Panthers acquire hulking stopper in Anderson

"We were not entirely happy with the way things have been going between the pipes and when Cougars' Thomas Kala called about Chase O'Keefe, things just went from there," explained Panthers' General Manager Pete Zubersky.

On Thursday evening, Kala sent a text to Zubersky and indicated that his Club was looking to add a defenceman, specifically Chase O'Keefe.  Kala wanted the deal to be for cash however, the Panthers felt that they needed to add some depth between the pipes and the discussion took legs.  Over the next several hours the two went back and forth with Zubersky wanting to have 18-year-old goaltender Justin Anderson included in the transaction. 

Anderson played his Midget Hockey last season in Red Deer and in August attended the Kindersely Klippers Camp.  The Clippers play in the Saskatchewan Junior "A" League.  He will easily fill the net being one of the bigger goaltenders around at 6'4" and 205 lbs.

"Our Head Coach Brad Tippett used to coach the current General Manager of the  Kindersley Team and talked with him before we made the deal.  He gave some really positive comments about Justin and that made us more apt to do the deal.  Kala said that he was a great kid off the ice, that his parents were awesome and so that was an important factor for us as well.  We have a great group of people right now and we did not want to change any of that chemistry that has been built," said Zubersky.

"We have gone up against Justin several times and he has played well on each occasion.  He has nice numbers but is also playing on a strong Club.  We feel our group is really coming around and we hope that his addition will translate into more wins," said the General Manager.

"It was tough to give up Chase O'Keefe, he has started to come around and was putting up points."  Zubersky continued his thoughts, "I think Chase has scored three goals in his last four or five games from the back and had given us a spark offensively.  The Cougars will be happy with his play.  He was a good kid in the dressing room and as I said, this deal came completely out of the blue and was completed just before midnight.  We wish Chase the best of luck with the Cougars this season and beyond and thank him for the quality time he spent with our Organization."

The Panthers play away tonight in Saanich and Anderson is expected to be starting for the Club against the Braves.  They will then be back at home for their only Saturday evening game of the season to face the Braves in the back end of the home-and-home weekend series, the puck set to drop at 7:30 pm.