[{"id":81994,"date":"2026-06-24T10:09:18","date_gmt":"2026-06-24T14:09:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/?p=81994"},"modified":"2026-06-24T10:09:18","modified_gmt":"2026-06-24T14:09:18","slug":"not-everyone-knows-when-they-have-a-gem-a-carter-verhaeghe-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/article\/not-everyone-knows-when-they-have-a-gem-a-carter-verhaeghe-story","title":{"rendered":"Not Everyone Knows When They Have a Gem: A Carter Verhaeghe Story"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Cameron Kelcey<\/em><\/p>\n

NIAGARA, ONT<\/strong> – In honour of the 2026 NHL Entry Draft taking place this weekend right across the river in Buffalo, NY, we are adding another installment to our Gem of the Draft series.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The topic of discussion in the previous installment of <\/span>Gem of the Draft<\/span><\/a> was Vince Dunn, a gem the Niagara IceDogs unearthed in the 2012 OHL Priority Selection. Luckily for the IceDogs, they quickly realized the gem they had in Dunn, and they made sure to hold onto him.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Sometimes teams are not so fortunate, and they let a gem slip right through their fingers.<\/span><\/p>\n

This was the case with IceDogs alumni Carter Verhaeghe. A gem of the draft in both the OHL and NHL Draft, he was selected in the second round, 38th overall, by the Niagara IceDogs in the 2011 OHL Priority Selection.<\/span><\/p>\n

It was not immediately evident that Verhaeghe was a gem.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In his rookie season, he was on a star-studded team that boasted IceDogs legends such as Ryan Strome, Mark Visentin and Dougie Hamilton. The team finished first in the Eastern Conference that year and made it all the way to the OHL Championship series.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Due to the team\u2019s strength, the rookie Verhaeghe saw limited ice time and was unable to make his mark on the organization.<\/span><\/p>\n

Verhaeghe\u2019s play saw significant improvement in his second year, finishing the season with 44 points in 67 games. That summer, he lived many kids’ dreams of being drafted to his hometown team when he was selected in the third round, 82nd overall, by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Verhaeghe\u2019s play saw another leap in his third season with the IceDogs. He finished the year with 82 points, almost double the amount of points he tallied in his previous season – and he did it in fewer games. He finished his fourth and final season as an IceDog with 82 points for a second consecutive season.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

That year, he was also named as the franchise\u2019s seventh Captain and the IceDogs MVP.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Via Niagara Sports report on Newstalk 610 CKTB, Verhaeghe spoke very fondly of his time in Niagara.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI kind of grew up in St. Catharines, and that area, it\u2019s always kind of been home for me. I made some lifelong friends there, and I still chat with my billet family.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

After playing only two games with the Toronto Maple Leafs AHL affiliate team, the Toronto Marlies, Verhaeghe was traded to the New York Islanders on September 18, 2015.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For the next two seasons, Verhaeghe bounced between the Islanders’ AHL and ECHL affiliate teams. In July 2017, he was traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning organization by the Islanders, a second NHL organization, not realizing the gem they were letting slip out of their grasp.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

He had a breakout season with the Syracuse Crunch, Tampa\u2019s AHL affiliate team, during the 2017-2018 season, recording 48 points in 58 games. The following season, he captured the AHL scoring title and broke the Crunch\u2019s single-season total point record with 82 points in 76 games.<\/span><\/p>\n

On October 3, 2019, over six years after being drafted by the Maple Leafs and after four seasons in the minors, Verhaeghe played his first career NHL game with the Tampa Bay Lightning. He remained in the lineup, and at the end of that season, Verhaeghe was a Stanley Cup champion.<\/span><\/p>\n

Verhaeghe reflected on this time via Sportnet.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a bit of a whirlwind. The year before you\u2019re playing in the American league, and then you get your first taste of the NHL and go on that kind of run.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

After his rookie season, Verhaeghe signed with the Florida Panthers, who he still plays for at the time this article is published. He has hoisted Lord Stanley twice with the Panthers, and his three total Stanley Cup victories are the most by any IceDogs alumni.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Verhaeghe has earned a reputation as a player who makes the big plays in the big moments.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Teammates, coaches and hockey analysts have all described him as having \u201cthe clutch gene.\u201d Via Sportsnet, his Panthers teammate Sam Reinhart said, \u201cWhen the games get tight and everyone\u2019s kind of feeling the nerves, he\u2019s a guy that seems to elevate.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In his NHL career, Verhaeghe has scored 13 playoff game-winning goals, which is tied for second all-time among active players behind Panthers teammate Brad Marchand. Of those 13 game-winning goals, five of them were scored in overtime, which is tied for third all-time behind Joe Sakic and Maurice \u201cThe Rocket\u201d Richard.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Considering his accolades, it is difficult to imagine that Verhaeghe had to go through three NHL organizations before he was allowed to play a game in the National League. However, he says there was a lot of value in the journey he had to become an established NHL player.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEverywhere I went, I kind of took something from it, and it helped me adjust and be the player that I am today.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Verhaeghe is a gem that several teams let slip by them. If any organization could go back to the 2013 NHL Entry Draft knowing what they know now, then Verhaeghe would be selected a lot earlier than the third round.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Just like Vince Dunn, Verhaeghe is proof that where you are selected in the draft is just a number.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Cameron Kelcey NIAGARA, ONT – In honour of the 2026 NHL Entry Draft taking place this weekend right across the river in Buffalo, NY, we are adding another installment to our Gem of the Draft series.\u00a0 The topic of discussion in the previous installment of Gem of the Draft was Vince Dunn, a gem…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":596,"featured_media":81995,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[381],"tags":[{"term_id":18,"name":"carter verhaeghe","slug":"carter-verhaeghe","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":18,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":4,"filter":"raw","term_order":"185"},{"term_id":252,"name":"IceDogs Alumni","slug":"icedogs-alumni","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":252,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":23,"filter":"raw","term_order":"276"},{"term_id":257,"name":"NHL Draft","slug":"nhl-draft","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":257,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":12,"filter":"raw","term_order":"352"}],"class_list":["post-81994","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","tag-carter-verhaeghe","tag-icedogs-alumni","tag-nhl-draft","category-381","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2026\/06\/24100811\/GEMS-Verhaeghe-WEB-1.png",1920,1080,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81994","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/596"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=81994"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81994\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/81995"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=81994"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=81994"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=81994"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":81990,"date":"2026-06-19T13:00:06","date_gmt":"2026-06-19T17:00:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/?p=81990"},"modified":"2026-06-19T14:32:00","modified_gmt":"2026-06-19T18:32:00","slug":"icedogs-acquire-mcfadden-gallacher-and-picks-from-guelph","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/article\/icedogs-acquire-mcfadden-gallacher-and-picks-from-guelph","title":{"rendered":"ICEDOGS ACQUIRE MCFADDEN, GALLACHER AND PICKS FROM GUELPH"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Cameron Kelcey<\/em><\/p>\n

NIAGARA, ONT.<\/strong> \u2013 The Niagara IceDogs have acquired forwards Wil McFadden and Layne Gallacher, along with a 2027 fifth-round pick, a 2029 third-round pick and a 2030 fourth-round pick from the Guelph Storm in exchange for forward Ryan Roobroeck.<\/p>\n

Roobroeck was selected second overall by the IceDogs in the 2023 OHL Priority Selection and made an immediate impact, recording 51 points in his rookie season \u2014 the most ever by a first-year IceDogs player. He continued his offensive development over the next two seasons, averaging more than a point per game in each.<\/p>\n

Internationally, Roobroeck represented Canada at the 2025 IIHF U18 World Championship, recording nine points in seven games while helping Canada capture the gold medal. He is also widely projected to be selected in the upcoming 2026 NHL Draft.<\/p>\n

“We would like to thank Ryan for his commitment to the Niagara IceDogs organization over the past three years,” said IceDogs General Manager Dale DeGray. “He has developed into an elite player at our level, and I believe that will be recognized at the upcoming NHL Draft. Representing Canada at both the U17 and U18 World Championships has brought recognition not only to himself, but also to our organization and the Niagara region. On behalf of everyone with the IceDogs, we wish Ryan continued success in Guelph and throughout his professional career.”<\/p>\n

McFadden joins the IceDogs after spending the past three seasons with the Storm. The 19-year-old is coming off a career-best 41-point campaign and is expected to play a key offensive role in Niagara.<\/p>\n

“Wil is an offensive threat at even strength and on the power play,” said DeGray. “He’s a proven leader and someone we expect to be a go-to player for our hockey club this season.”<\/p>\n

Gallacher began last season with the Brantford Bulldogs before being acquired by Guelph during the season. The rookie forward finished the year with 30 points between the two clubs.<\/p>\n

“Layne had a very solid rookie season,” added DeGray. “He’s a fast, hard-working, engaged player who checks a lot of boxes and plays a reliable 200-foot game.”<\/p>\n

The Niagara IceDogs thank Ryan Roobroeck for everything he brought to the organization over the past three seasons and wish him the very best with the Guelph Storm.<\/p>\n

The organization also welcomes Wil McFadden and Layne Gallacher to Dog Country!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Cameron Kelcey NIAGARA, ONT. \u2013 The Niagara IceDogs have acquired forwards Wil McFadden and Layne Gallacher, along with a 2027 fifth-round pick, a 2029 third-round pick and a 2030 fourth-round pick from the Guelph Storm in exchange for forward Ryan Roobroeck. Roobroeck was selected second overall by the IceDogs in the 2023 OHL Priority…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":596,"featured_media":81991,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[381],"tags":[{"term_id":514,"name":"Wil McFadden","slug":"wil-mcfadden","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":514,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1,"filter":"raw","term_order":"1"},{"term_id":515,"name":"Layne Gallacher","slug":"layne-gallacher","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":515,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1,"filter":"raw","term_order":"2"},{"term_id":434,"name":"Transaction","slug":"transaction","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":434,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":16,"filter":"raw","term_order":"82"},{"term_id":339,"name":"Ryan Roobroeck","slug":"ryan-roobroeck","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":339,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":19,"filter":"raw","term_order":"423"}],"class_list":["post-81990","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","tag-wil-mcfadden","tag-layne-gallacher","tag-transaction","tag-ryan-roobroeck","category-381","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2026\/06\/19124337\/WEB-TRADE-1920-x-1080-8.png",1920,1080,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81990","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/596"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=81990"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81990\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/81991"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=81990"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=81990"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=81990"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":81987,"date":"2026-06-18T13:00:57","date_gmt":"2026-06-18T17:00:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/?p=81987"},"modified":"2026-06-18T12:34:22","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T16:34:22","slug":"icedogs-acquire-defenceman-christian-colosimo-from-flint","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/article\/icedogs-acquire-defenceman-christian-colosimo-from-flint","title":{"rendered":"ICEDOGS ACQUIRE DEFENCEMAN CHRISTIAN COLOSIMO FROM FLINT"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Cameron Kelcey<\/em><\/p>\n

NIAGARA, ONT.<\/strong> \u2013 The Niagara IceDogs have acquired defenceman Christian Colosimo from the Flint Firebirds in exchange for a fifth-round selection in the 2030 OHL Priority Selection.<\/p>\n

Colosimo, 18, was selected by the Firebirds with the first pick of the fourth round (61st overall) in the 2024 OHL Priority Selection.<\/p>\n

During the 2025-26 season, the Woodbridge, Ont. native split time between the Firebirds and the OJHL’s Aurora Tigers. Between the two clubs, Colosimo, the physical defenceman, recorded one goal and five assists while continuing his development on the blue line.<\/p>\n

\n

“Christian is a big, strong puck mover who seems to enjoy playing a physical style of hockey. Seeing him in the Western Conference, I know that he is a player that opponents need to be aware of when he is on the ice. I appreciate the way that he plays and look forward to seeing him in an ice dog jersey come September. I want to welcome Christian and his family to the organization.”<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The Niagara IceDogs would like to welcome Christian and his family to Dog Country and look forward to seeing him at training camp this fall.<\/p>\n

FULL TRADE:<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Niagara Acquires: Christian Colosimo (D)<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Flint Acquires: NIAG 5th Round Draft Pick – 2030<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Cameron Kelcey NIAGARA, ONT. \u2013 The Niagara IceDogs have acquired defenceman Christian Colosimo from the Flint Firebirds in exchange for a fifth-round selection in the 2030 OHL Priority Selection. Colosimo, 18, was selected by the Firebirds with the first pick of the fourth round (61st overall) in the 2024 OHL Priority Selection. During the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":596,"featured_media":81989,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[381],"tags":[{"term_id":513,"name":"Christian Colosimo","slug":"christian-colosimo","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":513,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1,"filter":"raw","term_order":"3"},{"term_id":434,"name":"Transaction","slug":"transaction","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":434,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":16,"filter":"raw","term_order":"82"}],"class_list":["post-81987","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","tag-christian-colosimo","tag-transaction","category-381","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2026\/06\/18102849\/WEB-TRADE-1920-x-1080-7.png",1920,1080,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81987","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/596"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=81987"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81987\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/81989"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=81987"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=81987"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=81987"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":81984,"date":"2026-06-16T14:00:13","date_gmt":"2026-06-16T18:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/?p=81984"},"modified":"2026-06-16T14:05:31","modified_gmt":"2026-06-16T18:05:31","slug":"icedogs-announce-2026-2027-season-schedule","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-icedogs\/article\/icedogs-announce-2026-2027-season-schedule","title":{"rendered":"ICEDOGS ANNOUNCE 2026-2027 SEASON SCHEDULE"},"content":{"rendered":"

NIAGARA, ONT.<\/strong> \u2014 The Niagara IceDogs have officially released their full schedule for the 2026-27 Ontario Hockey League regular season.<\/p>\n

The IceDogs will open the campaign on the road on Friday, September 18th,<\/strong> when they visit the Brantford Bulldogs before returning home the following night for their Home Opener on Saturday, September 19, against the Brampton Steelheads at the Meridian Centre.<\/p>\n

Niagara’s 68-game schedule features 34 home games and 34 road contests, concluding on Saturday, March 20th, with a road matchup against the Barrie Colts.<\/p>\n

Rivalry Week Returns<\/h2>\n

The OHL’s second annual Rivalry Week will take place from October 21-25, with the IceDogs renewing their long-standing geographic rivalry against the Erie Otters in a home-and-home series.<\/p>\n

Niagara will host Erie on Friday, October 23, at 7:00 p.m. before travelling across the border to Erie on Saturday, October 24, at 6:00 p.m.<\/p>\n

The two clubs will face each other six times during the regular season.<\/p>\n

Key Home Dates<\/h2>\n

The IceDogs schedule features several marquee dates at the Meridian Centre, including:<\/p>\n