The Windsor Spitfires are poised to part ways with one prospect of the Toronto Maple Leafs but could be ready to add another.
Third-year defenceman Jesse Blacker has returned to his Toronto home and requested a trade while right-winger Kenny Ryan has left Boston College with the school's website reporting he's headed to the Spitfires.
It's been quite the shocking day for prospects of the Toronto Maple Leafs. First, Kenny Ryan leaves Boston College for the OHL's Windsor Spitfires and now fellow draftee Jesse Blacker is on his way out from the same team. Eager to play a more prominent role and squeezed out by the numbers on a stacked Windsor Spitfires team he's headed home to force a trade. It's definitely not a tactic that I approve of but my distaste for it is obviously outweighed by my hope that the move will help him develop into a better player. I have no horse in the OHL (although I guess my local team was the Peterborough Petes and is the Mississauga Ice Dogs) so the benefit to the Maple Leafs is foremost in my mind.
Spitfires' GM Warren Rychel is now faced with a second player to trade under duress but he won't be rushed:
"There's six teams that have made significant offers, but I'm going to do what's right for this team.
He's the Maple Leafs 8th ranked prospect according to Hockey's Future and certainly looked like he had a lot of potential during the rookie tournament and training camp. Blacker was the 58th overall pick during this summer's draft in Montreal. You can see his post-selection interview here. He gushes about his desire to be a Maple Leaf so hopefully this move helps him to achieve his goal and the ends justify the means.