Warriors swap forwards with Salmon Arm
West Kelowna acquires 18-year-old, Kowalski, from Silverbacks for Mostat
Once a top prospect dominating the B.C. Major Midget League, Matt Kowalski’s junior career hasn’t been as productive to date.
The West Kelowna Warriors are hoping a change of scenery will help the 18-year-old forward rediscover his offensive prowess.
The Warriors acquired Kowalski, a Vernon product, from the Salmon Arm Silverbacks on Friday in exchange for over-age forward Logan Mostat.
“Acquiring Matt, we hope to play him in a role that will allow him to be an offensive player,” Warriors general manager and head coach Rylan Ferster said in a news release. “He has proven in the past to be a scorer and we are hopeful he can find that touch in West Kelowna.”
Kowalski played parts of two seasons in the BCHL with the Nanaimo Clippers before getting sent to Salmon Arm earlier in the off-season as part of the future considerations for Josh Blanchard, a Kelowna product traded to Nanaimo at the Jan. 10 deadline.
In 56 regular-season games with the Clippers, the 5-foot-9, 150-pound Kowalski netted nine goals and 16 points.
The previous season, Kowalski was lighting up the BCMML with the Okanagan Rockets — racking up 17 goals and 42 points in just 23 games — and was leading the league in scoring before getting called up by Nanaimo midway through the 2015-16 campaign.
Kowalski managed just one goal and two points in 12 regular-season games with the Clippers and was held off the scoresheet in his lone playoff appearance in 2016.
Mostat, 20, was acquired by the Warriors on Dec. 3, 2016 from the Surrey Eagles and played 60 games between the two teams this past season.
The Salmon Arm native totalled 18 goals and 42 points in the regular season, along with 43 penalty minutes. That included seven goals, 18 points and 22 PIMs in 29 games for West Kelowna.
Mostat added an assist in four playoff games, as the Warriors were swept by the Merritt Centennials in the first round.
The Warriors will be back on the ice in late August for training camp.
On Thursday, the Silverbacks hired Scott Atkinson as their new head coach under GM Troy Mick.