Greyhounds get Caria; Mayer shipped out (Updated)

NEWS RELEASE

SOO GREYHOUNDS

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Hounds bring Caria home; Mayer off to Mississauga The Soo Greyhounds Hockey Club wasted little time ringing in the New Year with big news.

General Manager Dave Torrie announced this morning the Hounds have completed a trade with the Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors. In the deal the Hounds acquire Matt Caria (pictured) and Mississauga's 8th Round Pick in 2009 OHL Priority Selection in exchange for Jordan Mayer and a 1st Round pick in the 2008 CHL Import Draft (originally the Barrie Colts).

With the acquisition of Caria, a Sault Ste. Marie native, the Hounds gain a centre that just one season ago notched a career-best 75 points in 59 games while also being named to the Eastern Conference All-Star team in Saginaw. The third-year OHL veteran has averaged just under a point per game in 147 career games played and is another piece to the championship puzzle Torrie was looking for.

“With today’s announcement we are excited to add a player of Matt Caria’s caliber to our line-up. As with our previous moves (Anthony Peluso from Erie and Wayne Simmonds from Owen Sound) we feel this is a player who will be a big piece of our team as we continue our quest for a championship. Matt has proven to be an elite offensive player in the OHL. He has continued to put up impressive numbers this season despite an early season suspension, an injury and dealing with trade rumors for the past month. Our staff also feels that Matt will have extra incentive coming home to play for a team that is expected to compete for a championship” mentioned Torrie.

At 5’11”, 190 lbs, Caria is no stranger to the Greyhound coaching staff. His ability to stand-out in the past two and half seasons in the OHL along with his time with the in the Hounds’ feeder program provided some insurance in making the deal.

“In weighing our options we also know that there is a possibility that as an undrafted 19 year old that Matt could be an overager in the OHL next season. If that scenario takes place we feel he will be a premier player and one of the top scorers in the league. We also feel we have some inside knowledge of what we can expect from Matt as our Assistant Coach, Toots Kovacs, coached him in Tier 2. Toots feels that Matt will be a player who can take his game to another level come playoff time” continued Torrie.

As for trading former 1st round pick Jordan Mayer, Torrie is confident the best offer for the team and the situation was made.

“After continued communication with the Mayer family and their agent Mark Guy, it is my opinion that the possibility of seeing Jordan Mayer report to Sault Ste. Marie was very remote. I made the decision on Monday that we probably wouldn’t see Jordan in a Greyhound uniform and thus moved forward to finalize a deal with Mississauga. We had previous conversations with other teams in the Eastern Conference but Mississauga's offer was by far the best scenario put forward” concluded Torrie.

Caria is expected to join his new teammates in action this evening when the Hounds host the Sudbury Wolves. Game time is 7:00 p.m. at the Steelback Centre.

MATT CARIA FILE

Hometown: Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario Position: Centre Shoots: Left Height: 5.11 Weight: 190 lbs D.O.B. August 16, 1988

OHL Statistics

(GP-G-A-PTS-(+/-)-PIM) 2005-06 Regular Season Toronto St. Michael's Majors 67-10-27-37-(-9)-65 2006-07 Regular Season Toronto St. Michael's Majors 59-33-42-75-0-114 2006-07 All-Star Classic Eastern Conference All-Stars 1-1-2-3-3-0 2007-08 Regular Season Mississauga St. Michael's Majors 20-8-14-22-2-35 2006 Playoffs Toronto St. Michael's Majors 4-2-1-3-(-1)-6 Other notes...

* Scored his first OHL goal on September 30, 2005 @ Ottawa * Notched his first career hat-trick on October 14, 2006 @ Erie * 8 - Most points in One Game (3 goals, 5 assists) on November 16, 2006 vs Brampton * Named to the 06/07 Eastern Conference All-Star Team where he had 1g, 2a * Has two game-winning goals in 07/08 * 70 pts (31g, 39a) in 04/05 with the Soo Thunderbirds Jr. A * GNML Rookie of the Year in 2003/2004

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