The Trail Smoke Eaters have lost a third player this season to the U.S. Hockey League.
Assistant captain Cade De St. Hubert has left Trail for the Des Moines Buccaneers.
Ironically, the 19-year-old De St. Hubert replaced the departed Drew Anastasio as an assistant captain, after the 20-year-old Anastasio joined the Tri-City Storm.
De St. Hubert was in his second season with the Smoke Eaters.
The Minnesota-based centreman had eight goals and 11 assists in a rookie regular season in which he played in 45 games and had a goal and two assists in the six game playoff series against Cranbrook.
De St. Hubert was tied for the team lead with nine goals and had nine assists in 20 games this season when he left.
He is the fifth Smoke Eaters player to leave for the USHL in the last calendar year.
Attila Lippai was the first to head to the Storm last season. After putting up almost a point per game with the Smokies, the 20-year-old would score 19 goals and eight assists in 42 games with Tri-City.
19-year-old defenseman Noah Ziskie also joined the Storm last season after getting three goals and 11 assists in 30 games as a Smokie.
The Detroit area native recorded just two assists and had a minus-10 rating in 25 games with Tri-City and is playing in the North American Hockey League this season.
The minus-10 rating means Ziskie was on the ice for ten more goals against than his team scored during his shifts.
Gairin Michalski was the first Smoke Eater from this season’s team to join the Storm.
The rookie defenseman had two goals and two assists in his six games with Trail.
The 18-year-old from Wisconsin has three assists in 19 games with Tri-City and has a -2 rating.
Anastasio also scored twice and had three assists in nine games this season with the Smokies.
In 12 games with Tri-City, the overage defenseman from Connecticut who like De St. Hubert, played big minutes in all situations with Trail, has no points in 12 games with the Storm and also has a minus-2 rating.
Anastasio already had a Division-1 NCAA commitment with Quinnipiac when he signed with the Smokies before the 2024-25 season.
The USHL is considered to be the only major junior league in the U.S.
One other Smokie left last season to join the OHL, a major junior league in Ont and the central United States.
Jack Ziliotto was having a solid season with the Smokies, with 11 goals and 16 assists in 33 games. He posted five goals and nine assists in 28 games with the Sudbury Wolves.
The 20-year-old centreman is playing his final season of junior hockey close to his home in Ontario with the Trenton Golden Hawks.
The accelerated player movement throughout all of junior hockey started last season when the NCAA started offering scholarships to Major Junior players, who were previously ineligible.
Other players who have left the BCHL for the USHL this season include Kazumo Sasaki of the Prince George Spruce Kings.
The 19-year-old forward from Japan had 10 goals and 19 assists in 17 games and was the leading the BCHL in total points when he joined the Youngstown Phantoms.
Sasaki already has a NCAA Division-1 scholarship commitment with Lake Superior State University.
Be the first to know! Don’t miss out on breaking news and daily updates in your area. Sign up to MyKootenayNow News Alerts.
