UPDATE: The Trail Smoke Eaters announced a number of recent trades on the countdown to the Dec. 1 roster deadline.
Teams start with 35 cards on June 1, and are required to cut that down to a maximum of 25 carded players by Dec. 1.
The Trail Smoke Eaters announced the trade of Jack Kurrle to the Prince George Spruce Kings on Thursday (Dec. 1) afternoon for future considerations.
In his first year with the Smoke Eaters, the Middlesex, Vermont product tallied three goals and an assist. Trail now is down to its maximum six import players for the Dec. 1 roster deadline, counting the addition of Ethan Mann on Tuesday.
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Earlier, the Smoke Eaters traded forward Quinn Disher for Ethan Mann of the Penticton Vees on Nov. 29. Trail then made a deal with the Bonnyville Pontiacs of the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) on Dec. 1, exchanging goalie Cole Tisdale for the playing rights of forward Ty Hurley and future considerations.
Mann, a 19-year-old Grafton, Wisconsin product, tallied 30 points in 48 games with the Vees last season, and has contributed two goals and 11 points this year.
Penticton then sent Disher to the AJHL’s Brooks Bandits in exchange for the playing rights to Nicholas Degraves, a 19-year-old forward.
The Smoke Eaters were looking to add a high impact forward and defenceman prior to the Jan. 10 trade deadline.
“We have to better our team,” said Smoke Eaters coach and GM Tim Fragle. “We’re active now and we are going to be active just to keep up with everyone in our division. Everybody is looking to improve and we’re in the same boat.”
Tisdale, 20, is coming off the 30-day disabled list and was one of three goalies on the roster, so a move had to be made. The Lethbridge product had an uneven start to this season, with a 3-2 record, a 5.00 GAA and a .862 save percentage before suffering an injury in October.
Hurley is currently playing in the Western Hockey League (WHL) with the Seattle Thunderbirds, and is an 18-year old forward from Sherwood Park, AB. Hurley is a diminutive but hard-working forward, who was just traded to Seattle after playing 16 games to start the season with the Swift Current Broncos.
Disher was one of the Smoke Eaters top playmakers last season scoring 14 goals and adding 27 assists for 41 points in 50 games. This year, his output was down with six goals and 14 points in 21 matches. The Fort St. John product is also committed to Michigan Tech for the 2023-24 season.
Mann is committed to the University of Wisconsin, and brings with him championship experience, winning the BCHL’s Fred Page Cup last season with the Vees.
Trail faces off against the Wenatchee Wild on Friday night with the puck drop at 7 p.m.
Smoke Eaters Notes: Trail forward Brady Hunter and goalie Teagan Kendrick both received honourable mentions for the BCHL 3-Stars of the Week. Hunter scored four goals and six points in three games on the weekend, while Kendrick earned a 3-2 win and a loss by the same score. Kendrick faced 83 shots in the two matches, posting a 2.40 GAA and a .940 save percentage.