OHL Transaction Roundup

A couple of big fish moved a head of the January 11th Trade Deadline as Alex Nedeljkovic and Brendan Lemieux now have new addresses. We also had a line brawl in Sudbury and Canada's projected world junior goalie received a major suspension.

Suspensions

Sean Day Mississauga Steelheads - 4 Games - Checking from Behind

I am actually kind of shocked that this was only 4 games. He caught Dunn from behind in a very dangerous position about a foot or two away from the boards. He was immediately tossed as a result. In person it looked a lot worse than the Keigan Goetz head check i caught in person in Hamilton in early October but the league doesnt take checking from behind as seriously as head checking. Some have pointed to the lack of injury and that he is a first time offender which makes the Andrew Mangiapaine 8 gamer for a cross check even more confusing.


A video of the Slash can be seen here. 8 games which was similar to the Anthony Stolarz slash from 2 years ago. Personally I found the Stolarz slash worse but with Blackwood leaving for the world junior camp anything less would not have punished him as he is missing 8 games while away with team canada. His suspension will however leave him out of Canada's first 2 games at the WJC.


Julius Nattinen, Kevin Leblanc Barrie Colts - 2 Games - fight
Chad Heffernan Sudbury Wolves - 2 games - fight

In the same game as the Blackwood slash there was a line brawl which lead to 3 auto suspensions. Nattinen picked up his for being the 3rd man in a fight while Heffernan and Leblanc got theirs for being the 2nd fight in the same stoppage. Webster and Cummings also received misconducts for being the 2nd fight but those must have been rescinded as neither were suspended.

Jalen Smereck Oshawa Generals - 2 Games - Slewfoot

It has been about 2 weeks since we last had a slewfoot but we were due. Smereck was guilty of the offence on Sunday in Sudbury (what a run for the Wolves 4 suspensions for their opponents in 2 games).

Trades

Flint
Alex Nedeljkovic
Josh Wesley

to 

Niagara

Brent Moran
2nd '17
2nd '18 Gue
2nd '21
3rd '18
3rd '19

Breakdown

Niagara upgrades their team between the pipes and solidifies what was already one of the top grouping of defensemen in the Eastern Conference. Flint adds to their large stash of 2nd round draft picks (9 in next 5 years + 2 in 2021). Some have felt Flint got too little for Nedeljkovic but With the goalie market the way it is he wasnt worth more than 2 2nds. Add the 1 2nd 2 3rds and Moran who gives Flint a strong OA option next season and it is a very fair haul for the Firebirds.

Saginaw

Troy Henley

to 

Peterborough

8th '17

Breakdown

Former 2nd round pick who won an OHL cup with the Oakville Rangers returns to the OHL after spending the start of this season in the GOJHL. Has yet to find a groove in the OHL but the Pete's are hoping they can unlock some of the potential he showed as a minor midget

London

Ryan Valentini

to 

Sudbury

2nd '19

Breakdown

How London is able to squeeze 2nd round picks out of teams for FA pick ups with only 24 games of OHL expierience is beyond me. Anyways he has absolutly torn up the GOJHL this year when he hasnt been with London with 26 points in 14 games. He will have a chance to get a lot of ice time in Sudbury and help shoulder the load with Levin and Sokolov.

Oshawa

Liam Devine

to

Kitchener

6th '18

Breakdown

With Opilka likely gone for a month to the world juniors and Dawson Carty still nursing an injury the Rangers needed an Insurance policy behind '99 Luke Richardson. Has suited up for Elmira in the GOJHL this year appearing in 9 games and has a .919 SV%

Barrie

Brendan Lemieux
3rd '17 WSR
4th '20

to 

Windsor

Anthony Stefano
3rd '19
2nd '21

Breakdown

Windsor gets fantastic value for Lemieux in this trade only deleting Anthony Stefano from their roster while essentially downgrading from a 2nd round pick to a 4th round pick. By giving up Stefano you have to wonder if he was in the teams OA plans next season. With Chatfield and Sanvido you already had 2 spots spoken for. From the Colts perspective they are 11-4 this year without Lemieux so they add an OA asset for next year in Stefano and with only 3 2nds over the next 5 seasons they add an extra in 2021 if they decide to add before the deadline. Although by adding a 2nd so far down the road you have to wonder if the Colts are thinking about taking a shot at hosting the Mem Cup 4 years down the road. They have tossed their hat in the ring a few times but have come up short so you know it is something that interests ownership.

Windsor

Liam Murray

to 

Kingston

3rd '17

Breakdown

Murray gives the Fronts roster its 9th defenseman. Although 2 are '99s and and McKeown is on his way to Team Canada's world junior camp. Murray wont set the world on fire with his offense but his stay at home style will help solidify the backed of the Fronts D. The Spits get antoher pick they can use as trade bait if they plan on taking a mem cup run next season.


Commitments

Jaimen Allison - Oshawa Generals

A 6th round pick for the Gens in the 2015 priority selection he has been playing in the OJHL for the Mississauga Chargers. He is the 4th '99 to make his debut with the Generals this season appearing with them in their game against the Battalion Last night (Thursday) finishing pointless but was a +1.