Avs get 2 from Outlaws

WASILLA — The Alaska Avalanche have acquired a pair of forwards from the North Iowa Outlaws, Alaska head coach and general manager Jamie Smith announced on Monday.

Alaska received 20-year-old forward Brooks Dezellar and 18-year-old forward Kyle Politz in the deal. The Avalanche traded veteran forward Larry Kincaid and defenseman Kevin Anger to North Iowa.

Smith said the Avalanche agreed to make the deal in an effort to add more of a scoring punch to the Alaska lineup, as the Avs push for a playoff spot.

Dezellar in the his second season in the North American Hockey League, has three goals and 16 assists in 30 games this season. He posted 10 goals and 19 assists for the Fargo-Moorhead Jets last year.

“He’s a strong kid with a lot of experience who should bring some leadership to the table,” Smith said.

While the Avs get a productive veteran in Dezellar, Smith believes Politz may be the gem of the deal.

Politz nearly made the roster of the Lincoln Stars of the United States Hockey League.

“He was the last player cut,” Smith said.

The USHL is a Tier I Junior A hockey league, a step above the Tier II NAHL. Smith said one USHL coach told him he believed Politz could be the fastest player in the NAHL.

With his speed and stick handling ability, Smith feels he can place Politz alongside a player such as Alaska forward Jeremiah Dargis, who has similar skills.

Kincaid, a Houston High School product, leaves the Valley after two seasons with the Avalanche. (See the adjoining story on Page B1.)

Kincaid posted 14 goals and eight assists in 77 games with the Avs. He had eight goals and eight assists in 33 games this season.

Anger, a seldom-used blueliner, is joining his third team of the 2007-08 season. At the beginning of the year, Anger was traded to Alaska from Southern Minnesota.

Anger had three goals, one assist and a -9 plus-minus rating in 22 games this season. He had eight penalty minutes in 10 games with the Express last year.

Smith said the Avalanche are in the hunt for another defenseman, and could announce a deal within the next week.

The Avalanche are currently in the middle of an 11-game road trip. The Avs face the Wichita Falls Wildcats on Friday and Saturday in Wichita Falls, Texas.

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