Icecats make HUGE splash, land generational talent, Rasmus Dahlin

Hello sports fans.  As you know, the CCHL is getting ready for their new season.  Many teams have been making deals to position themselves for the season to come, vying for the coveted Kehler Cup.  One team that has certainly been active this offseason is the Dayton Musicmen.  They are coming off a difficult year which saw them land the prized player of this past draft, Rasmus Dahlin.  Dahlin has been compared to Connor McDavid as a generational talent.  Dayton can certainly look to build around such a cornerstone player.

Wait a minute, this just in... we are hearing rumors of a monster trade!  I'm getting word that Dahlin has been traded, but no word yet on who he has been traded to.  If this is true, this is HUGE.  Rarely do generational talents get traded, and certainly not so soon after being drafted.

I'm hearing that the package coming back includes several top prospects, picks, cash, but still no word on the destination.  Speculation is that he may be headed to a team that is looking to jump start their rebuild, as Dahlin is NHL ready now.

We now have word that Dahlin may actually be headed to a contender!  How can a contending team acquire such a talent without disturbing their team?  Bob McKenzie is reporting that the mystery team may actually be in the in the Canosa conference.  If this is true, it's obvious that GM Corfield did not want to have to face this kid over and over each year in the same conference.

We are now hearing that Dahlin has been traded to the Siberia Icecats!  If this is true, wow!  Who could be coming back to Dayton?  Ehlers, Parayko, or another young talent?  Would Siberia trade their #1 prospect, Miro Heiskanen to upgrade him to Dahlin?

I just received word that Dahlin has been traded for Filip Chytil, Ville Husso, Will Butcher and Dayton's own 1st rounder in 2019.  Siberia has managed to land the #1 defensive prospect in the world without having to give up a key roster player, which is amazing, and have set themselves up to have a heck of a defensive line in the future with Dahlin, Heiskanen and Quinn Hughes.  That is a young d-line to drool over.  We have also received word that Siberia will also send Michael Frolik, a 7th rounder in 2019 and cash to Dayton for Blake Comeau and a 4th in 2020.

We now swith to a live press conference by GM Saouaf, announcing the deal.  Let's listen in.

"First of all, thank you all for attending this press conference on short notice.  As you have already heard, the Siberia Icecats have acquired Rasmus Dahlin.  We are thrilled to be able to add a player of Dahlin's talent to our team.  Obviously, it was not an easy decision to part with so many assets, but getting such a player required making some sacrifices on our end.  Filip Chytil was a talented young player who we had great hopes for and should become a top center in the league.  With McDavid in Siberia, Filip would never have gotten a chance to become a #1 center.  In trading Husso, we traded away a future #1 goalie, but once again, with Hellebuyck and Murray, he was probably not going to get the chance to become that #1 here.  Will Butcher was a former Hobey Baker winner with great talent who had a great first year last year.  He became expendable given by acquiring Dahlin and with the expected promotion of both Dahlin and Heiskanen next year.  The first rounder was also tough as it could be a top 10 pick, but as I mentioned before, you have to give to get.  Also, we were able to upgrade Michael Frolik to Blake Comeau, which also gives us some roster and cap flexibility after this year.  Blake is solid defensively and can chip in some offense also.  He will be a great addition to our 3rd or 4th line.  Also, upgrading a 7th to a 4th in 2020 gives us an extra pick in 2020 to replenish our stock of prospects.

Overall, we are very pleased to bring in the players that we did and we wish the players we traded away the best of luck, and wish GM Corfield the best of luck in his quick rebuild.  For now, no questions, but we will have more opportunities for questions"

Wow, just wow sports fans.  It's obvious that GM Saouaf is building a team that can compete now and in the future.  If those young dmen can develop into the talents they are projected to be, the Icecats will be Kehler Cup contenders for a long time.  That's it for now!

Miners continue to deal; trade hard-nosed defenceman Nurse

CANADIAN PRESS (Sudbury, ON):

After days of trade discussions and debate, the Sudbury Miners and Dayton Musicmen finally agreed to a deal early Sunday evening. The deal, which was first confirmed on Twitter by TSN reporter Darren
Dregar, is as follows:

* Sudbury trades defenceman Darnell Nurse, prospect Oli Juolevi and a 2019 5th round pick to the Dayton Musicmen in exchange for prospect defenceman Ian Mitchell, prospect forward Troy Terry, and Dayton’s 1st and 3rd round picks in 2020.

Nurse was originally drafted in the first round of the 2013 CCHL Entry Draft (7th overall) by the Hamilton Tigers before being dealt to Sudbury in 2017. He is currently on the last year of his entry-level contract, will be a restricted free agent after the 2018-19 season. He is expected to sign with the Musicmen after the season is done.

“I enjoyed my time here with Sudbury. The organization, the fans and the city are all top notch. I think they have a very bright future. But, at this stage of my career, I am happy to be able to join an
organization that will give me a chance to be a leader going forward for years to come. It is very exciting to get in on the ground floor in Dayton”, stated out-going defenseman Nurse.

From the Miners perspective, this was about dealing from a position of strength and continuing to
strengthen its pipeline for the future.

“It’s never easy to part with a player of Nurse’s talent and character. He was an excellent player for us
and he deserves a chance to win “ stated General Manager Terry James.

“But, we have a lot of blossoming talent on defence and those players deserve a chance to play. It
becomes a numbers game as you can’t keep all of them, so moves have to be made. At the end of the
day, to acquire two high end prospects (in Terry and Mitchell) and also secure a 1st and 3rd rounder in 2020, it was a deal that we had to make” stated James.

“Trades like these continue to build depth at all positions for is, which is good. It may not look like it
now, but we believe in sticking to the process and that we are on the right path to be a consistent
contender for years to come. The loyalty that city of Sudbury and its fans have shown us the past couple of years will soon be rewarded.”

Allen goes “Looney” and is on his way to Capeside.

CANADIAN PRESS (Sudbury, ON):

With the opening of the 2018-19 CCHL season right around the corner, the Sudbury Miners and
Capeside Loons consummated a deal late Saturday afternoon, just prior to both teams opening pre-
season contests that evening.

Rumours of trade talks between the two teams broke early Saturday morning, and by the afternoon a
deal was done. The trade breaks down as follows:

Sudbury sends G Jake Allen and Sudbury’s 2020 3 rd round pick in exchange for highly touted
goaltending prospect Mike DiPietro and Capeside’s 2nd round pick in 2019.

In order to complete this deal, Sudbury agreed to waive the condition made on the February 24th deal made with Capeside, and it now allows them to retain their 2019 4th round pick. Capeside will take on Allen’s $2.5 million cap hit, which expires after the 2018-19 season. Reports suggested that Allen had requested a trade at the end of last season, but neither Allen, nor Sudbury General Manager, Terry James, would confirm the reports.

Allen, who for the past two seasons, has started the season solidly but has experienced a “mid-season
meltdown” before finding his game again at the end of the year. As a result, his numbers have
regressed in back-to-back seasons and it was clearly something that James was not comfortable with.
When talking via conference call, Allen welcomed the fresh start. "I’m excited to get a fresh start in Capeside," Allen said, “Given that they (the Miners) already have a top goalie in Freddy, it’s something I knew would probably come this off-season. ”

From the Miners perspective, there was not enough crease for both Andersen and Allen to thrive. The
logical choice for the Miners was to get some assets for Allen. By acquiring a top prospect and an early draft pick, this move stays in line with the franchise’s philosophy to build through the draft and promote from within.

“It’s never easy to part with a player of Allen’s talent and character but it was clear to us that a change would be best for both parties. We wanted to make sure he went to a team that would give him the chance to be a true No.1. But for us, at the end of the day, to acquire a high end prospect and also secure another high pick in 2019, it was a deal that we felt comfortable in making” stated James.

Miners Make a Move...

Miners make a deal; send Saad cross-country to Victoria

CANADIAN PRESS (Sudbury, ON):

It is normally a quiet time of the year in the CCHL following the Entry Draft, but that could not be further from the truth in the Nickel City. The Sudbury Miners and Victoria Ronin made a move early Friday morning, which ended days of hard discussions between the two organizations.

News of the trade broke late Thursday evening but wasn’t able to made official until the trade call was completed at the CCHL Headquarters in Dayton early Friday morning. The trade, which is now official, breaks down as follows:

Sudbury sends F Brandon Saad and $3 million in exchange for Victoria’s 1st round pick in 2019
and 4th round pick in 2020.

Victoria will take on Saad’s $6.25 million cap hit, which expires after the 2019-20 season. Sudbury,
which had acquired Saad in an earlier deal this summer with Fort Erie, had a small window to get a deal done as his no-trade clause was set to kick in on August 1 st.

The deal will mark the third time Saad has been traded this summer having gone from Springfield to Fort Erie, then to Sudbury and now Victoria. "I would have liked the opportunity to show the fans what I could have brought to the team," Saad said on a conference call. "But I understand that it is a business and I can see why Sudbury made the move. I’m excited to go to the West Coast and play in Victoria. I may be able to even unpack my suitcase this time and just think of the frequent flyer miles I have earned this summer.”

Seeing Saad traded was a bit of a shock to the fans, as his name had not been mentioned in the various media outlets as possible trade bait.

“It’s never easy to part with a player of Saad’s talent and character. He is a proven player and when we acquired him earlier in the summer, we had every intention of keeping him as a valuable part of our organization moving forward”, stated General Manager Terry James.

“But, in this business things can change quickly when an opportunity presents itself and that was the case with this trade. We wanted to do good for Brandon. We wanted to make sure that he went to a team that would give him the chance to win and help him find his form and rebound from a down year. But for us, at the end of the day, to secure another high pick in 2019, it was a deal that we felt comfortable in making” quoted James.

Digging for Prospects – Sudbury Miners 2018 CCHL Draft Review

CANADIAN PRESS (Sudbury, ON):

With the 2018 CCHL Entry Draft now in the books, Sudbury Miners General Manager Terry
James offered up a quick summary to reporters on Wednesday morning and gave a quick review on how he felt his team did during this years’ draft.

“We’re very pleased and excited,” James said. “We drafted players we feel will take some
grooming and development, and they probably won’t be CCHL-ready for a year or two, but at the end of the day, I think we’ve added some skill at different positions.”

Armed with 25 picks in this years CCHL draft, the Miners were able to continue to stock the
cupboards with some talented young men and address some holes in their prospect pool, as they try
and build a team that will be in Kehler Cup contention for years to come.

The Miners draft philosophy has not changed. The organization strongly believes in letting these
prospects grow and find success at the various collegiate, European, and AHL levels, and with that
approach, it will pay big dividends down the road for a patient organization. James added that the team would not be giving up prospects or picks for short-term gains, instead opting for the long-term
approach to development.

Overall, this isn’t a draft that makes the Miners a better team in 2018-19 but it should be a draft
that pays dividends down the road if some of these players develop as projected.

Below are the picks that make up the 2018 Sudbury Miners Entry Draft Class:

Isac Lundstrom, C 1 st Round - 18th Overall
Grigori Denisenko, LW 1 st Round - 20th Overall
Serron Noel, RW 2 nd Round - 26th Overall
Rasmus Sandin, D 2 nd Round - 31st Overall
Jared MacIssac, D 2 nd Round - 39th Overall
Liam Foudy, C 2 nd Round - 40th Overall
Mattias Samuelsson, D 2 nd Round - 41st Overall
Lukas Dostal, G 2 nd Round - 42nd Overall
Jessie Ylonen, RW 3 rd Round - 50th Overall
Filip Hallander, LW 3 rd Round - 52nd Overall
Adam Ginning, D 3 rd Round - 54th Overall
Sampo Ranta, LW 3 rd Round - 60th Overall
Olof Lindblom, G 3 rd Round - 61st Overall
Jacob Olofsson, C 3 rd Round - 63rd Overall
Gabriel Fortier, LW 3 rd Round - 65th Overall

Sean Durzi, D 4 th Round - 78th Overall
Spencer Foo, RW 4 th Round - 88th Overall
Tyler Madden, C 5 th Round - 97th Overall
Jon Gruden, LW 5 th Round - 100th Overall
Ty Emberson, D 5 th Round - 107th Overall
Tyler Weiss, LW 6 th Round - 116th Overall
Alexis Gravel, G 7 th Round - 138th Overall
Giovanni Vallati, D 7 th Round - 146th Overall
Angus Crookshank, LW 8 th Round - 160th Overall
Riley Hughes, RW 8 th Round - 165th Overall

State of the Loons!

Well, it’s been a couple of months since we spoke with GM Czepiel. Luckily we were able to catch up with him here in Vegas; the site of the 2018 CCHL entry draft.

Puljujarvi - what happened? “I’ve always been the first to admit that I have a lot to learn about running a hockey team. The opportunity to take over a CCHL team came out of nowhere and honestly, I was unprepared. It continues to be a learning process with some bumps in the road. After free agency, I brought in our team of scouts in order to put a strategy together for our inaugural draft. The common sentiment was that this was a very deep draft and it would make more sense for us to have quantity over quality. Siberia is in a position to win now, had a ton of picks and was looking for quality instead of quantity. In other words, we matched up perfectly. Siberia paid what we felt was a fair price and acquired Puljujarvi to play next to McDavid. We understand that we once again upset our fan base and will continue to offer full refunds and exchanges at the pro shop for all Puljujarvi merchandise. However, we are thrilled with the six quality players we were able to draft thanks to that trade.”

Draft recap - “This being our first draft, it was definitely a learning experience. Not only were we focused on selecting the right players for the future of our franchise but we were also learning about the other CCHL general managers and their drafting strategies. We hope that will help us in future drafts. It will take a few years to know how we did, but we are extremely optimistic.”

Czepiel on the draft - “One of the worst kept secrets was that Wahlstrom was our main target. We see him as a future first line wing with 40 plus goal potential. He was a no-brainer for us at pick number 4. Bode Wilde was the first player that we scouted back in February once we took over the franchise. Back then he was projected to be a top 10 pick, we were absolutely thrilled to get him at pick 30. Given my reputation, it should be of no surprise that I was able to swing a few deals during the draft. We added a current CCHL defenseman that should help our power play and projects to be a top 4 defenseman, along with a two highly touted goaltending prospects. Those deals will become official once the draft is complete and the trade freeze is lifted. As a rebuilding franchise, we didn’t have one specific need so we're looking to take the best available player with every pick. I believe we finished with a well-rounded draft class. Forwards: Wahlstrom, O’Brien, Eriksson, Karlsson, Lauko, Jenkins and Hutsko. Defensemen: Wilde, Tychonick, Utunen, Barteaux, and Demin. Goaltender: Vehvilainen. We are thrilled with every pick and have high expectations for each player. We truly believe that our draft was a success, and are just as excited by our picks at the end of our draft as our early selections. I really feel that we got some steals at the end with Toni Utunen and Dawson Barteaux.

Summer League play - “Summer league play is more than halfway through and I’ll be the first to admit that the team is performing much better then I thought possible. The entire roster is playing well but the play of Zibanejad and Halak has been unbelievable. Barring injuries, there is growing optimism around a possible run at a playoff berth.”

The Loons currently sit at 8-6-2 and head coach Craig Janney has the team playing with confidence. Yes, it is only the summer league but with each victory, the fan base is growing and becoming more invested in the team. Let’s just hope Czepiel doesn’t screw it up the way he has screwed up the Pirates - but we will leave that alone for now.

Miners Making Moves!!!

Miners busy making deals as they prepare for upcoming CCHL Entry Draft.

CANADIAN PRESS (Sudbury, ON)

In what has been a quiet couple of months across the CCHL, the Sudbury Miners made a couple of
moves on Thursday afternoon as they continue to prepare for the upcoming 2018 CCHL Entry Draft.

The first trade of the day saw the Miners send their 2018 2nd round pick (#28 overall) to Minnesota, in exchange for forward Charlie Coyle and Portland’s 2018 3 rd round pick (#54 overall), which Minnesota had acquired in a previous transaction.

It is believed that Sudbury plans to use Coyle as their second line center until some of their prospects
such as Casey Mittlestadt, Martin Necas and Colin White develop into more prominent roles. Also with the ability to play all three forward positions, and at reasonable $2.6 million cap hit for the next 2 years, Miners General Manager Terry James was comfortable making this move.

“Charlie is a good player who was playing down the line-up a bit in Minnesota, which may explain why he has never really reached the lofty expectations that were placed on him. It puts lot of pressure on a young player and sometimes they do not always perform”, quoted Miners GM Terry James.

“But having said that, we think a change of scenery and having a bit more responsibility will help
enhance his game. He is just now at the point where he should be hitting his prime. We think he has
excellent offensive instincts and a nice set of mitts. We also like the flexibility he provides by being able to play both wing and center, and he can help us in the face-off department”.

Coyle is currently on vacation, fishing on Lake Michigan and could not be reached for comment.
According to James, who was able to speak with Coyle, he is very excited about becoming a Miner.
But the dealing for the Miners on this day did not stop there. Their second trade of the afternoon saw
them deal depth forward Joonas Donskoi to Fonthill, in exchange for Fonthill’s 3rd round pick in the 2019 CCHL Entry Draft. Donskoi was slated to become an RFA after the 2018/19 season, but with the influx of youth expected in Sudbury in the next couple years, Donskoi was deemed expendable. Rather than lose him for nothing, the Miners were able to turn Donskoi into a future asset.