In an effort to rebuild from the back end, the Olds Grizzlys have traded their top offensive player.
On Tuesday the Grizz sent former Canadian Junior Hockey League rookie of the year and Red Deer native Chris Gerrie to the Penticton Vees of the B.C. Hockey League for defenceman Jarod Hilderman.
The Grizzlys back end was a mess all 2014-15, allowing an Alberta Junior Hockey League South Division worst 235 goals against. Only the rebuilding Grande Prairie Storm were worse with 245 goals against in the North.
The problem was, the Grizzlys were not rebuilding, they were hoping to make a push into contendership.
Because of their offence, the Grizzlys still managed to finish fifth in the division but were swept in the first round of the playoffs by the Drumheller Dragons, getting outscored 18-4 in the process.
The performance ultimately cost head coach and director of hockey operations Brett Hopfe his job.
The hope is Hilderman can kickstart a culture shift in the Grizzlys dressing room, buoyed by his run to the RBC Cup with the Vees this past season.
“He’s only an 18 year-old and the fact he’s already committed says a lot about him and his character and that’s what we wanted to bring into our dressing room,” said new head coach and director of hockey operations Dana Lattery. “It definitely doesn’t replace Chris Gerrie’s points and goals, but we felt that leadership was definitely lacking last year and our depth on defence was lacking. To bring in a guy like that is going to put us in a better position than we were last year.”
Hilderman, 18, is expected to be a top pairing defenceman for the Grizzlys after getting lost to some degree on one of the deepest blue lines in the country in Penticton.
The six-foot-two, 210-pound Hilderman is a product of the Notre Dame hockey program in Wilcox, Sask., and has already committed to play for NCAA Div. 1 hockey power Minnesota-Duluth for the 2016-17 season.
Though the Kamsack, Sask., native is not a big offensive threat — he had six assists in 49 games last year with the Vees — Lattery believes he has more upside than what he has shown.
He likens him a lot to 2014 NHL draft pick Nick Kolberstein.
“Our scouts ... have keyed in on him as being a guy who with the right opportunity would flourish and become an extremely good D man,” said Lattery. “I think Hilderman kind of got put on the back burner last year because they were so deep, so to get him out here and give him the opportunity to play, he’ll play lots before he goes down to the NCAA next year, it will be important for him.”
Gerrie, 19, led the Grizzlys in scoring with 61 points (25 goals, 36 assists) in 59 games last season. In 2013-14 he was second on the team in scoring with 54 points (18-35-54) in 60 games and was named CJHL rookie of the year. The five-foot-10, 170-pound forward is also committed for the 2016-17 season to NCAA Div. 1 program Michigan Tech University. He grew up playing in Red Deer, including helping the Optimist Chiefs to the 2012-13 Telus Cup, where he scored nine points in seven games.
In Penticton, he will be joining former Optimist Chiefs teammate Gabe Bast, who had a stand out year on the Vees blue line and has committed to the University of North Dakota for 2016-17.
The Vees are also coming off a BCHL championship and a Western Canada Cup title which earned them a birth in the RBC Cup, where they lost out to the Carleton Place Canadians in the semifinal.
It is a level Lattery is striving to get the Grizzlys back to, promising a busy offseason ahead.
“We’ve got lots of work to do,” he said. “We were far from winning a national championship last year and we were actually pretty far from winning a game in the playoffs. We’re not happy with where we are, we’re happy with the way we’re going and the way things are shaping up.”