The London Knights and Niagara IceDogs got together on a deal Tuesday afternoon that resulted in the exchange of two players and three draft picks between the two teams.
London sent overage defenceman Gerard Keane and a 12th round pick in in 2023 that was originally owned by the Mississauga Steelheads to Niagara for 18-year old defenceman Alec Leonard, plus a 3rd round pick in 2023 and a 2nd round pick in 2026.
The trade takes London’s roster from five overage players back down to four. Ontario Hockey League teams can only play three 20-year olds in a game, but can carry up to five at the start of a season.
The Knights had made an earlier trade to bring overage forward George Diaco back home to London, Ont., from the defending OHL champion Hamilton Bulldogs in exchange for 2nd and 3rd round picks.
“It’s pretty special when you have a player that has come up through your organization through minor hockey with the Jr. Knights,” admitted London associate general manager Rob Simpson. “We remember scouting him and we’re lucky to be able to bring in a player like George. He’s had a great start to the season and has put up a lot of big numbers for a team that went on to win the OHL championship. We are extremely excited about the veteran leadership he can bring, having been through a playoff run like that.”
London also traded for Leonard who Simpson says had a good first season in the league.
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“We’re excited to bring him in. He had 16 points and five goals with Niagara last season and he will add some depth on our back end.”
The additions did bring subtraction as well with Keane moving from the only OHL team he has ever played with.
“That was a very tough decision for us,” said Simpson. “This would have been Gerard’s fifth season. We consider him a top defenceman in the league. With the overage position you have to go more with necessity. Through the first three games we knew we needed some point production and some goal scoring up front to be able to help us win more games.”
Keane had been with the Knights since 2018-19. Keane even spent part of a season in London playing with his older brother Joey when the Knights acquired Joey for what they hoped would be a long playoff run in 2020.
London will host the Mississauga Steelheads on Friday, Oct. 14 at 7 p.m. at Budweiser Gardens and will then take on Diaco’s old team, the Hamilton Bulldogs, in Hamilton, Ont., on Sunday, Oct. 16.
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