With the trade deadline now behind us, the Oil Caps took time to evaluate their roster and make moves aimed at strengthening the team for a playoff run. Moves at the deadline included the following:
Virden Oil Capitals received: Austin Osiowy ’05 D
Melfort Mustangs (SJHL) received: Noel Englot ’05 F
Virden Oil Capitals received: PDF
Melville Millionaires (SJHL) received: Maddox Shindle ’06 D
Virden Oil Capitals received: PDF
Niverville Nighthawks received: Beckham Garchinski ’07 D
Virden Oil Capitals received: Oliver Schroeder ’05 D
Winkler Flyers received: Rhylan Baxter ’06 D
Head Coach & GM Tyson Ramsey had this to say when asked about the trade deadline:
“We are very pleased with the acquisitions we made at the trade deadline. We were looking to add some experience to our defense group and certainly we feel we did that. Austin is a smooth skating, puck moving guy who will provide some offense 5 on 5 and on the powerplay. Oliver is a big body, who defends extremely well, has a great stick and makes a great first pass. Most important they are both quality human beings and have fit seamlessly into our dressing room. Our depth on defense is as good as it’s been for a few seasons. We are very happy with our forward group having scored the third most goals in the league to this point and being deeper on the back end with good goaltending is a good way for us to approach the stretch and the playoffs.
On the other hand, it is always tough to lose good people but we feel the guys we moved on will have good opportunities with their new teams. Noel felt like he needed a fresh start so we were able to work with him on a new opportunity with some old teammates in Melfort, and Rhylan, Maddox and Beckham have all gone to good organizations. We thank them for their contributions here and wish them all the best.”
As we move forward in the second half of the season, the focus now shifts to building chemistry and executing on the ice. With the roster set and roles defined, the team is confident in the group it has assembled and are excited for the remainder of the season.
