Winnipeg Jets Top Prospect Making Waves After Slow Start; Has Incredible Four-Goal Performance
Winnipeg Jets first-rounder did not get off to a great start with Oshawa after being traded, but he's starting to heat up at the perfect time.
The Oshawa Generals took on their biggest rivals in the OHL the Peterborough Petes on Friday, Jan. 24, and unsurprisingly, it was a very chippy affair. They combined for an astonishing 54 penalty minutes.
That's astonishing because no fighting majors were assessed. There were a total of 40 infractions. Referees Andrew Willmetts and Jesse Wilmot had their work cut out for them, making plenty of roughing signals to the scorers box when making their penalty calls.
Penalties aside, this game was dominated by the Gens and their star players, despite having to mount a comeback.
We recently wrote about Oshawa and their chance of repeating as Eastern Conference champions, highlighting that their star players will need to lead the way offensively down the stretch and into the playoffs considering the team's lack of depth scoring.
In their 6-3 Friday night win over the Petes, their three NHL first-rounder forwards — Beckett Sennecke, Calum Ritchie, and Colby Barlow — combined for 12 points.
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xF5a7yfqoH8[/embed]
Barlow, Winnipeg Jets 18th overall pick in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, did what he does best. Put the puck in the back of the net.
After scoring the first goal of the game, Peterborough rattled off three unanswered from Brady Stonehouse, Caden Taylor, and Colin Fitzgerald.
Barlow led Oshawa's comeback, scoring the team's next three goals, and helped set up Sennecke's powerplay marker in the third, capping off an incredible four-goal, five-point performance.
What's remarkable is that he scored a goal on the powerplay, penalty kill, and even strength. Here's his second of the night, the shorthanded goal, which kickstarted the Gens' comeback.
His hat trick goal was a thing of beauty by Anaheim Ducks third overall pick Beckett Sennecke, who made a no look behind the back backhand pass behind the net that fooled everyone on Peterborough.
His game-winning fourth of the night was the easiest of them all, as he had a wide-open 4x6 to shoot at.
The Generals had to part ways with many draft picks and two promising young players to acquire Barlow from Owen Sound earlier in the year. And at first, their lustrous new toy struggled out of the gate with his new team.
In his first 21 games with Oshawa, Colby had eight goals and 14 points. Not great for a first-round NHL draft pick and a player in his fourth OHL season.
However, the former Toronto Marlboro is catching fire. In his last 21 games, he has posted 18 goals and 30 points and is four goals away from a fourth consecutive 30-goal season. Additionally, Barlow is currently on an eight-game point streak.
Not only are the Generals happy to see Barlow produce on a nightly basis, but I'm sure the Winnipeg Jets are too.
Bookmark The Hockey News OHL site to never miss news, interviews, and any updates around the league.