On Friday, the OHL had their trade deadline. Let’s catch you up to speed on which prospects went where.
Player (New Team, Draft Eligible or What Farm System They Are In)
- Ryan Suzuki (Saginaw, Carolina Hurricanes)
- Martin Hugo Has (Guelph, Washington Capitals)
- Akil Thomas (Peterborough, Los Angeles Kings)
- Cameron Butler (Niagara, Draft Eligible)
- Philip Tomasino (Oshawa, Nashville Predators)
- Serron Noel (Kitchener, Florida Panthers)
- Matej Pekar (Sudbury, Buffalo Sabres)
- Anthony Tabak (Barrie, Draft Eligible)
- Evan Vierling (Barrie, Draft Eligible)
- Riley Piercey (Flint, Draft Eligible)
- Tyler Tucker (Flint, St. Louis Blues)
- Cameron Peters (Niagara, Draft Eligible)
Saginaw, Peterborough, Oshawa, Kitchener and Sudbury were quite aggressive in adding talent prior to the deadline.
Peterborough continued to add star power as they brought Akil Thomas to town. Thomas will now suit up alongside Liam Kirk (Arizona Coyotes), Nick Robertson (Toronto Maple Leafs), Zach Gallant (San Jose Sharks), Mason McTavish (2021 Draft Eligible) and Semyon Der-Arguchintsev (Toronto Maple Leafs). The Petes have a loaded forward group and they needed an addition to try to claim first place in the East.
For Thomas, the move to Peterborough might just be what the World Junior champion needed. Thomas seems to be struggling this season in compared to last season. Granted, he had been playing for a Niagara team, who has not had much luck this season. With the move to Peterborough, he could potentially suit up alongside Kirk, McTavish and/or Robertson. If Thomas has the opportunity to play alongside one or two of those forwards, you have to imagine that his production will rise.
Oshawa countered Peterborough’s trade by adding Philip Tomasino. The Generals have so much offensive depth with the Tomasino trade. Oliver Suni (2020 Draft Eligible), Tyler Tullio (2020 Draft Eligible) and Allan McShane (Montreal Canadiens) have been lights out this season, but the Generals needed another forward line to take charge. With Tomasino joining Oshawa, the Generals can move McShane down and have the Canadiens prospect help pioneer the second line.
So far this season, Tomasino has been lights out. In 36 games with the Niagara IceDogs, Tomasino has recorded 22 goals and 35 assists. With Tullio and Suni, Tomasino has the chance to pile on point after point.
While the Petes and the Generals made significant trades, Sudbury was quite busy too. The Sudbury Wolves are doing everything possible to win right now. The Wolves are prepared to lose Quinton Byfield to a NHL club next season and want to make the most out of Byfield’s time in Sudbury. With that being said, Sudbury wanted to make a splash and add some more forward depth. They struck a deal with the Barrie Colts and acquired Matej Pekar. Pekar can play either center or right wing. If the Wolves choose to, they could pair Byfield with Pekar and possibly David Levin (No NHL Rights) to create one dominant line. Given that the Wolves have Blake Murray, there is not a dire need to have Pekar play center. So, that could open up a role on Byfield’s right side.
In the Western Conference, Saginaw and Kitchener were busy working the phones. Saginaw added Ryan Suzuki at the deadline and are now poised to make a huge run. Their forward group now has Danil Antropov (2020 Draft Eligible), Cole Perfetti (2020 Draft Eligible), Damien Groulx (Minnesota Wild), Cole Coskey (New York Islanders) and now Suzuki. This forward group is easily the best in the West and will make a splash in the OHL playoffs. While it is far from a guarantee that Saginaw will be at the Memorial Cup in Kelnowa, British Columbia, their front office made sure that the Spirit have a fighting chance to be there. Last night, Suzuki made his debut and centered the top line alongside Perfetti and Coskey. With Perfetti and Coskey by Suzuki’s side, Suzuki will be centering the best forward line in the OHL.
The Kitchener Rangers inked Serron Noel at the trade deadline. The Rangers do not have the explosive forward depth that their Western rivals, the Wolves have. So, they worked the phones and landed a sniper in Noel. Noel’s performance in Oshawa this season has been rocky. While he has been a point per game player, his production is nowhere close to what it was last season. The Rangers are hoping that Noel coming to Kitchener will help get Noel back to where he was in 2018-19. Plus, Kitchener could use another scorer as Greg Meireles (Florida Panthers), Liam Hawel (No NHL Rights), Jonathan Yantsis (No NHL Rights) and Riley Damiani (Dallas Stars) could benefit from some reinforcements.
Thanks for reading my prospect ramblings post. If you would like to follow me on Twitter, my handle is @JoshTessler_