After the Syracuse Crunch lost one of their big guns at the NHL trade trade deadline when the Tampa Bay Lightning traded Jack Thompson to the San Jose organization for Anthony Duclair, they made some moves to strengthen the team for their playoff run.
Their first move was to send Joe Carroll to the San Jose Barracuda in exchange for forward Jordy Bellerive. Carroll had been a bright spot for the Crunch, earning a two-year AHL contract after a strong start to the season. He kept that going and departs with 11 goals (including 4 game-winning goals) and 11 assists in 46 games.
After not being drafted during his junior career, Bellerive caught on in the Pittsburgh organization, playing three seasons with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins before moving on to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. A trade earlier this year sent him to San Jose. In 56 games with the Phantoms and Barracudas this year he has 5 goals and 6 assists.
The big number that stands out is the 75 penalty minutes. Bellerive is a fast skater that plays with a bit of an edge. With captain Gabriel Dumont missing games due to an injury, the 24-year-old should add some feistiness to the line-up.
Just before the 3:00 pm deadline, the Crunch made another move, sending good ol’ future considerations to the Abbotsford Canucks for defenseman Quinn Schmiemann. If that names sounds familiar to Bolts fans, it’s because he was a sixth-round pick by the Lightning in the 2019 draft. He even reached the #25 spot in our 2020 Top 25 Under 25. However, the Bolts didn’t sign him, allowing him to become a free agent and the Abbotsford Canucks signed him.
Now, 22, the left-shot defenseman put up 12 points (3 goals, 9 assists) in 56 games over two seasons with the Canucks.
The Crunch entered last night’s game in second place in the North Division, two points behind the Cleveland Monsters. Syracuse is looking to finish in the top two of the division to avoid the best-of-three opening round where anything can happen.
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