Samuel Mayer gives 67’s size, experience and championship pedigree

Article content

It used to be when the Peterborough Petes dropped by TD Place you’d see more than a half-dozen fans wearing the visiting team’s colours and a “Mayer” nameplate on the back of a No. 2 jersey.

Article content

Going forward?

Article content

“They’ll probably keep them as a souvenir,” said the owner of the original Samuel Mayer jersey, a 20-year-old defenceman from L’Orignal (an hour east of the nation’s capital) who was dealt from the Petes to the 67’s last week and scored in his Ottawa debut on Friday. “I was playing for another team and they’d come and support me, but now they’ve got to take that jersey off.”

Perhaps somebody should have a few No. 19 “Mayer” barber poles made up now.

With the 67’s on a six-game losing streak at the deadline, GM James Boyd shook the tree by making four significant trades, acquiring overage centres Braeden Kressler and Jacob Maillet, 19-year-old goalie Ian Michelone and Mayer, a tower of power who had 32 goals and 82 assists for 114 points, 226 penalty minutes, in 173 career games with the Petes.

Article content

He also had two goals, seven points and 22 PM in 23 playoff games last spring as Peterborough’s road to the Ontario Hockey League championship included a second-round knockout of the 67’s.

With an eye on first place in the very tight Eastern Conference, but more importantly a longer playoff run, Boyd’s upgrades of his leadership group were necessary and could very well pay huge dividends.

For now, heading into Sunday afternoon’s home game against the Owen Sound Attack, the 67’s are 2-2 since the deals were made.

“They’re really good,” head coach Dave Cameron said when asked about the new players after Friday’s 4-2 loss to the stacked Saginaw Spirit. “They give our team real strength down the middle of the ice, which we’ve been missing this year with Logan Morrison, Vinny (Rohrer) and Cam (Tolnai) all moving on. Prior to them coming we had trouble winning faceoffs, so right away your special teams are better because you win the faceoff and your puck possession is better, you’re not chasing as much.

Article content

“And, on the back end, Samuel is just a man among boys and makes our whole group better.”

HockeyDB.com has Mayer listed at 6-3 and 202 pounds.

But he looks bigger, thicker … like, well, a man among boys.

“Everything,” Cameron said when asked what he liked most about Mayer. “He’s physical. He’s a leader. He’s talking on the bench. We needed some help in that area too, where when the game’s on the line, he’s somebody to talk to and just kind of settle everything down, rather than always being coaches.”

Heading into Saturday night’s game in Peterborough, the Spirit was 27-12-1 record for 55 points and fourth in the  OHL’s Western Conference behind kingpins Kitchener, London and the Soo.

At the same time, Saginaw was ranked sixth in the entire country, with the Rangers as the only OHL team at a loftier position (fourth) in the latest CHL rankings.

Article content

Expectations are the 22-year-old franchise — which is guaranteed a spot in the Memorial Cup (May 24-June 2) as the tournament host — will sit even higher, possibly even the top top perch, by the time the season is done.

The trade deadline additions of Jorian Donovan (Senators) and Owen Beck (Habs), who had six points in his debut to tie a single-game team record, gives the Spirit 10 NHL prospects, and that’s not counting their top two scorers, Zayne Parekh and Michael Misa.

Parekh is the pacesetter with 21 goals and 40 assists for 61 points in 40 games.  The 6-foot, 180-pound defenceman, is just 17 and is No. 10 on Central Scouting’s latest rankings for the 2024 National Hockey League draft.

Misa is viewed as the No. 1 pick overall in 2025.

Article content

The Oakville native was granted exceptional player status so he could play in the OHL as a 15-year-old, and after Saginaw took him with the first pick he showed what all the fuss was about, scoring 22 goals and 34 assists for 56 points in 45 games during a season that was mostly completed before he was old enough to drive.

This season, the 6-foot, 175-pound left winger had 20 goals and 29 assists for 49 points in the team’s first 39 games.

“He’s a really, really smart hockey player, and just playing against him you see it,” Mayer said. “He knows where his guys are and always puts the pass on the tape no matter where he is. He’s got a good shot, good skills, and he’s a big body for his age. So yeah, he’s going to be a really good player.”

Article content

The 67’s didn’t measure up because they couldn’t keep up in a test against the Spirit.

They were outshot 39-26, and that’s with getting five or six pucks on net in the dying minutes.

They also gave Saginaw six power-play chances, but their penalty killers did a fine job to survive them all without incident.

“Good teams make you play fast,” Cameron said. “We weren’t able to match their speed, but we did a lot of good things. We battled and that’s a bar (set by the Spirit) we’re trying to reach.”

A little time together should help.

Mayer, who wore an ‘A’ in Peterborough, noted the positives of coming over to a new team just as it was leaving for a three-game road trip to Brantford, Owen Sound and Kitchener.

“It was a fun road trip,” Mayer said. “We got two wins out of it and it was fun getting to know the boys on the bus. We played cards day until the boys on the bus. Played cards with them and got to know them a lot more. Me and (Brady) Stonehouse joked about how every game we’d get in a battle. He’s a rat, but that’s what you want on your team.”

Mayer is clearly pumped about the possibilities ahead, with his new jersey and his new team.

“To me (being traded) means another team sees something that I’m doing well,” he said. “We’re contenders and we’re going for it. So, obviously, it’s a good feeling and it’s exciting.

“We didn’t play our best game defensively,” he added of the failed test against the Memorial Cup hosts. “But playoffs starts at the end of March, April, so we’ve got to get better by that time.”

Article content