The Flin Flon Bombers have traded for a goaltender.
The Bombers acquired goaltender Pierce Diamond from the Lloydminster Bobcats, dealing forward Brody Madarash and a player development fee in return.
Diamond comes to the Bombers from the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL), where he played for the past three seasons. Diamond suited up for three teams, starting and ending with the Bobcats.
As a rookie, Diamond suited up in the 2016 RBC Cup with the tournament host Bobcats. The next season, then-18-year-old Diamond was the starter for the Whitecourt Wolverines, who earned the league’s North Division title en route to the league finals.
Diamond then started the next season with the Calgary Canucks before rejoining the Bobcats.
Bombers head coach and general manager Mike Reagan had the chance to speak with Diamond, who confirmed he plans to report to camp and play with the Bombers this season.
One of the biggest draws of Diamond for Reagan was his experience, especially in the playoffs.
“He’s got a lot of experience, he’s going into his fourth year,” said Reagan.
Reagan also mentioned that when Lloydminster head coach and GM Gord Thibodeau left the club after the RBC Cup campaign and began coaching the Whitecourt Wolverines, he made a trade for Diamond soon after.
“Obviously, he had a lot of faith in him to bring him to Whitecourt and to take them to a league final as an 18-year-old. I think it speaks to the calibre of goaltender he is. I also like the fact that he’s got a lot of experience. There’s a number of things that were attractive about him, so we pulled the trigger on him.” said Reagan.
At the team’s annual general meeting in May, Reagan stated that the main offseason priority for the Bombers was to replenish the team’s goaltending. Diamond appears to be a leading contender for the team’s starting job next season.
“We’ve been talking about different goaltenders that were available throughout the offseason here. He seemed to fit what we were looking for and we had an opportunity to talk with him before the trade was agreed upon. Everything that he had said was exactly what you’d want to hear, as a coach.”
While Diamond comes to the team with fanfare, the crease may still be open – returning Bombers Colten Lancaster and Niklas Anderson are both eligible to play this season and Hunter Young, who was signed by the team earlier this summer from the Alberta midget AAA ranks, could also contend.
Reagan also said other goalies will be coming to the team’s camp next month.
“We’ve looked at a couple other guys who are going to challenge as well,” he said.
“We’re going to assess the rest of the situation and our needs and see what we can do here.”
