The Fort Erie Falcons have been busy in the trade market of late, getting a bit grittier in the process over the past few weeks.
The team paid a heavy price in Jesper Bratt to bring in Brandon Hagel from Niagara Falls, before moving highly coveted prospect Jiri Kulich in a deal to bring in Mats Zuccarello - also from Niagara Falls.
"I've been trying to get Hagel for months now - just finally got the conversation rolling with Bobby when I tossed out Jesper's name. Mats is an unrestricted free agent, but we hadn't allocated our UFA re-sign to anyone so I think he's a strong candidate to return next year," said the Falcons' brilliant general manager.
The team also went about re-building it's future on defence by bringing in Ryan Johnson, Yegor Zamula, and Thomas Harley.
While Harley certainly was a costly acquisition that saw the team move Evan Bouchard, they also got Cole Sillinger back in that deal to help with the future at center.
Of course, the need at center became apparent when Shane Wright was shipped out in a move that saw the team bring in Matvei Michkov. Michkov won't likely debut in the CCHL for several years given his contractual obligation in Russia, but that did not sway Fort Erie.
In fact, that distance in the future is exactly why the team had an interest.
"We figure we'll get him when he's 22 or 23. We are flush with kids coming in the next few years and we expect by the time Matvei comes, he'll already be an impact player in the CCHL. Imagine being able to sign a guy like that for five years at an entry-level deal. It seems pretty good to me and that's why we made the move, and Shane was blocked at center for several years so it just made sense," said Falcons GM Young.
As for what is left to do in Fort Erie before the deadline?
"We're looking to add to our goaltending for sure. Lanks (Kevin Lankinen) has been great, but we're definitely open to an upgrade. We have had conversations, but the pricing on some talent has been absurd so far. Hopefully as the deadline approaches, we can find some common ground."
The deadline is just nine days away so we should have our answer soon.
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