After a four-month lockdown, the Maritime Hockey League opened the window for trades and transactions May 26, and the Valley junior A Wildcats wasted no time getting to work.
Valley acquired three new players, mostly in exchange for draft picks, through deals with clubs in New Brunswick.
The Wildcats landed Chad Wilson and a conditional second-round MHL draft pick in 2021 from the Edmundston Blizzard in exchange for second- and seventh-round 2020 draft picks. The second-round pick traded by Valley originally belonged to the Summerside Western Capitals.
Wilson is a 20-year-old winger from Middle Sackville, N.S. He played two seasons of high school hockey with the Millwood Knights and one season of major midget hockey with the Halifax McDonalds before making the jump to junior A. Wilson played with the Pictou County Weeks Crushers in 2018-2019, then played last season with the Edmundston Blizzard, putting up 12 goals and 32 points in 52 games.
“Chad's from the area, which is something we're focusing on,” says Wildcats general manager Brandon Benedict. “He's a real character kid. He'll be a leader on our team. His work ethic is second to none, and those are the attributes we want to build here.”
Benedict, who is also head coach of the junior A Wildcats, says Wilson comes to Valley with links to several players already with the club.
“He knows a few guys on the team, playing with them on previous teams, so there's a lot of boxes that are ticked with him. We expect him to put up good numbers for us.”
Valley also received goaltender Andrew MacLeod from the Pictou County Weeks Crushers as completion of an earlier deal. MacLeod was then packaged with prospect Lewis Taylor, and a first-round pick in next month's MHL draft, shipping them to the Fredericton Red Wings for winger Aaron Brown and defenceman Marc-Antoine Couture.
Brown is an 18-year-old winger from Timberlea, N.S., who just completed his second year in the MHL. Brown scored 13 goals and 30 points in just 29 games, split between Edmundston and Fredericton.
“We're expecting Brown to be an offensive contributor for us this year and be one of our top forwards. He can certainly run a power play for us, and he has the ability to be a top guy in this league," says Benedict.
"Again, he's a local guy from the region. He has some familiarity with some players in our group, and he's excited to come.”
Couture, meanwhile, is a 20-year-old from East Angus, Que. The defender had 13 points in 46 games, split between Edmundston and Fredericton as well.
“Couture is a solid, two-way defenceman,” says the coach. “He brings some offensive abilities as well. He can give us some leadership on the back end.”
Benedict says he feels his team is better for September with the new additions. While the team gave up some valuable building blocks sending first- and second-round draft picks out the door, Benedict says he's happy with the moves.
“At the end of the day, you have to give to get, and that's the reality of it. We certainly gave up something, but if you want to acquire skilled players, you have to give some stuff up.”
The first-round selection traded to Fredericton originally belonged to the Yarmouth Mariners, meaning it's the 10th overall selection in the upcoming Maritime Hockey League entry draft. Originally set to be hosted in Truro, the draft will now be conducted online on Saturday, June 13. Valley still has the first overall selection.
“We've been chatting with our internal staff, going over our lists, and having conversations with players,” says Benedict of his pre-draft preparations.
The Wildcats GM says holding the draft online instead of in-person doesn't change much.
“The biggest part of building a good team is through the draft, in my mind, and we've got to make sure we do our homework and research on the players we select.”
