The Fort McMurray Oil Barons have traded Forward Ryder Matter and Defenseman Jett McCullum to the Sherwood Park Crusaders in exchange for Forwards Evan Arnold, Ryan Arnold and Defenseman Cody Nordstrom.
Evan Arnold (03) has spent the previous three seasons with the Sherwood Park Crusaders producing 43 points (26 goals and 17 assists) in 55 regular season games last year. Younger brother Ryan (05) contributed 21 points (9 goals and 12 assists) in his second season with the Crusaders standing at 6’0″ weighing 193 lbs.
“We are thrilled to acquire the Arnold brothers and add them into our forward group for next season. When we recruited them a couple years ago to SP, we knew they were going to continue to develop and turn into solid players. Fast forward to today, and to be able to bring both in and address some of our needs up front is even better for us.” said Head Coach and General Manager Adam Manah. “Evan scored 26 goals last year and has really started to break out the past two seasons combining for 73 points. He was 2nd on his team in scoring and can help our PP as he brings intelligence, skill, and can zip pucks. We feel he has the tools to build on last year’s totals this season. On top of that, Evan is a player that can be relied upon in every situation whether it’s late game situations, special teams, or being hard to play against 5 on 5. Ryan got off to a hot start last season putting up 13 points in the first 16 games. He brings skill, a terrific shot, and can play down the middle or on the wing. He is versatile in every position and showed why he will be ready to take a big step next season as an 18 yr old with two years of experience in our league. Understanding how to use his big frame, protect pucks, and be hard to play against by creating offense off the rush or in the offensive zone. Both players bring the intangibles we need every night not only to make themselves successful, but to help our team have success.”
The Oil Barons also acquired Defenseman Cody Nordstrom who played in his rookie year last season suiting up in 33 games playing a shutdown role on the Crusaders back-end.
“To add another D to our back end that gives us depth, added size at 6’1, 185 lbs, and a player that plays hard, heavy, and is mean every time he steps on the ice is invaluable. We got to see Cody play physical against our guy’s last season and into the playoffs in round 1. He brings that nastiness to his game that forwards don’t want to play against. He is willing to bring the intangibles to his game by blocking shots on the PK and boxing out at net front. Cody will be hard to play against and will add toughness to our D core.” Said Manah.
Ryder Matter played 117 games over three years with the MOB from 2020-2023. Jett McCullum played in his first season with the Oil Barons last year dressing in 43 games.
The Fort McMurray Oil Barons would like to welcome Evan, Ryan, and Cody to the organization.
The Oil Barons would also like to thank Ryder and Jett for their contributions.