Eggum dealt to La Ronge for two players
Klippers receive D Lance Tabin, C Tanner Exner
JOSH LEWIS
The Clarion
Travis Eggum is now a member of the La Ronge Ice Wolves.
The Kindersley Klippers traded the right winger to La Ronge last Tuesday for defenceman Lance Tabin and centre Tanner Exner after Eggum had requested a trade because he felt he wasn’t getting enough ice time.
“I had been talking to my dad for a while about moving, but I never really thought I’d do it,” Eggum, 19, said Friday from the SJHL Showcase in North Battleford. “But after the Estevan game (last Saturday) I talked to my dad again and we talked to (Klippers president Rod) Perkins.”
Eggum’s father Kevin is a scout for the WHL’s Tri-City Americans.
The Saskatoon native was in the midst of a breakout third season with the Klippers, with seven goals and 21 points through 24 games, the first 13 of which were spent on the team’s top line with Jordan Braid and Taylor Duzan.
After missing about a week with an illness in late October, Eggum was bumped off the unit, first by Jordon Hoffman and then by new acquisition Sanfred King.
He said he holds nothing against the Klippers despite requesting the move.
“It was so tough to leave. It was basically a second home,” he said. “It really was a fun time being there. It’s nothing against Larry or the team or the town, I just wanted to move on and improve myself with more ice time.”
Eggum scored a goal and an assist in his first two games with the Ice Wolves last week.
Klippers head coach Larry Wintoneak said he received multiple offers for Eggum and is confident that Tabin and Exner will help his club.
“We were asked to make a move and so we did,” said the coach. “We’re a team that understands players’ needs and if they don’t want to be here, we gotta move them. Fortunately, we got the players we’re looking for. We had some other offers on the table and we had to make sure we got the right players for what our needs are right now.”
Tabin, 19, described himself as “a stay-at-home, hard-nosed defenceman. Nothing too flashy, but hard work.”
After posting a goal and four points in 55 games with the Ice Wolves last year, Tabin sat at home in Regina waiting for a trade over the past two-and-a-half months. With his preference being a team in the south, he said he was “relieved” to find out he was heading to Kindersley.
The six-foot, 200-pound rearguard made his Klippers debut on Thursday against the Melville Millionaires at the Showcase.
Exner, also from Regina, is an 18-year-old with some WHL experience who many league observers feel has a lot of potential.
He was essentially acquired directly from the Melfort Mustangs after the team traded him to La Ronge but he did not report. The Ice Wolves then sent him to Kindersley as part of the package for Eggum. He had been identified by the Klippers as a possible target for some time.
Exner has five goals and nine points in 22 games with the Mustangs this season after being cut late from the Prince Albert Raiders. He also got into 19 games with the Chilliwack Bruins last year.
“He’s an energy guy who’s got some decent skills,” said Wintoneak. “We’ve followed him. I know he’s a commodity in the league. A lot of (teams) would like to have him.”
The plan is for Exner to start on the Klippers’ third line with Hoffman.
“It gives us some more depth and another decent young guy that’s going to help us. But the major (priority) was a defenceman. There were a few other ones available but we felt this one was a good fit.”
Wintoneak wanted a tough-nosed defenceman in part because the team learned this week that Shayne McVittie is done for the season. The 19-year-old played just six games this year before suffering a serious concussion. He has been recovering at home in St. Catherines, Ont., but was recently advised by a specialist not to lace up the skates again this season.
With the Dec. 1 deadline looming for teams to cut down to 25 player cards, the Klippers did not want to save a card for a player who likely wouldn’t return.
Wintoneak said other “top-end” players were being shopped around the SJHL last week, but he was not willing to part with key players and risk breaking up team chemistry.