Falcons ink eight
The St. Catharines Falcons are busy building for next season, whenever that may be.
Falcons general manager Frank Girhiny added several players last week for the 2020/21 Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League season.
“I’m really happy because the players we signed are real good players coming out of midget who are ready to play in the league,” Girhiny said. “I like where we are. They are new bodies and they are young and they can play.”
Added to the roster were forwards Cam Lowe, Tai York, Nate Shirton, Matt Stranges, Kyle Glenney, Trent Glenney and defencemen Jonah Boria and Josh Reilly.
“A lot of them were APs (associate players) with us and we knew them and they wanted to play in our program. I wanted to get that out of the way and then I can start filling in some holes,” Girhiny said.
Lowe, who hails from Niagara Falls, was a seventh-round selection of the Erie Otters in the 2020 Ontario Hockey League draft.
“He’s a real good centre,” Girhiny said. “He can skate, he’s very smart, has a high hockey IQ. He’ll step in and be able to play and be very effective for us.”
York, a Niagara-on-the-Lake resident, collected a goal and assist in two games last season for the Falcons. He was selected by the Barrie Colts in the sixth round.
“He’s a greasy player. Has a very high IQ and can score,” Girhiny said. “We are very familiar with him and his game. He’s a 16-year-old who can step in and play in this league.”
Shirton, an 18-year-old Dunnville native, played a pair of games with the Thorold Blackhawks last season.
“He’s a big power forward. He’ll be able to step in our league and play,” Girhiny said.
Trent Glenney, a 19-year-old Fonthill resident, netted seven goals and 17 points in 41 games for the Falcons. Kyle Glenney, 18, had an assist in six games.
Stranges, a 16-year-old Niagara Falls native, netted 10 goals for the Southern Tier Admirals major midgets last season.
Girhiny has been focusing on forwards with the loss of Curtis Egert, Xavier Drummond, Nick Volpatti, Noah Solinger, Noah Blakely and Max Lightfoot to graduation. As well, Thomas Lenart has left to play with Burlington of the Ontario Junior Hockey League.
“We need to get a little deeper top front,” Girhiny said. “We’re looking to fill in those roles.”
On defence, Boria returns after a solid rookie season.
“He’s a real good defenceman. He’ll be a top D in the league this year,” Girhiny said.
Reilly, a 17-year-old defenceman, was selected by the Otters in the 15th round of the 2019 draft. He played for the Hamilton Bulldogs major midgets last season and also got into three games with the Niagara Falls Canucks and one game with the Falcons.
Girhiny also confirmed goaltender Blair Coffin with be returning.
“We’re in the process of resigning players from last year,” he said. “We’ll be signing more as we go on.”
Girhiny isn’t sure how the COVID-19 pandemic will impact the 2020/21 season.
“If things are cleared up in certain areas, maybe we will be able to open up at a certain time,” he said. “I’m not hearing anything.”
He does know training camp won’t likely open in August as usual.
“We’re just planning that we are going to start in September — for sure we won’t be starting in August — we have to get a team built and go from there.”
Girhiny indicated head coach Tyler Bielby and assistants Greg Jambrosich, John DiLorenzo, Brody Kritsch, goaltending coach Derek Bujan and assistant general manager Zach Schipper will all return.
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