Courier: Trade breakdown
r By Doyle Potenteau – Kelowna Daily Courier
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r The Kelowna Rockets now have a bigger look to them after making a big trade on Monday.
r In a two-for-one swap announced yesterday afternoon, the Rockets shipped out leading scorer Stepan Novotny and prospect Tanner Clark to the Swift Current Broncos for B.C.-born forward Geordie Wudrick. In what amounts to a swap of 19-year-olds, Kelowna is giving up its top point producer and getting a like-minded player in return.
r An Abbotsford product who was selected second overall in the WHL‘s 2005 bantam draft, Wudrick is a 6-foot-4 winger who had 35 goals and 57 points in 69 games last season. Novotny, a 6-1 right winger from the Czech Republic, had 19 goals and 41 points.
r This season, Wudrick, who weighs in at a solid 214 pounds, has eight goals and 14 points in 24 games, while Novotny has 14 goals and 25 points in 23 games.
r The difference in the two is their size, and the Rockets hope Wudrick will turn into a power forward on a team that‘s struggling to play physical at times. Further, Wudrick was also selected in the third round, 88th overall of the NHL‘s 2008 draft by the Los Angeles Kings.
r "We‘re happy to be able to acquire a player like Geordie Wudrick," Rockets president and general
r manager Bruce Hamilton said of Wudrick, who‘s in his fourth WHL season. "He‘s a high-end player that we think we‘ll get back next season as an over-age player as well.
r "He‘s a big guy and can score goals, and we think he will help us."
r "To get something good, you have to give up something good in return," said Rockets head coach Ryan Huska. "Stepan had a great start for us; he‘s a guy with a tremendous amount of skill, with his great breakaway speed and good shot, and Swift Current was very interested in him, and he‘ll be a big part of them moving forward.
r "That‘s the tough part of hockey: You sometimes lose good players when you‘re trying to find pieces to help the team improve."
r Specifically, Huska hopes Wudrick "will add to the power play and to the offence, but that he‘ll also be a guy who competes on the walls and helps get pucks out of the zone."
r Clark is from Rosetown, Sask., and was selected in the third round, 54th overall by Kelowna in the WHL‘s 2008 bantam draft. Last season, the 5-11 defenceman played midget 3A with Moose Jaw, but recently joined the Humboldt Broncos of the SJHL. As for Wudrick, he‘s expected to arrive in Kelowna today, while Novotny leaves the Central Okanagan today for Swift Current.
r "What it came down to is that we think Stepan will fit in really well here," said Broncos GM and head coach Mark Lamb, who plans on playing Novotny with centres Cody Eakin (22-11-33) or Justin Dowling (11-18-29).
r "(Stepan) is a right-handed shot and he‘s got some skill, and we‘ve been playing guys on the off-wing and we think Stepan will fit right in.
r "There‘s good and bad with every player, and Stepan‘s statistics speak for themselves. With Geordie, he came into the season with high expectations, really high, considering he‘s a high draft pick. He thought he‘d have a really good season here, and so did I.
r "But here, everything he did was under a microscope. He‘s a bigger player who skates OK, and there were expectations of him to dominate every game.
r "That‘s a lot of pressure on a player, and we both realized that maybe it was time for a change. We didn‘t shop him around, but in the conversations we had (with Kelowna), this deal really made sense for both players."
r On Wednesday, the Rockets (11-11-1-0) host the Portland Winter Hawks (15-8-0-0) at Prospera Place. Game time is 7 p.m., and the contest will be the second meeting between the two teams in five days. On Saturday, the host Hawks nipped the Rockets 3-2 in what was the first meeting of the season between the two teams.
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