North Stars move Allen to Vees for PDF
If it was up to them, it never would have happened, but the Battlefords North Stars’ hands were tied.
This weekend, they officially traded Ben Allen to the Penticton Vees of the British Columbia Hockey League, in exchange for a player development fee.
Allen, who was a major part of the North Stars championship run last year while playing on the top line, was entering his final year of junior hockey and wanted the best opportunity to get a NCAA Div. I scholarship. Joining a powerhouse Vees team that will once again have a shot at a BCHL title – they’ve won two of the last three championships, and three of the last six – gives him that opportunity, whereas the North Stars have lost half of their championship team.
“[Losing him] is very tough,” North Stars head coach and general manager Brandon Heck said. “He was going to go to the North American league and then we got proactive and reached out to some teams to try to get something for him, [rather] than nothing. Penticton watched him at the [Western Canada Cup] last year and they liked him, so it was a perfect fit.”