It’s been rumoured to happen for a little while now, but the Saskatoon Blades have finally pulled the trigger on a trade involving Canadiens prospect Nikita Scherbak, sending him to the Everett Silvertips 1645km away.
The Blades were in a bind due to bringing in two new import players this year, in Swedish defenseman Amil Krupic, and Russian winger Nikita Soshnin. The WHL does not allow a team to carry three import players at a time, so the Blades had to make a decision, and the return for Scherbak was impossible to turn down. You can read full details on the trade here.
Moving from Saskatchewan to Washington state should be yet another dose of culture shock for the young Russian winger, though not nearly what he experienced last year. He will be playing under the guidance of coach Kevin Constantine, and should be the Silvertips’ highest profile forward since Kyle Beach.
Scherbak will also be playing with San Jose Sharks draft pick from 2013 Mirco Mueller, so the Silvertips aren’t exactly bereft of talent.
Before any of this matters though, you can catch Nikita Scherbak playing tonight in the Habs’ Red vs White game at the Bell Centre, which we’ll be covering.
