There’s no rest for the Trail Smoke Eaters’ coaching staff who continue to make moves to improve the Smokies roster for the upcoming season.
On Wednesday, coach Nick Deschenes announced the acquisition of BCHL veterans Harlan Orr from Alberni Bulldogs and Victor Dombrovskiy from the Langley Rivermen, as well as a commitment from Kyle Cochrane of the Hill Academy in Brampton Ontario.
“At the end of the day, we’ve moved on a few players and we’ve gotten two players that have already played in the league for two years, and I believe have untapped potential,” said Deschenes.
Cochrane from Brampton, Ont. was also drafted by the London Knights of the OHL. The 18-year-old centreman was assistant captain for the prep school team where he netted 16 goals and 22 assists in 38 games, and counted and impressive plus-minus rating of plus-22.
“He skates very well, is very competitive and I think he’s going to develop into a very solid BCHL player, and I think he’s a AA candidate for sure.”
Orr was a former player for the Salmon Arm Silverbacks, who played last season with the Alberni Valley Bulldogs. The 19-year-old forward netted nine goals and 25 assists in 49 games for the Bulldogs.
Dombrovskiy is a solid five-foot eleven-inch, 195 pound defenceman who played two seasons for the Rivermen. The 18-year-old Yale commit netted 28 points in 90 games for the Rivermen and 32 penalty minutes over that time. He also played for Canada West in the World Junior A Challenge last season.
The Smokies give up Joel Webb, in the three-way deal, that sends Webb to Kindersley, Sask. of the SJHL.
“We wanted to add a top guy like (Dombrovskiy) him to our group, and start that relationship as well, so a lot of positives out of that one.”
To make room on the roster, the Smokies sent defenceman Sean Davies to the Calgary Mustangs of the AJHL, and forward Dylan Mascarin to the Wellington Dukes of the Ontatio Junior Hockey League, both for future considerations.
“We’re just looking to make some changes, and it’s time to shake things up,” said Deschenes. “We are looking to be very selective on who we have returning.”
Webb played the most games of all Smokies last season, 57, and was the second top scorer among defencemen scoring four goals and 13 assists. Davies, an Airdrie, Alta. native, played in 45 games and netted 13 points last season for the Smokies.
Mascarin was plagued with concussion problems for most of the 2013/14 season and played in only 17 games for the Smoke Eaters. He ended the season with two goals and three assissts for a total of five points, and will also play next season closer to his home in Thunder Bay.
“We appreciate the efforts of Mascarin, Davies, and Webb especially the difficult times the organization went through last year, but we wish them all the best and the organizations they are going to are really excited to have them,” added Deschenes.