OHL Rumor Roundup

Photo courtesy of the Ontario Hockey League's official website

By Todd Cordell (@ToddCordell)

I haven’t had much time to do a writeup here at TheHockeyGuys as between the holidays and everything else going on at this time of the year, it’s been quite hectic. With that said, the Ontario Hockey League’s trade deadline is next Tuesday and there is a lot of talk and trade rumors floating around right now. Here’s the latest as well as my thoughts on a pretty significant trade made recently by the Barrie Colts and Saginaw Spirit.

Sting looking to make a splash

For those that follow the OHL closely, this won’t come as much of a surprise but the Sarnia Sting really like their team this year and they want to go for it all. They have their sights set on quite a few big name players that could be available, and the question right now is not if the Sting will land a big name player but how many they will land.

Several reports suggest that they have agreed in principle to a trade with the Kingston Frontenacs that will bring Ryan Spooner to the Sting. It is believed sixteen year old Ryan Kujawinski will be going the other way.

It’s worth noting that the Sting are also in talks with the Windsor Spitfires about defenseman Adrian Robertson, who I really like. They are also believed to be in the market for a big name veteran goaltender.

Petes undecided as to what they’ll do at the deadline

The trade deadline is a week away and Petes General Manager, and former NHLer, Dave Reid is still not sure which direction his team will be going in. I exchanged a couple texts with him and asked that exact question, and he told me that he’s “not sure at this point”. I also asked Reid if it was a fair assessment to suggest that the trade market and offers he receives will determine what his team does, and he never objected to it.

The Petes, in case you were wondering, currently sit 7th in the Eastern Conference but are just three points out of fifth.

London won’t trade Jarred Tinordi

For some reason rumors have been circulating as of late that Knights defenseman, and Habs prospect, Jarred Tinordi might be available. Those reports, as expected, appear to be false as Knights General Manager and Head Coach, Mark Hunter, told Ryan Pyette of the London Free Press that he will not trade Tinordi.

This isn’t really much of a surprise considering the Knights currently sit in first place in the Ontario Hockey League.

Colts trade with Saginaw shows they want to win

The other day the Barrie Colts and Saginaw Spirit completed a traded that shows the Barrie Colts are serious about contending this year. In case you missed it, the Colts traded 2012 draft eligible players Eric Locke and Clint Windsor to Saginaw in exchange for Ryan O’Connor and Bruins prospect Anthony Camara.

While the Colts gave up some solid youth in this trade, I do really like it for them. They acquired an established veteran puck-moving defenseman in Ryan O’Connor, and some much needed grit up front in Anthony Camara.

O’Connor, who played for the Colts just a few years ago, will come in and become the team’s PP QB in place of young and inexperience defenseman Aaron Ekblad. While Ekblad, who isn’t draft eligible until 2014, has done a nice job in that role, you don’t want a rookie defenseman quarterbacking your powerplay in the playoffs, especially if you’re serious about winning. Rookie defenseman make mistakes, and in the playoffs you want to limit those as much as possible.

Camara’s role on the Colts will be to provide some grit and experience to the Colts forward group. While he can, and likely will, chip in offensively from time to time, the Colts acquired him for his grit and experience.

It’s been a hectic couple days in the OHL, and it will continue to be that way until the trade deadline passes by next Tuesday.

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Email: NHLToddCordell@Gmail.com