Neutral Zone will provide a running list of WHL trades ahead of the league’s trade deadline on January 10 (Friday). Along with each move, NZ scouts will provide insight on the players involved.
Here is a breakdown of the trade movement on Thursday, as teams prepare for the trade deadline on Friday afternoon …
Friday Trades (Deadline Day)
| 01/10/2020 |  | Victoria | 8th Rnd. ’20 |  | Winnipeg | Ty Ettinger | |
| 01/10/2020 |  | Saskatoon | Matej Toman Cale Ashcroft 6th Rnd. ’22 |  | Swift Current | Martin Fasko-Rudas | |
| 01/10/2020 |  | Red Deer | Dawson Barteaux 5th Rnd. ’20 6th Rnd. ’23 | | Winnipeg | 2nd Rnd. ’20 2nd Rnd. ’21 5th Rnd. ’21 2nd Rnd. ’22 2nd Rnd. ’23 3rd Rnd. ’23 Cond. | |
| 01/10/2020 |  | Kelowna | 6th Rnd. ’22 |  | Tri-City | Jarod Newell | |
| 01/10/2020 |  | Kamloops | Luke Rybinski |  | Medicine Hat | 6th Rnd. ’20 | |
| 01/10/2020 | | Kamloops | 9th Rnd. ’21 |  | Spokane | Brett Balas | |
| 01/10/2020 |  | Brandon | Bode Hagan | | Swift Current | 6th Rnd. ’21 | |
| 01/10/2020 | | Kamloops | 3rd Rnd. ’20 Cond. |  | Seattle | Tyler Carpendale | |
| 01/10/2020 | | Kelowna | Cole Carrier |  | Regina | 6th Rnd. ’20 8th Rnd. ’20 Cond. | |
| 01/10/2020 | | Regina | Caiden Daley | | Saskatoon | 6th Rnd. ’21 | |
| 01/10/2020 |  | Everett | Martin Fasko-Rudas Parker Hendren 1st Rnd. ’20 2nd Rnd. ’22 | | Swift Current | Ethan Regnier Kasper Puutio | |
| 01/10/2020 |  | Calgary | Jonas Peterek | | Kelowna | 5th Rnd. ’21 |
Thursday Trades
| Date | Team | Transfers | To | Team | Transfers | ||
| 01/09/2020 |  | Prince George | Rhett Rhinehart 3rd Rnd. ’20 | | Saskatoon | Majid Kaddoura Jayden Watson 1st Rnd. ’20 | |
| 01/09/2020 | | Brandon | Jonny Hooker | | Prince George | Reid Perepeluk | |
| 01/09/2020 | | Saskatoon | Eric Florchuk 7th Rnd. ’21 |  | Vancouver | Evan Patrician 1st Rnd. ’20 2nd Rnd. ’21 | |
| 01/09/2020 | | Calgary | 5th Rnd. ’20 | | Spokane | Connor Gabruch | |
| 01/09/2020 |  | Moose Jaw | Brayden Tracey Adam Evanoff 4th Rnd. ’20 5th Rnd. ’23 | | Victoria | Brock Gould Nolan Jones Logan Doust 1st Rnd. ’21 3rd Rnd. ’20 2nd Rnd. ’22 4th Rnd. ’22 | |
| 01/09/2020 | | Kamloops | Martin Lang | | Moose Jaw | Libor Zabransky | |
| 01/09/2020 | | Calgary | Hunter Campbell | | Everett | Conrad Mitchell 6th Rnd. ’20 | |
| 01/09/2020 | | Kelowna | Jadon Joseph | | Tri-City | 6th Rnd. ’22 Cond. | |
| 01/09/2020 |  | Prince Albert | Jakob Brook 2nd Rnd. ’20 3rd Rnd. ’22 Cond. | | Regina | Max Paddock |
Victoria made one of the bigger deals of the day, acquiring Brayden Tracey and Adam Evanoff for a pull of three players and four draft picks.
Tracey had 81 points last season and has 38 points in 28 games for Moose Jaw this season prior to the trade.
“A player with fantastic hockey sense, and is one the best playmaking forwards in the tournament,” our scouts said after a viewing. “His skating is deceptive, he is a hard target to mark, using his top end speed and sharp edge work to squeeze his way past defenders. A fantastic wrist shot that is both hard and accurate. As a defender his skating allows him to be aggressive in his approach, but he will sometimes look lethargic in that end.”
On the Moose Jaw side of that trade, the Warriors acquire goalie Brock Gould (2.81/.899) and defensive prospect Nolan Jones, who doesn’t have a college commitment and is currently playing midgets in the U.S.
“Jones is a smooth, slick-skating puck mover with excellent feet and quick hands,” said our scouts. “He is very good with the puck in traffic and rushes the puck up ice with ease on a regular basis. He likes to jump into play and engage offensively whenever he gets the opportunity. He picks his spots and gets back into position quickly when making the jump or rush. He possesses a rocket of a slap shot and takes every opportunity to let it rip that he can.”
Our scouts also like big defenseman Rhett Rhinehart, who was acquired by Saskatoon. The 6-foot-4 defender has 15 points this season and Neutral Zone’s NHL Draft scouts have him ranked as the No. 23 NHL Draft prospect in the WHL this season.
Tuesday/Wednesday Trades
| To Portland | To Swift Current |
| 2021 7th | Isaiah DiLaura (3.75) |
NZ on DiLaura: This season with Portland, DiLaura has a 3.27 GAA and an .891 save percentage. The 2000-born Minnesota native also had an .890 save percentage in 22 games last season. Before the WHL, DiLaura played for Lakeville South High School in Minnesota.
| To Spokane | To Winnipeg |
| Brad Ginnell | 2020 4th |
| 2021 6th |
NZ on Ginnell:
| To Moose Jaw | To Prince Albert |
| Boston Bilous (4.0) | 2020 5th |
| 2021 7th |
NZ on Bilous: A former Denver commit, the 2001-born goaltender has appeared in 32 games for Prince Albert this season, posting a 2.58 GAA and an .889 save percentage.
| To Lethbridge | To Red Deer |
| Brett Davis | 2021 4th |
NZ on Davis: A ’99-born forward, Davis is a veteran of 289 WHL games. This season with Lethbridge, the 6-foot-1 winger has 24 points (9 goals, 15 assists) in 37 games.
| To Edmonton | To Tri-City |
| 2020 8th | Aidan Lawson (3.75) |
NZ on Lawson: He’s a simple, defensive-minded prospect with a firm first pass and a long reach that enables him to break up a lot of plays. His stride is a bit uncoordinated and he’ll need to continue to work on that area of his game especially as the pace and level picks up; but you can’t teach his size and strength.
| To Vancouver | To Tri-City |
| John Little (NR) | Kaden Kohle (NR) |
| 2020 6th | 2020 7th |
NZ on Kohle: A good skater with decent speed to the outside but doesn’t look all that comfortable on his edges. He has quick hands and a nice release to his shot. On defense he plays off of his targets, hoping to clog up shooting lanes and passing lanes.
NZ on Little: Little plays with tons of energy. He can really gain momentum with his crossovers, with is first two steps powerdriving his speed. Little uses his speed to control the perimeter of the offensive zone.
| To Everett | To Regina |
| Ty Kolle (NR) | Ean Somoza (3.25) |
| 2020 4th | |
| 2021 5th |
NZ on Somoza: Ean is a big, strong kid who uses his size and long reach to protect the puck. He has a hard, accurate shot who will shoot the puck whenever he gets the opportunity. He had countless opportunities to score goals in the games we watched. He scored a top-shelf goal as he rolled out of the corner and he also set up his teammate for a goal in the slot area as well. He is an exciting player to play who has the patient, stickhandling and shooting skills to produce on a regular basis.
NZ on Kolle: Kolle is a ’00 who is currently in his third full season in the WHL. This season with Regina he has 23 points in 35 games, including 14 goals and nine assists. Last season he had 16 points in 43 games for the Pats and also played for Portland and Lethbridge. Kolle is a Kamloops native.
| To Everett | To Prince Albert |
| 2020 4th | Keegan Karki (3.5) |
NZ on Karki: A big goalie who moves well and gets to his feet when he can. Keegan does a good job head checking and communicating with the defensemen. Made a few good set body saves for a whistle. Overaggressive depths at times against net drives, he’s skating backward too tall and fast to get down for a quick chance or pass out.
| To Moose Jaw | To Spokane |
| 2021 8th | James Porter Jr. |
NZ on Porter: The ’00-born goalie made his Spokane debut this weekend. Prior to joining the Chiefs, he was the property of Moose Jaw while playing for Vernon in the BCHL where he had posted a .922 save percentage and a 2.59 GAA in 22 games. Porter has extensive WHL experience, though, appearing in 72 games over two seasons for the Kelowna Rockets from 2017-19. Last season with Kelowna, Porter posted a 3.32/.899 line in 30 games.
