What's Up Dach?

Colton Dach

The Kelowna Rockets and Saskatoon Blades don't often trade, but when they do, they make a big splash in the WHL pool.  

Cannon Ball!!!

Tuesday's transaction between the two teams was a surprise on this side of the Rockies and can only be described as a block buster. 

One for one trades in the WHL involving marquee players is very rare. 

The Saskatoon Blades announced they had traded 18 year-old forward Colton Dach to the Kelowna Rockets for 18 year-old forward Trevor Wong. 

My eyes popped out of my head when I saw the deal was consummated. 

In the Okanagan, Wong was a building block. A player you wouldn't trade. It would only be considered if you could get a player of equal or greater value in return. Wong was the teams leading scorer in the abbreviated season in 2020-2021 with 16 points in 16 games and was a first round WHL bantam pick in 2018. He was highly touted and heavily recruited. When the Blades became the trading partner and Dach was the player offered in exchange, GM Bruce Hamilton had to ponder it.

Ultimately he consider it and pulled the trigger. 

It only came to light in a Saskatoon Blades press release that Dach had asked for a trade a day after being selected in the second round of July's NHL draft by the Chicago Blackhawks. The Blades, clearly dealing from an area of weakness with a disgruntled player, found what they believe to be equal value in Wong. It makes sense considering both players are the same age while being first round selections. Dach was chosen 6th overall (one spot behind Kamloops Blazers sharp shooter Logan Stankoven) while Wong, as mentioned, was taken 18th.

The trade in many respects reminds me of a deal the two teams were involved in during the summer of 2012. The Rockets send Shane McColgan and Jessey Astles to the Bridge City Bunch (Sorry Les Lazaruk for stealing your line) for forward Ryan Olsen.

Much like the Dach/Wong deal, both McColgan and Olsen were first round WHL bantam picks. Olsen was 18. McColgan and Astles were both 19 at the time.  

Olsen was considered a two-way centre with size at the time of the deal.

Dach is described much the same way. 

McColgan was the Rockets leading scorer when he was traded to the Blades in 2012. The same holds true with Wong following Tuesday's transaction.

So, here we are again. The Rockets have one of the Blades best young players while Saskatoon has one of Kelowna's highly regarded forwards.

It feels like deja vu.

Interestingly enough, Colton Dach's first career WHL goal came against the Kelowna Rockets. Now he wears the colours of teal, red, copper, black and white with an angry looking Ogopogo on the front. 

The hope is Dach's shoot first mentality will frustrate more than a few Western Conference goaltenders this season.