11/12 Recap: New Colt Nick shows knack; Adam hangs ten

Nick Crawford sparkled in his Barrie debut on Thursday, posting a goal and three assists as the Colts dropped rival Sudbury, 5-0. All accounts have the smart defenseman showing impressive poise in all three zones en route to pushing the Central Division studs to an 8-1-0-1 mark in their last 10 games. Marcus Foligno continued his offensive struggles, finishing -2 with a pair of minors for the outgunned Wolves. Jeff Giffen of the Sudbury Star had an interesting take on the blockbuster deal that saw Crawford leave Saginaw earlier in the week.

This is one of the more intriguing trades in recent OHL history, not so much because of what Barrie did, but more from Saginaw's perspective. Here's a club that was off to a 13-4 start to the season and has traded away it's version of a Pronger and Niedermayer combination to rebuild for the future? That's virtually unheard of, but it speaks to what I have stated previously -- Windsor is so strong that some teams in the West may figure it's not even worth trying. The fact that Saginaw made this deal in November is stunning. Barrie gets Calgary Flames draft pick T. J. Brodie and Buffalo Sabres prospect Nick Crawford, who are currently second and third in scoring among OHL defencemen. It's quite possible both will end their junior careers this season. In return, the Spirit get two 17-year olds who will still have two seasons remaining after this one. Forward Michael Sgarbossa and small but crafty blue-liner Ryan O'Connor -Barrie's 2008 first-round draft choice -- will keep Saginaw competitive this season and give them potential to be serious contenders in the future.

Also in Thursday OHL play, Zack Kassian had an assist and a fighting major as Peterborough roughed up Sarnia, 7-2. The Petes captain, who finished -1 for the third straight game, took on legit OHL heavyweight Kyle Neuber (41 regular season fights since 2007-08) in a spirited tussle at 3:17 of the opening period. In the QMJHL, Luke Adam scored his 13th goal of the season as Cape Breton shutout Gatineau, 2-0. The Eagles main cog continued his dominating two-way pace by registering seven shots on goal and another six blocks. The goal extends Adam's current point streak to 10 games, the longest active run in the QMJHL. The victory was the Screaming Eagles' first road win over the Olympiques since October of 2004. In a Tuesday USHL tilt, Mark Adams played even as Chicago doubled Des Moines, 6-3.