The departure of Lucas Grundy to the Rimouski Oceanic of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League earlier this month has led to a few roster moves on the part of the Olds Grizzlys.
In order to fill that void, the Grizzlys traded Mitch Malkin to the Alberni Valley Bulldogs of the B.C. Junior Hockey League in exchange for Mark Eremenko, a six-foot, three-inch, 200-pound defenceman with two more years of junior hockey eligibility left. The Grizzlys also acquired 20-year-old JC Heck from the Sherwood Park Crusaders in exchange for future considerations. Heck is six foot one inch and tips the scales at 195 pounds. He had accumulated 17 points and 445 penalty minutes in parts of three seasons with the Crusaders.
“With us losing Lucas Grundy … our main priority was to find someone who could fill those shoes as best as they could and when we found out (Heck) was available we were very excited to acquire him. He's a pretty versatile player and we're happy to have him,” said Brett Hopfe, director of hockey operations with the Grizzlys, noting Heck will provide the size needed for some of the Grizzlys' smaller players to operate.
“JC definitely played his role (on Saturday against the Drayton Valley Thunder), got some players off their game, I felt,” Hopfe said.
Eremenko also adds size to the lineup and will provide some toughness against teams like the Drumheller Dragons, who like to play an aggressive style, Hopfe said.
Dylan Hubbs, who scored the overtime winner against the Thunder Saturday, said both players are welcome by the team, with Heck making his presence felt in his first two games.
“He's just an awesome team guy and doing a great role, staying out of the box while he does it,” he said.
The Alberta Junior Hockey League requires teams to trim their rosters to 23 players on Dec. 1, but Hopfe said he would like to do a little more tinkering to the roster after that date to solidify the lineup and put a few more pieces in place.
Grundy played part of three seasons with the Grizzlys, accumulating eight goals, 29 assists and 703 penalty minutes in 122 games.
