OHL 20 in 20: Peterborough Petes
A year removed from an OHL Championship, the Peterborough Petes are still a young team looking to form an identity under coach Rob Wilson. If you’re an OHL fan that enjoys watching the journey from draft day to graduation day, the Petes are a great team to keep tabs on as several of their young players are just scratching the surface of their potential as we enter the 2024-25 season.
| NOTABLE DEPARTURES | KEY ADDITIONS |
| F Quinn Binnie | F Colin Fitzgerald (3rd Ov. ’24) |
| D Cam Gauvreau (U. Ottawa) | D Blake Gowan (2nd Rd. ’24) |
| F Tommy Purdeller (Italy) | G Masen Johnston (6th Rd. ’23) |
| F Adam Levac (5th Rd. ’24) | |
| D Thanasi Marentette (10th Rd. ’23) | |
| D Genc Ula (5th Rd. ’24) |
Five Questions Heading Into 2024-25:
1. Who steps up offensively?
The Petes really stripped things down following their OHL Championship in 2023, and are forging a new identity in the aftermath of that rebuild. Part of that transition has been establishing a new cast of offensive contributors. When he’s healthy, captain Jonathan Melee can be a catalyst as he’ll look to build off 45 points (14-31–45) last season while former 15th round pick Chase Lefebvre (17-22–39) can be counted on to chip in as well. Quinton Pagé popped in a sneaky 15 goals as well, while sparkplug Braydon McCallum put up 41 points (18-23–41) in his first full season. The Petes hope to see what some of their 2007-born talent can do with a clean slate to start the season, namely last year’s additions in Nico Addy from Owen Sound, Caden Taylor from Sudbury and Aiden Young from Saginaw, who were all first round picks in the 2023 OHL Priority Selection.
2. How does time in the crease play out?
Liam Sztuska was very good with limited support in 2023-24 as evidenced by a .905 save percentage despite a record of just 11-25-4-1 behind a young team. If the Petes are looking to the future though, the overaged Sztuska will likely be sharing the workload with a younger teammate in the interest of developing the franchise’s future in the crease. Former London Knight Zach Bowen has built himself a resume of OHL experience that includes duty in the 2023 OHL Playoffs. The Petes also have a pair of local lads in 2006-born Easton Rye and 2007-born Masen Johnston looking to get reps in as well.
3. Will Cameron continue his upward trend?
Pleasant surprises can be hard to come by when your team is 20-40-7-1, but rookie defenceman Carson Cameron was definitely one of them last season. Taken 13th overall in the 2023 Priority Selection, the native of nearby Bobcaygeon was voted to the league’s second all-rookie team after recording 26 points (4-22–26) over 59 games. He was also a World U17 Hockey Challenge gold medalist in his. tour of duty with Canada White. Cameron has sprouted to 6-foot-2 entering his sophomore season, one that will have NHL scouts on the lookout.
4. What will Fitzgerald bring to his hometown team?
The Petes were thrilled when third overall pick Colin Fitzgerald put pen to paper over he summer after originally committing to the USHL’s Green Bay Gamblers. FItzgerald opted to stay close to home, just a few blocks from home literally to wear the maroon and white this fall. A prototypical power centreman, Fitzgerald had a huge finish to the 2023-24 season, coming up big at the OHL Cup with a tournament-tying 13 points (8-5–13) over six games. His dad, Rob, played three OHL seasons between Owen Sound and Belleville from 1994-97. Expect coach Rob Wilson to give the young forward every opportunity to grow his game with lots of reps in his rookie season.
5. Can the Petes find their way back into the playoffs?
The Petes were really young last year, and they’re still very young entering 2024-25. A lot of development can happen over the course of a season though, in fact we’ve seen some teams take big strides between the first and second half of a season in recent years. It’ll be interesting to see how the opening few weeks go, and how GM Mike Oke charts the club’s course forward in terms of roster construction. There are undoubtedly some key battles for depth and positioning up and down the lineup, and those will likely take the first quarter of the season to bear themselves out. The Petes will play a road-heavy first half of the schedule, with lots of dates at the PMC in January, February and March this coming season.
Related Content:
Futures Watch – Peterborough Petes
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