IceDogs wheel and deal
Defenceman Jack Brauti is heading from Barrie to Niagara as part of a multi-player, three-team trade. Photo: OHL IMAGES.
The Niagara IceDogs shook up their roster on the verge of training camp with a pair of trades Monday involving three teams, six players and up to 11 draft picks.
The IceDogs dealt defencemen Artem Frolov and Urban Podrekar, along with the rights to forward Hayden Reid and five draft picks, to the Flint Firebirds for defenceman Tristan Bertucci and three picks.
The IceDogs then shipped Bertucci to the Barrie Colts for rearguards Jack Brauti and Blair Scott and three draft picks — a second-round pick in 2026 (Barrie), a third-round pick in 2027 (Windsor) and a fourth-round pick in 2025 (Kingston).
The price for Bertucci wasn’t cheap as the IceDogs also had to deal five picks — a second-round pick in 2025 (Oshawa), a second-round pick in 2026 (Peterborough), a third-round pick 2026 (North Bay), a third-round pick in 2027 (Sudbury) and a third-round pick in 2027 (Owen Sound) to Flint.
The IceDogs received back from Flint an eighth-round pick in 2025 (Flint), a 14th-round pick in 2025 (Flint) and a conditional third-round pick in 2028 (Peterborough).
Brauti, 18, is a Thornhill native who had a strong season for the Colts in 2023/24 with nine goals and 21 points in 63 games which earned him an invite to the Toronto Maple Leafs development camp.
He was originally drafted by the Colts in the sixth round, 104th overall in the 2022 Priority Selection and spent his first year of junior hockey with the Burlington Cougars of the Ontario Junior Hockey League.
Scott, a 19-year-old Kitchener native, split time between the Kitchener Rangers and Colts last season, playing 54 games across the regular season and playoffs. He was initially drafted by the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds in the fifth round, 98th overall in 2021. He split his first year of junior hockey between the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League’s Ayr Centennials and Rangers, earning the call-up after an impressive 42-game stint with Ayr (13 goals and 38 points).
“Those two guys make our team better,” IceDogs general manager Wes Consorti said. “Having them in the line-up every night is going to improve our consistency throughout the year and everyone is excited to have them.”
Consorti expects Brauti and Scott to play significant roles this season.
“I would suggest anyone go and watch these two guys play. They’re very good hockey players. They’re going to do great in Niagara,” he said.
Frolov, a 17-year-old Russian, had 12 points in his rookie season with the IceDogs last year and is eligible for the NHL draft this season.
Podrekar, who was Niagara’s first choice (fourth overall) in the 2023 CHL Import Draft, had three goals and 22 points last season.
“These are human beings, there’s a human side of it. They’re great guys and well liked in the locker room. They’re going to have great careers moving forward and we wish them nothing but the best,” Consorti said.
Bertucci, 19, had 10 goals and 44 points last season and was selected in the second round by the Dallas Stars.
“Tristan is an elite 19-year-old defenceman who is a signed prospect of the Dallas Stars. Tristan will refine his skill set this year allowing him to have a promising pro future,” Barrie coach/general manager Marty Williamson said.
Consorti said there was no news on import defenceman Gabriel Eliasson, who they selected with the 12th overall pick in the 2024 CHL Import Draft. Eliasson remains unsigned.
“We’re just working through some things right now and hoping to have some clarity,” Consorti said.
The IceDogs open training camp on Tuesday, Aug. 27.
Ice cubes: Former IceDogs defenceman and St. Catharines native Connor Federkow has signed with the Iowa Heartlanders of the ECHL . . . IceDogs Manager of Media and Communications Luke Vink has been hired by the Winnipeg Jets as Social Media Coordinator.
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