GM deals five picks for Kressler, and gets two picks back

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Starting just before the Christmas break and continuing into the new year, it appears the Ottawa 67’s have gone from being a team that needs offensive help to one with holes at both ends of the ice.

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On Saturday morning they did some filling and, with the Ontario Hockey League trade deadline just around the corner, they’re likely not done.

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In between a 5-2 loss to the North Bay Battalion on Friday and a 4-3 overtime defeat at the hands of the Kingston Frontenacs less than 24 hours later, extending the 67’s losing streak to six, general manager James Boyd pulled the trigger on a deal with the Flint Firebirds to acquire Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Braeden Kressler, a 5-9, 170-pound right-hand centre who turned 21 the day before he was dealt.

The price was five draft picks — a second-round choice in 2026, a couple of thirds in 2024, another third in 2027 and a ninth in 2025 — but, along with Kressler, Flint is sending the 67’s a third and a 10th in 2024.

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Only one of the picks the 67’s are moving, the ninth, was originally theirs.

“The makeup of the trade, it’s really a second and two thirds (for Kressler),” Boyd said, noting the ninth for a 10th and the flip-flop of thirds in ’27. “It looks like five picks, but, when you cross out a couple of them, it’s a second, a third and a third. The fact some of those picks are down the road gives us a chance to recoup them, too.”

Kressler, who signed an entry-level deal with the Leafs as an undrafted free agent three Octobers ago, had 15 goals and 22 assists for 37 points in 33 games with the Firebirds.

The DobberProspects scouting report on the Kitchener product says he’s “undersized, but tenacious, with good vision and passing ability,” while Boyd called Kressler a gritty player who “drives the play and helps the players around him.”

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Said Boyd: “The top overage centreman available, in my opinion. He was such a key focus for us.”

But not the only target on the 67’s radar.

“We’re looking at all options here,” Boyd explained. “I’d like to see what else can can happen. There’s been a lot of talking around the league. There’s some stuff that’s starting to happen now, but we’re going to improve our team … if we can.”

What the 67’s won’t do is over-react to the losing streak.

Boyd said, when they decided on a strategy heading towards the Jan. 10 deadline, “we tried to do it with cooler heads, and there’s some common sense, and that took place in the middle December.

“Since then, I think we all went on Christmas break a day early (with a 3-1 loss in Mississauga) and didn’t have a successful final weekend to the first half,” he added. “We’ve had so many injuries, and guys out of the lineup, key players for us … We haven’t had a great couple of weeks here, but it’s really not our team, either.”

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And what kind of team does he believe he has?

“I think we’re competitive,” Boyd said. “I think we’re going to need at least one more addition that’s going to improve our chances, so we’re going to work the trade market here next couple of days.

“With the parity that exists this year, we’re going to put ourselves in the conversation. If we’re adding players, we’re going to try our best to win the league.”

To turn things around, the 67’s will have to keep finding success on the road, where they are 8-7-1 with a .531 winning percentage that is the best in the division. Of their remaining 32 games, only 14 are at TD Place.

They’ll also need to be better around both nets.

As of Saturday morning, only three OHL teams had scored fewer goals than the 114 netted by Ottawa, which is now tied with Kingston for second place in the East Division with an 18-15-3 record.

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At the same time, only five teams had given up fewer goals than the 118 allowed by the 67’s, who have become leakier than usual, surrendering an average of five per game during the slump.

“We can’t get the combination of structure, execution and compete all together on the same page,” head coach Dave Cameron said. “We’ve got some guys that are playing more than they actually should simply because we’re thin in the lineup, and that’s what happens. It’s an opportunity for them and I think down the road and put them in good stead, but it’s a challenge right now.”

It’s not coincidence that for the past five games the 67’s have been without Cooper Foster, a Pittsburgh Penguins prospect who is second in team scoring with 13 goal and 16 assists for 29 points in 31 games.

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He’ll serve the last of a six-game suspension for an illegal head-check when the 67’s return to action Friday with a game in Brantford against the division-leading Bulldogs.

“Foster is our best centre but there’s no ‘poor me’s’ here,” Cameron said. “We’ve got to find a way to win some games here.”

They looked like they were headed that way Saturday, when they had a 2-0 lead early in the second and were up 3-1 near the midway mark of the game before the Frontenacs stormed back with three goals, including the winner by Gabriel Frasca 69 seconds into OT.

Luca Pinelli, Chris Barlas and Matthw Mayich scored for the 67’s, while workhorse goalie Max Donoso made 26 saves in his fifth straight start and 16th in the past 20 games.

“Obviously we know we’re on a losing streak right now, but I think we’ve just got to get back to how we know how to play,” said Pinelli, the 67’s captain and leading scorer with 27 goals and 12 assists for 39 points. “We’ve talked about that. We’ve tried to get the room to stay positive … We’ve just got to come out really hard and show other teams what we’re really about.”

Meanwhile, the trade deadline is the elephant in the room.

“No one really talks about it,” Pinelli said. “It’s there, but we’re here right now with the 67’s, so that’s all we’re thinking about.”

dbrennan@postmedia.com

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