The Victoria Royals have acquired Detroit Red Wings’ prospect Lane Zablocki from the Lethbridge Hurricanes for bantam draft picks. Photo courtesy Lethbridge Hurricanes.
The Victoria Royals have added another piece to their puzzle in a bid to win the B.C. Division for the second time in three years.
The Western Hockey League club has acquired Detroit Red Wings’ prospect Lane Zablocki from the Lethbridge Hurricanes in exchange for draft picks.
The 19-year-old forward was selected in the third round of the 2017 NHL Draft by the Red Wings and has recorded 25 points in 40 games this season.
The Wetaskiwin, AB native has 11 goals and 14 assists this year and had 28 goals at the end of last season.
This is the second year in a row Zablocki has been involved in a deadline day move in the WHL.
Zablocki was sent to Red Deer from Regina in a blockbuster deal between the Rebels and Pats prior to the 2017 deadline.
One of the players that went to the Pats in that deal was Jeff De Wit, who the Royals picked up from Kootenay December 27.
The Hurricanes traded Zablocki to Victoria just over a month after acquiring him from the Rebels December 7.
In exchange, the Royals have sent a second and sixth-round bantam draft pick to Lethbridge for 2018 and a conditional bantam pick in 2019.
The Royals sit three points behind the Kelowna Rockets and Vancouver Giants for the division lead.
Andy Neal
