While the hours leading up to it were relatively busy across the league, things were all quiet in the final hours leading up to the Ontario Hockey League trade deadline for the Soo Greyhounds.
A deal with the Owen Sound Attack on Monday afternoon that saw the team acquire Julian Fantino and a draft pick for Landen Hookey was the lone deal made by the club ahead of the deadline.
The trade came after the team also dealt forward Tyler Savard to the Barrie Colts for four draft picks a week before the deadline.
Greyhounds general manager Kyle Raftis said Tuesday afternoon that the team wasn’t close when it came to completing any deals in the hours prior to the deadline.
“Yesterday, there were some things that were discussed, but nothing really came together,” Raftis said. “For us, it was an interesting spot because you want to add young players, you want to add picks in the situation, but once the OA deadline went by, it was a situation where we don’t have a ton of 19-year-olds.”
With a small number of 2003 birth year players on the roster – just three in Jordan D’Intino, Brenden Sirizzotti, and Samuel Ivanov – Raftis said that the team wasn’t going to make another deal for the sake of making one.
“Obviously, you would look to move some guys if there’s a fit,” Raftis said.
“You want to be in the mix, and you want to be active with these things, but at the same time, you don’t want to make deals just to make deals,” Raftis also said. “For us, even bringing in other young players, you want to make sure they’re a fit.”
With the limited movement by the team, Raftis said it leads to an opportunity for the current roster.
“You want to make sure there’s as much competition for everybody,” Raftis said.
The deadline wasn’t without its major deals leading up to it.
Late Monday night, the Kingston Frontenacs officially dealt forward Shane Wright to the Windsor Spitfires along with a conditional 14th-round draft pick in the 2025 draft to the Windsor Spitfires.
In return, Kingston received Ethan Miedema, Gavin McCarthy, a second-round pick in 2023 (originally Ottawa’s), a third-round pick in 2023 (originally Sault Ste. Marie’s), a fourth-round pick in 2024 (originally Niagara’s), a sixth-round pick in 2024 (originally Niagara’s), a fourth-round pick in 2025 (originally Niagara’s), a conditional fifth-round pick in 2024 (originally Hamilton’s), and a conditional sixth-round pick in 2025 (originally Erie’s).
The first deal of the day on Tuesday saw the Saginaw Spirit deal high-scoring defenceman Pavel Mintyukov to the Ottawa 67’s for a third-round pick in 2024 (originally Kingston’s), a third-round pick in 2024 (originally Sault Ste. Marie’s), a second-round pick in 2025, a second-round pick in 2025 (originally Sault Ste. Marie’s), a third-round pick in 2025, a third-round pick in 2025 (originally Windsor’s), a fourth-round pick in 2025, a second-round pick in 2026 (originally Owen Sound’s), and a fourth-round pick in 2026.
The Hamilton Bulldogs dealt Brenden Anderson to the Sarnia Sting for a sixth-round draft pick in 2026.
Kingston also dealt defenceman Braden Hache to the Barrie Colts for a second-round pick in 2024 (originally North Bay’s), a fifth-round pick in 2024 (originally Mississauga’s), a fourth-round pick in 2025, a conditional fifth-round pick in 2024, and a conditional second-round pick in 2026 (originally Saginaw’s).
The Niagara IceDogs dealt forward Nolan Dann to the Flint Firebirds for a third-round pick in 2023 (originally Peterborough’s), a second-round pick in 2024 (originally Guelph’s), a fourth-round pick in 2024, a fourth-round pick in 2025, a third-round pick in 2026, and a fourth-round pick in 2026.
Niagara also acquired forward Alex Assadourian from the Sudbury Wolves in exchange for a second-round pick in 2026 (originally Windsor’s) and a third-round pick in 2026 (originally Sault Ste. Marie’s).
Saginaw also completed a deal with the Peterborough Petes on Tuesday, sending defenceman Cam Gauvreau, a fourth-round pick in 2023, and a third-round pick in 2025 (originally Windsor’s) to Peterborough for defenceman James Guo and a sixth-round pick in 2023.
The Petes also dealt Stevie Leskovar to Mississauga in exchange for a fifth-round pick in 2023 and a 10th-round pick in 2025.
The late deals that trickled in right at the deadline included Guelph sending Cedricson Okitundu to Hamilton for a seventh-round draft pick in 2024; Guelph dealing Chase Coughlan to Sudbury for a fifth-round pick in 2024; Ottawa trading Ethan Quick to Barrie for a seventh-round pick in 2024; and Kingston dealing Jackson Stewart, Izayah Luddington, and a third-round pick in 2024 (originally London’s) to Owen Sound for Cal Uens and a 10th-round pick in 2026.