The Smoke Eaters acquired Nicholas Remissong from the Merritt Centennials in exchange for Jackson Krill on Sunday.
Although, the team was paused for the weekend, Smoke Eaters staff were active in anticipation of the trade deadline which came at 3 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 10.
Last week, Trail coach and GM Tim Fragle said that as well as improving the back end he would also like to add another forward.
Remissong, from Lake Forest, Illinois, made his way to the BCHL last season after being recruited by the Vernon Vipers and for 17 games this season before being dealt to Merritt as part of a separate transaction.
In 20 games, the 19-year-old, six foot forward has two goals and two assists both coming during his time as a Viper.
The 17-year-old Krill scored once in 16 games for the Smoke Eaters.
Trail also added Chilliwack Chiefs’ 18-year-old defenceman Josh Orrico to the line up in exchange for future considerations on Saturday.
Orrico, a St. Lawrence University commit, is a rght shot from Woodbridge, Ontario, and joins the Smoke Eaters with 25 games played in Chilliwack this season. In those games he’s added two goals and five assists.
Last week, Trail sent 18-year-old defenceman Chris Kobelka to the Fort McMurray Oil Barons of the AJHL for the playing rights of 20-year-old defenceman Kabore Dunn.
“Chris was a good young player for us and he was getting better and that was a tough one for us,” said Fragle. “But we just felt we needed to add an older, more experienced guy, and once we got wind that this player was leaving college, it made sense for us to pursue him.”
Dunn, a Mill Bay, B.C. native, has played part of the last two seasons at the University of Maine in the NCAA, and will join the Smoke Eaters for the second half of the 2021-22 campaign.
The Smoke Eaters also traded defenceman Garrett Valk to the Langley Rivermen in exchange for future considerations. Valk requested the trade following Christmas break, so he could be closer to his family who live in North Vancouver.
The 19-year-old Valk scored once and added two assists and 24 PiMs in 19 games, while Kobelka, a Calgary native, scored once and added three assists and eight penalty minutes in 20 games with the Smoke Eaters.
While Trail will miss Valk’s six-foot-three physical presence on the back end, and Kobelka’s energy, at six-foot-two Dunn is expected to provide stability, additional offence, and experience on a relatively young Smoke Eaters blue line.
Dunn earned his commitment to the University of Maine following a stellar 2019-20 season in the AJHL with the Oil Barons where he scored 10 goals and 30 points in 55 games. Dunn appeared in 11 games for the University of Maine over two years.
The moves come after the Smoke Eaters struggled over their last five games, including four straight losses to Interior Conference rival, the Cranbrook Bucks.
Trail expects to return to the ice on Wednesday when they host the Wenatchee Wild at 7 p.m. at the Cominco Arena.
Read: Bucks battle back in win over Smoke Eaters
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