It’s not often that you find the Victoria Grizzlies and Nanaimo Clippers getting together to agree to a trade, but that’s what happened Thursday as Joey Visconti was shipped northward for cash (player development fee).
“Mike [Vandekamp, Clippers general manager and head coach] put in a good offer for him and we’re looking at picking up a player in the future,” Grizzlies’ GM and head coach Craig Didmon said of the B.C. Hockey League deal.
“We’ll be trying to land a big fish here from somewhere.
“Mike wanted to get something done and we’ve got some young players coming up and we want to give those guys a chance. We’ve got strong players coming in and we think we’ll have more depth.”
Visconti had seven goals and six assists in 53 games last season, the Markham, Ont., native’s first year in the BCHL. Three goals and two assists came in one outing against Surrey and he had three goals in two games against Cowichan Valley.
Didmon also confirmed the loss of 20-year-old Nathan Looysen, who decided to move two provinces to the east and will play for the Battleford North Stars of the Saskatch-ewan Junior Hockey League.
Looysen had verbally committed to the Grizzlies after yet another strong season with the Victoria Cougars of the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League.
“With Looysen, he felt he needed a change of scenery. Before June 1, Battleford came in and put on a big sales pitch and the opportunity seemed good to him,” said Didmon, who did not have Looysen’s official playing rights on paper.
