The Guelph Storm was busy dealing on Monday.
With the OHL trade deadline set for noon Tuesday, the Storm traded 18-year-old goaltender Jacob Oster to the Oshawa Generals for 19-year-old goaltender Patrick Leaver and a conditional fifth-round draft pick.
They then traded a second and a fourth round pick in this year's draft to the Sarnia Sting for 19-year-old defenceman Chandler Romeo and a second round pick in 2026.
Romeo, an Ottawa Senators draft pick from Cambridge, is 6'6" and 205 pounds, who had a goal and four assists in 24 games this season. Last season he had two goals and 16 assists in 67 games split between Hamilton and Sarnia.
He was originally a third-round pick of the Hamilton Bulldogs.
Before his OHL career, Romeo suited up for the GTHL’s Toronto Red Wings AAA program and split the 2019-20 campaign between the GOJHL’s Brantford Bandits and OJHL’s Brantford 99ers. Romeo was selected by the Ottawa Senators in the 7th round (202nd overall) in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft.
"Absolutely," said Storm general manager when asked if the goalie swap was about a change of scenery for both goalies. "This is a new opportunity for both guys.
"It's a fresh start. Goalies sometimes get more heat than they deserve. We think a lot of Jacob. He was excellent last year," Burnett said. "There were some tough nights this year and there were a lot of nights we weren't very good in front of him."
Leaver's story is similar to Oster's.
Last season he was excellent in 49 games, sporting a 3.20 goals-against average and .908 save percentage. But this season he was at 3.68/.883.