A big trade has shaken things up for the Port Hope Predators.

The Junior A club has shipped goaltender Billy Stone, forward Kyle Soder and defencemen Curtis Megginson and Sam Skura to the Blind River Beavers of the Northern Ontario Junior A Hockey League. In return, the club gets forward Travis Savard, defenceman Matt Webkamigad, a player to be named later and financial considerations.

“Savard brings skill, speed and playmaking,” said Port Hope General Manager Tim Clayden of his new find. “And (Webkamigad) is a good young prospect and an Ontario Hockey League draft pick.”

Aside from injecting new blood into the Predators lineup, the deal will provide new opportunities to the players that are heading the other way. Clayden expects that all four players will receive more ice time with their new team than they would have in Port Hope. In the case of Stone, he is in his final year of Junior A eligibility and is making a push for a scholarship. As such, he needs the lion share of playing time, whereas in Port Hope he was splitting the netminding duties with Spencer Finney.

Finney’s strong play so far this season made the GM comfortable with moving Stone, but he won’t be patrolling the net alone. Stone’s departure creates room for Akos Agardy, who was acquired from the Collingwood Blues last month for futures. Agardy played almost all of Collingwood’s games last season. On a weak team, he posted an 8-27-1 record with a 3.91 GAA and a save percentage of .898.

“He has proven he’s a starter,” said Clayden. “Spencer is going to challenge whatever goalie is here. He’s not quite there, but he’s developing into a go-to goalie.”

Coach Brendan O’Grady, meanwhile, looks forward to including the new additions to his lineup.

“Tim will bring in the guys we need to fit the puzzle,” he said.