The Oshawa Generals have upgraded their defense through the CHL Import Draft
The Oshawa Generals have upgraded their defense through the CHL Import Draft
Can the Oshawa Generals run it back? Their success will lean on the experience of their defense core. And they added more depth by signing Czech defenseman David Svozil.
Svozil, 18, was originally drafted by Oshawa in the 2023 CHL Import Draft, 73rd overall. He spent the 2023-24 season playing for the Ilves U20 squad in the U20 SM-sarja Finnish junior league. He played 35 games, recording nine points, and 63 penalty minutes, and was a minus-18.
The 6-foot-2, 172-pound defenseman also played 10 games in the U18 SM-sarja division where he was a point-per-game and accumulated 37 penalty minutes. Svozil recently went undrafted in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft.
Svozil is a smooth skater who is a mix between a puck-moving and a two-way defenseman. He gives the Generals that depth on the left side and brings experience playing at the top junior level.
Import forward Rasmus Kumpulainen has signed a two-year contract with the Lahti Pelicans in Liiga to return home and play against men in Finland. The Finnish centerman’s departure opens up an Import spot for Svozil to play for the Generals in the upcoming season.
Oshawa’s defense core is starting to take shape for the 2024-25 season. The team needed to add a left-shot defenseman considering the abundance of right-shooting blueliners they already have — Ben Danford, Luca Marrelli, Luca D’Amato, David Bedkowski, and Lucas Rodriguez.
OHL teams can carry four overage players on their active roster, but can only dress a maximum of three in a game. The Generals have three players entering their overage season — Luca D’Amato, Jacob Oster, and Luke Torrance.
D'Amato could potentially be moved to bring in an overage forward, but it seems likely he will return for his third season with the Gens since he is the only overage defenseman on the team's current roster.
As of right now, the Generals have a plethora of defensemen who will battle it out for ice time next season. Recently drafted NHL prospects Ben Danford and Luca Marrelli will carry the load along with D’Amato.
David Bedkowski and Zackary Sandhu were regulars in the playoffs for the Gens, with the former entering his NHL draft year, and prepared to put his name on the scouts' radar.
That leaves one spot along the blueline to fight for between Lucas Rodriguez, David Svozil, Fraser McDonell, and any rookie defensemen ready to impress in training camp.
It seems likely that a trade will happen at some point considering Oshawa’s forward core has been depleted with the losses of Dylan Roobroeck, Connor Lockhart, Stuart Rolofs, and Rasmus Kumpulainen.
Even Calum Ritchie’s status with the team could be in question considering the Colorado Avalanche would benefit from his offensive skill set in the lineup with Valeri Nichushkin and Gabriel Landeskog’s absences.
Now, back to the defense core. Oshawa has a strong mix of size, offensive skill, and defensive defensemen on their blueline.
D’Amato and Marrelli can efficiently run the powerplay from the top of the umbrella. And Danford and Bedkowski are your shutdown, defensive-specialists.
As of today, we envision an Oshawa defense core like the one below.
D’Amato - Danford
Sandhu - Marrelli
Svozil - Bedkowski
That’s a strong defense with plenty of experience to match up against any other OHL team’s defense core. But a trade to bolster the forward group could change things around.