Tuesday, September 21, 2010

"Ship" heads south for St. Kitts

The Owen Sound Attack announced Tuesday that they have traded center Steven Shipley to the Niagara Ice Dogs in exchange for forward Andrew Shaw, defenseman Matt Petgrave, and three draft picks.

The deal represents a fresh start for Shipley, the Sabres fourth round pick in the 2010 draft, after his rumored unhappiness caused him to report to Attack training camp a day late. In turn, the 6'3, 212-pounder freshens up the forward ranks for a Niagara squad in need of size and scoring down the middle. Shipley has notched 37 goals and 102 points in 131 OHL games, and can realistically post 90-95 points this season centering the Dogs top unit with overage scorer Andrew Agozzino as his wing man. The pressure will be on Shipley to produce, and it's up to him to compete every night and achieve the heightened expectations.

Shipley is currently in Buffalo for training camp, but could be returned to Niagara for Friday's season opener in Sudbury.