The Saskatoon Blades have made another move to shore up their blue-line.
The Bridge City Bunch acquired veteran, 19-year-old, left-shot defenceman Derek Thurston (pictured) from the Rebels for Red Deer product and 17-year-old left winger Kohen Lodge plus a conditional fifth round pick in the 2028 W-H-L Prospects Draft Friday morning. After Isaac Poll was injured two weeks ago, the Blue and Gold acquired 19-year-old Tyrone Sobry from Prince Albert and called up 16-year-old Luke Dumas. Thurston isn’t expected to be with Saskatoon when they open their U-S Division road trip Friday night in Everett. Following is the official news release from the Blades…..
Blades acquire burly defenceman Thurston in trade with Rebels
Saskatoon, SK – The Saskatoon Blades added more depth to the blueline Friday acquiring 19-year-old defenceman Derek Thurston from the Red Deer Rebels in exchange for 2008-born forward Kohen Lodge and a conditional fifth-round pick in the 2028 Western Hockey League (WHL) Prospects Draft.
“Finding a high-quality, left-shot veteran defenceman was our top priority this season,” said Blades General Manager and President Colin Priestner, “Derek was someone we targeted in the summer as a guy who fit the bill should he ever become available, and the timing worked out very well to get it done early in the season with Isaac Poll unfortunately out for a longer term basis. Derek will bring a hard-nosed, two-way game to our left side, and he’s always been regarded in the league as someone who is an extremely hard-worker and high-character player and we think he will fit in very well in Saskatoon.”
Thurston, a 119-game WHL veteran, has nine goals and 15 assists for 24 points across two full seasons with the Rebels. The Delta, BC native was drafted by Red Deer in the sixth round (112th overall) of the 2021 WHL Prospects Draft. The left-handed shot’s best season came last year with the Rebels, scoring nine goals and 13 assists for 22 points in 67 games, tacking on 96 penalty minutes.
“Derek also has the potential to be back as a 20 with us next year, and that was highly appealing in the new player landscape,” said Priestner.
The 6-foot-1 blueliner has nine games of playoff experience in the 2024 postseason, dishing one helper in the Rebels’ run to the second round.
Lodge was drafted by the Blades in the ninth round (195th overall) of the 2023 WHL Prospects Draft. A Red Deer, AB native, Lodge returns home after scoring four goals and two assists in 28 games last season with the Bridge City Bunch. In eight games this season, Lodge has one assist on a deep forward lineup.
“It was very tough to move an extremely high-quality young man like Kohen, but the Poll injury accelerated our need for a veteran left-shot defenceman, so it was a deal that made sense for us and Red Deer,” said Priestner, “Getting a chance to play at home with his dad on the coaching staff made this an easier decision for us, but we know he’s going to be a great player for them over the next several years. I’m really excited for him to get the chance to play every night and produce because he really deserves it, and now with 13 forwards on our roster, we don’t have to be healthy scratching two good players every night who deserve to playing.”
Thurston is expected to join the Blades for Saturday’s game on the road against the Portland Winterhawks. The Blades want to welcome Derek and his family to the Bridge City, and wish Kohen all the best in Red Deer!
