The Tri-City Americans have cleared up their crowded crease - and perhaps made a statement about their overage plans as well - by trading 17 year old goaltender Chris Driedger to the Calgary Hitmen.
In return, the Americans get Calgary's 2012 3rd round bantam pick.
It has to be tough for the Americans to give up Driedger (who last month was the only '94 goalie from the WHL territories to be invited to Hockey Canada's summer Program of Excellence camp), but they had to make room for megaprospect Eric Comrie. This trade probably cements the Ams 2011-12 goaltending tandem as Drew Owsley starting with Comrie backing him up, and Comrie taking more starts as the year goes on, provided of course that he shows he's ready.
For the Hitmen, Driedger fills the "goalie of the future" role which had been empty for the last couple years. What remains to be determined at the Hitmen's training camp now is whether Driedger is going to be the backup to one of the incumbents (19 year old Brandon Glover and overager Michael Snider), whether he'll split time with one of those incumbents, or whether he's ready to be the starter - either with one of the two older vets as his backup, or perhaps with the organization's best goalie prospect - 16 year old Mack Shields - as his backup.
Right now I'd bet on Driedger splitting time with Glover next year and then taking over as the starter full-time when he's 18 and 19.
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