By Patrick Burles - @PatrickBurles on Twitter

Hurricanes eyeing post-season run with a pair of trades

Jan 9, 2017 | 10:53 AM

LETHBRIDGE – Any questions about the path of the Lethbridge Hurricanes were cleared up Monday (Jan. 9), on the eve of the Western Hockey League’s trade deadline (Jan. 10).

“It’s all about playoffs for me right now,” stated Hurricanes General Manager, Peter Anholt, after pulling the trigger on a pair of trades. “Hopefully we can be better in playoffs this year with the experience that we’re adding, and that we have in our dressing room.”

The two deals are intertwined, with the club bringing in two proven overage scorers and moving out one of their own to make room on the roster.

It started with a deal with the Kootenay Ice – who sit second last in the WHL this season. The Hurricanes acquired 20-year old forwards Matt Alfaro and Zak Zborosky along with a sixth-round pick in the 2018 Western Hockey League Bantam Draft. In exchange, the Canes sent forwards Colton Kroeker (19) and Brett Davis (17) to the ice with a second and fourth round pick in 2018.

Alfaro has scored at just under a point-a-game pace this season, putting up 39-points (13g-26a) in 41 games. In 243 WHL games, the 6’2, 201-pound centre has recorded 134-points (50g-84a) and 192 penalty minutes.

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Zborosky’s numbers have been slightly better through the 2016-17 campaign, as he contributed 44-points (28g-16a) in 41 games for the Ice. In 237 games for Kootenay he had 173-points (86g-87a) along with 73 penalty minutes.

This season for the Hurricanes, Kroeker had 27-points in 41 games, while Davis had 11 in 29.

“We’re real pleased to add Alfaro and Zborosky, I think that we’re adding two seasoned guys, especially, they’ve got some playoff experience,” Anholt explained. “I think we’re going to be a lot harder team to play against because of what they can bring.

“I think that there’s a real good chance we’re going to end up in second or third place [In the Central Division] and maybe play Red Deer in the first round, and that’s going to be a hard series, but I think we have a real good chance of winning that series. Once you get rolling in playoffs, who knows.”

To open space for the overagers, Lethbridge worked out a trade with Swift Current, that will bring some name recognition to Canes fans. They have moved 20-year old Ryley Lindgren – third in team scoring with 42-points (14g-28a) – to the Broncos for 15-year old Carson Dyck.

Dyck is the son of former Hurricanes head coach, Mike Dyck, who was behind the bench for three seasons, including a trip to the finals in 2007-2008 when they lost to the Spokane Chiefs.

Drafted 24th overall by Swift Current in 2016, Dyck has put up 41-points (10g-31a) in the Alberta Minor Midget Hockey League for the Lethbridge AAA Hurricanes, which is good enough for third in AMMHL scoring.

“That he’s a coaches son plays a part with me a little bit, because he’s grown up around rinks,” Anholt told the assembled media. “Through osmosis I think he knows the difference between right and wrong and how the game should be played, and he plays that way.

“We believe he’s going to be an unbelievable 18 and 19-year old, but he’s going to have lots of work to do at 16 and 17-year to get to that point.”

When asked if there could be more deals in the works, Anholt stated that they moved three of their top nine forwards out and only brought two in who are ready to contribute, meaning they will be looking at their options and hope to add one more body before the deadline.

The new-look Hurricanes are next in action on Wednesday (Jan. 11), when they travel to Edmonton to take on the Oil Kings.