puckmam
12-01-2007, 05:17 AM
http://www.princegeorgecitizen.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=106491&Itemid=564
(Sports) Saturday, 01 December 2007, 01:00 PST
JIM SWANSON, Citizen Sports Editor
Be good, be young, or be gone.
That’s the message behind two transactions by the Prince George Cougars on Friday, moves made before the team headed east for games tonight (in Red Deer) and Sunday afternoon (in Calgary).
The most significant move saw 18-year-old assistant captain Chris Vanduynhoven, a third-year defenceman and former fifth-round bantam choice (84th overall, 2004), sent closer to his Burnaby home. Vanduynhoven, six-foot-five and 242 pounds, was auctioned to the Chilliwack Bruins for a fourth-round draft pick in 2009.
“We got what we wanted (with the draft choice) -- we had nine defencemen, his icetime was dwindling and we wanted to give him an opportunity,” said Cougars general manager Dallas Thompson.
“It was a big jump for Chris to make our team as a 16-year-old, and he was a good fit for us with how he was off the ice and in the classroom. We just got in a numbers crunch, and we have younger guys who we want to work into the lineup and get more icetime.”
The undrafted Vanduynhoven played in 142 regular season games for the Cougars, scoring four times and adding 12 assists, along with 152 penalty minutes. Vanduynhoven surprised many by making the WHL as a 16-year-old, outplaying former first-overall draft pick Ryan Kerr in that 2005 training camp. But a lack of footspeed caused problems in the defensive zone and made him expendable. Vanduynhoven was minus-13 this season -- among Cougars players, only Colin Haas and Kalvin Sagert are worse in that department (minus-15).
The addition of 16-year-old blueliner Matt Cumming this past week -- he was lured north from the Vernon Vipers of the BCHL -- gave the Cougars too many defencemen, forcing Thompson to thin the ranks. Vanduynhoven is expected to debut with the Bruins tonight in Kamloops, wearing jersey No. 4.
Thompson further cut the roster, getting down to 23 players, by giving an outright release to centre Matt Sokol, who was added to the club in late October. The 18-year-old former Portland Winter Hawk had three assists, one scrap and a minus-3 rating in 14 games for the Cats. Even with the Los Angeles native gone, the Cougars still have five Americans on the team.
“Dale Hunt and Evan Fuller are getting closer (to returning from injuries), so we didn’t want to be sitting five guys in the stands on a nightly basis,” said Thompson.
“With Matt, it’s more of an age thing. We have other guys who have come on -- Parker Stanfield, Marcus Watson and Ryan Kowalski, so basically it was creating room for younger guys.”
The general manager said no other moves are pending, downplaying Ty Wishart trade rumours that are growing loud again.
(Sports) Saturday, 01 December 2007, 01:00 PST
JIM SWANSON, Citizen Sports Editor
Be good, be young, or be gone.
That’s the message behind two transactions by the Prince George Cougars on Friday, moves made before the team headed east for games tonight (in Red Deer) and Sunday afternoon (in Calgary).
The most significant move saw 18-year-old assistant captain Chris Vanduynhoven, a third-year defenceman and former fifth-round bantam choice (84th overall, 2004), sent closer to his Burnaby home. Vanduynhoven, six-foot-five and 242 pounds, was auctioned to the Chilliwack Bruins for a fourth-round draft pick in 2009.
“We got what we wanted (with the draft choice) -- we had nine defencemen, his icetime was dwindling and we wanted to give him an opportunity,” said Cougars general manager Dallas Thompson.
“It was a big jump for Chris to make our team as a 16-year-old, and he was a good fit for us with how he was off the ice and in the classroom. We just got in a numbers crunch, and we have younger guys who we want to work into the lineup and get more icetime.”
The undrafted Vanduynhoven played in 142 regular season games for the Cougars, scoring four times and adding 12 assists, along with 152 penalty minutes. Vanduynhoven surprised many by making the WHL as a 16-year-old, outplaying former first-overall draft pick Ryan Kerr in that 2005 training camp. But a lack of footspeed caused problems in the defensive zone and made him expendable. Vanduynhoven was minus-13 this season -- among Cougars players, only Colin Haas and Kalvin Sagert are worse in that department (minus-15).
The addition of 16-year-old blueliner Matt Cumming this past week -- he was lured north from the Vernon Vipers of the BCHL -- gave the Cougars too many defencemen, forcing Thompson to thin the ranks. Vanduynhoven is expected to debut with the Bruins tonight in Kamloops, wearing jersey No. 4.
Thompson further cut the roster, getting down to 23 players, by giving an outright release to centre Matt Sokol, who was added to the club in late October. The 18-year-old former Portland Winter Hawk had three assists, one scrap and a minus-3 rating in 14 games for the Cats. Even with the Los Angeles native gone, the Cougars still have five Americans on the team.
“Dale Hunt and Evan Fuller are getting closer (to returning from injuries), so we didn’t want to be sitting five guys in the stands on a nightly basis,” said Thompson.
“With Matt, it’s more of an age thing. We have other guys who have come on -- Parker Stanfield, Marcus Watson and Ryan Kowalski, so basically it was creating room for younger guys.”
The general manager said no other moves are pending, downplaying Ty Wishart trade rumours that are growing loud again.