Surprised Ang waived no-trade clause for trade
Jonathan Ang had a tough time leaving Peterborough.
One might expect Ang to be excited to leave a team in ninth place and fighting for a playoff spot to join a third place team preparing for a long playoff run. That’s the situation he’s in after the Petes dealt the fourth-year forward to the Sarnia Sting on Monday for Brady Hinz and two draft picks. Ang, 19, was second in Petes scoring this season with 15 goals and 43 points in 39 games.
“I never really expected to move,” Ang said Wednesday. “I think if you’d said at the start of the year I was ever going to put on a different jersey I’d tell you no. I think everything happens for a reason and it’s happened. Change isn’t necessarily a bad thing it’s just something to get used to.”
Ang said he had high expectations for the Petes and himself this season. He was among the OHL’s leading scorers early in the season and signed a contract with the NHL’s Florida Panthers. Ang has struggled in recent weeks, as have the Petes.
“Speaking for myself, I never really wanted to leave Peterborough. I thought Peterborough was a place I was going to stay and play the rest of my junior hockey. I was happy about that. I was proud to be a Pete. I’m sad to leave that’s for sure,” Ang said.
“It’s tough because we started out really good. We were in first place for a little bit and then injuries happened and we went on the downhill. It got to the point it was tough to crawl out of it but, for me, I was a Pete.”
With a no-trade clause in his contract Ang had to approve the move and ultimately did.
“I had to make a decision about what I wanted to do with my career and I made the decision that I think is a better way forward,” he said.
Ang, the 2014 first-round draft pick of the Petes, said it will take him some time to get used to his new surroundings.
“I’m excited. These guys are good players and everyone knows that,” he said.
He’ll make his Sting debut Thursday night in Windsor.