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Knight Watch: London has won seven of its last eight; Knights acquire Braidy Wassilyn for Noah Read; Gatto gets first shutout; Rematch of OT win over Ottawa ahead; Three East teams in four days.
The London Knights completed a big midweek trade just prior to embarking on their first lengthy road trip of the season. Coming to London is draft-eligible forward Braidy Wassilyn from the IceDogs. Departing for Niagara is Noah Read, a sophomore forward who produced 26 points in 45 games last year.
Wassilyn was the IceDogs’ fourth overall pick in the 2024 OHL draft, and he’s eligible for the upcoming NHL draft next spring. The last time the Knights acquired a former fourth overall pick from Niagara, it worked out pretty well. That was Sam Dickinson back in August 2022.
Read, meanwhile, was selected by the Anaheim Ducks in the third round of last year’s NHL draft following an impressive rookie season. He’s had a bit of a slow start this year, with just two points through 10 games. Read is from the Niagara area, and he played for the St. Catharines Falcons prior to joining the Knights.
London defenseman Henry Brzustewicz says the Knights are certainly excited about the new addition, but it’s also bittersweet to see a good friend get traded.
“It’s a huge loss for our room and for our team. He’s such a great guy,” Brzustewicz told Gameday London. “But bringing in a player like Wassilyn, obviously a very highly touted player … we’re excited about that.”
Wassilyn is a year younger than Read. He’s currently committed to Boston University for next season, although that could change. He has two goals and five points through six games this season.
It’s the second trade between the two teams this season after the Knights sent defenseman Liam Spencer to Niagara. London also acquired Max Crete from the IceDogs in June.
It was another weekend and another overtime needed for the London Knights, who have required an extra period an OHL-high seven times this season. The latest was a 3-2 win over Ottawa last Friday. Ben Wilmott scored the winner. It was his second overtime goal of the season.
The Knights will face the 67’s again this weekend, and Brzustewicz expects another tight one.
“They gave us a good game. We have to come out strong. We know they’re going to play well in front of their fans,” Brzustewicz said. “We just got to be ready for the game and try to take it to them early.”
This weekend will be the first without a home game, as the Knights hit the road for their yearly trip east with games in Peterborough, Ottawa, and Kingston.
Winners of seven of their last eight games, with the only loss being an overtime defeat, the Knights have climbed into the CHL Top Ten rankings in the number 10 spot.
UPCOMING GAMEDAYS
Thursday (Oct. 30, 7:05pm) at Peterborough Petes (6-6-1-1, 6th in Eastern Conference)
The Petes have two very good import forwards in Adam Novotny and Leon Kolarik, with seven goals and 13 points, respectively. Novotny is a potential first round pick in this year’s NHL draft. Overager Matthew Soto recently recorded his 100th career OHL assist. He leads the team with 14 points. Two local players factor into the Petes’ offence quite frequently. Aiden Young has a goal and seven points through eight games, while Brennan Faulkner has found the back of the net five times this season.
Friday (Oct. 31, 7:00pm) at Ottawa 67’s (8-5-1-0, 3rd in Eastern Conference)
This is a Halloween matchup between two pretty good teams — although Ottawa has had a rough couple of weeks. The Knights got the better of the 67’s in overtime last weekend. After a strong start to the season, Ottawa has struggled lately, although they did snap a five-game losing skid with a midweek overtime win over Brampton. Ottawa’s penalty kill has struggled mightily, fittingly operating at 67 per cent so far this season, second worst in the OHL. The Knights went one-for-three with the man advantage against Ottawa last weekend, scoring the overtime winner on the powerplay.
Sunday (Nov. 2, 4:05pm) at Kingston Frontenacs (7-5-0-1, 4th in Western Conference)
It’s another strong Kingston team this season, and they’re looking for the first back-to-back 40 win season in franchise history. Kieren Dervin (Vancouver) leads the team with six goals and 13 points, followed closely by Tyler Hopkins (Toronto) and Jacob Battaglia (Calgary). Penn State commit Nolan Snyder is one of the top scoring 16-year-olds in the OHL with four goals and 11 points. Aleks Kulemin, son of former Toronto Maple Leaf Nikolay Kulemin, was Kingston’s first round pick in the most recent draft and has six points on the young season.
KNIGHTS BY THE NUMBERS
21 – Sebastian Gatto made 21 saves Sunday to record his first OHL shutout. It was his third straight start where he picked up a win.
6 – Ben Wilmott has six goals in his last six games, two of which were overtime winners.
10 – The last time the Knights played a game on Halloween was 10 years ago in 2015. Mitch Marner had a three-point game to help them beat Saginaw, 7-0.
A LOOK AT THE LOCALS
– Ryan Roobroeck is starting to get hot for the Niagara IceDogs after a slow start to the season, by his standards. The draft-eligible forward has four goals and seven points over his last four games.
– Roobroeck, along with Komoka’s Beckham Edwards, were named to the CHL USA Top Prospects Challenge that will be played Nov. 25 and 26 in Calgary and Lethbridge.
– Jett Luchanko has been returned to the Guelph Storm after starting the NHL season with the Philadelphia Flyers.
AROUND THE OHL
– The Brantford Bulldogs remain the only team without a regulation loss this season with a record of 11-0-1-1.
– London and Kitchener will host World Junior Pre-Tournament games. Canada will play Sweden in a pair of games, at Kitchener Memorial Auditorium on Dec. 17, and London’s Canada Life Place on Dec. 20.
