On Jan. 2, 2015, the London Knights acquired Cliff Pu, a second-round pick and a third-round pick from the Oshawa Generals for Michael McCarron.
That year, the Oshawa Generals won the Memorial Cup. The next year, the London Knights did the very same thing.
Two years later, both the Knights and the Kingston Frontenacs are hoping history repeats itself.
The teams have combined on a trade to send Pu to Kingston for 17-year-old Nathan Dunkley, Kingston’s 2nd round draft pick in 2020 and Windsor’s 3rd round draft pick in 2019.
Dunkley was the 17th overall pick in the 2016 OHL Priority Selection and has been averaging better than a point per game so far this season on a team that is becoming more veteran-laden by the day. Kingston endured a period that lasted from 1999-2016 in which they did not win a single playoff series.
Since then, they have made it to the second round in consecutive seasons and with moves made already to acquire Sean Day and Gabe Vilardi from Windsor, their hope seems to be to go a few steps further in 2018.
Dunkley grew up in Campbellford and played his minor hockey with the Quinte Red Devils.
He had six goals and 31 points in 41 games as a 16-year old last year and then hit a new level in the playoffs where Dunkley scored four times and added three assists in the Frontenacs’ seven-game series victory over Hamilton and then 4-0 series loss to the Peterborough Petes.
The Knights have won six of their past eight games and will head north for their next three games. They play the Barrie Colts tonight (Thursday), the Sudbury Wolves on Friday and then the North Bay Battalion on Sunday afternoon.
All games can be heard on 980 CFPL, at www.980cfpl.ca and on the Radioplayer Canada app.
Three more Knights are preparing to play for a medal at the World Junior Hockey Championship. Max Jones and Team USA will play Sweden at 4 p.m. Thursday and then Robert Thomas and Alex Formenton will suit up again for Team Canada in a semi-final against the Czech Republic at 8 p.m.
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