Sudbury Miners - 2020 End of Summer
Review
CANADIAN PRESS (Sudbury, ON):
The completion
of CCHL Entry Draft usually signifies that summer is here and it is supposed to
be a time of rest and relaxation. But
for Sudbury Miners General Manager Terry James, it was the opposite.
With a number of
significant moves made just before and after the draft, James feels that he has
put together the best team he has had during his time in Sudbury and feels that
they have a real shot at creating some noise this upcoming season.
“As a management
group, we felt that with the development of some of our younger players and
with the prospect depth we had, we were comfortable making some aggressive
moves in order to give our team its best shot going into the 2020-21 season”,
stated James. “We know we are in a tough
conference this year, with a lot of good clubs, so we knew moves had to be made
in order for us to challenge. We are
excited for this year to start”.
During his end
of summer press conference, James talked about the major moves he made this
summer in detail and the expected impact each will have on the team. Each move has been summarized below.
·
FOR
trades S. Jones & I. Mikheyev to SUD for M. Sergachev, A. Stralman, Akil
Thomas & SUD 2nd-20
With this deal, Sudbury acquires a true top
pairing defenceman, who will pair with Roman Josi, acquired at the end of
season. Mikheyev provides good depth, is
solid defensively and comes in at a good cap hit. The price was not cheap, as Sergachev is
just starting to scratch the surface of what he can become. A solid deal for both teams involved.
·
SUD
trades S. Monahan & SUD 1st-21 to BIS for Lassi Thomson, BIS 1st-21 &
BIS 1st-22
With the acquisition of both Brayden Point and
Pierre-Luc Dubois at the end of last season, to go along with Sebastian Aho,
Monahan was an expensive luxury that the Miners could not afford to have on
their 4th line. They were
able to move him for a top prospect and a couple of first round draft picks to
re-stock their prospect cupboard.
·
SUD
trades T. Seguin, Hendrix Lapierre, Justin Barron & Gabriel Fortier to AMO for A. Panarin
This was a deal that surprised a lot of people
as the Miners traded fan favourite Seguin in the deal. But when a player of Panarin’s calibre
becomes available, you got for it. He
gives the Miners a true top scoring winger and he is slated to start the season
on the top line with Aho. The pairing
has the potential to be something special and the Miners hope they can wreak
havoc in the Canosa Conference.
·
SUD
trade D. Larkin, Alex Formenton-p & SUD 3rd-21 to GEO for B. Boeser, B.
Hayton-m & GEO 2nd-22
It was clear with this deal, that the Miners
were dealing from a position of strength at center, already having Aho, Point
and Dubois as their top 3, not to mention prized rookie Kirby Dach waiting in
the wings. The Miners needed to upgrade
their talent and depth on wing, and were able to get that in Boeser, while also
securing a top prospect in Hayton. A
good deal for both teams.
·
SUD
trades K. Palmieri, Simon Holmstrom-p and $2M to ISL for B. Rust...
It was no secret that James was looking for
some more scoring on the wing, and he was finally able to find that in
Rust. A responsible forward in his own
end as well, Rust is slated to start the season on the top line with Aho and
Panarin. That trio could pose some
problems for opposing goalies this upcoming season.
There has been a substantial amount of roster
turnover since their second round loss to Siberia last spring, but given all of
their off-season moves, the Miners are deeper and more talented than the roster
they ended with last season. Fans and
Management are optimistic and hopeful in the Nickel City, that James has pulled
the right trade strings this off-season and they will be rewarded with a long
playoff run in 2020-21.
Maybe even win it all. You never know……stranger things have
happened.
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