Shortly before the January 10 OHL trade deadline, the Kitchener Rangers have traded forward Jeremy Bracco to the Windsor Spitfires. Details on the return are to come. Bracco’s NHL rights are owned by the Toronto Maple Leafs, who drafted him 61st overall in 2015.
Maple Leafs Prospect Jeremy Bracco Traded to the Windsor Spitfires
Rumours of a potential Bracco trade had been swirling since before the World Junior Championship. The 19-year-old currently sits ninth in OHL scoring, with 51 points in 27 games. Before leaving to join Team USA at the World Juniors, Bracco was third, and in his last appearance for Kitchener had a 26-game point streak snapped.
#OHL trade#Spitfires get Jeremy Bracco
KIT 8th in ’17 & 13th in ’18#Rangers get Cole Carter
Andrew Burns
WSR 2nd in ’23, ’24 & ’25 (cond.)— Jim Parker (@winstarparker) January 10, 2017
Bracco was a key member of the gold-medal-winning American team this past month, putting up 5 points in 7 games en route to the championship. He is widely regarded as one of the top offensive threats in the OHL, especially on the power play.
Originally committed to play Division I college hockey with Boston College, Bracco signed with Kitchener in October of the 2015-16 season. He became one of the team’s most potent offensive weapons, and in the playoffs put up 14 points in a run that was cut short by London.
Standing just 5’9″, Bracco’s size and peculiar sideways skating style in the offensive zone are the major criticisms against him, but he is one of the league’s fastest players and has proven himself to be elite among junior players in shot generation and point production.
The Spitfires, slated to host the 2017 Memorial Cup, have made a move that will help them keep up with the ultra-competitive OHL Western Conference. Windsor currently sits in a tie for third in the conference with the Erie Otters.
The addition of Bracco will give Windsor some much-needed offensive help. They’re just 12th in the OHL in goals scored, despite having the league’s best power play (which will only improve with this addition).
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