A rather surprising one-for-one trade was made in the OHL on Tuesday afternoon, as the Niagara IceDogs and London Knights exchanged top-six forwards. 

Niagara traded away Braidy Wassilyn, their fourth overall pick from the 2024 OHL draft, in exchange for Anaheim Ducks prospect and hometown talent, Noah Read. 

This deal came out of left field, like experiencing an 18-inning World Series match: unexpected. Wassilyn is a high-end player and a focal point of Niagara’s offense. He missed the start of the season, as he was dealing with an injury, but since his return, he has recorded points in four of six (2 goals, 3 assists). He can pick apart defenses with his skill and playmaking. 

Wassilyn is eligible for the 2026 NHL Draft and received a “B” grade by NHL Central Scouting in their preliminary rankings. Before the start of the season, many scouts viewed him as a player who could creep into the bottom of the first round of the draft. 

One potential reason why the IceDogs decided to part ways with their former top-five draft choice is his commitment to Boston University. 

Before the season started, there was talk that he was going to fast-track his education to play in the NCAA a year early. There may have been some disagreements and behind-the-scenes tension between the player and the organization. Additionally, the IceDogs may have gotten ahead of the game here, knowing that Wassilyn would most likely leave next season, and wanted to get a player who would be on their roster for the long term. 

That’s where the Anaheim Ducks’ 2025 third-rounder comes into play. 

Read hasn’t gotten off to a good start in his second OHL campaign. After a solid rookie year recording 26 points (10 goals, 16 assists) in 45 games and playing a depth role en route to an OHL Championship with London, he was expected to take a step forward this year. He’s from St. Catharines, Ontario, so maybe a move to his hometown, where he can be close to his family, is the type of change he needs to start producing. 

The IceDogs have a ton of firepower in players like Ryan Roobroeck, Riley Patterson, and Kevin He. But this team struggled defensively last year, and their top-six forwards weren’t necessarily known for their 200-foot play. The deal for Patterson helped address this issue, and now adding Read gives them another strong two-way forward that can play in the top-six. 

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