DAN CEARNS The Standard SCUGOG: The Port Perry Lumberjacks recently completed their first trade of the summer.
Earlier this month, it was announced the Lumberjacks had traded Brayden Roberts and Mason Simpson, to the Clarington Eagles, for the rights to potentially sign Owen McKinnon. McKinnon is a defenceman, who spent last season with the London Nationals, of the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League (GOJHL).
“While nothing has been finalized with Owen McKinnon, he was an asset which we coveted. Owen is the son of one of our assistant coaches, and [we] would welcome him to our blueline, should he choose to play for us. Owen is continuing to skate with higher-level teams, and there is no certainty he will ever play for us. We had seven players who were born in 2002 and [are] eligible to return this season as over agers. Our league rules are that we could only keep four of them, so we months,” Port Perry Lumberjacks general manager, Tom Parish, told The Standard in an email.
The Lumberjacks have had a busy summer so far, signing Charlie Paton, Parker Lemay, Kyle Bailey, Jaden Smith and Zachary Caron to contracts.
“Overall, we have added several high-skill players for 2023-24, and we couldn’t be happier with our offseason so far,” Mr. Parish stated.
The team has also changed their coaching staff for next season, hiring new head coach Ryan Connelly and assistant coach Dan McKinnon. decided to turn one of them into other assets. Brayden is a great player and person, but you don’t get value in return if value isn’t offered. Both of the players we traded are local to the Eagles rink and would benefit from the shorter drive in the winter