Roulette goes west for overage WHL season

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This article was published 11/07/2023 (1119 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Conner Roulette has a lot riding on his last season of junior hockey, and adjusting to a change of scenery will be a big part of it.

The Winnipeg product, now 20, was recently traded to the Spokane Chiefs by the Saskatoon Blades. Leaving the Saskatchewan city — where he scored 24 goals and 63 points in 60 regular-season WHL games in 2022-23 — will be difficult.

“We had seven returning 19-year-olds, so obviously four had to be traded or moved somewhere. They’ve had some guys there that had been there four or five years so I guess I didn’t really expect it, but I’d seen it coming, if that makes sense,” says Roulette. “I was hoping to stay there but they’re staying loyal to the guys who’ve been there the longest, which is understandable.”

Roulette, a fourth-round pick by Dallas in the 2021 NHL Draft, went unsigned by the Stars, and there promises to be extra urgency to perform at a high level during his overage season.

Acquired from the Seattle Thunderbirds prior to last summer, Roulette says he had a blast while helping the Blades to an appearance in the WHL’s Eastern Conference final.

“I thought it went pretty well,” says Roulette. “It was probably one of the funnest teams I’ve played on. Lots of great guys and friendships and the coaching staff really did a good job of making sure we were having fun. It was just a season to remember, for sure.”

The Chiefs, one of the WHL’s youngest teams, missed the playoffs in 2022-23 and are in the midst of a rebuild.

Adding Roulette to a 20-year-old complement that also includes forwards Ty Cheveldayoff and Chase Bertholet is expected to give Spokane a significant boost.

“I think Conner’s a really good player and I think he can have a really big 20-year-old season and potentially earn (an NHL) contract,” says Chiefs general manager Matt Bardsley, who dealt overage forward Grady Lane, a Virden product, to the Victoria Cougars to make room for Roulette. “With our team, we certainly needed to add some offence…

“Grady’s an unbelievable person and teammate and it’s tough to lose a guy like that but everything we’ve heard about Conner is he’s a real good person, he’s got some leadership qualities and certainly has offensive abilities. The big thing for us, too, is he had 43 games of playoff experience.”

Roulette recently returned to on-ice training in Winnipeg after taking a two-week break to help Canada’s U20 team win the World U20 Ball Hockey Championship in Liberec, Czechia.

Roulette, named MVP of the worlds, was part of a group of nine Winnipeggers that helped Canada win six consecutive games including a 12-3 triumph over Slovakia in the gold-medal game.

“I love playing street hockey… so playing in a ball-hockey league was always cool,” he says. “And the older I got, more of my friends got into it and then we eventually put our own team in and ever since then, we just been putting in our own team. Half of those guys that came with me to play in Europe, they’re all the guys that were on my team when I was about 10 or 11 years old.”

HEADING TO THE DESERT: Sam Court is another prominent Winnipegger changing teams.

After helping lead the Alberta Junior Hockey League’s Brooks Bandits to a Centennial Cup in May, the 19-year-old defenceman announced last week he’s accepted an offer to play for NCAA Division I Arizona State Sun Devils beginning in 2024-25.

Originally, Court was bound for the University of New Hampshire but last fall there was a change of plans.

“Since I de-committed in December I’ve been talking to lots of schools and you know it’s a tough decision but I’m really excited about it,” says Court. “They have a team that in the next three to four years is gonna win a national championship and with them joining the (National College Hockey Conference in 2024-25), that’s a big thing, too.”

Before he moves to the Tempe, Ariz., Court will be spending a season with the USHL’s Sioux City Musketeers.

mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @sawa14