Sam14
Registered User
- Mar 28, 2018
- 595
- 492
Thanks for that post! The information shared to me. Kerkola was not aware of any possible deal when he was drafted by Barrie. When Barrie got word that Eliasson was not signing in Niagara, they offered the IceDogs Kerkola in a swap, however, when Kerkola was told of the trade he opt to sign a pro contract in Finland instead of signing in Niagara.OK, so I have seen Eliasson come up here many times but, I don't recall seeing the actual plan (or trade) that was in place. It might help give some context to the deal.
Before the Import Draft the IceDogs agreed to draft Eliasson for the Colts and in return the Colts would draft Patrik Kerkola, a goalie from Finland. Eliasson and Kerkola both agreed to the deal (Eliasson for Kerkola and a 3rd) and would report, BUT, Kerkola was offered a pro contract in Finland after the draft. That put the IceDogs behind the 8 ball in two ways.
One, they have to move Eliasson to Barrie. They had no choice.
Two, they now had an OA goalie in Flores that they couldn't trade (they had been trying since last deadline, with no takers) and no real number one goalie if they released him (Robertson wasn't going to be the number one).
It also contributed to the four OA issue to start the season as well. If Flores was gone to start the season as expected, Bryant would still be here.
Could they have held onto Eliasson and tried to get more for him, yes but why would the Colts do that? The player wasn't reporting to anyone else. Hold onto him and he doesn't report you wasted a draft pick. At least there is a chance now that Marty knows he owes the Dogs something down the line.
Kerkola would have probably been here two years and would have been a very good starter in the OHL and a nice bridge to see if Humphries would have worked out.
In the end, it was as usual a very odd and embarrassing Import Draft for Niagara. If they really wanted that goalie, they could have avoided the middle man and selected him with 12th or even the 66th pick. Barrie didn’t select him until the 75th pick. Actually, I may be mistaken but with Eliasson being NHL drafted the IceDogs could have drafted both Eliasson and Kerkola