Slumping Wolves look to shake things up with trades

It’s been quite a time for the Sudbury Wolves.

Coming off disappointing losses and running a losing streak to 12 games, something had to give.

Although happier with how the team performed this past weekend, head coach Dave Matsos has not been happy with the overall team work ethic.

“For me, that’s unacceptable,” Matsos said recently.

That is a huge statement from a coach who usually finds something positive to say, even after the worst loss.

It was also a possible signal that even the coach knew it was time for change.

General Manager Barclay Branch was quoted as saying there was no calvary coming to get the team out of the funk they found themselves in.

Fast forward just a few days later and Branch pulls the trigger on two trades that clearly has all the signs of a shake-up.

First, Pavel Jenys was sent to the Niagara Ice Dogs with Mikkel Aagaard and Zach Wilkie making their way north.

This is what Branch told Northern Life’s Nick Liard.

“In this deal, we feel we’re addressing two important areas right now,” said Wolves General Manager Barclay Branch. "One is to hopefully ignite the offence a little bit, and then the second thing is to help try and keep some pucks out of the net. That’s to put it very bluntly.”

Aagaard is a skilled forward from Denmark who not only should blend nicely with the likes of David Levin, Dmitry Sokolov and Alan Lyszczarczyk, but as a 20-year-old, he should also be able to provide some leadership.

Wilkie is a stay-at-home defenceman who should help a blueline that at times has looked overwhelmed.

About 24 hours later and Brach makes another deal sending lifelong Wolf Jacob Harris to the Guelph Storm for an eighth-round draft pick.

This move was made necessary after the acquisition of Mikkel Aagaard, who like Harris is an overage player. Each OHL team is allowed three overagers to dress for a game, meaning the Wolves had to decide between Harris, captain Danny Desrochers or defenseman Patrick Murphy.

Instead of waiting until a January deadline, the Wolves made the right decision to avoid what would have become a big distraction.

The downside to these moves is that the Wolves have had to say goodbye to two quality players.

Jenys is an NHL-drafted player who showed flashes of the skill that got him drafted and led to him leading the team in scoring last season.

As for Harris, he spent more than four years in a Wolves uniform and did everything expected of him on and off the ice. He was a true ambassador for the team and even though he will finish his career in a different uniform, Jacob Harris will always be a Sudbury Wolf.

So while the calvary may not have been called in, Wolves management realized that something had to be done sooner rather than later.

Stew Kernan is the radio and television voice of the Sudbury Wolves, and the News Director at KiSS 105.3 and Q92.