The Edmonton Oil Kings have added extensive playoff experience to their blueline ahead of Friday’s Western Hockey League trade deadline. General manager Kirt Hill acquired defenceman Carter Sotheran on Tuesday morning from the Portland Winterhawks in a trade for defenceman Niko Tsakumis, a first-round pick in the 2027 WHL Prospects Draft and a fourth-round pick in 2028. The 20-year-old Sotheran is sixth among WHL defencemen in scoring with six goals and 31 assists for 37 points in 37 games played before Tuesday’s deal. Hill said Sothern “will bring a strong two-way game with the ability to provide offence from the back end.” “He is a good skater who makes a good first pass and has shown an ability to play heavy minutes in every area of the game,” Hill said in a statement. Sotheran, who stands 6-foot-4 and weighs 199 lb., has played deep into the WHL playoffs the last two seasons, scoring 10 goals and 16 assists in 32 post-season games. The Sanford, Man., product has played 237 regular-season WHL games. He was taken in the fifth round of the 2023 NHL Draft by the Philadelphia Flyers. The Oil Kings (26-7-3-1) sit third in the Eastern Conference standings and return to action on Wednesday against the host Swift Current Broncos (9-26-2-0). Edmonton lost in the first round of last year’s WHL playoffs to the Prince Albert Raiders after sitting out of the post-season the previous two campaigns. They won the league championship in 2022. Later Tuesday, the Oil Kings shipped stay-at-home defenceman Parker Alcos, a third-round pick in the 2026 CHL Import Draft and a seventh-round pick in the 2028 WHL Prospects Draft to the Kelowna Rockets for a first-round pick in the 2026 CHL Import Draft, a second-round pick in the 2027 WHL Prospects Draft, and a third-round pick in the 2026 WHL Prospects Draft. Alcos, 19, appeared in 31 games with the Oil Kings this season, scoring two goals and 12 assists for 14 points and a plus-29 rating. The Vancouver Canucks picked the six-foot-four, 186-lb. Port Moody, B.C., product in the sixth round of the 2024 NHL Draft. Tuesday’s trades come a day after the Oil Kings acquired Aaron Obobaifo and a conditional third-round pick in the 2029 WHL Prospects Draft from the Vancouver Giants for Joe Iginla and a conditional third-round pick in the 2028 WHL Prospects Draft in an exchange of five-foot-10, 175-lb. forwards. The Calgary-born Obobaifo, 18, scored 10 goals and 16 assists for 26 points in 37 games for the Giants this season. Iginla, 17, is the youngest son of NHL Hall of Famer Jarome Iginla. He scored 11 goals and 10 assists for 21 points in his second season with the Oil Kings before Monday’s trade.
