It is September 21st, 2016, and finally the deal that sends Jeremy Pullara to Trenton for rookie forward Dante Spagnuolo and 19-year-old goaltender Tyler Fassl back to Toronto, is done. It took a long time, and a lot of figuring out, but it is done, and those three will be on the ice tonight; ironically as the Trenton Golden Hawks head to Westwood Arena to take on the Toronto Patriots.
This is a move well-done by both squads, and in my opinion really reflects good relationship the two GMs, Jerome Dupont of Trenton and Mark Joslin of Toronto, have with each other. The old hockey adage regarding trades is so often true: you have to give up steak, to get steak. Well, I know for sure Trenton got Kobe Beef; and while Spagnuolo and Fassl have to prove themselves at this level, I'd be willing to wager they'll turn out to be great assets as well.
In the soon-to-be 20-year-old Pullara, Trenton gets a winner through and through. No matter what era of hockey you're talking, Jeremy is a metric powerhouse. He is an elite face-off man (I'd put him against anyone in the OJHL), he is player with a far more solid frame than his 6', 175-pound line would suggest, and he is an excellent puck possessor. Jeremy has a cannon of a shot, and scored 27 goals last year on a Patriots team that had all sorts of trouble doing so. He also has a knack for terrorizing Trenton at the Duncan McDonald Memorial Gardens, so it is also a case of "can't beat 'em? acquire 'em."
Not only is he a great player at this level, but he has an extra comfort factor in that he joins one of his closest friends, Louis Di Matteo, on the Hawks. Louis was with Jeremy in midget and his first two years of junior, and is an elite OJHLer in his own right, counting as one of the few true high level power-play quarterbacks on the back end this year (as an aside: watch out for the combination of DiMatteo and Josh Allan on Trenton's power play this year...scary stuff).
But as I started the last paragraph, he is a winner. He went from the Telus Cup bronze medal game to a Dudley Hewitt cup semi-final over the span of two years, and with that winner's heart, he certainly has the personality to take those two experiences of falling just short of big-time glory as a big-time chip on his shoulder.
Call me biased if you want, I know the kid well, and we have a great relationship. But I'm also being honest: Golden Hawks fans better buckle up.
Back the other way, Joslin and the Pats have to be happy with themselves. Nobody started more games in Greater Ontario Junior 'B' Hockey League than Fassl did, and only one other goaltender won more games (and, with no disrespect to Mark Sinclair, the guy who I was just talking about, I might be able to win a few games in net for Caledonia...). So in Fassl and Cameron Gray, Toronto is now very able in net - and some say that is half of hockey.
The forward Toronto got, the recently-turned 18-year-old Dante Spagnuolo, is a kid that scored over 40 goals two years in a row in midget with an excellent Richmond Hill Coyotes squad. He's a strong kid, has great speed, nice hands, and a good frame, and while he has yet to get a chance to prove it at this level, the Pats can have two or three seasons with him in their Top 6 to give him that opportunity. On top of that, Dante is an excellent young man with a great head on his shoulders, and there was not one ounce of sulk in him regarding the move from the Dudley Hewitt Cup hosts. He knows his opportunity to produce will be great in Toronto, and that maturity will serve him very well.
Bottom line is I like this trade all around and it is refreshing to see a truly even trade in this day and age.
