Glen Sather continues to be busy in the trade market, making his third trade in three days. This time, he sent 2010 second round pick Christian Thomas to Montreal for 2008 second round pick Danny Kristo. Last season with Hartford, Thomas put together a line of 19-16-35, but was very inconsistent while adapting to the higher speed of the AHL.

Kristo, a 5’11, 185 lb forward who just finished his senior year at the University of North Dakota, put together a line of 26-26-52 in his senior season. Kristo has a World Junior Gold (2010), an NCAA Championship (2010), and a WCHA rookie of the year (2010). Per Habs Eyes on the Prize, Kristo is very skilled, fast, and gritty. But his development path was a shaky one, as rarely do players stay in college through their senior year, and Kristo’s size and strength have been questioned regularly.

This is a bit of a surprising trade, as it was believed that the organization was very high on Thomas. However, the organization was once high on Ethan Werek, and they sent him packing for the highly touted Oscar Lindberg. I don’t know much about Kristo, but I like what I’ve read so far.

Leslie Treff at Hockeys Future noted that his off ice issues kept his value low, but he’s worked on those and is now more mature (Note: The “no maturity” is a typo that she clarifies in her next tweet), and still has that high end skill that could make him an interesting player to watch as camp begins in September. Corey Pronman also thinks the Rangers got better in this deal.

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