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Malmo Adds Von Carstein in 3-Team Trade


tcookie

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In a rare three-way trade with Helsinki and Vancouver today, the Malmo Nighthawks have acquired young defenseman Vlad Von Carstein, who was the 6th overall pick in the S92 draft.

 

The Wolves have been making moves early on in the S94 off-season, as this deal was announced just a day after they acquired superstar defenseman Mark Calaway from the DC Dragons from a hefty package of picks. In the three-way deal, Vancouver added another high-end talent in winger Owen Lazaro, who scored 50 goals and 99 points with Helsinki last season. Vancouver's re-shaping of their team, going big-game hunting to beef up their roster, ended up with Von Carstein available for the Nighthawks.

 

In the deal, Helsinki acquires forward Mikko Borisyuk, forward prospect Ocean Codoller, a 3rd round pick in S94, and a 2nd round pick in S96.

 

From a Nighthawks point of view, they essentially moved Codoller and their S96 2nd round pick for Van Carstein. It seems likely Von Carstein will fill in for Eric Queefson in the Malmo defense corps, as Queefson's future with the team and the VHL entirely has become murky.

 

A highly touted prospect from the get-go for the S92 draft, Von Carstein put up 81 points in 72 games for the VHLM's Ottawa Lynx in S91, after being selected 1st overall in the VHLM draft. He would go on to be selected 2nd overall in the VHLE draft and 6th overall in the VHL draft in the same off-season, and put up 71 points in 72 games in his one season with the Bratislava Watchmen before making the jump to Vancouver last season. In his rookie VHL campaign, Von Carstein had 9 goals, 45 points, 67 hits, and 153 blocked shots. It was a young Vancouver team that featured six rookies and finished 13th in the VHL, but he didn't look out of place.

 

With the earlier re-signings of Phillip Rave and Gregger McKeggegger, the Nighthawks have nearly filled out their expected roster for S94, with one remaining forward spot open. With designs on being a contending team once again, you can likely expect Malmo to make another move - whether a trade or a free agent signing - to fill that spot before the season begins. The S93 Prague Phantoms did make an interesting case for teams competing that potentially that sixth forward spot isn't necessarily required to be a top priority, but it doesn't seem likely to be something that will catch on around the league, at least not at this time.

 

The Nighthawks will feel the loss of Yaroslav Bogatyrev as they felt the loss of Henry Eagles last season, but there is reason for optimism as many key players are not yet facing regression and have experienced another full year of development. Forwards Viktor Jensen, Phillip Rave, Ronald Johnson MacWallace III, and Savaisk Tzesar will all enter the upcoming season the best they've ever been in their VHL careers and the blueline still looks good, anchored by stud #1 defender Jacob Stone. So far, the Nighthawks have done a great job of being able to keep up with losses, retool, and send a contending team out over the past several seasons. With so many contracts expiring after S94, the future of the franchise may depend on successfully doing so again this year, but the acquisition of Von Carstein feels like a good place to start.

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