Trade Tree: 2018 Kaspick Trade Still Paying Dividends For Wheat Kings
With WHL GMs as well informed as they are, a fleecing in a trade is very rare. Usually, you’ve got to give a lot to get a lot. On January 10, 2018, the Brandon Wheat Kings gave up a lot in the present, but hoped to get a lot in the future. As it turns out, they got so much out of the trade that, six years later, they’re still reaping the rewards.
The Wheat Kings, facing a playoff picture that they knew they weren’t a championship contender in, made the tough choice to send longtime forward Tanner Kaspick to the Victoria Royals in a trade. And it was a tough choice; Kaspick was not only local, and their captain at the time, he had played 191 games with the Wheat Kings and put up 132 points in those games. In those years with the Wheat Kings, he’d represented Team Canada twice, helped Brandon to a championship in 2016, and played in the Memorial Cup that same year.
With all that in mind, the Wheat Kings demanded an impressive haul from the Royals, and they got one.
THE TRADE: Royals receive Tanner Kaspick, rights to prospect Cameron MacDonald in exchange for defenseman Jonny Lambos, forward Ty Thorpe, a first-round pick in 2019, and a first-round pick in 2021.
Following the trade, Kaspick held up his end of the bargain for the Royals, posting 27 points in 25 games and three points in two playoff games. Injuries kept him out from there, however, and after surviving a seven-game nailbiter in round one against the Vancouver Giants, the Royals were on the wrong end of a sweep in round two at the hands of the Tri-City Americans. Once the season was over, Kaspick began his professional journey with the Manitoba Moose, ending his branch of the trade tree.
MacDonald, meanwhile, never played a game in the WHL. Electing to go the college route, he still plays at Dartmouth College in the NCAA. His part in this trade tree is short lived.
But for the Wheat Kings, this trade would have implications far beyond the 2017-18 season. In fact, the trade tree is still sprouting new branches to this day, and may not be done yet.
JONNY LAMBOS
The Winnipeg native made his way into the Wheat Kings’ lineup quickly after the trade, playing his first game on February 19 against the Moose Jaw Warriors. From there, Lambos began to carve out a quietly solid career for Brandon, a regular in the lineup who suited up in 127 games before he, too, was traded.
On July 14 of 2021, the Wheat Kings helped resolve their overage situation by sending 2001-born Lambos to the Everett Silvertips for a seventh-round selection in 2023. Lambos played 60 games for Everett in 2021-22 before moving on to the U-Sports ranks with University of British Columbia.
As for the pick, the Wheat Kings kept the pick and used it to select forward Maddox Gandha of RHA Kelowna. Gandha, a 2008-born player who played his first season of U18 hockey in 2023-24, posted 21 points in 26 games, again with RHA Kelowna. While Gandha is not yet signed, the Wheat Kings have seen some promising early signs.
And with Gandha’s future with the team still in his own hands, Lambos’s branch of the trade tree ends.
TY THORPE
Thorpe got something of a homecoming out of this trade, as the Winnipeg native and former U15 AAA Wheat King came back to a familiar city in his home province. Thorpe got his feet wet in the WHL with the Wheat Kings, skating in 136 games, but couldn’t break through offensively as he put up 30 points in that span. As it turned out, it took another trade for Thorpe to really find his next offensive gear.
On August 12 of 2021, not long after the Wheat Kings traded Lambos, they moved Thorpe to the Vancouver Giants in exchange for a conditional 6th round pick in 2023. The change of scenery agreed with Thorpe, who went from 30 points in his career to 44 points in 62 games in his first season in Vancouver. By his second season, Thorpe was the Giants’ captain and one of their premier weapons up front, leading the team with 71 points in 65 games.
Like the pick that turned into Gandha, we don’t yet know for certain how this draft pick will play out as it was only used a year ago. The conditional sixth did become a fifth, however, and the Wheat Kings used it on forward Knox Bendera, who was playing with NAX’s U15 prep program at the time. This season, Bendera moved over to the Alberta U18 AAA ranks with the Sherwood Park Kings. He posted 16 points in 38 games.
Bendera, like Gandha, still has plenty of time to decide how his hockey journey will progress. For the moment, the Thorpe branch of this trade tree ends with him.
2019 FIRST ROUND PICK
This pick shifted around a bit before the Wheat Kings ended up making their selection, but when they did, they made the most of it.
Initially, the pick in question was slated to be 10th overall, but the Wheat Kings, armed with two other first-round picks, decided they wanted to move up and land a stud. They moved the 10th overall pick and the rights to defenseman Sean Comrie (who had just finished his freshman season at the University of Denver at the time) to Kelowna in exchange for the 5th overall pick. It soon became clear who the Wheat Kings had wanted badly enough to move up in the draft to snag: forward Nate Danielson.
Danielson would go on to a remarkable career as a Wheat King, easily among the best players from his draft class and still regarded as one with an extremely bright future in the NHL. He would put up 176 points in 171 games as a Wheat King, and over the course of his Wheat Kings career, accolades piled up for him. He was named the Wheat Kings’ captain before the 2022-23 season, was drafted 9th overall by the Detroit Red Wings, and earned a spot on Team Canada at the 2024 World Junior Championship.
A remarkable run for Danielson came to an end, however, in 2024. On January 10, the Wheat Kings were staring down a difficult choice between arming themselves for the future and pushing for position in the present. They shifted focus to the future, and sent Danielson to the Portland Winterhawks in a trade.
The deal was this: the Winterhawks acquired Danielson, the lone piece in the trade and one they paid a hefty price to acquire. In exchange, the Wheat Kings received forward Nicholas Johnson, defenseman Rhett Ravndahl, first-round picks in 2025 and 2027, and a fifth-round pick in 2026.
Johnson slotted into the top-six for the Wheat Kings, and though he battled injury he was an effective power forward when healthy. Ravndahl quickly established himself as a mainstay on the back end, playing in most of the Wheat Kings games (and every playoff game) once he arrived from Portland.
Both players remain with the Wheat Kings and the draft picks have yet to be used. So, a long, winding, and undeniably successful branch of this tree for the Wheat Kings, comes to an end for now.
2021 FIRST ROUND PICK
The journey of this pick into the hands of the Wheat Kings was far simpler than the pick in 2019, but its future is similarly bright.
With the Royals faltering in the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season, the pick the Wheat Kings got in the trade turned out to be third overall. As they were in 2019, the Wheat Kings were armed with multiple first-round picks in this draft. This time, they looked to the future of their blueline and selected Charlie Elick.
Elick’s Wheat Kings career is still relatively young and full of promise. Already having played 121 games for Brandon, in his second season with the team he posted 27 points in 65 games to go along with some highlight reel hits and a generally punishing physical style. Elick is eligible for the NHL draft this season, and the overwhelming majority of scouting lists have him rated in either the first or second round.
Internationally, Elick has also made his mark. He’s represented Canada three times now, winning gold at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup in 2023, and is in the midst of the World Under-18 Championships with Canada trying to lead them to a medal for a second straight year. He also played at the CHL Top Prospects Game.
With the NHL draft still ahead of him, Elick is on his way to an excellent career in Brandon. His branch of the trade tree is concluded.
By facing the difficult choice of moving on from a star player, the Wheat Kings equipped themselves with multiple pieces that, even six years later, are still with the team and with more pieces that could very well join them soon. The Kaspick trade was a prime example of how teams can use a little bit of pain in the present to set themselves up for success in the future.
For a Wheat Kings team that just this past year traded their captain to a contender in exchange for a collection of future assets (and present ones) that is an encouraging thought.