It’s a deal that really only carries a downside for the Kamloops Blazers on the evening of December 16th 2026… and if the two teams end up squaring off in the WHL Championship at the end of the season.

The Blazers have traded Forward Josh Evaschesen to the Medicine Hat Tigers.

In return for the 2006-born Evaschesen’s rights, the Blazers will get the Tigers’ 1st and 4th round picks in next summer’s WHL Draft, on top of a 6th round pick from Medicine Hat in the 2029 draft.

At first blush, the pre-season trade might be viewed as a loss of a scoring talent for the Blazers.

However, that scoring prowess that Evaschesen displayed last season, where he tallied 33 goals as part of a 73 point season, was not expected to be wearing a Blazers jersey this fall.

Evaschesen had already informed the Blazers of his intention to play out his 20-year old season at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in Troy, New York, taking advantage of the NCAA eligibility he originally coveted when he joined the Trail Smoke Eaters in the BCHL the season before the Blazers convinced him to sign in Kamloops.

“We’re in a new landscape here,” noted Blazers Head Coach and GM Shaun Clouston in reference to the NCAA rules allowing WHL players to be recruited to the US college ranks.  “There’s been a rule change and we’ve lost some players [for the forthcoming season].”

“At least in this case we recover a bunch of picks and keep a player in the WHL another year,” he noted.

The behind-the-scenes changes involving the NCAA rule changes have created a new calculus for teams, and in particular General Managers, who now have to factor the potential loss of a player without any return on investment if they head to the NCAA.

“Obviously we tried real hard to convince him to stay at the end of the season,” noted Clouston.

“I can’t speak for [Evaschesen] but potentially he committed a little bit early,” said Clouston of the 20-year old’s decision to agree to attend RPI as a student and player next season. “I think he wants to be a pro [hockey player].”

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is probably best known for producing some of the best electrical and software engineers in the United States, and does maintain a hockey team which competes in the NCAA Division 1 category within the Eastern College Athletic Conference.

The ECAC is made up of a dozen teams including those at the Ivy League schools such as Yale, Cornell, Princeton and Harvard — which is where Prime Minister Mark Carney played his US College hockey as a goaltender.

As for Evaschesen, he admits he’s had to make some pretty big life and career choices over the course of the last day or so.

“It’s been a pretty stressful 24 hours here but ultimately I felt I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to play in my hometown for my last year of junior,” said Evaschesen who was reached after a morning workout on Wednesday after the trade to Medicine Hat was finalized.

Evaschesen has decided to back away from his original commitment to RPI so he can play out his final year of eligibility in the Western Hockey League for the Tigers.

The draw of the Tigers for the 20-year old Evaschesen is multi-fold.

Born and raised in Medicine Hat, Evaschesen will be playing on a team which — on paper — is likely to challenge for a WHL title again this coming season.

The Ruck brothers — Liam and Markus — will continue to play for the Tigers this coming season as they prepare to embark on their professional hockey careers after being selected in the first and second rounds of the 2026 NHL Entry Draft by the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Evaschesen, though he would put up numbers worthy of interest by NHL clubs, would be passed-over by teams in this year’s NHL Draft.

But his 33 goals and 73 points in Kamloops were good enough to earn him an invitation to the Dallas Stars’ development camp over the summer.

“Honestly coming to Kamloops was life-changing for me,” said a reflective Evaschesen.

“It was special. Clouey [Shawn Clouston] helped me a lot and gave me an opportunity,” said Eveschesen, who caught the attention of the Blazers GM, who still has strong ties and connections to Medicine Hat, where he was also the head coach and GM for years before taking over in Kamloops.

“I want to be a pro hockey player, and playing there was that door opening for me,” confirmed Evaschesen in conversation with Radio NL Sports.

With the deal complete, the Blazers now have an opportunity to turn a mountain of WHL draft picks into current roster talent.

The Blazers own 12 picks in the 1^st five rounds of next summer’s WHL Draft.

This now includes two first-round picks, two second-round picks, three third and fourth-round selections, as well as a pair of fifth round selections to dangle as part of trade negotiations.

“We really hope and will attempt to use some picks to help [the roster],” continued Clouston.  “That said, we really, really like our young guys and want to build around them.”

The Blazers are set to open 2026 Training Camp on Thursday, August 27th at the the Sandman Centre, with player registration and fitness testing on that day.

A camp schedule is expected to be announced early next week.

As per tradition, scrimmages will be open to the public with activities continuing through the weekend and into Monday.