In a battle for top spot in the Ontario Hockey League’s East Division with the Peterborough Petes and Oshawa Generals, the Ottawa 67’s have made a major move to add a key piece to their roster.
On Sunday morning, the team announced the acquisition of forward Joseph Garreffa from the Kitchener Rangers in exchange for three draft picks, all third rounders.
The over-age forward decided over the summer that he wanted to turn pro instead of returning for an over-age season with the Rangers.
He attended the rookie camp of the Los Angeles Kings but pro offers didn’t pan out.
With the over-age situation in Kitchener set after the team acquired Liam Hawel from Guelph, a move would need to be made with Garreffa’s potential return to junior, leading to the weekend deal with the 67’s.
Garreffa is coming off a strong season offensively in 2018-19 with the Rangers.
The 20-year-old scored 32 goals and 87 points in 68 games with the Rangers last season and made a strong first impression with the 67’s on Sunday.
Playing on a line with Austen Keating and 2020 prospect Marco Rossi, Garreffa had a goal and two assists as the 67’s beat the Hamilton Bulldogs in overtime.
[relatedlinks]
RYCHEL ADJUSTING TO LIFE AS A COACH
Life behind the bench in the OHL isn’t easy, just ask Warren Rychel.
The former NHLer took over as head coach of the Barrie Colts for this season after the team announced that Dale Hawerchuk would not serve in the role due to health reasons.
Rychel said recently he’s enjoyed the role with the Colts this season.
“There’s so much action going on,” Rychel said. “I love the action. Even when I played, I loved the action. As a GM, I loved being active. We’ve got a pretty exciting team. We’ve got to find our identity and break a lot of bad habits.”
RECORD-SETTING SUNDAY
Sunday was a day of new records for the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League’s Sherbrooke Phoenix.
Pittsburgh Penguins prospect Samuel Poulin established a new team record on Sunday with eight points in Sherbrooke’s 9-4 win over Shawinigan on Sunday.
Poulin finished the day with two goals and six assists.
Over-age forward Felix Robert also set a new team record in the game, scoring 10 seconds into the contest.
Robert’s goal topped the previous record of 16 seconds, set by Daniel Audette in 2016.
GROWING THE GAME
In the Western Hockey League, the radio broadcast for the Calgary Hitmen’s game on Sunday afternoon against the Medicine Hat Tigers was available in Punjabi, a franchise first as part of the 25th anniversary celebrations for the team.
Harnarayan Singh of Hockey Night in Canada joined the broadcast, which was made possible with the support of Sportsnet 960 The Fan in Calgary, who hold the Hitmen’s radio broadcast rights.
