Blockbuster nets Avalanche top scorer and goaltender

PALMER — Last Friday morning former Wenatchee forward Eliot Grauber and goalie Nick Kulmanovsky were ready to host the Alaska Avalanche. By the time the puck dropped Friday night, they were members of the Mat-Su Valley hockey team.

Prior to the beginning of the two-game series with the Wild, Alaska traded leading scorer Jake Barber and two tenders to the Wild for Grauer and Kulmanovsky.

“At about 10 o’clock Thursday night, things started transpiring,” Alaska head coach Brian Huebel said.

Huebel said it’s safe to call the deal somewhat of a blockbuster. Barber was Alaska’s leading scorer before the deal, with 24 goals and 17 assists. Barber led the league in goals earlier in the season and is currently tied for third in the North American Hockey League with 11 power-play goals.

Grauer was also a top scorer, ranking second on the Wild in scoring (19-17-36) before the trade. Kulmanovsky is a goalie with solid numbers who began the season in the United States Hockey League. All three players are also young, with plenty of junior eligibility left.

While only time tells the true value of any trade, Huebel said both teams could really benefit from the deal. Both players Alaska acquired have been on the Avs’ radar. The Alaska coaching staff watched Grauer, a Mukioteo, Wash., resident, play for Madison of the Midwest Elite Hockey League last year, and they saw what the 5-foot-11 forward was able to do in 41 games with the Wild this season.

Huebel said Grauer possesses a number of attributes that can help the Avs.

“He’s got a really heavy shot, which I love,” Huebel said. “He can produce. He plays with a physical presence. He fits in well with us.”

Grauer sported a plus-18 and posted 6-11-17 numbers on the power play. He made an immediate impact with the Avalanche scoring a game-tying goal that forced overtime with just three seconds left in regulation Friday.

The need of a goaltender was also a crucial part of the trade for the Avs. Alaska released former backup goalie Blake Mendenhall earlier in the week.

Kulmanovsky appeared in nine games for the Wild, finishing 4-3-0 with a 2.79 goals against average and .906 saves percentage. Kulmanovsky stopped a season-high 45 shots during a 3-2 win over the Avs on Dec. 3, and recorded his lone shutout of the year in a 3-0 win over Kenai River in mid-January.

A Fairbanks native, Kulmanovsky played for the highly regarded Culver Military Academy program in Indiana.

Kulmanovsky earned his first career start with the Avs on Saturday, and helped Alaska post the 3-2 win over Wenatchee. Kulmanovsky recorded 26 saves.

Mendenhall released

First-year goalie Blake Mendenhall was released by the Avalanche last week.

The former West Anchorage High standout and 2009-10 Alaska Player of the Year, made 14 starts with the Avs. He was 5-8 with a 3.05 goals against average and .895 saves percentage.

Mendenhall recorded his first career shutout during an 8-0 win over Dawson Creek on Dec. 11, but suffered losses in his next six games.

“Blake has a great resume. We’ll try to help him as best we can, but we had to make a change,” Huebel said.

Former Warrior

released by Kenai

Trent Wohlers, a former Wasilla High standout, has been released by the Kenai River Brown Bears, according to nahl.com.

Wohlers, who skipped his senior year of high school hockey to sign with the Bears, skated in 28 games with Kenai. The defenseman collected four assists.

Former Av on the move again

Former Avalanche forward Seth Johnson has been traded for the third time this season.

Late last week, the Bismarck Bobcats traded Johnson and defenseman Tom Rizzardo to the Texas Tornado for defenseman Rodney LeLonde.

In December, Janesville traded Johnson to the Bobcats for two players, just about a month after Alaska sent Johnson to Janesville in exchange for Ross Pavek.

Johnson has posted 8-10-18 totals in and a plus-13 in 35 total games this season. The forward collected six goals and six assists in 15 games with the Avalanche.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com and follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/matsu_sports.