New home for Holmes
Owen Holmes is hoping a change of scenery will reboot his season.
The 17-year-old St. Davids resident was off to a respectable start with the Niagara Falls Canucks with four goals and nine points in 19 games. But when the Canucks reacquired 2018/19 Golden Horseshoe most valuable Justin Kyle this week, it seemed like the timing was right for a move.
“It’s a new start,” Holmes said. “I’m excited. I like it. They’re a good team and the guys are good.”
Holmes said he had a meeting recently with Canucks coach Frank Pietrangelo regarding his future.
“We had a chat and he said if you want I can move you,” Holmes said. “We were just trying to figure things out and I guess he decided a trade was the best option for me.
“I have no hard feelings. It’s a new start and let’s see what happens.”
Thorold coach/general manager Scott Barnes didn’t have to think twice when Holmes became available.
“He’s a player we’ve had our eyes on for a while now and the opportunity came up where the Falls were willing to part with him and we were very interested in him,” Barnes said. “It was someone who I liked in the past. Even last year, we talked about using one of our 16-year-old cards on him. That was a thought and he chose to go to the Falls. He was someone who we were targeting.”
Barnes feels Holmes’ style will fit in with the Hawks.
“He’s got a lot of skill, he has some offence. I think we’re a pretty solid team up front but you can always use a little more offensive creativity. I’m hoping he brings than to us. He’s fast and he’s got speed. He’s going to be a hard working guy who fits in.”
Barnes isn’t exactly sure who he will team Holmes up with yet, but plans to take advantage of his offensive skill.
“He’s going to be in the middle, be in a top-six offensive role,” he said. “We’ll make some adjustments and move some things around and see how it all shakes out.
“We have four lines who can contribute but I think he’s going to get a chance to showcase his skills here a little more.”
Holmes practiced with the Hawks this week for the first time and saw some familiar faces in the room. In addition to former Canucks goaltender Noah Fortuna, Holmes also played with Brad Ditillio, Jacob Auger, Ethan Mercer and Joel Chauvin in midget.
“I’m pretty easy going so it was easy for me to get in there. All the guys are good so I shouldn’t have a problem adjusting,” Holmes said. “I like it. I’m looking forward to playing and seeing how it goes.”
The Blackhawks, 12-9-2-1, are home to the Welland Junior Canadians Thursday and at Pelham Sunday afternoon at 2:30 p.m.
Barnes is pleased overall how the season has gone to this point at the halfway mark.
“I think there are four of us battling for second,” Barnes said. “This is where I was hoping to be this year. I think we’ve given up a few wins here and there we maybe would like to have back.
“We’ve gone through some injuries and suspensions and we’ve kind of had our little obstacles to get over and come together and I think we’re getting there. I think we can do some damage heading into the second half.”
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