Heading into his first full season as Nepean Raiders
general manager and head coach, Peter Goulet is starting to put his stamp on
the team.
And he’s looking into the past to do it.
Goulet acquired Jeremy McCarty, the captain of the Ontario
Junior A Hockey League’s Trenton Golden Hawks last season, on July 22 in
exchange a trio of 20-year-olds – centre Demetri Sakaris and defencemen Brandon
Boelter and Lorne Miller – plus the playing right to left winger Ronnie
Brohman, 19, from the Winchester Jr. B Hawks and undisclosed cash.
As coach of the Kingston Voyageurs for 3 ½ years
before joining the Raiders last December, Goulet is well aware of what McCarty
brings to the table.
The 20-year-old forward played for the Port Hope
Predators for three seasons before the team moved to Trenton for the start of the 2009-10
campaign.
“I’ve got a tremendous Junior A hockey player with
Jeremy McCarty joining our club,” he said, noting that McCarty has over 200
career points and has averaged almost a point per game. “I’ve seen him play a
lot of hockey.
“He works his butt off shift in and shift out. He can
play in all situations – in all positions – which makes him invaluable.”
The former Hawks captain recorded 20 goals and 40
assists in 42 games last season, and added three goals and seven assists in
nine playoff contests.
McCarty was seeking a trade from Hawks general manger
Tim Clayden.
The deal made perfect sense for Goulet since both
Sakaris and Boelter are expected to play in the United States Hockey League in
the fall anyway.
In fact, Sakaris, a 5-9, 155-pound pivot, had 18 goals
and 49 points for the Raiders last season and is pencilled in to play for Clarkson University.
“If they’re capable of playing down there, we wish
them all the best,” Goulet said. “If not, Tim (Clayden) has the right to talk
to them.
“They both wanted a change.”
In a separate trade, the Raiders acquired Ryan
Johnson, 18, a defenceman from the Elmira Sugar Kings of the Mid Western Jr. B
league for cash – known as a player development fee.
“Ryan Johnson gives me a real steady, great skating
defenceman, who’s a good puck mover and is capable of running a power play,”
Goulet said. “It just gives me another dynamic in a power-play situation.
Five-on-five he’s just a top-end guy as far as how smart he is and how well he
moves the puck. That’s real important at his level.”
Johnson had three goals and 20 assists in 37 games
last season.
With training camp approaching on Aug. 6 at Nepean
Sportsplex, Goulet is busy scouting in the Boston area and said he might not be finished
in terms of player movement.
“I’ve still got some holes to fill,” he said. “At the
end of the day, I want to have four lines that can play and six defencemen that
can play. It’s too early to say what role anyone’s going to have on the team.”
daniel.bowman@metroland.com