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KIJHL: Dynamiters deal Rosolowsky to Campbell River

The Kimberley Dynamiters have traded forward Alex Rosolowsky (1995) to the Campbell River Storm in exchange for future considerations
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Alex Rosolowsky (front) shakes hands with members of the Beaver Valley Nitehawks following the Kimberley Dynamiters Kootenay Conference championship victory this past March. On Tuesday

The Kimberley Dynamiters have traded forward Alex Rosolowsky (1995) to the Campbell River Storm of the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League (VIJHL) in exchange for future considerations.

"We want to thank Alex for his contributions and wish him the best of luck," said Mike Reid, Nitros general manager, Tuesday morning.

"Alex was very versatile. He is very coachable, very smart and could play the systems at any position that we required. It's going to be a bit of a hole to fix in terms of depth, but it's a new opportunity for someone else and that's kind of what the game's about at times."

Over two seasons, Rosolowsky tallied 21 goals and 39 points in 93 games with the Nitros.

During the team's run to the 2015 KIJHL championship, the 5-foot-11, 175-pound Calgary native registered four goals and seven points in 19 games.

Rosolowsky was a victim of numbers in Kimberley, ultimately forcing Reid to part with the speedy forward.

"At the end of the day, that's the crappy part of this job -- you can only have so many 20-year-olds," Reid said. "When we looked at who was returning, unfortunately, Alex just wasn't going to fit into our plans and he understood that. He knew where he stood amongst those '95s that were coming back.

"We wanted to make sure that we got Alex a place to play right away so he could get himself physically and mentally ready for the year."

With KIJHL clubs only permitted to carry five 20-year-old players, Rosolowsky became the odd man out as the team chose to move ahead with forwards Eric Buckley and Jared Marchi, defencemen Jordan Busch and Justin Meier along with goaltender Tyson Brouwer.

For Rosolowsky, he heads to the Campbell River Storm, a team all too familiar to the Dynamiters.

The Storm edged the Dynamiters 6-5 in the championship game of the Cyclone Taylor Cup to claim the B.C. Junior B provincial title before moving on to win the Keystone Cup as western Canada's Junior B champions.

In Campbell River, Rosolowsky has an opportunity to play a bigger role for head coach Lee Stone as the Storm look to defend their VIJHL, provincial and western Canadian titles.

"Alex will be a great addition to our forward and leadership group," Stone said in a team release. "I first identified Alex on a scouting trip to watch Kimberley prior to the Cyclone Taylor Cup and we saw him again two more times at the tournament.

"A great two-way centre who has a high IQ for the game both offensively and defensively -- we believe Alex will be an integral part of our on- and off-ice success this season."

The Storm lost a handful of key contributors this off-season, largely in part to age.

Forwards Dane Feeney, Josiah Friesen and Michael Olson aged out, as did defencemen Nathan Browne and Jordan Rauser.

"Without even playing a game I can feel the sense of pride and get the feeling that this is a winning organization," Rosolowsky said in a Storm release. "That's exactly where I want to be. The fans and community support seem to be tremendous here as well.

"My short-term goal is pretty simple -- repeating what the Storm did last year and win the Keystone Cup. I'm happy to do whatever I can to make that happen."

Though the Dynamiters forge on without Rosolowsky, the two share similar goals according to Reid.

"Hopefully we cross paths again this spring. That means we've both had a good season."

The Kimberley Dynamiters are set to open training camp Sept. 4 at the Kimberley Civic Centre.

Notes: The Fernie Ghostriders dispatched a 1995-born player earlier this week, sending defenceman Will Lightfoot to the Fort St. John Huskies of the North West Junior Hockey League in exchange for cash considerations.