Joey Payeur
For most of last week, all was quiet on the roster front for the Fort Frances Lakers.
Then in a dizzying two-day span, Wayne Strachan became the SIJHL’s answer to “The Wolf of Wall Street.”
The head coach and general manager pulled off six trades before Saturday’s CJHL trade deadline, which signalled a roster freeze for all junior teams in the country.
Three players will make their way here in exchange for future considerations, including one who will have a host of family and friends waiting to cheer him on.
Fort native Nolan Ross will part ways with twin brother, Davis, as he comes to town from the Portage Terriers (MJHL), the top-ranked team in the CJHL and host of the RBC Cup national Junior ‘A’ championship in May.
“Nolan will make us deeper up front,” Strachan said of the 19-year-old forward.
“He is a good skater with good skill, and can play center or left wing.
“He is a good 200-foot player and will add some offence to our lineup,” added Strachan.
Ross, who hadn’t seen much playing time of late, had four goals and three assists in 20 games this season for the Terriers after notching nine goals and seven assists in 51 games last season.
Also joining the Lakers are a pair of defencemen in Cody Antonini and Roshen Jaswal that Strachan is counting on to bolster the team’s play in its own end.
Antonini, a 19-year-old from Grand Rapids, Mich., began the season with the Michigan Warriors (North American Hockey League), where he had no points in three games.
He then joined the Pembroke Lumber Kings (Central Canada Hockey League), where he was held pointless in six games.
“Cody is a good skater who makes good hard passes and will help our transition game,” noted Strachan.
“He understands his position and plays a good positional game in his defensive zone.
“I think he definitely adds more depth to our defensive core and makes us deeper on the back end.”
Jaswal, 19, spent this season with the Rochester Jr. Americans (United States Hockey League), where he had two goals and eight assists in 24 games.
“He is a big-body player who plays with an edge, has good skill, and will add a good shot from our back end,” Strachan said about the Burnaby, B.C. native.
Antonini and Ross already are in town while Jaswal is expected to join the team in the upcoming days.
The addition of two blueliners meant the end of the line for former Muskie Josh Gouin as a member of the Lakers.
Gouin, 18, was released by the team after having recorded one goal and one assist in nine games this season, but not having played since Dec. 13 against the Thunder Bay North Stars.
The Lakers also bid farewell to three other members of last year’s SIJHL championship squad in exchange for player development fees, although two had been out of the mix for some time.
Defenceman Aaron Wesley-Chisel, a Thunder Bay native, was dealt to the North Stars—ironically after drawing an assist on the Lakers’ last goal by Lucas DeBenedet in Friday night’s 5-3 win over Thunder Bay.
Wesley-Chisel, 18, had two goals and six assists in 30 games this season and finishes his Lakers’ tenure with six goals and 14 assists in 73 games over two years.
Also shipped out was goalie Devin Tappenden, who led the Lakers this season in wins with an 11-5 record while posting a 3.50 GAA and .895 save percentage.
Last season, the 20-year-old product of Markham, Ont. was 11-3 with a 2.26 GAA and .922 save percentage, winning his last 10 regular-season decisions.
But after being the main starter through most of the SIJHL playoffs, Tappenden was replaced by Jordan Cartney after he followed his Game 1 shutout in the Salonen Cup final against the Minnesota Iron Rangers by losing three-straight games.
Tappenden, who hasn’t played since beating the Dryden GM Ice Dogs 6-2 back on Dec. 12, entered the season as the clear-cut favourite to start but was inconsistent so far this season.
When Strachan traded for netminders Pierce Dushenko and then Nathan Park last month, it seemed inevitable Tappenden was on his way out the door.
Meanwhile, Fort Frances-born forward Hunter Leishman had his CJHL rights traded to the Gloucester Rangers (Central Canada Hockey League).
Leishman, 18, made the roster of the Drummondville Voltigeurs (QMJHL) to begin this season. But he had no points in 10 games and saw his playing time diminish over recent weeks.
Leishman suited up for Gloucester in two games this past weekend, registering no points.
He had 12 goals and 21 assists in 95 games with the Lakers over two seasons.
A former Laker also found himself on the move before the trade deadline.
Goalie Talor Joseph, who played two seasons ago with Fort Frances and was a teammate of Ross this season in Portage, was sent by the Terriers to the Nanaimo Clippers (BCHL).
The deal came after Portage re-acquired the services of last year’s MJHL rookie-of-the-year in netminder Zac Robidoux, who was cut by the WHL’s Lethbridge Hurricanes.
Joseph had a solid season for the Terriers, going 10-3 with a 1.95 GAA and .911 save percentage.
