Bulls keep dealing right up to deadline

For anyone who hadn’t been to a San Francisco Bulls game in a few weeks, last night’s fete against the Alaska Aces held the essence of an entirely new hockey season.

While The City’s resident hockey team still has a handful of familiar heavyweights on its roster — like team captain Scott Langdon and local boy Hans Benson  — the team’s multitude of recent trades has brought many new faces to the Cow Palace ice.

Goalie Thomas Heemskerk put the shuffle of players in the clearest of terms Wednesday night:

“We’ve (had) some good trades. I mean, we’ve lost some friends. … Hopefully this is the end of the trade action and we can just start to bond and gel.”

Hopefully the gelling can commence after the ECHL trade deadline arrived Thursday at noon. The Bulls were active up to the very end, announcing that they acquired forward Nick Walsh from the Gwinnett Gladiators.

The transaction completes the trade that sent former Bulls captain Justin Bowers and the rights to defenseman Sacha Guimond to Gwinnett back in January.

Walsh, 24, will join the likes of new acquisitions such as Yanni Gourde and Bryan Cameron, both of whom contributed to the lone goal in the Bulls’ 2-1 loss to the Aces. Despite not racking up a win, Quebec-born Gourde had only positive things to say about bonding with his new teammates:

“Everybody’s a good guy here! It’s fun to play with them. There are a lot of French guys so the communication is easier for me. And I’ve been talking with coach and there is easy communication, so that’s a great thing right now.”

The Bulls continue a three-game home stand against the Alaska Aces Friday, March 8. The puck drops at 7:15 p.m.