Barrie Colts acquire Tristan Bertucci as part of a three-team trade

OHL teams got busy today resulting in a sudden uptick in trades including a three-way deal.

The Barrie Colts acquired veteran defender Tristan Bertucci in a three-team deal that involved the Flint Firebirds and Niagara Ice Dogs.

Initially, Flint sent the Dallas prospect, a 2025 8th-round pick, a 2025 14th-round pick and a conditional 2028 3rd-round pick belonging to Peterborough to Niagara in exchange for Artem Frolov, Urban Podrekar, the rights to Hayden Reid and five draft picks (2025 2nd (OSH), 2026 2nd (PBO), 2026 3rd (NB), 2027 3rd (SBY) and 2027 3rd (OS)).

Niagara then turned around and sent Bertucci to Barrie in exchange for Jack Brauti, Blair Scott and three draft picks (2026 2nd (BAR), 2027 3rd (WSR) and 2025 4th (KGN)). 

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Ultimately, the reason for this move was clarified by Flint GM Dave McParlan after the fact. 

"Moving Tristan is not something we wanted to do, nor did he want to leave the Firebirds," said McParlan. "There is a family health situation that he is dealing with and because of that, his wish was to be able to play closer to home."

Flint drafted Bertucci with the seventh-overall pick in the 2021 OHL Priority Selection. After three seasons in Flint, the dynamic defender scored a total of 107 points in 186 games.  

Colts GM Marty Williamson said that Barrie was happy to acquire a player they had identified as one of the top defenders in the league.

"When you can add a talent like Tristan to your lineup it's always a good day," said Williamson. "We're excited to bring his talent, leadership and character into our room and are looking forward to start working with him in the coming weeks at training camp."

After the dust settled, it was Barrie who had landed the central piece in this trade. Niagara and Flint each acquired depth players and a slew of draft picks. 

Frolov joins Flint after scoring 12 points in his rookie season with Niagara who selected him 28th overall in the 2023 OHL Priority Selection. Slovenian forward Urban Podrekar will add to Flint's forward depth as he kicks off his sophomore season in the OHL. 

Meanwhile, 2006-born forward Jack Brauti, who scored 21 points in his rookie campaign with Barrie joins Niagara as part of their expanding forward group. accompanying him will be 2005-born defender Blair Scott who split time between Kitchener and Niagara last year. 

While unquestionably it is Barrie who strengthened their lineup for the immediate future, all three fan bases can get excited about this deal. Niagara and Flint have added a combination of depth pieces and picks that will aid them in strengthening their rosters down the road.