Draft leftovers: hometown pressure, the trade and U-18s
KAMLOOPS — “I think it’s always special to have a local player – the fans can really relate,” says Blazers head coach Don Hay. “Sometimes there are going to be challenges. Everybody knows who you are, and everybody has high expectations. But when you have high expectations, that means you’re a pretty good player.”
Don Hay doesn’t expect it to be a major challenge for Logan Stankoven. As a skilled player through minor hockey in Kamloops, he’s already lived in a fish bowl. Hay sees it as a positive, and says they’ll work to bring Stankoven along the best they can and put him into situations where he is going to have success.
The Blazers also made a couple of trades on draft day. One sending four year veteran Quinn Benjafield to the Edmonton Oil Kings for 19 year old forward Kobe Mohr. Benjafield would have come back as an overage player next season, and is another story of becoming a victim of numbers, with teams only allowed three 20 year olds on their roster.