The Halifax Mooseheads have furthered their youth movement by trading 20-year-old blueliner Alexandre Brunet.
The Mooseheads dealt Brunet to the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies on Thursday for a 2011 fifth-round draft pick, just a half a season after picking him up from the Rimouski Oceanic to complete the multi-part Logan MacMillan trade.
The move will give more ice time to Halifax’s younger defencemen such as 17-year-olds Konrad Abeltshauser, Garrett Clarke, Steve Gillard and Sawyer Hannay.
“It helps our youth movement and makes it more difficult to keep guys like Gillard and Hannay out of the lineup,” Mooseheads general manager Cam Russell said. “We have four 17-year-old defencemen we’re comfortable with and they need ample ice time to improve. This is a step in the process.”
The Mooseheads have seven defencemen on the roster. One, Abeltshauser, is nursing an ankle injury but could return Saturday against the Lewiston Maineiacs. Russell said he doesn’t plan on making any call-ups yet.
Brunet had four assists and was minus-17 in 25 games. Huskies head coach and general manager Andre Tourigny said he intends to pair Brunet with another former Mooseheads defenceman, Gabriel O’Connor, in a top defensive role.
“He will be a shut-down defenceman,” he said. “With Gabriel, it will be two guys able to shut down the other side. Brunet’s mobile and he’s good 1-on-1 and with a good player around him, he will be able to play against the best.”
Tourigny said the five-foot-10, 197-pound Brunet impressed him the past two seasons with the Oceanic.
“We believe he can be back at that level of play with a good team,” Tourigny said. “He will be a key addition.”
