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DELIRIVM · 10-25-2023, 12:44 AM

On a blustery December night way back in the ye olde year of 2017, a trade went down that still holds a special place in the hearts of many an SMJHL player and GM that experienced it when it went down. The trade I am talking about is, of course, the blockbuster trade between the Colorado Raptors and Prince George Firebirds that sent 4 capped players to the Firebirds in their greatest cup window since S8. And saw eight picks change hands to the Colorado Raptors—along with three players to make salary work.

The Prince George Firebirds, now the Anchorage Armada, had spent many years attempting to get back to the promised land. They had finally assembled a roster with such top end players as Dionýz Vyskoč, Mikhail Petrikov, Kyler Gill, and Paddy Kane-Reilly. Assembling this team and leading the way as one of the best teams in the league the GMs of the Prince George Firebirds thought it was time to go all-in and make a huge splash. Setting the team up to finally win and to forsake a couple drafts. And go big they did.

The trade with the Colorado Raptors featured Colorado Lifers winger Alexander Zajac and goaltender Aleksander Aleksandrov moving to the Firebirds, shoring up a couple of their softer positions on the roster, and then adding the talented scorer Daedric Heikkennin and underrated forward Wolf Von Hammersmark allowed the Firebirds to load all of their lines with offensive firepower going into the playoffs.

On the other side the Colorado Raptors were able to move out players that were surely graduating in the next season and restock with two teams draft classes. And when saying two teams draft classes, I mean two teams draft classes, as the Prince George Firebirds sent the Raptors the following picks: S39 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, along with S40 1st, 2nd, and 4th. And finally an S41 2nd round pick. All-in-all, the Raptors would be able to completely restock and more with these picks.

The outcome of the trade was one of the greatest win-win trades in the history of the SMJHL. The Prince George Firebirds slammed their way through the S38 Cup Playoffs and took home the trophy and broke their thirty year curse. Culminating in the GMs winning the GM of the year award. And their players taking home a total of nine trophies from the league that year, including the Ideen Fallah Trophy, Eas Anrikkanen Trophy, and the Brandon Holmes Trophy. The Firebirds had finally snapped their bad luck.

The Colorado Raptors on the other hand were able to completely fill their team with talent from Blaime McElroy, Luuk Kraaijkamp, Grim Wastlund, Manuel Gotze, Troy McClure Jr., Kevin Maddox, and Maui. And continue to be a competitive team in the future. While the Raptors never won a cup with any of these players they did continue to compete at the top of the league during these years and pushed for cups numerous times.

Overall the “Great Trade of 38” ended up being a win-win for both teams. And while the Firebirds may have looked to be giving up too much, they truly did take home the cup and that’s all that matters at the end of the day. Great deal for both teams and a favorable one to look back on as we take a peek into the Annals of the SMJHL.

(573 Words)