Thunderbirds deal Kaden Elder to Swift Current for Owen Seidel, pick
Nov 10, 2015, 12:05 PM | Updated: 12:11 pm
Kaden Elder was a first-round pick, 22nd overall, in the 2013 Bantam Draft. (T-Birds photo)
(T-Birds photo)
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The Thunderbirds have traded 17-year-old forward Kaden Elder to the Swift Current Broncos in exchange for Owen Seidel and a fifth-round pick in the upcoming Bantam Draft, the team announced Tuesday.
Seidel, 17, is in his first year in the WHL and has yet to register a point in seven games. He was an offensive force last year for his midget team and T-Birds general manager Russ Farwell believes some of that offensive potential may be able to translate over to the WHL, according to a press release on the team’s website. Seidel also spent the 2012-13 season with the Burnaby Winter Club, the same program that produced current T-Birds Mathew Barzal and Nic Holowko.
Elder has played in 14 games for the T-Birds this season and tallied two goals and zero assists. For his WHL career, all with Seattle, he has played in 67 games and accumulated three goals and two assists. A former first-round Bantam Draft pick, Elder hasn’t been able to move higher than the fourth line for any extended period of time so far in his short career. The T-Birds will have neither of their first-round picks from the 2013 draft on their roster, as eighth overall selection Dante Fabbro currently skates with the Penticton Vees of the BCHL and is committed to Boston University for next year.
Despite losing both of their first-round picks from that year, the 2013 Bantam Draft was by no means a waste. Nolan Volcan, selected 27th overall, has become an impact player on the team’s second line. Brandon Schuldhaus and Sahvan Khaira, selected in the fifth and ninth rounds, respectively, make up two of the seven defensemen currently on Seattle’s roster.
For Elder, the trade provides a needed change of scenery. After coming to Seattle with high expectations, he’s failed to make the offensive jump expected of a first-round pick. It’s hard to put all of the blame on Elder’s shoulders, however, as Seattle possesses a deep forward group that has relegated other talented players to depth roles as well.
Seidel and Elder won’t need to wait long to face their former teams as the Broncos visit the ShoWare Center next Tuesday night.
