Trade deadline day has come and gone across the MJHL and the CJHL, and for the most part, the Swan Valley Stampeders were fairly quiet. In their first move of the day, they sent 20-year-old Tanner McKechnie to the Virden Oil Capitals for future considerations. Later in the day, they sent 17-year-old Jesse Mistelbacher to the Oil Capitals for futures. To note, Mistelbacher has been with the Moose Jaw Warriors this season.
"There was a lot of calls and talks, but for us, we made a lot of moves early and we like where we are," said Barry Wolff, Head Coach, and GM. "For us to make another move, it would have had to include an impact player coming our way. Our chemistry in the room is important and we want to keep that together."
The Stampeders did make a rather big move one week ago when they acquired 20-year-old Tucker Scantlebury from the Lloydminster Bobcats of the AJHL for future considerations. Since joining the team, Scantlebury has one goal in three contests.
"He was a guy that we wanted to add. He's an offensive gritty tough kid that skates well," said Wolff. "We were lucky to get that deal done early so it took some pressure off us during the final buzzer yesterday."
Swan Valley sits in a very good position in the league heading into their tilt tonight. The club is 26-8-3-2 which has them in second place. The team has scored the second most in the league as well (171). Portage has 192. The club has also been quite stingy defensively as they have only allowed 119 goals, good enough for third best in the league.
"I think we're happy with where we are right now," said Wolff. "We have a good mix of offensive guys, gritty guys, and guys that compete really hard. Our defence also creates some offence for us which is great. We have a little bit of everything, we're happy going forward."
Speaking of back end players producing offensively, Quintin Sudom is one of those guys. The 20-year-old has been unstoppable from the point with 48 points which is fourth in the league.
The Stampeders are now back on the ice as they welcome the Winkler Flyers to the Centennial tonight. It's the first of two straight against Winkler (tomorrow night). The Flyers are also a team that has been playing well as of late. They have won four of their last five games.
"We think they're a pretty good team and they are definitely better than their record," said Wolff. "We have to bring our A game. It's on our home ice and it's always important to win in your own rink."
In his first season with the Stampeders, Barry is loving every minute of it. "100 percent, anytime you're in an ice rink and you get to coach at this level, it's a fun time and this is a great place,"
