2008 Draftees to Sign by June 1st

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It's decision time for NHL teams that still have unsigned players that they drafted in 2008. Clubs will lose the rights to those players who they haven't yet gotten under contract and those players will return to the pool and be eligible to be drafted once again when the 2010 event gets underway on June 25th and 26th. There are still some significant names of the 'to do' list and with less than a week to go you should expect a flurry of contract activity... or trades over the next few days.

Calgary Steals Late Win

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A horrible gaff at a most inopportune time cost the Moncton Wildcats dearly and gave the Calgary Hitmen a huge win at the Memorial Cup on Saturday. The WHL champions overcame 3-0 and 4-2 deficits and scored with just over a minute remaining in regulation time to steal the win and did so without the aid of the CHL's top scorer.

Hitmen Pick Off Broda

Another big deal just being announced in the WHL... Joel Broda is now a member of the Calgary Hitmen.

Here's the Calgary release with details of the trade.

The trade breaks down thusly:

To Calgary: Joel Broda + Tomas Karpov
To Moose Jaw: Brendan Rowinski + 2nd and 7th round picks in 2009

My initial reaction is that Calgary, already ranked as the top team in the CHL, just got that much better. Broda currently leads the WHL in goal scoring with 36 lamp lighters and will be surrounded by even better players in Cowtown.

Not to be lost in the mix is Karpov who, although not a standout with the Warriors, has talent. Both are 19 years old but I believe Broda could come back for another season since he's a late '89 birthday. The Washington Capitals drafted Broda last year in the 5th round but with over 60 goals in the last couple of seasons (and still going) he's a guy who could have a shot sooner rather than later. He'd be too young to play in the AHL though so I'm thinking he's back next year.

And that would make this a major win for Calgary. Dean Millard argues though that right ow the Hitmen paid a lot to get the services of Broda and should the sniper not return, it's a tilt towards the Moose Jaw Warriors.

In Rowinski the Warriors are getting Calgary's 1st round pick from 2005. He's a point-per-game player with 31 points in 33 games this year plus he's still only 18-years-old (he actually turns 19 tomorrow though). The picks are obviously something of use to a team in an obvious rebuild like the Warriors are.

Is this the last of the big names in the WHL? Something tells me that with a day and a half to go that it won't be.