An opportunity has opened up for some of the young forwards on the Soo Greyhounds roster.
The team announced on Thursday that 19-year-old forward Ryan Roth has been dealt to the Sarnia Sting.
In return, the Greyhounds acquired a second round draft pick in 2022 (originally Hamilton’s), a fourth round pick in 2021, and a conditional fifth round pick in 2023.
The condition on the fifth round pick is Roth playing his Ontario Hockey League overage season.
Greyhounds general manager Kyle Raftis said there were concerns expressed by Roth’s agent regarding “where he was going to fit in the lineup and what kind of opportunity there was going to be for him.”
“It was something that, seeing how some of our younger players are playing and right wing options with how everything is progressing, then finding a fit with Sarnia, that’s what made everything come together,” Raftis said. “It wasn’t something that has been discussed a lot. It really just picked up speed this week.”
The move leaves the Greyhounds forward corps at 13, not including veteran Barrett Hayton, who remains with the NHL’s Arizona Coyotes.
With the move, the trade means an increased opportunity for some of the Greyhounds younger forwards, including Kalvyn Watson and Dominic Mufarreh.
“We get to have a better look at the Watson’s and Muffareh’s and see how they’re going to develop,” Raftis said. “At the same time, we recoup a couple of draft picks.”
For the Sting, who enter action on Friday night with a record of 0-5-0-0, the deal was an opportunity to bring in a veteran forward, something general manager Nick Sinclair said the team was looking for.
“Since the onset of training camp, we have been targeting the addition of another older forward that could come in to provide additional experience and offence with our current younger nucleus,” Sinclair said in a prepared statement. “Ryan is a player that brings skill and the ability to score in all situations and he will be a welcome addition to our club.”
Signed as a free agent by the team prior to the 2017-18 season, Roth had 38 goals and 81 points in 142 career games with the Greyhounds.
This season, the third-year winger had two goals and six points in six games with the Greyhounds.
With the Roth deal coming together relatively quickly, Raftis said trade talk around the league has picked up of late.
“I’ve felt like this week, everything has picked up,” Raftis said. “Before training camp there’s always a lot of buzz. There’s talk but now that everyone is getting (deeper into the season), everyone is getting a little bit better feel of what their team makeup looks like.
As for Hayton, the 19-year-old forward remains with the Coyotes and is expected to get his first NHL action.
The Arizona Republic reported on Wednesday that Hayton, who sat out the Coyotes first two regular season games after making the team out of training camp, was expected to play Thursday night when the Coyotes face the Vegas Golden Knights.
The paper reported that Hayton has been practicing on a line with Nick Schmaltz and Christian Dvorak and doing drills with Arizona’s power play unit.
Raftis said Thursday that he hasn’t received any indication on whether Hayton would be returned to junior.