Leonard to London as IceDogs deal again
The Niagara IceDogs Tuesday traded defenceman Alec Leonard to the London Knights in a package deal involving one other player and three draft picks. Photo: OHL IMAGES.
The Niagara IceDogs continue to wheel and deal at an astounding rate.
Niagara general manager Darren DeDobbelaer IceDogs completed two more trades Tuesday involving three players and four draft choices.
First, the IceDogs shipped promising defenceman Alec Leonard, a second-round pick in 2026 (Mississauga) and a third-round pick in 2023 (North Bay) to the London Knights in exchange for defenceman Gerard Keane and a 12th-round pick in 2023 (Mississauga).
To make room for Keane, who is in his overage season, the club flipped overage forward Matthew Papais to Owen Sound in exchange for their fifth-round selection in 2025.
Papais, who had one assist in six games this season, was acquired from the Guelph Storm in the summer for a third-round selection in 2025 and a fourth-round pick (Oshawa) in 2024.
Keane, who is two years older than Leonard and is in his third season, has 148 regular season OHL games with the Knights under his belt. Last season, in 64 regular season games, the 6-foot, 185-pound defenceman collected 10 goals and 28 assists for 38 points. In the playoffs, he had three goals and four points in London’s seven-game series versus Kitchener. Most recently, Keane was named to the Arizona Coyotes rookie tournament roster. Keane has not played a game for London this season.
Leonard, an 18-year-old from Toronto, was selected by the IceDogs in the second round of the 2020 draft with the 27th overall pick. Last season in his rookie year he notched six goals and 11 assists in 64 games.
The IceDogs are home to Flint Saturday.
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