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Red Deer Rebels acquire Sharks pick Adam Helewka from Spokane Chiefs in blockbuster trade

The Red Deer Rebels acquired Adam Helewka from the Spokane Chiefs in a blockbuster trade. (Chiefs)
The Red Deer Rebels acquired Adam Helewka from the Spokane Chiefs in a blockbuster trade. (Chiefs)

Days after landing Boston Bruins pick Jake DeBrusk from the Swift Current Broncos, the Red Deer Rebels made another move to help bolster their offense for the 2016 Memorial Cup. The tournament hosts acquired San Jose Sharks prospect Adam Helewka from the Spokane chiefs for team captain Wyatt Johnson, prospect Eli Zummack, a 2016 second-round bantam pick and a 2017 fifth-round bantam pick.

The 6-foot-2, 200-pound Helewka is a big addition for Red Deer in more ways than one. He’s established himself as an elite physical forward who has a knack for putting the puck in the back of the net, as he’s scored 16 goals and 29 points in 19 games this season.

That said, the Rebels paid a hefty price to acquire the 20-year-old winger. Since Zummack, who has 24 points in 17 games with the Okanagan Rockets at the Major Midget level, was a 2015 second-round pick, they ultimately gave up a pair of second-round draft choices. In addition, in order to make the overage numbers work, they lost a strong leader and character player in Johnson.

“Well obviously it goes down to get something really good you have to give up assets to do it, and unfortunately its taken a player and a person like Wyatt out of our dressing room... that part stings, no question about it,” Rebels GM-head coach Brent Sutter told Chanel6 News. “A young prospect that’s a very good prospect and a second-round pick is very important asset too. But that being said, we are getting a player from our standpoint is probably one of the top three players in the league.”

Sutter made it clear this move didn’t happen overnight. The Rebels and Chiefs were talking about making a trade revolving around Helewka for quite some time.

“It’s not of a spur of the moment thing,” he said. “This is something that's been certainly talked about and you go through different stages of it throughout and it has been the (in) process for quite some time. We were able to finally get it nailed down here actually after the game last night in Cranbrook.”

Helewka's first game as a Rebel on Jan. 2 against the Brandon Wheat Kings will be his first match since Dec. 12. He was handed a six-game suspension that night for getting into it with Tri-City Americans defenceman Parker Wotherspoon shortly after the final horn sounded.

From Spokane’s perspective, the deal makes sense even though they are in the mix to take the U.S. Division with a 19-14-3-1 record. They aren’t in a positon where they are touted as a contender for the Ed Chynoweth Cup. Moreover, this trade will help them build a stronger entourage for Ty Smith, the first overall pick of the 2015 bantam draft. The Lloydminster, Alta., native is regarded as one of the WHL's top blueline prospects of the last decade.

The WHL's trade frenzy comes to a close on Jan. 10 when the trade deadline officially hits.

Kelly Friesen is a Buzzing the Net columnist for Yahoo! Sports. Follow him on Twitter @KellyFriesen