Smokies trade Brodie for Gehon

The Trail Smoke Eaters have traded 88 defenceman Cam Brodie to Merritt for 88 forward Chad Gehon. Brodie was a key player on last year's blue line for Trail. He brings a mix of physical strength, intimidation, defensive awareness and puck moving skills that is rare in the BCHL. However, Brodie asked to be moved after the season. I know Brodie had hoped to find a school last year, but his season ending ankle injury limited his options and forced a return to the BCHL this season. I can only imagine that Brodie will be a leader on the Merritt blue line and a key component of their dressing room leadership next year.

Brodie is one of the toughest men in the league. Just ask Penticton's Elias Grossmann who had to miss a game because of the number Brodie did on him in a fight last season. He can also play on both special teams units. He's a very valuable player and Merritt got a good one.

In Chad Gehon the Smokies have picked up another scorer for their top 6. He scored 11 goals, 37 assist and 48 points in 45 games last season. When talking to Coach Jim Ingram, Gehon was apparently very enthusiastic about becoming a Smoke Eater with plans of taking his game to the next level. The 6'0, 190lbs Kelowna native was Merritt's top scorer in a year when that team had trouble putting up points. With a better supporting cast he can hopefully take things up a notch.

It's sad to see Brodie go. Trail will miss his leadership and his strength. However, Gehon could be a big part of the offensive puzzle on a team that did add a lot of defensive depth so far this off season. The addition of Clarke to the Corcoran trade makes a lot more sense in light of Brodie moving on. A lot more will be asked of the other veterans returning next season now that Brodie is gone.

We'll have more on this deal tonight on Mountain FM's Overtime.

NOTES

...Also tonight we'll talk to New York Rangers Coach Tom Renney. The former Smoke Eaters Coach will be back in Trail for the Smokies banquet on July 11th at the Cominco Gym. He'll be joined by the likes of Brian Burke, Danny Gare, Ceasar Maniago, Harold Senpts, Pat Price and many more. Get your tickets at AM Ford, Gerick Cycle and Re-Max All Pro Realty.

...Trail recently picked up forward Andrew Pickering from Victoria for future considerations. There's audio with Pickering up on the Mountain FM website. He was a scoring machine in Junior B before making the jump up to the BCHL. Pickering scored 46 ponits in 27 games for Abbotsford. He spent most of his time with Victoria on the third or fourth line and put up 6 points in 18 games. Victoria is going to load up on proven talent as they host the Royal Bank Cup this year, and as a result there wasn't room for Pickering to play the offensive role he can with his skill set. He'll get the opportunity to earn top minutes in Trail.

...Season tickets go on sale Monday. This season's schedule is now available at the Smoke Eaters website. Trail starts at home against the defending league champion Penticton Vees.

...Smokies goaltending Coach Pasco Valana will also join me on Overtime tonight. We'll be discussing Grant Rollheiser's chances of being picked at the NHL Entry Draft tonight and tomorrow in Ottawa. Good luck to Grant, any team would be lucky to get him. We hear there's a Canadian team looking at him very seriously.

...Again my apologies for the lack of activity on the blog lately. There's lots to talk about but I've been extremely busy. Keep watching the Mountain FM website for more news and audio clips from the Smokies. I'll be updating more regularly soon. However, today I'm leaving for two weeks of holidays. Overtime will still be on with great local sports content... just without my ugly mug for a couple of weeks. I'll be back in time for the banquet and golf tournament. That should just be an absolute blast. Hopefully I'll be able to update some during my holidays as I'll have more free time.