Dmytriw deal opens space for younger players

Red Deer Rebels GM/head coach Brent Sutter continued to reshape his roster on Tuesday by trading forward Jared Dmytriw, 19, to the Vancouver Giants in return for a third-round pick in the 2018 WHL bantam draft. The move comes one day after Sutter recalled 16-year-old forwards River Fahey and Justin Svenson from their respective midget AAA teams.
“Obviously, we’re not happy with where we’re sitting in the standings,” Sutter said of his club’s 9-15-0-2 record. “We’re not happy that we’re six games below .500 with the older group of forwards that we had.”
Sutter saw the trade as an opportunity to gain an asset for a player who likely wouldn’t have returned to the Rebels as one of the three allotted 20-year-olds next fall.
“We had an opportunity to get a return for a player who probably wouldn’t have been back with us next season. Just evaluating it and going through it, there’s a chance he wouldn’t have been one of our 20-year-olds.”
As a four-year WHL veteran, Dmytriw was looking to play a more prominent role — perhaps as a top-six forward with power-play duties — with the Rebels. But Sutter couldn’t grant the Craven, Sask., product that amount of ice time.
“He wanted a bit more of a role and he just didn’t fit that here,” said the Rebels boss. “It’s unfortunate, he’s a great young man. But that’s the tough part of being on the management side of it — you have to be able to separate that stuff and do what’s best for the organization moving forward.”
As he has stated on numerous occasions following trades, Sutter is wishful that the deal will work for both teams.
“We were able to get a pick in this coming draft and hopefully we get a good player with that,” he said. “It’s a good return for us and it’s good for Vancouver right now. They get a player who can fill a role in their lineup and they were able to pay what they did for him.”
The transaction also allows the Rebels’ younger forwards to move up in the lineup and get more meaningful minutes.
“We’re in a situation where we want to play some of our young players. This gives players like Chris Douglas and Brandon Cutler a chance to play more,” said Sutter.
Dmytriw was acquired from the Victoria Royals in September in return for 19-year-old defenceman Jared Freadrich and scored six goals and added three assists in 26 games with Red Deer.