T-Birds deal disgruntled Brown to Medicine Hat for picks

The Seattle Thunderbirds continued to make moves in advance of Wednesday’s WHL trade deadline, sending disgruntled 17-year-old center Elijah Brown to the Medicine Hat Tigers in exchange for a second-round selection in the 2018 Bantam Draft and a conditional third-round pick in the 2019 Bantam Draft.

Brown, who just turned 18 but is still playing his 17-year-old season, was the T-Birds’ lone first-round selection in the 2015 Bantam Draft. It was the same draft that produced current players Carl Stankowski, Dillion Hamaliuk, Tyler Carpendale and Tyson Terretta.

In 13 games this season, Brown had five points on one goal and four assists. For his career, he had 20 points in 79 contests, including 13 in 64 games as a rookie for last year’s WHL Championship team. He also appeared in two games as a 15-year-old, registering two points.

Brown had not been with the team for over two months, requesting a trade at the end of October. He had shown flashes of the offensive potential that made him a highly-regarded prospect when he was 15, but hadn’t been able to show the consistency that might have earned him a spot on one of the team’s top lines.

In receiving two high future draft picks, including a second-rounder this summer, Seattle is able to deal a player who wasn’t playing for two valuable picks. Recent second and third rounds have produced players such as Stankowski, Matthew Wedman, Tyrel Bauer, Nolan Volcan and Logan Flodell.