Toronto Maple Leafs fans calls, and calm rational pleas, have finally been answered as 2017 fifth round pick Fedor Gordeev has been traded by the OHL’s Flint Firebirds to the Guelph Storm.
We have traded defenseman Fedor Gordeev to Guelph (@Storm_City) for two second-round #OHLDraft picks and two additional picks if Gordeev plays his overage year next season.
— Flint Firebirds (@FlintFirebirds) January 5, 2019
📰 Details: https://t.co/J0KBVrrxp6
📈 Transactions: https://t.co/3pW5yCN5bn pic.twitter.com/MNNh6xV2AZ
Flint, the Ottawa Senators of the OHL, has been a bit of a disaster franchise ever since it moved out of Plymouth, Michigan. Their most recent foray into the news was at the start of the OHL season where it took them 17 games to get their first win of the season - a 7-4 win over the Sarnia Sting - and now, after 39 games, they have five wins.
To say Gordeev hasn’t performed as people would like to see is a bit of an understatement. In his first year after being drafted he had 25 points in 67 games, and was a -33. This year so far he has 19 points in 32 games, and is a -18. He’s improving, but we’ve always wondered how he would perform on a team with playoff aspirations that was better overall.
Gordeev OHL Stats
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | TP | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016-2017 | Hamilton Bulldogs | OHL | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Flint Firebirds | OHL | 62 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 43 | |
| 2017-2018 | Flint Firebirds | OHL | 67 | 8 | 17 | 25 | 106 |
| 2018-2019 | Flint Firebirds | OHL | 32 | 3 | 16 | 19 | 49 |
Moving to the Guelph Storm will be a huge improvement in terms of teammates. The Storm are preparing for a long playoff run after finishing near the bottom of the Midwest division in the past couple of seasons. He’s joining other top players such as Isaac Ratcliffe, Garrett McFadden, and newly acquired MacKenzie Entwistle who was captain of last year’s OHL Champion Hamilton Bulldogs. Gordeev will help fill out a defense that saw Ryan Merkley traded to the Peterborough Petes a few weeks ago.
The OHL trade deadline is soon, and word on the street is that Guelph is not finished making moves. We’ll be very excited to see what Gordeev can do on a new team, with a fresh start.
