Rask was traded to Melfort on Dec. 1. He had 10 points in 28 games with Canmore this season. (Facebook/Canmore Eagles (Pam Doyle Photography)

By Mat Barrett

Mustang Trades

Mustangs add veteran forward, young defenceman on Dec. 1 deadline

Dec 2, 2019 | 2:32 PM

Sunday, Dec. 1 was the first deadline of the 2019/2020 Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL) season and the Melfort Mustangs made a few deals.

First, Melfort added 2001-born defenceman Ryan MacLean from the Grand Prairie Storm in the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) in exchange for a Player Development Fee (PDF). The move brings the Mustangs up to seven defencemen on their roster, something the Head Coach Trevor Blevins said they needed, but they weren’t going to rush into it after trading blue liners Jake Hobson and Sam Witt.

“He’s got good skill, he’s a decent skater,” Blevins said. “But his competitive edge is what set him apart for us to make this deal.”

MacLean played in 17 games for the Storm this season, but was unable to get on the scoresheet. Prior to his time in Alberta, the North Vancouver, B.C. native spent two seasons of midget hockey at the West Vancouver Academy prep school where he tallied 44 points in 69 games.

Blevins added they like how their defence core is set right now, headlined by 20-year-old’s Nolan Kadachuk and Alex Rondeau who are third and fifth respectively in SJHL scoring among defencemen.

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The Mustangs other deal on the day adds to their forward group. Melfort acquired 1999-born forward Tian Rask from the Canmore Eagles in the AJHL in exchange for 1999-born forward Ryley Lanthier and a PDF. Blevins said the opportunity for the trade didn’t come up until the morning of Dec. 1, but he said it was something they needed to consider.

“He’s a real heavy player,” Blevins said. “He plays with grit, he’s got good size and speed, and he’s going to bring skill to our lineup also.”

Rask, originally from Saskatoon, started his junior career as a call up for the Humboldt Broncos during the 2015/2016 and 2016/2017 seasons. He had an assist in seven regular season games over those two seasons. During those two seasons, Rask played his final two midget seasons with Beardy’s Blackhawks of the Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League (SMAAAHL). He tallied 75 points in 88 games over those seasons. Rask then decided to go to Alberta for junior where he’s spent the last two and a half seasons in Canmore with the Eagles. He was an assistant captain last year before wearing the ‘C’ this year as captain. In 136 AJHL regular season games, Rask scored 40 goals and added 57 assists. He also added six points in 11 playoff games.

The player that was traded to Canmore in the trade, Ryley Lanthier, came to Melfort in the off-season in a trade with the Langley Rivermen. Lanthier tallied 16 points in 21 games with the Mustangs this year and Blevins said it was a matter of needed to give up something of value to get something of value.

“There’s a certain value on players, that everybody has a ballpark on, and we had to meet that,” he said. “And Ryley is a valuable player.”

Lanthier was quickly flipped to the Swan Valley Stampeders in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League.

Blevins said adding Rask improves their roster for the rest of the season.

“It’s about improving our lineup,” he said. “Unfortunately hockey is a bit of a business that way and we needed to make an upgrade we felt, and this is one.”

The next trade deadline for teams is Jan. 10.

The Melfort Mustangs currently sit with a 17-8-2-1 record, good for 37 points and a tie for third in the SJHL. The Mustangs are back in action on Tuesday, Dec. 3 as they visit the Melville Millionaires.

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mat.barrett@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @matbarrett6