One morning last week, Tripp Fischer was just settling into his Grade 10 math class when the subject quickly turned to hockey.
Read more: Fischer, Reschny among leaders at WHL Cup
He received a phone call from Prince Albert Raiders general manager Curtis Hunt, advising Fischer he had just been traded to the Seattle Thunderbirds in a 12-piece Western Hockey League deal, an equation seemingly complex enough to befuddle even a math major.
“I asked the teacher if I could answer the call, because it was pretty important,” said Fischer, a Lloydminster Comprehensive High School student.
“I moved out to the hallway. Then, (Hunt) told me I got traded.”
Fischer, a 15-year-old forward with the U18 AAA Lloydminster Lancers, was one of the key prospects involved in a WHL deadline trade that included active major junior players and draft selections.
Most notably, Prince Albert acquired an NHL first-round draft choice in 18-year-old forward Braeden Cootes, the Vancouver Canucks’ prospect just back from representing Canada in the world junior hockey championship.
“It’s pretty cool,” Fischer said about being in such elite company. “Not right now to tell people, but when I’m older, just to say, if we’re watching that guy on TV, it’d be, like, ‘Yeah, I got traded for that guy, and I was a piece of his deal.’ It’s a pretty cool thing to say.”
The Raiders traded four players and four draft picks to secure the services of Cootes in Prince Albert’s push toward a WHL championship and a Memorial Cup berth. Those draft selections include first-rounders in 2026 and 2028.
As part of the blockbuster deal, Seattle also acquired two draft picks (a fourth and a sixth in 2026) and a conditional selection in the 2028 draft.
The Thunderbirds’ tangible assets are current WHL forward Ethan Bibeau, 19, and prospects Fischer, Knox Burton and Diego Gutierrez. Burton is a 16-year-old forward with Pilot Mound Hockey Academy’s U18 prep team in Manitoba. Gutierrez, 16, plays defence with the U.S. national U17 team.
Prince Albert selected Fischer in the third round of the 2025 WHL prospects draft, 52nd overall. He attended the major junior team’s training camp last fall, before beginning his U18 AAA rookie year with his hometown Lancers in the Alberta Elite Hockey League.
While his WHL rights have gone from a contending team in Prince Albert to a rebuilding club in Seattle, that might prove to be a fortuitous position for a young player trying to step into the WHL next season.
“Yeah, it’s exciting,” Fischer agreed. “I mean, being in P.A. would have been nice, just because it’s close (to home), but I’m definitely not mad about going to Seattle. It’s a good city, from what I’ve heard, and I don’t mind being away from home. I did it last year and it was pretty far. I’m excited, for sure.”
While billeting in British Columbia last season, Fischer captained Delta Hockey Academy’s U15 prep team, the Western division champion in the Canadian Sport School Hockey League.
The five-foot-11, 170-pound Fischer said Hunt, the Raiders’ GM, told him Thunderbirds’ management pushed for his inclusion in the multi-faceted deal.
“He said Seattle was pretty eager about getting me in the trade.”
In the short term, Fischer believes the relative discrepancy in competitiveness between Prince Albert and Seattle might work in his favour, at least as far as scouting his progress at the U18 AAA level.
“I don’t know,” he said. “The only difference I really see is maybe (the Thunderbirds) take an extra look, or talk to me a little bit more, just because they’re not so focused on going to the Mem Cup and winning that. So, they might take a little longer at me than say P.A. would, because (the Raiders) are a winning team and focused on winning that Mem Cup later in the year.”
Fischer said his goal for next year essentially remains the same as it was when he was Prince Albert property — he’ll go to Seattle’s camp and try to earn a roster spot for the 2026-27 season.
“I was planning and hoping to go to (the Raiders’) camp next year and get signed by them, but I guess my plan stays the same in Seattle. Just go to camp and show them what I have, kind of thing.”
Soon after the trade was made, he spoke with Seattle’s assistant general manager and was expecting a call from the GM within a few days. The Thunderbirds were playing a three-game swing through southern Alberta when they swung the mega-deal that brought them Fischer et al.
Cootes, the former Seattle captain, made his debut with Prince Albert last weekend.
Fischer, meanwhile, helped the Lancers win two more games at home. He has four goals and 16 points in 20 games, after his season was delayed for about a month because of a high-ankle sprain suffered in pre-season play.
He has carried a hot December into January, even though he’s not fully recovered from his injury.
“Yeah, it still bugs me from time to time,” he said. “I’ve still been doing my physio from when I hurt it, so it’s just been getting better and better and better. It hasn’t gotten worse.”
Fischer made his comeback near the end of October, just in time to represent Alberta in the U16 WHL Cup.
“Just a little bit of adversity is probably what they seen,” he said about his time with the Raiders’ organization. “Because I was hurt at the start of the year. Then, I kind of started to pick it up here lately.
“Even at (training) camp, they probably seen a little bit of adversity, just because I was struggling a little bit there, but I picked up as it kept going.”
Fischer is already familiar with a couple of fellow Thunderbirds’ prospects. Two of them were his Alberta teammates for the WHL Cup. Brook Haile, a defenceman with the U18 AAA Calgary Northstars, was Seattle’s first-round draft selection last May. Third-round pick Dylan Sherban is a forward with the South Alberta Hockey Academy U18 prep team.
Fischer welcomed the life experience that would come with moving stateside to play major junior hockey, just as his father Cole did at age 16 with the WHL’s Spokane Chiefs.
“It’s nice to know he kind of went through the same thing,” Tripp said. “If I play as a 16-year-old, he did the same thing in Spokane. It’s nice to have that guy in your corner.”
Cole Fischer went on to play two-plus seasons with Spokane and three years with the Kootenay Ice. Overall, he skated in three Memorial Cup championships, winning the national title in 2002 with Kootenay in his final year of junior.
Spokane’s contemporary ties to Lloydminster include the three Chiefs’ prospects who are Tripp Fischer’s teammates this season with the U18 AAA Lancers — 2024 draft choice Connor Nickle and 2025 picks Brody Sunderland and Josh Frazer.
LANCERS MAKE MORE GAINS
Fischer and the Lancers had a weekend to remember as they scored a pair of home-ice victories over two of the AEHL’s top teams.
Lloyd defeated the Fort Saskatchewan Rangers 4-3 in overtime Sunday, rallying from a 3-0 deficit in the second period to even the score. Kelton Doolaege scored three goals, including the winner 1:10 into OT, and Asher Ammann made 38 saves to record his first goaltending victory as a Lancer.
Rhett Romanchuk scored the other Lloyd goal and Frazer collected two assists as the Lancers improved their record to 8-14-4. It was the second time this season that they have beaten Fort Sask (19-6-3), which is tied with the Edmonton Junior Oilers Blue atop the North Division (19-5-3).
On Saturday, Lloyd scored a 3-1 victory over the Calgary Buffaloes (13-10-3). Romanchuk, with two points, Doolaege and Gavin Pratt tallied for the Lancers. Stran Edge blocked 18 shots as Lloyd outshot Calgary 31-19.
This weekend, the Lancers visit the Okotoks Oilers (11-12-3) on Saturday (Jan. 17) and the Airdrie Bisons (6-18-3) on Sunday (Jan. 18).
Read more: Fischer takes next step in Alberta tryouts
