67’s alumni: “Minty” fresh, Rossi’s first, & TK’s heater
While the Ottawa 67’s make a name for themselves currently, pushing their way back into the CHL’s top 10 rankings, the club’s legacy goes beyond what you see from current players. All over the world, you can find alumni chasing their dreams of playing professional hockey, and early on in the season, many of them are finding great success.
Pavel Mintyukov off and running
The OHL’s Max Kaminsky Trophy winner from a season ago has picked up right where he left off after making the Anaheim Ducks out of training camp. Sporting the Ducks’ eggplant purple jersey, Pavel Mintyukov scored his first career NHL goal, and to the surprise of no one, he was standing low in the slot.
The goal helped get the Ducks out to a three-goal lead in the first period, before they were eventually able to upset the Carolina Hurricanes on home ice.
Last season, the Barber Poles sent nine draft picks to the Saginaw Spirit in exchange for the Russian blueliner. He went on to score eight goals and 34 points in his 32 games with the Barber Poles, before adding another nine assists in the postseason.
Marco Rossi gets his first
It took a little longer than anyone would have expected, but finally, in his third season with the Minnesota Wild, Marco Rossi can celebrate his first career NHL goal. On the road against the Toronto Maple Leafs, the puck squirted its way into the air, where the Austrian forward batted it into the back of the net.
In his NHL career, Rossi has played 24 games with the Wild, registering a pair of points. Most of his time in pro hockey has been with the AHL’s Iowa Wild, with whom he scored 51 points in 53 games a season ago.
In his final season with the Barber Poles in 2019-20, Rossi scored 120 points in just 56 games, leading the way not just in the OHL, but in the CHL entirely. He took home the Red Tilson Trophy, before being drafted ninth overall in the 2020 NHL Draft.
Travis Konecny’s hot start
One of the biggest reasons the Philadelphia Flyers are off to a decent start is Travis Konecny, who has found twine three times, and added a pair of apples in his first three games of the year.
The former 67’s captain is inching ever closer to the 150-goal milestone, the 200-assist mark, and subsequently, the 350-point plateau. Last season, Konecny hit the point-per-game mark for the first time in his career, and is now off to a great start in his efforts to chase that once more.
Konecny joined the 67’s as the first-overall pick in the 2013 OHL Priority Selection, and scored the most goals and points as a rookie, en route to winning OHL Rookie of the Year.
Tolnai starts fresh
It’s odd not seeing Cam Tolnai out of the ice with the 67’s, but after five years (four seasons due to COVID-19), he’s getting a chance to build something new with Queen’s University. In four games with the Gaels, Tolnai has twice hit the scoresheet, picking up a pair of assists, and helping his new team to a 4-0 start.
Tolnai committed to Queen’s after an impressive overage season with the Barber Poles, where he scored 73 points in 67 games, finishing third in the team’s scoring race. He joins fellow 67’s alum Lucas Peric on the Gaels, who have aspirations of winning the OUA, and challenging for the U Cup at season’s end.
