From KIJHL
The Creston Valley Thunder Cats have recently made some big changes to the team.
Team captain Vin Jackson was traded to the Revelstoke Grizzlies in return for Stavros Koutsantonis and the playing rights to Kaito Umino and Joshua Singh.
“(Trading Vin) is not something that we had ever intended to do,” said head coach Bill Rotheisler. “However, through reoccurring conversations with him, it made sense on all sides for us to accommodate his request. Vin has nothing but great things to say about his time in Creston, and we feel the same way about him.”
“Stravros is a smart player who excels in his role,” said Rotheisler. “His underlying analytics are exceptionally strong, and he has a consistent history of being on winning and championship teams. I expect him to be an important part of our group moving forward.”
In other recent moves, the Creston Valley Thunder Cats acquired Landon Hedges from the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SIJHL). Hedges, who has played with multiple players on the Cats roster, was originally contacted by the Thunder Cats in the spring and identified as one of the off-season’s top targets.
Eric Van Loon was sent to the Comox Valley Glacier Kings of the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League, in a 3-way deal to create room for the signing.
Goalies Jaden Little, Evan Gartner, and Harmon Laser-Hume have all moved on to Junior A after time with the Thunder Cats. All three debuts have spanned less than a year.
Rotheisler has worked with all three at some point over the last two seasons, and he knew they all had the ability to take the next step.
“I’m proud of the way they all stuck with the process,” he said. “(Little) and (Gartner) didn’t take the normal path but they stayed hungry and it paid off, and (Laser-Hume), it was just a matter of time before he was noticed. I’m just privileged to be able to say I know a couple of really good kids that are also really good at hockey.”
Laser-Hume has moved on with the Nipawin Hawks of the SIJHL, after assisting with five wins of the season for the Thunder Cats.
Rotheisler said losing a goalie like Laser-Hume is almost impossible to fully replace, but they were fortunate to trade for Carlos Siso at the start of the year. The trade was made because of their confidence in Laser-Hume’s ability to move on to Junior A.
“(Siso) has really stepped up to the plate,” said Rotheisler.
Goaltender Brendan Lloyd was also acquired from the Fernie Ghostriders and is working to support Siso.
“(Lloyd) works hard everyday and we’re always open to him taking a bigger slice of the pie,” he says. “He’s got to earn it. He has certainly done it off the ice and in practice and he really gets better everyday here.”