Anthony Romani knows his return to the North Bay Memorial Gardens on Thursday night will be an emotional one.
The Vancouver Canucks prospect will not only be back in the building he called home for three-and-a-half years before being traded by the Battalion ahead of this year’s OHL Trade Deadline, but it will also mark his first game as a member of the Barrie Colts and his first since suffering a broken clavicle in a game back on October 11, 2024, in Erie.
“Being in North Bay for almost four years, it’s the place I grew up in since I was 16,” said Romani, who was dealt to Barrie along with teammate Owen Van Steensel. “Going back there will be pretty cool and it’s also my first game back as well, so I think it’s a lot of things in one.
“I’m super excited to be back playing.”
For Van Steensel, who was named the North Bay captain before the start of this season, it’s a return to a city he loved and a place he did a lot of growing up in.
“It’s going to be really cool,” said the overage winger. “North Bay has been nothing but good to me. It’s going to be weird playing on the other side, but it’s definitely a big one for us and I’m excited for it.”
The two forwards will reunite in Barrie with longtime teammate and centre Dalyn Wakely. The band is back together, and both Romani and Van Steensel couldn’t be happier.
“If you told us last year at this time that we can play together this year and be on a different team, we wouldn’t have believed you,” said Van Steensel. “For it to actually come to life and for (Romani’s) first game to be back in North Bay, it’s pretty cool. The three of us are just excited to get going again.”
Together the trio formed one of the OHL’s top lines and were a major driving force in helping the Battalion go to the Eastern Conference finals the last three seasons. They combined for an impressive 138 goals and 301 points last season.
“(Wakely) wanted this to happen for a while, even before the trade happened,” said Romani. “He was kind of our inside scoop too and he was super pumped when it happened. We’re all super excited.”
“It’s been a very easy transition coming here,” added the Canucks’ sixth-round selection (162nd overall) in 2024. “I already knew a lot of the guys before coming here and obviously with Wakes and coming with Owen as well. It’s super exciting and it’s a very easy transition when it comes to being in the locker room.
Just being with the guys, I’m excited to get going (tonight).”
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The three are hoping to continue the chemistry they developed over the last three seasons in North Bay. A chemistry that resulted from spending so much time with one another on and off the ice.
“I think it’s all because we’re such good friends,” Van Steensel said of the trio’s success. “We all came into the league together. We’ve spent three and a half years together in North Bay. We grew up doing things together outside of the rink too, which I think translates a little bit onto the ice.
“We kind of know each other’s tendencies and how each other plays well, so I think just being really close away from the rink also has kind of helped us.”
The three have been through so much together.
“We’ve played together for a while and been on the same team for a while, so I think practising together and just getting ready for game together,” Romani said when asked the reason behind their success. “Also, we’re just really close off the ice. I think that has a big thing to do with it. We all want to see each other succeed and we know working together is our best chance at that.
“Our chemistry together has been great and we’re hoping to carry it on here.”
Romani knew there was a good chance he would be moved at the deadline, but as tough as it is leaving North Bay, the opportunity to join a contender and a team looking to win an OHL championship is something he relishes.
“My goal every year is to win a championship,” said the winger who finished second overall in OHL scoring last season with 58 goals and 111 points. “Our team in North Bay, we’ve had a pretty good last three years going to the conference finals, but I still want that championship.
“North Bay is going through a bit of a rebuild, so it was just best for me to come to a contender like Barrie.”
While his addition to the Colts addresses a big need for more scoring, the sniper knows he’ll need some time to get back in game shape after missing three months of action.
“It’s been a while and that’s what I’ve been working towards the past few months,” he said. “I’m trying to be as ready as possible. Injuries are unfortunate, but it’s part of the game and it’s just something that I had to deal with.
“I’ve worked my hardest to get back playing and I’m super excited to get back.”
The injury resulted in the longest time he has been away from the game.
“Missing three months is always hard to get back in that game groove,” added Romani, who has been skating for the last few weeks. “You can do so much in practice, but nothing replicates the game. It might take a bit, but I’m just trying to do my best to be as prepared as I can coming back.”
Van Steensel has two assists in three games since joining the Colts. While there are always changes in joining a new team, having two familiar faces with him in Wakely and Romani makes the process a whole lot easier.
“I’ve felt very at home here,” said the left winger who had a career-high 41 goals and 86 points in 65 games last season. “A lot quicker than I might have expected than maybe other guys might be with other teams.
“It’s made the transition really easy for me. Just having that chemistry and connection and bringing it over here will be good for everybody.”
Van Steensel has leaned on Wakely in a big way over the past week to help with that adjustment.
“Just picking his brain a lot and just seeing what the day-to-day life is like a little bit,” he said. “I’ve found myself in practice a lot going to him asking what the coaching staff is looking for in terms of details and stuff like that.
“Having him had a little bit of a head start on us has really helped us adjust.”
The Colts have lost a season-high four games and will look to snap that skid when they take on the Battalion tonight. Van Steensel has already noticed how the veteran club is rallying around one another.
“It hasn’t been an ideal start, but there’s no panic in that room,” said the 20-year-old. “I think we all know what we’re capable of and we’re just trying to get back on track here.”
Van Steensel knows it will be a little bit weird when he and Romani walk into a different dressing room at the Memorial Gardens.
While it will be a memorable night, doing what they do best and kicking off their debut as a line in Barrie in winning fashion is what’s most important.
“There’s a little bit extra (Thursday) I think. It’s a big one for us,” admitted Van Steensel. “It’ll be kind of a statement game for us. It’s definitely going to be a big one.”
Game time Thursday night is 7 p.m.
ICE CHIPS: Beau Jelsma, Kashawn Aitcheson, and Evan Passmore all represented the Eastern Conference in Wednesday night’s Connor McDavid OHL Top Prospects Game in Brantford. The Eastern Conference defeated the Western Conference 5-4 in overtime. Jelsma was a plus-1 and had three shots, while Aitcheson finished a plus-2 and delivered a bone-crunching hit on Michael Misa. Passmore dropped the mitts with Jack Nesbitt. . . The Colts and Battalion will meet two more times this season.
