Tomis Marinkovic’s first game as a Vancouver Giants forward will be against his former team.
On Dec. 30, Giants announced Marinkovic, 19, had been acquired from the Calgary Hitmen in a trade deal that sends Connor Dale to Alberta.
Marinkovic was expected to make his Giants debut at home on Wednesday, Jan. 3 against the Calgary Hitmen, which will be the Giants last game at the Langley Events Centre until Jan. 21, following a two-week road trip to Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
Both Marinkovic, a Coquitlam native, and Dale, who is from St. Albert, are returning to their home provinces.
Marinkovic played in 56 games last season for the Hitmen, scoring five goals and adding 11 assists for 16 points before the 6-foot-2, 190 lb. forward went to play for Grand Prairie Storm of the Alberta Junior Hockey League.
At the time, Storm GM Mark Bomersback said “the most exciting thing about adding Tomis is we aren’t just adding a big strong power forward with good skill, but we are adding a great individual that’s going to be another key part in the dressing room.”
Marinkovic was AJHL Player of the Month for October 2023, a month where he scored 10 goals, added 11 assists and compiled an eight-game point streak.
Prior to his time in Alberta, Marinkovic played for the Vancouver Northeast Chiefs U18 AAA team, where he was the captain in the 2021-22 season, led the club in scoring, and helped them advance to the Telus Cup, where he recorded four goals in five games.
Dale was acquired by the Vancouver Giants as part of a big January trade with Winnipeg.
Under terms of the deal with the ICE, Giants captain Zack Ostapchuk went to Winnipeg in return for a trio of first-round draft picks, in 2024, 2025 and 2026, along with Dale, 2003-born forward Skyler Bruce, prospects Owen Brees (a 2022 5th rounder) and Hudson Landmark (a 2022 8th rounder), plus a 2024 5th round draft pick.
Giants will wrap up the year in Portland this Sunday afternoon Dec. 31 against the Winterhawks at Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Puck drops at 5 p.m.
Vancouver is 5-2 in their last seven road games but 2-5 in their last seven contests overall. They currently sit in eighth place in the Western Conference.
Portland has won seven of their last eight games and currently sit in third place in the Western Conference.
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