Avalanche, Brown Bears swap blueliners

WASILLA — Braden Kinnebrew has made a number of stops during his junior hockey career.

And now, the well-traveled defenseman is on the move once again.

The Alaska Avalanche traded the former South Anchorage High School standout to the Kenai River Brown Bears for blueliner Micki Mahailovich.

The trade marked the fourth transaction that involved the Avs and Kinnebrew in less than two years. But ultimately, after acquiring and reacquiring the 5-foot-11 and 190-pound backliner, Alaska head coach Dave Boitz felt Kinnebrew simply wasn’t a right fit.

“Braden’s a nice kid, but he didn’t fit the type of player I wanted as a 20-year-old,” Boitz said.

Kinnebrew collected a goal and four assists, and posted a +7 plus-minus rating during 13 games with the Avs this season.

In exchange for Kinnebrew, the Avs receive a defenseman in Mahailovich who left Kenai River as the third leading scorer on the Brown Bears squad.

The Westland, Mich., native recorded four goals and six assists in 15 games this season. Seven of those points, two goals and five assists, came on the power play.

“He’s a real hard-working passionate type of player,” Boitz said. “He wears his emotions on his sleeve, and that’s what I like about him.”

Mahailovich is also a year younger than Kinnebrew.

Mahailovich is in his first season in the North American Hockey League. The 6-foot-1, 180-pounder followed former Kenai River head coach Marty Quarters from the Yellowstone Quakes of the NORPAC hockey league to the Brown Bears.

While in Yellowstone, Mahailovich recorded 11 goals and 40 assists in 42 games for the Tier III Junior A program. He scored six power-play goals, added 18 power-play assists and collected 170 penalty minutes.

The Brown Bears will mark Kinnebrew’s third NAHL team in two years.

After spending time in the British Columbia Hockey League and Alberta Hockey League early in his junior career, Kinnebrew was acquired by Alaska prior to the 2008-09 season.

In December of 2008, Kinnebrew was traded to Wichita Falls in exchange for forwards Thomas Erlacher and Tyler Schwartz.

Schwartz still skates with the Avs.

In February, Wichita Falls sent Kinnebrew back to Alaska for a 2009 tender.Kinnebrew and Mahailovich will both be quickly reacquainted with their former teams when the Brown Bears host the Avs tonight at the Soldotna Sports Center, the start of a two-game series.

Contact Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.