SIJHL teams out of their league
Junior A hockey trade winds were blowing from northeastern and northwestern Ontario across the Prairies. That is, two of the top teams in the Superior International Jr. Hockey League went elsewhere to add players ahead of the recent Canadian Jr. Hockey League trade deadline.
Both the first place Kam River Fighting Walleye and the third spot Dryden Ice Dogs ventured out of the SIJHL in making notable deals to set their respective rosters for the 2022 segment of the season.
Meanwhile, the second seed Red Lake Miners stayed within the SIJHL to engineer a five player trade with the last place Fort Frances Lakers.
• Kam River, which has 45 points from a record of 22-3-1, added forward Dayton Clarke from the Elliot Lake Red Wings of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League, forwards Logan Gallaher and Anthony Oviedo from the La Ronge Ice Wolves of the Saskatchewan Jr. Hockey League, defenseman Jack Mitchell from the Nipawin Hawks of the SJHL and defenseman Max McNeil from the Waywayseecappo Wolverines of the Manitoba Jr. Hockey League. The Fighting Walleye traded three players — defenseman Calum McGill and forwards Owen Lancaster and Kjell Osborne — to Elliot Lake for Clarke while the other deals were cash transactions.
• Dryden, which has 33 points from a record of 16-9-1, made deals with two teams from the NOJHL. The Ice Dogs picked up defenseman Tie Jacobs from the French River Rapids in a cash exchange and swapped veteran goalie Jordan Belley to the Espanola Express for seasoned forward Pineshish Whiteduck.
• Red Lake, which has 34 points from a record of 16-3-2 — and has five games in hand on first place Kam River — sent defenseman Kaden Whaley and forwards Tyson Mallet and Ryiln Philpott-Way to Fort Frances for forward Matty Harrold and defenseman Brandon Rossetti.