By Matt Tidcombe/CHL
While the OHL didn’t have quite as many blockbuster offseason moves as perhaps the QMJHL and WHL did, there are still a number of familiar faces that will be in new places for 2022-23.
Niagara in particular were incredibly active during the summer as they swung an astonishing 14 trades and in the process made arguably the biggest trade of the offseason.
Here are five OHL faces in different places:
Will Cranley (Ottawa → Flint)
After an appearance in the OHL Western Conference Championship last season, Flint is looking to take the next step in 2022-23 and with that comes a move to acquire a new starting goaltender.
With Luke Cavallin graduated to the pros, Flint general manager/head coach Ted Dent wasted no time in finding a new starter between the pipes as he acquired Will Cranley from Ottawa for a 15th round selection in the 2026 OHL Draft.
Last season Cranley, a St. Louis Blues prospects, went 13-22-3 but in 2019-20 won 18 of his 20 starts with a 2.81 GAA.
Theo Hill (Sarnia → Saginaw)
With Michael Misa’s impending OHL debut coming Saturday, the Spirit have added offence already in the offseason.
However, that didn’t stop general manager Dave Drinkill from adding another option to his forwards corps after he traded for Hill last Friday. The 20-year-old was Sarnia’s fourth top goalscorer last season and was acquired for three draft picks.
Hill had 53 points (21 goals) in 67 games in 2021-22 and will be a boost to a Spirit lineup that already includes Josh Bloom and Matyas Sapovaliv up front and Pavel Mintyukov on the blue line.
Connor Lockhart (Erie → Peterborough)
After two seasons with the Otters, the Canucks prospect is on the move to Peterborough where he’ll be expected to replace the scoring lost from overager Emmett Sproule.
Lockhart, who had 23 goals and 48 points last season and was the third overall pick in the 2019 OHL Draft, will lead the charge up front alongside Tucker Robertson and J.R. Avon who combined for 149 points a year ago.
The Petes, who have made the playoffs in six of the past seven years ago, will look to build on a first-round playoff exit to eventual J. Ross Robertson Cup winners Hamilton. To acquire Lockhart, the Petes had to part ways with promising youngster Sam Alfano as well as a third-round pick in 2025 and a second rounder in 2026.
Matthew Papais (Guelph → Niagara)
After they finished 18th in goals scored last season, Niagara GM Darren DeDobbelaer knew he had to find scoring.
One such place he found it was in Papais. In 60 games last year with the Storm, the 20-year-old had 19 goals and 40 points, good for sixth in team scoring.
While Danil Gushchin led the IceDogs with 41 goals and 71 points in 2021-22, no other player surpassed the 50-point mark.
Papais was acquired for two draft picks. The early returns have been positive for the Icedogs; Papais’ eight preseason points were tied for the second most across the OHL.
Pasquale Zito (Windsor → Niagara)
Possibly the biggest trade of the OHL offseason, the addition of Zito will certainly aid the Icedogs previous goalscoring woes.
The Detroit Red Wings prospect was acquired for a haul of draft picks — six to be exact — after he had 22 goals in 49 games a year prior.
On a deep Spits team, Zito helped Windsor to Game 7 of the OHL Championship Series before they were beaten by Hamilton.
