When the Barrie Colts walked away from the draft table in both the OHL Priority Selection and CHL Import Draft earlier this summer, it was clear the focus was on adding offence.
Alexander Sementsov, Eamon Edgar, and Joseph Salandra were added to the prospect pool via the first three rounds of the OHL draft, while Russian forward Andrei Gudin was selected in the first round of the import selection.
With offensive stalwarts Anthony Romani, Dalyn Wakely, Beau Jelsma, and Owen Van Steensel all moving on, it was clear the next wave of scoring had to be brought in.
As Marty Williamson looked down on the training camp scrimmages on the ice at Sadlon Arena earlier this week, the Colts vice president and general manager liked what he was seeing.
The future of Barrie’s offence, he believes, is in good hands.
“We lost a lot obviously with the turnover and the turnover that’s coming,” said Williamson, who invited over 60 players to this year’s training camp. “It needs to be replaced, and I think we did a good job. Eamon Edgar is going to be a star in this league.
“Sementsov, they call him ‘Little Kucherov.’ He’s got offence, and Salandra looks like a really nice surprise. I don’t think it’s a surprise he put up big numbers, but for him to go to the (2025 Hlinka Gretzky Cup in early August) and win gold and be picked to take the first shootout, it says something. They sure look to be some nice pieces, that’s for sure.”
Williamson and head coach Dylan Smoskowitz are also excited about former picks Jonah McCormick and goaltender Arvin Jaswal, who spent some time with the team last season, along with Cole Emerton and William Schneid.
“We expect these guys to not only push for spots and make the team, but to push our older guys as well,” said Smoskowitz. “My philosophy as a coach, I don’t care what round you’re drafted in. I don’t care how old you are, you give this team the best chance to win hockey games, then you’re going to be on the ice.”
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Fans should also be excited.
“There really is (a reason to be excited) and they’re all really different,” Williamson said of the forward trio selected in the first three rounds of this year’s OHL draft.
Sementsov, who spent last season with the Halton Hurricanes U16 AAA team and the Toronto Red Wings in the GTHL, had a combined 38 goals and 113 points.
Measured at just over five-foot-eight, and 162 pounds, he draws many comparisons to a former Colt with a Russian background in Vlad Nikiforov.
“Sementsov is a real playmaker,” said Williamson. “He can score as well, but he really likes to (be a playmaker). People get visions of Nikiforov and players like that.”
Edgar reminds Williamson of another former Colt, though he’s a little hesitant when comparing the young forward prospect who had 24 goals and 38 points with the Sun County Panthers U16 AAA team last season to this Barrie centre who spent several years in the NHL.
“Edgar is an all-around player,” said Williamson. “I get a little vision of Bryan Little. I don’t want to put too much on him because I hold Bryan Little really high, but Edgar is one of those guys you might not say he’s great at something, but he’s good at everything, and I really like that.”
Salandra, who had 38 goals and 72 points in 35 games with the Brunswick School Bruins last season, lands in Barrie fresh off helping the U.S. win gold at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup.
The third-round pick and Pleasantville, New York native was trusted with and came through on his shootout attempt in the gold-medal final. Putting the puck in the net is something he does really well.
“Salandra could be your pure goal scorer, bringing us back to the Bryan Cameron days,” said Williamson. “An excellent shooter, similar to Romani more recently.”
Fans will get a glimpse of all that skill at camp.
“It’s going to take a while for these guys to get used to the league, the pace of the league, and how good the league is, but you’re going to see glimpses of it,” said Williamson. “You’re going to see it grow, and it’s pretty exciting for our future.”
Edgar (five-foot-nine, 159 pounds) and Salandra (five-foot-10, 185 pounds), along with Sementsov, all come in on the smaller side, but Williamson sees no shortage of talent.
The Colts have had plenty of success over the years with diminutive forwards like Andrew Mangiapagne, Lucas Chiodo, Colin Behenna, and Nikiforov.
“The thing that I like to go along with it is they all have high-compete levels,” said Williamson. “Nikiforov played hard, and Mangiapane went all the way to the NHL. They’re smaller in stature, but they compete very hard.
“They want to score, they want to make plays. They want to do what’s best for the team. That’s what you’re going to see in this group. Give them time, but I think we got some nice pieces.”
Gudin comes in at just five-foot-six, but the left winger put up an eye-popping 77 goals and 142 points in 66 games last year with the Ohio AAA Blue Jackets.
“He’s built like a bowling ball, and he’s quite the import pick we got there,” said Williamson.
The Barrie GM believes the growth in his young forwards will be just how fast they play a complete 200-foot game. You can’t be a one-dimensional team.
“That’s going to be the learning curve of these guys,” explained Williamson. “They’ve all put up huge numbers coming into our league, 80, 90, and 100 points and 100 goals, but that’s not going to happen for them. How can they be effective players, and maybe how can they score 10 goals for us this year if we’re fortunate, and maybe more?
“But maybe how can they be effective players on the ice, and that’s the job of the coaching staff.”
Then there’s McCormick, who got into one game along with three playoff games and didn’t look out of place.
The strapping six-foot-two, 200-pound winger plays a hard-nosed style and has all the makings of a future power forward in the league.
While most players focus on just skill drills, McCormick loves to go through defenders as much as he does around them.
“You got a guy like McCormick who jumps into a playoff game and automatically provides a spark for a team with his physicality, his ferocious play, and forechecking,” said Smoskowitz. “These guys just don’t fall off trees like that.
“Jonah has had a huge summer. He’s a very dedicated kid to his time in the gym, his diet plan, and the way he takes care of his body. We expect big things for Jonah.”
Williamson expects competition for roster spots among his young forwards to be as competitive as it has been over previous training camps.
“We’re going to have a real competitive battle for that bottom group of players,” he said. “We got some established guys, but that bottom group is wide open and they really have two or three weeks and five or six exhibition games, and a training camp, to show us what decisions we’re going to make.”
Scrimmages continue through Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 5:15 p.m., ahead of the annual Blue and White Game at Sadlon Arena on Thursday at 6 p.m. Admission is free for fans.
ICE CHIPS: Vancouver Canucks prospect and veteran winger Riley Patterson is not at camp and has requested a trade from the team. . . Americans G Hagan Bach, and F Cruz Cassels are expected to spend the season with the Barrie U18 team while practicing with the OHL Colts. . . Barrie opens its preseason schedule at home against the Owen Sound Attack on Monday, Sept. 1, at 6 p.m.
