PHOTOS: Surrey Eagles
Spruce Grove Saints General Manager Rob Sklaruk announced Friday the team has acquired defenseman Charlie Derrheim (’05) along with goaltender Finn Marshall (’06) from the Surrey Eagles in exchange for forward Brady Witkin (’07), forward Ben Buckley (’05) as well as the BCHL playing rights to forward Grayson Niehaus (’06) and defenseman Matthew Lesyk (’07) and future considerations.
Derrheim, 20, joins the Saints following 92 games with the Eagles over the span of two-plus seasons with the club, amassing a goal and 14 assists for 15 points in that span. The 6’1″, 187-pound rugged defender is a Tsawwassen, BC native and has spent all of his hockey career in the Metro Vancouver area before making the move to Spruce Grove after suiting up in 15 games with the Eagles this season following an injury to open his season.
Marshall, 20, has played in 11 games with the Eagles after joining the team from the Sudbury Wolves of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) where he played in 10 games to begin the year. The Toronto, Ontario native posted a 3-6-2 record along with a 4.39 goals against average and a .893 save percentage with Surrey this season and has 93 games of junior hockey experience under his belt with his time with the Eagles, Wolves and the Georgetown Raiders of the Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL).
“This is a significant trade for our team and we are thrilled to be adding players like Charlie and Finn to the fold,” mentioned Sklaruk, “In Charlie, we are getting a very reliable defender who we see as player who protects the front of the net and logs tough minutes on the blueline. Finn is a goaltender who has had a strong season while facing a lot of rubber and will provide us with a crease we feel very confident in every night to go along with Ryan (De Kok) and Joseph (Quintilio).”
Witkin, 18, suited up in 18 games with the Saints, registered three goals and nine points over that span in Spruce Grove while Buckley, 20, played in 27 games and posted eight goals and nine points while with the Saints. Niehaus is currently playing with the Devon Xtreme in the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) while Lesyk is playing with the Grande Prairie Storm in the AJHL.
The Saints will look for their third consecutive victory tonight as they head to Blackfalds to take on the Bulldogs. Puck drop is set for 7:00 PM at Eagle Builders Centre with the game broadcasted live on FloHockey.
