Maroon and White fans will miss a hometown favourite this season as the Flin Flon Bombers have traded Dillan McCombie to the AJHL.
McCombie, 19, had returned to the Bombers earlier this year following a stint with the Dauphin Kings that included a trip to the RBC Cup. The forward had been traded to Dauphin in January.
McCombie was to originally play 2014-15, his final season in the SJHL, with his hometown Bombers.
But last week Bombers head coach and GM Mike Reagan announced that McCombie will head to the Bonnyville Pontiacs of the AJHL this coming season.
In return, the Bombers receive centreman Alex Smith, 19, and the CJHL playing rights to forward Logan Harland, also 19.
Smith had played for the Pontiacs since the 2012-13 campaign following a season with the Grande Prairie Storm.
In his 93 games over two seasons with Bonnyville, he earned nine goals and 19 assists for 28 points. In the playoffs, Smith picked up a goal and an assist in six games.
Smith also accumulated 309 penalty minutes in the regular season.
“He’s another face-off guy that we need and he’s going to be tough to play against,” Reagan told the Bombers’ website. “[That’s] something we are building our team around – guys that are hard workers and tough to be on the ice against.”
From a fan’s perspective, Smith is said to bring an important intangible to Flin Flon.
“Our Alberta scout [and former Bomber] Dwayne Reinhart really praised Alex and said he’s just what a typical Flin Flon Bomber player is,” Reagan told the website.
As for Harland, he has experience playing for the Pontiacs in 2011-12 with a stint as a Vancouver Giant. He has spent the past two seasons with the Saskatoon Blades.
Harland picked up four goals and four assists , along with 23 penalty minutes, in 37 games with the Pontiacs.
With the Blades, where he played from 2012-2014, Harland suited up in 84 games and earned 13 goals and nine assists for 22 points.
Fan favourite
McCombie was a fan favourite for the Bombers since his first season as a 15-year-old in 2010. Throughout his Bomber career, he earned 60 goals and 67 assists for 127 points in 193 games.
The decision to trade McCombie wasn’t an easy one for Reagan.
“It’s tough being a local player on a junior team, especially in Flin Flon,”said the coach, familiar with the situation as he played for the Bombers for four
seasons.
“Both parties felt that it would be really difficult for the Dillan to return to Flin Flon and the fresh start of playing away from home was a good one for him.
“He can now go and be just like everyone else on the team and not have the pressures of being the hometown kid.”
