In light of last week’s major deal in the Ontario Hockey League that saw the Niagara IceDogs acquire Jason Robertson and Jacob Paquette from the Kingston Frontenacs, the price has been set.
And for the Frontenacs, the deal helps the rebuild for a team that went all-in last season.
The Frontenacs dealt 15 draft picks last season in various deals, including six and two more conditional picks to the Windsor Spitfires in a deal that brought Gabriel Vilardi and Sean Day to Kingston.
The Robertson/Paquette deal is the start of the rebuild and it’s a very good start.
In total, the Frontenacs dealt 12 picks in the first five rounds of the draft in deals last year. Those picks exclude first-round picks, which OHL teams can’t move.
To put it further into perspective, Kingston dealt a third in 2021 and a second in 2023 to London for Max Jones as well as a third in 2019 and a second in 2020 also to London for Cliff Pu in a separate deal.
The Vilardi deal saw Kingston move second-rounders in 2020, 2022, 2024, and 2025 along with third-rounders in 2020 and 2023 to Windsor. If Vilardi returns to the OHL this season, second-rounders in 2027 and 2028 will also head Windsor’s way.
Last week’s deal gives Kingston seven picks in the opening three rounds alone — four second-round picks and three more in the third round.
One has to think that some teams that are still in the mix going forward may reconsider their stance on whether to buy or sell at the trade deadline considering how high the bar has seemingly been sent.
For a team like the Spitfires, who boast arguably the OHL’s top goaltender in Michael DiPietro and have a 12-12-1-1 record, the price for one of the league’s best could be too good to pass up.
General Manager Warren Rychel has done a quality job when it comes to the trade market in recent years and has a player that contending teams will inquire about as the deadline approaches.
On the flip side, the OHL’s hottest team, the Ottawa 67’s, could look to answer the bell following Niagara’s deal.
The top team in Ontario as we approach December, the 67’s are happy with the roster as it sits, but that doesn’t mean the team will stand pat either.
It will come down to who the team will look to add and the potential cost going forward. The bar has been set. And it’s been set quite high.
[relatedlinks]
BOOST IN DRUMMONDVILLE
The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League’s Drummondville Voltigeurs got quite a boost over the weekend with the return of Maxime Comtois by the Anaheim Ducks.
At 18-6-1-0 and in first in the QMJHL’s Central Division already, Comtois adds to an already solid lineup in Drummondville that includes a pair of first-round NHL picks in Joseph Veleno (Detroit) and Nicolas Beaudin (Chicago).
A second-round pick of the Ducks, Comtois played in 10 games with Anaheim, scoring two goals and seven points while also playing in four games with the club’s American League affiliate in San Diego on a conditioning stint due to an injury in late October.
Comtois was acquired by the Voltiguers in June from the Victoriaville Tigres along with overage Felix Lauzon.
Comtois scored 44 goals and 85 points in 54 games last winter with the Tigres.
[snippet ID=3322139]
RAIDERS SCARY GOOD
Every night just seems to be another day at the office for the Western Hockey League’s Prince Albert Raiders.
Following weekend action, the league leaders have now won 16 straight and have a 23-1-0-0 record.
A team that has scored an impressive 119 goals this season, it’s even more impressive that the Raiders have given up just 40 goals through 24 games.
To put that into perspective, the Vancouver Giants have given up the second-fewest goals this season at 55.
We talked about teams in Ontario making the decision on how to proceed when it comes to the trade deadline and with the Raiders playing this well, management will have some decisions to make when it comes to how to approach the deadline in the West and exactly how to add without disrupting the chemistry of the top team in the country.
