Hitmen swing 2 more big trades Saturday

The Calgary Hitmen made 3 trades this week, including 1 on Saturday for Red Deer forward Carson Birnie. (Photo: X@WHLHitmen)

The Hitmen are going for it.

Calgary’s WHL franchise announced a pair of trades Saturday designed to help it win now.

The first deal the Hitmen announced was that they've acquired defenceman Sawyer Mynio from the Seattle Thunderbirds in exchange for defenceman Linden Burrett, forward Sawyer  Mayes, a first-round and fourth-round draft pick in the 2025 WHL Prospects Draft and a first-round and fourth-round pick in the 2026 WHL Prospects Draft.

Mynio, in his fourth WHL season, was serving as co-captain of the Thunderbirds. He registered five goals and 14 assists in 18 games so far in the 2024-25 season. He's a 2023 third-round draft pick of the Vancouver Canucks who has over 40 games of post-season experience, including the 2023 WHL Championship and an appearance in the Memorial Cup.

Mynio will join the Hitmen when he returns from the IHF World Juniors in Ottawa, where he was part of Team Canada.

"We have acquired one of the top defencemen in the Western Hockey League," said Hitmen general manager Garry Davidson, in a release. "Sawyer will be a critical piece in our second half drive and in our pursuit of a playoff run."

A little while later, the club issued another media statement, announcing that it has acquired forward Carson Birnie from the Red Deer Rebels in exchange for 2007-born prospect Parker MacDougall, 2008-born prospect Ethan Dundas, a fifth-round pick in 2025 and a third-round pick in the 2026 WHL Prospects Draft.

Birnie, an assistant captain in Red Deer, has played 150 career games with the Rebels, notching 31 goals and 29 assists.

This year, he has nine goals and 10 assists in 35 games.

“Carson comes in with lots of experience and tools that will add to the depth of this team” said  Davidson. “He is a physical 6’1, 190-pound forward who will add presence and size to our forward group.”

The two Saturday deals came after a Thursday trade where the club acquired 20-year-old goaltender Daniel Hauser from the Wenatchee Wild.

In exchange, the Hitmen sent forward Maxim Muranov, the rights to 2007-born forward Mason Moe and 2009-born goaltender Mark Djomo, a third-round pick in the 2026 WHL Prospects Draft and a second-round pick in the 2027 draft.

Hauser, from Chestermere, has played four seasons with the Wenatchee Wild and Winnipeg Ice, appearing in 151 games with a goals against average (GAA) of 2.69 and a save percentage of 0.908.

Daniel Hauser prepares to make a save in a game against the Kelowna Rockets on Oct. 29, 2023. (Source: Russ Alman/Wenatchee Wild)

“Daniel is a high-quality goaltender who we believe will be an integral piece in our continued success through this second half of the season,” said Davidson.

“His experience over the course of his tenure in the WHL is extensive, including vast playoff experience and success.”

As a member of the Winnipeg Ice, Hauser led the club to two East Division Championships and a WHL Championship appearance in 2022-23.

Through 22 games this year, Hauser has posted a record of 8-9-2-1, with a GAA of 3.29 and a 0.901 save percentage.

Next year, he is committed to play for the University of Wisconsin Men’s Hockey program in the NCAA.

Next up for the new-look Hitmen is a Sunday matinee against the Regina Pats. The game started at 1 p.m.

With files from CTV’s Brendan Ellis