A pair of North Vancouver hockey players were sent one province over as the wheeling and dealing of the NHL's offseason began last week.
North Vancouver's Jackson Houck earned his ticket to Alberta as he was taken in the fourth round of last weekend's NHL draft, 94th overall by the Edmonton Oilers.
The right winger played for the WHL's Vancouver Giants the past two years, earning team MVP honours following the 2012-13 season after leading the team in scoring with 23 goals and 34 assists for 57 points in 69 games. Houck was also named the team's most improved player - in his rookie WHL season he notched 20 points in 53 games.
"Couldn't be happier to be (a part) of the Edmonton Oilers organization!" Jackson tweeted after the selection was announced. "Can't wait for my first pro camp."
Before joining the Vancouver Giants, Houck played for the North Shore Winter Club and then suited up for the Northwest Giants of the B.C. Major Midget League.
Also joining the Alberta exodus was North Vancouver's David Jones who was traded from the Colorado Avalanche to the Calgary Flames June 27. The 28-year-old right winger was dealt along with defenceman Shane O'Brien with the Avalanche getting left winger Alex Tanguay and defenceman Cory Sarich in return.
Jones took a winding path to the NHL after being drafted in the ninth round in 2003 by the Avalanche. He broke out in the 201011 season with 27 goals and 45 points in 77 games, following that up with another 20goal season in 2011-12. Last year, however, was a struggle as he managed just three goals and nine points with a -11 rating in 33 games during the lockout-shortened season. With the change in scenery he'll hope to recapture the touch that saw him put together back-to-back 20-goal seasons.
"I just had a tough year," he told the Calgary Herald. "Just try and forget about it. I'm not going to make any excuses. I just wasn't playing very well. I just couldn't really get things going."
Flames general manager Jay Feaster certainly likes the skills the six-foot-two power forward is bringing with him.
"With Jones, we get a guy who is an up and down winger," he said. "He's a big body, he protects the puck well. We like the fact he drives to the net. He's willing to go and play in the dirty areas. He's a right shot, a penalty killer."
