The Trades of Ty

When the Lethbridge Hurricanes traveled to Calgary to take on the Hitmen last Friday, defenseman Ty Prefontaine was invited to take the ceremonial faceoff. And it got me to thinking about the young man’s travels, which included a stop at the Scotiabank Saddledome.

His Western Hockey League career actually began with Prince Albert as the Raiders took him in the fifth round, 96^th overall in the 2014 Bantam Draft. I traced it back and that was the Raiders’ actual choice, so no crazy back-story on the pick itself to share.

Prefontaine played three games for the Raiders in 2015-2016 before he was traded to the Hitmen in what was a pretty major deal. Along with the young blueliner, the Hitmen acquired forward Matteo Gennaro and a sixth-round pick in the 2016 draft for forward Layne Bensmiller and defenseman Loch Morrison.

WHL TRADE DEADLINE: @WHLHitmen trade F Layne Bensmiller, D Loch Morrison to @PARaidersHockey for Matteo Gennaro, Ty Prefontaine & pick

— HockeyNow (@HockeyNow) January 10, 2016

Gennaro would later end up being involved in a blockbuster with Swift Current during his 20-year-old season as the Broncos loaded up for a Memorial Cup run, one many in Lethbridge will remember as they also acquired Stuart Skinner, Giorgio Estephan and others that year.

The Hitmen used that sixth-round pick to take defenseman Jackson Rider, who is playing in Sylvan Lake this year.

Bensmiller would later move onto the Seattle Thunderbirds, where he played seven games and was last listed in Blackfalds.

Morrison was eventually traded to Victoria along with a fourth-round pick in 2017 for Brayden Pachal and a sixth-round pick in 2017.

The fourth-rounder was used by the Royals to take Alex Bolshakov, who has played in 19 games for the club this season, while the sixth-rounder was used by the Raiders to take forward Hunter Strand, who has committed to the NCAA.

That wraps up the first trade involving Ty Prefontaine, so let’s move onto the second trade.

TRADE: @WHLHitmen send Ty Prefontaine to @WHLHurricanes.

DETAILS 📰 | https://t.co/TqUn63bUHZ pic.twitter.com/qBAlZQCEVe

— The WHL (@TheWHL) October 28, 2016

The Hitmen sent him to Lethbridge in October 2016 for a seventh-round pick in the 2017 Bantam Draft. Calgary used that pick to select forward Riley Fiddler-Schultz, who has nine points in 21 games for the Hitmen this season.

Prefontaine has been a worthy addition to the ‘Canes, picking up 54 points in 223 games and has been applauded for his defensive contributions, including making it to the third pairing of my “All-2010’s Team” last week.

Oh, and by the way, a happy belated 21^st birthday to Ty as well! His birthday was on Monday.