When six-foot-six goaltender Evan Smith suffered an injury in practice this week, the Victoria Royals were presented with a dilemma the size of, well, Smith.
With the native of Parker, Colorado, likely out for about three weeks, do you promote from within your organization or bring somebody in? The Royals opted for the latter Wednesday in a Western Hockey League deal with the Kootenay Ice. The Royals acquired 18-year-old Jayden Sittler in exchange for a sixth-round pick in the 2015 WHL bantam draft.
The six-foot Sittler, whose WHL rights were held by the Ice, played four games this season for the Fort McMurray Oil Barons of the Alberta Junior Hockey League in compiling a 3.04 goals-against average, .903 save percentage and 2-2 record. In his lone WHL game, played last season for Kootenay, Sittler made 17 saves in a shutout victory over the Red Deer Rebels.
“We’re getting a veteran guy in Sittler . . . and our scouts like him,” said Victoria GM Cam Hope.
Sittler also attended Royals camp as a 15-year-old in 2011.
“He recorded a shutout in his last [and only WHL] game. And we’ve seen [recent] video of him.”
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Sittler was 12-4-2 with a 2.03 GAA and .913 save percentage last season for his hometown Red Deer Optimist Chiefs of the Alberta Triple-A Midget League and was also a part of the Optimist Chiefs team that won the Telus Cup Canadian Midget championship in 2012-13.
Meanwhile, the 17-year-old Smith has started one game this season for Victoria, and played in relief in three others, with a 4.20 GAA, .864 save percentage and 1-1 record. Royals starter Coleman Vollrath has 12 appearances this season, 11 as starter, with a 3.55 GAA, .885 save percentage and 5-5-1 record.
The Royals now have four goalies signed — Sittler, Vollrath, Smith and Griffen Outhouse of the Cariboo Cougars of the B.C. Major Midget League. Outhouse is 16, which weighed against his chances of being brought up for such a fairly extended period of time in the crucial crease position. Hope added he did not want to disrupt a midget team.
“[Sittler] was the third goalie in Kootenay … he was available, a veteran, and willing to take on the [interim Royals] role,” said Hope.
Hope was asked what will happen when Smith gets healthy.
“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,” he said.
The Royals (6-6-1) are back at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre to take on the Vancouver Giants (6-5 after a 7-2 loss Wednesday night in Kamloops) in a two-game set Friday and Saturday.
