Over the previous two OHL seasons, Marty Williamson says nobody has contributed to his aging quite like the North Bay Battalion trio of Dalyn Wakely, Anothony Romani, and Owen Van Steensel.
Well, the Barrie Colts general manager and head coach is happy to report no more.
Not after the Colts pulled off a blockbuster deal early Sunday to acquire Romani and Van Steensel from the North Bay Battalion in return for Parker Vaughan, Zach Wigle, and conditional fourth-, fifth-, sixth-, and seventh-round draft picks.
The high-scoring wingers will now be united in Barrie with Wakely, who was acquired by Barrie earlier this season, and help Williamson slow down the aging process.
“(Romani) and I joked on the phone that most of my grey hair can be attributed to (the three of them),” said the Colts’ coach before laughing out loud.”
The trio, which made up North Bay’s top line in its run to three straight OHL Eastern Conference finals, combined for 138 goals and 301 points last season alone.
If there was one piece that they were missing, Williamson says a pure scorer like Romani was it.
“He’s played awfully well against us and (now) to have him on our team,” he said in praising the Vancouver Canucks’ 2024 sixth-round NHL Draft pick (162nd overall) who finished third in league scoring last season with 58 goals and 111 points. “When you coach against him, he’s one of those guys that looks like he enjoys playing the game. He knows what he’s good at and he’s working on the other parts of his game.
“He looks extremely smart. We talked to Vancouver and it was a good relationship between Romani and Patterson, so we think this was the best fit for us.”
Romani has been out since early October with a broken clavicle, though he has been skating for some time.
“We believe he’s about a week away,” said Williamson. “He might not play this week, but likely play the following week.”
“Both of them, this was the No. 1 choice they wanted to come to and they’re extremely happy and thankful that we’re able to get the deal done,” added the coach.
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Sitting atop both the Eastern Conference and Central Division standings, the Colts are sending a clear message with the deal ahead of Friday’s January 10 trade deadline that they are making a serious run.
“I definitely believe it,” said Williamson. “If we thought we were missing something it was maybe just a little more scoring and real natural type scoring. We think that reuniting that line, that’s what it brings back. That line was obviously damaging the last couple of years.
“Two of them as 20-year-olds and Romani as a 19-year-old, it’s got a lot of appeal to us. We believe we’re pretty solid everywhere else and that was our biggest need which was to add this guy that scoring just seems to come easier to than other players.”
And the Colts may not be done on the trade front yet.
“I think there’s still some possibilities,” said Williamson. “We didn’t have to move our big picks in this deal. We still do have picks. There’s a lot of stuff going on and there’s usually stuff that comes up at the end. We’re quite happy that we got our big deal done and now if there’s the right piece out there, you might see us still be active here.”
The deal comes at a big cost. Vaughan, Barrie’s fifth overall pick in the 2024 OHL Priority Selection, has the skills and makeup to be a top offensive producer.
He joins 2023 Colts’ first-rounder Shamar Moses, who was acquired by the Battalion along with picks for Wakely.
“I think Parker Vaughan is going to be a wonderful player in this league,” said Williamson. “As I talked to him, it reminded me a lot of when I had to trade Ryan Strome. I never knew then I was going to get back with Strome and be able to have that relationship with him, but I’m really going to miss Parker.
“I had a conversation with his dad and they’re very appreciative of their time here. He’s just a first-class kid. We get Romani, but Parker will be my new thorn in my side with Moses up there. They’re going to do very well up there.”
Williamson says it was also difficult moving Wigle. The overage centre, who could play any role, had to be included with the acquisition of the overage Van Steensel.
“Wigle is a heart and souler. It was a tough conversation with him,” said Williamson. “He wanted to be part of this team, and we just balanced out the chemistry of the three of them to having to move Wigle to the wing and build a new position for him. It just made sense to get Van Steensel, who is a really good hockey player, like Wigle.
“We think it was just too good to turn down. There are obviously pieces that go out that you’re upset about, and I’ll miss Zach an awful lot. We built quite a relationship over the last three years.”
The Colts should be back to a full lineup over this next month. When they do, Williamson believes they will be a tough team to handle.
“I think our guys have been pretty committed from the beginning. We believe we’re a good team,” he said. “We’re in first place and we’ve added a couple of pieces. We think we’ve made our team better and that excites this hockey team. That excites everybody and it should excite our fans.”
The Colts return to action Wednesday night when they hit the road to take on the Owen Sound Attack.
Game time at the Harry Lumley Bayshore Community Centre is 7 p.m.
