Oil Caps trade activity; Captain Williams heading to Red Deer College With the Portage Terriers capturing the Royal Bank Cup National Championship on home ice on May 17, the slate has been wiped clean as an offi cial end to the 2014-15 season is now in the books. This also means that teams from across Canada who have made various trades involving
“future considerations” (FC) can now be reported on. This term applies to the Oil Caps in a few different scenarios.
The fi rst move of the 2015-16 season saw the Virden Oil Capitals trading the MJHL playing rights for Taylor Fisher to the Selkirk Steelers to complete the FC portion
of a trade that brought Soren Frederiksen to Virden along with prospect, Nathan Wall, in exchange for Bradley Reichardt and the playing rights to Teagan Sacher.
Fisher recently completed his second season with the Oil Caps, playing in 116 games for the burgundy and black while amassing 47 points (12G, 35A) along with 114 penalty minutes. The 19-year-old Winnipeg product has two seasons remaining in his junior eligibility. “In order to get quality, we had to give up quality, and that’s what this situation is,” stated
Troy Leslie, the Oil Caps Head Coach and General Manager. “He was a really good kid here and will be missed by his teammates and the coaching staff.”
Frederiksen was the main piece on the Oil Caps side of the trade where he provided instant dividends for the club. The 20-year-old from East St. Paul earned the Oil Caps regular season
scoring title (59pts 31G, 18A) while being named the Altus Geomatics
Three Stars Award winner. In 10 playoff games, Frederiksen recorded four goals to help lead the Oil Caps into the MJHL semi-finals against the Portage Terriers.
A second trade to report on for the Oil Caps dated back to November 12, 2014 when the team traded Kevin Pochuk to the Portage Terriers. At the time, the Oil Caps received Clay Van Diest
in return, but now is when the remainder of the trade unfolds.
The Virden Oil Capitals have acquired the Canadian Junior Hockey League playing rights to Portage Terriers defenseman, Davis Ross, and Fort Frances Lakers forward, Nolan Ross to
complete the FC of the Pochuk trade.
Davis is fresh off an impressive RBC Cup Championship run with the Terriers that saw him post 12 points (5G, 7A) in 23 post-season games. He also finished the regular season with 30
points (4G, 26A) in 51 games on the Terriers blue line, good enough for third on their team in defensive scoring.
Meanwhile, Nolan played in 20 games for the Terriers at the beginning of the season where he posted 7 points (3G, 4A) before joining his hometown, Fort Frances Lakers in the SIJHL. As
a member of the Lakers, the 5’8″, 160 lbs forward netted 9 points (5G, 4A) in 10 regular season games while adding another 7 points (6G, 1A) in 10 playoff contests.
Nolan was one game away from joining his brother in Portage for the Royal Bank Cup as the Lakers fell to the Soo Thunderbirds in the championship game of the Dudley-Hewitt Cup after capturing the SIJHL championship in the weeks prior.
The Ross twins are 1995-born players, which leaves them with one year remaining of junior eligibility. Davis was named the MJHL’s Sherwood Hockey Defenseman of the Month during
the month of November. Finally in other news, The Virden Oil Capitals are pleased to announce that graduating Captain, Ben Williams, has committed to play for the Red Deer College
Kings hockey program this coming fall.
Williams confirmed his decision last Friday morning after a fly-in visit to the Red Deer campus the week before.
“I had a good visit during my time out there (in Red Deer) and it felt like a good fit for me. I liked the size of the city and it’s not a huge campus, which I like,” stated Williams about his new
destination.
The 20-year-old Souris product will head west to pursue a business degree after making his mark on the Oil Capitals young Junior ‘A’ organization. Williams is third all-time
in games played for the Oil Caps with 169 and second all-time in goals scored with 46. He also sits with the third most penalty minutes in the team’s three-year existence with 215 minutes.
Williams was named the Oil Caps Top Defensive Player in 2014-15 while picking up Most Valuable Player honours for the club during the regular season.
Williams had a breakout year during his final season of Junior eligibility where he piled up 53 points (28G, 25A) in 59 games for the Oil Caps. He also proved to have flare for the dramatic,
scoring a pivotal triple overtime goal in game four of the playoffs against the Winkler Flyers, a goal that no Oil Caps’ fan will soon forget.
Later in the playoffs, Williams forced overtime in game four against the Portage Terriers with a clutch goal in the fi nal minutes while facing elimination – all while getting his teeth broke
off on the play.
“I can’t say enough about what Benny meant to our team and this organization,” stated Leslie. “He bled for this team. There isn’t a player on our team, or person in general, that doesn’t
look up to this guy. Red Deer are getting a great player and even better person.”
The Oil Caps Captain and newest addition to the Kings had nothing but positive things to say about his time in Virden during a phone interview early this afternoon.
“The last three years were some of the best years of my life playing in Virden. Being able to play close to home for such a great organization, I couldn’t have asked for more. I had a
lot of valuable learning experiences there (in Virden) that I’m looking forward to taking with me to Red Deer.”
As excited Williams is to be moving on in his career, RDC Kings Head Coach, Trevor Keeper, is equally as excited about landing their latest recruit. “Throughout the scouting and recruiting
process, RDC Kings Hockey noticed the speed and compete level of Ben. The reasons he was Captain of his Virden team quickly became evident. Ben can play in all situations, making
the sacrifices necessary to be a defensive leader, while showing that he will do whatever it takes to create plays and put the puck in the back of the net. He will be a successful
student-athlete, not only because of his hockey skill-set, but the determination and character he will bring to our organization. Successful university athletes have to bring a passion for
their sport, commitment, and a drive to succeed academically.
We think Ben possesses all of those attributes.” Williams will join former Dauphin Kings defenseman and fellow Souris product, Tanner Butler, in Red Deer who finished his first year with
the Kings this past season. Red Deer finished with a 15-13-1-3 record during the 2014-15 season, good enough for a tie for fifth place in the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference College men’s hockey standings.
