The 麻豆传媒映画Giants made a blockbuster, five-player trade with the Calgary Hitmen, the WHL club announced Tuesday morning.
麻豆传媒映画acquired two 1996-born players, defenseman Ben Thomas and forward Chase Lang in exchange for overage forward Jackson Houck, 1997-born winger Jakob Stukel, 1997-born goaltender Cody Porter and a conditional third round pick in the 2017 WHL Bantam Draft.
鈥淚n acquiring Ben and Chase, we鈥檝e added a couple of NHL drafted players to our roster,鈥� said Giants General Manager Scott Bonner in a prepared statement.
鈥淏oth of them have had some good playoff experience in our league, and we expect that they鈥檒l be a great fit with our club. We would also like to wish Jackson, Jakob and Cody all the best with Calgary and thank them for their time with our organization.鈥�
Thomas, a 19-year-old blue liner, was selected in the fourth round of the 2014 NHL Draft by the Tampa Bay Lightning at 119th overall. The Calgarian has three assists in 14 games this season to go along with 10 penalty minutes. Last year, he picked up 31 points in 60 regular season games with the Hitmen. Thomas has also posted 10 points in 24 career playoff games.
Lang, who grew up in Nanaimo, has two goals and five assists in 14 games so far this season for the Hitmen. The 19-year-old winger was drafted by the Minnesota Wild in the sixth round of the 2014 NHL Draft at 167th overall. Last season, Lang scored 25 goals and added 31 assists in 56 games while also adding seven points in 10 playoff games with the Hitmen.
Houck has suited up in 268 games for the Giants over his WHL career. The North 麻豆传媒映画skater was a third-round pick of the G-Men in the 2010 Bantam Draft, going 57th overall. Houck was also drafted by the Edmonton Oilers in the fourth round of the 2013 NHL Draft at 94th overall though he is now a free agent after the club did not sign him. This year, Houck has scored four goals and five assists in 12 games.
Stukel was drafted by the Giants in the second round of the 2012 WHL Bantam Draft at 37th overall. The 18-year-old Surrey native had 16 points in 49 games in his rookie WHL season last year and has posted two goals and two assists in 12 games with 麻豆传媒映画this year.
The Giants signed Porter as a free agent on May 16, 2014. The 18-year-old goalie from North 麻豆传媒映画played in 40 games in his rookie season in the WHL in 2014/15, posting a 13-15-2-2 record. This year, Porter has appeared in two games for Vancouver, putting up a 4.68 goals against average and a 0.885 save percentage.
The Giants host the Lethbridge Hurricanes tomorrow at the Pacific Coliseum. Game time is 7 p.m.
Admission is free for children aged 12 and under who come to the game dressed in their Halloween costume.聽
