The Steinbach Pistons went into the first MJHL roster deadline of the season with a plan and came out a more experienced and talented team.

After adding forward Wyatt Hinson and trading Max Cavallini earlier in the week, General Manager Paul Dyck was far from done. In the fist move, he swung a deal with the Flin Flon Bombers. Steinbach acquired 20 year old defenseman Joseph Leonidas in exchange for 18 year old defenseman Troy Williams.

Leonidas is listed at 6' 185lbs and hails from Calgary, Alberta. He brings a offensive touch as he has tallied 13 goals, 46 assists for 59 points in 164 junior hockey. 

In the final move, the Pistons traded 18 year old forward Cody Merritt to the Fort Francis Lakers in exchange for Future Considerations.

Paul Dyck spoke on Friday morning about the moves. "Leonidas brings some experience to our back end. Over 200 games, extreme skill and a real asset to our power play. With that being said, he's not a one dimensional player but I think what will stick out is the skill set he does have."

When it came to moving out a player like Troy Williams, it was a decision that was not made lightly. "There are always difficult decisions, Troy was a player we identified last season as a guy we wanted to bring in. He's a player that has a bright future, there was a lot of dialog in our office and I know Flin Flon will be pleased to add him."

A trade that will be felt in the locker room was Merritt going to the Lakers, Dyck knows Merritt will get a good opportunity in a good program. "Cody is a high character, very coachable kid. This is for him to develop and get into the lineup as a regular basis. He's a player that was out more then he was in and as much as he was okay with that, for his own development, he needs to play. He was a big part of our room, very well liked by players and staff. I have nothing but positive memories of our time with Cody. Hopefully he can take his game to the next level in Fort Francis."

For Dyck, he admits that the past few games factored in to him making a decision to bring in Leonidas and 20 year old forward Wyatt Hinson. "We've maintained the position that if we can make moves to improve our team, we will do it. The game in Winnipeg was probably the last game of a stretch of games that we felt we needed to get grittier upfront, one of the reasons we brought in Hinson. He is extremely hardworking and brings it night in and night out. We needed to be more consistent with effort. Big picture for this year, it makes us a better club."

 The Pistons roster now stands at 22. Dyck is happy to have options when it comes to bringing in another player. "We will see what the next month brings. It's really hard to predict who's available or of anyone is coming down from the Western league. We want to be at 23 come January 10th. If we have the ability to add a player to enhance our chances down the stretch and into the playoffs, we will look into that."

Dyck also notes when the new players will make their Pistons debuts. "Hinson is in the line up tonight. He will skate with Drew Anderson and Julien Koga. Leonidas is on his way."