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Mestery dealt to Americans |
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Written by Dale Woodard
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Thursday, 19 November 2009 |
Eric Mestery is heading back to the team that drafted him.
In an announcement Thursday the Lethbridge Hurricanes announced they had traded the six-foot-five, 202-pound blueliner back to the Tri-City Americans in exchange for a second round pick in the 2010 WHL Bantam Draft.
“It’s good for both sides,” said Hurricanes general manger and head coach Rich Preston. “It’s a good second pick for us. I just wasn’t happy with Eric’s play the last two games. There were some interested teams and Tri-City was the most interested. They’ve had hime before and he goes back to the team that drafted him. He’s only been gone for a year.”
Mestery was acquired by the ‘Canes — along with forward Drew Hoff — last season for forward Mitch Fadden and defencemen Cam Stevens and Brock Sutherland.
Mestery, who hails from Winnipeg, was drafted in the second round, 57th overall, by the Washington Capitals in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft. He was originally drafte by the Americans seventh overall in the 2005 Bantam Draft and has notched 48 points and 146 penalty minutes in 193 WHL regular season games.
This year with the Hurricanes Mestery had two goals and seven points in 21 games, going minus-11.
“He’s a big defenceman that has all the tools. He can skate and move the puck, he just has to compete night in and night out on a consistent basis,” said Preston, adding that defenceman’s physical play didn’t factor into the deal. “There’s a Norris Trophy winner (Nicklas Lidstrom) that wasn’t physical, that had nothing to do with it.”
Now the Hurricanes cast an eye to their re-jigged blueline.
“Our young defencemen like (Reid) Jackson and (Derek) Ryckman have really progressed.”
The move marks the sixth deal in the past four years between the two teams.
In 2006 Colton Yellow Horn was shipped to Tri-City for a first round draft pick in 2007, a pick the ’Canes used to select current forward Mark Reners.
That same year Lethbridge moved defenceman Colin Frederickson to the Americans for Chris Inglis, who was unable to report due to injury.
Later that same season the Hurricanes traded blueliner Mitch McColm for Nic Knudsen.
Earlier this season Lethbridge moved defenceman Cody Castro to the Americans for a fifth-round draft pick in the 2010 Bantam Draft.
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