Powell River Kings have traded veteran defender Andy Stevens and future considerations to Salmon Arm Silverbacks for defender Riley Hayles.
A veteran on the Kings’ blueline for three seasons, the 20-year-old Stevens was reliable and hardworking, playing 178 games for the green and gold while scoring 73 points.
“Andy Stevens didn't want to be a Powell River King,” said team head coach and general manager Tyler Kuntz. “We want players who want to be Kings and Andy made the decision that he wanted to move on, and that's okay.”
The willingness to part ways with Stevens indicates how highly the Kings organization thinks of Hayles. When Kuntz took over as head coach and general manager in late April, he said Stevens was a key playeron the team’s back end.
“Stevens can be an elite player in this league,” said Kuntz at the time.
But Kuntz said he is comfortable with trading Stevens for Hayles, who brings the Kings a right-handed shot on blueline and capable leadership. The new acquisition is a very good defender who can skate and think, according to the coach.
“He's going to be really, really good,” said Kuntz. “We put a lot of effort into researching him. Everybody kind of thought he would be somebody that, by Christmas, we’d be really impressed with, so that's something we're looking forward to.”
In a media release announcing the trade, the Silverbacks made similar comments about their new acquisition.
“In the addition of Stevens, the Silverbacks feel that they have obtained an exceptional defender who has been developing into an elite offensive defensemen,” the team stated.
Hayles is equally experienced in the BC Hockey League (BCHL), having played two seasons with the Silverbacks, who finished at the bottom in the highly competitive BCHL Interior Division standings in 2016/2017 and 2017/2018. During his time in Salmon Arm, the six-foot, 185-pound 19 year old scored eight goals and 39 points.
Winning teams start in goal and Kuntz boasts one of the top goaltending tandems in the league with Mitch Adamyk and Matteo Paler-Chow.
“For me, it starts from that,” said Kuntz when he was hired by the Kings.
With Adamyk and Paler-Chow backstopping, Kuntz, a defender during his playing career in junior and university hockey, is packing his blueline.
In addition to Hayles, the Kings have acquired four big defenders since Kuntz’s off-season arrival: six-foot, two-inch, 190-pound Ben Wozney; six-foot, two-inch, 205-pound Brendan Saether; and the highly touted, six-foot, 190-pound Mason Snell.
