Blades acquire Connor Cox for 2nd round pick in 2011...

[Trav]

I like this trade, Cox can be a top 4 guy on the Blades, he's shown he can be offensive which will help Elliott. He's 18 so he's good for two more years at the most.

http://www.whl.ca/article/blades-acquire-cox-from-warriors

[Backhand]

Seen his stats. Seems like a responsible D man.

[lordstanley]

It's an ok pick up lets not start our mem cup parade over it though lol

fact is we needed someone badly after releasing vandane

[lordstanley]

To be honest i was also hoping we would have used that second round pick for a premire player in the league oh well i'm sure lorne is confident

[Trav]

They still got a 2nd round pick, they had their own and the Cougars

[lordstanley]

Yes i'm aware of that Trav !

[Trav]

Nobody's planning a Memorial Cup parade dude lol, it was obvious Molleken had something up his sleeve when he released Van Dane. Cox isn't a high profiled player but I imagine was one of the best d-men available at this point of the season.

Just nice to see that Molleken has been looking for offense lately.

Now he just needs to trade Morrison and get a good pick for him in return to make up for the loss of the pick to MJ.

[Hockey Spy]

lordstanley;

Did you know the Blades had their own and PG's 2nd round picks? lol:p

[Hockey Spy]

My thoughts on the Cox trade.

-Cox is a fast skater and moves the puck well. He isn't a very rough defenceman but has an active stick. Think along the lines of a Stefan Elliott type player, just think the "LITE VERSION". He'll be good on the 2nd unit of the Power-play. I would use him with Thrower on that unit.

-Cox was part of a power house Lethbridge program in bantam which included Reners, Hirsch and Holland along with Owsley. He was named to all-star teams all the way through minor hockey. He was also part of Team Pacific at the world under 17 last December.

As for the trade itself, it was no secret that Lorne was looking for a left-shot defenceman with just Zahn and Siemens as left-shot dmen. I think you'll see Lorne use Cox with Dietz on the 3rd pairing only because the top 2 pairings are very familiar with each other. Also look for Cox to be groomed as a power-play guy on the backend for next year when Stefan Elliott turns pro.

Paying a 2nd round draft pick for a defenceman who will likely be around for the next 2.5 years is a fair price. Getting Cox isn't like getting a Tyson Barrie or someone of that ilk but fans can expect a similar contribution to what Collins has provided the Blades. Fast skater, offensive upside, 18 yr old with a couple years in the league.

This also gives the Blades a 92 born defenceman. If you don't included Kizuik, that will be the only regular 92 born dman in the line up. Also, the team had only Nicholls, Collins and Johnson in that age group. It is starting to turn in to a pretty fair group.

So in the end, it turns out it was INGLIS for COX. Two very different players but Saskatoon in the end have address their needs so far this season. If a big trade for a scorer is to come and I believe this year it will come, only because the list is very deep and it seems as though Lorne is determined to make some noise this year.

A few guys I could see the team making a pitch for:
Carter Ashton - Not sure he is an elite type scorer but would provide 30+ goal potential.

Jimmy Bubnick - To me, this would be the perfect player to acquire and play center on the 2nd line. Taking pressure off of Benson and Olsen.

Chase Schaber - Is Kamloops going to contend or not?

This will come much more clearer in the next couple months when teams start to fall, if they do.

[lordstanley]

lordstanley;

Did you know the Blades had their own and PG's 2nd round picks? lol:p

Nope im just reading my WHL book for dummy's :confused:

[whlking]

Maybe someone that has a closer view of the Blades on a daily basis could fill me in, but from an outsider's perspective, it would seem to me that the Blades had pretty good defensive depth even before this acquisition of Cox?

Is it at all possible that they brought Cox in to use him as part of a package to acquire Brayden Schenn if he is returned? Possibly Cox, Dietz, and a 1st round pick in '11 for Schenn's services? Does this at all make sense?

[Hockey Spy]

No, I don't think so. They were looking for a top 4 type defenceman that was a Left Hand shot. The Blades really only had 2 veterans with over a year of experience.

[Toswammi]

If Cox is worth a 2nd, what is Cowen worth then?

[Dwight Schrute]

sell the farm, get schenn, bubnick, cowen and ashton. about time the dub tries to help itself win the memorial cup(much like how the Q had been).

[Toswammi]

sell the farm, get schenn, bubnick, cowen and ashton. about time the dub tries to help itself win the memorial cup(much like how the Q had been).

Great concept, but what kind of team will that leave you in a few years, and how will the fans respond to a really bad team in Saskatoon?

[patsdude114]

sell the farm, get schenn, bubnick, cowen and ashton. about time the dub tries to help itself win the memorial cup(much like how the Q had been).


HAHAHA ask brandon how that went with front loading there offense???

i guess the only difference is that Saskatoon already has a defense & a goaltender something the WKs only could dream they had last year was a goalie. It wouldnt of took alot to get Zemlak from PA wasnt like Lewadniuk wasnt expendable along with a pick or decent prospect to have actually got a goalie.

[Trav]

If Cox is worth a 2nd, what is Cowen worth then?

To be honest I'm not a big fan of Cowen, I don't think he's as good as he's being made out to be. Wouldn't sell the farm for him.

[Dwight Schrute]

HAHAHA ask brandon how that went with front loading there offense???

i guess the only difference is that Saskatoon already has a defense & a goaltender something the WKs only could dream they had last year was a goalie. It wouldnt of took alot to get Zemlak from PA wasnt like Lewadniuk wasnt expendable along with a pick or decent prospect to have actually got a goalie.

lol i was kidding

[twentyone]

I really like the move. I think this shores up our defense pretty good. I would like to see Cox paired up with Dietz and have Dietz work on his defensive game molding him into a Teighan Zahn, ala tough SOB to play against. Zahn is great in our end and is a tough guy to play against, but his offensive instincts just aren't there. Zahn needs to be paired up with somebody like Thrower who can handle the first pass and offensive part of the game. Thats why Sam Klassen and Elliot where so good together. In that same token Cox can handle the offensive load and Dietz can simply concentrate on been a physical pressence in our end. With Stanford back in net I am getting excited about this team again.

Looking forward to a good game tonight. Portland will be an exciting team to watch and should be a good test for the Blades.

[The-Stove]

A few guys I could see the team making a pitch for:
Carter Ashton - Not sure he is an elite type scorer but would provide 30+ goal potential.

Jimmy Bubnick - To me, this would be the perfect player to acquire and play center on the 2nd line. Taking pressure off of Benson and Olsen.

Chase Schaber - Is Kamloops going to contend or not?

This will come much more clearer in the next couple months when teams start to fall, if they do.

WE WILL NOT GET CARTER ASHTON! Any of the A list Saskatoon players dont want to play for Saskatoon. Their parents told the blades not to draft their kids. look at Luke scheen we had the chance to draft him. why didn't t we. thier parents dont wont they playing for the blades.

[Backhand]

Parents didn't allow them to play for the Blades? Wrong! The Blades picked 14th in the 06 bantam draft - Schenn & Bubnick were already selected by then.

[The-Stove]

I know that. eXplain to me why then why didnt we make a move for them then.

[Hockey Spy]

I was just going to chime in as well but somebody beat me to it.

First off, in regards to Luke Schenn who was the last pick of the first round in the 04 bantam draft. It was widely know across the bantam circles that Colton Gillies was the top prospect in the draft that year. However, he expressed that he wasn't interested in going north to PG. Instead, Saskatoon who owned the 2nd overall pick was the place he wanted to go to due to the fact his grandparents live in the city. It had nothing to do with LUKE SCHENN and his parents not wanting LUKE to play at home.

As for the 06 bantam draft, the three forwards from Saskatoon, BUBNICK, BRAYDEN SCHENN, ASHTON were all considered top 10 picks in the draft that year. In the end, they all went top 10 and low and behold the team selected a big Saskatoon kid in Mitch Berg anyway. I'm sure the team regrets the pick now but that is how it go's sometimes. However, they did take a Saskatoon kid, so again your argument is off base here. Berg was picked 15th, after the big 3 Saskatoon boys were picked.

In fact, Brayden Schenn was rumoured to not have wanted to go to Brandon in the first place and almost didn't. He was talked in to it and the family reconsidered. There was talk about Kelowna or Saskatoon almost getting him before he even played a game in the league!

[Backhand]

That was a special year for Saskatoon bantam hockey especially 1st round of the draft. No way teams would of traded down and loose out.

[Hockey Spy]

It was the last great year for Saskatoon bantam hockey in terms of multiple first round talents until this year. This is the first year since 06 that there could be a few Saskatoon kids taken in the first round, led by Saskatoon born Braden Oleksyn who is playing age advanced hockey in Beardy's this year. Same thing Alex Forsberg did last year.

A couple others for people in Saskatoon to head out to the rink and see are:

Kolten Olynek who plays on the Saskatoon Outlaws and led the league in scoring last year as a first year bantam. Olynek though looks like he is done growing and is just 5'7-5'7.5. However, look at last year in the first round when we saw a move to smaller, talented players such as Ast, Petan etc taken in the first round.

Rourke Chartier who scored 86 goals last year as a first year bantam player which led the league. Rourke has grown to about 5'9 or so now from 5'4 last year.

Collin shirley is another player on the rise, whether he cracks the first round or not, not sure. But he could.

[BladesFan_2010]

Cox played very well in his first game tonight with us. I hope he takes the place ok Kizuik permanently. No offense, but Tyler is a bit slow and is steady, but we need someone that can make an impact. Great trade!

[Backhand]

The GM said they "paid" a lot for him but liked what they saw after watching him play - against the Blades plus another game. All 3 recent trades have contributed right off the hop.