Canucks, Falcons looking to add with trade deadline looming
The Niagara Falls Canucks and St. Catharines Falcons could both be buyers at the trade deadline this week. Photo by: MIKE DIBATTISTA
The top two teams in the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League may be about to get even better.
The St. Catharines Falcons lead the GOJHL with a .871 winning percentage, just points above the Niagara Falls Canucks, who are second at .859.
And with the trade deadline Thursday at midnight, both clubs could be adding for the stretch run.
The Canucks, in particular, have been aggressive in their pursuit of another piece or two.
“We are active,” Canucks coach/general manager Frank Pietrangelo said. “We think we have a couple of holes to still shore up and we’re going to try to better our team if we can.
“We’re not going to drastically overhaul our team, but we’re always looking to improve.”
Pietrangelo knows the Canucks are built to win, with a solid group of veterans, and doesn’t want to let a chance for a title slip away.
“That’s how junior hockey works. You have years where you have a realistic opportunity to be successful and there are years where you aren’t quite there, and maybe you become a seller.
“You have to be realistic about your chances and we’re real confident in our hockey club. We’ve had a great year — we haven’t had many downs — so I just want to give these guys the best chance possible to win it.”
The Falcons, who are in the midst of a 27-game point steak and haven’t suffered a regulation loss since September, appear a little more guarded.
“It would have to be the right deal and the right situation,” Falcons coach/general manager Frank Girhiny said. “The team is rolling and it’s a real good dressing room. In order for us to make a move, it would have to be the right situation.
“Teams are always looking; it would be more of a depth move.”
The Falcons lead the GOJHL in goals against with just 67 for an average of a little more than two goals against per game, but Girhiny is a firm believer in building from the net out, so a move on the back end shouldn’t be ruled out.
Both coaches agree it’s a fine line when it comes to adding players to an already successful squad.
“Chemistry is one of the biggest things going here,” Pietrangelo said. “I’ve seen in the past where teams make deals for the sake of making deals and it disrupts the club. Expectations change and people’s roles change.”
Girhiny said there is much to consider when making a deal at this time of the season.
“If you are going to make a move, you have to make sure it’s right, not only for the organization, but for the players as well. Sometimes, the best deals are the ones you don’t make.”
Both teams appear to have a legitimate shot at not only a Golden Horseshoe title, but a run at a Sutherland Cup.
The defending champion Listowel Cyclones lead the Midwest with a .734 winning percentage and the London Nationals are atop the Western Conference with a .721 winning percentage.
“I don’t know what those teams are all about,” Pietrangelo said. “We don’t get to see them. Records can be deceiving at times. We’ve see Caledonia the last couple of years be a dominant team and then they didn’t win.
“Playoffs are a whole different story.”
Girhiny is more concerned with winning the Golden Horseshoe for the time being.
“I don’t look that far ahead. I’m looking to make the team stronger and the winning is a by-product of that. Our conference is strong enough with the top four teams.
“It’s a matter of making our team deeper and stronger to be able to win out of our conference and we go from there.”
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