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Trail Smoke Eaters trade Glasman for top-end defender

The Trail Smoke Eaters acquire defenceman Powell Connor in a 3-way deal for forward Levi Glasman
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Powell Connor

The Trail Smoke Eaters traded forward Levi Glasman in a stunning three-way deal with the Chilliwack Chiefs and Powell River Kings on Thursday.

Trail sent Glasman, 19, to Powell River, who in turn traded defenceman Nathan Kelly to the Chiefs, and the Smokies received 18-year-old defenceman Powell Connor from Chilliwack, bolstering the Smokies blue line in a big way.

“There’s only so many times you have a chance to get a top defenceman in this league, and sometimes you have to pay a price for that,” said Smoke Eaters head coach and GM Jeff Tambellini. “One thing we have is an abundance of skilled forwards, and Levi is a top guy who has found a way to do a great job last year, produce, and be a big part of the team - same thing this year.”

Connor, a six-foot-one 181 pound defenceman from Vernon is a Michigan State commit, and was a mainstay on the Chiefs blue line the past three years. Last season, Connor contributed two goals and 21 points in 51 games, with 57 penalty minutes.

Connor played 118 regular season games with the Chiefs, that included an RBC Cup championship in May. Chilliwack head coach and GM Brian Maloney said it wasn’t easy dealing him away.

“Powell has been a big part of the Chiefs program but sometimes when you’re in the same spot for awhile things can grow stale,” Maloney said. “Both Powell and I have been talking about his development and we both agreed that a change in scenery was best. Powell was a big part of our team but we also understand this is a development league and want to help kids develop whether it’s with us or elsewhere.”

Glasman put up big numbers in his rookie season with the Smoke Eaters scoring 24 goals and 52 points in 53 games. The six-foot-one forward was also a point-per-game forward this season, with three goals and 16 points in 16 games. An intelligent play-maker, the Lacombe native will give the Kings offence a much added boost.

“I believe Trail has to be one of the hardest places to play, but we need to defend first,” said Tambellini. “You look at any championship team they’re built from the backend, and you have to have defenders that compete and are mean, and can make plays, and we just felt that this was a move that made our team better.”

Connor is expected to be in the line up on Friday when the Smoke Eaters face off against the Prince George Spruce Kings at 7 p.m. at the Cominco Arena.



Jim Bailey

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