Goaltender Birch Dealt To Moose Jaw from Tri City

[HAF]

Goaltender Birch Dealt To Moose Jaw
September 22, 2008

Dan Mulhausen Tri-City Americans

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KENNEWICK, WA - Tri-City Americans Governor/General Manager Bob Tory announced today that the team has traded 18-year-old goaltender Kyle Birch to the Moose Jaw Warriors in exchange for a conditional 5th round draft pick in the 2011 Bantam Draft.

The 5'11", 170-pound goaltender from Winnipeg, Manitoba, appeared in 15 games during the 2007-08 season, recording a 6-4 record along with a 2.51 goals against average and a 0.904 save percentage. Birch was originally selected in the fifth round (91st overall) by Tri-City in the 2005 Bantam Draft and made his WHL-debut on September 22, 2007, stopping 10-of-11 shots for a win against the Kelowna Rockets.

"This trade provides Kyle an opportunity to compete for the starting goaltender position in Moose Jaw, something that was not going to happen here," Tory explained. "With the emergence of (Drew) Owsley and (Brett) Martyniuk as WHL-caliber goaltenders, our depth allowed us to make this move. We wish Kyle all the best with the Warriors."

After today's trade, Tri-City's roster now consists of 27 players, including 17 forwards, seven defensemen and three goaltenders. The Americans will return to the ice this Friday, September 26 as the Seattle Thunderbirds make their first visit of the season to the Toyota Center. Game time is 7:05 p.m. Tickets are available through all Ticketmaster outlets, including all Fred Meyer outlets, the Toyota Center box office or online at www.ticketmaster.com.

[HAF]

What was your goaltending situation before this trade? Is this an upgrade?

[Purple_Monkey_Dishwasher]

What was your goaltending situation before this trade? Is this an upgrade?

Mathews and Dubyk..nothing flattering for the Tribe. I'll get a good look at Birch if he plays Wednesday.

[HAF]

He didn't get alot of playing time last year. Only appeared in I think 15 games and of that only had just a handful of starts. Most of his playing time last year came in the last 5-10 minutes of games where there was some rough stuff going on and they wanted to protect Pickard.

During camp this year and during the preseason tournament he did not look good at all. He knew he had a lot of pressure from Owsley and Martiniuk for the back up spot and he folded like a lawn chair. He was flopping around for saves, giving up way too many rebounds and just appeared to be fighting his own head.

I wish him the best and really do hope he gets the bugs worked out in Moose Jaw.

[HAF]

Any thoughts on Birch since his debut?

[sbtatter]

He looked a bit small and prone to going down early, apart from that, looked ok last night, heck, he won and all 3 goals against hi were on the PP!

[nivek_wahs]

http://www.mjwarriors.ca/feature_story.php?f_action=news_detail&news_id=1334


Birch Released for Reassignment

The Moose Jaw Warriors have released for reassignment goaltender Kyle Birch.
The 5’11, 170 pound netminder joined the tribe back on September 22nd from the Tri-City Americans. In his short time in Moose Jaw, Birch went 1-1 between the pipes and made a total of 78 saves. The Warriors organization would like to thank Kyle for his contribution and wish him the best in his hockey pursuits.