London Knights name captains for 2024-25, make moves to address overager situation

London Knights guardant Denver Barkey has been named the 53rd skipper successful franchise history.

He volition beryllium flanked by 4 adjunct captains successful forwards Jacob Julian, Easton Cowan and Landon Sim and defenceman Oliver Bonk.

All 5 players person been cardinal parts of playoff runs that person seen the Knights marque back-to-back appearances successful the OHL Championship series.

London mislaid successful six games to the Peterborough Petes successful 2023 and past returned to beryllium crowned champions successful 2024 erstwhile they defeated the Oshawa Generals successful 4 consecutive games.

The Knights precocious to the Memorial Cup and made it each the mode to the last and that acquisition and occurrence runs passim this year’s roster.

“We similar to bash a squad ballot and truly impact the players who are determination each day,” said Knights subordinate wide manager Rob Simpson. “It’s a bully happening erstwhile you get your enactment sorted out. There tin beryllium a batch of questions arsenic to who it is going to beryllium truthful erstwhile you get that established past you tin conscionable determination connected and absorption connected playing hockey.”

Barkey was selected by London successful the archetypal circular of the 2021 OHL Priority Selection.

He led the Knights successful scoring and believes the leaders connected the squad close present person the quality to assistance vie for different championship.

“I deliberation we’re each ready. We’ve been done the playoffs and person the acquisition of winning a title and past coming up short,” explained Barkey.

“We’ve been done the process and tin thatch the younger guys a batch erstwhile it comes to what it takes to win. We’re conscionable going to enactment our champion ft guardant and amusement what we tin do.”

The announcement of the team’s enactment radical was 1 of respective moves made by the squad connected Oct. 16.

London began the play with 4 overagers (20-year olds) connected their roster. A squad tin lone usage 3 successful a crippled and yet tin lone person 3 connected their roster pursuing a grace play nether the leagues rules to let teams to benignant retired their circumstantial situations.

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The Knights added overage goalie Austin Elliott successful a commercialized with the Barrie Colts which concisely gave them 5 overage players.

To get down to three, London had to merchandise goaltender Owen Willmore and defenceman Alec Leonard.

“Obviously we had immoderate pugnacious conversations with Alec Leonard and Owen Willmore,” admitted Simpson. “We won an OHL rubric with them and some played cardinal parts successful it truthful it’s ne'er casual to person to determination connected successful that situation. Overage spots are conscionable specified coveted positions.”

Elliott has played the past 3 play with the Saskatoon Blades of the Western Hockey League.

The Knights and Blades play successful 2 of the biggest venues successful each of large inferior hockey and play successful beforehand of precise passionate instrumentality bases and Simpson says those 2 things were factors successful the determination to bring Elliott to London.

“Austin has been successful playoff rounds. He is utilized to playing successful beforehand of 10 oregon 12 1000 people,” Simpson described. “It is simply a unit cooker successful London… you saw it with Michael Simpson past year. It takes a batch for you to beryllium bully each game.”

Elliott volition instrumentality portion successful his archetypal signifier with the Knights connected Thursday, Oct. 17.

London volition big the Saginaw Spirit connected Oct. 18 astatine 7 p.m., astatine Canada Life Place.