A U SPORTS ECHL Trade

As you likely know from reading this blog, I keep an eye on some of the Canada West players who have gone on to play professionally in leagues across the world. One of the leagues that features a number of former U SPORTS players is the ECHL, and we were treated to a trade yesterday when two teams swapped forwards that have interesting backgrounds. Both forward played for U SPORTS teams before embarking on their ECHL careers, so this is a trade that caught my attention almost immediately. And while no one likes to be traded, my hope is that both players find some permanancy with their new teams!

The ECHL announced on Tuesday that the Florida Everblades acquired forward Jimmy Soper from the Rapid City Rush in exchange for forward Brett Davis. Davis was a high-scoring sniper in Canada West with the Manitoba Bisons before signing with the Everblades this past summer while Soper played one season in Waterloo with the Laurier Golden Hawks in the OUA where he didn't have the greatest success statistically. They didn't play during the same era as Soper is four years older than Davis, but it's still pretty cool to see two U SPORTS players being swapped in this ECHL deal.

Davis spent two seasons with the Bisons from 2021-23 after having a solid WHL career that saw him drafted by the Dallas Stars in the sixth-round of the 2017 NHL Entry Draft as the 163rd-overall pick. He spent time with Lethbridge, Kootenay, and Red Deer over his five seasons in the WHL with his best season coming in 2017-18 with Kootenay when he played 72 games, scoring 25 goals and adding 33 assists. Landing at the University of Manitoba in 2021, Davis played two seasons in Canada West with the Bisons where he scored 20 goals and added 26 assists in 36 games.

Soper's route to the ECHL took a far different path than Davis' journey. Soper spent one season in the OHL with Kitchener where he scored one goal and had two assists in 50 games for the Rangers in 2013-14. The following season saw him land in the Maritimes Hockey League with the Truro Bearcats before he hung up the skates for an entire season. However, Soper would be back on the blades in 2016-17 when he suited up for the OUA's Laurier Golden Hawks in the OUA, notching two goals and two assists in 22 games.

The Federal Prospects Hockey League's Danville Dashers gave him a shot, and Soper lit up the league with 13 goals and 17 assists in 24 games, prompting the SPHL's Macon Mayhem to sign him for the remainder of the 2017-18 season. Soper would play the next three seasons with Macon where he'd get a couple of call-ups from the ECHL - two games and no points with the Newfoundland Growlers, and 29 games where he scored three goals and three assists with the Greenville Swamp Rabbits. He just couldn't stick, though.

Soper's break came in 2021-22 when the ECHL's Tulsa Oilers signed Soper after a 22-point season with Macon, and he decided to up his offensive output as he scored 13 goals and 30 assists in 69 games for the Oilers. They brought him back for a second season where he scored 16 times and added 12 helpers in 36 games as he became a fan favorite, but the Oilers dealt Soper to the Norfolk Admirals for Tag Bertuzzi. One week later after playing no games for Norfolk, the Admirals dealt him to the Rapid City Rush where he'd close out the 2022-23 season with seven goals and 12 assists in 28 games.

While his scoring slowed this season to seven goals and 16 assists in 55 games, it seemed like Soper was still contributing for the Rush. However, he and his 23 points were dealt to Florida for Davis who brings his three goals and ten assists in 33 games to the Rush. Perhaps this trade will work for both sides as Davis and Soper get a chance to embrace new roles on their new teams as both players have shown flashes of brilliance at various levels throughout their careers.

I don't usually post ECHL trade stories during the week as most ECHL transactions are player moves to the reserve roster and back, but this one was different because it involved a couple of players with Canadian university ties. No player ever likes to be traded as it means uprooting his life and a disruption to a normal routine, but as one of the few places that talks about Canadian university hockey - specifically Canada West hockey - it's a neat little footnote on a deal that virtually no one else seemed to report.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!