The Trail Smoke Eaters have lost the services of rookie forward Sean Donaldson.
The 18-year-old Vancouver native requested a trade following a two-point performance in a 4-3 win over Powell River Kings Saturday.
“We sent Sean Donaldson back home,” said Smoke Eaters coach and GM Jeff Tambellini. “He came in and requested a trade this weekend, so he’s been sent back to Vancouver awaiting a move.”
Donaldson didn’t score his first goal until Saturday, 13 games into the season, and added four assists for five points and 14 penalty minutes with the Smoke Eaters. He committed to Trail last year and came to the Smokies along with Burnaby Winter Club Prep teammate Kent Johnson.
“It’s been on the radar for him pretty much the whole year,” said Tambellini. “Young players, you never know. We have a deep team and sometimes it’s not a fit. So, I guess he got to the point where we weren’t the right team moving forward, and, as a staff, we can only have guys that 100 per cent have bought into our team.”
But Trail won’t have to wait long for reinforcements. Prince Albert talent, Owen Ozar, is expected to play his first game of the season for the Smoke Eaters this weekend. The 18-year-old forward was injured in training camp, but was impressive last season playing Midget AAA for the Swift Current Legionnaires of the Saskatchewan Midget Hockey League. Ozar finished eighth in league scoring with 22 goals and 55 points in 42 games.
The Smokies will wait for the right deal when it comes to Donaldson, and are excited about the highly anticipated return of Ozar, and, ultimately, Montrose native Spencer McLean.
“I’m very conscious of what we bring into our room,” said Tambellini. “I think we have an outstanding 20 right now with two guys coming back that are big parts of our dressing room. So very conscious of the people we add to our team, not just the player.”
McLean was put on another 15-day injury reserve and is due back the 25th, pending clearance. The veteran 20-year-old forward has also been out since training camp and is eager to return to the line up.
The Smoke Eaters played in Vernon against the Vipers on Wednesday but the score was unavailable at press time.