Tesink Traded To Armada

Ryan Tesink has been traded to the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada.

News of the trade broke this morning via Twitter and has since been made official. In exchange, the Saint John Sea Dogs get their 2013 first-round pick back that was traded to the Armada in the Charles-Olivier Roussel deal.

Tesink, a first-round pick of the Sea Dogs in the 2010 Quebec Major Junior Hockey League Entry Draft, has played a key role with Saint John over the past few seasons. He’ll be a valuable part of the Armada who are looking to make a President Cup run.

“Ryan has been one of our most competitive players over the past three years,” said Sea Dogs head coach and General Manager Mike Kelly in a release. “He is one of those players that plays his best when the games mean the most. That has been more than evident here in that he has been a central part of our team winning two President Cups and a Memorial Cup.

“Even as a 17 year old, Ryan made a significant impact toward our success, and as a 19 year old his leadership will be missed,” Kelly added. “I have no doubt that he will also have a positive effect on his new team and teammates in the second part of the season. We wish Ryan all the best and will always be grateful to him for all he has done for the Saint John Sea Dog organization and we will always share fond memories.”

The 19-year old Saint John native is currently the Sea Dogs’ second leading scoring with 38 points in 35 games this season. You have to wonder if the trading period has hurt his game a bit over the past few weeks as he has just one point in his last five contests.

His Saint John career has many memorable moments, the highlight probably being his double-overtime goal in Game 4 of the 2011 President Cup final in Gatineau.

Tesink was selected in the sixth round of the 2011 NHL Draft by the St. Louis Blues.

This is the second major deal Saint John has made since the trading period opened. They also acquired a first-round pick in the deal that sent Kevin Gagne to the Rimouski Oceanic.

The Armada are 0-4-0-1 in their last five games and have slid to sixth overall in the league standings with a 22-10-1-4 record. They host the Sherbrooke Phoenix tomorrow night.

Photo: Marc Henwood/Station Nation