Blackhawks retool for stretch run
Goaltender Anthony Tremonte was dealt to the Niagara Falls Canucks last week. Photo special to BPSN.
The Thorold Blackhawks have been retooled with an eye to the future without sacrificing the present.
Blackhawks coach/owner Scott Barnes made several moves last week designed to provide more stability while also setting the organization up for next season.
“We got younger and we think we improved our team. We set ourselves up for this year, but next year as well with the moves we did,” Barnes said. “We just wanted to bring in guys who fit in our system. We wanted to bring in skill and speed and smart hockey players.
“We think we’re a much better hockey team now than we were in December.”
The Hawks main acquisition was speedy centre Evan Miller, picked up from the Fort Erie Meteors for cash considerations.
Miller, who turns 19 in March, began his junior career with the St. Catharines Falcons before moving to Fort Erie.
“He was a main target of ours. He asked to come here and we made it work,” Barnes said. “It really helped us. It’s a really big trade for us this year and I think next year he’s really going to be a really good hockey player in this league.”
Miller, who had 16 goals and 30 points in 31 games last season, is centring the Hawks top offensive unit between Trevor Neumann and former Welland Junior Canadian Mario Zitella.
“We have a really good centre who can provide some offence,” Barnes added about Miller. “We have a really good offensive line with Neumann and Zitella.”
Zitella, an 18-year-old native of Burlington, was picked up from Welland for defenceman Jacob Mastrangelo.
“He’s a smart little player,” Barnes said of Zitella. “I think he can provide some offence. He really reads and makes some good plays.”
Barnes likes the balance of his forwards lines.
“We looked at our team and we had four really solid lines, four lines that could match against other teams and hold them in check, but we didn’t have that one guy or one line we could rely on for offence,” he said. “Now, we have a couple of other lines that are really good shutdown lines who can also provide some offence.”
Barnes also swing a deal with the Niagara Falls Canucks that saw veteran goalie Anthony Tremonte head to the Falls for winger Carson Eden and netminder Noah Fortuna.
“Eden will get a chance to play more of a role for us,” Barnes said. “I think he can get back to his minor hockey days where he was a top player in minor midget. He’s going to get an opportunity to play here and I think he’s going to be a big addition with his size and physicality and hopefully he can put some pucks in the net too.”
Eden, a native of Thorold, also began his junior career with the Falcons and was dealt to the Canucks earlier this season as part of a three-way transaction with Welland.
“He can play. He never really got an opportunity with the other two teams he was with in a steady role and that’s what we’re hoping we can provide for him,” Barnes added.
Fortuna, 18, has been a target of Barnes since last season.
“It was an opportunity for Tremonte to go and help stabilize them for a championship run and Fortuna was a guy I was looking to acquire,” Barnes said. “It was a deal that worked for both sides. I think Tremonte will give them two solid goaltenders and Fortuna can get a chance to play more here and be the goalie he was coming out of midget.”
Earlier, the Hawks moved out veterans Brendan Charlton and Owen Allen to the Pelham Panthers.
“It was us moving two 20-year-olds on. Pelham is an older team trying to make a run for it and we knew the route we were going. Moving those guys on allowed us to make the other moves,” Barnes said.
The Hawks, 14-18-1-2, are home to the Junior Canadians Thursday and in Welland Sunday.
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