Saginaw showdown highlights Knights’ weekend

Knight Watch: London, quiet at the deadline, believes in young talent; Knights’ 10-game win streak to be tested against Saginaw, Owen Sound; London maintains best power play unit. Columnist Jake Jeffrey has the latest Knights news & notes …

(Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).

* * *

It was a relatively quiet trade deadline for one of the OHL’s hottest teams.

The London Knights, winners of 10 straight, elected to go with a less is more approach at this season’s deadline, only adding one new forward to the mix.

There were some options out there, says Associate General Manager Rob Simpson, but the Knights wanted to make sure any addition was going to be a good fit for the club.

“There were some conversations going on, but we didn’t want to add a player just for the sake of adding a player,” Simpson told Gameday London. “We feel really confident with the talent level we have in our lineup.” 

Simpson says the strong chemistry in the room was something they didn’t want to play around with too much.

The Knights’ lone addition, overager Kaleb Lawrence, comes to London from the Ottawa 67’s. The 6-foot-6 forward spent the bulk of his OHL career playing against the Knights with the Owen Sound Attack. Simpson believes Lawrence brings a versatile game — and plenty of experience.

“We really felt we needed a centreman in the top-9 ... his defensive game, and his understanding of his own end, is something we looked for,” Simpson said. “He has the skill to move up the lineup and play with good players, and if you want him in a defensive checking role he can do so with his reach, his size, and his face-off ability.”

The overage spot was made available after the team announced that Ethan MacKinnon’s junior hockey career has, unfortunately, ended early, with the local defenceman recovering from his latest concussion.

Compared to the Knights, some of the other top teams around the league made some larger deadline acquisitions, but they dealt away a large part of their future in doing so. London was reluctant to part ways with its young talent, especially after that talent stepped up with additional ice time over the last month or so.

“The level of play from some of our younger players made us a bit more comfortable with what we have … [we knew] that if we didn’t get something done, we would still be alright going forward,” Simpson told Gameday London. “We have some young guys who are going to be very good players in this league.”

London has won 10 in a row, outscoring opponents 59-21 in the process. Special teams has been a major component in that success, as the Knights have scored 18 powerplay goals and seven shorthanded markers during their winning streak.

The Knights currently boast the league’s top powerplay (34.4%) and second best penalty kill (83%). And they’ve been very dangerous while a man down, scoring 17 shorthanded goals on the year. They led the league in that category last year with 18. The 2015-16 Barrie Colts hold the single season record with 28 goals while a man down.

Oliver Bonk has been key to the Knights’ league-leading powerplay unit. And he’s tallied eight points in the three games since returning from the World Junior Championship. (Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).

The Knights announced that Evan Van Gorp and Jared Woolley will be sticking with the team for the rest of the year. Both have split time between the Knights and Junior B this season, and they’ve clearly showed enough to stick around with the big club.

“As they got into more games, they really showed that they can step up and contribute,” said Simpson.

Van Gorp has three goals in his last four games, and Woolley has three goals as well from the back end.

London made one other deal at the deadline, sending 2023 first-round pick William Moore to Barrie for a 5th rounder. The Knights will also receive a compensation pick because Moore never signed with the team. He’s currently playing with the US National Development Program.

Goaltender Michael Simpson missed Wednesday’s game, a 9-2 drubbing of the Sarnia Sting, as he recovers from some minor bumps and bruises. If it was a playoff game, Rob Simpson said, he’d likely have been in net, but the Knights are trying to manage his ice time coming down the stretch to make sure he’s fully healthy come playoff time.

Landon Sim, meanwhile, was hurt blocking a shot Wednesday night, and he left the game. Simpson says his injury still needs to be evaluated.

Jacob Julien (left) had two goals and four points in Wednesday’s 9-2 win over Sarnia. The second-year forward now has 18 goals and 50 points in 38 games this season. (Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).

* * *

UPCOMING GAMEDAYS

Friday (Jan. 12, 7:00pm) vs. Saginaw Spirit (25-11-0-1, 2nd in West Division)

One of the OHL’s best teams got even better at the trade deadline, as the Spirit added Owen Beck and Jorian Donovan, two players that represented Canada at this year’s World Junior Championship. Draft-eligible defenseman Zayne Parekh leads Saginaw in scoring with 55 points. He’s coming off a hat trick in Windsor Wednesday night. Beck and Donovan both made their Spirit debut in that one, with Beck tallying two goals and six points and Donovan finishing with two assists and a plus-7 rating. Saginaw, this year’s Memorial Cup host, has a 21-5 record since the start of December. Friday’s game should be a good special teams battle, as Saginaw has the top penalty kill and the third-best powerplay in the OHL.

Sunday (Jan. 14, 2:00pm) vs. Owen Sound Attack (18-17-2-1, 4th in Midwest Division)

Captain Colby Barlow is back in the Attack lineup, which is good news for a team that has dropped seven of its last 10, with the three wins coming against Erie and Niagara (twice). That’s not exactly something to write home about. Deni Goure has been on a tear, though, as he has five goals and 16 points over his last seven games. Sam McCue, younger brother of Knights forward Max McCue, has adjusted nicely to his new digs. He has three goals in four games since joining the Attack via trade from Peterborough. Konnor Smith also came to the Attack in that deal. Knights fans may remember the hulking blueliner from last year’s OHL Championship. Smith is one of the league’s toughest players, and he immediately makes the Attack more difficult to play against.

A LOOK AT THE LOCALS

Niagara IceDogs rookie Ryan Roobroeck has two goals and six points over his last six games, which gives him a dozen goals on the season.

Owen Van Steensel played his 170th career OHL game for the North Bay Battalion. He’s currently on a six-game point streak and has already scored a career-high 17 goals this season.

Keep an eye on Strathroy’s Hunter Haight with the Saginaw Spirit. He has 16 multi-point games this season, most recently scoring a goal and adding two assists against Windsor Wednesday night.

KNIGHTS BY THE NUMBERS

17 - The Knights lead the OHL with 17 shorthanded goals this season. They’ve scored more shorthanded goals than the Niagara IceDogs have powerplay goals (13).

5 - Sam O’Reilly continues to find ways to produce. He has five goals over his last seven games. 

29 - Denver Barkey certainly loves to play against Sarnia. He has five goals and 16 points in five games against the Sting this season. Including the last year’s playoffs and regular season, Barkey has a whopping 29 points in 17 career games against Sarnia.

8 - In three games since returning from the World Juniors, Oliver Bonk has three goals and eight points.

AROUND THE OHL

A look at the biggest acquisitions from the trade deadline:

• Kitchener acquired Eduard Sale (Seattle Kraken) and Olivier Savard from Barrie.

• Saginaw added a pair from Canada’s World Junior Team, adding Jorian Donovan (Ottawa Senators) from Brantford, and Owen Beck (Montreal Canadiens) from Peterborough.

• The Soo acquired high-scoring winger Gavin Hayes out of Flint.

• North Bay acquired a trio of Sting players, including Florida Panthers prospect Sanids Vilmanis, as well as twins Jacob and Andrew LeBlanc.

• The Ottawa 67’s picked up Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Braeden Kressler from Flint.

• Sudbury acquired Zacharie Giroux from Flint.

• Overage defenseman Connor Punnett heads from Barrie to Oshawa.