Oshawa loads up as OHL deadline approaches

NEWS RELEASES

OSHAWA GENERALS BELLEVILLE BULLS NIAGARA ICEDOGS

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BLOCKBUSTERS! Generals acquire Neuvirth, Baker, Sciacca and Baldwin in deals

General Manager/Coach Brad Selwood made three deals on Tuesday, bringing in a lot of playoff experience for the stretch run.

In a deal that sees the two goalies on the Czech Republic junior team exchange teams, the Generals acquired goalie Michal Neuvirth and forward Ryan Baldwin from the Windsor Spitfires in exchange for goalie Jakub Kovar, forward Justin Shugg and two second round draft picks, in 2008 and 2011.

Oshawa also acquired veteran forward and Sudbury captain Kevin Baker and a conditional draft pick from the Wolves for forward Dean Howard and the rights to Eric O’Dell.

Finally, Oshawa sent a fourth round draft pick to the Kingston Frontenacs for defenceman Jonathan Sciacca.

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Bulls Acquire Adam Perry from London

The Belleville Bulls acquired overage forward Adam Perry from the London Knights in a trade on Tuesday. In return, the Bulls send their fourth round pick in the 2008 OHL Priority Selection, their second round pick in the 2010 OHL Priority Selection, and their second round pick in the 2011 OHL Priority Selection to the Knights.

Perry is in his fourth OHL season and will bring significant experience to the Bulls lineup. In 39 games with London this season while serving as Knights Captain, Perry has scored 17 goals while adding 25 assists and 36 penalty minutes. Last season, Perry finished eighth in the OHL in goals with 45. In 193 career OHL games, Perry has recorded 92 goals and 115 assists while adding 171 penalty minutes. Prior to the 2007-2008 season, Perry attended training camp with the Los Angeles Kings.

The Peterborough, Ontario native also has significant playoff experience including a Memorial Cup Championship with London in 2005. Perry has scored 11 goals and 36 points in 39 career playoff games.

“Adam brings all around skill and leadership to our lineup along with significant postseason experience” commented Bulls General Manager and Head Coach George Burnett, while also adding that “Adam is excited to be joining the Bulls for the remainder of his OHL career.”

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IceDogs Add Goaltender For Playoff Push

Niagara IceDogs General Manager Dave Brown announced today that the IceDogs have obtained Goaltender Sebastian Dahm from the Sudbury Wolves. In exchange, the IceDogs sent goalie Andrew Loverock, defenceman Chris VanLaren, and two draft picks to the Wolves.

Dahm was obtained by Sudbury at the trade deadline last season and played an important role in leading the Wolves to the OHL Championship final versus the Plymouth Whalers. Ironically, the play of Dahm was a major factor in the IceDogs being upset by Sudbury in five games during the first round of last years playoffs. In playing all 21 games during the 2007 playoffs, Dahm compiled a record of 14-4-3 (including 7 overtime wins) while leading all regular goalies with an outstanding .934 save percentage and trailing only Michael Neuvirth of the Champion Whalers with a 2.53 Goals Against Average.

In starting 31 of the Wolves 40 games this season, Dahm has faced his share of activity between the pipes in handling a league leading 1217 shots. While the young and inexperienced Wolves continue to build for the future, Dahm has provided a steady force on the back end as can be shown by his .914 save percentage.

“Sebastian is one of the most dependable goalies in this league and we believe he will provide us with a tremendous amount of stability throughout the last couple months of the season and into the playoffs” said Brown. “We would like to thank Andrew and Chris for their dedication to the organization both on and off the ice and wish them the best of luck in Sudbury. It’s always tough to deal young, talented players, but we believe Sebastian will provide us with the experienced, proven goaltender that is needed to make a sustained playoff run.”

The IceDogs have also made an addition to their roster with the signing of forward Michael MacIsaac from the Summerside Western Capitals of the Maritime Junior “A” Hockey League. MacIsaac has split the 2007-08 season between the Western Capitals and the Drummondville Voltigeurs of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. The 5’10 175lb forward was most impressive during the 2006-07 season when he compiled 54 goals, 90 points and 311 penalty minutes in only 54 games for Summerside.

“Michael’s numbers over the past couple seasons speak for themselves” said Brown. “He is obviously a hard-nosed player who is not afraid to compete and can finish his chances when given the opportunity.”

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