Knights bite defenceless ‘Dogs
In deals yesterday, London sent Domenic DeSando to the Soo Greyhounds for a fourth-round draft pick in 2010
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By RYAN PYETTE
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Mark Hunter tried to land the Big Dog.
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The London Knights GM had serious talks with Niagara IceDogs counterpart Dave Brown about acquiring Canadian world junior standout defenceman Alex Pietrangelo before the St. Louis Blues prospect was shipped to OHL Eastern Conference power Barrie in a blockbuster deal.
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“Mark and I had conversations about it,” Brown said. “He came up with creative ways to do a deal but, in the end, we had really focused on (young Barrie D-man Ryan) Strome. He was the guy we had targeted, the one we had wanted to draft, and we got him another way.”
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The Knights won’t be giving up rookie Scott Harrington, a future NHL first rounder and soon-to-be blue-line anchor.
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They like him the way Brown favours Strome.
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So with Pietrangelo bolted to the Colts, the Knights went hard to the front of the Niagara net all game, buried four third-period goals and four power-play markers to beat the last-place IceDogs 6-3 before 9,010 last night at the John Labatt Centre.
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Captain Justin Taylor scored three times.
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He’s the only Knight with a hat trick this season. He’s pulled off the feat twice now and has the headgear to prove it.
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“The infamous sombrero,” he said. “I’ve been fortunate enough to get on a bit of a roll and you know we have good guys coming back in Naz (Kadri) and Phil McRae, so you try to get in front and wait for the puck.”
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Kadri danced around with the puck on his stick all night. He picked up four assists in his first game back since settling for silver at world juniors in Saskatoon.
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Kadri could’ve had five helpers if OHL defenceman of the month Steve Tarasuk let him touch the puck before he popped it in an open net on a rebound.
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“I know,” Kadri joked. “What a selfish guy. It was a little tough because I’ve played a lot of hockey lately.”
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He was on the ice Tuesday night when former teammate John Carlson buried the overtime winner for the gold medal Phil McRae was passing around to his teammates at the rink.
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“I never backchecked so hard in my life,” Kadri said. “I had that guy (that Carlson faked a pass to) and I was going to crash into the net and knock it off if that’s what it took. And Johnny made a great shot. I know he was a little loopy afterwards because Zucker on their team came off the bench and just drilled him into the glass after his goal, but hey, the guy had just won the gold medal.
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“He’ll get over it.”
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Kadri isn’t concerned about his status with the Knights. He’s a marketable commodity to any team still looking for a last-minute talent upgrade.
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Zac Rinaldo is also a big piece for a team wanting an infusion of power hitting. Windsor could still use some toughness up front.
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“You see Windsor and Barrie making some moves but I just got back and I’m just leaving that up to the coaches and GM,” Kadri said. “That’s not for us to worry about. We’re here to play.”
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“We’re a bunch of puzzle pieces and Mark just tries to make us all fit,” Taylor added. “I know it’s up in the air and it’s a nervous time for some guys. But we’ll see if this is the team that’s set in stone the rest of the way or not.
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Hunter isn’t certain which way it’ll swing over the next three days.
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He does know he won’t be able to sleep too well, if Monday’s trade deadline comes and the Knights look a lot like they do right now.
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“You look at adding a piece to help a run, but there’s not a lot out there available right now so I don’t know what’s going to happen,” he said. “Then, you look at maybe moving a few players out and getting some younger guys back who can play into the lineup but I don’t know if that’s going to be possible, either.”
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And after two straight blockbusters, he knows these aren’t easy deals to find.
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“It’s physically draining,” Brown said. “I know my staff is probably exhausted from all the work I’ve put them through the last little while. But you get to the end of the day and you do what’s best for your team.
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“You look at what Mark did last year to get John Tavares and Michael (Del Zotto).
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“He works hard.”
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Earlier in the day, Hunter traded Dominic DeSando to Sault Ste. Marie for a 2010 fourth-round pick (and a conditional fourth in 2011 if DeSando plays an over-age year).
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The Knights still have a surplus of 1990-born forwards.
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“Dom’s a good kid,” Hunter said. “Hard worker. We needed some picks.”
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Right now, the Knights are second in the Western Conference behind Windsor. They can add or subtract and that may not change.
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But Hunter’s strength has always been in convincing top talent to play for his team, mining late-round nuggets like DeSando and signing free agents like Reid McNeill, the rookie defenceman who scored his first OHL goal.
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And what was he doing in front of the net anyway?
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“All the coaches have been telling us to look for the weak-side and saw Nazem with the puck and I’ve felt more comfortable in the offensive zone lately,” he said. “It felt good and we’ve been getting on Harrington a little bit here.
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“First round pick and he’s the only one on the team still looking for his first goal.”
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The Knights got some speed back in the lineup with Stephen Sanza’s return. He suffered a concussion on Dec. 29 in Guelph after Storm D-man Adam Comrie ran his head hard into the end boards.
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“All I remember is skating down the ice and waking up in a doctor’s office,” Sanza said. “I missed four games and that was too many for me. I think it was the first time in 15 years of hockey that I couldn’t play. All you can do in that situation is rest. There’s really nothing else they can do for you to get you better faster.”
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Next: The Knights face the Erie Otters tonight at 7 p.m. at the John Labatt Centre.