The evolution of the Calgary Hitmen has landed them an Okotoks veteran on the blueline.
The evolution of the Calgary Hitmen has landed them an Okotoks veteran on the blueline.
As the Hitmen pulled the trigger on a long rumoured trade of superstar defenceman Jake Bean they added some pieces for the future and present highlighted by Okotoks native Dakota Krebs as part of a two player and three draft pick swap with the Tri-City Americans.
“I grew up watching the Hitmen and wanting to play in the WHL,” said Krebs, a Foothills Composite graduate. “It's kind of surreal. Being able to play in the Dome my first game wearing the Calgary Hitmen logo was pretty crazy being an Okotoks boy growing up.
“It's an amazing opportunity for me and my family.”
Krebs, a three-year veteran in the Western Hockey League, was not expecting to get dealt from a loaded Americans squad.
He woke up from a pre-game nap, was told to head to the coaches office and got the news of the move.
Undrafted out of bantam, the 6-foot-4 blueliner was given a chance to prove himself by Tri-City and he did just that over 151 games with the Washington state based outfit.
“I wasn't expecting it (the trade) so I was caught a little bit shocked,” Krebs said. “They treated me really well there. I have nothing but good things to say about the team and about the guys there. I'm leaving there with a lot of good memories.”
He joins a Calgary squad building towards a promising future.
The Hitmen have traded the majority of their veteran skaters this season and accumulated high draft picks and future draft selections.
The opportunities to play and to lead for the 18-year-old are considerable.
“It's an opportunity to come in and play a lot and I think I can come in and be a leadership guy and really help this team out,” Krebs said. “It is a rebuild year but they're trying to make it a little faster. This team is just a little bit out of a playoff spot so we can still make the playoffs here and that's what we're going for.”
The junior hockey world is a small one.
Krebs had some familiar faces waiting for him in the Hitmen dressing room in netminder Matthew Armitage, a former Okotoks Junior A Oiler, along with a former Bantam AAA teammate in Millarville's Zach Huber.
“Our families have known each other a long time, I played with (Huber) in Bantam,” Krebs said. “I got a text from him as soon as I got traded … It was good to come here with all those familiar faces.”
Perhaps the most familiar face in the entire league is now on the other side of one of the best rivalries in the Dub featuring the Hitmen and Kootenay Ice.
Dakota's younger brother Peyton, the WHL Rookie of the Month in December, just happens to be a centrepiece of the Kootenay attack.
“It's super cool to be able to be a rival with my brother,” Dakota said. “Growing up we were always battling, but this a whole other level to it.”
The latest chapter of the Krebs rivalry plays out on March 14 at the Saddledome when the Ice pay a visit to the Stampede city for the final of seven meetings in the 2017-18 season between the foes.
For more information go to hitmenhockey.com
