Hurricanes Trim Pre-Seaosn Roster to 25 Players
Published on September 10, 2025 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Lethbridge Hurricanes News Release
LETHBRIDGE, AB - The Lethbridge Hurricanes Hockey Club have announced they have trimmed their pre-season roster to 25-players after re-assigning goaltender Brody Rotar and forward Tyler Deakos while placing overage forward Trae Johnson on Western Hockey League Waivers.
Johnson, 20, has cleared WHL Waivers. The Martensville, SK, product was originally acquired by the Hurricanes in July 2024 from the Kelowna Rockets. He appeared in all 68 regular season games with the 'Canes in 2024-2025 setting career-highs in goals (7), assists (13), points (20) and penalty minutes (92). Johnson added five points (2g-3a) along with eight penalty minutes in 16 post-season games last year helping the 'Canes to the Eastern Conference Championship Series.
The 6 '1, 177-pound forward has skated in 255 regular season WHL games amassing 52 points (17g-35a) along with 260 penalty minutes with the Hurricanes, Rockets and Brandon Wheat Kings. Johnson, who was originally drafted by the Wheat Kings in the second-round (35th overall), collected seven points (4g-3a) with 18 penalty minutes in 34 career WHL playoff games.
"Johnny was such a great soldier for our organization," said Hurricanes General Manager Peter Anholt. "He was a great teammate and was a big, big part of our team last season with his competitiveness and leadership. We really wish Trae and his family the best moving forward."
Rotar, 16, will be assigned to the Creston Valley Thunder Cats of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League. The Creston, BC, product was drafted by the Hurricanes in the fifth-round (102nd overall) in the 203 WHL Prospects Draft. He appeared in one pre-season game with the 'Canes posting an 0-1-0-0 record with a 6.00 goals against average and an .813 save percentage.
The 6 '2, 199-pound goaltender appeared in 23 regular season games with the Lethbridge U18 Hurricanes AAA team in 2024-2025 posting a record of 4-12-6 with a 4.15 GAA and an .881 SV%. Rotar went 7-7-0 with a 3.91 GAA and an .897 SV% with one shutout in 18 games at the U17 level with the Edge Academy in 2023-2024.
"We are happy with Brody's progress since we drafted him in 2023 and we feel that he still has a lot of potential as a young goaltender for our organization, " said Anholt. "We think that Brody going and playing a lot at a lower level will continue to help his development and we will certainly be monitoring his progress as the season goes while keeping him as an affiliate for this year."
Deakos, 18, has been assigned to the Drumheller Dragons of the Alberta Junior Hockey League. The Canmore, AB, product was originally drafted by the Saskatoon Blades in the seventh-round (149th overall) in the 2022 WHL Draft. He skated in two pre-season games with the Hurricanes going pointless with a minus-1 rating. Deakos recorded 33 points (17g-16a) along with 31 penalty minutes in 28 regular season games with the Airdrie CFR Bisons U18 AAA team in 2024- 2025 while adding three points (2g-1a) in three playoff games. The 6 '1, 175-pound forward also appeared in two games with the Dragons as an affiliate last year.
"We'd like to thank Tyler for his work ethic through our camp," added Anholt. "His play made it a competitive camp, but he was in tough against some young, talented players. We 'd like to wish him the best moving forward."
The Hurricanes now have a total of two goaltenders, eight defencemen and 15 forwards on their pre-season roster.
Lethbridge will continue the 2025 ENMAX Pre-Season schedule on Friday when they visit the Red Deer Rebels at 7:00pm at Marchant Crane Centirum. The Hurricanes will conclude the exhibition schedule on Saturday when they welcome the Calgary Hitmen at 6:00pm at the VisitLethbridge.com Arena. Tickets for the home pre-season game can be purchased for $10.00 by visiting the VisitLethbridge.com Arena Ticket Centre, by calling 403-329-SEAT (7328) or online at www.visitlethbridgearena.ca. Season Tickets for the 2025-2026 regular season are still available for purchase while Single Game Tickets for the new season will go on sale on Friday, September 12th at 10:00am. Tickets can be purchased by visiting the Yates Memorial Theatre and VisitLethbridge.com Arena Ticket Centre, by calling 403-329-SEAT (7328) or online at www.visitlethbridgearena.ca. Catch up on all the latest on the Lethbridge Hurricanes by visiting the team's website at www.lethbridgehurricanes.com, and/or follow on Twitter @WHLHurricanes.
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