WK lineup

[booboo]

Anyone out there hear any rumours regarding whether the WK will be making some trades come deadline time? Are they buyers or sellers? Thoughts anyone?

[The Wheatiemaniac]

Starting to wonder if something is up or not. They could use a few things this year, but our defence will be at it's peak age next year and Boes and Honey will have the goalie spot locked up(provided they're still here). Perhaps working with what we have this year and then looking to make a big deal next year might be a better avenue to explore. It's very likely that Stone, Ferland, and Anderson will not be part of the plans next year. Finding a big name center and building a can't miss first line might be better served for next year. Then again.....

How close are we to being top dogs this year? Stone, Ferland, and Walker have been great. But would a Mark McNeill centering that line be a real over the top piece to the puzzle? Do we break the bank for D man Alex Petrovic and part with the likes of Miller or Hunter? Do we look at upgrading our overage spots by ditching Melnychuk and Ciarelli?

But the biggest question won't face us as fans. It will face GM Kelly McCrimmon. That question is.....Which teams are willing to part with what players....and at what cost? You see the teams who hold rights to these players may want too much in KM's eyes. Some teams may just say no thanks and not want to part with these players.

And are we going to rotate 3 goalies the rest of the season? Or is a major deal in the works on that front?

The plot thickens.......stay tuned.

[mjw22]

Anyone out there hear any rumours regarding whether the WK will be making some trades come deadline time? Are they buyers or sellers? Thoughts anyone?

What would it take to get Stone or Ferland if they are sellers ? They may need more than a goaltending upgrade to go deep.

[The Wheatiemaniac]

We are challenging for the division. The leading scorer in the league and our second leading scorer aren't going anywhere. We are probably one real good D man and a good offensive center away from being real contenders. I'm not sure goaltending is a real downfall for us. But refraing from giving up 40 shots a game would fix alot of things that are working against us right now.

[Trevor]

I have absolutely no sources on this, and I'm not saying "you heard it here first" or anything like that, so if it doesn't happen I don't want anyone jumping all over me saying I was wrong.

The general consensus is that Honey is a good goaltending prospect. But Papirny is better. So I believe KM would consider Honey tradeable. Interestingly enough, Honey's twin brother plays for Seattle. Now I have no idea what else would be involved in any sort of deal, but I have heard rumour of a trade involving Honey and Calvin Pickard.

I just want everyone to remember that in no way, shape, or form, am I saying a trade like that will happen. I'm just posting here what I have been told by others.

[The Wheatiemaniac]

I have absolutely no sources on this, and I'm not saying "you heard it here first" or anything like that, so if it doesn't happen I don't want anyone jumping all over me saying I was wrong.

The general consensus is that Honey is a good goaltending prospect. But Papirny is better. So I believe KM would consider Honey tradeable. Interestingly enough, Honey's twin brother plays for Seattle. Now I have no idea what else would be involved in any sort of deal, but I have heard rumour of a trade involving Honey and Calvin Pickard.

I just want everyone to remember that in no way, shape, or form, am I saying a trade like that will happen. I'm just posting here what I have been told by others.

I have heard the same rumour. I think it's because Pickard is from Winnipeg, and everyone thinks it makes sense to bring him in. Personally, I think a better choice for a 19 yr old keeper would be Kent Simpson from Everett. Much better numbers considering where Everett is in the standings. Pickard is good, but I'm wondering if maybe we need to upgrade our blueline and add another veteran scoring forward. These moves could possibly lead to less shots on goal per game. We need to do that before anything. Below our top 6 forwards are very inexperienced and ineffective. Guys like Favreaux and Swyripa have not produced at all really and should be down around the fourth line if they stay.
Daniel Asham should be centering the second line. A skilled center would wake those guys up to full potential. Plus Asham would blossom offensively playing with the likes of Bertaggia and Dzurzinski. Ciarelli is an offensive albatross around their neck.
It baffles me that they gave away Carter Proft for a late pick. He has big potential I think, yet Ciarelli started the season as the number 1 center.
This season still has big potential. It's not too late. But somethings gotta give.......and soon.

[Joe Hallenback]

I heard 2 pretty good rumors

- The Wheat Kings are pursuing Pickard. Seattle is on the ledge on whether they want to deal him or not. The Wheaties are willing to send them Honey, one of the D not named Roy or Pulock or Nikkel and some prospects. Some names that crop up is Kyler Hehn and Jack Palmer.

- The Wheat Kings are interested in Kevin Sundhar. But apparently Victoria wants Nikkel

[witness]

I would take the Pickard deal, from both teams prespective. Seattle is not really going anywhere. they are not going to compete with Portland, Tri City, Vancouver or Kamloops. Seattle needs to upgrade their prospects.

Brandon will get a goaltender that can steal games. The Wheat Kings have not had that in a long time. And they have a ton of young guys and will not be able to find roster spots for them all.

[booboo]

I agree with what you say" witness",but it depends on just how much Seattle wants in return(remember the Schenn trade last yeawhere the Blades definitely overpaid for Schenn. We don't want to go down that road do we.) If we send them Honey, I would think 1 more prospect like Palmer and Hunter/Kuczeck should be enough. Send a 2nd or 3rd round pick or another prospect next year in the event that Pickard comes back as an overager.

[The Wheatiemaniac]

Pickard at his best is tough to beat. But when he's off, he may as well change his name to Andrew Hayes.

Simpson has a very calm demeanor, he's a big body in the net at 6' 3" and 200 lbs. He has been so consistent this year all things considered in Everett. The only difference is I think Simpson's price will be substantially steeper since Everett has nothing to lose this year, and Seattle might take the likes of Anderson at an attempt to squeak into the playoffs and take their chances once there.

But as I've said before, we desparately need to stop giving up 40 shots a game, or it won't matter who's in net. Because even with a .900 save pct. it still equates to 4 goals a game. Not even close to a recipe for success.