Spitfires land Koekkoek
by Rob Benneian
In the same week he brought Koko back, Windsor Spitfires general manager Warren Rychel got Koekkoek too.
Slater Koekkoek, that is.
In exchange for the veteran rearguard’s services, the Spitfires sent Colorado Avalanche draftee Michael Clarke and two second round picks, in 2014 and 2015, to Peterborough.
A 2012 first round pick of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Koekkoek is one of the top defenceman in the Ontario Hockey League. He has represented Canada at both the under-17 and under-18 levels.
“Anytime you can acquire a player like Slater, it’s great,” Rychel said. “We needed a front line defenceman. And he is one of the top players in the world at his position. We are looking forward to Slater joining us tonight.”
He has played his entire major junior career to this point with the Petes and was named captain for the 2012-13 season.
With Peterborough tied with the Ottawa 67’s for a league-low 27 points, Koekkoek made his wish to be traded known before the holiday break. In coming to Windsor, Koekkoek will have an opportunity to play for a team in the thick of the playoff hunt and hopes to host the 2014 Memorial Cup.
“It’s exciting. I haven’t had that feeling, unfortunately in Peterborough we didn’t get close,” Koekkoek said. “We still got a lot of work to do.”
The addition of Koekkoek to go along with the return of Alexander Khokhlachev from Russia, acquiring veteran Alex Aleardi from Plymouth and scooping Remy Giftopoulos from Ottawa makes Windsor a much different team than the one that currently finds themselves on a seven-game losing streak.
To recap the last week of Spitfires moves:
–Jan. 4 Jordan Maletta traded to Niagara for second round pick (2014) and sixth round pick (2016)
–Jan. 7 Alexander Khokhlachev’s return is made official
–Jan. 7 Zach Lorentz traded to Plymouth for Alex Aleardi
–Jan. 9 Captain Saverio Posa dealt to Guelph for fourth round pick (2013)
-Jan. 10 Slater Koekkoek acquired from Peterborough for Michael Clarke and two second round picks (2014, from Sarnia, &2015, from Niagara)
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