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View Full Version : Sauer Traded To Medicine Hat!



Redwic
12-27-2006, 05:22 PM
The Portland Winter Hawks traded team captain, and 2nd round NHL draft choice, 19-year-old defenseman Michael Sauer to the Medicine Hat Tigers today for two 16-year-old defensemen.

The Hawks get highly regarded Patrick Wiercoich and Lee Morrow in the deal. Portland has now acquired three 16-year-old blue line prospects in the last two weeks in separate trades involving 20-year-old Kyle Bailey and now Sauer, who both served as team captains this season.

“Wiercoich is simply an outstanding hockey player,” said Hawks’ General Manager Ken Hodge. “I went and watched him play in the Junior-A BCHL over the weekend of December 16th and he is a dynamic offensive defenseman, but he is not yet committed to play in the WHL. He has not committed to any college and he has not yet committed to play in our league. We are going to make every effort to encourage him to join what we feel could be a very special group of players we have at his age level.”

Portland Coach Mike Williamson says that Morrow is regarded as a solid, two-way defenseman with a good work ethic, good mobility and skates well. He is a teammate of 15-year-old Brett Ponich, Portland’s second round choice in the 2006 WHL Bantam Draft, who was one of the most impressive players in the Hawks’ September training camp held in the Rose Garden. Morrow played in a couple of WHL pre-season games with Medicine Hat.

“It is very tough to part with a player of Mike Suaer’s quality, on and off the ice,” Williamson said. “But, we have added what we feel are two more quality defensemen to our protected list at a very important age level for us.”

Sauer has been a rock on defense for the youngest Winter Hawks team in franchise history and the youngest team in the WHL this season. When Portland returns from the Christmas break tonight in Tri-Cities for the first of 4 games in 5 nights, (7:05 face off, Audio Webcast at winterhawks.com 10 minutes before face off) the Hawks will not only be without Sauer, but also 19-year-old defenseman Stefan Langwieder, who is playing for Team Germany in the World Junior Championships in Sweden. The Hawks, who host Tri-Cities in Memorial Coliseum on Thursday at 7:30 p.m., trail fourth place Spokane by 15 points for the last playoff spot in the U.S. Division. Clearly, the Hawks are trying to assemble the necessary pieces to make a run at a championship in the next 2-3 seasons.

“It was a move of necessity,” said Hodge. “We had to add more depth and talent to our future blue line. We are also very happy to give a very high quality player, and person, in Michael Sauer a chance to become an important part of a team in Medicine Hat that has a chance to go a long way this season, likely Michael’s last in junior hockey.”

Wiercoich, Medicine Hat’s 2nd round choice, 38th overall, in the 2005 WHL Bantam Draft, has (3-3-6) in just 13 games with the Burnaby Express as one of the youngest players in the very good BCHL Junior-A league. Last year, he was the top scoring defenseman in the BC Major Midget League, the BCMML, with the Vancouver NE Attack with (8-27-35) in 36 games. In 2004-05, he was selected “Most Valuable Defenseman” in the AAA Bantam John Reid Memorial Tournament held in St. Albert, Alberta. His home town is Maple Ridge, BC, the home town of Winter Hawks’ legend Cam Neely, who won the Memorial Cup with the Hawks in 1983 before becoming an All-Star right wing with the Boston Bruins and a recent inductee to the NHL Hall of Fame.

Morrow, from Ponoka, Alberta, was the Tigers’ 9th round choice in the 2005 WHL Bantam Draft. Often paired on defense with Ponich, Morrow is playing AAA midget hockey in Leduc, Alberta.

The Hawks traded Bailey to Lethbridge for 16-year-old defenseman Bo Montgomery on December 15. Montgomery was Lethbridge’s 2nd round choice, 35th overall, in the 2005 WHL Bantam Draft.