The Grande Prairie Storm of the Alberta Junior Hockey League have traded the playing rights of 20-year-old defensemen Doug Scott to the Vernon Vipers in exchange for 18-year-old defensemen Ryan MacLean. MacLean was a major recruit for the Vipers this offseason after contributing offensively on the back end for the West Vancouver Academy Prep team in the (CSSHL) Canadian Sports School Hockey League.
Head Coach Associate General Manager Matt Keillor had this to say about the pre-season trade:
?We’re really excited to have this young man in our organization. When speaking with our contacts in BC we kept hearing the word ?leader?. Ryan has exceptional character and is an honor student with Ivy league potential. He?s dedicated to the process and is committed to developing into a premier defensemen. Big, mobile right shot defense are hard to come by these days. Ryan scored against us last week when we played in Vernon and we?re glad he?s going to be scoring goals for us from now on!?
Yesterday the Storm also acquired 18-year-old veteran defensemen Jason Chu in exchange for future considerations from the Prince George Spruce Kings of the BCHL. The Coquitlam product won a BCHL Championship last season and seen action in all 6 games against Brooks in the Doyle Cup.
General Manager Mark Bomersback spoke about the trade:
?We lost one of our off-season recruits to the Western Hockey League which opened a big hole down the right side of our back end. Jason not only brings championship experience but he?s a guy we thought if given the opportunity to play a larger role he will flourish. Jason was a highly touted offensive defensemen in Midget and we want him to find that part of his game for us moving forward.?
Your Storm open up at home September 20th against Lloydinster, don’t miss out!