What's in the OHL Rumour Mill?

In a perfect world every rumour would be true and given that it is that time of year in the OHL. It is hard to tell what is real and what is completely made up. ITO would like to share with you what is floating around in the Rumour Mill as there is still a week until the OHL Trade Deadline. By no means are these trades going to happen but just what is being talked about. None of these deals are finalized as they have not been approved by the OHL.

Barrie Colts

            Barrie made their move earlier this week but there is still talks about doing more. Gregg Sutch has been rumoured to be out the door for a while now. There are talks about bringing in Steven Shipley for Niagara and still potentially another deal for a D man. Before Ryan O Connor was thrown into their deal, Barrie was looking at adding Brandon Archibald in the back end. There is also talk of Barrie looking for help within their division with Mississauga and their older forwards, Derek Schoennemakkers and Joseph cramarossa.

Belleville Bulls

            Many people will look at the Bulls and say they don’t have the chips to trade but they do have picks. Earlier the rumour mill was reporting that Brett Ritchie was going to Belleville to help their PP which is 19^th in the league at just 13%.

Brampton Battalion

            Butler isn’t known to sell the farm unless he truly believes that his team can make a good run. The Troops are tied for first in the east and there has been talks of Butler giving up one of his young D for a goal scorer. But he will only move if an offer knocks ‘his socks off’

Erie Otters

            Greg McKegg is your asset here in Erie and there was a ‘done deal’ with Niagara before Ottawa jumped in late last minute. It is still a toss up between the two as Sherry Bassin has been rumoured to be able to choose between NIA Luke Mercer and OTT Dave Perklin.

Guelph Storm

            The Storm are not looking to make a move, much like Brampton. Stephen Gaskin has been on the market. A credible OA Defenceman but there isn’t much room for OA’s and may just stay in the the Royal City.

Kingston Frontenacs

            The big move everyone is waiting for in Kingston of course is Ryan Spooner. Where is he going, well officially no where right now, but the talk and widely believed to be sent to Sarnia for Ryan Kujawinski. People believe there is more to this deal so expect a pick or two thrown in as well.

Kitchener Rangers

            The Rangers are looking to stay with the roster they have but are open to offers. Like most GM’s if an offer is to good to be true, Why would Steve Spott say no.

London Knights

            Buyers or Sellers? Depending on who you are talking to or listening to it can be either or. London is currently looking to poach two players from Windsor for defenceman Troy Donnay. Going the other way is supposedly Goaltender John Cullen and defender Adrian Robertson. If Robertson is spoken for (Sarnia) then still look for a move of Donnay for a defenceman as the Knights still go after Cullen. If the Knights are sellers then Jared Knight is in play although the price right now would be very steep.  Will they or wont they.

Mississauga Majors

            The Majors are looking to sell and the rumour is JP Anderson and Riley Brace to Sarnia or Oshawa. Also, on the block in Mississauga is Derek Schoennmakkers  and Joseph Cramarossa. They have been linked together and separately.

Niagara IceDogs

            We have already mentioned that Steven Shipley could be out of the Red, Black and white. But joining him could be Luke Mercer and the Hamilton Brothers. The Hamiltons were put on the block 3 weeks ago. There has not been any buyers yet, but they are still out there.

Oshawa Generals

            The Generals were looking into acquiring a goaltender with the rumour mill spouting names like Maxwell, Stajcer and even Sadikov at times. They are feeling more comfortable with Altshuller which has quieted the talks about bringing in Stajcer or even the Mississauga duo.

Ottawa 67’s

            The 67’s are not looking to make a big splash, as much as preventing big deals. They were once thought to be in on the Ryan Spooner sweepstakes before blocking Greg McKegg to Ottawa. Ottawa’s main bargaining chip is Dave Perklin.

Owen Sound Attack

            The Attack have been looking to deal Matt Petgrave, Scott Stajcer, Geoffrey Schemitsch and even Mike Halmo. With those three guys being talked about it seems like they are looking to sell, but what they could get in return may make a a good setup for next season.

Peterborough Petes

            GM Dave Reid has basically said he does not know what he is going to do. Could sell or could buy. At the beginning of the year the Petes looked good. They have been hit by injuries and have been losing. Peterborough is truly a wait and see situation. They are looking to build around Koekkoek and Peumple for next season.

Plymouth Whalers

            The Whalers were in a holding pattern but look to be making a run to go against London for the Western title. They are pretty much set but a lil more offense or defence can not hurt. The 16 year old looking to be moved is Mitch Dempsey. He has been rumoured to be part of any deal much like Perklin in Ottawa.

Saginaw Spirit

            Spirit is a pure seller. Brandon Saad, Tadeas Galansky, Brandon Archibald, Josh Shalla and even Jamie Oleksiak have been inquired about. The Spirit will look to make the playoffs but still build for next season after slowly recovering from a terrible start.

Sarnia Sting

            Sarnia has been involved in practically every rumour. Whether it is bringing in Spooner, Knight, McKegg or selling players like Taylor Carnevale, Jack Kuzmyk, Ryan Kujawinski and Brett Ritchie. GM Beaulieu knows his time is now to go for a championship while still building for future years.

Soo Greyhounds

            Another quiet team when it comes to the rumour mill. If GM Kyle Dubas’ tweeting is any indication he wants to shake up the lineup and get the room more focused. He has mentioned players on twitter as needing to tweet less and play harder, paraphrasing of course.  David Quesnele, Nick Halagian, Corey Durocher and Andrew Fritsch has been mentioned in the GM’s tweets. Whether or not there are the assets to go after Jared Knight, the Greyhounds have been linked to him at some point.

Sudbury Wolves

            Sudbury is looking to buy. A big body forward is what they are looking for as well as an experienced D on the back end. Last year the Wolves tried to shop Josh McFadden at the deadline after it is rumoured that he requested a trade but no one was buying. This year as an OA he may be moved.

Windsor Spitfires

            Windsor has been looking to sell to build for a potential Memorial Cup run in 2014. Nick Ebert has been rumoured to be on his way out the door along with the previous mentioned Spitfires players. The other players involved in talks is Alexander Khokhlachev and Nick Czinder. For Koko to move, you would have to see an import be dropped. I don’t see London Dropping Namestnikov, so maybe Matta is the odd man out after falling down the draft boards.

As previously stated this is not a for certain list of what is going to happen. These are just players and teams who have been mentioned to be either buying or selling. You can point out the errors and omissions if you like. But here at ITO, we figured we would share with you all the rumours that we are trying to prove or disprove.

Do not forget that this year the OA trade deadline is a day before the deadline for the rest of the league. OA’s cannot be moved after 12 noon on Monday, while the rest of the league’s deadline is 12 noon on Tuesday.