Two BC Hockey League Interior Division rivals have made a deal one day ahead of the league’s trade deadline.
The Vernon Vipers have acquired 17-year-old defenceman Zhenya Miles from the West Kelowna Warriors in exchange for future considerations in a deal announced Friday, Feb. 9.
Miles, from Winnipeg, has registered a goal and three assists in 23 games for the Warriors this season. He had two assists in six games with the Warriors in the 2022-23 season.
“I am really excited for a new beginning,” said Miles. “I can’t wait to get started.”
Vipers GM and head coach Jason McKee said he has high hopes for Miles to become a stabilizing force on the Vipers blueline.
“Zhenya is a talented young defenceman that will bring depth to our back end for this season,” said McKee. “He has some very good tools to become an elite defender in the BCHL.”
Miles is six-foot-two, weighs in at 186 pounds and shoots left.
The Warriors, in a Friday press release, thanked Miles “for his time and contributions to the Warriors organization as well as the city of West Kelowna.”
It’s the second trade the Vipers made Friday after they dealt the playing rights to forward Ethan Sundar to the Spruce Grove Saints — one of the five Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) teams that officially migrated to the BCHL earlier this month — in exchange for future considerations.
Sundar, 20, hasn’t played with the Vipers since last season when he had three goals and five assists in 14 games. He was was signed by the Fort McMurray Oil Barons at the start of this season and has put up 14 points in 30 games.
The BCHL trade deadline is at 4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 10.
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