Winnipeg ICE traded away all their picks and now the Wenatchee Wild don't have much coming up through Jr A. They went "all-in" two years in a row, building powerhouse Mem Cup contenders and it didn't happen. They fell short. They had some key graduations that hurt big time and cut their depth out from under them.
They don’t don’t really have a roster that can win it all and they don’t have any ammo left to trade to improve the team. Their top three forwards are the best trio anywhere in the CHL. I don’t think any team can match Benson, Geekie and Savoie. But their 4th best forward is Ty Nash and I honestly can’t even pick their 5th best forward out. It’s really very bad after the top three forwards. On defense, it’s worse. They have a completely anonymous blueline of no-names. It’s really bad. They do still have a decent goalie, though.
They’re brand new in town and have three elite level junior hockey stars. The rest of the roster is that of a last place team. They can’t very well just trade off the only draws they have for the gate. They have to develop some sort of a fan base. My guess is they limp along until the deadline and then trade each of Benson, Geekie and Savoie separately for an absolute kings ransom for each guy.
What will they do with their lines in the meantime? Is it best to move Savoie to RW and have one mega elite line with Benson-Geekie-Savoie? Or is it better to give each guy their own line so they’ve at least got one talented player on the ice 75% of the time? They’ll obviously play together on every power play. Maybe for the full two minutes every time. They’ll probably also all get tons of PK time.
So all of that is to say… “who knows?” Haha.
