The Estevan Bruins' roster will include two new faces this weekend when they take on the Weyburn Red Wings.
The Bruins pulled the trigger on a five-player trade with the Nipawin Hawks Sunday, acquiring right winger Tyler Paslawski and defenceman Tyler Poskus in exchange for centre Jesse Bernard and prospects Garret Lockeridge and Brendan Hopkins.
Paslawski, 19, is the centrepiece of the deal, a 6-foot-2, 185-pound forward viewed by the Bruins as a potential power forward.
The Choiceland native posted 26 points in 40 games with the Hawks as a rookie last year. He got off to a hot start this season before cooling off and now has six goals and 14 points.
Paslawski had requested a trade over playing time and it took three weeks for the Hawks and Bruins to hammer out a deal.
"I wasn't happy with (Hawks coach Doug Johnson's) coaching," Paslawski said Monday. "I wasn't getting as much ice time as I'd like to have. I felt like I was being underplayed."
Bruins general manager Keith Cassidy said acquiring Paslawski "was an opportunity for us to get a little bigger, a little grittier" on the wing.
"I expect him to play in our top six off the bat. We've been watching him basically since the Showcase. He caught our eye and we figured it was something that could definitely help us out going forward," Cassidy said.
Paslawski has high expectations for himself over the next year and a half of junior hockey.
"I'm a physical guy, pretty good shot. I'm looking to create a lot of offence, create room for my players," said Paslawski, who played with Calder Neufeld and Ryan Ostertag in midget and has family in Weyburn. "I expect to get a lot done, put up some numbers and hopefully win a championship. That's the goal."
Poskus is an 18-year-old rookie who has gotten into 12 games with the Hawks this year. He has played midget AA and Junior B, respectively, the last two years.
Paslawski said his teammate "moves the puck really well" and expects him to improve as he gains more experience in the SJHL.
Cassidy said Poskus's age fits well with the team's blueprint for the next couple of years.
"From all the scouting reports we got on him, he's a go through the wall kind of kid. He'll have an opportunity to come in here and battle for some ice time and hopefully that goes well."
In Bernard, meanwhile, the Bruins are parting with a player who led the Manitoba midget AAA ranks in scoring last season but has struggled to adjust to the junior game.
"Jesse's been a fantastic citizen while he's been here and done everything we asked of him, but in order to make our hockey team better at this point, we felt the move was necessary," said Cassidy. "Jesse's been working really hard. I like him very much, but he seems to be struggling to find his form from last year. Sometimes a change of scenery kind of kick-starts that and I'm hoping for nothing but the best for him.
"There's no doubt he's going to have a strong future in this league and we've given up quite a bit to acquire what we've got."
Bernard joined the Bruins to much fanfare, but he has been held pointless in 20 games and has been a healthy scratch on several occasions.
"He has, in the last little while, gone to the right areas a little more, but probably not enough to be successful at this point," Cassidy said on Saturday, the day before the trade.
Lockeridge and Hopkins are both 1994-born forward prospects playing in the Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League.
Lockeridge, a Regina product, has two goals and seven points through 15 games with the Regina Pat Canadians. Hopkins, from Warman, has two goals and six points through 15 games with the Saskatoon Blazers.
"Lockeridge is going to be a player in this league. He brings an element of toughness and intensity, something that is going to benefit Nipawin down the road. Hopkins, same thing, a very good competitor," Cassidy said.
A major reason the Bruins felt they could give up the trio of youngsters is the development of the team's 1993-born forwards currently on the roster as well as some promising '94 forwards.
"This shows you the effect that Rick Oakes and the scouting staff have had on this organization. We do have some guys who have been up and played with us in the last few games that have made this move possible. We are a very strong '93 team and we do have some '94s coming up the pipe that could arguably be playing on this team this year," Cassidy said.
"In order to address the needs of right now, we felt it was reasonable to give up what we gave up."
Paslawski and Poskus arrived in Estevan on Monday.
