And so it begins

Three trades this morning, kicking off what should be an interesting runup to Thursday's trade deadline. Amongst the deals, Kamloops identified themselves as sellers this morning by trading two overagers and a 19 year old in return for a 17, an 18, and a 19 year old.

First, Kamloops sends defenceman Ryan Bender (20) and Victor Bartley (19) to Regina for defencemen Nick Ross (18) and Spencer Fraipont (19) and a 2008 4th round pick.

Then, they send forward Brock Nixon (20) and a 2008 6th round pick to the Calgary Hitmen for forward Devon Kalinski (17) and a 2008 2nd round pick. Calgary had an open overage spot and so are able to add Nixon without having to move another overage.

In the third deal, Regina opened up an overage spot for Bender by sending forward Troy Ofukany (20), defenceman Juraj Valach (18), and a 2008 4th round pick to Red Deer for defenceman Dallas Jackson (18) and a 2008 3rd round pick. (The two picks involved are going back to their original teams after being involved in the J.D. Watt trade last week.)

I don't know about the two Pats trades.....for starters, that's a ridiculous trade for Jackson. I know they had to open a spot for Bender but Valach and Ofukany for Jackson is a definite loss for the Pats. It's Dallas Jackson, a 3rd pairing guy for them, not an all-star. Getting their 3rd round pick back can't be that big a deal; Regina's 3rd rounder and Red Deer's 4th rounder are not going to be that far apart in this year's draft. And the other trade; getting Bender and Bartley addresses a Pats need (grit), but at what cost? They moved out the best player in the deal - Ross - and with the loss of Ross, they've given up a top offensive defenceman today without getting a comparable talent in return.

I don't think the Pats have hurt themselves any but I'm not sure they are any better either.

The Calgary/Kamloops trade is a more obvious one: a contender stocking up by acquiring a veteran star for a decent prospect and a good draft pick. Nixon will help Calgary's top line and powerplay, and they had prospect depth to spare in moving Kalinski, who should play another three years for the Blazers after this.