The Trail Smoke Eaters made a few moves the past week, welcoming one player and saying farewell to three others.
The Smoke Eaters announced the signing of Nova Scotia born forward Brandon Crowell for the 2022/23 season. However, Trail lost the services of forward Connor Michaud and defencemen Joel Barton and Cameron Moger.
Trail transferred the rights of Michaud to the Fort McMurray Oil Barons on June 1 to complete a futures trade made on Jan. 2, 2022. The 20-year-old Michaud is a physical and skilled player up front scoring nine goals and 24 points in 51 games last season.
In Moger’s case, Trail sent the Vernon native and Michigan Tech commit to the Prince George Spruce Kings as the futures component from an Oct. 1, 2021 trade for Corey Cunningham.
Barton opted out of playing junior hockey this season and will attend the University of Western Ontario to study Medical Sciences.
Crowell, meanwhile, hails from Dartmouth, N.S, and has played the last few years in Rhode Island with Mount St. Charles Academy. The 18-year-old, right shot forward, had a good season with Mount, claiming six different championship titles, topped off by a USA U18 National Championship. In 72 games Crowell tallied 17 goals and 44 points.
“Brandon is coming off a very successful season with a National Championship!” said Smoke Eaters head coach and GM Tim Fragle. “He plays with pace and brings a hardnosed north-south game. He plays with a lot of detail in his game and possesses a strong shot. We look forward to having him step into our program.”
Crowell brings with him a winning mentality that he says has been “instilled into who he is as a player” during his time at Mount St. Charles. Crowell says he “knows what it takes to win” and is looking forward to bringing experience with him.
“I’ve only heard and read great things about the town and the organization. I look forward to bringing my all to the team and the fans next season,” said Crowell.
Trail will run its West Coast camp June 10-12 in Vancouver.
Read: Smoke Eaters sign Connor Seeley
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