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10.24.2013

And another move by Seattle

Welcome Jaimen Yakubowski and Sam McKechnie to the Thunderbirds.
Both are 19 year old forwards.
They were Lethridge's two leading goal scorers last year.

Yakubowski played in 66, scoring 32 goals and 18 assists.
McKechnie played in all 72 games, scoring 26 goals and 17 assists.

These two players were sent home last week from Lethbridge to await a trade.

From Gregg Drinnan's blog
“We talked to all the veterans, the coaching staff and myself and in discussion yesterday and right up to today we made the decision that these two players don’t want to be here and at the request of their families, agents and themselves and with discussion with them today, they want to be moved.
“So it was best for the hockey club that we have the players here that want to be here and the players that don’t want to be, we’ll move them.”

One could assume they did not see eye to eye with new head coach.

So Seattle adds 2 more 19 year old forwards, bringing the total to 7.
Add in 3 more 20 year olds, and that is a very veteran lineup.
Seattle has now even further deepened it's forward core.
Before this trade, they could roll all 4 lines, and put a ton of pressure on other teams.
Now, there is no question they can.

What did Seattle give up?
Riley Sheen, Carter Folk, and a 3rd round pick in 2015.
I personally actually thought Sheen would be moved when Gropp was added.
His ice time was going to go down more and more.
But then he went out and had a huge weekend, so I kind of changed that.
But, to get talent, you have to give talent.
We haven't seen much of Folk.
The team must have thought highly of him to keep around this long into the season.
When we saw him, he was a tough hard-nosed player.
A 3rd round pick is generally a good pick, but can also be hit or miss.

So overall, I love this trade.
We give up some future in Folk and the pick.
We give up some current in Sheen (who possible could have been back next season).
But we gain two proven goal scores.
And most of all, we announce to the rest of the league that Seattle is in it this season.

15 comments :

Mr Tell13 said...

kind of a clear statement to the rest of the division/conference isn't it?

Anonymous said...

Love the trade,

Next season is going to be a young group. Who will be the 20's next season?

Jon said...

Isn't this like the 5th sign of the apcolypse?

Anonymous said...

Sheen gets to go to a last place team. Folk might get more ice time. Hope these guys still want to compete.

Unknown said...

I'm very excited for this year and I'm happy that the team is making moves to win games this year.

This move brings us up to 9 94 born on the team. This team has a huge hole in the 95 born forward slot. Hopefully some of the 94s can be flipped for younger forwards in the off season and the T-birds can maintain a good team for a few years.

Anonymous said...

Tri City Game
Too many "dumb" penalties
Missed the open net 3 times
No power play
1 of the 20 year olds that doesn't play much (and can't score) wasted 20 year old spot.
Need to designate a no. 1 goalie.

Tiradeausaurus Rantus said...

Merry Christmas, T-Birds!

You guys are going to LOVE the toughness, skill, and effort of these two guys!

Both the previous GM/Coach (Preston), AND the current regime (Robson, Berehowsky), are absolutely awful hires, and I am pretty certain that together they will succeed at taking this franchise from lousy all the way to broke.

But for you... You already got our Adam Henry for a song.

Yakubowski can do it all. He had a game last year with 4 goals and another game with 5... and we still managed to LOSE both games! He can also fight (which he will show you in his first home game if the opportunity presents) and he can kill penalties.

Mckechnie is the freakin' Energizer bunny. He is relentless on the forecheck and PK, and I would expect that he will be in the running for your "Hardest Working Player" award every game.

Enjoy the gift of Lethbridge, Alberta to your team and city.

sean said...

Hey Tiradeausarus Rantus!!!!If these two guys are so great how come their stats for this year are...Yakubowski-11 games I point -5, ...McKechnie ..9 games 3points -9 ? Is this somehow the coach an gm's fault ? Maybe instead of putting their own interests ahead of the team and ask to be traded they should have upped their game .Selfish.

Tiradeausaurus Rantus said...

Sean,

I get that you are skeptical of my review of these players, but yes, the coach and GM are very much responsible for these players and the entire teams' horrible performance! Have you seen their place in the standings lately?

These two guys are playing on a team with thee worst record in the dub, under a coach and GM who have NEVER experienced success in their role.

Check out their personal stats from last year,... THEN consider that they achieved these very respectable numbers despite playing on a team that wasn't even close to making the playoffs.

4 and 5 goals in two different games for Yakubowski... Do a lot of T-Birds on your current roster have this on their resume?

Ever work for a boss that you couldn't believe got the job? Have you ever been treated poorly or unfairly by your boss, humiliated, or put in a situation on a daily basis where you had no chance to succeed?

No?

Good for you. Unfortunately, not everyone can say the same.

Have you ever been 19? NINETEEN!

Some will do his/her best while they continue to beat their head against the same wall, while others take more sensible options... The fans of the Hurricanes are hoping that the rest of the team stays and beats their head on the wall, but I understand why these guys want out after their WHL careers have been spent with a team that has been consistently bad for many years despite their best efforts.

Their parents, understandably concerned about their futures, also had a role in the request for a trade, and believe they helped them make the right decision.

We have a FULL roster of "underperforming players" on this team under the new coach's "new and improved systems", including the fifth overall pick of the 2011 Bantam draft, Reid Duke ('96), who, despite being a fantastic hockey player also doesn't have a goal this year.

You will see these lads succeed in Seattle. Enjoy. You're welcome.

Unknown said...

Thanks for your review of these players, Tiradeausaurus. I look forward to hopefully seeing them play on Tuesday. I would guess that being the returning top two scorers from the previous year Yakubowski and Mckechnie were seeing the top defensive line and pairing from every team night in, night out. That will be a lot harder for another team to do against the T-birds, they will be making up one of three scoring lines and they probably won't be facing the best defensive pairing all the time.

@Anon 9:46, The T-birds have too many dumb or otherwise penalties whenever they are in Tri-City. I'm pretty sure the wasted 20 yr old slot you mentioned is a guy who has a GWG this year and was invited to the Canucks camp and then sent to their AHL camp for a pretty good period of time. I think on a team that had 6 (now 7) 94 born forwards that are pretty productive it might not be the most important thing to have your 20s putting up numbers. Perhaps he provides other benefits on and off the ice. Why do we need to designate a #1 goalie. Both are playing well and neither has played more than 18 games in a season. Using them the way they have gives both of them lots of experience which they need and they know when they are going to be playing. It also will make them more valuable if you want to trade one in the offseason since they will have 36 or more games in a season and another team will be able to figure out if they can handle the load of being a #1.

Anonymous said...

Tiradeauaurus rantus.... Last year is in the past. What have you done lately? Pouting and putting yourself ahead of the team , then blaming the coach is very selfish. I hope this practice of junior players in the last two years demanding trades will stop. Eventually it will hurt the league and everybody wants to be traded to a winning team .

Anonymous said...

It makes me pretty upset to listen to fans rant about these kids "demanding" trades. I experienced several concussions and other injuries in midget hockey at a much lower level of competition and I can tell you from experience that these kids are putting their bodies, their health, and their futures on the line every night they touch the ice. Moreover, they are doing it without making the kind of money their NHL or AHL counterparts are making. This is not really a professional league, and if anyone in the world has the right to request a trade, it is a teenager who plays without being paid, in a league where on any given night he might suffer a career ending injury.

With that said, I respect your opinion, and I don't mean to sound like I'm an ass (but perhaps that is just the nature of the online medium).

But seriously, kids come out of the dub with permanent brain damage sometimes.
Again, not trying to offend anyone here. I don't want to sound like I condone selfish players and prima donnas but at this level if a kid isn't benefiting from playing on a given team, and if his family is unhappy, I see no reason not to ask for a trade. He is accountable to himself and his family above all else. No one plays in this league past twenty after all.

Kevin said...

Thanks Tiradeausaurus for your insight. I'm looking forward to watching the two new guys and Gropp play. This is going to be a great year for the Birds.

Anonymous said...

Troock hurt again. Did he come back to soon? He was week to week and came back after a few days. Hopefully nothing serious, but it didn't look good.

Anonymous said...

Forsberg was a great 20 year old. Former captain (PG) and good leader.

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