The unexpected departure of Jan Stransky has Cam Russell lamenting a trade made by his predecessor.
One of the last moves former Halifax Mooseheads general manager Marcel Patenaude made before he was fired in January was to trade his top pick in the Canadian Hockey League import draft — a pick that ended up being No. 1 overall.
“With Stransky gone, yeah, the No. 1 overall pick would look pretty darn good right now,” said Russell.
Patenaude dealt the No. 1 pick to the Saint John Sea Dogs for defenceman Pascal Amyot and the No. 28 pick. Why’d he do it? A couple of factors played into the decision.
First, Patenaude didn’t anticipate Stransky leaving, since he requested a trade here. Second, he expected the Mooseheads to do better in the second half. Just four more wins would have dropped the pick to 13th overall. Third, he was enamored with Amyot and desperately needed defensive help.
