A full 25 per cent of the Vancouver Giants goal-scoring this season is now playing for other teams.
The Giants — on the outside looking in for a playoff spot with 30 games remaining — were active at the Western Hockey League trade deadline, shipping out four players for a handful of younger options as well as some draft picks.
Vancouver — the lowest scoring team in the Western Conference before the trades — loses 32 of the team’s 128 goals scored.
The biggest trade was sending import player Radovan Bondra — who led the team with 19 goals and was third with 31 points in 32 games — to the Prince George Cougars for fellow import forward Bartek Bison, 16-year-old Tyler Ho and a third round pick in the 2018 WHL bantam draft.
“Bison will have an opportunity to come in and showcase his skillset, help develop our team and compete to be part of our future” – Hanlon
— Vancouver Giants (@WHLGiants) January 10, 2017
Thomas Foster (10 goals, 28 points) was sent to the Moose Jaw Warriors for Brayden Watts, a fifth round pick in 2017 and a second round pick in 2019. Moose Jaw gets the Giants’ eighth round pick this year and fifth next year, and Alec Baer (three goals, 18 points) was sent to the Lethbridge Hurricanes for a third round pick in this year’s draft.
Vancouver also made another pair of moves just ahead of the deadline, sending over-age import defenceman Dmitry Osipov to the Brandon Wheat Kings for fellow blue-liner Jordan Wharrie and a second round pick in the 2019 draft. The Giants also picked up 1996-born forward Calvin Spencer from Swift Current in exchange for a conditional ninth round pick in this year’s draft. Spencer, in his final season of junior eligibility, has 10 goals and 16 points in 36 games.
Wharrie has three goals and 10 points in 41 games.
The Giants also picked up Jordan Borstmayer last week from Kelowna for a conditional fifth round pick in this year’s draft.
Borstmayer, Watts and Ho are all forwards.
Watts has four goals in 40 games this season, Borstmayer has three goals and seven points in 34 games and Bison had five goals and six points in 22 games. Watts is a 1999-born player while the other two are 1998s.
Ho has signed a WHL player agreement and is playing with the Valley West Hawks this season in the BC Major Midget Hockey League.
“We’re looking forward to giving him the opportunity to play in front of friends and family” – Hanlon on acquiring North Van’s Tyler Ho
— Vancouver Giants (@WHLGiants) January 10, 2017
The Giants are coming off a five-game road trip which saw them win just twice.
All five contests were one-goal games.
The team is back in action on Friday when they host Moose Jaw at the Langley Events Centre. Game time is 7:30 p.m.
Following Tuesday’s trade deadline, general manager Glen Hanlon told the Times he anticipates using some of the team’s additional draft picks to acquire players.
“We have a plan here,” he said. “In our league, we can do something with out draft picks.
“We are loaded up pretty god and we are going to use them to acquire assets.”
