OLDS — Two 20-year-old leaders on the Olds Grizzlys Noah Hackett and Josh Zinger -- have been traded to the league-leading Brooks Bandits for forward Liam Hughes, goalie Jared Whale and future considerations.
The trade was announced Dec. 2.
It's a chance for Hackett and Zinger to play on a team with a good chance of winning a league championship and possibly a national title in their last season of Junior A hockey.
Hackett, originally from Ponoka, and a third-year Grizzly, served as the team’s captain.
He scored 22 goals and picked up 17 assists for 39 points in 30 games this season and has been named Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) Player of the Week twice.
Hackett recently agreed to play for the Niagara University Purple Eagles in Lewiston, New York next season.
Zinger was converted this year from a forward to a defenceman.
The Red Deer product scored seven goals and picked up 18 assists for 25 points in 30 games so far this year and was named the AJHL’s Defensive Player of the Week in week 3 of the season.
Due to his leadership skills, Zinger was named an assistant captain of the Grizzlys.
Recently, Zinger agreed to play for the Northern Michigan University Wildcats.
Hughes, 19, is originally from Edmonton.
He stands 5’10” and weighs 174 pounds according to the Elite Prospects site.
With the Bandits this season he scored three goals and obtained five assists for eight points in 22 games. He also racked up 20 penalty minutes.
Whale, 19, is originally from Calgary.
He is 5’11” tall and weighs 194 pounds.
He played in nine games for the Bandits so far this season, obtaining a goals-against average of 1.67 and a .932 save percentage.
The club thanked Hackett and Zinger for all they’ve done for the team and community over the years.
“We are obviously disappointed to lose two players of such high quality and character, but we think it’s an opportunity to improve our future and at the same time, give two exceptional people a chance to complete their junior careers with the number one-ranked team in the country,” Grizzlys head coach Scott Atkinson said in an announcement about the trade on the team’s website.
The team welcomed Hughes and Whale.
“We are excited to add two such highly skilled players to our roster,” the announcement said.
Other trades
The Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) announced Nov. 26 that that the Grizzlys traded 19-year-old forward Kyle Wallace to the Blackfalds Bulldogs for future considerations.
Wallace stands 5’9” and weighs about 155 pounds.
He played in two seasons for the Grizzlys.
In 20 games in the AJHL this year, Wallace scored two goals and picked up three assists for five points. He also garnered 31 penalty minutes.
Last season the Red Deer product scored two goals and obtained three assists in 14 games. He also racked up six penalty minutes.
On Nov. 10, the Grizzlys traded defenceman True Crowe to the Drumheller Dragons for Kasey Hiemstra.
Crowe, originally from Greely, Colo., is 6’1” tall and weighs about 185 pounds.
Hiemstra, a 19-year-old forward, is originally from Big Valley, Alta. He is 6’1” and weighs about 174 pounds.
