Thursday's Portland Winterhawks' Notebook: Look Back at the Last Six Trade Deadlines

Luca Sbisa

While it appears that we do not know for sure whether Portland will be buyers or not as the trade deadline approaches (it's Sunday, January 10th), I could not help but wonder what happened to all those draft picks and players that Portland has traded away over the last six years.

Ever since Mike Johnston made a deal in getting Luca Sbisa for the stretch run in January of 2010, Portland has been buyers at the deadline, shedding prospects and picks for players they thought would help them in their playoff run.

Let's look at each deal and the assets, along with how well their WHL career went/is going. One thing to keep in mind about the picks, is that it's not 100% certain that Portland would have picked the same player.

2010 Deadline:
-Daniel Johnston (D), Jacob Berglund (F) and a first round import pick in 2010 (Passed) to Lethbridge for Luca Sbisa (D), a first round import pick in 2010 (Sven Baertschi) and a fifth round pick in 2011 (Zach Paterson).
Johnston was a 17-year-old when he was dealt. He went on to play the rest of 2010, as well as, three more years for the Hurricanes as a stalwart d-man.
Berglund had 47 points over 91 games and season and a half in Lethbridge.
Looking back, while Sbisa had an injury-pagued run with Portland, this deal may have been more about Portland getting a higher import pick in order to get Baertschi. Johnston was a shrewd, shrewd trader.

2011 Deadline:
-Spencer Bennett (F), Teal Burns (F), first round pick in 2011 (Thomas Foster) and second round pick in 2012 (Jesse Roach) for Craig Cunnigham (F) and a sixth round pick in 2011 (Jaden Sveinson).
Bennett was an overage like Cunningham and only played the rest of the year before embarking on a career that never went higher than the AHL.
Burns split time over the next 1.5 years between Vancouver and the BCHL, before getting shipped out.
Foster has shown a lot of potential with the Giants (netting 44 points last year), but has only played in five game this year (his 19-year-old campaign) due to injuries.
Roach had 11 points over three years in Vancouver, before being dealt.
Sveinson never reported to Portland.

Kolesar

2012 Deadline:
-Seth Swenson (F) and first round picks in 2012 (Keegan Kolesar) and 2013 (Kaden Elder) for Marcel Noebels (F).
Swenson is largely believed to have been the whistle blower on the player benefit violations, but this has never been publicly revealed. Seth was a productive forward for Seattle and had a 46 point season in 2013.
Kolesar is now a signed prospect of the Columbus Blue Jackets and is part of one of the top lines in all of the WHL currently.
Elder showed some potential for Seattle, before being dealt to Swift Current this year.

2013 Deadline:
-No big deal made at deadline, though the Seth Jones trade was a big one that was made the previous summer.

2014 Deadline (Two Trades):
1)-Presten Kopeck (F), second round picks in 2014 (Traded away), 2015 (Traded away) and 2016 (?) to Red Deer for Mathew Dumba.
Kopeck was a top-six forward for the Rebels, until they traded him away over the last week as an overage.
I could not find anywhere over 2014 and 2015, where Red Deer drafted anyone with a Portland pick.
The loss of the second round picks is more about potential looking back from a Hawks' point of view.
-Rights to Adam Tambellini for a first round pick in 2014 (Cody Glass) and a fourth round pick in 2015 (Ty Kolle).
Looking like a steal right now, as Tambellini would not have reported to Portland and Glass is looking great as a rookie.
2)-Steven Alldridge (F) and Shane McColgan (F), along with a second round pick in 2014 (Zane Franklin) for Corbin Boes (G).
Alldridge did not stay long in the league and McColgan was a poor fit in Portland.
Theis trade was more about Portland getting goalie help as Brendan Burke was struggling.
Franklin has not quite stuck yet with the Hurricanes as a 16-year-old.

2015 Deadline (Two Trades):
1)-Brendan Burke (G) to Calgary for Evan Johnson (G) and a fourth round pick in 2016 (?).
Burke split time in Calgary with Mack Shields for the Hitmen's run to the Conference Finals and was great this year until Calgary released him.
Johnson was Hill's backup last year and was supplanted on the depth chart by Michael Bullion this year. Johnson was dealt to Medicine Hat for a conditional sixth round pick in 2017 in the summer.
2)-Fourth round pick in 2016 (?) to Edmonton for Mitchell Walter (F).
This has to go down as the worst trade of the lot for Portland. Sure, it was only a fourth round pick, but Walter was a fourth-line forward that they thought they could develop into a top-six guy this year, but it just did not happen. he was eventually released.

Winterhawks in the NHL:

Wednesday:

-Nashville traded Seth Jones to Columbus for Ryan Johansen. This was a deal that had been rumored for over a month as the relationship between Johansen and head coach John Tortorella was untenable. Hopefully, these very talented players will assume their potential in their new homes.

-Sven Baertschi returned from his neck injury in fashion, netting two points for Vancouver in a 3-2 win over Carolina. His assist was on the game winner for the Canucks, scored with just over a minute to play.

Winterhawks in the AHL:

Tuesday:

-Chase De Leo opened the scoring with a power play goal for Manitoba and they went on to beat Grand Rapids 2-1. Nic Petan was out of the lineup for the Moose in the victory.