Petes sporting reshaped roster for coming weeks
Jones hoping to be first Pete on Canada world junior team since Ritchie
The Petes are entering into an interesting month of the season, where players departing for international competitions will temporarily reshape the look of the team over the coming weeks and with the potential for January’s looming trade deadline to reshape the roster for the coming months.
As expected, Hunter Jones was named to the selection camp for Team Canada. Should Jones make the final roster, which he looks to be a strong candidate for, he would be the first Petes player to represent Canada since Nick Ritchie in 2015 and the first Petes goalie in the modern format of the tournament.
Jones certainly heads to camp on a high note, having won his last six starts for the Petes, allowing only 11 goals over those games, which included a terrific performance in last Thursday night’s teddy bear toss night win with Canada’s head coach, Dale Hunter, behind the visiting bench.
In addition, Nick Robertson is vying to be named to the final roster for Team USA. As one of just 15 forwards named to the pre-camp roster, Robertson also looks like a strong candidate to make the final American roster, which would make him the first Petes player on the U.S. roster since Austin Watson in 2012.
David Maier is also away from the team, representing Austria at the Division 1A level of the tournament and while Liam Kirk announced that he would not be leaving to represent England in the tournament this season, he may be out of the lineup for upcoming games anyway thanks to a stray puck to the hands in Friday night’s disastrous performance in Kingston.
It’s an exciting time for Petes fans to cheer on Jones and Robertson in particular on the international stage. The tournament games are all televised and represent great exposure for both the individual players and the manner in which the Petes program has grown in recent years, with both Jones and Robertson having been drafted and developed by the Petes.
With Jones away, all eyes will be on the Petes goaltending situation.
It’s expected Tye Austin and prospect Michael Simpson will handle the workload and get the chance to prove that the Petes can maintain their winning form without Jones between the pipes — an area that has been a struggle at times this season.
With the trade deadline now less than a month away and the Petes expected to be aggressively looking to upgrade the roster, there could be changes to come, be it in that backup goaltending situation or elsewhere.
One move has already been made, with Chad Denault being traded to North Bay in exchange for a conditional draft pick. Denault was a solid player and hard worker in his time in Peterborough, but with the emergence of rookies Mason McTavish, J.R. Avon, Tucker Robertson and Keegan McMullen, there were only so many forward spots to go around.
In that regard, the Petes have been true to their word of putting their best players on the ice every night. As they look to further upgrade and round out the lineup, more difficult decisions are sure to come. In the meantime, there are great opportunities for Petes players to show what they can do, both on the global stage and in the increased ice time that opens up in Peterborough as a result. Matt Campbell has been a Petes season ticket holder for 29 seasons. His column appears bi-weekly during the Petes season.