After a month and a half of trying to get a deal done, the Flin Flon Bombers have finally traded 20 year old defenseman Kurtis Rutledge.
Head Coach and GM Mike Reagan made the announcement yesterday that Rutledge was traded to Grand Prairie of the AJHL for 19 year old defenseman Alex Lindstrom and future considerations.
Lindstrom has 8 points in 20 games this season, and Reagan describes him as a guy that is very offensive and a tremendous skater. Reagan feels he will step in and help his blue line out immediately.
Reagan is relieved to finally get the deal done, as he wanted to beat the December 1st deadline, plus be able to move on and address other needs of the hockey team.
Lindstrom is expected to be in the lineup tonight when the Bombers host the Weyburn Red Wings. It was an up and down weekend for Flin Flon who beat Estevan 7-4 on Friday, then lost 7-3 to Melfort on Sunday.
This deal couldn't of come at a better time as the Bombers are banged up and won't have Doug Johnson, Tyler Nyman or Brenden Newton in their lineup tonight.
Weyburn will come into the Whitney Forum reeling as the got crushed 10-1 in Nipawin last night. The Bombers may have caught the Wings at a good time as they have lost three in a row and six of their last ten.
This will be their last head to head meeting of the year with Weyburn winning the first three meetings including a 4-2 win in Flin Flon on October 27th.
This will also be Mike Reagan's last game behind the bench for a while as he is off to Calgary tomorrow for the selection camp for Canada West, as they determine the roster for the World JR AChallenge coming up in Truro Nova Scotia December the 10th to the 16th.
Flin Flon forward Crystopher Collin is one of 9 SJHL players who will be hoping to land a spot. Collin leads the Bombers in goals with 14 and second in points with 22.
The Bomber record stands at 8-11-1-3, with the majority of those wins coming at home at 7-3-1-2. Puck drop is 7:30 tonight, with no broadcast. We will have the Bombers/ Hawks game from the Whitney Forum this Saturday with the usual Great North GM Coach's Show at 7:15 and play by play at 7:30.
