After three straight trips to the OHL Finals and back-to-back OHL championships, Mark Hunter’s phone calls this year have had a different tone. Instead of calling opposing GMs to ask for their players, he’s had his feet up, listening to what teams have to offer for his star players. 

Hunter cashed in on a couple of his champions, dealing away Sam O’Reilly and Jared Woolley to their rivals Kitchener for a monster 10-pick draft haul and 2008-born defenseman Jacob Xu. 

Asset management is incredibly important if you want to be a contender in the OHL consistently and not have years of mediocrity. London knows exactly that, and they also cashed in on an American forward they brought in off free agency in the summer. 

The Barrie Colts announced that they have acquired 2006-born forward Ben Wilmott from the London Knights.

Below are the full trade details:

Barrie Colts Receive:

C, Ben Wilmott (2006) - 37GP, 12G, 22A, 34PTS

London Knights Receive:

2026 2nd round pick
2029 3rd round pick (NIA)
2028 4th round pick
2027 5th round pick (SAR)
F, William Moore’s player rights (2007)

Wilmott leaves the Knights as their leading scorer at the time of the trade. He’s used his experience playing junior hockey in the USHL to become nearly a point-per-game player for the Knights in the first half of the season, and will now use his talents to help Barrie with their playoff aspirations. 

The Colts traded away 2006-born forward Bode Stewart in a rather puzzling move. Why would a team who consider themselves as contenders trade away a serviceable depth forward? With Stewart out the door, a roster spot opened up for Wilmott. 

The other aspect of this trade that garnered a lot of attention was the Knights acquiring the rights to Boston Bruins prospect William Moore. 

Moore grew up playing in the GTHL and was a highly-touted prospect for multiple years. He played a year up in the 2021-22 season with the Mississauga Senators alongside Michael Misa, winning the 2022 OHL Cup and finishing in a tie for second in goals for the tournament as an underager. 

The following season, he moved to the prestigious Toronto Marlboros organization, winning the GTHL U16 Championship, Canada Winter Games, and was named the GTHL’s Player of the Year. He was drafted 18th overall in 2023 by the London Knights, slipping in the draft because he was committed to playing for the United States National Team Development Program. 

The Knights traded Moore’s rights to Barrie at the 2024 trade deadline, so they could receive a compensatory second-round pick. 

Of course, everyone’s eyes perked up, quickly assuming that London had re-acquired the Bruins prospect’s rights because the Hunter brothers were able to recruit Moore out of his current situation playing in the NCAA for Boston College. Alas, Scott Wheeler of The Athletic was quick on the case to report that Moore is not leaving BC and that his trade came as a surprise to him. 

It would be very on brand for the Hunter brothers to work their magic and convince Moore to leave school to join London for the 2026-27 season. It’s highly unlikely, but never say never. 

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