The Winkler Flyers added two players and subtracted two during a busy December 1st roster cut down deadline. The Flyers sent G Adam Vander Linden and F Shawn Pachet to Neepawa and picked up F Tanner Hepp from Dauphin and G Casey Parker from Melville (SJHL) before the 8pm deadline.
The first move of the day saw the Flyers ship goaltender Adam Vander Linden (95) and forward Shawn Pachet (95) to the Neepawa Natives (MJHL). This season, Vander Linden had a (4-7) record, a 3.12 goals against average and a .895 save percentage. Pachet, also from Winnipeg, had recorded 22 points (5 goals – 17 assists) in 28 games played. Both players were in their second year in Winkler.
Coming back to Winkler in the deal was forward prospect Brennan Ostir (99), a fourth round pick in the 2015 MJHL Bantam Draft and future considerations. Ostir has 15 points (2 goals – 13 assists) in 14 games played with the Winnipeg Monarchs of the Winnipeg City Midget AAA Hockey League this season.
In a separate move, the Flyers acquired gritty forward Tanner Hepp (95) from the Dauphin Kings (MJHL) for future considerations. In 25 games played with the Kings this season, the Thompson, Manitoba product had four points (3 goals – 1 assist) to go along with 86 penalty minutes. With the Norman Northstars of the Manitoba AAA Midget Hockey League from 2010 to 2013, Hepp recorded 94 points (45 goals – 49 assists) in 131 games played. The 5’10”, 190lbs right winger also had 164 penalty minutes in AAA.
Winkler also picked up goaltender Casey Parker (95) from the Melville Millionaires (SJHL) with their third move of the day. Parker, a native of Regina, Saskatchewan played the last two seasons with the Battlefords Northstars, Estevan Bruins and Flin Flon Bombers (SJHL). The Flyers sent future considerations to Melville in the deal.
“We’re excited about the additions we made today,” said Flyers Head Coach and General Manager Ken Pearson. “Tanner brings grit and energy up front and makes us tougher to play against. He showed some offense in AAA and was Norman’s Captain which will only add to our solid leadership in the room.”
“Casey will give us good depth in goal and we know he can be good for us when called up in net” added Pearson on goaltender Casey Parker.
“It’s always tough to see kids go and Adam and Shawn did a lot for us the past couple years and I wish them nothing but success in Neepawa.” Concluded Pearson.
The roster shake up brings the Flyers roster to 22 players with three open cards which can be used to acquire players before the January 10th final trading deadline. The Flyers will travel to Selkirk on Tuesday (Decemeber 2nd) where both new players are expected to be in the lineup. You can catch the game live on Country 88.9FM and online at www.pembinavalleyoneline.com with Matt Friesen’s pregame show at 7:25pm.