In the last few minutes of the WHL trade deadline, the Portland Winterhawks and the Brandon Wheat Kings agreed on a trade that will send Detroit Red Wings 2023 first-round draft pick Nate Danielson to Portland, and five overall assets to Brandon.
The assets the Brandon Wheat Kings are receiving for their captain are forward Nick Johnson (‘05), defenseman Rhett Ravndahll (‘05), 2025 1st-round pick, 2027 1st-round pick and the 2026 5th-round pick.
The 19-year-old Red Deer native Danielson has been with Brandon since the 2020 season. He’s been an important piece for this team as he’s been wearing the captain patch since the start of the 2022 season. This year for the Wheat Kings, he has played in 26 games, scoring 12 goals and assisting on 14. He also appeared for Team Canada at the 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship. In the five games he played in he scored one goal and had two assists.
With the Winterhawks sitting 2nd in the Western Conference and their injured players slowly making their way back to the starting lineup. They are poised to make a deep playoff run with the hopes of a Memorial Cup bid. It’s not hard to see why Portland were buyers during these trade talks. With the likes of Conor Geekie and Matthew Savoie being traded to likely playoff-bound teams.
Currently, the Wheat Kings sit fifth in the Eastern Conference. They find themselves in a prime position to make the playoffs but never had the expectation of challenging for the Ed Chynoweth Cup. Instead of pushing for a deep playoff run, they seem to be content with giving up one of their best players to solidify the future in Brandon with two younger players and a healthy amount of draft compensation.
Departing the Winterhawks are Rhett Ravndahl and Nick Johnson who are both ‘05 born. The forward Nick Johnson played in 29 games for Portland this year and contributed with five goals and 13 assists. Two of those five goals came early in a road game against Kelowna that helped shape his role for the rest of the season with the Winterhawks. His last game for the team was back in December where he assisted on two goals before going down with a lower-body injury. The Defenseman Rhett Ravndahl played in 27 games for Portland this year. Seen as a hard-hitting, take-no nonsense kind of defender, Ravndahl planted himself in the hearts of many Winterhawks fans who I’m sure will miss him and Nick Johnson dearly.
Portland’s next few games are against local rival Seattle. The Thunderbirds host the Winterhawks in Kent Friday, Jan. 12 with puck drop at 7:05 p.m. Portland will then return the favor and host Seattle Saturday, Jan. 13 with puck drop at 6 p.m.
Northwest Sports Desk 