A closer look at the Petes' training camp roster.
Next up in our training camp breakdown series: the Peterborough Petes.
The Petes finished ninth in the Eastern Conference with 20 wins and 48 points. Early on in the season, Peterborough looked to be in a promising position. They were one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference. Shortly after that, they moved away Owen Beck and Samuel Mayer in a pair of moves that seemed to commit them to a rebuild.
As such, the Petes roster is likely to change greatly for the upcoming season. There is a lot of room for younger players to win spots as the Petes build for the future. However, we will start as always with the overage players.
Overage Players
Five overage players are on the Petes training camp roster including Liam Sztuska, Quinn Binnie, Chase Lefebvre, Ryder McIntyre and Jonathan Melee. Usually, OHL teams opt out of bringing this many overage players to camp since they can only roster four and play three in a single game.
Liam Sztuska took up the role of starting goaltender last season. In 44 games, he recorded a 3.95 goals against average and .905 save percentage. The save percentage is especially impressive given that Sztuska only won 11 games last season. His experience in the OHL may give him an edge in a battle for the crease this season.
If Quinn Binnie returns to Peterborough this year he will play in his third OHL campaign. He played his rookie season with Mississauga, before moving to Peterborough last year. In 57 games last year, he recorded two assists.
Last year, 6-foot-3 forward Chase Lefebvre had a breakout campaign scoring personal highs in goals (17), assists (22) and points (39). The breakout made him a solid part of Peterborough's scoring depth. The potential for him to continue to improve could be enough to secure him a spot on the Petes' roster for the 2024-25 season.
Similar to Lefebvre, Ryder McIntyre also had a career year for Peterborough last season. The 6-foot-3 winger scored 12 goals and added 15 assists for a total of 27 points.
Jonathan Melee scored 14 points and 31 assists for a total of 45 points in 56 games. The Fredericton native has steadily increased his point totals throughout three OHL seasons. His point totals suggest he will be an important part of Peterborough's core.
Sztuska, Melee, Binnie and Lefebvre were all part of the 2022-23 Peterborough team that won an OHL Championship.
Import Players
Czech defender Martin Matejicek is present at training camp and seems likely to return as one of Peterborough's import players. Last season, Matejicek played 34 games for Peterborough and scored one goal while adding seven assists.
The fact that Matejicek is a returner is reinforced by the fact that neither Peterborough's 2023 nor 2024 CHL Import Draft picks are present at their camp.
Ninth-overall pick in the 2024 CHL Draft Adam Novotny is not present on the Petes' training camp roster. This may mean that they enter the season using only one of their two available import slots.
2024 Draft Class
Peterborough signed third-overall pick and Peterborough native Colin Fitzgerald in May. They also signed second-round pick Blake Gowan.
Fitzgerald dominated at the U-16 AAA level last season scoring 64 points in 35 games. At 6-foot-2, Fitzgerald comes with great size and skill. Gowan is a solid defender capable of scoring a large number of points. Playing for the Barrie Jr. Colts U-16 AAA team last season he scored 27 points in 33 games.
The rest of Peterborough's draft class is as follows:
1. Colin Fitzgerald - C - Peterborough Petes
2. Blake Gowan - LD - Barrie Jr. Colts
5. Adam Levac - C - Eastern Ontario Wild
5. Genc Ula - LD - North Jersey Avalanche
6. Alexander Hage - C - Vaughan Kings
7. Raiden Doxtator - C - London Jr. Knights
8. Elijah Chavez - LW - Vaughan Kings
9. Luka Gelinas - G - Eastern Ontario Wild
10. Marcus Sulug - LD - Niagara North Stars
11. Luis Sturgeon - LD - Lambton Jr. Sting
12. Jonny Brooks - LW - Oakville Rangers
13. Alexander Smyth - C - Carolina Jr. Hurricanes
14. Kasra Fathi - RW - Kitchener Jr. Rangers
15. Matthew McKenna - RW - Central Ontario Wolves
15. Matthew Crawford - C - Sun County Panthers
All draft picks are in attendance at camp except for Genc Ula who does not appear on the training camp roster. Both U-18 draft picks, Dylan Turcotte and Martin Cameron are in attendance at camp. Turcotte was the third-overall pick in the U-18 draft.
It will be interesting to see how Peterborough decides to build their roster this season. They are clearly in a rebuilding year that could see a large number of new blood added to the team as it moves forward.