Generals land Colby Barlow in trade with Owen Sound
Photo: Allison Davies/Owen Sound Attack
The Oshawa Generals were already a dangerous team offensively, and they just got a whole lot more lethal.
The Generals announced the acquisition of Owen Sound Attack captain Colby Barlow on Thursday morning, bringing in the 19-year-old fresh off his return from NHL preseason action with the Winnipeg Jets, who selected him 18th overall in the 2023 NHL Draft.
Owen Sound didn’t come away empty-handed, acquiring draft eligible 6-foot-5 defenceman David Bedkowski, sophomore winger Tristan Delisle and six draft picks including a pair of seconds and thirds.
“It’s an exciting day to land a player like Colby,” said Generals GM and Vice President Roger Hunt. “He has a proven track record of being a scorer and that will add to our already deep group of forwards. Fans will grow to love seeing #39 in red, white and navy blue. “On the other hand, to lose David and Tristan is difficult. They were great players and teammates during their time here and they will both go on to great things. I would like to wish them both all the success in the world.”
Barlow joins the Generals are arguably the most dangerous goal-scorer in the OHL this season. The Orillia, Ont. product comes-off a 40-goal season in 2023-24, leaving the Attack franchise as one of its all-time leading scorers with 116 tallies and 184 points over 168 career regular season games.
“Colby has been a very good player for the Attack and one of the most prolific goal scorers I think that has ever put on the jersey,” said Attack General Manager Dale DeGray. “When your top player asks to be traded, it’s very difficult to accept and then very difficult to try and get full value for the player. I would like to thank Colby for everything the he has done and wish him the most success with the Oshawa Generals.”
Bedkowski joins the Owen Sound blueline after a solid playoff run in Oshawa last spring. The late 2006-born defender from Toronto has produced 17 points (4-13–17) over 125 OHL contests and plays an effective shutdown game. Delisle, who is the son of former OHL forward Miguel Delisle (1998-2003) who played in Owen Sound in his final season, had a strong rookie campaign in Oshawa with 18 points (7-11–18) over 63 games. He was the Generals’ third round pick in 2023.
“With Colby leaving it gives us the opportunity to bring in a couple of fantastic players in David Bedkowski and Tristan Delisle who will fit right into coach Scott Wray’s system upon their arrival,” added DeGray. The Attack would like to welcome Tristan and David and their families to the Attack organization and look forward to seeing them both in an Attack jersey.”
Barlow, who comes into the season as a Canadian National Junior Team hopeful this December, gives the Generals a lethal shooting option in the offensive zone. He looks to debut with the Generals, who are currently the fourth-ranked team in the OHL Power Rankings, this coming Friday when they host the Niagara IceDogs at Tribute Communities Centre.
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