The Trail Smoke Eaters Junior ‘A’ Hockey Club announced Friday the team has acquired forward Chase Stevenson (’99) in a three-team trade involving the Surrey Eagles and Powell River Kings.
The Smoke Eaters have traded the CJHL playing rights of defenseman Ethan Martini (’00) to the Kings while defenseman Jeremy Smith (’98) and Powell River goaltender Hayden Missler (’99) have been acquired by the Eagles.
Stevenson, 19, joins the Smoke Eaters with 101 career BCHL games under his belt, scoring 32 goals and 33 assists for 65 points in that span while also adding 77 penalty minutes. The 5’11”, 170-pound forward has been off to an excellent start this season with the Eagles, registering 10 goals and 12 assists for 22 points in 25 games played and has had plenty of experience in the Interior Division as he spent 73 games with the West Kelowna Warriors, earning 22 goals and 43 points over his one and a half seasons in the Okanagan.
“We are extremely excited to add Chase Stevenson to the Trail Smoke Eaters today,” commented Smoke Eaters General Manager and Head Coach Jeff Tambellini, “He immediately becomes our top scorer and brings instant leadership being one of Surrey’s captains. We believe our organization will be a great fit for him and prepare him to go to the University of New Hampshire.”
The West Kelowna, BC native made his way to Calgary as a Team Canada West camp invitee last season and also secured a scholarship to the University of New Hampshire for the 2019/20 season.
Smith, 20, was acquired by the Smoke Eaters in the offseason from Toronto Jr. Canadians of the Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL) and scored 5 goals and added 6 assists for 11 points in his 21 games with the Smoke Eaters. The Toronto, Ontario native also registered 26 penalty minutes in his time with Trail.
Martini, 18, was a part of the Smoke Eaters roster the last two seasons, amassing a goal and 10 assists for 11 points over 114 BC Hockey League games. Martini also collected 211 penalty minutes over that time before starting the season in the United States Hockey League (USHL) with the Central Illinois Flying Aces, scoring a goal and 2 assists for 3 points in 13 games to go along with 71 penalty minutes.
The Smoke Eaters are back in action on Friday night as they aim for back-to-back wins on home ice against the Wenatchee Wild. Puck drop is slated for 7:00 PM at the Trail Memorial Centre.
