http://whl.ca/article/williams-kemp-swap-places-as-tigers-oil-kings-strike-deal
http://tigershockey.com/article/tigers-swap-williams-for-kemp
https://chatnewstoday.ca/article/585999/tigers-trade-williams-oil-kings
We acquired 2000-born forward Brett Kemp from Edmonton in exchange for Josh Williams.— Medicine Hat Tigers (@tigershockey) January 10, 2019
📄 https://t.co/FaKg8I8OPI #medhat #livebreatheorange #tigershockey pic.twitter.com/yMVMreyIHC
Requested A Trade?
(See the comment section this might be incorrect)
So apparently 17's can be traded they just need to drop their no-trade clauses if they have one.
TigerTurf Thoughts
Completely unexpected, but I think I like the return for a couple of reasons...
This is a bit ironic but I was thinking the other day that Williams is falling in the draft rankings. He has been more of an individual perimeter player that is fairly good at protecting the puck but doesn't have enough experience yet to translate that into creating dangerous offensive chances and beating Dmen one on one.
I was thinking he is an "in between" kind of prospect. Someone who was clearly ahead of the competition when he was younger, but also someone who needs some time for his potential to come out at a higher level. In terms of the NHL draft, I was placing him more of a 3rd/4th round type of prospect.
I do think he will be a really good player and I'm interested to see on what line he will play on in Edmonton. I could easily see Williams putting up a lot of points and boosting his stock if he can start feeding passes to elite players because he can protect the puck very well.
Why This Could Be Good
With a potential up season next year, I feel the Tigers needed a bit more oomph in terms of goal scoring into their lineup. If Williams is a bit of a slow developer, Kemp will fit the bill coming into his 19yr old year.
Kemp has shown he can be a goal scorer. 0.51PPG as a 17, and 0.98 PPG as an 18. Kemp was also used on the powerplay in Edmonton. He is also fairly calm and poised around the net. If there is a knock on him it's his consistency in playing hard every night.
Why This is Good For Edmonton
They are not a team to throw trades into the wind at random. They have done a great job lately at getting long term value for their deals.
They look to be building around their group of 2000's and 2001's. In other words, they should be very strong the year after the Tigers strong season.
Next year they may see a bit of a transition with a lot of offence gone. This helps them retain a good player and build around that age group.
Lost Playing Years
This is a hidden stat that is probably the most under-rated and most overlooked among hockey fans.
This deal, in particular, is the type of deal the Tigers hardly ever make. They gave up a potential playing year as Williams is 1 year younger than Kemp. It means 1 less potential year of production from a good player.
This is why the Tigers usually never have a poor year, because they always keep playing years in mind. Whereas why Lethbridge was soo bad for so many years because they leaked playing years on every deal they made.
Now Williams will likely get drafted, and if he finds his game their is more risk he doesn't come back as a 20. With Brett Kemp, he went undrafted so there is the higher potential that he will be here as a 20. Things can change of course.
Overall
The Tigers Immediately get better. Their powerplay gets better. They get someone who will be able to jump into a top 6 role right away. He will become the 3rd 20 goal scorer the Tigers will have this season.
I am a bit surprised the Tigers didn't go get more forward insurance. Cole Sillinger will likely immediately join the Tigers as soon as his minor league team is finished the season. (End of February) Playoffs go until End of March. I do not know the legislation around calling up 15yr olds should an emergency be required.
I think they could potentially callup Nick McCarry if needed as he is playing in the AJHL.
