As the Dec. 1 roster cutdown neared, the Bombers shook up their roster, dealing away players and bringing in new faces.
All Canadian junior A teams have to get to down to a maximum of 25 players on their active roster by Dec. 1, then down to a maximum of 23 players starting Jan. 10 with no trades allowed past that point. Starting last week, the Bombers had 28 players on their active roster, meaning changes needed to take place.
The first trade saw the Bombers dealing within the league, moving forward Wyatt Cook to the Kindersley Klippers Nov. 28. In exchange, Flin Flon picked up a fourth-round pick in next summer’s SJHL bantam draft and a player development fee.
Cook joined the Bombers Oct. 11 after a deal with the AJHL’s Bonnyville Pontiacs. In 16 games with the squad, Cook scored five goals and added an assist, curiously potting all his points in road games. The Cold Lake, Alta. native will join the Klippers, currently at the bottom of the league standings, and will immediately become their sixth-highest goal scorer before even stepping on the ice. Cook played his first game for the Klippers Dec. 3.
The Bombers would then move defenceman Lorenzo Bono closer to home, shipping the Laval native to the CCHL’s Kemptville 73’s, along with a player development fee, for defender Noah Houle.
If the last name “Houle” sounds familiar to Bomber fans, it should - Houle is the younger brother of former Bomber star Donavan Houle-Villeneuve. The former three-year Bomber forward is now in his junior year as a member of the Univ. of Maine Black Bears after playing 175 games in maroon and white, scoring 66 goals and putting up 155 points.
Both brothers grew up in the Quebec minor hockey system playing with the College Notre-Dame program, but Noah took a different route to Flin Flon, spending the past two seasons with the 73’s with a brief move into the U.S. with the Massachusetts-based South Shore Kings last season.
This season in Kemptville, Houle put up eight points, including a goal, in 18 games. Houle did not play for the Bombers in either of their games last weekend.
Bono earned his way onto the Bombers with a strong showing in training camp, going from camp invitee to making the team’s initial starting roster. The smooth-skating defenceman was unable to find steady time in the lineup, only playing in four of the team’s past 13 games before being dealt. In 11 games as a Bomber, Bono put up three assists. Bono has since played in three games with the 73's.
The Bombers executed two final deals on the last day before the roster deadline, first sending defenceman Dryden Jeannot to the Melville Millionaires for a player development fee. The longtime Bomber prospect from Regina, who joined the club for last season’s Centennial Cup, was often left off the ice this season with the Bombers, playing 12 games and putting up a goal and two assists. Jeannot didn’t join the Millionaires in time for their Dec. 2 game against the Bombers.
The second deal brought in a new forward, 2003-born Brock Mueller, from the AJHL’s Calgary Canucks for future considerations.. The 6-foot-2 forward, originally from Calgary, played 28 games for the Canucks in the past two seasons, scoring four goals, putting up seven points and adding 36 penalty minutes. Mueller joined the Bombers for their game against Yorkton last weekend.
Flin Flon also released a pair of players - forward Greg Diamond and defender Jack Wieninger. Diamond started the season with an injury suffered in preseason, but played four games with the Bombers, earning an assist, while Wieninger, an Edmonton native, was signed by the Bombers in the offseason but did not play in preseason or the regular season with the club.
With the pick-ups and drop-downs, the Bombers are now at 25 players on their active roster - 14 forwards, nine defenders and two goalies. Three of those players - forwards Jaeden Mercier, Jeremi Tremblay and Jacob Vockler - have NCAA Division I commitments for next season, while all but two players - defenders Cory King and Rylan Pearce - are eligible for NCAA hockey.
The Bombers also have filled all eight of their allotted 20-year-old spots, with forwards Cole Duperreault, Jaxon Martens, Mercier and Ethan Mercer and defenders Lucas Fry, King, Reece Richmond and Alex Von Sprecken.
