Spirit send Tye Felhaber to Ottawa in exchange for future draft picks

Saginaw Spirit GM Dave Drinkill announced in an email from the team this afternoon that the Spirit have traded third year forward Tye Felhaber to the Ottawa 67's in exchange for future draft picks. 

 

“I would like to thank Tye for his time here in Saginaw,” Drinkill said. “Sometimes a change of scenery is best for everyone involved and we wish him the best in Ottawa.”

 

The 67's will also receive Saginaw's fourth round pick in 2021 and the Barrie Colt's 2018 fourth round draft pick which the Spirit had previously acquired. 

 

In exchange for Felhaber and the two future picks the Spirit will receive Ottawa's second round pick in 2017, Sarnia's second round pick (from Ottawa) in 2019, Sarnia's third round pick (from Ottawa) in 2020, and Saginaw's fifth round pick in 2017 (which must be coming back from a previous trade).

 

Felhaber, who is from the Ottawa area, will be returning to his hockey roots where he played for the Ottawa Valley Titans AAA program as a kid. 

 

Felhaber was Saginaw's number one overall pick in the 2014 Ontario Hockey League priority selection draft where he would go on to score 37 points in 63 games during his rookie campaign, with 20 goals and 17 assists for the Spirit. After scoring 18 goals and 20 assists last year, he now has 4 goals and 4 assists so far this year. 

 

Drinkill is looking to the future with this move as he continues the idea of building a championship atmosphere in Saginaw while shifting his focus on the top 40 picks in the next OHL priority selection draft. 

 

“From our prospective, this trade gives us four more high-end draft picks,” Drinkill said. “We also now hold four for the top 40 picks in this upcoming draft. We have a telented crop of young players in the system, along with many draft picks. There are no shortcuts to building a championship team in this business. With the hockey staff we have in place here, I am confident about the future of our team.”