T-Birds deal Henry to Saskatoon to finalize overage situation

With news coming out this weekend that the Montreal Canadiens would be returning defenseman Evan Wardley to Seattle, the Thunderbirds were forced into making a decision regarding their four overage players.

After the team dealt Sam McKechnie to Saskatoon earlier in the week to get down to four 20-year-olds, the two teams worked together again and completed a second trade just four days after the first was finalized. Adam Henry, a veteran leader both on and off the ice, was moved to the Blades in exchange for 17-year-old defenseman Turner Ottenbreit.

In what was surely a tough decision for general manager Russ Farwell to make, Seattle’s roster now seems all but finalized, as captain Justin Hickman, Wardley, and goaltender Taran Kozun appear to be locks for the three overage spots. It’s likely a goaltender will be moved in the near future, as the team is carrying both Danny Mumaugh and Logan Flodell in addition to Kozun.

In 68 regular-season games last year, Henry had 38 points on seven goals and 31 assists. A stellar player at both ends of the ice, Henry’s most valuable contribution may have been the tutelage he provided to Ethan Bear, a 16-year-old defenseman last season who now appears destined to be an NHL draft pick.

In return, the Thunderbirds pick up Ottenbreit, a 12th-round selection in the 2012 Bantam Draft (261st overall). Inexperienced with just 12 total WHL games under his belt, Ottenbreit possesses the size on the blue line at 6-foot-4 that the T-Birds seem to covet. A Saskatoon native, Ottenbreit played his 2012-13 midget season alongside Bear for the Saskatoon Midget Hockey League’s Yorkton Harvest.

With Shea Theodore temporarily out with an elbow injury, Ottenbreit will likely rotate in and out of the lineup for a few weeks with 18-year-old Kevin Wolf, who is using the beginning of this season as an audition to prove whether or not he can play full-time at this level.

Prior to the trade, the only 17-year-old defenseman on the roster was Bear, so this move provides some depth for the future, as next year Seattle will lose Theodore to the AHL and possibly Jared Hauf or Jerret Smith, who will both be overagers in 2015-16.

Already a very young team compared to the rest of the league, the move makes Seattle even younger overall, although the defensive group is more experienced than those up front. Once Theodore returns, either Wolf or Ottenbreit appear headed for the team’s seventh defensive spot, with Wardley, Hauf, Smith, Bear, and 16-year-old Sahvan Khaira filling out the top six.