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Spokane Chiefs

With goalie Dawson Weatherill out for season, Chiefs trade for Lethbridge’s Reece Klassen

Chiefs goaltender Dawson Weatherill will miss the remainder of the 2018-19 season as he awaits hip surgery. (Courtesy of Spokane Chiefs)
From staff reports

The Spokane Chiefs announced Wednesday that backup goaltender Dawson Weatherill, out with an injured hip, will undergo season-ending surgery, then revealed they had acquired goaltender Reece Klassen from the Lethbridge Hurricanes to take his place.

Weatherill appeared in 15 games for the Chiefs this season, posting a 4.33 goals-against average, .862 save percentage and 6-6-1-0 record. In 102 career Western Hockey League games (97 with Spokane), the Red Deer, Alberta, native has a 3.46 GAA and .885 save percentage. He was acquired by the Chiefs in a trade with the Red Deer Rebels in September 2016.

“This is a tough situation for Dawson but at this point, his health is our top priority,” Chiefs general manager Scott Carter said. “We wish him the very best toward a full recovery.”

To fill Weatherill’s role, the Chiefs gave up a seventh-round pick in the 2020 WHL Bantam Draft for Klassen.

“With Dawson Weatherill’s injury, we felt that we needed to pick up another goalie with WHL experience,” Carter said. “Reece will be a good fit in our dressing room and are excited to welcome him to our organization.”

Klassen, a 1999-born goaltender from Cloverdale, British Columbia, has appeared in 49 career WHL games over two seasons with the Hurricanes, posting a 3.59 GAA and .889 save percentage. He appeared in 26 games for Lethbridge this season, earning an 11-4-4-3 record with a 3.57 GAA and .891 save percentage.

Also Wednesday, the Chiefs added defenseman Graham Sward to their roster as an Affiliated Player. Sward was the Chiefs’ first-round pick (17th overall) in the 2018 WHL Bantam Draft.

Sward, a 2003-born rearguard from Abbotsford, B.C., has played 19 games with the Fraser Valley Thunderbirds of the BCMML this season, scoring five goals with 12 assists for 17 points. He appeared in five 2018 WHL preseason games with the Chiefs, picking up one assist and a plus-6 rating.

Sward posted two goals and 16 assists for 18 points in 26 games with Yale Hockey Academy of the CSSBHL last season.

Sward will be available to play in Spokane’s games against Kamloops on Friday and at Kootenay on Saturday.

In a corresponding roster move, rookie goaltender Campbell Arnold will be reassigned to the KIJHL’s Spokane Braves. Arnold appeared in one game as an Affiliated Player, stopping 10 of 11 shots faced.