Blades acquire Flames draft pick Laing in blockbuster with the Cougars
Saskatoon, SK – The Saskatoon Blades are excited to announce the acquisition of Calgary Flames draft pick Hunter Laing, 2009-born defenceman Luke Dumas, and two WHL Prospects Draft picks in exchange for 19-year-old centre Ben Riche.
The picks include the Cougars 2026 first-round selection and their 2028 fifth-round pick.
“Ben is a major reason we are in first place in the Eastern Conference,” said Blades general manager and president, Colin Priestner, “His improvement over last year is remarkable, and we’re very excited for him to get an opportunity to play with some incredible players in Prince George in their pursuit of a championship.”
Riche was acquired by the Blades in May of 2024 in exchange for overage forward Vaughn Watterodt. The Bethune, SK product scored 23 goals and 31 assists for 54 points in 37 games with the Blades, all career highs.
The Saskatoon Blades host the Regina Pats at Sask Tel Centre in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, October 15, 2024
The Blades want to thank Ben for his contributions to our organization and the community of Saskatoon. We wish him all the best in Prince George.
“Ben wasn’t with us for long, but what an impact he made in such a short time, giving us a bona fide first line centre after playing a mostly depth role last year in Victoria,” said Priestner, “Thanks to Ben, we’ve now fully restocked our first-round draft pick chart that we had depleted over the last season, and the opportunity to get an NHL drafted 6-foot, top-six forward on top of the picks was too good an offer to refuse.”
Laing, a Kelowna, BC native, comes to the Bridge City with 110 career WHL games. The 2006-born centre scored 11 goals and 14 assists in 66 games last season with Prince George during his rookie year. The towering 6-foot-6 forward was drafted by the Flames in the sixth-round (170th overall) at the 2024 WHL Prospects Draft. In 36 games this season with Prince George, Laing’s potted ten goals and dished 12 helpers, tacking on 26 penalty minutes.
“Hunter brings a ton of size, leadership, tenacity, and excellent hands and skill to our club,” said Priestner, “He is 18 years old, so he is eligible to play with us for another 2 1/2 years. We feel he is just growing into his big frame and has the opportunity to play both centre and wing for us and be a big part of what we are trying to do over the next several years. I said on many occasions we would not move any of our top players without getting really good younger players back along with high draft picks, and this deal pretty much encapsulates that goal.”
Dumas, a Beaverlodge, AB product, has nine goals and seven assists in 16 games as a defenceman this season with the Junior Prospects Hockey League’s (JPHL) Titans Hockey Union U17. The right-handed shot has also appeared in nine U18 games with the Titans this year, scoring one goal and four assists.
“Luke Dumas is one of the youngest listed players in the WHL as he just turned 15 two weeks ago,” said Priestner, “Our player development coach, Dustin Kohn, has been raving about Luke as his head coach in the JPHL this season since training camp. As a former NHL defenceman, Dustin has had a great eye for the next wave of defenceman and believes Luke has all of the size and tools to be a future top four defenceman for us.”
Laing is expected to suit up for the Blue and Gold during tonight’s game against the Edmonton Oil Kings at Rogers Place.
“With these major moves now behind us, we are very excited about the group that we have,” said Priestner, “That includes the addition of 2005-born Slovakian forward Frantisek Dej, who will join the team Friday for the remainder of the season after playing in his second World Junior Hockey Championship for Slovakia last week.”
“Our goal this deadline season was to remain as competitive as possible while getting younger roster players, restocking our first and second-round draft picks, and adding depth to our prospect pool. We feel we now have the means to continue the winning tradition that started eight years ago here in Saskatoon without any painful rebuilding type years in the near future.”
The Blades want to welcome the Laing and Dumas family to the organization and city of Saskatoon.
