The Beaver Valley Nitehawks traded veteran defenceman Dylan Kent.
The 20-year-old Beaumont, Alta. native was sent to the Kelowna Chiefs in a three-way-deal Wednesday night. The Chiefs will send Noah Danforth to the Kimberley Dynamiters, and, in exchange, the Hawks get 17-year-old forward Luke Recchi from the Dynamiters.
“It’s a bit of a loss, but I think we’re gaining a player that fits our mould, our build,” said Nitehawks General Manager Jamie Cominotto. “We’re young, we’re quick, we’re hungry, and Luke played in the league last year, so he’s experienced and as an 18-year-old is hungry to get better and move onto the next level.”
Kent was in his third season with the Nitehawks with 67 regular season games under his belt. Normally a defenceman, Kent was pressed into duty as a forward last season due to an unprecedented bout of injuries. With a full complement of Nitehawk defencemen this year, B.V. wanted to keep the versatile player up front, where he contributed three goals and nine points in eight games this season.
“He just wasn’t having fun coming to the rink as a forward anymore,” said Cominotto. “We wanted to accommodate him. He didn’t want to leave and we didn’t want him to leave, but his position with the Nitehawks was a forward, and he wanted to play defence, and go on to college.”
The 8-0-0-1 Chiefs will no doubt get better with the addition of the six-foot-one, 205 pound d-man. Kent was also a key component in the Nitehawks 2017 KIJHL and Cyclone Taylor Cup championship team.
Recchi, nonetheless, sports a solid pedigree. He is a Kamloops native and the nephew of former NHL forward and Hall of Famer, Mark Recchi. Luke scored five goals and six points in six games with the Dynamiters this season, and at five-foot-10, 175 pounds, should prove a strong addition to the Hawks offence.
“He’s a skilled and scrappy player who has a bit of an edge to his game. And with eight defencemen we’re looking to fill Dylan’s (forward) spot. He put up six points in six games so there is definitely some skill there, so he’ll fit right in.”
Sending Kent to the Chiefs also opens a 20-year-old card for the Nitehawks, that gives them options as the season wears on.
“If we run into injuries or whatever, it’s nice to have that option.”
The Nitehawks expect Recchi to arrive Thursday, and be in the line up against the Osoyoos Coyotes on Friday.