott Glennie and Matt Calvert did back in 2007-08. If top prospects Kord Pankewicz, Jayce Hawryluk and perhaps one of the Brandon boys — Tyler Coulter or Brett Kitt — can live up to the hype and provide instant offence, the Wheat Kings’ rebuilding project up front could be completed quicker than initially expected.
THE COMEBACK ‘KID’:
WhenBrandonite Bryce Salvador of the New Jersey Devils missed the entire 2010-11 NHL season with a cochlear concussion at the age of 35, some observers wondered if his career was over. However, Salvador not only came back this season, the defenceman played in all 82 games for the New Jersey Devils (notching nine assists, 66 penalty minutes and a +18 plus/minus rating). For good measure, Salvador has added three assists and scored a goal with a +7 plus/minus in nine playoff games entering last night’s Game 3 of the Devils’ series with the Philadelphia Flyers.
Salvador’s empty-net goal from the other end of the ice in Tuesday’s Game 2 was his first goal in over two years (108 games to be exact), dating back to March 10, 2010 in a 6-3 victory over the New York Rangers.
“Any time you score in the playoffs, you take it,” Salvador told the New Jersey Star-Ledger. “On the score sheet, it’s not going to say how it went in. So I’m telling my kids I went top shelf.”
LOCAL LINKS:
Salvador is the lone local player still alive in the NHL playoffs, although there are a handful of former Brandon Wheat Kings in Jason Chimera (Washington Capitals), Jordin Tootoo (Nashville Predators), Ryan Reaves (St. Louis Blues) and Brayden Schenn (Philadelphia Flyers). While Tootoo and Reaves have played sparingly in the post-season, Chimera (three goals, one assist) and Schenn (three goals, five assists) have played prominent roles.
At the age of 20, Schenn was sitting in 12th place in NHL playoff scoring entering last night’s action and was leading all rookies in post-season scoring. How many of you picked him for your playoff pool?
Republished from the Brandon Sun print edition May 4, 2012
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In essence, Brandon Wheat Kings general manager Kelly McCrimmon traded Brenden Walker for Darian Dziurzynski on Thursday.
And left a gaping hole in his lineup in the process.
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In essence, Brandon Wheat Kings general manager Kelly McCrimmon traded Brenden Walker for Darian Dziurzynski on Thursday.
And left a gaping hole in his lineup in the process.
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