Knight Watch: With season turned around, what to do at deadline?

Knights sit 2nd in OHL’s Western Conference (No. 9 in CHL ranks). Will they be buyers or sellers at the trade deadline? Columnist Jake Jeffrey believes there are 4 untouchables. He’s got the latest Knights news — and notes from around the OHL …

Knights players celebrate the goal that brought nearly 7,000 bears on the ice in their annual Teddy Bear Toss game for charity last Tuesday. (Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).

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The London Knights’ win streak may have come to an end, but they kickstarted a new one last weekend with a big victory over the OHL’s top team.

Brett Brochu was once again in fine form, stopping all 31 shots he faced last Friday night, as London squeaked out a 1-0 shootout win over the league-leading Ottawa 67’s. Brochu was also perfect in the shootout, stopping all three shots he faced (George Diaco’s shootout goal was the winner).

Backup Zach Bowen kept up the strong goaltending Saturday, turning aside 35 shots to backstop the Knights to a 5-2 win over Peterborough. It was Bowen’s fifth straight victory as he continues to solidify himself as a future OHL starter. He may have been passed over in the OHL draft the first year he was eligible, but his stock continues to rise — and he’s starting to get some serious attention from NHL scouts. When Brochu does move on, whether it’s via trade or graduation at season’s end, it looks like London’s crease will be in good hands with Bowen.

The win over Peterborough also saw St. Louis Blues prospect Landon Sim record the first two-goal outing of his OHL career.

The Knights are in great shape heading into the holiday break. With just two losses in their last 16 games, it’s safe to say London is the hottest team in the OHL. With under a month until the trade deadline, it will be interesting to see what the team decides to do.

Both Logan Mailloux and Brett Brochu will not be back next season, and they could be moved for draft picks or up-and-coming players. Although, with Brochu being among the franchise leaders in several categories, the Knights may very well give him the chance to finish out his career in London.

Early in the season I would have told you the Knights would be sellers at the deadline — no doubt in my mind at the time. Now, it’s not so clear. Do they have what it takes for a lengthy run? Likely not, but strong goaltending and timely scoring can do wonders come playoff time.

London has shown they can compete and beat the top teams in the league, so perhaps a couple of modest additions could really round out the roster. If you recall last season, they sat on the fence between rebuilding and contending and were relatively quiet at the deadline.

Backup netminder Zach Bowen has impressed this year, posting a 6-1 record with a 2.95 goals-against average and .905 save percentage. (Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).

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London has a really solid young core, and I don’t think they would want to squander that, but some smaller additions could help bolster their current roster and help give those younger players a bit more playoff experience. Dorchester’s Brett Harrison, a former Elgin-Middlesex Canuck and London Jr. Knight, is a player who could likely be moved, if the price is right. Maybe a homecoming to London is in his future.

Oliver Bonk is one of those young guys that I don’t think is going anywhere. He is the lone London Knight who was invited, earlier this week, to the CHL/NHL Top Prospect Game (set for Jan. 25). Denver Barkey, who likely should have been invited to that top prospects game as well, is another player I don’t think the Knights will want to part ways with. He’s taken a step forward this year, currently boasting 27 points in 28 games. I’d also add first-round picks Luca Testa and Sam Dickinson to that list as well. All four of these youngsters will be top players in this league.

Knights forward Ryan Del Monte is eyeing a spot on Germany’s World Junior roster, as he is one of 26 players invited to Germany’s pre-tournament camp. Although Del Monte grew up in Mississauga, he was born in Germany while his father, Dan Del Monte, was playing professional hockey.

London will wrap up their pre-holiday schedule this weekend, continuing their lengthy homestand with a pair of teams that already have wins at Budweiser Gardens this season. After this weekend, the Knights will be off until Dec. 28.

Due to their hot play over the last several weeks, the Knights have earned a spot in the CHL Top Ten Rankings, coming in at number nine this week.

Oliver Bonk, November’s OHL Rookie of the Month, has been invited to participate in the CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game on Jan. 25 in Langley, BC. (Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).

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UPCOMING GAMEDAYS

Friday (Dec. 16, 7:00pm) vs. Owen Sound Attack (16-10-2-1, 2nd in Midwest)

The Attack enter this contest having lost four straight — although they’ve beaten London twice this season. The Knights did take the most recent meeting, and they’ve been the hotter team of late, surpassing Owen Sound in the Midwest Division standings. London currently has a four-point edge over their division rivals. Captain and 20-goal scorer Colby Barlow leads the way up front for the Attack, along with Deni Goure and Cedrick Guindon. Sam Sedley, who is from nearby St. Marys, leads Attack D-men in scoring with 21 points.

Saturday (Dec. 17, 4:00pm) vs. Flint Firebirds (16-11-2-1, 4th in West)

The Firebirds are a tough team to figure out, as they’ve parted ways with their captain and leading scorer but also brought in pieces to keep them in contention this season. With five wins in their last eight games, Flint was recently surpassed by Sarnia in the division standings. Both are chasing down Windsor and Saginaw. Amadues Lombardi leads the Firebirds in scoring, and he has 11 more points than the team’s next-highest scorer, Gavin Hayes.

A LOOK AT THE LOCALS

Former London Jr. Knight Charlie Robertson is one of 15 OHLers to be invited to the CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game scheduled for Jan. 25. Robertson received a ‘C’ ranking from NHL Central Scouting prior to the start of the season.

Marcus Vandenerg won the battle of local goalies, making 43 saves in Kitchener’s 4-3 victory over Peterborough. At the other end, Michael Simpson turned aside 28 shots for the Petes.

Hunter Haight has been making the most of his new digs with four goals and a dozen points in his first six games with Saginaw. He even scored against his former team, although it wasn’t enough as the Barrie Colts topped Saginaw, 5-2.

Jett Luchanko picked up his first multi-point game, as Guelph’s rookie forward had a goal and an assist in the Storm’s 4-3 win over Owen Sound.

Brett Harrison is currently riding a six-game point streak with seven goals 12 points over that stretch. That included his first OHL hat trick in front of family and friends when Oshawa beat London last Tuesday. With the Generals looking to the future, the Boston Bruins prospect is someone who may very well be moved to a contending team in the next couple of weeks.

A trio of local OHL draft prospects are looking to compete at the Canada Winter Games. Parker Snelgrove, Ryan Roobroeck and Ethan Weir are all trying out for Team Ontario. The three are currently playing with the London Jr. Knights, one of the top ranked U16 teams in the province.

KNIGHTS BY THE NUMBERS

16 - It’s amazing what a difference 16 games can make. The Knights went from a 5-6-1-0 record in early November to a current record of 19-8-1-0.

74 - Brett Brochu’s 74th career win ties him with Jeff Reese for fourth in franchise history. His next win will tie Tyler Parsons for third on the all-time list.

85 - Only Ottawa and North Bay have allowed fewer goals against than London this season.

2 - London’s powerplay has struggled a bit lately, scoring just twice in their last 20 opportunities with the man advantage. Both those goals came in last week’s loss to Oshawa.

AROUND THE OHL

Four OHLers were named to Canada’s World Junior roster: Brennan Othmann (Peterborough), Jack Matier (Ottawa), Ethan Del Mastro (Mississauga), and goaltender Benjamin Gaudreau (Sarnia).

The Erie Otters and Sarnia Sting completed a blockbuster trade this week with Erie sending Dallas Stars prospect Christian Kyrou to Sarnia for Alexis Daviault and five draft picks. Kyrou is one of the top offensive defensemen in the OHL. He’s the younger brother of former Sting captain Jordan Kyrou. The two teams played Wednesday night and Kyrou scored his first as a Sting against his former team.

More Erie Otters news: They will be getting one of the top prospects for the 2023 NHL draft in Ondrej Molnár. The Slovakian forward was given a ‘B’ rating by NHL Central Scouting, indicating him as a likely second or third round pick. He had an assist in his debut Wednesday night.

The Kitchener Rangers swapped overagers with the Oshawa Generals, adding Gens captain Lleyton Moore in exchange for Joseph Serpa and three draft picks.

No team has been busier on the trade front than the Niagara IceDogs this season, and they made two more deals this week. They traded Detroit Red Wings prospect Pasquale Zito to North Bay for Michael Podolioukh and five draft picks. They also added Zakary Lavoie from Mississauga, sending five draft picks to the Steelheads.