Rookie Shawn Spearing makes regular season debut with Petes
PETES PIECES
Petes rookie defenceman Shawn Spearing made his OHL debut on Thursday night.
All 24 rostered players have now played at least one game this season.
Petes head coach Rob Wilson said Nick Robertson is skating as he recovers from a wrist injury but is not expected to play this week and may not be ready next week either.
John Parker-Jones is doing some off-ice workouts as he recovers from surgery on a broken finger. Wilson said Parker-Jones may be out until November. Also scratched for the Petes on Thursday were rookies Dustin Hutton and Cameron Supryka.
The Petes have two other games this weekend. They visit the Hamilton Bulldogs on Saturday night and the North Bay Battalion on Thanksgiving Monday afternoon.
Alumni update
Gleb Babintsev, one of the Petes two import players last year, is playing back home in Russia for Stalnye Lisv, a junior affiliate of the KHL’s Magnitogorsk Metallurg.
In 12 games the defenceman has a goal and seven assists for eight points. The Petes released Babintsev in order to draft rookie forward Erik Cermak.
The Petes other import player last year, Matyas Svoboda, is playing for the USHL’s Green Bay Gamblers this season. He’s yet to record a point through two games.
Last season, he joined the USHL’s Sioux City Musketeers after being released by the Petes and recorded six goals and seven assists for 13 points in 29 games.
Kia Canada partners with CHL
The Canadian Hockey League announced earlier this week an agreement with Kia Canada as the new title sponsor of the Memorial Cup.
The partnership extends to other initiatives including sponsorship of the weekly Kia CHL Top 10 Rankings and official automotive partner of the OHL, WHL and QMJHL.
The 2019 Kia Memorial Cup will be hosted by Quebec City. The CHL announced this week Kelowna will host the 2020 tournament.