Frank Sullivan's B.C. Hockey League audition with the Prince George Spruce Kings lasted just three games.
He lost his job to a 20-year-old three-year BCHL veteran defenceman who had a change of heart.
The Prince George Spruce Kings announced Wednesday they've sent the 19-year-old defenceman to the Grande Prairie Storm of the Alberta Junior Hockey League in a deal for future considerations.
Sullivan, a native of Fairfield, Conn., who played last season in Massachusetts for the Springfield Pics of the U.S. Premier Hockey League, missed the Spruce Kings' season-opening game against Wenatchee with an upper-body injury but played the past three games and was held pointless, with two penalty minutes.
"Frank is a good player and a good person, but with the return of Rylan Bechtel to our team I needed to free up a spot on the roster," said Kings general manager Mike Hawes, in a team release.
Not long after he was acquired in an Aug. 12 deal with the Cowichan Valley Capitals which sent 19-year-old defenceman Mitch Meek to Duncan, Bechtel told the Spruce Kings he had decided to quit hockey to join the workforce, but has since changed his mind.
The five-foot-10, 195-pound native of Chilliwack arrived in Prince George on Tuesday and practiced with the Kings Wednesday afternoon. Bechtel brings 173 games of BCHL experience after three seasons with the Capitals, having started out with the Chilliwack Chiefs. In 56 games with the Caps last season he had five goals, 42 points and 60 penalty minutes.
"Rylan had some time away from the game but he decided he really missed it and he's motivated to play and come up to play and he'll be in the lineup for us this weekend," said Hawes.
"He's one of the premier defencemen in the league and it was a big trade I was able to make in the summer so it was definitely a bit heartbreaking for us when he decided to retire. But that was shortlived when he decided he missed the game and he'd like to get a scholarship to an NCAA program.
"He's obviously going to be a pig part of things for us and with the start we've gotten off to, adding a player like Rylan is going to help."
The Kings are off to a disastrous 0-4 start and will try to find the win column Saturday in Chilliwack, where they play the Trail Smoke Eaters at the BCHL Showcase. The Kings face the Victoria Grizzlies on Sunday, also in Chilliwack.
