Just more than a week from the start of the 2021-22 season, the Âé¶čAV Rockets are making waves with a big one-for-one trade.
Centre Trevor Wong is heading to the Saskatoon Blades in exchange for forward Colton Dach.
Rockets president and general manager Bruce Hamilton made the announcement on Tuesday, Sept. 28, saying he was concerned about the teamâs size down the middle â Wong standing around 5â9â and 155 pounds.
âWith Wong, Flamand and Cristall all being somewhat undersized compared to the teams that weâll be playing in the BC Division, I just felt there was an opportunity to get a bigger guy in Dach whoâs 6â3,â said Hamilton.
Hamilton said Dach is a mature player, having recently competed in an NHL training camp with the Chicago Blackhawks, where he was selected in the second round (62nd overall) in the 2021 entry draft.
âWeâre going to expect him to come in here and have a leadership role with our group in the near future,â said Hamilton.
With his imposing stature â 6â3â and 205 pounds â Dach should bring that size Hamilton is looking for, as well as a scoring touch. The 18-year-old was a point-per-game player in the Bladesâ 2020-21 season, putting up 11 goals and 9 assists in 20 games. He led the Blades in goals and power-play goals.
Colton is the younger brother of Kirby Dach, also selected by the Chicago Blackhawks as their third overall pick in the 2019 NHL draft.
Trevor Wong was drafted 18th overall by the Rockets in the 2018 WHL draft. He appeared in 79 games for the Rockets, notching 31 points (13G, 18A) and 40 penalty minutes.
âWhen you make a deal of this size, battleship for battleship, weâre certainly giving up a young player that weâve thought an awful lot of,â said Hamilton.
âTrevor was our first-round pick a few years ago and a real special person, but I think with where our team is, I thought that size was going to be an issue when we play big physical teams. I wanted to get something done earlier rather than later.â
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michael.rodriguez@kelownacapnews.com
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