CHL Trade Deadline Recap: Olen Zellweger blockbuster to Kamloops Blazers, Shane Wright to Windsor Spitfires & more

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The Canadian Hockey League, which is comprised of the Western Hockey League (WHL), Ontario Hockey League (OHL) and Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), wrapped up its annual trade deadline Tuesday. The QMJHL deadline passed on Jan. 6, while the WHL and OHL had until Tuesday to complete their deals. With several highly touted major-junior players on the block to be traded, let’s look at some of the biggest deals that occurred throughout the three leagues.

QMJHL

The three buyers were the Halifax Mooseheads, Sherbrooke Phoenix, and the Gatineau Olympiques. Ahead of the deadline, the Mooseheads acquired Josh Lawrence from the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada in exchange for two draft picks, and also acquired Alexandre Doucet from Val-D’or. A total of 19 trades were completed. Let’s take a look at a few.

The Phoenix, highlighted by Montreal Canadiens fifth-round pick and World Juniors gold medalist Joshua Roy, also made a big splash. The Phoenix sent Joel Marchon and, five draft picks to the Charlottetown Islanders in exchange for Jakub Brabenec (Vegas Golden Knights). Brabenec recently represented Czechia at the World Junior Championship in Halifax, registering seven points in seven games and capturing a silver medal. He has notched 25 points in 28 games so far this season.

Meanwhile, the Olympiques’ loaded up by acquiring Riley Kidney (Montreal Canadiens) from the Acadie Bathurst Titan in exchange for Donovan Arsenault, Robert Orr (Carolina Hurricanes) and a 2025 first-round pick. Kidney has 45 points in 31 games this season with the Titan. He won gold with Team Canada at the August World Juniors.

You can check out all the QMJHL trades here.

OHL

A couple of trades before the deadline and the World Junior trade freeze set the tone for how the deadline would look in the OHL. In November, Brennan Othmann (New York Rangers) was dealt from the Flint Firebirds to the Peterborough Petes in exchange for Artem Guryev and three draft picks. The Guelph Storm traded Sasha Pastujov (Anaheim Ducks) to the Sarnia Sting for Max Namestnikov and four draft picks, and then the Barrie Colts dealt Hunter Haight (Minnesota Wild) to the Saginaw Spirit for five draft picks. Do you see the common trait? It’s draft picks. Be prepared for a lot of those to have been traded.

On Dec. 15, the Kingston Frontenacs dealt OHL leading goal scorer Francesco Arcuri (Dallas Stars) to the Kitchener Rangers for six draft picks. Arcuri has 26 goals this season, three in eight games with the Rangers already. The Rangers weren’t done there; they acquired Danny Zhilkin (Winnipeg Jets) from the Guelph Storm for Jesse Fisherman and six draft picks.

The Oshawa Generals parted ways with Brett Harrison (Boston Bruins), sending him to the Windsor Spitfires for six draft picks. Harrison had 33 points in 27 games with the Generals. The OHL continued to stay busy and the Mississauga Steelheads committed to the future by dealing World Junior gold medalists Ethan Del Mastro (Chicago Blackhawks) and Owen Beck (Montreal Canadiens) in separate trades. Del Mastro was dealt to the Sarnia Sting for Porter Martone and a draft pick, while Beck was sent to the Peterborough Petes for Jack Van Volsen, Justin DeZoete, and four draft picks. In another separate trade, the Steelheads sent Luca Del Bel Belluz (Columbus Blue Jackets) to the Sting for Angus MacDonell and two draft picks.

The long-awaited and speculated Shane Wright (Seattle Kraken) trade was finalized on the evening of Jan. 9. The Kingston Frontenacas traded the youngest captain in OHL history to the Windsor Spitfires in exchange for Ethan Miedema, Gavin McCarthy and seven draft picks. Wright was selected fourth overall by the Kraken in the 2022 NHL Draft. He played eight NHL games tallying two points; he recorded his first NHL goal against the Canadiens on Dec. 6. The next day, Wright was loaned to Team Canada, where he would captain them to a gold medal victory. He will make his Spitfires debut on Jan. 12 against the Spirit. The Frontenacs also traded defenseman Braden Haché (Florida Panthers) to the Barrie Colts for five draft picks.

The Spirit traded top OHL defenseman Pavel Mintyukov (Anaheim Ducks) to the Ottawa 67’s in exchange for a ludicrous nine draft picks. Mintyukov is first among OHL defensemen and third among OHL skaters for points; he currently has 54 points (16G, 38A) in 37 games.

You can check out all the OHL trades here.

WHL

The WHL saw one of the biggest trades in its history go down over the weekend, but let’s back up a little and see why the price tags are so high. Much like the QMJHL and OHL, a couple of teams started to make moves early to bolster up.

The Seattle Thunderbirds were one of those teams, the Thunderbirds lost the WHL Final last year to the Edmonton Oil Kings and they were prowling for revenge. They were quick to make trades and even acquired former Oil Kings defenseman Luke Prokop (Nashville Predators) for three draft picks; as well as acquiring the rights to Brad Lambert (Winnipeg Jets) from the Saskatoon Blades for draft picks. The Thunderbirds would later add World Junior gold medalist Nolan Allan to their defense corps when they made a sizable deal with the Prince Albert Raiders that saw Gabe Ludwig, Easton Kovacs, Brayden Dube, two first-round picks, and four additional picks go the other way.

After the World Juniors, the Thunderbirds made a deal with the Kelowna Rockets to acquire captain Colton Dach (Chicago Blackhawks) in exchange for Ethan Mittelsteadt, Ty Hurley and three draft picks. Dach has registered 17 points in 14 games. The Thunderbirds roster now boasts five Team Canada World Juniors players and a total of nine NHL draft picks.

The Vancouver Giants traded gold medalist Zack Ostapchuk (Ottawa Senators) to the Winnipeg Ice in exchange for Skyler Bruce, Connor Dale, Owen Brees, Hudson Landmark and three first-round picks. Ostpachuk has 21 points (10G, 19A) in 21 games this season.

The 2023 Memorial Cup host Kamloops Blazers made one of the largest transactions in WHL and CHL history on Jan. 8. The Blazers acquired gold medalist and top WHL defenseman Olen Zellweger (Anaheim Ducks) and Ryan Hofer (Washington Capitals) in exchange for Drew Englot, Kaden Hammell, Jack Bakker, Rylan Pearce, four first-round picks and an additional six draft picks. Zellweger currently has 28 points in 23 games, and last season he tallied 78 points in 55 games with the Silvertips.

The Brandon Wheat Kings made the first big deal on deadline day; sending Jake Chiasson (Edmonton Oilers) to the Saskatoon Blades for a first-round pick and two second-round picks. Chiasson has collected 28 points (10G, 18A) in 37 games this season.

Seattle continued to load up, adding Team Canada’s overtime hero Dylan Guenther (Arizona Coyotes) and Jordan Ramsay from the Oil Kings in exchange for Koji Gibson and seven draft picks. Guenther is currently in the NHL with the Coyotes where he has recorded 11 points (3G, 8A) in 22 games. The Coyotes’ have until Feb.10 to reassign him to the WHL. Guenther won the WHL Championship with the Oil Kings last season.

The Prince Albert Raiders dealt Ozzy Wiesblatt (San Jose Sharks) to the Portland Winterhawks for a 2025 first-round pick and two second-round picks. Wiesblatt currently plays for the San Jose Barracuda in the American Hockey League (AHL); he has five points in 17 games.

You can check out all the WHL trades here.