Steelheads strengthen crease with addition of Gillespie
The Brampton Steelheads added a veteran presence in the crease, acquiring 19-year-old Brayden Gillespie from the Guelph Storm on New Year’s Day.
Gillespie, who appeared in 101 games over the course of three seasons for the Storm. was obtained in exchange for Brampton’s second round pick in 2025, London’s third round pick in 2026 and a conditional Brantford fifth round pick in 2027. It’s the second trade the two teams have made in the past month after the Steelheads recently acquired forward Vilmer Alriksson in a separate move.
A 5-foot-11, 172Ib. native of Oakville, Ont., Gillespie is a former 11th round pick by the Storm in 2021 who developed into a starting goaltender for Guelph, going 45-42-6-2 with a 3.50 goals-against average and .886 save percentage to this point in his career. He is 9-15-1-0 with a 4.24 goals-against average and .869 save percentage through 27 contests in 2024-25.
Gillespie joins NHL Draft prospect Jack Ivankovic, who is currently representing Canada at the World Juniors, in the Brampton crease. The Trout have been using a tandem of Jacob Gibbons and Anthony Paolini in recent weeks.
Brampton currently sits fourth in the Central Division with a record of 15-15-5-0, coming off a 4-3 loss in Kingston on Sunday.
The Storm recalled goaltending prospect Zachary Jovanovski from the GOJHL affiliate Ayr Centennials following the move. A seventh round pick in 2023 from Tecumseh, Ont., Jovanovski appeared in three games earlier this season, earning his first OHL win on Dec. 14th against Kingston. In 16 games with Ayr, the 6-foot-3 Jovanovski is 9-5-1-0 with a 2.65 goals-against average and .910 save percentage. The Storm also feature 16-year-old Colin Ellsworth in the crease, who was the club’s third round pick last spring.
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