Boston College sophomore goaltender and Vancouver Canucks prospect Thatcher Demko has had his Western Hockey League (WHL) rights traded from the Spokane Chiefs to the Calgary Hitmen for a conditional pick. It could be purely a baseless trade, but it certainly raises an eyebrow with the move coming at the semester break.
Demko is expected to be the number one goaltender for the USA team at the upcoming World Junior Championship in Toronto and Montreal. Demko was the third string goaltender for the team during last year's tournament. Tuesday was the first day of the pre-tournament camp at Boston University's Walter Brown Arena.
Update: Hitmen GM Mike Moore spoke to the the Fan960 in Calgary in a radio interview Tuesday afternoon in which he stated the trade for Demko was purely a shot-in-the-dark, rather than the result of behind-the-scenes planning:
Moore on Demko cont'd: "This is still a long shot. We're taking a flyer here, no doubt." #Hitmen #WHL
— Will Nault (@Fan960Nault) December 16, 2014
Mike Moore on Thatcher Demko: "we don't have any indication he's coming to play for us. With Adam (Tambellini) we had a pretty good idea."
— Will Nault (@Fan960Nault) December 16, 2014
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Jeff Cox covers college, junior and high school hockey, NCAA recruiting and NHL Draft prospects. Follow him on Twitter @JeffCoxSports.