Despite the pause, it does not change the Thunder Cats preparation for the rest of the season. Thunder Cats continue to make modifications to their roster sending defensemen 2001 defenseman Nick Dobson to the Kimberley Dynamiters for 2002 born 2-way forward Karsten Gorrill and future considerations.
Karsten Gorrill spent last season with the Notre Dame Argos major midget hockey club, where he was a teammate of current Thunder Cat Blake Hiltermann. Karsten’s two-way game was evident not only after spending 4 years at the Athol Murray College of Notre Dame, but evident in his contributions in shot attempts and his ability to suppress them defensively.
“Karsten was a very specific target of ours.” Commented General Manager and Head Coach Bill Rotheisler. “Karsten’s versatility provides us with the option to improve our left side, but also up the middle: We have a tremendous amount of skill on the right side and improving our left-handed depth up the middle was a big priority for us. In addition, Karsten’s analytics support our subjective evaluation of him”.
Associate Coach and Assistant General Manager Mark Readman commented: “Karsten is a skilled forward, has size and skates very well. Three things that don’t often come in one package. We are thrilled to have Karsten join us and it says allot to our players how committed we are to this season. This is a special and determined group and Karsten fits the same character traits”.
Although caught off guard by the move, Karsten is overly optimistic about his new team colours and new community. Gorrill commented: “I am looking forward to the new opportunity here in Creston. Hoping to see all the Thunder Cats fans in the rink soon!”.
Gorrill arrived in Creston today and will join the Thunder Cats upon successful completion of COVID-19 screening protocols.