Six Player Rockets Trade

[Squig]

Six Player Rockets Trade
by Wayne Moore - Story: 24701
Dec. 07, 2006 / 11:15 am

The Kelowna Rockets have gotten younger.

The Rockets completed a major six-player deal with the Regina Pats Thursday morning.

Heading east are 19-year-old forwards Troy Ofukany and Kaspars Saulietis, along with 18-year-old forward Kirt Hill.

Coming to the Rockets are 18-year-old centre Justin Bernhardt, 17-year-old forward Jason MacDonald and 16-year-old forward Kyle St. Denis.

Bernhardt and MacDonald will join the Rockets in time for Friday's game with Everett.

St. Denis, a member of the BCHL's Vernon Vipers will remain with the Vipers for the time being.

Rockets General Manager Bruce Hamilton says it's a tough day around the dressing room today.

"We got off the bus from Portland and informed the kids, which is always the toughest job in this business. There were a lot of tears --- this is a very close knit group," says Hamilton.

He says the deal has been brewing for some time.

"They really wanted Troy and we wanted Kyle St. Denis. We went back and forth until it worked for both teams."

Hamilton says there was a lot of interest from around the league in Troy Ofukany, however this deal made the most sense.

"Teams were offering a lot of draft picks, but you have to wait three years for them to develop."

Player Stats

Troy Ofukany 30 games 12 goals 8 assists
Kirt Hill 23 games 7 goals 9 assists
Kaspars Saulietis 24 games 9 goals 8 assists

Justin Bernhardt 25 games 7 goals 10 assists
Jason MacDonald 18 games 1 goal 0 assists
Kyle St. Denis 28 games 12 goals 15 assists

[IamBatman]

This is the official start of the rebuilding process. Why would they give away our Euro, who actually make the games alright to watch????

[witness]

It might not be such a bad trade for Kelowna. Here (in my opinion) is what you got.
Jason MacDonald is a 17 year old. Good size and has been playing well lately. Could score 10 to 15 goals this year if given the right opportunities. Has a good up side, could be a productive player. The Pats just had too many players that fit in role that McDonald would be the most comfortable in (Lind, Festerling, R McDonald, and Scott)
Justin Bernhardt is an 18 year old. Good size and above average hands. This kid has the potential to be an elite forward in the league. The problem is that he can't decide if he really wants to play hockey or not (and has been that way since he has been 14). He fell out of favor with the Pats' coaching staff because they saw the potential and wanted badly for him to reach it, he really didn't seem to care. He is a nice kid, you would be hard pressed to find anyone in Regina to say they didn't like him. A move two provinces away and a fresh start, just might be the answer.
Kyle St. Denis is the key to the trade. HUGE offensive upside. He is small, but trying to hit him is like trying to hit a water bug. He is everywhere. I thought that he would make the Pats as a 16 year old, but didn't come to camp because he was looking at different options. I think that Kyle could be a star in this league.

Good luck to Jason and Justin. I hope everything works out.

[Some_Arrogant_Jerk]

How did bernhardt and macdonald look in the game tonight against everett?

[Rockets1231]

At first glance I don't like the move, but Hamilton usually knows what he's doing so I guess we'll have to trust him on this one...