Bruce Bennett
The Calgary Flames have acquired left-winger Roman Horak and a pair of second-round draft picks from the New York Rangers in exchange for defenceman Tim Erixon and a fifth-round draft pick in the upcoming draft.
The Flames moved Erixon, their first-round draft pick in 2009, because they were not able to come to contract terms with him. The second-round picks are projected to be 43rd and 57th overall.
"Once we realized that we were not going to be able to come to terms with Tim Erixon, we wanted to make sure we turned that pick into an asset," Flames general manager Jay Feaster said Wednesday in a statement.
"We are excited to be able to get a player of Roman's calibre in addition to landing two second-round picks in the upcoming draft."
Horak, from Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic, has played for the Western Hockey League's Chilliwack Bruins the last two years. The six-foot-one, 160-pound forward had 26 goals and 52 assists in 64 games last season. He was drafted in the fifth round (127th overall) by the Rangers in 2009.
Calgary chose Erixon 23rd overall in the draft two years ago. The son of former New York Ranger Jan Erixon won a silver medal at the world junior hockey championships with Sweden in 2009.