His offensive game has taken a step and for the Soo Greyhounds, the hope is that it will see a further jump in northern Ontario.
On Thursday, the team acquired winger Brenden Sirizzotti from the Niagara IceDogs in exchange for a pair of draft picks.
Sirizzotti joins the Greyhounds after scoring at just under a point-per-game clip with the IceDogs, posting seven goals and 21 points in 23 games.
“You watch him, and you can see that the skill just oozes out of him,” Greyhounds general manager Kyle Raftis said. “He’s a high-skilled player. He plays the wing and plays his off-wing as well. He’s someone that’s really smart with the puck.”
Raftis added that Sirizzotti’s offensive game took another step forward after he was traded to Niagara from the Ottawa 67’s prior to the trade deadline last season.
“You’re starting to see the offensive instincts take over that you saw when he was a younger player,” Raftis said. “It was a situation where, if he breaks out and has the year we think he’s capable of having, sometimes those guys are tough to add at different times.”
After scoring seven times and assisting on 11 other goals for 18 points in 30 games with Ottawa last season, Sirizzotti scored 10 times and added 21 assists for 31 points in 43 games with the IceDogs.
The deal is also one that adds a player the Greyhounds feel could have an impact as the team bids on hosting the 2024 Memorial Cup.
“Any of the additions are going to be guys that can help out in the second half and obviously for next year as well,” Raftis said. “He checked both those boxes. He’s not someone that we’re taking a huge step back in terms of ‘Hey, we have to develop this guy and get him going.’ He’s obviously an established player in this league already. It’s just a matter of getting him in and accustomed with how we do things here in the second half.”
Raftis called the trade “good timing” as well.
“I don’t think he’s someone that has to come in and save the group,” Raftis said. “There were times earlier in the year where we struggled offensively. We were holding onto things. Now, you can really start to see a style and the team’s game as a whole take hold in terms of what they’re trying to play.”
In return for Sirizzotti, the IceDogs receive an 8th round pick in the 2023 OHL Priority Selection and a 3rd round pick in the 2026 draft.
Sirizzotti is expected to be in the lineup for the Greyhounds as the team plays its final games before the Christmas break on Friday night in Kitchener and Saturday afternoon in Guelph.